2447/Preparing For An Emergency Slumber Party

Preparing For An Emergency Slumber Party
Date of Scene:	03 April 2025
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Amy is called to show Emi The Shed, and learns of what has befallen Hinoiri and the plan for a rescue.
Cast of Characters:	Amanda Faust, Emi Hoshino

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Amanda Faust has posed:
    Emi hasn't been shown the shed yet?! Amy is happy to show her. And for whatever reason, she feels like talking a bit like a stage magician for a moment. "Preee-senting, the amazing magical shed! Behold, open the door and it seems to be nothing but an ordinary shed!" She does so, demonstratively; There's just grounds maintenance supplies and such. Then she closes the door.

    "Nothing up my sleeve..." She briefly pulls up, then back down her uniform sleeves,

    "But, with a little magic..." She crouches down to touch a little decorative statue near the door, reciting the magic words or whatever it is the ritual actually is, before standing back up and opening the door, "[Et voila!]" She smiles, watching Emi's face for her reaction at seeing the classroom-like room inside what is from the outside a tiny shed.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Why didn't get said. Amy just an abrupt text from Emi saying 'I need you to show me this 'shed'.'.

And that was that. It was the middle of the damn night, too, and it was lucky that she happened to wake up and see it or she hadn't actually gone to sleep yet. Either way, the middler of the night, and now they're here.

When Amy met with her, Emi is dressed casually for herself, black shorts and t-shirt with a cute little anime tapir on it, and elbow-length, black gloves of gothness. No other description necessary. That said, come to think of it, Amy hadn't seen her wearing those gloves since she'd been out of commission. The kind of thing she'd wear to cover up the bruising from all that fighting lest she risk the wrath of Sato The Impossible.

Stepping into the Shed, Emi finally breaks from the silence that Amy had endured on the way here.

"..huh," she says.

Not quite what she was expecting, really, but then... she's not sure, perhaps, what she was supposed to expect beyond a 'shed' of some importance. Whatever it was, it isn't this. She moves inside with a serious-minded expression.

"This'll do, I guess, as long as we can make it comfortable."

And that's when she grabs the desks and begins moving them out of the way, pushing them to the side of the room. She probably owes Amy an explanation, but she's not started giving it yet. She's just expecting her to help.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (Edit: If it's the middle of the night, she's not in her uniform. She's in a red sweatshirt and grey sweatpants and her regular white sneakers, and she has a messenger bag with her rather than her backpack.)

    Amy was a bit surprised to see Casual Emi. "Ah, so it's not always fancy goth, huh? I like the shirt, it's cute."

    Anyway, after opening the way she walks in after Ami, a bit surprised at the lack of reaction. "Finally getting used to new crazy magic stuff coming up every time you talk to someone, huh?" She jokes, smiling, but she looks more serious as she sees Emi's manner. "Uhh... this'll do for what?" She does walk in, drop her bag on a chair, and help push a desk aside.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Probably not," says Emi to Amy as she suggests she's getting used to it.

She's silent for a moment as she moves the furniture. All those lovely scraping noises of chairs and desks being dragged along the floor into the corner. She seems intent, focused. Incredibly so.

"Slumber party," she explains, tersely. "We're going to get her back. Hinoiri. Salarymen took her. A nightmare."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Ugh, this body is not good for moving heavy things..." Amy grouses as she pushes a desk aside with a grunt. "Fuckit." She transforms, tossing her cloak on the chair with her bag -- she's got a first-aid kit slung across her back underneath it -- and using mahou strength to move the desks much faster.

    Slumber party. "Oooh." She smiles. And then at the rest she stops and stares at Emi for a moment.

    "...This is revenge, isn't it? For all the times we've said one crazy thing after another and you don't even know where to start asking for explanations and you know each one will lead to more questions."

    Amy looks around. "Okay, look. Since you can't transform, how about I move the desks and you just explain to me what you're talking about. First, how much danger is Hinoiri in? Is she hurt???"

