920/A Christmas Eve Rancour

A Christmas Eve Rancour
Date of Scene:	24 December 2023
Location:	Hotel Augusta - Ballroom
Synopsis:	A Christmas Eve piano performance takes a sudden turn as Sara lets out her grievances at Mitsuki. Magical girls show up to stop her. Can her wounded heart one day be healed?
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Madoka Kaname, Amanda Faust, Homura Akemi

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It's that special time of year, a festive period where the air is unmistakably charged with holiday excitement and cheer. Everywhere you look, the signs of the season are evident. People, wrapped in their warmest coats, are bustling about, arms laden with carefully chosen gifts for their loved ones. Laughter and snippets of holiday tunes float through the air, mingling with the sound of rustling shopping bags and cheerful greetings. Streets, now magical avenues of twinkling lights and vibrant decorations, offer warm respites from the cold weather, local cafés and shopping malls alike inviting everyone in with splendid decorations.

These merry festivities celebrate the spirit of giving and reflection and echoing this sentiment, the management at Hotel Augusta has decided to add a special touch to their holiday celebrations. They've reached out to Mitsuki Taro, a renowned prodigy pianist and music teacher at RHA, with a proposition: he would play an array of Christmas music in their elegantly decorated Ballroom, with the event being open to everyone.

For this special occasion, the Ballroom at Hotel Augusta has been meticulously prepared. At the heart of the circular room stands a grand piano, its polished surface reflecting the twinkling lights of the room, while chairs have been thoughtfully arranged in a circle around the piano, creating an intimate setting for the audience. Four clear paths cut through the circle of chairs, allowing guests to move about freely. The room buzzes with anticipation, guests eagerly awaiting the musical treat that is about to unfold.

As Mitsuki enters the room, his eyes briefly scan the crowd, a silent question of whether any of his students are among the audience. After a moment of observation, he gracefully makes his way to the piano. Sitting down, he offers a warm, if somewhat restrained, smile to familiar faces in the crowd. His gaze momentarily falters when it lands on Coco. Her presence stirs a mix of emotions, a reminder of his past relationship with Sara, but it doesn't take long for Mitsuki to recover his focus, preventing his personal feelings from lingering or overshadowing the joyous occasion.

With a deep breath, Mitsuki positions his hands over the piano keys. As his fingers begin their dance across the piano, every corner of the room is now filled with the enchanting sounds of Christmas music, each note magnificently capturing the essence of the season, weaving a tapestry of melody that is both uplifting and nostalgic.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka Kaname is here with Lydian and Gretchen, and the two Chara are wearing tiny red Santa hats. Madoka has also brought with her the eggs of Brai and Medo, both of whom haven't hatched yet, in the hopes that something like Christmas cheer might convince them to come out of their proverbial and literal shells. It hasn't, but she wouldn't be a good Bearer if she didn't at least try. The eggs are safely tucked away in a protective case inside her purse, never leaving her side.

    Returning to Hotel Augusta has left Madoka with some mixed feelings. This is, after all, a place where she almost died. It's also the place where she gained her first henshin, within the well-hidden Labyrinth that Gretchen found. Whatever mess they made on the way out seems to have been cleaned up by now, and Madoka is glad that none of the staff seem to remember her face from that day. Henshin magic has its benefits.

    Here, Madoka is just in the crowd, watching the music teacher play. She's only vaguely familiar with him, because she doesn't really take music classes, but going to a concert seemed like a fun thing to go do with her Chara on Christmas Eve.

    She herself is dressed a bit more warmly than her Chara, in a long soft white coat. Her beanie hat is tucked safely into her purse, and her hair is let down today in a vague attempt to at least be somewhat formal.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's Crimmas! It's Crimmas, everyone!

    Japan may not exactly be a very Christian country, but people everywhere enjoy story and spectacle, and isn't the true -- or perhaps a better term would be de facto -- meaning of Christmas consumerism? Japan's got plenty of that!

    Of course, Amanda is well aware of the significance of Christmas among Japanese men and women: ...Kentucky Fried Chicken. She's in high school, so it's Kentucky Fried Chicken.

    And also holiday-themed events in gachas and reality, such as this recital she's accompanied Coco to. Coco has been a familiar face since they faced her second youma together.

    Also also it's festive costumes, and Amanda has used magic to produce a red santa dress with white faux fur trim and matching boots and hat and candy-cane-colored arm warmers. It's got some cottony white puffs down a line in the front and might not quite be the vibe expected from music recital attendees, especially with the skirt being a bit on the short side, but damn it, it's cute and this is the first holiday season she can wear something like this!

    She's in a good mood today, hanging out with her friend doing a normal thing wearing cute clothes, so a smile has been ever-present on her face. Now, as the music starts, she leans against the back of her seat -- near or next to Coco's, probably -- and closes her eyes, focusing on the music.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura Akemi is something of a minor fan of classical music, especially classical music that doesn't involve violins for reason we won't get into here. She was considering whether or not to show up but eventually she does, wearing a dark long sleeved dress with some light elegant touches and few enough frills to not be gaudy or stand out too much. As a concession to the season she's wearing a pair of red stockings.

    She'd expected to be coming alone, but as she enters and sees tiny floating Santa hats she looks closer. This inevitably has her walking over towards the pink haired Chara bearer. She slips over quietly and settles down in a seat next to her, speaking softly once the music has started, "Merry Christmas Eve, Madoka-chan. I wasn't expecting to see you here." A tiny little wave is given to Lydian and Gretchen, and she turns her eyes and ears towards Taro-sensei.

