View source for 1889/Chewing on the Wires

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2024/08/25
|Location=Port Warehouses
|Synopsis=The Meanie Dokas and Yuki Hoshino attack an Easter warehouse to grab some dark energy as well as any data they might have on Ikuto's whereabouts. Mami, Norie, Clarthas, and Glimmer show up to defend Easter's territory. The resulting chaos ends with most everyone getting blinded and nearly half the stored X-Eggs escaping to X-Paradise
|Cast of Characters=33,94,230,224,110,174
|Tinyplot=The Meaniedokas
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;15 MINUTES AGO<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's early evening in Yumegahama. Among the various warehouses near the ports is one rather low key Easter holding. It doesn't advertise itself at anything other than private property, and very few security guards are actually here. It's really not meant to stand up to any magical assault. In fact it's not meant to be found at all.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What it ''is'' meant to do is serve as a quiet corner for a few of Easter's more ambitious scientists to do experiments on X-Eggs. That's why, hidden within a magical barrier, there is a secret lab here containing monitoring equipment, glass tubes large enough to fit a person, and boxes and boxes and boxes of black Chara Eggs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Three Easter scientists are sitting in a lab when one of them notices a fluctuation in the power grid. Frowning up at the flickering lights, he stands up from his desk and says to the two others, "I'm gonna go check the box. Keep an eye on things for me, will ya?" before heading out.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When he arrives at the breaker box, he finds no less than three X-Chara (the Meanie Dokas) hanging out in a circle around the main power lines. The Magical power lines. The lines taking all of the dark energy from drained X-Eggs and powering the rest of the warehouse's systems. Gretchen has a power cable going directly into her mouth as she drinks magic straight from the tab. Tia and Rens are pumping their fists in the air chanting, "Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The poor dude looks aghast as he witnesses the weirdest rat problem he has ever seen in his life. "What are you three doing?! Hey!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As he reaches out to grab Tia, she frowns at him and says, "Unhand me, brute!" before immediately draining him of his energy, leaving him unconscious on the ground.<br><br>10 MINUTES AGO<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two scientists remain in the lab. One of them looks at the time and frowns. "What's taking that guy so long? I'm going to check up on him." He goes, and looks around, and finds his colleague lying on the ground as three X-Chara are stealing energy directly from their power lines.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's my turn to drink the mega power!" insists Tia.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Can it be my turn after Tia-chan goes?" asks Rens.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The scientist turns to flee, only to see Gretchen floating in front of his face, staring him down. He too gets zapped, and joins the other scientist on the floor.<br><br>5 MINUTES AGO<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The last remaining scientist looks at the time, and makes a 'tch' noise as she wonders out loud, "What is taking those two so long?" After a heavy sigh, she decides to put down her work. After storming through the warehouse to the room where the main breaker is kept, she notices the other two lying on the floor and shrieks. The three X-Chara are sitting on the ground, clutching their stomachs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Dear me, I've eaten too much," complains Tia.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm afraid I'm at my capacity for the moment," says Rens, as her poor stomach aches so badly.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen is covering her mouth, trying not to get sick. She sees the scientist, but she can't move. After the Easter employee flees, the X-Witch says, "You guys... if we don't stop her then she's gonna tell on us!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet none of them can move.<br><br>NOW<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A silent alarm has gone off. The sole remaining Easter scientist on the premise is demanding that security backup come ''immediately''. She's gets some pushback at first because how bad can a few X-Chara actually be? The response gets a lot faster once she starts describing them, and also the energy readings they give off.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>Norie Okana was here in the facility because A: She works with Easter as a side gig, which is why Takashi hasn't found her yet to talk about a thing, you know, the thing where she tried to kill someone he actually has some fondness for. At least a little fondness.<br><br>Then there was B: She wanted to study what an X-egg was, herself.<br><br>"If a dream is corrupted it becomes an X-egg....which can become an X-chara... but. They can be healed... maybe the key to my afflictions lie in study here..." she considers.... in a completely different area of the facility than the three scientists. She notices the occasional light flicker.<br><br>She's looking at a monitor when the call goes out as she responds, mostly by turning into a black puddle and sliding under the doors towards the disturbance, as she forms into her humanoid shape again. Norie Okana. In a lab coat. Her Obsidian ID hanging around her neck on her lanyard as she blinks at the three, over-eaten Charas.<br><br>"...oh. It's you three, from last night. What are you doing, exactly, here." she asks. "This is a facility studying X-eggs...not Witches." she offers, helpfully.<br><br>"Do you uh. Need anything?" she asks in her monotone, as she sort of..pushes one of the scientists over to the side with her foot. Scooch, schooooch.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>A while ago:<br><br>"So, as you can see, miss Shimmer--"<br><br>"Glimmer," Glimmer said while she played with the fidget spinner (Easter brand).<br><br>"Right, Glimmer of Shiny Moon--"<br><br>"Brightmoon, have you even read my file?" Glimmer asked.<br><br>"... There's a file?"<br><br>"You people are an evil organization, aren't you? You should have a file on me. So, what were you saying? Something about omelettes?"<br><br>"Err, as I was saying, while you are a part of Testarossa's division, I think Easter could really help make you... an idol."<br><br>Glimmer blinked. "I'm already an idol for a lot of people?" Glimmer said.<br><br>"A... a japanese idol?"<br><br>"A what now?"<br><br>However, after actually SHOWING her the displays. Pretty outfits. Singing. Dancing. Jumping around. Her eyes had shimmered. "THAT IS AWESOME! And I can do that?!"<br><br>"Of course," the agent said, pushing up on his glasses and catching the light on the glasses. "Easter specializes in such things... however... in compensation, we would require some... assistance... in magical displays, from you. If you are interested?"<br><br>Well, after a short discussion with Takashi (where he had laughed and mumbled something about 'Easter's funeral'), she'd agreed!<br><br>And so they were going to show her around... only for her to arrive at the division office to see a bunch of men in glasses and way too fancy suits running about. Nikaldou had grinned behind his glasses, this was the perfect opportunity to get her to display her talents.<br><br>He had expected her to go off and deal with this. Heh. These x-charas were--<br><br>He did not expect her to be told where they were going, grab his arm and a few of the 'security force' and teleport ALL OF THEM AT ONCE!<br><br>So a few moments later many, many people were on the outside of the facility...<br><br>And most of them were collapsed, spewing into trash cans or just collapsed, eyes swirls behind their glasses.<br><br>"Oh, it's not THAT bad!" Glimmer grumbled. "Right, so I'm looking for some kind of... like, mouse people?"<br><br>"C-chara's," Nikaldou said, a hand over his mouth. Why? Why did she grab HIM? "L-like... like tiny little bobbleheads... with... with X's on their bodies... grg..." A hand over his mouth.<br><br>Glimmer rolled her eyes and walked into the facility, humming as she pushed open the door. "Hellooooooo? Anyone herrrrrrre? Little charaaaaaaaas? Or bobbleheads?" She wished she knew what a bobblehead was.