Well. You had a ton of time to burn as it was. And if you were going to be deployed at the end of the week, then it was better to spend at least some free time getting a bit of extra learning in. Every bit of knowledge you gathered could mean the difference between living and dying a horrific and painful death on the front lines.
And considering your current tutor was Red Rose, she would be your best bet for getting that extra training. So, that meant you had to hunt her down to get any kind of extra lessons. It winds up being a lot harder than you would think. A trek around the base nets you pretty much nothing, until you spot her sitting atop the control tower for the base's runway. The tower itself is rather short, and somewhat small. Red Rose herself was sitting at the end of the roof as a cargo plane slowly lifted off the ground and flew northward.
You take the set of stairs attached to the side of the building to first reach the door into the tower's control room, and then use the ladder that led to the roof. Once up, you realize that Red Rose had never actually dismissed her costume, the form of her red spear resting along the ground jut behind her as she watches the workers bustle about the air field almost wistfully. And for a moment, you are struck dumb with the beauty of the image.
"What do you want kid?" And just like that the image is ruined.
"Umm... I was wondering if I could get a bit more training past the basics? There's a lot of stuff I don't really understand and..." She interrupts you before you devolve into a stuttering mess. Quietly you're glad she did so.
"A bit more past the basics? Heh. Goddess Gold should be taking care of this, but I guess I can help. Get up here."
You quickly scramble up what's left of the ladder as she stands, lifting her spear, and points for you to sit slightly off to the side. "I was thinking of going over this later, but since your here I might as well tell you this. It'll even give us more time tomorrow to work on your training with your teammates. How much do you know about extra abilities?"
You scratch at you chin, "N-not much... Just that most spells and magical weapons have things they can do outside of their original intent."
"Right. Humans call these 'Extra Abilities'. They come about from the original intent behind the creation of a spell, or a strong desire from it's use. Some abilities are one-off things. Others rear their heads whenever certain condition are met... and others can activate more than once so long as those conditions are met."
(All abilities normally activate once per move. For example your Celestial Severance's 'Unstoppable' ability only activates when its used. Other abilities activate whenever it's conditions are met: for example your Armored Core power activates on all incoming damage, but only once per hit. The last, referred to as 'Recursive Abilities' Activate the instant the conditions are met, no matter how many times they've already activated. The most prominent example that your character has is Red Rose's ability 'To Stand Amongst Gods'. Which will activate so long as the damage done exceeds 20% of her max health. For example, if Goddess Gold attacked her with Oblivion Awaits at full power, TSAG will activate and reduce the incoming damage by 99%. The end damage would still exceed 20% of her max health, causing the ability to trigger again, reducing it even farther, until the damage done drops below 20% of her max health.
It's a very bullshit ability.)
"The trick is to identify the abilities in play and to either neutralize them, or find a way to counter them with your own. It takes practice, but it works wonders. Just understand some abilities out there can't be countered very easily." She adjusts her footing, taking a stance and balances her spear in one hand. "Other abilities are more supportive than offensive though. While not applicable to direct combat they can still be useful if you know how to use them properly. Watch."
She tenses for a moment, and with a loud 'bang' her spear rockets into the sky. You can see the air condense along it's flight path as it lances out over the air field, tracing almost a mile before it vanishes into a red light and reappears in Red Rose's outstretched hand. You blink.
"While my spear's '
Return' ability doesn't seem that helpful it gives me a type of ranged attack, and makes it nearly impossible for me to be disarmed in the middle of battle. So, even if an ability seems useless at first, don't dis it until you try it." She spins the weapon with a small flourish before pointing it at you. "Get up, I want to see how good you are with that beam cannon of yours."
For a moment you stare at her in horror. Then she scoffs and whacks you atop your head with the spear. Obviously, it hurts.
"Common, you can't be that bad with it! You survived a damn Spawn of Mayhem."
Ten minutes later, Red Rose revises her opinion.
"Oh my god, how the fuck did you survive that thing?"
You try to huddle in on yourself as you stand in front of her. A large bruise already forming on your cheek where she had thumped you rather well. The whole ordeal had you almost wishing you had done something else.
