“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest

Well, let's hope this isn't too embarrassing.
_______
You were falling, where, you didn't know and you didn't really care too much.

During the few 50 days of existence, from your first conversation with Angela to your conversation with the man behind all this was a great and stressful experience.

A shame then, that these are your last moments of life.

Once you completed the light seed project and faded away, but not before seeing how Angela seemed to interfere in the process, you disappeared into the light.

However, now you are falling, you don't know where nor do you care much, but you feel some happiness since you only expected to die.

Still, you can't make out anything about your surroundings. There are no landmarks anywhere in sight. The Light is empty of any characteristics and even you have lost your body at some point in your assimilation with the light.

You have various feelings of anger, sadness, and joy, but they disappear almost immediately.

You don't know where you're going but you feel like you're going to get out of here very soon, so maybe you should create a new body for yourself. But you feel very indifferent to doing this.

Despite the enormous discomfort of not having a body, you do not feel the desire or the desire to create something new for yourself.

Whatever happens next, you'll see what to do.

Just before you fall to wherever you fall, you feel someone take your hand, so strange is that for someone who lacks a body, and then let you fall again.

Now with a body apparently.

___

When you opened your eyes again you expected several things, from Angela's disdainful look to the look of some stranger in the City.

You certainly didn't expect that a boy no older than four and his dog were touching and licking your face.

So your first reaction was of course to move away as carefully as possible from both of them without hurting them in any way.

Once you are far away from the boy and his dog who are looking at you with curiosity, you look carefully around you, and from the large pastures full of grass and the many games designed for minors you can only deduce that you are in a park.

One that is surely in a Nest, since at least from what you heard, parks did not exist in the Backstrets.

Curious, did you end up at L corp's Nest, or someone else? Did the light work as expected? That and more questions flooded your mind, but one question caught your attention.

Looking at your hands you realized that they were smaller and more delicate, like those of a teenager. Plus, your outfit reminded you of one of those Nest uniforms you once researched, with your gray vest, red bow, and that sailor skirt.

Without forgetting of course your pink hair tied in a ponytail.

There was no doubt that you were a girl now, but even that didn't make you feel anything.

Although for a few moments your new body made you a little curious and even afraid, now you just felt indifferent.

You looked around once again watching as some people gave you curious glances, but most just walked by.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to be here, since you soon realized that you stood out as the only teenager among so many adults with their children.

So very soon you left the place, taking a random path to walk.

On your walk you were able to see the city in more detail, realizing that you couldn't be in the Backstrets, before realizing that this couldn't be a Nest either.

So where could you be? In some suburban city, or maybe in an alternate world, who knows, maybe you could find out, but right now you didn't feel like doing anything.

However, just when I was walking next to an alley a strange feeling came over me, as if they wanted to cause some damage to your mind, but failing.

But it seems that whatever that was, it seems that the man next to you with a briefcase was not so lucky, as he seemed to lose all expression on his face and began to walk like a puppet towards the alley, until he disappeared into a strange portal.

You looked at everything with a little curiosity, this being something similar to what some abnormalities did to the employees.

Should you go there and see what happened or just continue with your pointless walk?

…

Well, it's not like you have anything to do anyway, so you might as well see what's wrong with this.

Once you enter the portal you find yourself in a strange place, as strange as the anomalies were.

The whole place being straight out of some child's drawing book.

In addition to that, the most notable thing is the great feeling of desperation that fills the entire place. The floor, the walls, everything screams and radiates despair.

A strange sound brings you out of your thoughts. When you look up, a series of strange creatures with clear hostile intentions head towards you.

I reach out to you with very clear intentions.

Panicking, you look for something you can use to defend yourself. With that, specks of Light around you swirl and…

"I shall heal you, curing you of all disease and injury you possess."

A pair of black wings sprout from your back, ready to defend you.

________

Yes, this is my little idea of an alternative scenar
io for human resources. I hope it is at least readable and doesn't cause pain to others.
Also, I couldn't think of anything with Oriko's bad ending.

