Intense Struggle

Intense Struggle is the fifth of eight Season One Grand Battles, created by Dragon Fogel.

The battle was originally located here.

Supporting Characters
The Monitor - Grandmaster of Intense Struggle, the Monitor is cold and analytical. He sees the Battle purely as a source of data, and the world about him merely as a series of statistics and odds. The Monitor is nothing if not cautious, and is the only Grandmaster to plant an agent within the battle in season one, however The Controller does the same in The Gradual Massacre in season two.

Round 1: The Abandoned Base
Dead Character: Trickster

The base, set in the aftermath of the MSPAFA Bob Must Die, is littered with corpses, which Sister Clara immediately sets about cleaning up. Aegis, Trickster, and Aph (who is spontaneously in love with Trickster) team up to fight Larus and Clara, while Bae gains access to the defence system and uses it to cause further chaos. Aph's affections are shifted toward Clara in the carnage, and D'Neya picks up a book planted by one of the Gentlemen who is rigging the game. The messy mix of magic in the battlefield makes all the corpses reanimate and attack the contestants, who work quickly to take them down. The Monitor contacts Bae, who disguises himself as Larus and assassinates Trickster on the Grandmaster's orders.

Round 2: The Misty Swamp
Dead Character: Bae

This round takes place in a swamp filled with mist that causes a primal rage in those that are exposed to it. Aph proposes to Clara but in an attempt to sow discord Bae disguises himself as Aegis and kidnaps Clara. Aph goes blank again and later connects with D'Neya. Aegis, Clara and B are exposed to the mist and fight angrily. Larus witnesses Bae transform and Bae, under the Monitor's instruction attempts to take another contestant's place. He is killed by B, who while under the influence of the mist takes crocodile form and eat's Bae's heart.

Round 3: The Wasteland
Dead Character: Larus Mutabilis

This round takes place in the wasteland that was one of the pages of Pop-Up Land. Here Aph undergoes changes brought on by the fog from the Misty Swamp, causing her to hate on sight instead of love. The other characters are suspicious that she might be a spy. B is upset by what he has done. Aegis falls into a laboratory where he finds a weapon the primary use of which is to trigger other weapons. D'Neya investigates an abandoned laboratory, where a vat filled with powerful magic remains draining the mana of those who try to use magic inside the building, her helper, previously referred to as Mr Book, is revealed to be Drake Eon. He tricks Aegis into detonating a floor filled with explosives and uses some of the mana to take D'Neya elsewhere. B, Clara and Larus take Aph into the laboratory to interrogate her, but accidentally draw the attention of an ancient succulent. Inside the building Clara uses a truth spell to interrogate Aph, but it's power is drawn by the magical vat, to fuel to echoes of the past that roam the building. Aph lies to her telling her B is the spy, and sneaks off when she goes to confront her. Aegis lands in the vat room and uses his weapon on the vat, amplifying it's magical drain, before flinging his weapon at it. Aph is drawn into the vat room and all the unstable magical energy flows into her body. Meanwhile Larus is poisoned by the succulent, dazed and dying he seeks out the plant, which then consumes him whole.

Round 4: Old Salem
Dead Character: D'Neya

Takes place in an alternate version of Salem during the witch trials. Each contestant is given an false identity and informed that if they do not conform to this identity they may be suspected of being a witch and be tried as such. The facade is quickly abandoned by Aph, who, made insane and powerful by the magic that has been drained into her, quickly starts killing indiscriminately for the hell of it. Clara attacks Aph, unaware that it is her, wishing to protect the innocents she is murdering. B stumbles across the scene and after turning into a newt in an effort to convince the crowd that the flying teenager who is shooting lightning at them all is a witch turns into a dragon to fight her. Clara meets a priest called Reverend Greene. He is part of a secret order of magicians, she tells him about her predicament and he seeks to find a way to move the group on so that they do not destroy their town. Aegis and D'Neya meet and discern each other's true identity; Aegis throws D'Neya onto B who is a dragon and she rides him around for kicks. Reverend Greene contemplates destroying the town but decides against it, instead he just asks The Monitor to move the group onto the next round, specifically he asks for Aph to be killed. The Monitor prepares a special sniper shot to disperse her magical essence but as he shoots D'Neya falls into the way and dies. Aph absorbs D'Neya's magic.

Round 5: Cervaled Fall
Dead Character: B

A futuristic prison from which the main goal is to escape. This is also a Cameo Round. Aph is influenced by the sudden aquisition of D'Neya's mana. She goes on something of a rampage, being aided by a mysterious figure known as The Ghost. B escapes from his cell with the aid of Maxwell Deakin and Gadget Solune. They go to confront Cabaret believing him to be Bae. After confronting him B and some robots given life by Gadget head down to confront Aph. Aegis finds himself imprisoned with Aeon, they break out and meet up with Clara and Konka Rar. Aph is given a device that drains mana, making her more powerful for every magic-user she kills and drains. She, Aegis, Konka Rar, Amethyst, Aeon and Clara fight and ultimately are accosted by B and Gadget's guard robots. Kracht shows up, claiming to have been looping through his cameo round, dedicating his time to finding and killing Bae. He believes B to be Bae in disguise and kills him. When proved wrong his suspicion falls to Clara. He escorts the others to the exit of the prison and they leave.

Round 6: Frozen Destinies
Dead Character: Aegis Cupris

In between rounds Aph, Aegis and Clara are hijacked by The Fool and taken to a round other than what The Monitor had planned for them. It is a meeting of three very different worlds. Time has frozen but the spirits of these people still roam, powerful enough to take control of the living for a time. There is another group of interdimensional travellers on their way, sent to investigate the phenomenon.

Round 7: The Database
Incomplete

In between rounds The Fool sends Aph-- now 'Cerise'-- and Clara to The Monitor's secret database-bunker, apparently against his wishes but it was all a cunning ruse. The Database is a big secret bunker populated by robots that has tons of information on everything but there are hostile enemy robots guarding the information oh no.