Sis Puella Magica (IC Thread)

[Alicia Jewel]

(( OOC Thread: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/sis-puella-magica-an-oc-oriented-madoka-rp-ooc.50686/ ))

Police investigating death of local teen

On Saturday morning, sixteen-year-old Christina Clay was found dead in her Jamesville bedroom.

According to a statement released by Jamesville police, no injuries were visible on the teenager's body, and there were no signs of substance use. Her parents reported that she had no known pre-existing medical conditions. Shards of what appeared to be a large piece of jewelry were found near the victim's body, matching similar shards that have been found near the bodies of other teenaged girls with unidentifiable causes of death since late 2010.

Investigations are still ongoing, and more details are expected to be released within the next few days.

* * *​

Jamesville High School was located on the northern side of Jamesville and sat on the border between New and Old Jamesville. The main building was a remnant of Old Jamesville with a few renovations made in the style of the sleek, modern buildings of New Jamesville, and the outlying buildings like the gym and cafeteria had been torn down and replaced with new buildings a couple of years ago. The school's design was almost too appropriate given that the awkward phase of most teenagers began in those buildings. Caught somewhere between childhood and adulthood, the students of Jamesville High School often struggled to find their places in this crazy, messed-up world, even if that world was as small as a few buildings in a single town.

Which was exactly why Linda Hamilton parked her patrol car outside of the school every weekday at 3:00 PM.

Officially, she was there to stop fights from breaking out. Jamesville was a relatively low-crime town, so the schools didn't see the point in hiring officers to patrol the campuses all day, but that didn't stop students from getting into fights. So every day before and after school, there was an officer sitting outside of each school to keep an eye on the students. Usually, the very presence of a police car was enough to deter people from fighting, but the officers still had to break up their fair share of fights over the school year.

The real reason Linda chose to sit outside Jamesville High School in the mornings and afternoons, though, was to keep an eye on Kyubey.

Girls in their early teens were Kyubey's primary targets, so it was only natural that most of his contracts were made with middle or high school girls. He sometimes aimed for younger girls, which was why Linda occasionally requested to switch with one of the officers at the elementary or middle school, but the high school was where Kyubey usually sought out his magical girl candidates. Confused, misguided, and often desperate, high school girls were the most willing to trade their lives for a single miracle. As Kyubey once put it, they were his best options for harvesting energy. Linda narrowed her eyes and deepened her ever-present frown. Even after all these years, the concept still disgusted her.

The bell rang at exactly 3:20, as usual. The crowd that rushed out of the building to get to the busses or their cars was followed by a slow-moving, melancholy group that barely looked at each other as they walked. They must have been friends with the girl who died on Saturday. Linda watched them long enough to make sure that Kyubey wasn't with any of them before going back to scanning the other girls coming out of the building. No sign of the little white rat. All she could do now was keep an eye out for any girl who looked like she would be a target for Kyubey.

* * *​

Kyubey sat on top of Linda's patrol car, watching the students as they came out of the school. He knew that Linda would be too absorbed in looking for him among the students to suspect that he was sitting right above her. It wasn't the best vantage point, but this way, the risk of Linda seeing who he was tracking was much lower.

He scanned the crowd of students for a girl by the name of Monoke Yukimura. He had been watching her long enough to know that something was going wrong in her life. It was just a matter of figuring out what that something was and approaching her with the offer to fix it with a simple wish. And, of course, making sure Linda didn't find out what he was up to.

 

[Lady B]

Suddenly, a pair of legs were visible outside the window of Linda's car, slowly dangling back and forth as if they belonged to someone cooling their feet in a pool on a hot summers day. Kyubey had been accompanied by a girl with a rather blank expression on her face, sitting down next to him on the top of the police car. Elizabeth also looked at the crowd exiting the school building, but was looking for noone in particular. She was simply passing time.

