2866/WMAT CQ1 Fate T. Harlaown vs Fate Testarossa

WMAT CQ1 Fate T. Harlaown vs Fate Testarossa
Date of Scene:	20 August 2015
Location:	WMAT Arena - Diablo Desert
Synopsis:	Fate Testarossa meets Fate T. Harlaown in the WMAT qualifiers!
Cast of Characters:	306, 401
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

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Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
A battle in a desert is somewhat nostalgic for Fate (the elder), though she's never had to directly fight herself like this. Her first encounter with her younger alternate self was different, as it wasn't exactly a fight.

But now, the blonde Mage steps out onto the sands, already having changed her Barrier Jacket to Sonic Form. Bardiche is in one hand, in Zanber form, rested gently back over one shoulder. "Mmm... plenty of space to play with here." Crimson eyes gaze over the sand, taking note of where spectators and crew are so she can avoid those areas, but such a wide open space with only a few obstructions will make for an interesting fight. "Are you ready?" That last question is directed toward her opponent, though she's fairly certain she already knows the answer.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    [GET SET.]

    The reply comes not from the small blonde perched atop a high rock outcropping, but the black staff in her hand. Fate is as silent as stone, half-lidded scarlet eyes locking gaze with her elder incarnation as gauntlet-clad fingers flex and curl around Bardiche's shaft, cape fluttering in the dusty wind.

    With a CHUNK-HISS of the Device's cylinder revving, the smaller blonde's cape is tossed to the wind, Barrier Jacket streamlining as it ditches armor and shifts for aerodynamics, the axe-head of her Device swivelling, popping open into twin prongs. With a crackle of golden sparks, Bardiche forms a massive blade of golden light.

    "... Yes."

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
"You know, it would be nice if we could sit down to talk sometime, too. I've already offered to treat Nanoha to cake sometime. The same offer is open to you as well." Fate's voice is soft and pleasant, and she nods once as her younger self also converts to Sonic Form... even if they do look a little different.

"We can talk more afterwards, though. Bardiche?" ~Yes, Sir. Plasma Lancer.~

As Fate takes to the air, a trio of crackling spheres of energy begin to orbit around her Device's blade. They spread out and spin, then suddenly all dart straight toward the younger Fate's position.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    No sooner than prompted to begin, the two Fates are already a blur of motion. Though the younger's focus is more on the inbound trio of projectiles hurtling towards her. A twirling roll in the air and she's already gritting her teeth, one catching her square in the hip and throwing her off course as the other two smash into her autodefenses.
    Of course Fate should have expected such. She's fighting herself after all.

    But then like a blur of black and gold, she seeks to close the distance in a sudden snapping blink of motion.

    "... Maybe."

    It's a step, perhaps. But the majority of her focus goes into the sudden snap of one hand reaching forward, palm out, crackling with purple light.

    [PHOTON BULLET.]

    To unleash the pulse of a single projectile in a spell that Fate should know quite well from memory.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Let's hope the crews filming this saw the names and invested in high speed cameras, because neither Fate is likely to slow down to make for better footage.

Maybe is better than no, and the elder Fate smiles softly as she hears it. "I'll look forward to it."

That last time was different. Fate wasn't fighting, then. She was trying to calm her younger self. This time, she's ready. Picking up a burst of speed, she charges right into the path of the Photon Bullet and swings her sword, slamming against the magic projectile with the flat of the blade. After a moment of pushing hard against it, she finally manages to bat it away, sending it flying deeper into the desert. With a twist of her wrists, she spins Bardiche, aligning the blade horizontally again, and makes a slash straight forward, sending a wave of energy flying toward the smaller Fate.

~Zanber Saber.~

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Barely at the start and the two are already at gunshot speeds. The screens literally have to play in slow motion for the crowds to keep up, giving them a time-dilated replay of Fate's spell getting baseball batted away, before the swing. As Bardiche comes careening down on the smaller pigtailed girl, one gauntlet-clad hand snaps fingers closed around the gleaming blade- not fully stopping the swing, but using it to ride out the momentum as she vaults over the sword stroke, her own zanber held high.

    "Don't hold your breath just yet."

    Just a whisper as she brings Bardiche down in a tremendous cleave.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Fate believes in the power of cake to break down boundaries. And also fighting, something she learned from Nanoha years ago. That makes this doubly effective!

Although she knows very well how much reach Bardiche has, the elder Fate is also dealing with an opponent who, if not just as fast as her, is nearly so. She manages to twist at the last second, but the blade still slices neatly along the side of her Barrier Jacket, cutting neatly through the magical protection and severing the fabric beneath. The one downside to Sonic Form is how little protection it offers, though the speed potential usually makes up for it.

