With her steps louder than necessary, Jinx strolled through a dark alleyway.
Jinx: Jeez. This place is a dump. Didn't even get to fight.
She kicks an empty can down the alley, watching it clatter off a brick wall. Her ponytails bounce as she spins lazily on her heel. That's when a voice cuts through the silence.
Noire: Hold it crazy!
Jinx pauses mid-spin. Her head turns slightly, but not enough to show concern. From the shadows, Noire steps forward, with her sword drawn, and voice of someone trying very hard to sound intimidating follows.
Noire: That thing in your pocket.
Jinx: Hmm?
Noire: I knew it! A share crystal. Hand it over.
Jinx: … Nah.
Noire: No??? I said hand it over.
Jinx: Chillax. It's as safe as it can be with a Star Guardian.
Noire: Tch. You're one of those.
Jinx: Pfft. You say it like it's a bad thing.
She starts walking again, casually brushing past Noire- just enough to disrespect her, as Jinx had her back now exposed without a care in the world.
Jinx: Lux said not to pick any more fights. And as much as I'd love to blow your weird anime brains out right now…
She pauses, just at the edge of the alley, turning her head slightly over her shoulder.
Jinx: I've got a mission. So screw off, short stuff.
Noire's fingers grip around the hilt as her entire body coils with wrath. Then she explodes forward, slicing through the dim light, aiming for Jinx's back, every ounce of her power focused on a single, decisive strike.
And yet, the Star Guardian manages to duck.
Jinx: I guess we're doing this the fun way!
FIGHT!
She retracts back and slashes wildly at Jinx, who sidesteps her swings with relative ease.
Jinx: Hahahaha! Are you even trying?
She ducks one more swing and kicks her back.
Noire grits her teeth. She darts forward, sword flashing in a brutal upward arc but again, Jinx flips over her, landing light on her toes like a cartoon ballerina.
Jinx (mocking): Missed me~!
Noire snarls.
Noire: Stay still, you idiot!
She lashes out with a flurry of swings, carving glowing trails through the dim light. Jinx, laughing, starts dodging them with her eyes closed, as if choreographing a dance she's performed a thousand times.
Jinx: As if you'd even hit me then-HUGGGGH!
Noire suddenly spins low and delivers a vicious roundhouse elbow right into Jinx's gut. The blow lands with a sickening thud, folding her like paper around her joint and launching her backwards through a tough fire escape.
Metal screeches. Glass shatters. Jinx smashes through the stairwell and tumbles out into the neon-drenched street below. She rolls across the pavement, then kicks into a recovery, landing hard on one knee.
She wheezes, feeling the deep sting in her stomach, then breaks into a breathless, delighted laugh.
Her eyes gleam with wild joy as she launches herself into the air. The twin weapons Kuro and Shiro shoot out from behind her shoulders like wings, glowing and primed. The former glowing a violet black, as the latter spins into its signature mini-gun form.
Jinx: Time to play keep-away, princess~!
She blasts upward, boots flaring with a trail of sparkling stardust. Hovering high above the street, she takes aim with Shiro and opens fire. From above, she opens fire as a barrage of hot pink bolts scream down like meteors.
[Noire dashes between cover, blade flashing like a silver comet as she deflects several bolts mid-charge. But one crashes just behind her, blasting her off her feet and slamming her into the side of a parked car. The vehicle crumples with a shriek of steel.
Jinx: Oh no! Somebody call a mechanic!
As Noire grits her teeth and forces herself back up, Jinx twirls sideways midair and lobs a sparkling cluster grenade. It arcs beautifully before splitting apart into tiny, star-shaped micro-blasts scattering like confetti.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Jinx: And one more for the crowd!
Kuro charges with a low hum, and Jinx fires a compact orb of volatile purple energy from its tip. It surges downward, warping the air around it before erupting in a violet blast that collapses the building behind her.
Storefronts explode as neon signs flicker and shatter. Dust and smoke consume the block, and Jinx floats effortlessly above it all, spinning upside-down as if she's hanging from the her bed.
Jinx: You're so cute when your body is mangled! Ha-
Then, CLANG!. Noire launches from the rubble with a fierce upward strike, eyes locked on her airborne foe.
