The sun rose in the sky, cresting the horizon as it spread it's bright rays across the skies of Aurora. The city stirred into wakefulness as people rose. With the day would come common business, people going to work, school, and the daily affairs of life. There was peace, at least for the moment, a state of affairs that many hoped would endure for the foreseeable future. They had no desire for their life, hard though it might be, to be disturbed.

Meanwhile, Magical Girls were left to do as they wished as well. Many returned from busy nights of hunting Witches, new collections of Grief Seeds in their possession. Some of those would be handed over to the government as taxes, while the rest would be used to stave off the black corruption in their Soul Gems. Some would go to sleep, to rest from the hard fights they had doubtlessly fought, while others would head off to school, battling weariness and exhaustion to continue with some semblance of their old lives. It was a delicate balance, one not many could keep.

As for those less scrupulous elements, they awoke as well. Some to plan, to scheme, or to undertake their business in the darker corners of the city where there were no eyes to watch. Especially for them, the time of day did not matter, for gangs, crime networks, or the Shadow Compact.

Conflicting interests, high stakes games of power and politics, with the innocent, powerless, and uncaring caught in the crossfire. In this world of magical girls and power, things will never be simple.

---

Up in the large skyscraper that made up the dwelling of the current ruler of the Aurora City Authority, Alexandra Hertz rested casually on a large sofa, gaze directed to the glass window that gave her an impressive view of the skyline. One had to be impressed with the resilience of humans, that such a violent beginning could herald such a powerful recovery. And now she could look across her domain from on high.

She'd taken this by right, by force, and she planned to keep it. This was her domain, and now she ruled it for her benefit, as well as the benefit of everyone. Sure, there'd been hard times in her rule, but she liked to think that she balanced it out by the good she had done. It was just a fact that suffering happened, and she could hardly be blamed for it.

As she rested, sipping from a glass, there was a knock on the door behind her. "Enter," she called, not having to look and see since she already knew who it was. It would be Caroline, her right hand and the one who made sure she didn't get too overwhelmed with things.

"Good morning," Caroline replied as she stepped in, papers held in hand. She was calm, loyal, the perfect right hand, and had been with Alexandra through thick and thin. And she was more than worth her weight in a fight as well. She moved to the living room and stood in front of Caroline, facing away from the view.

Alexandra nodded as she straightened up, placing the near empty glass off to the side. "And how fares my realm?" It was part of their routine, to start the day with a status update and address the problems that she would have to deal with. While she could enjoy herself, sadly the life of a ruler wasn't so easy, and it was up to her to make sure things continued to run as expected.

"Good, for the moment," Caroline replied as she sat down unbidden, shuffling the papers she held. "Production is up, public approval is steady, and the Shadow Compact have been quiet." Leaving aside the rumor of magical girls working with them anyway. She knew Alexandra wouldn't have any time for rumors without basis, so she didn't mention it.

"I see." Alexandra broke into a light smile, grateful for the good news. "Well, that's good. Peace and stability are what this world needs."

Caroline nodded in agreement, leaving any differing opinions to herself. "Shall we get to work then?"

"Yes, lets."

A giggle could be heard in the Goethe Estate, a mansion of Victorian architecture hidden away from the populace by walls surrounding it from every side. The giggle belonged to Maria Goethe, who then continued speaking in a cheery tone:

"Fantine, bring us some hot coco. Eponine must want something nice and warm."

She was sitting in her wheelchair in the dining hall, next to a large table filled with all kinds of sweets for her to snack on. On the other side of the table sat Eponine Hassane.

"So, how is the situation at the slums? Is there anything I should know about?" She asked with a gentle voice as she levitated a cookie from the other side of the table straight to her mouth.

The thin sliver of sun cresting the horizon cast a dim light on the serene face of Chloe Hartmann, who seemed half asleep and half awake as she lay on a green hill overlooking the city of Aurora, staring at the horizon over the high-rises and skyscrapers. To look at it from so far away, the place looked peaceful, as though everything happening within its borders was under control. For a moment, Chloe almost wished that she was still human, that she didn't have to worry about the purity of her Soul Gem or witches or anything like that.

