AN: Whew, finally wrapped this arc up. It was fun, but a fight scene of this scale (no pun intended) ended up being a lot more work than I'd anticipated.
Skully13: Possibly
Guest99: Good to know, thanks.
"Holy crap!" Luna croaked, blinking furiously as she attempted to process what had just happened. But between the smell of burning ozone, the sound of sizzling flesh that filled the air, and the electrical tendrils that continued to spark up and down her arms, it was pretty hard to deny the story that was being told to her various senses.
Her attention was drawn to an odd, crackling noise. Distinctly different from the electrical discharges her body was still giving off, but not quite aligning with those being made by the still cooking lizard hide she was still clinging to. A few seconds later, she seemingly had her answer, as a loud SNAP resounded through the air, and Luna found herself unceremoniously falling flat on her ass.
For a moment, Luna thought her fatigue had finally caught up with her, and she'd simply lost her grip on her foe. But that notion was quickly dispelled as she realized that the blackened, scaly hide she'd been clinging to was still very much clutched between her fingers. Which could only mean..
Craning her neck upward filled in those details she'd been missing. There, a little way up in the air from where she was currently sitting, was the very tail she'd been attached to only moments prior. Its hide, like the chunk she was still holding onto, was blackened, burnt, and still smoking. Save for one extremely conspicuous patch of bright, green flesh, which glistened with a strange moistness, standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding hide. It wasn't hard to deduce that the reason she'd been dislodged, was because she'd inadvertently torn a chunk of that hide clean off it.
And the incredibly, somehow even angrier giant lizard that was glaring at her past the mangled, limply hanging tail seemed like a pretty strong indicator that her hypothesis was accurate.
RRRRRNNNGGRRR!
Luna scrambled to her feet and tossed the charred chunk of scales aside, her heart pumping frantically as she tried to assess the situation. Geon looked...bad, even worse than before. Having been at ground zero of the impromptu lightning strike, the rest of its body fared little better than its tail had. And while its frame was still large and imposing, it was hunched over, and sucking in greedy, ragged breaths. By her estimation, the only thing still keeping it upright was sheer, stubborn determination, which was...promising, especially considering how dire things seemed only a short while ago.
Then again, she herself wasn't doing much better, as was quickly made evident by a wave of dizziness that overtook her, very nearly sending her toppling to the ground. Luna managed to catch herself in time, hands pressed against her knees as she struggled to ride out the vertigo that was threatening to overtake her.
The ground quaked as Geon took one large, ponderous step towards her, and with a grunt of exertion, Luna pushed herself up, clenching her fists and widening her stance as she tried to look more battle-ready than she felt.
The beast moved to continue advancing on her, but mid-way through its second step, its massive body was suddenly jostled aside, an almost metallic CLANG resounding as the beast teetered unsteadily, very nearly toppling over. The impact it suffered was as quick as it was violent, but the beast recovered, albeit barely, by slamming its haunches to the ground, causing it to slide to a stable, if undignified stop.
"Keep your scaly mitts off my sister!" Lynn shouted, her fist still extending into the now-empty air from which Geon had been so rudely displaced.
The rocker's shoulders sagged with relief. Never had she been so happy to see her fellow brunette.
Geon's serpentine neck whipped around to face the newly revived threat, reeling back as it, presumably prepared to roar a defiant challenge at its nemesis. Before it could, however—
FWOOSH!
—something large hurtled past Luna with such velocity that the titan was buffeted by the gale force winds its passing created. Instinctively raising one arm to shield her face against the impromptu storm that had erupted right on top of her, Luna was incapable of seeing what had transpired, but the outraged roar that followed did a lot to bolster her hopes, and after a brief moment of disorientation, Luna was able to confirm the outcome for herself.
Geon's attention was now fully focused on the very sharp-looking object that was now jutting out of its stomach, having been hurled with such force that it had punched cleanly through its armored hide. A moment later, Luna recognized it as the horn Geon had thrown at them earlier. Either the kaiju had marked its improvised weapon "Return to Sender", or…
The sound of footfalls drew Luna's attention outward once more. The rocker smiled as a familiar shock of cyan-streaked blonde staggered into view.
"Keep…!" Sam shouted, taking labored breaths as she hobbled her way back onto the battlefield. "Keep your...SCALY—!"
"I already did that one!" Lynn called out smugly.
"Aw come on!" Sam shouted in exasperation. "After I set up the cool entrance and everything? What am I supposed to do no—WOAH!"
The blonde's outrage was unceremoniously cut off as Luna darted straight into her personal space and swept her up into what would been a bone-crushing hug for normal people. Sam, however, merely let out a squeak of surprise before looking down at Luna, her features softening as she did so.
