Though it is nighttime, the training grounds are filled with bright light of the midday sun, as well as the gentle radiance of the moon. It is pierced by weird beams of dark, almost not-light, launched at the stone blocks set up as the targets.
(Baleful Eclipse: +200 Base Damage, +50 Stationary Target, no dice = 250 Total Damage
Practice Block: 1000 Base Resilience, -750 Juggernaut, no dice = 250 Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective!)
Though nothing comes of it, the sources of the radiance and the not-light, two magical girls, keep launching it at the blocks. Without exchanging words or even glances, they move closer and further to each other, aiming at one block and at two adjacent ones in turn. Sometimes, their dance ends with a burst of the dark not-light, and at times, nothing at all happens. And at all times, their lips don't stop moving, whispering one phrase over and over again. Then, suddenly, both of them turn to launch the not-light at two different targets.
Did it really work?
They pause momentarily, before rising into air in sharp angles taking them to the opposite sides of the line of stone blocks. Moving in synchronicity, they aim at the stone blocks at the opposite sides of the line, before chanting their spell in full voice for once: ""Baleful Eclipse!""
(Baleful Eclipse: +200 Base Damage, +50 Stationary Target, -150 Partial Eclipse, no dice = 100 Total Damage
Practice Block: 1000 Base Resilience, -750 Juggernaut, no dice = 250 Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective!
Baleful Eclipse: +200 Base Damage, +50 Stationary Target, -150 Partial Eclipse, no dice = 100 Total Damage
Practice Block: 1000 Base Resilience, -750 Juggernaut, no dice = 250 Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective!)
We did it! Wediditwediditwedidit!
Just as before, the attack isn't doing anything. And yet, the radiant girls launch themselves at each other to embrace, laughing at the success well earned. They land on the ground, before walking towards the exit. Previously unnoticed, a small dog laying on a patch of grass rises and runs to them. They stop to pet it gently, before pausing once again.
Are we really doing this, Rico. Yes, we need to know.
Frowning, the moonlight-girl speaks to the dog: "Ludger, can you please help us..."
"Woof!" was the reply of a tail-wagging corgi.
"Ludger, it is important. Now, I know you'll never do it of your own will, but please, just this once, bite me and Rico," the girl continued, and the corgi whined and shook his head, prompting the two girls to speak in unison: "Ludger, please? Don't worry, we'll heal!"
Hesitantly, unwillingly, the corgi nods once, then snaps his teeth at the hands the twins extended to him:
(Leviathan Bite: 400 Base Damage, -300 Biting The Hand That Feeds Him, +300 Loyalty Beyond Reproach, +55 Dice, +220 Layer of Sunlight = 675 Total Damage
Primordial Sun: 105 Base Resilience, +1964 Dice, +5802 Veil of the Solar Goddess, -4456 Juggernaut = 3415 Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective!
Leviathan Bite: 400 Base Damage, -300 Biting The Hand That Feeds Him, +300 Loyalty Beyond Reproach, +14 Dice, +56 Layer of Sunlight =470 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: 14526 No-Sell Threshold
Veil of the Lunar Goddess, girl)
Despite knowing how his bite was capable of crushing a giant living tree, everyone involved is surprised to see that the teeth slide off the hands without doing the slightest harm. Though the girls know that their Faithful Guardian did his best, what they felt never transitioned past what they'd call playful nips.
Rico? Eva? We do need to try...
The girls placate the despondent Ludger with hugs, before standing and stepping two steps away from him. The twins order Ludger to sit, and brandish their scepters at each other. For the last time on that night, a now-familiar chant passes their lips.
. . .
LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED
. . .
"Oh, why are you here, girls?" Spring's Dream asked with a gentle smile, looking at the young Vescovi twins in front of her.
"Well, we were wondering, can we play tag?" The bolder one, Rico she remembered, answered. Spring looked at her, a little confused.
"Not the normal tag - Magical Girl tag!" The gentler one, Eva, responded to the unasked question. Seeing interest in Spring's face, she proceeded: "What we want is to transform, fly in the sky and try to tag each other with our spells." Oh, that was it, Spring thought. Then she frowned minutely.
"Isn't Sun's spell really destructive?" Spring's Dream asked, blushing minutely. "If I recall correctly, it really makes a-a mess of our clothes! I cannot allow that so easily!"
Rico shifted uncomfortably and started explaining: "Well, we've actually done some training. We managed to make our spells synchronize, and we had a different one as a result. It's only slightly damaging, so there'll be no harm. Promise!"
Spring's frown deepened at the implication that the girls had probably done some live testing...
"I'm not happy you decided to do some unsupervised testing, girls. However, this time and only this time, I'm letting it slide, because no harm no foul," Spring's Dream interrupted Rico sternly, pausing to see if her rebuke worked. From the uncomfortable fidgeting, it probably did. Spring nodded to herself, internally, before smiling gently once again: "However, I wouldn't mind you playing aerial tag, so long as you obey the rules I set out. Are we clear?"
