That's only if she's actually fighting him not to mention he can't actually hurt her so she can just behead us or something while he's hitting her for 0 damage.
He's quite capable of intercepting attacks. Like he did. James is awesome like that.
Oh, and there's magical girl Carnage, who's completely invincible while fighting people, and she likes us too.
Wow, we've got a lot of cheating cheaters who cheat with health some way on our side.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaiiit a second, Magical Girl Rose's whole shtick is reducing any attack to below 20% of her maximum health and having an instant kill attack, and James does one of those better than she does. Magical Girls aren't the last word in human awesomeness, just the most flashy.
Magical Girl Goddess Grey is a human, nominally. Humans are super-organisms created when over thirty-seven Trillion single celled organisms GATTAI! Carnage wouldn't be fighting one enemy, she'd be fighting 37,200,000,000,000 beings fighting as one!
He's quite capable of intercepting attacks. Like he did. James is awesome like that.
Oh, and there's magical girl Carnage, who's completely invincible while fighting people, and she likes us too.
Wow, we've got a lot of cheating cheaters who cheat with health some way on our side.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaiiit a second, Magical Girl Rose's whole shtick is reducing any attack to below 20% of her maximum health and having an instant kill attack, and James does one of those better than she does. Magical Girls aren't the last word in human awesomeness, just the most flashy.
Actually, Carnage is invincible when fighting armies of mooks she can slaughter and use her weapon's vampiric property to heal herself, so she's lousy in single combat or against a small number of strong enemies.
She's not entirely useless against them, though. That's why she has Mikhail The White Dragon with her.
I wonder if this version of him is as adorably xenophobic against Wyverns as he was in Drakengard 3?
Magical Girl Goddess Grey is a human, nominally. Humans are super-organisms created when over thirty-seven Trillion single celled organisms GATTAI! Carnage wouldn't be fighting one enemy, she'd be fighting 37,200,000,000,000 beings fighting as one!
Actually, Carnage is invincible when fighting armies of mooks she can slaughter and use her weapon's vampiric property to heal herself, so she's lousy in single combat or against a small number of strong enemies.
Three notes descending. Twirling. A Ball. A grand hall, two hundred forty three cubits long and sixty four wide, of gleaming marble. The ceiling is dark and cavernous, as if this place had been a dungeon, or the lair of some great beast, before it had been forced, grumbling, into a semblance of gentility. One hundred and eight beings dancing in unison, to a tune you've placed but cannot name. Pillars mirror the walls, outlining the dancing floor. Your dress is a deep purple, your hooded cloak is clasped with onyx, and you watch from the sidelines as they move in fractal patterns.
The light provided by the city below, shining through the crystal panes that make up the western wall, tints everything the blue of stylized moonlight. It reflects off of the heavy clouds, casting no shadows, rendering everything outside disturbingly flat. Great hedrons of mirrored stone are chained, to prevent them from falling up. The only shadows you see are not the dancers.
The music, riddled with eerie flats, is without origin or physical substance. It is the thought of sound, the idea unable to truly manifest. Even so, it is still the loudest thing in the room. You have heard it before, you're sure, this nameless tune.
The floor is not the marble of the walls. It is tiled, and as gray as slate. Burning words are engraved in incomprehensible script at set intervals, as if the one by seven meter slabs were the doors of tombs in some vast sepulcher. The gaps between yawn hungrily, abyssal darkness which emphasizes reality through its absence.
The revellers move in intricate patterns, swirling, positions interchanging. Half of them are shining silver, elegant and thin. Their inhuman, statuesque forms are unnerving, black holes in their stark frames devouring light. The other half are as black and gleaming as the walls, slick silicon bending as it has no right to. They are carvings ensouled, spirits embodied, power radiating off of them in stifling waves.
You stand near the eastern wall, in the shadow of a pillar. You watch, unmoving, as the beings dance. You listen, silently, to the macabre music wax and wane. You wait, unnoticeable, as the shadows quietly widen by infinitesimal increments and pool in the gaps, unnoticed by the entities before you, until with a sudden snap they too are engulfed in the darkness and there is nothing left to see.
You wake up to Sega telling you that she loves you, and to have a nice day at school. Sometimes she has to get up really early for her job, but she never leaves without saying it, even if you're asleep. You briefly remember that one Halloween when she had done it even though she was in Vampire cosplay, and left you with a new and irrational childhood fear that she had suffered a terrible fate and was just really good at hiding it. That she had usually had to use subpar materials meant that her tinted contacts and needle-like teeth were especially convincing... and traumatic.
