It was a beautiful day in Danzig as the people of the city spent their day of leisure basking in the unusual warm spell. It was the day of one of the town's largest celebrations, and the streets surrounding the main avenue were absolutely crammed with people waiting for the parade. All around, television crews could be seen entrenched in all of the best viewing positions on the sidewalk, and atop the nearby rooftops.

It was on one of these rooftops, unoccupied by any bystanders, that a young girl and a mysterious creature both watched the scene unfolding below with the same idle expression.

"Do you have any idea what this is all about?" Minerva asks the creature at her side, not really expecting an informative answer. She had come to this country only recently, and having spent little time interacting with this city's people, she had no idea why all of the sudden everything seemed so festive. "Well," she adds at his meaningful silence, "not that you would know anything about this, anyways."

Kyubey probably knew that the girl was only talking to herself, so he did not rise to give a response to any of her questions. Instead, the two of them continue the conversation they were having up until near a minute ago. "Witches cause bad things to happen, and feed on sadness and bitterness and things like that, right? Then what would one be doing here? It seems like this would be... outside of their element, or something."

Actually, I think it may be quite the opposite.

"Eh? So you mean... with all of the people out on the streets, there's a lot of available prey, so something is bound to happen eventually?"

"Kyu~!"

...

Staying quiet, huh. Somewhere deep down, Minerva swells up with pride, but she brushes past this without showing it. She gives Kyubey an appreciative look, understanding that he was letting her figure things out for herself, and resumes gazing down across the crowd of innocent, helpless people. All going about their lives, completely unaware of the danger they were in.

She smiles. And, in the clasp of her hand, she feels her Soul Gem warm up with an unfamiliar resonance. "Hmm?"
Questioningly, the new Magical girl looks down at the brightly coloured stone, blinking as it starts pulsing with a queer light. She sends a glance at Kyubey, wordlessly asking the question on her tongue.

It's reacting to the presence of a Witch. It's close.

Rather than hardening, Minnie's expression suddenly brightens with enthusiasm. "Alright! I was wondering when I would get a chance to test this out." She stands up, and with a swift movement, the white animal who had been sitting next to her jumps up and onto her shoulder. And then she was on the move. Running to the Fire Escape, she jumps down onto the metal staircase, quickly descending before hesitating, and just jumping the rest of the way when she met the ladder down.

Landing in the adjacent alleyway, she runs to the street and looks in the direction she thinks the Witch might be in. Her Soul Gem seems vaguely warmer in her hand now that she was closer, and she infers that this means it worked based on proximity. So, the closer she got, the more her Gem would react. Helpful.

Prey in her sights, Minerva runs along the edge of the crowd, Soul Gem held out in front of her, following it like there was a string connecting it to the witch she was pursuing. In the back of her mind, she takes note of the cameras, and even sees herself on a nearby screen as she runs by. There, Kyubey could be seen resting on her shoulder, and she briefly starts, worried that others might see her.

Don't worry, normal humans aren't able to see me. Kyubey seemed to sense her intentions, and responded before she could voice her concerns. "Is that right? You sure are full of surprises, aren't you?" Smiling, Minerva continues her sprint down the cramped walkways, ducking and dodging out of the way of civilians as she goes.

And then just like that, they were gone, and Minerva stood looking into an abandoned alleyway just off the main street. Something was off. Her Gem almost felt like it was humming steadily now, and in the darkness ahead, Minnie could see something like a faint, trailing distortion in the air, quickly receding into the dark.

"What is that?" She asks sharply, looking over at Kyubey for answers. But before he could say anything, the presence seems to sense her, and rapidly slinks back. Without thinking, Minerva jumps into a sprint in pursuit. "Get back here! I'm not letting my first prey escape so easily!" As she ran after it, she starts to slow into a light jog, and then a quick walk. She knew the creature had a head start, but there was no sense in running in without thinking, especially now that she had the trail.

She considers her environment, and the situation. They were in an alleyway, heading towards an area of the city away from the parade, where there would be less people. No matter where the Witch ran, she would be able to catch up and take it down when it was cornered. What she needed now was to look at the problem calmly, and intelligently. Come up with a strategy for attack. Prepare her special magic, if she needed it. She had all of the time in the world.

And so, she slows, waiting for the time to strike, taking advantage of her role as the aggressor. At the same time, Kyubey watches her carefully, content with maintaining its role as Observer, prepared to quietly watch how things play out without interfering.

The thing she found most interesting, in an off-hand kind of way, was how the open and empty lane awaiting the parade seemed the only thing capable of blocking the human traffic of Danzig without a single whimper of protest. The crowds gazing out at each other on either side of the wide road may as well have been trapped there by the celebratory obstacle of the parade yet to come, but other than the occasional mother-of-three keeping her infants in tow through the crowd and the slumped, grey-haired husbands who had been pulled along with them, Kei Wentz saw barely a single frown.

It was her first celebration of Constitution Day in Poland. When Kei had arrived here just days off a full year ago, she had missed it by a hairswidth. She recognised the face of patriotism, but here in Europe, it seemed so much more real, more heartfelt than the casual and drunken facade of national loyalty she was used to seeing on Australia Day. The parade, her parents had told her as her father waxed nostalgic, was an old tradition, polished and militaristic- Or so he remembered it. Kei had seen uniforms that suggested he wasn't wrong, but she had ducked out of her parent's line of sight before they had a chance to see her surprised by how genuine the Polish flair was.

Her ducking, as it happened, hadn't really made her much more comfortable. The safety texts she'd exchanged with her mother felt awkward, and she still had to weave between clumps and smatterings of people. Wish my jacket was tailored that well, she thought with an upturned mouth as she stepped through the gaze of a handsomely moustached man in dress uniform. Kei didn't look the part of a relaxed holiday-maker. She'd begged her parents for a black leather jacket, and when her birthday came, she had vowed to get as much use out of it as possible. But her dedication to a rebellious aesthetic didn't suit her whatsoever. She was still too short to look the part, for one, and the material felt strange. Hell. I feel strange.

Kei was lonely, and she was stressed. Crowds, she found, were easier to get lost in than cities, and though she'd expected to have found someone she knew by now, she had yet to see a single familiar soul. Maybe she'd been wrong to expect. Half the girls at her school were immigrants, anyway; She didn't really know how much importance they attached to the parade. Mary was... Somewhere, I guess. Somewhere around the swill of people, probably, and Kei hoped she wasn't doing something too weird. Wait, no, that's not right either. She hoped that Mary's weirdness wasn't catching more attention than usual, for her own sake. Eh, that's better.

