The sound of punished tires howled through the air as a motorcycle blazed between the gridlocked Penrose traffic. It had hardly slowed down since its riders embarked from Pope Layton sandwich shop, roughly halfway across the city from their destination.

The driver of the motorcycle, a blonde girl with flowing locks and a striking bowler hat, spotted their next turn. “Hang on!” She expertly maneuvered the vehicle through a gap in the cars, and begun to drift into a full-speed turn.

Suddenly, a car swerved into view, moving much faster and erratically than even the motorcycle. “Bloody hell, plastered at this hour?!” It was too late to pull out without losing control, and the blonde knew it. That car was going to hit them mid-drift!

“I’ve got us,” the passenger said, already locking her left arm around the driver and her legs around the motorbike. “Zoom Punch!”

The passenger’s right arm glowed with power, before all of the joints from the wrist to the shoulder dislocated and loosened, stretching with astonishing speed towards a streetlight. The hand grasped the metal pole, and the arm it was attached to contracted back to its normal size and shape, slingshotting the motorcycle out of danger!

The drunk driver screeched to a halt, inches away from a fire hydrant. She blinked several times, processing what she had seen. “I definitely need help.” And then she let unconsciousness take her, retiring until the police arrived.

---

Meanwhile on the motorcycle, the driver let out a breath of relief. “That was brilliant, Miss Jo-star.”

‘Miss Jo-star’ let out a steadier breath, her blue hair whipping in the wind. “You’re welcome.” That said, Joanna Fujo let herself relax, and the glow of her artifact-bolstered magic subsided. “Speedwagon, how much farther until we reach that intersection?”

“Not much, just a few blocks. We just have to pass the Pitstop, and we’re golden.”

The roads were clear from that point onwards, both of drunk drivers and of traffic in general. It made Speedwagon’s drifting less terrifying and more exhilarating, but Joanna wasn’t sure whether admitting this would encourage even more reckless maneuvers. Or, for that matter, how she would feel about that.

Though she had to admit, barring the drunk driver incident, Speedwagon was really good at driving through Penrose at high speeds.

After another moment, they stopped the motorcycle at a corner of the intersection.

“Hey, where is Father Grundelson? Didn’t he say that he’d meet us around here?” The good Father had called them minutes ago, in the middle of a magical attack on the civilians. He had just enough time to tell them what was happening and where he was before hanging up abruptly. Needless to say, the girls had gotten worried for the man.

“That he did, Miss Jo-star. But it’s possible that old Tattoo rabbited. Take a look over there. Those girls over there are Beacon types.”

“Beacon?”

“Think of them like a church, but with a clergy filled with fluffy little creatures, and a congregation of chaste, knight-in-shining-armor types that get cushy lives for perfect attendance. They claim to be protecting magical girls and the rest of humanity. They’re also infamous throughout the underworld as unyielding, like the concrete beneath your feet. Or, more accurately, a man’s upper jaw.”

Joanna stared at Speedwagon. “So why would Father Grundelson stay away from them? Theological differences?”

Speedwagon sighed, and her eyes scanned the intersection for any sign of him. “…I never told you what happened to the rest of the Grundelsons, did I?”

Joanna racked her memory. Speedwagon had mentioned them in passing, back when she was explaining that ‘monsters’ weren’t always chaotic and evil. “They opened a bakery several neighborhoods away from Ogre Street, didn’t they?”

“Peaceful folk, they were. Wanted to raise their kids away from the slums, so they saved up for a while. They pawned every mundane and magical bauble they could afford to sell off, got ahold of some ‘guises, and sunk the rest of their money into the building. Sent the eldest ones to school, and he and his little sister did pretty well. They were happy for a few years.

“One night, I invited him for a night out on the town, for old time’s sake. His mum and dad wanted him back by midnight, on account of it being a Sunday. We had a grand old time catching up. We came back about ten minutes after midnight, and...”

Speedwagon sighed, reminding Joanna that the girl in front of her was older than she looked.

“Turns out a Beacon girl with the Sight went in for a few loaves that morning. And while we were gone that night, her cell came and slaughtered them all in the dead of night. His mum tried to stop them from killing the babes in their cribs, but she just shared their fate. They probably didn’t hesitate, thinking a human willing to lay with a monster was no better than a full-blooded one.” Speedwagon trailed off, pushing her hat down so the brim obscured her eyes. “They brought guns with them, enough mortal lead to throw the coppers off the scent. Blamed it on gang violence, closed the case with a neat little bow on it. He blames himself for not being there, for being out with me at the time.”

Joanna gazed over the remnants of the rescue efforts. "So some of those girls over there could have been the same ones who killed his family."

Speedwagon nodded. “But ever since Justine tried to destroy the local Beacon hidey-hole, the local Beacon's been trying to turn themselves around. Trying to purify monsters instead of slaughtering them. I don’t rightly know how many of them are sincere about it, but I’ve heard enough to know they don’t hold trials anymore. So the fundamentalist types don’t get the chance to shoot their reforms straight back to hell.”

“Even if he did stick around, there’s the chance one of them has the Sight too. Purification of scions doesn’t always have a happy ending. It could have made him fully human… or torn him in half.”

On that note, they were silent for a moment.

“No, he would have also stayed behind to try and help with the relief efforts, regardless of the risks. A real bleeding heart, that one. I can’t spot him, though…”

“I’m going to try calling him,” Joanna said. She tapped in his number on her phone, and held it to her ear. It began to ring on Joanna’s end…

A wordless chorus rang out faintly over the intersection.

“He *is* here,” Speedwagon sighed, looking slightly relieved. She started jogging off in the direction of the ringtone, and Joanna trailed behind, taking the motorcycle’s key out of the ignition.



Speedwagon kept walking, the smell of blood hanging heavy over the air.



Joanna caught up to the increasingly concerned Speedwagon.



Joanna’s eyes widened as she clocked where the ringtone was coming from. “Oh god…”



Sprinting now, Speedwagon reached what was once a white sheet, drenched in an unholy amount of blood.



Speedwagon grasped the edge of the sheet, her hands trembling, and practically threw the fabric upwards.



The screen on the phone read “Incoming call from Joanna Fujo,” still visible through the cracks, the fingers of the hand it was clasped in, and all of that horrible blood.



As the body became fully uncovered, Joanna could see the face of Father “Tattoo” Grendelson, and the massive hole in his chest.

The entirety of Beacon's forces were alarmed of the coming trial that was about to be held; the entire base now turned busy as plans were made and squads were sent back and forth to cover for the temporary absence the event would cause in some patrols; many volunteered to participate, as word quickly spread on who was to be accused.
In the end, a massive congregation followed after Sylvia and Janet as the former pushed open over-sized doors, and entered the Hall of Divine Judgement, just past the water-cooler. The Hall was vast, made using space magic to accommodate a smaller room that would be physically possible. The most alarming thing Janet noticed was that the circular chamber lacked a floor, or a roof for that matter. The hole above showed a sunny sky, casting rays of pleasant sunlight from between fluffy white clouds; it evoked a feeling of celestial comfort. In contrast, the pit below was fiery, and fitted with pointy rocks; no second guesses were needed what that symbolized.

Janet was directed to step into and stand inside floating podium, which travelled to the center of the room. The other end of the chamber housed a tall, decorated podium that was also floating, resembling a black monolith at the bottom; the seat of the judge, with floating podiums for the prosecutor, defendant, and the jury at the sides. The rest of the space was fitted for spectators to watch. Sylvia sighed as she watched Janet slowly shift away, and gave one final look at Alicia; it was one of conflict, showing how she was split between her duty to Beacon, and the friendship she had with Alicia. "Alicia..." She mumbled, as if going to say something, when she was called in as the prosecutor. She then sighed, and made a single nod, closing her eyes as she stepped into her podium.