"Seems like it's becoming more frequent." She spoke telepathically to Linda. "I heard another one was found last night. Same way as before. Not that you wouldn't know." Elizabeth now looked at the soft shimmering of the soul gem, before clasping it and turning it back into a ring. "It's almost like an epidemic. Is it a serial killer who targets magical girls? Is it a case of mass suicide caused by an unknown force? Who knows. Perhaps we'll even be the next ones to fall." She jumped off the car, and walked away, before stopping briefly. "Oh, and it would seem like you have another visitor. Maybe you should take some time to say hi." She said and disappeared into the mass of people making their way home.

 

[Merry Berry]

Evelynn's eyes shone a grim, deep red as she smiled while the barrier around her dispersed. She picked up the grief seed, inspecting it cheerfully. With her left hand she pulled the pin out of her hair, enveloping her in a bright light before her puella magi outfit vanished and was replaced by her regular outfit. Today she was wearing a black turtle neck, a yellow tartan skirt, black leggins and laquered black boots. Not that it has any relevance, but she enjoyed being stylish from time to time. She held the grief seed and her soul gem next to eachother, watching as the taint was absorbed by the black egg. Even though she hadn't used that much magic lately, it looked as though she had almost completely exhausted the grief seed already. "Well, I don't know what I was expecting from such a pushover witch..." She thought to herself. "Is that all this town has to offer?" She turned her head around, looking at the city of Jamesville. "Then again, I've only just arrived." Another smile krept up on her lips. It was true, she hadn't even stepped off the train before sensing the presence of a witch. It was a good sign that she was going to have a lot of fun here. Besides, she knew there were some big fish swimming around these waters. It was a gut feeling of hers.

 

[Adore Delano]

Catherine and her friends laughed loudly as they walked out of the school building. One of them pointed at the police car stationed some distance away. "Hey, hey, you think they suspect the one who's been going around murdering all those girls actually goes to this school!?" Another one sighed audibly and rolled her eyes. "No, Sarah, it's just to make sure no fights break out. Gosh, do you have to be such a conspirator all the time?" They laughed again. Catherine wasn't looking where she was going, but she could sense her third eye speaking to her. "Lift your foot." It said. It was true, Catherine did have the habit of dragging her feet, so she did as she was told. As she looked back, she saw a small ledge in the ground which she would have probably tripped over, had she not been warned. Her power was a real life saver, both literally and socially. "So, you guys wanna go grab a hamburger or something?" Said a third of her friends. All of them agreed, except for Catherine. She was starting to run low on grief seeds, and really needed to go hunting today. "Sorry guys, can't make it. Gotta study, or I'll bunk the chemistry test tomorrow." The others were disappointed that she wouldn't be going with them. "Since when have you become so obsessed with studying, anyway? You never used to care this much, yet you seem to be getting the same grades as before." Said the same friend who had commented on the excentric Sarah's remark about the police car. Catherine laughed a bit awkwardly, because in truth, she was telling them all a straight up lie. "Well, you know, the tests are just getting harder and harder, so I have to put in twice as much work to get the same lousy grades." "Yeah, well that doesn't say much." Said a fourth friend, and they all laughed again.

 

[Havic1137]

As the final bell rang, Monoke hastily started packing her things together. She looked at her notes and made sure to compile exactly what she would need for every assignment that evening into her pack. Afterwards, she took her current read, The Odyssey, and clutched it tightly in her arms. She couldn't wait to get home so she could continue reading it! She waved to her friends with a little smile, but she had that "I'd like to be alone" look about her. Nonetheless, one of her friends, a redheaded girl of her age named Trish, accompanied her, anyway. It was fairly common rule to travel with at least one other person in this day and age. One could never tell what would happen on the streets these days. Quietly, the two of them made their way out of the building and started walking home, though Monoke was clearly upset as they continued on.

"Are you all right?", Trish asked, tilting her head with a look of genuine concern, "You've been quiet like this all day; moreso than usual. I heard the teachers talking about it." Monoke, in response, simply gave a little shake of her head and replied, "I'm fine.. I just want to get home." Her eyes were practically glued to the pavement as she walked, the sapphire irises flickering with worry as she mulled over her predicament. Trish nodded softly and let her have her silence, but she put a friendly hand on her friend's shoulder. "..Whatever it is... If you want to talk about it, I'm here." She said. Monoke smiled softly, but really could not find the words to answer, aside from "Yeah. Thanks."

