111/Grasping for the Object of My Desire: Witch Hunt Part 2

Grasping for the Object of My Desire: Witch Hunt Part 2
Date of Scene:	30 June 2015
Location:	Penguin Public Library
Synopsis:	WitchHunter Professional Services has its first official clients take on a Witch! But strangers join, and things take an unfortunate turn.
Cast of Characters:	Homura Akemi, Hannah Sharpe, Runealy Waldia, Mamoru Chiba, 53

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Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Recent news of a suicide has temporarily closed Penguin Public Library, the haven for students everywhere. The details are sparse thus far, and mysterious: the victim in question, a librarian, had no known mental health issues.

But those sensing magic would know better: the deepest stacks of the library now holds residence to a Witch's Labyrinth. Some initial scouting has shown the Familiars created by the Witch are rather weak, and thus, Miss White of WitchHunter Professional Services has chosen this particular target to be the first Witch Hunt of her first clients.

One is a short, bespectagled green haired girl. She wears what appears to be a hoodie and green cargo pants, and has what appears to be some sort of magical shotgun. The other, a tall, orange-haired girl in what appears to be a variation of Infinity's school uniform and an oddly curved dagger. Both nervously huddle together.

The green haired girl takes a deep breath. "We can do this, Koko." She says to the orange one.

"Y...Yeah. It'll be a snap, Kiku."

Miss White sighs a little bit, clutching Raging Tempest.

"That is enough chatter, kids. Remember the rules: stay alive, use me for cover, and protect each other. If you die, there getting a Grief Seed is useless. Run away as fast as you can if I bite it, I will use a Barrier to hold anything off." Is the general plan.

"Otherwise, we need to see what we are up against. Ready?"

The trio, and anyone hired along for the ride, would then be able to step into the first room of the Witch's domain. Walls and floors seem to be made of books, and an open book seems to pass for a door beyond.

Miss White pauses, taking a long breath as the feelings of despair and terror flow through her. They pass just as quickly, the woman more than able to push them aside by now after her studies.

Kiku, the green haired Puella shudders. Koko, the orange haired one, hugs Kiku. Both seem to need a minute.

"Deep breaths, Kiku-san, Koko-san. This is natural. That is /not/ your terror. Just the Witches. You will get used to it." She urges on the pair.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura gets a message from Hannah. Time to get to work. This will be the first time Homura works alongside Hannah as an official employee of WitchHunter. It's... important, but she also expects it to be just another day. She considers calling a few friends, but she doesn't. She leaves them behind.

A few minutes later, Homura is exiting the black sedan that Hannah came in, trailing behind the two newer Puella Magi and taking a moment to size them up.

Can they really handle this? Well, Homura will have to make sure they survive. Before one has experts, they must first train newbies.

As Homura reaches for the front door of the library, two shadows appear behind her. Their gleaming soul gems betray their natures as Puella Magi.

"Going somewhere, Homura?"

Without turning around, Homura addresses the two of them. "Masako. Basu. What brings you here?"

Basu, a blue and pink-clad Puella Magi, steps forward. She's not japanese, looking more Indian in nature. "Homura, why are you hunting Witches without us?"

"This is a bit complicated," says Homura. "It's not just a normal Witch Hunt. Besides, the others haven't met you yet."

"The others?" Masaka speaks up this time, stepping forward to show her black and gold robes, holding a shining scythe. "I thought we were a team, Homura. Don't you trust us?"

Homura pauses for a moment. She has to think for a long time before answering. "Okay, fine. You can come, but don't interfere. Keep in mind, this isn't just about collecting a Grief Seed. Watch out for the newbies. Don't let them get killed."

Masaka grins slightly, sayings, "So we're good enough to watch out for newbies, huh? I guess that means we've graduated."

"Don't get cocky. That will get you killed." says Homura turning to look Masaka dead in the eyes. She turns around, pushing the door open. The other two look at each other before following her inside.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
The last several days have been an emotional whirlwind for Runealy, who has had the chance to learn more and more about Puella Magi and their struggle. Her understanding of them still hinges around an edited version of the truth, and thus contains many errors or omissions... but it was still enough for her to reach a decision. In her mind, Puella Magi appear to have the hardest job in Tokyo. She can't make it better, but she has been trying to make it 'less bad.'

Yet she had hoped for a short respite from those concerns in coming to the library today. Hinote had introduced her to this place, and there was something that held her interest here. Relaxation and learning will not come though, as she winces once close enough to the closed building. "This feeling... just as awful as every other time." She sees Amaya head in, and that's enough to seal the decision to also go in.

Yet something else grabs her attention, as she sees a black vehicle letting people out. "Hn? I don't know those two, but... Miss White... and..." Homura? Surprise registers on Rune's face, plain to see. "I guess she's still working with Miss White." That puts recent conversations with Homura in an interesting light. Now she's much more worried.

"Can't just ignore the situation, though..." Tense, Rune ducks out of view to transform. She emerges shortly thereafter, wand in hand as she hurries to follow the group heading into the Witch Barrier.

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Lucky for Amaya, she started to feel just a tiny bit of terror as she strolled in front of the library. Another good thing about it, she knew it wasn't her own terror. She never got scared for any reason unless her life was directly in danger, or she was being chased by a horde of people. The horde of people never happens though.

    With that, Amaya starts to enter the library, and notices a car pull up behind her as she walks in. She notices Miss White at that time getting out of the car, then rushes inside not wanting to be recognized by the other woman.

