1734/Vampires and Dolls and Narus Oh

Vampires and Dolls and Narus Oh
Date of Scene:	15 July 2016
Location:	Plot Room #1
Synopsis:	While on a quest with Naru to find a present for Gull, Hannah runs into Misa and Lacrima. The great tug-of-war for delicious Naru-energy begins.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Naru Osaka, Misa Sakagami, Norie Okana

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
It's late-ish at the OSA-P, and one Hannah Sharpe is just exiting the building after a looooong bit of window shopping. The sun's down by now, and only now has she stepped out. Perhaps to the annoyance of Naru's mother, no decisions on this particular gift that she wants to give to a certain Pretty Cure. Instead, she's ambushed the younger 'owner' of the business with her problems.

Hannah isn't one to get flustered, usually. But here, that well-hidden crushing self doubt and feelings of inadequacy are in full swing.

A hand rubs down the back of her head, hair ruffled as she frowns. "I mean, they all feel so damn pretty Naru! But...argh, there's just nothing that matches the brilliance and beauty of her /SOUL/ you know!? I need something...something that's deep enough to lose your eyes in, but shines enough so that you get blinded by the heat of her love and bravery! Draws the eyes but you want to look away, right into her pretty face!" By now, she's stopped at a street corner, both hands at her head in frustration.

"...Am I thinking this over too much?" She huffs. "Sorry, I just want this to be /special/ for Haruna. I'll come back next time when I'm not stressed as hell, maybe I can get an actual commission going. Didn't mean to waste your time, kiddo."

The streets are pretty empty as she turns back to her new running partner.

"You need an escort home, or you going to be okay?" A warm smile, as she visibly shoves her own problems away for Naru's sake.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru hefts her bags on her shoulder and there's a soft laugh. "I think what you're looking for are usually called magical artifacts and we are going to have trouble finding them here." She gestures to the shops they've been gawking through. She pauses there, leaning a touch and grins. "Besides.. you don't want it to overshadow here, just compliment her. And yes.. you are totally over thinking it."

There's a dismissive gesture of her hand. "Not a waste of time. It was fun to go window shopping, and entirely better than studying. Although after yesterday, I am going to have to get some of that in too at some point." She pauses a moment and then asks. "Why are you stressed as hell?"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Well... the streets aren't completely empty. Maeko is there, nearby, though she has her presence largely hidden. She's standing atop of a nearby building, doing what she does best. Stalking people she considers 'hers'. And right now, she's following Naru! Because Naru had honestly been interesting. No screaming, not unnerved, just calm conversation and she went for pepper spray.

     Needless to say, Maeko had been impressed by this particular 'toy' that she considered hers. Which means that, at present, Naru might feel a very mild sense of being watched; but it's a more mundane feeling than the intense feeling she'd felt in the game center before. And could possibly be mistaken for just someone watching her who was on the street.

     Not to mention that the stress that was coming off of Hannah was particularly delectable for the cursed doll of negativity and resentment. But for now... she just seems intent on being a creeper. Watching. Waiting. ... For... really, nothing on the waiting, mostly she's just watching and following.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana, back at OSA-P. Staring with intensity into the window at this one piece of jewerly again. You'd think that, with one hilarously bad encounter with one piece of bad jewerly, that she wouldn't dare look at something else. But no. She was staring at it, and this time it wasn't herself she had in her minds eye when she was looking at it.

She was thinking of a particularly Starlight Zodiac girl of course. But... Was it too soon to do that sort of thing? Was it a thing you even do? She still wasn't even sure what love felt like.

She does, however, knows what hunger feels like.

She looks up, and to the left and---

Oh. There's a face she knows-- with a face she doesn't know. She gets this slight, sinister kind of 'smirk-smile' as she begins to walk towards the duo.

"Hello, again~" she almost sings.

"How are you?" she asks, not at Hannah, but at Naru. "I enjoy the conversation last time. Perhaps you'd like to have another one?~" she asks.

Yes there's a certain undertone to this statement.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"...You saying that makes me sound like I'm obsessed, you know? I /do/ appreciate things besides macguffins of power. Occasionally." Cough.

"But you do have a point. Well. I'll just find something that looks good on her. An emerald maybe. She's already got that hairclip, so...hmm. I wonder if she'd be okay with a ring, or ear-rings. You know, I've never asked if she's pierced."

