/qst/ - Quests » Thread #6130937

[109 / 3 / 1]

865KiB, 2920x2063, Forest (Witch Barrier).jpg

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Fatale Albion #2

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Mon 28 Oct 2024 17:34:30 No.6130937 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By:

"The United Kingdom is home to many different kinds of dangers.
In particular, York and the area surrounding it have a Witch Manifestation every = days. Magical Girls are a needed resource in that area, but are volatile within it.
I would wish all living there good luck, but luck will not save you from their clutches."

 - Excerpt from The "Territory in The U.K Guide" by £&!*@ *&"^^#@

"Life really can be pretty fairy-tale like at times, if you just try hard enough!"

- Miharu Fukugawa's Mind

"This new world is full of grace and wrath alike. I prithee a grand question: What to do to remind the world of virtue and modesty?"

- Viktoria Walker's Current Dismay

Previous (and first) Thread:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/6085308/

Other Threads by Lumina Canima:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=meguca+royale

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Tue 26 Nov 2024 12:25:19 No.6147696 Report

Quoted By:

The rest of group finally make it to Viktoria’s position. They hide in the bushes near the gathering of horrors in the clearing.
When Stephanie looks at the macabre textiles workshop, she can’t help but feel the absurdity of this all.

“I know you said there were six of those monstrous bastards and their slag mum here, but actually seeing it in person really cements how surreal this whole thing is.”
Abigail ponders for a moment, “I came here because I was told Oliver was in danger, which was true, and that distracted me from how strange the situation is. We’re using magic to fight monsters while wearing flashy outfits. I feel like if I told my dad about this then I would get sectioned.”

Viktoria looks towards Riko and Megan, the presumably experienced Magical Girls.
“I myself was told that I would be fighting evil creatures called ‘Witches’. But how do you adapt to this? This must be stressful, even if it’s rare.”
Megan becomes puzzled, “Rare? Whatever. We adapt to it in our own ways. Usually by making friends that will stand by us and being very competent. Also, being calm. Freaking out is the worst thing you can do as a Puella Magi.”
Viktoria finds her choice of words interesting, “Hmm, you would think that the worst thing to do as a Puella Magi would be dying.”

“Abigail,” Viktoria calls, “Any plans?”
“Wha- why am I making the plans?!”
“You are the centre of our mind link and almost as intelligent as me. If you come up with the plan then it has the highest chance of succeeding simply due to the potential of co-ordination your magic has.”
Abigail wants to heavily object to her new, unwanted role as team leader.
“S-Stephanie how about you? Want to be our tactician?”
Stephanie gives Abigail a stony gaze, “I never once completed my studies in school. There’s not a high chance of me making a plan better than you can.”
Megan waves her hands as if it could dispel emotions, “Okay, everyone, how about we all discuss this between ourselves and then have Abigail co-ordinate us through our plan when it’s done?”
Abigail smiles, “That sounds like it would take a lot of pressure off me. I’ll be a great co-ordinator!”
Riko and Megan briefly give Abigail a look that’s definitely not friendly, but turn away to discuss tactics.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Tue 26 Nov 2024 12:26:26 No.6147697 Report

Quoted By: >>6148097 >>6148181 >>6148297

After a while of discussion, all Magical Girls involved (and Harriet) come forth with their plans.
“I believe that a strike against their leader would be most effective,” Riko starts, “As I’ve said before, killing the Witch will resolve this whole ordeal, and the familiars would be headless chickens if they don’t self-destruct immediately. Distracting the Familiars until then may be necessary, but we can have our heavy hitters focus on the Witch.”
Riko wanted to be expedient, and only mitigated risk for as much as necessary for all members to not accidentally die.

Megan has a more cautious approach.
“I think we should systematically take down each Familiar one at a time. I think we are very suited to one-on-one clashes when it comes to large Familiars. We could have Steph manipulate the Familiars’ attributes to debilitate them, then focus each of them down, until the Witch is defenceless.”
A slower, more cautious plan. It gets rid of any thorns before they can prick. It may be longer, and therefore have more time for mistakes to be made, but it’s also stable.

Viktoria clears her throat in a loud, showy manner.
“I have a suggestion that is not necessarily incompatible with the others. Abigail, you were able to connect our minds together using your magic, correct?”
“Y-yeah.”
“You were even able to do this without us asking or noticing, not that I would have refused. Now, how much information can you gain from this link?”
“As far as I know now, I can hear whatever you ‘think’ towards me. However, it seems that if I focus a bit, I can look into your thoughts, the surface ones, I think.” Abigail briefly remembers when she checked on Oliver before talking. She heard his thoughts even though they weren’t directed to her.
“Interesting. Now my suggestion: Try linking your mind with the Witch. Knowing how our enemy ticks is a great step to success”
Abigail’s face contorted into shock, then fear. “W-what?! That sounds terrible! Who knows what the heck that thing has in its mind? And how I’ll be affected?”
“Are you affected by any of our thoughts right now?”
“N-no…”
Viktoria’s face is an example image of smugness. “Exactly. You have the self-awareness to know where our thoughts end and yours start. You can do the same with the Witch, I know it. We should explore our abilities and push the limits!”
Riko chimes in, “For what it’s worth, I have seen others with magic like yours and they can manipulate Witches and Familiars. It made them pains to deal with. You might have some success despite being inexperienced.”

>Riko has suggested an expedient, risky plan. While Megan suggested a slow, stable one. And Viktoria has made a wild suggestion that may work, but the risks… Stephanie and Abigail have yet to put forth plans of their own, perhaps they can have a better one despite their relative inexperience.
>Speaking of inexperienced Magical girls…

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Tue 26 Nov 2024 12:27:57 No.6147698 Report

Quoted By:

Rolled 11 (1d100)

Alba Appleton

“Alright, everyone. Keep going this way and we’ll get out of this nightmare!”

A very large group of students were following one small, ginger-haired girl through their home town’s forest like their lives depended on it. Probably because it really did.
Alba Appleton was a very interesting girl to any observer. Despite her short stature and unkempt appearance, she was athletic and able to outpace most taller people, and was always doing something reckless and actually succeeding most of the time.
This strange juxtaposition between her appearance and skills had led to people trusting her ideas and actions even if they were outrageous simply because, well, she was still alive despite it all.
So, everyone thought “If this girl is saying she’ll lead us out of the forest, I’m going to trust her!”

Alba herself was not extremely skilled at hiking, but rather sports. However, she was surprising even herself with how well she was navigating the forest.
It could have something to do with that white fox she saw in her closet yesterday.

As Alba was leading the students, she noticed something strange ahead. One of the trees looked different. The tree looked like someone had cut it open, then put the exterior back together. She needed to investigate this. After she heard something about monsters hunting people here, she’s been on edge.
“Everyone, keep going forward!” Alba commands, “I need to check something.”
The students oblige. Alba thinks they’ll be fine, she believes that the exit to the woods is really close.

”Alright, time to check the suspicious tree!
Alba starts simple and knocks on the tree. It makes a high-pitched sound, which proves that the tree is hollow. She doesn’t think trees should be hollow? If only becoming a prodigy came with an education.
She decides to do something brash, and punch the tree. Alba’s fist actually makes a dent in the tree, but what’s more important to her is that she can hear shocked breathing.
“Hey, is anyone in there?” Alba receives no response.
Alba continues, slightly miffed, “I can hear you breathing, there’s no hiding from me. You’re, hopefully, human. So I want to help you.”
Alba hears a familiar, masculine voice respond to her.
“How can you help me?”
“I’m escorting people out of this death-trap of a forest. If you hid in here then you probably know you’re defenceless, so you need to get out of here as well. There’s no knowing if this freak situation will end.”
“I-I hid here because my girlfriend told me to. She said that her and her friends were going to solve this.”
Alba wonders what kind of girls can resolve a freak, maybe supernatural, situation like this.
“Uh huh. And who is your girlfriend? And you for that matter.”
There is a long pause before the voice responds again. “My name is Oliver. And my girlfriend is Abigail.”

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Tue 26 Nov 2024 12:29:31 No.6147700 Report

Quoted By: >>6148615

Wait, Oliver? Alba remembers him from the workshops they both go to, and engineering classes. And Abigail? That was the girl that Alba would see trying to talk to Oliver about her crush on him. Alba always wondered whether Abigail or Claire, another girl with a crush, would win Oliver’s heart first. She knows the answer now.
But talks of crushes can wait later!
“Oliver, I can get you out of here safely! Trust me!”
Oliver speaks, and Alba can actually hear fear in his voice. “Abigail said there are monsters hunting people down here. I don’t think you can protect me.”
“I also heard about these monsters, but trust me! If any monsters come by, I can lay them out real fast, innit?!” Alba’s voice exudes confidence. And it has to, because she’s talking out of her arse.
Oliver, however, is much more wary. “Are you really sure you can? I haven’t been found or hurt yet, but leaving may cause the monsters to find us.”

Alba briefly ponders. Is she sure she can? She’s always ready to do reckless, brave things to prove her strength (and not just to be praised for it, absolutely not!). But she’s potentially putting someone else’s life at risk. She’s doing this to save them from a harsh fate, but can she really confidently fend off harm while getting him out of here?

>Alba CAN leave him here. If he hasn’t been hurt yet and his girlfriend (Abigail, still unbelievable) can really resolve the situation while he hides in the tree then he’ll be fine. But what if he actually gets found in here? She doesn’t think she can deal with someone getting hurt when she was able to do something about it.