"Alright.. alright... Dear god this is almost painful to watch. Take a stance." With a gulp you do as directed. And as soon as you do so, she starts poking you with her spear, and you try not to twitch too much, "Tighten your grip slightly, but not too much. Spread your legs a little and lower your center of balance. Good, lean forward a bit more, and stiffen your back... now try to swing at me."
You nod, and lunge at her...
(Panzer Blade: 45 Base Damage, -33 Barely Competent, No Dice = 12 Damage
Red Rose: 750 Base Resilience, -50 Standing Still, No Dice = 700 Damage Reduction
Red Rose Health: 5000 - 0 = 5000)
But she side-steps easily. A flick of her wrist, and your attack is knocked aside, and your sent stumbling several steps before face-planting into the roof of the Flight tower. "Gaaahh -ahk! Guuhh...." You lay there for a moment as the dizziness passes.
"Your telegraphing your attacks really badly. Your actual attack is in good form, but you put too much weight behind it, so when I deflect it, you lose your balance which leads to... that. Rely more on the weight of your blade, and if your attack gets deflected, try to roll with the change in momentum. Easier to keep your balance that way. Now, try again."
With a nod you lunge again. This time, when she deflects your Panzer Blade, you instead use the momentum her counter imparted onto the weapon to pull you away. Had this been some kind of shounen manga, you would have kept your balance and lunged again. Instead, your foot lost traction and you found yourself landing flat on your back with a thump.
"Better. Sorta. We'll try it again a few more times and call it a night."
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
Feeling very sore, you find yourself dragging your feet across the base. But instead of heading towards your bunk you stumble into the third barracks, where Rei had set up her little 'throne' room.
No seriously. She had turned the fucking visitor area into a god damned
throne room. It was as cheesy as it sounded and from the smirk on her face, from where she was literally
lounging in the giant titanium chair painted gold, you could tell she had them make it as cheesy as they could manage when making it. Your stunned look of horror would probably get turned into a meme, but the situation warranted it.
The floor was covered in a red carpet, with cloth decorations along the walls of the same color. Gold(?) statues of various things ranging from mythical beasts to other Magical Girls dotted the room, along with other decorations of various persuasion. The throne itself was a huge affair, elaborate beyond reason with huge cushions that seemed to envelope the one in the chair.
Rei herself was practically draped over the massive thing. With her long legs hanging over one side of the construct, with her head perched atop one hand, with the other holding a hardcover book in her lap. Her golden hair draped across her face and shoulders, slightly damp with moisture, and a fluffy pink bathrobe testament that she had recently gotten out of the shower.
A small part of your mind that wasn't stunned into horror noted that the name of the book was 'Green Eggs and Ham' and promptly joined the rest.
You have no idea how long you stood there with her silently laughing at you. But eventually she snaps her book closed, and sighs. "Are you going to stand there until you collapse, or are you going to respond?"
"..." Apparently your brain still can't manage to reboot.
"Alright... if your stuck like that, I might a well do something about it." She stands from her 'throne' and walk over to you. Lifting one of your arms, she drapes it across her shoulder and lift you into a bridal-carry. "Lets go." And with that carries you towards the door to her room.
Right as she opens it, and begins to carry you though your brain finally reboots. Sadly, it's too late. "H-hey! Wait!"
You flail, but to her greater strength it's pointless, "Nope! You're mine right now!~" Her reply is delivered in a singsong voice.
The door closes with a note of finality.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
Forty five minutes and the longest bath of your life later you find yourself in the softest bathrobe you've ever worn while sitting on Rei's bed. You can practically feel the blood that suffuses your face. It helps to distract you from the fact that you wouldn't be leaving the room tonight because the clothes you had been wearing were all being washed at the moment.
"What? Did you honestly think I would deflower you without your permission? You're so cute when your flustered like that.~" What it didn't help with was the cause. Rei sits behind you, running a very expensive brush through your hair, playing with it between brush strokes. "You're definitely perfect little sister material. So glad I claimed you when I did. You're all mine.~"
She places the brush down onto the huge bed your sitting on and leans forward to wrap her arms around you. The sensations to your back are very distracting now.
