Sunset glared coldly back at the two enemy Stand users, the red-haired, pale-skinned warrior Blade Strike and his armored Stand, Agharta, and the Werewolf-like Stand User Ebony Moon, surrounded by numerous Werewolves, each snarling and snapping at the air, ready to charge and rip her and her friends to bits. All in all, it was a bad day. She noticed much of the lunchroom was quiet now, the remaining students either unconscious form the all out brawl that had taken place, caused by two other unseen Stand users, or were transformed into Werewolves by Ebony's Stand. She looked around for a sign of weakness from the two, before glancing back at Pinkie and Fluttershy, the only two of her friends with her that were still standing.
"No time to rest! Attack!" Ebony declared, two of her wolves growling and rushing at Sunset and her group.
Blade Strike glared back coldly at his partner. "I would wait a moment."
"And let them heal?" Ebony snarled, as her two minions leapt at Sunset.
Pinkie's Fun manifested behind the user, Pinkie lifting up her arms to give her Stand a clear shot, and firing a blast of energy, hitting one of the Werewolves and knocking him away, as the other stopped it's forward momentum, surprised at the sight of his counterpart flying into a wall. As he turned back to fight, Sunset's Ice Phoenix slammed a fist into the side of it's face. The Werewolf landed on it's feet, teetering backwards in surprise, as it tried to get it's bearings. Ice Phoenix's fists rushed outwards at lightning speed, blasting the Werewolf repeated, as it yelled at the top of it's lungs.
"SUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZA, SUZAKU!" It screamed, before slamming a final climatic punch into the Werewolf's gut, and sending him into the wall next to his compatriot.
"I told you to wait," Said Blade strike, shaking his head. "Even injured and bloodied from her fight, Sunset is still the strongest of the group in open battle."
"Come on, come on!" Sunset taunted dryly, almost sounding bored. "My Ice Phoenix's Fists are faster then a racecar speeding down the track."
"You'll end up dead faster then the rest of your pathetic team!" Ebony declared, pointing a claw at her. "Which one will I tear apart first is the question!"
"Concentrate on overwhelming Sunset." Blade Strike advised. "Once we have her on the ropes, the others will be easier."
Four of Steppenwolf's Werewolf creations charged, jaws running with saliva and hissing at her, as Ebony herself charged at Sunset. Sunset and Ice Phoenix readied themselves, before the first leapt at her, and, once within range, Sunset unleashed a sweeping kick, the outside of Ice Phoenix's leg sweeping in front of itself, and slamming into the side on of the Wolves' heads, then the other, and sending them both away. Before she could rebalance Ice Phoenix's feet, the other two slammed into her, and grabbed her and Ice Phoenix's arms and held them tightly, her Stand vanishing halfway into her body.
Sunset and her Stand struggled against their iron grip, but nothing could break them, the two Werewolves hissing and snarling at her, as Ebony approached. Pinkie and her friends yelled out in surprise.
"Don't worry Sunset, I'll blast them!"
"Pinkie, hold up!" Sunset warned, looking over her shoulder at her. "I'm way too close, and it's too risky. Hold your fire."
"That's right!" Ebony taunted. "And if I slip, I might just cut something important, with these claws."
Fluttershy and Pinkie both stiffened at her words, but did not move, focused on her intensely, as Blade Strike moved closer, Agharta shimmering by him as he approached.
"Ebony, do not toy with Sunset, you will only give her an opening to defeat you." Blade Strike cautioned, shaking his head.
"We got her under control, relax Blades!" Ebony snarled back, fangs flashing. "It's not like she can escape my servants or anything."
Sunset would admit one thing; she probably couldn't escape the hold these two had on her or her Stand.
'Their grip is the strongest I've ever seen.' She thought quickly, eyes darting about. 'Probably enough to crush metal without a problem.'
She focused her eyes directly on Ebony and her Steppenwolf form. 'Defeating her is the best way to get to Blades and the rest of their team. But How?'
Twilight, meanwhile, glared at Ivory Charm, her opponent, as her right hand twitched uncontrollably, but remained focused on her foe. Her and her Stand's arm were marked with countless green runes running throughout, as she tried to get a bearing on the situation. With one arm out, it would be very difficult to get close to Ivory without being injured.
The enemy stand user, however, didn't seem to mind at all, and was actually enjoying the display. A wide grin adorned her face, as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Getting desperate yet, Twilight?"
"No." Twilight said defiantly, trying to rise to her feet, and step forward.
"Hit Twilight in the stomach again, Deep Purple." Ivory ordered, as Twilight's own stand was forced to hit her again.
Twilight gasped, holding her stomach in agony as Ivory stood over her, eyes focused intently. Twilight looked around for someway, anyway, to get out of this, only for Ivory to place her boot on top of Twilight's head and force her down, til her face was directly implanted into the ground. Twilight groaned, as Ivory taunted her.
"Don't resist." She chided. "I'll have your own Stand strangle you if I feel so inclined."
She taped her chin, as though suddenly remembering something, looking around the now mostly derelict and ruined cafeteria, checking the unconscious bodies around them for something.
"Where is Dash?" Ivory asked suddenly, pressing her foot down a little hard on Twilight's scalp.
"I don't know." Twilight said.
"Don't lie to me, I'll have my Physical Graffiti mark up everything." She threatened. "I'll have you kill your own friends with your own hands."
"I'll repeat my statement." Twilight said, turning slightly to look up at her. "I sincerely don't know."
"I sincerely believe you. 100%." Ivory said, studying her coldly. "But I want to you to make me believe you 101%."
"I...I..." Twilight began, before Deep Purple was suddenly summoned to their side.
