Under the Open Sky (CWMGQ Spinoff)

[-] Burn off some energy practicing
-[-] Focus on Guardian Touch, that target-by-modifier upgrade looks very promising
[-] Get some extra sleep

The Final Stone

Urist DelerTekkud was the last one left. Less than an hour ago, there were thirteen* dwarves of his generation still alive, serving their solemn duty in the overrun halls of their once proud Fortress of Boatshrieks. They were the first ones born into the glory of their newly elevated Fortress to fight and die, and yet when ten days later**, the warning drums of Too Deep had been sounded and their Overseer had been forced to evacuate after raising the alarm***, they failed. Armed with the Adamant Armaments, they were to be the first line of defense, but instead, they were the last remnants of their kind, and they refused to lay down and die...

Fully a third of them died in those tumultous hours, and half of survivors of disaster followed them since. And yet, their lives' work was nearing completion. Forced to run and hide, to scurry and misdirect, to stand as one against monsters and die alone to let others escape, they worked still to complete the work their predecessors started - and to rebuild their Fortress into something grander. Something that would truly grant them power to retake it from the monsters, and make the Fortress once again open to their Overseer.

There was but one last chamber that needed to be remade - and yet, a fiery abomination had taken residence inside, far greater and more terrible than mere beasts who had dared walk the hallways of their Fortress, its very voice bringing certain doom to the rightful owners of BoatShrieks, and its presence washing over them with the feeling of Evil.

Less than an hour before, the beasts and the abomination grew restless, and the beasts began to move closer to surface. Hoping against bitter experience, Urist DelerTekkud and its brothers-in-arms had moved closer to the chamber, and prepared to lay down their lives to rebuild it beyond its former glory, should the abomination leave.

And leave it did, following the scurrying of the beasts.

Ten brave warriors had laid aside their Adamant Armaments to take up tools of the builders, working at a feverish pace to complete the chamber's remodeling before the abomination returned, while the remaining trio followed the abomination, to see it delayed, redirected, or if all else failed, to force it to roar in fury to warn their brothers-in-arms that the abomination was coming back, even if doing so was deadly to their kind. Two thirds of the chamber were remade as the terrible Roar reached the ears of the ten brave warriors. Three of them grabbed their armaments at once, and ran out of the chamber to meet the abomination.

Three times did the Roar echo through the hallways, and three times did three dwarves take up arms and run out to meet it. Three more times did the Roar echo through the hallways, now closer and louder with every new proclamation of fury. Urist DelerTekkud now knew beyond a shred of doubt - he was the last one left, the final warrior of BoatShrieks, and its only hope for restoration. And as the heavy steps shaking the stones could be felt coming ever closer, so was his life's work coming to a close.

Pulling up the crystal the size of his torso, Urist DelerTekkud had twisted in place to insert it to its rightful place in the very center of the Chamber deep in the bowels of the Fortress. Though he felt the unbearable heat on his back, he ignored it to turn the crystal in the socket and connect it fully to the pedestal it was now resting on. With a final click the crystal slotted into place and began to glow, spreading the light through veins of precious metals, and bringing about the ripples reshaping the very stone they were moving through. As the wave of change had overtaken the chamber, Urist DelerTekkud had smiled, knowing that his life's work was done, and a new generation would be born still, armed with the impregnable Dwemer Armaments.

Then the Roar of the Destroyer had echoed through the chamber, resonating and reflecting wildly. And Urist DelerTekkud knew no more.

LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED

The monsters of BoatShrieks had been riled up successfully, and lured in the direction of the Unified Darkness strongpoints. The nigh-invincible nature of the Crimson's hound had served the team well, and a solitary Balrog bursting through a half-collapsed tunnel had been swiftly dealt with by Summit, before it could so much as utter a single sound. Twice did the team nearly get caught up in the traps of the Fortress, clearly created by minds as demented as they were brilliant (who makes magma rain traps anyway???), but Wiccan's surprisingly attentive absent-mindedness had deposited the team safely within her world, to be returned back with Summit's power a minute later, in a safer location. The mission was on track, the Hound had returned to Crimson's side, and the team was almost ready to leave through the main gate, when four things happened all at once.