    It's nice to get a chance to sit down and relax, every now and again.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is feeling awkward too about coming to an even where Mitsuki is involved, but is nonetheless attending, since it's a special day and her friends are going her. He also plays the piano divinely, so the music helps her relax. She has dressed up for the occasion, wearing a knee-length white dress with beige boots and maroon-orange wool coat.

She waves to Madoka when she spots her, leaving her a confusing gaze when she notices Lydian and Gretchen instead of Brai and Medo . Did something happen? The two Chara are adorable in their Christmas clothes, and if Madoka is close enough not to disturb the event, Coco tells her (and them) as such. She isn't sure whether to ask about the missing minidokas, and is erring on the side of caution.

When Homura slips into a seat next to Madoka, Coco waves to the newcomer, assuming her to be a friend of the pinkette. She has reacted to Madoka's Charas, which is definitely noteworthy.

She is next to Amy anyway, and comments to her friend a quiet "He is good as ever" when their teacher starts playing.

Not everyone is dressed for a party however: a girl of about 19 years of age is wearing a quite simplicistic long dress that reaches the floor, with a hoodie to cover both her hair and eyes. She is also bare of any jewels or necklaces, the only significant sign half of a common seashell glistening in the lights one would find taking a walk on the beach.

She is far back among the seats, distant enough from the piano that Mitsuki doesn't notice the odd figure when he glances over the audience. He does notice the tiny Charas, but he keeps the surprise to himself. He is here to play music, not to ask questions.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's face brightens up visibly as Homura sits down next to her. She contains a bit of her excitement out of respect for the performance and the audience listening to it. Lydian, however, is a lot more expressive. The tiny art Chara greets Homura by flailing her arms in a big double wave and says, "Hiii!"

    Madoka shushes her and whispers, "There might be other magicals in the audience, Lydian-chan."

    The Chara floats a little lower and looks embarrassed, saying, "Oh no, sorry!"

    Madoka turns to Homura with a soft smile and says, "I wasn't expecting you either, but I'm glad you came. Maybe it's fate?"

    Gretchen floats closer to Homura, and takes a seat on the veteran Puella's shoulder. In this way she gets to stay close to both her Bearer and her roommate. "Merry Christmas Eve, Homura-chan." Madoka repeats the sentiment, and so does Lydian, each in hushed voices. Gretchen isn't wearing her mask today, so one can see it when she starts to squint at Mitsuki. "Do you think he can see us?"

    Of the three Dokas (as in, the Main Doka and the two minidokas) Lydian notices Coco first and waves a bit more calmly in her direction, and Amy also shortly after. Gretchen looks at the two of them and taps Madoka on the shoulder to point them out. The Chara Bearer herself turns to look and speaks lowly to Coco, "Hi! Thank you. I shouldn't be surprised to see you here."

    Aside from a few snippets of conversation, the Bearer and her Chara are mostly quiet as they listen. Madoka places her hand on the armrest between herself and Homura, then shyly glances away.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's eyes are closed as she listens, so she doesn't see Coco turn and wave. She nods to Coco at the musical assessment. She recalls hearing that piano-playing when near the music classroom, and helping to set up electronics for band/choir performance and whatnot, which of course required testing. A full-length recital is something she's never heard from Mitsuki-san before, though.

    At the 'Hiii!' and conversation she eventually opens her eyes and turns and looks, the surprise clear on her face at the Charas being out in the open is clear on her face. Oh wait, can mundanes not see those? She thinks back to meeting Gretchen at Mami's tea party... Other students didn't comment, just like they ignored Kyubey, so apparently it is so. She smiles and gives a small wave to Madoka and her friend before turning her attention back to the performance.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    As Lydian waves excitedly Homura gives her a slightly extended wave, though keeps from verbally responding so her arrival is less disruptive to the rest of the audience. It wouldn't do to ruin the festivities and take away from the concert. Seeing Coco she lifts her hand to return the wave, noting the interaction between her and Madoka. That's not too much a surprise; Madoka makes a lot of friends. She'll give a little quirked eyebrow to Madoka when she notices Coco reacting to the Minidokas.

    Mostly though she tries not to disrupt the concert. She sits with her hands in her lap, prim and proper, glancing over and smiling at Gretchen as she settles on her shoulder and then once more returning her gaze to the music teacher as he shows off his piano chops. No one could say Radiant Heart Academy wasn't serious about teaching it's students.

    Still... when she notices movement and sees Madoka's hand on the armrest she reaches over and sets her hand atop it, then turns it sideways to offer a handhold. This surely won't be disruptive or disrespectful to the concert.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Yes, I needed to relax a bit, and Christmas music seems like a good way to, and Mitsuki-san is very good at his job", she comments, the lack of a use of "Taro-sensei" maybe a surprise to those around her.

As the music continues among the murmurs of approval of the audience, the hooded person is showing sign of sadness and irritation at once in her expression. How can he play this music so serenely after everything? Is that really all she meant to him? She gets up from her seat, not to walk away from the ballroom but instead to head to the center of the performance, some murmurs accompanying her as she walks closer to the pianist. "Mitsuki", she speaks her tone quivering with regret. Suddenly, a hand is tightly serrated around the teacher's wrist, a grip he cannot break free from. "Stop playing the piano, right now. Why do you play for these people when you precluded me from it?", her voice rings clear in the ballroom as Mitsuki stops playing.

