//------------------------------// // 393. Dammed if you do or don’t, pt. 8. // Story: Baa-Ram-Ewe! // by Darkonshadows //------------------------------// -Situation thus far- A direct invasion into Ransei has started, however the one that had begun in Illusio was swiftly dealt with as soon as it started. Chrysalia, working with the local Psychic Types of Illusio and the reluctant leader Kenshin, managed to catch the Moon Cell invasion force PLANTs before they could really propagate a massive foothold. With the work of the teleportation corps of the Alakazams with the Magnificent Mentalis leading them. Viperia was not so lucky, the swamp lands gave the PLANTs from Moon Cell the ability to get into isolation and gain a foothold in Ransei. Not only did they have to deal with the Dark Types of Yaksha, but now Viperia was threatened by the sudden swarm of EPs among them. King Evan was currently planning and making deals with Avia, though Cotton Murkrow would not be in good health or fit for combat at least a year after being nearly shredded to death by Enkidu’s chains. She was good enough to plot and plan as her mind was stronger than her body currently felt, even if she was trying to use the move Roost to recover faster. Unfortunately the move Roost, a well-known method of self-healing for Flying Type Pokémon, couldn’t be used by Cotton in her current state. Even weeks or days after the battle of Cerebrum, she was still too weak to be moved anywhere else than the now heavily protected hospital. Meanwhile Moon Cell was experiencing its own invasion problems, the two canine legendary Pokémon were dangerous souls it was vaguely familiar with and was throwing a lot at them after Dormarch manipulated the system to give access to territory to anyone who could defeat PLANTs. It was also sending quite a few servants after Fou and he was quite happy to fight every last servant that came at him. Moon Cell wasn’t paying attention to the problems going on in the outer layer of its systems as the inner layer territory invasions were more prominent. As such things like Dormarch creating Castle Alexander went unnoticed, anyone that could not notice a humongous walking dog castle that can fly must really be distracted by other things. The first thing the fortress did was push back the all-encroaching sea and created a humongous territory. Castle Alexander having expended ninety percent of its power to block an attack from Moby Dick and launch an attack of its own called Holy Judgement to deal massive damage to the whale shaped PLANT. It proceeded to pin Moby Dick’s head with its massive mechanical paws and prevent it from firing anymore beams. This does not mean that Moby Dick has ceased being a threat as it continues to summon Enemy Programs to attack the fortresses legs, which are defended by the APs made by the PLANTs that weren’t used in the creation of the walking fortress. In its attempt to crush the Moby, Rider Totsugeki finally summoned her ace aquatic creation, known as Leviathan, to wrap its massive and long body around the body of Castle Alexander preventing it from moving. Said ace is the culmination of Rider Totsugeki’s phantasm to summon powerful aquatic creatures. Now the counter invasion force have to deal with a massive sea beast that spews forth deadly lasers of water and can create tidal waves with it’s very breathe. Rider Totsugeki herself is about to face off with a loveable singing sea goat pirate known as Shanty that wanted to be the captain of her own vessel. Also Moon Cell was really going to start paying attention soon after what was about to happen. -Moon Cell Realm, Dike Land, Cape, Mobile Castle Alexander upper entrance, Dolly- “I can still fight, you don’t have to worry about me.” As Dormarch said this we both watched as four figures jumped away as that massive snake bit out a chunk of the castles wall. Despite the fear that thing should be causing them, they attacked its head without pause. Pom jumped in to bash it with the Longinus, Pants jammed her flag spear at its nose, Bug Judo rocked it with his fist causing an explosion on impact to the chin and Shanty jammed the scythe down into the top of the nose and flipped herself onto the things large face and started to slash it up as she ran up its face at Driver Totes Due Becky. Anyone that could shoot was doing so, especially the soldier lizards, they were definitely going full auto at the things neck and were avoiding aiming near the head. Said head is where Pom and the others were avoiding getting snapped up by that monsters teeth as it dropped the huge section of the wall into the courtyard, don’t think we’ll be playing much basketball here after that. The monstrosity had teeth which could use my body as a tea cozy as my step mother Delilah might say. Giant mechanical evil owls were bad enough back on my home world, but this thing was a freaking kaiju! A word of which I only know because