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R ID:MndeEQSn Wed 27 Nov 2024 02:28:47 No.6148097 Report

Quoted By: >>6148693

>>6147697
I think I lean to Megan's plan. If I'm able to get into the Witch's head, I could subtly notify the group of any tricks coming our way, and we can adjust the plan as needed. It should reduce the risk of things going wrong over time. I'm a bit hesitant because I want to kill the Witch asap. If Steph has a good reason to go with the Riko plan or has her own I might change to that.

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:dZ9FSEpA Wed 27 Nov 2024 03:51:23 No.6148181 Report

Quoted By: >>6148693

>>6147697
>mindlinking with a fuckin witch
metal
having watched rebellion, this can only go awesome
i expect the peak of schizophrenic writing if it happens

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL ID:sovwrVla Wed 27 Nov 2024 07:48:00 No.6148297 Report

Quoted By: >>6148693

>>6147697
Megan's got the right idea. We should take things slow and leverage our superior coordination via the mindlink.

Alba

Alba ID:rYZOJBC2 Wed 27 Nov 2024 23:41:00 No.6148615 Report

Quoted By: >>6148693 >>6150094

>>6147700
>Oliver GET!
Now this is a certainly a find.
>She said that her and her friends were going to solve this.
Wait... Abigail? ABIGAIL?! THE Abigail Fulson?!! I thought she was just a shy girl, a bit of a recluse... Drawing who-knows-what all day. I should take a peek at her stuff eventually. Waitwaitwaitwait. When did she grow bollocks to delve into a forest just like that? Nevermind what Oliver said about monster (which is totally a malformed stag or something. Yeah, for sure. Monsters aren't real.), all I'm hearing here is that she's going to get hurt if left with her imaginary friends to delve deeper in! This is place is nuts already, it's got to be a green hell in there!
>I don’t think you can protect me.
Pfffffft!! Drivel! I can to totall-- ...Huh? Drivel? When did that word become part of my dictionary? I was saying a lot of big words back there in the crowd as well, ugh... What's going on with me today? Aaaaanyways! It was by complete chance that I found him, right? And I'm supposed to find him AGAIN? Nope. Not happening. Noooot taking that kind of risk. I'm... Smashing this thing open. Yeah. Or prying it? Whatever. Smashing while prying? That works. I should just reunite these two lovebirds already.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Thu 28 Nov 2024 01:35:11 No.6148693 Report

Quoted By: >>6148735 >>6149054 >>6149948

>>6148097
>>6148297
Alright, that's a yes on Megan's plan.
Either of you can perform some preliminary sabotage on the Witch and her menagerie now, because you are hidden from them.
The key here should be heavily hampering the capabilites of the Chimeras (and Witch if you're lucky) you won't be fighting, or at least singling out the one you will.

And linking with the Witch is combination of MA and Mind Checks. Nothing can go wrong here.

>>6148615
Breaking Oliver out by force (Do not let Abigail know you potentially endangered her boyfriend). Got it.
If Monsters actually do exist, what would be your first reaction? Asking for a friend.

>>6148181
Hoo boy, I do not think I can give that justice. But it is definitely going to be a large set of incomprehensible sentences/paragraphs that begin to make sense once you start going insane

Alba

Alba ID:rYZOJBC2 Thu 28 Nov 2024 02:46:43 No.6148735 Report

Quoted By:

>>6148693
>If Monsters actually do exist
I'm not afraid of monsters. I'm sure I'm immune to their horrible fangs, sharpened claws, ghasting shrieks and... and... That shrub is looking mighty fine! It's almost inviting me to hid-- Ahem, get comfy inside! Just look at those... Leaves? I'll just lay in there, bask in the darkness and be as epehmeral as a shadow. I can admire the monster from afar... And, uhm, embellish the story of my encounter juuust a little when I recount it later, no? Just a tiiiiiny bit.
>If Monsters actually do exist (and Oliver is right by my side)
Though my life may be at stake, nothing, NOTHING is more important than saving face and reuniting Oliver with his (alleged) girlfriend. I proudly swallow my fear, force the jittering of my bones to cease, silently lock eyes with the beast with a hero's resolution and plant myself firm as a shield in front of Oliver... Or well, at least I TRY hard as hell to make him BELIEVE that as I freeze in fear right in front of him. He can't see my face or sense my willingness to run away, can he? H-Hey, I'm only human, I can only do so much with what I've got.

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R ID:MndeEQSn Thu 28 Nov 2024 17:05:18 No.6149054 Report

Quoted By: >>6149079 >>6150094

Rolled 5, 3, 5, 4, 2, 5 = 24 (6d6)

>>6148693
idk how a multiple stat check would work, but here's the roll for MA + Mind (both are 14). Do you roll 2 or just one set?

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Thu 28 Nov 2024 19:06:39 No.6149079 Report

Quoted By:

>>6149054
Each stat rolls one set. So MA + Mind is 6 Dice.
One set is set against MA, and the other is set against Mind.
In other words: What you just did is all that is needed.

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL ID:sovwrVla Sat 30 Nov 2024 13:48:34 No.6149948 Report

Quoted By: >>6150094

Rolled 6, 6, 4 = 16 (3d6)

>>6148693
The root trick is nice. I'll do it again, targeting the first familiar we're going to be attacking as per the plan. Ideally this'll neutralize its DX and we can take it out with one big attack.
>Rolling PA. Target 18.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 30 Nov 2024 18:49:06 No.6150094 Report

Quoted By: >>6153760

Rolled 2, 4, 3, 5, 2, 5, 5, 5, 5 = 36 (9d6)

>>6149948
>>6149054
>>6148615

Stephanie is running interference, Abigail is performing the Soul Hacking of a lifetime, and Alba is escorting a certain girl's boyfriend out of the forest that may or may not have monsters.

These Rolls are, in order:
Viktoria stretching her powers by freezing every Familiar, and Witch, nearby. (M4, PA 22)
Riko throwing caution to the wind and using a special attack. (PA 20)
Harriet preparing to intercept if anything goes wrong (DX 10)
Megan is occupied making Regalia for Viktoria (hence why her PA is 22), and so isn't rolling.

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:sovwrVla Sat 07 Dec 2024 18:06:46 No.6153760 Report

Quoted By:

>>6150094
You still here, QM?

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:18:49 No.6153840 Report

Quoted By:

Alba Appleton:

Oliver’s saying something about monsters and his girlfriend, Abigail (Alba is not going to get used to that), solving this situation. But that doesn’t make sense, monsters don’t exist, and Abigail is a shy artist. Maybe he just needs some fresh air to stop talking nonsense!

“Stand back, I’m breaking this tree open!”
“Wait, no!” Oliver shouts.

Oliver’s objections fall on willingly deaf ears as Alba stretches her limbs and digs into tree bark. She pried the tree so easily that it surprises even herself. She was pretty fit (in more ways than one in her opinion), but not “break open a tree with her bare hands” strong. Something to experiment with later.
“Oh, Goddammit-”
Oliver was interrupted by Alba forcefully dragging him out of his arboreal hiding spot. How he managed to open and near-perfectly seal a tree is a question that Alba doesn’t think she’ll ever figure out the answer to. A testament to his skills, she guesses. If only she could be that good.
Oliver acquiesces to being dragged away by his classmate, and grabs his woodworking equipment from inside the tree.

Having only one person with her really made Alba aware of just how weird this forest is now. She feels like she would have noticed a forest where the sky turns dark at Ten A.M, and the trees seem to be trying to trap you in their clutches.
Winding paths that would no doubt be difficult to navigate without a compass and some friends extend before Alba and Oliver. They stick together so they don’t get lost, but they swear that if they turn away for even a second then they will lose their companion. Despite these worries, Alba hikes through the forest like a natural-born prodigy.
She has no idea how. She’s never even entered in this forest before.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:20:07 No.6153842 Report

Quoted By: >>6153928

Oliver’s starting to get exhausted with all of this hiking over shrubbery that seems to want him dead. He trips but Alba catches him, He coughs and Alba offers a handkerchief. And when he wants to leave…
Alba shouts out. “I can hear voices!”
Oliver panics for a moment. “Are they friendly?”
That earns him an incredulous look from his classmate.
“Do you really think monsters are the kind of entities that talk to their morsels?” Alba questions.
Oliver, for his part, actually thinks about that question. “No, I guess not.”
“Yep! And the only people I found around here are our classmates, so we should be safe.”

Alba and Oliver cut through the last bit of shrubbery in front of them and are greeted by their schoolmates. They have never been so happy to see them until now.
“Hey, all of you!” Alba calls out “You’re all fine?”
They respond with nods and affirmations. But one, a dark-skinned girl with black hair holding a puppet, approaches with some bad news. “All of us are fine, but we’re missing some people. Eleven people, to be exact.”
“What-” Alba does a quick headcount, “Holy crap!”
“Now, as far as I’m concerned you have two choices. All of us are too inept at navigating these woods in its current state, except for you. You can go back in to search for the rest while we leave, or you can leave with us. Your choice.”

>Alba can leave with her classmates and just abandon the eleven left in the woods to their own fates, or she can go back for them. The real question here is whether she thinks she’s in danger by going back in, and if that danger is worth abandoning people.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:22:20 No.6153844 Report

Quoted By:

ᛗ The Trio, et al

Abigail thinks carefully about the next actions to be taken. She does want to kill the Witch as fast as possible and get this nightmare over with, but she also doesn’t want one of them to get picked off by chimera. Being naturally risk-averse, she leans more towards Megan’s plan. And Linking with the Witch will give them invaluable intel.

“Stephanie, your opinion?” Abigail wasn’t good at making decision all by herself, and this was a team after all.
“Megan has the right of it. We have superior co-ordination thanks to you, we should leverage that and take them down individually instead of in one big clash.”
“Great.”