Even Kyubey had been gone since yesterday morning. Kei liked him. She had long since started doubting the little messenger's ability to really connect with her on an emotional level, but she didn't care. Kyubey never judged you, or declined to listen to you. He was a pocketable friend, easy to be around, asking little. She'd expected him to abandon her once she kicked off as a Magical Girl, but he always came back to check up on her in the end, and she was grateful.

It was her business as a witch-hunter that tickled in the side of her head and left her on edge today. There was something lurking around here, a witch or a sizeable familiar, and Kei was stuck between the urge to chase it down and feel like a hero for protecting a crowd that couldn't care less, and the fear of being seen in her kit in the open, by hundreds, of splashing paint and holding a quaint little crossbow and looking like an embarrassing mess. Kei really didn't want to be remembered as the out-of-place cosplayer advocating some niche fandom on Constitution Day. Always before she had waited. The people would thin, the night would come, and she could work unobserved.

Today, though... Kei had exhausted her last grief seed two days ago, and between homework stress, culture shock, and a hunt that had come down to nothing, there were new stains on her Soul Gem. Her soul, rather. She polished it regularly to keep track of her brightness. It the only thing she ever removed the little blue earring for other than tracking. In the shade of an alley- These old European cities seemed riddled with them-, she checked her reflection in her phone's cracked glass just to see that it was still there. Yep. Still there, still in need of a good clean. The idea of waking up as a blind fragment of jewellery with her body nowhere to be found was scary. Like the Hell she had never believed in. I'll take my flesh prison over that any day, thanks.

Kei unlocked the phone, blinking away the reflection, and scrolled through her favourite blogs listlessly. A thrum in her earlobe told her that the witch was closer than it had been. It was here to feed, and it would, and she'd probably let it. It had been a hard lesson to learn that she couldn't afford to eradicate witches completely, that, like a rancher, there was a minimum she needed to leave be for reproduction. And that meant people would die. Strangers, but still people. At least today there are police to handle any aftermath, she thought, and squeezed her fist. Fuck that was a callous thought. No. Gross.

The idea was ugly and Kei hunkered down against the weathered grey stones to pull a marker from her pocket, began to scribble something gnarled on the brick. A bony hand, she decided halfway through, and added one too many fingers. By this time the action was deeper than habit. The act of putting a bad thought into visible reality was relaxing.

Some other Girl in the crowd will get it anyway, she reflected. This city has quite a couple. Mary might be onto it already. I'll wait for something I have a better chance at.

Julia Steinhart

A tough-looking boy screamed as his wrist was twisted and he was thrown to the ground. Another boy charged in from behind, but he was in turn kicked between his legs, causing him to keel over in pain. When it came time for the third member of the group of bullies, he decided not to take his chances and fled, followed by the rest. With a wide grin and her arms at her sides, Julia called out to them: "Hey, where are you going? I thought this was supposed to be a fight?" She waited a couple of seconds for a response, and her demeanor changed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said with a serious tone, and then walked away from the alley she was cornered in. "Lousy punks, called me the n-word again..." She grumbled as she spectated the parade that passed by. Her father actually forbade him from going outside as punishment for the recent trouble she's caused, but Julia didn't care. She appreciates his father for raising her, but after all these years she still held a grudge over how he treated Romeo, causing her to have become estranged from him due to her mixed feelings. The empty street and marching folks only reminded her of that, as it was on Octoberfest when that fateful day happened, and what happened to Romeo. For once she actually didn't plan on getting into trouble, but as usual she lost her temper when the bullies teased her. She put some heavy music running through her earplugs as she spectated the event.

A bit later, Julia remembered what she wanted to do: she took out her phone, and sent a message to Yuniko, asking her to hang out and watch the festivities together at the main street. She was one of the few people aside from Carina whom Julia has managed to talk to without the other party becoming offended and/or scared of her. Julia wasn't that great at making friends with others due to her rather brash and mean attitude, but Yuniko always seemed to tolerate her shenanigans. As a foreigner herself, Julia tended to gravitate to her and her laid-back nature. Not that she also didn't have the other kind of "gravitation" which made the braided girl jealous due to being self-conscious about her own petite body. Yuniko claims she's fat, but Julia didn't see that all in her mature figure, assuming that somehow all the sugar she eats goes up instead of down. If anything, she's seen how some of the local boys have been smitten with the Japanese beauty, giving her love letters and asking her on dates. Julia didn't mind the attention she got; she enjoyed tormenting any poor lad who dared to try and get closer to her.

As Julia waited for an answer, her eyes sharpened and her feet suddenly took a firm stance. By now her senses have become attuned to magic, especially the kind exuded by Witches, and Julia's smile widened into a devilish one as a certain kind of drive rose up from deep within her; the thrill of the hunt.
"Oh, you want to take a morsel of this celebrating folk, huh? Too bad you're the guest of honor at my party!" She retreated back into the alley, where she transformed into her crimson regalia, and blasted off towards the source of the magical trace like a rocket.

Ludmilla Alunya

She sat at the side of the road, thumbing through a copy of The Rough Guide to Poland. Title page, nothing of interest there. Lots of little pictures of mountains and rivers and a few of the picturesque people. Whoever this Mark Salter fellow was, he sure did love that word a lot. Nothing of interest on the next page, either. "If found, please return to South Gloucestershire Library. Last let out: October 19 to Ludmilla Alunya." The ink was thick and blotted all along where the stern librarian had stamped her name in the book, shortly before she left the country. Good times. Maybe if she lived long enough to be in the area again, she'd return them. The spine had cracked and the pages were yellowing and musky, but the books had been a great help for her. She had the whole Western Europe collection, with Rough guides to France, England, Germany, Switzerland, and a couple for the the countries further east all wrapped up and stuffed at the bottom of her rucksack, under the canned food.

