739/WPS Meeting

WPS Meeting
Date of Scene:	22 December 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	Hannah calls a meeting with Haruna and Homura. Homura drops the first hints that Walpurgisnacht might be coming.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Haruna Kurosawa, Homura Akemi

---

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
It's meeting time at the WPS building, or at least for the people who really matter in the organization. Miss White is using a smaller corner office than her usual for the meeting, a large table with sweets and sandwiches and coffee laid out for those gathering.

She looks slightly better than the past few days, her barrier jacket well pressed and neat again, though the effects of sleeplessness are clear from her bloodshot eyes and the shadows under them. But hope is in her gaze now, something nearly crushed by the events with Mamoru. She's worried, but at least she knows her friend is alive.

When the others arrive, she's sitting down, sipping coffee.

"Hey everyone. We might have a few people missing, things have been crazy as of late!" She picks up a folder, neatens it, and pulls over the tiny braille typewriter. Seems she's doing the minutes this time!

"Alright, let's start this off right. Attending this meeting on 12-21-15 are Miss White, Puella Magi Homura, and Cure Gull as of this writing." Tap tap tap tap.

"Starting off with outstanding issues! Anything you guys want to bring up? I'll offer a review of our current objectives after that." She offers, turning the floor over to the duo.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa is in her bussiness suit and looking like a super dapper well dressed Cure. Well. Also a very very grumpy Cure. Stupid evil forces and kidnapping people in her life and making her think they're dead. Is this going to be something that happens annually? Ugh!

She's already to start punching things but Hannah also wants a meeting so she's here. Corvus is on her shoulder and looking like a welldressed Seagull and is taking his own notes on what appears to be some sort of ridicolous small Precure Mascot-themed PDA. Well. It looks like he's taking notes. That's actually Tetris on the screen. Well. Multi-tasking.

Haruna just looks super grumpy as she sighs and leans forward against the table as she taps her foot against the ground. "Crazy's a good term for this week yeah." she says as she huffs.

"Yeah, I have no idea what's currently up, so give us the lowdown Miss White. Who do I need to punch."

She pauses.

"I just really wanna punch right now." she asides sheepishly.

She eyes the sweets and food from across the room as she stares a hole through them. When did she eat last...

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura Akemi is uncharactaristically happy today.

Not, say, excitably so. She isn't hyper or exuberant. She's still her usual, calm self. Yet someone watching her would notice that there's a certain spring in her step, and her usual stone-cold gaze is complimented by the smallest curl of a smile.

There's also a black rose adorning her hair, resting above her right ear. Aside from that there's been very few changes to her usual office getup. Black pressed suit, white button-up shirt, black pants.

When she enters the meeting room, she gets herself a cup of coffee before taking a seat, sipping it slowly as Hannah begins the meeting.

Setting her coffee down, she frowns, and for a moment she looks like her usual self again. "Actually, there's one thing I should mention to you two. I'm currently investigating the chances of Walpurgisnacht happening in the next month or two. I'm not completely sure, but I've started to see signs that point to that. If I'm able to confirm it, you can expect a report on that soon, Sharpe-san."

"I don't think there's enough information to commit major resources at this time, but I thought I'd give you a heads up anyways."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
A swift nod to Gull, and a little smile. Poor thing! She's cute when she's grumpy. Hannah coughs, and makes herself be professional. "Eat first. You look starved."

Ahem!

"Alright. So the biggest even is of course Tuxedo Kamen's kidnapping. Long story short, the guy got kidnapped under our noses, probably after that orphanage incident. It was probably a trap meant to grab him, and we think it's those Dark Kingdom guys that messed with Kyouko's head. They're targeting powerful magical girls and brainwashing them. They even seem to have the power to heal broken soul gems." A very pointed look to Homura.

"Our first two objectives stand. Find, train, recruit Puella Magi so they know which way's up, for a price. Our secondary objective is to protect our clients and VIP's, but you guys won't be doing that much, with the exception of Madoka Kaname and her family. Their lives are important, and we must ensure Madoka-chan doesn't make a Wish to that white rat."

