Dedric smiles at the woman and shakes his head. He taps the card on the counter the woman was just sleeping as he talks to her.
I'm afraid not, something he was drinking didn't agree with him. He passed out and your colleagues took him away. All before I could discuss everything properly.
He forces a sigh and looks towards the woman.
As it is obvious I'll need to continue my discussion with him as soon as he is cleared for it. Could you please contact me when that happens?
Dedric hands the woman the card and throws at her his most charming smile. The man's punishment was merely temporary but the wheels were already turning in Dedric's head for something more permanent, he would need to return though and having a contact at the hospital would help quite a lot in that scenario and many others.
Oh... and keep the card if you want.
Dedric flashes one last pearly white smile coupled with a wink before he considers the conversation over and starts moving towards the exit.
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Kiyomi puts a hand on Yuki's shoulder. 「Enough, Yuki. It's not worth the energy.」
Kiyomi turns to the older girl, wearing a serious glare. 「This is your last chance to leave us be. If you have something important to say to me, then I suggest you say it now. But if you merely insist on wasting my time then I will be forced to show you the consequences of your behavior.」
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"I think most of the people are going to be in that tower... though they're all going to be lost and spread out between here and there. I... wouldn't recommend leaving me. I don't know how you'll react to the dream, or it to you. I don't even know how it reacts to me." she huffs, before moving over to the attendant.
"Things are about to get very rough here, and we can take you to someplace else, if you like. I don't know how long you've been here... but it may be time to go."
She then looks back to the office woman, she didn't really know how to break it to her. She hadn't realized just how much of a skeptic she was... or maybe she'd have eased her into it. No... there hadn't been time, there still wasn't. "Yeah... it's a bit much. I didn't even mean to become a magical girl." she says, her wings writhing. "I'm not really sure how it works, whether it requires potential, or just... that anyone can. If you want to protect yourself, I can show you how - or rather, I guess I just did... I'm not sure what it will do to you, though." she says, motioning to herself.
Yuki proceeds to ignore them fully, looking over to Naiad and the twins. 「So... you guys know Ki-chan?」
Iskandar has torn off his shirt and removed the knife, stuffing the fabric into the small wound with a practiced hand, then tying the sleeves of his jacket around his barreled chest to keep everything in place. Then he offers the blade to the girl. >Al Iskandar.<
“Alexander... the Great?” The girl whistles as she accepts the blade. “I invoke Brigit of the Hearth... Like Hestia, I guess. Though, I haven’t turned over so much to her, and don’t plan to.” She gives you and your gloves a not-so-friendly look.
The elevator gives the three of you enough space to stand a healthy distance apart as you begin to descend.
>There is a speaker downstairs that I have been told to guard. My mother’s messengers have been gathering inside. I should be able to learn their true purpose with a closer inspection.< The large man looks from you to Brigid, waiting for you to translate.
Bringing people with you might be a challenge, but you don't really know. You just know you don't have that many hands.
When you explain that your magic abilities could be hers at the price of poem, the woman bites her lip, obviously tempted.
Kazue withdraws from her, looking sheepish. 「Even if you have the potential, Obusa’s been crowded with magical girls since my little accident yesterday.」 Kazue pokes her fingers together shamefully. 「One of the other girls would have to leave or die for a new ancestor to be invoked.」
When you exit the hospital, there are still EMTs unloading fresh patients. The teams look tired, harried, and operating on fumes.
The bench beside the door is empty. There are still petals littering the floor, and a loose bundle of bare stems between the seat and the arm rest.
The large, illuminated clock over the fountain in front of the Hospital shows it’s nearly midnight.
>Gotcha. One moment.< Iris looks back to...Brigit, she said. Must be her Magical Girl name. "Brigit, you said? Call me Iris. Don't know my name yet so I can't say much there." Iris has been fidgeting on the way down. This was uncomfortable as it was, and the looks she was getting weren't helping. "Apparently he's been told to guard some speaker. His mom's messengers are gathering down there. He figures he can figure out what they're for with a good look at everything...I hope we can deal with this."
...this isn't any good. They're cooperating for now, but...this has to go right. It HAS to. Need to think of something else..."Say, Brigit. Care to explain to me in more detail about what the stuff you said meant? A lot of stuff has happened today. A lot to get used to from out of the blue. I'd like to be able to understand it a bit better. Maybe it'll help prevent messes like these." She shifts the mask to one side. She didn't dare remove it yet. As her face is uncovered, her nerves show a lot more. Maybe it would help convince her that she was being honest. "I know what making those trinkets meant. And I didn't do it for fun. We're in this together now, right? You seem to know a lot more than I do. Will you teach me about all this? At least a little?"
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Kinda?
"I don't know, I could try but I don't know how many we could reach."
Chell takes a moment to gather herself and let the others stop her if they think of something better before trying to use her magic to find as many people as she could and put all of them in the middle so Sora's magic could protect as many civilians as possible.
「We've, ah, met?」 Naiad's been getting kind of swept along like the waves that their aspect comes from, and they have to force themselves to refocus on the situation.
You keep fighting, dear, but you don't even know what you're fighting for. You should just quit while you're still sane. Oh, wait, SOMEONE is talking in your head. You can't be very sane now, can you, if that's happening? Orrrr... scarier thought... I'm the sane one and you're just a delusional dream I'm indulging in...
Naiad looks between the remainder of the folks in the area and blinks a few times, wobbling a bit as they try to make sense of things.
「I'm really not big on formalities and pomp for all this, not quite a fish out of water? What's the procedure or the protocol here?」
>Have the two of you not met before?< Iskandar interjects.
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Iris couldn't help but be a bit relieved by the fact that Brigit had relaxed a bit...even if she didn't like the way she was holding her knives. She could swear she sounded different just a moment ago though...nah, must be her imagination. "Guess we can figure that out later then. Monsters is new to me though. Pretty sure I know what you're referring to, but so far anything I've met that someone might call that haven't really been so bad. No worse than some people I've met, anyway. What you've told me did answer the question on my mind, though. Thanks, Brigit."
