Star healing, escalation! Refresh!
- Location
- Oooooooh emotional roller coaster
There is an informational threadmark of retrospection and speculation which may be useful, at this time, to readers who are catching up.
[6] Fight this witch
-[3] Try to heal her with star staff / feather magic
-[2] (unspecified tactics)
Crew:
--[5] with Kyouko
Kyouko can do a latticework barrier. Good choice.
--[3] with Nanami
--[3] with Ryouko
(last minute switching because she might be vulnerable)
--[1] actively WITHOUT Ryouko
You want to try healing a witch, Clarisse? Well. Let it never be said you are daunted by things just because they're kinda sorta a little impossible. Yes, I understand you've got access to the Star Staff yourself, but as it stands, it's far beyond your own abilities. A trivial suppression of an incidental side-effect of a wish was enough to knock you out cold. And Ryouko can use the staff, too, but, well, healing a witch using conventional magic, instead of wish magic, is a very tall order indeed. Now, if you had the actual article, I'd be much more comfortable with your odds —
[3] Paradox yourself a feather from the 1980s
-[2] Try to have it installed in the hairpin
Aha. Hahahaha. Why, yes, Clarisse. You could just paradox yourself a feather. Why not? It says right there she's the Paradox Witch! Makes sense, right? Hey, you know what? I was thinking. While you're at it, have you considered trying to halt the tide, like King Canute? I mean, you're the Moon Princess! Clearly that sphere will wax and wane at your bidding! Haha.
[2] Attempt to reason out the current situation with the witch
-[1] In a way that does not interfere with fighting/healing her
You consider what you know about her right now. One major thing that's different is that she's much more articulate. This isn't normal. The labyrinth is also pretty bare, much like Homura's time-stop. No familiars. Also, she's referring to you by a witch-name like Gretchen did. Is this a thing articulate witches do, to mess with you? Or … did the two of you become witches together somewhen?
There's a slight chance she's not a witch. But she's at least as borderline as Gretchen, and possibly worse. Gretchen's soul gem was blackened, but with a point light. Simona's, or Abraxas's, is radiating dark corruption.
So if this is a witch Simona, which one is she? Is she the Star Empire one, or Governance? Imperial Simona would have reason to hate you if she died in the past but timestop would be a better match to the Governance power-set. But governance Simona is in America … She's in America, without her magic. She was on the edge of despair when she left, wasn't she? She was chewing out the Goddess.
If a Governance girl witches out, do runes end up in all the nomenclators?
The first problem with your proposed paradox is that people who care about you removed it from your hair while you were knocked out, and you haven't put it back on since you woke up. It's beside your bed, across the room.
You could just teleport over to grab it — no. Ryouko's teleport magic is in another universe right now.
You'll just act casual. And ask questions, too. Try to understand things, as you go along.
-[1] Would it be possible to use our powers to send a message in the past to ourselves? Hypothetically.
"Might we open a some sort of a time window, instead?" you ask.
"In theory," she says. "But we're close to the edge of a time loop here. It's much more stable to just rewind."
-[1] ask about stealing a bit of Homura.
"Okay," you say, standing up and straightening your dress. "So, Homura, then…"
She nods. "We have to borrow her soul through the Star Princess's magic. That's your job, of course; can't have Ryouko do it, obviously."
Of course, using another's magic is using their soul. It makes sense. It's just a little unsettling to hear it that way — especially given the Star Empire, and the scale of it all …
Well.
"I'd need a justification," you observe.
"Do it in the name of Madoka," proposes Simona. "That's always her prime loyalty. The paradox we want puts Madoka in this timeline, and it's the only world the two of them can be together."
You've made it to the nightstand.
"Okay," you say. "Give me a detailed parameter envelope so I can get everything right this time?"
You pluck the hairpin from the nightstand and secure it within your braids.
Now, did it work?
Oh.
Oh, stars.
Oh, stars, if you look for it, it's actually in there.
Your heart beats faster. How can it actually be there? What is this? Is this what it feels like when you meet Kyuubey for the first time? Goddess. There is a sense of your model of reality breaking a little, yes, and it's scary, but at the same time, there's a sense of empowerment. You might be able to change anything. It's a heady feeling.
But first, uhm….
just how the heck do you actually use it?
... you don't have any idea, do you?
"Just honor the deal," declares the witch, drawing your attention away again. "That's what matters."
"I'm not sure how that helps," you object. You'll leave it there in the pin for the moment, lest she notice something amiss…
The atmosphere of the time-stop, or the labyrinth, crackles with ambient energy.
"If she's so egalitarian," says Abraxas, looking at you intently, "there's no wall keeping her apart from Asami. This should be obvious, Clarisse." She stares at you, menacingly.
… You expect this might be where things fall apart.
You lunge for Kyouko.
You have caught your its-complicated girl by the arm, and your missive to her is very speedy. A witch, with timestop powers, has snuck up on us, you send. You enclose suggestions for a placement of a Latticework Barrier. Fortunately for you, Kyouko is fast.
What the hell is this? asks Kyouko, as a barrage of hexagons crashes against her lattice. And why does it say Abraxas in weird letters?
On the tactical data-stream you can see runes present in her nomenclator as well.
This is Simona's witch, I think, you say. 90% confidence she's a witch. Though, most witches don't talk this much. It's quite unusual, and possibly an incredibly valuable opportunity, so try not to hurt her just yet.
Try not to hurt a witch that's fighting us? asks Kyouko, incredulously.
