Parasite Panic! – Filia vs. Shinichi Izumi

: Alright, our fighters are ready.

Catch the Prelude Here: Parasite Panic! – Filia vs. Shinichi Izumi | Prelude

: Who in this duo of parasitic partners will claim victory?

: Let’s find out in the Clash! I have 400 hours on Skullgirls, so I call Filia!

: Alright, then since I have 401 hours on Parasyte, I call Shinichi.

: Wait, how can you have 401 hours on an anime?

: It’s a good anime, what can I say?

* * *

Location: New Meridean, 9:30pm

New Meridean, the gothic metropolis frames itself imposingly in the night to the sound of its denizens mulling through the the streets. Parties can be heard in the streets from the windows up high, and the roads are packed full of people of all ages, eager for nightly fun.

In the midst of the fanciful and festive crowds walks a lone young woman, unassumingly traversing the streets. Her school uniform is ill-fitting for the current time of day, but at least went well with her flower hat and jet black hair. She has a peculiar secret, and that secret is very hungry. She makes it her mission this night to venture out and seek a nice restaurant for the thing she hides.

Meanwhile, much like the woman from before, a young man dons his own school uniform and is making his way through the crowd. He has an unimposing, even wimpy demeanor. But, beyond his glasses, his eyes speak with great ferocity. He, too, has a similar secret, and it too involves a secret friend he held very dear, figuratively and literally. His short work-term in New Meridean leaves him weary from a long day of work, and so he transfers himself through the masses in order to get back to his comfortable, closet-sized abode.

While they would have otherwise never encountered each other, it was on this fair night in New Meridean that a meeting so trivial would have resulted in the night turning so violent. The two are on a direct path with each other, and, as if by divine circumstance, they bump into each other with enough force to cause both parties to stumble.

The woman locks eyes with the man, and vice versa. It was only for a moment, but the two felt some brief connection… Much like the connection the other eyes on their bodies set on each other. Having been disturbed from the collision, a yellow eye peers from beneath the brim of the woman’s hat, which locks on squarely with the simple green eye that peers from the man’s right thumb knuckle.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” The man apologizes, giving a slight bow. “I must have been lost in my thoughts!”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it!” The woman says, giving a slight bow herself. “I was too busy looking for a good restaurant.”

And with that, the two continued walking their separate ways. That is, until a voice spoke out from beneath the woman’s hat.

“Guess the meal has to wait…” A mouth under her hat mutters. “Filia, let’s go.”

“Huh? What do you mean Samson?” Filia replies.

“I said forget the food, we got bigger fish to fry right now,” Samson demands, forming a finger from hair to point at the young man who was now ducking into an alley. “That guy’s got a Parasite, so he’s gotta be out for the Skull Heart too.”

“Isn’t that a bit rash?” Filia asks.

“No way!” Samson replies. “Plus, if his aim is to get the powers of the Skullgirl, wouldn’t it make sense to take him out early so we don’t have to later? What if he becomes a better fighter by then?”

“Hmmmmm…” Filia thinks aloud. “I suppose that makes sense. Let’s see if he’s really hostile first though.”

Thus, the duo turn and head into the alley where they saw the young man go.

* * *

Meanwhile, following from the point after the young man apologized and continued on, homeward bound, he is interrupted by a voice coming from his hand.

“Shinichi,” The voice says.

The young man brings a phone to his ear in order to cover up the mouth that forms on his palm, as well as to speak back to his hand without arousing suspicion from onlookers.

“What’s wrong Migi?” Shinichi says. “Don’t tell me you sensed one of your kind around here?”

“No, that’s incorrect,” Migi states. “You need to get out of sight. Turn into that alley, there’s an enemy nearby, but I don’t know what it is.”

Shinichi feels a shiver go up his spine, but he obliges. The alley has a dead end, a dumpster, a large puddle by one of the walls, all par for the course in terms of alleyways.

“You don’t know what the enemy is?” Shinichi responds, pocketing his phone as he starts speaking to his hand, Migi, directly. “So it’s not like your kind?”

