739/Hunting the Blue Griffen: The Murderpire

Hunting the Blue Griffen: The Murderpire
Date of Scene:	10 November 2023
Location:	Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Otto's newest recruit proves the most competent of the lot, very nearly ending one Hannah Steiner.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Steiner, Norie Okana, Minori Kurohara, Rashmi Terios, Chrono Harlaown, Amanda Faust, Niji Dasshu, Sayaka Miki

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Hannah Steiner has posed:
It's the first tick of midnight! And one Countess Palatine-Apparent Hannah Emilia-Lina Araki-Steiner the Fourteenth has descended upon her second favorite haunt when she's feeling particularly introspective! Namely Penguin Park! For once she wants to be completely alone, and at this hour? There's few other places she can be reasonably assured will be empty of other souls right about now, not even her favored Church!

It's not like the Sankt Church is picky about its' places of worship after all, for Olivie-san is an understanding Saint. And so, Hannah is knelt in a tiny clearing, ignoring grass stains as Lyra is tucked against her, dressed in a rather plain pair of jeans and a black and yellow t-shirt she scuppered from a second hand store.

How one falls. But funds aside, she begins to pray earnestly as she lays her Device before her!

"Oh Sankt Olivie, grant me your peerless grace, your kindness, und your strength and desire to hold our Ancient Accords honorably and true. That peace touch every star that knows your name. That the Seven Shattered Swords find peace, and those that remain untarnished, hold ever to your will und and gift of freedom from the Madness of your predecessor's vanity und greed for all. May the Light of the Cradle ever shine und your name und deeds never forgotten that we may be inspired again und again. In the Sankt Kaiser's name!"

She prays, and then yet remains kneeled as she considers recent events. The curse laid and then beaten back upon Usagi. Chrono's appeal to care for her own life. The twin lights she's been so blessed with, drawn closer to her chest. The threat to Tokyo itself from a certain Project. And of course the presence of her vile Uncle upon this backwater spitball with problems enough for a galaxy!

Alone aside from her dearest Lyra, the normally boisterous Belkan retreats inward in body, spirit, and magic. She is silent and focuses inward as she tries to work out the many concerns within her heart!

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima has a picture of Hannah. She only needed to look at it once. She'd never seen the girl, have no idea who she is, nor cares. All that she knows is the girl must be dead and no one at Obsidian should care enough if she gets hurt. She tracked the blind girl to a park and muttering a word to herself, an old fashioned blade formed in her hand as she hopped into the trees and slithered around the tree like a snake when she turned into black misty-like ichor and hoped from tree to tree where she stopped in this foliage to listen to the girl's prayers. There she is.

She had help tonight, who should be waiting for others to appear. And they would appear....

Forming behind Hannah as she prayed hopping from the tree, she raised the blade. "Prayers can't help you. I know." she says, trying to bring the blade down into Hannah from behind.

"I've tried.".

Minori Kurohara has posed:
    Following along slightly behind La Crima is a dark young woman, clad in a black and silver battle dress (complete with thigh-length skirt, of course), with eyes like a cat that glow with a sickly green light. In one hand she holds what is clearly a scythe, the wickedly sharp blade towering a full head over the woman, though she wields it like a child holding a pinwheel.

    As they near the quarry, the dark lady stays a bit behind in the branches of the trees, peering over the area with a watchful glare from those toxic eyes.

    When La Crima makes the move to cut down the seemingly unsuspecting woman from behind, Nocturne's face splits in a sadistic, lopsided smile, her white fangs and teeth being exposed like a knife being drawn from a sheath. Her eyes focus on what could be the quick end, slit irises expanding out into wide black pits.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When you're a mahou...

Sometimes it's just impossible to sleep. Knowing all the things that could be happening in the small hours of the night, sometimes you're just not going to be able to lay down peacefully, without at least *checking* to see if there's any disaster you could have stopped.

Having just finished quartering Mitakihara Ward with Chrono, looking for sign of the Arthras crew or, really, *any* problem that flying, shields, and laser missiles can fix, Rashmi flies over Penguin Park toward home, one hand in Chrono's. Despite the butterfly-heart joy of flying together with one's boyfriend, she is very much eager to lay down and get some sle--

    << *BONG!* >> << ALERT. MASTER. ALERT. SUBJECT 'Hannah-chan' PROXIMATE TO CORROSIVE ANOMALOUS ENERGY SIGNATURE. SUGGEST REROUTE. >>

--sleep that will have to wait OKAY LET'S GO. "Hannah's in trouble," is all she says to Chrono before banking to her right, telling Nicomachea to share her sensor data with Chrono. If there's to be another attempt on her friend's life, it's *going* to have to get through her.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown was, well... he'd been on patrols before. Often, in fact. One might say too often. He was a far, far too serious young man who dedicated his life to keeping others safe. So patrols were old hat for him.

Patrols with others, again, not... rare. He'd done them often. In fact, some patrols he'd had half a dozen with him, or listening to him. But since arriving on this planet he'd had few with others.

And even fewer that made his heart beat go faster. Fenyx was flying with them, but she was more acting as eyes in the sky than an actual assistance. She still wasn't fully ready for combat and Chrono wasn't ready to truly put her at risk. So the Lidth's Jay was above them, but when their path diverted, she had to struggle a moment to reposition and continue after them.

Chrono, at least, shifted his direction the moment Rashmi told him. She was his stu... she was his partner. And he trusted her emphatically.

The news that Hannah was in trouble, however, disturbed him. As, at th eend of the day?

... She was really the only tie back to the outer dimensions he had. If something happened to her, he'd be crushed. Not that he would *ever* tell her that. He'd soon eat his own device than tell a belkan like her how important she was to him.

But Rashmi would likely feel the way his hand tightened slightly when the news was mentioned. Or the way his gaze hardened, just a hint. Going from casual-serious to fully serious.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's been taking some time to relax in the wake of the whole... toy thing. Seriously, she ended up spending all afternoon and most of her evening dealing with that, all in one day! But, it's been days, and... can she really afford *not* to do her duty as a mahou? There may not be any witches she's detecting at the moment, but...

    She approaches the playground, watching from a neighboring rooftop as... is that Hanna walking in? She should go say hello!

