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

[yondu]

"Not really. Since we won the war with the demons, things have been a lot better. Not even any shady characters around. Ooooh a few animals here and there, but don't you worry about that. We've been keeping an eye on it."

Yondu, in the meantime, turns his back to talk into the SCA while Madoka is busy. After leaving that he turns back to the vendor.

"What you say about animals again? Like wild animals or y'all's farm animals?"

"Some of the farm animals. It's been the damndest thing... Where are you from by the way?"

[happyends]

"Oh, we're from--!"

Madoka quickly speaks up, determined to be the Mission Veteran here who will show how to do this.. only to realise a few words into her sentence that she's never really had to make up an actual cover story to the people in the worlds they're visiting.

And perhaps also realising at the very same time that she is a very, very terrible liar.

And can't back out now.

"F.. from.." She glances nervously back and forth between Yondu and the man. ".. Kansas..?"

(Someone may have read a little bit too much of The Wizard of Oz.)

[yondu]

What, are we picking random ass Terran places now? Okay, well, he'll pick Quill's home he reckons.

"I'm from Missouri," he says so flat someone could have slipped and fell on the words.

The vendor seems to accept the words, though. Like he's heard of those places, or it would be normal to be from them.

"Well, welcome to the Shining City!" And he offers them both welcome gifts. Surprisingly, though, in handing them both little mold fired clay figurines Yondu's hard expression softens. His persistent resting bitchface eases up as he looks at the little chicken he's been given.

He puts it in his pocket. "I'll be back. C'mon, Angel. Let's talk over here."

[happyends]

It's more than a little surprising that the man doesn't question their cover up at all. Because Madoka has no idea where Kansas even is, other than the country it's located in. And Missouri is even more of a mystery to her. Is that also a place on Earth? Is it the planet Yondu is from? How come this man treats it like something totally normal, even though Madoka over here is doing some severe mental acrobatics?

And then there's the gifts. Madoka doesn't even notice the switch in his expression since she's so busy looking at her own little figurine. Holding it up like it's some sort of ancient treasure she's studying. Like she may be able to figure out something about this place by looking at it.

.. until she's interrupted by Yondu speaking up. The girl immediately looks over at him, before quickly nodding.

"Okay!"

She's still holding onto the figurine, but she obediently follows him to a spot where they have a bit more privacy.

"I think you're right about something being weird here.." She says once they're out of the man's earshot. "He didn't even seem surprised at all to hear those place names! And I'm pretty sure there aren't actual demon gates over in the United States.." So it can't just happen to be somewhere near here.

[yondu]

"That's gonna make things harder than I figured. I put a shout out to ever'body. If they hear a story about this havin' happened before, they need to let us know. Because if they're seein' me as normal?"

He pokes himself in the chest. As a Centaurian, people have always noticed. Even in space- he's a little strange. Not many Centaurians end up off-world and his appearance is just unique enough to be notable.

Here, everyone is the same shades of dirt most Terrans come in. He should be noticed.

"Maybe if we go look at the livestock we'll figure out what he was sayin', too-" though as he's talking, he sees a chicken peck at a bug on the ground. Over and over. And over. He taps Madoka's arm with the back of his knuckles to get her to look. The bug is just merrily moving along as if there isn't a chicken trying to eat it (because there's not). Which makes him realize the extent to which their eyes are playing tricks on them.

[happyends]

Madoka is a girl who's pretty good at reading signals by this point. And one who knows to be cautious. So when he taps her on the arm like that, she doesn't give a verbal response - figuring that he probably is drawing her attention in a more subtle way so she's quiet about it.

So she silently turns her head, spotting the chicken. It takes a few more moments before she realises what he's trying to tell her, since the effect is pretty subtle.. But then she can see it.

Slowly her gaze moves back to Yondu.

".. Should we try to touch it..?" The chicken, that is. She's saying it in a hushed voice too, still trying to be cautious and sneaky!

(And part of being cautious is first asking that question to a Responsible Adult, rather than just charging ahead to try and grab the chicken to see what's up with it.)

[yondu]

He nods. "How hard are them things to catch?"

Yondu Udonta has never been so deep in the shit that he's had to chase any planet worth of chicken before, so he's a little... Well he could catch it with his arrow but in the off chance it's real or that illusion is really handy he doesn't want to murder a small animal in front of Madoka.

So. Catch the chicken it is.

"Tell me if it's warm or anything or if the illusion is solid."

He isn't going to pick up the chicken but he will try to block off the chicken's exit strategy which is about as much punishment as his dignity can take right now.

[happyends]

"Alright." Madoka nods right back at him, looking as determined as a 14 year old can look. If she's entrusted the important task of attempting to touch this chicken, she will take it very seriously! Especially when it may be a step in the task of figuring out what's going on in the city!