Well, she's been saying very interesting things, you note. Also, I might have a way to save her.
That last bit gets Kyouko's attention.
"We made a deal, Maggie," says Abraxas, holding up her right hand.
You look at what she's holding — a thin red strip of fabric.
Oh goddess, she has a ribbon. Is that why she's still coherent? That's probably why. And it could be any Simona's witch, once she got hold of a ribbon.
The space around you is becoming confusing now. Where did Nanami go? There's a Madoka and a Hitomi sitting on the floor. Next to them is a mirror image of the two, upside down. Next to that is Madoka with Hitomi's hairstyle — or is that just a pink Hitomi in Madoka's dress? Is there even a difference?
The others might be hard to get to.
"You want to make a deal?" asks Kyouko. "Is that why you're trying to kill us?"
"If I were trying to kill you, you'd be dead," she says, smiling. "Did you hope to stand against me? Even with all your friends? And then you could fight Walpurgisnacht, and have tea and cakes with Mami!" She cackles.
"God damn," says Kyouko, adding another layer to the barrier. "Can we make her shut up?"
You consider the hopeless maze around you again. The good news for now is that she doesn't seem to interested in the others. Unfortunately this means you can't reach them, either.
But …
but you can still wake Ryouko, because there's a you in there. You just need to reach out to it, and … yes! there she is.
Stay very still, you tell Ryouko. Don't let her realize you're there, you say, and supply an explanation.
"Remember, Maggie?" she asks. "The first time you pushed Ryouko to rewrite the universe. When you saw what that did to her."
"I'm very sorry," you reply. "I don't remember that ever happening."
"Yes, well, that not-happening was the point, wasn't it?" asks Abraxas. "And it was your idea to begin with."
"Well, I don't remember any of it," you admit. "Could you please explain?" you ask.
Abraxas rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms.
"Our goddess Ryouko saved humanity countless times," lectures Abraxas, "with all the might of humanity behind her, and the prophet Oriko to guide her. But Oriko failed, and Ryouko fell into despair, and shattered the universe around her. The two of us despaired as well."
"But you had a clever idea. You borrowed magic from another timeline, to rewind time, and set up clever loops so you could fix everything, long before the Star Empire even existed. You'd borrowed a Ryouko from another universe, time looped her influence back into the original. You even found a version you didn't even feel bad about kidnapping, a ghost Ryouko, from a hell dimension. You wrote a new past for her — for all three of us. We were supposed to live a mediocre life together as spoiled little rich girls, free of fate and history."
You shake your head.
"The person that I am right now never agreed to any of this," you tell her.
Abraxas scowls. There are familiars visible, now, in outline, shadowy dancers at the edge of vision.
"I see what you did," she says, crossing her arms. "You're from that hell dimension, aren't you? That's why you let Ryouko get killed, so that Nanami brought you back, it would be the other version, and you wouldn't swap back." She shakes her head. "All so you could be sneaky about Asami."
"Whoever you dealt with, whoever set that up, she's not me," you insist.
Abraxas shakes her head.
"I will hold you to her promise either way, Clarisse," she says, hissing the sses. "You don't let Ryouko make any grand acts of self-sacrifice. And you don't let her fall in love with Asami."
You take a deep breath.
"I'm so sorry," you say. "My Ryouko is already very much in love with Asami. This love is important to her, and it is my duty to protect that."
"Then I will destroy you," says the witch, summoning a blob of energy in a very strange shape. There are lots of hexagons, writhing, and an internal pattern matcher helpfully suggests they could be inscribed on hyperspheres embedded in a rather extreme anti-DeSitter spacetime of eight dimensions. You're not sure how well Kyouko's barrier will hold up against such a thing. Meanwhile, the perspective deformation on the room is even worse than before, the floor and walls and ceiling a jumble.
"Simona?" interrupts Ryouko, speaking up.
The witch stops.
"R-Ryouko?" she asks.
"This… this isn't right, Simona," says Ryouko. "Please don't hurt them."
Simona's mouth hangs open.
"But… but…"
She drops to the ground.
"… then what is right?" she asks.
Ryouko just shakes her head.
"No, I want to know," says Simona. "Tell me. Please. Tell me…" She breathes in deeply. "Tell me why it's okay for you to sacrifice yourself and destroy the Empire for that girl, but it isn't okay for me to do something like this, to save you?"
Ryouko closes here eyes, and takes a deep breath.
"I don't think it was ever just about the one girl," says Ryouko, carefully. "I think she's just part of the bigger picture. It's about things the Empire did, that it shouldn't have done." She opens her eyes again. "I think it's about setting that right."
"But that isn't your sin," says Simona. "You didn't ask for anything terrible things to happen. You don't owe the universe a penance just for being a pawn in everyone's schemes. Just for existing, when they made you exist."
"If I don't do anything about it, though," asks Ryouko, "then… what would that make me?"
"It would make you Ryouko!" she says. "You're yourself. You don't need to fight just to make that person matter! Can't you see that there are people who care about you so much? Why isn't that ever enough? Just … just be yourself."
"Simona…" says Ryouko, a little surprised and confused.
"You matter to me, Ryouko!" says Simona. "More than anything else in the world, I care about you. I lo…"
She breaks down into tears.
"I love you too, Simona," says the princess, walking over to her, to hold her close.
Simona shakes her head, and stares at the ground. "I think we're talking about different kinds of love," she says, miserably.
Ryouko runs her fingers through Simona's hair, gently.
"Perhaps," she says, contemplatively.
