The moment the three girls arrived on Jargo Beach, they were greeted with a pleasant breeze. The sun shined above them without a cloud in sight. The temperature wasn't very cold nor too hot. Their eyes were met with a clean beach. The waters were bright blue. People played volleyball in one corner near a medium-sized tree. Children ran around having fun. It was known as one of the best beaches in the country.
And the three girls were ready to relax. Or at the very least, Yune and Jack were. They had to drag Mary out of the car and hold her down to put sunscreen on her. They all had their swimsuits. Jack began warming up and stretching on the sand.
Yune just planned to put her feet in the water and relax that way. Mary didn't know what to do. She was still fidgeting looking around for enemies.
As Jack was going out to run, Yune said, "Just stay close. Mary might be nervous, but we shouldn't wander too far off."
"Oh, don't worry about me. Just have fun," Jack replied.
And so their relaxing day on the beach began. Yune stuck her feet into the water and looked down at her legs.
Mary didn't understand how that helped relax Yune, but she did want to relax herself as well. She tried building a sandcastle. She began sculpting details using one claw by transforming just her index finger. But when somebody would pass by, she would instinctively jolt up.
She stuck close to Yune as Jack ran around the beach working up a sweat.
As the three girls relaxed themselves on the beach, there was an onlooker from a nearby hill overlooking the beach. She parked her motorcycle near the ridge and took off her helmet. A young woman cloaked with a black mask with a third eye drawn on her forehead. The eye holes in her mask were pitch-black. She was cloaked in darkness and held binoculars to watch the three Dark Star Emperors.
And then a bullet ricocheted off the ground next to the onlooker's foot.
"Who are you?" a voice said from behind the onlooker. The girl put away her binoculars feeling a bit surprised.
Now, there were two girls on that overlook. And both of them watched the same thing. However, the cloaked woman doubted that their goals were the same.
The girl who spoke was in a blue dress holding a magical pistol attached with a silencer. She kept her distance from the cloaked woman.
"Well, I know you're not a Dark Star considering it should only be the three of them, but you sure do look scary," the girl holding the gun said, "You must be another Light Guardian, then. And I'm assuming you're also after those three."
The cloaked woman said nothing and the girl continued, "I'm Poppy, by the way. I assume I won't be getting your name. I guess you must be going for the edgy, silent type."
"And I assume you're going to try and kill those three, am I correct?" the cloaked woman replied.
"Yep. They took away my friends and I've been waiting for an opportunity to let their guard down. You looking to team-up?"
"Not interested."
"Neither am I. Last time, we decided to join a coalition against those three, it went bad real fast. I could barely do anything without hitting one of our own. Too many variables. So, I'd suggest you sit back and let me finish them myself."
"I can't let you do that."
"Oh, right. The two thousand black coins dropping from their bodies. I suppose you must be interested in the black coins, then? Well, I could give you a share when I kill them, if you just let me handle them."
But the cloaked woman wouldn't back down. And they both knew that they were going to have to fight. And without warning, a bullet pierced right through the cloaked woman's right calf. She knelt down shocked and in moderate pain. Her guardian form did reduce the pain substantially, but it still stung as blood dripped out of the wound.
Poppy smiled and was about to leave the wounded woman there. She could have killed her, but she still had her set of morals. The cloaked woman got herself up and readied herself to fight. She didn't know how that bullet came from behind her, but she knew it had to be related to Poppy's Light Guardian powers. She covered her mask and black eyes with her hood. Her cloak was pushed behind her revealing her black armor with a red streak on her right clavicle.
Seeing that the cloaked woman wouldn't stand down, Poppy readied her gun. Her shots were silent, but she had to be careful not to tip off the other three below. She didn't know why, but she felt a similar aura coming off of this woman. She had to have been a teenager or a young adult, Poppy thought, but it was hard to tell. Nonetheless, she wasn't afraid. She wouldn't let herself be afraid of anything after seeing those three monsters.
And so their battle began.
The cloaked woman ran towards her enemy. And as soon as she did, Poppy realized that the girl must be some kind of close-range fighter. She didn't see her holding any weapons, so she assumed it could be her fists. So, in response, Poppy fired her silent gun aimed at the woman while also jumping away. But the shot weren't for the purpose to kill. She aimed towards non-vital areas of her body. But there was also another reason for firing. She wanted to see the woman's weapon, as well.
As soon, as the bullets came into her view, she dodged them with precise speed. And she continued to close it. However, the bullets were intentionally slowed down. And then the cloaked woman remembered how her leg was shot - from behind.
She turned around and saw the bullets being deflected off of the ground, rocks, and handrails. And they came right back at her. This time there was no time to react as their speeds increased. They jumped around as Poppy was able to see their trajectory. And with one more shot, her bullet grazed onto one of the other bullets pushing it straight towards the woman's arm without her being able to react. It pierced straight through her arm. Her armor wasn't able to protect her.
She then figured that the bullet that shot at her leg must have been from her first shot that went by her foot before she spoke. Poppy didn't think there was anything inherently evil about the woman, but she didn't want anybody to get in the way of her kill, so she already set up a shot in the very beginning.
However, the cloaked woman noticed that Poppy was only aiming towards places that would slow her down, but not kill her. And she knew that she could take advantage of that.
Poppy fired another round of bullets aimed towards the ground. They began to bounce around like a pinball. They collided with each other and complemented each other. Their speeds increased the longer they bounced around. And they began to close in around the cloaked woman at the same time.
