Night Two Hundred And Thirty Nine
Age 1991
Day Of The Enforcers Exam...
Emma Vibes, Lucy Case, and Sera Aka, all found themselves in what appeared to be a large white room filled up with many metal blocks. The room was heavily dented and all beat up covered in scorch marks.
Across from them Sif Stygian the seventh Squad Captain, as well as Nick Ale, the Seventh Squad Vice Captain both stood. All the way in the back of the room a beat up Hero Law, Ken Red, Kitsune Nine, Irene Glacious, and Light No Last Name, could all be seen, as well as Dawson Blight, one of the higher ups in the Sixth Squad, and Jackson Storm, the Sixth Squad Vice Captain.
They were all just leaving the room.
"Uh... What happened to them?" Sera asked in a shaky voice.
"Oh don't mind them." Nick said in a casual tone giving a sly grin as he cocked his head to the side and placed his hand on the handle of his katana. "They had to fight good ole Dawson Blight, the Red Demon himself, to prove that they've got what it takes for Squad Six."
"Got what it takes?" Lucy asked speaking in her usual way.
"I'm assuming they had to fight right?" Emma asked cocking her head to the side.
"Yep." Nick gave a nod. "Had to battle Mr. Freak of Nature. See just cause some beasts says you guys belong to our Squad doesn't mean we're gonna let it stand. You got to show us you have what it takes."
"S... So you want us to fight a Vice Captain!" Sera said with some fear in her voice. "That's insane. Not even the others had to fight one. And there was five of them."
"Don't be a fool." Sif said letting out a sigh as she hugged her pillow closer to her chest and stared at the three girls. "I'm not going to have you three fight Nick to prove you belong in the Enforcers."
"Oh thank God-"
"That would be to easy after all..."
"...I'm sorry what?"
Sif stepped forward the darkness beginning to slowly swirl around her as she handed her pillow to Nick and cracked her knuckles her cloak falling off of her. "You're going to fight me. I'm going to personally test each of you. Just like my Captain, Captain Jin Nine, did with me." She announced.
"This... Feels unfair..."
***
Present Day...
Gladiolus City...
The Arena...
Both girls stared at one another. Lucy had her suitcase which was her Equip type able to pull out powerful eldritch monsters from another world, a place called the realm of Nothing, and Emma had her chainsaw, her Equip type which could send out rippling waves of vibration that she could use to rip her enemies to shreds.
Both girls were quiet dangerous.
Both girls wanted to win.
Only one could though...
Both girls knew this...
"Lucy-"
"Don't." Lucy said bluntly. "Trying to reach out to me in a fight like this is to put it simply not advised. We are both trying to win these games and to do that each of us will need to give 100% and win this match no matter what. We both have to step up. Trying to connect to me is a dumb move that could lead to you going soft and losing the fight. Therefore it is best if you were to come at me head on and throw your all into every attack that you can in order to try and best me before I can come up with a means of attack that would allow me to over power you and grant the win to myself. At least this is the plan that someone smart would use." She said speaking in her normally blank and emotionless way that Emma had grown used to.
Emma couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips which made Lucy cock her head to the side when staring at the girl with the chainsaw.
"I do not recall telling a joke?"
"S... Sorry." Emma nodded. "It's just... I was scared. Scared you really did hate me. Scared you wanted me dead. Scared that I lost one of my friends. But that speech just now. It shows me that you don't even care about fighting me at your best. Otherwise you'd have let me try and connect with you. If you really wanted to beat me you'd allow me to make myself weaker but you didn't. You still care. No person who actually cared to win would speak about their plans like that to the one they're trying to beat. And that... That makes me happy." She smiled.
"I-"
"Know that I am right?"
Lucy was silent as she stared at Emma. "I'm going to do my best to beat you." She finished.
Emma nodded her head. "I understand. Come at me with everything Lucy!"
And the arena was filled with the roars of a chainsaw and the clicks of a suitcase...