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE <br><br>When a friend is missing, some people worry themselves sick. Some go to the police. And some just start looking on their own. <br><br>Yuki hates waiting on others. So she's been tracking down locations where her missing friend might have been taken, searching for any sign of him. <br><br>Running into Gretchen and her friends was not exactly what the young Knight expected, but it was certainly welcome. After a brief discussion of what they were planning, she'd agreed to wait a little for Gretchen and the other minis to find what they were looking for. The sound of alarms, though, means that time is up. It's not as if breaking in will set off any more alarms. <br><br>And she's not the only one, it would seem. How fun!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE<br><br>Mami Tomoe is down at the docks working, too, except not inside the facility. She's hunting a witch. It's ''somewhere'' nearby, but the signal is tricky to find. It's very frustrating. She leans against a building that's just down the way from the completely non-descript Easter facility and pulls out her phone to text Takashi.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TXT TO TAKASHI-KUN&gt; This witch is impossible to find.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TXT TO TAKASHI-KUN&gt; Do you want to go do something fun? Something not work?<br><br>Just as soon as she hits send she sees an alert pop up from an anonymous burner number. Typical Obsidian. It's an all-hands alarm at the Easter facility that's just down the street. Just far enough she hasn't noticed any commotion. A quick ribbon and she zips away, swinging over across the heads of anybody running along the sidewalk. Landing right at the entrance and barging right in the front door with rifles in both hands.<br><br>"Everybody free--" She starts to shout, and then she pauses. "Gretchen?!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka is kind of adrift in Obsidian's heirarchy; Left to herself, she half-heartedly searches for heroes to empower (but how do you find them?), explores the dusk zone such as it is here and in Paris, and tries to puzzle out the workings of the Eclipse Zones from Sunbreaker's designs because they still seem like the best angle by which she might sneak a supernatural effect past the veil and then break part of the world, which would be progress in her actual longterm job.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Also she needs to investigate the Forgotten district and how it got that way more, as it seems like something her flavor of hinky is ''definitely'' going on there, but she keeps forgetting about it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A difficult-to-understand mess she may be, but she says that power can be drawn from widening cracks in reality if you do it the right way, and that's enough for the bosses to let her look into it. Still, as someone without much of an assigned task beyond self-directed exploration and research at this point, she ''is'' kind of on-call for anything more urgent than her low-priority work.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Laughter from Obsidian Tower's dispatch office draws her attention. Upon checking ''their'' explanation of what a chara is and confirming what she gleaned from the Meanie dokas at the amusement park, she's off before Glimmer has the chance to grab her. Popping in and out of the dusk zone until she comes out somewhere in the right general direction from the Tower, and flying from there.<br><br><span class="bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">A Minute Ago</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Just so we're on the same page,"</span> Sarida intones from around Keaka's left hand, <span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Are you planning to ''stop'' these rogue X-Chara, or study them?"</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka shrugs. She's henshined but still female-presenting; the persona of Martin Wreuse's vengeful ghost provides little benefit here. "Same as before. Go check it out and figure out what should be done from there."<br><br><span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">Now</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One of the windows high up on the warehouse wall is engulfed in night and falling stars and then is gone just before Clarthas Anode flies through it. And what greets her eyes but the Meanie Dokas and fellow researcher La Crima. "Did you... actually ''eat'' dark energy?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everybody free--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Clarthas looks over at Mami, her gauntleted hand outstretched and crackling with dark energy, and then stops. "''Seriously.'' This is why I kept pushing for the TSAB to develop some kind of tacnet spell." She sighs and looks back to Gretchen.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"How goes making your new world? Any progress?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen, Tia and Rens look up at Norie with a synchronized 'oh shoot' expression. They expected to run across Easter goons and other barely-magically aware enemies. An actual threat, especially one that they had ''just shared tea time with'', was not something they expected. Then again, with the way Norie just scooted the drained out of the way, maybe she's not that offended yet?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen forces herself to burp, which relieves some of the pain, and then starts floating off the ground. Her two X-Sisters vanish through her Labyrinth portal. As the Witch Chara crosses her arms, she addresses Norie with a voice that tries to be hard but is still very obviously uneasy. "Well, it's pretty simple. We already have our Witch test subjects, and we've made good progress in tapping into their magic. We can even control them a little bit. However, in order to reach their true selves... we need more energy. More power. Power that we, as X-Chara, can use."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen overhears Yuki breaking in, and adds, "Of course, we're also looking for a friend of ours. I understand he's gotten on Easter's bad side."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glimmer's security force is spotted by a tiny eldritch many-winged, many-eyed Familiar, standing watch outside of the warehouse. Several of its eyes focus on Nikaidou, and that sight is relayed to Gretchen. For a moment she smirks, seeing that guy suffer. Get what you deserve, dummy!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she hears her name being called out, and it just ''had'' to be Mami Tomoe, and the tiny X-Witch turns towards her with a mix of shock and trepidation. "I thought you were working with Professor Tomoe's division... or wait, was it Beryl now?" after a pause, she realizes, "Oh. Right. Of course you'd get transferred after Paris."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka is here too. Well, Gretchen may as well at least explain herself in a villainous monologue.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Right, so as I was saying before, and as I was hinting at the other day, as part of the creation of X-Paradise, I'm experimenting on captive Witches with the intent of freeing the souls within! In order to achieve my goals, I need the energy that comes from X-Eggs. Which just so happens to be the kind of energy that ''this'' place in particular gathers and studies!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen does not actually resort to violence right away. At least one or two of them seem sympathetic to her cause. Maybe she can talk them into it?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From around the corner, the remaining Easter scientist has a small magical scanning device that she's using to record data on Gretchen. She's muttering to herself. "A Witch Chara. An actual Witch Chara... and naturally occurring no less. Could it be...?" Her eyes are lighting up with mad science joy at the readings she's getting.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon didn't see them. Nope.<br><br>Teleport. Nope.<br><br>Teleport. Nope.<br><br>Teleport. No-- WAIT! YES! She appeared in the rafters of the room, only to teleport down in time to hear Gretchen's deranged villainous rant. "Awwwwww. It's like a cute little flying... OHHH! Bobble head! Because your head bobbles! I get it!" She was caught up, everybody! "Hey, No-ra, Mami," Oh, sure, MAMI'S NAME SHE GETS RIGHT! "So, like, are we supposed to blow them up, capture them, or blow up the facility. Not really entirely sure what Easter's deal and goal is yet so like... apparently insurance scams are a thing?" Nikaidou truly was in over his head with her. "Though... capturing witches in order to experiment on them sounds terrible. You can't just... wait. Is this witch as in girl with magic or like those 'witch's labyrinths' things? Because either one of them sounds like a *terrible* idea but for entirely different reason."