"Oh? Is that what you believe?" asked the Magical Empress, cocking her head to one side as she spoke, "Very well. Believe what you will about me, it means nothing in the end. You'll still be crushed under my foot when I claim victory in the Hex Night."

That sharp grin never left her face, even as Hikari tried to just pass her up. But everything about her, that superior attitude, the fact she called herself 'Magical Empress', there wasn't a single thing that didn't piss Hikari off about her. Where did she get off calling other magical girls 'junk' anyway?! What kind of person would even do that? One of her hands had already clenched into a fist, even as she tried to pass up the purple-haired magical girl alongside Tokiko. This anger was nothing like the frustrating she'd felt about the Tokiko earlier, for that matter. Everything about Kagami was simply infuriating.

"It's probably wise that you don't fight with me immediately, of course," continued Kagami, even as they left, "You can have the illusion of potential victory to yourself, a little longer. But an illusion is merely a trick of the light, and as such there is no-one more suited to destroying it than I, junk."

Even through her anger, Hikari almost felt as if Kagami sounded ever-so-slightly disappointed. Had she been hoping for a fight...?

@Anza

---

Indeed, the building came apart under Naoko's feet. While the horned magical girl didn't seem all that bothered, she did immediately lunge for the senseless Tsukimi and scoop her into her arms, before disappearing into the debris cloud below. Indeed, both of the enemy magical girls simply vanished from sight, impossible to see.

Indeed, it looked as if the move might have worked.

For a moment.

Suddenly, one chunk of debris came careening through the air, hurtling right towards Sonya!

@TheFake

---

Perhaps one of the girls would notice.

Or perhaps they wouldn't.

Either way, they were not alone.

Nearby, a figure clad in a fine black suit, their body androgynous enough to look neither male or female beneath it, was standing and watching them. Their face was obscured, by a detailed, unnervingly realistic mask in the form of the face of a white rabbit.

They had done little, aside from watch.

@LuckyBlackCat@A Lowly Wretch

Sure enough, the 'Empress' just kept yammering on about how great she was and how they had no hope against her, without actually doing anything to back it up. In spite of all the annoying self-aggrandizement, however, Tokiko smiled quietly to herself. All bark and no bite. Even when she'd insulted Kagami to her face, the other magical girl hadn't dared directly challenge her. Is it that she's too prideful to acknowledge that anything could rile her up? Or maybe she's not really as strong as she's cracked up to be... Either way, if she wasn't going to do anything about it, then Tokiko had no reason to hold back with her mockery.

"Oh? Is that what you believe?" she said, matching Kagami's grin even as she threw her own words back at her. "Very well. Believe what you will about my chances of victory, it means nothing in the end. You'll still be too much of a coward to ever back up those beliefs."

She left it at that. To Kagami, Tokiko might be just another piece of junk, but to Tokiko the self-proclaimed empress was just another irritation. Though taunting her was quite fun... She'd need to come up with some good one-liners for the next time they met.

"Sheesh," she said to Hikari as they left the other girl behind to stew in her own arrogance. "What was her problem? Fairies are supposed to choose pure-hearted girls, but... sometimes I feel like their judgement is off..."

@VitaVitaAR

"I feel like calling her a coward was too mil-"

Hikari wasn't able to complete that sentence. Something hotter and brighter then she had ever seen before suddenly streaked past both girls, ripping through the night air with a sound like a freight train. Even though it just barely missed either girl, the blast was sufficient to knock the small brunette off her feet with a yelp of surprise, landing on her back.

When she managed to right herself, she realized just what had occurred. A beam had been fired next to the girls, one strong enough to tear through the concrete and asphalt and leave a glowing scar in the street, still sizzling, practically turned to glass.

When Hikari turned her head, her heart hammering, back towards Kagami, the purple-haired magical girl was still grinning, one hand placed on her cheek.

"You shouldn't mistake mercy for cowardice, junk," said the Magical Empress. Beside her there floated... a mirror? The very center was marked with a slowly-fading purple glow. Was that her Archetype...? "I was simply giving you a choice: To fail now, or later."

"You... you... what the hell were you thinking?!" snapped Hikari, shaking with a mixture of fear and rage. Neither herself or Tokiko were transformed, if that beam had been any closer, what... what would have happened?! "You... What the hell kind of magical girl are you!?"

"One who is quite in control of her abilities," replied Kagami, still grinning, "I'm no fool."