Viktoria exaggeratedly clears her throat. “Now that we have decided on our future plans, I have a request. Megan, bestow upon me a tool with which I can overcome these creatures of evil!”
“I already have one prepared.” Megan pulls out a Pattern 1800 Infantry Rifle from the ether, which shocks Stephanie. Was Megan always the kind of girl that was into guns? That thing is way too detailed.

 Ө Viktoria Walker Ө
£ Physical Affinity: 16 > 22

Stephanie looks towards the Witch. “Alright. Now that we’re all prepared, let’s advance forward!”
“Yeah!” Megan shouts.
“Let’s hunt them down.” Riko says calmly.
“Affirmative.” Viktoria says.
Abigail faints.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:24:51 No.6153845 Report

Quoted By:

Harriet catches her, thankfully, but it puts a fright in all of them. The co-ordinator of their plan just fainted with no warning, putting her out of commission right before they were to advance.
Harriet inspects her face. “If it’s any consolation, she does not look to be in pain. Though, I do wonder what caused her sudden ailments.”
Stephanie, being one of the most proactive members of this team, makes an executive decision.
“We are going in whether she wakes up or not. We’re already slowing down by taking each of the monsters out individually, we can’t wait any more.”
The rest of the girls make murmurs of agreement.
Stephanie brandishes her blade. “Let’s go!”

The Orphan-turned-big-sister slams her sword into the ground. ”That rooting trick was pretty good against these last time.”
She aims for a chimera that looks very similar to the one seen before, its legs transform into vestigial roots before any creature near it can notice. Once they do however, they can’t even react.

>>ф (M1 PA £ Roll: 16 (Target: 18) = 2 Successes)<< (Transform Familiar.)

All of the girls can feel their adversary’s eyes on them, but then all of their opponents stop. Completely still. Not even the rooted one is struggling.
Almost as if they were locked in time.

>>Ө (M4 PA £ Roll: 9 (Target: 22) = 13 Successes)<< (Exclusionary Time Gaol.)

Viktoria throws away a crumpled watch. It seems she used that as a catalyst rather than her cannon.
Megan realises where she got that watch from, “Lass, did you really need to break the watch I made?!”
Viktoria shrugs, “Surely you can just make another one later, can you not?” She doesn’t mention that she’s likely to break that one as well.
Megan just grumbles about how it’s unfair.

Riko, not wanting to let the opportunity slip, ignores any complaints and launches a potentially devastating attack.
Flouting the laws of physics for a moment, she launches into the air with nothing but her feet. The air around her smells of ozone, and the rumbling of thunderclouds can be heard. Riko’s entire body crackles with electricity as she nocks an arrow and aims at the space between all of her targets.

>>Ө (M1 PA £ Roll: 12 (Target: 20) = 8 Successes)<< (Trophy of The Hunt: Astra’s Levinbolt.)

Thunder booms throughout the clearing as Riko looses her arrow, and the girls are sure that if they weren’t Puella Magi then they would be deaf right now. Purple lightning coats her arrow as it flies and strikes the ground. A moment later, the arrow summons lightning to strike around it, lancing the chimeras and the Witch with bolts.

Friendship: 45 HP > 37 HP
Bond: 45 HP > 37
Soulmate: 45 HP > 37 HP
Brother: 45 HP > 37 HP
Sister: 45 HP > 37 HP
Intimacy: 45 HP > 37 HP
Clarion, The Connection Witch: ?? HP > ?? HP

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:26:35 No.6153846 Report

Quoted By: >>6155292

As Riko lands, all of the girls note something strange: They know the names of not only the Familiars, but the Witch as well. Riko, Megan, and Harriet are the most confused by this fact.
“I have never once been able to find out the name of a Witch before slaying them.” Riko begins, “I don’t recall ever knowing anything about this one either. What could have caused this?”
Megan ponders for a moment, before looking towards Harriet. Abigail is still sleeping soundly despite the storm happening nearby. “Hey Harriet, is Abigail still okay?!”
“Yeah!” Harriet raises her voice due to the ongoing lightning strikes. “She’s sleeping like a baby!”

Stephanie takes the helm again, and asks for details from Viktoria.
“So, they’re all frozen in time right now?”
“Yes.” Viktoria replies, “They should be like this for a while. Enough time for us to grievously wound them. Though-”
Viktoria looks at the Witch.
“That Witch may break out faster. And who knows what she will do when she is active again.”
Stephanie nods. “Good, good. Best thing to do now is to lay into all of them as much as possible. Who knows what will happen if they become active and Abigail is still under.”
“Yes, we still don’t know what caused her to faint…”

>All of your enemies are completely vulnerable. It would be prudent to deal as much damage as possible at this moment. Try to be as destructive as you can.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:28:10 No.6153848 Report

Quoted By:

Abigail Fulson

]Abigail was sometimes told by her father that everyone was connected in a way. The limit was that you would need six connections max to find how one person is related to another. In the past, she found this a bit preposterous. How can she be related to another person that she knows nothing about?
]Unfortunately for her, she was very much connected to people she knew nothing about.

>>𐤌 (M? MA + Mind λ + φ. Roll: 13, 11 (Target: 14, 14) = 4 Successes)<< (Link to the Witch. Surpass Grief.)

Abigail looks down at the forest from high-above. She has no idea how she got here, but she somehow knows what she’s looking at. Lines criss-crossing all around the place. From Stephanie to Megan, from Megan to Riko, from Riko to who knows who in London. If it was just one person connected to another she would be fine, but they’re connected to THOUSANDS of people and even locations and objects.
Looking down at her own body, she sees, clear as day, a connection between herself and Oliver. That would obviously be there, but then she sees a link between Oliver… and The Witch.
Upon realising this, she remembers how she got here: She tried to link with the Witch! God, how was she supposed to know she would have an out-of-body experience?!

She flies down to the Witch, getting used to the fact that, whatever she is now, she has no mass, and witnesses Harriet carrying her own limp body.
She’s going to forget that as fast as possible please, God.
She tries to do cut out all of the background noise of every other connection in the universe and restrains her range to only the forest. To her delight, it works!

She looks at the Familiars. They’re linked to the Witch, of course. The Witch herself… Damn, that’s a lot of connections.
She decides to expedite her job. Hoping that once she’s done she can get back to her body. She… “touches” the Witch. She was expecting her hand to go straight through but it make a mental-not physical-connection. All she has to do is lean in and…

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:29:46 No.6153850 Report

Quoted By:

Abigail sees Oliver, and a girl she doesn’t recognise, talking to each other in a classroom.
???: “Oliver… I really like you. You make me more happy than any of my friends. You’re smart, resourceful, smooth, and cute. I want you to be my boyfriend!”
Oliver: “I’m sorry then.”
What?
Abigail can hear this girl’s thought reverberating through the room.
Oliver: “I already like someone else. She’s cute, creative, hangs around me even though our interests don’t exactly align, and I know she has a wellspring of willpower underneath her shy exterior. I’m worried she doesn’t like me because she runs away sometimes, but I’m going to ask her out someday!”
Abigail? That stupid, spineless waif?!
Ignoring the hurtful words, Abgail notices the gem in the girl’s necklace is getting darker for some reason.
Oliver: “I’m sorry, Claire. I know where my heart is, and it’s not with you. It has nothing to do with you personally, I just like her more. Maybe you’ll find someone else to be your soulmate.”
With that said, Oliver leaves. Leaving a heartbroken girl alone.
”I never did find someone, you know.”
Abigail’s heart rate spikes. That felt much more personal

”I was somehow envious of you, Abigail. I had plenty of friends, as a result of my Wish, but not one of them were worth it. I had no-one to share my feelings with, and when my heart shattered I had to try to pick up the pieces myself.
The girl in the room, Claire, waves her arms around.
”As you can see, I failed.
Abigail conjures a knife, the knife that she has in reality into her hands for self-defence.
Claire: “Wow, you’re already getting adept at this. I wish I was the kind of person who could just… get things, you know?”
Abigail is already piecing together the situation. She’s currently in the Witch’s memories. Apparently she was a girl named Claire and had a crush on Oliver, similar to Abigail herself. But Claire was more popular, she should’ve recovered from rejection just fine! And how did she turn into a Chimera-creating monstrosity?!

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:RiHFhhs8 Sat 07 Dec 2024 20:32:04 No.6153851 Report

Quoted By: >>6154131

Claire crooks her neck. “Huh, I can’t hear what you’re thinking. Are you a P-Zombie?”
”What are you talking about?!
”Just a joke. Besides, you can’t be a P-Zombie. You’re here after all.
Abigail decides to be tactical. ”Speaking of ‘here’, where is ‘here’ exactly? I have a lot of other questions to ask as well.
”Ask away! Answering your questions is the most I can do while in this pitiful state. Especially since I might be going by into the Cycle soon.
Great. Abigail can stall for time while scanning Claire’s memories and thoughts in the background. She already got her name and the Familiars’ names. Sending more information to the others while in here was shockingly easy. Just stall for time. Try to disrupt her if she can. And maybe, just maybe, get back to her actual body.