    After entering the library, Amaya starts to wonder around until the fear from whatever is causing it is starting to make her shake a little bit, but she closes her eyes, and shakes the fear out of her head as she continues to push on to look around. At least she managed to bring her bo staff with her this time, or to where ever she plans on going this time just in case something happens like when she got her ribs broken, which are still slightly sore...

    Amaya's staff is wrapped up in fabric, so that she can carry it around a little bit easier.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Watching from the shadows inside the library, out the window as the car pulls up and toward the door as people begin to enter, Tuxedo Mask remains motionless and out of sight. His own mind on as much of a lockdown as he can muster, the psychic waves of despair and hopelessness are a dull roar in the back of his awareness, blessedly categorized as external and shut out; his observation is of today's combatants.

Miss White he expected. Homura with her, he did not; though he'd had a discussion with Miss White regarding the efficacy of allying with Puellae if hunting Witches, he has no idea what sort of agreement they came to that would prove beneficial enough for Homura to agree.

Interesting.

Additions: two girls he's never seen before. The two girls who were with Homura when he first fought a Witch. Then there's the princess who's not his princess, and... it's willpower alone that keeps the masked boy from actively starting to worry. The girl who Homura gave a golf club to, carrying what looks like it's probably a big stick. Coming into this on purpose without any magic at all--? Well: she handled herself well last time, and perhaps she's gained a few more tricks since then. Or maybe she got magic. Or maybe that's a really great stick.

He keeps to himself, unmoving and silent, a fixture of the darkness.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
The arrival of the other two Puella causes Miss White to pause, visibly frowning.

"Friends of yours, Akemi-san?" She comes lightly. Thankfully, she's not so full of vinegar right now that she'd chide the Puella. Yet.

She shakes her head. "Alright, might be overkill, but the more the marrier. Just get one thing straight you two: the spoils here are already accounted for. This is a /job/. So follow the ground rules: watch out for each other, stay alive, and do what your elders say. Fail that and any bets are off on you not being Witch food."

She waves them on in, then nudges Homura as they're in the barrier.

"Consider them your employees for now. Or, more accurately, unpaid interns." She whispers to Homura.

Thankfully the two girls were too nervous to notice Amaya, and she was /just/ out of range of Hannah's 'sight' as she ducks away when the group enters. Even if one doesn't follow them, it should be easy enough to follow feelings of unusual fear and despair in the air to that invisible Barrier.

Similarly, even if Runealy opts for the stealthy method of following along, it won't be hard to catch up: especially with Kiku and Koko needing a breather from the intense feelings.

A quick hug between the pair, some reassuring words, and the two friends follow in Hannah and Homura.

The area beyond is more of the same: books stacked upon books, tables half-way stuck in the ground at odd angles, pieces of paper floating everywhere on some unseen and unfelt wind. There's sobbing in the air, screams, and unintelligble rants coming from a series of book-stairs leading up to a central platform. EAsily the size of the real second floor of the library, a shadowy, human-sized figure sits at a desk. It jams scissors, and pens dripping with some kind of caustic ink, frenzied and crying.

Almost as soon as those present step in, the creature halts. With a howl, it tosses four books in the air, and the pages rip out! Floating around, they form into a half dozen paper-mache animals! One bear, four geese, and one...squirrel? The paper-animal-Familiars rush for the group, with the exception of the bear, hanging back protectively near its creator.

Hannah motions to one of the downed tables. "Kiku, get some cover! Koko! Stick with Homura! Cut anything that gets too close!"

The green haired girl does as asked, scrambling over to one of the tables, and taking a knee. Two of the geese go for it! With a well-placed shot, a burst of wind blows back the pair of creatures. One of them is missing its head, and falls inert. The other keeps on going! Hannah rushes in, punching a hole through the Familiar, which dissipates.

Two geese rush for Homura! Koko stays out of her firing line, but otherwise is close enough to jump in and slash if the geese get too close.

That squirrel, however, has surprisingly big teeth, and tries to bite her! Koko slashes at the creature, the duo trading teeth-and-knife blows rapidly! She's holding her own, but just barely!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
On a suspicion that thinking of his princess to bolster himself might actually, in this maelstrom of desperate angry hopelessness, draw undue attention to himself, Tuxedo Kamen retreats even further behind the walls of his mind he built so long ago. He blanks his surface thoughts the way he does when in kendo practice, he lets the winds of rage and despair wash past him, only tracking the girls as he slowly edges closer in the darkness.

He's not fighting; it might not notice him. This is a library: his comfort has always been books, and perhaps even in a Witch's labyrinth that's already claimed the life of a librarian, the books still know him.

Closer, ever closer, until he's just in range of pulling people out of 'too close for comfort' if necessary: he's watching the interactions, he's analyzing the dynamics. They might not need him; he might not be noticed; he doesn't expect this to last or hope that it will, hope is a bright light he doesn't want to risk casting.

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Amaya makes her way around the Library, and eventually finds herself on the other side of the barrier. She is then suddenly hit with a large amount of fear, but her pride allows her to keep her footing, and the will to defend others if need be.

    Thanks to last time, Amaya knows that size isn't everything, and magic is.. She switches hands with her cloth covered bo staff, and reaches into a small pocket, pulling out of small stone..

