Scene #864: Hidden In Plane Sight

Owner	Pose
Katarina Bach	It's a crepe shop. The same one that Katarina first met Madoka Kaname at. They had sat, and talked, and they had never seen an employee or customer, despite the shop being open in the middle of the day. It has taken some time, but Katarian has made her way back there, with Kyubey nearby, almost acting as a seeing-eye Incubator. He isn't, of course. But he does keep up a steady stream of telepathic chatter (none of it frivolous social interactions, of course, because he's Kyubey). Once she's at the door, and confirms it's the right place... The albino girl closes her umbrella that she uses to spare her skin from the sun, opens the door (after remembering last time's difficulties with determining the push/pull system), and goes inside. Nothing has changed, she notices immediately. It's exactly as she and Madoka left it. "Well, I have other girls to help. Farewell, Katarina." Kyubey says in his typical cheerful voice and then turns around and goes off somewhere, disappearing in the crowd outside. Kat pauses after the door closes, just waiting, listening, trying to feel for anything... Anything at all. No magic. No Witches. No people. Last time, she had looked around and seen blood, bodies on the floor, an old-fashioned phone with a cord dangling from his cradle on the wall... What is there this time? Anything? She had only caught a glimpse of that awful sight through her magic. Because without that magic, she is blind. Perhaps that is why she noticed something was off to begin with. If that's the case, then... To prevent more people disappearing, she should probably do something, right? She may be a Magical Girl, but Katarina is still a very small, physically frail girl, in a creepy abandoned crepe shop, where she saw something horrible last time, and she is alone. She's scared. Using her umbrella as a sort of walking stick, she places the rubber tip on the floor and begins navigating the shop, searching for clues. She can, of course, be seen through the windows outside.
Hinote Kagari	People disappearing is something his mom's, a police officer, has been babbling about at home. It has her worried. So it has Hinote worried because maybe it's something... supernatural and magical happening. So thusly, Hinote arrives to the suspect crepe shop and can see someone inside from the windows. Today he's wearing a simple black T-shirt, blue jeans and a big brown coat that comes down to his knees because it's chilly outside. So she invites himself into the apparently abandoned crepe shop and announces himself. "Hey. Isn't this place closed or something?" he asks to Katrina brushing the right side of his head a moment.
Sayaka Miki	An animated discussion is going on in the streets of Mitakihara. Two girls, completely indistinguishable by any metric were it not for the clothes they wear and the fact one is holding a surprisingly lifelike plushie of a mermaid, are whispering among themselves about who should be one to fight. Of course, those in the know recognise these are no simple twins, but the halves of the person known as Sayaka Miki. The left one, who has retained the name of her original, is wearing a green coat with blue flats, a blue sweater and a red skirt. The right one, who has chosen to adopt the name Klarissa, instead is wearing a yellow raincoat with cyan trousers and a purple sweater and low-heeled shoes. Their debate is still going and the mermaid "plushie" is taking part too, mostly as an occasional mediator, while Klarissa is keeping a blue Soul Gem on her palm, and the trio keeps side-glancing at it for any trace of magic. Sayaka has a Soul Gem ring on her hand. The conversation stops when they come close to Katarina, Klarissa staring at her and asking "Katarina? What are you doing in that run down shop?"
Katarina Bach	"The door is... unlocked." Katarina answers, only turning her head slightly to the sound of a second person entering and speaking to her. She has a very quiet voice, made quieter by her unconsciously lowering it once the door shuts again, and the two of them are left in the empty building. "However..." she begins, but then the door opens again, and two more people (and a plushie) enter. Kat tilts her head, still looking at the floor, not at any person or location in particular. She does in place a bit further, so she is closer to facing the others than not. "Miki-san. Something strange is happening here... I am... Investigating." She isn't sure who the boy is, or the other girl, so she isn't sure how much she can say. Katarina is just wearing her RHA uniform. Nothing special there, aside the umbrella.
Hinote Kagari	Hinote Kagari places his hands into his jacket pockets and looks at Katarina. "You mean the people disappearing, right?" he asks, "Yeah, I'm here to look into that. See if there's anything going on I can warn people about you know..like." "M..magically." he says. This is where he usually gets dumb looks if people are not in the know and he looks crazy. Still, he looks over to.. Sayaka and Klarissa along with their. Mermaid Plushie? He squints at that before looking back to Katarina. "Is there anything I can do help here?" he asks. "-and please don't just ask me to leave. There's gotta be ''something'' I can do." he offers.