Iris slides the mask back in place and looks to Iskandar. Seems he'd picked up on it. >Honestly, no...not that I know of, anyway. Might have seen her about, but with the way all this seems to work, there's no way I'd know. Probably the same to her. I don't think she's from around here anyway. Not that it matters too...< Wait a minute. 'Yer man'? She didn't...>Hold on a moment!<
Iris's gaze quickly fixes on Brigit. She was glad she'd put the mask back in place, since it helped to hide the way her face was starting to flush. "You didn't mean anything by it when you referred to him as 'yer man' to me, right? Right?" She'd never been good when it came to this stuff. It was probably the easiest way to get a response from her.
When she gets her response, she slowly looks back to Iskandar. She really hoped the mask was on right. That sudden thought had been enough to distract her from her worries...though it had put different ones on her mind. Come on! Why do people do this? Whyy? It's at this point she notices she's starting wringing her hands. She stops a moment, but starts again shortly after returning her attention to Iskandar. >So, ah...why'd you wanna know?<
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「Yes, they are. The twins are actually a single young child, and Naiad is... an older gentleman, I think? He hasn't been as aggravatingly male as Junpei so his non-magical girl form has not stuck in my mind I suppose.」 Kiyomi says all this without particularly minding what Naiad thinks about the comment.
「Speaking of Junpei, I don't suppose any of you have seen him? I imagine by this point he's already tried befriending some horrible monster. We should meet up with him before he gets himself killed.」
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「Team as in we beat on something dangerous yesterday evening. Let's not talk about mundane identities right now, okay? It's complicated. SPEAKING OF the mission here...」
Naiad looks exceptionally uncomfortable at the possibility of being 'outed' by the callous, hardened Juno.
She didn't just say that, did she? TEAR HER EYES OUT! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!
「Lost track on the others getting here, it's a reverse of the events yesterday evening. What intel did you acquire thus far, or is this... 'just a party' to you, miss?」
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"But there were like... a dozen girls that became magical girls yesterday. How... what accident?" Tenshi asks, eyes narrowing slightly, as she allowed Chell's magic to take hold.
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Dedric looks around and his gaze falls on the now empty bench. The woman left, probably he was too slow. It's a shame really but not all was in vain.
He felt up the leathery snake in his pocket and grinned at the punishment he had lined up for the man. When the image of his wife crossed his mind he was reminded of the vision he had. Alex was in danger, and so were all the others, he needed to get there quickly. He remembered that there was an abnormal concentration of magical girls at the mall, but that place was too far and it was far too late. Damn his reluctance to ever get a car, they were at the mall and he would never get there on time to help.
He pondered for a moment and then a thought struck him. Maybe he didn't need to be there at all. A quick sweep of the surrounding area and he identified the closest alley or hiding spot he could find. People at the hospital would be up to their elbows in the incoming patients so they shouldn't notice a thing.
At a hurried pace he approached the closest location that offered the wanted privacy and prepared to change back. He still didn't know his name for sure but he did know the titles changed while the name remained, the bird told him his title "Masterful Seer" and with any luck his name was shared by the last owner of the book.
After making sure he was away from prying eyes he intoned.
「I call for your strength, Masterful Seer Tiresias!」
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「Well, when you meet with the Macedonian emperor Iskandar I believe it ceases to be 'just a party'.」 Kiyomi chuckles softly at herself. 「He seems intent on challenging us and claiming my city as his own. He is certainly an enemy but I do not think he is the one responsible for the poisoned drinks; he is far too direct a man to use such a nefarious plot. There's someone more sinister at work here.」
「Well, we only have a few minutes before the civies start piling in. How about we check out the backstage area? Shouldn’t be that dangerous with three of you to watch my back. Just keep an eye out for the singer. Your freaky toe-headed monster’s got some kind of agreement with her.」 Yuki moves to lead you all downstairs. It doesn’t seem like she expects any resistance, and as she passes Kiyomi, her right hand clasps the left of the armor-clad debutant.
You’re all standing somewhere between the front entry and the ramp down to the basement. The mall looks very clean compared to last night, and a black light paint has been used to further obscure any mess by accentuating parts like the carousel, a set of fat, pink, pawprints leading and the yawning mouth of a skull those prints lead to.
Kazue’s eyes turn down, her posture shifting from sheepish to fully ashamed. 「I got into an argument with Naiad about, well, the rules. She got hurt, everyone hid, and there wasn’t anyone to deal with the Nightmare- on a full moon too. That must have been why fate pulled together so many of you.」 The lanky rocker’s hands balled into fists as her tone became defensive. 「She’s okay though. Naiad. I saw her this afternoon. I don’t know why everyone’s still so... on edge.」
When she finishes, Chell’s magic coalesces. The air around the four of you seeming to thicken and warp. With a series of tiny pops, the room begins to fill with small children in sandals, togas and laurels. A murmur of surprised and inquisitive chatter begins.
As your demesne fills with the children, they seem naturally bound by the pastel yarn-stitched cordon of safety. There’s some room once the children stop popping in, but unless someone starts carrying the serpentine toddlers, it’s going to be cramped.
You can sense the lights and sounds howling toward the white tower in the distance, and something (many small somethings) creeping toward you like sleepwalkers. The crowd out front doesn’t seem to be reachable from here. There’s some kind of border patrol keeping things from slipping into the world of dreams, even as the churning waters lap over the sides of the building, dripping nightmare into reality.
“Naw. 'tis jist a turn av phrase, ye spaz. I’m not interested in who or waat yer want ter lob gob wit.” Brigit’s stomach groans audibly. “Let’s jist git dis over wit den.”
