Circle of Vengeance Boss Fight: Glimmering Shell Part 2

Winning Vote: Plan Take a Typhoon Shot

-[X] Grab a gun

--[X] Shoot them to force to close range

---[X] Set up a surprise Typhoon Beneath the Waves strike

----[X] Expand into Wind-Style aiming for eyes and sensory organs and fins

Glimmer’s always been the better martial artist between the two of you. Their capacity for learning new things has always seemed boundless to you - they absorb knowledge like a sponge, memorizing patterns and picking up facts with frankly ridiculous ease. It’s something to do with their relative youth compared to their lifespan, you think - by Deep One standards, Glimmer’s barely even an infant, even if the two of you are the same age. Whatever the reason, it’s enabled them to outcompete you at almost everything the two of you ever tried, at least in a technical sense. Glimmer’s kicked your ass many times in friendly sparring, but never had quite the stomach for violence or hard work that you did.

You snatch up a pistol from the wall behind you, the handle sliding smoothly into your palm as you level the barrel at Glimmer’s center mass. You pull the trigger and a part of you rejoices at the familiar feel of a gun kicking in your hand as the red-wreathed bullet arcs towards your once-friend.

[Glimmer attempts to dodge, DC 35: 100]

[Glimmer’s reaction to being shot at, DC 60+15 (Your Intentions Divined) to close the distance: 21]

Glimmer barely even moves, shifting their body ever so slightly out of the way. This microadjustment is all that’s needed for your shot to sail harmlessly by them, and they walk almost leisurely to a nearby table, dodging three more followup shots with similarly trivial movements - a cocked head here, a small pivot there, letting your bullets miss by mere inches. Their face is languid and unconcerned, wearing the same deadeyed expression they always get in combat, showing no sign of any emotion. It’s like fighting a gods damned statue, and is just as frustrating to witness as it’s always been.

They palm a pistol from the table and line it up with you in an eyeblink. A bloom of smoke erupts from the barrel and your body’s already moving on hard-learned instinct, twisting out of the way.

[Dodging Glimmer’s return fire, DC 35: 37]

It whizzes by you, close enough that you can feel the wind from its passage caressing your shoulder. You’re pretty sure you haven’t been hit, but don’t leave it to chance, dashing behind one of the support pillars. A few more shots whir by you as you move, none coming quite so close as that first one.

[Recognizing Intent, DC 25: 41]

They could’ve hit you, you realize as you catch your breath. You’ve competed with Glimmer often enough to recognize when they’re actually trying to accomplish something, and they had you square in their sights as they leveled that barrel at you. They could’ve shot you, but they didn’t. Why, then?

“The hells are you playing around for, fishface?” You grab another pistol and cock it, peering quickly around the sides of the pillar. You can’t see Glimmer anymore, which means they must’ve taken cover somewhere too. “Lost your nerve when you have to do the dirty work yourself?”

The reply comes from somewhere to the rear of the room, though you can’t pinpoint exactly where from. “Is it so hard to believe that I don’t like the idea of seeing my oldest friend bleed out on the floor?”

“And yet you had no trouble staying silent while I was locked away for something [i]you[/i] did,” you hiss back.

There’s no reply, and you take a moment of satisfaction in that as you plan your next move.

[Premature Round End Due to Plan Failure]

Alya Condition: Unharmed, behind cover and armed.

Glimmer Condition: Unharmed, behind cover and armed.

Situation Update: Glimmer’s seemingly unwilling to actually hurt Alya, and seems to be trying to stall long enough for the pistols to be evacuated. 4 rounds remain until they’re fully packed, assuming the gangsters doing so are left alone. ???-1 rounds until Granny Flowers' arrival.

Suggested Actions (Note - all of these will provide ‘okay’ results - alterations or write-ins are required for higher reward):

[] Fire the Help - Start to attack the gangsters taking the pistols away - this will likely force Glimmer to respond.

[] Play for Distance - There are plenty of guns available to you - engage Glimmer in a gunfight until they close the distance with you or one of you gets shot.

[] Exploit Their Softness - Reluctant to hurt you, eh? Good thing that doesn’t go both ways. Find Glimmer and get up in their face, relying on their lack of willingness to seriously hurt you to allow you to cross that gap.

[] Write-in (use one of the above as a base, or write your own)

A/N: Sometimes plans don’t go as expected, and unfortunately this was one of those times. Fortunately, you didn’t lose much except for time, and found a little more out about your opponent.

Also, Alya’s makeshift character sheet has been updated with a Snark skill of Skilled+. I feel this is suitable for, well, her. Do feel free to @ me with any questions, or ask me a question in the Discord server I have - the answers will get posted to the thread, so there’s nothing lost either way.