The Princess does not get involved in physical fights. She does however, smile at Gemstar.
And of course, she expects her minions to protect her with their very lives. After all, that's what minions are for, isn't it?
As the eponymous Gemstar makes her appearance Māmōn turns to face the woman and her elderly ally;
"Finally. Someone worth subjugating..."
At her bravado, the hulking demon raises a scale'd brow;
"Clowns?! Ah yes... my companions... Perhaps they appear somewhat trifling, but you will find them, like me, to be adversaries beyond your abilities child!"
As Lazarus boons him with greater strength Māmōn chuckles grimly, then rushes forward, aiming a infernal fist at the woman;
:
Crackerjack grins at the heroes, raising his arms theatrically.
"Well, well...the famous Gemstar has come to challenge me, the great Crackerjack! Unfortunately, you and Grandpa over there have met your match!"
He points his multi-tool at her, and fires a concussion blast.
Caravalle's minions are all too eager to protect her.
Nevi's bullets plink harmlessly off Gemstar's armor. It seems to be Impervious to weaker forms of damage.
The surprisingly nimble old man manages to duck and weave around the bullets headed toward him.
Māmōn's punch, on the other hand, connects with a weak point in her armor. The sheer force of the blow leaves her Staggered.
Caravelle's spell Dazes her, though this proves little after Māmōn's attack.
Despite all that, she shrugs off the concussion blast without much difficulty.
"That...all you got?" she snarls defiantly.
The old man rolls his eyes. "Your bravado is inspiring. Now..."
Suddenly, each of his shoes grow a small set of wings at the heel. He dashes forward - almost faster than you can see - and taps Gemstar's back with his staff. For the brief moment that it touches her, a pair of golden snakes appear to be coiled around it. Then he returns to his original position with the same inhuman swiftness as before.
And just like that, Gemstar's wounds are fully healed.
"Whatever...I still would've beaten them without you!"
The man shrugs. "Are you gonna keep talking, or fight?"
Gemstar answers by summoning another barrage of sapphires. They erupt from her outstretched hand, guiding themselves toward the demon in front of her.
They hit, barely.
|
Lazarus mouth hangs open when the sandals grow wings and he mutters as he continues to augment Mamons strength:
I sing of Hermes Kyllenios of Mt Kyllene, Argeiphontes the Slayer of Argus, lord of Kyllene and Arkadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the deathless gods. He was born of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, when she had made with Zeus,--a shy goddess she. Ever she avoided the throng of the blessed gods and lived in a shadowy cave, and there Kronion used to lie with the rich-tressed Nymphe at dead of night, while white-armed Hera lay bound in sweet sleep: and neither deathless god nor mortal man knew it. And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with you I have begun: Hail, Hermes, giver of grace... his only weakness that he cannot stay still long...
:
As the meta-heroines gem barrage slam home, Māmōn grunts in pain and his eyes flash a deep red;
"Bravado indeed girl. Your spritely companion has the crux of it... fight or talk?"
The hulking demon grins, then slashes at the girl with wicked claws;
"My turn..."
:
The Princess notices that one of her nails is not quite the perfect level of sheen as the others and she holds out her hand for one of the minions to buff it out as if his children's lives depended on it.
Meanwhile in unrelated news, one of the sapphires ricochets off of Māmōn's mighty horns. It flies back at the old man with deadly velocity.
Nevi sees the subsonic 10mm bounce off the girl and decides to shift her attention to the less armored old man.
Crackerjack looks at Lazarus as if he's speaking in a different language.
"You're insane, Lazarus. And that means a lot coming from me!"
Then he fires a blast at the old man.
The strange old man smiles mischievously at Lazarus. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
One of Caravelle's lackeys produces a manicure kit from seemingly nowhere, and starts working on her nails. The other two place themselves between her and Gemstar.
Gemstar isn't very nimble , but she still manages to duck away from Mamon's claws.
Her companion is less lucky - the stray sapphire hits him square in the chest, Dazing him.
"Gah! Watch where you're shooting!"
"Um, they don't normally do that..." Gemstar mumbles, confused.
The force of Crackerjack's blast is too much for the (alleged) trickster god to handle. The wings on his shoes vanish, and he falls unconscious.
"Great..." Gemstar growls. "Now I have to save him, too."
"You're gonna pay for that!" she shouts at Crackerjack, then splits her volley between (what she believes to be) the two biggest threats.
Then she clicks her heels, and a disk-shaped ruby appears under her feet. It lifts her off the ground and carries her 40 feet back.
Three years ago, one of the technicians working on a lighting fixture was both hungover and starting to get a cold. He did a lousy job and didn't secure the light. As Gemstar flies up and back, the light swings down to whack her in the back of the head.
Meanwhile, the Princess is enjoying the attention of her minion. "Do you like this color? Maybe something opalescent?"
Meanwhile, the Princess is enjoying the attention of her minion. "Do you like this color? Maybe something opalescent?"
"Well, ignoring the fact that you are a shining beacon of perfection no matter what color your nails are...I think a nice teal would really bring out your eyes!"
Crackerjack shakes his head sadly.
"So, this is what the gods are up to these days? Playing babysitter to brash young girls playing hero? Neither of you are worth our time."
He presses a button on his multi-tool and opens a portal.
"Get the diamonds into the portal. We're done here."
"Yes, NOW we're done." Nevi grumbles.
She tosses a bag of diamonds into the portal.
Māmōn's eyes flash crimson as Crackerjack orders the group to retreat;
"You do not give the orders here Crayke! Know your place mortal!"
