Mahou Madness!

A miss could mean far more than failure, she would be propelled into the void, as her allies were overrun and killed, but she was perfectly on target, the force of the shot pushed her back a fair bit in the strange gravity they were subject to, but it didn't matter, moments after she had fired the world seemed to break again, the ground falling and sky swirling until almost too suddenly to note, they were back on Brazil's slightly damp ground.
Though Namiko would find herself transformed back to normal, as the device hungrily ate up everyone's energy.

"Hahh... I... Guess this one goes to you...".
Sana declared, already running off as Namikos teammates limped away.
 
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Even the mild recoil from her grenade launcher was enough to send her flying backwards, making sure that, if she missed, she wouldn't get a second chance. Luckily fortune smiled upon her and the round struck right in the center, exploding into a million little beanbag pieces and - more importantly - depressing the button. The world seemed to end in reverse, with the void vomiting them outwards until, very suddenly, they were back on solid ground.

Namiko fell backwards on her (now un-magical girled) butt and let out an enormous sigh of relief. Part of her brain briefly noted her adversary escaping, but she was much too winded for the moment to do anything about it. Anyways, her friends were now quickly leaving her in the dust. After a moment of much needed breath-catching she got up and jogged after them. "You guys have the device?" she asked between pants.
 
Her allies were a mess, Sara was unconscious in the dirt, her odd armour in pieces, Dulce seemed to be more bruise and blood than skin, though was at least standing, and Luca was curled up in a ball, shaking violently with her eyes closed.

"Yeah... I got it..."
Dulce answered, holding the device like she expected it to bite her.
"I called for a car... Then HQ can take... Whatever this is far away from me!"
The car in question would arrive about twenty minutes later, it was a jeep, with a woman driving who looked stern and serious despite the casual clothing.
 
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Upon seeing the device in question and confirming that, indeed, their efforts were not for naught, Namiko collapsed on the ground beside Dulce. It hit her: they'd come into the home of chimeras, if only for a minute. It was like nothing she'd ever seen. The feeling was like pure despair, a screaming screen of static. She didn't even have enough energy to take a good look at her peers (though part of her wanted to make sure Luca was okay), but she knew they felt the same. Linked with the mirror realm indeed! One missed shot and they could've been torn and floating corpses. She, too, was eager to get the thing into the hands of whoever's job it was to look at this stuff.

They stayed in this miserable state for what felt like an eternity before a nondescript Jeep pulled up beside them. Almost completely ignoring the stony face of the driver, she lumbered to her feet. Before she could begin walking, though, she caught Luca in the corner of her eye, still curled up into a shivering ball. She paused briefly and walked up to her, scooping her small frame up into her arms (whose bruises had faded with time and magic) and carrying her with her into the vehicle, leaving the other two to follow behind her. "Are you okay?" she asked as gently as she could, as she placed her on the far left seat.
 
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Luca's shaking had slowed down but not stopped entirely, she had clearly been crying a little and was very cold, though slowly warming up in the midday heat, her injuries were healing too, though slowly, above all she seemed exhausted.
In answer to Namiko's question she shook her head slowly, which promoted Dulce to speak.

He'll need time to rest... That fight was exhausting, never mind that it was their first fight against humans, they had a transformation forcibly ended and then were unprotected and untransformed in that hell hole..."
Sara for her part was unconscious as well, head in Dulce's lap.
"We are getting out of the country ASAP I have no doubt AAD reinforcements are coming, probably one of their aces and at least half a dozen fake Blairs... So when we get back, clean up, head to the airport and get on board the jet".
She ordered.

Their driver would stay quiet through the trip, even when they arrived back at the hotel.
 
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Namiko nodded slowly at Dulce's explanation. It made sense. But still...looking at Luca, so small and pitiful, made her heart ache. All she could do was stroke her head and hope that this was at least good experience.

And it wasn't like she didn't understand anyways. That place...it was like nothing she'd ever seen.

They stayed in silence the whole trip, with only motor sounds and breaths both hoarse and shallow to accompany them. The woman at the wheel was statuesque as well. It was almost unsettling. Namiko expected something - if not words of encouragement a comment on their sorry state or query about the result of their mission. It made her feel some sort of way, but even she wasn't able to place it.

Finally they arrived at the hotel. Luca was still shivering, their eyes open and their cheeks puffy. Silently Namiko picked her up, bridal-style, and carried her up to the room, leaving Dulce and the unconscious Sara to their own devices. The receptionist looked at the exhausted group strangely but did not stop them. She unlocked the door with neither hand free, placed her on the bed. She spoke as softly and as motherly as she could. "Luca," she said. "We need to wash up. We'll be far away from everything soon enough, back in Japan. We just need to get ready and board the jet. Can you do that?"
 
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Dulce seemed to be carrying Sara in a much less careful way, the young idol slung over her shoulder as she followed them in, heading in a different direction once they did.

Luca was doing a lot better but still not great, at least she was a bit warmer and had her eyes open now, and Namiko's voice seemed to help as well.
"Uhh... Right... I'll umm, go shower..."
Now that she had a task Luca was able to stand up, only to realize they didn't have any spare clothes, and quickly washed up as best she could, emerging looking a little ragged still.
 
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Namiko nodded, smiling softly. At least she seemed somewhat better now. There would be time for talking later; for now, they had to focus on getting out of the country.