"Well... almost, anyway."

Holding up a grief seed in her hand, she put it in front of her face where the sun was to block out the light from her eyes. "Like my own little star... Heh. Getting sentimental in my old age," she announced to nobody in particular. It's true, for a Magical Girl, she was older than average. But that rarely meant anything for beings who could conceivably be immortal. Nobody looked up to her anyway. Nobody respected her wisdom, because she was not wise. But there were people who respected her strength. And in this world, that was all that mattered.

"...That's right. The strength to kill witches. The power to get grief seeds. You need them to pay tribute so that you can live a peaceful life. Right? That's the law around here. Nobody can go against it. Against 'Order.' That's what you said, right?"

"Right?" She asked, turning to face behind her at the small pile of broken bodies that lay at the very top of the hill. Three or perhaps four humans, limbs broken and askew, and absolutely, without a doubt, deceased. Chloe smiled warmly at them as she continued talking, as though addressing an old and trusted friend.

"It looks like your power couldn't stand up to a real test. That's just not power at all, then, is it? Huh." With a wry smile, Chloe threw on her headphones, cranking the volume up to maximum before setting into her business. Snapping a stout branch off a nearby tree, she shoved it hard through the pile of dead bodies and into the ground, like a gruesome, primitive sacrifice or something. Turning up her nose in disgust, she placed the final touch on her project, wedging the Grief Seed into a split in the branch.

Stepping back to admire her handiwork, she spoke again, quite loudly since she couldn't hear her own voice over the music pumping into her ears. "Well, that's what you wanted, right?! The Grief Seed?! If you want something, you should have the strength to reach out and grab it! That's what life is! There's four of you, so with a bit of teamwork, you'll figure something out!"

"Well, if somebody wants it bad enough, they'll find it I'm sure," Chloe thought out loud to herself as she began her descent down the hill and into the city, whistling in between her sentences. "Maybe somebody who's truly strong this time."

"The situation," Eponine replied mechanically to Maria, "is normal, Lady Maria. We hunted down a witch last night. I lost a few men. It doesn't matter," Eponine added quickly before Maria had a chance to offer any condolences, "they know what they're getting themselves into. They know that their sacrifices are worth the safety of their families."

Fantine milled about, serving the drinks that Maria had ordered.

"I did hear a...disturbing rumor," Eponine added after take a sip that was perhaps a little too big and perhaps still a little too hot to be considered normal. She felt her magic drain by a tiny fraction as the slightly scalded inside of her mouth was being slowly, magically healed. Eponine tried her best to hide that anything was wrong, it wouldn't do to have Fantine worry about something this small. Fantine on the other hand, saw very clearly the way her sister had drank without feeling, without tasting, but kept her worry to herself.

"An...effigy...was found in a neighboring fief," Eponine continued, "the effigy had an unused grief seed on it." Though usually stone-faced, at this last statement, Eponine narrowed her eyes slightly in what could only be described as a confused rage. Grief seeds were a form of currency in their own right; even if one was not a magical girl, one could always use it to barter or negotiate with a magical girl. For someone to leave something that valuable laying around, and in such a conspicuous arrangement spoke of a senselessness and blatant disregard of the system that Eponine, quite frankly, could not tolerate.

"The situation," Eponine replied mechanically to Maria, "is normal, Lady Maria. We hunted down a witch last night. I lost a few men. It doesn't matter," Eponine added quickly before Maria had a chance to offer any condolences, "they know what they're getting themselves into. They know that their sacrifices are worth the safety of their families."

"Of course," Maria responded in a slight slur due to the sweets she was now partaking in. "Give my regards to these families should you meet them," Maria said respectfully, but didn't mean a single word of it. After all, she thought, they had their use as part of Eponine's hunt, and could serve no bigger role. Only magical girls matter to her. Anything below them is a tool, to be used and disposed of, as was fit of the scum that killed Klaus.

