2038/Augh snake! Ohhh snake! It's a snaaaake!

Augh snake! Ohhh snake! It's a snaaaake!
Date of Scene:	16 October 2024
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	A pair of disasters collide and combine as an evil Black Magic Basilisk breaks out of the storm water system and Tomoko is tormented by schoolmates waving rubber snakes at her in the cruel spirit of Halloween. Madoka arrives in time to save the day on both counts and even rescue Lydian from her temporary fate as the worlds cutest fairy statue. We leave it up to you, dear reader, to decide which of these tragedies is worse. Postscript - The owner of a used car lot is about to have a very bad day.
Cast of Characters:	Tomoko Watanabe, Madoka Kaname

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Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    It's early evening on a brisk autumn mid October day in the Juuban Ward, the sun is still an hour or so from setting with the first hints of dusk just starting to appear. Everything is not alright, however, as shadows begin to coalesce along the ground. It's the first sign that something strange is happening. A manhole cover in the middle of a luckily lightly populated street shoots up and clatters back to the ground, rolling along it's rim and emitting a sound with increasingly high pitch as it settles. Then a long, purple Y shoot up out of the manhole, flicking back and forth before retracting.

    Soon the very tip of a large smooth, darkly scaled snout appears pressing upward as it's long, forked tongue flicks once more. It squeezes and presses, twisting it's head back and forth to try to make it out of the storm drains the foulness that spawned it had gathered into. Try as it might it can't quite manage to squeeze though, it's wide, wedge like skull too large to fit. That's when it gives up the finesse method, instead pushing upward with all it's immense strength, bursting the cement and asphalt of the road and slithering upward and outward to freedom.

    The evil creature coils about itself while lifting into the air, raising to a full ten feet in height, it's bulk thick and muscular behind it and extending much further than even it's raised form shows. It lets out a loud hiss, showing it's multiple sets of fangs and whipping it's tail behind it, smashing and damaging the facades of several storefronts. The large snakelike figure spins in place, whipping it's tail and staring with strange eyes that swirl with opalescent greens and yellows that seem to demand and draw in the attention of any viewers, threatening danger and doom to any who might approach.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
=== MEANWHILE ===

    Tomoko Watanabe is exiting The Book Nook after having pursued and browsed for half an hour or so. She's changed out of her school clothes and into street clothes, smiling and looking somewhat relaxed. But trouble is afoot here as well, as a few classmates recognize her. This is the season of spooks and scares, and Tomoko is known to be among the most easily frightened. Egging each other one one after another until the shortest boy of the trio gets up the courage, he grabs a handful of rubber snakes, snickering with his friends while waggling them about.

    It isn't hard to sneak up on Tomoko, the girl lost in her own world trying to decide if anything she browsed was worth spending any allowance money on. With a singsong call of, "Ohhh Tomoko..!" the boy gets her attention, the glasses wearing girl immediately tensing at the cadence. Even realizing what might be coming she turns around with a timid, "Y-yes?" only to have a handful of rubber snakes shoved right up into her face and waved around.

    Immediately she screams, the reaction everyone was hoping for, and as she backs away with hands clenched up near her shoulders her tormentor pursues, laughing and continuing to wave the rubbery menace now easily found in every corner store towards her. For the final, terrible blow he tosses the rubber toys lightly towards her, and she flinches backwards, holding her arms up in front of her face while screaming even louder.

    That's when the worst happens. It's not the rubber snakes that bounce off her arms, or even the one that bounces off her face. No, that terrible prize goes to the one that had just enough momentum to arc past her and slide right down the back of her collar.

    Horrified Tomoko's eyes go wide and she screeches in absolute terror, turning left and then right, a rubbery tail bobbing back behind her, swatting at her hair and tickling her neck as she moves. Tears immediately burst from her eyes and there is a sobbing warble to her screams.

