Okay, working out how Precia and Alicia are coming into the picture, and I finally had a breakthrough.
So what if one of Kyubey managed to get loose? Happens to run across Precia?
Thing is, Kyubey is after people that can be Magical Girls... And here's someone that is already a "magical girl", just not a puella magi. Score, right?
Precia's wish is obvious: resurrect Alicia.
But it can't REALLY do that. Instead, he creates a simulacra of Alicia and Precia becomes a Puella Magi.
Precia is not happy with the results, but she figures that she at least has a replacement for Fate. And she herself begins experimenting with her own soul gem in hopes of finding a way to bring back Alicia...
...and in the process, abducting the homeless of San Antonio to experiment on them, and leave them as withered corpses when she has no more use for them. She cares very little about this because TSAB doesn't seem to be around, and the locals have no way to figure out what's going on.
What Kyubey doesn't tell her is,
Ben has been introduced to Alice and her family, as well as Suzuka and hers... And through some very polite questioning, yes, the Tsukimura family actually are vampires of a rare type - daywalkers that can breed and also age like normal humans up until middle age. Pretty much the perfect vampires.
And they definitely think of themselves as such, vampiric nobility and all. Noel and Farin Ehrlichkeit are of a long line of human servants, willingly having undergone selective breeding for traits that make them able to donate blood far more regularly than normal humans. (Fortunately for the two sisters, the trait is now well established as a dominant trait and they are free to be with whoever they please.)
ANYHOW. The investigation begins with a polite but deadly serious discussion over tea at the Tsukimura house. They have no idea what's happening, but Shinobu volunteers to assist as whoever is doing this could jeopardize them. (Also, in their modern sensibilities, killing humans in feedings simply isn't done anymore - not only does it attract dangerous attention, but it's just plain crass.)
Benjamin comes up with the idea of using himself as bait. With his goatee and long hair, he just needs a bit of 'makeup' along with some grungy clothes to look the part of a homeless man. (He uses some clothes from the last time he's done serious car work which he hasn't had a chance to launder yet - he will not only look the part, but SMELL it as well! Yes, there WILL be commentary.)
Ryoko, Aeka, Noike, Peorth, and Marller watch from nearby, with Mihoshi, Tenchi, Nanoha, Fate, and Arf (I keep forgetting about her for some reason!) on standby.
The first few nights there's, nothing. Though more corpses do show up. But third time is the charm as Ben finds himself suddenly falling through a wall and into something like a Witch's Lair... only this was made by Precia.
Precia has been very busy. As she is learning more and more about how her Soul Gem works (but not realizing the true danger), she has been pulling the very life-force out of the homeless she traps, and using it to make more simulacra of Alicia (or rather, of Fate) to act as her minions, and unwittingly acting almost exactly as a Witch in the process. (Witches trap people, sucks them dry, and spawns familiars.)
Benjamin proclaims that the Alamo City Wrecking Crew has officially arrived as the watch team goes in after Ben, and a knock-down drag-out fight is had.
Fate, hearing about everything that's happening inside, gets away from the others and goes in as well. She is horrified, but she's more angry than freaked.
Watching all of her work become undone, Precia's Soul Gem is overtaken by despair, and before their eyes becomes a Witch.
There is one HELL of a battle, during which Nanoha and Fate (on Ben's whim) snag Alicia's capsule and teleport out.
Witch!Precia goes BERSERK, trying to stop the two from teleporting, but Ben jumps onto her massive form...
....And is actually managing to hurt her.
"WARNING: ANTI-MAGIC FIELD DETECTED!" cry out Fate and Nanoha's devices.
Benjamin's ability is realized and the team takes full advantage. He is glad that Fate isn't there to hear Precia's final keening wails of despair that sounds almost like she is calling out her daughter's name.
All there is left is a grief seed, which Ben picks up.
Suddenly, cue the Metroid-esque evacuation sequence, complete with a running timer from Washu-chan to indicate time until total collapse of the pocket dimension. And on top of that, they have to get the few homeless people still alive out of there.
In the aftermath, no one saw what went down except for whoever was inside the pocket dimension. The murders mysteriously stopped as suddenly as they started. The surviving homeless all tell stories that line up with each other, but aren't taken too seriously because it all sounds like a nightmarish acid trip from hell.
Benjamin makes his contract with Hild.
And unseen by everyone, a single Alicia/Fate simulacra escapes...
....and creates a Witch's Lair.
Kyubey is satisfied. Keikaku doori.
Up Next: Enter the Wolkenritter.
"Guys. Einz is back. And not in a good way."
Thoughts?
So what if one of Kyubey managed to get loose? Happens to run across Precia?
