The others were not capitalising on her predicament, even though it would have been the perfect opportunity to do so. Did they think Shatterscape dead? No, even the newest girls would know that there was no way one of their number would perish from something like this. She had to have missed something, especially with how her allies were not attacking either, refusing to make good on the opportunity that she had given them. Which stung, given how far her the rest of her was.
Unable to move much at the moment, Shatterscape slowly gathered herself, raising from the sand with meticulous movements and also dispelling one of her gauntlets into motes of golden light. The Devil Arm ceased to exist while she stood up, right hand going to her left shoulder before she yanked it back into place with a loud crack. Then she shot a cold, empty-eyed look at Nyxia.
“Have you teamed up with these fools?” She spoke with a sort of dispassionate contempt towards her team-mate, almost as though she were addressing the light girls. “Or are you merely lacking the will to have made use of this golden opportunity? I had thought you thirsted for blood, Nyxia.” And as though to make matters worse, as Shatterscape continued to put muscles back into place, Earthshaker joined in as well.
Had she lost track of the battle? She most certainly did, so she let the others surface briefly in order to take stock and… to be honest, they were in a sorry state. If the light girls continued to fight, she needed to stall even more as the rest of her remained just barely out of range. She could probably take on one of them if that happened, but what about the rest of the dark girls? Only Nyxia seemed rested, with the rest sporting either injuries or signs of exhaustion.
It was not a favourable battle. Especially not with an unknown dark girl, whom the light girls did not attack. It would be three against two even with the best of intentions and Nyxia… Shatterscape refused to trust that girl any farther than she could throw her. Her rage took precedence over everything, shrouding her in a crimson cloud of blood and upredictability.
”As much as this humble priestess disagrees with you, Earthshaker, it really might be the best if we let these pawns of light be on their way, provided they do not disturb our sacred grounds once again.” Her gauntlet-hand clenched, the claws screeching against her palm. Her lips pursed as she set her expression into a mien of stone, but inside, her heart demanded revenge. Or at least a drop of blood. If only their odds were better.
Wrapping oneself around an unwilling opponent did not prove as easy as it sounded as Shatterscape struggled to keep her position, trying her best to hold onto her opponent. Her claws were not much help in this regard, so it was no surprise that Morganite stood up without too much of a problem. At least there was still the issue of friendly fire between allies, especially with Light girls, which meant she had to continue to bide her time. Even though she looked ridiculous from the outside.
Every precious second, every twist of her limbs, her head or her torso brought more time until the rest of her arrived or one of her team-mates noticed her predicament, so with an awkward move, she attempted to straighten out her right arm in an attempt to rake her claws across Morganite’s back. Unfortunately, she had no purchase, so she only succeeded in unalancing the two of them, Shatterscape’s sense of balance working against herself to keep them upright.
She felt her arms twist, her feet catching in Morganite’s, her body slowly slipping away as Nyxia stepped in. The witch girl would shoot her again soon, but at least now the situation looked much better. So naturally, Shatterscape’s next move was to use a tool that still held some power, sinking her teeth into Morganite’s oh-so-vulnerable flesh.
Cloth along with skin gave way under the force of her bite and while she could not injure heavily, it disrupted their delicate balance. Shatterscape used the moment of surprise to twist her joints back into their places, letting herself fall to the ground, seemingly exposed, but also giving both of her comrades a clear shot. Along with the witch of course, but she had tasted that pain already. It was nothing she could not take.
She did not even attempt to dodge, only shifting her stance slightly and thus the wave of light washed over her without impediment. Lances of pain bloomed across Shatterscape’s whole body as though they were a swarm of ants biting into her flesh as they marched across it, but it barely caused her to flinch. She merely continued on her way, barrelling forwards and into Morganite’s friend, one claw stretched forward.