“No, but it is similar,” Migi replies. “I do not know what it is exactly, but I do know it is not of my kind. I could not sense its brainwaves. However, whatever it is, it has a sort of symbiosis with the host, like what we have, yet it lives in that woman’s head.”

“Wait, you mean that girl I bumped into?” Shinichi asks. “What do you think they want?”

“I do not know,” Migi says, reaching for Shinichi’s phone again. “But if they truly are antagonistic toward us, then we should be prepared for an attack. You walked into this alley, distracted, so you made yourself out to be as vulnerable as you could.”

“Migi, you suggested that I go in here!” Shinichi responds, taking the phone and holding it up to his ear hurriedly.

“I know, I think we can easily take them out with me as lookout,” Migi continues. “Shinichi, you stand there and pretend you’re talking on your phone and if they approach from behind, I will intercept and kill them.”

“Understood,” Shinichi sighs.

The day was already long, but if it is a necessity that he handle these mystery enemies, he will play his part in his survival. Like Migi had anticipated, Filia steps into the alley behind him, and Shinichi could sense their presence. He maintains his composure and puts away his glasses to keep them from breaking, while also running his hand through his short, brown hair.

“Hey Dad!” He says loudly, playing the part of making a phone call. “No I’m doing alright, work here is tedious as always, but I’m getting used to it… No I haven’t gotten a chance to see your email, I’m just walking home right now…”

While Shinichi puts on his act, Filia calls out to him from behind, ignoring social discretion.

“Hey, are you after the Skull Heart too?” She asks.

Skull Heart? Shinichi thought. What is that? I have no idea what she’s talking about. If I keep up my act and she doesn’t think I’m after… Whatever that thing is, I think I should be fine.

“Yeah, New Meridean is beautiful, you should come over here sometime for a vacation or something…” Shinichi continues.

Unfortunately for Shinichi, that was the worst course of action he could’ve made. A gruff, angry voice pipes up and shouts out:

“Hey you pissant!” Samson shouts. “The lady is talking to you!”

The next thing Shinichi hears were the tearing of fabric, then the clash of steel. He turns to find Migi and Samson’s bladed tendrils lock with each other, until another moment later when they both retract. Migi remains hardened with two sickles, while Samson flares up aggressively, pointing Filia’s hair into spikes. Shinichi notices pieces of white cloth lying on the ground at Filia’s feet.

“Samson!” Filia cries. “Seriously, we’re running out of hats! Would it kill you to just take it off for once!?”

“No time Filia,” Samson responds. “That guy, from the looks of things, was more than ready to intercept us.”

“I mean, what if–” Filia tries to reason but Samson cuts her off.

“‘What if this chump was really calling his pops?’ Yeah no, the phone was off, I didn’t hear a single response come from that phone.”

“I… See,” Filia says, disappointed.

Regardless, her eyes bore determination now. Shinichi puts his phone away and stands at the ready too.

“Are you ready Shinichi?” Migi asks.

“Yeah, let’s make this quick though,” Shinichi says. “I just want to get some sleep.”

* * *

* * *

The two parasites stretch their tendrils out and let loose a flurry of slashes faster than the eye can track. All the two hosts could do is stand in place and watch their foes carefully. That is, until Samson starts to pressure Migi.

“There are too many tendrils Shinichi,” Migi manages between the onslaught of slashes.

Shinichi realizes it too as two of the black spears puncture the wall by his shoulder and his left arm, drawing first blood. The Japanese student steps back carefully as he is pushed back by the hail of blades.

“Heh, got ’em on the ropes!” Samson says as Filia starts slowly moving forward. “On my mark, let’s finish ’em quick!”

“Right,” Filia says.

Shinichi and Migi, still pressured, are pushed back further and further, until their back is against the alley’s dead end wall. Shinichi has a double-take at the wall behind him.

“Shinichi!” Migi exclaims.

