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# Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date May 19, 2014
- Tags
    bad decisions dating mami tomoe diabolical laughter friendship is the best ship handholding identity crises microwaving tea gets you put in the bad place names are important puella magi adfligo systema puella magi madoka magica the body is the fursona of the soul this is not the baked goods thread we don't talk about rionna what could possibly go wrong? who in the world is azure sanfrancisco?

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Threadmarks Entanglement pt. 43
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 16, 2014

- #2,185

Mami's not crying. Not yet, perhaps. She's simply sitting, with her face in her hands, and shoulders slumped. She looks... defeated, for lack of a better word, completely at a loss for what she could do.
"A-another one?" you blurt.
Mami looks up at you, eyes empty. "Kyouko used to be my student... my friend. S-Sabrina, I, I, being a magical girl is so lonely. I- I'm not the cool senior m- magical girl, and-" she's crying now, slow tears sliding silently down her face. "Sabrina, I- I can't lose another friend."
She's worried about losing you, too. And all things considered, while things turned out well for you today, they could have gone much worse.
"Mami..." you reach for one of her hands, grasping it with both of yours. She lets you, hand hanging limp in yours. "Mami, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking..."
"Y- you weren't thinking," Mami echoes hollowly, slow tears beginning to make tracks down her face. "B-but you still- you can talk down Akemi. And Kyouko. And save people, better than I ever c-could. A-and your magic. Y-y-you don't need broken old Mami any more. You never did..."
You drag Mami into a hug, throwing both arms around her. Her hands hang limply by her side, and you can feel your shoulder slowly dampening as she continues to cry. "Mami, you're not going to lose me," you say. "You are a good person, and an amazing friend. I don't think many people who would just let a total stranger stay with them just out of the goodness of their heart."
You tighten your hug around the blonde. "I'm not going anywhere, Mami."
Her quiet weeping turns into great, wailing sobs, but she throws her arms around you and clings on tightly, like a life preserver in a storm. And in a way, that is what you are to her; her chance at changing the empty loneliness of her existence.
[] Say something else
-[] Write-in what
[] Go meet Homura
[] Tell Homura you can't make it
[] Go to sleep
=====​
Unlike just about everyone else, Sabrina is Mami's equal. And therein lies the root of Mami's reaction.
Indicate what you'd like to do next, too, whether it be to go find Homura or stay here, or spontaneously catch fire, or something.
Last edited: Jun 16, 2014
Threadmarks Entanglement pt. 44
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 16, 2014

