Frederica Bernhardt
Danzig, Alleyways.

She had enough rest.

Witches never sleep, but she, being human and all, needs to. That was why she needed to patrol as soon as she could, sleepy as she was. A quick battle with one would wake her up quickly. That was why she was here, in the city itself, patrolling and avoiding as many people as she could.

Her eyepatch was reacting to something, a trail of what seemed to be a witch's energy. Witches did not usually wander around the place; they were the type to set up a labyrinth at some sort of location, and then lure victims in. Not unless the witch was one of significant energy, in which case half the city would be destroyed, and familiars would be running amok everywhere. What she was detecting MAY be a Witch, but it was most likely a familiar, running about doing whatever it wants.

Frederica traversed the rooftops as discreetly as she could, avoiding human eyes, wearing only her Magical Girl outfit. She sported none of her armaments, though she was ready to materialize them as soon as battle started. There were others, like her, who had their FATE, their DESTINY changed, perhaps arguing over territory, as they often would, but that was hardly of any concern of hers.

She was here, to stop SUFFERING from spreading.

Bypassing the argument and the girls, Frederica simply jumped into the world that was the familiar's labyrinth. There was no flair, no flaunting, no special flourishes as she materialized her armaments, just her bracing herself and just one word.

"Fire."

The twin turrets mounted on her back roared, firing explosive shells into the small labyrinth. Again and again, she bombarded the place until the labyrinth started to shimmer, signalling either the demise of the familiar, or its escape. Both outcomes were equally desirable. Should it be destroyed, then that was that, but should it escape, it may try escaping back to the witch that spawned it.

Strolling along towards the Witch, Carina was rapidly growing tired of that whole process. This was mostly a result of the sheer crush of people that she had to shoulder through, most of whom were paying attention to the street ahead and thus reluctant to get out of her way. The hassle dug at her nerves until she had enough of it, if only out of exasperation and nothing else.

"Fine," she grumbled to herself. "We'll do it the easy way." She could spare the magic after all, so what was the harm in getting a higher vantage point over the place that she was trying to go to?

She at last ducked into an alleyway that wasn't being observed, and once there she produced her soul gem. For a moment her eyes were transfixed, the shimmer colors that were pretty much stainless and flowed in her eyes. This, this was her salvation, her liberation. She would take the responsibility soon, but for now she just wanted her peace and her freedom. Was that too hard to understand? For her parents, it seemed to be.

But, no more time in waiting. With a thought she held the gem to her chest and transformed, light flashing and filling the alley for brief moments before it subsided, with her in magical girl form. "Awesome," she said to herself with a grin before activating her powers. She rose off the ground, aided by the feeling like a solid platform was beneath her feet even when it wasn't.

Up she rose, moving into the sky and headed for the nearest high point she she could find, which ended up being a church steeple for some cathedral. No one was looking at her, that was for sure, so she made it easily, and settled on the slanted surface with a grin. Ah yes, this was the life.

"Now ten, where are you?" She looked around for the general location of the Witch and settled down to observe things from her eye in the sky. She loved being a magical girl.

“...” A small little brown-haired girl was shivering, curled up in a ball. Everything… had been so weird. There was a monster. Kyubey had told her that Magical Girls fought Witches. W-was it a Witch? It had been going after her when she was human, and then she had made her wish, and… Her wish had hidden her. Monika had wished to be hidden, and hidden she had become. She wasn’t entirely sure how, but she had been sitting there, in completely new clothes that had spawned from nowhere after the wish, and she had this red cross-shaped jewel on her chest. Soul Gem, was it? Now, she was supposed to have the power to fight Witches. But… but… all her powers did was that they were keeping her hidden from the monster’s view. She had been sitting here for quite a while, now.

“Sniff…” Small tears was coming out of Monika’s eyes. She was feeling lonely. She was alone. She was locked inside a very foreign world. There was a monster, which she was expected to fight. She couldn’t. Every instinct in her mind said it was impossible for her, as a tiny girl, to contend with the monster. Monika had even tried to point at it and shoot spells. Nothing had happened. There was just her, and this blue cloth. This was supposed to be her weapon, was it? She instinctively knew that by waving it around herself, she could hide. Her powers kept her safe, but she didn’t have the courage to move. If she made any sound, the monster might hear it and kill her. It was taking all her willpower not to cry, because that would make noise. She just had to wait until-

BOOM “KAAAH-!” The loud sound of powerful exploding shells being bombarded into the area resounded, way too close to her. Monika had no idea what had happened, and instinctively cried out in panic. Another instinct was to jump out of the way, as the ground and walls within this strange space was starting to blow up by the projectiles being fired in, and to her own amazement she pretty much jumped multiple times her own height into the air in this defensive measure. She was perfectly controlled, too, as she knew where she’d land and how to land perfectly, and… ah… That still left the fact that the space beneath her was being bombarded with explosive shells and Monika had no idea if landing at all would be safe. She was nowhere near safe yet, and she was scared out of her wits. Wh-what was happening? … Oh. The monster… was under fire…?

In an instant, innumerable shells pierce through the walls of the Familiar's feeble barrier, flying towards its general location and crashing to the ground explosively. It was in the familiar's nature to run away, and so that was what it did. Its exact location hidden by the unusual dimensions within its Labyrinth, it squeals some strangled sort of cry, bounding away in a completely different direction from where it was headed before.

Monika, who had visual confirmation on the creature, could probably gain a loose understanding of its form if she bothered to look. It was a queer, floating thing, bloated and heavy-looking like it had just eaten a big meal. Its entire body seemed to be covered in dandelion fluff, and it had a long, skinny tail trailing far behind it. In its panic to escape harm, it was throwing school supplies everywhere, sending small erasers, paper clips and wads of paper flying all over the place. Some of them even came close to hitting Monika.

It was leaving the confines of the abandoned back alleys, and was heading for one of the main streets.

The chase was on.

---The Familiar

??????

Run run run away, leave your problems for another day.

Eat sweets, eat sweets, eat eat the day away.

Sweets? See, see, sweets this way.

Come, come! Come and play!

"Kehehehehehehehe!"

With a high, piercing laugh, the Familiar continues its flight, bounding chaotically between the walls and rapidly widening the distance between it and the girls who were chasing it. As it made its escape, the girls who were paying attention would notice the magic of its barrier fluctuating, growing more solid in places and wavering in others.

