Juri Han Versus The World! (2 Viewers)

[Kargan3033]

I was hoping there would be a Juri v. Chun Li match up in here, but after seeing Juri take down WW it's clear that it would be a fucking bloodbath! XD

Hell Ya!
I never really did like Chun-Li all that much so seeing her beaten and maybe raped would be nice.

 

[Sickerton]

The blog post about Wonder Woman is up. You may want to get a snack before you start.

I'll refrain from posting these in this thread after this one; making only an exception this time because it was asked about. If you want to leave anything concerning it I'd suggest using the comment system for the blog post, since I could see the possibility of it clogging up this 'fic thread with technically unrelated conversations.

(Also don't expect anything this long over there on a regular basis, but I think that's almost a given)

I was hoping there would be a Juri v. Chun Li match up in here, but after seeing Juri take down WW it's clear that it would be a fucking bloodbath! XD

Eh, I tried to somewhat stress that this particular result was more a happy accident than anything. Juri stumbled into an armor chink that she knew nothing about beforehand, and was quick on her feet enough to press the sudden advantage before it could be patched up.

A Juri x Chun Li match could be possible, but it's just so... common, y'know? Most works involving Juri beating, molesting, or beat-molesting a female opponent are already either Chun Li or Cammy. There's even an official movie pretty much about it.

I do know that's one of your favorite things, though, so I'll keep in mind. No guarantees, but if I get a good enough hook somewhere maybe something could be done.

 

[meepmeep]

I do know that's one of your favorite things, though, so I'll keep in mind. No guarantees, but if I get a good enough hook somewhere maybe something could be done.

It is literally a scenario I will never get tired of. Chun Li's hubris spelling her downfall and resulting in the failure of her noble intentions. Nothing quite as exquisite as "The Strongest Woman in the World" failing to live up to her title. :P~~~

 

[Kargan3033]

It is literally a scenario I will never get tired of. Chun Li's hubris spelling her downfall and resulting in the failure of her noble intentions. Nothing quite as exquisite as "The Strongest Woman in the World" failing to live up to her title. :P~~~

Ahh the physical and mental agony of a humiliating defeat >:-)

Btw I love your avatar Meepmeep

 

[Sickerton]

Hurrah, Det fixed the character limit!

Now to immediately make him regret it!

Spoiler: Oh God, Sickerton, Why?

Hey, welcome back guys! I've got a story for you all to celebrate! It was originally going to be for Halloween, but then, uh, I underestimated several things. I may have also done several things here.

We're still clear that these are hard, dark stories, right? And that I sat down to work on this one specifically to get in the spirit of all hallow's eve, right? Okay just checkin'

=-=-=
Chapter 1: Bladed Cage
Chapter 2: Hunting Sparkles
Chapter 3: I'm Your Boogeyman
Chapter 4: Making A Splash!
Chapter 5: Getting Dangerously Meta
Chapter 6: Suffering Sappho!
Chapter 7: Evil By Moonlight (You Are Here)
Chapter 8: Another M
Chapter 9: Roy G. Biv Sends His Regards
Chapter 10: Rocks Fall
Chapter 11: Written By The Winners
=-=-=

Evil By Moonlight​

They ran.

Through the endless tunnels they ran, like their lives depended on it. Which, it could be easily argued, was true enough.

It was not entirely clear where they actually were. They had been lost in this maze of subterranean passages for what seemed like ages; only able to see at all because the jagged, crystalline material these tunnels apparently were dug through gave off a muted light of their own. In the end it didn't matter. Any direction but back was the correct choice.

Spoiler: Make Up!

There were five of them -- pardon, five of them now -- and they fled as if the devil was nipping at their heels.

At the front of the pack, and by far the least composed, was a blonde girl with giant pigtails. While the panicked flailings of Usagi Tsukino (also known as Sailor Moon) kept her the furthest ahead, this may be easier attributed to no one behind her wanting to risk a collision than any athletic talent on her part. Second in line was a tall girl in green. This girl, known as Makoto Kino or Sailor Jupiter, was clearly refraining from her top speed in order to stay with with the others. She personally could keep up this pace for ages, but knew that she was the only one present who could do so. Just barely keeping astride with Jupiter was a raven-haired lady in red. Rei Hino, the Sailor Guardian of Mars, was only holding back further shouts at their "leader" to watch where she was going because she had no spare breath left to do so. Behind her, lagging by a significantly wider margin, was a Sailor Guardian in blue. Taking occasional glances back and then looking down to type into a handheld device, the Mercury Guardian Ami Mizuno would probably have fallen completely behind of the pack by now it it wasn't for the pushes and goadings of her current companion. With magnificent golden locks and orange trim to her outfit, the Venus Guardian Minako Aino was trying her best to remind Ami why they were currently fleeing.

Not that Ami needed it. In fact, she knew more than the rest of them combined.

Risking another glance back, Sailor Mercury gave her special visor another chance to scan the woman behind them for more data. This lady -- no, this creature -- was clearly toying with them. Every time Mercury looked behind them the woman was only walking, being left behind even, but as soon as Mercury turned away and then back she had unfailingly closed the gap once more.

This woman had taken them off guard in their first encounter, and wasted no time in making her intentions clear. They had only managed to break off from that intact with the timely intervention of a familiar savior; proof of which could be seen in a now clotting cut across the purple-clad woman's cheek.

In one of her hands, twirling around an extended finger, was a ruined, smoldering top hat. This was proof of what had happened to said savior immediately afterwards. There would be no encores tonight.

"Where are you all going?" the monster behind them asked, her sarcasm-drenched voice echoing throughout the tunnels. "I'm right here. You can't let all those pretty speeches of yours go to waste now."

Letting the hat drop and leaving it behind, the woman -- who's face Mercury's visor had just finished connecting to an old domestic terrorism database -- brought her hands in and rested them palms-down on her collarbone.

"Come on. Punish me."

Having had quite enough of that view, Mercury turned back forward just in time to avoid the trainwreck playing out in front of her. Sailor Moon, finally pushing her dumb luck to the absolute limit, had slipped on debris and fallen to the ground. Due to the pace they were running her sprawled form had passed Mars and Jupiter before either could react, and all Mercury could do in time was move out of the way to avoid making the situation even worse.

As the clumsy guardian tumbled past and rolled to a stop, Venus realized what she had to do. She was the only one now with even a theoretical chance of pulling this off, and leaving anyone behind was simply unthinkable.

Giving one last push to Mercury, to let her know that she really meant it this time, Venus spun and dashed back to the fallen guardian.

-=-​

"Get up, Usagi."

"Ten more minutes", Sailor Moon mumbled, her gripe mostly muffled by the ground her face was pressed against.

"Get. Up."

Feeling hands upon her, she was firmly but gently hoisted up by the armpits. As the world came back into focus, Usagi was not met with the usual flustered face of her mother.

"Minako?" Usagi asked, still more than a little confused. "Why are you-"

"No time." Sailor Venus replied as quickly as she could. "Run."

"But-"

"RUN!"

Half shoving and half throwing the still woozy guardian, Venus managed to get Moon facing the right direction and moving. For a few steps it seemed like she was going to just fall over again, but soon her shakiness diminished and she was well on her way to catching up with the rest.

Minako had done it. Against all odds, she got that klutz up and running in no time flat.

"Heart of gold, huh?"

It did not come without a price, however.

Frozen with shock, Minako turned her head to fully accept what she knew was there. Standing by her shoulder was the woman they were fleeing from, apparently having stopped herself to watch.

"Mind if I double-check?"

Before Minako could react, a sidewards elbow hit her temple and everything went fuzzy.

-=-​

Usagi was told to run, so run she did. What she didn't understand, though, was why the others in front of her had skidded to a stop. Sliding to a halt herself, she followed their aghast stares and the memories of what was actually happening finally flooded back.

There was a woman after them. A terrible, vicious, bloodthirsty woman. And now there she was, standing triumphantly over the crumpled form of yet another one of her friends.

Sailor Mars clasped her hands together, with her index fingers pointed outwards, and concentrated as a small ball of fire bloomed at the tip. Both Moon and Jupiter moved to grab her, but Mars herself had apparently thought better of it and let the flame fizzle out. They all knew that their opponent would just use her captive as a shield against anything flung her way. It was a tactic she had favored during their first scuffle, and not heeding that had already cost them far too much.

"Ami." Mars growled through gritted teeth. "Tell me that you have something. Anything."

Arcane symbols danced across Mercury's visor as stored information was rapidly brought up and discarded within fractions of seconds.

"I do have some intel on her..." Mercury began, "...but I'm not sure how much you will like it."

-=-​

Juri looked up, from the trembling prey at her feet to the ones keeping what they thought was a "safe" distance from her. She had the bait, so now it was time to set the hook.

Locking eyes with the one she considered the best prospect -- the one with those huge, rabbit-ear pigtails -- Juri raised her arms up as if she was a ringmaster in a circus and began her spiel.

"Oh no! A defender of justice and love has fallen! Is there anyone who could step in and save the beautiful Sailor... uh, Guardian?"

Juri examined the reactions so far. The bunny-girl was paying close attention, but the other three seemed to be more preoccupied with some sort of discussion.

That was alright. This was going to be hard to ignore soon enough.

Still staring directly at her 'audience', Juri stooped down to seize her plaything.

-=-​

"Her name is Juri Han," Mercury elaborated to Jupiter and Mars. she was slightly annoyed by the fact that Moon was obviously not listening, but time was of the essence and someone could fill her in later.

"She's a normal human, but was a test subject in studies to enhance fighting capabilities. Her left eye is a cybernetic implant."

"That's neat and all," Jupiter butted in, "but what can we use?"

"The implant is the source of her powers, and it's an experimental prototype. Bound to have at least a couple flaws. The only problem is-"

The rest would have to wait. Priorities had just been... shuffled.

-=-​

Sailor Venus regained consciousness face down on the ground. She knew where she was, and what that meant, but for an agonizing few seconds she simply did not have enough control yet to try and escape. Once the wooziness dispersed well enough for at least an attempt, she started to push herself up just in time to be shoved back to the floor by a knee in her back.

She flopped back down with a groan, but soon felt fingers grab hold of her scalp and lift. She was greeted with the sight of her friends just a few feet away, frozen in indecision.

"You see that?" The woman in purple asked her. Although she was close enough for even a whisper to be audible to Minako, kneeling on her back and all, she still said it much louder than needed.

"They aren't lifting a finger to help you, blondie. Such great friends."

Minako realized what was happening here. Her captor was using her as a lure. The others would have to come in to save her, at which point the slaughter would begin again.

Minako drew in a breath, readying a shout to leave her behind, but it was stolen by an unwilling gasp as the purple woman pulled her head further back and applied more pressure to her spine.

"True friends would come running to help, tight? They must think you're not in any actual trouble."

The hold on her hair was released, only to be replaced by a hand gripping each of her shoulders. She could so little but whimper and quiver as her increasingly taxed back muscles spasmed and her spine creaked.

"Let's give 'em a little incentive."

The world jerked upwards, and her entire body burst into agony. Minako finally found enough breath to shriek as half of her body alit in searing pain while the rest sunk into icy numbness.

-=-​

It seemed like screams were coming from everywhere.

Usagi, having a front-row view of what had just happened, had fallen to her knees and was desperately calling for Venus between the gaps in her fingers. Venus herself was screaming, having been essentially broken in two. The maniac they now knew as Juri Han let out a few whoops of her own, if only to add to the noise.

The three that were left wanted to scream as well, more than almost anything, but knew that succumbing to it would doom them. Channeling their despair into rage, Mars and Venus turned to face Juri.

"Don't!" Ami shouted, grabbing each by the shoulder. "It's what she wants!"

"What do we do then?" Rei shot back. "Watch Minako die?"

"We need Juri to exert herself. If I can achieve a scan of her cybernetic attachment while it's in opera-"

"Get to the point!", Jupiter yelled.

"Goad her into to doing her... magic stuff."

"On it!" Rei replied, already on her way toward Juri. One way or another, she wasn't going to watch another loved one die tonight.

-=-​

For better or for worse, Juri was aiming to please.

Rei did not bother slowing as she approached, instead committing to a running punt directly into that smirking face. As Juri disappeared in a blur, and the kick meant for her sailed through empty air, Rei lost balance and landed on top of Minako's shattered back.

Trying to ignore the fresh shrieks that she had accidentally caused, Rei scrambled to her knees just in time to earn a knee to the forehead. A few more strikes to the face and a kick to the stomach doubled her over, gagging and heaving.

Trying her best to will the spots in her vision away, Rei could hear the muted padding of Juri's bare footsteps moving away from her.

She was leaving? Why?

-=-​

Minako, finally, had started coming to terms with what had happened to her. Although she was still hitching with sobs, the Guardian had made it through the wall of mindless thrashing and was now in full survival mode. Through a veil of tears she could make out Usagi in the distance, and began to drag herself towards possible salvation.

She was so focused on this tiny glimmer of hope that she did not even notice the form which now stood over her.

Minako could tell that something was wrong when Usagi screamed again and started shaking her head. But what Usagi actually saw -- Juri's foot hovering over Minako's head and glowing steadily brighter with charged energy -- would forever remain a mystery to her.

Juri's stomp came down upon Minako's head like an industrial-grade piston, embedding her face in the crystalline ground and cracking both it and her skull in equal measures. Her body flopped once from the impact then fell and lay perfectly still; the massive trauma to her brain being too severe for even a death twitch. The only motion afterwards was the steady spread of blood from the impact crater, which even then soon came to a halt as her heart wound down.

Her murderer did not give her corpse so much as a second glance as she turned back to other matters. She was an afterthought, and would be treated as such.

-=-​

Rei had no idea what was happening, but by the sounds of Usagi it was clearly nothing good. Her suspicions were all but confirmed as she was dragged upright by that monster Han.

Juri held the weakened Mars from behind; her right arm wrapped around Rei's neck in a chokehold, while her left arm grabbed hold of Rei's wrist and outstretched them both to the side. The end result was more of a pose than a bind, as if they were in the middle of a dance step with Juri as the lead.

Once again locking eyes with the pigtailed one, Juri started once again.

"Oh, no! Another defender of justice and love has fallen! Is there anyone who can save the beautiful Sailor..."

Pausing for a moment, Juri whispered into Rei's ear.

"Which planet are you again?"

Rei mumbled back an answer, and Juri turned once more to her "audience".

"Can anyone save the beautiful Sailor Uranus?"

A beat passed. A shoe dropped.

"Heeeeeey..."

-=-​

Sailor Jupiter just couldn't look away. Every second that passed was another step further into madness. She was afraid to blink, worried at the prospect of what could be there when her eyes opened again.

"Ami. Please, please tell me that you got something out of that."

"I think I have," Ami replied, switching between the displays on her visor and her pocket computer. "It's a very complex device, but they apparently had to leave some precautions out of something that small. Little to no surge protection."

For the first time today, Jupiter managed something approaching a bitter grin.

"So if I give her a shock that thing goes offline?"

"Correct. The only problem is, well..."

She motioned towards Juri, now slowly testing the limits of Rei's lung capacity with her chokehold.

"...Getting her by herself." Jupiter concluded.

A moment passed, both deep in thought. Eventually, it was Ami which came up with a plan.

"Makoto, get Usagi and pull her together. I'm going lay down a cloud of mist so you can both dash in and snatch back Rei before Juri can react. If Juri starts using her engine I should be able to track her energy readings through the haze and update you on her position."

"And if she doesn't?" Jupiter asked.

"We've outrun her so far." Mercury replied with a shrug.

Well, it was a plan. It wasn't perfect, but it was reasonable and there was no time to hash out anything better.

Jupiter moved to gather up Usagi, while Mercury made her own preparations.

-=-​

While she did her best to put on a strong face, Ami was torn.

Sure, it was her plan, but it was still far too fast and loose for her liking. Too many possible variables, too many last-second doubts. Was she sending the rest of her friends into a grinder? Should she have planned to go in as well? She was the least fit of their group for a fight -- being the only Guardian lacking a direct combat ability -- but maybe she could still do just enough to tip the scales?

Oh well. Makoto had already filled in Usagi on what to do, and there were more ways she could help than with brute force.

Bringing her hand up in front of her, Ami concentrated until a small, blue orb of energy appeared between them.

"Bubble..."

Ami drew back her hands, but the orb remained floating in front of her. She then crossed her wrists between herself and the orb.

"Spray!"

In one fluid motion she cut through the orb with twin chops, dispersing the energy throughout the room and obscuring everything in a deep, chilly mist.

She had now done her major part. It was now up to Makoto and Usagi.

At the very least, let them come out of this okay.

-=-​

Sailor Jupiter crept through the fog, trying her best to tread lightly while scanning all around her for suspicious silhouettes. She was coming in on the left of Juri while Usagi approached on the right; the thought being that they would hopefully catch her in something approaching a pincer attack and divide her attention.

That was the idea at least. Three shapes finally appeared, but none of them were Juri herself.

Usagi had apparently made it here first, and was slinging one of Rei's arms over her shoulder to help her up. Rei was still mostly out of it, but besides some bruising and battering seemed to be okay. The same could not be said for Minako. It took little more than a cursory examination to verify that nothing could be done there.

Still, Makoto couldn't help but feel a traitorous twinge of relief. Juri had apparently fallen back to wait for a more advantageous situation, which would also give them time to recover and come up with a real plan to put her down.

Filled with hopeful optimism and bitter despair in equal measures, Makoto draped Rei's other arm over her shoulders and the three of them set off to reunite with Ami. Maybe, just maybe, this was doable.

-=-​

Ami had kept her eyes on Juri as her mist filled the room, but so far her visor had no readings from that location or anywhere around it. Was she standing her ground? That seemed rather unlikely, since she wouldn't be able to see anything until an attacker was right on top o-

As an arm snaked around her throat and a hand covered her mouth, Ami realized that she was not the only one who considered this. Juri did not need her Feng Shui Engine to get the drop on her in these conditions.

"You look like you're the brains of this outfit," Juri whispered into her ear.

"We need to talk."

-=-​

As the mist thinned, it dawned on the two conscious guardians that their antagonist may not have beat a straight retreat.

"Ami?" Makoto asked into the thinning haze. "You can come out now, Ami."

Pulling herself away from the others, Makoto left Usagi to sit down and stay with Rei while she wandered further about.

"Ami. Ami! Say something! Anything!"

When the fog finally cleared, there was no longer any denying it: Mercury was gone. While they circled in on Juri to take back Rei, she had done the same to steal Ami.

Biting her lower lip, and clenching her hands into fists hard enough to make them tremble, Makoto did her best not to explode then and there.

-=-​

"Unh..."

The first thing Rei saw when she opened her stinging eyes was Usagi's big dopey face. Not her first choice, but she'd still take it.

"How..." she managed to get out through her aching throat "...did you save me?"

"It was more Ami than me, actually."

That... wasn't an answer to her question, but she really should have expected as much considering who she was asking. Rei looked around for Ami, to get an actual explanation, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?"

"Well..." Usagi began, looking away and nervously playing with her fingers, "...we can't find her."

Translation: Juri had a new hostage. It was basically high-stakes musical chairs at this point.

Speaking of which, one was still unaccounted for. Rei bolted up to attention once she realized that the other captive wasn't present either.

"And Minako? How bad off is she? Did you get her too?"

Usagi's watery, remorseful eyes stopped just short of meeting hers, and Rei knew the answer before the words came out.

"Minako... didn't make it."

"...Oh."

It was all Rei could manage. An icy chill crawled up her spine and spread out through the rest of her body. She hadn't felt this cold since... well...

Rei rose to her feet, unsteadily but mechanically. Usagi moved to help her, but Rei batted her hands away.