    Except um. Is she praying? Is this kind of private? Should she maybe... go?

    But then La Crima drops down and Nothing Personnel Kids.

    The red puella rocketjumps forward, shooting through the air and swinging the launcher like a club at Tears. "BEHINDYOU!" She calls out, then addresses the vampire, "WHAT THE FUCK?! I get draining people but what's with the *sword*?! You're just moving up to *murder*, now?!"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Niji had totally been sleeping, or throwing a ball up in the air, or something else that absolutely wasn't reading a book at midnight when her geode started to glow with a blue light that was at once soft and peiercing, something she simply couldn't ignore. Apparently with awesome power comes annoying responsibility, or something. And midnight calls to go stop lame things from happening. Or at least that had been her running theory after the living bonfire girl had summoned a bear in a too-small area and one of her friends almost got hit by a truck like this was a manga.

    At least she was able to kind of track down where she was needed - follow the blue light, a little blue mote that lead her to trouble, a beacon for jerks. And this wasn't her first rodeo (more like her third or fourth) so she at least didn't leave her room empty handed. An aluminum baseball bat it turned out was about as good for whacking bad guys as it was whacking baseballs. Plus she'd paid for it, might as well get the use out of it. Following the light of her geode to Penguin Park, she arrived just in time to see a shadowy girl leaping on another girl who appeared to be praying, with a blade of some sort. Well it was easy to figure out who was the jerk and who wasn't in this scenario. Probably. Niji was very glad that despite all of the movement within it, her Henshin seemed to happen at about the speed of her movement in henshin - which is to say, incredibly fast and bright.

    A rainbow blur moves across the park, and while she wasn't here quick enough to save Hannah from any damage at all, she was here in time to slam into the blade with her bat, deflecting it away before the dangerously assasin-like cut could go from a neck wound to a neck removal. The bat's metal 'PING' echoes loudly through the air as La Crima finds herself standing next to quite possibly the most brightly multicolored sparkle-skirt she'd ever seen, someone who wasn't there a mere half an eyeblonk ago, as Geode Girl Loyalty interposes herself between La Crima and her wounded prey.

    "Jumping on someone from she shadows like that while they are praying and defenseless? Yep, still thinking my gem leads me to sources of extreme lame energy." she says, resting the bat on her shoulder. The girl with rainbow hair down to her ankles and starlight tights, blue skin, and wings did not look like she was playing around despite the line.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka is walking around on the streets, suppressing the occasional yawn as she stares as the unreactive Soul Gem she is holding. No news, good news, but the following morning isn't going to thank her any. Not like this one would be any special in doing that.

Luckily she has her own support in keeping her awake, mostly through chatting. Ula is floating at her side, keeping her mind busy with talks of the various job advertisements the two of them had been looking through. Too bady none of it was really available for her. The curse of being a magical girl and a student at once.

The blue Puella covers her mouth for another yamn when a brief flash comes from the Soul Gem. "That was a response. Looks like our wandering won't last much more, Ula." She claps her cheeks to wake herself up as she heads towards Penguin Park.

Seeing the struggling girl, Ula tells her. "Don't worry, Sayaka, I am here to be your second pair of eyes, as always." She can't offer much more than that, but as long as the bluenette isn't acting recklessly, that should help. Though admittedly, that is easier said than done.

A kneeling figure and the shout of someone preying on the defenseless distracts her from the Soul Gem. She is quick to react to that, the blue light from the jewel she is holding enveloping her, and in an instant, she is in her knightly uniform, speeding up towards the source of the voice. An assault in the night!? No way she is letting that be. For her part, the koi mermaid is trying (and failing) to keep up with the Sharpsong Puella Magi.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah wants to yell in that instant. Wants to snarl at her attacker, bring pure Belkan bluster and wrath upon La Crima as she executes a nigh-perfect assassination!

Clearly, this vampire is leagues above the robotic youma that nearly took her life.

"YOU!" The young woman manages to bark out before that blade pierces keenly, her previously pious face twisting into anger as her brain belatedly absorbs the words of her attacker.

Lyra lets out not a bark, but a /HISS/ anyone of magic close to Hannah will be familiar with. Particularly, Amy, Chrono, and Rashmi would know that particular cadence of /danger/, only granting urgency to Rashmi and Nico's warning!

Hannah vaguely hears her beloved's voice in one ear. Outrage. She smiles. Nocturne's presence isn't even noted by Lyra, the Razorhound too busy trying to supp upon Hannah's magic to do /something/! But it's no use.

La Crima is too quick to attack her beloved owner and family member, and so those mighty lizard claws are /useless/!

Pain erupts through her neck, and as that magical blade digs in and /through/ her flesh? The Scion of House Steiner lets out a cry of pain mixed with a curse in Belkan, reaching in vain for her Device to defend herself. Too slow. Too lost in her own head. And about to have her neck slashed off!!!

PING!

That bat knocks the blade out of Hannah's neck. She doesn't exactly /think/ in that instant, Niji's voice far away, but somewhere in her braincase she manages to remember Chrono's words. She's supposed to be taking care of herself. For her family. Her lovers. Her friends.

And so rather than go for her Device, she presses both hands to the wound on the right side of her neck. She rolls over, curls up into the smallest target she can, and uses what quickly draining strength she has to staunch the bleeding.

Deflected as it is, that's a /bad/ wound, particularly from a Dark Energy fueled vampire upon an unhenshined girl! Crimson flows worryingly as oh-so-many arrive to help.

Lyra dashes about to pick up Blauer Greif, standing before her Mistress loyally.

Norie Okana has posed:
They're here, and faster than she expected. She can feel her sword get deflected out of Hannah's neck with the mighty ping of a baseball bat. She looks down at her sword and raises up her other hand. "Falcta..." she mutters, another one forming in her hand as she faces the rainbow haired newcomer that... makes her right eye twitch. What's with. That hair.

She addresses Amy, her form seeming to dart to the right to avoid being clubbed at the moment as she closes her eyes. "The rightful ruler of her world wants her dead. She's a pretender. In turn. I get to conduct an experiment. I need to know something..." she says quietly. She doesn't finish that statement.

"Nocturne, please?" she asks to no one specific here.

