Cauda 04 - The Nun and the Sinner Lady
"Ready to go ballistic?"
The Carnival Vs. Mommy Meanest, Matriarch of the Dearest Family & Taki, Xyeeno of a Corrupted Church
Now Playing...
Artist: E-Sagglia
Song: Vital
Mommy took a step forward, entering the aisle, pews on either side. She had a villainous look on her face, practically salivating at the thought of murder.
Annie, likewise, saw red.
"ERRAAAGH!" Annie screamed, throwing the pew with all her strength towards Mommy. She didn't move, expecting the next action instead.
Taki, with lightning speed drew her hidden hand, revealing an oversized black and yellow chainsaw. With one swift move she stepped in front of Mommy and slashed the chainsaw through the pew, the two halves careening behind them. All the while Taki retained that sick mouth-open smile.
"Thank you Taki." Mommy said. "You know she's quite capable. She just happened upon this church when it was built. Since then," Mommy shrugged, "Defends this place like no tomorrow. I'm not gonna complain." She let out a predatorial grin. Mommy and Taki walked forward, ready to strike.
Annie wanted blood. But she also knew Carol and Whitty would fare better. She took charge. "You and Whitty take the mother. The kid and I will handle this hag." Annie spat, eyes narrowing. Much as she wanted a go at Mommy she also knew Carol and Whitty would fare better, not to mention their shared 'history'.
"Got it." Carol said, focusing on Mommy. "You ready hun?"
"Always." Whitty replied.
Annie grabbed Pompom and ran into the pews. Taki remained focused on Carol and Whitty, raising her chainsaw. It didn't take much to change focus. Annie ripped a piece off the pew and chucked it at Taki, the piece bouncing off her head.
"Over here you bitch!" Annie spat.
It got her attention and turned, entering another row, walking slowly and wielding the chainsaw. It let out of a whirr as she held it.
"Taki." Updike said through the comlink. "Is she an abomination?"
"Yea?"
"Fascinating! See if you can subdue her. For capture."
"No way am I getting hacked to bits for your science project!" Annie said.
"Indeed. No captures this time. It is not worth it." Displo added.
Stepping onto the pew, Taki jumped up and lunged for them. Annie dove, again grabbing Pompom out of the way.
"Darnit! I was just about to use a spell." Pompom said, getting up.
With the same expression Taki lifted up the chainsaw and, now in the same row, started stalking towards them.
Seeing Taki fall for the bait, Mommy returned her attention to Carol and Whitty.
"An angel and a bomb. What a weird duo." She laughed, looking them up and down.
Whitty's hands lit up, flames burning around them. He cracked his fists, sparks flying as he did.
"Ooo, you got your own handwarmers~. Cute. Lotta use they'll do with broken fingers."
Carol too, got ready. White wings burst from her back as did a halo which glowed atop her head. Facing down a demon she cared little for hiding any appearances. Her clothing too changed, now an orange dress that ended at her hips, knee-high boots replacing the running shoes.
Looking to Carol she merely continued to smile. "Girlfriend won't be able to protect you now."
"You're gonna pay for what you've done."
"Oohho. Then bring it on." Mommy said, waving them forward.
Carol flew up and Whitty ran forward, hoping to dual-attack Mommy. Not reacting she waited until Carol lunged for her, wings pushing downwards to strike. Mommy continued not to move, instead idling. Just before Carol could smash into Mommy she stopped, changing directions just before Carol could grab her. Mommy swiped at her, Carol dodging perfectly.
Carol and Whitty had long expected this fight. Not exactly with Mommy per se but believed some kind of confrontation would occur. And as such having fakeouts would be necessary.
And while Mommy's attention was on Carol, Whitty ran up, punching into a haymaker, slamming his fist directly into her stomach. Whether or not the added fire did anything left unseen, her clothes did not burn.
She reeled back just as Whitty lurched again, continuing the combo. He hit her with a clothesline. He would have socked her next, but she had predicted it, grabbing his fist and using her free hand to slash. Her nails, sharp as knives, sliced through Whitty's turquoise hoodie and shirt underneath. It pierced his skin, searing pain through his chest, slash marks where those red nails collided. Not a lethal strike but it hurt like hell.
