It was a simple task, really: Get into the bandit outpost, punch everybody and find out where the main-camp is, punch more people there. Done. At least, that was the gist of it. In practice, it would be maybe a little harder? Apparently hard enough that Seigi Ling Ling, Hero of Justice, had to wait for someone. Another person who was supposed, according to that one guard captain guy, help her in doing JUSTICE! The outpost used to be a road tavern. It still was. Just, outside of the owners who had to either endure them or got already killed, the place was now run by bandits. The orange-hair didn't even know how many were inside but the three people outside, all wearing the same green bandana, were sign enough that something was wrong and this was the right place. Seigi, who sat on top of a tree a safe distance away, could only hope nobody else would fall victim to that criminal scum while she waited. What did the Captain Guy say again? 'Your partner is a woman who likes black a lot. She has... quite the personality, you'll know when you meet her.' Or something like that? Yeah, great, very assuring. She wondered how the Captain Guy described Seigi to her partner? 'Your partner is a midget with bandaged arms. A bundle of energy and super awesome!' Hah. Yes... fitting! Though if Seigi sat in this tree what were the chances they would miss each other? She sighed before simply jumping down to the ground again. Waiting really wasn't one of the things Seigi was good at. Her UI used to have a time function, but now? All she had was the sun. Either way, whoever her partner was, it couldn't be THAT bad, right? They were doing a good thing. JUSTICE, and all, so that other person was sure to be nice, too! The only thing Seigi had to make sure was to not kill anybody. What was the taverns name anyway again? Eh, not like it mattered. @Madison Freebird
Maddy always loved a good bandit raid. While some people preferred a nice weekend getaway to a spot resort, the woman found it incredibly relaxing to bathe in the blood of the not-so-innocent. Paint and sip? Nah. Unless the canvas was a hideout wall and the medium the melted flesh and shredded organs of a group of ne'er-do-wells who weren't hugged enough as children. Late-night parties at some socialite's manor? Nope. Why break bread when you can break bones? You get the picture. So when the Crown passed out a map marked with a bunch of criminal scum holdouts marked on it to any murderhobo willing to bash in and cash out some bandit skulls, she immediately jumped on it. The witch was given a pile of coordinates and a dossier on her targets. She didn't bother reading them--they were going to end up as a pile of unrecognizable mush anyway. There wouldn't be enough left to even go through their dental records. Not that Astorea kept them. Not that bandits ever went to the dentist. The man at the camp where she got her orders also slipped her information on the other adventurer she would be clearing out this rat's nest with. "Nice girl," he told her. "A little on the eager side, but she's got quite a bit of kick to her. Lots of guts and effort, that one." Guts and effort, eh? Nothing a little sarcasm and cynicism couldn't balance out, just as long as it didn't turn into a babysitting mission. It didn't take long for Madison to get within spitting distance of the tavern the bandits made a makeshift hideout of. As she drew closer, she instinctively dropped down into a crouch--just as a small woman leaped out of the tree to her right and landed on the ground in a crouch. Madison had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from cursing into the afternoon air and alerting the bandits to her presence. She reflexively reached for her deck of cards, but stayed her hand as she got a good look at the girl. Orange hair, bandaged arms, comically exuding an aura of heroic justice. Yep, that was her partner, alright. She fit the officer's description to a T. The plagueslinger picked herself up off the ground, dusting errant blades of dead grass off the seat of her pants and shoving down her urge to slap the girl upside her head for dropping in like that. "You must be Seigi," she said with a curt nod. "I'm Madison. Have you been keeping watch on the place?" She returned the nod with a bright smile on her face. "Seigi Ling Ling! Sunset Sage of Seven Strikes, Hero of JUSTICE! At your service. And yes I did!" Madison flew into a panic as the girl's words seemingly echoed across the plains. "Goddammit keep it down, will ya'?" She quickly scanned the area, specifically the tavern itself, hoping that nobody heard Seigi. The three bandits in green bandannas standing by the door continued to do just that, blissfully unaware of the two girls' presence nearby. The witch sighed through clenched teeth, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal. "Alright, okay, it's fine, we're fine, whatever." She quickly composed herself before continuing, "Have you noticed anything funny? Any large groups going in and out or something? I'm used to just going in and splattering everyone, but I don't wanna walk in a cramped place like this unprepared." Seigi put a finger up to her chin in thought. "Errr, not