     Amaya hears what is going on, but came in at a different spot on the barrier. It doesn't take her long to figure out where the action is coming from as she peeks around a book shelf, watching the action for a moment. Her instincts tell her to rush in and help out Koko, and in an instant she sheds the fabric from the bo-staff. The staff itself is hard, treated, and has seen plenty of action, but has been re-treated in the spots with small cuts in it. She obviously has trained with it in more ways than just swinging it around.

     "I got ya!" As soon as she starts rushing in, the stone emits a very bright light and turns into a mirror and cards, falling to the floor. "Woops!" She stops for a moment, looking to Koko, then down to the Mirror. She is out in the open now, which can't be good. "Eh..." She quickly crouches down to hide the mirror and cards from view, then starts to run off back around the corner from where she came. "I'll be right back! Promise!" She hopes no one follows her as this might take a moment to figure out...

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura's group shows up to the barrier a bit later than Hannah and her two employees, thanks to Homura being held up by the conversation. When she finally does show up, she answers Hannah's question with, "Something like that. This is Masaka, and this is Basu. They're from out of town."

When Homura and Miss White are close, Homura whispers, "Sorry about this. I recruited them before you hired me. They followed me because I didn't tell them what I was up to. I'll try to keep them out of the way." Homura /is/ a bit embarassed, but she doesn't really have time to explain things, either.

Homura looks up at the giant monster of a Witch. Basu takes a moment to wave at Hannah's new recruits, hoping a bit of friendliness will ease the tension. Masaka isn't really paying attention to anything but the Witch and her familiars, and she's rushing ahead of the group.

"Masaka, be careful!" shouts Homura, warning her.

"I know what I'm doing, Homura!" the scythe-carrying Puella insists. As the two paper mache geese come towards Homura, Masaka intercepts them, attacking them both with a wide slash. She deflects their blows with her magical weapon, laughing with each strike.

Masaka fighting style reflects a decent level of skill, but she's too aggressive, not paying enough attention to her own defense. Basu uses her own powers, causing puffs of cotton candy to appear and rain down over the offending geese, becoming sticky with the intent of making it hard for the Familiars to move.

Masaka takes the opportunity to race past the geese, headed straight for the bear.

Homura's eyes go wide, "Dammit, Masaka!" The time-traveling Puella Magi does nothing at this moment. She's too worried about friendly fire.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Princess Runealy seems largely unaware of Tuxedo Kamen, pacing on in hopes of finding Amaya and staying near her. She at least manages to catch up with the group in general, taking a sharp breath while proceeding through this bizarre mockery of a library... a mockery in which folded paper can become animals; one more sign that you can expect pretty much anything in a Witch's Barrier!

Fear takes hold, but she forces it to stay controlled... using it as an urge to guide her actions, to stay toward the rear of the group. With all the close-up fighting going on, her wand is used to fire thin energy beams rather than its usual 'explode into sparkles' projectiles; Runealy doesn't want to risk hitting allies. And so she stays back, lashing out with thin red rays at the squirrel in an effort to help Koko. Tunnel vision is a strong force right now, and she fails to properly keep track of Amaya dashing off as a result.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Thus far, Miss White doesn't seem to notice anyone, engaged as she is with beating up Evil(er) Geese. But Kiku is a little more able to observe! She doesn't quite get full view of Tuxedo Kamen, but raising her hand, another shotgun appears in her right hand. She aims it for the darkness of the doorway.

"I...is someone there!?" She calls out nervously. As the Librarian Witch tosses more animals at Miss White!

"Eyes up front Kiku! That thing is only summoning them from its books!

BLAM! BLAM! Two more wind-shotgun blasts, and there's a little less pressure on Hannah. Kiku gets up, and advances to another table. Fire-and-move, with the physical warrior that is Miss White covering her. They might be new, but Kiku and Koko seem good at following their sempais.

Koko chances a glance backwards as she kicks, cuts, and slices at the damn squirrel, even as Homura and her twin Puella Friends both get the Familiars gummed up with those weird pink puffs, and then scythed down...literally! This gives Koko enough time to back off from the Killer Squirrel! And Amaya is rushing in, another magical girl to help out!?

A magical girl who imediately picks something up, and runs away.

"...What in the actual...Ahhh!" She's quickly turning around again, as Masaka runs off!

"H...HEY, THAT'S DANGEROUS!" The young puella yells out, only to be forced back by more squirrels! Thankfully, Runealy comes right in, energy beams flying towards the horrid squirrel mob now assaulting her! They help, and a good half of them are burnt up by the combination of energy rays and the fire now racing down that knife of Koko's! Miss White glances their way, then to the magical girl.

"...Bah! Homura, reign in your idiot, I need to save our client! Kiku? Covering fire on the bear!"

Miss White is over to Koko as well, punching out more squirrels! With three magical girls on the job, it doesn't take /too/ long before they're all vanquished, but the pile of creatures has definitely slowed their progress.

The bear looms, roaring out, and two massive paws aim for the scythe-wielding robed girl! A wind blast from Kiku has the creature staggering back, but she's just too out of range to do real damage! Yet, still an opportunity for the scythe girl!

The Witch, being a Witch, chooses now to flick out more pages. A trio of snake-Familiars slither out, seeking to run beneath the Bear, and snap and bite at the ankles of the girl! Those fangs drip with a horrible poison, black and burning into the book-floors.There's no way Miss White or even Kiku can help from this threat!

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There are also a lot more paper being thrown around, three more geese assaulting those not rushing ahead with Masaka!