Ivory clicked her teeth, as she crossed her arms in front of her, then sat down, a shadowy form rising to act as a seat under her. "101%, Twilight."
Deep Purple grabbed Twilight by the back of her hair, a worried look on it's normally cold features. "Master, we are in deep S-H-I-T!"
"I know Deep Purple." Twilight muttered, as Ivory stood up, balling her right fist, as her mysterious, unseen Stand sank back into the shadows. "Just give me a second to think."
Ivory slammed her fist into Twilight's nose, a crack and spurt of blood from it following, as Twilight grabbed her face in pain. "This is gonna continue until you tell me where you friend ran off to."
She slammed a punch into Twilight's stomach, as Deep Purple readjusted it's own master to allow Ivory a better shot at Twilight. "101% Twilight. Speak now."
Twilight smiled slightly, grinning up at Ivory despite her broke nose. Ivory looked down at her, eyes widening in rage.
"What's so funny?!" She demanded.
"I know something you don't!" Twilight said with a grin.
"Is it how much my Stand is gonna make you suffer for this." Ivory said, getting within inches of Twilight's beaten face.
"I think the shoe's on the other foot, actually." Twilight said, smile growing. "Just look at things from my perspective."
Ivory furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think things over. She had Twilight and Deep Purple's arm under her control, and she was alone. Suddenly, Ivory's eyes widened, as a kick slammed into the back of Ivory's legs forcing her downwards. As her face rushed to the floor, Twilight raised her knee, hitting Ivory right in the face, and sending her backwards, face bleeding hard.
Ivory glared up from her now slicked up hair and bleeding face, eyes narrowed and bloodshot. Twilight almost stepped backwards, from just the sight of Ivory. She was younger then most of the Stand users Twilight had encountered so far, or appeared to be, but the look of pure rage and bloodlust was almost unearthly. Twilight almost wondered what Ivory had gone through before becoming a Stand user.
"I'm gonna break your legs off for this!" Ivory said, slowly, and unsteadily getting to her feet.
"Ivory calm down." Twilight said cautiously, her voice sounding rather small now.
"What's the matter, scared?" Ivory taunted, pointing at Twilight, her pupils seemingly growing smaller and becoming pinpoints in her eyes. "Scared that I'll use my stand to tear you to pieces!"
"Ivory, I think we can both walk away..." Twilight began.
"The only one walking away is me and my team!" Ivory shouted, glaring at Twilight with a look like someone possessed.
Ivory stepped forward, glaring out from the tops of her eyes at Twilight, as Deep Purple readied itself, appearing behind Twilight, looking out at Ivory sternly.
Rainbow, meanwhile, was staggering around the school perimeter, trying to find the parking lot and bike racks. She breathed heavily from the injuries Physical Graffiti and Deep Purple had inflicted on her, and, needless to say, she wasn't feeling so good. However, she knew once she got her stand and activated Radar Love, she'd be able to beat these enemy Stand users with no issue. She just had to get to her bike. Part of her really disliked Radar Love's limitations. It granted her a lot of power, as long as she had a bike underneath, and was concentrating.
She took a deep breath as she shook her head. At least she was able to manifest a Stand. That she was eternally grateful for however gave out Stands, be it fate, god or whatever handled that sort of system. She looked around before a smile broke across her face, as she staggered over to the bike rakes, and began unhooking her bicycle. As she began searching her pockets for the key to undo the lock, a security guard approached her from behind.
"What are you doing?" He asked sternly. "This is still school hours, what do you think you're doing?"
"Ugh, you gotta be kidding me." Rainbow muttered, as she slowly turned around. "It's not what it looks like. I'm not trying to leave."
"Then what are you doing out here?" He demanded, voice rising. "Just because there's a problem at the gym, doesn't mean students start running off when they feel like it!"
"I'm just tryin to get back in, alright?" Rainbow said in irritation.
"With the bike?" He asked in confusion.
Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's complicated. I'm trying to end the situation in there, alright?"
And with that, as her friends struggled against the enemy stand user team, Rainbow was stuck arguing with a school officer over her bicycle. Not every battle was a glamorous one, she soon found out.
Ebony glared at Sunset, as Blade Strike stood beside her, Agharta's sword drawn. Sunset was proving to be quite the nuisance, but nothing sheer numbers couldn't handle. Her minions weren't letting go anytime soon, and that put Ebony in quite the advantage, but left her scratching her wolf-like chin now. In what was she going to finish Sunset off? Turn her into another Werewolf minion to throw at other enemy Stand users? Have her tear apart her own friends? Just simply tear her limb form limb? These were difficult choices to make.
She raised a clawed hand, smiling slightly to herself as she approached. Blade strike eyed here wearily. He was always a stickler for doing everything by the book. It took the fun out of every fight. She turned to him slightly.
"What's the plan, Captain?" She asked, half sarcastically.
"Just finish off Sunset, no playing around or toying with her." Blade said, sounding slightly exasperated. "We have other jobs to do after this, and we can't let her worm her way out."
"Gotcha" Replied Ebony with a nod, fangs gleaming slightly, as she began to step towards Sunset.
Sunset, however, didn't seem to panic, and in fact, despite her cold, stoic expression, her eyes gleamed confidently. Ebony stopped for a moment, almost worried about how confident Sunset, before shaking it off. She was trapped anyway, what did Ebony have to worry about. As she began to approach again, Ice Phoenix appeared, materializing within Sunset's body, just barely visible, pointing a finger out towards Agharta. A shaft of light shot out, hitting Agharta's sword, bouncing off the flat, and shining directly on Ebony's eyes. The Werewolf Stand-user yelped in pain, grabbing at her eyes in pain. Her minions and partner seemed momentarily shocked, and her team seemed to understand her plan without being told.