It was on the move, creating an altered region of space around itself as it ran. This space expanded, twisting and warping with each passing second. Only now that the familiar picked up its pace was Monika, who had been tagging along in its barrier, left behind. She would probably stumble as she slipped through a crack in convoluted space. The air becomes more breathable, and the colours of her surroundings return to normal.

She was out.

---Minerva

In Minerva's eyes, the situation was rapidly barreling out of control. The two of them seemed to be communicating, at least, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they weren't about to get to hunting any time soon.

"I only just made my contract last night. Judging by your attitude, you must be my senior in this whole Magical Girl business? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, but I definitely found this one first. At the speed you were going, you should have already caught it if you started before me. This is my first fight, so..."

She stops, frowning at another newcomer who seemed to just phase into existence a few feet away from them. It was a clear, sunlit day, even in the dark, abandoned alleyways. It was inconceivable that they could have not noticed the girl approaching at this distance. For that reason, Minerva's quick assumption was that the girl must have some sort of special ability to make herself hidden.

She would have to be careful around these... other Magical Girls. She didn't know any of their abilities, so she couldn't afford to take it easy for now. And just as she was thinking this-

"Ah- what?" She steps back, just in time to see a girl crash in from above, landing roughly on the first girl to arrive, the red one. Almost at the exact same moment, she hears a deafening blast from the direction of the Familiar, as well as a terrible high-pitched laugh of some sort. She had to act quickly, the time they wasted arguing had given the Familiar more than enough of a head start, and that explosion... Minerva could only imagine.

She backs up a little and turns, shouting back at the girls behind her. "We have to hurry, it's getting away! Familiar... Witch, whatever it is, I'm taking it down. With, or without your help." And so, she runs off towards their prey, as quick as her magically enhanced body could handle. She almost forgot about the small creature on her shoulder, who was being unusually quiet throughout all of this.

And she wondered, offhandedly and without very much thought, what he could be thinking about at a time like this.

Salomea stood, occasionally getting on her tiptoes to see the parade over the crowd of people in front of her. behind her stood her father and mother, happy just to see their children enjoying themselves. To Salomea's left stood her brother, tall enough to peer over the crowd, and to her left, her younger sister who was almost as tall as Salomea. Salomea was happy. Her brother, having graduated high school and moved out of the house to attend college, had come back to visit for Constitution Day. He hadn't seen him since making her wish, and she didn't know if it was because of her wish or simply because of him moving out, maturing, and subsequently missing home, that her brother seemed...nicer. Since his return, he had payed attention to her thoughts and opinions instead of dismissing her so easily as he used to. In fact, her sister was also much less bratty, but maybe that was because she was about to graduate middle school and was maturing. Come to think of it, Salomea was recently nominated and elected to the position of vice president for the student council at her school, and strangely enough, her authority was being respected. She wasn't sure if her wish would have tangible results, but it had produced in spades. She smiled to herself considering how Kyubey had practically bullied her into making a wish. He had hounded her for a little more than a year, told her of witches and familiars and how her inaction could lead to the death and suffering of innocents. He had conveniently failed to mention that there were other magical girls out there who did a plenty fine job without her, something she discovered in her first few attempts at witch-hunting. She had been rather fortunate that she had met others so early; she doubted that she had the ability to take on those witches by herself. By the time she had to face a witch alone, she had a concrete enough idea of what she was supposed to do. Granted, not all of the other Magical Girls had been exactly helpful, some were downright rude, but their being present created a safety net for Salomea.

Salomea felt her Soul Gem in her pocket. It was giving her that sensation that there was a witch nearby. She hadn't fought a witch in a while, there was no point; other magical girls could do it, and do a better job, she'd only get in their way, probably. "This is fine," she told herself with a twinge of irresponsibility and guilt, "I'm just here to enjoy the parade." She thought about her wish again. She could have asked for anything, and as much as her wish was selfish, it was ultimately harmless. It wasn't like she had wished for revenge against people who had bullied her in the past. She had improved her standard of living without being greedy. People say, 'be careful what you wish for,' but Salomea was confident that her wish was simple enough to not have any negative repercussions.

She had no idea the familiar was barreling in her direction.

Magic could do many things. It could heal the sick, cure the lame, even help to remove those aching sores on your back you've been meaning to see a doctor about. But, as Ludmilla had just found out, it could not dull the sharp, stabbing pain caused by, say, somebody poking you in the eyes with their dirty fingers as they tried to run through the space you were occupying*. She squealed like a pig, clutching at her eyes like she'd been mortally wounded. She rubbed at her face with the palm of her hand, using the table for support. But when she'd opened her eyes again the girl had gone, running down the alley behind her and chasing after the girl in the amazing transforming jacket.

"Ass!" She yelled back, swinging a fist for emphasis. "I hope your house appears live on CNN, drkadzijo!"

At least the pair of them were heading for the other magical girl in the vicinity. That blonde with the magical torture implements. Maybe they'd die a hilariously bloody death at her hands. Still, even then, that meant there were four magical girls in the city. Including her. She lent an elbow on the recently vacated stall, considering her options. Four in a city the size of Danzig was difficult. It would be too many variables, too much going on. Too many teenage girls thinking that superpowers made them into the übermenschess, or however the female version of übermensch was spelled. Überfrau? Whatever, not important.

The sharp stinging pain in her left eye was starting to dissipate, and she risked cracking it open and letting the sun in. The big bright watery blue world gradually began to dry out and sharpen, the blobs and blurs settling down and becoming a figure, diminutive in size and scaling the cathedral's tower. Obviously magical. No normal human moved like that without gravity coming over demanding to know what they thought they were doing up there. That was five magical girls. In a city of less then a million. Waaay too many. And they were brazen, too, thinking nothing of transforming in alleyways or legging it halfway up historic thousand-year old buildings for a neat view. Boy, was this a real spanner in the works.

Or maybe not, she considered, turning away and glancing at a shop sign like she just hadn't noticed the magically endowed girl perched on a chistian-themed crow's nest above the city. More magical girls would mean more little sister types who wanted to grow up to be big and strong like their siblings. The problem would have to be keeping the big name magical girls in this town at odds with each other, constantly feuding amongst themselves. Then she could pull off the plan without too much of a hitch. The problem would be if they were all in one big group, or coven or whatever it was they called it here. A Walpurgisnacht waiting to happen.

Somebody tapped at her shoulder. It was a middle aged woman with a face full of chins holding a hankercheif out. She smiled, warmly, and took one, dabbing at her face and muttering a "Thank you" in response. She looked back at the cathedral, intent of showing her companion she'd seen, but the girl had disappeared. Oh well. Hatching evil plots all day could give one such a headache, best not to try anything now.

