162/Crossing a Line

Crossing a Line
Date of Scene:	11 July 2015
Location:	Japan
Synopsis:	Having studied Tokyo's inhabitants for long enough, an alien princess makes her first move to claim their energy for her own purposes... and starts with hunting some very strong prey first.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Runealy Waldia

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Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy has gained an interesting impression of 'Miss White' since arriving in Tokyo. First met working security for a concert, Miss White has seemed very... driven, by Rune's estimation. Driven, and appearing to view interactions with others as a series of accomplishments versus 'debts'; each time Runealy has done something significant working alongside - not against, it always happened when working together - Miss White, the latter has said she owed the alien princess a favor.

The first time, Runealy collected on this debt by asking for the phone number of Ao, whom she sees as Miss White's 'healer friend'... a local EMT, in more modern terms. Today, standing in a forest away from Tokyo, she has been leaving a trail of red cloths tied to trees. Once this series of improvised signal flags is in place, she works her phone and dials a number she has only called once before.

She calls Miss White. The phone's speaker plays its ringing noise, and she waits for a response...

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Riiiing! Riiiing! Comes Miss White's phone. She's half asleep in her lab, a dozen different data points being compiled. The sound slowly brings her back to life, the girl drooling on a marble table. Her chin hurts from being slumped over on it for so long, and there's a cup of coffee half finished gathering dust. She grabs it, devours the tasty beverage, and then flips open her phone.

The first thing Runealy gets is a very loud yawn.

"Hello? Kasagami White, WitchHunter Professional Services, how can I help you?" Manages the woman in a tone of tired combined with 'this better be good'. A button is pressed, and suddenly Runealy is on speaker phone. Sounds of coffee being poured. And...was that a cry of a Familiar in the background?

Couldn't be.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Miss White." The princess speaks in a flat, business-like tone. "You can help me with a very important battle. Arrive transformed and fully ready to fight... I've left a series of red flags in a forest south of Tokyo. It isn't Kamakura," that would be a little too far out from the city, being roughly an hour's train ride. "But a smaller one along the way. If I go any further before you're here, the battle will begin... so I need to wait for you. I realize this is sudden, but you, specifically... you, more than anyone, are needed. History will remember you as a hero, and right now I very much need a hero."

She paces among the trees, tense as she listens to what Miss White might say in response.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
That flat tone isn't one she's heard in the Princess' voice, and instantly her own goes business like. There's none of her usual bravado. This is business. And more importantly, the repayment of a debt. No matter how she might fall, debts and promises are sacred to this woman.

"Hime-san." She adds, pausing as she listens, rolling back over in her chair to pick it up. Coffee goes forgotten. This is serious.

"Let us see..." She's over to a computer, pulling up an audio map, sticking a lanyard in her other ear.

"Alright, got it. This seems to be the area." She leans off from the phone, and taps an intercom.

She could arrive in half that as a magical girl. Boris' driving could get her there in fifteen minutes.

"Viktor! Get a car!"

Then, back to the phone, she's already heading up towards the elevator and out the WPS building.

"Like I said, I owe you Hime-chan. You helped keep my Ao-chan alive. Anyone who does that? You are a friend." Comes Miss White, in a rare moment of absolute, good hearted warmth to the other girl on the line.

That might just make things worse.

Then her voice grows colder. "Not until I arrive? Setting up an ambush then? Who is the enemy? Do you know their capabilities? How many targets?" Rattles off the girl, Device flowing into being as she runs out the front door and slides into a car with her Familiar driving.

"An ambush requires utter surprise and perfect timing. What is the plan, Hime-chan?"

It won't take long for her and Viktor to arrive at the forest, alongside numerous laws violated in the effort.

"Fair warning, though. I am not a hero by any stretch of the imagination. Just a girl with dreams and the ambition to see them through. So if you need someone to fight alongside you, I can do that much at least." Her usual self confidence and bravado are right back in her voice, aimed at giving Rune a bit of confidence in her 'ally'. Seems, at least, that Hannah doesn't suspect the girl at all of wrongdoing.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Thank you, though I don't know if we see eye to eye on a great many things..." The Princess sounds resigned and tired as she's called 'a friend.' "And it's just one target. A target that won't fight until I'm truly ready to proceed, but they're a target far beyond my abilities. And even if you don't call yourself a hero... right now you're more than good enough for what I need, and once this is done... you will be a hero. Your ambition and power are exactly what I need. The plan will be more clear when you're here... I should be quiet for now. Please just follow the flags, they'll bring you to exactly the right place."

Runealy then hangs up, placing the phone in the bow of her dress, head low as she paces and waits. At least the sun is out and this is a daytime encounter. When Hannah arrives, there will be nothing obviously dangerous up ahead, no huge monster or handsome general with a towering energy aura, or any such thing. Just the alien princess, who bides her time with wand in-hand.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Her cheerful tone softens. Why does this girl sound so...tired? For a moment, it reminds her of her weaker moments. Rune will never see it, but compassion floods her face just as she's in the back of the car and they're moving.

"Hey, hey! All of this doom and gloom? Confidence, my friend, is the key to victory. Even if you happen to lose, you should at least lose while spitting in your opponent's eye! Then get right back up, get stronger, and make them pay!" She clenches a fist at that.

Her tone softens.

"Right, right, I get it. Just stay right there, and try not to do anything foolish like leaping off this mortal coil before I get there. I have a repuation to uphold, after all!" A slightly indignant, slightly teasing moment. It's not there in her voice. Definitely trying to pump up a partner in crime. She's gotten good at that since leading out weak magical girls against Witches.

