Magical Girl Quest - The Fire That Burns

Monday morning was quiet, a small breakfast of eggs on toast and you were off to see Karen. When you arrived, she was actually looking pretty tired and was in the middle of sorting through a big pile of papers. She pushes them to the side as you enter and greets you.

"Hello Cerys, going to have to make this quick today. As you can see, I'm very busy." You nod as she fiddles with a stack before passing a folder to you. "We are starting a new operation here in England, it's going to be the complete reclamation of the land from any and all threats to human life." She lets out a sigh as she starts writing away at something. "That is your briefing, if you have any questions, now is the time to ask."

You look down at the folder in your hands and open it, quickly reading through the little introductory blurb, as it were. If you had to sum it up, then the words Controlled Genocide seemed appropriate. There were mentions of loose co-operation with the military, destruction of enormous areas to contain threats and well over a thousand enforcers that were going to be working the country over. Jesus, the sheer scale of this. You look back over to Karen, who wasn't even trying to hide how tired she was as she shifts through another stack of paper.

While you were looking, you see a woman come in through the door, carrying a wicker-basket. She silently nods to you and makes her way to Karen's desk, quickly loading what you guess are finished pieces into her basket. By the time she is done, you can visibly see her using magic to strengthen both the box and herself, as she makes unsteady steps back out into the hall. You shake your head as you start speaking. "I'm guessing that you want to use me as some sort of hammer then? I can't be at all of these places at once." There was well over a hundred, maybe two hundred places listed.

Karen nods as she flicks her wrist to sign something. "Yes, there are only eleven or twelve locations that we have decided are too dangerous for most enforcers, these will be your responsibility. Get in, kill everything there and burn it to the ground, come home for a nice cuppa. Easy right?" She chuckles a little sarcastically but you just nod as you think about it. "Your job officially starts on Friday, schedule permitting we are aiming to have you take down at least one a day, one every two if we have to spread it out."

"There anything I need to know specifically?"

She shakes her head. "No, now is the time to get in some last minute practice. You will be delivered a much more detailed dossier on the day."

You think back to the people you had fought with before, they were helpful, even if things went to shit later. "Do I have any sort of support in this?"

She nods. "Yes, we have an AS-90 on loan from the military and have authority to call in air-strikes should the situation worsen." What...

You rub your face as you think. "Right... so first things first, what is an AS-90?"

Karen blinks up at you from her paperwork den. "Oh, sorry. An AS-90 is a self-propelled artillery gun, it has a range of just over fifteen miles and uses guided shells. Because of it's extensive range, it should be available to you at all locations. I doubt you will need it, but it never hurts having the option."

You let out a long breath. "Okaaay then, the air strike? How on earth is that going to be kept quiet?"

"Don't you worry about that, we can keep up on that end. You should only call for it in desperate situations, but don't let that stop you calling if you need it."

You slowly breath in. They are really going all out for this one huh? "Why is there such a big effort going on here? Couldn't you, I dunno, take your time and do it quietly?"

Karen shakes her head a little ruefully. "We are running out of time, something stabilised the barrier a little while ago, but it's only prolonging the inevitable. We need a safe base of operations and we need one now." She put down her pen, looking more tired than you had ever seen her, maybe even... old? "No-one has any real idea what lays outside the barrier, but we do know that there are hordes of demons just waiting at the gates. When it falls, unless we can be ready, and I doubt we will ever be, it's going to be bad. The others are already beginning preparations in their own territory, defences build and stockpiles made. When this shitstorm hits, we aren't going to go quietly."

You take in her words silently, shifting your eyes back towards the thick folder in your hands. You stare at it as you think about your sister, a quiet dread creeping up your spine as you fruitlessly spin in your thoughts. When you leave the room, setting off towards your room with a quick pace, you suddenly notice how different the atmosphere in the base is. People are no longer ambling around, but walking with a purpose, smiles are rarely seen on people as you pass them.

You set your face as you pass by The Pub, only getting a few glances before people return to whatever they were doing before. You enter your room and see the two that you are looking for, quickly walking over to Morgan, who was shifting through papers as she had been before. When you actually look this time, you see they are locations maps, combat maps. How the fuck did I miss this? You set your folder down besides her as she looks up at you, her face twitching in some way before smoothing out.

"Morgan, lessons can wait, we need to get ready." She silently muses over your words, tapping her finger against the folders she had ready for the two of you, but eventually she lets out a long sigh and slides them away.

"Yes... I suppose they can, there are more important things to be doing right now." She doesn't look happy when she agrees with you, but she makes her way to her feet as you coax Una along. Una looks a little confused, but doesn't say anything when she looks at you, following quietly after the two of you as you set off for the Gym.