@Anza

Mild or not, Tokiko's line had pricked sharply enough for Kagami to respond with a fucking laser beam.

She'd count that as a success, except for the fact that, well, there was a fucking laser beam now coming right at her. She barely had time to cry out and throw herself to one side before it tore past the spot where she'd just been standing, close enough for her to feel the heat of it even after moving away. It hadn't been intended to hit her directly, but that could still have hit her if she'd moved the wrong way, if it had been off-target by just a slight amount. And what about...

"Hikari-san!" She scrambled to her feet, eyes desperately searching for the other girl. "Hikari-san, are you all right?" There she was, picking herself up off the ground. A little rumpled, maybe bruised from the fall, but it could have been much worse. Tokiko let out a breath, fear being replaced by relief, even as a far colder feeling began to spread inside her.

She attacked me. She attacked Hikari.

Her fists clenched. Never mind the consequences, this was a sin that could not be forgiven.

The exchange between Hikari and the Empress was interrupted by a laugh. Not a happy laugh, not a mocking laugh, not even an oh-my-god-what-the-fuck kind of laugh, but something altogether stranger. Not a snicker, not a giggle, but a hoarse and broken cackling, so low one might have mistaken it for a sob were it not for the rictus smile that slashed across the speaker's face.

"Oh, but Kagami-chaaaan... you are."

Green lightning exploded out onto the street, buzzing and sparking, ionizing the air and causing the all the lights for several blocks around to momentarily flicker and flash. Silhouetted within, a looming coffin of twisted metal, and a figure contorting in maddened exuberance.

"A fool! A stooge! A pea-brained cretin! So blinded by your own hubris that you made the very worst mistake!" She cackled again. "Don't you realize what you've done?!"

The lightning began to fade— but unlike before, it didn't disappear entirely. Rather, it coalesced, forming two sparking auras around the gloved hands of Honami Tokiko. Now dressed once more in her long white coat, she held a cigarette lighter in her right and a radio transmitter in her left, brandishing them like weapons as she pointed the latter at her assailant.

"You've made me want to get serious." Her pupils shrunk down to tiny dots, glowing with greenish light. "Hikari-san, forget what I said earlier. Let's crush this piece of shit."

@VitaVitaAR

---

@A Lowly Wretch @VitaVitaAR

"Hm?" Fuyuko looked down as Kiyoshi brushed against her leg. Turning in the direction the wolf stared, she noticed a nearby figure standing among the trees. A still, silent person whose gender she couldn't tell, wearing a black suit and an intricate white rabbit mask, elegant and unnerving in equal measures. Still somewhat jumpy, Fuyuko resisted the urge to back away. Instead, she bowed.

"Oh! H-Hello there. I apologise, I didn't see you until now." Despite her friendly greeting, she regarded the newcomer with wary eyes. What did they want? Was this a rival magical girl? Or someone in charge of the Hex Night? So far, this person had made no threats, seeming to simply observe the group from a distance. Even so, as Noriko spun round and Kiyoshi craned his neck to get a closer look, Fuyuko braced herself for their reactions.

"So you chose to fail now, then... very well!" unperturbed by Tokiko's words, or at least seeming not to be, Kagami's grin seemed to grow sharper as she proceeded to ascend into the air, floating off the ground effortlessly. Her mirror shimmered, and from behind it emerged several smaller mirrors, eight in total, forming an arc over the purple-haired magical girl's head. Soon, she had ascended several meters into the air, one hand still on her cheek as she cocked her head to once side.

"Allow me to show you the difference between junk and myself!"

Hikari hadn't been expecting to transform so soon again, but there was no way that she could let something like this stand! That... who would make someone like this a magical girl!? Someone so arrogant, who would attack other girls who weren't even transformed... what kind of a magical girl was she!? The small brunette felt the magical energy flowing through her body once more, and once again she was surrounded in brilliant light, her clothing burning away as her hair and eye color changed. Soon enough, the light faded, leaving her in her magical girl outfit and with her hammer clutched in both hands.

"I'll knock you out of the sky!" she declared, raising her hammer back. Hikari didn't really know anything about how to fight like this, but she just wanted to smash that grin off of Kagami's face! There was that bang like a firework once more, and the small girl was sent rocketing forward! Even if she didn't really know what she was doing, she'd-

There was a brilliant flash of light.