And then they arrive. Viktor slides-slash-parks the car in place. Hannah steps out, and gives a thumbs-up!

"Keep an area search going. If one of us falls, get Ao here after the dust settles. Usual plan."

The big russian-slash-husky nods, and keeps the car idling.

Then, the girl starts to follow the flags. She doesn't even need to feel, her sensory spell feeling them rustle in the wind. But at the same time, she' cautious: any enemy that seems strong enough to be a threat to Runealy is at least one to be considered dangerous. So she stays on the opposite side of the flags, following them, keeping to cover in case she comes across a ranged youma.

All the while, she uses an Area Search to try to find a monster. Even by the time she appears, sliding from behind a tree near the Princess, she's still searching.

Her voice is a whisper.

"...You sure you were not spending too much time in a bar, Hime-san? I cannot detect anyone but myself and you." Comes the girl's quiet words. Her body is tensed, ready for conflict, but her face confused.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
The pep talk on the phone, while full of good advice and inspiring words, did little to stir Runealy. She simply waits, pacing and breathing as a million thoughts cut through her with a chill feeling. She doesn't even hear the car arrive, though she might have legitimately been too far away to do that anyway; it ends up being a few minutes walk.

Caution, though well advised, proves unnecessary. Nothing attacks Hannah on her way along the path and an area search yields nothing beyond the alien princess and wandering wildlife.

So it's fair to imply Runealy is drunk. "No... I'm a little too young to be in any of Tokyo's taverns," she uses an archaic term for 'bars', "and the ones back in Europe would certainly know better than to serve me anything despite my rank. I am entirely sober... even if I almost wish I wasn't. It might make this a lot easier, if it's at all like what I imagine it is."

The princess paces around, gaze set on Miss White the entire time. "You would be insane to agree to my next request, but I have to try." A deep breath is taken, then: "I need to ask you to share your energy with me. The method used to take and store it is extremely painful, and I cannot tell you why I need it. I can only swear it is for a very worthwhile cause."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Something feels off. Miss White's power has come through a combination of experience, the pure belief in hard work and training giving her power, and a drive to her goals and dreams boardering on the inhuman. With a strong enough heart, even a third-rate mage can become a true power, with the help of a good partner like Raging Tempest.

Even though her body is coiled like a spring, Miss White still doesn't seem to suspect Runealy. She speaks, and the girl's head tilts.

"...What, are you really some kind of royalty? News flash, kiddo, I have travelled to a /lot/ of places in my short life. Only part in Europe with real monarchy left is..." Pause. Squint.

"...Wait, are you part of the English royal family?" It's actually plausible.

And then she makes her 'request', and those sightless eyes widen suddenly.

"Give you..." She starts, stunned, and for a moment her guard is down. It might be one of the few chances to take advantages versus this very cautious warrior.

Despite her confusion, Miss White can't take chances. Almost immediately, she focuses, a smirk coming to her face.

She belts out a laugh.

"...Are you really foolish enough to stand in front of me, ask for something like 'energy', and not even bother to give me a reason why? 'Worthwhile' is a subjective term, you know? To put it bluntly, I need every scrap of energy, magic, and power I can get my hands on. So unless you can come up with some reason like 'it will keep Ao Karina safe for all time', then I suggest you turn around and leave. I owe you, Hime-san, but something like losing energy is a threat to Ao-chan." Her words, unlike with many others, are bluntly honest. Protecting Ao is her true end goal, even if she paints it with things like 'changing the world'.

And losing even an single bit of power threatens that girl. Her gaze, her demeanor grows cold and hard.

"Turn around and leave. Let me make things clear: anyone, even indirectly, who threatens Ao Karina I will see utterly demolished so long as I have a single ounce of life left in my body. That is a promise. You do not want me as an enemy, Hime-san. The only reason you get the opportunity to walk away right now is because of the debt I owe you." Her body trembles. The sheer audacity of Rune to ask this fills her body with anger. Magic flows around her, strong and wrathful. She doesn't attack, waiting on the other girl's decision.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
A lot of good questions, a lot of reasonable objections to an unreasonable request. The princess plays along with Miss White's conclusion: "I am, though the others have no idea that I am here nor what I am up to. If you were to ask them about this, they would be shocked and rather confused. If nothing else, I hope you won't let this color your opinion of the English people... I do this without their knowledge, or their consent."

And as Miss White laughs and explains why the request is absurd, Runealy remains very low and quiet in her demeanor. "'For all time'? I couldn't guarantee that... that, of course, would require immortality. I can't defy death itself. What I am using it for will help protect her, but that is all I can say about it. So now you have a bandit here, demanding something from you with vague promises like that... but where is my proof?" Even as Hannah prepares to fight, Runealy keeps talking.

"I don't have that proof. You would have to be very, very naive to just hand over what I'm asking for on what amounts to 'it is important, trust me.' So I'm going to have to take it. Before we begin... tell me something. Do you remember what your associate said about me? I believe you were there when he described many, many faults he feels I have."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's a deep sigh. Something about this whole situation hurts the magical girl. This seemingly good-hearted woman is seeking something hard enough to steal from others. It reminds her of Scorn-chan.

"Heh. I lived in England for about three years. Third best placed I ever laid my head. No worries there." A smirk. There's honest affection for Englanders here.

