Grief In the Shell: Madokapunk IC Thread

[strawberryman]

[Old Mitakihara]
(Some Roof)

There's a nagging beep from one of Nadica's remote motion trackers picks something up. She pulls up a camera feed. A couple Mashou racing. And one of them is Li Nuan. And Kujoh "Red Gear" Makoto. Well fancy that.

Think I'll just watch for now. Nothing to gain from spooking them early.

The tiny camera bit does its best to keep hidden as it follows the two. And it's not that it's hard to do that, it's the size of a small sparrow.

[Ward 4]
(Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Rio flinches a bit, surprised by the interruption. Ms. Minami had a way of being sneaky about her approach. Well... not that it was particularly hard to catch Rio off guard. "...um..." She hesitates after a few moments.

"Well, Mia the Justice-Spear says that the weight of the hero depends on how heroic their wish was..." Ah, Mia. A loud, slightly obnoxious mashou that nonetheless commanded a bit of a following thanks to clever marketing. She always finished her televised wraith hunts with a blood-boiling monologue. Probably... not the best model for self-esteem for aspiring mashou.

Kin appreciates the scratches, and licks Ms. Minami's hand. Politely.

[KnightDisciple]

[Videoconference]
[On the Hunt...for JUSTICE]

Duncan blushes at the chivalry comment. Considering he's stupid-pale, it's pretty noticeable. He just grunts and pushes his sunglasses up a bit on his nose.

"Ah'm fahne playin' softball with the wee lass-"

Who may or may not be older than he is.

"-'specially as she doesn't sound like tha type to be shootin' the Mayor. More likely she has some tidbit to lead us to the crazy who did the deed. But..."

He shrugs.

"We'll just see. Hopefully this'll all stay calm-like."

[Selinia]

[Old Mitakihara]
[The Amazing Race, Finish Line]

Spoiler

Show

She had the right of it for the most part. This wasn't a sprint, but a marathon. Not in the sense that they needed to conserve actual energy, but in the sense that in most cases they had no real space to pick up speed. Surprisingly enough, in spite of his shorter stature meaning an equally shorter step, Makoto's advantage lay in his lesser mass. Each gamble posed a slightly lesser risk to him because of that. Of course, if she were paying attention, taking such risks would give away a trace of his personality to her.

Fortunately, that was something he could live with.

One particular point of ascension would prove tough to support two people. This was where he needed to pick up the pace. Spotting a certain crumbling formation, Makoto picked a piece of debris off the ground and suddenly threw it with great force. The impact shattered the formation outward, and he leapt forward off the ledge a moment or so after Nuan did. Two amazing things happened one after the other, in the reverse order that will be presented now.

First, by curling his body mid-leap, Makoto managed to gain momentum enough to dart past his opponent. By taking that position, he sacrificed upward momentum for forward speed - and that meant he would fall short of his expected goal on the wall. That SHOULD be what happened, except Makoto had thrown that rock with such timing that as he fell, so did the debris that would have prevented him from leaping at the same time as Li Nuan. And those selfsame debris were used as stepping stones for him to pick up even more speed and traverse the otherwise empty space between the ledges. His landing would be smoother, giving him a precious second or two ahead of his opponent.

Second, as he passed Nuan, she would have felt the very distinct and very bold sensation of something slapping her butt. This is isn't so much "amazing" as it is funny, but it had the intention of breaking her concentration for a moment. After all, a lady has her modesty.

If Nuan is upset by the crude gesture, she doesn't much show it. No doubt she had some emotional reaction internally (it'd be a silly thing to throw the race to find out specifics), but outwardly it's a twitch of a smirk and a maybe a raised eyebrow. Probably because having her butt slapped by a cocky teenager less than half her age and a head shorter than her is more absurd than it is offensive. Still, Makoto has the lead! For the moment, anyway. Maintaining it is tough - his smaller mass lets him lessen risks and make more frequent use of time-saving shortcuts, but Nuan is simply taller and leggier, and the advantage gained by every stride covering just a bit more ground is not something that be entirely written out.

Still, he's able to sustain his position until the final push - a leap out of a low-level window onto a stretch of raised highway. Nothing left between the two of them and the location Makoto had stashed his vehicle but a span of open asphalt. Some rubble, sure, a few weak points, but as close to solid, stable, flat construction as anything here. With both contestants' augmented mashou bodies spitting in the face of human limitations, it's an olympian sprint that seems bound to end in a photo finish either way.

Regardless, the agreed-upon finish line - the first to touch the bike, its sensors would serve as an impartial judge of whether that person was Makoto or not - is drawing close. Time to close things out...

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center]

Spoiler

Show

Rio flinches a bit, surprised by the interruption. Ms. Minami had a way of being sneaky about her approach. Well... not that it was particularly hard to catch Rio off guard. "...um..." She hesitates after a few moments.

"Well, Mia the Justice-Spear says that the weight of the hero depends on how heroic their wish was..." Ah, Mia. A loud, slightly obnoxious mashou that nonetheless commanded a bit of a following thanks to clever marketing. She always finished her televised wraith hunts with a blood-boiling monologue. Probably... not the best model for self-esteem for aspiring mashou.

"Oh, that's not true at all! Mia is a fine young lady, but she still has a lot to learn about heroics. Some of the greatest magical girls ever had some of the simplest wishes you can think of. Wishes for friends, or family, or just... something they were passionate about. Misaki Umika just wished for someone to give her writing a chance, and she went on to help lead one of the biggest groups of magical girls before Wishcraft came around - and when it did, she helped with that too. And on top of that, Before The Dawn is something I teach my senior classes every year!"