You give an odd shivergiggle at the memory, tell her that you love her too, and then, once she's out the front door, glance at the clock. 3:00. You snuggle back into your bed and pull the covers over your head. Waking can wait for a less unholy hour.
That's not actual armor, not the kind you'd wear to a war. You can tell by the giant open area for all of the sharp things to reach the important bits. And the open back-of-the-foot shoes.
That's not actual armor, not the kind you'd wear to a war. You can tell by the giant open area for all of the sharp things to reach the important bits. And the open back-of-the-foot shoes.
That's not actual armor, not the kind you'd wear to a war. You can tell by the giant open area for all of the sharp things to reach the important bits. And the open back-of-the-foot shoes.
That's not actual armor, not the kind you'd wear to a war. You can tell by the giant open area for all of the sharp things to reach the important bits. And the open back-of-the-foot shoes.
An offensive. The simple fact that the Unified Light was considering one was a major thing. Up until this point, they had been on the defensive since before the Akashic Pillar had come in guns blazing. As it was, Earth had been more or less the only thing keeping the Unified Darkness from pushing their advantage: leaving such a fortress to their backs was a fool's errand, and everyone knew it.
But even though their defense seemed nearly impregnable, the Unified Light simply didn't have the numbers to punch back: even with the Elfish Legions numbering close to the billions.
So the fact that they were considering an offensive was major news. News you felt you needed to know more about.
And with that thought in mind, you scurried your way over to the command tent to find out what was all going on. Once there, you find yourself standing next to Truth as she herself studies some of the information that was put out for 'public' viewing. "What's happening?" She starts at your voice, but recovers easily before she disrupts the rest of the tent.
"The commander is talking with the head of the Flight that Heaven sent to us. Roughly fifteen veteran Angels all told, with another twenty newbies. The Angel Commander was hoping to put a couple of his people with us Magical Girls to let them get a bit of experience with fighting alongside us. Not a bad idea... but I really don't want to play babysitter."
And standing in the middle of the tent amongst the bustle is the Commander along with what looked to be another ordinary human male. If that human was sixteen feet tall, looked like he could juggle elephants, and had a pair of wings to match.
War Angels were Heaven's front line troops. And one on one, the only things they couldn't handle were Class 4 or higher Demons.
And Magical Girls.
One on one, they were the second most powerful individual combatants in the LDC. The drawback though was they were very few and very far between. Heaven could only field so many of them, and replacing them required things you had no knowledge of.
A Flight was a projection of force that was difficult for anyone but the Akashic Pillar to match. The fact one would be setting up literally right next to you almost had you squee-ing at the thought. "I wouldn't mind." Your soft voice cuts the commotion of the tent off almost instantly. And as everyone turns to look at you, you feel your face heat up. "Umm... Why is everyone looking at me?"
Truth giggles. The Angel chuckles, and the Commander sighs, "From the mouth of the midget. ("Hey!") I'll let you attach an angel or two to Team GEAR. They're low-priority, and have been through a big fight already. Probably the best you'll get for a training environment at the base. They're also low on manpower after New York and everything that followed.
The reminder hits you like the Commander had actually punched you, and you noticeably flinch. Everyone but the Commander himself notices. As you slowly curl in on yourself from the sudden surge of grief, the man turns back to the table he's partially bent over.
On top of it is an abstract depiction of the Local Dimensional Cluster in a mostly 2D format. It lacked any real adornment, but little red flags marked what dimensions were currently experiencing open conflict... But honestly? It looked like a small child had drawn it.
You wondered what happened to the actual map.
"With the D9-0 line as it is, this offensive is going to either make or break us. Reluxus alone would give the Empire back their forward gate systems for the whole battle line, allowing them to move their forces much faster. But... The Pillar wants Hope back more than anything. And you know why."
"Humanity's first and only Colony they ever established outside of Earth... Your people fought harder than anyone had thought possible to keep it. The greatest defeat of the age, I think the Council called it. The Elves never fought that hard, even at Reluxus they folded once it became obvious holding would cost more than victory would give them... But you... Humanity gave everything they had and then some for Hope."
The angel straightened his posture, leaning away from the table. "As it is, the War's stalemate is probably the only thing keeping you all from rushing in to try to take Hope back. In my honest opinion We should take Reluxus back first... then once the Empire is able to move their forces to the front line en mass again, we assault Hope."
The Commander looks at the angel as he finishes. You yourself are able to ignore the grief, instead focusing on their conversation instead of the memories. "You know numbers will mean nothing if any of Hope's defenses survived. I was there, I saw what happened when Hell's Legions rushed Elysium's walls. And I'm pretty sure you were there as well."
