The Deadland

[At precisely noon, while the roaming monsters once again go on the attack, Mami leaves her apartment. It's only the second time, outside of trips out to find food, that she's left the safety of the room, and though she doesn't know it, she's not exactly doing it willingly.

Before she leaves the apartment complex, she manages to break into a nearby apartment - Lightning's - and steal the rifle and ammunition the woman had managed to take from the station. She left the empty apartment, headed downstairs, and outside. In a flash of light, her clothes were replaced with her puella magi costume, and without another moment's hesitation, she headed down the road. Just far enough so that people wouldn't immediately come running.

The first few monsters are taken down no problem. Mami is careful to conserve her ammunition; she was supposed to destroy all of them, after all. But the longer she fights, the more appear, attracted to the carnage. The ribbon around her neck comes alive as she unties it, using the magical item to bind several creatures at once to make targeting them easier.

On and on she fights, nonstop. She's aware of the burn of fatigue beginning to set in, aware of the monster blood splattered over her face and clothes from the occasional close call, but she continues. She's compelled to fight, and fight she will.

It doesn't take long for everything to go wrong. Her Soul Gem was already moderately low when she arrived. It only dimmed faster and faster as the days passed, as she found out about her own failure and lost herself further to despair. It only takes an hour or two of fighting for that despair to finally sink its claws in all the way, and she snaps.

Normal people might notice the ear-piercing shriek coming from somewhere on Market Street. The supernaturally sensitive might notice something showing up in that direction as well. The Puella (and Puer) Magi will definitely feel a chill roll down their spines, and their Soul Gems flair to life.

Witch.]

((OOC: A few quick notes! This is a free, open post for anyone who wants to get their character stuck in a crazy alternate dimension, though I will not be tagging unless someone makes it to the center. If you're not one of the magi, you may, but remember the witch is extremely dangerous, and as there are plans for the magi (Homura, Sora, and Suzaku) to bring it down, your character will be killed. Otherwise, they're free to roam around, comment on the creepy surroundings, and wait for someone else to find them. The barrier will disappear when the witch is defeated, so unless a magi helps them out, they're stuck until it's gone.

Subthreads up. Go for it!))

[Lelouch arrived in the bar down the road, and looked around for the blond curls that were attached to the young woman he was seeking. While someone else would feel bad about what he was going to drive her to do, he was not most people.]

[So he got comfortable, conspicuously alone.]

Hey! This is Sora Himoto. I don't know your name, but-- um, the person who told me about where witches come from? Are you listening? I wanted to talk to you. I thought of something important.

[Mami spent the entire time the monsters were on the prowl boarded up in the apartment she's been staying in. It's cowardly, pathetic, and she wholeheartedly agrees on that. But she isn't stupid; she still can't summon a gun that works, and without any other form of defense, she'd be easy pickings for those monsters in no time.

But now that things have calmed down, she's going to try to fix that little problem.]

Is there anyone here capable of teaching others how to fight? With melee weapons, specifically. I'm unable to use my regular means of defending myself, so I need a backup plan.

[Action]

[Normally, Mami Tomoe was a very competent, focused fighter. Watching her fight was like watching a deadly dance, all smooth movements and precise shots.

This Mami, however, was barely a shadow of what she once was. Her mind and heart had been a wreck when she woke up in that strange room. The conversation with that strange child - I can grant any wish you want - had only brought up another wave of horrible memories. She was confused, upset, and stuck in the middle of a complete breakdown with nobody there to help her.

So when she appeared in the world proper, and near-immediately found herself face-to-face with a strange hybrid monster that should not have scared her after all she had seen, but was utterly terrifying to her in her current mental state, she did the first thing her horror-stricken mind thought of: run.

So she does. As she does, enough sense comes back to her to fight, defend yourself. So she turns, summons a rifle, and fires. Her hands are shaking too much and the bullet just about grazes the creature, so she discards it and summons another rifle. This shot manages to hit, but only barely. So she summons a third, aims, squeezes the trigger...

Click.

It's empty.]

What...

[Her shock and confusion causes her to hesitate just long enough; the monster, wounded and snarling, pounces.]

[Radio; some time later]

[The voice coming in over the radio is shaky, but a bit less frightened than its owner had been when she first woke up.] This place... I don't understand. I should be dead. How... how am I here?

[OOC: the action is first come, first serve, to keep things from getting confusing! If someone else tagged the action already, feel free to tag the radio post instead.]