"If there's one thing I've learned being a literature teacher, it's that there's lots of kinds of hero, and some of the greatest kinds are the ones that aren't anything like Mia at all." Ms. Minami nods solemnly at that. "...you should ask your mom about it! She deals with all sorts of magical girls in her job."

[Kuroimaken]

[Old Mitakihara]
((The Finish Line))

Remember earlier on when it was mentioned this was a marathon, not a sprint?

Yeah, that doesn't apply to the finish line.

Nuan might find that with a simple and clear goal in mind - no extra tricks or routes, no curves, no ways to delay his opponent - Makoto was free to focus on his steps. It's not that he hadn't been pushing himself plenty before - but his attention was divided between planning, running, and watching for the next bend in the road.

She would in fact find that in spite of his smaller mass, each of his steps had extra effort in them - to the point that the concrete under his feet cracked a little as he dashed for his bike. She had the advantage of stature, but simply put, his muscles had greater sheer explosive momentum. When it came to top speed, he was a hard opponent to beat.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 4]
(Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Rio fidgets a bit. "...mom says that wishes should be important, because being a mashou is hard. So you should make it worthwhile." A pause. "...I just don't even know where I'd start. And... you still have to be chosen, anyway. And I haven't. So..."

"...I guess that's okay." She doesn't seem entirely okay with it. Mostly resigned. "...why do we have to wait so long for Before the Dawn? I've read it on my own..."

[Sucrose]

[Videoconference]
Dos Lugares

Spoiler

Show

Leysa takes her phone in both hands and fires off a pair of quick responses.

Spoiler: Re: Happy Hunting

Show

Thanks, that's still a useful lead. We'll check that out if the NMSF thinks it's worth going after. You're the best, Akiko.

-Leysa

Spoiler: Re:Re: Happy Hunting

Show

...Ouch :( If you find out the meeting turns up anything useful, please let me know. And tell her that if she needs someone to talk to, I'm always available.

-Leysa

Satou receives an automatic copy of the messages, and Leysa forwards the responses to Turnbull as well.

"Well, there we have it. You can confirm what Akiko sent, but I guarantee you aren't going to find anything different than what she says. Investigating the sea wall hunting grounds is worth our time, though; it's one of the better places for hunting off the grid. Or so I hear. As far as Nana's message goes, I would advise following her advice, at least for now. Hoa cracked under the pressure a few years back and she has a...history of letting her feelings dictate her actions to an unhealthy degree and a distrust of authority. I'm not saying leave her alone entirely; if you decide she's a suspect, I'm not going to stop you, but she's a lot more likely to be cooperative with Nuan, and Nuan's a lot more likely to be cooperative with us. Breaking up that meeting will make a potential information source much harder to access."

(Satou will need to release Leysa's new messages, obviously, but I think we can assume they go through from here unless he raises an objection.)

(Seems like a reasonable assumption.)
[Videoconference]
More than One Place, Less Than Three
Satou nods.

"...We can let it lie, for now. No harm in double-checking the books, though. Some ways of cooking them're pretty clever. Rei, look over the attachment. See if you can spot any irregularities."

And how am I supposed to know what those look like?!

"...Look for mashou with grief cube consumption that's a lot lower than it ought to be, given their reported wraith takedowns. As a start."

Fine, fine...

"...Those of us with legs, may as well put them to work. Leysa, who's been working the seawall beat lately? Any with connections to the Makimotos?"

Could always be someone outside context. In this world, you learn that quick. But even with a sparkly pink hammer taken to physics, this bit of logic holds. Try for the simplest explanation that fits all your facts, and seven times out of ten, you have your answer.

[Dorizzit]

[Videoconference]
Dva Myesta

Leysa thinks for a moment, tucking her phone under her arm.

"Well, let's see. Off the top of my head, there's Pettersen Adama, Tsukino Junko..."

The list goes on for a while, covering a few Mashous that Satou and Turnbull have likely heard of, and a few they almost certainly haven't. Leysa counts off on her fingers, going to her second hand before finishing.

"Oh, and I heard that Asuna Hayami made an appearance there last week, but I think she was rescuing a group that had gotten in over their heads because she was close by. I don't know of anyone working the beat who knew the Makimotos, but I also don't know most of them very well."

[Selinia]

[Old Mitakihara]
[The Results Are In]

Spoiler

Show

Remember earlier on when it was mentioned this was a marathon, not a sprint?

Yeah, that doesn't apply to the finish line.

Nuan might find that with a simple and clear goal in mind - no extra tricks or routes, no curves, no ways to delay his opponent - Makoto was free to focus on his steps. It's not that he hadn't been pushing himself plenty before - but his attention was divided between planning, running, and watching for the next bend in the road.

She would in fact find that in spite of his smaller mass, each of his steps had extra effort in them - to the point that the concrete under his feet cracked a little as he dashed for his bike. She had the advantage of stature, but simply put, his muscles had greater sheer explosive momentum. When it came to top speed, he was a hard opponent to beat.

"...Error, multiple prints detected. Please place only one hand on the vehicle to utilize user identification systems."

...honestly, Makoto hadn't even known that the bike had that error message. A simple print scan took a tiny fraction of a second with the vehicle's state-of-the-art plating, and it had simply never encountered a situation where two people were touching the bike in such rapid succession. It was probably in the back of the manual file somewhere... but there were limits to what even someone with a reading rate as high as his was willing to put up with, and the 'safety and diagnostics' section of a manual for a bike he could replace with pocket change wasn't up there.