- #2,201

Mami's crying doesn't abate, and you let her cling to you. "Mami, you are not broken," you breathe into her ear. "You have done so much more than I have to help people. How many lives have you saved? Directly, and indirectly? Every Witch, every Familiar you've killed..."
You shake your head slightly, against her shoulder. "Why, why would I ever want to leave you? You are a wonderful person, Tomoe Mami, and you've done so much. Not just for me. I'd never leave a friend as wonderful as you."
Mami's wailing sobs quiet, and eventually, she whispers, barely audible, "Thank you, Sabrina. Thank you, so much."
You continue holding her, and let her cry herself out, years of loneliness and pain slowly giving way. You don't think she's fully OK, but... she will be.
Eventually, Mami's tears dry up, and she separates from you with a watery smile. "Thank you, Sabrina."
"For nothing, Mami," you reply. "I said nothing that wasn't true."
Mami hiccups, and dips her head to you in what is almost a bow. "I- I should clean myself. I must look terrible," she says, and gets up to head to the washroom. She pauses at the door to look back at you, and you smile reassuringly at her, patting the sofa. You're not going anywhere.
"Homura," you saya telepathically.
"Meet at the school," the time traveller replies. "I'll show you where Madoka's house is."
"No. not tonight, Homura. Mami... needs someone with her right now," you say. "We'll meet tomorrow at lunch or so?"
"What is it?"
You frown a little at the sheer, callous brusqueness of that response. Not that it's an unreasonable deduction, you have to admit. "There are things we shouldn't talk about over telepathy, Homura."
"... yes," Homura agrees, at length. "Lunch, then."
You lean back on the sofa, and stare up at the ceiling. What a day. What a day. Kirika, Kyouko and Yuma, Mami.
The door to the washroom opens after a while, and you turn to look. Mami has cleaned her face, her eyes now longer as red and puffy as they had been. Her hair has been freed from its drills, lying limp. "A-ah, Sabrina...?"
"Hm?" you raise an eyebrow at Mami.
"I-is it OK if I sleep in your room tonight?" the blonde asks tentatively. "N-not on the same bed or anything, I have a spare mattress..." she adds hastily. "I... just don't want to be alone."
You shake your head with a smile. "You don't have to ask, Mami."
Eventually, the two of you are ready to go to sleep. You can't help but feel that setting up in what is technically the guest room makes things a little cramped, but there's just about enough room to slide the extra mattress in between the bed and the closet. You try to get Mami to take the bed, but she refuses.
"Good night, Mami," you say.
"Good night, Sabrina," Mami says. With the lights out, the silvery moonlight streaming in through the window shines off her smile.
=====​
"Help! Mami! Sabrina! Anyone!"
You're jolted awake in the middle of the night by a telepathic scream, and bolt upright. It's Sayaka, and it's also about 2AM.
On the floor, Mami's also sitting upright, and staring at you with wide eyes. "Did you-"
"Sayaka. Yes."
"What's happening?" a scared, tremulous voice - Madoka.
[] Write-in
=====​
Thus ends chapter two: Entanglement.
A butterfly flaps its wings...
The next post shall be chapter three: Direct Intervention.
Last edited: Jun 16, 2014
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 1
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 16, 2014

- #2,230

"Where are you?" you snap, bouncing out of your bed and transforming. Mami's a heartbeat behind you, golden radiance filling the room.
"My house! I-it's on fire!"
What?
What?
Oriko wouldn't.
She would, wouldn't she.
Mami's already throwing open the window, and you move behind her as she swings outside. "Sayaka, we're on our way!" Mami calls as she bounds up to the roof. A moment later, golden ribbons drop down for you.
"Homura!" you bark, one hand looping through the ribbons. Your other hand slams the window shut behind you even as the ribbons shorten, hauling you up to the roof to stand beside Mami.
"I heard. I'm watching Madoka right now," Homura replies. Her mental voice is calm and unhurried, but there's nevertheless an undercurrent of worry that she doesn't quite manage to hide.
"Right. I think you'd better stay there," you reply, before switching mental channels to Mami and Madoka. Mami's already leaping towards the next roof, and you're hard on her tail. "Madoka, don't worry. Mami and I are on the way to help Sayaka."
"Please hurry!" Madoka says urgently. You get the impression that she's sitting at her bed wringing her hands.
"Of course, Madoka," Mami replies, landing darting around a vent on the rooftop with practiced ease.
"Sayaka, still there?" you say.
"I- there's sirens," she replies. You can hear the sirens of the firetrucks too, rapidly dopplering as you and Mami push yourselves as hard as you can move.
"We'll be there soon, OK? Stay close to the floor to avoid the smoke," you soothe. In the midst of a roll after your landing, you pull out one of the marbles of Grief you've been collecting, and it puffs away into a roiling cloud of Grief which you pull behind you. No sense not going in loaded for bear.
"Ok. Ok." You can tell Sayaka's struggling to stay calm.
You arrive before the firetrucks do, though not by much- they're maybe a minute or two behind you. From your landing point in the middle of the street, you can Sayaka's apartment blazing, fire gouting out of the windows. It doesn't look it's it's spread all that far yet, though the fire is, in your judgement, burning unnaturally fast- it shouldn't have reached this level of inferno without spreading further.
There's a magical presence on top of a nearby building, and your head swivels to look up. Mami follows your gaze.
You recognize the rather distinctive figure, lit as it is by the fire. A long, flowing white dress, topped by a peculiarly shaped hat.
Oriko nods regally down at the two of you, pivots, and calmly walks away.
[] Go after Oriko
[] Sayaka needs help, get in there
[] Split up
[] Write-in
=====​
... except, this time, it looks like some bastard shelled the entire forest.
Whoops!
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 2
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 18, 2014

