LASER TAG | Finale
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
In an instant, you're moving, throwing yourself behind the opaque control panels of the elevator, but you're not quite quick enough and take a hit. You're not too worried--you still have plenty of health left, as does Madoka, who dives clear, only taking a couple of glancing blows.
It's Sayaka who takes the brunt of it instead, three lasers hitting her almost instantly as she moves away with inhuman agility, taking cover on the other side of the elevator.
'Mami and Kyouko, already? No, too many shots, and they should have just arrived. What kind of…?'
You glance around the corner to get a look at your opponents, and raise an eyebrow at the sight--six young people, probably college-aged. Three male, three female. They hold their weapons steady, and are positioned well for effective targeting and evasion. Probably regular players then, with more skill than you expected. There isn't anything terribly unique about them, though; one of the girls is abnormally tall, you suppose, and there's another, younger girl who seems a bit familiar.
You quickly turn your attention to the arena itself, evaluating all of the possible angles you could strike from. Most are mundane; simply reflecting a laser off a wall or two is not exactly difficult. You do see an opportunity, though--the corners. Unlike a bullet, a properly aimed laser can be split along an edge, and you can see a path for striking two targets at once.
You cease breathing and bring your muscles under tight control as you step out of cover briefly, rifle moving smoothly into position as you pull the trigger.
A shining array of purple reflections engulfs their side of the battlefield as your laser splits on the corner of a large, mirrored pillar they had thought to use as cover, the two halves of the beam following different paths as they ricochet throughout the area before striking their targets.
The familiar girl falls first. It's not impossible you recognize her because she's a Magus, and thus the most dangerous of the group. Even if she's not, she holds her weapon with an ease few of the others share, making her a greater threat.
The second beam strikes one of the young men. He's unremarkable, but he had his eye on your half of the elevator.
Both of them freeze in place as the joints of their suits lock up, lights flashing. It seems this arena takes the threat of cheating seriously; it's either that, or they just wanted to crank up the intensity of the experience.
Several more rays spray from the elevator, courtesy of Madoka and Sayaka; they took your move as a cue to attack, it seems. Their shots are wilder and less controlled, but they manage to focus fire and bring down one of the other young men.
Only three remain, but those three seem determined to go down fighting as they fire back at your group with abandon. You and Madoka manage to step back behind cover, although it's really more of a dive than a step, in Madoka's case.
Sayaka, however, seems to have lost her mind; she charges out towards the enemy, raising her dual pistols. You grimace, ready to move out and avenge her once they exhaust their weapons, but catch yourself as Sayaka blocks the lasers, pistols flicking through the air to intercept the rays. Her enhanced speed justifies much of it, but it's still an impressive feat which stands contrary to the skill she's demonstrated up until now.
Not wasting time fretting over it, you use the opportunity to go on the offensive, opening fire on your startled adversaries. It's a matter of course to replicate your earlier feat, splitting your shot against a different corner and eliminating two more of them; now, only the tall girl remains. Madoka attempts to gun her down, but her aim is poor, and the girl is quick, and--
Suddenly, the air is alive with magic. It feels almost like a Magus's transformation, except that no one has transformed. All you see is the tall girl sprinting towards you in quick bursts of speed, sidestepping and leaping over Madoka's shots with ease as she closes in on you, eyes gleaming with sudden life.
She's fast, but so is Sayaka. The bluenette closes with her in an instant, pistols moving quickly to take aim--albeit, not with the same skill she demonstrated with her earlier defense. Sadly, the tall girl is faster, ducking low and pressing her submachine gun into Sayaka's gut as she opens fire. Your friend's suit locks down even as she curses, "What the hell?! Get her Homura!"
You don't need to be told twice as you raise your gun, take aim, and fire in a single breath. 'She can't dodge--' Your thoughts are cut off as you realize that your rifle didn't fire. You had forgotten the charge time in your surprise, and your target takes advantage of that, closing the gap between the two of you with even greater speed.
As she springs forward to meet you at point blank range, she looks you in the eye, and you realize that something is wrong, because the girl was tall for a college student, but she is most certainly looking up at you right now. She quickly shoots, half a dozen quick shots striking you. You can't afford to get shot again, but you have no room to dodge. 'If she gets another shot off--!'
Madoka steps into place behind the girl and opens fire. 'At that range, there's no way she can--' Your thoughts are cut off again as the short girl in front of you hops up into the air and lands on your shoulder before spinning to a stop behind you, already pulling the trigger.
You aren't fast enough without transforming. You can't evade.
'Even if I can't dodge…"
You spin on your heel in an instant, rifle coming up in a single hand as you take aim in the space between moments.
'…I can still protect Madoka!'
Your rifle goes off in the same instant as her submachine gun does, her beams striking you even as yours strikes her square in the forehead.
The two of you, still in motion, crash to the ground as your suits lock up, leaving you staring across the ground at each other.
Madoka walks over next to the two of you, looking back and forth between your frozen forms, "…I'm really not cut out for this, am I?"
You blink at her calm words, and realize that your heart is pounding in your chest, the thrill of battle shooting through you.
'Right, this is just a game. She's fine.'
You take a breath, and answer her, "No, you're doing just fine. This rabbit here is simply impossible."
The "rabbit" growls at that, eyes still blazing for a moment, but soon that fire fades, her gaze turning gentle. She sighs slightly, looking bemused, "So says the girl who took out four people with two shots." The wind gone from her sails, she glances up at Madoka, "She's right though, you'll do fine. You almost got me back there, and you did fine earlier; things just got a bit exciting for a minute."
