1733/A Rainy Witch of Dancing

A Rainy Witch of Dancing
Date of Scene:	07 July 2024
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	Incomplete. A Witch has caused civilians to dance through the streets of Yumegahama - luckily, on hand to fight are Amy, Sayaka, Madoka, and Young Lacuna.
Cast of Characters:	Sayaka Miki, Hinoiri Kirara, Fuyuko Yuuhi, Amanda Faust, Madoka Kaname

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Sayaka Miki has posed:
It has been raining all day, and despite the appreciation that comes with having a rainy day in the hot summer weather, few people will be dallying outdoors with such a heavy downpour. And those that for one reason or another have to stay outside are squeezing under an umbrella. Yet there are some who seem to be quite intent on disregarding the weather, acting as if the rain wasn't an issue.

There wasn't really any commonality one might find to this group of people, except for the fact every single one of them kept showing the same contradicting behaviour, dancing and a spent look in their eyes. it was prevalent enough that a few people had started talking about it at cafès and similar places.

If someone on the right side of the Veil were to meet one of these people, they might be able to recognise the mark known as a Witch's Kiss on their neck. Sayaka was likewise following them, first having picked up the faint trail of a Witch, then having run into the bewitched crowd. For now, she is going to head to the destination, then she is going to worry about putting an end to their cursed pilgrimage.

However, the dancing people struggled to get to their location, and most of them ended up collapsing along the way from the fatigue of dancing. One less problem for the bluenette and other mahous on the case, who can follow the strong trail of the Witch for the rest of the way, reaching a nightclub whose glory days were long past, and it was so rundown that when Sayaka lightly touched the door it fell towards the equally messy interiors.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been out, finally having gotten her jacket. A new one. It was... nice. Well. Nice enough. Not leather. But felt and looked like it. And definitely well made.

Then she'd heard some weird bird music...

And then she'd felt that music gathering. At first, it hadn't bothered her.

By the time she realized anything was wrong, it was too late.

So those who went into the club might realize... one of the people dancing in the rundown club? Had oddly familiar red and orange hair. Her eyes empty, as she danced after... something.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Rain, that wasn't so pleasant. In the summer, with the heat, rain was like drowning on dry land, breathing in all the awful humidity even as it poured down on you. Lacuna? Not a fan.

Not that that was going to stop her from getting a hunt in, of course. The only good thing about the future continues to be the prey - so many enemies to kill, monsters to hunt, people to save. Honestly, what are the Mahou of this time even doing?

No, seriously, what are they doing? They must be weak as hell, to have so many and still be this outnumbered by the enemy. If Lacuna actually cared about the answer, she'd ask the blue girl down below, running along with the crowd of Witch Kiss'd victims. Sure, it was good to keep one, just to follow them to the Labyrinth, but why not thin the herd?

Once people start collapsing, that's exactly what Lacuna does - she waits until there's a gap, four or five people rushing ahead, and then she dives for a city street, opening a split in the street a good six feet deep and four across, then widens it, widens it, until the majority of the victims dance right in and can't get out. Emergency services would get them out; in the meantime, they'd be no trouble.

Once the door collapses in, she hops to her feet and breezes over to the entrance, brushing past Sayaka as she glances around.

"Wonder where the hell the Witch is hiding, plenty of spots to prop up a Labyrinth entrance in this place.

Amanda Faust has posed:
Earlier:
    It's quiet Sunday at school! Well, quiet so far. Amy estimates there's probably like, a 30-50% chance of a monster attack happening nearby during a 'quiet, relaxing' day. She hasn't gone to the beach today on account of all the rain though, so... Hmm. Probably like, an ice cream cart at the edge of campus being turned into a Youma or something.

Now:
    Gods damnit. While Amy recognizes that thinking that probably didn't somehow reach back into the past and cause a Witch to appear in the area, she can't help but feel a little like she jinxed it.

    Amy moves with Sayaka, keeping her oversized red raincoat on even in Puella Magi form. While Lacuna's methods may be destructive, this time she can't deny the results.

    Amy flinches as the door collapses. "A Witch that makes people dance..." She thinks back to the new kouhai with a dream of becoming a singer who just moved in today. "Do you think she wanted to be a great danc--" she starts to ask, and then freezes as she hears Lacuna getting close again. "We'll find it. No problem." She states, hanging her coat by the entrance and looking over the dancers who made it here with concern.