It is quiet for a moment.
"So. You're in love, then," says Ryouko.
"There was always this magic around you," says Simona, "I could never bring myself to say… I tried to get around it… but it's too late, isn't it?" she asks. "Or it was always too late."
"You said something earlier, and you were right," says Ryouko. "I didn't ask for the terrible things that the Star Empire does. But I did ask for this. With a wish, I did this to you. And I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't do anything about it."
"Don't — please don't do something big and stupid and sacrifice yourself for me, Ryouko," says Simona, alarmed.
Ryouko shakes her head.
"No," she says. "I won't do that. But — but I reserve the right to do something big and stupid for everyone, okay? Because you just told me … you told me to be myself, right?" She takes a deep breath. "And I do want to be special to everyone, but … that should be something I earn myself," she says. "Not because I took something from them." She turns to Simona. "If you really want to be in love with me, that's who you get to be in love with, okay?"
"… Then you'll die," says Simona. "You'll… worse than die. So much worse."
"Maybe it'll be different this time," says Ryouko, smiling. "We have two different Clarisses to help, after all. Have a little hope."
"No, I can't," says Simona.
She's right, you realize, and relay to Ryouko and Kyouko. There's no more room for any hope in her. Not in this state of being.
But that's terrible, objects Ryouko.
It is, you agree. But I think I can do something about it.
You realize that the question of how to use the feather isn't a problem anymore.
The feather, rather, is going to use you.
> remember being Sakura
Earlier today you were in a classroom. You watched a black and white film on a projector. It was a stodgy sort of education film, produced by the ministry of health. The man narrating the film was very serious. The topic of the film was public health and vaccination. The public health ministry wants all the children to get the new vaccine for measles, so they are discussed the history of vaccines.
You have forgotten most of them.
You almost weren't scared at first. It wasn't terrible. There was just a shiny box. It looked almost like something you'd see in space. There was a girl in the box. The girl cannot use her lungs, and so the box breathes for her. She can't leave the box. This is because of polio. It paralyzed her muscles. Even when she wasn't sick anymore, she was too weak to breathe.
They told you it won't happen again.
But the box scares you.
Tomoyo-chan is sitting beside you. You are holding onto her hand and trying to maintain your composure.
"If it's keeping her alive," you ask, "why is it so scary?"
Tomoyo-chan shakes her head quietly.
"I don't know," she says.
It's really the idea of the box that scares you.
Because it's like a coffin. The girl in a coffin, and she's still alive.
And that's the sort of thing that can happen in the world, and that's why you are scared like you've maybe never been before.
And you are staring at your lunch, and there is a pit in your stomach, and a sense of helplessness.
And this feeling is why you already transformed into a borrowed costume, splashed with lilac, but also with pink. This is why you have summoned the staff. You know what to do to the grief seed, now. You absolutely have to do it. because somehow you know that living in that cruel little engine is much worse than any coffin. At least the dead have peace.
The motions of this particular invocation are elaborate, yet they feel as familiar as if you'd practiced them yourself. You twirl the staff about, reach for the magic, and —
— wait.
Are you… about to say something silly in front of everyone and do the sort of thing that Sakura Kyouko explicitly warned everyone about, in the twenty fifth century?
… M-maybe you can say it internally.
They don't have to know, right?
Right.
Star healing, escalation! Refresh!
oh goddess your cheeks are red anyway.
Did anyone ever tell you that you use an awful lot of star magic for a moon princess? It's funny. But that aside, you needn't be ashamed.
And no one's looking at you, either. They're looking at the brilliant white light that shines around the grief seed, now hovering next to Simona, and likewise shines from Simona herself. She looks down at hands, which are sparkling now, and then back up to Ryouko.
"…Hope," she says, through tears.
Ryouko nods. "Hope," she says, and wraps her arms around the girl.
"Okay," says Simona. "Hope."
Simona is still on her knees, so Ryouko is actually taller than her, and she leans down to place a gentle kiss on Simona's forehead.
Simona looks up, and her eyes go wide.
Then she smiles, and she shines very brightly, the light enveloping all of you.
You find that have transformed back to normal clothes, the feather's ideas for you having run their course.
Simona is gone — or, at least, that avatar of despair is. The grief seed remains, still hovering there, glowing white, wispy lights rising to the sky.
Suddenly, the light goes out.
Kyouko frowns. "Is that bad?" she asks.
You're not sure. You don't think it's bad exactly, but there's something unsettling about it.
There is a click, and a rushing sound, and darkness pours out of the seed and swirls around all of you in a whirlwind.
Something files past you, striking you on the cheek, and you realize.
Kyouko! you call out over your tactical channels. Put up a barrier, around all of us. A dome. It should be tight, but still let the wind through.
Kyouko quickly summons the lattice, just as the last great gust blows forth from the gem.
The dim blue layer over the rest of the world is suddenly shot through with color, and you are in the flow of time again.
Madoka makes a small noise of surprise, as she catches the last of the blast.
Nanami blinks.
The wind quickly dies down to nothing again.
"Did something just happen?" asks Hitomi, politely, looking around.
"Yes," says Ryouko. "There was a — a witch?" she asks, double checking the term.
You nod.
"With timestop." says Kyouko. "But we… healed it, or something." She looks around. "Disassembled it?"
"Healed it?" asks Nanami, then looks at you skeptically. "Why does Clarisse have teeny tiny white wings?"
"Uhm," you say, looking to your shoulder. "I found a new way to borrow magic."