The faint sound of the shower in the background allowed her a few moments of calm to collect her thoughts. They'd just faced death twice: first with a magical girl several times their strength, and second with an armada of chimeras coming straight for them. And how did she feel about this?...Well, she was tired, but she was almost always tired. What surprised her was how quickly she'd gotten over the initial shock, as if looking death in the eyes was a common occurrence. It was - for magical girls things like this eventually grew to be as surprising as getting your mail later than usual - but for something as big as this...there had to be something quite wrong. The fear and urgency shouldn't have felt this distant.

It took her a moment to notice Luca staring at her in the doorway, hair slightly wet but somehow still raggedy-looking. She quickly smoothed out the thoughtful creases in her face. "I'll be quick," she said, and entered the bathroom herself. Only five minutes later she emerged, looking to be in much the same state as Luca. "Let's go," she said. "Do you have all your stuff?"
 
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At that point all Luca wanted was to climb into something vaguely resembling a bed and sleep, despite knowing that she would likely have nightmares for a while about the day, fighting, being splashed with the blood of another human she had wounded, and that place... So cold... So wrong, and filled with chimera, she didn't know what Orphan would do with that device and didn't want to know.

Luca had packed the few things she had brought while Namiko was in the shower, and they were quickly able to head out, there was no sign of the others, so it was just them as they headed to the airport, Luca attempting to hold Namiko's hand the whole way.

After dealing with a bored airplane security guard they boarded the jet without further trouble, it seemed AAD hadn't put a warrant out or anything.
 
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While they headed to the airport Namiko spaced out almost completely. So much so that she grabbed Luca's hand without any shame or embarrassment. Why she was in this state was anyone's guess, including her own. Perhaps it was just fatigue.

They boarded the jet uneventfully. The sky glowed a hazy peach as they took off. It was only then that Namiko came back to her senses - and noticed her hand over Luca's, both aligned over the armrest. Her cheeks turned the color of the sky. She thought about how distraught Luca was earlier and felt the sudden urge to comfort her further, to tell her things were alright. She turned to her. "Luca," she said softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"
 
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Once on the jet the first thing Luca did was flop into a chair, letting go of her hand just long enough for them both to be seated before her hand sought out Namiko's again.
She was almost infantile during the take off but soon returned to a sad, but normal Luca.

At first Luca shook her head, but stopped and let out a sigh.
"I... Didn't like fighting other people... It was okay at first, my sword hit them but it didn't cut... Then that girl... She bled so much on me... And then... When my sword broke I felt sick and empty... Like I'd forgotten to eat and got kicked in the stomach again..."
She went quiet for a minute, as if gathering her thoughts, clearly holding back tears.
"And that weird place... It was so cold it hurt... And felt so... Wrong!"
 
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Namiko felt a deep wave of pity wash over her. She wished deeply to tell her everything was going to be okay, and that it was over and she wouldn't have to do this again; but if she told her that she'd he lying. The reality was that she would have to do that many, many more times in the future. Maybe even have to kill another magical girl. There was nothing Namiko could do, eager as she was to protect Luca, to withhold this reality from her.

To her grief she remembered that it was she who brought Luca into this in the first place. She wondered if it wouldn't have been better to have taken out that first chimera by herself. Or to have let it pierce her through the chest.

No words were spoken for a bit. Namiko pulled Luca's head into the side of her bosom, offering her shirt to absorb tears or simply ragged breaths. After a while she spoke. "I've seen everything, working as a magical girl. Honestly, you'll have to experience everything you did today again, later. But...at least you won't be alone," was the only shabby encouragement she could muster. All she had to communicate her feelings was the warmth of her breast and the silence that stood between them.
 
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Honestly even If Namiko had said that, it wouldn't have worked, she was incredibly naïve, but not stupid by any means, Luca knew she would have to fight again, though she was hoping to avoid killing, and definitely never wanted to go back to that hellish place! She was sure she would though, in her dreams if not real life.

Luca actually smiled for a minute, it was small, and nowhere near her full vibrancy, but seemingly genuine.
"Thanks Namiko... That... Actually makes me feel better, as long as I'm by your side I'm sure everything will be okay".
She declared.

The jet touched down not long later, with drivers on hand to return them home, Orphan did at least care enough for that.
 
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Luca's little declaration of trust put a smile on Namiko's face. Gosh, she was cute. She could only hope that what she said was true - that everything truly would be alright as long as she was there with her.

Soon the jet touched down and they were shepherded into an Orphan-owned vehicle. Namiko fell asleep almost as soon as she plopped into one of the seats, resting her head on the right side window. She'd gotten no sleep on the jet, and the whole fiasco they'd experienced earlier took a lot out of her. It took a lot out of everyone. Her dreamless, languid sleep would last until they pulled into their destination.
 
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Upon landing she would wake to find herself in a car with Pharah at the wheel, she had moved her from the jet without waking her in an effort to let her rest, Luca was not in the car, and presumably had already gone home with a different driver.
"Hey Namiko... Heard it was a pretty scary party down in Brazil... Glad you both made it back in one piece".
The concern and relief in her voice was palpable, she always had been a lot more emotionally involved than most non magical staff.
"Normally I'd suggest taking a day off to rest... But school is important, so just sleep well when you get home".
They would Reach Namiko's apartment ten minutes later.