B4 — 24. Tag-Team Takedown

AuthorSME

PoV:

1. Rachel Park (Our Lunar Hare!)

Recap:  Xazzos, our super thick dummy blue demon boy, has turned his ax on our girls—yup, Nia now has her own body, and she'll kind of be out of commission after this fight for a bit, so they gotta make it count!  How will are Lunar Hare and Rabbit tag-team takedown go?!  FIGHT!

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Time moved slowly to Rachel’s eyes from her accelerated viewpoint.  She needed to track everything and make sure things were on point; if she defeated the demon, only to find everyone else dead, then it would be a worthless accomplishment, and since Xazzos had taken a full dose of the charged barrier, it gave her time to process her next move.

Taking a few seconds to collect the necessary information through hearing alone, Rachel watched Nia jump forward and charge Xazzos; she was fast, but not on Rachel’s level.

“I’m going in, Lunar Abyss!”

She wouldn’t make it to the demon before she’d compiled everything, and Rachel wanted to be entirely focused on the other-dimensional creature when engaging him.

Fiona, Scarlet, Relica, and Benedict had escaped into the sewers with Armand’s hounds in pursuit.  The massive wolf was tearing up the city streets in search of the pair, using his wolves to find their path and cut them off; Scarlet was providing the necessary mobility they needed to escape, but Armand had incredible senses, plowing through buildings to chase after the four.  She had to have faith in their ability to evade the beast.

Maria was still lost to her hearing, which was aggravating.  Don’t they need air?  Did they go to a padded room?  No, I can’t focus on that.

A smile brightened her lips upon hearing Gisele spiraling through the air, beams of lunar energy melting dozens of demonic insects while lashing out at those nearby with her talons.  She was drawing most of the flying horde’s attention, and if Rachel didn’t know any better, had a strategy to continue pulling in more.  It was time for the elegant Lunar Phoenix to show her strength and speed in the air.

I’ll have to get her something nice after this.  Stay alive, Gisele … You’re my contingency plan.

Rose was tracking the bugs burrowing in the ground with her excellent hearing, taking care of the insects as they burst out of the ground, not giving them a chance to grasp the situation.

Her younger brother and sister took on the bulk of the hideous crawling creatures, but they couldn’t hold all of their attention; Hayan was sending greenish goo flinging everywhere, dashing about like a maniac.  On the other hand, Coral’s orange flames were especially punishing to the throng as she spread it like a madness-induced pyro.

Bullets whizzed through the sky and across the ground as Grace entered the fray with her rifle, taking out any of the tougher foes that she saw the pets having trouble with.

There we go, guys, keep it up.

Preparing herself, Rachel lowered herself to the ground, ears lying flat as she ran after Nia, gaining on the girl’s puffy triple-colored tail.

Nia was a small mirror of her in every way, meaning she brought Rachel luck while Rachel brought misfortune to their opponents.  The smiling girl also came with her own Lunar Pool which was exactly what Rachel wanted to get, a separate pool for every type of Lunar Energy and a skill that converted excess gained into the various other categories.

“This shouldn’t take long, Nia—Let’s go for the high-low-up idea you were dreaming about last night!”

Happy astonishment in her voice, Nia slowed a bit for her to catch up.  “You were listening?  This will be so awesome!”

Rachel swiftly passed her bright, bouncing orange, pink, and silver hair.  “You’re high.”

“Let him burn, burn, burn and luck decide!”  Nia chimed, slowing to jump over ten meters into the air as an orange aura erupted around her frame.

Xazzos’s nose flared upon seeing Nia and her launch at him, diving left to nimbly snatch his ax while in a barrel roll to slide to a stop on his feet.  An enraged roar billowed from his throat and he set a stance to meet them.

With the Flush Moon’s enhancing qualities, Predict Motion was now linked to Mental Acceleration as a reactive skill, and the moment she neared, Rachel saw his muscle movements before her ears could hear them twitch.

She had limited maneuverability given her current speed, but that was also bait since she could figure out where he’d attack.  Shifting directions the second his ax arched, the soil compressed while putting pressure on it, and Rachel spun to deliver a kick to his chest, activating Lunar Curse: Misfortune II.

