2190/Emperors of Time: Introduction

Emperors of Time: Introduction
Date of Scene:	08 May 2015
Location:	Midnight Shrine Tokyo <MST>
Synopsis:	There's a time distortion in Midnight Shrine Tokyo. A force of Union and Confederate Elites go to deal with a suspected Life Gear and run into more than they bargained for.
Cast of Characters:	11, 172, 560, 589, Sanary Rondel, 737

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Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Midnight Shrine Tokyo is a city rife with monsters, evil wizards, aliens, and extra terrestrial, or even extra-dimensional invaders. Magic is returning to the world at a level unseen for hundreds or even thousands of years. Beings who have long desired a way to return to Earth, or to go there for the first time, or simply to obtain great magical resources without any real interest in the world itself, all are competing amongst themselves while at the same time warring with the defenders of humanity: Magical girls.

    So far, the only magical girl that the outsiders who have been helping Miko have actually encountered was Miko herself, as Princess Paladin (and sometimes Midnight Shrine Maiden, but no one outside the Confederacy even knows Midnight and Miko are the same person. Largely because they can't kind of also aren't).

    It's evening for this mission. An enemy group that the Union and Confederate joint forces have run into once before is the target. One of the people who is going to be joining them has already mentioned they may be late. That's okay. Sometimes late assistance can be valuable. Not that Miko intends to run into a trap and get captured just so that Sanary can show up a surprise rescuer, but honestly it's something that happens sometimes in this line of work. Magic is a fickle thing. As often as coincidence and probability are altered to work against those who wield it, it also works to benefit them. Monsters from the Nether Realms, being Enemies of Magic, tend to get more of the coincidental mishaps than successes.

    Planning for coincidence, however, is REALLY not a good idea.

    Right now, everyone should already be gathered at a bus stop that will take the group discretely via mass transit to a more country-ish province in the mountains. Forests, no roads other than the one the bus will be driving on, etc. There have been rumors of people wandering into the woods and coming back out aged by decades, or reappearing several days later and thinking they were only in there for a few minutes.

    It's kind of hard to cover up or write off, and goes to a level of obvious supernatural activity that most Nether Realm monsters know not to engage in.

    It's also probably the work of the mysterious Time Magic users known as the Epoch Saints. Miko is dressed in hiking clothes. Beige shorts, a dark-grey top over a white undershirt, boots, and socks. She even has a backpack. The cover story is that they're going on a night hike up into the mountains to see the stars from an observatory there.

    It shouldn't be hard to slip away into the darkness, given that nobody is really expecting them to be anywhere.

    White Rose is also here, but she's dressed in safari gear like she expects to be hacking her way through a jungle in South America instead of floating around in the woods in Japan.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura is also here! She's... wearing pink. Well, I mean, she almost always wears pink, so that shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Still, pink -hiking clothes-... that's a bit off. Even her hat is pink!

    It may have been designed by Tomoyo.

    Keroberos is currently in Sakura's backpack. Yukito is also here, wearing far more sensibly-coloured hiking clothes, with a... much larger backpack than Sakura's. It's probably filled with food.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Emiya Shirou's also here - as usual, he has no problems aiding a fellow magus in the Union. Well, even if Sakura was nothing more than another normal person he'd be heading out to help.

    The teenager isn't terribly impressive, but what's new? Shirou's almost always wearing casual street clothing to these freakish events with only bits of armor hidden underneath over the vitals.

    "So... what's the plan?" He's sounding far too positive and relaxed considering what they're about to do. Or perhaps just focused. "We'll need to capture some of them if they're going to undo damage like the rumors are talking about..."

    He's not realyl sure what else could deal with 'and then the guy came wandering out 40 years older.'

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man had been helping out Miko with this where he could and again once more? Metal was in a world utterly alien to him. The world of magical girls and magic in general. HJE however is her and is not bothered at all by the terrain as he's follow after Miko in whatever form she's taking at this point.

"So here we go again."

Given the nature of the Enemy? Flash Man was keeping step with his fellow Wily Robot. However save for the slasher grin he normally gave people? He'd been otherwise quiet.

"If we can't get them to undo it?"

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio Takamachi is also here! She even said as much when she arrived, raising her hand excitedly into the air and saying, "Vivio Takamachi is here!" She's wearing some simple clothes, a white shirt with purple edging, some purple pants with white stripes down the side, finishing the outfit with some boots. Of course, she too has a cute backpack, which she now has slung over her shoulder as she waits for the bus. In order to keep their cover intact, Vivio's Device, Chris, is currently playing plush, poking out of Vivio backpack to look like just a toy.

    Vivio taps the tips of her boots on the ground one after the other impatiently while they wait. To pass the time she looks over at Miko, asking, "So these Saints people are bad, right?"

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Miko bows to Vivio when she arrives, and says, "Thank you for coming. I'm Miko Fujimoto." A very respectful Confederate! Also, they're all here to save people! She's a pretty good person for an enemy! Miko had been admiring Sakura's pink outfit, because that's totally her favorite color and it's adorable. Maybe she should ask Tomoyo to make HER one too! But she breaks away from that when people start asking for details of the plan.

    The black-haired young wman shakes her head to Shirou's question. "Mm-mm. We don't need to capture anyone. We just need to defeat the source of the magic. Stolen 'Time' will be returned to its rightful owners. If it's like last time, at the clockmaker's store, then it's a magic device called a Life Gear that possesses a person and turns them into a monster in order to steal 'Time' from others. All for the purposes of delivering it to villains we only know as the Epoch Saints."

    To Vivio's question, Miko says, "Their true objectives and identities haven't been determined yet. I'm not the magical girl who normally faces the Epoch Saints, but White Rose and I have had a couple encounters with their minions, the Life Gears, before. We can safely assume the Epoch Saints are not good guys."

    White Rose, a white-haired, red-eyed little fairy, is in Miko's pocket and pipes up to provide mechanics exposition to people new and old to these adventures. "You can consider 'Time' to be like life force, only temporal rather than spiritual. You need 'Time' to live just as much as you do the energy of your body. In some ways even more so. Life force can regenerate upon being expended, such as by sleeping, and eating... But that requires the passage of time. While a 'fated time of death' is beyond my personal knowledge to determine, as far as I know the 'Time' someone has available to them can be adjusted based upon not only their physical condition but also their choices, actions, and the choices and actions of others. So someone who crashes a motorcycle into a wall without a helmet and dies might have had lots of life force and 'Time', but their choices and actions cut their life short. Maybe that was fated, maybe not. But their body wasn't about to conk out tomorrow for no reason."

    White Rose holds up a finger as she puts a pair of tiny eyeglasses on to emphasize her Professor Fairy mode. "If 'Time' is stolen, the choices and actions someone makes have less influence on their life span. Their body is weakened and aged, or else they simply lose 'experiences'. Almost like they cease to exist for the length of the 'Time' stolen. On top of that, someone who worked really hard or was always sick or injured, who needs awhile to rest, heal, or recover to get their life force back to normal won't have that opportunity. Even if they would have made a full recovery, by being denied the simple passage of time, they might wind up dying."

