*
The movie they were watching was based on a show about magical girls. After facing some tribulations, the hero was about to give up. With the help of her friends' encouragement, she barely managed to overcome the antagonist.
"... KUHahahAH! You've lost. No more intricate schemes, every gear and mechanism has fulfilled its purpose and gone into full motion.
If you defeat me, a door to the dark world will open and release thousands of monsters every second. " (Antagonist)
A bald man in a lab coat and big goggles cackles maniacally, his gloved palms spread and hold his belly as his laughter reverberated through his lungs and slender torso. He looked to be on the older side of middle aged men, gray strands were commonly found on his head.
If this man wasn't defeated, he would continue to torment the populace with his machiantions. It was a multilayered Web that ensnared the protagonist. He wasn't easy to defeat either, with numerous monsters for guards, these monsters in particular were resistant to magic.
"... I know... I know that I'm so pathetically weak, that I won't ever be as good as the other magical girls.
Even so, I need to muster all my strength to protect what little I have left. If it means expending all of myself, I'm ready. That's why... I'll crash through all your plans! Everything! Consider them burnt to the ground!
Multi-transform! Combining every form I've had so far, go!!! " (Protagonist)
Gazing away from the television screen for a second, Arin tapped Lastia's shoulder with a wide grin. The screen glowed a blinding white momentarily, signalling the end of the protagonist's transformation. Dazzling light reflected off of the side of Arin's face, illuminating her smile. Lastia's gaze lingered on Arin's expression for a moment.
" Look! This is where it gets good, the climax! " (Arin)
Perplexed, Lastia wondered how a single moment could define the entire movie to Arin. Why a certain scene stood out above the sea of memories and entrenched itself into a deep impression.
" Haah! Looks like you failed! Your transformations haven't combined at all, you're still in your base form." (Antagonist)
"..." (Protagonist)
She gazes wordlessly at her palms, calmly adjusting to the sensations caressing her skin. A refreshing smile adorns her face like a jewel, it shines brilliantly.
"... I don't need my costume to change or become particularly colourful. This simple pink dress is all I need." (Protagonist)
She rushes towards the antagonist and their hulking monster guards, she wasn't much faster than before. She swung her magic wand in the air, her other arm stays near in front of her chest, as if to support the wait without touching the wand. Shooting pink light that flies through the air, the magic lasers slice towards the enemies at breakneck speed.
Of course, this was a kids franchise, they couldn't show any particular gore. The lasers impacted the monsters and knocked them down, stars twirling over their disoriented snout, even the monsters looked like giant gummy bears. The antagonist steps forward, tying their own life to the fictional missile codes was a common but boring tactic. The audience would wonder how the protagonist solves such a dillema, only to get disappointed by unexplained miracles over and over.
Convincing the antagonist to give up with words, disabling their metaphorical missiles with their friends, knocking the controller out of their hand... All were sufficiently crude and unsatisfactory. Lastia hadn't watched any movies before, a faint hope glimmers in her heart, the suspense tugs at it filling her with exhiliration.
"... I'll kill you. I don't care about the dark gate. You've had your way for too long, I'll pull your teeth and bones out without anesthesia and make sure you drown in your own blood." (Protagonist)
"... Huh?" (Antagonist)
There were various types of antagonist as well. The common pushover type who didn't have much resolve is the usual type to employ this sort of tactic, it made it easier to write them giving up and surrendering to the protagonist, or clumsy enough to drop the keys to their metaphorical missile, rendering themselves harmless. Tying the keys to their lives, putting it inside his spine to activate when it stops receiving neural signals...
He was the second type, one with resolve to fight the entire world. The show was building up to this point, the preparations lead to this direction. A two front plan, where the failure of one would strengthen the other...
"Did you think I didn't have the guts? I'm the superhuman here, the bones of an old man are as brittle as thin sticks. " (Protagonist)
"... Do it, I will resist to the end. At the end too, my plan will continue without me." (Antagonist)
" Tch! So stubborn, even in the face of torture. " (Protagonist)
Will the magical girl give up here? Seeing that her threat hadn't budged the villain one bit. Her allies were defeated earlier, or busy fighting other monsters somewhere else. She didn't really have what it took to open the dark gate, her conscious at least demanded that much of her, to prioritise the lives of the common people. For now, she leapt closer and kicked his shin, causing it bend in an unnatural direction.
"... GUAAARGHHH!!!!!" (Antagonist)
It was easy to immobolise him, the pain would stop him from scheming further too. She could sit here and wait, think of a better plan, all without killing him. It was too early to give up. Would there be an ally that comes out of nowhere and systematically disable the metaphorical missiles? That would also be too convenient, but it's a kids franchise, it was an easy out for the plot.
Her friends are in danger, fighting for their lives. She can't see them right now, but they could be facing some lethal trouble. The more she hesitated, the higher chance one of them could die. Time is a luxury she didn't have. She sat over the antagonist's back as he wailed and groaned over the ground. A single broken leg was enough, still they couldn't show the blood coming out of his leg, it was ridiculous to see a shin bending 90 degrees without a drop of blood.
"I'll imprison you. You might escape, you might kill yourself. I doubt you value your life more than the plan, you've proven yourself with the resolve of a cockroach. Let's go. " (Protagonist)
She grabs him by the neck and carries his limp body into the air. She chose to sacrifice her friends, it was that or a gate to another world opening and releasing too many monsters to count against the civilians. Perhaps the problem was that, if many antagonist had these metaphorical missiles, why would they hesitate to launch them and instead make their lives they key? Why hadn't he just opened it...
At that level, it meant he still had some sense of self preservation. In other words, they were all inherently cowards.
"You..." (Protagonist)