You close your eyes and exhale. Yeah, no. However much as it would make things
convenient, it's Mami's choice. You have absolutely zero right to take the choice away from her, as a friend, as her partner, as a decent person. No matter how much you think it would be better for her. And you can only imagine the hurt it would cause her if you
didn't tell her,
especially on the heels of Kyuubey.
"
Mami? Homura?" You reach out once more with telepathy, the mental connection stretching all the way to Mitakihara Middle School, half a city away.
"
Sabrina? What is it?" Some of the tension must have bled through your mental voice, because Mami's response is immediate and serious, the usual playful air completely absent.
"
We're being tailed by unknown magical girls - Kyouko thinks there might be as many as four of them, but I also suspect it might be the Soujus mucking around with the Soul Gems they collected," you respond, starting to pace on the soft loam underfoot. "
Kyouko brought us into a Barrier, and they're waiting outside."
"
I'm on my way," Mami says.
"
I- ah," you say hurriedly. "
Mami, you don't have to? We've got a plan to counter-ambush them, and I was just letting you know because I didn't want to keep it-"
"
I know, Sabrina," Mami says, her voice warm. "
I understand. I know you'd prefer that I stay at school, but... I can't, Sabrina. Not when my friends are in danger, or if you're
in danger. If our positions were reversed, I know you'd do the same for me."
"
I..." You swallow, fighting the impulse to apologize, because she's right. You
know her, just as much as she knows you, and from the moment you'd started this telepathic call, this was always going to be the outcome. "
OK."
You consider raising the fact that it
might be a misunderstanding, that
maybe the Soujus are here for peaceful reasons. It's
possible. But it rings hollow as a reason for Mami to
not come to you. Not in the face of her certainty, her determination to be by your side.
"
It's just one day," Mami says. "
They won't make too much of a fuss, Sabrina. Alright?"
"
Alright," you say softly. You choose to believe Mami - the Japanese school system can be ferocious, you know that much, but it's a matter of trust. Mami says it'll be fine, and so, you believe her, and that's that. And if there
do turn out to be any unexpected issues, then you'll help her figure it out. "
Thank you, Mami."
"
You will," Mami says. Her voice turns more business-like. "
Homura, I'm sorry for talking over you. I take it you'll be staying at school to watch over our friends?"
"
Yes," Homura says. "
Be careful, Sabrina, Mami. If I'm needed... tell me."
"
Thank you. In that case..." Mami says. "
Ah, Sayaka's clones?"
"
Yeah," you say. "
That was the plan."
"
I'll link up with her on my way, then," Mami says decisively. "
Counterambush... as you finish the Witch, correct? Where are you?"
"
Yup, and we're out west of the old industrial district, at, uh, the corner of-" You rattle off the address. "
And yeah, counter-ambush. I left it to Kyouko's planning, and she wanted to keep it simple."
"
That's the best way, yes," Mami agrees. "
Alright. I'll be there in eight minutes, and I'll let you know when we arrive, Sabrina. Stay safe."
"
I will," you say. "
I promise."
"So, she's coming," Kyouko says, exactly as you end the call.
"Well. Yeah," you say, glancing up at her. She's still balanced on the wooden trellis, well above your eye level, so you have to tilt your head pretty far back to look at her. "Honestly, I didn't really expect to convince her otherwise, but I
was hoping. She'll be here in ten minutes."
Kyouko snorts, squatting down and peering down at you, spear cradled in the crook of her arm. She stares at you for a long moment, expression unreadable.
"Well, that makes things easier for us," she says, finally. "Cool."
"And, uh, I gotta undo this clone," Sayaka says. "Sabrina, heads up?"
She tosses you her collection of power gems, and you nod at her, tucking them safely in your pocket.
"See you in a bit," Sayaka says, and unravels.
"Right," Kyouko says, eyeing the drifting cloud of mist that's all that remains of that clone. "Let's go find the Witch. Timing oughta be about right, and Mami'll let you know when she's arriving, right?"
"Yup," you agree.
"Right. Yuma, you ready?" Kyouko says, rolling her shoulders as she stands.
"Mmh!" Yuma agrees, shouldering her mace with a slightly nervous smile.
