1190/In the wrong zone

In the wrong zone
Date of Scene:	26 February 2024
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Yuki experiences her first day as a magical girl... by running into an Eclipse Zone and meeting the DG girl of gluttony, Drie. Fortunately, Kingu and Hope Witch are there to save the day!
Cast of Characters:	Yuki Hoshino, Hinoiri Kirara, Madoka Kaname, Sugata Shindo

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Yuki Hoshino has posed:
"Experiment log, February 24, 2024. Tethered testing completed. It's time to see just what we can really do up there." Yuki is quite new to the whole magic thing. Her Device, Argent Dawn, is not exactly in the best of shape, either. (It seems glad enough to have a wielder again, at least.) So she's taken things slow, testing in stages to work her way up to things like flight and actually going out and fighting monsters. She's a techie, after all.

And now she stands on an otherwise-empty rooftop, somewhere well away from anywhere normally associated with her, for the sake of concealing her identity 'just in case'. "You ready, Argent?" she asks.

"Affirmative, Master." the synthesized voice answers from her phone.

The girl nods, and plucks the octagonal brooch from her lapel, connecting it directly to the phone. ""Argent Dawn, set up."" A rotating circle of light springs to life on the rooftop below her, hexagrams and runes spinning around her. Her school uniform glows, turning into sparkles of light that reform into her Barrier Jacket, though not without the occasional bit of pixellation. Finally it is done, however, and the Knight of Dawn stands in a steel-blue kimono, ready for action!

A smile flickers across her lips, and she slides the phone and Device into a prepared slot on the back of her left vambrace, clicking it firmly in place. ""Faerie Flight"," the synthetic voice intones, and she lifts off into the air with a set of translucent blue wings sprouting from her back. Laughing with a moment of sheer delight, she soars across the city, twisting and spiraling, turning and climbing and diving as she puts herself to the test.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Ahhhh, the first flight. Was there anything more exciting to a new device wielder as that? The thrill of air surging through your hair, the energy floating through your body. Magic coursing at your finger tips.

It likely did feel incredible. That is... until the moment Yuki would feel... something. It was like going through a light oily film. The world would darken and then... she'd feel her energy being drained. Worse, there was a light music, humming just beneath her audible range. Tugging at her senses...

Beneath, she could see... things. At first like people, but on closer examination they were definitely NOT human.

Worse, at that moment, she could see them and--

And then *gravity* itself suddenly seemed to amplify itself *considerably*. She might sure a strange, moth-like monstererous girl below.

Drie, one of the DG girls... not that Yuki would know that. Oh dear.

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Her first round of tests completed, Yuki practically dances across the sky, enjoying the moment, the freedom of flight. It's everything she dreamed it would be. Climbing high, then swooping down like a bird... and then, she hears the music.

The flying Knight stops for a moment, listening, hovering in mid-air, passing through something as she drifts. Something dark, something *wrong*. She looks up, checking for storm-clouds, but there is nothing to see. Then she looks down...

People? No... not quite. Something was wrong. And she was being pulled down. She struggled against it, pushing upwards, trying to climb away and out of range, but nothing seemed to help. Her feet touch the ground... and there is something waiting for her. Something definitely not human. "Who goes there?" she calls out to it. "What are you doing?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Drie," the moth girl said with a smirk. "I take it you're here to try and put down the Eclipse Zone?" she asked. "Well... fortunately for you, the boss isn't here right now..."

"Unfortunately for you... I am," she said before snapping her fingers. "Get her."

Yuki would feel that weight only increasing. Something from the purple moth girl was just... making her get heavier and heavier. On top of that, the zone she was in was already draining her, more and more. Draining away her magic.

She could see multiple eight foot tall towers throughout the zone, with speakers, that seemed to be emitting the sound. However, she wouldn't have long to consider it.

As it was then that strange little men in black suits, with red eye covers... came charging at her! MOOKS! NO! About eight of them!