 

[Kylulu]

The smell of sweat and stale chips was suffocating inside the small truck, his fingers again searching out the mechanism to open the window. The glass twitched, but remained sealed, years of dirt and grime having caked it into place. Defeated again, the young man slumped back into the passenger seat. It was only a few more minutes until the next city. His nose could hang on until then. Maybe. Simmon cast a half-hearted glare to the driver, trying to decode the man's reasons for keeping the cabin closed up, nearly boiling them with the internal heat. If the pitiful excuse for an ac unit gave out, they would surely fry. The man must have noticed him staring, as a grin broke out across his fat face.

"Aw c'mon kid. 'Ain't all that terrible out 'ere." His drawl was thick, as though he had marbles in his mouth while he tried to speak. "Besides, bein' a runaway 'en all, I reckon any place'll be better 'en where yur from."

"I'm not a runaway. I've been living on my own for years."

Simmon could imagine the surprise behind the man's sunglasses, thick eyes brows raising to get lost in his hairline. There was even a hint of being impressed in the curve of his smile. "No kiddin'? Well, if you don't mind me askin', why're you headin' fur Jamesville? Place 'ain't exactly hoppin' with things for kids your age."

The blonde lounged back into his seat, arms folding behind his head. "I'm looking for someone."

"Ah, a hot fling, yeah?" The man's voice was low, teasing and lecherous. It made Simmon's skin crawl that the man would even think of something so crass when he was speaking of Kyubei. Not that the man could have known who Kyubei was.

"More of an old acquaintance. Plus, with everything that's going on right now, there'll be plenty of work."

That earned him a small laugh, and quiet mumble of being too serious. He didn't really care, as the truck had just rolled past the customary welcome sign. The first few buildings were beginning to creep over the horizon. His destination was only a few kilometres away now. In just a few short minutes he'd be out of this stuffy vehicle and breathing fresh air. Hallelujah.

"I'm jus' gonna fill 'er up, an' then we'll get to talkin' 'bout your paying me back fer this."

"What?"

The man turned to give Simmon a wide, wicked grin. "Hey, nothin' in life is free, kid. Gotta give back a lil'."

Simmon forced his face to stay neutral, turning his gaze outside the window again. He wasn't sure what the man expected from him, but whatever it was, he'd be sorely disappointed if he expected the blonde to give him anything. Still, better to sit quietly and wait until they were actually in the city before denying him. The short remainder of their ride passed in relative silence, the blue truck pulling into a small gas station. Moving faster than Simmon would have thought possible, the man was out of the truck and locking the doors, presumably to prevent the young man from fleeing. A touch of amusement curled at the blonde's lips as the man went about filling up his truck. Watching, waiting for the right moment.

Having paid for the gasoline, the man came back. He'd barely had the door unlocked before it was pushed open with such force that it sent him sprawling back on the ground. Simmon slipped out, stretching out his legs for the first time in hours. Steely blues gave the man a dismissive glance, the smile on thin lips curling cruelly.

"I advise you to stay down. Come after me for your 'payment' and you'll get far more than you bargained for." Without a second glance, Simmon turned away, grabbing his single bag from the truck bed, heading further into the city on foot. However, he'd barely gone a few feet before heavy footsteps came up behind him. His smile widened. "Have it your way then." Turning, Simmon's hand came up, catching the punch thrown at him. "You're gonna regret this."

Inside the gas station, the clerk scrambled to punch numbers into his phone, nervously watching the fight unfolding. "…Ah! Can you please get someone down here? There's a fight going on and it's disrupting business…"

 

[Alicia Jewel]

Linda's eyebrows raised in understandable surprise as a pair of legs suddenly appeared outside her window. She figured it was just some kid who thought it'd be funny to climb on top of a police car until she heard the voice in her head. She didn't even bother to respond to Elizabeth's telepathic message, but she did roll down the window as Elizabeth jumped down from the car. Of course Linda knew. It was in all the papers, and all of the other officers had still been talking about it that morning when Linda got to the station.