    This is, of course, the absolute pinnacle of the Season of Screams and Horror, so her classmates are all laughing uproariously, having a hard time breathing or even standing as the absolute farce of her overreaction plays out. The laughter continues as the accosted girl turns and starts to run, picking her direction at random (but not across the street, because that would be terribly dangerous!), the poor girl crying out while running unknowingly directly towards the new formed menace of a Black Magic Basilisk.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is walking down the sidewalk with no less than three fairies hovering behind her, wearing a tired, longsuffering smile as their tiny squeaky voices fuss with each other.

    Tia insists, "Now, Madoka-chan. Try to walk more fancy, like this."

    Lydian argues, "No, no no. It has to come natural, don't force it."

    Rens adjusts her tiny glasses and says, "Does it really matter? She should simply walk at a brisk pace. It's more efficient."

    Madoka, despite being the center of this conversation, is refusing to take part in it. She is tired. It's been a long day. She's still a little bit salty about Tia and Rens's villain arc, even if it was kinda technically her own fault, and is somewhat convinced that Tia might still lowkey hate her.

    At least they stopped draining people.

    Only when the ground cracks and the giant snake-like youma appears do the three fairies stop their chatter long enough to gawk at the creature. "Uncouth ruffian!" shouts Tia, waving her tiny parasol at the monster.

    Madoka pinches the back of Tia's skirt in order to stop the Chara from chasing the thing and says, "Tia-chan, you clearly have the most energy today. You're with me." Then she makes the unlocking hand gesture and shouts, "MY HEART: UNLOCK!"

    As Tia merges with Madoka, the two become Hope Blossom, specifically a form of hers that has shoulder length wavey hair and a magical parasol in hands. Hope leaps onto a nearby rooftop perch and points down at the youma. "How dare you destroy public property on a fine day like this? Don't you know that people work hard at these stores, often in bad conditions for too little pay?! Flee now, vile cur!" she declares.

    After a moment, she thinks to herself in a way that Tia can hear her. 'Vile cur? Really?! Stop making me say things like that! It's so weird.'

    'It's not weird! It's ladylike!'

    Rens, meanwhile, spots Tomoko fleeing down the street and shouts to the girl who probably can't even hear her. "Look out! It's dangerous here!"

    As for Lydian, she is looking in the direction of the Basilisk directly, caught up in its eyes, looking at the opalescent greens and yellows with rapt attention. "So pretty..." she says, her inner artist happy to see something so visually strange. Someone should probably warn her about the dangers before it's too late...

    If it isn't already.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    As for the terrible creature it almost seems briefly mesmerized by Lydian as well. It's gaze remains directly upon her, staring intently in a way that might come with a 'jiiiii' if it was a cute magical girl instead of one of the terrible monsters they face. Yet that near singular focus is not all encompassing, as this particular beast has two sides, each dangerous in their own way.

    Not heeding Madoka's words of admonishment, clearly some kind of vile barbarian or worse, it's long, whip like tail swings towards Hope Blossom. It doesn't look like it will hit her directly but instead will frustratingly smash right into her perch, crushing and crumbling the stonework that was just remarked upon and potentially sending the magical girl tumbling to the ground if she isn't quick enough.

    Lydian meanwhile has fallen into one of the primary dangers in fighting a basilisk, black magic or otherwise. It's eyes suddenly flash and should the Chara not have already averted her gaze or closed her eyes her tiny fairy feet will start to crackle and stiffen as from the bottom up her body begins to turn to stone. There's very little time for someone to intervene, now that the gaze attack has begun!

    Unfortunately for Rens the day-clothes schoolgirl pays her even less attention than the monster did to Hope Blossom. Despite the time that has passed her terror remains, and as she runs her arms actually flail around about and behind her head. "Snake! Snaaaake! It's a snaaaaaaake!" she cries out, still sobbing as she screams. For someone so afraid of the creatures, it's odd that she's running directly towards one that's so very large and dangerous!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Oh shoot!" calls out Hope Blossom as she sees the tail attack coming, jumping off of the top of the building just in time for the storefront to get smashed to bits underneath her. "Geeze... starting to wish Kamiko-chan was here."