Rather than darting away, the elder Fate suddenly drops down, one armored boot touching the desert floor. She kicks up and lifts her left arm, electricity already coursing over the armored gauntlet as it begins to glow yellow. And her motion continues as she swings toward her younger self with a punch that can discharge its magic on impa<span class=" bold_fg_y bg_n ++ t.

~chy">Thunder Arm</span>~

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Fate has already had cake. Nanoha was raised by a family of baking ninjas after all. Despite scoring such a solid hit, the smaller blonde shows no sign of gloating. In fact, if anything, just getting that small victory only makes her more cautious. The two of them are near equal in speed.

    Speed was always Fate Testarossa's strength.

    But likewise, their Barrier Jackets are optimized precisely for that, and she knows just as well that if Fate were to make a reprisal too quick for her to evade, she'll be feeling it. Painfully. Unfortunately, she doesn't react in time to break the distance, or get her guard up, when her elder incarnation comes rocketing back at her with that monster of a haymaker.

    It connects solidly with the child's chest, a square and stunning impact that surges the full force of that electrified swing through her body and launches her to smash through a stone outcropping and tumbling out the other side, before she lands with a skid on her boots and hands.

    In an instant, there's a crater where she was, a streak of black and gold light zipping low along the ground at high enough speed to leave a furrow in the dust, before she...

    Cleaves a large hunk of rock.

    And proceeds to slash it to ribbons, each swing of her Device imbuing the stone fragments with magical electricity- and sending them in a shotgun flurry for Fate, over a widely distributed area.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Firing rocks charged with magic is usually a Nanoha thing, though the elder Fate has already come to expect her younger version's fighting style to be different than how she herself used to be.

Except for the speed. That's always there.

Although she sweeps away several chunks of rubble with her sword, some of them still strike Fate, and quite hard. The discharge of magic isn't what hurts as much as the speed at which the rocks themselves were propelled. With the limited protection offered by Sonic Form, those might leave bruises come morning.

Rather than close in, Fate keeps her distance for the moment, lifting her arm out toward her younger self. A magic circle blinks into existance, and energy begins charging in her hand. The younger Fate might even recognize this as the usual beginning for one of her Smasher type blast atta<span class=" bold_fg_y bg_n ++ ks.

~chy">Multi-Defenser</span>~

And that's when a series of round shields extend from the original circle, quickly closing the distance between older and younger blonde. While this spell is usually for blocking a blast with extremely high power, the elder Fate is repurposing it, trying to use the expanding shields to slam her younger self down and into the hot sands of the desert ground!

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
R    Contrary to popular belief, shields also make for good weapons. Physical shields anyway. If Fate showed any sign of expecting the layered multi-shielding spell to be turned against her for just that purpose, it comes up now in the startled flash of scarlet eyes widening, just before she's flattened into the dust, in the center of a new crater.

    For a moment, there's no response from beneath the shields, dust chokingly filling the air and making it hard to see. But that soft voice is almost harder to hear...

    "Arcus... Cultus... Aegias..."

    It's drowned out instantly in the sudden pealing CLAP of thunder from up above, a jagged bolt of lightning streaking down from the sky itself to try and lash out at the elder Fate from behind.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Those words are very familiar, enough so that Fate shoots a glance skyward as soon as she makes them out. Fate is fast, but fast as she is, she's still not as fast as lightning. Rather than trying to dodge, she raises her armored gauntlet high and braces for the electricity. That doesn't make it hurt any less, despite being naturally resistant to it, and the blonde grits her teeth as lightning courses through her. It probably would have hurt even -more-, but she's got her sword out as well, channeling as much of it as possible into the magical blade. Steam rises from her body, but the elder Fate still manages to murmur out a few words herself.

"Baruel... Zaruel... Browzel..."

Lightning strikes again, thunder crashing as another bolt falls, this time down toward the younger Fate.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Now the skies themselves are roaring, between the two lightning mages calling down thunder. But with the next clap, Fate isn't there anymore. The younger one, anyway. Scrambling out from beneath the multiple shields and nimbly flitting low to the ground as the sand is rendered to glass by the searing electrical energies. But that spell isn't complete...

    No no, the skies are turning dark now as clouds move in, dark and ominous, arcs of voltaic light visible within.

    Fate raises Bardiche to the heavens.

    "Strike with lightning, and roar with resonant thunder..."

    And another flash comes down right upon her, the Device soaking the sudden surge and repurposing it as she takes a might HEAVE, brinding the blade to bear as a glimmering spell circle forms in front of her like a concentrated aiming rune.

    "Thunder..."

    [THUNDER SMASHER!]

    "SMASHER!"