Fantine milled about, serving the drinks that Maria had ordered.

"I did hear a...disturbing rumor," Eponine added after take a sip that was perhaps a little too big and perhaps still a little too hot to be considered normal.

"An...effigy...was found in a neighboring fief," Eponine continued, "the effigy had an unused grief seed on it."

Maria stopped eating as she levitated her hot coco on the table. "How peculiar. Seems like we have a rogue magical girl at our hands."

Maria thought about it, and came to a conclusion: only magical girls could collect grief seeds, and since this one was used as a message, it means its collector was willing to try and influence someone with the message. The message was clearly anti-governmental, since an unused grief seed is unheard of in Aurora City. It could be the neighboring fief trying to cause confusion among the Nobles, but the most likely culprit is an outsider sending a message to Aurora. Shadow Compact doesn't have the guts to pull off something like this, but perhaps they have managed to find someone who doesn't care about being discovered as a rebel magical girl. If that is the case, maybe they could be taken advantage of, and with a little push, could be directed at just the right people. Maria thought up a plan of action regarding this exciting new pawn in her game, causing her to smile in a devilish grin, betraying her true nature.

"Place patrols at the border, and have them report any unusual sightings directly to you. Find out who she is loyal to. If she works opposed to the city, invite her to my estate, for I wish to speak with her personally."

Before Eponine could ask for the reason behind the order, Maria continued: "If she refuses, make an attempt at capturing her. Of course, you are to kill her if the task seems too difficult to accomplish. If she proves too powerful for you to defeat, retreat."

Someone who isn't of use to her, even a magical girl, should be disposed of, lest they cause any more trouble to her. On the contrary, Eponine is someone Maria wants to hold on to, even at the cost of her grip over her domain. Territories can be taken back as many times as wanted, but a life is only spent once.

"Oh, and one more thing: we never had this conversation." Maria took a sip of her hot coco once she was finished talking.

"Of course," Maria responded in a slight slur due to the sweets she was now partaking in. "Give my regards to these families should you meet them," Maria said respectfully, but didn't mean a single word of it. After all, she thought, they had their use as part of Eponine's hunt, and could serve no bigger role. Only magical girls matter to her. Anything below them is a tool, to be used and disposed of, as was fit of the scum that killed Klaus.

"Understood, Lady Maria," Eponine replied, "I'll relay your sentiments to them. I'm sure your gracious appreciation will assuage their concerns." Eponine was a little out of touch with the concept of grief; other people were not such willing cogs in the machine as she was.

Maria stopped eating as she levitated her hot coco on the table. "How peculiar. Seems like we have a rogue magical girl at our hands."

"Place patrols at the border, and have them report any unusual sightings directly to you. Find out who she is loyal to. If she works opposed to the city, invite her to my estate, for I wish to speak with her personally."

Before Eponine could ask for the reason behind the order, Maria continued: "If she refuses, make an attempt at capturing her. Of course, you are to kill her if the task seems too difficult to accomplish. If she proves too powerful for you to defeat, retreat."

"Oh, and one more thing: we never had this conversation." Maria took a sip of her hot coco once she was finished talking.

"I will do as you command, Milady. But do you think that such a rogue can be...negotiated with?" Eponine asked, not trying to be argumentative.

"I will do as you command, Milady. But do you think that such a rogue can be...negotiated with?" Eponine asked, not trying to be argumentative.

Maria returned to her childish persona: "Of course, silly. We all have dreams we want to achieve. That girl will also have them, rogue or not. And unless I can speak to her directly I won't know what they are," she then spoke with a fake frown. "However," Maria suddenly returned back to being serious, like a paper mask was suddenly dropped from her face. "If she doesn't have any dreams, well, she's just the same as the witches who have succumbed to despair, and should be treated like one. Mmm, nice coco. Good recipe, Fantine."