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki regards the moth-girl's 'greeting' for a moment. Strange outfit, purple skin, weirdly cute... she shakes her head. "Haven't got a clue what you're talking about," she says, reaching down to tap an icon on her phone. Her wings pixellate, then fade out, leaving her grounded once more.

Without the flight spell, the pressure is even worse, and the drain.... no. If she's going to call herself a knight, she has to at least try to fight.

"Argent Dawn? Aurora Lancer." A half-dozen octagonal shapes form in the air around her, and she visibly slumps a bit as darts of light start to spin within each. The Knight manages to lift her hand, however, and sweeps it across the area before her... sending the darts zooming out at the approaching mooks.

And while that distracts them for a moment, she takes the opportunity to back off a few steps. If she can just get to the edge of the zone....

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
The octagonal shapes formed in the air and were launched! And... disappeared with little pops within a few seconds, barely making it a foot away from her before they were sapped. Worse, the kindabads weren't stopping...

Within the zone? They were being amplified as well. They let out a victorious cheer, assuming their victory was well in hand... Before they charged her! Normally, such creatures would have been about as hard hitting as tough children... but now? Within the eclipse zone? They hit like real adults. And with the reducing effects, they were actually kind of... threatening. When one tried to punch her in the stomach!

Meanwhile, Drie just laughed, a hand to the side of her face. "Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!"

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Still backing off, the Knight of Dawn turns to glare at the moth-girl. "Hey! That's my line!" she snaps, remembering the occasions she's cut loose that same laugh at school, keeping up her image. Not that it's worth anything here.

By involving the mooks, however, the fight has turned from ojousama vs ice-queen to Jocks vs Nerds. A position Yuki is a bit more familiar with than she likes. Backing off further, she's still not fast enough to get clear before some of them get close. Timing is everything, she tells herself as she lifts an arm to try to deflect the first blow, only to have it brushed aside. "Aurora - Gah! - Lancer!" she lets out, folding over the mook's fist...

The thing about being a 'magic nerd' is, they /pay attention/. And if she's not going to get any range from her shots, then she just has to lure the target in close. Right? .... Right?

"Lancer's shield!" she snaps, conjuring a fairly basic defensive shield that she promptly shoves in the mook's face before turning to run for it!

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Yuki was right, somewhat. She did learn. And she didn't have range! And when she shoved the shield in the kindabad's face... it crumbled like wet paper. It did buy her a few inches, though.

Meanwhile, the DG girl seemed amused, watching Yuki as she fled...

And she could see the edge of the field, she was almost out! Freedom! Away from--

And it was, when the poor girl was within reach of the exit, so close she could touch it...

That the gravity around her just *amplified*. So much it nearly crushed her, driving her to the ground. Within inches of the exit...

And unable to move due to the relentless, unceasing force weighing her down.

From the moment she'd flown into the zone, her fate had been sealed. She'd realize now, likely, that Drie hadn't not been getting involved... She'd been *letting* Yuki think escape was an option. Just so she could snatch it from her grasp at the last moment.

And she could hear the kindabads coming up behind her, their dark, ominous chuckles beginning before the first one kicked her while she was down.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    All of a sudden a rain of pink arrows appears out of nowhere, firing directly into the Eclipse Zone and covering the area in...

    ... pink smoke?

    ... fading pink smoke that doesn't really do anything useful except make a sparkle effect and fade out.

    Upon a nearby rooftop, one might see Hope Witch with her black branchbow in hand, looking down at the Eclipse zone from outside. Brai is hovering over her shoulder.

    "That's the one you told me about, right?" she asks Brai.

    "Yeah, I saw her flying around and then she suddenly dropped! I thought she might be in trouble," explains Brai.

    "Well, I'm glad you came to me, but..." starts Hope Witch. Hesitating. Closing her eyes, she draws upon the thin threads of Darkness that Gretchen has in her, the despair and the sorrow and the trauma. She starts channeling that darkness into another black-glowing pink arrow and fires into the Eclipse Zone. It spreads into a hundred tiny bolts of darkness that...