>Ask questions to the Witch responsible for this nightmare. Although she probably won’t answer all of them, certain questions will bring certain thoughts into the fore-front. And those are free game.
>This is all to stall for time. You can be as verbose and/or annoying as you want.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO MAKE WAY.png, 227KiB, 500x375

Anonymous ID:rYZOJBC2 Sat 07 Dec 2024 22:01:59 No.6153928 Report

Quoted By:

>>6153842
Maybe there was an eeny, tiny bit of truth to what Oliver was saying after all, and it wasn't just his nerves wrecking him over. More importantly, he followed me in tow for... What was it? Ten? At best fifteen minutes? And in that time everyone's already gotten lost in this mingin' forest? ...Haah... At least it seems like getting him out of the wooden pillbox was the right choice. Wait just a minute, how'd he even seal himself in there, what kind of witchcraft did he- No, no, absolutely no! Not the time to be thinking about this right now. A whole eleven are missing from the group! A whole... Eleven. That's a whole lot. Not good. Delving in there all alone would be like jumping into a trap purposefully set for me, with this newly acquired 'sixth sense' of mine lulling me into a false sense of confidence. But... This place, it's tarting to terrify me. But... I can't just abandon...
"Oh, thank you Alba! I thought I'd be forever stuck in here! Please get me out of here!"
I...
"Alba! Alba! My saviour! My only hope!"
I... I...
"Alba..! You're so brave and courageous and strong and--"
...
"I owe my life and my everything to you Alba!"
Wait a damn minute.
"Alba. You are the most heroic girl I've met in my life. Please marry me!
EUREKA! Yes! ELEVEN INDEED! A whole eleven that will be singing her praises once I undoubtedly find and rescue the whole lot of them! Fear?! Ha! Just a construct of my mind! Time to make it big, Alba! It's decided! I'll convince Oliver to tag alongside the remaining few and make sure they dart their way out of this inferno. Then... One by one, no matter the danger, I'll save the eleven and become the town heroine! Flaaaaawless plan!

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R ID:MndeEQSn Sun 08 Dec 2024 04:49:49 No.6154131 Report

Quoted By:

Rolled 3, 3, 5 = 11 (3d6)

>>6153851
"The Cycle? What's that?"
"Your Wish? Did you make a Wish from the animal thing too? Are you a magical girl after all? The others called you a Witch, but, you're just Claire right?"
"What are those beast things anyways? How did you make them? Did you make them, or did you summon them, or how did they get here?"
"I... I didn't know Claire. I'm sorry, it shouldn't have been like this. You were given a rotten deal Claire, it wasn't fair. But, why are you doing this to the forest? Why are you getting all these people involved? Some of them don't even know you, and their lives are at risk from these... beasts! Won't you please make it stop? Return it to normal? I... my powers are new to me, but they seem to have to do with connecting people. I'm not much good with... boys... but maybe I can help you find someone. Please Claire, let's try to fix this. I want to help you."

I'd like to try a Charisma (?) check to try to have a heart to heart with Claire and convince her of the error of her ways in the midst of stalling for time. (vs Charisma 12)

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL ID:sovwrVla Tue 10 Dec 2024 14:42:11 No.6155292 Report

Quoted By:

Rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11 (3d6)

>>6153846
Thanks for the lightning strike, Riko. A lightning strike in a forest = fire. And our enemies are made of wood and cloth, at least in part, right? Wood and cloth + fire = fun and profit. Stephanie's brain is expanding at speeds thought impossible.

"Good moves, good moves, but you haven't seen shit yet. Watch this..."

The witch is gonna recover first, is that it? Well, let's lay out one of the little shits before she does. I'll pick the most flammable-looking one and hit it as hard as I can with my sword, setting the blade on fire at the moment of impact.

Reckon this is gonna be just a PA roll, what with the targets being indisposed. Rollin vs 18

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 17:39:44 No.6159037 Report

Quoted By:

[b:lit]Alba Appleton[/b:lit]

Alba can’t believe this. She walked away for a few (7, to be exact) minutes, and they already lost [i:lit]eleven[/i:lit] people?! That’s, like, a whole room if it was cramped!
Does she really want to go back into that forest to search for eleven people? It’s not like the forest is scary or anything, a-absolutely not, but it seems awfully convenient to any ne’er-do-well that she would have to go back inside the forest by herself. It’s like they made a trap specifically for her.

Yep, the best course of action would be to just leave the forest with the majority of people here, and go home. Maybe call the police? For some reason she hadn’t thought of that until now… But could she really just leave- no, can she really just abandon all of those people. They’re probably begging for help, [i:lit]her[/i:lit] help!
She can hear their thanks now:
[i:lit]"Oh, thank you Alba! I thought I'd be forever stuck in here! Please get me out of here!"[/i:lit]
“Hehe.”
[i:lit]"Alba! Alba! My saviour! My only hope!"[/i:lit]
“Ehehaha”
[i:lit]"Alba..! You're so brave and courageous and strong and--"[i:lit]
“Ahahaha!"
[i:lit]"I owe my life and my everything to you! Alba, You are the most heroic girl I've met in my life. Please marry me!”[/i:lit]
“Alright then, I’ll go back for them!”

The dark-skinned girl, Alba thinks her name was Marisa, nods her head slowly and looks at Alba like she’s insane.
“...Good to know that I was convincing enough that you would willingly go into danger.”
Alba adjusts her hat and stretches her limbs. “Hah! ‘Danger’ is not in my vocabulary! Only ‘Victory’ and ‘Glory’!”
Marisa holds back from gawking at Alba’s audacity.
“In that case, we- I mean [b:lit]I[/b:lit] will take Oliver off your hands. We need to get [b:lit]him specifically[/b:lit] to safety.”
Alba briefly ponders on why Marisa considers Oliver important. He’s not really special (except for his freaky woodworking skills, she’ll never get over that), and Marisa isn’t his girlfriend or anything-

Unless…

Marisa has a crush on Oliver as well! Oh crap, this is turning into a Love Quadrilateral! If Abigail isn’t just some shy artist any more then she’s going give Marisa hell!
“Y-yeah! You should both leave right now! I’ll go and find those stragglers!”
Alba then runs off quickly,. Confusing Marisa. In reality, Alba doesn’t want to get caught in the romance vortex manifesting around Oliver and turn the relationship chart into a Love Pentagon.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 17:41:08 No.6159038 Report

Quoted By: >>6159157

Alba jaunts through the forest like it was her backyard. Though If it was her backyard she would say that demons were haunting the place. She saw trees [i:lit]curving in on themselves[/i:lit] just to trap her! And the bushes were moving, she saw it with her own eyes!
Alba climbs up a tree and shakes her head. She’s personifying natural parts of the world. That’s a Cognitive Distortion! Wait how does she know what Cognitive Distortions are? She never had any Psychology classes…
Whatever, that’s not important. Alba starts to swing and jump from tree to tree like a gymnast, her body going through the motions like it’s a talent she’s always had. While swinging she keeps an ear out for any (Human) voices, and eventually hears some people.

Alba keeps getting closer until she’s right over the source of the voices and drops down, which makes the crowd of people let out shocked gasps.
“Do not fear, everyone! I have come to save you from the clutches of this dastardly forest! Come, and we shall-” Alba notices a major issue.
The group is made out of people from her school. Three of those people were staff members, while eight were classmates. Out of the eight classmates, [b:lit]seven[/b:lit] were currently tangled in thorny bushes. The one classmate who was [i:lit]not[/i:lit] trapped had been freshly freed, an obvious thing to notice given that she was plucking thorns out of body parts Alba wasn’t sure thorns could get into.

One of the staff members, a young woman, approaches the bushel of students with pruning scissors. Alba isn’t sure what grand plan she has, but she somehow doubts that those shears will be good enough to cut through those bushes.
To get those students out, Alba needs to get through those bushes. But she has no sharp tools on her. Maybe the other staff members have something that she could jury-rig into a better tool than large scissors?

>The fact that the bushes’ growth has incongruence compared to all of the other growth really gives credence to the notion this forest is living or something. Either way, Alba needs to break through thorny bushes without harming the students.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 17:44:00 No.6159039 Report

Quoted By:

ᛗ The Trio, et al

The battle against the Witch of Connections is squarely to the advantage of the Magical Girls. All enemies are indisposed, and most of the girls that are able have no room for mercy. Only burning wrath.

Turning her figurative burning wrath into literal burning wrath, Riko nocks an arrow and glows orange. Stephanie nods and smirks.
“Good, good. The lightning strike combined with actual fire will make a really big bonfire. And cloth plus wood plus fire equals lots of fun!” Stephanie smiles as if she had uncovered a truth lost to Humanity
“But-” Stephanie rears back for a lunge, “You haven’t seen shit yet. Watch this!”

Stephanie rushes forward with nothing but the most destructive thoughts. There’s no need for any defensive or disruptive measures, just killing this piece of shit as hard as possible. She takes a breath, and hot, smoky air fills her lungs. She doesn’t cough, only exhaling steam, her body temperature increasing as she moves faster.
This run-up reaches its climax when she leaps at the rooted chimera (“Bond”, Stephanie knows its name now. Not that it matters). And slams down her blade.

>>ф (M1 PA £ Roll: 11 (Target: 18) = 7 Successes)<< (Autoignite.)

The moment Stephanie’s blade makes impact it combusts into flames and causes an explosion that engulfs the chimera and herself. Stephanie herself would probably be in a bit more pain if it weren’t for the fact Her entire body also bursts into flames for a moment. Stephanie would be more shocked about this but it’s completely painless and she feels awesome. So apparently she becomes immune to explosions when causing them? Cool.

>Bond: 37 HP > 23 HP

Stephanie also briefly takes in how strange the time manipulation interacts with her attack. The combustion itself subsided, but any flames on the chimera stay. It’ll probably feel it later.
Just as she’s thinking of the mechanics surrounding her and Viktoria’s abilities, Stephanie is engulfed in another explosion.