Sayaka Miki	"Investigating?" repeats Sayaka, an assured expression on her face. "People have disappeared?" asks Sayaka completely uninformed. She stares at the Soul Gem on Klarissa's palm before looking back to Katarina. "There is no sign of magic here though." Of course, that doesn't mean she is doubting the minute Puella, and she is looking closer at the every part of the crepe shop, trying to identify anything unusual. "So there must be Witches that hide themselves so well their magic trace is hidden too." Meanwhile, Klarissa has approached Hinote. "This is not a place to dally, you know. Dangerous things could be going on here. We will do our best to protect you if you choose to stay, but even like that, your safety isn't guaranteed, so I suggest you go outside." Ula meanwhile drops the facade and flies up to Katarina, with a single question. "What is it exactly we should be wary of?"
Katarina Bach	Kat is mostly unresponsive until magic is mentioned. The fact that Sayaka appears to be speaking from two different places has her eyebrows descending in confusion, and then she is being spoken to by Ula. Weren't there only two people who entered after the boy? "If you are... Confident that you can... Help." is her acceptance of Hinote. "I am Katarina Bach." Yep, a foreigner. Right here in their midst. She speaks Japanese really well. Virtually no trace of an accent at all. But she is very puzzled by Ula, and the lack of footsteps approaching her before being spoken to. She thinks for a few moments, and then scans around without moving her head or body in any way. A cone of magic projecting outwards from a point behind her blind eyes just sweeps around the store 360-degrees. She answers, finally, "...Missing things." How perfectly vague of her. Time to start looking for clues.
Hinote Kagari	Hinote Kagari says, "I'm confident I can try to help." he says, as she looks to Sayaka and nods. "As long as you're willing to protect me, I can help. I just. Know this stuff exists. I don't have any. Like. Magic. That I'm aware of." he admits as he looks back to Katarina. "Missing things?" he asks. "Oh. Right." he says, brushing the back of his head. "I am. Hinote Kagari. Just. Some guy." he says before he starts looking around. Oh... Oh the plushie is animated. That's strange. "Hiiii?" he asks the mermaid, as he didn't expect it to start moving. Or flying. Or talking. He'll check near where the crepes would be made. Whether that's the door to a kitchen, or a crepe station in the same room, as he removes his hands from his pockets to poke around.
Sayaka Miki	Neither Klarissa nor the snooping Sayaka refuse Hinote, the former because in the end, that's her responsibility too and it wouldn't be fair of her to do otherwise, the latter because, honestly she appreciates his spirit, and she was in the same place once, no? "That's ok then. Keep your wits about you, but we will protect you", says Klarissa, while Sayaka stops her examination to smile at Hinote. "Welcome aboard", she says. "You are in good hands." "Hey now, why are you looking around in these places if you are surprised at the sight of me?" Ula exclaims to Hinote. That to her is a sign he is completely unprepared for anything they may find. "Anyway, I am Ula, those girls' companion and friend, while the twins are Sayaka and Klarissa." Ula points to each of them while she says their names. Sayaka meanwhile has started paying close attention to the tables of the establishment, looking under them and any chairs.
Katarina Bach	The shop is like a western cafe in size. There are booths lined up along the windows, and on the far side of the room, and tables in between. A counter is on the left as one enters, in an L-shaped pattern. A sign by the short part of that 'L' indicates that area is for pick-up orders, while the longer part of the counter is covered in display cases of confections and various baked goods, a napkin dispenser, menus, and those little miniature sandwich boards with whatever the current specials are. There is cradle for an old-fashioned corded phone on the wall behind the counter, and a more modern cordless phone on the counter top. Big display boards along the wall overhead show images of the products. There is a door in the far wall, almost directly across from the entrance, that seems to lead into the back. There is a kitchen visible beyond on the left, a hallway straight ahead to what might be a cold storage room of some kind, and restrooms on the right. The back of the shop is dark, but there is still power based of the mechanical humming sound coming from the store room. The floor is tiled in black and white, like a checkerboard, though it does not match the dimensions of such a board in terms of rows and columns. There is only one exit. Katarina nods in acknowledgement to the introductions. Ula then. A fairy of some kind. Perhaps like Kyubey? Was she there when they fought that Familiar? Probably. Though... It appears that Sayaka has a twin sister, or one with an identical voice to her at least. That will be interesting to attempt to keep track of. She just notes their respective locations (though of course cannot see which one was pointed at by Ula), and identifies them that way. Whichever one responds to Sayaka or Klarissa when called to will be the one who gets assigned that name in the back of her head.
