Puella Magi Senescent Lux

[DrZiztah]

@Dirtnap, @EtchedSteel, @Krecart, @Ugolino

"There is no way to tell what people will do in future, not with absolute certainty," Celiné says, her eyes travelling the distance from Yvette to Sophie. The lines of white light along the street dim away as she speaks.

"But here? Given everything, I doubt this one's going to be much of a bother for either us or you in the future," she continues, side-eyeing the girl on the ground with a hint of disdain in her expression... as well as a strange sense of pity? "The conditions for that are no longer there, both inwardly and outwardly."

Celiné shakes her head as the captive girl shrinks back even more on the ground. She's hugging her knees to even out the shaking, and her gaze is utterly unfocused as her eyes shift rapidly between the rusty red color it had stabilized into earlier as well as the green previously present. "Which is why I will bear responsibility for any of this one's actions against us in the future."

Once more, Celiné eyes the four of you. "But I doubt that's very convincing from your perspective... As such, if you really want it, I can remove any and all memories this one has of the four of you after we're done here. You would never have to worry about her recognizing you again. It is your call."

 

[Firnagzen]

@Schwer-Muta @DrZiztah
"Get close in!" Marie calls over telepathy, sweeping the hair off her eyes as she dives for cover. Her blade flicks into her hand, forearm length, and she grins, bright and feral. "Fairies! She can use stolen powers with the body! What can you tell me?"

She vanishes once again, flickering into view near the jester, slash aimed not for her. Her blade shears through the rafters with the clear chime of steel, and they start to fall. Marie whoops, throwing herself free.

[OoC: teleported near the Jester, cutting through the rafter. Teleport readied for either an attack from the Jester, or if she gets too close to the ground. She'll use the momentum from falling to goomba-stomp the Jester if possible, teleporting free if not.]

 

[Schwer-Muta]

There are many reasons Aki does not want to 'get close in' with this magical girl. She's terrifying, for one. Also, Aki has a ranged weapon. She's not especially fast for a magical girl either, compared to Julie or Stormwind. She could explain any one of these things, but she doesn't feel inclined to when she's demanded to do something by some magical girl of unknown affiliation that's she's never met before. There is no reason to believe she has Aki's best interests at heart.

@Firnagzen

"No."

The puppet girl's body (bodies?) appear to be completely superfluous and disposable, and the Soul Gems... Aki's not going to shoot at those. So damaging the gatling gun seems like the only way Aki can slow the enemy down at all. As far as Aki is aware, all magical weapons can be replaced. But some cost more to form than others. For example, Aki's bow costs almost nothing to replace. Julie's swords aren't that expensive either, but they cost a bit more. The puppet girl's gun, on the other hand... it looks very elaborate. And expensive. It could actually really hurt her if she has to replace it.

@DrZiztah

"I'm going to try and shoot at her weapon," Aki sends to Julie. Given how large and... metal the gun is, there's obviously no purpose to firing an unenchanted arrow. From behind Julie's shield, Aki nocks an arrow shrouded in a pale violet light, takes aim at the gatling gun, and fires.

If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. It's not like Aki has any interest in seeing this fight through to the end.

[+5 Grief, 410/1600]

 

[DrZiztah]

@Firnagzen

Geneviève's answer is quick, albeit confused at first. "Uhh, wait what?" she asks you, trying to process what you just said. "Hang on, I think I mentioned Juliette's powers being ink-based at least? Beyond that... What we got to test, she needed to write pictures with words to make any ink constructs, if you understand what I mean? Those were pretty limited in size, though."

She doesn't really get too far, given how fast things are unfolding at the same time. Your sword-sized knife tears through the rafter, sending the Jester tumbling down towards the rink below. You can already pick up the swirling clouds of glitter coalescing below you, as Nina continues to hunt down your opponent with what capacity she can spare.

Given the calculus of the situation, the task of shielding any civilians falls on her shoulders. Worryingly, the peach-like color on one of the rings is now constant.

@Schwer-Muta

You nock your arrow just as the new girl teleports away to attack the Jester. Functioning coordination seems to be still lacking in the situation. The attack is a success as far as you can tell, but it does make it extremely difficult to aim for anything specific as the enemy falls.

You let loose your arrow nonetheless, and it flashes through the air to the opposite end of the hall.

