2721/Awakened Blue Eyes

Awakened Blue Eyes
Date of Scene:	03 August 2025
Location:	Kingdom of the Ancients
Synopsis:	It's finally the hard-earned meeting with Michel, and a very long conversation is had, but that comes to an abrupt stop as Seira is found listening in, and runs away panicked, prompting a chase.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Amanda Faust, Madoka Kaname, Rashmi Terios, Rihito Amagi
Tinyplot:	The Dreams the Tide Cradles

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
While everyone was recovering from the fight with Alala, they received a message from Hinoiri over the study she did on the leylines. The result that came up showed a serious discrepancy with this world's leylines indicating that at some point in the history they are familiar with, the ones on land had been manipulated and directed to pass through either Seattle, Paris or Tokyo.

"So is it actually true magic should have been able to spread everywhere?"Coco considers. Well, they are seeing it first hand, they are hardly in a position to deny it. Unless Michel comes out as responsible. She is not sure this sounds like an Obsidian plot. In this alone, at least they are limited too, at least in theory. "We should look for who did it too then." At least once they are back home.

"At least, Alala's weird way to socialize is behind us", Coco gives the rest of the group a slight smile, then turns for one last glance towards the further and further away green-haired Ancient. Would their Alala be like that if she weren't on Obsidian's side, or is it just this world's circumstances?

Well, no time to think about it right now. They have been looking for a solution for days, and there is hopefully one right there behind that door, so she kinda wants to put this delay behind her as soon as possible.

With a quick stride Coco walks up to the door, followed right behind by Rihito as soon as he realises the yellow mermaid has walked away, catching up to her in a blink. Watching behind the make sure everyone is there, the blonde girl knocks on the door two times, brushing a hair strand back in place once she is done.

"The door is open, please come in", Michel's androgynous voice reaches their ears after a second.

Upon entering, they get introduced to a large study bathed in light, tempering the rough rock of the walls to a nice beige through large open windows with balconies peeking through the glass embellished by vases of thyme, sage, lemongrass and mint.

The god of the Ancients sits, the white of his robe and wings seemingly merged with a spacious wooden chair. A winged woman with short magenta hair and black irises stands behind him, jumping slightly at the group's appearance.

"My apologies for Alala's behaviour", Michel raises from his chair, providing a clear distinction between himself and the chair, and he walks closer to the magical girls, bowing slightly. "I am glad that you helped her get it out of her system. Please rest assured that your stay won't be troubled again by her excitement", he smiles at them.

"I am Michel, and she is Fuku, one of my close aides and friends", he introduces the both of them, followed up by a stiff nod of acknowledgement by the woman. Coco looks at her with a tilt of her head..

"I think you don't want this stay to last long anyway, and I hope I will be able to help you with this matter", he nods placidly, then producing a teapot with water he starts boiling in mid air. "Any tea I can offer you? I have a few packages in my study", he offers.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The leylines *are* interesting news. "Has Obsidian been around long enough for it to be a plot? Uh... how long did the leylines move on our world? Is there a way to tell?" She also types these questions and texts them back to Hinoiri.

    Upon hearing Michel's voice, she shivers. Though she'll probably get used to it quickly, as she did with Gaito's.

    Apologies for Alala? Amy shrugs. "It... was kind of fun, once we knew it wasn't... she wasn't trying to kill us."

    "After the introductions, she nods to both of them. "I am Amanda. It's uh... nice to meet you. What kind of tea do you reccommend?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is honestly a bit relieved that things with Alala didn't get too serious. After what happened with the Dark Lovers, she was trying to avoid gaining a reputation of constantly causing trouble. Homura, Lydian and Kamiko seemed to agree with her on that at least, even if the two minidokas had differing ideas on what 'trouble' meant.

    Homura, ever watchful, keeps her purple eyes on the two fairies. She reaches out to scoop them both up in her arms as a way of affectionately keeping track of them. The raven haired gal then follows after Madoka, who in turn is following after Coco.

