World Tree MUSH

    "As soon as the gate opens, Fragmentum monsters on the other side will turn out in force. The Guards will do their best to stall them and buy you time." That's Gepard, rallying troops who can still fight about an hour later. Many are still wounded, some are using patched together weapons, one's even toting a length of rebar from the debris as a makeshift weapon. Cannons have been moved into position and manned, gunners sit on perches overlooking the gate and the approach beyond. These men and women are ready to fight and die for this. "Once you've broken through the front lines, you're on your own, you'll be beyond our reach to reinforce or aid you... You'll have to find out for yourselves what lies within the northern Fragmentum." The blond man looks around the group "Are you prepared?"

    Stelle nods, summoning her bat to hand. "Ready as I'll ever be." March and Dan Heng nod too, their weapons manifesting. Seele snorts, "Born ready. Lets do this. I'm gonna make sure I don't owe the Guard any favours after this is done." Her scythe appearing in her hands.

    "Guards! Open the gate!" calls Gepard, the heavy steel barriers swinging wide... to show a horde of corrupted Guard, ablaze and frozen within their armour alike, and floating golden creatures that look made from metal and crystal. "Guards! Formation!" adds Gepard hurriedly, halberdiers and a few Lieutenants stepping forward to plug the breach with shields and pointy bits of weapons.

    Serval looks appalled, "You face attacks like this every day?" she asks her brother, who replies "It is a common occurance."

    Stelle yells at the top of her lungs, before leaping over the shield wall. "FOR BELOBOG!"

    Clara is biting on her lip; the girl busily tending to the Belobog soldiers that were hurt in the last scrap as best she can with what minimal supplies she has, doing the best she can to ease pain or repair a broken weapon where it's needed.
    Svarog stands, uncloaked, ready by the gate with his coat flowing in the cold wind as he stares intently. He remains as still as a statue as everyone gears up to battle the oncoming storm of fragmentum monsters.
    "Clara. Stay behind me. Anyone else in no condition to fight on their own or in need of cover: also stand behind me."
    Then Gepard orders the gate opened.
    And as soon as they open and the fragmentum monsters- corrupted guards and creatures of metal and crystal, Svarog takes a step forward. And then another. And another. Before he stops and braces his stance as his shoulders and back split open to reveal weapon ports...
    Weapon ports that unload a stream of micromissiles into the oncoming swarm.

    Talia nods with conviction. "Let's do this." She says as she grips her lightsaber tight in hand. The Jedi is as sure as ever, and she nods to her comrades when the gate opens. Talia is prepared. And she activates her lightsaber while adopting a prepared stance.

    Rushing towards the opening, Talia vaults over the guards in a single leap like an Olympic athlete, easily managing the jump as she joins combat with the Fragmentum monsters. The energy bolts fired by the floating ones are blocked by Talia's lightsaber as she follows Stelle, moving with swiftness and grace while Stelle decides to go ape on these things.

    Well, the nice thing about this is, these are largely monsters. The 'no killing' rule is thus suspended! That's great for Jessica, who has fewer nonlethal options. It also means she can stay above and and at a distance, picking her targets and snapping off shots here and there. "This seems like a lot! No wonder the guards are kinda tough!"

    She jams another magazine into her pistol and scans the battlefield. Target-rich environment, but she does want to conserve her ammo for targets that might need it most.

    Svarog steps forward, one of the crystal monsters points at him, and grinds something as it fires a laser-like beam at him... it then promptly explodes, along with the vanguard of the monster horde when he unleashes hell with his micro-missiles.
    Gepard, Seele, Dan Heng and March 7th rush in after Stelle. The Trailblazer bashes in helmets, smacks bird-like elemental creatures out of the air, and smashes one of the crystaline-metalic monsters so hard it shatters into fragments before dissipating. March fires arrows that freeze monsters not already aspected to ice, while Dan's spear and Seele's scythe sing a merry melee melody.

    Jessica would find the crystaline-metallic monsters are some kind of 'commander' unit, they fire blasts, bursts and beams of energy that then seem to attract other monsters to attack the affected target. These 'lasers' are also damaging, so any she can destroy would weaken the enemy's effectiveness.

    Gepard is taking the brunt of the fighting, multiple corrupted guards rushing with their burning and freezing halberds. Some strike against uncorrupted weapons, but a few land home, staggering the already wounded Captain. "Gepard! The Barrier isn't fixed yet! Don't be a hero!" comes Serval's echo from before their fight earlier, her own borrowed halberd striking without finesse on one of the monsters attacking her brother.

    The fight goes well enough, the first wave breaks as water upon rock, the remaining few monsters peeling away and vanishing back into the arctic fog beyond the gats. "This is... only the first wave. They'll reassemble and strike again soon... I... I have to..." he sways, then stumbles into the retaining wall.