A ripple of changes ran through the walls of the entire Fortress, overcoming the group in a blink of an eye and (as Summit watched with her Panoply) continuing outwards. Dozens of waves of (Evil) magic had pulsed from many locations within the Fortress, one far more potent and vile than others. And as that vilest pulse of cessation, of the primal command of ceasing to exist, had washed over the team, Primary Wiccan began to babble.

"The Avatar of the End has appeared! The Herald of the End approaches!.."

Throughout this, Summit has felt this wave of cessation cling to her own magic, eroding and suppressing her in many different ways - making it utterly impossible to empower her Panoply beyond what its very structure could convey, though luckily not preventing its shifting. Eroding her defenses with some fell power, making her far more vulnerable to stronger attacks, to stronger beings, than she was before. And, she noted, shutting down her ability to reach through her Panoply and apply a measure of fixing her body, as she did against the Toxic Horror.
Then the time slowed, and the instincts shrieked at Summit to move, to not be where she was now. Feeling her only salvation at the very edge of her range, she launched a grappling claw to grab Crimson, locked a few additional ones on Wiccan, then pulled herself and the both of them through Elsewhere as far ahead as she could, pulling them towards and into the ground right as the vile presence flared.

An unspeakably vile beam of energy (Chaos | Corruption | Evil | Darkness | Epic) Summit could only term the Ultimate Evil bloomed right above their backs, coming from behind and slightly below where they were, brushing aside the gate, the massive wall, and what seemed like half of the entire mountaintop it hit even as it missed the Magical Girls, obliterating Crimson's Hound in the process. Primary Wiccan had stopped babbling momentarily, dust and gravel in her mouth, before addressing Anna:

"The Herald has chosen us as Prey and will not stop until we End. We must flee this world and never return, lest he follow us to base! He is too focused to distract, and too strong to let him close there!" Wiccan looked at Summit with widened eyes and wildly dilated pupils. Summit stared at her, also watching both the origin of the beam and her other teammate. Crimson Hood's flesh was bubbling and twisting as her Hound's did before, visibly subjecting her to pain so agonizing Crimson was rendered insensate. Making a split-second decision, Summit turned to face the entrance, giving her answer.

"Grab Crimson and shift away. I'll have to delay it, and lead it to the enemy, or it can turn to our base anyway." Simultaneously, Summit contacted the base to ask for suggestions, and launched herself at the entrance. Her panoply writhed, shifting itself into the same configuration that spelled that solitary Balrog's swift doom, a part of her recognizing the lesser pulses of Evil for what they truly were and preparing herself accordingly.

Herald of the End

Knowing that every second counts, Summit accelerates rapidly to full speed while diving into the mouth of the tunnel made by the vile beam of Ultimate Evil, hoping to catch off-guard the source of the fell power. Tunnels exposed by the blast are noted and discarded, lacking anything approaching the same level of danger. And yet, even the full speed of Summit's rush is insufficient, and the enemy to launches a second beam straightat her. With a wordless scream she launches the orange lightning of Wave Force directly in front of her, relying on the residual power it's leaving behind to protect herself from the destructive energies of the incoming attack.
And yet, her instincts screaming at her to dodge, she pushes herself to the very limits, barely clearing the exit of the tunnel to dodge sharply to the side, before a yet another beam of fell power obliterates her, once again burning through the solid rock as it passes.

The next moment Summit is assaulted by the huge monster (Chaos | Corruption | Battle | Evil | Darkness | Epic) in a barrage of claw swipes, tail swings, wing buffets and jaw snaps that tax her skills greatly to deflect or evade. Several times Summit is seemingly presented with what seems like an opportunity to retaliate at the monster, before being forced forced to feint and cockscrew in order to deflect strikes closing in with overwhelming and unstoppable power.

