Fandom Puella Magi Site

[Dawnsx]

Bippity boppity booo

Puella Magi Site

The pencil musketeer tried to shoot again, clumsily tracking Ella and the woman with its musket. Before it could take its shot, Siena’s large coin obstructed its view. At the same time, several clotheslines caught its musket like a spider’s web. In a fit of desperation, it yanked upwards and back – a decision that proved to be its literal downfall as it lost balance and fell off the massive bookshelf.

Already splintered by Serina’s relentless strikes, the pencil familiar broke apart on impact with the floor. Just as quickly, the labyrinth around the magical girls wobbled out of existence.

It took another moment for Elena to fully relax. She clapped her hands together and cheered, “We did it! How’s the lady?”

In Ella’s arms, the woman was unconscious but breathing steadily. Any sign of the familiar’s ensnarement was gone.

But before the magical girls could properly celebrate their victory, a dagger flew down from above and embedded itself on the ground in the middle of their circle.

Marina gasped and quickly waved her fountain pen to conjure a translucent shield above their heads. A pointless act; in a yellow blur, a figure leapt down and kicked the shield with enough force to shatter it and launch Marina into the wall behind her with a sickening crack. The figure flipped in midair and landed on her feet, graceful as a cat.

“Marina!” Elena yelped. She was at least smart enough to not immediately tend to her friend, instead taking up a defensive position in front of Marina.

Before the group was another magical girl, clad in a gaudy, golden bodysuit with a furred short cape. The newcomer lazily twirled a dagger in her hand, eyes skipping from face to face before stopping on Elena’s.

“I remember you, Miss Sunshine,” the girl said with a snarl. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this is my territory. That familiar was ripe to become a Witch, and the lot of you just mucked it all up.”

Elena opened and closed her mouth a few times. She recognized this girl from both personal experience and from the Puella Magi Site. It was hard to forget that costume. If she recalled correctly, this girl had been a magical girl for far longer than Elena and Marina, maybe even longer than Clair or Asuka. She was one of the first users of the site who still clung onto the old rules of maintaining territories.

Finally finding her voice, Elena argued, “B-but it’s not fair to keep territories all to one person! Some girls might really need Grief Seeds! Besides, it’s not right to let familiars turn into Witches!”

“Ah, you’re contradicting yourself,” the girl noted smugly. “You’re right that us magical girls need Grief Seeds, so shouldn’t it be natural for us to let familiars turn into Witches?”

“Well, if you need Grief Seeds, you should just join a hunt instead of hogging Grief Seeds! And the recruitment posts are visible to everyone on the site, so we know better than to poach other groups’ kills too!” Elena countered indignantly.

“Right, and I’m sure all that’s been working out great for your group,” the girl drawled. She gestured to Elena and Marina with her dagger, plainly ignoring everyone else. With a mocking tone, she asked, “Say, weren’t there three of you?”

Behind Elena, Marina was already wobbling back to her feet. Blood dribbled down the side of her face, which was dark with quiet fury. Even Elena’s magic was quivering with anger, a sharp contrast from her typical sunny disposition.

Marina lifted her pen, poised to attack. With a feral grin, the flashy magical girl lifted her dagger. Whether the other magical girls took that as a cue to attack or chose to diffuse the situation was up to them.

Code by Nano

 

[methoxetamine]

Siena Keo

A utopia where persevering will bring blue skies

A sigh left Siena’s mouth. For such a rag tag group, they managed to do pretty well. Well, of course they would. Siena was here after all. For a newbie magical girl, she was a little too egotistic, huh? With a hum, she rejoined the group, scepter resting on her shoulder as she heard Elena cheer on a job well done. “Well, it wasn’t too hard, now was it?” She grinned at Elena, giving the girl a peace sign. Siena then placed a hand above her chest, about to act prideful, but the noise of a dagger being shot down between the group prevented her from saying anything else.

Hm??

Siena looked up, but everything happened too fast. First, Marina tried blocking the group from any harm, only for another girl to appear and kick Marina back. Mouth agape, Siena watched as Marina was launched into the wall, wincing slightly. Part of her almost ran up to Marina, but Elena was already getting into a defensive position before her friend. Gritting her teeth, Siena whipped her head to face the new person. So, this was a conundrum. Siena had fought familiars and a weak witch or two, but she had never fought a person, let alone another magical girl.