"That's going to change now, I hope you haven't left anything undone behind, because it's too late now", she says, starting to drag him away, the resistance she gets back, not really interestes in the damage the chairs may have incurred. "Sara, I didn't know you would be here", the teacher replies shock and surprise seeping from his voice. "I... am sorry. But why?" She shakes her head vehemently, the hood falling from the gesture, revealing extremely long black hair and orange eyes hurt by the question. "So now you don't even care enough to remember?" Orange light circles around her and it starts traveling up Mitsuki's arm and '"into it, clearly hurting him by the expression of pain that shows up on his face.

Back in her seats, Coco's eyes widen as she hears the name Mitsuki pronounces, and that black hair, plus the voice of the sudden interlocutor. "It can't be", she says, her heart leaping into her throat. "That's Sara, it's really her", she says out loud to Amy, but audible enough to everyone else around her.

When the orange light starts hurting him, the pace she was using speeds up and soon enough she is holding Sara's arm as she transforms in a flash yanking Sara's arm away from the teacher, ignoring the orange light getting into contact with her hands.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka glances down at Homura's hand, and then smiles sheepishly as its turned sideways. She gave Homura an opening, and the violet-eyed Puella took it. Madoka quietly accepts the offered handhold, interlacing her fingers with Homura's and quietly enjoying the moment. Of all the ways that they could be expressing their affection right now, this is probably among the classiest and least disruptive.

    That doesn't stop Lydian from covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, though. Gretchen remains unfazed, frowning at the performance. Not that the X-Chara is particularly unhappy for any immediate reason. She just has a resting frown.

    It's then at that point where the dark fairy is given a real reason to frown. A hooded figure she had been ignoring is suddenly approaching the stage and disrupting the performance. At first it just seems like some personal drama between them that 'Sara' is rude enough to put on main, but she starts to get a bit more concerned when Coco of all people reacts.

    Coco's reaction and sudden transformation tells Madoka and the two minidokas that this is a magical matter. Madoka leans towards Homura and whispers, "I'll be right back," before getting up and heading for the bathrooms. Her two Chara float out after her.

    Moments later, Hope Blossom returns with her pink hair in a long loose-braided ponytail. Gretchen hovers over her shoulder, a few feet behind. There's no attack from Blossom yet, but she's looking around the room and hanging back to see how this escalates. There are... a lot of people here.

    "If it hadn't been so costly last time," says Madoka to Gretchen, "I'd probably ask for your Labyrinth."

    Gretchen shakes her head. "Not possible. Unless you want to risk Lydian, too."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Someone just. Walks up onto the stage. There was no announcement. And this isn't the first time a musical event has been magically disrupted.

    Amy ducks down in front of her seat -- Those sitting nearby might catch a glimpse of the fiery glow of her henshin before she's leaping from the seat-back of the lady sitting in front of her ("'scuse me") to the stage.

    "What are you doing." She asks, sternly. "What do you w--" and then Magical Rocket Girl (yeah, that's got a good ring to it!) Amy's brain realizes what Coco just said and she looks to the mermaid princess in confusion, then back to Sara, trying to see her face. "Wait, really?!"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Well. It was going to be a nice, quiet evening listening to music, but then someone with very little etiquette gets up and approaches the stage. Homura looks towards Madoka out of the corner of her eye as this happens, then audibly sighs when the orange lights reveal the presence of magic. On the one hand her delightful impromptu date with Madoka is now over. On the other hand it's probably good she's here to help deal with whatever is about to happen.

    "Alright. I'll do something to get the civilians out of here." She stands up from her chair as Madoka goes off, sighing again and flipping her hair, tossing her hand to the side as she does, her ring bursting into a sparkle of purple magic that envelops her in a spherical flash.

    Before it even dissipates she's gone, standing near the edge of the room. This concert has been officially crashed and things are going wrong, so Homura Akemi has absolutely no compunctions about ruining it further.

    Rather than lovely piano music filling the room there's suddenly a loud angry blaring sound that fills the room. A blaring sound that anyone and everyone will immediately recognize.

    Because Homura Akemi just pulled the fire alarm.

    Hoping that will get the numerous civilians filing out in good order with the hopefully well trained staff keeping things orderly she reaches into her shield and pulls out a silver-white staff and twirls it around. It's a Midchildan Storage Device, and as she holds it it glows purple in her hand, the veteran Puella controlling it with her own magic rather than how it's intended to be used. She vaults once, bounces off the seat of a chair and flips in the air, landing next to Madoka and waving the staff in her off hand. "It doesn't seem as dangerous as it was at the Crystal Tower. Gunshots would probably scare the civilians," she frowns visibly, "but this should be safe, and non-lethal too."

    Even so she isn't coming out shooting, instead letting Yellow Pearl Voice have a chance at reasoning with whoever this Sara person is.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Look who has decided to show up", she declares scornfully to Coco when her arm is taken away from Mitsuki. "What do you want to accomplish, Coco? Will you plead again that I shouldn't throw in my my lot with Gaito, that things will be fine if I just go back with you and listen?"

Coco just gives her a smile, though it doesn't reach her eyes. "Sara please, I know it must hurt but have you been any happier all these years? Is what you are doing really worth it to you?"

