In the Name of Love and Hatred! [PMMM / LoR]

Call for help

"Nobody will come," Jester says.

Ai does not hear her. Dread overwhelms the magical girl. All their aspirations unravel in front of their eyes; what is their ragtag group in the eyes of a living goddess? Nature made manifest, the last breath of humankind. The hatred Ai since accepted as a part of herself fades; drained together with all hope. She can not fight this. She can not hope to win.

Falling to her knees, she does as Kyoko did. The only thing she can still do. "Someone," she begs, "please help! Anyone!"

Her broken words sap the strength from her friends; one by one, they fall down. Jester floats above, waiting for their wails to go unheeded. For the lot of them to submit at last. Ai closes her eyes, trying to stop the tears.

And then there is light. A gentle gleam that passes even through her closed lids. Warmth blossoms in her chest, driving the cold away. The others gasp in surprise and when Ai's eyes open, so does she.

Before her floats a being she knows, yet never truly met. Five Soul Gems shine brighter than even Jester's presence caused, but none manage to affect their radiant gleam. A human skull, far larger than the real thing could ever be. A black steel cross grows from within the skull; the protrusions at their ears are connected by a crown of red thorns. Empty eye sockets stare straight at Ai while the creature's cross resonates with the one on her bow. The gift slowly unravels into light, connecting her and the other Abnormality.

She reaches out her hand, unable to stand. "Please, help," Ai begs. Her vision brims with tears of hope and despair. "We can't do this alone."

The skull does not respond in words. They slowly float closer while a golden barrier deflects the Jester's attempt to slash at them. Warm ivory touches Ai's forehead. The thorns scratch her skin, but she cares little for the pain. Pearls of blood roll down her face as knowledge flows from one being to another. A spell to find that which she seeks.

"But we're trapped in here. I don't have the strength to, to...."

Ai trails off while the skull floats back. No one speaks as they stare at each other. Ai's mind slowly returns to full function. Jester's aura of weakness stops affecting her and her friends. Inspiration follows and she surges to her feet. "Madoka!"

Her friend stares in confusion, which ends in a surprised "Eh?" when Ai runs to hug her. She begins to understand a moment later, once Ai starts to melt into her. "Okay!" The others watch on silently as they merge. Intent is shared on a deeper level than words could ever convey. Madoka agrees and steps back, ceding control of her body.

Where her aura of unrealised potential threw sparks before, it now falls quiet. Every single iota of power is drawn inward. Focussed, refined. A blade of blinding pink forms at the tip of Ai's staff. She moves frantically, twirling the weapon before pointing it at the ground.

"You can't escape!" Jester cries behind a wall of fading light. The protection quickly loses power, just like its creator fades from view. "My barrier is unassailable! I made it so! Where would you even go?!"

As if she waited for that last question, Madoka smiles beatifically. When she speaks however, it is clearly Ai's voice that carries: "Home. Dimension Break!"

She stabs the floor and splits reality apart at the seams. A colossal wail answers as Madoka's full power tears apart her counterpart's prison. It loses coherence. Within moments, they are falling. Ai leaves Madoka and hugs her close; the pinkette's descent trails a wave of blood from numerous internal injuries. She barely heals in time to save her life.

Jester screams behind them. The screen of light shatters and Kriemhild Gretchen surges after them. Golden ribbons bind everyone together as Mami acts; Sayaka and Hitomi scream. Kyoko holds Yuma tight as they keep falling into the darkness. Ai takes the front, her magic pulling them forward ever faster. With a goddess on their heels, she traverses the space between dimensions. Following her gut on how to reach the place she seeks; the place from whence she came. Jester and Kriemhild slowly fall back, too massive to follow at their speed.

Only when she reaches, there is no sign of the light that should be there. Ai stops for but a moment, looking around to find even a trace.

That is when a man catches her eye. His lab coat stands out starkly against the darkness surrounding them. Wisps of gold flicker around him. Ai knows him, even though they never met. But before she can speak, he wordlessly points. Golden sparks illuminate the path and Ai's eyes widen. She nods and flies a curve, following the new path. She never sees Ayin's lips curl into a smile; hands in his pockets, he watches the group fade away with distance.