Chapter 150 - Tie The Knot

Holding Leonie's tiny form in one hand, you stare at the border of Kamihama. There's no clear delineation to where the Emerald City begins. Just empty streets choked by a foreboding feeling in the air. As you gaze further down into the city, the remaining lights become scarcer and more faint. A few block in, and a darkness too thick for you to see through has gathered. The total silence, devoid of any sounds one would associate with developed civilization, form an eerie atmosphere. Under the eyes of less natural senses, it's quite the opposite. Layers upon layers of glittering crystal divide the Abnormality's territory from the outside world and promise some horrible fate worse than death to anyone who wanders in unaware. You already knew this yesterday. Now, having witnessed the Adult's abilities firsthand, you can't help but feel a creeping nervousness crawling on your spine. The modified Grief Seeds you created days ago should be enough to get the children in, but to avoid tipping your hand you haven't had the chance to actually test it.

It would feel better if you using one yourself, but Leonie's powers are a better entry than the Kamihama border's natural passages. It will require a series of complicated Routes to pass through the layers of shielding that encloses the Emerald City, but Leonie has confidence in her ability to do what she is asked. You had enjoyed being able to shoulder more risk yourself, but the plans drawn up this time will simply not allow for it. Leonie's Routes cannot intrude into the Emerald City without her there to correct them, and all attacks going through at once is key to the plan's success.

It's not as if this is the most dangerous part of the mission. Within the Emerald City's walls, there will undoubtedly be horrors unlike anything the children have seen before. The remaining copies of the Ensemble are classed in the range of He and Waw as individuals, and despite the information that Angela and your coworkers were able to share there is no amount of planning that can eliminate all risks in a battle. The Emerald City itself was built by a megalomaniacal sadist, and its defenses will undoubtedly reflect that. The Adult's working conditions alone created one Distortion, and you have already accepted the possibility that whatever traps and tricks she has prepared will create another.

The children may be asked to kill.

Incapacitating a Magical Girl is easy enough as long as their Soul Gem can be taken from their body. Stated so plainly, it seems like a small hurdle. But it is also a fact known to every person in the conflict. The circumstances won't guarantee a chance to safely disarm your opponents at every opportunity. If it comes down to it… you hope your children prioritize themselves. There's no more room for hesitating at this point.

A wave of your hand parts the air beside you, creating a temporary gap that you step through in the same movement. Leonie's powers unfurl within the momentary vacuum, letting you vanish from the world in an instant. You don't pay much attention to the colorful vistas emerging around you, only the sequence of passages leading to your destination. Even at the corners of your awareness, you can see the ways the Emerald City's defenses press against Leonie's Routes. The skies, normally brilliant or peaceful, are gloomy and thick with heavy black clouds. The colors feel less soft and more muted. Every one of Leonie's Routes that you saw before felt comfortable. They were calming, beautiful scenes that people would want to seek out. But that peace is soured now, transformed into foreboding vistas that mirror your destination.

"Leonie, will you be able to keep going? We have more time than the other groups."

"I'm fine. I can keep going." Leonie answers politely. The rhythmic clicks that form her voice sound sharper cutting through the total silence.

"Are you sure? It'll do us all no good if you strain yourself excessively." you ask again. You feel something between frustration and sadness that everyone around you lacks a proper sense of self-preservation. If only they could have more regard for their own health.

"This happened before when we were leaving. It's not a problem, I can get us to the destination." Leonie insists. You relent and let some of the tension drain from your body. You don't think Leonie even has the capacity for deception, so it's safe to take her word for it for now.

With those words still hanging in the air, you proceed. It's mere moments later that you exit the last Route and emerge inside the Emerald City. But your destination isn't just the Emerald City.

Thick, pitch-black grass covers the ground completely. It blends with the roots of the trees, practically melting seamlessly into them. Each tree is without branches or leaves, just extending up into the sky forever like a shadowy spear driven into the earth. The dark landscape becomes a silhouette against the dusty, sunless orange sky. All around you, the air is still and slow. A faint, thick warmth clings to you, giving the uncomfortable impression of somebody having been standing right next to you only a moment ago.

A breeze blows silently through the trees, somehow brushing against your body from every direction at once. It feels like something alive, something clawing at your body searching for weaknesses. In this ancient place, you are not safe.