Mitsuki gets up too to look at Sara. She has changed so much, the young man thinks, and he isn't talking about her hair now black instead of orange. Her face is so much harsher, the gentleness he remembers gone. "Sara, please, it doesn't have to be like this, I am sorry about the grief I caused you, but let's talk about it?"

The ferocious glare that she gives him is enough to show what she thinks of his words. "Now you want to talk, not when you left me without a word, now that I am doing something that threatens all of you."

When Amy intervenes, a look of exhasperated confusion settles on Sara's face. "So, Coco has been telling you about me. Really, my old friend could never forget me all this time. That's just like her. How much has she told you?", she quips maliciously.

"I am stopping this concert, and bring Mitsuki with me to Gaito's palace. He will play music just for me, for the rest of his life." She states her goal to Amy.

Both Sara and Coco grimace when the loud sound of the fire alarm resonates through the ballroom, the crowd glancing in confusion as to why it's ringing. Is there a fire? All they see is a girl crazily interrupting the concert.

The glow of the Midchildian weapon is a clear message to Sara that she isn't getting away easily, so the mermaid smirks and starts singing, her voice seeping with magic and dark energy, a dark attack that makes every member of the audience fall into a trance and move towards Homura, trying to grab the weapon away from her.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Gretchen looks down at the Storage Device, and then at Homura. The dark fairy, who is still wearing her santa hat, notes, "Probably smart. At least until people file out. This show's probably over anyway." To Madoka, the X-Chara adds, "Try not to break the chandelier this time."

    Madoka softly whines, "That wasn't even my fault!" She doesn't have much time to defend her reputation though, as she has to move to one side to get out of the way of the pressing crowd. Quietly, she's grateful that Homura has thought this deeply about the situation, and remembers one of the reasons she was so impressed with the black-haired girl to begin with. Well, for this timeline anyways.

    "If I have to, I can use my arrows to create a wall, but I don't have many explicitly non-lethal options..."

    When Sara starts singing, Madoka's eyes widen. She doesn't feel an immediate need to defend Homura, as the Puella can generally take care of herself, but it's a pretty dire thing to happen just after Madoka said she didn't have a non-lethal way to deal with things.

    She asides to Homura, "Well... guess it's one of those days!" Then she leaps ahead, resting one foot on the back of a now empty seat, and then skips from one seatback to the next to get closer to Sara without letting any of the zombie hoard grab her ankles or something.

    Eventually she lands close to the group. Her branch bow appears in her hand, and she places it between Taro and Sara. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. Whatever your problem with him is, I'm pretty sure you can sort it out without resorting to kidnapping."

Amanda Faust has posed:
> He will play music just for me, for the rest of his life.

                                     "No."                                      

    Amy tries to step between them and grab Taro-san's arm behind where Sara grabbed it, to pull his arm away. She opens her mouth to say more but... FIRE ALARM. She looks up and around, realizes what happened, and continues:

    "He is a human being, not a tool. Of course it won't be all fine if you come back. The world is full of problems. I hunt monsters. There will still be monsters to hunt. But is someone who would treat a man as a tool, a slave, really who you want to be? Is that more fine than the future in which you are someone who doesn't do that?"

    Oh hey, the gun girl from the other day has a magic stun stick. "You get guns and nonlethal weapons? Lucky." She glances at the audience. "Can you handle that, then?"

    Madoka hops up on stage and says her piece. Amy glances up at the man. "Sorry, Taro-san. It sucks that you got caught up in all this."

    ...

    "Oh, right. I do too." A grenade launcher appears in her hand -- the kind with a cylinder or drum magazine meant to be used two-handed, but it's so light for her she can hold it one-handed easily -- and she fires flashbangs in front of the crowd to slow their approach.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    "Looks like it," Homura replies to Madoka, frowning to herself as the civilian's minds are upended in a wave of dark energy. She's starting to wish she had several hundred pairs of earplugs on hand. Maybe something to think about for the future. A few hops take her over and past the crowd, and she takes aim at Sara as she goes-- though thinks better of it as the large group of civilians turn to chase her.

    The staff goes away back into her shield and she yanks something else out- an orange vest that makes her ridiculously obvious, which she slips on, followed by a pair of... are those air traffic control sticks? No, they're large concert glow sticks but that's certainly how she's using them.

    "Over here!" she calls in a louder voice than she's used to using, waving the sticks towards herself... and towards the exit. "Come get me or I'll start putting holes in Sara! None of you want that, right?" As one 'zombie' gets close to her she blinks out of existence and appears ten feet further along.

    "I need to get one of those Mages to teach me to put up a barrier with that thing," she grouses to herself under her breath about the Storage Device she was wielding.

    She blinks then as something rattles in front of her, eyes widening just in time for a giant flash to show, her arms flying up in front of her face a half second too late.

    Is this how it feels being on the other end of those things? It really does suck.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"You broke a chandelier, really?" Sara remarks at Madoka when she hears Gretchen's words. "How clumsy could you possibly be to destroy something that wasn't your target?" She is deliberately ignoring Hope Blossom's declaration of innocence.

Mitsuki meanwhile can't actually reply to Amy because he has fallen into a trance too, and unlike the others, he is walking towards Sara, his empty gaze completely ignoring the circumstances.

"You are wasting your time, girl", Sara tells Homura. "They do what I tell them, so your threats are out of place. So your pitiful glowing sticks aren't any help." Whatever Sara says, even if Homura can't lead the people outside, her appearing somewhere else has bought them enough time to get disoriented by Amy's flashbangs, Sara's commands useless while they can't see.