Julia Steinhart

When Julia confronted the fledgling nurse-warrior who stood between the dauntless dame and her newest hunt, little did she know that she would end up becoming the center of the most massive congregation of magical girls in Danzig since the age of the Teutonic Knights. Truth be told, while the hotheaded and often unnecessarily brutish girl has met and hunted with magical girls before, she has never actually fought against one, at least not seriously; she did force Yuniko into a friendly sparring match, but quickly realized how bad of an idea that was. The young girl was no exception to the rule, even as Julia held to the shaft of her enormous mallet and cast an expression of confidence.

Her intuition was correct, and the girl indeed turned out be just recruited. Julia was surprised how the girl managed to not only keep her composure against her hostile act, but continued being polite to her. When the girl objected to Julia's claim she thought about making another threat when Yuniko interrupted her. She pat her hat and smiled in embarrassment after hearing from her; she did have a bad habit of acting alone and not spending the time to let Yuniko catch up to her. She pulled the hat down further to hide her slight blushing when Yuniko pursued a diplomatic approach, causing her to groan in annoyance. She didn't want her meddling in her business, but she couldn't say anything in rebuttal since she was right in what she said, even though she didn't like it. Her responsible yet kind manners reminded her of how her own mother used to talk to her. Julia didn't feel like arguing about it, so she just pouted. "Fine, hmph."

However, it was at that moment that the blonde magical girl appeared, and Julia cursed out loud as she turned and held her hammer with both arms before the black-clad intruder. Her feet moved to a reactive pose, and her eyes squinted as the girl spoke with the kind of pep in her step that could cause even a brick wall to shudder. This chick wasn't just bad news; doom was the only word she could have described her at that moment. She wasn't sure what to make of her with her happy expression, ostentatious style of fashion and strange weaponry that caused Julia to tighten her grip on her own. She quickly caught on from her speech that the girl was from Japan, as her time spent with Yuniko helped attest. Julia grimaced in disgust; her tone of voice didn't match her, making it seem like a slimy snake was offering the apple of discord. She didn't believe a word that she said, though it did sprout a small seed of doubt in her. Julia didn't like how Yuniko went in her way and tried to be the one protecting her when it was her duty to do so, but she appreciated the honest attempt she made at negotiating with her. Still, she kept her focus strictly on the creepy girl.
"Even if what you're saying is true, it's still our job as magical girls to kill it. So you can take that obviously fake smile you're carrying and shove it right up your-"

Julia didn't manage to finish the sentence as she heard someone screaming from above and moved her eyes up, followed by them opening wide open in shock as she yelped. Before she had time to finish screaming another curse word, a heavy frame suddenly came down and crashed into her. As the mature-looking girl managed to scramble up, she didn't realize that Julia's head was clamped by her front bumpers, causing her to briefly dangle on her like a morbidly comical necktie, before she flayed around and managed to remove herself from their firm grip. She dropped down to the floor and held her sides as she panted heavily to catch her breath. She looked up with furious eyes as she berated the curvy but clumsy girl. "Hey! Watch where you drop from, you klutz! You almost killed me with your boobs!"

The action never seemed to stop, as it was then that sounds of fighting rang out some distance from them, followed by the nurse girl leaving to hunt for the familiar. Julia stood up, wanting to follow after her, but was still too stunned by the full-body impact to manage more than a few steps. She quickly pat herself down, and confirmed her suspicions; she was mostly unharmed by a fall that would have killed regular people. However, Julia was aware of being immune to mortal wounds, and so wasn't as shocked as when she was still a complete greenhorn.
When she regained her focus, she once again took a step in the direction of the fighting, but then stopped. There was no point in her coming along to a fight that already had multiple magical girls on it, and against a familiar, no less. Julia did like to throw herself at every fight she could, but she didn't like taking after the scraps of someone else, as she considered the act of stealing a kill deserved by someone else to be dishonorable. Actually, she did take a solitary approach to her new life at first, but over time she came to learn the value of someone having your back, especially after she was assisted by Yuniko for the first time. She did appreciate help whenever it was offered to her, and wasn't afraid to pay back in full, just like back in the good old days when she hung out with Romeo's gang.

"Actually, that movie's already past the opening credits, and that's the best part, she mused to herself. "No sense in going after them unless they need the help."
So, instead of running off like she first intended, she decided to move her attention to the busty buffoon, who was still upset from what happened. She wasn't as angry at her for falling on her as she was from her incessant blathering.
"Stop that. You look like a grown-up, so act like one." She sighed, having difficulty accepting that someone so old could be a complete newbie.
"Geez, you put even Yuniko to shame with those two... She put a hand to her chin as she stared at the blonde beauty, and her scowl turned into a devious grin that spread across her lips. Like she usually did, her mouth acted faster than her common sense would.
"You know what? I'll forgive you...if you let me touch them." Julia was absolutely sure that her attempt at embarrassing her in revenge would result in her screaming angrily at her, and Julia prepared for it with her bratty demeanor.

Megumi held her stance as a third, less hostile girl approached. Apparently she knew the red hammer wielding one, and her stance slightly changed to a more defensive one. However, as she spoke, it was clear she wanted as little violence as herself, and so she relaxed once again.
"Good... There shouldn't be fighting over prey; not in this day and age." she said, her voice slightly flattening from its previous lightness.

Everything afterwards happened rather fast. From the sky, a loud voice emanated, and, looking up, Megumi clearly saw a Magical Girl - now falling from a building and screaming. Oh, fuck... was the only thing she could think as the girl collided with the hammer sister, sending them both sprawling to the floor below.

And then, if the chaos couldn't get any worse, explosions sounded from across the alley, signifying a battle - a useless one, by the seems of it.
"Tsk... Idiot." ignoring the small child that had also run off in the direction of the Familiar, Megumi lept away from the commotion and towards the sounds of battle. Dropping the blade out from her hand, she grabbed the chaing a swung it outwards - the blade catching a pipe and pulling her along without touching the ground.

Even from where she was, it was clear the Familiar was fleeing. Another small girl sat cowering in the alley, with a second girl standing at the edge; two large turrets, still smoking, protruding over her shoulders. And, not to mention, she was letting it escape.
"Damnit, what are you doing?!" she said, swinging past the girl like a monkey, her voice now flat and monotone. It was going to get away unless someone stopped it, which would be her.

