UmaxHSR: Meisho Doto: THE NEWEST MOLE!? (10k words, Comedy, Action, very light shipping)
As always, the Ao3 link first if you want to go check it out there! Now on with the story.
(These first two lines are literally from the last event of Doto’s New Year’s Support card if you get the less powerful buffs from it and are the inspiration for this whole thing)
“Get her, comrades! We’re taking Doto with us!”
“Eeeek! Where are you taking meeee?!”
Heads turned from the yelling but there was no cause for alarm as the awkward uma musume was carried away by the three children. After all, Meisho Doto was a G1 winner. She was seen as just as strong, if not potentially stronger, than even the Centurial Overlord who reigned over this era of racing. Even those who found reason to pause looked to the small, pink haired uma that had arrived with Doto for the meet and greet but Urara merely waved merrily to her friend and told her to have fun! If even her friend was unconcerned about Doto’s plight, what worry was there really to be had?
And then Doto didn’t show up to school tomorrow.
Pal Card: Hook (The Moles Welcome You)
Event 1: Ack! Look at this Mess!
A man with blue hair stepped out from behind Belobog’s Fight Club. Amongst the town of stone and steel, where beams of wrought iron hung above the heads of those who walked along the streets and the tallest buildings were still dwarfed by mountains of rock that were mined for their resources, this humble building was the most ostentatious of them all. It was an indictment of the town’s poverty that a touch of neon and a chain of lights was notable, let alone for a place to prove your power and make a bit of coin by doing so. Not that any denizen of this Underworld would treat it as anything but a welcome sight as it was also where one ran off to to forget the pains of the mines as they enjoyed a bit of entertainment and good fun.
Right behind him, shouting, “Sampo! Can’t we stay a little longer? Their sweets were so good,” was a child clad in a heavy, fur lined jacket and with matching, brown hat that was bigger than her own head. The buttons on the front of the hat could remind one of a teddy bear and she was cute enough to give any stuffed plush a run for her money. Her tiny legs struggled to keep up with the fool of a man who led the way and yet her persistence pushed her onwards to get in his way as she shouted, “Our new trainee Doto isn’t going to have money for treats here!”
Sampo chuckled as the rest of the members of the infamous gang of the Underworld, The Moles, scurried out from the smile shaped hole that Sampo had led them to. Amongst their ranks was the girl who kind of carried Doto, or more accurately her guardian who did so, a ten foot tall mechanical giant. His large, purple metal plates and singular, glowing red eye gave him an intimidating aura that was hard contrasted by the tiny, shoeless, white haired child that was fretting so much as she caught up to her ‘leader’. “W-wait, was I actually supposed to bring her? I kind of got swept up in everything.”
“But of course!” Hook stood proudly with her declaration, like kidnapping someone was totally normal. “After how far she went for me, she deserves the greatest honor Hook can bestow upon someone and what greater triumph is there then to join the illustrious Moles?”
The large robot looked down for a moment before saying, “The unidentified creature known as Meisho Doto has shown no signs of resistance and minimal requests of direction. Given her performance during the game and her actions now, I believe there is a sixty seven percent chance that if presented with Miss Clara’s ‘super pleading power eyes’ as named by Hook, she would have complied.”
Clara slumped her shoulders a little as she covered her eyes, having used them too many times times for evil. She then couldn’t help but giggle a little before saying, “That’s even lower than your odds, Mister Svarog.”
Svarog could not breathe and yet his sigh was audible. “I am aware.”
However, it was finally time for their newest member to speak up. Her thin but tall brown ears were folded down, almost touching her curly bob of oaken hair. She looked over her shoulder, her kitten mouth sucked in pensively as she held up a clenched hand to her chest. She still did not try to escape Svarog’s shoulder but she did warble out, “Um, uh, not that I mind spending a little time with you but where are we and how do I get home? I have a race with Opera in a week and I can’t miss training. I’m enough of a screw up without getting lost like this.”
Hook’s eyes sparkled for a moment before she bounced a little in place. “Oooo. Racing is what you’re all good at, right? I bet Sampo will bring us all to cheer you on! After all, the Moles support one another and what better way to see if our trainee can earn her position than watching her do what she does best?” She then turned around and said, “Sampo, you can take us through your funny corridor…”
Hook was sadly left without words as she realized Mister Cold Feet had lived up to his name and vanished on them while their attention was elsewhere. With no other options available to them, it was decided that they’d get some lunch in the Fight Club and figure out their next move. Though much more importantly, get some lunch.
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Tokino Minoru’s training!
+12 guts
+12 power
-5 Wit
Team Card: Wildfire and Ice
Event 1: Advance Surveying (Lynx)
A teenage girl blinked in disbelief at what she saw before her. The wreckage of some sort of vessel sat scattered across the large, barren snowfield far from Belobog, the final city of Jarilo VI, the far off planet that had been for so long forgotten by the galactic community. There had been change in that of late but not enough to lead to random spacefarers to find their way here, correct? No matter what, it was her duty as a member of the Silvermane Guard, the elite protectors of Belobog, to investigate. It would be of even more importance for a wildlife investigator like her if any foreign fauna had survive the wreckage too, which more excited the young woman than was a cause for concern.
At least, until something stirred. With a tattered cloak, a humanoid figure rose from the burning wreck. The smoke and ash produced by the flames coated her, shrouding her in darkness, allowing for only a silhouette to be seen clearly. That shadow presented itself in regal garb, complete with a crown and two, long stout ears on the top of their head. Slowly, one of its arms raised itself towards Lynx while her other hand placed itself on the specter’s chest. It was enough to get Lynx to activate her far range radio, just in case Belobog needed to hear whatever this thing had to say for its first contact with them.
