Mami's reaction gives you pause, and the sheer, monumental
impact of what you've done begins to sink in. You have just done the
impossible, and-
Oh, god.
Oh,
god.
Kyuubey.
Kyuubey is going to be very,
very interested in you, isn't it. And Kyuubey-
Your hands are shaking.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths. Calm. Inhale blue, exhale red.
Less freaking out, more calm.
"I- hey, it worked! Thanks, Mami!" you say, trying for nonchalant. Off to the side, Madoka and Sayaka are looking rather worried at the dual freakout they'd just witnessed.
Mami gives a choked laugh, palming her face. "Sabrina, you don't understand what you've done, do you? Grief seeds are the most important resource a magical girl can have, since they're the only thing that can clean our Soul Gems and restore our powers. And... you've just made them obsolete."
There's more to it, you know. But you don't ask, for now.
"I- I know, Mami," you reply, mostly lost for words. "Still, it's a good thing, right?"
"It definitely is!" Mami says, smile returning. "Anyway, Sabrina, maybe you should see if you can apply your magic offensively?" She's changing the subject, but you can accept that.
You find a smile coming to your face in response. "Certainly."
Your focus returns to the little mass of Grief floating above your left hand. It's... you
know that you can reshape it as you like, and it's liquid, solid, or gas, as you like. You curl your fingers, and it warps through various simple shapes: sphere, pyramid, cube. Your other hand comes up, and the Grief reshapes itself into a little statuette of Kyuubey.
Mami chuckles. "That's quite a good rendition, Sabrina. But we still need to hunt that Witch... I'll give you a little room, ok?" She wanders off, and sits down next to the other two to watch.
You dip your head, slightly abashed, and reshape the Grief into a small, thirty centimeter long blade of Grief. You're already controlling it at a distance, so... You swipe at a conveniently placed old car with the hand manipulating the Grief.
The blade flickers out, and carves clear through the rusting steel in a spray of sparks. The cut edges glow a deep purple that's almost black. The colour rapidly fades, and you swing again, twirling on the spot as you do. This time, you bisect the car lengthwise, and you instinctively finish the twirl in a half crouch before taking a long hop into the air. As you fall, your bring the Grief down again, now reshaping it into a simple plate that you smash into the car from above.
Metal shrieks as it's crushed into the ground, completely pancaking the car. Again, the parts that had been in contact with the Grief glow a deep purple that dissipates rapidly.
Clapping reaches your ears, and you glance over at your little audience. Both Sayaka and Mami are clapping enthusiastically, and Madoka is beaming at you. "That's amazing, Sabrina!" Sayaka calls.
You chuckle, and brush your hair back again. You're not sure how to deal with the praise.
You quickly return to your testing, though, and reshape the Grief into a simple sphere again. You push it away from you, snaking it among the piles of junk, trying to see what the limits of your control are.
Twenty meters.
Forty.
Sixty.
Eighty
A hundre-
You lose control of the Grief at a hundred meters away, and you can
feel it try to maintain its coherence, to
consolidate, before it dissipates. It simply spreads out, like a mist the vanishes in the morning sunlight.
You scratch your head. "Ah... I've lost it," you admit to the others with a depreciative chuckle. "I guess that's my range limit, then."
But you're still not done yet, and so, you look at your own Soul Gem. There's a
very thin film of corruption on it, making the white look slightly grubby. Well, that's unacceptable, and so you yank the corruption out. In your right hand, you manifest your weapon- a medieval warhammer, with a blunt end and a spiked end.
You look at the Grief hovering above your left hand, and at the warhammer on your right. You'd thought maybe you could combine the two, but the newly-there puella magi instincts are silent. You... don't think there's anything to combine there, and your warhammer is just a hammer. A peculiarly light-feeling hammer that's remarkably well balanced, you note, hefting it carefully and giving it a practice swing. But just a magically enhanced hammer.
"Ah... I think I'm done? I can cleanse gems, and use the corruption as a weapon. And I have this hammer here," you address Mami tentatively. "Unless you have any suggestions for me to try?"
"Hm..." Mami rises gracefully to her feet. "Well, maybe another time? The Witch won't wait for us forever, you know."
3
[] Write-in
- [] Hunting time
- [] A few more ideas?
=====
Y'know, Mami's a veteran puella magi in her own right. She was
perfectly willing to threaten to kill Homura in Episode One. I'm not rendering a verdict, but it's...
interesting, don't you think? Threats, or deeds?