If the Familiar wasn't surprised before, it would be now. The black clothed Magical Girl dropped in through the top of the Labyrinth, one blade of her Kusarigama attached to some arbitrary sweet related thing on the wall. As she swung in, she pulled the blade off to the side, and span round - bring the blade in her left across her body and towards the creature. However, instead of slicing it in two, the blade missed, and the chain wrapped around it, seemingly sticking it in place as the blade twisted and latched onto the wall.

Then, for the finishing blow, Megumi twisted her own body over the chain and around it, causing the blade to twist over itself and knot. As she doubled over it, the second blade span outwards across the chain, aiming straight for the Familiar's face - or whatever it HAD for a face.

Yuniko was relieved to hear that both the small girl and the girl clad in black were, indeed, quite easy to reason with, without Julia's interference at the very least.

Still, she was only a newbie. At the very least, she had Kyubey with her, but well, it didn't sit too well with Yuniko to let a girl as small as this wander alone into the territory of a Familiar, or Witch. Or whatever.

Then there was a girl that suddenly dropped from the sky, on top of Julia. Honestly, and just because she wanted to be the best man in the current situation, she held back a chuckle. For once in her life too, she didn't feel as self-conscious of her own, err, proportions.

This girl's knockers clearly knocked her over in every aspect. Perhaps it was the age? Wait, what was she thinking. Those knockers could have knocked Julia out, and she was just standing over there, admiring them.

Not only men have that kind of habit, it seemed, when things got as impressive as this.

"J-Julia-san, are you all right?!" She hurried to her friend's side, despite the tardy reaction she was still quite worried.

Seeing that the snarkiness had not left Julia's body, she sighed with relief. Next then was the girl that dropped from the skies.

"What about you? Are you all right? I hope you didn't hurt yourself, specially since you hit Julia-san's rock head with your chest." She extended a single hand forward to caress the girl's chest, while singing, "Pain, pain, go away~!" she sang.

A classic Japanese charm, adapted to English of course, but Yuniko was sure the effect would be the same. She seemed quite happy too as she rubbed the clumsy girl's chest.

Well, until she finally realized that she was groping the girl and hurriedly took her hand off her chest.

"I-I am so sorry! Please, forgive me! I don't know what got into me!" She apologized, before turning to Julia, an angry expression in her face. "T-This is all your fault, Julia-san! I did this unconsciously because you said you wanted to touch her chest! A-And I also got kind of curious, so..." The girl panicked a bit, before shaking her head fervently, "I-In any case, you are WRONG! I didn't want to touch her chest! I was just... curious."

Finally done with her excuses, Yuniko turned her gaze to the ground. Yeah, made a fool out of herself yet again. Some times, being an airhead was really hard on her.

Luckily, after this small gag, the girl with the kusarigama decided to leave to go after the Witch and God, was she fast. Yuniko was a bit surprised, and then she remembered that it was also kind of her job to go after that thing.

"I-In any case, the Witch, Familiar, whatever is getting away! And unless you can run as fast as that girl over there, I don't think we can catch up! Let's get to it!" Like an angry mom, Yuniko started hurrying everyone so they stopped fooling around. "I can help boost our speed if need be, but we need to get going! Now!"

"Bwuh?" Dariya's words failed to be pronounced, as several things happened at a breakneck speed. One, two girls had gone after whatever the witch, familiar or whatchamalit that was, guns blazing, and in one case, emulating the roadrunner. First outing as magical girl and things were getting really confusing there. Second, the red dwarf seemed seemingly okay, fussing and berating aside. Dariya tilted her head as she stared rather silently at her rant.

She really did look like she knew what she was doing, sporting an air of veterancy around her.

Perfect Dariya added mentally, as she gave a nervous smirk. She really needed to minimize the damage of her fumble... and speaking of which, the fall should've maimed or crippled them both. And yet nothing but broken pride and bruises. What was going on with their bodies, exactly? This couldn't be a fluke whatsoever. Weird...

And then attention was brought back to the redheaded girl, whom had just...asked to touch her breasts? ... Was she being sarcastic, kinky or a disbeliever her chest was in fact, real? But a breast rub was a small price for latching on a veteran and find out what was the deal with magical girls and witches... and maybe, just maybe find a manual.

Oh, if only you knew, little strawberry, the things I wouldn't mind doing. She smiled innocently, eyes closed, as she posed tall, about to give her answer...

Only to be interrupted by an almost as buxom girl with a weird... accent? A Japanese girl! And she was rubbing her chest. The best part, her dialogue was clear that she was not doing it on purpose, but in an airheaded way! She bit her lip in bliss. Another klutzy girl she could relate aswell! Somewhat unable to hide her fluster, she smiled, and cupped her hands.

"O..oh, it's fine. I'm okay, really." Dariya tilted her head. "My puppies have that sort of effect on people!" She added, giving them a half mischievous, half airheaded wink. "Speaking of which..." She saw an opening. She could do a small test, disguised as ditziness. She clenched one of her fists and then, in a mighty strike, she punched her left breast.

OWWWW! She winced. Okay, i still feel pain, and they feel as they should. But somehow... I think my structure is more resilient, and actually, I should've felt much more pain.

"BAD PUPPIES, BAD!" She yelled, her own stare in her bosom. "Stop trying to kill and confuse people!" She added. "Be nice!"

And then, against all common sense, decency and ridicule, she proceed to grab her chest with both hands, and act as if it could talk, while providing a ventriloquy voice. "We're sorry Dariya. We're so sorry. We'll behave." She said in a gruffier voice, as if imitating a doggy. It was then when the magical girl eyed the redheaded one, whose name seemed Julia, and smiled faintly.

"Well, if you want to touch them, feel free. Your friend already did. I do not mind, at all! By the way I'm Dariya!" She finished, standing tall and puffing her chest in front of Julia. Her sight briefly rested on Yuniko, who was now hurrying people, flustered as hell.

Super Cute!! Her smile accentuated, before going back to staring Julia, obviously not concerned at all with the rush.

Frederica Bernhardt
Danzig, Alleyways.

Her ears was still ringing from the sheer noise of the two cannons she was firing and from the explosions she had bombarded an entire labyrinth with; being barely able to make out what that girl said after zipping past her and towards the familiar. There would be no pursuing this one to whichever witch that spawned it, for the other girls pursuing it would surely destroy the familiar upon finding it.

Frederica was suddenly very aware that she was in the middle of several Magical Girls, with little doubt one of them holding Danzig as her 'territory'.

Not all of their attention was focused on her however, and none of them had outright attacked her yet, making this one of the rare times she had entered a city without being harassed and/or hunted by other Magical Girls. The situation could change soon, but for now, she didn't seem to be in any danger.