A sense of belonging slowly spreads through Ai. Her destination grows ever nearer. Residue of that same golden light begins to brighten her path ever further. Until she hits a wall and breaks through. Right through a beautifully tiled floor; it stretches endlessly in the distance, countless books placed in display cases. But Ai does not stop, can not stop; they are too fast and shoot straight through the ceiling. Through a futuristic cityscape, an endless realm of bookshelves, and a swamp they charge.

Their mad dash gradually slows enough to properly recognise the next floor. A bright, golden dome with undercurrents of ice and fire. The Floor of Natural Sciences. Tiphereth's floor. But it, too, passes by. A factory follows, its solid steel floor and ceiling broken just like everything else. A submerged city follows, then a scene of night under the stars; somehow they reach the moon and hammer through it.

Then an endless space of endless clocks surrounds them. Ai believes that the giant clockwork will no longer give, what with how much momentum they lost. The hands run along, ticking away. But then something yanks her around the navel, drawing her higher still; sound fades from the world, leaving only the wind to howl. Kyoko cries out in joy and points up; Ai too sees the heart-shaped star above. It pulses in greeting, a reunion long foreseen. Ai and her friends surge past it, through one more ceiling. Blue Star follows on a trail of its own shine.

They barely break through a floor made solely of books. Ai pulls her friends out of the hole, where they settle down to catch their breath. Blue Star rises above them, drawing Kyoko's and Yuma's eyes especially. Mami soon joins them in admiring the divine being.

Meanwhile, Ai looks around. She recognises Keter, the Floor of General Works. But there is no one here except them.

SNAP

And then there is. Clad in a blue coat to cover black blouse and a ruffled skirt, Angela stands right in front of Ai. Her light blue hair is as short as she remembers, not even reaching her shoulders; amber eyes stare pointedly at the Abnormality. Angela radiates exasperation.

It takes Ai a moment to realise why. The hole next to them contracts and convulses before vomitting up the other floors. All nine slowly fill Keter's space; a forest grows in one corner and giant cogwheels rise over another stretch. Slag burns books where it runs over them, only for clocks to rise from the molten steel.

Under this judgemental look, Ai awkwardly scratches her neck. "...sorry?" she tries first. Angela is unmoved. "Um, it was an emergency?"

Her words finally distract the other girls. Angela pays them no mind at all for now. She simply sighs, rubbing her head. "Not even the agents of the Head managed to break my Library like you just did. But it is nothing that can not not be fixed." Her hand falls... and Angela smiles ever so softly. "Welcome back."

Ai's eyes widen. She expected a chewing out; to be shooed back into her book. Maybe an acknowledgement. But Angela seems actually happy to see her. The realisation draws a bright smile onto Ai's face. She leaps forward and hugs the head librarian, who receives her stoically. "I'm back," Ai whispers weakly. "I'm home."

Then one thin arm awkwardly winds around her shoulder. Angela pats her head a few times until Ai lets go, beaming. The other blunette is about to speak, only for her head to turn. Angela frowns at the hole again. "And what did you bring with you? More to the point, is that girl alright?" She nods toward Madoka, who lies unconcious. Sayaka is kneeling over her.

Surprisingly, it is Kyubey who answers: "The shock of seeing the Abnormality above was too much for her system after synchronising with Ai. She will awaken in time."

Angela glances up with a huff. "I am not surprised. Few can bear the sight of Blue Star. Now, who is the rest? And what are you, exactly?"

"I am Kyubey. Unfortunately, most of my mental processes are currently bound preventing a fall into insanity. Analysis of the situation or exchange of information has to wait." They fall silent right after while Angela studies them with renewed interest. Everyone else is a little stumped as well, which reminds Ai of the language barrier.

In that moment, Jester roars out of the hole. Kriemhild Gretchen follows, drawn along streamers of pink. The mountainous Witch fills Keter while her ancient fragment peers down at them. "So this is where you went," she muses. Her lips twitch into a faint smile. "All the better. That awful City is just as deserving of salvation. Though I still wonder what this brought you, Ai? Did you want to fade away among your loved ones? You could just have said so."

