Crystalwatcher's Magical Girl Quest!
- Thread starter Crystalwatcher
- Start date
- Original
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
The slots are already full.
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
Yay! Lost is done, off to fix typos.
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
"Pointy Priest" still cracks me up. :lol
I've been wondering about how easily Magical Girls seem to be able to kill things, incidentally. Previously you've mentioned that being a Magical Girl comes with fighting instincts. Is the ability to kill part of those instincts?
Also, @crystalwatcher? Nepgear meet Insight during that disasterous party with Truth. Not sure if you remembered that.
I've just been assuming that the ability to kill demons without feeling bad about killing something is an aspect of Evolution of Warfare.
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Well, not really "met" so much as "was within eyesight of".
jaiveer00
Siding With Thanos
- Location
- The Beginning and The End
i thought that was part of the sentient package? the ability to kill?
Perhaps, but then there's killing Dark Magical Girls...
What?
Killing is always easier the second time.............
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
Wasn't exactly "meeting". She Acknowledged her existence, but most of her memory of the event is taken up by the fact she killed Truth and The Traitor.
Becoming a MG mostly represses that.
I counter with:
He has Infinitely Your Greater not Enforcement of Conceptual Change and so is unable to effect himself. Or at least that's my quickly made up justification.
VICTORIOUS DRIVE
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
"Umm... sorry to interrupt but... Team GEAR and I are going to be heading out as soon as the Messengers split to their destinations. I was hoping to talk to Judgement Core before then. I can come back later if you want."
The Judgement sisters were huddled in a bend of the walkway to the second Messenger's engine, hidden slightly from sight behind the metal guard rails and the plating that shielded the engine from harm. JC had left her Magical Girl form, and from the slight smell of salty water in the air you could tell she had been crying. The smaller girl was leaned up against her older sister who was still in her Magical Girl form, with her arms wrapped around the younger in a tight, comforting a hug.
A kind of hug you would have given an arm and a leg for when Jess and Richard had died.
"N-no, its o-okay." JC rubs at her eyes, wiping away her tears. Though Judgement Drive simply raises a brow at you in a silent question.
"I was a bit worried. I mean... missions like this are pretty normal for my team, but..."
"NORMAL?!" Judgement Core shoots to her feet, throwing her sister's arm off in the process. "Ending a fight with more than two thirds of the people you went in with dead is NORMAL for you?!" She's in front of you now, fresh tears coming to her eyes as she grips the front of your outfit with white-knuckled fists. "How the FUCK are you still sane?!" She screams in your face, though her eyes must be blinded by her grief, she wields anger as the only fragile shield it is. Desperate to get away from the loss of those she had connected with, however temporarily.
"I haven't been able to properly connect with new people in a while." She freezes, though out of the corner of your eye, you can see JC's sister avert her own gaze. "The first day... when I got my powers... my town was destroyed. Everyone but me died... my school was eaten... my sister killed... and the hero that tried to save me..." It wasn't healed, your wound. You don't think it'll ever be healed, not fully at any rate. But... maybe you could talk about it now. With someone that had so recently experienced similar pain.
Your arms find their way around Judgement Core's shoulders, but you gaze longingly past her, lost in memories of better days.
"Goddess Gold saved me... and I was so lost, I think I followed her because I didn't feel as if I had anywhere better to go. Afterwards, when I met Team GEAR for the first time, things felt like the would get better. Me and Jess made quick friends, and even though Richard could be annoying... I like to think we were friends also. My first deployment was to New York, with the invasion attempt. I was injured but... I never felt more successful at anything else in my life. The return to Base though... Jess and Richard didn't survive."
You don't know when you slumped to your knees, or when Sega had arrived. But you do know that at some point, Judgement Core had started returning your hug, and that both Sega and Judgement Drive had joined in on it.
"I know... how painful it is... It doesn't get easier, if anything it gets harder... Harder to connect, harder to feel... I have so little left that I'm too scared to let anything else in. Don't become like that, don't drown in your fears... Revel in the softness of your heart, for as long as you can."
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"... Sorry about that. I went down there to try and comfort you and..."
"Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Judge-"
"Uni."
You blink, and look to the other girl, who smiles at you brightly. "Unification Sort. But my friends call me Uni." She sticks her tongue out at you, and you can't help but find the image oddly adorable... but...
"Umm... not to sound rude, but... Sort?" You try to smile, but it comes out as a slight grimace. Uni blinks, before her face is suddenly flush with one of the brightest blushes you've ever seen since that time she mistook you for an Angel.
"W-what about it?! It's Danish! It means Black!" She crosses her arms and huffs. But all that does is serve to make her look even more adorable. "It's not whatever you thought!" You brutally beat down your urge to glomp her and attempt to take her with you before you respond.
"Oh, no! It's ok. I just thought it weird, because of translation conventions." There, that should help keep her Tsundere in check.
Uni nods firmly. "I'll forgive you then. This time." One bullet dodged. "So what are you guys off to do next?"
"Well... a while ago Team GEAR and I kind of stumbled into a Unified Darkness plot. Goddess Red has been resurrecting Magical Girls that have died. But we were able to prove that we can reclaim them. So I'm hoping that we can go help Red Rose reclaim the girls that have been resurrected."
Both Judgement Drive and Uni nod seriously at you, as the sound of the Skybound's engines starts up again. "It's ok then. We'd come along... but I'm in no shape to fight again. Not so soon after..." You nod in understanding as she trails off. You were barely functional after Jessica and Richard died, so you could understand where she was coming from.