Her armaments detached themselves, disappearing into thin air as she jumped high enough to reach the buildings' roofs, holding her skirt by reflex. Taking in a deep breath, she broke into a sort of a running jog towards the direction the familiar fled, leading towards the main road. By now it, the fleeing familiar, should have been exterminated. Perhaps it was escaping to its mistress, perhaps not, but she was hardly of any mind to stay among these... girls, who were still enamored with the IDEA, the IMAGE, the ILLUSION that was a Magical Girl. It was not a fancy or flashy existence as those shows would have one to believe. Certainly even Kyubey, the soft furry mascot with only enough intelligence to understand which girls needed wishes and how to grant them the wish, made that clear.

That being a Magical Girl was SUFFERING.

---

Pale hands wrung together, a harsh sigh forming in the air.

A girl walking along a spiraling path, towards an unreachable center. The time has already been forgotten.

"Impermissible. Impermissible."

Ignore the World. Ignore the Self. Ignore the relation between the two, the line drawn between subjectivity and intersubjectivity. Ignore the notion of "is" and "is not". Ignore everything about this damnable firmament.

Ignore the cackling shade, endlessly pursuing its own premise.

Ignore the fool, drunken on frenzy, seeking to crush the premise of others.

Rather, only one thing should be focused on. Only one thing should be given heed. That is, of course, this transcendent rule.

In all realities, this rule is ironclad. This is why the World can be ignored, as which World it is does not matter. This is why the Self can be ignored, as the conclusion was obvious from its first premise.

And that is why, that is precisely why this was always the only possible conclusion.

A child glowing with transient light, wreathed in dreams and fears. Too weak. Weak to the point of hilarity. Weak to the point of collapse for weakness.

For now you'll be shown something that surpasses that flickering light of yours, ready to fade at the slightest gust of wind. Now you'll be shown something that surpasses that "God" you imbue into this World.

The walk along the spiral path stops, a curtain call without cause.

No, that is wrong. After all, it has perfect cause. The reason is simple: The one who dared to crush that law has been found.

---

Her expression seething, utterly disengaged as to whether or not Kei was following her with her bag, Mary lifted a hand and pointed a finger at the lecherous Julia. In that moment, a 「Heaven-Sundering Declaration」 was issued, the very basis of reality shuddering under the strain of allowing its production.

"「Curse-Woven Impostor」! Deliver royalties to me or face the consequences!"

Julia Steinhart

When Julia waited for the taller girl to answer her, she glanced at the girl in black, who broke the sound barrier and caused a loud sonic boom as she left the scene faster than was inconceivably possible. She wondered if it was because of her magic that she could accomplish such an incredibly ridiculous move or if she just imagined it. At any rate, she was clearly experienced based on her manners, and also a skilled user of magic, so she made a mental note to be wary of her in the future.

When Julia shifted her attention back to the blonde, she took a step back, her mouth agape. Yuniko, instead of being embarrassed and outraged by her forward gesture, one-upped her by fondling the other girl first! Julia's cheeks got a slight tinge of red as she observed the almost symmetrical docking between the two with both fascination and envy as she lifted her hands to her own, disappointingly flat chest. She could get a lot more respect if she only looked more mature like those two, but she wouldn't see that kind of development until she was in her 40's.

Julia fantasized about growing up and looking badass with a tight hot body when Yuniko accused her, and her cheeks puffed in response.
"How can it be my fault that you touched her so earnestly?" Then a smug smile crept up on her expression. "No...you're jealous, aren't you Yuni? You thought you would be unopposed, but you've finally met your match!"
Julia scoffed once Yuniko went silent, and then crossed her arms as she listened to Dariya, her eyes slightly widening at her off-manner introduction. Her amazement at the behavior of these girls continued. Dariya seemed to be very dumb, even by the standards of magical girls the braided girl has met since her own wish, which wasn't that high; she remembered one girl who wished for cheesecake, and she had to resist from smashing her head in out of sheer rage. She was surprised that she agreed to the request without any hesitation, and as a result Julia bit her lip and hid her disappointment at being unable to embarrass Dariya, and thus failed at her revenge. When it came to the play she held with her co-star, the so-called "puppies", Julia couldn't help but stare at the jiggling. While doing so, she had an idea to salvage the situation. She won't survive a single Witch unless someone gives her a little push. Let's see if this works.

Julia raised a fist up, and pounded her petite torso once with a hearty thump. "Name's Julia. You must be new on the whole magical girl thing, so you might not know how stuff like how hunting Witches works. Well, if you're willing to join me as a member of the Strawberry Gang, I'll show you the ropes and teach you a bit about the industry we work on. We'll kill some Witches, get some bitches, and have a good old time," Julia said while emulating one of Romeo's friends. She had several reasons for her interest in Dariya. For one, she could form her own gang, which she dreamed of doing ever since her indoctrination into the Nether Seraphim, Romeo's old gang, and it required "buxom gals" as the guys called them in order to be considered a real gang. Two, she would gain more presence and authority when in the company of such an imposing figure, and by having someone like that in her posse she believed she would also look more mature and cool. Third, by properly examining and measuring Dariya, she would finally know what it's like to be the kind of girl Romeo liked, and cast away her own insecurity over her own body. True, it would mean she would have to babysit a buffoon, but for all the advantages it brought, coupled with her own ambition to prove herself as a superior warrior to older magical girls, made it a good deal.

"Now then...hee hee...hold still." Julia's grin widened as she flexed her arms. She was about to extend them forward when Yuniko interrupted her, telling her they needed to go after the thing everybody else was. Julia was not concerned in the least, and her lips scrunched up. "There's already enough folks on the job, what's the point? But fine, we'll go, just as soon as I get my payment..."
Julia's hands were inches away from the softness when she was interrupted again, this time by a new girl wearing an outfit similar in color to hers, but with more white than black in it. Julia extended her hands into fists at her sides and stomped the ground with her boots, visibly angry as she shouted at the pointing girl, who was accompanied by another, disheveled girl. The older girl said something about an impostor, but Julia was far too agitated by frustration at this point to understand. "I'm in the middle of something here! What royalties? You can't own boobs, they're free use for everyone! Try and make me pay for them! I deserve a touch after all I've went through today, dammit!"

The thrum of the witch was weakening even as Kei followed it, but not with the sudden silence of destruction. It was simply outpacing her. That was normal, from time to time. Everyone had a bad run once in a while and failed to corner a demon in its nest before it bolted. Given the circumstances, though, it was the last thing the strolling girl in black had expected to happen.

