You take a long look around this part of the Barrier - a huge glass dome arcs overhead, suspending a single, enormously bright source of light directly over the Witch. The Witch itself is a huge wooden thing, planks and spars and scraps stuck together haphazardly in a rough egg shape, resting on the slightly raise plinth above the floor. The floor itself is a glossy, white plasticky thing, and the same nauseatingly
organic, sulphurous stench as the rest of the Barrier hangs in the air.
You'd hesitate a guess that this is an incubator of some kind. Heh. You're fighting inside an incubator.
You glance at Homura and Mami, smiling at them. Mami returns the smile, while Homura glances at you, faded lavender eyes holding yours for a moment, a faint frown gathering in her eyes. you gesture to the side in a wordless apology, and she nods slightly.
"Well, there's the Witch," you murmur, reaching out for the swarms of razor shards under your control, dissolving them into Grief. "Let's do this."
Mami takes a step forward, glancing back at you again. You give her a reassuring smile, and she faces foward firmly, steeling herself before taking off at a run, sprinting sideways with her hands outstretched, golden ribbons wrapping into a musket. Almost as if that's a pre-determined signal, Homura bolts in the opposite direction, a machine gun of some kind dropping into her hands.
Wings of corruption explode from your back, and you leap skywards to the sound of the deep, booming coughs of musket fire and the vicious chatter of machine gun bullets. The wooden egg shudders under the onslaught, and it only takes a moment for the river of firepower to chew through the flimsy structure.
A gargantuan shape explodes from the egg in a wave of clear, sticky slime. Throbbing red veins web throughout a tremendous yellow sac, huge, all-black eyes floating within it, and with a gurgling heave, it surges forwards and
upwards at you atop a pillar of clear, sludgy fluid.
Your wings fold, and you
dive. Egg white -what else could it be?- splatters after you, and you roll to the side, the chatter and roar of gunfire stitching holes through the Witch and shattering the glass of the dome, spiderwebbing it with cracks
"Sabrina! On your left!" Mami shouts. You immediately roll in midair, one wing sweeping in front of you in a defensive shield. Just in time. Heavy, clawed bone axes down towards you in a hammerblow that drives you backwards in the air.
The bony limb whirs back, withdrawing into the yolky body of the Witch. Its midnight black eyes roll wildly, each skidding independent of the other across the surface of the yolk.
You slam into the ground, dropping into a smooth roll. Your wings gouge trenches into the ground and you whirl to face the Witch, longcoat snapping around you and both wings sweeping up in a defensive barrier.
"Grenade!" a voice calls - Homura.
You brace, and there's a wet,
concussive thump that rocks you backwards, an enormous bubble boiling to the surface of the Witch and popping to release a stomach churning, burning smell, mixing with the already sulphurous stench of the Barrier.
You're off again, sprinting from the Witch at speeds only puella magi can attain, the enormous egg gurgling after you, streaks splashing across the pristine glass of the Barrier. Jagged bone limbs seem to sprout at random, slamming down at you with enough force to pockmark the floor as the Witch races after you. It seems to particularly hate you, for that stunt with the Familiar earlier, maybe?
"
Tiro-" Mami's voice, ringing out clarion-clear. "
-finale!"
The enormous shell splits the air with an enormous boom, the shell passing clear through the Witch.
The Witch flies apart messily, yolk and white splattering over glass and plastic with wild abandon.
You grin fiercely, waiting for the Barrier to start dissolving.
It doesn't, and you meet Mami's eyes in confusion, across the opposite side of the shattered egg. Her eyes suddenly widen in surprise. "Sab-"
You whirl on the spot, hands already coming up. You can
sense it - the Witch gathering itself behind you, a huge, stinking mass blobbing up behind you. "
Dissoluzione-" You bear
down with your will, hands rising in tandem.
"
-bianca!" you thunder,
ripping away the Grief that makes up the Witch. You rend away the very fabric of the Witch, wisps torn away in great plumes that leave behind naught but ash spraying across the Barrier as the egg-like substance collapses. You can
feel the moment the Witch dies, the form losing cohesion under your will.
The Barrier begins fading, its structure wavering and dissolving under the crush of reality flooding in now that the Witch is gone. The Grief floods inwards in torrents, pouring down into a single point, the Grief Seed falling to the ground with a faint click.
You, Mami, and Homura find yourselves
inside the house now, looking at each other. It's dusty in here, a few faint footprints on the ground. A weathered old backpack sits against the wall, a few empty plastic bottles and wrappers strewn about the tiled floor. There's an area slightly clearer of dust, surrounded by innumerable smaller footprints. You suck in a grateful breath of air - even with the dust, the air out hear is considerably better than that inside the Barrier.
You look at Mami and Homura, finding yourself unable to
quite meet their eyes, now that the fight is over and the adrenaline is fading. "So, well. Um." You struggle for words for a moment, before finishing, lamely, "Sorry. I... guess I'm not exactly MVP today." A fraction of your attention focuses on folding your wings back into marbles, the tiny spheres coalescing out of the fabric of Grief and filing back into your sling bag.
Mami takes a step forward and catches you in a tight hug. "It's alright. It's not your fault, Sabrina."
Looking over Mami's shoulder, you see Homura look faintly annoyed before she sighs, walking forward to clap you lightly on the shoulder. She has to reach up a little to do so, and she says simply, "Don't do that again.
Either."
"I'm sorry," you repeat yourself. "I really should have thought properly."
Mami separates herself from you, stepping back. "It's just... we weren't ready for that, Sabrina," she says. "It was... too sudden, and we were expecting to find a
Witch..." She grimaces, looking down at the floor.