    Miko looks down at her pocket and says, "You sure know a lot about Time Magic. I thought that the Sacred Scepter only wielded Holy and Law Magic?"

    White Rose, in the process of removing her glasses, puts them back on as she explains, "That's because Time Magic functions according to rules, and has restrictions and structure to it! That's the purview of Law! I might not be able to USE Time Magic, but my knowledge of form and function as it pertains to systems of magic gives me insight into areas outside my specialty!"

    Then White Rose makes gangster hand signs and tacks on. "Dawg!"

    Miko just lets out an uncertain laugh. "Ha.. Haaa..." Then she looks up as the sound and headlights of the bus approach the bus stop they're at. Once it's come to a stop, Miko climbs aboard and pays for everyone who came. The bus driver makes some idle conversation with Miko, who provides their cover story while waiting for the others to be seated.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura and Yukito both turn to look at White Rose as she Exposits. Sakura's eyes just kinda... glaze over. Yukito seems to get it, though!

    Vivio and Shirou are both given pleasant smiles, while Metal Man is... well. Also given a pleasant smile. Everyone gets a pleasant smile!

    Who is she, Oprah?

    And onto the bus they go.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man is making note of the information and he thinks for a moment as the plain is laid out to them.

"So they are basically loading it into a battery of some sort?"

It makes sense they were taking time and logical? With how the universe this was from work the time would go back to it's rightful owners once it's been smashed."

Metal Man contiunes to listn to White Rose going itnot more detial.

Metal Man gives Sakura a polite nod. He's not one of the feds known for rampaging for laughs. He tended to be very focused on militarty like strikes. Also rumours abound of Wily Army ambushes aborted on occasion due to an innocent getting caught in the trap. But that's just rumors right?

"Now one thing I been thinking on is who are these guys really working for? Their own gains or do they server some master in the shadows?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Y-... you're sure about that?" Such a convenient way of solving a problem is unheard of to Shirou! So of course he's doubtful.

    He also makes a heck of a face at White Rose's surprise gangsta'ing, but is soon enouh back to his typical easygoing self, nodding. "Well here's hoping you're right. We definitely can't let them keep doing what they're doing..."

    The only question is what to do?

    He seats himself on the bus, consternating mentally over the issue of how to deal with people this nuts... and the risks.

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio probably understands as much about the lecture as Sakura does. While there are some spells in her world which could be considered to have an effect on time, they're nothing like what Vivio thinks the cute little fairy explained... Oh, right, fairy... "Ooooooh, she's so cute!" Vivio gets all starry-eyed at White Rose.

    But then it comes time to board the bus. Vivio boards, briefly stopping to bow to the bus driver and offer thanks for driving them today, then heads down the aisle to find a seat. She takes off her backpack and slides in behind Emiya. Once comfortable, she muses... Possibly to the others, or just to herself, "Sooo it sounds kind of like a Lost Logia... Seal it and everything goes back to normal!" It's a shame Vivio doesn't know any sealing spells...

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    White Rose beamed happily at Vivio prior to the bus boarding. She is always glad to receive complments.

    Once they're on the bus and all seated, White Rose returns to explaining briefly, to answer Shirou's concerns and Vivio's summary. "It could be! I'm not familiar with Lost Logia, but it sounds like a similar deal. Only less sealing and more 'blowing it the heck up'. A host to a Life Gear remains unharmed by its destruction. The possessing entity takes the damage. But only if it has transformed. And for your concern, Mister Shirou~... Pretty sure that's how it works, yeah. It's worked that way the last two times. Let me see if I can use an analogy that works for you..."

    White Rose taps her chin, and then says, "If Magic is a river, then let's say that Time is the sandy beach and river bottom that give it structure. The water will deposit or take sand away. Bits and pieces of other things might wash up, or come from other places. Random events that can't be predicted from the perspective of someone living within the river or beach themselves. If someone comes along and starts scooping up sand and dirt and so on, it's going to deteriorate the sides of the river. It will alter its structure, and thus those living within the river that is Magic. But the sand is going to run through the thief's fingers. They might be able to carry some in their hands, but eventually they're going to need to put it somewhere if they intend to keep it. Like, say, a bucket."

    The fairy waves a hand at Shirou and says quietly, her tiny high-pitched voice easy to miss over the sound of the bus up where the driver is, "What we're doing is trying to knock the sand out of the thief's hands before they can get it to the bucket. Or the 'Time' into the battery, rather, like Metal Man suggested. If we can stop them before they get too far, the Time will return to its rightful place automatically, right back on the beach. Lives will remain changed by the incident - ripples will continue to be caused by the interference, but the overall change to the river's structure is going to be reduced."

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Miko turns to Metal Man, at that, and says, "The Life Gears ARE the minions, as far as we know. The Epoch Saints are the masters in the shadows, since the last Life Gear we fought said it was going to take the 'Time' it stole back to them, not keep it for itself. We don't know what they want it for yet. Maybe we'll find out more this time if the enemy is foolish enough to blurt it out again."

    White Rose says, "Let's just be glad that we're dealing with Nether Realm monsters and not Time Mages. A spell doesn't end just because its caster or medium gets smashed. Often, it won't end until its effects expire, but some effects are permanent or can be refreshed by the original caster. If a wizard was doing this, we could knock them out, even kill them, and someone aged 40 years would be just as old. The stolen 'Time' would be with the dude we just killed, because we didn't get them to undo the enchantment first."

    Miko ponders for several moments on that and then asks, "So why are Nether Realm monsters different?" She has not yet realized how glazed over half the people here are. Yukito might be getting it, but he's smart after all! ...No offense intended to Sakura or Vivio.

    Thankfully, White Rose decides to keep this short. And even if her tone is dark, and her expression serious, she's still cute as she explains in Dramatic Voice, "Nether Realm monsters don't possess magic of their own, usually. They have to steal it or use a stand-in resource like life force. Magic is what they want above all else. Even a monster that wishes to rule the universe would need to Magic to do it. Because they don't 'Belong' outside of the Nether Realm in the first place."

    Miko seems to be fine with letting that go for now. Unless other people ask questions, the rest of the bus trip into the mountains is quiet, and uneventful. By the time they get up there, it has almost completely dark. The bus driver seems worried about leaving them up there, but Miko assures him they'll be fine. So the bus leaves... And now they're all out in the middle of nowhere, alongside a road, with a dark forest below them, down a slope... And mountains rising up above the trees, and a sky full of stars above that. It's pretty. Sad they have to go fight monsters instead of admire the view.

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio looks up from playing a game on Chris, turning her head to look out the window as they arrive. She slides out of her seat, putting her backpack on again and then walking off the bus. She thanks the driver once more before moving to join the others.

    Once the bus is gone, Vivio lets go of her grip on her plush bunny, Chris floating up into the air beside Vivio now that there's no one else around so they don't need to pretend they're normal people.

    Vivio looks up in wonder at the stars in the night sky... Stars unfamiliar to her, but still wonderous to look at. The dark, forboding forest is a different matter... A part of Vivio is afraid of going into that place. That's the child part. The part of her that is a Mage and Strike Arts practicioner is excited at another opportunity to test her strength, improve it, and help others in the process! Vivio raises her hand and exclaims, "Time to go into the deep, dark forest and beat up some bad guys!"

