"I'm glad to hear that" Alicia said as Lily confirmed that there was no hard feelings. The fact that she seemed to hold herself just as responsible for what had happened back at the hospital helped. And she was right about Alex still resenting that. They were probably lucky that he had been incredibly distracted during the Justine thing, then.

But with the sound of rising sirens, it looked like their time here was coming to an end. This was further reinforced by Kimble hurrying over, and she glanced over before nodding in agreement. 'I'm sure we'll meet again. It's not that big of a city," she told Lily, the other girl zipping off to rejoin her companion.

Alicia turned towards Kimble, only to stiffen for a moment as she felt something in her clothes that she hadn't before. That drew her attention away, a quick search revealing the folded up square of paper. Unfolding it, she glanced at the contents long enough to know that this was something she should probably handle later.

So that would return to her pocket before she nodded to Kimble, moving to leave the site of the graveyard before the cops arrived. She made it a short distance before her mind was made up, a realization and a desire that she had not been able to lay out before today. Or perhaps it was just the stress of the fight that made her need to do something to let it all off. If she could.

"Well, after this I definitely need a break," she remarked, before raising her voice so those still present could hear her. "I'm going to go get some food, maybe some ice cream. Anyone who wants to come with is more than welcome," she called out, directing a pointed look at Katarina in the process. Just in case she thought that they had only come here to fight for the safety of the world rather than talk about her partnership like she had wanted.

And with that, she turned and made her exit with the others.

It was a moon-lit night when it happened. Tetrad was in the talons of a very big bird. Its appearance was reminiscent of an eagle, only it was green and covered in scales. Tetrad was powerless to escape and was entirely at the mercy of her captor. She stopped struggling when she realized it only made its grip tighter. Strength of that caliber was not something she possessed.

It’s just a matter of time before life was going to give her a bad hand. Even if her chances of dying each day was one out of a million, she was rolling that dice every moment she drew breathe. This morning she felt like her chances were one in a hundred-thousand. Seeing this monster made it feel more like one in ten-thousand. Not having any matching suits or colors in her hand made it one in a thousand. Her backup not showing up made it feel like one in a hundred. Now the monster was going into a high speed dive. The g-forces were almost enough to make Tetrad black out. She felt her chances of surviving this attack were about one out of ten.

Those weren’t horrible odds.

The monster released Tetrad over the school, causing her to plow through the roof. Asphalt and timber rained down on her body, which had come to rest on the floor of the classroom. Tetrad could see the monster flying in front of the moon, but was unable to do anything about it. Something had broken inside her, and she couldn’t move anything below her bellybutton. Her body was wracked with pain, and her range of motion was severely limited. She was able to raise her head just high enough to assess her body’s condition. The tallons had torn her outfit to tatters, and did little to retain her dignity. More pressing was the metal pipe sticking out of her torso. It probably use to be part of a chair, but was now preventing blood from flooding her lung. She looked at her remaining cards. A five and six of hearts, and a king of clovers. None of these would save her. She let them fall out of her hand before allowing her head to rest on the floor. She wasn’t sure how many sides her “fate dice” had, but she had rolled a one today.

Or perhaps it was still resting on its edge.

The monster cried. A sliver of hope was restored. Perhaps it was just the Puchuu’s metal edit that made Tetrad love slaying monsters, but hearing the beast’s death cry filled her with pride. She knew her team had killed it. They were nearby, and she might be saved. All she had to do was hold out. If they looked just a little bit they would find her. Then they could celebrate one more dead monster together. She could hear their footsteps as they got closer. She could hear their voices. They were running towards her position. They were laughing. Tetrad lifted her head to see if she could spot them in front of the classroom windows. They just had to look inside. Their voices were getting louder. She could make out their words. They were talking about the great job they did, how they would grab a pizza, and how badly they all needed a shower.

Nothing about her rescue, however.

And they were getting quieter as they walked further away from her. Tetrad didn’t have the strength left to ball her hands with. She wanted to scream, or at least have the strength to cry, but all she could manage was a few tears. The dice teetered on its edge no longer. Her fate was sealed.

It would be foolish to get upset about this outcome from a statistical standpoint. If you have an eternity to tempt fate, you’re eventually going to get unlucky. What Tetrad was experiencing was something every magical girl to ever live would eventually face. What made this so sad for Tetrad was the nature of her departure. She spent a lot of time with her fellow squad mates. They nurtured each other despite none of them being here by choice. Countless days of shopping together, hanging out after school, weekly pizza nights, card games, video games, park visits, fighting side by side, watching each others back. All of the time she had dedicated to them, and they were going to let her die alone.

How cruel.

---

For some, the event at the graveyard was a threat that had to be taken care of immediately. For others, it was an opportunity to do things while the bulk of Penrose’s magical girls were scrambling. It just depended on what your patron was telling you to do. She wanted to join the graveyard fight, but she was instead tasked with grabbing a mint agent and squeezing information out of them. It was pretty simple. The mint had a large force, and they weren’t nimble enough to mobilize without observant eyes taking notice. It was only natural that they would choose to move during a large scale event like this. The poor guy got abducted and dragged into Tetrad’s interdimensional home before he even knew what happened. It wasn’t like he was a magical girl. Without an escort, it was all too easy for Tetrad to overpower him.

”Gee, is this too risque for a first date? I just don’t want him to think I’m boring.”

Tetrad was examining herself in a mirror. While she had been a magical girl for years, she’d only been working for Crimson Cradle for a few weeks. Her old uniform was something akin to a maid’s outfit, much like the rest of her squad mates. But after changing patrons, her outfit did too. Some would find her corset leotard indecent, but she like it. People had a tendency to comment on it a lot more. And the pockets were a nice touch! Maid uniforms really needed more pockets.

She spun on her heel. ”You don’t like talking much, do you?”

Tetrad’s lair looked like like a typical dive bar. Complete with poor lighting, walls of booze, darts and pool, and a floor that was in desperate need of a mop. An interesting addition was the man in black tied to a board. His legs were elevated off the floor by a step stool. He was still wearing his shades, and there was a rag resting on the edge of a filthy mop bucket not too far away from him. Tetrad’s his swayed side to side with each step she took towards him.

”Well, that’s fine.”

Tetrad placed a finger on either side of his shades and slowly pulled them off. Using utmost care, she folded the shades closed and placed them beside his head. Tetrad reached for the cloth hanging off the side of the bucket.

”I prefer to get to know people through emotional expression over words anyway.”

The MiB struggled to break free, but he couldn’t move. Tetrad could tie some pretty mean knots. She draped the cloth over his face and pressed all of the folds out of it. The cloth over his mouth and nose moved as he breathed. His panic was evident.

”And you are going to be expressing a lot of emotion.”

---

Some time after the skies cleared up, Tetrad decided to pop back into Penrose. She had a smile on her lips when she contacted her employer. ”Special delivery for Veronica: One delicious slice of lintel coming right up.” It wasn’t technically “intel” yet, but Veronica understood her. Probably.

“The mission was a success then?”

Tetrad’s grin widened. ”Oh Veronica? Are you really going to make me say it? Just do it, disrobe my mind. Look at the naked truth with your own eyes…”

“You’d do well to remember I’m not her. But very well.”

Tetrad pouted. ”You’re no fun.”

It was quiet while Vernica looked through the information Tetrad had collected. She didn’t feel a thing, but she knew it was happening. “I will have a scout confirm this information, but I’m expecting it to be correct. An agent will be dispatched to deal with the MiB in your care. Mission complete.”

”Now if only I could forgive you for making me skip out on the monster mash at the graveyard.”

“You know why I didn’t let you go.”

She rolled her eyes. ”I know too much to be sensibly deployed where a known Psychic girl is lurking. Certainly when they’re as strong as Regina.” She sighed. ”Doesn’t mean I need to be happy about it.”

“I can fill you in on what happened.”

”Now we’re talkin’!” Tetrad disguised herself as a middle aged man before walking onto the street. There were likely mint agents in the area looking for her victim. Walking around just in costume probably wasn’t a good idea. ”Was it also mission complete?”

“Close enough.” Tetrad could hear Veronica smile. “I had hoped Soth’s ritual would destroy Amber’s body, but the Bates were sloppy in retrieving it and were spotted. They managed to get attacked by some ghost girls. They were either seen by a mint agent, or the ghost girls themselves were mint agents. Regardless, they discovered Amber didn’t use the coin despite my best efforts. They would have found it eventually, even if I hadn't said anything.”

”Eh, not to shame the great Vermilion Veronica, but that makes this entire gamble feel like a waste. It’s only a matter of time before they look into Amber’s former Patron and spot his new magical girl. A dark magical girl that has the same name as Amber’s familiar would be worth investigating to me.”

“I had wanted her to leave Boteg and take on an identity removed from her old one. but Su is just as stubborn as Amber was. Regardless, such a secret cannot remain hidden forever. All we can do now is delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Every day, I become more prepared for our final fight.” Veronica trailed off. “On the up side, Everything went according to the scenario, save the Bate's survival. Soth has left and Crimson Cradle’s operations have begun in earnest. Considering the Mint attacked me after I proposed we take down Soth together, I’m going to say things went well enough.”

”Wait, what?” Tetrad found herself physically laughing. This meant everyone around her would see a middle aged man throw back his head and laugh like a mad man. ”Mint thinks you’re a bigger threat than some world devouring horror? That’s hilarious! We’re public enemy number one already!”

“They are not fools, they are wise to fear me so much. Understand that I tell you this because the Mint is gunning for us hard. If they knew the type of things you had locked away in your head, I’m certain they’d make your capture a priority.”

”Good thing you’ve got a fail safe in case that happens.” Like most of the cradle agents. Veronica had a special relationship with Tetrad. She trusted her with more information than most. The drawback was that she wasn’t allowed around people that could easily read her mind. And if someone managed to, all of the information inside of it would be wiped away with an irriversable stroke of amnesia. ”Just turn me into an RPG protagonist if things get bad.”

“You’re becoming bored with this topic, and can no longer take it seriously. I suppose you weren’t interested in Silhouette’s recollection of the graveyard anyway.”

Tetrad’s eyes lit up. ”N-no! I’m interested! I uh, I’m just a little, you know, I just feel good because I completed a mission. ”

“I’m glad that’s all it is. Since I have your mind ‘disrobed,’ I’ll just put her memories of the event inside you.”

”Oh…” Tetrad looked ahead and saw an empty chair about fifty feet away. She began power walking towards it. ”Just let me get seated first, alright?”

“That feels like a waste of time.”

Tetrad broke into a run. ”Shiiiiiiit-shit-shit-shit-shit-shit-shit-GAAHHHHH!” When Veronica looked into Tetrad’s mind, she could barely feel a thing. Having memories forcibly shoved inside one’s mind was a bit more noticeable. There was a prickling sensation that enveloped the back of her head, and even crept down her spine when receiving memories that were longer than a few minutes. It was very stimulating, and often caused Tetrad to lose her balance. The transfers were not instantaneous, and moving during them was nigh impossible. It was like being under the effect of sleep paralysis. She was aware of her surroundings but only able to twitch her muscles during the entire transfer. Tetrad went limp across the arm wrests of the chair. She had to wonder if laughing, then running over to a cafe chair to pass out had caused anyone to wonder if she had any problems.

“Enjoy that?”

”Yea It was great.” Tetrad stood up and kicked the chair over. ”Next time let’s get a room so that we don’t inadvertently draw the Mint’s attention.”

“I want you to have a few eyes on you right now. But we’ll get to that later. Do you have Sam’s memories?”

”Oh yea.” Tetrad chuckled. ”Everything from her slicing up those magical girls to leaving the scene. And… oh!” Tetrad raised her eyebrows.

“There are a few things in her memories that I wanted you to see. Tell me what you notice.”

”Well for starters, that portal that swallowed up Elroy’s arm. That clearly leads into the catacombs. which means we’re probably dealing with ‘aqualung.’Who is…” She sighed. ”A memory thief or whatever. Sounds like I’m going to miss out if he gets involved in things.”

“Depends. We don’t know what Grandfather is doing in Penrose yet. But have you found anything else?”

”Naturally, the catacombs didn’t just appear out of nowhere. The mirror girl and the other one who’s…Uh, why does she look so weird?”

“She’s trying to hide with cloaking magic, but Sam has special vision. Such tricks don’t work on her.”

”Oh cool. Well, they have gray eyes. That paired with the portal to the catacombs means they’re his girls. Grandfather’s gifted have monochromatic eyes like that.”

“Someone’s been studying.”

”I try to remember the most fearsome horrors.” She stroked her chin. ”Anything else? The fight with the Bates is a little busy, so I can’t really focus on anything except for how cute Mika is.”

“Well, Mika is rather cute.”

”What?”

“I said Sam finds Mika rather cute. It’s understandable you’d get that impression from her memories.”

”I believe you.” Tetrad grinned. ”Anyway, thank you. That could have been a Christmas gift.”

“It is not often I do such things, even with your level of clearance. It was also important to show you Mika, as I have a mission involving her that you will complete.”

”Really?”

---

Mika was feeling pretty good about arranging Lupa’s recovery. But she had to keep her end of the bargain, and that meant convincing Su and Helga to let the ghosts stay. She was pretty sure Helga wouldn’t have a problem with it, but Su could be a bit harder to convince, as she was less trusting of strangers. She ran for the Hotel as fast as she could, but she was going to encounter another surprise visitor. This one looked like one of those ladies who stood on street corners and sold love to people. She’d never seen them in Penrose, but Mika didn’t think it was a bad omen. A lot of people around the city don’t have any love in their lives, so it was good that they could buy some if they needed it. Fortunately Su, Helga, Boteg, the weird girl and masked guy, and those magical girls at the graveyard all showed Mika a lot of love. She couldn’t possibly take any more. But it seemed like regardless of what Mika wanted, they were going to approach her.

”Why Hello Mika! Don’t you look happy today?”

“You know my name?”

”Yes! I’m one of Veronica’s friends. Call me Tetrad.” She looked around before focusing squarely on Mika. ”I have a gift for you! Would you like a gift?”

Mika pushed her fingers together. “I don’t really need any love ma’am.”

Tetrad inhaled deeply, but she kept her smile up. ”The gift is from Veronica, for protecting Silhouette. ” One of her eyes twitched.

“Really?” Mika tipped her head. “I don’t think I helped that much. But okay!”

”Of course, it’s rude to turn away a gift anyway.” Tetrad reached into a pouch on her utility belt and pulled out a jeweled circlet. She placed it on top of Mika’s head and brushed her hair around it so that it would fit snugly.

“Oh, it’s pretty!” Mika took a picture of herself using her phone. “Tell her thank you for me!”

”It’s not just a decoration, silly.” Tetrad put her hands out in front of herself. ”You can use it to make platforms in front of your hands and feet.”

“Hmm?” Mika put her hands out in front of herself like a mime, and sure enough, an opaque barrier appeared in front of her hands. “Cool!”

”Pretty neat, huh?” She waved her hand. ”I’ll tell her you like it. You go do whatever it is you were doing.”

“Will do!” Mika said before running into the Golden Trove. Today was turning out to be so exciting! If she was any happier, she might just explode.

When Delta awoke, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Her back was sore from laying on an uneven hard surface, and she could just barely recall the events that lead to her winding up here. Regina had struck her, and then-

She didn’t know where she was. It looked like a cave, There were some rays of sunlight spilling through the cave entrance, but there weren’t any other features. Nothing but the woman leaning up against the wall. Half dragon, half human, entirely obscured by shadow. The light was only able to reveal the silhouette of the figure, but it had to be Regina.

"Hello, Annabelle." She began. "I feel like we have a few things to discuss."

“...” Delta sat up. She indulged in a moment of silence - a choice not quite as dramatic as Regina insisted on being, but an appropriate one. Since Regina insisted on throwing her name around as though that was supposed to be impressive.

“How astute of you,” Delta said, flatly.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Are you not curious as to why I haven’t enslaved your mind?" She lowered it again. ”Or is your goal to piss me off until I do, because you’re not that far away."

“I managed to save your life. Considering how hard you were trying to throw it away, that wasn’t an easy feat. Presumably, this is your way of showing gratitude.” Delta gestured vaguely to the cave. “An audience with the Monster Queen. A rare honor.”

"Gratitude is only required if the act is selfless. You want something out of this. You didn’t save my life, you protected your objective. But I digress…" The monster queen stepped forward. ”I simply intend to give you what you want because you are not alone. Your kind will keep coming, and you are a nuisance to deal with. So what do I have to do to stop the lot of you from hunting me?"

Delta took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. “Alright. Look. I appreciate the fact that you have used a Black Coin twice, and have twice as many mental problems as a result. But do you honestly have try so hard at being dramatic?” She shook her head. “I don’t need to hunt you. Your existence may be a curiosity, but it’s a replicable process. Your brother’s already said as much.

"My ‘brother’, if that’s what we’re calling that thing now, must have lied to you. We were brought into the world as monsters, and used a coin from there." With a grunt, Regina’s gaze broke and her eyes softened. "But it is more or less like you say. I can’t really help being like this." Regina fidgeted with her hair. "I’ve only been a magical girl for a few months. All of this confuses me. I don’t really look at myself as a queen or anything like that." She released her hair and looked back at Delta. "I’m letting you go for many reasons. I realize things only get worse when I interfere. You saved me. You have her first name.." Regina hugged herself. "She died, I know it."

Delta wasn’t entirely sure about what to say. From Regina’s point of view, she had just watched her brother die. And, despite the fact that his memory lived on in his bone spider… she wasn’t entirely wrong. It wasn’t quite Elroy - for a start, it lacked the mental mutations forced upon his mind from his Monster Boy forms - but it was as close as one could get to him under the circumstances.

As for Annabelle Irons…

…

Well, there just weren’t many things you can really say to someone grieving for the only two people they cared about in the world. So there was only one real option for her in this situation.

“...do you... need a hug?” Delta offered.

Regina’s arms parted, like she was going to embrace Delta, but then she stopped herself. "No. Self pity is what got me here in the first place. I’m surprised you’d show me any compassion." She looked Annabelle up and down before folding her arms. "Well, if there’s nothing you need, I’ll let you go. I don’t plan on sticking around Penrose much longer."

“There is something I need,” Delta said. “A request… and an offer.”

Regina raised her eyebrow. "Oh?" She gave Delta a sideways glance. "Well, go on."

“You not only managed to mentally manipulate four active members of Beacon, not only preserving their Sparks, but using them to defend against reversing that manipulation. I would like to know the process you used to accomplish this.”

"I figured that was why your organisation was interested in me." Regina scratched the side of her neck. "But nothing good can come from that kind of power. Aside from that, I don’t think it’s something the average magical girl can do. I’m sorry, but I can’t fulfill your only request. "

“...let me guess,” Delta said. “In spite of my own thoughts on what that information could be used for, you can’t be certain of what my associates would actually do with it. And if it were used in the way you fear it might, you would probably blame yourself for whatever happens.”

Delta paused for a moment. “Either way, it doesn’t really change my feelings on this matter.” Delta looked Regina directly in the eyes.

“I’m offering you a new home.”

Regina folded her arms again. "I’m going to have to decline for now. There are some things I need to take care of on my own, and I don’t really think I’d be happy working for them. I’d tell you I think you should break away from the Archive, but I’m sure you have your reasons." Regina took a step towards Delta. "B-but I wouldn’t mind exchanging phone numbers. Just in case I change my mind later."

Delta smiled softly. “Of course.” She took out a small notepad and ballpoint pen. “Take all the time you need,” she said, as she finished writing down her phone number. After carefully removing that page, Delta handed the number to Regina.

Regina, ever so gently, pulled the paper out of Delta’s hands. "Thank you." She glanced down at the paper and then back at Delta. "Perhaps if we meet again, it will be under better circumstances." Regina shuffled backwards into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

After staring into the darkness for an appropriately dramatic interval, Delta closed her eyes and sighed. Then she turned to the cave wall, and opened a Way into the Catacombs.

Alexandra… wherever you are… hopefully that brought you some peace.

That shower was a lot better than Su thought it would be. Her hair was all nice and straight, and she was able to try a new type of shampoo. Typically Su used herb-scented shampoos, but Helga had an assortment of fruity ones. One of the reasons Su tended to prefer the herbal shampoos was because they weren’t scented too strongly. But having hair that smelled like apples every once in a while was alright. She was considering getting some for her own shower.

Since their shower turned into a bit of a laundry session towards the end, Su needed dry clothes too. She didn’t want to risk wandering over to her room, so she put on some of Helga’s clothes. They were about the same size in terms of shoulder width and waist size. But Su was slightly taller and had a broader bust, causing a snicker from Helga as Su passed by and a button on the blouse popped off. It wasn’t like Helga had a second bathrobe lying around. And aside from the sleeves on her blouse looking a little short, it didn't look bad.