You sigh. "Yeah, I need to figure out a way to see if I can fix that... maybe try and
change the way it feels or something? Because... I can do a
lot that way."
Mami nods. "We can work on it," she says. "But you have to be
careful, Sabrina. Y-you, back there, you..."
"I
will," you say insistently. "Nothing's going to happen."
Mami just nods again, looking away.
A rustle of cloth is Homura picking up the Grief Seed, and she holds it out to Mami quietly.
Mami shakes her head. "N-no, you should keep it, Homura," she says.
Slowly, Homura nods, sliding the Grief Seed away into her shield.
"Oh, that reminds me," you say, fumbling in your pocket. You withdraw the Grief Seed that Homura gave you earlier - you
used it, technically, but your Soul Gem was clean, so it's technically also unused. You hold it up to Homura. She reaches out for it, before hesitating and stopping. "Keep it," she says softly.
"Alright. Thanks, Homura," you say, slipping the Grief Seed back into your pocket. "Um, shall I cleanse your Soul Gem?"
Wordlessly, Homura holds her hand out, presenting her Soul Gem to you. You draw away the Grief from the the lavender Gem, taking the time to siphon the Grief out of your own and Mami's Soul Gems.
You let the Grief drawn free circle your upraised finger slowly, a deep purple cloud that's barely visible in the dim light filtering through the filthy windows of the abandoned house. "I... do you mind if I try something?" you say tentatively. "I know, I know, but just, while everyone's here..."
Homura nods, a faint frown on her face, followed by Mami.
You frown, focusing on the Grief circling your hand. You want...
a cube that doesn't feel like anything but a Witch. A headache grows in the back of your head, a pounding migraine that steadily ramps up in intensity until you stop. The pain ebbs almost immediately, and you sigh, looking up at Mami and Homura.
Mami gives you a concerned, solicitous look, and even Homura seems slightly worried, studying you closely. "Didn't work," you say. "Was just trying to see whether I could at least
change the sensation, but..." you shrug.
"We can work on it," Mami says firmly. "But I think we should all go home and rest, now."
"OK," you agree. "Unless there's anything else? Homura?"
She shakes her head, already turning to head for the door. "No."
The door swings open at a touch, unlocked, and you leave nothing behind but footprints in the dust as the three of you walk outside, the cool night air a welcome relief. Homura turns to look at you before she goes, and you give her a smile and a wave. "See you tomorrow, Homura," you say.
"See you," Homura agrees. She hesitates for a moment before adding, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Homura," Mami says, smiling a little. "See you tomorrow."
Homura bobs her head again before turning and walking away, breaking out into a run a moment later.
"Shall we head home?" you ask Mami.
"Yes, let's," she agrees.
You follow her as she takes off at a lope - you'll hop up to the rooftops when the rooftops actually permit it.
"Mami?" you call, the words almost snatched away by the wind.
"Sabrina?" Golden eyes look back at you.
"I'm sorry," you say again. "I'm so sorry for making you worry."
Mami slows down, indicating that you should too, and she turns to you. "It's... I wish you could be more careful, Sabrina," she says, giving you a soft smile. "But... as long as you're here... it's alright."
You return the smile, even as your heart sinks a little. "I'm fine, Mami," you gesture at yourself. "And I'm here to stay."
She nods, blonde hair-drills bouncing with the motion, and she steps forward to hug you. You close your arms around her, letting her draw comfort from you. A moment later, she steps back, and gestures wordlessly down the road.
You nod, and take off at a jog, Mami following behind you.
"Umm... Sabrina?" she calls out, a moment later.
"Yes?" you ask. "Uh, by the way, rooftops?"
"Yes, I think so," Mami agrees. "Umm... you used '
Dissoluzione bianca!' earlier..."
You chuckle to yourself. "I did!" you say cheerfully, swerving into a convenient alley. You coil your feet under you, and
leap, bouncing from wall to wall to ascend to the rooftop.
Mami touches down on the rooftop a heartbeat later. She gives you a pleased smile. "Um, well, thank you."
"Thanks nothing, Mami," you say. "Though, uh, it's a bit of a mouthful," you say sheepishly as you walk to the edge of the roof, squinting at the next building over.
"Oh," Mami says. "Sorry."
"No, no," you say, stopping and turning to face her. "I like the idea! Just... maybe something shorter? We can brainstorm something together."
The growing look of worry fades into a smile. "Oh! I... I'd like that."
"Well, sometime soon, then," you say, nodding firmly. With that, you turn, and bound over towards the next building, Mami following you.
Eventually, you reach home. The scent of dinner still hangs in the air, savoury and mouthwatering. You shake your head ruefully, grinning at Mami. "You know, dinner was amazing," you say to her as you take your shoes off and tuck them neatly into the shoe rack.
"You cooked too, Sabrina," Mami says, returning the grin with a little smile as she takes her own shoes off.
You move into the apartment, dropping your bag off in its usual place and plopping onto the sofa. "Yes, but the gyoza were fantastic."
"I think the okonomiyaki was better," Mami says, walking over and sitting beside you, pressing up against your side.
"Well,
I think the gyoza was better," you say. "Hmmm... should we make some tea?"
Mami gives you a look that says that she knows you're changing the subject. "That would be nice," she says, getting up. She looks down at you, a questioning look in her eyes, and you hop lightly to your feet, smile fixed firmly on your face.
It doesn't take too long before you and Mami are settled back onto the sofa, each holding a warm, fragrant cup of green tea.
[] Write-in
=====
Here's a reference image for the Witch. Uh,
probably not safe for for appetite. Or if you really,
really like eggs.
