A Slightly Dim And Not Quite Stormy Afternoon

[whatamithinking]

It is a fairly typical rainy August afternoon. Edie is lounging in civvies with a good book, and Emily is snacking on some leftover birthday cake while transformed and working on a metal sculpture.

"I don't know why you're bothering," Edie says of the copper-and-verdigris design. "I mean, the rest of it is going to go green too eventually, right?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Emily says stubbornly. "I could coat it with clear paint or something to prevent oxidation."

"Fair enough," Edie says, and returns to perusing her book.

Comments

[cheerfulish]

The doorbell rings. There is a pause of maybe half a second, then it rings again.

[iamnotpolaris]

"Can you get that?" Emily asks, intent on her sculpture.

[whatamithinking]

"Yeah, sure." She goes to open the door.

"...Janine?"

[cheerfulish]

"Hello Edie," says Janine. "I am sorry to bother you, but I was recently kidnapped by villainous minions and I thought you should probably know."

[whatamithinking]

...

"Emily! Put down your sculpture! We've got evil to smite!"

[iamnotpolaris]

"Ugh." She puts down her sculpture and comes over. "Hi, Janine. Evil's afoot?"

[cheerfulish]

"Evil is approximately half a mile away from Carousel Mall," says Janine. "Imprisoning people in an abandoned factory for unclear nefarious purposes. There were about two hundred and fifty kidnapped people there when I left. Some of the other kidnapped people helped me escape because I said I knew some magical girls. I think the person in charge was an artifact user, not a sorcerer, and there was a space-warping effect on the inside of the building but it seemed to be stable so it might be useful if I drew the layout for you."

[iamnotpolaris]

[whatamithinking]

"That sounds very useful, yes."

[cheerfulish]

"Do you have a pen and paper?"

[whatamithinking]

Edie fetches a pencil and some graph paper.

[cheerfulish]

Janine sits down next to the nearest suitable flat surface and starts drawing. Apparently the abandoned factory consists of a large rectangular section with a longer, thinner arm coming off it like the stem of a flag, and then the inside of the larger section is space-warped into an intricate maze, of which she only explored some parts but of necessity did manage to find a path from the part with all the kidnapped people to the exit. It takes her two tries to draw the maze to her satisfaction. Then she goes back and conscientiously labels the street names on the exterior map, and writes down the address.

"I do not know what the walls are made of," she says of the maze, "but they looked like the sort of thing it might be a bad idea to touch."

[whatamithinking]

"Okay...did you get any idea at all where one might leave this area to find the big bad and/or his artifact?"

[cheerfulish]

She shakes her head. "I am not sure. I only saw part of the maze. The people who helped me escape told me about the dead-end branches I marked, so the artifact is not in any of those or someone would have said so."

[whatamithinking]

"Okay, we can work with this. ...Are you okay, you just escaped from being kidnapped, do you need some food or water or something, should I call your mom?"

[cheerfulish]

"I am fine. Go rescue people," Janine says firmly. "If you do not mind I will wait here until you are done."

[whatamithinking]

"Sure. If we're not back by the time either or both of our parents come home, I'd appreciate it if you'd explain the situation to them."

[whatamithinking]

She places the first two fingers of her right hand against her temple, props the left one on her hip, and exclaims, "Truth and Beauty of a Magical Mind, Activate! Fervor and Will of an Impassioned Soul, Come Forth!" Her body is enveloped in the shimmering lights, she lifts up off the ground, and spins in place while waves of stronger light pass over her body, leaving garbed in her magical girl outfit. The lights vanish, and she drops to the floor in a crouch, before rising to her feet and pointing imperiously at nothing in particular. "In the name of Love and Equity, I arrive to right the wrongs of a distorted heart! The Psychic Maiden, Cerebella is here!"

[whatamithinking]

"Alright, let's go."

[cheerfulish]

"I will explain things to your parents if I see them," Janine promises. "Good luck."

[whatamithinking]

"Thanks. Here's hoping we don't need it."

[iamnotpolaris]

Once they're outside the house, she casts, "Stormwing Flight!" Wings covered in razor-sharp steel feathers spread from her back.

[whatamithinking]

"Wing's of the Mind's Eye." Edie's feathers are crystal, glinting with flashes of color and hints of images, there and gone to fast to see on such small surfaces. And: "Perception Periapt." A faintly glowing orb appear in her hand.

[iamnotpolaris]

The two sisters take flight. It's a bit of a trek to the mall, but it shouldn't take too terribly long, flying.

[whatamithinking]

Periodically, mirrors appear surrounding Edie, wisps of some kind of vapor flowing out of them and into the orb. It happens more often when they're above large numbers of people. Not coincidentally, no one notices them.