As for stress? Hannah kicks a rock. "Eh, problems at work. Research is hitting a high note, but now I have to deal not only with, ah.../coworkers/ in other places, but one of my interns almost got eaten by Bob thanks to their stupdity. Had to have their arm sewed back on. Oh man, you should've seen the amount of blood everywhere! Lucky she lived and that we've got an on-sight hospital for cases like that." She actually laughs. Something might be wrong with Hannah by now.

"Oh, and some jerks tried a hostile takeover. We managed to smash that, but yeeeesh, the paperwork. Feel like I haven't slept in age..."

Hannah pauses. Suddenly, there's a Norie. Normally R.T. might have pointed at the lurking presence of Maeko up on the buildings. But both Device and User get startled by the appearance of one Norie Okana.

A single eye raises, and Hannah grips her cane. Is she being paranoid?

Her free hand waves. "Yo! Friend of yours, Naru-chan?" No introductions. As much as the young woman tries to sound not hostile, she well knows how often Naru draws predators. Who knows who this woman is!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"When you're talking sparkles of suns and depths you can lose yourself in.. that says larger than life." Naru points out with a smile. "Emeralds are nice. Really nice, actually. Earrings can be converted, most of them at least, between pierced and not pierced.. although doesn't just about everyone have pierced ears these days?" Naru quirks her head, thoughtful as she reaches a hand up to touch her own earlobe. She might not be currently wearing earrings, but she could be.

The arrival of Norie makes Naru's attention shift there and she smiles. Actually a warm smile. "Hi! How're you doing?" She asks, perfectly social. "I am probably a little tired for that sort of energy conversation tonight, at least if there's to be a hope of me passing midterms, or getting up to run tomorrow." She answers with the same honesty and simplicty as last time.

The sense of being watched hasn't quiet yet caught up with the other distractions of conversation, no doubt that will change soon enough.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Sometimes, there are moments when it's good to have a stalker. Today might be one of them! However, Maeko seems content to still just kind of ... watch right now. ~Still~. She didn't particularly like that tone on the other girl. or the look. And how she was approaching -her- toy. But for now... well, it was probably just normal interactions, right?

     Still, there was something strangely familiar about the girl Naru was with. Hmm. Where had she seen her before...? Something... about... oh. Right. Ao Karina. That girl's best friend. Oh that would be fun if she showed her face around her. She would probably be so amusingly annoyed! Still. Maeko just continues to slowly follow after them, keeping her presence mostly masked beyond that vague sense of being watched. Occasionally, she leaps from one rooftop to the next, which is probably her most visible moment!

     Hannah seemed to be stressed and on edge though, and she seemed to become /more/ on edge at the appearance of the other girl. More reason for Maeko to watch attentively. One of her toys might be in danger! ... That isn't her! ... Some sort of strange protector, Naru has. She couldn't /quite/ understand what was being said, even if she could hear tone. And feel the emotion. Unfortunate.

     Naru seemed to be relaxed enough. But that didn't seem to say much, since Naru had been pretty calm around Maeko, too. Hmmm. The doll frowns from the rooftop, one hand shifting subtly to draw her cleaver from the darkness. Something felt off here. An almost strange tension, though she wasn't sure if it was just her jealousy or not...

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks to Hannah with a blink. "Do I know you?" she asks. More rudely to her. She doesn't seem to understand the topic of discussion. Maybe she doesn't care.

She looks back to Naru, and she makes a grab with her hand to grab Naru's own. Her eyes go wide at her. "But... I insist~" says. "After all, I could go for a bite to eat, couldn't you?~" she asks.

"I have much to talk about and ask! Don't worry, this will be fun~" she seems to exist, but she doesn't quite smile or even smirk the whole time she talks.

It's easy to get the distinct impression she's up to no good here.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"Yeah, I guess I'll just sneak an ear-tease and we'll find out. Okay. Emerald it'll be! I'll harass you and your mom tomorrow over it."

Hannah can't help but look a bit wary here. On the one hand? Naru is smiling warmly and generally being nice. On the other? The talk of 'energy conversion' is making her increasingly unhappy.

It doesn't help that there's the pervasive feeling of being watched. As Maeko gazes down, Hannah's shoulders tighten, her grip on her cane gets harder, and the feeling of negative emotions: wariness, stress, and definitely annoyance as Norie starts to talk more only builds. Also, a bubbling undercurrent of violence just waiting to be let out.

It might be delicious, if one likes the emotional equivalent of really spicey food.

Hannah outright /smirks/. She takes one step just in front of Naru. It's a rather blunt message.

