Hearts of Iron! Reach the Soul Within, Pretty Sailor Memory!

Memory was nervous at first to see someone else approach at all. The readout her internal scanners gave showed that this mysterious foxy individual was capable of looking after herself - heck, she was stronger than almost everyone else on the planet! But even so, she wasn't confident that she'd be able to keep up with the beating that this machine was giving out. It was much harder for her to get a precise reading on the android's power, but she wasn't feeling confident about her chances right now!

But she knew that the important thing with her was not to lose hope. So long as she held onto that core inside her, she could do incredible things. If she lost it, though, everything would fall apart very quickly. She had to fight back despair and push back against the self-centred evil that wanted to conquer the world! ... And kill her. Killing her was also something she very definitely didn't want to let them do.

"I don't know where he's from." She said, "I tried to get him out of the city, but he just won't be reasonable."

The last thing she wanted was to keep fighting here; fights in populated areas always caused a lot of damage, and even if she made sure that nobody else got hurt, she couldn't stop the property damage from racking up. Ah, it was so troublesome!

"Darn right I'm not reasonable!" Elektro crackled, "I'm not here to be reasonable! I'm here to usher in a new age of android rule! Mwa ha ha ha ha! Now watch helplessly as I show you what that means, Pretty Sailor Memory!"

This guy was definitely a lot more dramatic than Jarhead had been, there was no question about that. The technology was also infinitely more impressive. Rinako had mused, previously, on the miracle that such cybernetics represented; but this was an example of just how such incredible power could be misused. The electricity that burned across his form increased in magnitude until he was wreathed in blinding electric power, and then, stretching one long limb out towards Rinako, the lightning leapt across his body, to his pointing hand, and from the fingertip, towards Rinako!

The lightning strike was coupled with a booming thundercrash and such a dazzling flash that Memory couldn't even look at it; her sensors momentarily overloaded. The girl's hand balled into a fist at her sides even as she tried to reestablish target lock; she had to know that the new ally was okay! She had to see where she was going if she was going to punish the mechanical monster that had tried to strike her down!

That strange hope-fuelled power that shone so brightly in Memory's chest began to skyrocket. Brilliant pink energy surrounded her body as she called it up, her visor still buzzing with static but the girl's determination blooming to new heights.

"Don't think that I'll just let you do as you please!!!"

For a girl who looked so bright, colourful, and - frankly - ridiculous to a lot of eyes... there was a shocking amount of will in those words. 

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The giant robot turned to face Rinako more fully as the woman refused to simply be incinerated by the blast of lightning. There had been a lot of power put into that attack; it was surprised that she'd been able to hold her own against it at all. But no matter. That just meant that more power was needed to level the playing field. Literally.

"If you care about this city so much, it'll be my pleasure to bring it crashing down around your ears!!"

Electricity burned across the smooth metal surface as energy surged from within whatever core the android used, bright enough to make ghosts in Memory's vision as she engaged her rocket boots and flew up into the air. She was glad to see that the woman helping her was fine, and she even flashed her a smile and a quick thumbsup! She was sure that she recognised that staff from somewhere, but she just couldn't put her finger on it - something about the mask rendered the woman completely unrecognisable, obviously.

"The light of hope in our hearts will never let you achieve such evil!" She declared, "For the people of this city! For the love of the world! We'll stand against you and make sure that there's a future for ALL people, not just for whatever mechanical madness you have in mind!"

She pointed the Rod of Hope down at the charging robot, and a bright pink burst of light shot from the heart on its tip to strike a joint on the android's arm. Immediately, that area glowed a helpful pink.

"Try hitting there!" She called, helpfully, just in case it wasn't clear enough. "I think that's a weak point!"

For the moment, at least, Elektro was focused entirely on charging power - and he didn't even seem to have noticed the power that struck him or the bright pink target designator it left in its wake. If Rinako followed the suggestion, though, she'd find her own attack bolstered in answer to the Hope Energy that was left clinging to the android's frame.

