1795/Friend or Foe

Friend or Foe
Date of Scene:	04 August 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Mitakihara General
Synopsis:	Hannah calls Homura and Madoka to the hospital. Questions are asked about Puella, and hypothetical questions are posed.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Madoka Kaname, Homura Akemi

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Another day, another long day at the hospital. Hannah's become increasingly restless ever since the talks with both Haruna and Takashi, and has no doubt strained many a nurse with arguments on whether she should still be here or not. She's recovering swiftly, but for her, she's short on time.

Thus, with Boris in her lap, she's gently petting the doggie while running her free hand over a braille book idly. Raging Tempest sits on a counter near her. Hannah's finally made up with the Device over her recklessness, and the tiny Device has tied into the hospital's network just to monitor her Mage more closely.

No doubt some poor IT admin is going nuts over the surge in mysterious bandwidth usage. The door's unlocked, and visitor hours are open.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It didn't surprise Madoka when Hannah ended up in the hospital after using so much dangerous power that she started bleeding all over the place. It did surprise her a little that Hannah wanted to speak with her enough to have Haruna call her. Truth be told she wasn't entirely sure about this, not entirely liking the way the mid-combat conversation had been going in the first place. The fact that she had ripped the fake Soul Gem right off the Atsuko's chest might have something to do with it, or it might not; Madoka just isn't sure.

    In either case she will be coming to visit, though she isn't going alone. "I think we should give her the chance to explain what she knows before we start asking our own questions, Homura-chan," she replies to the dark haired girl beside her as they walk out of the elevator and towards the room Hannah is occupying. "I'm a little worried this time, to be honest. The things she's involved in this time... she should know better." Just how much Puella related evil science can she overlook for a friend? It's a can Madoka had mostly kicked down the road for later but mixing Puella, dark energy, and Witch magic felt like it was crossing a line.

    A light knocking on the door is made and Madoka walks in, tilting her head to the side and letting out a disappointed sigh, "You really did yourself in this time, Hannah-chan. Your body doesn't have that much blood in it, and it's really not good when it starts getting low. Even if you can heal it with magic damaging your body like that can't be good for your long term health."

    Oh yes, Hannah is still going to get chided, it's just going to be about the reckless use of magic to start with. "I'm not sure you really deserve these since you did this to yourself, but here." Two items are handed over, the first being a fairly standard 'get well soon' card with the differentiation that the text is all in braille. The second is a largish sectioned plastic Tupperware container that's still quite warm. Opening it up will release the scents of chicken fried steak, potatoes and gravy, and a large chunk of corn bread. Good old fashioned Southern Home cookin'! The exact spices used are likely different from the one Hannah would use herself though; this is a Tomohisa special.

    Borris is then given a lavish petting, followed by a quietly snuck rib bone. Yes, that's ribsteak under the breading.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    It would be wildly inaccurate to say that Homura Akemi didn't feel at least a little bit guilty.

    Well, maybe guilty is the wrong word. She doesn't think that she was doing anything wrong, but the fact remains that a friend is hurt because of her actions. It's not really much of a surprise that this happened. She had hoped to avoid a conflict with her former boss, but things did not work out that way and in retrospect it was a little naive of Homura to think that it was even possible.

    Aside from that, she needed to ask about the Puella Magi who wasn't a Puella Magi, or at least ask what happened. There are actually a number of things she needs to ask Hannah about, which is coincidentally what Madoka decides to talk about before visiting her.

    "Alright, if you think that would be better. However, knowing how Eclipse works, I think it'd be a mistake to assume that she knows everything. It's not as open as Virtue is, or as you and I are."

    She actually isn't at all surprised that Hannah might be involved in such things, but it doesn't feel like a Hannah type of plot. Hannah would be more likely to experiment on herself than others, for one.

    Homura walks in just after Madoka, and she doesn't give a lecture. Likely she gave up on those a long time ago, though far be it from her to discourage Madoka in any way. What she says before handing over her gifts makes her wince sympathetically for Hannah's sake.