"If you need anything, feel free to seek me out when I'm on base, alright?" She forgoes replying in order to give you a hug instead. You bask in the warmth for several moment before Sega's voice cuts in.
"Nepgear! We're about to head out. You can cuddle with your girlfriend later!" You and Uni leap apart at her words, both of your faces flushed with embarrassment.
"I am going to lock her into a room with your sister one of these days. And I'm not going to let them out all night."
"You do know they won't mind that right?"
"That's why we threaten to record everything they do and post it all over ToHO."
Uni glances at you just as you glance at her.
You shake hands right before you walk towards the Skybound as Sega and... Rev? you think Sega called her once, share a kiss and separate themselves. You pout at her as she catches up, "You're horrible, you know that?"
She simply smiles at you as everyone finishes climbing in and the motors reach a crescendo. "Me? I'm just using what I was taught in order to encourage my little sister to follow her heart~!"
"What'd you learn your advice from? A TV Drama?" For some reason your response causes Sega to break out into tears and laughter. Whether they're from happiness or sadness, you can't actually tell.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"So what you up to, kid?" James' voice breaks the easy silence roughly five hours into the trip after you left the Messengers in the distance. You had curled up next to him and Sega to pull out your Data Mine (that you had honestly forgotten you even had, despite it's size) while Michael sat across from you waving his hands in the air for some reason.
"It's been a while since I logged onto ToHO, so I want to catch up on some of the things I've missed. As well as see if there's anything about me."
"Two Hoe? What's that?" Gabriel's question draws the attention of everyone else in the cabin.
"No idea. Never heard of it." You almost blanch in disbelief at James' reply, but Sega saves him when she swings an arm up over your shoulders and draws attention to herself.
"Throne of Heroes: ONLINE. It's a fan-run message board that follows Magical Girl happening across the world. It's where the term "MGroupie" originated, along with a lot of other slang terms for Magical Girls and their followers sprung from. The original Founder for the site was Grey Champion and some of her more fanatical fans, though it's grown a lot since then. Nepgear here was well on her way to becoming a Moderator on it before I died. And she was the go-to person for the Old Guard."
You blush and try ducking behind your Data Mine. "I... was a really big fan. Still am, I guess. They were the biggest names in the world during their time. They were there since the beginning, you know? From the Revelation, through the Crusade." They might not have been as strong as the Goddess Four are... but they had each been great in their own way. When it came to Magical Girl combat, no one had known the rules better than them. No one had been better then them. It was argued even today across ToHO whether or not the Old Guard would be able to keep their places at the top. If the Goddess Four deserved their spot.
These days, it was more about pure power than playing the rules. Though the current Top Ten could play the rules like no-one's business. It just tended to get lost in the sheer firepower that tended to get tossed around.
"Well... anything come up?" You blink.
"Oh... yeah. Here ya go:
Everyone gets a front row seat to James' reaction as he begins to read the thread, and since he wasn't wearing his helmet got full view as his eyes steadily grew and grew as he got deeper and deeper into the insanity that was ToHO.
"What the Christ people?"
His voice is a choked whisper, but he doesn't stop reading.
"I have no idea what he's reading, but if it can get this reaction out of him, it has to be good." Michael's grin is almost audible as James chokes on air for the third time.
"General insanity of the internet put under a magnifying lens of stupidity."
"And you were part of it once upon a time?"
"I was actually one of the sane-ish ones. I worked to reign in the insanity just enough that we all didn't get arrested because of what was going on." James slaps the Data Mine into his lap and a hand over his face out of the clear blue. "I get the feeling that the portions of the Board I frequented have declined in my absence."
"That's one way to put it... What's with this tab next you your screen name? Master Magic?"
"Oh that? It's for those of us that have proven to be knowledgeable of certain Magical Girls more than others. I got "Master Magic" because I could tell you almost anything you'd want to know about Silver Hero's career as a Magical Girl. I could almost do as much with any of the Old Guard, but I knew Silver Hero the best. Those who know Goddess Gold the best have "Annihilation Priest", while Goddess Grey gets you "Pointed Priest", and so on."
"Huh..." With a raised eyebrow, he flips the Data Mine back up into reading position and continues his perusal.
You switch attention from him to Michael. "So, what are you up to?" The dark-skinned soldier was the only person in the helicopter with his helmet on save for the pilot. But the Pilot had a good reason.
Michael simply chuckles and gives you two thumbs-up. "I found out that we can connect our Data Mine with the heads-up display." That instantly gets everyone's attention again. "I've been reading through the Mission Report for Soul Collector. Turns out Red Rose has managed to track down where the resurrected Magical Girls have been holed up for preparation of moving them back across the Dimensional Barriers. Turns out since we interrupted their operations at West Wall, they've instead been sneaking around graveyards and pulling the graves they dig up to one location for transfer instead of simply teleporting in and out."
"But since we've been stepping up security around graveyards, they're pulling the plug on their operations early."
"Nice to hear from you Basilicom. What's the sitch?" Sega cannot be denied.
"My callsign isn't- uhg, never mind. The Unified Darkness has been dropping operations around Graveyards recently. We know they've gotten maybe fifty Magical Girls out of it, so its not because they have enough. So we think it's because we know what they've been doing. As it is, we don't think they know that you guys can break the Control Seals, otherwise they would have cut the operation and ran immediately after Boston, but have instead decided that to continue it poses too much of a risk. So they're collecting what graves they've dug up in one place and are going to all pull out at once."
"So we're taking the opening they've presented us to try and neutralize all the Magical Girls they've resurrected all at once, and deny them any new ones at the same time?"