Then Shatterscape let her hand drop and delivered a fierce kick right into her opponent. While not nearly as powerful as her gauntlets, the hit did not even have to land as she aimed to tangle with the one in front of her and succeeded. The witch did not react in time as her other gauntlet wrapped around her, pulling her well into Shatterscape’s personal space so the witch could see the dark magical girl’s cold expression.
Morganite slammed into them at that point, knocking them both off their feet, rattling Shatterscape to the bone, but once again, Shatterscape took the pain head on, welcoming it like she welcomed a familiar friend while she shifted her centre of balance as well as she could and as chaotically as she could, attempting to entangle Morganite into the mess of their engagement as well. Claws along with legs shifted in awkward or downright painful ways just so Shatterscape could accomplish her goals and have her opponents where she wanted them: in a mess of limbs and clothes, bound to one of her bodies.
“You reveal your hypocrisy again, those who keep light only in name,” she spoke, her voice even but loud enough to be heard over the din of battle. “You care not about what happens to them. Just as you have not cared about what happens to one.” Then just as she expected, Morganite stepped forward, charging Shatterscape while the other light girl behind her tried to channel some sort of a spell. Unfortunately for them, the so-called high priestess was not born yesterday.
Opening her arms wide, Shatterscape stepped into Morganite instead trying to avoid her, sliding her feet apart - right one forward, left one back - her left hand moving backwards as her opponent slammed into her. The shields bruised her whole front, tiny whips of pain lashing across her body, but Shatterscape had experienced worse than it. Far, far worse. Thus, instead of stumbling back or reeling as one might have expected her, she leaned into the momentum and pivoted.
Her massive gauntlets sunk into Morganite as she whirled around, turning the light girl’s strength against herself, then letting go just so that the Morganite-ball would be aimed at Morganite’s companion. Shatterscape blasted off after her a split second later, muscles screaming at the top of their non-existent lungs, ligaments stretching almost to their capacity as she made the awkward move work through brute strength, then prepared herself to tangle with her enemies.
“No mercy for the hypocrites,” she announced, spreading her claws to skewer either Morganite or her companion depending on which one remained open.
Shatterscape smiled at Earthshaker before she bounded off the shield and landed in a tide of Miseria.
“Then I shall endeavour to bless this occasion. Itadakimasu,” she spoke mid-air, loud enough for Earthshaker to hear. However, instead of splattering the creatures as the mindless monsters rushed to meet her head on, the dark magical girl only succeeded in scattering them to the winds before some took aim at her with their rifles. The other rushed in with their sabres drawn, intent on forcing her to make a choice of which attacks to defend against.
Such clever behaviour for Miseria. It caused Shatterscape to pause for a moment, earning a couple of rifle shots that tore into her flesh and bruised her, but she did not even flinch at the familiar sensation of pain. Instead, her smile turned into a frown as she caught the rushing elements with a swipe, pulverising a couple of them, yet also feeling the resistance of metal meeting her own metal. Indeed, these creations were not the ones Shatterscape was used to and it disrupted her rhythm.
Fortunately, she was not alone in the fight. Ember kept track of the pirates from the corner of her eye, not to mention the other girls and so Shatterscape raised her gauntlets just in time to deflect an sabre along with half a dozen rifle shots. Then she exploded towards the attacks. The ground shook briefly beneath her feet as she conveyed her full strength, blitzing forward as though she were an arrow and beheading several of her opponents. Her claws then sunk into the sand, serving as a fulcrum as well as a shield.
The Miseria left little time for her to gather her breath, not that she counted on it. They swarmed her once again, combined arms working in concert to bring down the magical girl and for once, Shatterscape had to use all of her focus on evading, mitigating or even meting out blows. A careless move with her gauntlets could mean injury or interception, something she felt ill-inclined to risk in this swarm.
And despite her misgivings about the one fuelled only by hatred, it seemed Nyxia did the best out of all them – at least until her beams were deflected back at her – and who the hell were those advancing towards Oros?