    "How are you holding up, Hannah-chan?"

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah can smell that food, and perks up almost at the same time as Boris. Her stomach grumbles. But the voice that speaks up?

Hannah's smile turns into a mixture of equal parts guilt and smugness. She can't, after all, say she didn't have a good time. Well, up until Atsu went Witch-crazy.

"...Normally I'd have some kind of defense against lectures. But to be honest, you're the third person to say or insinuate I went way overboard this time. Trust me. I'm feeling the consequences right now." She definitely looks a smidge more pale than her otherwise dusky complexion would have.

Wince. Both are taken, she reads the card with a chuckle, and starts eating. Boris too! who leans into said pets. Woof!

"Miss Pinkball is correct. You are an idiot, Mistress." Only piles on Raging Tempest from over on the table. Hannah's head hangs a bit.

"You're all lucky I /like/ you guys so much. Jerks." There's no venom in her voice. She actually sounds touched than they're all so annoyed.

Pause. "You learning cooking too? Not bad!" Nom nom nom! Hannah can pack away food when she wants to.

At least Homura is here too. When she thinks Madoka isn't listening, she whispers to the dark haired puella.

"Your girlfriend can be /scary/ when she wants to." Wink.

Ahem! "I'm alive. Recovering, but not anywhere quick enough! I've got a bug to cru...I'm busy. You two okay? That was a...pretty crazy time." Her voice goes completely odd for a moment. Not just the slip, but from pure impatience, to a flash of anger, and perhaps even a bit of confusion in her voice. Overall, she looks tired, and if one could believe it, maybe a little unsure of herself right now. The gears in her head are definitely turning.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "That's why I want to give her the chance to talk first," Madoka agrees. "Asking her about things she doesn't know about might sound like an accusation. But even if she doesn't know what's happening she should have seen enough at the gem show to know whatever it is is awful." Hannah certainly gets some amount leeway because Madoka knows she means well and in the end is only trying to help. The problem is the same can't be said for her employers, and there's only so far such things can be excused.

    Hannah accepts her guilt tripping about as well as could ever be hoped and Madoka relaxes a little. "Good. It's bad enough that you get hurt so from other people's attacks, getting hurt so badly from your own is really too much." Her whole intention for disrupting Hannah's attack was to keep people out of the hospital, not encourage recklessness. She must have forgotten who she was fighting for a moment.

    The cooking is asked about and Madoka shakes her head, laughing nervously, "If I gave you my cooking it'd be as a punishment. You need good food to help you heal, not scare you out of the hosptial." Her eyes close before she speaks, opening them up again before adding, "I had Papa make that for you."

    Is she okay? That's kind of a loaded question. "I got better. Being a Puella Magi means we can spend magic to heal herself, but that can be a high price right now." Her arms cross lightly and her eyes close again, "I don't like fighting you, Hannah-chan, not when it's a real, serious fight. Stealing is bad enough, but things really got out of control." A soft sigh and she turns her eyes to the bedresting, impatient patient, "...what was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Hannah-chan?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Between Madoka and the device, Homura has very little to say that wouldn't just be ganging up on Hannah even further. Then again, she's the girl who makes explosives in her house, so... Maybe she doesn't have a lot of room to talk anyways?

    'Your girlfriend can be scary when she wants to.'

    Homura leans in and whispers back, "I know. It's kind of exciting." She glances to Madoka to see if she was overheard or not.

    Standing back up, Homura tilts her head and smiles. "I'm doing better. You and that other girl certainly pushed me to the edge, but we made it out okay. Puella Magi are nothing if not sturdy." The smile turns into a frown, and she adds, "We're a bit concerned, however. About a lot of things."

    She glances sideways at Madoka as the reason for their visit is mentioned. They were invited here because Hannah wanted to talk, after all. "You did push pretty hard over a couple of gems, and they couldn't have all been magical. I almost have to wonder if you didn't just get carried away fighting us."