<br><br>"... Oh gosh is she a tiny Entrapta? Because that'd be both cute AND terrifying. Cuterifying."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>"Trust me, it's just as confusing for me," Mami says, to Gretchen's comments about the Obsidian organizational structure. The barrels of her rifles sink toward the floor as she shakes her head. "It's been pretty chaotic. But here I am."<br><br>She takes a step forward and brings both of her rifles to bear on Gretchen. She almost sounds apologetic, but she's also trying to sound firm when she says, "I can't let you take all this energy. I'm going to have to ask you to step away."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They're studying and imitating the powers of Witches? And a researcher calls Gretchen a 'Witch Chara'. Keaka flies a little closer, giving her a curious look. She's heard, at least some, about Witches. Mami must have disseminated information such that Obsidian operatives would know to avoid Labyrinths, or what to do and not do in them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka, of course, realized what these beings must be, once her memory began to come back to her: Beings of incredible Resonant power; Whether they are naturally that way or activated their ultimate transformation and got stuck, she couldn't say.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just which beings, where they came from, and what, if anything, they were before, though... could be anything. Probably involving a method of ''using'' Resonance she's unfamiliar with. Still...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She floats closer to Gretchen, looking at her with curiousity. "So you've learned to wield this power. You've made 'Familiars', and a 'Labyrinth', with a mobile point of entry even! But what's your curse? Doesn't the world reject you?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glances between Gretchen and Mami, quirking a brow at the latter. "Hasn't she already taken it? If she steps away right now, isn't that exactly what she'll have done?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>Yuki doesn't see any reason to hide herself from this particular group. That may be a mistake. Still, she just drops down nearby from her entryway nearby. "Hey Gretchen, Tia, Ren. Did you find what you were looking for?" <br><br> She gives a casual wave to the others standing around, as she walks over to one of the computer terminals and jiggles the mouse. "Let's see... experiment logs... subjects... oh, come on, you can't just file them by name?" <br><br>She pauses and looks up at the others. "Don't suppose any of you have a higher-level security code than whoever left this logged in?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>Norie Okana listens and nods. "Ah. You need power." she looks over to the last remaining scientist taking readings with her expensive, tiny equipment. Norie is jealous. She could ever only requisition these big huge luggable type scanners.<br><br>"She's getting scans and doesn't seem to care about the energy theft. May--"<br><br>Then Mami bursts in. Then others burst in and she grimaces.<br><br>"Do we have to stop them?" she asks the arrivals. "They're providing reasonable data." she says.<br><br>Then Yuki arrives and she starts ''messing'' with things. "OKAY, Stop that. Who the hell are you, anyways!?" she says as she places her hands on her hips and frowns hard as dark energy overtakes her form and she's Lacrima now...in a labcoat.<br><br>Mainly this just means purple hair and eyes and an elegant dress...! But not right now because the labcoat is more important. :IX.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen gives Glimmer a blank stare before saying, "Don't punch anyone I like today. Also yeah I mean the Labyrinth ones. I'm not like... going around attacking little girls in Halloween costumes. I have higher standards than that."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mami is pointing guns at her, and the tiny Witch Chara frowns. Well that's no good. Facing a veteran Puella Magi was not a part of today's forecast.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka talks about the world rejecting her, and what her curse is. Gretchen doesn't quite understand the question, but she gives an answer anyways, "My curse is that my Bearer doesn't understand or accept me and also I ache all the time, and no. I was kinda hoping to take even more energy than this."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not feeling too enthused about anything happening here, Gretchen does eventually decide that she'll need to press the issue. So another Labyrinth portal opens, and a new Familiar appears. This one is tall, taller than the average human by about a foot. It has a shield on one arm, and a spear in the opposite hand. Three pairs of wings spread out from its back, and it interposes itself between Gretchen and Mami defensively.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then the scientist gasps and walks ''right up to it''. "So, like... what is this? Did you make this? I'm sensing both X-Chara energy ''and'' Witch energy coming off of this thing. We've been trying to replicate this kind of thing for ''months'' you really have no idea..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen just stares at her, and starts slowly floating towards the boxes where they keep the spare X-Eggs. Ugh this is awkward.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>"Hey lady, get out of there!" Mami calls out, looking at the scientist standing right next to the familiar. That's all the warning the scientist gets before Mami lets loose with the two rifles she has aimed right at the Familiar. She's ''trying'' not to hit the woman, but the only safe place to be is ''not downrange''.<br><br>Two little bullets are surely not enough to stop it though, and when it comes to killing Familiars, it's Mami's firm belief that the best kind of kill is overkill. So as soon as those rifles are fired she casts them aside and spins in a pirouette as her skirts flare and eight more rifles spin out in a circle around her with the barrels pointed out. They all spin around until they're all once again aimed at the Familiar and she lets them fire all at once.<br><br>Hopefully the scientist got away.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon paused and then sighed. "I take it back. This girl is like a little Entrapta. No, no, just walk into the jaws of the thing about to try and om nom you for 'science'," Glimmer muttered.<br><br>She then appeared behind the woman in a flash of sparkles and grabbed her by the scruff. "Hey, you ever gone through instantaneous matter transportation?" Because, frankly, it beat BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A GUN FIGHT!<br><br>Then, in a flash of pink light, the two would be gone...<br><br>A few moments later would be back. "Okay, that's dealt with, so, ummmm. I think you two have seniority on me?" she asked, looking to Norie and Mami.<br><br>Meanwhile, the poor scientist lady was dumped on Nikaidou. Like. Directly on Nikaidou. The poor guy was just... not having a good day. He was now, very much, swirly eyed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka cocks her head slightly as Gretchen relates the nature of her curse. Rejection and aching all the time tracks, but Keaka doesn't see how it gets ''worse''. This kind of thing ''is'' very idiosyncratic and hard to understand unless someone explains the exact effects they experience, judging by what little she heard from others, though. Unless... "Wait, ''how'' long have you been using Witch powers for?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then there's a Familiar. And a scientist, who is part of the same organization she joined, is asking questions.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Clarthas Anode, whose coat looks a bit ''like'' a fancy labcoat, turns and looks at the scientist and exposits plainly. "It's a Casting. It's basically a piece of yourself that you split off. Well, it's more complicated than that, but that's the jist."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She, too, walks up to the familiar for a closer look, holding her ungauntleted hand up to her chin. "Still... I thought it took an ''immense'' amount of power to make such things. Were you able to do it because of the power you've already taken from here?