781/A Café, Eclipsed

A Café, Eclipsed
Date of Scene:	04 November 2023
Location:	Gullwing Coffee
Synopsis:	While Coco is sifting through the city obsessively, Amy and Cleria watch over the toy-fied people at the café. Will they manage to help them not be as aggravated by the whole experience while the the transformation is still functional? The answer, actually, is yes.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Amanda Faust
Tinyplot:	Lunar Eclipse

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It has been a frantic number of hours for Coco, worried as she is about finding Usagi. She had been searching for her all over the city after Darien/Hematite had teleported her and Naru away. This being an emergency, she has called up all of her available otters and mermaids, all scattered throughout Tokyo with nonstop urgency. Hopefully they can locate her soon.

She is busy running like that, when her phone starts ringing, bringing up Cleria's number. "Did you find her!?" she practically shouts into the other mermaid's ears, who on the other side of the phone winces as the sound reaches her sensitive ears. "I'm afraid not", she replies, "but I found a bunch of her victims, and I think you would want to see. There is another student from your school here too, Princess."

"I will head right over", Coco replies as her assistants forwards her the location. Another student? Who is it gonna be? Luckily it's not too far from where she is, and a few minutes later, Coco is at the café's door, gasping for air.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is still in her costume from earlier. She looks ready for a gothic lolita tea party or something, and she's sitting in a booth, regaling the assembled toy-people gathered on a table with stories of heroes raiding the Demon King's castle. Shortly after Coco arrives, one turns back into a human, crawls off the table, and hurries off, confused.

    Amy watches her go and then sees Coco there at the door. "Coco! Are you alright??"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
After she has recovered from running nonstop all this while, Coco looks at Amy and Cleria, the former sitting at the same table as Amy, humming a melody at a low enough volume not to ruin Amy's story, but still providing pleasing backgrounds sounds that change accordingly to the events the other girl is currently narrating.

Cleria walks up to her princess, a scene which would leave one to wonder if they are relatives, given the same yellow hair and eyes. "Welcome back, princess. As you can see, this girl and I have been paying attention to the toy people, and trying to make her time stuck like this a bit better. At least it's fading away on its own" she concludes, as she want the person getting out of the café slightly confused.

Coco nods, it's good things aren't so bad. "Thanks, Cleria", she says before turning to her friend. "I am alright, what about you, Amy? Is everything ok?", she asks, approaching to give the redhead a hug. "How has it been going with Cleria?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy glances at the transformees, and at Cleria. "I feel like maybe we shouldn't call them 'toy people'? They're real people. They've just been turned into-- their bodies have been turned into toys. That are animate somehow. Or maybe their souls have been ripped from their original bodies and put in these... and then the're back in their old bodies when it wears off?" She shakes her head. "I don't know how magic works. I just..."

    She looks at the toy-people. Then back at Coco. "I just... was able to. adapt quickly to the situation." She stands and hugs Coco.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Yes, we can do that", Cleria replies surprised. 'I was just describing their current state', she thinks, a bit unsure about being told that. "I wouldn't know about magic, miss Amy. We can't really make use of it like the princesses can."

Coco on the other hand lets go of Amy and breaks the hug. "Thanks for being here. Still nothing on the front with Usagi, but we are still looking." Regarding her question, she brings up her prior experience. "I think it's the same body still. That's how it felt to me at least. Like I was first restricting and then expanding when I was turning back to normal."

"Please, stay safe, Amy. I will leave you here with Cleria while I continue the search. I will warn you when I found her." And after a quick wave to the two of them, she leaves the building with the same hurry she had when coming here.

"Shall you resume the story, miss Amy?" Cleria says, going back to her seat. "Or if you don't mind, could you bring me up to speed on what history you have with princess Coco?" she asks curiously.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Thanks for being here. "Someone... I could adapt to the situation. Someone has to be calm for these people, help them feel normal." Beat. She looks at Cleria. "IS this normal? Has this kind of thing happened before?"

    when Coco describ es the experroence, Amy's eyes widen. "It happened to you?" She squeezes in the hug. "I'm glad you're OK and not messed up."

    The toy-people are muttering amongst themselves. Amy umms, "Well... she's my classmate. And she's fought evil alongside me more times than I can count, since I became a Magical Girl. She's been there when I realized key things about myself. I guess that makes us comrades basically, right?"
%

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"People turning into toys, you mean?" Cleria asks from her seat. "I have never heard of it, at least. The enemies of the seven seas are the type to make prisoners with almost no magic involved. I have heard of them brainwashing people or putting them to sleep, but never turn them into toys.

Coco gives Amy a thanks about her worries towards her before going away.

