[X] Talk with Kishi.
-[X] Tell Kishi that she is not a monster and tell Kishi firmly that she is your best friend, and nothing is going to make you stop caring or seeing her in a different way.
-[X] Hugs.
[X] Talk with Ariane.
-[X] Tell Ariane, that was not Evelyn, she is not like that, and all the things that she was saying are all the witch fault, we are not monsters, we are the heroes.
-[X] Hugs.
[X] Plan for your strategy with this witch.
-[X] Ask someone to watch for Evelyn while other two fight.
--[X] Ask Ariane to stay.
-[X] Charge up shield.
-[X] Enter the barrier.
You turn to face Ariane and smile softly at her despite feeling horrible about the situation at hand,
"W-we'll have go and kill the witch again… We can't let it just stay there spreading its influence to other people."
The girl looks down, seeming to be unwilling to answer this. She is clearly shaken about everything that has transpired here this evening, from the witch's onslaught to Evelyn's possession. You close your eyes for a bit and try to calm yourself. You need to stay calm to assure her, even if you are honestly not feeling like that yourself.
You take a step closer to the girl and pull her into a hug with yourself. She doesn't object to the gesture and you start caressing her hair gently, partly to ease your own stress and partly to offer her solace too,
"I-I know all of that sounds h-horrible… B-but that was not Evelyn talking! S-she isn't like that..."
You pause for a moment to think. You have know Evelyn for about a week now. It feels like forever, but is not that long when thinking about. Witch kiss or no, was this how she actually felt about you?
"...A-all those things she said, they are the witch's fault!" you say and chuckle inwardly at your thoughts. If she didn't want to be your friend, she would have said so by now,
"W-we are not the monsters… We are Magical Girls, the heroes! D-don't let this make you think otherwise…"
You probably sounded like some sort of cliched anime protagonist there, a thought that makes you smile a little despite an effort to suppress it. However, it seems to do the job as Ariane nods in your embrace and whispers back,
"I… I understand that, but… it is still not nice to hear things like that from her."
Truth is not nice.
"I know," you answer truthfully,
"I never wanted to hear things like that in her voice… B-but now, we need to go and clean this mess I left us in. A-Ariane, please stay here and watch over Evelyn. I-it is not safe to leave a tied girl alone on the streets, so it is better if one of us watches over her while the rest fight the witch... I-I'm sorry, this must sound a weird thing to ask but I can't think of anything else…"
Ariane grasps your hand and slowly pushes you out of the hug. She stares you into eyes with an unsure expression on her face,
"I'll do it… I'll do it, but please… Promise me you two will come back alive and well!"
You sigh and close your eyes for a second,
"I-I… I promise you, Ariane, so don't worry. W-we'll be back before you know it!" you exclaim and smile as confidently as you can at her. It is probably a bit unconvincing, but Ariane nonetheless nods at you and moves to pick up the tied body of Evelyn, intent on finding a safer place to stay in. The tied girl wiggles a bit against her restraints, but can't offer much resistance against the strength of a transformed Magical Girl.
You are making promises your kind of weakling can't keep.
You mouth 'sorry' at the tied girl before jogging to stand before Kishi. You unceremoniously proceed to draw the girl into a hug with you. It feels weird to hug her when she's transformed like that, as the robotic body is hard and doesn't give in under your arms like a normal body. You don't let this fact bother you too much, instead putting more power behind the embrace to make sure she can feel it.
Something reaches out of your Soul Gem, pushing towards Kishi.
She doesn't certainly seem to mind as she hesitantly raises her hands to rest on your arms wrapped around her body. You let your smile falter a bit now, the effort to keep yourself not dwelling on Evelyn's words becoming increasingly more difficult. However, this is not the time to dwell on such things, and you start talking quietly to your friend held in the hug,
"Kishi… You are not a monster."
This does bring your memories back to the time you first met each other. She called herself a monster there too, didn't she? It is quite clear that particular part must have struck her especially bad. You continue your reassuring speech with increasing confidence and will to help your friend,
"However, you are my best friend! N-nothing… Nothing is going to stop me from caring about you… Nothing is going to make me see you in a different way!"
You push more of your strength to the hug and finish with your voice almost a whisper,
"S-so please, don't think of yourself any different just because of that… You are Kishi, my best friend and a good person! Not a monster... S-so come on, we have a day to save!"
Kishi grasps your arms more firmly and lays them down to your sides, before breaking from the hug.
'I-I know...' she tells you through telepathy,
'b-but it still h-hurts... W-witch or no, I-I can't just not think about E-Evelyn saying that to me...'
Kishi shakes her head under the hoodie,
'S-still, we need to k-kill that witch! W-we can talk after it's g-gone again... L-let's move, t-there's no guarantee it w-won't kiss other people if we just w-wait here!'
You nod at Kishi, happy to see at least some of her determination returning to her despite all this. However, it is true that you cannot exactly keep standing on the street and do nothing. You swing your left arm to the side and start gathering the white energy to prepare for this battle. The winds pick up around you in a small localized gale, as the spinning lines hit the maximum amount. Kishi on her part simply summons her rifle and turns to look at the house containing the barrier.
You look at Ariane with a small grin and quip at her,
"D-don't worry, we'll be back before you know it!"
Without giving her a chance to talk back, you and Kishi bolt towards the building to finish off the witch. It is easy to find the entrance to the barrier, the red ripple in reality easily recognizable against the grey concrete of the abandoned building.
The barrier's interior has changed considerably. While basically similar to the even floor of the second floor of the previous one, the airspace is now filled with more of the thread-filled spools and the lines of red curtains from the first floor. Several of the textile move around, making it difficult to get a good visibility but leaving clearly enough room to jump around or for the witch to fly between the gaps.
However, the witch remains fully visible this time, perched on a convergence point of countless golden ribbons easily over a hundred meters above you. However, even from this distance you can make out the seam rippers that form the creature's legs grasping on the lines of ribbon criss-crossing through the air. The scissor beak has become even longer and the edge is jagged. Curiously, the silk that makes up the witch's skin is now tattered and flaps around in non-existent wind and giving you the impression of the creature being on fire.
[Tamiko dodges: 88 vs 98]
[Kishi dodges: 32 vs 86]
The witch doesn't waste any time getting in the first attack, as the floor bursts open and around you dozens of needles shoot towards your position. Even with the surprise factor, you manage to dodge most of them, with only one of the living tools glancing your side but getting rebounded by your armor. Kishi doesn't fare as well as you, and she gets pierced by several ones through her stomach.
Much to your relief, Kishi seems more annoyed than anything else and she rips the threads going through her to shreds by materializing a spinning metal blade from her torso. It easily cuts through the thick red thread before disappearing inside Kishi's hoodie again in a cloud of rust-colored dust, leaving her with full mobility again.
[Kishi attacks: 70 vs 31]
You look up to see that the creature has jumped off its makeshift nest and is gliding towards you with increasing velocity. Kishi takes to chance to aim her rifle and unleashes a volley of fire upon the fully visible witch. Its wings and body gets pierced in several places. Even if it makes no noise, it is clearly at least moderately hurt from the hits as it glides slightly to the side and behind a moving curtain that completely obscures it from sight.
Around you, the ground starts shifting again.
Tamiko shield charge: 100/100
What do you do?
[] Write-in a plan.
===
Well, that stretched out a bit from what I intended...
Holy shit that's one slick witch. How did it pull a kiss off without the meguca's noticing.
