View source for 745/All This For A Loaf Of Bread

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/05
|Location=Tomoeda-865
|Synopsis=Much tragedy involving destroyed cakes and stolen cakes. A Magical Girl avenges them, and then another Magical Girl and also a Magical Boy intervene to keep the avenger from going too far.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=172, 560, 589
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>It is shortly after noon, in Tomoeda. Miko Fujimoto is in a convenience store, hands buried deep in the pockets of her grey hoodie. She is attempting to make a very serious decision. She is standing before several glass display cases with various packaged pastries inside of them. You see, she is out exploring the Multiverse in the minimal free time she has off from studies. In the process of her explorations, some people passed by her remarking on how cheap and how good these cakes were at this store, and her stomach immediately decided it was in the mood for some cake. So she came here, only to discover that... The individual cake shelf is completely empty. The shelf next to it only has family-size jumbo bags of cakes. They are more expensive than the individual ones.<br /><br />Thus, Miko stands before the drawer, and squints, and tries to decide if she wants cake badly enough to buy twenty of them and try to eat them by herself. This decision is not helped by the fact that she is supposed to keep to a strict diet decided by her mother, and reneging on that and being discovered will spell certain doom.<br /><br />But... Cake.<br /><br />A short time later, Miko is walking back out of the store with a large back of cake, already gnawing on one, one-handed. Unbeknownst to her, devilry is soon to be a foot, as someone else in dire need of cake/pastry of some kind is scoping out the same shelf, and making plans to abscond with some... Without paying! Infact, there is a shout from inside the store as the hoodlum comes barreling out of the store, slams into Miko from behind and knocks the cake she was eating to the ground, while also causing her to land directly on her bag of cakes and squish all of them beneath her.<br /><br />The jerk does not even stop to apologize, and simply runs off down the street! He is even wearing a One Direction jacket. What kind of shop lifter wears a One Direction jacket!? Needless to say, when Miko looks up, and sees the fleeing back of the one responsible for her situation, and then sees how squished her cakes are, she is less than at peace over it.<br /><br />She gets up, and makes her way into the nearest alley, leaving her squished back of cakes behind a dumpster, and withdrawing a certain wooden prayer rod from inside her hoodie...<br /><br />One Direction Jacket Dude is well on his way to escaping when some cosplaying woman with bright pink hair lands on the street in front of him (did she just jump from a rooftop!?) and starts making a speech. "Stop right there, evil-doer! On top of theft, you also knocked down a poor defenseless girl and made her ruin her highly expensive cakes! For this crime, you must be punished--Where do you think you are going!? Stop!" One Direction Dude is running off in a different direction. The magical girl grits her teeth, picks up a nearby car, and throws it after the shoplifer. "PRINCESS PALADIN SAYS, 'STOP!'"<br /><br />The resulting crash of automobile into a building is likely going to cause enough noise to draw the attention of others. One Direction Dude somehow survived the car, and is pinned under it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura is out shopping! Or, well, she HAS been out shopping, and is now heading home. Bags of groceries in each hand - one of which contains a bag of cakes, to share with her family when she gets home. She skates along on her in-line skates, humming a song idly to herself...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When there's the sudden tell-tale crash of a car being thrown into a building. Sakura nearly trips over her own skates in surprise - before giving a grumble, and reaching out to her side. She conjures a violently pink door out of thin air, opens it, and tosses the groceries through it into the extradimensional space beyond - then she turns around and starts skating towards the ruckus, digging her Key of Stars out from the front of her shirt.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After over a week of dealing with the unusual sorts of old-style foods that can be found in Dun Realtai, and staying VERY FAR AWAY from a certain knight's bad cooking, Emiya Shirou has reached his limits.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Time to do some grocery shopping.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hearing there were some sales going on, he stopped by Tomoeda to pick up ingredients. And maybe a cake, hearing there were some cheap ones. Maybe! Maybe not. He's not sure who would like it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's heading down the sidewalk, weighed down by some bags full of various meats, vegetables, condiments, and even some fruit - plenty of things suitable for dishes both western and eastern styled.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's just pondering over all that when... One Direction Jacket Dude goes barreling down past him!?