    As they reach the door, Madoka smiles at the yellow mermaid, and then blinks as she hears Michel's voice. The pinkette frowns for a moment, still having some misgivings about this world, but when invited she enters regardless. She bows slightly to Michel and says, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Matcha for me and Homura, if it's not too much trouble."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
A good snack did *wonders* to help recover from Alala's enthusiasm, and Rashmi simply cannot stay mad at the exuberant little troublemaker. "Look at it this way, Coco-chan; at least there weren't any stakes. I guess she just wanted to push us to see what we could do, and gimme a fight like that *any day* over the real kind."

Removing her glasses, Rashmi rakes a hand through her hair. "I remember Hinoiri-chan talking about that before, how the ley lines were moved. I'd say it's *definitely* worth looking into once we get back, yeah..." And with that, she follows behind Coco, into the penthouse office of the God of the Ancients.

Because of course this world's supreme deity *has a penthouse office.* It's exactly the kind of thing that a world of open magic would make possible, if not plausible.

Once again, she holds back on her telepathy just in case Michel might notice and think talking behind his back where he can hear it to be unforgivably rude, but she does catch both Fuku's apprehention, and Coco's curiosity... But one does not stand in the presence of the God of the Ancients without giving him one's full attention. "I'm Rashmi," she says as she dips in a deep bow. "And no apologies are necessary, Michel-sama. As my friend says, once we understood the game, it was very much a welcome entertainment. And tea would be greatly appreciated, thank you."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Michel opens a drawer at Amy's question, and starts moving small boxes around with the click of wood against wood. "I think this will do", he replies to her, putting a package of lemongrass in an empty cup and passing it to Amy full of hot water. The same process is repeated with Homura and Madoka's request, and Rashmi gets the same tea type as Amy.

Michel smiles at Rashmi. "I am glad you could obtain your own enjoyment out of it." Perhaps he should consider introducing the two of them in this world, Michel considers to himself. Rashmi seems like a calm and thoughtful girl, it wouldn't be a bad thing if she rubbed off on Alala even a bit.

Rihito takes a good look at Michel, a bit taken aback by how calm and non threatening it seems. Even with how this world is much more calm, the difference between him and the one Coco has told him about is kind of surprising. He bows at the angelic being in turn and introduces himself as well. "Basil tea for me, please."

As so does Coco, he looks back to the yellow mermaid princess, and he obliges her request of hibiscus tea, as well as Rihito's. "I find it both interesting and troubling how your entrance meant you took the place of our Coco, and yet with none of her memories. I hope that solving this dilemma will also bring her back, and anyone who is going through the same thing", Michel considers puzzled.

"We have been trying to explain the same thing, but we don't have any explanation either", Coco replies looking directly at the angel. "I am not surprised, the Cove of Wishes has been a well-guarded location to avoid any potential weirdness. It doesn't come as a surprise our worries were well-founded", he shares with the group.

"The thing that shocked me the most was learning that the visions of your world I obtained were the work of the Cove of Wishes. That's definitely a bizarre way for it to grant wishes. We have been letting specific people through occasionally, and it never did that, or broke down in any way."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Oooh, lemongrass tea. Accepting the cup, Rashmi brings it to her nose to just... enjoy the smell drifting up from her tea as it steeps. "Very lovely, Michel-sama, thank you," she murmurs, falling silent as information is traded between Michel and the merfolk, pursing her lips in thought.

"It is strange, isn't it? And why *us?* None of us really *wished* to be sent here -- trust me, we have more than enough adventure in the city alone, Coco-chan could tell you a story or five. But as far as I know, only Coco-chan and perhaps Hippo-san actually *swapped places* with people here."

Blowing a thin cloud of steam away from her tea, she takes a small sip, to check its steeping progress. "And if that *is* the case... Why Coco-chan?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Homura politely accept their tea from Michel, each holding onto the handle of their cup with one hand and supporting the bottom with the other. As unsettling as it is to see Michel be so friendly and gracious, Madoka has had to interact with, and even befriend, her direct enemies for so long that she's actually a bit used to it. Homura, for her part, is good at hiding her feelings behind her stony gaze.

