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[ The real fight begins! MOE’s assault flies past DOROTHY, bursting right through the walls of the cafe and distributing debris all over the food court. DOROTHY’s combat skills near-immediately kick in, narrowly avoiding most projectiles and circling around the saucer. The slippery floor isn’t helping her, especially in heels, but this guy is just another jerk to her at the end of the day. He just happens to be a particularly haughty jerk. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ Even with her limited knowledge of “modern” commodities, she could tell that all she’d have to do is take down the saucer and he’d be out. It was just a matter of how to do that. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Aw, c’mon! Momma told me I was a natural-born hunter!
[DOROTHY]: [ She jams the Galebringer into the floor, using it as an anchor so she can keep running without the risk of slipping. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ …Better idea. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ She spins around, letting go of the hilt before gripping it from behind her, and then springs upwards, performing a backflip and driving the blade into the upper part of the saucer. Still holding onto it, this makes the weight distribute unevenly, causing it to glide around and for water to spill even harder onto the ground.]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: ACK! Your delinquency is messin’ up my pretty little face, y’know that?!
[DOROTHY]: You’ve got clean teeth, but that’s all I’ll give you!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: …Hey, Gale! Heard you’re a fan of…
[ The saucer ceases its aerial mobility, it and DOROTHY falling back to the ground with very little damage sustained to either. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: TWISTERS!!
[ The saucer starts back up, though instead of returning to its flying abilities, it begins to spin around on its side like a wheel. With DOROTHY still embedded in the side of it, she’s sent ‘round and around as MOE circles the room at top speed. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ This is gonna hurt. ]
[ And so, they kept spinning, water continuing to flood the area and reaching out into the edge of the food court. The mall’s residents were beginning to glitch out and distort a little as they stepped through the water. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: And next time you mess with the bull, you’ll be gettin’ more than the HORNS!!
[ The saucer reorients itself, now spinning along the wet floor like a top. DOROTHY, lightheaded, loses grip on the Galebringer and is launched outwards into the court, crashing into a pillar. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: …What else do bulls have again? Legs? Yeah, sure. We’ll go with legs.
[DOROTHY]: [ She’s still alive, but the impact did her back no wonders. Being used to simulated environments so much made her forget that fighting in an open space like this could have real consequences. And now, without the Galebringer, she’s gotta find a way to take him down while WICKE is- ]
[???]: ALAKAZAM!!
[ WICKE, covered in dust and debris from the stores she had crashed through, leapt into action and fired off a burst of purple fire right at the saucer, knocking it back a little. ]
[WICKE]: Keep your hands off my buddy!!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: THERE you are! I figured ya booked it back home with ya hat between your ears!
[WICKE]: …Where- Where else would a hat go?
[MOE DEADLOCK]: CONFUSION! EUREKA!
[ The saucer’s firearms reemerged from underneath itself, now functioning as makeshift crab legs. The machine marched forwards out of the cafe and into the food court. The water had stopped running, MOE now projecting himself from the glass dome atop the saucer. ]
[ A claw reaches out and grabs the Galebringer from the machine’s hide, adding an extra weapon to its defenses. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: You ever seen a crab with a sword before?! THAT’S MARKETING, BABY!!
[WICKE]: I’ve been gone for less than an hour and you already followed me here! I could almost stand for it if you weren’t tryin’ to take my friend down with me!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Well, the goal is more so “take you down, then leave Ol’ No Place Like Home alive for a multi-picture deal, then get rid of her once she’s all old and unviable for acting.”
[WICKE]: AUGH! It’s all about profit for you! Did you ever even have humanity to begin with?
[MOE DEADLOCK]: You’d have’ta go graverobbin’ to find out, and I doubt you’re the kinda chick to take that chance.
[MOE DEADLOCK]: But I’m the kinda guy to take THIS chance!!
[ MOE’s mech immediately lurches forward, swinging the Galebringer down at WICKE. ]
[WICKE]: [ She summons a shield of magic over her arms to protect her, deflecting the attack ]
[DOROTHY]: [ Okay, good. She’s back. Now they gotta take him down together. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ She’s not even focused on getting the Galebringer back- she can fight without it. It’s a matter of making sure both of them get out alive. ]
[WICKE]: You couldn’t have waited a little longer?! Or, like, any other day?
[MOE DEADLOCK]: You know me- a businessman never “waits.” NOW BEGONE WITH YOUR BAD SELF! OOH!
[ Another few slashes of the Galebringer, only for them to get deflected… though not without cracks beginning to form in the spell. WICKE could see it, too. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Gonna keep ya doin’ the tango until only one of us can bother standin’! Ever taken an endurance test before?!
[WICKE]: I HAD TO TAKE GYM CLASS!!
[ WICKE drops the shield and launches a tether spell, attempting to wrap magic around one of the gun-legs to no avail. Her focus is broken by another leg kicking her back. ]
[WICKE]: AHH!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: You’re usually on top’a things. Cat got your tongue?
[WICKE]: Well, the floor’s not doin’ me any favors!
[DOROTHY]: [ …Oh. Duh. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ She begins to get up and sprint towards the mech, only to drop and slide along the ground. Instead of traveling further, she hangs onto the lazer blaster leg, her finger curling around the trigger just in time to… ]
[ BLAM!! ]
[ The mech is launched upwards, giving both of the heroines a moment to recover their balance. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: COWABUNGAAAA!!!
[DOROTHY]: Wicke! Are you alright?