- #2,373

Mami stares at the departing figure, then looks at you. "Was that-"
"Oriko. Yes," you growl.
"I see," Mami says, voice icy cold. "Sayaka needs our help, first."
"Yes," you agree, as the first fire truck pulls up at the street, firemen piling out, shouting at each other. They hurry to connect up the hoses to the fire hydrants, setting up to put out the fire.
You and Mami sprint at the flaming building, amidst some shouts of alarm from the few firefighters that notice the two of you. The cloud of Grief billows around you, and a tangle of ribbons springs into existence around Mami. "Sayaka! Firefighters are here, and we're coming in!"
"P-please hurry!" Sayaka shouts.
The two of you sprint up the stairs to Sayaka's third story apartment. The banisters are warm as you pull on them to help you change direction, leaving finger imprints as you do. When you reach the third floor, you're confronted by a virtual wall of flame and black smoke gouting through the remains of the door.
"Sabrina-" Mami begins, a worried frown on her face.
"I've got this one, I think," you say, smoothly stepping around Mami. One hand rises in front of you to direct the mass of Grief, and it surges ahead in a billowing cloud to engulf the licking flames. Roiling darkness meets the hungry flames, and snuffs it out without fuss.
You storm forward in the wake of the cloud, Mami hot on your heels. The floor is hot enough that you can feel it through your boots, and you're barely able to keep a small path clear of flame with your Grief. Mami's ribbons lash, serpentine, helping to smother and toss aside flaming pieces of debris in your path as you push through the inferno heated air. "Sayaka!" she shouts, voice ringing clarion-like over the roar of the flames. "Where are you?"
"H-here!" Sayaka's response is barely audible, and interrupted by coughing. It's enough, though, that you can figure out which room is hers.
You feel Mami releasing a pulse of magic behind you, blasting back the acrid clouds of smoke in the air. Now that you notice the smoke, though, you realize that you should have been coughing just as hard, if not harder than Sayaka had... but aren't. In any case, with the smoke clear, you can see the closed door clearly. "Mami?"
"Got it," she snaps, ribbons lashing out and sliding between the door and the wall. The blonde braces herself, and then hauls on the ribbons, tearing the door off its hinges while you focus on keeping the flames back.
The room beyond is untouched by the fire, but smoke pools against the ceiling, and you can see Sayaka huddled on the floor beside her bed, blanket dragged around her face. She lifts her face to look at the two of you through reddened and tear-laden eyes.
"M-Mam-" her grateful cry is interrupted by a hacking, phlegmy coughing fit. Crap. Smoke inhalation.
"We need to get her out of here," you say, hurrying over to the bluenette. Mami nods, eyes anxious. "Sayaka, is there anyone else in the house?"
"My pare-" she begins, but promptly starts hacking again. "N-next room."
"Easy, Sayaka," you say. "Can you wal- no, best not. Stay down for a moment."
The fire's getting more intense, and at this point, you're hard pressed to keep it away from this room with the small amount of Grief you have at hand, a thin layer of Grief pushing back against the hungry flames. "Mami, through the wall?" you suggest.
"OK," the blonde says. She considers the wall for a moment, before manifesting a large mass of ribbons. She gestures grandly with both hands, and the ribbons lance out, outlining a roughly person-sized area with regular perforations clear through the wall. You gently pull Sayaka behind you, shielding her body with your own. Mami, in an echo of her earlier motion, braces herself and hauls.
The wall explodes outwards in a spray of crumbling mortar and cheap brick. On the other side of the newly formed hole, you can see another bedroom, this one with a larger bed, and an older couple huddled together in the corner furthest from the door. Like Sayaka's room up until a moment ago, the door is firmly shut, and not yet burned through.
The man looks up. "Who- wha-"
"We're here to help," Mami says, ducking slightly and stepping through the hole in the wall. "Mr. and Mrs. Miki? Can you walk?"
"I- ye-" he coughs slightly, but nowhere as badly as Sayaka is, "My wife-"
Sayaka's mother is unconscious, you can guess that much from the way her head is lolling about. Mami takes that in stride though. "That's OK." Golden ribbons spring into existence, bearing the older woman upon a stretcher. Mami moves over to Sayaka's father, offering a supporting hand. "Sir, this way?"
Despite the gravity of the solution -fire pressing hard against your thin barrier[1]​ of Grief, Sayaka and her parents in poor condition- you can't help admire Mami's unflappable demeanour. It works, too, Sayaka's father staggers to his feet, one of his arms pulled over Mami's shoulder. Despite the height difference, she still manages to support most of his weight.
"OK, stay calm, Sayaka," you mutter to the girl, before kneeling and picking her up in a fireman's carry. You nod at Mami, and the two of you push towards the living room, which is still blazing away.
Water pours in through the window in a torrential spray, dousing some of the flames- fire department, then. The edge of the spray catches you in the side with enough force to send you staggering to the side, and you swear violently. Thankfully, Sayaka hasn't been hit, and you managed to maintain your Grief cloud, pressing back against the inferno.
"Sabrina!" Mami calls in alarm, still supporting Sayaka's father.
"I'm good," you grunt, forging doggedly forward. The stairwell, with its promise of safety from the fire, isn't far away now.
The five you you quickly reach the stairwell, and you bundle the Mikis down to the first floor quickly. When you reach the first floor, you're surrounded by people- paramedics, and firefighters, all shouting and trying to get the five of you to the ambulances. Behind them, you can see a team of search and rescue firefighters, all geared up and ready to rush into the blazing building.
[] Go with the paramedics
[] Run away!
- [] Leave the Mikis with the paramedics
[] Write-in
=====​
[1]​ Small 'b' barrier, not 'Barrier'.
Last edited: Jun 18, 2014
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 3
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 18, 2014