They're from the Sakura feather, of course… the real question is how they're actually going through the fabric of your dress. Some sort of magic, it seems. You think you can hide them, if you put some effort into it. From Ryouko's perspective, you can also see a pink streak in your hair.
"… they're adorable," concludes Nanami, grinning.
Madoka looks mostly confused, but smiles tentatively.
The black feathers have landed about the room with their shafts pointing towards Ryouko. They are all sparkling at the edges, almost fizzling, sparkling white lights clustering on the fringes before rising into the air.
Nanami picks one up and looks at it.
"… Count them," you say, quickly. "How many are there?"
A few of them are overlapping, but the count is swift.
"… Twenty-seven," you conclude. "Out of… thirty-two. Five missing."
"So," says Nanami. "Just how dangerous are they?"
"I don't know," you say.
… How far did they go? Are they even in this same timeline?
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door, and then, without waiting, it opens.
"Aaaah!" you exclaim. The feathers — and for that matter, your fluffy white wings — are not hidden at all. "No, don't come in," you begin, blushing, "we're, uh—"
Shizuki Tomoyo steps through the door anyway, her eyes glowing.
Yes, it's me. Hello again. Still narrating the story. Most of it, anyway.
"Calm down, now, Abnegator," I say. "It's not as if I didn't know exactly what was going on up here already. You dropped something."
I reach out to place a tall dark feather in your hand.
"Be very careful with people's feelings," I warn you, taking your hand and giving it a quick squeeze. "And with your own. Okay?"
"Oh — o-okay," you say, taking the feather in the other hand.
I smile.
"Now, Clarisse," I say, "I know you have got questions, but I don't have enough magic to paradox you all the answers safely. Besides, I have to get back before Hitomi's mother realizes that she's not at home, or the slipper princess tries to write something very silly about your throne. There's just one small thing first. Small, but important."
In case it's not obvious from me nuzzling your fluffy little white wings, the important thing is me nuzzling those fluffy little white wings.
"Oh, the floof!" I exclaim, twirling about on the way to the door. "The fluffiest. See you girls later!~~"
Madoka waves, a hapless expression on her face.
Kyouko reaches out to pet the fluffy white wings — which feels very good, and is incredibly relaxing.
"… Clarisse," asks Hitomi, "what in the name of goodness was that about?"
"Oh," you explain, earnestly. "That was a different version of your mother, from a different timeline, circa the twenty fifth century. I guess she visited to catch this." You look at the twenty-eighth feather you hold in your hand.
Ryouko nods. "Yes, she's the moon princess there."
"No," you explain. "She gave me the title."
"… Really," says Ryouko, a little surprised.
"Maybe we should set up the house as some kind of a dimensional embassy," ponders Hitomi.
Madoka looks confused again for a moment, then lets a giggle escape.
"Ah — I'm sorry," she apologizes, a moment later. "You all looked so serious just now."
"Well, I guess it does sound kind of silly," you admit.
"… Well then!" says Nanami, shaking her head, and looking at the array of feathers. "Hey, who wants to bet Kyuubey is going to flip out?"
> aaaaaand back! just in time
> and for reference, Kyuubey is going to triple flip out
Please select plans for your new artifacts: a bunch of Simona feathers, another ribbon (Ryouko is holding), a Sakura feather, and a grief seed without any grief (transparent). We're in a brave new world here and anything can happen so some of these ideas are terrible but I'm sure you can think of something.
[][Simona feathers] (write in goals and handling procedures)
[][Simona feathers] Send Simona feathers back with Princess Ryouko
[][Simona feathers] Distribute Simona feathers to all magical girls
[][Simona feathers] Distribute Simona feathers to the entire gang
[][Simona feathers] Return a single Simona feather to Kyuubey and hide the rest
[][Simona feathers] Scheme to clone another Simona body for them
[][Simona feathers] Put all the feathers into Clarisse for safekeeping
[][Simona feathers] Have Tomoyo make the feathers into a fine ballet costume.
[][Sakura feather] Leave it inside Clarisse for now
There's a real chance ribbon-based timestop was tied to Abraxas having one too. Hint hint hint.
[][Ribbon] Carry both ribbons yourself
[][Ribbon] Give Homura one ribbon, tell her to handle it gingerly
[][Ribbon] Give a ribbon to (write-in)
[][Ribbon] Tie up the Simona feathers with the ribbon
Princess Ryouko is probably going to want to return before too very long.
Anything you want to say before she goes? Stop her? Entertain her further? Edit her? Quarantine her?
[][Princess] (write in)
it wouldn't be CQ withoutmicromanagement planning. Supply urgent plans for Nextdoot and others for Later. (Be aware that if you oversubscribe next door instead of deciding what plans to do Later, I will decide for you.)
[][Nextdoot] Please write in and name a plan
-[] Let yourself be fluffed by Kyouko
--[] Contemplate soul gems and feathers
--[] Talk with Kyouko:
---[] (write in topics)
---[] Be romantic, offer her the moon
-[] Speak with Papa about everything
-[] Ask Machina for pictures of Mami kissing Oriko
-[] Use feathers to teleport to Salem, and return them to (Governance) Simona
-[] Use ribbon to send Hitomi into the past
--[] send the Sakura feather back with her
--[] send the Sakura feather back with Yukari-san
-[] Send yourself into the past instead
--[] bring the Sakura feather
--[] leave the Sakura feather for pickup
--[] Talk to (Star Empire) Simona in the past
-[] Plot to avoid school
-[] Plot to become a ballerina
-[] DO NOT go mad with power
[][Later]
-[] (Same stuff)
Any old plans we've dropped? Can put them back if you like.