Noire: Drop Crush!
Jinx doesn't even get a moment to react. The swing cuts upward, but instead of sending her higher, it slams her downward like gravity just flipped inside out. She's hurled toward the ground at terminal velocity, her body a streak of falling starlight.
[Noire dives after her, sword igniting with a deep crimson flame. She spins and flips, before slamming into Jinx mid-fall, bashing past her defenses.
Noir: Volcano Dive!
CRASH!
A small dust cloud parts way, as Jinx lies, dazed on the ground.
Noire: Hmph. I didn't even have to try there!
Jinx grunts, pain blooming across her side, but her grin only widens.
Jinx: Hey! I'm the one who gloats here!
With a twist of her wrist, she produces a concealed arm blaster. A pulse of pink energy bursts from it point-blank, slamming into Noire's side and lighting up with a surge of electricity so potent, we see only Noire's nerves.
Before she can recover, Kuro kicks in again. Jinx spins and fires an energy rocket point-blank into Noire's torso, hurling her farther back, until she uses her sword to halt her momentum.
But when Noire opens her eyes…
click. click. click.
She's surrounded by Flame Chompers.
Jinx: Fire away!
They explode in quick succession before Noire can leap clear. The alley lights up in a chain of fiery blasts. When the smoke clears, Noire is bloodied, clutching her shoulder, gasping.
Not wanting to waste her advantage, Jinx swoops down, raining bullets from Shiro, the pink flashes lighting up the night. Noire tries to move, but Jinx twirls midair and kicks her straight in the gut, sending her crashing across the street.
She slams into a wall as her sword clatters beside her.
Jinx: I think we got her dead to rights. Waddya say, guys?
Kuro and Shiro whir and chirp in giddy agreement.
Jinx: Then let's keep it up!
She pulls the trigger. A fresh stream of hot pink blasts slam into Noire, leaving the wall scorched and steaming.
Jinx: Wowie. You're a tough cookie, huh?
Noire: Shut it… or I'll kill you harder than I would've before.
Jinx: You're not exactly in a position to bark orders, anime girl.
She pulls something from her pocket, the share crystal, and twirls it casually between two fingers.
Jinx: All this trouble for this thing? Just might be worth my while.
Noire's eyes widen. She blinks, slowly, then her hand twitches, reaching into her own pocket. She pulls out another crystal of her own.
Jinx's expression twists quickly. She glances at the crystal in her hand… then at Noire's.
Jinx: Wait… you had one the whole time?
Noir: I'm not a lunatic. Never leave my house without it.
She holds it closer to her heart. Then speaks a bit colder.
Noire: You should've finished me when you had the chance.
And the sky flared!
A pulse of raw energy explodes outward, knocking Jinx off her feet.
She looks up as a pillar of light rises into the heavens, climbing higher than the eye can follow.
Jinx: Ooooooh...
From within the light, Noire begins to ascend, her body engulfed in crackling cobalt energy. Armor plates snap onto her limbs and a brilliant pair of translucent wings burst forth/
She becomes something more. Something divine.
She becomes... Black Heart.
Noire: I'll show you the power of a goddess.
Jinx, who didn't hear that, is busy pressing the crystal to her heart as well.
Jinx: Why the hell won't this thing come on?
Before Jinx even has a chance to look up, Noire closes the gap in a heartbeat. Her blade smashes into Jinx's side with bone-shaking force, and before our Star Guardian can scream, she's hoisted aloft like a meteor in Noire's grasp. The city below shrinks into a patchwork of neon and smoke as they burst through rooftops, past satellites, and into the blackness of space, twin firebrands rocketing away from Earth.
Noire: There!
But Noire only tightens her grip, her HDD aura crackling cobalt light across the void. With a bronze-hard yank, she hauls Jinx by the hair and swings her around, before hurling her headlong toward the searing blaze of the sun.
Jinx: C-Come on, guys! Time for Operation: Don't-Melt!
In an instant, Kuro folds outward into a sleek jetpack, before igniting it's thrusters. Shiro morphs into twin rocket boosters. Together, they latch onto Jinx's back and she's able to hurtle back from the solar inferno, trailing a comet's tail of pink stardust.