    And true to her word, she resumes moving the desks. It's a lot easier in this form!

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Emi has zero issues moving the desks, heavy as they are, and it's clearly something she wants to do to keep herself busy.

"A lot," is the immediate answer, "They infiltrated her dream even when it was right next to mine. Burrowed in. Got her lost in it, and when I caught on, they stole her into the dreamscape to finish the job. Like I told Mamoru, they'll grind her into nothing, or worse. So the answer is a 'lot'. We're going to get her back from them." Doesn';t explain who them is, or how, but 'slumber party' sure seems to imply a big clue.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy winces when told they'll grind her into nothing. "So... this is in the dream realm? What happens to her body while she's stuck in the nightmare?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"She's asleep. Mamoru has people keeping an eye on her and we'll move her here soon. We're going to get her dream self out of trouble. This is my fault. We're going to fix it," says Emi, firmly, her fists clenched into tight little balls of malice.

"We're going into the greater dreamscape, breaking into their tower, and taking her back. I can sense where she is. We'll get her."

fHopefully. She tries to not let the twinges of doubt she's feeling show.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "How long... has she been in there? ...And how long has it been for her if dreams go faster, or slower, or...?"

    Amy frowns at the assertion it's Emi's fault. "What happ-- tower? Nightmares have bases?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"I'll explain more when everyone's assembled. We need to get into the dreamscape first, and then give everyone a moment to get acclimated. It's going to be weird for most of you. It won't feel right, and you'll probably all be as vulnerable as I am unless you can actually sleep in that 'henshin' of your's without, like, running yourself out of magic."

She looks up towards the ceiling, "I bet Usagi's already trying to find matching blankets for everyone. She seems like the type."

A breath is let out.

"They're rounding up people. And then we're going to try to get everyone here so I can try to pull them into the dreamscape."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's expression pouts a bit as she stops and looks away. "Is this... What you were talking about, when you said we'd better not go into the greater dreamscape? Even with a guide it can be that dangerous, huh..." She is kind of disappointed. She really wanted to see it, it sounded cool up until the 'monsters can abduct you and grind you to nothing' bit.

    She takes a breath and resumes moving desks. Smiling briefly at the thought of Usagi finding matching blankets. "I have no idea if we have our powers in... this dreamscape. Like, in my dreams sometimes I have powers, but that was true before being a magical girl too -- and a lot of the time I don't have powers. But with this dreamscape thing... I have no idea if sleeping in henshin would matter, or if we transform in our dreams, or what..."

    Amy sighs. "Dammit! We shoulda like, tested this kinda thing... hindsight is 20/20..."

    She looks to Emi. "We'll be in your care, then. At least we'll all have eachother, but... if we end up not having powers in the dreamscape... what's the plan? Is there anything we can do?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"You *should* be able to call on your magic," says Emi. "Mamoru and Usagi and Kazuo sure looked like they'd be able to when we managed to make it in -- but that was only because Mamoru had pretty trong ties to them and they had roses. He's going to help, but him bringing people into the dreamscape like that will tax him in ways it won't tax me. I just haven't been able to do it, but I know I *can*. I've tried. I was able to get Hinoiri out of her dream. That's what started this mess."

She lets out a breath.

"Your magic is right here anyway," she taps her chest, "and that's all you need."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods along as she listens. "I'm not good at falling asleep on command, does your magic cover that...? If you need us lucid... can't you keep reminding us we're in a dream?"

    Amy blinks at Emi's gesture. She taps the soul gem currently on the back of her wrist. "No, it's here."

    Beat.

    "Like just to be clear, did you mean that even if our magic doesn't... get brought with us, we really just need ourselves? Or was that more of... like it's... in our hearts? If my metaphorical heart is outside my body though..."

