Anime Rival Quest (Very Meta)

[Spectral Waltz]

This is it.

You've been biding your time for the last couple of episodes, getting ready for your big debut. As the rival, you're one of the most important characters in the show after the main lead and the big bad, and nothing will make or break your performance better than a good first impression!

Oh of course it's not technically the first time the audience will see you. You spent a little while posing dramatically and staring down at the streets of the city from atop a building to give the show a chance to hint at your presence, as well as a few other bits that you hope they managed to catch for foreshadowing, but aside from that, you've mostly been preparing for the fight.

What have you been doing? (Select Three Character Traits, certain combinations of selections will grant additional abilities.)

[] [Prep] Working your speed.
If you can't keep up, you're not going to have the best showing no matter what you do. (Gain Character Trait: Fast)

[] [Prep] Working your strength.
If you can't hit hard enough to hurt you're not going to be much of a threat after all. (Gain Character Trait: Strong)

[] [Prep] Working your durability.
It's gonna be anticlimactic as all get out if the first hit takes you down... Better beef up those defenses! (Gain Character Trait: Unstoppable)

[] [Prep] Practicing your powers.
This isn't just some fight between ordinary humans. If you don't know how to use your powers, you won't last long. (Gain Character Trait: Specialist)

[] [Prep] Studying the protagonist.
After all, if you're going to fight them you may as well know what they can do. Know thine enemy and all that. (Gain Character Trait: Analytical)

[] [Prep] Scouting the Area.
One of the advantages of being the rival is that you can decide on where and when your first fight goes down. Preparation can be key! (Gain Character Trait: Planner)

--------

Of course you're not completely blind. You may have been busy, but you can tell that the city makes the setting fairly modern.

Aside from the city though, you only know a little bit about the setting. (Choose Two Setting Traits)

[] [City] Powered Populace. (Cannot be taken with 'Normals Everywhere' or 'Masquerade')
Everyone has a little bit of power to them. Even your average everyday joe is at least a little bit stronger and tougher than baseline human.

[] [City] Normals Everywhere. (Cannot be taken with 'Powered Populace')
Power is something that only Characters get. The rest of the population? They're human as can be.

[] [City] Powered Exponent. (Cannot be taken with 'Powered Populace')
Powers make you a serious cut above the rest. Even the weakest powers place you out of reach of unpowered humanity.

[] [City] Dangerous Streets. (Cannot be taken with 'Point of Light')
The shadows crawl with stalking monsters. Being out after Dark is dangerous.

[] [City] Point of Light. (Cannot be taken with 'Dangerous Streets')
The city is besieged by wilderness, and the things out there want in. Fortunately the city has defenses...

[] [City] Masquerade. (Cannot be taken with 'No Masks' or 'Point of Light')
The normal humans aren't aware of the powered world. They might hear rumors, and the occasional individual might stumble into it, but the majority remain blissfully ignorant.

[] [City] No Masks. (Cannot be taken with 'Masquerade')
Everyone knows about powers, even if they don't have them.

 

[Spectral Waltz]

The Characters ​

The Rival (It's you!)

Spoiler: Appearance

Spoiler: Backstory

When you first discovered your magic, you fled your village, believing it to be a curse that would draw the monsters in the dark down on your home. Travelling alone and with what supplies you could, you almost made it to the city before you were set upon by shadows. They were small ones, and you almost managed to fight them off, but the last ones managed a lucky blow that nearly slew you, until your mentor arrived and took you in.

Status: Training Complete/Satisfied/Winded

Tolerance: 2


Character Traits and Abilities

• Fast
  • Recoil Impulse
  • Inhuman Reflexes
• Specialist (Skilled in use of supernatural power)
  • Paralysis Trap
  • Runic Shield
  • Runic Shot
    • Piercing Shot
  • Overload Shot
• Analytical (Skilled at information gathering and preparation)
  • Find Opening
    • Create Opening
• Opportunist (Skilled at striking specific weak points in combat.)
  • Exploit Opening
  • Sherlock Scan
• Determinator (Your wounds might slow you down, but nothing short of death will truly stop you.)
  • Battle Continuation