The back and forth between the new girl and Elena mostly went in one ear and out the other, but there were a few things that caught Siena’s interest. First, was the Familiars becoming Witches. Sure, that made enough sense. Siena never really thought about where Witches came from, but that was probably an answer to that. But there was also a bit on how familiars become witches. Hm. So they probably needed power in some way. Siena glanced over at the woman in Ella’s hands, pursing her lips in thought. So, to become a witch, a familiar had to get strong by... preying on non-magical people? She really was trying to make sense of this, really. But the constant yapping from the new person was driving her insane.

“Blah, blah, blah... shut the hell up, oh my god!” Siena raised her voice, scepter pointing at the new arrival, who seemed to be more trouble than Siena expected. “I didn’t see your damn name on the entrance to this labyrinth! You lost your chance, boo fuckin’ hoo. Stop lashing out and go find some other labyrinth to creep after,” Siena spoke with a scowl, getting annoyed by the new girl. She gave a sideways glance over at Asuka, silently chastising the woman for not letting her really post anything on the site. Ugh! She should have posted something about finding this! Siena had a good idea back there! Why didn't she just pull out her phone and post!?

Whatever.

“Plus, what do you mean you were waiting for this thing to become a witch? You think some random office lady should be sacrificed just so you can get a grief seed?” Siena glanced back over at the girl before jabbing her thumb over at the unconscious woman. “Wow, I know we’re strong but I didn’t expect someone to let that get to their head...” Frankly, in Siena’s book, that girl was worse than her! Sure, Siena had an ego, but not to the point she thought she was above hurting others for her own gain. Ugh, not to mention the fact the office woman might have a family as well...

She clicked her tongue as the other girl raised her dagger, a wild grin on her face. Granted, Siena didn’t know it wasn’t for her, but she was in between the dagger-wielding girl and Marina. Siena’s gaze flicked down to the grin plastered on the girl’s face. “Oh, this girl isn’t all there...” Siena commented under her breath, her own scepter raised. Although, she did take a chance to glance at the others. Siena... Wasn’t really too keen on fighting a person, especially when she was new to this business, but she was starting to think this person might have needed to be knocked down a peg or two.

Maybe she should just slap her in the face a few times. That seemed to shut people up when she occasionally got into fights at school.

Interactions: Dawnsx galvanismgal Nellancholy Steve Jobs ​

Code By Nano

 

[Nellancholy]

Ella's jaw set as the exchange played out before her, a sinking pit forming in her stomach. She knew of other magical girls, yes, but had rarely had close contact with them for good, and certainly not for ill. Perhaps the hours she chose to act, and her tendency to not linger in one spot generally averted such encounters. And on the day she decided to investigate something other magical girls were looking at...this happened.

She couldn't tell if the flashy girl talking down to them actually had murderous intent, or if she was simply the type to make her point in a...firm-handed way, but the fact remained that this went beyond a slap and a pinch. She had struck at Marina with vicious force, and was now...well, the cops would probably call it brandishing, a weapon at them. Did it have to come to this? Was she so bold as to openly challenge a group that so outnumbered her? Would she concede after a few bruises or would she persist until...

No, they couldn't let that happen. Whether it was bravado or plain confidence on the intruder's part...it was on them to extinguish the fuse that had been lit.

"You're outnumbered." She wanted to tell their antagonist, but she didn't want to seem like she was using the threat of force to de-escalate this situation.

Ella took a deep breath and stepped a little past Siena, lightly tapping her shoulder to try and get her to settle down. They weren't really close enough for that kind of gesture, but...

As Ella stepped forward, her helmet unbuckled, tipped off her head, and vanished as if by its own volition, though she remained in her empowered state. She made eye contact with the antagonistic girl, doing her best not to avert her gaze for even a second.

"Hold it. There wasn't any need to resort to violence. You can express your discontent all you want, but what just happened in there is done. That labyrinth isn't coming back. And more importantly, a human life was saved." She emphasized that last bit. "I think we can agree that that's what matters, right?" Despite herself, she found herself biting her lip, glancing downwards for a brief, but very perceptible second. "I- There'll be more witches and familiars. There always are." And why was that? Where did witches come from? Did some malevolent force from beyond create them to terrorize humanity? To what end? Those questions were beyond the remit of this current, highly tense conversation. "Attacking other people won't make another grief seed appear-" Well, that was mostly true. "-so if we can just put our weapons away, we can all go our separate ways and keep our distance from now on."

methoxetamine Dawnsx

 

[Steve Jobs]

@fluticasone @fluticasone

Asuka Kayahara

"Um, thanks. I'll hold onto it."

