Puella Magi Megami Tensei

[X] Pat the Dawn.

"...It's okay, Dawn." You tell her calmly, "But thank you anyways." You pick up a small rock, looking it over, "...But if you do somehow get some ability to destroy curses without hurting anyone, you'd tell me, right?"

"I swear that you will be the first to know, Master Yumi Konishi." Dawn answers, "Why did you take interest in that stone?"

"I'm gonna throw it into the pond." You reveal, readying a throw.

"...Why?" Dawn asks, her hesitation in asking revealing her confusion.

"Dunno." You toss the rock.

(DEX ROLL: 5+4)

...No skips, dang. But at least it made a nice Kerplunk sound!

"Perhaps if you spin it in your hands, it will go further?" Dawn suggests.

"I... Don't think that's physically possible, but..." You pick up another rock...

(DEX ROLL: 16+4)

You toss it with a little bit more focus, and...

...Five skips! Just over half way! You smile slightly, the gravity of your current predicament temporarily lifted. You sigh as the weight of the world falls back into place in your mind.

"Master Yumi Konishi?" Dawn begins, clearly beating around the bush, "May I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." You look ahead, staring at nothing.

"When we battled the Red One, I noticed something odd. Why was he holding back?" Dawn finally asks, "Even his breathing was "reigned in". And his sword..."

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This entire city is trashed.

Seriously, you've gotta give credit where it's due! Egghead almost never comes close to this kind of chaos!

...While still meaning to, at least. After the Dark Gaia incident, you've made it pretty difficult for him to snag any of the Emeralds. Speaking of the Emeralds...

There's only one left. All the way up there, on that upsidedown clown.

That's flying.

And throwing buildings around without any effort.

Truly, just another day in the life of Sonic the Hedgehog.

You're pretty lucky you managed to convince Knuckles to take over search and rescue. If you're gonna do this, you're gonna need to focus fully on getting there. You uncross your arms, and start charting your course.

Then, you jump.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Children.

They sent children to fight this thing.

You've dug out three so far, and had to carry all of them to that empty hospital you and Sonic agreed to meet at. Now, you aren't as fast as that blue blur, but you can still double time people to safety. Plus, Sonic can't dig through the rubble like you can!

All of your time treasure hunting has left you with a keen eye, too. You can spot someone trapped under wreckage from--

Speaking of, right there! Another kid, dressed in purple, crawling along the road. Time to make an entrance!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You tried.

You failed.

You tried again.

You failed again.

Again.

Again.

Madoka is still alive, hopefully at the emergency shelter. But the more cynical part of you knows that she couldn't sit idly by as you and the others fought Walpurgisnacht.

It always comes to this. And you always come up short. But you can't afford to stop.

Even though you've disconnected your body from your Soul Gem, it somehow still aches. You're running out of options very quickly, but you barely have the strength to pull yourself away from that building that was tossed your way.

Everyone else is dead. You have to carry on...?

Your vision is blurry. You must've hit your head hard, but you don't believe your eyes.

"Ky...?" You try to call out to her, only for the red smudge to approach.

"You look like you're in rough shape, kid." A man's voice says, catching you off guard, "Here, let me--?"

"No!" You feebly attempt to shove him, "I need to...! Madoka...!!"

"Hey, if this "Madoka" person is in there..." You assume he gestures to Walpurgisnacht, "...Then I'll find 'em. But I need to get you out of the danger zone, okay?"

"...If she dies..." You huff, "...Then I'll...!"

"Save your energy! C'mon, let's get outta here." The red smudge picks you up, and rushes off.

You reach out your hand towards... Something.

"Madoka...!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You leap to another building, running up the side. Then, just before it collides with another, you hop to a flying piece of rubble.

You're almost touching this thing! Just a little more, and that Emerald is as good as yours!

Three jumps, and you've somehow clambered onto the giant... Whatever this is. The Emerald is in sight! You dash through the rain, and...

"Got it!" You can't help but grin. Now, it's time for a little payback!

All of the Chaos Emeralds circle you before Super Sonic is unleashed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You stand on the edge of the battlefield, looking around for... Anyone.

But, as you stand in the cold rain, you don't see any signs of combat. That can only mean...

"Unfortunate." Kyubey states, "But such is the price for energy."

"They... They're all gone...!" Tears well up in your eyes, indistinguishable from the rain.

"And Mitakihara will follow, unless you make a Con--?"

There's a bright flash of light from above Walpurgisnacht. You have to shield your eyes, but you swear you can see a figure in the middle of the blinding glow.

Walpurgisnacht immediately turns all of its attention onto the figure shrouded in light.

You get the feeling things are going to get even more messy...

[X] "He's not trying to kill us."

"He wasn't trying to hurt us, I think." You tell Dawn, crossing your legs, "It was just a friendly duel. In a sense, he was trying to train us. With a little social bonding mixed in...?" You aren't too sure of the last bit, but...

"...I see." Dawn verbally nods, "Judging by how heavily he was restricting himself, he must be quite a worthy opponent."

"Yeah." You take a deep breath, trying to focus, "Speaking of Dante, how do you feel about his sword?"

"In what way?"

"I dunno..." You click your tongue, "...Any kind of way, I guess. Inspired, maybe? Or concerned? Disturbed? Envious? Anything at all? If you can't put it into words, that's fine. You don't have to--"

"His blade felt like a natural extension of his body." Dawn accidentally interrupts, "Like an arm, or a leg. Like it was a part of him. Yet he adamantly refused to harm us. We have a long way to go if we hope to duel him at his fullest."

"That must be the demon or whatever in his sword." You comment, staring out over the pond, "I wonder how he got it in the--?"

"I did not sense a demon."

You stop for a moment. "What? But he said that he--?"

"And yet, I did not feel the presence of any demon when I clashed with his blade." Dawn tells you, "Perhaps he... Nevermind."

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Somewhere else, Dante sneezes.