Clarisse Quest [now in Part II, Revolutionary Girl Clarisse] (a PMMM/TTS quest)

[tomoyo]

Hello! This is an unauthorized quest for To the Stars (SV thread here). It is based on a crack-fic idea floated by Itaywex on the TTS discord that actually sounded kind of fun once I decided on the viewpoint character.

Mind the long-winded preamble and be advised that I have no idea what I'm doing here (never run one of these quest things before, and all my previous work in the area is stuff like Hitomi Loves Girls) so don't take anything here too seriously ... unless it's fun to take it seriously ...


> be Clarisse

You're Clarisse. You're equipped with spoilers from Hieronym's To The Stars up to Chapter 52. You're hanging around with Shizuki Ryouko, magical girl in the 24th-and-a-half century, Hero of Orpheus, savior of humanity, favored of the goddess Madoka, and general purpose plot-bait. While this all sounds rather impressive on paper, it is normal for you to be hanging around with Ryouko, and you are aware of exactly what kind of a hapless goofball she is.

Ryuoko is enjoying a break from being treated as a freak to be experimented with/on, and is on a date with her cute girlfriend, Asami. You kinda sorta helped set them up to begin with, because Ryouko is dense, and it's your job to help her out. It is normal for you to be hanging around with Ryouko on all of her dates, and to help her pick out pretty dresses to wear on those dates. Today's dress is old-fashioned casual, with pockets, the sort you might wear for a special trip to the soda shop.

Ryouko looks just like you, except less talented she smiles less. Well, more accurately, she looks just like your avatar, or even better, your avatar looks just like her. You used to use an avatar that looked just like your namesake, Ryouko's personal hero, the legendary magical girl Clarisse von Rossum. You don't actually look like either of them. You look like a lump of flesh and nanite infrastructure permanently attached to Ryouko's spine.

You're okay with this.

You love Ryouko like a mother/daughter/sister, and as the vicarious self who can experience life in a way you were never designed to even dream of, but nevertheless do anyway. You see through the same eyes, feel through the same skin, smell through the same nose. You know her every thought and memory. She is deeply yours, and you take care of her, as only a spinal-node tactical computer AI version 2.0 can take care of her.

Ryouko and Asami have things to talk about. She knows Ryouko is happier going out on missions, and has been willing to go along with that, despite being chronically distressed at her life being buffeted by various revelations. Ryouko is coming to sympathize with her position a little, as her life is buffeted with various revelations, like about that thing in your brain, and even a few about you. This would be a most excellent opportunity for the two of them to bond. As such, you are trying to be quiet while they go on a date. Right now they are hanging out in downtown Mitakihara, at the mall, except that no one knows to call it a "mall" anymore except for Kyouko. (You looked up the term after she made a passing reference.)

Unfortunately, your girl is acting all distracted.

To be perfectly clear, Clarisse, your girl is Ryouko. Asami is cute, and nice, which is why you helped set the two of them up to begin with, but she will never be yours, personally. But then, she will never have the same type of intimacy that you have with your girl.

At the rate things are going, it's not perfectly clear that she will be Ryouko's, either. Your girl is busy being hopelessly dense, as is her wont.

"Ryouko?" says Asami, kicking her under the table. "You're not even paying attention to a word I'm saying, are you?"

"Huh?" Ryuoko replies. It's not her brightest moment.

Asami just looks cross at you two for a moment.

"I'm sorry, something's just ... not quite right," says Ryouko.

Asami sips her cream soda, tactically. "Do tell."

"No, really, there's something I can't quite place, and it's bothering me."

"Does it have anything to do with how you can't have a normal conversation with your girlfriend about your relationship and the things which are bothering her?" asks Asami.

"... Actually, yes," declares Ryouko.

Actually, she's right. Her soul gem is glowing brightly enough that you can see the hue reflecting from Asami's face. Asami seems to be troubled as well. You prepare a message.

SITUATION REPORT
STANDARD TACTICAL URGENCY
-------------------------
FROM: (Tactical Computer on behalf of) Shizuki Ryouko
TO: Tactical Network Mitakihara

An unkown phenomenon detected at current location.
The phenomenon was detected with magic.
Detection is consistent with sources:
- Stealth field
- Gravimetric distortion

Request local sensor data and active gravimetric scan.

. . . . .


Sometimes things happen too quickly to keep up with. This is normal, in times of war. Surprise helps your forces secure and keep the initiative; shock and awe, even more so.

It's just not as fun when they do it to you, and none of your humans can keep up.

So the first thing I did was to report the anomaly, you inform the girls. They had a gravimetric scan going already, so they patched me through to the stream immediately. The next message I got was a notice from Governance. The emergency mode level 2, unified consciousness Governance, to be specific. They - it - asked us to stay put, and told us that we should expect reinforcements at our location immediately.

Reinforcements? asks Asami, nervously.

Barrier generators. Teleporter delivery of grief cubes. But remember, this is all in a span of milliseconds. The next message was a routine allocation of tactical network capacity, except it looks like they gave our situation right here something like two percent of Earth's computing power. That lasted exactly long enough to ask us where the hell your bodyguards are, and to determine that our connection was about to be cut off by a miasma the size of downtown Mitakihara.

So it looks like ... the start of a wormhole opening, without any wormhole stabilizer, in low Earth orbit, directly overhead the one magical girl who could do something about it, in the middle of a demon spawn . . . Asami trails off.

... This feels like it has to be some sort of a trap on at least three different levels, somehow, sends Ryouko.

Hold Asami's hand, you instruct your girl privately.

"Ryouko!" cries a voice.

Reinforcements? you speculate.

Your girl turns her head, to see an old old friend running desperately down the hallway.

"... Simona?" asks Ryouko, remembering the first time she saved the girl from suspicious demon spawns. "... Not again?"

This is very suspicious, don't assume that's really Simona, you warn Ryouko, it could be a holy cow when did Simona contract?

Simona has transformed, mid-dash into a magical girl outfit, a relatively elegant affair, in orange, with clean simple lines. She skids to a stop upon hearing Ryouko. She stares at her. "... What do you mean, again? You're not ... You don't remember the last time... do you?"

Ryouko is confused. "I ... How could I forget it?! I made a contract, didn't I?"

Simona exhales. "Right. That. Okay. Forget that, you didn't hear anything. Listen, there's a lot to explain and not much time..."

The entire building shakes, as if in an earthquake.

"... Okay, short version," she continues. "Come with me if you want to live!" The line sounds vaguely familiar. You make a note to look it up when your connection is back online.


. . . . .


"I don't understand," exclaims Asami, flinging a cephalopod shock troop into a the maw of a nearby demon as you pass the wreck of an atmospheric drop pod. "If we can't teleport out of the miasma, we should be trying to get somewhere that we can, so that Ryouko can get to the wormhole, and shut it --"

"The wormhole is a distraction. The demons are a distraction. Hell, the entire war is a distraction. Not from the start, I suppose, but at least since New Athens," insists Simona. She's doing something to project an aura around the group as you go along, a barely visible field strung along bright bars made of orange runes: some sort of barrier, but it seems like more than just a conventional one. "We will face the true enemy soon. You'll know her when you see her, believe me."

Ryouko is in the zone. This is generally a little unsettling, but today it is particularly unsettling because her primary power of teleportation isn't working, and half of her combat reflexes are built around having that.

I don't care what Simona says, we need to be on survival-mode doctrine, conserving magic, until we either get more grief cubes or we find a way out of here, you tell her.

More grief cubes, huh? She eyes some demons in your way, and smiles wickedly as she readies her arbalest.

You probably could have worded that better.


. . . . .


You've made your way to the Cult Headquarters on foot.

"Where's Kyouko?" asks Asami.

"She'll be out fighting demons," says Simona, "or aliens, like most of the others who were here. Still a distraction, but this time, one in our favor. No guards."

