Witch's Envoy: Magia (PMMM/Meta)

[Jiven]

Let's find our fellow pinkette!

[X] Go to the mall and shop!

 

[MHLord]

[X] Go to the mall and shop!

 

[Reverent One]

I have some money so why don't I use it? Plus I'm a girl. Don't girls like to do that shopping thing?

"You have a point. You could be more feminine."

"I agree, I'm pretty masculine."

"I was expecting flak for saying that." I have a feeling that, in the past, I would have but since I'm trying to reinvent myself while here - yeah, I should be acting more girlish.

…
Wait a second, in the past? Ah, whatever, I don't think it matters right now. I have a mission to complete and a pink-haired girl to find. Off to the mall!
_________________________________

Mitakihara Town - Shopping Mall

It took me around ten minutes to find the place after I actually looked at a map. Walking in from the outside, I can't help but be awed by the glass structure. It's a large dome that makes me wonder how come no one's threw a rock at it to make it completely crumble. I guess people just enjoy their shopping malls that much.

I walk inside, throwing a glance to get a measure for the interior. There really are a lot of places to shop.

Music stores, video game arcades, cafes… I'd really like to experience it all.

"Why don't you?" Au Courant really needs to pick their timing when they communicate with me.

"Mission, remember?"

"Ah, yes, but I'm sure you don't have too much to worry about at the moment." This person seems oddly relaxed compared to when she told me to destroy that furball.

"Why's that?"

"There's someone else working to protect Madoka." There's a second person?

"There is? Why didn't you tell me? That would mean we could work together."

"I'm… afraid it isn't that simple." What's not so simple about it? Can't I just talk to her?

"You're sure?" When Au Courant says something like that, they're usually correct (at least within the amount of time I've had to work with them). "So first you want me to protect Madoka… now you want me to steer clear?"

"I'm just telling you that there's another pair of hands working toward the same goal as we are. It's your decision if you want to approach her or not. If you do, be careful."

"Her?"

"Yes, it's a girl."

"Appearance?"

"Raven hair, purple eyes. No defining physical characteristics other than she's your age, wears the Mitakihara School uniform." That's enough information to work off of.

"Alright. Name?"

"Homura Akemi."

"Homura. Got it. Thanks." I take in another deep breath.

This is going to be another choice of mine. It's crucial, too, so I should…

[_] Meet up with Homura Akemi. We have the same goal so we should work together.
[_] I'd be meeting her under the pretense of a complete stranger. I shouldn't meet up with her now. I need to wait.
[_] I should locate Madoka before doing anything out of bounds.
[_] I shouldn't do much of anything. If Au Courant feels that I can lay low for now, I won't be combative about it.
[_] Custom

 

[Emral282]

[X] I should locate Madoka before doing anything out of bounds.

 

[Riga]

[X] I should locate Madoka before doing anything out of bounds.

If anything, we should attempt to not make any sort of misunderstanding with Homura and get on her bad side.

 

[Be;lanSniper]

[X] I'd be meeting her under the pretense of a complete stranger. I shouldn't meet up with her now. I need to wait.

 

[Nolrai2]

[X] Meet up with Homura Akemi. We have the same goal so we should work together.

Just going with my gut.

 

[Reverent One]

• • Alright, let's look at the reasons to go meet up with Homura.
    • I would get an ally in this mission of mine.
    • If she's competent, she'd be a great asset.
    • There's a possibility she's familiar with the town and subsequent environments.
    • I wouldn't be running around like a chicken with my head cut-off.
    Reasons not to meet up with Homura:
    • I could make an enemy out of her if I had a bad impression.
    • I'd be a complete stranger with not much to hang onto.
    • Possibility she could kick my ass/kill me for getting into her business when I wasn't needed.
    
    So I'm just going to go find Madoka in the mall. If I do, I imagine I'm going to run into her eventually. My job is to protect her, after all.
    
    Man, already thinking about this is just making me more nervous than I need to be. I should think about cute things that will take my mind off of the future chaos that's bound to hit me sooner or later.
    
    Dogs? Cats? Kids? Nothing is doing it for me. "I really am masculine." I mumble while walking around the big shopping center.
    _________________________________
    
    After the effectively useless reconnaissance, I finally come across Hitomi, Sayaka, and Madoka sitting in a cafe having a nice chat.
    