    "I wonder if it's because both Cocos were at the Pearl Pier at the time," speculates Homura. "We noticed that some of us have alternate versions here and others do not."

    Madoka crosses her arms and says, "Well, it's also the case that this world's Coco still has her powers while the rest of us don't. I wonder if it's related to the fact that she's still magical?"

    Kamiko settles on Madoka's shoulder and says, "Wait... so you confirmed that the visions of your world were caused by the Cove of Wishes? Because that would answer a lot of questions."

    Homura sips her tea before glancing to Kamiko. "Of course. There's no reason why two parallel timestreams need to be synchronized with each other. We saw something similar in Crystal Tokyo... over a much shorter time scale."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods as she takes the tea. "Thank you."

    Her head whips up from looking at tea to looking at Michel when he says the visions were caused by the Cove of Wishes. "Wait, what?!"

    Amy blinks. "So... the way the Cove of Wishes fulfilled Hippo's wish... was by completely changing the world for the past ten thousand years?"

    "...Wish magic is scary."

    She looks at her soul gem, wondering if Puella Magi's wishes have ever done something like this.

    ...If her timeline wasn't the original one... would she even know?

    "So wait... were their Coco and Rihito and Hippo all at the pier? Is there any way to check?" Amy considers this. "...If so, maybe they're in our world?"

    Amy blinks. "What about Nikola, then...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I think that Nikora and Rihito are the same", Coco says to Rashmi. "Or at least he hasn't found himself here", she looks at her boyfriend for confirmation.

He nods in response. "I went looking, but I didn't find him. I did find my mother and my father, but I didn't speak to them much. My father, he abandoned me and Michal, and I wasn't sure I could have stopped myself from shouting at him", he trembles briefly. Fuku bites her lips at that account. "This is not really the place to bring your family drama, boy", she speaks up before Coco can, earning a sharp glare from the mermaid.

"I don't think you should speak that way", Coco retorts. "If you don't want to listen, you could have said it more calmly." Fuku opens her mouth again, but Michel places a hand on her shoulder. "Fuku, please, don't be upset. I know you are not like this. Is there something that's troubling you?"he asks worriedly. But the woman gets cagey. "Nothing, Lord Michel, I am sorry for my behaviour."

The god looks at her a bit more, and turns his face to the rest of the group. "Unfortunately, I don't have concrete answers past this point, and we have tried all possible considerations", Michel shakes his head, and Fuku looks at him as well, speaking for the first part since entering the office. "I am sure they are understanding, Lord Michel, and that they don't really wish to trouble you with this matter, rather they are grateful about it. You don't need to consider it so seriously", she says to him.

"Thank you, Fuku, but I don't agree with you on this. I know that if we stand here now, that's because our world was changed by the power of the Cove. We are connected together. After all, if I had never witnessed their struggles and how things ended up, I would have still decided our time on this planet was up, and the world was ready to be inherited", Michel turns to look at the other Ancient.

Coco watches silently the disagreement between the two Ancients, and she gives a good look at Fuku. Could she actually be the counterpart of the bird Fuku in their world? That's a drastic change. "What do you think, everyone? Do you think Fuku is the same?" Coco asks the others. The hair and eyes fit at least.

"Gaito told you about the visions that changed our course of history, but he didn't know that it was me who obtained those visions, or the fact that I didn't merely see a premonition, but that I knew all along I was seeing something that came from another world. I took a lot of measures to verify that was true, and the past twenty years have been interesting when your counterparts started being born", he starts preparing himself tea.

"It was when I got the confirmation the conflicts between mermaids and Panthalassa had been successfully avoided, but one thing had still unsettled me, when the princess of the Indian Ocean left her post anyway, and succeeded in severing the bond with her Pearl. That's the event most similar between our two timelines, and for a time I wondered if I had failed, if a conflict was about to start anyway", he furrows his brow.

"It hasn't come yet, and I kept an eye on Sara so I could notice if he she needed help, but I still think this situation is important for your problem. Does this give you any clue about what's going on?" Michel asks the group.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    After a bit of consideration, Amy decides that maybe 'costume' isn't the best for meeting god but maybe 'normal clothes' is? Pink sparkles replace her costume with a black tank top and red skirt and now she wonders if that's too casual.