- #2,396

"Sabrina, we should go," Mami says as she deposits Sayaka's mother on a proper stretcher, the ribbons disappearing in a burst of golden light. The paramedics are wide-eyed, but they have a job to do, and they rush the older woman off to the ambulance. Sayaka's father and Sayaka herself have already been ushered off to the temporary aid station.
"Miss, do you need help?" one particularly persistent medic asks you. His expression is puzzled, probably at your odd choice of attire, but he appears to be clamping down on his emotions.
"No, I'm fine," you say, pushing past him. "Yeah, let's go," you reply to Mami, who is also slipping through the crowd. "Sayaka, we'll take our leave, OK?"
"O-ok," she replies, looking up from the aid station, where she's breathing into an oxygen mask. She waves weakly at you, and you wave back.
There are a few paramedics and firefighters trying to detain you, but you slip past them easily and quickly bound up to a roof when you're out of sight.
Cresting the edge of the roof, you walk over to the side of a labouring air conditioning compressor, and slump down against it. The vibrations barely impinge on you, as sudden exhaustion that you shouldn't be experiencing washes over you. Psychosomatic reactions, then, as the adrenaline fades.
Mami follows you up to the roof, landing gracefully. Her expression is anything but serene, though, now that the crisis is over, and she begins pacing agitatedly along the roof.
"Madoka, Homura," you say, reaching out telepathically. "Everyone's OK. Alive."
"Oh, thank goodness, Sabrina!" Madoka replies immediately. "How's everyone?"
You hesitate, but Mami enters the conversation smoothly, "Sayaka and her family will be fine, Madoka. They're in the care of the professionals, now."
"Oh," Madoka says. You can tell that she's worried that they had to be relegated to medical care at all, but it seems that she accepts that. "Thank you, Mami, Sabrina."
"Hey, it's our job," you say wryly. Sort of, anyway.
"No need to thank us, Madoka," Mami says.
Mami finally abandons her pacing, and sits beside you, smoothing down her skirt with an air of distraction. "Sabrina," she says.
"Hm?" you raise your head to meet her eyes. The lines around her eyes are drawn tight, giving her a distinctly dangerous look- that of a finely crafted sword, or perhaps one of her filigreed muskets. Elegant, and yet poised to kill.
"You said that that girl who walked away was Mikuni Oriko?" Mami asks. Her voice is as pleasant as it usually is... except for the tightly leashed current of fury you can hear in it.
"Yes, she was," you say, sharpening to attention.
"I see," Mami says. Those words send a chill running down your spine, almost as if she'd just pronounced a death sentence upon Oriko. "And Homura knows of her?"
[] Write-in
=====​
Heee.
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 4
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 19, 2014