    Rens flails at the panicking schoolgirl, trying to get her attention while being completely ignored. Surely she can see magic if she's freaking out this hard over the Basilisk, so surely she can see the Chara, right? It's the only logical conclusion. "Stop! Don't go that way! Go hide, or get help or henshin or something!"

    The science chara has not yet detected the rubber toy snake that slipped down the back of Tomoko's shirt.

    As Lydian stares into the eyes of the Basilisk, her legs start turning into stone, and then her frilly paint-splotched dress, then her long hidden-braided hair. Soon she is a floating stone statue, and that statue begins to drop. Before it hits the ground, Hope Blossom catches Lydian in her hands and says, "Lydian-chan? What happened to you?"

    Rens turns her attention away from Tomoko to glance at Lydian, and then the youma, before immediately turning her attention away. "The monster has turned her into stone! It must be based upon the Basilisk or some similar mythology. Don't look directly into its eyes, Hope-chan!"

    Don't look it in the eyes? Hope gulps, and looks down at her little fairy. The thought of losing her permanently...

    Sensing her Bearer's fears and distress, Rens calls out, "She'll probably be fine as long as you beat the monster. Focus on the fight!"

    With a frown, and a firm nod, Madoka leaps next to Rens, which puts her right next to Tomoko, and hands Lydian off to the fairy scientist. "Look after her for me, Rens-chan." As the Chara wraps both of her tiny arms around her stoned sister, Rens carries Lydian away and Madoka turns towards the Basilisk, keeping her gaze down to the ground. She doesn't have to see the creature. She can track its wake of destruction.

    She asides to Tomoko, "If you can't fight, you should probably run away. Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Then her parasol turns into a branchbow and she fires an arrow into the air. The single bolt splits and turns into many, each magic arrow sticking vertically into the ground and creating a field of glowing pink sticks. As the youma moves and runs into them, each of them explode into magic, effectively turning the street into a minefield.

    A small attempt at restricting its movement, but this is only the start of the fight.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    The forked tongue flicks out again, the creature tasting the air. There's just a little more scent of calcification in the air than there was before, something that seems to please it. That long tail swishes from side to side, spraying bits of damaged shopfront across the street and sidewalks but luckily doing little more damage for the moment.

    The head of the beast, however, is an entirely different story. Usually when something is turned to stone it can turn it's attention elsewhere, but Hope Blossom has appeared right in the same place! A fortuitous placement. The enormous snakelike creature slithers forward, head still raised, bearing down on the magical girl, hissing loudly and showing it's fangs once more while it's eyes swirl and flash.

    That flash is more than just an indicator, however, and the light from the use of the magic throws strange shadows across the ground. As Madoka's eyes are cast lower these are easier to notice-- along with something else. The shadows! It's late in the day so the shadows are dimmed, but they're also long and easily recognized. This fight would be much more difficult at night, but with the sun still up one can track the creature by looking towards the ground rather than towards it's dangerous, stone gazing body.

    Tomoko is in full panic still, not responding in any fashion to Rens. It almost seems like she does at certain points as she's flagged down by the Chara as her movements are erratic, but it's mere coincidence. Hope Blossom, though is a somewhat different story. "You will!?" she cries out. "Please! Take care of it! Please!!" Her voice strains as she is clearly begging.

    The advice is unfortunate, however. It draws Tomoko's attention towards Madoka just as the Basilisk does as well. The gaze not taking effect, something that isn't always a guarantee, the show of it's fangs are suddenly proven to be anything but a mere threat display as it lashes down with lightning speed and snaps at Hope Blossom! The timing is just right, or just wrong, that even should Madoka evade the creature Tomoko can not. As she screams and shouts about snakes, she runs right into the side of the basilisk's head. There's a squeak of great surprise and she immediately rebounds and falls backwards, now confused as well as terrified. She covers her head and squeals more, curling up and rolling on the ground-- something that is actually fortuitous.

    Having noticed this bump and having taken it as a failed attack, the large monster hisses and recoils, swirling around itself and immediately crossing several of the glowing arrows, a series of explosions going off. Tomoko's low profile means there's little impact on her other than some falling light debris that has her squeal out, "Spiders too!?" But the Basilisk is not so lucky, the monster lashing out in in anger as pain shoots through it's form in various places, scales blown away and revealing the swirling of dark, solidified miasma that proves the magical nature of the terrible creature.

