2698/Coming Up Roses

Coming Up Roses
Date of Scene:	18 July 2025
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	A fight with Gaito occurs after the events of last time. A misunderstanding is solved, aid is promised and a break is obtained.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Madoka Kaname, Hinoiri Kirara, Amanda Faust
Tinyplot:	The Dreams the Tide Cradles

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
With the fight against those odd Dark Lovers finally concluded, the group of magical girls had decided to regroup ih Coco and Nikora. They had gathered just as much information as they had questions, and the only thing left for them to decide was whether to head right there or if they should debate a bit more about the merits of exploring the streets of this other Tokyo.

Regardless of the decision they had taken, the air ahead of them shimmers in a dark silver blur, just moments prior a man in his twenties appears out of that irregularity in the atmosphere, stepping forward with a sharp frown that would set people on edge. He immediately sets his gaze on the whole group, looking at each of them as if he were trying to make a thorought study of their appearance.

Standing at about 5'8", and with dark grey hair and eyes matching his stormy demeanour, he is ressed simply in an all-black getup comprising of shirt, trousers, and sneakers. If he hadn't teleported in front of them, he wouldnt give the impression of someone with magical abilities. Yet there is something proud and commanding about the way he carries himself.

When he finally speaks, it's with a tone laced with irritation, his voice sharp enough to cut through the air. "Are you the group of magical warriors that reportedly attacked my girls, and wrecked the zone alongside them in the process?" he askes. But there isn't no invitation to explain despite the question, completely lacking any hint of sympathy or curiosity.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Whatever Madoka and Homura wanted to do, it seems this strange world has other plans. As the air shimmers in front of them, Madoka and Homura draw closer together. Homura squints at the man, and Madoka stares at him. "Gaito?" calls out the pinkette.

    Homura bluntly says, "We didn't attack anyone." Which isn't technically false. They didn't start the fight, as far as she remembers. "Your 'girls' decided to attack a mermaid princess and... Oh why am I even bothering talking to you? I bet you're on another script. Are you going to start writhing if one of us sings at you?"

    Madoka glances at Homura, and then back at Gaito. "I don't know... that shopowner didn't seem like he was on a script..."

    Kamiko and Lydian both look over Madoka's shoulders at Gaito, silently watching him.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne was ready for this. It was Gaito.

But, more importantly, it was Gaito... with a shirt. She skidded to a stop in front of him, and cocked an eye. "Huh. Long time no see, Gaito. No, we didn't attack you girls, they attacked us. I, on the other hand, am not helpless, defenseless and unarmed... And you, are wearing a shirt and not drinking out of a wine glass, so it looks like we've both brought our a-game today," she said with a cocky smirk. "Listen, I'm not sure what... actually..." She trailed off. "... Considering they wanted to capture the princesses and we ran into an orange princess earlier..." she said, her gaze softening slightly. "I... can only imagine you're... kind of still hurting. So... how about... we don't do this today, okay? Your girls started a fight, we made them knock it off, can't we just let bygones by bygones?" she asked, motioning the others to keep going and hoping, but admittedly doubting, she could keep him distracted long enough.

... She really was worried about Coco.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "She's not picking up." said Amy, alarmed, as she was carried along. But if someone pointed out that Coco went to make contact with this world's mermaid kingdoms, she relaxed again. "I don't think they have cell service underwater."

    But just as she's starting to feel relief at Coco probably not being kidnapped, the air shimmers. "Wait, is that a--"

    Not a Witch, but-- "Gaito?!"

    And like, not the sad boyish one she remembers seeing, but one who actually sounds used to having things go his way in a large society, with the bearing of a roaming judge or enforcer that makes it hard to *notice* that he's just wearing regular black clothes and not some fantastic outfit.

    Amy looks at him in shocked recognition. Her mind is jumping to conclusions at record pace to try and keep on top of the situation. In this timeline, he's not alone. So he'd be Panthalassan nobility, then? And clearly he is here in some sort of judgemental or enforcement capacity in relation to the events that just occured. They may somehow be In Trouble with authority, which is, admittedly, nothing new for Amy Faust.

    "What is a 'zone'? And they started it, breaking a water pipe and throwing ice around to freeze it did more damage to the area than anything we did."

    Unfortunately, she never did figure out how to actually get listened to, only to defiantly state her case and know that on some level she was right, even if no one else would ever know it too.

    "And yeah, they were more like recordings or holograms or illusions or something -- they kept yelling at a mermaid princess who wasn't there and then they faded away."

    Homura makes a good point. Gaito could be on a script too. But... << Why isn't he the Gaito we remember, like they were the Dark Lovers we remember? >>

    "We're magical girls." She crosses her arms and looks up at him defiantly. "Were we just supposed to stand by when people showed up to destroy things and released ice dragons to rampage around? How is this any different from what usually happens? If those projections were part of filming a movie, it looks like you forgot to tell the bystanders that. And also your lead actress wasn't even there singing."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Homura's accusation leaves Gaito quiet, his now wide-eyed expression no less frowning that it had been seconds earlier. Giving them a look like he is putting their lucidity into question, he gives a scoff in Hinoiri's direction and remarks "What kind of insanity are you going on about? Why would I start writhing at a song? Did you take me or my girls for youmas?" He transforms with a silver flash into the Panthalassa royal garb, now giving a distinct feeling of magic, but none of it dark energy. "If this is supposed to distract me from detaining all of you, stop it."

