2976/The American Dream

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The American Dream
Date of Scene: 06 September 2015
Location: Mitakihara Town <MT>
Synopsis: It's a Witch!
Cast of Characters: 2, 40, 162, 481, 570, 626, 720, 859


Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    HOOK: you've all been called here by Homura, in one fashion or another. The circumstances of her hanging out here don't matter too much, but she's warned that she stumbled across a Witch down in her world's Boston, at the harbor. She's already 'handled' evacuation, but please hurry anyway. This would have gone up on Union channels, likely the Syndicate too, and it's not like you can't hook each other too.

    The section of the harbor you've been called to is a long brick walkway along the side of the harbor itself, with terraces for enjoying the view and all. It's early evening, the Sun slowly fading as the city lights take over instead. The area seems to have been condemned with police tape, but there's nobody in view. Certainly no policemen, anyway.

    Standing near the edge of the water is HOMURA, along with another young girl in blue-purple robes, with long white-green hair and heterochromia-- purple and yellow. Outlines on her robes actually match her eyes, with half being outlined yellow, the other purple. Kimiko might have seen her around the loft a few times but Homura hasn't been cooperative on saying who it is. Maybe she doesn't want to get a speech on making bad decisions-- again.

    In the water itself, a bit below the surface, is a shimmering, distorted portal, a ripple through reality that glows an idle white and gold.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's been to a few of these Witches, so she knows the drill to approach. Barrier Jacket on, she walks along the pathway and approaches by foot, keeping her magical output to a minimum.

    The odd girl with Homura earns a curious peer, but she doesn't press the issue, instead turning to look down at the portal while waiting for the group to finish gathering. "So, 'nother one huh? Any idea who it is?" she asks.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    It's quite curious a Witch sighting would occur in Boston, across the globe, considering previous sightings have mostly been in Mitakihara. That said, Kirika can't turn this one down as far as hunting monsters goes. She arrives swiftly, dressed light for the summer's last few days, and clutching her katana sheathed in hand. As she arrives, her glamor dissipates to reveal her foxlike features, and she bows her head to both Homura and her mysterious friend as the kitsune walks along the docks.

    "Well met, Akemi Homura." She greets politely, albeit at a loss for who the other girl is at the moment. That said, she remains quiet as she sees Zephyr and gives her acquaintence a nod as well.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Ever and always, Eleanor cannot turn down helping a Witch or a Magi, even if Witches give her poor DNA a shake up every time, and even if they never turn out allright in the end.

    That said, Miss Lamb shows up, wearing her 'Magical Girl' dress, though as a 20 year old girl, she's not really much of a girl any more. She's also pretty sure magical girls aren't supposed to be carrying industrial truck spanners as weapons. A little wave to her friend, before she looks at the others showing up. "More help is always nice. Hello, everyone."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra had not hesitated when the call for help had went out. Though this was the first time officially responding to a Witch, she had become familiar with the phenomenon as it existed in Homura's world (and those similar to hers) thanks to previous reports from the Union on past incidents. She knew the dangers of having one encounter non-Elites now and the very thought of it made her shudder.

    From the look of it, she came from school, still wearing her school uniform though not the entire 'formal' get-up as she's had on before. It's more of 'the usual' meaning her jacket is not used, replaced by her hoodie. In her hands she hauls around a big bundle wrapped in white sheets. "Hello everyone!" she greets semi-cheerfully, still riding the high from yesterday's encounter, though trying to temper it because the situation is pretty serious. "Hi Eleanor, nice to see you here to-"

    Something beeps in the front pocket of her hoodie and in short order, Kyra has her phone out. "...ooh. Hey, check this out." With one thumb, she texts out a single letter.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko arrives as per usual, transformed into her outfit as a Puella Magi and using her Soul Gem in her hand to help navigate. It's not a very exact system, really, but it's better to have the information than not, and this helps triangulation when there are other Puella to compare against. With her and Homura being old hands at this, she doesn't expect trouble on that end.

    The yellow-purple girl isn't something she's going to actually ask about at this point. She had plenty of chances to talk to Homura at the loft, and if she won't give a straight answer there, during a hunt isn't the time to bring it up again.

    She gets A Look, however. Both of them do. 'Hiding things for no good reason' is another point that will be present in the eventual lecture, with or without an array of 'I told you so.'

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Woops. Kimiko's been spotted, and she is not about to escape a hug from Eleanor. Because hugs!
    >APPLY HUG TO KIMIKO.
    "Hello, young lady. How have you been?"

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Of the people arriving, one was most certainly not summoned by Homura Akemi. That is to say, the sudden pale white glow that forms a strange runic sigil on the ground by Kyra's side only a few seconds after she types her reply text means that he was summoned by Kyra Hyral.

    A phantom figure of glowing white pulls itself from the ground, hazy and incorporeal at first, before taking on shape, form, a more defined figure. Soon enough a ghostly white young man pulls himself from the summon sigil, electric guitar on his back, katana slung on his hip, and a dour expression upon his face as he rolls one shoulder out.

    "Unh." Grimm Hardy grunts in form of vague acknowledgement now that the Summon is complete.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    How long has it been, now?

    Madoka isn't sure whether the past few months have been a pleasant dream, or whether everything before that was a nightmare. Unfortunately, though, this night signifies the end of a long period of reprieve; she has had all the time she could have been allowed to recover from the scars of the previous several years, and now circumstances have thrust her back into the realm of witches.

    Before this, Madoka had been cooperating with Kyubey to make these sorts of situations come about. She had willfully - or at least consciously - contributed to the deaths of at least twenty girls like her own friends. Why? Well, if you asked her now, she could never answer that. Strange as it may be to say, each act was one of desperation, a blindness toward any and all alternatives... yet, of course, that does little to mitigate Madoka's own guilt. Knowing what tonight may bring has stolen the usual smile from her face entirely, and plastered a decidedly stoic, even lifeless look upon her countenance instead.

    Likewise, her skin is already tinged a ghostly hue by the time she arrives, the resonant, golden-white aura that seems to follow her wherever she treads being the only thing that may keep this trait from notice. She's transformed, naturally, though she has yet to call her bow into being -- more to spare her own feelings than to play the nonthreatening hero, she will not draw arrows until she is absolutely certain of where this situation will lead.

    She remains completely silent, doing her utmost to fade away into the growing crowd. She spares Homura only a quick, guilty glance before fixing her eyes upon some arbitrary point in the sky.

    If only she was one of those stars, carelessly lounging in the heavens instead. What bliss that would be.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Well, that's most of everyone Homura expected.

    And really, data suggests this isn't too powerful a Witch. So, there's no need to call in further cavalry-- especially not with Madoka here. Well, a Madoka. She's still having difficulty disassociating the two, but has no doubt any iteration of her is going to be cosmically important and thus powerful anyway.

    That's not to discredit everyone else. Kyra's healing talents in general are likely always a welcome addition to any team.

    "The entrance is there," Homura motions towards the portal in the water. Unfortunately that means you're having to jump in. "I'll be staying out here in case someone calls the police or... who knows. You shouldn't need me anyway."

    The girl with her just quietly stares at the ocean. She practically looks entranced, or perhaps just very, very disconnected from reality. Probably a bit of both.

    "Good luck," Homura concludes.

    PRESUMABLY, that's when you'll all start jumping in. Catching a lucky break, it seems the Witch Barrier sucks you in before you hit the water, so you don't end up wet! It feels a bit odd, being distorted and shunted into another reality, but not painful.