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Amaya did vanish around the corner, and hopes no one seen her drop what she had dropped. Though, it was kind of out in the open, which she is lightly cursing herself over, but that can't be helped now.

     Amaya fumbles with the mirror, and the cards for a moment, and sees how the cards are designed. She nods firmly, and does what it seems to be looked like needs to be done. Thankfully she has watched anime, and magical girl anime at that..

     After a few moments she figures out how to get everything together. ".... Hmm.." She looks around to make sure no one is watching her then blushes as a set of words comes to mind.

     After a slightly embarrassing phrase and a few more moments of flashy lights, and what not coming from around the corner...

    "Wh... What is this?!" She pops from around the corner holding a larger, heavier looking bo staff than what she was before, and looking nothing like her actual self. She is now for names sake, Cure Drive.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy winces as Miss White calls out more orders and priorities. "'Rein in your idiot'... I can't imagine calling people that if they were helping fight beside me." She has just enough time to ponder the prospect for a second or two. The alien princess has always felt rather lucky to have friends like Gao and Hino with her, and when she considers the possibility of ever having the urge to call them 'idiot' or any other insult... it's dismissed with a sharp headshake; it's just a bizarre idea to her!

Yet she doesn't get much longer than that. Amaya has, from her perspective, failed to return after running off. Instead a 'new ally' has arrived, and she glances aside to ask Cure Drive, "Are you working with them?"

She can't ask much more than that, as she has to run off to the side to be able to get any kind of safe 'firing angle' on the snakes heading toward Masaka, launching an orb their way. It splits into a wide spread of sparkles - perhaps not too unlike a very exaggerated 'shotgun' pattern of its own in a sense - trying to intercept them!

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura glances over at Hannah, rubbing her forehead. "God, Masaka, when did you become such a pain?!" The scythe-wielding girl is too far away to hear Homura's bemoaning. Homura vanishes, using her timestop powers to appear right behind Masaka. "Don't get so far ahead!"

"You never believe in me enough, Homura," shouts Masaka. "Here, I'll show you how strong I am!"

Masaka holds her scythe over her head, the handle bearing the brunt of the bear's claws. An opening is created, the bear staggers, and Masaka brings the scythe below the paper bear. She arcs it upwards, aiming to slice the bear in half before turning around to strike a pose at Homura.

"What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?"

"Masaka you idi- WATCH OUT!"

Runealy notices before Homura does, because Homura's vision is being blocked by Masaka. The shotgun has already taken care of the snakes before Homura stops time. Well, that's a relief. Wait, better make sure.

She pulls out her gun and runs up to the time-frozen Masaka. When she nears, she looks down at her ankles. Homura does a slow circle around Masaka, just making sure that the shotgun blast got all of them. It costs her some to do this, but she better make sure.

When she looks down at the ankle, Homura notices something off: a little white tail hanging out from underneath. Homura lifts the bottom of Masaka's robe, eyes widening in horror.

She was too late. All the time in the world, and she was too late.

The snakes' teeth sink into the lower leg of the Puella Magi. Black, cruel venom has already begun coursing up her legs. Homura shoots the snake, but it's an act of revenge, not salvation.

She touches Masaka's hand, bringing her into the time-stopped world.

"Masaka... I'm sorry."

Masaka looks at Homura, legs collapsing underneath her. "Sorry? What's going on? My legs feel so..."

Homura sheds a rare tear. Masaka looks up at her with increasing worry, collapsing into Homura's arms. "I couldn't save you in time..."

"... No... you're kidding..." Masaka's still in denial, but the pain in her legs tells her the truth. "... Let me say goodbye... to Basu..."

Homura nods, unfreezing time. Basu looks over and shrieks, running over to Homura and the collapsed Masaka. Basu cradles Masaka in her arms, taking her from Homura. "Why?" asks Basu, through tears. "... why you?"

Masaka laughs, "I guess I was stupid after all."

All three of them, Homura, Basu, and Masaka are distracted by their grief. All three of them are also very close to the Witch, and a new wave of paper mache familiars closing in around them. Homura is the only one of the three to become aware of it, but the enemies are too close together in their circle for Homura to be able to find an opening that she can time-stop through.

"Um... guys?" Homura tries getting Basu's attention, but Basu isn't thinking about anything but her friend at the moment.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's literally too fast: it's faster than Homura-fast, it's faster than Runealy-fast, it's faster than Tuxedo Mask fast that it happens, too soon and in secret. Held back and semi-noticed by one of the new girls, the boy in the mask sees the snakes coming up underneath the bear and readies himself to jump out, to snatch her, but all of a sudden Homura's there and holding Masaka, lowering her to the floor. She might still be okay, he's thinking. He helped her friend last time he saw them; she was still okay. This time--

His fierce, angry hope and his emotions all slam into place at once, breaking his walls and bringing his consciousness swiftly and brightly to life in the confines of the labyrinth, and one hand's whipping the hat off his head to arc around and hopefully through some of the Familiars unfolding into jarringly wrong motion, and the other's pulled his cape around him as a shield, and Tuxedo Kamen's suddenly a black and red blur of motion overhead as he throws himself into the air.