"I humbly accept your praise," Fantine said, bowing while holding the serving tray in front of her.

"I understand, I will try my utmost to find this vagrant," Eponine replied. She thought about what Maria had said and considered her own situation. She didn't have much of a dream; preserving this fragile order was more than enough for her. Perhaps it was part of her wish; to not be hurt meant, to a certain degree, to not have to think; to dream meant inviting the possibility of disappointment so not dreaming meant not being disappointed, to be satisfied with things as they are, the status quo. She wondered if this meant she was a witch, but then again, perhaps she was incapable of falling into despair. After a short introspection, she simply chose not to think about it.

"I humbly accept your praise," Fantine said, bowing while holding the serving tray in front of her.

"I understand, I will try my utmost to find this vagrant," Eponine replied.

Maria gave a cute smile. "Wonderful. Now then, unless you have anything else to add or questions to ask, I believe we must part ways for now. Happy hunting!"

After Eponine left the mansion, Maria giggled and rubbed her hands together. She always yearns for a chance at getting a wild card in her hand, since you never know if it turns out to be just the perfect ace in the sleeve she could use to perform a royal flush. She began to reminisce.

"Aaah, dreams. They can be so wonderful. Don't you agree, Fantine?"

"Aaah, dreams. They can be so wonderful. Don't you agree, Fantine?"

Having received her orders, Eponine bowed and marched out. Fantine looked after Eponine with slight concern, but turned back to Maria when she asked her question, "Yes, Lady Maria. We can't really live without hope, can we? If we don't aspire to something, we wither...and die." Fantine looked at Maria and smiled to hide the sudden onrush of pain in her heart. Eponine had told her that dreams were unnecessary, Eponine had told Fantine to stop dreaming; that in the end, everyone would be betrayed by their hopes. Fantine could see that Eponine had abandoned hope and had replaced her will to live with a programmed obedience that kept her ticking, like a windup doll, like a zombie. Though Maria hid her emotions behind a smile, at least she had an ambition, something to live for, so Fantine could be happy for Maria in that way.

Having banished her transformation on the empty, uneventful walk down towards Aurora, Chloe had proceeded in human form toward the gates, relatively unhindered. She had stayed around for a little while, enjoying the fresh air that was so different from the air in the city, and to her surprise, there were guards posted near the city entrance. She recognized the group. These weren't thugs like the people who had ambushed her previous witch hunt, but real 'soldiers' of Aurora, equipped for hunting witches en masse. As much as it was irritating, Chloe stopped at the guard post when she was asked. It would be easy to simply transform and blow through weaklings like this, and it was true that she hated things that got in her way, but this was new. And new things were exciting. As the guard began to speak, Chloe obediantly turned down her music, though she left her headphones on.

"Ma'am, you've been selected for a random search. Please stand by."

If they were stopping her, of all people, it must mean that they were looking for a magical girl.

"I'd like you to empty your pockets, please."

Chloe was already halfway into the task, knowing that would be the man's next question. Casually, she pulled out her Soul Gem, which glowed a deep shade of grey. It would be easy to mistake it for black if it weren't for the visible traces of black corruption frothing around the bottom of the gem. "You're probably looking for one of these, right?"

At the sight of her Gem, all of the guards who had been carelessly milling around the area brought their guns to bear on her. They were aiming for her soul gem, not her body. Smart, they knew what they were doing. Chloe might not even have time to transform if they were looking for a fight.

"You're not with the City, are you? Ray, call this one in."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. That... would be a problem. Reacher her hand into her other pocket, she grasped one of a pair of brass knuckles, feeling the rush as she stared down the barrels of several rifles. This one was going to be a losing battle, with a very real chance that she may die. Still, Chloe was no strategist. "Sorry, humans, getting taken in now might be a bit of an inconvenience for me. I'm missing my favourite show, and I'm kinda hungry. So if y'all wouldn't mind just..."