Su had gotten dressed while Helga was steaming her curls in front of a mirror, the both of them having moved to the locker room. Unlike more mundane hotels where the personnel-dedicated facilities are dull and utilitarian in design, the rooms and hallways in the basement of the Golden Trove were serene and pleasant, with marine-blue walls and a carpeted floor, giving the illusion of an aquarium. But for Su, there wasn’t really any reason to stick around there. The hallway upstairs was still littered with Helga’s clothes, and Su planned on picking them up for her. Then she could go into her own room and change back before Mika got done playing with Lupa. With her plan in mind, Su walked towards Helga’s room. She took the service elevator back up to the top floor and stepped into the hallway.

But Mika.

Was standing right there.

With Helga’s clothes in her arms.

“Hi Su!” Mika had transformed back into a civilian, and was eyeing Su with a raised brow. “I don’t think I’ve seen you wear a button up blouse before. Isn’t that more something Helga would wear.”

Su could feel the blood rush into her cheeks. She was getting flustered. ”U-Um, no. I wear stuff like this sometimes.”

Mika closed her eyes and sniffed the air. “You used Helga’s shampoo too!”

Her face was getting redder by the second, but hopefully Mika wouldn't jump to any embarrassing conclusions. ”A-ah! I just wanted to try it!”

“Aren’t those your shoes next to Helga’s room?”

”Ghhhhhhhh-”

“I also just picked up a lot of Helga’s clothes.”

”Ahhhhhhh!”

“So I think-”

”Mika!”

She paused, still giving Su a bright smile. “What is it Su?”

”I-I um, I just noticed you had some new jewelry.”

“Oh that!” Mika placed a hand on her head. “Yea, it’s magical. Someone who works for Veronica gave it to me.”

Su sighed. It wasn’t too surprising that Veronica would reward Mika for acting like a go between for them. She didn't fully trust Veronica, but if it got Mika to change the topic, she wasn’t going to ask too many questions about it. ”Alright.”

“I got something else to ask you. But first, I have a request.”

”A request?”

---

Despite her harsh past, Helga was always considerate of her appearance, especially in her normal life, and took to a habit of curling her hair at a young age; it was one way she brought a semblance of order and routine to her chaotic life, as the process requires meticulous attention and patience. And when she was done and saw the revolving strands of hair, they reminded her of how life also revolves around itself. At least, that’s how her more childish self thought. Still, it gave her a unique look, so she continued upholding the habit. And that time, she made sure there was not even a single stray strand.

Once she was done curling her hair, she returned to her room and found Mika and Su sitting at the foot of her bed, her mouth open in surprise: Su was still wearing her clothes, and now so was Mika. Mika was relatively thin for her age, and Helga’s clothes didn’t fit her at all. But Mika looked happy to be wearing them.

“Uhh, what are you girls up to?” Helga asked, having raised an eyebrow with her hands on her hips.

“We’re trying your stuff on today, Helga!”

”I think we have a problem.” Su did not look as amused as Mika did. ”Mika told me that while playing with Lupa, she just ran down an ally and encountered two monster girls.” Su looked at Helga. ”They took Lupa, but they said they would give her back if we gave them a room.”

“What? Is that true, Mika?”

“Noooooo.” Mika giggled. “They said they were going to fix Lupa and they would pay for a room, but they wanted one on the top floor. They showed me their gold coins, they can pay it.”

”They are willing to pay for the room, but it seems sketchy to me.” Su folded her hands in her lap. ”I’m just concerned. Aside from Sergei and Maria, we really don’t have anyone with magical powers that close to Boteg. I don’t think he would be too happy having that kind of power next to him anyway. However…” She raised her eyebrows. ”It is the slow season.” Su placed a hand on the side of her head. ”I’d like your opinion. And Mika said they’d come here with Lupa in an hour, so I’d like you to be with me when they show up.”

Helga stepped before Mika, and attempted adjusting her clothes so they wouldn’t sag so much on the lithe girl, only to sigh as it didn’t work. “Alright. If you trust them, Mika, then I’ll believe you. That’s what I’ve promised, after all.” She petted Mika as she looked at Su. “However, first Boteg needs to be informed of this. They also need to understand that we are not going to tolerate any suspicious behavior near our Master.”

Su nodded in agreement. ”That does sound like the most reasonable thing to do.” She folded her hands in her lap. ”I can’t believe so much is happening before we even had lunch yet.” Su shrugged and turned to Mika. ”Alright, lets get changed back, then we’ll head to the auditorium to talk with Boteg.” Su noticed Helga flash a grin, and looked at the missing button on her blouse. ”I’ll sew that back on later today.”

---

Debriefings with Boteg were always relatively short. He was very in tune to the magical forces around him, and could feel when a magical entity had been driven away or eradicated. The only thing Boteg really needed to know was if they felt the entity in question would be making a return or not. Su refrained from telling him about Sophia, as that felt more like something Helga and Su would have to pursue on their own. She probably wasn’t a threat to Boteg, and thus wasn’t something he cared about.

”Thy scares hath protected new home most splendidly!” Boteg chuckled.

“Thine gratitudes be gracious Master,” Helga replied in turn, holding the skirt of her dress and making a curtsy.

”We had a bit of a development on our way home, Boteg.” The dragon tipped his head.

“Yea! I met some new friends!”

And so Mika explained what happened to Boteg, with Su making comments to better inform him of what was going on.

”More scares!?” Boteg placed his hands on the side of his head and paced back and forth. ”Twisted scares no less! I compare them to a dog-hearted ratsbane!” Helga bit her lip, looking a bit dejected.
He swiftly turned to her. ”Not to sully the dragon scare’s image. Methinks thou is fair! Far more comparable to a summer’s day.”

“Ah, I comprehend thine intent,” Helga replied, feeling a bit better. “I entrust mine faith in Mika, Master. If twisted scares dare to make big faces, I shall cast them off the Trove mineself.”

Boteg pulled a handkerchief out of his vest pocket and dabbed his forehead with it. ”A summer’s day.” He repeated.

”If they did help Lupa, they could be powerful allies to have.” Su started to count her fingers. ”We also have Charlie Rocha, Janice Hunter, and Noida Losey from Charlie’s angels here with us. As well as Sergei and Maria, who haven’t been causing any problems. We can probably handle two monster twins if they get out of hand. ”

”Hmmm.” Boteg scratched his chin.

“They’re also really rich!”

Boteg’s head shot up. ”Sky Scare!” He spun on his heel to face Su. ”Thou shall do everything in thy power to ensure thy guests are at the peak of comfort.”

”Just keep in mind tha-”

Boteg pointed at her ”Get thee gone! Return when thy guests have been served.”

Su pulled her lips into her mouth. ”Alright.”

---

All that was left to do now was wait for the ghost twins. There weren’t any pressing administrative duties at the moment, so Su decided to wait outside for them. Mika was also there, hopping from foot-to-foot. She had already explained that she was going to pounce on Lupa as soon as she showed up. Helga stood next to her, anxiously tapping her foot with her arms crossed.

Then, the ghost twins arrived; Lupa was following them.

‘We fixed Lupa,’ Julia stated matter-of-factly, before slinking behind Jillian as she saw Helga’s scornful look.
‘Here you go!’ Jillian cheerfully spoke as she gestured for Lupa to join them; she blinked, looked at the others, and slowly walked toward them. “Uhh...Mika?” She asked, only to be met with a tearful hug from the smaller girl.

“You’re fixed!” Mika repeated over and over again, nuzzling her head into Lupa’s shoulder. “We did it! We got you back!”

Julia blushed.
‘C-Cute...,’
‘So, is it okay if we move in?’

Su was still watching the two embrace. There had been too many accounts of brainwashing for her to fully trust the work of the ghost twins, but it was too late to reject their help. She would have Boteg look over Lupa later to make sure everything was in order. But for the moment, she had to adress the twins.

”yes, you may come in.” Su gave a deep bow. ”Mika was quite distraught when Lupa lost her ability to move independently. You helped them both out more than you know.” Su stood back up, keeping her eyes on the ground. ”Mika has told me of your needs. we understand you made an arrangement with Mika and kept your end of the bargain. So we will keep our end as well.” Su looked to the ghost girls. Her eyes did not carry scorn, but her gaze was no less intense. ”But do know that this is not a privilege that is normally granted to guests with your qualities, regardless of how wealthy they may be. There will be rules, and you will be required to follow all of them.” Su gave a much smaller bow. ”But I must stress that we are grateful for your help, and if a few rules doesn’t bother you, I would love to show you your room. It has a view of the cityscape, one of the best ones in Penrose.”

The spectral siblings looked at one another, and then nodded.

‘We understand,’ Julia softy spoke, and bowed.
‘We are in your care.’ Jillian bowed next.
‘Please’...‘Lead the way.’

The Virtuous Pie, Afternoon of the Graveyard Fight

Half an hour later, and Amaryllis was beginning to realize that she may have come too early. Dressed in her usual low-profile combo of cosmetic glasses, a ribbed sweater, sweatpants, and sneakers, she sat hunched inside a booth at Virtuous Pie, a supposedly ‘high fast casual’ pizzeria and parlor that specialized in vegan foods. It was a bit nerve-wracking, telling the waitress that she’d need a table for a party of four, when she was only one, and now, sitting there, Amaryllis could practically feel the judgment of everyone else in the room. Nervous sweat began to bead on her forehead as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

Too eager, way too eager. And what if they all suddenly had to take a rain check? What if Rina meant a different place? Oh god, would she be able to leave with just ordering water here before scuttling off somewhere else? Amaryllis chewed the inside of her lip, ignoring the half-hearted murderous impulses of her Sword. She should have taken a longer shower. She didn’t still smell, did she? With all the grace of an elephant, the devastatingly beautiful girl stealthily took a whiff of the crook of her elbow, only to lament that she couldn’t smell anything at all.

Those fashion magazines always said, after all, that people were naturally accustomed to their own body odors, so weren’t actually capable of telling if they smell bad or not.

Amaryllis wormed further into herself, wondering briefly if it wasn’t too to pretend to take a call, walk out the pizzeria, and just run all the way back home in shame. How many more times would the waitress come by to offer to fill up her glass of water while subtly nudging her towards actually ordering pizza or ice cream? Amaryllis didn’t know, but she also didn’t want to be a glutton and order food for herself before anyone else arrived. Except if she didn’t, she’d just be a loiterer.

Gosh, what a hellish scenario.

“Yo, Shakespeare.” Before Amaryllis could slip further into a spiraling descent of anxiety, there was a friendly slap on her shoulder as Rina walked up and waving down the waitress. “Chocolate milk.” Sliding into the booth across from Amaryllis, Rina leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

She wouldn't mention her nervously fidgeting outside for five minutes and her brief panic over possibly having to be the first one here.

And now there was another problem.

What to talk about now? Saving the world? That felt crass. The weather? That was just lame. Plans for next horror encounter? No this was a victory celebration. Normal people didn't spend their entire time planning for the next world ending disaster. Something more personal? Amaryllis was pretty beat looking when they left the graveyard.

“You look good.” Rina blinked. “Uh I mean, y'know, since the graveyard and stuff.”

“Uh, yeah, you do too,” Amaryllis managed to squeak out, after only barely suppressing a yelp of surprise. “Did t-”

Penny would be the next one to arrive, or at least the next one to enter the restaurant. Dressed in her usual baggy outfit.

She had been the first one to get here but had chosen to wait on a rooftop across the street for others to show before venturing inside herself. Mainly it was because she was the only one with a hard time limit. Partly it was fun watching people be nervous when nothing serious was going on, but that might just be her hanging out with Chloe too often.

“Hey you two,” Penny would say in greetings as she slid into the booth seat next to Rina before she too waived down the waitress to order her drink “Get me the biggest, fizziest, drink you can.”

The waitress, who stopped by as Penny settled in, wrote up the orders on a big notepad. “Ultra-fizzy, extra-titanic drink, coming right up!” She cheerfully responded. “Anything else?”

“Like the restaurant choice, never been before.”

”It’s a nice place, yeah,” Amaryllis said, sipping on her own glass of water. “Um, so, should we order now, or?”

Alicia was the last to enter the building, following closely on Penny’s heels. She’d had some business to take care of, reporting back to her superiors in Beacon and stuff like that, but now she was ready to kick back and take off some of the load. She had switched to an orange shirt with little floral patterns on it, but otherwise it was the sort of outfit that she usually wore.

Quickly identifying the trio, she slid into the last spot in the booth next to Amaryllis. “Looks like the gang’s all here. At least for this size of table anyway.” She wasn’t entirely sure that other people wouldn’t show up, but if they were going to she didn’t know about it.

“I’ll have a Sprite,” she told the waitress before reaching over to snag one of the menus that were laying on the table between them all. “So, are we all getting our own personal pan things, or is there a topping we all have in common?” She hadn’t been to this place before, so she was going to need a moment or two to see what they had available that she might want.

“Well since it seems like everyone's here,” Rina leaned back in the booth, one foot resting on her other knee. “I'll have - uh.” Wait no. Would people think that was weird. Most people would right? Most people consider it weird. “-I'll eat anything so you guys get whatever.”

Penny raised an eyebrow at Rina at the odd stumble but shrugged it off “I’m pretty sure that I’ll have a paycheck when I get home, so I’m willing to splurge. Thinking we get an extra, extra, large to split and a sundae each?” She would offer as she also grabbed a menu to look over the options. “We can go half and half on the pizza in case someone wants something odd like…” She stalled for a moment trying to think of something she wouldn’t eat on a pizza anymore, and came to the bemused realization that she would eat just about anything now “...Anchovies?” her uncertainty was obvious.

Amaryllis shuffled to the side as Alicia sat by her, pressing herself against the wall so that neither of them had to make physical contact with the other. “Um, it’s…” Amaryllis mumbled, finding it difficult to find the right words.

At that moment, the waitress opened the menu she was holding in her arms; she seemed to uncannily sense Amaryllis’ hesitation.
“Our handcrafted pizzas are made entirely in-house! This includes our artisanal nut based cheeses and our three-day dough that is hand stretched for the best tasting plant-based pizzas! Also, all pizzas are sized at 10 inches for an individual portion! I would recommend the cheese pizza with olives; that combo is simply the best.”

“But...we can share anyways, I guess? They have stuff like...chickpea curry pizza and this thing called, ultraviolet. Like, if we’re here, we might as well try something we can’t get from Pizza Hut…” But wait, it was reasonable to just go with safe choices too. Not like magical girls get paid for saving the world and all. Amaryllis had a good ten thousand dollars she converted into decently well-performing stocks, but maybe others were just more austere about it? “There’s margherita too, if you don’t want anything too...uh, out there?”

Leaning forward just a bit so she could eye the text on the menu, there was a small rush of embarrassment on Alicia’s part. “Oh, I see.” But it was something she fairly quickly moved past, what with it being her first time here. At least they had settled that before they had the food right in front of them.

Turning back to the menu in her own hands, she scanned the items before settling on one in particular. “I think I’ll have the Calabrese. That seems good. If we’re trying different from the Pizza Hut norm, then getting something with a bit of a kick to it should fit right in.”

“Huh...” Penny read that bit of text herself before shrugging it off “In that case I’ll take a Chorizo and Artichoke with extra everything.” Silently agreeing with Alicia’s assessment of getting something with some kick.

Taking a look at the menu, Rina was a bit unimpressed. In fact, almost none of the items here seemed like stuff she was used too. Rina began sweating as she looked at the menu. Guess this is what she should have expected from a vegetarian in-human lizard people establishment. She didn't even know what half of these ingredients on this list was.

“...I'll take the Harvest.” Rina replied simply.

The waitress silently wrote up the various orders as they came in, her bubbly personality showing from her repeating the orders. “...One Calabrese, and one Harvest. Wow, you girls sure are having a party today! Just wait a teensy tiny moment. Have fun!” And with that, she quickly turned and left for the kitchen, her long blonde hair fluttering behind her.

“Oh, uh…”

But before Amaryllis could get her own order out, the waitress had already headed off to the kitchen. Her raised hand dropped back down to the table. That was fine, she guessed. The place looked busy anyways. She could order once the waitress came back. Yup, that was the way to do it.

“So…” the buxom teen said instead, “Are you all working? Or still in school?”

“Ha, used to work. I actually was a police officer for Penrose until...two or three years ago?” Rina replied dismissively. “Kinda tough to get a job when you look like this.”

Alicia didn’t notice until the waitress had left that Amaryllis had not had the chance to order. Which seemed pretty rude, not something she would have expected. Her tip would mirror her displeasure when the night was over, that was for sure. But she tried to move past that, since an issue had not been made of it.

“Same,” she agreed with a nod towards Katarina. “Used to work part time, but now I’m back at school. With a lot more to worry about than student debt this time.” She finished with a pained grin, confident that at least some of the others probably understood her pain.

“Neither for me at the moment, very tricky to maintain either when you can only be human for about four hours a day.” Penny would answer picking apart her napkin absently. She had noticed that an order had been missed but thought that Amaryllis might have placed an order and just had them put it on hold while she waited for the rest of them. “I used to work on developing new hardware and software before my abduction into the community, and was gladly out of school.”

The waitress soon returned with a basket of bread and the ordered drinks set on a tray, and placed the items on the table. “Here you go: one ultra-fizzy, extra-titanic drink, one Sprite, and water. The bread’s on the house.” As she carefully placed the basket to the side of Amaryllis, her eyes widened. “Gahh! I forgot to take your order! I’m sorry!” She bowed at a 90-degree angle. “I was a bit too excited, since you girls...Oh well. Can I take your order, miss?” She looked like she corrected her words at the last minute, and slightly blushed from the embarrassment of facing up to the mistake she made.

Penny narrowed her eyes at the last moment change of words from their waitress, but chose to try out whatever concoction she had ended up ordering instead.

“Oh, no, no,” Amaryllis shook her head, now feeling totally awkward about the bowing and the apologizing. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it, I didn’t know what I was getting anyways, so, uh...don’t feel bad about it. I’ll go for…Stranger Wings. Thanks.”

“A Stranger Wings, got it!” The waitress replied after jotting it down, and once again left. However, this time she nearly inaudibly whispered: “Geez, I got distracted...”

She was strong enough to eat spicy food like that, wasn’t she? Probably. Turning back to her companions, the bespectacled youth nodded, recalling all that they said. Rina was a police officer, that was super cool. Penny was in computer science and that was cool too. Alicia was a part-timer, but considering the trend of ‘your past profession somehow fits your present self’, Amaryllis wouldn’t have been surprised if the Star Seraph worked at a laser tag place or something. “Oh, I go to a vocational college myself. You guys, uh, heard of Penrose Technical? My backpack came with the documents that let me get in, so I’m sorta doing metalwork and all…”

“Oh, and, Penny, if you don’t mind me asking...what do you mean by the, um...four hours of human thing? Does your Patron have you set for monster hunting for the other twenty hours, or?”

“Nothing like that unfortunately,” Penny would reply snagging breadsticks from the basket, content with her drink choice. “Laat has some odd rites for sure but that’s not one of them Thankfully. No, it’s trying to maintain this disguise for more than four hours a day tends to fray my temper and is generally very uncomfortable” She would explain gesturing at herself as she spoke ”As it’s sort of like trying to act normally while also flexing all of your muscles at once in addition to being wrapped up in an outfit a half size too small. So long as I don’t push it to the point it falls apart, I can take about an hour break and reapply it for another couple of hours but I think that has more to do with my regeneration than anything.”

“One of the joys of being a Monstergirl” She add sarcastically before shrugging and taking a bite of her breadstick.

“Oh wow,” Amaryllis said, shaking her head. “That, wow, sorry to hear that.” Her Sword sounded vaguely the same way, but at least she was still physically human at the end of the day. “Yeah, huh, that’s definitely not...fun.”

“That's rough.” Rina replied to both Penny and Alicia. “Whoever this Laat is sounds like a real piece of work.” Rina leaned on the table. “Suppose that’s is one of the reasons I'm glad I don't have one. I'm not really all that great at following orders from people, hah.” She shifted her gaze to the side, chuckling nervously. “...though having some support every now and then would be nice.”

Alicia nodded along as Penny explained the difficulties caused by her patron. It wasn’t anything she didn’t know already, so she took the occasional sip from her drink as the others chatted. Nonetheless, she at least tried to pay some attention rather than examining the decor of the restaurant at the expense of the other girls here.

The mention of support drew her attention back, and she left her drink alone as her clasped hands came to rest on the table. “That’s one of the reasons we’re here right now,” she noted aloud. “Didn’t have much time to chat about that partnership you wanted before the cops showed up, and I’m not sure any of us were in a good mood to do so after the end of the world thing.”

A rueful grimace accompanied that statement, her mind flashing back to Regina’s escape before she dismissed it. She needed to focus on the here and now, not what she couldn’t change. “So, I guess if you’ve got some sort of pitch for this partnership now would be the time.”

Amaryllis perked up, eyes widening slightly. “P-partnership?”

The waitress’ return seemed to be perfect comedic timing on her part, as she slightly giggled upon hearing Amaryllis while pushing a small cart with two trays loaded inside it. “Sorry for intruding, but your orders are ready!” She took the plates out and placed them before the four customers. “Bonus Appetitos!”