She's expecting... something to happen, as she turns away from Amy and swings both those swords around to try to smash them into the Rainbow Hair'ed arrival.

She can smell a lot of blood. This will unlock a new 'memory' tonight, but for now she lets the anger flow, eyes glowing that purple. "Let me accomplish my task!..." she lets the possibility of failure fill her head. Let herself get more angry.

"MISTER SQUIGGLES!..." she yells with all anger as the containment gem floats in front of her and releases the tentacle monster from it's hold, which promptly tries to make a beeline for Hannah, slithering on the ground on it's leg tentacles.

"Have you considered the possibility...."

"....That you're lame tonight?" she asks, cocking a brow in her fight with the rainbow hair'd girl.

Minori Kurohara has posed:
    Glowing green eyes flicker over to the new arrivals, squinting slightly at the sudden burst of light as Niji transforms. A scowl settles on the countenance of Nocturne when the knife is deflected, growing more pronounced as more Magical Girls arrive. The irises of her eyes return to the thin slits of black, like needles in the sickly green glow of her eyes. The strange lizard gets a curious look and a frown, but for the moment seems to be ignored. Instead at La Crima's request, the woman jumps out from the foliage and floats down to the ground, brandishing her scythe.

    "Tsk," she says in a strangely haunting voice, "You were right, Toothie. Looks like some of the sparkly-set /are/ around." Her demeanor suddenly changes and a bright, bubbly smile spreads across the dark woman's features. She salutes La Crima with a jaunty two fingers, "I'll keep the riff-raff away while you ice the rainbow chick and target. Leave it to me!" She then moves to try and interpose herself between where La Crima fights the rainbow haired girl and the rest of the Magical Girls.

    Turning to the gathered Magical Girls not engaged by the vampire, Nocturne strikes a pose like some parody of an idol singer, complete with 'V' sign. "Why, /hello/ there. Would you all be so kind as to tell me your names? That /is/ what is appropriate when fighting a duel, right?" The bubbly smile turns into that sadistic half-grin again, "And it'll be nice to know what to label your bodies for their dissection later."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"HANNAH-CHAN!" Rashmi cries out from the skies above, pouring on as much speed as she can manage. Time seems to slow in her perception as the blade comes down... down... down...

    *KLONG!!!*

The relief Rashmi feels is very nearly enough to knock her out of the sky, all by itself, as the blur that is Niji deflects the deadly blade.

<< Chrono, I'll make sure Hannah's safe. I don't know who that is but *make her run away.* >>

    << *BONG!* >> << ACCEL -- BOOST UP >>

The little wisp of golden light summoned by Rashmi's spell streaks out ahead of Rashmi, darting to land right in the middle of Lyra's back, infusing the lizard-dog with a moment of summer's warmth and speed-boosting magics. For herself, she hurls herself ground-ward, turning as last-minute as she can afford to to touch down next to the wounded Hannah. "You've got help, Hannah-chan, you'll be safe soon," she murmurs, as a spell-circle spreads out underneath the two (and Lyra!)

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR HEAL >>

It's never much of a healing spell, healing only being adjacent to Nicomachea's specialty... But anything that slows bleeding and gives a small boost of energy, especially on the battlefield, is better than nothing.

And with the Dark Squiddle making a beeline for the two of them, all that's left to do is cover Hannah with her own body, staring defiance at the oncoming monster.

In this moment, there is very little fear. How can there be?

Her Chrono has her back.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh no, they weren't in time to completely prevent Hannah from getting necksworded! Next time maybe she should just yell 'Duck!'

    Honestly, Amy is a little surprised Hannah *didn't* block it with her own sword. "*She's* the rightful ruler, and it doesn't matter while they're stuck here on Earth.

    Threat to Hannah. LETHAL! I have a rocket launcher.

    Amy takes a breath as she glares at Norie. "Never try to kill anyone again, or... or I will remove your threat from the world." She states coldly, with clenched fists.

    And then she leaves actually fighting Norie to the others as she kneels by Hannah. She was *patrolling* tonight, which means she actually has her medkit on her! Amy pulls the soft pack from under her cloak and opens it. She's greeted by CPR instructions and directions to check the scene for safety. No. She flips the flap over. For severe bleeding and burns. Apply pad. If blood soaks through, do not remove pad, apply more pad, thenw rap with bandage. Okay.

    Amy looks up at Hannah, then shouts to the others, "Keep them off us!" before looking back at Hannah, pulling pad and bandage from her kit. "Let me see." She directs Hannah to move her hand as she gets to trying to staunch the wound. Even with a spell slowing the bleeding, this has gotta help, right?

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Did they run out of colored fabric when they made your outfit, girl? It's okay to have more than just deep purple. Maybe you can't pull off the whole rainbow thing as well as me, but really who can." she says, and she is... actually not terrible at sword combat because fencing is a sport. Though usually you fence with something that isn't a baseball bat. But also usually you don't move super fast so it kind of evens out.

    "To be honest? I've never even once considered the possibility that I'm lame. Seems like a waste of energy really, spending time thinking about the like, totally unpossible." she says. But despite her speed and her confidence, she's actually having to work to deflect both of Lacrima's weapons with her one - Dark Energy is giving Lacrima's edges... a edge, too. And Loyalty is more used to running fast than fighting fast.

    "But then again, I don't jump out of trees to attack people who don't know I'm there. That helps. Attacking people from behind is like 200 percent less awesome than fighting face to face." she says, happy she can hear so many others here. She could probably disengage with Lacrima, but that would leave Lacrima free to try and continue whatever murder plan the girl had. She's going to have to hope the other voices are mostly on the anti-murder team, which it sure sounds like they are.

    Amy calls to keep them off her, and she knows she made the right choice. "Workin' on it." Maybe she should get a sword. Are swords cooler than baseball bats? ...probably not, no.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown caught sight of Hannah and...

And his heart almost skipped a beat.

No no no no. Blood. There was blood. There was so much blood. Sword. Someone with a bat over her. Someone with a bloody sword. His eyes narrowed on her. He made a gesture towards Hannah... but Rashmi was already on it. Because she was perfect, that was why.

Don't you dare die. Damn it, Steiner.

