["Purification"]
Traversing through the borders between Worlds and Dimensions is a difficult task, not only to actually access but also to avoid the dangers lurking between the cracks. Even for a youthful heroine like Vessa, it wasn’t child’s play.
Something the black-vested gal realized as she suddenly barreled straight into a big ol’ glob of big black stuff that swallowed her up in seconds, right before she even got to scream. The stuff was thick and it made it difficult to breathe, so much so that it felt like she was being submerged in tar or something. Not that she’d actually know what it would feel like to be stuck inside tar, but it was her imagination’s best guess!
“Get offfff!” The young girl cried out as she tried to harness her powers and blow the gunk away, firing off cute stars that managed to splash it all off her, only to leave her tired as the stars seemed to be stuck to the gunk. Almost as if she had been drained of her powers…
All while a couple of foreboding giggles echoed around her, leaving her to look around frantically in an attempt to find out who might be trying to attack her. “Come out! I don’t bite if you’re nice!” She shouted, wanting to appear as friendly as possible even in a situation like this.
Instead, Vessa’s optimism only brought more mockery as several armored figures emerged from the endless black space around her. All of them nearly blending in with the space around them thanks to the color palette of their chosen armor. All except for one, a girl wielding an oversized sword and passing on the helmet that the others wore. “You think a bite’s going to save you from the Darkness? What are you, a child?”
“No, I’m Vessa!” She replied, grinning a little as she spawned a couple of defensive stars around her, not wanting to go down without a fight. “I’ve fought baddies like you before, I just wanted to see if you had some good in your heart, but you’re clearly not any fun at all!” The bright smile on her face was brimming with confidence, despite the fact that she was outnumbered…
The helmet-less girl laughed as she swung her greatsword, causing it to grow even larger. “Oh we’re plenty fun, especially on our home turf. Come on, you’ll look sexy in a nice suit of armor, especially after we drain all that pesky light out of you and submerge you again!” She laughed, only to click her tongue. “At least you won’t be anywhere near as much trouble as that purple dragon chick, I’m still aching from the beating that she gave me…”
Vessa thought about what she could possibly do to get out of this sticky situation. Normally, she’d be able to fight her way out, but if what that lass said was true, then she’d run out of juice before that. The best thing she could do was probably to flee, but if she tried some dedicated route they’d just be able to ambush her, so there was only one possible solution…
She pointed her hands downward and gathered the stars underneath her, before they all combined into one big star that shattered the fabric of the space around her. “Sorry, I’m not into that!” The girl proclaimed before dropping down into the hole, not knowing where it might go. She just hoped that it would get her out of this sticky situation…
Her assailant and the other dark-armored girl quickly followed after her, not caring where it might lead them. They’d just take over whatever world she just escaped into, getting two birds with one stone!
None of them realized that they were heading for one of the worlds on the top of the Darkness’ shit-list…
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Moments after her little stunt, Vessa landed in the middle of a normal looking park, her scarf blowing in the wind as she caught her breath. She coughed a little, causing some black gunk to fall onto the ground, evidence that she hadn’t escaped her encounter with those armored girls unscathed, but at least she seemed to be safe…
Right up until her instincts acted up, prompting her to quickly spawn another star underneath her and bounce out of the way of the sword that was about to drive into her body from above, gasping as a crater formed in the middle of the park thanks to the evil girl’s sudden impact.
“You’re a pesky little thing aren’t you!?” The helmetless girl shouted as she pulled the sword out of the ground like it wasn’t anything special before pointing it straight towards the other girl, all while her fellow armored ladies circled around her drawing their own blades in the process. None of them were going to give up the pursuit of their target, especially now that they had her cornered.
To say that Vessa was trapped and without options would be an understatement. A small army’s worth of soldiers, plus one scary girl with a big sword that could probably cut her into pieces and corrupt her in seconds? Yeah, one would definitely consider that a problem. But what could she do? She was drained, especially after that little escape maneuver.
