Ami had been holding her breath the entire time, but when everyone agreed, she let out that breath. At least there was no more fighting. She also discovered that while she enjoyed figuring out battle strategy, she hated being the one to dish out the instructions. They would have to find a way around that later.

She followed Mako into the first car, closing the door behind both of them. Makoto’s anxiety was palpable in the air in more ways than one. She was summoning her element, and every single part of her seemed to be tense. Ami wondered what it was that made her so afraid to get in. Maybe she was afraid of heights?

Before she could stop herself, she touched Mako’s arm gently, as their car began to float upward. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, feeling the need to calm her. If Mako was tense and anxious, she wasn’t going to be fighting her best. And Ami was genuinely concerned about her, too. “We’re all here together. We’re not going to let anything bad happen to each other.”

Rei Hino

The reddish-brown eyes watched carefully as Makoto and Ami stepped into the first car. She was ready and waiting with Usagi, the blonde having finally responded, and the two boarded the next car. Rei continued meditating quietly, keeping up the practice both as they waited to get onto the malevolent Ferris wheel in this warped Witch's space and once they stepped into the car and began the ascent. She kept her eyes focused out at the area around them, periodically checking the car in front of theirs, hoping that there would be no sneak attack on the previous riders. Of course, that would be perfectly fitting for a Witch's labyrinth.

Her fingers twitched for her bow, but she did not yet hold it in an offensive position. She worked better if she waited for the reaction. At this point, her powers felt more like muscle-memory than anything else. She'd be ready. She had to be.

Following behind the other girls, Minako stepped into the last car, her eyes cast towards the sky. She felt the adrenaline pumping in her veins, her powers surging at her fingertips. She was ready to let out her stressors and frustrations on this Witch - it had no idea what was coming. 

At the top, Minako was shocked to find not one, but three Witches awaiting them. As soon as Minako stepped off of the car, the world around her began to distort thanks to the Witches' magic, and she found herself in a distorted big top of sorts. Everything was multicolored and in disfigured patterns, making her head spin as she tried to focus on the enemy. Holding her sword tightly in hand, Minako stood back and surveyed the scene as her...friends?...moved into battle. Before them was three Witches, all taking on different forms. Perhaps they were actually one Witch, acting as three? There was no way to tell unless she attacked, Minako concluded. 

One Witch had the body of, quite frankly, an attractive woman, but the head of a hideous fish. The smell filled Minako's nose even from where she stood so far away, and it was all she could do not to gag. The second Witch was a massively oversized tiger standing on two legs, with an untigerlike mane of golden hair. The Third Witch, on the other hand, was a glorious purple hawk, its body the epitome of danger and destruction. The feathers on this witch formed a strange, purple afro atop its head, making it look a little less intimidating, but not by much. 

After observing her three opponents, Minako took several slow, cautious steps forward. She remained in the distorted shadows of this alternate atmosphere, watching the other magical girls to see how these Witches fought.

She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she realized there wasn't one Witch, there were three! Usagi immediately wished that Kyubey were here, close to them, but if he had gotten on the Ferris wheel (and she wasn't sure that he had), he was certainly in a car further back. She knew the other magical girls—her new friends—didn't necessarily... like the violet-furred cat-like creature, but she did. He had always been so nice to her. His presence was comforting. She wished she could feel that now, instead of this awful anxiety.

The blonde cringed as she caught a wave of the smell of the fish-headed Witch, reeling back and gagging. How gross! This was not the first Witch she had ever encountered, of course, but she found herself unable to "steel her resolve", always horrified anew to see the way the darkness that tainted these poor people manipulated their forms and built these Labyrinths of doom. The circus-like tent they found themselves in only added to the gruesomeness of the scene. Usagi took a deep breath, ready to summon a shield the moment a move was made. Unfortunately, she felt too nervous to make that first move herself.

Rei Hino

Keen eyes spotted the Witch... no, Witches, and her body tensed. Not out of fear—it was a reaction based on experience. Rei didn't feel concern that the situation had changed, she only felt a need to adapt to it. Fear wouldn't help her here. She had to be ready, that was how she managed to stay alive. If there were Witches (plural), then they would fight Witches.

She drew her bow, feeling the arrow summoned into place as she pulled back on the bowstring. She lined it beside her nose, eyes focused on the distant figure. Rei aimed for the fish... then the tiger... then the hawk. Which target? She had a few moments to choose, listening to the calm beat of her heart. There were three Witches. There were five Puella Magi. They had to be deliberate in their actions. They had the advantage right now, but they'd be spotted soon.

The tiger.

"Ready, Usagi?" she asked, more of a statement than an actual question.

With that, she fired.

The blazing arrow zoomed in a soft arc, illuminating the sky as it traveled. It caught the attention of the Witches for just a moment, glimmering in their eyes, before it impacted, sending horrifying snarls and wails into the air as the tiger roared and its companion Witches voiced their displeasure as well. The striped beast rushed at her, blonde hair streaming, and Rei leaped forward to meet it. She didn't want it too close to the others. She didn't want it too close to Usagi. But it had to stay in range, distracted in its anger, so someone else could attack it.

Why did she think someone else would attack it? They weren't a team. Were they a team? Rei didn't think about this now, violet-tinted hair fluttering behind her as she dodged. It spit fire at her, the warmth almost familiar. She tried to stay focused, tried to think one moment ahead, waiting for her next opportunity to strike.