However, there was another girl. Interposing herself between the others and the vampire... well... One advantage to air support. While Rashmi went for Hannah, he dropped down with her, interposing himself between Nocturne and the victim. With Amy coming to help Rashmi...

"Time space administrative bureau enforcer Chrono Harlaown," he said, holding out his left hand for the holographic ID to show.

"Allow me to demonstrate what an enforcer *is*."

He lifted his staff into the air as the barrier formed around them, dispelling all civilians.

            <<Stinger Snipe!>>

Five small, blue orbs of magic appeared. A moment later they were streaking through the air at the girl with definite intent to harm, veering in wild, random directions before coming at her from all sides.

            <<Blaze Cannon!>>

A moment later, an eruption of fire that tore at the ground itself, tearing deep gouges in the ground and... frankly, it was a good thing they were in a barrier now. Because he'd just done a lot of property damage that was going to be reverted. Sure, he lacked the raw destructive, long range capabilities of certain mages, but he had been granted his rank for a reason.

"Amy, Rashmi, Lyra, I'll keep her away, just focus on ensuring Steiner is okay."

He then diverted his attention back to Nocturne, eyes narrowed. "So then. Who are you supposed to be?" He hoped she wasn't anybody's Catra, because... frankly... he felt very little desire to be anything approaching 'merciful' at the moment.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
In a blue flash, Sayaka heads straight to the creature attacking Hannah, sword at the ready, aiming to chop off as many of those tentacles as she can. She does stop a second when she recognises who is behind the attack: the cursed girl who tries to steal Hearts, go figure.

"Why are you doing this now?" the Sharpsong Puella Magi yells at her while she attacks Mister Squibbles with her blade. "I though your deal wasn't trying to murder people, just to try and cure yourself." She would have been stopped all the same, but Sayaka would have been more sympathetic towards the latter than the former.

"You got it, Red!" Sayaka shouts when she ears Amy's request. She is very relieved to hear a familiar voice in all this.

Ula is still trailing somewhere behind.

Hannah Steiner has posed:
La Crima's and Nocturne's voices swim in her ears, and Hannah barely is lucid, nevermind able to completely pick apart the many sounds punching her poor aural holes as she tries to remain very much not dead. Which. Is the sum total of 'clench that awful, increasingly numb wound and try to stay awake'.

There's just this moment of consideration between one Lyra Steiner, and Blauer Greif. Even as Rashmi's Solar Heal keeps Hannah from bleeding out immediately, the true threat is the vampire so eager to carve into her. And with a freund, it seems! Lyra wants to eat La Crima's vampiric heart out, literally, but the cooler Linker Core of BG soothes the razorhound enough that she's using that speed boost to bodily drag Hannah /away/ from Norie. She sadly can't access the magic she'd other wise use to try to slice up Mister Squiggles! Device in feathery tail, and User in jaws, Rashmi has bequethed a pure lifeline to the Scion of House Steiner!

Unfortunately, Norie's aim was impressive, even by Hannah's standards of blade work. But her Faustian Engel is here, and even as she more slowly leaks her life's essence?

Good old battlefield medic work is just as crucial as magic. Amy works her CPR instructions like a pro.

Chrono's not wrong. That is a /lot/ of blood. Hannah looks almost /pale/ as she's tugged out of the immediate inferno that her favorite TSAB member is kicking up. Sure, it's an awful mess as that pad is pushed to her neck. But, then, amidst the chaos?

Hannah smiles. "...Amy...?" She groans out, hand moving vaguely.

She grips her Device, and pulls the Belkan work of art to her chest even as Lyra snarls.

It's a struggle just to stay conscious. There's a single /pulse/ of magic from the young woman. One failed transformation later?

Hannah makes a mighty effort to try to /stand up/ the stubborn Steiner, but almost immediately collapses back into the care of her girlfriend and hund. Thankfully Sayaka is quick on her blade to keep from Hannah getting yanked, and the remnants of Mister Squiggles wiggly noodle reach is met by a very, /very/ angry pair of Lyran jaws as that tentacle wraps firmly about that beautiful ankle of the downed young mahou's!

There's a slice and a crunch of teeth, barely preventing her from being ripped out of the care of Puella Red!

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima raises a brow. "I have no control over the way I look." she says. "Just as I'm sure you have no control over the ridiculous way you look." she says sharply to Loyalty. She braces her swords against the bat, but relents after a bit, as she scowls. She can hear Amy's words.

"You won't be successful. Trust me."

"I've tried." she says quietly.

She leaps through the air spinning her swords around her, over Loyalty and landing on her other side, closing her eyes a moment as she sighed. "Let's cut to the chase then." she says.

She throws one sword through the air towards Loyalty as she leaps up after it, trying to come down with another massive swing.

Mister Squiggles is intercepted by Sayaka, who has a tentacle (or three) lopped off by the Puella- one that had managed to grab arid Hannah's leg, even! It roars angrily. In turn, this sound makes La Crima more angry.

Mister Sqiggles turns to Sayaka and tries to swing it's tentacles around angrily at her! It's not a very super powerful beast, but it's a handful. Tentacleful.

"Yes. That's the experiment. But you are ruining it, all of you." she says.

"Besides. She's just a pretender to some throne. What do you even care?" she asks.

"You're ruining it all over again.... Won't let me have a pure heart.... won't let me drain someone of competition. Won't be happy with an outcome unless it stays within your happy little lines." she groans.

"I'm going to subdue the rainbow. Then I'm going to kill the pretender." she says.

Minori Kurohara has posed:
    What's this?! Magical Girl, falling from the sky?! And now that strange lizard creature is glowing?! That can't be good. Glowing green eyes shift over to the Rashmi-shaped blur that gets by Nocturne's guard. "H-hey!" she shouts over to Rashmi, "That's /cheating/! You can't cheat! That's what /I/ do!"

    And now it's even worse as there's someone with apparent medical knowledge working on the target! "Ugh, you Magical Girls are like /cockroaches/. There's so many of you!"

    The dark lady beams brightly and whirls her scythe, "Luckily, I'm the exterminator!" She punctuates the swipe with a trilling cascade of laughter.

    But before she can do anything to assist in that area, there's Chrono. Nocturne listens to his introduction with a tilt of her head. "Huh," she says, "What is this Time--" but she never gets to finish the question before the five balls of magic appear. The green glowing eyes of Nocture widen and she takes up a defensive stance, the scythe held out before her like a shield.