"So Minako is dead." Rei repeated, her brow furrowing as she glowered at Usagi. "Minako is dead and you've traded in Ami to get me. What do we do now?"

"Y-you're asking me?" Usagi asked.

"Yes.", Rei replied, her voice calm but her stare focusing like a magnifying glass preparing to fry ants. "I am. You're the leader. Lead us."

"Well, uh..." Usagi stalled. Quickly coming up with an idea, she brought out a short, pink 'wand' with a crystal cradled by a crescent moon sitting on the end.

"If that girl's possessed I can use the Moon Stick to-"

"She has no evil inside her that she didn't make herself." Rei replied firmly.

Usagi faltered and stammered. After another moment of worried ruffling she held out a stubby, pink pen with a large ruby on the tip.

"Maybe if I used my pen to disguise as a-"

The back of Rei's hand collided with Usagi's, sending the Disguise Pen flying out of her grip and clattering across the ground. Usagi began to protest, but was silenced as Rei's hand reversed direction to slap her across the cheek.

"Do you think this is a game?" Rei asked, her voice rising in volume. "Do you think playing dress-up will help us?"

"I don't- I just-" Usagi stammered, on the verge of tears. "I don't know what you want from me!"

Rei placed her hands on Usagi's shoulders, and brought herself in so they were staring eye to eye.

"What do I want from you?"

Her grip tightened.

"I want you to be a leader."

Slowly, she began to rock Usagi back and forth.

"I want you to come up with ideas. I want you to pull your weight. I want you to rally us, hold us together."

Now shaking Usagi wildly, Rei's voice rose to a furious roar.

"I want you to prove your worth! I want you to do anything, anything but cry and get in the way!"

"Rei!"

Forcing herself between the two, Makoto pushed them apart. Turning her head towards Rei, she asked:

"Is this helping?"

Rei glared at Makoto for a few heated moments, her eyes full of fire and brimstone. But then the tears came, and it all collapsed.

"I... I know it isn't. But what can I do? What can any of us do?"

"Communicator" Usagi managed to squeak out between sniffles.

Surprised by the interjection, both Rei and Makoto turned to her.

"What?"

"Our Sailor Communicators" Usagi continued, bringing up hers. Each Sailor Guardian had one, which they used to talk with each other across long distances. "We should be able to track down Ami's, with ours, right? And Ami will probably be right there with it, right?"

They were both silent, but Makoto's nudging of Rei with her elbow said enough. Against all odds, Mars may actually be getting what she wanted.

-=-​

Makoto and Rei trailed behind Usagi as she wandered, Communicator in hand. They had all agreed to have her lead this time. It only seemed fair.

They had quickly discovered several peculiarities of this place which both hindered and aided their search. To start with, the energy in the crystals all around them created a sort of white noise which drowned out their signals. On one hand, it meant that they could not immediately connect with Ami. On the other, they could also work out a decent enough route to Ami's location by comparing levels of static in each branching path and taking whichever had the lowest amount.

As they carried on, and the signal grew better, it soon became clear that Ami's Communicator was sending as well as receiving. There was nothing decipherable yet, but rustling and low murmurs were definitely present.

Maybe...

"Ami," Usagi half whispered into the Communicator. "Ami, are you there?"

The noises stopped for a beat, but then were followed by much more energetic rustles.

"Ami, can you speak?"

The three Sailor Guardians huddled around the Communicator, waiting for any sort of reply.

"... The hell is this?"

Any sort of reply except that one.

They now had someone on the other end, but it wasn't Ami.

Their fears realized, they picked up the pace while they listened.

"Hey now, this is actually kind of cool. It's got portraits and everything! Here's the big girl, here's the hothead, here's... ah... not going to need that one any more..."

"You shut your mouth!" Rei growled into the speaker.

"Oh, so you are there! How's the hunt going? I'd put Blue on the phone, but she's all tied up right now."

"If you've done anything to Mercury, we'll make you regret it."

"Promises, promises. See you-"

As they rounded another corner, Juri cut herself off.

"...well damn, now."

-=-​

It was clear that Juri had been hard at work. And hell, maybe from her point of view it actually made sense.

The maniac herself stood next to Mercury, almost posing to show off her handiwork. Mercury was several feet off the ground, standing on a makeshift platform made by breaking a crystalline stalagmite in half. Mercury herself had clearly been put through the wringer -- her outfit torn to tatters, her exposed skin covered in bruises, and a segment of what was once her her skirt shoved into her mouth -- but she was still good enough to stand. With an aid, at least.

Partially holding her up, for the moment, was a glimmering, golden length of rope. It began knotted around her wrists, then traveled back to wrap around her neck a few times for an adequate noose before ending in a small hole in the roof of the cave Juri must have carved out specifically to loop through.

"You like?" Juri asked. "It's kind of a rush-job, but I think it gets the idea across."

"You're a monster." Jupiter muttered.

"Oh come on," Juri chided, "I just wanted to have a talk in private with Ami here."

Perhaps it was because the other two were too busy thinking about what to do, but it was Sailor Moon who first noticed the slip.

"She told you her name?"

Visibly pleased that someone was paying attention, Juri chuckled and continued.

"Oh, Ami was very talkative. Lemme see here..."

Juri pointed at Sailor Moon, then moved from her to each other Guardian.

"Usagi. Rei. Makoto. And the pancake was Minako. Did I get that right?"

"That's enough!" Jupiter bellowed, tensing up for the imminent fight.

"Quite right," Juri replied, and with a powered kick shattered the platform Ami was standing upon.

-=-​

There was no time to coordinate, but with the speed that the three Guardians leapt into action it would have been reasonable to guess otherwise. Rei and Makoto made a beeline for Juri, while Usagi hooked off to the side to help the now strangling Ami.

The next few minutes would be interesting, to say the least.

-=-​

Juri easily dodged Makoto's opening attack, a shoulder tackle straight out of a football play, by simply moving to the side. That was okay. The first priority was to get some distance between her and Ami, so Usagi could get her down uninterrupted.

Rei was up next, going low with a sweep. Juri also leapt away from this, widening the gap further.

Now with a Guardian on either side of Juri, things got a bit... hectic. The two laid into her as hard as they could -- well, as hard as they could without hitting each other in the crossfire -- but Juri was always a fraction of an inch out of reach. As she danced and swayed through every attempted strike, it seemed like she was playing a game.

Of course, they knew, it was because she was.

Sometimes the only way to track her blurring form properly was to follow the purple dot of light; in truth Juri's artificial eye, glowing with energy no doubt being pumped through the rest of her body. It was clear that something had to be done about that, and soon if they were to have a chance.

How could they achieve this goal? Good question.

Here's hoping that Usagi was doing better with her own dilemma.

-=-​

Usagi, par the course, had no idea what she was doing.

Ami swung in front of her, slowly strangling to death on the rope wrapped around her neck. Her kicking feet and muffled gagging proved that the drop did not kill her, but it would take no time at all for the current situation to rectify that.

How was she supposed to get Ami free? She was too high up for Usagi to have any chance at reaching her throat, and fiddling around with the rope around Ami's wrists while the life was throttled out of her seemed like several shades of stupid.

Alright. Think.

First thing's first: Get Ami some air.

Crouching down and turning her back to Ami, Usagi reached back and grabbed hold of Ami's flailing legs. Resting them across her shoulders, she then rose back up to full height with Ami on top of her.

This "piggyback" was not enough to free Ami from her makeshift noose, but judging from the raspy breaths Usagi could now hear above her it was enough to get some weight off of her windpipe. The time limit to get her out was now not quite as bad.

Happy that she had made at least some progress, Usagi turned her attention to the knots holding Ami's hands together.

-=-​

Now Juri was having fun, playing with her two toys like this, but it was about time to get down to business. After all, there was another couple to go through right after them.

Juri leaned back to just barely avoid a frustrated punch from each side. Then, grabbing hold of their outstretched hands with her opposite arms, she pulled them crashing in against each other.

As the two recoiled Juri took the opportunity to clonk Rei over the head with an axe kick. Rei buckled and collapsed with only a stammered urk in protest, but Juri had already turned back to the remaining fighter. She hadn't got to really try out this not-so-jolly green giant yet, and was more than ready for a taste.

-=-​

What kind of tie was this? What kind of knots were these? How would you undo them?

Usagi quietly fumed to herself as she pulled and prodded, furious that of all the things a life could hinge on it had to be how well she paid attention in Home Ec class. Granted, her grades weren't exactly stellar in any other area, but that was a subject for another day.

Growing in frustration she tried biting through the rope, and from the feel of it may have chipped a tooth in the process.

Good grief. Where would you even go to buy something like this?

-=-​

Makoto was far from a stranger to fighting, but with the Feng Shui engine in full swing the odds were more than stacked against her. She tried to grab Juri and lock her into a bearhug, but all that did was open her up for a headbutt to the chest. Juri followed up with a few quick knees into Makoto's gut while she was down there, and came back up with a rising elbow that snapped the Guardian's head back and briefly lifted her to her tiptoes.

Makoto, to her credit, did not fall; instead taking advantage of Juri's advance to lock them both up in a clinch. It was not nearly as advantageous as what she was originally aiming for, and she had to soak up a lot to get even this, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Far from being worried, Juri took this as an opportunity to go to town. Juri listened intently to Makoto's breathless gags as she alternated more knee strikes into the Guardian's already abused stomach.

Still, the girl managed to hold on. This was a hardy one, and Juri couldn't wait to test just how far she could go.

Perhaps Juri was getting too into this for her own good. As something hit the back of her head, and her vision burst into fireworks, Juri remembered that this was not a one-on-one.

-=-​

Juri's sudden lurch forward caused Makoto to lose her already straining grip, falling down into a seated sprawl. When she looked back up she saw her opponent clutching her head while trying her best to stay standing, and Rei behind her holding a chunk of crystal in one hand.

It was apparently a very solid blow, judging by the blood splattered on the rock and trickling down Juri's scalp. But Rei nonetheless let her bludgeon drop to the ground, instead choosing to come up behind Juri and wrap her arms around the purple woman.

"Now!" Rei shouted to Makoto. "Short her out!"

"But you're-"

"Don't care! Do it!"

Alright. No checking twice here.

Crossing her arms in front of her and closing her eyes, Makoto focused on gathering energy. The tiara on her forehead reacted to her concentration, mechanically raising a small antenna from somewhere inside it to jut up above her head.

"Supreme..."

A cloud of juttering electricity came into existence above Makoto, and was drawn down instantly into the impromptu lightning rod that was her tiara. She tensed up as electricity coursed across her body, ready to be discharged.

"Thunder!"

Spreading her arms wide, Jupiter flung the lightning in a bolt which landed square on Juri and Rei. Both of them were for an instant turned to twitching, smoking shadows as the brilliant energy crackled around and through them.

Makoto was fairly sure that the blast wouldn't kill them. Fairly.

But, in the case of one of the victims, that was what she was here for.

-=-​

Usagi saw the flash of light in her peripheral vision, but did not pay it any heed besides that. The fact that Jupiter was even able to get off her attack was assuring enough.

What she was interested in were the groans above her, proving that Ami was starting to regain full consciousness.

"Don't worry," she called up, "We'll have you down soon."

As soon as she could find out where the hell this rope started and ended, of course.

-=-​

As the lightning afterimages faded, Makoto could see the two expected figures just beginning to come out of their shock.

Rei slid down her former captive and splayed out onto the floor, apparently jolted into unconsciousness.

Juri was a bit more of a mixed bag.

Panting heavily and hunched over, Juri looked up at Makoto with one eye. The other one -- the cybernetic fake -- continued staring straight ahead at nothing. It took a couple tries, but the spidery woman eventually managed to raise the corners of her mouth into a shaky, leery smile.

"Looks like you got me, kiddo."

She took a step forward, clearly a test to see if she could.

"My eye's on the fritz; I'm just my old helpless self."

Another step.

"My old, tournament fighting, special operative self."

Rising to full height, Juri locked her good eye with Makoto's

"Tell me, kiddo, how many fighting styles are you practiced in?"

Not waiting for a response, Juri lowered herself again and dashed forwards with a shoulder rush. She connected cleanly but could not manage to knock her opponent over, only pushing her back a few steps. She then tried to withdraw to switch up her tactics but found that her opponent had reached over her to grip her hips.

Everything spun for a moment, and Juri had just long enough to realize that she was seated on her opponent's shoulders before she was brought hurling back down to finish the powerbomb.

"A little karate," Makoto replied to her now twice-shocked opponent, "a little judo, a little kung-fu. You can't go wrong with a bit of wrestling, either. But really..."

Makoto wiped her brow with the back of her hand, and assumed a ready position as Juri finally rolled to her feet.

"...All of that is just window dressing to good old fashioned streetfighting."

-=-​

Alright.

Mistakes may have been made.

Juri Han eyed up her opponent -- with her one working eye -- and made a mental tally of the issues she now had to face down. Her Feng Shui engine had been knocked offline, putting her back at base level. This normally wouldn't be too much of an issue, but it just so happened that one of these schoolgirls was a legitimate scrapper on top of being a pretty princess.

Her opponent had the height advantage. Her opponent had the reach advantage. And, after literally being hit by lightning, her opponent probably had more stamina to work with as well.

This was bad. She knew that her luck would one day run out, but she'd be damned if she'd bite it against someone who would have to rush home afterwards to cram for a math test.

She wanted a street fight? She'd get one.

-=-​

Makoto got ready for another grapple as Juri leaned down and charged, apparently thinking that a second round of the same would be any less humiliating for some reason. She was thus blindsided -- figuratively and literally -- as the handful of crystalline pebbles Juri scooped up on the way was thrown into her face.

Clutching at her eyes and trying to blink the dirt away, she briefly left the ground as Juri landed a punt into her crotch with as much force as she could muster.

Makoto fell to her knees, but had enough sense left to wrap her arms around Juri's legs and pull them out from under her. With the lower half of her body shrieking in agony she could not move herself up to lock in a good hold, so she settled on stressing Juri's ankle with a quick series of two-handed twists.

Juri delivered a kick to Makoto's jaw with her free foot, then rolled back only to pounce back on top of the Guardian. Locking her hands around Makoto's throat, she clamped down and squeezed.

Juri felt a bit of the old spirit coming back to her as her opponent writhed and struggled underneath her, her own hands pawing ineffectually at Juri's face.

That is, until they dug in around the clotted gash on Juri's cheek and pulled apart.

Juri let out a small shriek and recoiled, releasing the choke to check the refreshed damage to her face. Makoto took this opportunity to reach up, clutch Juri by the head, and slam her skull into the ground at her side.

Makoto stumbled to her feet as Juri remained sprawled face down on the floor; also trying to rise but not making much progress. This was it. She had an opening for another blast, and if that didn't finish this maniac she would be in no shape to do anything about a mop-up job afterwards.

Closing her eyes, Makoto focused once more.

"Supreme..."

Makoto concentrated the most intensely she ever had, intending to fry her foe so hard she'd register on weather monitors. As she drew all the energy she could, and prepared for this final blast, she felt...

...nothing.

She felt nothing.

Something was wrong.

Opening her eyes once more, Makoto raised up a hand to touch her tiara. Her stained, grimy glove only met skin and sweat.

Looking back down at her opponent, she found where it went. It was resting on Juri Han's forehead, her opponent having pilfered it during their hectic ground struggle.

Juri Han shot Makoto a cheeky smile, then closed her eyes and began to concentrate herself. Today this youngster was going to learn some really dirty tricks.

-=-​

Juri focused, and felt energy begin to form around her as the tiara's antenna once again extended. This wasn't so hard. Kind of worked like her Feng Shui Engine, actually. Hell, she had already figured out how to use it!

Juri was right, in much the same way that a man pulling a pin has learned how to use a grenade.

She had accomplished step one of the tiara's special attack with no issue. Unfortunately, step one was being struck by lightning.

The ball lightning formed and shot down to Juri, but it had not been properly focused and directed. Lacking this, it spiraled out and pulsed through the entire room.

Juri herself was not immune to this, but the tiara had a natural buffer which blocked an amount of energy feedback equivalent to what would have been needed to safely handle a normal attack. The end result being that she was shocked once again, but not nearly as badly as the first time around.

Makoto was hit the hardest, being the closest unprotected conduit. As the energy ran up and down her she fell to her knees and elbows, trying as hard as she could not to black out.

Rei's body jerked and writhed, punctuated with gasps as she was jolted in and out of consiousness. In the moments that she was capable of thought, she prayed for the ordeal to end one way or another.

Usagi's muscles seized up and her vision went dark. Her knees giving out and her fingers clamping down like vices, she unconsciously hung on for dear life to whatever she could as the lightning surged through her.

When it was all over, there was no one left standing.

The first one up, though, was Juri.

And as she limped towards the bent over Makoto -- who was still blinking away stars and remembering how to breathe -- it was clear that she was ready to wrap things up.

-=-​

Juri was moving slowly, due to her bad ankle, but steadily. She did not even stop when she arrived at Makoto, only reaching down to seize her by the ponytail and drag the girl along behind her.

She only halted when they reached the wall of the room. Hoisting up Makoto fully, Juri gave her but a moment to recognize the crystalline, jagged surface before her face was slammed into it.

As Makoto was repeatedly drawn back only to be dashed once again against the crystals, her features began to pulp and flatten. The first thing to go was her nose, the cartilage inside it being pulverized and smashed back into the skull. Teeth jostled loose one after the other as the assault continued, either falling out to lay at the convulsing Guardian's feet or being driven deeper into the jawbone like a rail spike being pounded down. If she wasn't the only brown haired member of their group, one would be hard pressed to even hazard a guess at who this used to be.

Juri stopped for a moment with her victim against the wall; partially to catch her breath, partially to listen to the gurgles. Then, once she was ready to start up again, she started scraping what was left of her foe's face against the crystals.

The effect of this was similar to what happens when someone attempts to clean a cheese grater with a sponge, or a biker sliding across asphalt after flying off his machine at top speed. Soon there was a massive swathe of red painted across a segment of the crystals, excess blood and other bits dripping down to fill in the cracks underneath.

Satisfied with her work, Juri withdrew her victim and allowed her to fall onto her back.

What was left of Makoto writhed and wheezed; amazingly still conscious, but the trauma having forced her higher brain functions into hiding. That was good, but not good enough.

Her smile returning, despite the aches, Juri mounted her prey and got to work on her coup de gras.

-=-​

"We have to go."

Usagi came to on her knees, still holding onto something to stay upright. A hand was on her shoulder, which she soon discovered to belong to Rei.

Rei...was not looking too well. She was on her knees as well, having apparently crawled over on all fours, and had a new set of bruises and burns to go along with her previous collection.

"We can't leave yet," Usagi replied once she could control her tongue again. "Ami is-"

"Dead." Rei interjected.

Filled with a whole new level of dread. Usagi looked up to verify what exactly she was holding onto. She was greeted by Ami's bulging, empty eyes; her head tilted downwards as if asking Usagi why as her body swayed in the air. Usagi had lost her ability to stand during the shock but still instinctively clung onto Ami, putting both of their full weights onto her neck and finishing the job Juri began.

Unable to bear the sight any more, Usagi looked down at the ground and squeezed her eyes shut as the tears started to flow.

"What about Makoto? She's-"

"Dying." Rei cut in again. "Dying in order to give us a head start. We have to move, Usagi."

Usagi did not reply, but also did not resist as Rei helped her up. Leaning on each other for support, they stumbled away from the killing floor and tried their best to ignore the wet crunching noises behind them.

-=-​

Juri laid further into Makoto's face with her fists. It was pretty pointless at this point, being knuckles against bone for the most part, but she liked how the Guardian's head bounced against the floor and snapped from side to side.

"Getting closer..."

