BAD END

[01:38] <Tangent> ...Oh dear. White coin amnesia, black coin registering as evil.
[01:38] <Tangent> That could be...ghastly.
[01:38] <Jran-Kri> >Alexa recognizes Amelia
[01:38] <Jran-Kri> >Amelia doesn't recognize her
[01:38] <Jran-Kri> oh no
[01:38] <Tangent> >CLEAVE AND SMITE
[01:39] <Jran-Kri> >WAIT STOP I JUST WANT TO TAAOH GOD MY SPLEEN
[01:43] <Tangent> The figure looked up, armor and helmet the color of lapis lazuri and ornate silver inlay. Flames danced around the armored girl, pulsing in impossibly regular patterns. She was almost dwarved by her armor, but the unblinking stare she fixed Alexa with was very familiar. "Monster." She declared, her voice almost flat...if not for the edge of satisfaction- anticipation to it. There was no doubt or uncertainty- only what was clearly meant as a death warrant.
[01:43] <Tangent> There wasn't any recognition in her eyes, only self-righteous fervor.
[01:43] <Tangent> :D
[01:48] <Jran-Kri> The much smaller, scrawnier figure looks back at her, drawing up her dark crimson, wide-brimmed hat with a hand that isn't clutching the twisted, arched black staff, topped with a crystal ball that oozes blood down the burnt bone conduit. Her black-and-red striped cloak flows behind her, revealing a dark grey robes failing to hide tufts of yellow fur bursting through. Her green eyes are slitted like a cat's, despite currently bein
[01:48] <Jran-Kri> When she speaks, her lips draw back, revealing large, yellowed fangs. Her tone doesn't fit.
[01:48] <Jran-Kri> "... Amelia," she gasps. "Oh God, what have they done to you?"
[01:48] <Jran-Kri> [Sorry, you kind of inspired me, had to indulge myself]
[01:49] <Tangent> [heheheh, had vague ideas for corrupted amelia too :P]
[01:49] <Jran-Kri> Oh man, corrupted Amelia probably looks like some sort of Death Knight.
[01:50] <Jran-Kri> Ooh, that makes me wonder! I guess White Coin Alexa would look like a mix between Saruman and Galadriel -- all terrifying, inhuman elegance and light.
[01:51] <Tangent> [was tempted by "fire vampire" in the Lovecraftian sense for monster but hmm, and yeah still need to figure out Amelia's thing since combat-wise, she's been somewhat of a blunt instrument to date but hmmm :D
[01:54] <Jran-Kri> ha ha ha
[01:54] <Jran-Kri> I'm sure it'll come to you.
[01:59] <Tangent> The figure pauses in its tracks. "How'd you know my name?" The girl asks. There's no curiosity in her reply. It's like a rote response, made out of obligation...and she doesn't even wait. "Oh well. It doesn't matter." The sword in her hands is almost, but not quite familiar- the hilt and the wielder's fingers seem to blur together, and the way it's angled suggests less a weapon and more an extension of her body.
[02:00] <Tangent> "Because I'll stop you. It's what I'm supposed to do."
[02:00] <Tangent> btw your description cut off
[02:00] <Tangent> Her green eyes are slitted like a cat's, despite currently bein
[02:01] <Jran-Kri> (*being drawn back in shock and horror.)
[02:02] <Jran-Kri> Against her better judgement -- or rather, the instinct that has been with her since she took Kreimhild up on her offer -- screaming at her to start running or start fighting, she lowers her staff. The oozing crystal ball makes a small puddle of blood on the ground. Alexa gives her a gaunt smile, her fangs flashing again.
[02:02] <Jran-Kri> "A-Amelia, don't... It's been s-so long since you... I mean, I know I look awfully different, but... don't you recognize me? It's me, Alexa!"
[02:03] <Jran-Kri> She takes a cautious step forward. Nervous as she might be, her step is as fluid and graceful as a lion's -- she moves like a predator, waiting for an opponent to strike first.
