1448/NODE: City of Cycles - Square One

NODE: City of Cycles - Square One
Date of Scene:	30 January 2015
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	The party splits three-way: to question the magical girls, investigate the protective ward, and talk with the magical girl from the previous cycle.
Thanks to:	Abstractum for GMing!
Cast of Characters:	2, 40, 183, 253, 347, 570, Ayako Hasekawa
Tinyplot:	When They Return

---

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Entering the Witch Barrier Gate is simple and easy. One needs to be connected to Homura, of course, that's the means by which she can limit intrusion into her Node. A held hand or a hand on the shoulder works perfectly for the group to pass through with ease.

    Within, things are a bit of a different matter. The space is a strange one; it's Mitakihara, upside down. The stalagtite-like building structures above tick ominously, like giant clocks, while below, a sky full of stars shines. The Node Path, the structure which traditionally goes between a Node Gate and the Node itself, is a unique one this time. It's a massive arrow, held up by a titanic drawn-back bow. The huge wooden shaft of the arrow is ornate, with different designed viewed from each angle. It's thankfully wide enough that walking alongside it is easy, though. And it's high up enough that it runs close to some train tracks on the inverted Mitakihara above. That's where Mr. Speaks was, before. He's not here now.

    Exiting from the "barrier" that makes up the Node Path leads out to... A very normal-looking city. It's wide, expanding out great distances and expanding to the horizon, but it's still a rather normal-looking city. In fact, it looks a fair bit Mitakihara-ish. And not even in the horrible secretly-a-witch-barrier way, it seems pretty genuine.

    However, Homura and others who are capable of directly detecting the sort of things so associated with this sort of environment will know that there's a lot going on under the surface. The magical atmosphere is polluted in precisely the same ways that a town beset by combinations of witches and demons. However, it seems... Stale, as if isolated for a very long time, and condensed, as if built up in that same space for a similarly long time.

    The exit is in the center of town, high up on skyscraper where a radio broadcast tower rests. It gives a good view, and for those like magical girls, it makes for a good starting place to get moving in the city. It is 2:12 PM of JULY 10TH, according to all timekeeping mechanisms.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Perhaps unexpectedly, but after last time, followed so shortly by that thing in Mizuki's book, Homura seems to have lost a fair amount of enthusiasm and color. She's a bit paler than usual and looks restless, at least, more than would be considered normal for an university student trying to juggle studies with constant Union-related crises, and assorted matters. But since she's settled on getting this solved and seeing what a Node ending looks like, she is completely disregarding her wellbeing and has called a handful of people here today.

    As people settle atop the radio tower, she leans over one of the railings to look at the city, addressing those who came. "Today shouldn't be difficult. We need to find and meet Yamauchi Chiyo; gather more information about the barrier sealing the Witch at the docks; and check in on Mizushima Miki, the one that Kimiko and Eleanor saved. There's probably more we could be doing, but that's as good a starting point as any. Pick where you want to go."

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Since her last appearance, Eleanor's done a little bit more work on her BLU standard issue dress. It's not quite so standard issue, and she's added some Magical Girl Type Embellishments to the outfit. It is now Appropriately Frilly For Magical Girl Work.
    She's also hanging close to Kimiko. They're the ones responsible for Miki now, aren't they?

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber is here as well. He's not too far from Homura, but he's pretty quiet. He also has a somewhat distant look about him, looking like he hasn't slept for at least a day or two. He sighs a bit and reaches into his jacket. What he pulls out is a pretty basic-looking stop watch. As soon as he steps out of the entrance, he clicks to start the timer. His goal is ultimately to measure how long, in non-fucked-time-speed, they have to solve this Node in a single visit.

    Adjudicator is across his back and in Rifle form. Psyber looks to Homura and says, "I don't want to go too deep into the city due to the fact it might mess with the stop watch. Can I stay up here and take overwatch of the city?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Tonight's entrance by Mizuki isn't so characterized by what she does as it is by what she doesn't do. More than anything else, that means shes doing her utmost to not make eye contact with Kimiko or Homura, and to avoid the notice of the other usual suspects. This also means that she maintains her distance when she does arrive, keeping entirely to herself and, if possible, avoiding being seen alltogether. It's likely that only the two puella magi and Psyber would know why this was, but she doesn't particularly care to explain herself to any of those who do not.

    When Homura speaks, though, she can't help but look up at her. No, the girl isn't easy to read at all, and yes, it could just be her imagination, but from her perception she most certainly sounds more sullen than usual. And that's bad. She would nervously look to Kimiko as well before locking her gaze firmly on nothing in particular. She had received advice from someone that she should make an attempt to apologize. She will, too, but she isn't sure if now is the time. If she brought it up now, it might just ruin them all for the challenges of the evening, but if she doesn't acknowledge the altered atmosphere at all she might come off as callous. It's torturous, really, and the girl who so often makes societal rules her plaything is now dangling quite helplessly upon those very strings.

    Mizuki would inch closer to Psyber, still keeping quiet. She wouldn't give any comment whatsoever as to where they should go. She may not know how, or why, but she gets the distinct impression that she has intruded far too much upon this story with things being as they are.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako follows after Psyber, looking concerned about his lack of sleep. The entrance to the cityscape attracts a lot of her amber gaze, and the atomosphere itself makes Ayako frown softly from time to time as well as shiver lightly. The feeling of a witch (not the type she's dressed as) makes her uneasy for some reason.

    Homura's words startle her out of her trance and she nods her head slowly. "If... if there's something to deal with barriers... Umm... I... I can try to take a look at it." Ayako smiles a bit unsteadily.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is presented with a problem. Spending some time away from it hasn't really helped her think things through, though that may be related to what she'd been up to while away being as massively distracting as anything in the last several years could have been. She has not been okay. Fortunately, there is work to do. She can now distract herself from the distraction, and this has given her the chance to regain her calm.

    "I will... check on Mizushima-san, yes." She turns to glance at Eleanor, nodding slightly. "We were moved. The defensive action worked, but--not exactly as... expected."