Though Asuka shot Clair a grateful smile she was a bit bewildered at the gift, so much so that she checked her Soul Gem's clarity. Clear as a sunny day, she thought as she slipped the seed into her pocket. It was better kept out of the reach of unfamiliar individuals, particularly since she didn't yet know the status of everyone else's Gems.

Kshiink, came a dagger from seemingly nowhere. Though Marina had been quick to respond, the new figure was quicker, delivering a shield-shattering blow and knocking the other girl away.

"Marina!" Asuka gasped, walking over to examine the bloodied girl. Luckily the injuries were superficial.

For all the kind-hearted magical girls in the world, there were also a fair number whose selfishness only bolstered the speed at which their Soul Gems clouded. More than hoarding territories, the act of enabling Witches was vile. Pain begot more pain; Witches didn't need the help of Magical Girls to propagate themselves.

And local magi didn't need you poaching them, came the voice of her old leader. No, no that's what the website was trying to prevent. With areas properly divided, they wouldn't need to worry about outside interference. And if she ever decided to return to the entertainment industry...she'd know where to abstain.

Seeing Marina raise her pen, Asuka put her hand on her forearm and moved to lower it, "She's right, we've already rescued the hostage. We won't get anything out of escalating the situation."

Then she turned to their attacker. Was it possible the attacker actually needed the seed? As much as the flashy-looking girl was posturing, she didn't seem a psychopath. Self-serving and callous certainly, but that rarely provoked attacks. Were it the case that the other girl's Soul Gem was clouded, it would behoove Asuka to give her the seed; if not, then they'd be giving up a necessary resource.

She bit her lip before piping in. "Your Soul Gem...Is there something wrong with it?"

Dawnsx methoxetamine @AiDEE-c0 galvanismgal Nellancholy

 

[galvanismgal]

Interactions: New NPC @dawnx
In threat of a post mission power point: Steve Jobs methoxetamine Nellancholy also Elena and Marina

---

Well at least that was over. While the labyrinth faded away the feeling the group was putting the fun in dysfunction lingered. Fun for who? Probably Seina but definitely not for Clair. Thankfully the woman while unconscious was safe so their effort wasn’t for naught. Her being passed out saved them some awkward explanations.

Upon Asuka’s response Clair had no choice but to just take a moment to pinch her brow and decided what was more annoying the fact it did not seem like Asuka was going to check on everyone else’s soul gems and keep the grief seed for herself or Seina’s well…everything.

On second thought it didn’t matter what was more annoying Clair could scold them both since the group should hold a discussion before those who chose to do so would continue to hunt for the witch they were looking for. She could find a way to send her review and assessment for the post witch hunt debriefing later after all even if they parted ways. Even Ella who may have the speed to outrun a familiar but would not have the speed to block Clair on the site before she could send an unsolicited power point.

But before Clair could use her words like daggers to cut apart the overly carefree mood an actual dagger cut through the air. The following figure was tacky enough Clair almost would have thought they were a friend of Seina if it wasn’t for the fact they kicked Marina. A friend of Seina surely would have kicked Seina herself instead.

Given the crack didn’t sound like a soul gem shattering and Elena was nearby Clair didn’t rush over to help since it would be better not to group together. While it seemed the newest girl favored weapons you never knew exactly what magic she might have. The girls experience was easy to pick up on given her entrance.

Miss sunshine did not describe Marina so the tacky girl’s beef must be with Elena. With every word from the tacky girl’s mouth and the feeble tit for tat the aura of I told you so surrounding Clair intensified. So much so that if one tried to draw it the page would simply be black.

It was lucky that this little tiff happened after the group finished the fight than during it. Did someone else post on the site or did Kyubey let this tacky girl know they were here? Well, this girl didn’t really seem to scream having a life so it could be possible she had nothing better to do than wait around for this to happen. The conversation of territories and the darkness of the magical girl system should be enough for even those as ignorant to the world as Seina was that this is the reason announcing you were going to poach someone else’s territory was a bad idea and why those territories existed in the first place.

Or maybe not.

“Clearly there is prior history between you that the rest of us were not enlightened to on the site posting nor did we hear about this possibility from Elena and Marina. We were unaware this was your territory,” Clair said staring daggers before she dropped her transformation. If she needed to transform again she could but there was no reason to give the tacky girl an excuse to think she wanted to escalate the current situation.

Clair was pretty desensitized to the situation since she was not a hopes and dreams girlie. Such spats were common in her home city so Clair tried to avoid the mess that came from getting involved or caught in territory matters. So, while Ella tried to appeal to the girl’s humanity, Asuka tried to reach out a helping hand, and Siena failed to see this was her better dressed future self it was clear tacky girl was in it for herself with her edgy personality. Just a real I take my coffee black…with daggers kind of gal.