Everyone took their places in the podiums, with Alicia as the defendant and volunteers at the scene as the jury; the floating standing seats quickly arranged themselves in the 3-dimensional space, mostly surrounding Janet. A strange-looking Beckoner appeared at the judge's seat; it resembled a bear with a design split down the middle in design; one half represented virtue and faith, the other sin and punishment. Even the halo and wings on it's back had the same duality to it. Another Beckoner resembling a white rabbit appeared and gave it a judge's wig and tiny mallet for it to wear. When it hit the mallet, it caused a loud sound, like the clanging of a great bell. At that, many other Beckoners also arrived, flying high above them all. "Let us begin the trial for Janet Howell," the judge spoke. "In this Hall, you are sworn to speak the truth, and only the truth. Sylvia, list her charges."
Sylvia nodded, and brought out a futuristic notepad from her pocket, beginning to read it. "Janet Howell is accused of the following charges: betrayal against Beacon and her own sworn sisters, direct assault on Beacon's headquarters, multiple accounts of murder committed on Beacon's chosen, terrorism, giving into corruption and allying themselves with Justine von Visceral." The jury began whispering with wide eyes, their looks upon Janet harsh. The judge nodded. "Janet Howell, do you admit to committing these sins?"

Though she had willingly chosen to come and be tried, as the moment drew near the fear crept in. This could very well be where her story ends. Beacon wasn't know for keeping prisoners. And that was even for those that had done far less to Beacon. While Janet had seen many amazing things since becoming a magical girl, the Hall of Divine Judgement was both awe inspiring and terrifying. It was hard to describe but it definitely felt like where fates were decided.

Without much delay she had been placed front and center for all to see. Unsurprisingly it was stated that only the truth was allowed in this place. Not an unusual thing for a trial, but the only major difference was that magic existed here. Light users could tell if you were lying. So there was no skirting the issue. As the charges were outlined for the courtroom, Janet considered each carefully. Upon being asked for admission to her crimes she paused for a moment before standing firm. "I do not."

While she had more to say, the girl was versed well enough to know not to talk unless prompted or given permission. Plus speaking too much can get one in more trouble in this setting. Too much was at stake here. That short statement said though would not register as a lie.

"Tch." Eliza clicked her tongue in seeing that Shion had fleed before she arrived. I arrived too late, help me find her! she told Maura, gliding around the area. She wasn't going to fail her mission, not on her watch.

---

On it.

The good thing about being a shadow elemental- well, cursed into being an elemental, was that Maura was able to move through patches of darkness with ease. Making her a great canidate for spying on people. The maiden could also communicate with the shadows, gaining useful information for emergencies and such.

But right now, she had to figure out a way to use her abilities to help Eliza out. It took a while, but Maura was able to find Shion in a store close to the building the magnetic user hid before. "Hmmm...." She hummed to herself, hiding in a shadow in the corner. The maiden conjured up a couple of limbs, four arms made from Shion's shadow, and grabbed the girl's arms and waist. "She did tell you to come quietly."

Maura stepped out of her hidding spot and stood infront of Shion. "You should've heeded her warning, Shion." she said, an air of dread looming over her.

Appreciative of what support she did get, Alicia grew increasingly apprehensive as the time of the trial grew near. It was possible that she was even more nervous than Janet was, and she wasn't the one on the firing line in this case. The massive crowd that followed as they headed to the Hall of Judgment when the time for the trial came didn't help matters.

She'd offered to be Janet's defense in this case, feeling like it was her obligation after she had helped her, and with precious few other options to draw on right now. The crowd that followed them was daunting, however. So many people who found what happened with Janet to be worth seeing in person. She couldn't recall seeing a trial with attendance this large in....since she joined the Beacon really. And public opinion was certainly not going to be on her side. Did she have what it took to make sure that justice was truly served?

It wasn't the first time she had entered the Hall of Judgment, but it took her breath away all the sane. Beacon was about the Light, about truth, and no clearer did that shine than in this place. Glancing over, she met Sylvia's gaze with a slight nod. She didn't blame Sylvia for this, and knew hat she was only doing what she had to do. Moving on to the defendant's stand, she was sent floating out into the void.

As the trial began, she found herself part of the center attention. She forced herself to take deep breathes, to calm herself even as the charges were read out. Fortunately Janet rejected then, rather than doing some silly 'fall on her sword' type move for no reason. This was hardly a foregone conclusion.

"That's right," she muttered to herself, waiting for the prosecution to begin presenting their evidence. This was going to be tough, but she would just have to do her best. Janet's life might literally depend upon it.

@t2wave@Ariamis

@ERode

---

"Hm," Kat's expression didn't change as Amaryllis announced their direction. "Lets. Night will be upon us quite soon and if this maiden of darkness is as you say, fighting her in such terms would be unfavorable. We'll check only the most likely places tonight." She briefly cast her gaze towards the sky as she began walking. Patience was also something a good hunter needed, but more than anything, they needed a strategy for this. Just going in and talking wasn't likely to work out. If it did, people like her wouldn't be needed. Talking rarely ever worked on people, as regrettable as it was. They only responded to force.

"You're skilled in close quarters." Katarina began as she moved to the designated area. "I can support you from a distance. My arrows won't miss their mark. I'll find the tallest building and keep an over watch on the area, my eyes don't miss anything." That was the best strategy here. Amaryllis would do the leg work and talking herself, while she could support from a distance. "So you go on ahead. I'll set up somewhere with a good view."

If all else failed, she could easily make her way to the scene with little trouble. She was confident in her speed.

---

Walking out of her apartment, the door in the alley closed behind her, vanishing into nothing. She was met with a cool breeze as the shadows over Penrose became deeper, the sun setting. Ah, how beautiful. The stars were beginning to shine like little gems floating in an endless sea of black. Fufu. She'd like to pluck them and make them hers. Oh well, she'd just have to content herself by playing with some monsters tonight.

None of the people earlier seemed like good candidates. Granted, she had gotten a little lazy and didn't stick around for long, but oh well. She thought briefly about returning to the scene of the crime and seeing if there were any magical girls lingering about that she could play with, but ultimately decided against it. She was eager sometimes, but not stupid.

Transforming into her magical girl attire, Chloe took to the skies and began flying lowly over the city. Now...what to do?~

Scratch class off the list. At this point, she might not even have time for a proper dinner. Suppressing the sigh that her more ‘human’ side would have released, Amaryllis glanced once more at Aurora’s breathing, living form amongst the other individuals that remained unconscious still, before nodding at Hunter Rina’s assessment. One vanguard, one backline. The knight tapped the tip of her shoe against the pavement, shaking off invisible dust, before walking off.


They climbed atop skyscrapers, dipped into sewers, ventured through dingy hotels, broke up a gambling den, and finally, the sun falling behind them, the duo found themselves before the abandoned school that Amaryllis had taken note of all those days back. This close, there certainly was a sense of menace about the place, but more noticeable was impact marks and craters that marked the pavement. A fight? Monster slaying? Territorial dispute? Or just a warning for others who may approach? She clicked her tongue, the Sword thrumming in a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. Not fear, but a healthy dose of paranoia in case she was walking into a kill zone.

So she sped up, just slightly, each step covering the length of five as the fencer bounded over, not bothering to look back to confirm if Rina was in her sniping position. Stepping into the barren entrance way, Amaryllis took one deep breath and wrinkled her nose. Hamburgers. Oily, greasy, and not all that tasty. Even maidens of perpetual darkness were still just hobos living off junk food, huh? That brought a smirk to her face at least, remembering how utterly unpalatable the meals her own backpack provided, but amusement was soon replaced by concern. What if this was just a group of real, school squatting punks, choking down hamburgers they bought by collecting aluminum cans?

