1260/White Out Part 3

White Out Part 3
Date of Scene:	24 March 2016
Location:	Witchhunter Professional Services
Synopsis:	Hannah attacks her very own company. The members of WPS get close to freeing her...but the sword has other plans.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Haruna Kurosawa, Mikoto Nakajima, Minoke Sato, Sora Hisakata

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
For many employees, it's just another night in WPS. The 'vacation' of the CEO hasn't effected those lower on the totem pole, though poor Gull might have to face a few grumblings and positionings amongst various investors. Thankfully Boris is there. And everyone knows that making Boris angry makes Miss White angry.

At the top of the tower, a figure clad in a shredded black suit appears, landing gently. The massive sword she carries scrapes along concrete and steel. She falls to a knee, coughing up blood that's eerily blackened. She can smell the energy below.

Of her employees and friends. Teeth grit even as that sword raises. Magic gathers, falters, then gathers again. It flitters out, and then Hannah lets the blade fall. The rooftop shatters from pure physical strength, opening up a hole to the boardroom below and setting off a dozen alarms both physical and magical. Every member of WPS' magical division gets an alert on their business phones. Non-magical employees dozens of floors below instantly pass out. But the magical pressure is familiar.

"NO! NOT THEM! DIE YOU SCUM!" Howls Hannah, as she repeatedly slams the sword against the floor. It only manages to break the floor more.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa is in a meeting because of course she is and she's nodding politelty, leaning her head over to Boris, saying something she doesn't understand, nodding again, rinse, repeat. She's not sweating at least- but the boardroom isn't really her element at all.

Mikoto happens to be there talking about things too.

Well It could be her element. Maybe. But it isn't yet.

She's about to open her mouth as the room shakes. She grits her teeth a moment.

"Ah--- excuse me um. You all. Might want to.. stay in here a moment..." she says. "Boris-k.... Boris please make sure everyone is safe!" she says with a smile as she takes off out the door.

She's already changed with a precard- that fancy suit- it just doesn't grant the same identity protection straight up being Cure Gull is.

It's a reminder to more darker investors that she can purify the crap out of them if they try shady things. This has hilarously worked effectivly.

Walking to the elevator--- pressing up.. listening to music as she heads upwards to the roof.

"Ugh I was afraid of this..."

"Not everyone here is magical." she says, to anyone who's potentially followed.

She steps out of the elevator and there's already cracks in the upper most floor.

"Crap. Okay. Um..."

"Right-- Barrier!" she calls out to hopefully, Hagane.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Rarely seen about the offices, Hagane has made one of her infrequent appearances - mostly to show her support for Gull and Boris in their interim administration of the company. She's in the process of filling out some paperwork relating to her own research projects, at the moment. "Yes, the CARNELIAN files were exactly what I needed for that step, but I'm still working on energy generation. I know White-san has some measures of her own in place but - we can always use alternatives. Especially ones that certain high-minded parties won't take offense to if we should put them into wider production."

She's about to propose an example when the pressure-wave rips thorugh the tower, and moments later her phone starts buzzing. She doesn't even bother to look at it, just getting up and following Gull to the elevator.

"On it," she says, and the Belkan spell-glyph forms at her feet. After a moment of spinning rune-circles, the phase-distortion wave spreads out from her position, rolling its own path through the tower to isolate those magically capable - and thus able, theoretically, to defend themselves - from those who are not.

(("Barrier established, meister. Deploying area search.")) A half-dozen energy-spheres flicker into being around Hagane's suited figure, and each zooms off in a different direction, scouting out what's what and who's where.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird arrived late - she got the directions wrong. She wanted to be there too, and was in her Jacket, the Free Fall aura around her waist. She settles down in a chair near Hagane. She smiles and introduced herself but stayed quiet, just listening to the situation. She doesn't really know all of what the WPS does, but Firebird has settled in a chair. Until the shaking. "Damnit..." she mutters.

She looks around, clicking her tongue. "Vortex, what's going on?"

"A dark aura has been detected nearby. It appears to match the signature of Miss White after her Device was fused to a Lost Logia." calls Vortex.

She sighs softly as she floats up, then holds her hands up. She focuses. "I'll keep the ceiling from collapsing..." she muses as a shimmering gravity aura comes into being near the ceiling to catch any falling ceiling chunks.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
The magical investors are quick to make their exit via various means, but the few non-magical ones still awake are smart enough to head to safety in the building. But they're too slow. Thankfully, Hagane is quick, and a barrier settles around the building! Many of the lower levels lock down, and the non-magical are quickly out of it.