The cloaked girl couldn't tell where the bullets would come at her, so she couldn't just conjure an orange portal to deflect them back without timing it perfectly. If she was too early, then Poppy would see them opening up and shoot another round to deflect those bullets away from her portal. And if she was late, then the portal would do nothing and Poppy would now have an idea of what her power was. She wanted to keep this as an ace in the hole.
But since they weren't aimed at her vital points, she rushed forward without worry.
As the bullets came towards her, she took the shots. As Poppy smiled and stayed still thinking that the woman would be too weak to move, the cloaked woman still marched forward even as she bled all over her body. Her smile turned to shock as she kept moving.
Poppy fired another bullet aimed at the ground near the woman's leg to bounce around. And when she did, before the bullet struck the ground, an orange portal opened up near the cloaked woman. An obsidian arm came right out and collided with the bullet. The round bounced right back at Poppy. As the bullet was about to strike at her heart, she fired another round to deflect it. As she was distracted by that bullet, the cloaked woman conjured another orange portal to her other side summoning another obsidian arm. The arm grabbed onto a rock and threw it straight at Poppy's gun before she fired. The bullet was still going straight at Poppy's chest. But wherever the gun was aimed would work to her advantage. She fired two rounds. The first one slower than the second. When the second one hit the first, it bounced back hitting the bullet aimed towards Poppy. But there wasn't a lot of time. Instead of deflecting the bullet away from her, she was only able to get it to graze past her torso.
She sighed a breath of relief, but the fight wasn't over. The cloaked woman was close enough in range for her obsidian arms.
As the arm was about to strike, Poppy could only find one way out of this mess. Although, she didn't want to do it, she had no choice and there was no time for hesitation. She fired a bullet that ricocheted off of the obsidian arms and straight into the woman's head. It went crashed right into her forehead. Right into the middle of her drawn eye.
As the woman was flung back by the force of it, her mask shattered protecting her face. And her cloak vanished into nothing. She had short, messy, pink hair. But the woman wasn't dead as the mask protected her. One of the obsidian arms tried to grab onto Poppy, while another
And now, the woman's eyes and face were visible.
As she landed with bleeding all over, Poppy was able to get a good look at her face. She was first confused and surprised, but that confusion turned into glee.
The woman's black scleras with glowing orange irises. The dark aura that surrounded her. It felt all too similar. She was just like the other three. But this time, Poppy had the advantage. This Dark Star was bleeding from all of the bullets that were stuck in her. So much blood has been lost. She breathed heavily as she was on her knee.
"A Dark Star?" she said with a smile while aiming her gun right at girl, "I thought there were only three of you. No matter. I'll avenge my friends. I'll make sure none of your kind survive."
The woman's portals weakened. The obsidian arms faded away as they closed. Her breathing was uneven, but she stared at the girl with no intention of losing. She made a smile to Poppy's surprise and annoyance.
Poppy asked annoyed, "What are you smiling abou-?"
And then, suddenly a bullet was shot right at Poppy's heart from behind. It was just what the woman waited for. She stood up and slowly walked over to Poppy.
"I was waiting," the woman replied, "You weren't paying attention to what was going on behind you. The bullet that grazed past you kept bouncing. If you had turned your head, you may have noticed. You may have been able to see that bullet eventually going to bounce back at you. Just needed to wait."
"Ack- How did you wi-?" Poppy asked before coughing out blood in pain as she fell on her back. Her arms were weak, but she managed to fire a couple more shots. But each one was quickly deflected away by her obsidian arms.
And then Poppy fell as the woman was right over her with black and orange eyes staring back.
"Your unwillingness to kill me was one thing. Your overconfidence was another. Although, you did do some considerable damage to me even before knowing what I am now. But in the end, it was all luck. You should have paid more attention to your behind. You have fought and lost, Light Guardian. But I am not a monster. I don't think you'll trust me, but if you have any family, I can see to it that they'd be informed."
And when Poppy tried to speak again, the woman knelt down and leaned in to hear her.
And to her surprise, Poppy quickly grabbed a hold of the woman's armor and dragged her down. Poppy fired one more shot to the side not hitting the woman directly. But the bullet went straight towards the bullets that the woman deflected. It ricocheted off of them and each one began to fly directly behind the woman.
"You should have paid more attention to your behind, monster," Poppy said.
As the barrage flied towards the Dark Star, a portal that covered her head and body was conjured behind her. But instead of an obsidian arm coming out, the bullets just went straight inside them. And then a portal came out in front of her between herself and Poppy. And the bullets came out from that direction covered in lava and orange fluid. They pierced directly into Poppy's head and body without any resistance. Blood gushed out, but she no longer moved. Her eyes lost color and her hand couldn't hold onto the Dark Star.
Then, she walked away. She called up the shopkeeper and healed herself with one of her reserve black coins. But her work hadn't finished. She looked at the three girls through the binoculars. They were still there on the beach relaxing and having a fun time. And as Poppy said before, it was the perfect opportunity to strike. And out of the three girls, there was one in particular who she wanted to get rid of. And as if it was fate, she saw that girl moderately separated from the rest.
She transformed back into her normal human form. She wore a white robe and took it off. There was a black swimsuit that she prepared. She readied herself to go down to the beach knowing full well what she was about to do.