Madoka stares at her for a moment, then sighs and looks at you, "Thanks for saving me, Homura-chan. I'm going to go see how long I can last…"
"Be wary. The guns can't hurt you, but you can still get injured with this kind of thing. Be careful with those pits."
She smiles, "Don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fine!"
With that, she waves and heads off, cautiously departing…and leaving you alone in the elevator with the "rabbit."
You're still not sure what just happened, honestly. That wasn't something a normal person should be able to do. At least, you don't think it should be possible. You almost think you were hallucinating again; the young woman lying in front of you is, indeed, six feet tall, and she certainly shouldn't have been able to perform any of those stunts.
Except, of course, you both lie here frozen. It wasn't purely a hallucination, at least.
"What are you?"
The girl blinks, glancing down, "Oh, I'm nobody special, really. I just like shooting games like this."
"Do you...do you even know what you just did?"
She blinks at that, "I rushed the blue-haired girl, then got up close with you. Your pink-haired friend tried to shoot me in the back, so I," she pauses, "I jumped…"
She pauses again, glancing down, then back up at you, "…I must have stumbled or something. Maybe you sidestepped by accident?"
You stare at her flatly, and she bites her lip, "Huh. Well, I was pretty into it, and you can push the human body really far with enough adrenaline…"
You don't say anything, even as she attempts to figure out what just happened, to no avail. Eventually, you relent, "Who are you?"
She glances up at you and smiles, "I'm L-!" She pauses for a fraction of a second, then corrects herself, looking puzzled, "I'm Karen. Nice to meet you!"
"Homura. Nice to shoot you."
She laughs at that, "You too!"
---
The scenery blurs by as I descend, rifle in hand, towards the water below. The impact won't matter--even if I land poorly my bones are not my own, and will heal quickly.
I twist in midair, gaze sliding across the inverted landscape as I look for a target. There's no sign of Homura, nor Sayaka, but there are plenty of others--normal people, most seeking to descend.
My rifle flicks upwards easily, and I pull the trigger--once, twice, three times. Clean shots. One of them is defeated, and their suit lights up, although it does not lock--it won't while they're not on solid ground. The other survives, for the moment.
Their friends on the ground below take offense, but I don't care. I pull the pistol from my side as I twist in midair, shifting my position to avoid the shots.
The water is close now, but it's fine; I fire off a shot from the pistol, clipping one of the shooters just as I strike the water headfirst. My neck doesn't snap, in spite of the angle; they must have been very careful when they decided the fall distance for the pit.
I bring my limbs in tightly and breath deeply of the water, quickly sinking to the bottom as I overcome my natural buoyancy. My body demands air, but I ignore it--those instincts could get me killed against other Witches.
I remain there for a time, ignoring it as Kyouko splashes down after me, only to quickly swim away.
After a few seconds of this, plenty of time for Kyouko to draw attention, I brace my legs and kick off, enchanting them without thinking. 'I shouldn't have done that,' I reflect as I ascend, 'I won't improve if I don't limit myself to skill, and it's not exactly fair to them.'
With a splash, I burst out of the water and several feet into the air, guns at the ready. Kyouko is facing off with the shooters from before, alongside half a dozen others. A glance tells me that she's doing well; she enchanted her entire body immediately, so these opponents aren't much for her.
'Still, I'm here to have fun, and it's not like I'm not going to shoot these down quickly anyway.' I target those who turned at the splash first, rifle shots to the heads eliminating two of them swiftly as my pistol fires off in parallel, eliminating another. They return fire, but it's of little concern; Kyouko has me covered. She closes in while they're distracted, and eliminates three more.
I start to pull myself over with a ribbon, but remember that I don't have those right now. Instead, I simply wait out the arc of my jump, landing smoothly on the shore. My legs make an ominous cracking sound as I do, but I barely notice it, letting my magic heal the damage.
While I'm making my landing, Kyouko takes out the last two with ease, and turns to look at me, "Going a bit hard, Mami?"
She's right, I know. I don't normally let loose like this, but it's nice to let off some steam for once.
"Just a little. I haven't been here in a while."
Her look of concern is worrying, but I try not to let it weigh on me too much.
I look down at my victims, splayed across the floor, bodies broken, and--
"Mami?!"
I jerk, and blink. The other players look awestruck, and perhaps a little frightened, but they're fine. It's laser tag. I didn't do anything wrong.
I turn my gaze to Kyouko, and force another smile, "Ah, sorry. I'm alright. Let's go find Homura."
She nods slowly, glancing at the other players with concern, "...alright, Mami. If you say so. We'll go find Ribbons."
---
I turn away from that fake smile of hers, biting my lip the moment my back is turned. She's still Mami, and it's not like she's done anything too crazy, but…
I glance back, briefly, at the battlefield we're leaving, 'Mami never goes this hard with humans. She thinks the stuff I do is cheating, so why…?'
I shake it off, and start running forward, Mami behind me. I know why. She's been messed up ever since she found out about that Witchbomb. Sometimes, when she looks at people, I get the horrible feeling that she's seeing something else.
'Lord, please help Mami. She's slipping, and I'm not supposed to be the one who catches people.'
There's no reply. I didn't expect one, but it seems like there's some judgement in that silence, this time.
'I guess...maybe that's why you moved me back here, huh?'
I'd like to think the silence is approving, but it might just be my imagination.
"Hey, Mami? You know you can talk to me, right?"
She catches up in an instant to run beside me, smiling earnestly this time, but she doesn't say anything. The silence is damning, in spite of her gratitude.
"I know that I'm not the best person, but," I bite my lip again, hating every moment of this, "Look, I'm just saying that, if you need someone to talk things over with, I'm here. I won't judge."
I'll try not to judge, and I'll be nice about it if I do.