""Legend of Mermaid: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!", Coco exclaims, fighting back the pain the dark energy in Sara's voice gives her, her purifying singing countering Sara's own song, not enough to free the people under the influence, but enough to make a good part of them stop, anyway. Between the intervention of the three magical girls, the crowd is mostly safe. At least they can't go anywhere as of now.

"Sort it out?" Sara repeats to Madoka. "Do you really expect me to just give up on my revenge after a few words?" She smirks with a veneer of sadness. "Don't be ridiculous, this matter is between the man that broke my heart, it doesn't have to do with any of you."

Seeing how they really intend to get in her way, the dark energy in her voice intensifies, and an orange globe appears around Sara, lasers firing from them to hit each of Homura, Hope Blossom and Amy.

"Silence, silly red girl!", Sara shouts out to Amy. "I have plenty of reasons to do that and I don't care what you think. I will take Mitsuki with me, and why not? Gaito will appreciate me bringing him Coco a second time."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "I said It wasn't me!" protests Madoka. "It was Ik--" Then she covers her mouth. Madoka doesn't want to snitch! The cops might still be looking into that.

    Gretchen, who is now hovering over the concert hall, shouts out a warning to her Bearer. "Cover your eyes, Madoka!"

    Not questioning why, she closes her eyes for a second and covers her face with her free arm. When she hears the flashbang go off, she understands what the warning was about. "Thanks, Gretchen-chan!" she calls out as she opens her eyes. Focusing on Sara, the Chara Bearer says, "I think that's far enough. I'm sorry we couldn't talk this out, but this man is not your personal property."

    The orange lasers come out, and Madoka hops back, then again away, quickly stepping in order to avoid the fire. Always keep moving, she remembers. Never be where you were 5 seconds ago, and never end up where the enemy thinks you're headed.

    As she hops through the air, she draws back on her branchbow and fires a pink arrow headed straight for Sara. Then she fires a second arrow into the air which splits into a thousand more. Each one lands on a different part of the edge of the stage, forming a protective wall of magic separating the magical fighters from the energy-drained zombie crowd. This should hopefully still give herself, Coco and Amy plenty of room to move. Shame they don't have any knockout gas or something.

    Gretchen, hovering near the ceiling and looking down at the battle with her arms crossed, frowns at the scene. "I knew there was something up with that guy. I knew it! But did anyone listen?!"

    Another Chara is next to her, with her hair down somewhat mimicking Homura's hairstyle but in fluffy pink. There's a faint anti-glow around her. "I mean... I was listening."

    "Thanks, Brai," says Gretchen. After a moment of thinking, she double takes. "Wait, you chose right now to hatch?!"

    Brai yawns and says, "Your noisiness woke me up."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh wow, that is LOUD. And BRIGHT. Amy at least knew to close her eyes at the right time, but she hasn't actually done this, in an enclosed area, this close to herself, before, and fun fact: It turns out the magic that protects her from her rocket explosions doesn't apply to this! She covers her ears as the later shots go off, at least.

    She can distantly hear Sara telling her (or someone else?) off, and Yellow Pearl Voice's song starting up, which is always a good thing...

    "Revenge? Revenge won't undo what was done to you. By that logic, all of those people have right to enslave you-- aah!"

    Laser! There was no way to expect that! But her uniform is armor, and there's magic protecting her. She gives a brief cry of pain as a hole is burned in her costume, although the skin underneath shows no lasting visible damage.

    She reflexively covers the wound with her left hand, doubled over. "You betrayed her... You'd be fine with revenge visited upon you, in turn? Gods you're lucky we're better than that..."

    If lasers keep firing while she's talking, she changes her weapon to a gyrojet pistol to fire warning shots near Sara. She even remembers to switch to rubber rounds partway through! Just in case.

    Amy glances to the others, trying to work out what the plan is here.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Between the deafening blast of the flashbang and the horrible loud fire alarm going off, Homura might be hoping that partially deafening the crowd would help break some of Sara's control over the crowd even more. Maybe she can't lead everyone out, but at least she tried.

    Unfortunately she's a little to blinded and deafened herself at the moment to notice the orange globe and it's lasers, so the one sent her way blasts right into her chest and knocks her back, sending her to the floor with a cry of pain and surprise.

    She sucks her breath in through her teeth and picks herself up, angrily wishing the crowd wasn't around so she could unleash some real firepower now that the first shots have been fired. Feeling somewhat silly she drops the glowsticks and retrieves the Storage Device again, though this time with less of a flourish. She leaps high into the air, firing off a trio of purple generic magic blasts from the tip of the staff towards Sara.

    As she reaches the top of her arc she disappears and the real onslaught comes. Storage Devices aren't meant for this, but Homura is actually a little annoyed at Sara at this point. She reappears high above Sara, seeming to have teleported again rather than making the multiple jumps through timestop that actually happened, the magical staff held high and back, dropping fast from above and trying to swing down and crack the woman over the head with a double handed swing as she falls, hitting the ground afterwards and dropping low to spin a hard sweeping kick towards her ankles.