Ah, what a painnnnnn.

Clearing her throat, Amaryllis called out to the nothings that hid in the shadows and the corners of her mind, “Good evening, fellow fatebound! If this be thine territory, then I shall wait at the threshold to be properly received, but if the master of this land is ‘silence’, then I must trespass. Please, excuse my intrusion upon this dead land.”

Ew. Even she thought that one was a bit weak.
@Rune_Alchemist@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord

---

"Eh? Why'd you send them a request for that kinda stuff? Its....kinda strange, boss, even by your usual standards," the void-touched magical girl said as she sat on the bench near where school buses used to come, doing so in her un-transformed state, tone more curious than usual.

The inky black orb sitting next to her seemed to turn back toward her, as if to look back at her once more as she sat there. Annabelle's legs swang a bit with a rhythmic motion. It had actually turned out to be a...well, good day so far in terms of herself. A couple new friends, they ate some burgers....heck, she had even asked Chef to make em' extra special for the occasion. Then they had talked a bit personally, discussed things, then it eventually payments and that sorta thing.

'All in good time, my herald. Much is needed, and more is necessary before things are ready. And more territory has just been secured, with more to be gained.'

She supposed Soth knew what he was doing. He was one of the oldest things in the universe, after all! He had to know what he was doing, and though he had some distaste for the other two at least he wasn't being mean about it. Annabelle was happy about that much, and happy to have some new friends. Though she almost felt...somewhat protective of the in regards to her boss? It was kinda odd, but at the same time to her it was kinda nice as well....

....It was like she finally had something.....no, someone(s) to protect now, actually~

But before her happier trail of thoughts could continue, a voice rang out from down below. A figure, yes, someone had run onto the grounds of the school, into her master's territory without so much as a 'please' of all things. It was just about the second time today, but to the red-haired magical girl at least it was something to do! Quickly uttering her transformation phrase, Annabelle shifted into her magical girl form before waving a hand at the inky black orb next to her.

Swiftly, it over down and opened up into a small portal below her, enough to jump down into for a quick trip to somewhere. Especially on these grounds. A light glimmer of glee on her face, Annabelle leapt off with roof without hesitation and into the portal.

A moment later, the Knight of Rose would see an inky black portal of darkness open up on the cieling of the hallway, a bit in front of her. Moments later, a magical girl, perhaps one of a familiar appearance if she remember the earlier incident, fell down through the portal and landed on her feet. A look of glee was on the girl's face, perhaps from the fall she took, before she looked up at Amaryllis as she dusted herself off.

Beyond that, Soth's own forces and such that were inside the school were already moving around inside, stealthy and hidden form perception by their lord just in case. Full alert for the second time in the day, actually. It had almost made the "chef" roll its many eyes in exasperation once more at things, though perhaps this one wouldn't have its lord's herald coming here asking for food for them this time. Yeesh. Then again, it had at least been some added practice in variety for the "chef", so that much it was glad for.

"Hey, a visitor! I must be popular today, haha!" Annabelle said to the other magical girl, giving a light giggle afterwards before seeming to calm down a bit more seriously for the occasion, "So, what brings ya here into Lord Soth's territory? Need some work, or to talk, or somethin'?

Er, and to clarify the 'threshold' proper was kinda on the property line, not here. Buuuuuuut the boss seems in a good mood today, so that's cool!"

Actually, she couldn't tell his mood right now. But considering the living status of this person, to Annabelle he must have been in a better mood than earlier!

@ERode@Rune_Alchemist

---

---

A pair of magical girls watched the city, one on the ground and the other viewing the sky.

Someone had unleashed a deal of spirits into the area, which after some events had been stopped and other magical girls (and a magical boy it had seemed) had stepped in to assist the victims. At least, those they could assist if naught else.

But for Nina Kujo, this was not enough. Avoiding interference was something she regretted now, though Alice had been (even if Nina wouldn't admit it) right about keeping back in case a territorial magical girl....or heaven forbid another psycho girl like the one who had eaten dead bodies, had showed up. This was new territory for them, something they didn't know for sure all the ins and outs of amidst the large and local magical girl populace. Many different patrons potentially at play too, which was a potential danger to boot if one took a dislike to them.



"Yare yare, Red Rifle. You seen the one who did this yet? I'm investigating near the scene for clues," the 'Stardust Crusader' said into the cellphone in her right hand, it and its also-stolen twin both possessed with a couple spirits to allow herself and Alice to communicate freely without interference. Her left hand, specifically the thumb of it, was stuck in the waistband on her pants with her hang hanging there in place, much like a delinquent would do casually in some sort of anime.

The oddly-dressed girl was leaning against the side of a building, standing in a nearby alley from the scene of the attacks. She could see the bodies covered in sheets, the blood staining them and the ground, and the damage fleeing or otherwise slain people had caused in some fashion during the chaotic mess Alice had described to her. It was...disgusting. Nina loathed it with every fiber of her body, and had come here amidst her ground search for the supposed "perpetrator" to, in her own manner, pay silent respects to the dead. Not that she could admit it to her companion, but regardless of Alice knowing it not....it was her own prerogative to do it anyway!

However, she did see something odd at the intersection at she observed it. Two girls, looking at once of the dead bodies as it would seem. Motorcycle visible out of the corner of Nina's eyes a little ways away from them. Magical girls, perhaps, coming to investigate the damage? Wait, was that the light din of an actual ringing cellphone? Nina had no complete idea about things, but for all she knew they knew the poor man whose body lied dead on the ground.

"....Hmpf, bastard who did this is gonna get a fist in their ugly-," Nina said as she had begun to speak quietly to herself

"Ey, i might have a visual on the girl. Same one i saw earlier anyways. Seems to be doing a low fly-by over the city, maybe wants to check back up on her work? Regardless, i'll just keep a watch on her for now and update ya as i watch her," Alice said over the phone, interrupting Nina without telling the other girl she'd accidentally left the line open while talking to herself, "Go to the scene and keep an eye on things, for the moment being. See if she comes there, since i told you what she looks like already. If she decided to get too close to things and confirms my guesses, we can decide from there. Red Rifle, out."

Alice adjusted her sniping position a bit after closing the line of communication, before looking back into her "scope" and continuing to track the location of her "quarry" as they moved about. She herself had become accustomed to this 'scandalous' outfit, sniping from several positions, similar things of the sorts as the situation had required. It was all part of her work as a magical girl. But one thing she was happy Nina hadn't quite yet "adjusted to" was senseless killing scenes. It was disgusting, terrible, but not always something they could do things about. At least for today, conforming their potential target, tracking her, and most importantly: attempting to stop any possible other attempts to release spirits in this city today.

Sure it risked someone getting huffy, but some could maybe see it as a kindness wanting to try to hunt down a perpetrator and cut off their evil actions at the source. Some just saw it in a grey light, some got angry if the perpetrator was a comrade for some reason. Alice had seen it all, so many deaths, so many monsters, so many things gone right to hell that brought out the darkest sides of the world around them. Nina seemed to have adjusted to many things well so far, especially under her tutoring, and yet the truth was that she like herself still had growing and learning to do.

They all still had to learn and grow in this "profession", really, according to Alice's own thoughts on the matter. Otherwise, how could anyone survive in this kind of role for long if they never learned a thing or never continued to learn?

@MadManMoon@Rune_Alchemist

Despite having the capability of heading straight to the park, Penny took something of a meandering route to her meeting with Veronica, even taking out the odd monster along the way to delay a bit longer. It was partly because she really would have rather not talked with the Coinbroker if she could and partly because she was still mad from watching her friends get accosted by the people they worked with. But mostly it was because she wasn’t looking forward to the topic of discussion.