    It doesn't seem that Kimiko wants to speculate any more before beginning to move, as she is already moving, though casually enough at speed that she'll be easy to stop or follow. In a few moments, though, she'll be off in the direction Miki's most likely to be, based on what they saw last time.

    She is not particularly paying attention to anything else, though she is looking carefully over the rooftops and toward the horizon.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Hn."

    Homura considers.

    "Mizuki, could you go with Ayako to the docks? There is a protective spell surrounding a Witch Barrier. If you could reinforce it, or lock it in time, or some other manner of making it more effective, that could buy us time. If you can get a lock on the magic and figure out where the caster went, that would be useful too."

    Then she grabs Psyber by the jacket.

    "We're going to draw out the third magical girl and talk to her. Kimiko and Eleanor, you already know where you're going. This shouldn't be a long stay, but try to keep track of how many hours pass so we don't forget."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would practically jump when she hears Homura say her name. She hesitates a moment before turning, but nods with a sort of shocked fervor as the puella makes her request. "A-Ah? Yes. I'll do what I can. I'm... n-not the most adept at picking out and following other magical signatures, what with how different my own is from all others I've encountered, but I believe I could reinforce the barrier. Yes." She would nod to herself. "Yes." Her nervousness is abundantly clear through the quivering in her voice, but that's part of what her wings are for: running away. She would dust off almost immediately, putting herself further from the group and closer to her objective but still remaining within earshot of Ayako, whom she would wave over. "Would you perhaps be any more knowledgeable of how to track other magical signatures Miss Haseka -- er, Ayako?"

    Something is seriously weird about her today. A socially inept clam could probably tell.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako shivers again. Ungh. She reaches up, takes off her hat and rummages around in it for a while... taking her broom out-collapsed. The broom is then quickly used to dust herself off, as if she's trying to clean the bad atmosphere off of her clothing.

    She nods her head once quickly to Homura once she asks her and Mizuki to head off to the docks. "Oh. Of course!" Ayako flicks her broom out to uncollapse it and quickly hops onto it sidesaddle to ride on it. "I'll give it my best shot!" She smiles softly at Mizuki, "Are you alright, Mizuki? You seem really... jumpy tonight?" When Mizuki dusts off immediately, a puff of mist is expelled from the brush of Ayako's broom as she tails Mizuki.

    "Hmm? Well... I can sense magic, yes. Tracking it... no idea. That sort of thing is a case-by-case thing. Different barriers do different things, after all." Ayako smiles awkwardly as she scratches at her hair underneath her hat with a pointer finger. And then she flies a bit closer to Mizuki to look her over carefully-as if she's trying to physically see if anything is wrong with her.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Whether Homura needed Psyber for a measure of emotional stability, or if she was grabbing him to prevent him from further withdrawing from contact with people, it is unclear. That was totally his plan by playing Sniper, though, and she has dealt with it handily by grabbing him by the jacket.

    "Ah, right. Yeah, you got it," Psyber says to Homura when the jacket is grabbed, "I've got your back. We'll find her," The half-angel nods his head a few times, looking at the Puella with a handhold on his jacket, "You wanna fly or walk?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    MIZUSHIMA awakened thirty relative seconds ago on a nearby rooftop. Kimiko and Eleanor will know it because they left her there when Kimiko was defending her. It will take several minutes of leaping between rooftops to get to her, but it should be just fine to reach. She appears to be be mildly distressed and extremely confused, looking around without having gotten up yet. Easy to approach, though!

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Fly. I only know one way to lure out a Puella Magi, and I don't feel like beating around the bush." Homura hops over the railing nonchalantly. The black cracks that spread from her back keep her afloat like wings, spreading out awkwardly and fissuring the fabric of the Node the same way they would anywhere else. She is heading towards the roof of the school, where she will land if they don't get intercepted first.

    Those corrupted wings should be enough to get the attention of any nearby Puella Magi, though they'll disappear by the time she's landed. She kind of has to hope she doesn't end up with the wrong target, but she can just ask THEM to fetch Chiyo if it comes down to it.

    Maybe Jude and Claire can boost the signal if it's needed. Or they can try something else if it doesn't work. In retrospect she should have asked the others how they managed luring Miki out.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Mizuki's Abstractum speaks up from her side. "There were a few things that happened a couple days ago. Don't worry, she'll be OK soon! She's just a little shaken up, I think she'll be feeling better soon." Equinox is Mizuki's little pocketwatch, and the cover claps open and closed as it speaks with a ticking noise. "Just, you know, give her a little space, and a little time!"

    The DOCKS where the warehouses are have a few panicky civs as completely background dressing. Do not pay attention to them, even spiritually they show up as null signatures. They're fussy because a boat was just sliced in half by the giant magical barrier enclosing the city, so they'll be giving the pair plenty of space when heading to the relevant warehouse, wherein they'll find a large collection of debris already heavily damaged by something that happened in here. They'll also be able to see what looks like a large mountain lion made out of obsidian spikes pacing a circle in the warehouse, as if it were in a cage. Presumably thw Witch Barrier is also present in the center here, but Homura isn't here to open it.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko makes her way in her usual leaps across the rooftops, and considers how to begin. Fortunately, she a fall-back point for beginning any conversation. She can be polite.

    "Good afternoon," are her first words on reaching a suitably close distance to Miki. "I understand that it is now July 10th." She pauses. "Again." Another pause. "Are you... uninjured?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber summons his own black wings out, "Right. I'll be on your six, then," The half-angel says to Homura.

    He'll take off right after she takes off, Adjudicator still across his back as he flies along. He wants to give enough height and distance to make Homura draw attention. He banks in the air and tries to keep an eye out down below.

    "Be careful for shots coming from the ground, Homura. They might try to snipe you off rather than engage you directly."

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor lands evenly next to Kimiko and smiles, fluffing her dress back down into place with a huff and a puff. "Bother, how do you do this all the time, Kimiko. Hello, Miss Mizushima. Ah, we were hoping you would have recovered after the events of the other day."
    Well it was just two days ahead of them now, which is technically An Other Day.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would begin opening her mouth to answer Ayako, only to have Equinox speak up for her. She gives a small sigh of relief, nodding in agreement. "Yes. Just... some time. Such a funny thing for a watch to be saying, or I, but alas." She might sneak a playful flick at her Abstractum's side here, though, too. "... and don't think I didn't catch that. 'Space and time'. I didn't know that you came with a built in sense of humor." She's smiling, which is pretty much the best unspoken gesture of approval that she could ever give the little timepiece. Apart from saying as much out loud, of course.