The three of you walk out into the backstage area where sits the submost of all woofers. At eight feet tall, the monstrosity barely clears the ceiling and has handles and wheels built in to make transportation possible. >I was warned of a team of sorceresses. If you don’t know each other, it must not be you. They must have been lead by the hoplite queen-<
Iskandar and Brigit give each other one more look, wordlessly measuring each other for the possibility of treachery, then Iskandar approaches the speaker and uses a key from his belt to open the back panel.
It’s empty inside.
You find a quiet place to change, and do so without any trouble. You’re in the stairwell of the parking deck. It smells like pee. What do you do?
When Brigit finishes speaking, Iris breathes a rather exaggerated sigh of relief, still blushing furiously behind the mask. "Had to be sure. Wish people wouldn't speculate so much about this stuff." Her mind runs through some of the things she'd been asked before...and Lysander teasing her about this stuff. He always tended to do it whenever he'd found she was getting on well with someone or something. Didn't hurt that she made it so easy for him.
Gah, she was letting this get to her. Ummm...Brigit sounded hungry. Not really the time to give her anything though...didn't have something to give her. What else...a team of sorceresses? Hoplite queen? Who could...wait, queen? She could only think of one person who'd earn that moniker from him. >Hoplite queen? Could I get a description? Maybe I've seen them.<
Iris stands ready to act if Iskandar or Brigit do anything. Admittedly, even with her newfound strength there was no way she could reasonably get in their way, but she would try. As the speaker is opened, she looks it over carefully. >Is it...supposed to be empty? Was it maybe enchanted?< She thinks it over. Why would it be...oh please, don't be right about this. Let it be something else. She relays her idea to the two of them, translating between them as needed.
Is this supposed to be filled with people's severed souls? A 'soul jar' of some kind? From what I know, it sounds possible to me.
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Tiresias felt her long hair cascade down her back, it still felt alien to her, that entire body felt alien. It felt much more like a mask, like battle armor, than a real corpse.
She passed her right hand through her hair and observed as the strands returned to their initial position. It was beautiful she had to admit and maybe in that form someone could actually love her.
Immediately she felt the mental whiplash of her own disapproval.
This is not the time to daydream. Gather yourself. The name was correct, so this confirms my theory on the passage of the names through "generations" of magical girls. The titles changed and maybe they were connected to their personalities. There's really no way to know that for sure.
The smell of the place hit her but she needed the privacy for she needed to do next. She guided her hand to one of her pockets and pulled out the soul snake she had acquired early.
Time to test my new trick.
She thought as she proceeded to extract energy from the leather snake in order to consume it.
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Kiyomi flinches when Yuki grabs her hand, but does not let go. Her eyes go everywhere except to Yuki as they walk.
When the other girl comments on the safety of their numbers, Kiyomi remembers that she is not currently prepared for a fight.
「About time to get ready, I suppose. Diamond Sovereign Juno.」 She lets go of Yuki's hand as she is covered in dazzling light, her other self taking shape.
"I can't reach them." Chell says disappointed in herself. "But something else is coming...Ah!" Chell nearly jumps back in surprise as the first tiny toga appears. "What are they?" She asks with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
>There should be a great number of my mother's messengers inside this box. As reasonable as your conjecture may seem to you, I can neither confirm nor rebuke your claims without one such messenger to observe. Time is short. We may not be able to resolve this with words, I'm afraid. You should prepare yourselves for combat, crud and bloody as it will be in the confines of this Sanctuary.<
>...I think I know who you mean. Which means resolving this is a lot more important than I thought. I can't let anything happen...< The circumstances were different then, but...might it happen again?
No. She didn't care who didn't like it - nobody would die again today. Whatever it took.
Carefully, she removed the amp and graveyarded it. That should help de-limit the magic. Isky should be understandable to everyone again too. Then, she placed her hands on the speaker. It made sound, right? Not too much of a stretch.
「I hope this works.」 Iris concentrates, trying to form the spell. Tell us what you're for. What you do. What magic you have on you. What we might object to about you. If you're even important at all. Just tell us. Honestly, and in full. What's so important about you that Iskandar had to guard you?
Why are you just standing there?! DO SOMETHING ABOUT... that... Juno's transformation shuts up the inner monologue for a few moments as Naiad clears their throat and lets out a slow huff.
Okay, sword, armor, it looks like we're going into something 'hot'
"Cresting Tide Naiad: COMBAT MODE!" The words roll off both practiced and awkward, much like someone who's drilled a hundred times for a thing and is encountering the real situation for the first time.
A silvery cuirass shimmers into being around Naiad's chest and shoulders, and a blade that is exceptionally reminiscent of a Marine non-com's blade appears on their hip as they crack their neck.
「Seems the talking time is over. All hands, General Quarters, General Quarters. This is not a drill.」 Why they felt it necessary to add that is beyond them as they follow Yuki downstairs with a dozen questions that need to be asked but will have to wait until the resolution of this evening...
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Tenshi slowly backs away from the toddlers, eyes darting between them... which seems to have nearly no effect, as stepping away from the nearest toddler simply bumps the furthest with the outside barrier and pushes the whole field towards her. Her feathers ruffle subconsciously, and she briefly contemplates taking flight - literally. Her wings seem to be begging for the opportunity, but she keeps herself covered, instead... with a very firm two-handed grip on the wind-and-fire dreamcatcher.
"Why'd it have to be snakes..?" she mumbles for a moment, before looking to Chell and then Kazue. "So... uh. I do dreams. She does travel. What do you do? Please tell me it's babysitting." she looks back to Chell, "Mmmm. Should we move closer, then?"
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Juno cannot help but blush at her new armor's design. The crystalline plate she showed up to the party in had been rather scandalous already, but this... Another upgrade and I'll be fighting outright naked. She notices Naiad gawking and glares at him.
「I believe we are all ready for what is to come. Let us be on our way.」 She produces a naginata from... somewhere. The traditional weapon of a Japanese noblewoman, it seems suitable enough that she does not question it.
