The Magical Guardians of Yamashima

[Coca-Korra]

"In the name of all video games, we shall defeat you~!"​

---

The bustling metropolis of Yamashima was not always the epicenter of technological advances. Just about two decades ago, it was a simple fisherman town situated along the coast of Japan. That all changed when two men decided to make the unassuming town their home base for what would become the most successful video game development company in recent history. In the span of a few short years, the two men would continuously move the company's headquarters to a bigger and bigger space until they were forced to make a skyscraper right in the middle of Yamashima. All the new employees brought along their families, which in turn brought along new businesses to Yamashima. Twenty years later, the city itself has boomed into a large city where remnants of it's old roots are rare to find.

Yet, there is one relic of Yamashima's old fishing routes right in the heart of the city. A large statue of a seahorse created by one of Yamashima's most famous residents stands in the middle of Shihosu Square and also gives it's name to said square. It is not only a popular tourist attraction but an area where every resident of Yamashima will pass at least once a day since it is close to a few major train stations.

It is here where Tatsuo Shiroguchi has decided to try his luck finding the so-called 'heroes of legend'. Ever since the appearance of the Woman in White a week ago, he had been plagued with visions that depicted both past and future events. So far, three of his destructive visions have come to past and if he delayed any longer, Yamashima would be in ruins by the end of the month. Still, from what Tatsuo could see from the crowds of people, barely anyone has paid much mind to the attacks. Who could blame them? The attacks predominantly destroyed buildings and the few victims only had minor injuries. But the brown-haired man knew they would get worse if no one intervened. Digging into his satchel, he thumbed the smooth texture of the CDs he was given. He didn't know what he was to do with them and had tried placing them in every type of gaming console and computer he could find. And each time, nothing came up. Not a file or a code; nothing. That's when he thought of a crazy idea that these CDs would lead to the heroes. There were five CDs in all and the Woman said there were five heroes. It wouldn't hurt trying to see if the CDs would react if any of the heroes came close enough.

---

Kyoko was butt-tired and she had already taken two naps today; one during her lunch break and one during her afternoon class. Yet here she was, still yawning and trying to rub her eyes free of any gunk that remained. Even from a good few feet away, the bags under her eyes were visible and her lackadaisical attitude was apparent in the way she dressed and walked. Her uniform was wrinkled and had obviously been worn already thanks to the large stain next to the scarf. Her socks didn't match either and her shoes had seen better days yet Kyoko paid no mind to the stares she got as she crossed Shihosu Square towards Noraki Station. She wanted to get on the next train as soon as possible so she wouldn't miss her show but the scent of yakisoba noodles suddenly drifted under her nose, making the brunette turn around and find the stand selling them. She could catch up on her show online tomorrow, right now she needed something to fill her empty stomach.

 

[tinfoil_fedora]

"#4, hold the tzatziki Alec!" A heavily accented voice called from the customer area, with an even, yet demanding tonality.

"Got it, Estevaeo." Responded the messy-haired 18 year old, latex-gloved hands shearing lamb off of a large rack of foodstuff. His motions were practiced and almost mechanical, nearly all of it from muscle memory as he prepared the order with expediency, arranging the fillings upon fresh baked naan bread, wrapping the finished product in foil. He placed it upon a sill, and continued to see to other orders as they came in, a single earbud in so that he could listen to his more... non-standard taste in music while he worked. The recent, so called 'attacks' around Yamashima didn't completely bother the intrepid, multi-cultural adolescent. It certainly hadn't slowed down tourism in the downtown area; "Demeter's Bounty," or the restaurant that Alec Akiyama worked at, was right next to Shihosu Square, completely flush with tourists. This of course meant more business for the Hatzis (the Greek couple who owned the business,) and more work for the begrudging student so that he could pay off his meager academic loans.

All in all, another day, another dollar. He couldn't wait to get home to improve his KDR, but he didn't allow himself to get distracted, especially when preparing food with carbon-steel blades. Estevaeo could have gotten the mid-range cutlery and saved some yen, but Alec knew he was a sucker for four-star kitchen implements, which meant more attention had to be paid to the prep area. One of those damn boning knives could slice through a finger like butter. Other than those mild gripes, Akiyama was happy with his current job. Reasonable hours, a good salary that was above minimum wage, friendly owners... he knew that he was in a better socioeconomic position than most others his age. In his opinion, nothing beat the freedom of having his own income, so that he didn't have to rely upon his borderline narcissistic father for money.

Despite his skepticism about the most recent discord, something still stirred a raw gut-feeling in him. He also couldn't explain the recurring dreams about an effervescent woman in a white dress, gesturing to him softly as she exuded brilliant lattices of light. Every time he reached out to her, as soon as he was about to take her hand, he would wake up plastered with cold sweat. Maybe it was nothing, a product of an overactive imagination... but he doubted it.

Truth was stranger than fiction, after all.

 

[Saito Hajime]

Tsuneo had resolved to use the better part of his day catching up on some reading that he had been neglecting for the past while. Unlike some he could think of, he actually quite enjoyed the ability to just sit alone and read without a great flurry of activity around him. Of course, he knew his time was limited, as he anticipated that something would be coming to interrupt him shortly. And soon enough, he heard exactly that which he had predicted would arrive. He then shifted his reading chair just a hair to the left.

"Morning!" Sachiko Kikuchi's greeting came careening through the door to Tsuneo's room as quickly as she did, dashing inside with the intent to deliver her usual morning hug. But she soon found herself grasping at the air. She had little time to be puzzled by this, as her momentum caused her to topple forward and crash into a pile of books. Picking herself off the floor, she pouted her lips the moment she saw Tsuneo. "Tsuneo, why did you move your chair?"