He pinches the bridge of his nose at Hinoiri's consideration. "I don't know what you have with shirts, but you will stop talking to me like I am your neighbour or your friend. Just when I was having a perfectly normal day, I need this weird group on my paperwork", he groans to himself.

At Amy talking of the Dark Lovers like recordings too, he gives a groan and snaps his fingers, the long scepter of the Panthalassa appears in his grasp. "Crimson Rose Waltz", he announces, sending a group of rose vines to wrap themselves around everyone's wrists. "I don't want to listen to any of that. Now you will come in and we can get to the bottom of what you did."

"And the fact you are magical girl is included too", he glares at Amy with a scoff. "Where you got those powers, how and all of that, and if you have a good explation for everything, maybe we will go easy on you", he grimaces.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura gives Gaito a confused look, then her eyes go wide and ragefilled at the notion of 'detainment'. "Oh like hell are you going to shove us into one of your test tubes." Yet before she can really act, her wrists are being tied up, which is literally her one weakness. She freezes as she looks at this ridiculous man who wants to act like he's some kind of judge, wondering for a moment if she's going to have to reset time over something like this.

    Madoka's wrists are bound too, but she's not nearly as helpless, and her mind's a little more calm. "My Heart: Unlock!" she calls out, merging with Kamiko as she then just stops existing for a moment.

    A moment later there are no less than 10 translucent, ghostly Hope Blossoms appearing out of thin air, each of them with branch bow in hand and arrows drawn pointed directly at Gaito. They speak in unison, their voices echoing like a choir. "I don't like to make threats, but we won't be taken prisoner."

    Homura grits her teeth at Gaito. "How about you explain yourself before my girlfriend turns you into a sea urchin?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne blinked a few times. "What? You're... not acting like you're part of a script, either. Are you not going all 'kidnap the mermaid princesses' spiel?" she asked.

Only for him to talk about... neighbor or friend. "What? No. *NO!* We were *neither!*" Cure La Licorne said, sounding downright scandalized. Even offended. "We were *coworkers*. At *best*! Seriously, I saw the way you and Sara treated your 'friends' and I wanted *none* of it."

Roses. Going. At. Her hands. She ERUPTED into fire, spinning and incinerating, pulling back and leaving ash in her wake, growling a little. "Oh *buck* no. You keep those *away* from me. Right. So you're not part of some script, then allow me to introduce myself. I am Cure La Licorne. My powers come from the Grand Ocean, a gift from the mermaid princess there. I'm friends with the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean." She cracked her knuckles. "Who, right now I'm pretty sure is in a heap of danger."

"... Now, I'd like to believe that whatever attacked us was just a fluke, and that she's perfectly safe. And that... whatever... you've got going on now... is entirely separate from whatever caused the black beauty sisters to try and kidnap us. But I can't take that chance right now with our friend in trouble. So..."

And then she charged forward, launching a strike, and--

Veering at the last moment. Not to strike at Gaito.

Instead, a flaming kick going to try and kick the roses binding Homura and any that might have grabbed Amy.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Youmas? "No, I figured they were dark generals. If not, why'd they attack an innocent takoyaki stand?"

    Vines reach for her, and Amy leaps out of the way, throwing a burning flare at them. And she bristles at the way he says that: 'what you did.'

    That she's a magical girl is apparently WRONG too. And if she has a good explanation for everything, maybe he will go easy on her.

    That tears it, and she finally realizes why she has a problem with some authority and not with others. How she can listen to teachers sometimes and bristle other times, how she can espouse to be against gods and kings and tell off aquatic royalty and yet fight alongside the goddess of Puella Magi and the future Queen of the World.

    How there is a difference between a D&D character suspicious of the government that never questions wrongly hunting them, and yet thinking it's fine when the party rises to power themselves at the end of the campaign, and it's not 'it's OK when I do it.'

    It all falls into place.

If you have a good explanation for everything, maybe we will go easy on you.

    "No."

    "That's not what this is about." Red eyes glare at Gaito like he's anathema to her existence.

    She'll fire flares and incendiary rounds to counter attacks at her, but refrains from directly attacking Gaito for now. He needs to hear, first.

    "If we have a good explanation, then we are innocent. If what we did is truly so wrong it must be punished under any circumstances, then you should follow the rules regardless."

    "But it's not about that. You just said you don't care. You've already decided it's OK to hurt us regardless of what we did. Because that's what you want to do. And you'll tell us you're magnanimous and we should be glad if you are so kind as to not hurt us even more."

    She hefts a rocket launcher, not aiming it at him yet. "None of my friends are like this. None of my friends relish punishing people. We stop bad guys from hurting people but we don't delight in hurting them."

    "Go the fuck back to your ocean depths and never trouble us again, or change your ways, or I'm gonna start ripping this cancer out of the world, starting with you."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"What on Earth?" Gaito squints his eyes at the test tube accusation. Calm down, he won't let himself lose patience due to the ilk of these people, regardless of anything they are going to say. "Thre is no Grand Ocean, are you really going to waste my time with pathetic lies!?", he shouts, sending more numerous vines after Hinoiri. "I am not going to kidnap my own allies, either!"

The matter of Madoka disappearing causes him to grimace and the vines around Homura's wrists tighten, just enough for the thorns to brush against her skin, but not going any farther. "Where has she gone?", he demands to her.