The map. That was the important thing, yes. Danzig, danzig, where was it? She stabbed at it with a finger, triumphantly. And then she looked up, at the bright blue motorway sign. "DANZIG EXIT: 20 MILES" 20 miles wasn't too far. She could walk the rest of the way. And the rough guides never had anything interesting to say about highway exits. She slung the rucksack over her shoulder and started walking along the hard shoulder, idly observing the scenery and wondering in her head what a Rough guide to the Motorways of Europe would look like. "These scenic motorway exits spiraling elegantly off the picturesque Autostrada A4 system are a sight to behold, even on off days. The scenic sight of bustling early morning poles desperate to avoid the rush hour traffic is an edifying one, and you'll have plenty of time to admire the view while in the queue for the rustically charming toll booths, stocked in the traditional manner by attendants clad in their quaint day-glo jackets and levis..."

Danzig, it turned out, was a large and bustling parade with a town somewhere in the chaos. She'd walked past miles and miles of bumper-to bumper traffic to get in, and even the quiet post-war suburbs were festooned with decorations, wreaths and flags dangling off every apartment balcony. It was almost offputting. But at least she'd be able to slip in quietly. Nobody would care about the blonde with a rucksack and clutching a travel book around here. Maybe she'd be able to pick up on the lingo while she was here. Ludmilla had grown to be good with languages, but the further east you went the more accents and diacritic marks lay in the letters, eager to trip up the unwary foreigner. And there was no way in hell she was going to try to learn Kashubian. It was gonna be her limited, broken German, or her limited broken Russian, and if she really had trouble, she'd point at things and go "Da, Da!"

Something in her pocket jittered. She thought it might have been her phone for a second, but that was ridiculous. Her phone hadn't been charged since she'd snuck in and slept in the library in Dresden. It was her soul gem, lighting up like a little beacon. She cupped her fingers, keeping the thing hidden as she pocketed it again/. Nobody would gain anything by knowing who she was, especially in the open. But there was a witch somewhere here, in the crowd, tempting people in that sick little seditious way they did things. She'd keep her eyes open, and try to check if anyone with neck tattoos looked a little bit down or angry. She'd have to be careful, people who were naturally pretty sad or angry tended to have neck tattoos. She had to make a speedy exit once out out of a bed and breakfast because what she'd thought was a witch's kiss turned out to be a rolling stones tribute in ink. Boy, was that one hard to explain. But she kept an eye out in the crowd, trying to discretely look at people's necks in the nicest possible way.

The Japanese girl had already been in Danzig for a while now. Going to another country with her father would otherwise seem like a good thing, but the fact that she had to leave her friend to fend off the witches in Kyoto by herself left her worried, even after all these months that she's spent in there.

To get her mind off of things, the girl decided to get higher up than most and ventured into a building, where she could see the whole parade from an eagle's viewpoint.

Her sketchbook open, she moved her brush across the pages swiftly and elegantly. Another perk that her wish granted her.

As per it was the rule in Japan, the girl wore her school uniform. A simple checkered skirt, a buttoned sweater and a white dress shirt. She looked pretty average, were it not for her pink hair and well, obvious Japanese heritage.

In a matter of minutes, her intial sketch was done. The beautiful landscape of Danzig, Poland, and the parade currently ongoing in the streets. Everything was reproduced to near perfection. Yuniko smiled at her early sketch, feeling proud of her skill, though the fact that she did not achieve it through her own means made her a bit sad.

Every other mangaka had worked their wits off to become what they were, and yet she did something as simple as making a wish.

It is your own potential, it just was unlocked thanks to the wish. Kyubey said, but the girl never really did sit well with that answer.

Before she could overthink her wish anymore, Yuniko's smartphone ringed with a message. She reached for it in her handbag and took a good look at it.

"Oh my, it's Julia-san." The girl said after reading the message. She was asking to meet her in the main street.

Yuniko typed her reply quickly, telling Julia that she was on her way there.

Storing the sketchbook in her bag, Yuniko made her way outside the building and towards the main street where she was supposed to meet Julia.

Unfortunately, when she arrived to said street, there was no redheaded girl to greet her. Julia and Yuniko had known each other for a while now. Though she was... well, odd, Yuniko could say the same about her.

Perhaps it was the fact that her personality is more tame rather than one to actually get offended and jump up at the first opportunity for a fight. There were some too that were easily offended, but perhaps it was teh fact that Yuniko can be a little slow on the uptake that allowed her and the rowdy redhead to become friends in the first place.

She certainly wanted to coordinate her clothes some, since she was cute but didn't really put in the time to cute herself up.

It was then that a chill went down Yuniko's spine. She was not the most experienced magical girl, but that feeling was certainly familiar to her. She started moving her head around to look for the source of it.

Her slight social anxiety had made her stay out of the crowds, so that was an advantage for her. Perhaps Julia had gone to where the witch was...? That would be really bad.

Yuniko reached for her Soul Gem, seeing it glow. Meaning, the Witch was somewhere near.

She hurried to the scene, guided by her Soul Gem. She just prayed that her friend was all right.

---

She looked forwards.



An endless sprawl of souls covered the canvas painted before her.



And yet, she never ceased to yell in defiance.



She never ceased to bellow in the face of that canvas.



She never ceased to dream.



This was her world.



This was her mind.



This was her basis.

---

Amidst the clamor of the world, amidst an ever-expanding sideshow of absurdity that took the form of a gathering of people, a single self beats back against the current defined by the reality that it occupied. Tiresias, standing before those with sight but incapable of reaching Truth. Brahma, standing before He of Ten Heads as the gift to surpass a world was granted. Something transcendentally Other, eroding at reason by virtue of existence. In this fashion, she takes form in the ephemeral foundation of a world, defined by her resistance to definition.

"Gahaha! Thank you for your patronage, 「Ware-Purchaser」!"

A sharp laugh cuts through the air, a bleeding dance of wind and chaos that melts into the surrounding cacophony.

Two existences stand in opposition, two bounded selves in their own conceptual worlds. Between the two beings, possessions change, one's becomes another's. A distortion of meaning, a fundamental change in nature.

-And just as quickly as it had begun, it ends. A cataclysm that lasted for an instant from the outside and an eternity from the inside. The two existences part ways, and one lets out a laugh that seals the very heavens. Head bending backwards in an angle that is obtuse but behaves as though it is acute, she roars for the end of innocence.

"As expected, I have obtained yet more of this 「Capitalist-Fundament Enhancement Matrix」! Before long, I shall have enough to ascend to the rank of 「Consumerist World-Render」! Gahaha!"