Still. It left the two of them standing there, palms extended like chumps. Li Nuan shrugs after a moment, pulling her hand back and laughing as much as possible for someone clearly winded by the exertion.

"Well, wow. I guess we're not going to be settling the 'talent versus experience' debate any time soon, but that was some really stellar urban running. You should talk to some of the girls with mobility magic - I bet you could probably use some of their tricks with just your baseline, and it's good practice regardless." Nuan takes a few more deep breaths, stabilizing and wiping sweat off her brow. "...I think I'm good, personally! That was a heck of a workout. Whew, haha."

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center]

Spoiler

Show

Rio fidgets a bit. "...mom says that wishes should be important, because being a mashou is hard. So you should make it worthwhile." A pause. "...I just don't even know where I'd start. And... you still have to be chosen, anyway. And I haven't. So..."

"...I guess that's okay." She doesn't seem entirely okay with it. Mostly resigned. "...why do we have to wait so long for Before the Dawn? I've read it on my own..."

"The secret to 'important' is that everyone gets to decide what that is for themselves. As for Before the Dawn, it's... got some scary bits. A lot of people aren't as brave about them as you are, and we don't want to give anybody nightmares! It's..." Ms. Minami actually trails off mid-sentence, looking around.

"...huh? What was that?"

Rio might find Kin tensing up beneath her petting, maybe even growling softly. Uncharacteristic.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 4]
(Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Rio gives Kin a confused look as his hair stands up and he backs off from Ms. Minami, growling at nothing in particular. "...Gin-chan, it's just Ms. Minami, what are you doing?" Kin barely reacts, stepping by Rio defensively. "...Kin? What's wrong?"

[Old Mitakihara]
(Some Roof)

Nadica rolls her eyes a bit, and on listening to the conference call reminds herself to give Satou beef about 'people with legs'. I mean it's not like her "friendly" bugging was a state secret.

She lights up another cig. "Gonna need to stop by the liquor store if these two get any sloppier..."

[Kuroimaken]

[Old Mitakihara]
[The Results Are In]

"...Error, multiple prints detected. Please place only one hand on the vehicle to utilize user identification systems."

...honestly, Makoto hadn't even known that the bike had that error message. A simple print scan took a tiny fraction of a second with the vehicle's state-of-the-art plating, and it had simply never encountered a situation where two people were touching the bike in such rapid succession. It was probably in the back of the manual file somewhere... but there were limits to what even someone with a reading rate as high as his was willing to put up with, and the 'safety and diagnostics' section of a manual for a bike he could replace with pocket change wasn't up there.

Still. It left the two of them standing there, palms extended like chumps. Li Nuan shrugs after a moment, pulling her hand back and laughing as much as possible for someone clearly winded by the exertion.

"Well, wow. I guess we're not going to be settling the 'talent versus experience' debate any time soon, but that was some really stellar urban running. You should talk to some of the girls with mobility magic - I bet you could probably use some of their tricks with just your baseline, and it's good practice regardless." Nuan takes a few more deep breaths, stabilizing and wiping sweat off her brow. "...I think I'm good, personally! That was a heck of a workout. Whew, haha."

Makoto put up a surprisingly charming smile at Nuan's assessment. He had clearly broken a sweat, but he wasn't breathing too hard.

"Speaking as someone with a lot of wetware augmentations, I must say I don't subscribe to that argument. Besides, it's my loss." He turns to Li and points an outstretched index finger at her. "I tried everything in my handbook short of attacking you to win. I took bigger shortcuts. I tried to psychologically destabilize you. I analyzed every step and sway of your run. By contrast, you ran on nothing but your skill, wits and experience. If we are on a tie for first place, then that makes you the winner." His hand turned to a friendly offer of a handshake, still with that charming smile upon his lips.

Note to self: touch base with mobility-enhanced mashou. Check for wetware upgrades. Check access log and specifications for fingerprint check tolerance on bike.

Makoto didn't believe in draws. He was willing to concede a victory gracefully under the circumstances. Every defeat was a new opportunity to learn - an outlook that would be noble on someone who didn't believe on rematches with a vengeance.

[Selinia]

[Old Mitakihara]
[The Results Are In]

Spoiler

Show

Makoto put up a surprisingly charming smile at Nuan's assessment. He had clearly broken a sweat, but he wasn't breathing too hard.

"Speaking as someone with a lot of wetware augmentations, I must say I don't subscribe to that argument. Besides, it's my loss." He turns to Li and points an outstretched index finger at her. "I tried everything in my handbook short of attacking you to win. I took bigger shortcuts. I tried to psychologically destabilize you. I analyzed every step and sway of your run. By contrast, you ran on nothing but your skill, wits and experience. If we are on a tie for first place, then that makes you the winner." His hand turned to a friendly offer of a handshake, still with that charming smile upon his lips.

Note to self: touch base with mobility-enhanced mashou. Check for wetware upgrades. Check access log and specifications for fingerprint check tolerance on bike.

Makoto didn't believe in draws. He was willing to concede a victory gracefully under the circumstances. Every defeat was a new opportunity to learn - an outlook that would be noble on someone who didn't believe on rematches with a vengeance.

"You know, I think I'll even risk taking some amount of that as sincere. But the flattery is appreciated. Still..." Nuan accepts the handshake, smile fading somewhat.

"Fun as this has been, we're on a timer here. We should probably get to this meeting place of yours quickly, if we're getting there at all."

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center]

Spoiler

Show

Rio gives Kin a confused look as his hair stands up and he backs off from Ms. Minami, growling at nothing in particular. "...Gin-chan, it's just Ms. Minami, what are you doing?" Kin barely reacts, stepping by Rio defensively. "...Kin? What's wrong?"