The implications didn't resolve themselves quickly in Kei's head. She still felt too sour, and though the need to suppress her body's complaints over the bruises was fading, thinking about more than one factor at once still felt beyond her. Okay, then. Premise A. Two Girls, chasing down a small witch, about to be joined by a third. That's Mary. A witch this size shouldn't give one hunter a run for her money, especially not one as cocky as the red-coated girl Kei didn't know, let alone two. Premise Two. Bee. Whatever. The little snitch is making tracks. It's been running like hell and it's going faster and faster. Even under pressure, that's not normal witch behaviour. They're ambush predators, luring with kisses and waiting in their mazes. This thing's either a familiar or a weird little numpty. I know they exist. So maybe the ladies let it go so that it could replenish the population. That was... Well, it was cruel, but it was fair.

Premise three... Well, uh. That's it. But I still haven't found Mary. Predictable. God's Big Momma didn't wait for anyone. Still, she was probably starting to close in on her now. And I haven't found anyone else either. The fam's getting too distant for them to be stuck in with it. If those two aren't planning on killing it, they're probably closer, enjoying Mary's company right now.

Kei picked up her pace. Things could go downhill fast between Magical Girls. Not very many months ago, a family wedding had taken her to Japan for a week, where, she learned, the witch-hunting scene had always been... Intense. She'd kept herself out of trouble, at least after the dominant chick in Osaka found out that she wasn't there to stay. Stories had been told, superiority boasted. Mahou Shoujo had a long history in that country, and it was rough. One particularly psychotic bitch got so carried away that she ran a few cities through, carving up other Girls for a challenge. There she is, skipped a thought through Kei's head as she reminisced unhappily and a block of red entered her vision again.

The ambient light flashed from brick-shaded to sunny as she passed the exits to the lauded parade streets, now jogging. Only once did the rays miss an interval, but it stopped Kei dead.

The shadow was being cast from Saint Mary's. The former bell tower was a dim silhouette against the sky, but a figure just faintly discernible as green was perched where none had been before. Fuuuck. No. Realisation hit Kei heavily. We're top heavy. At least five Girls in the city now, plus Salomea, maybe more, oh, fuck, competitive exclusion principle. We're six strains of e dot coli in a petri dish and we all have the same niche.

Kei's gaze skated headfirst back down the alley, then back at the tower, afraid that the figure would be gone if she stopped tracking it. Her phone flipped out of her pocket with the usual ease. Mary wouldn't have answered right now even if Kei had her number, and though she had seen others at work in Danzig, she only knew one. It was a long shot, considering how new that one was to the business, but Kei knew that at least this one would never get snappish over a panicked message.

Kei:
Sal, it me, paint girl again. something really weird going down here at gate end of royal road. lots of mag girls in one place. not sure who knows what. please confirm you're safe, any other deets would be good. thanks
Kei:
sorry

It was rushed into absurdity, but Kei was already running before the text was finished, swinging off the bag and leaving it lucklessly where it and Mary's wares would probably be stolen before sundown. Finally, she could move pretty much unimpeded, and she did.

Figures resolved themselves into a definite group as she neared, her earring glowing in readiness, but hesitating to transform. Something about the blood matted in her hair gave her an odd, illusory courage, made her feel more intimidating than bedraggled. Four here, not three. Oh, no. Oh no. There was Mary, yes- Unharmed but upset, demanding as always, and the immigrant with the sketchbook, as expected. Still hurried, but not combatant. Two down, good start... The most striking girl present was the red-coated, muscular one, with red hair and European features that set her distinctly apart from Mary. Her stance was peculiar. She was shouting, reaching for something that the fifth girl- Oh. Oh wow. Kei skidded on a heel and was lucky to be spared a second tumble.

"Try and make me pay for them! I deserve a touch after all I've went through today, dammit!"

The situation was too abruptly comical to be dangerous. Kei's mind raced, but struggled to make sense of anything other than the most conspicuous detail. Well, two details. She spared a glance over her own shirt, beneath which her shoes were disappointingly visible, and her thoughts came aloud. "Well. Shit. I don't know, man. I'd pay for those." Wait, no, fuck!

Panic and embarrassment- At her appearance, her friend, her words, everything- reasserted itself and she reflexively twirled her earring through her fingers, sweeping it across her body in a wide arc. It left a cyan trail that became a helix around her, then a curtain of light that resolved itself into a gleaming white coat as her hair flared and cleansed itself, along with her make up. Transformation was worth an hour of prep time. The soul gem finished its spiral, wrapped itself around her ankle, and she pulled an unloaded pistol bow out of the glittery miasma as it faded. Mostly for comfort reasons, at this point.

"Mary, please hold," she hissed, neither loudly or sharply enough to dissuade the girl from anything, but she tried to at least run over the essential details in the moment she had, addressing mostly the girl in red, who bristled with a bossy air even caught far more out of place than either of the others. Quite a feat. "Kei, street artist. Mary, vendor-" She wasn't going to kill herself keeping up the lingo around strangers twice in a single hour, or a lifetime, if she could avoid it- "Who is really displeased about your kit, not your titty rights. How many Girls are here? Who are you? And fuck is everyone doing together on my front lawn?"

That was, all in all, a pretty suitable introduction, Kei thought. Brusque tone, more assertive than aggressive, and it had all the details in just a few words. Kei felt proud of herself almost long enough to let her gaze slip back down to the blonde with the chest, but her adrenaline persevered and kept her alert. Mostly.

Atop the church steeple, Carina had quite the view of the parade going on down below. Shifting slightly, she stayed in her magical girl form as she watched the procession, grinning and cheering along with each show that passed. She could be grateful for her powers for this sort of thing, and the better vision that was included with it to actually make something out from this distance. It was definitely a lot more comfortable than being stuck in the middle of that crowd down there.

Yet she could tell some things were off, noting the telltale signs of other magical girls down below. Just as she had expected, this place was hardly deserted. Doubtlessly they were chasing after that first Witch she had picked up, confirming her decision to not pursue it as smart. Otherwise she could have gotten caught in the crossfire, which was something that she wanted to avoid if possible. For now she would remain up here.

Still, she couldn't just watch forever. At some point she produced one of her butterfly swords, flipping and spinning it in the air, doing little acrobatic tricks to amuse herself while she watched the parade. Perhaps someone would notice, but once again it would be too ridiculous to believe. She needed to practice anyway, to get more used to her abilities, so that was what she would do.