A nod. "For now, we need to train harder and grow stronger, so we can fight the Dark Kingdom. They're our greatest threat. We'll be working with members of Virtue and the Sailor Senshi on this one. Don't spare any expense, but keep things quiet. I don't want the 'higher ups' killing me."

A grin to Haruna. "So you'll get to punch plenty, Gull-chan. We'll be getting Hat Guy back."

A happy Homura is an odd Homura. A brow rises. "You finally get a date or something, Homura?" She teases lightly, before offering a warm smile.

"You look good."

She grows serious, and she looks like she's swallowing a stone.

"Horrible freaking timing. Alright, alright...okay. We're stronger, we can handle this." It's mostly said to herself. The whole concept is frightening and yet exciting.

"Good, keep us appraised. I don't need to tell you how bad it'll be if we can't contain that thing. It could ruin all of our plans. I'm all for not wasting resources, but don't skimp either. If you get enough positive signs, let me know immediately. We'll need to make anti-Witch measures appropriate to something of its power. Who knows how strong it'll be if there's this much magic activity in the city. You'll get everything you need, and we'll need to reach out to other organizations too. Nobody's going to be helped by that monster."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa eyes Homura's rose, she smiles a little at that. "That's a pretty hair piece!" she says. "Did you have that specially made?, Akemi-san?" she asks. She taps her chin. "Maybe I should include some flowers with the feathers in my hairclips..." she thinks. Corvus peeks up, and looks back down at the PDA and taps his beak and closes the Tetris game.

Haruna tilts her head. "Walpurgisnacht?" she asks. "What's that?." she asks. "Sounds... scary."

She stands up and walks over to the table and comes back with one of the sandwhiches. She begins eating it. She peeks between Hannah and Homura as she eats. She stops when the 'Dark Kingdom' is mentioned. She frowns heavily. "Those are the jerks who took me and made me a stupid puppet!" she says with a huff. "I don't remember much just... the uniform and---that jerk with the brown hair we met at that ballroom party..." she mutters. "Yea---you can count on me!..." she says.

She blinks. "And---this thing Akemi-san's talking about. It's a Witch?" she says catching onto the context clues. "Count me in if you need help!" she smiles.

Then Madoka-chan is brought up. She looks between Homura and Hannah.

"Wait, what's this about Madoka-chan!?" she asks a little suddenly. "Is something wrong!?" she asks.

Homura Akemi has posed:
"I still haven't confirmed whether or not Kyouko-san's soul gem was fixed by them directly, or if it's a side-effect of something they've done," says Homura. "However, I can confirm that Kyouko-san has been able to access magical abilities that she hasn't been able to for years."

On the subject of Madoka Kaname, Homura says, "I'm currenty covering that front. There's a concern because Sayaka Miki, one of Madoka-chan's longtime friends, has made a contract and is now a Puella Magi. There is a high chance that she will not last long, due to her... idealism getting in the way of her own survival." The way Homura delivers that last line is especially cold.

"However, that's only a chance. Considering that hasn't happened yet, and Madoka-chan is currently safe and mostly happy, there's a very low chance that she will be willing to throw her life away for a wish, currently."

On the subject of dating, Homura blushes a bit and defensively says, "I-it's not like that. Madoka-chan came over last night and brought me some sherbert, actually. She made it herself, called it 'Madokaloupe'. It was... you know... cute."

"... plus I'm more or less convinced by now that our friend, Mamoru Chiba, isn't dead. So you know, good news."

Homura is quietly embarassed for a moment, clears her throat, and moves on.

"Yes, Walpurgisnacht. Having fought this Witch before... having carpet-bombed her, having subjected her to the kind of firepower that should level a small army, I can say that our best chances of defeating her is through numbers of skilled magical girls. I'm talking veterans, like Mami Tomoe."

"If we do confirm its existence, it's the kind of thing that both Eclipse and Virtue might both be interested in stopping."

"Aside from the sheer impossibility of actually capturing such a creature, I doubt there's any benefit we could get from studying it that we couldn't just get from weaker, more managable Witches. Walpurgisnacht doesn't even drop a Grief Seed, after all, so a lot of our containment procedures wouldn't even work."

