Bethany Greene, Ms.Bella to most, Grandma to those who mattered, sat in her rocking chair and calmly whittled away at the piece of wood on her lap unheeding to the Chaos just off her front porch. Just past the pristine front yard and newly painted white picket fence, half a dozen children battled tooth and nail with a truck-sized, diamond shelled Tortoise as it rampaged across the ruins of their Neighborhood.

Suddenly, a stray beam of pitch-black energy ricocheted off of massive Tortoise's Shell and shot straight towards the distracted old lady. The eyes of the little girl who'd shot the beam went wide as saucers, as she screamed out a warning. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the children turned their focus towards the beam of concentrated Death that raced towards the front porch.

Their fears were needless, however, as at the last moment, a hexagonal barrier of light flashed into existence. The shield flashed, and perfectly absorbing the deadly ray as if it was a gentle winter's breeze. The old lady in the chair didn't even seem to notice the friendly fire. She just focused on the work in front of her, softly humming a tune and rocking.

The next instant, a large shield of ice popped into existence in front of each of the children, just in time to block several beams of white light that erupted from the Tortoise's glistening shell. The children paled in surprise, but quickly regrouped and once more assaulted their target.
The talk, lanky young black man leaning against the fence frowned and shouted at the group;

[Matthew] - "What the hell have I said about keeping an eye on your surroundings?! This isn't a game; Noah can't patch you up if you've got a hole through your head!"

[Madaline] - "Ha! Big talk from someone who's only combat experience before six months ago, was from video games."

The young, red-headed girl sitting on the grass beside him gave a mocking laugh, wincing in pain. The small 6-year-old boy in a child-sized doctor's coat beside her, gave her a worried look, even as the glowing light from his hands slowly healed the large burn on her shoulder.
Matthew looked down to respond when a sweet but stern voice sounded from the porch.

[Bella] - "Stop arguing you two. Madeline, you know very well that your brother only wants to make the children understand and learn what they need to. And Mathew, you can't keep nagging them about every little mistake. They need to experience things for themselves, or they'll never grow. Wasn't that the entire reason for this exercise?"

Both children looked down and spoke in a soft voice;

[Matthew/Madaline] - ""Yes, Grandma...""

[Bella] - "Hahaha! Now, don't you two be like that. Come, Madaline, it's finished."

Madaline cheered and shot to her feet, toppling over the young Noah beside her in her haste. Matthew glared at his little sister, even as he summoned a small hand-shaped ice platform to catch the young boy. Madaline rushed towards her grandmother's side with all the energy of an excited puppy, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she looked down at the object the old woman had passed her.

Delicacy carved and covered in densely packed swirling, mystical runes, lay a Wooden Fencing Foil. The thin, slightly glowing blade, twice the length of the 14-year-old girl's arm, gave the illusion of a wild thorn, ready to strike at any who dared to touch its flower. The young girl stared at the foil in awe, before Bella's voice called her.

[Bella] - "Well dear. What do you think?"

[Madaline] - "I Love it!! Thank you, Grandma!"

With a squeal, Madaline jumped into Bella's lap and gave her a tight hug.

[Madaline] - "This should work great! I won't mess up this time!"

Madaline had to admit, she might have been a little too eager to test out her new B-Rank skill out before fully understanding it.

Grandma Bella had been against her even accepting it in the first place; she was more than a little suspicious of the "sponsors". But in this new world, Madaline knew that more than anything, it was power that mattered, and if she wanted to protect her family, she couldn't be picky about where it came from.

Who would have expected that her old fencing foil from before "The Game" couldn't keep up when the skill, however. As soon as she had attacked the Tortoise, the foil had exploded, injuring her and putting her out of the fight almost as soon as it had begun.

But as she stared down at her new foil, she could feel her knuckles tighten around it.

This time, things would be different.

This time, she wouldn't have to cower in a room while the people important to her fought and died.

[Bella] - "Be careful Madaline. I understand that you want to be useful. But above all else, you have to know your own limits and understand yourself. You can't protect anyone if you're hurt.... or worse."

Madaline looked up at her grandmother and nodded, a steely determination flashing in her eyes. W

[Madaline] - " Yes. I Understand".

Bella grinned from ear to ear and hugged her granddaughter.

[Bella] - "Good. Good luck Dear. I love you." 

[Madaline] - "I love you too, Grandma".

With those words, Madaline slid from her grasp, little Noah replacing her on Bella's lap, as the young girl walked towards the gate once more.

As she exited the gate, Madaline stood and stared at the fight in front of her. Despite herself, she could feel her arms shaking slightly. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Matthew staring at her with firm eyes. He simply gave a nod and returned to his spot by the fence.

Madaline turned back to the fight, a slight smile on her lips, her arms no longer shaking.

She had this. She could do it. She HAD to do it. There was no going back. Not to how things were before.

Their only choice was to keep marching forward in this new World.

Or die trying.

With a shout, her form flickered and she appeared in the air above Tortoise. With the beast was distracted by the other children, Madaline focused her mind and aimed for the small crack in its shell caused by her first failed attack. 

As she began to fall towards her target, the tip of her foil starting glowing with a blinding white light. The light grew and grew until it seemed a star was falling from the heaven above.

Then, just as she fell within striking distance, with a mighty thrust, she pushed her new weapon forward. 

[Madaline] - "[Sky Piercer]!!!"