really! But don't worry. The good guys always win!" Oh my god, Madison thought as hope slowly started to leak out of her. She's one of those players. "Three of them are standing guard in front," the scrappy little girl continued. "But they look super weak! Just... just make sure to not kill them, alright? Not sure what you can do, but I can punch people!" Well, there goes my fun. Shoulda' partied up with Portia. Madison pursed her lips together in a thin line and looked back at the trio of guards. Seigi was right; they did look incredibly weak. How easily she could've popped their noggins off their necks. Just a quick squeeze of her vines-- "Alright," the witch said, her tone morose, the gears in her head cranking. "How about maim? Can I do that?" It was a split second before Seigi replied. "Eh, sure! As long as they don't die." "Beautiful," the witch darkly whispered as the deck of cards in her hand rumbled to life. The dark ink on their backs began shifting around, the mass of tangled tentacles writing around a giant spade with the Eye of Titanius at its center. Madison fanned them out, selected three, and tossed them into the air. A green flash off light filled her eyesight, and was immediately snuffed. The dead earth rumbled at the feet of the bandits, but before they could sound any alarms, thick, thorny briars erupted and stretched out, wrapping themselves around their throats. As the bandits scratched and clawed at them, their faces slowly turning purple, Madison flicked another card into the air. Another dozen or so vines grew out, binding their arms and legs, holding them still. Madison turned to Seigi. "Alright, you're up. Punch away."
"Oohhhhh!" As Seigi watched @Madison Freebird using her plant magic, the Justice Girl seemed to be in a bit of awe. "If you can do THAT, it's gonna be even easier! Restraining them and all. Just... don't suffocate them by accident, alright?" Talking about life and death as if it were nothing. Being fine with the bandits being mutilated. Despite her 'value' for life, something seemed off, huh? Either way, as blunt as the girl was, the Witch's annoyance about Seigi telling her not to kill had not escaped the girl. "Don't worry. I'm not deluded enough to go through with the 'don't kill em'-schtick if our life is in danger!" Seigi reassured Madison with a bright smile. Yet, it somehow seemed a bit sad. "Now..." Seigi continued as she finally started to move. "...with Guts and Effort." Yeah, she couldn't deny that punching things WAS fun, and as silent, as Madison had just been, the Martial Artist wasn't the silent type in the first place. Walking past the three bandits standing guard, who hopefully would not suffocate, the girl lifted her leg before kicking in the entrance door. "ATTENTION! CRIMINAL SCUM! This is your last and only chance to surrender or face a beat down! Remember: The good guys always win." For just a second, the dozen or so bandits that were just drinking and having fun inside the tavern, went completely silent in confusion before drawing their weapons and attacking. "Geez, why do the baddies never listen..." Seigi sighed. ... ... ... With the Sunset Sage's strikes and the Witch of Evergreen's magic, It took the two of them not all too long to subdue the unfortunate souls that dared to oppose them. Whatever doubts Madison had before about 'babysitting' Seigi or her being 'one of those people', at the very least, it became apparent that Seigi knew how to fight. No fancy magic, just pure brute force. Much to the dismay of the tavern owners, as the orange-hair didn't seem to care all too much about keeping the furniture intact. Either way, with most bandits being either unconscious or having surrendered, it had been Madison's job to capture them with her magic. Keep em tied until some guards came or something. That, however, was only one part of their job. Now, came the next one: Getting information. "Listen!" Seigi spoke to some random bandit. "It's NEVER too late to become a GOOD person! I know it might be hard but deep within yourself, you ARE! a good person. EVERYBODY is. Just, really! Be honest with yourself. It's not like you wan-" — "Oy, stop your bitchin and get to the point, kid." The bandit interrupted her. Seigi sighed. "Look. You know why I, we, didn't kill you?! It's not because we need information but because I believe in you! Deep d-" The bandit spit Seigi in the face. "... ... ... WOW! That's SO rude! HOW DARE YOU!" And in return, Seigi punched him in the face. Not too strong t kill him, but strong enough for the bandit to also lose unconscious. Realizing her error, Seigi took a few steps back before speaking up to every other bandit still in the room. "Alright. Fine. Be like that! Look! I really want the best for you all! BUT someone, please tell us where your hideout is! Doing bad isn't good! How can you not understand?!" For a moment, there seemed to be an ominous silence before a few burst out in laughter about her pitiful attempt. Despite her overwhelming force, they didn't feel threatened at all. Yeah, Seigi wasn't very good at this. Though, to be fair, this was Seigi's first 'real attempt' to even have a chance at converting someone.