"Oh, I just felt like a change today. Terribly sorry." Naturally, Tsuneo was being completely sarcastic. There's no way he would mistake the sound of Sachiko charging up the stairs to his room like a rampaging rhinoceros, especially after experiencing this situation many times over the years he had known her. Having long since given up on reasoning with her over her many quirks, he took a small pleasure in occasionally 'thwarting' her ritual morning greetings. It wasn't always part of the plan to have her end up slamming into something like today, but Tsuneo wasn't concerned; Sachiko had put herself through much worse of her own accord with all her little adventures, to the point he was convinced she was made out of some kind of metal.

"Just don't do it again, okay?" Sachiko's mood quickly shifted back into full blown giddy enthusiasm. "Now let's get going!" She reached over and yanked Tsuneo out of his chair and began dragging him out of the house. "Ah yes, I suppose it's 'adventure time' now?" Tsuneo was quite used to being lead about to go visit odd places and try new experiences. He had tried his best to get out of going with her in the past, but now he had mellowed to the idea of exploring the city, even if Sachiko was bound to get up to something ridiculous. "So, where is it that we shall find ourselves exploring today?"

"We're going to have a look at that attack site that was on the news!"

This announcement was actually mildly surprising to Tsuneo. "Don't you think poking around those places is a bad idea?"

"Nah, we'll be fine. C'mon, let's go!" Sachiko kept pulling Tsuneo further out towards their destination. Tsuneo didn't resist, but he was a little concerned about this. In some ways, he felt like the only person that was, since these attacks had provoked seemingly scarce concern from the people of Yamashima. Maybe it was just a bit of spontaneous violence that was typical of life, but it still seemed odd to him. But the more he thought about it, the less concerned he was about going to the scene of one of these crimes. It was unlikely that there would still be anything dangerous at these places, and even if there was, he expected that they would be turned away by the police before they could get anywhere near them. Tsuneo expected that today's 'adventure' would be over quite soon, and that he would be free to return to his mundane existence in a short while.....

 

[Crow]

Akira woke up from her slumber. "Oh, morning already huh? Damn...."

It was that dream again. The woman in white. The discs. She had this dream many times. She was unsure what it was about, but for something odd to occur so many times, that was a problem.

But never mind that, there are other things to care about. She checked her alarm clock.

"Oh crap! I forgot to check the time! Time to go!"

With that, Akira grabbed a piece of toast in her mouth and ran out of the house.

 

[Lady B]

Suwako was humming gleefully while sweeping the yard of the Moriya shrine. She loved watching the leaves and dirt fly around, and so it was one of her favourite chores. Suddenly, she heard the telltale sound of a metal coin clattering against wood, a clap, and a ringing of a bell that spoke of someone putting a donation in the shrines saisen-bako. Embarrassed that she had let a visitor slip by her without greeting them, Suwako quickly spun around and bowed. "Thank you for your patronage!~" Right before she lowered her head to bow, she could've sworn she saw a figure dressed in, or perhaps rather enrobed in white at the donation box. But, as she raised her head again, there was no sign of anyone there. Confused, she turned her head in every possible direction, trying to figure out where they had went. She found it hard to believe that someone was able to to slip in and out of her field of vision so quickly. Suwako dropped her broom, and went up to her grandparents house, which was located right next to the shrine. She noticed that the shoji was pushed half open, so maybe they had went in there?"

"Grandma? Grandma!" She called out while kicking off her wooden sandals. "What is it, love?" Her grandmother called back. Relieved, Suwako went into the kitchen from where her grandmothers voice emanated. There, Suwako found her in the process of making some eel stew. "Grandma, have you seen someone dressed in white?" "No, love, I haven't. Why, did a friend of yours drop by?" "No, just asking... Where's grandpa?" "He went into town to have the doctor examine his cold, and pick up some groceries on the way back. Oh, which reminds me! i forgot to put soy sauce on the shopping list, and we're almost all out... Can't you run down to Morinaka's and fetch some, love?" Suwako smiled. She'd do anything for her grandmother. "Sure, grandma!" She got some coins, put her wooden sandals back on, and headed outside. The Morinaka's was a family business further down the hill, almost as old as the Moriya shrine. It wasn't a big shop, but it contained all the necessities for traditional Japanese cooking. Suwako picked up humming from where she had left off earlier, forgetting about the figure in white, and skipped down the road to the Morinaka's.

 

[Flame]

Yukari yawned, and looked at the clock. She had to get up... She wanted to sleep longer, deep in the safety of the blankets, not giving a damn that she was in her underwear. She sighed, though. She had things to do, and napping was sadly not among them. Watching all the dominoes carefully, and making appearances for many people was demanding. She had put herself into this position, and she would have to deal with being constantly busy. She pulled the covers off, and swung her legs off the side, letting her toes touch the carpet. Having parents would actually be nice sometimes... she wouldn't have to do the boring stuff for herself. Things like making food, or paying bills. She yawned once more, and walked over to her closet, pulling out the usual dress, before walking over to the dresser, and getting socks, and new underwear. She took the clothing to the bathroom, and showered, drying off and putting the dress on. She never bothered with makeup. She walked out of the bathroom, and connecting bedroom, down the stairs, picking up her parasol at the bottom. She strode past the kitchen table on her way out, and picked up the bag she had prepared for herself, letting it hang under her forearm. She put her fan in the bag, and stepped outside, locking the door behind her. "Busy, busy day...."