Juri ramped up the intensity, savoring the occasional nervous twitches caused by an especially good blow. The tiara still on Juri's forehead reacted to her rising mood, whirring as it once again raised its antenna.

"Almost there..."

Grasping Makoto's head with her hands, she switched to slamming the back of her skull against the ground. She could feel Makoto's fluttery heartbeat through her thighs, it having gone into overtime in a last ditch attempt to make any sort of difference.

When the new ball of energy hit, Juri was ready. Taking the pain and making it hers, she rode the lightning metaphorically and the involuntarily bucking form underneath her literally.

As the electricity dissipated Juri leaned back and opened her mouth, letting a wisp of smoke escape and float away.

"Oh yeah. That hit the spot."

Looking back down at her foe, Juri examined her steaming, seared body. She still trembled from time to time, but it was clear that these were just the final spasms of individual muscles reacting to the aftereffects of electrocution. Makoto's chest lay still, and the jackhammer Juri had felt between her legs mere seconds ago had sputtered to a halt. Jupiter, as large as it was, was a dead planet.

"Good match, kid." Juri sighed contentedly. "Good match."

-=-​

The two remaining Guardians held each other up as they stumbled through the tunnel system, silent except for Usagi's barely contained sobbing.

Rei wanted to say something, but at the same time dreaded the inevitable conversation. Usagi was a wreck, and was no doubt going to fully break down crying at the slightest provocation. She believed that she was responsible for the deaths so far, and as far as Rei was concerned... well, she pretty much was.

That wouldn't help to say, however. In fact, the last chance they had to set things right was probably tied directly to the blubbering mess she was currently propping up. As terrible as today was, it still was not the first time they had been brought so low. The only important thing was that Usagi made it. As long as Sailor Moon survived, she cou-

The silence was finally broken, but by neither of them. Usagi's Sailor Communicator had gone off. There was apparently a call waiting for her.

Against Rei's protests, Usagi fished out her Communicator and checked who it was.

The call was apparently from Makoto's Communicator, but even with the worsening static interference it was clear who the voice on the other line belonged to.

"Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Goes the farmer's gun.
Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run."

They watched in horror an another portrait lit up, Ami's Communicator now connected to the call as well. Although the same voice came through both, the multiple signals made it as if a second singer had joined the chorus.

"Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Don't give the farmer his fun! Fun! Fun!
He'll get by
Without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!"

Rei seized the communicator and flung it at the tunnel wall, shattering it into pieces. Usagi, predictably, fell to a sitting position and began bawling her eyes out.

"Usagi." Rei pleaded, trying her best to keep a level tone. "We don't have time for this, Usagi."

The guardian may have tried to reply, but nothing legible was ever getting through that wall of tears and snot.

They really didn't have time for this. Clearly, drastic actions needed to be taken.

Steadying herself, Rei crouched down to Usagi's level and reached out to...

...embrace her in a hug.

"It's okay." Rei whispered as Usagi sobbed into her shoulder. "Let it out. It's okay."

Eventually the crying wound down, the Guardian only occasionally whimpering now and again. When she judged it time, Rei drew back to speak with the recovering girl.

"Are you alright?"

"A-as much as I can be..." Usagi supposed, wiping her nose with her wrist. "What do we do now, though?"

"You need to keep moving." Rei replied slowly, trying her best to put on a motherly voice. "I need to buy you time to do that."

Tears once again welled up, and Usagi buried her head in Rei's chest for another round of sobs, but this time they had a tinge of anger to them.

"No! You can't! You have to come with me!"

Weakly beating her fists against Rei's shoulders in a fit of impotent rage, Usagi's tantrum carried on.

"You're not leaving! You're not-"

Usagi was halted mid swing as Rei's hands came up to cup her face, forcing her head up to lock eyes.

"Usagi. We've done this before. I won't leave you, even if I stay behind. All of us will be right by your side. You know that better than any of us."

"I know.... but..."

"But nothing. You can save all of us later; right now the only thing you have to do is save yourself."

Usagi was still sniffling, but nodding along. They both helped each other up, and Sailor Moon made her way onwards while Rei stood her ground.

"Usagi!"

The Guardian looked back, at her disheveled, ragged friend.

"Watch your step, meatball head."

Smiling in spite of it all, Usagi turned back around and began her trek anew. Rei always knew just what to say.

-=-​

Left by herself, Rei waited. She waited and worried, feeling how little she could do at the moment.

Would Juri actually come down this path? There were many branches throughout this underground labyrinth, and there was nothing ruling out a different route circumventing her entirely on it's way to Usagi. But deep down, she felt that outcome unlikely. This place seemed to somehow favor bloodshed, and now that she'd dug in it was only a matter of time until it threw what it needed at her for an uprooting.

After what seemed like an eternity, she heard a humming off in the distance. She recognized the beat; it was that rabbit song they heard over the Communicator. It was only when Juri shuffled into view that the humming died down and ceased.

Juri first scanned the 'room' Rei had chosen for her stand, then eventually settled on the Guardian in question.

"All by yourself? Pretty gutsy."

Juri took another step forward, and Rei fought the urge to take an equal step back.

"It took two of you to have a chance earlier, and your better half is too busy lying in a puddle of her own teeth to help out this time."

Rei involuntarily gulped, but did not falter. Juri was not the only one who could talk big.

"You were fresh back then, and we didn't know how you fought. Your bag of tricks is empty now, and you look more ready for a burial than a brawl."

Rei was not wrong in this regard. Juri was walking with a shuffling limp due to her ankle, had her own fair share of burns from repeated shocks, her head was positively covered with drying blood from multiple wounds, and her cybernetic eye still blankly stared at nothing at all.

"You're no spring chicken yourself," Juri, replied as she advanced.

"Still gonna snap your wishbone, though."

-=-​

As both combatants were running on fumes, this fight opened and ran at a much slower pace. Rei was the first to strike, attempting a cross chop to the side of Juri's neck, but Juri caught the arm and pulled herself up the outside of it. Snaking around the back of Rei's neck and pulling her down, Juri locked the Guardian into a standing headlock.

"I've been waiting to get my hands on you again since that joke you pulled earlier," Juri confided to the struggling girl. "You're a fiery one. Always liked my food spicy."

Rei replied by stomping down on Juri's bad ankle, making sure that her high heel ground deep into it. Juri's hold loosening from the surge of pain, Rei managed to break free and shot an elbow back into her former captor's chest for good measure.

Reaching out on instinct for a new hold on the withdrawing Guardian, Juri grabbed a handful of Rei's hair. She pulled back as soon as she felt purchase, but the uncontrolled movement combined with her own partial buckling as she tried to get her ankle back under control only led to both combatant's crashing their skulls together. This left the two of them groggy, and they stumbled away from each other.

When Juri regained her own bearings, she found her opponent hunched over murmuring some unintelligible nonsense. Taking advantage of her early recovery, she grabbed Rei by the throat with her left hand and reared back her right for a sloppy-but-sufficient haymaker.

Before she could finish the attack, however, a gust blew through the room and her vision was obscured by something.

Reaching up to her face with her free hand, Juri pried the object off. It was a long, thin strip of paper covered in kanji symbols on one side. She didn't know the name of it, but she knew that they were used for sealing away evil spirits or some nonsense like that. As she glanced around, it became clear that similar slips of paper were fluttering all around them.

"Do you think I'm a demon?" Juri jestingly asked the girl in her grasp.

"No...", she answered through the chokehold. "...I think you burn."

Rei made a motion with her hands, and the papers began to glow a vivid shade of red. Deducing what was about to happen, but entirely powerless to stop it, Juri pulled herself into Rei and shielded as much as she could from the imminent inferno.

-=-​

It was a bit ironic, from a certain point of view. Rei was a trained shrine maiden long before she even knew she was a Sailor Guardian, but because of her and her wards this room could have easily passed as a snapshot into hell.

The air shimmered in the intense, white-hot heat. Both of them held their breath, correctly assuming that taking in air like this would boil the inside of their lungs and doom them to minutes of excruciating asphyxiation. Clothes smoldered, hair singed, and exposed skin cracked. It was not enough to outright incinerate them, but that did not stop it from trying.

It was only a flash fire, though, and soon the room dimmed as it plummeted back to normal heat. Their partially crisped backs felt oddly chilly in the normalizing room, their internal temprature regulators still haplessly playing catch-up.

Juri drew back slightly from Rei, still holding her in her arms, and shuddered.

"...Wow..."

She brought her tongue out to moisten her now dry lips before continuing.

"If you had... just a little more left in the tank... I think that could have done it."

It wasn't quite enough, though. While Juri would be wincing for ages, and probably sport quite a few unflattering scars afterwards, it was not enough to kill either of them.

Surprisingly, the scorched Guardian was still beaming regardless.

"Doesn't matter." Rei replied with a hint of pride. "You're not chasing down anyone in that shape. Your rabbit is home free."

Rei's smirk of triumph wavered slightly in confusion as Juri brought a hand up to playfully ruffle the still slightly smoking hair on her head.

"Clever kid. Banking on her to wish you all back with her crystal, eh?"

"...How did y-"

"Ami was very talkative."

Juri brought Rei back in, essentially embracing her in a tight hug.

"Cute, but pointless. If you think she can get away you still haven't figured out how this place works. I'll have my stew in due time. But for now..."

Juri leaned in on Rei, their faces almost touching.

"...I want something a little hotter."

Rei opened her mouth to reply, but was muffled as Juri caught her in a kiss. She tried to back away, but Juri responded by going in further and deeper with every attempt. She struggled to break free, but she was entirely spent and after all was said and done Juri was still the stronger of the two.

Realizing that she could do nothing against it, Rei relaxed as Juri explored her. Somehow, this depravity was the worst she had suffered through so far. Rei had stayed behind expecting to be beaten -- killed even -- but she did not give a single thought to being conquered.

Rei had begun to retreat into a place inside of herself when a sharp stab of pain brought her back to the here and now. Juri had fished her tongue out of her mouth, and it now was clamped down between her teeth.

Juri obviously could not say anything, but the message was clear. This was in no way a pause to her suffering.

Rei had only begun to shake her head in the start of a desperate plea as Juri bit clean through her tongue.

-=-​

Usagi moved as fast as she could without risking another fall, choosing tunnels at random whenever she came to a fork. She had no way of telling which was better than the others, so she didn't even try. If she discovered some type of landmark, maybe then she could play this a little smarter.

Entering yet another tunnel, she got her wish. But whatever force granted it clearly had a nasty sense of humor.

In the middle of the path, still partially embedded, was Minako's body. The puddle of blood had long dried and she had begun to stiffen, but there was no denying it. Somehow, Usagi had run a complete loop.

How? How? There were many branching paths, but none of them ever turned around. They were going straight! It didn't make sense!

Falling into a panic, Usagi dashed past the remains of her friend and raced down the further passages. Soon she found herself at the entrance of a wider room; one she was also familiar with. The damned rope was gone, but the two bodies sprawled inside were more than enough verification.

Usagi backed out to the last split and chose a different route. After a few minutes of travel forward the was once again standing above Minako's broken corpse.

This was not a maze.

Mazes played fair. Mazes had exits.

This was a deathtrap.

Usagi now realized that, if she had any chance of surviving, she would have to take out Juri Han. Running would just mean that one of them would die tired.

Without a word, Usagi reached up and pulled off her tiara. With a little bit of concentration the tiara turned into a disc of light hovering slightly above her open palm, waiting to be thrown at a moment's notice.

Cautiously, but with determination, the last Sailor Guardian crept on for a final showdown.

-=-​

Usagi tried to be a silent as she could as she moved, but even then the figure she came across almost took her by surprise.

It wasn't that it was being stealthy or anything. You just don't make much noise when you're dead on your feet.

Bracing herself on one of the walls as she stumbled along, Juri inched her way towards Usagi. Rei apparently did quite a number on her. She was covered in all kinds of nasty burns where her skin was exposed, and her hair and clothing had their fair share of scorch marks to go along with it. Her face was absolutely caked in dried blood, to the point that only her unfocused eyes betrayed that there might be a human under all of it.

Well, technically a human.

It seemed like luck was finally on the Sailor's side. Juri simply did not have enough to go through so many opponents straight.

It may be anticlimactic, but Usagi was definitely not complaining. Happy that this nightmare was finally coming to a close, the moon princess prepared to end this lunacy.

-=-​

Usagi bent slightly at the waist and crossed over the hand "holding" her energy disc, preparing it in a manner similar to how one would a frisbee.

"Moon Tiara..."

-=-​

She couldn't see too well, but she knew that something was there. Shapes were moving, and there was a light much more focused than the soft glow she had been surrounded with so far.

"Uh..."

-=-​

With an uncannily expert swing, Usagi flung her disc forward.

"...Action!"

-=-​

The light was getting clearer now, and even through the haze in her mind she had come to understand what it was.

"Uh... uh..."

She attempted to raise a hand -- a pointless gesture on so many levels now -- but the signal had just reached her arm when the disc of energy hit her square in the chest and made everything moot.

-=-​

Usagi watched the results in a mix of horror and regretful relief. Although she knew that her special technique was the most powerful out of their group, it had always been used on abstract demons or former humans corrupted until little remained of what they once were. Even the ones which looked like people -- otherworldly generals keeping their more bestial brethren in line -- fell and dissipated upon death in ways that were... well, clean.

Witnessing what it could do to a basic, unremarkable human was a learning experience.

Her body rocked twice; once from the impact, and once as the "payload" exploded through her and out of her back. She had begun a unintelligible shriek as it first connected, but it was brutally silenced as there were no longer any lungs left to carry it.

Her face clearly wracked in agony even through the layers of viscera, she slid down the wall and collapsed to her knees. She looked up at Usagi one last time and shakily reached towards her, as if even now still trying to catch her prey, before her hand dropped back to her side and her head drooped downwards.

Sitting there, perfectly balanced in death, she meekly met her end at the hands of the final Guardian.

-=-​

Usagi couldn't believe it. She did it.

It all was finally over. She -- no, they, had won.

She was so overcome with waves of relief and joy that -- for a while -- she did not realize that the chuckles reaching her ears was not hers.

But when the realization finally hit home, the source of the giggles finally rounded the corner. Against all reason there stood Juri Han again, a spitting image for the first besides her being doubled over in laughter.

It quickly degenerated into coughs, with her still being in such terrible shape, and she wiped her good eye free of tears as she struggled to compose herself.

"I- chh - I'm sorry," Juri number 2 wheezed, "that was just too good."

Usagi stared at the Jolly Juri, then down at the Juri she had just defeated.

"...What?"

"Think about it for a moment," the second Juri responded as she caught her breath and started regaining her composure. "You can figure this out. I believe in you."

Usagi looked back down at the dead Juri, then up at the live one. To the holy Juri. Then to the happy one.

"I... don't... what?"

With a little sigh -- but a gleeful one -- Juri shuffled forward while rifling through her pockets. "I stand corrected. Let me help."

Juri 2 found what she needed right as she reached Juri 1, and held it out for the last Guardian to identify. It was Usagi's Disguise Pen; the one Rei had batted out of her hand what felt like centuries ago.

"You really have to keep better track of your stuff, airhead."

Bringing it down to her deceased duplicate, Juri tapped her on the scalp and for a moment the tunnel was filled with a flash of light.

When the tunnel returned to normal, there remained only one Juri. Unfortunately. Backing off to let Usagi advance -- and naturally to get a better view -- the very much living Han watched and waited.

Usagi, every fiber of her being screaming in protest, couldn't help but move towards the slumped form in front of her. The body was now no longer mocked up like Han, and her long, black hair had fallen down across her downturned face once freed from the replica of their tormentor's style. Usagi knew who she was. Her real uniform was in tatters, but still recognizable. She didn't have to do this. But at the same time yes, yes she did.

Usagi brushed the hair back, and out stared the vacant, hollow eyes of Rei Hino. Her jaw hung open in death, showing in full detail the blood-filled mouth which could not have spoken a warning even if it had the time. Even though she had passed her face still had a slightly sad expression to it, as if the realization of how she was dying was too great for even the reaper to fully steal.

"So what's that; two, three?" Juri asked. "I think you might actually be beating my score here."

Usagi wrapped her arms around Rei's body, cradling her as delicately as she could, and began to cry. It was not her usual loud, childish wailing, but a quiet flow of tears and sobs. It was the sadness of one who had been through much that they had nothing left to weep with, but still needed to try.

Juri began moving in to put the cherry on top, but stopped in her tracks and looked around as things... changed.

It would not be accurate to say that the world brightened, as that would imply some sort of new light source. It was instead as if some all-powerful being had taken reality and fiddled with the contrast settings. Whites grew whiter, darks shriveled, and shadows were simply overwhelmed and defeated by the lighter tones around them. A beautiful, low chorus of chimes and bells filled what used to be silence like background noise from heaven. Juri didn't understand what was happening until she turned back towards her target and everything fell into place.

Spoiler: Memory Of A Memory

Gone was Usagi's frilly little costume; the skirt, the boots, the tiara. She was now clothed in a pure-white royal dress, positively glowing in the intensity of this new world. There was a yellow crescent moon across her forehead, apparently a natural mark instead of makeup or an accessory. But perhaps most striking at all was not so much any change in clothing as her change in spirit. The unsure, fragile Usagi was nowhere to be found; instead this figure positively radiated an odd sort of serene confidence.

Juri recognized parts of this from the "talk" she had with Ami. Certainly enough to realize that she may have just pulled defeat from the jaws of victory.

Juri moved in to try and cut things off, but found her progress blocked. There was some sort of barrier around the two Guardians, and all that Juri's pounding against it did was send sparkling ripples across its translucent surface.

She watched as Usagi brought out her little moon-stick thing, now with the rock seated at the end glowing as bright as a small sun. That must be the Silver Crystal. If Juri couldn't stop her right this second the serene princess was going to wish all of them back, and she was in no shape for a second round.

But there was no way to reach her.

Not physically, at least.

-=-​

"Go ahead!"

Princess Serenity looked up from her crystal, just now remembering that she was not alone. There, pressed up against the barrier, was the source of all this suffering.

"Go ahead, bring them back!", it shouted. "I'll kill 'em again! As many times as you want!"

Serenity for a moment was lost in deep thought. Then, gently laying aside her dearest friend and rising to her feet, she turned and addressed the broken soul.

"You would, wouldn't you? I don't think you could, but you would try."

The barrier disappeared, and it's unexpected removal caused the one leaning on it to fall forward. She was halfway back up before she noticed the Moon Stick inches away from her face.

"The world has done you wrong, and you did wrong the world right back. Maybe all you need is something from outside of all that."

-=-​

Juri squinted her one good eye to peer through the blinding glow and get a good view of the oh-so-important crystal. It looked like a cheap Halloween prop to her, but she couldn't argue with the power she felt gathering around it. The light was not actually hurting her -- at least not in the same way that the fire and lightning from her compatriots did -- but as it intensified she could almost feel parts of her soul writhe and thrash.

Juri wasn't sure if what was about to happen could even kill her, and that terrified her more than anything else.

-=-​

While the broken woman was fixated on the crystal, Princess Serenity herself had her mind on other matters. For one, her friends had finally come out.

Sure, if the woman before her were to look around she would find nothing, but they were not there for her. Ami, Minako, Makoto, Rei... they were all taken, but they had not left. They had remained to help, and in this moment of truth she could see their spirits in full gathered around her.

Serenity adjusted her grip on her Moon Stick, and four transparent hands covered hers to lend their strength.

"Mercury Power!"
"Mars Power!"
"Jupiter Power!"
"Venus Power!"

-=-​

She was losing it. That was the only explanation. There was no way Juri just heard those.

"Moon..."

She definitely heard that one, though. Shit.

"Healing..."

Alright. What did she learn about this crystal from the blue one? Super powerful, could blow up an entire planet. They use it to "purify", i.e. destroy, evil energy. But there was a huge fight over not letting evil get it and use it.