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"E-Eh?!" The boy swings about, eyes on the thief. It does tkae a few seconds for what's going on to settle on. "A robbery here?!" You've got to be kidding. Who'd go to all this trouble just for cake?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regardless, STILL CARRYING his bags, Shirou gets pissed. He's not gonna stand for this if he can do something about it!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The redheaded Magus mumbles, "Trace, on..." And fills his arms and legs with prana. Not enough to make him a superhuman, but he speeds up somewhat, and isn't weighed down so much by his bags! "Hold up, get back here!" The redhead shouts, though he's hopelessly too far behind.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He is brought to a SCREECHING halt when, out of nowhere, in comes a magical girl... and one that's strong enough to hurl a whole car.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shirou's blood runs cold in the few instants before the automobile strikes. What the hell kind of reaction...?! "Gg-huuuoah!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That could KILL someone.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Without thinking, he now rushes towards the wreckage with groceries STILL in hand for whatever reason, and stops at the sidewalk's edge near the pinned criminal.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So instead of going to free the man who seems alive and hopefully not critically injured in a way Shirou can't see, he gazes up to see just who threw it..<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And promptly gapes.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Princess Paladin advances on the thief struggling beneath the vehicle on top of him, that is half-through the wall of a wedding dress store. One Direction Dude's own bag of cakes lie scattered on the ground next to him. "And now look what you have done," she admonishes. "Because of you, I had to damage this store full of pretty dresses! One crime on top of another..." With a flick of her wrist, a pink scepter with glowing crystals, glitter, and a crackle of magical energy surrounding it, slips into the grasp of her right hand. She stands before the panicking thief as he looks up at her. One booted foot pulls back, prepared to lash out at the man's face and break his stupid sunglasses (and maybe more). However, this is forestalled by the arrival of... Some guy with groceries!<br /><br />She pauses and frowns at him. He is not part of her quest to punish this thief, so he is not relevant. "Stand back, citizen!" she proclaims. Then, unless prevented, she proceeds to kick the guy in the face hard enough to draw blood and knock out a tooth. And break his sunglasses. "This thief deserves punishment! Also, he may have just tried to look up my skirt!" It is not even short enough to be looked up, but she is not a forgiving mood.<br /><br />Princess Paladin is not yet aware of the approaching magical girl, but likely will be momentarily. Because most magical girls don't approve of kicking in the faces of unarmed and restrained normal people. Or of throwing cars at them for that matter.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;An in-line skate goes flying through the air, right over Princess Paladin's head - missing her by mere centimeters. Sakura's standing in the street, balanced on one skate, looking kinda majorly pissed off.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The other skate is discarded, and she points towards Princess Paladin. "What do you think you're doing?!" Hopefully early enough to make sure the thief doesn't get his face caved in. Hopefully.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Wh-" Shirou's stunned speechless by these events. His brain's whirling and churning to make sense of it all. Bloodthirsty and vengeful magical girls. This is destroying his image of them, utterly, in only a few seconds. "Stop, that's enough! Throwing a car at a thief's overkill enough... then wrecking a store... but now you're assaulting him. Geeze, don't you have some way to just bind him or knock him over and leave it at that?!" The magus loudly complains, unafraid of berating Princess Paladin - no matter how ridiculous she looks.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That's not justice at all. Look, stop kicking him and call the police! ... Well, with a scene like this someone's probably doing that already..." Mutter mutter, and a hurried glance about.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He spots Sakura's approach, but seems hesitant to outright force the Princess Paladin to stop.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After all, why wouldn't his words make sense?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Random people being nearby is not relevant. People trying to interfere in the completion of her quest? That's another matter entirely. At Shirou's protest, she gives him a cold look of calculation, like she's figuring out how much she has to hurt him to make him stop being a problem. It is not the look of a champion of justice or a hero, but rather someone on a mission they can not afford to hesitate to complete. Her foot remains pulled back, but then, balancing on the other, she raises her hand and points the Sacred Scepter directly at Shirou's face. Magic energy begins to gather on the spherical tip. It is bright pink, and probably deadly.