Standing at a poorly set-up food stand with a cardboard sign that had "Abyss-Shattering Confections of Surtr's Eye", in the wake of the parade, Mary Beth cackles with a set of varying sweets displayed on the stand counter.

Business was booming.

The caramels didn't come out exactly how she wanted though, so they were selling at "two for the price of one".

What a deal.

Frederica Bernhardt
Danzig, Abandoned Housing.

She had finally arrived at another city.

She had been walking around aimlessly for quite a while now, unsure of where to go. Forests and roads don't often have witches on them, so she had been using her powers sparingly, trying to keep her Soul Gem as shiny as possible. It would be hard to hunt witches if she ran out of magic after all, and the only way to get more was by actually defeating a witch, and claiming a Grief Seed.

Frederica Bernhardt wrapped the oversized hooded coat around her tightly, aware of how she looked like; a dirty homeless girl in an oversized frayed hooded coat, wearing mismatched shoes and nothing else beside those. Being someone that wanders from place to place didn't really give her much options in terms of fashion after all. At least she had a relatively intact backpack, though most would frown at the rather worn appearance. Not that there was really anyone here in this dump that barely resembled a broken down house.

Following the death of her friend, and her gaining the power of a Magical Girl, she had simply left her country without so much as a word, evading the police, evading any and all that might link her back to her family, anything that might shake her resolve. She had lived the life of a tramp since then, moving from place to place, sometimes going hungry for a few days, but all that didn't bother her much anymore.

This was her calling, her destiny, her FATE.

Why else would she be granted this power? With every witch she destroyed, the magical girls would be closer to salvation, closer to living their life peacefully, closer to happiness. With every witch destroyed, less magical girls will have to fight, less will have to suffer, less will have to DIE. For that alone, she would be willing to suffer, willing to take on their pain, or their death, should it come to that.

Only when all the witches had disappeared, then she could rest. Perhaps even return to her family, and tell them of her deed. Perhaps. It was very unlikely for them to actually believe her stories after all.

Frederica would have dearly liked to go out and hunt witches right then and there, but after all that walking and searching for a relatively quiet place, she would rather rest. Rest until the night comes,where she didn't have to worry much about normal people being caught in her fights.

With that, she huddled in one corner, hugging her backpack as she closed her eyes, awaiting the night.

Awaiting her FATE.

Kei Wentz

Something flapped past in a red silhouette, blinking through the gap of the street in the side of Kei's vision. She skidded to her feet. Sudden movements like that caught her eye much more than they had a year ago.

Red coat, black sleeves, I've seen that before. And a day-seizing, bristlingly confident run. Kei swung herself back onto the road, but the girl had gone. So has the witch she was after. Speak of the devil, hey? Stretch; There might be a need to run along, to try and smooth over any unwanted attention. Mary seemed to know what she was doing witchwise. It was people that still gave her the occasional problem, although she could stride through an impolite gaze without missing a beat. Somehow. Still, when Kei set off on the trail, she kept her eyes open and her jog brisk; Even the most loosely acquainted company was better than nothing, and maybe- Psht, yeah right, maybe, she could be persuaded to share the Seed. Maybe sometimes, even God felt generous.

She hadn't had a chance to see the pursuer's face, but she felt comfortable assuming that Mary was the only Girl in the city with a costume like that, and the gall to sprint after a witch in the open in full gear. The seed of doubt only started to root in her head when someone else, a second body, flicked into the sun and passed on ahead of her, hurrying on the same trail. For a moment, a forward-facing ray of light caught her eye.

"Hej!" It was Kei's most comfortable Polish word, given that it was homophonous with the English one and meant pretty much the same thing, too. A bit too casual, maybe, but damned if she was about to reveal how jittery the rest of her Polish was just to hail someone on a street, even an unfamiliar Magical Girl.

Besides, the second girl was most likely another bilingual immigrant. No one else would wear school uniform and bag on a festival. Is she trying to keep Mary out of trouble? I'll try and get her digits if I catch up. Or, well, not. Maybe the student didn't even own a phone. Well, she certainly wouldn't pick up when she was running like that.

Realisation dawned that there really wasn't any need for her to keep following, several seconds after she had actually stopped. A double hunt. There would be no room to share anyway. Mary- It was her, right?- already had a tagalong, and both of them had a long head start. Kei spun on her ankle on the paved old street, churning with indecision. She wanted to follow. Really. She wanted to see the new girl's face and watch whatever relationship she had with the familiar-looking girl in red, but hadn't she already committed to letting this run go?

"Uuunh. Fuck." Kei kicked the ground and stamped angrily, deliberately away from the witchcall. The tension she'd relieved seconds earlier wound itself back up in her ankles, drove her forward, back up along the mainstreet, head down. Fine, then! She'd find someone else to play with. And... Maybe practice a little retail therapy first. Something sweet and selfish.

Joining the queue of a stand alongside a row of others, she tasted hot sugar on the air. Misgivings rose imperceptibly when she saw the familiar shape of the caramel someone was nibbling at, then grew conscious as the swell of people thinned out and she heard a voice, a real, recognisable laugh in a tone she'd only seldom heard but would never mistake. Oh. No. Uh oh. Whoops. Confusion bubbled, and when she finally looked Mary in the face, the real Mary Beth, it swelled into a crescendo and popped into uncertainty.

The wrong girl. There was another Magical Girl in a bright red coat in Danzig, and she'd chased the wrong girl.

"Dzień dobry," she pronounced carefully, trying her utmost to make the more formal greeting sound fluent and friendly, "I need to consult you for something." Kei's eyes flicked to see if anyone else was listening. She didn't want to be too loud, to be heard too much, to sound like just another mundane part of the crowd. Maybe Mary would understand her need to sound good. Or, well, maybe not. She was a puzzle.

Sheepishly, Kei also pushed two eagle-stamped coins over the counter and tapped a jar.

Carina Lykke

"Wow, there's so many people," Carina muttered to herself as she looked about the massive parade and all the people there to watch it. For the moment she had managed to separate from her family, but she was sure that they were around here somewhere. Honestly, with the crush of all the people lined along the streets it was doubtful that she would be able to find them without using her cell phone, but the isolation was nice. It certainly gave her less to distract her with as she rubbed the ring that was her Soul Gem.

Of course it probably should have been expected, but it was stunning nonetheless. Just another example of how different this place was compared to her native Denmark. They had their own share of celebrations, of course, but this was different compared to that. And, well, she'd never had so much on her mind before.

