In the last moments before the Earth Bastion had gone from Earth to the Overcity, Silhouette had made her move. She darted from one hiding place to the next as she advanced upon the ship and eventually jump into the side and clung to it, crawling higher up until she found a place on the side she could wedge her arm into. With the application of stasis on the limb, it was more likely that the Earth Bastion would break before her arm did, and Sil probably didn't have to worry about that happening anytime soon.

Of course, the police had not stopped firing their weapons at the ship or at Sil herself, as it was likely they were under the impression she was a part of this weird group. Thankfully for her, there was absolutely nothing they owned that could even scratch Silhouette's costume. It was quite sturdy even for a magical girl's, and even had they landed a blow on her exposed head, it wouldn't have been anything her regeneration wouldn't take care of immediately. Her biggest threat would be getting discovered by the other Mahou Shoujo aboard this vessel, which she succeeded in avoiding for now, which was indicated by her unimpeded crossing of the portal created.



It was unpleasant though, to say the least. She didn't exactly have the most comfortable position on the boat...thing that this had become since she'd sabotaged it. Still, she managed to hold on and once the Earth Bastion had completely gotten through, she had no problems.

This place looks... odd.

The Dark Magical Girl did not care much for this strange scenery. It was unfamiliar and that meant more for her to be cautious of while she attempted to complete her mission. At least on Earth, she knew exactly what to expect but here? With dragons and checkered floors, this was beginning to look a lot like some fantasy realm a kid invented. Only much less 'fun' looking. She'd need to be careful more than anything while she was here. Sil was not blessed with a natural ability to traverse between Earth and this place. To get home, she'd either need to stowaway once more upon the Earth Bastion, or she would need to rely on Veronica setting something up. Due to the limited time she had to begin the mission, Silhouette was not able to confirm anything solid as a means of escaping this place, but it didn't make sense for Veronica to leave a pawn like Sil out with no way to return, so in the most basic way possible, Silhouette trusted she wouldn't be entirely out of options should she not be able to stick to the ship again.

In one way, however, things did go smoothly for Silhouette. The surrounding area was rather dark, and seeing a fair distance out was all but impossible to those not gifted special vision. This boded well for Sil, who wished to remain unseen for the time being. As soon as was possible, she jumped from the side of the ship and made her way to the outer edge of the light, where spotting her just about impossible. Nobody would accidentally catch sight of her, and anybody attempting to use magical methods that could spot her would stand out due to her Third Eye, so she could relocate or adjust her distance in that case. Hopefully, this was enough to allow the assassin to tail the...Bastion for now.

Makoto sped herself up and followed the Earth Bastion through the portal. She carefully managed the speed of her senses to fully take in the experience of the shift. It was rare that she managed to get to the Overcity, after all. In the process she found herself fully aware of a ripple of time magic very closely nearby. It felt similar to what she felt from her hotel, but different than anything she was used to. Deciding to keep an eye open for it, she finally returned herself to normal as the Bastion landed.
"It's beautiful..." she felt herself gasp, words escaping her as she looked around the area, her Awareness and True Sight allowing her to see perfectly fine despite the darkness. She felt the ripple of time being altered almost immediately upon arrival and carefully followed the source with her gaze. She seemed to be a black haired girl in a dark outfit. Makoto briefly wondered if that was cause to believe that the girl was a Dark Magical Girl or a Monster Girl before deciding it didn't matter. She'd keep the girl on the edge of her consciousness as she went, but otherwise decided to completed ignore her unless necessary.
With a large jump she landed on the deck of the Earth Bastion and took a seat on the railing to wait for her new entertaining "friends" to arrive.

Alicia Hayden

In a matter of moments the Bastion lurched through the portal that had opened up, sweeping them away from Earth and into the Overcity. Were it not for the situation that they were currently in Alicia would have been quite impressed and eager for this. She hadn't been to the Overcity before, though Ren had told her what it was like before. If it weren't for the problem with Justine she would have loved to have the time to simply explore and see what it was like. Sadly they didn't have such a luxury, not yet.

It was a very interesting place, regardless of her current distraction. It was like they were on a massive checkerboard, a forest off in the distance and the occasional ruin of some long dead or vanished civilization. And even if she had not been here before, it did not take a genius to guess that the dark mist that diffused through the land was probably a bad thing. Tapping into her powers, Alicia let a small orb of light manifest on her hand, to let them see a bit better.

Catching sight of the blood moon, the chill in her bones was quickly distracted by their newest companion. "I still can;'t believe this was the only person you could find who was willing to help," she said to Eli while gesturing in the general direction of Libby. It was a good thing she could call on Beacon once they were in a better position, otherwise her opinion of their odds would have been much worse.

Sighing, Alicia shook her head as Helga spoke up. Glancing back towards the city itself, Alicia was taken aback by the size and the sheer crystal wall that surrounded it. "That explains the name," she muttered to herself with a respectful tone. Of course, if Jusstine hadn't gotten into there yet, whatever she was doing probably involved accomplishing exactly that task. "So, where is Justine holed up?" If the ritual was already underway then they didn't have any time to waste.

Amber's tiny body started to relax as soon as they were in the over city. It wasn't a place she had ever seen before, but had heard Boteg and Sue talk about it in length. The main reason why the golden dragon didn't live here was because he wanted to hide his wealth, and himself, from the “terrifying one.” It was probably a bit shameful for a supposedly proud dragon to hide among humans like that, but pride seemed to be one of the few things Boteg worried about.

“We made it.” Sue looked out of the bridge at the landscape. It had been a long time since she had seen this place. “It's a little more menacing than I remember it.”

Amber looked nervous. She could have been nervous about the recent attack from the police men, but Sue had another theory. Amber was surrounded by Lilly's friends. Sure she had Helga and Sue, and Alexander had been nice to her. But everyone else was under beacon and Mariette's control. Beacon in particular was not very fond of anyone who worked for Ebon Mint, and it was doubtful they would continue to work with Amber if she was discovered.

“Are you alright Amber?”

The pirate adjusted her seat. “Y-yea, I'm fine!” She forced a smile.

“You really don't look that good.”

Amber blinked a few times. “Well, I just got a phone call from Boteg.” Phone calls was just a nickname for the mental link Boteg had with Amber. “I told you about how he wants us to slay the forgotten one's champion, right?”

“I remember.”

“Well...” Amber took off her hat and used it to pat down her face. “It seems like they're on this ship with us right now.”

Sue raised an eyebrow. “R-really?” The familiar landed on Amber's shoulder. “We need everyone available to fight Justine!”

“He knows how important this is, and he isn't going to have us make our move yet. But I have to kill them eventually. Boteg is my patron, and I can't argue with him on this.”

“W-who is it anyway?” Sue shook her head. She didn't really want to know. “Amber, these are all Lilly's friends! The only magical girls I've seen you kill absolutely deserved it! Everyone here seems like good people.”

Amber placed her hands on the side of her head.“You have no idea how hard this is without you telling me I'm wrong.”

“I-I'm sorry.” Sue lowered her head. “I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, and regardless of what you do, I think it'll all turn out okay as long as you listen to your heart. That always gets us out of trouble.”

“Sometimes I think the opposite is true.” Amber adjusted a mic that was attached to the control panel. “Alright, how are my sailors?” Amber raised an eyebrow. “Alexander? I don't know what you're talking about, the cameras aren't picking up anything. I'll drive towards it if you'd like to take a closer look.”



One of the things that Tonya would bemoan was fate's lack of resolution. Yes, it was her patron and her duty to serve fate regardless of what it decided to do, but it was baffling how frequently things would come up and never experience any sort of pay off. It was almost baffling that despite Penny being the chosen one's champion, she would never fight Amber or any of Boteg's scares. It was almost anti-climatic. Future Penny was an unstoppable killing machine, but Amber's cannon had proven to be quite destructive for her modest abilities. What would a fight between them have actually looked like?