"That's the idea... Hey Solid Core? Can I ask you something. It's completely unrelated to the mission but..."
You share a look with everyone else in the troop hold, this was... kind of sudden. "Umm... sure?"
"Am I a bitch?" You brain locks up. What? "I mean... You know how Corporal Balier asked about the records I broke? Well... that's all I'm known for. It's all I've done. But... when I got posted to Momo, I expected something big and important... so when Commander Mason posted me as your Intel Officer I overreacted. I thought everything he said about you was just garbage meant to sooth my ego. But... I've been reading the AARs of your deployments, and thinking about Starborn... and I can't help but feel that I'm the wrong person for this job. You deserve better."
You hear a sigh over the comm line, and with it whatever good mood that had been suffused into the ride drained with it.
"I'm just a stupid rookie with an over-inflated ego. If I fuck up, then you can die. Hell, I did fuck up, and you almost did die! It was my lack of attention that let Sixth Heaven get as close as she did and allow her to smack you fifty meters. If you had been any other Magical Girl then... I just feel that I'm the worst person for your team. You're all Elites and I'm... me."
The cab goes silent. You find yourself without anything to say, your own perceived inadequacies coming to the front of you mind. But in the face of what Maria was likely going through right then... what did they matter?
"...This was only my second mission." Gabriel's voice takes you by surprise. But no one interrupts her. "It's funny. My first mission was Boston, with the Lab and the Nest. I felt so useless then..."
"I was a washout. Lucked through Bootcamp by the skin of my teeth." The smile in Michael's voice is gone. "Spent my days off duty partying and getting drunk. Survived Reluxus because the Angel I had a crush on kicked me through the gate before it closed. Hell, I should have died during Goddess Grey's assault."
"I only figured out my Magic... two weeks ago, now?" Samael takes up the reigns. "I've only recently managed to stumble in something resembling a direction with it. Other than that, the most I got is some party favors and a passing understanding of Magic Binary."
"This was my first mission."
"Same."
Both Lucky and Aquila were wide-eyed now. Their own assertions almost quiet against the beat of the helicopter's motors.
"I think what we're trying to say Maria... is don't worry. Just accept your mistakes and move on." Gabriel's smile glows in only the way an Angel's can.
"But remember... If you're rolling with us? You're anything but normal." James' grin on the other hand doesn't. Though it does warm your heart in it's own way.
[GRATITUDE]
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
The Skybound comes down right outside a massive sprawl of a graveyard. Rows upon rows of low buildings that you think are mausoleums line narrow barely-visible paths that are almost impossible to see clearly from the sky. In the center, a massive edifice of a church-like structure dominates the scene.
Overall, you can see only one entrance, which is blocked by three separate tanks and what looks to be a small platoon of soldiers. But even as the transport descends to the ground to can easily identify three figures that you'd know anywhere.
Goddess Gold, Red Rose, and Magical Girl Brilliant Key.
The current #12, and quite possibly the personal hero of every single Legend Maker Magical Girl to ever exist.
For that was her Growth Affinity. She was considered to be the ultimate example of "When you do it right" to ever grace the world.
You're out of the helicopter before it even finishes setting down, practically leaping over Gabriel in your mad rush to greet the famous girl. "Can I have your autograph?!"
It's only a few seconds after the words leave your mouth that you realize you had just interrupted their conversation. The three girls all stare at you, Red Rose and Brilliant Key both with varying levels of surprise, and Goddess Gold with a rather uncalled for level of amusement. You stand there with your Data Mine held out like an idiot for several seconds before sheepishly pulling the DM back and shuffling slightly behind Rei in an attempt to drown in your embarrassment.
"I'd take offense of the fact you're the first one she's asked for an autograph in the entire time I've known her... but that was just way too cute." Tension you hadn't noticed before in Brilliant Key and Red Rose drains from their bodies. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, since Goddess Red isn't here, I won't be coming into the necropolis. I'll wait out here just in case, so you guys don't have to worry about me accidentally bringing the place down... though..." At this she glances behind herself at you. "If Nepgear is going in with you, you might still have to worry about that."
"I'll try not to destroy everything." It's sad that you have to assure that. The fact you might not be able to help yourself just makes it even worse. "I'll try to stick to swinging." You still risked blowing holes in important walls, but it was slightly less then firing off your Purifier Beam at random.
"I see the little Core has grown up these last few weeks." Red Rose's scratchy voice draws you from the funk Rei's teasing has left you in. "It's good to see you alive and well kid. Especially with the antics you've been getting up to if my Sister's board is anything to believe." You flush and facepalm again. "So, is your Team coming along? The Soldiers out here aren't coming with..."
"They're all staying out here because they've identified some Skeletal Knights and Spawns of Chaos mixed in there." James butts into the conversation while toting along the rest of your team. "Regular Human soldiers will get ripped to shreds in there, so Red Rose, Brilliant Key, and Insight over there were planning on going in alone. We should be fine but... it'll be up to you. Let us know what you decide, alright?" You nod in affirmation, and he leads them towards the barricade at the entrance.
From there the new girl, Insight, quickly walks up and sticks out her hand. "I'm Insight, though you can call me Shirley. I don't really get along with my family. I'll be in your care as Red Rose's newest student." You smile and shake her hand.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Anastasia, but everyone calls me Nepgear."
"Hmm? That nickname doesn't annoy you any more?"
"Interesting Affinities you have there..."
Red Rose's question drains the atmosphere of the meeting to you. "Umm... No, not really... It serves as a reminder... for Richard." She gives a silent "oh" of understanding. "So... what are we looking at inside?"
"Ooo... nice gun."