    With a swipe, she manages to deflect one of the magic spheres with her weapon and duck down to dodge another, but they're just coming from all directions and even the superhuman physical abilities of one wielding Dark Energy can't completely stop or avoid them all. With a yelp of surprise, the dark lady gets caught in the eruption of fire, her form disappearing in the glow of the conflagration.

    Once the magical fire stops, amid the craters and burnt foliage Nocturne can be seen. She looks quite a bit worse for the wear, covered in burns and scratches, with her hair singed and clothes tattered. She leans on the scythe for support, breathing heavily and shoulders heaving with the effort.

    "Ouch," she says after a moment, coughing out a black soot, "That hurt. A lot." The sickly green eyes focus on Chrono again, all pretense of the playful personality from before gone. "Me? Oh, no one special," she says as she straightens up, "You can call me Nocturne. Just a humble servant." A disarming smile spreads across the woman's lips, "Hey, maybe we could just have a little chat about this whole thing, huh? No need to get so /violent/. Wow, and here I thought all you glitter-butts were supposed to be all for love and peace. Turns out that's wrong, huh?"

    The observant would notice a green smoke beginning to ooze from around the feet the woman, slowly creeping its way towards Chrono along the blasted ground like tendrils.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
"Ridiculously AWESOME? Yeah, I know. Jealous much?" Loyalty verbally counters. But then Lacrima is up and over her head. Niji doesn't have the ability to process things at super speed, only move at that speed. She can at least turn around really fast, which possibly saves her from a wound akin to Hannah's, as the thrown sword sails through the air and cuts through Niji's arm. It's the fact that she suddenly and reflexively dashes back from that which prevents her from also eating Lacrima's direct falling swing - but she's fast enough that she can dash back and then make a flying leap through the air, back at the girl. "ANYTHING YOU CAN DO... I CAN DO COOLER!" she shouts at first she's going to come down with the bat like Lacrima was coming at her with the sword... but this isn't an ostritch youma and she should probably not full force jumping swing a metal bat into the presumably-a-girl's head.

    So mid-jump she lets the bat slide out of her hand and turns, just attempting to barrel into the dark-clothed girl with her shoulder. She doesn't know a few things here that will make this more interesting - one, that touching Lacrima is a worse idea than touching the feathers of the afforementioned emu-big bird. Two, that the streak of rainbow-color that follows her isn't just the colorful afterimage of her hair, but actually magic that carries along with it a slightly purifying energy. Both of this leads to the possible impact being incredibly... interesting, if nothing else.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Perfect," Rashmi breathes as Amy comes onto the scene with actual first aid knowledge. "Note; remind me to ask you to train me on those things."

Crab-walking next to Hannah as Lyra drags her away from the place she fell, Rashmi looks up to hirriedly survey the battlefield. Chrono, Sharpsong, Rocket Girl--Red? And Unidentified Chromatic Object, all on their side. With Squiggles diverted by Sharpsong, Rashmi pokes her head up to butt into the conversation between La Crima and Amy. "I'm sorry we're getting in your way," she says, and it sounds like she actually *means* that. "But... you're trying to do some pretty horrible stuff on just... do you *know* she's a pretender? How? Do you *know* this'll get whatever back? Are you willing to risk *peoples' lives* over that?"

'I'm going to subdue the rainbow,' Norie says. 'Then I'm going to kill the pretender.'

    << *BONG!* >> << DELTA ACCEL -- BOOST UP >>

"No," Rashmi says sadly, as a trio of wisps fade into view around her. "You won't." The wisps then dart off in three different directions; Sayaka, Niji, and Amy, *all* gaining a momentary burst of speed, to make the fast even fasterer for a few seconds!

<< Be careful, Chrono... I don't like how sneaky that one looks. >> she says into her boyfriend's mind.

Amanda Faust has posed:
> You won't be successful. Trust me. I've tried.
    That's sad. But has she tried being completely incinerated, or sealed in concrete or underwater, or thrown in a volcano, or thrown into a Witch's Labyrinth alone? Feeling stressed and threatened for Hannah's sake, such thoughts come easily and automatically. Not that they're *actionable* right now.

    Amy presses the pad against Hannah's neck as blood starts soaking into it.

> I'm going to kill the pretender.
> Wow, and here I thought all you glitter-butts were supposed to be all for love and peace. Turns out that's wrong, huh?

    "You escalated. Draining energy is one thing. Murder? The gloves are off." Amy keeps working, pressing a second pad into place and wrapping gauze around Hannah's neck carefully, trying to keep it gently held in place without choking her.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"What exactly is the experiment?" Sayaka asks La Crima. "I don't see how killing someone helps you cure yourself." What is there to get out of a dead person, anyhow? "Anyway, you should know we are not letting you do that, pretender or no pretender, which I really doubt it, since, you wouldn't have to resort to this."

The good thing is she got the beast's attention off of Hannah, but now there are many tentacles going for her, so she summon a second blade in her right hand, and decides to start showing her own contribution in the speed factor. Not that she is actually being competitive with U.C.O, it just happens to be the most optimal course of action now.

Keeping Amy and Hannah straight behind herself, the Puella starts spinning around in an incredibly fast flurry of blades, each strike aimed at Mister Squibbles. But that's not the only thing that happens. The incredible speed of Sayaka's spinning, boosted even further by Rashmi's spell, starts generating a whirlwind around the trio. This is probably going to be felt by everyone else.

Ula recognises the sign of what Sayaka is about to do, and she keeps herself away this time, thank you very much. She instead spies the bird circling above in surveillance and heads up there, trying to start a chat with Fenyx. "So, you too with someone fighting down there?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown narrowed his eyes on Nocturne. "The time space administrative bureau is an interdimensional organization that spans multiple planets and dimensions. Enforcers are the primary warriors of said organization." He started walking towards her.

"The TSAB is also allied with the belkans and, as the recognized heir to her throne, Hannah Steiner is an ally to the TSAB."

"The moment you wounded her, peace was not an option. Perhaps you'd best retreat for now, because I *will not* stop until you and the rest of your allies have vacated the premises. This is your first and *only* warning."