    Eyes back to Hannah. "Whatever you wanted to talk to us about, we're here now."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah looks from Madoka, to Homura. For a brief moment, there's a look of pride on her face. "Don't underestimate me, or the people I fight alongside with!" She boasts.

And then promptly deflates. "Although you've both got a point. I really did overdo things. I mean, moreso than usual. I'm just glad you guys didn't end up...yeah." A witch, or worse, somehow like Atsuko. Shudder.

Not that Hannah's going to just take it all and not push back a bit. "Still, don't think you're entirely blameless either here, Madoka! I think the first person to up the ante was /YOU/ if I recall correctly. I'm not the type to not try to rise up to whatever's in front of me, no matter who or what it is!" That's definitely more Hannah-sounding.

Then she starts coughing, and collapses back into the bed. Ow. Her Device's beep may as well scream 'I told you so'.

But it's Homura that gets things straight on the head. "Err...yeah. I kinda did. Between you, that Prism Keeper, and Madoka!? I mean...she was just so /BRILLIANT/! So much magic and pure POWER! It makes my toes tremble in excitement every time I see your little Pinkball really go to work!" Equal parts jealousy and excitement lurk in her voice.

Hannah's face goes completely business like, though, as the pair ask what she called them here for. "I need you both to tell me exactly what you saw happen to Atsuko. Any detail you can give me. Even if it's just a hypothesis. I /HAVE/ to know what caused her to become like that, what she was, and what triggered her change. It's very, very important to me right now, you two. Almost moreso than anything."

Then she softens, just slightly, far more personal. "And...I've got a bit of a hypothetical moral question to ask, if you two would hear me out."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka doesn't try to eavesdrop but it's a fairly contained space. When Homura whispers back Madoka blushes and looks away without saying anything. Exciting!?

    Madoka hangs her head slightly and closes her eyes as Hannah turns the tables on her. "I know that now. I let her get to me and I went too far." Though she didn't go quite so far as she could have. She's very glad she didn't pour excessive amounts of magic into her attack like Hannah did; who knows how far the Mage might have gone if she'd been going all out.

    So Homura was right; Hannah got caught up in the excitement of the moment. "So that's what it was," Madoka says with a soft sigh, quietly resolving to try not to ever use that form again when fighting against Hannah. It would be wrong of her to do something that she knows will cause a friend to hurt themselves, right?

    However when Hannah gets down to business the look on her face is one of shock, "You want us to tell you what happened? She was your ally, not ours. I can guess at what happened, but you saw it yourself, didn't you? Witch runes and dark energy- a Puella Magi really shouldn't be using either of those things unless something terrible has happened."

    Pink twintails bat against her cheeks as her head shakes from side to side, "I'm sorry, Hannah-chan, but I'm not going to tell you anything more than you already know. I told you her Soul Gem wasn't real- that's enough. Unless you're going to share more with us and let us know what's going on... I really don't think I can trust you with that kind of information. Not the way things are right now."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Madoka's blush gets a toothy grin from Homura. She heard that? Good."

    Hm. So Hannah didn't know much more than they did, or at least that's what her question seems to indicate. Granted, Homura suspected as much, after Hannah's reaction to the events as they happened.

    Madoka isn't giving answers, and while Homura certainly has her own theories about what happened, it'd undermine what her girlfriend just said if she started giving out details. So she shrugs instead. There isn't much to say.

    "I can tell you that it's unusual and disturbing, but you already know that. I could also tell you that your superiors would know more than we do, but you know probably that already, too."

    Homura tilts her head. "Honestly I'm a little surprised. Agera-san seemed to think you'd know more than he does, but you seem pretty in the dark yourself." Not that she'd ever suspect Takashi of telling him the whole truth, but if neither he nor Hannah are in on it then who is? Aside from Kyubey that is.

