The Will to Fight: Start

[voidtreckermods]

"Good Morning Passengers, today is day six of the month of Kazoo." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preparation

They have an hour or two to prepare. Enough time to read their briefs, make decisions, meet in their teams and gather anything they may need. The dressing carriage is open with tents and other basic camping equipment.

"Shortly arriving in system #86525656412355. Drop order is Orange and Blue followed by Red and Purple. Orange and Blue to doors, arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches as it exits through the void, before descending smoothly to the world below.

Blue and Orange

Arrival

If anyone peeks through the windows as the train lands they will see a glimpse of cracked and crumbling walls, a city on its last legs. As they exit the train, however, any passengers who aren't immune to magics influencing the mind will find themselves looking at grand, sturdy walls, flags with a blue field and golden tower fluttering from the ramparts.

They aren't too far from a gate, depending on where on the train they exited, and the gates are opened and unmanned. Inside, people are going about their business, selling their wares, while children run around playing among dogs and chickens.

The newcomers don't get too much attention, even though their hoodies and combat trousers seem very out of place in this city.

The Towers

The towers stand in each corner of the city. They are solid stone, no windows all the way up. The ground floor is the largest, grand doors leading into a functional yet beautiful foyer, and from there into smaller chambers. Wide, curving stairs lead up into the tower proper.

As they climb the towers they will come to the different levels which are all trapped, to dissuade intruders and train their disciples. They will be able to descend the towers and exit and enter again as many times as they like as they work their way up to the top.

The City

It will soon become apparent that persuading these people to fight isn't going to happen. The war has already been won, the demons were defeated. The world is safe once more. Welcome, travellers, to the Shining City.

Their SCA's show them the locations of the entrances to the catacombs. There are a handful, scattered around the city, clearly designed for quick evacuation should the city defences ever be breached.

Persuading people that the city needs to be evacuated might take a good while.

The Catacombs

The catacombs are cold and dark, lamps having gone unlit for months. Those that are sensitive or can sense magic in any way will be able to tell that at least here the wards hold: no demons will be able to enter.

The tunnels are narrow, able to fit two people side by side at their widest points, but more often than not they must move single file to avoid collapsed walls or leaning pillars. Or, sometimes, piles of bones spilled from the tombs set into the walls. Side tunnels extend out into the darkness, signposts or symbols marking old, unused storerooms, bunkers for temporary shelter, or private tombs and crypts.

At points the tunnels widen out into large chambers, rooms or galleries that have been used as cemeteries for centuries. At other points the tunnels have collapsed or become almost impassable. People will need to wriggle through the gaps or find ways to stabilise the tunnels in order to pass through.

Purple and Red

Arrival

"Red and Purple to doors." The train flies back into the air after dropping Orange and Blue at the city gates. It doesn't go very far; it's less than a minute later that they're landing again. The doors open and they can step out into the destroyed countryside.

They don't get much time to get their bearings as the train flies off again, because coming over a nearby hill is a band of demons, a gate crackling behind them. The band is mostly footsoldiers, with several of the larger breed interspersed.

It's hard to say which side is more taken by surprise, but the Voidtreckers will only have moments to ready themselves before the demons rush in.

Defending the City

It's a wide area to cover, surrounding the city, and there is plenty of work to be done. Bands of demons roam around, most headed towards the city. They run, claws digging into the ground, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Sometimes they will have a larger demon or even two with them, armed with toxic whips that they use with dangerous accuracy.

Other times there will be smaller demons, carrying ornate daggers, whispering foul spells to drain and bind their enemies. These demons become more regular as the days progress as it becomes obvious that taking the city will not be as easy as they first thought.

Closing the Demon Gates

The gates nearer the city are smaller, and easy enough to find, but the SCA's of the red team pinpoint more and more gates as they open in the areas further out. Triangular markings on their SCA maps indicate distance and direction.

The gates must be closed from the other side, so the first thing is to enter them. Entering the gates feels strange, uncomfortable, as if something were tugging and clawing at their very being, trying to pull them out of their own skin.

That feeling lasts for a moment, albeit one that feels stretched, and then they are in the demon realm: a monochrome world devoid of life, where every step taken tires the body, where even existing is exhausting.

The gates are guarded, so adjusting will need to be done in combat. Smaller gates have fewer guards than the larger, but all will fight savagely to protect the keystone.

The keystones are smooth black obelisks about a foot high, usually stood on a plinth or set above the gate location as a centrepiece. Each can be destroyed by blunt force or any other ability able to shatter stone, and once it is they will have a short amount of time to leave before the gate closes. Their SCA will helpfully start a timer indicating this.