A sharp explosion of activity sounded from Xazzos’s body, and just as she dodged, he was petrified as a red shell flashed across his skin.

Rachel’s full momentum struck the demon full in the chest, trying to throw him into the barrier again.  However, a recoil she hadn’t expected returned; most of the force was dispersed against the substance but a portion shot back into her left heel, pushing her back.

Wincing at the pain, she pressed forward instead of retreating, using her right foot as the anchor to make use of the temporary opening.  Smart, but will take more than that to throw me off my feet.

The crimson film seemed to paralyze him and only lasted a second, but it had been perfectly timed to her blow; still, he was thrown off balance from the defensive ability, allowing Rachel to twist around the flailing ax.

Grabbing his head while using the fiend’s chest as leverage, it took nearly all of Rachel’s summonable strength to force it down and throw him into the sky; Rachel’s eyes widened as Xozzas’s grasping free hand reached out, fingers closing around the end of her braided hair.

You have to be kidding…

Just as Rachel’s braid reached its full length with the demon’s wicked grin in sight, Nia’s hang-time had come to an end, proving just how much luck she brought Rachel.

The laughing girl came down like a comet, using her own version of Lunar Step that seemed slightly more advanced than Rachel’s, able to be used without moonlight.  Her red heels digging into the demon’s exposed and bloodied back.  “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!  Ultimate Collapsing Star of the Supreme One!”  she screamed upon making contact with the creature.

Xazzos’s face blanched as his spine curved from the impact, Nia’s spike-like shoes penetrating the demon’s back as her Halloween-flavored flames blanketed the wounds—cursed Ice, Fire, and Lunar elemental damage.  

The crushing energy of Rachel’s throw met with Nia’s much stronger kick, drilling the demon into the dirt and forcing her braid out of his hand.  Rachel didn’t wait for him to recover, and his trembling fist, still tightly held his ax.  “Nia, platform!”

“On it!”

Bending a little, the girl’s thighs tightened as she jumped, causing a pained yell from the demon when her heels left his back; spinning back, ten feet above the creature, Nia created another lunar step and shot back down, but Xazzos shoved himself away, rolling across the ground with his ax held tightly against his body.

Rachel was already performing an aerial backflip to make use of the lingering luminescent disk of lunar energy, able to direct it herself the moment her foot touched it; few surfaces could handle the pressure they exerted to use their full force.

Nia struck the ground, dirt exploding around her as she prepared for the next attack.

Launching off, a devilish smile darkened Rachel’s lips; as she neared his chest, the crimson shell appeared, and he lifted his ax for her to fall upon.  Spreading her legs as she approached, Rachel’s feet dug into the ground, his weapon’s edge inches away from her crotch.

She twisted her hips to gain balance, snatch his arm as it returned to normal, and lift him over her head to throw at Nia; the girl did a running roundhouse kick to send him flying back into the barrier, face first.

Another bath of orange flames passed over the fiend’s back as he screamed more gibberish at them; he spun through the air, using his ax to try and ground himself, but it was too shallow given his height.  Head-first, he struck the barrier, yet expectedly, the red shell emerged again.

Rachel lifted an eyebrow as the electric field shattered it and sent him soaring through the air again, but this time, the demon didn’t twitch while rag-dolling to a stop.

“Wooh!”  Nia laughed with her dispersing flames, hopping up and down while fanning her face.  “I’m just too hot!”

Rolling around her stiff neck, Rachel walked over to the creature; she knew she should probably rush in and finish the job, but a part of her was curious if that was it.  They’d used the beyond powerful crimson electrical grid to do most of the damage, considering his durability and unknown abilities, but that was good tactics.

“That was brilliant, Nia,” Rachel complimented.  “You were practically reading my mind.”

Nia grinned, doing a few acrobatic maneuvers to reach her side.  “He-he-he—not hard when I do it all the time!  You’re a crafty little hare,” she mused, and Rachel jumped a bit as Nia smacked her on the ass.

“Really?”  Rachel mumbled, glaring at the girl; it actually hurt a little, unlike when she did it as clothing.

Jumping away with an impish wink, Nia snickered.  “I had to beat Anthony to it!  It’s the first time I get to do it outside of my body!  Just as big as I remember!”

