savetheearth | [plot] Invasion: Day 1

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[plot] Invasion: Day 1

Who: EVERYONE + Returnees
What: Day 1 of the Invasion!
Where: EVERYWHERE
When: ICLy: The 29th! OOCly: April 29th to May 4th
Warnings: Please warn in your subject line if anything that deserves a warning occurs; this includes R-rated things as well as things worthy of a content warning/trigger warning.

The Central info post

Description: A minute after midnight EST, some people around the world who used to be numbered yet have lost their echoes since suddenly have all their pulses returned to them.

At 4pm EST, a child's laughing voice resounds in the air all around the world, remaining for over a minute and staying longer where it gets caught in the echo between buildings, mountains, or other echoing surfaces. Not long after, people in areas where the moon is visible (like those in Europe) will see pink lights on the moon, like a pink aurora borealis from above going all the way around the moon, and then the whole moon changes shape. Literally. It unfolds into a giant serpent that soon can be seen from everywhere around the world as it moves to wrap around the world, tossing and turning head and tail as if trying to hit and bite nasty flies. ...And if someone gets out a telescope, they'll realize that the serpent is doing exactly that: There are tiny spaceships attacking it and trying to pass by it, but for now it is holding up. ....You might maybe rather get to safety than get your telescope out though, because the serpent sometimes smashes down into the earth in its tossing and turning, and while it doesn't hit inhabited areas that still causes tsunamis and earthquakes. Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and Erich von Däniken will announce that it's totally aliens!!! SEE THEY CALLED IT. Ancient astronauts that gave the earth culture are coming back to us!

What this day is for: This day is mostly for reconnecting with returnees and dealing with the last wave of plot echoes. It is also for catastrophe relief efforts for areas that are hit by tsunamis or earthquakes. The only echo boundary that will be devastated in this way are the Galapagos Islands. Characters that can fly or have special swimming abilities are especially invited to help with rescuing people and delivering first aid. (Icly, the talks with the first wave aliens also happen here and they will be wrapped up or dropped after the 4th of May. You are still welcome to jump in and talk to an alien!)

How this works:

- Day 1 does not have any alien encounters past those in this log.
- There will be no toplevels on this post. Please start your own threads freely! Please format the subject line like this: "Location(s)/Network | ota/closed/etc". Please keep in mind that each character may change location twice per day (=a maximum of three different locations) and that the moon/space location is still off limits on the 1st Day.
- This post can be used for both network and action threads.
- Keep in mind that returnee characters must have checked in and must request their echoes if they get any.
- Please direct all questions to this thread on the General Invasion Guide
- For the returnee registration, please go here.

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It's funny in a way, because Lily is rocketing right through the city herself. Flying, actually, with a tiny fairy struggling to keep up the whole way. She notices Cure Diamond a second before the shout comes and she too dices right for her, throwing her arms out to her. "Winter, thank god!" There's things to talk about, aliens and Badri and what the hell they're going to do... but first she has to confirm Winter's presence. After they inevitably pick themselves up because two super strong magical girls colliding with one another in the air is going to have some sort of unfortunate result of another.

Cologne just stops and winces in advance.

Cologne's probably on the right track; when flying object full of worry meets object that pushed off the ground quite hard and also full of worry, the objects collide and then attempt to figure out what direction their remaining worry carries them. In this case, that's into a park as they tumble to a stop in grass.

Winter doesn't even register pain as she makes sure Moonlight is physically in one piece, before holding her tight for a second. "I was so worried... after..." She gasps, before letting the joy at finding her slip from her face, replaced with a serious expression. "Something's happening. It's never... that never happened before. What's going on?"

The crash and tumble happens as expected, and Cologne winces from his spot in the sky. It doesn't matter too terribly much to Lily though, as she clings to Winter for dear life. How scared she was only now fully registers with her, seeing something like what's happening in the sky, seeing what's happening across the world... She had to make damned certain her most important people were okay, and although there's still a few on that list, seeing Cure Diamond is the biggest relief she can imagine.

She picks herself up finally, pulling Winter with her.

"Something... i think something is coming. I ran into Barkley, he... talked like Benwick was trying to actually help us, like he actually wanted to, but it won't do any good. Something is definitely coming, and that..."

She cranes her head up, at the serpent in the sky. "I don't think that's it."