There was no point in trying to rationalize with the parts of her the tacky girl had cast aside so Clair would just need to logically make it clear how unfavorable the situation would be if it escalated.

“You surely must have something better to do than waste your energy with a fight otherwise you would have finished this with your first strike. I'm sure sparing with your words should be enough or are you not confident in them? Clearly you have enough confidence in yourself that becoming the target of a magical girl hunt if this spreads around is not a concern. After all, people on the site might think you waited for us to do the hard work for you before you tried to extort us,” Clair said since it was clear the tacky girl had enough experience or stupidity to challenge an entire group.

Most likely stupidity seeming how she wanted to pull others into whatever personal grudge she had against their party leaders.

The closest thing to a neutral party in this mess she found herself in Clair at least wanted a full picture of what was going on before she attempted to clean it up or at least redirect the girls attention to give Elena and Marina time to get away.

 

[Dawnsx]

Bippity boppity booo

Puella Magi Site

By the time each of the magical girls finished their spiel, the tacky magical girl had lowered her dagger. Rather than looking contemplative or remorseful about their words, she sagged and simply looked bored.

“Blah blah blah, whatever… Seriously, these are the people that Kyubey picked?” she muttered to herself. Her voice took on a mocking tone as she continued, “All they talk about is ‘saving people’ and ‘helping each other out.’ Well, surprise! I don’t care.”

The girl paused, then pointed the tip of her dagger at Clair. "Why don't you save your lectures for newbies? Like the one right there." The tip shifted toward Siena, and the girl grinned wolfishly. “You could be fun, if only you were a bit stronger.” She wagged her dagger haphazardly at Marina next, who seemed to notice the others’ reluctance to fight and backed off, even though her face was still painted in fury. “And you. But maybe next time.”

Like a capricious cat, the magical girl leapt back onto the rooftops and darted away. Elena stared after her, dumbfounded, before sagging in relief that they didn’t come to blows. If the girl’s intention was to intimidate Elena into staying away from her territory… Well, she kind of succeeded.

“Sorry, this probably wouldn’t have happened if I planned things a little better…” Elena mumbled as she transformed out of her costume. She pulled her face into a smile. “Anyway, I think we need a change of pace! Let’s get this lady settled and get some ice cream!”

***

After the woman woke up, Elena told a fib about her passing out from exhaustion. Once they saw the woman off, they gathered at an out-of-the-way but tidy ice cream shop. Taking a booth for themselves, the girls enjoyed their celebratory ice cream.

“Sooo, what do we usually get up to? Aside from magical girl stuff, I mean!” Elena said to start the conversation. There wasn’t a whole lot they could talk about, considering all of them had met not too long ago, but that had never stopped her from making friends! “Marina and I attend a nearby school!”

Sitting beside her, Marina frowned minutely, as though disapproving Elena disclosing the information. She stayed silent though and slowly worked her way through a plain vanilla ice cream cone.

Code by Nano

 

[galvanismgal]

Interaction: Dawnsx
Enjoy your treats while you can: everyone else

---

Did this tacky girl really take one look at Clair and think she didn’t have enough lectures for everyone? That she was not the Dr. Suess of complaining? But as swift as she came into their lives she was gone again. You think tacky girl would have at least thrown a rose or something since she didn’t do anything just like some male lead in a magical girl anime.

And then they were getting ice cream after lying to the familiar’s victim.

You know this little out-of-the-way but approvably tidy ice cream shop had Clair’s favorite thing to order.

Nothing.

Not one thing. Not even the tap water which was filled with those little shrimps because why could New York have normal water. Oh, it makes the bread taste nice. It was gross. Clair refused to eat or drink anything that she did not make herself or did not pass her sanitized approval. Rather than snacking on anything Clair focus would be on making sure no one else's snacks got onto her.

“I graduated school and focus on being a magical girl so before you change the subject don’t you think you own us an explanation?” Clair said with a wave of her hand deciding that the group had waited long enough to be clued in,” You don’t need to tell us your life story but it feels like we should have some context before we continue for why that girl has personal history with you since it may involve us now.”

She assumed their personal lives were as plain and vanilla as the ice cream cone that Marina was eating so she was not interested in them. Odds where they had some love drama or what do I do with my life worries which then Clair would then be forced to get involved in so they did not fall into despair. Elena and Marina probably had problems due to their misplaced good intentions, Asuka had whatever caused her separation from her old group, leaving Ella and Seina who both reeked of personal issues since she could not see them getting involved with someone else's. Clair really didn’t need more on her plate by playing therapist as it was since Clair’s magical girl guide disguised as a fan fiction was not going to be writing itself. Kyubey was no help with it either so it was all up to her as always.