“There are intruders upon our sacred ground,” murmured Shatterscape, her attention split in a dozen different directions. Each of her team-mates (save for Nyxia) was in trouble of their own, but without having the time to set up her bodies, not to mention the lack of Kiyo to watch over them, she could not jump around the battlefield like she was accustomed to. In fact, the rest of her was still behind in the city, taking care to avoid the panicked masses, so she had very little choice. Both Earthshaker and Acid Drop were too far to reach for her immediately.
Oros remained.
Once again, Shatterscape poured all of her strength into her legs and cleaved a path of destruction through the pirate Miseria. Uncaring of her wounds along with her injuries, she focused on ripping apart as many enemies as she could before she placed herself right into the path of the advancing duo.
“This humble high priestess,” she bellowed as she grit her teeth, her skin and clothes nicked away by a thousand cuts, “will not let any of her comrades come to harm.” Her announcement rung through the battlefield as she felt for the rest of her bodies. They were at least a couple of minutes away still; after all, they did not share her gifts. She would have to hold out until then.
• Emblem: A shattered, oval mirror encased in a wooden frame. The mirror is split into four pieces - three of which are of roughly equivalent size, covering about five sixths of its reflective surface. These fragments are irregular and reflect the world in distorted colours. The remaining, triangle-shaped fragment is the only one that can still be used properly.
Her emblem used to be a Japanese-style hand mirror that had been repaired with gold.
• Devil Arm:Hakushu Herculean Gauntlets: A pair of massive gauntlets nearly the size of Shatterscape's torso. They are unwieldy, but their destructive potential is quite impressive.
Before their transformation, they used to be a pair of ornate gloves that could conjure a wave of force by clapping.
• Magic:Kami No Kekkai Hekatonkhiric Argonaut: Where once was one, there is now many. With considerable effort, Shatterscape may create copies of herself. The process takes at least twelve days, one for each step involved. As the last step of the process, she may choose how she wishes to use the copy: as an Oss or as a Khir. Oss are semi-autonomous flesh puppets without the ability to use magic or her Devil Arm. Khir, however, are true copies that are just as capable as the original host.
Up to twelve copies may be created like this, but only three Oss and one Khir may be active at once at any given time. Furthermore, the last step of the creation process may be performed on a copy as many times as desired, which means Shatterscape can gradually shift the ratio of copies to suit her purposes. She can also choose to directly control any Oss and Khir if she wishes, transferring her Emblem along with her consciousness between them in a split second, as long as they are within roughly four hundred metres of each other.
Last but not least, these copies need not be identical to Shatterscape's original body, a possibility which intrigues her immensely. While the process itself is still in its infancy, she can already change the colour of the copies' hair, eyes and make subtle shifts to their body structure.
Before her transformation, Shatterscape used to be able to create barriers of light that protected against attacks and if applied directly on a wound, would fill it with a golden substance that boosted the injured area's performance. For example, if a Magical Girl were to be injured on her arm, then if Kintsugi fixed their injury using her magic, she would be able to make sligthly stronger and faster punches. This effect was cumulative; thus the greater the injury, the greater benefit one got from receiving the healing.
Unfortunately, Kintsugi's magic was limited by two factors: Firstly, she could only use her barriers to fight indirectly. Secondly, her barriers also accelerated the natural healing of Magical Girls, resulting only in short boosts to their power.
• Background: Hiramatsu Sylvia Chiaki's story started before her life as her mother, stifled by her family's expectations, fled. Finding happiness and love in the arms of a foreigner, she distanced herself from her elders... Until her boyfriend abandoned her shortly after she gave birth to their daughter. Much too inexperienced and lacking everything to care for her newborn, she tried going back to her family. They seemed to accept her with open arms.