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    "I know a sealing spell! ... But we don't need to seal them. Last time we just had to blow up the Life Gear - why would it be different this time?" she says with a smile. And then she sits back and waits out the bus journey, playing on her phone and so forth!

    Once the bus arrives, Sakura steps on out, retrieving her Key of Stars from around her neck. Once the bus has driven out of sight, she looks up at the night sky, raising her hand. She closes her eyes - then uneals her wand. "RELEASE!" She spins the wand around in one hand while retrieving a card from her pocket. "Light our path! GLOW!"

    Several motes of light appear around the group, moving as they move and generally lighting up the area. Handy!

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man says "Understood, Miko."

Metal's a very experianced Elite, he comes to understand there's often a puppet master but it seems they got that sorted out so he's got not much else ot sya for the moment as he's go his question answered. SO more inform is laid ou on the table and he looks ot the others before moving to get on the bus. He might do a bit of chattering with Flash Man, maybe a few stories about the time before the Union and Confederates to boot as well.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Just on time. Maybe. Sanary was under orders to meet up with the group further along the path for some sort of daring rescue or to draw attention from the actual magical girls or... Something. Her mind was somewhat preoccupied, though, with the recommendation from someone to dress the part.

     Which meant wearing a frilly ass kimono and an apron. Needless to say, she's still somewhat grumpy by the time she sees the bus coming. She's still keeping herself somewhat hidden, of course, but the healer is definitely itching for a fight from all the fidgeting she's doing.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Trace, on!" As enthusiastic - if unhappily so - as usual, Emiya Shirou produces his twin weapons from a much more subdued flash of emerald prana than normal. KAnshou and Bakuya quickly rest in his palms, produced with more care than his usual mid-battle attempts.

    "I just hope we can get the drop on them before they do anything. Then we won't have to get too vicious."

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Shirou prepares his weapons. Metal Man and Flash Man are basically living weapons (at least ability-wise) and can attack whenever they want. Sakura has her wand out, and Vivio seems to have her laser rabbit well in hand as well. Miko knows she should probably transform now, but the restrictions upon her when she becomes Princess Paladin require that she have a clearly defined objective and not to deviate from it. Unless she finds a way to lift that restriction - and she has determined that trying to find loop holes can result in bad consequences - it's safer for her to wait until she has an immediate need to transform. Besides, with all these other cool and powerful people with her, and Sanary meeting them here soon, she shouldn't have to worry too much about her own safety!

    The forest looks kind of creepy even to Miko. It's not that it looks unnatural or anything, just the normal sort of creepy that comes from a forest at night. But as the group approaches, with Sanary lurking around somewhere nearby, those with the ability are likely to pick up that there is magic energy coming from the forest. However, it is not unless someone actually passes beyond the edge and into the darkness that they would get hit with the sheer enormity of it. This is a space that has been warped heavily through not just Magic, but the Time stolen from those who entered the forest. Trees move and grow in winds that haven't blown in days or weeks, like a time lapse video, while birds flap through the air at a glacial pace. A deer goes blurring past, leaping backwards along the path it was taking before the effect began.

    White Rose immediately says, "Geez. Yeah, this is totally Time Magic. Lots of it. I guess this is what happens when a Life Gear is allowed to mature. They get crazy strong from all the 'Time' they steal."

    Miko backs up a bit out of the area of effect, and decides now is the time to transform. She may or may not have some slight protection thanks to the Sacred Scepter, but she'd rather have her magical girl powers available to shield her from temporal wackiness. A gohei, a prayer rod with paper streamers, appears in her hand as she twirls it into existence, and then she is engulfed in a flash of pink light that leaves in a sort of combination of knight's armor and school girl uniform. She is also taller, has a completely different face and build, and her eyes and hair are bright pink.

    Princess Paladin says, "Though it is imperative we act, we should wait for Sanary to join us. She should be somewhere nearby... Unless something happened to her." What if she was ambushed while keeping an eye on the situation!? That would be terrible! Thankfully, whenever she pops out to reveal herself, they will all get to relax about that possibility and laugh at the costume the other Confederate is wearing. Ha ha. Hee hee. Ho ho. Because clearly Princess Paladin is dressed so much more sensibly.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura peers at the forest. "...There's a lot of magic there..." she murmurs. And then she recoils as they step past the treeline, bringing one hand up as if to protect her face. She winces, stepping back a few paces. "W...wow. This one's... a lot stronger than the last one..." She frowns a bit as she sees a deer run past them -in reverse- "...Protect us from the flow of Time! SHIELD!" she calls out, producing another card and activating it with her wand. Her magic circle appears at her feet - and suddenly the entire party is surrounded by personal translucent yellow bubbles. Even White Rose, Kero and Chris get teeny little ones.

    SPeaking of Kero, he's now fluttering around near Sakura's head.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     Huffing quietly as she steps forward to meet up with the group properly, Sanary hefts her gunaxe onto her shoulder and gives Miko a pointed look. "Not my fault this was the only... Magic-looking thing I had."

     More grumbling. Maybe she'd be taken more seriously if she chopped something's head off. Well, there'd be a chance for that eventually. There's a few familiar faces, at least, and the eyepatched healer does take a slightly closer position to the group in order to keep an eye on Miko, Sakura, and Emiya.

     "So. You run into anything weird on the way here or still looking?"

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    This is pretty trippy.

    Vivio just blinks as she watches the deer go backwards... She hops the creature will be alright. Must be strange going in reverse like that...

    While Vivio has her defensive magics to protect her somewhat, some more specialized protection is of some great help! As the bubbles appear around her, Vivio smiles at Sakura and says, "Thanks!" Seeing Miko transform, Vivio realises it's probably a good idea if she does the same.

    Vivio reaches up to grab Chris out of the air and then holds him up, "Sacred Heart. Set up!" Iridescent light engulfs Vivio, mostly hiding her from view. Her silhouette inside the light begins to grow, quickly becoming taller and filling out. Finally the light disappears with a flash and Vivio's Adult Form can be seen by all, complete with Barrier Jacket.

    Vivio throws a few punches and launches a few kicks into the air, then nods approvingly at the transformation's completeness.

    As Sanary shows up, the now older looking Vivio gives her a wave, "Hi! Nothing much weird except all the weird time stuff going on."

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man isn't looking to pick a fight with the Union people here. He does sometimes wonders if this madness of the war will stop for a moment but let's it pass. There'd be someone with enough power on either side to keep things going. HOWever he's pretty chill at the moment as they arrive at the forest. He just look the forest over as he joins the other and Flash Man's seemingly impassive to everything for the moment.

"Sanary humm she's a up an coming medic."

Metal's not met her but he has paid the heck attention to her existing however, it's always good to be good to the medic right?

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou shivers upon entering the borders, and ends up rubbing an arm. he does NOT like this place, it's simply too Strange for him.

    not that this stops him whatsoever.

    Entering the warped space gets him NAUSEATED and dizzied, and Shirou ends up toppling sideways and leaning on a tree with a muttery cry of alarm.

    But he soon shakes his head, bearings having returned...

    Returned just in time to witness Miko transforming... the redhead boggles. "THAT WAS YOU?!"