Then her demeanor fades to cold preparedness, and a growing grin filled with bloodthirst. She's getting ready for a fight. Hannah can't see any diplomatic way out of this.

"So I would suggest you begin planning on how you are going to manage something like taking energy from me. Or was that the plan all along? Lure me out here, alone, and steal my power huh?" Teeth grit. Unacceptable. Simply unacceptable!

But she still manages an ambitious, bitter little smirk.

"Words like that just mean you have very little ambition, Hime-san. Something is only impossible because you believe that to be the case. Death? The ravages of time? Just obstacles in the way." Comes Miss White quietly, glaring at the other girl's general direction.

She's already in a fighting stance, protecting her head, and ready to move.

"Pretty good description of the circumstances. Might want to change your name. Stealing from others is not Princess-like. Eh?"

She thinks back.

"Black-san called you a coward. Someone who was too weak to fight without others behind you." She pauses, and something strikes her.

Despite all the anger in her gaze, something like respect rises.

"Ah! Is that the plan? Test yourself against someone with greater strength than yourself. Overcome them, take their energy, and use it to further your goals? I do not agree with stealing power from others. Frankly, that is the work of, like he said, pathetic cowards. Researching other methods, training, being beaten down and rising repeatedly...those are the kind of methods I respect."

She's smiling here.

"Prove yourself something more than a coward. Use strength you have gained to beat me. Quick thinking, strategy, arcane items you bled and suffered for? All fair game! With things like that, it is true, people can become strong. So come on. Show me the results of your work. Just realize there will be consequences, win or lose. Bring it." A single finger reaches out, and curls in towards herself. Miss White is ready for the girl in pink.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Cutting words. Runealy lowers her head. "That's right. That was the plan. /You/ are the 'single opponent who is beyond me' I described. None of that was a lie, even if I did phrase it to lure you here. You really are going to be a hero in the end. More of one than I am, by far."

She can't quite meet Miss White's gaze. "You can call me whatever you like, because you're right. What I'm doing is hardly befitting an heir to the throne. Or to a good person at all... I certainly can't claim that title either, now. However, you've missed just one thing."

She begins digging around in her dress' bow, trying to find something. It's apparently taking a little time, as Runealy keeps talking. "He was right to call me those things. And your appeal to training, hard work, dedication... they're all very good things. I admire people who subscribe to those ideals. They have all the room in the world to talk down on me, because I'm not one of them. You /are/ beyond me. I can't out-think you, I can't out-move you, I can't out-shoot you. If I attempt this as I am now, I would lose ninety-nine times out of a hundred and the hundredth time would be pure luck. So..."

She pulls out a small crystal. It's diamond-shaped, but has many jagged edges barbing out of it, balanced in two fingers from one small part clean enough to hold without cutting oneself. The crystal is twisted, ugly and dark purple. Energy swirls within it, black with tinges of red mixed in. "...So I'm going to skip all that. I'm not going to use my head, or train, or dedicate myself to improvement. I'm going use a cheap crutch, because here and now it's the only way I stand a chance. If you're going to look down on me for that, you should. What I'm doing now isn't worthy of even the tiniest shred of respect, even if it is absolutely necessary."

The princess presses the crystal to the side of her neck. It dissolves into mist, a trail of purple and black and red seeping into her... and she screams as if she had just injected fire right into her veins, thrashing and twitching for several seconds! When it's over, her eyes can no longer be seen. Where they would normally be, only glowing yellow energy remains. Her grip tightens on her wand, then Runealy launches an orb at Miss White! Even it, normally a beautiful sparkling green, is somewhat changed now. Some of that emerald color remains, but it is mixed with dark purple; a combination of colors that will carry over to its explosion into sparkling energy-mist regardless of whether it strikes Miss White, or a tree.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah is silent. Not because she can't comprehend those words, but because she's simply too furious to speak. Her entire body is trembling in fury. She could attack right now as Runealy fumbles. But she has personal pride. This girl intends to use some weapon to try to make it a 'fair fight'.

A cheap crutch. A little trinket, used without research. Miss White might be trying to use Grief Seeds to further her ends, but every single bit of progress has come from work, research, and pouring her own abilities to get that far.

If there was a hint of respect left, it vanishes as that thing dissappears. Raging Tempest, however, is already recording. It feels far too much like something that her partner would create. Thus, in some form, she's ready.

And yet, for all the power that seeps into the girl, for all she screams, there's no motion to help. Runealy has declared herself an enemy. Wants to take her power.

To Hannah's mind, that's a declaration of war. She smirks, and this one is pure bloodthirst.

"...So that is it? Just going to rely on some trinket you got lucky to find without any effort, thinking, research, or power of your own?" Her voice is filled with something she rarely shows to anyone. Pure contempt.

"Pathetic. People without this gift called magic...I have seen those that I respect more, and make me quiver more than any amount of 'power' given by a mere trinket like you are using." Spits out the girl.

Still, the magical output is purely impressive. Raging Tempest floods her mind with warnings, even as her instincts have her /moving/.

In comes that orb of energy, filled with something unusual.

For a moment, she wonders if Black-san isn't screwing with her. But there's none of /that/ particular blend of feelings.

Her legs glow green as she forces magic into them, and manages to barely dodge the incoming blow. Several trees are felled, enough to surprise the woman. She's expected power. But not /that/ much. Data floods her head. It's grim.

Cheap crutch or not, it's an effective one.

Ducking into a roll, she's soon blazing a trail, keeping behind trees. She's weak to ranged fighters, but the terrain gives her something that might help her stay alive.