The twins nodded frantically, causing Spring's Dream's smile to widen. "And yes, this does mean you can play tag. So long as it's supervised, because this kind of active game with magic counts as a spar. I'm coming with you."
This declaration was met with surprise, swiftly transformed into gleeful eagerness that Spring found positively infectious.
. . .
LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED
. . .
"Now that we're all transformed and I applied my spell, we're ready to fly. But first, the rules you will abide by. First, touching someone by hand or by spell counts, and I'll be keeping count, so no cheating. Second, don't worry about tagging me by accident, but try to avoid it if at all possible, because I'll be in the air with you. Third, be very careful with casting spells if they can miss into the ground. Finally - the moment I tell you to stop, you stop immediately and come to me. Are we clear?"
""Yes!""
"Good. Now, the bout starts on my mark, so let's go into the air," Spring suits her words to actions, ascending in the air while pacing herself to let the twins keep up. Hmmm, might suggest them train their speed, I know how fun it can be, Spring's Dream smiled to herself. Rising above the skyline, she begins the countdown: "Three, two, one, Mark!"
The twins dart away from each other the moment Spring starts counting, Sun diving low while Moon rises high, both launching their spells at each other. The bout, however, moves rather swiftly to below the skyline, forcing Spring to follow. Ten minutes later she declares a break to Sun, watching Moon arrive at the roof without being actually told.
"Okay, I can see that this is not working out all that well. You cannot exactly hide from each other, but Moon's moonlight is far more effective since she can launch a number of beams all at once, compared to Sun's dark beam," Spring's Dream summarizes what she'd seen from their bout, "Overall, I think the idea of going below the skyline to try tagging each other by hand was good, but you seemed far too adept at finding and evading each other."
The girls look at Spring's Dream with slight dismay and resignation - at least until they hear her suggestion: "So how about this - I'll be joining this tag, myself versus the two of you. I don't have spells to tag with at a distance, but I'm really really fast. So here's how it will go - I won't go so fast you cannot even track me, I can only tag you by touching your back by hand, and I will retreat briefly every time I tag one of you."
The twins nod enthusiastically, their spirits raised once again. This is going to be fun, Spring's Dream thought to herself as started the countdown.
. . .
LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED
. . .
In the end, Spring's Dream's superior speed, agility and experience had proven to be the decisive factors of the aerial tag battle against the Primordial Sun and Moon - even with their spells, their connection, and their numbers, even with all the handicaps she gave them, they had only managed to tag her thrice.
The first time she bad underestimated Moon's reflexes, who managed to dodge her first attempt at tagging and launch a blind spell her way she was simply too close to evade all the beams. The second time, she was caught by Sun's spell ambushing her while she was searching the Moon. And the last time, their teamwork allowed Primordial Moon to hem her into the path of Sun's spell.
As she called the end of the match and descended to the ground since it was already dinnertime, Spring's Dream allowed herself to laugh lightly, her voices and those of the twins joining together in exhilaration. This was indeed fun.
However, as they were landing, the girls paused, before Eva spoke softly: "There's something else we need to tell you after dinner. The reason why I didn't use this spell on Rico, despite also knowing how to."
. . .
FLASHBACK IDENTIFIED
. . .
For the last time on that night, a now-familiar chant passes their lips. ""Baleful Eclipse!""
(Baleful Eclipse: +200 Base Damage, -150 Partial Eclipse, no dice = 50 Total Damage
Primordial Sun: 105 Base Resilience, Dice Negated, Veil of the Solar Goddess Negated, -78 Juggernaut = 22 Damage Reduction
28 Total End Damage
Primordial Sun: 1100 - 28 = 1072 Health
Baleful Eclipse: +200 Base Damage, -150 Partial Eclipse, no dice = 50 Total Damage 75 Radiance
And though Primordial Moon was unharmed by the exchange of two beams of almost not-light, the same could not be said for Primordial Sun.
Omake End
AN: Well, another of explicitly non-canon omakes. Why? Well, I went against a certain bit of trivia QM has confirmed for me:
There is no eclipse without sun and moon. There is no Baleful Eclipse without synchronized spellcasting. As is, the "Partial Eclipse" modifier I used is in the unrealistic example when the spell actually works, but only if the girls are on the same battlefield and close by - as in, "their light reaches each other directly" close.
Then again, it's better than letting girls play around with Spring while using a nudifier beam (ahem) Armor Removal spell as a method of laser tag.
Also, this omake gives me a decent opening for subjecting Rico and Eva to a round of defense-testing. I'll get around to writing up that omake someday I promise.
You're right, letting prisoners of war go just like that is a bad idea. Point is, Winter... that's no war. We've got the superior firepower and infrastructure, so we've got nothing to prove...
Surprised she didn't get pushed back on this. There is no war, and you have superior firepower... but you are suffering casualties all the same. If there is no war, then what do you call the latest attack? A bandit raid? Sure that letting raiders go is that much better than releasing PoWs?