Oh well. At least Amber got her moment in the lime light. In a way, her death would be a mercy. The direction Penrose was headed in wasn't a very happy one. But it was a tragedy Tonya would follow as long as she could.

If the magic of the universe was working as correctly, the common men who had seen all that should be explaining it away in more reasonable terms at first possible opportunity. Regardless, now Mariette held herself in place under the deck of the Bastion, mostly because she didn’t want anyone to see what it had took to open the portal, or what followed.

The moment they drove through the massive portal, all Mariette’s other portals vanished, including those which held her in place. She and the mirror fell off the wall, her tentacles quickly wrapping around them both as they hit the floor, trying to prevent any damage from happening. She succeeded, of course, but the mirror having been torn from the magic circle meant the portal behind them suddenly crumbled and collapsed behind them and any who might have snook in along with them, the arc cracking and falling before vanishing into thin air.

… Okay, that’d do. Ensuring she was fine, Mariette stood up, dusting herself off, and got ready to show her face again.

On deck, Eli had been holding on, blinking in amazement at the blood moon on the horizon.

‘Thaaaat’s not usually here,’ she stated the obvious, gesturing at the moon, taking out her notes and looking them over. While she was doing that, Alicia made a comment about that they only found Libby Bibby when looking for allies…

‘Yeah, me neither, it’s a blow to my pride that my notes could only find one…’ She made a peeved expression. ‘Still, one’s better than none, I’ll just hope Libby’s super-capable and not a trap,’ she then added, before looking over to what Helga was saying, and then what Alexander was saying. Huh, there was a lamp out there, couldn’t see it… Still, to Amber’s question about how her sailors were doing, Eli lifted her fluid wings with an expressionless face to call out in similar tone. ‘We’re living for now! Ask again later!’ … Then lowered her wings to look over the notes submerged in them again.

… And somewhere around here Mariette walked out through a portal onto deck again, holding a stuffed bunny and a focused expression, dress still damaged from the earlier attempt on her life. She had left the mirror in a hopefully secure state below deck. She couldn’t carry it with her everywhere. She’d check with Absolute Direction to make sure it was still there every now and then.

‘Welcome to the Overcity. Those new to this place should beware not to wander the Sprawl, lest you might never find your way back to the world whence you came,’ Mariette warned. ‘Unless a person claims otherwise, assume I’m the only one who can navigate this world or bring you back from it. For now, the direction we’re heading…’ Testing with Absolute Direction again, Mariette slowly lifted her free hand to point in a direction before them… in the direction of the blood moon. ‘Justine is that way. We should hurry.’

… Mariette didn’t really care much about some lantern she couldn’t even see, frankly.

‘The ritual has started? What ritual?’ Eli turned and asked Helga, frowning, eyes interested in what knowledge the girl might hold about the workings of the enemy. Of course, Mariette and therefore Eli by extension were suspicious of Helga, but for now.

---

When the ship entered the portal, Suwako immediately covered her eyes as the sudden intense light was too much for her. She could feel the feeling of weightlessness suddenly enveloping her entire body. This was her first time doing any sort of transdimensional trip, so it was also the first time she felt something like this. The sensation was indeed really strange for her.

When the light receded and her eyes opened once again, they immediately widened and Suwako took in the new world they had arrived in. She had no words to describe what she was seeing in front of her. It was as if she had entered a dream land.

"So this is Overcity..." she mumbled to herself. "It's really something else indeed..."

Suwako quickly snapped out of her awe when she heard the distant roar from a dragon-like creature up above. She readied her bow once again, knowing that this place was as dangerous as it was impressive.

"Crap, Justine's already begun the ritual." she heard Helga said. She looked at the girl and saw that her eyes were affixed to the blood red crescent moon in the horizon. Suwako could feel the eeriness coming from that moon. She had to trust the girl's words now.

"We should hurry. I have a feeling that something's really bad is going to happen soon," Suwako said to no one in particular. She was saying it more to herself than anybody else.

Mariette then warned them not to wander the Sprawl; Suwako assumed she meant the checkerboard fields; and that they should head to the direction of the blood moon if they wanted to find Justine.

"Alright then. Let's go there right away," Suwako said to her. "It's a shame that we can't explore around a little, but we have a mission to do." Suwako couldn't help but admit that she was really quite interested in this new world.

”The ship didn't sustain any damage at all,” Penny announced as she clambered out of Earth Bastion's interior, and dusted off her hands while smiling. She wasn't sure if the ship had the structural integrity to survive a crash landing, but was glad to know that wasn't the case. She was about to ask the others how they were doing when she was left speechless as she saw the world of magic that unfolded before her eyes.
”Whoah...Looks ominous.” She then turned to take a look around the ship, and noticed Makoto on the deck.
”Hey, you're the girl who made the fancy jump! What do you want?” She asked, and took a battle-ready stance, her fists clenched.

---

Libby Bibby played golf with her hammer a fair bit distance from the ship, and launched a ball far into the distance, seemingly ignoring the looks she got from the others. Still, even with her careless attitude, it seemed she was not entirely oblivious, as she bounced right toward Silhouette's direction. Despite the assassin's exceptional ability for stealth, it became clear to Silhouette that Libby was able to detect her, as she gave the lurking girl in the darkness a quick giggle and wink before skipping her way back to the ship. When their gazes met, only the Dark Magical Girl hidden in the shadows could see that for the briefest moment, as if she simply imagined it, the pupils of her eyes turned to vertical slits. She twirled her way to Eli and Alicia, and clasped her hands behind her back as she leaned over to look at Eli. She giggled while looking at the slime harpy with glee.
"Snap trap? That slaps my lap like a clap flap! You're funny! Libby Bibby likes Ellie!" She suddenly yawned, opening her mouth wide.
"I'll have a nap!" And just like that, she dropped to the deck's floor in a cartoony fashion, and began snoring loudly with her eyes closed, making a snot bubble.

Helga shook her head at Libby's ridiculous behavior, and sighed as she glanced at Eli and Mariette.
"Well, about that..." She rested her clawed hands on one of the ship's railings; she had a pained expression plastered on her face.
"Justine didn't speak much of it, but there was a reason she kidnapped Magical Girls; she wanted their blood to use in a ritual that makes the world, uh, 'pure'. I never understood what it meant, but I guess it would involve her summoning my former Patron...Father. We can't let that happen." She nodded at Suwako's words, and gripped the railing as Earth Bastion began moving. Then, the crystal gates to the Overcity opened, and a winged Magical Girl, Olesya, walked outside. She would see the strange vehicle ridden by the girls, and even stranger crew spread on and around it, including a few monster girls.

However, before Amber had a chance to steer the vehicle in the lamp's direction, it began shining brightly; Mariette recognized the image of a flaming eye projecting from the crystal, until it melted into a pool of viscous red blood. And then, everyone heard distant noises. At first they were indiscernible, until they began resembling demonic roars.
"Oh no! They're coming!" Helga shouted, looking frantically at the lamp, and then around them. Makoto was the first to see that from the forests and mountains charged forth elephant-sized monsters of red and black. They numbered ten in total, with gaping voids in place of faces and spiked tails flailing behind their lumbering forms as the quadruped beasts bounded over the checkerboard fields. Olesya would clearly see how these unnatural abominations came running, obviously intending to attack the girls. Mariette would also recognize these creatures as well when they drew near, their terrifying forms illuminated by the light that Sol Invictus had blessed the ship with:

Amber just got done driving away from police officers. Before she had the chance to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, these things showed up. Amber didn't even need to use the auxiliary camera system. The giant creatures were visible on the main screen at the front of the bridge. “Well blow me down.”