Her smile fades, and she pulls to a halt. I follow suit.
She sighs, "...I'm trying to make peace with it, but it's not easy, you know? I don't want to hurt anyone, but I also need to take care of all of you, and…" She grimaces, hugging her rifle close, "...it wasn't so hard when I was alone. If I starved, it wouldn't matter, but now…"
I almost punch her in the face. It's a close thing, but I know she'd take it the wrong way, "It would matter, Mami! If you had died, we--" I hesitate, but follow through, forcing the words out, "We wouldn't have gotten to be friends again. You'd never have gotten to make any friends again. That's…" I grasp for words, "You dying alone would have been fucked up."
She gives a weak smile, "Thanks, Kyouko, but...how many people are we going to have to kill? For food, I mean?"
I sigh, looking down. I don't want to think about it, but she's going to make me actually think about it, "...look, it's not like we have to kill them. They get their chance to survive, and if they fuck it up, then...well, we get to eat."
"NO!" My head jerks up as she snaps at me, "NO! If I do this, I'm not going to make any excuses! I'll keep you and Homura and everyone else safe, and if I need to kill people to do that, then I will, but I won't hide from it!"
Anger surges, and it takes everything I have to hold my temper, "Mami, it's not like--"
"It IS like that!" She stomps her foot, and the mirrored surface cracks. She doesn't notice.
I stare at that reflection for a few seconds--my face, reflected by a single angled shard near her heel, and Mami's, split between several others. I think of before, when she swept in to stop me, to protect her city from me.
I think of the dead ones, in Kazamino. The people I let die to save myself. I mean, sure, I didn't exactly leave them dying in front of me, usually, but I didn't do anything to stop it, either. I wasn't the hero I was supposed to be.
I see Mami, and I see myself, and I realize that I can't let her end up like that.
I straighten, and take a deep breath, forcing on a snarky smile, "...then I guess that's that, huh? No farming. We'll have to hunt a lot more, and further, and we might need help to make it work, but…we can find a way."
Mami stares at me, wide-eyed and bewildered, "Wait. No. That's not what I was saying, Kyouko. I'm saying that I will, that you were right! What are you-!?"
I shake my head, "Nope. You were right. We're supposed to save people, not kill them. I'm not going to say we should kill ourselves for them, but…"
I steel myself, and try to ignore the countless hypocrites in the mirrors, "...humans are more than food, alright? They're still not…no, that's a lie. They're not as important to me as you are, but they're just as much people as we are."
It hurts, admitting that, 'If they're not just food, then...how many? If I ate all of those people, then...wasn't he right?'
Mami blinks once, then twice, tears forming in her eyes.
"...Kyouko…"
I blink, and my ribs creak as a sudden force slams into me. I almost panic, but then relax I recognize the golden hair before my eyes. 'I should hug her back. Put an arm around her shoulder. Something like that.'
After a moment of hesitation, I wrap an arm around her, "I'm sorry, Mami. I know you were almost okay with it, but…"
She sobs, shaking her head. "NO! That's not true…I needed it to be, but I didn't want it to be, and…"
"...and it hurts, right? Trying to force something like that?"
She nods, and I heave a sigh, patting her on the back, "Yeah, I know. Just...don't worry about it too much, for now. There are a lot of Witches around--we can live off them for a while, without having to spare the familiars. I'll talk with Ribbons, too--she's a veteran, so maybe she knows a way to make this work."
Mami sighs and pulls away from me, wiping her eyes, "I hope so. Sorry for that, Kyouko. You shouldn't have to see me like that." She seems calm, now--like she's regained some of that grace she's been missing since the Witchbomb. It would be comforting, if I didn't know it was just for show.
"Nah, I think it's for the best. If I didn't, then no one would, and no one will betray you when you least expect it." I tease, hoping to cheer her up with absurdism; she does giggle a bit.
"That sounded like something out of Lewis Carroll, not Dante. Not your usual cup of tea."
I scoff, "Yeah, well, political satire can be fun too...and it kinda reminds me of Witch Barriers, a little. Kinda wonder if the author didn't know something, if you catch my drift."
She stares at me wide-eyed, and I smirk a little, "Hey! I know my stuff, dropout or not. Anyway, you wanna get going, before someone--"
That's when the lasers hit, and my suit locks down.
--
1:23:17 PM - The Ice Cream Parlor
While you're less than happy, after having been stuck in one place, talking with Karen's team and Sayaka for an hour (it turns out the girl who looked familiar is an up-and-coming singer--you probably saw a poster), you can't help but be cheered by Madoka's smile as she talks about the new friends she made in the arena and how she managed to ambush Mami and Kyouko.
"Wakasa-san insisted we attack them from their left flank, but Nagato-san pointed out that we could use the mirrored floors of the bottom floor to shoot under the walls. I didn't know how well, that would work, but I decided we should try it, and we…"
You'd held some hope she would win, somehow, but the hodgepodge of isolated players she managed to pull together was taken down near the end of the battle by a well-organized team.
Still, you suppose, it was well worth it--even if you didn't get much out of it, Madoka did. Mami seems happier too--you're not quite sure what happened, but you suspect you have Kyouko to thank for it.
'If she didn't ruin something, at least…'
You take a bit of your ice cream--it's good, as always--and sit back, listening to Madoka's stories.
"...but that's when the sniper started firing on us. We could have handled their main force, but we didn't have a good way to watch them and dodge shots from two stories up." She glances at you, smiling, "Of course, she wasn't as good as you, Homura-chan, but she was really good. I remember I saw her on the way out--I think she might have been ex-military or something."
