[X] Plan Yeah, Just Spell It Out For Us Strange Witch
"Wait!" Kirika's anguished screams tear your mind away from the fight that stands before you. "Don't go!" What? "Please, don't leave me Oriko! I'll be good! I'll behave! Promise! Just please... Don't leave me like this..."
You don't understand. Walpurgisnacht is right there, right in front of you, but Kirika is screaming to an apparition of Mikuni Oriko that isn't there. No, you do understand. The Walpurgisnacht in front of you is no more real than the Mikuni Oriko in front of Kirika that you can't see. It must be some ability of the witch, or a property of the labyrinth, that's making you see these things.
Walpurgisnacht... The calamity which heralds the end of each of your repetitions; the enemy you can never defeat... And Mikuni Oriko abandoning Kirka... It must have something to do with the Tarot cards you and she drew earlier. But what? Is the witch showing you visions based on what cards you drew; or did it use those cards to divine what would be negative visions likely to break your spirits? Or is it something else entirely?
"We're withdrawing for now," you say to Kirika; she doesn't respond to you. She's fallen to her knees, her eyes bloodshot, her body shaking. She's in no condition to fight. "Snap out of it!" you yell to her. "It's not real! They're just illusions! That's not really MIkuni Oriko!"
"She's gone! My Oriko's gone and she left me and I'm all alone!"
"Get a hold of yourself!" Your voice still fails to reach her. The image of Walpurgisnacht looms over you, its penetrating laughter as loud and as real as it's ever been to your sense of hearing. Even if it is an illusion, you don't know if it'll still be able to harm you. "Everyone, we're pulling out for now!" you call out to the pair of servants accompanying you. Assassin and Berserker take their leave of the single-room labyrinth, and with Kirika unable to bring herself to her feet you have no choice but to drag her out with you.
The deck of cards encased in the block of ice i still burning as you exit the labyrinth. "Master, what was all of that back there?" Assassin asks. "Berserker and I saw nothing, but you were frozen in fear, and Berserker's master was sobbing uncontrollably."
"So, you didn't see anything?"
Berserker shakes his head. "Assassin and I saw the same darkened room with drawn curtains the entire time we were present in the labyrinth. As far as we can tell, only you and my master saw anything." Berserker's eyes stare at his master, who is still sobbing helplessly on the ground, unable to stand even as you try to coax her to her feet. "What did she see?" he asks. "I have never seen my master so distraught before, not even when her legs were missing."
"From what I heard before she broke down, I'm pretty sure she saw Mikuni Oriko breaking up with her."
Berserker nods; "That would do it," he's no doubt thinking to himself. "And what of you?" he asks. "What did you see that had you frozen solid in fear?"
"I saw the witch that will be arriving in a week," you say. "I saw Walpurgisnacht."
"What are we to do now, master?" Assassin asks, approaching you with care, so as not to accidentally risk brushing up against Kirika. "Neither I nor Berserker could see anything, not even the witch; but you and Berserker's master were immobile before the illusions of the witch."
Kirika is likely to remain useless for the rest of the night. Unfortunate; for someone with as much potential as her to always be stiffled by circumstance, be it the loss of her legs, her insufficient mana supply, or her crippling dependence on Mikuni Oriko. There isn't much else you can do, but to say "We'll fall back for now, and come up with another plan when we have the chance." You need to think of a way to get past the witch's illusions; or perhaps you could only send in those of your teammates who wouldn't be affected by them.
But you don't even know what else this witch might be capable of.
Nagatsuki Miyuki might be useful in getting past the witch's illusions; you seem to recall her having the ability to see through them; but what if she isn't strong enough by herself? Tomoe-san, Kyouko, and MIkuni Oriko are all also carrying their own burdens, and for all you know they might be rendered just as broken as Kirika if they were forced to confront some powerful negative image brought forth from their minds lain bare by the witch's divination. Then, if Nagatsuki MIyuki weren't enough, you could potentially be placing one or more of your allies in danger by asking them to go in with her.
You can iron out the details shortly. Right now, you think the priority should be on getting Kirika in a healthy state of mind again, as she's the only one leaving the labyrinth with any lasting harm from the witch's illusions. Or at least, what passes for a healthy state of mind for her.
You have no other choice. You breathe in deep. You have to be the best sister you can be.
You kneel down beside Kirika, bracing yourself for the possibility that she'll reject you. You move before she has the chance to, though, wrapping your arms around her as tight as you can. "It's okay, sis," you say to her, as she buries her head into the crook of your shoulder. "I'm here for you."
"It's not fair! She was right there and she told me she didn't love me anymore!"
"I know," you say, rubbing Kirika's back with your hand. "I know. But the real Mikuni Oriko still loves you, and when you see her again you'll be able to love her as much as you want." Your words do little to comfort Kirika. "Are you and Kyouko busy right now?" you reach out to Nagatsuki MIyuki, hoping the one out to this witch on the team will be free.
"Kind of in the middle of something here," is the response you get. "Can it wait?"
"Yes, but also no. Kirika and I found a witch; it's not doing anything, so it isn't something we need you to urgently take care of if you're busy, but it has incredibly strong illusion powers and we need you because you're the only one who would be immune."
You're almost sure you can hear a sigh from Nagatsuki Miyuki. "I'll see what I can do when we're done here, but this one isn't going down so easily. You and Kure are going to have to be on your own until I can make it."
You aren't sure how long you wait like this, with your arms around Kirika as you do your best to comfort her, before Nagatsuki Miyuki arrives with Kyouko in tow. Her eyes glance around at the scene you've created- Two puella magi locked in a tight embrace, your servants standing around with nothing to do, and a deck of Tarot cards that is both on fire and encased in ice at the same time. She crosses her arms, and taps her foot against the ground as she asks you "So, care to tell me what happened her?"
"When Kirika and I went into the labyrinth, we found an empty room and a table with those Tarot cards," you say, pointing to the frozen-burning deck of cards lying on the ground. "We thought if we drew one, it might make the witch appear. It didn't. I thought we'd take the cards outside of the labyrinth to see what happened, and they burst into flames as soon as I let time resume. When we went back in to the labyrinth, we walked into the witch's illusion magic. I saw Walpurgisnacht, and Kirika saw MIkuni Oriko breaking up with her."
"I see." You know Nagatsuki Miyuki hasn't been a puella magi for very long; strange happenings like what you've just described probably aren't things she's had the chance to become accustomed to yet. "Um..." She crouches down, offering a few pats of her hand on Kirika's back. "There there," she says; you're not sure by how much her heart is in her words, but at least it's an attempt.
"So, ya called us in 'cuz ya couldn't deal with this shit on yer own?" Kyouko asks. "Izzat it?"
"Specifically, we needed Nagatsuki Miyuki because she's the only one of us who would be immune to the witch's illusion magic."
Kyouko rolls her eyes, but says "A'ight, long as I don't gotta do any more that's fine by me. Means more practice fer the new girl, right?"
"This after I did most of the hard work in taking down the last one?"
Kyouko "Pssh"es Nagatsuki Miyuki's complaint, responding with "That cat-looking thing would'a torn ya a new asshole if I hadn't burned its face off for ya."
"Okay! Thank you! Again!" Nagatsuki Miyuki huffs as Kyouko berates her. She draws her pistol from a holster at her waist, while at the same time calling her sword into her other hand. "Let me just get this over with so we can call it a night. I just hope it's weak enough for me to handle this on my own." "I hope Mikuni and Tomoe are having better luck than these two..."
[ ] Wat do?