@Firnagzen, @Schwer-Muta

"I would if I could," Julie complains about Marie's message, while catching her breath with the bullet storm once again ceasing. The imbalance from the attack has given Julie a window to recharge, though to those next to her the layer of grief on the bottom of her golden Soul Gem has risen by a notable chunk.

Nina on the other hand walks to the side of Aki and Julie with brisk steps and stops there, her hardened gaze never quite leaving the Jester girl's form as the arrow flashes through the air.

The Jester doesn't care, and Marie doesn't get to stomp her face in this time. The whirring of the barrels actually stops right before Aki's arrow violently travels through them, and she throws her free arm towards another rafter. The broken weapon falls on the ice, breaking itself completely against the cracked surface.

But the limb extends, breaking apart from the joints to reveal springs inside the hollow structure that her body is, and she grabs another rafter near the end of the building. She screams in distinct laughter the entire time as she flies through the air, as if having the time of her life over the screaming below her.

"...Marie, I'm not sure what she's doing, but a lot of magic is building up around here," Nina calls out at the same time through telepathy, though Aki and Julie can hear it as well. "Be prepared for anything."

The Jester girl skims against the wall with momentum of the swing letting her continue moving across its surface as she lets go of the rafter and the arms is pulled back. Another gun materializes on her hands as she runs sideways against the wall. She fires against the airborne Marie with everything she has, the recoil keeping the footing of her spring firmly against the wall.

Spoiler: OOC

Aki grief 410/1600
Marie grief +30 from Long teleport and +2 from extending the blade to 450/1400

Also, here's the action template, which makes things so much more convenient . I recommend using it.
Action
- Attack: Who is your target?
--> Method: What you're using for attack.
--> Aim: What do you wish to accomplish and where do you want to hit?
- Ability: Use some ability, magical or otherwise

Contingency
- Prepare: Use some ability or do something in case X happens, where X is any scenario thought by you.

 

[Krecart]

Once more, Celiné eyes the four of you. "But I doubt that's very convincing from your perspective... As such, if you really want it, I can remove any and all memories this one has of the four of you after we're done here. You would never have to worry about her recognizing you again. It is your call."

Click to shrink...

"I'm not worried about her coming after us." Then she thinks about what a fight with magnet girl might look like if Claire's powers didn't cancel hers out, or if it had been Yvette or Mari on their own against her. As it stands, running for help would be the only viable option.

"Okay, I am. A little." Yvette admits with obvious reluctance. "But my main concern is, regardless of her target, that she destroys another street going after them. Is she going to forget you, too? Stormwind? Whatever it is she thought was important enough to endanger the lives of innocent people and cause hundreds of thousands of euros in damages?"

@EtchedSteel
"Sophie, what do you think? I don't like it, but we'd be safer," Yvette thinks as privately as telepathy can be around a mind mage.

 

[Firnagzen]

@DrZiztah
"The Gems she stole," Marie calls back to Nina - and vanishes midair as bullets rip through the space she was in. She flickers into existence behind the Jester, on the wall, driving her knee into a spine - and she snatches for the necklace around the girl's neck.

Spoiler: OoC

Teleport contingency, knee to spine of Jester using short teleport and momentum. Aiming to distract.
Attempt to grab necklace, will teleport away if successful, grapple for it if not.
Will teleport away if she takes damage.
452/1400

 

[EtchedSteel]

Once more, Celiné eyes the four of you. "But I doubt that's very convincing from your perspective... As such, if you really want it, I can remove any and all memories this one has of the four of you after we're done here. You would never have to worry about her recognizing you again. It is your call."

Click to shrink...

"Sophie, what do you think? I don't like it, but we'd be safer," Yvette thinks as privately as telepathy can be around a mind mage.

Click to shrink...

Sophie was scared.

That on itself was enough to point out her shaken fist and the stiffness of her muscles, tension rising up again at the proposal. She wasn't sure what was scarier to her in the past minutes; whether to be dragged to a fight, the amount of destruction, how easily is to belittle whatever damage they can take... or this. She wasn't really sure. She surely needed some time to think, and she wasn't getting any right now.

Still she needed to deliver.

@Krecart

'I don't like it either, but...' she stopped to sigh, then shook her head. 'I also don't think that could be a solution.'

Sophie also didn't know what could be a better solution. She hoped Yvette wouldn't demand her for a solution.

Bu then she looked up at the street.

All of this was done by a single magi.

