Berkeley's Phantasmagoria

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Hehehehe...is that all you got?"
>"Stop being such a...a...PUSSY...CAT!"
>Shoot danmaku to create an explosion so we can make an escape

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hehehehe...is that all you got?"
>"Stop being such a...a...PUSSY...CAT!"
>Shoot danmaku to create an explosion so we can make an escape

>None of this. We don't need to be a jerk now. =[
>"So, is this a draw?"
>Working on the presumption she isn't going to acknowledge it and then ask for tea, prepare a laser of the non-homing variety, and have as many arrowheads as possible flank it on both sides, so if she dodges the laser she ends up with a face full of arrowheads. Do not apply homing to any of them.

[Serela]

_{Note:Last >___ in the previous update edited for clarity. Also, wth "meablen"}

>"Hehehehe...is that all you got?"
>"Stop being such a...a...PUSSY...CAT!"
>Shoot danmaku to create an explosion so we can make an escape

>None of this. We don't need to be a jerk now. =[
>"So, is this a draw?"
>Working on the presumption she isn't going to acknowledge it and then ask for tea, prepare a laser of the non-homing variety, and have as many arrowheads as possible flank it on both sides, so if she dodges the laser she ends up with a face full of arrowheads. Do not apply homing to any of them.

>It is a little tempting to get bitchy at her, but you decide against it. Besides, later you'll probably get to fight  stuff that you can bitch at without feeling bad afterwards.
>You ask if this is a draw; she growls in response. You're pretty sure that's a no.
>Damn, that would have been awesome if she did; thankfully, you anticipated her refusal. As she begins to stand up, you pour your energy into the Orb to charge up a laser and fire dozens of the arrowheads in all forward directions; including upwards, so she can't jump out as she has previously. Unfortunately, you really aren't used to using magic, and the effort required to pull this off leaves you stunningly tired.
>She dodges between the arrowheads with grace, but is caught off guard as you fire a face full of LASERBEAM, knocking her back into several of your danmaku and really roughing her up.

>Your current state: Sitting on the ground panting for air, and quite sore in the legs.

>Veronica rushes over to you and asks if you're okay. You'd practically forgotten you weren't alone in this!

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Got anythin' for da legs?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Help me up..." deep breath. "And maybe swing me out of the way of any incoming shots."
>How's Furia Tigre doing post lasering?

[Serela]

>"Got anythin' for da legs?

>"Help me up..." deep breath. "And maybe swing me out of the way of any incoming shots."
>How's Furia Tigre doing post lasering?

>"They should feel better after a few minutes."
>She grabs your arms and helps you get back on your feet. You're exhausted though; you don't know if you can use any more magic right now.
>Lufie's still recovering from your previous attack; looks like you really got her good, there! As she starts to get up, you see her pull out a card that looks quite similar to the one Veronica has.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Oooh, that's not good."
>"TIME OUT I CALL 5 MINUTE BREAK"

[Hello Purvis]

>It she's not down with the time out, fire a single bullet at her, fast as possible, and try to hit her and disrupt whatever she's doing.

[Serela]

>"Oooh, that's not good."
>"TIME OUT I CALL 5 MINUTE BREAK"

>It she's not down with the time out, fire a single bullet at her, fast as possible, and try to hit her and disrupt whatever she's doing.

>"You're right; you're in no state to keep fighting.", says Veronica.
>You call a 5 minute break; Lufie doesn't seem to notice. Crap. You try to fire another arrowhead at her, but... you really just can't seem to do that right now!
>Veronica frowns. "You know what; go over next to Grannie May and take a breather, I'll take it from here!"


You are VERONICA SPINELLI, Witch-in-Training! Your friend BERKELEY is too exhausted to keep fighting, so now it's your turn to deal with Lufie for her!

>Lufie declares the spellcard she pulled out a second ago, "Magic Claw, 「Cat-scratch in Danmaku」!"
>She swipes her hand at the air and 3 lasers appear, moving towards you and leaving a trail of static danmaku in their wake.

>Your inventory currently contains:
-Sun Sign 「Inescapable Heat Wave」
A spellcard that continuously fires aimed balls of light, while restricting movement by a circle of lasers around you.
-Moon Sign 「Full Moon Brilliance」
A spellcard based on annoying curved lasers. Fires a wave of clockwise curving lasers, then a counterclockwise wave, rinse and repeat. A ring of small danmaku is also fired help distract the opponent from the curves of the lasers.
-Magic Sign 「Luster Orb」
A spellcard where you throw concentrated balls of magic. When they hit the walls or floor, they bounce off and release a burst of small danmaku. Ineffective in large open spaces.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>Sun Sign "Inescapable Heat Wave
>Melt the water, cats dislike being wet

[Hello Purvis]

>Reload save a week later, see if Lufie died of old age.

[Serela]

>Reload save a week later, see if Lufie died of old age.

Somewhere, in an inexplicable place, an entity is persuaded into continuing to manipulate the events happening in a far away reality.

Unfortunately, as time resumes, the entity finds that Lufie isn't a moment older then she was before, and very not-dead. Fuck.