So she starts stepping over to the chicken. Very carefully, step by step, like she's trying to make sure she won't scare it away through the sounds of her footsteps. It seems to be working, too, since the chicken remains in its spot, still trying to peck at the unmoving bug.

"It's okay.. Please don't move, miss chicken.."

And when the girl gets close enough, she slowly reaches out her hand, fingers so close to the feathers of the animal--

But then something changes. Rather than fleeing, the chicken turns towards Madoka, leaping at her with a ferocity that's completely unlike any chicken. The sound it lets out feels wrong too. It's not like a chicken at all, but instead a low growl, and Madoka shrieks as she quickly tries to dodge out of its way.

[yondu]

With the sudden attack of a chicken, Yondu reaches out and grabs Madoka, pulling her back against him, enough that leaning over her his coat falls around her, and his arrow streaks into and through the chicken. Not even a hesitation this time.

Now that he's heard it, he really looks at it. Feels a splinter of something, sees a shape that's not chicken-like in the slightest.

They've attracted some attention. The vendor and a couple of parents of a smaller child running over to check on Madoka.

They're asking questions in the shape of 'Are you alright?' and making comments of 'Wow this is as far in the city as I've seen it'. And only a younger, startled child reacts as Yondu recalls his arrow and catches it beside his head. It's only then that he lets Madoka go.

[happyends]

The moment she's pulled back like that, closer towards Yondu, Madoka actually moves a bit towards him to. The girl may have learned to fight, and may have learned to deal with these situations, but she's still young and - in a lot of ways - innocent enough that she can't quite resist the instinct of trying to hide against someone when they're trying to protect you.

The only evidence of the fact she's more used to this than her demeanour may suggest is the fact that she only winces a little bit when the arrow moves through the 'chicken'.

"A-ah, I'm fine.." Madoka replies to the people who are starting to gather, waving her hands dismissively as if to tell them to not worry about her the moment Yondu lets go of her and she can properly turn towards the people.

One of said people mentions a lot of farm animals having attacked people lately - and that's enough for Madoka to slowly realise what's going on here.

But discussing it with Yondu in front of these people isn't easy. Certainly not with these people crowding them, and their fussing over Madoka seemingly not letting up.

So the girl decides she has to Do Something About It. Trying to look as determined as she can, she turns to the people and says: "Really, I'm fine! N-Now, I'd like to keep on moving through town with.. um.."

Oh god, what excuse does she even make up for the fact that Yondu is clearly so much older than her and it's kind of weird to see them together without knowing they're both kidnapped void heroes--

".. with my uncle!" Yes, clearly that works. The greatest coverup. Going from green dad to blue uncle. "B-Bye!"

She's just.. going to grab Yondu's free hand over here and drag him along to have a moment to talk with some privacy again, thanks. Bye, bye, people...

[yondu]

Yondu takes her hand but doesn't move. This time he stays put. "Hold up, Angel! I got an idea."

Then to one of the townsfolk. "Hold up! Hold up. Where have been the worst cases with them farm animals? What part of the city?"

A woman replies, mildly stunned still at the cute little girl being attacked. "Over in the livestock area, mostly."

"Did you kill the animals that did it? Where did they go?"

"We don't-" she starts to respond, but the smaller kid points to the body of the chicken. Or rather, the lack of it. It's gone now.

"Hey! Where did it go?" he asks, and now there are several people sort of looking around for a non-existent zombie chicken. Because that arrow (wait, was that strange? That's starting to seem a little strange) went through that chicken completely.

Yondu turns his attention to Madoka then, finally going with her but speaking lowly. "I think we gotta get their brains on wonderin' what's happened to them animals what went wild on 'em. We oughta find out where they're keepin' the livestock."

[happyends]

There may be a slight whiny sound escaping her when he's telling her to hold up. Not that Madoka doesn't immediately stop. She's obedient enough to listen, and she thinks Yondu probably wouldn't tell her to hold up without having some really good reason for it.. But on the other hand, that means lingering here for another moment, and Madoka is just shy enough to feel really awkward about all the attention she's getting from all these strangers. Hence the slight protest.

But thankfully the attention is quickly drawn away from her and towards the chicken. Or the lack of a chicken. Okay. This is more bearable for a few more moments, until they finally start moving away from the people. It's then that she replies to him.

"Finding the animals shouldn't be too hard! Let's just start walking until we see a whole bunch of them-- or ask someone along the way."

There's still enough people around in the city that they're bound to run into some more. Hopefully some that can just give them a direct answer.

But there's something else she's still wondering about.

"Mister Yondu, do you think it's important for the people to see what's really happening..? Don't you think they might get very scared?"