“I am your overlord! Your greatest enemy and brightest sun! While this may shake you to your core, you have no reason to fear. I only come to claim that which is mine and add another page to my epic. You may stand in my way, continue to earn my ire but know that you only add to my glory in doing so. So come, I accept all challengers but know that nothing may stop me from reclaiming my knight and seeing this day through victorious!”
Lynx blinked a few times in honest disbelief. What were they on about? Was that a declaration of war? Where was their army then? And yet, she could dismiss the words either. Not as she met the violet eyes that looked straight through her soul. That indeed seemed to see her like nothing but another member of the audience.
Her indifference to Lynx was only made more clear when after a brief stumble, this overlord took off like a bullet, racing straight past her and toward Belobog. Straight towards those who were not to take such a challenge lightly. Not when they were too small to have nothing to fear from a self proclaimed warlord from the depths of space.
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Northern Taste’s training!
+2 Skill Hints to Lay Low
Pal Card: Hook (The Moles Welcome You)
Event 2: Boom! Here Comes the Fire!
“Ah, y-ou got some grease on your face, Pitch Dark Hook the Great.” Doto reached into the bag at her side. It was a good sized, brown purse with a large wax stamp that kept a bright red and gold ribbin in place, centered and surrounded by gold trim at the edges. It was filled with a variety of things from bandages to a sewing kit to even emergency snacks. Whatever her poor skills might demand of her so as to fix a mess she’d made.
Not that she had made one now. No, her racewear was pristine, despite a pure white dress shirt and gloves having to handle the grime and dirt of the Fight Club, let alone the fact that Belobog Sausages were well known for how juicy they could be. That latter fact was exactly why Hook’s face was a mess and Doto held up a handkerchief. “Would you like some help?”
Hook shook her head before slamming her face into the sea of light blue that was Doto’s wide skirt that came down to her knees. She quickly rubbed her face back and forth before saying, “Got it! And without you getting all fussy like the witch always does when she needs to clean my face.” She then paused for a moment though before beaming at Doto. “I guess you could have been like big sis Seele though and just thrown it at my face!”
Doto giggled a little bit as she didn’t flinch from the child’s hijinks. She might not be a dirt runner but that didn’t stop rain on turf from sometimes destroying her racewear. It’s why Tracen had to have the best cleaners in the business so something like this was nothing. She was just glad she could help. It was also better than focusing on the very real fighting that was happening only feet away from her behind a chainlinked fence. Was that… A monster that shot fireballs? Better not to focus on it.
She was aided by Clara rushing back ahead of her guardian. Hook even noticed and waved her fork in greeting, sending juices from the sausage on it about as she shouted, “Good news I assume! I want to see how many rounds in the ring Trainee Doto can go against Champ Luka.”
Doto turned deathly pale at the statement before swallowing hard and saying, “Um, Pitch Dark Hook the Great, I think you misunderstand us uma. We have rivals but we never actually fight. Maybe raise our voices, especially if one of us keeps messing up…” Her eyes darted to the floor for a second as her hands squeezes the edges of her skirt but then she shook her head to clear her thoughts and finished with, “But I could never try to hit someone, especially when I could really hurt them! Uma are a lot stronger than normal people after all.”
Hook put her hands on her hips as she turned her nose up and said, “Are you saying you’re stronger than me? Maybe me and Mr. Diggertron need to teach our trainee just how much Hook deserves the title ‘the Great’!”
Clara decided to intervene before things got worse. “Luka isn’t here!” She then wilted as eyes turned towards her and coughed a little before adding, “Apparently-”
“He needed to go above because of a problem that may need his marital prowess. The question I have is why you were looking for him? You weren’t trying to cause more trouble, were you, Hook?”
The doctor who came forward looked somewhat tired with how her faded, blue hair fell in front her eyes, barely kept in check by the loose ponytail behind her. Her large skirt was white and blue but outlined her legs in red by how cut off in the front and let you see the color that was on the reverse side of the back. She held herself with a calmness that put people at ease… At least your name was not Hook. “Witch! What are you doing here!?”
Natasha sighed for a moment before placing a hand on her chest. “I came to inform Scott about the fact that his champion wouldn’t be available today.” She then turned her eyes to Doto and nodded to her. “If I may ask, what are you doing here? I have treated just about everyone, from here in the Underworld to even those in the Overworld now, and yet I don’t think I’ve made your acquaintance. Are you a friend of Hook’s?”
Doto looked to Hook and saw her pleading eyes and knew she had to play her part. Luckily, she was used to that thanks to Opera! So she gave Natasha a nervous smile before saying, “I am and I came with her to keep playing after I got the privilege of meeting her. She was just showing me around.”
Hook nodded firmly before hopping onto the table. “Indeed! Trainee Doto is super amazing and the sort of selfless super woman that the Moles could use! I just had to bring her here and show her off then!”
Natasha hummed a little at that before simply asking, “Does she have a way home?”
All of the present Moles paled at the question and soon Hook was having to deal with her month-wee-daily scolding from Natasha for listening to Sampo and not thinking things through. She would not be in trouble from her though. She had someone else she would have to answer to because this could be much more of a problem than her normal hijinks.
Something Doto couldn’t agree with. After all, who would even notice a screw up like her was missing for a little bit?
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Tokino Minoru’s training!
Team Card: Wildfire and Ice
Event 2: Anticipator (Luka)
The shadow continued her crossing of the bleached land that was Jarilo VI’s snowfields. She had quite a ways to go but the scouts who were spotting her were becoming increasingly distressed by how quickly she was closing that gap. As I’ve Written described a demigod blessed with the speed to move anywhere in the time a coin took to flip through the air and they had to wonder if somehow Zagreus had played a trick and pulled her out of the book.