What was the worst that could happen anyway? She was in public, without the possibility of an actual fight. So she retained her confident manner as she watched the parade. This was definitely fun.

“Kiih...!” Monika flinched in midair, pulling her wide-eyed face back as a sharp-looking pointy ruler flew straight past her head. It also surprised her how capable she herself was at dodging the things, but also… Th-this creature, this fat-looking creature was shooting school supplies as weapons…! This world is ridiculous! … And it also vanished. The creature vanished, and the world shuddered back into existence. The basic, normal back-alley that Monika had no idea where it was. Oh, no. A strike of fear at not knowing where she was came over the twelve-year old girl, but… it wasn’t as big as the relief of arriving out of that world.

“… Hah…” Monika landed, her legs bending flawlessly, and she blinked a bit noticing how her transformed state’s lack of shoes made her landing pretty soundless, yet her feet also didn’t hurt hitting the pavement. She leaned back against the nearest wall, breathing heavily while staring wide-eyed in stunned surprise at the scene before her, seeing three figures vanish in front of her. An older girl with blonde hair flying past her after the monster. A younger girl with blonde hair in what appeared to be a nurse uniform, running after. An older girl with dark hair, the one which had opened fire, who jumped out of Monika’s view. It… it appeared that they were other Magical Girls, Monika could conclude. Thank god. The situation was saved. Monika was still hidden, tears running down her cheeks as she breathed out in relief.

There… was a conversation going on in the direction the others had arrived from. Monika looked in the direction. There was… A pink-haired eastern foreigner. A red-haired girl who had just shouted at another. A blonde girl in red facing back against her. A girl in white and cyan which had just stepped in. A, uh, blonde older woman in blue. Someone’s mother? Um. Maybe not. In any case, these appeared to be other Magical Girls, who had come here for the monster. It was relieving to no end for Monika to see that she wasn’t alone. But… were they getting along? Were they safe? … Deciding to use the power to hide to her advantage, Monika stepped closer to the conversation, invisible. She’d listen in. She’d decide if this was a safe group, if the participants were dependable and could be trusted. She’d lean by the wall, staring cautiously, listening to them while hoping not to be dragged in.

Her emotions were still in a deeply disturbed situation due to the monster, but… th-this was for her own survival… spying was something she had to do in order to feel braver. She’d have to talk to them eventually, right? They were in on this together, right? Monika just… needed to get brave enough to talk to them, first… And maybe wait until they eventually split up and after that follow the one she has deemed the most suitable to talk with first, because approaching one could be easier than approaching a group…

---Familiar

"Keeeh~?" The bulging Familiar seemed to notice it was being attacked again, as its closest pursuer blitzes forwards with the full extent of her magically-enhanced speed. It pulls its tail close to its body, slowing its movements slightly as it hurtles downwards, wall to its right. When Megumi comes through the barrier, chains swinging in an attempt to capture it, the creature reacts immediately.

Fortunately, this Familiar's single redeeming quality in life was that it was good at escaping. Just as Megumi's first chain approaches from the side, its tail shoots out, suddenly propelling the Familiar to the side. At the same time, another storm of school supplies shoots from its body, flying in the general direction of its new attacker. The high-velocity junk, while virtually harmless, serves as a distraction to cover for its escape.

It's also probably really annoying. Nobody likes being hit with erasers.

Spiraling through the air, the creature fluffs its body up again as it approaches the other alleyway wall, striking it at an angle and fluffing outwards, instantly recovering with another lightning-quick bounce in the other direction. Zigzagging like this, it adjusts its trajectory and continues its jaunt towards the nearby roadway.

And just like that, it was there-

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!" The Familiar screeches cheerfully, hurtling past the outskirts of the abandoned area and into populated space once again. With the incredible density of people around the main roadways, it was only natural that immediately upon approaching the street, three humans are sucked into and trapped within the Familiar's flimsy barrier.

It makes its choice, and spirals wildly, hurtling itself towards the nearest human. It was clear what its intention was at this point.

At the same time, Salomea would notice the distinctive sensation of a Witch being almost on top of her. Directly across the street from her, she could probably see the edge of the monster's barrier encroaching on the sidewalk, sucking in a couple of passerby before stopping there, dangerously close to the crowd.

---Minerva

Minerva runs at the height of her ordinary speed, trying to catch up with the blazing speed of Megumi and the Familiar, who already had quite a head start. At her own pace, however, she does manage to catch up with Frederica in time to offer a hasty greeting. "Hi. You must be another girl... I didn't expect there to be so many of us! It's quite jarring, considering I didn't even know there were other Magical Girls until a few minutes ago. Haha..." She smiles at the older girl, and then stares ahead frowning.

"They sure are fast... hey, it looks like the Familiar or whatever is almost at the street. Isn't that bad?" She considers their environment, noting the proximity to large crowds of people, and figuring that it was a bad idea to be fighting a Witch so close to humans. Although, maybe if this was just a Familiar, it wasn't so bad? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was being left behind on her first Witch Hunt ever. And she didn't like it.

Frederica Bernhardt
Danzig, In pursuit of the Familiar.

The familiar wasn't dead yet.

That much was clear, for it seemed to be barreling towards people in the city. Not exactly something she would have liked to happen, especially since her best weapon wasn't suited for fighting with normal people around.

"Hi. You must be another girl... I didn't expect there to be so many of us!"

It was another girl, another Magical Girl, who had spoke to her. One that was, upon turning her head to have a proper look, very young from her looks. It would seem Kyubey was with her as well. Frederica would have dearly loved to stop and pet it, but she had a more pressing matter at the moment. Should the one that had dashed off botch this one up, several people could be in danger.

"It's quite jarring, considering I didn't even know there were other Magical Girls until a few minutes ago. Haha..."

Frederica stopped dead in her tracks at that.

It was quite strange. She had told herself again and again, only her mission mattered, only her DESTINY, her FATE would take priority. But still, she was unable to just leave one so obviously inexperienced, so obviously young, so obviously oblivious, to learning how cruel the fate she had chosen really was.

"They sure are fast... hey, it looks like the Familiar or whatever is almost at the street. Isn't that bad?"

"Yes."

That brilliant smile. She closed her eyes for a moment, before turning to the girl and speaking more. "Keep close."

With that she put a hand on the girl's shoulders, no more than a tap, before continuing on her way towards the familiar.

"If the familiar feeds, we're going to have to deal with another witch."