Madison could only watch in mild annoyance as Seigi threw her GUTS and EFFORT around the inside of the tavern. She remained silent for all of it, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed in front of her. It only took her ten seconds to call enough vines to bind every last unwashed, smelly bandit in the joint, and very little energy on her behalf to keep them wrapped up tight. And while Seigi's heroic outbursts didn't phase her, watching the little girl catching a nice glob of spit in the face pushed her from annoyed to mildly exasperated. She waited until the fighter (rightfully) knocked the bandit into next week before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this," she said, her gaze drifting across the room, meeting the eyes of each lowly bandit. "I speak villain." Madison gently pushed Seigi aside and stepped forth. She pursed her lips and cleared her throat. Clasping her hands behind her back, the witch copped a stern, condescending frown. "Alright, which of you scummy crotch-hounds is in charge here? I got a couple questions for you." None of them spoke up, save for one who decided to cleared his throat of phlegm and prepared to hock a loogie at her. The plagueslinger raised a hand in the air and snapped her fingers. The vines around his wrist tightened, and a sickening pop! shattered the silence that choked the tavern, followed by his high-pitched screams. Madison stuffed his mouth with even more foliage to silence him. The rest of the bandits looked at each other, concern and a sliver of fear etched on their dirty, misshapen, scarred faces. "I swear to the old gods in tongues long forgotten by man that the next one of you bastards who thinks about doing that is getting their junk kicked straight into their guts." Anyone who crossed Madison in the past knew she absolutely would, too. "Now... Let's try this again." She prepared to snap her fingers again, thumb pressed squarely against her middle finger, the tension in them building to an unheard of degree. The vines wrapped around the hands and arms of each man present rustled as they tightened their grip. "Who. Is. In. Charge?" Immediately, every head nodded towards one asshole hanging out by the wall. The man with a patchy brown beard and an eye patch incredulously looked at every single one of his comrades. "You fucking finks," he shouted. "Language," Madison snapped as she threw him into the middle of the tavern with a wave of her hand. "There's a child present." The witch snatched a chair and dragged it across the room as she approached the leader of this little band, who was still trying to catch his breath after being slammed into the floorboards. She sat in it cross-legged, resting her clasped hands on her knee, and bent forward slightly. "Gonna' level with ya'," she began. "I'm not afraid to gut every single one of you and use your corpses to fertilize the nearby farmland. The only reason I haven't yet is because she politely asked me not to." Madison jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at Seigi. "So, let's get down to business. You tell me what I want to know, and we'll let you all get back to your little circle je--" Madison caught her tongue in the nick of time. "--whatever it is you do when you're not raiding and pillaging," she corrected herself. She leaned closer to the bandit lieutenant, trying not to breathe in through her nose. "Where are the rest of your band hiding?" "I-I have no idea what you're talking about," he stammered. Madison's frown deepened. "Come on, help me out here. I know there's a buttload more of you nerds skulking around somewhere. That's how this always works." She waved around to the rest of the tavern. "This is only an outpost for you all. It's an easy staging point for raids on caravans trying to fix the damage Titanius caused. So, there has to be more of you nearby." Deep inside her sleeve, a tarot card began to softly thrum with green energy. The bearded man began to write around on the floor, his face twisting in irritated pain. "It's poison ivy," Madison casually threw out there. "The itching will stop when you tell me where they are." She desperately wanted to pop his wrists too, but she was afraid Seigi might slap her upside the head for it.