    Inside the Barrier, everything glistens. You find yourselves in a massive room, the walls, floors and ceiling made of gold coins, which shift and move occasionally, creating something that's rather painful to look at for too long. The entrance of the Barrier was about ten feet off the ground, so you do take a bit of a fall on the hard metal floor, and possibly people who came in before you.

    To either sides of the room are large hatches in the walls, with ship cannons sticking out of them, and occasionally firing-- but not inside, rather, outside. It's as though you'd found yourself in the belly of an old ship, just very large, and made of gold. The cannons are manned by humanoid forms made of constantly shifting dollar bills, grotesque papier-m�ch� Familiars evidently acting as the crew of the ship. They're each about ten foot tall, as oversized as the ship itself.

    To your back, past the long hallway filled with cannons and dollar bill cannoneers, is a doorway leading further down. In front of you (also past a hall of cannons and cannoneers) is one leading up.

    The Familiars haven't noticed you yet, earning you a lucky break to quickly plan. At least, until someone uses magic or gets their attention.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr leaps on in, and blinks a bit at the sight within. Huh, okay. She looks to the others, notably Kimiko. She's the veteran of these, so she'll follow a lead. The TSAB mage is the Muscle here, after all... or at least some of it anyway!

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Hello again." Kyra greets the stoic, guitar-wielding phantom. Previous experience has taught her that he's not going to be all that talkative but that didn't matter. Grimm proved himself to be pretty smart earlier so Kyra's entirely unworried. "We're fighting a Witch today."

    She gives Homura a thumbs up before she unwraps the white bundle-it's her CURE-ALL, which she saw fit to conceal since it does highly resemble a grenade launcher and might have raised a few eyebrows with the locals. She swings it onto her back and then jumps into the portal, holding her skirt down as she does so.

    Kyra hits the ground, fortunately not on top of anyone, and quickly scoots sideways so she doesn't get landed on herself. She takes a good look around and edges back to the group, keeping her voice low so the Familiars aren't alerted, "Is fighting those things mandatory? Can we sneak past them or do they need to be killed now so they don't bite us in the butt later?"

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor is very happy she's slung her wrench over her shoulder before she hopped down, a hard-ish landing would have made a lot of noise. That said she huffs and puffs and lets out a little bleh at being inside the barrier. "Bother, this is always strange. Not sure I'll ever get used to it."
    She's keeping her voice down as she moves quietly, looking to make sure she's not being spotted as she scopes out the place. Though, she carefully forms a sticky icky ball of blue goop in her hands, and squeezes it. Two... things peel from one of the walls. They look like flying seed pods of some sort, propellers made from dollar bills, a hanging case of metal coins and a little bitty cannon floating from the case.
    She snorts, and waves at the things to float off, get her some intel from above.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko wastes no time in jumping for--oh, she's being hugged. This causes her to mentally freeze up for a second, and physically stops her until Eleanor lets go. "Hello, miss Lamb." She has to think about the question for a long moment. "I'm okay." This is probably mostly generally sort of true. Her tone is very, and naturally, neutral.

    She turns to look at Grimm, but chooses not to comment on the summoning. She's not fully aware of Kyra's abilities, in any case, apart from having... healing guns. And sedating Mr. Hall, that one time. Mr. Hall had seemed very indignant about it, so that stuck in Kimiko's mind.

    Presumably, Eleanor lets Kimiko move again at some point, and the Puella hopes down and over and not actually into the water, but disappearing above it. She's still trying to get in ahead of anyone, in case there's something immediately dangerous. Even if not, it's better for her to see what's going on in case anyone should be tempted to *make* it dangerous--by, for instance, provoking the familiars.

    "Cannons. Not immediately important. Crew, not immediately hostile. Two paths. The Witch is..." And now it's time for tracking, again. If she really can't get a read at all, they might have to take both paths. In that eventuality, she'll pick 'down,' but hopefully they can stick together.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Now that the summon is complete and the Undead somewhat has his bearings, Grimm casts his gaze at those around him. lips curling into a sneer of vaguely unspoken disdain while listening to find out what exactly he's been Summoned for. Homura motions to what essentially is to him a fog gate, and already he's silently calculating all the horrible ways he, or someone else present will viciously be maimed or killed.

    He comes up with some surprisingly colorful ideas.

    He's almost lost in the cycle of contemplating deaths over and over when his head snaps up. "... What like pointy hat and broomsticks and shit?"

    He will learn.

    Nevertheless, into the breach, and he hops into the portal with as much gusto as a rock, landing hard with a grunt on the gold pile. Well that's as safe as it gets apparently, though he's eyeing the Familiars, hand edging towards his katana.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Before hopping in to the portal properly, Madoka steals one more glance at Homura. This isn't the first time she's noticed, of course, but seeing her there, looking out on the water... she can't help thinking that this Homura carries herself very differently from -her- Homura. Like the other puella magi, Madoka sometimes has trouble disassociating this Homura from her own, but when she really stops to think, when she isn't caught up in emotions or some more extrinsic excitement, the differences are plain as day. There's not a whole lot that she can put into words, exactly, but everyone wears a veil of feelings around them. And in that regard, this Homura... is as far away as she could possibly be. She's still the 'same' person, but she seems so, so tired. Madoka lets out a small sigh at the thought. To some extent, she can sympathize.

    But there's no use musing on that any further, and she's not going to waste all those hours of mental preparation by getting sidetracked. She walks into the water, and immediately she's hit by a wave of nausea. Pressure. Weight. This keeps her from catching herself in middair, so she falls straight on to the ground with everyone else. Once there, she's surprised to find the ground cold, metallic; coins warble and shift beneath her, but fortunately they're so well-packed that they also serve as a solid surface to walk on. She hesitates only a few moments in further observation of what would appear to be the lower decks of what could very loosely be called a ship, noting the positions of the familiars before she stands up, brushing off the skirt of her dress.

    Still reluctant to draw her bow, she takes a deep breath. She doesn't know -for sure-, but intuition is telling her fairly loudly that the witch is probably on whatever this barrier would consider to be the ship's 'deck'. Why? ... well, it's what Madoka would consider the most cinematic place. Witches are only little girls at heart, children; so the stage is probably in the most dramatic place possible. When she finally works up the confidence to do so, she verbalizes this: "Um... I think the witch is probably above us. If we can't find a way to get up there without sneaking past the familiars, we may have to fight."

    But no sooner has she said that than has she begun to have conflicting thoughts -- it might be better to try going down first. Madoka fidgets slightly. In a way, that makes sense too: the lower decks would be the most fortified regions, so they would offer the most comfort to a likely very insecure, even terrified person. So as quickly as she can, she amends her statement: "A-Actually, I'm not really sure. I would rather let you all decide." She doesn't want to pick 'up' and be wrong. She doesn't want to be responsible for anything bad happening. All too late does she begin to realize how agitated being here is making her.

    This might not have been such a good idea after all...

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika has some experience with portaling into dimensions in such a jarring way, and after initial jitters she readjusts just fine. There's not much to say, but as she arrives in the Witch Realm she takes cover immediately.

    "A stealthy approach might be best for this one." She agrees, before she focuses and a shadowy foxlike being emerges from her back. It's a very surreal sight, but this realm has the final word on surreality. Hikage shakes herself into focus, before she begins to nimbly climb where she can to get a good view from up high, while Kirika peers around in a crouching position to follow after if there's a thing to climb up with.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    The Witch is everywhere, supernatural senses and Soul Gems will say. But Madoka's senses are correct, the strongest concentration, by far, is above them. Nonetheless, something stirs down below too-- an identical, but weaker reading. Perhaps the Witch has two bodies? It certainly seems like either direction is correct. Splitting up might not be a bad idea, for once.

