SKULLGIRLS QUEST

SKULLGIRLS QUEST
04 - MERIDIAN AREA RAPID TRANSIT

[X] Attack

🎶

The parasite's tentacles enveloped Cinnamon and attempted to suffocate the Black Egrets soldier into unconsciousness. He may have to break some bones to get the job done, but he didn't particularly care. What mattered more was keeping Filia safe from the safety fanatic.

"Is she knocked out yet?" Filia asked.

Cinnamon was still resisting, so he constricted her harder.

"Working on it!" Samson replied.

Heat and smoke vented out of the gaps in his strangling octopus embrace. He held on tight until the smoke stalks became a large pair of hands and clapped Samson's head!

"YEOWCH!" he growled.

With his grip loosened, Samson & Filia were forced to let go after a door-busting dropkick from Cinnamon sent them reeling!

"Let's finish this!" Cinnamon said.

"We doing this thing?" Nyx asked lazily.

"Yes! Special takedown maneuver!"

The firewoman followed up her counter with a flurry of axe swipes to disrupt the parasite's concentration!

"CHOP!" Cinnamon shouted.

Nyx aided in the assault by shooting a burst of dark smog across the floor that knocked Filia off her feet.

"DROP!" the smoky parasite called.

Cinnamon tossed her axes down, pinning Samson to the flatbed! With a hack, Nyx expelled the pieces of Cinnamon's motorcycle and put them back together! Cinnamon revved up her bike, luminous fire streaming down her mouth as she drove straight ahead towards their target!

In unison, Cinnamon and Nyx shouted out!

"INFERNO… ROLL!"

Cinnamon stopped her bike at the end of the flatcar. The smell of burning hair filled the air as the train came to a complete stop.


Once she was sure that all of the errant sparks from their fight were put out, Cinnamon carried the girl off the rapid transit.

"Alright, I've got you." Cinnamon said.

The Black Egrets emergency prep specialist cracked her neck as she took a look back at the freight train, which was far worse for wear than when she got on. It was a testament to Canopy Kingdom engineering that it would still run after that brawl.

As Cinnamon carried Filia to safety, Nyx tied Samson's tendrils into a bow and sniggered.

"Good job. The train is 'safe' and all the cars smell like crap. Now what are you gonna do?"

"We should leave before anyone notices the damage and scorch marks," Cinnamon said abashedly. Already, onlookers were taking notice of the havoc they caused incidentally. "After that…?"

-----

🎶

It didn't take long for Cinnamon to find a place where she could patch up the young girl and her parasite to properly explain that they didn't mean any physical harm to them. That was going to be a tall order after Cinnamon and Nyx beat them up, but it was worth a shot.

As the universe had a way of rolling back to itself, they were now eating at a diner built from an old train car. The greasy spoon was quiet and out of the way, allowing the two hosts and their parasites to talk with some measure of privacy.

"If you were worried about us being hurt because we were hitching a ride on the train, you could have explained it a lot better than you did," Filia said as she took a bite into her burger. Samson gobbled the fries in fist-fulls between guzzling milkshakes.

It was somewhat disconcerting to look at. Did all the food go to one place? What happened to the top of her head? Is her skull Samson, too? Cinnamon tried not to stare as she apologized.

"Sorry about that misunderstanding. I tend to go in hard and fast when I see a safety hazard. When most of your rule-breakers don't know how to read signs or are too lazy to follow manuals, speaking in a commanding tone tends to scare 'em into paying attention."

"You ah, got the scary part down," Filia said reluctantly.

Cinnamon conceded her point with a nod.

"I'll try to be less… intense when talking to people."

Samson interjected himself into the conversation when his mouth was less than full.

"Hey Nyx, how'd you get stuck to someone as straight-laced as this?"

Nyx's eyes popped out of the smoke cloud surrounding Cinnamon's side of the counter. A slevete hand formed and wagged its finger at the male parasite.

"You know me, Sammy. I never bond and tell~!"

"I thought you said you didn't know this parasite?" Cinnamon reminded Nyx.

"Nah, I said it was offensive to assume we all knew each other. Sammy and I go way back!"

"Too far back," he grumbled.

Cinnamon took a bite of her club sandwich, which was seasoned with rust powder for zest. This muffled whatever raunchy comment Nyx was going to make to provoke Samson again.

"Thanks for buying us lunch," Filia interjected. She didn't want another fight to break out because their parasites wouldn't stop pushing each other's buttons.

"It's the least I could do," Cinnamon replied. "Is there anything else we can do for you two?"

"What do you mean?"

Cinnamon sighed.

"Look. Filia, right?" The girl nodded. "I don't know what your situation is, but if you guys need money or a place to stay--"

"We'll get by," Samson said coarsely.

"Too late to act too proud for handouts," Nyx said as she cheekily flicked a fry at him. "Look, my host is a big softie. She's gonna give us an ulcer if you don't shut up and take the offer."

Cinnamon pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I will not give us an ulcer," Cinnamon groused.

"If you do, I'll make it both of our problems!"

Filia laughed.

"Samson & I can take care of each other, but it wouldn't hurt to have someone we can contact if we get into trouble," the girl admitted.

Cinnamon paid the bill and wrote down the contact info for hotel she'd be staying in while she was in New Meridian on a napkin. She then stood up and turned to leave.

"I'll be moving around a lot today making sure this city is ready for when the Skullgirl strikes, so stay out of trouble until then, alright?"

Filia gave the woman a pensive look before nodding.

"Definitely going to be staying out of trouble," Filia said after a pause.

Cinnamon was already analyzing her day planner and unable to scrutinize Filia's response further.

"Good, good. Stay safe, Filia."

Nyx waved to Samson as they left.

"See you later, Sammy!" she teased.

Cinnamon checked off the Rapid Transit from her list as she stepped back into downtown New Meridian. Her mandatory lunch break has been dealt with, and she hoped that she had time for the rest of her stops.

"With the rapid transit out of the way, I think we should go to--"

"SLOTS AND SHOTS!" Nyx chanted. "SLOTS AND SHOTS!"

Cinnamon groaned. This was going to be a very long day.


WHERE TO NEXT?

[ ] Boardwalk
"The waterfront is a popular tourist attraction. It will need to be cleared out if a Code Mauve is announced."

[ ] Maplecrest
"This neighborhood is a soft target. We need to make sure they can be protected in the event of a Skullgirl attack."

[ ] NWO Arena
"All of those civilians in one place? We're gonna have to cancel whatever's going on here in light of the Code Red."

[ ] River King Casino
"...Fine, we'll go to the casino! I need to check their fire regulation standards anyway."

⏰ VOTING OPENS 12 HOURS FROM THE TIME OF POSTING.