"Shit!"
He stepped back, just as Carol would unleash her barrage. Never let the opponent get time to think. Carol cast her magic, beams of light raining down upon Mommy. And, proving herself a capable caster, Mommy stopped it, a shield of darkness blocking them, protecting her from the holy energy. And while both were talented in magic, Carol also knew that hitting her physically could be just as effective.
Carol flew past, grabbing Mommy's hair and yanking her forward. Mommy on the ground she cast again, a beam of light hitting Mommy. Instead of just taking it, Mommy got up, forcing herself through the blast and grabbed Carol's wrist. Pulling her forward she used her free hand to grab the wing. "Let me show you what I meant to do earlier."
With her might Mommy pulled down, dislocating it. "AAH!" Carol let go of Mommy, as did the demon, Carol crash-landing to the altar.
Taki had become a stereotypical slasher villain, lumbering towards them as they backed up. In an attempt to stop her, Pompom had tried lightning, water, fire, wind, light, dark, practically every element at her exposure. She had even tried to short-circuit the chainsaw. Annie too, chucked all sorts of arrangements at them (just bits of pews and books scattered about).
So far, all Taki had done was take each shot and continuously follow them. They knew she could move fast but she deliberately went slow, as if she were waiting for them to give up.
"Gotta be a weakness somewhere." Annie said, she looked to Pompom and nodded. "We just need a bigger weapon."
Pompom nodded back, understanding. She got up and leapt for the pew to her left, jumping over it. To the right, Annie grabbed the pew and ripped it out of its sockets. She pulled it back, just as Pompom shot a bolt to get Taki's attention.
"Kid! Light me up!" Annie said, smacking the pew against the ground as if it were a baseball bat.
Now actually understanding what Annie meant Pompom grew a mischievous smile as she shot fire at the end of the pew. It lit up, the end burning brightly.
"Thanks kid!" Annie said.
Gripping the pew under her arm, holding it as a ram she charged Taki. "What are you-" Taki had begun to say before the flaming end of a battering-ram-pew smashed into her, carrying her to the wall which exploded in a smouldering mess. In the few seconds Taki flew, she managed to use her chainsaw and at least cut the part of the ram.
The church wall shook, causing a curtain to come loose. In a stroke of luck it put out the flame and covered Taki.
Carol and Whitty didn't notice the nun getting slammed into a wall, both two engrained in their own conflict.
An unfamiliar voice was picked up on the comlink. "Ms. Meanest. Are you all right? Do you require assistance?" Authoritative, those listening in knew it wasn't Daddy.
"No. This battle is mine." She growled.
Whitty got up, and now enraged charged Mommy. He swung with a left, which she caught, then a right which she caught. The next instinct would have been to kick her, but he knew his head was strong. He smashed his against hers, himself barely feeling the impact. He touched his chest instinctively. Oil had begun to flow.
Mommy reeled back, recovering near instantly. Wiping the blood off her nose she chuckled.
"You hit much harder than that angel. Speaking of which, I suppose we could even the playing field."
Fingers in her mouth, she whistled.
"Woah, woah!" S said through the comlink. "You guys get ready. There's two patrols coming for you!"
"Crap."
"Now!" Carol shouted. She jumped upon Mommy, lighting up with magic. Whitty got up and lighting his fists charged Mommy. He jumped, grabbing a hold of her head, his hands lit up. They all landed on top of each other.
A small explosion rocked the area, temporarily blinding Pompom and Annie when they looked.
As it calmed down, Whitty stood holding Carol.
Mommy lay on the ground, smoke emitting from her head. Her hair, still crimson had become speckled with ash, the heat-magic combo burning some loose strands.
"Did we win?" Pompom asked, an earie quiet fell over the church, Taki's chainsaw revving the only other sound.
The doors burst open, two patrols of demons charging in. All still wore the same clothing, expression and stupid sunglasses.
The team turned to them first.
With a slash of the chainsaw the curtain was sliced in half, Taki brushing it aside. Pieces of wood and debris falling from her she got up, dusting herself off. Still wielding the same chainsaw and smile she looked to Annie and Pompom, ready for another go.