 

[Coca-Korra]

Tatsuo had been circling Shihosu Square for the past twenty minutes but still got no reaction from any of the discs in his hand. Standing in front of the large clock just a few yards opposite of the famous seahorse statue, Tatsuo glanced up at the time as he decided his next course of action. Time was ticking away slowly as it edged closer to 4:00 pm but Tatsuo's mind was more focused on the pros and cons of staying in this area. Finally making his decision, he decided to stay just a few more minutes. Looking back up, he made it just in time to see the minute hand land on the twelve before hearing a deafening explosion behind him, followed by a powerful force pushing him to the ground. Luckily, he caught himself as he fell onto the concrete sidewalk, his head spinning. There were screams all around him now and the sounds of millions of feet stampeding away from the explosion behind him. Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Tatsuo tried to glance over his shoulder to see what had happened but his attention turned to the frantic buzzing in his satchel. He dug his hand in and instead of feeling the familiar cold smoothness of the CDs, the discs were emanating heat. Tatsuo quickly pulled them out to see all five discs glowing brightly.

"What the...?" He didn't finish as the discs were engulfed in different colored lights and suddenly jumped out of his hand, each light flying in several directions.

---

Kyoko was eating her yakisoba bread while passing by a weird, foreign restaurant when shit hit the fan and the entire square burst into chaos. Thankfully she was too far for the blast to affect her but she could still see the destruction it had caused. The famous seahorse statue Yamashima city was so proud of was now a melted version of it's former self, surrounded by flames. And standing in the middle of it was what Kyoko swore looked like a dragon-like monster with a spiky shell. She couldn't quite put her finger on the familiar silhouette but had no chance to further divulge in the matter when a red light came out of nowhere and flew straight in her direction. Dropping her long-forgotten bread, Kyoko tried to make a run for it as the light came closer and closer but instead of hitting her in the back like she thought it was aiming for, it flew over her shoulder and straight into her hands. She broke to a stop, incredibly confused about the warm light pulsing in her hands. In a matter of seconds, the light soon faded to reveal a silver disc with a red insignia of what looked like a blazing tire branded on one side of the disc. Kyoko wanted to inspect it some more but the disc began to vibrate and move towards the explosion site which in turn pulled the brown-haired girl there as well.

The logical thing was to let go of the CD but something deep inside Kyoko's soul urge her not too. That she needed to see this through. So the apathetic girl took a shaky step forward towards the flames, extremely fearful of what was going to happen next. She really hoped she didn't have to face that weird angry turtle thing by herself.

 

[tinfoil_fedora]

Akiyama had just clocked out of work hours, relieved that the business day, at least for him, was over. He was in a remarkably good mood, albeit tired, given how Estevaeo decided to include a small bonus for the hectic hours tendered; the restaurant was swamped, and the owners greatly appreciated Alec's help in the kitchen, given how it was a family-run business, strapped for labor. Blending in with the rest of the crowd, Alec popped in both of his earbuds as he began to walk back to his small, one-bedroom flat. He sunk back into his own world, the crows feet under his eyes apparent, fatigued from the amount of patronage that his workplace had received. All he could process right now was the flow and cadence of the lyrics that he was listening to, as well as the sample in the background. It was almost therapeutic to the teen, like aural therapy, his taste in music quite clear.

That was, until an explosion rocked both the pavement and Alec's eardrums, mass hysteria starting to engulf the daily Yamashima commute, snapping the teen out of his reverie as crowds surged past him. He turned to see a column of smoke ascending into the sky... the same sinking feeling in his gut made a resurgence. Something was out there. He could feel it. Ignoring the direction of the mob, he doubled back towards Shihosu Square, ignoring every fiber of his being that told him to run. He soon saw the reason why in the abandoned streets.

As Alec rounded a corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, bearing witness to a circular object that floated at his head height, emitting bright, nearly blinding rays of intense light. He had to shield his eyes until they adjusted, which only led the object to smack into the center of his palm, almost as if somebody tossed it to him. That was when the shape became clear. It was a silver disc, about the diameter of a coffee mug, carrying a surprising amount of weight despite it's size. Alec's limbic system surged with adrenaline as he recognized the symbol upon the front of the anomalous CD.

It was a crosshair, with two crossed rifles juxtaposed over it. The design glowed with a cyan hue, contrasting remarkably with the silver burnishing of the peculiar device. He didn't have time to gawp over the strangeness of his situation, however. Mindless instinct compelled Alec to take out his handheld, inserting the CD into the drive. A perfect fit.

He couldn't adequately explain what happened next. He was enveloped with a glow unlike anything else he'd ever experienced, unexpected, yet somehow comforting. Shafts of cyan light faded into platinum-hued composite armor, an exosuit materializing on his person as easy as slipping on a pair of socks. With a clicking and sliding of plate, a visored helmet slid over his head, causing Alec to have a sharp intake of breath. A heads up display flickered to life, complete with indicators for seemingly self-explanatory tech and damage, as well as vitals and a radar function at the bottom-right of the robust visor. A shield... defensive. Upward arrows... probably means some type of mobility. Probably a jump-pack, if those squiggly lines mean exhaust. What's that rifle icon do?

On nary a thought, a weapon materialized into his grip with a flash of cyan, holding it in a patrol carry like he'd held it his entire life. Looked like an assault rifle, until he spied a small stencil upon the resilient stock. GAU-55. Didn't take a MENSA member to figure out what that acronym meant. A gauss rifle, just like in the shooters. There's a trigger, safety, and fire-mode, but no magazine release. I wonder why? An objective arrow formed at the top of his vision, pointing the way towards Shihosu square, oddly enough. All of this was unexpected, the teen enraptured with the unexplained.