    As they reach the interior of the warehouse, though, Mizuki would summon her sword, perhaps even laying her free arm out flat to prevent Ayako from stepping forward. "Stop." She would take a deep breath. "... I recall this feeling from when I took part in D's rescue effort. There may be something here that we cannot see, and if we stumble into it like buffoons it will be quite a grave thing. I might suggest that this creature is currently the victim of a witch's haunt or some such also, which could distract it... or just make it ever the more violent. I'm sure I do not need to tell you to keep on your guard." With this she would gently advance, keeping her eyes trained on that obsidian beast. She would be ready for it, specifically, if it were to charge her, but probably pretty oblivious if something came from behind.

    She might pull Equinox out of her pocket again for a quick consultation. "Equinox? I don't suppose you're sensitive enough to space time to locate the exact location of the barrier? Or failing that, might we be able to tell as much working together?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako looks over at Equinox as... it's cover claps like a mouth. And then speaks with a ticking noise. She gets... -that- look in her eyes. "C-cuuute!" She giggles brightly. "But... Un! Of course." A soft smile is given to Mizuki.

    And then they arrive at their destination. Even though the civs are null signatures, Ayako does look worried at them. If she wasn't already doing something, she would go see about helping them. But! First things, first!

    A careful, circling descent follows, as Ayako looks around the warehouse. "Well... something already chewed a hole here..." She peeks into the warehouse and- "Eep... Spikey lion... Hmm... any ideas, Mizuki?" She blushes lightly and glances away. "Being sneaky isn't exactly my forte."

    Ayako does stop when Mizuki tells her to keep from stepping forward. "A-ahh... a trap... huh?" She grips the handle of her broomstick and then glances around with her amber gaze as she tries to sense anything out of the ordinary.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Homura and Psyber take to the skies! Homura is giving off the trace magical signature of a witch! It looks like it was heavy and important enough to attract attention. Psyber and Homura, when they approach the rooftop of CYCLES MIDDLE SCHOOL, will get a good look at not one but two magical girls there! The first is easy for Homura to recognize, the red-haired, blunt cudgel of a girl called Mio Takenaka. She has a dangerous, cautious posture. Oh shit, that's right! She won't know Homura this time, will she?

    She's already summoned up her magical girl outfit, the vaguely 30's-esque magical mob hitgirl styled outfit. There's a crowbar in one hand and a bat wrapped in barbed wire in the other, both held at the ready. There's another girl here, though, with a long, princessy styling to her blue hair, and a generally much more shy demeanor. She's still in her school uniform, though, it seems. This must be Chiyo Yamauchi. Chiyo is keeping her distance, though Mio isn't. Homura isn't tuned to the same telepathic frequency as is used by these particular Magical Girls and their Incubator, but she can tell that they're calling out, in some capacity, to MIKI PRIME as well. Seems witches are a big deal around here.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I think I tripped that wire a bit too hard," Homura idly complains to Psyber as they land, before she raises her hands in a manner as to show she is unarmed and putting them where they can be seen at all times.

    "Takenaka Mio. Yamauchi Chiyo. And I assume that Mizushima Miki is coming as well now?" Well, she was never a people person, or someone for greetings. "We are from another town like this one. You have noticed the anomaly isolating this place from the rest of the world, correct? The damage to the docks must have made the news already." Not quite every day a boat gets cleanly bisected, and all.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The travel time to the WITCH BARRIER took some time, as did attracting the Magical Girls' attention. The conversation with Miki WILL EVENTUALLY last some time as well. This will put your current time to EVENING of JULY 10th.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Miki practically jumps out of her skin with Kimiko and Eleanor show up. She's cautious, but one can tell she's using her most basic magical spells for a moment. Soul Gems here must have a built-in clock. Let's be honest, Soul Gems everywhere probably do.

    "...You're right. I..." She starts. "Alright. I guess that probes you were right. About the time loop." She glances around, nervously. Kimiko asking about her potential injuries gets her close enough to see that the single pixel of Reload that brushed her cheek appears to have left a scarring cut of sorts. "My gem's fine. But--" She starts, and then seems to strain for a moment. She's trying to use basic self-healing spells... And they're not working. She seems really unsettled by that.

    "It... Should only have been a few minutes ago." She says, with a strained sort of tone. She seems to be having a hard time pushing through her own caution, but Kimiko and Eleanor selflessly acting as her saviors seems to have eased that up a little. "Alright. So you're right." She takes a deep breath. "What can I do to help stop this, then?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Jude, gimme enough Strike Drivers to kick up a ton of wind and dust when I land, but I don't want to damage the building. Can you do that for me? The usual glowing winds and really theatrical bullshit we get when we're about to attack," Psyber asks to Adjudicator, continuing his quest to use Strike Drivers in weird ways. When all you have is a hammer, every problem is a concrete wall that needs a sledgehammer, right?

    Either way, right after Homura lands, Psyber slams down next to her, spreading his wings wide as he shouts, "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.'"

    Psyber is mostly trying to subert aggression with teenage girl fangushing awe of a bishounen angel. Homura may take this moment to be deeply embarassed.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko glances toward Eleanor, likely for assistance, but she still has something to say on her own, as well. "I'd think... our goal should be to destroy the Witch. Its ability makes this difficult." She takes a few steps casually closer, mostly to see that scar. Understanding what Miki's trying to do, and that she can't, is unsettling, but Kimiko's expression and tone betray none of that. "You can talk to your friends for us. They won't remember what just happened."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Mizuki's approval of the watch's humor draws out some genuine happiness from the ticky little timepiece and its chain seems to take an encouraged posture. And then they're inside! And there's a request. "Leave it to me! In everything about time and space, I can help out." Mizuki will suddenly find herself granted a quick mental interface allowing her to channel her powers through the blue-type's Resonance to probe at local space.