    When Rihito is told off, Amy objects, "Hey." But Coco says what she has to say, pretty much.

    She quirks an eyebrow at Fuku not wanting to tell Michel something... a reminder that he's not omniscient.

    Fuku goes on. "Um. We're glad for the audience, yes, but we do have a world that needs us to get back to -- and given this seems to be the most disruptive magical incident that has happened here in who knows how long, I believe it's appropriate to bring up?" She frowns slightly at Fuku. "Don't speak for us."

    Is Fuku the same? Amy can only shrug.

    And then Michel brings up counterparts and she looks back to him with wide eyes. "What do you mean? What have our counterparts been doing?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Wait," Rashmi says. "Did you say 'Sara?' Or 'Seira?' Because... Hm. Michel-sama... can you show us what Sara-san looks like?"

Something is *extremely* not adding up, here, and it's only after making that request that she turns to regard Fuku. "I mean... I couldn't say if she's the same? But like Amy-chan, I don't understand why this whole mess *wouldn't* bear serious consideration. If for no other reason, because between the two of us... our world is *definitely* the more dangerous one, and I'd have a vested interest in keeping anything *else* of our world out of this one. Ask the queens of Hinoiri-chan's world about how Nightmares from our dreamworld have been trying to get in, for example."

So Fuku doesn't seem to have the kind of appreciation of the dangers that one would *expect* someone at Michel's right hand to have... And 'Sara' is the one he's been keeping an eye on.

Something is seriously not lining up, here...

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Homura both give Fuku a stare at their outburst. That was... certainly a very hateful comment. Enough that Homura gives Michel a suspicious look for a moment before turning back to Fuku. There's a brief moment where Homura's paranoia tells her this is all some strange act, and that one of the underlings 'broke character' for a moment, but then she reminds herself that if these people wanted to victimize the party they'd have done so already.

    Stuff like this is why she keeps her powerset a closely guarded secret. Just in case of a sudden betrayal.

    Madoka is a bit more calm about it, resting a hand on Homura's arm to reassure her. She still thinks that Fuku's behavior was... odd, to say the least. Upon Coco's asking, Madoka watches Fuku for a moment with careful consideration. "I see some similarities in personality, though she doesn't really look like a bird to me."

    No... it's not that it's similar. It's more like... she doesn't fit this more idealistic world?

    Neither Madoka nor Homura, nor either of the Chara tell Fuku off, but they all give them a momentary stare before looking away. Madoka then says to Michel, "So... you're the one who had the vision, and you knew it was from our world? So you've had knowledge this entire time, from such a bygone era."

    Homura crosses her arms and says, "Now that you mention it, it's odd that all the same people were born in very similar circumstances, even up to the point where Sara leaves her post to be with Gaito. I'd think that the course of history would diverge a lot more radically than that, considering the distance in time."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Michel watches Amy and Rashmi push back against Fuku. She is being kinda off today. Maybe she just woke up, and something is troubling her. He does consider it odd, and he wants to talk to her in private later.

It's true this Fuku isn't a bird. Maybe the name and similarities are just a coincidence and the two Fuku aren't each other's counterparts, Coco tells herself. And it would be pretty weird for Fuku too.

Michel doesn't think much of Amy changing clothes. Given the switch to a more casual apparel, he just thinks she was feeling uncomfortable in her previous clothes. ", Instead he adds to his previous explanation at Amy's request. "The Orange Pearl created a new heir for the Indian Ocean after Sara left."

In the meantime, Michel asks for a clarification and gives an image as soon as Rashmi asks for it. Coco meanwhile starts replying to the god of the Ancients. "Seira was about to be born, but it was stopped and now we are working to help her be born", she clarifies, sidesteppening the matter of the box, or the matter of their world's Michel. Perhaps someone will want to confront the angel about it, but not her.

"I do think there is something besides Hippo's wish at play here, something related to Sara", Michel replies to Homura. "And considering the circumstances, that must mean Seira. Have you tried talking to her?"