    "Uhhhhhh..." I'm standing there outside, completely dumbstruck on how to approach them. This is so awkward, in fact, people are walking by staring at me as they go along. I say nothing in retaliation to their harsh, judging eyes because there's nothing I can say.
    
    They have right to look at me if they're going to-
    
    "Oh! It's already this late? I'm sorry, I'd better go." Hitomi gets up from her seat.
    
    "Piano lessons, right? Or is it just Japanese classical dance today?" Sayaka says whiel looking at Hitomi who's now grabbing her bags up to leave.
    
    "Tea Ceremony lessons. Even though Entrance Exams are right around the corner. I wonder how long Mother intends to make me continue with them."
    
    "Makes me glad I wasn't born rich." Sayaka muses.
    
    "Shouldn't we get going to?" Madoka gets up, holding her tray.
    
    … leave.
    
    "Uh, um." yeah, now I'm really frozen up.
    
    [_] Greet them normally! Be casual about it.
    [_] Act cool, be awesome, make the scene.
    [_] HIDE WITHIN THE CONTENTS OF THE PLANT NEARBY.
    [_] Custom

 

[Riga]

[X] Greet them normally! Be casual about it.

I can feel the spaghetti already falling.

 

[MHLord]

[X] HIDE WITHIN THE CONTENTS OF THE PLANT NEARBY.

 

[Nolrai2]

[X] "School! we go to the same school. You have cute hair!"

 

[Hamekun]

[X] HIDE WITHIN THE CONTENTS OF THE PLANT NEARBY.

a very pink plant in fact.

 

[Robotninja]

[X] HIDE WITHIN THE CONTENTS OF THE PLANT NEARBY.

 

[Be;lanSniper]

[X] Greet them normally! Be casual about it.

 

[Reverent One]

Going to make a diceroll to decide which vote to go with:
(1) Greet them.
(2) Hide
[blockquote]Rolled 1d2 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

 

[Reverent One]

Instincts kick in. I randomly look around for something to hide in. With my good luck, I find a large pink flower seated just before the entrance to the cafe. I make a dive for it, making sure to curl up into a ball so that the planet's pot can conceal me. I look up from between the leaves of the flower to see Sayaka and Madoka saying good-bye to their other friend. After that they start walking away from the escalator.

Alright, this is prime opportunity to walk after them. When they're a considerable distance away, I start tailing them. I use people walking by as more cover. I do my best to remain inconspicuous as possible from them.

They finally come to a place to stop, it's a music shop. I think it's one of the ones that I passed when I was on the way in here. I'd walk in there but then I would blow my cover.

"Would it really be bad if you got caught?"

"For me, yeah. I'm beginning to think that if I let things play out normally, I can intervene when things get dire."

"Alright then. Continue on." Au Courant doesn't say anything more after that. Though it seems that in our little mental conversation, Madoka put away her headphones and started to walk away from the store.

Alright, not going to let her get away.

I'm going to follow. When she gets a considerable distance away, that's when I start tailing her a second time.
__________________________________

Mitakihara Shopping Mall - ?

Madoka walks through the lower levels of the mall. Judging by the signs nearby, the floor is closed due to remodeling. There are strange lamp lights here and there. The ground has tiles of black and white. This place just has an overall 'ominous' feeling to it. "Who's there? Who is it?" she says to no one in particular.

Madoka walks up to a staircase with barricades that bar entry. There's one of those "Floor Closed for Renevation" signs there too. The pinkette walks up the stairs and forces the door at the top open. "Guess those signs have no sway over her." I mumble while following after her. I get a good view of what's on the inside of the door.

Complete darkness. There's a white tarp to the side covering who knows what. Madoka is making sure not to make any undue noise by tip-toeing. "Where are you?" she calls out. "Who are you?"

She continues walking then a tile up in the ceiling busts. There a familiar white furball falls from the sky into Madoka's arms. She scoops up the injured creature into her arms, her voice full of alarm. "Is that you?"

"Save... me..." he squeaks.

Chains unbuckle a moment after the gawb fell from the ceiling. "Homura-chan...?" Madoka looks up in surprise.

"Get away from that thing." Homura makes her demand. I've been hiding behind a pillar nearby just so that I could observe the situation. But now... things might heat up. It's just a gut feeling but-

[_] Show myself.
[_] Transform and show myself.
[_] Continue observing.
[_] Custom

 

[Be;lanSniper]

[X] Continue observing.
... [X] Protect Madoka if necessary!