Three: too many for him to pull out. The circle: too tight for him to effectively fight on all sides from within. The solution: descent at the angle chosen for efficiency in bodychecking a couple of monsters out of the circle. "Homura, NOW!" his voice comes out quick and tight before he slams concussively into the two directly in front of her, tucking in to roll.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
The alien princess blinks, jolting in place as her perception of the situation ends up being 'jarred.' Not everything changed, but enough things were suddenly off that she's surprised... and then the situation starts to fall apart. Masaka is down.

The resulting grief is... very familiar to her. She has seen death recently, seen how it can change everything and make so many other things feel like they don't matter. So as she sees those Puella Magi coming face to face with what may well be imminent death if their reactions are any indication, Runealy backs off a step with shaky feet and hands.

It's when Tuxedo Kamen arrives - where did he come from? The Princess realizes she was too startled to realize he was here until just a moment ago - and shouts 'now!', that she acts. Even while backing off from the gathering, she shouts, "Move! Y, you have to get out of there!" Then her wand begins launching orbs, each one bursting into glitter on impact... but they are not aimed at the familiars, or even the witch. They are merely aimed at the ground between them and Homura's group, meant to make approaching less inviting, meant to offer some chance to escape.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
As Amaya pops around the corner initially, one of the remaining paper geese go for her! It's a small, flighty thing as it dive-bombs her! Can that Bo staff take it out!?

Thankfully the Princess is right there, and fires a sparkly ray-shotgun-wand-blast at the serpents! Just as they rise up, ready to snap at vulnerable ankles, they burn away from the force of the blast.

More than that, the Witch behind the bear gets its desk tilted to the right, two of the legs taken out. Slowly, trembling, the vague and shadowy figure rises. Its hands raise to the sides, arms open, and twin half-scissors form in its hands! Screaming aloud, it begins to hack up the wooden desk, sending bits of wood everywhere!

The scythe-strike to the bear hacks off an arm, and the creature staggers back, howling. It writhes on its feet, but seems to be outside of striking range for the moment of the girls! But that horrid snake-familiar has done its job, even after being blasted away. When time unfreezes, Miss White and the two other Puella catch on quickly. Kiku freezes, as reality sets in. Koko backs up, slicing up another Familiar with a tear-filled expression, only to hug her friend close. Agony and fear for the dieing girl and her friend, it fuels increasingly swift attacks to keep hers alive. Miss White is soon there, and the flock of evil geese around her clients are dead.

"Keep Kiku safe, Koko." Comes Miss White, face grim, and fury on her face. Sightless eyes glare hatefully at the Witch that caused them to lose the reckless girl.

But there's a flock of the creatures above them all, and Hannah charges her teleport spell! It takes longer than usual, given she's aiming to grab the group and return.

"Hang on Akemi-san! I..."

"Damnit...covering fire people! Thin that flock down so I can get them out of there!" She barks orders, though mostly to Runealy. Kiku isn't in much of a position to do much right now, terrified as she is.

From the sound of her voice, even Miss White isn't liking her odds right now.

And in a moment of brilliance, just as the flock of birds prepare to descend and devour the trio of Puella, that hit goes flying. The angle is wide, and slams into wings. It doesn't seem to do much at first...no, not by pure damage. The real value is in how it sets them off balance, until a good half the flock smacks into each other, animal instinct having them tear and eat into each other. There's total chaos, several falling as the wounded are devoured.

Then Tuxedo Kamen uses his body to slam down into that ball of fighting birds, the whole flock devolving into crushed birds, and then infighting that maeks them more a danger to themselves than the Puella. But that single-armed bear is still there, and that Witch is now standing! It raises its twin scissor, sharpening them against each other, slowly approaching.

Miss White appears in a flash, and as she does, more bursts of glittery orbs hits the remaining Evil Geese, and they are all finally vanquished. The bear strikes out, only for a hard punch from the girl to send it stumbling backwards. Tux is here...and she can't risk leaving him alone.

"Good timing, Tuxedo Kamen." No Tux, no Hat Guy. She's all business, and up close, her own suffering is plain to see, though she hides it somewhat.

"Let us try to keep the heat off of Homura and the girls."

A 'glance' back.

"Hime-san! Can you hit the Witch from here?" It seems the ball's in her court!

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Cure Drive blinks a couple of times when Runealy addresses her, "Me?! No I'm... Yes, kind of! I know the witch thingy..." But She watches Runealy run off then lets out a light sigh.

    Drive's attention turns to the paper bear, "Right!" Just as she says that, the goose dive bombs her, and she simply just swings her bo staff at it with all her might which.... To say the least with her newly found strength and speed is turned into confetti from a single pass of the bo staff. With that, she also throws herself off balance. "Wha-wha-wha~!" She catches her self as she stumbles to the side a little bit.

     "That is..." Cure Drive looks at her hands, the bo staff, then the confetti that was the goose.. "Lets try..." She smiles and looks towards the witch, which is a bit of a distance from her, but that doesn't keep her from rearing her right arm back with bo staff in hand. She prepares to throw the staff like a javelin, then suddenly launches it at the witch. She got that right at least, and her aim is good. That javelin could probably pierce a concrete wall at this point, and get stuck in it. Again, Cure Drive finds herself off balance and stumbling forward this time after launching the javelin. "I.. gotta..." She catches her self and sighs in relief, "Get used to this strength.."

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura mutters a silent thanks to kami-sama for the appearance of Tuxedo Kamen, and the help of Runealy and Hannah. The opening is created, and then widened. Basu's face is buiried into Masaka's shivering form, and Homura considers that Basu might not recover before the end of the fight.