    Since nobody has used any magic, or made aggressive gestures at the Familiars, the dollar bill cannoneers continue their routine. They load cannonballs (actually, they're huge diamonds) into the golden cannons, firing at... whatever is outside the ship. Not taking any fire back, from the sounds of it. The hatches are big enough you could go near a cannon to see what's outside. The Familiars certainly don't seem to care.

    They're acting out their part, and nobody's disturbing them.

    Eleanor's little drones flutter by, under her command as normal, golden coin turret drones that shoot precious gems instead of bullets, with equal lethality.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor snorts a bit, shaking her head up at her drones, before they follow along, one each pathway to provide a little backup for people who need it, as well as a watchful eye in the sky. They can normally detect hostile intent or actions, so they presumably should help keep people safe.

    Eleanor looks at Madoka announces her intention to go that way and looks to the rest. She hefts her wrench again, the business end crusting over with spikes of ice. "Right, I'm going downwards into the hold." She smiles at the others, lights her hand on fire like it's nothing, and then heads downwards.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko puts her gem away. "I can probably work better in an enclosed area, so I'll go down. Having one Puella Magi in each direction might be helpful, anyway. Go cautiously." She looks specifically toward Madoka when she says this, though the full extent to which the other girl worries her in general shouldn't be visible. If the top-side is an aerial fight, it'll be easier for Madoka and Zephyr, at least. For her, that would be less convenient.

    If given a fairly safe chance to do so, Kimiko will take a moment to look out a porthole, but she's not sticking around long in any case. She heads toward the deeper holds, continuing to stay out of the familiars' way.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra nods evenly as the consensus seems to be 'do not bother the Familiars'. "Good. I'm good with that idea." She keeps her voice low, not poking or recording or doing the usual Kyra things when Kyra is around new things. In fact, she's not even recording this to her channel as usual.

    "Not quite like that kind of witch." Kyra fills in to Grimm, "More like an abstract-looking dimensional horror that grows on the misery of others? This is my first time seeing one, admittedly, but I've read previous literature on them." Probably not too reassuring to Grimm.

    Due to familarity with Eleanor's powers, Kyra doesn't seem to be in any sort of rush to put out her fire. She also seems to be following her, Kimiko, and Grimm down into the ship's hold, firmly staying in the rear of the group.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    A lack of aggressive familiars is confusing and curious to Kirika, not that she minds the lack of combat here. As the order is given to head to the deck, Kirika obeys it very calmly. Listening to Kyra explain is helpful as a refresher on what she does know on things, before she moves toward the deck calmly.

    She keeps her sword handy, but it remains sheathed to avoid looking too aggressive to the guards. For now, she remains out of sight when she can, and makes quick movements cover to cover.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Though ever have tangible, magical signatures spoken more loudly than the force of intuition. Since Madoka is more actively considering the lower floors when she begins to pick up hints of the witch's whereabouts, she identifies the portion of their 'body' their first, but then... then she begins to feel equally powerful pulsations of energy from above, too! Her features droop slightly, and she briefly squeezes her eyelids shut. It looks like they're going to have to split up, aren't they? They could focus on one and then the other, but that would introduce too many extraneous variables to the situation. One half could get away, or one could just be a diversion, or something else along those lines. It's probably not a good idea to chance it, so.

    Reluctantly, Madoka reopens her eyes and gives a quick glance around the group. "I'm gonna go up," She echoes. She hesitates only a few more seconds before finalizing her decision and starting forward, glancing warily toward the familiars on either side of the ship. -She- may be doing her utmost to be quiet, but her body is constantly spilling forth magical energy; magical energy endemic to another iteration of this world that the witch and her extensions would be more likely than not to perceive as a threat. She'll count herself lucky if they don't, and she's still not going to take out her bow until they demonstrate malicious intent just in case, but their present silence does very little to allay her worry. This seems more like the calm before the storm than anything, and if they -do- notice her...

    She shakes her head. She can't get caught up worrying about holding the group back. She can't worry about being the one to trip the alarms when, logically, they're going to have to do that later anyway. But still. Still...

    ... maybe it's a small mercy that, along the way, Madoka happens to catch a glimpse out of one the cannon's hatches. The skies inside witch's barriers are always so gloomy. The vivid colors and intense blips of light seem to alternate in time with the feelings of the witch, so it's almost like she can feel a little bit of their soul just by looking. It's a little enthralling, actually, and she likely remains mesmerized for a few seconds.

    But not for so long that she would be defenseless in the event of a sudden attack. With two quick pats of her cheeks, she stirs herself back into awareness, continuing on toward the passage at the other end of the hall.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    "Well isn't this place a glittering shithole." Money doesn't mean much to an Undead. After a while the glow of gold and glint of gems pales in comparison to the much more all important currency of the Soul, back in the States, and here is no exception as he trudges along, not opening up hostilities with the Familiars if they aren't actively coming for him and sugh.

    "So something terrible and monstrously dangerous." He rasps at the better explanation. Not like this changes the situation much for him, then as he follows Kyra.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr follows after Madoka, keeping her handax-sized Device ready, just in case. TSAB magic is a little more efficient in the ambient power it gives off, but Zephyr's Linker Core is a leaky one, so she's keeping a dab eye on the Familiars too. Last time she was in a Witch Barrier... well, that one was already dead, wasn't it?

    As Madoka stops to look out the hatch, Zephyr does too, but doesn't stop to stare as long. "You gonna be alright?" she asks the Puella, keeping pace.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    TREASURY TEAM:

    Eleanor, Kyra, Grimm and Kimiko head down.

    As they do so, they reach another room, much like the one they were in; the walls here are copper, rather than gold. Aged coins, no longer shining. This isn't just a cargo hold-- this is a treasury. Piles and piles of gold, gems, giant piles of dollar bills stacked like in a bank vault-- and indeed, bank vault doors, everywhere. Countless dollar bill Familiars slave away here, moving the treasures from one end of the room to the other, and then back to their original positions-- endlessly stuck in a loop of collecting, counting and stacking money. And in the center of the room, a massive human heart, rotten, black, berely beating, with an open steel door in the front, and the furnace of a steam engine inside it. Familiars shovel gold or diamonds into it now and again, keeping the heart 'alive'. It pulses with negative emotions.

    And those who wander in become victim of its compulsion. CONSENT EFFECT: a supernatural force attempts to beckon those in the treasury to CONSUME THE TREASURES. Literally, to eat the gold coins, to stuff their eye sockets full of gems, to become one with the immense fortune here, at great and painful cost. This is trivial to resist, but it is plain as day that this is what the Witch wants you to feel.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Gradually, blearily, Madoka looks back to Zephyr. Their question makes her bat her eyes a few times. I-Is... it is really that obvious that she's worried about something? If only she was better at keeping these things down, people wouldn't have to worry, but...

    ... but even if she messed up badly enough to tip them off, she doesn't have to continue calling attention to herself. She gives a quick few nods of her head, resurrecting a smile that she had likely worn a day - or maybe a lifetime, she can't be sure - ago. "I'll be fine!" She reassures. "Ehehehe, don't worry about me~. I'm just trying to be quiet so that the familiars don't notice us." She gives another, tiny nod after that statement before looking back to their destination.

    Once she's fairly sure they can't see her, that smile evaporates again. People are too nice...