The reply he gets a second later causes him to frown at the many hers. "Is this how you want to play it? I will do the same then", he announces glacially and the space around them starts distorting, until they are in a purple void with a myriad of mirrors in the shape of rhombic hexagons.

Soon enough different hims start stepping out of those mirrors, joining the main one. "Are you going to start firing now? Go ahead, we have all time", they speak with vines growing rapidly around each of them. "You are friends with the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific, now really", he regards that flatly.

He doesn't seem all that shocked when Hinoiri frees Homura from his vines, not when his solution is to send out many more vines at both of them. "Well, yes, because we have clear accounts of you destroying property, and you aren't even youma, not to mention the testimony that you attacked my own personnel. Who of course are not dark generals, whatever that means."

Amy's rather strong words don't even get any other reply out of him, but all the Gaitos converge on her with a mix of crimson beams from the scepters and thorny vines.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    La Licorne attacks her binds, and Homura quickly pulls herself free. "Thanks..." she says to the PreCure. Then she starts rubbing her wrists. The black-haired Puella still doesn't henshin. She's putting her faith in Godoka.

    Homura glances sideways at Amy and blinks as she has her personal revelation. "... You know... you're not wrong on that." She turns back to Gaito. "Maybe Shirt Boy here should explain to us why attacking a takoyaki stand is acceptable and not like... actually incredibly shameful behavior for your Dark Lovers to lower themselves to."

    One of the Hope Blossoms winces and looks back at Homura. "Lower themselves? I mean... we're talking about people like Eriru here."

    Homura crosses her arms. "I said what I said."

    There's no dark energy here, and both Madoka and Homura are aware of that, but they aren't quite ready to accept Gaito here as an authority figure.

    Aside from that, he is fighting back. More Vines come after Homura and the Madokas. A Labyrinth portal appears behind Homura, and she walks through it, taking her out of the fight. More Hope Blossoms appear. Some of them get wrapped up, others break free. One of them speaks up. "I don't know who you're trying to lie to. There's nobody here but us. Do you actually believe what you're saying, or is this your way of gloating about the story you're going to tell the public?"

    The speaking Hope Blossom draws her arrow again and aims it at Gaito. "Imagine being us, waking up in a strange version of reality, seeing some of our most dangerous enemies attacking a food stand, acting outright delusional compared to what's happening around them... which admittedly isn't abnormal for some of them. Then here you show up, the undersea Prince of Mermaid Kidnapping, trying to bind us and carry us off to somewhere else?"

    "Maybe in this world you actually have some respect, but the line between 'authority figure' and 'weird kidnapper' is pretty thin, and you have a reputation for being the latter." The pink bolt in her hand shines.

    She releases the arrow into the air, and it splits into many. They spread out and cut the binds on the other Hope Blossoms. Each of them in turn fire their arrows into the air, raining them all throughout this strange mirror place, trying to surround the many Gaitos and restrict their movement.

    "The only reason I'm not trying to harm you directly is because you're not using Dark Energy, and I'm fairly confident I can get us all out of here if I want to. Besides..."

    The world shifts again, and Madoka's Labyrinth superimposes itself upon the strange landscape, creating a soft ground made of felt and a landscape made of treats. Layered cakes the size of skyscrapers can be seen in the distance. "... you're not the only one who can do that."

    "We can talk, or we can fight, but the one thing that's not happening is you walking off with us in binds."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne actually stopped and stared at Amy for a moment. Holy... Wow. She didn't know where THAT came from... but you know what? For once? In this case? She actually liked seeing that explosive 'BURN IT ALL DOWN!' energy.

"Yeah, pretty much what they said," Cure La Licorne said. "Gonna be honest. I know the mermaids, have... had some pretty good relationships with them. Some... bad ones, too, admittedly. But you were always the kidnapper. I was the one who ended up trying to break their little fish bowls. Which, admittedly, I hated."

"And you know what? All I'm seeing is the same old Gaito! Your girls attacked us, we defended ourselves. And you know what? We're going to defend ourselves from you again and knock you right back into the sea just as many times as we have to!" she snapped. "Ugh... You know, the worst part? I always kind of wondered how he and I would have actually gone, hoof to hoof, you know? But I never got to actually find out. But now I don't really get to find out because I'm too worried about Coco. I swear, I--"

She then blinked. "Wait. Hey. Gaito! Did you ever *confirm* with your workers that they'd been attacked?" Because... she had an idea. That could be good! And bad...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "He can do barriers now?!" Amy looks around at the void in surprise. And now there are more Gaitos. She has the feeling that she has sequence broken out of what was supposed to be an unwinnable fight in Disc 1 straight to the final boss at the end of Disc 4.

    In the back of her mind, despite her words, she also knows she's fucked up again, that even if she's right in principle, her friends will have some reasonable-sounding explanation for why she's wrong in action, like:

You know... you're not wrong on that.

    Wait what.

    That's not how this goes. That's never how this goes!

    Trying to do the right thing, against the order of the world, isn't just a well-meaning but ultimately misguided disappointment???

    She feels... well, there's no more time for introspection there are a myriad of Gaitos all attacking, but whatever she feels, it's a good and nice feeling and she wishes she did have the time to examine and understand it.

    The fight begins in earnest, now, Amy dodging and weaving around attacks and rocket-jumping across Gaito's final boss arena while firing explosive shells at the Gaitos.