"That's not it," Ai shoots back before anyone else can interrupt. She throws out her arms. Somehow, being here makes her feel better. Stronger, even. As if Jester can no longer hurt her. "This place is where dreams become reality. Where living legends tread. We could not beat you on our own, but here? We will!"

The Witch of Salvation bore closer with every word. Angela's brow twitches while Jester waves Kriemhild forward. "It is of no concern," the older Abnormality soothes. "The result will be the same. You merely need to accept it."

A veritable goddess bears down on them. The pressure of her presence alone sends Ai to her knees; Angela resists, irreverent as she is. She watches Kriemhild's approach impassively while Ai begins to channel magic.

That is, until a streak of gold slams into the Witch's face. Kriemhild screeches, thrown back by the titanic force; she flies higher and higher. Her shriek turns into a piercing wail as Blue Star begins to suck in her shadowy body; large swathes are torn off and vanish into the Abnormality's black core. Kriemhild fights desperately against the pull while Jester turns around to reel her back by the strings connecting both.

But Ai only has eyes for the descending figure. A dress of spun gold flutters around her, splitting open at her hips. The Magical Girl of Happiness gently touches the ground. Her shoes click once in the silence. She faces away, displaying the dark skin on her back; it contrasts starkly with snowy white hair. Her golden gauntlet gleams with realised power. Her voice almost reverberates, a vibrant alto: "In the name of happiness, no one shall assault our home. Assemble."

Ai can only watch with tears in her eyes. A streak of blue arrives from the hole, revealing another blunette. Stars shine along the folds of her dress, much like the lower curls of her hair. She brandishes a rapier while a half dozen more materialise around her. "In the name of justice, we will protect everyone!"

"And in the name of courage," the last of their group declares matter-of-factly, "I found Love."

"Eh?"

"Pardon?"

Justice and Happiness turn in surprise while Courage bowls Ai over. The sudden bearhug makes her bones creak, but she hugs back with the same enthusiasm. "Yep! I'm home!" Ai is pulled to her feet a moment later, if only so her seniors can embrace her as well. "I missed you all so much!"

Courage smiles against her chest. She is shorter and clad in green blouse and shorts, head buffered by short but voluminous, green curls. Her eyes are hidden by a gauze wrap, though it is wet with corrosive tears. Her voice remains calm, the joy in it can almost be felt: "I knew you would come back. And look, we all got our bodies back."

"I see it! This is-" Ai is interrupted by Angela clearing her throat. Her exuberance abates somewhat; enough to remember Jester is currently embroiled in a tug-of-war with a world-ending threat... over her own world-ending threat. "Right. Sorry?" Then she remembers her friends, who are completely lost. "Oh, right. Um, does anyone have translation spells? Mine work for me, but not for my friends."

"Of course." Courage nods and lets go. "There is no understanding without language." She floats toward the wary group and spreads her arms; streamers of lush green flow from her body, enveloping every single one of Ai's friends. "There, all done. You should understand us now."

"Wow," Kyoko manages. She taps her body where the magic settled, but can not feel anything. "That's new."

"Introductions can wait," Angela declares from the side. Madoka vanishes with a snap, causing several shouts. "That girl is better left in my office until we are finished. Our uninvited guest is about done fending off Blue Star." And she is right, too. Except Kriemhild lost about a third of her size to the pulsating star. Not that Jester seems concerned. Then again, neither does Angela. "How unfortunate that it comes to this," she tells the Abnormality.

"Indeed. I imagine you will not surrender, either?"

"Hardly. I only just freed myself of my shackles. You could still stop this."

It is a simple offer, yet the fact Angela makes it at all surprises Ai. This is not like what she remembers. Unfortunately, everyone already knows what Jester will say. She nudges the hurting Kriemhild forward again; both venture forth, though more wary of Happiness now. Jester shakes her head. "Alas, I can not. I will not. This is my purpose, Angela. But I thank you for granting me shelter since the day I wandered in, unable to truly care or feel."

Angela nods minutely. Still she shows no fear, even though the pressure grows again.