[02:06] <Tangent> Amelia- or whatever's going by that name- tilts her head. "I...I know you." The sword shifts in her grip- it's less silver and more ivory and stone, and up close...is that fire coming from the blade or from HER? Her own movements have a very different sort of grace- controlled, precise...almost like a children's toy, with no real wasted energy. lIke a machine. "You used a black coin. You're dangerous. I should stop you." Should.
[02:09] <Jran-Kri> Alexa grins. If her fangs were prominent before, now they're unmistakable. The canines are as big as knives -- it's a wonder she can fit them in her mouth. She holds a hand to the tufts of fur on her chest, looking slightly offended through her relief.
[02:10] <Jran-Kri> "N-not to you. Never to you. You... when you left, I was so worried, and scared, and... What else was I to do, while you were off doing..." She gestures at Amelia. "This?"
[02:17] <Tangent> Amelia isn't breathing at all. Not that Alexa can tell. Just the regular flickers of the fire as she stands there, studying Alexa in silent incomprehension. This close, the pulsing fire's painful. It burns, and the tendrils of flame seem to be reaching out for Alexa. "I don't remember any of that." It doesn't sound like it bothers her at all. None of this does. "You're dangerous." She repeats. "This is what I'm supposed to do. I remember that."
[02:17] <Tangent> She actually smiles at that.
[02:17] <Jran-Kri> ((You got cut off this time: "I rememb"))
[02:17] <Tangent> [heh sorry if I derp it up]
[02:18] <Tangent> * I remember that."
[02:18] <Jran-Kri> ((it's all good, mang))
[02:19] <Tangent> [heh you follow comics at all?]
[02:20] <Jran-Kri> "... What?" Alexa stops short, cringing away from the holy fire. It's enough to make her skin crawl -- her hat shifts as the large cat ears atop her head flatten. Her grip on her staff tightens. "W-well, surely you r-remember me. I'm harmless. I could never be a danger to *you.*"
[02:20] <Jran-Kri> ((Relatively casually, but yeah))
[02:20] <Tangent> [Amelia went full Alpha Lantern you never go full Alpha Lantern xD]
[02:23] <Jran-Kri> ((Ha ha ha. It's true.))
[02:29] <Tangent> "I don't. And you're one of them." Amelia's blade flashes out, burning, all the more shocking for the lack of feeling behind the disarming blow.
[02:33] <Jran-Kri> Alexa cries out in pain and betrayal as she feels the searing heat wash over her. With a flick of the staff, the blood suddenly rushes out of it, solidifying into a bright red, dripping barrier of solid sanguine between the two of them. Alexa backs up, moving deftly on her feet, her slit eyes narrowing as she rubs at her arm, feeling the after-effects of the proximity to holy fire.
[02:35] <Jran-Kri> "I'm your *friend,* Amelia," Alexa hisses. Hurt enters her unnatural eyes. "Don't you remember anything?"
[02:41] <Tangent> Amelia's already moving into another, precise strike. There's no wasted energy- it's like a clockwork doll was given a sword and set on its path as she methodically batters away at the barrier with single-minded focus. None of her old zeal...except maybe in her eyes. "Why would I be friends with a monster?" She asks. There's no venom behind the words. Not much else either.
[02:42] <Tangent> If a small, almost insignificant part of her's screaming in horror and pain...then the other fragments all but bury it. Impressions of pain. Loathing. Weakness. Failure. She's better off without them.
[02:43] <Tangent> She doesn't need that, when she has her purpose.
[02:44] <Jran-Kri> "I'm not a--!" The barrier gives way, and Alexa takes several more steps back, conjuring another one closer. For a moment, the blood coating her crystal ball begins to boil, but with a pained scowl she stops whatever spell that was. "A-alright, p-perhaps I am what you'd call a monster -- but that doesn't make me bad! Remember Kreimhild? You could stand her, she was nice, she never meant any harm..."