    She might not be going all out, but Homura doesn't seem to be taking it easy either. She's got to put all that hand to hand combat training with Kyouka to use, anyway.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Sara, please, listen to my song. Don't cling to those mermories, they are only hurting you", Coco tries to reason with her yet again, before singing again, a song that promises peace. But it's all pretty useless, her heart alone in a barrier of darkness. At least it's helping keep up the stamina of her allies and helping with the minor wounds.

Madoka's arrow net seals them off pretty effevtively from the hipnotised crowd. Sara's voice pushes those that recover from the flashbangs against, but it's very ineffectual and they just push uselessly.

The arrow she has sent towards Sara is destroyed when in contact with the orange sphere. That's not a Live Stage, but Sara's concentrated magical energy acting as a giant representation of her Pearl, so the magical attacks are all stopped, much like Homura's strikes from the Storage Device that soon follow.

Sara feels a pang of guilt when Amy mentions having betrayed Coco, but she is quick to justify that to herself, closed off as she is in her own hatred. "You could never understand. I did what I had to in order to repay the only person who could give me solace, so leave now. I just want Mitsuki and Gaito wants Coco. I will hurt you again if you don't give them over to me." Just as she has finished saying that, two lasers fire at Amy just to prove her words.

The warning shots Amy has fired just make Sara give them a look of disdain. Is she supposed to be stopped by them? Well, not really, but a few of the rubber rounds end up accidentally hitting Mitsuki on the arm, and this combined with Coco's voice is enough to jostle him awake from the hipnosis, just in time to see Sara get sent to the floor by Homura's completely physical attacks. Should have put some energy into a physical shield, or something.

Air leaves her lungs as the impact with the floor disorients her, dazed enough not to move for a little bit. "Don't say anything", she growls as Mitsuki approaches her. "Sara, I am sorry, believe me, but you don't have to do this to yourself. If you don't want to forgive me, at least do it for yourself. Are you really happy to relive your grief for years? Is that really the solace you are getting?"

"Screw you, Mitsuki. I don't need to deal with your fake goodness now." All those speeches, being hit on the head and being send to the floor by Homura's ankle sweep has messed her up enough that she is frankly too out of it to continue. And with those as her last words, she dissolves, going back to Gaito's underwater palace. The people in trance collapse to the ground. They are fine, they just need a few minutes to recover.

Coco stares sadly at the spot she was in. She failed. Again. Can she really do nothing right with Sara?

Reflecting with those kinds of thoughts, the mermaid princess floats upwards in her Live Stage towards the Charas next to the ceiling. "Hi, Brai" Coco says at the Chara's reappearance. "How are you? Is everything ok? Where is Medo?" The lack of their presence had been significant enough to make Coco apprehensive earlier and the return of one of them has given it enough relevance now that there is no more danger here.

Meanwhile, Mitsuki speaks to the three magical girls on the ground. "Sorry you had to deal with Sara and thanks for helping today."

A white light suddenly appears next to the piano and a woman stands there with a winged scepter in hand. "The responsibility is mine too. My mermaid princesses should have helped avoid this disaster, not cause it. You did good, children of light, and you too, Coco", she says, looking upwards at her, before looking at Madoka and Amy. "Thanks for being friends with her, you two."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The fight itself was short and brutal, and Madoka is thankful for that. She smiles briefly at Homura before turning her attention back to Taro-sensei. "Are you alright? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

    This wasn't quite what Madoka expected coming here. If no one stops her, she goes to stand near Homura.

    Gretchen and Brai are up by the ceiling, and they watch as Coco approaches. Brai responds, "Gretchen made me sick."

    Gretchen throws her hands up, "It was an accident! I swear I didn't mean to."

    Brai shrugs and says, "Medo-chan is fine. Mostly. We're only awake because it's Christmas and our Bearer would be sad if we weren't around."

    Madoka glances over to the woman with the winged scepter, tilting her head. "Your mermaid princesses? So... does that make you a mermaid queen?" Suddenly she gets self conscious. "Um... s-sorry, I don't really know the etiquette for situations like this, but... um... it's good to meet you!" she says with a bright smile.

    Madoka glances around, and then up at the ceiling where two (!) of her Chara are. Then she looks at the fallen crowd and scratches the back of her head. "Eheh... what an evening."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    As Sara dissolves Homura stands back up and watches the spot she's in, narrowing her eyes a little before putting away the Storage Device and checking the spot on her chest where she got hit. Not too bad, at least not with the effect of Coco's healing helping to mitigate it. "I don't think that's the last we'll be seeing of her," she notes for the sake of anyone who thinks that dissolution might be permanent. She's seriously going to have to thank Kyouka for the training. It's clearly something she should have started doing a long time ago. Getting in close after firing from afar seems to be pretty good at catching people off guard.

    Especially when you can stop time and pretend to teleport to remove all that annoying closing time.

    As Mitsuki thanks everyone and apologizes Homura gives a more cynical response than the others likely will, "Yeah, well. Next time you break a young woman's heart maybe think about how it'll affect her and maybe try letting her down soft." She flips her hair, looking towards the teacher out of the corner of her eye. He sure doesn't seem surprised about all the magic flying around. Maybe that shouldn't be too surprising for someone teaching at Raising Heart, but still. If he knows about magic he should know even better about messing with people's feelings.

    Then it's Gretchen she's shooting a side-eye towards as a strange woman appears and claims to take partial responsibility. Then with a blink she looks around confused. "Wait. Mermaid? There are mermaids around?" Purple eyes sweep the area in confusion, looking for fins and tails before her confused gaze goes to Madoka in case the chara bearer knows something she doesn't.