"...That so?" She calls out, only to duck behind a tree.

"Then let me tell you about cheap crutches. Start showing them off? They lose their impact. People start finding holes in spells and techniques. Hime-sa...no. Bandit-chan, you better end up killing me if you plan to win. It will go poorly for you if you do not do at least that much." Taunts the girl.

A quick teleport spell, and she's then behind another tree. She bursts out from Rune's side, aiming a hard right hook right towards the girl's jaw!

"NOW LET US SEE WHAT THIS CHEAP CRUTCH IS CAPABLE OF!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
There are indeed similarities to the energy Raging Tempest has previously recorded. They aren't the same, and any sort of detailed analysis would show there's no direct match. Indeed, whatever this may be wholly new. After all, nobody in Tokyo has records of demon energy from another world entirely.

The princess stands where she is even as some of the trees in the area are blasted apart and Miss White fades into hiding. "No, I understand what I'm using. I didn't stumble upon this, I brought this with me before setting a single foot in Tokyo. I brought it along for just this sort of situation... frankly, it's poison and power at the same time. If I'm not careful in how many I use, they absolutely will kill me. History can hate me forever, you can look down on me... and it should, and you should, but what I'm doing will be worth it!"

She is wholly unaware Hannah teleported, still looking in the direction she last heard Miss White's voice from. It's only at the last moment, right before impact, that she notices. "Hn!?" A pivotting sidestep ensues, but it still connects with Runealy's jaw (merely not quite as direct a hit as was perhaps hoped) and sends her spinning for several paces before she recovers.

"Kill you? I'm not going to do that. If I did... Ao would find you. She would get to look at you lying here, not breathing or talking or thinking, not doing anything ever again!" Despite Rune's eyes now being replaced by that unnatural yellow glow, tears flow. "She would have to ask why that happened, and there would be no good answer for it. What I just felt by activating this 'crutch' would be nothing compared to what she would feel! You can hate me all you want, but I am not going to kill you!"

Her wand grows another green orb-tip, though this one emits a yellow energy ray about as thick as someone's arm, and perhaps twice as long. With a shout, Runealy rushes in and makes a wild swing at Hannah with intent to simply bash her with it!

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"...No efforts to study it even? Are you trying to insult me!? This is a world that is nothing more than a graveyard for hopes and dreams! If mine has to salt the earth, so be it! But IT WILL NOT BE BROKEN BY SOME PATHETIC HALF-WIT! I REFUSE to accept someone who relies on something so low as /that/!" Howls Hannah as she punches, though Runealy lessens the damage admirably. She might not have much skill, but there's some instinct in there. Whether it's granted by her crystal or her usual henshin, it's hard to say.

She wants to take, but not kill. Some part of it resonates with her, and that only adds to Hannah's fury. She might take objects, but never energy. Not the strength that others have built for themselves. She remembers being so weak, the suffering, the pain she went through to obtain it all.

That this one wants to take without anything like that just angers her.

"Then you really are an idiot! I do not want to see Ao-chan cry, ever! I want to keep her safe, no matter who stands before me! But being taken by some cheap bandit with a single trick!? No! I will /NOT/ lower myself to that level! You...."

Her eyes glower.

"Without power I cannot keep her safe. Without her safety, I may as well be dead. If you want to really succeed in that way, toss aside notions like 'I can take energy but leave people alive'. You said it yourself. You are a no-skill, worthless little bandit. I am going to fight you for the sake of Ao-chan, and her pride in me as a magical girl! Until my bones are dust!"

That wild, extended swing connects. Miss White throws up an arm, catching it solidly. The work of an expert combatant. But the power behind that wild blow breaks through her barrier, Barrier Jacket, and sends her flying through trees so hard that she can't even recover. She lands, breathing heavily, before pushing herself to her feet.

Spitting out blood, her right arm already bleeding, she goes right back into the fray, undaunted. The power Rune is wielding is utterly beyond even Miss White right now.

But as ever, she struggles. To back down would be death in her eyes. She might lose in strength, but she's going to have her pride.

She slips amongst trees, and comes out, a whirlwind of jabs, kicks, and punches that reduces unfortunate timber to splinters should she miss. Miss White isn't holding back, pushing her body to her limits. Fury and wrath guide her as she seeks to take down the crying monster before her.

"GET OUT OF MY TOWN!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
The insults cut deep, even if Runealy's eyes have trouble showing that. She has few meaningful retorts to being called an idiot, to being worthless; they all feel very right and apt to her. There are only two parts at all she can contest. The first of them is made after the swing sends Miss White sprawling. "I've studied it as far as I can. I know I am tempting death by using it, and any further 'study' can really only be done hands-on!"

As Miss White rushes her, the princess fades away with her boot wings lighting up, their blue-silver glow launching her away one 'boosted leap' at a time. The yellow ray used as a bludgeon fades from her wand, which instead begins firing thin red beams at Miss White. Some of them outright miss and would do so even if Hannah took no effort to evade. Others might hit, but even if they do they are not tremendous blows; these are relatively low effort, low yield bursts of magic meant to probe and harass, to score even minor damage if they can.

Yet this cannot be done forever, and after several seconds Miss White manages to catch up. She's moments away from being in range. "I hope you don't have to make good on those ideals... Tokyo would be no safer for your body failing you, for your very bones collapsing...!"