of the anime some of the brothers and sisters watch. Not that my world was any safer after finding out such things like monsters really existed there, outside the bubble of contentment and safety that was Camden Town. “Say, do you have access to anyway to get that thing off of… what did you call the dog mecha again? Fortress Basil Lander? I mean you didn’t just build a giant machine without giving it more weapons it can use like those raining lasers thing right?” I asked as the three on the walls were rather aggressively fending off the head as Shanty chased after Jellyfish girl while avoiding the monster’s flexing fins that looked to glint in the sunlight as if they had razor edges. I’d hate to have to meet that thing at night, it was already terrifying as it was in the daylight… which hasn’t ended for a while come to think of it. “Castle Alexander, Dolly, also yes I can think of some things that will help, but it’s going to take a minute or two for them to be activated if they even can be.” Dormarch made his way into the castle, I took one glance at Pom bravely standing up to the head with the white bug and Corduroy as it spat a beam of water. Pom blocked the beam with the weapon as she stood in front of stockings, I’m beginning to think that weapon was as nearly indestructible as my board is and robot dude be jumping over the sweeping beam of water. I quickly followed after Dormarch. “Why can’t you remember names so well?” “You try remembering one hundred plus names beginning with D and not forgetting the faces and smells that go with them all. Also I don’t have a computer for a brain if you haven’t noticed.” Nope I still hadn’t forgotten anyone in my family, Dormarch is included in that number and Pom wanted me to protect him as he obviously knew how to do more after whatever it is he did with this castle. “Right, Alexander communications to power systems…” I heard Dormarch say. “User Dormarch, now accessing power systems speakers.” The male voice stated. “Cid, what’s the situation?” Dormarch asked as I idly kept following him. “The structure will hold together, but that serpent is stressing everything and is threatening to squeeze the life out of Alexander before we really got this things going. I can fix most of the damage it’s done so far, but we won’t be able to take this for too long. We don’t have the PLANTs required to really do what you wanted, the energy consumption is insane! it’s going to need more resources before it can fully realize its potential.” What is the full potential of this place, besides flying, walking and firing a ridiculous amount of exploding white lasers at things? “Is there something you need, Alexander is currently focusing on maintaining structural integrity and we burned through most of our energy resources in almost an instant. This thing is far from being complete, but I’m willing to work on making sure it gets to a point that it will be. Is there anything specific I can do for you, else I’m going to be a bit busy down here sonny. We’re starting to take on EPs and the APs are bottlenecking them at the base of the legs, but that’s not keeping them all out.” “Can we get a small amount of energy to at least activate one of the towers Cid?” Dormarch asked leaving me befuddled as I followed behind him, we both stopped when one of those Jellyfish lunged at him and I took up the board to bash it into the wall with a full blast of my momentum boosted strike that splattered it into cubes. “Sorry about that, I’ll have the Berserker Minotaur Mercenaries take care of the intruders that make it past the APs.” Another voice called out, he sounded jovial despite the situation. “I’ll work on internal security, not going to be able to sell my wares if you all bite an early grave eh.” “Yeah, sonny I can get you at least one defense towers up and running by rerouting what remaining power we have, but who’s going to use it, it’s a manual control system as we didn’t have the resources to spare for automated system usage.” It sounds like this Bid guy could do some useful stuff as the entire place shook with a massive impact. “I’m not even sure it can shoot anything.” “I’m on it Dormarch, I’m already manufacturing an ammunition cycling program for the tower with what little resources we have and I’m routing it to the tower already, send that energy my way to activate it and I’ll take care of the rest by using it myself.” Said a female voice. “I’ll show everyone the power of the name Vineyard!” “Who were those guys?” I asked. “You probably won’t remember their names properly, but in order they are Cid Highwind, Torneko Taloon and Welch Vineyard.” Answered Dormarch. “There’s also Patch Cabbage and I’m sure he’s keeping his head down in the middle of all of this.” “So is that third one an alcoholic?” I asked Dormarch and he slapped a paw over his face. “Also what are we doing here Dormarch?” “We’re going to make sure that the castle will