"...it's..." Ms. Minami stands up fully, furrowing her brow. "...nothing I guess. Unless..."

Her word are drowned out by the blast.

It's those near the balcony that have it worst, as flame and debris roar from every window of the floor above the school, and chunks of reinforced glass and steel crash down on those unfortunate enough to be seated outside, inflicting nasty cuts and bruises. The tower shudders at the magnitude of the blast. Chunks of the ceiling crack audibly, and in the span of moments, a peaceful lunch hour is filled with the stench of smoke drifting in from above. The building's television screens and the speaker system playing a calming, classical tune both seem to have died out, the former displaying static and the later silent. Inches away from Rio, the window cracks sharply as something heavy bashes against it, but it does not shatter.

There's a moment of sheer, stunned, shell-shock. It hangs in the air, silent save for the muffled crackling of flames and hissing electronics. It's the school athletics teacher, rising from the faculty table, who draws a whistle from his pocket and blows a clear, sharp, familiar note, jolting everyone out of their reverie. Adults shouting, trying to retain an air of calm with various degrees of success while organizing students into their class lines and starting to file out of the cafeteria. There's shouting, and heat. The scent of smoke grows stronger, drifting in through the ventilation, but both atmospheric scrubbers and fire control systems remain unresponsive.

"...Rio, we're leaving now, okay? Everything is going to be all right, we just can't stay here." Ms. Minami offers a hand, managing to retain at least some composure.

[Neo-Mitakihara]
[Emergency NMSF Broadcast, Maximum Priority]

>ALL OFFICERS BE ADVISED
>As of 12:24, three minutes prior to this broadcast, Tower C42 "Kato Tower" of Ward 4 was targeted jointly by a chain of high-yield explosive devices and preliminary cyberattacks.
>Floors 72-74 suffered the greatest degree of damage, being directly targeted, with Floors 71 and 75 suffering aftershocks mitigated by the building's engineering. All automated and emergency systems within the building, including elevators, have been jammed, likely with the intention of maximizing loss of life. An incendiary component to the blast appears to be spreading rapidly to surrounding floors.

>Omoikane estimations follow. Contingency systems have moved this incident to maximum queue priority, barring override.
>Probable Primary Target: Wishcraft Foundation Offices, Floor 73
>Notable Secondary Targets: Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center, Floor 71; Kato Residential Ward, Floors 74 and higher; Kujoh Augmentics Clinic, Floor 72; Zeal Technologies Commercial Storage, Floor 73; Kato Community Center, Floor 75
>Estimated Death Toll: Calculating, expected to exceed 70% of population on targeted floors, confirmed loss of one magical girl in offices to drop off paperwork
>Likelihood of planned secondary explosion: HIGH
>Likelihood of mashou involvement: HIGH
>Omoikane Advisory: Secondary explosions likely delayed to catch first responders, extreme caution advised
>Omoikane Advisory: Cyberattack speed and precision exceeds capabilities of known hardware, technological backdoors or technology-aligned magic highly likely to have been employed

[Kuroimaken]

[Old Mitakihara]

As she takes the handshake, the boy coyly bows forwards and pecks her upper palm. It's an old time gesture by early 21st century standards, much less today's.

Comes with old money, one guesses.

"You've never seen me ride, have you."

His bike produces two helmets. Safety first, believe it or not. Wouldn't do to have those precious brains scrambled like eggs.

The bike hisses a bit as it elongates its seat, mostly for Nuan's comfort.

"I know a shortcut or two. We'll beat your friend there with time for some green tea."

[strawberryman]

[Old Mitakihara]
(Some Roof)

Nadica records Kujoh's bike's serial number and other specs as she watches the scene unfold... then hears a crack from the city. She sees the smoke.

"...well, ****." Now she has a tough choice. Give her position away (thankfully she was quite far, but mashou senses account for a lot) by darting off to check that out, or sit it out and let them leave first.

She swears a few more times before activating the jets on her wheelchair-glider again, speeding off to the source of the smoke.

[Ward 4]
(Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Rio topples off her seat as the building shakes, taking to the ground. Kin yelps, but jumps close to protect her. As the initial shock wears off, Rio sits up, head ringing and eyes widened. Kin nudges her. She doesn't really hear anything Ms. Minami is saying. There's just too much panic in her head. But, another nudge from the dutiful dog prompts her to take her teachers hand, as well as Kin's collar.

They make it as far as the lunchroom door before Kin pulls against Rio's grip. Rio stops. "...Kin, we have to go." The canine doesn't budge, pulling back towards the balcony. "No! We have to go!" Kin looks up into Rio's eyes. Then pulls against Rio's grip towards the balcony again. Lost in the initial panic, a few kids were curled up in fear on the balcony.

Rio looks out at this for a moment, then takes a step towards the balcony, but Kin barks and mutters, pushing back.

Rio stares. Her heart beats heavy, but... she lets go.

Kin nudges her towards the exit again before running off to the balcony, helping the teachers escort the panicked kids out of the dangerous area. From there, Rio just... leaves. There wasn't anything to say. The teachers would lead Kin out of there after he was done helping.

[Dorizzit]

[Videoconference]
Multiple Locations

Leysa isn't tuned to the NMSF network. The shrine, practically at ground level, is far to crowded by massive buildings for the explosion to be visible. But she hears the crack. Notices the simultaneous messages received by Satou and Duncan. Between the two, it's not hard for her to figure out what happened. She tenses up, punching a command into her phone.

"Where?"