She stepped out of the car as Elizabeth walked away. "Don't let me catch you on my car again, you got it?" she shouted. She turned around to inspect the roof of the car, only to find that Kyubey had jumped off and was walking toward the crowd of departing students. Linda took a step back so she could follow him, but his voice in her head interrupted her:

"Wouldn't the humans find it suspicious if you left your station to follow a group of girls doing nothing wrong?" he asked without turning around. He broke into a run and jumped onto Trish's shoulder, knowing that neither she nor Monoke could detect his presence yet.

Linda set her jaw. She hated it when the little pest was right. But at least now she knew who the girl—or girls—he was trying to contract with looked like. She could look for them when her shift was over.

Not long after Linda got back in her car, a call came in over the radio about a 10-10 at a gas station on the outskirts of town. Two officers quickly responded that they were on their way. Linda sat back and watched the girls who were leaving with Kyubey, keeping one ear open in case the officers called for backup.

* * *​

A siren was heard in the distance several seconds before a police car came to a stop in front of the gas station where the fight had broken out. Two officers, a man with a closely-shaved head and a woman with her hair tied up in a blonde ponytail, stepped out of the car.

"Police!" the man shouted. "Break it up and put your hands where I can see them!" He took a step closer to the fight, ready to break it up by force if necessary, while the other officer stayed by the car.

 

[Adore Delano]

Catherine slowly hummed as she walked along the desolate street, observing her pulsating soul gem. The light grew stronger, so she knew a witch was nearby. The charred remains of a burnt down house signalled the presence of a negative force. She giggled, and threw the soul gem up into the air. A sharp yellow light consumed her, transforming her into puella magi form. Purple fluid shot out from her back, crystallizing and forming a ribbon, enveloping the soul gem and forming her third eye. Running her fingers along the rim of her hat with a devilish grin on her face, she sang slowly with the same melody as before. "Come out, come out, wherever you are... There's no point in hiding, the cat will always find the mouse in the end~..."

 

[Havic1137]

Monoke and Trish walked the streets together, keeping a lookout and watching each other's backs. Trish, for the most part, was chatting with her friend to try and take her mind off of whatever was bothering her. It seemed to work, as far as she could tell, as Monoke was responsive and smiling at the off hand jokes they would make.

After about ten minutes, the pair arrived at Monoke's house. As Monoke walked up the steps toward the small, one-story red house, Trish pat her on the back and smiled. "Cheer up, Monoke. Things will get better. They have to." With that, Trish walked down the sidewalk toward her own home, which was only two houses down. Monoke smiled softly and watched her friend leave before continuing up the stairs and using her house key to unlock and open the door.

The girl stepped into the moderately sized living room, gazing over the white walls and tanned carpets. Without a second moment's notice, Monoke was suddenly attacked by a small dog! The terrier was playfully pawing at her side and nuzzling into her hand, seeming to smile up at her with its bright eyes. Monoke giggled and lowered down to give the puppy a hug and some attention. "Hello, Yushi. Been keeping the enemy at bay?" she asked. Yushi sneezed in response and licked Monoke's cheek before wriggling out of her grasp. Bouncing up and down on the floor, it hustled over toward the couch, where its master lie prone across it. He was in slacks and a light t-shirt, though he was looking fevered, with a cold, wet cloth draped over his head and some medicine bottles sitting on the coffee table.

"Daddy? Are you doing okay?" Monoke asked, though she already knew what the answer was. Hiroto hacked into his arm and gave a soft nod as he groaned afterwards. "How are you doing?" He asked. Monoke nodded and frowned with concern. "I'm okay.." Yushi curled up in a little ball at the foot of the couch, with his head toward Monoke and the door. The man smiled and reached down to pet the caring canine. "Yushi has been keeping an eye on me today. He truly is a noble warrior."