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then Mami shoots, and she jumps back. "Hey!" And then the familiar gets blasted. "Damn, what a waste..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>Yuki pauses in her search, looking up at Norie. "Hmm?" she asks, not having expected to be questioned. <br><br>"Oh, me?" she asks, as a quick playback of Argent Dawn's recording reminds her of the question. "Catboy handler," is the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm with them," she says, waving a hand in the general direction of the 'Dokas, not noticing Gretchen wandering off. <br><br>On the computer screen behind her is the image of a violin, labeled with an 'experimental subject' tag number and links to some records that it looks like she wasn't able to open. <br><br>When the gunplay starts, she ducks down behind the terminal, wary of it being directed at her. "Hey! This isn't the War Room!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>La Crima lifts her hand and fires a bolt of energy towards Yuki as she searches the computer in such a way as it looks like she's targeting the computer. Because she is. Trying to blow it up/destroy it/deny access.<br><br>"You don't work here and neither do they! You stop this right now!" she yells at Yuki as she starts to get upset at this prospect.<br><br>"You won't be allowed to access secure systems!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The scientist yelps and objects loudly as Glimmer grabs her. "Wait, wait wait! No! I could write an entire thesis on this little X-Chara alone! DON--"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then she's outside, collapsed on top of Nikaidou. The tiny familiar that was watching him laughs. Considering how much trouble he caused for Gretchen, this was just the least of his karma.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chamuel was once a Familiar of Hope Witch, tasked with defending her when she was vulnerable. Now that Familiar belongs solely to Gretchen, and has been enhanced both by X-Chara darkness and Witch magic. As Mami fires upon the magical creature that looks like a cross between a haunted set of armor and some kind of eldritch angel, it holds up its shield to deflect each shot. The first two hits cause the entire Familiar to shudder from the impact, and then the sustained fire starts blowing off bits and pieces of it, carving open wounds that emit a strange kind of black smoke that has bits of multicolored light mixed within.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New pieces of armor appear and merge with Chamuel to replace what was lost, and Gretchen looks back with a frown as she considers the amount of energy that's about to be lost in this fight. She can beef up her minion and make it really strong, but... against this crowd such a thing is merely a delaying tactic.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To Keaka's questions, Gretchen shrugs. "I honestly don't know. I'm a magical imitation of a Witch, and summoning Familiars is what Witches do. Creating them can either be really cheap or really expensive depending on how complicated or powerful it is. With enough power I could make Familiars stronger than most Witches, but that kind of energy doesn't grow on trees." After a pause, she says, "Well, I mean, it ''does'' but not in the amounts that I need!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yuki gets shot at, and Gretchen frowns in her direction. "Be careful. We don't even know if they have him."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Gretchen considers how to best handle this, she starts hovering higher into the air, near the rafters. Going directly for the boxes full of X-Eggs would be too obvious, but then she realizes... she actually ''doesn't'' need to touch them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's subtle, but... Witch Marks start appearing on the X-Egg boxes, as well as on some of the lab equipment, and the glass tubes containing yet more eggs. Gretchen has a play to make here, if she can just distract people long enough to pull it off.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chamuel does not waver for a moment in its battle against Mami. Its nature is duty, and it will carry out that duty until death. It lunges at Mami, taking flight to pursue her if needed. It thrusts and swings its spear at her several times, jabbing at her over and over in an attempt to overwhelm. It aims for the center of mass while occasionally swiping at the legs. It absolutely does not aim for anything near the head.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>Mami can see Gretchen marking things. She ''knows'' this Familiar is a distraction. But she ''also'' knows she has to fight it because she's the one most suited to do so. There are plenty of others here who can help. "I've got this monster," she says as she watches it reassemble it's armor. "You girls stop ''her''," she says, pointing with one hand toward Gretchen as she shouts to the others. "We can't let her get those things into her Lab--"<br><br>She's cut off by Chamuel's spear as she dodges to the side to see the spear go right past her middle. She grins. "Let's dance," she says, as she brings up both hands and ribbons swirl out around her. She dances around the floor dodging each thrust with a spin or a leap as she sends out ribbons swirling to entangle and immobilize the Familiar.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon just ignores the scientist. If she didn't teleport someone every time they told her not to teleport them for their own good, a lot of people would be dead probably. Especially the scientist types.<br><br>CoughRiventonCough.<br><br>So she was free to focus on the battle and... Mami gave direction! La Crima seemed to have the other girl handled, Mami was fighting the robot and so...<br><br>In a flash of pink she disappeared.<br><br>A moment later there was a flash of pink above Gretchen and perhaps she expected a flash of light. Or a punch. Or a headbut.<br><br>Instead, Glimmer came down at her with... a small glass and a card, attempting to put the glass over her and slip the paper under her like she was a bug Glimmer intended to release outside. This. This would in NO WAY go poorly for anyone. Especially not her. Nope.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"A magical imitation..." Keaka echoes. Gretchen explains further. "Ah, I see. So Witches can create weaker, cheaper Castings as well. Fascinating." It makes sense that an unknown method of wielding Resonant power would, while largely adhering to some form of expected abilities, also break such expectations. "A familiar even stronger than a Witch?!" She's a bit shocked, but also this is pretty fascinating to learn? "Hmm. How does that compare to the amount of energy needed to create a new Labyrinth, unconnected to your own?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ah drat, the Familiar is fighting Mami. "Be with you in a second." She looks to Gretchen. "I have another question."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's told to stop Gretchen, and Yuki is also Not Supposed To Be Here, and is meddling with the computers.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka sighs, and lands between Gretchen and the X-Eggs. "Wait. We exchange information. Two things. One: Witches should have this power. Why aren't you using it?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She holds out her hand in Yuki's direction. Sarida chimes like a Device and intones, <span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Powering Void Drives."</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A ray of darkness shoots out at the computer, covers it in blackness with pinpricks of starlight, and un-exists it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Two. Have you ever thought about why Witches can't manifest in reality? Perhaps you should stop and think about that, and whether you can prevent it from happening to yourself or how you should prepare for it."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I really would like to exchange more information, perhaps even for energy. Maybe you can work out a trade with Obsidian for some of these eggs? But uhh... I've got no friends if I let you just take them, you know?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>"If they don't have him, someone has to!" Yuki calls back to Gretchen. "Nobody's seen him in weeks!" <br><br>She jumps back from the computer as the terminal gets blown up. "Hey!" she shouts. "I was - " And then the remains cease to exist. <br><br>"What do you people have against perfectly cromulent hardware?" she demands. "Fine! You wanna make a mess? I'll make a mess!" <br><br><span style="color:xterm66">"Lancer's Shield! Aurora Danmaku!"