<br /><br />Then a skate goes tearing past Paladin's head and strikes the wall of the building, and she turns around, aiming the scepter at her attacker instead. The energy surges and crackles in a sphere of power but isn't unleashed quite yet. "There sure are a lot of want-to-be heroes in this town," the pink-haired magical girl says. Her tone is kind, and her cold expression is gone. Her other foot comes back down to the ground. She turns so that can look at both Sakura and Shirou. "I would commend your dedication and valor, if it were not completely misplaced. Can you really permit thieves and people who would carelessly assault innocent civilians to run around wild in this town? I can not. This is not about justice, but my mission. This may not be my town, but it is my solemn mission to ensure that this man learn the consequence of his actions. You do not need to worry! I can fix the building and the car both with my magic!" She smiles brightly, and raises her free hand to point at the man hyperventilating under the car.<br /><br />"Just as soon as I finish making him pay for his crimes." Then the significant build-up of magical energy, and the wand it is growing upon, are turned upon the trapped thief without warning. "Crusader's Penance," she says without fanfare, and releases the blast in a potent blast of light that may leave others in the area momentarily without their senses, and the man on the ground with all his senses wiped out. When others can see again, One Direction Dude appears to be trying to move or something but is just kind of flopping and rolling back and forth as best he can without the ability to perceive anything at all about his environment.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura just stares at Princess Paladin incredulously for a moment or two. "...You're right. I -can't- just permit people who would carelessly assault civilians run around wild in my town." Yes, she edited out the 'innocent' part. "O Key that hides the power of the Stars, show your true form before me!" she begisn to incant, holding the Key out before her. Her magic circle appears under her feet, shining yellow light up along her body. "I, Sakura Kinomoto, command you under our contract: RELEASE!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In a moment, she has her wand in her hand - and in another, she's tossing a card up into the air. "ERASE!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A humanoid figure materialises near Princess Paladin as Sakura strikes the card with her wand. The jester holds up a large cape, showing the 'audience' both sides of it as if to prove she's not hiding anything - and then, with a swipe of the cape, the car vanishes completely.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My name is Sakura Kinomoto. I'm the Mage of this town. And -you- are under arrest!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a magical stick pointed straight at him. A Sacred Scepter that all but oozes magic. Shirou's heart stops right there, and breath catches. He senses death in that thing. Well, no, really, that's more coming from the cold look he's being given.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This person won't show any mercy if he interferes...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite all the fear in his amber eyes, he doesn't back down. Rather, stubborn determination burns in them.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"... That's why I said something like binding him up and calling the police would be enough!" He retorts, tone turning rough and ruder from the more carefully pronounced (if hurried) explanation of before.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The instant Princess Paladin turns to fire on the man, Shirou reaches out with a hand and yells, "Stop!" But he's just not fast enough. But he's just not fast enough. The man ends up blasted with magic from nowhere... and Shirou's left shuddering at the results. Well, he's alive at least... but still.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is not what magic's for. Magic is for helping really. He always thought so anyways. His teacher was very adamant about this - if he wants to use magic, it should be to help others.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... is this justice?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, Sakura's reaction isn't really much better on his scale: erasing someone's car? Hopefully it can be restored later?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Begin trace..." The magus murmurs. He does not expect the magical girl's response to be very heroic - Sakura's putting herself in danger here!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden light flows from the boy's right hand. In a few moments it forms into a black metal longsword with no guard, a leather-wrapped grip, and a thin blade attached to a thick inner core. It's the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, and winds gather about the weapon as Shirou readies it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Don't make a big scene of this! Well sort everything out..." Or he hopes they can, anyways...