“Oh, uh, yea.” Rina grabbed her pizza from the waitress, waving briefly at her before addressing Alicia. “Nothing huge. Just thought about potentially working with beacon.” She cast a glance over to the Beacon girl with a mild frown. “...I'ma just straight up say I've never liked Beacon much. You all do good work, but sometimes I think you guys may be a bit...harsh. Not sure my ideals and yours mesh well.” She glanced over to Penny. “So while I don't think I could join you guys in full...I dunno, is there a temporary position or something?” Not much of a pitch in hindsight, but she'd rather be honest than try to oversell herself “...sorry if this seems a little awkward but after Penny told me you guys let her in I thought maybe you guys might be becoming a bit more...open.”

“Thank you,” Alicia said as she took her pizza, leaving it in place for the moment so it would have a chance to cool down to an eatable temperature. Which gave her more time to talk with Katarina, so that was alright regardless.

She couldn’t blame her for thinking that they went overboard sometimes, even she thought that they did too. But it was better to go overboard than to not go far enough and have innocent people suffer as a result. “With all the nonsense going on these days, we’re willing to let you work with us to keep people safe. That’s what’s most important after all. But there will probably be some conditions, like there were for Penny when she and her Patron allied with us.”

“As long as you guys let me do my thing without too much interference...I can handle a few conditions. The red tape you guys would give me can't possibly be any worse than working for the government.” Reaching for a slice of pizza, Rina took a bite of it.”[/color] Decent, but it was pretty hard to make bad pizza.

Still waiting, Alicia was not so eager to get to eating her food at the moment. They would see if Rina was able to live up to the requirements that Beacon would likely place upon her. ”Well, if what we had Penny do was any indication, the restrictions are fairly simple. No treachery, no blasphemy, you continue to stand in defense of mankind. And, uh, there might be a time limit, and there might be a test of somer kind eventually. Though I’m not sure, the Horror thing might be taken as a suitable test.”

“Pretty sure both of you will have an easier time then I did getting a temp position in Beacon.” Penny would add after trying a bite of her Pizza, savoring the added kick hse ordered. “They came looking for my Patron, Laat. He’s a God of Destruction and Change. The Beacon higher ups were foreseeing something on the horizon and wanted some backup, I was just part of the Deal they struck.”

“Plus, Beacon has been relaxing it’s stance lately as well. If you take me and Kimbel as any indication.” She would add after taking another drink from her Jumbo cup of fizz. “Pretty sure that’s on you though Alicia.”

“Eh, I do most of that already.” Rina replied dismissively. “But hey, we just saved the world so lets act like it. Not like I'm gonna be doing anything after this. I'm beat.” Rina glanced over to Amaryllis with a small frown. She had been pretty silent this whole time. Well, understandable she supposed. Taking a sip of her own drink, Rina turned to Amaryllis, eyeing those wings she got. “You gonna eat those?” She hadn't eaten half of her pizza yet, but those wings looked pretty good.

Amaryllis had been busy drinking water during all this. As expected, Stranger Wings certainly was spicier than what her tolerance had prepped her for, and between sips of water, she had ended up quietly listening to the others talk instead. It sounded like a lot of work-stuff, really, and Patron politics weren’t exactly something the girl cared about herself. Testing the tenderness of her tongue against her teeth, Amaryllis winced, before motioning Rina to go ahead.

“On the topic of non-magical stuff,” she ventured instead, eyes flickering from one person to the other, “D-does anyone follow Game of Stools?”

“That’s good to hear,” Alicia replied with a smile as Rina confirmed that the conditions wouldn’t be too much trouble. “I’ll pass it over to the Beckoners, see what they say, and get back to you.” If there were any other conditions then they could work it out at the time. But she had Katarina’s number, so it wouldn’t be too much trouble either way.

At last she began to eat her pizza, a hum escaping with the large bite that she had taken. It was good, better than she had expected that it would be. So she found herself pleased as they decided to talk about something other than work. “The name rings a bell, but I’m not following it. What is it?”

“Ugh. I try not to remind myself that it's over.” Rina replied, picking up a wing unceremoniously from Amaryllis' plate. “And that last season...seriously, what were they thinking?” She chomped down on the wing...and immediately regretted it. But showing so would be incredibly uncool. Her face contorted in mild discomfort as she tried to hide the inferno that was forming in her mouth. She wasn't good with spicy foods, but she didn't expect these guys to have some that hot, leaving the explanation to Amaryllis.

“Wait it ended!?” Penny interrupted before said explanation could commence before groaning “Guess that’s what happens when you lose access to TV for a year” Penny was having no problem with the spiciness of her pizza and had even gone so far as to add hot sauce to it. She hadn't been a fan of things this hot before joining the Community but having regeneration seemed to have removed the downside of eating such things.

“Don’t worry about spoilers, not like I’m going to have a chance to watch anytime soon.” She groused taking another bite of her pizza sad that she had missed the final season.

Amaryllis didn’t think the last season was all that bad herself, but she didn’t want to get into an argument with Rina about Game of Stools either. Turning her attention to Alicia instead, she took another sip of water, before explaining, “It’s, um, basically a sitcom with dramatic elements to it. There’s this town, you see, and there’s not enough plumbers to service all the, uh, ‘stools’, in the town due to deportations and all, so, basically everyone’s fighting over the one guy…”

It really sounded worse when she actually said it out loud, huh. Amaryllis’s ears burned, but she continued anyways. “It’s funnier than it sounds, really. Just that there’s a lot of characters and subplots, so it’s sorta hard to fully understand...but I guess the Internet’s there…”

”Ah, I see.” Truth be told sitcoms weren’t really her thing, but if they liked it then there didn’t seem any harm in giving it a shot. She could afford to do the three episode test at least. ”I’ll have to look into it later.”

Settling into the discussion of tv shows, she wracked her brain for what she liked and had seen recently. Lighting up with a burst of inspiration she finished chewing her next bite of pizza before adding to what she had said. ”You know what I’m really looking forward to? The next season of Eastland. First season is phenomenal, second season is a bit rougher but still pretty good. I’m really looking forward to what they do with the third.”

“Oh, Eastland’s getting a third season?” Amaryllis perked up at this, leaning over the table slightly. “That’s really nice to hear. Gotta wonder how they’ll replace John Pattison for lead role though…”

Alicia shrugged, pleased to have found someone interested in the same kind of show that she was. ”Not sure. I’m just looking forward to what they’re gonna do now that they’ve expanded the scope of the show with how the finale ended. You know, maybe see some of those other zones that probably exist for people to interact with. Even if it doesn’t work out in the end. Downer endings are okay, so long as they’ve got some meaning to them/”

“Eastland?” Rina frowned lightly. She didn't remember watching that one, though the name was familiar. “Don't think I've ever watched that one. What's it about?”

Penny didn’t have anything to add to the conversation of Eastland. She had seen part of season one, but it hadn't clicked with her. So instead she was finishing off her food, while eyeing the desert menu intently. They gathered for Pizza and Ice cream, and Penny wasn’t leaving without both.

Alicia decided to take that question, allowing Amaryllis to eat her pizza for now. ”So basically it’s a show set in the future, and there’s this theme park where people pay to get in and can live out their fantasies in this grungy 1920’s city. And the entire place is filled with androids to interact with, and you can do whatever you want to them since they’re programmed not to harm people.”

She finished off her current slice of pizza before finishing the explanation. ”Only it turns out that the androids are starting to achieve sentience without anyone realizing it, and to remember what’s been done to them. That’s all I can really say without spoilers.”

“Haaa....really?” Rina frowned, finishing the last bite of her Pizza. “I never got those shows about sentient androids and stuff. If they got emotions like we do, then they might as well be human. Like that's just common sense, isn't it?” She grunted, tossing an arm lazily over the back of the booth. “Anyways...someone mentioned ice cream when we got invited.”

“Um…” Amaryllis had wanted to talk about Eastland as well, about how it wasn’t actually as simple as ‘they have sentience so they’re human’. After all, their sentience was only part of their programming as well, and could easily be replicated with just Ctrl+A followed by Ctrl+C, putting to question what it actually means to be human when even something as complex as sentience and self-awareness can be made.

But ice cream. Yes, ice cream. With eye contact alone, Amaryllis did her best to summon the waitress again, who appeared with a bright smile on her face. “Did you enjoy the ultra-fizzy drink?” She asked with a giggle, and took out her notes. “Will you be having dessert as well? I recommend trying out our ‘Tiger’ ice cream: it’s vanilla with stripes of orange mixed in, combining into a wild taste, eheh!”

Alicia would have liked to debate as well, but she would have to be content with leaving it on the backburner and chatting with Amaryllis later. At least she had another fan to chat with. But the topic turned to ice cream, and after glancing at the remnants of pizza on her plate she decided that she was willing to go for dessert now too.

”Yes, ice cream,” she agreed before leaning over to look at the menu. ”Peanut Butter Cookie Dough works for me. The two scoop,” she told the waitress after assessing her options. It was a party, why not indulge a bit?

Since Penny hadn’t gotten far in Eastland she hadn't known that it took up the debate of Sentience VS Humanity. Which as far as Penny was currently concerned she was as close to an expert as they could get, thus would have enjoyed that debate. But, alas, Ice cream trumps all.

“I’ll take an Ice cream flight with Tiger, Marionberry cheesecake and Key lime pie.” Penny would order before closing her menu “And the drink has been fantastic” she would answer taking another swig of said draink.

“Mm...Bourbon Vanilla?” Amaryllis ventured. Had to try new things and all, even if she never drank Bourbon in her life.

“Chocolate here.” Rina simply replied, not too interested in trying anything fancy or new.

“Sure thing! But watch out for brain freeze!”Soon enough the waitress came back with bowls full of icy yet tasty goodness. She also brought the bill to them. “You can leave the money on the counter on your way out; I can tell you are honest girls~” She mused happily. She turned to leave. “I hope to see you here again!”

The ice cream soon arrived, Alicia giving a grateful nod to the waitress as she presented them with what they had ordered. ”Thank you,” she said, eyeing the check. There was going to be a small debate over that, she was sure. But for now, she took up a small scoop of ice cream and lifted it in a faux salute. ”Well, it was nice meeting the both of you guys. Here’s to stopping many more evils in the future.”

“Eyup,” Amaryllis replied, her ears turning red from the faint taste of alcohol in her own ice cream, “To that, and, uh...romantic luck?”

“R-romantic luck?” Rina chuckled nervously. She felt like that was oddly directed at her after what happened with Mika. “Uh, yea yea, whatever. To beating up bad guys in the future.”

Penny grinned raising her own spoon in salute as well “To ‘Love and Peace!’” She would quote before taking a bite of the frozen treat.

As the girls celebrated, a certain girl peered unseen at them.

There’s no doubt about it....They must be them. I need to be careful around them. Especially the sword girl. Oh well, they’re paying customers, so for now...

A couple of bat wings sprouted on her head.

“They can be the ones to eat, ehe…”

Collab with @BrokenPromise

---

Rina held the rock in her hands, slowly turning it over. She had already put the number in her phone, but it still felt a little surreal. Just had to press the dial button. This wasn't gonna be like the ice cream and pizza after the graveyard. No this was more...like an actual date. Aaaargh, what should she wear? What should she even do? She hadn't been on a date in like, since high school. Rina moved over to her closet, quickly shifting through the less than impressive wardrobe she had. Ah, maybe she should have asked Amaryllis for clothing advice. She was fashionable, right?

Okay, calm down Rina. You can do this. Just pick some clothes.

Wait no, before she did that she should actually set up the date otherwise she wouldn't even need the clothes. Walking back over to the bed, she picked up her cellphone. Okay, she could do this, she pressed the dial button. Just a phone call. Nothing to be nervous about. She held the phone up to her ear, waiting for it to dial.

The phone rang, once, twice, three times. Every ring chipped at Rina’s confidence. Did Mika forget that she handed Rina her number? Four, five, six times now. That was past what was acceptable. Had something Happened to Mika? Seven, eight, nine…

“Hello!” Mika said with a chuckle. “Is that you Rina?”

“Mika! You dumb cat, when someone calls you're supposed to pick up the damn phone!” Rina replied harshly, nearly shouting at the phone. “Jeez, I thought you gave me the wrong number or something...” Okay, okay, calm down Rina this was probably just a harmless prank or something. Mika seemed like the eh, air headed sort. So she might have just lost the phone or something. “Seriously, next time pick up a little sooner or I'm just gonna go get donuts for myself.” Blinking, Rina cleared her throat in a mildly nervous fashion. “But uh, yea, this is Rina....err, wanna go get some donuts?”

Rina could hear Mika’s voice crack on the other end. “I-I’m sorry. I dropped the phone in the laundry. I accidentally buried it a-and, and-” She took a deep breath. “I just need to let Su know I’m going out. Where did you want to meet up?”

Ow. Well now she just felt bad.

“...aha, sorry.” Rina nervously chuckled....wait was she deciding on this? She was hoping Mika would be the one to suggest the donuts. She...she didn't really know of any good donut shops. Well, okay, she did know of some but would they be the sort of things Mika would be into? Diners that cops frequented weren't exactly good date locations. Damn it Rina, stop overthinking things.

“Uhh, where are we meeting up huh...” Come on, she had to know of some place that was semi decent, right? “...there's a place called Donut Palace.” Rina began slowly. “Uh, real casual but great stuff. Ever heard of it? I can probably give you directions.”

“I think I can find it, you don’t have to worry. It might be the place I went to last time. Wait, one second. Hey Lupa?” There was some chatter between Mika and a few other people, but Rina couldn’t make it out. Mika’s phone didn’t have the best clarity. But before long, she came back on. “Okay! She said yes! I’ll meet you there!” Then the line went dead. A few seconds later Rina got a call from Mika. “I forgot to say Goodbye! Goodbye Rina!”

“Bye, Mika. I'll meet ya in twenty!” She shouted, hopefully getting it through before the cat girl hung up on her again. Rina stared at the phone. “Seriously that girl...” Well, not like she minded. In fact, it was kind of adorable. Not that she'd be telling anyone. Right, getting dressed. Worry about the details later.

Maybe she'd ask Amaryllis to tag along for a shopping trip for later.

---

Twenty three minutes later, Rina was dressed in her casual wear standing in front of a small bakery. Big letters overhead read 'Donut Palace'. It looked to be a pretty slow, but cozy place and she could easily smell the baked goods coming from the door every time it was opened. Jeez, how long had it been since she had been here? Since she was a rookie, almost.

Well, that was a different life.

She approached the door, opening it and walking inside. Was Mika already here? She hoped she wasn't too late.But there was another complication. Rina and Mika had never seen each other untransformed before, or had she? This was going to be a bit more difficult than she influentially thought.

While searching for where Mika may or may not be, she spotted that weird girl from a few weeks ago. The one who made a comment about her looking too young to eat out by herself. As soon as she spotted Rina, she stood up and ran over to her. She was wearing jeans and a yellow shirt featuring some kids show. “Found you!” She stopped running and slid into Rina’s personal space. “You’re that girl that bought me breakfast a few weeks ago! I thought I’d never see you again!” she hopped up and down. “This is the best day of my life!”

“Geh?!” Rina, had no idea why this little brat was here, but she didn't care. “You're that twerp who interrupted my pancakes!” She pointed a finger accusingly at hr. “I didn't buy you anything! you just stole my leftovers.”

The twerp stopped hopping up and down. “Huh?” She tipped her head. “You didn’t leave them for me?” Her hand slid under her chin. “I remember you walking away from them. You walked outside.” The girl lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I never walk out of a place without my food. I thought you left it for me ” She opened her wallet and reached inside.aviding making eye contact with anyone.“I guess I can pay for it.. What does a meal like that cost?”

Rina narrowed her eyes at this girl. Was she really...?

“Tch...don't worry about it twerp.” Rina sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't about to take lunch money from some kid. She hadn't done that in years. “I guess I did just kinda leave in the middle of eating.” Reaching out, Rina patted the girl on the head before walking over to a nearby table and taking a seat. “Anyways, I'm kinda waiting on a date now, so uh...see ya around I guess? What are you doing here anyways?”

The girl sighed before folding up her wallet. “I’m waiting for a date too actually, but I don’t think they’re going to show.” She walked over to the table Rina was seated at and sat across from her. She propped up her head with her hands, still holding onto her wallet.. “I’ll move to a different table if your date shows up. But in the meantime, did you want to share a few donuts? I can treat.”

“Seriously?” Rina blinked in surprise. Small world. “That's terrible. Whoever this date of yours needs to have their ass kicked. They didn't even let you know they couldn’t make it or anything?”

She rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t know, I’ve been messing up a lot recently...”

The magical girl considered her options. Mika wasn't here yet, and it was getting a bit past their time to meet up here...well, knowing the cat girl she might have just gotten distracted with the laundry again. “Ah, you know what fine.” Rina relented. “I guess If you want, I don't mind...I'd feel bad if I let you pay for everything though.”

“It’s okay, I ate your breakfast, and I’m sure that was more than a few donuts.” She smiled a little bit. “I’ll be right back, I know all the good ones.” And so she took off to pick from the donuts in the display counter. She darted left, then right, even up and down. The girl weaved around and under the store’s patrons like they were standing still. When they turned to see what had brushed past them she was already gone. In no time at all the girl had returned with a full dozen of donuts in hand. “There we go! A dozen might have been too much, but it’s the same price as four donuts.” She folded her arms on the table and rested her head. “Have you been in Penrose long?”

This box of donuts look eerily familiar. In fact, the way the girl moved reminded her of...yea, no... it probably wasn’t. Opening the box and gently taking one from inside, Rina bit into it, a look of pure bliss forming on her features. Ahhh, she really did love doughnuts.

“Ahem,” Rina wiped some crumbs off her mouth. “Uh, been here my whole life.” She replied curtly. Oh right. Now was the small-talk part of things, wasn't it? The thing she was not really good at. Rina leaned back in her seat, throwing an arm over the chair as she took another bite of the donut. “You?” A little lame to ask the same question that she was just asked, but eh.

“Really?” She picked up her head. “I’ve only been here a month or so now!” The girl tipped her head. “You must know all kinds of cool places. I mostly stick around the Golden Trove since that’s where I work.” She picked up a donut with pink frosting and lots of sprinkles. “Do you have a job yet? Or do you still go to school?”

“New in town, huh?” How was she supposed to answer this question. I kill monsters and am a magical girl? That would be totally lame and unbelievable. At the same time, lying was not something she was comfortable with. “I uh, work. Yea. Work.” She replied slowly. Come on Rina, make this believable. If she could have a non-magical girl friend that would actually be pretty neat. “Well, intern really. Local police department. I just help with uh, clerical work. Desk job. Boring.” Wait maybe she should...”...ah, hey, I know. Maybe I could show you around sometime?”

“Show me around? I’d love to go around a police department!” She bit into her donut, but that didn’t stop her from talking. “I bet they (chew) have lots of (munch) doggies (lick) I could (chomp) play with.” She wiped her mouth on her arm. “But even if there aren’t any dogs, I wouldn’t mind going to where you work. Can’t be any worse than being a maid at a hotel.” She giggled.

“W-well I didn't mean the department.” Rina replied quickly, almost too fast. Anyone with any sense of common sense would realize that was a bit suspicious. “I meant around the city. I know the area pretty well. I could like, uh, show you some stuff. 'Sides, police departments smell of coffee and sweat. Not exactly a great place to take your friends.”

“Oh, hah! I got confused.” The girl had polished off her donut and was reaching for a second one.

Why. Why was she doing this. She was asking for another date from a girl she just met. That's what this was. Wait no, that was a bad way to think of it. Just a friendly showing someone around. Yep. That's all. “...you're a maid? I don't think I could do that. I'm not a...people person.”

“I think you’d be an okay maid. You can also learn a lot about people by cleaning their rooms. If you don’t like your office job, I insist that you try it.” She finally decided on an apple fritter and pulled it out of the bag. ”You haven’t scared me off yet.”

“Pfft, ahahaha.” Rina laughed. “Man, you haven't seen me actually get mad yet.” She glanced out the windows to the place. Jeez, where was she? She was actually a bit worried. Did she get accosted by some rogue magical girl? Or was she just distracted by a laser pointer?

“If you insist. I know some people who are pretty scarry when they get mad.” She slid out of her seat and stood up. ”If you feel like showing me around, why not now? We can swing by the Golden Trove once we’re done. If we have any time left, I’ll show you where I work.”

“...well, since my date doesn't seem to be showing up.” Rina frowned. Didn't seem like anything was happening, either, but it'd be just her luck for some horror to show up and interrupt her day to day right about now. “Sure, why not.”

---

Rina and Mika had seen quite a bit of the city together. They went to a mall, the park, every place a new resident of Penrose must see. When they arrived at the Golden Trove, Rina’s date had several shopping bags lining her arms. They were filled with all kinds of cute accessories, food items, and anything else that filled the girl’s mind with wonder.