    Stabbing the blade through the rune and unleashing all of that energy in a single bright lancing beam of gold.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Rather than trying to dodge, the elder Fate raises her hand again, forming another round shield. Only a single one, this time. The Smasher blast strikes the shield squarely, and Fate leans into the force of the blast to stabilize the magical protection. The shield begins to crack, some energy leaking through to scorch at her hands... but she manages to hold on for just long enough to finish mumbling her own spell.

Rather than dissipating the energy, the elder Fate leaves it crackling on her shield. "Trident..."

Bardiche chimes softly as Fate thrusts her hand forward, itno and throw the shield. "SMASHER!"

The remainder of the energy is sent back toward the younger Fate, swirling with additional power added by the older blonde and forming into a coherent beam that splits into three as it approaches its target.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    [SIR. INBOUND.]

    But Bardiche need not state the obvious when Fate sees the not one, but three beams returned right for her. It's a sudden jink that spins her between two of the triple prongs of light, Barrier Jacket searing on both sides as she weaves between them in a tight squeeze, before shooting upwards, panting, sweat beading on her brow.

    "Bardi<span class=" bold_fg_y bg_n ++ he..."

    chy">[YES SIR.]</span>

    Another pealing clap of thunder and Fate is gone. ... Or perhaps, she's much higher up, standing on a golden spell circle amid the thunder clouds, reciting those words of power once again.

    "Arcus... Cultas... Aegias..."

    Because the storm is only growing worse, lightning and thunder flashing and booming as she raises her blade to the skies. And brings it down. This time, it's much more vicious than Thunder Smasher, as the very skies themselves bear down on the elder lightning mage.

    "Thunder Rage!"

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
As the thunderstorm begins brewing anew overhead, the elder Fate flies upward in pursuit of her younger self. ~Sir,~ comes the warning voice from her Device. "It's okay, Bardiche. Be ready to redirect the energy." There's a short pause, before a somewhat unsure-sounding chime rings from the Device.

And that's about when the lightning hits her.

Smoke rises from Fate's body as she fights off the electric surge, unable to channel it easily into the ground from this high up. Instead, she directs most of it into her Device, which begins to glow brighter. "Mnnn... I had almost forgotten how much of a punch I used to pack..." Crimson eyes blink, and Fte shakes her head. "Bardiche, Riot."

~Yes, Sir. Stinger Form.~

The blade of Bardiche Zanber grows longer and thinner, then shifts and cracks, separating into two swords connected with a tether of glowing yellow energy. This may be a bad idea, giving the younger Fate any Ideas before their time, but... well, what harm could it do?

Golden light streaks behind the elder mage as she flies toward the young blonde, both swords lashing out in a flurry of strikes, each one sending sparks flying into the already-charged atmosphere.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Two?

    Bardiche can form into two blades?

    It's a lesson Fate learns very fast. Very, VERY, fast as her elder incarnation comes bearing down upon her with stroke after stroke of blades in a flurry. Try as she might to use her own collossal blade as a shield, the assault is just punishing, as the smaller blonde is battered like a leaf in a gale of pain.

    The best she can do to breathe is back off, Barrier Jacket shredded, panting for breath, teeth clenched. Scarlet eyes fall half-lidded as the smaller blonde decides on her cours of action. "Mn... I'll show you how we're different, now..."

    What could that mean?

    It means she's suddenly backlight by stars in the dark skies... No. No those aren't stars. From behind the smaller blonde, orbs of golden light begin to wink into existence at a frightening rate. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Forty.

    Fate will no doubt recognize Photon Lancer: Phalanx Shift. Until...

    100... 200... 300...

    Way too many. And Fate raises her blade again, holding it for a moment, looking ever much like a great general on the battlefield, as Bardiche's voice calls out, deep and <span class=" bold_bg_y fg_n ++ larion...

    chy">[PHOTON LANCER: LEGION SHIFT]</span>

    It's almost in slow motion, the way the girl lowers her sword in indication to proceed.

    "... Fire."

    And the sky itself starts to fall in streaks of gold.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Crimson eyes widen as she sees the Lancers form... more and more and more and more of them. "So you've developed something like this so young," murmurs the elder Fate, though it's hard to tell if that's worry or awe in her voice. Perhaps a bit of both.

"Bardiche!" A soft chime meets her call, and Fate is in motion, leaving a streak of golden light behind. As the blasts begin to rain down, Fate weaves and dodges in between them, but she isn't only moving by the speed of her Sonic Form's magic. Every time she makes a turn, she leaves a magic circle behind, just floating in the air. Or, more precisely... a circle forms just in time for her to kick off and change directions, barely streaking past another Photon Lancer. "Load cartridge!" she calls, and the Device chimes in reply before pulling the cowling back and slotting in one, two, three magic cartridges. As it releases a puff of steam, the Device intones, ~Plasma Lancer, Get Set~ and begins to materialize a small cluster of the Plasma Lancer spheres around Fate.