She's got nothing to prove, but girls under her command do have, a lot. The juggernauts like her or Nightmare Child are rarely in danger, it's the newbies who suffer most. Doesn't change much that without White Glory's enhancements the prisoners are just common fodder, and their life or death is of little consequence, but that is hardly an attitude I would expect everyone to accept. That's how you get defectors to Yiggdrasil.
[x] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[x] You never really talked much to Winter; bug her until she plays with you
Surprised she didn't get pushed back on this. There is no war, and you have superior firepower... but you are suffering casualties all the same. If there is no war, then what do you call the latest attack? A bandit raid? Sure that letting raiders go is that much better than releasing PoWs?
She's got nothing to prove, but girls under her command do have, a lot. The juggernauts like her or Nightmare Child are rarely in danger, it's mostly the newbies who suffer most. Doesn't change much that without White Glory's enhancements the prisoners are just common fodder, and their life or death is of little consequence, but that is hardly an attitude I would expect everyone to accept. That's how you get defectors to Yiggdrasil.
All the girls that do not already think the same way are already with Yggdrasil. No one in Kibo wants to fight any more.
Scaring the opposition only leads them to push back harder and everything quickly goes back to who can deal the greater destruction, which is exactly what Kibo does not want.
Strength has a few other reasons to do things this way, though.
[X] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
[x] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[X] EXP-Plan testing the waters
-[X] Baleful Eclipse level 3
-[X] Supernova level 3
-[X] Become Whole Again level 3
Edit: Thinking about, I'd rather get the double up than try my thing and fail to get enough votes.
Edit 2: Since it was a tie, I decided to break it for Naron's sake. May as well take the minuscule amount of EXP from meeting a new MG. Because even if they sound important, it looks a lot like the EXP gain is porportional to how strong they are.
Adhoc vote count started by DarkKing98 on Jan 28, 2018 at 7:42 AM, finished with 2881 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
[x] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
[x] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[x] EXP-Plan testing the waters
If Grand Architect is so important, meeting her should give a sizable amount of EXP.
[X] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[X] You never really talked much to Winter; bug her until she plays with you
[X] EXP-Plan testing the waters
-[X] Baleful Eclipse level 3
-[X] Supernova level 3
-[X] Become Whole Again level 3
Btw I am voting against training because of a few reasons:
1. All 4 of them have trained what they could and stand before a dead end. Building teamwork in such a case needs time, further training wont help that much to get them in sync. (Mostly because we are making plans.)
2. Because of that aimlessly training, it isnt possible to learn anything from it. In the end it will be a waste of time. (There even would be a higher chance to learn something from playing with the seasons than aimless training.)
3. Eva and Rico can be disciplined but Ana and Sky dont have that perk. In the worst case scenario they will be annoyed. That works against teamwork.
4. Maybe some MG´s, like the seasons or Strength, will see that as something good. Mostly because of the reason that Autumn already got informed we can be that way. BUT there is the chance that others could see us as war-crazy girls or that we like fighting too much.
Naturally the last wont be there forever and that will most likely clear up, but if Ana or mostly Sky think that way, our teamwork will suffer even more.
5. If we train the daycompletly, in the end it is possible that Ana and Sky are exhausted and then they arent fit for the mission. As far I understand, MG´s cant stay tranformed over a whole day, because of exhaustion. When they use spells or when they train it will maybe shorten this time even more. Rest and time to clear your head is very important too.
And the last thing is: What is that we want to gain from training? More skills/spells? It feels more like we are drifting to the point of beeing jacks of all trades. We can do many things but nothing really good.
I would therefore recommend that we make more friends (with Arc and Winter) and instead that we buy something, we rather level up things we already possess. Training wont make our things we have stronger. Thats why I believe socializing would be better right now.
[X] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
[X] You never really talked much to Winter; bug her until she plays with you
[X] EXP-Plan Eclipse
[X] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[X] You never really talked much to Winter; bug her until she plays with you
[X] EXP-Plan testing the waters
-[X] Baleful Eclipse level 3
-[X] Supernova level 3
-[X] Become Whole Again level 3
Btw I am voting against training because of a few reasons:
1. All 4 of them have trained what they could and stand before a dead end. Building teamwork in such a case needs time, further training wont help that much to get them in sync. (Mostly because we are making plans.)
2. Because of that aimlessly training, it isnt possible to learn anything from it. In the end it will be a waste of time. (There even would be a higher chance to learn something from playing with the seasons than aimless training.)
3. Eva and Rico can be disciplined but Ana and Sky dont have that perk. In the worst case scenario they will be annoyed. That works against teamwork.
4. Maybe some MG´s, like the seasons or Strength, will see that as something good. Mostly because of the reason that Autumn already got informed we can be that way. BUT there is the chance that others could see us as war-crazy girls or that we like fighting too much.