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    DECK TEAM:

    Madoka, Zephyr and Kirika ascend to the deck of the ship. It's a massive battlecruiser, made of solid gold and encrusted with gems. Near the rear of it, a massive ABRAHAM LINCOLN head (also of solid gold and coins) seems to be what the ship's cabins and above-deck indoors area are. In the other words, you're coming out of the mouth of it, although there's nothing else inside.

    The sight here reveals that the ship's side-cannons are firing at a childish representation of Boston. The buildings are alive, attempting to avoid cannonfire-- and when a building is struct, and its bricks break everywhere like blood, the others gather about and eat it, repairing themselves in the process. The ship is firing at its own Familiars, showcasing the personality of the person this used to be. The city shatters under fire, and yet it also feasts on its own dead.

    The eyes, two massive diamonds, gleam red at the sight of the intruders.

    Countless cannons, thin, more futuristic ones than the cannonball shooters below, all along the side of the Abe head, lower down and open fire immediatly.

    They fire beams of light and lasers, which when they strike the golden floor of the ship, seem to cause accelerated decay of the material, but also typical energy beam damage.

    The Witch introduces itself; its 'main body' might be the ship itself, but its head is fairly obvious to identify.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
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KATHLEEN, THE WARRING WITCH

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor arrives down in the Treasury, her little drone hovering overhead and she... she lets out a strangled half-breath-laugh of exhasperation. This is a sight of plain consumerism. Greed. Consumption personif-

    RUNES. They shove into her brain, causing her to drop to her knee, and the Compulsion sneaks in on the wave of psychic energy. Eleanor cries out and... and she's halfway to shoving a wad of bills into her mouth before Utopia /glows/ on the back of her hand, the Abstractum forcing her back to reality beofre she eats Strange Things.
    She chokes down a sigh and looks at the massive boiler room/treasury. "Oh.... oh dear, what Wish did you make, you poor thing." A hand places itself against one of the walls, and sighs.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko looks to Kyra and the phantom. Eleanor, she knows, is familiar with these hunts. Most of the Puella Magi of her world would not be, but she, Homura, and Madoka--both of them--are exceptions to that rule. The memories are many and vivid. "The familiars will protect the Witch, and respond to magic or hostility."

    Unprotected humans do not tend to long survive the attentions of a Witch, either within or without of the Labyrinth. Here, the compulsion reveals what would happen to hapless prey. Kimiko is protected by the nature of her contract, even if the feeling here is abnormally strong, to the point that she knows for certain what it is.

    "We have found a... heart. An engine." Kimiko says that over the shared frequency, then continues to her immediate companions, her tone calm despite the situation. "We must destroy it. After that, the ship. Everything. Anything can be part of its defenses. Including its treasures." She gives Eleanor a sharp look, but Utopia acts before she can--before she has to move.

    "A surprise attack. Make the first strike count."

    A lance appears in her hands in a flash of silver, and she sets herself to charge, the weapon growing to what would be an unmanageably enormous size in most hands. All she plans for it is to pierce the heart, so even a weight that would slow her amplified abilities won't be a problem.

    Of course, this takes a moment, during which she expects the familiars to react. She'll just charge through them, if so.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Yup, exactly that." Kyra confirms cheerfully. "And you're going to be fighting it." The dour mood of Grimm doesn't seem to bother her the least bit, simply letting the attitude roll off her back without protest. It does sort of make her wonder how exactly the summoning app works though: "Hey, that app, UIM, are you triggering the alerts yourself? Or does that happen without your input?"

    Slipping down below, Kyra seems a little shocked at the money lying around, piled up like the alleged hoard of a dragon. She stares at the gold, her initial urge to completely strip the room of every bit of loot. However, there was also the very real concern that all the loot would disappear once they left this pocket dimension. "Maybe if I store it /in my mouth/ it'll work-" Kyra mutters, then shakes her head rapidly, clearing her head of the strange compulsion as she realizes how strange that sounds when said out loud, "-wait, what? Ugh. That's kind of awful. Hold on-"

    Kyra uses magic. Her magic, specificially, which is directed upon Grimm, Eleanor, and Kimiko. It's a set of simple buffing spells: Bravery, which enhances physical attacks, followed by Faith, which enhances magic. She's actually a little unsure if, say, Eleanor's skills with her plasmids fall under 'magic', but she casts it anyway.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Down in the holds, so full of riches and and glittering with gold, and Grimm's expression shifts. For a moment the phantom Undead flickers, one hand reaching up to rub at his skull before he looks down at all the gold as though in genuine contemplation. It takes him a moment, champing teeth and growling to himself to draw his hand back after it roves over a particularly large pile of coinage.

    These mean nothing to him anymore.

    And the slow steeling breath he takes is a relief only for a beat before the sudden rending sensation of runes shoving their way into his mind makes the Undead black out for a moment, but then his hand is pulling his guitar off his back, already strumming a few chords that makes the instrument come to life, a sudden burst of fire overtaking the guitar for a beat as he starts playing fatser, harder, wailing sick shredding riffs before it practically erupts with primal energy, a sudden surge of blazing heat flowing outwards towards Kyra- and perhaps Eleanor and Kimiko, the outflow of primal Pyromancy magic will temporarily turn unarmored skin into pure, living iron.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    As Madoka and Zephyr emerge on to the deck of the ship, Madoka is privy to another witch abstraction; another agonizing dance of shattered hopes and ample expressions of pain. In the distance, buildings continually crumble, only to be consumed by their neighbors. In the context of a delusion like this, it's easy enough to identify the meaning of that: this poor girl has probably been betrayed, in a manner of speaking. This visual is like a short, animated film displaying what it's like to live in a world where one is trying to get by in an imperfect world, where everyone is vying for the same few things. That's already begun to paint a picture for her when she turns to see... -that-. That head of Abaraham Lincoln comes flying by, its crystalline eyes glinting a decidedly murderous crimson.

    And then the lasers come. Why had she expected anything else? Why had she even entertained the thought that they might be able to get through this without a fight? She should know better than anyone else that witches will never listen to reason, and yet she still stubbornly, uselessly hopes for miracles.

    All her prior agitation has helped her in one way: it's allowed her to build a large reservoir of adrenaline that allows her to react with all due speed when that hail of fire comes. She hops out of the way of one and fluidly transitions to a glide to avoid the next, though another volley that happens in simultaneity does surprise her. The final beam singes the left shoulder of her dress, and several shards of white cloth go tumbling to join the mess of treasures below. With a wince, she has finally tasted pain. The witch finally made the first strike, and so she... she...

    She finally draws her bow. In another glint of light, it materializes, one hand drawing the string taut. After closing one eye and focusing her shot at one of the crystal eyes, she lets go, sending a single, thick beam of winding light toward her quarry.

    Just moments ago, this seemed impossible, but with her bow in hand her muscle memory takes over. Just another witch, right? She's doing them a favor. She's...

    ... no. She's doing nothing so noble.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr winces. She really. REALLY hates those Runes. "Ow... Falka na'srel... I /hate/ that." A pause as the head comes alive and starts shooting /lasers/ at the group. "WHOA! Okay, I think we're /in/ the Witch." she says over radio, before leaping into the air so she can better evade incoming shots. <MISTRAL SQUALL. DIFFUSION MODE.> intones Divine Wind, the two little Bits forming around the Mage. "Okay, lets take out those little laser turrets." <YES! IMPULSE SHOOTER. CONCUSSIVE SHIFT!> intones the Device, before a multitude of purple energy bullets start streaking out from the end of her Axe, and the central empty section of the spinning fan-blade Bits. She's not unscathed, however, lasers striking hastily erected shields, only to shatter through them and singe through her Barrier Jacket, leaving holes and smouldering pockmarks in her defenses.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    TREASURY TEAM:

    Kyra and Grimm both use magic; and Kimiko produces a weapon, also of magic. The Familiars turn towards them now, the humanoid, walking piles of cash churning, their movement not fluid, but rather more like stop-motion superimposed onto reality. It probably looks a least a bit strange, maybe jarring, but at least they're easy to keep track of.

