Under the Open Sky (CWMGQ Spinoff)

"Guardian Touch." you dive slightly to touch Arc Mastermind's trailing hair.

(Arc Mastermind's Resilience and Max Health have increased! Resilience is now 7000, Health is now 15000/15000)

"Wait!" Arc commands as you start overtaking her. "Lunatic Psyker is down there. We can't turn back because there isn't time. I will engage at close range while you keep distance and harass them."

She makes an angry noise that you use as a chance to interrupt her.

"I'm going to destroy the shadow copy, then power myself up by engaging lesser demons. That should let me disable the crab demon's legs. Please keep yourself safe while I do so."

"Forget the shadow! I can kill it just like the others. If you can do anything about Massy do that first!" Arc Mastermind shouts.

With a quick yank on nearby space you Shift to place yourself in the way of a column of demons. A deliberate swing hits the foremost of the bloodthirsty sprinters hard enough to send him flying over his comrades.

By the time the unfortunate hits the ground all of the demon wave is rushing to swarm you.

On a crater-pocked battlefield you humiliate the footsoldiers of the UD. You do not dodge, move, or flinch away from the motley assortment of arms directed against you. Instead you match each blow with your own strength and overpower them sufficient to throw them aside to let the next attack through. Until the last two hesitate, then you stretch your Panoply to grab the closer one and whip him to smash the skulls of the last nearby demons against each other.

(+16 Stacks of Ceaseless Warrior. +16 Attacks Per Turn!)

Behind you Arc Mastermind is not idle. The faintly glowing spikes arranged around her have increased to a high intensity glare that casts sharp shadows over the fortifications. A constellation of four doubled spikes spins rapidly, then stops at an unseen trigger. The light of half of the grouping surrounding Arc shoots into its paired spike, breaking the latter into thousands of burning fragments.

The fragments of the destroyed spikes sweep downward, breaking up further as they go. The entirety of the demon crab and the area beneath it will be saturated with what has become a magically-enhanced mix between a torrential downpour and a pyroclastic cloud.

Then a storm arises from nowhere to sweep Arc's attack aside with a wall of magical winds. For a moment it looked like the new storm would draw in the rain, but it vanished after deflecting the majority of the Arc Rain. Where the deflected attack lands it detonates, sending bright plumes of magic into the air.

To little effect. The careful arrangement of shot that would have converged inward was thrown into such disarray that the detonations shove it further off target. Arc's spell impacts uselessly against the shell of the island-sized crab and around its limbs.

Arc Mastermind backpedals to keep Massy from passing beneath her. She does something with her hands and draws out another six spikes to supplement her reduced arsenal.

To the south the press of demons has broken through the minefields, napalm, and withering automatic fire to start running down soldiers-and they all were torn apart by a massive wave of Floral Glory's weapon. That leaves the stragglers from the wave to be struck down faster than they can advance. Enough demon bodies are arranged in front of the strongpoints that there isn't a patch of ground within 50 meters that remains uncovered. And that's not counting the gore that resulted from Floral Glory's attacks.

Time to get involved.

You shift to hover above the monstrously huge crab. For how ponderous it appears it has actually been moving faster than the waves of demons. Your Panoply thrums with power as you focus on expressing a power that will decimate your foe.

The configuration it assumes is quite unique. Hundreds of pinhole-sized projectors rapidly emit energy bursts that can either be directed at a foe or sent along a thread of glowing light to be focused by a spike. For the first time you can remember the actual stream of power has changed from its usual orange color to a pale blue. The stream directed through the spike would stick to further attack to drive deeply into larger foes.

An attack inimical to your target has been multiplied a hundredfold and can be focused to pierce through its thickest parts. You unleash your weapon with a sense of pride.

(Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +321 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, + 200 Light of Discovery, + 74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10795 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +321 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, + 200 Light of Discovery, + 74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10795 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +321 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, + 200 Light of Discovery, + 74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10795 Damage

32385 Total Damage

Massy's Leg: 7500 Resilience, +3093 Dice, -750 At the Joint = 9843 Damage Reduction

22542 End Damage

Massy's Leg: 35000 - 22542 = 12458 Health)


(Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +308 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10782 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +308 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10782 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +308 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer = 10782 Damage

32346 Total Damage

Massy's Leg: 7500 Resilience, +2924 Dice, -750 At the Joint = 9674 Damage Reduction

22672 End Damage

Massy's Leg: 12458 - 22672 = -10214 Health)

The result is nothing short of spectacular. Thousands of rays merge into an orb of blue light that melts away the demon crab where it connects. Your first burst of fire leaves a hole large enough that you could stretch your arms above your head and still not reach the sides.

The next burst hits near the top of the limb, leaving a thin connection that snaps under the strain of supporting the demon crab. It hesitates and tries to re-arrange its legs to keep from tripping.

You make sure it doesn't get anywhere, flying erratically while picking off limbs. The light of your shots tracing a hundred thousand lines in the sky.

(Combat Summary: 8 more attacks made, all left legs disabled, all claws disabled.)

'Whatever that gun is, I want it.'

'It's a Magical Girl, Michael.'

'That's still beautiful dakka.'

A massive claw comprised of darkness reached down from the sky, but you weave between the fingers before it smashes into the ground below you. Bubbles of darkness spill out over a large area, but nothing seems to affect you.

Arc Mastermind stops in mid-air and darts towards the still-elevated side of the crab. Her spikes start cycling to lay down a dense wave of lasers sweeping the underside.

'I think we missed the fight…'

'Lunatic Psyker will be dealt with shortly. Summit, please resume blasting Massy into fragments as soon as practical. I've got a hunch...' Arc Mastermind transmits.

There is something unnerving about the situation. Have the pair of you already trapped a Dark Magical Girl beneath a cripple behemoth. It felt too easy.

You Shift to hover just behind the head of the enormous enemy. With a practiced pattern you- no, it's different now. Almost faster than you can perceive the merging and expulsion of alien realities makes a wild 'tube' of magic that flows out from your outstretched hand.

"Wa-!"

While you could reach more to generate a Wave Force quickly you can't grasp it properly. An avalanche of strange magic balloons out after the coherent spike. It spills out in a cone of impossible light. You're spared the worst of the impact as the grasped magic keeps spilling from your hands, but the spillover makes any delicate or balanced attempt with your own magic impossible.

Judging by how much magic followed the effect it may do the same for things you hit. Possibly even destroying weak spell effects.

(Wave Force: ERROR Base Damage, +193 Dice, +200 Light of Discovery = 393 Damage

Pile of No-Longer Animate Rock: Unstoppable

393 End Damage

Pile of No-Longer Animate Rock: Small Collapse)

As the cone of wild magic expands it sweeps aside the magic you noticed before. It's like the entire crab turned into worked stone all at once. You take to the air as it starts crumbling under its own weight.

'I can assist against Lunatic Psyker in melee.' you inform Arc Mastermind.

'Don't! Hitting her just makes her stronger. Leave it to me.' she answers. 'Damn! Where is she? I can hit the entire underside-'

An overwhelming sound of stone breaking fills the air. A smaller, but still huge, monster (Earth, Water, Fire, Horror) tears its way out of the crab's shell. It looks close to a hundred meters long and has two thin limbs that whip wildly. In shape it resembles a worm with a flared one eyed head and arm-like structures just below.

One of the whip-arms slings towards you, uncoiling as it goes. You feint one direction and dart another to get out of the way.

Then the coil lets go all at once, revealing a girl (Magic, Insanity, Legend) that had been spinning within the arm.

"Psycho Punch!"

(Psycho Punch: 6520 Base Damage, +743 Dice, + 326 Juggernaut Rush, +1200 Fastball Special = 8789 Damage
Psycho Punch: 6520 Base Damage, +743 Dice, + 326 Juggernaut Rush, +1200 Fastball Special = 8789 Damage
Psycho Punch: 6520 Base Damage, +743 Dice, + 326 Juggernaut Rush, +1200 Fastball Special = 8789 Damage
Psycho Punch: 6520 Base Damage, +743 Dice, + 326 Juggernaut Rush, +1200 Fastball Special = 8789 Damage