Naturally the last wont be there forever and that will most likely clear up, but if Ana or mostly Sky think that way, our teamwork will suffer even more.
5. If we train the daycompletly, in the end it is possible that Ana and Sky are exhausted and then they arent fit for the mission. As far I understand, MG´s cant stay tranformed over a whole day, because of exhaustion. When they use spells or when they train it will maybe shorten this time even more. Rest and time to clear your head is very important too.
And the last thing is: What is that we want to gain from training? More skills/spells? It feels more like we are drifting to the point of beeing jacks of all trades. We can do many things but nothing really good.
I would therefore recommend that we make more friends (with Arc and Winter) and instead that we buy something, we rather level up things we already possess. Training wont make our things we have stronger. Thats why I believe socializing would be better right now.
You make a good point. I have one argument alone against not training together once though. It would further increase Sky's profile level. Thusly, we will be able to plan better if she recieves another level profile wise.
You make a good point. I have one argument alone against not training together once though. It would further increase Sky's profile level. Thusly, we will be able to plan better if she recieves another level profile wise.
Training isnt the only thing to raise a sheet, but I need to say it is our only option here. But i still think the negative possibilities outweight the positive ones.
You make a good point. I have one argument alone against not training together once though. It would further increase Sky's profile level. Thusly, we will be able to plan better if she recieves another level profile wise.
Training isnt the only thing to raise a sheet, but I need to say it is our only option here. But i still think the negative possibilities outweight the positive ones.
[X] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
[X] Do EVEN MORE training with Sky and Ana (double up)
[X] EXP-Plan testing the waters
-[X] Baleful Eclipse level 3
-[X] Supernova level 3
-[X] Become Whole Again level 3
I feel like this choice is the whether we want to learn a little about many people, or a lot about a few people.
There are benefits and hindrances to both sides and there is maybe even a middle ground in there somewhere but I feel that not acknowledging that this is essentially the choice we are making will lead us to being unable to make informed decisions in the future.
edit: I know that we probably won't get a character sheet update for sky this time but we may never get that sheet update if we don't put effort into getting it.
Become Whole Again
Level 1 -----> 2 -----> 3
Base Damage: 50 -----> 60 -----> 72
Magic Modifier: N/A
Affinity: Love
Ability: Heal | Instant Recovery
Forgot it last time:
-Dazzle: Makes the victim unable to see for one turn
-Instant Recovery: removes Body Damage. Got your arm cut off? Well, it comes back in an instant when hit with this.
[X] Find and meet Grand Architect; you will find out why she sounds so important
[X] Do more training with Sky and Ana; there ought to be something you can do together
Your classes go by swiftly; working with everyone is much more fun than listening to a teacher in front of the room. But school is school and you are glad once it is time to have lunch and play. A lot of other girls actually wave you goodbye when you take off from the cafeteria, to your first goal of the day.
Your target: Grand Architect.
Whenever anyone mentions her, people are worried and awed and many other things; she has to be important and you want to know why. Who is she?
Actually... where is she? You do not think you saw her before and if she was at the assembly, she did not stand out in any way. Ugh...
In the end, Rico runs over and asks a few other people you come across; they point you towards the place where you first met Strength. So after thanking them, you go running there with Ludger right behind you. The group you find there is... odd. Mostly because all but one girl look exactly the same; they look like girls, but their faces are without expressions and they hold guns ready.
What is more, they form a loose circle around the girl... no, the woman in the center. She has to be at least as old as the Seasons and Strength. Her eyes are on an empty field next to the large building with the power plant and she completely ignores you. So do the weird people standing around, even when Ludger trots over to sniff at one's leg. The only other thing you notice nearby is the big container next to the weird group.
You stand there and watch them for a bit to see what they do, but... even the one girl that looks different just watches the empty ground.
Your sister is already starting to get bored when the girl nods to herself and speaks up. "That should do. No boundaries bind the creative minds. I am Magical Girl Grand Architect!"
She waves the other girls away while you get attentive and watch eagerly; she probably did not see you yet, so maybe you can get to see another adult Magical Girl at work. However, you also take a quick look at her; she looks friendly and... is that a paintbrush?
With your curiousity growing as your eyes go over her almost casual clothes, you almost miss her calling out her spell's name: "Create Building."
While saying it, Grand Architect brandishes her paintbrush and makes a few flowing motions from the container by her side to the empty ground... before it dissolves and the resulting blob quickly moves.
The Magical Girl is already detransformed while her deformed container reaches the place she pointed at, then contorts and forms a weird, faintly glowing spire. You watch eagerly, but notice that the only one who does not seem to be awed by this display is the girl herself.
"...ugh... shield generator number whatever... mark that down, yes? Ugh... stupid Strength, why now of all times? Radar is fine I say, but noooo, we need those ugly things everywhere on top of it all of a sudden. At least let me make some proper power plants..."