    But so many attacks from so many Gaitos proves overwhelming, and after several seconds of desperate fighting, she dodges a scepter beam only to be caught by vines.

    She struggles and pulls against them reflexively, uselessly. "Not just relishing making people suffer, believing you have the right. Believing that anyone can have the right!" the recoiless rifle has fallen from her hands so she lashes out with her words instead.

    "Regardless of whether you're doing it right then or not! Regardless of whether you call it punishment, or justice, or what you had to do! If you believe in that... that there's value in suffering or that it's justified... then I'll never bow to you!"

    But she's not helpless yet, she is magic, her soul burns just a little bit of itself to tell little pieces of reality how to be. A half-dozen minimissiles appear over her head and shoulders and curve towards the Gaitos.

    ...But she's also a human mind that isn't focused right now, as missile guidance and assembling speeches tumble through a storm of feelings and wondering about feelings and worry about if this world will be too strong and if she's right for once what does that mean and it all starts to come apart, the minimissiles losing track of their targets and flying to explode where some Gaitos were half of a second ago.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The superimposition of Godoka's Labyrinth over Gaito's realm causes layered cakes to spring up below some of the Gaitos causing them to bounce like they are under a trampoline, to the frustration of the original. "So it seems", he replay to the pinkette goddess in a deadpan way, but that tone breaks at the mention of the quartet's title. Meanwhile vines grow numerous to block out the minimissiles that Amy didn't lose track of, half a dozen working together to actually restrain each.

"The What Lovers now?", Gaito repeats shaking his head. "Are you just going to keep pulling my leg? That's not their name at all. They are the True Lovers", he quiets down.

"... I didn't choose the name", he speaks in a hurry next, hiding his eyes behind his hand, gesture imitated by all the other Gaitos. You might possibly get the feeling he calls them "my girls" with the specific intention to get away from it. He clears his throat and continues. "I know for a fact they weren't fighting you, because they run an ice cream stand at just about this time. It's their passion project", the grey-haired man shrugs.

A crimson laser move after Hope Blossom this time when he hears the name "undersea Prince of Mermaid Kidnapping", purposely missing her by just a small distance, the rest of her speech making him stop to think despite the arrow pointed at him. "Of course, I am trying to bind you and carry you somewhere else. You show up here, cause a mess, have powers when nobody else has had them for thousands of years, and you blame me for wanting to defend the land that's under our protection."

"If I wanted to, I could carry you all in binds, sooner or later, even if I had to call others to help me, but I will humour you for now", he looks at Hope Blossom before turning to Hinoiri. "You don't have to worry about the Princess of the South Pacific, I don't attack my allies regardless of what lies you have been fed, and if you are so convinced you are her friends. Let's call her over and hear it from her. I suggest you let your cake land fade." The same blur opens in the air and he steps in for one second, going back out and sitting on his suddenly materialised throne.

"Now we just wait for my servants to reach her. You have earned yourself time to talk. What's the deal about finding yourself in a place you don't know?", he rests his head on his closed hand. "One more word that tries to tarnish my reputation, and this truce is over", he warns with a glare specifically for Amy.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Things seem to be cooling down a bit, and the speaking/leading Hope Blossom is... somewhat mistrustful. "True Lovers?" she asks, then looks at the other girls with her.

    "Ice cream stand?" The leading Madoka blinks at that. In fact, several of them do. "We're pretty sure we did not see any ice cream sales. Otherwise, we'd be eating ice cream." Blossom is... unsure about all this. The Gaito she knows isn't to be trusted, but she knows what Dark Energy does to a person, and she knows this guy would be using it if he had it.

    "I can understand your point of view, but... you're asking me to take a pretty large leap of faith here."

    Things seem to be standing down and de-escalating, and frankly Madoka would prefer that. So she lets the giant cakes and other signs of her Labyrinth fade away. Several of the Hope Blossom clones do as well, and after a moment Hope Concept appears in all her infinite glory.

    Wait, no, not glory. What's the word I'm looking for? Hair! Infinite hair.

    Hope Concept appears with all her infinite hair, hovering in the air. Homura is next to her, standing near her feet. The pink goddess speaks, "We did not come here to cause trouble. In fact, we did not come here under our own volition at all. We were drawn here by means we don't understand. There are many things about your world that's different than ours. Open knowledge of magic is not a thing for us. It's kept secret by the Veil. Panthalassia is something that vanished a long time ago. Only a few remnants of them remain, and they most certainly aren't the Mermaid Princess's allies."

    She crosses her arms and looks at Gaito, sitting in his throne. "We watched you descend to the ocean floor, presumably to never be heard of again, and you were not in your right mind when we saw it. We heard from someone that our version of you had been killed for disappointing your superiors. Seeing you here is... unsettling. Like seeing a version of you who could have existed, if things went differently."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne blinked a few times... and then sighed... "Well... Wow. They're called... the True Lovers?" she asked. "Oof. That's... that's painful. Gonna tell you. Right there? That's *almost* physically painful," Cure La Licorne said. "But... check on them, then. If you know where they are. Because it means if you know where they are, it means what attacked us were echoes of them. Which means there might be an echo of *you*. And the *you* that we know was known for attacking mermaid princesses. And if you say they're your ally, they're all in big trouble."