What was a demi-god to a super champion though?
The overlord blinked and then the next moment saw a large, iron fist coming straight for her. It appeared to be pushed by fire itself with the blur of red that came to meet her but she was an uma. A fast person trying to take a swing at her? Such a thing was a comedy worthy of commendation for its audacity.
The young man with the fiery mop of hair didn’t flinch as his uppercut found nothing. He was already looking to the side and meeting the overlord’s wide grin with his own smirk. “Well, looks like I get a real fight for once! But as a defeater of evil throughout the world,” the exhaust pipes on his large, metal arm flared to life, pouring out fire and smog as an engine roared within, “I can’t let pass!”
Even with spinning on a dime though, the rocket powered strike couldn’t find its target. Not as the overlord raised a golden scepter and batted deflected it with a twirl of her wrist. Her nimble fingers then became a firm grip on the mighty sign of her station before she thrust it forward, smashing it into Luka’s shoulderblade and finding flesh that was far more malleable than his right arm. “Oh? Many have tried to end the Overlord’s reign. Even with allies, even with hope, even with every chance they have, they all fall before my might. What makes you think you’re so different?”
“Because,” Luka said as he hopped away, trying to ignore the fact that the woman had seemingly cracked a bone with the strike, before pointing his fist at her, “I am the Peerless Boulder Champion and if I don’t give it my all, how can I call myself that!?”
The overlord chuckled from that. After all, how many had laid broken before her, whimpering about how they’d done all they could and yet still gave victory over to the ruler of this era? What she had not seen before was a rocket fist. The shadow from beyond took the blow straight to the face, skidding back a full yard before her head finally turned to let the steel and fire pass by her. Only then did she stop, her feet firmly planted as she caught her breath. Now, some of her alabaster skin could be seen, the punch having taken some of the soot on her with it. Even a little of the orange that framed her face as the shadows were ripped from her.
What it had not taken though was the fire that burned within the beast. She smirked before whispering, “Okay. I suppose this farce of a chapter deserves a dance sec-”
The invader’s gaze turned to the side and she stared at her scepter. Nothing was beside her and yet she had heard something. Felt the most minor of vibrations. She didn’t even pay any mind to the young lad who raised his fists in preparation. Instead, she turned her back to him as she said, “My apologies but I prefer a ballroom blitz to some sort of swinging soiree. The mood’s clearly gone so I must be on my way. Besides,” she said as she looked over her shoulder, “you have played your part and few like being written out of the script.”
Luka opened his mouth to say something before freezing as he made eye contact with that violet eye. The warning it held for him as his back protested to continuing the chase were enough to make him stop. Besides, while he might be the Peerless Boulder Town Champion, there were others who’d never tried to claim that title. He’d just bought time for them to prepare to put this beast in her place.
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Northern Taste’s training!
Pal Card: Hook (The Moles Welcome You)
Event 3: Ha! Oil to the Flames!
“It’s not my fault! Now come on, we gotta get to the train station!”
Hook’s cry was actually kind of new. For as much of a troublemaker as she was, one thing that was always true about her was that she didn’t lie. As such, when she got caught, she usually didn’t just admit to it, she proudly admitted to it. This meant one of two things. Whatever commotion was happening at the train station that brought Underworlders to the Overworld and vice versa was bad or she meant it and something else was causing what sounded like a derailment. Either way, it was something that needed immediate, official attention.
And who better than the intelligence officer of the Silvermane Guard? A high ranking member of those who kept peace in all of Belobog and was an advisor to the Supreme Guardian herself? She might have been… Some age that seemed surprising to her position but the bespectacled officer was just another young leader of the frozen town and so entirely capable of dealing with anything that might… be… waiting for her?
Why was there a mountain of piling up trash cans?
Doto looked around in awe as she stepped out of the train. While grime and grit characterized the Underworld, a warm grandeur was what she felt towards the architecture of the Overworld. Everything was a little bigger than it needed to be and was made of clean, simple architecture that still made it clear the amount of intent and craft that went into the city, rather than the more slapdash nature below. It being a comfort to her admittedly could have been a bit biased seeing as when Opera was in full Overlord mode, she’d often describe her rival in similar terms. A warm grandeur. The thought made her raise a hand to her mouth as she giggled and shut her eyes.
And promptly ran into a trashcan!
“Ah!” Crash! “MMF!”
Heads turned as suddenly there was… Well, there were still three trashcans with legs in the corner of the station, just now one had two pairs of them, one sticking out of its top and its bottom.
The other two trashcans, noble beings clad in gold and copper, unlike the steel cylinder that frantically flailed before them, jumped at the sight before the leader of them stepped forward and said, “While we always accept a new challenger, it is to show your spirit, your flow and your rhymes, not danger!”
Doto, for her part, had no idea what they were talking about. She just knew she was covered in trash, the can was weirdly warm and vibrated as it sounded like it made noises around her. She herself screeched, “I’m so sorry! My arms are stuck though so can you let me go?”
The golden can though had no mercy! Instead, he moved his arms, each the width of Doto’s head, and planted his hands upon his… hips? And shouted, “Now you decide to mock us by entering out realm while violating my brother? This transgression I cannot let you smother! Have this!” In a flash, he made good on his word, spinning around like a hurricane, his chiseled leg flying up in a mighty roundhouse that would free his brother and remind everyone of the Rap Kings of Belobo-
There was silence in the station as all watched Doto stay entirely still. In fact, rather than get launched back into the train, Doto let out a muffled, “Are you okay? Oh no! Did I bump into someone else? I’m so sorry! I promise I don’t mean to be making a mess!” Meanwhile, the King of MC’s leg was… dented from whatever being he had tried to strike. Not even the one who coveted them more than any other had been able to withstand his blow in quite this fashion. They still knew respect. This creature though?