Then a streak of red crests atop the still gargantuan Witch. Ai spies a bare glint, but that is enough to know. She immediately summons shields around her friends; her seniors and junior follow moments later.

Jester never sees it coming. A crimson tide tears into Kriemhild's shoulder. The Witch wails in pain as it descends, cutting down and down. Kilometres of shadow are sliced off in seconds, absorbed by Blue Star; Gebura hits the ground with earth-shaking might. Her strike's shockwave overcomes the eerie quiet and tears a metres-deep crater not far from the shielded group. The shields themselves take a heavy beating and Ai's friends yelp in fear. When Gebura leaves the cloud of dust and debris with a backflip, all they can do is stare in awe.

She lands with her back to them, feet squared. A heavy, black trenchcoat flutters around her ankles. A crimson mane runs down to the small of her back, haphazardly bound in a ponytail. In her hand rests a blade of flesh, on which dozens of eyes size up the people behind her. More still focus on the Witch in agony. Gebura spits out her cigarette and stomps it underfoot.

Angela's voice rings painfully loud, even against Kriemhild's wails: "Did you forget what this place is, then? I do not give up without a fight."

"I am aware."

In the ensuing silence, Kyoko slowly finds her voice. She points at the older redhead with slightly shaky fingers. "Is, is that the Red Mist?"

"She is," Jester confirms unnecessarily. The Abnormality sizes up Gebura before sighing. "Oh well. If it is a fight you want. I will make you understand the futility of your actions." She spreads a clawed hand, from which a drop of pink falls; it hits the ground and makes it ripple, then a dark copy of Gebura rises from the earth. Literally dark, her skin ashen and eyes in shadow. The scars marring Gebura's face are amiss.

The woman herself snorts. "A shadow of Kali? Really? This isn't the first time I beat her."

Jester wordlessly pours more pearls while the two Red Mists keep each other in check. They are halfway to ground level when a pillar of ethereal steel hammers into Jester's face and sends her flying. Ai whirls around to behold Binah. Light flickers around her form as she strides toward them, black dress fluttering in Blue Star's howling gale. Her pale face is drawn into an amused smirk. "Shining as bright as a star on the night sky," she begins, "yet oh so easily dislodged from her perch up high." Another pillar forms and follows Jester, who dodges it and the bands of light seeking to bind her. Binah arches a brow, gaze flicking to Ai. "And a wayward petal returns to the meadow, heralding ruin. Oh so well aware of the calamities these flowers were nourished by. How curious."

Jester shrieks in the background and glows brighter. Bands of light connected her with Ai, Courage, Happiness, and Justice. All four stiffen in remembrance of what is about to happen, but then Ai realises there are more than four. Five more such bands reach into her frozen friends' Soul Gems.

A whole group of black-clad librarians takes formation behind Binah in the meantime. Pudgy Little Bird settles on her shoulder while Long Bird and Big Bird loom behind them, each easily twice the size of any human. Men and women in crimson join Gebura, followed by the Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary and Nosferatu.

Angela just shakes her head while the shadows around them grow and scream. "You truly forgot who and what will march at my command. Malkuth, Yesod, Hod, Netzach." Staircases manifest as she calls for the patron librarians. Brunette women in warm brown and muted red dash ahead with their staff in tow; Malkuth and Hod. After them follow a duo of opposites; Yesod is cleanly put together in his usual purple while Netzach's green is as disheveled as always.

But what is more, not just librarians march with those four. An old teddy bear twice the size of a man carries a small girl more ash than flesh; the giant match stuck through her chest still burns. Hand-sized pixies flutter around them and dozens of buzzing bee soldiers herald their bulbous queen. They march alongside a platoon of circular white robots, each one of which swings four bloodsoaked knives. Butterflies surround them, emanated from the coffin a black-suited humanoid with another butterfly instead of a head carries. Behind them walks a marksman, his face no more than black flame. His hunting rifle is held at rest, easily as long as a human stands tall. The tinkling of bells announces Laetitia, positively tiny next to them all; her pinkish dress flutters around her short legs. She walks hand in hand with an ethereal boy, both of them gleaming. Behind them rises a serpent of plant fibre whose head is a flower, right next to a woman made of flower petals.