The unrelenting assault continues for several seconds, leaving her no breathing room after she has to evade the twin blasts of fell power coming one after the other.

Feeling the horrific power she is far too familiar with spike again, Summit launches (!!!) a spark of Wave Force straight into the stream of un-light in the creature's mouth. This forces the dragon to sputter, the gathering flares of power abating. Angered, it twists to land a claw strike, but Summit glides along the paw's length before striking it at the joint with a twist and a spin:

The strike barely forces the Ancient Wyrm to stumble, before retaliating with a snap of its teeth, a wing buffet, another swipe from the same paw and a second bite attempt. For the first time, even the immensely empowered Panoply is barely enough to withstand the assault Summit is met with, and yet even pressed she takes advantage of an opportunity to land a strike as she is dodging the tail swipe.


Furious at this strike, the Wyrm turns its head to lash out at the flying pest, before attempting to toss her away with a wing, just as the fell power begins to concentrate in the glowing eyeholes of its skull.

Having noticed the effect previously, Summit once more launches her Wave Force and forces the fell power in the draconic abomination's eyeholes to disperse in the wake of her spell.
Summit passes by the monster's head, deflecting two swift snaps of the wyrm's jaws. At the same time she spots two glimpses of (Fire, Evil, Darkness, Epic) entering the cavern from opposite sides. Recognizing the Balrogs for what they truly are, Summit rushes to confront the fiery titans, her instincts blaring in alarm she didn't feel before.

And her incandescent-white Panoply cleaves through the Balrog that showed up at the mouth of the tunnel she entered the hall through. Summit rushes back to the Wyrm and dives below its belly on her way to the second Balrog. Its demise is as swift and certain as the first one's. Knowing that she is almost out of time, Summit pivots in the air to bring herself to aim at the wyrm's head.

Agitated spacetime left in the wake of the orange lightning once more forces the monstrous creature's unholy power to disperse - but this time, Summit notes that not only did it force the spikes of energy to abate, but also somewhat weakens the shroud of power surrounding it. Pushing herself off of the dragon's snout as it tries to bite her, Summit launches herself at the balrog emerging from the entrance leading deeper into BoatShrieks.

Furious, the draconic abomination launches a string of unstoppable strikes forcing Summit to frantically dance at the edge of utter demise, hemmed in back to the surface-directed tunnel's entrance. Focused on the wyrm's attacks, Summit is unable to react in time to evade a fiery paw landing a strike on her from the tunnel and throwing her back at the Wyrm.

Despite the Balrog's strike, Summit reorients herself in time to launch a wave of agitated spacetime at the Ancient Wyrm once more, finally dispersing the shroud of power the beast had been using to swiftly gather energy to blast her with. The most immediate peril dealt with momentarily, Summit dispatches the last balrog present and takes a moment to reassess the situation.

The chamber, once full of masterful stonework covering the walls and the columns, is now filled with rubble left in the wake of Wyrm's rampage and three - now four - piles of cooling embers. The Balrogs' Evil presence, while still cloying the air, has abated for the moment, betraying their absence in the immediate vicinity. Ancient Wyrm's own pervading promise of ENDING everything it touches, is still going strong, yet with the shroud of lingering power dealt with, the Wyrm's blasts are - temporarily - taken care of. Seemingly effortlessly deflecting yet another of the dragon's strikes, Summit spots the mark left by her previous strikes and angles her movement accordingly.

LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED

"What'd I miss?" Crimson Hood croaked, feeling the writhing of her flesh abate as the Hound separated itself from her, before lifting her up almost gently.
"I should not have doubted the power of the chosen one," was the Primary Wiccan's reply. "Come, see for yourself."
Supported by her Hound, Crimson Hood spared a moment to glance at her surroundings. Somewhat surprisingly, what she saw was a tranquil glade. Turning her head further, she spotted Primary Wiccan, kneeling on the flat outcropping by the center of the glade. Crimson closed the distance, noticing a small pool of water in the middle of the outcropping.