“BROTHERS! WE HAVE A NEW TATALOV COME TO ROB US OF OUR FREEDOMS! TO ME!”
Pela blinked a few times while small satellite rods she used commonly got to work buffing out the myriad of dents on the living trashcans around Belobog, many of which she would need to register as existing later, before finishing her sentence, “You faced roughly three dozen trashcans all while stuck in one.”
Doto let out a small whimper as she nodded before covering her mouth. “I promise I didn’t mean to cause such a problem. I know I should watch where I step but even when I do, I don’t look where I’m going so then I run into a wall and-”
“It’s okay, Trainee Doto! Diggertron will often take Hook on wonderful adventures when she accidentally gets his ignition cord caught on something and it only causes a few problems for people!”
Pela lightly pulled at her long, decorated purple hair to calm herself, having remembered how much of Main Street Diggertron tore up each time it happened up here. She was quick to distract herself though as two of her satellite rods returned to her with information on the strange creature that was Meisho Doto. After all, if she was going to meet the most important person in Belobog, they needed to know if she was a danger.
The answer was… Not what she expected. “I’m sorry, Miss Doto, but my analysis says you’re a horse?”
To which, both Doto and Hook looked at Pela in complete confusion as they asked, “What’s a horse?”
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Tokino Minoru’s training!
+26 Energy
Team Card: Wildfire and Ice
Event 3: Grit and Mania (Landau Siblings)
The first hint to the shadow that something was amiss was a musical cue. Normally, the overlord would happily accept some accompaniment to her achievements but she preferred that things be more classical. Admittedly, with how determined this obstacle was proving to be, a bit of electric guitar might just be fitting. It’s not like Winning the Soul was not amongst her reper-
“Alright! Looks like that chord struck you quite nicely, didn’t it? Don’t worry though,” a figure that was above the channel of ice that the overlord found themselves in cheered, “I won’t keep you waiting for the explosive finale!”
The same golden staff that had injured Luca spun in the invader’s hand before she pointed it straight at the rocker with blonde hair that stood above her. “If you think you can upstage me then you clearly know nothing of the greatest star there has ever been, the Centurri-” Before stopping as there was a problem.
Something was ticking. She only turned around just as a weird robot shaped like a hand let go of the detonator in its grasp.
BOOM!
Serval, standing high nodded with a smirk as she let herself relax. Even if this newcomer was tough, that should have stopped her finally. Even if she could get back up, reinforcements were on their way. She could relax and keep tuning the electric guitar she used to channel lightning with while she waited for the smoke to clear. She’d get a better bolt next time then.
A thought that vanished as a black streak shot out of the smoke like a bat out of hell. Even when Serval did strike a cord, the overlord merely tossed her staff into the air, letting the metal rod take the blast before it returned right back to her from the force of the shock. It was as if she hadn’t even hurt them. The only sign that she’d even annoyed them was the look she got. Purple eyes that stared back at Serval for just a moment and saw her as nothing but a jester in her court.
Serval swallowed hard before reaching down and pulling out a walkie talkie before sighing and saying, “Alright, bro, you’re up.”
It was a warning that was hardly necessary. Not as a platoon of scrambled together men and machines waited for the invader at the end of the valley that hemmed in the great overlord. Large machines that resembled grizzlies more than machines, ones with chainsaws with teeth worse than dire wolves and sharp axes and spears, all awaiting to finally stop the mad dash that this beast was on. The only thing they needed to do was stand guard.
The Overlord narrowed their eyes as they approached, spotting the awaiting force that wished to put an end to her show. Who wished to join their legend like so many challengers had before. And just like so many, they feared what was coming. Antsy boots that made them shift and shake. Who opened in holes in their defense that left them vulnerable. She only had to take the gap and-
The shout came with a wave of snow from the overlord stomping her foot down and forcing herself to stop just before the gap. Her eyes stared at the space that was empty before her, the mist she emitted with each breath twisting incorrectly before her eyes as she grinned. A second later, the men who had left her an opening dove to close the gap. In their haste though-
It was close but she’d handled worse. Packs of dogs always nipped at her heels after all and they’d never stopped her before. Maybe if they had at their disposal that which they had stolen from her, they would have a chance but not like this. Not as she continued to run, evading the soldiers where she found them at each turn.
But no proper captain of men relied on only one plan, something the overlord was reminded of all too well as her twists and turns brought her to the edge of a cliff. Ice below and cold air before her. Only then did boots fall behind her and a firm, commanding voice shouted, “Lower your weapon! You have nowhere to run and this is your last chance at mercy! Yield and you will be taken in instead of put down!”
The overlord turned around and saw a blonde man standing in white armor accented by blue crystals that looked like ice growing between the plates. The captain of the Silvermane Guard. She met his blue eyes and smiled.
“I must admit, this was a twist I had not expected. You have done well to make it to the third act but this is where I draw the line. I am the director and lead actress of this play. There is only one I have ever considered yielding to. Only one star that shines brighter than myself and who I owe my grandeur to and you think you compare to her effervescent beauty!?”