What could one do against... this?

@DrZiztah

Cutting off her telepathic chat, she looked at Céline. "I'm... also concerned. About being targeted, madam. But then..." she peered at Mari and Claire, then back at the woman. Could things have gone for worst should they weren't there? "Can it really keep us from getting dragged on this?"

 

[DrZiztah]

@Dirtnap, @EtchedSteel, @Krecart, @Ugolino

There is a brief moment of silence from Celiné before she answers, Sophie's concerns coming first. "...I'm afraid I would be lying if I said you won't have to worry about anything, miss Coupé," she says with a solemn hint to her voice. "I'm sorry for that. But given time, trouble will eventually find you. That is the sad nature of things here, and I can only nip this particular source in the bud for you."

She turns to look at Yvette next and shakes her head. "Faces can be forgotten, but anything bigger is personal history going back too far in time. Properly wiping out the root causes, those life-altering memories, wouldn't be much different from killing the person. Not much can really help with deep-seated desire for revenge - in this case against us - but being forced to introspection."

Despite the state she's in and the topic pertaining to her fate, the magnet girl still manages to continue on dismantling the pile of cars, a slowed work that nonetheless appears to be quite close to finish.

===
@Firnagzen

Your knee connects with the unguarded back of the Jester, stumbling her from the precise stepping required to run along the wall. Her backside gives in, but upper body bends backwards like rubber, and for a moment her upside down face is opposite to yours. The eyes were not meant to shine delight as perverse as that. She wholeheartedly enjoys every second of this, like it was all a game to her!

You lunge for the necklace nonetheless, but fall short of your goal just barely as something grips your wrists. Gravity begins to work on you, and you see plastic and fabric growing from the Jester's body.

You teleport away just in time to correct your landing into the stands, and free yourself from the grip. The Jester falls to the edge of the hall, her eyes glued with you.

@Firnagzen, @Schwer-Muta

"Hye he he heeee~!" she laughs, and she's not alone. "Naughtie blondie feeling lonely? She wants some company, hmm? Hye he hee..."

Her right arm is still gripping her gattling gun, but her left is erect in the air, fingers dancing as if pulling invisible strings. And at the end of those invisible strings is a human-sized, ball-jointed doll made of some kind of plastic and clad in an elegant dress. Its peach-colored hair sways from the tailwind and glass-like orbs of blue stare into nothingness.

Spoiler

The Jester lowers her arm, and the doll lunges towards Marie with a pair of blades shaped like wind-up keys manifesting onto its hands in a flash of peach-colored light. The Jester herself jumps out of the way of a glitter wave trying to engulf her, and aims her gattling at the shielded trio near the entrance. She's trying to get in close.

Spoiler: OOC

Marie +4 grief to 454/1400

 

[Schwer-Muta]

Forcing the scary girl to replace her weapon was not the hindrance Aki hoped it was. It's a little under thirty seconds until Aki can open the door and leave. It's not lost on Aki that if she had killed the Witch just a little faster, she and Julie would be safe right now. If only she wasn't so weak. It burns at Aki, knowing they should've been able to avoid this situation.

There's no way Aki and Julie can stand their ground here. They're simply no match for the jester girl. This is not a fight where the objective is to defeat the enemy. Winning is surviving. So they have to leave the building. Normally, that would be enough. Fighting in the open streets is risky in many ways. But the masked girl doesn't seem like the type to shackled by that kind of common sense. Since she has a gun and is also very fast, it's not so simple as to just turn tail and run. They'll have to attack her. But attacking her in the open isn't likely to work, and she might hit one of the civilians. But if they attack while the jester is rounding a corner... there should be no way Aki can miss. There's probably only going to be the opportunity for a single shot, and even an enchanted arrow won't slow the pursuing girl down much. ...Hopefully Julie can replicate whatever the two of them did to kill that Witch.

Aki is sure that attack won't be as devastating as it was to the Witch, but it's the hardest hitting thing they can do. It will have to do. Maybe it will stun her though, or knock her really far away. That would be really nice.

@DrZiztah

"Let's try to back around the corner, Julie. When the enemy chases us around the corner, let's try to hit her with the shield arrow thing we did earlier. I... I think it's the only way we can hurt her enough to create an opening to escape."

Aki also tries to communicate the girl that didn't teleport all the way across the building.

