[X] Shut Tsubey Up"No. Bad cat. You nearly got me disemboweled, leave her out of it."
Tsubey doesn't visibly react, staring at you with his gemstone-like eyes.
<It's not exactly my fault. Your wound stems from choices that you made on your own. The Incubators do not cause harm to people we contract, we merely allow them to harm themselves.>
"Shut. Up." You shoot a useless glare at the strange creature.
[X] Talk to
[X] Tsubey"How the hell am I still walking, by the way? I don't remember any healing being included in the deal."
<Why do you ask? Are you not pleased to find you heal faster?>
"I know how contracts work. You give me something, you're going to expect me to give you something back. But I never asked for this."
<Magical Girls always receive a boost to their healing. We aren't too sure why it happens to, but it's exceptionally useful in guaranteeing secondary returns, which provides for a higher density of active Magical Girls.>
[X] Magical Girls."How long do magical girls usually live? Is being ripped open a common cause of death?"
Tsubey pauses briefly, staring at you with his dead eyes.
<The current average is two years.>
Your blood turns to ice as you just stare at him. You hear Helga gasp almost inaudibly.
Tsubeys tail swishes back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. <That number is skewed by a high number of outliers. In theory, a Magical Girl does not die of old age, but many never survive to even fight a witch. You have already passed 18 percent of Magical Girls in age. Most die of Grief Seed deprivation, not even knowing where it comes from. On the other hand, the current Queen of England, Elizabeth, has been a Magical Girl since she was your age. She represents a high outlier, surviving almost ninety years as a Magical Girl in London. It is, as it always was, up to you.>
He turns to stare directly into the eyes of Helga. <Of course, teams of Magical Girls usually last significantly longer than individuals, assuming the city can already support the population.>
[X] Talk to...
[X] Helga
"Is... Is this real? The truth?" Helga asks you. the look in her eyes makes you flinch and look away.
"Yeah, it is. I'm a Magical Girl now. Remember the car wreck a week ago?"
"Was on the way to school from your house. But you came to school that day."
"I.... Made a wish. That's how you contract. You get one wish, which can be almost anything, but then you have to become a Magical Girl... And fight for your life against these creepy things called Witches... That's how I got hurt..."
You tell her everything, from the very beginning. There isn't really much to tell, but watching the normally cheerful Helga look so somber is kind of painful. Tsubey often tries to step in and suggest Helga contract, but for some reason you're opposed to it. Maybe you don't want to see her hurt like you are. Maybe you're just jealous.
Eventually, you're both just staring at each others feet in the alley, nothing left to say.
The one thing you didn't tell her is what your powers do. You couldn't take that from her. You're holding your Soul Gem in egg form in the palm of your hand, while Helga sniffs and wipes at her tears. It is for this reason that you feel a pulse of energy, which immediately puts you on alert. You've only felt that pulse one time....
<A witch seems to have opened her barrier nearby.> Tsubey says in the strange manner that incubators seem to use, sounding at once cheerful and emotionless.
He is going to die if you do nothing[CHOICE SELECT]
[X] Find the Witch
[X] With Helga
[X] Without Helga
[X] Continue talking to...
[X] Tsubey
[X] Helga
[X] Check Soul Gem