“No,” the overlord said as she threw her cape to the side and smiled from ear to ear, “for you are do not even compare to I, the Centurrial Overlord,”
T.M. Opera O enters the Centurial Overlord state and becomes the only target for enemies to attack. When T.M. Opera O is downed while in the Centurial Overlord state, restore 50% of her Max HP and unleash-
“Now, I will grace you with the same right I give all. A final bow amongst my grand ball for This Dance,” Opera said as she leapt high into the air, “Is For Vittoria!” She then came down, smashing the head of her golden scepter upon the ice.
And then silence before one crack. Then another. Then a thousand.
The men beside their captain screamed as the cliff of ice shattered beneath their feet. Opera on the other hand only laughed, even as the snow on top of the ice fell upon her like a shower that cleansed her of the grit and grime that had covered her this entire time. This was her victory after all and she had to look her best, even as she was the first to fall. She had no interest in her legend ending here though. No, instead, she dug her heels in and soared for the future.
Helped that there were a dozen or so fools there to be stepping stones help lead her to the sun that always shined so bright above. Just as they always did. Those same fools fell far below with their captain, shielded by his ice as Opera now stood tall.
She took a deep breath in as for just a moment she relished in the peace. There was one last straight between her and her star after all. The only thing that could now get in her way was the butterfly that flapped its wings at her side.
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Northern Taste’s training!
Pal Card: Hook (The Moles Welcome You)
Event 4: Hehe! Don’t Get Burned!
The two who entered the Qlipoth Fort could not be more different about it. One ran around like they owned the place, darting from thing to thing as she finally got to explore what she considered her future office, at least until Natasha grabbed Hook by the collar and dragged her back to her side. The other saw the light pouring in through the large, oval windows, the vaulted ceiling and the chandelier that couldn’t compete the sun pouring through and couldn’t help but cower at what was to come. It was the exact sort of room that Opera would feel entirely comfortable but that only reinforced to Doto how little she belonged there.
“Please, do not look upon my office like that. Just as I accept someone as small as Hook or another as tall as Natasha, all are welcome here for the Supreme Guardian represents them all. That includes our guests.”
Doto’s breath hitched at the greeting, especially as she looked to the figure who now stood behind the grand desk that dominated the center of the office in the fort. With an outstretched and a smile, while illuminated by the windows behind her, she briefly looked like the sun that Doto admired so much. Rather than bright yellows though, her uniform was dominated by white with blue and gold accents that were far too tame to be that of the Overlord’s garb. The triple hair drills was the sort of hair style Opera would have tried though if she had long enough of a mane. It made her less imposing than the one Doto held on close to and in turn helped it feel like it wasn’t so wrong for her to be here. “Oh, um, uh, h-hello. It’s nice to meet you. I’m-”
Hook bounced over to stand in front of Doto and stand tall as she said, “This is Doto! She’s like a super, super, SUUUUPER famous racer back where she’s from. I haven’t seen it but people say she can go super fast and even makes big scary royalty look slow compared to her and she zoomed around with Hook and her friends faster than anyone else has! Well,” she said as she stopped running around in front of Doto and placed a finger on her chin, “except maybe Seele.”
Hook then waved her hands frantically in front of her before balling them into fists as her eyes shined. “You should have seen the crowd that came to play with her though! Hook had only ever seen that many people except for maybe when she came to the overworld the first time. There millions and billions, all just for Doto!” She then pulled on Doto’s arm excitedly as she added, “If we showed her to Topaz, we could bring whole planets to Belobog!”
Doto’s eyes widened at the concept of somehow bringing a planet of people at once to one of her races and she immediately shook her head with her whole body following suit as she said, “No no, there weren’t nearly that many people and most of them were there for Urara anyways!”
The Supreme Guardian giggled for just a moment before saying, “It sounds like Hook needs to go over her numbers again.” She then turned on her heel before snapping them together so that she stood at attention like a practiced soldier. She then placed a hand on top of a crest that laid over her heart and bowed to Doto as she said, “But even if she were correct, this would still be a grievous mistake on our part. A veritable invasion for a prize? It’s simply not how such things should be handled and as the Supreme Guardian, I, Bronya Rand, apologize.”
Doto paused for a moment. She knew she should be honored. That she should be saying that she’s right and that she wants to go home but…
“I’ve caused a lot of trouble since I got here.” She brought her hands up to her chest, her fingers reaching out to each other but they were trembling instead as she tried to find her words but instead found them flooding out. “That’s always what I do. I just mess everything up. All the time. My friends have to put up with me. My fans humor me. They all act like I can do something but over and over again, I just let them down every time. When I manage something, it’s only because someone else makes it so I can, never because I did it myself.” She finally clutched her chest, hand over hand as she bowed her head and her thick, brown hair covered her eyes. “No one will miss me so if I can somehow help here, maybe… Maybe it’s for the best.”
Hook was practically vibrating by the end of the speech and immediately shouted, “How dare anyone say such terrible things about one of Hook’s Moles! Pitch Dark Hook the Great promises to prove them all wrong and-”
“Hook.” Bronya put a hand up for a moment before looking back at Doto. She took a long, deep breath in before saying, “Most in Belobog know how it feels to not have a place. At sometime in my people’s lives, they’ve lost what made one normally consider such a place as theirs.” Her eyes closed and images of the Fragmentum corrupting RIvet Town came to mind as she said, “Whether it be because of disaster,” then images of the Great Mine and its vagrants, barely surviving on the fringes of society, “strife,” and finally of a being covered in ice and gold, standing with a towering star of death above her, “or losing one’s family, too many of us have thought that where we were was not where we belonged and had to choose new definitions for what home is. As such, I will not judge you for if you believe that’s what you need to do.”