"Hey, Ribbons?" Kyouko draws your attention, nudging you, "So...Mami and I decided we're not going to farm."
An ominous pronouncement. While you agree with the morality of it, if Kyouko stops farming…
"How are you going to sustain yourselves? We can live like that for a while, but…"
Kyouko grimaces, "Yeah, I know--'specially with Madoka thinking about Contracting. We can expand into Kazamino, and there's plenty of Witches right now, but we really need a way to stay alive, after that." She pauses.
You nod, waiting for her to go on.
She sighs, leaning back against her seat and gazing at the ceiling, "So...you know any tricks? You've clearly been at this a long time."
"There are...options, although they're not ideal. Claiming more territory is the obvious solution, but you'd need to commute to other cities to hunt, with the countryside empty. With the Tokyo girls…"
She nods, "Yeah, we're gonna start clashing with them sooner or later, if we go that route. Anything else?"
You hesitate, not liking the only answer you have right now, "You could let your Grief Seeds hatch."
Her eyes go wide, her hands rising in front of her defensively, "No! No way! They're way too dangerous, after the first time. I tried that once, and that Witch nearly killed me--I had to let it go! I think Mami cleaned it up eventually, but still..."
"It's not quite as bad as you think. I'm sure it seemed stronger, but the truth is that Witches are simply more ready for you the second time--they know what your abilities are, and will have developed countermeasures by the time they hatch. That doesn't mean they're going to be better off against a different Magus, though."
Leaning on one hand as she listens, she swallows a bite of her sundae, looking thoughtful, "So...what you're saying is that if Mami killed my Grief Seeds, and I killed Mami's Grief Seeds…"
You nod, "It's safer that way. An old friend and I used to do that, a long time ago. It's still not perfect--it makes fighting a Witch together a detriment, since she'll learn both of your abilities, and you can only fight each Witch once each--but it can save you from starvation if need be."
"So did you figure that out, or--"
You smile slightly at her, "My friend, the same one who developed the nomenclature."
Taking another bite, she is forced to pause for a moment before answering, "Clever friend you had. Wish I could have met her."
You say nothing, just maintaining the smile as you take another bite and turn your focus back to Madoka. She smiles as she looks back to you.
'This was worth it.' You think.
Calendar
[ ] Visit Yuuko
[ ] Go Hunting
[ ] Go Somewhere
-[ ] Write-In
[ ] Go Shopping
-[ ] For What?
[ ] Go "Shopping" (Steal)
-[ ] For What?
[ ] Train a Skill
-[ ] Resources you'd like to use.
-[ ] People you'd like help from.
-[ ] Location to train at.
-[ ] Time to spend.
[ ] Craft Something (Will lead to Crafting Vote)
-[ ] What?
[ ] Write-In
It's Sayaka who takes the brunt of it instead, three lasers hitting her almost instantly as she moves away with inhuman agility, taking cover on the other side of the elevator.
'Mami and Kyouko, already? No, too many shots, and they should have just arrived. What kind of…?'
You glance around the corner to get a look at your opponents, and raise an eyebrow at the sight--six young people, probably college-aged. Three male, three female. They hold their weapons steady, and are positioned well for effective targeting and evasion. Probably regular players then, with more skill than you expected. There isn't anything terribly unique about them, though; one of the girls is abnormally tall, you suppose, and there's another, younger girl who seems a bit familiar.
You quickly turn your attention to the arena itself, evaluating all of the possible angles you could strike from. Most are mundane; simply reflecting a laser off a wall or two is not exactly difficult. You do see an opportunity, though--the corners. Unlike a bullet, a properly aimed laser can be split along an edge, and you can see a path for striking two targets at once.
You cease breathing and bring your muscles under tight control as you step out of cover briefly, rifle moving smoothly into position as you pull the trigger.
A shining array of purple reflections engulfs their side of the battlefield as your laser splits on the corner of a large, mirrored pillar they had thought to use as cover, the two halves of the beam following different paths as they ricochet throughout the area before striking their targets.
The familiar girl falls first. It's not impossible you recognize her because she's a Magus, and thus the most dangerous of the group. Even if she's not, she holds her weapon with an ease few of the others share, making her a greater threat.
The second beam strikes one of the young men. He's unremarkable, but he had his eye on your half of the elevator.
Both of them freeze in place as the joints of their suits lock up, lights flashing. It seems this arena takes the threat of cheating seriously; it's either that, or they just wanted to crank up the intensity of the experience.
Several more rays spray from the elevator, courtesy of Madoka and Sayaka; they took your move as a cue to attack, it seems. Their shots are wilder and less controlled, but they manage to focus fire and bring down one of the other young men.
Only three remain, but those three seem determined to go down fighting as they fire back at your group with abandon. You and Madoka manage to step back behind cover, although it's really more of a dive than a step, in Madoka's case.
Sayaka, however, seems to have lost her mind; she charges out towards the enemy, raising her dual pistols. You grimace, ready to move out and avenge her once they exhaust their weapons, but catch yourself as Sayaka blocks the lasers, pistols flicking through the air to intercept the rays. Her enhanced speed justifies much of it, but it's still an impressive feat which stands contrary to the skill she's demonstrated up until now.
Not wasting time fretting over it, you use the opportunity to go on the offensive, opening fire on your startled adversaries. It's a matter of course to replicate your earlier feat, splitting your shot against a different corner and eliminating two more of them; now, only the tall girl remains. Madoka attempts to gun her down, but her aim is poor, and the girl is quick, and--
Suddenly, the air is alive with magic. It feels almost like a Magus's transformation, except that no one has transformed. All you see is the tall girl sprinting towards you in quick bursts of speed, sidestepping and leaping over Madoka's shots with ease as she closes in on you, eyes gleaming with sudden life.