"Why hasn't Summit retreated?" Crimson asked, with Primary Wiccan pointing to the surface of the pool. Crimson got to the other girl's side and glanced into the pool, all questions getting caught in her throat. Below the surface of the water, still despite the gentle wind in the glade, Summit could be seen hacking off a front paw of a colossal draconic skeleton, launching orange lightning straight into the abomination's snapping jaws, then blurring along its elongated neck, several swift strikes collapsing the dragon's spine into fragments in her wake. The monstrosity collapses as the magic previously animating it is finally expended.

"She had no time to retreat, but needed no help to thrive. We can return now that the Herald of the End has been vanquished in single combat. Delusional Illusion" Wiccan stated simply but unhelpfully, shifting herself and her companions back to Millidia.
"I can never figure out which world you refer to when you cast it," Crimson muttered and shook her head, "But it doesn't answer my question. What the hell destroyed my Hound, what the hell was that skeletal dragon, and what was that with the pool - that's new, too."

"That Wyrm was the one that destroyed your Hound, by blasting the tunnel straight to the surface with its power," Primary Wiccan began to explain, pointing to the tunnel in question. As Crimson looked at it, a streak of incandescent-white light darted out of where the gates were, before shifting to orange light and descending to hover by the magical girls. Pausing her explanation, Primary Wiccan greeted their last teammate:

"Welcome back and congratulations, chosen one. We have seen your victory through the scrying pool."

Hearing her words, Summit nods and contacts the command to inform them of the situation. Shortly afterwards, she delivers the orders to her teammates.
\/\/\/\

Elseworlds: Magic Mayhem

Thundering laugh of the chaotic abomination ringing in your ears, you rearrange your Panoply to better conduct magic, even as you launch yourself at your foe. Evading a tide of red power, you reach the bulk of the maelstrom with a vicious cry on your lips:

"Aggressive Absorption!"

The red maelstrom is torn by the arcs of orange energy casting themselves in every direction from you. Just as swiftly, the orange energy forms a net that pulls the torn remnants into yourself like so much chum, invigorating you.

In front of you, the crimson whirlwind begins to churn with fury and power in equal measure, even as orange lightning can be seen dancing around and within.

"You DARE!.." The monster bellows even as you are pushing further in, before its' spell converges on you from all directions:

Enemy's power tries to squish you like a particularly annoying bug, even as your own vehemently objects to the treatment. The attack that by all rights should have crippled your ability to fight is weathered stoically, leaving your entire body feeling like it was one big bruise. You pay it no mind, instead pushing even further in: "Aggressive Absorption!"

Once again, the energy arcs out fron you, carving off another chunk of the maelstrom and breaking whatever grip the enemy power had on you. Your body is soothed by the stolen power even as you stare into the center of the storm.

"I will obliterate you, pest!" the Dark Star directs its entire maelstrom to engulf you, even as a corner of your mind notes the orange lightning ever more prominent, despite the still growing power of the vortex.

The attack is barely half as strong as the contracting sphere the enemy used against you, however the maelstrom itself is rapidly growing even as it tries to tear you apart. You know that it may succeed in time - but with your target in reach it no longer matters! You launch a final wordless ("!!!") assault straight into the core of the vortex, popping another contracting sphere in the process.

The blast of orange lightning destabilizes the maelstrom that emits a deafening shriek, as well as catalyzes the lingering magic that remained behind after your attempts to literally consume the Dark Star. The crimson energy is rapidly overtaken by orange even as it is sloughed off of the core, and for a brief moment all you can see amidst the ringing silence are the remnant traces seeped with chaotic wake of your Wave Force...

Then, through the metaphorical fog, you sense the magic signature of your foe. Diminished, and rapidly moving to the mouth of the flooded tunnel!
The beam of energy your panoply sends at the foe is ignored, the focus on magic enhancement making it insufficient to harm the escaping Dark Star. Before you could shift the configuration into something more potent, Oversoul Priad dives out of sight.