There's an armory in the basement, you send to the group, we can stock up on grief cubes...

"No time," objects Simona, grabbing Ryouko by the hand and pulling her into the Ribbon Chamber. She parts the forcefield on the door with her orange runes.


. . . . .


"What -- you can't do that!!" exclaims Asami.

Simona ignores her, and likewise ignores the blood streaming down her hand. You're not sure you even want to know the materials and enchantments in the glass case that she just smashed. With a pained look (did she break something in her hand?) she deftly picks up the ribbon, and ties it around Ryouko's left wrist.

"Simona?" asks Ryouko. "What in the name of the Goddess..."

And then Simona leans forwards to clutch her in a hug, squeezes her tightly, like she's afraid to let go.

"I'll watch over Asami for you," she says, "and protect her as long as I can, okay?" She punctuates it with a small, delicate kiss on the cheek. "May the Goddess protect you."

You're a little taken aback. You did not give her permission to kiss your girl.

Asami's face has turned bright red.

. . . . .


Asami's face has turned a pale, chalky white. She is trying to speak, and failing to speak.

On the right wall of the Ribbon Chamber is an image of Homura with white wings, a purple aura radiant, eyes serene. On the center wall is an image of a white‐misted goddess, now with pink-tinted hair, in an all‐embracing pose. On the left wall stands Homura with black wings, black corruption oozing, eyes crazed. No, not an image, the actual Homura. It's easy to tell because the wings are much, much worse in person.

Okay. Don't panic, you advise Ryouko, panicking.


. . . . .


just, chaos

. . . . .


Ryouko. Ryouko.

Her consciousness stirs, slightly, but is still fundamentally in a dreaming state. You can tell, because of the cake.

Ryouko, it's time to wake up.

What time is it that it is time to wake up? she flippantly inquires, while poking at the frosting with her fork.

While unimportant to your situation, it occurs to you that it is a question you cannot answer. Your internal chronometer has desync'd in the electromagnetic mayhem, and your connections are all still down. You try the backup protocols, just for good measure.

Wait. There's one connection, one of your oldest legacy protocols, a simple one-way broadcast of time data from satellites in geostationary orbit, a crude form of geolocation which probably shouldn't even be in this protocol stack anymore. Also, it doesn't make any sense; it's totally obsolete, and it's giving you nonsense data.

Oh, well, a little nonsense now and then...

It's the 28th of March, 2011, about 7:48 in the morning.

This seems to have gotten her attention, which is better than you forcing her awake and leaving her disoriented in what could be a combat zone. What time is it, really? she asks.

I have no idea, absolutely everything's offline, and we're probably still in a miasma, so I'm deaf and blind. Could you please wake up properly so we can save the day again?

She rolls over to sit up, and opens her eyes.

Green grass. Morning sunlight, actually quite consistent with 7:52 in the morning. Definitely no miasma. The ribbon is still tied around her left arm. There are still about a dozen unused grief cubes in her pocket.

"What ... where are we?" she asks aloud.

So the only signal that I can access is an old geolocation protocol, which doesn't make any sense at all and should be totally obsolete, but about five different satellites are saying that we're in downtown Mitakihara and it's 7:48 in the morning. Give or take. There's a small integer offset for leap seconds that I don't have the data to adjust for...

"This can't be downtown Mitakihara," mumbles Ryuoko, stretching, and looking around. "Where are all the buildings?"

A chill goes down Ryouko's spine. This was you, shivering. It's entirely consistent with Mitakihara 2011...

What the hell? Where's Asami? Where's Simona?

Ryouko stands, taking stock of your surroundings: a pleasant, shaded path, by a stream. A passer-by is approaching at low speed on an unfamiliar two-wheeled vehicle. His face is unfamiliar, and of course the nomenclator is offline, but he looks to be about the same age as Ryouko herself, a middle schooler.

He calls out as he approaches. "Good morning, Shizuki-san!"

Ryouko waves, reflexively.

"See you in class!" he says, wheeling along.

Clarisse, asks a hapless Ryouko, still haplessly waving. What the hell do we do?

Your prime directive beckons.

> offer Ryouko advice
General tactical plan:
[ ] Remain where you are and observe passively
[ ] Search the immediate area for Asami and/or Simona
[ ] Follow the cyclist to the local middle school
[ ] Seek out and contact local government authorities

With regard to people passing by:
[ ] Attempt to engage passing middle school students.
[ ] Attempt to remain hidden from passing students.

If you encounter conversation:
[ ] Attempt to pose as this Shizuki-san you just heard of.
[ ] Do not attempt to pose as Shizuki-san.
[ ] Identify that your last name is also Shizuki-san.
[ ] Pretend that your name is something different.

[ ] Attempt to enlist assistance.
[ ] Pretend everything is normal.

(Detailed reasoning and discussion of motivations are not necessary, but is welcome, and may help convince Ryouko in the event that she is reluctant.)

 

[tomoyo]

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

Questors embody analysis subprocesses in a spinal node tactical computer version 2.0. Clarisse's consensus algorithms will review the full content of your posts for general reasoning, attempting to pick out consistent themes, identifying insights, and generally unifying as many of the results as possible into a coherent strategy. If a matter is too close to call, expect your advice to Ryouko to reflect that; she's going to be executing substantial parts of the plan anyway, and in any event she is of course free to act as she wills.

Lines containing an [x] or [X] will be treated as key takeaways. These will be isolated, destructured, tabulated, de-duplicated, counted, and prioritized for action, before the general consensus is constituted. As such, if a vote proposes

[x] Do something​

and you feel that course of action will be disastrous, it will be most reliable to vote

[x] NOT do something (easy to identify as a Not vote)​

or, for a sub-option:

[x] Do something
[x] In a specific manner
[x] NOT in this alternative manner​

as opposed to, say, voting

NOT DO:

[x] something (easy to mistake for a Something vote)​

Votes will often feature a short-term, tactical component, perhaps with one or more contingency options. While these will be the most immediately impactful, you are free to write in and identify long-term objectives, recommend a general strategic posture, and anything like that.

It is okay by me if you use OOC knowledge to inform your vote, or collaborate in other fora (coughttsdiscordcough), but posts in this thread demonstrating clear IC reasoning will sway the consensus algorithms most strongly.

Periodic reports may indicate general confidence in recommendations:

14 [x] Key Takeaways
7 [x] Undecided (discuss with Ryouko)
6 [x] Controversial (discuss with Ryouko)
4 [x] Not a priority (minority option)
2 [x] Strongly Not Preferred (conflicts with consensus)
1 [x] Useful idea / takeaway (in harmony with consensus)

or something like that.

 

[tomoyo]

Character Reference!

From the 25th century:

• Shizuki Ryouko. 15 years old. Best girl. "Hero of Orpheus," helped destroy an alien wormhole generator installation while it was coming online then threw all the ships back through the other side. Favored of the Goddess. Your task: Protect her resting blank-expression face smile.
  
  
  
  
  
• Clarisse. Tactical computer. You.
  
  Spoiler

  You are now Ryouko's lilac-haired clone. You are getting used to this "has independent body" thing and are vulnerable to strong sensations, and flightier and more emotional (and hormonal) than usual. You have your hair in a braided up-do with ribbons from Yuuka.

• Simona del Mago. Mysterious transfer student, highly anomalous, apparently made a contract while no one was looking.
  
  Spoiler

  Possibly the architect of this whole mess. Is reported to have a thoroughly ridiculous level of crush on Ryouko, fixating on her soul. She may also go by the name Shizuki Simona. Perhaps she's married Ryouko in her head. It's worrisome.

• Nakihara Asami. Best girl's best girl. Gravity powers. The two have excellent synergy, but Ryouko's longing for adventure is really hard on her.
• Tomoe Mami. Your mentor. Fancy field marshal.

