Metrophanes: Flying Solo

Chapter 5: VS Aodh

Oct 17, 2024

Welcome to Battles Beneath the Stars, a webserial styled like the guide and script of a non existent fighting game. If you’re new to this story, be sure to start at the prologue, from there each character’s story branches into its own version of events, so you won’t need to read anyone else’s story to follow this one.

Last time Metrophanes was faced with a reminder of his past, but still won his tournament match. Now it’s the semi-finals, if Metrophanes can beat Aodh it’s on to the grand finals, but there’s more to the tournament than what goes on in the arena.

Open on Grand Festival Hub

Metrophanes walks across the screen with Vulture Shah, then stops.

Metrophanes: What’s that?

The screen pans over. Drakon is facing a generic looking spectator. Hyperion and Aris stand behind Drakon.

Drakon: Shut up idiot! None of you even know my grandpa.

Rowdy Fan: You shut up, you’re just a child.

Hyperion: And that’s not how you speak to a child.

Rowdy Fan: Stay out of this.

Hyperion moves between Drakon and the rowdy fan.

Hyperion: No. Back off now. This encounter is over.

Rowdy Fan: Or what?

Aris: Are you trying to make Hyperion, a dragon who can singlehandedly destroy armies, angry?

Aris steps forward, raises his sword, and points it at the rowdy fan.

Aris: Because if you are, I’ll ensure you don’t get any more chances to do so.

Rowdy Fan: Stupid bastard. You’re still a failure of a general.

The rowdy fan walks off. Metrophanes approaches with Vulture Shah.

Metrophanes: Drakon are you okay? What happened?

Drakon: I’m fine.

Hyperion: You saw most of it. People were getting rowdy, and Drakon had enough of hearing you insulted, things escalated from there. Aris I think you pushed things too far with that threat.

Aris: Maybe, but it got him to retreat.

Metrophanes: This is exactly what I’ve been trying to stop. But it looks as though all I’ve done is make it worse.

Hyperion: Some people are starting to come around to you, but it’s making your detractors more extreme. Especially now that we’re at the semi-finals.

Drakon: Can we leave? I don’t like it here anymore.

Metrophanes: I can’t leave, I need to see this through. But maybe Uncle Aris can take you back home.

Drakon: I’m not going if you aren’t.

Aris: I’ll watch over him. You two get ready for your matches.

Metrophanes: Be careful.

The others go on ahead, leaving Metrophanes alone with Vulture Shah.

Exploration Start

The path to the next fight is simple, and you might want to brush up on your fundamentals before starting it. The NPCs to eavesdrop on are also right along the main path.

Impressed Arena Fan: It’s down to the final four huh. What a tournament this has been.

Metrophanes Fan: At this point I’m definitely a Metrophanes supporter. It’s impressive how far he’s come.

Hasty Gossip: Apparently Aris threatened someone? What is with people here?

Connected Gossip: I hear the person he threatened was trying to beat up a child. What an uncivilized crowd.

Exploration End

Metrophanes: People won’t like me even if I do win first place. Maybe they’ll hate me more for it. But at least they’ll have to admit that I’m strong. Especially if I can defeat Aodh this round.

Metrophanes: Just a little bit more. Then I can be someone with a legacy worth taking pride in, not a burden or embarrassment. That’s what matters, not the crowd’s opinions. This isn’t about the days I’ll live through.

Vulture Shah flies off to the left. Metrophanes turns around as Vulture Shah goes off-screen.

Metrophanes: Vulture Shah? Damn it, I don’t have time to go chasing after him.

Metrophanes: I’ll have to fight on my own.

Transition to Hollow Mountains

The stage is set high up in a mountain range at night, with flowers growing on the mountainside. A full moon hangs in the background. The ground is sloped, there’s no flat terrain to stand on.

Metrophanes stands on the lower ground, Aodh on the higher.

Battle Start

Hope you weren’t too dependent on Vulture Shah shenanigans in previous rounds, because that isn’t available to you with him gone. You can’t even call on the other puppets for your super moves. And you’re starting on the lower ground.

Aodh can be a problem at any range, so you don’t need to be afraid of letting him be at any specific distance like some past opponents. His fireballs can hit from long range, but his close range attacks can hit hard and fast too.

You do have a slight buff to the damage of your attacks to compensate for how many options you’ve lost, but don’t expect to reach the heights careful use of Vulture Shah let you reach. Speaking of reach, you lack long range options without Vulture Shah, so you’ll need to get close to Aodh.

But Aodh has his full suite of abilities, so watch out for his super moves now that you can’t answer them in kind. Condensed Inferno has Aodh send a large slow moving fireball at you, it’s easy to avoid if you have high ground, but you may be too focused on it to notice Aodh catching up on you. Sunrise Dance is a many pronged assault, don’t stop blocking until it’s fully finished, then retaliate.

Thankfully Aodh has somewhat linear attack patterns, so if you remain cautious and wait for your time to strike with the attacks you can use you should be able to make up for the disadvantages. This will likely prove to be the hardest fight in Metrophanes’s story, so if you can clear this you’ll be set for the finale.

Battle End

Metrophanes and Aodh are back at their round start positions. Speech bubbles of people booing appear all over the screen. A few cheers are mixed in.

Aodh: Sorry you have to deal with all that.

Metrophanes: I’m used to it. It’s best I get out of here now.

Aodh: Wait, I just have one thing to say.

Aodh: Hyperion has told me a bit about what’s going on. I think you should spend more time with your grandson while you still can. It won’t really matter to him what other people think of you.

Aodh: I only made things worse when I paid attention to what people I didn’t know were saying.

Aodh: Though if you became immortal you’d have plenty of time to work on your reputation. And you’d spare your grandson a lot of pain.

Metrophanes: I have no desire for immortality, only a good legacy. And now I must be going.

Metrophanes: (Vulture Shah, where are you?)

Chapter END

Note from the Author: Taking the puppet away from a puppet master is an obvious way to change things up for them, so I just had to do that to Metrophanes. As well as the inherent drama that comes with it. Want to know where Vulture Shah went and why? Tune in for the finale.

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