"Sorry, Lunes," She croaked, trying to return the gesture as best she could. "I tried to get back as fast as I could "
"Perfect timing as always, babe," came Luna's response, as she enthusiastically nuzzled her cheek against her girlfriend's.
"Hey! Lovebirds!" Lynn snapped as she sucker-punched the pig-stuck kaiju. "Can you keep it in your pants just a little longer so we can finish this?"
"Rrrrrright, right!" Luna called back as she put Sam back down. "Sorry bout that, LJ!"
"Just…!" Lynn leaped backward to avoid a wild claw slash that came entirely too close to tearing her face off. "...keep him off me for a few seconds!"
"Got it!" Luna replied, shooting Sam a sideways glance. "Ready for our closer?"
"Yeah…" Sam said, smirking Luna's way. "I think I've got an encore left in me. Follow my lead!"
And with that, Sam broke out into a sprint, charging straight at the monster with Luna following suit only a few moments behind.
With new threats approaching, Geon was forced to cease its pursuit of Lynn. It whirled around and dug its clawed feet in before reeling one arm back and delivering an upward slice at the rapidly enclosing Sam. However, the blonde was undeterred, nimbly dancing around the attack and darting inside Geon's guard, leaving her perfectly positioned to counterattack.
It was unfortunate for Geon that she had other plans, as rather than taking the opening, Sam reached up with both hands...and ripped the horn out of the beast's belly.
The resulting half-shriek, half-roar of pain that followed seemly caused the very air to vibrate with fury.
Momentarily disoriented by the sonic assault though she was, Sam quickly recovered and renewed her assault. She darted forward, threw herself into the air, and swung the pilfered horn downward into a mighty two-handed thrust—
—straight through the beast's tail, pinning it to the ground beneath it.
Geon's entire body jerked in obvious pain, its neck swinging upward and its jaws snapping open—!
—but Luna still had her part to play.
"Luan would have had something clever for this," The brunette muttered as she closed in on the distracted kaiju, rubbing her hands together as fast as she could. Suddenly there was a flash of light and sparks, and tendrils of electricity began to dance their way up and down her limbs.
Luna smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.
Letting out a roar of her own, Luna charged the beast, slamming her palms against its stomach as she closed the distance, and unleashed the energy she'd been building up.
The resulting light show wasn't nearly as impressive as her previous one, but the point-blank discharge proved to be more than effective enough as Geon began writhing in freshly renewed agony, electricity arching through every inch of its scaly hide.
"Get...AWAY!" Lynn croaked at her teammates, her cheeks bulging in a manner reminiscent of a squirrel hoarding its nuts. But both girls were aware of what she was actually packing away, and upon receiving the signal, they scattered in opposite directions.
Geon was left alone, wounded, scorched from the inside out, and bleeding from two different holes in its body. It whirled around as best it could, eyes blinking wearily as it sought its third, unaccounted-for opponent. And it found her, at the worst possible time.
As her target presented itself, Lynn finally let loose the force she'd been containing, bellowing mightily as a sonic blast exploded from her mouth, rocketed toward Geon, and struck it full on in the chest, carving through its armored hide in a matter of moments and tenderizing the vulnerable flesh that lay beneath.
The entire affair played out in a matter of seconds, leaving the three girls surrounding the thoroughly brutalized creature. And fatigued though they were, the trio remained on guard, waiting to see what came next.
Moments stretched on, the exact passage of time impossible to measure for the combatants themselves, but finally, the beast stirred. It craned its serpentine neck around, taking in its blackened scales, the blood, both fresh and dried that stained its hide, and most significant of all, the large, self-cauterized chest wound it was now sporting.
Geon scanned the area, taking in the three, battle-ready titans that still surrounded it, and finally, having seemingly weighed its options, it made its move.
...but not toward its opponents. Rather, the creature tore the horn from its tail, wincing as it did so, and tossed the weapon aside. Then it turned, slowly, purposefully, and began making its way in the opposite direction.
Back, towards the coast.
Luna and Sam both looked to Lynn for guidance, but the younger brunette simply shrugged in response. And uncertain how to proceed, the three girls closed ranks and followed the beast.
The trip felt long, more from awkwardness than anything else, but at their respective sizes, the foursome actually reached the shoreline fairly quickly. And once there, the three girls stopped a decent distance away from the creature and waited to see what would come next.
Geon stopped at the shoreline, and craned its neck around, looking at each girl individually before finally locking eyes with Lynn. It remained motionless for a time, seemingly considering its nemesis, before finally lifting its head up, and giving her what appeared to be a firm, respectful nod. Then it turned back towards the sea, and continued its trip, its gigantic strides taking it further and further from land until finally it disappeared beneath the waves.
Minutes past as the girls waited to see what was forthcoming, but for the first time since the battle had begun, there was only silence.
"So…" Sam spoke up, "Is...is that a win? Please tell me we won, I can't feel my arms anymore."