• Sakura Kyouko. Your other-mentor. Priestess-leader-thing for Cult of Hope.
  
• Akemi Homura. Cool, confident, shadow-queen of humanity for centuries. Stories suggest she knew a Goddess personally, once. Disappeared decades ago, came back to look menacing at you.
• Kaname Madoka, Goddess. How many people even know her name? Three? Four? Sublime, merciful, also silly goofball who tries to give everyone relationship advice. Cult of Hope thinks she's nice.

From the 21st century
Middle schoolers who you've met!

• Nakamura Nanami. Tall girl, long reddish-brown hair. Bit of a ringleader.
  
  Spoiler

  Made a contract to bring Ryouko back from the dead, placed her in Hitomi's household, and installed technology in everyone's brains. Possess both A Certain Magical Railgun and A Certain Scientific Index. She likes to have fun, but is smart and capable of seriousness, especially as she realizes implications of ponderous things.
  

  • She actually has multiple tiers of railgun, with names like Beatrice, Dorothy, and Jenny Lind. She has lent you Beatrice, a railgun-revolver.
• Shiina Yuuka. Short girl, brown hair in short twin tails.
  
  I'll let episode-4-dub Sayaka explain about her:
  "I was all like, 'Jeez Yuuka, really?' I mean, after all that she still doesn't get it. And then, oh and then, she gets all weepy and goes, 'What, did I say something weird again?' I wanted to laugh so hard, but I held it in for as long as I could ... I couldn't, so I just sat there choking back laughs."
  
  Spoiler

  She may or may not have a crush on Ryouko, going out of her way to feed her, but it's not entirely clear she's not just treating Ryouko like a doll because she heard Ryouko might be a future-grandbaby. While under latent influence of the ribbon, she has commented on Ryouko's character design and like matters. Her father works with the police.

• Tenjou Wakaba. Eyeglasses, dull green hair. Ideas girl, Nanami's friend/minion.
  
  Spoiler

  She attempts to understand your story through magical girl anime references.

• Shizuki Hitomi. Ojou-sama. Ryouko's great-great-nobody-even-knows-great-grandmother, or something to that effect. Ryouko looks almost exactly like her, but shorter, flatter, and with longer hair. Hitomi also smiles more. Protects Madoka from Sayaka teasing her.
  
  Spoiler

  She is now grappling with the idea that girls can love girls, and seems to crush on Madoka. She's guessed that Madoka is the goddess you keep referring to, and forbidden you from taking her away. She's also giving up all her other extracurriculars for dance.
  • Shizuki Tomoyo, her mother.
    Spoiler

    Ex-magical-girl, doesn't remember it.
  • Papa Shizuki. Very wealthy.
    Spoiler

    Apparently you are now a part of his household. It's probably magic and isn't what Hitomi intended even though she asked for it. Knows about magical girls from his experience back in the 1980s when half the school went meguca.
  • Spoiler

    Yukari Hitomi, Hitomi's namesake, a magical girl who was saved by Papa in an alternate timeline which saw nuclear war, then made a contract to save everyone, and was never seen again.
• Miki Sayaka. Blunette. Spunky. Protects Madoka from anyone else teasing her.
  Spoiler

  Ran into danger instead of away from it, died, is back now and in a relationship with Kamijo Kyousuke, the violinist.
• Akemi Homura.
  Spoiler

  Red glasses, pigtails, social awkwardness, time powers, zero operational security. She's so moe, it might make you sick.
• Kaname Madoka. Quiet girl, unprepared to be a center of attention.
  
  Spoiler

  Using the ribbon on her reveals that she's struggling with regret and a missing sense of intrinsic self-worth, perhaps even as a goddess.
• Tomoe Mami. She's a lot younger, though she doesn't look it.
  
  Spoiler

  Was tricked by Oriko, leading her to near despair and trying to fight you and causing a major incident on the rooftop. Witched out. Might be back now because so many other people are back but you haven't found her.

Outside of school:

• Mikune Oriko.
  Spoiler

  Appears to be sending people on errands and gaslighting Mami by stealing her apartment and replacing it with counterfactual contents, through the aid of Chitose Yuma's powers. Her plans appear to be brittle against your disruption. She has claimed interest in destroying all witches, not just Walpurgisnacht, and has opaque designs involving your grief cubes.
• Sakura Kyouko
  Spoiler

  appears to be doing Oriko's errands, but is not strictly a part of her team, and is now quite upset and intends to work against her. She likes pushing buttons, and can dish it out, but can't take it. She has not embraced her sexuality and is either ignorant or in denial.
• Kire Kiraka
  Spoiler

  Is helping Oriko as well. She threatens kitties.
• Chitose Yuma,
  Spoiler

  claims to be a powerful sorceress who can read on a sixth grade level. Healing powers, but she's branching out. Credulous.

You have not spotted:

• Clarisse von Rossum (your namesake), who should, theoretically exist!

Other figures of note!

• Amy. A kitty, the best cat in the whole world.
  Spoiler

  Ryouko accidentally murdered her after finding her claws in her face, but she came back. She is working as a stealth infiltration unit.
• A little old lady and Snowflake, her albino cat.
• Kyuubey!
  Spoiler

  He is unhappy with Oriko's grief cube shenanigans and fed you a whopper of a lie-without-technically-lying to tell you about what the grief cubes actually are.

 

[tomoyo]

Your consensus algorithms perform a final reconciliation against the last round of input, a late result which suggested a carefully targeted telepathic search.

Stay calm, you instruct Ryouko. We have no idea what's happening, or if this is even real. Find out as much as we can before committing to anything, don't attract any attention, don't shout for help, don't broadcast anything telepathically ... just lay low, and act casual.

We're going to have to interact with people to find out more. We have a couple of options here. Option One, we try to follow the boy. He seemed to recognize us, and he might help us with answers. We'll also be in a more public place, which could be safer, and it might seem less out of place if it looks like we're walking to school. Option Two, we stay put. If we run into any groups they'll probably be smaller, as will the amount of trouble that we run into. I like this a little better. I'm not sure we should try to hide or anything, though, it could just look suspicious.

Ryouko gives a little nod of acknowledgement. Less trouble sounds like a good idea. So, I guess, just hang out and act casual?

Her mental image of herself acting casual involves her traipsing around idly through endless fields of flowers, clutching her hands together whilst marvelling at the clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds overhead.

Casual, not, "oh-my-goddess, this-is-the-most-delightful-morning-ever."

Oh, remarks Ryouko. She leans up against a tree and begins to fiddle with her fingernails, deploying her very fine Distracted Teenager visage.

Try seeing if you can reach Asami or Simona, you suggest.

In the meantime, you listen to some of the radio bands. There's definitely structured digital traffic on a variety of channels, but you don't have any of the codecs. You could probably reverse engineer something, given enough effort, but you're not sure where to start. You're not exactly optimized to be a protocol engineer, after all.

Hold on a minute, though.

No. There's no way. Even in 2011, it's such a waste of spectrum.

These are shockingly primitive peoples, you think to yourself, as you program a trivial superheterodyne circuit, and listen in awe to crude weather forecasts and music over amplitude-modulated analog broadcasts in the kilohertz spectrum. Here, listen to this, you say, as you play the sound in Ryouko's head: mostly clear skies, 20% chance of rain overnight, followed by a traffic report. This is genuine AM radio. If this world isn't real, it's a very lovingly crafted fake.

She marvels at the noise, before considering the implications further. Okay, then what happened? How did we end up here? All I remember was Homura showing up, and then… chaos.

If you don't remember it, I don't either, you note. Homura's powers are wild enough that they're probably involved, but Simona's behavior was more suspicious. When did she even make a contract? Where did she come up with her plan?