    They produce weapons, of the same substance they're made of. Swords, spears and guns of green paper form in their hands, looking harmless from afar, but oddly dangerous up close. Plus those who still have shovels. They charge, the initial wave blown through by Kimiko as she lances for the heart. Her weapon cuts a deep gash into the furnace of the ship, and rather than fire or diamonds pouring out, it's black oil, which if any of it gets on her, she would do well to avoid the flames of the furnace. It's sticky, either way!

    The beating heart isn't down for the count yet though. That's just one gash. The Familiars reform, and out of the treasure piles, deformed goblins made of gold and gemstones form as well, lumbering slowly towards the party.

    Gun-wielding Familiars open fire on Kyra and Grimm.
    Kimiko is beset by ones with swords, spears and axes, a dozen at least.
    Eleanor, further back, is closer to the incoming goblins; they're unarmed, but they're made of metal rather than paper. They'll just try to bash her face in, mostly.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika is about to move again before she's stopped mid-run, tripping over herself with a loud cry of pain as she clutches her head. Those runes drive her crazy, pounding at her head with that grinding, gnawing feeling from a nasty headache. She grits through it until the feeling ceases, and she frowns as she catches herself reaching for coinage.

    She feels nothing short of disgust for herself for falling for that urge to grab at petty cash, like a greedy lord searching for more land to conquer and slaves to take.

    It pisses her off, and she's driven to draw her sword and sprint towards a cannon. Her hand reaches out, and she sends a fireball at one of the turrets, and she braces herself for retaliation from the familiars.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    And here we go. What needs to be done, as ever.
    Eleanor growls as the Goblins charge and she huffs and throws her arm out to the side. "SHIFT." There's a flash from Utopia, and the glove spirals a latticework of double helixes up her arm, the glove expanding to a full sleeve of sinuous energy and fabric. That massive spanner lands easily in her hands, and she steps up to plate.
    Bolstered by Kyra and Grimm, the Sister snarls, the heavy end of the wrench coming round to CRASH into the Goblins, the frosty spikes on the end trying to stap through the softer bits before the club beats them in.
    She huffs and murmurs. "The longer we let her suffer, the more damage this will do to her. Kyra might be here to help stabilize her afterwards, but we need to make this quick." Another step, and a twirling SWING, a haymaker of a slash that spins the clawed end of the spanner into the head of amother familiar.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    DECK TEAM:
    If only understanding the Witch's inner world gave tangible advantages. Madoka would be single-handedly sweeping this one under the rug alright. As she flies about, avoid the beams from the Witch's head, her bow lets loose a precise arrow of light, which slams into the diamond eye and shatters it. Black oil gushes out of the 'wound' like blood, covering the golden deck of the ship in black liquid.

    Zephyr's concentrated fire aims for the laser cannons; there are hundreds, uncountable, but if she can destroy ten at a time she'll be done eventually, so quantity doesn't matter. Her blasts plow through the lines of weaponry, breaking and melting barrels, reducing the amount of bright energy lances shooting at the three of them.

    And Kirika too aims for the weaponry, her sword cutting through the gold as easily as one would expect to when properly armed. Gold isn't known to be the best of armors. A fireball has the same effect, reducing another to a pile of liquid gold that quickly hardens.

    Wounded, the Witch retorts, its ever-open mouth suddenly gushing a wall of wind out. Hundred and thousand dollar bills fly out, razor sharp like throwing stars, while the wind burst itself is trying to unbalance or otherwise push back the three fighters. It might also spread the oil on them if they're not careful!

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr grunts as the wind burst comes. "That's how y'wanna play it huh?" she grumbles. She's pushed back by the wind burst, but somehow finds some footing in the air with a spinning Marchian spell seal. Razor sharp bills slice across her Barrier Jacket, cutting deeply and leading to small blossoms of red to stain the yellow and orange fabric. "Fine then. Divine Wind?" <YES! AREA MODE!>

    Two can play this game! The Bits, unaffected by the wind, spread out to a good distance, and then, within the area between them, a spherical ball of space, becomes placid, the wind dying down, though the Witch might still be able to force come breeze through the calming effect. "I /AM/ Wind. I am the Wind Dancer of March, and this?" she gestures to the area around her. "This is now /MY/ world." She doesn't move for the moment though, focussing on shutting down the Witch's retort so the others can get their attacks in.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Go forth and be heartbreakers." Kyra says, slightly lighthearted (PUN INTENDED) about the situation in that moment. It passes pretty quickly. She's quick to notice that when she starts casting, the Familiars take notice of their group right away, leading her to realize why the cannoneers above deck were not paying them much attention.

    She starts to sweat a little as she realizes the magnitude of the aggro they just drew, her worry underscored by a rockin' guitar soundtrack provided by Grimm. She doesn't realize it at first, but she does hear the music, and she certainly feels-and sees-the effects, her skin becoming solid iron and, subsequentially, the bullets pinging off of that iron-hard skin. Kyra's absolutely delighted by this.

    She reaches for one of the guns on her, in particular, the Luna's Resolve. It is a pistol that fires special-made holy aspected bullets, created by Lloyd Irving. Though as she moves, Kyra quickly learns that being made of metal means everything feels really, really heavy. Lifting her own arms seems like a chore but she does manage to slowly aim and fire at the heart.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Oh crap.

    Kirika feels projectiles strike at her, leaving slashing wounds all across her body. The fact she showed up in short-shorts and a tank top don't give her much protection, and she winces as she bats at the dollar blade things with her sword. Despite her wounds, she stays kicking as she begins to get going, storming to cover to evade the wind attack before she grabs onto something and sheathes her sword.

    Reaching out, Kirika's fingers light up with flames, and Kirika takes aim to fire off a gout of fire at the Witch's mouth. Logically this ought to tone down the gale force winds and dollar blades.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Having shredded away a Pyromancy spell the sudden reprisal is swift and vicious. And Grimm understands gunfire well enough for all it is. There's no grace to the act, no artistic nor flashy to it, Grimm just suddenly flings himself in a tumble roll out of the way, the return fire spanging the flooring and wall behind where he was a moment ago as he comes to a rolling halt on his knees.

    Phantoms cannot bleed, but judging from the teeth-champed scowl and the way white light floats off of him like mist, he might not have gotten off scott free as he slings his guitar, drawing two pistols from the band of his jeans.

    And then the Undead is free to show his art.

    Like a maestro working an orchestra his motions are as smooth and fluid as water, quickly aiming, pulling the trigger, adjusting, shifting, sidestepping, re-aiming, firing, again. It could almost be called gun-kata if not for the fact that it doesn't look to be so much a martial art as it is more just that he's had way too much time to practice gunfighting as he weaves his way back to Kyra- who now being made of metal and all...

    He gets behind and uses for cover, firing out from behind her at Familiars while the others go for the witch proper.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko's armor deploys as she charges, appearing over her body in the same flashes of silver-white, adding to her momentum while not seeming to slow her charge. She leaves the lance as soon as she makes the strike, regardless of how far it penetrated or how much damage it caused, knowing she made it too unwieldy for a second strike, to say nothing of defending herself from the reforming familiars. She moves to avoid the spraying oil, but not quickly enough to avoid it entirely, taking a splatter against her armor. Fire will be even more of a problem than usual, for her. Concerning, but less immediate than the swords, the spears, and the axes. She answers all three with swords.