On top of the Abnormalities, Ai spies their E.G.O. equipment in every hand. The librarians march with purpose, each following their direct superior. Angela smiles as they take formation.

Meanwhile, more and more figures arrive from the shadows. Familiars, known and foreign both. Cotton balls with mustaches, black elephants, human lower halves on ice skates, snakes of shadow, and many, many more. An army takes formation, millions and millions strong. The Red Mist's shadow leads while nine more rise after her. Ai recognises the King of Greed, a shadow of Happiness with little changes. The Knight of Despair marches by her side, head a mere skull that yet cries bitter tears. Behind them howls the Servant of Wrath, a bipedal hound whose hands are bone axes.

"Not again," Courage whimpers. Yuma takes her hand with a smile; the other mallet-wielder's head turns, first down, then up to Yuma's face. Contrary to her reserved nature, she does not shake her off.

"It's okay," Yuma reassures the other green girl. "We can do it!"

Angela chuckles, still observing the two forces. "Not can," she corrects. "We will. Chesed, Tiphereth, Hokma."

More people appear from the stairs, though this group strides with purpose. Clad in immaculate and almost regal blue, Chesed leads. An honour guard of scarecrows follows, their heads rotating to take in their surroundings. The Woodsman lumbers after them, his chest gleaming. Ai can hear the pulsations of a heart inside of it from this far away. The Heart of Aspiration seems to have found a home. Tiphereth follows right after, as always in her muted yellow. The blonde is about as tall as Ai and her friends, but her telltale frown makes her look older. She also rides in on a red lion with blue mane, hands wrapped around The Road Home's waist. "About time you get back!" she shouts to Ai, who waves shily.

Behind the other two walks an ancient man. Ai only met him once, but she can tell age drew every single furrow deep into his skin. Only one Abnormality moves with him and his librarians; the serpentine scythe slithers along, only to stop and point straight at Homura with its blade. Hokma waves his hand and the creature relents. "We have arrived," he announces calmly. "And it seems the Floor of Religion is about to receive new books. Heaven burrows beneath and Blue Star shines above."

Jester's legions finish forming. So do the Witches.

The Queen of Hatred is still absent, but another serpent took her place; Ai needs a moment to recognise Char, eyes glowing red with anger. On top of her stands the shadow of a small girl, clad in voluminous shorts and a short poncho over a tank top. She holds a trumpet and stares straight at Ai.

The other five are varied in shape and size; smallest is a cloth doll, barely larger than the Fairies flitting around the librarians. She pulses faintly gold and two ribbons flutter in place of arms. Next is a kimono-clad humanoid on top of a horse, though her head is a candle's flame. The horse stomps aggressively. A stick figure with bulbous, amphibian head and seaweed hair rises between the two of them, but the remaining two tower over everything else. One is an armour-clad mermaid, easily ten metres tall. The other is several times her size and more witchy, complete with ballroom dress and pointy hat. Familiars materialise with each one.

But that is not the end of it. More and more Abnormalities pour into the endless expanse. Ai never even met some of them before. Pinocchio and the Snow Queen wander hand in hand with the Silent Girl. A Nameless Fetus screeches in the distance, followed by heavy breathing as skinless hands break through the book floor nearby. Spiders scurry along the ground by the dozen. A sleigh crests through the sky, drawn by a hornless, furless reindeer. A song approaches, becoming more colourful by the second. Mushroom spores and cherry blossoms float on Blue Star's gale. Worms burrow out of the floor and a multi-mawed shark glides around them. A glowing lantern appears between the two forces. A monk strides along, carrying a flaming bird on his shoulder. Next to them all, a deluge of pink sludge rises from the hole Ai struck, forming into something remotely female.

Ai has no time to truly take in the sheer number of creatures joining them here. Her eyes are on a mountain of bodies that burrows itself out of the ground. Not for the mountain itself or the horror it encorporates, but for the man standing on top of it. Clad in the same black suit she remembers, his gloved hands are in his pockets. The faint smirk on his face is new, though. Her friends from Mitakihara see him, too; the audible intake of breath tells her so.