    How did he NOT know this by now? Shirou may truly be one of the densest wackos on this mission. Although he's not frowning at her, just looking baffled. Then a bit grumbly.

    Serioiusly how did he not know this by now?

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Good thing Sakura is here! Just like always, she seems to have the right spell for every situation. Maybe some of them have individual defenses that could help blunt the effects, but given they're working with wacky magic that probably none of them here can actually USE. Also good is that Sanary has shown up without any sign of being mauled or killed. It would be truly unfortunate if she had been attacked alone while waiting to support them.

    Paladin nods to Sanary and says, "We just arrived but-Yes, what Miss Takamachi said. Your wardrobe is fine, as long as it is provides protection and does not impair mobility. We do not all have choices in what we transform into, but it is always effective as a defense." But then suddenly Shirou is flipping out like a ninja.

    Paladin seems somewhat startled despite her magically-granted maturity making her seem calm and in control and confident. "I am sorry. I thought you were aware. It has been known to the Union for quite some time. If this is a problem, you can stay here if you wish. But Sakura, myself, and both Confederate and Union forces have been working together without animosity or issue to protect this world for months now. You have nothing to fear from me."

    Sakura's glowing lights are illuminating the forest ahead of them and the area around them, so once they venture forth, they should have a good view of everything going on. "More healers are always welcome. Support abilities can make a crucial difference in situations like this. Sakura is a very good example of that." Pink eyes are scanning the forest, magically-enhanced senses giving her better night vision even if Sakura wasn't providing light. With it, she can see quite a ways.

    The group proceeds deeper and deeper into the woods, and ghostly images of people appear around them more and more as they walk. A child chasing a ball that he lost while playing. He probably came out of the forest an old man. A young couple having a nap after their picnic. They slept for a half hour and woke up three weeks later. A team of rescue workers repeating the same search for a lost child over and over and over, trapped in a loop that keeps them occupied and unconscious of the 'Time' they are losing in the world outside this space.

    It's haunting and disturbing and weird. But while Miko, within Princess Paladin, is bothered by it, both Paladin and White Rose are keen to any trouble.

    Suddenly, heightened senses pick up movement. Paladin's eyes turn towards it. Others might also pick up indications of presences around them. Not time-trapped souls, or backwards-moving deer, but beings moving with a purpose... To surround them.

    Paladin brings up the pink scepter she wields, its jewels glinting with magic power, as she says for those unaware, "We have company."

    White Rose had to evacuate Miko's pocket when she transformed, so she's now taking off to go flutter near Kero, perhaps hoping the big strong plush-looking lion bear will protect her. Or maybe she just feels tiny mascot characters are less of a target so they should stick together.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura rubs the back of her head. "...Shirou, seriously, it's not a secret..." she mumbles a bit, then shakes her head, before they continue on through the woods! She beams as her support magic is praised. She's been focusing on that a lot on these missions, so it's nice that it's been noticed~

    As they pass the time-trapped people, she frowns, tightening her grip on her wand. "This is awful..." she breathes. "We... we will save them, right? After we find the Life Gear?"

    Once Miko - that is, Princess Paladin - calls out that they have company, she stops in her tracks and narrows her eyes. "...Illusion." Card! And then she's -gone-. Time to put those Assassin skills to work. She attempts, invisibly, to sneak up on the sneakers~

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    As they move deeper into the forest, Vivio grows sadder at the sight of all the people affected by whatever is happening here... It's hard to imagine what they must have gone through suddenly having their lives turned upside down and not know anything about what happened to them... Okay, maybe not that hard.

    Vivio stops at the warning, though she had already caught sight of some of those that Paladin mentions. She softly shifts her footing as she prepares for what is probably going to be a fight. Already preparing a spell in her mind, Vivio waits patiently for their opponents to show themselves, and provide an opening for the close combat Mage to strike.

    Meanwhile, Chris floats up to join the other tiny mascot characters, looking around and taking up a combat stance identical to his master's... Not that he'll be much use unless the bad guys also have tiny mascots who enter the fight too.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou somehow manages to facepalm despite holding his sword. Yep. He really didn't know. "Come on, it's not like I hold a grudge..." But he still sound shocked, no way otherwise. He's helped Miko on several occasions and never once connected her with that crazy magical girl.

    Just what kinda guy must he be to just drop it right then and there?

    One day, someone might figure out how weird Shirou is...

    Probably won't be today though. If you can cal it today when time itself around everyone's being bent over backwards. With every new figure he sees, Shirou's anger crows fiercer and his sword-grip clenches tighter.

    All until-- "What--?!"

    He whirls around, oddly going back to back with Princess Paladin with his two swords at the ready. "Who's out there..?!"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man jhas no sense ofr magic, she's got an idea of how to fight it sure, what not to step in, what not to touch. He can't make use of it though or sense it unless it was putting out some kinda of energy and he's distracted by Shirou.

"EMIYRA SHIROU! Pay attention to your surroundings!"

Seriously no matter what happened the boy wasn't very good at noticing things. He keeps up with Palaing and Flash Man's left arm has transformed into a plasma scatter gun. Metal Man has also summoned one of his infamous blades in hand as he moves ahead.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     That was a relief, at least. Between having a walking light with them and plenty of fighters, Sanary does feel somewhat more secure not having real armor on her. She doesn't seem too startled by Miko's transformation, although she does raise an eyebrow slightly at the getup.

     Her attention turns to the disturbance in the darkness, however, although there's a broad grin crossing the ... 'maid' 's face as she levels the barrel of her gunaxe at the oncoming whatever it is. "NOw this is what I was hoping for. Ready to fire!"

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    This is a very dangerous situation they're in. One Life Gear against multiple Elites - particularly Magical Girls - might not be much of a match, especially right after it has 'hatched', so to speak. But this one has been transformed and gathering additional power for days... Maybe a week or more. Further, there might be more than one of them. One Monster Of The Week at a time usually isn't a big deal. Two or three changes the combat dynamics drastically in a way that those who don't deal with these creeps regularly might not grasp. They might still win, or maybe not. But magical girls, while having fortune on their side, are not invincible. Being ganged up on by powerful enemies out to kill them, even if they appear to just be teenage girls, can and has resulted in dead girls turning up around town.

    Thankfully, Sakura, by virtue of magical invisibility, manages to sneak up on one of the enemies... Who doesn't look much like a Life Gear. The last Life Gear they encountered looked to be some kind of steamwork/clockwork humanoid, a warped version of its host. This one is tall and pale, with long black hair, in a black ballroom gown. She has an opera mask on her face, and is balanced very precisely on a tree branch. In high-heeled shoes.

    One of the others in the area shows herself as Vivio and Paladin and Shirou and Sanary and Metal Man and Flash Man and even White Rose, Kero, and Chris take up positions to defend themselves!

    "Whoah, whoah!" she starts. She's dressed as a witch, it appears, as she steps out from behind a tree. The hall, the very frilly and fancy witch's dress, with a big orange bow on the front (and also on her hat)... She has extremely long and beautifully styled hair - and of a very unusual hue. It's visibly semi-transparent in places, making it hard to figure out what color it is. Especially out in the middle of the woods. She's waving her gloved hands back and forth and says, "Relax! We don't want any trouble. We thought you might have been the bad guys we're looking for, but you don't seem to have any Time Magic on you, and at least a couple Magical Girls. We're only out here to deal with the bad guys. So everyone just relaaaaax!"