Still, even with her roundabout path, she made it to the park within the time frame she had given earlier and set about wandering the park. She kept away from the main paths, too much risk of being seen by a normal person, but otherwise didn’t have any real destination in mind, figuring that Veronica would see Penny long before Penny saw Veronica.

Veronica looked like she had been waiting in the park for some time. She had her briefcase opened on her lap and was typing out something on a keyboard. Though if Penny cared to look, it would appear Veronica was writing part of a novel. Something about a monk entering a cave.
“I suppose it was too much to expect you to come disguised as something.” Veronica closed the briefcase and looked up at Penny. “Anyway, I have some information that points to the whereabouts of Thalia. Unfortunately, this information is owned by the mint. As such, I cannot freely pass it along to whoever I choose.” She folded her hands together on top of her briefcase, which was still in her lap. “That is to say that I can give you this information, but it will increase the size of your debt. Your operations will get noticeably harder, and the Mint will expect results.” Veronica gave the cyborg a sideways glance. “I can understand if you don't trust the mint. But I verified the sources myself. I have no doubt this will lead you directly to her.”

”The only ‘disguise’ I have would require more trust than I have for you at the moment Broker” Penny replied calmly as she stepped closer to the bench but remained standing. She held herself in a loose stance and there was a thin line of red rimming her, currently green, eyes. She did glance at the novel but only for a moment before returning her attention to the woman on the bench.

Upon hearing that it would cost more debt to find Thalia, Penny clenched her jaw and sound akin to a metal latch being locked and unlocked could be heard coming from the cyborg for a moment as she forced her instinctive reaction down ”And how much debt am I under at the moment? And how exactly do I pay off that debt?” Penny would ask “Because I would much rather work off what I own before adding more to it first”

“Debt is difficult to quantify.” Veronica didn't take her eyes off of penny. “However, your starting debt was rather low to start with. Which is largely why I've just been using you to collect information about Laat and Beacon. Relatively small, low risk operations. Laat seemed interesting in having you on board with us, so it's important that you always retain a small amount of debt to remain inside our organization.You've been completing enough missions that the interest isn't compounding too badly. We could say in a roundabout way you have no debt.” she patted the suitcase. “This will be a bit more substantial. I would like to just give it to you, I think it would be a great way to build trust between us. But unfortunately, it's not mine to give. Should you choose to accept it though, I will be able to help you if you need to make heads or tales of anything. Missing people are my specialty.”

“You make it sounds like there is no way to be part of the Mint and be debt free at the same time” Penny resisted the urge the start pacing, she didn’t like this. The fact that her debt was negligible was good to hear, the reminder that she couldn’t completely sever ties from the Mint until Laat said something was not.

This whole situation made Penny realize how trapped she was. The Mint had something that she obviously wanted, but it would add more chains to Penny if she accepted. She couldn’t directly deny it Laat didn’t want her to drift away from Mint, nor could she embrace it as she still had ties to Beacon that Laat was wanting as well. Even though most of the girls in the Beacon despised her on principle.

Gods how she hated Laat’AlOfan right now.

”What kind of Operations could I expect if I accepted this information?” A fresh spike of anger seeped in to Penny as she asked, her voice remaining calm even as more red bled into her eyes. She was stuck and knew it and there wasn't any options to free herself at the moment. ”And what do you expect me to do once I find Thalia?”

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure what you're going to do once you find Thalia. She is of no interest to the mint, and by extension, me. You are free to do what you please. I believe I've already spoken to you previously about the matter. I told you what I would do if I was in such a situation, but you are free to do as you please.” Penny was able to recall a discussion Veronica had with her about love and trust. Veronica made up a very convincing story about being a beacon girl in love with a monster on the spot. While Penny couldn't clearly remember Veronica's answer, she did remember saying that she would personally want to hurt that girl. But that was before Veronica revealed it to be a fabrication. Unless that too was a lie. “You would have to be a bit more active in Mint activities if you wanted to keep your debt down. I do not know what sort of missions I will receive to delegate to you, but I won't ever order you to kill your friends. We are primarily interested in the gathering of intelligence. The horror stories you've heard about girls being forced to kill people are tales from desperate girls who drew on the coin's power.” She adjusted her tie. “I've never ordered the death of a magical girl who didn’t deserve it.”

”You might not order such things, but that doesn’t mean other Brokers are the same way. The Mint likes it’s secrets after all.” Penny replied sarcastically before shaking her head. She was angry, angry at herself, at Laat, at Thalia, but venting at Veronica wouldn’t solve anything “But maybe that’s why Laat’s been watching you.”

Penny let loose a sigh as she thought about what was next. ”Regardless, I’ll take the info” she said moving to sit on the bench as she did “And your help if your offering it freely”

“For the record, I do not enjoy our secretive nature any more than you do.” Veronica popped open the briefcase. “I have actually started to notify my operatives of each other's missions, which isn't something I've done since I started my time as a coin broker.” She shifted her eyes over to Penny. “Speaking of which, I understand you met one of them. We'll talk about that shortly if you'd like.” Veronica pulled a file out of her briefcase and handed it to Penny. It was a dossier that contained two photos of a young girl and some notes. The pictures were presumably her magical girl form and normal form. “She calls herself 'Mika,' and is a fairly new magical girl. She's been taking refuge at the golden trove apartment complex. She was attacked by a girl who closely fits Thalia's description. Talking to Mika is your first step to finding her.” She closed her briefcase. “If you need help, you may contact me over coms. Now, was there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

Penny leafed through the files while Veronica explained the basics. She wondered about the attack, as that didn’t sound like Thalia, but neither did her running away and that happened. So maybe Penny didn’t know Thalia as well as she had thought. “Not really” She would reply as she handed the dossier back. She had been copying it with her eyepiece as she read it over and didn’t need a physical copy as well. “But your statement does answer whether or not Silhouette recognized me”

Rather then standing up to leave, Penny slumped in her seat. Her anger was still simmering just below the surface, but at the moment the girl just felt drained. Once again she was at risk of losing everything due to Laat’s intervention and her only real option was to go along with it and hope for the best.

Veronica stood up. “We might be mint, but we take care of our own, Penny.” She eyed the cyborg before turning around to leave. “I’ll be in touch if you need me.”

A few minutes later, Penny would stand up and start her trek to the Golden Trove Apartments. After all she bought the information, might as well track Thalia down to get her pound of flesh. Who knows it might even make her feel better.

Stanislav Petrov was once the most powerful man in the world. It was his job to decide moment to moment if the Russians would fire nuclear missles in response to a threat. He could start and end a nuclear war with the push of a button. Despite the power he held under his finger, he was not a celebrity, politician, or anyone else that you would view as being a powerful person. What made his position interesting was that he had little controll beside nuking the world or not nuking it. Outside of that, he had little urgency in other people's lives.

Sometimes, Tonya felt that way about her spool of thread.

She could do so many things since she knew what the future had in store for her, for everyone. There were a lot of things she could do, from correctly guess the lottery every day to leading a perfect life. Yet here she was, serving an unspeaking, uncaring patron. Ensuring whatever was suppose to happen, did. Never challenging the higher powers, always conforming.

She had to follow the law of the universe.

That was expected of all civilians.

But especially those in law enforcement.

Even so, Tonya's head was filled with "what if" scenarios as she turned the spool over in her hand. Well, if she did something wrong, that would probably be it for employment by her new boss. Probably best to not even think about those things.