    Serval looks conflicted for a moment, only a moment. "Outsiders! The second wave hasn't started yet, and Gepard can't hold the line alone... he wasted a lot of energy on us. Make a break for it while the route is clear... He's my responsiblity now." she says, then hefts her weapon onto one shoulder. "Besides... if I'm not here to help out. I don't know what might happen in the next wave."

    The first wave is broken easily. Talia rushes to catch Gepard before he can slump over, "Don't push yourself. You're already running on fumes." She says softly, before guiding him towards his sister. Talia will let brother and sister handle themselves for now.

    "Serval's right, let's push the advantage while we still have it!"

    It's not a great situation. Wasting energy on that pointless fight definitely didn't help the defenders, did it? "More vulnerable ones, behind me!" Bi De calls out in a... very loud voice. He IS a rooster, after all. With the attempt to push through, his attacks mostly stick to melee... simple kicks and strikes. Still, he's Qi-powered so those should be enough for the rabble.

    His major focus is the shimmering silver barrier that flickers on and off in front of him. The Aegis of the moon's protection is mostly meant to shield himself during intense fights, but in this case he can hopefully help run interference for the others, taking some of the stress of protection off of others like Svarog.

    When the first wave breaks, Clara emerges from hiding, and immediately goes to check on Gepard as he slumps against the wall.
    "That's enough- you can't push yourself anymore." But it looks like Serval is going to stay behind. "--But... Didn't you want to see the Stellaron for yourself?" The girl asks.
    Svarog lightly brushes off his shoulder where the initial laser beam strick him, leaving a score mark on his armor plating for Clara to tend to later.
    "We're going." Svarog says calmly. "Close the gates behind us as soon as we're through."

    "Maybe it's best this way," Jessica notes, as she snaps off a few more shots to see if she can disrupt the enemy lines. The horde of monsters is just... well, a lot. But with the others making a concentrated push through the lines, she has a narrower range of targets!
    The catgirl doesn't keep shooting though. Leaping from her perch, she dashes after, toward the gates with a quick gasp toward anyone she passes. "Good luck! Maybe we can stop this..." Hopefully?

    Bi De's jedi-master pinball impression with that shield spares a few Guardsmen from getting hit by stray laser beams aimed at the frontline. Gunners fire past him, always aiming where he's leaving, instead of trying to thread through where he's going due to the seemingly chaotic nature of his melee moves.

    Clara's question earns a look from Serval. "I want to go with you, I do! I always wanted to catch a glimpse of the Stellaron with my own eyes and now it's so close..." she shakes her head, taking her Brother's arm and draping it over her own shoulder, supporting his weight. "But, I can't abandon my brother and the other Guards... I'm a Landau!" she looks across the group, and at Svarog's back as he walks through the gate. "It's up to you now. I believe in all of you. You've given me new hope!" Her eyes turn steely. "Get hold of the Stellaron before Cocolia realises what's happening. And... March?" she says, looking at the pink-haired archer. "Snap a picture of the Stellaron for me."

    Stelle looks back at the others, then points across the bridge. "CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!" she cries, dashing off into the fog... much to the despair of March, Dan Heng and Seele. "Damn it, just's just run in." "We had best go after her." "Hey! Even if you bowl twenty off the bridge, it only counts as one!" remark March, Dan and Seele in turn.

    The gate slams closed behind the group as they exit, and a few Gunners on the wall above take pot shots to cover the advance, until they're out of range.

    Talia's words for the brother and sister are brief but heartfelt: "May the Force be with you both." She says, before rushing off towards the bridge with Stelle. She might be more than a little exasperated with Stelle's gremlin shenanigans.

    Clara frets. It is in her nature to do so. But when Serval decides to stay... The girl nods and scoots to follow after Stelle, Svarog, and the others. Svarog who- casually picks Clara up and sets her on his shoulder as he trudges after Stelle without so much as a word. Though he fires off the occasional high intensity and high heat laser at any inbound fragmentum monsters.

    Bi De gives a firm nod of understanding. After all, he understands the importance of a name and honor and all that! "We will see you once we have handled the Stellaron!" Confident, isn't he? But he kind of has to be! The gate slams shut, and he gives one last look back, nodding again in a firm thanks before dashing forward, the smell of some burnt feathers trailing him as his defense isn't quite perfect against the large number of incoming fire.

    "Where to now?"

    The horde starts to thin out as the group moves away from the barrier wall. Looking back, there's so many trying to climb the wall, or push the gate in, hammering on it with laser pulses, corrupted halberds, or bodily slamming into it in bursts of flame, ice, lightning and imploding wind blasts... it's a warzone that's only getting worse day by day as the Stellaron continues to corrode the planet like a mold spot on the side of an apple.

    Once the group are a few dozen meters away, turning a few corners into the old Northern District, familiar sights of giant black crystal structures would start being seen, those on Herta Station would recognize them as expressions of the Fragmentum.

    Stelle's reckless charge comes to an end, as she looks around. "There's a restless aura here..." she says, looking this way and that, as if she'll spot something peeking out from behind a window, or around a corner.