She lands on a tree branch, a fairly big one with room enough for herself and Miss White. There's no more time to evade. Runealy encases herself in a red energy bubble, letting Hannah batter it with punches and kicks. The barrier holds her off quite well, but it eventually begins to crack and Runealy thinks she sees an opening anyway.

So she lowers the forcefield and starts to thrust her wand, only to be interrupted by a jab to the midsection. "Nhn!" A pained shout as even this minor blow disrupts her balance, sending the princess falling to the grass below!

Yet even as she falls, Runealy has the presence of mind to aim up at Hannah and fire another orb. This one looks like the one before it, except it splits apart in mid-air to unleash a wide spray of green-and-purple sparkles at Miss White! Runealy picks herself up, and responds to a second point: "I will leave Tokyo when I am finished with my work. Have no fear of that... I know I will never be welcome here again!"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
She actually smirks. "...Well. At least you have that much pride left."

Her strike at first misses, as Runealy proves agile with those powerful flight-boots! Then her blows hammer upon that shield, finally shattering it as her jab pushes into the princess! Lines of red energy pepper her body. There's no evasion, only a boxer's instinct to protect herself. Her skin is scored in several places from the weak blows, but they hardly seem to phase the incensed girl.

And then that orb comes for her, striking past her defenses as the shotgun-like explosion of power sends her to the ground. She screams in pain, agony as she falls.

Truly, normally, that might have given her pause. But Runealy is stomping on her dreams, her ideals, her best friend. For all of her denials, they just anger her.

"...Tokyo!?" Hannah laughs, loud and bitter.

"I see you have no concept of what I just said. Let me repeat myself so that you can actually understand me. No country on earth will be safe for you. If I survive this, you, who would threaten Ao...I will hunt you down like a dog. I will oppose you at every turn, every dream, every friend and ally you have. Last chance. Turn around. Leave this city."

A shake of her head, and her resolve is set.

"When it comes to Ao-chan, you see, I can be pretty vindictive. A planet away...no...there is no amount of distance that will save you. Get ready for that." There's nothing but hate in her gaze.

Hannah flexes her neck, and hands. Knuckles crack.

"Hearing you talk is starting to grate on the ears. Raging Tempest? Time to salt the earth with shattered dreams. Blame yourself or God, Bandit-chan."

Then, she's gone, magical fury gathering in both fists. She holds nothing back.

"VIOLENT...RAGING...TEMPEST!" Her teleport has her right in front of Runealy, the vortex of magic around one of her fists sucking the other magical girl towards her.

That fist cuts and slashes even as it hammers, the magical release enough to fell solid steel walls as she aims to slam it into the girl's right shoulder. Maybe she could take her out here with a blow to the chest...but yet, she holds back. She couldn't live with herself, live with Ao if she just slaughtered the girl, no matter the reasons. Instead, she tries to disable her as a tornado of magic unleashes alongside her powerful fist!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Ao is the last person I would threaten, even if in your understanding of things I'm doing precisely that." Runealy understands that much; 'hurting Miss White equals Miss White cannot protect Ao equals Ao is as a result endangered and thus threatened.' There's no real debating with that line of reasoning. No true dismissal of threats that sincere; the alien princess is indeed pretty sure she will have earned a devoted, utter enemy from this point forward. Someone who might be willing to go to incredible lengths to see her struck down for this.

Miss White prepares herself for a decisive blow. Runealy responds in a low voice: "Your idea of a 'god' is kind of new to me..." Religion and a grasp of the supernatural are rather different on Runealy's world, and religions in the conventional sense are something they simply haven't explored much, no matter how compelling it might be on Earth. "...so I blame myself, because my dream already is shattered. What I'm doing now is so everyone else can see their hopes become reality."

When Miss White appears directly in front of herself, Runealy isn't quite as surprised this time. Even as she's drawn in, the princess has a split-second to recall a discussion several years ago, back in the castle courtyard. The princess, very much a child, listened to her mother. A mother who had faced a few demons in her life, literal demons, monsters of claws and dark energy. It seems at least one of them could teleport, and while the queen could not do the same... she understood how valuable the ability could be. Her words to her daughter, to the heir to her duties of protecting a world, were clear. 'If they teleport, if they disappear, they mean to escape or attack. There is little you can do about the former... but if they intend to strike, your two best options are to shield yourself or beat them to it; attack immediately, even if you cannot see them, if you plan to do that.'

That flash of insight causes her to duck as she's sucked toward Hannah, wand emitting a yellow ray as a bludgeon once more. "You said it yourself... if something is used enough times, people can find holes in it. I see what you're doing!" Runealy makes a wide swing, trying to strike Miss White aside. Dismissing the princess as 'having no skill' might not be apt; her mother worked hard to train an heir who could survive fights against monsters who truly enjoy killing people.

Yet even as she strikes at Miss White, that wind-enhanced fist does connect. Not cleanly; Runealy shifting her body downward was enough that the blow only glances the top of her shoulder. The ensuing tornado blast is thus not properly on-center, and instead of blowing her directly into a nearby tree... Runealy is launched on a somewhat different trajectory.