Her desire to make friends was as empty as her hands. Still, taking time to relax and small talk were part of the duty of being a magical girl since they technically were public servants of some sort. Even if they did not remain as teammates, it would be worth it to try and maintain a workplace level of relationship with everyone. Siena was a project in and of herself so if no one else would train the little scamp Clair would be forced to since it was only proper. Siena was like a smol kitten in a cardboard box and Clair would be the cloud to rain down upon her.

So for now even with her performance review aura was in full swing Clair would wait patiently for their break to end. They would need whatever treat and the sugar fulled brain power to get them through what was to come. A full interview of questions.

 

[Nellancholy]

After all was said and done and the rather prickly situation had resolved itself, Ella wanted to just mount up and speed off into the night like she always did. It wasn't generally a...bad thing to get involved with other magical girls, or at least that was her impression. She just wanted to avoid...entanglements like the one that had just pointed a knife at them. Their situation wasn't like those shows where the magical familiars showed up to a group all at once and tried to recruit them. Or like the one where they all used to rule the solar system together before being reincarnated. She didn't have any positive obligation to these people.

But here she was. She traveled separately from the others, leaping across the rooftops instead of riding off. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to show up these strangers. And so the Ella that stepped into the shop with them was one that was a little more unassuming, less striking than the one that had interfered with their affairs, her soul gem safely nestled in her pocket.

Since she was here, she may as well enjoy herself a bit on her own dime.

With that, she sat down at the same table as the others, bearing a plate with a slice of long-cooled apple pie ("It's okay, you don't need to warm it up.") and a scoop of peppermint chocolate chip melting a bit slower than expected on it.

"Midtown High. Senior." She volunteered the information when prompted, not expecting to be asked much more. She was thankful that she didn't end up having to drop out while finding a way to pay her dad's debts, but at the same time...where could she go from here once she graduated? In a way, she was still paying it off...

"Uh, listen." She nodded slightly at Elena and Marina after Clair delivered her pointed query. "No one here is...mad at you two, you know? But if you have any information that could keep us from getting into a real nasty night, it can't hurt to share it. I don't follow your...website, so if there's any beef going on that's more than the usual, I could stand to know." It was a simple stroke of luck, or misfortune, that Ella had heard two classmates discuss it in whispered tones. Were they magical girls as well? Probably, but she didn't care to know that until now.

Dawnsx

 

[methoxetamine]

Siena Keo

A utopia where persevering will bring blue skies

“Hah!?” Did this girl dare to mock Siena? Oh, why she oughta... Oh, Ella was stopping her. Oh, the others didn’t wanna fight either. Urgh... Siena crossed her arms, looking away unimpressed as she let the others handle talking the unknown magical girl down. Although, Siena wasn’t done there. As the tacky magical girl talked to Clair and pointed her dagger at Siena, Siena raised her hand and flipped the girl off. She was so unamused.

The girl... okay, if her goal was to intimidate the group, it absolutely did not work on Siena. Instead, in her crown-adorned mind, Siena was already thinking of grabbing the girl by the arm, and smack her head a few times. Oh, were all magical girls this annoying? Perhaps Siena lucked out with a good group.

“What an annoying little...” Her words died in her throat as she failed to come up with a proper insult. Wordlessly grumbling under her breath, Siena dropped her own transformation; returning to her lazy attire of a sweater and sweatpants. She stood there for a bit, hands in her pocket.

What now?

---

Siena was scrolling on her phone, lost in thought as she browsed the menu of this little ice cream shop. Despite having the money, she didn’t really go out and explore other options for ice cream. Siena really did enjoy that one place she got her ice cream from before. Regardless, she had no issues with the tacky girl leaving, nor did she have any issues with letting Elena lie to the older lady. It’s not like she could tell the truth, they’d just look insane talking about magical girls, witches, and familiars. Oh, and Kyubey. Especially Kyubey.

She sat there, lodged between Clair and the wall. And obviously, Siena opted to lean on the wall rather than Clair. She didn’t have a death wish. Oh, and of course the fact they weren’t close enough to be all buddy-buddy. Let’s not forget that glaringly obvious fact. Lazily, Siena had a bowl of chocolate ice cream, one that began melting as she was too engrossed with her phone.