“I guess...” Sue groaned. “It would have been too much to ask for a safe trip through the underworld. I-I mean over city!”

“Same difference.” Amber steeled herself before adjusting the mic again. With a nervous chuckle, she started talking to everyone through the com system. “Alright landlubbers, We can't get scared now. Whatever's waiting for us at Justine's castle is sure to be ten times worse than this. And I know we can beat it, so try not to freak out. Follow your captain's orders, and we'll survive.” Amber's eyes glanced over all of her screens. For some reason, she was grinning. “Mariette, open a portal to that winged magical girl by the city. We're going to deploy Eli and Sue so that they can explain the situation and maybe get us some back up. But we don't know what the situation over there is like, so make sure they can return if things get hairy.” Amber didn't have a ton of time to give orders with the creatures barring down on them. But she did her best to sound confident in her plan. “Alexander, protect everyone topside. Those of you with ranged weapons or powerful magic, Focus them down one at a time. Try to spread out a bit so that they can't take you out all at once. Those of you who aren't gifted with artillery or ranged weaponry, stand by Mariette. I'm confident she can use her portals to let you attack the creatures without even leaving the ship.” There was no time for quips about the portal witch, Amber needed to be as concise as possible. Amber adjusted her grip on the steering levers. “I'm going to be taking evasive action, should they start firing on us or try to board. So be ready for that.” Amber was determined to make the ride as smooth as possible, as to avoid throwing everyone overboard.

"be careful Amber. I don't know what those things are capable of, but they have the same magical signatures as the bloodicorns we fought earlier." Sue had flown outside and landed next to Eli, ready to use any portal that appeared before her. “Alright, ready when you guys are.”



Ugh, gorelions.

One of the few monsters that were totally immune to her illusion magic.

Though really, it wouldn't be much of a problem since she had other forms of magic to rely on. Her gravity magic in particular could be used to replicate the wounds of other weapons, so if the portal witch whent along with Amber's plans, she'd be able to assist without anyone suspecting it. Some might think it was strange that Tonya would go through such lengths to keep her identity secret, as the world's love was at risk. But fate's plan for everything reassured her that this would be enough.

That, and she had come too far to tip her hand just yet. Wouldn't it be something if she could go the entire mission without getting spotted?

Alicia Hayden

The Beckoner had a couple things in mind when Helga mentioned the ritual, and somehow she was not surprised to find that it involved using the blood of magical girls to do something evil. Not that it made her feel better about the situation, given what the likely fate of those girls being used as disposable magic batteries by a psychopath was. That should be more of an incentive to get there and finish this, before something tragic happened.

Otherwise, she did her best to ignore Libby as they prepared to get underway. "Of course we do," she replied, as if anything else would be ridiculous. Nothing had changed as far as she was concern, besides the haste in which they needed to move. This ritual was bad news and if it was already going then they would need every second with the opposition they were going to be facing.

The sudden flaring of light pulled her attention away, as she finally caught on to the lamp that Alexander had mentioned before. Only now it was glowing before suddenly being snuffed out, probably not a good sign. "Okay then, is that normal too?"

As if to answer her, the rising sound of demonic roars made themselves known, and her gaze swept around to find the source before the monsters emerged from the cover off in the distance. She didn't need Amber to tell her what to do as she stepped over to the side of the boat, planting a foot on the railing as she summoned Star Seraph into her hands. "Look alive," she called. "Justine sent her welcoming party."

Picking the targets that were coming at them from the west, Alicia strung her bow and aimed. "Star Seraph, burn," she intoned, tracing a glyph in the air in front of her. She fired, catching it in the air for a few brief moments before it was accelerated on its way with a hail of copied arrows around it. That was a process that she would repeat, as she began a long range barrage of their foes. Since the ship apparently didn't have any weapons itself, it would be on them to keep those things away. And for the success of their mission, she would do her best

Makoto simply waved away Penny's question. "Hi, Penny. Cool new limbs, do they feel okay? Don't worry about why I know your name, it's just a habit of mine to learn it before I say 'hello.' Anyway, you should really focus more on those." she said as she pointed off towards the coming monsters. "Your railgun thing would be really useful right about now. I can be your spotter if you need.
Makoto smiled inwardly, this was perfect. She'd just come back from a small fight with Penny in a sidelong timeline, learning about her abilities in the process. That electromagnetic canon of hers had hurt quite a bit, so she was sure it would be a nice introduction for those creatures before they got in proper range. Makoto's tail was hidden behind her as she accelerated the healing of the last of her wounds, and she made a mental note to not fight any of the girls around on such an empty stomach again, with how close Penny had been to beating her before she could return. Especially the one who noticed that other time user. It was too obvious that a normal magi couldn't see her, it would take a Dark or Monster Girl to do it. But as long as she didn't slip up, there shouldn't be any problems while she was here.

In all honesty, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that they had to fight through minions to get to the head bitch...but it still pissed Alexander off "'Protect everyone topside' she says" truthfully, it was the best use of his abilities, but he disregarded that fact because of his desire to ruin the day of these freaks. Making a couple of clones, he began pouring magic into them, and they in turn started placing forcefields around everyone on the deck "I really hate that this is all I can do" There wasn't any point in putting up any barriers, since the blessings on the ship made it functionally invulnerable (at the very least, if they came across anything or anyone able to so much as scratch it, then they had bigger problems then the ship being damaged), so it would just be a waste of energy. Using clones to place and maintain forcefield on everyone really was the most effective use of his powers...and it really bothered him

Even with the darkness of the surrounding area as her ally, Sil was unable to remain completely hidden from the party aboard the ship. It seemed at least some of the crew owned enhanced vision that made such a task all but impossible to traditional stealth methods. However, at the very least, while others had managed to spot her, she also saw them. She made a mental note to remember exactly who had seen her and would make use of this in the future, should she need to.

She was lucky those who had spotted her had decided not to pursue any aggressive actions towards her. Sil had been about to launch a preemptive strike against Libby, but the girl had stopped approaching her just in time and winked at the assassin. A very flamboyant way to threaten someone, or so Sil thought. But the message got across. There were those who knew she was there and it was likely they'd stop being as friendly as they had been, were she to attempt something. That wouldn't stop Sil had she desired to 'do something', but she would take the information into account when doing so. And getting into a fight, especially with so many unknown foes in an unknown area, was not exactly the best idea. She wouldn't do it if she did not have to.

Eventually, when it had finally seemed as though nobody else was going to quite literally magically notice Sil's presence, she put a fair bit more distance between herself and the vessel and took the time to quietly speak into the strange artifact that Veronica had prepared just before her departure for this mission.

"This is Silhouette." she began. "I have reached the other side of the portal."

Veronica did not respond right away. A ship with a bunch of strangers had just disappeared in front of a bunch of police officers. Since Veronica was pretending to be law enforcement, she had to multitask. Sil could hear Veronica talking with some officers before responding. “I expected nothing less from you.” Sil could hear a car door slamming. Veronica must have gotten inside a police car. “You were discovered during the last operation, which means that if the wrong people see you, you will surely be attacked. But I think we can count on poor communication in this group. At least for the time being. So long as you don't encounter the cyborg or the captain, you should be in the clear. Neither of them should have a way to magically perceive you.” Veronica stopped communicating with Sil to make a report on a com radio. Something about a “magic trick” to make a ship disappear. “Status report, What's happening on that side of the portal?”