You weren't there, so you had no idea what they were talking about. But the look on Truth's and the angel's faces turn more grim than you had ever seen. "If we're going to take it back, we'll need more than just sheer numbers... And if the Unified Darkness is using it as a staging point like we think they are, then it'll be the hardest fight of your life... which raises the question. Why now? Why is Heaven pushing for an offensive now of all times?"
The angel crosses his arms and glares down at the table. For a moment, he doesn't answer. When he does though, it leaves you as confused as ever, "Shiva is on the move."
The tent is quiet as you glance between everyone there. After a moment, "Who's Shiva?"
Truth glances out the side of her eye at you, and answers before the Commander does. "A Divine Entity. They're officially part of the Unaligned Front, but they've been playing havoc on the War for the last year or so. We have no idea what they want, but Gaia has sent the WEAPONs to clash against his agents several time now."
Huh, that was news. "Who are his agents?"
"The Maiden of the East, Maiden of the West, and Goddess White."
You blink. Goddess White you knew needed no explanation but... "The Maidens of the Apocalypse?" Number eight and number nine strongest Magical Girls currently alive. Coming up short just after the WEAPONs. "What do they want?"
"Like I said. We don't know. But they've been showing up a lot recently. Just a couple days ago they hit Valhalla. The Angels there fought them off, but..."
"We took a lot of casualties in the attack. The only reason it's still standing is because Goddess White flattened the Unified Darkness' battle lines while the Maidens went after whatever it was they wanted. We're trying to figure out what they took, but it's taking a while. There was a lot of damage."
The angel shrugs in apology, but the Commander waves him down, "It's understandable. We took a lot of casualties ourselves when Grey flattened the previous base. Fighting a Goddess... can't expect anyone to take that kind of challenge and survive without some kind of casualties. Anyway, your people can have the area that my workers are clearing away. If you need anything, I'm pretty sure you know what to do." With the dismissal, the 'meeting' breaks up and Truth walks out. But right before you leave yourself you hear the Commander call to the Angel.
"Also, Yama. Thanks again for your help on D9-7 before it fell. Would have been dead if you didn't save me."
The angel chuckles from beneath his hood, "Worry not Mason. You'll live a lot longer if I have any say about it." And with that he leaves, and you depart quickly yourself.
No one is in the tent when you reach it, and you go to bed alone but content.
You wake suddenly. You are out of the bed and across the tent in moments, managing to pull a trashcan out from beneath the little kitchenette's makeshift counter to vomit into it.
You retch loudly, first waking up Rei with your absence from the bed, then James from the noise.
The two keep you company until the sun finishes rising.
-/LINE BREAK IDENTIFIED\-
"Thanks James. Sorry for waking you up like I did." You wash out the trashcan you had used with another bucket filled with hot water. You carefully ignored the smell, and how it reminded you of the nightmares you had after the Halloween Sega went as a vampire.
The man ignored the apology though, acting as if you had done nothing of the sort. "Me and Michael are going to be over at the training grounds getting some sword lessons from Truth. Later we were going to talk with Sam and see if he can figure anything out on if he can boot our equipment with his magic."
You hum noncommittally as James delivers his plans. Mind elsewhere.
Sam walks up to the two of you as James sighs and rolls his eyes, "Just missed a messenger. Turns out, they decided that Team GEAR gets to get a Rookie Angel attached. She'll be tagging along on our next mission. Possibly longer depending on how it goes."
You blush as the words hit you. No need to tell them it was your fault for the new addition.
-new day, old problem, choose three-
[]Meet your new Guardian Angel. Might as well meet the poor shmuck you doomed.
[]Visit some Magical Girls. That tends to be fun.
[]Take a look around the base. You're curious how far along the construction is.
[]Personal Practice. You need to take you mind off things again.
[]Research. You need to know more about big-names, with the frequency you run into them.
-Who specifically are you curious about?-
[]You need snuggle times. Repressing didn't help you very much with grief the first time around.
+38xp Reflections Through the Kaleidoscope
+10xp War Update
[X]Meet your new Guardian Angel. Might as well meet the poor shmuck you doomed.
[X]Personal Practice. You need to take you mind off things again.
[X]You need snuggle times. Repressing didn't help you very much with grief the first time around.
I'd like to do some more practice.
[X] Raise Core Containment to level 10 (70+80+ 90=240 XP)
I really want to go ahead and get the Core Containment benchmark out of the way.