    "You saw what happened to me, Hannah-chan, when I fell into despair. That kind of thing is usually not reversible, and it would be difficult to save a Witch that we couldn't even access. Whatever she was doing, I'd recommend that she never do it again."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Finally, Hannah just smiles. Slowly, a weak hand reaches out, and forces gusto into it despite a wince of her arm. Madoka can't escape.

For the dreaded ruffle monster arrives! Ruffle ruffle ruffle right on the Pinkball hair! Gotta make it extra spikey.

"It sounds like we both were idiots, then, and have some lessons to take home. Nobody died, either, so that's a plus."

Back to business though. Hannah's laugh is a little bitter.

"I think you're giving me a little too much credit, here, Pinkball. Yeah, she's my ally, and I have a few theories rumbling around in my head for the /how/. But do you really think that if I thought my ally had a chance of turning into a half-witch berserker in the middle of combat, that I wouldn't have stuck a binding spell on her the second she wasn't look? Or that I'd have studied what she was capable of with a form like that?"

Both hands go to her sides, palms up. "Newsflash, Pinkball. I don't know everything my allies are doing. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not all that high up on the totem pole."

And then she points to Homura. "As usual, oh Mistress of the Hairflip, you're keen. Let's just say I have a few theories on who might be responsible for all of this. But I don't have any proof, so I'm not going to go around slandering my co-workers. Heh, Ta-kun would play me up like that, wouldn't he?"

A shrug. "Not that I blame you, Madoka. In fact, I'm kinda proud. I'm your friend. But your enemy, too. So don't go spilling things you'll regret. Don't you ever change!" Reeach. Hannah stands up, is trying to wrangle Madoka again. Thankfully there's no iv's in her right now.

Suddenly, Madoka's getting shoved bodily towards Homura. Just lightly though, and she's sure that Homura can catch her.

"Aren't you lucky, Homura, having a smart girlfriend like that?" The big grin is...oddly wolfish. That might have something to do with the hand sneaking towards Madoka's pocket and dropping something into it in plain view of Homura, if 'doka herself doesn't catch Hannah.

It's an SD card with the magical readings on Atsu during her little Witch rampage.

Then she sits back down, and groans. Oh yeah, that was too much.

Both arms cross behind her head.

"...But it looks like you guys really can't give me any more insight. Oh well. Thanks. Just knowing that is pretty useful for me." Her smile this time is more genuine. Before it fades.

"Yeah, that's all the business I had for you guys. So, uh. Can I ask you that personal question?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    There's some consolation in the fact Hannah can't see Madoka right now, because Homura's toothy grin sets her blush off even more. Is it hot in here, or is it just her?

    Sudden hair rufflings are so quick that Madoka doesn't quite realize what's about to happen before it does. Her eyes scrunch as her hair is messed up, and she makes a mildly agitated sound before going about the business of trying to straighten her hair back out, which is a bit of a pain to try and do without retying her ribbons.

    "Nobody dying should be the ground rules, not a plus, Hannah-chan," she grumps good naturedly. Though that might actually be a sneaky bit of information if it applies to Atsuko. Madoka suspected she was still very much alive, but would Hannah be saying that if she thought her ally had kicked the bucket?

    Her expression goes slightly worried as Hannah notes her lack of knowledge about the situation she'd been in. "I'm not sure what you would or wouldn't do, Hannah-chan. That's part of the reason I'm so worried. I know you mean well and you're trying to do what you can to help us, but we also have very different ideas on what an acceptable cost is."

    Her guard goes down somewhat, which means when Hannah reaches out for her and stands up she's once more off guard. There's a loud squeak as she's shoved away, quite easily handled by the athletic, older teenager when she's out of henshin. Arms lift as she half trips, catching onto Homura's shoulders. She too trusts Homura to catch her. She also expects Hannah did also otherwise she might be a little upset.