"Um... whoever you are. My friend and I are going to try to retreat around the corner and hit the masked girl when she chases after us. If there's anything you can do to help distract her when she comes after us, I would appreciate it.

Spoiler: OOC

Action: Retreat around the corner, if Jester pursues, hit her in the chest as she rounds the corner after them. Use Vision to confirm the shot.
Method: The Super Special Shield Light Arrow Team Attack! (Working Title)
Aim: To create an opening, through either dazing the Jester or simply knocking her a long distance away, for Aki and Julie to be able to retreat until Dimension Door is off cooldown.
Contingency: Energy Shield if Julie's shield is overwhelmed or she can't use it properly while moving.
Contingency: If attack fails entirely and the Jester gets in close, activate Energy Shield and try to physically push her away. (Probably only marginally different than doing nothing but whatever)

 

[EtchedSteel]

There is a brief moment of silence from Celiné before she answers, Sophie's concerns coming first. "...I'm afraid I would be lying if I said you won't have to worry about anything, miss Coupé," she says with a solemn hint to her voice. "I'm sorry for that. But given time, trouble will eventually find you. That is the sad nature of things here, and I can only nip this particular source in the bud for you."

She turns to look at Yvette next and shakes her head. "Faces can be forgotten, but anything bigger is personal history going back too far in time. Properly wiping out the root causes, those life-altering memories, wouldn't be much different from killing the person. Not much can really help with deep-seated desire for revenge - in this case against us - but being forced to introspection."

Despite the state she's in and the topic pertaining to her fate, the magnet girl still manages to continue on dismantling the pile of cars, a slowed work that nonetheless appears to be quite close to finish.

Click to shrink...

Sophie deadpanned, her gaze on Céline. Yet more things to think about. And here she thought she could go back to only deal with witches. "I see," she replied, then feigned a warm smile. "In that case, then I'm ok with her forgetting about us."

She'd have to think about this later. Without doubt.

 

[Firnagzen]

@DrZiztah @Schwer-Muta
"Hey, she can't shoot you if you're close enough!" Marie calls over telepathy. "Also, nope!"

She vanishes mid-word, flickering into another teleport, appearing just above and to the right of the Jester. Her knife flicks out, slashing at the girl's face while the other grabs for her necklace again.

Spoiler: OoC

-Teleported away from the doll, towards the Jester
-Attacked Jester's face with knife
-Grab for necklace with free hand
-Teleport readied in case the doll or the Jester attack her
Gained +2 Grief, 456/1400

 

[Ugolino]

Claire hasn't said much for a,long time. She isn't quite able to process any of this- Stormwind's associates, the aftermath, what to do with their attacker. It's all too much, too fast. She doesn't volunteer an opinion either way, but quiet as she is now, the mention of the wipe does get an unthinking wince. Mostly, she just stays in Mari's shadow.

"I...I just want to get out of here." She says quietly by way of response.

 

[Krecart]

She turns to look at Yvette next and shakes her head. "Faces can be forgotten, but anything bigger is personal history going back too far in time. Properly wiping out the root causes, those life-altering memories, wouldn't be much different from killing the person. Not much can really help with deep-seated desire for revenge - in this case against us - but being forced to introspection."

Despite the state she's in and the topic pertaining to her fate, the magnet girl still manages to continue on dismantling the pile of cars, a slowed work that nonetheless appears to be quite close to finish.

Click to shrink...

"...of course it can't be that easy." Yvette kicks a piece of rubble. So they're going to let this girl go. Attempted murder and a complete disregard for the collateral damage, and they are going to let her go. How is that okay? She didn't even look like she cared until Celiné showed up! Just resigned to the fact that she lost. Sure she's afraid now, but unless Celiné has pinned that terror into place forever, it's entirely possible that this will happen all over again.

Why is she even agonizing over this? The options haven't changed. It's going to be exactly the same when she confronts the magical girls who attacked Claire and Mari in Issy. All Celiné has provided is the morally dubious addition of scrubbing Yvette and her classmate's from magnet girl's mind before they let her go.

God, why couldn't Claire have just killed her? That would've made things so much simpler.

"I see," she replied, then feigned a warm smile. "In that case, then I'm ok with her forgetting about us."

Click to shrink...

"I'm with Sophie on this," Yvette agrees, grateful to not be the first to answer, and ashamed of that same grateful feeling. As though somehow Sophie's answer will let Yvette to pretend she isn't responsible for whatever Celiné is going to do. "If there isn't anything else, can I get to work?"