"We'll be fine, Yuma," Kyouko says, patting her shoulder reassuringly and handing her an entire chocolate bar. She sighs, producing another and tossing it into the air, catching it with the same hand as she eyes you. "Call it two minutes, and
you don't bother holding back against the Witch. No more practice time when we've got trouble waiting outside."
She flips the chocolate at you, and you nearly fumble the catch, earning a scowl from her. Still, you
do manage to snatch it out of the air, and shoot her a grateful smile as she pulls out a third one for herself. You take a bite, enjoying the nougat center, and... well, it's a peace offering, you think, along with those pretzels earlier.
Come to think of it.
You... hadn't seen Kyouko snacking at all this entire morning. Not until after your entire spiel about being a dork, at which point she'd started powering through an entire bucket's worth of various tidbits with Yuma. Which was probably what Sayaka was elbowing you about.
In any case, you're forced to eat at nigh-Kyouko speeds, demolishing the bar in a few bites - because it's time to go.
By silent agreement, all three of you explode into motion, Kyouko and Yuma taking off at a dead sprint with their weapons ready. Your wings billow forth at a thought, Grief drawn from hammerspace rather than contesting the Witch for it, and you take to the skies with a leap.
The walls loom large ahead of you, plasticky, half-translucent material forming what you can now see is a vast, arcing ring. Said walls are also under siege, even
larger strawberries heaving themselves out of the ground on squat, quadrupedal legs and hurling themselves to splatter against the walls.
Of course, the moment you start tearing through the Familiars, the Witch reveals itself, the very terrain groaning around you as it rips itself free of the ground, tree-trunk-sized roots slamming into the ground to bear upwards a titanic, woody millipede which proceeds to bodily hurl itself at the walls in slams that echo through the entire barrier.
"
We're in position, Sabrina," Mami murmurs into your mind.
As it turns out, the Witch might have been more of a fight than you'd expected, if you were still limiting yourself to using your hammer - you don't exactly have the kind of attacks that would
work on something the size of a skyscraper. You catch Yuma as she's hurled in your direction by a whipping root, and then you bury the Witch in a storm of Grief blades.
You rip through the wooden flesh in a heartbeat, coring it through with just a flicker of a thought. You
could have tried simply dissolving the Witch with Grief control, but you're not particularly in the mood to try and match it in control at the moment, because you have more pressing issues to get to.
The Barrier crumbles. You brace, and pull your Grief in close. Kyouko snarls, spear ready, Yuma lighting up green.
Reality shivers.
And as the Barrier fades, you have just a moment to orient yourself. Cold and humidity. Concrete underfoot, concrete overhead. The smell of oil and metal and exhaust. A carpark. Mostly empty, faded paint peeling from the walls and a hundred pillars in neat arrays all around you. Not abandoned, but not oft-used, either. The patter of rain, distant and constant.
The boom of Mami's musket.
You're moving before you finish processing the sound. Above. Ramp for cars there. Stairwell
there. All too slow.
You hurl yourself backwards and out into open air and freezing rain, wings blooming wide. A single thundering beat, and you're shooting upwards. Two floors, three floors, four-
there. The roof. Blossoming gold and cerulean blue.
Flaring white and ruby red.
A singular opponent, impossibly fast. Faster than almost any magical girl you've ever seen. You catch glimpses of a dress in white and red, of a high ponytail and sharp blue eyes.
Fire blazes forth from her, incandescent, strobing in the colours of her costume and somehow
more.
Ayase and Luca Souju. Two souls in a single body. And many,
many more in her shadow, moving with her.
Mami's a blur of motion, cream and vivid gold amidst the rain as she twists and dodges, always one step ahead. Sayaka flickers in and out of existence, there and gone again with her sword in hand to threaten the Soujus. Hit and run, never lingering as fire splashes in her wake. Invisibility from Yuko. Smart.
And over it all, laughter.
"
Magnificent!" the Soujus roar to the heavens. "Show me
more!"
Mami's eyes flick up to meet yours, a brief flash of warmth before she's moving again. But it's enough for the Soujus to notice you, driving Mami back with a burst of flame as they whirl on the spot to stare at you with wide eyes.
A grin splits their face.
"There you are," she whispers, almost rapturous.
"I-"
And that's as far as you get before you're forced to swoop over an inferno blazing in red and white.
[X] Fight back
- [] Try to talk her down?
-- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
- [] Subdue first, talk later.
=====
Heh. I've honestly been looking forward to this for a while.