    "You're rowdy even by American standards, Hannah-chan," she complains mildly. Of course the white haired girl did just put her exactly in her favorite place, and she rests against Homura a little for a moment. A quick peek goes down when she feels something put in her pocket, but she decides not to ask about it or even acknowledge it. It isn't like Hannah to be anything other than direct, so this might be important.

    "You can always come to me for things like that, Hannah-chan," she replies to the question. A bit tentatively she asks, "What, um, hypothetical do you want help with?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    If Hannah could see them, Homura has no doubt that there would be teasing. Poor Madoka would be getting it from both ends!

    The implication that Atsuko didn't die isn't lost on Homura, but she has to wonder if anyone would have died even if that construct hadn't made it. Well, the important thing is that the actual Puella Magi lived, or at least Homura assumes.

    Homura could say something to defend Hannah, but actually... some pretty questionable things have happened. Hannah meant well, but her methods... Homura doesn't have much room to talk, but she can't really defend herself there either.

    "So whoever it is, they're someone who can keep you in the dark. The fact that they wouldn't consult you with regards their plans is suspicious in of itself. It almost confirms that whatever it is, it's pretty terrible." There's a chance that they didn't see the need for Hannah's expertise when they already had Kyubey... but they should have at least asked her if he could even be trusted.

    It seems foolish, but she wouldn't put such folly past some of the people she used to work with.

    Suddenly Madoka is tumbling towards her, and Homura's natural instinct with regards to a suddenly approaching Madoka is to hug her... which kind of works like a catch in this situation. Something something cuddling and muscle memory something.

    "I'm very lucky, getting to be with Madoka-chan. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

    Homura doesn't release Madoka unless she pulls away, but she does decide to repeat Madoka's question.

    "Yes, what was the personal moral dilemma you wanted to ask us about? It's unlike you to even ask a question like that, so I can only wonder at the circumstances leading up to it."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah Sharpe is a Lady, and even if she could, she wouldn't tell. Teasing would certainly happen though!

The young woman runs a hand through her own hair. "That'd be really nice, but sometimes you can't do anything about stopping the people you love and care for from being hurt or killed right in front of you. I'm a realist." Her eyes are half lidded, focus definitely gone for a moment.

She actually manages a smile again, though. "That we do, Pinkball, that we do. But is that really such a bad thing? Definition of insanity, and all. The more people that work on a problem with different methods, someone's bound to find the solution." She counters. Again, 'ethics' doesn't seem to play heavily into it for Hannah. At least to a point.

Mwa hah! Operation: Pass SD Card and Create Cute Moment succeeds. Her eyes /sparkle/.

"Hey, R.T! Photo mode! Say cheese kids!" Ker-snap!

"Oh man, I can't /wait/ to show this off, you guys are gonna get teased!" Truly she is the height of evil.

Homura does kill her glee, though. She's good at that!

"Don't remind me! It's an insult!" Huff. Then again, maybe they were smart enough to know Hannah might not necessarily be on board with it all.

She doesn't go on, however, as the pair give the go-ahead for her question. She flops back to the bed again, arms over her eyes. Raging Tempest flickers, and the room is suddenly in a Barrier, cut off from the rest of the world.

"...If you have an enemy...one you hate more than anything else in the world...and they make themselves an ally of your own ally, is your ally a traitor to you?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "What if you find the solution but you end up causing more harm than there would have been without it? It's wrong to experiment on people's souls, Hannah-chan." And permanently damaging someone's soul isn't even the worst harm Madoka is thinking about. She still has Homura's memories of Kriemhild Gretchen towering above Mitakihara as she prepares to set off and destroy the entire world. The magic and power if Witches is not something to trifle with, and unfortunately she thinks Hannah would only be enthused by that knowledge.

    Homura seems better than Madoka is at picking up what it might mean about the actual organization within Eclipse that they'd be keeping Hannah in the dark about something like this. Now that her partner mentions it that does seem somewhat odd. You'd think that Hannah would be the very pinnacle of their research on Puella Magi with everything she's done; the superpowered Grief Seeds are far from unimpressive. But if Kyubey really is working with them than it would be possible for other researchers to potentially surpass her.