Thing is, Kyubey is after people that can be Magical Girls... And here's someone that is already a "magical girl", just not a puella magi. Score, right?
Precia's wish is obvious: resurrect Alicia.
But it can't REALLY do that. Instead, he creates a simulacra of Alicia and Precia becomes a Puella Magi.
Precia is not happy with the results, but she figures that she at least has a replacement for Fate. And she herself begins experimenting with her own soul gem in hopes of finding a way to bring back Alicia...
...and in the process, abducting the homeless of San Antonio to experiment on them, and leave them as withered corpses when she has no more use for them. She cares very little about this because TSAB doesn't seem to be around, and the locals have no way to figure out what's going on.
What Kyubey doesn't tell her is,
- There are people around that CAN figure out what's going on
- That it fully expects her to wind up becoming an incredibly powerful Witch in fairly short order, and use her as the needed 'Bad Guy' for future Puella Magi it creates.
Ben has been introduced to Alice and her family, as well as Suzuka and hers... And through some very polite questioning, yes, the Tsukimura family actually are vampires of a rare type - daywalkers that can breed and also age like normal humans up until middle age. Pretty much the perfect vampires.
And they definitely think of themselves as such, vampiric nobility and all. Noel and Farin Ehrlichkeit are of a long line of human servants, willingly having undergone selective breeding for traits that make them able to donate blood far more regularly than normal humans. (Fortunately for the two sisters, the trait is now well established as a dominant trait and they are free to be with whoever they please.)
ANYHOW. The investigation begins with a polite but deadly serious discussion over tea at the Tsukimura house. They have no idea what's happening, but Shinobu volunteers to assist as whoever is doing this could jeopardize them. (Also, in their modern sensibilities, killing humans in feedings simply isn't done anymore - not only does it attract dangerous attention, but it's just plain crass.)
Benjamin comes up with the idea of using himself as bait. With his goatee and long hair, he just needs a bit of 'makeup' along with some grungy clothes to look the part of a homeless man. (He uses some clothes from the last time he's done serious car work which he hasn't had a chance to launder yet - he will not only look the part, but SMELL it as well! Yes, there WILL be commentary.)
Ryoko, Aeka, Noike, Peorth, and Marller watch from nearby, with Mihoshi, Tenchi, Nanoha, Fate, and Arf (I keep forgetting about her for some reason!) on standby.
The first few nights there's, nothing. Though more corpses do show up. But third time is the charm as Ben finds himself suddenly falling through a wall and into something like a Witch's Lair... only this was made by Precia.
Precia has been very busy. As she is learning more and more about how her Soul Gem works (but not realizing the true danger), she has been pulling the very life-force out of the homeless she traps, and using it to make more simulacra of Alicia (or rather, of Fate) to act as her minions, and unwittingly acting almost exactly as a Witch in the process. (Witches trap people, sucks them dry, and spawns familiars.)
Benjamin proclaims that the Alamo City Wrecking Crew has officially arrived as the watch team goes in after Ben, and a knock-down drag-out fight is had.
Fate, hearing about everything that's happening inside, gets away from the others and goes in as well. She is horrified, but she's more angry than freaked.
Watching all of her work become undone, Precia's Soul Gem is overtaken by despair, and before their eyes becomes a Witch.
There is one HELL of a battle, during which Nanoha and Fate (on Ben's whim) snag Alicia's capsule and teleport out.
Witch!Precia goes BERSERK, trying to stop the two from teleporting, but Ben jumps onto her massive form...
....And is actually managing to hurt her.
"WARNING: ANTI-MAGIC FIELD DETECTED!" cry out Fate and Nanoha's devices.
Benjamin's ability is realized and the team takes full advantage. He is glad that Fate isn't there to hear Precia's final keening wails of despair that sounds almost like she is calling out her daughter's name.
All there is left is a grief seed, which Ben picks up.
Suddenly, cue the Metroid-esque evacuation sequence, complete with a running timer from Washu-chan to indicate time until total collapse of the pocket dimension. And on top of that, they have to get the few homeless people still alive out of there.
In the aftermath, no one saw what went down except for whoever was inside the pocket dimension. The murders mysteriously stopped as suddenly as they started. The surviving homeless all tell stories that line up with each other, but aren't taken too seriously because it all sounds like a nightmarish acid trip from hell.
Benjamin makes his contract with Hild.
And unseen by everyone, a single Alicia/Fate simulacra escapes...
....and creates a Witch's Lair.
Kyubey is satisfied. Keikaku doori.
Up Next: Enter the Wolkenritter.
"Guys. Einz is back. And not in a good way."
Thoughts?