Winter's trying quite hard not to think about how scared she'd been, herself. That would be... a little paralyzing. For now, the adrenaline's driving her just fine, and this is a new and valid concern to channel her panic into.

"I don't believe anything they say to us at this point. Benwick has been trying to make our lives miserable for some time now - I haven't forgotten the incident on the Orbital Elevator, even if it moved. So if they want to help us, they either need to get behind us and offer us real help, or they need to get in front of us so we can arrange for them to stop being in our way. I don't have the time or the patience for complications anymore."

She frets just a little bit as she tries to figure out what the hell they're supposed to do now. "Whatever's in the sky, it's probably ours - where better to hide a superweapon than on the satellite celestial body? That probably means the snake is fighting off weapons of its own, so... we need to be ready. And that includes you, okay? I... I love you, Lily, and I'm really worried that something big is going to happen. So I need you..." She has to take a second to gather her thoughts, and shake off the fear of abandonment that's starting to set in. "I need you to promise me, before we do anything else. Promise me you're going to come home to me, whatever happens. If I know that, then... I think I can make this work. We'll figure it out. I just need to hear it from your lips."

Whatever the Enemy's force looks like, she doesn't care, so long as she and Lily can face it, and whatever comes after it together. That's all it takes. That's... all that matters.

Lily takes a breath, and she nods. "No, you're right. It's hard to trust them, on anything, even if... even if it would be a big help. If they could show us something that would help..."

She shakes her head, vigorously. "It doesn't do much good hoping. We need to act. That's what we're here for, isn't it? It's... this is the whole reason we've had these pulses from the very beginning, right?"

She stops then, listening to Winter. Feeling and hearing that worry set in. Her adrenaline wears off for the moment and she reaches out. She brushes her fingertips against Cure Diamond's cheek and smiles, as much as she's able to in this horrible and dire moment. In Winter's presence, that's still... surprisingly easy. Even as worried as the other young woman is, her presence is calming.

"I promise you. I- we're going to come home, okay? We'll win, and... we'll have a lot more ahead of us. We're only getting started there, and I'll be damned if some aliens are going to get in the way of that. I don't plan on coming home to you, though - I'm going to be with you every step of the way, from here on out. We're coming home together. Whether it's as a fellow Precure, or the love of my life... You're my partner, and we're going to show them just what that means. Got it?"

Winter's breathing is a little shallow on her own side; her panic's running a little high, and she knows exactly why. Her world, more than ever before, is in danger. And she, with a crack team of her friends and acquaintances, is positioned to handle things. Lily laying out what needs to happen for the aliens to actually be useful comes out a little too close to when she starts to break down and make a slightly more personal request of Lily, but... she feels that worry swept away like it's nothing, without even having to think about it. She's reminded of one of the reasons this person's important to her along the way, but... mostly, she's just grateful someone trusts her enough to make that promise, and hold her to it, too.

"Got it," she answers a little weakly. "I... yeah. We'll take care of this, together. This is our world, and... and we're going to hold it, no matter what. So we can live together in harmony afterward. Because... mm. We're partners, and nothing's going to break us." The strength comes back to her voice as she shares Lily's confidence - at least some of which was probably hers to start with, she reckons - that everything will be okay. Her smile comes right after, and it's not long before she's pulled herself together enough to start working out a plan. Having found Lily, Winter doesn't need to be Cure Diamond anymore, and there's a dull blue flash as she shifts back to the comfortable but dressy clothes she'd been wearing to hand out Lights and meet people.

"We can't trust Geoff and the others to have anything useful for us at this point," she continues. "If we want a happy ending... we're going to have to work for it. If they come up with something, great, we'll take it in stride. But we need to be prepared for anything, and meet force with our own force." Somehow, her grin runs wider, as she feels her will to win surging. And along with it, her belief that things will be fine. "We'll meet their hate with the power of our love. For this world, and for each other. Nothing's going to stand in our way."

Edited (Oops, wrong form for that icon. And for plot needs.) 2015-05-03 02:18 (UTC)

Lily can practically see as Winter's feelings shift and change with her words. She's been with her long enough - now, since the trip to Las Vegas over thirteen months ago, she's never left Winter's side for longer than she could help it - to be able to pick up on those little things. The breathing, the little twitches in her expression. Hearing the strength return to her voice gives her confidence renewed, and she gives a strong nod.