Coco shakes her head. "We haven't seen this world's Seira, and our Seira has not been coming out of her Pearl. I think she is still stuck in our world", the yellow mermaid tells him.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Then who was that Princess that was showing us around when we first got here?" Rashmi asks, puzzled. "The one that took off right before those glitchy Dark Lovers showed up?" She leans forward and studies the image, trying to match it with the girl she spoke of.

It's like a sesame seed stuck between her teeth, the sense of things not matching up right; even if you account for the inherent weirdnesses of isekai and magic in general...

Something is *wildly* weird, here.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Why hasn't history diverged over a thousand years? Amy, too, has observed that "Humans are the same." -- she adds as much after Homura's words -- when there should be differences.

    Something related to... "Sara? Why?" and somehow that means Seira... "Wait, so like... it could be that our Seira took Sara's place? Wait, no... How are they connected in such a way that it'd make... that it's be connected to this?"

    Rashmi brings up the local mermaid princess. "Hey, yeah, there was her."

    There's a familiar feeling, like looking at New Moon, except that thought can't actually form in her head.

    "Could it be... like, it happened in reverse, because our Seira doesn't have a physical body, so her memories went to the local orange mermaid princess you have instead--"

    Amy frowns and rubs at her chin. "Wait, no, that doesn't make any sense, that girl wasn't at the inn when we arrived..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura gives Fuku one more wordless, suspicious glare before putting her attention back on Michel. So Fuku isn't being herself? How... interesting. She considers telepathy for a moment, only to think that it might be taken as a sign of bad faith. Yet at the same time she doesn't want to show too much of her hand. So instead she brings up an adjacent idea, trying to beat around the bush. "By chance... have you had any more glitches around here, like we saw with the Dark... I mean, True Lovers?"

    Madoka picks up on what Homura is actually getting at, and glances towards Fuku. Could her behavior have been a glitch? She doesn't voice her opinion, since she's not nearly as subtle as her sweetheart. Instead she glances to Rashmi. "Didn't she also say that her name was Seira? She was really sweet. Is that a common name in this world?"

    Kamiko shrugs her tiny shoulders and says, "Well, I know Sara and Noel are common in some parts of the world. Coco isn't unheard of as a name, either. I wouldn't be surprised if Seira was a common name, too."

    There are a lot of things that don't quite add up, even with all that they know. It's a lot to think about.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I don't know, that seems very unlikely", Coco replies to Amy's opinion. Considering Gaito is with Sara, Seira would have no doubt pushed back on any relationship, and Gaito would have reacted as a consequence.

"I think you mean the current Indian Princess, the one who was born after Sara severed her bond with the Pearl", Michel replies to Rashmi, and then smiles to Madoka. "Don't worry, no glitches have struck here, and we have added them to things we are looking out for. Everyone is just as safe as they ever was." He doesn't really comment on Madoka's implication, but the differences with Fuku worry him too.

Said woman is now watching them silently, and she keeps her expression neutral, but inside she is squirming and sighing at each conjecture they make. It seems that despite her best efforts, Michel is dead set on helping them, and what can she say to him?

She doesn't have any real influence over him unlike the second Michel. She only has her suggestions, and they weren't worth much here. They haven't been so out of tune ever. She imagined his return to be more grandiose (though, it's her return here, isn't it?) and she instead has found how much she has drifted away. At this rate, there is a chance she will go back too, she has to stop this!

But before she so much as raises a finger, a small thud Is heard on the other side of the door while the others keep making and sharing conjectures, and Michel raises an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting other guests", he muses, and raises his voice. "Please, come in", he looks at the door curiously.

Which slowly creaks open, and Seira timidly shuffles into her room. "I am sorry, I shouldn't be a bother, but I thought I had heard my name, and...", she keeps her gaze low.

Coco looks at the orange girl, so unlike what she has seen. Why is she acting so shily? Is something worrying her? Is that why she was here? To seek Michel's help? "Seira? Is something wrong?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura notices Fuku's discomfort, but she doesn't have the clues to understand what it means, so she assumes it's just a distaste for the group themselves. Well, that's fine. Homura doesn't really care if someone dislikes her. There's always someone who mistrusts her, or has a negative opinion of her. In truth if she were not Madoka's girlfriend, she might have little to no credibility at all. That's just something she has to get used to, as both a time traveller and a Puella Magi.