Suddenly, Hikari was sent flying back. For a few moments, she wasn't even sure what happened, but a hot pain had lashed through her entire body almost instantly, her clothing scorched as she landed heavily on her back and rolled once. After a moment, she realized she had to have been hit by another laser...

Knocked senseless, cracks running through her hammer, the new magical girl simply laid there for a moment. The shock of being hit by something like that had stunned her, she'd never experienced anything like that before.

"As you can see, junk, it only takes a small amount of power for me to disable one of you," commented Kagami, "Now..."

The mirrors tilted, taking aim at Tokiko this time instead. But then...

Even Hikari, in her currently-stunned state, could feel it. There was a sudden twinge, some sort of dark pull...

An experienced magical girl could immediately recognize it was the presence of a shade.

"... Oh? Normally, the nearest fairy would come and inform the nearest magical girls... but I suppose they're quite busy with the Hex Night. Very well, junk," she said, the light fading from her mirrors, "The protection of the innocent is far more important then crushing you. I'll have plenty of time to destroy your aspirations for the Hex Night."

If anything good could be said of Kagami, her concern over the fact that a shade had appeared seemed genuine. Her mirrors folded into one once again, as she turned to begin to head in the direction of the shade.

She didn't seem to intend to stop any attempts to follow her, but the shade seemed to be her priority at the moment.

@Anza

"No, you idiot, don't just charge in—"

Too late. No sooner had Tokiko opened her mouth than Hikari blasted herself forwards in a suicidal attack, and promptly got herself shot out of the air. If Tokiko hadn't been holding things in both hands, she'd have facepalmed then and there. You utter blockhead! Did you seriously just rush in without a plan?! Even with Hikari's limited powers, she should have at least been able to avoid one attack, but apparently her inexperience with using her powers was compounded by a total ignorance of basic tactics and teamwork.

Though really... this is my fault. Tokiko glanced over at Hikari's body, relieved to see that she'd been knocked out but not seriously injured. She had to give credit to Kagami there: the Empress had been careful to use just enough power to take her out without inflicting lasting harm. I knew something like this would happen from the start. Even so, I let my anger control me, and now Hikari's gotten hurt, just like I thought she would.

Her attention shifted back to Kagami, who was preparing to attack again. "What, 'junk' again? Go read a thesaurus before you trash-talk, you half-baked ignoramus!" Even if it was one-on-one now, Tokiko wouldn't go down so easily. You're not the only one leagues above a newbie like Hikari. Let me show you what I can do! The devices in her hands started to come apart, slowly disassembling...

And then Kagami decided to go off and chase a shade. Tokiko lowered her arms with a sigh. Seriously? Just as I was about to show off my awesomeness in front of Hikari...

"Yeah, sure, run away," she muttered under her breath. She didn't move to follow, though. Her main reason for even starting this fight was lying on the ground with smoke rising off her, and Tokiko's initial fury had cooled a little bit, enough for her to remember the reasons she'd wanted to avoid this fight in the first place. With a tired sigh, she let the energy around her hands wink out, her tools reassembling into their original forms.

"Dork," she said, ambling over to Hikari and crouching down beside her. "Did you think this would be like some anime, where willpower alone would be enough to make you win?" She shook her head. "Laughable. If you'd held back and listened to me, this wouldn't have happened."

She didn't seem angry, though, just disappointed. There was even a little remorse showing through in her expression. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to take part just now. You clearly weren't ready for it." Shoving the cigarette lighter in one pocket, she extended a hand to help Hikari off the ground. "You understand, now? This is Hex Night. This is what you're up against. And now that you've experienced it for yourself, I'll ask you one last time..."

Her eyes narrowed. "...do you still want to fight?"

@VitaVitaAR

The two began to reply but before they could answer it seems their meeting was disrupted as, in the distance, her raven cawed. She recognized this alert well, something was approaching.

As the other two introduced themselves to this mysterious stranger she used the controls on her wheelchair to position herself behind the tree, putting it between her and the mysterious masked figure. She shut her eyes and moved her sight into a nearby raven of hers in order to get a closer look at this enigmatic figure.

As if this competition wasn't already suspect enough she now had more to concern herself with than just magical girls.

The watcher was now the watched.

---

@VitaVitaAR@LuckyBlackCat

"Sure do!" Himeko confirmed brightly, "well, the living quarters are round the back, but close enough. D'ya need to go now, or..."