You quietly watch her as she continues to grumble while the other people with her check over the "shield generator", whatever that is. Once one of them made some notes on a sheet of paper however, they point your way and she turns to you with a few blinks and an o-shaped mouth. "Oh. Have you been here for long?"
Maybe you should say no and go away right about now? But no, that would be rude. She does not seem to be mean, just weird. And... all the teenagers are weird for one reason or another.
So the two of you nod slowly and Rico lets you speak: "Um... are you Grand Architect?"
You already know the answer with how she transformed just two minutes ago, but you can not really think of anything to say... aside from asking about her magic, but that would be rude again. The other girl's expression quickly turns into a knowing smile, though. "Sure am, just call me Arc. Much shorter. I don't think I've seen you here before?"
Thinking about it, you are pretty sure that you have not seen her, either. Rico takes over while you wonder about that. "Yeah, we're Primordial Sun and Primordial Moon. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, yes! The two little ones that helped protect my city, now I remember. That's perfect, I wanted to thank you for that anyway... hm, you look pretty familiar, though..."
She happily shakes your hands and just continues to talk. That comment about Kibo, though... "Your city?"
As if she was waiting for you to ask, Arc lets go of you, opens her arms wide and turns around; it is a little funny how energetic she is. "Yes, my city. I built all of this, every house and every bit of tech was made by me. The communicators you use, the beds you sleep in, the synthesisers that make your food... all mine. Neat, huh?"
"It is!"
While your sister humours Arc, you think about what she just said. She made this whole city? All of it? That is... really impressive, with all those things you never even saw before. Her magic is completely different from anything you have seen before.
But something else confuses you a bit... and you push it to Rico so she can put it into her conversation, which she does after a moment of letting Arc finish something about 'her vision'. "Arc? Why did you detransform right away? Can't you work better if you stay transformed?"
This lets the cheerful expression turn sour and you sigh internally; it is good that no one takes it personally when you ask insensitive things...
"Ah, don't worry too much. Just a short transformation time in general, so I'm saving time where I can."
Uh...
And there is another thing you do not know. Arc seems to notice it over your confused expressions, or maybe she was just taking a deep breath before she got going anyway; you are not sure which one.
"So... you know how we can only stay transformed for some arbitrary amount of time at once? I've got a full ten minutes, imagine that! Strength and the Seasons go for hours and days while I've got to keep it down and recuperate for most of that time."
While you listen to the rant, it makes you a bit curious about something else besides why this is the case and how long you can stay transformed: "...what happens if we go past that limit?"
Your question makes Arc pause and give you a measuring look before shrugging. "Oh, so you didn't know? Figures, probably noobs... whatever. Thing is, every girl has that limit. If you didn't hit yours yet, you probably got a decent one. You know if you go past it, too; once you do, you automatically detransform and get a pretty nasty case of fatigue."
Oh. If that is the case, then you really did not have this happen to you yet. Weird... you spent half days flying with Igni before. It is a good thing though; getting really tired and stuff would have been bad on your journey to New York.
But then again, only ten minutes for Arc? That does not seem really fair to you. Who made up those times and why?
"Whatever, I'm out for now anyway. How about you girls tag along for a bit while I do my rounds? The golems are boring to hang out with."
You quickly agree and get going.
. . .
Line Break Recognised . . .
Arc is an interesting person to walk around with... although... you sometimes wonder what is going on in her head. She is weird in a way completely different to everyone else. She shows you a few funny things she did for practice and how she makes her golems.
But you have to leave her eventually; there are still other things to do. Not that Arc seemed to mind, she just waved you goodbye and went on to make her rounds through the city.
Time to collect Ana and Sky!
Finding your friends was not hard; you just had to follow the black sludge on the ground... and the people you met readily told you where to find them, but that was definitely not the important part. It turns out they were at the central plaza and used the bright sunlight to play a card game. Well, not with you! It is training time!
Although... you do let them finish whatever they are playing before looming over them menacingly. "Sky, Ana~" "It's time to get stuff done!"
You grin down at where the two of them sit on the ground; yet it only takes a moment for them to smile back and get up. Sky carefully smoothes out her dress as she stands. "Good thing, too. I was loosing."
Ana sticks her tongue out at her and you giggle over the silly sight, then the four... five of you get going. Must not forget Ludger.
But... again, you find the problem of being unable to think of anything useful to train. No one has any ideas, either. Rico and Sky are the only ones with higher ranged spells, but both of those are already plenty strong by themselves. You can show them the basics of how to dodge, but it took you weeks to learn how to do that yourself. And... you are definitely a worse teacher than Soul is. But then again, your friends are starting out better than you did. It is not enough for them to get as good as you are just yet, though.
An hour after you started, the four of you are sitting on the now restored ground again; you and Rico are back to back with Ludger on your sister's lap. Ugh, this is boring. If you had at least an idea what to do? But you can not go around asking for hints again, you do not have that much time today.
"...how about we stop?"
You want to talk back and say no to Ana, but... without any ideas, there is nothing you can do right now. Although... actually...
