[plot] Invasion: Day 3.2

[theearth]

Who: EVERYONE + Returnees
What: Day 3.2 of the Invasion!
Where: UP INTO THE SKY AND BEYOND
When: ICLy: The 1st of May! OOCly: May 16th to May 21st!
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: People will get to space either with a spaceship flown by one of the characters who were clued in by Badri (though they can of course pass their knowledge on further) OR by their own means - magical girls who are space compatible, someone's own starship, mechas, etc.

They will get to a place where they will encounter more enemies, so combat types must come along - but they are not the ones who will define how this turns out. Those who will define how this turns out are others. A number of other abilities need to be combined, and a number of people that may have combat powers but don't have to must combine their forces here:
- Any characters dare to talk to the Enemy peacefully and alone, though children, animals (or people with animal companions) or grandparent types have a bonus. Important is that these characters are not initially aggressive or condescending towards the Enemy.
- The Cures with their purification powers, and any character with similar powers.
- People who belong to one of the following groups and will tell of their "field": Gardeners or people who otherwise have a strong connection to earth and nature/environmentalists; artists (especially musicians); religious persons with an inclusive approach; people who feel a strong, healthy and friendly love for another person, be it romantic or otherwise.

What this day is for: Invading the aliens' home base. Everything else that happens on Day 3 should take place in the Day 3.1 post.


How this works:
- Day 3.2 continues what happened in Day 3.1 and the days before and includes the counterinvasion. If you have any questions, please as them here!
- There will be toplevels on this post for encounters with The Boy and for general alien territory exploration. Please start your own threads freely in reply to those toplevels or to the post, if your thread doesn't fit any toplevel! 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 day 3.1 and 3.2 are the same day.
- Fighters whose muns aren't interested in the fight/explore option can go straight after the boy, too, if they can ICly justify their character doing that! But there are also chances for Boy encounters in the fight/explore option.
- 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.

Comments

The way up & arrival

[theearth]

1. People can either use their own powers or the ships that the siblings Zhang showed them how to steal.

2. As Badri said and Raye relayed, the way is up. It is integral that they teleport the specific distance that Badri pointed out, otherwise they will be in the wrong layer of reality and not find the entrance.

3. The entrance looks like someone threw a pebble into a pond. On the other end, it looks like this. The airlock at the end opens into a small room that splits up into three different corridors. From the left and the right, enemy soldiers are approaching. At the end of the middle one, a boy stands and looks at the new arrivals curiously before disappearing through another airlock.

Corridor to the left and right (combatants)

[theearth]

Those who take on the soldiers approaching from the left and right will find that they seem stronger than those on Earth, and the numbered are soon in big trouble - until their attack suddenly gets through and the alien goes down, without an apparent reason to their sudden defeat other than that it is dramatic.

They may then venture deeper into the corridors that the soldiers came from and explore the place - if you wish to do this, please put a note into your subject line so that you can get mod input on what they'll find.

Open! Going exploring~

[peacefulwinter]

[A | entry bay | afternoon?]
[Cure Diamond wants nothing more than to chase the boy down and get some answers. But their entrance wasn't exactly stealthy, and there are more of these things bearing down on them. She'd thought they'd dealt with more than enough of them already, but... no, it would seem the Enemy still wants to eliminate the Precure once and for all. Not that she's going to be deterred; as aliens stream into the bay, Winter takes a deep breath, summoning all her courage, and pushing her fear aside. When she raises her voice, it's confident, hopeful.]

We've come too far to lose now! We'll cover this hall for now - someone go after that boy! Earth's future is riding on this... everyone's depending on us. Let's kick some ass!

[Immediately, Diamond charges forward, putting all her power into a single punch that seems to rock the bay... and do little more than make the alien she'd hit stagger. Her eyes widen, and without even thinking about it, her eyes dart to Moonlight, trailing right behind her. To the rest of her team, of her friends. Everyone else that had come, believing in this solution, hoping against hope that they could save the Earth, somehow.

She's not going to go home without fixing this. And she's not leaving anyone behind. Everyone... everyone's going to come home, and they're going to win, and everything's going to be okay, somehow. She won't accept any other solution. With a roar, Diamond swings a leg up in a sharp kick, throwing the alien further back and giving herself some space as she throws herself into battle.]