Himeko trailed off when she felt a strange sensation in her chest. It was brief, but unmistakable - a Shade was present somewhere.
Given the number of Magical Girls that were here, or would be given the Hex Night, Himeko probably didn't need to go rushing off into battle. Direct combat wasn't her forte, anyway. The shrine maiden was still a magical girl, however. It was irresponsible to just assume someone else would fix the problem!

She would need to extricate herself from present company, however.

"Ah, right, this talk of exploding washing machines just reminded me! I was supposed to be running errands in town!" Himeko made a convincing show of being hit with a sudden memory. With an apologetic smile, she clapped her hands together, turning towards Nico, "Sorry to run, but I better get this done before I get excommunicated! Mind showing my new little sis the way home?"

@Raineh Daze@Ammokkx

She hadn't really gotten enough thinking done about the fight itself. That much was true. But Kagami didn't look like a close-range fighter, and they'd been far away from her... Hikari had thought that if she used the firework boost to close the distance as fast as possible, she could knock Kagami out of the sky. But she'd been quite mistaken about how quickly that the enemy magical girl could attack, and she was now paying for it. Her entire body ached, the impact of that magical energy beam had just completely overwhelmed her. Her clothing was torn and smouldering in places, mostly around her stomach as that was where the attack had hit, though the skin underneath didn't seem to be damaged at all.

"... It's not like I was just being an idiot or something, she didn't seem like she could fight at close range so I thought if I got close before she could shoot..." Hikari trailed off, realizing she may have gotten caught up in her anger before fully considering her actions. She was a new magical girl while Kagami seemed to be a veteran, on top of everything else. She wasn't even entirely sure what her concept was. But none of those facts stopped her from giving a reproachful glare towards Tokiko.

Even if she couldn't ignore how hard her heart was hammering in her chest, Hikari wasn't going to stop being annoyed about being talked to like she was stupid.

But that wasn't all.

So this was the Hex Night. So people like that could become magical girls.

"... If someone like that can take part in the Hex Night..." she began, glancing in the direction that Kagami had left in, "Then there's no way I'm not going to, too! Even if it's just to stop someone like that from winning!"

It was perhaps notable that the head of Hikari's hammer was cracked.

A normal magical girl attack could almost never harm an Archetype, aside from cases where that Archetype was a living being, after all. For that matter, the fact that her clothing had been damaged enough to be burned away in places, too, was unusual... a single attack, doing that? Even if it was from a particularly powerful magical girl...

@Anza

---

When it was bowed to, and spoken to, the masked figure silently tilted their head without speaking. For a few moments, that was all that happened. There wasn't a single movement for some time, until the figure suddenly turned in a rather stiff fashion and immediately began to walk into the forest. In spite of the less then urgent-looking(and strangely stiff) movements, it was managing to move at a pace comparable to a sprint.

Given that the figure's response to being spotted was to leave immediately, it didn't seem likely they were friendly.

@A Lowly Wretch@LuckyBlackCat

"Hmm?" Tokiko met Hikari's eyes with a curious expression. "Is that your reason?" Was she not tempted by a wish at all? Given all the possibilities that winning the Hex Night could offer, she'd have thought any magical girl would want to claim the prize, but it sounded like Hikari was driven by something different. Righteous wrath, rather than desperate greed. To fight in the Hex Night just to stop people like Kagami from winning... that's kind of mean, but... kind of noble, as well.

"Fine." She gave a serious nod. "Whatever you're fighting for, you've made your decision now, and that means you have to own it. So far you've been lucky enough to have me around to back you up, but that won't be the case forever, you know?" She tilted her head to one side, punctuating the statement with a quiet hmph. "So if you're as determined as you say, then there's only one choice. You need to get stronger."

She adjusted her glasses, eyes wandering away as she pondered aloud. "There isn't much time, since Hex Night has already started, and with so many magical girls around it won't be easy to find shades to practice on. You could try to learn by fighting other magical girls, but that's risky, since they'll be trying to destroy your Hex Symbol..."

She frowned, glancing off towards the horizon. Aaaaah, why does this have to be so difficult? There was one option, but it demanded even more effort from her, just to help one annoying girl who'd been caught up in all this by chance. I'm not doing this just for her sake, though. If she can fend for herself, that'll get her out of my hair, right? And, well... It was kind of nice walking home together. Squeezing her eyes shut, she finally relented.