She died within months. And then Sylvia learned just why it was her mother tried to escape Chiaki discovered that maybe her mother had been wrong after all. Yes, her grandparents were strict, abusing Sylvia for even the smallest of her miatakes but it was for her own good. Whenever she followed their advice, they did not raise their hands against Sylvia her life turned out for the better of it. As such, she soon found herself deep within the world of Shinto, leaning into her role as an apprentice shrine maiden so she could continue on with the family tradition.
Out of all the old practices taught by her family, Chiaki grew to be fascinated with Kintsugi, the art of repairing a precious object with gold. While no longer practiced in its original form, the idea of it lived on in the form of repairing precious things and making them more beautiful in the process. She did not know why she was drawn to it, but Sylvia did and wished Chiaki would become aware of it. After all, she felt lonely and cold. Her skin ached. She could not even stand tall like Chiaki. But maybe that was all right, because Chiaki's smile was precius to her. So much that she could shoulder all of Chiaki's pain.
As the years went by, the abuse became less severe Chiaki turned into a fine young lady. She kept her grades up, because she lived in terror of what would happen if she did not socialized well, or at least as well as she was permitted becoming one of the more popular shrine maidens in the community. She performed prayers daily, swept the grounds and was allowed to even participate in the sacred ceremonies. She felt happier than ever, whole-heartedly opening herself to her precious friends.
As such, when a strange cat appeared in the middle of the night and asked her to become a warrior of justice, she readily agreed. When she saw this, Sylvia felt proud of Chiaki... But she also feared the thing. Somehow, it appeared unnatural to her. Almost as though it had a plan of some sorts. Or maybe she was just seeing things? Either way, she knew they had to be careful; the family could not possibly find out about it. If they did, there would be hell to pay and Sylvia did not know if she could shield Chiaki from all of it.
Chiaki thought this as an extension of her shrine maiden duties. After all, what could be more important than to fight against evil and purify it? Unfortunately for her, not only did her family disagree with her logic, the strain of fighting the Miseria started to wear away at Chiaki.
It started small. An argument here, an argument there. Breaking curfew, but with a good reason. A Miseria that left a nasty bruise on her. A fight that left her so exhausted she could not study for the upcoming test. Shouting. Huddling up in her room, wishing that grandma and grandpa would understand. Waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweat, the warped forms of Miseria seeming as though they were beside her bed.
She could barely take it. Sylvia could not take on this burden either. But fortunately, a good friend called Hotaru could do it. After all, she fought the Miseria hundreds upon hundreds of times. She knew their tricks inside and out, not to mention she was much more athletic than Chiaki. She also knew how to sneak out without being noticed, a skill essential to fighting the monsters at night. She enjoyed it so much she wished she could share the feelings with Chiaki. But unfortunately for Hotaru, the monsters scared Chiaki immensely. She did not want to go near them, never mind fight them.
Sylvia was much more amenable to the suggestion, however, and with the support of Hotaru, she too, started to learn what it was to face danger. And so she decided to not go out as often; it hurt her heart, but Chiaki would do everything for her family. Besides, her friends had the situation well in hand, or at least so she thought until a nasty encounter landed her in the hospital. Her grandparents were furious. They nearly disowned her right then, but Sylvia talked them down somehow. However, it soon became clear that they could not protect Chiaki like this. Not anymore.
As Sylvia and Hotaru tried to figure out what to do, another one of their comrades appeared, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Calling herself Ember, she spoke well as she argued for two things: One, the only way they could protect Chiaki was to restrict her freedom for her own sake. Two, they too, deserved some joy in their lives. Have they not sacrificed enough for Chiaki? No one would begrudge them for enjoying what the world had to offer. Needless to say, it did not take long to convince the other two of her point.
Choosing to take on a new name as the ultimate gesture of distancing themselves from their "families" and the world at large, the three created Takae Shuuko, a gesture which shattered and changed Hiramatsu Chiaki's already strained magic. From then on, the old magical girl was no more. Into her place stepped Shatterscape, who lived more for herself than the nebulous idea of helping others.