"Also, I have a lot of questions about magic and the general state of my city. I'd be willing to offer my services as payment if you could spare someone to answer them."

 

[Dirtnap]

@DrZiztah
"It's pretty screwed up that that's the only option we have." Mari says with a grimace. "But I'll leave it to you. We'll take you up on that pizza, if only because I don't want to be around here any more."
@Ugolino
She turns back to Claire and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Pizza sounds good yeah?" She gives her friend a shaky smile, doing her best to cheer Claire up.

 

[DrZiztah]

@Firnagzen

The Jester has learned to expect your approach, and is perhaps even counting on it. That's a conclusion you can make as she twists just enough to the side for you to miss with the grab. The two rings - the peach one glowing and what looks like a darker green one keeping inert for now - dangle tantalizingly close to your grasping fingers.

You fail by the slightest of margins as the necklace is pulled from your reach.

The knife slash misses its mark as well. However, the Jester can't move quite fast enough to wholly escape your reach in the timeframe she has, and a slight correction to the direction nets you a slash across the bicep of the arm holding the gattling. She drops the gun on a snap reflex and tumbles down the stands towards the rink, still giggling hysterically.

Small victories. "Hye he he... Hye he heeeee~!" she screams on the way down with a face-splitting grin, regaining her footing near the bottom. "Naughtie blondie really doesn't want to share, hmm? Naughty, naughty, so selfish this one..."

Something changes in the Jester's posture. It's as if her focus was no completely on you, and at the back of your mind you can feel the familiar, violent push you felt before at the banks of Seine. "Tag, I'm it~!" and in her hands she has a pair of those golden blade like keys. The doll with similar ones seems to be getting the glitter-napalm treatment behind the Jester, except then...

@Schwer-Muta

Julie nods at your suggestion, though it feels somewhat forced. She seems to want to fight and help the two older girls against the blatanly malicious Jester girl, desperately so, but for whatever reason she seems to agree to the retreat this time.

The older girl seems to understand this as well, smiling even if she's not looking directly at you. "No problem, girls! The name's Nina, by the way, at your service!" The people around are slowly starting to disperse, and on a closer look you can see the waves of glitter forming shapes near them and tugging them along away from the scene.

Her eyes are focused on the doll, however, as it turn to look at you in jerky movements. And that's as far as it gets before layers of pitch-black dust cover it and the plastic begins to melt.

@Firnagzen, @Schwer-Muta

But then it vanishes, and the world explodes in happy, bright colors. All around the rink a patchwork of childish quilts and plastic begins to take over the structure, while the people left in your field of vision begin to fall into the ground one by one. The Jester lunges at Marie, spinning through the air like a windblade. It's only one detail among many, but Marie can see the blue Gem on the Jester's mask gather noticeable amounts of grief.

At the entrance, the main doors explode open. Julie has just barely enough time to grab Aki's shoulder to drag her enough to the side to avoid being squashed. A gigantic spring with a grinning clown head shoots out from behind you, nailing Nina in her back right before she manages to register what's happening.

Her back and ribcage both give in violently with a resound crunching noise. Nina's thrown through the edge of the rink and onto the ice, where she slides unceremoniously away like a ragdoll. A bump of glitter manages to stop her momentum on the opposite side to where the Jester and Marie are. A thin trail of blood follows her slide to the end point.

Next to Aki, the head of the clown cracks and the spring retreats into nothingness. The doors close, there before her and Julie stands the doll, bearing several melted holes on its hollow body. It rushes against the two girls without missing a beat, with Julie desperately meeting its rapid and powerful slashes with her shield.

But for Aki, that is not the only thing. Though faint, she can "hear" knocking, like simple taps. The entrance to her dimension should be closed for a bit still, but something is definitely there, weakly knocking from behind the door.

Marie can also hear Nina's telepathic voice in her head, disoriented but mostly annoyed. "I swear, I don't want to hear a single invertebrae joke when this is over..."

 

[EtchedSteel]

"I'm with Sophie on this," Yvette agrees, grateful to not be the first to answer, and ashamed of that same grateful feeling. As though somehow Sophie's answer will let Yvette to pretend she isn't responsible for whatever Celiné is going to do. "If there isn't anything else, can I get to work?"