    ... are honestly still kinda useless...

    "Maybe you're not really cut out for dark energy use, Hope-chan," says Brai delicately.

    Hope Witch whines, "I'm trying, okay?!"

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
So close. She can -see- the edge of the field. Almost reach out and -touch- it. She -saw- the mook crumple under a simple blow. It's the pressure pinning her down that's got her stuck. The drain on her magic. She'd claw for any scrap of energy she can get to just pull herself that little bit further... to shield herself for a moment...

The first kicks hit, and while her Barrier Jacket is holding for now, how long can it last with so little energy left to her? She lashes out blindly with a kick, trying once more, remembering how easily the first one had gone...

And then, a rain of darkness. A new enemy? Oh no....

"You - gah! - can't win!" she shouts. "The Sun always rises!"

Note to self, if we survive this, set up something cool to go off when we say that.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Sugata Shindo was occupied with the last details of apartment hunting, and honestly hadn't been planning on doing anything more serious than a little exploration. Tiger and Jaguar were supposed to be shadowing him, but he'd ducked out of their sight to enjoy a bit of his newfound freedom.

Now, however, he's regretting that. Just a tad. It's not that he thinks he'll need any help to handle the creatures attacking some hapless girl in a kimono, but with them off in the distance, searching for him, he was absolutely going to have to carry her out himself.

Nothing else for it, though.

"Apprivoiser!"

Ginga Kingu, a tall boy with chin-length blue hair, in a deep blue military jacket with an outrageously fluffy pale blue cravat, stalks into the border where the girl in the kimono is being attacked, and presses a hand to his chest.

"Star Swordo--Diamant." A large, energy sword is drawn from his chest, glowing bright white. "Stand down, and die."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Oh. Oh dear. There was... smoke. Lots of smoke. A distraction! And from the smoke... nothing. EXCEPT! Suddenly, Ginga Kingu came walking out, as if he owned the place! The kindabads made soft little minion sounds at each other, wondering if they should attack him!

THEN ARROWS! It... they... lightly rain on the kindabads. Leaving them confused. They look between each other... before... RUNNING AT KINGU!

However... there was one success from all this. The gravity holding Yuki... was gone.

And Sugata would feel it, suddenly. As if his body weighed many times more, the ground cracking underneath the sudden assault. Hindering him right as the kindabads charged, kicking and punching!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch sighs. Is this the best that she can do? Maybe her doubts are holding her back. Dark Energy isn't exactly something she feels safe using. She saw what happened to Hematite. Is she holding back on purpose?

    On the other hand, maybe she should. Those doubts might be wisdom more than fear.

    Well, even if her attack power is awful, she still has other means of approach. Being a Witch, even a fake one, provides certain advantages. Also, some new guy showed up, so maybe he can provide backup. Madoka steps into the bright frilly white and orange/pink entrance to her Labyrinth, and the magical gateway moves from the top of the roof into the Eclipse Zone, stopping right next to Yuki. Hope Witch steps out, black bow in hand, and keeps her careful pink eyes on the baddie squad. To the unknown device user, she says, "If you're looking for your moment to escape, it's right now."

    If Yuki goes into the Labyrinth she'll find herself in the middle of an infinite plushie store where everything is free but all the stuffies are creepy. Then again, the border is right there and, assuming she doesn't get gravity'd again, is a lot less sketchy.

    "This isn't the place to fight. They'll drain our energy as long as we're here," she asides to Sugata. "I respect your fighting spirit, but you aren't going to make much headway here."

    Even now, Hope Witch is starting to feel the drain. She just hopes that the other two will be smart about this while they still can.

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Even curled into a ball, buffeted by kicks from the Kindabads, Yuki was still paying attention to what was going on. Her Device's sensors helped a lot with that, especially without the distrctions of flight or attack spells. And so, the moment the pressure of gravity is off of her...

"Faerie Flight!"