“However,” Bronya said as she placed a hand on her shoulder, “before I can accept such a thing, I must make sure that it is the right thing for you. That is my duty after all. So first I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you won’t miss your home. That no one will care that you vanished.”
It took three tries for Doto to even look up. To meet Bronya’s soft, gray eyes. They were warmer than you’d expect, especially for someone in her position. Then again, it maybe helped that she didn’t appear to be much older than her. And yet she was so great, just like…
Doto managed the smallest of smiles, even as she felt tears prick at her eyes and whispered, “There’s… There’s one. She calls me her sword. I don’t deserve it but she does make me feel like I’m home whenever she smiles. It’s as beautiful as the sun.”
Bronya slipped her hand off of Doto’s shoulder with a sigh as she said, “You speak of her like I think of my own blade, though I would not liken her to a sun. More like an…”
Increase acceleration on a straight in the last spurt. (End Closer)
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Tokino Minoru’s training!
+1 Mood
Clears Negative Status Conditions
Team Card: Wildfire and Ice
Event 4: Nightshade (Seele)
Like a phantom illusion, one could have so easily missed the arrival of the last actor on Opera’s stage. She had kept herself well hidden up until now, only acting when others required her to act. When a single mis-step would have brought her out faster. That which would have called upon the reaper that wished to cut the life of an Overlord short, just as it did any who wished to end Jarilo’s life. With only snow between Belobog and the invader though, there was no more time to wait for the perfect chance to strike.
So now, above Opera, there hovered briefly a woman with a scythe as large as her in hand, poised to strike. Her clothes appeared put together from scraps of other things. A long, detached purple sleeve on one arm, a black combat brace on the other. A wide dress that was parted in the front but bloomed around her in the back, transitioning between white, blue and ending in shades of lilac that evoked the even darker shades of her long hair. Tied to part of her exposed forearm though was the badge of her position as one of the Underworld’s defenders; a blazing red bandage that ran behind her.
And then she swung. A practiced strike as she lunged forward. A clean arc that had ended so many who wished the worst upon others. Such was the duty of Jarilo’s reaper.
And only by sheer instinct did Opera shift just in time to get nothing but a nick on her neck as she looked back and said, “There you are, my little fool. Come to entertain the crown finally?”
All that earned her was a roll of the eyes from the reaper who had come for her head. She didn’t even say anything, nor did she immediately try to thwack her or something which was a touch of a problem. Opera prided herself for capabilities and had competed in some of the longest distances that any uma could. Few could compete with her in a battle of attrition.
Those battles also normally lasted less than three minutes. She had been running, at full tilt, for at least half an hour now. Despite that, she felt amazing. Some sort of energy had invaded her since Tachyon’s rocket had launched her to wherever Shakur had calculated Doto to be and it helped push her longer and harder than she ever had before. It made for a spectacular performance but she could tell there were limits. That she’d already been through quite a few cycles undergoing this challenge and if there were anymore surprises between her and Doto, she was going to run out.
So she needed an opening. Needed a chance to shake off this last pest who thought herself worthy of the Overlord’s attention. Luckily, if there was one thing Opera knew from her close friendship with Ayabe, it was how to motivate her actors. “So, how did it feel? To just stand aside while the rest of your comrades fell to my grace?”
The reaper didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at Opera. Instead, her gaze was firmly ahead, as if she were searching for something. Even as they passed by birds of ice and men coated in crystal, her eyes stayed ahead.
It helped make it feel like a proper race finally and there was something about that that Opera couldn’t help but enjoy. What good was a performance if people were getting distracted by those who weren’t committed to the stage? She needed those distractions though. Those openings that fools always took when they decided to go for the prize. “You could have stopped me from hurting your friend if you had just showed up a little faster, instead of trying to take my scepter like a thief. These jewels belong only to royalty after all!”
The woman beside her glanced over at Opera as ruined buildings dotted one side of their track and a sharp cliff outlined the other. She looked at her like she was nothing but a bug to be squashed as she continued to be silent. To let Opera run her mouth like any other criminal trying to goad her.
Opera squinted back as she grinned before her own eyes moved forward. To where their last sprint would lead them. There, a channel in the ice formed a chasm where people could only hope to stand maybe two abreast, let alone with the sharp turn that was just beyond the walls. Whoever entered first would be the only one who could keep going at the speed they wanted while the other would have to obey their pace, if not just stop entirely. That was their finish line.
Opera’s foot dug hard into the snow, finding the hard, frozen ground beneath as she took a sharp breath in. Then, slowly, she let it out in a cloud of crystals. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her whole body leaned forward in preparation. Sparks in her eyes turned into radiant purple flames as the world faded away and her path to victory was all that was left. This girl was a reaper after all. The Overlord was a racer.
And Opera was right. That’s why she stopped and she swiped at her chin before throwing her scythe forward and pointing it like a rifle at her target.
“Disappear Amongst the Sea of Butterflies!”
Mid-race, prepare to take down your targets with a surge of power, increasing velocity for a short duration. If you pass someone before the final corner, turn this into an extreme boost for a long duration.
Opera’s stage was suddenly invaded by a bunch of lovely, purple butterflies that surrounded her. They then flickered as she blinked and when she opened her eyes again, silhouettes, flickering in and out of existence, of her reaper surrounded her on all sides. She no longer had an ensemble but a mob. From where they floated in this instant, cracks in the world around her formed. Normally, she would have found a way to slip out. Somewhere to go. But there was a sharp turn and high walls at every turn.
It made her throw her head back and laugh before everything crashed apart around her and her breath vanished from the fist that drove her straight into the wall before her, smashing it in a cloud of ice and snow.
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Northern Taste’s training!