< Don't worry. I know. She's planning something. Just focus on keeping Hannah alive. >

He glanced down at the mist... Before dashing forward.

            <<Stinger Move!>>

And t hen he was enveloped in blue magic, like a magical arrowhead. He tore through the air, covering the distance between the two in moments. Then, coming to a stop a few feet ahead of her and above, the green mist swirling around them. He held out his staff at her face.

            <<Subzero Burst!>>

An explosion of ice and frost erupted out from the staff, forming ice from the tip of the staff out, spreading like an angry, hungry beast. Coating the grass, the trees, the mist itself. Radiating outwards.

But even if it caught her, it'd only last a second. Because it wasn't a capture spell. A moment later the ice would *shatter*, sending magical shards of ice at the girl, pelting her from all directions, turning the ground to mush.

He'd hover in the air, panting lightly, a little sweat from his brow at the magic spells he'd unleashed. A little bit of the green mist around his ankles, though he paid it no mind... He had more important things to worry about. Like Hannah. Hannah... She'd... she'd be okay. Right?

"I'm afraid my ally in red is correct. The gloves are off."

Then his voice got quieter. Too low for Rashmi to hear. "And if she perishes, you may not be *allowed* to run. So you'd best make your retreat soon."

Fenyx, meanwhile, glanced down at the flying fish girl. No. Not food. She was... something else. "I am Fenyx, Chrono Harlaown's familiar," she said. "I am operating as a, as he put it, bird in the sky. You?"

Hannah Steiner has posed:
Hannah Steiner says, "Und.." It's a tiny thing, Hannah's voice, as her swimming brain tries to process all the /noise/ around her. Without BG, she has her admittedly sharp ears to rely on, and that's about it. But as the absolute immediate threat of death subsides, she can at least catch some amount of the many sounds assaulting her ears.

"Even...succeed..." She manages to spit out, vaguely, only to find herself short of breath.

"He'll use.." Croaks the young woman, only to spit up more crimson.

She breathes hard, and Lyra's claws rend the ground.

Painfully, she manages a twitch of her mouth towards La Crima.

It's a weak thing, but even pitifully clinging to life as she is thanks to those around her? A certain amount of pride remains.

But it falls away quickly enough. Down on the dirt, even the haughty self-worth of a Belkan Noble falls away in such a life-or-death situation where one can do all but nothing to save herself. Her limbs are /numb/ but not exactly immobile. She could try to crawl away. Instead, however, she doesn't move. The desire to /live/ fills her chest even more than the moment when she was ushered out of the Throne Room of Tharkad, her parents' screams still fresh in her ears.

Hannah can imagine the scream of Amy as her heart ceases to beat, deep in her own head.

She can imagine Chrono and Rashmi clinging to one another, lamenting her death over her pretty coffin.

She can imagine the swift bat-wielder and the sword-wielding Puella regretting a failure that in truth?

Well. All of this is her fault, isn't it?

She chased her Uncle, brought down her planet's problems, and here are a bunch of wonderful souls risking their own lives for her. Again.

Hannah presses into the pad keeping her alive. And a second.

A weak hand reaches up, and tugs Amy's belt just to remind her beloved she's still alive. All thanks to those around her.

It's an /effort/ to focus her consciousness. But she lets out a single word in the local language. It's easily lost in everything, but...

"Muda."

'Useless'

She can't explain, and doesn't bother.

Cradling her Device and trusting herself to those gathered for her sake, she shivers.

Amy and Chrono agree on something. There's a whirlwind around her thanks to Sayaka. And despite all that lost crimson, the /fear/ she felt as her neck was opened up by Norie fades.

She has people that care for her. So Hannah focuses on keeping her life, and leaves the rest to the mighty souls around her!"

Norie Okana has posed:
Somethings happen all at once.

First is that she makes Loyalty bleed. That's good. She raises a hand and a new blade spins into existence in her hand as she gets ready to handle that bat... but it's a fake. She's shoulder bashed and some more things happen. For a moment, Loyalty can feel the drain. This just happens and makes La Crima wince as she's 'forcefed', but it's the new sensation, of something burning and it burns like the time she tried to walk into a church.

It hurts her very being, and she 'nrgs!' and breaks off as best she can from the assault. "What..."

"What was that?" she asks, as she looks down at her swords, her hands.

Mister Squiggles takes a massive hit with those swords slicing around at him. With enough damage the creature breaks off, not willing to risk it's life to complete it's task, returning quickly to it's gem, which La Crima deposits back into her dress with some sort of black tentacle that comes from her back, since she's currently holding swords.

She winces and calls out. "Nocturne. I don't think I can complete the goal.... S... Sorry you should go now!" she looks down. "...Sorry Count Otto-sama...I'll..I'll do better next time." she says to no one in particular.

With that, she'll try to dusk port out. Shimmering into black into the Dusk Zone. She feels... wrong. After taking that attack. She needs time to recover.

Minori Kurohara has posed:
    "Me?" Nocturne asks with surprise of Chrono, eyes widening, "/I/ didn't do anything to the lady. All I did was sit in a tree. I can /hardly/ be blamed for /that/ can I? Does this Time-Space Administration Watsit give out loitering tickets to people sitting in trees, too? What a petty organization."

    Nocturne's glowing green eyes shift over to the group working on the downed Hannah. "But now that you mention it... wowee, my comrade sure did a number on her, huh?" she says conversationally, "All that blood. Man, do you really think she can pull through that? Even with whatever glitter-butt heal abilities you might have? Look at how /pale/ she is. Might be going into... what's it called...? Ah, yes. Shock. That's when there's not enough blood to keep vital organs operating, right? I think I saw that on some medical show somewhere." Her eyes turn back towards Chrono, the slit irises widening slightly as a seemingly understanding smile -- devoid of any real warmth -- spreads across her lips, "What a pity that would be if she just bled out, huh?"

    A sour look casts over Nocturne's features as Chrono notices the green mist. And then he's racing to her. "Tsk," Nocturne hisses, readying her weapon -- she's a bit slower than before, proof that the damage Blaze Cannon did from before was not a feint. She manages to fend off the first blast of ice from her vital areas at least, but then the whole ice edifice shatters and rains down shards of magical ice. The dark woman screams as the shards tear at her body, wounds leaking Dark Energy splitting open wherever the ice rips her flesh.