"Nothing of intere--" Silhouette's report was immediately cut short by the howls erupting from the trees in the distance. Sil did not speak for a moment as she rechecked the surrounding area, quickly darting about and surveying the exact size of the 'force' that was about fall upon not only the Earth Bastion, but also likely her due to her proximity to it.

When she was done, Sil kneeled down and placed a finger to her ear as she once again spoke to Veronica. "Monsters have appeared and almost entirely surrounded the ship and are attempting to attack. They're sizable, lack a face, and number just a couple short of a dozen. I can potentially avoid them if I move towards the city." Sil spoke quickly, attempting to get as much information out to Veronica as she could in the quickest time possible.

"That is...if that is your desire."

“You could, but you would likely be spotted. Unless you can confirm the direction of the ship, going to the city is not advised.” There was a pause. Veronica was thinking. “However, this could prove to be an interesting opportunity. Only the cyborg and captain will see you as a threat.” Sil could hear Veronica start a car. “Might it be possible to attack one of the creatures? Preferably where everyone can see you?”

"...you would like me to reveal myself and assist them?" Veronica was sure to pick up on Silhouette's confusion, even if it manifested only as a slightly-delayed response. Sil looked towards the beasts that were speeding straight at the ship. It was about now that the crew had begun to retaliate to their advance. It surely would not be difficult to fight where it would be obvious to the crew, but that was sure to draw the attention of the two she did not want seeing her.

Another moment passed before Sil answered.

"I am capable of doing so, yes."

“I understand how you feel silhouette.” There was a change in Veronica's tone. Or maybe it was just interference. “But you aren't responsible for what your fellow twin soul has done. While they linger here, you've been stuck in the over city. But it's just the two of them that your other half has crossed. If you help them, they will believe you. ” Veronica snorted. “A group of disorganized magical girls is sure to appreciate all the help they can get, even if it's suspicious. Is that not correct? ”

Sil pondered the idea for a moment. Fabricating a false Persona to achieve her goals? That certainly would not be the first time someone had asked her to do that, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Given the status of the girls, the plan had a fair chance of working. Although if she remained exactly as is, it would be harder to get the people who had seen Sil before reaching Overcity to believe it. She would need to create a disguise.

Silhouette summoned ChronoRend and cut a sizable amount of her long hair from her head, leaving it shorter. Her regeneration allowed her to fine-tune certain aspects of her body she normally wouldn't be able to. Perhaps the silliest utilization of this power would be the ability to regrow hair at an alarming rate. This was both less impressive and less useful than regrowing limbs, but it was still a way she could apply her strange body. She would never say it, but she loved her long hair, despite it technically being a liability on the battlefield. So not having to wait an extended period of time to get it back was nice.

Moving on, Sil had her weapon, ChronoRend, vanish and then pressed her hands together and used her ability to place things in stasis to make her gloves a temporary weapon. The cyborg had seen her blade, so it would be best not to use it in front of the others and so long as she didn't remove the stasis, the gloves could play a convincing role as her own weapon, being just as durable as her blade. Unfortunately, she was limited in her damage potential compared to using her knife, but sacrifices must be made. She'd be dangerous enough.

Finally, she summoned her mask. It was always a part of her outfit, but she never used it due to how pointless it really was. Her coat stood out, so wearing a mask would not prevent someone from identifying her based on that. And, passively, people tend to forget about her face anyway, so the result in linking Sil's Magical Girl form to her human one would not change with the addition of it. But, since she was working with what she had, this would do fine. The idea was that she was part of a Twin Soul, so appearances being similar is simply par for the course. And it wasn't impossible for both twins to own the same outfit with tiny modifications.

With this, "Shade" was complete. A girl who utilized her magic and fists to beat foes down, and who had been separated from her twin soul a while back. Given the world they lived in, that story wasn't even that strange.

"It seems like an acceptable course of action." Sil eventually answered. "I assume this means you would like me to continue assisting them for the time being? It will not be easy to make contact without breaking cover."

“That is why I chose you for this mission.”
Sill was getting ready to depart when Veronica spoke up again.”If things get too hectic, do flee to the over city. There are people there who can help you return. ”

Silhouette, or rather Shade, stood up. "Acknowledged. I will contact you with updates when I am able to."

With these final words to her employer, she took off.

I guess I should also make minor adjustments to my attitude as well.

...

...

...



The performer's entrance was played in forte.

A roaring boom that could nearly burst eardrums erupted from a position the girl had been in mere moments ago. A moment of silence chased after but was just as soon interrupted by a strike achieving a wonderous fortissimo. In an instant, one of the advancing monsters had, at the very least, been thrown violently to the ground if not outright removed. Landing on the ground with a stylish spin and a wide grin, Shade bowed to her audience, those aboard the Earth Bastion. She had taken extra steps to ensure she was as obvious as she could physically be.

But what had even been done?

The actions taken to reach this dramatic entrance were almost childishly simple. Shade had merely run, jumped, and then punched one of the beasts. The actions alone were nothing complicated. But to reach the crescendo that it did, well, that was a different story. Shade was beyond human, certainly, but to jump with enough force to not only lift her into the air as high as it did but to also essentially create a sonic boom was not typical for her. The second she had done so, her legs had broken. And once she was mid-air, she had to land a strike with her fist at a speed far beyond the norm for her. At best, anybody attempting to observe her during this would have seen a blur, even with enhanced senses. Needless to say, at this speed, landing the strike with her fist did cause a large amount of recoil damage to her arm. But by the time she'd reached the ground, everything was back to normal.

Not the most efficient use of her mana, but it most certainly did what it was supposed to.

"You guys look as though you could use some help, and I don't mind playing an encore, eheh~!"

what the fuck

---

When the ship moved again, Suwako had expected them to get at least some respite before they had to fight. But just a few minutes after they began, she began to hear demonic roars all around them. She quickly went to the edge of the deck to see what kind of creature could make such noises. And what she saw did not please her at all. Elephant-sized monsters of red and black charged right at their location, all having pitch black darkness in where their faces should be. It would be all over for them if they managed to get to their ship and surround them.

"Those of you with ranged weapons or powerful magic, Focus them down one at a time!" she heard Amber shouting. She was correct. She shouldn't panic. She had the range advantage. She just had to kill as many as she could before they got here.

She drew her greatbow, Yggdrasil, and focused on the beast closest to them. Instead of aiming at its face, she instead aimed at their legs. "Bind them, Yggdrasil," she said as she unleashed her arrow. The arrow was blessed with her nature magic, so as it got near its destination , it transformed into a surge of thick ivy that wrapped itself around the beast's legs. She intended to trip and immobilize them. That would be more effective than just aiming to kill them, she believed, as she had a hunch a beast that size wouldn't go down so easily.

One of the beasts did manage to get to them however but before it could jump onboard, it was suddenly thrown violently to the ground, accompanied by a loud boom that almost shattered Suwako's eardrums. "What in the world?" she blurted in confusion, before the stranger responsible for the action landed in style.

"You guys look as though you could use some help, and I don't mind playing an encore, eheh~!" the newcomer said.

"Who the hell are you?" Suwako immediately said to her. Oh, they certainly didn't need this. They were under attack and suddenly, this person just popped out of nowhere. She didn't even wait until she got a response. She turned back and resumed her attempts at slowing down the monsters. She seemed to be their ally, and that's all that mattered now.

@FamishedPants

Eli was a bit taken aback at Libby’s approach, as she thought she had said that out of earshot of Libby. Still, didn’t seem like she took being potentially suspected of being a trap too badly, promptly announcing her appreciation of Eli and then falling asleep in the most cartoony fashion imaginable.

‘… Whew.’ Eli breathed out in relief that it was resolved without her needing to actually reply. Still, how nice that Libby liked her? Maybe?