"... Chances are we're from another dimension, got sucked into your world. Which happens... more often than you'd think, all things considered. And in case you didn't notice... We never started any of these fights. We were headed somewhere, in all cases, when we were attacked and then defended ourselves. Heck, the first time it was because the dark lovers said they were trying to capture that girl, Seira. Who... I guess is a princess here? She's not one back home. The... orange mermaid back home didn't... ummmm... Sara didn't... make it. In the end."

"... For the record, though. I'm actually from another dimension than them, I'm actually a unicorn. So, like... it's a bit old news. And don't worry, Amy... if he goes back to being a jerk, we can go right back into calling him out on it." On the one hand, truce was good... on the other hand... She did feel a little bad. It was so rare that Amy got to call people out on their BS and like... really go ham like that. It probably had been a real treat for her. She kind of wanted to give her a pat on the head.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy sort of half-listens as she struggles, and growls at 'if I wanted to, I could carry you all in binds'. But when Gaito stands down and is ready to talk... wow. Holy shit. Has that ever worked before? Perhaps he really does mean to be good, in this alternate universe.

    Amy's dropped weapon disappeared when she fired the missiles. The restrained missiles poof away into pink sparkles.

    She rubs her wrist. "This is getting a bit complicated. So someone's impersonating or making projections of the Dark Lovers -- err, 'True Lovers', in this timeline -- and it just happens to start on the same day we get transported here somehow?"

    She looks at him, a bit concerned about Alt-Coco showing up. "Well, we're not her friends in this timeline, err, I mean the Coco from this timeline won't know us, if you even have the same Princess of the South Pacific here."

    "And uh, thanks. For listening and be willing to talk it out. Still concerned about what you said, but... I won't turn down this olive branch."

    When Hinoiri says that they can go back to calling him on it if he goes back to being a jerk, Amy smiles and gives her friend a thumbs-up.

    "So..." Amy wonders, looking back to Gaito. "You're some kind of... magical Judge, then? I guess in this timeline you didn't grow up all alone? I'm glad, you got dealt a shit hand that no one deserved because of that dumb prophecy. How'd that work out, anyway? Or did something happen to your brother, instead of you?"

    "...And wait, what do you mean no one's had magic for thousands of years?! Who deals with youma and stuff-- wait, it's like, you?! And who's making youma, if no one but merfolk and panthalassans have powers?"

    She doesn't ask out loud as she looks to the others: << Are humans all powerless here? The Ancients didn't just kick off Kyubey, they've prevented humans from gaining magic entirely?! >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Gaito nods at both of Madoka's questions, wondering if they are now going to spend the next few minutes like that. "We can always go back to fighting", he replies to Hope Blossom pretty directly. "I don't really have any reason to trust any of you either, so take your truce already", he urges her impatiently. He really can't believe they keep acting like they are the one in the right.

The news of the fate of the Panthalassa causes a dark shade to fall on Gaito's face. "Those are very sad news you have with you, I don't think your world is a very good one, if an entire noble race is gone just like that. I have no idea why I would turn on the mermaids either. We Panthalassa have been allies with them ever since the Ancients came to this planet", he bites his lip. "Your Gaito sounds disappointing. How did he become like that?"

He nods at Hinoiri's judgement of the 'True Lovers', but did not address it further. "We will take care of it right away. Any echo of me you have brought from your world will be destroyed immediately just like we do with any other youma", he agrees. "I find I really hate your world", he hisses at the news of Sara's demise. "She is not the Princess here either, but she is alive and well. She cut off her connection to the Orange Pearl to be relieved of her duties and be with me. I am really lucky to have her."

"If I 'go back to being a jerk', you will have bigger problems than calling me out", he replies sharply to Hinoiri.

"Let's not mention that name anymore, please", he adds embarrassed when Amy uses 'True Lovers'. "The Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific is named Coco here. I was told she was at the Pearl Pier earlier this morning, but I don't know where she went after that.

"I am not really a magical judge. Any of the Ancients, Mermaid Princesses and Panthalassa are all tasked with keeping the peace, but only when it comes to matters between nation or situation where magic is involved", he explains standing from his throne, and letting it, his clones and his minirealm all disappear along with the vines. "The Ancients have no reason to keep magic off of humans, but what I think happened is humans have no need of it either with everything provided for them."

He just finished his explanation that a yellow portal opens up and Coco comes out of it in a hurry. "Did you really pick a fight with Eril, Isuru and Maria while I was gone? And Gaito too?", she stares perplexed at her friends. "Yes, they are my friends", she confirms to Gaito.

"Not so much my girls, but shades passing for them", Gaito corrects her. "Let's head to the Pearl Pier. There we can find out what's up with this dimension travel, and how to let them go back." Coco nods, and adds "I am from there too", and Gaito blinks before nodding in turn. "And yet, there is only you. How curious."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Concept and Homura watch Coco as she approaches, and... yes, this seems to be their Coco. At least, this is a Coco that recognizes them. Concept clears her throat at the sight of the yellow Mermaid Princess and gives her an incredulous stare.

    Homura comments, "You'll have to fill us in on whatever it is you found out. A lot of... confusing things have happened."

    Madoka speaks telepathically. << I'm still not sure what's going on, but... we can trust Coco at least, right? >> There's a moment of hesitation, but then she drops henshin. Kamiko's egg pops out of her chest, and the divine fairy hatches from it. "Okay," she says, "We were headed back that way already. Thanks for coming, Coco-chan."