 

[Riga]

[X] Continue observing.

 

[Hamekun]

[X] Continue observing.
I'll also put a vote into protecting Madoka when imminent danger occurs

It's better if we don't stray off from here too much.

 

[Reverent One]

"B-but... he's hurt!" Madoka insists on protecting the white animal from Homura. The furball continues to breathe in heavily. She pulls him to the side, hugging him tightly with both arms. "No! Please, don't do something cruel!"

"This has nothing to do with you." Homura slowly walks toward Madoka, her voice the same as before.

"But he was calling me!" So that answers the question to why Madoka left the music store a moment ago. "I could hear him begging me to save him!"

"... I see." my would-be ally looks down at her with solemn eyes.

Now there's nothing but silence between two of them. I look at Homura and back to Madoka. I cast another gaze at Madoka from behind the comfort of the pillar.

"Huh, I guess that's over wi-" suddenly the room fills with a thin mist. I look over to see Sayaka with a fire-extinguisher blowing out all of its contents onto Homura. "Madoka, over here!" she cries. Immediately her friend responds by getting up from the ground to sprit on over to her. "Sayaka-chan!" the pinkette seems glad to have someone save her skin. After getting done with the fire extinguisher, Sayaka throws-

Wait a sec.

That's coming toward-

"AGH." the butt of it just smashed my head. I fall back on my rear, the back of my head hitting the cement wall. "GGghhh." My hand shakes as I check the damage.

Yeah, the back of my head is bleeding. "I'm going to have to get her back."

"Hehehe..."

"Shut up, my misery isn't that funny."

"It is, it is."

"Some ally you are." I quip while standing back up on my own two feet. "A-alright, what's going on now?" I turn back around the pillar to see something stranger than before. The world starts to warp around. A circle of monarch butterflies appears behind Homura in rows of three, expanding out as the world around us changes into something completely new. That's not all.

Lamp posts appeared.
Paper cut-outs surface from the new space.
Cards, carriages, and mustaches...?

Thorns appears on the horizon. The landscape completes its transformation.

"Now, of all times...!" Homura says that as-

...

Wait. The pillar I was behind is completely gone. Yeah, this is bad.

[_] Help out Homura with whatever may come.
[_] Follow after Sayaka and Madoka
[_] Escape out of here so I don't cause any more of a disturbance.
[_] Custom

 

[Riga]

[X] Help out Homura with whatever may come.

Now's our chansu to get a good 1st step with Homu.

 

[Hamekun]

[X] Follow after Sayaka and Madoka

I kind of want to just go over here.

 

[Be;lanSniper]

[x] Review the rules of the Gameboard with Au Courant
[x] Depending on his answer, go with Homura or Madoka and Sayaka.

Guys... I think we need to review our victory condition. How do we win this game? How has the gameboard changed from the OTL? What sort of authorities can we use as an Envoy, I think we need to define these things early on.

 

[Genome001]

[X] Help out Homura with whatever may come.

 

[Lavo]

[x] Help out Homura with whatever may come.

We don't know how this world works yet, nor are we socially capable. Helping out Homura is our best bet at being useful and a chance to both meet her and get on her good side. The latter is essential as she is a wild card in this mission, even if she arguably has the same goal as Faust.

 

[Reverent One]

I would like to say that before I do anything rash, I'd send quick message to Au Courant to review the rules of the Gameboard.

But that can wait. This Soul Gem thing of mine is resounding with a strong light.

"Hey, glowing Soul Gem means witch, right?" I ask the question to something that I should really know already.

"Correct." the reply was quick. Alright, now that I have that confirmed… I take in a deep breath and step into the limelight.

My stomach is in a knot.
I am nervous with meeting this new girl rather than being nervous about the fight. Strangely, I feel more calm, more focused if I don't have to talk. It should be the other way around for a person like me.

I transform the Soul Gem into its 'released' state while walking forward. Now a white egg is in my right hand. I throw it up into the air, watching it transforms into a magic sigil. The sigil comes down through the air. I leap up into it, allowing it to encircle me.

The red ribbon ties itself around my neck.
The blouse extends down just above the waist.
White fabric covers my hands.
Black boots strap down on my legs.

A jacket of white and red trim covers the upper body.
A white skirt escapes from the seems of the blouse, covering all the way down to my knees.

Lastly the white Soul Gem glows bright on base of my neck.