“Someone..!” She cried out and closed her eyes, hoping that her small wish could be answered…
Only for another sword to plant itself in the ground behind all the armored girls, causing confusion to echo between them. Even the helmetless girl blinked a few times before turning around to face the japanese sword that had sunken into the soil. “What the hell is that?”
“A sword.” An inspiring and firm voice echoed throughout the park as a woman landed atop the hilt, a woman clad in a uniform that was both sleek and flashy, given the way it tightly clung to her top while also having more than enough frills below. “It brings hope against people like you.” She affirmed, as two orbs of water conjured themselves above her shoulders, letting her draw a pair of swords from them.
It took but a moment for the helmetless girl to realize that she had made a huge mistake. “You’re… Shit, we’re in Équilibre!” She grit her teeth as darkness coated her blade, feeling the pressure of the situation growing. “Why here of all places?! Couldn’t you have ended up in a world that I could handle!?” The armored girl shouted towards the scarf-wearing girl…
Who was far too busy ignoring her, starstruck by the sight of her blue savior. Vessa didn’t anticipate or believe that she could be saved, but here she was. It made a smile coat her cute face as she tried to get back a little, hoping to get out of the range of the impending fight.
“You’re with the Darkness then.” The woman, Natura Bleu, stated as she spun both swords around, combining them by the hilt before spinning them further. “I don’t plan on letting you terrorize this city, not even for a second!” She cried out as the swords turned into semi-solid liquid, swirling into a proper storm as she intensified the spinning movement…
The helmet-less girl grit her teeth as she brought up her sword to defend herself, with the rest of the armored girls charging her. “DON’T GET CLOSE, SHE’S ABOUT TO-”
“AOI ABYSS!”
Her warning came too late as Bleu tossed her swords forward, the rotation bringing forth a whirlpool that dragged in all of the armored girls in one fell swoop with the center of the swirling attack crushing them one by one, making them all dissolve into dark specks that were consumed by the waters around them…
The helmetless greatsword-wielding girl spat at the ground as she took a stance, crying out with vigor. “GRIM CALAMITY!” before drawing her sword back and swinging it, letting the dark energies clash with the whirling ‘blades’, causing the energies to erupt and consume the attack, cancelling them both out and leaving the invader drained after throwing out one of her trump cards…
All while her enemy, the heroine in blue, was still ready to go given the swords she just drew from her orbs. “Stand tall, invader. I want to see the whites in your eyes when I send you back to whence you came.” She was fierce and offered no quarter, both swords turning into that same semi-solid liquid as she prepared another attack…
“Screw this, you can have the girl! I’m not about to perish here!” The helmetless girl cursed as Darkness enveloped her, leaving behind a brief crack in reality that patched itself shut just as quickly as it had been formed, leaving the native and the visitor untouched…
Vessa let out a sigh of pure delight as she ran towards the blue-clad heroine, giggling from the bottom of her heart. “Thanks, miss! You saved me! You were really cool while you did it too!” The young girl chimed, happier than ever to have her small wish granted.”
Bleu smiled back as both swords melted into proper water, with the orbs dissolving as her transformation came to an end, leaving behind a young woman clad in a dignified suit. “You were lucky that I was busy settling a deal on the behalf of my family when I felt your power rising through the city, little lady.” She said, extending her hand as a token of friendship. “I’m Aoi. Natura Bleu, one of the defenders of this city. Who’re you? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, and if the Darkness was after you, I doubt you’re from this world in the first place.”
“I’m Vessa! Pleased to meet you, Aoi!” The scarf-wearing girl grabbed the bigger hand and shook it for all its worth, her heart still fluttering from the awesome display. “Yeah, I’m not from anywhere near here, and I really should be going home, but… I gotta thank you for saving me, so I can’t just leave yet!”
Aoi’s eyes scanned the young girl in front of her as she started rubbing away at her chin with her free hand. ‘She looks capable, and if shes able to traverse between worlds at her own whim, then we may be able to spread our justice to other worlds that need it…’ The taller woman thought to herself, ignoring the rapid shakes for another few moments as she dug into her pants pocket…
“I’m happy to meet you too, Vessa, but there was something I was wondering. Do you work with anybody?” She asked as she dug out a watch-like object from her pocket, palming it for the time being.