    If she pushes forward with it, a soft blue flame will emerge from the watch, surrounding the cage around the barrier and "illuminating" it. It's a perfectly hemispherical barrier, without gaps. Though there's the start of some cracking and damage in the barrier itself. How did this happen? Well, the Witch's Familiar, as soon as it sees Mizuki and Ayako, does charge! And rams headfirst into the barrier, battering itself against the shield to try to claw at them. It seems to be doing so with such gusto that it's actually damaging itself.

    Mizuki will be able to tell that this is a SPACE-MAGIC barrier of some sort. Ayako, for her part, will be able to tell that there actually /were/ magical traps here, a long time ago, but that things repeatedly escaping from the room have collectively damaged or destroyed all of them beyond any type of threat.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    If there's one thing Eleanor's good at, it's raising morale and also making tea. But right now it's morale without the tea. She steps up behind Kimiko, slightly taller than the armored girl, and smiles. "Sadly, that's the nature of a loop. Trapped without the knowledge of what lies outside. A terrible fate, really."
    A glance to the scar though, and Eleanor murmurs a bit. "Here, let me help with that." She holds out a hand and smiles. "I mean, if you'll let me, while Kimiko explains things."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blinks her eyes slowly as she glances about the inside of the warehouse from behind Mizuki. "Huh... Eep!" The spikey obsidian lion charges at them both! And is stopped by the shield. Again. And then again. "It... certainly doesn't give up..."

    As Mizuki and Equinox do their thing, Ayako glances about slowly. "Huh... lots of spent magical traps... wait... does that mean other things have escaped out of that barrier before we got here? Or..."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki's eyes would widen at the appearing spectral fire, and even more at the pattern they trace in the world around her. She would bat her lashes in some modest expression of astonishment. "... hmm." There's a quick glance down to Equinox and yet another smirk. If -that's- the sort of reaction she'll get, then maybe she should compliment her Abstractum more often, huh? "Very impressive, Equinox. I'll admit I hadn't expected anything even approaching the depth of analysis all this constitutes." She would lower her sword now, approaching the beast a bit more casually than before. Not too casually, of course, and not in a way that would provoke it intentionally, but enough for her to get a closer look at the barrier... and maybe to show off for Ayako, but that aside!

    She would lean forward slightly. "I see now." She would nod her head. "It's trapped. As we were told, there's a barrier here -- one that's invisible to the naked eye, but it's most certainly keeping this beast," She would indicate the obsidian monstrosity with her right index finger, "from getting out. Along with however many others their may be in its unholy entourage." A black-white sphere would begin to rise in her hand, but she would glance back to Ayako before utilizing it. "I... don't suppose you have any way of pacifying a monster of this one's ilk? Any sort of magic that would accomplish such a thing? I... suppose music might suffice as well. Anything is worth an attempt. Ah, but. Anyway." She would hold out her hand. "I am going to do as I was asked to and prolong this barrier's lifespan. I will attempt to place a more permanent stasis upon this area. Equinox? I will be counting on your support, of course."

    At this point she would release the stilling sphere, unleashing it upon what she recognizes as the focal point of the shield. Assuming Ayako doesn't find her way of calming the angry thing within, she would attempt to freeze it in time as well, focusing and compressing space and time until she is quite certain that it will last. Until the end of the cycle? Until some time an hour from now? She never really knows for sure, but faith has always been a part of her game. During the process, she would give another glimpse back at Ayako.

    "Hmm? There -are- traps present, and they've been used? Curious. I don't believe it should have been possible for anything to escape through this... unless the barrier has already been reconstructed a few times. Or if something had been approaching from the outside, I suppose, but that would be a good bit more ominous if it were the case."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    MIKI PRIME arrives; a blonde with a yellow-themed mage outfit. With a staff in her hands, she's similarly prepared, though Chiyo still isn't. Miki has her staff up, and star-patterned spellcircles swirl around it, while Mio's barbed wire seems to clench around the bat more firmly. The entrance was grandiose, certainly, but... "Yeah." Mio spits. "We know about the barrier, we've been freaking about it the last hour. What the hell do you think you're doing? Good news? How's this good news?" Psyber's entry went exactly as expected, though the burning light at his feet when he landed might have left a bit of a weird footprint in the concrete of the rooftop.

    It would appear their entry with such focus on the barrier and such awareness of the people here has cast them as potentially the cause, or at least that's the first impression. "I dunno where the hell you got all the magic to pull that off, but you'd better fix it." Mio barks again.

    Chiyo's the one who speaks up, with a lot more dignity and grace. "Mio, please, just a moment." She slips forward and speaks directly to Psyber and Homura. "We don't understand what's going on right now. You seem to come in peace, and you say you mean well. We'll accept that for now. Did you establish the barrier, or...?" She tilts her head, curiously. She seems incredibly reasonable about this.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Oh hey that... worked. Somehow.
    No, it's more like it half-worked. Good enough.

    "Thank... you for the show, Psyber."

    Right, then, let's address them.

    "We didn't do it, no. We're here to fix it. Along with the Witch situation at the docks. But unfortunately, we're dry on leads. That sort of magic would require an especially powerful wish, or... something else. That is why I wished to speak with you. About your fourth member, and about you three in general. Why don't we all sit down and go over everything we know?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako quietly watches Mizuki and smiles brightly as she shows off. As an audience, Ayako is excellent! "Un. And it seems to be doing so quite well-as well as violently." She smiles softly and shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't have any way of pacifying something like this." Her amber eyes blink slowly when Mizuki brings up music. "While I could try to sing it to sleep, I seriously doubt it would do much of anything. I don't exactly have magical songs." She giggles brightly.

    Still... what are with these spent and destroyed magical traps? Ayako floats over to one of the destroyed magical traps and tries to figure out what sort of thing destroyed it as Mizuki goes to work.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The MIKI BETA nods firmly. "Right." She says. "That's the problem." She looks... Huh. She looks kind of conflicted. KIMIKO and ELEANOR have achieved a PLOT BYPASS! It would seem their actions have cut through a potential deception. "I didn't tell you everything before. I'm... Sorry, I was needing to be careful." She takes a firmer, determined look. "But, okay, I'm realizing how bad it is now. I know that witch. Chiyo said they were dealt with. We thought she was already as dealt with as we were... Willing to deal with her." She looks away, uncertainly, uneasily.