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Tiresias stares at the snake as it disappears from her hands, her face going from surprised to disappointed in a few instants. She pouts and lowers her arm with dramatic flair. She wanted to keep the snake, it could be very useful in the future. Of course she understood that there was some connection between the snakes and the people they came from but it didn't look like they were harmed if she skimmed just a bit of their power. It sounded like a reasonable bargain to her anyway, they are protected and, in return, they give them power that they won't even ever use.
As she contemplated the loss of the snake a thought hit her, if she could take power from the snakes like this and use it for herself could she also create trinkets with the souls of other people and use them herself instead? It seemed like every soul held the power for magic, even if they were not primed to become magical girls maybe they were capable of being used for contracts instead. She mulled over this until she saw the toddler.
Actually she felt him more than she heard him as he wasn't even right there. Why was she receiving this vision? She did receive information from the other magical girls before so maybe one of them was or would face one of those. Why now? They must be magical somehow, the scene didn't feel natural so the toddler probably wasn't either. Maybe he came from the snake after she used it? Everything is possible with magic but what would that mean if it was true?
She shrugged, again feeling frustrated by another mystery she couldn't solve on her own. Quickly she opens her book and flips through the pages looking for the map and any info it could provide on what was happening. As she located the other girls on the map she wished there was some way she could communicate with them all. She knew she could impart knowledge instantaneously to several people and she could also receive this knowledge from other people regardless of distance. Maybe she could make herself into the focal point of an information network, like a nexus where information could be received and easily distributed over to whoever needed it most.
With that thought in mind Tiresias open her arms allowing her book to float in front of her. She felt her newly restored power trace the arcane circles and sigils around her in glowing turquoise as she focused on her book and on the location of the other magical girls. She closed her eyes and sent her magic forth sprouting from her book towards them all, having the book connect to herself as well. She molded the flow of magic so it flowed from her to all girls and from all girls to her, whatever information they wished to send would go through her as well.
Before the magic was done she loaded a single thought into the nascent network and sent it like a pulse trying to consolidate the network. The thought was the vision where Naiad and Kuthulun fought together over a pile of all their bodies. They were now forewarned.
@Tiresias: You have come to conclusions in hours that took centuries for me to make. The knowledge domain is proving endlessly useful. It may be my own conceit, but I cannot help but feel proud.
The source of the message is unfamiliar, but it must be one of the local Magical Girls. You may respond, ignore the sending, or block the sender.
Brigit is gone. You only notice when Iskandar staggers forward, having reached the edge of the shrinking Hearth. The release of the amplification card causes the speakers rigged throughout the basement to screech with feedback. He rolls over himself, barely keeping his footing, until he reaches the stairs to the stage, where he tumbles, end over end, until he’s face down in a disorderly tangle of limbs stage left. Stage right, you see a DJ booth, and bathed in the glow of a laptop monitor is a familiar mop of dark curls.
Then, the effects of your second sorcery push the deafening wine of the lesser speakers from your ears, a circle of kicked up dust indicating the short and limited area of this field of corrected sound. You alone hear: This one is a vessel for energy harvested from a multitude of magical constructs. These constructs are generally used for transporting messages. The construction of these messengers was cunningly altered such that they might contain the energy of those who drank the unfinished magic, causing each drinker to unknowingly cast the messenger spell themselves, and pour all of their energy into it. This process puts most mortals into a coma. This one was constructed to concentrate the harvested energy into a portable form for later use. The reason the eidolon of the conqueror was set to guard this one would be conjecture from the limited perspective of this one. This one is also a large bass speaker with an in-built tesla coil, capable of... The speaker continues to rattle off specifications.
Finally, like an old ham radio crackling to life, you feel more than hear or see Tiresias’ message.
@Airi: An image depicting Naiad, Kazue, and Brigit standing in a pile of your and your friends’ corpses.
When you reach the basement, Naiad makes a beeline for the buffet. There, a small redheaded girl stuffs her face with chocolates. That infuriating Azumamaro is arguing with the caterer, who, to her credit, does not have that deer-in-the-headlights look most people in the service industry get when someone has come to them with an unreasonable complaint.
Then, like divine inspiration, Tiresias’ message comes to you in images and feelings.
@Juno: An image depicting Naiad, Kazue, and the red-head at the buffet standing in a pile of your and your friends’ corpses.
A whine overtakes the speakers above, and drills hot pain into your skull just before you go deaf. It’s most certainly Junpei’s fault.
You march down the ramp and into the large basement space, built to MilSpec for a bunker, if a naive, pre-Hiroshima MilSpec. Many of the internal dividers and firewalls have been drilled out or unbolted from the walls, but one was slid into place for use as a divider between the party space and the backstage area. That wall could stop most low-yield ballistics. Looks like it would be a good idea to keep the fighting here in the basement.
The next thing you notice is also the last thing you notice: There’s a buffet spread, and you’re starving. You hardly have time to recall the exact wording of the adage “armies march on their stomachs” before you have an hors d'oeuvre in your mouth.
You glance up from your third morsel to notice a redhead shoveling bonbons into her face. She smiles sheepishly at your glance, but does not stop stuffing herself. The girl from upstairs is harassing the caterer.
Then, like a tide of emotions and imagry, you get Tiresias’ message.
@Naiad: An image depicting yourself, Kazue, and your new red-headed friend standing in a pile of your friends’ corpses.
A whine overtakes the speakers above, and drills hot pain into your skull just before you go deaf. The feeling of claws against your calf brings your gaze down to Zeek, who is having a silent fit.
Kazue draws a tanto from the prop set she’s carried since your first music video shoot, and rolls it over her wrist. 「I’ve got Equipment. Not as cool as Blades or Physique, but it’s gotten me this far.」 A look of confusion crosses her face, and her gaze returns to the floor. She taps a child on the head, and like a wave of cooking popcorn, each child’s toga puffs out into a puffy coat that shines like dull steel. 「Padded lead coats. Should keep them safe from anything less than an ICBM.」 She says this in a sullen tone, still distracted with something just outside of memory.
