All of the fighting came to a sudden halt. Fighters from Fujiko’s side and some of the wounded, alive Kotka were watching in anticipation, waiting for either woman to make a move. Still, all Fujiko and Lucerna did was eye each other from across the way, pacing slowly. Lucerna quickly unsheathes two knives and holds them in her hands. She quickly notices the detail of Fujiko’s ear twitching upon her sudden movement.

After a few seconds, Fujiko offers the young Kotka a smile. 

“Hmph, I can tell you’re probably the best fighter out of all these sorry sacks of trash. Maybe you can provide at least a morsel of entertainment so I’m not starved” 

“I’m not here to entertain you, Fujiko,” Lucerna spat. “I’m here to kick you out, even kill you if I have to. You’re not only a threat to my people, but a threat to Ziemia. The world would be a better place if you up and died.” 

“Oh my,” she chuckles a bit. “Thank you for the compliment. I really appreciate a bit of playful banter before getting into the meat of the action.”

Fujiko holds her sword to her side and takes the stance of a swordswoman. Her footing is precise and the way she holds her blade is immaculate, the work and art of someone well-experienced with their weapon. Lucerna grips her knives tighter. 

“Try to make this entertaining for me,” Fujiko giggled. 

Lucerna looks to the side and sees the bodies of fallen Kotka before her. She grinds her teeth. 

“Is everything a game to you?” 

A sinister smile boasts Fujiko’s white teeth. Her wide eyes give off a maniacal aura that partially stuns Lucerna. 

“No… but maybe this will be a fun one!”

Both women engage in combat at the same time, closing the distance in a single bound. Lucerna uses both of her knives to slash at Fujiko, but Fujiko blocks the attacks. Lucerna struggles to hold her ground with the tall woman as the bunny looks down with an evil grin. Before Fujiko could pierce Lucerna’s defenses, Lucerna leaps backward, and crouches. She stands on her two feet, and both women hold their arms in front of them. The fight has begun. 

Fujiko and Lucerna pace the floor from side to side, eyeing each other’s movements while gradually getting close to each other. Again, they dive at each other’s throats.

Schwing! Schwing! Ching! Schwong! Schwing! Tick! 

The women exchange a storm of slashes, cuts, and stabs with each other. But at the moment, both of them were rather adept in their agility, dodging each other’s attacks at the last moment. Already, Lucerna was able to see her skill up front. 

Amazing… For a woman of her height and weight she moves with speeds similar to mine… maybe even faster! This could be bad if I don’t find a way to finish this fast.

All the while, during her thoughts, Lucerna was forced on the defensive, now blocking the array of cuts from the fencer. As metal collides against metal, Fujiko could feel herself heating up. She felt the flow of battle course through her veins, pumping fast through her heart, heating her body, blood running through her veins; and amid her battle, she could not help but grin. 

Not bad, Kotka! I don’t know what kind of training you’ve had, but you’re a really nice warmup!

CLING!

Fujiko knocks out one of Lucerna’s knives from her hand. She reels her arm back and goes for a fast thrust. The tip of her rapier shines against the sun whose rays pierce past the overhead clouds. In the nick of time, Lucerna leaps into the air and lands atop her sword, balancing one foot against the tip of the blade. Both women are left surprised but quickly find their bearings. Fujiko goes to slash upward while Lucerna stands on her weapon, but Lucerna leaps far back. Immediately, Fujiko takes a step back, holds her arms back, and darts forward like an arrow. Lucerna’s eyes widen as she is shocked to see her close the gap so fast. 

She’s fast!

The Kotka holds her knife up and carefully blocks the attack. It sends her feet skidding across the ground and heading toward the outdoor restaurant. Lucerna crashes into one of the tables that still stood from the encounter previous, and flips back and over on the other side. 

Lucerna falls flat on her butt but swiftly picks herself up, looking up and past the table to see Fujiko several steps away from the two. In a panic, Lucerna picks up the table and holds it in front of her face as a shield. 

“HYAH! HYAH! ARGH! AAAH!”

Fujiko bellows heartfelt battle cries as she thrusts her rapier through the table. 

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! 

Comically, Lucerna can somehow dodge her attacks; the tip of Fujiko’s sword barely clips some strands of Lucerna’s hair as the young woman winces with each attack nearly piercing her head. 