"Summit! Are you still fighting something bigger than you are?" Commander Black's voice demands over radio.

"Enemy routed, initiating pursuit." you reply succinctly.

"Stop! Reconnect with the task force and proceed with the primary objective, Summit. We cannot afford you being led into a trap."

"Acknowledged," you confirm your orders and lift off to find the group.

"The team is 1200 meters due south-east. You did good, Summit," Commander Black gives you his parting words. Feeling warm from his praise, you pull on the fabric of space to disappear, sending a blast of explosive energy at the mouth of the tunnel as an afterthought, collapsing it.
\/\/\/\

~~~~~~~~~~
To Battle The Legend
~~~~~~~~~~

You frown, glancing between grinning faces of Insight and Team GEAR... This would require a bit more subtlety than what you've used recently. Then you explain your own adjustments to the plan. Insight nods and leaves to fetch another invisibility potion (you really need to get some, or better yet learn to emulate the effect with your Panoply), and the Fairy of Team GEAR begins her own tracking spell, even as you make your own preparations.

First, you switch your panoply back to the artillery configuration charged with energies inimical to the Seal, and spread your vial of invisibility potion all over it. Also, you form a holdout pistol and a short blade, inside a holster and a sheathe, and hide them under your garb. Finally, you catch the invisibility potion Insight tossed in your direction, and apply it to yourself right after the human mage of team GEAR enhances you with magic inimical to negative energies.

By the time you're done with making yourself invisible, the Fairy, Lucky, has given you the destination. Nodding, you spin up the Gate while team GEAR performs a last-minute check. Once the portal appears, Team GEAR jumps through, Lucky Star and yourself being the last. Hopefully, if you're made, UD will assume that the transportation was the fairy's fault.

When you come out on the other side, there are no suspicious magical signatures in sight. It seems you haven't been noticed just yet.

"I have eyes on the target," you hear Rodriguez' voice in the comms. Taking this as your cue, you quietly step towards him, even as your own "Acknowledged" is sent to the team's comms.

As you feel yourself shaken, you think: If only it were that simple...

-/DREAM SEQUENCE INTERRUPTED\-

You wake with a groan, looking up to the face of the girl who killed you. Serious expression on her face, Juggernaut Drive tells you: "It's time." You nod and stand up, before pulling on the neck of your outfit to check the glowing seal on your chest. Briefly, your Panoply flickers with blue, before you will it back to orange.

It's been three days since the failed attempt to recover Juggernaut Drive. You were lucky that Judgement Drive and Insight were able to retreat after three Juggernaut Drive was reinforced with three of her own Shadows. You managed to drop Shadows with some effort, but the inexplicable twist of reality had deposited you right into the original's waiting hands. Even though you were resurrected afterwards, the crash from that long, long day had kept you unconscious for almost two days before you were able to wake, despite Goddess Red's impatience.

-/FLASHBACK IDENTIFIED\-

"I won't mince words with you, Summit," Goddess Red spoke softly, despite her emotions being clear, "You died, and were resurrected. I won't lie about it, but here goes. You can't leave except on my orders. You'll be watched at all times, and if you remove the seal, you will fall unconscious, and I will know. I'll simply have to reapply it, so don't even bother. And if you try something stupid? Well, Alex here will keep an eye on you," she motions to your left. You angle your head from whatever it is you're laying on (it's soft, at least), and see Juggernaut Drive standing by the wall. Closing your eyes, you attempt to feel the space around yourself, only to fall short. You know that this is the Seal's fault. You open your eyes and look at the Goddess Red.

"Now that you're ready to listen, here's the deal. You'll go with me to Reluxus and free my sisters from the prison dimension Silver Regent stuck them in. You'll do your best to prevent the others from taking my sisters from me. You may consider yourself, personally, released if we lose or are forced to retreat. You will know when. We go tomorrow, so that you're well rested. Eat some food and go back to sleep, I can see you're too tired to be of much use to me right now."