The battle was finally about to begin...
Life is never fair...
Lucy and Emma charged at each other. It was a shock to see Lucy, someone who summons beasts to fight for her charge but that's what the woman did. She spun her body around swinging her suit case out like some kind of hammer, but the Red Sister seemed to be expecting that as she ducked down causing the weapon to swing over her head and miss her. She sliced out with her chain saw but Lucy blocked the roaring with her suitcase. Somehow the case didn't exploded or get cut as the metal weapon slammed into it. As that happened Lucy let go of a section she had been holding causing the case to open just a crack.
Large tentacles stabbed out of the case squirming their way out and all reaching for Emma who back flipped away dodging the grabbing attacks. A large buff creature pulled its way out of the case. It had the body of a large brown bear standing at nearly ten feet tall but instead of a bear head it had the head of what looked like an octopus with many tentacles squirming around it. Its arms were normal bear arms but at the tips instead of claws it had a set of chainsaw like blades which roared to life.
The beast let out a loud roaring gasp as it screamed to the heavens.
Down below in the Squad Six Box Ken, Shelly, Daughter, and Light all stood.
"Man..." Ken frowned. "Lucy's powers are kind of weird aren't they?"
"A bit..." Shelly agreed biting her lip. "That thing looks powerful."
"Emma will have to be careful if she wants to beat that thing?" Light nodded.
Daughter just frowned and wrapped her arms around Shelly's legs. "What's wrong sweaty?" Shelly asked patting the girls head.
"I don't like Squids." Daughter gave a cute frown glaring at the beast. "Those things are bad."
"What things?" The three turned finding Irene standing next to them now.
"Oh hey Kitsune- Wait..." Ken stopped and eyed Irene up and down for a moment her eyes narrowed. "Blonde hair... Irene!" Ken jumped the girl wrapping her arms around and pulling her in for a tight hug.
"Gahh! Get off of me. Go jump Shelly leave me out of this." Irene said squirming and trying to push Ken off of her.
"You unfused huh." Light sighed. "Good."
"Father was right as always." Daughter nodded.
Shelly frowned for a moment folding her arms. "What happened? You unfused? You left to go to the wall right? What went down?"
"I... I Don't want to talk about it." Irene said biting her lip as she dropped Ken. She slowly turned to look back at the planet. "Let's just... Let's just watch the fight..." She sighed.
Back in the arena Emma jumped back as the beast slammed its arm down into the ground the chainsaw roaring wildly as it sliced down.
"I made this one for you." Lucy said her frown growing. "I built it to beat you. It doesn't seem to be doing to well though."
Emma managed to side step all the many attacks with seemingly ease. It was fast and powerful but it didn't have any skill. It would just slice out like a wild beasts with its arms trying to slice into Emma. Sometimes its tendrils would shoot out to try and wrap around her but she would always seemingly slice clean through them before they could reach her slicing them all off. Compared to her this beast really wasn't all that good. Maybe fighting a Bestia Macht it would do well but a human with skill. It was nothing.
The beast let out a massive roar and slammed its arms down trying to stab through Emma, but the girl jumped up high spinning her body around and landing on the fur covered arms of the beast with grace. As she did that she held her chainsaw out like a sword and ran up its arm as the tendrils fired out but she spun through them all. Then she jumped forward towards the beast stabbing out with her chain saw and stabbing it through the head and out the back of its skull-
'Click.'
'Boom!'
Lucy clicked a button on her remote causing the bomb she placed into the beast to go off in a fiery blast which slammed into Emma throwing the girl back and sending her crashing through the grass with a loud gasp.
Emma rolled to her feet a large dust cloud settling in around her. Her ears twitched suddenly as a massive bird flew through the cloud. It was the size of a large car and had the body of a crow but the head of a squid with bone beaks attached to each tendril. It let out a loud kaw and flew towards her its eight limbs stabbing out but Emma stepped forward slamming her chainsaw forward and slicing the beats in half, only for it to once again explode and send her flying back. She spun around stabbing her weapon into the ground and using it to stop her fall only for her to look up just in time as Lucy came jumping out of the dust cloud and smashed her suit case across Emma's face making Emma gasp out and spit up blood as she stumbled back.