The moment Fujiko tries to go for another stab, Lucerna tries to pull the table back and drag Fujiko’s weapon along with it. Fujiko pulls back in the nick of time and then sees a table flying right at her. She is shocked for a moment, but swings her arms upward, slashing the table in half and sending the debris flying backward. When she looks past that, she now sees Lucerna lunging at her with a plastic white chair. 

Fujiko jumps back, but Lucerna hangs onto the chair, still swinging. 

Fujiko’s men are cheering her on from the sideline. 

“Go Fujiko!”

“Go Ma’am!”

“You got this!”

Fujiko turns her attention to the side for a brief moment. 

“SHUT UP!”

Her shout silences her men.

Twitch

The twitch of her ear warns her of an incoming attack. But when she turns her attention back to Lucerna, her eyes are met with a faceful of chair. 

BAM

Lucerna went for another swing, and was successful, hitting Fujiko atop the head with the plastic chair. The chair shatters against her skull, although it only inflicts minor damage. Lucerna is shocked she landed a hit, however, she can feel a sinister aura oozing from the tall woman. The hairs on her body stand up, and her instinct forces her to jump back. Even the henchmen are murmuring to each other over the verbal interference.

“Y-you shouldn’t have said that mate.”

“Yeah, you really shouldn’t’ve.”

“After she kills her you know she’s going to kill you, right?” 

“Kill me?! What did I do?!”

Fujiko stands on her two feet, grinding her teeth.  

“You runt…!” 

An anxious Lucerna grabs her knife, holding it close to her chest. 

“What’s wrong, Fuji?” Lucerna asked with a cocky smirk. “Kotka’s got your tongue?”

“Not at all…” She exhales greatly. “In fact, I’ll have yours and riddle your body with holes before the day is over. Enjoy your last day in this realm, Kotka!” 

Lucerna grips her knife tightly. She wipes the sweat from her brow and steels herself for round two.  

Meanwhile, atop the hill of Miasto, Rhea barges into Row’s room. He was finalizing preparations for the shifting arm before the barging of his door broke his concentration. 

“Row!” 

Rhea hurries toward Row in a slight panic. Row drops his tools on the table. 

“Urgh! Not now, Rhea,” he exclaims without turning his head. “I’m not done with my project yet! Can you leave?” 

“Screw that! Listen to me! I think Lucerna is in deep trouble! Some group called the Fujiko Gang’s here and Lucerna went to fight them!” 

Row turns silent. His body is motionless. His head turns gradually to face Rhea. As she gets a clearer picture of him, she can see the light from Row’s eyes disappear; she could even feel a tinge of bloodlust emanating from him, causing Rhea to calm herself and approach further conversation with caution. 

“The Fujiko Gang…?” Row repeated. 

“Y-...yeah…” Rhea answered, uneasy. “The Fujiko Gang is here. Lucerna just ran off to fight them.”

“She went by herself…?!”

“I-is there a problem?” 

“Yes, there is a massive problem!” Row suddenly gets angry. “The Fujiko Gang is responsible for the murder of my mother!” 

Rhea’s eyes widen. She places a hand near her chest. 

“O-oh! I had no idea!” 

Row winces. 

“I don’t like talking about it… but I never thought they’d come back now all of a sudden…”  

“Lucerna told me to come back to your spot and lay low till she comes back, but screw that! I want to go back down there and help her! So I was wondering if the weapon you were working on is functional.” 

“Absolutely!”  

Row lifts the Shifting Arm off of the table. It's shimmering, and now holds the red sprite gem in one of its slots. 

“Here it is.”

“Awesome! Can I use it?” 

“I’m sorry Rhea, this is my fight. I can’t let you wield a shifting arm like this.”

Rhea puts her hand on her hip. 

“Do you know how to use it yourself?” 

“Hm… admittedly, no, however, I have an inkling of an idea how it will function, so I’m likely the best suited to use it. Besides, we can’t waste any more time talking here, Lu needs our help, and the Fujiko gang needs to be buried!” 

Rhea makes her way to the door. 

“Alright then, c’mon!”  

Rhea and Row run out of his home and make haste down the hill, hoping to intercept the battle and save their friend.