Pinkie activated Fun, the Stand pointing it's arm canon and letting loose with several shots at the two Werewolves holding onto Sunset, and sending them away. Sunset gave Pinkie a small salute, before running towards the stunned Ebony.
"Thanks Pinkie." She said, as Ice Phoenix cocked back it's fist.
In a quick blur, Ebony docked under, and swiped out with one claw, striking at Sunset's stomach, past Ice Phoenix's guard and protection, and stopping her, not from the pain, but from the shock of how fast Ebony had moved to counter her. She thought she had the Werewolf stunned, and blinded, but it looked like she wrong. Quite horribly wrong. Sunset stepped back, Ice Phoenix setting into a neutral position, as Ebony lowered her clawed hands, eyes still closed.
"Sunset, you alright?" Pinkie asked. "Sunset?"
Sunset didn't answer, only looking down at her wound, three long claw scratches going down her skin, that had cleaved right through her shirt and jacket. She looked back up, glaring at the grinning face of Ebony, as saliva dripped from her fangs.
"How did you counter me, Ebony?" Sunset asked slowly, before repeating herself a little louder. "How did you do it?"
"I have ears." She replied, gesturing towards her left ear, that lowered then propped back up. "I used my enhanced senses to hear you coming, and my nose to smell your exact position."
"You think I'm gonna let you win?" Sunset said, her temper rising as her eyes focused intently on Ebony.
She rushed at Ebony with Ice Phoenix, fists disappearing in a blur heading towards the Werewolf. "SUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZASUZA!"
Ebony kept her calm, evading and backing away from all of Sunset's strikes, until Blade Strike was directly at her side again, Agharta swinging forward, and slashing with its blade downwards at her. Sunset backed away, as Ice Phoenix withdrew back to her side. Agharta, repositioned itself and struck out with the pommel of it's sword, striking Sunset right in the stomach, and knocking the air out of her, and swung upwards with it's sword, grassing the left side of her face and eye with a simple strike. Sunset backed away, holding her face in pain.
"Sounds like I'm not the only one blinded!" Ebony said triumphantly.
Fluttershy immediately reacted, holding out her hand and sending 5 of her Stands at Sunset to heal her, the small, faery-like beings flying out quickly, heading straight towards Sunset, before Blade Strike jumped in front of Sunset with Agharta. The Five tried to veer away, as Agharta quickly intercepted each one, twirling and spinning in the air as he struck and slashed down each one with one or two elegant blade strikes. He turned back to Sunset, pointing his blade at her.
"You will have no help!" He declared. "Like a nation with it's ports blockaded, you are caught off from all help!"
Ebony pulled back her clawed hands, ready to cut Sunset down, as Sunset kept her head low, trying to clear her head, as Agharta pointed it's blade. She cursed herself for letting her temper get the best of her. She looked around for anything to use against the two, but found nothing. She was trapped between the two, with no defense. She thought over everything quickly, and remembered what Ebony had said about her claws. They were infected some how.
'How long til I start turning into a Werewolf then?' She wondered to herself. 'Will I lose consciousness over time?'
'No time to worry.' Sunset thought, as she raised her head, holding her hand over her injured eye. 'I can only hope to win before it's too late.'
Twilight and Ivory were not far from each other now, standing face to face like two gunslingers in the old west. Twilight focused all her attention on Ivory, every thought for her friends gone, and replaced by a burning hatred in the pit of her stomach, unseen since she had turned herself into Midnight Sparkle. Ivory's eyes were still small and focused within her own skull, focused entirely on the rage she felt for Twilight and her entire gang of freakish friends.
The fight between these two, would be over in an instant, a heartbeat away from total victory, or being thrown aside in defeat.
Deep Purple manifested beside Twilight and lashed out with it's marked right hand, right for Ivory's face. The younger user did not react, long tendrils from her shadow shooting out, and wrapping around and grasping Deep Purple's arm in a cold, icy grip. Before Twilight could move, several more shoot out, grasping and wrapping around Deep Purple's ankles and legs, then her Stand's neck. Twilight stiffened as she felt the fingers wrapping tightly around her own neck, feeling as though she was being throttled herself. She struggled to breath in, as Ivory laughed triumphantly.
"I've won! My victory is complete!" She yelled, smiling broadly. "Now, how do I finish you off?"
Twilight stiffened, the color draining from her face as she struggled against the shadow hands now gripping her tightly. She had fully, well and truly, lost against Ivory's Stand. She prepared herself for the worst, when she heard a distant rumbling sound. She raised an eyebrow, but kept her face and expression still, trying not to give anything away. Ivory looked at her with confusion for a moment, before her face twisted into a glare of pure malice again.
"What are you hiding, Sparkle?" Ivory demanded. "I'm not the brightest here, but I know you're up to something!"
"I don't really like to spoil surprises, y'know?" Twilight said with a small smile.
Ivory's face contorted once more, her face filled with an expression of confusion, anger and disgust, until the sound of a roaring engine grew closer. She looked to the left, towards the destroyed window that she had sent Rainbow Dash out of. She turned to face the window, temporarily forgetting Sparkle, though her Stand remained gripping her tightly. Ivory's eyes blinked rapidly, as she tried to prepare herself for whatever was coming. After several unspoken minutes, that dragged on like hours, the wall next to the window exploded with stunning force.