[Draken]

[Videoconference]

Captain Gomes interjects again after staying silent while the investigators discussed.

*Bzzt* "You three stay on target. I will take a team to handle this emergency myself."

And just like that, he cuts the call.

----

[NMSF Headquarters]

In a situation such as this, a police station would probably be deafening with noise, officers coming and going at full speed, commanders screaming orders, phones ringing nonstop.

Luckly, the NMSF has machines to handle the noise. Kami to parse the phone calls. Implants to relay orders. Military-grade protocols to handle who goes where, through where, and why. It is a very well oiled system, optimized over the course of ten years of dealing with... Neo-Mitakihara.

Before the warning is even through, the captain has already requested twelve security and eight relief teams to report to the hangars. The hangars themselves have been ordered to ready twenty medivac aircraft, ten spider tanks with firefighting gear, fifteen assault aircraft and five deep strike shuttles. Every soldier fully bolted into a military grade power suit.

Ready for just about anything shy of a full army of mashou or an onslaught of wraiths.

The security force is off to do their duty.

---

(Nadica's contact)

Are you heading towards Ward 4?

[strawberryman]

[City Skyline]
(On Route to Ward 4)

2 minutes, goldfish

Nadica speeds along on autopilot while she pulls up the NMSF report.

Gonna land at maint level and try to reactivate everything

[Sucrose]

[Videoconference's Smoldering Remains- Ward 8]

...So, that's the Chief's call. I just point to the smoke plume at Leysa's question. She'll see where the damage is- where she's needed, when she gets there. She's only a deputized mashou. A lot fewer lines to cross to just go help someone.

....For me and Turnbull, it takes a bit more finesse. There's not much time for it; but then, I wouldn't have lasted this long without some tricky thinking every now and again. And this was a better cause than an old rust-bucket lasting for one more night. I didn't have the best excuse, but it would serve. I look over at Turnbull. Time to teach him a few bad habits.

"...Well, then. I think our next step should be to interview Nuan. It's unfortunate that we don't know where she is. Omoikane has no time to scan the cameras for us.

Still, we should be able to find her. She's a civic-minded girl, so the meeting's probably off. I think that we should start with Kato Tower."

With that, I take off running. Still near enough to the city center- put the legs on full power, and I can get there in a minute.

[Dorizzit]

[Neo-Mitakihara City]
Videoconference -> Ward 4

Leysa purses her lips at Gomes' call, but apparently accepts it at first. When Satou points, she looks over her shoulder, nodding as the smoke goes high enough to be seen. Leysa looks back at Satou as her bike touches down next to them, and everything clicks together when he says "Kato Tower." A flash of different emotions pass over her face; shock, grief, and for a brief moment, rage are all visible to keen eyes before she regains full control of herself. She nods in almost desperate gratitude to the "Reaper."

"I'll meet you there."

Leysa hops onto her bike and explodes into the air. It takes less than 20 seconds for Leysa to reach the tower, unobstructed by gravity and presently unconcerned with legality. Leysa aims for the 73rd floor, sets her bike onto autopilot and then leaps off in mid air, folding her arms and legs in with practiced precision.

Henshin.

Each Mashou's transformation is different. While no two are exactly the same for an individual, barring a few exceptionally dedicated (and usually vain) Mashous, almost everyone tends to put their own spin on their transformations. Leysa tends towards the simplistic. Here and now, her body simply explodes as if casting off a layer of dust, leaving her transformed. Covering her face with her hands, Leysa crashes through the remains of a window and rolls to a halt in the wreckage of the Wishcraft offices.

"If anyone can hear me, call out so I can find you!"

[KnightDisciple]

[Neo-Mitakihara City]
[Video Conference, then on to Ward 4]

Duncan all but freezes when the explosion is heard. When the emergency report comes in, he curses in a tongue the others likely don't know by heart (though their own Mikos may help translate).

When the Chief orders them not to help, Duncan's free hand tightens into a fist so fast and so hard, the sound resembles a small-caliber handgun going off.

<Modron! Get the car running now! Emergency code Alpha Alpha One Niner Sheep-Kicker Five!>

Even as he spoke he was sprinting at a speed that, while not matching Satou, would certainly outpace quite a few normal humans.

Then again, that sedan comes screeching up within a few moments, and Duncan hops in, with a grace his size might not suggest. The tires squeal, and he quickly manuevers to catch up with Satou. The passenger-side door lifts, allowing Duncan to call to his older partner, despite the wind.

"Hop in and save your energy, old man! You'll need it to help find that interview subject and talk to her! Oh, and, you know, whatever else we happen to have to do on the way!"

If Satou accepts, he'll find himself sitting comfortably, with a discrete cable to quickly recharge his cybernetics, as well as a small drawer holding an energy bar for his meaty bits, if he so desires either. The car itself is surprisingly neat for such a lackadaisical and short-tempered man such as Duncan Turnbull III. Hidden depths, he's got.

He's also eating a power bar of his own with a vengeance; one whose wrapper indicates it may have a stimulant or three. Dunny will be wide awake for a while...but he's going to end up crashing sooner or later. Hopefully after they've gotten some leads.

The backseat, meanwhile, has Duncan's armor vest and other gear ready for him to don. Honestly it's a surprise he hasn't called in his power armor, until Satou considers that it's still at the precinct, and Chief would know for sure that he'd called that gear in. The stuff in his car, though, it should slip under the radar, what with all the chaos. At least until they're on-site.