"Even though you're already supposed to be way in my debt... If you wanted, I guess I wouldn't mind training you a little."

There! I said it! She looked back at Hikari, and her eyes shot wide open. She'd been so caught up in all the grand declarations and strategizing that she hadn't really noticed the lingering damage to the shorter girl's outfit.

"Ah... Y-your clothes..." She averted her eyes again, turning her face away to conceal the bright red blush that had spread across her cheeks. It's not a big deal, right? We're both girls, aren't we? All the same, it felt like her thoughts had gone somewhere weird for a moment...

"W-we should change back into our regular forms, for now!"

@VitaVitaAR

The aim of the axe shifted slightly and a more tightly focused beam intercepted the rock, blasting it apart into a cloud of dust. Sonya followed up with another blast in the same direction, doubting it would hit unless her opponent was careless. If anything it might take the unconscious girl out of the fight for good instead.

No need to go easy on her then. But there was still no need to go all out. Not yet anyway. Even a defeated girl could tell others what went on. Sonya ran away from the edge and dropped down behind the building. She let loose another beam that cut through the structure, diffuse enough to blast the front wall out in a hail of shrapnel-like debris.

She continued to move back, attacking with additional destructive beams to make her opponent keep her distance.

@VitaVitaAR

---

@A Lowly Wretch

As Noriko swept her hair back - or rather, raised the strand of wolf fur to her eyes - Fuyuko's stomach clenched. Someone like her sister wearing such a solemn expression was bad news. Beside them, Kiyoshi gave a low growl. Before anyone in the group could respond further, the silent figure was off, with oddly robotic movements.

"Oh geez..." Noriko stared at the vacant space, her grip on the wolf hair visibly tightening. "This isn't good..."

If Fuyuko could have gone any paler, she would have. Wisps of mist started to trail from her kimono and the tips of her hair, as if she were about to evaporate. "What... What did you see?" she whispered.

The okuri-okami raised his head. "I'm afraid we didn't get a good look," he explained, "but there was certainly something off about them. Something cold, empty."

Whoever it was may not have attacked, but it was clear they didn't want to be friends with the group any time soon. The incredibly conspicuous group. A shudder of guilt and embarrassment ran through Fuyuko. How stupid could she get? Bringing a concealed magical girl out into the open and forgetting to de-transform, as if that wasn't bound to attract attention? She and her sister should have left before this could happen. Or they should have all reverted to their civilian forms. Now who knew what kind of mess they were in...

"I'm sorry! We didn't mean to get you noticed! I-I'll change back right away, if that helps," Fuyuko blurted, barely able to look Sophia in the eye. Of course it wouldn't help, it was too late, but she let powdery snow whirl around her, turning her hair mousy brown and replacing her kimono with much less remarkable clothing.

"Eheh, don't blame yourself sis, I messed this one up big time," Noriko said. Her smile had returned, but not her usual one, more of a strained rictus. "You ready, Kiyoshi?" The wolf nodded, leaping into the light that surrounded her and disappearing. In a matter of seconds, the younger sister had taken on her regular appearance too.

Fuyuko scanned the area with that cautious blue gaze, one feature that remained consistent between her usual form and her magical one. "Uh..." She glanced at Sophia, then at Noriko, who peered into the forest, still keeping guard. Even while de-transformed, Noriko retained enhanced night vision, which was undoubtedly how she'd seen through Sophia's shadow veil. Nonetheless, she wouldn't be able to see people's true natures without her Archetype around, and in any case, the masked figure had managed to sneak past her detection magic at its full power. Cold and empty, Kiyoshi had said... Maybe the watcher's lack of emotion had made them difficult to pick up on.

"Let's find somewhere safer," Fuyuko suggested, eyes darting around for possible places. Somewhere a wheelchair user would be able to easily access, and where they weren't likely to be followed. The problem was, would anywhere fit the latter requirement? If trouble arose, the three of them would be capable of fighting back together, but risks couldn't be taken tonight of all nights.

It wasn't like the idea of a wish wasn't enticing... but it was also overwhelming. If you could wish for anything, what was really the right thing to wish for? It was hard to even begin to think of that. She had to give herself time to really understand what she might want to do with her wish... but, for Hikari, preventing someone like Kagami from getting to have whatever wish she wanted was something tangible. Something she could reach out and touch, metaphorically speaking.