Therefore it is not inherently "good". It just has a "destroy evil" setting.

Praying that this last trump card wasn't a joker, Juri also took hold of the Moon Stick.

"Escalation!"

-=-​

Alright.
Hold on.
Zoom in, enhance, explain.

Juri was correct in her assumption that the Silver Crystal could theoretically be used by anyone capable enough to do so, and that it was regarded as a mighty force specifically against evil only because that is how it's traditional wielders utilized its massive power. If a sufficiently competent user had a thing against cows they could probably use it to purge and destroy beef, but that would be significantly less poetic.

Thing is, wresting control away from the rightful owner is a massive undertaking. Far greater forces have tried and utterly, miserably failed.

So she didn't.

Instead, she gave a bit of her own power and then drew back.

It was in the grand scheme of things nothing at all -- a drop in the ocean of the Silver Crystal's reserves -- but what is important here is context. Moments before the Silver Crystal was given the command to purge and destroy taint, a package of certifiably tainted energy was "injected" deep into it. Thus when it scanned for what to destroy, the first target was on the inside.

And as more energy rushed in to attack, it mingled with the tainted supply and became a new target. And all the energy which responded to that energy also became taint which needed destroying

This is how, through the tiniest of modifications at just the right time, the mighty Silver Crystal was convinced to eat itself.

-=-​

Princess Serenity could see and hear the spirits of her friends around her.

Oh how she wish she couldn't.

Something had gone wrong. Something had gone as badly as it ever possibly could. The staff in her hand shook and jerked as the Silver Crystal pulsed with a now sickening light.

Her friends were screaming. Whatever happened had poisoned the Silver Crystal's energy for their spiritual forms, and the corrosive venom had snaked its way back up and into them.

Ami clutched her head and wailed as she fell to a seated position, trying to keep everything intact and ultimately failing. Her spiritual body was just as useless by itself as a flesh-and blood counterpart would be, and sat there limply as it was slowly consumed. Makoto bent over coughing and gurgling before crumpling to the ground, only spasming occasionally as she finished dissolving away. Minako, seeing what was happening all around her, chose go quick and actively drew more from the crystal; the end result being that she went up and fell apart like she was thrown into the center of the sun. And Rei... well, she hung on. Slumped against Serenity, the last thing to fade away was the literal deathgrip on her shoulder.

No time was given for Serenity to mourn, however. The Silver Crystal, finally reaching it's own breaking point, exploded into light and shrapnel.

-=-​

When the world finally came back, it did so under the old rules. Well, for the most part.

The chimes and bells were gone, and everything had lost it's divine whiteness. But, in it's own way, the aftermath was even more beautiful. Microscopic particles of the former crystal floated through the air, giving everything a flowing, shimmering sparkle. Larger fragments buried in the walls, ceiling, floor, and even the two women were also still glowing; turning craters and wounds into pinprick stars.

Speaking of the two, they had made it through the explosion relatively unscathed. While they were peppered with fragments, and had the twinkle to show for it, not enough was left intact to really tear through them. But still, it was damaging in far more ways than just physical.

When Juri's already compromised vision cleared up well enough, she saw the princess right where she was before it all blew up. She had fallen to her knees, and the jagged remains of her stick lay in front of her. One could say that Serenity was not mortally wounded; but the flat, thousand yard stare she had would beg to differ.

Juri steadied herself and stood up. Serenity did nothing.

Juri lurched over to her and picked up what remained of her wand. Serenity did nothing.

Juri rounded behind the comatose princess and tilted her head back, presenting her neck. Serenity blankly looked up at her with no sign of comprehension.

As Juri brought the jagged edge of the broken wand up to Serenity's jugular, and prepared herself, the princess finally spoke.

"This was not my choice."

It was a soft voice, robotic in its lack of emotion.

"I should be sleeping in, rushing late to school, chatting with my friends over lunch. I should be getting chewed out by my mom over grades and fighting with my little brother over who gets the remote."

Her expression remained unchanged, but a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I want my old life back."

Juri stared down at her for a long, long while.

Finally, apparently coming to a conclusion, she leaned down and whispered:

"Join the club."

With a powerful jab and a vicious yank, Juri stabbed what remained of Serenity's Moon Stick deep into the princess' jugular and pulled it across to the other. Pulses of blood flowed down from the crimson crescent below Serenity's jawline, gradually painting her beautiful white dress red. Serenity winced, but did not react besides that. She was already defeated; this was merely a formality.

Juri stared intently into those wide, blank eyes, but even she could not tell when the woman below her actually died. Eventually she just had to back off and let her drop, staring just as unknowingly at the crystalline ceiling.

Juri lurched over to the nearest wall, slid down it, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Watching sparkles dance in the air, she finally let exaustion claim her and fell into a dreamless sleep.

-=-​

It was hard to tell how much time had passed when she awoke. In fact, the only way she could tell that any time passed at all was the lack of sparkles in the air and the fact that Serenity's "red" dress had faded to a rustic brown.

The first thing she did was inspect herself in the wall's reflection. She was no longer spattered with glowing wounds, much to her relief. She did not need to look like she just stepped out of a trashy preteen romance. Her eye was also functioning again, as to be expected. It was built with full knowledge that it could be easily knocked offline, and had several reboot and repair protocols to help it eventually bounce back.

But as she stared more deeply into her reflection, she noticed... other things.

She looked down at her forearms, which had been badly cracked and blistered during her scrap with the Mars. They were an angry red, like a bad sunburn, but were unmarred besides that.

She put her full weight on the ankle Jupiter tried her best to break, and felt only a small amount of soreness.

She was okay. Not perfect, but also not crippled and maimed. She couldn't even find any signs of the punctures from those crystal shards.

...Heeey, that was probably it. She was peppered with healing crystal bits and beathing in the same type of dust while she slept. Whatever good juice they had left probably leaked out and patched up what it could before they ran dry.

Juri stopped and thought about that for a second.

Hmm...

Implications...

-=-​

Juri stood over what used to be the princess of the moon. She still stared blankly at the ceiling, perfectly still.

Juri began to sing a little tune to herself as she grasped both of the late girl's pigtails in one hand and hoisted her up for a closer inspection.

"Little Bunny Foo Foo..."

Not much had changed, besides what one would expect. The flow had stopped, and the gash was now covered in congealed blood. Clotted, one could even say.

"...Hoppin' through the forest..."

Juri grabbed the front of Serenity's blouse with her free hand and pulled the princess further in. Her gaze was just as blank as before. So blank, in fact, that Juri didn't even notice her die.

"Pickin' up the field mice..."

Juri trailed off and stood in silence with what remained of Serenity. Then, without warning, she puckered her lips and blew a puff of air into the princess' eyes.

Serenity blinked.

"Nice try, kid", Juri said with a smile, and then pulled back on Serenity's pigtails as hard as she could.

Serenity let out a small Guh as her throat gash tore open again under the stress and her neck broke. Her body spasmed as her head hung down her back, and Juri threw her down and forward so that her now legitimate corpse came to rest on her own skull.

"Nice try." Juri repeated, as she turned and left for her next morsel.

=-=-=

Spoiler: A Parting Word From Our Sponsors

Hey, congrats on making it to the end of a chapter! I've noticed that these stories get a lot more readers than responses or feedback; as diligent as a couple "regulars" here are, I doubt that they have viewed this topic over three thousand times between them.

After thinking about that a bit, it came to me that some people may enjoy/cannot look away from twisted shit like mine but also do not want to go through creating an account which would be tied to said twisted shit. Hell, I was much the same way before I actually convinced myself to start writing this stuff. Just in case, here's a possible compromise for ya.

Want to send me comments, suggestions, or indecipherable poems that you expect me to one day "crack" by isolating every third letter? Drop me an email privately and anonymously at TheSickBox@hotmail.com

 

[Kargan3033]

You son of a bitch Sickerton ! :)

You have no fucking idea on how much I HATE Magical Girl animes double that for Sailor Moon.

I love this chapter, well done my friend.

The action was well paced and unlike the other chapters of this fine story I was not sure if Juri was going to be delt out of the game thanks to the Moon Magic of Sailor Moon as well as the massive char broiling she got from Sailor Mars.

The only complent I have about this chapter is it was not sadistic enough for my tastes when it came to these annoying cunts.

But don't let that get you down this Chapter was well done, if fact I would have to say this story is getting better and better with each new chapter.

Keep up the good work my friend I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

 

[noche]

damn that was brutal but a like read about heroine who are just to much of a goody two shoes get treat badly
And Yuri is sadistic bitch but a very creativity one !
Great chapter this one is got to be my favorite so far
Congratulation

 

[Sickerton]

=-=-=
Chapter 1: Bladed Cage
Chapter 2: Hunting Sparkles
Chapter 3: I'm Your Boogeyman
Chapter 4: Making A Splash!
Chapter 5: Getting Dangerously Meta
Chapter 6: Suffering Sappho!
Chapter 7: Evil By Moonlight
Chapter 8: Another M (You Are Here)
Chapter 9: Roy G. Biv Sends His Regards
Chapter 10: Rocks Fall
Chapter 11: Written By The Winners
=-=-=

Chapter 8: Another M
​

The wind outside howled as Juri tried to massage feeling back into her feet.

It may have bordered on heresy to some -- including herself -- but Juri was bitterly regretting not having a pair of shoes. Sure, her footpads served her well enough, but "well enough" doesn't cut it in a goddamn blizzard. She was honestly surprised that a toe or two didn't just snap off before she found this outpost.

Even then she almost froze solid right at the doorstep. Damn entrance had no latch, no valve, no keypad. Only when Juri tried to break the door down did it actually open; apparently reacting to the energy in her kicks. Did the freaks that this place was designed around use tasers for keys, or what?

Thankfully, there was a more traditional switch inside to make the two door halves slide back out from either side and seal the entrance. And, even more thankfully, there was a furnace. Juri had revved that thing up as fast as her shivering body could manage, swung open the grate, and sat herself down as close to the life-giving flame as she could without going up like a match.

Her mind was too full of thoughts about jackets and mittens to keep watch around her, which was fair enough. The storm still raging on outside would have masked anything bar an exploding volcano anyway.

And the figure now making her way up to the same building was certainly not a volcano. Volcanoes, at best, could only destroy continents.

-=-​

[Heat signatures detected]

Switching to thermal vision, she peered through the walls to the sources of warmth within. Judging by the outlines, there was a furnace and someone tending to it. Female, based what could be made out of her build

Hm.

Cycling through several other scanning modes, she assembled a profile of the mystery woman and submitted it to her databases. After a few seconds of examination they spat out an assembled report.

...Juri Han, eh? Never heard of that one.

The bounty was... okay. For a single-planet nuisance, at least. In the bigger picture, factoring in restock and maintenance costs afterwards, bringing this one in would actually put her a little under breaking even. But then there was this.

Willing away the fluff, she enlarged and examined several notes and diagrams. They all pertained to a rather interesting device; part prosthetic, part battery, part physical enhancer. She knew quite a few tech-heads who would give several left arms for a gadget like this.

After she had fully scanned it into her own private databases and integrated the useful bits into her suit, of course.

She didn't know who this Han person was, but it must have been her unlucky day. She had become just worthy enough to care about.

-=-​

A loud whoosh and a cold wind once more on her back alerted Juri to the protective doors opening again. Spinning around, she greeted her new...

New...

Uh...

Spoiler: [Recording To Logbook]

The hell? Was she getting robots flung at her now? Were tanks too hard to drive down the hallways?

Not that this one was much easier of a fit. Towering over Juri, the Tin Man had to duck to get his "head" under the archway as well as turn sideways to squeeze through his quarterback-shaming shoulders. It was probably because she was still sitting down, thus looking up at her new opponent, but Juri could have sworn that the orange behemoth almost hit the ceiling as he drew back up to full height.

The jeep with legs did not flip the door closing switch. Probably for the best. As the glowing cannon on his right arm raised and lined up with Juri's position, she was more than okay with keeping escape options open.

-=-​

Juri rolled to the side as the Tin Man fired his shot; the mass of charged energy shrieking through where she was just sitting and plunging directly into the furnace. The results were as to be expected.

The furnace was technically destroyed, as in the specific construct for holding fire ceased to be. A pragmatic view, however, would be that the furnace had merely extended it's territory. As metal shrapnel and burning embers shot out all around the room, it could have been argued that the entire building was now serving the same purpose.

Juri dropped low and let the initial blast mostly soar over her. The Tin Man let the cloud of death harmlessly bounce off and flow around his armor. Completely disregarding the fiery chaos all around them, the metal being resumed his assault.

Juri danced and dodged through the inferno, sweat rolling down her body because of concentration as well as the heat. This robot had a genuine lock on her; his arm-cannon perfectly following Juri as she bobbed and weaved. The only saving grace were that the energy balls it was shooting rapid-fire at her had a fairly slow traveling speed, meaning that they wouldn't hit their target as long as she kept moving. But she would have to stop eventually, and then it would have her.

Juri decided to take the initiative instead.

Leaping up to the ceiling and pushing off with her hands, Juri shot down with a dropkick at the Tin Man.

The Tin Man, unexpectedly, rose to meet her.

With small jets on it's metallic back going off, her orange adversary curled up and hit Juri midair like a cannon ball. Juri had only a moment to realize that this was actually quite literal -- her foe had somehow turned into an actual ball -- before the low-impact bomb said ball had just ejected exploded and hurled her back down to the ground.

Juri bounced once before landing properly on all fours, and took a moment to regain her composure. When she looked back up she found that her opponent had changed back to his humanoid form, and the cannon mouth on his arm was now widening to make room for an interior missile.

That... actually opened up a couple possibilities...

-=-​

It was a bit of a risk, considering the target's speed, but she seemed out of it after the last exchange and a direct hit with a missile should be more than enough to keep her down.

Sound reasoning. But most plans seem reasonable up until everything falls apart.

The bounty hunter's systems still had a lock on the target, but Juri was not trying to avoid the shots any more. In fact, she dashed towards the missile as it fired.

Leaning to the side just enough to not be struck by the rocket, Juri grabbed it mid-flight and with a spinning leap slammed it warhead-first right back into the bounty hunter's cannon.

The bounty hunter's readout warned her about a possible blockage. Bit of an understatement.

-=-​

Juri was disappointed that Tin Man's arm didn't just vaporize, but from the gout of flame which flowed out of the barrel and the warning beeps even she could hear it was obvious that progress had been made regardless.

With a war cry she laid into the armored torso with kicks and punches, probing for any chink in the armor.

-=-​

The bounty hunter tried to sort through all of the caution notifications flashing across her visor as quickly as she could, rocking slightly from the blows raining down from outside.

The current attack was not much of an issue, and the explosion was not actually mighty enough to breach the suit outwards or inwards, but that did not mean it was harmless. If the fire managed to travel far back enough to eventually heat up the other stored missiles...

The bounty hunter's examination was disrupted as her head jerked from side to side, courtesy of a back-and-forth kick to her "face". It did not harm her, but she was going to make little progress with these distractions.

Begrudgingly, the bounty hunter turned her attention back to Juri.

-=-​

That trick with the missile must have done a lot more than Juri thought. Tin Man wasn't even trying to defend himself; taking the blows as they came. Did some important motor system that helped him move around fry? Maybe his joints locked up or someth-

Juri was caught off guard as the metal giant came back to life, stooping down to wrap its arms around Juri. Gripping the cannon with his hand to complete the lock, he tightened and trapped Juri in what she now realized was a bearhug.

Juri wiggled and thrashed in the titanium grip, finding no purchase or leeway. Her arms were smashed by her sides, and her feet dangled in the air as her captor rose back up to full height.

Her bones creaked and her lungs begged for air as the hold grew tighter; but the haze descending on her thoughts was red instead of white.

This thing was a grappler? Really? It had an entire long-range arsenal! It had bombs! lasers! It didn't get to have CQC on top of that!

For the love of god, it only had one damn hand! It wasn't fair!

Partially because it was the only thing she could do, but mostly in a fit of blind rage, Juri began to headbutt the Tin Man's face. She'd be damned if she wasn't going to at least give the thing a headache.

-=-​

The bounty hunter watched with increased interest as Juri's face crashed again and again against her visor, the smears of red gradually building up and tinting her vision. Maybe she wouldn't have to even bother with an extraction procedure on that eye. It seemed likely that she'd just be able to pluck it out of the mush after all of this was over.

Her mood sunk back to normal, however, when she began to notice the cracks.

As the suit filled her steadily fragmenting view with new batches of warnings, she remembered to keep in mind why that gadget was important.

-=-​

Juri felt the grip around her release and let her drop to the ground, but she was not done yet. Not by a long shot. Cranking her Feng Shui engine up, she let out an unintelligible shout of rage and began to "kick" a barrage of purple fireballs into the iron idiot before her.

She could barely see in front of her due to the blood dripping down into her eyes, but that was okay for now. These motions were second nature to her, and the backdrafts of even more heat from the shots connecting told her more than enough to continue.

-=-​

[Air seal compromised]
[Temperature regulation systems offline]
[Tracking systems damaged]

Well.

[Structural issues detected]
[Air circulation at 63% efficiency]
[Scanning programs offline]

WELL.

Willing the still ongoing cascade of warnings and alerts away, the bounty hunter brought up the one protocol she would need. It was a shame to do this again, but an inactive bag of parts would be easier to fix back up than a possible crater.

After activating the procedure, she gazed past the prompts to glare at the feral woman in front of her.

The gloves, among several other things, were coming off.

-=-​

Juri leapt onto the Tin Man's chest and grabbed hold of his head, intending to tear it off of his shoulders.

Imagine her surprise when it actually pulled off with no resistance at all. Or when the armored plating she was standing on also came loose and fell.

Flat on her back and holding her "prize", Juri shifted the helmet to one hand so she could wipe the blood away and make better sense of what was now in front of her.

The figure underneath the deteriorating Tin Man was... neither of the above.

Spoiler: [JUSTIN BAILEY]

The woman was shorter than what the suit made her out to be, but not by terribly much. She must have had somewhere around a foot of height on Juri even now. Her movements were smooth and professional, although it was clear that she was holding more than a little aggrivation in check.

Drawing an odd looking pistol from a hip holster, the catsuited woman rapidly pressed a few buttons on it before bringing it down to bear on Juri.

-=-​

Juri thought fast. leaning forwards and reaching out, she covered the pistol's barrel with the helmet she was still holding. It was a silly move, but it probably would have worked if up against a traditional bullet-firing pistol.

Key word here is "If".

The energy fired from the handgun surged across the surface of the helmet and into Juri. What came from that was... wierd. The closest comparison she could make was to a taser, but she did not seem to be getting legitimately electrocuted. Sure, she trembled in place and her body locked up, but there was no pain or heat which would usually come with that. It was like the attack was tailor made to push over and stomp on the nervous system, leaving everything else alone.

Stepping forward, the blue woman plucked her helmet from Juri's frozen grip and flung it out the door. Then, with a spin to build up extra momentum, she landed a straight kick into Juri's stomach that sent her flying back.

-=-​

Juri could feel control coming back to her as she tumbled, and when she came to a stop she pushed herself up with one hand while holding her stomach with the other. To her surprise, she felt a scorch mark where the kick had landed. Did she roll through a particularly large ember during that spill?

She didn't have time to muse on this, however, as the blue woman was quickly on her.

She was fast, Juri had to give her that. Maybe even suspiciously so. But you had to do a lot more than that to outpace the Feng Shui engine.

Juri bobbed and weaved through a few punches and kicks, then chose to grab her opponent's leg mid-roundhouse. To her continued surprise, the foot now held in front of her face was clad in high heels of all things.

"Awww," Juri chided, "did I hold you up on your way to prom?"