The Rest of the Cast

Spoiler: The Heroine

Name: Unknown
Theme: Daughter of the Flame

Spoiler: Appearance

Known Traits and Abilities

• Heroic Willpower (Standard on most heroes. A versatile skill based on the will to overcome adversity.
  • Break Restraint
  • Battle Continuation
• Wellspring (Her power is plentiful, even if her use of it lacks finesse)
  • Overwhelm
  • Self-Enhancement
  • Beam attack
• Glass Cannon (Fast and Strong)
  • Impulse Dash
  • Empowered Strike

Other Traits Unknown

Spoiler: Your Mentor

Name: Astrid von Grimmelshausen
Theme: Unknown

Spoiler: Appearance

Known Traits and Abilities

• Teacher
  • Impart Ability
  • Impart Trait
  • Create ability
• Lightning Bruiser (Fast, Strong, and Tough)
  • Flash Step
  • Empowered strike
  • Inhuman Reflexes
• Swordmaster
  • Cut Abstraction
• Shock and Awe
  • Beam Spam

Other Traits Unknown

The Setting (A Dark City)​

Setting Traits

• Dangerous Streets (Monsters lurk in the shadows, the night is not safe.)
• Powered Exponents (Powers set one a full step above humanity simply by having them.)
• Genre: Magical Girl

 

[Spectral Waltz]

Gained Character Traits:

• Fast (You are known for your speed)
• Specialist (You are skilled in manipulation of your powers)
• Analytical (You know to watch, plan, and prepare for your opponents)

Gained Bonus Trait: Opportunist (You know how to take advantage of a good circumstance. Between your speed, skillful power use, and sharp eye, you are especially good at finding and targeting weak points in an enemy's defense.)

---------

You smirk as you review what you know in your head. The streets below are not safe, but up here, the moonlight is enough to keep the shadows back. Not that any ordinary shadow could really threaten you in any case, but you don't want a straight fight right now. Not here anyways... You have a fight to get ready for.

First things first your approach. How are you going to start this?

(An approach that has better synergies with your traits will establish your character more clearly to the audience, but will also give more of your character away, giving you less tolerance when it comes to pulling out new powers if you need to.)

[] [Opening] A surprise is always a good way to start. Interrupt after your hero has just finished off the enemy for this episode.
Opportunist Synergy: They'll be tired after already fighting after all.
Analyst Synergy: You'll also get some chance to watch your hero fight beforehand and learn a bit about their style.

[] [Opening] Corral some mooks of your own and be the villain for the episode.
Analyst Synergy: You'll get some chance to watch your hero fight beforehand and learn a bit about their style.
You'll get some more screentime.

[] [Opening] Challenge the Hero independently. (Gain Character Trait: Straightforward)
No Synergy
You'll take up the entire episode, make sure the fans know you're a big deal!

Once you have your approach planned, it's time to make sure you look the best you can. After all, you had dramatic shadows to conceal your face before. This is going to be your first time in full view, or at least your first time revealing more than just a voice.

So who are you?

[] [Gender] Male
[] [Gender] Female

Moreover, you have to make sure you look your part. Only one problem. You're not entirely sure what genre you're working in. Still, you can make a pretty good educated guess based on the appearance of your hero.

The hero looks like...

[] [Hero] A magical girl of some kind?
You're pretty sure you saw her do a transformation sequence at least once... (Gain Setting Trait: Magical Girls. Set Hero Gender: Female)

[] [Hero] Some sort of operative?
They seem to like their Badass Longcoat a fair bit. (Gain Setting Trait: Gothic Mystery)

[] [Hero] A total anachronism.
Honestly. You know it's Anime, but this is a modern setting. What are they doing wearing plate armour?! (Gain Setting Trait: Urban Fantasy)

[] [Hero] Disturbingly normal.
Like... Jeans and a T-Shirt under a Hoodie normal. If it weren't for their technicolor hair you wouldn't even be able to pick them out of a crowd of extras... (Gain Setting Trait: Deconstructive)

You, of course, color coordinated your outfit to look appropriately 'opposite' to the hero, so for the most part you have a dark counterpart image going on. Adjusted for your own theme and abilities of course... Or Maybe...

[] [You] Telegraph your powers.
Something sleek to reflect your speed, maybe with some sigils or signs to reflect your power aptitude, and something to reflect your analytical mind, perhaps some fancy glasses? Or a mask? (Specialist Synergy, Analyst Synergy, but not much room to pull out any surprises.)