Tenshi feels the dreamcatcher tug in Kazue’s direction.
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Tiresia's eyes widened as the network was established. Subconsciously she gently tugged at each connection feeling a reassuring resistance as they were solidly anchored in their targets.
It worked, it actually worked! Is there something we cannot do? With this kind of power we could change the world... We could be...
Her thoughts were interrupted by a message, Tiresias stood stiff as the information flooded her and she felt wary as she failed to recognize the sender. Cautiously she slipped back into her well mannered and polished persona. She closed her eyes and searched for the connection where the message came from, she breathed deeply and responded.
@Unknown: And yet I feel like my hand is being guided, like a loving parent would hold the hand of his child as he taught her how to walk. All my visions and decisions conduct me towards a fate I am unaware of. I can only hope it is the correct one.
She bit her lip. She probably should have asked who the other girl was. Could she even differentiate from whom the messages come? Or would all magical girls feel the same to her? Only time would tell.
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YES! YES! EAT! DRINK! LIVE! SLAUGHTER ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWWISE! THIS IS A FEAST FIT FOR US!
The imagery makes Naiad visibly ill and the deafness and Zeek clawing at them doesn't help in the least bit. The aquatic magical girl starts looking for somewhere to discretely expel the food.
NO! Don't get rid of the food! It's good for YOU!
@All: *image of Naiad attempting to purge the exceptionally good food*
Naiad clutches the cuirass tight around the midsection as they look for a good spot to expel the contents of their stomach.
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The chaos in the basement was not what Juno was expecting to be sure. Naiad's gluttonous outburst was surprising, and seeing the nyotaimori girl again so soon was disappointing. She was considering what she could possibly do about this nonsense when Tiresias sent her horrifying vision, followed swiftly by the sharp pain and ringing in her ears that silences Juno's world.
She almost tries to demand explanation from Tiresias, but cannot find the words. To see so clearly herself... to see Yuki... dead on the floor while these, these NOTHINGS stand on top of her corpse, no, this is absolutely absurd, this is an impossibility to be disregarded. To be a Shirakawa is to be a conqueror, not a victim.
Failing all else, Juno lashes out at Junpei. She does not give him the luxury of a private conversation.
@All: You stupid plebeian, what did you do this time?!? You tried to befriend a villain again, didn't you?!?
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As everything starts happening, the magic of the mask settles back in. It isn't long before Airi is feeling more assured again...given the vision she just received, the timing couldn't be better. Naiad's sending is ignored as best as possible. She didn't need to see that, and she certainly didn't care right now.
Isky'll be fine. He looks ok, and what kinda conqueror lets STAIRS defeat him? Not that one, that's for sure. Is that Lys over there? It's tempting to call out, but neither of them would hear a thing right now, and she had stuff to do right now.
Then...oh man, her? She's got a bad habit of lashing out, doesn't she? Good an excuse as any to try this out.
@All The speaker, speaking its piece up to its statement about the tesla coil.
@All Trying to make friends with the possessed guy - voluntarily possessed, for some reason - got me to this thing. You know, the real problem, and the one our conquering friend here doesn't really know the real function of. He's practically as blind to this as the rest of us. You wanna kill Iskandar, his mother's going to make that vision come true. And I like living, so let's save the shouting match for after this is done, k? There's a philosopher's stone maker here, and those never end well.
She had no idea how irked Juno was going to be, but presumably very. Good thing she had the mask on, because it meant she didn't care right now.
She wasn't waiting for responses right now. There was a big bad speaker, and she had to deal with it fast from the sounds of it. The simplest solution was just to remove Lapis from the field, but she didn't feel like she could just do that. Reversing it so it dispersed energy would just scatter people's souls everywhere, and trying to turn it off just meant it'd go back on later.
One thing to try that didn't involve messing with a potentially volatile spell that might kill her anyway. She plucks a card from her deck, a song about home. She touches the card making the speakers go crazy, and places the card she picked out against the speaker. It's time for a new song. A song that'll make all those loose soul-snakes go right back to the person they belong to. Everyone's going to get their soul back. Well, in theory. Time to change the tune.
@all: Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
@Sender: Why helloooo there! Is this who I think it might be? With your reputation, I wouldn't have thought you were any kind of warrior, but here we are! We've gotta talk later. There was a situation with Emi that probably wants talking about, and there's all of this too. In the meantime, you alright? Any tips on dealing with potentially dangerous magic that it's a bad idea to leave alone?
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@All: You insolent... augh! Juno would strangle the bastard if she could. How dare he be so flippant with her? If she wanted to she could ensure he never gets to step foot in her town again. Men always think they're above their station.
Juno turns to check on Yuki. 「Are you all right? Can you hear me?」 Juno's words are likely louder than she intends, but it's difficult to control that when completely deaf. She needs to know if the consequences of whatever Junpei just did are limited to the magical girls or if everyone here had gone as deaf as she is.
"I mean... we can go deeper." she offers. "Or out. Or sideways. I mostly just follow my instincts when I'm in here." she says, eyes being drawn towards Kazue as her dreamcatcher tugs her subtly in that direction.
"Right now, you're the important thing, methinks. We've got the snake babies protected, and they've got the other folks protected... I think. You're worried about something, aren't you?"
The subwoofer begins to hum a tone that tickles your bones. As the feedback from the speakers above changes to a simple tune, the tesla coil cracks to life, discharging purple bolts of plasma into the outer ring of the speaker. The whole building begins to resonate faintly with the bass tone as the purpose of the subwoofer is modified.
The man Iskandar was possessing pushes himself off the ground with a grunt. He looks around with a masque of confusion twisting his previously warm features. “What the f!!~ was that?”
The guy behind the DJ booth leans across his desk to check his connections, confirming, through a pair of yellow shutter shades, that Lysander is spinning plates tonight. Your music fades to a pleasant hum, and Lysander readies the next track.