Enough of one that she passes beside the first tree, and has enough time to activate her boot wings. She can't fly with them, but they can still shift her aerial momentum enough to act as a 'brake', slowing down her impact with another tree further back. A pained cry follows, but it's far better than what would have happened if the blow had landed exactly as Hannah intended; it probably would have knocked even the crystal-enhanced Runealy out of the fight.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy slump-slides along the tree, which is dented from her impact with it... but not felled. Nor is she, as she stands on shaky feet and drawing heavy breaths. "You're incredible. You're proof that really devoting yourself to something, working for the results you want, is worthwhile. I've tried to do the same thing, but... you know, you're not the first person to call me a worthless idiot. Even your associate isn't. I am. I've trained and studied and applied myself, but when it came time to truly do what mattered... I really am worthless. I wouldn't be here, hurting you and making you worry for Ao, if I was any good at what I'm supposed to be useful for! So hurl every insult you can imagine at me! They're all true!"

Her wand detaches its orb, and grows another. This one also splits off and floats... then another, and two more after that until they form a five-point star pattern. A sixth emerges, hovering in the center of them. "I'm doing this because I don't have any other choice! Even if you never forgive me! This has..." the orbs fly toward Miss White. "...to happen!"

All six of them burst in mid-air, showering the area straight ahead of them in sparkle-pellets. One after another, a barrage that lasts for several seconds, aimed to overwhelm Miss White and hopefully bring her down!

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hmph! If Miss White held contempt before, it only grows tendfold.

"If you understand that much, then stop wasting words! Do me a favor and dissappear!" She howls, and then she's gone.

'What I'm doing now is so everyone else can see their hopes become reality'.

Words catch in Miss White's throat. Fury rises, even more powerful than before. For all that she's so used to using strategy, her temper proves greater. Her strike is laden with pride and the weight of desperation for Ao Karina's sake.

But Runealy shows skill that Miss White had not seen in this girl. Her blow lands, off-kilter, as Rune slams in her own blow. She's overcommitted, is Hannah, and she can do nothing but take the blow on her side as the pair trade blows that would be lethal to non-magical girls, even with Mid-Childan magic intervening.

She slams down her right foot, halting the otherwise debilitating toss through wood and ground. She's up to the ankles in dirt from the pure pressure. But still she stands, gritting her teeth in agony as bone and muscle crack from the blow. But she won't yield. She won't quit.

She ducks down, as Runealy shifts her body, and launched away. Rune recovers, and lands.

"...Sorry." She comes, apologetic despite it all. Miss White and Hannah Sharpe is a horrible liar. But one who is honest in her lies.

"Lacking skill is apparently wrong. You are inexperienced. But...training, right? Greenhorn with a crutch."

And then those orbs flies towards her! She can't dodge. Can't defend. Magic from her remaining fist is absorbed into Raging Tempest, a desperation move by a Mage and Device. They slam into her body, sparkle pellets hitting Hannah's body fully. An arm falls useless. Then another. Finally, her left leg is far too hurt, even broken, for her to conceptually stand.

Hannah's device flares, and reappears around her neck. Her torn, ripped barrier jacket protects her identity, but little else as she gasps and barely remains on the edge of consciousness from that attack.

The sound of straining, broken bones and pure agony rip from her throat. The only reason she stands is stubborn grit and determinatoin. No. She won't /bow/ to this thief. She knows she's lost. But she will not bow. Similarly, a tree, and pure human strength keep her afloat, arms dangling to her side.

She laughs, half delirious. That much dark-fueled magic is sapping her strength. But she has a measure of resistance, thanks to being so immersed in Witch Research and her own partner.

She almost lashes out. Almost hurts Rune. But something about her words reaches her.
% "Training. Effort...that is /never/ useless, Bandit-chan. It was that training that results in you able to..." She looks away. Teeth grit. Tears flit in her usually confident eyes.

She's lost. Failed Ao Karina. And it's all on her own weakness.

Hannah turns hateful eyes to Rune's direction. There's little strength. Only a look that could slay in other worlds.

"That training alone gave you victory today. I say it one last time. Take my energy, and then shove a blade through my heart. I..."

She cracks.

"Please. No! No! NO! I do not want to be weak again! Not after all I bled for, hurt for, strived for! PLEASE! I need it! I need to keep her safe! YOU...YOU WENCH!"

Barely able to walk, barely able to move, her teeth and what little magic in Raging Tempest is summoned into a shard of wood she catches with her mouth. Her remaining leg shoves her forward, wind-magic infused bit of splinter seeking out Rune's throat in a desperate, last-minute act of defiance.

"GET AWAY FROM AO-CHAN!"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"That's right," Runealy responds to Miss White's assessment of her skills. It's a confirmation that comes with tears anew, "You could say that I'm not even one tenth of my teacher... perhaps one hundredth. But a tiny piece of greatness, with a crutch... maybe it will be enough." And then orbs fly, and the battle is ended even as Hannah struggles to stay upright.

The princess walks up toward her, pursuing her hurt foe... and swinging her wand to deflect Hannah's final strike, then again to sweep her legs out from under her! "I'm sorry too, if for different reasons." Her mind flits back to something Miss White insisted on; 'kill her.' That's when Runealy learns a little something about these dark crystals she didn't know before, something that her world's history texts did not explain in telling people why these items are dangerous, why they are illegal, and why one must not dabble in them. After all, they are spawned of a demon's power.

She learns that this tiny shard of a demon's essence contains a demon's influence, too. A whisper in her mind. 'Do it.' Kill Miss White. The urging persists. It would be the smart thing to do. One less enemy, one less problem. If she moves quickly after that, she might even still be able to absorb plenty of magic from Hannah's lifeless body. It's a win-win decision for the sake of protecting Runealy's world, or so the idea pressing against her mind insists.