"White-san, I'm getting Basu and Masaka out of here." Homura states with a firm resolution. "I wont be able to protect all of you at once, so make sure you watch your back."

Homura would normally lecture Masaka at this point, telling her: 'this is why you follow orders!' or 'you should let your friends support you more' or some other lesson. She would, but it's far too late for lessons like that. Now is the time for making sure people stay alive.

Time stops for Homura, and she holds onto Basu's arm. It takes a few sharp tugs to coax Basu into standing up, but Homura expected that. That's why she stopped time. When Basu finally gets to her feet, Masaka is gone.

"Come on, Basu. We have to go."

Basu nods, walking along wordlessly in a daze. Homura leads her, carefully weaving between Familiars as she walks towards a safer area. She doesn't stop until the two of them+corpse has reached the time-frozen forms of Kiku and Koko.

Homura fires twenty rounds into the familiar that Koko is fighting, and spares a few rockets for any more approaching, before unfreezing time. Basu falls to her knees, still holding Masaka's body in her arms.

"Alright, let's see if we can't regain control of this fight."

With as much magic as she spent getting Basu to safety, Homura doesn't think she can risk another time-freeze, but she does hang back and start firing rockets at the flying Familiars and the Witch herself. She avoids shooting at any of them that are too close to her allies, but she also tries to keep the pressure off of them.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Mm," is Mamoru's answer to Miss White's complimenting his timing: the 'mm' smacks of 'my timing's been better', and his stance once he regains his feet is as grim as his voice and face. He's specifically got Miss White's back, here, literally as his back is to hers. "Only hit the bear if it's coming for you," he calls out, strident and forced, "take out the witch and the bear's gone. Just-- just hit it with everything you've got!"

The last line's louder, rising in volume as Tuxedo Mask's cane appears in his hand and he covers for Hannah, swinging it viciously through the air at anything that flies too close, making confetti of some and slinging others at still others. He's not letting the thought that Masaka's dead -- so obviously dead -- sink in; beset is no place for grief, for pause, for what-ifs.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
'Covering fire.' Runealy had been trying to provide just that, and is more than a little surprised when she ends up just directly taking out several familiars. She winces as Cure Drive answers the question, and again as Miss White asks her to strike the Witch. There is a split-second of hesitation as she ponders the request. For all Runealy knows, everyone here except herself (and possibly Tuxedo Kamen? Rune is not sure) could be working for or with Miss White in one way or another. Miss White works with Riventon. Riventon has made clear he's all too happy to let her spend her energy striking down monsters before he attacks her. Could they do the same and defeat Runealy in order to earn favor with him? Perhaps.

So she interprets the request as 'are you stupid enough to set yourself up for that twice', and the answer is 'only partially.' "I'll try!" Her boot wings emit a silver light, launching her up for a boosted leap above the commotion at hand. She aims at the Witch proper, and... fires a single orb that will burst into emerald-colored glitter if it strikes. This is not the best she could do, but she dares not do her best and leave herself vulnerable. And shaken as she is, in light of what she just saw with Homura's trio, Runealy's not sure she could even work up 'her best' right now anyway, shaken as tears begin to blur her vision. She is simply hoping to hit this monstrosity, to rock it with a solid blow. Outright finishing it will have to be a team effort, as Runealy descends from her leap.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
With one goose pulped, the newly minted Cure Drive turns her Bo staff to the Witch! Though as yet unskilled, there's heart and power behind that throw! The Witch raises its left scissor-arm! The pair of weapons impact one another, and the black scissors shatters! Slamming into the Witch, the Bo-staff pierces the creature, sending it flying back to the book-wall, impaling it! The Witch screams, writhing in place!

It will be a problem getting that Staff back until the creature is dead, but at least it is no longer moving.

"...One too many today, Akemi-san. Nothing will get past us! SUFFER! SCREAM, WITCH!" Comes Miss White with utter conviction and wrath, and it shows in her pose. What few Familiars the creature manages to conjure, is swiftly beaten down with a hard, hateful punch. The Witch, pinned as it is, can only spew out the creatures. Those rockets fly, and bird-Familiars and serpents die by droves, only barely able to protect their master. Wind-fueled kicks and punches reach the rest, making a hole in the Witch's defenses! Hannah curses the creature, for taking the life of a brave, young magical girl. Her hate shines today, and she holds nothing back. The combined assault, soon joined by the shotgun wielding green-haired girl as she howls in fury equal to Miss White's own, and even rocket explosions are being windened by the pure amount of wind whipping around.

Tuxedo Kamen doesn't get much in the way of banter either, the two for once on one wavelength. She nods, not managing much more than a furious grunt at this point. Unlike Tuxedo Kamen, she is not strong enough to /not/ let it affect her. Instead, for Hannah, it only fuels her.

The bear rushes forward, single paw hammering down towards Miss White! In comes the cane of Tuxedo Kamen, the girl ducking in time, not even offering a block in favor of moving towards the Witch. She puts her life in the man's hand, and he proves once more reliable. The resulting blow is staggering, perhaps for both parties!

There's a blurr of motion, and a fiery blade lashes out, Koko's knife slicing and burning at the paper familiar. No words, just strikes, the young girl moving with renewed zeal against the horrid creature. The bear not only stops attacking, but is actively pushed away by the pair.