Vessa tilted her head back and forth a little before shaking it. “No, I don’t! I have friends, but we don’t work together, we just do things together! Does that count?” She shot back as she threw her hands behind her head, smiling from ear to ear as she continued giggling just a little…
“That’s great. I was wondering if, as a token of your gratitude towards me, you could join up with me and my friends for a little while? I think with the proper guidance and a bit of discipline, we might be able to temper the power within you to make you even stronger.” Aoi explained as she showed the watch to the smaller girl. “I’m sure your friends can wait if it’s for a good cause, right?”
The younger girl nodded as she took the watch, not even hesitating. “I’ll gladly help out, Aoi! Just watch, I’ll be a cool hero like you before you know it!” She chimed, ready to prove herself to the woman who saved her as she put the watch on her wrist…
As soon as it connected, her mind was consumed by light. Her eyes dimmed, a sign that the magical part of the technology had kicked in. The blue-haired woman smiled a little as she kneeled down to be on eye-level with the girl now, to make it easier to give her the commands she needed.
It was a closely guarded secret that the Natura Couleur, the heroes of Équilibre, had the ability to brainwash people to aid their cause. The best way to do this was to offer them a bit of their power, manifesting through these watches. Once they wore them, it was easy to make them act as allies for a long time, and when they’d become aware that their lives had changed… it was hard for them to give it up.
“Vessa. Can you hear me?” Aoi asked, and the girl nodded idly in return. “Good girl. You’re my student, and you have been for some time. Those powers of yours are strong, but you lack the temper to properly wield them. As long as you stick by my side, they can be tamed and they can be refined. Just like you can.”
The words flooded through the young girl’s mind, replacing her view of reality with one where she had been a native part of the city for all her life. Only to have been saved by the Natura when her powers went out of control. They gave her the chance to join them, to temper those powers and use them for good. Thanks to their support and their love, she stood alongside them as one of them…
As she saw a new light being born within the girl’s eyes, the blue-haired girl couldn’t help but smile. She was easy pickings, and that’s why it was a good thing she got to her before the Darkness or another villain did. “When I snap my fingers, your new reality will be the only reality. I’ll be the one you look up to, your Senpai. Ready?” Another nod came from the girl, and the woman slowly counted down…
*SNAP*
Vessa’s eyes lit up fully as she looked straight at the woman in front of her, gasping as she tightly grasped her scarf. “Senpai, I-” She squirmed a little, feeling embarrassed over being caught in a difficult situation and having to be saved by her… again…
“It’s fine, Vessa.” Aoi chimed as she carefully ran a hand through the younger girl’s hair. “You’re still young, there’s a time and a place to be embarrassed about being caught off guard. Isn’t that right, Natura Étoile?” She comforted her with affectionate words, while addressing her by her ‘proper title’...
The young girl nodded along, accepting things as they were before wiping a few nervous tears out of her eyes. “W-Well, since you’re here, can we train a bit? I want to try out some new maneuvers!” She turned her mood right around, smiling brightly from ear to ear…
“As you wish. Just remember, I don’t do things halfway. You’ll perfect those maneuvers before we head home.” The older woman replied as she stepped back, water covering her as she transformed back into her heroic form. “Ready?”
Vessa pumped her fist into the air, activating the watch on her wrist as a near-identical uniform to her Senpai appeared on her body, with the distinct difference being the bright star on her chest. “Ready!” She cried out as she went to work, putting her all into this training…
Thus, the young girl’s life took a turn for the exciting as she gained a new set of friends, forgetting everything about her old life in the process. Maybe if some of her friends managed to find their way to Èquilibre, they’d be able to talk her out of her current predicament, but that didn’t matter right this moment.
She was Natura Étoile now, she had a city to protect, and a Senpai to impress!