Cleria gives a slow nod, before fully taking in what Amy has said. "Oh, you are? Like, you fight alongside the princess regularly? How is her search of Gaito going? Is she faring well in fights? She isn't getting hurt, is she?" she asks, one question after the other, leaning forwards towards Amy.

"Well, it's good to know she has trustworthy allies at herside. We were really worried she would be all alone, especially due to recent events. We were worried she would have had a hard time making friends again", she explains, going back to her seat.

"But it sounds like you too have had your own hardships. Is your life looking up now? Frankly, I didn't expect so many magic users here. Are you a Panthalassa?" At that question, her mouth has taken a slightly bitter fold.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    I've never heard of people turning into toys before.

    Amy catches sight of her reflection in a window, and her clothes, dressed like a girl who turns people into dolls. An extra little touch for her haunted house room, now in increasingly poor taste.

    She thinks, again, of how difficult it would be to track people down if they *had* become inanimate objects, or worse, something like water. How would you ever get all the same molecules back together to undo it?

    "...That's probably for the best."

    How is Princess Coco?

    Amy looks back to Cleria. "I don't know how we'll find Gaito. She has gained new powers -- thanks to her friends -- that help her do more in battle. I don't think I recall her ever really getting *hurt*. It probably does help that she's a shield-projector and not a melee fighter, you know?"

    Are you a Panthalassa?

    Amy blinks. "An all-what? I don't know that word. I feel like I've heard the roots before somewhere... something to do with the sea?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Why, have you before this happened?" Cleria replies puzzled over Amy's answer. "If you have any sort of magic that would enable us to counter it, it would probably be good to hear about it." Amy's choice of dress doesn't tell her anything about being styled after a sort of toy witch. They don't have that kind of association over there.

Well, she still recognises it's something that wouldn't be out of place on a doll, which prompts her to ask. "Had something happened to you? Were you stuck like a toy for some time and now that dress is part of you?"

The news Amy gives her are very much a relief. "Aqua Regina's blessing still follows her then. We were so worried about it back home. The others will be so happy not to have any reason to worry, and her friends are even helping her get stronger. That shield projector you mentioned is one of the new things she can do then, right?"

She waits a second or two while pondering exactly what to say. "Panthalassa are a people as old as us mermaids, supposedly, and they are the only humanoid kind I know that is able to use magic besides mermaids themselves. And I certainly doubt you are a mermaid. So you are a human mage then? That's the first I hear of it."

In the meantime, she goes back to singing a melody to the toy people.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Why, have you before this happened?

    Any looks back at Cleria with a thousand-yard stare. How is she supposed to answer that? While she's thinking about it, Cleria probes further, and Amy half-winces at the strange guess. "I'm... I'm obsessed, okay? With transformation in general. I've seen a lot of stories. An' I was trying to give that vibe for the haunted house, I set out a buncha random objects and I was doing a bit where I gradually hint that I -- or rather, the like, idea I'm pretending to be? -- was a witch who turned people into objects, the things in the room her previous victims. It was supposed to be scary, I didn't think it would actually happen right next door!" She flings up her hands, briefly, then sighs, and takes a seat again, listening to the song. Several of the toy-people turn to watch and listen to Cleria, some swaying to the music.

    "...Yeah. I'm a human mage. Well, sort of. I... accepted this position in July, to be a Magical Girl who hunts Witches." Amy blinks at that thought, and sits straighter. "Hey, do you have Witches under the sea? They're these huge monsters that live in their own pocket dimensions, somehow mark people nearby to make them commit suicide, and somehow feed on that death. The pocket dimensions -- Labyrinths -- look all weird, more like artwork or magazine clippings than reality."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Wow, that's actually unfortunate. At least you aren't actually cursed or anything", is the first thing she says. "It must have ruined the atmosphere quite a bit. Was your haunted house successful before then?" She taps the table slightly while she thinks. "I don't really get what you mean by being obsessed with transformation stories. Like, is it something you want to do to others, want to do to yourself, or just a branch of fiction you enjoy? Why would that be then? Any reason it does?"

Amy is providing Cleria with a lot of information between songs. "So, mages get appointed her then? Who does the appointing? I am not really used to magic being anything except a birthright. That's how it has always been in our society. Well, that and it's also something to watch out for from water demons, but only Gaito is responsible for creating them lately."

A shake of her follows. "Nothing of these Witches. Nobody has discovered weird marks, it's actually horrifying that something like that exists up here. Where do they from? Who creates them?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    At least you aren't actually cursed or anything

    Gets a short, sharp chuckle from Amanda.