    It seems to realize the greater threat to it now though, and seems at least a little intelligent as well, as it raises up and swirls up the side and atop one of the buildings with terrifying speed, racing across the roof while it's head tracks Hope Blossom with terrifying efficiency, eyes swirling.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The Madoka of a year ago might have had trouble with a fight like this. Fighting an opponent that one cannot directly look at is rough. Yet, she's had a long time to not only practice in increasingly better training areas, she's also fought many creatures of the night, and even arguably been one herself. Being the owner of a Labyrinth changes one's understanding of space, how its filled and how it can bend, and while she may not have direct access to Kamiko's space-warping powers at the moment she still has her skills.

    She doesn't need to see the Basilisk. She can track it with her eyes closed, noisy and loud as it is, and with the way her arrows move through the air she doesn't even need to aim.

    The thing that actually throws her off is Tomoko's response. She's clearly afraid of the snake, but... she's not running from it?!

    Rens, frowning, is starting to piece things together. Being the smart one of those present, she's starting to realize that the schoolgirl's behavior doesn't add up.

    The snake lashes out with its fangs and petrifying stare. Madoka instinctively wields her bow like a bat as it turns back into a parasol, and she shoves the magical weapon into the snake-like youma's maw before opening it, then taking a hop step back to create more distance, putting her back against the smashed wall of a ruined storefront. Granted, despite being magic, Madoka's makeshift melee weapons will probably break like a twig under any meaningful effort, but getting smacked with a stick can still hurt.

    It's only when Rens, who is still carrying Lydian, sees Tomoko's surprise does she suddenly put two and two together. "She can't see it. Wait... she can't see it! Then why is she screaming about a snake?!"

    "It's because someone put a toy snake down her shirt. Don't be a dummy!" shouts out a new squeaky voice. The divine chara, the small goddess, she of the infinite hair appears out of a glowing portal and says, "Put Lydian-chan inside. We need her out of the way."

    Hope Blossom repeats what Kamiko said. "A toy snake down her shirt? You mean... it's just a toy?!" The eternally soft-hearted Madoka feels pity for Tomoko, but the Black Magic Basilisk is still on the move, now racing across the rooftops and keeping its gaze locked onto her. Madoka can't really tell if it's looking at her or not, but she doesn't need to. She assumes that it's always staring at her, the same way that Homura assumes that a gun is always loaded when handling it.

    Madoka closes her eyes, taps her temple and says, "Kamiko-chan, tell me where it is. My eyes are a liability here, so..."

    Kamiko nods, and then vanishes back into her Paradise with the Lydian statue and Rens. The goddess will watch them from above, metaphorically speaking, and telepathically feed that data into Madoka's mind.

    Now seeing through different eyes, Madoka reaches over to Tomoko and places a hand on her shoulder, saying in a calm, gentle voice, "It's just a toy. It's stuck in your clothes. If you pull your shirt back and shake it out a bit you can probably get it loose. I'm sorry, but there are a lot of gas explosions here, and I need to go take care of it. Please get to safety."

    Moments later, regardless of Tomoko's response, Madoka is leaping up to the rooftops and hopping after the Basilisk, eyes held shut, firing pink magical arrows into the air as she chases. None of the magical bolts are aimed correctly, but none of that matters, as each one turns of its own accord and chases after the snake like a heat-seeking missile. She can't let such a brutal creature get away, not while it's causing so much damage and disrupting so many people's lives! The only downside is, even with Kamiko's telepathic help, Madoka can't really see the damage she's dealing to the creature.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    Tomoko's reactions make a lot more sense once someone realizes she's entirely unaware of the actual, real danger in front of her. She's a meek, timid girl but she isn't actually stupid. The sound of explosions and running into something has jarred her, though she's panicking enough that she's having a hard time realizing there is actual danger at hand. Rolling around on the ground has jostled the toy off her collar and the entirely down the back of her shirt, the cool rubber pressing into her back giving a creepy feeling that isn't good for helping her calm down.