-/FLASHBACK CONCLUDED\-

You follow Juggernaut Drive, Alex, as she leads you down the corridor to a hall, where a table is served. It seems you've been woken in time for lunch, and you grab some jam and toast to fill your, suddenly grumbling, belly. There are half a dozen magical girls there, including yourself, Alex, and Goddess Red. The latter gives you a once-over, before nodding and continuing with her meal. Half an hour later when everyone has eaten, Goddess Red speaks up:

"Now that you're paying attention, here's the orders. We're travelling to Reluxus in order to free my sisters, Goddess Grey and Goddess White, from a dimensional prison. They won't be alone there - they're sealed with magical girls who will likely oppose us. Your goal is to ensure that they cannot. I don't expect much in the way of outside interference, but those other magical girls will not be easy opponents. Maiden of the West, Red Rose, Solar Radiance, Lunar Radiance and Solid Core will be there, so be careful."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

-/TIME SKIP IDENTIFIED\-

Standing in front of Goddess Red and her group are Team GEAR, Judgement sisters, Goddess Gold and Insight. They don't seem to be making any hostile gestures yet. Judgement Drive makes a step forward with a suggestion on her lips: "We cannot allow you to crack open this prison and kill everyone you don't like, but right now we all have the same goal - to crack this prison open. How about we do that first, and sort everything else later?"

You can see Goddess Red frown, pondering the offer. "Fine. Open the prison, Summit," she finally gives the order, and you hurry to comply, feeling out the surrounding space with your Panoply. Standing in the shadow of Reluxus Supergate makes it more difficult to discern specific elements, even trace amounts of spatial warping from an installation that didn't work for at least four years aren't making it easy. Still, it's necessary to secure your freedom. So you persevere. A minute passes in silence, before you get the first results, Insight noticing and standing up straighter. Another minute passes before you isolate the specifics and manage to get a firm bearing on the dimensional prison's makeup. You take four steps forward and to the left, before raising your arms and gathering energy.

"Wave Force."

Orange Lightning dances across the suddenly-visible multicolored bubble, everyone stepping back as it grows, grows, grows... and pops. Within are the ones you came here to release. Just a little longer now. Three Drives and Two Cores rise into the air, Juggernaut Drive sizing up her teammates and their little sisters with no small amount of menace. The four Goddesses walk towards each other, gathered in the same place (but not together, regrettably) for the first time in half a decade. Some magical girls square themselves across others. Some magical girls step back. You have to do your best to let Goddess Red retrieve her sisters.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

-/POV CHANGE IDENTIFIED\-

Since before she became a magical girl, Shirley admired Red Rose. The Avatar of Victory. The Greatest of Her Generation. #2 of the Old Guard. #10 of the Top Ten magical girls. Someone who could kill even immortals. Someone who would survive even impossible. The oldest magical girl alive, second only to White Soul, slain by her hand.

Then Shirley became a magical girl herself. Not a strong one - but she was smart enough to join Counter Force, and ask for a mentor. She never imagined that it would be Red Rose that would take her on as an apprentice.

Their first mission was enlightening. Even as Shirley herself stayed behind and hid, Red Rose marched onward, the demons falling before her even as she danced between their blows, her evasions and deflections no harder than breathing. An unstoppable spear cutting its path through the battlefield to the champion. Even as Shirley made her way across the bloodstained battlefield, she watched Red Rose dance, her casual deflections causing boulder-shattering blows mean no more than merest of scratches, devastating magic washing across her yet leaving her barely touched, and her spear finding the heart of enemy without error, putting the Dark Magical Girl to death. Shirley was elated and awed, her admiration for Red Rose only growing after witnessing this display of supreme skill.

And when the battle had ended, when the mission was complete, she got to know Amanda. Amanda turned out to be blunt, and stressed. As great as Red Rose's skill had been to make her victory on that bloodstained battlefield a foregone conclusion, Amanda's strength of character was stronger still. Before the combined might of Unified Darkness, she stood unbowed. Despite the loss of all her friends, her will was unbent. In face of uncertain future and the challenges it would yet bring, she was unbroken. In growing to know Amanda better, Shirley had drawn strength of her own.