Translucent blue wings sprout from her back and she /bounces/ into the air, the scraps of mana she held on to sending her airborne just long enough to land ... right at the edge of the zone. One more step, and she can feel it. Lighter. Freer. Whole.

It's not quite all she'd hoped. She's free. She's out from the crushing pressure, the drain. But she's still... /hollow/. Emptied of energy, or nearly so. She stands there, wobbling on her feet, trying to pull in any energy she can reach. Glaring at the Kindabads, daring them to leave the zone and come after her.

She takes another step back, and puts on her most haughty sneer, focusing on the image of the first mook dusting under a single spell. "Are you brave enough to fight /outside/ your little hole?" she asks, a handful of Lancer dart circles forming around her, sputtering and glitching into pixellation and reforming.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
The enemies don't decide to back down - unfortunate for them. Or at least, that's what Sugata would normally think; but normally the forces of gravity didn't selectively increase, dropping the kind of pressure that cracks pavement and sends people to their knees.

Even Sugata shakes under the pressure, his knees bending as he adjusts his center of gravity -

But he still strikes out with Star Sword Diamont, the white energy sword flashing out like a bolt of lightning. The strike will be weakened to be sure, the result of the Eclipse Zone's draining effect, but his form is perfect and true.

Sugata's been practicing kendo since he was knee high. It will take more than pressure to make him buckle. (Though he is very much slower and weaker than he's comfortable with, under this much force.)

When another girl appears beside him, walking through what seems to be a portal from another world, he quirks a brow, though her explanation earns an annoyed humph.

Retreating can be the better part of valor, especially because with the enemy focused on him, the girl he'd stepped in to defend has made her way out.

"Fine," he says coolly. "They can keep their lives, for now."

Sugata, you still have to get out of the Zone, should you really be this haughty?

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
When Hope Witch came out, there was a moment of confusion... then... "Oh, it's YOU! That friend of Sunbreaker's, huh?" Drie asked. "Well... she's not here right now, so I think you'll need to take a SEAT!"

She held out her hands and a small orb of concentrated gravity gathered... before flying out, between Hope Witch and Kingu.

Normally? Kingu's sword would have cleaved through such things with ease. Torn them to pieces. Now?

It would likely be horrifying to Sugata to see that the blade... took down one mook... sending him to the ground! But there were seven more...

... Worse? That one mook was getting UP!

However, it was then that the orb of gravity EXPLODED! Between Hope and Kingu. It'd first attempt to draw the two *in*, to slam them into each other... a moment before reversing, sending them apart from each other! But...

If that happened, there was a slight... mistake on her part. It'd send Kingu flying out of the barrier... And Hope into the terribads running at them.

... And send her bouncing OFF them, and out of the barrier.

Worse, at least for the terribads? They kept coming, running out of the barrier... and only realizing the sudden danger after a few feet. When their newfound strength started to fade...

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch watches as Yuki starts to get away to safety... but is still apparently too drained. "Oh no!" She clasps her hands together and watches. Meanwhile, it's now Kingu's turn to take the heat, and she winces empathetically. At least he's fresh so he can last for a bit longer. In response to his haughty confidence, she just offers a soft smile. "We'll get them one day. There's always hope!" Turning her pink gaze towards the moth girl, she calls out, "Dragging us out of the sky is playing dirty. Don't assume that you'll always get your way!"

    Unlike her Blossom form, Madoka actually isn't that agile as Hope Witch. Not outside of her own Labyrinth, anyways. There's not much she can do to fight against the sudden gravity well. She yelps out loud as she's flung about, possibly into Kingu, before being sent arms and legs flailing through the air into the horde of Kindabads. Bouncing off of them, she sails through the air as her black ribbon dress flutters in the wind. Her portal suddenly tilts back and starts moving frantically in order to catch her out of the air, and when it does it quickly moves outside and deposits her outside of the zone, close to Yuki.

    She takes a few steps to stand between the Kindabads and the Device User, drawing back a pink arrow on her bow and aiming it at the enemy. The moment she notices some of them cross the invisible line out of their relative safety, she whispers a single phrase in an inhuman language. The words themselves are lost, but the sharpness of it sounds like an order.