Firebird's shield helps keep those passed out free of being crushed by falling steel, and the two magical girls combined powers splinter, but hold beneath Hannah's constant hammering. But when that elevator door opens to the roof? It all stops.

Bloodshot eyes and blood-stained teeth greet Gull and the others. Hannah shivers in pure physical pain. "Gull...Hagane...Firebird...please...k...keep them safe! Arghhhhhhh!" She coughs and sputters, gripping her chest. Then black energy grows in that sword, and she lurches for the trio, leaping at them and slicing out haphazardly. Yet, her blows don't seem to be as direct as they were. Slowly, but surely, the repeated fights with magical girls and the purifications aimed at her are loosening the grip on her mind. But her body and Device are still very much a slave. And no normal purification can undo /that/.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
Shiniko was not at the offices. She's had other things to do, and so when she gets the notice she has to scramble to make it there. She arrives a fraction of a moment after the barrier goes up, barely within the area caught by the barrier.

She notices it go up, and then starts brazenly using her hair to climb the building's walls, hurrying to the roof so she can reach the others. It may take a second, but she's working on it pretty quickly. She doesn't speak, or giggle, just rushing towards the site of the situation.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa nrg.. dammit.. it's WORSE--

It just gets WORSE. HOW CAN IT GET WORSE.

Gull kind of wants to just punch a wall but destroying company property isn't her priority right now. In fact it's the complete opposite.

"Dammit..." she mutters to herself as she jumps back. "Keep distance. Don't let that thing into you. I'm pretty sure it leaves things in you." she says.

She ends up on top of the elevator's small hut and jumps to the side of it a moment. She throws off an array of Gull feathers out as she thwips her hand through the air-- no attack call out, no pose-- just-- just trying to knock Hannah unconcious, if they can get her unconcious, they can contain her and if they can contain her-- they can figure this out.

But that's one hell of a tall order right now.

But-- at least she's attacking /here/ and not-- not some mundane filled sensitive place. Right? WPS can take it!

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Hagane pays little attention to the board. They'll find their way to safety, or not, as their own skills dictate. They're not her problem. Hannah is.

Throughout the elevator ride, she summons her Flickers, conjuring the little light-darts - visible to the others, this time, rather than her usual stealthy variant. She steps out of the elevator, clearing room for Gull and Boris, stepping to one side to get out of their way.

A hand reaches behind her, sliding Carnwennan from where she keeps the Device when in this guise, and the blade extends in a flicker of pixellation until it solidifies into a now-familiar long, heavy blade, more of a claymore than her usual rapier.

"Try to focus," she calls to Hannah. "Focus on my voice," she continues. "You know me. You know each of us. Focus on that. Push past it."

Better 'jaw, jaw', than 'war, war', to paraphrase a politician. She'd like to help Hannah beat the thing's control, but without fairly strong purification magic all she can do is appeal to the girl's will and ego - the strongest things about her, from Mikoto's perspective.

"Come on now. You're the CEO. You've fought Walpurgisnacht and Beryl and a thousand other kinds of crap. You are not going to get eaten by some lousy cursed knife."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Gull's feathers do their work: slamming into her arm and back as she leaps away, Hannah's blade raising and body following after. Her face and teeth grit from the pain, but there's only desperation in her eyes. The feathers stick, the young woman bleeding without her Device to properly protect herself. She only has body strength and the sword to go on.

Indeed, she's hurling herself recklessly at Gull regardless of any attacks thrown her way. Perhaps the two have the same idea.

"Yes...I can't...I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! My body and mind are my own! NOT YOURS YOU DECREPIT LITTLE POTATO PEELER!" Hannah is mid-flip in the air, aiming a spinning slice at the back of Gull's neck with another leap before her leg slams down, sending her into a tumble. She very nearly falls off the roof, before that blade glows. It lashes out, violent waves of dark wind smashing against the magical girls gathered, right as Shiniko arrives at the scene! But before it becomes a tornado, Hannah manages to wave the blade, the vast majority of it burning off harmlessly in the air.

"D...damnit! Just hit me with everything you have!"