“Uhh... I go to some high school nearby. Last year of school or whatever,” Siena mumbled out a response, not really paying attention to either Elena or Marina. “I don’t think any of you go there? Then again, you two...” she lifted her spoon and half-assedly motioned at Elena and Marina. “...are kids.” She then motioned towards Asuka. “Asuka is this super cool and awesome idol,” Wow, that would have been a sick compliment if she didn’t speak in a monotonous tone. Then the spoon was pointed at Ella—who went to a highschool that was sports rivals with Siena’s. Well, not like Siena did sports, so she didn’t care. “I'm definitely not from Midtown High,” and finally, the spoon was pointed to Miss Grumpypants beside her. Thankfully, no ice cream was flicked on Clair. “And this one is a boring adult hero.” Maybe Siena had a few misconceptions about Clair, but she didn’t care about fixing them. Yet.

Speaking of boring, Siena finally tuned into the conversation when it shifted rapidly to the topic of that other magical girl. Placing her phone down, Siena sat up straight with a sigh, taking a small spoonful of her ice cream and sighing. “Yeah, uh, what's the deal with that girl? You kids getting bullied?” Okay, maybe she should be a little serious. She placed the spoon in her mouth leaning back in her chair as she pulled it out.

Ta-da. Ice cream gone.

Siena turned her attention to Ella for a split second, scowling at the girl. “Ugh, you should prolly pay attention to that site, y’know? Especially with that annoying brat prowling around,” Wasn’t Siena the brat here? She glanced back at Elena and Marina, frowning. “But yeah, you guys have history. If we’re gonna be working together, we should probably know so we can avoid that girl...” She trailed off, as if she had something else to say.

“Or so we can kick her ass.”

Yep, there it was.

Interactions: galvanismgal Nellancholy Dawnsx Steve Jobs ​

Code By Nano

 

[Steve Jobs]

@fluticasone @fluticasone

Asuka Kayahara

Asuka resisted the urge to roll her eyes (even if it was entirely justified). They defused the situation, saved the woman, and kept the grief seed--that was victory enough. She turned to Elena and shook her head at the latter's apology. "This is what the website was designed to prevent. It was her decision to attack us." One of many that she would regret, Asuka was sure.

The not-so-former idol pursed her lips when Elena proposed ice cream, not only because she was used to a regimented diet, but also because of the amount of time she spent outside. While New York City residents didn't bat an eye at her, she couldn't be sure that the suburbs would offer her the same anonymity. Or maybe a vain part of her still wanted to be recognized.

Still, it certainly had been a long time since she'd eaten out with people other than her band members. "Lead the way, Ele!"

***

Like everything else in America, the ice cream was heavier than here than in Asia. After a generous sample, she stuck to a kid's sized scoop of strawberry, though it was more out of obligation than actual desire. It was a bad habit of hers.

Taking small bites, Asuka nodded along to everyone's explanations, blushing when Siena outed her as an idol (not that it wasn't obvious). "It's nothing like that." She said, waving her hands. "I'm actually...on hiatus right now."

And while she could hear her parents screaming in the back of her mind, she had no desire to sit in a classroom. She was too old for high school, but unqualified for college. It would be just as big of a waste of time as forging a new group.

Asuka sighed at Siena's suggestion, not wanting to encourage any aggression. Instead she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through the website. "How many more girls do you two know? I think we'll have better luck dividing territories if we can get an idea of how many are in New York."

Dawnsx methoxetamine @AiDEE-c0 galvanismgal Nellancholy

 

[Dawnsx]

Bippity boppity booo

Puella Magi Site

Elena brought a spoonful of sea salt caramel ice cream into her mouth, her heart warming a little. Even though the others were probably asking about the girl out of concern for their own safety, it still felt like they cared. She thought Ella and Siena seemed rough around the edges, but they were pretty nice too!

“That girl’s name is Lora. I know about her mostly from the site,” she replied. She took a moment to pull up Lora’s profile page on her phone and showed it to everyone. A quick glance would tell everyone that she’d been on the site for four years, going on five. “She was one of the first users, and I think this area used to be her territory before most magical girls decided to go along with the idea of doing hunts instead.”

“Her violent reaction is understandable, even if I do not agree with it,” Marina said, surprisingly pragmatic despite having taken a beating moments earlier. She nodded at Asuka and answered her question, “We've had interactions with at least ten other magical girls here in Millbury, though there are many more. Girls from other cities have also been coming in to join hunts.“

Elena sighed. “It’s not the first time we ran into Lora. Last time, she also got mad at us for bagging a Witch in her territory, but she wasn’t as… um… trigger happy?”