---

It was noon, and Boteg had called all of the magical girls under his control to a meeting. Typically the golden dragon would remain hidden in the confines of the upper floors, but it was easier to talk about what was going on with everyone assembled, instead of via telepathic link. Fortunately, the golden trove was no stranger to big business meetings. Once upon a time, the original owners noticed that their rooms were largely rented out by business startups, corporate branches, and other such groups of people. They installed their own conference hall that they could rent out to those who needed one. Though at the moment, it was open for their use. Boteg had shape shifted into a man in a blue tuxido, but kept his head very much as it usually appeared. He was standing in front of a projection screen, and in front of him was a long table with Su, Helga, and Mika in attendance. They had all transformed, and were waiting to see what their patron was going to say.

” Me thinks it would be right splendid if thou could listen to me hither.” The dragon nodded before resting his hands on the podium. His smooth human hands didn't match his scaly face.

Mika glanced between Helga and Su. ”So he's going to tell us about the terrifying one?”

”He's going to try.” Su folded her arms.

”A time ago, there be many gold dragons like myself. We doth lived on a far off world, creating gold and treasure in peace. Making such treasures and adding to our hordes was most splendid. We did need to trade them away for important commodities, but verily that was our nature.” The dragon shooh his head. ”I had me a family, friends... and that was when it sent the terrible shadow at us!”

Mika sat up. ”Terrible shadow, what did that lo-”

”A Terrible shadow from the Terrible one! It hath destroyed everything!” Boteg pounded the podium with his fist. ”This not be the first attack, but it was the last. I had me no one left!” He groaned. ”I flew me to this blue marble, only to find the terrible one was here too. And he hath come for me. That is why we must slay his champion!”

”But the Terrible shadow, what did it look like?” Mika pouted.

”It hath a head that look like a cross between a black nipper and a sparkle swimmer.” The dragon stroked his chin. ”Claws like... orange spinners!” He looked around frantically. ”And toes verily be cotton suffers!”

”It's no use.” Su whispered. ”It's impossible to get specifics out of him. Boteg just barely understands how we think and process information.”

”Oh.” Mika looked at Boteg. ”Sorry big guy. That souds horrible.”

”But I have some leads.” Su looked at the list she made earlier. ”The terrible one's champion is either a beacon girl or Mariette. Going anywhere near Beacon right now would be a big mistake for us, so I'd like to see if we can get near Mariette.” She folded up the paper and tucked it away. ”I've been meaning to see Mariette recently anyway, Eli too. Only problem is they are quite reclusive.” She turned to Helga. ”I think you should come with me for this.”

”Does that mean I've gotta hold the fort?” Mika folded her arms.

Su didn't look at Mika. ”It's not an ideal situation for me either. But Helga is a lot better at not drawing attention to herself. You like playing with Boteg anyway, right?”

Mika sighed.”I guess. Gives me a chance to perfect my new trick anyway.” Mika placed a pot on her lap, which had a hole towards the bottom. After fishing her tail into the hole, she picked up a flute and started to play. Only now her tail had transformed into a snake, and was rising out of the pot in her lap.

”Right.” Su turned to Helga. ”Ready to go?”

@ERode@Crusader Lord

---

It was annoying busy work, that's what all this was.

Searching the most likely places was turning out to be ridiculous. Even when she had decided to stay back to support Amaryllis, she got her fair share of work too. It felt like they had covered half the city before they finally seemed to make at least some progress. The school was definitely abandoned, and Amaryllis' senses seemed to be spot on. Making sure Amaryllis knew she was off, Kat did what she had suggested and split off from her current partner.

As she found her way into the school yard, Kat found herself a top of a nearby Apartment complex, bow in hand and projectile ready. The school looked like a mess, and even looked like a fight happened there recently. It was obvious something was up here, and even if there was nothing there now it was something she should keep an eye out for later. As soon as Amaryllis stepped foot into the grounds however - things got interesting.

A magical girl seemed to appear out of a portal of some sort. Was this the 'Maiden of Mystic Darkness' she had mentioned earlier? It seemed as such. The very sight of her made Kat's skin crawl with discomfort. They certainly weren't someone of good intent. That much was obvious. Part of her wanted to just send her to the grave here and now. She could do it quite easily...but then she'd also potentially lose information.

She couldn't hear what was happening from her perch, but she could at least see that there wasn't an immediate fight happening. Perhaps this creature could be reasoned with somewhat. Either way, she'd have to come back here later to finish the job if they got useful information out of this girl...but she seriously doubted things would end well.


@Crusader Lord

---

Hmm~

She wondered what Penny was up to? Meeting some Mint dogs, she assumed. She'd need to meet them soon too if she wanted to potentially smooth things over. After all, she hadn't quite paid back their perceived debt for her black coin yet. Ah, so annoying. Maybe she could play with whoever the current handler was. Getting in good with them, if possible, was a good way to not get dead. Too bad most Mint types were completely boring, and she had let them get their claws into her Penny. Tsk, if they hurt her she'd kill the lot of them. Lord Na-ahem. Lord Iesud would be quite pleased with the tribute of such fresh, sticky souls.

Coming to a halt, her crystalline wings flapped idly as her orb floated beneath her, perching herself atop it as she looked over the city below. She briefly though about going back to the scene of the crime, but only an idiot criminal did that. Wasn't anything left for her there for the moment anyways, so going back would be just like raising a flag saying 'here, it was me, yes, I killed everyone.' As much fun as it'd be to own up to it, she was not that stupid. She might check back later for potential candidates. Anyone who survived would make quite the special little girl, but now?

"Ah, I wonder I wonder who would make a good candidate...someone pretty, pure, and..." It just so happened, as she stood atop her crystal orb she turned in the direction of a certain someone who was spying on her. Ho. Hohoho. Curious, what a curious little kitten who was spying on her. There could only be two reasons someone was spying on her. They were being an unrepentant pervert, or they wanted something from her. She was betting this was the latter. "...audacious enough to get my attention." Giggling lightly, she made a lazy loop in the air, grabbing her orb. Well, if she wanted to watch, she'd put on quite the show for her.

Twirling once more, Chloe began to gain altitude, idly doing some acrobatic maneuvers just to show off until she was several yards above Red Rifles position. Spreading her Crystalline wings, Chloe turned in Red Rifles direction...and just gave her a friendly little smile and a wave. Making sure she had been seen, Chloe would then extend her arm, holding the orb in Rifles direction. For a brief moment it seemed like she was just being friendly.

Until the Orb flickered, drawing in a massive amount of mana into it. Sticking her tongue out and winking playfully at Rifle, there was a low hum as the spirit energy was released from the orb, cutting through the sky of Penrose towards the girl spying on her. If Red didn't move, it'd definitely hit her.

"Hey!" Closing the distance between the slightly, Chloe shouted toward Rifle. "I know I'm pretty, but staring is rude y'know! So how about you introduce yourself so I can take ya on a date!"

Summer had to stifle a laugh as she entered the Hall of Divine Judgement. What was with Beckoners and the whole "heaven and hell" motif? Not to mention that the tiny judge's wig was adorable. A quick looks around and a wave of her pendant told her that there were in fact Light users in the Hall as she took a seat as part of the jury. Perhaps she didn't belong there, but nobody else could do what she could and the group could certainly stand to have more of a balanced outlook than the fundamentalist opinion that nearly completely dominated it. She pulled out her sketchpad and began drawing the scene, the thought that perhaps she should be the court sketch artist ran through her mind. Deciding against it, she simply focused on the three people the court was most interested in, the prosecutor, the defense, and the defendant.

---

Shion's copy peeked out from behind the tent to record Eliza. Meanwhile, Shion herself and another clone sat in the computer store they had ducked into. Suddenly, Maura grabbed Shion with her shadow. In less than a second, her copy had her phone on flashlight mode and was shining it at her original's shadow, banishing the darkness that was there. Neither reacted to the threat they heard, they simply walked outside and waited, back to back, recording as if they were tourists.