[] [You] Conceal your powers.
Try to make your appearance a little more neutrally focused to keep the hero and audience guessing. (No Synergy, but gives you some room to pull out a surprise or two)

[] [You] Obfuscate your powers.
Go for the opposite of what would be expected for your abilities. It won't last forever, and it's risky, but if you can pull it off... (Opportunist Synergy, some room to pull off a surprise.)

It's almost time...

 

[Spectral Waltz]

There she is.

You spy the hero running across the opposite rooftop, her outfit vibrant even in the darkness as a hero's should be, and as she turns deeper into the city's downtown core you follow after her, staying well back to make sure she won't detect you. Having her catch you following her to lead to your introduction might be a good scenario for some rivals, but establishing your cunning and intelligence are the key here, and getting caught out like that really wouldn't work for that at all.

Even with all your caution though, you only narrowly avoid being detected a couple times as she stops suddenly, occasionally looking around, or back int he direction she came. You tried to maneuver so that the cameras would be able to get you following in frame while she was still unaware -a little foreshadowing goes a long way after all- but your focus was more on staying out of sight, so you couldn't be sure you got it.

Still, it doesn't matter. One way or another, this is the night, this is your debut.

Fortunately, the tension of the chase doesn't last too long before your Heroine finds an appropriate threat to deal with. It's just as she's leaping across the lower and lower roofs as the city descends towards its harbour district that a scream tears from a nearby warehouse. A door bangs open, a pale figure stumbling out of the darkness and into the moonlight, but they only make it a handful of steps before something wraps around their ankle, a clawed hand made of red-tinged shadows at the end of an impossibly long arm holding the hapless victim's leg in a deathgrip.

Then you are forced to mentally reassign the man from 'victim' to 'bystander' as your heroine descends from the darkness, light coalescing around her as she thrusts out one palm. You know she has a weapon of some kind, you've seen it before, it's a...

[] [Hero] Sword
[] [Hero] Spear
[] [Hero] Bow
[] [Hero] Blaster
[] [Hero] Staff
[] [Hero] Wand
[] [Hero] (Write in if you want?)

...But like a typical fourth or fifth episode hero she's gotten a little bit cocky, using nothing but her bare hands and her magic to unleash a shimmering wave of power that blasts the shadow-arm into so many black motes. "Go on! Get out of here!" The man scrambles to his feet again, gives her one nervous look, then thinks better of the alternatives and runs off, beelining towards the nearest well-lit street.

Makes you wonder what possessed him to go wandering around this part of the city at this hour anyways. With the poor lighting in this area, monsters are basically unopposed after dusk, making even walking down the street a dangerous proposition.

You watch for a moment to see if he makes it to the road, then turn and drop as your Heroine charges into the warehouse, fists blazing as she runs. Then the building is lit from within with brilliant blue as she throws up some sort of orb to shed light on the area and goes to town on the monsters inside.

Wasting no time, you drop down yourself and hurry towards the warehouse, pulling out your own weapon...

[] [Rival] Sword
[] [Rival] Spear
[] [Rival] Bow
[] [Rival] Blaster
[] [Rival] Staff
[] [Rival] Wand
[] [Rival] (Write in if you want?)

...As you quickly find a good spot to watch the chaos unfold before it's your turn to make a move.

You're actually somewhat impressed as you watch her fight as she continues to do so without pulling out her weapon. The light she cast seems to inhibit the shadow monsters, making their limbs crackle and wither if they stretch them too far, preventing them from making their reach. They manage to land a few hits, particularly once a larger creature -some sort of boss you suspect- with eerie bone white armor covering the black shadow stuff of its body shows up to really throw down, but she perseveres.

You haven't learned as much as you hoped about how she fights with a weapon, but just seeing her do battle with magic and her body is informative in its own way. While she is powerful, that power is still unfocused and unrefined. She throws waves of blue-tinged white at the monsters but they tend to be too diffuse to actually do more than stun them for a second or two. This does a good job of setting them up for her to close in and wail on them with magic-enhanced fists, telling you that her strength and speed are nothing to scoff at, but it also gives you an idea of her limitations. You're pretty sure she would do a good deal of damage if she hit you, but you're easily just as fast as she is, if not faster, and she gets rather excited easily as well.

Combine that with her lack of range options, and you think you can start to see how you want this fight to go...