It’s weird how you can know how to do something: CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, induced vomiting, but if you haven’t done it before, or it’s been many years, it’s really hard to translate that theoretical knowledge into practice. It takes you several tries, shoving different combinations of fingers down your throat, before you finally feel your gag reflex kick in and expel what little food was on your stomach.
By the end, you’re shaking, pale, and your fingers have bent the rim of the trashcan like playdough. Between the hell your tags put your body through healing the young lady upstairs, and this, you’re held up more by magic than willpower, and you can feel it.
Leaning on the trashcan for stability, you look around. Azu is holding her ears, the redhead has stopped eating, and is looking around, and Kiyomi and Yuki seem to be gesturing to each other. If Kiyomi and Junpei weren’t bickering, you could hear your ears ringing. Then, you see the small group of cosplayers strolling down the ramp. They don’t seem to hear whatever ruptured your eardrums. They’re smiling and talking to each other. One of them spots the buffet and claps their hands in excitement. Most of them are carrying fresh cans of the drink from before.
A heavy bass thump shakes the ground now, and you find the spirit of Naiad is much less communicative.
@Ki-chan: Let us know if things get out of hand, Ki-chan. I still have my bow, and I can still thread a yen from a hundred meters, cataract or no.
@Tiresias: I’m sorry, dear, I’m rambling. You were having some profound thoughts. With the magic you now wield, anything is possible. -and the more magic you have, the more certain those possibilities are. So tell me, Masterful Seer, what is our next, logical step?
Speakers throughout the mall fade in the next track. Even in the dream-world counterpart, the party's music filters through on a chilling wind.
That would be one cool subwoofer if it wasn't full of doom-y magic. As much as magic can be great, it can really suck when you get your hopes up about recreating something it made without it.
Airi's musings halt as she notices the Isky get up...and then act utterly unlike Iskandar. She hadn't expected him to be affected too. She'd meant to tell him they were both right. He might have taken a bit of convincing, but after that he'd have probably been far less willing to go through with this.
Now though...this was a problem, and she could feel she'd strained her magic. There wasn't much she could do...
Surely one of the others could though. One of them had to have set this up. It wouldn't be THAT hard to communicate with Iskandar then, would it? She didn't know what their domain was or who it was, but they seemed better suited than her right now.
@NetworkCreator: So, I set the speaker and the rest of the mall to send spirits home. That should be less people in comas due to soul loss. Problem is, it also seems to have ejected Iskandar from the body he was in. He's not in control, at least.
The things sensed when she casted the binding spell that trapped everyone in Brigit's hearth. The malevolent controlling influence and the anchoring to his seemingly de-possessed host are stressed.
@NetworkCreator: That influence is his mother, by the way. Back on track - he was expecting the speaker to be filled with the messengers of said mother. You should have received the info on what's happening with that thing, before I started shouting back at Juno.
@NetworkCreator: You set this up, so can I ask you to relay this info back to him? And anything else needed. I'll feed you it as you request it...unless you can just take it yourself. Your magic, you're the one who knows how this works.
@NetworkCreator: He can be reasoned with, I know he can. You're the one I think is best equipped for it from what I know, so could you give it a try? If you can talk him down, then he won't go through with anything himself. Whatever he may be, less people to fight is a plus.
@NetworkCreator: Gotta deal with his angry host now. Catch up with you if I'm needed!
Overly long message sent, Airi turns her attentions to the swearing man, as she catches Lys leaning over and makes a mental note to check in with him later. She grins at the man. "I don't know, what the f+## was what? Lotta stuff happening, so you're going to need to be more specific. Don't worry if you can't hear me properly after that speaker freakout, I'll tell you again." She leans a bit on the claymore. No point switching it - they obviously both knew about magic, and even if he didn't switching it now would be noticeable.
Tiresias: You try everything you can think of, and some things that you figured shouldn't have worked but were worth a try, but if there is a way to contact Iskandar (AKA Alexander the Great, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Alexander III of Macedon, son of Phillip II) you don't know it. It is possible he's not on the network. The only other thing you can think of is that the sender might need to know a name the living component of the Magical Girl identifies by. You built a network of Magical Girls, and weren't particularly focused on involving the... spirit... esper... ancestor... thing. Still, that's not as likely as him somehow not being a magical girl.
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Tiresias closed her eyes allowing all the messages to course through her. They felt like streams of water, sometimes just a lonely drop other times an entire river. She felt all of them pass through, if she tried to stop them like a dam she would break, instead she was a bridge and the water would flow through her to its destination and she would oversee it. After a few moments she prepared her attack plan.
From what she could gather there were at most six people currently actively using the network. Kyiomi and Junpei were having a little fight and Naiad was... occupied. Tiresias shuddered for a moment as she reviewed the received image.
First she needed to calm down Kiyomi and defuse her sparing with Junpei. They could not afford to be divided in this moment. What would be the best way to confront this? Maybe calling upon her influence over Kyiomi would help, without hurting her pride of course.
@Kiyomi: Hello, it’s the professor here. I set up the network. Juno… The vision I sent. The probabilities and paths in our future are closing and we can’t afford to be divided now. No matter whose fault it is, we must stop the threat and you can’t deny we have a better chance together rather than bickering. Please, for the sake of us all. I beg you.
That was Kiyomi taken care of, Junpei most likely didn’t need a little push, just direction.
She couldn’t find Alexander in the network, Junpei did say that he was possessing a body at the behest of his mother. Tiresias pondered for a moment. Considering she is the power behind all of this and that she has shown that she can manipulate spirits. Is it too much of a stretch to consider she could revive and bind the spirits of the long deceased? Maybe of a loved one, like her son whom she may have lost centuries ago. Using her powers to keep him close and using him for her own means as a trusted lieutenant.
@Airi: I am unable to contact Alexander. He is not in the network. It’s possible that I overlooked him when creating the network. However… Considering his mother has shown to be able to manipulate spirits. Could he be the revived spirit of the long dead Alexander and therefore not a magical girl and not included in this network? If I could manipulate spirits like that I would keep the spirits of those I loved near me for eternity.