"That's my line kiddo."

There's a hard edge to Hannah's voice. And then she's talking about /eating/, and grabbing Naru's arm. Raging Tempest pings at the sound, spitting the image into something Hannah understands, and the reaction is almost instant.

That cane of hers isn't the most durable in the world, but it makes one heck of a switch when swung in anger.

"HEY! That's my running partner you're putting your hand on, how about asking nice!" She snarls out as she whips the thing out to try to smack it right on Norie's wrist, perhaps snapping the cane from the blow. Hannah's not taking this lightly.

"Back off. Or things are going to get reeeeeal ugly." Is the sudden threat.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I'm not the one getting a bite to eat in this, I'm the one getting chewed on." Naru starts to point out as she suddenly has a Hannah between her and Norie and she involuntarily takes a step back, perhaps wisely putting a wee bit of space between herself and that cane that is swinging. "I might have these words come back and haunt me later, but I'd rather go running in the morning than end up drained tonight. Sorry, Lacrima."

The flicker of movement from just behind her almost makes Naru look, but instead her phone chimes with a text and she glances down, rather than up.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Aaand someone was reaching to grab Naru's hand. And it was even less pleasant feeling. Maeko's lips twitch into a frown as she takes a slow breath, standing up more fully on the edge of the building. Her cleaver is lifted up, dark energy gathering around it. A blink later, and Maeko is standing on ground level behind Naru, lifting a hand past her.

     "My, my. Someone seems to be trying to play with my toy..." Maeko murmurs, glass eyes staring past Naru and Hannah to stare at Norie, watching her silently for several moments, her free hand pointing towards Norie. After a few moments though, her hand shifts its aim. She takes a slow breath, and then exhales, darkness gathering around her hand. "Passion's Embrace: Burning Rage." And then... well... she attempts to place a minor curse on Hannah. Not one that causes particularly negative effects, but rather... attempts to heighten Hannah's anger and rage. "I do think you'll make a better defender for my dear toy if you gave in to that boiling anger and violence..."

     Maeko smiles sweetly towards Naru. "Never fear, dear Naru-chan. I'm here to protect you. And I won't even expect any payment in return~."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana is whapped in the wrist. This seems to rebound off a braclet that's beset with a combination of midchildan runes and different runes of a non-midchildan origin. She frowns a bit. She frowns and examines it. Not broken. That smarted.

She frowns again. "I....."

And then some sort of creepy doll shows up behind them and she seems to narrow her eyes a bit at this. She blinks merely once and talks up.

"Excuse you?" she asks. "She was /my meal/ first." she insists. "Tell her Naru! I was here first!" she says stamping her foot down. Yes Naru, be on her side. This is a thing you want.

Yeah okay. This is getting nasty and awful and she shifts in an aura of purple, gaining longer purple hair. purple eyes... some sort of black and purple dress with a bat motif... a pretty pin with some sort of purple flower...

An an even more angry look.

"Enough. I'm taking what's mine and none of you have a right to stop me." she insists.

"La Ira Explosiva Oscuridad!" she calls out as a wide blast of dark energy explodes from her extending palm, trying to catch the entire group in front of her.

...and also a few windows of OSA-P. Whoops.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah tries to show Naru a reassuring smile. But it's mostly a huge grin. She looks a little too excited in this situation.

"That sounds like a challenge, Naru! We'll see about that once this mess is all over with. Stay behind me, huh?"

And then, suddenly, a very unwelcome presence is here amidst all the violence. Even the sense of runes in the air doesn't catch Hannah's attention as much as Maeko's arrival. Even unhenshined, she /knows/ that feeling.

And that voice. Darkness floods into Hannah's heart, her face goes red in rage, and her sightless eyes turn to the doll-girl.

"YOU!!!" Howls Hannah, in a manner that's almost pure berserker rage rather than even Hannah Sharpe's fiery temper.

And then Norie is /daring/ to try to also claim Naru! Miss White has had enough as that second attack is aimed for them!

"Raging Tempest, set up!"

Suddenly, powerful wind blows through the area as Hannah's magic circle appears under her. A flip of a coin, and solid wind covers her in an emerald sheen before exploding outward. Left in a white suit, a garish golden tie, and her Device in her right hand, she throws herself over Naru bodily.

A bubble of emerald magic flares up, helping to protect Naru from the back blast of Lacrima's attack! Some of it gets through, shredding pieces of Hannah's barrier jacket, but most of the damage has been ablated.