[B | hallway and beyond | after A]
[Once they've put a dent in the crowd they'd walked into, Winter leads her team down the right hallway, in something resembling a combat formation - loosely grouped together, everyone still in as high-level a form they can manage, Diamond herself looking dangerously twitchy and trying not to jump at shadows. She has no idea what she's looking for, or what to expect, but there's no way she's going to stop now. She'll find that kid, and she'll figure out what's going on... and either she's going to talk him down, she's going to purify the hell out of him, or she's going to leave him to Raye and not look back. She's really hoping it's one of the first two, but she's frustrated enough to accept the third by now.]

A

[alilyinthemoonslight]

[It doesn't take more than a moment. As Diamond's punch lands, and her opponent barely seems to reflect on it, Cure Moonlight is behind her - and Cologne trailing dutifully behind her. She comes down between Winter and her opponent, a kick lodging in its gut. That too, does little to deter the soldier, but she comes around, her Moon Tact alight with power.]

Precure, Silver Forte Wave!

[The energy expands at near-point blank range before rocketing into the alien, hopefully at least pushing him across the area as the attack explodes in his face. Moonlight digs into her stance, throwing an arm out in front of Winter.] Everyone! Attack in unison!

[A look falls back to Winter.] ...and we need to do more than just that. This "boy," what needs to be done there... That's the very thing a Precure is made for.

[jasminebloominginshadow]

DARK FORTE WAVE!

[on Lily's order to attack, Jasmine sends out a strike of her own, adding to the force of the Silver Forte Wave. She grits her teeth, something on her mind, and once her attack is free and clear, she decides to speak her mind]

That is what a Precure is for, but the enemy knows we're here! If that kid is as important as you say... some of us need to keep fighting so the others can end up reaching him!

[she held up a fist] I'm willing to do that! Lily, use the power of the Mirage! We all need to be as strong as we possibly can! Both in terms of our hearts and our attacks!

[and Jasmine... never felt more like a magical girl than she did saying all of that]

battle, + going exploring, let me know what they find? | OTA

[jasminebloominginshadow]

[Jasmine had talked the group into splitting up with a significant magical girl speech, but she was still worried. Everything that everyone had said, about reaching that boy, about warding off the source of all of this... she was still incredibly worried. They'd all lost a great deal already.

But she still had hope. She still had faith, because if there was anything or anyone she could believe in, it was her friends. As corny as it was, that was something constant in her life... even if the world didn't, Lily always came through for her. Winter always believed in her. Rakka was always kind. Raye was always strong. Marina would always love her.

Whether they were at her side or not, Jasmine would always believe in them, and everyone else that had showed her something over the years. And as worried and fearful as she was about the future, she held onto that the deeper she went into the ship. With each new enemy in her path, she reminded herself of that.

Clad in her super mode outfit, Jasmine flew forward, summoning red energy around her fist.]

You monsters want to get in my way?! This is my determination! CRIMSON TWILIGHT FIST!

[she swung out with her fist, striking the alien directly in front of her with the attack she'd created. He would not be the last, and there would be more ahead. Who knew what else would lay in her path]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[In Raye's mind, there wasn't time for worry any more. One way or the other this was going to be their final battle, win or lose, it all came down to this. More specifically, it all came down to her friends who had gone ahead to try to talk that "Boy" into putting an end to all this. They're the ones everyone is counting on now, and she believes in each and every one of them.

Which just leaves this job to her. To make sure they can do what they have to.

Hot on Jasmine's heels, Raye and Senketsu come roaring in as she follows up Jasmine's punch with one of her own. Putting forth all of her determination, all of her strength, and like Jasmine she calls out--]

FUCK YOU, SHITWEASEL!

[-- nothing at all like Jasmine.]

[dragon_blossom]

[ Even if Marina did think she was a good candidate for their little chat, she wasn't going to leave Jasmine out of her sight at this stage. Fighting all across Locke City without knowing what kind of condition she was in at all times had made it even more terrifying and exhausting, and now they were fighting alongside each other - supporting each other - and they had Raye too. Raye is super cool.