Click to shrink...

Sophie smiled at Yvette, a tad more relieved. At least she wouldn't have to feel horrible for taking someone's memories, as much as they might deserve it.

@DrZiztah

She looked at Céline as Yvette went back to work. 'I also... Have a couple questions, madam. What are the Hospitaliers? And what else should we be aware of?'

 

[Schwer-Muta]

Aki lets out a panicked yelp as she's pulled out of the way of... a giant face of some sort. She can feel her resolve crack at this development. Aki and Julie are stuck in here. The horrible crunching sound that Nina makes as she hits the floor doesn't help either. Her door still isn't ready. Time is both moving too fast and not fast enough.

As Julie tries to defend herself from the heavily damaged doll thing, something even more unsettling happens. There's something on the other side of Aki's door. That shouldn't be possible, Aki's dimension exists only for Aki. She's speculated that it doesn't even exist when she's not inside of it, though she supposes that theory is now dead. But she still knows it's hers. You can't just... barge in without permission. It's not like breaking down a door; it should be impossible to even have the address. Somehow, this tapping leaves Aki even more disturbed than the blood trail Nina left on the floor. If whatever's on the other side of the door can stop Aki from opening the door... she doesn't really have time to ponder on that as the doll attacks Julie, despite the many holes in its body.

Aki takes a few quick steps to the side to get a better shot, and fires an arrow at the doll's already damaged torso. If the doll is autonomous, hopefully it will be distracted enough for Julie to take advantage. If it isn't, hopefully it will deal enough damage that enough that Julie will be able to gain the upper hand anyways.

As the archer fires, the thought that her magic will fail and she won't be able to save Julie or herself when the time comes sticks to her mind and doesn't let go.

 

[DrZiztah]

@Dirtnap, @EtchedSteel, @Krecart, @Ugolino

Celiné nods at the group with an unreadable expression. "Very well, then it will be done," she says, following by turning her attention more on Yvette. Her hand finds it way to her pockets. "And please do if that is what you want, miss? Since this incident was never meant to involve any of you, we will take care of any costs."

The woman's eyes sweep across the group and she brings out a simple grief seed of her own, offering it for immediate use. "That goes for all of you."

And that's it for that as the important conversations die down and things are sorted out. Yvette slowly works her way across the length of the street - and it goes on for long. The Hospitaliers are almost all long gone when the work is finished, having removed the magnetic girl from the scene as well. Perhaps it's for the better, no one has to see someone being subjected to a minor mindwipe.

Kyubey does arrive there for Yvette to complain at, as well as to take the two filled grief seeds. He seems to take the complaints in stride, as if he had given up on expecting anything else from Yvette.

Spoiler: Grief totals

Claire would get +180 grief from t r a u m a t r a i n. But Celiné pays for the cleansing of everyone's gems after this.
Claire grief 0/1400
Mari grief 0/1200
Sophie grief 0/1800
Yvette grief 0/1200, remove the seed [Seed-3: 0/4500] from your sheet

===
@Dirtnap, @Ugolino

The day does not end for you there, of course, as you make your way to the address given to you by Celiné. She handed it to you before retreating from the street with the rest of her friends, telling you that she would be waiting for you there.

True enough, in front of the old-looking restaurant on the side street there's a bike rack with the familiar granny bike parked on it.

The outside of the restaurant is rather worn down and very easy to miss. The inside, however, is much more lively and colorful. Though there aren't that many people there tonight, there are a lot of tables to choose from in the vaguely Italian interior. Faint music and singing can be heard playing on the radio. They don't seem to have gone overboard with the themes, and you can't recognize the place despicted on the paintings hanging on the walls.

Celiné herself is waiting for you near the doorway, still clad in the same coat from the before. Upon noticing you, she greets you with a pleasant even if tired smile.

She takes your orders - a rather normal-looking list - and takes you to a table at the end of the restaurant to wait. She's also the first to begin talking beyond basic greetings.

"...I suppose I could start rambling about a lot of things here," she says with a sight. "But really, I suppose I first owe you another clear thank you for helping out Sister Stormy there, and an apology for the inadvertent trouble we brought you. If you have something on your mind, please don't be afraid to speak out."

===
@EtchedSteel, @Krecart

It's subtle, but Celiné offers both of your questions a faint nod and a look. It's Stormy who answers you telepathically, though.