Rainbow flew through the void made by her and Radar Love's crash. She slammed into the ground, shatter the floor beneath her and sending chunks and bricks into the air, before driving full steam into Ivory. Although stunned, Ivory was smart enough to jump away and to the right, and onto a cafeteria table. Rainbow drove forward, swerving to the left to avoid the entangled Twilight, driving up and onto a wall, before driving across the ceiling. Ivory's eyes widened in shock, as Rainbow drove across the ceiling, crushing light fixture and scaffolding under Radar Love, before dropping down and driving towards Ivory again.
From the shadow beneath the tables, and parts of the masonry that had fallen in piles, the hands of her Physical Graffiti lashed out, grabbing onto her motorcycle before Rainbow could get closer to their master. Ivory breathed a sigh of relief, as she edged a bit closer to Rainbow, who was struggling to get her Stand moving again, just like a driver struggling with a car in the mud and mire. Ivory looked her over, seeing that only her Stand was being effected by Physical Graffiti. Ivory raised an eyebrow, confused as ever.
"Does Graffiti only effect humanoid stands?" Ivory wondered aloud. "That's so weird. But who cares?! I'm standing and you two aren't, so I win!"
Twilight struggled against Physical Graffiti's grip as Ivory taunted Rainbow Dash, having a long hearty laugh at her Friend's expense. Twilight was quick to note that both her and Deep Purple's left hand were free from the grip Ivory had on the rest of her body. She made a grunting noise, hoping to draw Ivory to her. She repeated it, struggling against the grip, as Ivory turned. Just as Twilight had hoped, the Stand user began walking slowly over to her.
"You cannot escape, Sparkle!" Ivory declared. "I could tear your limbs off if I wanted to!"
"Well, I'm glad we agree on that." Twilight said coldly.
Before Ivory could question her on what she had meant, Deep Purple raised it's left arm, and slashed a knifehand down onto it's master's blighted limb, tearing it clean off, as though a sharpened blade had swiped it off. Ivory's eyes widened in shock, before slashing through Twilight's legs. Blood exploded out from her torn off limbs, as Deep Purple's own, respective limbs vanished. Deep Purple, however, like many Stands, did not need legs to move. With the extended range it held over others, it swiped forward and grabbed Ivory by the neck.
Her Stand had tried to summon more tendrils and arms to defend her, but she was in such shock by the sight of Twilight taking her own limbs off, her reactions, and her Stand's own, had been slower then usual. Twilight didn't seem to mind the pain, or losing her own limbs, focusing intently on Deep Purple and Ivory.
"Deep Purple! Bring her in closer!" Twilight ordered.
Deep Purple silently dragged Ivory across the floor, face planted into the ground, for once, silent in it's task. Blood streaked across the floor. The Stand reached it's master, as Twilight reached out and grabbed Ivory by the neck. The younger Stand user looked at Twilight in terror. Twilight, however, just looked at her coldly.
After a long moment of silence, Ivory finally found her voice. "Are...are you gonna let me go?"
"No." Said Twilight bluntly.
"Then...why did you let your stand let me go?" Ivory asked, eyes darting to the purple Stand as it raised it's remaining hand, locking down every finger, before wrapping it's thumb around it's fist.
"My Stand and I have only arm." Twilight explained slowly, her tilted to one side slightly. "I gotta hold you down, so Deep Purple can do all the hitting."
The Stand pulled back and rapidly swung it's fist forward, soon, it's single arm disappearing into a blur of motion as it waylaid into Ivory's face. Several minutes passed, as Rainbow leaned over Radar Love's handles, pulling out her phone and checking the time and making various updates on social media, before Twilight finished. She released the stunned and knocked out Ivory, before taking a deep breath.
"You feel better?" Rainbow asked, looking up from her phone.
"No! My arm and legs are off!" She shouted angrily, holding up the stump of her arm. "Grab my arm and legs over there, and let's get over to Fluttershy!"
"You don't have to be so bossy." Rainbow muttered, getting up and gathering up her friend's limbs, and going to Radar Love to put them away, in a special compartment within her Stand.
Rainbow picked up Twilight, lookin rather squeamish about this, and sat down on Radar Love's seat with her hanging onto her back. Rainbow looked around for a second, as Twilight eyed her in annoyance.
"Come on, get a move on!" Twilight said in irritation. "My legs could be rotting and loosing circulation and all."
"Sorry, this is just...weird..." Rainbow said, shaking her head, as she hit the gas.
Twilight wanted to say something else, but simply nodded her head slightly. It was hard not to argue with Rainbow's assessment of the situation. Best to just focus on getting to Fluttershy and her Stand, and healing up. She just hoped things were going well for Sunset and the rest.
For Sunset and the rest of the gang, things were not going well. Sandwiched between Blade Strike and Ebony Moon, and both eager for her blood. Sunset looked back over her shoulder at Blade Strike, who was glaring coldly at her, then back at Ebony Moon and her remaining wolves, a few dozen or so, who was glaring at her with a blazing rage. She didn't exactly like her odds against either. Too close for Pinkie to open fire on either, and Fluttershy couldn't do much with her healing stand. She was prepared to fight back, when she felt a strange sensation within her hand.
She looked down to see red hair, the same color as the hair on her head, growing upon the back of her hands, as claws began to spring from her nails. She cringed slightly, as she felt her canines extending out. She focused back on the fight, Ice Phoenix swinging a backfist at Agharta as the Stand attempted to attack from behind, the Enemy Stand blocking her fist with the flat of the sword, energy crackling and snapping out as the two struggled to overpower each other. Surprisingly, Ebony did not move, merely grinning wildly at her.