    Even in armor, Kimiko fairly dances as she moves, never stopping for the barest moment. In either hand she wields a long, slashing blade, cutting both weapons and familiars alike, but she's focusing on getting through more than on downing the enemy.

    "I'm here." She mutters aloud. "I'm here. Pay attention--to--me!" A sword makes a poor projectile, but when it morphs into a hefty, curved, double-sided dagger in the moment it leaves her hand, it spins true through the arc between her and the heart. Only her left-handed longsword still cutting at the familiars that crowd her, she tosses a second and a third in quick motions, then loses her other sword in the same manner as the first. "I'll be your opponent. Here!"

    Spears scrape rents into her armor, and axes crash against her pauldrons, but she twists, turns and spins through, hands empty, taking herself back to the heart. She leaps, heedless, reaching her hands above her head. A long-handled, heavy-ended halberd is swiftly summoned, nearly in the same moment she brings it down.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Duality -- another constant in the worlds of witches. What was a beautiful crystal on the surface, when broken, reveals itself as a pool of oils and grime; rot and decay that rests on the ugly flipside of a city of gold. In that moment, she has a thought: those in the lower parts of the boat may well be surrounded by this stuff if it constitutes the ocean beneath the boat. And what if it begins to sink? A sinking ship would certainly fit the tone, here, and this is another one of those things her intuition is simply not willing to let go. This thought isn't as pressing and persistent as the one that told her to look on the deck, perhaps, but it's still loud enough that she wants to express her concern when she has the opportunity. To tell the others to look for leaks, and to get out if they sense even a hint of danger.

    So many experiences within these barriers have made her a veritable, living catalogue of these sorts of things. It's not exactly something she has many opportunities to demonstrate, but dour as it may sound, barriers have become akin to a second home for her. The dark, even angry feelings have become so familiar for her that they don't have the same averse effects on her as they might have, once upon a time. There are even times - times she wouldn't admit to, mind - when those very feelings start to feel like a sort of blanket. It's odd, but the more she slips back into this sort of 'groove', the more calm she becomes. She bounds and weaves between laser after laser, a pair of miniature wings appearing at her shoulders at intervals to indicate the times when she is applying effort to lift herself. She begins to draw another arrow as she moves between one, two, another, another, and...

    ... and then a peculiar wind stirs. An aegis of tempest winds builds itself in front of the witch, and the grime that had spilled forth from its broken eye scatters as if it were hit by the blades of a fan. It goes everywhere and nowhere -- it probably coats portions of the golden deck pitch. For all her 'finesse', Madoka is not able to dodge it herself, and her left elbow is all but coated in the stuff. This is to say nothing of the dark splotch it leaves on the lower right portion of her dress.

    Still, she's been this close to death too many times already. The wind blows her back, nigh off the sides of the ship and into the water even, but she catches herself before she can be blown into the water. Through sheer force of will, she forces herself forward against the wind. She's beat back easily for the first few seconds, but when her body begins to glow fuschia, and when the petal at the tip of her bow begins to dilate as would an eye, everything changes. She advances a whole several feet in seconds after that before flying up above the focus of the storm, hopefully before the witch can adjust her aim. And when she's above the cyclone, when her arrows can no longer be driven off course, she points her bow skyward. She pulls as far back as she is able, and then, in an instant, she releases. A single bolt soars high, high into the sky, and if it's allowed to continue on its present course, it would shatter into twenty-some smaller bolts on its way back down. All of them would converge on the head again, four of them in particular training themselves on the other eye. Throughout all of this, Madoka took no small amount of fire from those turrets Zephyr and Kirika are no doubt tirelessly working to destroy. Small nicks and bloodied scratches have begun to appear all over her body, though hopefully she looks more battered than she truly is.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Madoka looks to the witch. Before she had fired that arrow, she had experienced an unprecedented lucidity -- a lucidity that allowed her to concentrate all her wishes for this girl's well-being in a physical form. For however many arrows are able to lodge themselves in their target, the tortured one will feel a sort of calming feeling wash over her, like dopamine flooding the body before death. It's... the very least she can do.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    TREASURY TEAM:
    Eleanor, twice-buffed, and with drones to boot, goes to tone on incoming Familiars. They fall in droves, shredded, allowing others to focus on the other task at hand. Her drones are still being useful too, machinegunning at the ranged Familiars.

    Kyra's weapon strikes the heart! Holy seems to have no particular effect (positive or negative), though. Witches aren't really... they're negative emotions personified. If they had a weakness, one surmises it would be a weapon made of positive emotions, but even that's unlikely. On the other hand they can be damaged and killed by basically anything, so what's the point of a weakness?

    The hole her gun puts in the heart bleeds the same black oil, and the beating of the heart becomes irregular, more than it already was anyway. Its furnace seems to lose light.

    Grimm might not find much challenge in the Familiars; they're fragile, breaking after one hit. They're numerous, so they might still get close enough to strike, or land a lucky shot, but they're not a threat when actively being blown apart. And his gun too puts holes in the heart, whose furnace now falls silent, the flames dead. It still beats, though.

    Kimiko's larger weapon and swinging arcs allow her to keep more or less ignoring the Familiars-- she might takes scratches and dents in her armor, but they're unlikely to pierce it. And the heart, struck again, is cleaved almost in two, oil now starting to fill the treasury not just from the heart bleeding far more than it should, but from upstairs, too, as the Witch's head bleeds down and down into the ship.

    The room is rapidly flooding with oil now, the heart destroyed. And since it's coming from both directions, escape might not be easy! Thankfully-- (hold)

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    DECK TEAM:

    Zephyr's tactic works; this Witch just happens to be able to use wind as a breath weapon, but it doesn't control it, and it's not a specialty. The wind calms, and can even be made to blow in the party's favor.

    Kirika's fireball explodes in the Witch's mouth, indeed silencing any further attempt to breathe wind at them (and allowing Zephyr to up the ante if she wants), and burning paper projectiles before they can become an issue.

    It's at this point that all cannons stop firing, like they lose power. The Witch seems to slow. Its heart, ruptured and destroyed, everything about the head weakens. Even its ability to take hits seems to diminish greatly.

    Using momentum from Zephyr's wind, it won't be difficult for Madoka to get in position and line up those arrows. They destroy the second eye and critically injure the Witch, which drowns on the feelings the Puella Magi is trying to force into it.

    Everything starts withering, and the Witch's head begins melting, as the integrity of the Witch Barrier rapidly falls, the air rippling like hot desert air. (hold)

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    BOTH TEAMS:

    Abruptly, the Witch Barrier collapses.

    Everyone is dumped into the water, where they had originally jumped. Still covered in oil, unfortunately, if any had gotten on them at all.

    Amidst all of them is an additional body; a young girl, maybe fourteen or fifteen, with long black hair and ragged clothing, jeans and a t-shirt that have all the signs of a homeless person, holes, tears and dirt on them. She's unconscious, so one might want to catch her before she sinks.

    Kyra's healer senses will tell her she's, for all intents and purposes, already dead. No amount of healing would stabilize her-- but she has no physical damage on her whatsoever. Her HP and MP are at 0, but she's completely unharmed, and her heart still beats. Unfortunately, none of those who can solve this problem are present-- but Madoka is.

    Once the girl (Minase Manami, that's Japanese order) is placed on the ground, Homura will walk over, while her companion continues staring at the ocean like it means the world to her. The Puella Magi frowns, but says nothing.