    The hand on her shoulder does help a little though, and as Madoka does her best to help her realize the actual problem and warn her of the actual danger the sad truth slips out. "I..." she sniffs, "I know... b-but I really don't like snakes!" Instinctual fear and panic don't respect actual danger levels.

    Now slightly in better control of herself Tomoko takes her glasses off and wipes her teary eyes with the back of her wrist, putting the glasses back on and reaching back to untug her shirt from out of her skirt and give it a shake, the rubber toy falling on the ground and giving one final wiggly flop. That done she actually looks at her surroundings. "Gas explosions..?" Her eyes travel across the buildings, damaged and cracked with chips of plaster, cement and asphalt littering the now emptied streets. "It looks like there was an earthquake. What..?" Her eyes turn, her head tilts up, and she blinks hugely. "...why is that inflatable man on the rooftop?"

    As jarringly silly as that statement might be there might be a moment of fear for Madoka and the Chara, as Tomoko is looking directly at the Basilisk. Always ready for such a chance the creature looks towards her and there's a flash of light! ...to exactly no effect. Tomoko tilts her head. "U-um, if there explosions, which way is safe?" She looks around, more, then takes a small step back away from gaping hole in the ground where the manhole cover once was.

    The Basalisk is meanwhile harried, hissing and slithering across rooftops, darting from building to building as arrows pepper across it's form. Some hit the center of hardened scales and scatter away despite their magic while others find the gaps and cause dark liquid to seep out, hissing and evaporating into smoke as it strikes solid ground.

    Finding it's most powerful tool ineffective it starts responding with pure aggression. The failed attempt at petrifying Tomoko is a brief respite in an onslaught of attacks. Attempting to force the creature's jaws held open results only in a momentarily delay before they snap shut with tremendous force, the parasol in danger of becoming a toothpick if Madoka's reflexes and grip are unready.

    After gaining higher ground it shoots towards Hope Blossom again and again, striking time and time again at her and slowly adapting to her fighting style, eventually starting to snap towards her to force her to dodge, only to swing its tail towards the direction of her attempted landing, and then reversing the attack to try and force her evade before snapping at her midair, recoiling and then thrusting the entire front third of it's body in a springlike motion.

    Injured and angry it's aggregation begins to trend towards a berserker's rage, defending itself with raw offense as it realizes it will surely lose if it lets the magical girl pepper it from afar with her magical arrows.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    There is a blood chilling moment as she witnesses Tomoko looking directly at the Basilisk through Kamiko's divine sight, and then a sigh of relief as the civilian schoolgirl gets out of it unscathed. "So... Rens was right. You have to look at it. More than that, you have to be able to really see it."

    After realizing that her statement doesn't really make sense to Tomoko, Hope Blossom points in a direction opposite of the Basilisk youma and says, "That way. Hurry, and be careful!"

    The parasol snaps easily, turning into splinters, and Madoka doesn't seem to care. The reason why becomes obvious as a brand new branchbow appears in her hands to replace what she just lost. She can remake those as needed, a holdover from the various timelines where she was a Puella Magi.

    Being able to suddenly generate a bunch of bows isn't quite as useful as having a few dozen extra swords or loaded guns within arm's reach, but her grim awareness of her fates in other timelines has forced her to squeeze out every advantage she can, even if it seems useless at first.

    Later, on the rooftops, Madoka's reflexes are unnaturally deft and quick in ways that only a magical girl can be. A magical tattoo, invisible to Tomoko, rests on Madoka's cheek. A Witch's mark, specifically Kamiko's, enabling the telepathic bond between the Bearer and the goddess Chara. Seeing the world through the eyes of a transdimensional fairy is only a little odd to her at this point, since she's already so used to seeing the world through the eyes of a Witch. She may not be able to match the youma's endurance or raw power in this henshin, but her skill and speed makes up for it, even as the giant snake's attacks turn her footing into rubble with each strike.