She had moved here recently, and had quickly begun trying to settle in. Gdańsk was a nice enough place, and she had made some friends in the school that she had ended up attending, including Julia Steinhart, a German girl with whom she bonded over their general dislike and procrastination over schoolwork, amongst other things. But today was a day off, courtesy of the national holiday that she was taking part in. Not that she minded in the slightest, since it would give her time to finish the homework that she needed to do.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a slight tremor, a strange sensation that she could feel within her soul itself. It was the presence of a Witch, one who had arisen to prey on the people out to celebrate the festival. "Hm, I should probably do something about that," she muttered to herself before shaking her head and returning her gem to ring form. Someone else would handle it, if there were any other magical girls nearby. Given the large concentration of people it was likely that another Witch would show up soon enough, and it wasn't as if she needed the Grief Seed right now.

Nonetheless she began to stroll in the general direction of the Witch. She might not fight it, but she could at least try and get a glimpse of the other girls in Gdańsk. And if they didn't show up then it would be for hers to take down. Either way, she supposed that it would work out for her.

Eyes glinting with a new, feral light, Mary looked to the small girl who had appeared before her, emerging from a rip in the fabric of the 「World」 itself. The simple scan of her eyes told the confectioner enough. Clearly, the existence before her had undergone a tremendous struggle, not far distinct from the great 「Three Calamities」 and 「Nine Tribulations」 that those who trod the path towards 「Eternity」 necessarily faced. Barely escaping with the threads of her severed soul intact, barely having fallen short of that grand apotheosis in which one is made symmetrical above the flesh, she had arrived here.


"Gahaha! Within my mind is that transcendent 「World」 that sees all in this reality! Should you require my consultation, simply ask!" Roaring with raucous laughter as she tilted her head back, Mary spoke up in reply. As she did, though, her hands moved with a surprising quickness to snatch the coins up and pass forwards a small box of caramels. Truly, this was the essence of a thrifty businessperson. "It is, after all, the duty of I, the 「Blue-Gilded Prophetic Gateway Into the Heart of a False God」, to aid my sidekicks when they require it! Otherwise, how could I ever call myself the heir to the 「Legacy of the Raging Aether」?"

In what was likely something to be thankful for, it didn't seem that the surrounding individuals took particular note of Mary's overly loud and ostentatious miniature tirade. This could probably be attributed to the fact that, among the din of the parade, her voice was drowned out at a distance, coupled with the fact that many who were listening had probably gotten used to her manner of speech by now. In that sense, this was the best possible vein in which to speak of things that should not exist in the world; if everything said would be dismissed as "Mary's eccentricies", nobody would think anything of it, in contrast to how whispers being traded in a secret location would be perceived.

The candy was a bonus.

Kei Wentz

For the first few seconds, Kei listened to Mary's voice without actually hearing the meaning in her introduction. She held face, keeping herself as presentable in her assigned role as possible, but a little tug warmed up the edges of an unborn smile. People weren't even staring, at least any more than they would the usual cackling teenager in a dress. Damn, this girl is good. She's still got the knack, every bit of it. It was a strange thing to listen to, but Kei had almost forgotten just how fluid Mary was at doing her thing. Whatever it is she was actually saying, the aura was perfect and she didn't miss a single beat.

The effect lingered long enough for Kei to stumble in preparing some way to respond. She blinked back into awareness and rested the box in her hands, then pocketed it with a slight fidget, buying herself not only melted sugar but a precious extra second to try and fit her thoughts into the conversation. She didn't want to break Mary's flow. "I've uncovered something that I think you can guide me on, while I was travellin- traversing the shaded lanes," she opened, flickering her gaze down the main street and hoping that she'd piqued Mary's curiousity without sounding too, well, weird. "I looked, and beheld two girls in flight, both blessed with a magic light-" That really wasn't meant to rhyme, whoops, damnit, should've used 'glow'- "And they were strangers to me. They were together treading the familiar ground to the place where witches dwell, but I had never shared their footprints before, or, ah, seen them, other than in one thing: The lead girl wore a scarlet coat made in the very image of the Heir." Shit, were they looking at her?

Kei decided to cut herself off there. Instead she lifted her palms to her shoulders and pointed to Mary, then gave a cramped, questioning little shrug. Her confidence was trailing off the longer she kept it up, and it would be awkward to whisper. I swear this chick has a degree. In theatre. From somewhere.

Maybe it would be better to just hand over the reins completely than try to eke out information. Mary was always ready to receive them, anyway. "That's the story, Heir to the Legacy. What do you propose I-We do to find out who these are?"

In an instant, the destinies of several warriors lying separated by the Threads of Fate come together around a single person. All at once, the Magical Girls of the city of Danzig converge on Minerva's location, drawn there by the scent of fresh prey. As absurd as it might sound on paper, a large number of people were already gathered around for the parade, so it's only natural that both Magical Girls and Witches too would be drawn to the scene.

Kyubey blinks and looks over at Minerva's face, which was distracted by attention to her work. I should say... as expected, right?

---Minerva

"Hmm?" Minnie looks over at Kyubey on her shoulder, her look quietly questioning. To this, he just blinks and says something that sent a jolt of surprise through the girl he was currently riding. "The others are coming, too. It seems they caught the scent of the Witch."

"Others," she asks sharply. "You mean other Magical Girls? Well, I guess it's natural that it wouldn't be just me..." She looked visibly troubled by something, but that expression quickly changes as she alters her strategy. Having transformed in the span of time before Kyubey's remark, she abruptly stops in her tracks and looks backwards to where the girls would have to be coming from. In the corner of her mind, she marks the direction of the Witch's movements, mentally noting where it seemed to be headed.

As she stands there waiting for the other girls to arrive, she didn't need to wait long. In less than ten seconds, another girl approaches, fiercely dashing towards her.

"Good morning," Minerva calls out as the girl approaches, slightly raising her hands in a non-confrontational manner. She was in her transformed state, with a syringe at her side filled with a clear pink liquid. "I guess I wasn't the only one to smell this prey, huh?" Her appearance and tone were both pleasant and welcoming, without a hint of aggression. The look in her eyes was a mix of curiosity, and perhaps mild surprise.