    "She wasn't so... Big, before. I'm not sure how it happened." She's still very cautious about all this, and it's likely she's still holding back on some parts of this. "She wasn't going this far before. I'm not sure how to deal with her now. We need to figure this out carefully." The hand gets an unsettled look but she nods. "Alright. Thanks."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I don't know," Psyber says to Mio in a bland tone, "Can anything be considered truly good news? All opinions are inherently divisive and all news has a degree of polarization that will cause unhappiness in some party or another. Nothing is ever truly good, it's all just a lighter shade of grey that occasionally borders on reaching true light or dark," He stares at the mafia-themed magical girl with the kind of thousand yard stare you see from someone who has been in a battle just a bit too long.

    "I could point out that my presence means you have allies and help against the incoming disasters that will plague your world, but even being the herald of such good news as alliances and backup forces, you will adopt a stance of hostility and aggression, letting mistrust tarnish our first meeting," Psyber continues to stare at Mio blankly, his hands in his pockets as his wings slowly vanish from manifestation, "And an action which will leave a note of maliciousness on whatever friendship or alliance may form."

    He looks over to Chiyo after this and says, "It is as Homura has said. We are here to fix the problems which plague this world and which have been causing such a distressing scenario. I am Psyber, a simple investigator with a robust suite of combat specializations that allow me to apply certain leverages and aid where I can."

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor just listens to the Magi, nodding her head thoughtfully, before doing the most Mom Thing Ever. She licks her thumb, and tries to smudge off that scar on Miki's cheek.

    Of course there's a bit of ADAM on that thumb now, which should help if it can. Temporal-based damage can be hard to get rid of permanently, though.

    "I... I see. Do you know why Chiyo would want to decieve you in this manner?"

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Equinox seems to passively respond well to praise. Meanwhile, the obsidian lion appears to be slamming a gap through the barrier, but it's also tearing portions of its body off to try to cram through it. And it does, Equinox shines a bright blue. "Right! I'll have the Drivers spun up." As it softly burns, it provides another brute-force magical boost to Mizuki, leaving her with a surplus of extra power to work with. Casting stasis on the field will sort of work. As before, the Demons seem to buffer this world against time magic. However, strangely, she can feel the Demonic buffering seem to processes it, slowly, and then accept it, letting it pass. How DOES that work? It is a mystery. When she stops it in place -- this will last some time, but how long is difficult to tell -- the lion is already getting half of its head through a crack that's trying to regenerate, and has torn away half its face in the process. It's completely frozen now, though! Just twitching, ever so slightly.

    The ancient magical traps are shattered shards of spellcircles layed all over the ground. There's also a lot of barbed wire strewn about from the incidents, but the jagged tips are worn down to bluntness from the passage of creatures. Strange!

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako eeps softly when she notes the lion doing whatever it takes to get out of the barrier. And then sighs with relief when Mizuki traps the lion in stasis and reinforces the barrier. "Yay! That was wonderful, both of you!" She claps her hands together cheerfully.

    Her gaze goes right back to the destroyed trap she's looking at. Sadly, she's not familiar with Puella Magi spell circles so to her, they're just normal spell circles. The barbed wire does make Ayako blink her eyes slowly, though. "Barbed wire? That's pretty... straightforward. Almost an afterthought."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Chiyo flinches a bit. "The..." She gulps. The dignified diplomat thing is clearly just a cover over a much more nervous, shy sort. "The witch situation at the docks is something we're aware of. It's addressed, as much as we can." Miki Prime and Chiyo are clearly conversing heavily in telepathic freqencies, as Homura can just barely detect and Psyber can see from their eyes glancing back and forth to each other.

    Miki's the one who speaks up next. "Listen, I'd like to help, but we don't actually know anything about you and what's happening right now. We felt a lot of witch coming from you. We're not committing to anything until we know more. You can ask us what you need to know or tell us what you want to tell us but we're not going to commit here." But her staff DOES calm its spellcircle down. They're not itching for a fight anymore. At least, Miki and Chiyo aren't raring for a fight.

    Mio seems a little more confrontational. "'Incoming disasters'? 'Problems plaguing the world'?" It looks like Mio remains unaware of the danger, except for what Psyber tells her. "Look, angel guy, I've only seen Demons around here and they sure as hell aren't friendly, so you showing up now talking about problems plaguing the world isn't gonna get me suddenly being friendly. I'm sorry if you're just here to be helpful but that's how things are."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    If Mizuki were able to produce sweatdrops, she would be doing so right now. Someone... clapping? For her? This is precisely the sort of thing she should probably be expecting from the little water spirit, but even so, it's a bit jarring. She's gone from making herself feel an effectual outcast to feeling like the center of attention in someone else's tale, and... in all truth, she's actually not at all happy about this. The smile that Ayako brings to her face would fade rather quickly in favor of a more austere look as she begins to follow this line of thought, and she would promptly put away her sword. "It was a trifling thing." She would say in an almost sullen tone. Quickly, she would add, "We might be well served to think of other ways we can contribute whilst the others do as they do."

    She's not upset at her, and she's no less happy than she was before, but after what happened a few days ago it feels... wrong. If anyone should be getting this sort of treatment, it would be those who actually suffered for whatever it is she had done. The more she frames things this way, the more cloistered she seems to become, until both her countenance and her lips alike fall deathly silent. With only one, rather sharp utterance of the word 'Come,' her wings would beat, and she would hover off of the ground. She has no idea where she might be going, but she's eager to -move-. In the meanwhile, though, she might at least clarify her destination with the others over the radio.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks at Mio. Then slowly looks over at Homura. The look on his face is almost clearly readable as 'How did you manage to put up with this shit over a hundred times?'. Because this is only his fifth or sixth and he already wants to start choking magical girls with his bare hands.