And then, her Device speaks up. "Bursting Barrier".

There's a violent explosion of slicing wind magic back against Lacrima and Maeko as the entire bubble ripples outwards. Miss White, in a kickboxing pose, /snarls/ at the two.

"I don't know who you are, or who you work with, Miss Lacrima, but you'd better cough up their name! Because Kasagami White of WitchHunter Professional Services doesn't take kindly to people who hurt her FRIENDS well! And as for you, little DOLL-CHAN!? I'm gonna enjoy smashing your face in for what you did to Aoi!"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "Your meal first? What are you? 5? First doesn't matter." Maeko responds to Norie, her cleaver lifting to be rapidly placed between Naru and Norie, "It's the one who can keep her who owns her." Maeko responds cheerfully, using that cleaver to protect Naru! ... And draw the energy of the attack that was previously going to hit Naru into it! Protection for the human! It does, however, somewhat sacrifice Maeko's own protection, being both taller than Naru, and having to reach around her to use that cleaver to protect her! Cracks can be seen on Maeko's face, bits of porcelain falling out as she stares at Norie.

     Immediately afterwards, she releases her (incredibly loose) hold on Naru to step around her, her blade lifting as she gazes at Lacrima. "So young. So innocent. So out of control of your curse..." Maeko says cheerfully towards Lacrima, glancing back towards Naru. "Dear Naru-chan. You should probably get to safety. I don't have a particularly large repertoire of defensive abilities that will help others."

     Of course, there was also that 'bursting barrier' thing happening. Pretty much right after she released Naru. Well then. There were more cracks in the Doll, even if she got her cleaver partially up to absorb some of the incoming damage -- it still left cracks in her form. "What I did to Aoi? You mean... relieving her of her curse and allowing her to live a normal life, no longer sickly or in constant pain?" Maeko asks towards Hannah in an ~almost~ cheery voice. If one can ignore the taunting that was in it, and the keening crackle and screech of porcelain repairing itself.

     "Still. I'm not here for you, though you're quite amusing, Kasagami White." Maeko comments, and then... well, she she opts to place herself on the opposite side of Miss White from Lacrima, lifting her hand towards them both. "Passion's Embrace: Toxic Jealousy." As if to taunt Hannah, a familiar caustic fog begins to appear, attempting to surround and entrap Lacrima in an embrace that likely melts the ground and area around her, as well as start eating away at both her energy and body if she's not quick enough to escape!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Wait.. your toy?" Naru blinks as she takes a further step back, if only not to have Maeko at her back, and hopefully to manage to keep an eye on everyone. At least everyone who wishes a piece of her, favourably or not.

Mostly not.

"Uh oh." Naru comments at.. well.. it could be anything, really. From Hannah's rage, to Lacrima's blast of dark energy in her direction, to having been claimed by a creepy doll.

Naru surrenders on conversation at this point, and really just flat out tries to put things, people and shields between herself and active attacks. "There is one person who gets my energy tonight, and that's me! I'm just putting that out there. Just me!" She notes as she does her level best to find something that approximates cover. It's not so very easy, but she at least gets out of the immediate blast radius. Mostly. How much cover the trash can provides is questionable, but it's something.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima's blast smashes against Hannah's bubble, as she frowns a bit--- the blast back seems to wash over Lacrima's extended hand--- and she reabsorbs some of her own energy. She hrmphs and lowers her hand. "Who I work for? Riventon-san." she says plainly, though not the suborganization. "Ah. So that's why you're familar." she says matter of factly. "Don't you have anything better to do than interfere with my operation?"

She hrmphs and looks back down to Maeko. "'Out of control?'" she asks. "I'm perfectly in control." she says.

There's a ccaustic fog that tries to entrap her--- and she hrmphs and let's darkness wrap around her like a cloak only a few moments existing this...

Before she reappears somewhere behind them. having not needed to stay there very long. Also. this means she's closer to Naru suddenly and shake makes another grab for the girl to try to touch and drain her... if she succeeds-- she will in fact, try to drain!

Of course, others might interfere.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Naru's let go! That's a good sign. But Miss White is /VERY/ distracted. She immediately rounds on Misa! There's a big, threatening point right at the Doll!

"YOU STABBED HER WITH A BUTCHER KNIFE YOU JERK! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU REMOVE CURSES!"

