I'd rather fight alone... [BBS/Action]

[gunbladegrrl]

If any of the people who've been willing to help me are interested, I will be working in the Training Center on LBT coursework this afternoon. Aura spells and guarding me while I'm weak would both be appreciated if you are willing.

-Cadet Maria Cyphert


][Given her choice, she would have rejected all help and simply done it alone, and to hell with what anyone said or did. Maria's had a hair-trigger temper since the departure of Instructor Farron, which only amplified her habits of stubborn overwork and independence. Still... what she has to do boiled down to fighting monsters while fairly injured. She isn't suicidal.]

[She has, however, started already, deliberately allowing herself to take blows until the feelings of pain scraping across her mind started to become too distracting to think properly. It might not have been weak enough... not for a starting cadet, alone, but she has more than enough anger and fury to bridge the gap of inexperience and lack of greater desperation.]

[Light sheds from her as power flows through her -- then the girl explodes from her ready stance with a howled battlecry. The poor grat has barely enough time to twitch its tentacles in alarm before her right-hand gunblade hacks through it from a descending overhand blow, shockwaves racing down the blade as she pulls the trigger mid-strike. As the weapon passs through its body, she twists her wrist to reverse the blade, then slashes upwards in a rising vertical cut punctuated by another explosion. Maria steps with the momentum, left foot and left leg coming forward as her right arm goes up, to thrust her other gunblade into the creature, letting it writhe around the blade's detonation.]

[Her position would be terrible if she weren't a gunblade user, but she is. She twitches her right index finger, sending another blast down that weapon to reverse its momentum and bring it down in another brutal slash. Such its the force behind the blow, in fact, that as it hits Maria leaps, so that it carries her in a broad, arcing spin over the grat. As she twists above it, she brings both weapons up and around; her descent is a brutal cross-cut that spatters long streaks of ichor everywhere as the blades cleave an X through the grat's body. Maria lands lightly behind it.]

[Impressive? Not really. It's only Renzokuken, nothing special. And up till now this is all she's been able to manage. But this time... something is different this time. Maybe her injury, maybe her anger, maybe just her colossal frustration at working on this for weeks and achieving nothing, but this time...]

[Maria vanishes. In her place, a massive white lion, shining like the construct of chi and raw determination it is, stands almost two stories tall, its brilliant blue eyes narrowed as it stares down the grat. With a roar that shakes the Training Center, it delivers one mighty blow with its forepaw, shredding the grat with its claws and pulverizing it with its force. Then, abruptly, it vanishes, leaving Maria flat on her ass on the ground, staring up at the ceiling in shock.]

Comments

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru, in Miracle gear and with her guns out, arrives just as Maria vanishes, and stands gawking as the lion does its stuff. When Maria reappears, Mikuru runs up to her.]

Was... that a GF?

[gunbladegrrl]

[Blinking up at Mikuru, Maria struggles a little to form words.]

That was... my first-level limit break finisher.

[bunnypassingby]

That was amazing. [And only first level? Damn, girl, damn.]

[gunbladegrrl]

I fight with gunblades. Gunblades are amazing. You should read about the Commander's Limit Breaks, or Seifer's, sometime.

[She's beginning to get her strength back, or at least as much of it as she had before the attack. With a grunt, she pushes herself up to a seated position.]

[bunnypassingby]

Reading about it's a lot different from seeing it in person. [Shoving one of her pistols into the back of her apron, Mikuru offers Maria a hand to get up.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[She accepts the hand, careful not to haul Mikuru down instead of herself up.] I've never seen them, just read about them... but they'd make this look like a whimper and a small pop. Still, it was pretty good, I think.

[bunnypassingby]

More than pretty good. [She smiles.] Ready to try it again?

[gunbladegrrl]

[She ducks down to pick up her gunblades, wobbles, and goes to a knee.} Whoa. Give me a moment. That took a lot more out of me than I expected.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru nods, and looks around in case any more monsters come by while Maria's down, her free hand raised to her eye in readiness.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[After a moment, though, Maria begins to laugh, as she gathers up her weapons and pushes herself to her feet. She's still laughing as she flips the gunblades around to smack them into their holders.]

I didn't need anyone to learn it.

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru drops her hand, confused.] Huh...?

[gunbladegrrl]

Huh? Oh, sorry... never mind me. Just tired of people telling me I need to be careful or that I'm not good enough or not worth teaching...

[Yeah, when had that come up ever?]

[bunnypassingby]

[While Mikuru generally agrees that being careful is a good thing, from "not good enough" she looks shocked, and then offended on Maria's behalf.] Who told you that?!

[It actually kind of sounds like things Mikuru's thought about herself sometimes, but no one should tell those things to other people, especially not to Mikuru's friends.]

[gunbladegrrl]

I'm sure you've heard it too. "Don't go into the Training Center alone, you can't handle it. You need to find something else to do." Everyone criticizes and then no one helps. No one sticks around to help!

[Maria has a lot of anger built up over something, clearly. Because she is very, very angry, and getting more so as she talks.]

Well I'll show them who can't handle what!

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru takes half a step back, surprised by Maria's rage, but from there she holds her ground, because she is going to be the one to stick around.]

Is this about anyone in particular...?

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh, um.... [That cools her down a little, mostly because it's hard to lie in a fit of rage.] No, just a lot of people since I've been here.

I shouldn't be so mad about everyone. Time Compression and all, at least a few of them I'm sure didn't have a choice.

[bunnypassingby]

[She nods, relieved by Maria calming down even a tiny bit.]

Sometimes it's hard to know how to help, too.

[gunbladegrrl]

Well, they could all stop telling me to quit working hard.

And screw what anyone recommends! I'm taking all three intermediate magic classes next quarter and no one's telling me different!

[Now it's just settled into peevishness and annoyance, which is quite a step up.]

[bunnypassingby]

I think you work hard enough for all of us. [Not wry, just completely sincere.]

I'm taking intermediate indirect magic next quarter; would you like to sign up for the same class? [Maybe she can keep an eye on Maria in that class at least...]

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh, sure, which one did you have in mind? I'll be honest, I haven't even looked at the course catalog since last quarter started. [And that had just been to plan out which electives to take.]

[bunnypassingby]

I've been looking at it a lot lately... [Trying to decide whether to take an extra quarter and double major.] Um, I was thinking Monday, Wednesday, Friday right after lunch.

[gunbladegrrl]

[Double? You're aiming too low, girl! Maria's on track to graduate with something like six.]

Sure, that'll be fine!

[bunnypassingby]

[Mikuru aims low so that she can only mess up a few things instead of plenty of things!]

Okay! [Besides keeping an eye on Maria, it'll be nice to have a friend in class.

[She nods to Maria's gunblade holders.] Did you still want to work on your limit break?

[gunbladegrrl]

[Oh, Mikuru.]

Oh! Yes, absolutely! It doesn't do me any good if I'm so dazed from using it I fall on my butt every time I finish.

[She reaches back, grabs the two grips, and yanks the blades out of their magnetic hold with leverage.]

I still need an electromagnet, too... I wonder if I could find one in town.

[bunnypassingby]

[She giggles at the idea of Maria ending her limit break by falling every time, but looks confused when she brings up the electromagnet.] What do you need one for?