    Her frilly magical portal grows in radius, and out of it pours a number of eldritch, biblically accurate angels. Many eyes, many feather wings, many rings and odd geometric shapes. Sharp implements, rings of fire, all matter of incomprehensible things lash out at the kindabads as Madoka's Familiars rush to her defense.

    Madoka being generally a rule-obeying creature, her Familiars follow her footsteps and don't take even one step into the Eclipse Zone. Instead, they wait right outside the border, strange weapons drawn as their wings flap slowly in the air.

    Hope Witch calls out from behind her minion line, "That's enough! You're done here, so go away!"

    Her portal remains open behind her, in case she still needs to flee.

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki hasn't lost hope. She's regained it. "The sun always rises," she murmurs again, barely audible. She takes some time to watch the Witch in action, perfectly willing to learn from a more experienced ally. Then the pink-and-black is next to her again, with her bow, and Yuki readies herself for the oncoming mooks.

"Just one more, Argent," she murmurs.

"Affirmative, Master. Aurora Lancer." The octagons form around her, ready to summon the darts... or try to. Repeatedly glitching out, pixellating. Fading.

"Shoot!" the young knight orders. Most of the octagons glitch out again right away, without sufficient mana to fire. A tiny handful manage to fire their darts at the monsters.

And that's it for the Knight of Dawn. Her eyes roll back into her head, and ... down she goes. Falling back, fortunately for her right into Madoka's portal. Maybe even right into the pile of creepy plushies.

That's going to be interesting to wake up to.

Sugata Shindo has posed:
There's a yank and jolt, and suddenly - suddenly the gravitational well isn't trying to press Ginga Kingu flat. Suddenly, it's yanking him off his feet, and he crashes against the smaller, gothic girl who had portaled right to him.

The collision isn't as bad as it could be, though it's certainly uncomfortable.

It's just unfortunate for the moth girl that he's thrown out, landing on his back and skidding several feet out of the Zone that weakened him. It's yet more unfortunate that the minions follow him out.

When he rises, showing no sign of the bruises he can feel developing or the drag on his energy, his expression is icy. Amber eyes narrow.

"King's Pillar."

And it's a good thing that Hope Witch and Knight of Dawn are out of the way, that Hope Witch's familiars are still a distance from the Zone - because a titanic pillar of energy crashes from the sky, blazing like a hundred thousand lightning bolts falling all at once. It crashes over half the zone, covering the full width of the street - and demolishing the minions.

The street beneath Sugata was cracked. The street beneath the kindabads is cratered. Glass in the nearby area is shattered to power. Cars on the street are wrecked.

But the Zone is intact.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
The kindabads... gave squeaks, flailing, turning around! THAT WAS A LOT OF WEAPONS and they didn't want any of that! NOPE! Madoka's biblically accurate familiars were NOT what they wanted to fight OUTSIDE of the Eclipse zone! And so they ran, tails between their legs, Yuki's darts smacking them on the butts on the way out--

Before they were, instead, crushed. Cratered. There final cries little terribad despair filled yowls...

Until the pillar left nothing but dark marks on the ground, the terribads gone... Admittedly, likely dusk ported back to their realm. Or poofed. They were expendable, though. So Drie didn't mind.

She, however... made no move to leave the safety of the zone. Even through it, she had felt that. While little within the zone had been crushed... It had been felt, that pressure... and she was still a rookie. She had no desire to face it head on.

"And stay out!" She yelled at them.

Meanwhile, from the center tower... a light ding went off as another jewel of energy was ported away.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Just like that, the fight is over. Kingu, Witch and her Familiars on one side of the line; Drie and her remaining kindabads on the other. Madoka frowned as she watched the enemy through gaps in her wall of angels. Then, she turns towards the entrance to her Labyrinth and says to Sugata, "I'm going to check upon our fallen knight. You're welcome to join us if you wish. Either way, I doubt we're in danger on this side of the line."