She's fast, but so is Sayaka. The bluenette closes with her in an instant, pistols moving quickly to take aim--albeit, not with the same skill she demonstrated with her earlier defense. Sadly, the tall girl is faster, ducking low and pressing her submachine gun into Sayaka's gut as she opens fire. Your friend's suit locks down even as she curses, "What the hell?! Get her Homura!"
You don't need to be told twice as you raise your gun, take aim, and fire in a single breath. 'She can't dodge--' Your thoughts are cut off as you realize that your rifle didn't fire. You had forgotten the charge time in your surprise, and your target takes advantage of that, closing the gap between the two of you with even greater speed.
As she springs forward to meet you at point blank range, she looks you in the eye, and you realize that something is wrong, because the girl was tall for a college student, but she is most certainly looking up at you right now. She quickly shoots, half a dozen quick shots striking you. You can't afford to get shot again, but you have no room to dodge. 'If she gets another shot off--!'
Madoka steps into place behind the girl and opens fire. 'At that range, there's no way she can--' Your thoughts are cut off again as the short girl in front of you hops up into the air and lands on your shoulder before spinning to a stop behind you, already pulling the trigger.
You aren't fast enough without transforming. You can't evade.
'Even if I can't dodge…"
You spin on your heel in an instant, rifle coming up in a single hand as you take aim in the space between moments.
'…I can still protect Madoka!'
Your rifle goes off in the same instant as her submachine gun does, her beams striking you even as yours strikes her square in the forehead.
The two of you, still in motion, crash to the ground as your suits lock up, leaving you staring across the ground at each other.
Madoka walks over next to the two of you, looking back and forth between your frozen forms, "…I'm really not cut out for this, am I?"
You blink at her calm words, and realize that your heart is pounding in your chest, the thrill of battle shooting through you.
'Right, this is just a game. She's fine.'
You take a breath, and answer her, "No, you're doing just fine. This rabbit here is simply impossible."
The "rabbit" growls at that, eyes still blazing for a moment, but soon that fire fades, her gaze turning gentle. She sighs slightly, looking bemused, "So says the girl who took out four people with two shots." The wind gone from her sails, she glances up at Madoka, "She's right though, you'll do fine. You almost got me back there, and you did fine earlier; things just got a bit exciting for a minute."
Madoka stares at her for a moment, then sighs and looks at you, "Thanks for saving me, Homura-chan. I'm going to go see how long I can last…"
"Be wary. The guns can't hurt you, but you can still get injured with this kind of thing. Be careful with those pits."
She smiles, "Don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fine!"
With that, she waves and heads off, cautiously departing…and leaving you alone in the elevator with the "rabbit."
You're still not sure what just happened, honestly. That wasn't something a normal person should be able to do. At least, you don't think it should be possible. You almost think you were hallucinating again; the young woman lying in front of you is, indeed, six feet tall, and she certainly shouldn't have been able to perform any of those stunts.
Except, of course, you both lie here frozen. It wasn't purely a hallucination, at least.
"What are you?"
The girl blinks, glancing down, "Oh, I'm nobody special, really. I just like shooting games like this."
"Do you...do you even know what you just did?"
She blinks at that, "I rushed the blue-haired girl, then got up close with you. Your pink-haired friend tried to shoot me in the back, so I," she pauses, "I jumped…"
She pauses again, glancing down, then back up at you, "…I must have stumbled or something. Maybe you sidestepped by accident?"
You stare at her flatly, and she bites her lip, "Huh. Well, I was pretty into it, and you can push the human body really far with enough adrenaline…"
You don't say anything, even as she attempts to figure out what just happened, to no avail. Eventually, you relent, "Who are you?"
She glances up at you and smiles, "I'm L-!" She pauses for a fraction of a second, then corrects herself, looking puzzled, "I'm Karen. Nice to meet you!"
"Homura. Nice to shoot you."
She laughs at that, "You too!"
---
The scenery blurs by as I descend, rifle in hand, towards the water below. The impact won't matter--even if I land poorly my bones are not my own, and will heal quickly.
I twist in midair, gaze sliding across the inverted landscape as I look for a target. There's no sign of Homura, nor Sayaka, but there are plenty of others--normal people, most seeking to descend.
My rifle flicks upwards easily, and I pull the trigger--once, twice, three times. Clean shots. One of them is defeated, and their suit lights up, although it does not lock--it won't while they're not on solid ground. The other survives, for the moment.
Their friends on the ground below take offense, but I don't care. I pull the pistol from my side as I twist in midair, shifting my position to avoid the shots.
The water is close now, but it's fine; I fire off a shot from the pistol, clipping one of the shooters just as I strike the water headfirst. My neck doesn't snap, in spite of the angle; they must have been very careful when they decided the fall distance for the pit.
I bring my limbs in tightly and breath deeply of the water, quickly sinking to the bottom as I overcome my natural buoyancy. My body demands air, but I ignore it--those instincts could get me killed against other Witches.
I remain there for a time, ignoring it as Kyouko splashes down after me, only to quickly swim away.
After a few seconds of this, plenty of time for Kyouko to draw attention, I brace my legs and kick off, enchanting them without thinking. 'I shouldn't have done that,' I reflect as I ascend, 'I won't improve if I don't limit myself to skill, and it's not exactly fair to them.'
With a splash, I burst out of the water and several feet into the air, guns at the ready. Kyouko is facing off with the shooters from before, alongside half a dozen others. A glance tells me that she's doing well; she enchanted her entire body immediately, so these opponents aren't much for her.