@Airi: *Sudden image of Dedric’s sister, a woman with long black hair and the warmest smile to ever grace the Earth*
Tiresias panics for a moment, she hadn’t intended to send that memory. Her sister simply flooded her mind in response to the conversation.
@Airi: I’m sorry about that, I’m still trying to learn how to control this system. I’ll get back at you once I have a plan.
Whoever did this is weakened now that the spirits were banished back by Junpei, this was probably the best time to strike.
@All: The person responsible for this mess is weakened, we have our newest friend to thank for that. The spirits were banished back to where they belong but if I know magic this is only temporary. We must strike now before the window closes. I’ll try to coordinate your efforts as best I can, please work with each other. Finally, I admit I was wrong before. In the vision I sent Kuthulun is fighting for us, she is an ally and should be supported as such. We can’t afford to be divided. Good luck to us all.
After sending the message Tiresias took out her book and prepared for new magic. She needed information. Where was Alexander’s mother? What was her plan? What were her weaknesses? What should be their course of action from here on out.
She closed her eyes and allowed her energy to flow into the book. A magic circle etched itself into the ground centered on the now floating tome before her. Slowly she intoned her requests to the hovering book and watched as pages upon pages flipped.
"Show me where she is. Tell me of her power. Unveil her plan to me. Allow me a vision of victory."
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@Admin: Shoot. Worth a try. I'd call out myself to his spirit, wherever it's gone right now, but I'm a little short on magic right now. I've been doing a lot of casting.
@Admin: They're probably the real thing. I don't know why that guy invited him in, though I might find out soon. What I do know is whatever his mother's doing with him, it isn't magic. She just has that much of an influence over him. She's probably the one to put the broken messenger spell in the drinks though, so magic is on the table generally.
She's surprised when the visage of Dedric's sister floods her mind. She could feel the affection. Like with her and Chūsuke...wait, he was going to be expecting him, not her. And she didn't know her name to be able to switch back. Could she get away with coming in like this? A thought starts to form about what would happen. Initially she tries to keep it separate, but then again, they'd already sent off something private. Why not? It'll be a bonding experience.
@Admin: Junpei's younger/Iris's youngerTheir slightly hefty younger brother, formulating some story to fit their excuse that made them look bad as they hastily attempt to correct him.
Yeah, knowing him, she could. She might not want to, but it's on the table. Back to her correspondent.
@Admin: Fair's fair. Don't worry about it. Just means we know we have something in common, other than our job description. If you wanna talk about this later, I'm more than up for it. Just don't pass that on, k? I'll be waiting for the plan.
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Tenshi listens to Kazue speak, brow knotting slightly as she became confused and lost in her own thought, when she caught the glimpse of movement from her peripheral vision, her eyes moving to her dreamcatcher. Slowly her eyes widen, as she thinks she pieces something together.
Kazue wasn't the person she'd been before. She'd certainly lost bits of her own willpower. She seemed... weary. A strange combination of careless and thoughtless - as she sort of had been before - and hollow weakness - something she'd never been to Sora's memory.
It wasn't a mirror, so much as fogged glass... or a portrait that had been left to the ravages of time. Sora couldn't imagine Kazue being so scarred from battle, which allowed Tenshi to home in on a possibility. Kazue had lost her trinket - as had the starchild.
"May..? Can you help me take us to somewhere? I have something in mind I'd like to try." she says, as she starts to focus her own magic, this time through the dream-catcher that had shown her that which was missing initially. "I'll try to make a silver thread visible... I want you to try to take us to the end of it. All of us, if you can. I might be able to take us there in the dream, but if it doesn't work... I dunno." she says as she focuses on the portions of Kazue that were missing, starting with her missing Swagger, hoping to follow the trail as she had done before with the fading starchild.
No one should be left incomplete.
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Juno calms slightly at the sound of her mother's voice over the network. That firm, confident tune that had been a symbol of admiration for Kiyomi for so many years, it relaxed Juno's shoulders and sharpened her mind for the trial to come.
@Mother: Thank you, mother, but I have this under control. We will have this mess resolved swiftly, and we may enjoy another peaceful night in our city.
Kiyomi breathes deeply, and responds to Tiresias, far less frazzled and with her pride returned.
@Tiresias: You're right, of course. I can hardly afford to allow the riff raff to distract me now. Juno chuckles softly over the connection.
@Tiresias: People are filing in to the dance floor now; with vocal communication cut off I will not be able to stall them. Guide my spear, that we may save them.
Chell's head quickly snaps to the side as she tries to catch a glance of the movement, she seems almost in a trance as she watches the strange object leaving it's splintered energy at the unnatural movement. "I think something is coming to us." She says as she holds out a hand before Sora can start her spell and points out the movement, unsure if they can see it as well.
Getting completely trashed and *then* throwing up is one thing.
The body in that case is trying to *get rid* of whatever poisons a foolish person may have put into said body as quickly as possible.
But attempting to induce such a state when the food was near-divine and nowhere near the benchmark of 'poisonous' by the body's reckoning was indeed a horrifically difficult task, followed by the utter lack of sound and even the snarky in-brain 'peanut gallery'.
Naiad clings to the can as they watch the scenario to continue to unfold, trembling as their form almost vibrates both from the magic, the stress being placed on it, and the now vacated stomach growling for something to eat.
While over the can, a brief spritz of water will wash over the face, to clean it of the nastiness. And then quickly away from the can before the contents trigger an actual episode.
The new arrivals get a panicked look--
@All: More heading in, drinking bad s%$$, heading food. Ideas before I dump the table?
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She brings with her a cloying darkness that covers surprisingly little of her fluorescent-paint-covered body. Her head is shaved, her body decorated in glitter and flower printed bones like La Catrina. A closer inspection of the darkness that hugs her reveals a starkly stationary view of a nebula of newborn stars, dancing in mutual destruction. She carries the top half of a silver microphone, the Shure 55 model Lys has tattooed on his shoulder. The darkness parts as she turns it in her hands.