“This was… The best day… In existence!” She tried to raise her hands over her head, but found her arms trembling under the weight they were trying to lift. “Whoa, alright.” She turned to face Rina. “Thanks for showing me around. I can’t wait to do that again next week with all my friends.”

“Ahah,” Rina grinned, watching with mild amusement as she tried to lift her arms. Reaching out, she gave her a pat on the head. “Gotta be honest, I wasn't really expecting much but hey, that wasn't actually half bad. I had fun.” Her wallet was hurting a bit, but eh. This kid looked happy.“Hey, let me carry some of those for ya.” Rina would attempt to take a few bags from the other girl as she walked alongside her. “If ya do go again, maybe invite me?”

“You bet! I’d love to!” After Rina took a few bags, her date was able to let what was left slide into her hands. “Oh!” Her brow flew up in surprise. “I was having so much fun, I never got your name.” But before she could ask for it.

”It’s thunda time!”

A boy in black and blue clothes dove into a bush just a few feet away from the two girls. A flash of lightning caused Rina’s date to jump, but she put on a smile afterwards. “What’s the matter Charlie?”

He turned to them. ”There’s a magical presence that Boteg doesn’t recognize.” He pointed towards the hotel with his ax. ”Su wants you inside as soon as possible. It’s probably no cause for alarm, but Charlie’s angels are going to keep you guys safe anyway!”

“Thanks Charlie!” She took Rina by the hand and started to walk inside. The bags swung side to side with every step. “He’s just a cosplayer, no reason to be alarmed.”

Everything happened to fast for Rina to process immediately. Cosplayer? Boteg? Magical presence? That sounded suspicious, all things considered. The name 'Su' too. Didn't Mika mention that name? Was Mika around here somewhere?

“E-eh? Hey wait!” Before Rina could say anything, she was being pulled along by Mika into the Golden Trove. Normally in this situation she'd transform and tell this kid to get lost before something bad happened, but she seemed oddly okay with all of this? She was pretty sure that guy was a magical boy. “Uh...alright, I guess? Is that normal around here?

“Not at this hour, no.” The girl kept walking. “Your name was?”

Oh right. Name. It's Katarina.”

Rina’s date stopped in her tracks. Absolutely frozen in place. Like someone had paused a video. She lowered her feet to the ground and looked over her shoulder at Rina. “Katarina? Y-you’re Rina!?” She yanked her hand away from Rina and nearly dropped the bags she was holding. “You’re the archer girl and the pancake girl!?!” She sunk to her knees, totally unresponsive.

Charlie walked over to them. ”Huh? What’s the matter?” He turned to face Rina. ”Why is Mika looking at you like that?”

“E-eh? Mika?” Rina froze. It made too much sense now that she thought about it. She never got Mika's appearance outside of her magical girl state. “Cat girl that bought me donuts?” Rina simply stood there, processing this information and internally berating herself for being such an oblivious idiot. And she prided herself on her detective work.

“...so uh,” She glanced to Charlie. “Funny story. I'll tell ya later, but I think her brain's fried.” Ugh, this was embarrassing.

Charlie lifted his finger into the air, but as if thinking better about it, put it back down. ”Well, if you insist.” He turned around. ”Guess I’ll give her some time to reboot then. Stay safe!” He walked away while whistling a tune to himself.

Once Charlie walked away, Mika was able to recover. “You just went out with a me that was me that you didn’t think was me!” Mika groaned and covered her eyes. “I guess I did too. I screwed up again. I should have called you.” She looked at Rina over the top of her hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to make you angry. But this is where I work at least.”

“No no, I should apologize.” Rina said with a sigh. “I should have called or texted you too, but I thought maybe you got occupied with something.” Glancing off to the side, Rina fidgeted lightly with the bags in her hand. Trying to do something other than focus on the mildly humorous but awkward situation, Rina shifted subjects. “...uh, so. Work huh. I guess I'd be that magical presence this 'Boteg' felt, then.”

Mika nodded. “Yea, the hotel gig is sort of a cover for Boteg. It’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone.” Mika stood back up. “By the way, you’ve gotta work for someone too, right?”

“Uh, funny story.” Rina chuckled lightly. “...I kinda don't have a patron. I sort of worked something out with Beacon here recently, but I dunno how long that's gonna last.” She shrugged dismissively. “I generally make do with hunting monsters and dealing with stuff where I can.” Smiling a bit, Rina lifted the bags she had. “...anywhere we can put this stuff?”

“Yea! We got a service elevator and stuff. Follow me.” Mika started to walk inside. “Uhhh…” she turned around to face Rina. “I just remembered, things are kind of weird today. I can take everything inside.” She took Rina’s hand in her own, ignoring the bags as they bounced together. “Thanks for taking me out today! It’ll be a lot easier next time now that we know who we are. And if the Beacon thing falls through, maybe you can get a job here! There are desk jobs in the hotel too, so you don’t have to deal with people too much if you don’t want to.”

“Weird how?” Rina asked, blushing a bit as Mika took her hand. “Any trouble or something?” Well, Mika probably would have said if there was a need for help, right? “Well, you got my number. If you need help or anything just give a shout, alright? I'm generally free most of the time.” She handed over the rest of the bags, feeling a bit like she didn't help at all with that.

Mika shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “It’s just the fight at the graveyard was a lot harder on some of us. Having a magical visitor over right now might not be good. Boteg will also want to see you, and it’s getting a little late for that.” She set everything on the grond and darted off to grab a large trolley. Once she had it, she rolled it over to the bags. “I’m never in trouble here. Got lots of people to take care of me. But I won’t forget your number if that changes.” After loading up the Trolley with Rina’s help, she pointed at her. “And you give Mika a call if you’re ever feeling down!” She grabbed the cart and ran as fast as the wheels would roll. “Gunna turn some frowns upside down right now!” She said before racing through the front door.

“Will do. See ya around Mika.” Zipping up her jacket, Rina waved bye to Mika. In all, today was pretty good. Well, aside from that whole case of them not recognizing each other. She watched Mika walk inside, making sure she didn't trip or get distracted by something. Once certain she had made it inside without any trouble, Rina turned and headed home.

Wind rolled over the hills in the Overcity. For anyone unfamiliar this otherworldly place was always just a little bit off. At times you could find normal-ish things like trees, only to turn around to see a checkerboard clad terrain. Above the purple leaves of a grove rustled as a girl worked on unraveling a long strip of cloth from an injured boy. Once it was free she stepped back to retrieve a fresh set of gauze. Nearby a small creature rested, it’s tail waving back and forth watching rather disinterested. ”Why do you bother? Do you think this is why I pulled your hide out of there” An artifact hung from a branch resonated with magic warding off any roaming monsters. It was something of a wild place left unchecked.

“Hush.” Returning the girl carefully began redressing the wound.

Shannon had been taking care of Elroy for the past few days. He was alive, but he hadn’t woken up yet. She didn’t have much available to heal him. It wasn’t like she could just contact Beacon or one of her allies and ask them to send a healer over. Elroy was involved in a ploy that almost ended the world. He had helped a horror, and was involved with a few kidnappings. There were few people who wouldn’t try to kill him on sight, let alone help him. But Shannon knew better than most. He was being manipulated by his sister. Now that they were apart, there was a chance Elroy could be saved.

"Ghah!" In a flash, Elroy’s hand coiled around Shannon’s throat. "What’s with that burning sensation?" His thumb pressed against her throat, half choking her. "Are you trying to kill your old friend, Scarf girl?"

Showing a brief expression of surprise, Shannon shook her head. Elroy wasn’t going to immediately cause her harm considering the way her magic leaned. Not struggling in the grip she wasn’t really able to talk all that well. However she didn’t have to because Paree, Shannon’s patron stood up slowly. ”Hardly. Against my recommendations this girl plucked you from the rubble of your own stupidity. It had probably been a long time since Elroy had seen a Puchuu. They tended to be out of arm’s reach even to their own magical girls. As usual though it didn’t mince words with lowly mortals.

Elroy sighed, but kept his smile up. "One of the first things I did coming into this world was killing one of your sorry sorts, rodent. I’ve only become more experienced and powerful since then." He released Shannon before turning his attention onto her. "Seems I missed a few issues of the new manga. Whanna tell me what happened?"

”I haven’t been in contact with anyone for the last few days. Paree saved me from being killed by one of the Beacon girls your sister brainwashed. That put me outside the city so by the time I got back into the fray Soth had been defeated. It was only a matter of time before they would start looking for your body so I shifted us out and brought you here.” She pointed at where his missing arm should have been. ”Most of you anyway. You haven’t healed completely so may I finish?” Not waiting for a response she resumed wrapping him up.

Elroy shoved her away. "Not necessary, scarf girl. " He reached for the stump of his arm and pulled all of the gauze off. "If you think dragging me out of that fight and taking care of me netted you anything, you are mistaken." Two of Penny’s custom made arms were still attached to his back, but they were in rough shape. But he was able to will them to the stump where his left arm use to be. Plates, screws, and pistons shifted around until they had rebuilt his missing arm. The wound had been covered by aegis steel. Elroy flexed his new fingers before picking his nose. "I’d have been fine dying out there. I haven’t got anything left to fight for. Perhaps it’s more true to say I never had anything to fight for. I’m just a ronin searching for his final battle. I may not do it for Regina anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it for you either." He chuckled.

Stumbling back from the push she tossed the rest of the gauze she had in her hand back into a sizable box of medical supplies. For a girl that didn't get much from her patron she seemed to be able to get a hold of some handy things. And judging by the mess of discarded materials she had been tending to him for a while. Narrowed eyes told that she didn't much like how he was treating her. But she would excuse him for it. Not like he had any reason to trust her. "If you want to go I can take us back to the regular world. From here we'll end up outside of Penrose."

Putting her hands behind her the earth girl leaned forward a bit to examine the newly fashioned arm. "Color me impressed. Though I can't say I ever saw much of what you could do before." Since Elroy probably wouldn't accept it she didn't extend a hand to help him up. "I almost didn't recognize you when I found you you know. You looked like just another monster boy. But I found you." She pointed to her heart. "That rash boy stuck under his sisters thumb. I saw it when I first met you. But Twinned Souls are hard to separate and Regina was a problem that I couldn't just fix. I'd screw up our friendship or get caught in the same web as those Beacon girls. So I had to let it go and hope I'd get another chance."

Putting her hands out to each side she gestured to the scenery around them, which suddenly changed as she shifted them out of the Overcity. It was now a forest rather than a hill. There were no walls or barriers to keep Elroy from just leaving. "So here we are. I don't need you to fight for me, Elroy. What you do from here is up to you. And don't let my power be the thing that stops you." Kicking up her staff she leaned on it and waited to see what the monster boy would do. "I may miss that charm of yours though. I'm sure some people find it infuriating but it suits you."

"Oh god. For a largely expressionless Puchuu, Paree looked like he might be sick and before he could witness any more he hopped up and vanished into thin air.

Elroy blinked a few times "Hmmm." He scratched his chin. "the rat has a point. That was pretty mushy." He nodded. "But what did they ever know about what we need huh?." Elroy folded his arms. "Scarf girl, what am I going to do? I don’t have anywhere to go back to, and if I hang around you, all the people who want me to stay dead are going to come after you too." he reached his hand behind the back of his head. "Short of moving to a different city, there’s no place you’ll be safe here."

Shrugging slightly at the initial response Shannon let out a sigh of relief. Why something so simple seemingly cleared some internal anxiety was something of a mystery. "What can I say, I have a soft spot for bad boys." Frowning slightly she knew what Elroy was saying was true. "I know. She stated in a defeated tone. Walking away a bit she propped herself against one of the trees. "I haven't worked that out yet. I would like to believe that if we managed to do some good things that maybe, eventually, you could get something of a pardon. Probably not going to work for everyone but when does it ever?"

Holding up a hand she waved her fingers in front of her face. "There is also the matter of mental mutations. I don't know which ones you have but I know they're nearly impossible to suppress. Puchuu girls and boys have one but it tends to be less... bad? We end up enjoying what we do so we keep doing it. Could be seen as somewhat sinister but it hasn't really been a problem yet for me. Was your patron a Puchuu? You made it sound like it was." Shannon was beginning to ramble a bit. Where she was going was anyone's guess.

"It was, I think." He looked at his metal arm for a moment. "But It attacked Regina and turned her into a magical girl. Well, it made us, essentially. Some shit about being too weak to take on three monsters without the extra power. I’m unsure if it’s one of the dumb things she had me do, or one of the few things that made sense. Either way, it didn’t have our best interests at heart." He groaned and folded his hands together in front of his face. "If I could get rid of these mutations, and change my identity. Then I wouldn’t hold you back so much. I could be something like a magical luchador."

Huffing a bit Shannon pulled herself back to the current situation. "I could see if I could find something for that. Before recently I would have said you're screwed on that front but the rumor mill is that there are new magical coins and some method of purification. I hadn't really had the chance to investigate but if it is true then the magical world is about to be shook up. No idea how it works or where to get it if it does exist." Being out of the loop was frustrating, but that was bound to happen. The mental thought of a magical luchador was amusing enough to lighten the mood a bit though.

"Well, wishing for things we can’t get isn’t going to help our current predicament." He stood up, only to prop himself against a tree. "All I know is that right now, I have a burning desire to make you miserable. Not just you, anyone I come in contact with. I want to see that look of horror on your face as I rip your rodent in half, and then chase you through the forest until I can do the same to you." He placed a hand on his head. "Touching that black coin was the stupidest thing I ever did."

As gruesome as that sounded, it wasn’t the worst thing she’d been exposed to. Still it was less than desirable. ”Mm, then I’ll get right on finding where I can get some help then. Is there anything else?”

"You can get something like that?" He sounded confused, but he nodded. "If a miracle cure like that exists I'll try it. But I do have one more question." He pushed himself away from the tree. "What happened to Regina?"

@BrokenPromise

---

It was that time again. Chloe would never knew when the time came, or by what method, but inevitably, she would be called in. When she thought she had hidden herself away from Beacon, who had pursued her, she would hear a voice from the shadows; it was the sound of an old phone ringing. Of course, she could see no phones in the vicinity, or deduce that the sound was fabricated by Sound magic. And then, out of the shadows, a dark portal opened, the ringing sound coming loud and clear from the empty jazz club in the monochrome world beyond. As she entered, the portal closed behind her, and Al Scarpe appeared. He was holding a black telephone on his hands; it was the classic, blocky design, with the speaking part he held in one hand attached by a cable to the base part he held in the other. It was rare for Chloe to meet up with her commanding officer in such a direct fashion; usually her orders and payments came in the form of dead drops, or mundane civilians brainwashed to act as disposable middle men. It was only for the gravest of matters that she would meet eye-to-eye with the Broker.

“Chloe, how ya been?” He spoke with a deep, unsettling mobster accent, and let the phone drop down into the floor; it sank into a shadowy pool that formed at the moment of contact, before disappearing. “It has been a while since your last report, eh?” He took a cigar from his pocket, and lit it up with a ruby-encrusted lighter. “Iesud hasn’t made much noise lately...Is the old boy still trucking? Or was he spooked by the new arrivals? Hah!” He laughed, and then coughed a bit as he exhaled black, swirling smoke.

She knew this day was coming, but she had been slightly hoping the Mint just left her alone. Alas, she knew better than that. The Mint always collected. Sighing, Chloe entered the portal in her normal attire, not particularly seeming to care too much about the locale or being overly cautious. She could handle the Mint. Was this serious? Quite obviously so, but she wasn't concerned.

“Ah, Al Scarpe.” Chloe replied with a disinterested tone. “It has indeed been awhile, hm?” Shifting tones, Chloe smirked lightly. “And yes, that old dragon is still alive, but you know his condition isn't the best. He's still hiding in his hole, licking his old wounds.” Not a lie, but most certainly not the whole truth. There was an unsettling inflection to the giggle as her smirk turned into a grin. “I don't suppose you're here just to see pretty little old me, hmm? I'd be flattered if so, even if I am way out of your league. Here to give me a deal I can't refuse, aren't you?”

“Hey now, everybody's in my league, missy,” Al Scarpe retorted in a friendly manner, and flicked the cigar away, the smoke coming off it making spins and twirls as it disappeared. “I just choose which ones I let win the play-off season. And speaking of players...” his tone shifted into a less amicable one. “Your odds haven’t been great lately; no home runs, just a bunch of stiffs in the street. Iesud must be desperate if he needs souls that crap. Also, real cheeky with the crystal scheme.” He lit another cigar. “Don’t really care what you’re doing, but you need to step up your game, and earn me some money. So here’s the deal.” He threw a card at her. “I need this place scouted out. I got another operative on the job as a distraction, but I need someone who gets the job done.” The card showed the Golden Trove hotel. “We know a dragon’s holed up in there with a bunch of magical girls, but they’re irrelevant. What I need to know is if this chick,” he threw another card; it was Binky’s mugshot, “Is hiding as a guest. Infiltrate the place, trash it, paint the town red; don’t care as long as she’s untouched and brought back in one piece. Oh, and no nabbing the soul; that’s the most important part of her.” He tapped his cigar, and a heavy stream of black ash dripped down, akin to ink. “Can you do this for me, Chloe?”

“What can I say, I'm a busy girl.” Chloe shrugged dismissively. “A busy girl that likes not being told what to do.” She glanced at the information given to her. Golden Trove Hotel, huh? And a girl hiding there...hiding from the Mint? Perhaps she could use this to her advantage if she was. She had a dozen questions about why he would want her, but she knew better than to ask.

“A simple nabbing mission, is it?” Chloe replied thoughtfully. Would be easy. Too easy, almost. “What do you take me for, hm? I'm not some novice. I can do it easily.” Chloe held a hand to her chin. “A dragon, hm? Fancy that. What's the defenses look like? Number of magical girls? Can I trust this other operative of yours for support should I need it?”

“Our latest reports estimated three magical girls working for it. One of them is a rookie Beast girl, an Air user who’s somewhat experienced, and a Sound girl; she’s the one I reckon you keep an eye on. There might be others there too, of course, so be cautious.” Scarpe threw the cigar away; it hit the performing stage, exploding into a fire that took the form of a trumpet player blowing out hot tunes. “As for support, I wouldn’t count on it. You’re on your own, kid. But if you do this, there’s Coin coming your way.”

“I see. About what I expected.” Dangerous. So very dangerous. Three magical girls to possibly contend with, a novice beast spec, a wind, and a supposedly dangerous sound girl.

Hm.

Well...fancy that. Fancy that indeed. With a light chuckle, Chloe placed her fingers together, already formulating a plan to deal with this. “Simple enough, then. If this girl isn't present, at this hotel, I suppose more work shall be coming my way then?” A pause as she flashed light smirk towards Scarpe. “The Mint must be quite...interested in the apprehension of this girl.”

“That’s none of your business.” Scarpe watched as the stage gradually got set on fire, beginning to spread black smoke. “You just get the girl, or confirm she’s not there. That’s all your pretty little head needs to think about at the moment.” He opened the portal again with a snap of his fingers. But, just before Chloe would step out, he interrupted her. “Actually, there is one thing: kill the Air girl, Su, and there’s a bonus. That’ll show her.” The fire took on the form of a woman in a flowing dress of flame, kneeling down and seemingly begging for mercy, before the fire was extinguished, leaving only cinder.

Su...? That named seemed familiar. Where did she – oh. Oh. Ahahahaahah. That girl from the graveyard. Oh now this would be quite interesting. Lovely indeed. Ah, she did mention potentially being friends with Penny, but alas. She supposed it didn't matter too entirely much.

“My, seems the Mint is quite troubled by this Golden Trove. To go so far as to request even a personal vendetta.” Chloe turned to leave, watching the display with mild interest as she dismissively shrugged. “What did happen in my absence? The mint wouldn't happen to be losing its grip, would it, Scarpe? Not that it's any of my business.” leaving the mobster to his devices, Chloe made to leave through the portal. “I'll make sure to deliver...and you know I do so love going above and beyond. Su will most certainly be begging for mercy by the time I'm done, heh.”

Now...lets see if Su was still up for that date.

---

Another day, another kill.

Downtown Penrose was as busy as ever, the worst parts of town filled with people queuing up for shelter or lining up by soup kitchens. It wasn’t somewhere that Amaryllis would normally go, if only because drug addicted homeless losers were usually pretty creepy, but even if she wanted to pretend that they didn’t exist, she wasn’t going to turn a blind eye to the fact that someone out there was killing them off, leaving nothing but their worldly possessions behind. The news didn’t report it, of course, and the police treated it as a missing persons’ case instead. Suspicious but not tragic enough to generate enough public interest to turn it into a full-blown investigation. Which meant it was a monster.

Even with a wish made to grant the Unseeing immunity to magical malice, it didn’t change how deadly the corporeal forms of monsters were.