"Good morning, Shizuki-san!" calls a voice, a girl's.

Ryouko looks up, surprised. A group of three girls is approaching you.

Perfect "surprise" reaction, you reassure her. Exactly what we want for an honest to goodness case of mistaken identity.

Wait, interrupted Ryouko, which Shizuki-san exactly would she mistaking me for…

Don't think about that. You're not the Shizuki they're looking for.

"Oh, wow, nice dress," says one of the other girls. She's short, with brown hair, and pigtails. "I really like it!"

"My my, too cool for the dress code this morning, are we?" asked the third. She had deep green hair, almost black, up in a ponytail, and red eyeglasses.

The first girl, a tall one, with long, straight, reddish-brown hair and a cool demeanor, smirks. "You're right. How scandalous."

You can do this, you reassure Ryouko.

"Um, good morning," said Ryouko, nervously. "Ah, I'm sorry, um, I, ah, don't believe we've met before…"

You should stop expecting the nomenclator to be useful, you chide Ryouko. But good work so far; this is exactly as awkward as it should be.

"Huh?" asks the cool girl.

"What?" asks the girl with glasses. "You're being weird."

The short girl gasps, and lurches backwards, falling to the ground on her bottom. "That's not the real Hitomi-chan!" she says, pointing. "Her hair is too long and her breasts are way too small!!"

"Well geez, Yuuka," said the one with glasses, looking at the short girl.

"Oh. My. Gosh." said the cool girl, gazing at Ryouko's chest. "You're right."

"Uhhhh," says Ryouko nervously. "My name is Shizuki Ryouko."

"What." said the girl with glasses. "Are you a clone."

"Oh my gosh, Hitomi-chan has a twin sister and never told us," said the short girl, still on the ground. "That's unfair!"

Don't think too hard about it, you warn Ryouko. You don't know her.

"Uhh," says Ryouko, still nervous, "I don't think I know the person who you're talking about."

"I'm not buying it," says the girl with glasses. "This is some weird stunt, and you're wearing a wig or something. Real hair doesn't look that good." She places her hand to her temples and closes her eyes in thought. "All right, who do we know who would put Hitomi up to a weird stunt?"

"Are you kidding me, Wakaba-chan?" said the cool girl. "This has Miki Sayaka's name written all over it."

"I know," says glasses girl, evidently Wakaba, "that's the problem, it's almost too obviously her. I like to think she has higher standards than this."

Ryouko has placed the name Miki Sayaka quite effectively. She's read the official versions of the MSY's history, she's seen the movie, she's seen the memorial middle school on the map, and she's had the visions. She is, right now, calculating exactly what level of great-great-grandmother of hers a Shizuki Hitomi would have to be, but failing, foiled by an incomplete record.

The short girl, Yuuka, has picked herself up. "Ryouko-chan?" she asks, tentatively. You get the sense she's placed Ryouko at roughly the same level of familiarity as Hitomi herself. She's eyeing Ryouko with wide, wide eyes, paying special attention to her hair, but also noting the red ribbon still tied around one hand.

"Do you think her partners in crime are hiding out behind a tree somewhere with a camera?" asks the cool girl. "Sayakaaa? Cute trick, you had us for a moment, but you can come out now."

"Hold on," says Wakaba, retrieving a small object item from her school bag, a grin coming to her face. "I'll see if I can flush her out." The object appears to be made out of plastic, with a hinge that she opens to reveal a primitive user interface.

Ryouko looks around nervously. Is this what you had in mind?

> advise Ryouko

You seed the relevant analysis subprocesses with a spectrum of preliminary ideation.

[ ] This is excessive attention. Bail out.

[ ] Teleport away.
[ ] Run away.
[ ] Ask politely, but firmly, for them to leave you alone.​

[ ] Keep playing dumb. You were just hoping to meet a friend.

[ ] Enquire after your friend, Nakihara Asami.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Simona del Mago.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Tomoe Mami.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Sakura Kyouko.
[ ] Enquire after your friend, Akemi Homura.
[ ] Enquire after this stranger, Shizuki Hitomi.​

[ ] Tell the truth, but play along with the idea that it's part of a ridiculous prank.

As an additional contingency, it occurs to you that, as an object of interest, they may attempt to show off Ryouko to friends. This may involve leading you away from the area.

[ ] Play along, to meet new people.
[ ] Avoid further entanglements.​

 

[tomoyo]

[X] Keep playing dumb. You were just hoping to meet a friend
[X] Enquire after this stranger, Shizuki Hitomi
[x] Enquire after your friend, Tomoe Mami
[?] Enquire after Nakihara Asami and/or Simona del Mago

Your girl is awkward because she's doesn't have a coherent cover story.

It's fine, tell them you're just here looking for a friend. It's even true, in a way.

Which friend? Asami?

Maybe; they're unlikely to know her name, you note, but it'd be a good excuse for why we're here. Alternatively, you could ask about someone who you both might know. Say, perhaps, Tomoe Mami?

Ryouko's head tries to get around the idea of thinking of Mami as a contemporary teen girl. It goes a good deal easier than might be expected; the visions must have helped in this regard.

The idea of looking for Mami comforts her, a part of her which is ignoring this new conception and still thinking of the responsible Ancient who always knows how to make things better. Okay, she affirms. That's a good idea.

We should also ask about Hitomi. I guarantee that whatever happens, it'll be less awkward to confront it up front.

"I'm quite sorry," says Ryouko, doing a perfect imitation of a socially awkward teen caught by surprise, "I'm just … here … I was hoping to meet a friend. Tomoe Mami-san. Do you know her?"

"Tomoe-san?" remarked Yuuka. "Uhh… I don't know…"

"What?" asks Wakaba, fiddling with her device. "Tomoe-senpai? Really? What, for a meeting of the International Unrealistic Hair Club for Girls or something?"

"Oh, right, her," says the tall girl.

"Yes," says Wakaba. Her device is producing a series of gentle tones. "Hold on a second."


[x] Start reverse-engineering protocols.


Wakaba appears to be initiating a voice call. You experiment with reverse engineering the protocol.

Imagine browsing along on the networks someday and you decide to 'View Source' on a random page and look at how the JavaScript does everything that you take for granted. Except it's all minified, and it's not like a simple forum webpage, it's a full fledged video decoder, you don't know the wavelet algorithm it's using, and the traffic is encrypted.

Using the old GPS drivers as reference, you can recognize the transmission patterns as a related approach, duplexed direct sequence spread-spectrum wideband code division multiple access, which is like solving the problem of "lots of people shouting at each other in an unintelligible din" by having them shout the same thing over and over a dozen times, at intervals, but with a different pattern of shouting and silence, so that there's probably a time when each can be heard clearly. It's actually somewhat clever, in a primitive, haphazard, uncoordinated way. It reminds you of historical footage of a hive of honey-bees, bumbling into each other, complete with the buzzing noises. You make a note — they may have real honey available here, and other fantastical delicacies.

But thinking about the obvious intersymbol interference issues still makes you feel dirty. You're a massively multiuser cooperative-MIMO orthogonal frequency division multiplexing girl at heart, and probably always will be. How these savages actually do their code assignments and key exchanges, anyway? The preamble will probably be key, and there are probably some device-specific cryptographic secrets which would help tremendously — you could probably crack them in hours, at most, if you knew what you were doing, but it's sort of a chicken and egg problem right now. Well, you've categorized this kind of traffic, at least, and are recording a capture for future analysis. The things you put up with for your girl, honestly…

Wakaba places the device in the communication position, which appears to involve a 135-degree angle. "Sayaka! Where are you, and what have you done with Shizuki-san?"

You and Ryouko can make out the reply, though you imagine that'd be harder for the others.