- #2,418

"Yeah," you mutter. "Yeah, she does. I don't think she expected Oriko to do anything... quite like this, either."
"If she did, and didn't say anything..." Mami trails off. "But no. If she knows anything about this Oriko, then we need to talk to her."
"Mami, wait." You grab her arm as she shifts her weight to stand. "Oriko... From what I can tell, she likes making these big, elaborate plans. She wanted us to see her. She probably meant to make us angry- and I'm afraid going after her here and now is going to play right into her hands."
"We're not going after her right now," Mami states, shrugging off your arm and rising to her feet. She offers you her hand. "But if Homura knows about her? Then I want to know what she knows. Because this was not acceptable." Her expression is hard, and you can't help but remember that however pleasant she usually is, Mami is a veteran magical girl, who's presumably been in her share of territorial conflicts.
"I'm right with you, Mami," you say, grabbing her proffered hand with a smack of palm meeting palm, and letting her pull you to your feet. "This was utterly inexcusable, and we are not going to let this happen again. Homura will be happy to help, I suspect."
Mami nods firmly, jaw firmly set. "If Oriko is as formidable as Homura seems to think she is, then we're going to need all the help we can get." Her lips compress. "We might want to bring in Masami. And Kyouko... maybe."
You hum noncommitally. "Maybe. We need to be careful about this."
"Homura. Where are you right now?" Mami calls telepathically.
"I am watching over Madoka," Homura responds.
"Good. We'll be there soon," Mami replies. "Come on, Sabrina."
[] Go with Mami
[] Do something else
- [] Write-in
[] Write-in conversational topics
=====​
If you choose to do something else, then write-in what you want to tell Mami. If you choose to go with Mami, then write-in conversation along the way, as well as anything that you personally to tell Homura.
Last edited: Jun 19, 2014
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 5
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 19, 2014