The sense of her Sword was sharp though, and after a couple days of investigation, she bore witness to what exactly happened to those who disappeared. They were eaten away from the inside, leaving only inorganic bits left. There was no scream, only a deathly gasp, and even the scent of that strange ‘invader’ that ate them into nothingness disappeared soon after. That would have only given Amaryllis bad nightmares, if it wasn’t for the fact that her Sword caught that same whiff during another one of her patrols, the trail leading towards a certain soup kitchen.

So she was here now, her Disguise artifact shifting her face to that of an older woman, graying hair tied in an orderly bun and wrinkles pressed deep into her flesh. Her Sword laid inside the big backpack she hefted on her frail shoulders, while her eyes flickered around constantly, trying to spot the one person that stuck out, that had the same ‘scent’ as the strange ‘thing’ that ate people whole. But no one showed, and that too, was something she’d come to expect. Reaching the front of the line, Amaryllis smiled towards the pig-tailed high schooler currently working there.

“Excuse me, young miss, but could you be so kind as to show me to the kitchen? I’ve something to deliver to a relative there.”

The teenage girl flashed a warm smile in response and returned the worn ladle she had been holding to the soup. "Yes, of course!" she agreed, then turning to a nearby volunteer, explained that she would need a quick substitute while she was busy. With that matter quickly settled, she turned back to the elder woman and, still keeping a bright smile on, motioned for her to follow.

As they walked, the girl placed a finger to her lips. "Is your relative perhaps... Adam? Hmm, or maybe it's Tina?" she curiously asked, also throwing out a few other names as they continued.

Eventually, she spun around to face the woman again, eyeing the big bag she had brought. "Oh, that looks heavy! I can carry it for you, if you'd like!" she offered.

Amaryllis continued to paint a plastic smile on her face. “I’m quite alright, sweetie. Haven’t grown that old yet.” She supplemented that with a wink, hefting up the straps of her backpack just to show off that old age hadn’t deteriorated her body all that much at all.

Which was basically a lie, and Amaryllis hated herself for lying to such a nice girl, but life was life and her Sword demanded a kill.

Emily continued playing the part of a cinnamon roll so well that she may as well start dipping her head in frosting. That is to say, she joyfully continued to lead the woman into the kitchen, ignorant of the cruel deception that was taking place, her pure smile contrasting heavily with the dirty interior of the soup kitchen.

Likely due to the large influx of people, the place was crowded and couple that with the fact that a majority of these people acted as though they were in a hurry, there were quite a few stains on the tile floor from bumped shoulders and spilled bowls. A shortage of volunteers meant that in all likelihood, they wouldn't attempt to do any real cleaning until things died down.

Needless to say, this was no five star restaurant, even if Emily's demeanor suggested otherwise.

With the amount of people darting to and from the kitchen, people aggressively demanding their soup, and the general cacophony that comes with a densely populated location, the walk to the kitchen probably felt much longer than it actually was. In reality, it was a rather short walk that was lengthened by the human traffic that frequently impeded them.

"Ah, sorry about that. I hope you made it through the thick of that okay, things get a bit hectic around this time." she laughed. "Anyways, here we are! Is that all you needed, miss?"

Amaryllis’s reflex was to shrink away from the chaos (couldn’t even call it controlled chaos, really) that the kitchen was made up of. Too little space, and too few volunteers. Almost made her feel bad that she was going to make the staff shortage problem even worse. Almost.

“Yes, yes it is. Thank you, dearie,” old!Amaryllis said, dipping her head, “And sorry for the trouble.”

The text here would describe how Emily beamed her a smile were it not for the fact that she was still smiling from before. So really, she just continued smiling before nodding. "You didn’t cause me any trouble, and I’m glad to be of help!" she said before returning to her station to eagerly serve more people.

Amaryllis waved at the retreating girl, waiting until the door shut itself behind her. Then, slowly, she began to breathe in. It was hot and humid. Faint spices mixed with the overbearing smell of bloody meat and human odors. She wrinkled her nose, the noise bearing down at her at all angles. They were too busy. They weren’t obligated to care about an old woman who managed to find her way in anyways. She sharpened her senses, and slowly, the Sword shifted within her mind. It was a needle in the truest sense, striking the tip of her left fingers.

The pinkie for the front, the ring finger for the right, the middle for the left, the index for the back. Like breadcrumbs, bits of agony pulled her closer and closer, until…

Ah. There they were. Innocuously human, but the unnatural scent persisted. Dark-skinned and male, forty or so years old. No hair net, but no need when he had no hair. She nodded to herself. Narrowed her eyes. And then, Amaryllis exited the room.

Her quarry had been marked. Now, she waited.

---

The sun had yet to set when the soup kitchen closed today, volunteers exhausted and supplies gone. Penrose’s homelessness problem wasn’t as bad as other metropolises, but from her rooftop vantage point, it was still clear to Amaryllis that many were going to go hungry.

Or maybe they were just showing up in line multiple times.

Still, it mattered little. She had marked the faces of each person within the kitchen, counting them off as they left through the backdoor of the building. The target must have stayed behind to do the cleaning, a sensible decision if they sought to remove whatever poison they placed within their dishes. It was only a matter of time then. One by one by one by one. The Sword rattled within her mind.

"The love of the moon, the grace of the petals.”

Her patience paid off.

“Underneath the glory of the heavens, I gather them all and present myself.”

She stepped off the rooftop.

“Amaryllis Evenings, Knight of the Rose!”

Rusted petals scattered against the evening sky.

“May the flower of your heart be reflected within my silverlight!"

And the mirrored edge flashed in the darkness of the alleyway.

Meanwhile, an exhausted Emily had begun to walk home, oblivious like many others to the events about to transpire. She stayed much later than she typically did today since today was busier than normal, along with a few other volunteers. Done with wiping down the place and making it look presentable once more, she'd decided to hurry home and get a good night's rest.

Well, that's what she intended to do, anyway. The fact of the matter is that she noticed a quarter of the way home that she'd forgotten her cellphone. Because she didn't have any friends (merely friendly acquaintances at best), she mostly used it for 'work'. She'd already planned to come back the next day and assist, so really it would not have killed her since she was sure the kind people there would hold it for her, but she felt that being lazy in this situation and ignoring it was a ruder option. She did not want to impose on them any more than she had to.

Emily turned on her heel, her objective now to retrieve the phone she lost. In these later night situations, it was either Paul or Chadford who would stay those extra minutes to get everything just right for next time. Hopefully, they were still there.

"Oh, I'm such a clutz sometimes...!" she nagged at herself.

Amaryllis’s sword struck right as Emily turned the corner, the blade splitting the man in half before he even realized he was dead, before metal spawned from the mortal wound, sealing it shut so no blood, brain, or bone could seep out. As the corpse pitched forward, she caught it, turning it against the wall and pressing it there, while her free hand rifled through the pockets, searching for the source of that viral stench.

Wallet. Keys. Spare change. Pills.

There it was, held within a translucent blue canister. She brought up against the sky, peering deeply, before turning her attention back to the dead man. His inhuman features were beginning to emerge now, feathers sprouting behind his ears, limbs growing longer, skin gaining a soft blue tint. Without life in the body, the glamor was no longer sustained, leaving only the body of a Nephilim. Paltry prey; the angelic blood too thin. Her Sword made its distaste known with a quick searing sensation in Amaryllis’s gut, but the Knight of Rose cared not. Sammy might make something of this. Turning deeper into the alleyway, she began walking off.

Upon seeing the audacious murder of someone she sorta kinda knew, Emily did the only reasonable thing she possibly could: turning around and exiting the area as fast as possible. "Fuck this shit I'm out"

Witnessing someone she knew being slain right before her eyes shocked even Emily, who had witnessed death on more than a single occasion. Just a few minutes ago, she had spoke to this man and said her goodbyes, but she had never considered that would be their last interaction. It wasn't like they were especially close or anything, but being the kind-hearted individual she was, she suffered through a strong sorrow for the loss, followed by anger for the life stolen. Why were some of her sisters so cruel?

Of course, such thoughts lasted only momentarily. As the inhuman nature of what she once only considered a friendly volunteer showed itself, she was instead struck by a strong feeling of confusion. What did it all mean? Had this guy been masquerading as a human out of a kind heart? She'd like to believe such a heart-touching story, but she knew as well as anyone that the chances of that were close to zero.

So, then, what would he have even gained?

Who better to ask than the person who took his life? Emily darted back around the corner and muttered a few lines, not desiring to fight, but being aware of the chance that may happen.

"I am the Star of Morning, the Child of Dawn.

The Star thrown down to the Earth shall obtain victory!"

A turquoise flame enveloped the entirety of her body, almost as if consuming it. But almost as if from those ashes, a new girl arrived. Where once the docile Emily stood, there was now a brash Lucifer. Her warm, gentle smile from before had vanished, leaving only a scowl in its wake. Her goal, however, had not changed. She would not allow this knight to get away before she could be questioned.

Volunteers were hard to come by, after all.

"Hey," she called out, a firm tone carrying her words. A bit more attention-grabbing than that was the small blast of flame that flew past the girl, fizzling out as it hit a wall further in. "Physical features aside..." she briefly glanced at what had once been someone she knew with an indifferent expression, "...I'd like to know why you stole this man's life. Do you have something against volunteers?"

Amaryllis turned, her blue eyes glimmering in the shadows as firelight reflected off her blade. Another magical girl? What a surprise, Penrose was infested with them, after all. There was no particular scent of a Horror lingering on them, and, for all her aggressive posturing, the Knight of Rose deigned that she had no reason to withdraw or to attack.

“It is not by personal vendetta that I have slain this shapeshifter, but rather for the security of those who wander without home or heart within these destitute streets.” She wondered briefly, whether or not such an action was smart, but then, she tossed the canister of pills over to the redhead. “Though I know not whether you can discern the purpose behind these tablets, Maiden of the Inferno, I’ve reason to believe that this monster has been poisoning those seeking alms within this temple of altruism with them. It is a cruel venom, leaving naught behind but their earthly possessions, but perhaps, for one of angel-blood, such action is more mercy than malignancy.”

A shrug. The Knight of Rose glanced towards the unmoving creature, before her gaze set back upon the Inferno Maiden.

“But those are mere suppositions. I know not what their true motives are, only that there was intent, and that there was repetition.”

The heat-based girl found her eyes locked onto the body of the nephilim as the knight spoke, her expression darkening as the girl continued to explain herself. If what this magical girl was saying was true, then that would mean that this monster was spiking the soup in the kitchen. And that, indirectly, she was responsible for deaths by being the one to hand those poor souls the poison.

Lucifer found herself heaving, barely managing to prevent herself from vomiting on the spot. She may have a bit more spunk when transformed, but the fact of the matter is that she was still the same old girl, and so she felt enough guilt to make her sick. But, of course, she also felt wrath.

The corpse suddenly caught aflame, with Lucifer right beside it. She watched as it burned up in nearly an instant with a disgusted expression on her face, before turning back to Amaryllis. “Would you mind telling me how you found out about that one? Was he… ‘it’, rather, careless in some way, or do you have the means to seek such things out?” she inquired, the stern tone from before having lessened, perhaps as a sign she wasn’t as wary about the girl’s motives, presumably trusting the story told so far. Waiting for the response, she inspected the tablets the girl had thrown her, but wasn’t able to discern what they were.

Amaryllis blinked at her reaction, sympathy flashing over her features. “My Sword is the hound, and I am the hunter. Beacon may make their collective might known in the vanquishment of our corrupted brethren, but for those who slink in the shadows of ordinary society, my silverlight is sufficient in ending their cursed cravings.” A pause. She remembered still, the grotesque transformation that had occurred before her very eyes, as flesh bubbled and melted, blackened and then disappeared. “In this case, however, I had the...unwanted pleasure of witnessing the demise of one of his victims firsthand, and caught the scent of his murder tool before it self-destructed. Without that fortune, I would not have been able to end his scheme so swiftly.”

The smile, confident and detached as it was, turned bitter. “Though the cost of that fortune will doubtlessly be my appetite, at least for the next couple of days. Are you quite alright though, maiden? News like this certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, and I apologize if I’ve caused you undue distress.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” her expression had returned to a neutral state. “If anything, I should thank you for what you’ve done. Despite this happening so close to me, I had not caught onto this terrible plan. I probably even contributed to it, as much as I am loathe to admit.” she grit her teeth and Amaryllis would surely notice her hand tightening into a fist. “To think I might’ve served someone their last meal with an ignorant grin on my face…” she grit her teeth and Amaryllis would surely notice her clenched fist.

A few moments would pass in silence before the red-head spoke again, both her face and her hands relaxing once more.

“...well, I’m the only one who has caused me any distress, at the very least. I owe you a debt for bringing my ignorance to light and opening these closed eyes, as well as for whatever potential lives you might’ve just saved. You can call me Lucifer, and I’ll gladly offer a helping hand should you ever need it.”

“Close to you?” Amaryllis arced a brow, brought out of her own performance for a moment there. “You work here, Lucifer?”

Lucifer simply nodded. “I volunteer at the soup kitchen here whenever I am able to. In fact, I spent most of today doing just that.” she briefly glanced towards blackened spot that was once the monster. “He was almost always the last one to leave, you know. I figured it was because he wanted to make sure everything was perfect. But I suppose I misinterpreted acts of malevolence as gifts of benevolence.”

“That...I’m sorry to hear that. Guess it’ll only be harder now, what with the staff shortage you have there.”

“...Noticed that, did you? Yeah, we have a lot more mouths to feed than hands to feed them, and losing that pair isn’t helping the matter.” she sighed. “Well, in the end it simply means I’ll just have to put in enough effort to make up for the loss. I much prefer this outcome to one where he continued to do horrendous things behind the scenes. It’s for the better.”

Lucifer didn’t want to imagine how long it might have taken her to realize the scheme by herself, and the amount of lives it might’ve cost. She definitely wasn’t getting sleep tonight, so she’d probably end up patrolling the area or something. “Pardon me for holding you up for so long, miss…?”

“Amaryllis. Amaryllis Evenings.” A pause, and the Knight of Rose tried for a smile once more. “I was the old woman who passed into the kitchen earlier on during the day.”

Lucifer would etch the pleasant name into her memory. Truth be told, since she got here, this has been perhaps the longest she's even held a conversation with another magical girl. But she attributed that mostly to the fact that huge events had been firing off one after another.

"Really?" Lucifer scratched her head, the area around her getting a bit warmer for no explicable reason. "I do remember you, then. Err, I hope I didn't come off as patronizing or anything" she nervously laughed. "I just try to do what I can to make the experience as pleasant as possible for everyone. The people who visit a soup kitchen are the sort who are suffering enough as is, I believe”

“No need to worry, Maiden of the Morning Star,” Amaryllis replied, “Perchance though...could I request of you your phone number? Unaffiliated as I am with the larger players within Penrose, I do find value in seeking bonds with other independents.”

"You want my cell number?” Emily seemed a bit surprised. ”Sure, I'd be right happy to." Lucifer went to oblige with her request by taking out her cellphone to bring up her number, but there was a glaring issue with the action she attempted: namely that she did not have the cell in her possession.

"...About that. I actually came back to this place to get my phone, since I had forgotten to take it with me when I left. Let me get it real quick, I hope you don’t mind."

Oh. Oh. Amaryllis skipped over the ashes and opened the door for her, a flourish and a bow. “Please, go on ahead.”

"T-thank you." she stepped through the door. With a clear purpose, she made a beeline for the back of the place. She knew exactly where she had left the thing and it took no longer than thirty seconds to retrieve it and then get back to Amaryllis, opening the phone and finding her own number as she did so.

"...that should be it." she told the girl after rattling off the digits. She tried to hide it, but she was at least a tiny bit elated to have swapped numbers with one of her sisters. No matter the context, this was a rather rare event for her. "I am relatively new to town myself, so I appreciate it."

Amaryllis nodded, before sliding her own phone into her hot pants. “Indeed. The night grows long, however, and the hunt must go on. I pray we meet under brighter circumstances, but for now, I must depart. Farewell, Lucifer, and may the sun rise again upon your haven.”

Having finished the exchange, Lucifer placed her phone in a small pocket on her skirt as she made her way back out of the door. "Then until next time. I wish you good luck with your hunt, Amaryllis."

And with an iron ivy descending from the darkening skys, the Knight of Rose bounded off, leaving naught but rusted petals in her wake.

After helping with the, um, “appeasing” of Soth, Mac took Tonya to her apartment, slept with her, and then treated both of them to a shower and breakfast.

Wait, that came out wrong.

Mac had a modest sized studio apartment, and she didn’t have any comfortable furniture to sleep on. So she decided to just have Tonya and herself sleep in the same bed. Just sleep. Tonya was out cold, and she wouldn’t wake up until her mana reserves had fully recovered late morning.

The Beacon girl was sitting across from Mac. She looked rather pleased, eating her sausage links. She rolled them through her eggs to coat them in yoke before shoving the messy links into her mouth. She hummed with delight as her taste buds sang her a symphony. Mac just looked on, only having taken a bite out of her toast since breakfast began. The festive magical girl stopped eating, and her eyes scanned MAc up and down. ”What?”

Mac was using illusionary magic to hide her more monstrous bits, and had convinced her that she was just a normal magical girl working for a puchuu called “Betamax”. But Mac was staring because she was still wondering how this happened. She saved her enemy from a fate worse than death, carried them to her apartment, gave them a place to rest up, and was now feeding them breakfast. All in defiance of what her patron would have wanted. Surely they would catch onto Mac at some point, but she could fix that by ensuring Tonya left Penrose forever. Or she could just kill her, which was the far easier option. Yet she stayed her hand. Why was she doing all this?

”I’m just glad you’re okay.”

”Right. Breakfast is good, you should eat it while it’s warm.”

”Fascinating…”

Mac had taken a look at Tonya’s future. She was still brainwashed by the Bates, but now that they were gone, it looked like she was going to head to New York, as that was the beacon branch she had come from initially. They’d discover something was wrong with her. It was strange, since seeing her fate change in the spool was an indication that this was the new course fate had chosen for this particular girl. That was to say that the Moirai were aware of what happened, and chose to run with it. Or at least that was what Mac suspected. She imagined they could simply show her being killed by Mac if her death was desirable. But it seemed like fate had changed its course and Tonya’s previous fate had been changed. Mac wasn’t sure if the Moirai had forgiven her for her failure, or if her particular thread was of so little importance they didn’t care that she had been spared.

”Thanks for breakfast, by the way! I’ve gotta go, but you’ve got my number!” After stuffing her head with toast, she grinned. ”So uh, did you want me to pay you or anything?”

”That’s not necessary. You take care!”

…And just like that, Mac was alone again.

And she was no closer to figuring out why she had done what she had done. But by this point, she was done worrying about it. The sky wasn’t cracking open, the Ascendancy wasn’t busting down her door, and Penrose seemed to be well. All in all, nothing bad was happening. With a sigh, Mac resumed eating her breakfast before it got cold. She had a meeting to attend. But not before she showered.

…

…

…

After weaving through some dense foot traffic, Mac went to one of Penrose’s many parks. It was charmless, and shaped just like every other park. Come to think of it, most of the parks Mac visited kind of looked the same. She hadn’t even bothered committing their names to memory. Even when people talked about parks, it was always “a park” like everyone was supposed to know where it was. Though when you offered to meet a former coin broker, and they insist you meet them at “the park,” they probably mean to say that regardless of where you go, they will find you easily enough. It would be creepy if it wasn’t a very common part of Mac’s line of work.

She chose to sit on a park bench in a relatively secluded part of the park. It was about ten on a weekday, so there were a few joggers and not much else. Penrose wasn’t exactly known for its tourism, and saw most active use during the morning, evening, and weekends. At this hour you mostly got retired joggers and homeless, with the occasional magical girl pretending to be a school girl.

Or a business executive.

Veronica sat down beside Mac, dawning a black suit and briefcase. She popped it open and went to type out a message on the laptop hidden within.

”Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control have made it possible for the Mint to learn of your existence. Though they should remain ignorant of your presence for a while yet. Apparently, they didn’t like how I was running things. ” She didn’t look away from her laptop. ”Do you still want my assistance?”

”Yes.” To say that Mac had been eagerly waiting for the day Veronica wasn’t Mint would be an understatement. Though all the same, she did find Veronica’s removal from power a little strange. Sure, she was essentially stealing from them, but she also seemed like the only one with a shred of competence. She even had the best agents in her pocket. Their loss, her gain, she supposed. ”What I want is simple. I want you to make me disappear for a time, and then I want to reappear again.”

”Simple would be making you disappear. Reappearing afterwards is the hard part.” She nodded. ”It can be done though. What am I going to get in return?”

”I have information on just about anything you could want to know about, past, present, and future.”

”Nothing a mystic artifact can’t show me.”

”Not like this.” Mac sighed. ”Veronica, there’s something big coming. Many magical girls are going to be abducted, and someone with your power is not going to be off of their radar.”

”I cannot be kidnapped.”

”I’m not surprised you feel that way, but realize the reason why I want to disappear is so that when they arrive, I can come out and they will be none the wiser.”