"Kyubey didn't tell me there were any other girls in this area. But... well, it seems like there are more than just you." Her eyes drift over the girl's shoulder and, after a moment, another girl enters her field of vision. Smiling at the newcomer, she returns her gaze to the first girl, giving a slight frown. "I suppose we ought not to stand around like this. It's getting away."

She waits for the others to respond. No use making enemies this early... and I don't really know how Magical Girls are supposed to treat each other.

---Witch(???)

The Witch, sensing its pursuit slowing, slowed its own escape in turn. The outer wall of its barrier was thin, unusually so, and the inside was far less spacious than other Witches.

In fact, it wasn't even a Witch at all. That was just a misunderstanding. No, this monster was something much more frightening.

It was a familiar.

Julia Steinhart

A flash of red streaked through the alleyways and empty streets of Danzig as Julia took the most direct approach towards her target, her feet skipping on the ground at abnormal speed. It was then that she realized she left Yuniko behind; she must be wondering where she has gone to by now. "I'll just make this quick then. No need to keep her waiting." She did notice that she was spotted, but she didn't recognize her as one of the magical girls she has seen roaming about since her arrival in in the city. There weren't many who survived for longer than a few months, so any that she could remember were usually experienced ones, sometimes even more so than herself, which was definitely uncommon.

She turned a corner and skid to a stop using tiny momentum-stopping barriers at her feet. She planned to cut off her mark at the alley as usual, but her eyes sharpened reflexively at the sight of the magical girl, especially once she caught the syringe she held on her person. The crimson girl held her arm out in preparation for using a barrier to deflect any attacks that she may have prepared in advance, but none came; instead the girl gave her a friendly greeting. Julia didn't recognize the girl from anywhere, so she must have either arrived recently in the city, or was a complete newbie. The slightly tense situation caused the red-headed girl to grin in enjoyment as she put her hands to her hips and slowly walked towards her; she decided to put on a non-hostile appearance herself, but her hands were still slightly cupped out of habit.

"That seems to be the case. Hmmm, haven't seen you around here before...you're fresh meat, aren't you?" She stopped halfway through the alley. She was about to say something else when Yuniko reached the two of them. She raised an arm to greet her friend without letting her gaze off the syringe girl before her. Yo, Yuni! Didn't mean to keep you hanging! I wanted to quickly snatch a greasy, but got sidetracked by this rookie."
She cleared her throat after listening to her again. "Yeah, it's getting away because of you! Now listen up. I smelled the prey first, so it's ours to hunt. You got a problem with that, you can take it up with me. Not that I would want to waste my time on a newly-hatched chick." She bared her teeth, summoned her hammer, and hoisted it on her shoulder in an attempt to intimidate the younger girl. "You better decide quickly, or there's going to be a spanking."

Megumi had been rather caught off guard on the third, due to the festival that was going on. Masses of people were celebrating something she had no clue about, and that she probably should have researched before leaving her apartment.

Upon leaving, she immediately regretted doing so, thanks to the crowds of people surrounding everyplace she could see, and likely further. There were market stalls, festivities and parading people everywhere, and it almost gave her the urge to turn back around and walk back into her home, turn up the heating and go back to sleep.

What stopped her, though, was the slight feeling from her ring, as well as the small glow it had begun giving off. Evidently, there was either a Witch or Familiar around, and it was choosing a pretty good time to show up. That, or the worst, considering how many of the other Magical Girls she had observed would be doing nothing all day. It's magic patterns were pretty weak, so it must have been a familiar, and so Megumi took the opportunity to head out and watch the others fight. It would be a learning experience.

---

She had hardly left her apartment when she was greeted with the massive crowds of people celebrating. They swarmed like rats, and were denser than Victorian fog, which gave Megumi more reasons to turn back around. She didn't, though, and as much as she had disliked doing so, she plowed on through the men, women and children.

On the way, she passed many people whom she knew were Magical Girls, but not the other way round. There was one shouting from behind a counter, and another talking with her. There was one clearly making her way in the direction of the Familiar, and a few others dotted around. There were very clearly others out for the hunt, and most probably thought they were tracking a Witch.

They were fools who couldn't recognise magic.

The walk was arguous, thanks to all the people, but once she reached the allyways, it was pretty smooth sailing. The trail was still fresh, and there were hardly any other girls in the immediate vicinity to slow her down. Though, that was shattered when she came across a couple of girls seemingly arguing, with one threatening another.

They really had no reason to be fighting.

So, Megumi transformed, her body enveloping in a crimson glow before her attire was replaced with the odd black, maid like outfit she had come to know and begrudgingly love. They wouldn't have noticed her, thanks to her experience, and probably would have shit themselves once she revealed herself.

Stepping up to where the girls were, she finally introduced herself.
"It won't be much of a hunt." she said in a rather cheery and light voice, "It's a Familiar. Not sure where the Witch is, but it's probably slightly powerful. If you want to chase the Familiar down, don't bother. Share it equally, or not at all, because you don't own this place."

Then, just to make sure the girl didn't try anything, Megumi's two Kusarigama appeared, one it either hand; the chain dangling over her neck and across the ground.
"There's no point in voilence right now, so back off and let someone else handle it."

The blonde walked straight past her with the confident self-assurance of royalty, and Ludmilla was powerless to stop herself from noticing. Maybe it was the way her eyes undressed her, Ludmilla, like a department store mannequin being changed into the autumn/winter collection. Or maybe it was the way she walked, self-assuredly like the cobblestones under her feet should be proud of themselves for deigning to support her weight. Or maybe it was how when she brushed aside Ludmilla, her soul gem twinged and stung like a picked guitar string. The girl was trouble. Best to stay a few feet behind her, find out what she was doing here. It was easy to follow her in the crowd, people were jostled aside like so much paper around a speeding bullet, and Ludmilla just had to follow on behind. She turned at one point and head down a comparatively deserted alleyway.

Ludmilla stayed at the mouth of the alley, looking like a lost young woman eagerly admiring a collection of rustic candies on a counter. Her eyes flicked to the side, trained on the girl as she turned into some other nondescript little road and stopped. She transformed, her clothes flickering from normal to magical like a TV changing station. And she brandished weapons, too, some exotic thing with blades and spinning chains. Not magical girl weapons at all. What ever happened to the tiaras and bells little girls had once been so pleased to use to defeat evildoers?