Meanwhile, Mariette lazily listened to Helga’s explanation to the ritual, which wasn’t very informative. Still, it involved the blood of the captured Magical Girls…

‘… If they’re used as blood-factories then there’s less of a chance the Magical Girls have been brainwashed and that we’ll have to fight them, which would be nice,’ Mariette replied. She had enough trouble gathering them the first time to be bothered having to fight them. Still, the idea of Father being summoned… Well, if that happened, Mariette wouldn’t be able to do much.

… Then the lantern. Mariette frowned and prepared to open a portal to take the explosion if it blew up, but instead it melted into blood. And then… they appeared.

‘Gorelions,’ Eli stated aloud for anyone not knowing the name of their enemies as she made ready to battle. Of course, Mariette knew the enemy had Gorelions. She might herself be the reason they were fighting 10 of them instead of 42, which would have been a lot scarier. She absently played with the idea of pitting Gorelions against Gorelions. … Nah, something told her Justine would have a counter should Mariette attempt putting her own weapons against her, but the thought did elicit a slight smile.

Still clutching her large stuffed bunny held in her left arm, Mariette manifested her Mystic Mirror in her right hand as Amber started outlining a strategy. A simple hand-mirror in appearance, it was her mystic weapon through which she could project magic for portals, the glass swirling with magical energy. This was a straight-on battlefield. Not an ambush, not just one against one, a straight up battle. Fitting it would be the time that she actually drew her weapon.

… Hmpf, the captain saw fit to give her commands. Still, cooperation was in their best interest. ‘Well, seeing how Sonia isn’t here yet…’ Spoken primarily for Alicia’s ears, if the girl could hear over the sound of starting to barrage the monsters with her bow. Anyway, Mariette started abscently opening numerous tiny portals high in the air and around the Bastion, all linking to her right eye under the eye-patch. This to give her a view of the battlefield in order to give her absolute awareness of the battlefield and prevent any sneak-attacks from taking her by surprise. She’d do her best to give the rest warnings should she notice anything.

Now, then. Four things Mariette wanted to do.

First, sure, fine.

She used a bit of her awareness to open a portal by Eli and Sue, linking to the entrance of the Overcity and that winged Magical Girl. Not too close, didn’t want to alarm her too much. Mariette kept the portal on this side latched to a wall on the Bastion so it wasn’t left behind.

‘Aw. I won’t be fighting?’ Eli asked briefly, then looked over at the Gorelions… ‘… Then again, I probably wouldn’t be to much use. Okay. Let’s go.’ Eli nodded to Sue and threw a raised eyebrow at Libby sleeping through this event before jumping through the portal.

@ADamnFiddle To Olesya, suddenly a round flat hole with a frame of magic energy opened leading out onto the deck of the Bastion, far closer to the battlefield itself. Through this hole jumped a winged humanoid creature, a harpy, composed of dark fluid. Yet the amorphous harpy’s face was white and looked forward at her with a soft though serious expression. The fluid harpy had landed on the ground several meters from Olesya with a little splash by her feet. Accompanying her was a small white- and black bird flapping in, unnatural only in its presence before it suddenly transformed into an adult woman with long white hair standing beside the smaller dark being. The harpy gave a slightly hesitant smile and raising one dark wing in greeting.

‘Hi! I’m Eli. Er, excuse the mess!’ Eli said, gesturing back at the battle going on. ‘So, um. Our group of Magical Girls are seeking to defeat powerful Horror-servant Justine von Visceral who’s planning on using the blood of Magical Girls in a Blood Moon ritual to make the world a “pure” one, whatever that means, but it might involve the summoning of her patron, Father, which would be really, REALLY bad news. In simple terms, we’re pretty sure she’s evil. So, er. Any chance we could negotiate for some back-up?’

"We're a diverse group of magical girls that see Justine as a threat." Sue said. "I'm Sue, a familiar to a regular magical girl. You can plainly see Eli is a monster, but we have Beacon girls working with us."

‘Oh, and we’re also saving this girl who was kidnapped right in front of her not-actually-boyfriend who intended to charge in on his own, so it’s a bit of a “save the damsel in distress” scenario, too.’ Eli mused, looking up and touching one wing to her lips briefly. ‘So, uh. We’d really appreciate some help~’ Eli gave a hopeful smile.

Meanwhile, back on the Bastion. Second thing Mariette wanted to do.

She didn’t trust the blood from the lantern. Focusing power, she made a large, spiteful portal that took the blood and sent it a distance away, in a direction away from the Bastion, the way they’re going and the Overcity. As long as Justine was involved, blood was bad. Away with it. She noted how multiple Alexanders were running around giving people forcefields, including herself. Mariette gave him a small nod before refocusing again.

Third thing.

Actually, before the third thing, she flinched as suddenly an unknown Magical Girl struck a Gorelion to the sound of a sonic boom. Seems like someone had decided to help them. Hm. Mariette wasn’t the one to give the thanks for the assist, but a small appreciative nod would do. Certainly better than the curse Suwako gave her. Okay, now the third thing.

Mariette manifested numerous portals close to her, connected to one another, before sending half towards the closest Gorelions. Not straight on but towards their sides, she intended to have the portals circling around at least two Gorelions or perhaps even place them against their skin if the portals weren’t attacked. The portals weren’t exactly agile and wouldn’t be able to dodge if the Gorelions attacked them, but the portals were too small for the Gorelions to attack through and the destroyed portals would be a minor cost for distracting the beasts as Mariette could but open new ones.

‘Feel free to attack them through my portals that I’m placing on the edges of the ship, and we’ll see if we can find some weak points. Or you can jump through yourself, if you’re confident, I’ll get you back. Be careful, just in case they have some means of attacking back, since portals are two-ways,’ Mariette instructed those around her. She placed this side’s portals at the edge of the ship, so they could watch Gorelions on the distance while also seeing them through the portals. It would take a great deal of her attention to have these portals circle the beasts for other to attack through, and she’d guide them to the next beast if the one they were currently circling was defeated, while also trying to be attentive enough to close the portals if she detected danger about to strike through the portals. Great deal of things.

But, she also wanted to attempt a fourth thing.

Charging power through her mirror, she opened an additional portal. She targeted a Gorelion in front, the closest that wasn’t currently being focus-fired upon, if there was any such. Mariette attempted to open a portal so that the next time it put its feet down to prance at them, a foot would suddenly vanish down a portal. The Gorelions were too big for Mariette to take the whole thing, but just tripping them? Could be amazingly effective, especially if they blocked other Gorelions behind them. The other end appear in mid-air above the Gorelion, paw ineffectively not meeting any ground if it fell through. With that, Mariette hoped, she could greatly hamper at least one of the beasts immediately, depending on. If it was effective enough and she had the power to spare, she’d start making similar potholes for other Gorelions, but perhaps inspect the current effectiveness first.

Doing all of this, Mariette couldn’t move. If the Bastion shook, tentacles of darkness would extend from her to support her to prevent falling. She stood, left eye closed, focused entirely on her right eye and watching the whole battlefield, spreading her magic connections and preparing to open portals, hand with her Mystic Mirror extended in front of her and working on overdrive, mana swirling it as she worked. Of course, she still saw herself through her eyes in the sky, but focusing on things so distant from herself left her real body vulnerable. She was in full battlefield mode.

@PlatinumSkink

“A ship?”

A winged girl clad in armor and frills stood on the precipice of the combat ensuing, destructive as it might be, like a valkyrie waiting for the souls of the damned in order to ferry them to hall of the slain Valhöll. Her pale, white skin seemed just as a fae’s; ethereal and otherworldly beyond what could be considered in this world, like a fairy of the snow. However the battle was occurring, it seemed at this time that the person in question was more willing to wait and see what was happening, ignorant to why or even how a massive ship had entered the the Outercity.