- #2,432

Even in the middle of the night, Mitakihara City bustles as you and Mami soar over the rooftops. Cars stream endlessly on the road, and you fancy that perhaps one or two of the twinkling lights are the fire engines, and perhaps another carries journalists hurrying to the scene of the fire.
Not your problem, in the end.
"So, Mami?" you begin.
"Yes, Sabrina?" Mami asks.
"What's this Masami like?" you ask. Taller buildings are becoming shorter now as you head out towards the suburbs, and Mami leads you on a weaving path amongst them to ensure that you aren't seen.
"Hm... Peppy would be the best word to describe her. Always cheerful and happy, always listening to music of some kind of another," Mami replies. "Really quite powerful, though!"
"Huh. How'd you meet her, anyway?" you query, making a particularly tricky hop across a building- you're forced to tuck and roll to avoid an inconveniently placed antenna.
Mami shrugs. "Oh, I met her about... half a year ago, I think? I... well, I saved her from a Barrier, and told her a little about magical girls. She became one a while later, but since she lived so far away, we sort of... never kept in touch."
You can tell there's a little more to that story, and decide to risk pushing a little. "I get the feeling there's more to it than that?"
Mami laughs. "Can't hide anything from you, can I?" She tries for nonchalant. "She... stopped answering my calls. When I went to check on her, she told me she needed her space," she finishes evenly, but the slight stumble as she lands on a roof gives lie to that.
Ouch. You wince to yourself, and take a few quick steps forward to bump Mami's shoulder with your own. It's probably an old hurt at this point, but you can't help but feel that a little comfort would be for the best here. She turns and gives you a smile that's tinged with gratitude and just a little melancholy.
Mami's next words, spoken, not telepathic, are almost snatched away by the wind as the two of you leap for the next building, but straining, you can just hear them. "I'm glad you're here."
The two of you continue on in silence after that, now forced to move at the street level, keeping to darker areas and avoiding cars. You soon sense a magical presence, ahead... and above you? "This way, Mami," you say, veering off to the side.
The houses are sparser in this area- there is a remarkable amount of greenery and open ground around here, and you frankly have no idea how that works with land-starved Japan, unless the Kanames actually happen to be richer than gods, plural. But then again, it's not like theirs is the only house in this read, and nor is this land fenced off and 'Property of...'
There's... simply a perplexing amount of unutilized land here.
You circle around to the side of the house, where Homura's presence is, until you're almost directly on top of it. Your senses still say she's almost directly above you, but you don't see her.
"Here." Your head snaps up at the sound of Homura's voice.
As it turns out, she's perched incongrously on a tree branch, barely visible amongst the foliage until she shifted position slightly to look down at you. You squint at her position, and then back at the the Kanames' house, estimating angles. At a guess, you suspect that she can see into Madoka's window from her current position.
Homura hops down from her perch, landing softly beside the two of you.
"Homura," Mami says, inclining her head the barest fraction of a centimeter to the time traveller.
"Mami, Sabrina," Homura replies, returning the infinitesimally tiny nod.
Well, you'll take it. "Hello, Homura," you say.
[] Suggest talking in time-stop
[] Talk here
[] Suggest adjourning to elsewhere
[] Write-in conversational direction
- [] Degree of meta
=====​
The Kaname residence is ridiculous. I have no idea how to make sense of it.
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 6
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 19, 2014

