It's suffocating. A sheer
weight to the world that she had never experienced before.
She had never felt as mortal as she did now.
"
Everyone move!"
Solid Drive's visceral scream barely breaks through Judgement Core's fear and her body reacts on autopilot, pushing off as hard as she can, leaping to the side. Magically reinforced muscle propels her nearly three dozen feet to the edge of the Messenger in a single bound.
The merely mortal soldiers that had freely talked to her before everything had gone to hell... Lizbeth who wanted to be a chef. Leonard who loved Beethoven. Captain Lexus, who adamantly claimed he held his position because someone fucked up with his promotion... They weren't as lucky.
(Firing Line: 1,500 Base Damage, +1,136 Dice, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, x5 Divine Existence = 26,250 Total Damage
Firing Line: 1,500 Base Damage, +1,136 Dice, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, x5 Divine Existence = 26,250 Total Damage
Firing Line: 1,500 Base Damage, +1,136 Dice, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, +375 Danmaku, x5 Divine Existence = 26,250 Total Damage
78,750 Total Unified Damage
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
Human Super Heavy Infantry: 100 Base Resilience, no dice, +75 Scatter for the Hills!, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 1,455 Total Damage Reduction
HS Heavy Infantry take 77,295 Total End Damage apiece!
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining
HS Heavy Infantry: 500 - 77,295 = -76,795 Remaining)
"Now stand... before the
Firing Line!"
It's a cacophony of noise. The wall of muskets that appears behind her fires almost simultaneously, a single titanic volley launched at the scrambling soldiers. Uni's eyes lock with Lizbeth's the instant before the volley tears her to shreds, and her blood and scraps are scattered across the top deck of the Messenger.
"
HahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA! Foolish little ants! You are nothing to me!"
"
You... BITCH! CLOTHING BREAK!"
The world pulses as Solid Drive's spell washes over the massive skeletal armor that the older Magical Girl stands within. The bone cracks and fractures all along its massive frame, but against its sheer size they seem insignificant. Judgement Drive, darts around the skeleton's lower hands, trying to distract the horrifically powerful Magical Girl.
Uni remains sprawled uselessly where she had landed from her automatic leap as the scene of Lizbeth's death repeats continuously in her mind's eye. Tremors of fear rack her body as darkness creeps in on the edge of her vision.
"Judgement Core!"
The voice of one of the members of Team GEAR spears through in a single motion. She wildly looks for the source of the rescuing voice, spotting one of the human males, clad in blood-stained armor running up to her. He drops to his knees with a skid, halting just beside her, and grasps her shoulders in iron hands.
"
Judgement Core... JC! We need you! You're the only one here that has something that can break through that Skeleton!"
She recognizes the voice, she notes inanely. It was Samael, the caster of the Support Team. "... B-buh... But what can I do?
You saw what she did to the Security Team! What can I do against something like that!?" Blood. He was covered in blood, but had no wound on him. That means he had been standing right next to the soldiers as they died.
Why the fuck isn't he freaking out?
Samael growls, and shakes her shoulders slightly,
"Yes, you can! Nepgear told you everything you need to know to take this bitch down, didn't she?! We were all listening in, you two left the radio channel open! Do you remember what she told you?!"
Nepgear? What she told her?
"Well... As far as I can tell, you're better at dealing loads of damage to single targets then I am. While I'm really good against lots and lots of little guys... And I've been so worried about surviving that I think my magic has focused more on improving that one area over the rest of it... If that makes any sense."
Yes... that was it. Judgement Core feels the shaking in her body slow to a stop as the memory of Solid Core's surety washes over her.
"
HYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING, YOU STUPID LITTLE ANGEL?! I, WHO WIELDS THE POWER TO TEAR THE GODS FROM THEIR HEIGHTS?!" The sound of madness in Sixth Heaven's voice is grows as she takes contemptuous swings at the surviving defenders. But one stands firm.
Wings of pure white are extended to their maximum, the aura of her Light almost blinding to look upon. Gabriel stands defiant amongst the ruined corpses of the Security Team.