But today, that godly skill was no longer enough, for Red Rose clashed with someone who could match her, blow by blow, on the field of battle.

Shirley remembered her first meeting with Summit, in the aftermath of Operation Soul Collector - taciturn girl approaching Brilliant Key in order to demonstrate her prowess. It was amusing beyond words, even though, or perhaps especially because, Summit's honed battle instincts had given her enough warning to back off despite lacking any awareness as to her might-have-been opponent's name, fame and significance. Still, Shirley made a note of the girl and her abilities. More importantly, the number of her Affinities told Shirley that the story behind the girl's past was a sordid one, to say the least. It was the memory of this meeting and of Summit's teleportation-based escape that Shirley later latched on, when news of her mentor's disappearance had reached her. She knew enough about Red Rose, Solid Core, and Goddess White - enough that she guessed that killing them all was far more difficult than neutralising them in a different way.

By almost any measure, Operation Soul Collector was a success. Amanda's dead friends, once revived and enslaved, had been recovered - and Shirley knew exactly how important it was for her mentor, for her peace of mind. Her heart, once torn to pieces by White Soul's rampage, was mended anew by Solid Core's efforts, the ever bleeding wound finally soothed. And yet, and yet her damnable pride had pushed Shirley to overreach when presented with the opportunity to tie up a loose end, and recover Alexandria Soft - Juggernaut Drive. And it was Summit who had to pay the price. Who was being forced to pay the price even now.

To see the taciturn girl in Goddess Red's entourage, with glowing red seen through her neckline, was a gut punch. To see her Panoply flicker between orange and light blue, to understand that Summit was well aware of the truth of her situation, yet didn't do anything about it despite her clear desire to do so, managed to push even through Shirley's own emotional detachment, enough to sour the release of her mentor. With only a few words exchanged by the Goddess Four, and the barest of preparations, the open field at the base of Supergate's superstructure became a battleground once more. And on that battleground, Amanda Lee, Red Rose, was challenged by Summit, Anna 'call me Summit, everyone who has called me Anna lately has been an enemy' Sanchez.

Summit had grown since she was first seen by Shirley - she was faster, stronger, and much, much tougher. Fast enough to confront and lock down Red Rose, preventing her from focusing on another opponent. Strong enough to overpower Red Rose's own attacks, forcing her to abandon her attacks to deflect Summit's strikes. The decisive advantage, however, was her spell, Wave Force - no longer a slow-going and cludged-together mess that did only a little less harm to Summit than it did to the intended target - it was now a lightning-fast blast of devastation that distrupted every other spell in its wake.

And though Amanda had long since been the true bane of Dark Magical Girls, shutting down just about any trick they could bring to the fore, she found herself pressed. From the moment Summit seized the initiative, she had gone on an unrelenting offensive, not allowing Red Rose even the slightest amount of breathing room, brushing Red Rose's spear aside all the while sending spikes at her vitals, forcing Amanda to recall her spear to a different position and twirl it, pushing the lethal blows aside. And whenever Red Rose attempted to gain some distance, or launch a spell, orange lightning washed over her, distrupting her spell before it could even form. For all that a single scratch across the Seal would grant Amanda decisive victory, she found that actually scratching Summit was much harder than anticipated.