    It must have ruined the atmosphere

    There is abruptly a woman sitting on the table dressed like one of the cafe staff. Awkward, flustered, and confused, she excuses herself -- careful not to squish any toys as she extricates herself from the booth -- and then muttering "Um... I'm not feeling so good... I'mgonnagohomeearly" and hurrying out the door. Amy watches her go, then shrugs. "Not really. It was too high concept for most of the students to understand." she admits, with a hint of disappointment.

    I don't get what you mean

    Amy Looks back at Cleria. She takes a breath and sighs. "I was born in the wrong body, but didn't know it until a couple months after I learned magic was real. So, the thought of ending up in a different one, wondering what that would be like, and wondering how others would react to it if it happened to them, is something that's always drawn me. And when you seek out those stories, you also get..." She waves a hand at the assembled toy-people. "And stuff about people being turned into stone, or into inanimate objects. That's why I'm focused on keeping their mental state together. I've seen... what others think would happen to people in that situation, so I fear the worst."

    Amy throws up her hands and paces around the aisle between the booths and tables. "Fortunately they can move, and talk. Well, most of them can move."

    So, mages get appointed here then? Who does the appointing?

    "'Mages' might not be the best word...It might be better to think of Magical Girls as like... warriors? Magical warriors who fight the monsters and dark mages that prey on humanity, who because of some veil are unable to prepare and defend themselves. Some god called Blue appoints some of them. Others, I don't know where their powers came from. Me and other Puella Magi? We're offered a contract, by a creature called Kyubey, where we get power to fight, and a wish granted, in return for agreeing to hunt Witches to the end of our days. I... I saw a monster and its controller take down three magical girls and a fourth was in danger, when I got the offer. I had to do something. And in return..." She holds her arms out to her side to indicate herself. "I don't know if getting a better body was part of becoming a Magical Girl, or the result of my wish."

That's horrifying! Where do witches come from?!
    Amy shrugs. "I don't know. My theory is that they're just something that exists outside of reality and find their way here. And then it's Magical Girls' job to kill them."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The chuckle really bothers Cleria, unsettled by Amy responding that way. "What's wrong? What's so funny about you not being cursed?" she replies.

She watches sadly as the woman makes her quick exit. "Had Coco not been busy, she would have been able to do something." She follows that up with a shrug. "My voice doesn't actually have any power."

"Well, you aren't a mermaid for sure then", is Cleria's blunt reply. "That issue just doesn't exist with us, I don't know if princess Coco told you about white merfolk. It seems like a cruel joke that you humans are fixed like that."

Them being able to move was indeed a good thing. "Still, their new perspective must be horrifying even if their aren't stuck in place."

"A god called Blue..." Cleria looks down while thinking. "Does he have any sea power? I wonder what Aqua Regina would have to say about him."

Then there is the correction about magical girls. "That's just like the princesses. Sort of. They aren't under any contract. They do it because magic is just as much part of themselves as arm is for anyone. What did you give up as part of this contract? What does Kyubey want in exchange?"

"I hope you continue holding these Witches back then."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's explanation later covers 'what's so funny', she thinks. She nods at the question of white merfolk, and shrugs. "They don't happen to look like clownfish, do they?" she mutters, with a soft chuckle.

A cruel joke...

    Amy shrugs. "Not so fixed as we seem. But the people in power in human society suppress knowledge and acceptance, so that they can point to anyone who doesn't fit their definition of 'normal' as freaks."

    '...their new perspective must be horrifying...'

    Amy shrugs. "I don't know. It hasn't happened to me. And I feel like it would be kinda prying to ask. Coco said it happened to her, though, so... maybe ask her?" She stares into space for a moment. Then: "...I think that part of it would be how uh..." she lowers her voice, "tiny and weak" before resuming speaking normally, "they are. Human society teaches us that weakness is to be punished. So, I hope I'm assuaging that fear, at least, by showing kindness and concern."

Does he have any sea power? Amy shrugs.

    What did you give up? / I hope you continue holding these Witches back then.

    Amy shrugs again. "I gave up a boring, normal life in the wrong body. And even if I didn't kill Witches because protecting people is the right thing to do, I have to. Killing Witches and taking their grief seeds is the only way to recharge my magic, since I don't have a god or whatever granting me power. If I ever run out of magic, I'll die." She shares this information blithely.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Cleria shakes her head. "If you happen to have seen the princess in her true form, then imagine her white instead of yellow and you have an approximate reference."

"Well, it's cruel that you have to rely on others instead of being able to make that call autonomously when you are ready", she insists. "And the fact there are people putting obstacles in your way just makes it all the clearer why.

"I didn't know that happened to her. I glad nothing came out of it in the long term."