still be function after almost blowing out all of its power supply in one go.” Dormarch groused out as he ran with me following after. “To that end I’m going to the throne room and will access the status report to guide some APs around Alexander as we’re taking on boarders. We need to hold this territory at all costs!” -Somewhere in Alexander Castle, Patch Cabbage- With my mighty hoe of vengeance I mowed down the invading programs, Moon Cell will rue the day it ruined my innocent cabbages with sea water, RUE I SAY! -Damaged front Castle Alexander wall, Pom- A massive wave sent the Commandramon sprawling across the courtyard, battering them, even then they still got up and kept firing everything they had with Metabee and Krosserdog. The large mouth came down at me and I leapt forward, positioning the Paralance just so as I did. The Dhelmise were trying to lock down its head with Chain Shot attacks as I got myself lodged in its mouth. I have no idea what I was thinking, but apparently I’ve become bravely stupid… or stupidly brave. The Skarmory were soon up in the air and were slowly getting ready to perform some dive attacks. The Hakamo-O were good at close range, but they really didn’t have too many long range attacks and were lowering the drawbridge to get opportunities to attack the massive serpent’s neck directly. Even if at best it would tickle this monster. They had Pepper Cat with them as Jeanne, Rokusho and I were dealing with the head personally. Well Rokusho and Jeanne were dealing with the head and the bladed edged fins, I was currently stuck its nasty, moist, saliva filled deadly mouth and this things breathed water in powerful jets flesh rending jets. Why did I jump into its mouth again? Oh right, I wanted to occupy it with trying to chomp me down, but the Paralance is basically indestructible… I was hoping I could make it choke on me. I really need to get my head examined by a professional, I think the last few things I’ve done are driving me to be reckless. The head started flailing when the Paralance refuse to even bend under the massive weight of the lower jaw trying to crush me into the roof of its mouth, it didn’t even flex in the slightest. So this plan is working at least, so besides holding onto the paralance for dear life and hopefully not getting swallowed and or ejected at highly lethal speeds, what now? -Leviathan’s back, Shanty- I be slashing up a lot of scales and be doing some damage as I chased after the one being called a servant, she be stopped as we be on the giant serpents back coming up from under the dog shaped head of the castle and laying over the top of it. “About time it cycled… ANCHOR!” With that an anchor be forming out of the air and dropped into the fish girl’s right hand. She be looking to wield it against me, it was being a bit longer and looking a little lighter than the one I be seeing in the plaza square before Pom be destroying it. “Wait, you’re not that ewe!” “Can I be asking some questions before we are to be doing this thing?” I hefted my cane scythe. I be wondering if Pom would add on an electrum coating to it like Dolly’s board to be making it that much harder to break, because I be liking my weapon after spending enough time with wielding it. “Sure, the longer it takes to ask them, the likelier you are to be doomed. So go ahead waste your precious time among the living.” The girl be saying with a smirk as I looked back and be seeing Pom in the monster’s mouth being flailed about it apparently couldn’t be biting down on the lance she wielded and she was holding onto the shaft of it for dear life as the monster swung it’s head about. “I am ‘Blade Hoof’ Shanty, I will one day sail the seas or the skies and I still be working on getting stronger and I will eventually be a great pirate.” I started off introductions, it was only being polite. “So who are you being?” “Call me Rider ‘Totsugeki’ of the Jellyfish Pirates!” She screamed the word ‘Totsugeki’ like it was ingrained into her blood. “What of your actual name?” I asked hoping she would at least tell me who she was as a person, Pom be teaching me much and I be taking it Rider Totsugeki is not so much a name, but a title she be having and using. “You’ll have to beat me first.” The fish girl with the jellyfish tendrils said cheekily as she swung the longer anchor around, the other anchor had been bulky and slow. That bulky anchor probably was being used for one hit takedowns. This one she be wielding looked like it could be swung much faster and with more ease. “Oh I wouldn’t worry about that being arranged very soon.” I retorted, I had Dodo aid Pom with her current predicament. I’m glad that Pom was being an expert in Familiars, didn’t know how I would be working with Dodo otherwise this far. “Are you the captain of your crew or a mate?” “First mate and proud of it!” She said with a grin as she hefted the anchor onto her right shoulder and stood