"It's taking a little longer then usual, but I think my claws are taking effect!" Ebony taunted, smiling broadly, as saliva dripped from her fangs again, her Werewolf minions snarling and barking in excitement. "Though it seems to be taking longer to take effect."
"Wonderful." Muttered Sunset, rolling her eyes. "I'll smell like a wet dog."
"Since you seem preoccupied, I don't think you should be talking back, Sunset." snarled Ebony, her claws scrapping against the tiles as she got on all fours. "I'll just have to speed up the process. Make you a nice little puppy."
What Ebony did see, with her focus and intent on Sunset, was Rarity, who, for most of the fight, been kept frozen in one spot by Physical Graffiti's ability, finally noticed her hands were free. She smiled to herself, as cracked her hands about, and flexed her fingers, getting feeling back in them as Blue Ruby manifested besides her, pressing it's own palms together, silvery clouds of dust and tiny crystals billowing out, as it fired three crystal shots at Ebony.
The Werewolf-Stand user stopped her slow trek towards Sunset, standing up and perking her ears slightly, and turning, just as three crystal bullets hit her, one right in the face, two in the chest and shoulder. She went flying back with a yelp of pain and surprise, hitting the nearby wall with enough force to shatter the bricks. Sunset, Pinkie and Fluttershy looked back triumphantly towards Rarity, who stood confidently, a hand on her hip, as Blue Ruby prepared another crystal round. Blade Strike's eyes widened as he glared at her, Ebony struggling to her feet.
"You! You're....!" Ebony began, struggling to find words through the pain.
"Quite alright." Rarity announced. "I do hate to have gotten such disgusting paint all over my stand and I, but I think hitting you with some crystals will help my nerves."
"Ivory was supposed to be controlling you, and Applejack!" Ebony cried, looking around the devastated lunchroom for her younger partner. "What the hell happened?!"
"Wait, then where..." Blade began to asked, before a kick slammed into the side Agharta's helmeted head, cracking the armor, and sending Blade Strike stumbling away.
He backed up, rolled away from Sunset and the new attacker, and came up again, Agharta spinning it's blade in a circle in front of itself, keeping any potential attacks at bay, as the user took a deep breath in, and refocused his attentions. Applejack appeared to have quickly figured out she could move as well, now standing beside Sunset, the two back to back, and ready for a fight, and both, looking very angry. He didn't blame them for being peeved, really. He, however, wished they weren't so resistant. He liked a challenge, but this was simply annoying.
Blade looked over at Ebony, who was cleaning herself off from her last attack, but still in one piece, before looking over at Sunset, then Rarity, then Applejack, focusing long and hard on them. While Sunset would've been a challenge on her own, against Applejack as well, with Rarity in support, there was really no way either he, nor Ebony could win honestly against them in an open contest of strength. Without Sunset, he would be more willing, but her still being active and fighting made things more dangerous.
'For one who has only had her stand for so short a time,' He thought grimly. 'she has a fine-tuned mastery of it. I think that could apply to all of them, actually.'
Sunset glared at him, tapping her foot impatiently. "Well, Blade Strike, are you there, or was that kick to the head too much?"
He was silent for a moment, before shrugging. "I was merely thinking about something that occurred a few months back with my cousin, Dancer, and the man she brought home. A strange fellow. Defiantly a space oddity, that one. In fact, I'm not sure what she saw in him."
"What's this got to do with anything?" Sunset asked, narrowing her eyes, as Ice Phoenix tightened it's fists.
"Nothing, actually." Blade admitted with a shrug. "I just get distracted when fights such as this become too easy, and start to worry about my family members."
"Easy? Easy?!" Demanded Applejack. "What do you call that crack across your head, then, smart mouth?"
"A side-effect of the job." Blade Strike replied with another shrug, shaking his head. "You all have such spirit, it will be shame to end you all."
"Not sure you noticed, but things aren't going your way, Strike." Sunset said, tilting her head slightly. "Actually, they're going quite badly."
"That's where you're wrong." Ebony said with a snarl. "I've got a whole horde of trouble waiting for you."
The rest of Steppenwolf's created Werewolf minions stepped forwards, ready to attack at moment's notice, as Ebony stood among, a dark smile across her features.
"You see, I send them in small squads to assist, because larger groups get hard to control and direct in battle." Ebony explained. "The more that start fighting, the more their animal instincts start to kick in. I don't care for the messes they make."
"Ultimately, this caution was a mistake." Said Blade bluntly, shaking his head slowly. "Let slip the dogs of war, as Caesar would say, and let's just be done with it."
Ebony snapped her fingers, the claws making a sharp, distinct snapping sound, like a dried bone cracking, or a match being struck. As though a switch had gone off, the creatures leapt forward, bounding, jumping, and doing everything they could to reach the group. Rarity and Pinkie, though panicked, fired off Crystal and arm canon rounds at the encroaching horde, doing little to slow them done. Within moment, a whole horde of howling teeth, claws and hair would be upon them.
What know no one saw, amongst the ruined and disastrous lunchroom, was a single figure, dressed in blue and white, pushing various in-conscious figures away from her lunchtable. She stood up now, looking around in irritation, before eyes widened in shock at the chaos around her. Vinyl Scratch's jaw dropped as she saw what looked like a horde of werewolves surging around at Sunset Shimmer and her group of friends, claws and teeth lashing and saliva flying out. Vinyl had been absorbed in listening to her music, kicking back and eating while testing out her newest earphones. Though loath to part with the old ones, these were much clearer.
She did think something was strange when someone's arm flew into her back, looking like the person was being yanked around like a ragdoll, but Vinyl decided to ignore it. Weird stuff happened at this school. No sense questioning it or trying to get involved. Sunset would've been on that anyway. She and her friends had an odd habit of getting in the middle of things strange and unusual.