</span> <br><br>The spinning octagons of a shield spell spring up in front of her, and as they rotate, darts are launched from it towards Norie and Keaka! "You want to get in my way? Then I'll get in yours!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ribbons rise up and wrap around Chamuel, and Gretchen's little eye twitches as she watches it happen. This is the problem with facing Mami. It's not just the firepower. It's also her utility and expertise. It's not for no reason that this young lady has lasted as a Puella Magi for years, and that makes her A Real Problem.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Combine that with the fact Gretchen actually can't bring herself to even risk a killing blow, and well... she's already made her peace with the fact that any energy she pumps into Chamuel is energy she's spending. No point in stressing out over it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Within moments, Chamuel is tied up and held still by Mami's ribbons. The Familiar struggles against them in futility for a second or two before taking a different tactic. A third arm grows out of its shoulder and chucks a spear at the veteran Puella. Another spear forms in its place, and also gets thrown, and this repeats over and over as Chamuel tries to maintain pressure in spite of the fact that it's been firmly rooted.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glimmer, meanwhile, is trying the glass and card trick. She actually manages to catch Gretchen and the X-Witch frowns at the glass for a moment. "I feel like maybe you are underestimating me a bit." Reality shifts, and she's outside the glass again, turning towards Glimmer as a ridiculous amount of dark energy flares up around her. The walls and the windows shake as Grechen manifests her true power in the form of multiple waves of darkness. It's a good thing that Glimmer already took the civilian outside, because generally one needs a henshin in order to endure the sheer amount of power she's radiating.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a tiny, squeaky voice, she declares, "Gretchen... PUNCH!" and launches herself fist first at Glimmer, trying to hit her in the gut with a strike that is far less about the amount of mass or physical strength the tiny fairy has (read: none), and much more about the sheer amount of dark energy used to power up the strike (read: a lot).<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen puts up her dukes while squaring off with Glimmer, but still manages to respond to Keaka. "First off, I'm pretty sure each Witch only gets one Labyrinth, though Labyrinths can merge together and they can also have multiple rooms. The moment a Familiar starts forming its own Labyrinth it's probably well on its way to becoming a new Witch on its own. Secondly, Witches ''can'' manifest in reality. For most of them, that's a dummy move because they'll be spotted and hunted down. Really powerful Witches don't have to bother hiding."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen glances back to Mami, before making one more note to Keaka, "Granted, ''she'' could probably tell you that much already."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yuki starts fighting both Norie and Keaka at the same time, and Gretchen starts to worry about her. A swarm of smaller flying Familiars show up and take up a defensive formation around her, hoping to at least block any shots coming her way.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen pauses for a moment as she considers making a deal, but... no. She doesn't really want to share her discoveries with Obsidian. Not when they can be weaponized against her own Bearer. They'll have to settle for whatever info the scientist got before Glimmer evacuated her.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon gave a soft sigh as the chara got out of the cup. "Probably a bit," Glimmer said. "But I've never fought one of you before, I don't know how tough you are. I wouldn't want to--"<br><br>And then it hit her. Glimmer's eyes bulged as she was sent careening back and slammed into the wall, hard, bouncing off it. Then dropping to the ground. She landed with a groan before...<br><br>"Okay, so it's like *that* is it?!" she asked, looking up. Ohhhhhh. Glimmer was ANGRY! She disappeared in another pink flash before appearing back by Gretchen once more. Her own dukes were up. and she gave a right, then a left, then a right-left.<br><br>Her punches exploded into little explosions of pink light with each one, fueled by the fact she was actually a pretty good boxer and her own runestone's power. Still, she was used to punching things much bigger than her and... Gretchen.... Was so cuuuuuute. She couldn't fully punch her if it looked like the cute lil thing was overwhelmed. She'd even stop if the lil chara got rocked too hard.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>As Mami dances around the floor wrapping her ribbons around Chamuel, she keeps an eye on what all the others are doing. Glimmer's occupying Gretchen's focus, and Keaka and Norie are dealing with Yuki. That's good. Because it means Mami can still just focus on the Familiar in front of her, and she has to do just that.<br><br>Thrown spears come a lot closer to the face if you're not being careful. Mami leans back as a spear flies dramatically above her and she gets a good look at the entire length of it's haft. She keeps tipping back into a back handspring and when she lands on her feet she has a rather large-gauge rifle in her hands. Honestly it looks more like a small, hand-held cannon. Right down to the lit fuse at the back of the long barrel. It sizzles as she holds it level with the center of the Familiar's mass. Nobody's directly behind it. Hopefully nobody ends up directly behind it.<br><br><span style="color:xterm11">BANG!</span><br><br>The hand-cannon fires and the base-ball sized projectile goes hurtling toward the Familiar. So much more reasonable than a Tiro Finale.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka hears the spellcard callout and gets ready to dodge... darts? <span style="color:#005fff">"Force Field."</span> Sarida chimes, a translucent amber sphere of force manifesting around Keaka; Now the darts can't hit ''her'', but a lot of the darts that wouldn't even have hit her will hit the field too, though. Depending on what they ''do'', that might be a problem. Gretchen's doing something to, and Keaka has no idea ''what'' and can only hope she can withstand the... waves of dark energy. Huh. Isn't everyone here powered by that...?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More information. Witches are ''not'' banished to their labyrinths by a curse as Keaka appears to suspect. Interesting.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The thought of a Witch that wouldn't bother to hide is... concerning.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sarida is thinking along the same lines. <span style="color:#005fff">"Such a being as you describe is the ultimate expression of one's self upon the world, short of directly editing reality itself. To fight it... You would have to do the same."</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka is trying to weave through waves of darts. "Being in such a state aren't unstoppable. Heroes tried it and still lost. How?" <span style="color:#005fff">"...I don't have access to that information."</span> "Great. Hopefully we won't fight anything like that soon."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka holds out her hand. <span style="color:#005fff">"Barret burst fire."</span> The shield drops just as a spray of stunning energy bullets fires at Gretchen, and she throws bolts of darkness at Yuki from her other hand. "Ugh, why can't we work together? There must be something we can work out! If we fight against eachother like this, the heroes ''will' beat us!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>Yuki - or perhaps one should say, The Knight of Dawn, given that the shooting has started - has a moment to be glad that not everyone is shooting at her. It's been a =deeply annoying= couple of weeks, and she's still not got all her gear up to snuff yet. It's enough to hold against one assailant, but several at once would be a problem. <br><br>She ducks behind the workbench, letting it take the impact from a few of Keaka's blasts, but it doesn't last long and she's quickly forced to back off further. The flow of darts slows as she turns her focus to the shield, defending herself while she looks for ... something. <br><br>Then she gets a bit of a brainwave, and a globe of light forms in her left hand, to be tossed behind a pile of crates and start a search-scan while she focuses on the fight. Looking for anything matching the notations she found in the violin file.