35156 Damage
Leave No Job Unfinished Triggers!
70312 Total Damage

To Defy the Gods Triggers! Damage reduced to one third!
23438 Total Damage

Magical Girl Summit: 1000 Resilience, +93 Dice, +4687 Reactive Field, -4265 Facing a Juggernaut, +3132 Adamantine, +1066 Thick Armor, +74 Rock On, -500 Overwhelmed = 5287 Damage Reduction

18151 End Damage
60% Ceaseless Warrior
7261 Final End Damage

Magical Girl Summit: 14500 - 7261 = 7239 Health
+1 Stack of Ceaseless Warrior. (+17 Attacks Per Turn)

Mine is the Fury: Magical Girl Lunatic Pysker is already at max Health)

She was spinning wildly, she was heading away from you, her windmilling arms and spike wings were never going to get close enough to hit you. Until she came to a dead stop and threw a punch into the air with an arm surrounded by her odd spikes. A brief glimpse of fog trailing behind the grouping of spikes precedes the impact.

Then you are the one spinning, briefly, until you hit the ground and carve out a new trench with your body. This bit of landscaping stops when you hit a more solid bit of rock and bounce out of the hole you were making. Just in time to hit one of the sortieing Anti-Demon tanks with your face.

By some miracle your protective field had reacted intensely to the blow. Letting you see your face imprinted in the hard metal of a Counter Force tank instead of having your brain splattered against it.

Huh. This is one of the tanks you've repaired. The discoloration where you welded a tear back together is distinctive.

'That's familiar, I hope she's okay…'

"Call me Babe Ruth, 'cause you got played!" Lunatic Psyker bellows. "That was just the hole-in-one before I go for the field goal!"

'Summit deceased.' Arc transmits with a flat tone.

A pit below the monster's head starts to glow. Acting on a sudden sense of panic you pull yourself over the tank to duck behind it. Waves of fire spew out over the battlefield moments after you reach shelter.

'Everybody out!'

Only a cursory part of the flames cover the tanks and protected positions of the Counter Force, most of it gets directed skyward to engulf both helicopters, just after a number of armored figures lept out.

A glint of light streaks from the north to hit Lunatic's leg.

(Wind's Kiss: 975 Base Damage, +9 Dice, +74 Rock On = 1058 Damage

Magical Girl Lunatic Psyker: 6000 Resilience, +1598 Dice, +300 Juggernaut Rush, -2000 Weak Point = 5898 Damage Reduction

Attack Ineffective!

Mine is the Fury: Magical Girl Lunatic Pysker is already at max Health)

The attack doesn't even connect. It just vanishes before reaching Lunatic as she gestures wildly. A few streams of tracer bullets and a barrage of sharp stones fire towards her, but neither manages to make contact through Lunatic's power.

The new monster of stone and magic wraps it whip arm back around Lunatic. Right before your ability to rend space aside refreshes.

You could try Shifting to blast that arm with your quicker Wave Force. Or you could shift behind the head of the beast to shut down its fire breath. No, Arc Mastermind needed you to stop Massy.

'Gold Two. Summit's corpse collided with your tank. Attempt to recover it.'

'Reports of my death are inaccurate.' You correct.

While your Panoply unfurls the spike and focus configuration you used earlier Massy snaps out with the whip-arm not containing Lunatic Pysker. A gap is torn into the ranks of elves that were formed up behind the Counter Force stronpoints. Hundreds of bodies go flying, and many others are broken against the ground in an instant.

And the elves keep pushing themselves into a tighter formation without a hint of pausing. Even as the arm rears back up for another strike.

(Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +187 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10661 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +187 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10661 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +187 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10661 Damage

31983 Total Damage

Massy: 10000 Resilience, +1934 Dice, +1500 Flexible Appendage = 13434 Damage Reduction

18549 End Damage

Massy: 75000 - 18549 = 56451 Health)

By the time the arm starts lifting back into the air you had pull yourself clear of the tank and began firing a river of blue light into said arm. It falls apart into ragged chunks very quickly after your attack burns away its coating. Bits of destroyed arm fly into the air away from the arranged elves.

Now for the other arm.