Yet no Vinyl could see she would have to get involved again, and help them out, like with the Dazzlings and their hypnotic singing and all. Besides, there was more then headphones she would need to test out now. Scooping up her Ipod, she adjusted her goggles over her eyes, closed them, and concentrated, a soft, lambent blue glow emanating from the Ipod, as a figure began to take shape. A soft, static sound, like a radio tuning in, sounded, as the figure slowly came into shape, the Ipod rising up out of Vinyl's hands, and shaping and extending into the center of this being's chest, screen shifting into a parallel position with the buttons of the pod.
The figure that stood alongside Vinyl was a white tiger, covered in light blue armor, with speakers on it's abdomen, shoulder pads, knee pads and the backs of it's hands. It had red goggles embedded into it's eyes, and it's jaws were open in a snarl, a speaker affixed into it's mouth as well. The figure stood up, before looking to it's master, and speaking in a deep, crackling voice.
"Master, what is the problem?" The Stand asked, the speaker in it's mouth vibrating slightly from the noise.
Vinyl merely pointed at the wolves battling it out with Sunset's group, as the Stand nodded.
"So I hear." It muttered, as it's arms spun about in front of it. "Shall I use a dogwhistle against them? There are after all, certain sounds only hounds can hear, and, if need be I can attune it to knock out the wolves."
Vinyl raised an eyebrow, and scratched her chin uncertainly, as her Stand nodded. "Right, too risky, might end up hurting them before I could fine tune it."
She looked out at the crowd, and noticed a wolf that resembled Ebony moon standing over the crowd of wolves, overlooking the battle, a cruel smile against her jaws. Vinyl nodded quickly to herself, snapping her fingers, and pointing at her Stand.
"Ah, vocal mimicry! Just like the Schwarzenegger movie! A fantastic idea, and observe as I put it to work!" The Stand announced, as it's speakers booted up, crackling to life for a moment, before it spoke again, this time mimicking Ebony's voice. "Testing, testing. 1, 2, pootis!"
Vinyl raised an eyebrow, but readjusted her fingerless gloves, as her Stand finally perfected Ebony's voice. "Wolves, all Werewolves, stop this instant, and head over into the direction of this voice!"
Ebony's eyes widened in shock, as Blade Strike looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing Ebony?"
"It ain't me!" She yelled.
"But your voice...!" He began, as the wolves, in confusion, began to bound and run towards where they had heard Ebony's voice.
Of course, her Stand was not as simple as verbal commands being followed by those she clawed, but rather marking their souls and leaving them unable to resist her. However, in her confusion, and the Wolves' own, it left them open to even the slightest suggestion, if only for a second. Sunset and her friends smiled in relief, weary and battered, and uncertain what had happened, but happy the Werewolves were being lead astray somehow. As they began to move towards Vinyl and her Stand, Ebony refocused herself, snarled and roared to her transformed minions.
"No, you morons, I'm not there! Get back to killing!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
Vinyl's Stand extended it's hands out. Several of the wolves growled or barked in confusion and slight fear, as it reached out with subtle sound waves, using those to pinpoint the wolves, before the speakers all across it's body booted up again, vibrating and crackling slightly, before waves of sound began to focus out from it, directed towards the wolves. The soundwaves reverberated over the room, pushing the closest ones back, like a strong wind.
The Werewolves, realizing they were under attack, turned their attention to Vinyl, and began moving towards her, a sudden explosion of sound. Waves of purple and blue energy flooded outwards, the soundwaves blasting most of the wolves away, and into the walls, each other, and out the windows. Yellow lines, like those of a heart monitor machine, arced up and down in both Vinyl's goggles, and her Stands, as the sound boomed on and on, even the Sunset Group, as far away as they were, forced to cover their ears. Blade and Ebony both covered their ears tightly, as they backed away from the sound-blasting Stand, as it slowly brought it's speakers, and shut off, standing in the middle of the destroyed and ruined lunchroom as though nothing had happened.
Sunset and her friends rose up once more, Stands out and ready to fight, as Blade and Ebony's eyes widened, looking to Vinyl and her Stand, then back to Sunset and her group, sweat pouring down Blade's face, as he tried to figure out what to do next. Vinyl's Stand turned it's head slightly to face him, tilting it's head to one side as though to study him.
"I can hear your heart beats quickening." It announced. "You two are terrified. You should. Against so many Stand users now against you, you will have no chance of victory. Either Sunset there will give you a taste of her fists, or I can reduce you to paste with a few blasts of sound. You have your choice."
"I will not be threatened by some newcomer with no stake in this!" Ebony growled, as Blade set his hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"Hold it, Vinyl Scratch." Blade said, looking at her uncertainly. "You have nothing to fear from us. The Emperor we serve, his agents, our comrades, they have no reason to come after you. You can walk away from this without any worry."
Vinyl shook her head, as the Stand straightened itself. "My Master helped against the Dazzlings and their shenanigans. She thought them a bad bunch, and thinks you're no different. Whoever is attacking Sunset and her group have to be bad."
"You're desire to do what you believe is right is commendable," Blade said, as Agharta twirled it's blade about. "Unfortunate it will get you killed."
Ebony charged at Vinyl, bounding on all fours, jumping onto a wall, sliding across the floor, and grabbing two lunch tables in both her hands, and with a roar, throwing them to her left and right. The Stand seemed to focus in, preparing to blast her again, before the crash of both tables seemed to confuse it.
"As I thought!" Ebony declared. "The Stand is blind, and sees via sound and echolocation!"