"Sure, but... one thing first?"
Your friend turns your way with a curious expression while Rico already jumps up and thinks of what else you can do. "Um... sure? What is it?"
Ana did not seem willing to talk about it, but maybe if it is just the four of you? You hope she trusts you that much at least. It might be important. "...can you tell us what your spells do?"
The moment you say "spell", she already grimaces. Bad Eva, that was not a good idea. Sky looks worried, too... but then Ana slowly nods and gets up before helping you. "I... uh... they hurt people. They hurt really really bad."
But why is she blushing now? You would understand if she cried or got sad or angry after saying something like this. Seeing her blush just confuses you both. "Um... Ana?"
"...I puke at people."
She ...huh?
You need a moment to understand -and another to stop Rico from giggling- before you can look at your friend curiously. "So... you cast Spells by puking?"
"...yes."
She looks so flustered about it... it is really, really hard not to laugh. Then Rico gets the image of her puking sunlight at people and you bend over in laughter over the idea.
"H-Hey! Stop laughing!"
You do not. You can not stop yourself. And your sister quickly joins your fun.
It takes you the remaining time with her to stop Ana from giving you the cold shoulder and pouting at you. And a lot of ice cream.
. . .
Line Break Recognised . . .
Once it is about time, you leave Ludger with your friends and then have Strength lead you into another building close to the town hall; the first thing you notice is the light buzzing of electricity. Your eyes wander through the room and you find Winter, the Season tapping away at some kind of device that makes text appear on the screen in front of her. She pays you no mind and works on, only a faint nod indicating that she even noticed you.
So that is what she does? You decide it is not important right now, seeing that Strength does not seem to pay her any mind in return. Besides, you will talk to big sister now! It is just a short walk further down a hallway and the next room you enter is... smaller. There is a big screen on the wall, right above another workstation like the one Winter was at.
But why does Strength look so impish right now? She even pulls two chairs over to the side before pointing at a... a camera on top of the screen? "Do you mind sitting here at the side so she can't see you for a bit? I want to make it a surprise."
Oh... yes, you like that. So does Rico, so you both nod and quickly climb onto the chairs while Strength starts tapping away.
You have a hard time stopping yourself and your twin from bouncing up and down now; why does this take so long?
But before your internal complaints can go on, the faintly glowing screen shows static for a moment before... showing Bianca! A droopy Bianca with how her eyes are only half open, but Bianca nonetheless! She wears her usual suit and her voice is as cold as you remember when she greets Strength:
"Tachibana."
"Vescovi."
Both of them give each other blank looks over the calm greeting... then Strength breaks into a weird grin and leans back. "Having a nice day?"
"..."
Bianca almost opens her mouth to respond, but ends up staying quiet... but you want to talk to her, too! How long will it take?! Hurry up!
Strength just rolls her eyes and sighs. "Just as usual. Let's see if I can't change that look into something friendlier. See, I even brought a present for you."
Oh! Now? No, she holds up a hand to stop you... and your big sister just looks confused, with both eyebrows raised and a mocking tone in her voice. "Oh? Give it your best shot, then."
Only for Strength to giggle and motion you over to her side. It does not even take any discussion on your end, you just explode out of your seats and bounce over to sit on Strength's lap. Bianca's face when she sees you is... heh. You never saw her that baffled, with her mouth open a little bit and... is that a tear in her eye?
""Big sis!""
Your sister is leaning forward while Strength laughs outright and keeps a hold of you so you do not fall off. "Hehe, see? Told you I'd make it. The girls came in from New York just two days ago."
If she hears what Strength says, Bianca does not show it; she blinks rapidly and even shakes a little bit before sighing and breaking into a bright smile. "It's good to see you two safe."
Hearing big sister again... you want to hug her... but that has to wait until you actually meet her in person. Aww...
"But before I leave you three, there's some stuff I need to talk to you about, Vescovi."
The older girl is focussed on Bianca again, who slowly nods and leans back into her chair. "I don't mind... is this about the attack on Kibo?"
You have the faint feeling that you should be quiet and just listen, so you do for now. Maybe you can learn how adults talk to each other from this?
Strength just nods in return and frowns at your sister. "Yes. How come you didn't know about it ahead of time? I thought everyone's working together these days?"
Bianca sighs before dragging up and showing you a small stack of papers with an unamused smile. "They are, but I'm not their queen. Large operations like this one are usually discussed by the ministries, but... our 'allies' decided that asking forgiveness would be easier than asking permission. They didn't mention the Magical Girl they are using at all, either. I only know about her through my own sources... and those only produced results yesterday."
"...just what kind of crappy sources do you have?"
Your sister shrugs at the rude question and leans aside to look at something outside of the screen... then a stranger's voice speaks up from where you can not see them: "I have you know that I'm the best source you will find anywhere. I know everything that happens on Earth."
Who is that? You can see the same question on Strength's face, but she does not ask. Instead, she snorts and waves dismissively. "Yeah, sure. Everything. If you know everything, mind telling me what kind of panties I'm wearing right now?"