You take a few steps forward, resting your hand against an object blending into the trees. A roughly-carved wooden pole, rising a little under twice your height. Where the trees are bare, the pole has a single "branch" near its top. A plain-looking rope has been tied into a noose, swaying gently in a faint wind.

This one is unoccupied, to your relief. You'd seen enough of your agents raised on these gallows to recognize them and their maker in sight. The sound of the stands raising, the straining of wood and rope against gravity before the inevitable snap, plays in your mind as you brush your fingers against the worn wooden surface. You have to wonder how this one was raised. The third Guardian of the Black Forest creates these gallows as part of its executions. They only appear when a person's soul is sentenced to death, and by the time they appear the target is already dead.

You have no doubt, something died here. Whatever it was, it didn't leave behind a body. Your first instinct is to investigate. You have the necessary tools to search for traces, and knowing what sort of creatures exist here would help with the assault. But right now, you simply don't have the time. You need to find and destroy the marker as quickly as you can. If you're lucky, you won't even have to meet the last Bird.

You reach down to your ankle and tighten the small gold ribbon tied there, feeling its tug against your skin. If Mami's enchantments are holding, that should point you towards the marker's location. The Black Forest would never have been allowed to remain no matter how difficult it is to excise if it had grown too large, so you only have a small fraction of the Emerald City to travel through. At this rate, you'll be able to just leave a Soldier behind at the marker and move on to reinforce one of the other groups.

Reaching out past the Black Forest's boundaries and into the Emerald City, you feel for your allies' emotions. The children save for Homura are unsettled, and Argalia is unaffected. All of them have arrived successfully. You breathe a sigh of relief and stand up. Even if you have time to spare, you don't gain anything by waiting here.

Your eyes travel upward, immediately snapping to attention at the new presence in the Forest. A part of you is reeling, wondering how they moved so quickly and so quietly. Another is sifting through your reserve of weaponry, recalling whatever weaknesses you can possibly exploit. In the end, both are silenced. Panicking does no good, and you aren't here for a fight right now. But you very well might have to, and you have no assurance that you'll be the one to claim victory.

Not staring down the Judge of the Black Forest.

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Porccubus's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED

Chapter 151 - We Can Do This, Can't We?

Passing through the borders of Kamihama and into the Emerald City felt horrible. The streets had begun to stretch and twist minutes ago, the buildings to either side warping along with them and fusing into solid walls of vaguely-recollected shapes. It brought to mind one of the many Barriers Mami had traversed in her time as a Magical Girl, but every Barrier had a distinct sense of surreality to it. They were so clearly unnatural that it often dulled the shock of whatever bizarre scenery they featured, letting her more easily separate them from the world she knew. This was different. The feeling of distance, of not being quite real was still there, but some traces of reality still stubbornly clung to the scenery. This was not simply some unnatural other world. Rather, the world had been warped and made unnatural. Mami could see the signs, marks on the concrete and glass as it strained against the way it was being twisted. Try as she might, but Mami could not help but have her mind drift to the question of what that same force might do to her.

Worse was the presence in the air. For the last week, maybe since X had found her, Mami had been able to feel the Grief creeping up her Soul Gem more acutely. She had always been aware of it, any Magical Girl of sufficient experience could measure their remaining store of magic, but even before learning what Grief really was she could feel it like never before. If not consciously, then at least subconsciously. She could pick out the thoughts that didn't feel like hers, the feelings that worked their way into her brain against her will. Why didn't Kyoko come back in her own if she really wanted to see you? they would ask. Is Homura still upset about how confrontational you were when you first met? How well do Sayaka and Madoka really know you?

When was the last time X told you she loved you?

Mami took those thoughts and pushed them aside. They were hers, yes, but not worth giving mind to. Whispers could be quieted easily enough. Now, there was something in the air screaming at her. Everyone will leave you. it roared. You will die alone. The unseen force was thick and heavy, and just the slightest bit warm and wet and yet rough and dry. It shifted and pressed against Mami's body as she continued forward, pulling the heat from her skin with every step. She wanted to run, to push through this horrible feeling as quickly as possible and be done with it, but years of experience against bizarre and hostile environments told her that rushing forward would only have the feeling push back even harder. Despite her efforts to turn her attention to something, anything else, Mami's mind somehow managed to catch on the passing thought that this was probably close to what it felt like to be eaten.