”So you wish for me to hide you until a string of kidnappings happen all over Penrose?”

”I didn’t let you down last time, did I?”

Veronica gave Mac a nod. ”You knew exactly what Penny wanted, and supplied me in advance. But one cannot be too cautious when dealing with people as secretive as yourself.” She grinned. ”Very well, a temporary contract. I will keep you hidden until this kidnapper leaps into action. In return, you will act as one of my agents until they are dealt with. And if this kidnapper should never come, you will be hiding a very long time.”

”That works.” With a deep inhale, Mac braced herself. ”So, going for the armpit again, or-”

But Veronica, much like the fat kid at the all-you-can-eat-buffet, was more than happy to help themselves.

It didn’t catch Mac by surprise, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant. Once Veronica bit into Mac’s flesh, she grit her teeth and rolled her head back. It was hard not to liken Veronica to a cheetah while she was but a gazelle in her jaws, frozen, waiting for death. She resigned herself to Veronica’s control, allowing her to guide Mac onto her back. The bench was cold, but Veronica was warm. Though nothing was as hot as her neck, which Veronica had yet to release. There was a fair amount of discomfort, but Mac refused to scream.

Veronica pulled her teeth out of Mac, who gasped as the “vampire” withdrew. Her stomach rose and fell with each hurried breath, only for her to realize that she couldn’t get up. Veronica was sitting on top of her now, but she didn’t look that heavy. Even so, her arms should have been totally free. Yet they felt cold, and refused to move. The cooling sensation rose up her body, like she was sinking into a pool of snow. As her body got colder, it became harder to move. Eventually, she could only breathe, move her eyes, and speak. It was impossible to see what she was sinking into, but she had some ideas. It was still unsettling.

”What’s going on?!”

Veronica spit Mac’s blood onto a contract. ”I’m hiding you. See you in a bit.”

Just as the cold was about to creep over her eyes, she closed them. The sensation of cold rushed over her face, and then, nothing. She didn’t remember what happened next, and wouldn’t think of anything until she was awakened.

---

A phone screen showed the Cradle's new forum and recent posts made in it. The owner of said cell phone sighed and glanced at what she had written.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

A written response to the question posed earlier was in the text box of the forum, but it had yet to be sent. The situation had escalated rather quickly and now it seemed like posting would simply be a waste of time. If the forum was going to be shut down, then why even bother?

Or so Samantha felt. She gave one last glance at her cell phone before putting it on sleep. She had important business to speak about with Veronica at a school. Today would serve as a debriefing from that Graveyard incident.

Still, she couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of disappointment. Well, she would probably get over it soon enough.

---

Penrose had a few different schools, but only one called itself “Penrose middle school,” and that was where Veronica had told Sil to meet her. It was a rather unremarkable building. Its paint had been faded by the sun and was starting to peel off the wood building. The sidewalks were all cracked, and the American flag flying out front was in need of replacement. Locating Veronica wasn’t hard. She was in disguise, shooting hoops in the basketball court. The rope net had weathered away a long time ago, and the pavement markings had worn away with it. Once Sil aproched, a puff of black smoke covered Veronica, only to reveal her seconds later as a magical girl. “We could have talked about the mission over coms, but lI figured you’d want to… well… you know.” She folded her arms behind her back.

Inspecting her surroundings, Samantha could only appreciate how open the place was. It was nowhere near as cramped as the interior of The Pitstop, for example. Suppressing the urge to grin like a child on Christmas morning, she turned her eyes towards Veronica. "Of course. I appreciate it." she told the vampire, finally placing her phone into the pocket of her coat.

Sam had yet to have changed herself, opting to remain like this for the time being. She was admittedly quite eager to get on with the program, but a quick debriefing was in order. Given their connection and the words of other agents, this had to be more of a formality than anything, but in this case she did not mind. The black-haired girl gave a concise summary of the events that had transpired, at least those that she knew of or was involved in, to Veronica.

"...and that's when I told Soth, 'It's just been revoked!' before punching him so hard he died, the end"

"...at which point, some other members arrived on the scene and I exfiltrated the area." Sam concluded. Her involvement relatively minimal to the others in the area, who had managed to prevent a horror from manifesting and destroying the world, while she merely removed a couple of threats and got carried around. The Crimson Cradle in general was happy with her performance, but it inevitably would have meant nothing if those other girls had failed. In the future, if such a thing happened again, she would need to make sure she was in the thick of it, as she did not trust in luck siding with them again. An expert was required for imperative tasks. For now, though, she had a question that had been nagging at her since the event. “What is the importance of Mika, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Veronica shrugged her shoulders. “She is an unaffiliated third party. A low-risk messenger that lets me contact people outside the Cradle.” She extended an arm towards the school. “Typically I try to minimize contact with her, but the Mint is not stupid. They may even be aware of what Mika really is, which is why I have to change up my plan a bit.” The next part was said through magicoms. “It is still too early for them to discover what makes Su special. So we will make Mika seem special as a decoy. They likely know you risked your life to save her, and that makes her very important to my plans.”

"I see. Not a bad idea, but I don't expect those from you." Samantha nodded, apparently satisfied by the answer. A second later, she opened her mouth, as if she had forgotten something. "If that is the case, though, wouldn't retrieving her have had the same effect?" she nearly pouted. "Instead, I..." she trailed off.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “I’m unsure if she would have continued to aid us if you bailed with her. I understand keeping her alive in that situation was hard, but surely trying to run off with a determined cat would have put you in even more danger, no?” She smiled. “Besides, wasn’t it fun? Hacking that knife through both of their necks?” She placed a hand on her chest. “Pressing your blade through them while they could do nothing to retaliate? Seeing the look on their faces once you had actually done it?” Veronica bit her lip. “Living through that with you was invigorating.”

Sam went quiet for a moment. As she thought about the time spent in the graveyard, a small smile crept upon her lips, before she suddenly transformed into her magical girl form. "...I can't say you're wrong. It certainly was an enjoyable experience." It was hard to tell if it was Sam or “Sil” speaking.

“I’m sure the other agents will be talking about that one for a while.”

Silhouette was, as a perfectionist, rather used to hearing praise when completing a mission, as she rarely settled for less than the best possible outcome. But it would be false to say that she didn't feel just a bit pleased to hear it from Veronica. "Given the circumstances, I merely did what I thought was necessary in order to best fulfill both objectives I was given." came her rather monotonous response in spite of acknowledging her rash, bold actions during the graveyard event. Many would have called such an audacious display overambitious, but in a world that required wolves, acting as a sheep only meant you were going to be eaten.

The corners of veronica’s lips curled down. “However, I wonder if your choice to finish the fight quickly wasn’t also influenced by your lack of faith in your second specialisation.” She crossed her arms. ”I haven’t seen you use your dark magic much. Have you been training with it? ”

The mahou shoujo assassin's gaze drifted away from Veronica for a moment as she brought up Sil's second specialization. "Certainly not." Sil denied Veronica's accusation, almost as if offended. But she continued. "I won't pretend like I'm as capable with it as I am with Time magic, but even given the short amount of time I've spent with it, I'd like to think I'm comfortable enough with it to have it not be a liability in battle. Besides, I probably didn't need a second specialization for both of them."

Sil's own shadow disappeared into her, and then as she held her arm out to the side, a pitch-black figure emerged from it and stood motionlessly next to her. Of course, the figure resembled the silhouette of, well, Silhouette. As it was given no orders yet, it remained stationary.

The magical girl looked at Veronica. "Even so, I do not skimp on bettering myself, as you can see."

”I would expect no less from you. And I was there with you when you assisted Mika with it.” She unfolded her arms and walked closer to Sil. ”What you saw, what you felt, what you thought. I experienced all of it as you did.” A massive hand of darkness rose out of the ground and crushed Sam’s shadow out of existence. ”And I think that if that is your only trick, you are wasting your potential. You are capable of so much more than just creating lesser versions of yourself.” When the hand opened again, there was a high caliber sniper rifle in its grasp. ”Surrender Crono Rend and take that gun. We’re going to spar with just shadow magic, and that knife will just distract you.” Veronica extended her hands, and a pair of revolvers appeared in both hands. They crackled with dark energy, and had knives extending out the base of the grips.

Silhouette frowned. To her, ChronoRend may as well have been her clothing. She could probably walk around with no clothes on and still not feel half as naked as she would without the blade that had served her all this time as a magical girl.

But if that was what Veronica wished...

The girl reluctantly parted with her dagger, retrieving the high-powered rifle from Veronica's shadowy grasp. It did not feel as natural in her hands as her blade did, even if, in her human life, she was more likely to use something like this than a blade. Still, she was no stranger to this kind of weaponry. "I've got so much more than a single trick up my sleeve." Sil told her, getting a feel for the weapon she was now holding. "But I suppose, at least in an offensive sense, you might be right. I could use some tempering."

The hand sunk into the ground. ”That’s the response I expect from my top agent.” Veronica slid her heel behind herself. ”Shadow magic’s focus is espionage and curses. Some would say it’s weaker in a duel like this, but I’ve never found that to be the case. A sharp mind is the key to using such magic effectively.” Veronica crossed her wrists together in a special stance. ”Killing is in your blood. Like the day you used the coin, let your instincts guide your weapon.”

The fight was what most would call an unfair start. They were standing in an open basketball court with nothing but the shadows from the chain link fence and basketball hoops standing between them. Veronica’s weapon choice was clearly geared for a medium to close range fight, where Sam’s sniper rifle was designed for a much greater distance. That and Veronica was trying to get even closer. The shadow under Veronica popped out of the ground and raced towards Sil with her employer still on it. She raised her sights towards the assassin and fired.

Fair fights weren't really Silhouette's thing, so she was no stranger to a battlefield favoring one combatant over another. That said, she was typically the one pressing an advantage, not the one being stuck in a disadvantaged state. Fixing that would be key to taking the upper hand against Veronica, though if she were using the link between Sil and her, that might not be possible.

But that was no excuse not to try.

Considering this was supposed to be sparring with the intention on helping Silhouette improve her skill with Darkness, Sil didn't think Veronica would abuse that. It would defeat the purpose of sparring in the first place. To better familiarize herself to her fresh specialization, she opted against merely blocking the small arms fire with her durable coat. Instead, she concentrated deeply and and her image began to waver, her form darkening in color for a moment. The bullets did not collide with her, but instead passed right through her as though she were a ghost. Sil exhaled and her image returned to normal. Her training up until this point had favored utility over offense. But that didn’t prevent her from noticing just how important positioning and surroundings were for this magic. Because unlike Time, Darkness' effectiveness wasn't a constant. There simply wasn't a situation where Time magic was better or worse, but that wasn't true with Darkness. With minimal shadows around, things weren't as easy for her as when she was shrouded in the night.

Merely one of dozens of things she would need to know if she was going to ever 'master' Darkness. At least she had a teacher to help things along.

Silhouette didn't simply stand after evading the bullets and wait to be hit, she hastily retreated towards the chain-link fence. Lady Luck with her, she'd reach it before Veronica reached her, and thus be able to use it to put enough distance between them to actually use the rifle she now wielded.

Veronica stopped in place once Silhouette turned to flee. The particular revolvers Veronica had needed to be manually reloaded like real revolvers, so Silhouette had an opening to run. But Veronica had only fired eleven of her twelve bullets. She must have been counting, because she instinctively leveled her gun with Sil. ”We measure distance only by what stands between shadows.” She fired her last round. The bullet was black and left a trail of smoke in its wake. It flew past Sil and though the chain link fence, spreading the cloud around. By Veronica's statement, the distance between them was closed. Veronica took a step inside the smoke, and silhouette was able to hear the sound of shells falling to the floor. But this was happening right next to her. With little else to warn her, Veronica flew out of the smoke. She swung her revolver over her head in an attempt to impale Silhouette with the knife attached to the base of it.

Silhouette was moderately surprised to witness the last bullet Veronica fired essentially being a smoke grenade. It was a creative and effective means of providing someone with their specialization a way to close the gap, or to get away if need be. This had to be part of Veronica's 'lesson'.

I see. So if there aren't enough shadows, you simply need to make some. Simple, but interesting.

She really wanted to experiment with methods she could use to implement this finding in her fighting style, but that would have to wait. Veronica wasn't going to go easy on her because this was a means of practice. In fact, if anything, she was probably gonna try to hammer these teachings in.

"Is that so?"

Silhouette's voice was nonchalant, almost like she were discussing the weather as the knife effortlessly plunged straight through her. But perhaps more concerning to her was where it was coming from. It wasn't from the female figure before Veronica, rather it came from behind her. As if on cue, the Schatten would disappear as soon as its identity was figured out, and simultaneously, the true Sil would launch her counterattack in the form of a rifle butt to Veronica's stomach.

Veronica was a durable target, but Sil's strength was more than enough to throw her back into the darkness. As she flew backwards, she swung her arms and the trail of smoke followed her arms. This briefly gave Veronica the appearance of having two wings made of black smoke before she vanished from sight. The wings had become a collapsing V shape, lined with the K-bars that Veronica used in her last sparring session.

Sil had intended to take a shot at Veronica while she was recovering, but the woman used the force of her own attack to retreat and retaliate, denying her the ability to do so. What appeared to be a spike of shadow erupted out of the ground in front of Sil, deflecting most of the K-bars launched at her. One, however, got around it and embedded itself within her arm.

Hissing in pain, Silhouette propped the rifle up against her and used the opposite hand to retrieve the blade now stuck in her. Pain like this really was not going to slow her down. She was simply irritated that the knife had found her to begin with. Were she Veronica, no doubt the shadowy construct she made on the spot would've completely protected her.

She was beginning to see just how many areas she truly needed to work on.

"Is there a reason?" Sam asked, out of the blue. "To use such obsolete weaponry? I notice many magical girls who use guns do the same. Some even use muskets, those idiots. But I almost never see modern weapons. Use a relevant DMR or at least an M4A1. Humanity has progressed in weaponry at a rapid pace, no reason a magical girl shouldn't take advantage of that." Sil wasn't simply monologuing. She also used the time to place her right hand in stasis, except for her trigger finger. But more than that, she dragged the palm of her left hand over her stasis-infused right hand, leaving what would look like a blade of darkness extending from the top of it. She needed a way to properly defend against Veronica's close-range attacks, and this rifle wasn't going to do that.

ChronoRend would be much better in that regard, but that was obviously a route unavailable to her right now.

"But...I noticed you twist your elbow to absorb the recoil of your guns. So I suppose it makes sense for you to be using those... 'guns', given that inclination. Yet because of that, you've only got twelve shots." she went on, picking up her rifle and leveling it towards a particular direction in the smoke. "Or should I say, 'had'?"

Veronica would find that the bullet Sil fired from her rifle after saying this would be rather accurate, given the low visibility conditions she was placed under.



”A novice would assume such.” Veronica didn't have enough time to reload, but she flew out of the smoke, fanning the hammer on her revolver. This allowed her to quickly put up a smoke field moments before the rifle round hit her.

Sil tried to hide it, but Veronica had noticeably irritated her. She didn't take well to having her experience questioned, least of all not by her own employer. But she bit her tongue and did not allow it to lead her actions. Actions brought about by anger were predictable, after all.

”Magical girls can find benefits to using old weapons. Like how the chambers of this revolver are each filled with a shadow exactly the size of a bullet. The reload time is truly exhilarating.” Veronica continued to fire volley after volley of bullets, but they were radiating outward from her initial shield. They exploded into more smoke walls, gradually creating a dome. ”I'm not pleased that you fell back on your time magic, but that is an interesting application of the two working side by side.” The dome continued to grow. It towered over the school and would soon obscure Sil in shadow. ”But I'll have to be a little harder on you if you're going to disobey me like that.”

Being shrouded in darkness was of no detriment to Silhouette - quite the opposite, really. Yet, with her opponent being Veronica, the benefits she would receive were unlikely to be worth the risk. With the skill disparity between them, Silhouette would need to play defensively.

...or would she?

It had been some time since they had last sparred, but Silhouette clearly remembered Veronica's advice once their session had been completed. She had basically been told she needed to work on being more aggressive during a fight. And that was true. Sil knew she favored a strategy in a straight fight catered towards counterattacks, rather than launching her own.

In that case, she would neuter Veronica first and press the attack afterwards.

"You of all people should know just how important it is to have a creative mind when it comes to these powers." Sil replied. "When will I ever be stuck with one and not the other? The benefit on weaving the two together would be greater than separating them. Otherwise, why even bother having both? So long as I know the fundamentals, I'll be good."

Sil threw her rifle into the air, but just as it was about to leave the extent of her reach, she touched the butt of it and it froze in place. For now, this was to get it out of the way so she could focus on the next step of her master plan. The next bit required a lot of concentration on her part, but she conjured two shadow spikes, very similar to the one before, only the tip of both of them slowly morphed into what appeared to be fan blades. Naturally, they began spinning.

It certainly could have been done quicker, and at first, they weren't spinning particularly fast. There was only so much Sil could do with her Darkness spec. But that soon changed. The shadow-born fan began increasing in RPM at an alarming rate. This would be the only evidence that Sil was even using her Time spec here, and it had a profound effect -- clearing the smoke in front of the fans away.

The fans were able to blow away some of the smoke, but there was something under the smoke that was firmly rooted into the ground. A tar-like substance that had been allowed to construct itself behind the smoke. It had a few holes in it, but those were starting to close up with time. Veronica had stopped firing her guns, so it wasn't evident where her current position was. The shadow that was cast on the ground rose in the air to help continue building the dome. Sam had not stopped it, but she had managed to slow it down.

Sam, unfortunately, did not own the Wind spec, so it was doubtful that keeping the fans up after Veronica used more sturdy methods would provide any result aside from wasting mana. The two fans sunk back into the ground, disappearing. They had done what she wanted them to do as best they could.

Samantha reached upwards and touched her gun, releasing the weapon from Stasis. Wielding it, she formed small orb-like blobs of darkness on multiple places on the gun. One was underneath the barrel in the shape of a bipod, on each side of the stock, and finally one on the trigger, covering it. Sam clutched it tightly for a few moments, before setting it on the floor. The shadow beneath it rose from the ground a little bit, dragging the gun towards the other end of the dome behind her, where eventually it came to a stop.

"I'm curious. What sort of scheme are you cooking up here, Veronica?" she asked. Veronica couldn't simply be creating a smokescreen just for the darkness. No, there had to be another reason. Sure, it was obvious, but the smokescreen was to hide something. Sam had a feeling she knew what, too. It would probably be best to escape from this potential tomb, then. Silhouette, wary of the possibility of Veronica hiding behind any part of this smokescreen, nevertheless made her way towards the wall of smoke and attempted to pass through it, her bladed arm at the ready.

Sil was able to run through one of the holes in the wall of tar before it sealed itself shut. When she turned around, she would see the dome. Veronica was standing on top of it with her arms folded. There was a considerable amount of distance between them.
”Remember that this is practice, Sil. The goal is not to win, but to learn. By restricting yourself to your shadow magic, you're forcing yourself to not fall back on old habits.” Samantha likely noticed that the dome was not perfectly rounded on the outside. The tar had created two large bubbles. They were large and imposing, towering over Veronica's comparatively small form.

"Of course I know that. I'm not a child." she retorted, eyeing the bubbles. "It might not be obvious but I've already learned a great deal. And I'm not even using Time magic as anything other than a supplement, I'll have you know."

”You are using it, regardless. But I can hardly fault you for wanting to win a sparring match. Winning is the one thing everyone wants to do.” When the bubbles popped, they scattered revolvers into the sky. All colt 45s. ”Even I am not beyond that impulse.” Veronica's shadow stretched, fractured, and expanded, like a black tree growing before Sam's eyes. Each black tendril took hold of a gun and started to fire on Sil's position.The sky was filled with black bullets as the red rouge danced like a hurricane.

Though she had her eye on them, Silhouette wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the spheres. She was not made to wait long however, as they erupted and sent a copious amount of revolvers into the sky. This, honestly, wasn't too far from what she expected, though it was still disturbing what this woman could come up with. Silhouette was expecting the plan to be creating a dome of tar with which Veronica would launch knives from every direction at her.

But this works, too.

Sil started dashing in a path that would cause her to circle dome as she suffered from this bullet-hell. She raised short walls of shadow as she did so, keeping her profile low enough to use them as cover from a majority of the fire. Since she couldn't spend enough time forming a more durable wall, they would shatter when the concentrated fire hit them, hence her continuing to run. She would form new ones between her and the weapons as she continually circled the area, managing to keep what bullets did manage to hit her to non-vital areas that she though she could regenerate quickly.

"I can't help but wonder if you're enjoying this a little too much." Silhouette finally caught her bearings long enough to throw up a sturdier defensive wall ahead of where she'd be running. It looked similar to a phone booth made of shadow, as far as general shape went. Even though she didn't conjure this thing up halfheartedly, it wasn't likely protect her for very long against a barrage like that. "...I almost want to ask if you've been watching spaghetti westerns while you send me to play babysitter, given your infatuation today with these things." she found herself more fatigued than she should be.