And even as that voice whispers cruel thoughts in her mind, Hannah pleads for Ao's sake. "You don't get it, do you? Let me tell you something important. Maybe it will give you a little peace." Runealy stows her wand behind her back, and it attaches to the side of her dress' ribbon as if magnetized to it. One hand digs in that ribbon for a piece of paper and several silver coins, which are set down beside Hannah. The other hand pulls out a crystal, this one not at all like the first beyond sharing a diamond shape. This one is beautiful, crystal and clear with just a hint of blue to it. It has no energy swirling within, nor any jagged edges.

She kneels beside Miss White, holding it to Hannah's face. "I don't plan to get away from Ao. Do you know why I asked for her phone number? It wasn't for me. If my plan is to succeed, I /need/ her. She is absolutely vital. I need a healer like her, to ensure that my victims aren't left uncared for. That they won't die when a Witch finds them, or be left for your associate to descend upon. I will be calling upon her time and time again, because she is a healer. Someone in one of the finest lines of work imaginable. Someone who can ensure that banditry is my highest crime, not murder!"

Then Runealy taps a finger to the top of the crystal and says one word. "Trans..." She hesitates. It's the last chance to back out of this. To stay on a fairly innocent side of a line and not cross it. A hurt, gasping breath follows as she steels her nerves... and does something horrible.

"...Transfuse." The crystal responds, a thin energy line flowing from it to Hannah. The line will change color to match whatever color is most associated with Hannah's magic, which begins to seep in to the jewel. The process is not gentle. The crystal was meant as a conduit for energy freely offered by the queens of Runealy's world, not as a siphon to forcefully rip it away. Thus what is normally a beautiful thing that merely leaves the queen exhausted after ensuring her world's safety is... painful. It slices through Hannah with a chill, as it steals from her.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
For a moment, there's clarity in Miss White's mind.

She smiles, broadly. It's not a nice smile, as her body's strength almost entirely leaves her. Her last strike is turned aside, and it's all she can do to stand. She's stubborn, this girl.

"True. ...But walk away here knowing that it was that training. That effort. That /real/ power that let you beat me tonight. Your crutch? Remember my promise. That will not work on me again." Comes Hannah solemnly.

She burns the feeling of Princess Runealy into her mind and Device. An absolute enemy she'll pursue regardless of the circumstances.

If Rune thought her words would bring her peace, then she's utterly mistaken. Those words sink in.

Hannah's weakness let Rune use Ao Karina. Her best friend. Into gathering victims of energy draining. All for this weak, crutch-using person's dreams.

There's utter silence. It's uncanny, as she slumps aside. Miss White is always full of words, of defiance.

Instead, she's struck with a sense of utter weakness, and utter hate that takes her breath away. She's swept off her feet to the ground, and then the wound is salted worse.

Money and a letter. One final insult to a woman who stood her ground, and fought for her beliefs and her friend.

A scream tears through her as her energy is sucked away. A hand reaches out, grasping in vain as her body convulses. Her wounds exasperate as green lines of magic flow from her linker core.

Tears flow. Her body seeks to push her to blackness in mind...but she resists. Hatred. Anger. The pain. She grabs it all, and despite her broken arms, they shake and move.

It's a futile gesture, her hands weak as a kitten, but they grasp for Runealy's throat. Her eyes are closed, but her face is a mask of pain and hate.

"...I hate you. I HATE YOU! YOU DO NOT DESERVE THIS MAGIC! I FOUGHT FOR IT! I BLED! I SUFFERED! YOU...YOU WILL PAY!!!" Are her last words, as she finally passes out.

Miss White is done, for all of her strength, utterly exhausted. Her arms fall back from the other girl's throat. Raging Tempest has no mana to offer. It glows, even the Device offering futile fury.

Despite that, Hannah's face is full of condemnation, and a lingering resolve. She has a true enemy. And she won't give up.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Interestingly enough, the letter is not for Hannah. If she's able to read it from where she is now, it is handwritten and reads: 'This is pay for your work. It is good work, and I am grateful that you will keep me from being a murderer. If you do not want to accept money from a monster, then donate it to a worthy cause. You will find a letter like this upon each of my victims. I won't be so arrogant as to ask your forgiveness, merely your cooperation. I need your help to ensure good people do not die from what I must do.' A signature reading 'The Princess' follows, concluding the note. The silver coins atop it will weigh it down, preventing it from blowing away. One end of these coins bears a side view of a woman's face, elegant and idealized. The other side shows the same shield with a heart emblem on it as Runealy's own attire does. Bold print on each end reads 'ALWAYS SAFE'. A very unfitting motto in this situation, but whomever minted these coins likely never expected one of the royal family would venture to another world and begin attacking people.

Even as the crystal fills with green energy, Runealy can't bring herself to say anything. She can hear that scream, and it is awful and sick, a very clear sign that she is doing something terrible. It's only when the process ends and Runealy stows the crystal that she responds. "You're right. I don't deserve... ...you're unconscious."

Miss White's sentiments nonetheless deserve an answer. Runealy reaches into her bow for a few more things. Among them, another piece of paper and a pen - a modern one. She writes something and leaves it tucked within Hannah's arm. It reads: 'Miss White, you are correct. I don't deserve this magic. You should hate me, and I should pay. When my work is done, I hope you find me. I hope you hunt me down and hit me over and over and never stop until you are completely satisfied! I will deserve that and more.' This too is signed 'The Princess', then she rises and walks off to go hide among some of the trees still standing.