    "Yeah... I feel it too. Like there's loads of eyes staring at us." replies March, shuddering as she too looks around. "Serval said the Stellaron is likely hidden in the Snow Plains north of the city. If we want to get there, we'll have to navigate this Fragmentum maze first." remarks Dan Heng, calmly.

    Seele comments about feeling like she's got insects under her skin, while Dan adds. "Don't be disheartened, the stronger the Fragmentum contamination gets, the closer we are to our goal."

    Continuing on, at a more cautious pace now, a few avenues are traversed, a few corners taken, a few monsters spotted and destroyed, until the group emerge into a large plaza... all around the area, frozen humanoid forms can be seen. Some still largely intact, others crumbled from the incessant wind, and monsters wandering around. They look vaguely like Void Rangers, from the Herta station attack.

    There's no monsters around, almost as if they're opening the way or something's keeping them out of the area, so it's largely safe, for now.

    Stelle drops a Space Anchor near the entry they came in by, and pulls out some ration packs for everyone. "We should probably pause here. Rest, regroup." she suggests.

    Talia is alert, sensing eyes through the Force, countless eyes upon her and the others. She is starting to wish she kept her winter coat and cloak, from how bitter the cold is. For now, she'll focus on keeping herself going through the Force itself. Long as she has that, Talia can bear with the chill for now.

    "I have a bad feeling about this." Talia says as she takes a ration pack, preparing herself a meal. "Something feels off. Like we're being expected. Be wary, everyone."

    Once through the breach and into the fragmentum proper, even a cautious pace has the hairs on the back of Clara's neck standing on end. Svarog trudges along slowly, maintaining a wary eye on every corner, nook and cranny, before it's time to take a breath and get something in everyone's stomach as Stelle sets down the space anchor and pulls out the ration packs.
    Clara hops down from Svarog's shoulder and has a little bit of a look around before she halts.
    "Ah... What's that on the ground?" She seems to see something. Approaching it, she kneels down... And slowly picks it up.
    It's a snowglobe.
    "This... This is Bronya's isn't it?"

    "We should not tarry too long," Bi De says, though he settles without complaint. "Rest is needed, but given the situation..." He trails off, and as the snowglobe is examined, he lowers his head slightly. "Then we are at least... on the right path, are we not? We should not rush in, but haste is of the essence."

    "Yeah... so, she's already been here?" asks Seele... after grabbing a ration pack, ripping it open and stuffing the first packet of food inside into her face. It's almost like it never hit the sides on the way down.

    "W-w-w-wwait... look over there!" says March, pointing as she trembles like a leaf caught in a strong breeze.

    Following where the archer is pointing. "That's Bronya! A-And, is that Cocolia too?!" ghostly apparitions, faintly glowing, a bit see-through, stand in the middle of steps, like a hologram in snapshot. "No... it's some kind of Fragmentum Echo, a kind of residual energy replicated by the corrosion around us... usually it's made by the dead, but powerful living people, or dense enough corrosion, can capture snapshots like this."

    "It looks like they're going that way." says Seele, pointing up a flight of stairs on the eastern side of the plaza.

    As people get close, they can start to hear what the two were saying at the point this 'snapshot' was taken of them.

    "... You still haven't told me what this place is, mother." says the echo of Bronya.
    The Cocolia echo speaks in a measured, reverent tone in response. "Seven hundred years ago, this way Belobog's northern border, and the site of an ancient battle. Here, is where Alisa Rand led the first Silvermane Guards in resistance against the Antimatter Legion. Now... it is nothing more than an abandoned corridor, filled with the sounds of Old World echoes, and grief filled regrets." The images don't move, but one can feele that Cocolia stops here, turning to address her daughter face to face. "Don't let its fragmented appearance fool you, Bronya. On the day the promise is fulfilled... these ruins will become the breeding ground of a new world."

    Bronya sounds unconvinced, at least for now. "Mother, do you truly believe the Stellaron's promise? It summoned the blizzard beyond our walls and opened the door for the Fragmentum. It destroyed our civilisation! It--"

    A sense that Cocolia holds up a hand to interject. "... and yet... the crime of our ancestors was their inability to embrace that destruction sooner..."

    Bronya sounds aghast. ".. wha--..."

    Cocolia continues, as if giving a sermon to a congregation. "From the moment those intruders descended from beyond the sky, this world was handed a death sentence. But the Stellaron... has reserved for us a thread of hope. There is a prise for new life. Wiping away every decaying vestige of the Old World, renouncing the meaningless and lingering struggle... This is the price the Stellaron demands!" The feeling of movement from the still images, feels like Cocolia takes Bronya's hands, holding them. "When the promise is fulfilled, Bronya... no longer will we have to squander our lives guarding this wasteland. You and I will witness the new world rise from the ruins."

    Bronya recoils, tugging her hands away... then the vision, the vestige of an echo, fades... with the lingering, distant denial. "... no..."