Rachel gave the teenager a slightly dirty look, rubbing her rear as they came upon the demon.  “I wonder about you sometimes.”

“I’m just true to my nature, which isn’t my fault!”  Nia replied, kneeling down a little to study Xazzos as Rachel neared him.  “Yuck—he’s smoking a lot … Eh, I thought his mug was ugly before.  His fist is practically fused to that big—Eek!”  she screamed like a girl, ears standing on end while hopping back as he twitched.

Keeping her senses keen, Rachel fed power into her fist, aiming for the center of his skull, yet a chilling pulse of blue energy erupted around the other-worldly entity.  She hadn’t felt something so heavy since Conner sent her through three buildings, but Nia was behind her in an instant, breaking her fall as they both tumbled across the ground.

“G-Got you!  I—ouch,” Nia wheezed, voice spotty in Rachel’s mind.  “I … don’t like human bodies … I mean, I do, but … oof, you’re heavy…”

“Mmh…”  Rachel blinked, trying to regain her scattered senses while rolling off Nia, allowing the girl to rub her chest.  “What … is he doing?”  she gasped, finding it hard to fill her lungs with air; her eyes widened upon seeing the electrified barrier feet to their back and a small path of upturned earth from where Nia caught her.

That was reckless … I should have just finished him off.

Nia’s head drooped to the grass with a groan.  “You hit me like a ton of bricks—I swear your ass makes up 40% of your weight, and it hit me right in the chest!  Hmm?  Hmm?  Thanks, Nia?!”  she huffed, rolling out of the small hole and tentatively stretching out as Rachel’s rattled mind recovered.  “Medic!  Oof … spines suck, ugh—just gotta work it off … mmh!”

Rachel pressed a hand against her forehead, scanning for Xazzos; clumps of grass and soil were falling around the area.  The demon was still in the same spot, but a wide two-foot-deep crater was in the center of the field, and the aura was still in place.

Nia struggled to her feet, brushing the dirt and dust off of her back, butt, and arms as she began talking to herself.  “So, Nia, how’d you die?  Oh, nothing big,” she snickered, likely referring to her previous outcry, “in fact, I don’t even remember much—just a big fat ass in my face that knocked me into the next dimension!”

Trying to pull herself together, Rachel mumbled the first thing that came to her mind in response.  “Question … if you’re a copy of me, with some cosmetic differences … Does that mean your ass makes up 40% of your own weight?”

“What!?!  Oh, no … I have a fat ass!”  she cried as if the world was ending before glaring at her master and continued her one-sided conversation.  “Sad, did they get the person that did it to you?  No, it was my closest friend.  Can you believe that?  Aww, that’s terrible!  I know, and you know what the worst part is?  She didn’t even say sorry—just said I had a big butt!”

“Shit,” Rachel growled, struggling up and seeing her glowing skin had dimmed; Lunar Shield II had activated to defend her, consuming 15% of her Lunar Pool.

Lunar Surge’s base Stat multiplier was cut … point-eight percent of my Toughness and Power decreased per point.

After using Lunar Curse and Lunar Reserve II, giving an extra 5% to her Lunar Pool, she was at 90% of its total.  Lunar Surge III gave her a 1.25% multiplier per percent, meaning she’d lost an 18.75% multiplier to her Power and Toughness Stats, making her weaker and more fragile.

Nia stumbled over to press her arm against her side with a frightened hum.  “Eh, Rachel … he’s getting uuup!”

Rachel grimaced, watching Xazzos struggle to his side, partially burned off nose twitching as his wild eyes settled on them.  He was releasing an entirely new threatening presence.

“I think he’s mad,” Nia whispered, gripping her arm.  “I—I think my legs are trembling—that’s not normal!”

Dammit!  He’s not playing around any…

Her thoughts blanked as Grace growled, “I’m here to kick-ass and drink whiskey, and Mr. Devil, I’m all out of whiskey…”  Stepped back and jumping into a twisting flip, she aimed her rifle at Xazzos.

For the second time, the afterimage of a red streak exploded from the girl’s weapon, kicking the wincing girl back; accounting for the punch, the bullet passed through Xazzos’s damaged nose as he rose, causing its head to pop like a turquoise water balloon.