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Memory wasn't sure she was ready to hit him with everything. Right now, she was still feeling pretty rattled from the fight so far, but it was good to be fighting alongside someone again. It was always easier to pluck up her courage when she was working with an ally.

Elektro didn't seem to appreciate the notes, either. "Careful what you ask for!" He crackled - only to cry out in a staticky burst of pain as Rinako's claws raked down the weak joint. The moment her claws made impact, the pink energy within released in a burst of hopeful energy that helped add just that little bit of extra punch to the assault. Nevertheless, he was clearly made of much stronger stuff than Jarhead had been; though the attack was enough to drop him to one knee, he was far from finished.

That surging power around his body brightened to truly eye-searing levels, bright enough to leave trails around his body as he moved into action - but he wasn't going for Memory. He wasn't even trying to attack Rinako again. Instead, he swung his uninjured arm towards the tallest building in the area, and behind her visor, Memory's eyes widened as she realised what he was going to do.

The girl engaged her boosters and - unfortunately - had to completely abandon the plan to hit him hard and capitalise on Rinako's advantage, because if she didn't get there in time, there was no telling who might be hurt - in a best case scenario, it'd still be an awful amount of property damage!

"HAH! And this is why you'll fail!"

The brilliant beam of electrical power that surged out of him was a vast amount of energy, and she reached out with both hands, splaying her fingers. This was the second time she'd had to intercept an attack like this, and it was never an easy or pleasant experience.

The power flooded into her and she ground her teeth together as the heart on her chest burned a dizzying pink. Her hands grasped the assault, and her entire body shuddered as she worked hard to draw it all into herself; to take that power and convert it into more hope!

"You're wrong!" She cried, "The harder you try to push us down, the more determined we become to throw you back! I'll never stop standing between evil and the innocent!!"

Well. It was less planned than last time, and it was obviously taking a lot out of Memory to hold his attention with this clashing assault, but it did also buy Rinako another opening...

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Attempting to contain this much power was a staggeringly difficult prospect. One of these days, Memory was going to try this against something smaller and it would be far more pleasant an experience! In this moment, though, the energy surging into her outstretched palms was more than she could comfortably contain. She ground her teeth together as electricity was transmuted, through the arcane process of the Infinite Hope Engine, into more of her own power - and then Rinako was lifting the android into the air and wrenching the beam away from her grasp!

It sputtered out to nothingness as the much larger machine was brought into Memory's eyeline, and in that moment she stretched her hands out towards him, the contact points set into her palms glowing an unbearably bright pink.

"You can give us all the hate you want!" She declared, "We'll conquer it every time with our unbeatable hope!"

And in that instant the power she had taken surged back out of her outstretched palms in a bright pink wave of energy that collided with and splashed over the enormous robot. Thankfully, he was more than big enough to be used as a shield for the foxy lady, and for a few shining moments, the entire world would seem to disappear beneath a shimmering neon glow.

Then reality reasserted itself, and Elektro was angry.

His body showed the scuff marks and burns that indicated the blast of power had done some damage, but he still wasn't done. With the woman clinging to his body, there was an obvious way for him to strike back.

Rinako had only a moment to realise what was about to happen before he started charging again; electricity sparking across his form as he powered up and that naturally brought with it the scorching energy of his internal engine being forced out into the world. If Rinako was unfortunate enough to be caught by the attack, as she had been with Jarhead, well...

She knew well enough to know that this was a much more powerful machine indeed; he'd looked it before, and he was obviously a very capable combatant compared to the brawler who had stumbled in to interrupt karaoke, but it was such a great difference in output that it was almost difficult to believe that they could be based on the same technology. This was the difference between a cigarette lighter and a flamethrower.

"Alright then! Time to kick things into OVERDRIVE!"

Oh dear. That didn't sound good.