If the blue woman found this amusing she certainly didn't show it. The only response, in fact, was the "heel" shooting a blast of fire directly into Juri's face.

Releasing her hold to clutch her face as she stepped back, Juri cursed at herself for letting her guard down. Those weren't stilettos, they were tiny jet engines!

Juri was pulled back in as she recoiled, courtesy of an energy rope which shot out of the pistol and attached to her chest. Still blinded by the shot to her face, and now paralyzed once again, Juri could do little but rock slightly against a series of chops raining down on her head and shoulders. The blue woman then tossed Juri behind her without even looking, sending her rolling to a stop at the foot of the bunker's doorway.

Juri rolled when she landed; not sure where she was going, but also knowing that staying still was a death sentence. Only when the air around her dropped to freezing and she tumbled face first into a bank of slush did she realize that she had fled outside the building entirely.

Great. She could make snow angels as she spasmed.

It took a good amount of time for Juri to rise up and find good enough footing on the frozen ground and in the howling winds, but she was not interrupted during it. That was odd. The blue bitch was riding her ass from the word go, what was stopping her now? Did she somehow lose her?

Juri looked back to the doorway, and saw her opponent silhouetted by the raging inferno behind her. She was making no motion to leave the bunker, and in fact was several steps back from the exit proper.

Juri couldn't make sense of it. Sure, it was bad out here, but they were being slow-roasted in there. Surely this was the better option out of the two?

Juri continued to watch as some sort of fuel supply was finally breached somewhere inside the building, and a new wave of fire bloomed to life behind her opponent. The blue woman was pushed forward a step or two, but leaned back against the shockwave while doing so like an acrophobic forced onto a narrow cliff edge.

Huh. Maybe the cold wasn't the best option.

At least, not for her.

-=-​

Samus Aran peered out into the white wasteland with a mix of emotions.

She had experienced a great many things during her lifetime, and had been at the forefront of several galaxy-changing events. Many wondered if she was even human. And, in an odd sort of way, they were right to doubt.

Samus had started her life as a normal person, sure, but over the years she had been... adjusted. The first instance being right after she was orphaned, and was taken in by an ancient race of bird-like creatures called the Chozo. They had raised her as one of their own; going so far as to infuse her with parts of their own DNA so she could be just as physically capable as them. Samus had no issues with this. Besides a few quirks here and there trying to integrate back into human civilizations, she had turned out just fine.

What really troubled her were the Metroids.

Artificial energy parasites -- an awry creation of the Chozo themselves, in fact -- they were a plague upon the galaxy. They consumed all life that they could, reproduced at an alarming rate, and were near invulnerable to almost everything. One of Samus' most lauded accomplishments was how she had essentially eradicated this scourge, and had always somehow been nearby to stomp out any possible resurgences or resurrections.

Which made it all the more ironic that she was now partially one of them.

Shortly after a particularly notable mission, she was infected and almost killed by a malicious parasite. She had only survived due to quick thinking scientists at Galactic Federation Headquarters whipping up a vaccine, using the cell of a Metroid as a base. The end result was that the parasite was purged from her system, but her genetic structure was once again irrevocably changed. She was now was just as much a Metroid -- the bastard children of the Chozo race -- as she was Chozo herself.

No one could tell at a glance, but then again no one could notice the Chozo genetics either. The real changes were inside. From the Chozo she had gained all-around better physical capabilities... and maybe an affinity for eggs. She wasn't too clear on that one.

But from the Metroids? She was now immune to the type of parasite that almost killed her, since Metroids were created specifically to counter them. Sometimes Metroids even seemed confused on whether she was potential prey or one of them. But the most significant change was inheriting their one fatal flaw.

The little energy vampires were incredibly weak to the process of energy leaving the body; also known as "cold" for those who don't push up their glasses and snort after every sentence. This was usually weaponized against them with an ice beam, flash-freezing the monsters solid, but that was only the most extreme case. Just going too low on the thermometer could sap them of their energy, force them into dormancy, and even kill them; all at much faster rates than it would a normal creature of comparable hardiness.

Her opponent, out in the unforgiving snowstorm, was undoubtedly very cold. But she was not actively dying. Samus may not be able to say the same for herself if the left this oven without the insulation of her Power Suit.

"What's the matter? Forget to pack your scarf?"

...Aaand now she was starting to catch wise on something being off.

Samus began to formulate a plan in her head. This would have to be done fast, and with as few hitches as possible.

-=-​

Juri waited, curious to see if her opponent would come out on her own. She was amused -- but somehow not surprised -- when the blue woman turned away from the doorway.

What did surprise her, though, was the piece of white hot metal that shot her direction.

The catsuited woman had apparently turned back to find the biggest hunk of what was left of the furnace, then grabbed hold of it with her energy whip and sent it hurling out the doorway. Juri rolled to the side as the now steaming hunk of scrap slid to a stop in the snow, and the blonde girl leapt out to perch right on top of it.

Even though she was making direct contact with something just a few steps away from molten, the blue girl did not so much as wince. Juri noted that in her head; despite how that glorified bodypaint looked, it must at least provide pretty nice insulation.

As steam rose and obscured the area around them, blasts and lashes from the energy pistol began to cut the cloud around Juri. Juri herself focused on staying on the move and not getting pinned down, realizing that time was very much on her side.

Time which slipped away even faster than expected. As the metal rapidly cooled, and began to violently implode due to the severe temperature change, the blue woman was forced to hop down to avoid it possibly contracting around her feet.

And, of course, Juri was waiting.

-=-​

It was back-and-forth at first, with both putting on an impromptu ballet as they danced around each other's attacks while trying to land their own, but it was eventually an extremely unconventional play which broke the stalemate.

Juri drew back a few steps and charged her energy, glowing purple with power. After a short pause she then "kicked" a flurry of violet fireballs at Samus.

Samus quickly evaluated this maneuver, and almost instantly came to a conclusion. Her foe had just given her fire, in a situation where the greatest enemy was actually the possibility of freezing. On top of that, her Zero Suit should be able to take most of the edge off of these attacks. The end result being that the most favorable option would be to just stay still and eat them. Thanks, Juri!

Standing her ground, Samus felt the heat crash over her as they connected. It hurt a little, but the warmth they gave more than made up for it.

A small smile began to bloom on her face, but quickly froze in confusion as a hand shot out through the fire and worked fingers under the collar of her suit.

"Gotcha, Blondie."

With an artificially empowered pull downwards, Juri tore away the front section of the bounty hunter's Zero Suit.

Samus let out an involuntary gasp as she spilled out, her chest and stomach now being buffeted by the frigid winds. Juri couldn't help but giggle and brush a hand across the bounty hunter's hardening nipples.

"Someone's getting perky..."

Samus didn't reply, instead activating her boot-jets to leap back and get some space between them.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" Juri asked.

"Oh well. You'll be screaming soon enough..."

-=-​

Samus did not care about being exposed. She was never terribly modest to begin with, and at least one of them was going to soon take the memories of this to their grave. What bothered her was being... exposed.

The insulation seal on her Zero Suit, her last line of defense against the bitter cold all around her, had now been destroyed. She was now almost as good as naked in a blizzard.

Knowing that it was now or never, Samus jetted back towards Juri in a desperate attempt to end the fight here and now.

-=-​

Juri smiled and licked her numbing lips as Samus rocketed back. She was getting reckless. And recklessness leads to mistakes.

Leaping clear over Samus as she charged, Juri took hold of the bounty hunter's back collar as she sped by; the end result being that the suit segment which covered her upper back and sides was torn clear off. Knocked off balance by the change of momentum, and shocked by the new chill, Samus crash-landed face down in a snow drift.

"If you wanted out of that thing so bad all you had to do was ask..." Juri purred as she advanced on the slumped form. "...I'm always up for some fun and games..."

Samus rose and spun around in an attempt to catch Juri with her energy whip, but she was getting weaker and slower. Juri easily dodged to the outside of her strike, then seized the bounty hunter's arm on either side of the elbow and brought it down on her knee. Samus bit her lip but did not cry out as her arm broke, the crunch of her joint and the muted clatter of her pistol falling on the mushy ground being the only sounds to mark the occasion.

Juri then used the leverage to pull Samus in for a few headbutts before bringing her stomach down on her bent knee, ending with the bounty hunter splayed across her like a child ready for disciplining.

Samus could do little but gasp for air as she felt the buckles around her ankles come undone and weight fall away, Juri having apparently taken the time to remove her rocket attachments during the lull in action. Afterwards, however, her hands came to rest on the bounty hunter's back and bottom respectively.

"To think, a girl like you wearing stilettos under all that armor."

Juri's hand probed the edges of the suit portion covering her lower body and tore it away. Now, at this point, only her arms and legs remained clothed.

"Not even any underwear under all of this. Such a naughty girl."

Samus tried to break free, but her weakened struggles did little but further please her captor. Samus Aran, living legend of the stars, could do little but shiver and try to hold back tears as this woman played with her most private areas.

Eventually, the hand pulled away.

"You know what I think you need?"

With a force behind it far exceeding what should be possible, the hand came back down on Samus Aran's ass with a tremendous smack. Her cheeks rippled and shook from the impact, and her eyes widened as she took in a hiss of air.

"Yeah, that's more like it."

-=-​

Juri han began to spank Samus, her rear quickly reddening despite the cold all around them. Juri was not here for simple S&M, however. As she drew more and more energy from her Feng Shui engine, her jiggling subject began to turn from red to purple, and then finally to black. Partway through she had moved her free hand up to the bounty hunter's face, in order to get a better look at how she was coping, and got bit for her troubles. It was kind of cute all things considered; Samus did not have enough energy left to pierce the skin, so it was more a love nip than anything else. Juri decided to leave her hand there for now. God knows Samus needed something to bite.

Eventually, when even the jolts of shock with each slap began to wane, Juri paused her strikes. Samus had only a moment to hope that the nightmare was over before Juri's nails dug into her back and raked up to her neck.

Pleased with her work, Juri pushed the bounty hunter off her knee and onto the snow. She left the woman there to writhe in a puddle of red slush as she wandered off to find something.

-=-​

"Hey, Blondie."

Samus tried to focus. It was so hard, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to anymore.

"Blondie!"

A kick across her upturned face brought her back to the here and now. Standing above her, with her hands behind her back, was Juri Han.

"Feeling chilly?"

Samus knew that nothing good could come from this, but she couldn't help herself and nodded.

"Want some clothing?" Juri continued, leaning down further.

Samus nodded again.

"Alright!" Juri replied giddily, pulling the bounty hunter's battered helmet out from behind her.

With no care at all Juri slammed the cracked helmet onto Samus, making her see stars as the top of the interior collided with her skull. Which was only joined by her ears ringing as Juri began to kick her now helmeted head.

Partially in an attempt to escape the kicks, and partially because of the force of said kicks themselves, Samus rolled over onto her stomach. In front of her, not terribly far off, she could make out the doorway to the bunker they had left. The fires had apparently not died down yet, judging from the glow inside.

Fire. Heat. Life.

The blows coming down on Samus slowed to a stop as Juri realized where the bounty hunter was trying to drag herself. With one arm, and only fumes in the tank.

"You think you can do it?" asked Juri.

"Go for it. I'll even cheer you on."

-=-​

Samus blocked out the sarcastic words of encouragement from her tormentor. It didn't matter. The only thing that did was the welcoming glow she could see through her cracked visor, growing with each pull across the ground that she could manage.

Against all odds, she was doing it. Or maybe the odds were in her favor all along. She was a special breed; a unique being throughout all of the known universe, one legends were woven around and shared between awed soldiers. It would take more than nippy weather to put her down, right?

As the doorway grew even closer, she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her. With reserves of strength even she didn't know she had, Samus rose to her knees and began to stand up for the final step.

Click

Whoosh

CRNK

She had stopped. Why had she stopped?

Samus found that she couldn't move forward or backward, and couldn't rotate her head at all. On top of that, there was now a nasty pressure on her temples.

Bringing her arm up to explore, she found metal on either side of her.

"Oh, so close!"

Oh no.

Oh no.

While Samus was busy trying to will herself over the doorstep, Juri had reached through to flip the closing switch. The two halves of the door had shot out just as her helmeted head went through; wedging it between them and crumpling it just enough that she couldn't remove herself from it.

She was trapped there, with only her helmet saving her from a grisly fate.

And she could feel it starting to give.

-=-​

Juri watched as the bounty hunter's bruised rear shook from side to side during attempts to pull free. It was almost hypnotic, really.

Juri was feeling a little tired, though, and needed a spot of rest. Walking forward and turning around herself, Juri took a seat on the presented ass and crossed her legs.

A little unsteady, but soft enough. Squishy, even. This would do.

-=-​

Samus barely registered the new pressure behind her, as it was all agony down there anyway. What she was focused on now was the increasing pressure on the sides of her skull. Her arm flailed and pounded futiley on the metal doors, doing nothing but making noise.

Samus had begun to cry; the tears dripping down off her face, through the cracks in the increasingly fragmented visor, and out onto the floor. Was this it? Was this how her legend would end?

As the pressure became unbearable, and the visor finally shattered, Samus started to scream.

-=-​

Juri was pleased to hear the beginnings of a shriek, moments before it was silenced by the KRRNK of folding metal and the door fully shutting.

The bounty hunter's one good hand spent a few more seconds desperately clawing at the door before falling, now just as useless as its ruined sibling.

Slowly, wetly, what was left of Samus Aran slid down the closed door. It gently hit the floor, with only a growing crimson puddle and an occasional twitch signaling the storied life that once was.

"Done so soon? Oh well..."

Rising back to her feet, Juri turned to examine the remains. Her rear was still propped up in the air, a neat little side effect of how she met her end. All in all, a fairly good job.

Juri, begrudgingly, turned to face the blizzard around her. This was rather fun and all, but she was not looking forward to going back out into the heart of that storm. Once again she bitterly wished that she had brought something to keep warm in.

Then a thought struck her.

She did have some things around that could fit the bill.

-=-​

Juri Han waded through another snowbank, trying her best not to fall over. How does anyone walk in heels? Like, even on normal flat ground?

Pushing the gripes aside to focus on her steps, Juri checked that the blue material wrapped around her face and exposed skin still held fast. This stuff was pretty good at keeping you warm! The extra height the blue girl had on her gave Juri more than enough to work with, too.

Juri smiled as she remembered how she left the bounty hunter, and how this damned cold would soon freeze her solid like that. If anyone showed up later they would find her preserved body naked and presenting; bruised rear up for all to admire.

A fitting epilogue, as far as she was concerned.

=-=-=

Spoiler: A Parting Word From Our Sponsors

Hey, congrats on making it to the end of a chapter! I've noticed that these stories get a lot more readers than responses or feedback; as diligent as a couple "regulars" here are, I doubt that they have viewed this topic over three thousand times between them.

After thinking about that a bit, it came to me that some people may enjoy/cannot look away from twisted shit like mine but also do not want to go through creating an account which would be tied to said twisted shit. Hell, I was much the same way before I actually convinced myself to start writing this stuff. Just in case, here's a possible compromise for ya.

Want to send me comments, suggestions, or messages about how clearly Juri is my waifu and how much of a shit she is? Drop me an email privately and anonymously at TheSickBox@hotmail.com

 

[lasthero]

My name is Last Hero, and I approve of this Fiction.

 

[SufferingLily]

Wow what a brutal and ignoble ending for Samus. While this level of violence isn't usually my cup of tea I have to compliment you on your creativity with the helmet and the door and Juri's lovely sadism. It was a good read and I hope you keep making quality submissions to the site.

 

[Kargan3033]

Talk about a door crasher special :-)

Well done Sickerton, Are you sure Juri isn't your little sister?, you capture her sadistic mind set so well, it's like you grew up with her.

 

[Sickerton]

Spoiler: Responses/pointless trivia you can skip over if you're just here for the story

Talk about a door crasher special :-)

Well done Sickerton, Are you sure Juri isn't your little sister?, you capture her sadistic mind set so well, it's like you grew up with her.

Fun Fact: Growing up with Juri would probably make you worse at figuring her out, since the Juri we know is a whole lot different to what she was as a kid/early teen.

Also, you'd probably be dead. That may actually be the more major hindrance, come to think about it...

=-=-=
Chapter 1: Bladed Cage
Chapter 2: Hunting Sparkles
Chapter 3: I'm Your Boogeyman
Chapter 4: Making A Splash!
Chapter 5: Getting Dangerously Meta
Chapter 6: Suffering Sappho!
Chapter 7: Evil By Moonlight
Chapter 8: Another M
Chapter 9: Roy G. Biv Sends His Regards (You Are Here)
Chapter 10: Rocks Fall
Chapter 11: Written By The Winners
=-=-=

Alright guys; we're going to be getting a little experimental with the format today! Just follow any instructions that come your way and it should go just fine. If you wind up liking it, good. If you wind up hating it, even better! This is a one-off thing, and we'll be returning to the traditional style afterwards.

Chapter 9: Roy G. Biv Sends His Regards
(Alternate Title: With Apologies To Fanged Farming Fowl)​

OPEN ME IN A NEW TAB THEN CONTINUE READING!​

Juri took a sniff of a bottle and then, grimacing, placed it back on the shelf.

This time around she had wandered into a replica of a nightclub. A club with no one else in it -- which missed most of the point -- but everything was up and running like the party was in full swing. Lights everywhere shifted hue and pulsed with the trance-like beat of the music; with several huge, glass pillars spaced evenly across the dance floor making sure that no nook or corner escaped the glow. Sets of stairs lined the walls, leading up to an open second floor where theoretical customers could relax and look down on the ravings below. And, next to the dance floor itself, an entire wall was set aside for the bar's arsenal of booze.

Juri, naturally, had leapt over the unprotected counter as soon as she saw it to better examine the wares. She had so far confirmed that it was indeed alcohol. A lot following that was just a big 'ol question mark.

She knew a bit about the art of getting hammered -- her mother had actually owned a vinery as a little side project -- but this wasn't exactly the type of market which would hem and haw about vintages. Tasting most of this stuff just meant that you weren't chugging fast enough.

"Yo, barkeep!"

Juri halted her inspection of another drink for people who hated their esophagus to turn and inspect the woman now seated on the other side of the counter.

Spoiler: Gasoline, Kerosene

...Where was the hat? You know, the hat? Nobody dresses like that without intending to top it all off with a stetson. Maybe she was just too proud of her hair to finish the job. Wild, unkempt locks -- so golden that they almost seemed to cancel out the colored lights which drowned out every other hue -- flowed down her shoulders and partially obscured her lilac eyes. A youthful, cocky grin finished the overall look; she was clearly someone who did what she liked and liked what she did.

"Do I look like a barista to you?" Juri asked the girl.

"You're behind the bar counter, holding a bottle of whiskey, and answered to 'Yo, barkeep' ", the cowgirl quipped back.

Well damn. Had her there.

Juri shrugged, accepting 'defeat', and decided to play along.

"Whaddya want?"

"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice."

That order Juri could do. Darting around the various countertops, Juri quickly returned to her 'customer' holding a mixture of sweet, pink liquid.

"You, uh, forgot the umbrella..." the cowgirl said, eyeing the glass.

"You'll get your umbrella and glass after you cough up an I.D., kid", Juri retorted with a grin.

"Oh come on!" the cowgirl griped, the golden bracelets on her wrists catching the pulsing light as she threw them up in annoyance. "I'm good for it. Do I look like I need to be carded?"

Juri stared down the girl. Eventually, grumbling the whole time, she pulled out a card and slid it across the counter.

Juri picked up and examined it. A school I.D.? Where the hell was Beacon Academy? This Yang lady had...

Wait.

Juri looked up at the blond, buxom John Wayne cosplayer.
Then down at the name on the I.D.
Then back up to her.