    She gasps as she recognizes one, and rushes over to her. "Hinoiri! Hinoiri snap out of it! Wake up! Oh, no..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    While Gretchen may be the Witch-seeking bloodhound among Madoka's Chara, today it's actually Lydian who notices the strange, listless dancers. After all, they're a little hard to ignore even for the magically unaware, and the art fairy couldn't help but be at least a little curious. Of course, once she gets close enough to see the Witch's Kiss, her inquisitiveness turns to silent horror.

    A few phonecalls and a henshin later, Hope Blossom is also chasing after the culprit of this dancing disease. The umbrella she holds over her head is a bit pedestrian compared to the frilliness of her outfit, and also a bit useless at protecting her once she starts jumping around. Deciding that staying dry is a lost cause in this weather, Madoka puts it away and decides to accept the rainy inevitable.

    It's then that Madoka notices Hinoiri among the dancing and gasps. She rushes up to the recovering Dark Energy addict and tries to shake her shoulders. "Hinoiri?! Hinoiri, snap out of it!"

    Panicking, she glances around, and notices Sayaka and Amy right away. Especially since the later has the same idea as her. "Sharp-chan... I think Hinoiri's in trouble!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka blinks as she is pushed aside by the magical girl that seems to be in a hurry to get inside. "Hey, do you mind?", she frowns at her after almost bashing her head against the jamb of the door. "If you are after the Witch, pushing people aside won't help you find her!" she exclaims annoyed.

But when she comes in, she notices the same problem Amy and Madoka point out to her when they come in. Hinoiri dancing under the spell of the Witch. And much like the other two, she tries waking her friend up. "Hey, Hinoiri, get the hang of it!", she exclaims, trying to tap the geode on her neck in the hope it would do something. Which of course it doesn't.

"I think it's business as usual here", she sighs, clearly discontent at the sudden complication. "So, we know that the Witch is hiding in here, let's start searching and keep an eye on Hinoiri", Sayaka tells Amy and Madoka, sparing a glance to the unknown magical girl. "If you want to team up, you are welcome to." Even if she doesn't expect a positive result.

A wardrobe gets her attention after a bit of aimless searching, and a quick application of magic confirms the result of her search when a portal opens. "Ok, so everyone ready?", she checks with the group after transforming. If she gets a yes, she jumps into the portal.

On the other side, a patchwork woodsland awaits any who get in, twisted trees with branches that reach out pleadingly, lacking any leaves or flowers in this autumnal Labyrinth, grasping at giant Asters that seem to keep their distance and casting ominous shadows upon the decaying leaves that cover the ground. The air is always thick and stagnant, and somehow it rains in here too, with unusual white clouds swelling and shrinking at irregular times in the sky, and occasional bluebird almost imperceptible in the dark weather.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"No, I don't mind," Lacuna calls back over her shoulder, snooping around the place while they gather around a single victim.

There's all kinds of junk in this abandoned place; she pulls a length of old cable free from an opened wall and snips it to a good length - then she starts tying up the Witch Kiss'd victims who made it inside, looping it around their ankles and wrists so they go down, and can't get back up to keep dancing - or follow through the Labyrinth, once the blue girl - a Puella - reveals the entrance.

Huh. She's worked with Puella before... as much as she's worked with anyone not Stellar... but they kinda tended to vamoose...

But they left the dancing girl who seems to be their friend just dancing along, with an open Labyrinth, and she rolls her eyes, walking over to the girl.

"Hey, victim of the - holy shit it's sarcophagus girl, damn your luck really is shit," she laughs a little, then proceeds to tie Hinoiri's ankles and wrists with the remainder of the cable, then lightly shoves her down, so she's seated and will, at most, be able to do the worm instead of dancing around to a collapse.

"Hmmm... giant flowers," she says, looking around, cocking her head, "Well, not too bad."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara didn't seem to react when the others tried to shake her out of it. While her geode was there, it was only effective against dark energy. This? This was something altogether... different. And the geode didn't have any impact on it.

However, while many of them had likely seen Hinoiri dance before, the strange thing now was that here was no singing. She just... danced. Spinning, stepping, arms out... She even took Madoka by the hand, to spin her in a sudden dance, arm around her back, reaching towards the heavens before letting her go a moment later, as if there was some music only she heard.