    Clutched in one hand is a pitch black round egg, wrapped in a gold casing, kind of like a Faberge Egg-- her Soul Gem.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    SPLOOSH.

    Zephyr gets a dunking, then surfaces quickly, lifting out of the water on her four purple winged flight spell. A quick stock check of the others leads the Mage to spot the new body in the water, and she zips over to snag the girl out, scooping her up and setting her on dry land.

    She winces a little, as she spots that black Soul Gem, but turns and goes to fish the others out if they need it. She's no good at the girls side, and she'd only get in the way.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Effectiveness of holy-aspect bullets isn't something of top concern at the moment to Kyra-just taking out the heart with damage, which they all succeed at easily enough. As the hold starts to flood with oil, Kyra tries to move but finds it happening very slowly.

    The Iron Flesh spell seems to be continuing to cause problems, even after the barriers fall down, because while Kyra would love to give her medical assessment of what the girl's condition is right now...

    ...she's currently dropping like a stone to the bottom of the bay.

Kirika (481) has posed:
    SPLASH.

    Kirika dunks, but she deforms her blade beofre she reaches a hand out at Zephyr. Her main concern, once she notices, is Kyra...sinking.

    "Oh no." She immediately dives down, without a further word, and she begins to swim like a woman posessed after Kyra. Water isn't her element, but she is a decent enough swimmer to pursue the sinking White Mage.

    She's also strong, hella strong even, and she grabs and begins to try and lift Kyra before she swims with all her strength to get to the shoreline.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor splashes, makes a commont on the radio an-

    Oh bother. She huffs and snarls. "Hold on, i got her." And like a light, she's under the surface of the waves with nary a ripple. Once under she grumbles in her chest, a light radiating from Utopia to search the bottom. If the currents haven't... Okay, there we go.

    She spots the IRON KYRA at the bottom of the water, taps her on the nose once, and then plants her feet on the riverbed. And with a constrained grimace, she levels upwards at the Medic with a burst of TK, attemtping to help Kirika.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko was readying herself for things to get worse, and the oil could have been the vector for that--but abruptly, it's over. So, splitting up had worked in their favor--or if not that, the other team had managed to fulfill the conditions for the Witch's defeat.

    This is not the first time she's been dumped into a river for exactly such reasons. She has few ways to prevent it happening, but she can dismiss her armor before she hits the water, and that she does. The oil disappears with it, thankfully helping clean her conscious of pollution-related concerns, apart from the fates of anyone else who lacks that kind of trick.

    Orienting takes a moment, during which she sees the girl falling--and doesn't think to look for anyone who might be inexplicably sinking right now, a terribly unlikely event given that even normal humans tend to float.

    It's just as well, as she does notice, that the matter is already handled. Kimiko is not a remarkable swimmer, though getting back out while transformed isn't going to be a huge issue, at least.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Guns going off almost rhythmically, Grimm snaps off shots left and right at the familiars from where he uses Kyra as cover, up until the Witch Barrier falls apart and--

    The Undead gunslinger is unceremoniously dumped into the water. He sinks almost instantly, phantom form splashing down before he manages to kick feet wildly and climb back to the surface, water sloughing off almost instantly as though he can't get wet in this form. Unfortunately for Iron Fleshed Kyra he can't quite dispel the Pyromancy, it has to wear off on its own, so she's in Eleanor's hands.

    Panting, and remaining cohesive through sheer force of will as he trudges over to the girl.

    Homura's right there, so he doesn't do anything untoward, but there's a clear look of hunger in his eyes as he stares right for the gem in the girl's hand, one fist clenching and unclenching over and over again as though squeezing an invisible stress ball.

    Whatever urge is there he reins it in, simply reaching into his pocket and pulling out a smartphone, snapping a shot of the Soul Gem.

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Unlike last time, Madoka handles this fall rather gracefully. She's able to anticipate the fall of the barrier based on a familiar abatement of the pressure one is constantly under inside of a witch's barrier; you sort of adjust to it when you're inside, but when the weight comes off, it's pretty noticeable. As such, she's able to gradually bring herself down to the surface of the water in mid-flight, and then finally to alight on the ground beside the incapacitated - if not outright dead - puella magi. Rather than looking to her body, though, she looks to the soul gem -- wait, soul gem? Her eyes grow wide, and she immediately glances to Homura and Kimiko. It... isn't a grief seed? How is that even possible? It's in dismal shape, but it hasn't transformed.

    Madoka takes a deep breath. She... should say something. She should say something, and she knows she should say something, but she won't; she knows that this is a bad idea and she doesn't want to hear any verbal confirmations thereof. Instead she simply kneels down, tapping two fingers to the surface of the gem, and...

    ... and then it happens. Madoka's eyes both squeeze shut in pain, but she is able to stifle any sounds of discomfort. Any onlookers might notice her own soul gem - manifesting in this case as a ring cleverly hidden on the hand behind her back - darkening, its pink coloration slowly beginning to clash with a pronounced, even evil coloration that threatens to engulf it entirely. Throughout this process, the near-corrupt soul gem would presumably lose some of its darkness in kind until, finally, both gems are left with roughly equivalent amounts of darkness.

    Whether or not this is successful, Madoka's fingers would eventually, inevitably rise from the gem, after which she would promptly begin to breath heavily. She closes her eyes and ducks her head, doing her utmost to avoid any sort of eye contact.

    Did that work...?

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Fishing Kyra out is going to take a group effort because the Iron Flesh has made her /extremely/ heavy. Kirika, Eleanor, and Kimiko working together can make the extremely heavy girl up to the surface. The whole time, her jaw has been clenched tight as she holds onto her breath.

    The moment she breaks the surface, she gasps for air. After that, she shouts out "FLOAT!" layering the second spell onto herself and greatly aleviating some of the burden of those that had to fish her off the bottom of the ocean. She's a lot lighter now but still heavy enough to sink on her own without help.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Madoka's action does indeed leave both Soul Gems healthy-- and now, once Kyra is back up, the girl won't be 'dead' anymore. Exhausted, certainly, but no longer the equivalent of someone with 1 second left on their Doom counter.

    The unconscious girl coughs, as her body's condition stabilizes. She's still unconscious, but she's out of the red for sure.

    Homura's eyes go wide at the sight-- she rushes over to Madoka's side to help her stand, questioning her immediatly. "What-- how did you do that? That's not possible." But then, from Madoka's perspective, neither was the Puella's survival. This is going to require explanation, isn't it.

    "She-- the, other. My you. Her wish made it so that most Puella Magi disappear before-- well, before this. Occasionally, strong-willed ones undergo the process regardless. They'll revert, but only long enough for Madoka to arrive and... well, free them of all grief. Then they die at peace. Is that what you just did... without the dying part?"

Kirika (481) has posed:
    GASSSSSSP

    Kirika is satisfied when she feels Kyra utter out FLOAT, and she holds onto the girl as she paddles towards the ocean. "it's alright, we've got you." SHe assures Kyra, before she stops at the shore, sopping wet and tired. her wounds are still bloody, while a lot better than they were before, but she might be bleeding a good bit on Kyra's clothing while her wounds knit together.