    She casts one last sad, squinting look over her shoulder at Drie before walking through her portal. It was frustrating to see her attacks fail, but at least it confirms that Sunbreaker wasn't completely lying.

    Inside the Labyrinth, she finds Yuki collapsed into a pile of spooky-cute plushies. They have patches over their eyes, huge stitches, and other stylistic choices that imply these poor things have been torn apart and sewn back together in an almost patchwork way. It is, if nothing else, a very soft place to have landed.

    By rank and file, her Familiars follow her inside, seeming to vanish into black mist the moment they enter the Labyrinth proper. Soon the street outside is free of any be-not-afraids, and the portal lingers open long enough for Kingu to hitch a ride if he so chooses.

    Kneeling over Yuki, Hope starts checking for life signs. A pulse, breathing, things like that. Her first aid medical training hasn't left her, and probably wont no matter what new magic she gets. "Hey, are you okay? You're safe now."

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
Yuki is not dead - much to Drei's theoretical disappointment - but she isn't conscious at the moment, either. She's very low on energy, almost completely drained by her own expenditures and the Zone's effects.

Her energy is recovering, at least. Perhaps thanks to the immensly magical environment of the Labyrinth.

It isn't immediate, but she recovers enough to start to regain consciousness, letting out a soft groan as her eyes flicker open. "Wh...."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
Before Godoka and Country (again), Ginga Kingu's henshin drops, leaving Sugata Shindo glaring disdainfully at the moth girl, before he turns on his heel and walks into the portal.

The creepy cute atmosphere of the Labyrinth immediately puts him at a loss, Sugata turning slowly, taking in the plushes, the semi-conscious girl.

He settles quietly against a wall, waiting for an explanation.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Fortunately for Yuki, the magic Madoka's Labyrinth is based off of hopes and dreams and not sick horrifying despair, despite how it looks. The spookiness almost has a playful flair to it, like someone went shopping at a Halloween party shop, though it still possesses the otherworldly quality of a real Witch's Labyrinth. Hope Witch offers Yuki a soft smile as the knight starts to wake up, and gives her a moment or two to catch her bearings before explaining. "You're in my own little pocket dimension. Don't worry too much about how it looks. Just think of it like... one of those super hero cartoons where they dive into someone's mindscape."

    Then, Hope taps on her own chin thoughtfully, "... On the other hand, with you being a Device user, you're probably familiar with Barriers. This is... a very similar idea. Nothing here is actually real except for us."

    Hope looks over at Sugata as he drops henshin, and she says, "I don't think we've met before. Sorry for keeping my disguise up, but the moment I drop all of this will vanish. I'd like to get us to safety first. My henshin name is Hope Witch, but my real name is Madoka Kaname. Is there somewhere you'd like me to drop you off?"

    Turning her attention back to Yuki, she asks, "I suppose I should ask you the same thing, assuming that you can get up on your own. Can you?" Hope offers her hand to Yuki, to help her up if needed.

Yuki Hoshino has posed:
The Knight sighs softly. "We're... alive, good. Did we ... what happened to the crazy purple lady?" She's definitely recovering, and her Barrier Jacket kept her from suffering more than bruises from the Kindabads' attack. If help hadn't come along when it did, however... well, things would have gotten significantly more painful.

"Call me... Knight of Dawn," she offers, once she's more comfortable talking. "It's nice to meet you, Hope Witch. Thank you for your help, both of you."

Sugata Shindo has posed:
"It's no matter," Sugata says dismissively, though he does have a polite smile on his face. "Sugata Shindo. I've only recently arrived, so we wouldn't have had a chance to meet, prior. I appreciate your opening your pocket dimension."

It seems to be a form of Zero Time, one that's been put up for personal use. Fascinating.

"If you can open a portal to Radiant Heart Academy, that would be appreciated. I'm glad to see you well, Knight of Dawn." He has not offered his henshin name. He's going to try and put it off as long as possible.