- #2,456

"Homura. What do you know about Oriko?" Mami prompts, fixing the time traveller with an unyielding, steady gaze.
You raise a hand, forestalling any further comment. "Wait. Homura, I think we should speak under cover of your power, just to be sure?"
Mami glances at you quizzically, with a slight hint of impatience, but defers to you and looks back at Homura, waiting for an answer.
Telepathically, you inform Homura, "Kyuubey knows about the timestop somehow, and has told Kyouko, at least. Not much point hiding it from Mami."
Homura's violet eyes shift to look at you, and a long moment passes before finally she bends down to pick up a twig from the ground, and holds it out to you. You grasp the twig, and hold your hand out to Mami. "Grab on, Mami."
"What's this fo-" Mami begins, grabbing your hand.
Homura turns her shield, and time stops. What little noise there is, here in the suburbs at 3AM in the morning, is completely snuffed out, leaving the three of you with nothing but the sounds of your breathing to accompany you. The world falls into hues of lifeless grey, the subtle motion of plants swaying in the wind dying.
Mami doesn't gape, precisely, but she stares at the deadened surroundings, eyes widened from her usual half-lidded expression.
"I can stop time," Homura says simply.
Mami swallows, recovering. "I see. That is a... powerful ability indeed, Homura."
Homura nods slightly. "To answer your question, Mikuni Oriko is a powerful, very powerful precognizant. She works with a time slower, Kure Kirika."
"Uh, that's not true," you inject. "Kirika, I mean. According to Kyuubey, her power is to cancel active magic." Under Homura's questioning glare, you shrug, and add, "I asked. Since he was so free with telling other magical girls about your power..."
A grimace. "Magic cancelling, then. Oriko is... was the daughter of the former senator, Mikuni Hisaomi."
Mami raises her eyebrows. "That Mikuni. I see."
"Oriko goes to school at Shriome," you add. "Kirika... at Mitakihara. I'd say be careful in school, but I don't think that's necessary. Kirika seems... quite unstable to me, when I met her- she's... uh, maybe 'yandere' for Oriko comes close? She's very, very protective of Oriko, but otherwise acts more or less normally. I think her Wish might have messed with her head a little."
Mami nods grimly. Even in her quietly simmering anger, the thought of the Wish intefering with a person like that seems to mildly disturb her.
"Am I to assume Oriko was behind the fire?" Homura asks. You doubt she's really questioning the idea, just confirming.
"Yes, she was," you say. "Or... she was there, when we arrived, watching from a rooftop. Then she just walked away."
"Whether she was responsible or not," Mami snaps, "she is at least responsible for walking away."
You nod. "What else do we know she's done? She gave me that threat to our house, she sent Kirika to talk to me... she... might have been responsible for having Kirika push Hitomi down the stairs? And apparently she was hiring? Homura, have you seen her?"
The time traveller shakes her head. "No."
"Ugh," you grunt, feeling the urge to rub your temples, but both of your hands are occupied. "What the hell is her game? She's a precog, she can't simply be doing this for fun or something. If she wanted us dead, we'd probably be dead already."
"Irrelevant."
"That doesn't matter-"
Mami and Homura both reply at the same time, before looking at each other in surprise. Homura inclines her head for Mami to continue.
"It doesn't matter, Sabrina. Whatever her game, this was completely unacceptable, and she will answer for it," Mami says.
"Yes, she will!" you agree. "But if we don't do this carefully, we're probably playing right into her hands! We need to come up with some kind of plan, here- we need to stop this from happening again."
Mami grimaces. "I agree, Sabrina." She looks off into the distance, considering for the moment.
All three of you are quiet.
It's eerie, here in the time stop, with nothing to accompany you apart from the thundering of your heart and the slow breathing of the three of you. There exist, apparently, acoustic chambers soundproofed so perfectly that the silence drives people mad, and the longest anyone has ever lasted in one of those is about twenty minutes. You imagine much the same applies here.
You should be thinking of a way to beat Oriko, but here and now, you're coming up blank.
At length, Mami asks, "Homura. Your timestop. Could we use it to find Oriko and... deal with her?"
Homura's eyes widen fractionally, but she nods. "I am intending to try. The biggest issue will be finding her."
"Good. Can you bring us with you?" Mami asks.
[] Attempt to head off this plan
- [] With what reasoning?
[] Let them hash it out
[] Suggest improvements
[] Write-in
=====​
Phone typing again. Oh well.
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 7
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 21, 2014

- #2,563

Thoughts explode into your head as you hear Mami and Homura discuss assassinating Oriko from inside the time loop. How upset must Mami be to even contemplate that? You contemplate possible interactions of Kirika's and Homura's powers, as well as whether you should try to dissuade them.
Homura hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I can."
You inject a question at this point. "Homura, Kirika's power is to cancel out active magic. Do you think she might cancel your timestop?"
The timetraveller frowns, and considers it for a moment. "It's possible, yes."
"Then out first task should be to find her first, and, uh, neutralize her, or at least make sure she's not in a position to interfere?" you suggest. "I can still sense things while timestopped, so that should work."
Mami nods. "That sounds workable, though finding her is the biggest problem. Homura, how long can your timestop last?"
"Indefinitely, if I can cleanse my Soul Gem," Homura says, inclining her head to you. "It won't be a problem."
"Mmm," you agree with a nod. "One, uh, two more things. Firstly, Oriko is a precognizant... if she doesn't already have countermeasures against us, then she certainly will the moment you release the timestop. The other thing... well, again, she said she was hiring. Who? Maybe another magical girl?"
Mami looks away. "I hope she's not in the area. Oriko... Oriko needs to pay, but someone who was just hired for a job..."
"It shouldn't come to that," you comment. "Timestop, no?"
"I hope so," Mami admits, before turning back to Homura. "Homura, your timestop works by touch range. Do you think my ribbons will suffice?"
Homura nods.
"Then may I suggest we bind ourselves together using the ribbons so that we can spread out and search a larger area?" Mami asks.
"That should work," Homura agrees.
"I can't help but feel that a seer will be better at hiding than three of us can search, though, even with Homura's timestop," you comment.
Homura nods slowly. "I tried to find her yesterday, as well."
"We can cover a much larger area now, though, and Sabrina can sense magic in a very large radius," Mami points out. "And I am not letting her go without at least trying to find her."
Homura's eyes are slightly widen. You wonder how many times she's ever seen Mami this angry before. It can't have occurred all that often. She eventually nods again. "I suggest that we start at where you last saw her, then search towards her house. Failing that, we can check the old industrial area."
[] Write-in
- [] Suggestions for where else to search
- [] Anything else to say?
[] Split your lungs with blood and thunder/When you see the white magical girl (Start hunting)
=====​
Whoops. Wound up coding instead of writing an update.
Threadmarks Direct Intervention pt. 8
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Jun 21, 2014