Clear all Negative Statuses
Pal Card: Hook (The Moles Welcome You)
Event 1: Hey! Remember Hook?
“And that is the story of how I came to grace this wondrous planet with my presence!!”
Doto was still bowing to everyone as Opera finished regaling everyone with her tale of rocketry and grandeur. The apologies flowed freely from the nervous uma’s mouth, though not everyone was so concerned about what had happened. Seele just shrugged hearing the end of it before saying, “I can vouch that she’s mostly not lying. If you ask me, she beat up Luka and humiliated some Silvermane Guards. If we locked away everyone who did that, we’d have half of the Underground in chains.”
Bronya shook her head with a sigh. “I suppose since no one really got hurt-”
“What about my shoulder blade!?” Luka barked out before whimpering as Natasha continued to tend to the wound.
“-in a way that can’t be fixed, I think we should be able to call this even for the fact that we took your friend without her permission.” She then bowed to Opera as she added, “I have already contacted friends of ours who will hopefully get you home before your race tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…” Doto blinked a few times before gasping. “How long did that weird passage we went through take!? I need to get ready! Where is my bag!? Oh, it’s right here! Oh, we need to get going, get g-”
All eyes turned to the small child who shouted at the top of her lungs! She put her hands on her hips and tried to look tough but it was impossible not to notice how her eyes were darting between everyone. Her voice cracked in turn as she pointed at Doto and yelled, “Y-You are a member of the Moles! You don’t get to leEAve without permission from Pitch Dark Hook the Great!”
Opera O laughed for a moment into the back of her hand before she said, “Oh, what a delightful little child! If you think you deserve my sword for your story more than me though,” a slight edge entering Opera’s voice as she said this, “then I am ready to face any challenge for her you may have in mind. I will win as I always do.”
Natasha meanwhile shook her head, letting her voice be stern as she said, “Hook, before you need to worry about any of your Moles, we need to talk about how you’re going to make up for this. The right thing to do is to say goodbye. That’s what you should have done in the fi-”
“Wait. Um,” Doto said as she stepped forward and raised a hand to help her butt in. Of course, when eyes turned back to her she wilted a little but then she looked back to her leader. The one who kept her eyes darting around to hide how they quivered and who’s voice had broken during her command. “I-I can handle this this time, I promise.”
Doto then slipped onto her knees and gave Hook a gentle smile. Her hands meanwhile slipped into her bag where she pulled out a handkerchief from. She wiped at a little bit of dirt on Hook’s face before whispering, “Pitch Dark Hook the Great, are you okay?”
“Of course!” Hook stomped on the ground for a moment as her eyes looked to everyone else in the room. Then they turned back to the soft, magenta eyes that stared at her. Not in anger or challenge, or judgement or mockery, but with the kindness needed to make even the most scared of animals feel safe. Eyes that promised endless patience and warmth. The same eyes that made an Overlord feel safe now helped a great boss whisper, “What… What if not though?”
Doto giggled a little before she leaned in closer, keeping her voice low as she said, “Then that’s okay. I’m never okay and yet you still think I’m great, right?”
“Of course! Hook wouldn’t accept less for someone she’d consider as one of her Moles!”
“Am I great enough to know why my boss is unhappy then?”
Hook flinched at the question before rapidly blinking. She then opened her mouth a little before sniffling as she stopped being able to stop her tears from coming. “S-Sampo promised that he could help Hook help everyone because if the Moles are so great, why aren’t we bringing people in? Why aren’t we making meanies like Topaz have to respect us? Why aren’t… Why doesn’t Hook feel great when people talk about what things will be like in the future? This trip was supposed to fix that but now it’s just caused more trouble…”
She let out a sob before then shouting, “But that’s not the worst part even! Hook doesn’t even get to keep her new friend around! That’s not fair! Hook did things for good reasons and Doto isn’t sad so why do we have to say goodbye!? Why does Hook,” she said as she looked into Doto’s eyes with tears streaming down her face, “have to lose you?”
Doto slipped her arms around Hook, squeezing her tight as she breathed into her ear, “You aren’t losing anything. I’m a Mole no matter what because you’re right, you didn’t make me sad. You were great, Boss, and I promise I’ll see you again someday. You know exactly where to find me after all.”
Hook sniffled once again before holding up her gloved pinkie and mumbled, “P-Promise?”
“Promise.”
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Tokino Minoru’s training!
+1 Mood
+12 Guts
+12 Stamina
+1 Hints for In Body and Mind
Bronya hummed watching the exchange before turning on her heel and beginning to work on calling another friend for a way to make sure one of the shining stars for Belobog’s future didn’t see their efforts go to waste.
Team Card: Wildfire and Ice
Event 5: Overdraft (Topaz)
“So, to recap: One of your racers discovered that by tapping into Path energy, she could run farther and harder before, allowing a sort of race before unheard of. Not only this but this energy also made running upon ground solidified by permafrost and snow over a foot thick no more than a minor inconvenience at that. As such, leveraging the unique nature of this version of horse racing, I will be able to get an entertainment grant from my colleague, Jade, to develop part of the large snowfields of Jarilo VI for a new stadium that your uma would be able to race in without Belobog’s citizens having to incur further debt, so long as they are willing to split revenues between the IPC and yourselves.”
The woman who was putting on the presentation, Topaz, swiped back some of her white hair, with red undertones, before placing her hands on her hips and stating, “We only need an assurance that your racers would indeed arrive.”