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Kato Tower, Exterior]

The tower is dark - or as dark as possible, under the light of the noonday sun. Lifts are still. All forms of public transport in and out are frozen, leaving only the manual access routes open: the stairs and skybridges. From every level of every tower within sight, eyes are fixed on the roaring inferno on the upper floors. The ash pouring out of the shattered windows, like blood from a gory wound in the city itself.

The immediate surroundings have been cleared by the ward police forces, clearly overwhelmed but making a heroic effort to maintain order and prevent panic among the onlookers. The arrival of the NMSF forces is a welcome sight amid the confusion, earning a few tense, scattered cheers at their arrival. Some people step forward, asking what they can do to help. Some on the upper levels, notably those in the towers linked to the one attacked, rush to the skybridges with office first aid kits or extinguisher drones in an attempt to help any survivors fleeing the attacks. Some just stare at their newsfeeds in awestruck silence, minds having difficulty processing the sheer scale and audacity of the violence.

But Neo-Mitakihara was born in the fires of destruction, and even generations of peace and comfort later, there remains a spark of defiant hope in the city's psyche that is not easily extinguished. Around the city, news teams - already primed to discuss the historic assassination of the morning - shift into preparations to cover this new disaster, keeping the people informed. Hospitals prepare for an influx of patients. Factories open their assembly configurations, waiting to see what replacement parts will be needed to combat the damage. The city readies. All it needs is some direction.

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Kato Tower, Wishcraft Offices]

Leysa steps into hell.

The fires cling to everything, seething crimson in the smoke-shrouded darkness. Not a sign of weakness or fading intensity, she's certain, but of some sort of chemical feeding them even still. The billowing smoke is noxious, laced with a toxic stench, and even employing the age-old magica defense of numbing one's body leaves Leysa feeling a small, constant drain on her Soul Gem's energy. With her exceptional physical defenses, it's tolerable, but the inferno would likely force most magical girls to continually regenerate themselves if they wished to avoid simply burning alive.

Through the infernal glare, Leysa tries to make out... anything. She knows the layout, but the desks, offices, and meeting rooms are nothing but shattered husks of their former selves. Walls are blown out. Furniture scattered about in fragments. Bodies charred so badly as to be only barely recognizable as human slump in bone-breaking poses, like macabre ragdolls scattered by a petulant child. Is... anything left? Her call goes unanswered.

...but there are survivors here. There have to be, further in.

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Kato Tower, Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center]

"Everyone, keep walking! Don't run, and don't worry about anything left in the classrooms. We're almost there!"

Admit the chaos, three teachers have taken charge. The stern gym instructor - Rio had always heard rumors that he was ex-NMSF, and it wasn't hard to believe with his dour face and body like that of an aging gorilla - had started barking orders to other adults that she couldn't really make much sense of. But people were following them! Even the school principal! Tracking down every student in the school, pulling them from huddled corners of bathrooms or class closets. She even spots a few other aid animals being coaxed out on leashes after being fetched by the instructors trained to work with them.

Meanwhile, the bespectacled computer sciences teacher - someone Rio knew only in the vaguest sense, having never taking one of his classes - jogs nervously from one adult to another, collecting as many spare Miko-enabled electronics as he can, wiring them together in some sort of strange web of devices. Rio couldn't say what exactly he was doing, but apparently it had gotten the lights back on in the main hallways, and prevented a panic by undoing a few electronic locks between the school group and the exit.

And then there was Ms. Minami, guiding students - with the help of several other teachers, and a handful of the most mature members of the student council - room by room, hallway by hallway. All they had to do was make it to the skybridge, and they'd be okay. Ms. Minami lowers her hand from an ear, looking relieved as she nods to the students.

"...the police are here, and they're bringing mashou to help! Let's go meet them, okay everybody? Just like filing out for a field trip! One, two, three, walk with me / off on a trip we gooo~"

A few of the braver students join in with the familiar school marching song. It lent an air of familiarity to the surreal chaos of this half-lit school, and pushed back against the growing stench of chemicals and smoke in the air.

[Old Mitakihara]
[Exit Paths]

"...goddess grant us strength..." Nuan's eyes widen even against the whipping wind of travel at Makoto's preferred pace. They were almost out of the old town when the message hit via chatter on the Wishcraft channel. "...are you seeing this?"

Unless he was exceptionally tuned out of his information feeds, Makoto almost certainly did. The images of the bombed tower were plastered across every media outlet in the city by now. And even if it hadn't been, his family had storefronts in that tower, whose destruction inevitably set off a whole chain of irksome alerts.

[Dorizzit]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 4]
[Kato Tower, Wishcraft Offices]

Leysa doesn't lose much more than an instant taking in the scene, wasting no time. There will be plenty of chances for grieving, and investigation, later. Steeling herself both metaphorically and literally, Leysa plows deeper into the offices, still calling out periodically for any survivors.

[Sucrose]

[En Route to Ward 4]

Within the first word, Satou hops into the car. It's a testament to the stability of Duncan's ride that two hundred and eighty-five kilos being shunted into it cause only moderate steering difficulties. Were the streets of Neo-Mitakihara ever used much by civilians, the whole maneuver would be grossly irresponsible. As it is, it just takes a second's correction.

Satou plugs in. Recovers the expended half-minute with a few seconds of charging. Tears into the energy bar, and chews as he massages his chest for just a moment.

"...Good thinking, Turnbull. Mind the traps, when we get there."

Just a few seconds after Satou's warning, the two of them arrive, seventy stories down. Satou tosses the door back open, and climbs out, before looking back to the giant, gentle, ginger gaijin.

"...And don't get yourself killed, kozou."