"Well... we've confirmed at least five Magical Girls present inside. We're not certain who they are, but..."
"Wait... what?
"You don't want to rush in without a plan."
"Sky... fly... what?"
"Pretty much. Insight's power here can tell her everything she needs to know of an enemy given enough time." The girl in question was now staring at you rather intently. "The idea is for me to engage any new girls and buy time for her to find the traps they might have. Then put them down."
"Indestructible... what?!"
"Umm..." You're unsure of interrupting Red Rose, but your noise draws her attention. Insight is looking a little pale now. "I... might have a way of freeing any of the resurrected girls."
"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS SHIT?!"
Insight suddenly slumps against you as soon as the words leave your mouth, punctuating your statement with the moan. You blink and look down at her.
"... I think that summarizes this entire conversation..."
She twitches.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"Alright... It's supposed to be classified in order to keep people from getting their hopes up in case it was a fluke, because we don't have any idea on how they managed it the first time." Insight was leaning against the wheels of the jeep that Rei had brought Red Rose and Brilliant Key over to tell them about what exactly happened in the Nightmare Nest beneath Boston. James and Gabriel have both come over to help out, but Insight was keeping her gaze firmly locked on the ground.
The girl had muttered "if they're half as bullshit as she is, I don't even want to know" and hadn't moved from her spot since...
"They freed Sega from the Control Seal, and after confirming there was no leftover aftereffects she was cleared to operate in a limited capacity. We're not sure how they managed it but... if we can figure out how, it'll change everything. At least until the Unified Darkness finds out that we can free people from N- Red's control." Her slip was slight, but everyone catches it.
If you could prove that you can free the Mind Controlled, you can free Goddess Grey.
You could bring another of Rei's sisters back to her.
"... I'll allow it. If you can come out with more Girls than you go in with... then..." She clenches her teeth, and her knuckles go white from their grip on the edge of the jeep. "Are you... one thousand percent positive that you can do this?" Her eyes snap open and bore into you. The sheer FORCE behind her presence suddenly slams down atop you like a tidal wave, almost sending you to your knees in an instant.
You swallow, and somehow manage to stand strong. "I am. If I am sure of nothing else in the world, I would be sure of this."
Rei's eyes don't waver. It's as if the whole world waited with bated breadth, unable of even conceiving of movement beneath her gaze. And after what feels like an eternity beneath her gaze...
"I trust you." Three words. Words that no one in the world thought Goddess Gold capable of saying, after what her sister had done. The weight of her gaze before is literally nothing to the weight of the monumental task those three words have now placed upon you. 'Bring her back.' It is not a demand. It is a desperate plea. Had anyone else spoken these words to you, they would have prostrated themselves upon the ground and caked themselves in the mud beneath your feet to beg your intervention.
Rei Mistubishi has never bowed within your sight. But the bend to her shoulders and spine can be nothing else.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
You find yourself staring at the entrance to the necropolis. The weight of your task, monumental. Your resolve, insurmountable.
You know your path.
"So, we going in together, or do you want us to stick around out here?" You turn to regard James, and Team GEAR.
Red Rose, Brilliant Key, and Insight are all waiting for your choice, Rei stands near the back with her eyes locked upon the structure behind you. If you took them with you, then you'd be able to clear the necropolis quickly. But if Goddess Red showed up, then the Soldiers would be functionally useless in a straight fight and would likely die, leaving Rei alone to face down whatever Ni brought back with her...
What to do...
Status of Team Gear:
Nepgear: Ready
James: Ready
Samael: Ready
Michael :Ready
Gabriel: Ready
Lucky: Ready
Aquila: Ready
Sega: Slightly stressed. 1% reduction on Base Resilience and Base Damage.
Status of Assault Team:
Red Rose: Ready
Brilliant Key: Ready
Insight: Ready. She has Grenades!
Status of Barricade Forces:
Main Barricade: Fully Intact
Goddess Gold: Ready. Slightly distracted. (1d10 chance of being taken by surprise if fighting breaks out.)
Barricade Defenders: Unscathed
[]Are you leaving anyone of Team GEAR behind?
-[]If so, who?
[]Assault plan. How do you want to move through the Necropolis?
+5xp Met Insight
+20xp Broke Insight
+30xp Traumatized Insight without ever doing anything to her
+5xp Met Red Rose again
+5xp Met Brilliant Key
65 EXP Gained = 646 EXP Total
The Judgement sisters were huddled in a bend of the walkway to the second Messenger's engine, hidden slightly from sight behind the metal guard rails and the plating that shielded the engine from harm. JC had left her Magical Girl form, and from the slight smell of salty water in the air you could tell she had been crying. The smaller girl was leaned up against her older sister who was still in her Magical Girl form, with her arms wrapped around the younger in a tight, comforting a hug.
A kind of hug you would have given an arm and a leg for when Jess and Richard had died.
"N-no, its o-okay." JC rubs at her eyes, wiping away her tears. Though Judgement Drive simply raises a brow at you in a silent question.
"I was a bit worried. I mean... missions like this are pretty normal for my team, but..."
"NORMAL?!" Judgement Core shoots to her feet, throwing her sister's arm off in the process. "Ending a fight with more than two thirds of the people you went in with dead is NORMAL for you?!" She's in front of you now, fresh tears coming to her eyes as she grips the front of your outfit with white-knuckled fists. "How the FUCK are you still sane?!" She screams in your face, though her eyes must be blinded by her grief, she wields anger as the only fragile shield it is. Desperate to get away from the loss of those she had connected with, however temporarily.