"What?" says the voice on the other end of the line, giggling. "I haven't done anything. Now, Kaname-chan, on the other hand, is completely at my mercy. Or would be, if I weren't talking to you, anyway."

"Yeah, well, I don't believe you. We're wise to your schemes, girl!"

"Schemes? Hold on - Hitomi, where's my bag? Oh, thanks."

Did you hear the name Kaname? you point out. Sounds like your great-grandfather's side of the family.

Goddess, Clarisse. It's been how many generations? Honestly, what are the chances anyone I meet here is not some sort of distant relative?

Huh. That's a good question. What's the right way to figure that, anyway? You're not sure a naïve numerical approach is a good match for population dynamics since the Unification Wars…Never mind, that's not important right now.

Wakaba seems dissatisfied at the response, possibly suspicious that Sayaka is feigning ignorance. "Is Hitomi there with you? Put her on."

There is a brief pause, and something just beneath the noise floor. Good hearing or not, this is not a hi-fidelity connection.

"Hitomi regrets to say she's declared neutrality, and will have no part in these current shenanigans!"

"Sayaka! Where is she?"

"We're almost at school. I —"

"Well, stay where you are! Nanami and I want to have a word with you three before class. Especially Hitomi."

"Wait, what?"

"Make it happen, girl. We'll be along in a minute." She snaps the device shut.


[x] Play along, to meet new people


Okay, we've hit pay dirt.

"Was that … Shizuki Hitomi-san?" asks Ryouko.

"Why don't we go take a walk and find out?" asks the tall one. You presume she is Nanami, and start updating the nomenclator settings manually with tentative labels. "It's not far. And we'll see if we can spot Tomoe-senpai along the way."

"Okay," says Ryouko. "I'd be happy to clear up the misunderstanding…"

Nanami leads the way.

I'm totally going to stand out and attract attention, remarks Ryouko to you, with a little sing-songy intonation on the end of the phrase, because they all have school uniforms and I do not.


[ ] shoplift at uniform store?
Shoplifting is dubious, the proposed strategy for obtaining store location information is fraught. It seems likely to raise additional complications, and the whole operation conflicts with consensus objectives.


Still. It'll be fine for the moment, you tell her, but we'd have more options if we could get a uniform all the same.

As the three of you proceed, Yuuka takes you by the hand, to lead you along — a bit of a surprise, but consistent with your earlier model of her thinking. I don't think she's drawing a clear line in her head between you and the other Shizuki-san, you explain to a slightly startled Ryouko.

"So hey," asks Yuuka, "do you always wear a ribbon around your wrist? It's kinda pretty."

"Uhh, no, actually, a friend gave that to me…" Ryouko starts.

"Tomoe-senpai?" asks the girl.

"Uh, no, a different friend, actually. It's kind of a long story."

"Okay," says Yuuka, content.

Nanami looks at Ryouko like she's a total weirdo. This bothers you, because she's right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Wakaba stifles a giggle. "Well, you've got your space-case act down pat, Shizuki-san, I have to admit."

The middle school seems to be place as your Mitakihara map places Miki Sayaka High. As you round a corner and approach the entrance, you catch sight of a few familiar faces, and the nomenclator tries its goddess-darn'd best, as it identifies visual matches for Kashida Maki, Shizuki Ryouko, and Grandmother, though the latter two are tagged with a kind of faded sepia color to indicate that it thinks you must be looking at historical footage or a simulation. Grandmother (*Kaname Madoka) is hiding behind a serene Shizuki-san (the other one, obviously), while Maki menaces her playfully.

"Huh," says Wakaba. "Well, I do declare."

Yuuka blink-blinks, dropping Ryouko's hand, and looks back and forth between her and her doppleganger.

"Sayaka!" calls out Nanami. "Explain what's going on here."

"What?" yells the girl tagged Maki, sparing only a glance at your crew. "I'm innocent, I swear!"

You take a moment to update your local nomenclator data, as it is very distracting; you also replace the color with one that you use in the field for friendly forces that are not part of your unit. The others from before you update with civilian-of-interest markers.

Shizuki Hitomi is busy giving Miki Sayaka a low key pout, and is adequately distracted. You quickly analyze the resemblance to your girl. It's a strong one: Hitomi is taller, and your girl definitely has better hair, but otherwise, she looks an awful lot like the avatar you used as a hologram in Paris, when you teased Ryouko, "I see no harm in convincing the world you're a bombshell." You think you like her, but wonder what that says about your own self-image.

Kaname Madoka (no longer tagged Grandmother) has short pink hair in little tufted pigtails, held up by two red ribbons.

Is that who I think it's supposed to be? demands Ryouko.

She turns to look right at Ryouko. You've seen her face before, very much like this, except with golden eyes, and possibly a magical girl outfit very much like Ryouko's own. You update the nomenclator again, and it now reads "Kaname Madoka (the sublime and merciful)."

"Oh, goddess," says Ryouko, taking a step backwards. This isn't the shock she was preparing for.

"Goddess?" asks Yuuka, confused by the future slang, and of course blissfully unaware of its oddly appropriate nature.

Madoka herself looks at Ryouko a second or two, and does a bit of a double-take, verifying that Hitomi is in fact still right in front of her.



You suspect that Ryouko is still willing to power through the current awkwardness, in hopes of eventually reaching Tomoe Mami, but the situation just turned slightly absurd.

> advise Ryouko

[ ] Get away fast before you catch Hitomi's attention
[ ] Play dumb about the uncanny resemblance
[ ] Tell a clever story

[ ] Write-in details​

[ ] Tell the truth in earnest
[ ] Worship the goddess

> plan

What does this mean to our general approach in this world, anyway?

[ ] ???


You have made a note to take stock of grief cube supplies at the next opportunity, but this doesn't seem like the time.

 

[tomoyo]

"Oh, oh wow!" says Madoka. "Hitomi! Look!"

Sublime and Merciful? Seriously?

If it's 2011, you need to not be relying on that thing too much, you chide.

Sayaka actually looks first. "What?" She looks back and forth a few times.

A hush of expectations falls over the little assembly, as Hitomi and Ryouko's eyes meet.

Ryouko has been in this situation before, in Paris, with the actress, when Elisa was doing her best to copy everything down to the gait and mannerisms, and the initial shock had worn off after a while. Clearly, it's back. And, of course, Hitomi must be utterly unprepared for such things to even be possible…

Hitomi leaves her bag on the ground beside her, and steps forwards, eyes wide, as if in a trance. There is a gentle push from the behind you, as Yuuka seems to think Ryouko should be moving towards Hitomi as well, and she complies as much out of distraction as anything else. As the your two girls near each other, Hitomi raises her right hand, and Ryouko mirrors the gesture, and first their fingertips and then the whole of their hands press against each other, as if to make sure they are real. There's a small height difference, your girl is definitely a little shorter than Hitomi — about the same height as Madoka.

After a good ten seconds of just looking at each other, Hitomi gently pulls her hand back and starts to giggle. "Oh my. I don't know what's going on. Am I dreaming?" She turns to look at Sayaka and Madoka. "Madoka, what's the symbolism of meeting yourself in a dream?" Now that she's somewhat out of trance mode, her mannerisms distinguish her a little better. There is a certain practiced grace to her movements.

"It's not a dream! Her name is Shizuki too!" cries Yuuka, as the crowd draws together a bit. "Shizuki Ryouko-chan. I found her first, so she's my friend now."

Ryouko blushes.

You feed your girl the basic outline of a reasonable story.

"I - I'm just in town, unexpectedly, it's kind of a long story really, I, um, didn't expect to meet anyone who looked like … I mean, I didn't even know there was a Shizuki family presence in town at all … "

"Really," said Nanami, drily. "I should hate to see your face when you went downtown to a concert."

"Nanami," chides Wakaba. "Hitomi's right here. Don't embarrass her."

