Nobody expected Nemesis to win. One minute people were celebrating victory, the next they were running for cover as their world collapsed around them. The ones at the centre of the destruction—the Legendary Bladers and some of their allies—had not been seen since that fated day. The ones hovering in the helicopters above were assumed dead, given the state of the seas, but the ones on the ground had simply disappeared.
Seven years later, Japan was in ruins, most of its survivors huddled in the remnants of Tokyo or Metal Bey City. Shikoku and most of Kyushu was gone, with survivors from that area of Japan huddling in a ruined Osaka, barely hanging on. The tsunamis and earthquakes known to pound the region had essentially torn the nation apart, with the Osakans unable to get in contact with the Tokyoites at all.
Going it alone wasn't an option. People had been struck down by the black rays associated with the Black Sun when heading out on their own, and scavenger parties always consisted of three or four members, in case anything went wrong. That way, someone could go get help, without leaving the other people stranded, if something went wrong.
About 5 years after Nemesis won, a strange inscription was found by a group while on the move, after their previous hidey-hole—an apartment block—had been destroyed completely by rays from the Black Sun. They'd lost two of their most experienced members, and had to move fast, before they lost anyone else. As a result, the inscription was kept, but mostly ignored in favour of scavenging for food and other necessities.
Maru sighed, looking out her small bedroom, which she shared with 5 other girls of about her age, "window" (really just a gap in the wall). Some of the older members of the group had recognised the building as the former WBBA headquarters, but to the young pinkette, it was just a place to dwell in for the time being.
The sky never changed colour from its depressing dark purple tinged with black, only darkening at night, and it was always cloudy, though it never rained. Maru glanced at the room around her, and was glad it didn't rain, guessing that she and her room-mates would be be drowned in the night. She tugged at her pink top's sleeve, and brushed a bit of dust off her brown shorts.
"Maru, come see this!" A cheery voice rung out, snapping the purple-eyed 8-year-old out of her daydream; it was one of her room-mates and closest friend, Fuyumi Marusa. She got up, and went to find the other girl, seeing what she wanted.
When she found Fuyumi, the blonde 10-year-old was waiting for her, joined by Zero Kurogane, Shinobu Hiryuin, and Kazuko Maeda. To their left, she spotted what looked like a corridor.
"What is it, Fuyumi?" She asked, noting the piece of paper in Maeda's hand.
"You know that strange inscription we found on our way here?" Zero started, blue eyes glimmering with something, "Well, Maeda took a look at it, and made a copy of it. Turns out, it's a way to defeat Nemesis."
Defeat Nemesis? That wasn't exactly high on the agenda; finding food and surviving another day was, Maru thought, but listened to what Shinobu had to say, "All we have to do is find the people who faced Nemesis. Miss Maeda says there were 13 of them, but I think I found two." He indicated the unstable-looking corridor that they were standing around.
"It could just be a dead-end, though." Fuyumi pointed out, brown eyes flashing mischievously.
Shinobu noticed the look in Fuyumi's eyes, but didn't say anything about it, "That's true, but you don't know that, Fuyumi."
Once they followed the light brown-haired, light green-eyed 15-year-old down the corridor, they came to a room with two young women inside.
"Hello, Miss Tenma, Miss Kani." Shinobu greeted the two women seated, smiling.
Both smiled back, with one standing up, "Welcome back, Shinobu. So you did bring your friends with you this time." The one speaking had short red hair, with light blue eyes. She was a little taller than Shinobu, but a little less skinny, and wore a loose, baby blue dress that reached down to her ankles. "I am Tenma, Ginga Hagane's guardian spirit."
The other woman, who had stood up as Tenma was talking, was slightly shorter than Shinobu, but again was a little less skinny. She had longish light brown hair, and dark blue eyes. She wore a similar kind of dress to Tenma, but in rose pink rather than blue, "And I am Kani, Madoka Amano's guardian spirit. We watch over our bladers as they sleep, waiting until we can wake them to fight Nemesis once more."
Tenma smiled ruefully, "I wish we could tell you where our 11 comrades are, but they were scattered across Japan. What we do know is their names: Tori, Honoo, Kiyo, Hoshi, Natsu, Kami, Shi-Shi, Rin, Takeshi, Yori and Hiroto." She put her hand down on a large, light blue cylinder in front of her, "Rin is our leader, and everyone responds to what she says. You may find her to be cold and distant, but she cares for her blader, and will do anything to keep him safe."