"I haven't been able to properly connect with new people in a while." She freezes, though out of the corner of your eye, you can see JC's sister avert her own gaze. "The first day... when I got my powers... my town was destroyed. Everyone but me died... my school was eaten... my sister killed... and the hero that tried to save me..." It wasn't healed, your wound. You don't think it'll ever be healed, not fully at any rate. But... maybe you could talk about it now. With someone that had so recently experienced similar pain.
Your arms find their way around Judgement Core's shoulders, but you gaze longingly past her, lost in memories of better days.
"Goddess Gold saved me... and I was so lost, I think I followed her because I didn't feel as if I had anywhere better to go. Afterwards, when I met Team GEAR for the first time, things felt like the would get better. Me and Jess made quick friends, and even though Richard could be annoying... I like to think we were friends also. My first deployment was to New York, with the invasion attempt. I was injured but... I never felt more successful at anything else in my life. The return to Base though... Jess and Richard didn't survive."
You don't know when you slumped to your knees, or when Sega had arrived. But you do know that at some point, Judgement Core had started returning your hug, and that both Sega and Judgement Drive had joined in on it.
"I know... how painful it is... It doesn't get easier, if anything it gets harder... Harder to connect, harder to feel... I have so little left that I'm too scared to let anything else in. Don't become like that, don't drown in your fears... Revel in the softness of your heart, for as long as you can."
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"... Sorry about that. I went down there to try and comfort you and..."
"Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Judge-"
"Uni."
You blink, and look to the other girl, who smiles at you brightly. "Unification Sort. But my friends call me Uni." She sticks her tongue out at you, and you can't help but find the image oddly adorable... but...
"Umm... not to sound rude, but... Sort?" You try to smile, but it comes out as a slight grimace. Uni blinks, before her face is suddenly flush with one of the brightest blushes you've ever seen since that time she mistook you for an Angel.
"W-what about it?! It's Danish! It means Black!" She crosses her arms and huffs. But all that does is serve to make her look even more adorable. "It's not whatever you thought!" You brutally beat down your urge to glomp her and attempt to take her with you before you respond.
"Oh, no! It's ok. I just thought it weird, because of translation conventions." There, that should help keep her Tsundere in check.
Uni nods firmly. "I'll forgive you then. This time." One bullet dodged. "So what are you guys off to do next?"
"Well... a while ago Team GEAR and I kind of stumbled into a Unified Darkness plot. Goddess Red has been resurrecting Magical Girls that have died. But we were able to prove that we can reclaim them. So I'm hoping that we can go help Red Rose reclaim the girls that have been resurrected."
Both Judgement Drive and Uni nod seriously at you, as the sound of the Skybound's engines starts up again. "It's ok then. We'd come along... but I'm in no shape to fight again. Not so soon after..." You nod in understanding as she trails off. You were barely functional after Jessica and Richard died, so you could understand where she was coming from.
"If you need anything, feel free to seek me out when I'm on base, alright?" She forgoes replying in order to give you a hug instead. You bask in the warmth for several moment before Sega's voice cuts in.
"Nepgear! We're about to head out. You can cuddle with your girlfriend later!" You and Uni leap apart at her words, both of your faces flushed with embarrassment.
"I am going to lock her into a room with your sister one of these days. And I'm not going to let them out all night."
"You do know they won't mind that right?"
"That's why we threaten to record everything they do and post it all over ToHO."
Uni glances at you just as you glance at her.
You shake hands right before you walk towards the Skybound as Sega and... Rev? you think Sega called her once, share a kiss and separate themselves. You pout at her as she catches up, "You're horrible, you know that?"
She simply smiles at you as everyone finishes climbing in and the motors reach a crescendo. "Me? I'm just using what I was taught in order to encourage my little sister to follow her heart~!"
"What'd you learn your advice from? A TV Drama?" For some reason your response causes Sega to break out into tears and laughter. Whether they're from happiness or sadness, you can't actually tell.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"So what you up to, kid?" James' voice breaks the easy silence roughly five hours into the trip after you left the Messengers in the distance. You had curled up next to him and Sega to pull out your Data Mine (that you had honestly forgotten you even had, despite it's size) while Michael sat across from you waving his hands in the air for some reason.
"It's been a while since I logged onto ToHO, so I want to catch up on some of the things I've missed. As well as see if there's anything about me."
"Two Hoe? What's that?" Gabriel's question draws the attention of everyone else in the cabin.
"No idea. Never heard of it." You almost blanch in disbelief at James' reply, but Sega saves him when she swings an arm up over your shoulders and draws attention to herself.
"Throne of Heroes: ONLINE. It's a fan-run message board that follows Magical Girl happening across the world. It's where the term "MGroupie" originated, along with a lot of other slang terms for Magical Girls and their followers sprung from. The original Founder for the site was Grey Champion and some of her more fanatical fans, though it's grown a lot since then. Nepgear here was well on her way to becoming a Moderator on it before I died. And she was the go-to person for the Old Guard."
You blush and try ducking behind your Data Mine. "I... was a really big fan. Still am, I guess. They were the biggest names in the world during their time. They were there since the beginning, you know? From the Revelation, through the Crusade." They might not have been as strong as the Goddess Four are... but they had each been great in their own way. When it came to Magical Girl combat, no one had known the rules better than them. No one had been better then them. It was argued even today across ToHO whether or not the Old Guard would be able to keep their places at the top. If the Goddess Four deserved their spot.
These days, it was more about pure power than playing the rules. Though the current Top Ten could play the rules like no-one's business. It just tended to get lost in the sheer firepower that tended to get tossed around.