...super cool. ]

For the love of God, Raye!

[ She actually has to watch her attacks here a little more, focusing on kicks and sword swipes and less on inundating the entire battlefield with water and ice, smashing individual troops around every which way. ]

Boy encounters

[boychild]

Characters who follow after the boy will step through the airlock and ...for the moment find themselves in nothingness. All is white, and they seem to be suspended in the air, without below or above existing. If they entered with someone else, they may see them beside them, but they may also have been separated. (All encounters happen at the same time ICly, so don't worry about order. Please indicate when replying to this toplevel if there's more than one person in the thread, and how many.)

[radiantchicken]

Torin didn't waste his time trying to fight. He'd had enough of that on Earth, and besides, he'd come here to negotiate. He's not even transformed into Kyoryu Silver and is instead his usual bird-dinosaur-man self. He's got his GigaGaburevolver tucked into the folds of his robes and his sword belted to his waist, but he's not reaching for either. They were necessary for potential self-defense in getting here, nothing more.

He hadn't been expecting to find himself suspended in all this white, and so he freezes there for a moment, listening and looking for a sign as to where to go now. He's reflexively spreading his wings, intending to try to fly through this if he has to.

[boychild]

And he needs the wings - when he returns to his senses, he will find himself suspended high up in the air for a moment, and then falling.

There is a giant garden below him, half the size of central park - iron walls on all sides and a fake sky above. Bridges run from wall to wall, and here and there a ladder leads down to the ground. The boy stands on one of them, watching him.

[radiantchicken]

Suddenly falling like that might be an extreme cause for alarm for a human. But for someone who started out life as a bird and still had wings, it's nothing. Torin spreads his wings wide, stopping his rapid descent. He takes a moment to wheel around the "sky", taking it all in, before coming to stop before the boy. "Hello."

[peacefulwinter]

At some point, Diamond and Moonlight had broken away from the rest of the group; Twilight and the others had been in agreement that someone needed to go talk to the kid in charge, and in most of their cases, they'd agreed they were sending the best young women for the job. As soon as they'd cut open a path, they'd shot through, backtracking to the bay they'd first appeared in, not bothering with running when they had wings. Winter's got a vicegrip on Lily's hand the whole way, and she only lets go when one alien tries to get in their way. She bats it aside and keeps going, not even stopping to check if it's actually down. That might be nerves; she's shaking, a little bit, and it's certainly enough for Lily to feel. Everything... everything comes down to this...

When they come into the huge room again, her head immediately whips around to spot the airlock the boy had first fled into, and seeing it's still not defended, she lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Floating a little closer, she gives her love a brief kiss, managing a smile for at least a little bit. "For good luck. I... don't know what we're up against... but together, it'll all be okay. Right?"

Once she forces her heart to settle for a couple seconds, it's a short flight the rest of the way to the airlock, and she nods. "Let's go, Lily." Hoping her nerve holds, she drifts through, into... what she hopes will be the end. Of this war, of the aliens and the Animals wreaking havoc, of having to fight. Of everything.

[Winter and Lily are going into this one together. Once Lily tags in, we're good.]

[alilyinthemoonslight]

It's hard to keep up with everything that's going on around them, really. Lily's scarcely been able to wrap their heads around where they are, much less everything else. Still... What was said was right. Some of them had to fight, while others... had to do what they could, even if that couldn't be fighting. Lily's not entirely sure how she got elected to be one of the people doing this.

How in the hell could there be people who would trust her with that much responsibility? It seems difficult to fathom, yet here they are. Her hand never leaves Winter's, even as they fly, even as they run into resistance. The kiss is all too fleeting, but she somehow gets a brief smile out herself. "The same as always, Winter. We've got too much riding on this for it not to be."

She holds on tighter as they enter, and she gives a quick prayer. She hopes someone out there is listening. That her family, her friends, and everyone fighting alongside them is safe...

Until this is over. Because this is as far as it goes.

[boychild]

Everything around them is white. A bright, almost blinding ...white. Not light, not clouds, not really a colour - a nothingness that is the opposite of dark.