Kani reached into a small hole in the wall next to her, and retrieved two objects, "These are our charms. These are a way to identify the guardian, as each one has a unique charm to them. Mine is a pink crab, while Tenma's is a blue bolt of lightning. Any of the other guardians will know what you are there for, and Rin will go easy on you if you collect all of the other charms. It's a way for us to get in contact without leaving our bladers." She handed the small charms to Maeda, "I sense you will be the leader of this group, so you are entrusted with these charms."
Maeda blinked, looked down at what she had been just handed, and then looked back at the two guardians, "M-Me?" She stammered, her cheeks slightly red. "I don't know..."
Tenma smiled reassuringly at the 28-year-old, "You are the oldest of this little group, correct? You know what you're doing, don't you?"
Maeda scratched her cheek, looking away. Just because she was the oldest didn't mean she knew what to do...
"You're the best person for us, Miss Maeda. You know Japan very well, and your survival skills are better than the rest of us." Shinobu spoke up, glancing at the rest of the group gathered, "Without you, we may only find the first couple of guardians, and then find ourselves lost in the wilderness."
Fuyumi grinned, "Yeah! He's right, Maeda. I can tell you'll be a good leader for us." She jumped a little, sticking her arm straight up.
Zero and Maru nodded in agreement, both smiling at the older woman. Zero spoke, "You can totally do this. If it's to defeat Nemesis..." He grinned, "Then we'll support you all the way!"
Maeda nodded, then realised something, "Guys, if we do this, Leader Okada must not know. He won't see it necessary to send out 5 of his group to look for a fairy tale. He wouldn't let us do this quest, you know that."
Maru and Fuyumi shared a look, knowing that the leader of their little group was very focused on survival. They would have to work quickly and leave before the leader figured out what they were doing. Plus, they had no idea if anyone else would be accepting of the idea, so gaining support would be difficult. Maeda would know this, they figured, but didn't know quite what to expect.
"Well, we'd better start getting our resources together." Maeda stated, taking control of the awkward situation, "Time is of the essence, after all." She turned to Tenma and Kani, "We will do you proud, and will bring prosperity back to this world."
Tenma and Kani nodded in response, and the group headed back down, Maeda following the others. She wasn't sure of the task ahead of her, given how much pressure weighed down on them. She had 4 children to take care of, the youngest being 8 and the oldest being 15, in this world. In the safety of the big group, it was easy to watch over the young children, but when it was just 5 of you, your decisions could end up killing one of your group-and that, she didn't want. Even if they beat Nemesis, and the world slowly got back up on its feet, knowing that one person was unable to see it would not be a great feeling.
A tug on her sleeve brought her back, "Hey, Maeda?"
She looked down, to see Fuyumi looking up at her, eyes slightly concerned.
"Are you okay? We can do this, right?" The child asked, smiling slightly.
Maeda blinked, before smiling back at the girl, "Yeah, I'm fine. We'll do this." She said confidently, noting that Shinobu, Zero and Maru had moved on. "Come on, let's get our resources together before leaving."
A few hours later, the group gathered outside, having grabbed a large cloth bag full of stuff. Instead of there just being 5 of them, though, there was 6-Kira Hayama had unexpectedly joined them, having spotted Shinobu packing up. Needless to say, Shinobu wasn't particularly pleased to see the pastel-haired 16-year-old. Maeda had reluctantly let Kira join, but she had made him promise he would be helpful, not make unhelpful comments and irritate other group members, and not pick fights with Shinobu. She doubted he would keep the third promise, but she might be surprised over the course of this journey, she reasoned.
Maeda glanced back at their old hidey-hole, then faced forward, knowing their journey had only just begun. She had no idea what they would go through in finding these guardians, but she knew it wouldn't be easy. "So, Tokyo first?" She asked, looking at the group behind her, "It's a good starting point."
Shinobu nodded, "Yeah, that make sense."
Maeda noted that he was standing next to Zero and Maru, keeping the younger girl in between him and Kira. Sure, right now they wouldn't get on, but that might change.
"We're off to help crush Nemesis!" Fuyumi cheered, adjusting the strap of her bag. And so, it begun...