>>Ꜻ (M1 PA £ Roll: 10 (Target: 20) = 10 Successes)<< (Trophy of The Hunt: Patricia’s Brimstone Arrow.)
>Bond: 23 HP > 3 HP

“Yo, what the fuck, you bint?! You’re really lucky that I’m immune to explosions right now or I could’ve died!”
Riko makes a confused look. “How am I the lucky one?”
“Because if I died then I would’ve haunted your arse ‘til the rest of time.” Stephanie says.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 17:47:22 No.6159040 Report

Quoted By:

Viktoria eyes Intimacy and prepares her rifle.
“Megan, I am going to lay this beast low. Join me so this attack will be more efficient.”
“Affirmative.” Megan pulls out a Lee-Enfield from fabricated light, and Stephanie just decides that she’s no longer going to be shocked. She’s just going to ask her about her interests later.
“Prepare yourself! We will move with Alacrity unheard of until now!”

>>Ө (M1 PA £ Roll: 12 (Target: 22) = 10 Successes)<< (Accelerate the Arrow of Time.)

Viktoria and Megan loaded their rifles. But everyone else wouldn’t have known unless they were looking directly at them while it was happening. It occurred in a matter of milliseconds, a testament to their new speed.

“Ready!” Viktoria shouted. Her voice was distorted to everyone else due to the speed difference, but Megan could understand just fine.
”Fire!”

>>Ө (M1 PA £ Roll: 9 (Target: 22) = 13 Successes)<< (Fire Rifle - Accelerated × 10)
>Intimacy: 37 HP > -93 HP

Intimacy is perforated by bullets from Viktoria loaded impossibly fast, an absolutely relentless assault from a talented shooter moving at ten times the speed of a regular person. By the time Viktoria is done, Intimacy looks like a bad sponge or Swiss cheese rather than a monster.
Megan, however, missed all of her shots
“Wha- I swear I’m usually better at this!”
“Do not worry, my fellow woman of arms, We have all the time in the world to do better!” Viktoria says smugly.

Harriet Skewers Bond, much like how one puts down a rabid animal
>Bond: 3 HP > 0 HP

“Abigail is still okay. Hasn’t made any pained sounds or anything. I also checked her reactions and it looks more like she’s sleeping rather than unconscious now.”
“Good. I wouldn’t know what to do if someone here died on my watch.” Stephanie says
“Everyone, look alive!”
The Witch of Connections, Clarion, becomes active again. None of the other chimeras have broken out of Time Gaol yet, which makes Viktoria ponder about what affects the jail time, but the Witch is likely the biggest threat anyway through a simple logic.
Viktoria prepares her rifle before she hears a voice in her head.
𐤌”Wait! Everyone wait!"𐤌

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 17:52:29 No.6159041 Report

Quoted By: >>6159114

Everyone (except Megan) is shocked at the realisation that Abigail is still able to use her ability while completely knocked out.

ф”Abigail, you’re alive?!”ф
𐤌”Did you really think I was- whatever. I have a lot of stuff to tell all of you, a lot of important stuff, but the most pressing matter is this: The Witch said that she will… self-expire, if we leave her alone for today.”𐤌
ф”What, so the Witch will commit suicide if we just leave her be for a few hours? I want to believe that but considering that she trapped my sister in a forest I’m liable to just killing her with my bare hands now.”ф Stephanie would have some mercy. If Clarion hadn’t messed with Megan.
Э”I’m sorry did you just gloss over the fact that Abigail SPOKE with the Witch?! Not only that but she happened to convince the Witch to just… leave us alone and kill herself?"Э Megan had honestly never seen this happen in her years as a Puella Magi.
Riko is similarly confused and in disbelief. Ꜻ"I’m sorry but I just can’t believe that a Witch would willingly just end their terror after a talk from a girl who is quite literally required to kill her in order to continue living.”Ꜻ
Ө”Perhaps all of the people you’ve met haven’t been as charismatic as Abigail? Willing to listen to the potential anguish these Witches have went through? Assuming that these Witches are as complex as humans and not malevolent beasts, of course.”Ө Viktoria postulates.
𐤌”You can all choose to believe it or not. If she’s truthful then we get to go home to our loved ones relatively unharmed. If it’s not then we have another day’s worth of people getting stuck in this nightmare. If it’s truthful and we don’t believe her, then decide to attack, we will have to fight a Witch in her home when it was not necessary. I myself don’t have very positive emotions on this, and would rather it be a last resort.”𐤌

>A difficult choice to be made, all around. Unless a compromise can be done. But then, what’s the compromise between “I’m going to kill myself” and “I don’t believe you, I’m going to kill you”? Euthanasia? Some other option?

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 18:05:28 No.6159044 Report

Quoted By: >>6159157

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌

Abigail had plenty of questions to ask along with apologies to make. She can only hope that Claire can be truthful despite what she’s done to her.

𐤌"You mentioned something called ‘The Cycle’, what's that?"𐤌
ʘ“Ah, yes, The Law of Cycles. You see, one day a girl made a Wish to make sure that we Puella Magi would not suffer as Witches, and so created the Law of Cycles. When one would turn into a Witch, all of the despair and 'Grief in their Soul Gem will be absorbed into the cycle. The question then becomes why I am here, like this.”ʘ
𐤌“Yes, I am very curious why you, as a ‘Witch’ are here then. You would get put into the Cycle immediately, right? Assuming it works the way you say it does.”𐤌
ʘ”To put it lightly: This entire country is cursed.”ʘ
𐤌"What?"𐤌
Abigail had heard about Britain being ‘Cursed’, but that was usually said in classic British self-deprecating humour. Claire seemed dead serious in her statement.

ʘ”Somebody, or a group of people, have created a… Barrier of sorts, over the entire country. The Law of Cycles doesn’t take effect within this barrier. This means that we are all going to suffer long after we should have died, and there is no respite for any of us. No one will take on our burden and give us salvation. We will be doomed to our fates as soon as we make our Wishes.”ʘ

Abigail is trying to take in the words that Claire is telling her, but it seems very overwhelming. It’s like she was a fatalistic religious fanatic, as if being damned was the natural end-state of the life of her and everyone like her. So she decided to focus on the stuff she could infer from the earlier statements.

𐤌”You said ‘we’ Puella Magi and ‘our’ Wishes. You made a wish from that animal thing too? You’re a Magical Girl?"𐤌
ʘ”I was, yes.”ʘ Claire seems much more despondent now.
𐤌”Was? So you’re not any more? The others called you a Witch, but you’re still Claire, right?”𐤌
ʘ”That depends on whether or not you consider an emotionally compromised version of a person to be their ‘true self’ in any form. If a person, when consumed by anger, kills another person, do we say that person was acting in their right mind?”ʘ
𐤌”Oh, come off it.”𐤌
ʘ”Huh?”ʘ

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 18:10:47 No.6159045 Report

Quoted By:

𐤌 ”I am in your mind right now, and I see YOU. Not some monster who somehow creates unnatural beasts, or even a jilted girl, just a girl who’s wallowing in grief and letting it control her actions." 𐤌
ʘ ”What would you know?!” ʘ
The entire classroom is consumed by a black substance. Abigail herself is completely unaffected, as it twists and moves away from her.
ʘ ”Do you know how it feels like to have the one thing that you want constantly out of your reach?! To want the one person you love to say ‘I love you’ back and never hear it once?! Then, when your heart is in pieces, you only hear ‘that’s okay there are plenty of fish in the sea’?! You would never know how much it hurts to have your heart and soul truly crushed. Especially since you were the one who caused it!” ʘ

𐤌 "I... I didn't know Claire. I'm sorry, it shouldn't have been like this. You were given a rotten deal Claire, it wasn't fair. But, why are you doing this to the forest? Why are you getting all these people involved? Some of them don't even know you, and their lives are at risk from these... beasts!" 𐤌
ʘ ”Because… Because they deserve to suffer like this! They should be isolated, then ravaged like I was in the past!” ʘ
𐤌 ”Do you really believe that though?” 𐤌
ʘ ”Yes, yes I really do!” ʘ
𐤌 ”Then why are you in this forest?” 𐤌
ʘ ”What? What do you mean?” ʘ

𐤌 ”If you wanted to cause the largest amount of suffering possible while isolating people you could’ve just trapped them while they were in school. Individual rooms, largest amount of people together, Oliver would be there, a lot of things better with doing it there than in the woods. But you chose the woods anyway. Why?" 𐤌
ʘ ”...I-I don’t know. Or remember...” ʘ
𐤌 ”I can remember for you.” 𐤌
The Classroom, consumed by Claire’s Grief, washes out like a painting and is replaced by a scene from her past. Chosen by Abigail.
This is Claire. Moments before she transformed into a Witch.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 18:16:39 No.6159047 Report

Quoted By:

Her Soul Gem was already almost pitch-black as she was running through the forest. She was trying to put as much distance from herself and civilisation as possible, before tripping and falling into a puddle of mud.
”Why did I have to be so weak? Why couldn’t I just make friends, or relationships in a regular way?" Claire’s past thoughts resounds through the space.

Now this was news to Abigail.
𐤌 ”Making friends the regular way? How did you normally do it?” 𐤌
ʘ ”That was my Wish. My Wish was simply ‘To have a lot of friends’. Pathetic, I know, but I was very lonely. I think I still was and just didn’t know." ʘ

Claire laid down in the mud, and cried. She bawled and lamented not only her fate, but the fate of others. She was going to transform into a Witch, and inflict suffering on them that they didn’t deserve. She might- no, she WILL hurt Oliver, and she was going to hunted down like the rabid animal she was by another group of Magical Girls, if any exist any more in York. Could she just put herself out of her own misery? She tried to think of how, but at that moment she was completely consumed by Grief.