    Homura tilts her head and frowns. "We did get into a couple of fights, yes. I'm not going to bicker about who started what." So... there's no shadow of Coco? Interesting... "As for... his girls... like he said, it's more complicated than that. They didn't act like they belonged here, and they most certainly weren't running an ice cream stand. They acted like the ones from our world, trying to capture the orange mermaid princess, creating water dragons, and recoiling at the sound of singing."

    Lydian comments, "Madoka-chan's singing wasn't that bad was it?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne blinked a few times, cocking her head to the side before... sighing. << If we can't trust Coco... there's not a lot of people we can trust. Girl can't hurt a fly. And considering the stuff I put her through and how much she still trusted me... She's pretty forgiving as it. >>

"And no, Madoka's singing was fine. It was the echoes. Everything was acting... weird. And there's magic in her music, even if it's not the same kind of magic as Yellow Pearl Voice's. Remember those tests I ran when I first lost my powers?" Hinoiri asked. She then... ended her henshin. "... And I guess... actually, no. Not sorry, Gaito. I don't like being tied up. Especially not with *roses*. But... sorry we couldn't like... not cause some damage when we got attacked. But it was in self defense and we did try to minimize the damage."

"... Good to know Sara's okay here, too." And well... hopefully that was good news for Sara, too. No wonder Gaito gave big 'I just wanna go home to my waifu' energy.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens curiously to Gaito's explanation. It's Gaito, but this version maybe isn't evil and he's the source of intel they have right now.

    "Everything provided for them?" Amy looks at the world around them, and shakes her head. "No, it looks too similar to our world. But--"

    And then Coco is here and she casually talks to Gaito like it's nothing yet also recognizes them what the heck. Amy stares at her, open-mouthed.

    At the accusation, she steps closer to Hinoiri, watching Coco a bit suspiciously. "We did not pick a fight. Phantoms of them appeared and attacked, and talked as if they were fighting you."

    She looks between the two seafolk, and gestures at the panthalassan. "Also, it's Gaito. You're not at all surprised to see him?! And how did making contact with the merfolk go???"

    She also asides, trying to reassure, "Your singing was fine! Did you improvise that song all on your own, was that Lydian's power?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I... actually can tell", Coco agrees with Homura. "I want to know your side of the story too", she adds, letting the golden portal close. It really wasn't needed anymore right now, and still, she got enough help with its regards, that she doesn't feel they really have any use of it staying around.

She starts walking towards the Pearl Pier, watching the others to make sure them and Gaito do the same. The Deep Sea Prince does at least. "No problem, Kamiko-chan. I was going away from the North Atlantic when a Panthalassan messenger reached me, and told me to come here", she explains.

Coco really would like to know how that started, but perhaps they can do that at a time Gaito is not there to listen in. "I can only say that impressions of them must have followed from your world at took form when they got into contact with something that forced it that way", Gaito muses.

"I can't really imagine why it would follow us, but... this is the second time you blame me", Coco springs up when the weird dream comes back to her. "I have nothing to do with that. Maybe the me from your dimension felt something before you left, and tried to ask you", he comments with a shrug. For given values of 'ask'.

Coco smiles at Lydian's comment. "No, but I guess she felt what it is like to be a Mermaid Princess for a moment. Creature of darkness hate our voice pretty strongly, and they really suffer from it", she suggests with bright eyes. "Madoka-chan has a good voice, Lydian-chan."

"We will deal with the repairs. We always do. Apology accepted", Gaito replies to Hinoiri, and is about to leave it at that when he sees Coco's face. "And my apologies as well for how you got treated", he adds.

"I have been told how this world works in the Nord Atlantic", Coco explains to everyone else. "The Seven Kingdoms are all standing, but the Panthalassa Wars never happened here, and they have their own kingdoms and provinces. I am the only South Pacific Princess around, but I haven't been able to find out why. "Everyone still looks at me for that role."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    La Licorne, Amy, and Coco all reassure Madoka regarding her singing. If anyone could be trusted to give an honest opinion on bad singing it'd be Hinoiri, and Coco would know a good voice if she heard it. Madoka and Lydian both smile as the Bearer says, "Thanks, everyone." To Amy, she clarifies, "The first song I kinda made up on the spot. The second song... I'm pretty sure I heard it on the radio before, but I think Lydian may have helped me remember the lyrics."

    Homura, now that things have quieted down, feels a bit more comfortable taking responsibility. "Most of the damage was likely my fault. I failed to consider the long term effects of my fighting style. It's generally not a lasting problem in my world, because I usually fight in Labyrinths," she explains... though that doesn't mean she'll let herself get taken in without a fight if they start going on about that again.

    Madoka, Homura, and the two Chara follow Coco along. They wanted to head to the Pearl Pier anyways. The more time passes without anyone attacking them, the more Madoka seems to relax. "So, you're the only Coco? Any idea what happened to the Coco from your world?" asks Madoka.

    Homura adds, "You didn't like... merge with or replace her, did you? Do you have her memories?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens to Coco's information, giggling a bit at 'she felt what it was like to be a Mermaid princess for a moment.' And then furrows her brow in thought at being told that everyone recognizes her as the princess yet there is no other Coco.

    She nods to Madoka, and shrugs as Homura relates the shared problems of being a magic-user whose strength is in collateraldamagemancy.

    And then Madoka brings it back to what Amy was just wondering, as she starts walking onward to Pearl Pier: Their other selves.