After Haruna's question about the rose, Homura reaches up to touch it. "I made it myself, actually. It was supposed to be a sign of mourning, but... I guess you could say I'm not in mourning anymore. I still like how it looks, though."

Upon being asked about Walpurgisnacht, Homura clears her throat and says, "Oh, right. I don't believe I've told you about it. Walpurgisnacht is something like a super-Witch. Capable of wiping out a city... such as Tokyo. It is so powerful that it doesn't even need to hide in a Labyrinth, like other Witches. Because of its destructive nature, non-magical humans tend to mistake it for a terrible storm of some kind."

And as for Madoka, well... "Madoka-chan is a friend of mine. Her emotional health and well-being are important to me. Therefore it's very important that she not become a Puella Magi, because her becoming a Puella Magi will inevitably lead to death and suffering for her."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah makes a motion to Homura at the mention of Walpurgisnacht.

"Our resident expert can answer that one!" Grin!

"But cliffnotes version? Really big, really nasty Witch that you don't want to mess with."

And then Haruna throws her weight in. "Good. I knew I could count on you, Gull. Don't worry, we're going to make sure these guys can't do this to anybody else. I'm willing to do horrible things, but brainwashing and stealing people's ambitions? That's not something I can tolerate."

A nod to Homura. "Alright. I'll try to get some info out of Kyouko. I still owe her another sparring session anyway, and I want to see these new techniques." She rubs her hands together excitedly.

But it dims at the mention of Sayaka. She taps her head. "Nnn...that's a problem. Do you think we can get her to use our services? Heck, offer them for free if you have to." That last bit physically pains her to say.

"But only if you have to." This /is/ a business after all.

Hannah outright laughs. "God, you're adorable when you're flustered Homura! Hah! I'm glad though, I think you needed that. She's a good kid, and we'll do everything we can to protect her. See? Good things /do/ happen to even Puella Magi occasionally, so try to smile more, okay?" Reeeach, Homura will get a slap on the back.

The explaination on their witch threat gets a thumbs up. "Yup. No holding back on that front. That's way too risky to keep alive, as much as I'd like to do horrible things to it."

Hannah adds on. "She's our magical VIP...well, sorta. We're kinda trying to prevent her from becoming one." A gulp, and as much as she hates to, she has to rain on Homura a bit. "And if the worst happens, we need to figure out how to reverse engineer the process and free her from that fate." She'll take out that old recording of Kyubey, and play it for the two.

"This thing is a slippery little used car salesman. Don't believe anything he says, he's just trying to pull one over on you. If possible, capture the jerk, and do whatever you have to if it means getting information about how Puella are created magically, or how they can be un-created."

A nod to the two girls. "So those are our priorities. Keep up business, find more Puella newbies, and definitely try to get Sayaka on our side while we prepare for the DK and that Witch."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa listens and smiles at Homura, "Madoka-chan is very kind like that! I bet it was delicious. Well--if you need help you let me know! She visits over sometimes." she asides. She crosses her arms and listens to Homura go on about the scariest Witch she ever heard about! "Yikes...! Well--um. I'll do my best! I'm not a veteran but that doesn't mean I can't help!" she says as she crosses her arms. "White-chan is going to teach me how to kickbox soon! I'll be better at this stuff soon maybe!" she says.

She nods. "I know who Madoka-chan is! I--um. Literarly bumped into her and---Corvus opened his big fat mouth. So I had to explain the talking bird... It was a while ago." she mutters. "--and--- if this thing is after her---and--- wants her to become a Puella-Magi-- and shows itself in front of me, I'll do what I have to!" she says. "I don't know a lot about Puella-Magi but I know it's a bad deal!" she huffs.

"Okay. So. Recruit Puella-Magi. Find out about Puella-Magi. Keep Madoka-chan from becoming a Puella-Magi. Get ready to punch a giant Super-Witch." she takes another bite of her sandwhich.