Miss White moves swiftly, her magic's edge more than keen right now, even after exhaustion starts to seep in. The Witch, nearly having risen off of the pole, is hit by Runealy's magic! The glittery, aerial fury of the woman causes a scream from the Witch, only to be suddenly silenced. The shock of the glitterbomb causes it to be shoved half-way back down the PreCure's pole. Miss White's hand reaches, and grasps the shadowy throat of the creature. Squeezing, she pulls the thing close.

"....Take this to your grave, Witch: we are going to hunt your kind to extinction! For every single innocent girl you slay, we will take three in their place! I. WILL. SURPASS. YOU" She whispers with utter venom into the creature's ear, though her face makes the message clear enough to those looking.

The remaining scissor arm, impossibly, twists and breaks, slamming down towards Hannah! She reaches up, grabbing the thing with her hand. Even with Raging Tempest, her palm bleeds, but she squeezes. The thing snaps in half, and she lashes out, cutting off the creature's arm. Then, one hand grabbing Cure Drive's Bo Staff, the other slamming the remaining end of the scissors right in the Witch's chest, she teleports away to avoid running, caustic blood.

The thing is pinned.

There's no attacks to Runealy. Indeed, she offers a nod to the flying woman, and then the PreCure's weapon back.

"Destroy this abomination." She mutters to the group. Kiku is already unloading furiously.

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Cure Drive seems to be a little confused for a moment as she watches Miss White pretty much dominate the witch for a moment. She then looks to the poor, dead girl, and closes her eyes. She didn't know the girl, but to actually see someone die in this. Her mind goes blank for a moment, and only a few words come to mind as energy swells around her. The color of the energy is red and orange, the very colors that motivate her.

    "It truly is sad to know someone died tonight, and that I am also filled with rage.." She looks to the witch, "Demon!" She turns her side towards the witch, even at distance she raises her arm, and her hand with her arm pointing at the witch. Drive's stance widens a little bit to brace herself, "When I am around to help from now one, I promise, no one will die. I will only encourage people to fight harder, even if they are saddened."

     Cure Drive is finishes talking as a spinning disc of a orange and red flame appears before her. "I will drive all evil from this world to the point it will never return!" There is a brief moment of silence, "Drive Beam!" Suddenly a beam of raw energy erupts from the spinning disc of fire in front of her, seeming as if there is a raging fire within the beam shooting towards the Witch. Explosive power awaits the Witch as the beam quickly draws near.

Homura Akemi has posed:
"You don't have to ask twice," says Homura. With the witch in the state it's in, Homura knows it's the time to strike. She stands up, taking a moment to look at her Soul Gem. It's a bit darker than usual, but not really dark enough to be an immediate problem. She hesitates a moment to decide whether or not to use a timestop for this. During her moment of pause, Basu gets up.

The Blue and Pink Puella Magi stands up, muttering, "I wont sit this fight out. I'll help bring down the witch who killed my friend. I won't just sit by and not raise a finger against the one who took Masaka away from me..."

Homura gives her a look as she stands back up, and steps aside as she walks foward.

Basu throws her hands forward, and her Soul Gem grows darker as massive multicolored clouds of cotton candy pop into existence around the Witch.

Homura, using the attack as an opportunity to add her own bit, begins launching grenades at the Witch. The explosion from the grenades mixes with the magical cotton candy and creates a burning, melty, stringy, sticky mass of pink, blue, orange and yellow, forming a kind of cotton candy net.

Once enough of it has gathered together, Basu closes her hands and brings her fists together, and the net constricts with crushing power. The two of them strike with vengeance.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
'Suffer, scream'... Runealy is jarred by these dire comments and actions from Miss White, landing on very shaky balance now. At this point, her vision is blurry enough from tears that fire and 'glitterbombs' and rockets and every other impressive attack is seen more as a burst of color than anything truly cohesive.

Still, she can see well enough to tell the fight is still going and the Witch needs to be finished. Her wand's gem-tip regrows, and Runealy launches that one at the monster too. One, two, three... a trio of shots in rapid succession, aiming to do her part to end this decisively. It's not as impressive a display as what Cure Drive just said and did, nor the efforts of the Puella Magi... but it's what she can work up the heart to do at the moment; even stirring speeches aren't entirely bringing her out of what she's feeling right now.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Is this her?"

"She's just a witch, now. Don't forget that."

Tuxedo Kamen's only strong in some ways, and sometimes only in the moment.

"Who was she?"

"I can't tell you that."

Right now his strength is focused on that blow from the bear; the collision knocks them both back, but the youth is adept at landing on his feet. Occasionally, 'catlike grace' means 'fell off the back of the couch and pretends it didn't happen'; he wobbles for a moment, body singing with the shock of the impact, and conversations spoken and overheard swim around inside his head even as the hurricane of horrible feelings buffets him from the outside, even as Miss White fires up with desperate rage, even as--

"Maybe you're the only one who can stop her pain."

"Haka-san, did you see where she was injured? She's still alive--"

"BUNS! They're BUNS, not bumps!!"

Abruptly, Tuxedo Kamen focuses, making sure the bear's dead before turning and heading straight toward Basu and the heartbreaking grey and gold bundle on the floor behind her. As her soul gem grows darker and her fists come together in bitter vengeance, he briefly lays a warm gloved hand on her shoulder, solid and real and, he hopes, grounding. It's in passing, as he moves beyond her to kneel and collect the dead girl in his arms, mouth twisted for a half-second at the bitter taste of powerlessness he can't entirely swallow back. They might have to run, yet, and he won't let them have to leave her there.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Cure Drive's burning ray erupts from her disk, seeking towards the Witch, and slams into the foul creature, the explosion burning away the last of its books. The creature writhes upon its own weapon, already starting to catch fully aflame as grenades are out.