She swung a claw, sending a chair crumbling and crashing away a few meters away from her, causing the Stand to stagger backwards in confusion. She smiled, as she leapt forward, claws extended out, and ready to pounce upon Vinyl's stand. Before she could land, the Stand sent out a burst of sound, a ripple of purple energy erupting from it's speakers around it, and blocking her attack. She bounced off, landed in front of the Sound-Stand, and attempted to lash out with both clawed hands at it's waist. It sent another burst of sound out, knocking her away.
Ebony snarled at the Stand, before grabbing two chairs and slamming them into the ground, shattering them with stunning force. Vinyl and her Stand backed away, the Stand disoriented, as Ebony swung out with her claws at the Stand's body. The stand threw out one hand, grabbing her by the face in a desperate try to stop her. Ebony flicked one hand up, flicking it away, as she narrowed her eyes. This Stand must have, despite it's bulky build, not have been able to physically confront foes.
Sunset stepped forward, Ice Phoenix clenching it's fists, as Agharta's blade slammed down in front of her inches from her feet, as Blade glared at her.
"You and your group are not going anywhere." He said, his eyes narrowed menacingly.
Ebony drew back her claws, ready to stab Vinyl and her Stand through the chest, smiling in satisfaction. How to finish this off? Should she tear out her heart? Her intestines? Just rummage about in her body and lacerate her organs? So many options, she would relish them all and the chance to test them out. As her clawed hands neared her victim, she suddenly turned to the left, seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see Pinkie and her Stand, arm canon aimed right at Ebony. The Wolf-Stand user stopped, stunned by the speed Pinkie exhibited with intercepting her, and almost uncertain of what to do next, before Fun fired a blast of energy right at her, hitting Ebony square in the chest, and sending her away, as Vinyl unleashed a burst of sound waves, sending her flying further away, and into the far distance and back of the lunchroom.
Blade glared at the various Stand users around him, feeling panic beginning to grip at his heart, before he breathed in deeply and clamed himself. In battle, all pieces are equal, all Stands are equal, it was application. And he planned to apply his Stand to a far greater degree then what these fools had planned. Rarity focused her stand, palms slamming together as a barrage of crystal bullets flew out at high speed at him. Blade's eyes narrowed, as Agharta phased in front of him and swung it's blade at blinding speeds, slicing and dicing at the air in front of it, cleaving the gems to pieces without effort.
"Haydi!" It shouted along with it's master.
Agharta backed away, partially melding with Blade Strike's body, as it continued to swing it's blade all around him, slicing at speeds greater then light, the various members of Sunset's band taken a back by how fast the Stand was now moving. Sunset had never seen anything move this fast. She was certain that, given how fast he was moving, he was possibly moving faster then even her Ice Phoenix could muster. She wondered if anything could get past such a barrage.
Pinkie aimed carefully, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cupcake, as Fun absorbed it's power. She powered up her arm canon, and fired, the blast burning through the air, making it past the barrage of blades, only it's trail being cutting, before suddenly fading and sputtering out. Blade smiled in triumph, as Pinkie's eyes widened and she gasped in shock.
"Yes! It worked!" Blade said. "My Stand has cut so quickly and so devastatingly, it has produced a vacuum has it cuts and pushes the air towards me, or away form it's sword, producing an area where there is no oxygen."
"Fire can't burn without oxygen." Sunset said grimly. "Very smart."
Vinyl pointed out, as her Stand launched a blast of sound directly at Agharta and Blade. He merely smiled, as the wave of sound went past his sword slashes, and faded and vanished before it could even touch him.
"As expected!" He declared again. "Sound cannot travel without an air medium! All of your attacks are pointless!"
Vinyl's stand angled it's speakers downwards for a moment, before backing, putting a stop to it's sound as the Stand titled it's head in irritation.
"How difficult of you! If I ask nicely, will you cease being an idiot and surrender nicely?" It shouted at him.
"Not a chance." Declared Blade, as he advanced further.
"Are you sure?" Sunset asked, Ice Phoenix appearing behind her, fist raised as it eyed him with rage.
"Absolutely! It will take a while, but my blade has made him an untouchable fortress!" He shouted in triumph. "Just like my cousin, you all are weak, without applied logic or strategy in your moves!"
"Just making sure, you are not surrendering right?" Sunset asked again, smirking slightly.
He stopped, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. "No...Why do you ask, Shimmer?"
"Because you're in the perfect spot." Sunset said, as Ice Phoenix leapt forward, past it's user, and slammed a fist into the ground directly in front of Agharta and Blade Strike. "SUZA!"
Blade's eyes widened, as crack appeared throughout the floor, quickly traveling and spreading out as the ground beneath him crumbled and shattered beneath him like dust. Blade tried to reach out for the edges, even as he fell, sending out Agharta to use it's free hand to grab one of the ledges, and extend his grip. Instead, he fell through the floor, yelling in rage.
"How?! HOW?!" He demanded.
"It was subtle, but I saw Vinyl use her stand to weaken the floor's stability." Sunset said, pointing triumphantly at Blade as he fell to the abyss below. "You might want to look at your strategies again. You know, you said love was a weakness, but it looks like it was my team's victory that was set in stone!"
Sunset watched as Blade Strike disappeared into the darkness, before stepping away, and towards Vinyl. The goggled Stand user readjusted her gloves, and gave Sunset the thumbs up, as she returned it.
"Vinyl, why would you help us like that?" Sunset asked, worried. "These people are very dangerous. There are many more of them then us out there."
The Stand's voice boomed out, as it spoke. "The Master believed in helping you before with the Dazzlings. When you need a helping hand, she would gladly give it. Whether it's her speakers, or her Stand's speakers."