One last breath.
I form a white blade in my right, black in my left. I toss them straight into the strange, mustache monsters forming just where Homura is facing. Both blades dip into the head of 'cotton' that makes the beast's head and it explodes.

"Tell her to go after Madoka and Sayaka. Say you'll take care of the familiars." Au Courant says that as Homura was about to do something with her shield.

"I'll take care of the familiars! You take care of Madoka and Sayaka!" I force it out of my mouth. I tried to sound urgent. "I hope that worked."

"Who… are you?" she sizes up my features. Probably because I look exactly like the person she wants to protect sans hair and eyes.

"GO!" more 'familiars' show up around her.

Her eyes go wide but just for a second. Afterward, she goes back to whatever she was doing with her shield then… vanishes.

Into thin air.

"What!?" That means I didn't have to help her at all. The girl could have done that the whole time.

"It puts you at an advantage." says my idle helper.

"Whatever, I won't question you anymore."

"Look on the bright side!"

"That is?"

"You get to have a warm-up before this really starts." says Courant. "Be grateful!" the sarcasm in that voice makes me wince.

Whatever, this gives me the opportunity to let off some steam. "While I'm fighting, then, let's review the rules of the Gameboard." I form up two more swords as the familiars start waltzing toward me.

Then I run into battle.
_______________________________________________
Witch's Room --- ?

The room I stood in was lukewarm. The fan at the ceiling didn't spin. The fireplace nearby wasn't lit. I would rather have the fireplace going to give this room a more 'homey' feeling but I could tell that wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to be here very long anyway.

"Ah, Envoy, why not take a seat?" says the witch sitting opposite of Au Courant.

This witch.
This girl was the monster that Au Courant would be going against. She has long, black hair that extends down to the floor. She's wearing a formal dress that you'd expect some girl being taken to a 'ball' to wear. Her eyes are an evil, vindictive crimson red.

Her appearance.
Her demeanor.
The way she talked.

It made me feel uncomfortable.

She frowns at me, "I suppose my grace is wasted on you." a simple shrug.

"Faust, don't listen to her." I look at Au Courant. "She's nothing but evil."

"How mean." she pouts, "I am not."

"Right." my partner grimaces. The features are plain on their face. They are worried about the turn that this game is going to take. Once it starts, there's no going back from there on. "If you weren't evil, you wouldn't be trying to taint this world, right, Lily?"

"It's the duty of a Witch to obscure and take in different fragments. It's how we live."

Witches. Strange beings that serve as avatars of very concepts itself. I'm not sure which concept this one embodies, though. Or how they were born for that matter. It's kind of funny, really, because from what I remember from the debriefing with Au Courant, I'm going to be fighting monsters with the same name.

"That's a disgusting way of life." Au Courant leans back.

"That's why there's you, Au Courant… or should I say the existence of the various 'Au Courant'? You rise up to take us down, to protect the sanctity of those worlds you hold so dear. We're different sides of the same coin. Romantic, isn't it?~"

My friend doesn't respond, they simply look at me with a smile. "Don't worry, Faust, I'll do everything I can to help you win this fragment back." they extend a hand toward me.

I put my hand out.
The two of us handshake.

"I trust you."

"Same. I know you won't let me down."

The rules of this fight.
To obtain a happy ending as defined by the rules of the Gameboard.
To defeat the monstrosity known as the Witch.
To bring back the truth of this world.

Those are what I'm meant to do as the Envoy.

That's right.
And after our little chat there, I was thrown onto the Gameboard and showed up in Mitakihara on a bus.
I walked down to the school (wearing the wrong uniform), introduced myself to the person I was going to protect (Madoka) and went outside. After killing that furball once, I ended up going to the Mitakihara shopping mall.

After making a fool out of myself in public, I followed Madoka down here.

That's where I am now.

I guess this is the real start of my journey in this mixed up game.
_______________________________________________
Mitakihara Mall - Renovated Floor Section

"Phew."

I slash my way through the rest of the familiars that surrounded me. Before I know it, the world around me distorts back into the basement that it was before.

"Ahhhh." I dismiss the two swords I had been using to fight.

Now I hear footsteps.
They echo through the room.

I look up to see… yeah, there's Homura. She stops walking just before me, her cold glare sizing me up a second time.

"Who are you?" monotone voice. It fits her.

"You're a magical girl named Faust Shinozaki. Open with a casual greeting."