    The conclusion brought about by this are fairly predictable, however; 'whatever it is, it's pretty terrible.'

    Madoka is caught and hugged! Her natural instinct when being hugged onto is to press in even closer, resting against Homura with arms in front of herself, hands lightly gripping her shoulders. A small smile and a soft blush as words go between Hannah and Homura that speak highly of her. Then suddenly, a picture is taken and Madoka blinks a couple of times. A curious look shows on her face before she sends a sweet smile Hannah's direction before asking in a soft voice, "Um... do you think we could get a copy?"

    This Pinkball isn't one to shy away from cute pictures with her girlfriend! In fact it might make all the teasing worth it.

    She shifts a little, staying close to Homura because why not while looking towards Hannah to hear the answer to their mutual question. The world is shunted into a barrier and Madoka blinks a little in surprise. So Hannah was worried about being spied on. She was wondering.

    "I don't know the answer to that question, Hannah-chan, because it isn't as simple as that. It depends a lot on what that ally is doing together with your enemy. If they're trying to hurt you of course they are." Her lips curl into a small frown. "If your ally was the ally of someone who is trying to harm the thing you care about more than anything in the world, is that a betrayal? What if your ally said they wouldn't do anything to help either side? It really is a hard question."

    What Madoka is speaking of isn't hypothetical at all; it's the exact position Homura was in as an employee of WPS. It may be Homura's memory, but it's Madoka that bears its' burden. Still, her tone is completely neutral.

    "Are you sure this question is hypothetical, Hannah-chan?" Madoka turns her soft pink eyes towards the white haired woman, studying her for a moment. "It would mean a lot to me, if you could trust us. We may be enemies at times, but we're still friends."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Pictures are taken. Homura doesn't react at first, but she does giggle when Madoka asks for a copy. "We're keeping a photo album, you see."

    Homura considers Hannah's big question. Huuuh? An ally who has allied with an enemy...?

    That's actually vague enough that Homura has no clue what she means.

    "Not in of itself, no. In the end, you don't get to determine who other people's friends are." Otherwise Homura would pretty much be telling everyone not to be friends with Takashi Agera. Not that she hasn't tried to warn people at some point, but she didn't really have enough information on him to make a compelling case, and his act was just a little too good. "Even if they are your allies."

    "However..." Homura says that with a certain emphasis. "It is grounds to trust them less, because even if they haven't betrayed you yet, they may very well betray you in the future. Your enemy may turn them against you. I wouldn't jump to that too quickly, as your mistrust could very well be the thing which pushes them away, but if I were you I'd watch my back."

    She glances away. Hannah might not see her discomfort, but Madoka can. "It's a situation I've been in on more than one occasion, and yet the people who became my friends and allies remained so, regardless of what their other allies thought of me. People make their own choices, and you can only really judge them on what they do, not what their allies do."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah's eyes close, and she shakes her head. "That's why you have to either get the right solution the first time, or make plans to deal with the fallout. Dealing with souls is...something that shouldn't be taken lightly, and I certainly don't. That's why I prefer to do things to myself first before anyone else when I can manage it."

Okay, now Hannah's laughing. "R.T., send Homura and Madoka three copies, and hijack the printer down the hall. The photo quality one!" Devices, and Hannahs, are jerks.

Hannah takes in Madoka's words. So many twists and turns, and Hannah herself is being vague. "...You've spent a lot of time thinking about stuff like that, haven't you?" A small smile. Sigh.

"You're right. I guess it depends on the circumstances." It doesn't necessarily /help/, but it gives her more to think about.

She turns to Homura as she too offers advice.

She finally just sighs. "So you'd watch your back? That's pretty practical, Homura. Just like I'd expect."

Hannah winces as Madoka offers her last bit. A deep, deep sigh. "Homura, Madoka, trust doesn't have anything to do with it." A pause. They /are/ her friends, she can't just completely be silent.