[] [Fight] You are not ready.
You'll give her a good solid ass-kicking. Try your best to outmatch her and then taunt her as you leave. That way she can get a training and bettering herself arc out of it as she works to overcome the difference in your skillsets! It's a supporting role sure, but it's a solid introduction if you can make it work...

[] [Fight] The Dark Mirror.
Try to give her an even match. Take some hits, dish some out, let her and the audience get the full breadth of your basic repertoire, then pull a special move to escape at the end. That way the audience gets a good idea of who you are and your conflict might take a little longer to resolve. On the other hand, you won't technically win so much as draw, which can be good, or it can be bad.

[] [Fight] Ambitious Underdog.
You do have some advantages, but she's pretty strong. Take a beating, and go for the angle of wanting to become stronger, that way you can recur most easily in later episodes as the one always chasing at her heels, trying to surpass her for your own reasons. Play it wrong though and you could come off as kind of pathetic. A difficult path to be sure...

[] [Fight] Just wing it.
You want to really face her before you start figuring out where to go next. It won't fit with your character, but as long as you don't reveal your lack of a plan then what the audience doesn't know won't hurt them.

[] [Fight] Write in your own plan. (Give it a cool name!)

A sound like a gunshot echoes in the cramped quarters as one of the armor plates on the shadow behemoth cracks under the force of your heroine's fists, disturbing you from your thoughts. He stumbles backwards, a guttural hissing cry of pain leaving it as she presses the assault. The plate cracks again, then shatters under a third strike, making the creature howl in pain, staggering as she leaps into the air and then plunges downwards in a diving kick, a nimbus of magical power surrounding her as she shoots straight through the shattered remains of its armour, through the wispy shadow-stuff of its body, and out the other side, landing lightly on the warehouse' concrete floor as the creature behind her burns, slumps, and finally dissolves into the same shadowy motes as the rest.

It's time for your entrance...

[] [Entrance] Smug it up
Emerge from the shadows, applaud her fight, maybe monologue a bit, then challenge her if she hasn't already tried to come at you swinging. See if you can throw down a magical trap without her noticing while you're talking to give her a taste of your superior intellect. (Synergy: Analyst. Gain Character Trait: Refuge in Audacity)

[] [Entrance] Do the creep
Stay in the shadows while you congratulate her on the fight, you never specialized in stealth of course, but if you set up some time delayed attacks to go off from one direction after you've moved to another location you should be able to keep her looking the wrong way until you've finished talking. (Synergy: Specialist. Gain Character Trait: Guile Hero)

[] [Entrance] Shadow strike
Words? What good are words? You can get your talking out of the way once the actual fight starts. Right now you have the drop on her, so take the chance and strike without warning. (Synergy: Opportunist. Gain Character Trait: Honourless)

[] [Entrance] Write in your own entrance. (Give it a cool(?) name)

 

[Spectral Waltz]

You begin to clap as the dust settles and the music fades, letting the ring of your palms meeting and the heavy sound of your boots on the concrete as you step out of the shadows fill the air. Immediately the Heroine pulls herself up and whirls, eyes narrowing, and you can practically see the questions whirling through her mind. She probably suspects a rival, but with the decision to obfuscate your powers your appearance is decidedly martial with dark red plates of armor and a black cape swirling behind you, potentially making her suspect a dragon or even perhaps a big bad reveal.

Admittedly it would be a little early for one of those two but only by an episode or so. Hardly unheard of.

"Not bad, not bad at all... But sadly disappointing nonetheless."

Her magic flares again at that immediately, surrounding her with a faint battle aura, and you have to suppress a flinch at the thought that she might just immediately lunge at you. Fortunately it looks like she's got at least something of a head for traditional banter however as she restrains herself from an immediate offensive, though the aura doesn't go away either. "Who the hell are you?"

A bit of a mouth though, you hadn't been expecting something so overtly aggressive. You bow theatrically, though you keep your eyes on her just in case. Now that the talking has started in earnest you don't think she'll go off on you unless you give her a reason or make a challenge, but it's always better to be sure. "Call me... A concerned citizen I suppose?"

That takes her off guard, and you have to suppress a smirk at her confused expression. "A what?"

"A concerned citizen... A citizen with concerns. A resident of this city who is also worried about something pertaining to said residency."