Comments

Nozomi Yumehara | Purple Team

[cureofmanyworlds]

Preparation

Nozomi looked over what she had to do, though she sighed in defeat a bit. No sooner did she end up arriving was she already sent out to save something. Oh, well. But, something felt off. Why did the city stop fighting? Did they just give up? It didn't make sense. They had to figure things out, but it seems her team is more focused on fighting. The others will handle things, she's sure.

"This is my first mission. Anything I should really know before I head out?"

Arrival

Once she disembarks from the train, she can't help but look in horror at the site before her. It reminds her of Mayfield's last moments. Except this could be something they can stop..

"This world... were the demons that powerful?" she mused.

Combat

Then, she heard them. The demons. The normal-sized ones taking the lead and heading towards her and any others around her. Shrugging off her backpack, her hand dived into her pants pocket and pulled out her CureMo.

"Everyone, heads up!" she called out. And then, she acted, flipping open the device and hitting the buttons on it. "PRETTY CURE METAMOPHORZE!" Pink energy surrounded Nozomi, then burst outward as her looks changed completely, striking a pose and speaking with a deeper, confident tone. "The Great Power of Hope! Cure Dream!"

And with that, she charged forward, meeting one demon head on, punching it with incredible strength and knocking it back. Looks like the Puella Magi aren't the only magical girls around.

arrival

[blitzcheer]

"Let's kick some demon tail and find out, hey?"

There's a clap on Nozomi's shoulder as Tidus speaks up to answer the heard musing, a nod to greet her if she looks at him. Two small yellow and white creatures have made a home in the hood of his jacket behind his head, chittering in high-pitched squeaks.

"You said you're used to this? Feeling prepared?"

Then again, maybe she's only use to switching worlds than the combat that follows...

Re: arrival

[cureofmanyworlds]

"As prepared as I could be." Nozomi admitted. She let out a small sigh. "I'm not used to suddenly dropping into a fight."

[blitzcheer]

"You need any help, the rest of us will cover, 'kay? 'Til you get on your feet. We're all working through this, anyway," Tidus offers as reassurance. "Every mission starts like this -- well, the level of prepping."

But there's the demons, incoming over the hills; somewhere close to dots, but their distance not that far.

"You armed? What's your style?"

He knows that not everyone needs a visible weapon around here to be up to task.

[cureofmanyworlds]

"Thanks. It's reassuring, actually." Nozomi said, smiling and nodding. At Tidus' question, she nodded and dug into her pants pocket, pulling out her CureMo, a cell phone-like device.

"I'm good. I transform and fight from there." she said.

[blitzcheer]

...That's sure something he wasn't expecting to see pulled out. Doesn't Roland use a phone that looks like that? But Tidus does know something about transforming - at least, the way his brain is interpreting it - and he waves a hand in front of himself.

"Oh, are you gonna put on some kind of armour outfit out of nowhere? Or you mean...turn into something else?"

It's...either one of those two things, right? What does it remind him of...

[cureofmanyworlds]

Nozomi pondered a bit before she made her decision.

“I’m a magical girl. A Pretty Cure. You’re partially right when you say I summon armor!”

[blitzcheer]

"Oh." Another oh, but it's said with a rather blank expression. But he seems to come to some idea when he shares, nodding, "My girlfriend did that too! Change outfits, do magic, kick butts. How about we help each other out then, huh? I wanna get to that gate. We can team up 'til there's a good opening!"

No point in thinking too hard about 'magical girl' or 'Pretty Cure' -- that sounds like a their world thing, and it's easier to accept it as that.

[cureofmanyworlds]

"We can do that, sure! I'll make sure you get through." Nozomi said. Though, she did notice the blank expression on his face. "If we have time, I'll show you what I mean."

preparation

[happyends]

"Ah, Nozomi-san..!"

Madoka is rather glad to see the other girl ahead of the mission. Because Madoka is going with the blue team - as ever - and she's assuming that the other will stick to Nozomi's own purple team for her first mission, so she wouldn't have been able to see the other anymore after the train drops all of them off.

"Um.. well.. I think the most you should know is that it's good to be prepared. Did you take a look yet at the supplies they're handing out? It's a good idea to take some potions with you, in case you get into a tough spot."

Re: preparation

[cureofmanyworlds]

“Potions, hm?” Nozomi mused. “Hadn’t thought of that! I guess they work like in video games?”

She thought a bit before she looked at Madoka. “You going with your own team?”

[happyends]

Madoka nods. "Uh-huh. The blue team is kind of small compared to some of the other teams, so we can always use all the people we can get."