"Well... anything come up?" You blink.
"Oh... yeah. Here ya go:
Everyone gets a front row seat to James' reaction as he begins to read the thread, and since he wasn't wearing his helmet got full view as his eyes steadily grew and grew as he got deeper and deeper into the insanity that was ToHO.
"What the Christ people?"
His voice is a choked whisper, but he doesn't stop reading.
"I have no idea what he's reading, but if it can get this reaction out of him, it has to be good." Michael's grin is almost audible as James chokes on air for the third time.
"General insanity of the internet put under a magnifying lens of stupidity."
"And you were part of it once upon a time?"
"I was actually one of the sane-ish ones. I worked to reign in the insanity just enough that we all didn't get arrested because of what was going on." James slaps the Data Mine into his lap and a hand over his face out of the clear blue. "I get the feeling that the portions of the Board I frequented have declined in my absence."
"That's one way to put it... What's with this tab next you your screen name? Master Magic?"
"Oh that? It's for those of us that have proven to be knowledgeable of certain Magical Girls more than others. I got "Master Magic" because I could tell you almost anything you'd want to know about Silver Hero's career as a Magical Girl. I could almost do as much with any of the Old Guard, but I knew Silver Hero the best. Those who know Goddess Gold the best have "Annihilation Priest", while Goddess Grey gets you "Pointed Priest", and so on."
"Huh..." With a raised eyebrow, he flips the Data Mine back up into reading position and continues his perusal.
You switch attention from him to Michael. "So, what are you up to?" The dark-skinned soldier was the only person in the helicopter with his helmet on save for the pilot. But the Pilot had a good reason.
Michael simply chuckles and gives you two thumbs-up. "I found out that we can connect our Data Mine with the heads-up display." That instantly gets everyone's attention again. "I've been reading through the Mission Report for Soul Collector. Turns out Red Rose has managed to track down where the resurrected Magical Girls have been holed up for preparation of moving them back across the Dimensional Barriers. Turns out since we interrupted their operations at West Wall, they've instead been sneaking around graveyards and pulling the graves they dig up to one location for transfer instead of simply teleporting in and out."
"But since we've been stepping up security around graveyards, they're pulling the plug on their operations early."
"Nice to hear from you Basilicom. What's the sitch?" Sega cannot be denied.
"My callsign isn't- uhg, never mind. The Unified Darkness has been dropping operations around Graveyards recently. We know they've gotten maybe fifty Magical Girls out of it, so its not because they have enough. So we think it's because we know what they've been doing. As it is, we don't think they know that you guys can break the Control Seals, otherwise they would have cut the operation and ran immediately after Boston, but have instead decided that to continue it poses too much of a risk. So they're collecting what graves they've dug up in one place and are going to all pull out at once."
"So we're taking the opening they've presented us to try and neutralize all the Magical Girls they've resurrected all at once, and deny them any new ones at the same time?"
"That's the idea... Hey Solid Core? Can I ask you something. It's completely unrelated to the mission but..."
You share a look with everyone else in the troop hold, this was... kind of sudden. "Umm... sure?"
"Am I a bitch?" You brain locks up. What? "I mean... You know how Corporal Balier asked about the records I broke? Well... that's all I'm known for. It's all I've done. But... when I got posted to Momo, I expected something big and important... so when Commander Mason posted me as your Intel Officer I overreacted. I thought everything he said about you was just garbage meant to sooth my ego. But... I've been reading the AARs of your deployments, and thinking about Starborn... and I can't help but feel that I'm the wrong person for this job. You deserve better."
You hear a sigh over the comm line, and with it whatever good mood that had been suffused into the ride drained with it.
"I'm just a stupid rookie with an over-inflated ego. If I fuck up, then you can die. Hell, I did fuck up, and you almost did die! It was my lack of attention that let Sixth Heaven get as close as she did and allow her to smack you fifty meters. If you had been any other Magical Girl then... I just feel that I'm the worst person for your team. You're all Elites and I'm... me."
The cab goes silent. You find yourself without anything to say, your own perceived inadequacies coming to the front of you mind. But in the face of what Maria was likely going through right then... what did they matter?
"...This was only my second mission." Gabriel's voice takes you by surprise. But no one interrupts her. "It's funny. My first mission was Boston, with the Lab and the Nest. I felt so useless then..."
"I was a washout. Lucked through Bootcamp by the skin of my teeth." The smile in Michael's voice is gone. "Spent my days off duty partying and getting drunk. Survived Reluxus because the Angel I had a crush on kicked me through the gate before it closed. Hell, I should have died during Goddess Grey's assault."
"I only figured out my Magic... two weeks ago, now?" Samael takes up the reigns. "I've only recently managed to stumble in something resembling a direction with it. Other than that, the most I got is some party favors and a passing understanding of Magic Binary."
"This was my first mission."
"Same."
Both Lucky and Aquila were wide-eyed now. Their own assertions almost quiet against the beat of the helicopter's motors.
"I think what we're trying to say Maria... is don't worry. Just accept your mistakes and move on." Gabriel's smile glows in only the way an Angel's can.
"But remember... If you're rolling with us? You're anything but normal." James' grin on the other hand doesn't. Though it does warm your heart in it's own way.
[GRATITUDE]
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
The Skybound comes down right outside a massive sprawl of a graveyard. Rows upon rows of low buildings that you think are mausoleums line narrow barely-visible paths that are almost impossible to see clearly from the sky. In the center, a massive edifice of a church-like structure dominates the scene.
Overall, you can see only one entrance, which is blocked by three separate tanks and what looks to be a small platoon of soldiers. But even as the transport descends to the ground to can easily identify three figures that you'd know anywhere.