tall. “… is… Moon Cell your captain?” I be asking after a moment of thought. “Nope, but Moony did send me here to deal with you rebel rousers.” Said the grinning fish girl. “So you are beholden to Moon Cell?” I asked as a sense of dread be entering my heart. “I’m a servant of Moony, so of course I am!” There was a long silence after Rider Totsugeki be proclaiming that, I be feeling a rage bubbling up inside of me. “A true pirate, if not the captain, should only be beholden to themselves or their captain, unless a mutiny is required… otherwise the captain is the highest authority of the crew unless you leave it, the terms in which you leave the crew can be either good ones or bad ones. The crewmates always be choosing their captain as much as their captain be choosing them.” I said quietly as the boiling fury frothed up in my heart, my voice remained calm and chilling. “The way I see it… you are no pirate, you’ve abandoned your crew.” “What, how can you say that!” Rider Totsugeki be biting back angrily. “Where’s your sense of freedom being then, servant of Moon Cell?! I don’t be seeing your captain here urging you ever forward!” I yelled as I be readying my weapon. My voice be causing her to flinch and she be staggering backwards as if I had been slapping her with my own hoof directly. “Again, I not be seeing a true pirate before me, only someone who is being a pretender that no longer has a crew… or a home.” Not saying a word she be pointing the bottom of the anchor at me with her right hand tightly gripping the top of the anchor just below the ring where the chain was supposed to go, I could see faint tremors in her form. She just be gesturing with her left hand for me to come at her, she didn’t say a word more. There was no other words for her to say. She couldn’t be denying the truth of the matter and there was being a dead look in her eyes as she set her jaw and grasped the anchor in both hands. Whoever Rider Totsugeki was now, all she could do now is fight as the servant of Moon Cell and Moon Cell had forcefully usurped the position of her captain. This would not stand while I was here! Rider Totsugeki would not be fighting at her best without the wind that fills the sails of her soul at her back. I wanted to be freeing her, one way or another. The glint of my scythe sparkled as we slowly started moving towards one another. I felt a song in my heart coming on… and the wind was at my back. -Castle Alexander, sopping wet partially destroyed courtyard, Rokusho- I threw myself to the ground of the courtyard dodging the drawbridge as it was tore free and thrown at us by the powerful monster that had torn apart the castle wall and its head hovered into the courtyard growling at us. The Commandramon were throwing their bombs at it, but it was really hard to hurt something that big and ludicrously dangerous, it wasn’t even coding. It was a real flesh and blood beast, which was hard to get across that digital energy might not be the best way to attack it. I was charging up my explosive fist and readying my pincer sword as it prepared to strike at us. It surged forward and I ducked under its large snapping teeth and delivered an uppercut into its jaw, knocking it’s nostril into position to be run through by Jeanne’s banner spear. It roared in pain and flailed around with Jeanne hanging onto it. Jeanne soon planted her feet and shoved her weapon even further in. A Hakamo-o leapt up and joined Jeanne to helping her jam the spear further into the beast’s nose. Pom was battering the fins along its head and neck that continued to threaten to slice us apart if its watery breath didn’t do so first, she was hoping to damage them to stop its rampant head swinging from tearing into us even more. It tried to slam its chin into me and I deftly dodged back and a few of Metabee’s horn missiles slammed into its eyes forcing it to roar in pain as its head was blasted to the side. Taking advantage I jumped up and rammed my blade into the top of its nose near where Shanty had sliced it up and set forward to attack the other one. “Go Captain Shanty, show her what a real pirate is like!” Screamed Favela as she glowed and so too did the Servant, what was Favela doing? No matter we had bigger problems. -‘Blade Hoof’ Shanty vs. Rider Totsugeki- (Insert Music- Gradius 2, Burning Heat! 3 Option Mix) Slowly Shanty started tap dancing on her hind legs as she started moving forward while prepping her cane scythe for a swing to meet the anchor of her opponent. She could feel the beat in her heart, the rage, the fire and the call of her dream burning within her with an incredible heat. Shanty heard Favela’s shout and it warmed her heart that Favela thought that highly of her, it was strange that such words could be considered for her move Swagger, because Shanty could see the effects of what Favela did just by calling her captain and cheering her on. Shanty could even feel Dodo’s trust in her