"About time," Angela snarks while Roland hops down from the Mountain.

He pats the nearest corpse jovially and makes to speak, only for a ballistic Ai to slam into his chest. "Roland!" she shrieks in joy. "You're okay!"

"Yep. Right as rain." He chuckles and pets her head. This right here, right now, is everything she hoped to experience. Through some miracle, everyone is okay. Roland seems to be happier, too. "Nice to meet you all," he greets the others, then pauses. "Err, is everything okay?"

Oh, right. Ai giggles awkwardly, a habit she picked up from the Japanese. "Erm, my memories of you came out and tried to kill all of us. Twice." She is well aware of the looks that earns and lets go of him to stand with a beaming smile. "But it's okay. We killed it so dead it's gone from my head!"

Hod and Malkuth chuckle with each other. "That sounds so like him," Malkuth comments. Roland throws them a look, but they just keep grinning.

Meanwhile, Binah strolls up to them. Little Bird chirps curiously, studying Ai much like she does. "Even more curious," she comments. "You have defied the very nature of an Abnormality and grown. Not just a tiny amount like the others, but truly so." Tension runs through the people around them while Binah smiles. That makes a shiver run down Ai's spine, at least until the far older woman turns away. "Now, these unknown Abnormalities are connected to the children you brought?"

"Y-Yes. The gems they have give them magic powers and fill with Cogito whenever they use them." Though Ai is focussed on Binah, she still feels the gazes of all other patron librarians burn into her skull. "There is no time to talk about the details. Us Abnormalities can remove the Cogito with a touch."

In that moment, music begins to play. A grand piano rises with the mermaid Witch, who puts down her blade to play. Her song overcome's Blue Star's silence. Notes flow along lines of water, slowly transforming the familiars around her into more notes. The melody pierces Ai's mind like a rod of iron, but she persists. Everyone else flinches back, bar Angela and Roland. "What is that?!" Tiphereth shrieks as she covers her ears.

Happiness spreads a bubble of silence over them while the mermaid massacres her own familiars. In the sudden quiet, Roland's voice is almost painfully loud: "That's the Pianist's song." He grits his teeth, trusted longsword appearing in his hands. "Wherever that thing got it from, I'm taking care of it."

"No," Sayaka says. "I will do that."

Her declaration leads to renewed silence. All eyes are on her, even Roland's. Sayaka herself glares at the mermaid. "This is my Witch, I can tell. She plays that song all wrong, too. It shouldn't be like that." She shudders. A cutlass appears in one hand, the other she clenches into a white-knuckled fist. "So I'm going to stop this myself."

"Listen, kiddo. You're-" "Very well."

Roland stops and stares askance at Angela. She meets his eyes evenly. "I need you and Binah to deal with Kali's shadow. Gebura gets to work on their footsoldiers. What of you five?" she then asks of the other foreign magical girls and Hitomi. They look between each other.

Then Hitomi steps forward. She draws the combat knife holstered at her thigh in a single, fluid motion. "I possess neither magic nor augments," she begins calmly, "but I will assist in whichever way I can." Angela nods and offers her a small pistol, red and white in colour. The moment she takes it, her expressions shifts into surprise.

"Very well," Angela responds. "Then I will lend you this E.G.O.." A glance goes to Little Bird. "You do not mind, do you?" The bird shakes his head and flutters over to sit on Hitomi's shoulder instead. Angela smiles at that. "And it seems you found yourself a guardian."

"Dibs on the one on the horse," Kyoko says next. She brandishes her spear with a severe expression. "I'm not going to lose to myself."

One by one, the others pick their own Witches as well. Homura is clearly uncertain, but she says nothing. As they do, Happiness chuckles weakly. "How inspiring," she murmurs. "Such determination to overcome even themselves. Perhaps we, too, should make the attempt. I shall face the King of Greed." Justice wordlessly brandishes her rapier and Courage nods.