Goddess Gold, Red Rose, and Magical Girl Brilliant Key.
The current #12, and quite possibly the personal hero of every single Legend Maker Magical Girl to ever exist.
For that was her Growth Affinity. She was considered to be the ultimate example of "When you do it right" to ever grace the world.
You're out of the helicopter before it even finishes setting down, practically leaping over Gabriel in your mad rush to greet the famous girl. "Can I have your autograph?!"
It's only a few seconds after the words leave your mouth that you realize you had just interrupted their conversation. The three girls all stare at you, Red Rose and Brilliant Key both with varying levels of surprise, and Goddess Gold with a rather uncalled for level of amusement. You stand there with your Data Mine held out like an idiot for several seconds before sheepishly pulling the DM back and shuffling slightly behind Rei in an attempt to drown in your embarrassment.
"I'd take offense of the fact you're the first one she's asked for an autograph in the entire time I've known her... but that was just way too cute." Tension you hadn't noticed before in Brilliant Key and Red Rose drains from their bodies. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, since Goddess Red isn't here, I won't be coming into the necropolis. I'll wait out here just in case, so you guys don't have to worry about me accidentally bringing the place down... though..." At this she glances behind herself at you. "If Nepgear is going in with you, you might still have to worry about that."
"I'll try not to destroy everything." It's sad that you have to assure that. The fact you might not be able to help yourself just makes it even worse. "I'll try to stick to swinging." You still risked blowing holes in important walls, but it was slightly less then firing off your Purifier Beam at random.
"I see the little Core has grown up these last few weeks." Red Rose's scratchy voice draws you from the funk Rei's teasing has left you in. "It's good to see you alive and well kid. Especially with the antics you've been getting up to if my Sister's board is anything to believe." You flush and facepalm again. "So, is your Team coming along? The Soldiers out here aren't coming with..."
"They're all staying out here because they've identified some Skeletal Knights and Spawns of Chaos mixed in there." James butts into the conversation while toting along the rest of your team. "Regular Human soldiers will get ripped to shreds in there, so Red Rose, Brilliant Key, and Insight over there were planning on going in alone. We should be fine but... it'll be up to you. Let us know what you decide, alright?" You nod in affirmation, and he leads them towards the barricade at the entrance.
From there the new girl, Insight, quickly walks up and sticks out her hand. "I'm Insight, though you can call me Shirley. I don't really get along with my family. I'll be in your care as Red Rose's newest student." You smile and shake her hand.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Anastasia, but everyone calls me Nepgear."
"Hmm? That nickname doesn't annoy you any more?"
"Interesting Affinities you have there..."
Red Rose's question drains the atmosphere of the meeting to you. "Umm... No, not really... It serves as a reminder... for Richard." She gives a silent "oh" of understanding. "So... what are we looking at inside?"
"Ooo... nice gun."
"Well... we've confirmed at least five Magical Girls present inside. We're not certain who they are, but..."
"Wait... what?
"You don't want to rush in without a plan."
"Sky... fly... what?"
"Pretty much. Insight's power here can tell her everything she needs to know of an enemy given enough time." The girl in question was now staring at you rather intently. "The idea is for me to engage any new girls and buy time for her to find the traps they might have. Then put them down."
"Indestructible... what?!"
"Umm..." You're unsure of interrupting Red Rose, but your noise draws her attention. Insight is looking a little pale now. "I... might have a way of freeing any of the resurrected girls."
"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS SHIT?!"
Insight suddenly slumps against you as soon as the words leave your mouth, punctuating your statement with the moan. You blink and look down at her.
"... I think that summarizes this entire conversation..."
She twitches.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"Alright... It's supposed to be classified in order to keep people from getting their hopes up in case it was a fluke, because we don't have any idea on how they managed it the first time." Insight was leaning against the wheels of the jeep that Rei had brought Red Rose and Brilliant Key over to tell them about what exactly happened in the Nightmare Nest beneath Boston. James and Gabriel have both come over to help out, but Insight was keeping her gaze firmly locked on the ground.
The girl had muttered "if they're half as bullshit as she is, I don't even want to know" and hadn't moved from her spot since...
"They freed Sega from the Control Seal, and after confirming there was no leftover aftereffects she was cleared to operate in a limited capacity. We're not sure how they managed it but... if we can figure out how, it'll change everything. At least until the Unified Darkness finds out that we can free people from N- Red's control." Her slip was slight, but everyone catches it.
If you could prove that you can free the Mind Controlled, you can free Goddess Grey.
You could bring another of Rei's sisters back to her.
"... I'll allow it. If you can come out with more Girls than you go in with... then..." She clenches her teeth, and her knuckles go white from their grip on the edge of the jeep. "Are you... one thousand percent positive that you can do this?" Her eyes snap open and bore into you. The sheer FORCE behind her presence suddenly slams down atop you like a tidal wave, almost sending you to your knees in an instant.
You swallow, and somehow manage to stand strong. "I am. If I am sure of nothing else in the world, I would be sure of this."
Rei's eyes don't waver. It's as if the whole world waited with bated breadth, unable of even conceiving of movement beneath her gaze. And after what feels like an eternity beneath her gaze...
"I trust you." Three words. Words that no one in the world thought Goddess Gold capable of saying, after what her sister had done. The weight of her gaze before is literally nothing to the weight of the monumental task those three words have now placed upon you. 'Bring her back.' It is not a demand. It is a desperate plea. Had anyone else spoken these words to you, they would have prostrated themselves upon the ground and caked themselves in the mud beneath your feet to beg your intervention.