She blinks, clearly trying to process your statement and figure out how to respond to it before reverting to comedy, letting just enough time pass for an appropriate 'beat' before letting her face fall into confused annoyance. "Huh?"

Ouch... You can practically feel the audience laughing, and you're not at all sure whether it's at you or at her. Quickly you try to take back the conversational initiative. "I've been watching you, trying to defend these people from the shadows... You aspire to be some sort of guardian I suppose? Typical hero of justice..."

You raise your chin slightly in a sneer, but at the same time, your fingers twitch, right hand hovering over the holster of your weapon, the left shaping the symbols of a spell, ready to throw it out at precisely the right moment.

"You're not worthy of that title."


Her aura flares immediately, reacting to her anger, and with a yell she lashes out, hurling a wave of power at you, but you've seen her do this. The magic in your left hand flares bright as you click your fingers, a swirling runic barrier springing into place in front of you. It's quick spellwork, not nearly as strong as it could be, but with her ranged attacks being so diffused it doesn't even so much as flicker as it weathers the assault. As the wave dies, you ready a second spell, a binding trap that you cast out into the floor between you, then you give her one more taunt as you let the barrier fall entirely.

"Pathetic... You'd be better off staying home."

She lunges at you with a scream, sword coalescing out of thin air into her hands, but she is barely three steps into her charge before your trap activates. If you were a straight up villain you could have probably gone for some binding ropes of light or something with all the distressing implications those entail but you're a rival, you're supposed to have class, so your trap is a good old fashioned paralysis field.

Of course, it doesn't completely paralyze her. She's still moving thanks to a combination of Heroic Willpower and the fact that even if her control is worthless, her overall strength exceeds yours. However, she struggles for every step, inching forwards. The trap will run out of power before she manages to reach the edge at all though, so you've got some more time to get your point across.

"Reckless." You admonish her. "Unfocused." You snort. "Arrogant."

"You..."

You carry right on through her enraged utterance. "The monsters fill the shadows and only the brightest streets are safe, yet you waste time taking on a single pack with fists and feet." You look her in the eye. "How many do you think have died because you decided to take your time and play around with the monsters instead of killing them?"

"D-don't you dare..." Oh? You must have struck a nerve there, must be something in her backstory, or perhaps an episode one tragedy. You'll have to see if you can find out later. Meanwhile, more monologuing.

"This isn't some game you know." You try to keep worry off your face, you can't help but feel as though you're forgetting something...

"You... Kuh..."

"Your abilities are worthless if you just play around, so it would be better if you just gave that power up to someone el-!" Your words are cut off as a sound of sparks crackling rises from your trap, and the Magical Girl within lets out an enraged scream.

"YOU BASTAAAARRRD!"

Ah yes... Heroic Willpower and high Magical Strength couldn't just resist effects like that... They could break them entirely in the right circumstances.

That's what you were forgetting.

And then there's no more time to think as she hurls herself towards you, closing what little distance there is in an instant as she swings her sword.

[] Dodge and evade her assault!
[] Throw up a magic barrier for defense!
[] Quickdraw and shoot her!
[] Flash Step and Counterattack!
[] Write In.

Current Status: Combat Start!/Oh Shit/Uninjured

Current Tolerance: 3

 

[Spectral Waltz]

COMBAT GUIDE ​

When in combat, all of the options offered will be based on your character traits. Choosing the right traits to trump your opponent's traits is crucial to gaining the advantage, but remember, the goal isn't always to win. Some fights will make a loss more dramatically appropriate as an option, and sometime other things will happen that need to be dealt with differently.

Write-Ins are a special case in combat however, as while they can be used to provide alternate moves based on your current traits, they can also be used to create entirely new traits on the fly in order to get yourself out of a bind. However, creating whole new character traits mid fight -while a time-honored anime character tradition- is something that strains the audience' tolerance of your character, and so Write ins that do not play to your traits will cost you 'Tolerance', listed above.

Being that your character has only just been introduced, you have a decent amount of tolerance to start with as your abilities are not fully understood, especially since you went to the trouble of obfuscating them to the Heroine in your very first appearance.

 

[Spectral Waltz]

You skip backwards, drawing and firing your blaster as you go. The mana-charged shots detonate on contact with the earth as the recoil carries you out of the enraged heroine's range, throwing up a cloud of dust and broken concrete that covers your escape somewhat.