"Sometimes a plan has to be done in the dark for it to work."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    As Hannah has her device hijack the printer Madoka says a surprised, "But that's for important diagnostic imaging!" Then something else occurs to her and she half panics, "...the nurses will recognize me!" Eyes close and her head shakes, "Hannah-chan, please make sure this barrier is still up for five minutes after we leave, okay?"

    To the comment about spending a lot of time thinking about the mix of friend, enemy, and ally Madoka nods, "I've had to. But I think Homura-chan is right, you shouldn't be so quick to consider your friends new enemies unless they prove they're not willing to be your friend anymore."

    Madoka can feel Homura's discomfort, and a gentle squeeze of her shoulders is given by Madoka's hands, not enough for Hannah to notice but obvious reassurance to her girlfriend.

    Hannah's sigh and comment about trust draws a long look from Madoka where she studies the Mage's face. She lets out a small sigh of her own, "I hope that means you do trust us." Another moment's pause and she looks to Homura, and then to Borris, and finally back to Hannah. "I was able to feel her presence when I touched her; Atsu-chan, I mean. But she was far away. That body- it wasn't real, it wasn't her. That's why I took the Soul Gem, I wanted to connect to her directly. But... it was even less her than the body was."

    She's deciding to share what she knows after all. Truth be told if Hannah is in the dark her higher-ups probably know all of this already, even if Hannah does tell them of this it wont likely help them. Besides, she's hoping Hannah won't tell them about it anyway. Trust can only remain sold if both sides meet halfway, and whatever it is Hannah gave them was likely the first step.

    "It felt like I'd connected to something that was connected to her, rather than Atsu-chan directly," Madoka reiterates firmly. Then a moment later she adds, finally looking away with eyes downcast, "But what I did feel from her was pain and despair. If you care about her at all you should be against whatever is being done to her, Hannah-chan."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura blinks as Madoka starts to panic about the printers being used, and also the two of them being recognized. She considers if her timestop would help avoid trouble but... the barrier really is the more convenient solution.

    The last bit of what Hannah says gets a frown from Homura. "Yeah... sometimes it does. There are times when the same people who'd try to talk you out of doing something will be grateful that you've done it, and asking permission isn't always an option."

    Still, knowing Hannah, she might very well do something crazy.

    Is Homura kidding herself? Hannah will do something crazy.

    When Madoka decides to share, Homura decides to say what she was about to earlier. "I've seen the Witching process countless times. It was never anything like what we saw the other day." Cue hairflip. "That mix of Dark Energy and Witch Magic... that isn't normal. Whatever that construct was, we aren't dealing with a normal Puella Magi."

    "Wherever that girl is," Homura narrows her eyes, "if she's a Puella Magi, and she's suffering, then that's terrible news. I don't think they intend to turn her into a Witch fully, or else they would have already, but they certainly don't mind bringing her close to the edge. I always hoped to avoid a situation where someone other than Kyubey would torture a Puella Magi for power, but it looks like that might be what we're looking at."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
"What are you even worried about Pinkba...oh. Woops. Uhh, yeah, sure." Yup, Hannah's blushing here. Even Boris is facepawing at his Master.

If anything, the pair make her pause for consideration. Eyes close, and she nods. She can't push people away. She thinks of Takashi, Sensei...even Sora, to some degree.

Hannah smiles a little sadly. "Honestly, Madoka, I'm glad you're confused. You're the type of girl who shouldn't know what I'm talking about."

Homura, however, seems to get it. "As expected of my former chief of security."

And then, Hannah /listens/. Pain. Despair. All in a fake body. She runs her head through her research. Homura mentions the mix of Dark Energy and Witch Magic. A half witch, by what Homura's saying. She'd had ideas. She'd had some amount of knowledge. But the reality hits her like a hammer to the face. Her legs tremble, and one might catch tears falling down her cheeks just before her hand slams against the railing of the bed. Her hand bruises, and the railing gets dented from her fury. She instantly regrets it.