And she then leaped as the portal opened and--

Suddenly, CABLE! She yelped, looking blearily in confusion at the sudden obstructions. Hollow, empty eyes stared at them. As she, futily, tried to shake them off.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka, fretting, glances between Hinoiri, Sayaka, Amy, and whoever the pushy New Girl is. She almost wishes that Gretchen were here with them, because then at least they'd have a considerably less hostile-to-dancing-unicorns Labyrinth to shove Hinoiri into.

    Then again, it's not like she'd be able to really shove everyone here into tiny little Gretchen's back.

    While she's worried about that, Lacuna starts tying people up, and honestly... while the girl is a bit rude that doesn't mean she's got the wrong idea. She decides to wait next to Hinoiri and look over things until Lacuna's done, which means she's just in range to get spun by the ex-villain. The pinkette kinda winces uselessly while Lacuna does all the hard work, feeling at least a little bit safer when her frenemy is at least restrained for the moment.

    Shortly after, she's following Sayaka through the portal, glancing around at the giant flowers and leafless trees that seem to want them. "Somehow, this one feels a bit more melancholy than usual. Even for a Labyrinth."

    A part of her wants to know if this Witch ever enjoyed dancing in the rain, but she's not going to speculate about that out loud when there's an Unknown here.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    As they're about to enter the Labyrinth, Amy turns to Lacuna. "Beyond this point, things are gonna get weird. Remember: Never enter a Witch's Labyrinth alone. You can't count on anything in there being like it is out here... except that whatever way we've got to fight still works."

    She walks in after the time-displaced mahou. "...Well, this is pretty normal. Rrrgh, it's raining in here too?" She pulls her cloak around her. "Hopefully the rain doesn't just fill up the Labyrinth until it's underwater..."

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
Just before entering the Labyrinth, Lacuna - stares at the Puella, who she doesn't recognize as the doll from Dream Kingdom - and then makes a face. "No way, are you actually treating me like a rookie?"

She actually laughs.

"Never enter a Labyrinth alone? What kind of hokey rule is that? The future is so weird - who heard of waiting for back up to get the job done?"

She's still snickering when she walks into the Labyrinth and comments on the flowers.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Labyrinth as usual, business as usual, down to the creepiness, even if a meteorological condition inside a labyrinth actually is new. "My cape is going to be an annoyance like this", she laments as she tries to squint her eyes to see ahead. "Labyrinths are really not as much of a problem once you know what awaits you", she tells Amy. "But yes, your suggestion would be useful to newbies. I did tell Bow to be careful like that when he was still learning."

"I think you are right", the bluenette tells Madoka. "It has got a marked feeling of longing and unhappiness." Which isn't particularly weird, but it's certainly unexpected, comparing to the usual longing.

The flowers don't seem appreciate Lacuna's snickering at all, and in response, four of them uproot themselves and form weird reddish-blue faces that stare at her with no particular discernible emotion, petals expanding in a rush like pointy helixes towards her, 2 for each flower.

Alerted by the flowers making their move, the clouds notice the mahous present, and start shaping themselves like branches, chairs and tree stumps, before the object they mimic starts falling down on the remaining mahous. Branches for Sayaka, chairs for Madoka, and tree stumps for Amy.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Turning towards Lacuna, Hope Blossom comments, "I've seen veterans of several years die in places like this in less than a second. It's not for no reason that we give that warning. Especially since we don't really know you."

    That said, it's not as if they can't solo a Witch. At least two of them have done such a thing here, that she knows of. Madoka thinks back to the people who first told her not to enter a Labyrinth alone, and then tries very hard to not consider why exactly it is that she hasn't heard from them in a while.

    The fight starts, attacks come out, and Blossom shouts, "Watch out!" more to the group than to anyone in particular. She sees things falling towards her friend and then, looking up, sees the chairs coming towards her. Immediately her branchbow appears in a flash of pink as she fires directly upwards, letting a spread of bright pink death tear through the hostile seats as she runs forward. Being on the move means being harder to hit, after all.