• Sample Post: When Chiaki made her wish, it had been the happiest day of Sylvia's life.
After countless years of cowering and hiding, Chiaki had made a decision not influenced by her grandparents. She did not go against their word, however, as suspicious as the cat had been, it gave them an opportunity. Because surely, if it approached them, it had approached others before. There were more like them. There were more like them! Chiaki could finally find friends, enemies, true peers... she could maybe even start wriggling out of the grasp of the old crones. Then perhaps Sylvia could reveal herself. She could make friends with Chiaki.
What a worthless dream.
Sylvia's tears stained Chiaki's bruised hands. They travelled down Chiaki's injured cheeks, touching the busted lips, then falling in front of her injured ribs. And yet the only thing she could think of was how these wounds were nothing compared to what she had suffered at the hands of Chiaki's grandparents. Her supposed family.
Because Chiaki did not do any of what Sylvia hoped Chiaki would do. She tried to bear it all herself. But she could not. No one could and Sylvia knew it. So why had not Chiaki listened? Sylvia tried to talk to her so many, many, many, many times, but Chiaki... Why?!
Without warning, it felt as though a pair of warm hands embraced her from behind. Carefully navigating around her wounds, Hotaru wrapped her arms around Sylvia's stomach, then applied just a little bit of force to let the other girl know of her presence. She remained silent, for there were no words, nor thoughts in either of their heads. They only knew that something had to happen or else they were the ones who would break. Chiaki? She could never take on their burden. Not even one percent of it. She was a precious thing to be protected, but she always, always wandered into danger by herself. And in the end it would be them who paid the price.
Kami, if only Chiaki had found some friends! But she never dared to approach the other girls. Not even when they extended their hands towards her, openly inviting her to join them.
More tears. Sylvia's vision blurred as Chiaki's hands bunched up, but there was so little power in them that they could barely move. She felt little hics escape her throat, a lump building deep inside of her, body becoming heavier by the second, almost as though someone kept attaching weights to her while she swum on top of the ocean. And she was so, so tired of swimming.
"Then why not discard those weights and swim towards the shore?" She flinched at the voice she never heard before. It was a little low for a woman, but it was steady, confident and full of emotion. "I... we... we all deserve better than this, Sylvia." Concern. The woman was actually concerned for her.
"Who are you?" Sylvia asked, trying to get a look at the woman.
"I'm Ember. And... it breaks my heart to see you like this." The woman seemed to step closer, her image becoming clear despite the tears. Tall. Short, red hair. Blue eyes. An adult both in body and soul. "You... I don't even have words. Hotaru, Sylvia... I'm so sorry for you. And I'm sorry for Chiaki, too."
Sylvia let out an anguished cry and sobbed into the already stained sheets even as Hotaru hugged her tight, making soft, cooing noises. But no matter how much the other girl tried, the sobbing would not stop. It flowed relentlessly, almost completely dominating Sylvia. Her face became ugly and swollen with countless tears, so much that the others could not help themselves and joined her. Hotaru cried silent tears as was her custom while Ember tried her best to keep it together - not that she succeeded.
"Sylvi," Hotaru voiced after some time. Her eyes were red and poofed up, just like everyone else's. "I can still fight. But you can't."
"Chiaki can't fight either. And I don't want to." Ember. "And I don't want any of you to fight. Children... they... Fuck this whole thing inside out!" Her voice cracked like a whip when she let her anger out. "I'm the one who should be in this bed! You're barely sixteen; what are you doing getting injured like that? Fuck... I'm sorry for swearing, but fuck. Listen. Both of you. When Chiaki wakes up, it is time to run. I know a place."
"Will we be safe?" asked Hotaru.
"Yeah. Those fu... err... your "family" won't be able to hurt you there. And you won't have to fight those things all the time anymore. You won't be alone either. Just don't let those bastards see you on the way to Hibusa and we'll talk more there, all right?" Ember gave the address to the two as she stood up. "I'll be waiting for you with icecream." She winked her puffed up-eyes before she left Sylvia and Hotaru alone once again, having left the number of a taxi and a place they could visit.