    +1 Respect for Homura's Psychological Endurance

    He then looks back over to Mio and corrects her, "Psyber. People call me Psyber." He blinks a couple times and then says, "I will help in whatever means are necessary and will leave further explanation and exposition to Homura. I do, however, believe an alliance would be in the best interest of all."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I'm at the end of my rope. I will feel like this until I fix myself or pass on. I intend to do the former soon, but if you need an explanation, then there you go," Homura answers, avoiding too direct an answer until she knows whether or not these three know about the link between magical girls and Witches. She'll let Psyber defend himself, if he's so inclined; instead, she's going to press into Chiyo.

    "That situation is not addressed. The Witch is beating against its cage. Which of you set that up? Its Familiars occasionally break through. It is a matter of days at best before it surges out, and it reads like a Witch of sufficient size to attack the city itself. You must have noticed, as well, that it is causing the Demons to act strangely."

    Homura's eyes stare down Chiyo. She's trying to read her; how much of what she's saying is a lie, how much she's trying to dodge the questions.

    "What about your fourth? Puella Magi do not simply disappear overnight. I do not typically believe in coincidences. If you truly wish to protect this city, you owe it to yourselves to be honest to us."

    An idle glance at Psyber results in a shrug.
    It is hard to put into words how she did this.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Miki gives a firm look to Eleanor. "She wouldn't. Something's messing up here, but Chiyo doesn't lie to us." She says, with a rock-solid kind of faith. The ADAM slips in and removes the scar... Sort of. It's less a scar and more a place where her essential existence has been altered to include a wound, so it does cover, but it's not, strictly speaking, healing, more like cosmetic prosthesis.

    "I know I wasn't telling you the whole truth before, but we don't like to /each other/, I know that for sure." She nods harshly there, but then softens her defensiveness a bit more again. "...Thank you." A hand goes to her cheek and she slips her fingers over where she can feel the foreign pluripotent substance.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would give Ayako a lingering look. "I will see you upon our arrival, then." With that, she would give a small bow, slipping out of the area as fast as she is able. Afterwards, she would follow in the direction Homura and the rest had gone at the journey's inception, hopefully leading her to the same location as the aforementioned. She would be careful to make her wings dissapear before heading on so as not to startle the other puellae.

    If it bears mentioning, she's come in her borrowed Mitakihara Uniform again today, so she should blend in fairly well.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor's smile softens, before she straightens up a bit. "You're quite welcome. You might say I have... experience with this. Dealing with young ladies such as yourself." She looks over her shoulder at Kimiko, before murmuring some words into her radio.
    Then she's dusting off her dress again. "I think it's time we go and have a talk with some friends of ours, though... meeeting yourself might get awkward. How best to handle this..."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako takes one more look around the warehouse... and then directs her broomstick back out. She lost track of Mizuki quickly! Aww... and she wanted to give her a hug too. Oh well. Err... wait. She lost track of Mizuki! Ayako tends to get lost easily! After a brief moment of panic, she floats her way back to where everyone was gathered when they entered the city. After a few minutes of careful thought, she then makes her way over towards Homura and Psyber are.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Examination of the evidence at the sealing area complete, and the reinforcement complete, the group heads towards HOMURA and PSYBER. This will take another amount of time; negotiations at Homura and Psyber are already stretching into the night, putting this to late evening. By the time they get there, it'll be MIDNIGHT of JULY 10TH. They'll arrive about when Homura and Psyber manage to get to this stage of things...

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko just looks slightly confused for a bit, then holds up one finger in the commonly understood 'wait a moment' gesture, while holding two fingers to her ear, similarly 'I'm on a call.' She... nods.

    "I would still like you to help us convince your friends to help--though if your friend is hiding something important from you, that may be difficult. Un... fortunately, perhaps, the situation has gotten more complicated."

    Kimiko is not the type to hide things. "Our friends are speaking to your friends. 'Mizushima Miki' is with your friends. That 'Mizushima Miki' is unaware of the time loop, as you had been unaware. Speaking to them now might," fumbling a bit, "surprise them."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Psyber, fine. Look, you're on my territory and I already don't like that. You're hanging out with someone who smells like a witch and I like that a lot less. Chiyo is the only reason I'm gonna give you the time of day, and I think that's not a bad way of thinking. So, sorry if you're a great guy, but I'm not gonna like you /right now/, because that sounds like the short walk to getting blackgemmed hard." She glances to Chiyo, who appears to be the leader of the group.

    "Ah, you are... You have one of those too?" She tilts her head at something Homura said. There's a bit of recognition there, but of what? What did Homura trip there? It's not clear. "The barrier that's there, I examined it myself." She knows better, at least, than to clarify whether she set it up or not. Homura can tell from the way she's glancing at Miki that Miki has her cautiously providing as little data as possible. "The witch that was put inside, her level of power couldn't possibly have been enough to break it open in anything less than a matter of years."

    The trio look between each other when the question's asked about the fourth Puella Magi. "She'll be back eventually. We know that." Miki speaks up. "Not soon. She disappeared, but she does that sometimes." There's a discomforted, disquieted look between the three. "She always comes back eventually." 'Disappear' might have a different meaning here...?

    Something about the abstraction of conversation here makes the time fly. It's currently around MIDNIGHT of JULY 10th.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Wait." Miki Beta looks confused, and then comprehending with a vague sort of distress. "Another /me/." She looks frustrated and stressed for a moment, like this is another notch towards 'overwhelmed'. "This is going to be a problem." She declares definitively. Then she nods. "We had a run-in with..." Sigh. "We had a run-in with a Doppleganger Witch one time, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to talk to them. Takenaka will probably just try to kill me, even if I'm not the construction-paper copy this time." With a frustrated sort of gesture, she moves the subject. "I can still help though. We need to deal with this." She contemplates. "Okay, how do you want me to help? I can try to run them down while they're split up, or I can try to help you out with the... Timeline of things, I guess." She says the word as if it makes her feel silly.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I have one of those what?" That's way too vague. Abstractum? Soul Gem? Weird Witch powers? Stunning and sparkling hair style? Now she's curious about what that meant, although quickly returns to poking at facts. "And no. The barrier won't hold. It was an interesting try, and certainly a way to avoid killing a Witch. But go look yourself if you don't believe me. It's cracking, it's failing, and by tomorrow that district will be full of Familiars. By two or three days from now, if our reinforcements failed, the Witch will break free."