'Still, I'm here to have fun, and it's not like I'm not going to shoot these down quickly anyway.' I target those who turned at the splash first, rifle shots to the heads eliminating two of them swiftly as my pistol fires off in parallel, eliminating another. They return fire, but it's of little concern; Kyouko has me covered. She closes in while they're distracted, and eliminates three more.
I start to pull myself over with a ribbon, but remember that I don't have those right now. Instead, I simply wait out the arc of my jump, landing smoothly on the shore. My legs make an ominous cracking sound as I do, but I barely notice it, letting my magic heal the damage.
While I'm making my landing, Kyouko takes out the last two with ease, and turns to look at me, "Going a bit hard, Mami?"
She's right, I know. I don't normally let loose like this, but it's nice to let off some steam for once.
"Just a little. I haven't been here in a while."
Her look of concern is worrying, but I try not to let it weigh on me too much.
I look down at my victims, splayed across the floor, bodies broken, and--
"Mami?!"
I jerk, and blink. The other players look awestruck, and perhaps a little frightened, but they're fine. It's laser tag. I didn't do anything wrong.
I turn my gaze to Kyouko, and force another smile, "Ah, sorry. I'm alright. Let's go find Homura."
She nods slowly, glancing at the other players with concern, "...alright, Mami. If you say so. We'll go find Ribbons."
---
I turn away from that fake smile of hers, biting my lip the moment my back is turned. She's still Mami, and it's not like she's done anything too crazy, but…
I glance back, briefly, at the battlefield we're leaving, 'Mami never goes this hard with humans. She thinks the stuff I do is cheating, so why…?'
I shake it off, and start running forward, Mami behind me. I know why. She's been messed up ever since she found out about that Witchbomb. Sometimes, when she looks at people, I get the horrible feeling that she's seeing something else.
'Lord, please help Mami. She's slipping, and I'm not supposed to be the one who catches people.'
There's no reply. I didn't expect one, but it seems like there's some judgement in that silence, this time.
'I guess...maybe that's why you moved me back here, huh?'
I'd like to think the silence is approving, but it might just be my imagination.
"Hey, Mami? You know you can talk to me, right?"
She catches up in an instant to run beside me, smiling earnestly this time, but she doesn't say anything. The silence is damning, in spite of her gratitude.
"I know that I'm not the best person, but," I bite my lip again, hating every moment of this, "Look, I'm just saying that, if you need someone to talk things over with, I'm here. I won't judge."
I'll try not to judge, and I'll be nice about it if I do.
Her smile fades, and she pulls to a halt. I follow suit.
She sighs, "...I'm trying to make peace with it, but it's not easy, you know? I don't want to hurt anyone, but I also need to take care of all of you, and…" She grimaces, hugging her rifle close, "...it wasn't so hard when I was alone. If I starved, it wouldn't matter, but now…"
I almost punch her in the face. It's a close thing, but I know she'd take it the wrong way, "It would matter, Mami! If you had died, we--" I hesitate, but follow through, forcing the words out, "We wouldn't have gotten to be friends again. You'd never have gotten to make any friends again. That's…" I grasp for words, "You dying alone would have been fucked up."
She gives a weak smile, "Thanks, Kyouko, but...how many people are we going to have to kill? For food, I mean?"
I sigh, looking down. I don't want to think about it, but she's going to make me actually think about it, "...look, it's not like we have to kill them. They get their chance to survive, and if they fuck it up, then...well, we get to eat."
"NO!" My head jerks up as she snaps at me, "NO! If I do this, I'm not going to make any excuses! I'll keep you and Homura and everyone else safe, and if I need to kill people to do that, then I will, but I won't hide from it!"
Anger surges, and it takes everything I have to hold my temper, "Mami, it's not like--"
"It IS like that!" She stomps her foot, and the mirrored surface cracks. She doesn't notice.
I stare at that reflection for a few seconds--my face, reflected by a single angled shard near her heel, and Mami's, split between several others. I think of before, when she swept in to stop me, to protect her city from me.
I think of the dead ones, in Kazamino. The people I let die to save myself. I mean, sure, I didn't exactly leave them dying in front of me, usually, but I didn't do anything to stop it, either. I wasn't the hero I was supposed to be.
I see Mami, and I see myself, and I realize that I can't let her end up like that.
I straighten, and take a deep breath, forcing on a snarky smile, "...then I guess that's that, huh? No farming. We'll have to hunt a lot more, and further, and we might need help to make it work, but…we can find a way."
Mami stares at me, wide-eyed and bewildered, "Wait. No. That's not what I was saying, Kyouko. I'm saying that I will, that you were right! What are you-!?"
I shake my head, "Nope. You were right. We're supposed to save people, not kill them. I'm not going to say we should kill ourselves for them, but…"
I steel myself, and try to ignore the countless hypocrites in the mirrors, "...humans are more than food, alright? They're still not…no, that's a lie. They're not as important to me as you are, but they're just as much people as we are."
It hurts, admitting that, 'If they're not just food, then...how many? If I ate all of those people, then...wasn't he right?'
Mami blinks once, then twice, tears forming in her eyes.
"...Kyouko…"
I blink, and my ribs creak as a sudden force slams into me. I almost panic, but then relax I recognize the golden hair before my eyes. 'I should hug her back. Put an arm around her shoulder. Something like that.'
After a moment of hesitation, I wrap an arm around her, "I'm sorry, Mami. I know you were almost okay with it, but…"
She sobs, shaking her head. "NO! That's not true…I needed it to be, but I didn't want it to be, and…"
"...and it hurts, right? Trying to force something like that?"