The small woman behind the desk in Tracen’s director’s office, Director Akikawa herself, hopped up from her chair fast enough to get an annoyed meow out of the black cat that stayed on her white, wide brimmed sun hat. She then snapped one of her hands up, opening a fan on it that declared Amazing! upon it. WIth a wide smile, she announced, “Of course they shall! In fact, this idea is great enough that if you need more funding, consider my account entirely ope-”
Cough! Eyes turned to the woman in a green business suit and a matching, tightly fitted cap on her head. She glared briefly at Akikawa, a look made more intense by how her brown hair framed her face. She then turned to Topaz and said, “As honored as we are by your offer, it fails to take into account the condition it could leave our students, let alone the amount of time traveling so far would take. We do not have spaceships or the like. No androids, aliens or dimension hoppers because here, such magic isn’t possible. As such, unless you are able to address these issues, we must decline.”
Akikawa deflated slightly before crossing her arms and nodding as she said, “Tazuna is indeed correct! While I wish for our students to be able to chase galaxy spanning dreams, if it puts their dreams at risk in the first place, then the point is lost!”
Topaz smirked a little at that before turning to a woman drinking coffee on one of the couches in the room. “I believe that’s what you’ve been waiting to hear, Miss Himeko?”
Himeko nodded, her fiery, red hair draped behind her like a cascading inferno. She then placed her small cup on the plate before her as she said, “The Astral Express by extension, sees to it that the galaxy is connected and that people are free to seek the journeys that they desire. While we cannot ferry your students back and forth ourselves, if you allow us to set up one of our space anchors here at Tracen, it would allow instantaneous travel between Jarilo VI and Tracen Academy, alongside a myriad of other planets that our network is connected to.”
Topaz then beat Tazuna opening her mouth as she said, “And as the IPC have worked with this technology before, we would be able to connect ID cards to the anchor to make it so only those belonging to Tracen and your trusted friends like Bronya or myself would be able to come visit. We have no interest in suddenly upending this world by having the galactic community barge onto it out of nowhere.”
Tazuna frowned for a second as she placed a finger to her lips. It certainly solved one problem but-
SNAP! Akikawa stood once again with her fan unfolded but this time it declared Genius! “THE VR UMALATORS!”
That got blinks from everyone else before Tazuna clapped and stood up. “Oh, you’re right!”
Akikawa nodded furiously before pointing her fan at Topaz. “You said these can be connected to, right? Well, we have VR pods that our students use for training that accurately copy their capabilities! With those, we could send them digitally and spare them both time and energy!”
Himeko giggled before she said, “Genius might have just been the right thing to have on your fan for that. After all, the Express knows of a certain woman who might be interested in these simulated possibilities and if she were to enter into this, I can assure you that it would be perfect.”
Topaz added, “More than perfect. It’d be peerless.”
That got a sigh out of the businesswoman while Himeko giggled at the joke. Akikawa’s brow was furrowed though and Tazuna frowned for a moment. What could be weighing on their director’s mind now? She looked more concerned than when she was being pitched all of this in the first place or being told about far off planets and their magic.
Akikawa sighed before saying, “What to name such a new set of races though?”
Tazuna flinched before sighing. Topaz meanwhile clicked a single button and a new slide on her presentation popped up. One that had a long train on it that rode a rail of stars. “Especially with collaboration between us, the geniuses, the express and you, all to enhance the dreams of your students, to give them new trails to blaze, there is only one name I can think of as right for it.”
Akikawa opened her fan again with Perfect! on it this time as she said, “I’ll get the kale juice then!”
“That’s Trackblazer, director.”
Eureka! I got an idea! This could be useful for Northern Taste’s trai-
Tazuna turned to me as she said, “Excuse me but what does that say?”
Uh, I mean, it says Northern Taste. What’s the problem with that?
“And who,” as a shadow slowly cast itself over Tazuna’s face and she reached for the bag at her side, “might that be?”
Oh, it’s the director, just like how you’re Toki-
BANG!
Extra Scene (I really wanted to fit this joke in but I liked having the segment with Hook end the way it did, focused on Doto and Hook, so it had to be cut. Have this silly bit of Opedoto and Bronseele now though as a bonus.)
Gepard dragged himself into Qlipoth Fort and sighed as he saw Hook and Doto making their pinkie promise. Everything seemed fine, even as he was still shaking out snow from who knows where. It didn’t make him happy to see ‘Opera O’ standing tall so close to the Supreme Guardian but if no one else was treating her as a threat, there could only be so much for him to object to here.
Instead, he got to sigh in relief as he looked upon Doto and said, “Good. I assume you’re the one who Opera was looking for? Her, how did she put it? Star?”
Doto tilted her head in confusion before she shook her head. “No, she couldn’t have been talking about me. There’s only one star on her stage after all!”
“Uh, no, trust me, when someone is being as… loud as she is, you remember what she said. ‘The one star brighter than her and who she owes her-”
“Support!” Opera moved shockingly fast as she cut Gepard off and put herself between him and Doto! “Owe for her support! And at the time I was covered in such grime that anyone could shine brighter than I! That’s all I meant!” She let out a nervous laugh while glaring daggers into the Silvermane captain as she added, “Nothing more. Certainly nothing you must overthink, my sweet Doto.”
Gepard somehow felt more tired in that moment than he was when he finally managed to get out of the snow. He had been through this too many times after all. “Oh, good. You sound just like the Supreme Guardian talks about Seele.”
Seele turned her head before barking out, “The fuck is that supposed to mean!?”
Bronya, pale as a sheet, shouted just like Doto had a moment ago as she said, “Nothing! He’s tired and imagining things! Natasha, please take him away. He certainly needs medical attention now!”
Something Serval would agree. After all, his incapability of understanding women could only be considered a disease. Sadly, despite her best efforts, one she knew was incurable.