- #2,577

"OK, then. Nothing for it, I guess?" you say, letting out a breath.
"The sooner we get started, the sooner we find Oriko," Mami says. She holds up the hand not gripping yours, and golden ribbon begins spooling out from between her fingers. The ribbons wind sinuously around your waist, and then snakes over to Homura, who watches the ribbon slightly dubiously. Nevertheless, she lets it wrap around her waist without complaint.
"The ribbon should lengthen as needed," Mami comments.
"Well. A cleanse before we go, then?" you suggest, letting go of the twig that had previously been bridging you and Homura, as well as Mami's hand. You shake out your hands; gripping things for so long has left them a tad sore.
Homura nods, and offers her Soul Gem, as does Mami. You draw off the corruption clouding their Gems -there's a fair amount on both their Gems-, and you pull it into the familiar little spheres of your Grief marbles for safekeeping. These join the others in your pocket, making for a total of twelve, and causing a somewhat unsightly bulge in said pocket. On an off thought, you pat your right pocket, ensuring that the Grief Seed is still there.
"Let's go, then," Mami says, starting in the direction of Sayaka's house. As promised, the ribbon stretches out behind her, seeming to have a life of its own as it avoids getting snagged on the various obstacles.
"Be careful, everyone," you breathe as you pick up the pace, Homura alongside you.
"Of course, Sabrina," Mami replies, turning to half smile at you.
The three of you move in near silence, ghosting over the timestopped city at a hundred meter spread. You quickly arrive at Sayaka's house, still blazing with stilled flames. Torrents of water, frozen in mid air, gout from the parked fire engines, and there are fire fighters rushing out of the building. One of them, halted midstep, is carrying someone in the traditional fireman's carry. You feel a slight pang- in your rush to save the Mikis, you hadn't considered other people in the building.
"One more thing for Oriko to pay for," Mami observes grimly from behind you. You hadn't even heard her walking up to you.
You shake off the thoughts. "Oriko was up there, wasn't she?" You point at a red-bricked building, and Mami nods, before silently taking a long hop to reach it. Homura follows, as do you.
The time traveller walks off to the edge of the building, peering around to get her bearings, and Mami trails a step behind.
... Mami's hands are shaking, just a little. With rage, or with uneasiness as the fact that she is planning cold blooded murder settles in, you don't know. You probably wouldn't have noticed, were you not currently hyper alert for any unexpected traps, impossibly functioning within the timestop.
You grimace, and look away, gaze falling to the ground.
There's a piece of paper with text on it lying on the ground, near the edge of the building. You raise an eyebrow at it, and glance at the others. They don't seem to have noticed it.
It's almost certainly a note from Oriko.
[] Call the others over
[] Pick up and read the note
[] Ignore the note, proceed with hunt
[] Write-in
=====​
... you know, I actually don't have anything to say in my usual note here. Oh well.
Last edited: Jun 21, 2014
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