There is a momentary silence while Bianca groans and buries her head in her hands... and then the voice answers with a giggle: "Considering the twins are listening, I will just say that you're a naughty girl."
More silence follows that, with Strength just looking a little annoyed and a bit smug while your sister slowly breathes in and out. That was a weird question... and why is she naughty? You consider asking, but your sister is obviously unhappy with the topic; so you change it by asking another question: "Big sis? Who is that? Is she your friend?"
Bright laughter from the stranger rings over in response, but at least your sister looks at you again. "I have no idea if she can be called a friend... but we can leave introductions for another time. She won't leave me alone anytime soon, anyway."
"How hurtful, Bianca! I thought what we had was special!"
Now the girl you are sitting on laughs openly at the minute frown on your sister's face... and you giggle a little bit, too. You do not really understand what she means, but the face is funny.
"Nah, whatever. I think I like her. Back to where we were, the attack? Anything you can tell me?"
A few seconds pass before Bianca starts browsing through the report in her hand and shaking her head slowly. "The problem is that the Chinese were always the least forthcoming. They only gave me the bare necessities and nothing on their future plans. Aside from that, my sources-", where she gives a glare to the person you can not see, "-do not give me much additional data at the moment."
And a moment later, the voice answers again: "Don't sweat it. The main thing you have to know is that White Glory is trusworthy and that the four girls will be alright with what Kibo gathered already."
"Four girls? Wait... I'm missing something here"
"...huh. Okay, now I'm curious how you know that."
After saying this, Strength responds to Bianca's inquisitive gaze by squeezing the two of you for a moment. "These two volunteered to free White Glory, together with two other girls."
Aaaand there goes Bianca's expression. Now she frowns at all of you with this special 'You did not just say that' look. But while she still regards you all in judgemental silence to make you feel bad, the other miss speaks up with mirth in her voice: "Heh, that's for you to find out. Maybe I pay you a visit sometime soon, who knows?"
This is so weird when you can not even see her... but Bianca just schools her face into a neutral expression again and shows her empty hands. "Putting that aside for now, I doubt I can give you more than you already have. I will dig around a little to see if anything else comes up, though. Was there anything else you needed?"
Seconds pass, then a full minute... but in the end, Strength shakes her head and shifts you aside before shimmying out of the chair. "Not right now, no."
"Good. One thing, though."
She stops before she can get to turn around and leave the room. Then her eyes shift back to your sister, who looks very serious all of a sudden. "Considering everything that is happening, we will forward the plan sooner. How long will it take you to mobilise the city?"
"Wait, we're doing that now? What's going on?"
You have no idea what they are talking about and they will probably not tell you right now. Even though you want to know... but Bianca just offers a weak smile and shrugs. "Everything is going on. I will give you the details later. So?"
"...two weeks, give or take. I have to talk to Arc and the Seasons first."
"Fair enough. Thank you."
It is only faint, but you can hear the trace of genuine gratefulness in your sister's voice; she never has that when she does not feel really strong about something. Whatever Strength is helping her with, it must be important. The Magical Girl probably did not notice it though... but she grins back nonetheless. "You're welcome... and now I'm leaving you three."
"Same for me", Bianca's friend notes from the other side while Strength walks out the door with a short look back.
"I'll be in the front."
""'Kay!""
Then you suddenly have an idea who that friend might be. You turn back to your sister with bright eyes. "Was that Nightmare Child?"
But your big sister just blinks at you for a moment and turns her head. Then she shakes it. "No, she wasn't. How did you get that idea?"
"Uh... Ana said that she is your friend, so I just thought that might be her..."
Rico nods and then points at your sister with a spark of curiousity. "And why didn't you tell us she's your friend?"
Bianca regards you both for a moment before sighing and leaning back a bit further. "I'm sorry. Fabienne is... someone I trust. And you're right, she is probably the closest I have to a friend. But anyone besides us knowing that we work together is one too many. That kind of information can destroy everything if it gets out too early."
You can kind of understand that, even though it was still a bit mean. But Bianca said sorry for not telling you, so it is fine now. ""Okay.""
Then Rico perks up and you slump a little at the other thing you just remembered. "...how is mommy?"
This question makes your sister grimace a little, but she quickly stops herself... probably to not make you feel bad. "She's fine thanks to you two. At least physically. Mother misses you a lot."
Oh... you did so many things the last few months that you never really thought about it. There was always something to do, but right now... you want your mommy and big sister. When can all of you be together again?
"We miss her, too. We missed you, too."
Rico nods along with your words and Bianca offers you another smile. "I missed you, too. She will be happy to hear that you're safe."
After that, the three of you start talking about what happened since you had to run away from Brave Heart. Your sister scolds you for going to Yggdrasil even when she told you not to and you apologise; you tell her about all the nice people you met on the way and Bianca seems happy with just listening to you as you talk.