    After a moment she realizes the woman must at least be talking about Sara since she mentioned causing the trouble. "Huh. So Sara is a mermaid? I guess that explains the singing. Maybe next time I should try stuffing a pair of rolled up socks into her mouth."

    There's a short pause and she feels the need to add, "Clean ones."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"So you are going back in your egg after?" Coco asks worried. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"I am Aqua Regina, goddess of the seas and leader of my dear princesses", the woman in white answers Madoka as she looks fondly at Coco, before sighing. "Sara is currently misguided, and as you have seen it's really hard to reach her heart."

"That's my fault, sorry, Aqua Regina, I failed both as Sara's friend and as one of yours princesses", Coco looks down shamefully, as she reaches the rest of the group.

"You should stop beating yourself up over it, Coco", Aqua Regina brings her in an embrace. "You did all you could and have nothing to berate yourself with. I see no fault in you, nor have I ever seen it." She goes back to talk to Madoka. "It's good to meet you too Hope Blossom. Hold your head high, because your spirit too is pure and sincere."

Coco answers to the embrace in kind, even if she doesn't seem convinced. Aqua Regina meanwhile looks at Homura. Both Sara and Coco are mermaid princesses, holders of the Seven Pearls I created. They can just assume human form for when they need to go on land."

Coco districates herself from Aqua Regina's embrace, her motherly affection having improved her mood a bit. "That's pretty much it. There is a reason why I use the moniker Yellow Pearl Voice usually. I am the mermaid princess of the South Pacific Ocean."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Brai crosses her arms and looks away from Coco. "I don't know. Things are different now. I don't even know how to begin to deal with this, but I will say this much." She holds up a single finger.. "I would sacrifice anything for my Bearer, and I don't regret anything that's happened to me. Medo feels the same as I." That same finger points to Gretchen. "Make sure you tell our Bearer that, in case I don't get a chance to."

    Gretchen gives Brai a long look, and then crosses her arms. "But I... okay. I will."

    Down near the ground, Madoka is still stunned by the presence of Aqua Regina. She sheepishly smiles when told that she's pure and sincere. "Eheh. That's very kind of you."

    Gretchen calls out suddenly, "Madoka, for once in your life just take the compliment!"

    Madoka gets even a little more nervous for getting called out, and then puts on her best smile. "Thank you! It's very nice to hear you say that."

    Hope Blossom looks between Aqua Regina and Yellow Pearl Voice, tilting her head to the side. "So... you're a mermaid? I guess that explains the singing magic. Then... Sara's a friend of yours, and she's working for your enemies now? That sounds pretty rough. Does that mean they'll be coming here in force soon?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura nods and stores the information about ocean mermaid princesses for later. It seems there's always more new information to find out even when she could fill an encyclopedia or two with what she already knows. "Glad to know they have someone looking after them," she replies to Aqua Regina.

    As for Madoka's comment about friends working for enemies she shakes her head a little, "That seems to happen to almost everyone eventually. It's annoying, but hopefully you'll be able to help them back to the right path eventually." She spares a glance towards the Chara as they speak among themselves.

    Secretly Homura is glad she isn't a Chara Bearer. She probably wouldn't have made it to being a veteran if she had to deal with tiny versions of herself shouting out her hidden emotions.

    Shaking her head a little at the thought she gives Madoka a small smile, "I'm going to go check and make sure everyone's waking up okay and making it out." With a soft sigh she adds, "We're going to need a better name for the 'Juuban Flu'. If this keeps up Tokyo's going to get quarantined for an epidemic."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Mitsuki looks at Homura with regret. "I was trying to spare her the grief for when her duties as a mermaid princess would have come between us. I only wish the best for her. I am sorry for this coming out of it."

"Madoka must be glad to have you at her side", Coco comments to Brai. She really shouldn't have to sacrifice herself like that, but it's praiseworthy how much she cares for Madoka, Coco thinks.

Coco starts explaining to Madoka. "Yes, I am a mermaid. I don't really hide that from absolutely everyone because I want to. But even if I think the other person is trustworthy, revealing the truth by any means would make me dissolve into seafoam."

She nods about the comment on enemies coming here in force. "They have already started to come here to capture me a while ago, and I fear their attemps are only going to get worse in the future.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Brai glances towards Coco and then looks away. "I'm just doing my duty as a Chara. As long as she learns the lessons that we exist to teach her, then the meaning of our lives is fulfilled."

    Madoka covers her mouth as she gasps. "Dissolve into sea foam?!" She glances between Coco and Aqua Regina. "She's... you're not going to dissolve now that we know, are you? Does it not count if you're not the one who reveals it?"

    Homura starts to go, and Madoka starts to look around. "A-actually, I should go soon, too. I'll see you around, Yellow Pearl Voice, and I'm sure we'll meet again, Aqua Regina! Especially if they're going to start attacking more." Soon the pinkette is following Homura out, taking care not to step on any of the civilians that have been knocked out. Her Chara follow after her, including Medo who comes out of hiding just long enough to wave at Coco before following Blossom out. Shortly after they leaves, the arrow wall also vanishes without Madoka's magic to maintain it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The fight ends without having to escalate their attacks further... but also this isn't the last they've seen of Sara, is it?