"
I am the Inheritor of Light! And though I may be young, I shall stand against your Darkness, Abomination!" It's slight, but Uni can see the slightest tremor of fear flow through her form. "I won't run!" It is an inspiring sight, and it angers the Dark Girl fiercely.
"Is that so? Then I guess you'll die standing then." She rears back an arm, and the massive skeleton follows suit. Standing atop the deck, Gabriel pulls both her Blade as well as the Soul-Severer that had rested within its sheath until this moment. She crosses the twin blades, and lays them flat against her shoulder, bracing her whole body for the incoming blow. "
DIE ESPOUSING YOUR DEFIANCE, AGENT OF GOD!"
The bony fist comes down like an avalanche of fury. The Angel's brilliant Light flares, and she throws everything she has into halting the onrush of power.
And when they meet... it is a clash that legends are made from. The surface of the deck visibly caves beneath the Angel's feet as her wall of light holds back the assault from one of the most powerful girls of all time.
(Demon King Casts Fist: 2,500 Base Damage, +47 Dice, Godlike Strength Negated, +500 Stationary Target, x5 Divine Existence = 15,235 Total Damage
The Echo of Peace: 9,902 Damage Reduction
Gabriel says, "Bring it on, bro!": 4,000 Base Resilience, +542 Dice, +4,500 Judgement, +344 Extra Dice, +1,000 Braced for the Blow, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Divine Shield = 11,666 Damage Reduction
Gabriel Takes 0 Total End Damage!
Gabriel: 30,000 - 0 = No Sold, Like A Super Boss)
"Hey, you're new here right? Want to hear about the legends around the base?
And she holds. The tidal wave of power that rocks the Messenger blows dust into the air for thousands of meters around the transport. The ground itself rumbles beneath the fury of the Dark Girl, but before the Angel's defenses,
it is found lacking. Gabriel stands, surrounded by a dome of light, her eyes aglow with raw power, and the skeleton fist of the Demon King is held at bay, three inches from the blades across her shoulder.
"They're fucking bullshit I tell you! Anyone else would have been dead on their first mission!"
And then, before Uni's stunned eyes, she begins
to push back.
"Have you heard? Team GEAR did the impossible again."
"And when I die...
IT WON'T BE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!" The Angel of Team GEAR throws aside the fist of the Demon King. The titanic clash between the opposing forces, cracking it even more than it had been from Solid Drive's spell. The blast wave from the released forces almost tears Samael from his feet. And Uni can do naught but stare in awe.
"Just rollin' rollin' rollin'! They just keep kicking ass, kicking ass, kicking ass..."
"Judgement!" Samael's voice once again breaks through her fugue. "I understand that you don't believe that you can do it... But the rest of us do!" She turns to him, the soldier had taken his helmet off, and now his one-eyed gaze drilled directly into JC's eyes. "Your sister told us how strong your spell is! It's her idea for you to use it, and bring this bitch down!"
In the background, Sixth Heaven screams in frustration as another mad swing from her Demon King just barely misses crushing Judgement Drive.
"I know you're scared... but now isn't the time for that! When facing the Darkness... there can be no room for hesitation! And right now, we need you! With all of your power!" He doesn't say another word. He doesn't need to.
You're better at dealing loads of damage to single targets then I am.
Suddenly it all makes sense to her somehow. And Uni knows
exactly what she needs to do. Her face hardens in determination and Samael smiles triumphantly. He rises to his feet, and steps aside as Judgement Core follows him up, off the ground. In silent determination, the Magical Girl picks up her cannon.
The atmosphere of the battle
changes almost instantly. She needs not reposition herself, for the blood soaked deck can act as the perfect stage. She needs not move from her position, for evil cannot hide from Justice. She needs not raise her voice, for all can hear the proclamation equally.
"If you dare to tear the gods from the Heavens..."
The Judge Cannon raises in a single smooth motion. Its wielder spreads her feet, balancing herself into a stable firing position, and suddenly...
Light
The Cannon seems to unfold. The rails separate entirely from the barrel of the massive gun, and the disparate rings extend as if gravity was a non-entity. And through it all, power floods from the
Core.