A small voice in a hidden headset made him jump with surprise. She was a soprano with a breathy voice, exhibiting an unsettling reverberation, as if it came from within his own mind. He knew immediately who that was. The Lady in White. "The needs of the many has brought me... to you." So many questions, so little time. Alec, for once in his life, knew to keep his mouth shut. "You are not alone... four others have received my blessing. Unknowing, you have nurtured your craft to near perfection, a tool to illuminate the darkness before you, like the others." Alec was silent, frankly unsettled of the being that took notice of him. He was more fearful of the implied 'darkness,' however. Also, since when did having an affinity for shooters equal actual combat experience? "Will you join this fight, Guardian?" The Lady in White implored... even for an existential being, she was polite, knowing that the clarion call had to be answered voluntarily, not coerced into.

"I will." With that, servomotors hummed to life as the now kitted-out Alec advanced towards the chaos, a new sense of purpose washing away the fatigues of the day. He didn't know what lay in Shihosu Square, but all he knew was that he was ready.

 

[Saito Hajime]

Tsuneo had to admit when he was wrong. He had been right to assume they would be turned away by the police, that much was certain, but he had made a critical error when he chose to believe that was where it would end. Sachiko had attempted to sneak onto the attack sites, in spite of Tsuneo's best efforts to dissuade her from doing something so stupid. Fortunately, her hare-brained schemes to get around security failed, but also without either of them getting arrested in the process. But it didn't end there; Sachiko then insisted on visiting as many of the other sites as possible to try and get closer to at least one of them. By the time she had seemingly given up hope of success, it was almost 4PM. Although they had done just about everything Tsuneo could think possible, he chose to listen to his inner cynic and anticipate that Sachiko would come up with some new, awful plan.

He could never have anticipated that the day would get so much worse. When the sound of an explosion resounded through the city, Tsuneo's attention was immediately drawn in the direction of Shihosu square. What caught his eye was the enormous creature that was now present there. Instinctively, Tsuneo turned to run away, but promptly smacked directly into Sachiko.

"What do you think you're doing!?" He yelled at her, feeling a lump forming on his head.

"Duh, I'm doing to take a closer look at that thing!" She said it as if it was impossible anyone would do anything else. Already she had risen to her feet and was about to take off towards the square. Tsuneo managed to clamber up and grab hold of her. "You can't be serious. That thing is dangerous!"

"Oh come on, Tsuneo, how many times does someone get to see a giant monster up close?" Tsuneo would have answered "preferably never", but Sachiko kept talking. "Besides, if it's actually dangerous over there, then let me be struck down right now!" She even waited a moment after saying this as if to tempt fate. And fate was tempted. Sachiko suddenly fell over, with Tsuneo losing hold of her half from the force of whatever just happened, and half from the shock of it happening at all. Sachiko was on her feet again quickly as always, but now she was puzzling over some strange object that was now in her hand. It was a disc, with the symbol of a helmet and a lance engraved upon it. Before either of them could speak a word, Sachiko was enveloped in a mysterious light. Tsuneo shielded his eyes from the intensity of it, but when the light finally faded, his eyes were open wider than ever. Somehow, Sachiko was now wearing a full set of armor which had a pair of strange looking appendages stuck to the back of it. Sachiko was looking herself over, amazed by her transformation. "Awesome!" She exclaimed. Then she noticed she was also carrying a weapon. A lance. "Double awesome!" She looked giddy as anything, oblivious to the world around her and enamored with her new possessions. Suddenly, she lifted up into the air. She could fly.

"Wheeeeeeeeeee!" She trailed off as she flew away in the direction of the square. Tsuneo would've been more concerned if he still wasn't in utter shock from all of this happening at once. "I'm dreaming." He told himself. "I'm dreaming, and I'm still in bed at home." He told himself more emphatically, as if he needed to convince himself of this fact. If this was a dream, it wasn't ending, and Tsuneo would simply sit there and watch as Sachiko soared away, towards the beast that stood tall in the midst of Shihosu square.

 

[Lady B]

Suwako was skipping back up the hill to the shrine, bottle of soy sauce in hand, when suddenly, she heard a startling explosion. The sound scared her into dropping the bottle, and it crashed down into the pavement, spilling its black contents. "Oh no! What will grandma say?" Suwako was worried about dropping the sauce, but at the moment, she was more worried about what had caused that explosion. She turned around, and saw a puff of black smoke rising from a well known location. "What in the--, that's Shihosu Square!" She wanted to run back to the shrine and alert her grandma, but just as she was about to turn around, she noticed a blue light trailing its way up the hill, seemingly coming from the site of the explosion. The source of the light, a shining blue ball, stopped in front of Suwako, and turned into a small, blue disk, hovering inches away from her face. On it was a green insignia of what looked like a frog with its leg sprawled out in a kick. Suwako wanted to reach out and touch it, but it quickly transformed back into a ball of light, and went jumping back down the hill in arches like a leaping frog. "Hey, wait up!" Suwako shouted at the disk, and went chasing after it.

Panting, Suwako arrived at Shihosu Square, the the blue ball of light had come to a grinding halt. Suwako grabbed it, after which it turned back into a disk. The disk vibrated intensely, almost purposefully, as if it was trying to tell her something. She looked up, and saw what could only be described as some sort of demon. "A youkai!?" She spouted. But no, this thing probably had very little to do with mythology. It felt like someone trying to create new myths to rival the old.

For some reason, Suwako felt herself drawn towards the flames and the monster, Was it the influence of the disk, perhaps? Without knowing why, she felt some sort of primordial urge to step in...

 

[Crow]

"Ah, all in a day's work!" Akira proceeds to walk out of her workplace after the day was done. It was finally time to head back to her humble abode for the day. She proceeds to walk towards the usual route home, skipping along.