    Coco's mom(?) appears and thanks them. Homura has sharper words for Taro-san. Amy opens her mouth, feeling like she should comment, having perhaps something unique to contribute, but... neither she nor the stories flickering through her brain really do. 'Heart will become that of a woman' nothing, it turns out she always had a woman's heart. Rather it's men's she doesn't really understand, right? In any case, she doesn't know what actually happened between Taro-san and Sara.

    She can answer something else Homura says, though. "Yeah, there's mermaids." the redhead nods. "I was surprised too."

    When Coco says she failed, Amy dismisses her weapon and walks over to hug her friend, but Coco's mother beats her to it. She nods at Aqua Regia's assessment. "You're doing fine. Things go wrong for everyone, beating yourself up over it won't make things any better."

    Huh, everyone is acting like mermaids have a natural connection to singing. Isn't that sirens? But then, if mermaids are real, maybe both myths are based on the same beings.

    Also, Madoka has an ever-increasing number of tiny versions of herself around. Amy should probably ask about that sometime, but right now they're in the presense of... royalty? Wait, does 'children of light' include Amy? It feels nice to be acknowledged by the mermaid queen.

    She shrugs at Homura's comment about the Juuban Flu. She's got no idea of a better excuse to give people.

    Taro-san enlightens them. Ah. So his heart didn't turn from Sara, he broke up out of concern that dating a human would be hard for her. "You... should've said that. At the very least, she could have known why. That part's not that hard to understand, is it? If your positions were reversed, she the human and you the mermaid prince, you'd wanna know why she dumped you, right?" This... seems straightforward, just basic human empathy, but a part of her brain is wondering would a guy really not care??? Were real guys really that different and I never knew???

    Madoka has questions. "It's only if she reveals it to someone who doesn't know. Other people revealing it does her a favor... well, as long as it's not to someone who'd do her harm over it."

    So yeah, there's a mermaid queen here! Other things addressed, Amy turns to face her. "Your majesty." She bows, then awkwardly corrects to a curtsey halfway through. "I'm... well I don't have a final title yet, but I'm thinking of Magical Rocket Girl Red, or something like that." She smiles. "Amy to my friends. Coco has been a friend and ally since my first days as a Magical Girl a few months ago. We go to school together. I won't let Gaito take her, but he has allies now. If there's any help you could provide..." she asks, hopefully.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Aqua Regina looks down at Amy with an endearing smile as she listens to what the red magical girl has to say. "Of course, Magical Rocket Girl Red, I can feel that the bond you have been building with Coco is true and sincere. Knowing she isn't alone fighting the King of the Deep Seas, as well as the numerous and weird creatures that plague the land is of great relief to me."

She places her hand on Amy's shoulder. "Unfortunately, ever since I have had to push back against the 300-years long conflict that the warmongering Panthalassa started in the oceanic depths to seal them, my forces are limited. My spirit and blessing is always with you and I guarantee I shall do what I can to aid you against the coming tide of wickedness, but it's important you trust one another because that's the greatest force that darkness can never erode."

Hearing Amy take her side proves to lift Coco's mood immensely. What Aqua Regina has said in her speech is what Coco truly feels, and even if she still feels guilt over Sara, that is a great balm to her. "Thanks for always being there, Girl Red. You really are an important friend to me", she says, taking Amy's hand in hers. "I am sorry that you had to witness Sara like that, but Aqua Regina is right. We will save her for sure", she smiles brightly.

Taro feels really uncomfortable over the critique Amy has to give him. To be lectured so in such a precise manner, by these students at RHA one after another no less, is quite unsettling to him. "You are right that I was quite careless in my handling of Sara's feelings. I thought that a sudden absence would help her get over me faster, but I was a fool, and I only made things worse for her and everybody. There is quite little I can do to reach Sara's heart as she is now, but I deeply regret my lack of foresight. I can only give you my apologies. I will keep trying to make amends as long as Sara isn't at peace again."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy can't help beaming *a little*. A magical mermaid queen is praising her! You don't get that every day. She nods at the warning, "Trust is vital. Without it, their tricks will divide us." Then Coco takes her hand and she gives her friend a hug. With a squeeze, not just a gentle hug. "Thank you. And it's fine. Dealing with eachothers' stuff is part of what makes us friends and not just acquaintances." She... really is friends with these girls. She brushes away the thought of how odd it would look for Mallory to hug Coco like this.

    As for Taro-san... She lets go of Coco and turns to him, stepping over and raising a hand to pat his shoulder. (Or his arm, if he's really tall.) "The same goes for you. While I'd love to know what was going through your head, mistakes happen and beating yourself up over it won't fix anything. I dunno if this can be made right, but... I'm sure there are little ways a magic-aware adult can help us. Just, if she shows up again and confronts you, at least tell her the truth? She doesn't seem very forgiving but she at least deserves some closure."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Aqua Regina is content at the general reaction everyone has had even as Sara has tried to ruin the festive cheer. "I am glad you are so open to forgiveness. Thank you truly from the bottom of my heart. We will meet again." As she says that Aqua Regina starts fading away. "Unfortunately, even my time is limited, not just my powers. Farewell, and until next time." With that, she is gone.

Taro nods at Amy's suggestions. "Yes, I will try telling her. Thank you. And of course, I will help anyway I can, even if that isn't much. Don't hesitate with coming to me for anything. For now at least, I have a small gift for you." With that, he sits at the piano again, and a beautiful sonata fills the hair with grace and serenity.

"Merry Christmas, Amy", Coco says as she listens to the music.