She nods, and I heave a sigh, patting her on the back, "Yeah, I know. Just...don't worry about it too much, for now. There are a lot of Witches around--we can live off them for a while, without having to spare the familiars. I'll talk with Ribbons, too--she's a veteran, so maybe she knows a way to make this work."
Mami sighs and pulls away from me, wiping her eyes, "I hope so. Sorry for that, Kyouko. You shouldn't have to see me like that." She seems calm, now--like she's regained some of that grace she's been missing since the Witchbomb. It would be comforting, if I didn't know it was just for show.
"Nah, I think it's for the best. If I didn't, then no one would, and no one will betray you when you least expect it." I tease, hoping to cheer her up with absurdism; she does giggle a bit.
"That sounded like something out of Lewis Carroll, not Dante. Not your usual cup of tea."
I scoff, "Yeah, well, political satire can be fun too...and it kinda reminds me of Witch Barriers, a little. Kinda wonder if the author didn't know something, if you catch my drift."
She stares at me wide-eyed, and I smirk a little, "Hey! I know my stuff, dropout or not. Anyway, you wanna get going, before someone--"
That's when the lasers hit, and my suit locks down.
--
1:23:17 PM - The Ice Cream Parlor
While you're less than happy, after having been stuck in one place, talking with Karen's team and Sayaka for an hour (it turns out the girl who looked familiar is an up-and-coming singer--you probably saw a poster), you can't help but be cheered by Madoka's smile as she talks about the new friends she made in the arena and how she managed to ambush Mami and Kyouko.
"Wakasa-san insisted we attack them from their left flank, but Nagato-san pointed out that we could use the mirrored floors of the bottom floor to shoot under the walls. I didn't know how well, that would work, but I decided we should try it, and we…"
You'd held some hope she would win, somehow, but the hodgepodge of isolated players she managed to pull together was taken down near the end of the battle by a well-organized team.
Still, you suppose, it was well worth it--even if you didn't get much out of it, Madoka did. Mami seems happier too--you're not quite sure what happened, but you suspect you have Kyouko to thank for it.
'If she didn't ruin something, at least…'
You take a bit of your ice cream--it's good, as always--and sit back, listening to Madoka's stories.
"...but that's when the sniper started firing on us. We could have handled their main force, but we didn't have a good way to watch them and dodge shots from two stories up." She glances at you, smiling, "Of course, she wasn't as good as you, Homura-chan, but she was really good. I remember I saw her on the way out--I think she might have been ex-military or something."
"Hey, Ribbons?" Kyouko draws your attention, nudging you, "So...Mami and I decided we're not going to farm."
An ominous pronouncement. While you agree with the morality of it, if Kyouko stops farming…
"How are you going to sustain yourselves? We can live like that for a while, but…"
Kyouko grimaces, "Yeah, I know--'specially with Madoka thinking about Contracting. We can expand into Kazamino, and there's plenty of Witches right now, but we really need a way to stay alive, after that." She pauses.
You nod, waiting for her to go on.
She sighs, leaning back against her seat and gazing at the ceiling, "So...you know any tricks? You've clearly been at this a long time."
"There are...options, although they're not ideal. Claiming more territory is the obvious solution, but you'd need to commute to other cities to hunt, with the countryside empty. With the Tokyo girls…"
She nods, "Yeah, we're gonna start clashing with them sooner or later, if we go that route. Anything else?"
You hesitate, not liking the only answer you have right now, "You could let your Grief Seeds hatch."
Her eyes go wide, her hands rising in front of her defensively, "No! No way! They're way too dangerous, after the first time. I tried that once, and that Witch nearly killed me--I had to let it go! I think Mami cleaned it up eventually, but still..."
"It's not quite as bad as you think. I'm sure it seemed stronger, but the truth is that Witches are simply more ready for you the second time--they know what your abilities are, and will have developed countermeasures by the time they hatch. That doesn't mean they're going to be better off against a different Magus, though."
Leaning on one hand as she listens, she swallows a bite of her sundae, looking thoughtful, "So...what you're saying is that if Mami killed my Grief Seeds, and I killed Mami's Grief Seeds…"
You nod, "It's safer that way. An old friend and I used to do that, a long time ago. It's still not perfect--it makes fighting a Witch together a detriment, since she'll learn both of your abilities, and you can only fight each Witch once each--but it can save you from starvation if need be."
"So did you figure that out, or--"
You smile slightly at her, "My friend, the same one who developed the nomenclature."
Taking another bite, she is forced to pause for a moment before answering, "Clever friend you had. Wish I could have met her."
You say nothing, just maintaining the smile as you take another bite and turn your focus back to Madoka. She smiles as she looks back to you.
'This was worth it.' You think.
[CENTER OF THE MIND]
Calendar
-
- 1 Grief Seed of Sachiel (3 Charges)
-
- 31 Handguns [214 Clips]
- 21 Machine Guns [253 Clips]
- 5 Sniper Rifles [112 Clips]
- 2 Rocket Launchers [20 Rockets]
- 1 Mini-Gun [12000 Rounds]
- 16 Katana
- 30 Knives
- 12 Pipe Bombs
- 1 Umbrella
-
- Grandfather's Pocket Watch
- +1 Sanity/hour if kept close while sleeping.
- Laptop
- Contains various essential software and allows internet access. Contains nothing related to your life as a Magi.
- Monthly Planner
- Unlocks Calendar
- Heart Scans
- Homura receives a +5 Bonus to Medical Checks when treating her Heart Condition.
- Kyouko and Mami's Cake
- Gives Sanity when eaten. Gives more when eaten with friends.
- High-Quality Sake
- Payment for Yuuko's time.
- Yuuko's Business Card
- Gives instant access to Yuuko's shop.