“Now!” Samson exclaims, retracting his tendrils and planting them in the ground in front of Filia.

Shinichi turns back to see Filia pulling back, using her hair as a slingshot. He covers his body with his off-hand in hopes to protect himself from the incoming attack. Migi reaches up above Shinichi and plunges his five bladed fingers into the brick wall.

“Take this!” Samson cries in Filia’s stead, flinging her at high speeds down the alley, legs straight for a dropkick.

Migi lifts Shinichi up moments before Filia makes contact. He lets go of the wall, vaulting over the assault. As Filia collides with the wall, shattering the bricks to dust, Samson attempts for a sucker punch at the base of Shinichi’s neck. Migi is one step ahead and blocks it with a steely sickle. Shinichi lands into a sprint, heading back into the crowded streets of New Meridean.

“Damn!” Samson says. “I missed. C’mon Filia, move it!”

“Working on it…” Filia trails off as she takes off one of her shoes and empties brick dust from it before giving chase.

* * *

“Shinichi,” Migi says. “Those two are very strange. It’s like the gruff one is of my kind, but the girl has full control too. They are like a tag team Shinichi, even though it seems like the girl’s brain has been consumed by my kind.”

“Okay, so translate for me Migi, how can that knowledge help us beat them?” Shinichi responds, keeping his body low in the crowd and trying to blend in as best as he can.

“The two of them act separately when not directly focusing on the same target,” Migi says. “The girl was focused on where we were, but the hair parasite was watching for us to dodge so he could follow up on us. If my theory is correct, if we can get them to focus on only one of us, then they should both be distracted.”

“Hmmm…” Shinichi hums. “I see, so then what do you suggest?”

* * *

“Where the hell did they go!?” Samson shouts.

“I can’t see them anywhere,” Filia says. “Maybe they escaped? Come on Samson, it was your idea to fight them. Now let’s go with my idea of getting some food!”

“Hang on, something isn’t right Filia,” Samson says, looking at the crowd of people. “There’s some weird shaped gaps in this bunch of people. Stay on guard.”

“Maybe you’re just seeing things–” Filia says as a bladed fleshy tendril snaked out from the crowd and lunges for Filia’s head.

“Filia!” Samson cries, forming a tendril to intercept the sharp tentacle.

But it isn’t enough as it drew blood, scraping against Filia’s cheek. She immediately stumbles for a moment before regaining her bearings. The city-goers seem preoccupied with their own nightly activities and friends, not paying any attention to the strange bladed tendrils snaking around at their feet. Samson blocks two more swipes before forming a net of hairs in front of her, each one sharper than a chef’s knife.

“Sorry,” Samson says. “I didn’t see the blade down there. I’ll cover the front from here on out!”

“Thanks Samson,” Filia says. “Do you think they’re on the other side of the crowd, just at the edge of the curb?”

“Maybe,” Samson said, blocking three more attempted slashes. “Why don’t we pay them a visit?”

As they progress through the crowd, Samson blocks more and more slashes until the parasitic duo reach the curb, where they find nothing.

“What the…?” Samson mutters. “Does that mean they’re…”

Before he can even check his blind spot, Shinichi’s fist is already colliding with Filia’s cheek, launching her and her hairy partner into the busy street. As Migi is reels back in, Filia flips in the air, Samson forming two roach wings on her back.

“That was a good plan, slinking out around all the people so I could get close for a decent knock,” Shinichi said. “But you might want to hurry up Migi!”

“There they are!” Samson says. “Take flight Filia!”

“Gregor Samson!” Filia cries as she divebombs for their foes.

“Look out Shinichi!” Migi cries, lancing forward with two bladed tendrils.

But it was for naught. Filia flies past the spears with unprecedented speed and tackles the opposing duo. Holding Shinichi by the neck, she carries them up into the air.

“Good call Samson,” Filia says. “This way they can’t abuse the cover of people anymore!”