They are suspended in this for a long moment before... it isn't nothingness anymore. They will find that what they're sitting in a bunch of white pillows, comfortable and big. A teddy and a few others stuffed animals are sitting around them, and a white blanket is above them.

The boy crouches in the exit of the little pillow-and-blanket room.

"Why are you here? You're not supposed to be here."

[charcoalfeather]

Fighting had broken out the moment the members of Allstar Precure came out of the portal; there seemed to be enemies pouring out of every direction, attempting to strike them down before they could get any further. So, the team had broken up. Rakka, along with her fairy partner, Fougere, had gone after their main objective: "The Boy" they had been told about. Any aliens that blocked her way soon discovered just how strong the Precure Super Silhouette form was.

She flew back down to the bay and quickly spotted the airlock the young alien had fled through, currently unguarded. Yes! All she had to do was fly closer, open it, and...

And she hesitated. Her hand hovered over the "Open" button, shaking slightly.

"...R-Rakka?" Fougere was worried, and the young fairy was letting it show. Sure, he was trying to be brave like everyone, but Rakka knew he was a kid.

She let out a sigh, scared, of course she was. This... was it, the final level. Nowhere to go but here. Slowly, she whispered a small prayer for good luck. "Raye, Issac, Miria, all of my friends... I need to be brave. Be strong, and I'll be strong too." She looked up at her companion, putting on a soft smile. "Let's go, Fougere."

This was what Precure were for. Rakka swallowed a nervous breath and willed herself to open the airlock. Noiselessly it opened, and she stepped through, trying not to look as anxious as she felt. Fougere dutifully floated beside her.

((It's just Rakka and her fairy, Fougere here.))

[boychild]

Rakka steps into... nothing.

Everything around her is white. A bright, almost blinding ...white. Not light, not clouds, not really a colour - a nothingness that is the opposite of dark.

She is suspended in this for a long moment before... it isn't nothingness anymore. It is the bottom of a lake. A couple of feet above her, she can see light - that's where up is. There are coral reefs and tropical fish around her, despite the lake itself being only maybe half as large as a European football field. A shadow above her indicates a float drifting aimlessly on the water.

[charcoalfeather]

Nothing. She walked through the airlock and found nothing. She turned to look for the airlock they came through.... only to find more white. Rakka felt her chest tighten as shock slowly took grip on her system. Nothing - a void that she and Fougere were stuck in. Had it all been a trap? Lily and Winter... were they trapped too?!

Tension was rising inside her, and Rakka turned to Fougere. "Fougere! We-" Rakka began, only to find that everything had changed in the blink of an eye. No longer were they in some sort of empty void, but a seascape filled with rainbows of coral and wild fish. It was such a change that Rakka was completely caught off guard.

So, she just floated there, for a slow minute, taking in the beautiful colors until she realized something vital. Air. Bubbles of air escaped her gasping mouth, which was quickly shut tight. She noticed Fougere struggling to hold in air as well. Panic pushed several memories into the forefront of her mind - A frozen lake, an unsuspected pool, nothing good.

Doing her best to keep calm, Rakka tucked her buddy under an arm and kicked as hard as she could straight upwards, swimming for the surface. It wasn't long at all before her head broke the surface in a burst of water, coughing and hacking as she floated entirely out and above the lake, dripping with water.

Now able to breath, Fougere spat out a mouthful of lakewater. "Wh-what gives?! We were nowhere and then in a lake?!"

Rakka answered with a light groan as she wiped water from her eyes. Breathing deeply until her lungs were full. She replied. "Miss.... Miss young said The Boy was powerful. Maybe this is him doing this."

More deep breaths. All of those unfortunate thoughts were pushed away, and Rakka focused on the task at hand. She saw... something floating, she saw it while underwater. And now, she could see it on this tiny lake. Cautiously, she flew over to it.

Aaron + Julien

[elfstoned]

The decision to follow the boy is simple. Aaron is injured from his fight with Meredith, and despite the sword at his side (and the armor that appeared on him as they exited the upper atmosphere) he isn't here to fight. The modern bag of medical supplies he has slung over his shoulder is at odds with the rest of his medieval clothes, but to Aaron, it's more important.