"I'm gonna say...yeah," Lynn replied, nodding as the now calm coastal waters. "I think Big G just...took the L."
"I'm not even gonna question it," Luna said, coughing as a small puff of smoke escaped her lips. "Let's get out of here. Please."
"Not just yet," Lynn said, patting her sister on the shoulder. "We just had our first team victory. That means there's something we gotta do first."
"And that is…?" Sam asked, uncertainly.
Lynn bared her teeth in a big grin. "Victory screech."
"GAAAAH!" Lincoln and Lisa both cried in unison as the command center's speakers suddenly began spewing an unholy cacophony of noise.
"I told Lynn not to do that while comms were open!" The scientist growled as she quickly slapped the mute button. Immediately, a blissful silence fell upon the room, and the siblings slumped into their chairs, letting out sighs of relief.
"So...that's what you do, huh?" Lincoln asked, staring at the ceiling.
"Essentially," Lisa replied. "It's not as glamorous as Lynn's side of things, but as you yourself demonstrated, it is an essential role to play. And equipment boondoggle aside, you did quite well, big brother. I'm...happy...that you chose to stay."
"Thanks," Lincoln replied, preening at the praise. "It was...stressful, but definitely more interesting than huddling in a shelter somewhere."
"Oh," He added, catching sight of the main display monitor. "I think the concert's over."
"Hmm," Lisa replied. "Well, I'm going to delegate confirming that to you. Just hit this button once I'm out of the room. I've got a refrigerator full of Flippees I've been saving for a special occasion in the back. You check in with the girls and I'll rustle us up some frozen treats."
"Deal!" Lincoln agreed, sliding his chair over to Lisa's station. He pulled the scientist into a side hug as she rose from her seat, then dutifully waited for her to leave the room re-enabling communications.
"...Think," Came Sam's voice as the speakers crackled to life once more. "I'm gonna just curl up in bed and pretend I'm dead for the rest of the day."
"That sounds like a great idea," Luna replied, putting one arm around her girlfriend. "Think I'll join you…"
"Ooooh!"
First off," Lynn added, "Barf. Second, close the door this time, I'm serious. And thirdly...that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea."
There was a short, awkward silence.
"Umm, no offense, Lynn," Sam began, "But—"
"I didn't mean with you guys," Lynn snapped irritably.
A pair of audibly relieved sighs resounded over the comms.
"Thanks for that," Lynn said, rolling her eyes. "But I've got my own bed, and I'll be getting plenty of my own R in it, thank you very much."
"...Riiiiight after I swing by the house and pick up Lincoln."
A chill ran down Lincoln's spine, even as a rush of heat signified that a large portion of the blood in his body was pooling in one specific area. It was a...strange sensation, to say the least.
"Hey!" Luna protested. "How come you get Linc?"
"Girlfriend privilege," Came Lynn's immediate reply. "Duh. I'm pulling rank."
"What rank?" Sam squawked indignantly. "Lunes and I lived together on an island with him for a month!"
"And then I rescued him. From you," Lynn replied, smugly.
"Lynn, I'll freely admit that I'm too tired to smack you for saying that," Luna said before a grin spread across her face. "But it seems to me, like the only way you're going to be able to back up that claim...is if you get to him first."
"Uhhh…" Lincoln muttered, blinking dumbly as he watched the encounter play out on the screen. "Lisa?"
He spun his chair around towards the door the younger girl had exited through. "LI—!"
His shout was cut off by a loud, metallic clicking noise, followed by the tell-tale sound of an air-tight seal being applied. It was only at this point, that he noticed a small, folded piece of paper sitting on the console, his name prominently displayed on its side. Curious in spite of his mounting terror, Lincoln picked it up and unfolded it.
"Dear Lincoln," Read Lisa's crisp handwriting. "As I said, I truly enjoyed our time together today. But knowing our sisters, I suspect that I know how this is going to play out, so I tempted you with the promise of Flippees so I could make my own escape. Apologies."
"Dammit," Lincoln grumbled, before reading on.
"As you've undoubtedly noticed, I've arranged for the bunker to seal itself upon my departure. Fear not, once it recognizes either Lynn, Luna, or Sam's biosignatures, it will unseal itself again. Kindly turn yourself over to whichever girl arrives first so as to minimize damage to the neighborhood. And more importantly, to my bunker. As a show of good faith, I've left a rather large box of pain medication with your name on it in the lab. Feel free to take as much as you need with you.
Love, Lisa Loud. P.H.D. M.D. D.D.S. A.B.C. 1.2.3."
Turning back to the main monitor, Lincoln could see that the girls were already racing off into the distance, nearly out of range of the observation drones. Exhaling, he climbed to his feet and began to stretch.
"Better grab those meds before I forget," He muttered.