"And beyond you and I, it's not just us. We've got friends. And with those friends we have power."

Her form pops back from Cure Moonlight into Lily as Cologne sweeps back by her head. "So that begs the question then, Moonlight... What do we do? Enemies have not yet arrived, but the world is starting to get rather chaotic."

"Right, I guess we don't have a terrible lot of time to linger, though," Lily murmurs, looking up at the sky. "We need to get a move on." Her eyes drift to Winter. "Ideas, fearless leader?"

"R-right... right. Our friends, everyone we've met, our families- shit. Mama and Papa are still in Vegas!" Her pulse picks up, and she pulls back, panicking again. "We have to get them out... where's your father? Is he still in one of the barriers, or is he somewhere else?"

Forcing herself to take deep, regular breaths, she stars to come back down a little bit, but her voice is sharp and more than a little unsteady. "No. No, there's no time. We have to get moving. It's selfish, but Mama and Papa come first. We'll call them, get them together somewhere, and we can open up something with the Mirage right in front of them. We'll find somewhere to keep them safe here. After that, we need to start making arrangements to get everyone together, and start organizing our response. We can't just go off separately, or we'll all die alone. They'll start... here. Here, and in Las Vegas, where the Animals are gone. If the Animals are something to defend the Earth from invaders, and they have enough intelligence to attack even knowing what our capabilities are, then they'll start out where they can attack without anything major in the way."

Her eyes start to dart around, looking at her surroundings. Her city. Her entire life, about to come under attack without warning. Even as the despair pools in her heart, she can feel her temper rising. "We're not going to go down without a fight, but we're going to have to focus. Everything we have, everything we are, is going into this. And we don't have any time to prepare, but then, we never have before."

Lily can see it in her face and voice as panic starts to grip her fiancee, and she holds out one reassuring hand to her arm. "That was my next thought, yes. Dad should be home, I'll... call Jasmine. Make sure she gets him somewhere safe. For the time being, however..."

She holds out her other hand and concentrates. The Heartcatch Mirage appears in it with a flash, and she evens her own breathing. As much as fear and apprehension swirls within her, Lily knows that now, more than any other time, she has to remain calm. Strong. For her sake, as much as Winter's, or Jasmine's, or anyone's.

"For now, we're going to Las Vegas. April is going to throw a fit at us prying her away from the hospital, but we have to do what we have to do." Concentration again, picturing where they need to go, and she presses the appropriate keys. A burst erupts before them, in the middle of the street, drawing looks even as people flee in their own panic. "Let's go. Then we'll gather everyone, and... We'll fight. And we'll win because we have far too much to fight for."

She flashes a smile back to the other young woman. "Agreed?"

It's... hard to come back down when she's letting the worry drive her into a spiral of energy and concern and a need to move. But for Lily, she'll find a way. She needs Winter to be calm enough to figure out a plan. To lead the team, to lead her little portion of the Numbered. To inspire as many people as she can to do what needs to be done.

As Lily calls up the Mirage with an ease Winter still hasn't managed, she tries not to fret quite so much. "Mm. Jasmine can handle him. Probably. I'll leave that to her. We... we have to go. To Vegas. Before they land. Mama will complain, but complaining is better than being-" The thought of her mother being dead somewhere makes her queasy, and she shakes her head. "-than being in danger. And if things go the way we think they will, we'll need her talents here. To keep us fighting. So..."

Summoning all her strength, all her courage, she smiles back, though there's something feral and dangerous to it. "So we can win this. The aliens picked the wrong rock to try and take. This one is ours, and we're not sharing. Together, we're going to kick them off our planet."

Lily holds her smile. It's difficult, with that that cycling around their planet, overhead. With those invaders trying to force their way through, already. As she looks down at Winter though, she knows that even amid this darkness there's a light she can rely upon. So she holds her smile, as well as putting a hand out to her fiancee as that light forms into a heart-shaped portal, one which will lead them directly into Las Vegas.

She does catch the pause in Winter's sentence, there. She understands what she must be thinking, and honestly she can't blame her. So... it's her duty then to relieve that fear.

"You're right. That's what we got these Numbers for, isn't it? And not just those... That's what a Precure does. We didn't get these powers on accident, and for no reason, after all. So... come on, Winter. Let's go drag your parents back here, and then we'll figure out how we're going to do this."

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[plot] Invasion: Day 1

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