Fueled by desperation and her crackling gear, Jinx rockets straight toward her opponent. That is, until said opponent teleports above her and spikes her downwards.
Noire: Are you kidding? This is the best you can do?
After flailing alot, Jinx, flips back to regain composure, but Noire teleports again, feints he hit, before teleporting right behind her at the last second.
Noir: Torneraid Sword!
Her sword glows a multitude of colours as she thrusts it in her general direction, sending Jinx flying again, this time straight into an asteroid field, where she slams on the nearest one.
In a blink of light, Noire teleports onto a nearby asteroid. The vacuum of space surrounds her, littered with debris and celestial bodies. Without hesitation, she springs forward, hopping across the drifting asteroids like stepping stones in midair, each movement surging with divine precision.
Far behind, Jinx hovers with her usual chaotic grin, though it's slightly faltering now.
Jinx: This wasn't in the job description.
She groans dramatically, but raises her hand without skipping a beat, and Kuro transforms into a sleek black sword, glowing with purple energy. Shiro shifts and latches onto the sword's top, morphing into a mounted gun, now forming a hybrid weapon.
Noire spots her from across the cosmic battlefield. Her own sword ignites in flame. She leaps.
Noire: Volcanic Crash!
She barrels toward Jinx like a blazing comet, blade poised to strike. But Jinx doesn't flinch.
Jinx: Bet you haven't seen this one before!
Just before impact, Shiro's gun component slides forward over the sword's tip, forming a double-barrel cannon. She pulls the trigger.
BANG!!
Twin energy blasts fire directly into Noire's face mid-charge. The impact halts her momentum with a concussive blast, sending her flailing backwards through zero-gravity. But she's not out.
Noire recovers instantly, just in time for Jinx to zip forward, slashing past her with a wide. The moment the blade scrapes armour, Jinx pivots, the upper portion of her weapon shifting into a rapid-fire pistol, landing two follow-up shots mid-spin.
Noire blocks with the flat of her blade. They dart at each other again, blades clashing faster than the eye can follow, streaking between asteroids in bursts of kinetic light.
Up until Noire teleports behind her, then reappears in front of her before Jinx (Who had transformed Shiro into a mace for a wild swing) can even react. A swift kick sends Jinx spiralling.
Noire: Tornado Chain!
Her voice echoes out, before she snaps her fingers, and out of nowhere, slashing winds erupt around Jinx, cutting into her from all sides. It's like the attack landed in the past, delayed until now. She teleports right in front of her and delivers a firery bash, as the final hit slams her into a nearby asteroid with explosive force.
Jinx hits the rock hard. But she's already laughing.
From above, Noire appears again in a flash, sword raised.
Noire: Try dodging this!
She dives down, attempting a falling stab, but Jinx rolls aside at the last second, the blade impaling deep into the asteroid's surface.
Jinx retaliates fast.
ZAP!
Another pistol blast shocks Noire mid-recovery. As the goddess recoils, Jinx steps forward, lifting the blade again. This time, Kuro morphs, the barrel expanding into a short-range cannon.
Jinx: Bang!
The energy ball detonates point-blank against Noire's face, sending her staggering across the asteroid, armor cracked and sparking. But she doesn't fall.
Instead, Jinx blitzes forward, faster than expected, sweeping her blade upward in a crushing bash, then fires again at close range.
Noire crashes back, sliding across the rocky surface, barely staying on her feet. She clenches her fists, panting, and teleports away again.
Noire: Damnit...
Jinx: Huh? Where'd all that big goddess energy go?
Noire: Stop teasing me! It's not like I'm really being serious here!
Jinx: Aw, don't make yourself cry! That's my job!
She breaks into hysterical laughter.
Shiro glows brightly, morphing into a colossal mini-gun, nearly as big as Jinx herself. Kuro fuses with it again, this time forming a rocket launcher mounted on top.
Jinx: Alright, anime girl! CATCH THIS!!