You run through your routine, moving just slow enough for Una to keep up as you go, then you practice with Morgan. She doesn't pull her punches and they hurt, but you appreciate the lessons she imparts into you regardless. When you have free time, you grab food from your room and return to the Gym for more practice. Morgan is somewhere nearby, practising her own magic and Una is sitting and paying rapt attention. You spend the day refining how you summon your sword and armour, making it go faster and smoother.

(Cerys: 51 + 10 = 61)

It goes fairly well, you managed to make something click into pace with your armour, but you only managed to speed up how fast you could summon your sword. It only took two to three seconds now.

The rest of the day is spent practising, you only went back to sleep after you were completely worn out. Morgan had taken the time to show Una how to practice punching and standing, so she was doing that all day.

The next day, you eat your breakfast in a hurried silence and move towards the Gym, going through your exercises and training with Morgan. When Jeanne shows up, you are already limbered and ready to go. She smiles a little grimly at you as she hefts her sword, getting into position. "And now, you will learn how to take a strike." Your lessons continued well on into the night.

The next day was much the same, only that you were alternating between striking and receiving.

On Thursday, after your routine is done, you find a quiet spot in a corner, harder to do than it sounds with how busy it is. You spend all day poking and twisting your magic, trying a dozen different things to try and control it, make it do different things.

(Cerys: 83 + 10 = 93)

You make a great deal of progress in most everything you try. Float your summoned swords with magic? Done. Make ice that burns? Done. Make molten Ice? Done.

When Friday comes, you are well rested, having gone to bed early. You follow Morgan to the briefing room, which you didn't know the base even had, Morgan had glossed over it apparently. It was an enormous room, filled with at least a good two hundred people right now. Karen and two other's stand at the stage near the front, ready to deliver the general briefing.

You hear one of them clear their throat, very loudly. All sound in the room stops as people set their eyes towards the front. The one on the right, a tall man, begins speaking with a neutral tone. "Right then, you all know why you are here so I'll cut this short. Stage one is eliminating the many lesser dens and hives located around the country. Stage two is using this to starve-out the larger predators where they will be drawn into traps. Stage three is mopping up any remaining creatures. Do you have any questions?"

The hall is silent. "Good, your squad leaders have been briefed, direct any other questions to them or our intelligence operative here." He nods to the woman at his side, who steps forwards and dips her head slightly.

"I am Operative Lisanne, I am stationed in Office five." She steps back and Karen steps forwards. You expected a rousing speech, or something touching, but she just nods grimly to the audience. "I wish you all the best of luck." And then she steps back. The audience seems a little confused, but they jump up and leave when the taller man lets out a loud "Dismissed!".

You don't have a squad leader, so you wait around until it's just you, Karen and the other two left. You walk over to her and Karen nods at you. "Morgan will be working as your Squad Leader for now. She has been studying the locations and creatures you are to be fighting for the last two weeks, direct your questions to her." You are a little surprised by her blunt answer, but you shake it off as she quickly walks out of the room, followed by the other two.

When you go to leave the room, Morgan is waiting for you by the door and peels off to follow you as you go. "You ready then? I'll go over your first target on the way over, you'll have a radio to me at all times if you need me." You nod as you make your way back to the room, picking up your hoodie and desperately squeeing Una into a hug.

You are reluctant to let go, but she eventually shifts her grip and looks up at you with watery eyes. "You'll come back?" Her bottom lip is quivering slightly and you see her eyes shining.

You feel your heart twist in your chest, magic thrumming through the air as you grab her just gently enough not to hurt her. "Yes, I'll come back. You just wait for me here alright? Keep my seat warm." She burrows herself into your arms, and the two of you stay there. Eventually, you gently let her stand on her own, pushing yourself to your full height as you move over to where Morgan is sitting.

She looks up when you come over, having politely looked away. "You ready?" You nod as she looks at the mess of papers before her. "Right then, we've got three targets right now. A Megatherium, an enormous intelligent wolf, out in some sparse woodlands up north. Got a grove of Blood Willows, mobile carnivorous trees, a little to the west in Ashford. Finally, got a Thunderbird up north in Scotland, basically a fucking huge stone covered bird that eats people.

You frown. "Which is the most dangerous?"

She shakes her head. "All of them, just different types of dangerous. Megatherium is smart, it'll lure things to it. Blood Willows are pretty stationary, but they can drain magic. The Thunderbird is going to be the hardest by a long stretch, if it starts going badly, it'll just try to fly away."

Choices...
[] Megatherium
Fast, intelligent and hits hard.

[] Blood Willows
Consumes magic used against it to fuel it's own growth.

[] Thunderbird
Tough, fast and can use lightning in a storm.