Meanwhile, Ai points at Char. "Then this one is mine. I start to realise that I wronged her the last time we met. Now she has come back to avenge that misdeed." She is a little surprised there is no shadow of Hana or the TV Witch, but that does not change the fact.

"Speaking of, where is the Queen?" Courage inquires. She tilts her head when Ai thumps her chest.

The taller magical girl smiles faintly. "Where she always should have been. The Queen of Hatred is no more. I am just Ai now."

"As fascinating as this is," Angela cuts them off, "we should get to it." Strings of light begin to flicker all around as she gives orders: "Malkuth, take this one with you and support the girl in green." She motions for Hitomi; both women simply nod. "Yesod is with Justice. Hod with the girl in red. Netzach, support the girl in blue. Tiphereth, with Happiness. Chesed, with the yellow girl. Hokma, with the purple girl. Gebura's team supports Courage, and Roland's will-" "No."

Ai interrupts what she knows Angela is about to order. She meets the other woman's gaze. "This is my fight, and only mine. Send them elsewhere." In the corner of her eye, she notices Jester finally wrangling the mermaid's song under control. "And quick."

The momentary tension dissipates when Angela smiles; she shakes her head and snaps out an arm. "Very well. Roland's team supports Courage as well. Binah's team is on crowd control. Abnormalities act at will."

"What of you?" Malkuth asks in passing.

Angela's smile turns mirthless in response. A book appears in her hand, thrumming with power. "I will teach this would-be goddess that we have tamed more than one of her kind before." The book opens on its own, releasing a stream of white and gold that flows into her. Everyone takes a step back, even Ai.

Then a voice sounds, echoing across the entire area. Even their enemies fall still and the mermaid's song is muted further. "Together, we shall repell the false idol's call. I accept thy desire, Angela. Let us deliver thy flock to paradise. Rise, my apostles!"

Six wings as white as snow sprout from Angela's back. Her clothes shift to a sort of robe loaded with ethereal power. Her eyes glow red. Twelve skeletal forms climb out of the floor around her, an unkillable honour guard. They wield crimson spears and spread their wings along with Angela. Jester watches warily as she pushes off the ground and ascends. The apostles follow in neat rows of two, taking up speed and charging Kriemhild Gretchen. An aura of death is repelled by golden light.

Their charge marks the beginning of battle. Everyone splits of in different directions; the Witches and monsters spread out to the various biomes and begin battle. Ai notices the famed marksman follow Mami, sees Nothing There bound after Yuma and Malkuth. Little Red follows Roland instead, just like the Mountain of Smiling Bodies crawls after Gebura. An adorable puppy jumps around Courage, who is unaffected by his aura of love.

But what truly takes her attention is Sayaka. Halfway toward the mermaid, a stage rises from beneath her. A thin figure clad in white appears by her side, brandishing a wicked scythe like a baton. The surprised blunette is pushed onto a piano bench, right next to a shrouded woman. Golems carry Singing Machine along and throw it on the stage as it takes off. A music box plays next to them the smaller piano and Fragment of the Universe settles by their side to sing. The Swan's six brothers dance to the tune.

All this, Ai takes in in passing. She flies as fast as she can to approach Char, who greets her with a loud growl. The girl on her head blows her trumpet; Ai teleports out of a barrage of exploding bubbles. Then she takes a head-sized piece of sugar to the chest. The familiars below are loading catapults with sweets and boiling honey. Spear walls of sharpened candy canes stand ready to intercept bee soldiers and other enemy forces.

Ai mercilessly abused this Witch's desire for cheese and hurt her. It is her duty to Char to give at least this shadow rest.

---

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGKl5KLJAq8

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[] Bombard Char at full power
weight: x1

[] Hit and run to learn the girl's powers
weight: x1

[] Wipe out the familiars to distract Char with disposable bodies
weight: x1

[] write-in a more detailed plan

1-hour Moratorium!

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Shadow of Charlotte and Nagisa
Threat Rating: WAW
Threat Assessment: A massive body with thick hide and the means to survive any amount of punishment. A tiny, nimble body with great firepower. They work as one, propelled to greater heights by an ingrained rage against the Magical Girl of Love, Ai.