    And then... she begins to giggle. It's a strange, unhinged sort of giggle, the kind a madwoman gibbering to themselves over imagined delights would give. "Such /anger/," she replies to Chrono in a low voice, still with that strange haunting quality, the green of her eyes peering at him even as she crouches in clear defeat, clinging to her weapon as a crutch, "Are you /sure/ you're on the correct side? I could put in a good word for you if you'd like to change."

    But then La Crima calls out and Nocturne's face goes entirely blank. "Acknowledged. Mission failure." Her gaze flickers to Chrono again and a slow smile winds its way across her lips, "Guess I'll take you up on your kind offer. Be seeing you, Constable." With a quick slash of her scythe, an opening like a rended cloth is torn in space, the haunting purples of the Dusk Zone beckoning beyond. "See ya," Nocturn says with an impish smile and a two-fingered salute to Chrono before dashing and making a running leap for the rift.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Stay with me, Hannah! Please!" Amy urges. Useless? "No, we'll save you!" She leans down and kisses Hannah's forehead. "Please..." She squeezes Hannah's hand with her left hand, holding it, not letting go as she turns, still kneeling, and the rocket launcher dropped on the ground disappears as a large launch tube appears strapped to her right arm, aimed at... La Crima has left. She aims at Nocturne. "Leave. Now."

    And... she does!

    Amy sighs in relief, the launch tube dissipating. She takes a breath, and looks to Hannah. "The school nurse knows about magic, but it's midnight. I guess we could bother her at home... no, shit, I don't have access to records anymore. Do we take her to a hospital?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
LaCrima isn't the only one who doesn't want to partake in that sensation anymore - Loyalty does not the feeling of being drained of her energy - her multicolored peppy very valuable energy - so the other girl doesn't have to work too hard to break away since Loyalty is also trying to scramble away. And right now, Niji is very, very fast. Thanks to Rashmi. Even though she's also feeling tired, like she just ran a marathon instead of did a jumping dive.

    "You... What'd you do?" She asks LaCrima. At about the same time Lacrima asks what it was. But there's not an answer coming, since Lacrima fades out and instructs her ally to do the same. And her ally follows. Which means there's just a whole bunch of 'good gals (and guys)' and the injured woman. Which means... Loyalty doesn't have to act tough and unflappable and pure awesome quite so much.

    "Oh that freakin' HURTS." she says once the bad guys have made their exist, gripping her wounded arm and leaning against a tree. She's in pain and tired and hurt a lot more by that sword (and by then diving onto Lacrima at Way-Too-Fast) than she was letting on. She kind of slumps down halfway against the tree. "You guys got the girl who they tried to gank, right?" Gank, yes, that's an official magical girl term now, because Loyalty says it is. "Take care of her first, and second, but I wouldn't mind a bandage and some antiseptic after this." she says, pulling her hand away to look at the blood before just pressing it back against the wound. Red never was her favorite color.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR HEAL >>

Sheltered by Sayaka's whirlwind, Rashmi pours every ounce of concentration into her healing magic. If one application doesn't help all the way, perhaps a second will. If not, a third. Rashmi will spend any amount of energy it takes to make sure that Hannah *does not die.*

Looking up over the warm yellow glow of her spell, she makes a frustrated sound as the wall of wind blocks her ability to take note of the flow of battle... but oh boy is it better that it's there, because the alternative would be *awful.*

    << *BONG!* >> << TELEPATHY >>

<< How's it going out there? >> Rashmi's voice says, worriedly, in the back of Chrono, Niji, and Sayaka's minds. << Because we need to get Hannah someplace where someone can give her blood. Luckily I've got plenty, but it's in *me* and it needs to be in *her* quickly. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The whirlwind whips up Amy's cloak, billowing around her and making Amy look extra cool as she threatens Nocturne with her finisher.

    Amy reaches down and taps the first aid kit to call Loyalty's attention to it. It even has instructions in it so anyone can use it!

    She blinks at Rashmi. "Oh, can you magically transfer blood? I'm a universal donor!"

    "We don't know where Meiou-san lives... anyone know what we can tell the hospital?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Oh, you are Chrono's familiar?" Ula replies surprised. "Sayaka, the bluenette that summoned that whirlwind, told me a bit about him. Offered her some suggestions and encouragements", Ula replies, looking down at that scene.

"I am Ula, a new friend of hers after she saved me. She is a novice and reckless, but she is really dedicated to helping people. I am sort of trying to keep that recklessness from biting her back." She sighs. "She relies a bit too much on that healing prowess she has."

The gem that is Mister Squibbles goes back to her owner, and Sayaka stays still as the whirlwind starts dissipating. Looks like it's over. "Uuhhh, she got attacked by a mugger, maybe?" Sayaka tries suggesting to Amy.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown sighed and watched the girl disappear. They'd done it. They'd--

No. They hadn't done it yet. They'd been late. If not for that rainbow girl, then--

He shook his head. NOW WAS NOT THE TIME FOR WORRIES! He had to focus. Focus. Suppress. Push it down.

He turned towards Hannah, an arm up to his face to try and shield him from the winds. Damn it. He then turned towards Niji. "Litebrite," he said, moving to her. "How badly are you wounded?" he asked. It'd only take a moment to check, at least. Her wound... wasn't serious. But he wasn't a healer.

            <<Physical heal!>>

He could, at least, stem the bleeding for now and help bandage it. But it'd be a quick job. "I need to help them. We're going to teleport Hannah to the nearest hospital, it... hold on. I'll send you the location. I saw how quickly you are. We can't move her normally, we're going to teleport her. I need you to go on ahead and let them know that a woman is being brought by her friends, she was attacked by a mugger, but has lost a lot of blood. We should be there in a few minutes but I need them to be ready. I need you to make sure there's an area clear outside, as well. They don't know about magic so they won't be able to tell entirely what's going on."