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Can do, boss." No cryptic for your own good creepiness either. Shiniko is all business today, holding on firm as the waves of dark wind wash over her, resisting being thrown off, slowly advancing forwards. She glances towards the others before pointing one of her shadowy hands at her boss.

That's when the roof lights on fire. Sure, it's cold, shadow fire, but the effects are fairly similar. There's patches of non-burning areas on the roof, one below every single person other than Hannah or herself, patches which move with the person inside, showing Shiniko's quite in charge. "Sorry about this."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa is lept at, has a swing at the back of her neck and she ducks just in time for the blade to swing over her head!---and lovely seafoam green hair goes -shing-! at the bottom long portion. That one was close-- and Gull hates improtu hair cuts!

Look, there's things you just don't mess with!

Well. Maybe not right now.

She throws her hand out and wind cuts up around her as she aims to try to avoid the last blast---

"Gull Windy Hurricaune..." she calls out as she grits her teeth..

"Don't worry Hannah when this is all over... /White's Day/." she insists fiercely.

What's that!?

She wears a big smile at least when she says it.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Carnwennan continues conjuring the Flickers, the little blue light-shards sliding into orbit above Hagane's head. Two of them zip right back into the blade, limning it with their light, enhancing the projected mage-steel with their own power.

"You're stronger than this! Show me that strength! You won't lose to a blasted hunk of steel!"

She starts to move to intercept the charge on Haruna, but isn't quick enough. 'White's Day' brings a fierce smile to her face, though. She lashes out with her blade, bringing up the heavy steel to intercept Hannah's, trying to bat it away from Haruna. "Show me why they call you WHITE, not BLACK!"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird finishes dealing with the debris as she looks down to Hannah. She sighs softly. "Well. Maybe a nice big hug is what is in order," she states softly as she points Vortex (in mace form) at Hannah. "Jupiter Field."

"Acknowledged, Mistress. Applying weight." Gravity would incrase threefold for Hannah, trying to make her too heavy and immobile to do much.

Firebird frowns. "I honestly don't know what to do here - I can't attack her... I've idolized her for years... a disabled person who was able to do so much... I... I'll try to keep her still..."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Out of everyone, even as the roof is suddenly /burning with anti-fire/, it's Haruna that reaches Hannah the most. All the violence of wind and fire and flicker shots smashing into her already exhausted, wounded body, it's the calls from those she cares for that really lift that fog from her mind.

Blink. For a moment, there's nothing but Hannah in those eyes.

"Wait, what the hell is White's Day?" Hannah is still very much American. The holiday and turn-of-phrase go right over her head.

WHAM! In comes Hagane's blade, and even as she burns and is wind'd, the pair of swords clashing. Hagane is a much better swordswoman, but Hannah is all the stronger despite how thin and awful she's looking. She shouldn't be standing, even for her. The human body, magical or not, can't take all the abuse hers has been through.

"...I always did look awful in black." Teeth gritting, she concentrates, and emerald and black war. Even her shredded barrier jacket as her friends call her name and encourage her slowly drip to white. The weight of Firebird's gravity weights her down, and only through another burst of magic can she even stand up. She's on the verge of fainting.

And then she leaps back, the blade glows, and chains rip forth from the blade itself to bury them in her arm and chest. Hannah's eyes go wide, and she screams in pain. Finally, she goes limp.

The blade rises up, floating, Hannah chained to it like some kind of doll.

"YOU FOOLS! I WILL DEVOUR THIS GIRL AND HER POWER! THEN I WILL LIVE ONCE MORE!" Comes a screechy voice directly from the blade, just before shadows and magic wisk it and Hannah away from the building.

And they were so close.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa ahahs "Hannnah! It's----"

Then some major bad things happen.

Then the blade talks.

Then Hannah's gone again and she just screeeeammmmmmmmms.

"SO CLOSE... I swear to god..."

"I am going to get my hands on that thing."

"Then I am going to give it to Riventon."

"Because he's going to tourture the hell out of it." he says as she kicks a piece of rubble off the top of the building.

The sound of a car alarm can be heard a few seconds later. Oops.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird just slumps to the floor, lettnig herself fall. "Hannah..." she whispers softly, reaching her hand out futiely to the place where she was. "We'll get you back. Get that... thing... off of you."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Hagane reaches out, a hand resting on Firebird's shoulder, offering a comforting squeeze. "We will," she promises, as Carnwennan's blade de-rezzes and she tucks the hilt away.