    "Well, we know I exist. I expect without Radiant Heart, I went back to America years ago, but I didn't have time to check yet... and I'm not sure it matters, anyway. And I looked up Usagi-chan, she's still streaming but I guess she's not magic..."

    "But beyond that... what about the rest of you? What's the best way to check if you exist? You have any sort of public profile we can look up? Yeah, I know, visitor from another dimension probably would be noted, but maybe they didn't detect it and you hid... and how'd Seira know about KiraKiraFantastica, anyway?"

    Amy scratches her cheek. "I mean... I doubt contacting ourselves would be helpful especially if we're all not magic here, but... it'd probably... tell us something? If we all exist but Coco, or if we don't except for me, or anything else weird."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I am sure you have given a lovely performance, Madoka-chan. You got to let me hear your songs when we are not dealing with all of this, ok?", she winks at the pinkette.

"We can fix it no problem, this world is prepared for these circumstances, it seems", the yellow mermaid tells Homura first, not that Gaito would have said anything negative. She is just taking the reins of the conversation.

Everyone reaches the Pearl Pier then, and Coco opens up the door to the rest of them. "Nikora, Hippo, I am back.with the others, and we brought and extra guest with us!", Coco announces to them. An awkward explanation later, they are all sitting at a table of the Pearl Pier, or standing around it.

Amy's comment gets an odd look by Coco. "Seira? Why are you naming her now?" But then she goes on to address the matter of her missing doppelganger.

"It's hard to say, there is no indication about it magically, and I don't feel any differently than I usually do", she explains to the two girlfriends. "I don't have anything as useful as her memories. I am just here", she notes pensively.

"There is the fact about it, the only Nikora and Hippo are here, same for Rihito", she nods at the three of them. "I am glad I was spared from seeing another me, I am not sure I would have been ready. Meeting the Gaito I heard so much about is weird enough. And apparently, I am a Panthalassa like him", Rihito sighs.

"No doubt about that", the crown prince speaks. "I can feel the power of the Panthalassa in you, it's just dormant, and I don't know in what circumstances it would awaken. But the fact you are the only you here is something else, I want to check up back home. I need to go back to my palace anyway, but I think I will find useful information there."

He stands up again. "I will call you when I have something, you go ahead and rest for now, and get used to this world."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura looks at Amy and says, "I don't know, because I don't know all of the various ways the timeline has changed here. Without the Incubators, PreCure, Devicers, Chara Bearers and so on, I can't even count the number of butterfly effects in play here." With a shrug, she says, "I could look up my last name and search for my family. I could check the Catholic school I went to before transferring to Radiant Heart. I could try to access my medical records at Mitakihara General, but that might just cause us even more trouble."

    All of it seems like a moot point though. If there's only one Coco, Hippo, Rihito, and Nikora, then is there any guarantee of an extra Madoka and Homura? There's an Usagi, but...

    After considering that, Homura looks vaguely disappointed. Kamiko picks up on it and asks, "Are you sad, Homu-chan?"

    "No."

    "... Were you thinking up some weird plan to get the other you to pair up with the other Madoka."

    "No!" A pause. "... Maybe."

    Madoka giggles at her girlfriend's antics, and then looks over to Rihito. "So, you are Panthalassa. Well, I'm glad you don't seem to be our enemy at least." Then, a more wary look up at Gaito. "I guess we'll be seeing more of you. Hopefully it goes better next time."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    During the explanation, Amy sets up her laptop and dehenshins. It's just going to be easier to research this world with a mouse and keyboard than a tiny little touchscreen.

    Why name Seira now? "Huh? 'cuz that's the name of the girl we talked to outside... OH! No, she was human, or maybe a mermaid princess, she wasn't, like, an unborn mermaid hologram."

    Coco says she can't access the memories of the Coco this world remembers, and at the mention of that idea, of accessing the memories of another life you find yourself in... Amanda frowns slightly.

    She's reminded again that, dark energy or not, the darkness of humanity is still here. Dozens of tiny little things continue to stick out to her. A world watched over by magic shouldn't have all of humanity's mistakes and unkindnesses, right? The Moon and Golden Kingdoms were better places before Metallia ruined everything, right?

    But then, with Gaito's attitude, and Michel's... perhaps the problems are far from unique to human society and psychology.

    Madoka and Homura discuss the thought of steering themselves towards happiness, and Amy smiles companionably. "Hey, wanting the other you to find happiness is totally understandable! This morning I was thinking about how to help another me, but, she finally figured it out, she's transitioning. So... I don't know what else to do. I can only hope this world has someplace as friendly as Radiant Heart."

    Amy looks up from the computer, to Gaito and Rihito. "So wait... Does this mean that there was another you here like there was a Coco, and he was a panthalassa so now you are?" She looks to Hinoiri. "Or is this like whatever decides whether we're a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony when we go to KiraKiraFantastica?"

    Back to Gaito: "What do you mean by the power of a panthalassa, anyway?" And then she looks... almost apologetic. "And... sorry for the rough start. I... Well, I said my piece, but that you were willing to stand down and hear us out puts you ahead of......................... basically anyone I've had a serious beef with. So... Keep being willing to do stuff like that, as you do your duties, I guess."

    Was there anything else? Amy feels like she's forgetting something... Oh!