Hinote Kagari	Hinote Kagari goes into the hallway in back and can hear the mechanical hum from the store room. Everything seems. Normal thus far. He finds the kitchen- the place he was looking for. He walks into it and huhs as he looks around. This looks. Like a mess? The fridge is open. There's no cooking utensils and items out. Except some items used to make crepes? He'll examine everything and take out his phone and decide to snap a few pictures. Why? Because sometimes you can photograph things you can't see right? And this is an investigation. He sighs a little and thinks. "Well that's strange, guys. It looks like everyone... vanished in the middle of work or something." he says, noting the crepe supplies out.
Sayaka Miki	Klarissa, Sayaka and Ula all leave Hinote and Katarina to their own devices while exploring the shop. Being the one who hasn't moved far from the entrance, Klarissa starts examining the nearby counter. They are supposed to notice what's missing right? Katarina said so earlier. She starts comparing the display cases and what is listed on the menu, checking if there is either a surplus or a deficit. Sayaka continues her examination of the tables, comparing them in relation to the floor to get a feel if something was removed or added. The checkerboard may prove to be significant in regards to that. Or at least, she imagines the owner of the shop would have made the tables coincide with the positions dictated by the floor. Lastly, Ula starts looking through the modern phone for any useful information.
Katarina Bach	Eggs, flour, and other actual ingredients for making crepes are simply sitting out. Given people started disappearing, without any mundane people noticing until the number got to be something ridiculous, weeks ago at the very least, it should all be spoiled if it has been out since then. But strawberry compote, cold milk, and other perishables appear to be fresh and recently used. There are no words on the wall menus, just images. Not even prices are listed. The cookies and other non-crepe confections are not shown, but there are price tags on the display cases themselves that match up with the contents exactly. The phone has a dial-tone when picked up. There is one unread voice message, and eight-thousand five-hundred and ninety-one missed calls. Nothing about the tiles seems to suggest anything, but the fact there are no chairs may stand out to Sayaka after looking around. The booth seats have places to sit, of course, but there are no chairs. Standing room only...? Katarina says, "I am blind... So, please tell me... If you see anything strange."
Hinote Kagari	Hinote Kagari looks at the pictures and the kitchen and... can't see the crepe supplies in his pictures. That's strange. He approaches the crepe supplies carefully, and does not eat any of it. That seems like a dumb idea considering it may be evil and ghost crepe supplies, He looks to the open fridge next and looks into the fridge and-- there's no back to the fridge!? There's another kitchen on the other side that looks...messier but he can't make out much in the dark. He turns on his phone's flashlight to try to see beyond. "So there's like ghost eggs and flour and stuff in here and there's another kitchen in the fridge." he says outloud. "That's all I see so far. I'm not trusting the supplies."
Sayaka Miki	"Over here by the entrance, there is this counter for pick-up orders, but the menus on the walls only have images, no price tags or names", Klarissa informs Katarina. "The rest seems to be all right, the prices are there for the display cases", she concludes, before looking around at where to look at next, her gaze falling on the old phone. No, she is not touching that yet. She can spend time figuring out how exactly that works later. For now, she will take a look at the bathroom and whatever it can offer her. "Oh, yes, there are no chairs anywhere", Sayaka tells Katarina. "I could see the booth potentially being made for standing, but I would find ridiculous if the same applied to the tables", Sayaka voices her own thoughts out loud. After making a quick stop to grab the napkin dispenser, she starts making the rounds at the places chairs would have been at, including tapping the floor and trying to clean it of any stains that she would have encountered with the napkins and a ton of elbow grease. Meanwhile Ula flies closer to Katarina after skimming through the first 200 names of the missed calls, struggling to hold the phone with her. "I found this phone with eight-thousand five-hundred and ninety-one missed calls, plus one unread voice message. I didn't read the entire list, but the names repeat and seem to be all the same 20, I think the people that have gone missing. Let me play the voice message now." Which is what she does after.