You adjust your aim as a tiro of armored figures come flying in, as if hurled by a mighty gust of wind. A rather impetuous group of soldiers with Frost Dragon armor and a mage (Library) as backup are trying to hack the monster apart by getting thrown at its head. While Magical Girl Arc Mastermind and Magical Girl Lunatic Psyker are trying to kill each-other.

If everything works out you could save them and the elven formations. Assuming you've learned enough from getting hit by Lunatic the first time to avoid her supersonic spike punch.

A spray of orange light erupts from you as you Shift again to fight up close. Two of them had landed on the side further away from Massy's good arm. They were jamming their odd swords-with-gun-barrels into the body of the beast to little effect. The other soldier was using his in combination with the jump-pack of his armor to get to a level section. You had landed next to him for a better angle on Massy's remaining arm and to intervene should he be attacked.

There's no time to work things out though. The whip-arm is uncoiling rapidly and could either be preparing to wind around itself or to smash another swath of elves.

A cone of blue rays erupt from your Panoply to destroy the other arm and deny Lunatic her hiding place.

(Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +407 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10881 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +407 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10881 Damage
Anti-Horror Panoply: 1200 Base Damage, +407 Dice, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +300 Danmaku, +200 Light of Discovery, +74 Rock On, +6000 Horrorslayer, +900 Fierce Protector = 10881 Damage

32643 Total Damage

Massy: 10000 Resilience, +7453 Dice, +1500 Flexible Appendage = 18953 Damage Reduction

13690 End Damage

Massy: 56451-13690 = 42761 Health)

Lunatic emerges from the streams of light radiating power. All of her spike wings detach from her and come rushing at you while she aims right at the soldier who had just gotten to a level surface.

It's almost enough to make you scream, in her present state she was able to fly right through your attacks and your space warping was too recent to interpose yourself with a teleport. A quick pair of slaps from your Panoply sends the spike wings flying while Lunatic lunges fist first at the unfortunate soldier.

Everything seems to slow down as he appears to first lose his balance and tilt out of the way of Lunatic's punch. Then one of his arms catches her forearm by the shoulder while he activates his jetpack. Finally he gets both of his hand on the flat side of his sword and finishes with a double-handed chop above her shoulder like it was what he planned to do all along.

The limb of the insane, insanely powerful Magical Girl is cut through in a shower of violet sparks.

(Mad Dynamos: Attack Negated by Inhuman Skill!
+1 Stack of Ceaseless Warrior. (+18 Attacks Per Turn))

(Fists: 4000 Base Damage, +4959 Dice, +800 Juggernaut Rush, +2000 Mad Rush = 11759 Damage

Leave No Job Unfinished Triggers!

23518 Total Damage
50 Strain Damage

James' Health: 4950

Return to Sender: 2500 Base Damage, No Dice, +10 Surprise, +250 Jet-Boosted, +500 Godly Power = 3260 Damage

Magical Girl Lunatic Psyker: 6000 Resilience, +3000 Lunatic Burn, Dice Negated, -6750 Juggernaut, -600 Didn't See it Coming, -100 Mana Shock = 1550 Damage Reduction

1710 End Damage
50% Mine is the Fury
855 Final End Damage

Magical Girl Lunatic Psyker: 15000 - 855 = 14145 Health)

For a moment Lunatic is shoved aside with her leading arm stolen by the armored soldier. She quickly recovers and brings herself to a standstill. You take the opportunity to pepper her with shots.

Lunatic hardly seems to notice. She reaches to something on her back and shouts, "Fuck this shit, I'm out."

This close you can feel something pushing her through spatial and dimensional boundaries. The rays you had been firing at her pass through insubstantial smoke. She ran away.

To the side a half dozen lasers strike Massy as one and tear off a great chunk of he body. Arc Mastermind directs the beams further to carefully blast the monster into smaller chunks. You see the animating magic fade before your eyes.

Was this it? You were expecting to be forced into single combat against something. Or maybe for some kind of annoying friendly fire incident. There's a nagging feeling that there's was supposed to be another shoe to drop. You dive to drag the falling soldier out of the path of the collapsing pile of used-to-be-a-monster rocks while feeling somewhat detached.
----

"You dumbasses." Arc Mastermind hisses with venom dripping from her words.