"Can you wait for a bit with all that? I'll be stayin' here with you, when we're done."

She isn't there immediately when you evacuate the street to make room for the admittedly rather confused civilian agencies, and you only run into her a couple of blocks downstreet when you spot her leaning against the wall of a shopping centre. She's waiting for you in a worn-down cheap civilian garb, and it takes a moment to make the connection between the flighty knight and the scrawny girl standing there.

"You asked what the Hospitaliers are, right?" she begins when you get into hearing range, looking at Sophie in particular. "That's a long story... You up for talkin' over inside? I kinda need somethin' for my nerves after all that."

 

[Firnagzen]

@DrZiztah
"Don't be shellfish, Nina!" Marie calls cheerfully. "You should grow a spine, learn to stand these jokes!" And then, more seriously, she adds, "You OK?"

"But I do wanna share!" Marie calls, giving the Jester a feral grin. "It's easier if you're in pieces!"

Marie blurs to the side as the Jester hits, an eye-twisting motion that leaves behind ghostly afterimages. She swirls her knife in her hand, a smooth, practiced flip, and pivots on a foot, slashing low in an attempt to gut the Jester. Her other hand flicks up, grabbing for the necklace again.

Spoiler: OoC

-Slow Dash to the Jester's injured side
-Attack with knife in right hand, attempting to gut
-Grab for necklace with left hand
-Teleport readied in case the doll or the Jester attacks her
Gained +4 Grief, 460/1400

 

[Dirtnap]

"...I suppose I could start rambling about a lot of things here," she says with a sight. "But really, I suppose I first owe you another clear thank you for helping out Sister Stormy there, and an apology for the inadvertent trouble we brought you. If you have something on your mind, please don't be afraid to speak out."

Click to shrink...

Mari seats herself and gets comfortable, relaxing a little as Celine talks. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have helped. Stormy helped Claire here the other day. Anyone who helps my friends helps me, right?" She sighs and looks to the ceiling for a moment before looking back at Celine.

"Why was she acting the way she did. Why was she attacking Stormy in the first place? Something to do with the Hospitialers?"

 

[DrZiztah]

@Firnagzen

Nina groans at you mentally. "Oh goddammit... Need magic to breathe and move most of me, though I'll live." True to her word, she is starting to get up, though the movement is not very graceful. She is already healing herself, but without the specialized form of magic it's going to be a slow process of prioritization and coping.

"Makes the next move easy to decide as well..." In one moment and the next, Nina vanishes from your eyes.

But that is all in the background. For you, there are also some very pressing matters to deal with right in front of your eyes. The Jester doesn't seem to expect the slow dash to bypass the sword strike that sails through where you were standing a fraction of a second ago, and you're positioned well to make your move.

Your knife slashes through the side of the girl... And this time it's enough. Your hand wraps around the necklace, and you can tell you have it this time!

Except, for the force of the mental assault, which immediately intensifies exponentially in reaction to your actions, and even with your resistance you're hard-pressed to hang on to consciousness. You can vaguely feel something hurt when your safety button teleport goes off and you land haphazardly in the stands on the opposite side of the rink.

Your head clears, and you can see the large stab wound in your stomach, bleeding profusely and staining your outfit in red. But in your clasped hand is an inert ring, one with a very peach-colored Soul Gem embedded in it.

Spoiler: grief

Add +10 grief to medium teleport to 470/1400.

@Schwer-Muta

The arrow embeds itself into the torso of the doll, and does elicit a look in your direction as the petal shield from Julie finally gives in and shatters under the merciless assault. Julie barely has enough time to bring her rapier against the next strike.

And that is barely enough to prevent the stabbing sword from striking Julie straight through her chest. Instead, the large blade punches its way through Julie's left side ribs, drawing an agonized gasp from the girl as she wobbles back in pain and shock.

The doll pulls the sword back, ready for another strike... But then stops moving. It's as if someone had cut its strings as it falls unceremeniously to the ground with a lifeless thud. Julie herself has also fallen, though it's on her knees, and she's holding her punctured side with a hand covered in golden light. Glitter begins to steadily fill and cover the doll, clogging any potential movement for good.

@Firnagzen, @Schwer-Muta

The colors inside the rink begin to fade away, and the plastic texture vanish. Whatever magic the Jester was using or hoping to do, it can no longer be maintained. The girl is running across the ice towards Marie, nightmarish grin on her face as if the new wound on her side didn't hinder her at all.