>Sun Sign "Inescapable Heat Wave
>Melt the water, cats dislike being wet

>You dodge the lasers, and then declare your spellcard! Some familiars are sent out, creating a ring of danmaku to create a limited field of space for Lufie to dodge in, before you begin the card by firing out 6 straight lasers from you, one every 60 degrees. The temperature of the area starts to raise a bit as you prepare for the main part; the aimed fireball danmaku.
>The danmaku trails left behind by Lufie's "cat scratch" lasers now begin to spread out in every direction. A few hit you, leaving a small but sharp pain where they hit.
>You can't melt water, that's called evaporation! You think the snow will start getting slushy soon, though.

[Hello Purvis]

>Is the card still running?
>Toss in some non-card danmaku, if possible. If not and the card's still active, just stay defensive and keep out of the way of things.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"derp"
>Melt the ice

[Serela]

>Is the card still running?
>Toss in some non-card danmaku, if possible. If not and the card's still active, just stay defensive and keep out of the way of things.

>It'll take more then a few scratches to do that!
>You can throw in some non-card danmaku without interrupting the spellcard, but only between the phases, which for this spellcard is when you fail to maintain the lasers.
>You move out of the way of the next set of cat-scratch lasers and begin to shoot the aimed fire danmaku at Lufie, who moves close to a laser and starts streaming them. This time, when the trail danmaku from Lufie's card spreads out, you manage to avoid most of it.

>"derp"
>Melt the ice

>Lufie raises her eyebrows at this statement, and seems to wonder if she's dodging your spellcard correctly.
>You start to aim some of the fireballs lower, and they start melting the snow around Lufie into slush. If you get lucky, she might slip!

[Kasu]

> Keep up the current tactics, but try to be more aggressive.

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to lure Lufie into a repetitive dodging pattern, then subtly change it up and wreck her.

[Serela]

> Keep up the current tactics, but try to be more aggressive.

>Try to lure Lufie into a repetitive dodging pattern, then subtly change it up and wreck her.

>You release the lasers and give Lufie time to adjust, before you fire the next set and continue the spellcard. This gives her time to shoot more cat-scratch lasers, but at this point you're pretty much used to dodging them and don't get hit by much.
>You continue this braindead dodging pattern for a few more phases, and then as you start the fourth repetition, you increase the speed of the aimed fireballs. The correct way to dodge now would be to move quickly from side to side so as to disperse the fireballs, and not get cornered by an undodgeable mass; however, Lufie starts out streaming as she did before, and soon ends up walled.
>The catgirl cries out in pain as she gets swamped by the danmaku, followed by the yelling of "Okay, you win, you win!"

[Hello Purvis]

>Victory pose~

[Serela]

>Victory pose~

>After ending the spellcard, you remove your hat and twirl it around one of your fingers, grinning victoriously!
>You are once again BERKELEY MALONE! VERONICA SPINELLI just helped you out big time in a fight against LUFIE THE CATGIRL, one of ESTELLE'S MINIONS.

>Lufie gets up out of the snow, groaning in misery at how wet she's gotten. "No fair, there's too many of you and only one of me~!"
>After a minute of trying to get the water out of her dress, she starts talking again. "Aaaah, never be dry, never be dry...! Anyway... according to my instructions, since you won, you can ask a question or two. And I've got to answer with what is, to my knowledge, the honest truth."

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Oh how exciting!"
>Shake Lufie's hand
>"That was a brilliant performance!"
>"So what happened to the dead peoples?"

[Serela]

>"Oh how exciting!"
>Shake Lufie's hand
>"That was a brilliant performance!"
>"So what happened to the dead peoples?"

>It really was! Veronica seems to be enjoying the praise. That is, until you walk over and shake Lufie's hand and compliment her, surprising them both. Well, that sure cut down the witch's smug pleasure.
>Lufie thinks about it for a second. "Whatever she wanted to do with em, pretty much. Some might be being held at the mansion. If any of em are there, they probably aren't dead, either. Yet."

[Hello Purvis]

>"But you were brilliant, too! One has to save the best for last."
>Handshake Veronica.
>To Lufie: "What other people does she have working for her?"

[Serela]

>"But you were brilliant, too! One has to save the best for last."
>Handshake Veronica.
>To Lufie: "What other people does she have working for her?"

>At this, she brightens up again. "Thanks! I do try, eheh~"
>"She's got plenty of people, but I don't really know them. I hear one of them lives in the village, though."

[Hello Purvis]

>Look toward Veronica at mention that one of them lives in the village.

[Serela]

>Look toward Veronica at mention that one of them lives in the village.

>She's frowning. Your guess would be that she's wondering who it is.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look at Veronica.
>"So, um...what now? I guess we should take her prisoner or something?"

[Serela]

>Look at Veronica.
>"So, um...what now? I guess we should take her prisoner or something?"

>You stare into Veronica's soul. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to notice.
>You suggest taking Lufie prisoner. She starts to back away from you, "W-what?!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's just, um, you work for the enemy, right? So, we can't let you go back. Then it'd just be helping her out."

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Come on, Lufie it's going to be fun!"
>"Everybody loves a cat girl!
>Tie Lufie to our back