Shirley took stock of her surroundings. High above, Three Drives and Two Cores were weaving an intricate aerial dance, four against one, Judgement and Solid siblings (and wasn't that a coincidence!) trying to subdue Juggernaut safely while avoiding her blows. The skies themselves were all but torn asunder, with shockwaves of their conflict giving rise to gale-force winds. But, apart from Solid Core's Echo of Peace, none could afford to interfere. Within a hastily erected barrier, Goddess Four (Red's knight included) had their own long-delayed reunion, neither sound nor magic passing outside. They would stay out of this, as was agreed. Maiden of the West and her "daughter", as well as both Radiances, had taken positions around the battlefield, ready to intercept any outside interference. Team GEAR? Those madmen, and Shirley used the term broadly, were occupying the rest of Goddess Red's entourage, pressing the opposing magical girls hard. For a moment, Shirley's sight lingered on the angel, Gabriel, before she turned her gaze elsewhere. On this battlefield, in the midst of Unified Darkness fortifications, the angel's presence was nullified. She would find no help there, not in a timely manner. It was up to her to tip the scales in Amanda's favor.
-/COMBAT SIMULATION INITIATED\-
While Summit stayed close to Red Rose, it didn't mean they were stationary. Quite the opposite, their battle was waged across almost half the battlefield, two high-speed combatants moving about with celerity few could match, almost as a mirror to the battle in the skies. Still, that didn't mean that standing ground wasn't an option. Discreetly activating her communicator, Insight contacted Red Rose:

"Amanda, this is Insight. I'm at the Supergate superstructure. I'll need you to bring Summit there and to hold ground afterwards," Insight was not worried. Both she and Red Rose had trust in each other enough to follow the lead when necessary, and both of them could tell just how the duel between Red Rose and Summit would ultimately go. Less than ten seconds later, Red Rose took position in between the prongs of Reluxus Supergate, while Summit hovered almost within stabbing distance from Red Rose, her weapon shining deceptively calm light blue. In just a few short seconds the battle restarted. Despite knowing that Summit could see all around her, Insight took her chance, launching herself from behind one of the prongs and to Summit's rear.

"Your next words will be..."

"You really should have known better than that, Insight.
___You really should have known better than that, Insight."

Insight pales, even as her own mouth spells out her doom in a resigned tone. Summit deflects Red Rose's desperate charge even as one of her tendrils reshapes itself into a crossbreed of a flyswatter and a corset, molding itself to Insight's body before throwing her, back first, at the very same superstructure she'd been hiding behind. As her body crashes against the superstructure with a crunch of broken bones and her vision fades, she can see Summit distrupt another, desperate spellcasting attempt of Red Rose...

-/COMBAT SIMULATION TERMINATED\-

Shirley winces in phantom pain, berating herself for forgetting, momentarily, about Summit's tendency to retain combat ability through sheer stubborness. Oh, sure, that last hit wouldn't have killed her, not immediately, but it was the only silver lining in the face of her immediate problems. Still, lesson learned, and she could use it. Rather deliberately, Shirley activated her communicator and contacted Red Rose, on a secure channel:

"Amanda, this is Shirley. I'll give you an opening, feint the moment Summit shoots me then strike with the other hand. More on general channel, she needs to know to react properly. Go once I give my location."

Switching to an channel Summit could listen in, Shirley continued: "Amanda, this is Insight. I'm at the Supergate superstructure. I'll need you to bring Summit there and to hold ground afterwards."

Less than ten seconds later, Red Rose was standing in between the two prongs of Reluxus Supergate, while Summit hovered almost in front of her, her weapon shining deceptively peaceful light blue. Taking the opportunity, Insight moved out of cover and ran straight at Summit, while raising her gun.

Summit launched a beam of light at Shirley, just as she predicted. Knowing Summit was both focused on Red Rose, and not aiming for more than a glancing shot, Shirley lunged to the side while bringing her gun in position and shooting one of the tendrils poised to attack Red Rose even as others were moving to deflect her spear - spear that was no longer there, instead vanishing to appear in the other hand and go right through the opening Shirley's calculated shot gave her.

The spear reached Summit's chest even as the tendrils jerked to push it out of the way, causing the spear to scratch a thin line across Summit's chest and the seal alike. Summit's defensive field easily endured the scratch, however the seal was not so fortunate, bursting into dark mud and vanishing altogether. Summit shuddered, but held on, her weapon convulsing before stabilizing in a new form.

~~~~~~~~~~
\/\/\/\