Monoke giggled and goes to place her things in a neat assortment to the side. "What's for supper tonight?" she inquires, changing the subject. "I made a nice assortment of rice, chicken, and vegetables that you like. The bowl is on the counter and the food should still be fresh. I just finished cooking it." Hiroto responded, gesturing toward the kitchen.

Monoke nods in response and grabs herself and Hiroto a bowl of food and a few pairs of chopsticks. As she sits down in a chair near her father, the two eat and enjoy a movie that was on the television; Superman II. All the while during the film, Monoke couldn't help but occasionally glance between the TV and her parent for brief moments, biting on her lip. "..If only Superman were actually around to save my dad.." she thought to herself.

 

[Alicia Jewel]

The world around Catherine began to shimmer as if in response to the sound of her voice. The charred remains of the house seemed to expand all around her until she was surrounded by a maze constructed of planks of burnt wood and various other household materials. The sky turned pitched black, and the air became stale and smelt vaguely of burning wood. Small fires sprang up all around her, none of them close enough to present an immediate threat.

If she looked close enough, Catherine would notice that some of the burn patterns on the wood formed runes:

After a few seconds, small flames hopped out of five of the fires. Flickering white ovals that seemed to serve as eyes appeared on them. They might have been considered cute if something wasn't… off about how they looked. It was almost as if someone had tried to make an animation of flames burning but had looped it at random points, causing the fires to move erratically.

The fiery familiars bounced towards Catherine, causing everything that they touched to burst into flame. Even without Catherine's ability to see into the future, it was pretty easy to figure out that they intended to attack her. Three of them stayed back to spit little balls of fire at her while the other two bounced forward to ram into her.

* * *​

Kyubey glanced behind him as the girls approached Monoke's house. No sign of Linda Hamilton, as expected. He jumped off of Trish's shoulder and onto Monoke's as the two parted.

He started scanning the house once they were inside. Monoke's problem obviously didn't stem from the dog—it looked and acted healthy enough, after all—but Monoke's obvious love for the creature gave Kyubey a strategy to work with. The moment he saw Monoke's father lying prone on the couch, though, he knew what had been bothering the girl. Hiroto was obviously still well enough to make dinner for his daughter, so now wasn't the time to for Kyubey to reveal himself and offer to make a contract. But if his condition deteriorated…

Kyubey jumped out of one of the open windows. Now that he knew where Monoke and her father lived, he would be able to keep an eye on them for a while to see how things progressed. For now, though, he had other business to attend to.

 

[Adore Delano]

Catherine giggled, but the smoke in the atmosphere of the barrier made her cough from time to time, which she didn't like. "Aww, you guys are so cute! It's almost a shame that I have to kill you... Even more so that I won't be able to use any of my awesome powers on you!" She herself stood perfectly still, but the ribbon around her extended to a great lenght as if it had a mind of its own. It then started swatting at the flames at a high speed, followed by an extremely loud whipping noise.

 

[Merry Berry]

Suddenly, the sound of thunder interupted Catherine's whipping. A bolt of lightning lit up behind her, and a familiar burst into several smaller fires that eventually went out. "Well, well, well..." The sound of Evelynn's heels grew louder as she approached the magical girl. "You missed a spot." She tilted her head, grinning coldly. "Looks like there are two birds chasing after the same worm... What a shame. My name is Evelynn, by the way. I will be your fellow guardian of light, for as long as you're alive, that is."

 

[Kylulu]

Simmon heard the sirens begin to grow louder, knowing full well that they were coming for him. That gave him a few options, with a lot riding on his luck. Luck, so fickle. Scowling, he loosened his grip on the man held below him, giving him the freedom to move again. The other wasted no time in taking advantage of the moment, flipping their positions so Simmon was laying flat on his back, trapped beneath the weight of the brute. His arms came up to protect his head as heavy punches began to rain down, the man spitting curses and death threats the whole way. The squeal of tires was lost on him, barely hearing the shouted command over the rage spat down on him. He made himself look weak, broken, curling in on himself. Play the victim.