"Urgh! I'll never... kah- damn tell you... you.. DAMNIT... witch!" The one-eye squeezed out under a painful voice as Madison started her work. Unlike before, he was aware that the raven-haired girl meant business, yet, at the same time she had already dug her own grave: She wouldn't kill him. Thus, no matter the pain, he only had to endure. The cracking of his bones. The sensation of pain. The ever-increasing throbbing of his head. Endure. Endure. Endure. The man was in a weird state of ecstasy as he couldn't even hear his own cries of agony anymore. "You know..." Seigi spoke up. "Healing magic is super duper awesome, right? Sooo... I'm not really... fond of this whole torture thing, but you baddies had your chance! So do what you gotta do, as long as they're still alive." With those words, the Hero of Justice turned her back and left the tavern. The lieutenant kept enduring. He simply had to. Endure. Endure. Endure. SCREW THIS. "S-Sto...p..." He whispered with a foaming mouth, and sooner or later, Madison learned about their actual hideout: A cavern not all too far away. In fact, if Maddy wanted, she even managed to make him lead them! Of course. someone had to carry him? Either way, as the two Justice people ensured themselves about the safety of the tavern owners, a stereotypical family of three with a daughter, and made sure they'd call some local guards, they went on their merry way! "So..." Seigi opened her mouth as they got closer and closer towards the cavern. "You can use Nature Magic and stuff?" Obviously. "But... aren't Nature Mages usually all 'Nature will rise against you!', 'Don't hurt the plants.', 'Let's all live in peace and get along!' and stuff? It looked like you quite enjoyed yourself back there! Errrr, not that I am judging, but thanks for respecting my wishes! You see, if they're dead, they don't have a chance to do better anymore."
I may have gone a bit overboard with the torture stuff, Madison thought to herself. Seigi being a little passive-aggressive about her methods certainly didn't help matters. Didn't want the spirited young punchgirl to think that she was turning into the monster that she so very clearly already was. When the bandit lieutenant begged for it to end through a puddle of spittle, Madison acquiesced. With another snap of her fingers, the vines loosened ever so slightly and began oozing a healing salve that would reduce the itching from the poison ivy. The moment he was shown mercy, he began babbling random directions and local landmarks, trying to navigate his way to the main hideout through shattered memories and undulating waves of pain. Madison pursed her lips and began thinking. There was no way she'd be able to navigate these dead lands with Seigi. She'd need a guide. All of the other bandits probably had no idea how to find their way out of the tavern itself, given the inebriated state they were in when the girls arrived. But the lieutenant? Probably sobered up a long time ago, the moment two murderhobos knocked down the door and began clearing house. But Maddy sure as shit wasn't going to drag his broken carcass. As much as she wanted to make Seigi haul him around, she'd need to save her strength for when they justiced their way into the main hideout. So, it was time to call on the twins. Madison fanned her deck of cards and selected the Two of Hearts. She placed it in the air, and it responded with a pulsating burst of bright green energy ringed with amethyst and amber hues. The spell flared to life as it was cast, and the silence inside the tavern was interrupted by the soft cracking of earth and rustling of vines outside, followed by high-pitched yawning and giggling. Madison called out, "Ali? Lili?" The giggling stopped long enough for them to reply