She spots you, then flashes a plaintive look at the man exercised of iskandar’s spirit.
When you look back at him, he has his scrivener’s case in hand and lays a stroke on its surface with the stylus. In a flash of light, he’s split again. This time there are four brutes: guitar, bass, keytar, and drums. The girl’s cloak of darkness sweeps the room, muffling the noise of the speakers, and plunging you into the cosmos. The drummer, in green, lays out a brütal tempo that the other copies of Isky pick up between drops. They’re preparing for a joint attack, and each time the music swells, your trinkets pulse with light.
Azu throws herself at the wall, and the crowd stops at the foot of the ramp.
A crack even you can hear brings your eyes to Yuki, who has pulled a long-barrel colt python revolver and shot at the retreating snake-woman, throwing her into the wall in a shower of glass and wood splinters. You would think, with such a difficult shot, the girl would at least be looking where she shot, but her eyes, and her mouthed “look out!” turn your gaze to the redhead, who is charging at you with a dagger dripping shadows.
The air around her sucks at the light, and black and crimson flowers sprout in her footprints. Inside the tight umbral orb, her other knife leaves a trail of liquid fire in its wake.
When you turn, you see the redhead charging at Naiad, who looks pale and feeble in her cuirass. Yuki’s gun is drawn and smoking. It looks like she missed, because the girl looks about ready to bury her knives into Naiad’s throat. The girl is shrouded in some kind of ridiculous candyland field. Her knives trail licorice in black and red ropes. As you watch, layers of candy coating like a jawbreaker begin to spread over her back.
You feel warm saliva run down the curve of your hip.
You glance down at your bare stomach, but though you feel a grotesque moisture welling up around you in your armor, you do not see any sign of your hideous maw. At least you're spared the public humiliation. That would have been something else altogether to try to explain to Yuki.
You’re certain you have sufficient reach with your naginata to attack the girl without getting yourself into her candy bubble, and while keeping well out of reach of her silly little daggers.
The ground begins to shudder and toddlers roll aside in a giggling mound. Up through the patchwork turf, a thick rope of plant matter, unfurling into a bramble of wicked thorns, bursts from the ground like it’s doing all its growing at once. From the depths of the thorns, a fat, fleshy flower bud emerges. The ends of its saffron petals twisting and curling on the brink of blossoming. Tiny red lines along the flesh open, revealing horrible, glassy eyes that each focus in a different direction. From the blossoming tip of the flower, something like smoke is rising. The air around the plant cracks with defiant energy: black and mauve in dancing conflict.
Opposite the monster, Tenshi’s dreamcatcher projects a stained glass doorway onto the wall. The image passing through a cowed and frightened Kazue. The door depicts a raven-haired maiden in armor, hands closed over something close to her chest, rays of periwinkle light shooting out from between her fingers. Many cells of the image are blacked out.
Night Life Office Lady acts quickly, interposing herself between Kazue and the wicked plant, backing toward the door as she shuffles through her clutch looking for god knows what. 「We’ve gotta get out of here before that... thing opens. That thing is hashtag-bad-news.」
The children have all crowded around the door, but they can’t reach the door knob. A limb of inch-long brambles fires out toward the nearest toddler... and hits a solid wall of water. Oi there! The geyser of water, straining against the groping plant, forms first into a lithe woman, then into a sheet of frothing water that begins to encircle the children.
The ground is still shaking, the storm outside reaching cataclysmic scale, and all around you, the walls are beginning to show signs of stress.
On the turning pages, you see three figures.
The first is Kazue, cowering in the arms of Takenaka Takara, one of the receptionists in your building. Black dots fill the corners of the page. You see page after page--like an armorer’s design sketchbook--of Kazue in wildly differing sets of armor with weapons of varying description. These pages are followed by alternating depictions of graphic (mostly, but not exclusively heteronormative) sex in extreme closeup followed by stunningly beautiful portraits of random people, May and Sora among them.
The second is a small woman in a white uniform, being berated by Tsuchi Azumamaro, a student of yours. These pages are much more clear, their images practically coming to life on the page. Her pages are littered with coins, snakes, scorpions, brilliant flowers, and green glass bottles. The pages turn black, then ribbons of ink withdraw into the center of the pages until only a single circle remains. Then, the circle splits, dividing again and again until cell becomes foetus, becomes child, and a small mediterranean woman is reborn.
The last is the elderly woman in round glasses. She stands at Ms. Miku’s bedside, holding the woman’s hand and whispering. The baskets of flowers around them fill the room with warmth and life. In their clasped hands, a tiger lily blossoms. Then, the pages of your book begin to turn faster. Where the others had repeating images, or an animated progression, the elderly woman’s plans come in thousands of single images. Few of the images leave lasting impressions other than those you recognize. Aratani, an attractive Chinese gentleman, and the woman, all much younger, putting their hands together in a gesture of camaraderie. Paresh, Kazue, and a bright looking exchange student you knew by the surname Song, mid-food fight in the Shirakawa mansion. Ms. Miku, young, and studying with the woman in round glasses, hands just touching. Your sister, somehow in the middle of the images, lying in a bed of lilies. Sakura, or a doll that looks very much like her. Your sister, again, alive like you’ve never seen her, laughing and playing hopscotch across a pond with Sakura, the water freezing at her touch. Then a picture of Japan, a network of silver lines lighting up over the east coast. Asia, delicate symbols etched in leylines. The world, alight with circles and runes to a spell that promises to warp the foundation of creation. Walls falling. Beautiful landscapes. Then, girls. Pages and pages of girls. All of them sixteen. All of them perfect. The book stops on a picture of you- well, of Tiresias, but not of Tiresias as they are seen now. This is a vision of perfection, an eidolon of knowledge, a childlike God.