- Grandfather's Pocket Watch
-
-
- Durability: 50
- Special Abilties
- Multiplies Speed and Strength by 10
-
-
-
- Durability: 15
- Special Abilities
- Contains your Soul
-
-
-
- Cost:
- 1 EE/Second; Rounded Up
- 10 Sanity/30 Minutes; Rounded Down; Totaled Daily
- Cost:
-
- Negates a single attack entirely.
- Cost
- X EE
- X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.
-
- Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
- Instant Attack
- 100% Accuracy
- Undodgeable
- 100 Power
- Low Damage
- Cost
- 20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
- Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.
- Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
-
- Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
- Charge Time: 3 Seconds
- Fast Attack
- 100% Accuracy
- 1000 Power
- Massive Damage
- Cost
- 300 Grief
- Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
-
- Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
- The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
- Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
- Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
- Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
- Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
- Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
- Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
- Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
- Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
- Auto Reload (5 EE)
- Flying Sword/Knife: 30 EE
- Ego
- Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
- Cost: 5 EE
-
- Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
- Cost
- 500 Sanity
- 500 EE
-
- Mobile Version
-
[CENTER OF THE MIND]
Time: 1:25:51 P.M.
Grief: 417/1000
Sanity: 373/1000
Stability Multiplier: 0.9
Calendar
Active Effects:
[Enchantment: Increase Heart Performance. Cost: 5 Grief/Hour]
- Primary:
- 1 Grief Seed of Sachiel (3 Charges)
- Books:
- Medical:
- Cardiology Texts [Amateur | Medical] [3/3]
- +5 to Medical when Treating Heart Disease
- Intro to Medicine [Amateur | Medical] [5/5]
- Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED. 5th Ed. Jeff Rendall. [Amateur | Medical] [0/2]
- Home Biochemistry, Book 1. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Amateur | Medical] [0/5]
- Home Biochemistry, Book 2. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Skilled | Medical] [0/5]
- Cardiology Texts [Amateur | Medical] [3/3]
- Mechanical Expertise
- Beginning Watchmaking [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/5]
- The Glory of Clocks. 17th Ed. Helena Akemi. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/17]
- Historical Weapons Design. 3rd Ed. Vern Engers. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/3]
- Electronics Expertise
- Beginning Programming. 2nd Ed. Jim Rivens. [Amateur | Electronics Expertise] [0/4]
- Practical Electronics for the Home Inventor. 1st Edition. [Skilled | Electronics Expertise] [0/5]
- Research
- A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis. 1st Ed. Honya. [Amateur | Research] [0/7]
- Other:
- Untitled Book [???]
- Medical:
- Arsenal
- 31 Handguns [214 Clips]
- 21 Machine Guns [253 Clips]
- 5 Sniper Rifles [112 Clips]
- 2 Rocket Launchers [20 Rockets]
- 1 Mini-Gun [12000 Rounds]
- 16 Katana
- 30 Knives
- 12 Pipe Bombs
- 1 Umbrella
- Special
- Grandfather's Pocket Watch
- +1 Sanity/hour if kept close while sleeping.
- Laptop
- Contains various essential software and allows internet access. Contains nothing related to your life as a Magi.
- Monthly Planner
- Unlocks Calendar
- Heart Scans
- Homura receives a +5 Bonus to Medical Checks when treating her Heart Condition.
- Kyouko and Mami's Cake
- Gives Sanity when eaten. Gives more when eaten with friends.
- High-Quality Sake
- Payment for Yuuko's time.
- Yuuko's Business Card
- Gives instant access to Yuuko's shop.
- Grandfather's Pocket Watch
- Devices
- Shield Clock (Quality: +19) (Enchanted)
Time Stop:
- Cost:
- 1 EE/Second; Rounded Up
- 10 Sanity/30 Minutes; Rounded Down; Totaled Daily
- Negates a single attack entirely.
- Cost
- X EE
- X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.
- Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
- Instant Attack
- 100% Accuracy
- 100 Power
- Low Damage
- Cost
- 20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
- Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.
- Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
- Charge Time: 3 Seconds
- Fast Attack
- 100% Accuracy
- 1000 Power
- Massive Damage
- Cost
- 300 Grief
Enchant:
- Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
- The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
- Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
- Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
- Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
- Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
- Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
- Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
- Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
- Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
- Auto Reload (5 EE)
- Flying Knife/Sword (30 EE)
- Ego
- Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
- Cost: 5 EE
- Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
- Cost
- 500 Sanity
- 500 EE
Weapons:
- Durability: 300
- Maximum Number: 1
- Attack Types:
- Slash: Effective Power = Power * 1.2, Standard Damage
- Stab: Effective Power = Power * 1.5, Moderate decrease in Damage
- Special Ability:
- Progressive: If contact is maintained with the target, the attack's effective Power increases by 10 for each second of sustained contact, assuming pressure is maintained, to a maximum of +100 Power
- Durability: Infinite
- Maximum Number: 1
- Special Abilities
- Focus for Shield of Protection}
- Focus for Time Stop
- Required for Time Reversal
Armor:
- Durability: 50
- Special Abilties
- Multiplies Speed and Strength by 10
Accessories:
- Durability: 15
- Special Abilities
- Contains your Soul
- Primary:
[ ] Visit Yuuko
[ ] Go Hunting
[ ] Go Somewhere
-[ ] Write-In
[ ] Go Shopping
-[ ] For What?
[ ] Go "Shopping" (Steal)
-[ ] For What?
[ ] Train a Skill
-[ ] Resources you'd like to use.
-[ ] People you'd like help from.
-[ ] Location to train at.
-[ ] Time to spend.
[ ] Craft Something (Will lead to Crafting Vote)
-[ ] What?
[ ] Write-In
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