Such a place would not be unfamiliar to someone like Valkyrie, its euclidean geometry both comprehensible, yet at the same time incomprehensible to her perception. Perhaps if this was the first time she had visited such a strange place, the Outercity, she might have had her body unable to process the actions and simply have caused sickness, if not complete disorientation. However, even if this was the case, for someone like Valkyrie who in the past has fought against countless monsters and girls alike, it would not have made too much of a difference for the angelic figure.

“Getting sick again? How many times do you think it will take for you to get used to this place?” her guardian mused.

“I don’t think I would even flinch at something so light. Perhaps years ago, but I am not a little girl anymore,” Valkyrie stated right back at her contractor. After all, this was nothing. Her actions were not because of the Outercity. She was trembling. Something in her body, perhaps a mental understanding of a primordial, instinctual design, had shook her to her very core.

Her purpose was to fight, or rather to fight for her contracted being, the nameless storm god and lesser force, Yury. Therefore, if the order didn’t exist, she felt it to be an unnecessary action to place herself in danger. Yury’s actions at times seemed alien to someone like the valkyrie Olesya. Something so incomprehensible, yet predictable nonetheless was her benefactor. And this “Valkyrie” was more or less a coward who preferred to avoid combat when possible. That wasn’t to say she did not employ such to combat against aggressors and the like, or those who would harm the “balance of power” as her guardian so aptly puts it, but rather she believed it best to wait and discover weakness or otherwise within those she may or may not have to fight.

“Involving yourself wouldn’t really be your style. Can’t say I like your “wait and see tactics”. My last Master was a lot less timid in their disposition. And though I cannot say that I would wish for you to be like them, I thought it was a lot more fun.”

“Fun’ isn't what we are here for, is it? If we needed to go now, I would have heard your order?”

“A bad action is better than inaction.”

Tough sounding snidely in the nature of the words spoken, the sides of Valkyrie’s face cracked slightly into a smile. After all, one could say it was in her nature to wait and see. Though a self-proclaimed coward, a lot of her “retreats” tended to be more of a means to obtain more information she could use in order to defeat her opponent. To use the least amount of resources for the most amount of efficiency tended to be the way that the magical girl, self proclaimed as “The Valkyrie”, used as her philosophy.

But that is when “it” occurred. A break within the fabric of the already distorted quilt that was the Outercity. And with this rift came a presence. Someone, or perhaps something would be more of an apt explanation of the being that first existed the rift created by an unknown force, its form almost gelatine. Valkyrie’s instinctive reaction was to brandish her weapon towards the individuals stepping out of the rift. Friend or foe, one can never be too sure when one would consider themselves to be a “neutral player” rather than a true Magical Girl. Though some might fall under branches of their lord’s design, Valkyrie was simply contracted for a reason that not even Yury remembers. After all, sleeping in an Ice Lake for what appears to be thousands of years might cause issue to those involved.

The Gelatin-like substance had fallen towards her when she had arrived, landing near her feet. which seemed to not change the mood of the valkyrie in the slightest to most, but her subtle shift of eye movement seemed to convey this was “disgusting” to her. After all, it was gross. While it might not seem like it from her cool, cold, and collected exterior, on the inside she wished to yell like a schoolgirl that she technically looked like despite being an old hag. The rather subtle reaction by Valkyrie seemed to cause great amusement for Yury, as he began to laugh at her dismay.

However, similar to herself, the slime-like-harpy had wings, and her uneasy smile at least seemed to display a degree of friendliness. However, to someone like Valkyrie, it was not as if she could really drop her guard at any moment. Even at the face of someone seemingly friendly, she still bore her fangs. Perhaps it was a defensive mechanism, or perhaps it was simply a mistrust of the clearly monstrous individual before her. Even so, her gaze, despite her weapon being held against the now appearing magical girl, held no malice in her gaze.

Then, only moments after this slime-lady’s arrival, a second individual showed up, appearing much more normal to the gaze of someone like Valkyrie, not that she was one to judge. However, her arrival was that of an unnatural one, being transformed from the body of a black bird, the likes of which Valkyrie seemed to imagine would be like viewing into an abyss which seemed to possess the individual, though Valkyrie seemed to make no noticeable movements.or gestures about it’s arrival, even as it transformed into a rather adult-looking woman with long, white hair that seemed equal to that of Valkyrie’s own snow fairy-esque skin.

Regardless of the strangeness, and rather crass statements by the two girls, it appeared they had approached the winged angel with a request of sorts. A coalition against a force that Valkyrie hardly comprehended.

“Careful with them, child. You their forms seem to spell danger to me,” her guardian warned her.

“I know, I know~,” : Valkyrie mused. “But I am not a child. Perhaps when you met me I was, but I believe I have grown up a bit since then.”

“A child is a child, as a father is a father. Besides, a hundred years is nothing. You are still a cub in the eyes of your Lord. Either way, I would imagine it would be somewhat rude to ignore their presence.”

Without lowering her guard, nor changing her tone, nor even moving her body, the Valkyrie began to speak to the two girls before her their proposition. After all, it was not as if they could hear the conversation between the two individuals, occurring between the two. Even though they has spoken for some time, it all was conveyed instantly. Therefore, a conversation that or exchange that might have seemed to take several seconds was simply something that happened within the instant of the thoughts.

“Help? I am sorry, for I cannot promise you my wings. I do not comprehend the situation at hand as an observer, and thusly cannot form a choice of action at this time, Counter-Proposition: Allow me to follow you in order to determine my form of action or inaction. If action is required to assist you, than I shall offer my blade at that time. In the meantime, allow me to be an observer. Do you find this acceptable?”

It was a simple response, but for someone like Valkyrie, it was almost as if a robot was taking control of her statements, lacking any sort of emotional weight behind them. She did not believe it would be wise to trust someone whom they had just met. But if the situation called for it. She would provide them with aid. But should they seem untrustworthy, the opposite might occur.

But it would be rude to trick a cute little Russian girl [old hag], right?

”Huh? How do you-” Penny started with an angry visage as she stared at Makoto, about to ask her questions when she also noticed the monsters. She then pointed at her.
”Look, don't think I'll ignore you because I like it, but these dogs have to go first. I don't need a spotter. But the instant I see you try anything funny, I'll throw you off the deck.” With her intentions fully made, she turned towards the east side of the ship, gave one last glare, and then took hold of the railing with both hands. She opened her mouth, and an electric charge began arcing across her body as she gathered up energy for a Gauss discharge, a faint light beginning to glow brighter and brighter from her throat. As she did so, she seemed to grumble something, but it came off as incomprehensible.


The Gorelions proved to be more than simple minions in combat capability, possessing high strength in their bulging limbs, cheetah-like agility as they swiftly closed the distance to Earth Bastion, as well as frighteningly high intelligence; they clearly understood group tactics, as they came in two groups of four from the sides, and a pair coming from the north. They also actively dodged while running, and used maneuvers like feints and running in zigzags to throw off the aim of long-range combatants. Even for magical monsters, such cleverness seemed absurd for these roaring, feline predators, with the only logical explanation being that they were somehow directly controlled by a higher power.

Alicia's attack proved successful despite these shortcoming, as she showered the beasts with a rain of arrows from her magic circle; the battlefield was littered with faintly shimmering needles in the darkness around the ship, as if the Beacon girl was planting phosphorous grass all over. She was joined by Scout, who up till now had quietly marveled at the strange world they arrived in. With the combined firepower of the former's Star Seraph and the latter's Soprono's Cipher further enhanced by her Focused Assault, the two were able to take down a Gorelion, causing it to skid and roll, bouncing a single time on the checkerboard field before finally stopping moving.
"Ugh! These things are tough as nails!" She exclaimed, panting from how much power she depleted in charging her bullets, and quickly swept her arm, scattering several illusory images of herself in the hopes of distracting the monsters. To her dismay, it seemed to fail, and the Gorelions simply rushed past them.
"They're smart too! This is bad!"