    The redhead looks between Coco and Gaito again. "Seira said the Ancients have a way to keep our soul gems pure. Any chance we can find someone with that knowledge? If whoever's causing trouble unleashing doppelgangers keeps giving us trouble..." She holds up her hand, showing the ring with the bit of darkness in its stone. "It would be better to not have to worry so much about using much magic."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
A meaningful look is given to Homura at her 'maybe'. The kind that means "if you want help with playing Cupid, I am on board." If there ever was any doubt.

"Apparently so. And I am glad I am not either", Rihito smiles politely at Homura, not really sure how to respond to a statement like that.

"Well, that solves a lot of questions", Coco intervenes. "Your mother really was a Panthalassa. Maybe she left something behind. We could check when we are back", she suggests with a smile. "It's all really old, but I have no problem with that", he agrees pleasantly.

There is someone else named Seira that might be a mermaid princess? That's a weird coincidence for sure. "She is probably someone else. After all, we have just seen there can't be two of the same mermaid or Panthalassa here", she considers, not even thinking about how she hasn't seen Seira ever since the dimensional jump.

"I... don't know about that?", Rihito looks at Amy. "I find that unlikely. Unless you are telling me, Rihito has changed hair and eye colour ever since coming here, he has always been a Panthalassa. They are born that way. She isn't one though", Gaito chimes in indicating Homura. "With her hair and eyes she could pass for one though."

Coco adds, "We talked about his parents, and we think it's likely his mother was one. She both had the musical talent to back it up, and very little details about her past."

"I have put that behind us", he tells Amy. "But if you are really so sorry about it, there is always a spot for a servant in my palace, and it pays well", he jokes with a thin smile. "The power of a Panthalassa is just that, just like Coco has the power of a mermaid princess. The Panthalassa crest shows up on our forehead when we use it."

Gaito's brow furrows at hearing the word 'Soul Gem'. "I see the Incubator is active in your world. Best he doesn't shows up after you if he doesn't want to pay the price for it." Threats aside, he adds "I will make sure you have what you seeks. I don't believe it will be too hard."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura looks at Coco, and well... a shipper knows a shipper. She has to think about it for a moment. "I mean... for all I know, they've already met each other." After another pause, she says, "I mean... if we find them, all we'd really have to do is point them at each other."

    Madoka giggles. "What if we walk in on them cuddling?"

    The black-haired girlfriend shrugs, "Then we leave them alone. They clearly have it handled. After all, the other Amy was able to figure things out, too." Homu smiles as Doka giggles in response. It's a relief to think that their other selves might be happy.

    Homura looks up at Gaito at the assertion that she's not, in fact, Panthalassa. She raises an eyebrow. "I hadn't thought that I was, but... you aren't the first to comment on that. I'll have to keep it in mind." Could she be related, somehow? No... if she was then Kyubey wouldn't be allowed to contract with her.

    Madoka also glances at Gaito at the mention of Kyubey. "He is. My magic allows me to undo some of what he does, but... I agree that you're better off without him."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy raises eyebrows at Coco's interest in playing cupid. And... "Ohhhh... so he was one on our world too, but we couldn't tell. Huh! I guess that explains how he can remember magic..."

    Gaito offers that and she gives him a horrified look. She's not sure if he's joking. "No. Not for you." Something inside her feels rather strongly: Not for a guy. Maybe for a certain type of girl.

    Her attention and curiousity is piqued when he mentions the idea of Kyubey paying the price for anything. "How? He seems to just have unlimited bodies and he doesn't care how many he loses. How do you actually... do anything to him?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Gaito looks intrigued towards Madoka. Considering that the only ones he know that can hinder the Incubator are the Ancients, that's an interesting feat even if she is implying it's limited. He thinks back to the regal look she had. Perhaps it's worth keeping an eye on her while she is here.

"Your loss", he smirks at Amy before addressing her question. "You should ask the Ancients that. It's all their work. We are only informed of what they do", he tells her, then he looks over at Coco.

The blonde girl is smiling brightly with a conspiratorial look towards Homura. They do apparently get each other there, though Homura raises a good point about the two of them. "Best we leave them to their happiness them", she giggles.

The important things have been said, Gaito thinks. "I will call you when I am ready, and I will send you that remedy for your Soul Gem, with two spares in case they go missing." Said that, he walks out.

"Ok, I guess right now is time for a break", Coco suggests. "How about it?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Homura watch as Gaito leaves, and then the two of them kind of wear a mortified look on their faces. Homura leans back in her chair and says, "That was... stressful in ways I don't normally have to deal with. What a world we've wound up in."

    Madoka smiles at Coco and says, "Thanks for coming to our rescue. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come to back us up."

    Kamiko raises a hand and says, "I'm ready for a break!"

    Lydian copies her sister's movement. "Me, too!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy coughs at 'your loss.' and just looks kind of disgusted. Even if he's kidding he cannot read the room.

    Oh. Right. He's apparently their contact for the Ancients. After a small sigh, she tries to keep emotion out of her voice for a second. "Thank you."

    And then he;'s gone, thank goodness. At Homura's comment she asks the other girl, "Did you never run into New Moon and Wicked Lady?"

    After Madoka she adds to Coco, "Yeah. I wonder if the Ancients would talk to you, as well? Would be better not to have to go through him."

    A break. "Sounds good to me, but are you proposing anything in particular? Otherwise..." She nods at her laptop. "I'm... kinda just gonna keep researching this world, anyway. Seeing what stands out as different. It's a break from fighting and from dealing with Gaito, anyway."