By the time they had gotten back home, Alexander had a lot to think about. He was out of his element is a big way, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it, even if it did annoy him. So as he got off of Lily's motorcycle and released his transformation, he spoke "Hey...Lily? I...know this might be a stupid question, but I still got to ask; are we dating? I mean, I didn't think we were, but everyone else seems to think we're boyfriend and girlfriend. Are they just messing with us, or is this just something that's flown completely over my head?"

@Ariamis

Thirty seven civilian casualties have been confirmed dead this evening after a deadly road collision in Penrose City. Reports have come in that First Responders arrived on site twenty minutes after news of the incident struck, with their way blocked by a vast amount of congestion caused by the accident.







From atop her roof perch, Katelyn continued to watch the scene unfold. More Magical Girls arriving, some leaving, the first responders arriving on scene, only to be met with the destruction that was the attack. For the entirety of the watch, she kept her gaze upon her target, a single entity, waiting, awfully patiently, as though possessed into petrification by some manner. She was still, as still as she could be, staring, coldly, idly checking her phone on the off chance a message came through - either from the web, or them. Things were going to start moving soon; she could feel it.

Before long, the girl of her watch removed her disguise, taking off into the sky on a pair of wings, having recovered from the assault on her senses from that woman, The Ebon Vampire. Connections into The Mint were limited, but they all said the same thing; she was a woman, if not demon to be feared. How one person could possess such power, she wasn't certain, but Katelyn could reckon a few theories. She, herself, was strong, though the fact didn't become any less extravagant the more she proved it. It was a power she had fought and killed for. There was nothing great about that.

In a single, rapid action, Katelyn removed her disguise, before standing up to take in the air. It was encroaching on evening already, with the wind sweeping across her outfit producing a pleasant chill for the sunset. Her wings stretched out, free from their confinements at least, and ready to be used at a moments notice. In one hand she picked up the cellphone, and slid it into her pocket, for future use, but the binoculars, she left on the ground, before generating a surge of electricity through its structure, blowing it to pieces. The less evidence the better.

And finally, in a final move now that preparations had been finished, she ran to the edge of the roof, and leapt off. The wind surged for a moment, catching her wings and lifting her from her descent, preventing an untimely death. With this, she could fly freely, and so she did, giving chase to the Magical Girl, some distance behind, eyeing her movements with another distant and cold glare. She kept back, trailing as best as possible, both to keep out of sight but also to maintain visual contact; losing sight of the quarry would be the worst possible scenario.

And then she came across something unexpected - the girl attacking a tent, placed atop a nearby roof. She eyed it cautiously, well wary of a possible ambush or trap, but decided to lay that fear by the wayside. More than likely, she was in the middle of a mission of some kind or another for The Mint. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Even if the girl had had a chance to see the dragon girl coming, enough to anticipate an attack, there would likely be very little she could have done against it. After all, she was designed for speed.

In the first instance, there was a flash - a brilliant, blue light, that seemed to beacon out like an explosion from Katelyn's location. And then, for a few seconds, there was nothing. And then the shock-wave hit at once - a deafening crack of thunder, as the girl charged herself with energy and nigh teleported the distance between her and Eliza. There was very little time between the attack, and the flash; she had closed the distance in an instant.

But Katelyn didn't simply attack her. With the momentum of the lightning enhancement channelled into her body, propelling her to ungodly levels of speed, she barrelled into the girl, grabbing her by the waist. If there was no resistance, no effort made to prevent the attack, the two, at a speed greater than sound, would hurtle through a nearby office block, tearing through the wall, with Eliza taking the brunt of the force, before she would be flung across the room.

No doubt it would cause a large amount of damage, both internally and externally, but it wouldn't be enough to kill her.

“Ah,” Amaryllis dipped her head slightly, acknowledging her mistake, “Please accept my apologies for the improper conduct then, Maiden of Mystic Darkness. Abandoned and wall-less as it is, I found it difficult to ascertain where exactly your territory began. Perhaps placing a chauffeur in front would be preferable next time, so no others make the same mistake I do. A dark miasma is no deterrent for any ordinary magical girl, after all.”

A portal of darkness, and the name ‘Lord Soth’. Though the former was more concerning than her than the latter, it was her sword that sliced thinly into her back at those words. A sign of danger, first for the monster that served as this white-haired girl’s patron, and second for the predators that lurked within the shadows, intangible threats now concrete presences. The coming night truly was her optimal condition, wasn’t it?

“To being with allow me to introduce myself. I am the Knight of Rose, Amaryllis Evenings, the Silverlight Amongst Rusted Roses.” As if to make a point of that, she raised a hand, the red petals of an artificial flower blooming in her palm before disintegrating into dust. “You were there, weren’t you, on that scarlet morning when a magical girl summoned that swarm of ghosts upon saints and sinners alike? What I’m here to ask then, is whether or not you caught a glimpse of the perpetrator of that tragedy, and if you’re willing to divulge that knowledge with me.”
@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist

A battle took place. Orange lights blocked the windows of a single house as darkness swallowed the city. Two Empaths were in struggle, shooting blasts powered with emotions at one another. However, only one of them had bathed in the seas of sorrow, wandered the streets of rage, climbed the mountains of despair, delved into the forest of anxiety or flown in the skies of hate. Only one of them had access to an interdimensional horror to guide them to the most emotionally charged worlds available. The battle quickly quieted down, the lights fading. A while after, a many-legged being landed on top of the building.

‘In here? Alright. Thanks,’ Ronja Koskela said into her phone as she carefully wandered the roof, one pair of legs moving at a time. Her hands spun her parasol, looking down on the fairly average building on the outskirts of Penrose at dusk. She closed the call and deposited her phone in the slight space in-between where her belly was swallowed into the spider’s abdomen that was her lower half and where her torso actually ended. Here, eh? There was an open window. Ronja crawled down easily over the wall and went inside.

No damage from the battle that had taken place was visible. Merely some chairs that had been knocked over and the occasional slide-mark from furniture. Notably a mirror of Asengav was leaning on the far wall, untouched. In the middle of the battlefield was a downed Magical Girl with half-open mouth and lifeless eyes, and standing over her was the smirking purple-clad blonde girl that was Suzette Laderoute, Empath of Asengav.

‘You took your time,’ Suzette said with a smirk.

‘I had to cross dimensions to get here,’ Ronja defended. She looked at the girl on the floor. ‘That her?’

‘Yupp. She’s a Puchuu girl that has been keeping up-to-date on the situation here in Penrose. I went ahead and punched all the will to resist out of her, so you can go ahead with the questioning. I’m going to go drench myself in hatred in the meantime,’ Suzette said, before turning to walk towards the mirror. Ronja kept her eyes focused on the downed Magical Girl, breathing out a bit.

‘Someone might have heard your fight. I would like to have some form of backup,’ Ronja stated. Suzette merely giggled as she knocked on the mirror. After a bit of time, it shimmered and opened a pathway to a world Ronja wasn’t familiar with.

‘Aw, is our residential spider-girl feeling lonely?’ Suzette looked back with a smirk. ‘Don’t worry. I just emptied myself. It was extremely draining to win while making sure there was no residential damage, I need to refill. I’ll be back when I’m full~’ Suzette giggled, before exiting through the mirror and vanishing from this world. Ronja merely sighed, and then crawled up to the downed Magical Girl. She took her phone out again and sent a message.

“Emptiness Empath” and “Psychorachnid” finishing up, should arrive in time.

Then, she turned to the girl beneath her, giving a little smile and spinning her parasol.

‘Alright. Time for you to share everything you know about the situation in Penrose,’ Ronja said, moving a hand down and stroking the hair of the girl. One of her spider-legs settled on the girl’s stomach.