It's hard to tell with the speed she's moving at, but the number of those spheres keeps increasing, as do the number of magic circles she leaves behind.

"We're not so different, you and I..." Even while the Legion Shift keeps raining down on her, Fate calls out loudly, "Genocide Shift!"

As one, the magic circles turn, and dozens more materialize into the air surrounding Fate.

"Fire!"

All at once, the Plasma Lancers orbiting Fate fire into the magic circles, vanishing and reappearing out of a different circle. For some of them, that means they fly out to intercept the younger Fate's attacks. For others, they fly right back into another magic circle. For a few moments, the sky is alight with crackling spheres of golden energy flynig every which way, into and out of magic circles.

"Haaa!" The elder Fate extends a hand toward her younger self, and six magic circles form in the air around her, one in front, one in back, one on each side, one above, and one below. And as the remainder of the Plasma Lancers hit their next magic circle, they all come pouring out of one of those six, bombarding the small area with countless Lancer blasts.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Able to... Dodge them all? Now- now a brief thrill of genuine horror makes scarlet eyes shoot wide, tracking Fate better than the slow motion cameras as the elder blonde weaves and flits among that hailstorm of gold. So much is the shock, that Fate forgets to move, this time. And by the time she remembers, it's too late to regain her composure. After having lost her cool enough to just sit there for a good beat, the first of a roaring tidal wave of blows are too close to evade.

    She tries. Oh she does, weaving and flitting, but the completely unpredictable nature, and then the sudden appearance of the final spell circles hammers it home.

    There's no dodging this.

    When it's done, Fate drops, a complete and uncontrolled freefall towards the ground- arrested only when she opens her eyes with a start at the last second, landing on her feet.

    Her Barrier Jacket is in tatters, her gauntlets cracked and falling to pieces, Bardiche fizzling and damaged. She's out of breath, and wobbling on her last legs. But Fate will not simply give a victory so easily.

    It's a move of complete and utter desperation. The way she snaps off the ground, fast enough to form a crater just from the speed alone, the snap of the sound barrier choking on itself coming briefly after in a miniature sonic boom. Blink and you'll miss it, because that level of speed is... Dangerous. The high speed cameras can barely even pick it up as Fate goes careening staight for herself-- at the last second shifting her momentum and swinging around. To the naked eye it would just look like one second a black blur is heading straight- only to disappear and reappear with vicious cleaving intent from behind.

    There is a puppy-girl in the audience cheering: "CUT HER IN TWO, FATE!"

    Because that fizzling Zanber blade comes down mightily.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
As her younger self begins to plummet, Fate watches carefully. She's worried, of course, and ready to dive down as well if she has to. She knows she can survive a fall from this height, but that doesn't mean it's going to be pleasant. The elder blonde lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the young mage pulls up, but that relief turns into a slight frown as she sees what he ropponent is planning. "Dangerous..."

A soft chime sounds from her Device as the twin swords combine and shift, returning to the poleaxe Assault Form. As the younger Fate swings down behind her, she quickly swings around, raising Bardiche to deflect the incoming blow. It doesn't miss her entirely, but it does glance off the axehead of the Device to deflect what would have been a body strike into a shallower slash over her leg. "I'm sorry, but..."

The elder Fate seems to vanish in a blur of speed, reappearing right in front of her younger self. Both arms reach out to wrap around the smaller mage and hold her tightly in a hug.

Except it's not a hug, because unless the younger Fate gets free, the elder blonde does a midair backflip and arcs straight down, plummeting toward the ground with her opponent held close. At the very last second she twists, shifting the smaller Fate over her head to land first.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    The blade is stopped. The look of outrage on Fate's face is impossible to miss as she's already reeling back to try again for a different angle. But it's not going to happen. As those arms get around her, the smaller blonde starts squirming.

    It's immensely awkward and uncomfortable for her.

    What's more uncomfortable however is the flip-- and then solid dizzying connection of her head into the dust. To her credit, she manages to push free of the hug after that, stumbling and staggering in a dizzy haze. "M-mmf..."

    Before laying her face down and deciding to close her eyes for a few minutes to make everything stop aching.

Fate T. Harlaown (306) has posed:
Once she's back on her feet, the elder Fate walks over to where her younger counterpart fell... and crouches nearby, reaching out to rest a hand lightly on the young girl's shoulder. "You're strong... maybe even stronger than I was at your age." A faint smile passes her lips in memory. "Take care of Nanoha, okay? Live without regrets."

She gets the feeling that her younger self won't appreciate much more, so simply stands up and waits nearby until the medics come to see to the younger mage.