    Even the follow up tail attacks are met with a forceful counter attack, with Hope Blossom swinging her branchbow at the incoming tail. The bow glows with pink magic, and as the wooden weapon snaps and shatters on impact the resulting magical blast is enough to launch Madoka back into the air as well as threaten the health of the youma. As the monster snaps at her in mid-flight, Hope thrusts another glowing pink parasol into its maw, trying to stab with it like a rapier which results in another blast.

    The final recoil and springlike thrust is not met head on like the other attacks, but instead evaded as Madoka performs an upright spin over the creature's head. Beads of sweat roll down her face as she realizes not only just how close to danger she is but also the fact that, for once in a very long while, she's fighting this creature without any backup from anyone but her mascots. If she messes up even once...

    No, she can't afford to think like that. She has to defeat this monster, here and now, for Lydian's sake. Not to mention anyone else it might have turned into stone.

    As the creature descends into a berserk rage and gets even more offensive, Madoka stops being able to effectively pepper it from a distance. Melee will never be her strong point, but it's a weakness she's learned to at least sometimes have an answer for. Hope Blossom swings at the snake with her bow, hoping to bash it against the creature. When and if it shatters, she replaces it with another, and yet another after, attacking at every opportunity, punishing each careless mistake with a strike, and if it dares to retreat she nocks and releases another arrow.

    As she moves and ducks and dodges and leaps around, the Humpty Lock hangs around her neck, shining with pearlescent light as it catches the sun for brief moments.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    As the Basilisk is engaged in deadly combat with Madoka Tomoko does as she's told, at least to a point. She turns and heads away, getting to the end of the street and well away from the fight. She doesn't keep running though, instead turning around and staring forward towards Hope Blossom in near complete confusion. She can't see magic at all, the Veil completely concealing it and it's effects from her view. It also stops her from questioning too much what she does see.

    That doesn't mean the result is anything that makes sense. "Is she... dressing up for halloween? Is she cosplaying?" She takes her glasses off and wipes them clean, putting them back on and gazing again with a clearer view. It doesn't make any more sense than it did before. "Is she trying out to be an idol? Is that a dance routine?" she asks herself as the magical girl scoots and shoots about, the fast, flashy motions impossibly fast and large for any human. That part doesn't register. Only the repeated fluid movements do.

    Then a squeak as a bow shatters against the creature's scaly hide with an explosion. Tomoko's hands come together and she calls, "But... but..! If there really are gas explosions, aren't you in danger?"

    Worry not though, Madoka. Tomoko isn't like you! There isn't a single chance this girl is going to walk towards the confusion and danger again now that she realizes it's actually there, even if someone else is in trouble.

    The fight with the Basilisk is long and difficult. With aid this likely would already have been finished, a few moments of time needed to charge a powerful enough attack to end it. Beaten and battered parts of the creature are starting to fall away, large chunks missing and revealing more of that strange solidified conglomerate of shadow and evil magic. These make excellent targets for arrows and strikes both. Several times the strikes come near, frighteningly so even with the deflections. Another sacrificed bow chips and blasts away a fang, but several more rows remain, each large powerful enough to rend a person in half should they strike true-- a normal person without magical defenses, that is.

    As Hope Blossom starts to sweat and worry about her lonely, solo fight however, it starts to become clear how one sided it actually is. The attacks are dangerous near misses, but the magical girl manages to clear each and every one of them. It's reckless strikes leave it open to retaliation once avoided. Enraged at it's inability to petrify, tail strike or sink it's fangs into it's opponent the creature seals it's own fate by refusing to change tactics. Bit by bit it's worn down until the head and forebody of the creature no longer rises up. Instead it coils about itself retreating and hissing, eyes flashing again and again in a desperate, hopeless attempt to turn it's opponent to helpless stone.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    As the fight wears on, the gears in Madoka's mind are constantly in motion, as are the thoughts of her fairies who are hiding in an adjacent dimension. Analyzing the attack patterns, Rens suddenly realizes, "Hope-chan, maybe you can take out its eyes!"