Suddenly the weight was off of him, the sounds of a struggle drifting over to him from somewhere to his left, turning slowly, as if in pain, to see what had happened. It was all he could do to keep the smirk off of his face as his assailant was led back towards the police cruiser, spotting the blonde woman moving up towards him. She kneeled down next to him, her face stern, but blue eyes flickering with concern. "Sir, are you well enough to stand? Do you need medical attention?"

No, definitely not. He'd be fully healed by the time they got here. He gave his head a shake, grimacing softly. "No.. No. I'm just a bit dizzy." He moved to stand, the blonde police woman backing away to give him some space. He made sure to act particularly battered, moving slow with exaggerated pain. It worked in his favour, the policewoman's features softening.

"Look, I'd hate to cause you any trouble, but we need to bring you back to get your statement."

Simmon sent a worried glance over to the lone cruiser, catching the glaring eyes of his attacker. He forced fear to flicker through his features, curling himself away slightly. "I am not getting into a car with him. He'll tear me apart." The policewoman flicked her attention between the car and the young man, before giving a short nod and heading back towards to police cruiser, grabbing the radio.

"This is car 12. 10-10 is neutralized, but we're in need of a second cruiser to keep the violent parties separated."

 

[Alicia Jewel]

The flaming familiars disappeared as soon as they were hit with Catherine's whip or Evelynn's lightning bolt. Oddly enough, Evelynn's attack didn't set anything in the very flammable-looking barrier on fire. In fact, as each familiar fell, the fires they had set went out in an instant. But the sounds of whipping, thunder, and the two girls talking caused four spots in the remaining flames to stir.

What looked like four crayon stick figures resembling a tall man drawn with brown, a slightly shorter woman drawn with green, a little girl drawn with pink, and a dog drawn with yellow rose as if they had been sleeping, wreathed in the very flames they had been lying in. Despite having no faces, they could be heard crying, screaming, or howling as they approached the two girls with their wobbling, unsteady gaits. The pink girl and the dog were the fastest of them and ran at Catherine and Evelynn, respectively, in order to slam their burning bodies into them. The other two stayed behind and extended their flaming, stick-like arms like whips.

* * *​

The last of the students were trickling off campus when Linda heard the call come in over the radio. Everything looked peaceful, and with Kyubey gone, she had no reason to stick around.

"This is car 10," she said into the radio once she had started the car. "I'm en route to your location from Jamesville High School. ETA is five minutes."

Grateful that the only traffic going in that direction was a few cars and a bus going to one of the nearby towns that was part of Jamesville's school district, Linda drove to the gas station. The male officer fed her information on the way: the suspect was unrestrained, did not appear to require medical attention, had willingly handed over his weapons when searched, and was simply being taken back to the station to have his statement taken. At least Linda wouldn't have to deal with someone angry and violent when she arrived.

Just as estimated, Linda pulled up about five minutes later and stepped out of her car. The party in question looked a bit roughed-up, so Linda assumed that—

Her eyes fell on his earring as she looked him over. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't just seeing things, but she refused to let any surprise show on her face. She had to have been imagining things, right? There was no way that that was a soul gem. She suddenly felt the weight of her own soul gem in her pocket, where she kept it safe during work hours, and was more aware than usual of the oval-shaped marking on her fingernail. Did he—No, no, she had to concentrate on her work. This was no time for speculating the impossible.

"Please get in the car, sir," she said after she'd opened the back door.

 

[Adore Delano]

Catherine turned around rapidly. She wasn't expecting to see someone else in here, it kind of threw her off her game. The magical girl who had approached her was someone she'd never seen before, and to top it all off, she had a terrible attitude. "Oho, I've never seen you around before. Are you new to this town? I'd better introduce myself, then. My name is Catherine, nice to meet you." Her third eye moved about, and situated itself next to her face. "But unfortunately I can't dawdle around for some idle chit-chat, I'm busy hunting. Oh, and this one is my prey, so don't even think about trying going after it. If I were you I'd skedaddle right away. Unless, of course, you're looking snooping around for an altercation?" She smiled coldly at the intruder.

