To make people actually remember, here's it once for posterity: Minako is nonbinary and uses they/them. This message will be pinned so you people stop getting it wrong and pissing me off. If you get it wrong in the future I'm going to be much less nice, considering you have to scroll past it just to read the quest.
Also, we do have to figure something out and vote for it, so someone has to be the one to, like, bite the bullet and put together the phrasing for a vote?
I kinda fucked up big time there, so someone else might want to take a crack instead.
All right, everyone. We have the beginning of an argument and a vague idea of what we want for a plan. We just need to refine both and bring them together.
I fear be very well be up to me. If not to create the final vote than to get things going.
Alright, here goes.
[X] Mom, you love me. I get it. You'd rather I be anywhere but here and that's fine. But this is the end of the line. In a few hours I'll be dead whether or not I'm fighting that thing. And we just hit it with our best shot and it's not even slowing down. But we are. We're getting drained every second we fight it and there's no way we'll defeat this thing before we run out of energy. You have to let me help out because otherwise you, me, and everyone we love are gonna be real dead real fast.
-[X] The Plan: You figure out a way to get me close enough and I use my power on it. It's a risk, but conventional attack is doing jack and shit, and this is our only new angle of approach. This thing's strong, but I'm pretty sure it's also confused and hurting. I'm not saying I can shut it down completely by myself, but maybe I can weaken it, have it expose a weak point so we can actually hurt it. Unlike now where it's just taking everything we have on the chin to no effect.
-[X] What's left unsaid is that this is the Incubator's plan at base. While you don't trust the fluffy bastard as far as you can throw him he had a point in that the conventional attack doesn't seem to be doing much. And, god, this thing's clearly hurting and you do also need to stop it. You're doing this because it's what you think you need to do, not because some furry energy technician is calculating that this'll raise profits by 2.3% next quarter.
[X] Mom, you love me. I get it. You'd rather I be anywhere but here and that's fine. But this is the end of the line. In a few hours I'll be dead whether or not I'm fighting that thing. And we just hit it with our best shot and it's not even slowing down. But we are. We're getting drained every second we fight it and there's no way we'll defeat this thing before we run out of energy. You have to let me help out because otherwise you, me, and everyone we love are gonna be real dead real fast.
-[X] The Plan: You figure out a way to get me close enough and I use my power on it. It's a risk, but conventional attack is doing jack and shit, and this is our only new angle of approach. This thing's strong, but I'm pretty sure it's also confused and hurting. I'm not saying I can shut it down completely by myself, but maybe I can weaken it, have it expose a weak point so we can actually hurt it. Unlike now where it's just taking everything we have on the chin to no effect.
-[X] What's left unsaid is that this is the Incubator's plan at base. While you don't trust the fluffy bastard as far as you can throw him he had a point in that the conventional attack doesn't seem to be doing much. And, god, this thing's clearly hurting and you do also need to stop it. You're doing this because it's what you think you need to do, not because some furry energy technician is calculating that this'll raise profits by 2.3% next quarter.
-[X] I won't die. I promise.
You stand up. You can't just sit back. You've never, ever, ever been able to. You wonder if it's 'cause your parents were bad at it, too.
Your mom made a wish for selfish reasons. She told you what it was. But she turned it into a belief. She turned it into a drive. She saved lives and made a city of death into a haven for hurting magi. Even after the battle with the Glow, it's still over fifty strong, more than any magi group had ever grown.
Your mama did much the same. But after an awful first year, she became a paragon for good. A raging scream against a world that tried to break her down. A world that took her mother and sister away. A world that filled her soul with grief.
And then...then there's you.
You, who made a wish because your mothers, brave as they are, couldn't bear the thought of losing you.
You, who took a risk because you were terrified of being left in the dark.
You, who wanted to save lives.
Your name is Minako Miki-Sakura. And you have a job to do. "Mom. You love me. I understand. You'd rather that I be anywhere else. I truly, truly get it. For the first time in my fucking life I think I get it. But now? There's no safe place. In a few hours, everyone will be dead. This is the end of the line. There's nowhere safe."
Your mom opens her mouth to reply, but then she stops in her tracks. She makes a sharp intake of air, a sidelong glance, and a harsh clenching of her teeth. Your mama moves ahead.