[6] Fight this witch
-[3] Try to heal her with star staff / feather magic
-[2] (unspecified tactics)
Crew:
--[5] with Kyouko
Kyouko can do a latticework barrier. Good choice.
--[3] with Nanami
--[3] with Ryouko
(last minute switching because she might be vulnerable)
--[1] actively WITHOUT Ryouko
You want to try healing a witch, Clarisse? Well. Let it never be said you are daunted by things just because they're kinda sorta a little impossible. Yes, I understand you've got access to the Star Staff yourself, but as it stands, it's far beyond your own abilities. A trivial suppression of an incidental side-effect of a wish was enough to knock you out cold. And Ryouko can use the staff, too, but, well, healing a witch using conventional magic, instead of wish magic, is a very tall order indeed. Now, if you had the actual article, I'd be much more comfortable with your odds —
[3] Paradox yourself a feather from the 1980s
-[2] Try to have it installed in the hairpin
Aha. Hahahaha. Why, yes, Clarisse. You could just paradox yourself a feather. Why not? It says right there she's the Paradox Witch! Makes sense, right? Hey, you know what? I was thinking. While you're at it, have you considered trying to halt the tide, like King Canute? I mean, you're the Moon Princess! Clearly that sphere will wax and wane at your bidding! Haha.
[2] Attempt to reason out the current situation with the witch
-[1] In a way that does not interfere with fighting/healing her
You consider what you know about her right now. One major thing that's different is that she's much more articulate. This isn't normal. The labyrinth is also pretty bare, much like Homura's time-stop. No familiars. Also, she's referring to you by a witch-name like Gretchen did. Is this a thing articulate witches do, to mess with you? Or … did the two of you become witches together somewhen?
There's a slight chance she's not a witch. But she's at least as borderline as Gretchen, and possibly worse. Gretchen's soul gem was blackened, but with a point light. Simona's, or Abraxas's, is radiating dark corruption.
So if this is a witch Simona, which one is she? Is she the Star Empire one, or Governance? Imperial Simona would have reason to hate you if she died in the past but timestop would be a better match to the Governance power-set. But governance Simona is in America … She's in America, without her magic. She was on the edge of despair when she left, wasn't she? She was chewing out the Goddess.
If a Governance girl witches out, do runes end up in all the nomenclators?
The first problem with your proposed paradox is that people who care about you removed it from your hair while you were knocked out, and you haven't put it back on since you woke up. It's beside your bed, across the room.
You could just teleport over to grab it — no. Ryouko's teleport magic is in another universe right now.
You'll just act casual. And ask questions, too. Try to understand things, as you go along.
-[1] Would it be possible to use our powers to send a message in the past to ourselves? Hypothetically.
"Might we open a some sort of a time window, instead?" you ask.
"In theory," she says. "But we're close to the edge of a time loop here. It's much more stable to just rewind."
-[1] ask about stealing a bit of Homura.
"Okay," you say, standing up and straightening your dress. "So, Homura, then…"
She nods. "We have to borrow her soul through the Star Princess's magic. That's your job, of course; can't have Ryouko do it, obviously."
Of course, using another's magic is using their soul. It makes sense. It's just a little unsettling to hear it that way — especially given the Star Empire, and the scale of it all …
Well.
"I'd need a justification," you observe.
"Do it in the name of Madoka," proposes Simona. "That's always her prime loyalty. The paradox we want puts Madoka in this timeline, and it's the only world the two of them can be together."
You've made it to the nightstand.
"Okay," you say. "Give me a detailed parameter envelope so I can get everything right this time?"
You pluck the hairpin from the nightstand and secure it within your braids.
Now, did it work?
Oh.
Oh, stars.
Oh, stars, if you look for it, it's actually in there.
Your heart beats faster. How can it actually be there? What is this? Is this what it feels like when you meet Kyuubey for the first time? Goddess. There is a sense of your model of reality breaking a little, yes, and it's scary, but at the same time, there's a sense of empowerment. You might be able to change anything. It's a heady feeling.
But first, uhm….
just how the heck do you actually use it?
... you don't have any idea, do you?
"Just honor the deal," declares the witch, drawing your attention away again. "That's what matters."
"I'm not sure how that helps," you object. You'll leave it there in the pin for the moment, lest she notice something amiss…
The atmosphere of the time-stop, or the labyrinth, crackles with ambient energy.
"If she's so egalitarian," says Abraxas, looking at you intently, "there's no wall keeping her apart from Asami. This should be obvious, Clarisse." She stares at you, menacingly.
… You expect this might be where things fall apart.
You lunge for Kyouko.
You have caught your its-complicated girl by the arm, and your missive to her is very speedy. A witch, with timestop powers, has snuck up on us, you send. You enclose suggestions for a placement of a Latticework Barrier. Fortunately for you, Kyouko is fast.
What the hell is this? asks Kyouko, as a barrage of hexagons crashes against her lattice. And why does it say Abraxas in weird letters?
On the tactical data-stream you can see runes present in her nomenclator as well.
This is Simona's witch, I think, you say. 90% confidence she's a witch. Though, most witches don't talk this much. It's quite unusual, and possibly an incredibly valuable opportunity, so try not to hurt her just yet.
Try not to hurt a witch that's fighting us? asks Kyouko, incredulously.
Well, she's been saying very interesting things, you note. Also, I might have a way to save her.