Once out of obvious sight, she looks upon the fallen Miss White and pulls out her second phone; the one devoted to magical matters, separated from what people might call the 'mundane identity' Rune for. She calls Ao.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Darkness, true darkness, and a sense of overwhelming weakness claims Hannah. Her mind flashes back to the first time she had encountered a magical being. She'd fought, and fought, and it meant nothing. She couldn't help Ao despite all her struggles.

That brave heart of hers darkens. Again, she falls unconscious, prey to another monster. This time, it's another magical girl leaning on a trinket. It was a close thing. But she still lost.

Miss White falls into a world of dark dreams and self hatred, lashing out at herself as strength finally leaves her.

That phone rings, letters are written, and coins deposited. Between Boris feeling something amiss with his Mistress, and Ao, there's a medical team on the scene in minutes.

A big russian Familiar and a deeply devoted friend soon have Miss White in a gourney. She's loaded into the back of an ambulance. The other EMT's look to her, only for her to peer back at things shining on the ground. Paper. Coins. Evidence.

The thin, weak little brunette slams the door shut. She wants to be there with Hannah. But she knows that the cops finding those would do nothing but hurt her dear freind more. Ao has been utterly professional as an EMT up to this point.

The ambulance speeds away onto the road, the girl left with keys to a black sedan, and paper. She pauses, kneels, and picks up the pair of letters. She reads them.

The letter to her, and the coins in her pockets now get squeezed. Ao Karina is a nice girl. But the knowledge is too much, that this 'Princess' hurt her friend.

Ao sobs. She cries, in anger and sadness. If only she had magic! She could have been there, to help, to protect the girl who always helped her!

Miss White had bled for Ao, and Ao could do nothing but keep her alive. It grates at the young girl's soul.

Collecting both, she stands, and shivers. She can't move. She's too emotional.

"Princess...I can't wait to see you fall!" Ao mutters, unable to contain her gentle soul. She falls to her knees, weak. Ao cries, unable to move, unable to keep her emotions in check.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
When Ao answers, the princess speaks non-stop. "Do not interrupt me no matter what you hear. I need your undivided attention here and now. Stop whatever you are doing, and go to where we met that day. In the park, when bandits attacked you. There is a driver there. He will give you his phone number. Keep it, you will need it. From now on, tell him where you need to go; I have paid him on retainer and he is at your exclusive disposal, though he knows nothing of why I've hired him. Right now, you need to head south of Tokyo. When you see a red flag on the side of the road, stop. Follow those flags. I..." Her voice, previously trying to sound coldly melodramatic, falters. "I have hurt your friend. She needs you as soon as possible. Do not ask me why, I cannot answer you. Don't call me back, just come for her this instant!"

Then without even waiting for a response, Runealy hangs up and puts the phone away. She waits for Ao, but stays hidden. Watching and waiting. When the EMTs and Ao arrive (perhaps minus the personal driver, as it seems Ao has other means of getting around), Rune dismisses her transformation; she has finally figured out that something of a 'split identity' exists in a world where one's magic isn't the primary basis for that world's government, and she uses it here to avoid being detected as 'The Princess.'

She watches Miss White be loaded in, a move that brings a tiny bit of relief to Rune. Relief that is quickly shattered as she sees just how poorly Ao is taking this. She had some idea that Ao would be upset. Anyone with a good nature would be, when faced with a sight like this and the prospect of being recruited for this sort of work. But this... this was something more than Rune expected, and it chills her.

She overhears that remark and those cries, then slips away. Once certainly out of earshot, Rune 'responds', speaking to herself: "...Yeah, I can't wait to see me fall, either. As soon as I'm done... I'll have a lot to answer for." She begins to walk back toward the road, taking a different path than originally used, to call her own driver to come pick her up and bring her back to Tokyo. And the very instant that call is done, tears flow anew as her eyes return to normal. Runealy can imagine exactly what her mother would think and say if she were here to discover any of what just transpired. She can remember recent insults from her opponents. 'Worthless idiot'...

...Runealy certainly feels like one. One who will need to start wearing a scarf, she realizes, as her driver asks about the diamond-shaped bruise on her neck. There are a few others resulting from blows Hannah struck on her, but her clothes hide those. The diamond-imprint however remains easy to see.

Someone may have walked away on their own power, and someone else might have not, but it is hard to say there was a true winner in any important sense today.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ao is far too professional, and indeed at work tonight, to use a simple driver. She says nothing in the initial phone call. There's pure work. Hannah is in the ambulance, and is gone, and then she collapses in her own feelings.

Nor does she hear those words by the Princess in her civilian disguise. After a good half an hour of simply laying there, Ao pushes herself to her feet.

No. Her friend needs her. Maybe she doesn't have magic, or strength, but she can be there. Keys jangle, and with a hard turn, Ao Karina has the car flare to life. Her foot presses down on the pedal, and she's off to the hospital at a frankly unsafe speed. She makes it, and glares several hospital workers out of the way.

Viktor meets her half way, and the pair sit before a now unconscious, casted Miss White. Ao shudders, and finally falls upon her friend, hugging her gently. Boris scowls, the big familiar feeling the weakness in her linker core. Worst still, he knows just how that will effect his life long partner.

In the end, there's a dog, and a girl next to Hannah as she awakens. It will be a rough morning when she does, barely able to speak as she comes to terms with the enormity of her loss.

But there are those who love her there. And that alone keeps her aloft, her other emotions swarming, drowning out mere pain from injuries...