With that, she drops Shinichi, but not before delivering a kick to his plexus for good measure. Shinichi and Migi fall to the rooftops below, wind knocked out of Shinichi’s lungs, while Filia daintily floats down with her rapidly flapping wings. Shinichi crawls over to an exhaust chimney with a TV antenna poking out from the side.

“That was… *Cough* A good kick,” Shinichi mutters as he pulls a jagged-looking pole from the antenna. “Your… Whatever it is in your hair, is pretty tough and impressive…”

“Yeah, I guess I am, ain’t I?” Samson smiles and put his hands on his hips, which just looked like he put his hands on Filia’s temples.

“But I’m guessing the trade-off, *Cough*…” Shinichi continues, holding the pole with his left hand outstretched. “Is that the girl controlling it is weaker and an easier target, especially from how much you’ve been babying her every move.”

“Excuse me?” Filia says angrily.

She’s about to take action, but then she feels the hair hands around her temples inflate into gigantic beefy fists and slam the rooftop, creating a mini-crater.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY YOU PUNK!?” Samson shouts, lunging forward with a punch only for Shinichi to block it with his pole.

What confuses Samson most, however, was that Shinichi barely managed to with his one arm. His gaze turns down to see his foe’s right sleeve limp and empty. It is when he put two and two together that Filia is slashed mercilessly in the back.

“Filia!” Samson cries, forming a blade for every direction.

Migi stands as a small triangle of flesh with two prehensile sickles for hands behind Samson. Filia stumbles before looking at the adorable but threateningly ominous Mini-Migi.

“Samson, whay can’t you do that?” She mutters in a haze.

“Snap out of it Filia!” Samson says. “You gotta help me out here kid!”

Shinichi tries lunging first, his pole being parried swiftly by Samson. Migi tries next, leaping up and letting fly a flurry of cuts, only to be intercepted at each one. Shinichi tries stabbing at Filia’s thigh, but Samson barely succeeds in blocking the attack. Migi goes for an overhead double slash, which Samson blocks with crossed tendrils. Shinichi went for a swing with his pole this time, and then…

“RAAAAAARGH!” Samson cries.

His crossed tendrils spin rapidly into a buzzsaw and launches Migi away. He swings them down to Shinichi next, whose pole is shredded in half with ease. Shinichi stares dumbfoundedly at his pole before Filia comes to her senses and plants the tip of her shoe directly into Shinichi’s chin, knocking him away.

“Damn, you back kid?” Samson asks.

“Yeah,” Filia says. “I just felt lightheaded for a moment, that’s all. I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t worry me like that again,” Samson says.

Meanwhile, Migi slithers around the enemies and makes it back into Shinichi’s arm.

“Shinichi, are you still able to fight?” Migi asks.

“Yeah,” Shinichi says, caressing his chin. “I was just caught off guard is all. What do you suggest?”

“These two are far stronger than I gave them credit for,” Migi replies. “They are much faster than us so running is out of the question. It may be in our best interest to avoid combat until a more suitable environment can be found to continue this altercation in.”

“So you’re saying we can’t run away…” Shinichi says, massaging his temple. “But you’re saying our only course of action is to run away?”

“Indeed,” Migi confirms.

“Great…” Shinichi says, getting back to his feet. “Sometimes I wish I was the parasite and you had to do all the running.”

“That would be terrible,” Migi states. “You do not have the necessary intelligence to make the most of what my abilities are.”

“Migi, not cool,” Shinichi mutters, clearly insulted.

“Would you rather I lie to make you feel better Shini–” Migi asks.

Migi parries a sucker punch slash that would have skewered Shinichi’s face. Shinichi shakes off his surprise then proceeds to run for it, turning his back to his enemies.

“Oh no you don’t!” Samson exclaims, thrusting his hair into the rooftop.

Shinichi is about to leap off the building when he notices that black drills are starting to poke out of the ground all around him. He hesitates to move as the drills close in on him.

“Don’t hesitate Shinichi!” Migi exclaims. “Push through it!”

“Dammit!” Shinichi cries out as he leaps high into the air and off the building.