𐤌 ”So you didn’t want to inflict suffering on others at first. You wanted to reduce the damage done but failed. You implied before that the actions you take when of sound mind is what represents you. This is what you did before turning into a Witch. You ran away, you lamented the suffering of others, and you even contemplated taking your own life to avoid hurting others.” 𐤌
Abigail reaches her hand out towards Claire.
𐤌 ”So please, won't you please make this stop? Return it to normal? I... my powers are new to me, but they seem to have to do with connecting people. I'm not much good with... boys... but maybe I can help you find someone. Please Claire, let's try to fix this. I want to help you." 𐤌

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Mon 16 Dec 2024 18:19:44 No.6159050 Report

Quoted By: >>6159113

Claire takes Abigail’s hand in her own.
ʘ ”You don’t need to apologise. It wasn’t really your fault. Oliver chose you, I just needed to respect that but I couldn’t. That’s a ‘me’ problem. ʘ
ʘ ”I can stop this, but I’m afraid there’s no getting better for me." ʘ
𐤌 ”W-what do you mean?" 𐤌 Abigail was getting worried. Especially with the last thoughts Claire had in the past.
ʘ ”As far as I know, there’s been no case of a Witch going back to normal. Or even integrating into society. We terrorize and kill people as our Grief, anxiety, and hatred consume us. The best way of ending this would be… ending this" ʘ
𐤌 ”Wait, no! There has to be another way, you don’t need to do this! I-I could figure something out!” 𐤌
ʘ ”It’s cute that you have such optimism. It’s a sign of inexperience, but you should keep it. It will help you get through the future anguish you will go through. But for me? Hopes of the future are dangerous illusions." ʘ

>The future for Claire looks bleak. Can you even help a Witch? How? Try to convince her there is a way forward for her besides death.

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R ID:MndeEQSn Mon 16 Dec 2024 20:28:15 No.6159113 Report

Quoted By:

>>6159050
"It might be true that no Witch has 'gone back to normal', but has anyone tried? Has anyone reached out to them to try to help them? Has any Witch tried to return to normalcy? Even if you feel completely alone right now, *I'm* here for you Claire. I am your advocate. I know you can get better, because I know your heart is good! You don't really want to hurt people. You might feel awful right now, but that doesn't mean there isn't a future! You are in control of your actions. You can choose to stand down. If you really feel like you are at the end of the line, then what's the harm in trying? If this is the end, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from making the effort. Imagine the future friends you could make, the boy you could meet. Imagine what your example could mean for other Magical Girls falling into despair. You could be the first to show it *is* possible to live and be happy, even when life puts you down so harshly. Imagine the hope you would inspire, the lives you would save! I can't promise it will be easy, in fact it will probably be very hard, but I'm here for you. Please Claire, let me help you."

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL

Stephanie !!70G3Lwc7KYL ID:sovwrVla Mon 16 Dec 2024 20:31:51 No.6159114 Report

Quoted By:

>>6159041
"Hold on. Hold the fuck on, now. You, with the bow. What the hell do you mean by 'kill her in order to continue living'? What's that all about?"

Alba

Alba ID:rYZOJBC2 Mon 16 Dec 2024 22:36:25 No.6159157 Report

Quoted By:

>>6159038
Pheeew! Good thing that all eleven of them are in the same place, that takes a whole lot of risk and scouting off my back. And that landing! Just what is going on with me today? Everything just feels so... Right. A lucky star's on my side, for sure. Or a lucky talking furball, at least - Those have to be lucky charms in some cultures. Weird that I've never heard of them. I can't say the same about those seven tangled messes. And that prickled lass... Owch. If that's the condition she came out of after being carved out by the teachers I definitively don't want to see the mess they'll leave behind. Okay Alba, use your newfound sixth sense... How do I get them outta there? Brute handiwork won't cut it here so I need to be smart. My reputation's also at stake after announcing myself to everyone in that, frankly, embarassing manner!
Think, Alba, think!
O-Ok. Ok... So this greenery is (as much as I hate to admit it) kind of cursed, right? That makes everything here stronger than your run-of-the-mill counterpart. Then, I supppose I could try to climb back up a tree, grab ahold of some of those inhumanly resilient vines and remodel them into makeshift rope. Shifting through the branches, I could tie a Constrictor Knot all the way up there, and then toss the rest of the cord downwards... Wait what the hell is a 'Constrictor Knot'? Ugh... Er-... ANYWHO. That thing. I'll make sure my mates catch the rope and try to help them climb up and outta' that pit one by one.. They might strain their muscles, but hey, it beats whatever mess the teacher would make with those little scissors.
>>6159044
>Britain is Cursed
Stating the obvious.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:43:43 No.6168339 Report

Quoted By:

Alba Appleton

Okay, Okay. All eleven of the missing people are right here in this one spot. How serendipitous! Alright, now to think of a way to get those students out of there! It would be really embarrassing to not get them out after that showy entrance. She can’t be known as a fool!
In the wise words of… Alba can’t remember: “Think smarter, not harder”. As much as she takes pride in her body, she knows for a fact that these vines and bushes are tougher than they look, like they were magically enchanted or something…
That’s it!

Alba climbs back up the tree and grabs some branches and vines, some of them broke off naturally, for as natural as this greenery is. She stretches and twists the vines out to attempt to turn it into a tough rope. Move the rope into a Z shape, rotate 90 degrees, put them together and- ta-da! A Constrictor Knot!
Surely she knows how to make a Constrictor Knot due to her classes and no other reason. Right?

These vines are abnormally tough, so if Alba uses them as rope they’re unlikely to break. She ties one end to her waist, if she fails then she falls in with them, and throws the other down to the students.
“Hey! Grab on, I’m gonna pull you all out! Do it one by one!”
They comply. The youngest student grabs the rope first. This student is still taller than Alba, but is lighter due to a lack of muscle. Lifting him should have been easy but those thorns were being awfully clingy. Regardless, he still gets out.
One by one, the students are pulled out of the thorns. At first it’s difficult but it gets easier over time until the thorns just snap of the last student. Huh.

After Alba drops out of the tree, she asks the students and staff to follow her out. Since she has shown that she is probably the most competent person in the area (surprising to the staff), they all follow her out.
Unlike before where the trees, bushes, and vines were all trying to get her lost, this time they’re easy to push through when needed and stay completely still. Alba is dismayed that her situation is strange enough where trees not moving needs to be noted.

She finally sees a procession of students and staff leaving the forest and joins them. She does a quick headcount, then double and triple-checks it. All of people are accounted for, finally!
One of the staff, Alba’s science teacher she thinks, walks up her.
“I honestly didn’t think we were going to get the students out of there without harm. It’s my responsibility as a member of staff you protect you from threats, but a student did the job better than me.”
Damn right she did.
“I didn’t even know how to navigate this place anyway, you really saved our lives. This is going to sound cliché, but you’re my hero!”
Fuck yeah! Alba Appleton is the heroine of the Vale of York Academy! Long may her legend be told-

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:45:09 No.6168343 Report

Quoted By:

Alba’s thoughts of jubilation are cut short by an absolutely agonising feeling in her head. Like a combination of nails running over her brain and an emotional bomb blasting next to her. This feeling… it’s coming from a direction.
Alba looks towards where her heart leads her, and she sees a massive black spire in the middle of the forest. She feels queasy and sick just looking at it, like it was an amalgamation of negative thoughts that was threatening to implant itself into her.
Just as abrupt as it appeared, it disappeared.
What the fuck?!

“Y-you all saw that, right? Felt it?” Alba really wants to confirm she not tripping balls before panicking.
“Saw and felt what?” One of the students asks.
Alba is now much closer to panicking.
“A-ah, i-it was- The black thing in the sky?”
“What are you talking about, Alba? Is there something in the air? Did you get stung by something in the trees?”
Shite. Alba decides that both panicking and asking more questions will make her look like a loon, so she does what she does best: Salvage her reputation.
“P-phew~ I-I’m probably tired or something, I’ll get out of here and rest now. I deserve it!”
“Uh- alright. See you tomorrow!”

Alba moves through the crowd of students while breaking out in a cold sweat. That pillar of black… something, it couldn’t have just been a hallucination right? She’s seen people under hallucinations and panic attacks before, and she sure doesn’t feel like it. So what kind of explanation is there for what she saw and felt?
She’s so occupied with ruminating that she eventually makes it to the front of the group without realising it. That is, until she bumps into someone.

“I-I’m sorry!” Alba says with a remorseful face.
She looks a bit closer at who she bumped into. Dark skin, black hair, holding a puppet (why does she carry that all the time?), it’s Marisa.
Marisa looks at Alba with a deadpan face. “Don’t worry, I’ve suffered much worse than just a bump.”
“About that, I was just thinking about a lot of stuff and didn’t notice you.”
“…” Marisa raises an eyebrow in a quizzical look.
“What’s with that expression?” Alba feels like she’s going to be annoyed for some reason.
“In all of the attention-grabbing antics I’ve heard of you partake in, I never thought you would think so hard about something in your life.” Marisa says that like she’s actually surprised. Not even an intentional insult.
“Oi!” Alba’s being is inflamed with offence and she pouts. “I’ll have you know that I’m very good at engineering and materials!” Alba shakes her head, “Whatever. I think I saw something that I really shouldn’t have seen and I might be going crazy.”

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:46:53 No.6168345 Report

Quoted By:

Marisa crooks her neck. “A giant black pillar that looked like it was made of darkness and negative emotion?” She’s using a questioning tone, but it’s obvious that it’s a rhetorical question.
“Yeah!” Alba shouts in affirmation. “-Wait, how did you use such an accurate description?”
“I saw and felt it as well, of course.”
Of course? Of course?! Alba was losing her mind a moment ago because no-one else saw it!
Alright.” Alba crosses her arms and adopts an inquisitive countenance, “Since you seem to be a smart-arse, why don’t you tell me what you make of that pillar appearing?”
“I… have some ideas. I would normally be wary of sharing them with you but if you can see it then telling you is okay. That pillar is likely a large amount of Grief that has been released after previously being inside a standard, concrete form, a Witch, or a Grief Seed.”
“...What?” Alba thought that she was going insane, but now she’s not sure if this girl isn’t as well.
Marisa face contorts in consternation, then she reaches an understanding. “Right, I understand now.”
“Understand what? Why can’t you explain this clearly like a regular person?”
“Because you’re inexperienced and wouldn’t understand what my explanations.”