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...Really, I could have fixed the car." Princess Paladin says poutily, as she looks up with caution at the strange jester. So, the girl has magic of her own. Her conviction that what she was doing in punishing the thief was right is very strong. And people assaulting that conviction is taken as a sort of attack upon her. She skips backwards several yards repeatedly in a matter of seconds, without even looking behind her, and comes to a stop. She holds her Sacred Scepter in front of her with both hands, feet slightly apart, and squints at the declaration that she is under arrest. Legal authority has no meaning for her as Princess Paladin. As Miko Fujimoto, it certainly would have great importance. But she is powerful enough like this that she does not need to obey random strangers. She answers to a higher authority. "My name is Princess Paladin. If you are going to side with the thief, then you will share his punishment." Her OWN authority.<br /><br />When Shirou also displays magical capabilities, Paladin frowns more deeply. That makes this situation even more difficult. Not because she regrets having to potentially hurt three people instead of just the one, but because fighting multiple opponents with magic has never happened before. She is not sure how well she will do. But doubts have no place in conviction. Her faith remains intact. In a tone that sounds regretful despite how she really feels, she says, "You two no longer have the option of leaving. But you can surrender if you like. It will make your punishment shorter and this encounter shorter." Despite how others may feel about Paladin's actions, her words and tone sound somehow like she knows what she's talking about. Like she is far more experienced and is lecturing children. She isn't. But it genuinely SOUNDS that way. If Shirou can detect such things, it is ALMOST, but not quite, like a form of 'Charm magic'. The magical girl, her will, and her voice, all are reinforced mystically. She is utterly convinced that what she is saying is correct.<br /><br />And what she is saying SOUNDS correct, even if those hearing her say it know in their hearts it is not. "Last chance," she says sorrowfully. She is sorrowful because she does not recognize that wind sword or this card-based magic, moslty, but it's still sorrow! "Surrender or you will have to suffer quite a bit to learn your lesson."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Shield," comes Sakura's voice, as she produces yet another card. She activates it with a tip of her wand... and, strangely, a translucent yellow forcefield erupts around the -thief-, not Sakura or Shirou. A faint image of a wing-motifed kite shield can be seen on the forcefield, pointing at Princess Paladin.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Shirou, I can handle the witch. You can take that guy to safety, if you want, I'll be fine." She then fixes her eyes on Princess Paladin. The magical girl's words obviously have an effect, but the younger teen forces herself to ignore it. "Holy powers, huh? Whatever's powering you must not be very discerning if it'll let you get away with this."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Is she... trying to goad her? On purpose?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shirou... shivers. Great, she's on a crusade against him now. "W-wait, how did this turn into siding with-- geeze, she's crazy..." Mutter mutter. He gives her a stern, stubborn look. "Not a chance. You're going way over the top for a thief." And thankfully, he already turned on his Magic Circuits. the mana circulating through him is resisting the influence of her enchanted words, if only somewhat. Enough to give him a chance to think about the way it's twisting his feelings. "...ngh... some kind of suggestion magic...?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He leaps back towards the flopping man, though eyes Sakura carefully. Will she be alright?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ridiculousness of this scenario is starting to REALLY settle in. A Magical Girl just declared WAR on him. What did he do to deserve this?!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Got it, Sakura!" He's still hunkered behind Kusanagi, though, and is glancing about for a good retreat direction...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"His punishment has been delivered," she says. She is no longer trying to convince. Though that happens passively whether she wants to or not. It makes when she's being hostile instead of friendly even scarier, because whatever threats she makes sound very convincingly legitimate to her victims. "I already offered to fix the building and the car. By interfering in a matter that would already have been over, you have merely made yourselves accessories to the crime. The judgement I render now is that you must be taught the price of intruding in a holy mission to right what is wrong."<br /><br />And just then, several sparkles of glitter begin to accumulate on one of the cakes spilled on the sidewalk. It is happening only a couple feet away from Shirou, and Paladin does not appear to be aiming anything that way or doing anything in that regard. Is it possibly Sakura's doing?