The group turned to Taki.
"So annoying. But I gotta admit, your coordination is alright." Mommy said, getting up. Though her hair frizzled, and some makeup melted she looked otherwise fine. She adjusted her shoulder.
Hearts dropping they looked to Mommy, realizing they had done little damage against anyone.
Whitty could feel the cut stinging and feel his undershirt getting stained with oil. He saw Pompom ready her flames, motioning her to stop. "Use something else. No fire." He gritted his teeth.
"Well. You've cost me about 30 minutes now that I gotta redo my hair and makeup. Let's not waste any more time now." Mommy said, adjusting her hair.
The demons behind them started going towards, as did Taki from the side.
"Crap." Pompom said.
I could sacrifice myself. Both Whitty and Carol thought at the same time. Take out the hellgate too... Carol's eyes went wide. "That's it! Whitty. Distract Mommy!"
Now Playing...
Artist: Zipcult
Song: ZZZ / No Name
The demons stopped, awaiting further instruction from Mommy. They knew better than to take Mommy's catch.
Though it dislodged, Carol could still move her wing. It hurt like hell and even though she casted healing on it, just numbed the pain. She jumped up, flying high.
"What are you idiots doing! Get them!" Mommy shouted, annoyed at the demons.
Whitty resumed a boxing stance, facing Mommy again. Fists lighting up, Xs appeared in his eyes. No holding back. Breathing heavily he readied himself.
"Oh? Round two? Let's go then." She took a boxing stance as well. "Are you...bleeding oil? Heh. Guess you really are a bomb."
Whitty lunged forth, preparing to her Mommy with a right hook. She dodged, slinging a left at him. It narrowly missed as he ducked, going for an uppercut. Said uppercut would have hit had Mommy not swung her leg up, smashing her heel into Whitty's chin. He recoiled back, almost biting his tongue.
Mommy moved fast, even before Whitty could get up she jumped forward and stomped her stiletto down. Whitty rolled out of the way, just as her spike smashed onto the ground and through the wood, effectively trapping it.
Eyes full of fury he aimed his fist right at her neck.
Taki got up and started running towards Pompom and Annie, expression the same.
"Ice her chainsaw!" Annie said.
Pompom nodded and casted ice. Whether or not Taki could've reacted to it was unknown. The ice blast hit the chainsaw, slowing the blades down just enough to render them non-lethal. Annie ran forward and, closing the space between her and Taki unleashed a flurry of blows against the nun. She aimed for the hands, trying best to force Taki to drop the chainsaw. She grabbed Taki's wrist, trying as hard to break the bone as possible.
Annie became so focused she didn't notice gunfire shooting through the air.
Flying hurt like hell. Even with her magic active she could feel the burning pain in her wing. She knew pushing it this hard was a horrible idea. She casted a forcefield and could feel bullets impacting it. The demons below had opened fire, machine guns at her.
The hellgate was a massive ring made of hell stone with often four lighting points. Carol tried to remember what she learned. All it needed was to form a basic circle shape. As she flew closer to the altar she could see below parts of the gate exposed, tendrils reaching out. She gulped; unsure this was a good idea. A breach of the plan she determined this the only outcome they would survive in, barring fleeing. She readied her magic and shot fire at the first opening, tendrils greedily circling the fire, lighting up.
Mommy coughed, Whitty's punch also unjamming her stiletto. On the ground, Whitty jumped upon her, slamming fist into hist at her, in his blind rage. He screamed, unleashing his anger for the first time in a long time. So blinded, Mommy managed to catch both his fists and roll him over, reversing the situation. Pulling him up, she took him into a headlock. She would have continued had Carol not caught her attention.
Carol lit the second beacon. "A-Are you trying to open the gate? Are you suicidal?!" She grabbed Whitty's wick and threw him to the window. He smashed through the stain glass, landing somewhere outside. She couldn't understand what Carol was playing at.
"Oh. Are you some fanatic, thinks she'll get a free ticket to heaven for killing as many?"