    There's still one other person who hasn't shown herself yet. Though honestly, there's two that haven't shown themselves yet. It's just that Sakura managed to find one of them.

    Paladin decides to try diplomacy and says, "We seek the monster responsible for this phenomenon. We do not intend to encroach upon your mission or 'territory'. We only wish to stop the enemy and return the stolen 'Time' to its proper owners. I am Princess Paladin. The others can introduce themselves, but they are not from this world. Only me."

    White Rose pipes up with, "And me! ...Kind of!"

    The witch lady is smiling but her red eyes are also carefully gauging everyone here. Despite being vastly outnumbered, and having her hands in the air while she plays peacemaker, she doesn't seem like she's scared or concerned. Maybe she believes the story. Or maybe she has a plan. "Oh, yeah? I'm Crucia Hex, the Pumpkin Witch. This IS kind of our enemy to deal with, but maybe we can work something out..."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura looks up into the tree to see... a girl balancing on a tree branch in -high heels-. She stares for a moment... and then jumps up into the tree as well. Yes, literally -jumps- up - her athletic ability is pretty insane!

    There she perches, on a branch close to the one taken up by the stealthy magical girl (but she's not as stealthy as Sakura~). She's gonna... let the others talk this out.

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio does indeed appear to relax as Crucia reveals herself and explains the situation. It's always nice to see other people out trying to help! Vivio nods along as she listens, more than willing to believe that the other magical girls don't wish to create any sort of trouble.

    As introductions go out, Vivio grins and says, "I'm Vivio! I'm a Mage from Mid-Childa. I'm sure we can be friends!" She looks around as she continues, "After all, it's a pretty big forest! It'll make it easier if we work together to stop whatever is happening."

    Vivio looks back and takes a few steps towards Crucia. She smiles and holds a hand out as an offer, "So, what do you think?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Emiya Shirou gives Metal Man one heck of an unhappy glare, protesting, "What do you mean? I'm paying attention!"

    It just might be that in some corner of his mind, he subconsiously rejects associating Princess Paladin with Miko? ... nah. That's probably a stretch.

    With introductions goingg around though, he relaxes somewhat. still clinging to the intensely magical twin weapons, but... standing straighter and less on guard.

    "Emiya Shirou--" He pauses right then and there, blinks once, and adds, "Sword magus." The boy exhales, shifts to a more kindly and friendly tone and offers a simple smile to the other Magical girls.

    "This really isn't the time to be calling targets. The problem is all these people being taken advantage of."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     The newly appearing witch gets a long, confused stare from Sanary as she keeps her weapon aimed at her, although the healer does relent eventually and directs her aim to the surrounding area behind the witch instead. "Careful. Announce yourself before coming out next time."

     She's chuckling lightly, at least, so it may at least be safer for the witch now than a few seconds ago. Sanary's not letting her guard down yet, though, her attention still darting around at the surrounding area to make sure nothing else is coming out towards them just yet. Glancing back at Vivio, she also takes a slightly more defensive position closer to her. Big sister mode go!

     "Sanary. Healer from Plegia. What were you thinking?"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man says "Unhuh, you keep telling your self that big guy."

He doesn't comment further and now he looks to see they have some new arrivals. She looks to them for a moment and he seems to not be so trusting of this whole situation. He has to wonder about this and he's loking form one to another. He listens and tilts his head as he looks em over.

"I'm not made of magic so moon dusting all over me won't work."

He lowers his weapon and Flash man lowers his own arm canon.

"Metal Mana dnt his is my fellow Wily Number, Flash Man."

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Crucia seems happy enough to accept Vivio's offered hand in her gloved one, shaking it and bowing her head. She uses her other hand to tip her pointed hat down a bit as she says, "Pleased to meet you~. I've never heard o' those things, but I suppose help isn't out of the question. I should consult with the others though." She alows bows her head to Sanary and apologizes. "Sorry, sorry~! I'll keep that in mind in the future!"

    Paladin is significantly more suspicious than the others here, it seems, with the possible exception of Sakura. Even Sanary, wary as she is, has trusted Crucia at her word, it seems. Shirou is a no-brainer. His default reaction to cute girls seems to be 'be nice to them'. As Crucia makes polite comments about the various introductions, showing interest and curiosity, and being very agreeable to everything said, Paladin is wondering why the others haven't shown themselves yet. If they're in such a hurry and if Crucia needs to ask the rest of her group if cooperation is okay, why is the Pumpkin Witch making small talk. She's even gushing over the tiny mascot characters! "Ooo, I wish I had a little friend like that!"

    White Rose asks, "Why don't you? Aren't you a magical girl too?"

    Crucia rubs the back of her head embarrasedly and says, "Haha! Yeah, but I guess not the same kind as your companion!" She lets out an inquisitive/thoughtful 'hmmmmmm?' at Shirou's insistence that they shouldn't be calling targets, and adds on, "You really aren't from around here, huh? It isn't always in a magical girl's best interests to let another group take on her rivals, you know!"

    To Metal Man and Flash Man's introductions, Crucia gives a curious look and says, "Huh! That's some interesting get ups you have there! You're not magical, you say? And you're still out here fighting monsters? Brave!"

    Paladin finally decides they've wasted enough time here as she interrupts the giggling witch to say, "So when were you going to check with your comrades? Who are they? And where are they?"

    Crucia pauses, her smile never flickering for a moment, and then focuses on Paladin. "Hmmmmm? Who says I'm not talking to them right now. Maybe I have telepathy!"

    Paladin steps forward and points the Sacred Scepter at Crucia. "You're a member of the Witching Hour. You're the ones who usually deal with the Epoch Saints. You're Time Magic specialists. While I can't rule out telepathy, the others haven't shown themselves yet despite you suggesting we might be able to work together. We are going to take out the Life Gear whether you come along or not." Then she turns as though to walk away.

    Crucia calls out, "Wh-wait! I said wait!" and reaches after Paladin, suddenly showing urgency she hasn't so far.

    The magical girl in the tree tenses and, if Sakura does not act fast like WHOAH FAST, she takes off in a streak of black, apparently intending to land directly in Paladin's path!

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Did you know that Sakura has pretty great reflexes?

    Well, it helps that she was already suspicious, and when Crucia reached out to grab Miko's arm... well. Sakura lunges forward, arms swiftly attempting to wrap around the magical girl's neck - one hand to cover her mouth, while she attempts to gather her neck up in her arm and squuuueze at her carotid arteries. Assuming the magical girl doesn't struggle or has some other way to supply her brain with oxygen... this should knock her out in a few seconds.

    After which, Sakura will leap down from the tree and gently lay her down on the ground. Assuming this worked, of course.

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    "Ooooh, you can use telepathy too?" Vivio doesn't consider the idea to be so joking as context might indicate. After all, telepathy is a common ability for Mages from her world! Though Vivio has yet to meet anyone not from her world with it... Or maybe she has and she just doesn't know? Or maybe Crucia is the first!