Homura Akemi has posed:
"There's no way in hell Miki-san will ever join us on any sort of permanent basis," says Homura. With a resigned shrug, she says, "She's so married to her stuck-up excuse for 'ideals' that she would rather die than do something she thinks is 'wrong'. I mean that literally and without hyperbole. Also, Kyouko Sakura-san has gotten to her first and turned her against us. Miki-san is far too pigheaded to change her mind about something like that."

Akemi shakes her head. "At least we can be pretty sure she wont attack our clients. Picking a fight with us is something that she might do, however. I've washed my hands of her long ago, so whatever consequences she has to face are her own problem. Woman's just as arrogant as Agera-san, just over different things."

The slap on her back brings the smile back on her face. "Thanks, White-san."

The concept of reverse-engineering a Puella Magi is brought up. Homura... frowns, not in disapproval, but in thought. Frustrated thought, as this path is often a dead end. "I've never seen a Puella Magi able to become normal again. I think trying, and especially succeeding, to do so would be very dangerous. I'm also pretty sure that white rat wouldn't tell us anything substantial. I don't think it can feel pain, and if killed it will just come back to life with a new body, so there's very little to threaten it with. Also, I'm pretty sure it has some kind of teleportation capability. Best you could do is find some reason why it would want to talk with you."

The thought of Madoka meeting Corvus causes a giggle from Homura, "Yeah she's a nice girl." Nicer than anyone from this timeline could know, really.

On the subject of their main mission, Homura says, "Right. We can recruit new Puella Magi, keep collecting Grief Seeds, and as for Sayaka... well... If I could convince Kyouko and Mami that Walpurgis is enough of a threat, she might side with us at least temporarily. Anything better than that is going to be a very long term PR project."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
A brow rises. "You fought Phantom the PreCure Hunter. And came out of it. Multiple times if I'm not mistaken. Gull, I think you've pretty much earned 'veteran PreCure' by that alone."

No words, but Hannah is /grinning/ and cracking her knuckles at the mention of their training. After a moment, she laughs.

"Bring an ice pack. You're going to get bruised and sore." Hannah ins't a very nice teacher.

Hannah runs a hand through her hair.

"I'm not surprised. That hard, huh? Well, we'll have to appeal to her sense of justice then. Even she can't be /so/ stupid, right?" A hopeful look. She can't turn down free training, can she!?

Oh yeah, sounds like that's a 'yes'.

"So we have three very strong Puella Magi against us. Tch. Sorry, Homura. I really screwed up the whole 'bring everyone together' bit, didn't I?" She almost sounds depressed for a moment.

"Mmm. Point. We need some leverage over the jerk. Or try to con him. I don't like that kind of thing, but we do what we must. If you think of something we can pull over him, let me know Homura. He's a deal-maker. He even offered one to me a while ago, so, he knows that I'm a shadey woman who'll work with anybody to get what I want if the price isn't too bad. Just no throwing girls to the altar of sacrifice."

Then she thumbs up to the pair.

"That's about the gist of it, people. Unless anyone has something else to add, we can put this meeting to a close officially."

Her hands open. "And remind me to arrange a dinner with Madoka and Junko. I heard her mom's just as amazing."

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa crosses her arms. "Hey---there's nothing wrong with ideals..." she says softly. "...and---if I had some a while ago, maybe I wouldn't even had tried to make a wish with a silly crow in a tablet." she crosses her arms. "--but. I know that kind of outlook- and I get it. You know? But I get White-chan's outlook too!" she says as she crosses her arms. She taps her chin as the things described.

"I think that rules out me, at least. I dunno why this thing would wanna talk to me or Corvus. If I see it, I'll try to do something about it." she says.

She frowns. "Well. This Sayaka. You sound like you're pretty sure of this? What's she like?" she asks. She head tilts. "Agera-san...? Oh! Madoka-chan's boyfriend!" she head tilts. "Pig-headed? Does Madoka-chan really like boys like that?" she asks, tapping her bottom lip again in thought. Then she blushes. Like she can comment on taste in boys when she was fawning over 'master of evil dark science, Riventon' of all people. So she ends that line of thought.