"You know you don't have to hide anything in here. Fooling yourself as you are, it must not be very healthy."
And just like that your no longer distracted.
"I-I, what do you mean?" It's weak, even to your ears.
"
I know what it's like to lose a sister."
Everything stops. The sound of your heartbeat is suddenly like thunder in the silence. You have been trying your hardest not to think about it. Not to think about
anything relating to it. But Rei doesn't even slow down before shattering the barrier.
"... How?" Your voice is small. So very small in the silence, before the sound of your heart.
Rei's voice is equally small. Within it you can hear the longing that plagues you. The desire to see them once again. "Once upon a time, there were four sisters. Born with a power beyond all others they swore to each other to become legends. To uphold all they held dear and to keep it safe... But it was not meant to be. For you see... One grew disillusioned with the bloodshed. She turned away, leaving on her own journey. Two fell to the Darkness they sought to defeat. Their desires lost to the Light. And the last, left alone, became the Hero they all sought to be. And that... is my story."
Four Sisters. The Goddess Four. The strongest Magical Girls to ever exist. You knew only a part of the story. Everyone did. But to be
actual sisters? "I... I never thought..."
"Ni was my only biological sister. Ichi and San were adopted when we were all five. Mom and Dad weren't all that creative with names. They liked to keep thing simple." She rests her head atop yours. You can't see her face, but her grip around you tightens. "I don't know when everything started to go wrong. It seemed all so sudden, Ichi died, then Ni went mad and San... It's hard to think about it you know? Here I am with all this power, but when it really mattered... it all amounted to nothing. So... Now I spend my days moving from one battlefield to another, trying to keep what's left safe. So... I know what your going through. I know what your bottling up and trying not to think about.
"Just... let it all out. Right here, where no one can judge you."
You turn in place, looking at the older Magical Girl, the strongest mortal to ever exist. The faint tears in her eyes, and the melancholy smile on her face. For a moment you just lock eyes with her, then you dive back into her hug and scream.
You scream your anger, you scream your anguish.
But most of all, you simply scream for your sister. The sister that had saved you from torment, and had taken care of you.
You sit there and scream out your sorrow.
You have no dreams that night.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
The following day you find yourself stumbling blearily out of Rei's barracks and towards the training grounds. Your emotions feel like a ragged edge, but a heavy tenseness that had pervaded your mind without you noticing is gone. You feel worn... but somehow you also feel lighter. As if you had sliced an infected wound open and let it bleed the infection out.
Team GEAR I waiting for you near the training grounds, fully clad in their armor. Michael almost cracks a joke before he, and everyone else notice your current condition. "Holy shit kid, you feeling alright?"
You nod jerkily at the question. "I- I'm okay. Just... a lot on my mind, y'know?" Thankfully they don't ask any more questions, letting you wait in silence until Goddess Gold and Red Rose both join you. Red Rose takes one look at you before sighing, but doesn't say anything as Goddess Gold drapes herself across a low wall to watch the show.
"Alright. Today I'm going to go over team combat. Your performance a few days ago was pathetic." Richard glances at you, but your feeling too worn to glare at him, "So today we'll try again. As we probably all know, but Nepgear has yet to learn, Human soldiers are physically weak in comparison to other species in the local dimensional cluster. Out advantage lies in technology and ranged capabilities. Meaning, your main objective as a magical girl, is to keep your opponents off your teammates so they can support you from range. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." Your able to push some of the lethargy back in order to pay better attention to Red Rose's lecture.
"Now. The thing we'll be practicing on today is timing your attacks for maximum effect against an enemy. I'm going to be trying to get past you in order to hit the rest of your teammates. I want you to keep me busy long enough for them to try and get some hits in on me ok?"