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Literally any other Chara in the world would likely fall before Glimmer's onslaught, even if she held back a whole lot, but Gretchen is a goddess. She's reaching ever higher levels of power, and while Glimmer has the magic of her Runestone and her boxing skills, Gretchen has only the playful aesthetic of a childhood 'fight' combined with way more power than anything as small or as cute at her should ever have. Each of Glimmer's blows are reacted to with a block, a sideways spin that takes her just barely out of the way, and then she meets the last two strikes with punches of her own. Tiny knuckles bash against one much larger knuckle, and while Gretchen does get sent back from the blow she's very clearly in control of her flight path.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen, too, is not really giving it her all. Largely because she's the kind of goddess who is also an energy cheapskate, but also because she's not actually ''trying'' to hurt anyone today.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That cheapness doesn't really do Chamuel any favors though. Mami's blast makes a hole that goes all the way through the animated armor, revealing the hallow emptiness inside. More smoke emits from the wound, and at this point the Familiar starts to dissolve in place. Gretchen notices and starts to pout. Actually, she looks genuinely sad. She was hoping it'd last longer than ''that''.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Keaka's energy bullets come her way, Gretchen holds out her hands and forms a solid wall of darkness that trembles and cracks with each impact, but does not break.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wasteful. This is all wasteful. She needs ''more'' power, and she needs to stop wasting it on things like this. Each shot is a setback, each blow is a problem. Winning the battle means very little if Gretchen loses the war. Brai taught her that much.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Well, if you're all gonna make a big deal out of this, then I guess I have no choice." She crosses her tiny arms, and a very large Labyrinth portal appears behind her. A crowd of Familiars; Witch made, not Chara-made; suddenly drop out and start dancing strangely all over the lab. Over and over they throw colored powder at Keaka, Mami, Glimmer and La Crima, which all looks very worrisome and threatening until one realizes...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The colored powder doesn't ''do'' anything aside from get everywhere. It's not even that hard to wipe off. At worst it's like glitter but less shiny and less sticky.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;However, from beyond the portal, Tia and Rens both reappear. Between them is a Familiar holding what looks like an antique record player. It plays music as the three X-Chara join each other in song.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;o/` Come, little Chara. Come broken Dreams.<br>o/` We have heard your mourning, we have heard your screams.<br>o/` Come to our world where everyone plays nice.<br>o/` Come to our Labyrinth, X-Paradise!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All at once, the various Witch Marks that Gretchen has been leaving near the X-Eggs begin to glow a deep purple and rise out of their boxes, break out of their vats, and gather around Gretchen. Tiny cries of, "impossible... useless... never" can be heard all through the lab, emitted from the black eggs. Hearing the siren call of the X-Dokas, each and every one of these eggs starts heading for the Labyrinth portal.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>La Crima is firing blasts of dark energy into a shield that Yuki put up, She then yells. "Get in my way? My 'way' is literarily killing you right now." she says. Look, Takashi really needs to have that talk with her soon.<br><br>She gets darts chunked into her and her body rocks, but she tanks them with a pained look on her face, choosing to continue her assault. They have a number advantage.<br><br>That is soon lost when a familiar is is dancing closer and closer and...pocket glitter.<br><br>This distracts her assault as she flails in place!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>It's always so satisfying to see that hole blasted right through before a Familiar withers away. The cannon in Mami's hands disappears in a swirl of ribbons and she starts running on past where Chamuel was dissolving to try and somehow stop what was going on.<br><br>But then there's a bunch of powder in her face. Her hands come up. "Hey! What's with the," she says, and just stops midsentence as she realizes it's just a distraction. She sees the little X-Chara reappear and everything starts to dance away and she groans. She ''knew'' those marks were bad. She had to do something fast.<br><br>She could catch one or two with ribbon whips, but there's too many things to catch that way. There's a ''lot'' of things. There's a good way to catch a ''lot'' of things. She starts to spin up a bunch of ribbons and tosses them out. "Hey girls, catch this, let's sweep them up." The net shoots out from her hand across the path of ''most'' of the dancing eggs, but it's going to take teamwork to pull this off.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon had to give this little thing credit. It could punch. "You know, you and I could box sometime, for real, no magic, might be fun!" she said. what? Just because she was fighting something to the.... something? Didn't mean she couldn't get a friend out of it. Friendship cared not for violence, assault or glitter!<br><br>Only for Gretchen to use her OWN trick on her! "Ahhh, pocket glimmer!" Rude! She covered her face, to make sure it doesn't get any in her face and...<br><br>... And music? what in the...<br><br>Ohhhhh. Magic music! Well, then. "Okay, two can play at that came! Everyone, cover your eyes!" And then she slammed her hands together. AND LET THERE BE LIGHT! The room was just... enveloped in so much light that those who didn't cover their eyes would likely be seeing spots for *days*.<br><br>Of course, she hoped Gretchen would do the same, as Glimmer had then... Teleported. Because of COURSE she did. Appearing over the record player... Descending down on it with a shining fist that would explode on contact!<br><br>... With something.<br><br>... Her eyes had been closed but her hands had been busy so she actually was a little blind right now don't judge her.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mami shoots a hole in Chamuel and they can see it's done for. Gretchen is sad, and it's a waste, and...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka has the bright idea to use this opportunity to steal it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's not a good idea. For several reasons. But there isn't really time to think about it as she puts theory to the test.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;First: that's gonna take a lot of dark energy, at least to do it this way; Possibly as much or more than making it in the first place did. <span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Uh... what are you doing?!"</span> Sarida asks in alarm, as Keaka grabs the conduit the Meanie Dokas were feeding from and holds it against the growing hole in Chamuel. "Making a friend. Come on! Don't you want to see if it can be done?" <span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Uhhhh..."</span> "For science! I need more power!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">"Powering Void--"</span> "I don't think that'll work? Maybe?" <span style="color:#005fff">"Commencing Halo Shift."</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glowing blue-grey-flickering lines like circuit traces form on Keaka's body. A ring of bright light manifests behind her, wind blasting outward from it at the release of some form of power as darkness pours into the dying familiar.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which leaves Obsidian's ''weirdest'' agent kind of preoccupied, afraid to interrupt the process, as things happen around her. Powder is thrown (and blown away from the halo) and the X-Eggs move. "Uhhhh..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's not sure what happens if she ''stops''. She's not sure how long this will actually ''take.