in unison, "Yes, Miss Madison?" "Got a friend here, needs help going home. Mind giving him a lift?" "Of course! We'd be delighted to help!" "Thanks. We'll be right out." Madison wrapped her hands around the briars keeping the lieutenant tied up before a very important thought hit her. "Ladies, are you decent?" There was a long pause, a bunch of hushed whispering, and some soft rustling. The witch's face soured with each passing second. "Ali? Lili?" "Yes," came the exasperated and echoed reply. Thank the fucking gods, Madison shook her head. The last thing she needed was a child like the Sage of the Seven Somethings bouncing out the front door and coming face to face to face with a pair of scantily-clad plant women lounging in a nectar-filled flower. - - - - - - - The bandit sat half-submerged in the flower as Ali and Lili shifted their roots across the plains. A clear look of contentment was plastered on his face as he called out every twist and turn of their journey towards the main hideout. The twins played with his hair and giggled, encouraging little details about various interesting things they passed the entire way. The witch tried not to think about what was going to eventually happen to him. Eventually, Seigi spoke up, expressing her concerns about how incredibly easy the plagueslinger found it to make the bandit heavily consider his life choices. Madison took a deep breath, not wanting to spoil all this good will that she apparently had in the eyes of the girl. But, there was no sense in lying to her. The way she'd spin it, it would sound like she was a reformed bad guy herself, which in turn might give her hope that the rest of these nerds could be converted as well? "That's because I started out as a Black Mage," she began, eyes forward as they tailed behind the twins. "When I arrived, the darker arts intrigued me. So that's what I did. I studied plagues, curses, hexes--all the fun stuff. I also dabbled in Nature Magic, but it wasn't my focus." "But then I met someone who, rather than beating the living daylights out of me for being a murderous little monster, showed me the error of my ways and the toll my actions were taking on the world." Madison glanced over at Seigi to see if she was absorbing any of this. "It was around that time that I started focusing more on Nature magic. You see, I've always had this fascination with the cycle of life and death, and how natures gives to us and takes from us. With that comes this sort of understanding that sets me apart from the other tree-huggers, I suppose. I don't get as butthurt as they do by someone chopping up some firewood or accidentally setting some brush on fire. It's all part of the cycle. Eventually, we all return to the earth, our bodies offered up to nourish the next generation." Madison then added with a hint of darkness, "And sometimes, I have to help speed up the process." As she was finishing up, the bandit lazily called out that they were close to the cave where the rest of his kind were skulking. Ali and Lili twisted around in their nectar-filled flower, silently pleading to let the bandit stay with them. It had been a while since they last ate, Madison considered. "You're still wounded and in no shape to continue," Madison said to the bandit as she strolled by him. "Ali and Lili will take good care of you; right, girls? Fix him up nice and take him back to the tavern?" "Absolutey, Miss Madison!" "Of course, Miss Madison!" Madison nodded and shot them a quick wink. As she turned back, their high-pitched tittering reached her ears, sending a chill down her spine. The plagueslinger placed her hand on Seigi's back and gently pushed her along. There was no way she wanted the little girl to see what was going to happen to the bandit.