to handle this on her own. Maybe… Taking a slow inhale, Shanty grinned brightly as she felt her spirit bursting with strength, compared to her exhilaration all she could see from her opponent Rider Totsugeki was a dying ember. The goat was going to try and stoke that flame into a roaring bonfire! They surged forward at each other and Shanty’s scythe met Rider Totsugeki’s anchor, surprisingly the anchor was the one knocked back and Shanty didn’t even add a cutting arc to her attack. Shanty grinned brightly as her heart started beating with the tune she was tap dancing on the moving back of the serpent she was going to fight on. Despite the shifting mass beneath her, Shanty never lost her hoofing. “Let us go on an adventure now~. To sail the seven seas, or to the skies, where there’s always quite a lovely breeze~.” As she sang Shanty dodged the two swings of the anchor got up under Rider Totsugeki’s guard and slammed the outside blunt portion of the cane scythe right up into Rider’s chin. “I don’t know who the heck that you think you are, but I don’t be thinking you’ll be getting far, with your soul not up to par~!” As she sang Shanty continued to dodge or deflect Rider Totsugeki’s attacks never adding a sharp or cutting arc edge to them, she was only beating Rider with blunt force. “I simply cannot take you very seriously, not when your soul is not burning bright like mine is for all the world to see~!” Shanty stated as she avoided to rapid overhead swings as Rider spun forward with angular swipes only to get the butt of the cane scythe to the gut knocking her into stumbling back away from the dancing goat. “I’m intending to brave the day, survive as I move forward making my way and this I’ll say, for getting my hopes up you’ll pay~!” Shanty kicked Rider back with her left hind leg and Rider retaliated by leaping forward and swinging the anchor overhead down at an angry, but grinning, Shanty. “Let us go on an adventure now~.” Shanty sang as she deflected with the shaft of her weapon and spun to kick Rider in the side, Leviathan flinched to the right as Shanty kicked Rider in her left side. “Why don’t I show you how~.” Shanty clashed with the anchor several times a rhythm of left and right diagonal swings and each time her weapon came away from the clashes without a scratch and she wasn’t using cutting arcs to do so at all. She was continue to tap out the rhythm damaging the Leviathan with her hind legs as she attacked Rider. Rider Totsugeki thought the Ewe known as Pom was tough, this goat was glaring her down and coming after her with an aura that felt familiar to her somehow. Their weapons clashed and Shanty pushed her back with the climax of the music that Rider was confusingly hearing, something pulsed strangely in her chest as well. “Watch as I sail the sea~. There’s nothing really getting in the way of me, can’t you feel the spray of the water and feel how right it just be~?” Shanty asked as she pressed forward against the weight of the anchor and actually forced Rider Totsugeki backwards much to her consternation that Shanty could be so strong. Shanty was also damaging Levianthan’s scales beneath her hooves as she tapped across them to a fast rhythm. “It’s not a pirate that I see before me, a reckoning is coming for thee, let’s see if you’ve got the guts to take on the kind of captain I’ll be~!” “How are you doing this?!” Screamed Rider as Shanty kept deflecting the attacks of the anchor in rhythm, her slightly faster swings than when she wielding the heavier anchor weren’t making up for the fact that Shanty was expertly blocking and stopping a half ton anchor through sheer force of will. Said force of will was something Shanty had in spades. Rider leapt forward, she brought her anchor down only for Shanty to deflect it with a pirate shout. “AYE, am using my spirit to deflect you’re strength and you’ve no pride, did you even once try to even live up to the life~?!” Shanty using her pirate shout as part of the lyrics she was singing, it was well timed to the point she sent Rider falling onto her back. Shanty started battering Rider Totsugeki’s anchor as Rider continued to block the series of attacks with it on the ground. Eventually Rider Totsugeki swung up and forced Shanty to block and be knocked backwards. “Some pirate you said you used to be, why don’t you just run and flee, you’re nothing more than a mockery~!” Shanty did a simply horizontal slash with her weapon and a massive cutting arc dug a furrow into the horizontally held anchor. Not only that the a large section of the Levianthan’s back was sliced open and Rider couldn’t move for a second as a goat smaller than, one that shouldn’t be this physically capable in comparison, leapt and up and plowed her right hoof into her face bluntly busting Rider’s nose and bloodying it. Shanty flipped backwards before launching it a Wild Windmill that sped up to rapidly slammed her hooves into Rider