He then made his way towards the others and... "You, uhhhh... Sharpnote?" he asked, trying to remember her name. "I need you to take over for Rashmi. Help Red keep pressure on the wound, keep Hannah still. Don't let her move. Rashmi, advanced lessons, you're going to assist me with a teleportation spell. Straight to the hospital. We're going to get her there without moving her. Move it, people!" he ordered, in full no-nonsense TSAB enforcer mode. The wind was dying, at least, ruffling around them... while he made his way over, jamming his staff to the ground, the barrier around them collapsing and the magical circle spreading out, enveloping them all.

Meanwhile, up above... Fenyx cocked her head to the side. "It... looks like we'll have to catch up with them. I hope you don't mind flying long distances."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I'm *pretty sure* I'll survive what I'm doing to get her," Rashmi answers, mentally asking Nicomachea to text Setsuna 'Setsu-chan help Hannah got cut in the neck and we've got her stable but she doesn't have nearly enough blood but I have blood that could be in her help.'

As the winds die down and Chrono starts issuing directives, Rashmi looks up. "Wai-- TELEPO-- I-- okay..."

Reaching out, she takes hold of Amy's shoulder and squeezes once, determination in her worried brown eyes. "We've already got her halfway there," she says gently, then stands up to move to the spreading circle. "Okay Chrono, uh... What am I even *doing?*"

Hannah Steiner has posed:
The twin pair of would-be murderers find their way out by way of the power of the Dusk Zone, sightless eyes vaguely trying to glare the way of her assailants! And likely failing utterly, but Lyra hisses out furiously at La Crima and Nocturne! Both her Uncle's name and the unhinged laughter of Nocturne threatens her poor ear lobes, but there's more immediate matters at hand.

Or more accurately, at neck.

Sadly she can't even offer so much as a 'thanks' to her rainbow-haired saviour, though Lyra offers a perfunctory /hiss-bork/ towards the pained and wounded Geode Gal of Loyalty! She's absolutely going to remember that /voice/ (in henshin anyway).

Saving Hannah's life is truly a team effort. Magical healing. Amy ensuring her actual wound isn't going without pressure. Even as the magical conflict dies off, Sayaka's sharp suggestion about a mugger -her wound 'happily' is from a sharp blade after all - is entirely consistent with the story.

Thankfully, or perhaps /worryingly/, keeping the usually robust Steiner still is rather easy. If it's not for her clutching her Device and the shallow breathing she keeps letting out?

Chrono's seriousness comes out in full. The last thing Hannah senses is a bit of...ease. Despite herself. Her lips weakly smile as everything is just gobbled up by a magic circle.

Hannah goes limp. She entrusts herself to those around her in full. Then, the sweet tug of darkness.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
Loyalty nods. "Sure, sure. If that's the best place to bring her. I don't know, I didn't do super well in like, first aid." she says, a fact proven by how clumsily she wraps a cloth bandage around her own wound. "But if you say mugger the police are gonna want information. The more complicated your story is the worse it's gonna be."

    "I guess I'll let all of you handle that. I'll just let them know there's a girl with a neck wound that way they don't ask ME too many questions. I mean. Lookit me." she says, gesturing to her own outfit. "So I'll be off now. And then I'll... guess I'll see you all around. Good working with you again, Blue and Red!" Well, she remembered Amy was Red, so Sayaka would be blue.

    ...And then she's off, before anyone can correct her. This is likely intentional.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy considers the mugger story and nods. "What description do we give for the mugger?" Hannah goes limp. "Hannah!" Amy leans in close enough to feel her breathing, and then sighs in relief. Adjusting the bandages to hold in place a bit more firmly and then stroking the hair atop Hannah's head, she hopes soothingly, and squeezing her hand while Sayaka keeps pressure on the wound. "Just hang in there... You'll be fine... It requires minutes of lack of oxygen to the brain to die... your heart is still beating, and you're still breathing... We're going to a hospital... You'll be fine..."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
A sigh of relief escapes Sayaka's lips as she sees the attackers aren't here anymore. She really wants to ask what is going on here, but Hannah got hurt, so it's really not the time nor the place for that.

Sayaka follows the directives of Chrono to the letter, leaving her sword clattering the ground to assist Amy to the best of her abilities. "Ok, yes!" She tells him, focusing more on the wound than being called Sharpnote.

Loyalty brings up a good point about her proposal, and that's exacerbated by Amy asking for which description they should give the mugger. Uh, it is really is going to get too complicated. "You are right, uh... Rainbow Speedster. Red, nevermind what I said, that's not going to work."Being called Blue is likewise ignored. That's not important.

Meanwhile, in the skies, Ula tells Fenyx. "It would be my first time flying this long, but I have travelled for long distances in the past."Though, one matter is... "Do you know where to go?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown lightly chanted as he worked. "Just have your device link in with mine and hollow along," Chrono told Rashmi. He was a little curt... then again. Mass teleportation. Nooooot exactly easy. It required more energy than he liked. But Hannah needed to be moved as little as possible. Picked up and carried was a noooope. Bad idea.

So instead, he had to focus on getting her out. Alive. Safely. Somehow.

All those doubts and worries weren't making it easy, though. Anger. Rage. A TSAB agent could not allow their emotions to get the better of them. But he nearly had. He... had wanted to tear her apart. He would have, if he could. If he'd had the chance. But not with Rashmi there.

And now? His mind was focused on Hannah. What if they couldn't save her? What if she died? She is so... so pale. She's dying.

Was he going to lose the only tie he really had to his home dimension here, now?

... What if the other members of the Arthra met a similiar fate?

He buried those doubts down, focusing on weaving the spell, readying the teleportation. It had to be perfect. It had to be smooth. She couldn't be jostled. Calculations were offloaded to Rashmi's device, but there was so much that went into a spell like this, when under these circumstances...

Even at the best of times.

But then, finally, the spell was completed. There was a flash of light... And they'd be there. At the hospital.

It was smooth, gentle, and... And Rashmi could just *feel* the amount of energy that had been sucked out of her from the teleport. She'd possibly teleported before, but that? That was the smoothest teleport she'd likely been in. And it had a cost to match. Chrono actually fell back, sweat falling off him and actually de-henshining...

Back at the park, Fenyx turned and started flying off, towards the hospital. "This way. I need to go pick up my boss after that, anyway."

They were there. Hannah was here. And now... she was being carted away. One belkan down, but not forgotten and hopefully never lost.