"... Then don't be surprised... when those
heavens come CRASHING DOWN ATOP YOU! THIS IS THE END!"
"Oh, shi-"
And so it ends.
In a wave of light.
(THE END: 11,500 Base Damage, +165 Dice, +2,300 Full Auto, +2,300 Full Auto, +2,300 Full Auto, +2,300 Full Auto, +2,300 Full Auto, +319x45 Full Auto, +780 Divine Inspiration (Shell), +500 Hostile Divinity Effect = 38,800
Burst Stream of Obliteration Triggers!
THE END: 11,500 Base Damage, +165 Dice, +4,600 Full Auto, +4,600 Full Auto, +4,600 Full Auto, +4,600 Full Auto, +4,600 Full Auto, +638x45 Full Auto, +780 Divine Inspiration, +500 Hostile Divinity Effect = 64,655 193,965 Total Damage
Demon King: 5,000 Base Resilience, +1,439 Dice, -3,250 Armor Break, -3,750 Juggernaut, +300 Legendary Existence = 261 Extra Damage!
Demon King takes 194,226 Total End Damage!
Demon King = 25,000 - 194,226 = -169,226 Remaining Health)
There's no contest.
The Skeleton tries to defend. Sixth Heaven pours enough of her magic into it in a desperate act to get every ounce of defense out of it as she can. Even the breaks seem to fuse shut just as Uni unleashes her attack.
She might as well have tried to hug the moon for all the good it did.
The Demon King
ceases. There is no fading, no dust,
nothing. The cataclysmic roaring of the Burst Stream renders it a non-entity. There is no flame, no sound of shattering bone.
There is only the roar, and the screams of the air as Judgement Core
rends it asunder. The several seconds of her attack seem to last an eternity before it finally, mercifully, dies down...
And everything in a three mile line: a smoking trench carved form the face of Gaia.
Samael whistles. "Wow. Remind me to never piss you off."
There's a clatter of movement on the edge of the Messenger, and everyone starts. Her hat is gone, her coat reduced to smoking remains, and every inch of her exposed body had some form of burn... But Sixth Heaven had, through some act of God or Gaia,
survived Uni's attack.
"Seriously? What does it take to kill this bitch?" Michael's complaint is ignored as James walks almost casually past him and over to the Girl, and kicks her over onto her back. Then squats above her.
"Hey, Sixth." She groans in annoyance as the soldier waves slightly with his free hand. "You lost." This time she refrains from groaning, instead going with an expression that conveys 'No shit, Sherlock!' rather effectively. "Now I have to kill you." Her expression goes deadpan. "By impaling you with my long, hard thing." He holds up his Soul-Severer as Sixth almost goes cross eyed.
"A)" She rasps, "I think you miss-quoted that. And B) the fuck is wrong with you?"
Even though his face is covered, his smile is almost a physical presence. "To you?
Everything." Then promptly rams the blade up underneath her sternum, killing her.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
When you woke up, you expected your teammates and sister to be fighting for their lives against an all-powerful opponent that you'd then need to do something suicidaly stupid to beat.
Waking up to Michael and James arguing about internet quotes? ...
That was a new one.
"You should have said the 'Bitches love cannons' quote from when he..."
Finding out that everyone had taken down the Magical Girl that has smacked you from the sky and sent you through a loop was a humbling experience. Ever since New York, and your first run in with Ichi, you have been almost hyper-aware of how fragile the human members, and later the non-human members, of your team were. You knew that an average fairy was low on the totem pole when it came to surviving pitched battles in this war. And Jessica and Richard's death also gave you a stark reminder of how easy it would be for James, Sam, or Michael to be taken from you.
So to find them all alive and unharmed? While having taken down the enemy while they were at it?
Calling what you felt "relief" would have been a gross mistranslation for what it was. And a dishonor to its existence.
After allowing Gabriel to check you over for lasting damage, you carefully make your still-dizzy way to where your sister is sitting next to the impression of your face in the Messenger's decking. The molding was almost five inches deep, and was rendered into a perfect outline of your wide-eyed surprise. The blow itself had not hurt you, but leaving an impression like that in solid inch-thick titanium armor? Not your best ever attempt at defense. And not the kind of blow you were used to shrugging off.