But Lacrima says something rather important! "Wait...you work with Riv-kun?" Okay, that changes things a bit. Squint! And then she's grabbing for Lacrima! There's also that fox that tries to blow over to both herself /and/ Naru /and/ Lacrima!

Miss White concentrates, and her Device pipes up!

"Wind Burst!" With a hard fist, she punches the air, and a whirlwind blows both past herself /and/ around Lacrima to help disperse the fog! Magic flares against magic, though Miss White rolls out of the stuff with a cough. Her face is red, and she's still snarling. A hand slams down, right for Naru's /other/ arm! Tuuuuuug!

"Alright, Lacrima. Because you're working with Riv, I'll make you a deal. Help me get Naru-chan here back to the office, beat that little thieving, friend-stabbing Doll jerk up, and I'll make it worth your while. Let Naru go, play nice, help me kick some ass, and you and Riv will get nicely rewarded. HOw's that sound?" There's still definitely some anger in her eyes, but it's the curse talking really!

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "That sounds good to me, Naru-chan~." Maeko responds to Naru's claim of not wanting anyone else to have her energy tonight. "I'm not interested in your energy right now... there's a much tastier meal around. No offense, of course." Maeko says cheerily towards Naru, her gaze resting on both Hannah and Lacrima. Mmm. They both were full of such delectable dark energy and emotions. It was a veritable feast for the doll, even if she was being possessive of her Naru!

     Naru took cover though, and Maeko takes a slow breath, opting to call on the Curse that she obtained part of yesterday, blue-black energy flaring around her as she lifts her hand. "Passion's Embrace: Cold Fury." Maeko gestures towards Naru, offering her some much more solid protection: A wall of ice that stabs out of the ground in several large spears to protect the girl! Later, Hannah might notice that her energy literally felt like a different person's in that moment; and Lacrima would probably find herself thwarted by ice between her hand and Naru! The only downside is that Naru would probably be a bit cold in that protective ice.

    "Actually, I didn't use my cleaver on her so far as I recall. I'm fairly certain i just used my hand. Besides. What is a few moments of pain for a lifetime of freedom?" Pause. "Why am I trying to reason with someone who's out of control of their passion...?" Maeko gives a helpless shrug, watching as Hannah also goes for Naru... watching the two silently a few moments. She lifts her hand to rest over her face, "That's not how you handle a misbehaving employee. It's time for someone to get fired." Maeko says towards Hannah, eyes glowing faintly.

     She lifts her cleaver, doing a casual swing of her blade, attempting to move the summoned ice to entrap both Lacrima and Hannah! If they don't burst out, they'll be rapidly coated in the ice, it seems that Maeko intends to leave them in an icy tomb! "Betrayers need to be punished."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Hannahs to the left of her, Maekos to the right, and here Naru is. Stuck in the middle. With a side order of wall of ice surrounding her. "Thanks.." She doesn't sound entirely certain that the ice is a feature, certainly not when she starts shivering. Naru is stuck for the moment, trying to follow the offers and deals and connects and spells and curses and mostly ducking a lot.

At least until the ice starts to move and she darts just a bit further back, or tries to, out of everyone's grasp and reach for the moment. "Do all three of you work for the same people? That has to make staff meetings super awkward."

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima stares at Hannah. "What are you offering? Money? 'Things'? I'd rather have the human energy." she snaps. "Besides. The way I hear it, your employees love to get all up into Riventon-san's bussiness." she snaps. "Make your offer of /what/ now before I change my mind about entertaining it." she says coldly. She still glares at Naru suddenly however, as her eyes look back to Maeko.

"I don't know who you are. But you appear to be some kind of doll. I'm going to have to put you back into the toybox I guess." she says. "Dolls have no bearance on the activites of actual people." she calls out as she summons up and whirl of black energy around herself---- and specfically also NOT Hannah-- as it forms a series of walls. The cold doesn't bother Lacrima. She isn't a being of warmth and blood--- it's definitly more the fact she doesn't want to end up encased. Luckily, she seems to be in her own little pocket as the ice encases her.

"...where have I felt this power before..." she says softly. She shakes her head and teleports, again, out of the ice and settles down on top of the ice tomb as she sits daintly. She raises her hand and hrmphs. "Fuego Oscuro!" she calls out--- black fire bursting from her hand-- or at least darkness taking a very fire like shape as she attempts to explode it over the general area. She isn't particularly being careful where she aims at but it seems to generally be 'at Maeko'.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
For all the fury, now turned cold in her as Misa's icey spike slams right through a shield and into Miss White's abdomen, the woman manages a smirk to Naru. There's a splatter of blood from her mouth.