Rei Mistubishi has never bowed within your sight. But the bend to her shoulders and spine can be nothing else.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
You find yourself staring at the entrance to the necropolis. The weight of your task, monumental. Your resolve, insurmountable.
You know your path.
"So, we going in together, or do you want us to stick around out here?" You turn to regard James, and Team GEAR.
Red Rose, Brilliant Key, and Insight are all waiting for your choice, Rei stands near the back with her eyes locked upon the structure behind you. If you took them with you, then you'd be able to clear the necropolis quickly. But if Goddess Red showed up, then the Soldiers would be functionally useless in a straight fight and would likely die, leaving Rei alone to face down whatever Ni brought back with her...
What to do...
-Operation Soul Collector-
Objective: The neutralization of all Hostile MG Forces within the Dark Hall Necropolis
Optional Objective: The Retrieval of all Mind Controlled Magical Girls within the Dark Hall Necropolis
Failure: Death of the insertion team / Escape of the Unified Darkness task force
Objective: The neutralization of all Hostile MG Forces within the Dark Hall Necropolis
Optional Objective: The Retrieval of all Mind Controlled Magical Girls within the Dark Hall Necropolis
Failure: Death of the insertion team / Escape of the Unified Darkness task force
Status of Team Gear:
Nepgear: Ready
James: Ready
Samael: Ready
Michael :Ready
Gabriel: Ready
Lucky: Ready
Aquila: Ready
Sega: Slightly stressed. 1% reduction on Base Resilience and Base Damage.
Status of Assault Team:
Red Rose: Ready
Brilliant Key: Ready
Insight: Ready. She has Grenades!
Status of Barricade Forces:
Main Barricade: Fully Intact
Goddess Gold: Ready. Slightly distracted. (1d10 chance of being taken by surprise if fighting breaks out.)
Barricade Defenders: Unscathed
[]Are you leaving anyone of Team GEAR behind?
-[]If so, who?
[]Assault plan. How do you want to move through the Necropolis?
+5xp Met Insight
+20xp Broke Insight
+30xp Traumatized Insight without ever doing anything to her
+5xp Met Red Rose again
+5xp Met Brilliant Key
65 EXP Gained = 646 EXP Total
-Standby for Basilicom Transmission-
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
Transmission Incoming!
"This is Basilicom. I've gone over the reports from the Barricade and hunted down what I could."
Necropolis Guardians
"This is Basilicom. I've gone over the reports from the Barricade and hunted down what I could."
Necropolis Guardians
- (Goddess Red) (Unified Darkness) Spawn of Chaos
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Soldiers of the End
- Stats
- Weapon
- Abilities
- (Dark Star Necromancer) (Necromancy) Skeletal Assault Knight
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Skeletal Warrior
- Stats
- Weapon
- Abilities
Invaders of Light
- (Unified Light) Magical Girl Insight
-
Shirley Locke
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Abilities
- (Insight) Shirley's Grenades
-
"I bought it, so I can BURN HIS HOUSE DOWN!" -Shirley's opinion on Life giving you lemons.
- Stats
- (Unified Light / Independent) Magical Girl Red Rose
-
Amanda Lee
A.K.A. The Avatar of Victory / The Greatest of Her Generation
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Ability
- (Unified Light / Independent) Magical Girl Brilliant Key
-
Amanda Sinclair
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Abilities
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Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
... I'll let it slide.
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
Any editor Comments Lost?
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Y'mean double-hit.
Prediction, singular.
"Pointy Priest"
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Hmm.
I'm thinking that we need Gabriel for the barricade team, and an escort to prevent her from getting wrecked by the inevitable sneak attack that the UD always gets.
Each side also needs someone who can tarpit Juggernaut Drive when she shows up. Basically someone who can completely stop her from attacking, because she'll otherwise one-shot everyone who she gets an attack on.
(I'm assuming that the same thing that one one-shot Ana is also going to be capable of one-shotting Red Rose in spite of her recursive damage reduction. Because "I hit as hard as I need to to overpower your damage reduction" is directly in conflict with "I ensure that no hit I take can reduce me by more than 20% of my base health." In which case it probably comes to affinities, and Divinity is going to beat out RR.
I'm thinking that we need Gabriel for the barricade team, and an escort to prevent her from getting wrecked by the inevitable sneak attack that the UD always gets.
Each side also needs someone who can tarpit Juggernaut Drive when she shows up. Basically someone who can completely stop her from attacking, because she'll otherwise one-shot everyone who she gets an attack on.
(I'm assuming that the same thing that one one-shot Ana is also going to be capable of one-shotting Red Rose in spite of her recursive damage reduction. Because "I hit as hard as I need to to overpower your damage reduction" is directly in conflict with "I ensure that no hit I take can reduce me by more than 20% of my base health." In which case it probably comes to affinities, and Divinity is going to beat out RR.
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LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
Can we not?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
They have perfect stealth kill-teams. No reason they wouldn't use one here, given how likely that this is a trap to neutralize Red Rose.
Crystalwatcher
(Verified GM)
- Location
- Limbo
ReaperofInterest
Herald of Disaster
You do have a point about Juggernaut Drive, but we kind of need Gabriel's Presence of Light to be able to stealthily wear away at any Control Seals we come across. How about we leave James behind? He can stall her long enough for Gold to drive her off, while Gabriel's Light and Hope Affinities help us kill any of the necromantic soldiers. In all honesty, I'd prefer to leave everyone but Gabriel at the barricades after having Samael buff us all, if only because they'd do more good there.