At least Homura was there. Mami was unsure how much of her own discomfort was visible, but the other veteran's pace had not slowed since the pair began their entry. It was odd to think that, in some forgotten time, she has taught the other veteran along with Sayaka and Madoka. The idea seemed so bizarre. Madoka was not a Magical Girl and would never need to become one, Mami's occasional offers of guidance or advice to Sayaka hardly counted as training, and the image Mami had made of Homura hardly allowed for the thought that she had ever been an inexperienced rookie. Even now, she didn't so much as flinch under the weight of the Emerald City's first line of defenses.

On the other hand, Homura had looked nearly as stoic in the fight against Nothing There a week ago. She has stood strong in the face of that monster toying with her, with all of them, right up until the last moment. Mami and the others had watched, horrified, as that mask cracked and shattered in front of everyone.

"Are you feeling all right?" Mami was surprised by how calm she sounded.

"I'm fine." Homura said. "This is bearable."

Mami hummed to herself. That was good to hear. Still, she had no way of actually telling if Homura was being honest.

"We're going to save her. Whatever challenges we have to face in there, we'll be able to overcome it together." Mami assured. Homura didn't respond, continuing her solemn march forward. The silence stretched long enough to spur Mami to speak again, hoping to ease the tension her partner was clearly feeling, but before she could open her mouth the sorrowful whispers filling the air vanished with a final shriek and the pair were left standing inside the Emerald City.

If the entrance had felt reminiscent of a Witch's Barrier, the Emerald City itself was practically indistinguishable from one. And just like the entrance, it lacked the dreamlike veneer that normally separated Barriers from reality. Mami and Homura stood atop an ornate balcony carved of pitch-black stone glittering with green crystal flecks. Larger emerald growths encrusted the building, tracing down to a street below that more resembled a hallway than an actual street. Above, a decorated palace wall took the place of a ceiling, complete with black glass windows and large crystalline statues depicting all manner of fantastical creature. Looking further, the structure only spiraled further. Buildings jutted out at impossible angles, fusing together seamlessly and yet remaining jarringly disconnected. Through a gap in the ceiling, Mami could see a dull green sky dotted with lines of black. They reminded her of constellations, only lacking any sort of shape or organization to bind them together. Focusing her gaze, she saw that it wasn't a sky at all. It was just more of the city, the black lines being the color of the street floor standing out against the gleaming emerald buildings that surrounded them.

While Mami had stood by, taking in the sight, Homura had already taken two steps forward before pausing and noticing her companion's distraction. The mechanical girl didn't turn back to address Mami, merely pausing in place with one hand on the balcony.

"We need to keep moving." Homura said, jolting Mami from her staring. The older Magical Girl felt shame and embarrassment color her face in equal measure before calling back her focus and answering her partner.

Together, the pair leapt over the railing and down into the Emerald City.

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Even though Mami and Homura had only been working their way through the Emerald City for a handful of minutes, it felt as if it had been hours. Half of that was the constant stream of Familiars and other unknown creatures that steadily flooded in from every direction. Their numbers were small enough that Mami and Homura could fend them off without much effort, even if some were capable of a few tricks, but they ensured neither Magical Girl could relax for even a moment. The occasional larger, more organized group is more challenging. Even in Barriers with multiple types of Familiar, Mami isn't used to facing such a variety of opponents all at once. She was equally unused to enemies that cover for each other's weaknesses and attack in organized, intelligent formations. It wasn't totally unseen for Barriers to have structured defenses, and the Witches that had been appearing recently were more developed than average, but this level of coordination went far beyond that. Mami could hardly recall the last time she'd been challenged in such a manner. Her abilities lended themselves very well to destroying large swaths of enemies without difficulty.

Between her own capabilities and Homura's assistance, the Emerald City's defenders were unable to make much headway in spite of their tactics. The other girl may have been deprived of her ability to stop time, but she was still a veteran Magical Girl with more experience than Mami could ever truly know. She had no trouble carrying her weight.