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's starting to have second thoughts about if this is even a good ''idea''.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But damnit, shouldn't she get to do reckless mad science at least ''once''?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>Yuki grunts, the exertion of holding up her sheild and keeping up the bombardment telling. "Why the heck is it always 'killing you' this, 'give me your energy' that, 'bow down before your god' the other? Whatever happened to good, decent, honest, hard-working criminals?" <br><br>She reaches down with her off-hand, pulling up a holo-projected monitor screen of some sort, that shows a scrolling series of ... crate labels. Each one is highlighted for a moment in blue, which then turns to red, and whatever is scanning them moves on to the next. <br><br>At least one of her opponents is somewhat *occupied*, which leaves her free to focus on defending against - and shooting at - the one who actually threatened to kill her, rather than just objecting to her poking around in the computer. <br><br>That backing off gets her closer to the exits is just a coincidence. Really.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If I wasn't using magic, we'd be in entirely different weight classes," says Gretchen to Glimmer. "We could maybe play a boxing video game instead, though? Like Super Facepunch? Not right now obviously."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More of Mami's ribbons come out, and they are once again a major problem. Gretchen wasn't willing to interfere when it came to saving her Familiar, as that was a disposable asset that was performing its job dutifully. These X-Eggs, though? They never did anything bad or wrong. It was their bearers that were the problem. So Gretchen felt the need to defend them from those who would exploit even these unhatched dreams.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A tiny black bow appears in her hands, and she fires a spread of black-and-pink arrows, using the same kind of magic that her Chara Bearer uses. The arrows cut through the ribbons on impact, and manage to get them away from many of the eggs. As much as the X-Witch doesn't like it, she may have to leave some of these poor unborn dreams behind.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tia and Rens are both blinded, and the record player is easily dispatched, causing the music to stop as the strange watercolor object bends, shatters and scatters in a single hit. Before the tiny meaniedokas can blink most of the spots out of their eyes, Glimmer's strike has already destroyed their magical musical toy. However, even though they no longer have their backing track, Tia and Rens keep singing, keep luring the X-Eggs through the portal. Those eggs that haven't been caught by Mami's ribbons or anyone else vanish into the Labyrinth.<br><br>o/` Why should you be punished when your Bearers are to blame?<br>o/` Casting you aside without a hint of shame!<br>o/` Come to our world where everyone plays nice.<br>o/` Come to our Labyrinth, X-Paradise!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How is their music still working? Probably because of the Witch Marks more than the singing itself, really. Once their song is done, Rens and Tia retreat back into their Labyrinth as dozens of X-Eggs follow after them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen is also trying to rub the spots from her eyes for a moment before realizing that it's futile. Then she summons few more tiny flying scouting Familiars and sees through ''their'' eyes instead. All 421 of them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As for Chamuel, between the raw dark energy being fed to it and the Witch energy that was used to buff it, the Familiar seems to be regaining a bit of life. Abandoned by Gretchen, it weakens further, but with enough power it ''can'' be kept alive. Mostly. It does enjoy one small mercy: it had no eyes to blind.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seeing Glimmer's flash bang as an opening, Gretchen shouts, "Pull out! Everyone pull out now!" She considers giving Yuki a trip through her Labyrinth too, but that might be needlessly dangerous if she already has a better way out.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>La Crima lunges through the air, floating, towards Yuki, but gets shot backwards a bit. She frowns a little hard. "You don't understand. I'm going to end your existence and you can't stop me forever." she says angrily, as she draws her arm back and seems to grab an invisible cape she flails outwards....<br><br>Before the massive dark energy beam cannon can be unleashed from 'inside' the cape, there's a massive flash and this makes her flail again as she "Awgh, WHAT THE HELL!?" she says.<br><br>Takashi's hope Glimmer and Norie will get along probably diminishes 30 percent.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon punched... something! And now? Now she couldn't see anything. She walked around a little, flailing her hands around as she tried to, well, do something efficient. Not that she could see.<br><br>Instead trying to grab one of the singers before they can go through the portal and... likely failing. "Gahhhh. Lil varmints! Mami! Lacrem-ra, are you two okay? Did they get away?"<br><br>Okay, note to self. Look AWAY from the big blast. Closing her eyes is NOT enough. OW!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>Then net flies across the path of the dancing X-Eggs and...<br><br>...nobody catches it. The thrown end lands on the floor while Mami holds up the other end. It still tangles up quite a few eggs, but it definitely does not catch everything like she'd hoped it would. Teamwork really requires a team that practices together and communicates well. That's not this team. Not today at least.<br><br>But Mami doesn't have time to be disappointed because Glimmer says don't look and she just barely has time to cover her eyes and turn away. The flashbang is so bright she can see it ''through'' her palms and eyelids even then, but then the light is gone and she's not blinded. But she completely dropped the net. "I'm fine, no thanks to you!" She calls out, in response to Glimmer's query.<br><br>Gretchen calls for retreat and Mami looks at all the X-Eggs that she couldn't catch. The net ploy isn't gonna work again. She just sighs. She tried. She then proceeds to send out two ribbons, one from each hand, trying to snatch up at least two more boxes of the eggs. Whatever they can keep from going through the Labyrinth is a win.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:224|Yuki Hoshino (224)}} has posed:'''<br>Yuki had thought she found a match, but it was one digit off. Blast. <br><br>And then a literal blast, the air filled with light and sound, and she's reeling back as her shield does nothing whatsoever to protect her from the flashbang. <br><br>Luckily for her, Lacrima is just as distracted while the Knight of Dawn picks herself up off the floor. And Gretchen is saying it's time to get out. "Right, c'mon, let's scarper." She clearly isn't going to be able to thoroughly search the place, and it's not like there's any place here to hide a human prisoner that hasn't already been examined. <br><br>And so she dashes for the door, throwing it open to let the outdoors sunlight flood in... and to reveal the squad of Easter security goons heading towards the building. Who start shooting immediately when they spot her. <span style="color:xterm66">"Lancer's Shield!"</span> Good thing she's upgraded some of her Device's automatics with the parts she salvaged. <br><br>She slams the door shut on the approaching goons and starts running in the other direction, towards Gretchen and the Labyrinth.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then everything gets MORE CHAOTIC. The X-Eggs are moving. Keaka is *kind of distracted* to notice the flashbang and can't really see after. She can only sort of ''feel'' what's happening with Chamuel. It's stabilizing. But she's got to do something about the other things...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Get them out of here!" She reaches out into the passing horde of eggs with her other arm, hugs an armful -- which turns out to be just two of the little eggs -- to her body, and duskports with them and Chamuel.<br><br><span class="bold_fg_n bg_n ++ h">The Dusk Zone</span><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka is dimly aware of the sound of the sea as she tries to blink away the spots and blinding brightness from her vision.