Magical Girl Phantom Ascension

You give the polearm an experimental swing, nearly accidentally hitting the stranger with it and forcing them to back up a few steps. It seems you'll still have to learn how to use it properly. For that matter, you're not even sure what it is - it certainly isn't a simple spear, going by the subtly curved blade at the end.

"Curious," the stranger notes, gazing at you with a stumped expression. (That once again vanishes as soon as you're aware of it. This is really starting to get annoying.) "As soon as you transformed, you became visible by normal means again."

"Wait, really?" You immediately start patting yourself. "Did it turn me alive again?"

"No, you're still just a spirit," the stranger explains, "but you're able to be detected by normal means again. Unless someone got close enough to realize you aren't breathing and lack a pulse, you could pass for a living girl fairly fine…" they glance about at your surroundings, and add "Try to turn back now. If you're seen here, it could create awkward questions, you know."

…

"And how do I do that?" you sigh.

"Ah, right," You can almost see the stranger sweatdropping, "Simply the normal activation, but in reverse; focus on being as you were." This time, it works the first time you try it, and you return to the clothes you were wearing before, the staff of ambiguity twinkling as it vanishes into your… hammerspace, or something. The stranger nods. "As I suspected, you are invisible again. This could be a problem for coordination with the others, but we'll worry about that later."

They seem about to speak again, but suddenly they freeze in place, a curious deep ringing sound filling the air, like a bell's tolling that simply does not end. You glance around to find everything else has changed as well; the sky is an uncomfortable blood red, while the ground, the trees, everything else, has turned a dark shade of monochrome grey. The lighting is off, too; making it all look strangely fake. You realize it's not just the stranger that's frozen, but a crow nearby is stopped mid-dive, and you suspect if you ventured further, you'd find everything else in a similar state. Aside from the distant ringing in the background, everything is still and silent in a way you never realized was possible; it feels like it could drive you mad.



"Sorry about all of this, I imagine it's a bit disconcerting," comes a voice from behind you, and you whirl around to find an unfamiliar girl lounging atop a fairly blocky tombstone, one leg kicked up like some sort of pin-up pose. She's wearing a big black jacket and a too-long red tie over a white dress shirt, and has a strange red skirt with seven belt buckles attached to the hem at intervals. Her stockings are black-and-red striped, too, over black formal slip-on shoes with less-formal platform heels, polished to a shine. Her hair is similarly dark, raven locks parted over one eye to hide the other, and you note with horror that she's wearing black lipstick, as she gives you a cattish grin. All told, she looks like someone trying way too hard to be edgy, and despite the circumstances you have to stifle a giggle at her wardrobe.

"So… who are you?" You ask, once the urge to laugh has subsided. "Did you do… all of this?" You wave at the surroundings, before another thought hits you. "Are you another 'Magical Girl'?"

She does laugh, throwing her head back and clutching her stomach, only to start tilting backwards off the gravestone. She manages to turn the fall into a roll, cartwheeling neatly to her feet and wiping away a few stray tears of mirth. "No, I am not a Magical Girl. Yes, I did do this; I needed to talk to you a moment, so I brought you into my world. Or, the world as I see it, I suppose you could say." She grins at you again, and it's really quite creepy. "And I think you know who I am… or do I need to pull out the scythe to prove it?"

How to react to this?
> Yes, Please ("Prove it. I want to see the scythe.")
> No, Don't ("You aren't here to take me, are you?")
> All Business ("You said you wanted to talk. What's this about?")
> Give A Compliment ("You're a lot less skeletal than I was expecting.")
> Speak Your Mind ("Have you spoken to any fashion designer ghosts?")