<br /><br />As the cake wiggles and wobbles and goes flying off the street and right at Sakura's face, that possibility becomes unlikely. A couple seconds after the portable hand-cake takes flight, Paladin charges swiftly up the street, towards the magical girl, with her Scepter held like it is a sword instead of a pink stick of magic and gems and glitter.<br /><br />And the cake-thrower is a pixie by the name of White Rose, who can at best perform distraction maneuvers with her weak magic, but no one really believes in her except Paladin, so she barely even exists.<br /><br />Poor pixie. Poor cakes.<br /><br />And possibly poor Sakura's head if she does not manage to keep her attention on her attacker with the obscuring projectile cake possibly on the way to her face. Because that Scepter is being swung in the same manner that Paladin was going to swing her foot into One Direction Dude's face. That manner is, 'with intent to break something'.<br /><br />Of course, Shirou being where he is, he might be able to intercept the cake! There is no better use for wind swords than slicing cakes.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What the heck, that's a flying cake! Shirou blinks. It's just a flying cake, not really anything so threatening, but the ABSURDITY.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This cake is no lie.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Sakura, watch out!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The boy reacts, of course. Kusanagi glows faintly in Shirou's hands, the winds surrounding the sword growing ever more intense. He simply slashes the air with it. Despite his great distance from the incoming cake...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A gale-force 'slash' hurdles through the air to intercept the projectile. It won't go very far and contains only blunt force, but it'll easily be enough to catch the cake and likely splatter it against the pavement or maybe someone's car.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...H-holy mission? What kind of god supports making a mess like this one over a cake thief...?" The boy blurts, stupified. SERIOUSLY, WHAT.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Now he's just getting angry. But he won't attack her unless he must. He's hoping Sakura can somehow bind or subdue her, but with the amount of magic he's feeling from her?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The prospect is seemingly increasingly unlikely.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura's head snaps towards Shirou as he shouts out a warning - and she looks on in befuddlement as he uses some sort of wind magic to knock a cake out of the air. Huh.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's so distracted, in afct, that she only -just- manages to see the Scepter coming down at her head in time. Her right hand snaps up automatically, to intercept the blow. She doesn't try to just absorb the force, thoug - she angles her stick to deflect the momentum, instead, moving the stick outwards and away from her body while retreating backwards.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Sloppy," she comments idly. Is she talking to herself or Princess Paladin? She glances at her wand to make sure it's not damaged - although she knows it can't be, really - before bringing it up in an 'en guard' position, three cards pulled out of her pocket and fanned out. "You're just digging yourself deeper, you know. I'll consider letting you go if you just break off now."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>At the scepter strike is deflected, Paladin turns what could have been a potentially off-balancing and awkward staggering maneuver into a ballerina-like one, sending her spinning across the pavement on her heels, coming to a stop, and pointing her wand at Sakura. With magic energy building on the tip again. It seemed very graceful, as though she planned the whole thing. But really, her body is just enhanced by her transformation. She is able to do things automatically that she can't even react in time to attempt. She had no hand in that. "I could not quit now even if I wanted to. And I could say the same of you." No matter what it means for her, she has to hold to her convictions. She believes she was right in punishing the thief. But what is she fighting for right now? To protect the fact that she was right?<br /><br />"I do not serve a god," she explains. Thanks to Shirou's heroic usage of the Cake-Distraction Destruction Technique, both he and Sakura are lined up just right. "I revere holiness and sacredness itself! PENANCE BEAM!" A ray of white light emits from the Sacred Scepter, trying to pierce through Sakura and continue on to pierce Shirou in turn. Of course, with the magic in Sakura's arsenal, to say nothing of Shirou's, they likely have ways of defending themselves.<br /><br />They could even be toughened by magic, like Paladin, and more than able of resisting serious damage from the attack with their flesh alone. But the point is that even if Paladin was somewhat sloppy by using her significantly less-capable helper to gain an advantage while forgetting that Sakura had a helper of her own (because she is used to fighting one-on-one), that does not mean that she is done using potentially lethal force in a situation that does not strictly require it.