“Lora likely feels as though the situation is out of her control and is growing desperate.” Marina neatly popped the last bite of her cone into her mouth, somehow not getting any sticky residue on her hands. After a beat, she said haltingly, “Kyubey is… contracting too many girls in Millbury and the surrounding areas.”

She regarded each girl at the table with a heavy look, as though trying to convey a message with just her eyes. Elena didn’t seem to notice as she plowed through her bowl of ice cream.

“We’ll just try to avoid her ‘territory’ from now on and look in other places, so no butt-kicking needed!” Elena said optimistically, shooting an amused grin at Siena. “There used to be magical girls who defended other parts of Millbury as their territory, but I think they’ve eased up a little. We haven’t run into them lately, so it should be fine!”

Marina gave Elena a look from the corner of her eyes, but otherwise said nothing.

~~~

The girls went their separate ways after their impromptu ice cream celebration. Elena promised to call upon them again once she had a more solid lead.

The sun had set, and the night sky tonight was dark. Wherever the girls were, they would hear a familiar voice ringing in their head, placidly cheerful.

”You’ve found yourself in interesting company.”

An Incubator terminal sat before each of the girls, tails swishing like a metronome.

“You are hunting a Witch, yes? One that Elena dubbed the Whale Witch.” Despite being in separate locations, each of the Incubator terminals spoke in complete sync. In tandem, the four terminals tilted their heads as though conveying curiosity. “I’m interested to see where this hunt will take you.”

Code by Nano

 

[galvanismgal]

Mentions: nothing specific since its in hindsight sort of Kyubey Dawnsx

---

The fact most of their group was in school did not matter to Clair since she sensed they would all ditch their studies for the greater good…or just to skip. Luckily for them Clair could easily put together a study session if their grades slipped. Clair made no effort to correct Siena calling her an adult since she was pretty much but it would also let her pull the adult card. If she was feeling merciful one day maybe she would take the group to MC. Kyubeys and order only a single grief seed black coffee to go.

After Siena’s little spiel Clair doubted Siena could kick any ass. The girl couldn’t kick the broad side of a barn at her skill level let alone her future self. She should avoid picking pointless fights unless she wanted everyone on the website turning against her.

Asuka, apparently, being a real idol on a break explained her magical outfit her wish was probably something like I want people to hear what’s in my heart or something. If she actually trained to be an idol going through group magical girl training shouldn’t be any more grueling. Both veterans would have their work cut out for them.

You know with a name like Lora it was no wonder her outfit was so tacky. Clair made note of the Lora’s profile page so she could report her actions to the website’s mods. With the following things that were said with both words and glances it seemed Clair would have to delay her write up to gather some intel. While the site bringing in girls from other cities was unsurprising since Clair herself came from one of them the apart uptick in girls gave her concern. With promises made Clair parted ways to try and find some leads herself not trusting Elena to be efficient at it.

“Using the word interesting Kyubey? I doubt you’ll tell me why since you tell us what it suits you to say,” Clair said not bothering to slow down since the little creature could follow her home,” even without lying I would say we share the common interest of avoiding the truth.”

Clair’s respect for Kyubey was that of a secretary and her incompetent boss. Unfortunately for Kyubey Clair enjoyed using every methodical method in her disposal to dig into things so everything he said or didn’t say could be a clue. For now, it was best to get what information she could and give little in return. Clair knew fighting him was a futile effort so she might as well try to stay on his good side to get ahead of the messes he was making for the sake of the universe.

“Yes, the whale witch. I am sure it will be a whale of a tail for you. On another note I hear you have been busy as well lately are the wheels of fate really turning that swiftly? With such an uptick in magical girls something big must be happening soon. You should try and show some restraint sometime so your shot term profits don’t ruin your long-term gains,” she said even though their was no point in lecturing Kyubey Clair still would. Given the information she learned Clair wouldn't be surprised if it involved the site somehow but organizing hunts instead of using territories would only be delaying the inevitable so rather than another troublesome system it seemed like a troublesome someone was involved. Plus, the more girls Kyubey contracted the more messes she would have to clean up. Wasn't Siena enough already?

Even without knowing the exact truth of the matter Clair would have been concerned but the fact something or someone was setting the stage for another witch boon was worth looking into.

 

[Nellancholy]