The resulting mixture is worse than napalm, shrapnel and burning cotton candy forming a horrid cage around the creature. It contains any more struggling for the moment, even as Basu prepares herself.

Three shots pass through the cage, one driving the binding spike of a scissor deeper into the creature, before the last two powerful beams from Runealy pierce its chest. More horrid, hateful sounds, and its on its last legs.

Tuxedo Kamen grabs the dead girl's body, and prepares to head out. Miss White watches the strikes of the girl, and as Basu's hands close. Her eyes close. Down that cage closes, the girl's fury at her friend's killer making her closing, now burning net all the more powerful. The Witch lets out a different kind of howl: fear. Fear at the power arrayed against it, and of the girl whose dearest companion it slew in animal rage. Snapping fills the air, and finally, the Witch falls. Its body fades, leaving a Grief Seed behind. The Barrier of the Witch grows unstable. Hannah leans down, picking up that golden scythe.

Shouldering the weapon, she walks over to the Seed, plucking it up. Her face is impassive, a mask to hide her own emotions. As the last of the barrier falls away to reveal the library's true visage, she turns to Basu.

"...Basu-san, right? Here." The Grief Seed is pressed to the girl, followed by her card. There's a small nod.

Then, she leans in. "Make no mistake, I cannot erase this day. I wish I could. Mourn for her. Cleanse yourself, Gem and in mind. Then come see me. As long as there is blood left in my veins, I will work towards ensuring every single one of those abominations are ended, and people like you do not need to see these kinds of things. Until then, be strong."

Then, there's a glance back to Runealy and Cure Drive.

"Owe you." Is all she says. Then, her mask slips, a tear falling down her face. She tch's, and turns away.

"Akemi-san, Tuxedo-san, Koko, Kiko. Come on. We have a warrior to bury properly."

The two 'clients', by now openly sobbing, slowly make their way behind the group, the newly minted Puella only now realizing just what the price of their Contract is.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Basu catches the Grief Seed as it's handed to her, and glances at it. She uses it to purify her Soul Gem before passing it on to Homura. "We... we share our Grief Seeds," she explains. "We always did." Homura squints at Basu's Soul Gem for a moment, suspiciously, before purifying her own soul gem.

Homura glances at Kiku and Koko for a moment, considering whether she should pass it to them. No, this one goes back to Basu. Homura digs through her shield for a different Grief Seed and tosses it to the two clients. "Here, just top yourselves off. You'll live longer if you stay in top shape."

Homura pauses as she considers too late the weight of the words she just said. She decides to stay silent for now.

Masaka's body isn't very heavy. Tuxedo Kamen can easily carry it. Basu stands next to him, determined to follow close to Masaka as they leave. The hand on her shoulder is comforting, but there is only so much one can do to ease the pain she's going through.

"She didn't have any family," explains Basu. "She really was alone, except for us."

Homura takes a final moment to look things over. One moment of complacency and a life was taken from them. Even she, Homura, was complacent, putting too much faith in Masaka's skill instead of looking out for her. Underestimating the enemy means death. That's what it means to fight a Witch.

Amaya Naga (53) has posed:
     Drive tilts her head to the side a little bit, and starts to walk up to where the witch was. The first thing she does is grab her staff once she is there, and then looks to this thing called a grief seed. "What is that..?" She blinks a couple of times, then frowns a little bit.

     "And also, Miss Bank Robber.. You'll be getting a call from me later, maybe tomorrow or so.." She sighs a little bit, and turns to start to walk off. She does have things she needs to do tomorrow, that is for sure. It isn't her place to say anything else at the moment. With that, she makes her way out.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
It used to be that Runealy would have made a move to secure the Grief Seed, intending to make sure it is given to a Puella Magi; she knows they need these things in order to live. Right now, that is pointless; there are tons of Puella Magi here, all well aware of it and Miss White is already moving to take it... and give it to Basu.

She listens to Miss White's words, caught up in them enough to put down the urge to run away from fear of imminent betrayal. It turns out said ambush will not be coming, and 'owe you' is only met with a very tiny, incoherent 'mm' noise. Originally, the alien princess had been planning to run to avoid being hurt. Yet there is no need to do that, for that reason; there is no attack coming.

Her mother's words from years ago, when the princess began her first lessons in magic and protecting the world from demons, echo very keenly. 'Always take this seriously. Demons do not hold back, and when they fight... someone might die if we do not treat this with the seriousness it deserves.' Heavy words to share with a child, but as her tear-blurred eyes watch Miss White's party depart... she sees all too well that it was very apt advice, advice that had to be given early to instill the right mindset when an entire world was effectively at risk in every single fight on her homeworld. Homura's words cut through her mind too, as the Witch Barrier fades and they return to the normal world. 'She was alone.' So Masaka made a Wish, and in return had to fight and fight for Grief Seeds... and died 'alone', aside from those she fought alongside. "Banks are the last thing we should worry about right now!" A shout to Drive, voice raw and hurt.

Then Runealy runs for a different reason. To get as far away as possible from these feelings. Her transformation will fade once she's out of view, but she will keep running through this immediate part of the city until her lungs and legs absolutely demand she stop.