‘Don’t worry about feeling guilty,’ she continued, as she pulled her hand and strands of memories left the girl’s mind in the shape of spider-web for Ronja to inspect.

‘You won’t remember.’

---

Lily stopped her motorcycle on top of the apartment building she and Alex were staying at, and then jumped off it, landing on the balcony to their apartment. She could have used the front door, but at that moment she was so happy she wanted to do things the more energetic way. She even hopped on the sofa, transforming back to her regular appearance as she held a hand to her ear looking at the ceiling.
"That was great, wasn't it?" She asked Alex. Then she nodded her head upon hearing Ixion speak in her head; she held her hand to her ear as if she was on the phone.
"Yeah, I know...I'll start looking tomorrow. I'm sure a ghosting ghoul like that's easy to find."
She then stood up and stretched her arms.
"To think that so many other girls were there helping out...We might be able to reach Victoria's dream. Huh, what is it Alex?" She asked in her bubbly demeanor, and went to the kitchen.

She opened the door to the fridge...And slammed it shut upon hearing his question. She blushed, her face a complete red as her legs began shaking.
"Wh-What?" She reached in her pocket reflexively, feeling the ring that Alex gave her.
Wait, didn't he propose to me? What is going on? Oh geez, don't panic in front of him!
She gave a nervous laugh, and turned towards Alex, leaning against the fridge as if she took refuge from it; her teeth began chattering from the cold.
"Aha, well...I don't know!" She stood back up, and gave a forced smile as she raised her shoulders and cocked her head to the side.
"I mean, I kissed a girl and liked it, but that doesn't make her my girlfriend, haha." It only took a single second to pass before Lily's joking confidence utterly shattered upon her realization, and she began panicking, talking in a rapid pace.
"No, forget what I said! I didn't want to kiss her, she just came up to me and did it, I didn't know what I was doing and-and I don't like girls-I mean I do like them but not in THAT way!"
As her anxiety started to reach critical mass, she lunged towards Alex, and hugged him. She shook as she buried her face in his chest.
"Why...Why do you think I changed my costume today, Alex?" She asked, her breath shallow as she was on the verge of crying.
"I've seen it...The way you look at other girls, and their...Ugh. I just know, you're gonna leave me behind...Like everyone else I've known. That's why I just rode from town to town; If I stayed for long, I would just be..." Tears drifted down her cheeks, and stained his clothes.
"But...this time I stayed...Because Penrose needs my help...You need my help. You're such a dummy...You even proposed, yet you still don't get it..."

---

Helga stood firm with her hands clasped in front of her, her face not moving an inch as Boteg explained the situation; her experience as Justine's lackey taught her to be diligent and attentive. She faced Su's suggestion with a nod, her eyes determined. "Yeah, I agree. Mariette wants to deny it, but she and Justine are not so different. She also has ambition...And the will to realize it." She then blinked as Mika showed off her performance, followed by wide-eyed awe. "Ahh, that's amazing, Mika!" She went over to the shorter girl, and patted her on the head. "Don't you worry, ok Mika? Me and Su will be coming right back. I promise. Alright, let's go, Su." She said, and followed after her waving off to Mika as she did. During the short time she had known the Beast girl, she had found herself drawn to her; maybe it was because she reminded her of her own wild past, or the fact she always wanted a little sister who she could dote over, and be idolized by, but in either case Helga felt a bond with her. "So, where are we headed to?"

---

The ursine judge cast a mean look towards Janet when she rejected the charges. It looked like she struck a nerve with the Beckoner, and with good reason. The entire hall was silent, tension high in the air.
"So you plead innocent...They always do," he spoke in a cold voice. "But is that really true?" He looked towards Alicia, expecting her to answer. After the Light user's confirmation, the spectators reacted confused, having not expected that to happen.
"Is Alicia lying?" She could hear a whisper among many others.
"I hear she actually slapped Cherry. The nerve of her."
"She turned into a bully!"
"I hope I'm not next..."

The judge sighed. "Very well. Prosecution, do you want to make your case now?" Sylvia nodded, and responded with a professional rigidness: "Yes, your honor. I would like to present evidence." She brought out a crystal ball, and from it projected a magical illusion to the upper center of the hall, where everyone could see it.
"This is surveillance footage depicting the training hall just moments before the incident." Alicia saw how Janet walked past the camera; she was wearing a black dress, carried a sports bag, and smiled and waved on her way.
Sylvia looked disheartened by seeing it again.
"As you can see, miss Howell was at the scene of the crime, planting the bomb. Next, I would like to ask for a witness to give testimony." Soon, another pod joined the center; Cherry was on it. Sylvia moved in front of her with his own podium. "Miss Sugarsweet, did you see miss Howell at the scene of the crime?"
Cherry bit her lip as she saw Alicia, but then took a deep breath. "I did...Janet walked right through the entrance as I began my shift. I traded with Cola, who had an appointment at the training hall." She looked shaken. "I...She didn't make it." She pointed at Janet, holding back tears. "And that bitch killed her!"
The judge banged his mallet again. "Order in court! Janet Howell, how do you answer to these claims?"
He asked, and the jury began writing on their smartphones.

'Fuck! Abort, abort!'

Alexander was nearly panicking; he had just asked a simple question, and now Lily was clinging to him and crying. " 'Propose'? But I didn't..." Then he remembered earlier this morning "Lily, that wasn't an engagement ring, that was a magic ring, one I enchanted with runic magic to make whoever wears it faster. Fuck, I know I'm an asshole, but proposing to a girl by chucking a piece of metal at her is still too far for me." then he sighed "And what do you mean you've 'seen the way I look at other girls'? My outfit comes with a helmet, you can't see my face! Just who do you think I'm 'looking at'? Was it one of the wish sisters, because if so then that was just a look of...pity I think? I mean, their magic is even worse then mine, so how could I not feel sorry for them? Was it the girl with blue everything, because the look I gave her was one only used on crazy people you're trying not to set off. I mean, did you even hear her talk? She sounds like she came out of a Shakespeare play!"

He began patting Lily's head "I just...why me? I know I'm vastly out of my element when it comes to love...but even I can tell this is some kind of confession. I just don't understand why I'm the one on the receiving end here. I mean, I'm pretty sure you can do a lot better than me. It's actually kind of funny that you're afraid me me leaving you, when you've just shrugged off all of my normal methods of keeping people away from me. I wouldn't know how to abandoned you if I wanted. You just...brute forced your way into my life, and it's kind up upsetting how much that doesn't bother me."

Watching the surveillance Janet frowned. From all the evidence currently presented it leaned hard against her. There wasn't really much she could tangibly present the same way. Still the girl intended to stand her ground. Sugarsweet throwing an insult her way stung as well, though she couldn't blame her. Things since the attack had been hectic and Janet had only just started to adjust to being a monster girl before Alicia fixed that.

Trying not to lose her cool, she was obviously distraught about what had happened. After a long pause and a deep breath she preceded to answer. "I'm not disputing what happened. What you see there is me bringing in the bomb. But I was not the one in control. Justine von Visceral didn't convince me to join her, she invaded my mind with her magic." Hugging her arms around herself Janet shivered. "I was kidnapped from the home you gave me. That witch trapped and isolated me with that dress and took over my body. I became her puppet, exacting her will because my own was locked away. That wasn't enough though. When I could no longer fight it she forced dark magic into me until I became a monster girl so I would have no way back." Trembling she wiped tears from her face.

"I had friends here. I saw them when I came with that bomb. But I couldn't stop myself. I watched it all happen and I couldn't do anything about it. The Spark was supposed to protect me and it failed. Justine had everything planned out. The bombing was her using me as a pawn to deliver it." Stopping there Janet hoped that she'd made a good case. She didn't have any witnesses, and even if she did they probably wouldn't have been let in. Alicia was probably the only one that would stick up for her.