Sil would notice that she was unable to heal her wounds, no matter how superficial. ”Just a reminder, but what makes that rifle so powerful is that it disables a magical girl's ability to recover during combat. The downside is that the wielder is also subjected to the curse.”

Ah, so that's why the pain wasn't going away.

Sam cursed under her breath. A mistake of this magnitude was something only a rookie would make, and that pissed her off more than anything. Of course, the only one she could blame is herself, and the only thing she could really do was ensure that it would never happen again. She probably wouldn't be alive to make the mistake a third time if she did. "I could almost cry for forgetting that." she admitted.

Veronica briefly stopped firing. ”But if you must know, it's simply a weapon I'd like to practice with.” A spring board popped out of the tar under Veronica's feet, throwing her on top of Sil's barrier. ”Maybe I'll let you try them next time.” She aimed down every side of the box and started firing

Silhouette's small barrier was definitely showing signs of its impending demise. A crack began to form where the fire was concentrated most. And then another crack. And another, and another, and another. Finally, the biggest crack of all appeared, only this time it wasn't on the barrier. The crack, as it were, was the sound of a large caliber gun being fired, notably from behind Veronica.

The culprit was the very rifle they had just been speaking of. But the oddest part was that Silhouette was not there to fire it. It fired further from their position, the large-caliber aimed directly for the back of the girl standing on Sil's construct.

The bullet slammed into Veronica's back, throwing her off of the top of the barrier. The shadows stretching out of her back vanished, and the dome that was in front of the school bubbled away into nothing. Even after Veronica's body came to a stop, her revolvers were still falling out of the sky.

"Veronica?" Sil called out to the woman, her eyes trained on the floored vampire. "You--" Briefly, she was cut off by one of the weapons smacking into her head as it fell. It hurt quite a bit. But she was more concerned with the pain from the wounds she sustained that had yet to heal.

Veronica didn't respond to Sil's words, not even twitching a finger.

Silhouette looked back towards the rifle, that was sitting on the floor upright, supported by the little bits of shadow she'd left on it. It really was not feasible to aim that thing without direct line-of-sight on the target this way, but Veronica took the bait Sil had laid out for her and hopped on what essentially was a giant target. That shot otherwise had a very low chance of landing. Even Sil had to admit she was surprised that worked out. She wasn't sure if that'd be too practical in a real fight though.

The assassin approached the unmoving body of Veronica, her pace slowing to nearly a crawl as the adrenaline from the fight wore down. Despite what seemed like it might've been the possible death of her employer, she only showed mild concern. Sil eventually made it within arm's reach of Veronica, exhaling. "You're not gonna suddenly jump up and try to spook me, are you?" Sil asked her as she turned the downed woman onto her back.

”You're pretty good.” Veronica remained on her back. ”Summoning small fragments of your Schatten is a useful tactic.” She fret her brow. ”But I would not resort to something as childish as a 'jump scare' while you have that weapon in your hand. I have a bit more class than that.” She sat upright and pulled her corset top apart. It wasn't something Sam got to see very often, as Veronica's hair often obscured it. But it looked like she had placed a steel plate across her back to absorb most of the shock. When she pulled it out from behind her hair, there was a large dent that was an inch or so deep. Sam managed to catch a glimpse of a bruise before Veronica laced her back up again.

As much as she liked to hear praise from Veronica, she ignored it for now. "Are you alright? I tried keeping the mana in the chamber to a minimum but that didn't look like it felt pleasant." she worried, glancing at the metal plate. She imagined that a fully-formed bullet would've had no difficulty killing a target through the plate, given how much damage it did here. "Definitely a weapon meant to terminate, not neutralize."

”It’s a powerful weapon. I was careless. Hmm, distracted is more accurate.” She placed her fingers on the side of her head.”What do you think about the web forum for the cradle? Trixy has been trying to get me over magicoms for the entire fight, and I know she wants to convince me to leave it up. I've only spoken to a few people about it, but what are your feelings?” A massive black hand came out of Veronica's shadow and opened up, revealing Chronorend in the center of its palm.

"You're asking me? I..." Samantha suddenly felt lightheaded, and nearly toppled over. Regaining her balance, she took this opportunity to sit down in front of Veronica. A rather small Schatten appeared from behind them, presenting the rifle as Veronica presented ChronoRend. The two exchanged weapons, and the shadow handed Sil her weapon before sinking back into her. "Not that I have a particular interest in the thing, but is there really a strong case for shutting it down? The fact of the matter is that anyone who doesn't wish to use it doesn't have to." Sil gave her thoughts on the idea, feeling refreshed in both mind and body as her healing was finally able to come into play.

Regeneration was something she shouldn't take for granted.

"You're always welcome to terminate it if you feel it's a bigger problem than it's worth."

”I'm aware of what my options are, but Trixy is a bit of a handful.” Veronica pulled her phone out of her vest and looked at the screen. ”Everyone else has been keeping it fairly civil, but I do not believe I can administrate this with everything else I have to do.” She shifted her gaze from her phone to Sil. ”I wish to know your personal opinion. Is it something that you see yourself using in the future?”

Silhouette took pause, raising her hand to her chin. After a moment, she spoke. "You know, I honestly would have scoffed at the idea not too long ago." she admitted. "But now... well, I can see the value of at least getting acquainted with the other members of the CC. Not that I am fond of working in a group, but the inevitability of such a thing has dawned on me after the last few earth-threatening events. I suppose I would use it."

”In that case, I have a small side assignment for you.” Veronica tapped the side of her head, and Samantha could feel the magicom channel open up in her head.

”Thank you Veronica! Thank you for choosing to listen to me!”

”You know I'm only responding because you're being a nuisance. You will not repeat this behavior in the future.”

”Of course of course! So, have you decided to not flush my beautiful forum down the toilet along with my hopes, dreams, and dignity? Or do I need to explain-”

”Trixy, right now you’re going to need to do a lot more insisting than talking. Do you think you can manage that?”

A pause. ”Yes.”

”You may be familiar with Silhouette. She was the first one into the graveyard where Soth’s ritual was being conducted. Do you remember her? A single word response please.”

”Yes!” There was clear excitement in her voice.

”I cannot look after cradle net myself, but she and I see its merits as a resource for the organization. She has told me that she is interested in using it to that end.” Veronica locked eyes with Sam ”The two of you are going to administrate Cradlenet together. But you are going to do most of the heavy lifting. Her only job is to make sure you don’t take things too far. Do you understand?”

”Yes!”

”If she tells me that you’re doing anything I don’t like, or she is made uncomfortable for any reason, it’s coming down for good next time.”

Trixy groaned like a sad dog. ”Yes.”

”I’ll make the necessary changes then,”

”Can she come on? I’d like to run some ideas by her, see what she’s all about.”

”She’s on right now, actually.”

”Really?!” Sil could hear the smile in her voice. ”You’re kinda quiet, huh? But you like the idea of keeping the forum, so that’s good. Do you like the layout? How about the color scheme?”

Veronica pulled her fingers away from the head, signaling that she had “disconnected” from the call. ”I apologize our spar was so short today. In the future I’ll make sure to leave the phone in the car.” she folded her arms behind her back and proceeded to walk away.

”Did you read the latest posts? I wasn’t going overboard with my flirting was I?”

Giving a nod to Veronica before she walked away, Sil thought about Trixy’s questions. "To answer your previous questions first, the general aesthetic of the website serves its purpose well enough, I suppose." Silhouette spoke with much less enthusiasm than her fellow Administrator. She opened her phone and glanced at the website.

Now that she looked at it, she did have a few nitpicks.

"The site seems to favor a darker, red-and-black scheme for the most part. But why is it that names have a pumpkin-orange coloring to them? Not the biggest fan of the brown coloring, either, but it doesn't contrast as badly. And speaking of the brown coloring, is there a bug with the website? It says you have over a thousand posts in a single day. That can't be right."

”Actually, I’ve been on for two days, so it’s not as many posts as you think. That and I tend to write short responses in the chat room so that I don’t get cut off by someone else.” She laughed.

"I see."

Silhouette did not actually, in fact, see.

She ran the math in her head, and even if every single post took at most 3 seconds, she would've spent an entire hour of her day merely doing the act of writing and submitting those posts, not factoring in other things such as how long it took her to come up with the reply, or how long she had to wait to get something to reply to. Silhouette was honestly reminded of the time when she learned people typically spend at least two hours of the day with their eyes closed due to blinking -- it was rather jarring in a way.

”But uh, good points about the colors. It’s just that red and black are sort of, I dunno, don’t they almost scream ‘super edgy and evil organization incoming’? ” She sighed. ”Alright I’m going to level with you. I was in mexico for a time and left the coding to a guy I found there. He built this forum from the ground up, coded it and everything. Stuff breaks and we saw a lot of random down time. But I just really liked having something that only we understood that he made from scratch. Now that I’ve been called back to Penrose I just kind of handed the code to Veronica, and she retooled it to be Cradlenet. I do like those colors but I can see about making those changes. I don’t want to change it too much though.”

"...I think I can see why you'd have issues, but the truth of the matter is that this is supposed to be used for the betterment of the Crimson Cradle now. And given what we tend to do, is the 'super edgy' vibe really all that unfitting for us?" she refuted. "We're definitely not what the Beacon pretends to be: some rainbow and unicorn-loving faction that brings hope and joy to every soul we meet. Or if we are, I was never informed. That said, I am merely giving my opinion on what I feel would fit the organization's image best. Consider it a suggestion from someone not exactly talented in this field. My purpose here is less to give input on what the site should be and more to make sure things don't get out of hand in regards to your behavior."

”I think that’s fair. But, uh.” Trixy hummed. ”What is our mission right now anyway? I mean the mint wants information, Beacon wants rainbows and ice cream, but I don’t feel like Cradle fits either of those.”

"Ours is but to do or die." Sil replied. "...But now that you mention it, I suppose we haven't explicitly established a particular goal that I am aware of. But Veronica would not create a faction like this without purpose."

”I see…” Sil couldn’t help but get the feeling that Trixy didn’t actually see. ”I suppose Veronica will tell us in time. But speaking of having an image, do you think we need a mascot?” Trixy’s voice became energetic again. ”I was a mascot for a basketball team once. Most of them were losers, but they couldn’t wait to see the dancing bear strut his stuff!”

Sil brought her hand to her chin, as she thought of the person best suited to be the Crimson Cradle's mascot. "I don't believe it would be a bad idea. And I think Mi--" she cut herself off. "...er, well, I think that could wait for a while. Besides, we have a logo and that should suffice for the time being." Sam spoke in a curious tone. "And about that... it looks like a professional made it. Was that your work?"

Trixy was quiet before responding. ”Oh that? Um, yea. I mean, I talked to Veronica about getting us uniforms. But that didn’t fly so I settled on designing a logo for Cradle. Made ‘em into badges. So I guess you could say we made it together. The dot-matrix inspired banner for the site was mostly my doing though. Why, do you like it?”

Silhouette would personally thank Veronica for vetoing a uniform. Her time in the military back when she was a human had made her sick of them. Most looked stupid to her anyways. "Yeah, you could say I do. It looks to be of high quality, and the design is both unique and fits the Cradle. You're pretty good... at these sorts of things, I take it?"

”Babe, I’m good at all sorts of things. Fighting, creating, I can do it. I’m pretty sure I could do you too. If you have any requests, I can probably throw something together.”

"I'll take you up on that offer. I'm... rather lacking in artistic talent, so to speak, but there's a small project I need to do that requires someone who is. I'd owe you a favor."

”Big or small, I do them all!” Trixy chuckled. ”But speaking of graphics, or uh, 'appearances,' I didn't get a good look at you at the graveyard. Wanna send me a pic of yourself?” She hummed. ”Actually, we should make it a date. I-I mean, we should meet up. Though I do have a diner in mind. It's really cute, and the food tastes great for the price.”

Silhouette was quiet on the other end for a moment. "I'm gonna have to say n---" Samantha's stomach growled loudly. "--yes, that sounds like a plan I could get behind. I'll meet you there." she told her fellow agent. Though her sparring today was not particularly long, it was eventful, and Samantha's eyes were opened to new techniques she may be able to put to use in a fight, which was a positive. On the negative side, however, was that Samantha felt like she could eat a mountain of food the size of the horror at the baseball field. Hopefully this place wouldn't disappoint.

Following the events of the day, the graveyard lay still. Hours had gone by - though the day remained the same, what had been a battleground had become the grounds of an investigation. The destruction that had been inflicted on the place lingered, marring the land of the dead with scars, craters, and debris. The place was in a sorry state, as was to be expected after so many forces clashed in a single area, but the actual severity surprised Christine to a small degree. Many a location she walked past seemed worse than the aftermath of the Stadium, though she hadn't thought it possible at first.

Christine took into her hammerspace handbag - a small thing, a purse sized backpack, lined with useless pockets and equally useless accessories. She withdrew a phone, and immediately the vibrations struck at her. A near constant stream, the moment the device picked back up the signal, from near every source at the Independent’s disposal. Surveyor Teams Alpha and Beta had been assigned to combing the graveyard from on high, searching for The Boss’s mysterious ‘interesting corpses’. The hum of drones overhead drew Christine’s gaze, making passage along the skies, spying for only the Gods knew what.

Around a corner, she came to the mausoleum, large and nearly untouched. The space around it was crater-ridden, but the structure itself had remained untouched throughout the events of the battle. Across the way were body bags, and over the top, scouting for further corpses, were two officers. Since the battle had ended, the police had descended upon the place like flies to roadkill - The Boss had complained one too many times than normal, and false identities only got a teenage girl so far through the line. Sasha had little trouble herself, as a thickset, heavily muscled woman with an equally heavy personality, but Christine was another matter.

Out from her bag came a stun gun. Little did Christine have need for it on most occasions, but transformation would take too long. Instead she ducked up behind the two of them, along the wall and behind a grave. With the first officers back turned, she brought it to his neck, and as he fell, she grabbed the taser at his belt. The dull ring of electricity brought the attention of the second man, but any words he attempted to make gurgled out in sudden tension of his muscles. The moment he fell, Christine brought the stun gun to his neck as well, ensuring both stayed down cold.

”Sorry,” she muttered, and took to the bags. Two large, black pieces of equipment, obviously filled, stretched across the dirt just a way off the crater and mausoleum each. The first she unzipped was a girl she didn’t recognise, decapitated at the base of the neck, with a single, clean cut. The second, Christine reasoned, was the ‘interesting corpse’ The Boss was in search of - and blonde, green eyed dragon girl, scaled along the arms. She wore a white dress, reminiscent in part of a Chinese dress, windowed at the breast, and soaked in blood from the neck downwards. And much like the other girl, the second body beheld a severe neck wound.

Phone in hand, Christine dialled a familiar number. "005: Katelyn Everance located. She's heavily wounded, probably dead."



Accompanied with her right hand, The Boss near found herself enjoying the walk. It was something of a distance, from the police checkpoint at the edge of the graveyard to Christine’s beacon at the mausoleum, but with Sasha on her arm, the rare pleasure of walking outside became something greatly more so. It was a quiet trip, with little conversation to share between them, but at times The Boss some semblance of peace. The two talked regularly, and The Boss enjoyed Sasha’s company, as she had done in so many ways for so many years. Even the quiet was a conversation in its own respect.

From around the corner of the Mausoleum, the first to emerge was The Boss, fixing her patchwork cap as she strolled towards Christine. A little ways behind came Sasha, transformed into her Magical Girl attire, presumably to keep her identity secret from any prying eyes. The Boss, on the other hand, kept herself sealed - uncaring of who could have been watching.

”So?” The Boss queried. She had closed the distance from the edge of the mausoleum to Christine in a second, elongating her gait some ways to speed up the process, despite the short distance. Just off to the side, by one of the graves, was Christine, sat idly watching the two approach. And to her right, propped up out of their bags, were the corpses.

Christine pulled herself from the ground, cleared her throat, and took a step forward. She had been preparing what to say here, The Boss reckoned. "Uh, well, that. Looks like the same person got them both - dagger wounds to the throat, I'm guessing?" Christine took a step up towards the bodies, and titled Katelyn's head, showing off the wound. "Whoever it was took this one's head clean off. Though, she was touching her," she gestured from the body to Katelyn, "So I'm guessing they got killed at the same time. Facing each other, too. Assassination'd be my guess."

As the girl spoke, The Boss reached into her coat. A large thing, almost comically so, which covered up the small frame that wore it. Though brown and seemingly never washed, it remained in nigh pristine condition, save the patches, where damage after damage had been sewn and hidden, until nearly nothing of the original coat remained visible. Even its size, though, didn’t explain the things The Boss could pull out of it. An onlooker might have considered it like a hammerspace in and of itself, as she withdrew a laurel wreath, gold and green, embellished with berries, bespoke of a magical artifact. The Boss took a step forward, and placed it onto Katelyn’s head.

"Rebecca completed her mission, yeah?" The Boss asked to no one in particular, without turning away from the body.

"From what she had said, contact has been made with Alicia." Sasha replied.

The Boss nodded, and quickly raised a finger.
”Wha-? a startled Christine began, cut off from beginning to speak. From the corner of her eye, The Boss could see her confusion, but paid it no mind, as the surrounding area was filled with the sound of desperate choking. Katelyn doubled over into her own hands, coughing up blood as she struggled for breath against the vicious wound across her throat, which slowly sealed up with the power of the healing artifact on her head, and her own Regeneration.

"Try not to die a second time, Katie," The Boss said, as she removed the wreath from Katelyn's head and passed it onto Sasha. "Give this back to Charlotte when we're done here, 'kay?" Once the chef had taken it, The Boss knelt down onto the stone, where Katelyn continued coughing, "Mind telling me what happened here?"

Question in the air, The Boss watched as Katelyn attempted to bring her breathing under control. The coughs subsided, and she shifted uncomfortably against the stone of the pillar, and the bag beneath her. "Silhouette, that... that fucking Mint Agent... She's got a Time Specialisation," Katelyn started, her normal, apathetic tone of voice falling away into anger as she spoke, "That stupid knight decided to turn on me, and I guess she, she, slowed time, or something?"

"'That knight'?"

"Shona, the, one of those Beacon girls the Bates kidnapped."

The Boss again nodded slowly, both to Katelyn, and behind, to Sasha. "A Mint girl who can slow time enough to get a hit on you, huh... man, that's gonna be a pain in the ass." she said, as she stood up, and took a step towards Shona's corpse, "Sasha, get a message to the Beckoners, will you? Tell them 'The Penrose Independent has recovered the body of a girl we believe to be named Shona - one of the missing girls abducted by The Bates. As a sign of good faith we would like to return the body, for either storage until reincarnation, or proper burial and funeral rites.'" As Sasha nodded, The Boss tilted her head to the left. "Christine... may I have a word with Katie in private?"

"Sure, I'll go, uh... check in on the Surveyor Team's."

"You're not built for multiple engagements," The Boss commented, back turned to the girl, as Christine vanished from sight.

"Mint, then Beacon, then Mint again, then Beacon again, then Mint again, I'm going to find her and kill her." Katelyn spat. What was once merely a devolved form of her usual speech had derived completely. Every word she spoke was accented with venom, with an anger that far surpassed a grudge against Silhouette or being oppressed as a Monster Girl. A rage burned within her, in the depths of her soul. The Boss had no need to look at her face to see it contorted in desperate, deep seated hatred. And she didn't make any comments. "You know what I mean, don't pretend like you can't see it. Everything I've ever known you know, I swear on my life and hers - The Ebon Mint will be annihilated when I'm through. Understand?! Some fucking God you are! 'Remember the terms of our contract', those terms were mine to begin with."

The Boss made no moves or sounds to stop the rise of anger within Katelyn, until finally it released - a deafeningly loud explosion filled the air of the mausoleum as Katelyn fired off a railgun, completely decimating two of the pillars, and an entire wall of the structure. The air crackled with residual energy as the girl fell to her knees, her weapon skittering along the ground beside her, and she began to cry. The Boss looked back, lacking expression, skin and muscle stretched across bone, and looked upon the dragon girl with smoke in her eyes. She closed the distance between the two of them, knelt down, and hugged her.

"They're not listening, huh? I know the feeling. When your ideal won't listen to what you have to say. It's hard, isn't it?" The Boss leant in, wrapping the sobbing dragon girl tightly in an embrace, whispering into her ear. "But you're not wrong. You've been hurt in so many ways, haven't you? The Ebon Mint is evil, and your mission to destroy it is pure. They hurt people, like you, all the time. Remember what you told me? We made a deal, because I want to help you. Because you can help make the world a better place."