The demon returns his baleful gaze toward Gemstar, unfurling scaled wings and rising to meet the heroine;
"We have business girl. A debt of pain to be repaid... And Māmōn shall collect!!
Māmōn rakes at Gemstar with his pitch coloured talons;
:
Gemstar is Dazed as the lamp bounces off her head. What terrible luck! Fortunately, her armor keeps her safe from Māmōn's talons.
Even so, she seems less confident all of a sudden.
"S-stay back!" she cries, sending a desperate barrage of gems at the demon.
Crackerjack sneers at Māmōn behind his back.
"Well, I can't maintain the portal and help you fight at the same time. Consider it a chance to show off your true power, O great one!"
Rather than deign to lift a finger, he builds an anti-gravity ray to move a bag into the portal at a distance.
:
In a seeming stalemate the hulking demon withstands the barrage of the bejewelled heroine.
Flashing a predatory leer Māmōn adds to Gemstar's doubt as he hovers near her;
"A fine effort girl... Alas you lack the prowess to tip these scales in your favour..."
As he speaks the damage previously wrought by her gem missiles heals
Once again Crackerjack's words cause the infernal eyes to flair in anger, yet he looks to his opponent and swoops in, claws first;
"Indeed... Our combat must end my dear... then I will deal with my prattling companion..."
:
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Gemstar's armor holds out...barely.
Her eyes widen in horror as Māmōn's wounds disappear.
"I said GO AWAY!"
The sequins on her costume suddenly start shining in dazzling multicolored patters, filling the area with blinding light.
Crackerjack shields his eyes.
Nevi has dealt with too many flashbangs to fall for something this obvious.
While her eyes have a few stars in them, they don't stop somebody that can hear light.
:
The hulking demon blinks, his baleful pupils dilating before he smiles;
"Alas for you girl I am going nowhere... until the great End of Times is upon us..."
Still blinking, Māmōn swings a lack luster back-hand at the iridescent heroine;
"It is you... Gemstar... that needs to begone!"
:
The princess will instruct her servants to take the remaining bags.
Determined to get the max payoff from this, Nevi tosses the remaining bag into the portal.
"Ok, that's everything."
Crackerjack saunters toward his portal, smiling and calling out to Gemstar. "Hey, don't blame yourself, kid! You're just not ready to deal with villains of my caliber. Take my advice: Find yourself some powerful followers, and reap the spoils of their hard work. That is, assuming Māmōn doesn't kill you right now!"
He disappears into the portal as his insane laughter echoes through the vault.
The Princess steps through the portal with an air kiss to Gemstar.
The servants look at one another as Caravalle steps through the portal.
"What do we do now?"
"We follow her and keep her safe." Jared says firmly.
"She didn't tell us to go with her..."
"She didn't tell us not to go with her!" Jared responds.
The other two look at him in awe. "Wow! You're so wise, Jared!"
Jared shrugs. "You two are new. You'll learn a lot after you've served Caravelle for several minutes. Now let's go!"
The three of them walk through the portal in unison.
Meanwhile, Gemstar easily sidesteps Māmōn's clumsy attack. Her eyes dart between the unconscious form behind her, and the portal in front of her.
"Sorry, gramps..." she whispers. And then she flies around Māmōn and into the portal.
=====================================================================
As the Princess steps out the other side of the portal, she finds herself in a quiet alleyway several blocks from the hotel. Crackerjack is standing over the loot bags with a triumphant grin.
"Once Māmōn has taken care of Gemstar, and everyone is here, I'll begin transporting us back to the mansion." he explains.
A moment later, Caravalle's three faithful servants come out of the portal...followed by Gemstar on her floating platform!
"This is as far as you go, Crackerjack!" she shouts.
As Gemstar shoots past and into the portal, Māmōn flashes a wicked smile.
The demon swoops to the ground where the prone old man lies and lifts him up by the throat;
"Tsk-tsk naive mortal... You left me the best bargaining chip possible..."
Presenting the fallen pseudo-god like a trophy, Māmōn too flies through the portal...
Nevi goes through the portal while it's still open and maintains her cloak.
Suddenly winds race through the alley to lift the Princess up above Gemstar. She looks down through the portal to see a familiar figure. "I see that Mammon has brought back a new prize." Feeling chatty, she gives out some free advice. "While he hates to give up his belongings, he is often willing to negotiate if he gets something even more valuable. Surrender and he will not be harmed further. Fight and face the consequences."
Gemstar gasps as Māmōn emerges from the portal with his hand wrapped around her ally's neck.
"I can't believe I was more worried about those diamonds than protecting him..."
She sighs. "Fine...just please let him go."
Māmōn lands still holding the old man by the throat.
As the others parley with the young woman, the demon smiles fiendishly;
"Alas child... your work is not enough. Actions show subservience..."
With his other talon hand Māmōn gestures toward the portal, before speaking in a beguiling voice;
"Go back from whence you came. Leave us to our spoils... Once you are through you will have this old relic returned before it is closed. Do this. For Māmōn wills it!"
.
Affliction 6 (Entranced, Controlled, Compelled; resisted by Will); (Extras: Increased Range [Perception] & Subtle); (Flaw: Sense Dependent [audio])
"Oooh, so... forceful"
Gemstar's eyes narrow.
"How do I know you won't just kill him after I've gone through?"
She gives Lazarus a disgusted look, but doesn't reply. She dismisses her platform and walks slowly toward the portal, giving Mamon a wide berth.
"Next time..." she mutters to herself, as she disappears into the portal.
You start to hear police sirens in the distance.
Nevi uncloaks briefly. "Let us go, before heist becomes more complicated."