POTS TSAL ♞ FFATS HTFIF

[beknightedheroine]

Characters: Sayaka Miki, anyone who was interested in a Witch's Kiss, and the Nuke Squad.
Setting: Floor 28, and on the way to.
Format: Any is fine, but I prefer prose.
Summary: My wish is somewhere not here.
Warning: Spoilers for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, death.

On the path to Floor 28.

Sayaka has become despondent, over this last week (well, eight days, to be more specific). It felt like all her feelings fell away, one by one, watching the battles in the labyrinth - only a few days in, she'd lost all will to pay attention to it at all, and stopped making appearances in places she would normally be found in.

Anyone who's attentively lived through the start of this month, on either side of events, wouldn't be surprised by this in the least. But it's over now, right? So why does this girl look just as hopeless as if the worst was still to come? She's shuffling relentlessly forward, with some sort of purpose - but it doesn't look like a happy one.


Floor 28.

There's something different about this floor today. Something on a more unsettling, dangerous caliber than the usual fare - it's the tower, after all. It's never safe. But this is on a whole different level.

The air feels heavier. 'Humid' might be the correct descriptor, though that makes no sense - there's no water significant enough on this floor to cause an atmosphere like that. A close look would reveal that it's the truth, though - on some of the instruments, a bit of condensation has appeared. It's more obvious in a specific part of the floor - and anyone who can significantly sense magic will have been drawn there, anyway.

Because here, in the strings section, where a song gently waves through the air - there resides a Witch.

Comments

[dragonspooker]

Naga will hear a panicked, but slightly muffled wail after her initial 'inquiry'. It's followed by an equally unsettled voice - "GO AWAY! I'M SORRY! IDONTKNOWWHATIDIDBUTWHATEVERITWASIDIDNTMEANTOSOPLEASEDONTBEMADSIS!"

[wretchedlaugh]

An expression of shock comes over Naga's face. This is the first time she ever heard Lina sound so disturbed. But there was no time for that now. Something big was happening and she needed Lina's help to deal with it. Admittedly, it would take their combined powers to handle something like that Witch.

"F-First of all, Lina, you'll have to speak clearly and coherently for people to understand you. It's rude to talk so quickly like that! And second of all, there's no time for this!

There's some kind of a powerful monster playing music, something you often are accustomed to dealing with! So please, I insist, open this door and let's go!"

[dragonspooker]

For several moments, there's silence - at least, on Naga's side of the door. On Lina's, there a lot of quiet whimpering. All that's registering to her is the voice of an older woman is bossing her around - and giving her state of mind, she just wants it to be quiet and not come after her again.

"I-I SAID GO AWAY!"

[wretchedlaugh]

"G-go..."

Well, that was spectacularly rude. Raising an arm in the air, she swings it down and points at the door in front of her. Blue light surrounds her and ice begins to form around her pointing finger in the direction of the door. "FREEZE ARROW!"

The arrow fires and strikes the door. Like the windows of this tower, the door isn't broken, but it swings open and surrounds the opening and exit with ice. Naga steps in, her boot crushing the ice all the while.

"Ooooohohohohohohoooh!! If you thought you could keep me out, Lina Inverse, then you're..."

She stops, noticing Lina in fetal position.

"... Hey, Lina. What are you doing?"

[dragonspooker]

Lina will dare to peek out after a few seconds once Naga's voice tones down - perhaps that laugh managed to get through to her. Lina's a mess - unruly hair, tear-stained face and red eyes. She glances about uneasily, shivering from the chill brought on by the ice before turning her attention to the older girl.

"N-Naga...?"

There's a flutter of covers before Lina promptly attaches herself to Naga rather tightly, and she goes back to near-hysterics. "Is she gone?! Is my sister gone?!"

[wretchedlaugh]

Well, this was new. Naga looks down at Lina, bewildered. She was never this excited to see her rival.

"Sister? I didn't see anybody else with me... But this is hardly like you! Just what were you doing, hiding behind those covers? It's unbecoming... much too gutless of you!"