Xazzos dropped to the ground, his missing head leaking out his inner fluids.

Nia’s hands flew to her mouth.  “No way!”

Grace’s back struck soil hard, her smoking gun dropping a few feet away before vanishing.  “Damn it all to hell,” she groaned, holding her shoulder.  “Two in one day?  I might just die.”

The bunny girl ran to her side in worry.  “No, don’t die on me, Milky Abyss!

“Say wha?”  Grace shifted her head to give Nia a questioning look.  “Milky Abyss?”

“Well, yeah,” Nia mumbled, kneeling beside her to make sure she was okay.  “You’re the one that’s always talking about milk and cows.”

The cowgirl’s expression lightened as if internally saying, Not wrong. 

“You can’t die on me!”  Nia cried, seemingly utterly lost as to what she should do as her hands hovered over the girl.  “I, umm … I think you need to put pressure on the wound—no, CPR!”

“No!  No!  I’m good!”  Grace forced a laugh while using her left arm to scoot away.  “That’s not the right thing!”

Nia slowly followed on her knees.  “No, Scarlet had this anime in her head where you gotta take off the shirt and put pressure on the chest a bunch of times … There was blood—No, was that to stop the internal bleeding thing?”

“Nia,” Rachel sighed, straightening her posture, “leave Grace alone.”

“I can’t!”  Nia yelled, gesturing at her.  “She said she’s dying!  We gotta save her!  Oh, whiskey, she said she’s out of whiskey!  Is that it?”

Grace’s forced smile instantly brightened.  “Eh … Yeah!  Whiskey would help a ton!”

“Later, if possible,” Rachel said, steeling herself before running to the body.

Nia jumped up in confusion.  “What are you doing?  Oh!  Double-tap!”

Grabbing Xazzos’s foot, she spun around and threw him at the barrier; an explosion of viscera burst from his missing head, splattering across the ground.

“Eww…”  Nia cringed, watching several organs continue pumping.  “Gross!  Kill it!”

Rachel fell to her knees, pressing a hand against her thumping and bruised chest; she felt like she’d been thrown through a building, and she had experience.  If it hadn’t been for Nia, she might really have died, and that was with her outfit’s protective properties.

Even if I tried to rush in and destroy his head … It wouldn’t have changed the outcome.  Was it triggered by my presence, to begin with, or was he waiting for the opportunity?  Vicious, and judging by its beating organs—can it revive still?

It didn’t seem to make much difference because Nia was going on a crusade, stamping out the twitching and thumping organs with her orange flames.

Rachel turned her focus to her left leg, rubbing her thigh.  I’m bruised everywhere.  It’s not as bad as what Conner did to me, but Xazzos did it through all my upgraded levels and protections I have in place now.  If he hadn’t taken us for easy prey at the start—we very likely would be dead.

The thought didn’t make her scared but proud; they’d defeated a much stronger opponent.  It did come at a price, though.

Grace had lost the use of one of her two pistols by using her stronger bullets against Asher, and now her more powerful rifle had been taken out of commission.  From what Rachel had seen of her arsenal, she only had smaller caliber weapons left,  which meant the girl was now on fodder control for the rest of the day.

Rachel’s lunar reserves had been spent in her defense, as well, when she needed every point, yet without it, Rachel had no doubt she’d be dead.

Getting to her feet, Rachel decided to make sure this was the last they’d see of the demon, tossing his body against the field two more times before it broke into parts.

Turning to study the battlefield, her lips pulled in.  One enemy down out of thousands … At least they’re mostly fodder, but there are special cases everywhere.  I doubt they’ll be as powerful as Xazzos … Still, we need to be careful and level up. 

Her heart burned with protest as she turned her vision to the burning city; smoke was rising into the air from Armand, still searching for Scarlet’s party.  I’m sorry, Maria, but if I’m going to save you, I need to get stronger.

Turning her gaze to the horde of enemies piling on top of her pets, she jogged forward, motioning for Nia to join her.  “You’re on the clock, Nia, and if he comes back after everything we’ve done—we can’t waste any more time.”

Nia’s disgusted look as she stomped on a mushy, pulsating blue piece of flesh flipped to excitement.  “Are we power leveling?!”