So it doesn't feel right to ever go with a different team. Besides, just by reading the mission description Madoka already knows there's no way she's going to be of much use with the other teams. Sticking with blue seems like the best decision in every possible way.

"How about you..?"

[cureofmanyworlds]

“I think I’ll stick with mine. If anything, just to get a feel for what we have to do.”

Nozomi paused a bit before adding “Besides, I think fighting is the best for me...”

[happyends]

.. Now that's a surprise.

Of course it's not like Madoka has never seen people her and Nozomi's age fight before. But she's not quite assuming that most worlds work the same way hers does. There seem to be plenty of older and more age-appropriate fighters here on the train, after all.

So hearing those words from the other girl make Madoka stop for a moment, blinking at her in surprise.

"Are you used to fighting?"

[cureofmanyworlds]

Nozomi nodded sadly at that. “It’s less that I want to, but the worlds I end up in tend to devolve into fights, so...”

She let out a soft sigh before smiling at Madoka. “It’s okay, though - at least I can get small breaks here. Maybe the next world won’t be so bad!”

She thought about what she said. “Wow, I sound like some old soldier there!”

[happyends]

"You kind of do.." Madoka replies, with a small, kind of shy laugh. She wouldn't have admitted that out loud if Nozomi hadn't said so first herself, but here we go. Now she feels less bad about agreeing with it.

"But.. um, is that normal where you come from? I don't think a single person our age would sound like that where I come from.."

Not counting magical girls, of course, but they kind of fall outside of the norm as far as Madoka is concerned.

[cureofmanyworlds]

“Not really. Honestly, where I came from is quite peaceful.” Nozomi admitted. “I guess that’s why quickly clung to you for friendship. You seemed so... normal!”

She shook her head and laughed a bit. “How about after the mission we do something fun, huh? You should show me what else is here!”

combat

[wishalone]

And boy, does that get the attention of this Puella Magi.

Kyoko is already transformed, having done so quickly and without fanfare before even getting off the train. The nearby shout of heads up gets her to glance over, expecting she might have to dodge out of the way of someone. But instead, she watches the pink flare and the pose and she can't help but gawk.

"A magical girl?"

And she's strong, too, from the looks of it. Good. Still, Kyoko chooses to join her fight, unable to stay away because of her curiousity. The demon that the girl knocked back -- Kyoko uses her spear to vault up into the air, sailing easily over Nozomi. While midair, she flips her spear around. An infusion of magic gathers flames around the spearhead. "Hyaaa -- !" When she strikes, it's hard enough to pierce through what she thinks is the demon's chest.

Attack landed, she springs off again, flipping back to land next to the other magical girl. "What's your name, magical girl?"

Re: combat

[cureofmanyworlds]

Nozomi turned to see Kyoko there before her and smiled at her.

“Cure Dream! But, you can just call me Nozomi! Secret identities seem silly here!”

[wishalone]

"Secret identities? Why the hell would you need one to begin with?"

The demon doesn't seem to be actually dead yet, tough thing, so Kyoko gives her spear a twirl and prepares to strike again.

"I'm Kyoko, by the way."

[cureofmanyworlds]

“Different time, different place. We had smart villains!” Nozomi said.

Huh, demon wasn’t down. No problem! She summoned the rapier-like Cure Fluret, pink energy humming from her blade.

“Tag team to tag it down, Kyoko?”

[wishalone]

Villains? Alright, she's definitely not the usual kind of magical girl. Maybe she's even from another timeline or world. But as nosy as she wants to be about it all, work comes first. Survival comes first.

"You bet." Kyoko's feet shift, a sharp grin growing on her face. "Let's see how you can keep up!"

And with that, she launches herself at the demon, which has gotten back to its feet. She knocks aside the first swipe of its claws, and takes the opportunity of that opening to twirl her spear back around and slice across its stomach.

[cureofmanyworlds]

Nozomi can’t help but be impressed at Kyoko’s skill, but she can’t let up yet!

She launched herself forward and delivered another slash at its stomach, her magic mingling with Kyoko’s as she delivers a mighty kick to knock it down.

“Not bad!”

[wishalone]

This thing distinctly does not like Nozomi's magic, and Kyoko senses it. That sword attack does a serious number on the thing. With the thing on the ground again, Kyoko takes a moment to look Nozomi over.

"Not bad, yourself. You're pretty strong. Let's finish this thing off already."

[cureofmanyworlds]

"You got it." Nozomi said, nodding. She'll save the flashy finishing attacks for later - she'll leap at the fallen demon, stabbing down at its chest.

"Kyoko!" she shouted. Her turn!