As her speech trailed off, her body sprung into action. Tossing her Soul Gem in the air threw the group off balance, unsure of where to aim their guns anymore. Chloe used this advantage to deliver a powerful punch in the nose of the man who had already begun to speak into a walkie talkie. Chloe had no idea who was on the other end of that call, but she had been around long enough to know that it was top priority. The machine was still stubbornly gripped in the speaker's hand, but a short kick to his forearm sent it flying onto the ground before he could react. In one smooth motion, she grabbed a hold of the assault rifle nestled in the crook of his arm and jammed the trigger with all her might, without looking where it was aimed at all. An uproar of yelling and two of the men fell to the ground, leaving two still standing. She didn't have time to check if anybody was dead. Sliding low under a few shots fired blindly in her direction, she kicked one of the standing men in his left kneecap, stunning him, before thrusting her brass knuckles into his crotch with as much force as she could manage.

This motion concluded with just enough time to snatch her Soul Gem from the air and quickly transform, her Brass Knuckles forming into large, powerful magic fists, which she used to grab the man she had not attacked yet, and reach backwards, grabbing the one who had been speaking on the Walkie Talkie. Both men dropped their guns immediately, a sign that they were no longer a threat. Chloe stood up calmly, bringing both men towards her face. "Hope I didn't break that speakerbox of yours, fellas, you're gonna want it in a minute. I'm going to walk away from this and you're going to let me do it. But you'll call in to whoever put you here and explain that you just had a run-in with the coolest, most awesome magical girl you've ever seen - that's me, of course - and you can tell them to 'Catch me if you can.' But it will take more than five guns to do it."

Letting both men free from her grasp, she let herself revert back to her human form, her soul gem falling gently back into her pocket as she walked away.

"Man I'm so cool I can hardly stand to be around myself sometimes," she muttered to herself as she swaggered down the street, leaving the shaken men to whatever they were going to do. She made it five steps before a volley of gunfire blew past her back, and she felt two bullets enter her right thigh. One of the men had not been dead or disarmed, and had taken his chance to strike back, aiming for the pocket where she kept her soul gem. "You cheeky bastard," she cursed under her breath. But there wasn't any time for revenge. Instead, she hurried on down the road into a back alley and clambered up onto the rooftops of the city, where she would be safe from further fire.

"Well, two bullet wounds for at least five kills today is a pretty good trade I guess. I suppose I'll see if there's somebody from the Compact who can patch this up. Note to self: In the future, be more careful around loaded guns, idiot."

Eponine certainly had set herself up for a difficult task, with no leads to go on besides those she had already reported to Maria. There were methods she could follow if she wanted, such as staking out Witches Barriers and waiting for a magical girl to arrive, but that would be time consuming, and there was no guarantee that the person she was looking for would ever show up at all.

But that would have to wait for a moment as her phone rang, caller id revealing who it was. It would be Adrian, one of the higher ranking people in the militia she had created to help her fight Witches. It was a group that undeniably took losses, but he had been one of the better ones at surviving it all, and if he was calling, then it had to be important.

That was revealed soon enough to her, once she had answered the phone. "Hey boss, remember that effigy thing with the grief seed people've been talking about? Well, some rogue magical girl decided to bust through one of the checkpoints into the city a little while ago. Thought you might want to know."

---

The Shadow Compact were not the easiest group to find, as Chloe would be able to attest to as she made her way through Aurora. They worked underground, were deeply suspicious of magical girls or collaborators, and took precautions accordingly. Then again, as someone who had managed to work herself into a partnership with that organization, she would know as much, and have planned accordingly to deal with it, especially when moving on to a new area.

Her knowledge would guide her along in her search for Compact assistance, directing her away from downtown and towards the rougher areas, the places that had missed out on the economic development present, and were home to crime, poverty, and dirty dealings. The places that one would usually find the Mafia, and where government control was weakest.

That wasn't to say that they Compact didn't operate in nicer parts of Aurora, because they did, but it would be easier to find a safe house in one of the less important (from the perspective of the government) neighborhoods. But for someone like her, ferreting out a safehouse shouldn't be that hard.