She can't really comment on reverse enginnering a Puella-Magi, but--- "Well..I know that...." she says. "....being cut from being Scorn for a small bit- hurt a whole lot. I would imagine similar things might feel the same way." she says. "But that's conjecture and science is not my strong suite. More like Arts and I'm really taking to cooking!" she says.

She shakes her head and smiles at White-chan.

"I got it all~" she says. "But---um. Maybe I can talk to Sayaka? I mean..." she motions. "...I might give her a different prespective that.. at least stops her from being super hostile!" she smiles. "Or---maybe she'll just punch me! But---"

"I can try, right?" she asks.

Homura Akemi has posed:
At White's comment that Sayaka Miki couldn't be that stupid, Homura just gives her a serious look, shakes her head, and starts looking at her nails. "She is exactly that stupid... but well, like you said, no reason to give up easily. She might get a clue sooner or later. If not, well, the Puella Magi lifestyle doesn't suffer fools long."

Upon being asked what Sayaka is like in further detail, Homura says, "Well. She very strongly believes that what she's doing is right. She thinks that Puella Magi are supposed to be defenders of justice and the innocent. She also thinks that anyone who feels otherwise is a villain who needs to be fought. This is an unfortunate attitude to have because Puella Magi are not inheriently defenders of justice. We're magical predators that prey upon monsters, and those monsters just so happen to also be predators that prey upon the innocent. I suppose you could argue that there's justice there, in a very sort of 'eye for an eye' type of way."

"If she were to find out that the world isn't as idealistic as she'd like it to be, and if she starts thinking that people aren't worth protecting, well... that's when she'll start getting unpredictable and dangerous."

As for Madoka liking Takashi, Homura just waves her hand dismissively. "I don't know what she sees in him, but whatever. She's clearly made her choice."

To Haruna's defense of ideals, Homura tilts her head. She smiles, sympathetically, but she also shakes her head. "I'd probably have more respect for her ideals if they were actual ideals and not a paper-thin excuse to condemn people she doesn't understand. Most of the 'crimes' she's out to punish are things she's made up in her head. She acts idealistic and heroic, I actually find her to be quite cynical... and in her own way quite villainous."

To Hannah's apology about failing to bring people together, Homura shrugs. "Honestly, I don't think it was avoidable. Kyouko-san created all of that situation the moment she tried to pick a fight with me and drag Tomoe-san onto her side. Everything that happened afterwards... well... it may have made the divide wider, but I don't think there was ever a way to actually fix that divide. I used to think that I couldn't rely upon anyone, but actually... I think it'd be more accurate to say that I can't rely upon them."

Homura takes another drink of her coffee, then adds, "I think that's about all I have to add. Obviously I'm willing to fight both the Dark Kingdom and Walpurgisnacht, and will start preparing along those lines."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Sigh. There's a nod to both girls. "Ugh. She'll definitely be a tough nut, then. Deadly stupid, huh? I guess punching it out of her won't work." Sigh.

She thumbs-up to Haruna! "Hey. If you think you can do it, go for it. You're a lot more diplomatic than me, after all."

Wince. "Yeeeah, that's the kind of idealism that'll kill you with those conditions placed on you. Scary. If we could give her a dose of reality without breaking her, that'd be great, but tread lightly kids."

Worse, Haruna and Homura both aren't giving good news. "I'll keep looking into it. Wouldn't be worth doing if it wasn't a challenge, right?" Grin!

"Kyouko's dangerous. It's why I want her so badly. She's cunning, if not the sharpest knife ever. And Mami's strong, I'd say we're pretty even, and that's going all-out. But that's a lesson we can give to Puella. Other Puella aren't always your friends. Gotta make sure they know which way's up." She's grasping at straws here.

She then types once more, and pushes away her type writer.

"Alright then, meeting ended. Thanks guys." She loosens up her tie. Professional hat off! And then presses a button.

A bloody kareoke machine wheels out from the wall.

"I think we all need a break! WHO'S UP FOR SINGING!?" God help them both.