"Oh you have no idea. My employees get a bit overzealous sometimes! Oh, and I've got at least two people in the higher ups that want me dead Naru-chan."

Of course, there's still that /frosty hell/ to deal with. Miss White slams down a fist to shatter it.

"We can 'reason' after I've got your cracked bits and head on a PIKE!" Scowls Miss White!

But Lacrima gets a peer too. "Fine, fine, energy it is! I've got a few resources that can give you a hand there! I'll even help myself. Deal? Now let's work together and send this doll packing!"

That ice heads for them both, and the first thing she does is focus on Naru. Concentrating, three layers of emerald-green bubbles appear around Naru, all made of rotating wind enough to buffet the young woman's hair and clothes!

"Hold tight there Naru!" Click. A phone comes out. She hits a button.

Elsewhere, several WPS cars are speeding towards the location of the fight!

Time to get on Lacrima's good side! "Bah! She's just an ally of a friend! No expectation of loyalty! It's all about deals, you heartless Doll!" Then, Miss White leaps up, and there's a shotgun-like ker-chunk in her Device!

"Cartridge Load!"

Both of Miss White's hands draw the air around her, causing massive swirling tornadoes around her fists that seem to drag both spiked ice /and/ Maeko closer towards her as she makes her way towards Maeko!

"Give me some cover, Lacrima!" She'll have to take a gamble here!

And then she starts punching her way through ice, disregarding the slicing of her hands and the cold she's inflicted with, pure, raw rage driving her magic harder and harder. The merest punch, not to mention her magic, seems to hit horrifically hard thanks to those Cartridges /and/ the fury-enhancing curse in Miss White! There's no mercy here, as she seeks to pound Maeko into the dirt!

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "No. I don't work for any employer foolish enough to employ her." Maeko says, motioning towards Lacrima as she responds to Naru. The ice wall protecting Naru, for the record, has an opening and is a half-dome to block off attempts to get to Naru; she can still run and such. Maeko doesn't seem intent on keeping her, in spite of claiming her as 'hers', oddly enough.

     Lacrima was, however, talking to her. And Maeko simply smiles in response. "Why yes. I do believe it's time for the toys to return to their toybox... uhuhu... I do think that I'll keep you as my toy." Maeko says towards Lacrima, her cleaver shifted to take the brunt of the attack once more, and once more absorb the worst of it. The fire mostly seemed to burn over the doll's clothing though, it wasn't pleasant, but definitely not nearly as effective as physical force it seemed!

     Maeko takes a slow breath as she lifts her free hand, pointing towards Lacrima. Above her, two crosses of wood with strings of dark energy form, attempting to latch onto various points on Lacrima! "Marionette Control." Maeko intones softly, attempting to ... well, simply take control of Lacrima! It didn't seem to do much beyond ... hold the vampire still, if successful! Almost more of a bind than anything. Still, if it was successful, it would make way for Maeko's next action; her blade lifted, the tip pointed towards Lacrima. The Doll shifts slightly, and then LEAPS towards Lacrima, intent on sinking that blade deep into the vampiress' body! "Forsaken... REAPING!"

     'Cartridge load'. A burst of energy in Hannah's form. Maeko turns mid-step and leaps towards HANNAH instead, turning that Forsaken Reaping towards her! Using that swirling wind to move faster, the doll's blade now aims to stab up and THROUGH Hannah's arm, to stop her attack dead before it can actually, well, get completely off. To drain away all of the energy of that Cartridge. "My, my. I wonder how many of those you can use before your body breaks..."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru isn't sure exactly what to make of the emerald green bubbles whipping at her clothes and hair, but she ducks a little before she realizes they're probably there to protect her, somehow.

The fact that Naru's hairstyle has seen the most damage considering all the spells flying around, is basically a miracle of having many people trying to protect her while throwing stuff at everyone else. She quirks her head, watching the attempts to take control, the bursts of black fire.. oh wait.. that one's coming vaguely near her too.. she ducks back behind the ice wall to stay out of /that/'s way, bringing her windy bubbles with her. All the better. Her attention is keenly upon the fight, rather than running away. She might always be taking mental notes.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima gets caught by weird marrionate strings and she frowns a bit. She gives them a firm tug and with a darkness laced tug---- manages to destroy them---but /only/ when she's turned the blade on Hannah, meaning--- she'd probably not had broken off in time had Maeko not changed targets--- still she seethes. "You talk about taking a lot." she says.