<br /><br />She thinks that both of these kids (she thinks of them as 'kids' but she probably is not much older than they are in her civilian form, if at all) have their hearts in the right place. They intend to do good. Their own conviction and courage is admirable. It is too bad they will not stop getting in her way. Because someone is going to get hurt. And she is aware that it might be all of them, or even just her. It simply does not matter. She HAS to continue. Doing otherwise is not an option, unless she is willing to let her magic lapse and turn her back to normal.<br /><br />It is a regrettable situation... That she can not afford to regret.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura takes a moment to applaud Paladin's ballerina-like movements. Only a few claps of her fingers on ehr other hand, but the intent is clearly there. It doesn't appear to be -mocking- either.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then... holy laser beam. Well, that sucks. Sakura's arms fly up in front of her, crossed over. The Penance Beam homes in, striking her arms... Luckily, Sakura's innate magic resistance manages to deaden the impact quite substantially. Even she's surprised by this, looking at her arms - burnt slightly red, but fine otherwise.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a short pause.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"FIREY!" She calls, tossing one of those three cards into the air. She spins her wand around, the tip impacting with the card, which promptly vanishes - to be replacing by a ball of flame, following the tip of the wand and leaving a trail of red-hot plasma in its wake. Sakura spins the wand, while striking at Paladin multiple times - almost like wielding a ribbon. A ribbon made of fire.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Some of the beam does get past Sakura, unfortunately enough for Shirou. And Shirou reacts quickly. Kusanagi's brought up and braced against his free hand to catch the blast and try to deflect it. But this beam has FORCE, when slamming against a Noble Phantasm. He's driven across the pavement and onto the sidewalk again while his traced weapon sizzles... then finally succumbs to the abuse it's absorbing by shattering spectacularly.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Gah!" The result is? Shirou gets zapped in the shoulder by the burning power at a glance, scorching his clothes and leaving a nasty half-sizzling cut where it struck. And that's just what a small bit of it did...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He can't take this girl lightly!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My body is made of swords." The boy chants to himself. It's proven a helpful aide to his projection efforts ever since he learned of his alignment!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This time a different weapon appears with a *HSSSCLANK* from the golden light. A longsword of brilliant, breathtakingly beautiful silver, with crimson trim. It sports a wide, ornate guard and a double-handed grip. It is Clarent, the Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword wielded by Mordred, and his stance changes SIGNIFICANTLY when he brings it to bear in both hands.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Can't quit? Don't give me that... come on, you're just making this needlessly hard. Nobody's dead so this is all pointless. You just went too far, where you aren't the police...!" He's TRYING to reason with her, but if she doesn't listen... he'll have to join Sakura's efforts.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Paladin is not sure what the deal is with these cards. She has never seen anything like them, honestly. They seem to summon magical creatures which then perform various effects, such as the forcefield covering One Direction Dude who is still rolling around in sensory deprivation within the Shield. When the blazing sphere-and-tail appears, however, she can figure out without any real difficulty that this is bad to be hit by. So, with seeming confidence and surety-of-movement that she does not actually possess, she attempts to dodge the flaming weapon. She is scared of course. Most people are scared of fire. But she never doubts. Even if it misses her, the heat is going to be enough to leave burns. And each time she dodges, she feels the pain regardless of not being directly struck. It might leave patches of flame if the attack touches anything else, limiting the places Princess Paladin can dodge to. Or maybe it is so finely controlled it doesn't touch or ignite anything other than its intended target.<br /><br />But though she is getting hurt, she can not break her conviction. But this whole encounter has dragged out a brief exploration of another world. And she needs to get home. She has to come up with another solution. So as Shirou pulls out yet another sword, an even more special and powerful-looking one, with unknown properties, the magical girl with the pink braid comes skidding to a stop, smoldering from Firey's attacks, and aims her wand once more -- at the man behind the Shield!