    But things seem to get interesting as the identity of the new magic girls is revealed, "Time magic, huh? That seems pretty neat!" But things begin to happen and Vivio blinks a little in confusion, "Huh?" She doesn't know Sakura is attempting to subdue one of Crucia's group, instead just watching Paladin walk away from Crucia.

    Vivio turns and calls to them both, "Look! It seems like there's some stuff going on here that we don't know about, but don't you both think it's better to put aside those things and focus on stopping whatever is doing this time stuff? Innocent people are getting caught up in it and we can't let that continue!"

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man says "My world is without magic."

He's wrong it's just rare or might just be science so advanced it mighht as well be magic. EIther way the two brothers keep their cool and is looking to Crucia and Metal does pause to do a basic scan of her. Nothing hostile he's curious and he might pick up anything, like does her thermo profile fall in human normas? He's just being areful

"I think the laser angel's right."

Yes ye refered to Vivio as a Laser Angel. He moves ot back her up a bit should she need it.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     "Just don't let it happen again... Mm. Where are these others, anyway?" Paladin's words seem to have struck a chord in Sanary's brain, the latter narrowing her eye slightly as she keeps her weapon trained on the darkness behind the witch.

     "She's got a point there. If you want us to trust you, then we're gonna need you to at least show us that we're not just doing your jobs for you." The healer taps the back of her gunaxe against a tree before aiming it into the trees once more, still glancing at Crucia every now and then just to make sure she doesn't try anything funny like...

     ...How would she even stop a telepath from doing telepathy things, anyway? It's not like she'd be able to tell unless this Crucia had a specific chant or glow or something. The movement from Sakura going after something in the trees does draw the healer's suspicion, however, and Crucia's attempt to go after Paladin certainly doesn't go ignored as Sanary moves to try and intercept her by stepping in the way. All five feet and four inches of axe-wielding maid included!

     "Hold up, Crucia. What's got you so worked up?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Oh if Miko only knew. Shirou's default reaction to most people is 'be nice to them.'

    He's just surrounded by girls.

    And a couple of robots.

    But he still ends up frowning, then gaping a bit. "Wh-what? ... Isn't a magical girl supposed to be all about protecting the city and all the people in it?!" Yeah Crucia's reply to him is utterly baffling the boy. He makes a rather displeased expression, soggy-kitten style.

    He's still in the middle of trying to parse this when Crucia and Paladin get tizzied. "What are you up to?" He asks rather simply, faint suspicion staining his tone.

    Well, yes, Shirou's not expecting any kind of crazy from them, but...

    "Time magic specialists...?"

    The significance of this is not lost on him. He blinks a few time, thinking hard while now looking every which way for any incoming trouble!

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Sakura graps hold of the lurking magical girl, and starts strangling/sleep holding her. As she struggles against Sakura with magically-enhanced strength, she seems to be losing the 'staying conscious' battle. Which is when she seems to just vanish, leaving behind only her opera mask. That mask then floats through the air, and turns to face the newly-revealed Sakura, as a female voice that sounds very strained and woozy comes out of it. She definitely felt what Sakura did to her! "Treachery! I knew we couldn't trust you!"

    The rest of the magical girl who wore the mask suddenly reappears, reattached to the mask, and lands on the ground. She raises her opera-gloved hands and points them up at the trees, seemingly preparing an attack as the sound of music and sonic vibrations begin to fill the distorted air of this place.

    As Metal Man scans Crucia, he should quickly determine that there are no human life signs before him. Infact, seconds later, when Sanary moves in the witch's way and starts asking very pertinent questions, Crucia looks blank, flickers like bad TV reception and vanishes... Leaving behind a pumpkin in her place.

    She then reappears, flying down from the night sky above, yelling, "Waaaaaaiiiiit! Musica, we're not going to fight them! They're legit! They know who we are, and are after the same enemy!" Crucia hovers down on her broom, with her star-tipped wand in-hand, and stops a couple feet above the ground.

    Paladin, at least, seems to be holding back as requested by Vivio. She's not interested in fighting these girls. They have work to do, and she was trying to make a GOOD impression on other magical girls, not start up rivalries. "If there is something FROM the Life Gear that you want, aside from the stolen 'Time', you can have it when it is defeated. We can work together or not, to that end. Let us not place blame, as we were both demonstrating prudent caution..." She lowers her Scepter and says, "Now that our friends have revealed themselves, I say we should do away with deception. I do not hold any grudge if you don't."

    White Rose pipes up anxiously to say, "Yeah, same here!"

    But Musica announces, "I most certainly DO hold a grudge! That little pink witch up there tried to strangle me to death!"

    Crucia stomps her foot in annoyance and says, "You totes can't be strangled even if that was what she wanted, and you know it! Also, what's wrong with witches!?"

    White Rose just looks terribly nonplussed. Then something that appears to be a piece of fruit with pigtails and a cute face drawn on it comes rolling out of nowhere, going, "Fu-shushushushu!" until it comes to a stop. Then, in a high-pitched, child-like voice, it declares, "Did you know? The energy expended in in-fighting decreases the survival chances of all of us when our friend gets back with the enemy's location! Your grudges will make us all dead!" :3 :3 :3

    Musica facepalms as the music and vibrations fade away and groans. "Not now, Momo!"

    "Momo Mo MomoMo is sorry!"

    Crucia turns to Shirou and bows as she says, "I'm sorry! I'll explain to you! To all of you! We've been fighting the Epoch Saints for months, but we're no closer to finding out who they really are or what they're up to! Instead of just destroying Life Gears, we're hoping to suspend one in time after defeating it, so we can try to get information out of it! We weren't sure if we could trust you to not try to destroy the Life Gear right away or try to take its power for yourselves or something. That's why we want to deal with the Epoch Saints. Just destroying Life Gears isn't enough, and our magic is the best suited to stopping them for good!"

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Just then, a wave of grey energy comes sweeping over everyone present, giving everything a washed-out appearance. A clockwork monstrosity, blurring and fading in and out of existence, seems to be approaching them. Running ahead of it is a young woman in a blue cloak and a big floofy round hat with a tassle. She adjusts her large eye glasses, over her bright-blue eyes, as she skids to a stop among everyone else, and announces in deadpan, "I found the Life Gear."

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura has another card in her hand immediately as 'Musica' begins her musical assault - the Silent. But then she seems to be calling off her attack, so Sakura stows the card again. "...That was a sleeper hold. If I wanted to kill you," snkt goes the Hidden Blade, "I would've used this." And another snkt as it's put away again.

    But then there's a clockwork monster charging in. "...Welp. DASH!" Boom! Off she runs, at such a speed that it causes a little sonic boom and a rush of air. She races at the clockwork monstrocity... "POWER!" she cries again, while leaping into the air and trying to just yank it down to the ground.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     A pumpkin. Not entirely... Unsurprising, considering Crucia's title. Still, it does draw a sigh from Sanary before she scans to area to try and find the witch again, not taking very long once she starts yelling at Musica. She's got half a mind to just punch someone in the face, but the healer /is/ getting better at reining in her gut reactions these days, and she follows Paladin's lead in not doing anything to either of them.