What proved just as much of a hindrance were the traps. Invisible tripwires that sliced through anything they touched but could be walked through by the Emerald City's residents without a care, pitfalls appearing out of nowhere and threatening to vanish after swallowing their prey, and tiny symbols that exploded like land mines were just some of the defenses that had been set up. The runes in particular were tricky- not only was Mami certain that getting caught in one would do something much worse than just physical harm, but they were placed viciously. Her ribbons had initially seemed perfect for detonating the mines in advance, but that had been proven false after she had nearly been caught in a second set of mines that hadn't been set off. Homura had been the one to pull Mami out of danger, surprising her by reversing her usual technique and accelerating time around herself and Mami enough for them to clear the detonation. The pair had watched the writhing not-light of the explosion lash out and then quickly fade, dulled to a muted shade by the effects of Homura's Magic. Neither girl had spoken since they arrived.

It was some time after that the pair turned a corner, weapons drawn and eyes scanning the surroundings, only for them to stumble on a shocking sight. Propped against a corner, sword in hand, and breathing heavily, was Sayaka. Though her body was free of injuries, her hair had become matted to her face with sweat and her costume was torn and dirtied. Neither were something that could happen to a Magical Girl not nearing the limits of their abilities.

While Mami's first impulse was to rush forward to help, Homura was faster.

"Why are you here? You and Kyoko are meant to be in another part of the city." the mechanical girl said plainly, her tone not reflecting the accusation in her words. Sayaka couldn't respond immediately, waiting for her breath to slow and level out before she answered.

"We got separated. This place is built like a maze of some kind. I'm starting to think this was all a trap."

As the bluenette rose to her feet, shaking hands bracing against her sword, Mami and Homura exchanged a look.

"We can still regroup." Mami assured. "Do you have your ribbons?"

"My what?" Sayaka asked reflexively. True enough, neither of the ribbons Mami had crafted for her earlier that day were present.

Mami and Homura shared another glance, not concerned this time but resigned. The pair nodded to each other and, as one, opened fire on the person in front of them.

Mami's bullet struck her target's chest, erupting into a spray of ribbons that cocooned the person in an instant. Mami forced herself not to flinch at the sheer confusion and disbelief in her target's eyes. Fighting monsters was one thing, but fighting people was another entirely. There was no satisfaction to be had in forcing another Magical Girl to scamper away, wounded and desperate. There was no triumph in hurting somebody. It was just a necessity, and a particularly cruel one at times. And here, it was even more cruel than usual.

Homura had not been so conservative. A glowing violet bolt pierced the target's Soul Gem with practiced ease, reducing it to a fine mist of glittering blue. The girl in front of them barely had time to react, her face falling from relief to shock. A single moment of sheer and unchecked fear arose as the girl recognized what had happened just before the light in her eyes faded and she slumped stiffly backward, motionless.

The body say there for a single, horrible moment. Mami couldn't breathe. She couldn't look away. She could only stare desperately until the corpse finally relented and broke. Thin cyan lines spiderwebbed across their skin, spreading further and further until finally snapping and dismissing the entire thing into a haze of crystalline shards. Even the blood sprayed against the black stone walls behind her dissolved into glassy light.

Finally, Mami breathed a sigh of relief. It was a fake after all. X had warned the group in advance about the possibility of fake Magical Girls, but knowing it and seeing it were too wholly different things. The fake Sayaka had felt off in a way she just couldn't place at first, but after confirming that this person really wasn't Sayaka she had felt safe to open fire. Maybe not to kill or even wound, but at least disable.

The feeling of Homura shaking Mami's shoulder alerted her to the fact that she had been staring at the spot the fake Sayaka had laid for longer than she should've.

"Was it really the right decision to be so merciless?" Mami asked Homura. The other girl didn't so much as blink.

"Every second we delay, Madoka is out at risk. Distractions can't be afforded." the clockwork girl answered flatly. Mami opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't find a way to refute her partner's logic. Not that she agreed with it, but there was a certain simplicity to Homura's answer that made it hard to unravel. Madoka was in danger, so anything that got closer to freeing her was the right choice.

"I suppose you're correct. Let's keep going." Mami conceded. But even as she did, she couldn't get the image of Sayaka's lifeless eyes staring up at her out of her head.

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Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED

Need I say anything more?