    Homura produces pictures, taken with her smartphone glasses last time. Assuming those saved properly, anyway. Pictures of the Witch big enough to be a threat.

    "But I should precise I do not think the barrier plan was a bad idea in itself. Perhaps your calculations were even accurate. But something happened in there and it's allowed it to grow."

    Then the matter of the fourth. "Disappears how? Don't you find that suspicious?"

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor smiles at Miki, and moves to sit down. "That, I think, is something we can do. Now that you're... out of the timeline, so to speak, the most important thing we can get is a good record of what happens here."

    A glance over in the direction of the warehouse, and the Sister murmurs. "Why don't you start off with the docks and that awful sensation over there where the witch showed up. Did you three have anything to do over there before the witch came into play the last time?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I'm not asking you to like me, in the end. Your choice is your own to make," Psyber says in a deflective and somewhat detached tone. Probably avoiding getting too attached to this iteration of Mio. He'll get a chance to restart later and make a better impression or something.

    "Make sure you don't die and that's the best advice I'll give you," He looks over to Homura when they mention a disappearing fourth. He lets out a scowl and then asks, "Does she have a name? Your missing fourth, I mean."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko nods. She lets Eleanor talk first, but adds on with an entirely different topic. "You mentioned a Demon that spoke English. It might have something to do with why the Demons attacked the Witch. If you can show us where you found it, we might be able to find it again."

    She looks a bit uncomfortable when she continues, "There is another matter, that we should... clear up, ahead of time. If the Witch breaks out again, and the loop resets... It didn't hurt me, nor anyone who came into the city with us. We don't seem to be in danger, but it will probably kill you. The surest way to avoid that is to leave the city, but you could only leave the way /we/ came in. I can't... guarantee that there won't be more complications because of that."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would appear behind Homura, arms folded in front of herself, eyes trained on Miki. "For whatever the words of a stranger may be worth," She would lower her gaze slightly, a bit stiffly, "I can corroborate what she has said. It was not of weak construction, but it allowed familiars to come through from the barrier into the isolated space of this world that it enclosed. This allowed them to slowly creep out and whittle away at the barrier's endurance." She gives a moment of pause. "I've just returned from a trip to check on the barrier. It did in fact have several structural weaknesses -- cracks, as she described. I attempted to remedy this with some of my own magic, but I cannot say how long it will hold. I do not mean to criticize you, but I do mean to make you aware of the true confines of the time you're being allotted by the circumstances."

    Ah, but she forgot her introductions, didn't she? Well. "Ah, but you'll pardon my rudeness. I am Mizuki, another individual looking into these matters. I hope that you'll pardon my intrusion into your affairs in the interest of a quick, efficient solution to the problems that we are collectively facing."

    She remains extremely businesslike and composed throughout her explanation. Again, she might come off as a bit Incubator-ish. Nathan might be rubbing off on her a little.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako has a tendancy to get lost in areas she isn't familiar with. It's a sad but true fact! And so it actually takes a good amount of time from the time she left the warehouse to find the place where Homura and Psyber are at. Still, she arrives. It took her a while to get there, though!

    She can't really make an entrance like Mizuki, but she flies overhead and drops off of her broomstick. On the way down she grabs her broomstick and spins it rapidly in her right hand like a helicopter blade. Ayako floats gently down and lands next to Psyber. She curtsies gracefully towards Chiyo, Miki, and Mio. "Good evening! I'm Ayako Hasekawa! I'm also looking into this so that people don't get hurt!"

    Where Mizuki is being businesslike and composed, Ayako is being friendly and excitable. Then again, that's just the way Ayako always is.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Homura's questioning about what she has... Oddly gets them more defensive. Chiyo doesn't show it blatantly, but it's clear she's straining to be polite. "I think it's best if we actually don't talk about that, then. If it's relevant, you already know, but it's not." She looks in the distance, frowning. "I'll go to look at it tomorrow. The others still need to do their hunting later, so it'll be a while. But I'll look into it, at least. I'm confident I calcuated right, though."

    The talk about disappearing. "Q asked the same damn questions." Mio speaks up, unpleasantly. "She'll be fine. We just have to give her time to bounce back here, same as it always goes. The more we don't give her her space, the worse stuff gets." She narrows her eyes for a moment. "But it's not 'suspicious'. She knows what she's doing." Psyber then gets a quirk of the eyebrow. "Oh, know all our names but not that one? Fine. Takenaka Sakae." Sisters? She slings he bat over one shoulder and drops her crowbar down to the ground, where it slips into a spellcircle and disappears.

    Chiyo turns and gives a curious look to the pair of Mizuki and Ayako. Much more traditional magical girl. "Odd. That shouldn't be the case. Without people to increase its power, it shouldn't be making familiars like that in isolation for a very long time." She frowns. "Well. Thank you for reinforcing it, and helping, Mizuki, Ayako. I'll look at your work, and the barrier, when I go over there." Noticably, once more, she avoids commenting on whether or not she actually was the one to /make/ the barrier. She's not even shown off her magical girl outfit! Very reclusive about this.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    The dodging is really starting to annoy Homura. Granted she doesn't have the highest tolerance treshold for that. She's never minded being dodgy with people, but when people do it to her it's always a red flag. 'Takes one to know one' and all that.

    "Everything is relevant and worth discussing," is her first answer, before she crosses her arms and sighs. "But if you are not willing to speak right now, perhaps you will be after you've seen the Witch. I have a guess, on what is allowing it to grow in power without requiring food or aid. It is called a Pure. Perhaps you have heard of them already?"