His legs hum again. Then, with a force that buckles the road beneath him, Satou leaps. His body is hurled through the air, a spear lancing up the crumbling edifice of Kato Tower. Adrenaline surges. Perception of time slows. And within seven leaps, and what feels like a heartbeat, Satou has reached one of the sides of the seventy-first floor. He begins to move on, but....duty already is calling. This time, in the sound of a crying child...

[strawberryman]

[Ward 4]
(Kato Tower - Ground Floor)

Nadica slows her descent with a flash as she hits the ground running. Tap-clack, tap-clack. Her clockwork prosthetic leg worked wonders here. Meanwhile, the wonder-chair almost instantly compacts, turning into a pack that snaps onto Nadica's back as she runs for the basement level maintenance. The electricity is out, which isn't a problem on the ground level because there's a multitude of windows. But below... she has to light up her artificial eye. Honda calmly gives Nadica instructions the whole way.

"Left. Right. Right. Left. Straight. Left. And there. The door code is 2248." Nadica moves to enter the code and... then stops.

...no. That would be too damn easy.

She thinks for a moment. "...Miss Novak?"

Nadica punches the wall to her right, entering a locker room for janitorial staff. Then... punches the wall leading to the electrical control grid. As she bursts through plaster she finds that her suspicions were well-founded. An inconspicuous block of C4 was applied near the door frame, with wires connected presumably to the lock system.

"...Clever. A good call."

"Don't patronize me, Honda." With that, she moves to the control monitor. It's powered, at least, but locked up. She desperately taps out a few commands, eliciting only an angry beep. With a groan, she inserts her wireless access pip to Honda. "...very well then, Miss."

...a few moments... then angry beeps.

"...it appears the programming has been entirely locked, but-"

"Screw this." She rips the terminal cords out, then just starts working to hardwire everything back on.

(Kato Tower, Floor 71 - Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Rio steps along in a bit of a daze. She didn't hear anything going around her, just walking next to Minami with a blank expression, even as they make their way for the Skybridge.

You can do something to help, you know.

Rio pauses, the crowd milling around her.

...Incubator?

We've been watching you for a while, we knew you had a lot of potential. But... you didn't seem very sure about yourself, so we decided to wait for the right moment. The cheerful, if neutral tone echoes through Rio's head as she takes a few hesitant steps forward.

I... I have potential...?

Yes! Not the most we've ever seen, but we had no doubt you could do great things. And there's no reason to just let a tragedy like this happen. Your canine friend is in danger, and some of your friends too.

K-Kin? What's going on?!

Well...

_______________________

Sitting outside the balcony, it seems as if the gym teacher had missed at least one student who doubled back or got lost in the chaos. He's sitting next to a bloodied Kin, who has a bit of sharp metal, likely from a beam, sticking into his side. The cafeteria is filled with smoke and growing fire from the upper floors, the two having no real other choice but to huddle outside in the clear air.

There are a lot of people suffering right now. Not even the police will be able to save everyone.

The boy, one of Rio's classmates, with bushy black hair and a bit of a wimpish frame and complexion, shakes Kin gently. "Kin-chan, don't die... Rio's gonna be mad at me, please..." There's a crash nearby and he looks up, wiping his eyes. "H-hey mister..."

His call out loses some force as he notices just how terrifying the man looks. A giant of metal. Kin stands up, limping as he growls defensively and puts himself between Satou and the boy, but he's obviously not doing quite well.

(Kato Tower, Floor 73 - Wishcraft Foundations Offices)

As Leysa presses through the fiery hell, she spies a form sitting hunched on the floor in... something resembling medieval plate armor, a mess of red hair concealing her face. Her armor is... ripped to shreds, probably by shrapnel, and she's bleeding rather profusely. Her soul gem, embedded in the center of her breastplate, is cloudy with corruption, and she offers only a grunt in response to Leysa's call.

...Mia the Justice-Spear. Reckless hero type. Crass. But... genuine about her call to heroism. She was probably one of the first responders just by proximity.

...and she apparently paid for it, likely by the secondary wave.

[Sucrose]

[Kato Tower-Floor 71]

The giant of metal slowly lowers itself down on one knee, and doesn't come immediately closer. It speaks slowly, and calmly, with a bit of genuine warmth to its voice, toward the growling dog.

"....Hoy, easy, friend. You've been through a lot. I just want to bring the two of you to your classmates."

It looks a bit past the dog, toward the frightened boy.

"...What's your evacuation route, kid?"

[Dorizzit]

Spoiler

Show

(Kato Tower, Floor 73 - Wishcraft Foundations Offices)

As Leysa presses through the fiery hell, she spies a form sitting hunched on the floor in... something resembling medieval plate armor, a mess of red hair concealing her face. Her armor is... ripped to shreds, probably by shrapnel, and she's bleeding rather profusely. Her soul gem, embedded in the center of her breastplate, is cloudy with corruption, and she offers only a grunt in response to Leysa's call.

...Mia the Justice-Spear. Reckless hero type. Crass. But... genuine about her call to heroism. She was probably one of the first responders just by proximity.

...and she apparently paid for it, likely by the secondary wave.

[Kato Tower]
Floor 73 - Hell On Earth

Leysa immediately dashes to Mia's side, kneeling down with a concerned look on her face. The two aren't close; Leysa had never approved of Mia's more elitist personality traits, but that doesn't matter right now. Moving a fully human victim would be a problem, but Mashous are a bit more durable.

"I'm going to get you out of here. Just stay calm."

Very gently, Leysa lifts Mia up in her arms, then begins making her way steadily but briskly towards the way she came in.