The mermaid winces when Amy talks about her obligations in the contract. "To be at such a risk... You must be really brave and kind to have taken up that call, even with that wish in it."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    ...it's cruel that...

    Amy shrugs. "That's humanity for you. Really, we should have someone fighting all that fucked-up-ness. We might even-- no, we do need it even more than we need people to fight monsters. But I can't change the world. I can fight monsters." She looks at the toy people on the table. A checkerboard she set up for those less interested in stories is seeing some use, two tiny doll-people moving checkers 1/5 their size while others comment on who they think will win.

    "...But today, I can do this. Watch them. Make their life less scary and show them kindness. Because to me all this feels 'normal'. Familiar. Comfortable. Well, maybe that's not quite the right word... like taking care of people with an everyday cold? It sucks for them, but I don't have to freak out at realizations, at a new reality, at a new context, because I'm already used to it, at least in theory."

    Amy looks over the booth at the window. A red-haired version of Alice, [Disturbing Magical Girl], looks back, with a meloncholy expression neither of them especially wants to show the world. She glances away from the window, then back again. In her mind's eye, a boy her apparent age in a twin-tailed blonde wig and a white-and-pink magical girl outfit looks back. She's not sure which is more fitting, right now. She mutters to herself, "[Something's Different], indeed."

    "That's probably not normal, but today it's a good thing. I can do this without accruing further psychic damage..." hopefully, she mutters under her breath, "...While other fighters are tracking down Usagi to undo whatever turned her into someone who turns people into dolls. Toys."

    You must be really brave

    "Guh." Amy scoffs. "I mean yeah, I always wanted to be a hero and help people, but..." She takes a breath, and lets it out, and breathes in again as she tries to think of how to put this. "Like, that I'd risk dying in battle seemed a regrettable sacrifice but a hero's duty, right? Sure, you hear old people say things like, 'I lived a full life' and 'I'm thankful for the time I had' and I always thought they were full of it. Living is obviously better than dying, and anyone who can't see that is... what do they say these days... 'high on copium'?"

    Amanda shakes her head. "Of course, I don't want to die. But now... I think I get it. Even having had just a few months like this... If I die in battle tomorrow, my last thoughts won't be dominated by desperately desiring a future I won't live to see..." Her eyes grow watery, and a tear runs down one cheek, then the other as she raises a finger to catch and flick it away. "...I really am grateful... for this time, however short. I would rather have a month like this than decades like that." She grabs a napkin from a nearby table and blows her nose, then stuffs it in a pocket. "As long as I like, knew and didn't waste the time worrying about turning back or worrying that I'm a fake girl, anyway. The only point in living so long like that was the hope that one day, technology could give me this." She spreads her arms to indicate herself again.

    And then she smiles. "And hey! If I actually make it? If we defeat wherever monsters come from, or I survive long enough to forget about magic? Then I got a pretty great future to look forward to as a princess's boyfriend, I mean girlfriend. I'm gonna go touch grass on other worlds."

    She goes behind the counter and pours herself a glass of water, and one for Cleria too -- not like there's any barista to stop her -- and raises her glass in a toast. "So whatever happens? Things are pretty great now." She gulps down some water.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Clelia is moved by Amy's speech and the dedication and bravery she demonstrates, so she has no qualms taking part in the toast - after making sure she is being given still water, at least. The other girl's tears have her heart in a vice, and she can only admire the determination Amy is showing.

"To your fight against evil, that your heart may remain pure and untouched by the darkness, and to your future, that it may shine with the brilliance you envision", she says before gulping down the water.

Just then, whether by coincidence or by something answering Amy's strength of spirit, the remaining vestiges of Sailor Eclipse's power binding her victims to their diminished forms vanishes, and soon enough a confused crowd of people stands around them, the memories of what happened already slipping away like water through one's fingers.

Those that manage to cling to them for a few seconds mutter words of thanks and give a pat to the redhead's shoulder, before exiting the shop, their minds serene if puzzled despite the the harsh transformation.

"Well, it looks like that is over too", Cleria answers. "It's better if I go contribute to the search, but it was great meeting you. I will try to stick around Tokyo, may we meet again." With a bow, the attendant of the South Pacific exits the café at a fast pace. The danger isn't over yet.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Toast!

    "I'll drink to that!" It's still water.

    And then the spell ends. Amy beams up at the few who remember her kindness, at least for a moment. "I'm gonna rest for a few minutes. Maybe get some lunch. I kinda never got to eat. Then I'm back on the search too. And if you find more toy-people in need of kindness, let me know! Or if you find Usagi and I can get there *before* she turns more people into toys." She waves to the departing mermaid.