"How is everyone?"
You slide up next to Sega as you contemplate her question. "According to Gabriel, Lucky and Aquila are in the middle of having some minor breakdowns... Maria sounds like she's hyperventilating over the comms... I have no idea about M.E.C.A.... Judgement Core and Judgement Drive are both below deck. Hey Sega?"
"Hm?" You sister is staring at the ground as it moves past you, thinking deeply about something... but this is a question you feel needs an answer.
"Is it bad? That I no longer feel bad about the deaths of the soldiers around me... so long as they're not a part of Team GEAR?" You hadn't known the Security Team at all. So their deaths didn't even register properly to you. But Judgement Core? She was below you, crying her eyes out over their ends. Did that make you a monster?
"I don't think so." Is Sega's answer. "You've seen more people die around you than Uni has. Just give her space, and try to talk to her later, yeah?" And at that, your conversation trails off... The world reduced to background noises. James is delivering his report of the attack over the radio from somewhere below you, while Sam and Michael both remain on watch just in case anything else decides to hit the Messengers, even though the Unified Darkness' Kill Team was dead. "... I would have died."
You blink, but Sega takes no heed of your surprise.
"That hit... I know my own power enough to know that hit would have smeared me across the ground." Her hand absently traces the outline of your face in the Messenger's armor. "And... you just shrug it off. Nothing more than dirt in your hair to show for fighting a girl that was strong enough that it took all three of us to kill the first time." She laughs self-deprecatingly before she steeples her fingers beneath her chin and rest her elbows onto her knees. "They called me the 'Indestructible Girl' you know. But now look at me... not even four years now, and I'm already on back burner to the newer generation. Is this what the Goddess' felt when we were on the rise? What the Old Guard felt when the Goddess Four stepped up to the plate?"
You have no idea what to say about that. Wait... no! You actually did! "You're wrong." Your sister looks at you with a raised eyebrow at your response, but you ignore it and scoot closer to her, so you can rest your head upon her shoulder. "I'm here because of my friends. So are you. So... I think you're still stronger than me. You just went along a slightly different path than I did. You'll find a way to keep your title. I know it."
She smiles with a huff, then throws an arm around your shoulders. "When did you get so good at pep talks? That sounded horrible, but I'm still feeling better already!"
The Core pulses as the Armor hugs ever so slightly tighter...
"Isn't it the job of the little sister to cheer up her grumpy elder?" The two of you share a laugh.
Sega 1 of 2 events to Unlock INDESTRUCTIBLE FRAME...
-Operation Starborn Results-
Messenger 1: Damaged but operational. Available for
Operation: Answerer.
Messenger 2: Undamaged and Operational. Available for
Operation: Answerer.
Security Detachment: Deceased.
Magical Girl M.E.C.A. Force: Uninjured. Stress has rendered her unavailable for the next mission.
Judgement Core: Uninjured. Stress has rendered her unavailable for the next mission.
Judgement Drive: Uninjured. Currently caring for Judgement Core, availability dependent on Judgement Core.
Team GEAR: Unscathed. Ready for another mission.
Solid Drive: Uninjured. Slightly stressed, but available for another mission.
Operation: Answerer will have all three Messenger Platforms available for the Offensive. Each Clash, the Counter Force will have 3d10 Nuclear Strikes available. Tactic:
Glass Everything will be available.
"They call them the Ultimate Equalizer. Their Fragarach. Named after the gouging sword of some War God, a weapon that has no equal in the Local Dimensional Cluster. The first time one was seen in action, was when That Demon Lord invaded their city called "Rome". We all remember that star given birth upon that day. 'Inefficient' they call them. How can something that is called 'inefficient' be enough to kill a god? I fear ever seeing the weapon's strongest form."
-Archangel Gabriel, 'The Moment of Fury'
Operation Starborn: Total Success.
[]Return to the Base
Hey Nepgear? I understand that you have a plan... but are you sure you're ready for this? It's not going to be easy.