That last bit gets Kyouko's attention.
"We made a deal, Maggie," says Abraxas, holding up her right hand.
You look at what she's holding — a thin red strip of fabric.
Oh goddess, she has a ribbon. Is that why she's still coherent? That's probably why. And it could be any Simona's witch, once she got hold of a ribbon.
The space around you is becoming confusing now. Where did Nanami go? There's a Madoka and a Hitomi sitting on the floor. Next to them is a mirror image of the two, upside down. Next to that is Madoka with Hitomi's hairstyle — or is that just a pink Hitomi in Madoka's dress? Is there even a difference?
The others might be hard to get to.
"You want to make a deal?" asks Kyouko. "Is that why you're trying to kill us?"
"If I were trying to kill you, you'd be dead," she says, smiling. "Did you hope to stand against me? Even with all your friends? And then you could fight Walpurgisnacht, and have tea and cakes with Mami!" She cackles.
"God damn," says Kyouko, adding another layer to the barrier. "Can we make her shut up?"
You consider the hopeless maze around you again. The good news for now is that she doesn't seem to interested in the others. Unfortunately this means you can't reach them, either.
But …
but you can still wake Ryouko, because there's a you in there. You just need to reach out to it, and … yes! there she is.
Stay very still, you tell Ryouko. Don't let her realize you're there, you say, and supply an explanation.
"Remember, Maggie?" she asks. "The first time you pushed Ryouko to rewrite the universe. When you saw what that did to her."
"I'm very sorry," you reply. "I don't remember that ever happening."
"Yes, well, that not-happening was the point, wasn't it?" asks Abraxas. "And it was your idea to begin with."
"Well, I don't remember any of it," you admit. "Could you please explain?" you ask.
Abraxas rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms.
"Our goddess Ryouko saved humanity countless times," lectures Abraxas, "with all the might of humanity behind her, and the prophet Oriko to guide her. But Oriko failed, and Ryouko fell into despair, and shattered the universe around her. The two of us despaired as well."
"But you had a clever idea. You borrowed magic from another timeline, to rewind time, and set up clever loops so you could fix everything, long before the Star Empire even existed. You'd borrowed a Ryouko from another universe, time looped her influence back into the original. You even found a version you didn't even feel bad about kidnapping, a ghost Ryouko, from a hell dimension. You wrote a new past for her — for all three of us. We were supposed to live a mediocre life together as spoiled little rich girls, free of fate and history."
You shake your head.
"The person that I am right now never agreed to any of this," you tell her.
Abraxas scowls. There are familiars visible, now, in outline, shadowy dancers at the edge of vision.
"I see what you did," she says, crossing her arms. "You're from that hell dimension, aren't you? That's why you let Ryouko get killed, so that Nanami brought you back, it would be the other version, and you wouldn't swap back." She shakes her head. "All so you could be sneaky about Asami."
"Whoever you dealt with, whoever set that up, she's not me," you insist.
Abraxas shakes her head.
"I will hold you to her promise either way, Clarisse," she says, hissing the sses. "You don't let Ryouko make any grand acts of self-sacrifice. And you don't let her fall in love with Asami."
You take a deep breath.
"I'm so sorry," you say. "My Ryouko is already very much in love with Asami. This love is important to her, and it is my duty to protect that."
"Then I will destroy you," says the witch, summoning a blob of energy in a very strange shape. There are lots of hexagons, writhing, and an internal pattern matcher helpfully suggests they could be inscribed on hyperspheres embedded in a rather extreme anti-DeSitter spacetime of eight dimensions. You're not sure how well Kyouko's barrier will hold up against such a thing. Meanwhile, the perspective deformation on the room is even worse than before, the floor and walls and ceiling a jumble.
"Simona?" interrupts Ryouko, speaking up.
The witch stops.
"R-Ryouko?" she asks.
"This… this isn't right, Simona," says Ryouko. "Please don't hurt them."
Simona's mouth hangs open.
"But… but…"
She drops to the ground.
"… then what is right?" she asks.
Ryouko just shakes her head.
"No, I want to know," says Simona. "Tell me. Please. Tell me…" She breathes in deeply. "Tell me why it's okay for you to sacrifice yourself and destroy the Empire for that girl, but it isn't okay for me to do something like this, to save you?"
Ryouko closes here eyes, and takes a deep breath.
"I don't think it was ever just about the one girl," says Ryouko, carefully. "I think she's just part of the bigger picture. It's about things the Empire did, that it shouldn't have done." She opens her eyes again. "I think it's about setting that right."
"But that isn't your sin," says Simona. "You didn't ask for anything terrible things to happen. You don't owe the universe a penance just for being a pawn in everyone's schemes. Just for existing, when they made you exist."
"If I don't do anything about it, though," asks Ryouko, "then… what would that make me?"
"It would make you Ryouko!" she says. "You're yourself. You don't need to fight just to make that person matter! Can't you see that there are people who care about you so much? Why isn't that ever enough? Just … just be yourself."
"Simona…" says Ryouko, a little surprised and confused.
"You matter to me, Ryouko!" says Simona. "More than anything else in the world, I care about you. I lo…"
She breaks down into tears.
"I love you too, Simona," says the princess, walking over to her, to hold her close.
Simona shakes her head, and stares at the ground. "I think we're talking about different kinds of love," she says, miserably.
Ryouko runs her fingers through Simona's hair, gently.
"Perhaps," she says, contemplatively.
It is quiet for a moment.
"So. You're in love, then," says Ryouko.