A lot of things were awesome right now! The bandit reconsidering his life choices. Awesome. Madison, who was apparently also a reformed baddie. Awesome That there was another person out there who reformed baddies. Awesome Two cool plant girl people things that Madison apparently controlled. Awesome Actually finding the bandit hideout? Awesome. The fact that Seigi had read enough fiction to be a bit skeptical about what Ali and Lili would do to the bandit? Not so awesome. BUT Madison herself told them to take him back to the tavern. And they agreed. They had no reason to lie. So surely, he'd be fine! So, actually, awesome as well! "Awesome!" Seigi nodded with a grin as @Madison Freebird pushed her ahead. "Maybe, one day, I can summon something cool too with pure willpower! PURE GUTS AND EFFORTS. And then I call them... Lin and... Yin! Punching Sisters!" Ling, Lin, and Yin! Uh, maybe Lynn instead of Yin? Err, she could think about names once she got there! Right now, she had other things to deal with. "This cave." Seigi pointed at the cave. If not for the bandit showing them the way one could argue it seemed rather well hidden. Maybe that was the reason there was only a single, sleeping, guard outside. Why exactly did they need two people again? "You got some plan or just charge?!" Good thing Maddy was a charge type kind of girl thou! "Alright." Her grin only widened as she dashed forward, declaring their attack. "GUTS AND EFFORT!" The sleeping bandit on guard duty never stood a chance. Neither did the bandits inside the cave. If anything, the biggest challenge was the lack of light. It was like exploring a bandit infested Skyrim cave with some darker nights mod. It was very, very, dark except for the 'mini-camps' that had a mix of torches and/or campfires around them. The fact the cave split off into multiple paths wasn't of much help either. It was only thanks to Madison's magic that they found their way around. Turns out, plant magic truly was not just awesome, but awesomer! Able to scout out dead ends with some roots while other weird plant-things which Seigi most likely couldn't even pronounce the name of spend light! That is if Madison would even go so far. After all, their UI allowed for a night-vision mode. Something Seigi did not have. Sooner or later the two would find their way to the big-boss-man. Three times the size of the other mooks, bearded, lotsa scars, and two big blades. "So..." The man said unimpressed as Seigi punched the last bandit, that personally guarded him, ko. "Are you telling me a little girl and a..." He eyed Madison before taking a sip of ale from his human-skull cup. "...a witch beat up all of my guys? HOW PATHETIC HAVE YOU BEEN?!" His voice echoed throughout the cave for anyone who was still conscious to hear. "Well..." The man continued as he finally stood up, slowly ready to battle. "I suppose I sh-"— "JUSTICE PUNCH!" All it took was a single hit. "Madison, now!" And with that, they were victorious. "He talked a lot! I always wondered why the heroes do nothing on television when the baddies are talking!" Was all Seigi had to say about cutting into the man's cutscene. "Now...what to do- ah! LISTEN... What's your name?" "I AM THE MIGHTY AND TERRIBLE TWINBLADE! ONCE I AM FREE I WILL TEAR AND RIP YOU APART AND DRINK YOUR BLOOD FROM YOUR SK-" "ONCE YOU ARE FREE!" Seigi headbutted Twinblade to silence him once again. "YOU WILL BECOME A GOOD GUY!" And there she went~. "Listen to me! Yes. Listen! Everybody deserves a second, or even a third, chance!..." This time, nobody interrupted Seigi! Not even Madison!? And thus, after three or so minutes about Seigi going on how good it felt to help others. How great the world would be if people didn't do to others what they don't like being done to themselves. How capitalism was the root of all evil yadda yadda yadda... "You're right..." Twinblade nodded. "I... I have been wrong! All this time... you see I..." And with that, he went on for another three minutes about a super tragic background story that nobody really cared about. How he got bullied for being named 'Bob'. How he had no other choice but to take on the false 'title' of Twinblade. How he was forced to be oh-so terrifying! How he had to see how his parents got killed! Cliché. Cliché. Cliché. Seigi was in tears! "So... I'm toootttallllyy regretting what I have done! I promise you to do better! But... you see, if you give me up to the guards they'll just hang me! Weren't you the one who said..." And another three-minute cue that more-or-less repeated the words Seigi had said earlier. "SO, How about you free me, right here and now, and I shall do good in the world!?" "... ... ... Madison! You heard Bob! Free him, right this instant! He's now a good person! Just like you have become!" For as much muscle as Twinblade had, he didn't seem THAT stupid. It was clear, at least for Maddy, that he was just playing to the young hero's fantasies to re-attain his freedom right here, right now.