Seeing nothing but pavement several stories below, Migi reaches out and grapples onto the side of the building, saving them from an untimely splatter on the road below.

“Thanks Migi, you really saved us there,” Shinichi manages.

“This fight is not over yet Shinichi, thank me then,” Migi responds.

Suddenly, the black drills start coming out from the sides of the building, one narrowly missing Shinichi’s nose. Migi proceeds to sidle along side of the building, using his fingers like spiked spider legs. Black drills sprout from the wall they climb across, some too accurate and almost stabbing Migi. Once the duo reach the corner of the building, they manage to swing around onto the other face. One last spike tries to impale them before the night goes quiet once more. Migi hangs and Shinichi looks around cautiously.

“What happened?” Shinichi inquires. “Why did they stop?”

“I think I can feel why,” Migi replies, his eyes shaking in the socket as a repetitive crushing sound could be heard.

Shinichi looks around the corner and he finds Filia floating through the air with Samson holding her up, her hair having become sharp spider legs as they turn vertical and climb across the walls after Shinichi and Migi.

“Crap!” Shinichi cries. “They’re copying us Migi! Run!”

Migi takes off, climbing across the wall with greater speed now. He looks ahead and notices an overpass for subways running perpendicular to the building. With a lack of grace but immaculate effort, Migi swings Shinichi over to the overpass, just in time to avoid several stabbing tendrils. As the two fly, a subway glides across the track and Shinichi lands hard on the second car’s roof, rolling across the corrugated steel until he holds himself over the space between cars.

“Good call Migi,” Shinichi mutters.

Just then, on the fifth and last car, Filia and Samson land, bracing themselves by stabbing the roof of their car. Filia starts to waltz toward Shinichi, who looks up and immediately crawls backward to the front of the first car.

“Tough shit buddy,” Samson states, swinging two sickle-shaped locks of hair as Filia approaches Shinichi. “But you got on our bad side with that last comment you made, so we’re not really gonna let that go.”

Filia reaches the first car and Samson lunges out. Shinichi leaps over the tendril and rolls under another before trying to land a punch into Filia’s plexus. But, he fails, as Samson wraps a tendril around Shinichi’s throat, holding him in the air and interrupting his advance completely.

“Don’t take me for some stupid little girl,” Filia says.

Shinichi struggles in the parasite’s grasp, finding it harder and harder to breathe. Suddenly, Migi comes out from the space between cars and tries to skewer Filia from behind.

“She just said…” Samson starts, wrapping a tendril preemptively around the incoming tendril. “She’s not a stupid girl!”

With that, Samson forms a miniature buzzsaw within the grasp of Migi’s tendril and proceeded to slice it cleanly off. Migi lands and fends off another slew of slashes and lunges from Samson’s tendrils, taking on the shapes of scissors, knives, combs, spikes, forks, and so on. Migi is being pressured, harshly, and Samson pulls Shinichi closer and holds his throat tighter, squeezing his last breath out.

“Sorry kid, but it was her idea,” Samson says mockingly. “She expected you would pull another one of those moves, so we had a plan set up in case that happened again. We thought you would take advantage of being obscured by hanging between the cars to detach from your little buddy, and it was a pretty good plan, not gonna lie. We assumed you disconnected and prepped just in case. It’s always good to have a pair of eyes in the back of your head, eh?”

“Kgrrhhk!” Shinichi struggles.

Migi is being overpowered now, taking several surface level cuts that were beginning to dig deeper and deeper.

“Maybe don’t think of me as the liability next time?” Filia says as she wheels around to face Shinichi in order to let Samson focus on Migi.

But then, Samson froze. Filia froze too. Filia looks down to find a jagged pole stuck in her belly, blood flowing turbulently from the wound. Samson jitters a moment before letting go of Shinichi.

“FILIA!” Samson cries, wrapping her wound with makeshift hair gauze.