<Snipped quote by Ariamis>

Having received her orders, Eponine bowed and marched out. Fantine looked after Eponine with slight concern, but turned back to Maria when she asked her question, "Yes, Lady Maria. We can't really live without hope, can we? If we don't aspire to something, we wither...and die."

Maria changed once again into something darker and brooding as she started to speak. "Indeed. We become nothing but screams of despair in the air, to be violently taken and then thrown away by those with purpose, scattered to the winds and consumed by strangers. To live without hope is to accept all the pain you have endured as having been for naught, to throw away any semblance of human will and to welcome complete oblivion."

Maria realized what she was saying and reverted back to her 15-year-old self. "Oh, I was starting to talk silly stuff. Never mind that, Fantine. I'll be at the study now, so don't disturb unless it's something important."

She turned her wheelchair around and headed for the study. It was a room with shelves packed to the brim with books of all sorts of topics and genres. However, she rarely read them; her main use for the room was in the green laptop she had sitting on a small table at the center of the room. Once she closed the room, she began to work on the various sheets and profiles she had already open on it, from small things such as grief seed farming charts to bigger files like intelligence she has collected on the city and the areas outside it. With nothing else to do, she continued working on it, managing and scheming with no set difference.

Eponine certainly had set herself up for a difficult task, with no leads to go on besides those she had already reported to Maria. There were methods she could follow if she wanted, such as staking out Witches Barriers and waiting for a magical girl to arrive, but that would be time consuming, and there was no guarantee that the person she was looking for would ever show up at all.

But that would have to wait for a moment as her phone rang, caller id revealing who it was. It would be Adrian, one of the higher ranking people in the militia she had created to help her fight Witches. It was a group that undeniably took losses, but he had been one of the better ones at surviving it all, and if he was calling, then it had to be important.

That was revealed soon enough to her, once she had answered the phone. "Hey boss, remember that effigy thing with the grief seed people've been talking about? Well, some rogue magical girl decided to bust through one of the checkpoints into the city a little while ago. Thought you might want to know."

"Track her, but keep a safe distance," Eponine ordered, "We want this one...alive. And unharmed, as much as possible." Eponine hopped in the jeep that had taken her here and ordered the soldier to drive her to the checkpoint. Speaking to the survivors, Eponine was able to glean a general idea of what this rogue looked like, as well as her magical weapon. What was troubling, but nonetheless expected due to the need to conserve magic, was the fact that the rogue seemed not to have revealed what her magical ability was. Apparently the rogue had also been shot in the leg, if she didn't use magic to heal the wound, she should be hobbling at a slower pace, but if she did use magic, she might be more desperate to find a grief seed. Eponine asked if the trail was still hot. She wiped blood from her mouth with her forearm, noticing that, once again, she had bitten the inside of her mouth without noticing.

Maria changed once again into something darker and brooding as she started to speak. "Indeed. We become nothing but screams of despair in the air, to be violently taken and then thrown away by those with purpose, scattered to the winds and consumed by strangers. To live without hope is to accept all the pain you have endured as having been for naught, to throw away any semblance of human will and to welcome complete oblivion."

Maria realized what she was saying and reverted back to her 15-year-old self. "Oh, I was starting to talk silly stuff. Never mind that, Fantine. I'll be at the study now, so don't disturb unless it's something important."

"Understood, Lady Maria," Fantine replied, letting Maria head off to her library. However, Maria's words made Fantine worry more about Eponine, so she quickly dried the tears that had started welling up at the corners of her eyes. Certain that she was no longer visibly sad, she headed down to the kitchen to help out with chores.

Chloe had spent as little time as possible patching up her leg. Without any convenient cloth on hand, and lacking the desire to tear up a good shirt or skirt for something like this, she had needed to take a quick 'peek' inside some stranger's home, where she managed to find a few bandages. Hopefully the delay wouldn't cost her much time, but at least she wouldn't be bleeding out everywhere. The tradeoff for her magical powers was a body that was close to being indestructable, but the body couldn't move without blood, and if she bled all over the streets and rooftops she might as well be leaving a trail of bread crumbs.