"I took a risk with them against that Walpurgisnacht back in the city. I think-"
"You were still there, Kyouko," your mom interrupts. "You were still there to protect them." She turns to face you. "And I can't be there. If this winds up draining us..."
[=]
Sayaka Miki-Sakura stands up straight. "Fall back! Fall back!"
A group of magi about thirty strong immediately begins to step backwards, their souls gleaming in the snowstorm. The ice laps at their heels, rips into the air, freezes the lungs. Sayaka can see her soul gem turning grey, power and strength turning to lethargy as the group tries to move backwards.
Langstenacht leans ahead, arms outstretched.
A magi weapon is launched at its face; a volley of ballista bolts ricochets off of its head and into the air behind it.
A greatsword the size of a building is launched into its chest. It grapples onto the blade and shatters it with a singular crush.
A spear from Kyouko wraps around its body. The witch grips the chain with her bare hands in an attempt to pull it apart.
But then, at the very base of Langstenacht, Sayaka Miki-Sakura raises a single cutlass. It's not aimed at anything; it's an old cutlass, designed less like her new ones and more like the one she used when she was fourteen.
She squeezes the trigger and a single blue streak flies through the air. It's bright, very bright, and the plume of smoke that billows from it is thick and powerful, powerful enough to be seen from a mile away.
Which is exactly what she was intending.
[=]
"It'll drain you," you say. "I care about you too! I made a wish because I fucking love you!" You shake your head. "We'd be getting drained every second we fight it. It's already a Walpurgisnacht. And this time it'll make us weak just by being too close!"
You shoot your head towards Yuki.
He shakes his head. "I'm pretty much certain it will drain our gems."
You turn back to your moms. "Then we have to take care of it as soon as we can. Because if we can't kill it? Then everyone we love and care about is gonna be dead. Now ain't the fucking time to be scared for me!"
[=]
Minako Miki-Sakura's knuckles whiten as they watch the blue streak. They can see Langstenacht in the distance. They are at the edge of the field, the very end of the city. Kasamino's citizens are in the field. They don't want to know what Langstenacht will do to the people watching.
And with any luck, they won't need to.
They're standing in a bus. A single city bus that was stolen off the streets. It is sitting in a large tube. A large, rifled tube.
[=]
"What we need is a way for me to get close." You take a look around. "I mean...I have no idea what it'll be like but...there's gotta be a way."
[=]
Beside them is Takane. At the back is Mami Tomoe, holding a pistol. She has it readied, one hand on a seat.
The bus begins to glow yellow as magic flows through it.
[=]
"I don't even know if I can shut it down. But if I can get close? If I can get close to it, weaken it, maybe get it away from the city, then we can buy time. But I have to try using my power."
[=]
This is such a bad idea. You shouldn't have argued with your mom...but then again, if it wasn't now...it would have happened at some point.
Incubator wants you to launch yourself at Langstenacht. Of course it does. It's a suicide mission. A big, dumb suicide mission. You would have to be an idiot to do it. All so that Kyubey can make a little more power next time for a nebulous, impossible goal. Human suffering for a gain that your kind is not allowed to see.
But now is not the time for restraint. You aren't here to raise the profit margins of the Incubators.
Your name is Minako Miki-Sakura. You are riding a bus that has been converted into a giant bullet.
[=]
"Besides...if we make it out of this?" You smile to your mom, even though she's visibly on the verge of tears. "I'll survive. I promise. We'll make it through this."
"Mina..." Your mom stares at you. Her eyes are watering. She can't even look at you. "I...just stay out of it as long as you can. When things get bad..."
"Mom." You smile. "I ain't a kid. Well, I am, but...I think I can make the decision. Just...
"Just trust me, okay?"
Your moms reach in to hug you as tight as they can manage.
Your mama is a blubbering wreck. She's not even bothering to hide her crying as she grips you tight. Your mom, on the other hand, just holds you. She squeezes her eyes shut, keeps you close, keeps her head over your shoulder.
She shakes her head.
"Okay." She breathes out. "We'll...we'll start the assault. But keep hold. When I give you the signal...you can go."