[02:54] <Tangent> Amelia's already striding forwards. Under any other circumstances, she'd almost look comical. Less wearing her armor and more swallowed up by it. Merged with it. A name. Kreimhild. Again, that faint tug...and with it echoes of things Amelia just shoves away reflexively. "It doesn't matter. You have to be stopped. All of you." That's easier. It doesn't hurt, to listen to what's right.
[02:54] <Tangent> [might be derpy, bit sleepy xD]
[02:57] <Jran-Kri> ((Same here, it's all good, mang))
[02:58] <Tangent> [Also probably overdoing the lobotomy aspect, wouldn't play white coin quite this bad even on full lol]
[02:58] <Tangent> [but hey drama]
[02:59] <Jran-Kri> "For God's sake, Amelia, just listen to me!" Alexa takes a step back for every one Amelia takes forward. At this distance, the claws that make up her hands are plainly visible, flashing in the light of her crystal ball as she conjures another barrier. "I-I'm not your enemy! I don't know who or what's done this to you, but I can help you! I promise! I-I'm better now than I was!"
[02:59] <Jran-Kri> ((So noted! I could see this, though. It's cool!))
[03:01] <Tangent> "I don't need help from a monster." A crack of real emotion's leaking through- whatever's happened to her, she still feels...something. "I'm better now. Whoever I was before, it doesn't matter. This is RIGHT. This is what I'm supposed to do." A pause. "Surrender."
[03:03] <Jran-Kri> "No it isn't! It's wrong! You're pointing that thing at your friend!" She continues backing up, but she hesitates at the command, holding her staff up warily. "If I do surrender, what will you do? Chop my head off cleanly instead of messily?"
[03:08] <Tangent> "Turn you back, if I can. Otherwise, yes." Her tone's matter of fact, the words...scripted. She's standing in place, waiting.
[03:08] <Tangent> [follow instructions amelia yes clearly that was a brilliant thing to do]
[03:08] <Tangent> [:D]
[03:09] <Jran-Kri> A fierce scowl splits Alexa's face. She shakes her head violently, like a predator breaking a piece of prey's neck.
[03:10] <Jran-Kri> "Who says I need to be turned back? I'm *better* like this! Faster, stronger, smarter -- I can do more good like this!" She flicks her staff at Amelia, sneering. "Maybe *I* should be the one turning *you* back -- at least I still have my head screwed on straight!"
[03:16] <Tangent> Amelia listens to the rant, expressionless. "No. No, you don't." And the fire flares up about her. From her. It's followed by her blade- arcing down in a decapitation strike.
[03:16] <Tangent> [want to wrap up the Bad end soon one way or another? Whoever wins they kind of both lose at this point xD]
[03:17] <Jran-Kri> ((This is true. Couple more lines.))
[03:18] <Jran-Kri> Alexa stumbles backwards, another bleeding barrier bursting into life between her and the blade. It warps like clay or fat when the blade cuts through it, bursting into flames. In the same instant, the crystal ball at the end of her staff lights up, black fire drifting out of it as the liquid coating bubbles. Alexa raises it threateningly.
[03:18] <Jran-Kri> "Amelia, I'm warning you! I don't want to hurt you!"
[03:19] <Tangent> Amelia doesn't stop. She doesn't even seem to care about her warning. She just tugs her blade free and keeps coming wordlessly.
[03:21] <Tangent> All she hears is the fire. Her fire. It guides her, surrounds her, and in turn she guides it...right at the monster.
[03:22] <Tangent> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWUbl8ndve0)
[03:23] <Tangent> She's not scared, or worried, or too slow anymore. The fire's taken care of all that.
[03:25] <Jran-Kri> Alexa continues backing away, gripping the staff in her claws. She doesn't want to hurt her friend, but she can already feel holy fire licking at her flesh -- she just needs to knock some sense into her. With a snarl, she flicks the twisted staff. A contrail of black fire bursts from the ball to strike Amelia.
[03:25] <Jran-Kri> "I-I said get back!"