Katarina Bach	Katarina tenses a bit at the news there's a second kitchen on the other side of the refrigerator. This is... "If this is a Witch... Then it is a puzzle Witch. Its lair has been carefully hidden... Please do not enter the other kitchen... Kagari-san." she calls out in her small, soft voice as she turns and begins finding her way towards him, with her umbrella tapping on the floor in a brief sweeping motion to avoid knocking into anything. She pauses at the news of what's going on here, in the dining area. Including the enormous number of missed messages, the twenty names, and so on. The phone answering machine requests the four-digit passcode to listen to the voice mail. It shouldn't take long between Ula and Katarina to try 8591 as the passcode, obtain access, and get blasted with Witch Runes in their heads, Sayaka's, Klarissa's, and Hinote's as well. As soon as Klarissa opens the restroom doors, all the missing chairs come flying out like they're falling from the sky, but they're falling sideways. The kitchen tilts, and the duplicate on the other side begins dumping knives, forks, spatulas, and various other utensils en masse into the room that seems to be rotating, even though Hinote is still firmly attached to the floor... Even as that floor moves so that the duplicate kitchen and refrigerator and above him. On top of that, as Katarina also feels the ground lurching, she stumbles about, searching for something stable to hang onto. Nothing is falling from their side, even as the sensation of the dining room turning on its side can be felt. Sayaka, having been looking at the tiles from a standing position, with the entire napkin dispenser in hand, may notice a reflection in the steel case of said dispenser, and on the floor as the sunlight from the windows outside shifts and moves rapidly across the walls, as though the entire building is turning in multiple directions at once. The reflection in the now shiny tile floor, and the distorted blur on the napkin case holder, may lead her to looking up. The ceiling is a mirrored reflection of the dining room. Darkened, with people lying on the floor above them, blood stains on the walls, and a phone dangling by its cord from a wall cradle. The parts of the tile floor that didn't match up with a checkerboard would line up perfectly if the tile floor above them were set alongside it. A monstrous thing in a high chair, somewhat resembling a small girl, but with a succession of mouths behind her, extending back into infinity, with her chair perched on a grotesque checkerboard tongue. Her body shifts and moves in a garish mash of colors that writhe and twist like she is burning in a conflagration, as she kicks her tiny legs back and forth idly. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/479505820703260682/1182898382218477634/image.png
Hinote Kagari	Hinote Kagari, having encountered a witch before, gets blasted with Witch runes in his head and he grabs his head and closes his eyes as the room begins to rotate. He tries to walk towards Katarina Bach and calls out to the two bluenettes. "I..I think this is one of those. Places. Isn't it? That a witch lives in?" he asks for confirmation as he tries to make sure Katarina is okay, offering himself as a stable surface for now if she needs it. Then Knives, knives are falling down on him and he does his best to avoid them but some actually make it into his jacket as it spins with him, but luckily, he manages to avoid being fatally stabbed, though a trickle of blood suggest he got glanced, and a rip in his shirt supports this. "A..aah...!" he goes. "I got hit!"
Sayaka Miki	"The heck!?" Klarissa jumps back as she sees the chairs falling sideways on her from the wall, barely avoiding being hit as she makes a run to hide behind the counter she had examined earlier. The others are probably also doing the same if they are in range of the chairs. Then Ula, Sayaka and Klarissa grimace when they get blasted by the Witch Runes, holding their heads in pain until it ends. The phone in the meanwhile has probably fallen to the ground when Ula drops it. Ula at least doesn't have to worry about holding herself steady while everything changes, though Sayaka and Klarissa do struggle to retain their balance with the mental attack they are receiving. When things have calmed down somewhat, Sayaka notices the Witch in the reflection. "The Witch is here, above our heads. There is a mirror Kitchen with the victims. Lots of blood too. If we aren't too late, they need serious help. Stay out of this, Klarissa!" With that she transforms, intending not to give the Witch a chance to fight back. Her Eternal Fantasia appears around her and the 20 swords fly upwards, aiming straight at the Witch.