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.