(Human soldiers are highly effective ranged combatants. But are noticeably weak in close quarters engagements. Some offset this by using some form of melee weapon, or the ever-reliable shotgun. But this can only go so far. In combat, your teammates will attempt to support you from a distance by firing bursts from their weapons. How they do this can be modified during the planning stage of a fight, but will otherwise simply take pot shots whenever an opening I presented. Jessica on the other hand is capable of closing with an enemy and supporting you at the front during an emergency, just don't expect it to help too much.)
"Come at me when you're ready."
Team GEAR shares a look before they nod to you and scatter. At the same time you launch yourself forward, swinging your blade at Red Rose.
(Panzer Blade: 45 Base Damage, -11 Semi-Competent, no dice = 34 Damage
Red Rose: 750 Base Resilience, -10 Headlong Rush, no dice = 740 Damage Reduction
Red Rose Health: 5000 - 0 = 5000)
She catches your attack on the blade of her spear, and redirects your attack into the ground. Blade stuck there you run smack dab into it with a grunt. Winded you barely manage to stumble out of the way of a retaliatory slap.
Then Jessica and Richard open fire.
(Jessica - Full Auto: 250 Base Damage, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, no dice = 500 Damage
Richard - Full Auto: 250 Base Damage, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, +50 Full Auto, no dice = 500 Damage
Red Rose: 750 Base Resilience, +45 Momentum, +10 Debris = 805 Damage Reduction
Red Rose Health: 5,000 - 195 = 4,805)
Red Rose is fast. She outright dodges at least half of what's sent at her. others ping off what little debris is between her and her attackers, and she uses her spear to deflect even more by spinning it through the air with a noise akin to a buzz saw. But there're too many bullets. You watch as some of the stun rounds impact her. She stumbles.
You're on her again.
(Panzer Blade: 45 Base Damage, -11 Semi-Competent, no dice, +10 Opening = 44 Damage
Red Rose: 750 Base Resilience, -25 Poor Balance, -10 Stun Rounds = 715 Damage Reduction
Red Rose Health: 4,805 - 0 = 4,805)
But again she deflects you. But this time, instead of simply ignoring you she retaliates.
(Blood Spear: 2000 Base Damage, +10 Opening, no dice = 2010 Damage
Solid Core: 25 Base Resilience, no dice, -5 surprise = 20 Damage Reduction
Armored Core: 99 Damage Reduction
Solid Core Health: 100 - 1891 = -1791)
The butt of her spear meets your stomach and the world goes
white. You gag but nothing moves through your throat, your pain receptors shut down instantly and you're suddenly flying through the air as reality catches up. You slam into something, but you cannot process anything through the pain.
In the background shouts from your team goes up, and everything devolves into gunfire and gibberish. You are unsure about what the hell just happened, and it takes you several minutes to even start breathing properly, something that flees you a second time as your pain receptors reboot and you dissolve into agony as your gut announces how much the world hates you in that moment.
It is in this spot you remain for another several minutes as you process the damage.
"I think I hit her a little too hard."
"You think?"
These are the first intelligent words you are able to process through the haze of agony.
"Ouch." It is horribly inaccurate for the sheer amount of pain your in but it's the only legible muttering you are capable of in that moment. Slowly, the world reshapes itself in your vision to see Rei leaning over you amused and with a stick and Red Rose looking slightly mortified off to the side.
"She's not worth very much broken you know."
"I know... lets get her to the infirmary to make sure nothing is, and call it a day."
A short trip to the infirmary later and a -relatively- clean bill of health, you find yourself with a mostly free evening. All you really had to deal with was the excess pain that was promised to be gone in the morning.
What to do?
[]Go bug Truth
[]Visit Carnage
[]Team Gear Time!
[]Happy Time With Rei
+3xp Extra Training from Red Rose
+2xp Near Questionable Experience with Goddess Gold
+2xp Pour your heart out kid.
+4xp Got flat-lined during training.
+11 Total EXP = 39 Current EXP
(Recursive Abilities Marked!
Unlocked Character Sheet (MAX) Goddess Gold!
Skill Level: Barely Competent -----> Semi-Competent
You know what you're doing. Kind of. -25% modifier in melee combat.
Shop Item Unlocked!)