"I just hope I can be famous sometime soon~ Ah, then my schedule will be bustling to the top~" she speaks as she stops by a few shops that lined her path, buying several things on the way, before stopping by a certain shortcut. She did have her 'secret weapon', so it was alright. With that, she waltzed through this shortcut, encountering an odd glow...

"Wha- what is that thing?" As she approaches the odd, levitating object. Was it ball lightning? Just then, she heard a ferocious explosion in the distance, giving her a shock. Gazing upon the odd orb, it began to take the shape of a circular object instead, that landed into her hand. She brought it a little closer to her body, causing it to resonate.

"Form Ride? Gabu? Cyclone? Joker? Shabadooby da? Space is the best" She thought this disc was odd. "Nevermind that," she sighed as she smacked the disc on her body, causing lightning from the sky to strike down upon her. Her whole body was veiled in lightning sparks and glitter....

 

[Coca-Korra]

As Kyoko continued towards the center of the chaos despite her hesitation and straight up fear. However, she still couldn't deny the burning sensation emitting from the disc that urged her forward. That's when she saw two beams of light streak past her and she could see the outlines of two strangely-dressed figures in front of each light. It was just a quick glance but it was more than enough for the word 'hero' to pass through Kyoko's mind. A moment later, the disc in her hand began to glow red again and quickly engulfed her in that same light. Kyoko tried to scream but the words were silenced before they could pass her lips, the warm light calming her terrified heart as if a familiar embrace. Once the light faded, Kyoko found herself clothed in a red jumpsuit with black stripes along the sides of her torso and up her legs. Black, knee-high boots and gloves adorned her fingers and covering her entire head was covered in a matching red racer's helmet with flames decorating the sides and a tinted shield over her eyes.

Kyoko's first reaction was that she looked incredibly stupid. But the roar of the monster in the middle of the blazing Shihosu Square averted her attention back to the matter at hand. She wasn't sure where her disc was and what the hell was going on, but a new-found sense of courage welled up inside her to run head first into battle despite her original misgivings of the entire situation. It was probably the strange, magical girl-esque wardrobe change and not because she herself was excited for something different in her boring life. Finally throwing caution in to the wind, Kyoko rushed forward in hopes of catching up with the other two heroes she had seen. The simple thought of wanting to go faster activated her boots and small flames appeared at her ankles, surrounding her feet until wheels reminiscent of inline skates appeared. Although Kyoko had never roller skated before, the addition of the wheels didn't throw her off as she sped into the wreckage site. The flames from burning debris and blazing shrubbery licked at her body but their heat did not bother her as she zoomed though. Once the monster loomed into view, Kyoko quickly broke to a stop to assess the enemy standing just a few yards away now. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the monster's form.

"Holy shit it's Bowser!" She announced, immediately regretting it as the sworn enemy of the fictional Mario Bros. turned its head towards her and growled. Kyoko saw a glimpse of its pupil-less eyes before diving out of the way as Bowser unleashed another pillar of fire from its mouth. Kyoko's outfit was fireproof but not that fireproof.

 

[tinfoil_fedora]

Alec skidded to a halt when he reached the slag-strewn, singed remains of what used to be Yamashima square. What struck him, other than the fire that licked at the extremities of his exosuit, was the gigantic, multi-story spiky-shelled monster that was dousing neighboring buildings with liberal amounts of flame. Believe it or not, the creature looked like a more grotesque, leathery version of King Koopa, intent on causing as much mayhem as possible.

What also surprised him was that the Lady in White was correct. Two other individuals were taking the fight to the oversized reptile, one in what appeared to be stylized roller derby gear, wreathed in flames that traversed up and down her rubberized gear. The other was aloft in the skies, all that could be spied was the glint off of a pair of armor-plated wings that would make a Hussar proud. The proverbial cherry on top was some average bloke just gawping at the destruction off to the side, somehow unnoticed by the shelled monstrosity. Alec had a feeling that he was not as innocuous as he seemed, though now wasn't the best time for conversation.

"Time to put in work..." Alec mused, flipping the safety to 'projectile.' His HUD further sprung to life, analyzing the gargantuan reptile even as it exhaled flames that would melt the door off of a bank vault. Scanning... Weaknesses Found... Soft underbelly and eyes are weak to accelerated gauss rounds. "Thank you! I'm going to have to come up with a name for you..." He wasn't sure what he would name the exosuit, or even the weapon. Vera? Bianca? It'll occur to him...

That was when King Koopa took notice of the exosuited teen, drawing in a breath, then loosing a vicious column of flame. With the roar of a jump-pack, Alec leapt to the top of a three-story condominium, charred with flames. Diffusing the impact with a smooth roll, he crouched and sighted in his target with the GAU-55. "Hey Bowser! Your visa has expired!" Alec yelled, grabbing the spiky reptile's attention. With a brief hum, the weapon discharged a hyper-accelerated shaving of lead with a resounding CRACK, putting lead through a soft spot in the Koopa's shell with a splatter of ichor. It roared in pain, the decibels shattering windows and sending glass cascading down into the street. Alec only had a brief moment to jumpjet to another roof before he was engulfed in flame, landing smoother than last time, lining up his next shot...