    There's a knock at the door. Madoka and her two fairies turn to look back. "Oh... hi, Seira!" calls out Madoka. "Eheh, sorry. We were kinda talking about you."

    Floating close to one of Madoka's pigtails, Lydian chimes in, "Things got kinda crazy the last time we met. Glad to see you're doing alright!"

    Homura crosses her arms. "... are you doing alright? Is something the matter?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Sara and Noel are common, Seira might be too. "I mean," Amy notes, "they're both slightly different pronunciations of Sarah ([Sera]), which is a somewhat common English-speaking name, I know of like..." she starts counting fingers and stops at five, "plenty of Sarahs. It's Hebrew for "Princess", so sometimes you see it used for princesses in stories. ...And maybe in real life, come to think of it." If there's a Princess Sara and a Princess Seira, after all...

    Well speak of the devil!

    Amy turns and looks at the door, nodding at Homura's admission, and then the first thought that blurts out of her mouth is, "Yeah, maybe you can help us figure some stuff out, how do you know about KiraKiraFantastica and that I was a Puella Magi?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Fuku is... very definitely acting strangely. But if there's a good explanation, it's not worth pushing on right this moment. And, in fact, she's about to open her mouth and *say* as much...

...When Seira herself creeps into the room, and worries about being a bother. Which of course gets *all* of Rashmi's attention, for this little while at least.

"Um... I don't know about Michel-sama, but, you're definitely not a bother to me?" And she's about to ask her own questions, but after Homura and Amy it'd feel a bit like a dogpile to add to them... So she sips at her tea, and tries to look as warm and friendly as possible.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The orange girl doesn't reply, her gaze keeps that troubled stare on her while she cluthes her hands tight, and her eyes keep shifting everywhere but the faces of the people looking at her. Staring. Continuing to probe at what she is hiding. Because that's what they have been doing all this time, even if they don't know it. To discover her secret.

"Seira, dear, what's wrong?", Michel's voice joins the chorus of worries. He hasn't talked to the Indian Ocean princess much, but he knows it is out of place for her to be so shy. Rihito too, is showing concern, and starts taking a few steps closer to the young girl, but that triggers a reaction.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to bother you at all!", she exclaims in a single breath, then turns on her heels and dashes the other way, making Coco, Rihito and Michel all wince. "Thank you, for your time, maybe we will pick on it another time!", she tells Michel with a quick bow of her head.

The yellow mermaid gives Homura, Madoka, Rashmi and Amy a hurried glance, and grabs Rihito's hand, dragging him after Seira before he can do so himself. Whatever this other Seira has, she feels it's more important right now than talking with Michel.

The angel remarks as everyone leaves the room. "I will leave you to it, then. I have a few important things to do as well", he says glancing at Fuku by the corner of his eyes. "I am sure she will be safe in your hands."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura, Madoka, Kamiko and Lydian all watch Seira with concerned eyes... only for her to apologize? What? What's even going on right now?

    Kamiko, Lydian, and Homura all join Coco in pursuing Seira out of the room. Madoka lags behind them for a moment, offering Michel a sheepish apologetic smile. "Thanks for meeting with us! Sorry things got weird. Hope to see you again!"

    Then Madoka is running after Coco and those following after, speedwalking to catch up to Homura. Fuku's weirdness has already been forgotten at the moment, as Madoka's focus is entirely upon Seira's concerns. "Seira... wait up! Don't you still want to have fun with us?"

    Yes, she remembers those words from their first meeting.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy wasn't suspicious, just good-naturedly curious, but Seira sems seriously spooked! "Uh, bother? You're not--" but she's gone, and Amy looks between the others and Fuku and Michel and shrugs helplessly, "Thanks, um... Keep us posted with anything you find out!" She takes a long sip of the tea then sets it down and runs after the others.