"There was always this magic around you," says Simona, "I could never bring myself to say… I tried to get around it… but it's too late, isn't it?" she asks. "Or it was always too late."
"You said something earlier, and you were right," says Ryouko. "I didn't ask for the terrible things that the Star Empire does. But I did ask for this. With a wish, I did this to you. And I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't do anything about it."
"Don't — please don't do something big and stupid and sacrifice yourself for me, Ryouko," says Simona, alarmed.
Ryouko shakes her head.
"No," she says. "I won't do that. But — but I reserve the right to do something big and stupid for everyone, okay? Because you just told me … you told me to be myself, right?" She takes a deep breath. "And I do want to be special to everyone, but … that should be something I earn myself," she says. "Not because I took something from them." She turns to Simona. "If you really want to be in love with me, that's who you get to be in love with, okay?"
"… Then you'll die," says Simona. "You'll… worse than die. So much worse."
"Maybe it'll be different this time," says Ryouko, smiling. "We have two different Clarisses to help, after all. Have a little hope."
"No, I can't," says Simona.
She's right, you realize, and relay to Ryouko and Kyouko. There's no more room for any hope in her. Not in this state of being.
But that's terrible, objects Ryouko.
It is, you agree. But I think I can do something about it.
You realize that the question of how to use the feather isn't a problem anymore.
The feather, rather, is going to use you.
> remember being Sakura
Earlier today you were in a classroom. You watched a black and white film on a projector. It was a stodgy sort of education film, produced by the ministry of health. The man narrating the film was very serious. The topic of the film was public health and vaccination. The public health ministry wants all the children to get the new vaccine for measles, so they are discussed the history of vaccines.
You have forgotten most of them.
You almost weren't scared at first. It wasn't terrible. There was just a shiny box. It looked almost like something you'd see in space. There was a girl in the box. The girl cannot use her lungs, and so the box breathes for her. She can't leave the box. This is because of polio. It paralyzed her muscles. Even when she wasn't sick anymore, she was too weak to breathe.
They told you it won't happen again.
But the box scares you.
Tomoyo-chan is sitting beside you. You are holding onto her hand and trying to maintain your composure.
"If it's keeping her alive," you ask, "why is it so scary?"
Tomoyo-chan shakes her head quietly.
"I don't know," she says.
It's really the idea of the box that scares you.
Because it's like a coffin. The girl in a coffin, and she's still alive.
And that's the sort of thing that can happen in the world, and that's why you are scared like you've maybe never been before.
And you are staring at your lunch, and there is a pit in your stomach, and a sense of helplessness.
And this feeling is why you already transformed into a borrowed costume, splashed with lilac, but also with pink. This is why you have summoned the staff. You know what to do to the grief seed, now. You absolutely have to do it. because somehow you know that living in that cruel little engine is much worse than any coffin. At least the dead have peace.
The motions of this particular invocation are elaborate, yet they feel as familiar as if you'd practiced them yourself. You twirl the staff about, reach for the magic, and —
— wait.
Are you… about to say something silly in front of everyone and do the sort of thing that Sakura Kyouko explicitly warned everyone about, in the twenty fifth century?
… M-maybe you can say it internally.
They don't have to know, right?
Right.
Star healing, escalation! Refresh!
oh goddess your cheeks are red anyway.
Did anyone ever tell you that you use an awful lot of star magic for a moon princess? It's funny. But that aside, you needn't be ashamed.
And no one's looking at you, either. They're looking at the brilliant white light that shines around the grief seed, now hovering next to Simona, and likewise shines from Simona herself. She looks down at hands, which are sparkling now, and then back up to Ryouko.
"…Hope," she says, through tears.
Ryouko nods. "Hope," she says, and wraps her arms around the girl.
"Okay," says Simona. "Hope."
Simona is still on her knees, so Ryouko is actually taller than her, and she leans down to place a gentle kiss on Simona's forehead.
Simona looks up, and her eyes go wide.
Then she smiles, and she shines very brightly, the light enveloping all of you.
You find that have transformed back to normal clothes, the feather's ideas for you having run their course.
Simona is gone — or, at least, that avatar of despair is. The grief seed remains, still hovering there, glowing white, wispy lights rising to the sky.
Suddenly, the light goes out.
Kyouko frowns. "Is that bad?" she asks.
You're not sure. You don't think it's bad exactly, but there's something unsettling about it.
There is a click, and a rushing sound, and darkness pours out of the seed and swirls around all of you in a whirlwind.
Something files past you, striking you on the cheek, and you realize.
Kyouko! you call out over your tactical channels. Put up a barrier, around all of us. A dome. It should be tight, but still let the wind through.
Kyouko quickly summons the lattice, just as the last great gust blows forth from the gem.
The dim blue layer over the rest of the world is suddenly shot through with color, and you are in the flow of time again.
Madoka makes a small noise of surprise, as she catches the last of the blast.
Nanami blinks.
The wind quickly dies down to nothing again.
"Did something just happen?" asks Hitomi, politely, looking around.
"Yes," says Ryouko. "There was a — a witch?" she asks, double checking the term.
You nod.
"With timestop." says Kyouko. "But we… healed it, or something." She looks around. "Disassembled it?"
"Healed it?" asks Nanami, then looks at you skeptically. "Why does Clarisse have teeny tiny white wings?"
"Uhm," you say, looking to your shoulder. "I found a new way to borrow magic."
