Gate to Victory!
Another three days pass since Tiffania's first disastrous Teleportation Gate, and after much practise and reading, she finally felt ready to cast it again. Michael, of course, was standing close by with Derflinger drawn, ready to jump into action if they inadvertently summoned another Lovecraftian creature.
"Alright, you ready?" he asks and she nods, "Good, no mistakes this time." he urges, not wanting their escape from this world to be made more difficult than it already is.
Tiffania begins her chant, and twenty seconds later, a line draws itself into existence, splitting apart and creating an incomprehensibly thin door, which, actually allowed them to see through it to the other door that'd opened at the end of the clearing.
...
The duo stands there silently for a couple moments, waiting for something to go wrong... And, when it didn't, Tiffania leaps into his arms with a cheer, happy at finally succeeding.
"I did it! I really did, Michael!" she excitedly announces, not minding the fact that she was squishing her large breasts into his chest.
Michael was able to ignore it as well, as this had become a common occurrence ever since he'd saved Tiffania from her horrific fate in Cendri.
"Wait, hold on, we need to make sure this thing actually works first." he chides, dropping a hand on her head and turning her around to face the gate.
Her attention refocussed, she glances to Michael with a questioning look, "How would we test it?... Y-you're not going to jump through it, are you?" she tentatively asks, not wanting to him to do something so risky, despite her apparent success.
He shrugs, "I figured we could just throw things at it until we were sure... Works with most things really, I think?"
Tiffania giggles, "No, that's just your solution to most things..." she says before looking around, spotting a stick and picking it up in preparation to toss it through the gate. She takes a slow, self-assuring breath before lobbing the stick at the door, "Hai!" she shouts. And both watch as it soars through the air... Going through the door, and dropping at the opposite end of the clearing where the other Teleportation Gate was.
...
"Looks like it works..." Michael mutters, summoning his Book of Heroes and retrieving some beef jerky and tossing that in as well. Again, it works as it should... "All we need now is a live test subject..." he wonders aloud, and finds his gaze slowly drawn towards Derflinger in his hand.
...
"P-partner... You can't be thinking-"
"Thinking that you still owe me for getting affected by the Ring of Andvari? You're supposed to be a magic eating sword, how did that even work?" he questions, all the while weighing the risk to reward ratio of tossing Derflinger through it.
"C-come on, partner! Surely I can't be blamed for being controlled!? That's like blaming me for being picked up and swung at you!" he exclaims.
"Michael, leave Derflinger alone, he's been through a lot already." Tiffania states from the side with a kind look.
"A-angel!" Derflinger almost sobs in response, but this quickly trails off as she continues.
"A magic eating sword defeated by magic? He must be terribly ashamed of himself. Surely that is punishment enough?" she asks with an innocent smile on her face which Michael can't help but chuckle at.
"I hate you both." Derflinger exclaims before going silent, with both TIffania and Michael given the mental image of th sword pouting, somehow.
Michael shrugs, "I guess it'd be annoying to find another sword, I'll have to go hunting then... How long will these gates last-"
*Crunch!*
Michael and Tiffania's head dart towards where the sound had come from, both locking eyes with the Gallian scout that'd stumbled out of the treeline.
...
"E-elf!? D-DEMON! EVERYONE! I'VE FOUND!-" the man is cut off as Michael literally 'cuts him off. The man's head goes flying after an almost instantaneous use of Blink Strike and a chop to his neck.
It's only after the head hits the floor that Michael realises his mistake, "Fuck... This guy could've been our test subject!" he exclaims while running a hand through his hair.
Tiffania shakes her head and points her wand at the treeline, "He won't be alone Michael, should we move again?"
"No. Let's go hunt them down and run some experiments on them. We can move afterwards, this guy's blood will attract animals and Tristain scouts." he says, giving the body a nudge with his foot.
Fortunately or not, Michael doesn't even have to pursue the other scouts, as five other men jump out of the treeline after hearing their comrade's shout. "W-Wallace!? You killed him!? YOU AND YOUR PET DEMON!? DIE!" a scout wielding a bow screams after spotting his headless companion, dexterously knocking and firing an arrow straight at Michael.
Michael smacks it out of the air with practised ease and Blink Strikes behind the man, slamming Derflinger's pommel into his skull and knocking him unconscious.
"Good one, Partner!" Derflinger cheers, but is silenced as Michael is forced to cut down a stone spear that'd been fired by the single mage accompanying the Gallian group. The Earth spear cracks apart into fragments, with the visible magical energy holding it together and reinforcing it transferring into Derflinger.
"DIE DEMON!" a man's shout attracts Michael, and he turns his head to see a man charging at Tiffania... Only for her to levitate him in th air and through him through the still open Teleportation Gate...
"Sorry!" she apologizes after throwing him, both her and Michael watching as he flies through the gate, and lands on the other site of the clearing... Completely healthy. Though, this doesn't last for long, as Michael blasts him apart with a quick cast of "Ether Shock!".
"Guess that answer that question then, congratulations Tiff..." he says before turning his head to the remaining Gallia scouts, "Unfortunately for you guys, now we don't need any more test-monkeys." he states, pointing his finger at them as they begin to flee, "Shock."