After taking care of herself and dodging through the streets of the inner city, she found what she was looking for. One of the few safehouses of the Shadow Compact that she had been in contact with before. She was no stranger to the poverty-stricken areas of Aurora, having grown up in such areas since birth, and hiding herself away in dirty rat-holes like this since forming her contract. Not only were they good places to hide away from the prying eyes of the government, but the despair here was strong, which made it a great place to hunt for witches.

Few people here were happy to see her, but she was able to get the medical attention she needed from a street doctor who had been hiding away here. Nothing else was particularly important to her, and she was a long shot from caring about the opinions of any other urchins here.

"Haah, what a pain in the ass. You think you guys would be a little more grateful. I might just be taking the heat off your doorstep so you can do your own little things, whatever they are. I keep telling you, we both have the same goal, don't we?"

By the time Eponine arrived at the checkpoint in question, she would find most of the affair over, medics taking care of the injured men while a clean up crew dealt with the property damage. Of that there was very little this time, though that was not always the case in these sorts of things. Given what the apparent intent was, it wasn't unreasonable though.

She'd find Adrian there already, a tall man with black hair and more than his share of battle scars, a former mercenary that had joined up with her. He was of a particular breed, but that made him very good at what he did. "Hey Boss," he said with a nod, glancing over to the men getting treated currently, pitying them just a bit for what they had suffered. "Everything was all settled by the time I got here. You can talk to them if you want, but at this point we don't have any leads. They're looking, but given that it was a magical girl, there isn't much hope for picking up her trail."

He shrugged, a hand resting on the pistol strapped to his waist. "Still, none of the other checkpoints have reported seeing her, so odds are that she's still in this section of the city, unless she happens to have some kind of illusion magic." It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

---

There were currently two men present in the safehouse that Chloe had found herself at, one the doctor who had patched hr up, and the other one of the men who worked with the Compact, and someone decently important, in terms of this local cell. Luckily, the doctor had had it easy given the nature of his patient, and it hadn't taken much work to deal with the wounds she had received. Now she could spend the time to heal up, if she so wanted.

The safehouse was a bit small, more cozy than anything, and it was certainly well stocked with food, weapons, medical supplies, and the like. From the outside it would look like a place to be avoided, but inside it wasn't too bad. Then again, given its purpose that probably wasn't a surprise.

The contact, Oscar, a pretty average fellow who preferred to look that way, with close cropped brown hair and casual garb to match, sighed as he watched Chloe from his position, leaning against a counter top. "Yeah yeah, so you say. And you had the code words, and the name drops to get in here. But we didn't survive this long simply on blind faith." He watched her with thinly veiled distrust, not that he'd have much of a chance if she actually tried to do anything. It was a reminder that not even her nominal allies trusted her all that much. "SO what's your plan now that you're here? They're going to be looking for you."

---

The knowledge of all the plans Maria had was generally well confined, as was to be expected from someone like her. While there might have been rumors, there was no solid proof to accompany them, and as long as that remained the case it seemed that she would be allowed to make her plots in peace and security. Certainly rumors were not enough to act on, at least under the current ruler of Aurora. In the past that might have been another matter, but that was not the present moment.

For some time she would be undisturbed, until a voice spoke to her in her head, a familiar tone that she may have viewed with some disdain, yet that also served a valuable purpose, here and elsewhere. Hello Maria Goethe, Kyubey said as he emerged from around a corner as if by magic itself, which it was in all likelihood. You appear to be well.

"Hey Boss," he said with a nod, glancing over to the men getting treated currently, pitying them just a bit for what they had suffered. "Everything was all settled by the time I got here. You can talk to them if you want, but at this point we don't have any leads. They're looking, but given that it was a magical girl, there isn't much hope for picking up her trail."