Ludmilla didn't have any time to really consider the question, since she was careful to make herself seem like she gave a toss about the cheap tacky foodstuffs being hawked by whoever was manning the stall. She didn't try to read the overly long and complicated words somebody had been so helpful to write down on a spare sheet of cardboard. But another sheet had "2 X 1" written on it, so obviously somebody here wanted to buy things even if they did make it ruddy impossible for the layperson to understand. The one girl manning the counter was deep in animated conversation with somebody else in that polish gobbeldygook language, and Ludmilla waited patiently for them to finish, occasinally looking over her shoulder to see if she'd been noticed by the girl in black, but apparantly not.

"It is, after all, the duty of I, the 「Blue-Gilded Prophetic Gateway Into the Heart of a False God」, to aid my sidekicks when they require it! Otherwise, how could I ever call myself the heir to the 「Legacy of the Raging Aether」?"
"I've uncovered something that I think you can guide me on, while I was travellin- traversing the shaded lanes,""I looked, and beheld two girls in flight, both blessed with a magic light- and they were strangers to me. They were together treading the familiar ground to the place where witches dwell, but I had never shared their footprints before, or, ah, seen them, other than in one thing: The lead girl wore a scarlet coat made in the very image of the Heir."

Oh good, they were finally finishing. Ludmilla made a motion with a finger, but got cut off again.

"That's the story, Heir to the Legacy. What do you propose I-We do to find out who these are?"

Well, that was just rude. She was right there. Couldn't this village tart attend to her needs as a customer?

Sprichst du Deutsch? She tried, the german rolling off her tongue as easily and smoothly as a gold brick down a hill. "A ty govorish' po Russki?"

For a moment, the candymaker was silent.

No, it could not be called a moment; rather, she was silent for the span of several seconds, the dull hum of the parade's background noise washing over the once-thriving conversation's scope. And then, piercing the silence, the lance that represented 「Godly Declaration」 rising up from the 「Kingdom Below」...

-Mary's hand slammed down on the counter of her stand, causing some of the candy displayed to wobble in place slightly.

"THE 「REASON-CRUSHING AUDACITY」!"

A shrill screech sliced through the air, rending all contradictory communication in its way. Its speaker's face was contorted, eyes widened but angled harshly through the position of the eyebrows, mouth curled upwards in a feral seethe as her hand pressed harder against the counter.

"Ordinarily...Ordinarily I would be flattered, to witness those who wished to model themselves after one of my 「World-Defying Grace」. But this, this cannot be permitted! Should one wish to wear my visage, they must ask for permission, and after receiving permission, pay me in royalties! Despicable, despicable, despicable!"

Mary's hand lifted itself off of the counter slightly, and with its twin joining it became a pale blur. The candy that was up for display was taken off and put into the bag she had brought them to the parade with. The same held true for the cardboard sign that read "Abyss-Shattering Confections of Surtr's Eye". Upon the cardboard's removal, one would notice that it was actually just taped onto the actual sign of the stand. Evidently this had been an abandoned taco stand that Mary had appropriated for her own use. Or perhaps she had intimidated the owner into leaving; it was hard to say, really.

"Sidekick, come! Do not mistreat my 「Saccharine-Specialized Wares」; elsewise, the 「Curse-Woven Impostor」 shall not be the only one receiving 「Primal Retribution」!"

With her equipment packed up, Mary unceremoniously threw the backpack at Kei. Her hand reaching to grab for that gleaming gem that held her own 「Metaphysical Will Construct」, she began to walk off without warning, her cheeks puffed angrily as she followed the thrum of her Soul Gem. If this non-royalty-paying 「Curse-Woven Impostor」 was indeed going towards the source of the disturbance, then she'd just have to catch them there.

Marked-up prices. Low-quality candy. Verbal abuse. There would be no escape from the 「Endless Hell」 that awaited this fool.

As she walked briskly, with as reckless an abandon as a brisk walker can, it went without saying that Mary took on the form of her form that was capable of the great 「Saccharine Specialization Imagination Realization」 once she was out of the crowd's path. Though, given how small the difference was between her normal attire and it, this was hardly noticeable.

It went without saying that she left the strange girl speaking in an 「Extradimensional Font」 of language behind.

Why would she not?

She didn't know German.

Yuniko

"Julia-san!" Yuniko arrived to a scene where Julia was already picking a fight with another magical girl. A newbie at that.

She too was quick to transform into her own magical girl outfit, staying in an almost traditional shrine maiden outift, with the obvious modificiations a magical girl outfit would have. She held her pen in one hand and approached the altercation between the two.

Julia and her gigantic hammer and this... newbie and her syringe. Certainly, there was some kind of misunderstanding here, and Julia's rowdiness would make than no easier. Probably would scared the hell out of the girl too.

Yuniko hurried beside Julia, gasping for air. She turned her star pupils towards the small girl in front of them, and then to Julia.

"You... could have waited for me..." She said between gasps. "I always say two heads think better than one, so wait for me, Julia-san. We don't need to get into unnecesary danger. And you most certainly don't need to spank this girl."

Yuniko knew that Julia wouldn't do anything too rash, but well, better safe than sorry, ain't it?

Finally taking her second breath, Yuniko approached the small girl with the syringe. "It IS getting away, but not because of anyone. And this girl seems to have been here first anyways, no Julia-san? I suggest we all help each other and hunt the witch together." It seemed she needed to be the peacemaker between these two.

Even if the girl didn't mean bad when talking with Julia, Julia's tone could change that in the blink of an eye.

And well, it seemed there was another girl who was also threatening them. A girl clad in black, who then summoned two weapons.

Kusarigamas. A Japanese weapon. There were rumors in Japan about a girl that dual wielded those, clad in black. The ridiculous nickname of 'Witch' to top it off.

Her eyes narrowed at the appearance of this new girl. Perhaps in an effort to protect both Julia and the other girl, she stepped up in front of the two and held them back with a single hand. Better stop Julia from doing anything reckless.

If the thing was only a familiar then, like the girl in black said, there was no merit in risking their lives to go after it.

"We'll share it equally, don't worry. I know Julia-san can share, and this girl doesn't seem bad either. We might not own this place, but we want to help. We can get out of here if you want, as long as you can promise to get that witch in our stead. Please? I don't like violence either."