An instant later she skids to a halt, blinking tears from where the dust got in her eyes, sword upheld in a somewhat shaky guard as she tried to scrub at her eyes with her free hand.

"Where do you think you're looking?"

She lashes out in the direction of your voice but you've already sidestepped the thrust, raising your blaster to shoot from the hip and sinking it directly into her stomach this time, the detonation hurling her back across the warehouse to slam into the opposite wall, leaving a dent in the corrugated metal siding before she falls to the ground beneath it, panting. You probably broke a couple of her ribs with that, but if her powers are anything like yours you're pretty sure she should be able to regenerate them once she has a few minutes.

Still... You don't want to necessarily be too brutal. You're thinking you want to be sympathetic in the long run after all.

For now though, you get to condescend at her. "No preparation, no focus, wasting your time, rushing in recklessly against an unknown foe."

Still blinking dust out of her eyes she struggles, to her feet, leaning on her sword heavily with one hand as she throws the other out towards you, a massive wave of deadly magic crossing the intervening space.

You could throw up a barrier, but at this range, the wave's diffusion also slows it down, giving you time to sidestep the blast instead, flourishing your cape as you go. "Not to mention you don't seem to be any good at magic apart from self-reinforcement and empowerment of that shiny sword of yours. Did you never think to maybe bring other weapons with you? A ranged option other than your unfocused attempts at blasting magic?" She glares and you wisely change the angle of your pacing, circling her rather than coming any closer. Heroic willpower is dangerous stuff after all, and it throws off wounds even more easily than traps.

You're not going to get rushed like that again if you can help it.

You level your blaster at her and she flinches before you swing it out to the side and channel a little extra mana into the shot, overloading it as you fire to generate a massive explosion in a pile of abandoned boxes. Then you aim it at her again, the barrel glowing ominously as you charge the fifth shot in the same way. Not that you intend to fire mind you, but it makes a damn good way of getting your point home. "Give up this foolishness, hand over your sword, and leave the protection of this city to those who know what they're doing."

Her head snaps up and she glares. "You'll have to take it from me." You watch her eyes this time and there's a flash of something in them at her retort. Heroic willpower activating at the perfect time. She's about to try for a comeback.

You can even hear her theme music beginning to rise behind the tremulous tone that had faded off at your last remark...

[] [Theme] Write in (Propose a theme song for her. To play at appropriate moments.)

[] [Combat] Traps worked the first time so toss down another one. See if she's learned anything.
[] [Combat] Keep your blaster trained on her and stay light on your feet, kite her.
[] [Combat] Stand your ground and counterattack, you know she reveals an opening when she raises her sword for that overhead cut.
[] [Combat] Write in.

Current Status: Two Bullets left before reload/Ready for you this time.../Uninjured

Current Tolerance: 3

 

[Spectral Waltz]

Oh right, we have a discord channel.

Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers

 

[Spectral Waltz]

Traps worked the first time so toss down another one. See if she's learned anything.
-Sneak in a second trap for when she avoids or breaks through the obvious one.

Spoiler: Heroic Comeback

​

The ground under her feet craters with the force of her launch as she hurls herself at you, entire body ablaze with reinforcing magic as her sword comes in high. Her charge before had been fast, but here she crosses twice the distance in half the time.

"Idiot."

The trap blooms from where you set it in the floor, another paralyzing field to hold her down and stop her comeback cold,except even as the arcing bolts of power thrown off from the circle drag her to the floor, she keeps moving, running at you. For an instant, her speed is dragged down to something that resembles human, but even as you pour magic into the first trap and quickly shape a second -dual casting as your fingers burn from the sheer amount of mana flowing through them- she's speeding up again.

The next trap activates an instant later, magic trying to grab at her once more, but your eyes widen behind your helm as you realize the crucial error you've just made.

The Rule of Three...

The first encounter, a loss, the second, a draw, the third, a reversal. And you just threw down your third trap.

The fact that she's practically running on her heroic willpower after the pummeling you gave her earlier combined with the inherent character boost of her theme music means that you might be able to get her with traps again in another fight, but right now, it doesn't do a damn thing to help. The sheer weight of the magic she's throwing off with her battle aura blows your trap apart with a sound like shattering glass, and she doesn't even slow down, whipping her sword down in a vicious power-infused cut as you whip your arm out and fire to the right, using the recoil to accelerate your dodge.