He leads Julien through the airlock, and then -- nothing.

"Julien?" he calls -- are you still with me?

[espigeonage]

Heading after the child had kind of seemed like a bad idea, but not as much as staying to meet those soldiers, especially with Julien a ways from at his best. He interprets the sudden white and lack of ground as falling and spreads his wings automatically. "Aaron?"

It hits that he's not registering any moving air. Not... falling? His friend is there. There doesn't... he's not flying, but he moves his body like he is, or like he's underwater, trying to get closer.

[boychild]

Aaron and Julien are in a sea of... nothing.

Everything around her is white. A bright, almost blinding ...white. Not light, not clouds, not really a colour - a nothingness that is the opposite of dark.

They are suspended in this for a long moment before... it isn't nothingness anymore. They are in space. Just that space is now filled with air, or perhaps something else, that tastes stale and metallic but is nevertheless breathable. Below them, they can see a planet with rings, and in the distance a system with two suns - it looks almost like someone took a page out of a middle school astronomy book.

On the planet's ring, perhaps a hundred metres below them, sits a boy, peering up at them with interest, his eyes drawn to Julien.

Re: Boy encounters

[wingsister]

She has to negotiate, Sayvil thinks as she follows the colt-- the boy into the airlock. She was a Herald two lifetimes ago. They're not supposed to be shoot first and ask questions later, they're supposed to start with the questions and then only start shooting if it's necessary.

Hopefully it won't be necessary, for any purposes. She can't draw a bow and arrow with hooves and and even though she knows there was a secret arrow code, she doesn't actually remember how it went. Not that there's anyone here that would be able to decipher it either.

She whinnies in startlement when the airlock turns into nothingness.

:Where am I?: she Asks.

[boychild]

Sayvil steps into... nothing.

Everything around her is white. A bright, almost blinding ...white. Not light, not clouds, not really a colour - a nothingness that is the opposite of dark.

She is suspended in this for a long moment before... it isn't nothingness anymore. Now there clearly is air around her, and the white is still blinding, but there is a pink tinge to it now and... mist. But a very fluffy mist, that upon touching it is somewhat solid and one could even sit on it. Touch and taste will reveal that every second cloud is slightly sticky and has the taste of cotton candy.

Laughter, resembling closely what could be heard around the world two days ago, floats through the air, but it sounds much more cheerful now.

L+Tony+Nathan

[dead_black_eyes]

Once, none of them were fighters, and even after Tony echoed back a plethora of abilities to make him more capable in battle, in spirit very little has changed. After evacuating a city that may have been in its death throes and a crumbling home that they built together and stealing a ship which Lazarus was able to pilot, they're here as driftless refugees, clustered together in a strange, motley band of linked arms, projecting as much composure as is possible while scarcely daring to breathe as they follow the boy through the airlock.

Lazarus knows that even flanked by the two white-haired young men who are his hope for what's turning into an increasingly uncertain future, he looks unwholesome, like a reflection of all that's wrong with the world. He bears the marks of a tough, painful and self-destructive life on his skin and in his eyes, which reflect a soul that's been deeply sick since before he started echoing it back. The detective L was not a good person, perhaps was an embodiment of everything wrong with the world, but Lazarus has fought back against it, and he's relying on the purity of his intent to brace and support them in the face of any reason they might encounter here.

If they meet with absence of reason instead, at least they tried, and if they die, at least they'll die together.

[solvethepuzzle]

It had . . . taken a bit of convincing to get Nathan here. This had not been his intention when he'd first received the invitation from Miss Young, but in the end . . . trying to do his part is better than not. Their end is guaranteed if at least some don't make the effort.

He's left behind the riot gear he'd Echoed back during their flight from Willow Ridge. It just seems like it would be inappropriate now, when they are trying to do things peacefully -- and it's heavy and uncomfortable besides. So he's back in the too-big clothes, carrying the backpack with his toys in it; for this meeting, he is keeping them. His face is tired, hair is a mess, shoulders have that usual mild slump in them. He frankly looks rather pitiful at the moment. Next to Lazarus and Tony, he seems so small, barely more than a child himself.

He doesn't know what will happen now. But for better or worse, they are all here.