As the crayon familiars arose behind the two magical girls, Catherine turned around once again. "Tsk, pesky familiars... Don't know when to keep quiet, now, do you?" She said with an annoyed voice. Her ribbons wrapped around the body of the yellow dog and lifted it up into the air, then throwing it at the green woman behind it. As their bodies collided, Catherine's third eye situated itself right in front of her face, and as she blew a kiss, it opened, firing a powerful laser at the two targets.

 

[Havic1137]

As the movie ended, Hiroto found that his daughter had fallen fast asleep. Smiling, the man slowly got up from his seat, minding the small dog beneath him. He grabbed a blanket from the couch and very carefully draped it over the sleeping Monoke, making sure she was kept warm. Hiroto could feel his fever ever so slowly draining his energy, and he decided it would be best to go to bed, himself.

As he refreshed the cold compress, he pondered over whether he should start calling in his contingencies, as it seemed his sickness was progressing far faster than he thought, to the point that he seemed to be hallucinating. When Monoke had walked in the door, for a brief moment, he could have swore he had seen a familiar, white cat creature perched on her shoulder. "But that's impossible." he assured himself. "I haven't seen that thing since..." he stopped himself at the brink as a flood of painful memories threatened to surge back into the forefront. "It's no matter. There's no possible way it followed us to America. Monoke is safe here."

Yet as he let that thought free, Hiroto felt just a twinge of paranoia crawl up his spine. "But just to be sure...I'm going to prepare...an extra precaution..." Hiroto made his way over to his desk in the bedroom. Pulling open a drawer, he grabbed a small book and opened it to a blank page. Grabbing a pen, he began to write in it throughout the night. Once he finished, he placed a small note on the cover and placed it in the drawer once more. Then, he hobbled over to bed and collapsed, quickly drifting to sleep.

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Monoke was lost in a black void. She had no idea where she was or what was going on. As she probed her mind, all that seemed to answer was "Daddy is gone. Daddy is gone, and it's all his fault." And while the answer came in the usual tone she would think in, the "voice" she heard was...wrong. Something was wrong, but what? She then had a sudden urge to look up.

Monoke cast her gaze to sky of the void and she saw a great war being waged by two faceless figures. On one side was a knight in gleaming armor, wielding a great, shining sword and championing the ways of all that was good and righteous, and on the other was a great monarch, shrouded in chaos and despair and bearing great, black wings from which unspeakable horrors would spill forth to make war on the world.

The battle was visceral and gory, with knight assailed by both monarch and monster. As things continued, the knight began to lose, badly. The scene itself became even more blurred and murky with every strike the warrior took, and hope itself seemed to begin to fade away, but all was not lost. The knight, battered and bloody, raised their sword, which gave off light like the sun. The battlefield was illuminated and their enemy cowered in fear. In a single, mighty blow, the black tyrant was conquered and their dark fortress sundered.

But this was not the end. A dagger extended from the dark, and the knight was struck in the heart, and Monoke felt wounded. The bright champion fell to their knees and their all was enveloped in shadow. As they rose from the earth, a great evil made its presence known. For what once was radiant and filled with glory was tainted with hatred and vengeance."Daddy is gone and it's all his fault" the voice repeated as the once-proud knight took a crown of doom upon their brow and black wings once more appeared, but this time from the warrior who had once challenged them. As the blackened knight was forever corrupted, they turned their red-eyed gaze upon Monoke. Within their eye was hatred made substance and malice given a form of flame; and as they faced Monoke, she saw writing upon her quarry's forehead.

She wanted to flee, to escape this monstrous thing before her, but she found that all she could do was lie still as the darkness bore down upon her. Monoke closed her eyes in terror and screamed, and then it was finished. She awoke in her living room, splayed across the chair and under a warm blanket. "Just a dream.." she consoled herself, though the image of the black crusader haunted her mind. Slowly, Monoke got up from her seat, made herself a glass of warm milk, and went to bed, occupying her mind with anything else but the remnants of the nightmare...