[03:27] <Tangent> Amelia staggers under the blow, witchfire eating away at her polished armor...and into whatever's underneath. There's a glimpse of something almost molten under her breastplate...and then a blinding flare of light and the metal...bubbles. And then Amelia moves, slowed by her injury but already attempting to chop Alexa down in a move the younger girl's seen done- but never been on the receiving end of- a hundred times.
[03:28] <Tangent> There's no recognition in her former friend's eyes as Amelia leaps. No regret. Only the fire.
[03:30] <Tangent> [[gee do you think you might've needed that silly little "sense of self" thing? :D]
[03:30] <Jran-Kri> Overestimating how hard she had hit her -- perhaps she'd pulled her punch or Amelia was just that much stronger -- Alexa reacts a second too late when Amelia strikes. The barrier fizzles into a fine pink mist as she scrambles backward, not nearly fast enough to avoid being raked across the chest. Her robes cleave apart, black-red blood pooling out of a furred hide. She screams, her staff loosing another gout of flame as if of its
[03:33] <Jran-Kri> ((*"as if of its own accord."))
[03:35] <Tangent> Amelia couldn't have dodged the burst this close. For some reason, she didn't even try. She doesn't burn- but the witchfire warps and eats away her fine armor and into the smoldering mess that's apparently...her. The flames flicker and fade, and Amelia wavers, falling to her knees.
[03:37] <Jran-Kri> Alexa doesn't have time to savour the victory; she can feel the holy fire eating away at her flesh, burning away her abominable hide, seeping into her blood like a poison. She writhes on the ground, body wracked with tremors. Struggling to come back to her knees, she gasps at the sight of Amelia. Without hesitating, she crawls over to her, dropping her staff.
[03:38] <Jran-Kri> "Amelia! Oh God, oh God I-I'm s-so sorry, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you..."
[03:43] <Tangent> Amelia's armor- what's left of it- is melting around her. Fine azure and silver are fading into grays and blues...and then to charcoal black. She stares up in mute, blind confusion at Alexa. Something seems to die behind her eyes at the sight of her handiwork. "Why?" Then the fire flares, and when it dies she's gone.
[03:45] <Jran-Kri> It takes her a terrifying instant of uselessness to get over her fear of touching a holy body. By the time she does, Amelia is already fading away. Alexa's vision blurs from hot tears, and not just from the pain of her wound, as she desperately pulls Amelia in for a hug even as she vanishes.
[03:46] <Jran-Kri> "Nonono please, please, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
[03:47] <Tangent> Hot ash crumbles away.
[03:49] <Jran-Kri> Alexa's arms fold inward as her corpse dissolves. Her claws shake as she futilely sifts through the ash, her shoulders wracked with wet sobs.
[03:49] <Jran-Kri> "Amelia... I... I didn't mean... It wasn't supposed to..."
[03:49] <Jran-Kri> She breaks down, weeping over the ashes.
[03:50] <Tangent> BAD END.

[03:51] <Jran-Kri> Long? Perhaps. Happy? Highly debatable.
[03:53] <Jran-Kri> Well, being a monstergirl would definitely increase her survivability and make it easier for her to be self-sufficient. By the same token, this would cause her to isolate herself and have great difficulty connecting with anyone, eventually becoming a broken, bitter, sardonic girl like Kreimhild, completing the cycle when she finds her own girl to corrupt.
[03:53] <Jran-Kri> Yes. Such is life for monstergirls.

[03:55] <Tangent> Amelia wins: >Part of her's still screaming. It started when she swung that sword down and cut her friend in two, and it's never going to stop. But it isn't a very important part. Certainly not one that'd ever make a difference. After all, she has her purpose. That's enough to drive her. And no matter how much she does, it's never going to be enough.
[03:56] <Tangent> Pretty much following the motions, going through the cycle...and yes, hunting- in the Terminator sense- alone. :D
[03:56] <Tangent> [BAD END intensifies]