"It's not like I don't have a wish, or anything, I just... I need to decide on what I want to wish for," the tiny brunette responded, trying to shake off how achy she felt, "But right now I know I want to stop Kagami from getting whatever stupid wish she wants. I bet it's something like making everyone kneel down and kiss her fee-"

She paused for a moment. Only now, she realized that things felt rather breezy when Tokiko mentioned her clothing... and when she looked down, she immediately colored.

In a flash of light, her normal clothing had returned.

"D-Does your c-c-clothing normally g-get blown off in fights?!"

@Anza

Relaxing a little as Hikari switched back into her regular form, Tokiko swiftly followed suit. Her white coat dissolved with a quick crackle of viridian lightning, along with her other minor accessories, leaving her little more than a bespectacled and slightly tired-looking schoolgirl. The lighter and radio transmitter remained, but she quickly stashed those away in her bag with the other junk.

"Um..." She looked back at Hikari again, her expression still a little embarrassed. "Not at all! At least, not normally... Our clothes are made from magical energy, just like our attacks, so they don't tear easily." She frowned. "Most of my experience is from fighting shades, so it might be different when magical girls fight each other. But I think the simplest answer is that Kagami's attack was just that strong."

There was a faint anger in her eyes, but it didn't seem to be directed at Hikari. "Next time you meet her— if there is a next time —you need to make sure you know how to make a shield, or move fast enough to avoid those beams." She adjusted her glasses with a quiet hmph. "After all... Seeing as I've put so much effort into getting you this far, it'd be embarrassing for me if you just got taken out like a scrub!"

@VitaVitaAR

The laser fire was destructive, certainly. Powdering the rock, tearing through the building. Anybody who might think to attack from that direction was certain to have trouble chasing her down and following Sonya through the cloud of dust. It would be a completely idiotic and bone-headed move to do that if there was anything slightly easier that might be done.

At least Sonya got a split-second warning as the loud cry came from behind her, the massive spiked club swinging for her chest.

@TheFake

As the figure ran she tracked his movement through the ravens in place throughout the park. No matter how fast he ran she'd be able to find a raven in position and switch to it's sight in order to track this figure. The whole neighborhood was under her eye, not all at once but with little more than a fast switch from one spot to another. There was no way this stranger was going to escape her sight.

Perhaps I could trace his route back to where he came. I could discover his hideout and possibly his benefactor. This could be the revelation I'm seeking. All I need to do is concentrate...

"I'm sorry! We didn't mean to get you noticed! I-I'll change back right away, if that helps,"

She could hear her voice distantly spoken to her. She had to concentrate, this was an opportunity that was hard to pass up but at the same time if she left herself be completely vulnerable in the meanwhile it would make her an easy target. She was exposed and even if she trusted the two other magical girls in full, something she did not despite their kind exterior, the attention they drew would make her a target for any others who might happen to be in the area. She'd argue that it was quite unlikely for someone to just happen upon a magical girl in a place that saw as little foot traffic as this but given the fact two magical girls had made a B-line right for her in the first day of her visit here that clearly wasn't a safe bet to make.

She was torn. As much as she'd of desired to pull away the veil on this growing conspiracy she's only just scratched the surface of with this chance encounter the idea of losing everything out of recklessness burned a pit in her stomach. This opportunity, so close and yet...

_
In an instant her sight returned to her. For that flash of an instant her whole body tensed with stress brought upon by the inner turmoil this lose/lose situation had engendered within her. Returned to her body however she returned to her focus, her expression falling back into one of placidity. She knew better than to cling to stress. When her body was so fragile even stress could fell her this well regimented control she held over her mind was very well necessary. Honed through combat with the shades she's learned much discipline in what little time she's lived.

"Let's find somewhere safer,"

Hearing Fuyuko's proposal she silently nodded in agreement. Seeing as the other two had reverted to their standard forms she figured it was only proper she did as well so as to not draw undue attention to them as a group. With a thought the darkness which clung to her form and comprised her attire peeled away into a cloud of raven's feathers which were carried away on an unfelt wind, the feathers frittering away into nothingness like drifting embers consumed by a lightless flame.

Now cleared of the magic her hair was back to it's pleasantly light golden hue. She was sat in a rather plain wheelchair, albeit one with an electric motor and an oxygen tank fastened to it's side. Her clothes were back to their normal state, far less ostentatious and quite frankly more to her liking.