multiple times, before the goat landed on her front hooves and bucked straight up into Rider’s chest lifting her off the back of the Leviathan with her anchor for a second. Rider caught herself in the air and landed on her feet, she started getting angry and felt a pulse within her starting to build up. She growled and hefted her anchor up to start moving forward, Shanty wasn’t even going to dodge her incoming attack. “Watch as I sail the sky~. I’m seeing the clouds pass right on by, nothing like drinking some rum happily and on the sly~.” Saying this Shanty pulled out a bottle of rum filled her mouth with the fluids, put the bottle away somewhere, held up her front hooves and smacked them together while exhaling the fluids in one constant spray to light Rider Totsugeki on fire. Rider shrieked while rolling around on the wet fleshy and highly durable scales trying to put herself out by smothering the flames. Suddenly the Leviathan started writhing in pain as if lit aflame by Shanty and she narrowed her eyes as she gripped onto the large sea serpent bucking beneath her with her hooves. “What I’m seeing is really quite subpar, are you really a pirate, is that who you truly are~?!” When Rider got up she immediately leapt forward and slammed the anchor down at where Shanty was. Shanty dodged under the anchor as it slammed into the Leviathans back and damaged it, the damage also caused Rider Totsugeki to grunt and Shanty narrowed her eyes at the third sign of something. There was also something else, Rider Totsugeki was starting to show signs of something that made Shanty give off a feral grin. “You are not really quite like me and that is being truly free, so what do you say, are you going to act like a real pirate today~?!” Shanty stood tall and waited for Rider Totsugeki to attack and she met it head on, Rider tried to push Shanty back with her incredible strength and something was wrong because she couldn’t get Shanty to budge an inch as she held the Cane Scythe in front of her defensively grinning like a mad dog. “You are a pathetic spineless wench, why did your captain think you were worth more than the bench, come on you with your nasty fishy stench~!” “Are you getting enjoyment out of this?!” Rider Totsugeki asked seriously, Shanty was half her weight, half her size and definitely not as strong as her, how was she having this much trouble with fighting a freaking goat? She looked into the eyes of madness and saw a reflection of herself, the goat was an orphan… like Rider had been an orphan and someone took them in, her heart started beating to the rhythm of the music Shanty was following. Her eyes widened in horror as she started seeing herself as if she was looking in a mirror, a grinning image of who she once was appeared before her. “Let’s go on an adventure now/is that really me somehow~.” Shanty sang with Rider Totsugeki singing a part herself as she held her position and didn’t take any aggressive action. The grin on Shanty’s face widened. “I want be in the breeze/why does my heart seize~.” At the castle one of towers rose up and a large part of tubes popped out and then fired alternating powerful cannon rounds into Leviathan’s head, making Rider Totsugeki clutch at her skull and stumble back while dropping her anchor. Shanty calmly put away her weapon and used some water to create a blade shaped like a cutlass and she held it forward in her right hoof. A second later Rider Totsugeki found herself gathering water and creating her own sword from it, staring at it and then looking at Shanty in slight confusion about what they were going to do. Rider Totsugeki, picked up her anchor with her right hand and placed it on her back and held the water sword forward and Shanty darted forward with excitement as they clashed swords. “Let us go on an adventure now, think of all the sights that we’ll see, being on an adventure is as freeing as can be~.” Rider Totseugeki and Shanty sang as they clashed, their swords maintaining equally strong cohesion as they slashed and struck out at one another. Rider started putting her heart into trying to hurt Shanty who still held her own despite not actually being good with a sword as Rider was. The nicks and cuts and the bleeding from the sharp edges of the saltwater swords they were slashing at each other with hurt a lot, but Shanty never felt more alive and her adrenaline was pumping. “We both know what we are, there’s no holding back, when you’re going on the attack~!” Shanty had the spirit in the fight the entire time, but now Rider Totsugeki was showing her own spirit in a blaze of aura matching Shanty’s as their water blades dance and they were both enjoying the fight now. There was a light in Rider Totsugeki’s eyes that wasn’t there before, she stopped caring about Moon Cell’s orders entirely… she had something to prove to Shanty. “There’s nothing in life quite like living free, a love of traveling around, neither