Marisa pulls out a business card, didn’t those things go out of fashion in the 19th Century? “This has my workplace address on it. Later, today or tomorrow, go there and I’ll explain everything.”
With that, Marisa walks away into the crowd. Alba looks at the business card, she recognises the address as a textiles shop that she occasionally goes to. Only Marisa runs that place, her parents are mysteriously absent.
What kind of world did she just stumble into? Where forests move by themselves, trees are alive and trying to make you lost, people call you a hero, and weird girls with puppets give you business cards?
Enough, Alba needs to recuperate after all of this. She fiddles with her earring a bit, and walks out with the crowd.
Uncharacteristically, she doesn’t bring attention to herself.

>You have evacuated all of the students of The Vale of York. During this, you have met a strange girl who is offering explanations for the strange happenings in this forest. Will you go to meet her soon? Prepare at home first? Or just ignore it and find answers at your own pace?

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:48:57 No.6168346 Report

Quoted By:

𐤌Abigail Fulson 𐤌

Abigail looks at the girl in front of her. She refuses to call Claire a Witch at this point, it feels like trying to shove her into a box she really doesn’t belong. She was a girl swallowed by her Grief and despair, did actions in the name of revenge that she now regrets, and wants to make amends by… killing herself.
Abigail honestly believed that Claire shouldn’t have to be stuck like this. In the form of a mentally anguished girl who has no way out other than death. It’s unfair to her and everyone like her. Abigail doesn’t want to live in a world where people are dominated by their worst thoughts and are denied any chance of redemption!

Abigail gets closer to Claire. Her soul is resolute despite not having a concrete plan.
"It might be true that no Witch has 'gone back to normal', but has anyone tried? Has anyone reached out to them to try to help them? Has any Witch tried to return to normalcy?”
Claire gives Abigail a strained smile. “No. As far as Puella Magi are concerned, being a Witch is a one-way dead-end. We spread our labyrinths to inflict and gather Grief and suffering upon the masses, trying to help us will get you killed. Returning to normalcy was never on my mind, probably due to me being in my worst mental state.”
Claire’s smile somehow becomes even more strained, like she could cry at any moment and still smile. “It felt horrible, for me anyway. I didn’t believe everyone deserved this, but I couldn’t stop myself either. It felt like no-one else understood my pain of being alone with no-one to actually love you and I had to inflict that pain upon them. How could I recover from such a mindset?”

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:50:56 No.6168347 Report

Quoted By:

Abigail grabs Claire’s hand and puts them to her chest. Her heartbeat could still be felt despite her body not being physical.

“Even if you feel completely alone right now, I'm here for you Claire. I am your advocate-”

Claire clenches her hands. “How could you possibly advocate for me?” She was under the belief that Abigail would give up eventually, not be more persistent in her goals. I-is she really serious about wanted to help a Witch?

“Because I know you can get better! Because I know your heart is good! You don't really want to hurt people. You might feel awful right now, but that doesn't mean there isn't a future! You are in control of your actions. You can choose to stand down. If you really feel like you are at the end of the line, then what's the harm in trying?” Abigail meant this as a rhetorical question, but-

Claire actually thinks about this for a moment “...Nothing, really.”

“Exactly! If this is the end, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain from making the effort. Imagine the future friends you could make, the boy you could meet. Imagine what your example could mean for other Magical Girls falling into despair. You could be the first to show it is possible to live and be happy, even when life puts you down so harshly. Imagine the hope you would inspire, the lives you would save!”

Claire’s smile brightens up, and Abigail can tell it’s genuine happiness through the link.
“Abigail, you really are an interesting girl. A supernatural monster traps you and your boyfriend in a forest with the intention of killing you and you still think there’s hope for her.”

Abigail frowns at Claire’s self-deprecating words. “Claire, you’re not a monster. I will say it until you believe it. You’re just a girl who needs a path forwards.”

Claire chuckles at the audacity of Abigail’s words. “But you do make good points. Thanks to your help, I’m at least able to look at my actions in this form and regret them. I feel like that’s a big step up compared to every other Witch. Maybe… Just maybe I can get back to a regular life. For as regular as I was back when I was a Puella Magi. It definitely won’t be easy though...”

“Oh that is absolutely true. I can't promise it will be easy, in fact it will probably be very hard, but I'm here for you. But-” Abigail holds her hand out for Claire, “Please Claire, let me help you."
Claire ignores Abigail’s hand-

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:53:12 No.6168348 Report

Quoted By:

And embraces her in a hug.
“I’ll let you. I want it to be possible. I want to be better!”

“I-I want to see it. The friends I could make, the people I could save, and-” Claire giggles, “The boy I could meet! I want to see it! Have it! Experience all of the pleasures that a new life could give me!”

Abigail’s soul brightens at her affirmation. “Yes! Thank goodness! Now-” Abigail detaches from the hug and thinks for a moment, “How are we going to get you to a more permanently stable form?”

Claire makes a face of consternation. “As long as I exist physically in the forest, I’m likely to subconsciously lure people here for their Grief.”
A second in and they were already at their first issue.

“How did you lure people into the forest anyway?”

“Oh, it’s a thing called a ‘Witch’s Kiss’, but I can explain that later. What I wanted to bring attention to is that I need to not exist physically, at all. That’s the only way I’m not going to harm people by merely existing.”

“Oh…” Abigail says in a disappointed tone. “How are we going to contain you? Unless you destroy your body, but we both know that’s not a real option.”

Claire makes a smug face. As if she’s hiding a treat from a friend. “Here’s a hint: I just need to have my Soul contained somewhere. That should mitigate most of the issues, but it will create whole new ones with the potential plan I have.”

Abigail is puzzled, “Potential issues? And what could contain your Soul-”
Then she realises.

Megan said that her Soul was no longer contained in her body. Her transformation- she was looking at… That piece of jewellery.
It appears in Abigail’s hand. Not because it’s the actual thing, but because she thought about it hard enough that it appeared in the forefront of her mind.
“This is a... ‘Soul Gem’?” Abigail was able to get the name from Claire’s mind, but no other details.

“Yep! As the name implies, your Soul is in there!” Claire says in an unfittingly cheery tone.

H-her Soul was in a piece of jewellery? Abigail didn’t understand- that’s a lie, she did but she just doesn’t want to admit to the mechanics of this yet. She needs more time to adapt to this revelation.

“So now we have a container for a Soul!” Claire exclaims.

“Yes, a Soul. Singular. There’s no way I can fit another person’s soul in here.” At least, Abigail doesn’t think so.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:54:58 No.6168349 Report

Quoted By:

“Why not?”

“Huh?”

“Why can’t you fit another Soul in there? we’re currently in my Mind and Soul right now. You have around six people linked with you right now with no problems. Why can’t you just.. let me in deeper?”

Abigail ponders for a moment, “I actually don’t know. I’m completely new to my magic, just got it yesterday and only really used today. There might be a lot of things that are possible that I don’t know are.”

“This is why you have me!” Claire starts, “Believe it or not, my magic is very similar to yours. Or at least was when I was a Puella Magi. Connections, minds, it wasn’t as deep-cutting as yours, but I could still link with people, like you. Consider me your… mentor in that case.”

“That’s great. But how is this all relevant to my Soul Gem?”
“I’m just getting to that! But first I have to explain a lot of things to you.”

“Like?” Abigail wonders if she can create a notebook or something here.

“Well, first thing’s first-”

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:56:38 No.6168350 Report

Quoted By:

ᛗ The Trio, et al

"Hold on. Hold the fuck on, now. You, with the bow. What the hell do you mean by 'kill her in order to continue living'? What's that all about?"

Stephanie Smith was confronting Riko Inuyama in a cursed forest, surrounded by chimeric Familiars frozen in time like statues. Riko had just said something that caused her confusion.

Riko sighs, “I was hoping to save this conversation for later. It’s a very earth-shattering reveal for many people.” How long was she going to delay it for? Would she conveniently wait long enough to leave before explaining anything?

Stephanie huffs, “Too bad. You’re going to have to explain it now since I can tell this is important. And trust me, I do not like people withholding important things from me.”

Megan winces, “Y-yeah, you better tell her now. Or rather, WE should. I have a feeling she’ll be more willing to believe this if both you and her sister, me, tell her.”

“Is it really that far-fetched?” Stephanie asks.

“Well, that and it’s harrowing.” Megan says blithely.

Megan moves to unclasp and take off her right gauntlet and vambrace, hidden inside is a blue piece of jewellery in the form of an egg. It gives Stephanie a similar “Vibe” to her own piece. Does everyone here have one of those? She has one, Viktoria has one, Abigail has one, the only exception here seems to be Harriet.
“This is the most important part of us: our Soul Gem. As the name implies, it contains our Soul.”

Wait, what? What?! Stephanie quickly pulls out her Soul Gem, a slightly dark green. If what she’s saying is true, that explains that weird empty feeling last morning: Her Soul wasn’t in her body!

“When we signed the contract and became Puella Magi, that creature, we call it ‘Kyubey’, pulled our Soul out of our body and turned it into this thing. I once tried to ask it why it did this.”

“Its response?” Viktoria asks. She’s awfully calm, at least on the outside, despite finding out her Soul is not where it should be.