 

[Saito Hajime]

As Sachiko closed in on her quarry, it occurred to her that she had seen this thing before. Even people that didn't play Mario games religiously had probably seen or heard of Bowser before. For a moment, she wondered why she didn't recognise Bowser sooner. But she was far more excited by the idea of Bowser being right here, in front of her. What were the chances? In spite of the threat he posed to both her and the entire city, Sachiko couldn't help but take a moment to take in what she was seeing close up. As she looked on, she began to notice she wasn't entirely alone here. Others had come to confront the beast. One appeared to be on fire. Or was shooting fire out of their feet. Whichever it was, it sure stood out to Sachiko. She watched as that person was attacked, her attention only being drawn away something that managed to be louder than the ongoing chaos. She turned to see someone on a rooftop, wearing a fancy suit and carrying a complicated looking rifle. She guessed it was a shot from that weapon she had heard, especially since it not only hit Bowser but also drew his attention. This person too was attacked, but just like the first person, they managed to evade Bowser's flames.

It occurred to Sachiko that she really ought to be doing something here. As much as she would love to enjoy the show, she realised that it would be quite unseemly of her to sit around while the city burned. Besides, how could she possibly allow this fight to end before she got to get involved? No journey was complete without a boss battle at the end! Rearing up in the air, Sachiko launched herself at full force, delivering a powerful blow to the side of Bowser's head with her lance. She definitely got his attention, as Bowser attempted to swat her from the air. But Bowser was never an antagonist known for his speed, except when he was go-karting, and Sachiko was more than able to evade his attempts to take her down, and kept striking at Bowser as she went. She would keep this up while being sure to keep out of the way of the rifleman, since she had no desire to end up having a hole blown in her. After all, she just got this sweet armor!

 

[Lady B]

As Suwako stood frozen in front of the disc and the monster, a bunch of people in strange costumes suddenly appeared and started fighting it. "Uwaa!" Suwako had to scream as she threw herself out of the way of a chunk of debris being hurled by the monster in its rampage. She quickly got up, and ran to hide behind the nearest building she could find. Panting, she peeked out from behind the wall. "Just... What is that thing?..." She thought to herself. The strange urge to intervene from earlier was almost as blown away as the rock which had almost hit her head a moment ago. She wanted to leave, but there still seemed to be some sort of conflicting emotion inside of her that prevented her from doing so.

"Suwako..."

She heard a soft, ethereal voice. Wondering where it came from, she turned around. There, in front of her, was the blue disc, which had seemingly followed her.

"Wh--what do you want from me? How do you know my name?"

"Suwako... You must join the others..."

"Join the others?" Suwako turned back around the corner, looking at the fight. "You mean them!? But they're fighting! I don't know the first thing about fighting! Besides, they have those strange powers, I'm just a regular... Wait, why am I talking to a flying disc?"

"To join the battle is your calling. I will grant you the power you need."

The disc started spinning rapidly, enveloping itself in a stronger glow. The green marking of the frog started shining more brightly as well, and soon, the blue light had turned entirely emerald. The spinning then slowed down, revealing that the disc had taken the shape of a large, green hat, with two white balls on top. It was about to flop down on the ground, but Suwako caught it just in time. "Uh, what's the meaning of this? I don't need accessories..."

"I have granted you a brave and faithful companion. He will guide you, provide counseling, and he is a valuable asset in combat. All you have to do, is don him..."

Suwako looked at the hat, confused. "This thing would give me powers? How does that even work? And what was that about guiding me and providing counseling?" Her questions went unanswered. "Hello? Wind-voice thingy? Are you there?" Still no reply. She sighed. "Don him, huh? It feels so strange, taking orders from a shapeless voice, but... Ah, screw it! What's the worst that could happen?" Somehow having made up her mind, Suwako pulled the hat over her head.

"Whuzzat!? Who dares disturb my sleep!?"

This time, it sounded like the voice on an old man being pivoted straight into her head. "Waah!" Suwako let out a startled yelp.

"Gah! Lass, why are you shouting!?"

The voice sounded angered.

"I don't know! You scared me! Who are you, anyway!?"

The voice snorted, as if it was offended by her question. "Hmph, why, I am none other that the great Mishaguji! Inventor and master of the Otton-style of fighting!"

"Otton-style? What, you mean like the frog?" Suwako was quite knowledgeable on the topic of frogs, so of course she would know about the Ryukyu endemic Otton frog.

"Well, yes, but... That's besides the point! Lass, why are you obscuring my vision!?"

"Obscuring your vision...?" Suwako removed the hat from her head. She noticed that the two white balls had gained a black spot in the middle, like they were eyeballs. She realized they had been facing the wall the whole time, and while the existence of eyes on the top of a hat was extremely peculiar to her, it was the last thing she wanted to question at the moment. Instead, she simply put it back on, this time with the eyes facing forward.

"Ah, much better!" The hat let out a relieved sigh, and its voice seemed to soften up remarkably. "Now, lass, back on topic. Why have you awakened me?"

"Umm, I was told that I needed you... To fight."

Upon hearing "fight", the hat got excited, and Suwako could almost feel it vibrating on her head. "Ah, why didn't you say so sooner? Show me, what is the threat?"

Suwako turned her head back around the corner, displaying the scene of the battle to the hat. "That thing, I think..."

"Oho!" The hat sounded quite fired up. "A formidable opponent, it would seem! Yet, it would also appear that we are not alone..." The hat brooded for a moment. "I have assessed the situation, and I have come to a decision. I have decided that you, lass, will... Wait, what was your name again?"

"Suwako..."

"Suwako, right. Well, Suwako, from this day forward, you will be my pupil! I will teach you how to utilize the secrets of the Otton-style! Ah, but first, we must get you into something more suitable for combat."

A blue light flowed down from the brim of the hat like a waterfall, submerging Suwako. When it stopped, her clothing had changed. It still somewhat resembled the hakama and haori that was part of her outfit as a miko, but the colours and print were entirely different, she had gained a pair of boots, and it was much easier to move around in. Suwako quite liked it, noticing the frogs adorning her mid-piece.