I scratch the back of my head, "My name is Faust Shinozaki. I'm a new student at Mitakihara Middle School."

"Is that so?" her cold voice is disturbing me now.

"Tell her you know when Walpurgisnacht starts and you want to defeat it."

"Yeah. I want to take on Walpurgisnacht too!" Those words seem to get more of a reaction from Homura. Not a joyful one either. Seems she's thinking I'm an idiot. Great.

"Tell her the date it occurs."

I recall through other information that Au Courant even told me, "April 30th, right?"

"How do you… know that?" Good, something I can actually work with.

"Tell her that-"

"Got this, no worries!" Au Courant should really stop worrying so much.

"I'm psychic!"

"..." she's silent. That's a bad thing.

"Now I have to cover your mistakes. Say that your wish was to see when others were in need of dire help. Hey, I'm setting you up as a superhero. Go figure."

"You're setting me up for embarrassment." I say back.

"My wish was to 'see' when others were in need of dire help. I saw a vision of you and, well, it… said that you needed help with Walpurgisnacht."

She starts walking right past me. It's like I'm not even there to begin with. "Your help is unneeded."

Ah, crap.
What do I do here?

[_] "Who else is going to help you?"
[_] Let her go but keep following her. Keep bugging her.
[_] "I'll do it by myself then."
[_] Custom

 

[Riga]

[X] Let her go but keep following her. Keep bugging her.

 

[Lavo]

[x] "At the end of my vision I remember something terrible, that couldn't be changed, happening to Madoka. Who else is going to help you?"

 

[Hamekun]

[X]"At the end of my vision I remember something terrible, that couldn't be changed, happening to Madoka. Who else is going to help you?"

 

[Reverent One]

"Who else is going to help you?" I feel like if I let her go now, I'm not going to get another chance at this. "I mean, you can probably get other help but-"

I hear my own heart beat.
The world freezes.

"I don't want to see you suffer." those words come out of my mouth. "There's only so much pain a person can bear. I know because--"

I know because what?
Because I've...

Static fills my mind.
My mind skips around all over the place.
How many times have I been through this scenario? I'm sure this is the first. The static dies down. My mind settles. Everything goes back to normal. "... I'm sorry." it seems like tears started forming. I bring my hand up to stop them from falling.

"What was that just now?" I ask, "Courant?"

"... I'm… not sure myself. Just keep going, Faust, you're doing well."

"Alright." my nervousness from before was all gone. Now I only felt listless, depressed.

"...Do as you like." Homura says that while turning away from me. Wait a second, did she just accept? Yes, yes I believe she did. Was it the crying? Because I don't get any credit for that. I'm not even sure what that was.

Clack.
Clack.
Homura's footsteps echo through the empty lot while she walks on.

Oh wait, what am I doing just standing here?
I gather myself up and sprint on after her.
______________________________________
Mitakihara - Outside of the Mall

…
I'm walking right behind Homura, having trouble with a topic of conversation. What in the hell should I bring up? I don't want to tread on any personal memories, so I-

"Do you have any relation to Madoka Kaname?" she speaks without looking back at me. That is really going to freak me out if it keeps up.

"..." I go silent. "Maybe, I don't know."

"You don't know?" still monotone.

"My memories before recently are kind of scrambled. I know I'm a magical girl, I know I made a wish, I know what my power is but the rest is blank." I push those lies out throu-... wait, are they really lies? I do feel like something is missing with my memories. Though I know the 'wish' is a lie.

"I see." Woohoo, reassuring words from a raven-haired, tonally challenged girl that is supposed to be my ally. I wonder if this girl could really turn around just for a SECOND to look at me while she talks. "What do you plan to do?" finally she turns around to face me, her cold eyes fixated on my face. "Is helping me the only reason you're here?"

"I'm here to protect Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki. That's what my visions told me to do, anyway."

"I'm your visions now?"

"Shut up."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing else. They come to me in strange ways, but they're always right." The little conversation stops there.

I look down at my ring which is now glowing with a strange variety of symbols. I transform it into the 'egg' form to let it sit in my hand. "That would mean a witch."

Homura nods slowly.

Alright, I guess I can show my good will by:

[_] Go after the witch, show Homura that I'm worth having around while she can go after Madoka and Sayaka.
[_] Let's ignore it.
[_] We could go together, we'd have a better success rate that way.
[_] Custom