She attempts to descend down on Maeko and touch her personage.

"Drenaje." she insists, her hand glowing that purple aura as she attempts to.. drain Maeko. Lacrima doesn't know if that's a good idea or not.

"But let me try to return the favor. of /taking/." she spits.

She's seem to be ignoring Hannah- for now- so that's at least one less issue for Hannah for the moment.

Of course, who knows if she'll change her behavior for good at the moment.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Maeko's attack works! In part. As that knife shifts and is suddenly coming for her? Miss White waits until that blade stabs for her, then shifts her arm! The magic in that fist dissipates, before she shifts to the right just enough. The blade scrapes along her side, only for her to frown. Little damage but the magic in her left arm dissipates.

"Huh. So you're good at draining, but hit like a punk. I got it." Then, her arm clenches towards Maeko's wrist!

The /other/ hand then slams towards Maeko's face, intending to use that last half of the cartridge energy to smash her straight towards Lacrima's own attack!

It's about now that a WPS car comes squealing into the area! A door pops open, then the sunroof! As Lacrima aims to drain Maeko, Hannah grins!

"Suck her dry, Drain-girl! Leave that Doll a husk! I won't forget the favor!"

For now, she's playing Naru-guard as faceless, suited youma with guns open up towards Maeko.

"In the car, Naru-chan!"

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     Locked in the strike with Hannah, it made it so that Maeko couldn't do much to defend -- or stop -- the energy drain from Lacrima. And yet... her tone doesn't seem concerned at all. "Ah, you wish my energy? Well. I suppose you may have... some energy." Maeko says cheerily towards Lacrima. And then... Lacrima gets probably a rather unpleasant meal. As Maeko's energy is drawn out, she allows some of the energy of Mou Fubuki's curse to flow, and with it, its curse. The curse of slothfulness, the curse that one mustn't do anything, that it isn't even worth it to fight or to even do anything but lay on the ground. That she would be better off just succumbing to whatever happened to her...

     It wasn't NEARLY as strong as if the curse had actually been cast, but it was probably not a particularly pleasant meal for Lacrima, even if it was successful! Maeko didn't... seem... particularly worried about Lacrima's drain, either. Probably because she currently was clashing a draining blade with Hannah herself. Which had only been... partially effective. And for her trouble, Maeko's arm had been grabbed and a fist was coming towards her face!

     Maeko shifts suddenly, reaching her own hand forward towards Hannah, attempting to grab her by the throat, even as her face is punched. Fist meets porcelain, and the side of Maeko's face caves in, leaving an empty hole of shattered and broken porcelain. That grip on Hannah's throat would begin to tighten, as Maeko's one eye begins to bore into Hannah. "Suck me dry? Leave me a corpse? I don't believe anyone could manage that." Maeko says. "Still. If you wish a dry husk, then... so be it." That grip shifts, as the hand holding the oversized cleaver turns at an unnatural angle, attempting to sink the blade into Hannah's side again. "Passion's release: Draining Depression." That grip on Hannah's throat tightens as she moves to LIFT Hannah off the ground, turning her towards the youma to use the Device user as a shield for her own Youma. The entire time, cleaver and hand mean to drain Hannah. If not stopped quickly, she seemed quite intent to leave her drained dry.

     "You should be a good girl and listen to her, Naru. I'm about to get angry... and I don't believe I can avoid hurting you in the process." Maeko breathes out slowly, as darkness begins to pour out of the damaged doll's cracks and wounds. Every ounce of energy taken from Hannah turned into energy for whatever spell is being constructed in that darkness...

Naru Osaka has posed:
Mou Fubuki's curse is well familiar to Naru and she might wince in sympathy if she know that was what Maeko was feeding Lacrima. Seriously. It sucked.

Naru glances to the car and there's a brief moment where she might actually protest the suggestion to get in the car. She looks back to the utter chaos of a messy of rampaging energy destruction that's going on between the three ladies and apparently comes to a decision.

Naru heads towards the car. "I suppose asking the three of you to please not actually kill each other is just going to fall upon deaf ears, isn't it?" She speculates as she gets to the open car door, finding some sort of cover there.

Naru has no illusions about her ability to shake off, reflect or generally cope with most of the attacks being thrown around here.