"Well, this is functional and all, but... I don't know the first thing about fighting, nevertheless about the Otton-style, and I'm not exactly in top physical condition..."

The hat chuckled. "Well, lucky for you then, I'm an excellent teacher! Observe!"

Some sort of complex signal shot through Suwako's nervous system. It was as though her entire body was suddenly calibrated by a code, and she felt wildly different.

"Go ahead! Try out the technique I just taught you!" The hat ushered.

Suwako stepped out of her hiding place. Her body almost moved on its own, and it felt like the things she was about to say and do were things she had known since birth, like second nature.

"Blue Aura..." Suwako clasped her hands, almost like in prayer, and concentrated. "Froggy Braves the Elements!" As soon as the words left her mouth, a massive amount of energy surged through her body. As Suwako tried to move her body and turn her head to ezamine, she realized all her movements had been cranked up to super high speed.

"Excellent! Now, go on! Show that thing what you're made of!"

"Uh, OK... Sensei!"

Suwako obliged, and ran up to Bowser. "Hyaaa!" She shouted, while releasing a flurry of punches to his midriff. The punches were sloppy, but in her super-speed state, they still resulted in a heavy impact, sending the shelled creature flying onto his back. She then performed several backwards somersaults, in order to get out of the line of fire of the other fighters.

 

[Crow]

Akira began to be veiled in an odd light. Her outfit was altered in a few ways, being a little skimpy and more... idol-like in a sense. Her gloves, her boots, her skirt and main suit were all sparkling gold with electricity, and her hair was now a hue of golden lightning, with zigzag twintails. She then found a microphone with a zigzag base in her hands, but, what was it used for?