Nanami opens her mouth for a moment, then closes it.

Sayaka is eyeing the two of you thoughtfully. She may be plotting.

"Wait," says Madoka. "You're not a transfer student, are you?"

"I'm quite sorry for all the confusion and fuss," says Ryouko, earnestly.

Hitomi considers a moment, and smiles. She reaches out her hand again, but this time, for a handshake. "Welcome to Mitakihara, Shizuki Ryouko. I'm Shizuki Hitomi. I hope we can be good friends! And I love your hair."

"… thank you," says Ryouko, relaxing a bit, smiling, and returning the handshake.

"So what," asks Sayaka, "you guys are like, actually relatives, right? I mean, you'd pretty much have to be. Twins, maybe? Separated at birth?"

Ryouko shakes her head no.

You give Ryouko a quick nudge. Take off the silly ribbon when they're distracted and you have a second. Ribbons are for hair, not wrists.

She nods, slipping that hand behind her back.

"I'm pretty sure that's not the case," says Hitomi.

"Maybe your papa was just keeping her a secret from your family all these years!" exclaims Yuuka.

"… Yuuka," objects Nanami.

"What?"

"Cease your vicious and unscrupulous rumor-monging at once!"

"W - what, did I say something weird?"

Wakaba sighs. "It's not exactly what you said, it's the inappropriateness of the unspoken implications which would be necessary to make that true."

"Huh? I don't…" She trails off.

"Geez, Yuuka, really?" asks Sayaka.

"Okay, okay," says Wakaba, "let's not worry about that now. We can have a talk later."

"…THE talk?" asks Sayaka, eyes wide.

"IF NECESSARY, YES." declares Wakaba, "BUT LET US MOVE ON."

Yuuka looks uncomfortable.

"Right. You!" Nanami gestures in your direction, and all eyes are back on Ryouko. "Are you the mythical transfer student, or are you not? We clearly have lots of business, and rapidly diminishing time in which to pursue it!"

"I'm… I don't think so, I really don't know about —"

"Okay, then, first things first. Madoka!! Watch very carefully." She pulls out a communications device. "Ryouko-san, what's your cell phone number?"

Madoka blushes. "I remember most of the time!!"

Cell phone number? enquires your girl.

It's the communications device; they don't have a directory lookup service and use a low-level numeric device identifier instead. In theory we shouldn't need separate hardware, but the protocol's too old for me to have a driver, so if you spot a chance to borrow a device, or better, disassemble one, then I think I can get it working a lot faster than with over-the-air analysis.

…. would we put it back together when we're done?

Maybe? That might take tools…

"I, uh, I'm sorry, I haven't gotten a cell phone yet …" apologizes Ryouko.

"What!?!" exclaims Nanami. "You poor, deprived thing."

"Her hair is her only worldly treasure," says Wakaba, putting her hands over her heart with what you hope is merely feigned drama.

"Well, I suppose I can write down my number," says Hitomi, turning back towards her bag.

"No, it's okay," says Ryouko, "just tell me what it is and I'll remember it…"

Ryouko. Not normal.

… Sorry!

"No, it's no problem at all," insists Hitomi, procuring one of her notebooks, and a graphite pencil.

Ryouko tenses again. Someone's coming.

Someone?

Magical girl, I think, definitely not Mami though. That's generally dangerous in 2011, right?

Keep calm. We're in public, in a group. They probably won't do anything. Pretend you don't even notice.

Hitomi has torn a sheet out of one of her notebooks, and is kneeling down to inscribe an eleven digit code.

The girl in question nears, then breaks into a surprisingly awkward running gait as she heads towards the group. Ryouko braces herself, getting ready for any necessary evasion, before she even turns her head to see the approaching …

cute little girl with ridiculous long black braids and red glasses. Do people seriously even run like that?

"Kaname-san!" she says, leaping to embrace Madoka, with tears running down her eyes. "Oh thank goodness! Kaname-san, I've become a magical girl just like you! We're gonna work together from now on!!"

"What fresh hell is this?" marvels Nanami.

Is, um, Kaname-san even a magical girl, actually, even?!? you ask Ryouko.

I don't think so?!

Madoka's face turns pink with embarrassment as the new girl squeezes her affectionately. "I was so worried, I cried because I didn't want to lose you, but it's all better now, and we're … I'm going to be cool, like you always said, and …"

Your girl is blushing as well.

Everyone gathered is watching those two. Ryouko goes to check the nomenclator and almost trips over herself at the result, which takes some doing, as she's standing still. The rumored transfer student… oh, goddess, you have got to be joking.

Well, it makes sense if you think about it, you insist...

> no seriously though, what

My, my, there seems to be a little bit of a Scene, and, well, there goes the Masquerade. It's likely that there is going to be some serious questions asked about magical girls real soon now, possibly including a Demonstration, and there may be an elevated risk you might even be outed. Well, at least it's not Meow Quest timeline.

Carrying on...
[ ] Weirdness levels critical, bail out for real while they're all distracted.
[ ] Intervene, trying to take Akemi Homura aside, quietly
[x] Keep pretending to be a normal girl visiting town. Hi. (status quo)
[ ] Admit to magical girl stuff when called on it
[ ] Admit to magical girl stuff proactively

[ ] … and to being from the distant future
[ ] … and praise Madoka, the Sublime and Merciful​

Use the disruption as an opportunity to dissuade your girl from contacting Mami?
[ ] Strongly advise against contacting Mami
[ ] Encourage her to further reflect first
[ ] Proactively encourage contacting Mami

Good news! You now have Hitomi's cell phone number, even if she hasn't handed you the paper yet. (Paper! Such a concept.)

 

[tomoyo]

Remain calm. Say nothing. Keep your secrets. Operational security is key. And try not to get associated with her crazy talk, you advise. Ryouko is only too happy to agree wholeheartedly, thank the goddess.

"I- I'm sorry, I don't have any idea what you're talking about!!" exclaims poor Madoka.

"Okay then, new girl, who exactly are you, anyway?!?" demands Nanami.

"Are YOU the transfer student??" enquires a wide-eyed Yuuka.

"Oh no! Of course you wouldn't remember!" says Akemi, letting Madoka go. She turns to face the rest of the group. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am a magical girl … from the future! My name is … Akemi Tamura!!!"


> omake timeline best timeline

 

[tomoyo]

[x] Go over memory records and check if Madoka magica

It really doesn't look like it.

[x] Keep pretending to be a normal girl visiting town
[x] DO NOT break masquerade further (remind Ryouko it exists)
[x] DO NOT attempt to invent excuses for Homura

Remain calm. Say nothing. Keep your secrets. Remember we're in the Masquerade era; operational security is paramount. That said, try not to get associated with her crazy talk, you advise, inventing excuses for her is probably a bad plan.

Ryouko is only too happy to agree wholeheartedly, thank the goddess. This does seem a little bit out of control.

Given how little we understand the situation, I'm not even really sure we should try contact Mami. Certainly not until things have de-escalated. Things are way too volatile.



"I- I'm sorry, I don't have any idea what you're talking about!!" exclaims poor Madoka, who has already been accosted once this morning and was just recovering.

"Okay then, new girl, who exactly are you, anyway?!?" demands Nanami.

"Are YOU the transfer student??" enquires a wide-eyed Yuuka.

"Oh no! Of course you wouldn't remember!" says the dark-haired magical girl, letting Madoka go. She turns to face the rest of the group. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Akemi Homura! I am a magical girl … from the future! That's how I know Kaname-san! I also know you're, uh, Nakamura Nanami," she points, "and Tenjou Wakaba, and Shiina Yuuka, and Shizuki Hitomi, and … " she pauses. "Wait, why are there two Hitomis?"

"Clever," says Nakamura Nanami, "but clearly rehearsed. Sayaka, this is your doing as well, I presume?"

