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

Ken Amada (AU) | Red Team | OTA

[miseris_socios]

[Preparation] [OTA]

Right. Red team mission. Things that are guarded. He can do this. He reorganizes his bag, sticks his Evoker into his pocket... looks around the room to make sure no one's watching him and fumbles behind his bed, pulling out slightly squished sandwiches that are wrapped to keep them safe, some fruit that he managed to snag, and a small packet of instant ramen. He can move things around in this bag...

Once that's done, Ken swings by to grab a spear form the guy who said he was going to be making them, carrying it carefully down the hall towards the standard cabin. It's a little bit of an odd sight, the boy in orange with a spear taller than himself, but he looks determined as he nears the red group.


[Drop] [Red]

He slows as he rushes through the portal, suddenly out of breath. There's two small demons in front of him, and he readies his spear. He swallows thickly, feeling a level of exhaustion that he's not used to - but he pushes through. He alternates between spear and using his Evoker - the sight and sound of him apparently shooting himself is probably distressing, but the figure that appears is probably a good distraction from that.

A few quick tests shows him that yes, Hama works very well on these demons, paper seals spiraling around them and exploding in light. It doesn't kill most of them outright, but it does seem to cause them quite a bit of damage. If he gets the chance to smash into a keystone he'll do it, but he seems perfectly happy to just fight things that he doesn't have to hold back on.


[Rest] [Purple/Red]

He does, reluctantly, need to rest sometimes. Once a basic base camp is established and he's run through a few gates, Ken slumps to the ground against whatever solid surface they've got. He pulls out something that looks like a rectangular candy package and tears into it, popping it into his mouth and sighing with some relief. There's his magic back... now he just needs some rest to shake off the exhaustion. He pulls the coat Vexen gave him around himself, dark hood falling over his head as he closes his eyes.


[Wildcard]

[???]

Rest

[azrthmtrnznthos]

Raven slumps next to him, as she's tired herself. Physically tired, mentally--she's exhausted. This hasn't been an easy mission for her.

Still, she nudges Ken before he can fully fall asleep. "Get some food in you. You'll feel better, and it'll help."

[miseris_socios]

He jerks upright and blinks sleepily at her. "Got food in my bag... had a little earlier. 'M fine..."

[azrthmtrnznthos]

"Humor me, and eat something anyways, Ken." Raven nudged with her shoulder gently, trying to sound jovial.

[miseris_socios]

He just gave her a flat look and reached into his bag, pulling out a half of a wrapped sandwich and opening it. From the smell, it's peanut butter. He takes a bite, not breking eye contact.

Drop

[thawed_pride]

Vexen handles the transition better, between not being entirely real, his existing connection to darkness, and his coat. Still, it sets him on edge in a way that's not entirely like the realm of darkness, but not entirely unlike it either. It's an easy assumption that his coat is protecting him, and a quick decision that Ken needs it more. Still, there's an obstacle in the way...the demons guarding the gate aren't exactly going to stand around while he hands the boy a coat and helps him adjust it. They'll just have to die first.

As Ken goes on the offensive, Vexen summons his shield to his arm in a flash of blue light and ice crystals. A flick of the other wrist summons a massive snowflake, easily five feet across, which he sends sailing around like a frigid buzz saw to cleave through demonic flesh.

"Let's do this quick, boy! You'll need my coat if you're going to spend much time in here."

[miseris_socios]

Ken doesn't respond verbally, just runs towards a demon and slides between its legs, stabbing it in the back and continuing his run towards the tower. There's got to be some indication as to what the keystone is -

A demon shifts to block Ken's path, but the boy just lifts his Evoker to his head and fires. Nemesis spins and seals crawl up the demon, exploding into light. The demon moves to strike Ken, but he dodges out of the way with ease.

[thawed_pride]

He saw Ken's warning over the ICPs, but this is his first time seeing the Evoker in action. It causes him to tense, but he's no stranger to setting his feelings aside for the sake of a mission. He darts forward, skimming several inches above the ground, and drives the longest point on the leading end of his shield into the demon focused on Ken. He immediately whips around to fling the creature at one of its comrades, only to find the corpse decays into nothing mid-flight.

"Hmm, they leave less behind than even Nobodies. Well, at least we won't have to worry about tripping on our fallen foes."

[miseris_socios]

The sight of it disappearing isn't new to Ken - Shadows work the same way. Ken shrugs and uses the Evoker again, zapping a demon in their way as they continue forward so that the lightning jumps to the demon he's next to. It's not Mazionga, but it's still something.

"They don't like light. Hama doesn't always work, but it's more likely to, here." If Chidori were here she'd be able to tell him more, but he'll make do with what he's got. "We need to find the keystone and leave." This place doesn't like him, he can feel it. It's like it's trying to crush him, rather than the more abstract way the Dark Hour slowly eats at his energy.

Drop

[hashtagparkerluck]

Peter's whole mission, that he's given himself is to smash as many keystones as he can manage. He's also found out by know that he can literally just yank them right out with a good solid yank on his webbing. He misses the initial distressing image of a kid shooting them self but he sees the Persona and yeah-he has to say that's pretty effective-he'd even go as far as to say it's super effective. Who knew!

He flips over Ken and over to a keystone, shoots his webs, yanks it free and then the SCA begins its countdown.

"Okay, Time to go! Let's move!" He calls out, turning to try and usher Ken back towards the portal.

[miseris_socios]

He hears the SCA start to beep, and he looks up at - okay that looks like some other kind of superhero, he definitely doesn't look like he belongs in a sentai.