Ludmilla walked through the fair, glancing at knickknacks, perusing second hand books, trawling through odd sets of clothes that needed a better home. She'd made a complete circuit, feigning interest at all of the stallowners, acting like what they were hawking was interesting. But everytime she looked up, she didn't see the figure in green on the clocktower. It was uncanny. She'd not see it from one corner of the street to the other, when she openly looked and tried to catch it in the corner of her eye, even while she stared into the reflection of a shop window. Which must mean only one thing. The girl was hiding. Well, two could play at that game.

She, 'Milly, dabbed at her eye with the crumpled up napkin and tossed it neatly into a rubbish bin. She stooped down, like she was going to pick up a coin, and placed three fingers onto the cobblestone streets. This would have to be done quickly and sneakily, or she'd be swamped by people asking to know what was going on. It was the 21st century, so she probably wouldn't be ran out of town as witch by an angry mob of farmers with pitchforks, but you never knew with rural folk.

The magic spread out of her fingers, joining up with each other as the triangle at her fingertips slowly became more tangible, more physical, more real. It solidified in the air, the inside colouring and developing like a polaroid, becoming glossy and reflective, until a perfect little shard of mirror was in her hands. And through it, she could see herself reflected and over her shoulder, right on the gothic architecture, was...

She'd remember what happened next extremely vividly. Even in the chaos that had ensued, she'd remember fragments of it, usually after waking up at four in the morning with a fever tangled up in her pyjamas and screeching like a banshee. There had been a flute player, off in the distance, with a hat on the floor for people to throw pennies in. He'd been doing a roaring trade. In her mind, that man became like a pied-piper figure, attracting all the good little girls for miles around and wrecking havoc to such an innocent little hamlet. They poured out of the alleyway, one after another, following a witch's barrier on legs as the thing bounded out of the air. It didn't move into the street proper, but the thing managed to suck up two old men like the last suds in a milkshake.

But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was the veritable army of magically enhanced youths following along behind it. They came in all shapes and sizes, tall, short, young and even younger. Each and every one dressed like the prettiest girl in the quinceñera. Several were carrying weapons of various shapes and sizes. One had strapped a cannon to her back, several more had knives and bows and hammers aplenty. And, unlike the witch that had appeared in the alley mouth (Didn't witch's barriers usually stick to walls? Whatever, it wasn't important, maybe this wasn't that kind of witch) there was no way of passing this off as some kind of collective hallucination, or trick of the light. Even in the little bubble of slowed down shocked-o-vision Ludmilla was in, people were turning their heads and dropping items as the witch's barrier towered in the alley's mouth and coming right for her.

Speaking of.

The thing lunged at her. She felt the tug of it, the drawing in, the irresistible pull as it tried to bring her into its labyrinth. She lunged out of the way, falling and rolling up under the taco stand. No wonder the thing was empty. The poles were uncomfortable with chips, let alone food from some far flung nation whose only claim to fame was Che Guevarra. Under the save haven of the stand, she could hear the screams, yells, and other paraphernalia of fun times. She stayed for as long as she could down there, thinking about her next move. Danzig was a bust, she could tell already. A Walpurgisnacht waiting to happen, with that motley little crew doing their thing. Kyubey must have done well around here. Obviously, she wasn't needed. She'd heard Crakovia was nice at this time of year. Warm, stuffy bookstores with inattentive custodians and few witches to fight, that was all she wanted.

She lay under the stand, hiding and most certainly not transformed, waiting for the noise to die down

Kei's gaze skated headfirst back down the alley, then back at the tower, afraid that the figure would be gone if she stopped tracking it. Her phone flipped out of her pocket with the usual ease. Mary wouldn't have answered right now even if Kei had her number, and though she had seen others at work in Danzig, she only knew one. It was a long shot, considering how new that one was to the business, but Kei knew that at least this one would never get snappish over a panicked message.

Kei:
Sal, it me, paint girl again. something really weird going down here at gate end of royal road. lots of mag girls in one place. not sure who knows what. please confirm you're safe, any other deets would be good. thanks
Kei:
sorry

Salomea's phone buzzed with the arrival of a message. Checking it, she saw Kei's text, and replied:

Salomea:
That's really close to where I am. I'm fine, enjoying the parade with family. I sense a witch. You're taking care of it, right?

Spiraling through the air, the creature fluffs its body up again as it approaches the other alleyway wall, striking it at an angle and fluffing outwards, instantly recovering with another lightning-quick bounce in the other direction. Zigzagging like this, it adjusts its trajectory and continues its jaunt towards the nearby roadway.

And just like that, it was there-

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!" The Familiar screeches cheerfully, hurtling past the outskirts of the abandoned area and into populated space once again. With the incredible density of people around the main roadways, it was only natural that immediately upon approaching the street, three humans are sucked into and trapped within the Familiar's flimsy barrier.

It makes its choice, and spirals wildly, hurtling itself towards the nearest human. It was clear what its intention was at this point.

At the same time, Salomea would notice the distinctive sensation of a Witch being almost on top of her. Directly across the street from her, she could probably see the edge of the monster's barrier encroaching on the sidewalk, sucking in a couple of passerby before stopping there, dangerously close to the crowd.

Salomea looked across the street in dread, realizing the 'witch' had found her. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't transform in this crowd without being noticed, and she couldn't cross the street with so many people's attentions focused on the parade. Then she remembered how Kyubey had guilted her into becoming a magical girl, that she was responsible for the safety of the populace. Salomea backed away from the street slowly, telling her family she needed some fresh air. After she was backed far enough into an abandoned alley, she transformed into her magical girl outfit, a white frilly dress. Looking down she could see a manhole. Salomea cringed at the thought, but figured that traveling through the sewer was probably the only way she'd get to the witch without being seen. She stuck her finger into the tiny hole that was built into the cover. Normally, a long metal tool was hooked into the hole to pull the cover off, but one thing Salomea had noticed about being a magical girl was increased strength. It was still an exertion to pull the cover off, yet she had the sense of stealth to roll the cover over to a wall quietly and prop it up instead of just letting it fall to the ground in a loud clatter. Looking at the parade to get her bearings, Salomea jumped down the manhole, splashing down into some muddy nastiness. Litter from the parade flowed passively by her feet. She headed in the general direction of the 'witch', hearing the sound of the parade move over her head as she went under the street. When she arrived at another manhole, one that she was certain was in the alley opposite where she stood with her family, she could sense the 'witch' almost directly above her. She climbed up the ladder to the surface and pushed up on the manhole cover, peeking through it to see what was going on, hoping that she could successfully stay hidden for the time being.