Madison stood there, mouth open in disbelief. Not over Twinblade's story--she immediately saw the sob story laced with crocodile tears for what it was--but for the naive little punchgirl actually believing the damn thing. There Seigi stood, a look of resolve on her face, a single tear streaming down her cheek, bandaged arms stretched out towards the gigantic bandit as if he were a prize on a game show. Congratulations, Ms. Freebird! You just won yourself and your little justice buddy a one-way ticket to Slaughtertown! All you have to do is unwrap the gift! She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "No, Seigi, sweetie, that's not going to work." Twinblade's eyes shot open as he looked back and forth between the two girls. "What are you talking about, friend?! Of course I've changed! S-see? I just called you a friend! I called you a witch earlier! I'm a good guy now! Good guys don't call people witches!" "Good guys also don't threaten to rip and tear people apart and drink our blood from their skulls," Madison snapped back. His gaze narrowed at the woman. "That was before I was reformed, you piece of shhhh--" Twinblade's eyes flickered at Seigi for a moment before he finished his sentence, "--shhhhhuuuuugarplum..." Madison cocked her head a bit to the side and shrugged. "Was it, now? I wouldn't know. I zoned out and started playing solitaire the moment you started yapping." She glanced at Seigi. "But I also know that bad guys aren't reformed the moment that someone tells them try harder, do better!" The witch could speak from experience there. As much as the necromancer Lucia did to set Madison on the right track in Terrasphere, she still found herself incredibly capable of doing incredibly horrible things to people who were incredibly deserving. Like this Twinblade mug, for instance. Or his lieutenant, who was probably half-dissolved in a vat of flower girl nectar by now. The bounty was out; justice would be meted, one way or another. Had Seigi not been around, this little bandit lair would've been carpeted with Twinblade's flesh and guts, the walls painted in a fresh coat of blood. But with the little girl still standing there expectant, Madison had to deal with the monster of a man in a different way. She drew closer to him, clasping her hands together. A small flash of mana sparked to life between her palms. Leaning in close, the plagueslinger whispered in the bandit's ear, "I'm gonna' let you go." "Oh thank the gods that I suddenly now believe in," Twinblade said with fake thankfulness. "I knew that you would do the right thing!" "...and I'm going to make sure you do too," she finished. The man's bushy, greasy unibrow rode up his forehead. "Heh--?" Madison took a step back, brought her hands inches from his face, and unclasped her hands. Resting in her palms was a bell flower, the petals an inky black that slowly bled into purpleish hues the closer you got to the edges. As the flower bloomed, it released a glittery puff of amethyst-colored pollen, which traveled into the bandit's open mouth and up his flared nostrils. He immediately recoiled back, coughing up a storm as he struggled to break himself free of the witch's vines. Twinblade's sputtering curses slowly died away as the poisonous pollen traveled into his lungs and entered his blood stream. When he next opened his eyes, the world looked completely different to him. Rolling hills of pastel grass, with a path made from chocolate chip cookies leading towards a far-off castle that may have been ice cream. All around him, underneath a sunny sky where the clouds were made of cotton candy, dozens of gummy fairies fluttered about, giggling, teasing, beckoning him to follow them into the lollipop forest. Twinblade, with the biggest, dopiest smile on his face, spun in circles in the cave, a deep laugh welling up in his stomach. "T-t-th-this-his is wonderful! It's just like I always dreamed it would be!" Madison simply pursed her lips and took a step back, so she wouldn't accidentally get hit as the bandit twirled around, dancing in his own little dream world. Turning to look at Seigi for a moment, she said, "There. Now he's reformed." More like "absolutely plastered", she left unsaid. Hearing the mewling of a kitten nearby, Twinblade turned towards the two women. He only saw a fluffy cat princess with oversized eyes, a glittering tiara, and a sparkling dress as well as her companion, a button-nosed bunny knight in gumdrop armor holding a lollipop mace in one hand and an Oreo shield in the other. There was a clear look of joy on the man's face and a sparkle in his otherwise unfocused eyes. He took a grandiose bow before the two girls. "Mi'lady, brave knight, a thousand pardons for interrupting your journey. Can you please tell your humble servant the best way to get to Sugar Drop Castle? I have been summoned by King Cocoa, and must get there posthaste!" Madison jabbed a thumb towards the entrance of the cave. "That way," she said flatly. Twinblade found a way to bow even deeper than should've been physically possible, given the bloated state of his gut. "Many thanks, your highness! I'll be on my way, then! Have a splederificent journey!" And with that, the dreaded bandit lord pranced into the darkness, humming a tune that echoed through the tunnels long after he disappeared. A long silence grew between the witch and the warrior as they watched the bandit leave the cave. Eventually, Madison turned towards Seigi once more. "So, are we looting this place, or what?"