"...You know that the entire point of a fake card is to bump up the age on it, right?"

"Hey, that's completely legit!" the girl shot back, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Whatever you say, Yang Xiao Long. Is your ginger friend Jin Cho Yun going to join us later?"

Yang started to retort, but stopped when Juri raised a finger as if to make a point.

"Tell you what, goldilocks. This club is dead, and I've got nothing to do but you."

Juri leaned across the countertop, drawing closer to the golden-haired girl.

"You look like a real scrapper, too. If you can give me a good fight, not only will I look over the age thing but drinks will be on the house. How does that sound?"

Yang leaned in herself while maintaining eye contact with Juri; the two of them now almost touching foreheads like a pair of bucks locking their antlers.

"I think I'm going to like you."

"We'll see", Juri whispered through her crocodile smile.

-=-​

Yang backed away from the bar, beckoning Juri to follow as she stepped onto the dance floor proper. Juri was not far behind, effortlessly flipping back over the countertop and tagging along at a leisurely gait.

Juri was amused to note that, as they reached the center of the floor and faced each other off, whoever was behind the scenes of all this was milking the setting for all it was worth. The generic clubbing beat faded away, and the pulsing lights synced up to the flow of something a little more... appropriate.

CLOSE LAST TAB, REPLACE WITH THIS ONE​

"Just letting you know, I like my Sunrise heavy on the juice" Yang taunted while she cracked her knuckles. As she did so the gauntlets on her wrists extended with a series of whirrs and clicks, covering her forearms. Afterwards she pulled her arms back to her sides in one swift motion, causing a mysterious Ch-CHK noise as she readied her stance for battle.

Juri sized her opponent up while stretching out her legs.

"You're extra juicy. Got it."

Locking eyes, they both nodded to the other and dashed forward.

-=-​

Yang came in like a pugilist, fists up to protect her face as she shuffled from side to side during her advance. She opened with a left hook that Juri dodged to the outside of, planning to give her opponent a heel between the shoulderblades while she was still working against her committed momentum.

This plan was quickly discarded, though, as Yang's arm was propelled back with a jerk from some sort of explosion and her elbow embedded itself into Juri's side.

Juri stumbled and Yang pressed her advantage; another explosion going off as she tackled Juri with far more force than she reasonably could have built up in such a short time period. Recovering from the blindsiding, Juri turned the tackle into something approaching a Judo throw; repurposing the momentum to bring Yang's chest down on her feet and pushing her up into the air with the assistance of her Feng Shui Engine.

As Juri leapt up to meet Yang on the way down, another pair of explosions went off and her opponent flew off to the side. Juri finally got to spot the source of all this ruckus: Yang's golden gauntlets apparently were more than just for show.

Juri fell back to the ground as Yang managed to roll to her feet, and they stared each other down.

"You hiding a couple tricks from me?" Juri asked.

"Oh no..." Yang replied, as she threw her arms back to make the Ch-CHK noise again and spent shotgun shells fell around her feet.

Wait, shotgun shells?

"...I have more than just a couple."

-=-​

Both leapt back into action; Yang to continue her push, and Juri to cut her off before she could bring those gauntlets to bear. Juri came in as close as she could, reasoning that she could not be easily shot as long as she was behind the fists as they swung. Yang didn't really have a strategy in mind, just wanting to get a few good hits in and go from there.

Juri swept the legs out from underneath Yang, but as she fell Yang shot blasts downwards and back to turn it into a rising knee into Juri's collarbone. Juri replied by grabbing hold of her airborne opponent by the hips and powerslamming her to the ground, and Yang rebutted by firing towards her feet where she lay; sliding her away from Juri while at the same time blowing Juri's footing out from under her.

As Juri flung out her hands and fell on all fours, she noted something important: She still had legs. They stung like hell, but were intact and not even bleeding. Whatever her opponent was packing only looked like shotgun blasts; the real effect was actually closer to a punch force enhancement than the torso shredders one would expect.

This meant that she could make much larger gambles than she originally thought.

Grinning to herself, Juri finally went on the offense.

-=-​

Yang brought herself up to standing with the force of two shots from her gauntlets into the ground, giving her just enough time to see Juri coming.

For a moment it was an odd sort of defenseless stalemate; where both sides avoided having anything land on them not through any precautions on their part, but because every wild punch was deflected by an equally reckless kick and vice-versa. Eventually, though, one of them caught wise.

Yang went low for a body blow. Juri used the outstretched arm as a stepping stone, balancing on the gauntlet with one foot as she punted Yang's head to the side with the other. As Yang reached to knock off her spider-monkey of an opponent, Juri stepped over onto her shoulder and gave the back of her skull a good rattle as she kicked off.

"Hey, watch the hair!" Yang shouted while trying to regain her balance. Juri hadn't pegged this rowdy little thing as a frou-frou type, but didn't really give it much thought. Yet.

Yang knew that Juri must have been running up behind her while she was steadying herself, and in anticipation spun around with a backhand. Her knuckles brushed against the hair of her crouching opponent as they soared over her.

Rising to catch the limb as the blow whiffed, Juri flipped over her opponent; stressing the muscles as the arm twisted and strained. Locking in the torque by hooking around her other arm from below, Juri now had her opponent in a standing lock.

"Easy there, Purps..." Yang muttered through a half-smile, half-grimace. "...I need that. This is a wager, not a mugging."

The pressure on Yang's joints did not lessen; if anything, they got worse.

"You, uh, hear me PuOOOOH!"

CLOSE OTHER TAB NOW​

As if on cue, the club music cut out just in time to let the pop echo across the room. Juri let go and stepped back before her opponent could think of retaliating; leaving Yang slunched over alone.

Slowly she turned around to face her opponent, cradling her dislocated arm with her good one and gnashing her teeth.

"You... aren't playing... are you?"

"What, not having fun anymore?" Juri shot back. "I know I still am."

Juri was pleased at how things were coming along. Her meal was already all hot and bothered; panting heavily, furrowing her brow, narrowing her...

...red...
...eyes?

As the lights shifted to scarlet, and Yang rushed forward in silent fury, Juri knew that things were just starting to get interesting.

-=-​

OPEN IN NEW TAB​

In any regular brawl, the fight should have been easily decided then and there. But, for a few reasons already made clear and many more yet to be revealed, this was far from anything approaching "regular".

Juri moved to Yang's bad side as she charged, again grabbing hold of the dislocated arm as her opponent went by. Yang grimaced as new waves of pain pulsed through her, but did not falter. In fact, she began shooting blasts behind herself with her good hand to move even faster. With Juri holding onto her the result was a sort of windmill motion; Yang running in a circle while Juri spun at the center.

Juri was not prepared for this, and soon had to let go of Yang or risk falling over from dizziness. Yang continued running in the direction she was sent until she came upon one of the dancefloor's glass pillars, used it as a launching point to shoot herself back where she came, and crashed into the still woozy Juri mid-flight.

The two of them sailed through the air until they collided with another light-column; the force of their crash sending spiderwebs of cracks all across it's surface. Wasting no time, Yang punched Juri in the gut and then activated her gauntlet; breaking the structure into jagged fragments and shattered pieces as her opponent was pushed through it and out the other side.

Shredded to ribbons and needled with shards of glass, Juri writhed as Yang cautiously stepped through what remained of the light fixture. She had just enough sense to roll aside before Yang blasted her prone form, and as she began to push herself up felt her palms slide and open against the glass debris beneath them.

There was nothing she could do about that. But maybe there was something she could do with that.

Yang paid most of her attention to Juri's legs as she advanced, as her opponent was clearly a kick-fighter, and thus was completely caught off-guard by the rising haymaker. She was more surprised, however, by the fact that the blow cut a hole through her cheek. Shards of glass were wedged between each finger in Juri's fists, causing each blow to pierce and tear as they landed. Temporarily too bewildered to put up a proper defense, she was forced backwards against Juri's double-edged assault. Blood from both of them flew through the air and rolled down their bodies as Juri laid into Yang; the shards digging into her hands worse and worse as she plunged them into Yang's torso and raked them across her face.

Eventually Yang got back up to speed though, and caught one of Juri's flailing fists with her good hand.

Juri, unphased, threw another punch with her other hand.

Which was caught by Yang's other hand.

Juri stared in shocked disbelief. That arm was supposed to be useless. She broke it herself. Yet now it didn't have so much as a bruise. If anything it was stronger; Yang's grip was like iron, and she easily forced Juri's hands down and inwards despite her Feng Shui Engine-assisted efforts.

Turning to face Yang's smiling face, she noticed another thing as well: The gashes she had just finished giving Yang were almost completely gone. In fact she could actually see the worst injury -- the tear right through her cheek -- just finish closing back up.

Juri could only stutter "...What?"

"Forgot already?" Yang replied. "More than a couple tricks."

Then, with a blast from both of her gauntlets, Yang sent Juri flying.

-=-​

CLOSE LAST TAB, REPLACE WITH THIS ONE​

As Juri rolled to a stop, something finally clicked into place. When her vision blurred, and she could only see vague colors and shapes instead of actual objects, what she had originally had written off as a mere oddity was thrown into much starker contrast.

"You're on fire", Juri muttered.

"Thanks.", Yang said with a cocky smirk, reloading her gauntlets with another Ch-CHK as she advanced.

"No. You're on fire."

Spoiler: I Burn!

Juri had noted earlier that Yang's hair seemed to stay golden despite the overwhelming lighting all around, but only now realized how that actually worked. The hair was actually a lightsource itself. And now, as she focused on it, she could even make out small distortions similar to heatwaves coming off of blacktop in summer and licks of what appeared to be flames.

This seemed important. She wasn't sure how yet, but it was a start. What she needed was a moment to think this over.

A great many things were being called into question right now, but Juri was still pretty sure that she was the faster out of the two. Flipping to her feet, she turned and made a beeline for a stairwell.

"What, ya done?" Yang shouted, raising her hands in mock-surprise as the lights shifted to shades of yellow. "I thought you were having fun!"

Juri had made it to the second-floor balcony by the time that the tremors hit, and she grabbed hold of the banister for support.

"Don't worry!" Yang's voice rang out from below, "I can bring down the house all by myself!"

Juri peered over to find that Yang had not followed her up. She was instead pounding apart the supports for the second floor, obviously intending to soon make it the ground floor. Like some sort of chinese cowgirl Samson, she was willing to bring everything down around her just to spite her enemy.

...

...Why did that sound so appropriate?

The final pieces falling into place, Juri vaulted over the banister.

-=-​

Yang was pleased to see that her opponent had decided to come back down of her own accord. She was significantly less pleased when she soared right over her and dashed for the bar.

"Oh Purp..." Yang spoke to herself as she gave chase, "...it's gonna take a lot more than a mixed drink to get you out of this."

-=-​

Sliding over the countertop, Juri quickly took inventory of the available booze. She chose a large, hardy looking bottle of absurd proof just in time to ready herself.

Yang vaulted over the counter herself and immediately set upon Juri. The purple woman tried her best to defend herself but a tide had definitely turned; although she was still fast enough to deflect blows, the sheer force behind even glancing hits sent her staggering and reeling. The bottle she started this confrontation holding like a club soon disintegrated against one of Yang's gauntlets, not even leaving a decent shank-handle to work with.

Juri fell back, clutching the counter to stay on her feet. Yang predictably swung and activated her gauntlet, intending to pulverize her foe with a mighty blow.

And what a blow it was.

The gauntlet, soaked completely through with damn near pure alcohol due to the bottle it plowed through earlier, reacted quite interestingly to the spark used to set off a round. For an instant it caught alight, the entire mechanism burning through the thin, flammable layer of liquid. Although this flash-fire was not present long enough to harm the wielder, it did manage to simultaneously ignite and set off every shell in the gauntlet.

Juri lurched aside just as the place where she was standing -- as well as a good stretch of area behind it -- simply ceased to be.

Yang, not prepared for such massive feedback, was spun completely around.

Juri kicked the back of Yang's knee to force her into a kneel, placed one foot on Yang's shoulder, and with both hands gathered Yang's fiery hair to grasp it as close to the scalp and as tightly as she could manage.

This was when things would get... amusing.

-=-​

CLOSE TAB, REPLACE WITH THIS ONE​

Yang's hair was silky to the touch, and oddly warm on top of that. Juri wasn't entirely sure if the soothing sensation she felt while gripping it in in her ragged, oozing palms was something caused by the hair itself, or just her own body releasing some feel-good chemicals in anticipation for what was coming. Maybe a little of both?

It didn't matter in the long run. There were better things to think about right now.

"Listen, Purp..." Yang growled through clenched teeth. "You have five seconds before I-"

"Do absolutely nothing!" Juri finished, tugging Yang's scalp back just a little to get the point across. "If you try anything -- knock me back, jump away, even just trip me -- you'll need to start up a hat collection. But that isn't really what's so important here, is it?"

Yang said nothing, but did not move to escape, which spoke more than enough all by itself.

"I got your number Goldie", Juri continued. "Took me a while, but it's all out now. You're Samson with a boob job, aren't you?"

"Sam-wha?" Yang bewilderingly asked.

"Boy, you really are a kid", Juri sighed, and brought her head down next to Yang's to speak directly into her ear.

"Strong, simple, and tough. You're powerful. So powerful, in fact, that you can just eat everything thrown at you head-on and send it right back even worse. Sure, you're not much of a thinker, but as long as things fall down when you hit them it doesn't really matter. Except it does. Your toughness isn't guaranteed; There's something you have to protect to keep it"

Juri gave Yang's hair a slightly stronger tug, causing her to let out a small gasp of shock, before continuing.

"Do you know what did in the actual Samson? Not a mighty warrior, not a godly weapon, not really even a couple tons of rock and wood. What finally put down a man of legends was a half-clever floozy with a razor."

Raising up slightly, and pulling down on Yang's hair so that she was forced to look upwards, Juri leered down at those furious eyes.

"Come on. I know you have a quip about the floozy part."

Yang did not speak a word, but that did not mean she lacked a reply. Pausing only a moment to build up phlegm, Yang spat a loogie up into Juri's smug face.

"...Well." Juri remarked, drawing back. "Fair enough."

Doubling down on her grip, and readying her foothold on Yang's shoulder, Juri pulled back as hard as she could.

-=-​

CLOSE OTHER TAB​

Once again the powers-that-be were on point, cutting the fancy lights and music just in time to make room for the real show. A sickeningly wet tearing noise echoed through the room as Yang's hair -- alongside most of her scalp -- was ripped free of her head in one gruesome motion.

Juri stepped back and held out her new "pelt" for inspection. It was quite a sight to behold, despite the powerful glow already fading fast. Satisfied with that, she turned back to the previous owner.

Yang was frozen in place; either from nervous overload or simply refusing to believe, the current events had not been processed yet. But it was not a revelation which could be put off forever.

Slowly, shakily, Yang brought her hands up to touch where her scalp should have been. Finding only sticky bone, and her vision clouding over from the torrents of blood flowing down, Yang clutched her head and started to shriek.

"Oh, you big baby" Juri chided, walking around to her front and holding out the scalp. "It's still here. See?"

Somehow, this failed to calm her down.

"You can even have it back if it bothers you so much." Juri continued, shoving a handful of the hair into Yang's open mouth.

As Yang gagged and heaved on her own scalp, Juri turned about and threw out her arms; directly petitioning the ever-present surveillance equipment she knew was watching them from somewhere.

"Well?"

OPEN IN NEW TAB​

Barely holding back giddy laughter as the club dove into shades of violet, Juri turned back to her yellow friend.

"You spoil me, guys. You really do."

-=-​

Yang had just finished coughing up her hair when Juri picked her up by her scarf and threw her back over the countertop. Whenever she was about to hit the ground Juri was already there to punt her back up, like a hacky sack that could weep.

Eventually she was allowed to land, coming to a stop face-down on the shard-littered dancefloor. Although she could have passed as a biker at first glance, her leather jacket did even less to protect against the "road rash" from sliding across layers of broken glass. It was almost a relief when Juri landed on her spine via an artificially-enhanced divekick, sending about half of her body into muddled confusion with a muffled snap.

But Juri was still not done; far from it. Holding Yang's face to the ground as she was dragged forward, they came up to the haphazard remains of what was left of the glass pillar Juri shot through earlier. With a lift and a heave Yang was dropped and impaled upon the jagged structure, left there for a few seconds to sink in and writhe.

But not for terribly long. Grabbing hold of a flailing arm, Juri pulled Yang through and off the crystalline peaks that skewered her in place with a shoulder throw. Landing once again on the quickly reddening floor, Yang was not surprised when Juri took a moment to re-dislocate the arm she held before continuing.

Punted back towards the bar, Yang rolled to a helpless slump against the bottom of the counter. Her already blurry vision grew more indistinct as Juri began stomping on her, indiscriminately raising wicked bruises across her head, neck, and torso. She was far too out of it to notice, but the continued onslaught began to pound her into the steadily bowing wood.

When she next came-to she was being held aloft; Juri examining her for any signs of life. Yang tried to say something -- anything -- in spiteful protest, but all which came out was a low, hollow gurgle.

Happy to find what she was looking for, Juri gave Yang a knowing wink with her glowing left eye before letting go then kicking her aloft.

As Yang slowed to a halt midair, Juri was already above her and waiting. Grabbing hold of Yang's arms from behind, and placing her feet on the back of Yang's head, Juri rode her helpless opponent down to embed her face-first into the splintering and cratering bar counter.

CLOSE OTHER TAB​

Keeping her balance, Juri casually stepped from Yang's head onto her back and finally down to the floor. Leaning back on the counter herself, she gave the seizing body next to her a approving slap on the shoulder.

"I knew you were a scrapper! Good fight!"

She wasn't lying either. Full of surprises and utterly unyielding, this Yang lady was on her like a fever from start to finish. But, like a fever, she eventually broke.

Juri took a few moments to catch her breath and calm down, then turned her gaze back to the rows of booze.

"Good fight indeed."

-=-​

OPEN IN NEW TAB​

Juri shifted on her stool to reach over and pluck another bottle from the pile, then turned back to watch the dancefloor.

Sure, there was no one actually dancing, but the lightshow synced to the clubbing music still made for quite a sight. And if anything, the scars they had inflicted upon the setup while "moshing" only made it better. Really, what would a good scene be without battle damage?

Juri took a swig of the bottle and grimaced. Another dud.

"Here, all yours."

Extending her arm out to the left, Juri emptied out the bottle onto Yang's upturned face.

Juri had pried Yang out of the crater she had made in the counter to flip her over, so that she could have the Strawberry Sunrise she had more than earned tonight. In fact, as far as Juri was concerned, she had earned everything. True to Juri's word the drinks were on the house; but judging by the bottles already strewn about her, and the pool of liquor she bobbed in inside her little crater, the drinks were on Yang.

Yang sputtered and coughed reflexively as yet more alcohol worked its way down her nose and esophagus, her body futilely trying to save it's own sinking ship with mop buckets and sheer determination. When the bottle ran empty Juri pushed it into her gaping mouth, wedging the neck down her throat. Let's see that get bailed out.

As Juri turned back to her pile of drinks, she spotted an object she had almost completely forgot amongst everything else.

Clutching it between thumb and forefinger, Juri plucked up a small, yellow, cocktail parasol. She focused on it, drawing power from her Feng Shui Engine, and it soon alit with violet fire.

"Your umbrella." Juri remarked offhandedly, as she dropped the flaming novelty onto Yang's alcohol-saturated body.

Smirking to herself, Juri sat back and watched her burn.

=-=-=

Spoiler: A Parting Word From Our Sponsors

Hey, congrats on making it to the end of a chapter! I've noticed that these stories get a lot more readers than responses or feedback; as diligent as a couple "regulars" here are, I doubt that they have viewed this topic over three thousand times between them.