    All the while, the Kitsune tiredly hugs on Kyra even as they're on the ground, breathing heavily.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr lands again, making sure the others get to dry land again, before just flopping out on her back on the bayside. "Ow, my everything."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Between the sinking Kyra and the effectively-dead Puella just recovered, Kimiko dives and goes to help Kyra up. Kimiko is very out of her element, but one plus of being a magical girl is an astounding physical aptitude. They get up, but she's delayed a bit from joining Homura and Madoka and looking at the--

    That's a Soul Gem. Her eyes narrow, but her calm returns as she looks to Homura panicking over Madoka. Outwardly, at least, she's undisturbed. There's only a trace of agitation in her movements, if you know what to look for. She has questions, but Homura is already asking questions. She'll just wait for Madoka to answer the questions. While staring.

Grimm Hardy (859) has posed:
    Grunt.

    Grimm is still here, and he's been observing the ritual between Madoka and the dying girl. And the way he looks up, between the Puella Magi present, gaze hard and cold, says he may understand a chink of just what that particular object in the girl's hand was. But... He says not a word as he strums a few chords on his guitar, summoning a small ball of warm fire light that hovers in place.

    Sticking around it is not only pleasant, soothing, and calming, but begins the process of slowly mending wounds. At least until Kyra can tend to them better anyway, as he just... Turns his back...

    And fades away with one last grunt, body evaporating into white mist.

DUTY FULFILLED

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor... hefts Kyra out of the water with TK, and growls as the whitemage floats herself, letting her release the EVE draining power. Elle's eyes are slightly glassy now as she hauls herself out of the water, flopping on her back to catch her breath.
    The Warmth helps though, as she sighs, letting the heat suffuse her limbs, pulse out into her body, supplimenting her body's ability to recharge. "NNnng. Homura, why does she have a gem like that? Where are we?"

Kaname Madoka (720) has posed:
    Madoka has only just regained her breath when Homura comes rushing over. She... has only had the chance to use this trick once before, and all she could think back then was how badly she would have liked Homura... her Homura... to know that it was possible. This time, however, is one of those in which she is so exhausted, so shaken, that the line between which Homura is which begins to blur. As such, she begins to smile faintly as she hears that voice; that voice, so similar, yet so different. Her eyes may be slightly glossy when she finally turns to answer, simply: "You're how I did that, Homura. You protected me, so now I can protect other people. It's not much, but every now and then, I can save one. I can bring them back." Her eyes aren't just glossy, though -- they're looking a bit fogged over. She might be close to passing out, and it shows. That explanation might have to wait.

    As Homura explains what 'other her' accomplished, her mouth slowly forms a small 'o' in interest... before her cheeks flare up, and those misty eyes grow wide again. "I... she... she did that?" The words are distant -- hardly a reply, and more Madoka thinking aloud. Regardless, she follows that up by simply bringing her hand to the girl's and squeezing it, gently yet firmly. At this point she's crying in earnest, though her speech is in no way altered. After some hesitation, she nods. "We can think of it that way, I guess. But for now, I'm just really glad she's going to be okay." It might have been better if she just could have passed on in that case, but... she'll be glad if she can be here when she wakes up. She wants to see her after she's had a chance to clean herself up, and to find some more fitting clothes. And maybe Psyber wouldn't mind having another tenant? Maybe... but she'll try not to get too far ahead of herself for now.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra thunks to the ground, gasping and catching her breath. Tiredly, she hugs back the kitsune before tapping her and placing a small cure spell into Kirika. She's quiet, merely watching Madoka, the girl, and the now-pure soul gem that had apparently belonged to the witch. Confusion settles in as she too has trouble making sense of why the girl would have this gem. All she can do right now is silently observe and learn from the others much more experienced in these matters.

    She will also silently cast Libra to confirm the status of the homeless girl since she only, very briefly, was able to see her clinically DEAD state for a few seconds before she sank into the water.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "She did, but... it came at fairly high cost. This world's Madoka can't exist in the physical world much anymore. Maybe it's what she wanted, and what was best for everyone, but..." Homura decides to leave it at that.

    With Grimm gone, everyone left is Union; she decides to just be honest and spill the entire deal, if only for Kyra's benefit.

    "A Puella Magi's soul is within her Soul Gem. As we use magic or experience negative emotions, it darkens. If it becomes pitch black, we transform into a Witch-- it's a death sentence. There used to be no coming back from it, and if you run across Witches from other worlds, there won't be any coming back for them. My messing with the timeline resulted in a situation where Madoka was able to formulate a wish of such magnitude it rewrote the laws of magic. Puella Magi disappear harmlessly when spent now, barring rare exceptions."

    She motions towards the unconscious girl.

    "If Madoka hadn't taken the grief and sorrow off her shoulders, she would have disappeared by now. Purifying a Soul Gem is a rare gift; Psyber and a few others developed the ability after countless months studying the matter."

    Well, it all turned out fine. Ish.

    Homura rubs the back of her head, turning away from the group. "Take her wherever. She looks like she needs a home and food. Just remember that the moments preceding a Puella Magi's transformation are ones of blackest depression. If you don't manage to calm her when she wakes, her Soul Gem will just blacken right back up."

    She seems upset? It'd be hard to pick up on, but she's actually angry at Madoka. Here we go again, watching her best friend destroy herself out of selflessness. Whatever. They can address the matter another day. "Ry, we're going."

    The girl accompanying Homura turns to glance at her distantly, and eventually complies and follows, the two leaving.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor listens to the outburst, sighing deeply and just.... groaning as she rolls over to her belly. She's damp, she's wet, she's tired, and she's angry. Angry at a lot of things, but not Homura. Not now, not... not for now.

    Because there's a Lost Little Girl here. She grumbles faintly, and stands up, slicking water off her dress with an effort of TK. "I'll get started on the paperwork, Homura, do we know who she is at least? I... Mmmmmh."
    And then she's gone. Dammit.

    Eleanor grumbles, looking at the rest. "Someone help me. I'll get her back to the Manor."

Kirika (481) has posed:
    Kirika seems relunctant to actually do anything besides leave Kyra's side, hugging onto the girl as she feels Cure do its thing in patching her wounds up. She feels a bit better now, and she just gives the healer/scientist one last hug before she gets up and approaches Eleanor and the little girl. "I can help with her." She offers, kneeling down before she lifts Minase in a princess carry position.

    Her katana hasn't formed into being again, but that's just as well given their location. Probably a bad move to walk around carrying an unconscious girl while a sword is tucked in your belt. She does also dissipiate her ears and tail in favor of the glamor again, before nodding to Eleanor.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra listens, slowly frowning, as Homura explains what a Soul Gem is, revealing that a Puella Magi will eventually become a Witch, if only from magic use. "That's a pretty...hefty price to pay." Kyra says quietly, her metal skin slowly fading as Grimm's spell wears off. Once his spell fades, Kyra's remaining Float spell kicks in as it normally functions and she hovers. She moves to join Kirika and Eleanor as they look over the newly restored girl.

    Kyra herself slips a hand over to brush against her forehead, providing the girl a cure spell as well, just in case.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Price.

    The anger rippling in Eleanor's gut boils over. "It isn't a /price/, it is a weapon held over their head like some damned..." A sudden wash of grief takes a hold of her, and she plants a head over the unconcious girl's head.

    "These girls are lied to. Seduced. They are used and they are used up until they turn into Witches and they are spat out and it is a CYCLE, Kyra."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko watches Homura and 'Ry' walk off. Those two, and Madoka, that'll be something to talk about later. At the least, to find out just what happened. Though, here, it doesn't explain everything. There should have been a Grief Seed. There wasn't. Will the girl know why? Probably not. The moments of one's death are... traumatic, at the least.

    "For a true miracle..." She shakes her head. "Fight, or die. Until you fail. A curse, exchanged for a wish." She turns to look at Eleanor, then, but her expression is entirely unreadable.