On the east side, one of the Gorelions would soon reach the ship. Suwako's attempt to trip the running monster turned out to be the right call, even if the monster attempted evading the attack; it jumped the arrow, but the vine reached up and wrapped around the monster's leg, pulling it down and causing the earth to rumble as the incredible mass impacted against the ground. As a result, the monster staggered, and stopped running. The Beacon girl also received assistance, this time from Anaya, as silent as always. She summoned her army of possessed dolls, and they formed a defensive wall to deter the advance of the beasts. Unlike Scout, she succeeded in her move, and another Gorelion was caught as it attempted to barrel right through them and slowed down. However, the dolls broke down from the impact, their pieces floating in the air.
"These are beyond anything I have faced in my travels," she commented with a low voice, and brought her pistols to bear, and began shooting at another one, the bullets not causing much damage.
"As if they also possess souls in them."

And at the center of it all, standing with her eyes closed to the horror, was Mariette. When she relocated the pool of blood that formed from the purple crystal, and sent it far into the distance, it instantly caused a strange effect; the Gorelions' heads twitched, and they roared loudly, as if driven mad. Now in a berserk state, they lost all modicum of intelligence, and ran straight forward with all their might, blinded by rage and hunger; one even slammed into another as it competed for food.

---

Justine bared her fangs, and threw the small crystal she crushed in her hand at a wall, causing sparkles in the air. She watched as the shards embedded in her palm were swiftly ejected out. The gashes also sewed themselves shut, restoring her skin to perfection once more, as it has always been.
"You might have scored a victory with that move, Mariette..." She spoke in a cold tone, and simply stared at the moon now that she could no longer see through her control crystal.
"But I still have one ace in the hole...No, a Joker. You're soon nothing but a doll in her hands..."

---

Olesya stepped through the portal, and arrived at the deck of the ship just in time to see the carnage that ensued from the Gorelions turning feral, including a particularly impressive sonic boom that caused a northern Gorelion to fall on its side. The one who performed this blow, Shade, did not have much time to celebrate, as the beast was not slain; even when it was prone, the monster roared with hungry intent, and shot out a red, three-pronged tongue from the abyss of its face. It pierced through the skin of her leg at the thigh and wrapped around it with the smaller tentacles. With terrifying speed, it began retracting back; like a hooked trout reeled back by a fishing pole, she was dragged closer and closer to to the monster's gaping orifice. Also, while this was happening, Shade felt how her blood was being drained through the sharp tip of the tongue, like a mosquito's proboscis, at an alarming rate; soon she would lose too much blood to be able to cast magic.

"Whoah! That's a strong punch" Helga exclaimed, and cheered for Shade, only to shriek as she was harpooned by the monster. "Mariette, portal!" She shouted, and the moment one opened one before her she began swiping her claws at the beast; as the portal was planted on the immobile beast and was unable to destroy it, Helga had free reins to strike and claw multiple times at the monster's armor-like hide. But even after taking such rending blows, the monster still kept reeling Shade in, writhing from the blows. "Let her go, you bitch!" She screamed, her expression quickly turning one of pure rage. The other Gorelion coming from the north ended up tripping due to slamming it's shoulder and head down on the ground; one of it's legs attempted to lift the beast, but ended up scraping at empty air due to a portal, and the beast was stunned as a result.

Penny finally released his railgun shot, and it pierced through a jumping Gorelion at the west, causing it to fall over as it was knocked back, unmoving. The robotic girl doubled down over the railing as a result, having put a lot of charge into the move; she had not managed to collect much electricity since her hard work on the ship, and so ended up being unprepared for the trip. It was at that moment of weakness that she was also targeted by a Gorelion tongue that shot out like a slimy spear, this time on her chest where her armor was thinnest. It did not pierce her thanks to Alexander's barrier that broke, but the three-pronged end nonetheless wrapped around her waist with the smaller tendrils, binding her arms, and pulled her off the railing.
”Ahh crap!” She screamed, flipping midair as she was reeled fast towards the Gorelion. However, just before she reached the beast, she managed to anchor her feet to the ground, and grappled the tentacle-like appendage with her own, four sprouting from the back to fight back at the tongue as her teeth were grit. ”Off of me, pervert!” The fourth Gorelion from the west ran right at Earth Bastion and tackled it, causing it to sway from the collision, like a ship in a storm. Fortunately, it did not incur any damage whatsoever, no small thanks to Alexander's wards.

On the east side, two Gorelions were halted, but two advanced; one stayed back and shot a tongue harpoon at Earth Bastion, bouncing ineffectually as it ran beside the ship. The other jumped on the deck of the ship, and roared. It saw Mariette standing there, and reared up, about to slam its paws on her. However, it suddenly stopped, and a strange, guttural growl came from the abomination, its head leaning down, seeming confused if not outright afraid. It turned out that Libby Bibby was right there, sleeping on the deck with a popped collar. She woke up, and an angry scowl flashed on her face before it turned into blinking, and then a gasp at seeing the Gorelion. "Mumbo jumbo!" She screamed, staring straight at the monster; in that moment, her expression wasn't so much fright as it was a blank stare. In response, the Gorelion roared, and reared up once more, clearly intending to slam down on Libby Bibby, and the Magical Girl braced for impact with her arms, her legs together. "Eeep!"

@Ariamis

---

"Thanks!" Makoto told her robotic helper just as she saw what appeared to be the time mage from before leap up and deck a Gorelion. Strange... The girl she had seen seemed to be gone with this new, similar magi in her place. The attack gave off the appearance of time magic, or incredible Redirected Magic and Healing or Warding to keep from shattering their own body under the stress. Regardless, she didn't have time to ponder it as the Gorelions became much more ferocious and attacked, one grappling Penny with its rather gross tongue. Luckily, Makoto only needed a single shot from the robot to become a force of devastation. She quickly sped up the railgun shot further by accelerating its, well, its acceleration, and used her gravity magic to create several moving pockets of warped gravity allowing her to control the blast via the pulls and pushes of the gravity wells. The blast quickly returned to the ship straight through the middle of the Gorelion attacking Penny before Makoto had to let go for lack of control. She cursed her focus on hand to hand in her training, surely she could have spent some time on scenarios like this, she thought. Nonetheless, she wouldn't allow herself to make herself useless. There was no running from this buffet for her.

There was a lot going on, but most of the magical girls more or less did as Amber requested, which was a pleasant suprise. The only time she had really been in command of more people than this was when she was still a hardware store manager. Their goal was a bit different, but how she led remained unchanged. The goal of anyone in a leadership position is to complete an objective. The best way to do that was to give tasks to people who could complete them, and give them as much freedom as possible. This often increased job satisfaction and let a manager see what an employee was capable of on their own.

As soon as Sue and Eli returned with the winged magical girl, Amber gave them new orders. “Sue! Take control of the main gun.”

“Right!” Sue turned unto a bird and flew off. While earth bastion did have rows and rows of guns on the side of the ship, they each needed magical girls to use them. And because Amber wasn't drowning in magical girls, it didn't seem wise to use the guns. Especially with how spread out and evasive the enemy was. However, Earth bastion was more tank than ship, and it had a large cannon on top that could be aimed in all directions. With Sue's limited combat abilities, it made the most sense to have her operate the turret.