"..." Silence. The loud girl was completely silent. She watched the madness that unfolded in front of her in complete silence. Her usual expressive face hard to get a read on. Did she disapprove of... of... what did @Madison Freebird even do?! Or was she glad it turned out this way? Did Seigi, the girl that totally implied it's okay to break every single bone in a baddies body as long as it doesn't kill him, even care? "..." Twinblade, the Butcher of the Virtuous, the Spouse of the Spectral Wraith Theresa, the wielder of the Cain and Abel. A terrifying monstrosity of many titles now turned into... "JUSTICE!" Seigi, finally, yelled out. Her voice booming throughout the entire cave system. "I... I'm glad! See! It can totally happen! People becoming good, just. like. that. We totally did it! At first, I thought you wouldn't... follow along, but thanks for sticking out!" The orange-hair gave the older woman a hug. "You're a precious Ally of Justice, too!" Seigi praised Maddy before letting go of her. "Looting the place? But... urm... we have to..." Seigi looked around. Was there even anything worthwhile to loot? Maybe some sort of weapon? Books? To be fair, looting was always super fun when playing games! But this place belonged to... Just. Do. It. "NO! We can't. They stole all the things. We will return all the things! Sooo... first, we should report our success! Once you see the smiles and thankful faces of the citizen I AM SURE your heart will MELT!" Seigi gave Maddison a thumbs up. Either way, they were pretty much done?
Thank the gods we're pretty much done. Madison couldn't have escaped the little girl's really big hug of heroism and friendship even if she tried. All she could really do was stand there, try not to breathe too hard and risk cracking a rib, grit her teeth, and hope the sweet release of death came soon. "Y-yeah," she wheezed out. "Ally of Justice. ...Look, uh, Seigi? Can you let me go now?" Request denied. Madison's face twisted in pain and disgust as the little heroine continued to crush her guts with effort. It didn't take her long to realize that Seigi wasn't letting go until the witch returned the embrace. And so she did. She reached up with a gloved hand and patted the girl twice on the top of her head. When Seigi released the bear hug, Maddy nearly doubled over in pain, sucking in breath after breath. What the ever-loving hell did she take as her masteries? Illustrious Heroic Might in triplicate? Eventually the woman regained her composure. As she straightened out, her back still hurt like the dickens. But at least nothing was broken! "Look, it's going to be impossible finding all of the original owners of this stuff." The plagueslinger waved at all the shiny trinkets and piles of gold and rich tapestries that littered the cavern. Her gaze lingered for a moment longer on Twinblade's ornate throne in particular. Oh, that'd look good in my little driftwood and vine home, she thought to herself. But Seigi wasn't hearing any of that. The punchgirl tried to appeal to Madison's ALLEGEDLY cold dead heart, saying it would bring her such great joy to see all these items reunited with their owners. ...who probably already forgot about them in the first place, or were too dead to care who was in possession of them now. Maddy wasn't going to argue with Seigi on the matter. "Alright, fine," she grumped with a dismissive shake of her head. "We'll go report this stash, and let the crown sort it all out." While the two ladies left the cave, Madison made it a point to discreetly mark the bandit hideout on her map for a return trip after she ditched Seigi.