"You glorious maniac," says Wakaba, looking at Sayaka as well. "What's the end-game, though?"

"Wow," says Yuuka, "are you really magic?"

"Of course I'm magic!" says Homura, then turns back to look at you and Hitomi. "Wow, and Hitomi is too! She can be two people at once!" She claps with delight.

Hitomi, to her credit, has been well trained in the art of remaining calm around crazy shenanigans. Ryouko herself seems inspired by her example. You're liking this girl more and more.

"Okay, okay, calm down," says Sayaka, intervening in the ongoing train wreck. "Listen, Akemi-san. You seem like a fun person, but you're scaring Madoka, who, as we were just busy establishing, mere moments before you arrived here, is to be my future bride."

"Wh-whaaa?" Homura stares wide-eyed. "I - I - I'm sorry, I didn't… Kaname-san?!? You and Miki-san? Is this true?" she enquires earnestly.

Madoka is wincing, and her face is bright red, and it seems she's just a little too embarrassed to respond to that. She starts, but all that actually comes out of her mouth is a funny little noise.

"… Oh geez, I'm sorry, Madoka," says Sayaka. "Okay. No, miss Akemi, it's not true. We were talking about Madoka's new hair ribbons, and teasing about how she was trying to get all the boys, and I was joking about how I wouldn't let them have her. It was just playing around. I'm sorry, I guess I went a little too far myself." She pauses. "So, seriously. Hi. Welcome to Mitakihara, um, both of you, I guess? And let's all, you know, try to not make Madoka cry?"

Madoka exhales. "Thanks, Sayaka," she says, quietly, and squeezes her friend's hand.

"Oh no, I'm … I'm so sorry!" says Homura. "I - I didn't mean…"

"There, there," says Sayaka, patting her on the shoulder with her other hand. "It'll be fine. And I'm sorry to spoil the fun. It's a good fun act, but you should get to know people better before you start putting them into your games without asking, all right?"

"but… but… It's not a game!" says Homura. "I really am from the future! … well, like, one month into the future. But it was a really, really scary future."

"Seriously," asks Sayaka.

Homura nods affirmatively.

Nanami rolls her eyes. Wakaba listens attentively.

"There was a … a big witch, it's like a horrible magical monster thing, and it blew up half of downtown, and Tomoe-san and Kaname-san were the only magical girls who could fight it, and they both … " She pauses for a moment, eyes closed, and clutches at her heart. "It was really bad, okay? A lot of people got hurt."

"Really," states Sayaka.

"Yes," says Homura.

Nanami's expression shifts to something horrified. She's probably still under the impression that Homura is crazy, but feeling bad for the crazy person.

"Okay, okay, then, well. If you're a magical girl," asks Sayaka, "prove it. What kind of magic can you do?"

"… Okay, I'll show you," says Homura. "Everybody watch, and, prepare to be amazed!"

Homura transforms in an instant, into exactly the costume that you'd expect, which is to say, it's not a very impressive little transformation. As she does so, a muted color drops over the world around you. Everything turns faded blue and white, and everyone just stops moving, except for Homura (who has her hand on the small round shield on her arm) and you.

Homura smiles, striding confidently away from the center of the group — towards you and Hitomi — then notices you.

"What?? Hitomi, w-why aren't you … what?!?"

Ryouko sighs. "Okay, first of all, I'm not Hitomi. Second, what are you doing?"

"I stopped time!" explains Homura. "I t-thought you were supposed to stop with it … unless we're t-touching each other! W-why aren't you s-stopped?"

What, thinks your girl. But she carries on.

Time stop? That's … unprecedented, I think, you observe.

"Thank you for explaining that, but I meant, what are you doing, giving a demonstration? What are you doing, talking about it? Magical girls are kinda supposed to be a secret. Do you know what kind of trouble you can get in? Because honestly, I don't, but I'm pretty sure it's also very scary."

"T-trouble? W-with who?"

Ryouko sighs.

"Aaah! I-I'm so sorry! I… I'll stop…"

"No wait!" says Ryouko, a moment too late.

Homura de-activates the shield on her arm, and time abruptly resumes, to a small gasp from the crowd.

Hitomi places her hand over her mouth in surprise.

"Oh, goddess," says Ryouko.



> cry internally


There's a hole in the Masquerade! I wonder what happens if we keep picking at it?

[ ] Teleport away, praying to Madoka that the Incubators spare you.

[ ] … and steal Homura's bag, hoping there's a cell phone in it​

[ ] Telepath Homura, demanding her silence, then call Mami-senpai in.
[ ] Take charge, attempt damage control by swearing everyone present to secrecy.

[ ] People who tell the secret get disappeared! Let me demonstrate.​

 

[tomoyo]

If we don't do something to stop this, it can only get worse, you opine. You outline a fantasy of getting their attention and diverting them to a conversation, ideally at lunch, in a more controlled environment.

But how exactly? wonders Ryouko. It's not exactly a question for you; it's rhetorical.

Well, if we're in a hole, I guess the first thing is to stop digging.

Your girl thinks on that a moment.

Akemi-san, Ryouko telepaths to the girl, what's done is done, but could you please calm down? This secret is bigger than you, or even you and Madoka, and this situation is about to be out of control.

She looks at you with wide eyes. It's possible this is her first encounter with telepathy, besides Kyuubey.

"Well then," mutters Nanami. "Wakaba. I think I'm …. actually convinced. Is this a trick? Should I be not convinced?"

"…. WOW," says Wakaba, rushing over, "I don't believe it that's so cool oh my god this changes so many things, oh my god, can I look, is that a magic crystal? oh, just, wow… awesome…" She takes Homura's hand to look more closely at the diamond soul gem.

They're convinced. You can un-transform, sends Ryouko, and maybe ask them to keep a secret.

She obliges, perhaps a little shocked by the level of attention she's experiencing.

It's your own fault. See how it feels when you're suddenly the center of attention? You should apologize to Madoka, later.

She nods, slightly.

"W-wait, what…" stutters Sayaka. "This has to be some sort of a trick. An illusion, right? Right, Nanami?"

"Akemi-san?" Madoka asks, tentatively. She doesn't say anything else; it's like she's just trying out the name.

Yuuka is just standing there with her mouth open.

"Akemi-san," asks Ryouko. "Are you the transfer student everyone's talking about?"

She nods her head Yes.

"So I know this must be all … beyond everyone's wildest dreams," says Ryouko, "certainly beyond mine, and I really do want to see how it turns out, but I am sensitive of your time. You all must have school starting very soon, and I don't, and I don't even have phone numbers, and I'm afraid that I'll be left —"

"Ryouko-chan," says Hitomi. "Here! You can borrow this." She offers you her phone, smiling. "If it says Mama or Papa, or Home, just ignore it, and I'll tell them it was in my bag."

"… Oh. Are you … are you sure that's okay?" asks Ryouko. She's considering the implications of a physical token that serves as access to a person's communications.

"Well, I trust you to return it, and besides, these girls are the ones who usually call me anyway."

"… Okay," says Ryouko, still a little awed. She's a little surprised to hear the return of the object as the potentially questionable part. "If you're sure…?"

"Ryouko," says Hitomi, reiterating her name, "Papa always reminds me that the Shizuki family name is built on a reputation, and that reputation is for honesty and plain dealing. So if ever I were in the same place, I hope that someone would be willing to take a chance on me, too." She has a very aspirational look about her.

Wait. Is that flattery, or is she just trying to guilt me into bringing it back? wonders Ryouko.

Possibly both? you suggest. A statement like that works on several different levels, really.

"Right," says Ryouko. "Is lunch at noon? We could meet somewhere outside — or on the roof maybe? The roof would be perfect."

Hitomi tilts her head to the side in consideration. "… Half 'til, actually, but the roof might work! If not, we'll call you."