    When she finds an opening to attack, she aims a charged arrow at one of the strange face-flowers. Those probably aren't the Witch, she assumes, but a hostile Familiar is still worth shooting at.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
"Yeah," Lacuna shrugs to Madoka, callous and casual, "But those veterans weren't me. Name's Lacuna, and I've been cleaning up this shit future "

And that's all she has to remark on that, because the fact is, the fight is on, and it's way more interesting than the team up and gloomy attitudes. Petals from smiling, walking flowers come her way, and liquid darkness rises from nothing, darker than pitch, darker than the night, with dying winks of light far, far within, and Lacuna races forth to meet the attack, leaping up -

The petals aren't cut or torn - no, it's not so easy as all that - they're just gone, as if they had never been, neatly severed away. Pieces crash to either side of Lacuna, and she lands with a swift roll and a bounce back to her feet, racing for the enormous flower itself. A scythe forms from the darkness in her hands, and she slices at a diagonal angle, aiming to bring the whole thing down.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy was kind of expecting Lacuna to be rude, but the sheer disdain for safety manages to exceed even her expectations. She rolls her eyes. Hopefully seeing a Witch will teach Lacuna they're more serious business -- it's a good thing her first will be in a group, at least.

    "More melancholy than usual? What does that... mean?" Amy looks around. "Kind of weird that we haven't been attacked yet--"

    Oh. Flowers. With faces. That's. Low-to-middling weird for a familiar! "Look out!" She conjures her rocket launcher and then a tree stump falls on her!

    She blows it away in a panic with a point-blank rocket, and then finds herself looking up and frantically rolling out of the way of more stumps, trying to get to her feet and fire a shot off at the flowers. "Okay yeah this is more the level of weirdness I was expecting!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka was mostly focusing on the flowers that had suddenly sprung up and started attacking. She would have noticed too late the branches falling towards her were it not for her risking a quick glance to see if the rain is being caused by something they can stop. "Ah!" Jumping back by a hair, the blue Puella avoids the first one of them, and two swords turn up in the air as they rush forward to slice every single branch of the rest.

"That was really sneaky", she mutters warily, searching the sky for any more signs of sudden attacks, but it doesn't seem to be the case. "So, far we have those Asters, then some clouds, and there is that weird bluebird too, but it's not attacking us, it's moving around, disappearing and reappearing. Though maybe it's just more of them popping up once in a while", Sayaka ponders.

With Madoka and Lacuna having attacked and destroyed a few of the Asters, the rest of them get active and it's a whole swarm converging onto the mahous.

Fuyuko Yuuhi has posed:
A swarm of the walking, smiling flowers, and Lacuna is getting into destroying them - grinning with wild abandon as she swings her scythe in wide arcs, cutting and devouring in the same swing. The enormous flowers fall when she cuts the bottoms out from under them, thudding with great BOOMS of sound, splashing water high into the air.

She's soaked, but she was always going to be soaked, in a rainy field like this, and what's the point in being mad about it? There's a fight on.

"So when do we think the Witch is going to show up?" She calls out, clamoring up one of the newest Asters. She's vanished the scythe, and a single swing of her arm is enough to send darkness splashing up, to tear through the petals as they come after her.

"I can get the bird, 's probably an enemy too, since we're in a Labyrinth."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka glances to the side at the mention of the bluebird. It's not attacking them, so she doesn't suspect it to be a threat. "I mean... it's not unusual for Witches have non-combat Familiars, but..." The pinkette trails off. It's not as if Witches aren't weird and unpredictable. Either way...

    Arrow nocked and released in less than a second, almost in time with Blossom's running. It seeks out the tiny bluebird as Madoka stays in motion. As the Asters start swarming them, she sees them crowding in front of her. "Oh, shoot!" she shouts before leaping over the crowd, jumping on top of one before bouncing off again. A few falling pieces of chair manage to land too close to her, shredding bits and pieces off of her henshin armor.

    Madoka superjumps again into the air, aims downwards, and fires a spray of arrows at the attacking flowers.

    To think. Less than an hour ago her day was perfectly normal.

    "As for when the Witch shows up, I don't know? When it learns that its minions can't take us out, probably."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy can barely keep up with dodging the stumps, and how an entire swarm of Astersis attacking? Helical petals graze her as she dodges this way and that, barely avoiding the stumps. "I'm gonna need some of the grief seed when we get to the end of this... Unchained mode!"

    The second henshin is a pillar of flame that rises around her and leaves her clad in armor. Well, armor in so much as there are rigid plates, it doesn't really cover her practically: Her cloak is gone, and she's got armored boots and elbow-length gloves serve as mount points for thrusters, with more behind the shoulders of the armor piece she already had, and an armored 'skirt' over the sides and back of her costume's skirt, again for thrusters. They generally extend the red-and-white color scheme, with pink trim/highlights.

    Now easily able to zip around ahead of incoming petals and falling objects, she gets a moment to swap most of the thrusters for missile racks and fires dozens of little missiles to seek out the asters and clouds! "Take this!"