[yondu]

"I think so. It ain't just about bein' scared. Some of these animals give 'em food. If they ain't that many, then where are they gonna get the food from it- Hey! Y'all. Where they keep the livestock?!" He hollers at an older couple who are rubbernecking the vague confusion from a distance, lacking anything that resembles shyness.

All his fear of sharing comes from his own emotions, not his own raspy voice yelling questions.

"Oh, there are some off by the West Tower!" The lady responds, and Yondu responds with some folksy sounding thanks before veering that way.

"I don't think they'll look past this shit without some proof, either. My eyes is fooled real good. An' I can feel it... like it's bearin' down, tryin' to question stuff is like liftin' somethin' heavy. My thinkin' legs wanna give out."

What? What is that phrase, Yondu? But that's about the best way he can describe it.

[happyends]

Thankfully Madoka is a master of interpretation. Clearly. Or at the very least, she understands what he's trying to say, no matter how unconventional the way he's saying it is.

"Hmm.. I don't even know how much there is to look past." Since Madoka isn't really good at this sort of thing. Is it just that there's something weird with the animals? Clearly not, judging by that guy's attitude - but then how much is there wrong here?

She shakes her head a little as she walks. "I mean, that chicken pretty obviously wasn't just a chicken, but I couldn't tell either what it really was before it was suddenly gone after you took care of it. But--"

She pauses, thinking back on her conversation over the comms..

".. Tidus said I may have a way to look past it, if you'd like to try that, sir..?"

[yondu]

"Oh, yeah? Well, let's give it a shot."

He's ready to see what her plan is.

"Well, it took me noticin' that the chicken wasn't eatin' before I figured it out. So these illusions are pretty strong. But some of the topography feels wrong." He gestures around.

"My fin... It's readin' some of these buildin's are broke? But my eyes say they're all put together."

[happyends]

She nods along a little with what he's saying, even as she seems focused on something else at the same time. She takes out her mana drive, thankfully used to the way it works by now, but still needing a moment to set it up with the right spell.

"Okay, I think I can help with that. Making your fin and eyes register the same thing, that is.." Oh, gosh, which spell was it again? It takes some fiddling, but then Madoka remembers - Shell.

She points the device at Yondu as it automatically casts the spell on him. A spell that ups magic resistance for a while.

Which means that the moment it kicks in, he should be able to see beyond the illusion cast over the place.

But since it's a single target spell, Madoka has no idea what he's seeing. Or not seeing. She looks like a kid waiting to see what their Christmas present is. Full anticipation.

"Do you see something, mister Yondu?"

[yondu]

What in the ever-loving hell did she just do? She pointed a thing, and- Oh what the hell...

Yondu turns in place, face twisting up in the most potent of confusion, oh this is a hell of a lot different!

"Yeah, Angel, I think it worked. And whatever juju they got convincin' them that this is an okay place to stay is strong. There's barely any actual animals here. And whew.... some of these buildin's. That skyline ain't helpin'- how much juice you got in that thing?" He points at her mana drive.

"Use it on yourself an' let's see what we can set up."

[happyends]

"Um, I think there's a few charges of the spell in here, but I don't think it's enough to use on all the people here.." But at least enough to use one on herself too. And since he's telling her to do so, Madoka is quick to obediently do so, even if it's a little harder to angle it in such a way that she can cast the spell on herself.

But after a moment or two she manages to do it - obviously so too, since Madoka looks equally surprised when she can see the truth of the city around them. It's such a stark contrast with how it looked only a moment ago..

"No way, the people here have been living in such a place all along..?"

[yondu]

"I think they might be ignoring some of the damaged houses. The people in 'em mighta died durin' the war. Now they figure they just moved. Anyway, that's just thinkin'."

He puts his hand between Madoka's shoulders to try and usher her the way they were going.

"Here's what I'm thinkin'. We take this to a few of the livestock guys, right? Ones that have been wary of attack. Even under this illusion, they know somethin' is off, so that's a good start. We talk to 'em and use it on 'em. They'd do more convincin' than a coupla strangers from Kansas and Missouri."

[happyends]

Madoka is moving right along - though maybe a little on the slow side, so in that sense it's a good thing that Yondu's got that hand on her back, pushing her along. It's really just that Madoka's head is partially elsewhere, making her walk a bit absentmindedly.

But not absentminded enough to totally miss what he's saying. Her head dips into a nod.

"I think that's a good idea.." That's not the problem, really. Nor the reason why she's so in thought. No, that reason rears its head when she continues talking - though while still walking.