Ken nods and summons Nemesis again with a bang, seals spiraling up to hit the demon in their path before it can get directly in their path. It recoils and Ken sprints towards the exit. For someone with such short legs he moves pretty fast.

[hashtagparkerluck]

Sure, he moves fast, but Peter's pretty sure he moves faster and time is ticking. He catches up easily thanks to being much faster than the average human and scoops the kid up before firing his webs outside the collapsing portal to pull them both through it before time is out.

"Sorry about this-" Peter apologizes, pulling them back through the portal and immediately setting the kid back down. That was... exhausting. "That's a pretty neat trick you've got there."

He takes a deep breath in and pulls off the mask. There's no real point in wearing it at the moment anyway. He glances towards the wasteland, looking for the next portal he can jump through.

"Up for another go?" He asks, tilting his head in the direction of more demons and another portal.

[miseris_socios]

He stiffens under the touch and once he's back on solid ground he shakes it off a little like he's a dog.

"Always." He can only stay out so long, but the coat Vexen lent him is helping a lot. "Stupid dark-aligned places... I've got a few more goes in me before I have to go recover. My magic's not infinite."

1

[adregem]

He watches Ken prep, and honestly this isn't the first time Roland's seen it for himself. The constant reorganizing, the wary looks he throws those who pass him by when he fixes his things. He's mentioned some of his past to Roland that day they met in the cabin, but it hasn't gotten a whole lot better. At least, from his assessment.

Before Ken can leave their shared space, he calls out for him first.

"Hey."

In his hand is a can of a nutritional liquid meal replacement called FortiGro, in strawberry.

"One for the road." Roland nods. "It's packed with calories, so if you don't have time to eat, you can chug one down and keep going."

[miseris_socios]

Ken pauses and takes the can, staring at him and then glancing at his bag. Roland’s okay, in his estimation - still an adult, still not the most comfortable person to be around, but... not terrible, which is saying something. (What that something is, he’s not totally sure. But something.)

“Um.” Hm. “... Thanks.” He slides the bag off of his shoulder to tuck the can into his things. “... I... look, I know you’ve caught me before, I just...” How can he even start to explain? “... There’s no way the train can keep feeding all of us forever...”

[adregem]

"I understand. That's a valid concern."

He's not just saying that either. Roland's tried his best to never be picky even when he didn't quite like the ingredient of the month (hint: avocados) precisely for that reason. He audits the stores in the same spirit of self-preservation and being frugal with their supplies. So he's honest in his response, keeping his eyes trained on the boy while he fixes his own things.

"But we'll do our best to ration. We get restocked every two weeks, so we can control portions if it looks like it's getting thin. Till then."

It's a reassurance with logic behind it - two weeks is measurable, which means it's reliable. Even if the train itself functioned on mystery. His bag disappears in a flash of gold, tucked into his arms band, before he rests a hand on his hip.

"We can cook items that fill you up for longer, so you don't have to always eat in between meals. We'll work together. It'll be okay."

[miseris_socios]

"... What if it doesn't restock, though?" His voice is quiet, a little afraid. "What if it decides it's too expensive or... or it doesn't care anymore?" Whoever's running this thing... doesn't have to like them. "It could."

It could and Ken doesn't see why it wouldn't. Maybe it needs them for missions now, but down the line, who knows? "If... if it does, we're... not going to make it. I don't... I don't want that to happen. I've been trying to eat to get my weight up but it's still..." Terrifying. He doesn't want to imagine that possibility, but he'd be stupid not to.

"... Going hungry is awful. I don't... I can deal with it, but it's... I don't want to be unprepared."

Prep

[10billionpercent]

It had been a bit since he spoke with Ken and he paused to catch him before he could get too far. It didn't matter that he wasn't coming with the team, he was still concerned for him, like everyone else.

"Here, take this." He summoned from his armband a small loaf of bread that was wrapped and a package of fresh cut vegetables - cherry tomatoes, celery and carrot sticks. "Just in case you get stuck somewhere."

[miseris_socios]

Ken opened his mouth to protest that he already had food, he was fine... but whatever. He took the food and slung his bag off of his shoulder to start arranging it in his bag. “We’re supposed to be destroying gates or something. What are you guys doing, again?”

[10billionpercent]

"Checking out towers with guardian monks with defences. I don't know what kind of defences there are." Senku hummed. "Might be challenging, might not. I guess the gates stop the demons. I wonder what caused this conflict to begin with."

[miseris_socios]

"If I had to take a wild guess it'd be demons just being monsters, but who knows. That's just what I'd think from movies and stuff. I've never met a real demon."

Rest

[paopuofyourlife]

Kairi was feeling exhausted for the most part. Using a lot of magic while fighting probably being one of the caused. So when they have time to rest she was making sure to take it and not to over do it.

So during that she looks over and looking over curious at what the other seemed to be eating.

"Keeping your energy yup or as much as you can."

[miseris_socios]

Ken looked up at Kairi and shrugged, tugging at the coat. "I'm doing what I can. It's hard to keep sitting hile everyone is fighting. ... I only have so many things that restore my magic, though."

[paopuofyourlife]

"I agree it is rather hard, though I know many of the others here do have a lot to help keep magic up. Though I cannot remember who on each team has the items though." She is just aware that the group overall are rather well stocked for the most part.

[miseris_socios]

"I ordered stuff from home." He doesn't want to have to rely on other people who might want something in return.