Sound Of Silence

I release an exasperated sigh. It had taken a lot out of me to be cool just now, and I wasn't particularly used to that-

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!" Helix yelled amidst the rage of combat. 

"Oh yeah. You." 

The femboy was obviously more of a threat than the Canadian, which was refreshing-

"HI HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" Phlora's shrieking yell slammed into my head like a semi truck. It was such a disruption that Helix hesitated on his heel, allowing the femboy to land a clean kick to his face. Now that I thought about it, he hadn't used his katana since he first attacked. It now just hung on his BDSM belt. I scoff. Probably cause he's a fucking anime loser.

Phlora's follow-up snaps me back to attention. "Helix," She says. "Stop being stingy and fucking kill this bitch!"

"I'm not wasting my Cell on this...THING!!" He barks back into the headset. 

"The fuck is 'Cell'-"

"We don't have time to explain this right now!" Helix yells, landing a clean slash across the femboy's chest. "Look," He says. "I'll finish off this bitch, and Okoramo can go ahead. That good, Phlora?!" 

Phlora sighs like a fucking brat. "Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine."

-----------

The path ahead only got more clogged with gas- it was difficult to see even a foot in front of me. I was relying purely on Phlora's directions-

"Left!"

I turn left only to slam into a wall. As you can see, her directions are very frequently incorrect. I continue to advance, however. The sooner I escape this facility, the sooner I escape Phlora. 

"Okaaay!" Phlora says enthusiastically. "The Terminal is just up ahead! Please pause for temporary data relay!"

"Data relay-"

In a blinding flash from within my brain, an influx of data is shoved into it.

Great_One

Attribute> Incessance/Twitch

Input [Null]

External: Influence> Cause [N/A]

Self Influx: [N/A]

I hold my now searing head in my hands, pain rippling through me. "What the hell was that??!!" Phlora sighs in impatience. "Wimp."

"I FEEL LIKE MY HEAD IS GONNA EXPLODE-"

"Have you tried simply...getting good?"

"JUST FUCKING EXPLAIN WHY MY BRAIN FEELS LIKE A FUCKING... SOMETHING THAT EXPLODES!!"

"Okay, okay..."

Fuckin' hate that bitch.

"That was a digital stat sheet of information that we have on the Great One. None have actually seen her physical form, but her 'influence' is what makes her dangerous, which is why we've dubbed her twitch as such. Manifesting as a sort of black ooze, her essence can be found nearly all throughout Tenma. The general population isn't aware of this, but upon contact with this sludge, or the spores that it secretes, you have subconsciously fallen under her influence. It isn't the kind of 'Mind Control' That you're probably thinking of, though. She can simply inflict EXTREME urges to do as she wishes. We've dubbed this chemical: S. I . M. P, or, Supernatural Influential Mental Pestilence."

I nod. It was sort of confusing, but it seemed simple enough to defend against in combat. I raise my hand into the air, before snapping it shut, a surge of electricity forming a fluctuating blade of red energy. 

"Oh!" She says. "One last thing."

"Yeah?"

"This is all fundamentally experimental and theoretical. We sill haven't witnessed the Great One herself utilizing this power IN PERSON. If you fight carefully, though, you should be okay. Enshi shouldn't be even remotely close to this side of the facility, so as long as he shows up, you're good."

"Aight." I say. "Now leave me the fuck alone.

------

She had told me to just continue advancing forward, and that "I would know" when I should stop. And I have to say- she wasn't wrong. Looming in front of me was a gargantuan metallic gate. It was comprised of a metal that I couldn't quite identify, a sort of bronze, with turquoise energy pumping through the exposed cracks. It wasn't so much of a gate as a large, mechanical block of metal, with various gears and functions running through it.

It was obvious that NOBODY was supposed to cross this threshold. I smile nervously. It's now or never, I guess. I close my eyes- and concentrate. In a flash, Tamajutsu spurred to life around my blade, swirling and immolating in purple flames. 

Not enough.

I feel my body strain as I pool all of my soul to one point- and in a resounding explosion of heat, the flames burst to life in a display of azure sparks. As I open my eyes, they crackle with the sparks of Tamajutsu. 

I holster my blade, positioning it at my side. 

"Discord."

The air itself seemed to combust with electricity upon the force of the activation. Streaks of black electricity arc across the corridor, a crater left in the wake of the blast of my awakening. 

Exhaling a breath of crackling electricity, I grit my teeth, and swing the sword. 

What happened next couldn't even be described as a slash- it was akin to the detonation of a nuclear bomb. As the blade made contact with the gate, it simply ceased to be. There was a moment of silence, before, in an electric blaze, it exploded in a shower of spark and flame.

I look down at the blade in surprise.

"Huh."

I had never used blue Tamajutsu in tandem with my Twitch, and it was proving to be rather effective.

I take a moment to compose myself, rolling my shoulders, stretching my legs. All I have to do is not get hit by that sludge shit. I grin. Taking a deep breath, I step into the terminal. 

The best word I could use to describe the terminal was futuristic. I guess all of Tenma had seemed "advanced" at least, but this was a whole new level. Walls of pristine tungsten lined with various lettering and mechanisms, pulsating with some sort of glowing energy. Strewn about, were large, metal cages, obviously used for the transportation of prisoners- which is probably the only reason the even had the monorail connection in the first place. 

But none of that mattered.

Sitting atop a sky-piercing, metal throne...was the Great One.