"I- I'm hovering. Let's see if I can maneuveur this," Akira found herself levitating above the ground, before whizzing up into the sky. With that, she proceeded to spin about to keep some extent of balance. She was fit enough to quickly gain balance. With that, she heard some sounds, mainly firepower and roars. She tried to control her flight towards the source of the battle. The strikes and roars got louder as she proceeded.

~~~

The scene of a great battle unfolds. The great tortoise, or rather, Koopa King stood in the middle of it all as for others continuously struck the great beast. It was a grand battle of the four elements and... a great, legendary beast only found in fiction.

Classical four elements? How typical indeed, if only something was there to spice it up.

Just then, the clouds above the sky-high battlefield that sat above the ruins became gloomier and darker. As the clouds formed spirals, sparks could be seen in the sky, just before a great, powerful bolt of lightning slammed onto the being known as Bowser, right in the face.

"Rhythm Storm!" This was heard a second after the bolt was cast from the sky. Next, a young woman descended from the black heavens. It was... it was...

"I see your current situation," the maiden speaks, "I'm... I'm... Idol... Idol Storm! And looks like it's time for my next Live!"

Idol Storm accidentally presses a button on her microphone which shares her name, unfolding it into a... keytar?

"I've never really played such an instrument," she speaks, "but I guess first times are always good!"

 

[Coca-Korra]

It took Kyoko a moment to regain herself as she glanced back to the chaos behind her. Apparently a moment was long enough for the two heroes she followed to attack Bowser as well as allow two more heroes to arrive. The brunette jumped up just in time to dodge a lightning attack from the girl floating high above them. This was honestly going way over Kyoko's head and she wasn't sure her nerves couldn't handle it. All these guys could summon lightning or shoot with pinpoint accuracy or punch really fast or freaking fly. Dammit, she maybe she wanted to fly! But all she got were some weird inline skates and this stupid tight suit. She also seemed to control fire, something that would not have any effect against the Koopa King.

Don't be so sure...

Kyoko's body jolted in surprise when she heard a voice ringing in her head. She thought it was coming from the helmet and she almost pulled it off but the sound of the light, airy, voice stopped her.

Fight fire with fire...

Kyoko wanted to correct the voice inside her head by telling her that was just an expression when her hand suddenly burst into flame. Kyoko quickly tried to put it out by furiously shaking her hand but seconds later, she realized her hand was not burning off. In fact, it felt positively warm covered in dark-red flames. Wait... Fire wasn't supposed to look like this. As Kyoko focused more on the new-found blaze right at her fingertips, new words flowed through her brain and right out her mouth.

"Virus Protection, Version BLAZE!" She shouted, the flames around her arms reacting wildly to the chant. Kyoko raised her pulsing arm towards the injured Bowser, holding back the power to utter one last thing.

"Ignition Cannon!" She screamed before unleashing a torrent of red fire from her hand aimed straight at Bowser. The second it hit him, the monster let out a ear-splitting, pained roar as it was engulfed in a whirlwind of flame. The tornado surrounded Bowser and slowly began to inch closer and closer to its center until the flames met at the center of where the King had stood before dissipating into thin air and what looked like red pixels. Once Bowser had disappeared from view, the flames all around them suddenly disappeared as well, leaving behind a brief trail of red pixels before completely dissolving.

Kyoko panted softly as she watched the causes of all the destruction around them fade away into nothingness, leaving behind debris and a destroyed landmark. So much was going through her mind now that things had calmed down a bit thanks to... what exactly? Her? She only did this because some voice, now long gone, told her to. Was that also what was going on with the four other people around her. She would have thought on in more if not for the movement around the corner of her eye grabbing her attention.

Tatsuo, batter and bloodied from the previous explosion, looked over each hero. A racer girl, a flying knight, a floating idol, a girl with a giant frog hat, and a soldier from the future. Definitely not the heroes he expected but he had to get what he could get. And they seemed to have some idea what they were doing since they all transformed and destroyed that Bowser thing. Hell, they probably had more of a clue than he did and he was supposed to guide them... right? That's why he got those discs in the first place. "Good job everyone." He called out much more meekly than he anticipated from himself. Tatsuo cleared his throat before speaking again.

"But before you celebrate your first victory, I suggest we find someplace private where we won't get questioned by the cops. Somewhere we can all talk since I was the one who helped you guys transform in the first place."

"Then get ready for tons of explaining." Kyoko retorted back, getting more and more annoyed about the whole situation. Who the hell was this guy? And why wasn't he dressed up in a silly outfit when he was the one claiming to be behind this whole thing?!

 

[Saito Hajime]

Sachiko didn't think things could get any crazier, but boy was she wrong. Shortly after her own assault, someone appeared on the scene to deliver a furious flurry of fisticuffs to Bowser's belly. Sachiko was torn between being amazed that this person just punched Bowser, or by the fact they did so while wearing a silly looking hat. She had little time to ruminate on this, as she noticed that storm clouds had gathered. She was quite concerned when lightning started to fall, especially since she was the closest thing to a lightning rod in the area, but it was clear that they were aimed at Bowser. When a girl descended from the clouds in yet another showy costume, Sachiko took a guess that the lightning had something to do with her. She was also a touch disappointed that she wasn't the only one that could fly now, but there were more important matters for her to worry about right now.

But those matters would be quickly resolved by the advent of a large column of flame erupting and destroying Bowser altogether. Just like she was at the start of this fight, Sachiko found herself simply watching in awe as everything played out in front of her. As the flames dissipated, she could tell they had come from the person in the gaudy red jumpsuit. That meant everyone in this impromptu group had worked together to defeat the monster. For some reason, this gave Sachiko a sense of satisfaction. It was like they were a team already. But what were the chances that a bunch of strangers wearing silly outfits would end up being part of some kind of group? It wasn't like this event could have been planned out from the beginning.

In the aftermath of the fight, Sachiko found her attention drawn to an unusual sight; someone that wasn't wearing an outlandish costume. He was remarkably unremarkable, which is why he stood out among everything and everyone present. Though it was hard to tell initially from her position in the sky, she noticed he was talking, and he seemed to be trying to address them all. She flew down in order to better hear what it was he was saying. She caught that he wanted them all to go with him, and claimed to have been responsible for their transformations. Even if he hadn't said that, Sachiko really wanted to hear the story of the average guy that for some reason decided to waltz in rather calmly on the aftermath of a fierce battle between a huge monster and some garishly dressed people. But on top of that....

"Hey, can we get something to eat on the way? I took care not to get pierced through the stomach in that fight, but now there's a hole in there only food can fill!" Explaining the most amazing thing she had experienced in life could wait until she filled her stomach. Sachiko was a girl with a strong sense of priorities.

 

[tinfoil_fedora]

Without hesitation, seeing that the oversized fire-breathing spiky turtle was dealt with, Alec dropped down to street level, rolling to diffuse the impact, yet still cracking the asphalt with sheer force from the fall. It was a real... motley crew, so to speak, as if the attire of the purported 'Guardians' reflected much more than just their combat capabilities. The girl with the frog hat seemed to be the most eccentric out of all of them, yet Alec found her to be somewhat endearing. "I like your hat!" he complimented, his gauss rifle dissolving into cyan, then nothingness. He thought about making the visor less... opaque, the bulletproof ballistic glass clear on his side, yet of cyan hue on the other. As if reading his mind by the second, the suit responded, the helmet collapsing back into the torso with a clicking and sliding of plates. Even then, the exosuit seemed ridiculous in it's own way; the thing that he was wearing probably only existed either in the realm of science fiction, or was locked away in a remote gov't run laboratory. Even if the police mistook him as a cosplayer, they would probably still question him, given the protective plating scorched, yet seemingly uncompromised at all.

He turned his attention to the average joe that claimed to be responsible for everybody's... proclivities. "If you are what you say you are, I suppose I owe you my thanks." Alec also gave the Hussar girl a once-over, as well. Despite looking more antiquated, he could tell that it harbored an impressive amount of survivability, the sheen of her armor almost similar to the sheen of the shielding in his composite plating. "I know a great shwarma place about two blocks away from here. It's right by the convention center, so if we walk in looking like something straight out of a manga, the owners won't mind." It was the only thing he could think of, still riding the adrenaline from fighting. "Sorry about shooting in your general direction, by the way."

 

[Flame]

Yukari Sighed, and stepped into her car and turned it on. She put her bag in the passenger seat, taking the phone out of it. Today was the day. She was sure of that. Yet she had not gotten any news from or of the heroes. Especially not from Tatsuo, who she had taken great pains to get the contact information of. He must have delivered the CDs by now, so why was it that she sat there in the driveway with no response from him. She'd have to scold him... Time was of the essence. She could at least salvage this by arranging things now, and texting him. She did so.

Tatsuo! You must have found them by now, yes? Well,

The radio was on. Apparently there was a report of a monster tearing down Yamashima square... it had disappeared. She sighed.

Tatsuo! Stay near Yamashima square. Actually, scratch that, the place is decimated, and you'll raise suspicion. Why don't you take them to my house? You know where that is, don't you? It's 109 Togatta street. It's pretty far from Yamashima square, actually. I'll pay you bus fares back if you use one. Unless you have another place in mind.

She sent the text. Apparently there was a change of plans from what she had originally discussed, but it couldn't be helped. Whatever the case, she could speak to them here. She never let anybody in, but, for them it would have to be an exception. Hopefully this wouldn't ruin anything at the school. If it did, then it would have to be that way. The fate of this place, and the woman in white was far more important than playing dominoes.