Taki just took the punches, unmoving. "Annie move!" Pompom shouted, noticing the chainsaw melting the ice. Annie jumped back just as Taki swung it, sharp blades pulsing. Hands out, she didn't react fast enough as the blades slashed through her palm, horizontal gashes on each. Annie reeled back, loosing her balance.
This wasn't going to work. Annie got up, barely even registering the bloody hands and ran.
"DAMNIT!" Annie gulped, finally feeling fear. This wasn't how its supposed to end. Not like this. Annie growled and pulled another pew and swung it backwards. Though Taki slashed it, part of the pew still hit her, temporarily blinding her as sawdust kicked up the air.
Annie ran back, already getting plan B ready.
Mommy remained bewildered as she saw Carol light the next beacon. It made no sense. Mommy shouted, ordering the demons to keep the fire up on Carol. Carol would run out of magic eventually, there was no point in wasting energy on a suicidal angel. She waited, readying to summon an army once Carol completed the ritual.
The farmer's girl had been watching everything unfold and realized she needed a better plan too. She wasn't the least bit scared; Zardy prepared her for this. And Zardy taught her one other thing too.
As Annie fled, Taki turned her attention to Pompom, raising her chainsaw up. "Annie distract her! I got it! Trust me!"
"Damnit kid. I didn't want to do this yet." Annie sighed and pulled out a cannister of dark blue liquid. Ripping the lid off, she started chugging it. "Taki. Focus on Taki." She muttered quietly.
Remember exactly what Zardy said. Control it. Feel the dirt. She'd never done it seriously before but knew herself strong enough to. Pompom's eyes started to glow green.
"You know as soon as you open the gate you'll have to face an army right?!" Mommy shouted to Carol. She noticed the demons stopped firing. Turning she saw Whitty, covered in glass shards now engaging, enraged and practically strangling them. One of the other demons had started going to Pompom, noticing her in the midst of casting.
"They just don't know when to stay down." Mommy muttered and started walking to Whitty. "OVER HERE YOU FREAK!" Annie screamed to Mommy. She turned, though when she laid eyes on Annie it wasn't the girl she had that Taki fought.
She roared, charging Mommy. Annie gotten noticeably larger, gloves ripping from her new size. Her clothes stretched to accommodate, and her skin turned a green-blueish shade. She'd become a monster. Her voice deepened too.
Mommy had little time to react, just barely jumping out of the way as she smashed the altar to bits. Annie went berserk, seeing nothing but red. The scream got Taki's attention briefly but figuring Mommy busy with Annie, turned her focus back to Pompom.
Taki walked slowly, expecting Pompom to do something. The demon approached too and having emptied his magazine, instead planned to snatch her.
Imagine them moving through dirt like liquid. Imagine each individual thorn, each stalk that formed to a plant. And you're in control, all of them.
The final flame was lit causing the ground to shake. The hell gate was now active. Carol turned her attention back to the scene. It just needed to be turned on.
Whitty was in the middle of slaughtering demons, Annie chasing Mommy like a bear and Pompom about to be killed.
Now! Pompom let loose, thick green vines shooting up from the ground. They smashed through the cobblestone basement and through the church's wooden floor. They flew up and grabbed Taki, gripping around the chainsaw's blade. Though Taki tried to slice through, it wouldn't cut, the thorns and vines getting embedded in the chainsaw, jamming the mechanism.
Before the demon could attack Pompom, the vines grabbed her, pulling her to safety.
Unseen, and many, many kilometres away, Zardy could feel his vines being used. Overlooking the farm he felt proud. "Go get 'em girl." He muttered.
Annie got a hold of Mommy, slamming her into the ground. Though Mommy slashed Annie nothing would stop the monster. From the slash wounds, Annie's hand's stained Mommy, though that was the least of her concerns. As Annie slammed her to the ground she was expecting the floor to give out.
Carol flew to Whitty just as he finished the last demon. All wasn't without wounds; however, several bullet holes now present on Whitty. He was loosing strength fast and panting, unsure how much longer he could keep up.
Vines smashed through Taki's hand and made her drop the chainsaw, a plethora of vines destroying the tree chopping weapon; the same way Zardy did when he destroyed Tabi's flamethrower.