 

[Merry Berry]

"Oho, looks like the fun is just about to start!"

Evelynn snapped her fingers, and a pair of drumsticks appeared in her hand. Holding them out in front of her, an electric current flowed between them. Hitting them together made large sparks fly, which formed a halo of flat taiko drums around her. By striking them with her sticks, she sent bolts of lightning flying at the pink girl. The halo of drums began spinning rapidly, and Evelynn continued striking them with a steady beat, as the thunder kept raging upon her enemies.

 

[Kylulu]

Simmon relayed as much information as he could to the two officers as they waited for the second squad car to arrive, glossing over a few facts here and there. Like why he was hitchhiking into town in the first place, and entirely leaving out the threat he had made against the man. Hopefully he'd be too enraged to remember that Simmon had initiated the whole incident. Embellishing slightly, he told of how he attempted to escape when the man demanded payment for the ride, afraid of what might happen once the man realized he had no money to give, or worse if that wasn't what "payment" meant. He played the victim quite well, if he could say so himself, stuttering where needed, fearful glances towards the man in cuffs. The woman was eating out of his hand. If push came to shove, he could count on her taking his side. her partner seemed more skeptical, asking for any weapons, making sure he covered everything like a good, model policeman. His knives were handed over easily, though he did wonder if he'd eventually get them back. A few moments later, a second cruiser pulled into the gas station, the officer stepping out of her vehicle to open the door for him.

"Please get in the car, sir." So polite, if a bit cold. Giving a small nod and avoiding direct eye contact, Simmon sat himself in the back of the cruiser. He kept his posture slouched, curled in on itself, hands clasped tight together in his lap. Just a little longer, this would be over and done with, and he'd be free to search out Kyubey.

 

[Alicia Jewel]

The dog let out a distorted howl as it was flung into the green woman, knocking them both down in the process. They stumbled to their feet and prepared to charge and lash at Catherine, but before they could move again, her laser hit them. With a shriek and a howl, they disappeared into puffs of what looked to be crayon-drawn black smoke.

The pink girl screamed as she was hit by a bolt of Evelynn's lightning. Her cries grew louder, echoing around the barrier as she resumed her unsteady charge. She only made it a few steps before another lightning bolt struck her down; she, too, disappeared into smoke.

The brown man, however, dodged the lightning bolts in a way that looked like he was stumbling blindly around. He let out a loud, continuous yell as his stretched-out arms flailed wildly about, striking at Catherine, Evelynn, and the areas around them at random. One of his arms hit a beam above Evelynn, causing it to break loose and fall toward her.

* * *​

Linda glanced at Simmon through her rearview mirror as she drove toward the station. His earring looked too much like a soul gem to be comfortable… or coincidental. If Kyubey really had started making contracts with boys without telling Linda, it didn't come as a surprise. The little rat never told anyone anything. On the other hand, she didn't need this boy telling anyone that she had asked if he had really made a contract with Kyubey, especially if she was wrong. It wouldn't be good for her career. And besides killing witches and trying to stop Kyubey from making any other contracts, her career was all she had.

"I'm sure you've been asked all of the important questions already," she said as she slowed to a stop at a red light. "And I'm sure you'll be asked more when you get to the station. But I have a question of my own." She moved her left hand to the radio, making sure that the mark on her middle fingernail was visible. If this boy really was a puella—no, that wouldn't fit, but she could worry about names later. If this boy really was a magical boy, he would know that that mark belonged to a puella magi. "Why did you come to Jamesville?"

 

[Adore Delano]

Catherine, who had been able to foresee this event, was able to grab the beam before it fell very much at all and used it to smash the man to pieces. "Careful now, the last thing we want is for you to get hurt." She said in a sarcastic tone to the other magical girl, wearing a smug look on her face.