Not understanding the full context of the term but getting the general gist, Rachel nodded.  “Take command over Gisele and the gang, Commander Nia.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”  Nia saluted, ears tilting to the left with a teenage smile.  “I won’t let you down; genocide it is, ladies and gentlemen!”  she yelled, running to join Rose, Gisele, Coral, and Hayan.  “Show no fear!  Have no mercy!  The Abyss has spoken!”

“Grace?”  Rachel asked, brushing back her braid and holding out a hand to help the girl to her feet.  “Can you still shoot?”

The cowgirl giggled, groaning as Rachel pulled her up.  “Mmh!  Eh, he-he-he, thanks for callin’ off the wannabe doctor bunny.”  She grimaced while gently touching her right shoulder.  “Don’t think I’ll be usin’ this arm for a bit, but my left should be good—I just get a healthy dose of the kickback with those bullets.  I can still use my pocket pistol—it’s just slower,” she mumbled.

Red light focused into a small weapon as she brandished it with a forced grin.  “Not the strongest tool at my disposal, but with an arm outta commission, it’s the best I got.”

“Thanks,” Rachel returned the smile.  “You’ve more than earned your spot on the team; think about it.”

“Yeah, sure will—eh, after we handle the scum of hell, huh?  How do you think these things survive in the place?”  she asked, casually turning her weapon on a few insects that made it past the wall of flames as Nia took command of the situation.  “Most of them are super weak—there’s just a billion of them.”

Rachel stretched out, ignoring the cry from her muscles.  “Same as insects survive in our world, I suppose.  Let’s get killing, though—we’re going to kill as many as we can, level up your skills along the way—have something in mind to work toward?”

“You could say that,” Grace grinned.  “I’m lookin’ forward to testin’ it out.”

Rachel walked forward a little, flexing her fingers.  “Just know restrictions help to lower the levels, and you might be able to remove them as we grow stronger.”

“Oh?  That’s an interesting topic—Huh.  I’ll just be on ol’ Jim, poppin’ a line through hell.”  Flipping her gun into the air, she summoned her hat and put it on before snatching the pistol.  “I can feel my heart startin’ to pound a little!”

She jumped, landing on Jim as he appeared in her place, and she landed on the saddle, expertly inserting her boots into his stirrups and lowering herself against his neck.  “Alright, cowgirls are God’s wildest angels, and our hats are our halos, and our horses our wings!  You’ve all shown me your inner cowgirl, so let’s cause a little calamity, girls!”

Rachel shot forward, clearing a path with Grace and Nia by her side; Gisele, Hayan, Coral, and Rose pulled closer, and they fought through the horde.  Minor cuts and gashes marked their skin from the few that managed to get through.

By watching each other’s backs, they killed them by the thousands, building up their experience and working for some kind of Achievement to give them that extra boost.

Rachel kept asking to separate her Lunar Pools, and just before Nia’s 30-minute time limit was up, she managed to get it—Nia funneled almost everything into staying out longer, which would take effect the following day after the cooldown; it would be necessary for what was to come.

The next target they had to deal with was the Wolfgangs and then Armand; if she couldn’t find the one with Maria, then she needed to go to someone that could lead her there, and they set their path to a basement where the German sat going over research with some kind of female demon by his side.

Nia yawned as her time finished.  They’d only made it to the city’s edge; her body faded into twinking energy in mid-hop, mind returning to her threads.  “I’m … so tired,” she mumbled.  “I don’t think I can stay awake.”

Go to sleep; you’ve saved my life more than once today, Nia.  You’ve earned your rest.

“No … I still want to help … Stupid eyes … won’t stay open!”

He-he-he.  Do you have eyes?

“Rude … I have pretty eyes … fat ass.”

Mhm.  Hmm?  Nia?  Already asleep, huh?  Thanks, Nia.  You’re awesome.

Expression hardening, Rachel motioned to Grace as she shot two armored demonic insects square in the eye to bypass their defenses; Gisele’s long silvery beam shot out of the sky to melt the two ant-like demons crawling toward her.  “To our right!  If we get too close to the inner city, Armand will notice.”

We’re coming, Maria.

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