She yanks the trigger with manic glee. A barrage of bright energy bullets burst from her colossal hybrid weapon, screaming across the broken battlefield in Pink colours. They slice through the void, tearing through asteroids, scattering debris in glowing shrapnel, and closing in on Noire like a techno-colored storm.
Noire darts through the chaos as she teleports between foreground and background like a living glitch. Her blade cleaves through any bolt that dares graze her. For a moment, she almost seems untouchable, until the cannon shifts modes.
Jinx: Oh-ho-ho! What's wrong? Can't keep up?
The rocket launcher mounted atop the minigun hisses, then unleashes a rapid-fire cluster of glowing missiles, swarming like angry wasps. They burst mid-air, painting explosions across the battlefield in pink, purple, and white. Noire stumbles as a few impact near her, forcing her to conjure a shimmering barrier just in time. But it strains against the continuous assault of miniature comets.
Noire: Ghh- enough of this!
But Jinx isn't done.
With a satisfied cackle, she slams her weapon together. They lock together with a burst of purple-white light, transforming into a single colossal cannon.
Jinx: Double Hatter!!
She pulls the trigger.
A single, massive blast roars to life, pure red energy, compressed into the shape of a blazing phoenix. Its wings stretch wide as it shrieks across the void, swallowing asteroids in its path and leaving behind a scorched trail of vaporized space. The very stars seem to dim in its presence.
Noire's eyes widen.
Noire: No...!
She braces, pushing forward against the hailstorm of light and sound, her armour crackling, her blade trembling against her will in her grip. She roars and thrusts her crystal into the air, and the space around it intensifies until light itself seems to fold inwards.
A ripple tears through space.
The stars vanish.
Everything turns black.
Jinx's grin widens as the phoenix blazes toward her foe…only to watch it dissolve in midair, disintegrating into motes of nothingness. The sharing field swallows the attack whole, leaving nothing but silence and empty darkness.
Jinx floats in the void, blinking.
Jinx: Okay. That's new.
Around her, the void lies silent, the only sound her ragged breathing and the faint hum of her mega-cannon reconfiguring back into Kuro and Shiro, who sqeak in confusion. She tilts her head, surveying the oppressive darkness that clings to Noire like a cloak.
Jinx: Looks like the party's just getting started…
Noire: Actually… it's already ended.
The voice doesn't echo. It doesn't need to. It comes from everywhere and nowhere, laced with quiet certainty, drifting across the nothing like oil on water.
Jinx whips Shiro's barrel around, scanning the dark, twisting to find the source. Nothing. Just void.
Noire: I could be anywhere. A whisper behind your ear… a shadow in your peripheral…
A pause.
Noire: …Even… here.
Jinx's body jolts as she spins left, only more black. Then instinct kicks in, she twists behind just in time to see Noire…
Too late.
A spiraling beam of golden light explodes upward beneath her, engulfing her with searing force. Her scream cuts through the void as both Kuro and Shiro are obliterated in a burst of golden energy.
Jinx crashes down hard, coughing, knees skidding against the phantom floor of the void. Her knuckles bleed as she slams her fist into it, furious, breathless.
Noire: An impressive effort. Wild, unpredictable… but ultimately outmatched. Much to be expected against a goddess like me.
Jinx: Want… a medal asshole?
She swings her sword in her direction.
Noire: I'd rather you hand over the crystal, and beg for forgiveness.
Jinx: Go to hell.
Her form blurs into a streak of light, vanishing and reappearing around Jinx in a dizzying pattern. Each reappearance is marked by a swift, precise cut, cutting through the vacuum of space with blinding speed. The sheer velocity and frequency of her strikes create the illusion of multiple Noires assaulting Jinx from every angle.
Noire: Infinite. SLASH!
The culmination of the attack is a powerful, explosive slash that sends shockwaves through the nothingness around it, a blast so potent, it creates a hole of space, just enough to see the stars again.
Jinx is gone.
Where she stood, only fragments of pink stardust linger, swirling gently in the airless black. The Share Crystal lies among them, beating softly.
Noire lands silently beside it, lifts it in one hand. It glows against the emptiness. She exhales slowly, and wearily.
Noire: …One down.
She turns and walks closer to the Hole.
Noire: Hope you were right, Neptune.
KO!