"...What just happened?"

Maura stood silent for a moment, trying to process the fact that she was played by a walking magnet and her clone. "That's it. I'm killing her." she gritted her teeth, before dissapearing through a shadow. With a bit of navigation, the maiden had appeared back ouside, and a few feet away from Shion. "Let's try something else." she thought to herself, conjuring up a volley of blue flames, and firing them at the Shions. Better get down here soon! I'm in pursuit of the real Shion and one of her clones!"

All the while, Theresa had flown down and tried to knock one of the Shions' phones out of their hands. At that point, the familiar had no other ideas.

---

Wait, really?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!

She's as stuborn as a mule, what did you expect?

Eliza groaned. Just try to drag her to me, weaken her if you need to- the witch was interupted when a beacon of light shot out. "The hell?" She turned to look where the beacon came from. Suddenly, she was tackled through and hurled across an office building at an alarming speed. The impact shot an agonizing pain through Eliza, making it to where it hurt to move. Coughing, she looked up at the girl who attacked her with a scowl. "Dare I ask, why'd you decided to attack me all of a sudden?"

---

"Eh, i guess somethin' like that would work better. Boss' wanted to try to keep this place hidden, but he might take the suggestion," Annabelle said in response to the Rose Knight's first suggestion, before giving a casual shrug in the face of that, "Cool name you have though!"

"Eh, you mean the girl from earlier, if i heard ya right? One who seemed ta kill you?

No wait, that wouldn't be it....hmmm....nah, i don't recall a thing, actually. I didn't make it there in time to see who was causing the incident, but my boss had some guesses since whoever did that obviously dealt with spirits. And there's a few patrons around here that could deal with that, at least among the ones he knows are actually in this city so far.

There's a couple of Lesser Forces here he found the presence of before i got here, who might fit the bill with spirit stuff. Then there's ol' Asgenav, a horror who for all i know coulda' done something....boss sensed his presence in this city too.

Eh, though i guess the Lesser Forces might be more likely since Asgenav uses mirror or somethin'.

One of the two is some dragon, doesn't like Horrors, so Boss had heard some passed on word about him in the far past. Iesud i think is its name? Supposed to have a magical girl around here.

Other is some modern goddess, someone named "Majora" who has powers related to the dead. Got her two girls holed up in some apartment yesterday maybe.

So if you wanna take a cool, maybe seek them out and-"

Before she could continue further, Annabelle seemed to pause all of a sudden . Ah, that was...eh? So that's where he had sent Nevermore! Then why was he telling her now though? It somewhat made no sense, but at least she knew where her familiar was now. Had kinda missed the talking parrot of a raven, cheeky as she was at times. Though boss using it as a messenger for something "discreet" was kinda odd, since he had a lot of others who could have just delivered a message through the shadows.

Annabelle looked back at Amaryllis again, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly with a stupid grin on her face.

"Eh, sorry, boss was tellin' me a little more. Anywho, that's as much as i and boss know on that matter.

Though honestly, if whoever did that was goin' that public, she could be wanderin' about town for another location for all we know. Eh, just a thought~

But if ya want info on the one eating bodies, which is kinda disgusting and rude actually, boss has info on her. Though he says you might wanna come back tomorrow for that info, since we gotta do some repairs to this place on the inside tonight. Haha!"

Annabelle was earnest enough in her speech, or at least she wasn't lying, that much was potentially assured in her behavior in this situation. At least...to herself. No telling how others might take all of that, at least in her mind, though the sudden interruption of Soth talking to her mind had been kinda off-putting with the seemingly random information. All in all, she did personal enjoy the attention a bit, the conversation as well to boot! However, like earlier she felt that someone else could be hiding out there whilst looking on.

Oh! Speaking of which she had wanted to go find her new friend some gifts! Not that the cash and food, plus a meal for the three of them, hadn't already been a lot to give. Ah. Maybe later then she could go do a little shopping? Yeah, actually, that didn't sound bad at all!

@ERode @Rune_Alchemist

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One sentence was said again by Alice before comms were finally cut.

"....I think she may have noticed me. She's moving towards my location."

Nina felt a chill down her spine. So the target had noticed Alice, eh? She had told Alice before all this to find a better hiding position than the rooftop, just in case. Then again, the veteran magical girl could handle herself normally, though in this case if spirits were again employed...hmmm, she needed backup for that then. And who better than a user of spirits like Nina herself? It was better to be safe than sorry in all of this anywho, at least in her mind, and she didn't want Alice getting holes punched through her like she'd described those victims earlier as being like.

"Yare yare....come out, Platinum Star!"



Summoning one of her large array of spirits to her side, its translucent body appeared floating in the air beside her and just behind her back. Good for physical attacking and dealing with spirits, this particular spirit had a nice ability as well in Nina's eyes. At least, a power that might work well in facing a foe in the air or such. She didn't know for sure, but still.

Her strength revving up, Nina launched herself up from the ground. The concrete cracked and buckled under the strength, making a loud and distinct noise that cut through the air. As Red Rifle would have noted if she saw the scene, "eh, Stardust Crusader isn't one for subtlety". A few heads of locals near enough the scene;s location looked around themselves as the sudden cracking noise, lightly worried at the sound. But by this time, Nina would have begun starting to blitz toward Alice's location. Stardust Crusader was going to back up Red Rifle, and she meant it.



Red Rifle had backed up a little upon seeing the orb held out toward her direction, muscles tense with trained and experience instincts kicking into gear. And in this case, her instincts seemed to be right as a beam of energy cut through the sky right towards her. Leaping to the side, Red Rifle's magic flared up into a "flight" spell, wind cushioning her body and allowing her to float there in the air near where the roof....or what remained of it perhaps, was. A small, yet distinctly cheeky smile came to the magical girl's face at the "close call" of sorts, before flying up to match the elevation of the crystalline-winged girl. Her rifle was in her hands as well.

"Ah cmon'! Can't a girl appreciate seeing a cute little butt like yours from a distance these days? Unless your being a little tsundere....huhuhu~" Red Rifle said, throwing back a bit of her own banter as she kept an eye on things carefully, continuing on as she adeptly multi-tasked things on her end at least, "In the end i'm just a Red Rifle lookin' to nail some cuties like yourself~ And you are?"

@MadManMoon@Rune_Alchemist

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'Find the local contact for The Ebon Mint. Then, once you have her attention, make that request for me.'

The raven nearly rolled her eyes at all of this. All her eyes. In War Mode. But that would have made a big scene for nothing, and she knew the boss would be on her tail feather in a heartbeat if she did that. Honestly, she'd rather have stuck with the kid back at the school! Annabelle was likely there now, and as annoying as that black-hole-stomach magical girl could be....she was at least kinda nicer than some others the raven had been around before in this world. Lord Soth had chosen well, it seemed, for a herald in this world.

Er, not that it was this world's time to end or anything. That would have been a far different story, with a lot more drama and enough action to sate her for the next hundred years!

Regardless, she'd been searching for this person....er, what was the name again? Veronica! Yeah, that was it. She'd been searching for this Veronica for hours on end, before her other 'master' had arrived proper in Penrose at least. One location to another, mentions of a name here and there and such, but she couldn't back down on her mission to make contact with The Ebon Mint's local rep for Lord Soth. But at least she now she knew what she'd say next time, the next the boss asked her to do something like this again that is-



....What could she say? That one poet this world had who wrote that, albeit more "poe"-etically than she could, was a nice read.

Albeit, she had managed to scrape up some road kill off the local birds in the meantime. Score!!!

@BrokenPromise