The sound from the diesel engine of the last bus home broooooomed away into the night as Ella walked into the workshop of the Mason Mechanical building, the backrooms of which served as a combination of office and living space for the father and daughter both. The building itself seemed more alive these past weeks, as if responding to the renewed vigor of its owners. Or perhaps that was simply what happened when a business was able to afford operating and taking customers again. Ella felt less...reluctant walking up the path nowadays, though as a tradeoff, she tended to arrive home far more tired.

And it was in this state that she shuffled in through a side door, the floodlights and fluorescent bulbs that usually illuminated the workspace mostly turned off. Behind a desk sat Albert Mason, a man approaching middle-age with his hair turned prematurely gray from his ordeals, but cut neatly for the first time in a good while. His formerly toned body had long become soft, a fact made apparent by his tank top and sweatpants. But Ella was pleased to note that he had never looked more alive in a long time.

"Elly!" Albert sounded as if he was trying to sound like those big, jovial uncle types every other small business had, but he didn't have enough breath in him to manage it. "Where've you been? Me and the boys managed just fine, but having you help out would've really brightened up the place!"

"Uh...hm." Ella's tired shoulders slumped a little. "Well you see, dad, I was um...studying. Midterms coming up, and..."

"Oh, riiiiight." Albert sighed. "How could I have forgotten? Pff, what kinda dad am I, right? Bet your senior year is way harder than mine, considering how much time I spent on...those things..." He glanced away, looking back at the old compact CRT television playing old race footage. "But you know, that Altis girl came in today, talked about getting work done on her M5. Like, serious work. Engine swap, installing a turbocharger, the works...if she wants to spend her money on that, who are we to object, right?"

Ah, yes. Ms. Serina Altis. She of the platinum blonde hair, designer sunglasses, and pre-ripped jeans. A frequent customer to the reopened Mason Mechanical and someone with more cars and money than sense, as well as the kind of name that sounded like a DJ or a game developer. If her credit card didn't say it, Ella would've assumed it was fake. And her credit card was very good for whatever she asked for. Was Altis a motorsports enthusiast like Albert, or was she just one of those people who got an ego boost from putting as much under the hood as they could fit in? Where did her money come from? Why did she decide to increase Mason Mechanical's monthly revenue by 50%? Frankly, Ella was just surprised that she was...genuinely interested in finding the answers to these questions.

"I...don't mind taking some time out to help out, in fact." Ella sighed. "Why don't I take over Ms. Altis' account from now on? Free up some of the other mechanics to get the other work done faster."

With that, Albert's expression turned from that of satisfaction to one of...not so much anger, or even annoyance, but something like...discomfort? Like he'd spontaneously developed a cramp. Which part of that request didn't he like...? "Nah, don't even think about it, Elly. Lifting boxes and sorting parts is one thing, but you're not getting involved in your old man's business more than you already are. Once you're done with finals, we're going to sit down and start applying to universities. You'll go upstate, or over to MIT if ya get in. Become a doctor or an engineer, hell, an accountant if you want to. Instead of hanging around smelling like grease and oil all day."

It seemed that Albert wasn't past projecting his own regrets onto his daughter. It wasn't like running the workshop would put her in proximity to any racing accidents. But fear was rarely rational.

"I'll think about that, dad. Don't stay up too late." Ella nodded out of politeness, heading past the doorway to the living space and entering the shower.

---

Some time later...

Elly stood on the edge of a decently tall building while transformed, holding Excalibur at arm's length. She peered over the sights, sweeping the muzzle over the streets below as if fancying herself a sniper. Not that it could actually do a lot in that regard. Her other hand picked up an overpriced caramel chocolate drink from a franchise coffee shop, and she sipped the steaming hot mixture.

"Why are you telling me this?" She muttered at the incubator, more a thought spoken out loud than a remakrk of annoyance. "If I wanted updates I'd have made an account for that website. After all, I've never had trouble finding witches on my own...but fine. You've saved me some work." Now she was sure of the presence of this "whale witch".

The strange mascots were cryptic, but they never lied. This was likely to be no exception. And with that, it was time to get moving. Try to home in on this whale's sigil.

Walking to the edge of the roof, she looked down over the alley on one side, as if she was looking down into a pool she was about to dive into.

One day, she'd be able to do this straight onto the street like she wished, but right now the risk of being seen was too great.

Ella closed her eyes for a moment, then opened.

Tipping forward, she felt the kick in her stomach as she allowed herself to fall parallel to the building's wall.

And then, it appeared.

Knight answered her calling as it always did, appearing "under" her and allowing her to ride down the wall, adhering to the ground as easily as a bug crawling down a wall would.

As her helmet appeared on her head, she took a deep breath, went full throttle, and streaked off into the night.