     "Yeah, come on. We can sort out this whole thing after we've dealt with this Life Gear thing. Let's just focus on find-"

     And then everything turns gray, the woman with glasses (presumably one of Crucia's and Musica's allies?) shows up, and the Life Gear's discovery is announced!

     "... Yeah, let's focus on that." Double-checking her gunaxe to make sure it's loaded with the Ice shells she's been favoring so much lately, the healer takes a deep breath before running at the clockwork monster at full speed. Rearing back the axe in her hand, she bellow out a roar much too loud for someone her size before swinging the ice-imbued axe horizontally to try and cleave right through the monster's legs on one side. She certainly not be the largest person here, but she's got the honor of pig farmers to uphold!

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Things happen. People call betrayal. Others call for peace. A piece of fruit rolls in (What?) and brings facts to support what Vivio's been trying to get people to realise. Of course it all comes to a point as what Vivio assumes is another of the witch group comes running with something chasing...

    Vivio tilts her head a little at the sight of the clockwork monster. Huh. Kind of old fashioned, but rather cool looking. But it seems that that is their target. And Crucia's plan to capture it to learn more is fine with Vivio!

    Vivio taps the tips of her boots on the ground and bumps her fists together. With a grin she says, "Alright, let's rough this thing up so the witches can capture it!"

    Vivio plants her feet in the ground again, lowers into an attack stance, and then pushes off! With a blast of wind, Vivio's Jet Step takes her up to the clockwork creature in the blink of an eye. Vivio unleashes a flurry of magic-enhanced blows with her fists before finishing up with a devestating roundhouse kick.

    Vivio then jumps away to briefly observe the results of her assault.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man does not say a thing to the humans here, no he send sa brief burst transmission to Flash Man, who starts getting ready. He watches as the pumpkin appears in girl's place.

"Just like Shadow Man..."

Metal Man muses and he's now starting to look about. Then he pause at thier words and just think things just get deeper and deeper and now comes the clockwork creature. It's the sort of thing he thinks Nox might enjoy from a design stand point he's got to admit. He now moves to spring into action and get into the fight he leaps with inhuman agility and the blades start flying at the clockwork thing.

Flash Man almost seems to flicker out of existnace, the truth is he's just started to maniplature time for himself and is overclocking himself hardcore he's got a plan but even at his speed it's going to take a bit.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Lots of things happen at once, including Sakura launching a surprise attack that leaves Shirou utterly stupefied. WHAT just happened?!%R    The dumb look switches quickly to panic as things turn hostile. But he seems reluctant to bring his weapons about even for a proper defense, instead looking about hurriedly as if hoping this situation will sort itself out.

    Miraculously it does just that. "Whew. That could've gotten ugly..." Whew indeed.

    Still, he hjas his eyes on Crucia while she explains. "... If you hadn't told us we probably would've done just that. If you think there's something that can be learned to shut down the Saints from a quick study I'm all for it. Just so long as everyone here's released from the warped time. It's not healthy to leave them like this for too long! That I'm pretty sure about."

    After getting that out though, he ends up just STARING at the creature apparently named Momo. Disbelieving.

    Just before the life Gear drops in though he adopts a fighting stance. "Found?! It's coming right for us!" And the first thing he does is dive behind the nearest tree. If they're not going to destroy it he needs to figure out how to subdue it instead!

    Kanshou and Bakuya vanish, replaced with a shining golden spear significantly longer than Shirou is tall. He has no trouble wielding it however. First twirling it, then aiming the business end for the Life Gear. It sizzles, crackles-- then fires bolts of golden electricity that'll probably knock the wind out of pretty much ANYTHING.

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    The Life Gear is swollen with the 'Time' it has stolen over the past three weeks. It's far more durable than the one they fought before. But there's also more of them here. Sakura POWER tackles the clockwork monster and tries to yank it to the ground, succeeding for the most part. Its rear half seems to be connected oddly to the front, so even as its double-heads and front half get yanked to the ground, its rear half and a tail made of pistons, that are working in overtime and shooting out steam everywhere, continue to remain a threat. Also those heads start spitting out razor-sharp cog wheels at the others.

    Sanary chops one of its rear legs, with her MIGHTY BLOW, making it brittle with ice and then breaking it at one of its many joints. This makes it collapse and dump its rear half onto the ground now too. Its tail arches up and tries to shoot a stream of searing, magical steam at her though!

    Vivio moves too quickly for the unwieldly beast to react, pummeling its bulky body and sending gears and broken support struts tumbling to the ground. The monster bellows in pain or perhaps anger.

    Metal Man's deadly blades slash deep into the two-headed creature, actually chopping OFF its dragon-like head entirely. Flash Man better act quick, because with the beating that the Life Gear is taking, it isn't long for this world.

    Musica removes her mask and throws it up into the air. Her body vanishes when she removes it. The ceramic covering flies towards the Life Gear, and then starts multiplying itself until it forms a circle around the thing. The eyes and mouth of each mask light up and they begin shooting purple energy beams into the monster, as a chorus of Musica's voice coming from each calls out, "STASIS TRAP!"

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Shirou's spear blasts punch holes in its shell, exposing a hollow chamber inside of its bulky torso. There's a lot of energy radiating from within suddenly. The stolen 'Time'!

    Crucia stands in front of Yukito, to make sure he remains safe. "Don't worry, handsome! I'll protect you!" Then she starts pointing her wand and going, "Boop!" With each 'boop', a pumpkin appears in the air and then falls to the ground. She repeats this until there's a wall of orange and green between the witch, the pale-haired man, and the sharpened cogs that were shot their way. Guess she's probably support/utility/defense-oriented.

    The glasses-wearing girl jogs up to the monster and in a rather subdued attack cry, announces, "Book Attack." Then she produces a large dictionary and says, "Hah." as she clubs the dog-looking head right in the face. It looks dazed and confused now. Its body is pretty battered. While it probably could have been quite ferocious against a smaller group, a force this powerful was too much for it!

    Paladin raises the Sacred Scepter and points it at the Life Gear, as she begins to announce, "Penance Beam-"

    But Musica interrupts with, "WAIT!" Then the purple lasers shooting from the masks begun to engulf the Life Gear. And the ACTUAL Life Gear, not the monster, comes flying out of the shell of metal and clockwork. It looks gross. A pulsing mass of flesh in the shape of an oversized gear. Crucia hops up ontop of her wall of pumpkins and begins chanting in a weird magical speech that doesn't translate with the translation effect. It's not a language meant for communication. It's meant for changing how possibility works.

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Crucia points her wand, and ORDERS the universe to shut up and sit down in a single word. "REVERSAL!" Magic is stripped out of the gear while allowing it to keep existing, even though it's MADE out of magic. It is frozen in space-time, has its essence as a living entity removed, and causing the forest all around to revert back to normal. The greying effect fades, there's no more ghostly images, and the distorted feeling of time is seemingly gone for good.

    And yet the Life Gear continues to exist in parallel to conventional reality. It should be dead, but it remains stuck in the moment when it still existed.

    Crucia may not be an offensive power house, but she's a Time Mage. And like White Rose indicated earlier, spellcraft can be kind of scary.