of us is going back down~!” As they sang this, Shanty stabbed Rider in the right leg and received the water blade through her left shoulder for her efforts and the two water swords they wielded turned ugly red colors in their hoof and hand respectively. “I’m starting to feel like we are a family somehow, so you best take me from this mortal coil, without a big frown~!” Rider Totsugeki grinned, it was sad that she couldn’t shout her favorite word or use Mr. Dolphin while the Leviathan was out. This fight could have gotten really wild otherwise. The two clashed with their sword made of blood on the back of the massive serpent where their footing was constantly unsure because of what the Leviathan was doing by attacking the people in the courtyard and constantly trying to squeeze the castle into rubble. Despite not being able to stick to the scales like Shanty, Rider Totsugeki was riding the waves of the large body’s movement and Shanty started doing the same as they leapt forward over low slices, ducked under swing and tried to stab or slash one another lethally. One could almost imagine the splashing noises as the clacking of real swords. Like Pom, Shanty was learning to wield the blade she made from water as she directly clashed with Rider Totsugeki. High, low, swipe at the midsection, Shanty was even being forced back as the furious flicker of sword swipes came at her. Right side bleeding, left shoulder bleeding, a deep cut along her right cheek and Shanty’s eyes no longer saw a fake pirate. She was fighting the real deal with a grin and was starting to lose, but she wasn’t going to stop pressing into the furious onslaught. Then with one block Shanty changed the tempo of their clash back in her favor, slashing Totsugeki in the ribs causing her stagger back. A thick line of red came from the filleted fish girl’s chest. “Let us go on an adventure now~…” Shanty sang as he performed a leaping thrust her, blade was deflected downwards and she nearly lost her left eye to the reprisal. Shanty manage to duck her head forward creating a cutting arc from her left horn to deflect the sword upwards. “To sail the seven seas~…” A wide and bright eyed Rider Totsugeki stated as they were both slowing down. Both of them were getting completely covered in injuries as they continued to deflect or block their opponent’s blades, trying to not let any more damaging hits pass by their guards. “Or in the skies~…” Shanty sang as they danced the jig of death, one wrong move and they would surely perish, a slice at the right side of Shanty’s throat nearly hit an artery and she managed to retaliate by stabbing Rider in the same place Pom bit her earlier damaging the nerves in her arm and actually managing to barely hit an artery. Without missing a beat Rider swapped her weapon to her other arm as soon she took the hit and continued clashing with Shanty. “Either way there will surely be quite the breeze~…” Responded a smiling Rider Totsugeki even as they were trying to kill each other, they weren’t even paying attention when Rider Totsugeki started suddenly bleeding from her forehead in the exact same place the Leviathan was. In the background a damaged tower continued to fire into huge the water spewing monstrosities head, as multiple heavily battered figures attacked it wherever they could. “I hope that you’ll continue to go quite far, your about to beat this lark, a pirates soul that was lost to the dark~!” Rider sang as she lunged forward and tried to drive her blade into Shanty’s heart. Shanty deflects the blow upwards and Rider stepped back out of range of the follow up attack, but Shanty was much faster. “We pirates should always live by our creed~!” “Have fantastic voyage my friend, it’s time to bleed~!” Shanty shouted as she rammed her blade straight through Rider Totsugeki’s heart and she stiffened up. “It’s been so long… I almost forgot that song… that was inside of me… for my name is May you see, of the Jellyfish Pirates I….~” May collapsed to her knees, the water sword twisted by Shanty in her chest and a smiling May coughed up an amount of blood on the back of the slowly stilling Leviathan “Be~.” The water sword in Shanty’s hoof dissipated and she tried to catch Rider Totsugeki as she fell forward, she really couldn’t hold up the weight of the anchor much less the girl dying in front of her and had to move back while twisting her to fall onto her back. -Shanty- “…” I didn’t be saying anything as I held her. “Family… pirate crew full of orphans… Captain Johnny raised us… I’d follow him to hell again… metal whale airship... Moony will just summon me again… you… you can’t die here…” Stated a weak Rider Totsugeki… no… a greatly weakened May. “I feel it… Levianthan is about to fail… he is tied to my life and I in turn am tied to his… don’t die within Moon Cell’s grasp... don’t want to be a servant of... civilization breaker.” “What do you be…” Then a grip of strong