Shinichi takes this chance and ducks behind Samson to pick up Migi, letting the parasite slither back into his stub of an arm. He ran two cars away before Migi stops him.

“Shinichi…” Migi starts.

“Don’t worry Migi, you just lost a little blood,” Shinichi says. “You weren’t detached for long, so you should be okay still.”

“No, Shinichi…” Migi replies. “I’m getting really sleepy…”

“No, no!” Shinichi cries. “No, not yet! The fight isn’t over Migi! What if they can come back! What if that wound I gave the girl wasn’t enough to end it?”

“Shi… Ni… Chi…” Migi mutters. “You’re… Fine…”

With that last reassurance, Migi closes his tiny eye and falls dormant. Before disappearing, however, Shinichi’s arm transforms into a long, curved, and jagged sword.

“Thanks Migi,” He says, reaffirming his resolve. “Understood.”

Shinichi turns back to Filia and Samson, only to find nobody there. A large hole replaces his foes, and before he can investigate, the subway screeches to a halt, causing Shinichi to drop to his knees to keep his balance.

Samson emerges from the hole, carrying Filia from his head. His body of black, metallic hair and spikes stands fiercely when juxtaposed to the moon. Several locks of hair wrap around Filia, keeping her protected in a cocoon cast.

“You’ve really done it now kid,” Samson says with venom in his words. “I stabilized her, so let’s finish this fight so I can get her to a hospital. I never thought you grabbed a second pole when we were distracted that first time by your little friend.”

He notices that Shinichi’s arm is now long, silvery, and sharp. Samson chuckles lightly.

“At least I can say the same for you too,” Samson says. “What’s wrong? Did I cut up little man too much and now he has to go beddy-byes from blood loss or something?”

“Shut up,” Shinichi says. “Let’s finish this.”

“Fine by me!” Samson says, forming a large blade on one of his arms as he charges at Shinichi.

Samson thrusts his hairblade forward, causing it to branch off into several spiked tendrils. Shinichi avoids the attacks, ducking, side-stepping, vaulting, and parrying his way closer to Samson. Finally, Shinichi reaches Samson and lets loose a flurry of sweeping slashes, which his hairy foe avoids by parting and reforming his body out of harm’s way. Samson extends spikes omnidirectionally from his core, forcing the one-armed schoolboy turned swordsman to step back and try for a thrust. Samson takes it to his chest, but the blade bounces off due to the hardness of the parasite’s makeshift body.

“Take this!” Samson roars, pushing his knee upward, the spiky tip of it spinning like a drill.

Shinichi barely avoids the attack, which catches his shirt and tears it to shreds before his eyes. The two circle each other, looking for an opening. Samson lunges, but Shinichi parries the attack. Shinichi tries to stab Samson, but steps back from the drill Samson feeds through their footholds. It is a battle of attrition.

Until Samson decides to do something about it.

“Let’s see what you taste like kid!” Samson says as he leaps high into the air.

Shinichi watches in horror as Samson’s body forms into a gigantic canine mouth. All he could do is step back and try to escape the maw of this new ferocious monster.

“FENRIR DRIVE!” Samson exclaims, crashing into the car below and chomping it, and the overpass for the subway cleanly in half.

The wolf head falls to the street below, and on impact with the ground, Samson, seemingly like gelatin, absorbs the shock of his fall and reforms into his big, dark, and hairy humanoid form. He looks up at the rising moon, finding Shinichi’s body like a silhouette against it.

“That’s it boy…” Samson says, forming a new, bizarre shape with his head. “Hold that pose…”

Samson’s head tears open, until there is just a disgusting pink void surrounded by fangs. As he does, a large black and white projectile is fired out at ludicrous speed, looking like a skull wreathed in dark flames.

“TRICOBEZOAR!” Samson cries.

Shinichi watches as it approaches, the ghastly, disgusting skull clad slimy black hair a disgusting enough prospect, but that it was flying at such high speeds directly at him, threatening to crush his body to a red pulp, he has to do something. He pulls his sword arm back, and with the cry of a warrior, Shinichi swings his deft blade.