With a subtle motion she manipulated the controls, urging her chair back onto the solid pathway where she awaited Fuyuko's lead since she seemed like she wished to continue conversing.

---

@LuckyBlackCat@VitaVitaAR

"That's what I thought..."

Hikari glanced after Kagami, still blushing and hugging herself a little. Her body had been... the only time she wanted to be exposed like that was in a swimsuit! ... Or a bath or something that was okay. It wasn't as if she was some kind of expert, and this was reality rather than anime, but it didn't seem like magical girls usually had their clothing exploded off! ... At least... in most of them. The ones that were like that were usually for a bit of a different audience, weren't they?

But more importantly, that meant Kagami had to be so strong that she could overwhelm magical defenses with a casual attack... why did that stupid jerk get to be so powerful!? That meant she had to be weak at close range or something, right? It's what Hikari had assumed, even though it hadn't worked out too well for her...

"I'm not going to get knocked out like that!" she declared, with a huff, folding her arms. Just because something like that happened now... the brunette wasn't going to let herself get taken down by something stupid like that, that was for certain! "... Shield... so I'm guessing that all magical girls can make barriers?"

That was like some of the anime she knew about too...

@Anza

---

The further the strange figure's presence got, the more it seemed to fade out... before vanishing entirely. But it didn't disappear without a potential hint towards its origin.

When its trail finally went cold, there was a mansion. Seemingly just out in the middle of the forest, it was western-styled, with brilliant white walls and blue rooftops. Had it always been there?

It had to have been, right?

@LuckyBlackCat@A Lowly Wretch

---

@A Lowly Wretch

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Fuyuko continued to scold herself. Magical girls were supposed to look out for each other, even if loyalties would be strained over the next few weeks. And that momentary crack in Sophia's calm facade, that visible shudder of stress, that even more laboured breathing... The watcher was gone, but had being seen nearly caused her harm in another way?

"Are... Are you going to be ok?" Fuyuko asked. Again, she wanted to smack herself upside the head. Of course Sophia wasn't ok, but what she wanted to know was that the other girl's state hadn't gotten worse. "I mean, I..." The words caught in her throat. In theory, she could ease some of Sophia's fatigue, lessen any pain she may be feeling. The catch was that to do so, she'd have to transform. Which would make the three of them targets again. Even if nobody saw them, it would put Sophia in another stressful situation, which could cancel out any benefit of vitality magic. And would the other magical girl see it as a disguised attempt to turn against her? After all, in some stories, did Yuki-Onna not mislead people under the guise of helping?

The brunette clenched her fingers around the hem of her shirt. She had a responsibility to support her fellow magical girls, but risking another screw-up wasn't the way to do so. "Uh... It's nothing."

Beside her, Noriko began to grow twitchy. "Let's not hang around here too long," she advised. "Sure, if anyone comes back and makes the connection, we'll be able to take on them no problem, but it's something we could do without."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Fuyuko hurried to the pathway, her sister in tow. "So, um..." Her gaze flicked from her surroundings to Sophia, then to Noriko. "Where to?" She was no leader, but right now it seemed the other two expected her to take on that role. With small, shuffling steps, she made her way down the path alongside them, towards the city with its many streets.

"That is, of course, if you want us to stay around." The brunette cringed at how her own words sounded. "Ah! I-I'm not saying we don't want to stick around! What I meant is..." She lowered her voice. "After that just now, and considering everything going on tonight, would you rather be alone, or...?"

---

"Eh?! Me?"

Nico was taken aback from the sudden responsibility of guiding Hanako to the shrine being shoved onto her. What made matters worse is that it couldn't have come at a worse time. Nico felt what Himeko also had- a sudden throbbing in her chest signifying some sort of malicious aura in the area. It was stronger than the regular influx of negative emotions she could feel emanate off the people around her. They were piled up and forming together into a shadowy monster, lurking in the area. Nico thought they normally only showed up at night, but the feeling was unmistakable. To make matters worse, Himeko might run into trouble if she left now! There were plenty of magical girls in the area that could protect the shrine maiden if worse came to worst, of course, but the girl didn't want to endanger her new friend. Being left with Hanako made things so much more troubling, however...

"Ah... okay. Let's go then, Hanako-san."

If Nico hurried to the shrine and then went back, she might still make it in time. With that thought in mind she grabbed Hanako's hand and tugged her along, back from where Nico and Himeko had departed. The shrine wasn't too far, so if they hurried...!