Spoiler

Show

If this is the completely wrong thing to do in this situation, I obviously don't know, but Leysa definitely would, so let me know if there's something else that should be happening.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 4]
(Kato Tower, Floor 71 - Neo-Mitakihara Growth and Development Center)

Kin looks into Satou's eyes. It is an intense stare, and despite it all, Satou gets a sense of intelligence from the animal. But Kin exhales and lays back down in front of the boy as he works up his nerve. I mean, if Kin thought he was okay, he had to be, right...?

"T-the... the skybridge. To Moto tower. ...you've gotta hurry, this is Kin, Rio's dog and he's really important to her and he's hurt because he pushed me out of the way of some stuff falling and it's all my fault because I got lost an-and... and..." The boy hyperventilates a bit as he talks in a fast, panicked tone.

____________________

W-what's wrong with Kin?

There's a pause. He's dying. But he's not the only one.

I...

(Kato Tower, Floor 73 - Wishcraft Foundation Offices)

Magical girls, mortal humans... they've all suffered and will suffer from this.

Mia lets loose a bloody chuckle as she holds Leysa off for a moment, hand on her fellow mashou's shoulder. "...I'm a bad hero. I c-*cough* couldn't... rescue anyone here, and now l-look at me..."

"...I've never been... that good a hero. Better at r-running my mouth than anything... it was b-bound to happen eventually. ...find the bastard that did this, okay? Just... make them pay. For every life, a thousand times over. And then a t-thousand times again."

The wish you make is yours, Koizumi Rio. But you can do great things with that wish.

Mia suddenly brings her fist forcefully towards her chest, the soulgem upon it glittering vulnerably. There's less than fractions of a second of reaction for Leysa to catch this... or not.

Spoiler

Show

Leysa could probably know to siphon some corruption from Mia's soulgem with a grief cube, but Mia would probably still make the same decision.

(Skybridge 71F - Moto-Kato connection)

Rio gradually falls to the back of the pack as the conversation plays out in her head, before just stopping entirely as she looks back, pained look on her face.

You could save more than just 'Kin-chan'.

So tell me...

Would you like to make a contract?

[Kuroimaken]

[Old Mitakihara]
[Exit Paths]

"...goddess grant us strength..." Nuan's eyes widen even against the whipping wind of travel at Makoto's preferred pace. They were almost out of the old town when the message hit via chatter on the Wishcraft channel. "...are you seeing this?"

Unless he was exceptionally tuned out of his information feeds, Makoto almost certainly did. The images of the bombed tower were plastered across every media outlet in the city by now. And even if it hadn't been, his family had storefronts in that tower, whose destruction inevitably set off a whole chain of irksome alerts.

"Pretty hard to miss. I'm sure the family is going to be on this like bees on a hive the second the fires die down, if not for the PR alone." Makoto replies in a surprisingly chill tone. One of the few advantages of being a cold-hearted bastard. "We're kinda far though. Even if we rushed there, there's probably a lot of people at the scene already. We'll have to let the NMSF and the other mashou handle this. I know it sucks, but..." He takes a deep breath even as he dodges one of the few vehicles on the road. "Timing-wise, this is pretty suspicious. Two major incidents in less than a 12-hour span. Either we're facing the most horrific coincidence possible, or this bombing is keeping the NMSF occupied while whoever murdered mayor Sato pulls a different set of strings. I"m inclined to believe the latter."

[Dorizzit]

Ward 4, Kato Tower
Hell

Leysa's mouth sets into a firm, not quite angry line at Mia's declaration and attempted suicide. Snapping one arm out, she catches Mia's wrist in one hand, the contact like a vice grip despite her complete lack of apparent exertion.

"You're right. You're not a very good hero. You spend too much time grandstanding and your speeches are shortsighted. But you can change that. Just because you've made mistakes doesn't mean you can't fix them. You still deserve to live. And whatever my opinion on the subject is, your speeches are inspirations to a lot of people. If you die here, it's going to add to this tragedy. If you don't want to live for yourself, live for them."

Leysa mentally reaches into the pocket of her civilian clothing, and a grief cube appears in her hand, which she extends to Mia.

"Live for them. Live for yourself. Live for me. I don't care why. But live."

Spoiler

Show

If Mia is at danger of dying in the next few seconds from her Soul Gem overloading, Leysa will do the transfer herself, enough to get her through the next few hours.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 4]
(Kato Tower, Floor 73 - Wishcraft Foundation Offices)

Mia struggles, but she's too exhausted to really put up much of a fight. "...I'm worthless to everybody alive. Maybe in dying I'll actually fire people up... or something." She lets out a forceful sigh.

"...I've been living a lie anyway. All that crap about being a hero... making heroic wishes... It's just not realistic. They don't pick us to make smart wishes. We're teenagers. Do you know what I wished for? To be recognized. To be famous. To be... braver."

"All this? It's not me. I'm just some stupid teenage girl whose only contribution to the world was being in swimming club, and I wasn't even that good at that." She hasn't taken the grief cube yet, so Leysa has to force it. Mia grits her teeth a little bit. "...you're being... really stubborn about this."

[Dorizzit]

[Ward 4]
Kato Tower, Floor 73 - Wishcraft Foundation Offices

Leysa lifts Mia up, carefully positioning her to both prevent her injuries from being exacerbated and so that Leysa can prevent the suicidal Mashou from attempting anything rash.

"You need time, space, and a therapist. Even if this isn't you, who you are isn't set in stone. It doesn't take magic to be better or become more than you are."

Leysa begins moving to the other side of the building, a direct route that will get the two of them outside a little faster.

"Being good at what you do isn't the only measure of your value."