    A good idea, though taking them both out is not guaranteed. The Basilisk might not be able to avoid every attack she throws at it, but it might turn out to be especially protective of its eyes. However, damaging might not even be necessary.

    Madoka can, after all, simply block the line of sight.

    As the snake youma slows down, Hope Blossom waits for an opening and then finds it. She launches a spray of arrows into the air, each one going up and then arcing down. Instead of piercing or exploding, they each turn into a cloud of opaque pink sparkly dust, aiming to cover the monster's head just enough to block its petrifying gaze. Once Madoka feels safe, she finally opens her eyes again, and looks at the pretty pink cloud that mostly covers the beast.

    She fires another spread of arrows, but these don't chase after the snake. Instead, they orbit around her, above her head almost like a very wide halo. She lets her branchbow vanish as she makes a heart shape with her hands over the Humpty Lock hanging from her neck.

    "Negative Heart: Lock On!"

    A beam made of heart-shaped outlines fires from her hands, attempting to trap the youma within it. Then she thrusts her hands forward while shouting, "OPEN HEART!"

    Pearlescent purifying power pours out of the locket, through the heart shape made with her hands, is channeled through the heart beam directly towards the creature. The orbiting arrows then turn and dive into the beam, each one of them merging their pink energy with the pearlescent magic, homing in on and seeking out the snakelike creature to finish it off in one final all out attack.

    After a moment, Madoka turns back to look at Tomoko, who is... apparently still not aware that she should be worried. "Oh geeze... you're still here. Hey! Are you okay? Watch out for the rubble!"

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    If there's a moment of worry that obscuring it's eyes won't be enough it passes as the pink cloud flashes as light is scattered within. Only the creature's huge form and outline can be seen now, the sky turning to yellows and red behind it as the sun nears the horizon. Unable to see out the Basilisk thrashes it's tail and snaps at the air, turning this way and then that, expecting attacks from every direction.

    At the short delay before it comes the creature suddenly uncoils and begins to attempt an escape, but it's too late. The blast of purifying energy strikes the creature and causes it to hiss one last time, stretching and stiffening as pain wracks it's form, bits and pieces breaking away and evaporating into dark mist, only for the pink bolts of energy to merge into the beam, these impacts enough to annihilate it outright, blasting it to pieces that launch in all directions, only to evaporate away before they can even hit the ground.

    Tomoko, apparently having witnessed all of this, blinks again, a tiny tilt to her head. The strangely dressed girl makes a heart with her hands, and there's a blast of wind. It really, really looks like some kind of stage effect. This really must be an idol filming something! "Me?" she calls out, "I'm better now. M-mostly..." Her face is still a little flushed and her eyes show signs of a recent cry, but she finally has her composure back. "Ah... I'm sorry if it's rude to ask, but why are you performing if there are gas explosions? Isn't it dangerous?"

    She still looks like taking a step closer is the last thing on her mind. Luckily she's far enough away that the only danger are a few bits of debris that only just make it to her feet. She doesn't even notice the tiny bits of rubber that bounce off the soles of her shoes.

    Good job, Madoka. You got both of the snakes!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka "Snake Slayer" Kaname blinks at Tomoko's question. "Ah... performing? Um... I was..." Oh gosh how does she explain that?! How does she even begin to...?

    Well, maybe Tomoko's mind will rationalize this away somehow later. Madoka has never been that great of a liar, as evidenced by the fact that she's basically caught in a lie herself. With no obvious way out of it.

    "Well, that's because, um..."

    Mentally, she pokes at Kamiko. <<Hey, how is Lydian doing? Is she back?>>

    <<Yup! She's back to normal, and being lectured as to why she shouldn't look directly into the eyes of snake youma.>>

    Madoka breaths out a sigh of relief, then looks around at all of the rubble. As happy as she is to know that Kamiko is well and finally at peace with herself, there are times when Madoka really misses the Barrier-like magic that Gretchen afforded her. She might be able to do similar things with Hope Concept, but... that comes with a different set of drawbacks.

    "Oh geeze... I hope these people had insurance."