After thinking about that a bit, it came to me that some people may enjoy/cannot look away from twisted shit like mine but also do not want to go through creating an account which would be tied to said twisted shit. Hell, I was much the same way before I actually convinced myself to start writing this stuff. Just in case, here's a possible compromise for ya.

Want to send me comments, suggestions, or an automatic notification that I have "mysteriously" been signed up for no less than forty-eight bizarre fetish porn mailing lists without my consent? Drop me an email privately and anonymously at TheSickBox@hotmail.com

 

[Kargan3033]

Nicely done Sickerton, that was a good barroom blitz won by a hair's breath, not quite as sadistic as some of the other chapters but still it was well done, the action is well paced and detailed without being over detailed which would slow down the tempo of the story.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.

I also want to thank you for the background info on our little sado-cruel bi-sexual sexpot.

 

[Sickerton]

=-=-=
Chapter 1: Bladed Cage
Chapter 2: Hunting Sparkles
Chapter 3: I'm Your Boogeyman
Chapter 4: Making A Splash!
Chapter 5: Getting Dangerously Meta
Chapter 6: Suffering Sappho!
Chapter 7: Evil By Moonlight
Chapter 8: Another M
Chapter 9: Roy G. Biv Sends His Regards
Chapter 10: Rocks Fall (You Are Here)
Chapter 11: Written By The Winners

=-=-=

Chapter 10: Rocks Fall​

What had she done to deserve this?

...

Alright, stop. It was a rhetorical question.

Juri, silently regretting several life choices, continued slogging through sewer tunnels. Needing something -- anything -- to take her mind off of the pungent smells and alarmingly chunky current around her calves, she tried to figure out exactly what kind of place she had been ushered into this time. It didn't seem terribly advanced; these tunnels were simply carved through the bedrock it resided in, with little to no regard for looks or craftsmanship. But there must have been something at least above this worth having, judging by the muffled booms and muted rumbles which made their way down this far despite layers of stone. So before professional plumbing, but after blackpowder bombs. What a time to be alive.

Her investigation was halted as a pinprick of golden light passed by her ear, letting off a fluttery tinkle noise before it shot off down one of the tunnels in an upcoming fork.

It clearly wanted her to follow. It was probably an obvious, horrible trap. But still, would that be any worse than what she had now?

Picking up her pace, Juri eagerly chased the fleeing glow.

-=-​

The mysterious twinkle had a head start and the gift of flight, but if Juri had one skill to her name it was the ability to hustle when needed. It was not long before Han was able to snatch the glowing object right out of the air and bring it down for closer examination.

Spoiler: Twinkle, Twinkle

This was by far the weirdest looking mosquito she had ever seen.

Jokes aside, she gazed down in silent awe at the little creature as it tried to free its lower half from Juri's grasp and fluttered its dazzling rainbow wings. Up until this point the only fairy she knew wore a silly mask and refused to shut up about his face. Not only finding the real deal, but actually holding it while the thing spouted off angry chime noises, for a brief moment let what little sense of childlike wonder she still had burble to the surface.

It was only a moment, though. And after it submerged once more, what remained began to mull over possibilities.

The little pixie girl's cries -- while still small by nature -- grew louder as Juri slowly tightened her grip. The fairy shook its head from side to side in a much more translatable plea, but that was halted as Juri placed her hooked thumb under its tiny chin. The mystical, delicate creature was now being handled like a champaigne bottle; complete with a "cork" ready to be popped.

"Think happy thoughts, Tink."

-=-​

Before she could finish sending her new friend to Neverland, Juri heard the sound of a bowstring pulling taut somewhere nearby. Having kept in mind the possibility of an ambush, Juri ducked down and five arrows flew over her.

Turning to find the source, expecting to find a small band of archers, Juri was instead greeted only by a single figure. It was difficult to hammer out specifics due to the cloak; but it was definitely a woman, she was a bit on the small side, and she held a bow which was currently being readied once again.

Juri drew from her Feng Shui engine to advance on her foe through the next barrage of arrows; amazed -- yet befuddled -- at how the girl was firing entire volleys like that at all, let alone so quickly. Causing the last shot to go wild as she kicked the bow straight up, Juri finally got a better look at her new toy when she recoiled and her hood fell back.

Spoiler: Centuries of wisdom and experience. Still using pointy sticks

Oh, that explained a bit. This little knife-ear could pull off archery tricks no human could ever attempt because she wasn't human.

Juri had never killed an elf before. This was going to be a learning experience for the both of them.

Han moved in to play, but was cut short as the one wild arrow came down right between them. Enchanted with some strange type of elf magic, its landing produced a small shockwave along the ground. The Elf was obviously ready for this, but Juri stumbled back and accidentally lost hold of the fairy while trying her best not to faceplant into raw sewage.

Seeing that the Elf had already retreated to a safe distance, Juri focused on recapturing the pixie as soon as her footing was back under control. It fluttered past her shoulder, and as she swung around to reach for it she...

...Oh dear.

Spoiler: Valkyries Guide Us

This must be the muscle. This must be all the muscle.

Juri swung to the side as an absolutely colossal axe -- more than enough to cleave her cleanly in two, surely -- came down with all the force of a meteor on the spot where she was just previously standing. This naturally sent many things best left unmentioned in many directions best left unelaborated on, but Juri paid it next to no mind. Squeamishness was a luxury, and one which had now long passed.

Judging that such a mighty blow must have firmly wedged the double-headed battleaxe into the ground, Juri quickly engaged the Amazon (there was nothing else a woman like that could be) before she had any chance to pry it loose. Han was correct in her assumption, but had overlooked a few important details.

As Juri brought around a roundhouse kick to floor the Amazon, she found it halted halfway by a similar kick from the Amazon herself. Juri switched tacks and tried to move in for a knee, but got a boot to the gut for her troubles. It seemed that those thunder thighs were not just for show; this larger-than-life warrior was rivaling the artificially enhanced footsies of Han via sheer muscle mass alone.

At least Juri still had the speed advantage. At first. As they continued to trade blows on one another, it soon became clear that this muscle-mountain was also a slow burner on top of everything else. What were once haltingly cautious movements soon flowed effortlessly into each other, sealing shut all vulnerable openings and turning her onslaught into a continuous flow of pain as she got more and more into the groove of battle.

Now Juri was just trying to keep pace instead of leading the fight; a concept both unfamilliar and more than a little frightening to her. Doing her best to defend herself, she desperately looked around for something to shake things up.

Well, there was the Elf back there. She had retrieved her ammo and had been circling the duel, but had not fully readied her notched arrow yet. Apparently, she couldn't get a clear enough bead on Han.

Juri could probably help with that.

Launching herself over the Amazon entirely -- but grabbing hold of her wild locks while doing so -- Juri landed on the other side, flung up her arms, and puffed out her chest in display.

"Free shot!"

Faced with such a brazen, obvious target, the Elf couldn't help but take the bait. Which is just what Juri was hoping for.

Right as the volley of arrows was loosed, Han pulled down on the Amazon's hair. The Amazon herself was forced to fall backwards due to this; landing face-up and draped over the now crouching Juri.

Thunk-thunk-thunkthunkthunk!

The five arrows, meant for Han, sunk into the flesh of her human shield instead. One hit the Amazon in the mouth; plowing through her teeth and slowing to a stop only after it had already pierced through the bottom of her jaw. Another landed home in an eyesocket, destroying the contents with a terrible squelch and a spray of liquid. The other three, going higher, were peppered about her chest and collarbone.

The Amazon had only a moment to gurgle in confusion before Juri finished rolling her over her shoulders, heaving the wounded warrior face down into the muck so that the weight of her body could drive the arrows in even deeper.

Juri glanced back up at the Elf. Mortified, she had dropped her bow and now held both of her hands in front of her mouth.

"Missed" Juri jeered.

-=-​

Juri was more than willing to just step back and leave them alone for a minute or so, if only to see how this haughty-by-default Elf would handle an ally dying in her arms. But the choice was ultimately not left up to her, as she soon discovered when a miniature tornado formed at her feet and lifted her into the air.

Flailing about in the twister, Juri eventually spotted the new addition to this party. Apparently the fairy had gone off to get even more backup, and had returned seated on the shoulder of this...

Spoiler: The Editor for Kotaku Called This a Pedophile Fantasy. No, I Am Never Going To Let That Go

...What?

Excuse me, what?

How would she... how does she... how can she be? Imagine just trying to sit up in the morning!

Maybe she was overthinking this. That's clearly a witch. Even if Juri wasn't currently floating because of her, the hat and staff were a dead giveaway. Magic mastery could probably pull off a whole lot more than even the best plastic surgeons. Throw in a couple tactically placed levitation enchantments, and hell-

Juri's sidetracking would have to wait, as this witch was not content with just annoying her opponent. Pointing her wooden staff at the stone roof, a decent sized chunk broke off to fall onto Juri and send her crashing into the sludge below.

Furiously sputtering, Juri pushed herself up to a crouch.

"You hag, my mouth was ope-"

Her griping was frozen, quite literally, as the witch motioned again and Juri was engulfed by a surge of ice. But the ice was only a thin layer -- brittle and quickly thawing -- while it's captive was now absolutely flaming with white-hot rage. The witch had only a moment to start casting her next attack -- and the fairy a moment to take flight and get some distance from any possible danger -- before Juri had broken free and was upon her.

To the caster's credit, though, the spell did make it through. It just didn't help much in it's current state. A small, angry thundercloud drifted off aimlessly, shooting down bolts of lightning at random while it's creator was beaten behind it.

This Sorceress, being a well versed practitioner of powerful dark arts, was no doubt a mighty force to be reckoned with... from twenty feet away, and with fifteen minutes of prep time. There were good reasons why the term "Squishy wizard" had gained traction among certain communities, and in an up close and personal brawl with an angry martial artist she proved to be just about as dough-like as expected.

Panicking, the Sorceress attempted to raise a wall of ice between her and her assailant, but the incantation was foiled by a rising flip-kick that was meant for her face but had failed to clear her ludicrous chest on the way up. Letting out a hurt gasp, she attempted to use her new airborne state to levitate some distance between her and her opponent, but Juri quickly put an end to that by seizing her legs and slamming her back onto the slimy floor.

Writhing in pain and partially engulfed by the rancid river they were fighting through, the Sorceress had only just fully regained her senses when Juri picked her new method of attack. Seizing one leg in one hand, and a clump of red hair in the other, Juri began to stomp down on the spellcaster's twig of a stomach to see how fast she could turn this hourglass figure into a two-part series.

-=-​

As the Sorceress' cries grew weaker under the almost literal mudhole stomping, and her arms fell back to bob limply in the muck around them, Juri started thinking about possible ways to top her off. Maybe she could test out that old theory about witches being able to float? Ooh! If she could find a torch-

A sharp bolt of agony bit into the small of her back, causing her to freeze up in pain. Reaching behind her, she found a small hand and the hilt of a dagger before it was pulled out only to be plunged back into her side.

Stumbling back and attempting not to crumple as the Elf wrapped an arm around her neck, Juri let go of her previous prey and tried to shake off this renewed threat. She barely regarded the little poof of her former captive teleporting away with the fairy, but still made note of it with growing frustration. This game of musical chairs was getting old.

The dagger currently carving up her back and side was just as fun-sized as it's owner, but that did not mean it was harmless. Juri could already feel the flesh wounds start to tingle and numb; apparently reacting to some sort of toxin coating the blade. And even if she could recover from this poison given time, it would be significantly harder to bounce back from a slit throat.

The Elf was too nimble to get a good hold on from such an awkward position, and too clingy to shake off. But she still was... well, a fragile little elf.

Allowing herself to fall backwards completely, Juri's body pinned down her diminutive opponent under the sewer waterline.

Realizing too late the situation she had trapped herself in, the little knife-ear released her grip on Han and began to flail about in an attempt to break free. It was a futile effort; her kind was never built with raw strength in mind, and the body pinning her down outweighed her several times over. In an act of desperation she tried to force Juri off by bringing the dagger around to stab at her face, but Han was actually waiting for this and seized her by the wrist before the weapon could be driven home.

Juri pried the knife out of the Elf's slackening grasp, and with a hold still on her wrist sat up and looked about for inspiration. Settling her gaze on the aimless little cloud still puttering around the sewer, Han broke into a smile.

Standing up, and spinning the Elf around her a few times to build up momentum, Juri flung her lithe opponent up and through the supernatural thunderhead. The Elf sizzled and crackled through the air after plowing through it, only to hit the opposite wall face-first and slide down into a twitching heap.

Juri took a step toward the smoking Elf, testing the weight of the pilfered dagger in her grasp, then stopped. Oh no. She wasn't falling for this again.

Readying her new blade and spinning in place, Juri swept the area for the next possible blindsiding.

-=-​

Figures. The first time she was ready for someone breathing down her neck, no one was there.

The Sorceress had apparently booked it for real, with no trace of her left but that finally fading raincloud. The Elf was still smoldering against the wall over there. And the Amazon was the first to...

...Waait a second.

It seemed that Juri was wrong to count out the grayback so soon. Leaning against her colossal battleaxe, the Amazon grimaced as she finished pulling the last arrow through her jaw. The others, more securely embedded, were merely broken off at their wounds to not further inhibit movement but the message was clear: She was by no means done yet.

"Well well well..." Juri chided, moving in while trying to mask how heavy her poisoned limbs felt. "...You get lost on your way to Valhalla?"

The Amazon looked up at Juri with the one eye she had left, and in spite of the circumstances managed what would have probably been considered a pained smile if she had seven or so more teeth. Slowly, the one hand not being used to keep her standing moved down to a tiny locket strapped to her armored bikini string and popped it open. Dabbing her fingers inside it to coat them with warpaint, she then dragged them across her face to stain herself even more crimson.

Then with a determined heft of her axe, and a war cry far more booming than it had any right to be, the Amazon lunged and swung.

-=-​

Despite all the bravado that still remained, the Amazon was more than half dead and moved like it. But Juri was not the most nimble at the moment either; firmly in the grips of a venom plucking away at her nervous system. The resulting fight was thus slow and deliberate, and not just because of the "molasses" they were forced to wade through.

Juri ducked under the Amazon's horizontal swipe, rising afterwards to press an attack, but found herself battered and bowled over by a barrage of phantom swings following it. Turned out that the warpaint was not just for show. The Amazon now had several deceptively solid afterimages following her every motion; and while they did not pack the lethal edge of the original, being struck by three echoes of such a mighty blow was still nothing to take lightly.

Aching, but still aware enough to realize what the new cry above her meant, Juri scrambled around the Amazon as the axe came down behind her. While her mountain of an opponent re-hefted her colossal weapon, Juri took the opportunity to stab her a few times in the thigh with her stolen dagger. It was like trying to fell an ox, with so many layers of muscle in the way that nothing important was even touched, but if the toxin on this blade hit her as bad as it did Juri then that would soon be a moot point.

The Amazon turned and raised her weapon for an overhead smash, giving Juri plenty of time to gouge away at her stomach. This was going surprisingly well all things considered; her foe was simply too slow to maneuver that cinderblock of a tool, and all Juri had to do was keep at it until she eventually crumbled.

However, she soon discovered that she wasn't the only one to reach this conclusion.

Letting the raised axe drop and embed itself with a weighty thud behind her, the Amazon quickly reached down to take hold of either side of Juri's head. Then, lifting her fully off the ground, started adding pressure with intent to crush her skull.

Feet dangling and headache rapidly mounting, Juri frantically slashed at the arms and upper body of her opponent to no avail. Although the poison would eventually take its toll, Han would be little more than a discarded corpse floating down the sewers by the time it could make any difference.

Slowly, but surely, Juri's struggles began to wane. The dagger slipped out of her now fumbling grip, and despite all the willpower she had left demanding otherwise her arms eventually fell to limply sway at her sides.

Feeling herself start to cloud over as the pressure reached excruciating levels, Juri's glassy gaze tried to focus on what could be very well the last face she ever saw. The one good eye of her dominator all but blazed with triumph, the other obviously...

Obviously...

With the last of her strength, Juri reached out to the Amazon's face...

...dug her shivering fingers into the warrior's bare eyesocket...

...took hold of the embedded arrow shaft as firmly as she could...

...and pulled.

-=-​

As a sickening, wet SHLRRK filled the sour air, and Juri was splattered with chunks of grey matter, the pressure on her skull ceased and she was allowed to fall back into the muck. Never so happy to be covered in refuse, Han bobbed helplessly for a few minutes before getting enough of herself back together to rise.

The Amazon was... Still not dead?

She had fallen to a kneel, coming to a rest on her considerable haunches. The Amazon had obviously lost control of almost everything -- her only movement being involuntary seizing of her body and twitches across her face -- but her one good eye still lazily tracked Juri as she moved. She was on death's welcoming mat, and the door was wide open. All that she needed was a little push.

Wrapping both of her hands around the broken woman's throat, Juri brought herself in and spoke.

"Your princess put up a better fight."

Then, laying on her weight, Juri forced the Amazon back and onto the axe blade embedded behind her.

The Amazon could do little to even protest her agonizing execution, but her seizures intensified and a few involuntary groans escaped as she sunk deeper into her own weapon. Only when Juri felt new pain herself -- that of the axe making it's way clear through the shuddering mountain of muscle below her and cutting into her own stomach -- did she stop actively pushing and simply rest on her newest trophy. She merely laid there, exploring the many features of such an exceptional body, until it eventually ceased to even tremble and began to cool.

After she felt that she had her fill, and was ready to continue, Juri slid off her slippery prize and retrieved her discarded dagger.

One down. Two and a tenth to go.

-=-​

The Elf was still slumped against her wall; alive and breathing, but out of it. That wouldn't be any fun at all.

"Hey, Lego-lass!"

The Elf woozily came-to and turned to the source of the call, only to stifle a shriek at what she saw. What used to be her comrade-in-arms was now nothing more than a corpse, broken and violated upon her own weapon. And the monster which had done this was now hobbling it's way towards her.

"I have something of yours." Juri cooed, waving the dagger playfully. "Where should I return it?"

Hastily, the Elf ran through her options. This woman had just slaughtered their best close quarters fighter, so she wouldn't have anything even approaching a chance in an actual duel. She still had her bow -- having holstered it on her back when she went in with the dagger -- but with her state of panic and the aftereffects of electrocution she would barely get an arrow notched before her own knife came down. She needed an opening to escape and regroup.

Putting forward one palm and closing her eyes, the Elf called for the spirits of nature to aid her.

-=-​

At first Juri did not take note of the ripples, chalking it all up to her wading through the "river" causing them. But as waves began to form, pushing her back with each collision, she soon put two and two together.

This was by far the most disgusting strategy she had ever been subject to. Sure, the Elf didn't have the best of options concerning water down here, but come on. Come on!

Bracing herself against the new fetid tide wishing to wash her away, and trying her best to ignore the sting of it pouring over her open wounds, Juri continued the now much more difficult trek to her next plaything.

-=-​

Opening her eyes a fraction, the Elf examined what was happening and was slightly dismayed. The monster had been slowed, but not stopped, and what she actually needed was to push it away.

Bringing her other hand up alongside the first, the Elf called harder to the spirits and the waves transformed into a geyser.

The Elf lost sight of Juri completely underneath the surge of water, but that was inconsequential. She couldn't have been faring terribly well behind all that. Bringing her hands closer together to better focus the blast, the Elf briefly entertained the idea of this monster being crushed against the sewer wall...

...until a fist swung out of the torrent, skewering both of her hands on a dagger.

Losing control of the water, the Elf was left face to face with a Juri soaked, soiled, and pissed in more ways than one.

"You're going to pay for that." Juri growled at her cowering captive.