[WICKE]: About as alright as I could be… What about you? You look hurt.
[DOROTHY]: Mm… Nothing I haven’t felt before. Worst it gets is having your clothes wet.
[WICKE]: Oh, my GOD, someone finally gets it! I can’t go to those water rides at theme parks, they tick me off so much!
[DOROTHY]: They have water rides at those now?
[WICKE]: Yeah, like those big log plume ones-
[ SLAM!! The mech came crashing back down to the ground, cracking the surrounding floor as water began to drain down into it. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: THINK YOU’RE SLICK, EH?!
[DOROTHY]: I take it this is a common occurrence for you?
[WICKE]: Too common. We go way back. If “way back” means five years, that is.
[DOROTHY]: How many times does he go down?
[WICKE]: Every time.
[DOROTHY]: Think we can finish him off together?
[WICKE]: You don’t even gotta ask.
[ The two immediately spring into action, WICKE using magic to launch DOROTHY on top of the mech while she tries to use low sweeping kicks and more magic tethers to put MOE in his place. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Girls, amiright, fellas?
[ The claw wielding the Galebringer lashes at DOROTHY, MOE’s holographic figure crossing his arms at DOROTHY and keeping his grin as she avoids strike after strike. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: You’rerealstubborn, ya know that?
[DOROTHY]: Tell me something I don’t know!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Oh, okay! Where we come from, there’s this cool thing called “electricity” and it powers just about everythin’ you can think of! We also got “cars” and “a stable economy.”
[DOROTHY]: Alright, I’ve heard enough.
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Ignorance is bliss!
[DOROTHY]: You’re right! GO FOR IT, WICKE!
[ WICKE takes the opportunity and grabs onto the claw arm, swinging on it like a monkey on a vine! ]
[WICKE]: You just got ignorance’d!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Aw, shhhhhhhhhoot, I should’a seen that one comin’.
[WICKE]: You mind givin’ Dorothy her sword back? You don’t seem like the kinda guy to get much use out of it.
[MOE DEADLOCK]: The New Anchor Times literally called me “the American Shogun” back in ‘13.
[WICKE]: You PAID for that shoutout and you know it!
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Still an award!
[WICKE]: How can you be that good with a sword and not realize your legs are all tied up?
[MOE DEADLOCK]: [ …He finally notices. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: WHY, I OUGHTA-!!
[WICKE]: [ She flashes the most smug grin she can possibly muster. ]
[DOROTHY]: Thanks for the opening, Wicke.
[ DOROTHY leaps over MOE’s projection and nabs the sword out of his clutches, tearing off the claw with it. The lack of a connection point on the arm causes it to go haywire, swinging WICKE every which way. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: CURSES!!
[WICKE]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
[ DOROTHY lands on the wet floor, turning her attention towards one of MOE’s gun legs- the missile launcher. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: …Oh, what? Think I’m gonna shoot ya with it? Newsflash, bumpkin, I can’t! This purple TUMOR over here already took care of the job for ya!
[WICKE]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
[DOROTHY]: Oh, no, I didn’t think that at all.
[DOROTHY]: See, a breeze from this old thing would just knock you over. It’d hurt, sure, but it wouldn’t do much. Not in the long term.
[DOROTHY]: [ She walks over to the missile launcher and drags the sword across the connectors, separating it from the mech. ]
[DOROTHY]: No. Back in Kansas, we don’t just have these.
[MOE DEADLOCK]: …
[MOE DEADLOCK]: [ Oh, sh&%. ]
[DOROTHY]: [ She walks a ways backwards, hoisting the bazooka over her shoulder and preparing to fire. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Do I at least get some final words?
[DOROTHY]: [ Her finger wrapped around the trigger. ]
[DOROTHY]: Just used them.
[ BOOM!! ]
[ In under three seconds, a hole had been torn through the saucer, smoke and sparks spewing out of it. The machine went limp and dropped WICKE to the ground, a thud echoing through the court. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!! I’M MELTING, MELTING! OH, WHAT A WORLD! WHAT A WOOOOORLD!!
[ MOE stops and gets one final look at DOROTHY, flashing one last grin. ]
[MOE DEADLOCK]: Pretty spot on, don’t’cha think?
[ And like that, the projection shut off, all remaining life in the saucer fizzling out as oil poured out onto the floor. ]
[DOROTHY]: What a loon.
[DOROTHY]: …WICKE! You alright?
[ WICKE gets off the floor, scratched up with a bevy of doves circling her head. ]
Oh, hey, did’ya beat him?
[DOROTHY]: Yeah. I figured him shutting his mouth for once would’ve been a good indicator of that.
[WICKE]: Right, yeah, that’s real.
[WICKE]: You wanna eat some more?
[DOROTHY]: Wicke, I’m facing this way.
[ WICKE was facing a pillar instead of DOROTHY. ]
[WICKE]: Oh, yeaaaaah.
[DOROTHY]: Here, let’s patch you up first… how are you gonna clear this up with FAUX and Todd?
[WICKE]: Aww, don’t worry ‘bout it. We’re fine, everything’s fine. You did good. I can reverse a lot of it with some magic. I don’t gotta tell FAUX a lick about you.
[DOROTHY]: If you say so.
[WICKE]: I did say so! It’s my treat! Promise!
[ WICKE then leans forward and falls flat on her face by accident. ]
[WICKE]: I’m all good! We’re fine!
[DOROTHY]: [ Goodness… ]