Kei

A pedestrian was making inquiries in German somewhere within earshot, but the girl in the jacket was wrapped too tightly by anticipation to do anything more than pick it up as belonging to the language she'd borrowed bits of from a student in Art class, and log it as part of the street din. The seconds she spent waiting tensed Kei up like a bowstring. By the time Mary yelled, she was nearly leaning in, and snapped back unsteadily as she started, head spinning, ankles shuddering, angled away from the noise and into the face of the expectantly waiting girl with the book. She was close, conversation-close, and the girl with the bad Deutsch caught the girl with the bad Polski straight in the eye. Kei stiffened, her eyeliner chasing her eyebrows into the stratosphere, and promptly died.

FUCK! Shit fucking damn it, dumbcunt- She had heard all that, no question. Kei's knuckles jammed themselves between her own teeth before she could say another word, or perhaps just whisper 'holy shit whoops' with all the regret of a small country electing a dictator. Mary was rummaging like blazes somewhere off to the side as she continued to speak, but Kei didn't notice. She shook her head very slowly and whispered around her fist, _"...Nein," wide-eyed but meek. That was a bad, bad, really shitty first impression to send, and Kei was lost on how to justify herself without collapsing into something even worse.

The bag hit her side. She caught it loosely, thanking her reflexes only to have it bulge downwards and slip out of her clumsily wrapped arms, landing with a concerning 'flump'. It was big enough for her to pick up without stooping over, at least, and she did so quickly, slung it over her shoulders, avoided reconnecting with the blonde girl's gaze.

She knew she couldn't stay. Whoever actually owned this stall could come back, for one thing, but she had looped herself up with Miss Beth's quest and had no intention of breaking that role. Mary was making brisk headway, and the only thing to stay for was a bad memory in the making. Kei hated bad memories.

Mustering whatever fragments of wit she had left, Kei gave Ludmilla the finger guns and backpedalled the way Mary had run. "Day in the life, mate," she sighed in English, turned, and bolted as fast as the bag would let her, trying to override the wet pressure in the back of her eyes. That was awful. Maybe next time she'd bring pilot shades to hide her face.

Kei knew exactly where Mary was headed, even when she transformed on the street and left the candy-laden girl far behind. She legged it as hard as she could to try and compensate, but the cobbles of the shady side lanes were unkind to the unsteady weight of the confectionery. To her credit, Kei landed quite well when her heel slammed into a protruding stone and sent her flying. She twisted her arms and face out of the way and rolled the impact into her shoulder, letting the backpack take on the skid. Her head bounced on the ground and she lay there, blurred. The world hurt vividly and didn't make much sense otherwise.

Mary... Ain't gonna be happy about this. The bag hadn't unzipped, but Kei didn't let herself hold on to false hope. The pressuring blanket of pain along her right side was resolving itself into set points in her foot, skull, hip, and shoulder; She numbered them and compartmentalised them, separating them just enough turn a throb into a warm sting. Hell if she was going to try and fight that witch at this point anyway.

Too many damn Magical Girls in this city, that's the problem, and she coughed a tired laugh, though moisture had already reddened her eyes and meddled with her make-up. And here I am, just digging myself deeper, sitting up, feeling her earring. Still in place, still unharmed. Her hand searched a little higher on her skull, where the warmth remained densest, and came away with one dye-tipped black hair and a few fingertips worth of blood. Eh, it's fine. She stood and took up the slow walk. Mary had probably covered the whole way to the witch by now, after all.

Dariya breathed deep, as she stood tall atop one of the many buildings in Gdansk. She also breathed fast, as she had to climb her way up manually in order to get a view. Her beatiful curvaceous figure stroke a mighty pose, hair fluttering in the wind. The big day where she started her role as mankind's saviour had been presented before her eyes...

"Let's do th-PTEW PTEW" She interrupted herself as a loose strand of hair smacked her right in her own mouth. Rooftoops were windy. She staggered a bit, almost slipping aswell in surprise. Why did it look so cool in the movies, comics and the such? This seemed much harder than she thought. And she probably skipped the part where she was supposed to receive the instructions.

BLABLABLA KILL WITCHES BLABLABLA MAGICAL SOUL GEM BLABLABLA. BLABLA TRACKING.

It was how the white cat-bunny thing had sounded the first, and for now last time they had met. Bastard didn't even thank her for her cooperation, despite the whole contract thing felt somehow awful. She felt she had been duped somehow, like cheated by a player boyfriend, or something like that.

Still she didn't give more thought, as she nearly tripped a second time. Seriously. FUCK IT. Next time she was going to pose at ground level. She eyed the scene below, as some witch-like thingie was chased by several other girls.

Yes, that Kuybey was A PLAYER. She narrowed her eyes. How many this guy had under his beck and call?

But of course, having teammates for a rookie could be benefitial. A good impression was essential for the cause. She held out the gem, as she transformed for the first time. Taking several moments she looked at her guise, by posing.

"Too damn clingy." She said, as she moved on to the chest area, cupping her bosom. "It's good to have you guys back, too. I missed you a lot! More than my leg, actually. Or the internal organs." She said in a cheery tune.

But enough time wasted talking to her own breasts, or admiring her reflection on a polished surface. Business business. She noticed wires along her hands. So, she could do stuff with wires. Maybe she could...

Without thinking twice, she began running towards the edge, fists clenched. In her mind, it was cool as hell, such entrance. They would never think she was useless like this. She would be the coolest magical girl/superheroine ever! She would have tons of girlfriends and boyfriends to make up for all the drought she had to endure in the hospital.

"WEEE!" She let out a squeak as she jumped, her hand forward shooting her wires in an arc motion. "SPIDERDARIYA..." She cheered, trying to emulate a famous superhero. Except the designated anchor, a lightning rod of the buildings was cut clean in two with the wire. "...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she plumetted down the street, in a clean collision course with the girls down there.

Thud The jolt was severe, but it seemed something amortiguated her fall. A red pigtail was poking out from underside her rack, as she laid sprawled in the floor having bungled the landing. Cursing in both Ukrainian and Polish, she clasped her hands to her mouth, a weak and squeaky voice coming. "I killed the red dwarf." She weakly announced recognising Julia as the victim of her fumble, before crawling out of her position. "OH GOD I AM SO SORRY. I JUST. I.."

She added, flailing at the scene.

"I AM NEW. AND I DONT HAVE A MANUAL FOR THESE THINGS! I DIDN'T MEAN TO...!"