“It said some tripe about how human bodies are fragile to begin with, and it just converted our souls to a container less likely to be damaged. Always hated that fucking thing, I think it was lying like it always does. One plus side however is that as long as you’re in range of your Soul Gem and it’s not damaged, you can’t really die.”

“Wait, range?” Is Stephanie going to have to wear this necklace all the time? She’s not a necklace person and it might get stolen or lost!

“Yeah. The rough maximum range of a Soul Gem and your body is around 100 Metres. Once you go beyond that, you basically ‘Die’ due to the connection between your Soul and your Body being stretched thin. At least, that’s how I visualise it. But other than that? Your physical body is just something you, as in your Soul, is piloting.”

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 19:58:55 No.6168352 Report

Quoted By:

Stephanie starts breathing heavily, and eats from her food container in a bid to keep calm.
Soul mechanics. Megan is talking about Soul mechanics like she’s an expert on it- Wait, Megan has been a Magical Girl for longer than Stephanie herself. How did she not notice this? How many other people are like this?
“So we’re Liches with Jewellery Phylacteries?” Stephanie really wished she could’ve said that as a joke, but she can’t now.

“Yes. Thank you for paying attention.” Megan says like a proud lecturer.
She clears her throat performatively, “This next part is very important and central. Pay attention!”

Stephanie looks in grim fascination at her sister.
Viktoria looks at her teacher while standing behind Harriet, who’s not surprised by this talk at all.
Abigail is lying on the ground sleeping like a baby.

Megan starts her most important talk, “Whenever we use magic, sustain extensive physical damage, or experience strong negative emotions such as sorrow, or grief, our Soul Gems darken with impurity. We call this impurity “Grief”. Yes, it gets confusing sometimes.”

Riko continues where Megan left off, “If our Soul Gem becomes too impure, then it turns into a Grief Seed and we transform into a Witch.”

Viktoria lets out a gasp. She has enough decorum to not start screaming during a lecture.

“Wow, way to rip the band-aid off, Riko.” Megan says disapprovingly, “Yeah, we turn into Witches when our Soul Gems become too impure.”

Aren’t they way too casual about this?! How long have they been living like this?!
“So how do we make sure that we don’t turn into THAT?!” Stephanie shouts while pointing at Clarion, still frozen in time.

“Simple: We kill Witches and harvest their Grief Seeds. It can purify our Soul Gems and prevent that whole debacle.”

Stephanie puts together the dots while looking at her Soul Gem, which she notices is darker than it was last morning. Magical Girls inevitably gain Grief, so they hunt Witches for Grief Seeds, but they have to use Magic to do so and negative emotions and injuries are a fact of life, so Magical Girls inevitably turn into Witches, who are hunted by other Magical Girls for Grief Seeds, and the cycle goes on.

Who the fuck created this system?!

“Alright, I’ve understood it.” Stephanie says in a grim tone.

“I have also internalised this… lesson.” speaks Viktoria in a tone coloured with sorrow.

“Great,” Riko says, “Now you know why I said that we need to kill this Witch in order to continue living. Unless being a Witch sounds attractive to you?”

Viktoria was actually going to respond to the rhetorical question before all of the group heard movement. Yips, howls, and other animals sounds are heard as they realise that the Witch and her Familiars are out of their Time Gaol. But Stephanie notices something. Despite the sounds... They’re completely still.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 20:01:22 No.6168356 Report

Quoted By:

Not hesitating for even a second, Viktoria hoists up her cannon and aims a shot.

“Wait!” Stephanie shouts.

Uncharacteristically, Viktoria actually waits.
“Hmph, if they approach then I can just stop them. What is it, Stephanie? We have important things to do, and Witches to kill.”

“About that: Remember what Abigail told us before about the Witch wanting to leave us alone and kill itself? The Witch and her Familiars aren’t even attacking us, so maybe the Witch was actually truthful when saying that.”

“Yes, the thing she told us before immediately going into relative silence again. I do wonder why you would trust a Witch.” Viktoria rebukes.

“Well- Witches used to be people like us-” Stephanie shakes her head, no way she’s going to be convinced by that. “If the Witch really were hostile, then she would have sicked her dogs on us the moment you raised your cannon.”

“Obviously they’re frozen in fear due to-”

“STOP IT!”

Viktoria was surprised. Not only because of the gall one had to tell her what to do, but also who it was that shouted at her.

Everyone, even the Witch looks in the direction of the voice and sees Abigail. Trying to Stand up. Awake. With a mood completely unlike someone who was knocked out, and more like someone who was given a mission to accomplish.

“Abigail!” Megan and Stephanie help her up to her feet. “Why were you out for so long?”

Abigail smirks. “Trust me, you would not understand a thing I told you if I tried to explain it. It’s even more complicated than the mess our Souls are in.”

“Oh, you got The ‘Soul Gem’ Talk?” That would save her another awkward lecture.

“Yep. But I had a different teacher.” Abigail omits the important information for pure fun.

“W-what? Who? Who could’ve told you everything while you were out?” There are not many Puella Magi in York to begin with, nearly all of them are in this clearing.

“Let’s just say I got someone from the other side.” Okay, now she’s just being mean. “And I need to meet with her.”

This confuses everyone.

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU

White Creature of Anti-Entropy !XpRgFFUvaU ID:1dzoiRlT Wed 01 Jan 2025 20:05:08 No.6168359 Report

Quoted By: >>6168753

Abigail runs as fast as her legs can take her towards the Witch- Claire. In response, Riko draws an arrows and Viktoria loads a rifle shot.

“Don’t hurt the Witch!” Abigail shouts, “We have a plan! An agreement!”

“Are you insane?!” Riko responds. “How the Hell could you talk to a Witch and have a good plan?! This will end badly, just watch!”

“I must concur with the Oriental Huntress, dear Abigail! This is a dreadful idea!”

Abigail ignores her and pulls out her shining blue Soul Gem. In response, the Witch reaches out for it. To the absolute shock of everyone, Abigail keeps running towards the monster completely unperturbed.

“Shit.” Stephanie starts running after her, and Megan follows thereafter. Given the talk they just had, having your Soul Gem in direct contact with a Witch cannot be a good thing.

Abigail makes it into the Claire’s reach. Riko and Viktoria give up on trying to talk her down and instead fire at the Witch’s hand in an attempt to bat it away.

They are too late by a few seconds.

The moment Abigail’s Soul Gem touches Clarion, an enormous pressure washes over everyone in the clearing, except Harriet. Clarion’s body explodes in a large black pillar, most likely of Grief.
Eventually the pillar reveals its true nature, a type of black “Light”. Said “Light” travels from the air.

And then aims directly for Abigail’s Soul Gem.

Everyone looks in horror as the “Light” seeps into her Soul Gem, until it is all inside of the phylactery.
The pressure dissipates and the sky clears, revealing a cloudy afternoon sky. They all get the feeling that the forest is less dangerous than it was before.

In a small miracle to everyone, Abigail is completely unharmed. Not even in pain.
That doesn’t stop everyone from worrying about her.

Stephanie and Megan catch up to Abigail and immediately start fussing over her.
“Mate, are you okay? I really don’t want to you turning Witch on us!” Stephanie says in a worried tone.

“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in my life. Probably because no-one was stupid enough to put their Soul Gem right next to a Witch!” Megan says.

Viktoria show calls out from afar.
“Abigail, if you wish to recuperate from any… injuries that may have caused, then my Manor’s doors are open to you. I would hate to lose a budding tactician after such an interesting first meeting.”

Riko shows her concern in a different way.
Aiming her bow and arrow at Abigail, or rather her Soul Gem, she asks one question:
“What did you just do?”

>How will Abigail explain what she just did? It’s a first in Magical Girl history to absorb a Witch into your Soul Gem, at least in Britain. On a less urgent note, the Witch has been neutralised. Which means that this nightmare is over, and everyone is free to go about their day. Assuming nothing bad happened in that event, relaxation should come soon. If you can relax after all of this, that is.

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R

Abigail !!CWmei5RXx6R ID:MndeEQSn Thu 02 Jan 2025 06:40:23 No.6168753 Report

Quoted By:

>>6168359
"I did my job as a magical girl; I saw a terrified girl in distress, and I helped her. And I intend to keep helping her until she doesn't need me anymore.

That girl's name is Claire. She's scared, she knows what she's been doing is wrong, and she wants to do better. Claire is doing her best to stop anyone else from getting hurt, and that meant removing her physical presence from the world. And I know she means it, because I formed a link with her, I would *know* if she were trying to trick me. She's not. Claire means it, and so I'm giving her a chance no one else even considered giving her, and I'm going to do my best to return her to her normal life.

Do you think you are so different from her, Riko? Do you think life's circumstances won't catch up with you like they did with Claire, and make you do things you regret? Wouldn't you rather there to be another path other than becoming soul feed to the next generation of magical girls? Wouldn't you rather there be a light at the end of the tunnel? Claire might be a Witch right now, but she's also a *person*, one just like us at that. If she's willing to try to be better, we, more than anyone else, owe it to her to try to see it to fruition.

Claire is with me now, Riko, and you aren't going to hurt her, not before going through me."

Capcode	All Only User Posts Only Verified Posts Only Moderator Posts Only Manager Posts Only Admin Posts Only Developer Posts Only Founder Posts
Show Posts	All Only With Images Only Without Images Only Spoiler Images Only Non-Spoiler Images
Deleted Posts	All Only Deleted Posts Only Non-Deleted Posts
Ghost Posts	All Only Ghost Posts Only Non-Ghost Posts
Post Type	All Only Sticky Threads Only Opening Posts Only Reply Posts
Results	All Grouped By Threads
Order	Latest Posts First Oldest Posts First

On these archives

Your latest searches

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Fatale Albion #2