iron, be grabbing me by the left hoof and May be picking me up and surprisingly she be standing, my ear pressed up against her chest for a moment. Her heart wasn’t beating, but her body still be moving on its own?! I know I be feeling her heartbeat before this as we fought and bled. “Totsugeki!” Shouted a crying May as she spun me around, using the last bit of air in her lungs before her body fell over still on the back of the massive serpent. I found myself being flung away as Leviathan be dissolving and I wasn’t going to land very well, until a battered Pom leapt into my path and I Impacted with her soft wool. Pom be grunting and wincing, she also be looking to be in agony as she held me close while staring at the skeletal head of the Leviathan as the only thing that remained of it as its body rapidly dissolved. I soon be looked towards May's disappearing form. That form be smiling to the very last moment as I sat up and watched her fall through the air. She not be turning into cubes, but instead she became a bright shining odd light that soon be flying by me to somewhere while shining brightly. I saw a smiling face in the instant the light be passing me by and ruffling my hair, she had just become one with the wind itself… a small smile be crossing my face as I will be passing out soon. -Moon Cell- Another servants soul disappeared, something was very wrong. Looking into the problem, the system froze for a full minute at seeing a limping Chrysomallus glaring up at it as it looked at her, somehow the anti-magic sheep adjacent being was staring directly at it with bright eyes. The more disturbing and horrifying part was that said anti-magic sheep adjacent being was actually inside its systems and it was causing disastrous distortions already just by being here. It would explain the sudden disappearance of defeated souls. -Origin Space, Arceus- Wait, where did that soul go? She would have made for a cute dolphin Pokémon. -Silent Castle Alexander Courtyard, Commandramon- “Heh, we did it, woo!” I shouted as we all survived that mess, I'm surprised that nobody was outright eaten. Getting a ewe stuck in it's throat did help with it trying to eat anyone else. “Not quite, the large PLANT is still generating EPs and the APs are being overrun. Anyone that can still fight go to the lower levels in the legs or down the tail and deal with that whale or else that victory is not going to last us long!” Dormarch called out, ruining the good mood of surviving that hellish water spewing serpent somehow. The digi-bots were heavily damage, most Commandramon needed medical attention, the biologicals did too and the Gazimon, along with Ocellus and Smolder were quickly dealing with the severely injured. “We need someone to get down there and destroy it!” Pepper Cat had been exceptionally useful in weakening that leviathan of a beast, her electricity had seemed to slow it down a lot, not to mention the tower cannon that pummeled it ceaselessly with ammunition. “Are you alright Shanty?” Pom did not look to healthy and some of that red was hers and not the bloodied goat she was holding. “Can you be feeding me?” Was all Shanty said with a grin, she looks like she tore a lot of her muscles just blocking that anchor the servant was swinging around. She then went limp, either from blood loss, exhaustion or just pain as she came off her adrenaline. “Yeah, you’ll be fine.” Pom stated flatly with half lidded eyes. “We’re on it Dormarch, we’ll figure out something!” Sami called out, before motioning to a battered Canard and they set off to deal with the whale with two Dhelmise and a still standing Hakamo-o. Even Jeanne was down. “Dormarch does this castle by any chance have your medical scanning?” Pom asked a second later. “Yes.” Responded the mind behind the whole living castle idea. “How’s my health.” Pom asked weakly as she carried Shanty over to Ocellus, I got up and started moving myself, my CO was going into trouble and I was the only able bodied digital entity among the nine Commandramon still capable of putting up a fight. “Sadly enough, you’re good… enough… also you’re golden wool is worsening. Shanty isn’t too healthy though and she doesn’t have your mid combat ability for sealing off wounds.” Answered Dormarch as the castle started moving. I noted the increase in golden wool around Pom’s right leg and wondered what that meant for the ewe that it was halfway up to her knee. She did do some weird golden claw things during the fight against that large serpent to damage and cut away it's deadly sharp fins. “Castle Alexander is surrounded by aquatic APs, even without an ocean they’re proving to be nasty and they are slowly collapsing our territory with their raw numbers alone. If our territory collapses, we'll be sitting ducks if the ocean finish us off.” I picked myself up and fell in with Sami, Canard and Pom a rough rasp of air leaving my lips. A soldier’s job was never done.