For a moment, you wonder if you're about to up the show's rating by having your arm hacked off, but the sword misses your fingertips by inches, and instead slams into your blaster, hurling it out of your hand as you shout out in surprise and pain, two fingers breaking as the weapon is wrenched from your grasp and hurled across the darkened warehouse.

You jump back again, taking full advantage of your speed to create distance as she pursues you, your thoughts running a million miles an hour as you try to come up with a way to salvage this. You can't keep running for too long without turning this comedic, and given the tone so far that will just turn off the audience. You've lost your blaster though, and you don't know where to find it right now. Traps aren't going to work at all while she's like this, and even if you try once she's calmed down, she'll probably just use her protagonist powers to make sure that they won't even work next time. As it is you might still get some use out of them in future fights at least...

"Hmph!" You skid to a halt, trying to maintain your composure as she comes at you once more. You duck the first slash, feeling the breeze of its passage buffet the top of your head and acutely aware of the absolute bullshit that is a handful of crates behind you being turned into so much scrap by the air pressure of the attack. Then you spin and stand straight, evading a second slash as she whips the sword around into a rising vertical. You're running out of options though, and while you had her outspeeded before, her attacks are only getting faster in this state. "Stand still damn you!"

You have to regain the advantage now if you want to have any hope of continuing your original plan, but how?

Current Status: Disarmed/Ohfuckohfuckohfuck!/Broken Fingers, Bruised Pride

Current Tolerance: 3

[] Just a few more seconds of dodging. There has to be an opening somewhere you can exploit! (Cost: 1 Tolerance)

[] Fuck it, you're new, you can change things up. Grab her sword, stop her cold, then counterattack. (Cost: 3 Tolerance)

[] Pull out a new magic trick.
-[] Teleportation/Flash Step (Cost: 2 Tolerance)
-[] Conjure Magic Weapon (Cost: 2 Tolerance)
-[] Write in (Cost: Determined by QM)

[] Change your plan entirely.
-[] Land the strongest hit you can on her while tanking her hit on you for the sake of the opening. Mutual KO, aims for a competitive rivalry storyline.
-[] Just take a fall and try to apologize, end the fight with your loss. Aim for an underdog rival storyline.​

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Mother and Mentor can be interchanged very easily if that would make it more canon or something.

---

You realize in something of a moment of clarity. You have gotten to used to your mentor's fighting style.

You don't let it slow you're opening actions though, your blaster training on her.

As expected her sword deflects every shot, though only deflects instead of reflecting them.

Her steps are calm and utterly unstoppable, each one bringing her closer as you drift back in a fighting retreat. Your blasts keep her sword busy, but even then the occasional swipe sends a blade soaring past you as you jink and dodge by as little as you can afford.

Her foot stomps instead of steps right on top of where your traps started and they all detonate at once, lighting, ice, bindings, and explosions scattering in the air above the street in a chaotic mess that obscures your vision.

You're already dodging to the side, head low to avoid the swipe and arms crossed in front of you blocking the follow-up kick. Another trap detonates under both of you, sending you flying farther than you would have otherwise. A second, much smaller and more controlled explosion occurs off of your armor, sending you spinning into an alley as opposed to the building you had been flying at before.

A series of shots leave your blaster, bouncing off the walls around you and into your mentor at the entrance of the alley.

As expected, she blocks every shot.

Also as expected, she kicks off the ground and is in front of you, the traps along the walls all exploding behind her.

And so this is where you lose.

You dodge the swipe, bending forward right into her knee. Out of breathe and rising off the ground she swings her fist forwards and you blac-

You blink awake staring at the trail of destruction even as the wall you're sitting in breaks apart and de-materializes, showing an undamaged and empty room.

Damn, at least thirteen walls that time.

Your mentor stands over you, eyeing you as you sit on the ground catching your breathe, "Hmm... no injuries. You were distracted."

Your shoulders raise and fall in a shrug, "I'm too used- to fighting- you."

Your mentor looks past the wall in front of her before heaving out a sigh, "You're right. I'll figure something out. Go clean up, you have school tomorrow."

You nod and let your head fall back on the wall behind you.

When you next wake up, the sun is shining in your eyes, you're in your bed, and you have school in a couple of hours. More than enough time for a shower.

... At least she didn't change your clothes.

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