<br /><br />"This is over! Watch in awe! HEAVENLY GLORY!" She brings her scepter up above her head, and it lengthens by about a foot, and then the top half extends even further. A pair of angellic wings extend from the sides, and crackling pink magic energy gathers all around the top. What Paladin herself may lack in experience or power compared to Sakura, or sword-generation and a sense of justice like Shirou, she seems to have an abundane of raw energy to wield thanks to that scepter. It's like it never ever ever runs out of energy to give as long as she believes in what she is doing.<br /><br />Her aura of holiness doubles in size, then triples, then quadruples, becoming a seething flame of gold and white energy visible to the naked eye and bathing the entire street in heavenly light.<br /><br />Then she brings the scepter down, and a wave of light blasts outwards. It is unblockable. Unavoidable.<br /><br />And when the blinding light fades, the only result appears to be that Sakura's arms are healed, Shirou's wounds are likewise fully restored to normal integrity, and One Direction Dude seems to finally be able to perceive his environment again. He might suffer some psychological damage from sensory deprivation, but he at least has the ability to sense again.<br /><br />Also, the wedding dress shop and all other environmental damages are restored to normal too. The Sacred Scepter collapses and changes back into its original form. Unlike the others, the burns that Paladin has suffered remain right where they are... And thanks to her mystically imbued maturity and grace she seems to carry them well, like they do not bother her at all, no matter how much they are actually throbbing and hurting. Her hair barely has a strand out of place, even though some of those strands are blackened by the heat.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:589|Princess Paladin (589)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>And as she looks majestically towards the magical girl and the magical boy, Princess Paladin says, "Out battle will have to remain unresolved. I hold to my conviction that punishing that man was the correct thing to do. The methods are irrelevant. It is the result that is the important thing. However, it serves no purpose for us to fight now. He was already punished, and now he has been restored." The pink-haired woman squints her eyes and says, "For now, we have both fought for what we believe, with courage and strength. While I do not wish to fight you, I also do not wish to abandon this battle part-way through. I have a matter to attend to, but we will settle this eventually. I will prove my convictions are stronger than yours in the future. If you can somehow prove yours are stronger, you can feel free to arrest me." Then she turns and prepares to attempt to go leaping up onto the rooftops and swiftly make her way out of the area. She can be stopped. Probably even followed or out-paced with the proper magic. But is it worth it right now?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:172|Sakura Kinomoto (172)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura stares as Princess Paladin readies one final 'attack'. For some reason, she doesn't move to try to stop the magical girl from casting her spell, even though she has no idea what it -does-. She can simply... feel... that it won't hurt her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And indeed it doesn't! Sakura actually does stare in awe at the -completeness- of the healing. She can't bring herself to say anything, and doesn't make any effort to stop the pink-haired woman - she just spins her wand about until it comes to a rest position, the flame snuffing out and the card hovering up behind her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sakura watches Princess Paladin leave with as sigh, then turns towards Shirou and One Direction Man. "...That'll teach you not to... steal... cakes, I guess."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"......." What the heck can Shirou say to that? Well, not really anything, because the Princess Paladin goes dashing away. Shirou sighs a few moments later, and banishes his summoned weapon with another flash of golden light. he watchse her carefully as she leaves - for a block or two in fact, until she's past even his sight range. Reinforced eyes can go pretty far!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Man, that girl's troublesome... what's her problem? It was ust a cake or two..." This is all he can say, because he's been UTTERLY STUNNED by this 'heavenly wave.' Restoration magic of an astounding tier. He's never heard of such trickery... But he rubs his shoulder where the wound should be, and finds repaired clothing and no wound. "... Wow..." Maybe she knew something he didn't?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Does being able to fix everything excuse being reckless and overly violent? He's not really sure, and the boy snorts frustratedly and goes to retrieve his fallen groceries from the sidewalk.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We'd better hold him until the police get here, at least." He asides to Sakura. "What should we tell them about HER?! ...Princess... Paladin..." He experiments with the english words uncertainly. "A magical girl, huh..."<br> <br>


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