    Amy shakes her head. "Sorry. I'm nervously rambling. Um. Our powers did work when fighting the nightmares you sent us after before... will this be kind of like that?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Emi Hoshino looks at the gem as directed to it. She has no idea what any of that means, so it only earns her a weird look and a 'well okay'.

"Yeah. Being around me will help you fall asleep. It's a thing," she remarks.

"Yes," is her immediate answer to the next set of questions. Just...yes. She stares at her unblinkinly for a long moment. "Some of the same rules apply. There's a -- oh hey, KenKen."

There's now a large spider sitting on her shoulder, multicolored and vibrant. KenKen wiggles her pedipalps in Amy's direction.

"Hi!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at the bit about sleeping easier. And "Hi, Kenken!" She smiles and raises her hand for a finger-wiggle wave. "How are you doing? Do you come to the dreamscape with us?" She glances back to Emi. "Also, there's a what?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Not great! Emi is worried about flubbing it again."

"So help me I will put you under someone's pillow seat, KenKen," says Emi, glaring at the spider parked on her shoulder.

"Can you make it Mamoru's?"

"KENKEN."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy gracefully doesn't pounce on Emi's alleged worries. She raises her hand. "Actually, I did just think of something. If Kenken isn't in the dreamscape... is she able to like, send messages to you while you're dreaming?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"KenKen goes where I go," answers Emi to answer Amy's question.

"She's part of me."

"The cutest part of you, actually," answers the spider.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods, and giggles at Kenken's quip. "You are a surprisingly cute spider! I'll just try to conserve magic, then." She continues moving desks. "Oh, you were gonna say something before kenKen interrupted you before... What was it?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"I was?" says Emi, lost in thought. "Oh. Right," she tries to find the thread again. "Your magic is part of how you see yourself. It's tied into your conception of yourself. You might just show up in your henshin, if you're thinking about showing up that way, and that'll be enough. But remember: you probably will be as vulnerable as I am in there. Anything that actually hurts you will *hurt you*.'

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy cocks her head to the side and considers this. "What if I see myself as tougher than I am? Does that become real?" She straightens her head and looks at Emi. "As vulnerable as you are? Are you no tougher than a regular human in the dreamscape?"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Sure. Tougher. Stronger. Faster. Whatever you want to call it. But you saw how hurt I got," remarks Emi, "Your sleeping form probably will have no such protections. It's why I alerted the Nurses. If this gets all as ugly sa it could, some of us are probably gonna get hurt. And that's just getting in and out of there with Hinoiri, let alone any other dreamers they might have. And they will have some. We'll get them if we can." SHe glances towards the door.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods. "So, damage we take in there will be reflected on our real bodies... At least I can turn off pain..." Amy blinks. "Wait, will that even work in the dream?! Ugh, I guess we'll find out..." She lets out a breath, relieved that a concern she was about to voice is already covered. "Okay, Madoka will be able to tell if my soul gem is getting dangerously corrupted and probably has spare grief seeds to fix it. But uh... what about the others? Is there a way for them to pull people out if anyone gets dangerously injured?"

    Beat. "...Or me, if for whatever reason something is making me spend magic too fast."

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"That's why we're doing this in the grou0p. So someone can watch over us and make sure nobody's too hurt, and is ready to take care of Hinoiri when she wakes up."

Emi wishes she was more confident of that than she sounds. She has questions about 'grief seeds' and 'soul gems' and all this shows in her expression, but it's clear she's not going ot press on it right now. Far too much else going on.

"I don't know how any of you other magic types are going to react to being there, to be honest, on the whole. This *is* my magic. Not your's. But, yeah. That's why we're doing this in a group. So someone can wake us up. Failing everything else, I can wake up as easy as I fall asleep, so."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods. "I appreciate you thinking of that. Having people watch us and making sure we can be woken up. We may be going into an unknown situation... but every preparation like that is another level of protection against problems. We'll... get through this." She forces a smile. "We'll get Hinoiri back, and beat these nightmares. We've dealt with crazy situations before, and this won't be the last time."