    The book-wielding girl opens up her book and intones, "Temporal Analysis." Blue light starts scanning the cracked and broken Life Gear. Then she looks up and says, "I'm Libra." Then she focuses back on her examination. The masks fly back together, the stasis effect that Musica began now stuck in place possibly forever if Crucia doesn't cancel her spell. Musica folds her arms over her chest when she reappears from her mask, looks around at the others. She may seem to be the haught type but even she says, "...Yes, that went better than expected." Even if she's eyeing Sakura still (or seeming to. Who can tell through a mask?) she says, "Thank you, all."

    Crucia, meanwhile, is already back with Yukito. "So, you seeing anyone?"

    Paladin didn't even get to attack.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
     The good news: The axe strike worked! Between the ice freezing the leg and the axe breaking it apart, unbalancing the mechanical monstrosity seemed to do the trick in helping bring the whole thing down!

     The bad news: Burning hot steam everywhere. Even after remembering to circulate her own healing magic through her body, it doesn't quite stop the horrible, horrible pain shooting across Sanary's skin even through the kimono. It also doesn't stop her from belting out a creative series of obscenities that would be much too indecent for so many young magical girls to hear.

     Such a terrible role model.

     Thankfully, she does eventually stop swearing like a sailor in time to look over the rest of the group. "Freaking.. Nngh. E-everyone okay? No.. Uh. Not casualties?" She's putting on a brave face despite the semi-burnt redness and pinkess in her face, but it's pretty clear she's going to need some aloe or something to fix up the lingering burns.

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio watches with awe as everyone unleashes their attacks on the clockwork creature. The local witches in particular draw Vivio's interest... It's a form of magic she hasn't seen before and it looks pretty neat! Crucia's time magic in particular is quite the sight.

    But finally the magic of the witches brings the clockwork creature to a halt, freeing up the time it had stole and releasing everyone under its effect. Vivio relaxes, letting out a deep breath as she notices the world around them returning to normal.

    Vivio jumps into the air in excitement and exclaims, "Yey! We did it!" She grins in triumph, happy to beat the monster, free its victims, and also work alonside new allies! All in all, a successful mission!

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Ah-hah! Something for Paladin to do! She didn't get to attack, but she is also a healer like Sanary! She can help support her! She twirls the Sacred Scepter between her fingers and points the artifact at the night sky, and yelling, "Heavenly Glory!" before unleashing a bright white flash of magical energy that heals everyone present of any injuries they may have. Even Musica's sore throat, and the unconscious dog!

    Then she has a moment to go examine the former host to the Life Gear. It's a good thing she healed it. Even with her restoration magic, there's signs of where the Life Gear used to be attached. Flesh is scarred like wires were worked under it. If a Life Gear is left to possess a host for too long... It starts to integrate into its body on a more permanent basis?

    Crucia hops up and down with Vivio, calling out, "Yay! Hurray! Hip hip, hoorah!"

    Musica comes over to Paladin and with a look at the pink-haired magical girl's face, she determines what's being thought of. "This is the first time you've seen a long-term possession by a Life Gear then." It's not a question.

    Paladin nods. There's no reason to lie. "We've faced them twice before. Or I have. We got to them right when they first transformed."

    Musica hmmms. "You said your name was Princess Paladin. We've heard a bit about you. You've been going around intruding on a lot of other magical girls' territories... But mostly it's been one or two fights when monsters crop up, I've heard. You don't appear to be trying to hijack anything."

    Paladin looks up at Musica and says, "That's right."

    The two look at each other. Paladin's voice and expression are calm, confident, and convincing. Like she truly believes what she says. Musica's tone is conversational, matter-of-fact... But her line of questioning indicates uncertainty or suspicion. Her face betrays nothing, since it's a mask.

    "But you DO want something." Musica accuses.

    Paladin's expression doesn't change at all, as she says, "I want to earn the trust of other magical girls. So that we can hold a meeting to discuss the future of our world and our individual missions. I realize not all of them will be eager to attend. But they should at least be willing to come see what kind of person has been running around town fighting the Nether Realm for them."

    Musica remains silent for quite awhile.

Miko Fujimoto (589) has posed:
    Crucia is still jumping around with Vivio, attempting to take her hands even if Vivio is not jumping anymore herself, so that she can hop and dance and jive better. "You're super strong! Is that your magic? Strength?" she asks.

    Momo Mo MomoMo rolls up to Sanary. "Fu-shushushushu." It looks up at her with a puppy face drawn on its surface. Then it says, "Did you know? When tap water reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it can cause a third degree burn in just five seconds!" Helpful.

    Libra looks over her shoulder at Shirou, Metal Man, and Flash Man. She's used to working with girls, not boys. She didn't even realize that boys/men COULD fight monsters. But she returns her attention quickly enough to the Life Gear. Because she needs to find out its secrets.

    Others may celebrate, but she needs to know everything. The fact it helps her team mates is just a bonus.

    Musica finally says, "Keep messing with the territories of others and I can guarantee that you'll have other magical girls coming to meet you. But not for the reasons you think. If you want to arrange this meetin, I recommend aiding us first. Make progress against the Epoch Saints, and people may consider you more legitimate."

    Princess Paladin considers this, then bows her head and says, "Thank you. I think I will do just that if the rest of your team is open to it."

    Music hmphs! and says, "I'll speak to them!"

    White Rose, still floating around with Chris, says, "Sooo... Magical girls, right?"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Under such a crazy assault, Shirou's startled to see the whole thing over THIS quickly.

    The spear he made vanishes in a swirl of freed prana, though at the same time he stumbles again and leans against the tree holding his head. "The magic here is really something. It's making me sick..."

    He rapidly shakes his head as though hoping to clear it, and the first thing he next does is look all about to see if anyone's hurt. Seeing no serious injuries though she instead walks out..

    "That... thing... was a Life Gear?" It's the one poor dog that he beelines for. "... But it's a dog?"

    This isn't making ANY sense.

Metal Man (11) has posed:
Metal Man says "Not that you could repair mw however thank you for asking. I don't think flash man needs Anything either, it seems his gambit to get up behind the monster and level it with a plasma shotgun pblast wasn't needed. Metal Meanwhile looks to Vivio Takamachi. for a momen then to Libra he seems like he's about ready to go. Even though Metal Man techinally has no Gender when you get down to it.

"If we get into this Terriatorial stuff I seen it once before it gets ugly. Shouldn't you be working together with all that love justice nad friendship stuff?"

Man is Vivio's lasers going to be needed on this world?

Vivio Takamachi (737) has posed:
    Vivio jumps with Crucia a little more before settling down and nodding, "Yup! I'm also pretty fast." Vivio throws a few quick punches into the air, dancing on her feet. But she then stops and grins, "And I have shooting spells too for ranged fights!"

    Floating with White Rose, Chris watches Vivio and Crucia nearby and simply facearms. His other arm waves around a little, which roughly translates into 'Try living with a family of them.'

    Back down amongst the magical girls, Vivio overhears Paladin's goals and heads over to them to say, "I think that's a really good idea! When people work together, they can do so much more! I'm sure everyone will be able to do better if they cooperate!" Vivio nods confidently.