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It definitely seemed like a daunting task. The malevolent android was taking some damage, but he was clearly winning against Memory when Rinako had arrived on the scene, and it didn't seem as though their initial attempts were going to be enough to turn the tide. Memory herself was looking pretty rough, though the heart on her chest only glowed brighter after the immense amount of power she had just been forced to absord. It wasn't good for her internal components, but she wasn't down and out just yet. She could still fight! And she would.

"Don't give up hope!" She called to the mysterious foxy lady, "No matter how bad things seem, there's no force in the universe stronger than hope! No matter how much power he claims to have, he'll never have enough to overcome our spirit!"

It was a nice sentiment, but it didn't necessarily seem to match up to reality. Elektro spun around, one arm raising to take the brunt of the blast of power, which knocked him back in the air. In the same instant, Memory came down from above, and the Rod of Hope swung into her hand as she delivered a punishing crack against the joint already weakened by Rinako's earlier attacks.

It was hard to tell if Elektro even felt pain; the machine was clearly a fully mechanical construct, and though it let out another burst of staticky noise at the impact, that might well just be an automatic response to taking damage rather than a cry of conventional pain.

"Take a moment to gather your strength!" Memory called, "I'll keep him busy, and we can try and hit him together!"

It was really all she could think of. Strategy wasn't really her strongest area. But she could at least try and make good on being a distraction. Her blows rained down on the hard armoured chassis of the other android, the ring of metal against metal echoing through the street as he continued to charge his power.

That electricity was burning and coiling over every inch of his frame by this point; just finding areas to strike that didn't mean she would be immediately struck herself was difficult. Mostly, she was having to home in on the injured arm joint and the opening that Rinako had made for her, but the more power he gathered, the faster the enormous android moved himself, making it equally challenging to find that opening.

"It's hopeless!" Elektro crowed, "If this is the best that you have, that meddling woman is right. You're both doomed! And with you, this entire city will fall to the power of ELEKTRO!"

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"It doesn't matter how much time you try to buy one another, there's no stopping the future, and that's what I am!"

Another ferocious blow sent Memory skidding backwards, the girl barely able to raise her arms in time to block the worst of it. The battle had taken an obvious toll on the girl; the usually-pristine dress was burned and scorched in places, her arms and legs covered in scuff marks against the synthetic flesh that covered them. But as much as she'd given, she knew that she needed to give a little more. That was okay, wasn't it? She had the power, so it was time for her to use it.

The interior of her visor scrolled with dramatic readouts as she kicked the Infinite Hope Engine into overdrive. Pulling deeper on its power than she ever had before, she held out both hands in front of her, and there was a soft pink shimmer before the Infinite Hope Engine itself materialised in her hands.

"You want this, don't you?"

The moment seemed to take Elektro by surprise; the immense robot drew up short in the air as he was confronted with the object of his desire. The Infinite Hope Engine was surprisingly small for such a powerful machine; a circular orb of brushed steel with a glass front in which the heart that usually shone on Memory's chest was clearly visible.

"What? How, how are you even still functioning--"

"The power of Hope is beyond comprehension!" Memory declared, loudly cutting the android off. "To forge a brighter tomorrow! To make a future where all the people of this city live in peace! To seize a destiny of peace and beauty that stretches across the entire galaxy! I will make sure all those things come to pass, and I will make sure there's even a place in it for you! That is my oath as the Warrior of Hope, Pretty Sailor Memory!!"

The words came out with an impressively serious intonation to them, the girl's eyes staring deep into his visor - and once the oath was sworn, a blast of power surged from the glass front of the Infinite Hope Engine, unleashing all the Hope that she could muster in a swirling mass of power that aimed to slam into and then swallow the android completely.

"Please! Now! Lend me your Hope, for a BETTER TOMORROW!"

She had no idea if Rinako's power could even mix with the power of the Infinite Hope Engine, but every part of her being sang out with the desire for it to happen; for the pair to finally bring the malevolent machine crashing down... and to make the future that she dreamed would one day come to pass, where none of this conflict was necessary and all people lived in harmony with one another.

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