You, Mami, and Takane are launched from a cannon at incredible speed, the bus rocketing forward, rolling like a rifle bullet should as it screams through the air.
Langstenacht has no time to prepare as you rip into the side, as your bullet-bus splits the ice-cold. It makes contact with Langstenacht, right at its lower jaw. The tip of the bullet-bus is sheared away, the top torn off by teeth and the lower half shredded by momentum. The bullet tumbles through the air, flinging the three riders off wildly as Langstenacht is thrown sideways.
A quick look down shows the Mitakihara magi blinking away; a quick move by Homura to get everyone out of range as quickly as possible. You look to Kasamino; your strike moved Langstenacht out of range of the city, but you have no idea how long that will last. You rear your hand back.
The handle of a bat materializes in your hand. But that's not good enough right now. You rear your hand forwards, pull it back. The bat balloons in size, first to the size of the bullet-bus you were just in, then to a skyscraper. The air parts behind you, the clouds parting as Langstenacht turns to face you.
On instinct, you read it.
Your head feels like it's about to split wide open. You scream in pain as soon as you even try; the power of Langstenacht's abilities against yours is too much. It's way, way too much.
You feel the screaming of hundreds of souls in agony, of power beyond your imagining, of people in pain that never stopped being in pain. You shake your head and let go of Langstenacht's emotions.
You can't get to it yet. There's nothing to latch onto in this mess of human souls. You can't imagine how long they've been in there, how long they've been torn from their bodies, their families, their lives.
You have to find something to latch onto.
[] Latch onto the old souls of Walpurgisnacht. [DIFFICULTY 4] (These entities have long since forgotten what humanity was like)
[] Latch onto the old identity of Walpurgisnacht. [DIFFICULTY 4] (This entity does not exist anymore)
[] Latch onto the new identity of Langstenacht. [DIFFICULTY 4] (This entity believes you an abomination)
[] Latch onto Lady Rin, The most Recent Soul. [DIFFICULTY 4] (This entity ruined everything.)
[X] Latch onto the old souls of Walpurgisnacht. [DIFFICULTY 4] (These entities have long since forgotten what humanity was like)
Or Rin maybe? Seems like it might be easier to remind someones about being human or get through to the Cult leader than deal with something that doesn't exist?
So let's see... All of these have the same difficulty up front, but I'll eat my hat if things are narratively "weighted".
I'll throw my hat behind
[X] Latch onto the old identity of Walpurgisnacht. [DIFFICULTY 4] (This entity does not exist anymore)
Yeah, she's been dead for decades now. But the concept of Walpurgisnacht has weight. A hundred worlds burned because of the Queen of Witches, indirectly or not. Besides, Wally is interested in stories (tragedies admittedly), and everything being wiped out by a random Lanky Schnapps isn't all that interesting. At the very least, she'd want to draw things out.
My first instinct is to go for Walpurgisnacht. The evil we know (even if not the evil Minako knows). The old Walp has a sense of fair play, for what it's worth. Otherwise it would spam invincibilitiy all day.
If not that, maaaaybe Rin, but I somehow don't read her as someone who would have regretted her actions just because she got grinded to death and absorbed. Maybe if there was anything not-monstruous about her character that we could work with.
And all it feels is pain. Horrible, twisting, nightmarish pain. A decades-long sleep torn asunder by the actions of another. An earth-shattering migraine caused by a usurper, a young witch who burrowed into its soul, unwelcome and unwanted. The curtains had closed. The show was over.
Rin tried to latch onto Walpurgis and it didn't work out for her. Maybe because it's just too big. Of course, Minako won't try to just swallow the Witch, but is communicating with it really safer? When it's so massive, its thoughts can just quash you?
Rin seems to me a safer bet. She's the only one who's actually known to Minako, she's the newest addition to the collective. So they have more chances to find each other, she has more chances to pull herself out, hopefully toppling the Witch.
As she said, "I will make a mistake - Minako never was my adversary - Heaven Sent You To Me".
[X] Latch onto Lady Rin, The most Recent Soul. [DIFFICULTY 4] (This entity ruined everything.)
...That's assuming her grandstanding actually means anything and she's something more than just a delusional tool, a literary device to set Minako's journey in motion. Otherwise, rely on her will be silly...