Nina appears out of thin air straight in her path, holding a human-sized hammer with head shaped like a glitter jar, complete with its sprinkler. The Jester has no time to react as the blonde swats her back across the rink with a single blow and a trail of glitter.

She wobbles back immediately after, however, holding her head. "Ch-christ, Marie... H-how do you handle that?" Her voice is woozy and disoriented, and she's visibly unbalanced on her feet.

 

[DrZiztah]

@Dirtnap, @Ugolino

Celiné smiles back. "Hypotheticals are rather pointless in face of what happened in the end, I'd say."

However, listening in to your questions makes her more thoughtful than anything. Her gaze is rather vacant for a moment, looking bhind you at the counter of the restaurant. "We - the Hospitaliers I mean - are not exactly popular among a lot of local Magical Girls in Paris. Usually we simply prefer to lay low."

She rests her chin on intertwined fingers, her elbows leaning against the table. "But today we had to pick up our members from the center. Some locals found out, and formed a temporary, loose coalition to attack us. This particular case got fixated on Sister Stormy and got separated."

 

[Krecart]

She's waiting for you in a worn-down cheap civilian garb, and it takes a moment to make the connection between the flighty knight and the scrawny girl standing there.

"You asked what the Hospitaliers are, right?" she begins when you get into hearing range, looking at Sophie in particular. "That's a long story... You up for talkin' over inside? I kinda need somethin' for my nerves after all that."

Click to shrink...

"I think we all might," Yvette replies. She hovers at Sophie's side, fully aware that there's some sort of comforting, friendly action she should be taking, but unable for the life of her to figure out what it should be.

"I actually had more, um, general questions, but if that's where you want to start, by all means," she clarifies, glancing at her classmate, but otherwise ready to follow after... Stormwind? Is she Stormwind right now? It doesn't fit the girl out of her magical costume. At all. It could be some sort of nomme de guerre. Magical girls in the shows and comics tended to have a one of those, but if that was true here, nobody else seems to use them.

Wait, names. Damn it, Yvette never introduced herself. It's no longer useful to avoid doing so. Especially not when Celine might just be able to pluck the information right out of their heads. On top of that, it's rude.

"I'm Yvette, by the way. Yvette Beaulieu."

 

[Firnagzen]

@DrZiztah
Marie flips the ring into the air with a ping, and catches it before slipping it into an inner pocket of her vest. She exhales slowly, pushing aside the pain from the stab wound and straightening. Healing can wait for later.

"Too hard-headed to be affected!" Marie says, but there's a distinct trace of worry in her mental voice now. "Feh."

She dashes straight for the Jester, knife spinning in her hands. She vanishes as the Jester draws a bead on her, flickering into a dizzying blur of flowing blonde hair and grabbing hand and the silvery flash of her blade, high and low and ephemeral there-and-gone-again teleports.

Spoiler: OoC

-Teleport spam attack, mixing short teleports and slow dashes to confuse the rhythm. Aiming for critical spots: eyes, neck, forearms, hands, hamstrings.
-Also attempting to go for the Soul Gems where possible.
-Will teleport up to rafters if in danger.
Grief: 470/1400

 

[EtchedSteel]

She isn't there immediately when you evacuate the street to make room for the admittedly rather confused civilian agencies, and you only run into her a couple of blocks downstreet when you spot her leaning against the wall of a shopping centre. She's waiting for you in a worn-down cheap civilian garb, and it takes a moment to make the connection between the flighty knight and the scrawny girl standing there.

"You asked what the Hospitaliers are, right?" she begins when you get into hearing range, looking at Sophie in particular. "That's a long story... You up for talkin' over inside? I kinda need somethin' for my nerves after all that."

Click to shrink...

Sophie glanced at Yvette, glad for once she wouldn't be the last to arrive at any reunion this time. Felt a lot less like intruding that way. "It's alright. You can take your time, miss storm-"

She trailed off. Stormwind wasn't on her magical clothes now. It probably wouldn't be fine to call her that way. Her name though...

"I'm Yvette, by the way. Yvette Beaulieu."

Click to shrink...

Right, introductions. Almost forgot.

"I'm Sophie Coupé." She blurted out. For once not in the mood to throw Magician Extraordinare to the mix. "In contrast, I don't have much questions to ask for now."