With everything in place Carol used the final spell to conclude the gate, a red portal emerged effectively cutting the church in half.
"Get off my you oaf!" Mommy screamed at Annie.
"Annie! Throw her in! Pompom too!" Carol shouted as she landed. She grabbed a hold of Whitty, helping him up.
Finally, in that instant Mommy understood. "YOU IDIOT. THAT'S YOUR PLAN? I'LL JUST-"
Annie understood too, and grabbing Mommy through her as hard as she could into the portal. She didn't get to finish her statement as the monster-girl chucked Mommy into that red mass, her scream vanishing within.
With the gate's roar echoing throughout the church, ground shaking, and everything tinting red, yet another thing emerged.
Pompom too understood and the vines tossed Taki into the portal too, throwing the remains of the chainsaw into it.
It did little to stop anyone as demons started pouring out. Stepping out of the portal, an all-black figure, lemon for a head exited. "I'm back!" It hissed.
Annie growled, ready to face the incoming army. Pompom too.
And as they both imagined it would be a tough fight, Carol stopped those thoughts.
"ANNIE! GET POMPOM TO SAFETY AND GET OUT OF HERE!"
Finally, in that instant did Whitty understand. Open the portal, banish Mommy and blow the damn thing up. Against the rules, it was the only way to not get killed.
Annie understood and ran after Pompom, grabbing her just as the demons started to charge at them. She ran to the basement, smashing the door to it. As they got in the basement, Pompom ordered the vines to encircle the two, providing as much protection as possible. Annie grabbed Pompom, tying to shield her as best she could in their cocoon.
Staring down the oncoming demon horde, both Whitty and Carol felt at peace.
"You ready hun?" Carol asked, panting. "Ready to go ballistic?"
"Born ready." A flame lit atop Whitty's head, setting the wick in motion.
The two hugged as a white light enveloped them. Pompom could feel an intense heat through the vines as the detonation occurred. The church exploded, extreme pressure, heat and energy bursting though the hellgate vaporizing it and all around. Anyone watching would have seen the church light, a barrage of colours lighting up around where the structure was.
From where Solazar watched he saw a few cameras go out, destroyed in the blast. The data centre heard the screaming, violence and insanity from the teams comlinks. Whitty and Carol's comlinks went offline. They heard a screeching sound from Pompom's end as she screamed, trying to keep her vines against the explosion. At the very least, they could tell the sheer amount of noise and ruckus the team was causing. And they knew Mommy was out.
"It appears that Whitty was successful." Updike said, watching it from a boat he drove.
Pompom felt the temperature cool down and retracted the vines. She looked out to a cloudy sky, nothing but smouldering ashes and a hole in the ground where a basement used to be. Annie let go of her, similarly, looking up in awe.
"HOT DAMN! I FELT THAT OUT HERE!" S shouted from the comlink. "Yo, you all gotta get outta there! There's multiple patrols coming!" Pompom could hear Nikku shouting on the other end, using Mommy's voice. She shouted about someone screwing something up, no doubt distracting from the fallout.
Annie got up, still in her beast mode. "Kid. You gotta go." Annie said quickly. She looked around, seeing Whitty and Carol on the ground, unmoving.
Pompom shook her head. "I need to get to S."
Now Playing...
Artist: E-Sagglia
Song: Eterna
They could hear the commotion getting louder.
"Well then this is it. Thanks kid. I hope you make it out of this." Annie said and ran to Whitty and Carol. "Yo, you two did it!!!!"
There was no response.
"Annie, leave your car, move a few blocks east, we have an IRIS extraction team. They'll pretend to catch you." Tess said.
Annie growled in response, hoisting Whitty and Carol on her shoulders she ran, demons running after her. Annie's hands were still slashed. The combination of adrenaline, fear and the liquid were powering her through the pain and blood loss. She didn't even notice her getting blood all over Whitty and Carol as she carried them away.
Pompom could feel Zardy's magic wearing off, a wave of fatigue hitting her. She had no idea where the mailroom was. Climbing out of the basement she looked around. Many of the streetlights nearby were on and she could see hellhounds from the kennel coming closer. More demons emerged many of them turning sights to Pompom.