"Son of a...Ugh!" She suddenly howls, her rage out in the open, and mostly impotent. For now.

A deep, sucking breath, and her gaze looks equal parts exhausted, and the kind of far away look of someone thinking way too much. She pets Boris, and the two share a conversation in their heads.

'White kitten...'

'That's too far. TOO FAR, BORIS!' Her hand trembles over the dog, and only when she can half way control herself does she turn to the pair.

"That..." A breath. She can't stop the pure fury in her eyes, redoubling from what she already suspected and knew.

"I see. So that's it. Thank you, Homura, Madoka. That's a big risk you took. Things...might just get a little crazy. But you won't regret it. I'll make sure of that. Today was...between us three, okay?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka feels bad. A little bit that she's the one who's breaking it to Hannah just how awful the organization she belongs to can be at times, but mostly that Hannah has to find out something like that at all. She can't hear the telepathic conversation between Mage and Familiar, but it isn't hard for her to guess what it might be after Hannah slams her hand into the railing.

    She winces, hugging Homura for a moment before pulling away from her. She walks over to a cabinet while Hannah vents her rage, retrieving a roll of bandage from it and walking over to Hannah's bedside. Once she's called down Madoka takes her hand, not bothering to ask for permission, and carefully presses into the area that will no doubt bruise with gentle fingers. A few wiggles of Hannah's own fingers and Madoka begins to quietly wrap it up, "I don't think you broke anything, but the doctors aren't going to be happy if you keep getting hurt inside the hospital too, Hannah-chan." At least with the barrier up the damage to the hospital bed itself won't be permanent.

    Then again the hospital staff probably already thinks she's crazy, what would one more warning sign be?

    "I never doubt things will get a little crazy when you and Eclipse are involved, Hannah-chan," Madoka replies, voice more long-suffering than upset or disappointed. "I won't tell anyone else what we talked about. If Homura-chan and I talk about it between ourselves we can use a timestop to do it too, if you'd prefer." Considering that she's rather suspicious the great enemy Hannah is talking about very well could be Kyubey it may very well be necessary.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Hannah's reaction... actually takes Homura by surprise. Maybe she said too much, but Homura never really felt like she couldn't trust Hannah's intentions. Just her actions, sometimes. She is quiet while Hannah tries to bring herself back under control. There isn't much she can say to comfort her. She has to deal with her feelings on her own terms.

    "Yeah, it's like that." Homura's tone is simple, plain. There's a tenseness behind it, but aside from that she's just stating the facts. One might think that this was business as usual for Homura Akemi. They wouldn't be that far off.

    Madoka hugs her, and she hugs back before releasing. She watches, and even smiles, as Madoka's first thought is to treat Hannah. She takes a moment to admire her actions and be impressed before turning her attention to more serious matters.

    Between the three of us? And in a Barrier, no less?

    "Why Hannah-chan, I don't know what you mean." Homura's tone is all mock surprise and innocence. "All that happened today was that we visited a friend in the hospital."

    She glances around inside the Barrier's copy of the room, before turning back to Hannah and Madoka. "There isn't much left to say beyond what we've already stated. I think you know about as much as we do."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Really, between Homura, Madoka, and Haruna? Hannah's slowly starting to get the big picture. Oh, and then she's being bandaged. Eyes close.

"...I really am an impulsive idiot, aren't I?" She asks.

"Thanks, Madoka."

Truly, it's amazing no one's tossed Hannah towards a psych eval yet.

Arms cross. Hannah nods. "You're finally starting to get it, Madoka! I'm glad. I'll how you do that up to you, you two are smart."

Homura gets a laugh. "Just a crazy girl hopped up on meds talking nonsense. Get out of here, you two. Go have dinner together. Don't worry, things will all work out in the end." A wave, and then, she rolls over to hug Boris.

She has a lot to think about.