"This was dangerous. But thank you." Sunset said, holding out her hand, as Vinyl took it and shook it with a nod.
Everyone turned to the roar of a motorcycle coming in fast. The Stand users left standing turned to see Rainbow speeding towards them at top speeds, before rolling in and bringing her Radar Love to a stop. The group gasped as they saw Twilight, bloodied and her limbs missing. They recoiled in shock, as she tried to bring herself up, supporting herself with her remaining arm.
"Fluttershy, please, get my arms and legs back in place!" Twilight said. "Please, don't just stand there. This really, really, really hurts!"
Rainbow quickly got off of Radar Love, and began going into the compartments and pulling out Twilight's self chopped-off limbs from her Stand, visibly nauseous from it. She had expected a lot of nasty things to happen while she was fighting other stand users. Digging out her friend's limbs to have them reattached was not one of them. Fluttershy seemed in a state of shock, before Applejack placed a hand on her shoulder, and gestured for her to look at the limbs. The shy girl, still visibly blanched, nodding, and approached, summoning various Beautiful Day stands, and getting to work reattaching the limbs.
Sunset moved away from the scene, shaking off her shook, as she looked around for Ebony, just to make sure she was out cold. She looked along the walls, seeing her various Werewolf victims slowly returning to normal, though still unconscious. She furrowed her eyebrows, and scratched her chin slightly, seeing the area she thought Ebony had impacted in, and was supposed to be out.
'Her Stand is part of her body.' She thought, as she began to march along the walls, looking for any sign of her escape. 'It must've taken much of the punishment from hitting the walls.'
She looked around, before spotting Ebony Moon near a younger, horribly bloodied woman, whose face was heavily bruised, her nose shattered and bloodied. Sunset stopped and stared, wondering what was going on. The younger must've been a Stand user, though what her function was, Sunset couldn't say.
[br]
Ebony Moon had crawled all the way to the unconscious Ivory Charm using the fighting and defeat from Blade Strike to get away and get to Ivory. She had already lost against Sunset and her crew, but she was certain Ivory could make it and finish what they couldn't. She smacked Ivory in the face a few time with her paw-like hand, breathing heavily, desperate to get her younger teammate up again. Ivory slowly opened her eyes, still dazed, before looking in on Ebony's face.
"EB! I'm sorry! Twilight knocked me out and I....I tried to win...but I couldn't!" Ivory explained in a panic, trying to crawl away. "Please...don't punish me!"
"Relax Ivory." Said Ebony, tried and weary. "Just listen."
Ivory stopped, looking uncertainly at Ebony, used to her yelling and berating her for small mistakes, and trying to whip some skill into her, often literally. Here she looked bloodied and just tired, and ready to give out. She held out one of her wolf-like claws, and took a deep, raspy breath.
"Blade Strike is done. I'm too tired to gone with the mission any further." Ebony explained softly, shaking her head. "You have to finish this. Protect Hot Space, and see this to the end."
"But, EB...my Stand is...!" Ivory said in worry and fright.
"Shut up Ivory." Ebony said softly, shaking her head softly as she took another deep breath. "Your Stand is strong. All Stands are, in their own way. I've tried to teach you this, but you can do anything if you push your limits."
Ivory was silent for a moment, as Ebony looked at her, as though expecting an answer or acknowledgement. Finally, she took another unsteady breath, and spoke once more.
"I'm sorry I've always been hard on you, Ivy." Ebony said, slowly getting to her feet. "This is your mission to finish. Do me proud."
Ivory turned to their left, suddenly spotting Sunset Shimmer, standing a few yards away, not enough to hear them, but definitely having saw them. Ebony rose up fully, glaring in rage at her. Sunset held up her hands.
"Wait Ebony, you and your friends can still make it out of here alive." Sunset said quickly. "Just stop and think this out for a second!"
"I have a mission!" Ebony declared. "Blade had a mission, Ivory here has a mission! So long as our Stands are strong and we are loyal, we will complete the mission!"
Ebony ran straight at Sunset, clawed hands ready for battle. Sunset waited for her to close, seemingly ready to accept whatever Ebony had to throw at her, not reacting even as the Werewolf Stand user got within Arm's reach of her. Ivory's eyes widened as she watched.
'She has to realize Sunset is ready for her!' Ivory thought, getting to her knees. 'EB has to know she's being used.'
Has Ebony got close to Sunset, and ready to cut her down with her clawed hands, Sunset leaned away, narrowly dodging the attacks, before Ice Phoenix manifested behind Ebony, and slammed an elbow into the back of Ebony's head. The Stand user fell to her knees, vision swimming, as she struggled to turn around to Ivory.
She seemed to struggle with her words for a moment. "Finish...the mission."
She slumped over, unconscious, as Ivory's eyes widened.
"EB!" She shouted, scrambling to her feet, breathing heavily as she tried to focus her thoughts.
She wracked her hand through her matted and bloodied hair. She couldn't do this. She wasn't the smart one, or the brave one! She just did what the others directed and hoped the boss liked it! How could she ever win alone? She took a deep breath, lowering hands, and balling them into fists, as she stood tall, and pointed right at Sunset.
"No matter what happens today," She declared to Sunset. "I'm gonna finish the mission! For Blades! For EB!"
Sunset didn't say anything. Merely preparing Ice Phoenix. There was no talking anymore. She either had to beat Ivory and her Stand here and now, or everything would've been for nothing. Ivory stepped towards her slowly, the shadows behind and around her shifting and turning like water, as Sunset walked forward as well, eyes cold and focused.