[dragonspooker]

"Gutless...?" Lina pauses, then shakes her head. "No, no! After that stupid maze, I... I wound up in a room, and my sister was there, and..." At this point, Lina's words degenerate into broken gibberish and her hold on Naga tightens. The other sorceress was a pain the butt a fair bit, but damn it, she's the only familiar thing here other than Luna. She'll take what she can get at this point.

[wretchedlaugh]

"Exactly, gutless! The Lina Inverse I know, the one I would call my greatest rival, would never cling to anybody like... ack... like this!"

It's getting difficult to breathe. You're shoving her chest and stomach a little too much. Try as she might, Naga can't really seem to pull Lina off. She was strong for a girl of her age and height to be sure.

"Even... even the fiercest dragons shrivel down at the sight of you, but you barely... barely give bat an eyelash at them! You may be brash, rude, and, flat-chested, but... no matter what, you always toughed out everything.

Where's my true rival beneath all those layers of cowardice!?"

[dragonspooker]

Naga's words seem to hit home - or more accurately, they hit a number of Lina's usual berserk buttons. Her reputation, her temperament, her bust size...

Her arms unlatch, and she backs away from Naga. She's not angry - in fact, she still looks unsettled, but she's at least stopped rambling and sobbing. She wipes at her face with her hands for a moment, then huffs.

"...yeah, guess this is kind of unsightly for a sorcery genius, huh?"

[wretchedlaugh]

"Of course. I would never accept a rival who spent all her time hiding in the sheets. You're afraid of nothing and nobody's planning on killing you."

... Then she pauses and thinks back on what she just said.

"... Oh. Except for that sword-wielding mermaid fond of music."

[dragonspooker]

There's a somewhat exasperated laugh at Naga's commentary. Give her a bit of time, and she'll be back to normal and yelling at you soon enough, Naga.

"...wait, what? Mermaid?"

[wretchedlaugh]

"That's right. It's on the, erm... what was it... Ah, the twenty-eighth floor." She crosses her arms and gives somewhat of a troubled look upwards.

"It was a blue mermaid with a red ribbon around her neck carrying a sword. Hm, I'm not even sure how to describe what I just saw. It wasn't a Mazoku... but with that oppressive barrier it put up, it might as well live on people's suffering."

[dragonspooker]

"Red ribbon...blue...sword..." Lina mumbled, trying to get her hair set right again - or at least a reasonable approximation. Once she's done, she folds her arms and makes a face of concentration, tapping her foot for a bit.

"Mermaid...mermaid..."

Her face suddenly goes pale as it snaps up to look at Naga. "...did you see a blue-haired girl anywhere near it? About yay-high," she asks, holding a hand out.

[wretchedlaugh]

"No. ... Was I supposed to see a blue-haired girl?" she asks. The look on Lina's face indicates that she has an idea about what's going on.

[dragonspooker]

"I...don't know. My roommate, she wears a red ribbon and sometimes a blue outfit, and fights with swords." She sighs, then scratches her head. "And seemed to be hung up over a mermaid for some reason. It seems like they'd be connected, but if she wasn't there..."

Lina shakes her head, then shrugs. "Either way. This mermaid is bad news, huh?"

[wretchedlaugh]

"It's troublesome, but nevertheless, it would hardly stand a chance against me, the great Naga the Serpent! ... only with help from Lina Inverse, prodigal genius, of course, hehe."

[dragonspooker]

Lina chuckles at that, and can't help a little smirk. "Well then - let's go show this kooky mermaid what happens when you cause trouble with us around."

[wretchedlaugh]

"Ooooohohohohohohoooh!"

Yes, this moment was deserving of a laugh. To be honest, it was unnerving to see Lina so outright cowardly over something. Even the doppelganger created by the Shadow Reflector couldn't have shown something so inconceivable. It's good that things were... just almost back to normal now.

"Like I said, it's on the 28th floor. You'll hear music when you know you're getting close."

I think we're safe to wrap up here and move on to the Magic Nuke Squad Thread. o/

[dragonspooker]

Well, that's the power this tower has. Lina certainly hopes it doesn't happen to her self-appointed rival.

Lina rolls her eyes a little at the laugh, then grabs at Naga's arm before heading toward the door. "Alright, let's go silence some music, then!"