However, you can see her expression grow darker over time; just this tiny little bit, a single wrinkle in her brow to hint at a suppressed frown. There is some weird tension to her and you can not say why. Does it have to do with what you told her?
In the end, you decide to make Rico ask when you take another short break from speaking. "Big sis? Is something wrong?"
There is a moment of confusion, but then the wrinkle vanishes without a trace. You saw it anyway and frown at your big sister. You want to be there for her, too. It is okay to talk to your family, right? "You can always talk to us, you know? We don't want you to be sad."
Rico wants to press, but you make her stay quiet. Bianca never talks about such things, but maybe... maybe this time you can get her to tell you what is on her mind. You wait for her to speak, quietly fiddling with your skirt and tracing over the seams for a while. When your sister answers, she is quiet: "Can I ask you a question?"
That is weird; what does she want to ask you? Especially when you just told her she can tell you anything?
"Of course?"
You are sure this is the heaviest sigh you ever heard of Bianca; when she opens her eyes to look at you again, she is serious. "If you could save thousands by sacrificing a dozen, would you do it?"
...what?
.....what?
""What?""
Incredulous stares meet your sister's calm gaze; why is she asking you something like that? Why do you have to hurt anyone? Her expression does not change much, though... but she does not look happy, not at all. "If there is someone whose very existence will lead to the death of a thousand other people. If that person doomed them by merely existing... do you think it is acceptable to take this one person's life, in order to protect all the others?"
Your thoughts race, and both of you can feel your hearts beat heavily. What do you say to that? Everyone deserves a chance, yes... but in this kind of situation? Can you really still say it?
Every life is precious, but...
[] If losing a few means that many are saved, that is better than the other way around.
[] If the dozen are worth thousands... maybe this is okay?
[] You do not know how to respond
[] Actually... (Write-in)
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+50xp Met Grand Architect
+1xp Bullied the Bully
+4xp Talking With Big Sis
EXP gained: 55 + 55 = 110 Total EXP: 193
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(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Magical Girl Grand Architect)
(World Eater spent EXP; changes are now available)
Adhoc vote count started by Naron on Jan 30, 2018 at 4:07 PM, finished with 2898 posts and 3 votes.
[x] If losing a few means that many are saved, that is better than the other way around.
[X] Do your best to change the situation so you won't have to kill.
-[X] Sometimes you fall short despite your best. Try to learn from that and do better.
that's what got us into that mess to begin with...
[X] Do your best to change the situation so you won't have to kill.
-[X] Sometimes you fall short despite your best. Try to learn from that and do better.
Bianca likely is thinking about how to handle Yggdrasil.
[X] Actually... we do not like it. It's not right. But...sometimes, what is right, and what is necessary are not always the same thing. If there is no other way, then what must happen happens. But that doesn't mean we like it.
I decided to give a mature answer whilst letting it be vocally known that the twins do not like it. If anyone can make this answer more in character, please do.
[X] Actually... we do not like it. It's not right. But...sometimes, what is right, and what is necessary are not always the same thing. If there is no other way, then what must happen happens. But that doesn't mean we like it.
I decided to give a mature answer whilst letting it be vocally known that the twins do not like it. If anyone can make this answer more in character, please do.
[X] Actually... we do not like it. It's not right. But...sometimes, what is right, and what is necessary are not always the same thing. If there is no other way, then what must happen happens. But that doesn't mean we like it.
I decided to give a mature answer whilst letting it be vocally known that the twins do not like it. If anyone can make this answer more in character, please do.
Can't blame her for wanting to destroy Yggdrasil. I mean, Abyss Knight is going way to far. I understand that it's a 'temper tantrum' but that doesn't mean she is free to continously commit these acts of terrorism and genocide as she pleases. It went to far the moment she first killed. Legally speaking, She'd get a death sentence for the number of people she's murdered alone. Founding Yggdrasil? Well, let's just say that hurts lots of other members as well.
Edit: Actually, I'm correcting this. Having found Yggdrasil was the worst thing that has ever happened to Magical Girls in general bluntly speaking. I wonder if Abyss Knight truly realizes that. She has caused more harm to Magical Girls as a whole than any of the world governments could have ever done all together. Sure, the belief is ultimately what warps Magical Girls so much, but the propaganda from after the war would have only been able to do so much. Having a face, name, and action, let alone an entire group/organization? That made the belief so much stronger than any propaganda in existence. Ultimately? Yggdrasil was more harmful to Magical Girls than any good it has ever done to them. By the time they would have succeeded, if they'd be able to, in their goal, any Magical Girl alive would have been so warped by the belief by the end that they'd constantly be in 'civil war' with themselves until ultimately humanity would have perished.
[X] Do your best to change the situation so you won't have to kill.
-[X] Sometimes you fall short despite your best. Try to learn from that and do better.
I like LightLans answer, because I think it fit how the twins are. Most likely because they said something similar to the general thing. If i remember it right.