“HRRRAAAAAAH!”

And with that, he cleaves the eldritch projectile cleanly in two. Shinichi smirks, impressed with himself for having done that, until he sees Samson waiting on the other side of the projectile, having flown up with the roach wings from before.

“Not bad!” Samson says, sending thousands of individual strands around Shinichi. “But not enough!”

Shinichi can only widen his eyes as the jet-black hair swallows the light of the moon. He is in absolute darkness, perfectly restrained. He feels a prick at his ankle. He can barely make out that a strand of hair stuck him in the leg. Then he feels a prick in his shoulder, then his neck.

And then he realizes what is happening.

Like a mad acupuncturist, Samson fills Shinichi with needle-thin hairs until not one more needle’s head of surface area can be punctured. With a violent flourish, the night sky comes into view again, but it is greeted not by Shinichi, but rather a fine red mist.

Samson lands on the subway once again and scratches his head.

“What can I say but tough luck?” He mutters, watching the bloody fog vanish into the night sky.

He stands for a moment, admiring his work, before remembering his predicament.

“Shit!” He exclaims. “I gotta get Filia some help right away! Shit, shit, shit!”

With that revelation, Samson flies across the city at high speed, looking for a hospital for his dearest host.

* * *

* * *

: It’s starting to feel like I never win anymore.

: Pssh, we all have our wins and losses, don’t get salty.

: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, this fight was insanely close if you can believe it.

: Filia and Samson win out in terms of pure stats. She has comparable Attack Potency and Durability to the Skullgirl Marie, who is, according to this article, here, Multi-City Block Level, which far outclasses Shinichi’s Wall to possibly Small Building Level AP and Durability from scaling to Gotou.

: But, Shinichi and Migi do have a tactical advantage they can use to win, as their foes have often been far stronger or far more experienced than them, much like Samson was in this fight. But, this only works if they can maintain a consistent speed advantage.

: Which they could not. Shinichi and Migi’s greatest speed feats have been Supersonic Level, but even that is a generous high-ball. Filia and Samson have dealt with essentially the entire cast of Skullgirls fighters, including Peacock, who has been shown to outpace explosions on multiple occasions. From scaling, Filia and Samson can match Peacock’s Hypersonic+ Speeds.

: Honestly, Shinichi may be able to pull off a few wins, even with these immediate disadvantages, but Shinichi has several crippling weaknesses that Filia and Samson don’t.

: Migi has a chance to randomly fall asleep for four hours during the day where he cannot be awakened, and seeing as Migi is the more intelligent member of this duo who makes these strategic plans, as well as the one who controls when and how Shinichi’s arm transforms, losing him is the same as losing the fight ultimately.

: Even though Shinichi survived on his own against Gotou for a long time, Shinichi still had help from several sources, like polluted and poisonous weapons, inherent knowledge of the battlefield, and plenty of prep time. All of these things he would not be able to get in advance in a fight like this, where they are just thrown right in and told to fight or die.

: Plus, everything Shinichi and Migi could do, Filia and Samson did better. Except, of course, the whole detaching from the main body thing. Samson’s hair constructs, falling under the same Durability as Filia, even without being hardened, were far more durable than Shinichi and Migi’s blades, making them impossible to cut through.

: Even though Migi may have had a versatility advantage n first glance, Samson quashed that with his immense versatility as well. Migi can form wings? So can Samson, and he can actually generate flight with them. Migi forms blades? Samson forms more and harder blades. Migi can form a gun with no ammo? Samson can fire high-speed hairballs.

: Unfortunately, Filia and Samson are just a better parasite-host duo than Shinichi and Migi.

: Filia and Samson were simply stronger, faster, more durable, more experienced, more versatile, and simply deadlier.

: In hind-parasight, this fight had a pretty obvious outcome, but at least it was tendril-ating to the end!

: Those were such unimaginable stretches.

: Meh. Bite me.

: The winner is: Filia & Samson