It did not take long for Sylvia to call.
• Author's Notes: As hinted at, Shatterscape houses four distinct personalities: Chiaki, the golden child. Sylvia, the protector. Hotaru, the warrior Ember, the schemer.
Sylvia, Hotaru and Ember can also speak as Shatterscape or Shuuko when they act as one, pooling their awareness and skills together. Chiaki, however, is not aware of their existence, nor that her magic changed.
Shatterscape blitzed through the streets, catching the occasional stray Miseria that went berserk, cleaving them in twain with a swipe of her hand. Her gauntlets cut through their flesh like knife through butter, the resistance barely slowing her down. Such was to be expected, though, for these were weak creatures, serving only as landmarks on her way towards the beach. It seemed that the clump of negative emotions came from there.
Or at least she thought so at first, but the closer she got, the clearer the buzzing became. Like annoying flies stuck in a cauldron of boiling pitch, it was the Miseria which whispered into her skull with their tinny voices. It was the very same cacophony that Sylvia took on the brunt of so that the rest may function. Shatterscape gave the young one her heartfelt thanks as she finished off yet another pathetic straggler, then looked up.
She almost paused at the sheer swarm of creatures showing up on her horizon, emerging from the depths, having never seen such numbers before. Sure, Hibusa had plenty of them to spare, but this was almost a tidal wave that threatened to bury the city and so she increased her pace further. The weight of her gauntlets turned into terrible momentum, her gait almost causing the concrete to creak beneath her steps.
There was also another thing that bothered Shatterscape as she scanned the skylines: those beams that showed up occasionally were familiar… so what exactly was the one twisted by fury doing here? Was she not supposed to be back in Hibusa, guarding their headquarters so to speak? But then again, it was a holiday and so they were not beholden to the Detention Club or their school right now.
Perhaps she would get to hold her help over Nyxia’s head if she arrived in time. She could not handle such a swarm alone… nor could she handle the pirate ship that eventually emerged from the depths. Fortunately, there was only a couple of dozen metres from her position till the beach now, so Shatterscape dove into the stragglers with all her strength, while her companions watched out for anyone else.
The ground trembled as Shatterscape impacted the Miseria, her gauntlets slicing the stragglers into ribbons and - was that the one who upheld rules? The one who swallowed and breathed emotions? The one who played with lust as though it were hers to command?
Shatterscape smiled.
“It appears,” she ripped a creature apart, “that the high priestess,” her boots slammed into another one as she advanced, the sea of attackers spreading before her like a broken tide, “must be the one to rescue her beloved comrades.” She grabbed one of her opponents, then tossed it into another, dealing two killing blows with one movement. Like always, her attention split between their team-mates, catching the exact moment she needed to splatter one of the human-looking Miseria between her and Earthshaker.
“This priestess does her utmost to inquire,” spoke Shatterscape as she raised her gauntlet to block a blow from a pirate, then closed her fingers to yank them into the ground, “If she is permitted to join the purification of this hallowed ground.” Then she beheaded it. Unfortunately, this sort of fight did not exactly favour her with her heavy gauntlets, but still, Shatterscape made an excellent effort of stemming the tide.
Well, hello guys! It's been a truly long time, but I hope you will have me again. I am going to correct a few things on Shuuko's sheet and then post her once I am done.
Looking forward to writing with you guys~
And yes I do have permission to join this, you can ask Broken.
No, seriously. Initially, Ember thought that they could uncover some local magic or perhaps that the source of weird rumours in this town would turn out to be one of their own Dark girls. Then, she could have proceeded to sink her claws into said girl’s skull and convince her to join the Detention club. After all, they were in need of new members with the recent encroaching of the Light girls onto their territory. Unfortunately, countless days of investigations turned up worse than nothing.