“Eli, um.” Amber sighed. With so many cameras around earth Bastion, she wasn't oblivious to Penny or Shade's predicament. They would need to be rescued. “How about you assist Helga? And Mariette, see if you can put a portal near those tongues. They might be more vulnerable.” Amber braced herself as one of the gorelions slammed into the side of the ship. “Everyone else, prepare for turbulent seas!” Amber steered earth bastion towards the two downed gorelions to the north. With the creatures laying on their sides, she was confident she could roll right over their bodies. With any luck, they'd get chewed up under the tank's treads before Shade became gorelion lunch. Amber steered to the west to prepare for this manuver. Both to make sure she didn't run over shade, but also to attempt harming the gorelion that rammed the ship.

Sue changed back into a human, as it was the only way she was going to operate the main cannon. Now in human form, she lowered herself into the gunner's seat and closed the hatch overhead. A gorelion had already jumped onto the ship, and she was struggling to figure out how to aim the device. She was busy trying to recruit magical girls, so this was Sue's first time trying to use the cannon. Fortunately, it was a simple joystick control. There were a ton of other buttons, and Sue didn't know what they were for. But she was quite confident the big red button on top of the joystick was used to fire the cannon. So for now, she was set. “Alright...” Sue angled the cannon so that it was pointing directly at the gorelion's face. “Get away from her you hussy! And with that, she slammed her thumb on the big red button and... nothing happened. She would click it several more times, but Sue was unaware that the cannon had to be loaded before it could fire. At least for the moment.



Sue's cannon hadn't been loaded before the battle for a very specific reason, however.

Tonya was able to use her gravity magic to disarm the turret, knowing that it wouldn't be used until it was time to save Libby-Bibby or whatever, who was secretly an enemy spy. It baffled Tonya how Eli and Sue recruited a plant when they had a list of magical girls to go after that were not, you know, horrible people. But it was whatever at this point.

If Amber could just keep the ship upright, that would be wonderful.

Alicia Hayden

The group quickly sprang into action, with Alicia surprised to find some new additions making themselves known once they had arrived at their destination. "I'm sure there's some kind of joke here," she muttered, more to herself than anything. How odd was it that they would only find one magical girl willing to help out back home, but here in the Overcity they were practically falling out of the sky to help out? Not that she minded, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time.

Fortunately, with added help from Scout the two of them were able to take out at least one Gorelion, and if they had been worried about being able to see before her arrows made sure that there was plenty of ambient light to go around. "No kidding," she huffed in agreement with the observation of how tough these guys were. They were all going to need to kick it up a notch if this was the kind of resistance they could expect from here on out.

Keeping up the fire, Alicia prepared to add a bit more juice to make sure her arrows had some oomph to them. Yet before she could do that Mariette mentioned opening up portals that they could use, right before the Gorelions seemed to lose all sense of strategy and launch themselves forward in a full on blitz of the Earth Bastion. She wasn't sure if it was some kind of coincidence or if Mariette had been responsible, but having all of those things bum rushing the ship wasn't exactly what she would call an optimal situation.

Jostled by the impacts against the ship, Alicia stumbled back before retaking her place on the railing. "Fine, guess I'll have to pull out some new cards. Star Seraph, let them see you burn." Pulling back the drawstring on an arrow of light, her gaze narrowed as she focused on the Gorelion that had slammed against the ship. The glow of the arrow intensified, brighter and brighter until it shone like a small star as she poured mana into it.

Then at some point only she could determine she released the drawstring and fired. Instead of an arrow though it was a solid beam of light, crossing the short distance to strike the Gorelion from at an angle compared to where she was standing. Her aim did not waver, instead it moved as she traced a burning line from its head to its neck, doing whatever it took to put that thing down for good.

Once it did, she shifted aim and prepared to repeat the process with the next one. And so on until those things attacking them were good and in the ground. It burned her energy like nothing else, but given the circumstances it was necessary. Better for them to make it to Justine as intact as possible, rather than for them all to be drained by the time they got there. It was a choice she was willing to make.

‘Oh,’ Eli made a noise and looked a bit surprised at Valkyrie’s reply, but then quickly nodded. ‘Yes! That’s entirely acceptable. Though, I will warn, even being close enough to observe might put you in danger, teh-heh…’ Eli gave an unsure smile before continuing. ‘Current action is fighting off the Gorelions. Excuse us, we need to protect our friends. You can use the portal if you like!’ Eli said, before spinning around to jump back through the portal to the Bastion, and Sue had seemingly already gone.

Meanwhile, Mariette, opened a portal to send away the blood… and immediately the Gorelions reacted, losing their previous intelligence. Hm. How curious. ‘I may have deprived the lion tamer of her whip…’ Mariette mused, aloud for the people around to hear, her voice containing a certain amount of amusement. It was perhaps a blessing that Mariette did not know enough to lament having been unable to see Justine’s reaction in that one moment…

Unfortunately, Gorelions did not curl back like harmless kittens when losing the connection to their master. They charged as if in a berserker rage, and as such still had to be dealt with. Mariette did indeed open a portal for Helga’s request, who was she to disagree with such foolishness? All the girls were doing their part, for the most part, and that was all Mariette could ask of them. … If things took a turn for the worse, Mariette was only a swift portal from leaving, but so far she was hopeful.

There were multiple slams onto the ship. Mariette’s form wavered a bit, but she held herself in place by tentacles through some portals around her to flat surfaces. Nothing were to disturb her. Certainly not Amber giving her silly commands. Certainly not the Gorelion whose attention she was attracting. Certainly not the idea that anyone from her team was in any kind of danger.

It was time to go with what she did best. Defensive portals. Because portals made good shields.

Any time she saw anyone in danger, most certainly Libby right in front of her, Mariette opened a portal in defense. This portal lead to solid ground, meaning the floor of the Overcity itself would be their shield, and the Gorelions couldn’t crack that. It was a minor effort on Mariette’s part, yet it gave her a barrier with all the strength of the earth.

For those who were already grabbed, like Penny and (apparently) the new girl, Mariette stole projectiles out of the air from their projectile-users to aim straight through the tongues grabbing them in order to attempt freeing them. She could but curse that she had apparently not been efficient enough to protect them the first time.

Those tongues indeed looked vulnerable. If at some point she could intercept one while the Gorelion fired, she’d open a portal that made the tongue fly through the portal and hit itself, making the hooked tongue form an unclosable loop through a portal unless the Gorelion tore its own tongue apart.

And, if she had the power to spare, keep tripping Gorelions with portals in the ground. It was far important they were not taking on all of them at once, meaning delaying some were very important. That should do.

Meanwhile, Eli.

‘You want me to help against that, huh,’ Eli replied to Amber, looking up to the Gorelion Helga was punching. Problem was, Eli’s arsenal wasn’t very destructive. But she could- ‘Oh, Deni would totally do tha-,’ Eli closed her eyes in regret.

‘SUE! FIRE ME!’ Eli turned and dived into Sue’s currently unloaded cannon. The slime-harpy made herself into liquid as she bunched up into the bottom of the barrel, plopping in and forming herself into a ball. She hardened the outer layer and pressed her more vital things deeper inside, to ensure she’d survive the initial blast. On the inside of the ball she formed, she steeled her wings, literally. She hardened them into two, large blades. Ability to shape herself came in handy.

The idea was that she’d be fired, and the moment she’d be out of the cannon she’d unfurl back into a harpy, scream in panic, and then slice the Gorelion(‘s tongue?) right open as she then proceeded to fly right past it. Or into it. Hopefully, she’d do some damage, at least. Well, at the very least, she could be confident Mariette would save her afterwards. She would, right?

Over there, Mariette mentally rolled her eyes. Sure, she would, that didn’t mean she approved of suicidal plans. Sigh.