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima drains energy from Maeko and---- it's then she realizes why that felt so familar.... Mou Fubuki. She frowns quite heavily. The curse doesn't... fully work on her. It didn't affect her when Fubuki used it, and the only reason it's making her feel a little slack right now is probably the odd source it's coming from she didn't expect.

"You. What did you do to Mou Fubuki?" she demands suddenly and harshly.

She throws out her hand in sudden shock, blazing with dark energy as she attempts to dash forward toward's Maeko---trying to rake her in the back when Maeko holds Hannah aloft.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Ironically, the twin curses stuffed into Miss White has her being able to /think/ clearly again. She's up off the ground,being drained, and the anger in her face is pure unadulterated /Hannah/! She remembers the pain of being drained by the Princess.

Like /hell/ she's going to be humiliated again! Slowly, slowly, she grins. Then she puts one finger at Maeko's chest, while the other hand points beyond her.

"I'd rather die than get sucked up again!"

One leg lashes out to kick away at Maeko's arms, followed by a second burst of energy from the other Cartridge. She doesn't waste time, not letting that magic go to waste or get drained out! A massive rune forms where her finger is pointed, shimmering and then trying to explode in concussive force! At the same time, a gale-force wind bursts from her hand, trying to slice up Maeko's back, but mostly to send her flying away from Maeko's grip like a jet! For all that her throat is constricting, she chokes out a laugh.

"...Pretty strong. Wonder if you...can take a good hit!"

The bomb blows away part of her barrier jacket, point blank as it is, but sends her skittering towards the car! Bleeding or not, she grins.

A 'glance' to Naru. "Don't worry. The doll's just a monster, and Lacrima over there is a coworker. So the doll dying isn't a problem!"

One of the youma will try to usher Naru into the car, ready to speed away! There's room for Lacrima and Hannah too!

A bleeding, partially drained Hannah that's now likely an airbone projectile. This can't end well.

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     "Well. Since you asked so nicely..." Maeko says towards Naru, seemingly softening a moment. She shifted her blade to begin to pull it away! Right in time to have Lacrima coming at her back with the crackling black hand, and Maeko's head rotates around to stare at Lacrima with that one purple eye, a red sphere of energy glowing where the other was, as she responds. "Oh. Well. I did what you do with any curse. You remove it. Don't worry. She's fine. Though I believe a bit... uncomfortable at the moment. She was quite strong even after having her curse torn out..." Maeko says cheerfully towards Lacrima, even as the claws rake across her back.

     There were jagged holes left in her back where those fingers had raked. Maeko seemed... to be ... surprisingly calm about this, in spite of the boiling hatred and the black mist that was pouring off of her. A black mist that was starting to make it hard to move, sluggish and rather unpleasant. "And you, my dear curse... eventually... I believe I'll come after you. But... you are not worth reaping the curse of yet. You are still young and inexperienced.' Maeko says with a soft laugh.

     A kick came out towards her arm; and the one that was holding Hannah cracked. Her head rotates back around to Hannah, and more importantly, to look at her arm. She turned, beginning to swing Hannah around towards Lacrima -- just in time for that explosion to go off, which would... likely inadvertently send Hannah flying towards the car! Which might make it much easier to escape! "A monster... mmm. I wonder which is worse... the curse created by humans... or the humans themselves..?" Maeko asks, though... at this point... there was barely even a mouth to move as she asked. In fact, it seemed a large amount of her front was now... well... simply... gone. But it was beginning to rapidly heal again.

     "But that's a question for next time." Maeko points her one hand towards Lacrima. "You should stop letting your curse control you. You might be able to turn back." Maeko states simply, and then... a blink later, and Maeko is simply... gone, leaving behind that black miasma. A choking sense of dread and terror.

    Some of it might have been Maeko's. She was heavily damaged.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I.. y'know.. not the time." Naru was prepared to get into a discussion about monster vs curses and the detailed thoughts she has on both, but in light of the holes and bleeding and people vanishing and oh hey.. Miasma! That's never a good sign /either/.

Naru gets in the car, holding the door open to be able to peer outside, where ideally at least Hannah is going to limp her way towards joining the car.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Maeko, despite being a brittle doll, knows the laws of physics it seems. As the resulting combination of forces sends Miss White straight into the car! Literally. Through the door and everything. More or less embedded in the other door, thankfully Naru is protected by a sudden shield. The Youma throw what remains of the car's side door closed, pulling Lacrima in.

"M...monster! At least we make our own...problems you jerk doll! AWAY!" That car peels off towards WPS headquarters, and more importantly, the hospital area!