    Sisters, though... huh. She doesn't really know what to make of the fourth and her tendency to 'disappear' and 'require space'. The terms being used just sound like they're trying to cover something up.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would nod to Chiyo. "It's nothing to thank us for, but you are welcome." She would offer a brief bow of her head. "Though, do let us know if there's ever anything we may do to help. Or, otherwise," She would give her an earnest look, making absolutely certain their eyes meet, "a way in which we may prove ourselves worthy of your trust." Yep, she noticed her apprehension. She's not going to press anything, but she did want to see if she might have anything to say in response. Why? Well, in the words of some wise sage, the 'best way to get your questions answered is to ask directly'. Playing the coy and mysterious game works in some cases, but in this specific one she's more inclined to try learning what she wants to learn by earning their honesty. Sure, it may be funny to start trying this with people who are (1) part of a glorified game and (2) pretty much doomed to have their memories blanked anyway, but you've gotta start somewhere.

    Beyond this, she would listen and play catchup for a while. She got the gist by listening in on the radio, but now would be a good time to brush up on specifics.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako nods her head quickly. "A spikey black lion almost got through if Mizuki didn't stop it." She reaches up to adjust her witch hat... and then nods her head once. "There were all sorts of traps around the barrier too, but... well... they all look used up or blown up." Her amber eyes blink slowly, "Up. Up." And then Ayako shakes her head quickly. "Sorry! But to be honest? This city makes me feel all... icky." After a brief moment to think. "It's probably making everyone feel a little irritable too, huh..."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Miki seems to contemplate something for a long time. "Whether or not I get through this isn't the important thing." She says, eventually. "I'm not going to put things at risk just to survive. I appreciate that you helped but," She takes a firmer stance. "I'm going to stay, and do what I can to keep this from happening." Then she looks at Eleanor. "The last time... Well, it would have been a few days before now. But there was a small, mid-level witch that Chiyo said she would take care of over there. It was something I thought was dealt with. And we went back to business as usual. That's really it, and you saw what happened after." Then she nods firmly at Kimiko. "Right. I almost forgot. The English-speaking Demon. He's marauding around the inland side. One of the stronger ones, but really short. Not a stealthy type, just head to the side of town opposite the docks and you'll find him." She looks conflicted. "Unless you don't get there by the evening on the 11th. I think that's probably when I kill him."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko nods. "I don't know what the risks are, but that is your choice." She doesn't disapprove, exactly. "If we're unable to stop the next reset--I will do what I can until then, and at that time. Though it will be too late to leave." And then she moves on from the topic.

    "I'm going to try to find this Demon. That's the best I can do at this point. The others are interested in... Takenaka Sakae, your missing member." Kimiko aims a slightly questioning look, "If you have anything more to supply in that area, it will help them better use their time. We'll pass it on."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Homura hits a wall. Mentioning the pure gets Miki into a much more harshly cautious posture. Mio's bat splinters as the barbed wire surges around its length and her eyes go a bit wide. Chiyo actually experiences a flash of rather intense fear.

    "Did Q tell you to find out about that!?" Mio says, harshly. "You tell that rat to keep his paws off my sister! I'm not gonna have her help that thing figure out whatever horrible thing he's after!" The barbed wire continues churning around the bat, and splinters of wood shed aggressively from its body. "It's her damn business, not his!" Well that seemed to step on a nerve. It looks like Homura did manage to catch something there... And there is a lead! Of sorts. Looks like they'll need to find Q if they want to follow up on that, though...

    "Mio!!" That's Chiyo, who's more scared and desperate than forceful. "Stop! Listen, we can't talk about this. I'm sorry, but it's nothing I can tell you about. It's not our right. It's hers." She makes placating gestures at Mio herself, and then turns to Ayako, trying to shift subjects. "That's... Unexpected. The Witch shouldn't have been ejecting familiars for months of development, definitely not any strong enough to tear out of there that way." She doesn't acknowledge the traps. mentioned.

    Miki looks conflictedly at Mizuki. "It's complicated. I can't just... Explain that sort of thing." At the very least, the mage-girl is still calm and respectful about this. "There's a lot of risk to telling you everything, and there's not much we get out of it that matters right now. The important thing, I guess, is showing that it's something you really need." She puts a hand on Mio's shoulder to try to get her to simmer down. "I'm sure even my friends wouldn't be distrusting if we understood all the real, full need for it. Okay?"

    It looks like this cycle may have more tension with the group, but at least the group is finding out easy ways to do-over on the next go around.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki nods to Chiyo, doing her best to remain calm to help the atmosphere stabilize after Mio's outburst. "I understand. It is likewise not my place to tell you what our lot may know, but I will not lie to myself or anyone else by saying that we do not have much we could give you in return. So long as we are given rights to safeguard our information, it is only right that you should be given yours. Until we are all prepared to make our exchanges, I would be completely satisfied so long as we maintain this degree of civility with one another." Mizuki would close her eyes, slowly letting her body incline into another bow. She would hold it a moment longer than normal. "Thank you for not discounting the possibility that we might one day have our own way of knowing."

    She would also make a modest attempt to placate Miki before holding her tongue. "I assure you that we are every bit as skeptical of the Incubator as you all are. I feel comfortable in disclosing that we learned of the Pure through other sources, though again I must leave whether to share what origin that data has to the others. Rest assured, though, that we've no intention of following along with any plan contrived by Q without our ample time to judge its merits, especially if it is one that involves undue harm to anyone relating to you." She could go on to say that they would only actually harm her sister or anyone else in their group as a last resort, but she doesn't for obvious reasons. She's probably not being very helpful here, but she hopes that she might facilitate more calm discussion anyway.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura remains calm; or perhaps the right expression is closer to 'dead inside'. If Mio wants to swing at her, she isn't about to adopt a stance that makes her look ready. But fortunately after some intense staredowns it seems to calm down-- or rather, the girls calm one another down to less violent levels.

    With a sigh, Homura shakes her head.

    "It is fine if you do not want to discuss it. But you should know that I have no love for Incubators and their deceptive methods. It isn't surprising objects like Pures would interest them. They're going to be interested in anything that might seem like it makes their jobs easier or harder. My interest in Pures is completely unrelated."

    She decides not to mention the part where they'll likely have to destroy it. But this has been pretty productive, if unintentional.

    "It's fine, though. Go check out the Witch. We'll look for more leads on our own and then speak with you again."