He shrugged, a hand resting on the pistol strapped to his waist. "Still, none of the other checkpoints have reported seeing her, so odds are that she's still in this section of the city, unless she happens to have some kind of illusion magic." It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"Have this area placed on lock-down, no one leaves or enters without my permission, and have her physical description circulated to each checkpoint. And if anyone sees her, they are to attempt to inform her that I wish to parley with her."

While Adrian went about fulfilling her orders, Eponine gathered three more of her best. When Adrian returned, Eponine said, "Adrian, we're going on a manhunt."

For some time she would be undisturbed, until a voice spoke to her in her head, a familiar tone that she may have viewed with some disdain, yet that also served a valuable purpose, here and elsewhere. Hello Maria Goethe, Kyubey said as he emerged from around a corner as if by magic itself, which it was in all likelihood. You appear to be well.

"Kyubey, how nice to see you," Maria responded as she turned around to greet the white creature with her trademark cuteness. "Why yes, I am most fine as you can see. Now, what brings you to my humble abode?"

In truth, Maria didn't actually care about the creature's purpose behind his visit, but decided to enjoy a bit of small talk while she had the chance, since Kyubey tends to leave magical girls alone after the contract, only appearing to dispose of grief seeds. While she does appreciate the gifts that his kind have given to her, she also knows their true nature, and, given her mood, would have no qualms with making his small head explode with her magic, since she is also aware of their apparent immortality.

"Got it," Adrian confirmed with a nod. It wasn't exactly a surprise, though the fact that she apparently wanted to parley with this girl was. But he wasn't going to question a decision of hers. On tactical matters he would, but he didn't get paid enough to interject in the higher affairs of magical girls. If she said she wanted to talk, that was what he would do.

She was left to collect others for the hunt as Adrian went to fulfill her orders, those being two women and another man, with a varying assortment of weaponry Most of it was oriented around fighting Witches, but it would serve well enough against humans and magical girls as well. And they had been trained well in that regard to boot.

When he returned, he nodded in approval of her orders. "Alright boss," he replied, falling into line as they moved away. He had his own weapon ready, an assault rifle, and he glanced over at her as they walked. "So what's the plan?"

---

Kyubey padded over with her greeting, taking up a position on one of her bookshelves as he watched her, tail flicking all the while. What sorts of plots and schemes the Incubator might be hatching were hard to say, for while the group helped those magical girls who ruled, it was also well known that they had their own agenda, and would work for their self interest at the same time.

Nothing incredibly urgent by your standards, Kyubey responded in a happy tone. I merely wished to check on your status and see how you were doing. After all, each magical girl is important. Important to the grand scheme of saving the universe from entropy, a goal so far off that no one here could care about it when faced with the realities and necessities of power. And even moreso when one knew the truth of the system.

He tilted his head as he dropped the other shoe. I'm also curious to see how you plan to ride out the oncoming storm. Of course Kyubey would have one than more motive to his visit, a tantalizing bit of information that she could pursue at her leisure.

Nothing incredibly urgent by your standards, Kyubey responded in a happy tone. I merely wished to check on your status and see how you were doing. After all, each magical girl is important.

"Oh, isn't that sweet of you," Maria said as she opened a jar of cookies she kept in a shelf. She then offered a cookie to the creature in an endearing manner. "Would you like one?"

Disgusting rat, Maria thought. Thinks he can barge in any time he wants and spout nonsense like that? Fine, I'll tolerate his presence for a bit more, before I'll have to call Fantine to clean his remains off the walls.

He tilted his head as he dropped the other shoe. I'm also curious to see how you plan to ride out the oncoming storm.

Oh, you sly bastard. Trying to pique my interest so you can catch me in a trap of yours? Alright then, let's partake of this game.

Feigning ignorance, Maria responded by mimicking Kyubey's head tilt and saying: "A storm, huh? I didn't see anything like that in the weather reports. Sure sounds scary."