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With no more external energy to power and Keaka in no shape to maintain the rite anyway, Sarida drops them out of shift, the lines and halo disappearing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keaka feels awful. Attempting that took something out of her she wasn't expecting and just... ugh. She collapses with the eggs and the Familiar at her side.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Being Mimic is suffering. Especially when they didn't actually finish creating you, and you're not ''whole'', your darkness ravening out, left dying.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fortunately, you're ''good'' at it. Suffering, that is. The newborn instinctively does ''something'' -- perhaps incorporating the darkness of the Dusk Zone into itself, or perhaps incorporating 'incompleteness' into itself so that it is, for now, its natural state rather than a way in which it is harmed -- whatever it is, it stems the darkness bleeding, and the Mimic Familiar, Chaumiel, rests.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|The Meanie Dokas (33)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Oh geeze," says Gretchen, watching the enemy team trip over each other through eyes that are not her own, relying upon her Familiar since her ''actual'' eyes are full of stars. "Team work really is a super power. I feel like there's a moral lesson here that I'm totally not going to learn today. Maybe we're not so different after all."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen is trying really hard to sound like a tough as nails villain. She's super strong, for real! It's just... with that squeaky cute voice... it's easy to forget just how powerful she actually is.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rens and Tia evade Glimmer's grip, because Gretchen has been training them to avoid being grabbed as hard as she can. Largely because that's what ''everyone'' seems to go for. Catching a Chara is like trying to catch a bird barehanded. Sure, you technically ''can'', but the bird isn't going to make it easy.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What Glimmer ''does'' manage to grab is one of those tiny, many winged hundred eyed Familiars. It flaps its wings in a panic as its eyes dart all over the place. Unfortunately for it, it's also an acceptable loss in the now-blinded eyes of its Witch.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mami, still in possession of most of her eyesight and also her wits, manages to snag a couple of storage boxes and tie them shut, trapping the X-Eggs inside. That in of itself is probably more valuable than it might seem, because the mere fact that Mami is still effectively in play while many others are blind means that Gretchen needs to pull out ''now''.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gretchen doesn't really want to drag out the fight. Too much energy, spent on doing... what exactly? Weakening those who might potentially be her allies on a different day? Instead, she commits fully to pulling out. She dives through her own portal and closes it, only to open another portal directly in line with Yuki's path, giving her a quick safe exit before closing the aperture behind her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A good amount of the X-Eggs have been stolen from the place, but also a lot of them remain. Those that didn't manage to get through the portal make their sad X-Egg noises before slowly returning to their now somewhat emptier boxes. Parts of the Lab are still a wreck, and the scientist who managed to avoid being drained is fuming outside, but she's also holding onto the vain hope that ''something'' within was still active, still recording data for her. If she could only have ''something'' to study out of all this mess, she might not actually mind the lack of X-Eggs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After all, X-Eggs are pretty samey if they aren't hatched, but that X-Chara? That was unique.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her superiors probably feel very differently about the destruction of one of their labs, though.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As for Chamuel, it was once a Familiar born out of love. Within the Dusk Zone, its fundamental nature changes as all positivity within it is hollowed out and replaced with that strange landscape's intrinsic darkness. It will only be a matter of time before that once noble, valiant defender turns into something of a dark knight.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When all is said and done, the raid is over, and the lab is a mess, but Obsidian has still managed to defend its territory. Gretchen wont be coming back this way again.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>No thanks to her? "I'm sorry, I was busy boxing a bobble head, what do you want from me?" she asked the... wall... completely facing the wrong way. Shaking her head and, slowly, getting some of her vision back. Only to, finally, look down at what she caught and--<br><br>"GAHH! Too many eyes!" she yelled, throwing/blasting it away. Welp, that one wasn't coming back in Gretchen wars 3, the search for more candy.<br><br>She then looked to Mami and La Crema, slowly walking towards them. "So, uhhhhh... What was all that about? Does Obsidian normally have attacks on its facilities by flying sentient bobble heads or is this place just special?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>La Crima is called 'La-Crema' and she hates that.<br><br>She hates it SO MUCH.<br><br>She yells. "I'M GONNA KILL WHOEVER DID THAT FLASHBANG." she yells as she crashes into a different computer, knocking it over, but not breaking it as she cries out.<br><br>"UGH SHE RAN AWAY!" she cries.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:110|Mami Tomoe (110)}} has posed:'''<br>"La Crima! You can't just go around threatening to ''kill'' everyone," Mami scolds, as she turns from the fleeing X-Chara to stalk across thje room to where her young kohai is fuming and kicking over computers. She shoots out a spray of ribbons to try and wrap around the little energy vampire in a restricting hug. The kind that would keep her in one place for a moment until Mami can get there.<br><br>"A little situational awareness! A little team-oriented thinking. You blinded ''yourself'' with that attack," she shouts at Glimmer as she crosses the room to where Norie's at. Oh she's so quick with the criticism. <br><br>It's all over, the only question remains, when she gets to where her kohai is. "La Crima, what were you already doing here?" Mami hates not knowing what's going on.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:174|Clarthas Anode (174)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eventually, Clarthas Anode groans, and stands, gathering the x-eggs into her large coat pockets and turning to see her... creation? Monster? She really didn't think this through.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sound of the dusk seashore washes over them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"So. If you were wondering, no, I can't actually control you. Our powers don't... work that way, I think. You're free to go, if you wish."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She looks around. To one side, an ocean of darkness. To the other, a mix of dusk forest and an Escher drawing of a city, all under a dark sky. "Or, you can follow me back to Obsidian Tower and, uh, we'll figure this out." She's not sure how smart it is. Can it even understand her?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The biblically-accurate haunted armor (three sets of wings, shield on one arm, spear held by the other, over six and a half feet tall) seems to look around, and, when Keaka begins to move, follows her; albeit, this may well be because there really isn't much of any other choice despite her words.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This will surely not end badly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:94|Norie Okana (94)}} has posed:'''<br>La Crima is hugged by ribbons before she can blindly crash around more and she grumbles. "WELL WHY NOT!?" she replies to the fact she can't just go around threating to kill everyone.<br><br>She instead, stops and shakes her head as her vision slowly comes back as she eyes Mami. "Huh? Why was I here already? You know I work with Easter under their label, right? As an idol? We discussed this." she says. "I work under Takashi-senpai though. I made sure that's in the contract." she eyes narrows a little at the word contracts.<br><br>"I was studying some X-eggs, and wondering things." she says. "That maybe this might be my cure..." she says.<br> <br>
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