Lucy then threw several small orbs out of her pocket jumping back as she clicked another button causing all the orbs to explode in a massive blast and push Emma back even further.
"N... Not very fair is it..." Ken frowned. "Those bombs are doing ore damage than Lucy is..."
"Emma." Shelly bit her lip her mind flashing back to Emma's first fight for a moment. "Why aren't you... Why aren't you going all out."
Emma slammed her weapon out blocking a strike just in the nick of time as Lucy smashed her case out. "Why are you holding back." Lucy hissed smashing her leg into Emma's side and knocking the girl down. She stepped forward smashing her leg out and kicking Emma in the gut than smashed her case down onto the girls head over and over again pounding her into the ground. "You said for me to come at you with everything I had didn't you. Then you go and hold back on me. You said you were happy. You said..." She smashed her foot into Emma's chin causing the girl to roll back.
Emma landed back on her feet and reached up filling her lip which had become busted. "L... Lucy." She said letting out a small hiss of pain and grabbing at her ribs.
"Why aren't you using that power."
"...You mean-"
"Yes. I mean the Second Level. You got it right. Why aren't you using it. I hated it... I hated that you got it before me. I tried hard to be better. Stronger. And then out of the blue you reach that form of power... It's like you just randomly got it-"
"Because I did." Emma yelled cutting Lucy off. Emma stared down at her chainsaw her frown growing. "I... I didn't earn it... I didn't get that power...I don't know where it came from... It just... It just appeared in me... I don't recall ever being near those limits. I thought I had... My body felt like it had given up in my fight with that man. I felt like I died. But then... Seemingly out of the blue. As if by magic. I find myself perfectly fine. Not even harmed. And then somehow. I just... I just knew I could use it. I just knew I had the power to tap into that energy. I'm certain. I'm certain that was the power of the Heart. Someone saved me from Death and gave me the power I needed to win. That power isn't mine. I'm giving it everything I have and I admit. I'm weaker than you. Okay? Happy..."
"Emma." Lucy slapped the woman across the face suddenly and spun around smashing her case into the top of the girls head. As she dropped down she kicked up with her foot smashing it into Emma's stomach. "No. I'm not happy. I had no idea you were such an idiot. You whine about that power not being yours... You whine that your best isn't as good as my best... Are you an idiot? You think this is my power? You're wrong."
"W... What?"
Lucy's eyes glared at Emma for a moment. "You're wrong. Dead wrong. This power isn't... This power isn't mine. It stopped being mine when I became a member of Squad Seven. This power stopped being mine when I met you and Sera. This power stopped belonging to me when ever I became an Enforcer. Of course that's not your strength. Don't be arrogant. No Enforcer here has their own power. This is power that belongs to all of us. Power that was Cultivated by our Teachers, our Captains, our Masters, and our friends. This power. The power to keep pushing forward and fighting. None of us had that. We've never had this power. It was all given to us. Honed inside of us by Captain Sif who saw us as worthy of being in her Squad. You've never been fighting with the power of Emma Vibes. You've been fighting with the power that was given to us all. The power of a hero. So you can sit there and cry about having the second level which came to you out of nowhere. Or you can do what every Enforcer has had to do. You can get back up and grab this power that was trusted to us and use it to keep marching forward."
"Lucy-"
"So come at me with everything you have! That's what friends do!"
"I never expected you to be the one raising her voice. I guess we're rubbing off on you and getting you to open up." Emma chuckled.
"This is all the strength I got from my friends and my teacher."
Emma stumbled back to her feet giving a half smile. "Right... Well. Remember. You asked for this."
"I did. And when I beat you it will make me feel even better."
"Well. Let's see. Level... Two."