"M-mom. I need help!" She paged through the comlink.
"Head east Pomona! One of the teams are there. Just keep focused." Tess said, her worry seeping through her words.
"Ugh." She said. Turning her sights to the cliff she ran there, trying to keep distance.
Hellhounds, large dogs with crimson red fur, black sheen and snarling teeth charged her. She fired back, hitting some dogs, though her weak mana did little to stop them. Her only benefit in running being the thick fog that concealed her from the demons. However, it did nothing to deter the hellhounds who could smell her.
She ran along the cliff, her feet carrying her as fast as they could. It was only now that she felt fear creep in, the severity of the situation finally making herself know. She tripped, nearly falling off the cliff.
A sniffle, "I want to go home." She muttered.
"Hold on-CAN SOMEONE GET POMONA!" Solazar shouted to S and Nikusa.
Knocked down, the hellhounds encircled her, growling. Back to the cliff, Pompom readied her magic, planning a spell to catch her if she needed to jump. She closed her eyes as her ears became full of the hellhound's cries, something in front of her flashing brightly. She opened them to see several of them turned to smoke, the remaining ones scattering. "It worked?" She mumbled, thinking it was her magic somehow.
Her position now given away she could hear demons running towards her.
As she got up, something grabbed her from behind, a small metal arm clutching her stomach. "Geez, talk about close. How's that for some excitement?" S said, holding Pompom as he flew off the cliff.
"Thankthankthankyou!" Pompom said ecstatically, clutching S' arm to make sure he didn't drop her.
"S-shouldn't we be going to your spot?" She asked, mind instantly thinking he was evacuating her.
"Pfft. No. Gotta make it look like you got away, than we'll double back."
"Oh. Okay!" Pompom said, relieved.
"S has her. We'll keep her in the mailroom. Think we might be able to actually cast the spell here. They look to have some intercom system." Nikusa concluded saying to Displo, Solazar and Tess.
"Fine." Tess said. "Don't let her out of your sights."
"Sure, whatever."
"How are Whitty and Carol?" Kapi asked through the comlink, a little concern in his voice.
Annie didn't reply, too busy focusing on escaping. With their comlinks incinerated Solazar couldn't tell how they were doing either.
Displo took a deep breath and rubbed his screen. The operation hadn't been going so smoothly. Mommy was sent to hell. She got looks at four of the carnival members. Nikku at least made it look like Mommy ran to the mailroom after being attacked, commanding patrols to get to the church and chase Annie. But the fact of the matter remained. Mommy would not be affected by the spell. Team Haskell would be screwed once she got back.
Displo started to think of a fallback plan. Solazar and Tess had similar thoughts, that with Mommy defeated it exposed Team Haskell. Much as Solazar didn't want to it to be, they may just have to abandon them. Tess' thought of a different solution. That someone go to hell and make Mommy forget. But alas, she didn't know anyone who could venture.
This put a wrench in things, but it was too late to stop the operation. The show must go on.
Displo looked at the map, a group of dots heading from north slowly approaching the beach. If anyone could save Annie and co it would be Updike. But that would have to come later.
Next up was Team Zig. He hoped Updike, with his professionalism would fare better. The only one on that team he was worried about was Ace, with his endless depression.
The church has been blown up!
Mommy was sent to hell!
Team Haskell has been moderately successful.
The next chapter will be called Sea Breeze.
-----------------------------------
I originally had a comment here that this was the hardest chapter to write. Lo and behold I would completely demolish that record only a few chapters later with the next next boss fight being the hardest to write in the book. More on that later.
Beta Note: I knew someone was going to fight alongside Mommy. I was considering either Gabriel from the Mandela Catalogue or Taki appear. Asked my brother and he overruled saying he really wanted Taki. Since he was practically my 'executive producer' I went with her.Though if Gabriel was picked, Carol would have instantly seen through him and went berserk instead of Annie. None of the other characters would be effected since none are religious (Updike would see-through Gabriel's facade, Theo would fall for it, or at least be slightly skeptical). Actually I don't think anyone on the team would be fooled into thinking that was the real Gabriel. Wtf would he be doing with Mommy then?!