The gathered elves shout something incomprehensible and slam the shafts of their weapons into the ground once more. The triumphant sound echos and the leaders of the forces raise their swords to salute your group again.

"I do feel a bit foolish, that fight was almost over before it started."

"What, if anything, was going through your head that made diving at the giant monster seem like a good idea?"

"She blew up our helicopter, and it looked like she had a pretty big vulnerable core to aim for. If we had gotten launched by Lucky sooner one of us would probably have hit it." the spellcaster offered.

"Massy is a giant rock monster. He doesn't have any vulnerable spots." Arc shoots back.

"Didn't. You took it apart pretty thoroughly." the third member says. You think you recognize that voice.

"I've had practice. Because Massy is going to be back, he grows a body of rocks around him and escapes when it's broken." Arc explains. "And you should be thanking Summit here for making it disintegrate into a smaller form that I could hurt."

"Captain Roberts?" you ask when he turns to give you a thumbs-up.

"Yeah. We were all impressed when you zapped that thing. Good job."

"It's Major Roberts now, actually." The non-caster, non-Roberts soldier points out.

"Oh for crying out loud… Summit, it doesn't matter how cute he is under that armor, they're going to get themselves killed quickly if they keep acting like that. Fancy armor or no." Arc says with a sigh. "I know we've just met, but you should just forget about him."

"He's probably alright." you say, "Solid Core has them empowered to be about a hundred times as strong.

"Solid Core?" Arc Mastermind stands up a little straighter and points a finger at Roberts, "No. You hear me? No. You don't get to ask anyone else to join you after getting your last girl killed. Particularly if you managed that feat while being a hundred times stronger than you should be."

"Hold on. You're misunderstanding, Solid Core isn't dead." the caster wiggles his fingers to produce some violet sparks.

"Alright then. I suppose my sources might be wrong. Where is Magical Girl Solid Core then?"

"Uh, she's not here right now. That's all I can say." Major Roberts says carefully.

He holds an armored hand out for you, "I do have a job for you if you're-"

A quartet of Arc Mastermind's spikes interpose themselves between you and Roberts. "She's not." she turns to you, "You attract enough trouble on your own. And they've already failed to keep their last charge in one piece. I'm been informed that Solid Core died yesterday during a failed mission, and yet her team is unscathed and being stupid here."

"Miss. It's clear you're held in high regard here, but that's not your call."

"I am held in high regard. If you can get someone who knows what's going on to support your scheme then do so. Otherwise I am going to ensure that you don't bully anyone into volunteering themselves for your ...job." Arc puts an arm on your shoulder, "Take to the air, I want the medics to check you over. Lunatic can cripple tanks with her punches."
----

A quick flight and ten minutes of attention later you're declared fit for action along with Floral Glory. The green-haired girl is curled up on her cot and listening to something with headphones, as she has been doing for the duration of your check-up and before. It's a bit odd to see her so unlively.

While you're contemplating your next move a new girl pops her head in. "Hey, I'm Monk of Light. Great job holding the fort there, I would have showed up earlier if I hadn't been asked to stay with the group. Anyways, the next shift is taking over so you two can go off-duty as soon as the medics let you go, I guess."

She gives a quick wave, "So there's the hand-off, just gotta find Blue and tell her now." she darts away quickly.
----

You have a bit of time before you're expected at Signals.
Choose One:

[X] Fix up any vehicles or fortifications that were damaged. Shouldn't take too long.
[X] Try hanging out with Floral Glory. (shopping trip/wardrobe expansion)
[X] Team GEAR must have a good reason for asking you for help. Go find them despite Arc Mastermind warning you off.
[X] Oh, Kei is here and working on something. (bonus Brandcraft experience)
[X] Bother the Emissaries of Light. Why didn't they just teleport in to help?
[X] Catnap
[X] Head back to the Magical Girl Quarters and fix the Ice Cream Maker with Magic™
[X] Write-in?
----

+1600 EXP "Sanchez! Do Everything!"
+350 EXP All Foes Routed
+5 EXP Troubling Sparks

240 + 1955 = 2195 EXP

[X] [EXP] EXP Plan?