They only found mere urban legends or whispers with no power. There was not enough fear for Ember to seize, nor were there enough Miseria on the streets, the little buggers almost completely absent. The four could barely sustain themselves on the energies here, never mind gain power. And so it was time to move back to Hibusa city with nothing to show for their search; they had already expended too much effort in pursuit of nothing.
Schrade would not likely not be happy about it.
“At least we stretched our legs,” commented Hotaru while as Sylvia collected their belongings. “Won’t you reconsider the beach?” She tried her best to colour her voice as though she were asking the rest of them with puppy-dog eyes. Fortunately, she had an ally on her side.
“Hotaru has a lovely idea,” added Ember with a smile bordering on the indulgent. “I think you girls deserve some time in the sun. You have earned it.”
“And I could go diving!” Hotaru all but vibrated in excitement as she spoke, the feeling transmitting to Sylvia as well, who could only arrest her fingers after they clenched – but before they could raise into the air as Hotaru commanded.
“Only through an Oss, Hotaru,” warned Sylvia while she picked up her towel. She was the only one who remained neutral, her tone even. “We don’t have the equipment and we shouldn’t be losing bodies out here.”
“I am sure that Hotaru will do just fine.” Ember’s smile continued unabated. “We could get some ice cream and forget about this whole thing, too!”
“Ice cream would be bad for our health... if I weren't a magical girl who likes ice cream!” Hotaru’s smirk was palpable as she spoke and the three laughed at the joke. Even Sylvia smiled as she finished packing her bag. Running through her mental list one last time to see if she had everything in order, she borrowed a bit of Hotaru’s strength to lift her luggage. They were ready to go; they only had to lock the door.
However, as Sylvia stepped into the hallway, she sensed something in the distance. More specifically, towards the beach. It almost felt as though it were a pinch of magic, used in a familiar way. Surely, though, her sisters-in-arms could not be here, could they? They had their own things to do, or if they were just here on a vacation – oh how Ember envied that thought! – they would not have used their magic like this.
A small frown made its way onto Sylvia’s face. She tried to put one foot in front of another, but she kept trying to listen to the murmurs of magic with the help of the others. Indeed, as they paid close attention, they could make out a rough individual pattern of something big in the making. It almost felt as though it were some sort of ritual gaining in strength, the emotions of passerbies joining in one by one. Something had to have caught the attention of several hundreds of people at least for this to be plausible.
But what was it? Sylvia leaned even closer so she could try to make it out.
It erupted into a maelstrom of malice and panic.
Head ringing from the sudden surge, Sylvia felt herself collapse onto her knees. Only the quick reflexes of Hotaru saved her from sliding down the stairs as the shockwave hit her head on. Like the buzzing of rotting, swarming flies, it towered over her; thousands of voices shouting over each other in panic, trying to find something – anything, really – to hold onto, but only finding more terror in each corner. And of course, what followed was an all too familiar feeling of pitch sliding down her throat.
“I’ll take over,” said Hotaru, suddenly all business.
“No,” replied Sylvia, her voice barely above a whisper even in the mindscape they shared. “This… this is too big for one of us.”
“Looks like vacation’s cancelled,” sighed Ember as she conveyed pinching her nose in frustration, her teeth braced in a grimace. “I really wanted you girls to relax a little…”
“Is… is that really wise?”
“You’ve sensed it too, Sylvia. We’re not alone.”
“That’s right. None of us are ever alone,” Ember reached out towards the shuddering Sylvia, trying her best to convey warmth through the space. She lifted Sylvia’s hands to have them embrace the girl, with a motherly frown on Ember’s face. “We’ve left that behind. And even if it’s just the three of us, this is an opportunity.”
“You are… you are right. I… I don’t know if I can be with you but… good hunting,” said Sylvia as she used the last of her strength to become one with the others, allowing Takae Shuuko to step forth once her consciousness ceased.
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