[]The Victorious Dead (Operation: Soul Collector)
Do you remember the Old Guard? They were the first. The Originals. It was their era that gave birth to the List, the Rankings. Some of them are still around, but others are long dead... and even today some of their names are still known household by household. Whispered in awed reverence, or with a tremor of fear. White Soul, Red Rose, Sixth Heaven, Silver Hero... Before the Goddess Four. Before the WEAPON. Before the Maidens... They were the legends, the names that everyone feared coming across on the battlefield. And they're coming back. Team GEAR's run-in with Goddess Red at the West Wall Memorial Cemetery brought to light a very disturbing fact. The dead aren't staying that way. And their clash against the Nightmares in Boston revealed something even worse: they're not on our side. We've collected lists of where some of the most terrifying Girls of their times had been interred for their eternal rest. Most of them have already been hit. Red Rose is on the move, hunting down old friends, and enemies alike. She has her apprentice with her, but we're not sure if she can do it alone. Even if she is the Avatar of Victory.
Known Allies: Red Rose, Insight, ????
Confirmed Enemies: White Soul, Silver Hero, Grey Champion, Solar Radiance, Lunar Radiance
Possible Combatants: Goddess Red, ????
[]The Pale Light of The Moon (Operation: Artemis)
Can you hear the whispers? The voices of the beasts upon the wind? They whisper of hate, and a desire for the end. To be alone in the cosmos with the one they love. Something is happening between Gaia and Shiva. And no one has a clue what it is. Their last clash would have ended in failure if it wasn't for Team RIOT's intervention, but they were almost killed regardless. The girls of any strength capable of standing amongst these gods are few and far between, but we need someone on the ground, with eyes and ears capable of telling us what's happening.
Known Allies: The Four Horse(wo)men
Confirmed Enemies: ????
Possible Combatants: Gaia's WEAPONs, Maidens of the Apocalypse
[]The Road to Elysium (Operation: Charon)
It was the greatest portal Humanity has ever made. A permanently open gateway to Hope, with a two-way highway twenty lanes wide. Thousands moved through it daily, both ways. Rush hour was a bitch, but we didn't care. It was a monument to our future, a symbol of what awaited us all... but now it lays dormant. That cannot stand. The Highway to Elysium needs to be reopened, but doing so presents a risk that we can't reasonably take without proper preparation. We need forces, a lot of forces... and we know exactly where to get them. The Fairy-Elf Fortress at Milidia has been all that's held Earth's flank ever since Reluxus fell. Forty thousand Elves, Ten Thousand Fairies, and nearly an entire division of Human soldiers hold it against an endless tide of raving demons. But its true strength lies in the more than fifty Magical Girls that man its walls and turrets. It's a concentration of power that has held Hell itself at bay for half a decade now, but we need those Girls if we're going to retake Hope. But we can't leave Milidia undefended, otherwise the Fairy Home Realms will be overwhelmed. So we're going to insert a strike team to close the Hell Gates that feed the Unified Darkness reinforcements and rip their legs out from beneath them in one move. But it's not going to be easy.
Known Allies: Crimson Hood, Flawless Paladin, Sumire Saber, Sakura Saber, Madama Morte
Confirmed Enemies: Hell's Seventh Legion
Possible Combatants: Army of the Apocalypse
[]The Reluxus Super Gate (Operation: High Tide)
The Elves' Super Gates create a trans-dimensional super-highway that allows them to move resources and manpower across their kingdom at a rate that is nearly equal to Humanity. The problem is that there are very few of them, and they are nearly prohibitively expensive to build. Reluxus, before it's fall, had the only Super Gate the Elvin Empire had at the battle front. If they are to bring their full might to bear against the Darkness, this Gate must be retaken. The Elves are unable to build a new Super Gate in time for the Offensive, even with the aid of Humanity. So if they are to help pull this insane plan off, the Reluxus Gate must be reopened. Otherwise, the Unified Light will drown underneath the sheer numbers their enemies can bring to bear in their place.
Operation Stalled due to lack of Manpower, try again later...