They're from the Sakura feather, of course… the real question is how they're actually going through the fabric of your dress. Some sort of magic, it seems. You think you can hide them, if you put some effort into it. From Ryouko's perspective, you can also see a pink streak in your hair.
"… they're adorable," concludes Nanami, grinning.
Madoka looks mostly confused, but smiles tentatively.
The black feathers have landed about the room with their shafts pointing towards Ryouko. They are all sparkling at the edges, almost fizzling, sparkling white lights clustering on the fringes before rising into the air.
Nanami picks one up and looks at it.
"… Count them," you say, quickly. "How many are there?"
A few of them are overlapping, but the count is swift.
"… Twenty-seven," you conclude. "Out of… thirty-two. Five missing."
"So," says Nanami. "Just how dangerous are they?"
"I don't know," you say.
… How far did they go? Are they even in this same timeline?
Suddenly, there is a knock on the door, and then, without waiting, it opens.
"Aaaah!" you exclaim. The feathers — and for that matter, your fluffy white wings — are not hidden at all. "No, don't come in," you begin, blushing, "we're, uh—"
Shizuki Tomoyo steps through the door anyway, her eyes glowing.
Yes, it's me. Hello again. Still narrating the story. Most of it, anyway.
"Calm down, now, Abnegator," I say. "It's not as if I didn't know exactly what was going on up here already. You dropped something."
I reach out to place a tall dark feather in your hand.
"Be very careful with people's feelings," I warn you, taking your hand and giving it a quick squeeze. "And with your own. Okay?"
"Oh — o-okay," you say, taking the feather in the other hand.
I smile.
"Now, Clarisse," I say, "I know you have got questions, but I don't have enough magic to paradox you all the answers safely. Besides, I have to get back before Hitomi's mother realizes that she's not at home, or the slipper princess tries to write something very silly about your throne. There's just one small thing first. Small, but important."
In case it's not obvious from me nuzzling your fluffy little white wings, the important thing is me nuzzling those fluffy little white wings.
"Oh, the floof!" I exclaim, twirling about on the way to the door. "The fluffiest. See you girls later!~~"
Madoka waves, a hapless expression on her face.
Kyouko reaches out to pet the fluffy white wings — which feels very good, and is incredibly relaxing.
"… Clarisse," asks Hitomi, "what in the name of goodness was that about?"
"Oh," you explain, earnestly. "That was a different version of your mother, from a different timeline, circa the twenty fifth century. I guess she visited to catch this." You look at the twenty-eighth feather you hold in your hand.
Ryouko nods. "Yes, she's the moon princess there."
"No," you explain. "She gave me the title."
"… Really," says Ryouko, a little surprised.
"Maybe we should set up the house as some kind of a dimensional embassy," ponders Hitomi.
Madoka looks confused again for a moment, then lets a giggle escape.
"Ah — I'm sorry," she apologizes, a moment later. "You all looked so serious just now."
"Well, I guess it does sound kind of silly," you admit.
"… Well then!" says Nanami, shaking her head, and looking at the array of feathers. "Hey, who wants to bet Kyuubey is going to flip out?"
> aaaaaand back! just in time
> and for reference, Kyuubey is going to triple flip out
Please select plans for your new artifacts: a bunch of Simona feathers, another ribbon (Ryouko is holding), a Sakura feather, and a grief seed without any grief (transparent). We're in a brave new world here and anything can happen so some of these ideas are terrible but I'm sure you can think of something.
[][Simona feathers] (write in goals and handling procedures)
[][Simona feathers] Send Simona feathers back with Princess Ryouko
[][Simona feathers] Distribute Simona feathers to all magical girls
[][Simona feathers] Distribute Simona feathers to the entire gang
[][Simona feathers] Return a single Simona feather to Kyuubey and hide the rest
[][Simona feathers] Scheme to clone another Simona body for them
[][Simona feathers] Put all the feathers into Clarisse for safekeeping
[][Simona feathers] Have Tomoyo make the feathers into a fine ballet costume.
[][Sakura feather] Leave it inside Clarisse for now
There's a real chance ribbon-based timestop was tied to Abraxas having one too. Hint hint hint.
[][Ribbon] Carry both ribbons yourself
[][Ribbon] Give Homura one ribbon, tell her to handle it gingerly
[][Ribbon] Give a ribbon to (write-in)
[][Ribbon] Tie up the Simona feathers with the ribbon
Princess Ryouko is probably going to want to return before too very long.
Anything you want to say before she goes? Stop her? Entertain her further? Edit her? Quarantine her?
[][Princess] (write in)
it wouldn't be CQ without
[][Nextdoot] Please write in and name a plan
-[] Let yourself be fluffed by Kyouko
--[] Contemplate soul gems and feathers
--[] Talk with Kyouko:
---[] (write in topics)
---[] Be romantic, offer her the moon
-[] Speak with Papa about everything
-[] Ask Machina for pictures of Mami kissing Oriko
-[] Use feathers to teleport to Salem, and return them to (Governance) Simona
-[] Use ribbon to send Hitomi into the past
--[] send the Sakura feather back with her
--[] send the Sakura feather back with Yukari-san
-[] Send yourself into the past instead
--[] bring the Sakura feather
--[] leave the Sakura feather for pickup
--[] Talk to (Star Empire) Simona in the past
-[] Plot to avoid school
-[] Plot to become a ballerina
-[] DO NOT go mad with power
[][Later]
-[] (Same stuff)
Any old plans we've dropped? Can put them back if you like.
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][Simona feathers] Have Tomoyo make the feathers into a fine ballet costume.