    Madoka hops down from the top of the building, and starts walking towards Tomoko. There's no point in really trying to lecture her or tell her to stay away when the danger was completely invisible to her. The thought of trying to intimidate the meek little Tomoko into silence never even crosses her mind. Her eyes glance towards the fallen toy snake bits for a moment as she frowns. With the battle over, Tia's influence starts to take over as the adrenaline fades away.

    "Yes, it is quite dangerous, which is why I'm surprised you're still here." Flashback to several safety lectures regarding explosives, courtesy of Homura. "Also, I was not performing. I was trying to find the source and sometimes getting on the roof requires a bit of... gymnastics."

    Madoka is making stuff up, because how do you actually explain all the random explosions and property damage that happen around here? Or the way that she was super jumping all over the place.

    Hope Blossom surveys the area and taps her chin, realizes what Tia is doing, and then clears her throat and starts trying to act a bit more normal. "Eheh, well, I mean... at least it's over now, right? At least I think it is. Too bad about the rubble. Gotta look out for those busted pipes I guess."

    Madoka is keenly aware that none of her lies make sense. In this moment she's very glad that the Veil will hide her identity, too.

Tomoko Watanabe has posed:
    The street is indeed a mess. The insurance companies will be sad, and the construction companies will be happy. Another day in the like of the magical city of Tokyo. As bad as it might look, the structural damage is minimal. Well, except that giant hole in the middle of the road. That's probably going to take some work to fix.

    One thing Madoka might notice as she approaches Tomoko is that the girl doesn't so much as bat an eye at her jumping off a building like dropping a story and landing on your feet is an everyday occurrence. That's exactly the kind of thing the Veil protects her from noticing if it's done without a shout or injury.

    "It does seem dangerous but not from over here." Tomoko doesn't actually understand herself well enough to explain her actions. Had she been near the explosions at the start and been in her right mind she'd have fled and not looked back. The terrible scare of the rubber snakes, however, somehow seemed like a more dangerous problem than repeated explosions around her. This too, however, can be partially blamed on the Veil. Hiding dangers from mortal eyes can be a double edged sword.

    The meek schoolgirl actually gives a little sigh of relief when Hope Blossom notes the danger has passed. "It is, isn't it?" After closing and opening her eyes again she gives a timid smile, "Well, um... it was nice meeting you, miss Fancy Pipe Inspector. I think I should get home before it gets too dark. Sorry if I got in the way."

    She makes a short bow, then starts to think that a Gas Pipe Inspector is probably older than she appears and gives another, deeper bow, flustering slightly at the perceived social faux pas. It's also clear that despite having the same class and Madoka being easily the most relatable person she knows in it, staring her right in the face Tomoko is entirely unable to recognize the pink-haired girl in front of her and her classmate are one in the same.

    After another embarrassed bow the girl turns around and starts to hurry off. She still has homework to do!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom is somewhat mentally balking at this girl who clearly has no idea how much danger she was in. Generally she's used to that, but... come to think of it, when was the last time she actually talked to one of the unaware civilians? Usually they just faint from energy drain or get left out of the Labyrinth or Barrier or something. Maybe that's what makes this interaction uniquely awkward.

    As she looks down at the rubber snakes, Madoka frowns. Kamiko mentioned what happened to her, did the divine Chara see Tomoko's plight or something? The pink nurse's aide will likely have to pull some kids aside and give them a few stern words later, assuming they attend Radiant Heart at all.

    With a soft smile, Hope says, "It was nice meeting you, too! Stay safe, and don't feel bad about people who pick on you. It says a lot more about them than you."

    She returns the overly polite bow with one of her own, smiling in a way that tries to be reassuring or at least comforting. As Tomoko turns to flee, Madoka realizes that she has some homework of her own to do. Also she doesn't want to be caught around here being a suspicious person in cosplay at the scene of a disaster. As she turns to walk away, she squats down as if to jump, but Kamiko has different ideas. A frilly white and pink portal appears in front of Hope, and Madoka accepts the invitation. Traveling via Labyrinth was always easier on the legs after a big fight.