-=-​

The Elf tried to back away, but Juri used her... hold on both of the archer's hands to pull her in for a knee to the face. The twig-like crunch of that delicate little nose breaking was music to Juri's ears, and as the hooded girl fell to her knees Han sauntered around and cradled her jaw from behind.

"You know, I don't have to make this horrible for you. Could just snap your dainty little neck. Quick, easy, and relatively dignified."

She caressed the Elf's head with her free hand, ending at the tip of one of her pointed ears, before continuing.

"I won't, though."

Giving the Elf's back a kick and forcing her onto all fours, Juri lightly rested a foot between the small girl's shoulderblades before continuing.

"I could say it's because of how you cut me up. I could say it's because of that septic avenger crap you just pulled. I could just say that it's just because I feel like it. But all of that isn't quite right."

Juri's foot bore down a little harder, causing the girl's elbows to tremble under the growing force and her hands to grind even worse against the blade inside them.

"Truth is, you're an elf. Never liked elves in anything they've popped up in. I don't think anyone really does."

Her arms were now threatening to buckle under the pressure; a worrying proposition, considering what lay below.

"An ancient race of snooty twits that only exist to complain and get nothing done. You almost always have aeons on any other living race, but even goblins figure out stuff like engines and bombs before you do. You give nothing and expect everything, just because you're good at not-dying in some out of the way forest. But I could forgive all that. You know what really gets me?"

Juri leaned down as far as she could, and whispered:

"Your cookies suck."

Before finally bearing down in full and forcing her captive under the waterline.

-=-​

The Elf thrashed and grasped under the vile waters, searching for a way back to air but finding none. She wanted to weep and cry out, but knew that it would bring an end to her that much faster. Not like this. Not like this!

"Easy there," Juri spoke down to the bucking form under her. "Breathe deep and relax. Santa's calling you home."

The Elf reached out to the spirits -- of nature, of her ancestors, of anything -- but she was far too panicked to get any useful message out to sympathetic ears.

She did attract some attention, though, and as her lungs began to burn several beings from beyond the veil paused to take notice.

-=-​

"Huh." Juri mumbled to herself, watching with interest as droplets of water began to rise and circle around them.

"Neat."

-=-​

The Elf, despite every fiber of her being shrieking against it, could not take it any more. Her lungs finally expelled the last of her used-up air in a single, violent burst, and with no other option available began to pull in sewage

She was now officially drowning. And, as her traitorous body filled her mouth and nose with the worst of the worst, she could not wait to die.

-=-​

The water drops had now almost completely filled the area around them, and had picked up quite an impressive speed. The effect was like looking at the world through thousands of tiny, constantly shifting lenses. Juri was quite impressed that such a surreal, breathtaking sight could take place down here of all places; but then again, she had a habit of finding beauty in unusual things.

Speaking of which, she looked down at the relaxing form beneath her foot. It was getting about that time.

-=-​

The Elf's bulging, bloodshot eyes stung as the dirty water flowed over them, but she didn't care enough to will them closed. It would not be an issue for much longer. As her body finished it's last weak, pitiful gulps, and a warmth spread through her brain, she was thankful.

It was over. Finally over.

Thank... the spirits...

-=-​

It was a tad difficult to really gauge when someone has fully drowned. At least usually. But when the mystical watershow around them ceased and fell back into the "river" just as the Elf's final spasms wound down, Juri was rather certain that she could chalk this one up as a done deal.

Removing her foot from what used to be the Elf, she watched the body bounce up and bob for a moment before seizing it by the hood. Dragging it behind her as she walked back to her previous battleground, Juri prepared for take three.

-=-​

The Sorceress bit her lip, and tried not to groan with every lurch.

Forced to use her staff of untold magical power as a simple walking stick, she queasily carried on with her free hand clutching her bruised stomach. It pained her to leave her allies high and dry like that; but she could barely take a step without the urge to dry heave, let alone help in a battle.

The others were more than good enough to deal with a single threat. Surely they had it under wraps by now, and when they met up again she could apologize for-

The Sorceress was filled with a sense of foreboding as the little fairy Tiki, who had gone scouting ahead, flew back into sight and didn't even slow as she zipped by.

The feeling cemented itself into much more concrete despair when she found out exactly what her guide was fleeing from.

-=-​

So worth it.

It was no easy feat dragging the corpses of the two adventurers behind her all this way -- the Elf by her hood and the Amazon by her hair -- but the look on this witch's face more than made up for everything. Juri only wished that she could somehow get a personal recording, just so she could pinpoint the exact moment the spellcaster's hope died.

"Hey Sabrina," Juri started, pulling up her cargo so that the witch could get a good look at their vacant, slack faces. "Are these yours?"

Han unceremoniously threw the bodies at the witch's feet, and watched with pleasure as the spellcaster carefully kneeled down to examine them.

"You should have heard them as they died," Juri continued, attempting to twist the knife as much as she could. "They were calling out your..."

She looked on with confusion as the Sorceress brought the head of her staff down on the bodies, "shocking" them with a burst of magic. It was only when the corpses started to stir, and they turned their empty stares back at her, did she realize her mistake.

"You're... you're a necromancer, huh?"

-=-​

The bad news for Juri was that it was three on one yet again.

The good news was that, whatever was in the bodies now, it weren't the original souls. These things were a little slower, a tad weaker, and a whole lot dumber.

The "Elf" probably wasn't going to be much of a problem; she still had her hands skewered together, and was making no effort to free them, meaning that as long as Juri didn't stop to take a nap she could probably fend off that one just fine. The "Amazon" however, might be tricky. Juri had left the colossal axe behind (and thank god for that), but it still left this bear of a body trying its best to either beat her skull in or tear her arms off.

And then there was the witch.

Juri moved in on the Amazon corpse with a Feng Shui Engine-powered axe kick, hoping to put it down fast so that she could more easily deal with the other two, but hit an unexpected snag. Her opponent was covered in a divine, yellow glow moments before her strike connected with the Amazon corpse's forehead, and the only difference it made now was that she had a bruised heel.

Hopping back and resisting the urge to massage her foot, Juri quickly realized the source of this new bother. That bloody witch with a capital "B" was not much of a fighter by herself, but that didn't mean she was useless. Concentrating on her glowing staff, she was very clearly channeling a protection spell for her undead minions.

That simply wouldn't do.

Juri turned to go after the witch herself, but was grabbed from behind by what used to be the Amazon. Wrapping it's muscled arms around her, it held Han in place as it bit down on her shoulder.

Juri gasped as fresh blood began to run down her chest; mortified at the new prospect that, after all she had gone through, it could likely end like a pitiful little bird beneath a crowd of jackals. The reanimated limbs which held her were beastly in strength even before factoring in her fatigue, holding strong against all of her struggles. In fact, the only "give" she could feel was...

...Eergh. Was there any way this day couldn't go lower?

Taking a deep breath, then bringing up her hands to instead shove back against the Amazon's grip, Juri pushed herself through the huge axe wound in the corpse's torso and out the other side.

-=-​

Juri was less than thrilled to add a new coat of viscera to her current layers of filth, and even less so the addition of even more as she fell right back into the sewer "water" upon exit, but with any luck at all this would be the last indignity for today.

On her, of course.

Crawling through the Amazon's legs and moving away from it as the less-than-bright force inside attempted to parse what had just happened, Juri worked her way towards her actual target. The Elf tried to get in the way at this point, but Han only paused to yank the dagger out of it before shoving over the negligible threat.

The Sorceress, lost in concentration, only came back to the here and now when she felt a hand cover the one holding her staff.

And she had only begun to vocalize a warning as her opponent, long past caring at all, stomped down on the Sorceress' staff to snap it in two and release the energies coursing through it.

-=-​

The Sorceress came-to slunched against the wall, in what was now apparently a winter wonderland.

The magic staves that spellcasters of her type worked with always linked a single natural element more closely than any of the others. Although many often considered the choice minor, it actually did effect what the user could do and how well they could perform at certain tasks. This Sorceress appreciated the many supplemental capabilities of ice, and thus it was that energy which was released in a blast upon its destruction.

The walls were covered by a thin sheer of crystal, giving it a bit of a sheen depending on the angle viewed from. The sewer waters were also partially frozen, although it was only a surface layer already on it's way to thawing out completely. And while she was chilled by the speckles of ice all across her body, it was by no means a danger to her health.

The real danger in that regard was just turning back her way, having finished looting her freshly de-animated companions.

Juri stood tall as she could as she worked her way back through the icy slush, obviously slowing down to let the Sorceress take everything in. She still held the stolen dagger which had served her well enough thus far, but true to the spirit of an adventurer had also added even more weaponry as spoils from her conquests. The Sorceress could see what used to be the Elf's bow and quiver strapped to her back -- by far the most obvious prizes -- but no doubt other trinkets had been snatched and squirreled away as well.

As Juri closed the last bit of distance the Sorceress pushed herself up and held out a pleading hand; but that only let Juri pin it cleanly to the wall above them with the dagger before Han laid a round of knees into her already bruised stomach. Feeling her insides churn with each blow, the witch could only lean against her torturer as she dry-heaved against Han's shoulder.

For a moment the blows stopped, and the Sorceress was given a moment of respite to cough and sputter, but the she soon discovered that this was not an act of mercy. When Juri's arms wrapped around her tiny waist, and she was lifted into the air, she could only look down at the grinning face between her breasts and beg for mercy.

"You kidding?" Juri asked; having to consciously avoid licking her dirty lips as she smirked up at what could be seen of her prey's face between the mountains she was buried between. "I've been waiting all day for this!"

-=-​

Juri waited until the bearhug started to cut off her victim's air supply before she brought her face back down and committed to burying herself between the Sorceress' breasts. She wanted to hear the spellcaster get choked off, and she wasn't entirely sure if the noises would even reach her where she was going.

The Sorceress herself arched her back, in a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure of Juri's hold, and gasped for air that refused to come. Her one free hand fruitlessly beat on Juri's shoulder, the blows capable by her scholarly muscles barely even registering to the seasoned combatant they landed against.

Even if the Sorceress could put up a good fight, Juri probably wouldn't have paid any more attention to it. She was too busy taking in what was truly a once-in-a-lifetime situation. She was more than familiar with the idea of "burying" oneself in cleavage, but with the literally head-sized mounds on either side of her she had truly been enveloped. It was in a way primally satisfying; no light, no noise, no world. Just the moist darkness of flesh, and the pulse of racing heart.

The Sorceress' tongue escaped her mouth and lolled as she willed herself not to pass out, knowing full well that if she drifted off she would probably never wake up again. Her struggles were ironically bolstered as something popped in her spine, and waves of agony coursing through her back jolted her back into full awareness.

Juri was well aware of the first give, hearing the dislocation as well as the witch's heart skipping a beat even better than the spellcaster herself. Beaming within her personal paradise, Juri ratcheted up the pressure and listened to the music.

The Sorceress tried to let loose shriek after shriek as her back bowed more and she felt it crumble apart inside her, but the only noises her body could make were the crackles of her spine itself. Turning both blue from the lack of air and pale from the sheer trauma, she could do nothing more at this point than weakly hold on to the back of Juri's head with her good hand.

Juri could not see the Sorceress' pitiful state from below, but it did not mean that she could not tell. The heartbeats and pulsings of blood below the skin had begun to slow and grow erratic. It would only take a few more moments to finish her for good.

That was a tempting offer, but Juri... was not finished yet.

Bidding the natural nirvana farewell, Juri pulled with all her might in one brutal motion.

-=-​

Despite the tiny size of it compared to everything else, the Sorceress' torso let loose an impressive snap as it finally broke in two and folded back upon itself. Juri once again saw light as the chest she was buried in fell away, no longer limited by the restrictions of a spine.

Letting go and stepping back, Juri let the shuddering body slide back down the wall. Although still kept somewhat upright by the dagger-embedded hand, there was no chance of the Sorceress standing on her own power any more; and the only thing she did upon regaining the ability to breathe was let out the wails that had built up until then.

She actually kept at that for quite a while; it was mostly the increasing hoarseness of her vocal chords that forced her to stop than anything else. Only when she could physically scream no more did she look up and discover the next stage of her misery.

Juri had stepped back a ways, and had raised and aimed the Elf's stolen bow with a similarly pilfered arrow already notched. She was obviously not nearly as adept with it as the previous owner; her aim wavering an alarming amount even as she tried to steady her hand.

"Hey Salem..." Juri spoke to the witch in a mockingly conversational tone. "...you think I can hit your hat?"

-=-​

Juri's first shot naturally went-off target, and considering basic probabilities it was no surprise where it actually landed.

The Sorceress convulsed as the first arrow buried itself deep into her right breast, piercing through the fat and slowing to a stop against her chestplate. She tried to beg for Han to stop, but could only manage an unintelligible mewl.

Damn it, Juri thought to herself. She really should have taken her father up on that archery tutor. Would have served her a lot better than accounting, that's for sure.

Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20. And as Juri notched another arrow, she briefly debated on whether it was better to aim with one eye closed or not before giving up and loosing it anyway.

The second shot embedded itself between the collarbone and throat of the spellcaster, turning her whimpers into burbles and raspy coughs. Knowing that this may have nicked a jugular, and thus drastically reduced their time left together, Juri hastily took a handful of arrows from the quiver and tried them one after the other.

This turned out to be a remarkably poor decision. Han's aim, already nothing special, turned to hot garbage as she focused on speed over accuracy. Bolts plunged into the Sorceress' chest, arms, stomach, and in one particularly embarrassing case leg as the woman convulsed and wept below them.

Reaching once more to the quiver on her back, Juri discovered that she had only one arrow left.

Alright. Had to make this count.

Wading her way up to her pincushion, Juri pulled back the arrow and notched it. Then, using the tip as a pointer, forced the Sorceress' head upwards.

They stayed that way for a moment, with Juri aiming upwards through the witch's jaw and the spellcaster looking down at Juri with bleary, tear framed eyes. Curiously, it was the Sorceress who eventually broke the silence.

"Ch... Cheater..."

Juri, pleasantly surprised, could at first only reply with a chuckle before continuing.

"Don't you know it."

Juri released her hold on the arrow, and it shot up through the Sorceress' chin and into her skull. It slowed as it plowed through brain and bone, but with point-blank range it had enough force to tunnel the bolt right through. Finally grinding to a halt, the metal arrow head twinkled crimson as it poked through the magician's hat it had pierced from below.

The Sorceress' eyes lost focus, and slowly crossed as internal signals misfired and shorted out. Her jaw dropped, and a thin line of drool began to drip down as gravity ran its course. Gradually, in unnatural jerks, her head drooped until it rested against her collarbone. She trembled a few more times -- mere shivers more than anything -- and then hung motionless.

Juri dropped the bow and took a few steps back, so to better frame her newest conquest. The arrows were more than a bit sloppy, but it kind of added a brutal appeal. Not too bad, all things considered.

Although, she knew that she was still not quite finished here.

-=-​

The tiny fairy Tiki flew on, absolutely overcome with terror. She had to find an exit, but all of these passages blended together as she fled. She couldn't hide, as her glowing body would be clear as day no matter where she went. All she could do was race on and pray that-

"Boo!"

Tiki's tiny heart almost gave out as the woman she was fleeing from appeared before her, having apparently recovered well enough to pull off her feats of speed again. The shock had only halted her flight for a moment, but that was long enough, and Juri plucked her right out of the air by seizing one of her feet between a thumb and forefinger.

"Did you think I forgot about you?" Juri asked, flicking her wrist to whip the petrified pixie back and forth. "Still got to pay you back for that little surprise party you set up."

Juri's hand slowed to a stop, allowing the slightly concussed Tiki to dangle from her grip as she thought something over.

"Although, you did help me find everyone I would have needed to kill anyway... but then again, it probably would have been easier if I fought them one-by-one..."

Juri raised the little creature up in front of her face, eyeing it with care.

"I'm not exactly sure what to do with you, all things considered. Let me think about it for a moment."

Tiki was lowered again, and was given a couple seconds to regain her wits. But as she came fully back, her renewed struggles were halted as another thumb and finger clamped down on the upper segment of her left wing.

"Forgive you-"

The beautiful, transparent upper half of one of her wings was pulled clear off of her body, then let go to drift lazily to the sewer floor as Tiki shrieked and thrashed. Her little fairy language was built in such a way that even her cries of agony were oddly soothing, like a wind chime in a strong gust.

"Forgive you not."

Her upper right wing segment was plucked and discarded, doubling the fairy's musical squeals of pain and despair. In a fit of desperation Tiki reached back herself and tried to hold her bottom left wing segment in place as it was pinched; but her tiny struggles could do nothing against the comparatively titanic force that ripped it from her.

"Forgive you-"

Tiki's tiny body was wracked with convulsions, then went limp as the seizes passed. Knowing that she could do nothing to stop it, she did not even try to resist as the last piece of her wings was torn free of her body.

"Forgive you n... oh, tough break Tink..."

Juri brought the little fairy back up for inspection. She hung freely from Han's grip, no longer struggling at all. Her delicate frame seized every now and again, both from pain and her hitching sobs. A steady trickle of tears flowed up her forehead, into her hairline, and dripped off the top of her upside-down head.

"Aw, you in a bad place? Don't worry. I read a story once that told me what to do to help fairies."

Juri threw the crippled creature up into the air and, cartwheeling helplessly, Tiki could only scream her tiny lungs raw as she fell back down-

-and disappeared between Juri's hands with a thunderous CLAP.

Juri kept her hands held together, feeling the pitiful shudders between her palms quickly sputter out, and smiled.

To hell with the second star. This was good enough.

=-=-=

Spoiler: A Parting Word From Our Sponsors

Hey, congrats on making it to the end of a chapter! I've noticed that these stories get a lot more readers than responses or feedback; as diligent as a couple "regulars" here are, I doubt that they have viewed this topic over three thousand times between them.

After thinking about that a bit, it came to me that some people may enjoy/cannot look away from twisted shit like mine but also do not want to go through creating an account which would be tied to said twisted shit. Hell, I was much the same way before I actually convinced myself to start writing this stuff. Just in case, here's a possible compromise for ya.

Want to send me comments, suggestions, or a message detailing exactly how loudly you groaned at "Lego-lass"? Drop me an email privately and anonymously at TheSickBox@hotmail.com

 

[Kargan3033]

God damn Sickerton just when I thought this story could not get any better you pull out of your hat.

What a *shitty* place for a battle but on the upside of it the sewer makes for some really intense close quarters fighting

Btw which game/anime where Juri's *playmates* from and where can I find some info on them.

 

[Sickerton]

They're from the game Dragon's Crown, which I'd describe as a video game equivalent to a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Characters as class archetypes, adventuring for loot, stabbing various mythological beings to reach the next level, that kind of stuff.

Personally, I'd recommend damn near anything Vanillaware has made; the stuff they crank out is just so damn beautiful on top of being fun to play. I'm saying this after I wrote a story about drowning their creations in raw sewage, sure, but love is strange like that.

 

[Kargan3033]

Thanks for the info is DC playable off line and how much is the game, I don't like on line games.

 

[Sickerton]

It's completely playable offline (but it may ask you whether or not you want to allow online drop-in), and while the game is primarily geared towards playing with others there's a system in place to let you go through it with equivalent computer allies. Don't know about the price offhand, but as a "last gen" release it can't be too bad if you shop around for the best deal and all.

 

[Kargan3033]

It's completely playable offline (but it may ask you whether or not you want to allow online drop-in), and while the game is primarily geared towards playing with others there's a system in place to let you go through it with equivalent computer allies. Don't know about the price offhand, but as a "last gen" release it can't be too bad if you shop around for the best deal and all.

Ok thanks for the info, I wonder if this game can be modded or not.

 

[h0ly123]

I can not wait for the day Juri gets her comeuppance.