"But.. don't you think it's sad, mister Yondu?" She glances up at him, sympathy in her eyes. "If they're ignoring the damaged houses, and aren't thinking there's any danger.. It means they may have totally forgotten about people who have died during recent attacks. They don't seem that concerned about the animals attacking, after all."

So there may not have been any fatal endings to those attacks - or people simply forgot about them, just how they seem to ignore anything that's out of the ordinary for them.

[yondu]

Such a good kid ain't got no place bein' on this train. He'd slap the shit out of whatever algorithm forced her on here if he had half a chance. Rather than pushing, he puts his hand on her other shoulder so it's like he briefly hugs her to his side. Just the smallest gesture.

"These people been fightin' so long that they latched onto the first moment they had to not think of things so bad. Big countries an' empires do that, too, y'know? Like there were Kree that wouldn't like the kinda stuff that happened to me when I was a littlun, but they just kinda shut off to it. Brains too tired from fightin' an' didn't want to think fo what else might be happenin'."

You'd think he'd be madder about it, but he isn't. For being as angry and hateful and tired as he can be, there's not a lot of vengeance in Yondu. He's even hired Kree defectors to his crew. Gotta do what you gotta do even if it's to hide for the sake of your own mental health. Doesn't help getting the wool pulled over your eyes, though, and having that desperate desire manipulated.

"The way I figure it's sad, yeah, but these folks are desperate. This might be the longest they've had to go without worryin' in a good long time."

[happyends]

There's a lot of new facts suddenly being thrown her way. Things Madoka instantly gets curious about. Like who these Kree are, for example - are they some sort of aliens? It seems like it, even though Madoka has a hard time imagining what they might look like. A little like Yondu?

And then there's the mention of his past - what happened to me when I was a littlun, the implication that it was really bad.

She knows it's not the time to ask about it. Maybe it'll never be, since Madoka is much too polite to pry into anyone's past, especially when it may be sensitive. But the information does linger at the back of her mind, even as she speaks up, fully letting Yondu pull her closer into a slight sidehug.

(Her head may even tilt sideways a little to rest against his side.)

"I really hope we can help everyone here." Even if it feels like their team isn't doing the main thing. Sure, helping the people here see the truth and helping evacuate them is important, but they're not fighting. Not defeating the threat. "I don't want them to have to live like this."

[yondu]

"Hey, we're gonna. These people need you. You're gonna do fine." He assures her because he feels like she needs it more than him. He feels pretty damn useless, but he's at least in here where he can keep Blue Team safe in the very off chance they can't handle that mess outside the wall, there being gods and such duking it out.

We'll go find us some people that'll be able to say there's somethin' real wrong with the animals, we'll help 'em see what's goin' on. People gonna be sad but I figure some of 'em might be real mad they got tricked... an' there's always gonna be a few that say 'well the truth is the trick' but there's nothin' we can do for those folks."

It sucks, but short of clubbing them over the head and making them leave they're not going to budge.

"I think.... probably they were livin' pretty bad for a real long time. It ain't gonna be pretty to go back to, but they need a real idea of what resources they got and not just some trick of the light. Alright, come on. Look me in the eyes-" he looks down at her, pointing to those red eyes of his and throws on a more supportive look onto that persistently dour expression "-and you listen to me. You're gonna do fine. If anyone's gonna be able to help these people, it's gonna be you."

[happyends]

Madoka is so caught up in thought about everything he's saying that it's almost as if she snaps out of it a little when he tells her to look him in the eyes. Her eyes are a little wide, the look in them still obviously worried - he should be able to see it just fine, exactly because they're looking each other in the eyes from up close like this.

"Me?"

It doesn't feel right. What can she do in this situation? Sure, she is the one who took the mana drive along, but anyone could use that! She could've passed it on to Yondu himself and he would have been able to use the spells, she's sure.

But Madoka thinks maybe he's just trying to cheer her up. And in that case it'd be rather rude of him to just refuse his encouragement, right?

"I-I'm not so sure of that.. I mean, I'm going to do my best!" Because she doesn't want him to get the idea she's giving up. She's not, not at all, because she really does want to help everyone. "But there's not so much I can do.. It's up to everyone out there to keep the city safe, right..?"

[yondu]

It's hard to convince someone of somethin' when you're not feeling it yourself. But it's not the first time he's set his mind to such a thing. He had a whole big crew of people a lot more dangerous and stubborn and damnably self-lovin' than Madoka.

"They're gonna do their best but we gotta get these people outside because sometimes 'their best' ain't good enough. They got a lotta good people but we're gonna be a solid back-up plan."

It makes the circumstances seem dire, but they are if things go tits up with the towers or the outside group.

He gives her a little squeeze. "Besides I need someone to help keep me from killin' some o' these idiots. Who else is gonna be able to do that?"