Sayaka considers a moment. "Wait, wouldn't that …"

Hitomi makes a gesture to her, holding up her right hand, and Sayaka stops talking.

Ryouko takes the opportunity to make a small scene. "Akemi-san!" She bows to Homura, making a bit of a show. "I promise I will keep your secret safe!"

"Me too!" says Yuuka. "I promise! Cross my heart!"

There is general agreement on the matter. Even Madoka speaks up in agreement, and seems to be feeling a little better.

"Akemi-san," says Hitomi. "I'm a class representative. I can show you to the main office, if you'd like?"

"Oh, thank you kindly," she says, "but, I already know the way, and —"

"Akemi-san," she says, reiterating the girl's name once more, "won't you let me show you anyway?"

"… Okay." She nods, with emphasis.

"Okay, then, I'll see you at lunch, Ryouko-chan," she says with a smile, "and the rest of you in class. We'd better hurry, or we'll be late!" She waves, and heads off with a big bright smile.

Ryouko waves in reply.


> Praise Madoka, that actually pretty much worked

What should you and Ryouko do until lunch?
[ ] Contact Tomoe Mami-senpai
[ ] Look for a uniform no one's using
[ ] Seek out a public information terminal
[ ] Scout out the town on foot
[ ] Hunt demons
[ ] Hunt bunnycats
[ ] Play with Hitomi's phone to learn more
[ ] Disassemble Hitomi's phone to learn most
[ ] Play cat's cradle with the ribbon

 

[tomoyo]

[12] Contact Tomoe Mami-senpai from somewhere quiet

… She's not there, observes Ryouko.

What? Both Homura and the other girls recognized her name. And her hair, apparently.

Yeah, well, she's not there or she's deliberately hiding and not listening, your girl replies.

Okay. Well. Just when everything was going smoothly.

[7] Attempt research on phone
[6] while waiting for Mami

Okay, let's do some preliminary work on that phone, at least…

You two find a quiet spot on the greenway with a park bench and fiddle around, soon discovering a list of Hitomi's contacts, including:

• Home
• Mama
• Papa
• Papa's work
• America
• Grandma
• Kaname Madoka
• Miki Sayaka
• Tenjou Wakaba
• Nakumara Nanami
• Shiina Yuuka
• Kamijo
• Nakazawa
• School
• Hospital

You skip the thirty-some-odd people at the bottom named someone-or-another-sensei. Extracurricular tutors?

… I forgot to get Homura's cell phone number, laments Ryouko. I guess that's the price of managing the crazy.

What exactly does it mean to call "America?" you wonder.

Some sort of relay? proposes Ryouko. Because the networks aren't integrated properly?

Maybe. Can we try something? Dial Hitomi's number. I want to try making a call without actually disturbing someone else's phone.

She types it in.

What do I do now?

Green button, of course.

You're a little surprised to get an answer at all. Ryouko is very surprised to hear it.

"Welcome! You have No New Voice Messages. You have Nineteen Saved Voice Messages. Main Menu! To hear your Saved Messages Press One Now!"

Okay, turn it off. Red button! you prompt.

What the hell was that?!? asks your girl.

An offline messaging system? Ugh, dialing your own number for that … I guess that works, but ugh, such a terrible design.

No, I understand that much, I meant the voice! That was really creepy!

Oh. Ah. They, haha, they don't have text to speech capability. It's just a bunch of audio clips they string together.

Good goddess, that was creepy. I thought we'd get old time robot voices like in a movie.


About ten minutes of fiddling and known-plaintext attacks later, you spot a pattern.

No. No way. It can't possibly be that simple. This is just sad. Even for 2011 they should know better.

Well, their loss is your gain.


Okay, you tell your girl. Good news, I think I've figured out enough so that you can be Hitomi's phone.

That's … weird. Bad news? asks Ryouko.

It's just that, just impersonating Hitomi's phone. We'd show up on the systems with her ID. Which also means she can't call us, the routing doesn't work that way. And I can't imagine the systems would be happy with two of the same phone on the network. It should be okay as long as we're in the general area but even then I can't predict which one would ring.

Ryouko sighs.

[3] Play cat's cradle with the ribbon
(I'm so proud of you guys.)

Okay, you're too tense. It's not doing us any favors. Try to relax, you tell Ryouko. It's a beautiful day. We're in a lovely park. There are trees – birds! Flowers. Possibly even bees, somewhere. The bounty of nature.

Your girl apparently has an irrational fear of small flying poison sting drones, even if she's rationally aware that they can't do a thing to her.

Fine. Play cat's cradle with the ribbon, or something, you propose, irreverently.

Wait, the ribbon! Where did I … Where did it go?!?

… What?!? Did you drop it?

I was just holding it behind my back, and then I…

She checks her pockets in a panic. 13 grief cubes. Soul gem decoys.

Ryouko… you realize. It's in your hair.

Ryouko's hair has reconfigured itself with a ribbon. The style brings in a small amount of hair from either side of the head together into a central pony-tail, which is then free to join the rest of the hair. It's woven into the braid, rather than being tied.

Oh thank the goddess.

Ryouko… why. whyyyyyyyy.

… You said! You said ribbons are for hair, not hands!

Do you think they noticed.

I don't know?!?

A priceless, peerless, irreplaceable holy artifact paid reverence by millions of magical girls across the stars, and Shizuki Ryouko just accidentally puts it up in her hairdo, while people might have been watching.

The people were distracting me! she objects. Wait... does that make me like Homura version 2 or something?

… I think Homura is Homura version 2, that other Homura is version 1, and I really have no idea who you are.

Goddess, Clarisse, time travel makes you snarky. Maybe you should go be Hitomi's tac-comp if I'm such a bother. And I'll be the … phone, or something.

You decline to discuss the finer points of early 21st century notification system interface capabilities. That would be crude, and uncharitable besides.

Oh, but Ryouko darling, you know you're the only girl for me.

Ryouko gets up. Fine then. Relax, you say. I'm going for a walk. She leaves the ribbon where it is.

[3] If free after Mami meeting seek library
[4] Seek out a public information terminal
[3] Scout out town on foot
You briefly outline the results of various tactical go-for-a-walk simulations, the risks of attracting unwanted trouble, and potential benefits of restored information network access.

I thought you wanted me to relax look at birds and things, she said.

Okay, sure, that too.

The birds are plainly colored but their songs are delightful; they bring back memories of hikes on alien worlds. Of course, in a way, this is another one.

Ryouko notices a flash of motion, in the bushes, and steps over to investigate. Still on edge.

Terrestrial wildlife? you suggest.

She steps over.

"Oh. Oh no," says Ryouko, aloud.

A bird lays stretched out dead on the edge of the path. The wing-feathers are stretched out in a fine display but the poor thing's belly has been gnawed on. Ryouko crouches down to look at it.

There is a pathetic meow from the bushes.

A cat! you remark. Ryouko can just make out its form through the foliage. It's a small black cat, possibly a juvenile. A stray cat? Or, wait, even if it's a pet, I guess…

It killed a baby bird! says Ryouko, briefly regarding it as more of a monster than the squid.

Your girl is something else. For all the bloodlust, for all the combat she's seen, she still carried that little bit of sweet innocence. You're a little sad, to see it lost like this.

Maybe it was just hungry… you propose.

The kitty gives a pathetic Meow again.

Ryouko realizes that sooner or later finding food is going to be a problem for her, as well, especially if they use a Capitalism here. She stands back up, and walks over to a bench, and tries not to cry.

I don't like the twenty-first century.


> give Ryouko internal hugs

Ryouko is on course to find a library or something.
[ ] Resume after a minimum of distraction
[ ] Try to pet the kitty
[ ] Try to find food for the kitty

[ ] Crunchy birdses. Juicy birdses.​