The wreck of a Magical Girl in the Boss's arms seized up for a moment. Every muscle in her body seemed to tense, as the words pervaded her mind. They felt heavy, even as whispers, and backed with tremendous volumes of wisdom and experience, despite their simplicity. But it wasn't the work of a Psychic Specialisation - Katelyn had felt that first hand. It was different, softer almost. Inviting. "Y'know, I made this organisation to help reach the truth. In the end, all things boil down to it. I like to think - that truth is the same thing as what others call justice. When Beacon removes a corrupt member of their organisation, or kills a violent Monster Girl, they are just spreading the truth that is their ideal, right? I think my ideal would adore you, Katie. Because you’re honest and true. Keep up your end of the deal, okay? Find and kill Silhouette."

The Boss pulled away as Katelyn’s sobbing subsided. She held out a hand, to pull the girl off the floor.
"You okay, Ma'am?" the voice of Christine called out, cresting one of the entrances to the mausoleum as she looked in on the scene.

"Perfect timing, Christine, let's have, hmmm... Scarlet and Caleb, come and help you transport Shona's body. Put it on ice until the Beacon operatives come and collect it." The Boss placed a hand of Katelyn's shoulder. "And you, go and get some rest, alright? You're gonna be low on mana after regenerating - near death experiences are hard the first few times around. My Trackers will add Silhouette to the list, and I'll contact you myself when we find her."

"Alright... sure..." Katelyn responded, wiping some tears from her face. She picked up her weapon, banished it, and then took off towards the city, quickly leaving the sights of both The Boss and Christine.

"Have someone keep an eye on her apartment. Make sure she doesn't kill herself," The Boss said, presumably to Christine, though with her back turned it could have been to anyone. She reached into her coat, on the right side, and from within drew a phone, leaving little room for Christine to respond - a touch screen device, with a shatter proof case and wide screen, more indicative of a personal item than standard issue. She brought up her contacts list, and dialled out a specific number of a rather important man. When the dial up ceased, The Boss raised the thing to her ear.

"Hi there, Lee. Boy do we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

"Ah, 'Cynthia,'" came his voice from the other end. "Good to hear from you."

"The one and only," The Boss replied. On the other side of the call, the sound of gravel crushed underfoot followed her movements, until she came to lean against one of the mausoleum's walls. "How's the fear treating you? Well, I hope?"

"Pleasant as always."

"Good, good. Right, listen, one of my associates has just made contact with a Beacon agent. They'll be hearing about you guys soon enough, and the story about it's being kept vague - no 'potentially deal breaking information' getting into the mix, y'know? I'm thinking, that's my side of the deal done. Beacon knows, my Taskers are out and about and all's cushty. So how're we looking?"

Lee sipped something, presumably from his mug. "Like the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he said, pleasantly.

Across the call The Boss chuckled to herself quietly. "A beautiful friendship, that it does," she echoed in kind. "I suppose you'll want to start giving me the rundown soon enough. Before that, though, I have to say, I've been hearing some rumours about you, Lee. Ignoring you and your biker pals showing up to the graveyard, there've been some interesting things floating about The Web. Where'd you like to meet up, eh? I'm sure we'd both like to get that out the way first."

Lee took a contemplative sounding sip. "Are you familiar with the Beth Lamnnid Memorial Library, on the west side of town?" He paused again. "There's a restaurant not far from there. It doesn't get very busy, but it's got pleasant food. It's called the Nerine Vista."

The Boss smiled, something coy and understanding. She pushed herself up from the wall of the mausoleum, and began to walk, onwards to the skyline of Penrose City. "I think I've passed by there a few times, actually. Seems nice enough. When are you free? - I'll call up for a reservation." Within the sound of footsteps, The Boss sighed of pleasure. A moment where true happiness bled into her words. "Tonight has been going great, don't you think? It's been a long while since I ate out socially. I expect you to keep up the bargain to the letter, I should add. Can't do with spoiling the mood."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of spoiling the mood." The Boss could hear the smile in Lee's voice. "How about Friday night, around seven o'clock?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you then."

"I'm looking forward to it. Enjoy the rest of your night."

A smile worked its way onto The Boss’s lips. A scarce and distorted expression, backed with emotion and yet lacking it equally. Just skin pulled taut over her jaw. She began to walk, onwards to the Penrose skyline, as smoke billowing into the night.

“Hmm, I might have leapt at this a bit hastily…” Aurelio murmured to himself as he looked at the door in front of him. His departure from the graveyard had been a simple one, if you count the fact that he left it about eight times in a row without ever leaving simple, but that was the beauty of clones and being keyed into the teleporters.

At the same time the true Aurelio had left on foot, chasing after a blaze of raw emotion that raced across the sky. It was only as the two ventured into the dwelling he was now standing in front of that he recognized that Lily was one of the people he had been chasing after.

It also left him in a bit of a predicament. How to explain why he was chasing after them? With a mental shrug he walked up to the door and knocked on it. He’d figure it out as he went, a moment, and puff of smoke later. Kyle stood awaiting whoever it was that might answer.

Alexander (who had just transformed back to normal), was the first at the door. He opened it to see an unfamiliar boy roughly his age there “Yes?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. Behind him, Lily warily watched with heavy eyes, adjusting her glasses. "M-Maskless Tuxedo Mask!" She weakly exclaimed upon her realization, followed by her running back to the apartment.

"Oh geez oh geez oh geez, why’s he here? This is bad!" She escaped to her room, took a deep breath, then ran back.
"Well, I think there has been a misunderstanding here. But still, I would like to ask: why are you here?" She asked, her face bright red.

Kyle just blinked and looked down to make sure he was out of costume while Lily ran off to her room for a moment “Nope i'm in my civies” he would say aloud before looking back to Lily “Most people don’t recognize me that quickly without the cape”

“Would you believe that it was an accident at first?” He would ask scratching his cheek “But where are my manners” Kyle would offer his hand to Alex “Kyle Tanner, or The Great Aurelio while I'm transformed. Lily helped me and a few of my friends out back at the Graveyard”

Alexander gave a grunt of understanding ‘Ah, okay. He’s part of the magical world. Right, this is starting to make sense.’ After a brief moment of hesitation, he took the other boy’s hand and gave a couple of weak shakes before taking his hand back “Right. So, I’m still not sure why you’re here...but I’m guessing it’s not something we should be talking about where other people can see.” He turned around to go back inside while gesturing for Kyle to come inside. Lily was less enthusiastic, but decided to go along with Alex’ suggestion with a meek nod.

“As I mentioned, it was something of an accident.” Kyle would reply as he stepped into the apartment easily sensing the mood of the two who lived here. “I’m an Empathy mage, I have a greater sense of emotions then most as I can use them as fuel for my magic. I was following after quite the output of good vibes when I saw Lily and you dip into here. I hadn't gotten the chance to thank Lily for helping out so I figured I would stop in and see how she was doing” He would explain, before giving Alex another once over. “I figure you were there as well, if you got Lily out of there, so you have my thanks as well.”

Alexander’s eyes narrowed as Kyle explained his magic “Wait a second...emotion magic?” He paused ‘This might be just what I need!’ He gave the other boy a once over before asking “So can you only sense what emotion a person is feeling...or can you also sense what they feel about certain people?”

Lily went to the kitchen to prepare glasses of cola when he heard Alex speak in the living room, and accidentally spilled some of the soft drink into the sink, her eyes wide.

“I can only sense what people are feeling,” Kyle would answer “But that can be used to find out what people's feelings are towards someone else, after all most people can’t stop themselves from feeling things.” His eyebrow would quirk up as he glanced between Alex and Lily as he fought to keep the smile on his face from turning into a massive grin. ‘They are, but they don’t know each other is as well’

Lily sighed out of relief, and stepped out of the kitchen with the tray of drinks.

“Why do you ask?”

Lily set the tray on the table; she was still smiling, though it wavered as panic started to rise up within her.

Alexander thought for a few seconds before saying “Yeah, I think I can work with that. Okay...” He walked over to Lily and pulled her into a hug, the tingle quickly returning “Tell me what I’m feeling.”

Lily squeaked, and her entire body trembled as Alex had snatched her in his embrace.
"E-Eeeehhhh? W-What is this?" She pushed him off, and in the wild motion happened to knock a glass down, shattering it.
"Oh-a-broken-glass-wow-I’m-clumsy-better-go-clean-it-off-be-right-back-teehee!" She rapidly mouthed off the words, and in cartoonish fashion disappeared to her room, locking it tight.

Alexander just stared in the direction that Lily ran “...Well that was odd. She didn’t do that last time.” He folded his arms in compilation “Was I doing it wrong? I mean, I’ve only hugged someone a few times, so there might be some procedure that I just don’t know about...” He shook his head before turning to Kyle “Anyway, was that enough to get a good reading?”

Kyle was supporting a wide grin as Alex turned back to him, he was also holding in his laughter as it would be rude to laugh at this turn of events, but the amusement was still clear in his eyes. “More than enough, and the reading was crystal clear, for both of you” He would answer moving to sit on the couch “And I wouldn't say you were doing anything wrong but sometimes such displays of affection tend to bewilder.”

“Short and quick answer; You Love Lily. She was feeling Surprise, Embarrassment, and Joy” He would explain gesturing for Alex to take a seat, as he had a feeling it might take some more time to fully explain things.

Alexander sat down with a huge grin on his face “You have no idea how amazing it feels to finally have some kind of label to attach to what I think about her. It saves me so much trouble.”

Alex’s admission hit Kyle’s mood a fair bit, the fact that Alex did not, or could not understand that it was Love pained the magician. Not that he let it drag him down far “Well my friend, you have gained a treasure beyond value. Love is one of the three great emotions if you ask me. The only thing better is when you find someone who returns those feelings, which I have a feeling you have.” he would say giving a pointed look at the room that Lily ran in to.

Alexander shot up “Oh, that’s right!” He then jogged over to Lily’s door and knocked on it “Hey Lilly! He said I’m in love with you, and that you probably feel the same way. I’m...to be honest, I’m not sure what comes next. So...what do we do now?”

It was taking every ounce of willpower Kyle had to not fall down laughing at this point. Alex was just the right mix of clueless and blunt to make this heartwarming moment hilarious to watch.

Lily had wrapped herself in the bedsheets like a cocoon, facing away from the door. She felt like her heart might launch right out of her chest with how much it was beating.
"Uhh...I...I guess we...," There was a pause.
"We go on a date?" She managed to calm down as she came to think of the idea. She slowly opened the door, her hair even more frazzled than before.
"Yeah...I think we should do that."
She went to Aurelio, and shook his hand. She leaned against his ear, and whispered:
"Aurelio...Um, thank you. I owe you one." She then withdrew, and made a mighty sigh as she came to grips with what has transpired.

“Alright, awesome!” Alexander clapped his hands together. “So...do we go do something right now? Also, what makes a date different from just a normal outing with friends? Is there something I’m expected to do?”

“No problem, glad to have been a help” Kyle would reply quietly before stepping back to adress Alex again. “The main difference between a date and an outing with friends is intention. Both are for fun, and both can be whatever you want them to be, but on a date you are either trying to get to know each other better, or convey what you feel for feel for each other.” He would explain sitting back down.

“In other words” He would add with a snap of his fingers triggering his transformation. “While with friends your out for Enjoyment” he would reach out one hand a happy orange glow emanating from it giving off subtle waves of Fun and Excitement. “A date is about showing them that you Care.” he would extend his other hand a Pinkish glow coming from it giving of soft waves of Love and Happiness.

He would hold the magic for a moment before another puff of smoke enveloped him and he was once again just plane Kyle “Make sense?”

“Huh” Alexander mused “Yeah, I think I get it. That’s actually a lot of help.”

Lily smiled widely.
"You’re like a love guru, Aurelio. You should come with us on our date!" She blurted out, before she realized the implications and hastily shook her hands before her. "I mean, as a friendly teacher type of friend! Not because I want to date you too! I mean, I’d like to hang out, but it might be weird and-" She stumbled a bit in her place, and leaned against the doorway.
"S-Sorry. This has been a lot."

The magician in question just laughed and waved off Lily’s worry “Don’t worry about it, I know what you mean” before turning to the side as a thought occurred to him, “If you don’t mind, I could go see someone about turning this into a double date, that way I can still help offer advice without it being as odd,” he offered up as an alternative as being the third wheel was always awkward regardless of being able to feed off emotion or not.

Alexander scratched the back of his head “Is...is that okay? I mean, I’ve heard about double dates before, but I didn’t think they were actually a thing. Having other people there, it kind of makes it sound like it’s not a date, and more like some kind of outing with friends” He said “I don’t know. Maybe I’m completely wrong about this; but it sounds like this is going to be like those times Lily drags me off to do something, only with romance? And we did those just fine before, so I’m pretty sure we won’t screw it up.”

Lily now leaned against Alex, showing more life in her exhausted expression. "A double date? That’s a wonderful idea." She looked up to Alex. "It’s just like a date, but with double the fun. We’ll be happy to do it. Right Alex?" She smiled, and now hesitantly hugged his arm.

Alexander still wasn’t too keen on the idea of a double date, but he also found it extremely hard to say no to Lily “...sure, I guess.” he shrugged, not sure what else to say. He couldn’t really think too well with Lily hugging his arm like that, the sensation made his arm feel like it was on fire in a very good way...somehow.

“They happen all the time” Kyle would answer Alex’s question “Going out with three people when two are dating can be kinda awkward for the one going stag as those dating tend to give each other more attention. A double date evens the numbers and helps make sure no one's left out.”

”Sounds like a plan” The empathy mage would announce with a grin “I’ll be right back, you want to pick the entertainment or the food?” he would ask as his body started glow “You two pick one and we’ll pick the other” He explained just before vanishing with a flash and a small pop.

With that Kyle was off to HQ to ask Sally about a double date.

Alexander jumped in surprise “Wait, he can teleport!? Dammit, I want to be able to teleport. How does emotion magic even let him do that? Total bullshit...” He mumbled the last two words to himself.

It had been a busy day today. A big fight and saving the world from a Horror, a party, training, and making new allies. Yet for Alicia the day had not yet concluded as she found herself downtown. She was here for another meeting, one which was a bit more ambiguous than the one she had had earlier in the day. Katarina had been up front about wanting a partnership. But this Rebecca? Just needing help was a lot more broad.

At the moment she was loitering a bit, idly pacing around near one of those cardboard cutouts that they used to advertise movies. Her chosen location for this meeting had been an art house, one of those places that showed avante garde and indie films in addition to the blockbuster hits. It wasn’t the busiest place most of the time, but if you knew how to position yourself right then you could have a conversation somewhat masked by one of the movies playing in the theater. Not that it would make a difference to a determined magical girl, but she was at least making an effort.That had to count for something, right?

Her gaze drifted, sweeping across people as they walked by whilst wondering just who would end up approaching to speak with her. They had set a time and place, and she was at the place and it was almost time. “When did I become Beacon’s diplomat?” she muttered to herself with some amusement. It felt like she had done more talking than smiting darkness recently, world ending Horror aside.

Still, she could afford to be a bit patient, especially for someone who said they needed help. “Fifteen minutes? That sounds good.” Alicia checked her phone to make sure of the time, just in case she was off. Which she was not. Well, she’d give Rebecca this, to a reasonable amount. And if it was a trap after all, well, that was just going to be really unfortunate.

Some seven minutes passed before the presumed girl in question arrived. Rebecca had spent the time checking, double, triple, the exact location, ensuring without a shadow of doubt that it was the correct place. For one of the first times in her life, Rebecca wanted to be no part of the engagement - to run somewhere far away, where she would neither have to meet with Beacon agents and The Boss. The recent complications had made it all the worse. In the hours prior, she had returned to the apartment shared with Charlotte, to find privacy for privacy's sake, and to figure out just what would happen from this moment forth.

From the doors into the lobby of the theatre stepped Rebecca, already transformed. The white of her uniform, and the formality of such a thing, laid bare a stark contrast to the patrons of the establishment. Awkwardly, Rebecca thumbed with her Soul Jar, and the brown orange locks that fell over her epaulettes, casting a cautionary, and anxiety riddled gaze over the scene. Without backup, entering into hostile territory, and without her weapons at hand, her expression was that of fear. And yet it didn’t dull her sense. Every look was a full body scan, every glance was an observation - be it the nerves, or a subconscious mechanism.

With a white gloved hand, she reached into a side pocket, and removed a touch screen device, outside the standard issue of The Penrose Independent. It was new, free from any bugs or tracking devices. In the hours prior, Rebecca had gone through, meticulously, everything she owned, leaving nothing to be linked back to the Independent more than identifying her as a person being tracked. She reread her notes, checked the time, and replaced the thing. This wasn’t the first possibly dangerous meeting she had been on, Rebecca thought, though it barely helped. So she resigned herself to the fear, and took point in an obvious location. Any human would mistake her for a lost cosplayer, but a Magical Girl would easily make the distinction. It was simply a matter of waiting.

It wasn’t all that hard to identify who she was looking for when the time came. A transformed state that made one look like a cosplayer tended to stand out, at least outside of conventions. That was undoubtedly what the other patrons thought she was, but Alicia knew better than that. After all, they were both magical girls.

She watched her a bit, sizing up the girl that she was supposed to meet, and making sure that everything felt right. There was a lot of anxiety radiating off of the girl, which fit with her attempt to acquire help.She was probably easier to satisfy that there wasn’t an ambush planned than Rebecca was though such things weren’t really Beacon’s style anyway. Not that that discounted a third party, but that was the risk one would have to take.

Stepping away from her position against the wall and near the cardboard figure, Alicia waved as she walked over to the white uniform clad girl. “So, you must be Rebecca,” she said once close, offering a hand to shake. “Glad to see you could make it. Though I figured you’d want to be a more circumspect.” Not that she minded, it was merely an observation.

Although she knew what to expect, Rebecca still eyed the girl with unabashed caution. She wanted to take the untransformed state as a sign of amnesty, that Alicia giving away the upper hand so easily was enough to trust her and the situation. But Rebecca had been taught better than that, for better or for worse. Her eyes trained Alicia for every step she was worth, a year of rigorous training crossing her mind in an instant. If she wanted to live, a fuck up was less than unacceptable.

”Aye, tha’s, tha’s me,” Rebecca replied, removing the rightmost glove to take Alicia’s hand. ”Durability’s me best attribute, so… y’know, bein’ Transformed. Ah’m fuckin’ nervous, aight? - this isn’t, this… shite, ah’m sorry ‘bout this, ah need you’s lots help, ah don’t ‘ave a choice. D’you’s ‘ave anywhere more private to talk or anything?”

Wow, that was an accent. Alicia had to take a second to mentally parse things, glad that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. After a moment she shrugged, accepting the explanation at face value. “Fair enough.” She’d probably do the same thing if she was as nervous as Rebecca appeared to be.

As for her request, that could be arranged. “Sure. Follow me.” She led Rebecca over to an elevator, which would take them to the second floor. There was a small lobby area there, meant to allow handicapped persons to get to the top of the big theaters. Because of that people didn’t usually go up here. She only knew about it because she’d worked part time here some time ago, so she knew the layout.

Upon arrival Alicia walked over to a locked door, entering the code on a keypad and admitting them into the crew break room. Fortunately the code hadn’t been changed since she worked here. At the moment the room was empty, and it would probably stay that way for at least a bit. Good enough for what they intended to do at least.

Closing the door behind them, she then turned to face the other girl, relaxed and ready to get down to business. “So, what’s this all about then? What kind of trouble are you in?”

Another cautionary glance was cast about the outside, as Rebecca entered into the break room, and then a third once within. For the moment, the plan had gone smoothly. But she lacked the wherewithal to continue, Rebecca realised. This kind of work was more in line with Christine and The Boss’s expertise - espionage was the least bit her talent. Anxiety had left her balance unsteady, and a headache drastically different from the one at the graveyard wracked her stressed brain. For a moment, there was silence, as Rebecca dragged herself to a nearby chair.

”Before, uh… anythin’, ah should get this outta’ the way,” Rebecca began, and summed elsewhere a weapon: the Odachi, its sheath still clung to the blade. She reached to the side, and placed it on a nearby table. ”Ah was at the graveyard, fought that, uh… Abigail. Ah got caught in this, ah dunno, explosion ah guess. Ah think it was, like, mana or some shite. But… Ah know you’s don’t like Dark Magical Girls, but, ah think ah might’ve been corrupted. Just… thought you’s should know.”

Alicia’s gaze narrowed for a moment, examining Rebecca more closely as she admitted to what had happened to her at the graveyard fight. However, after a moment she seemed to relax. “We’re trying to judge people for their actions rather than their nature these days, and if you’ve been a dark magical girl for all of half a day then I doubt that’s something to worry about. But ultimately it depends on what kind of help you need,” Alicia decided. This was new ground to some extent, and while she was willing to hear her out, she didn’t want to make promises.

”Ah… ah need ta’ ask you two things,” Rebecca replied, shifting somewhat more uncomfortably in her chair at the sight of Alicia’s glare. ”First, see… Ah know some people. Ah dunno really much about ‘em, but ah guess they’re, like, human Mages or somethin’? Call ‘emselves Runners - definitely aint Magical Girls. But… they’re gettin’ killed cause that magical protection wish that was made a few week back ain’t protecting ‘em. They asked me ta’, well, pass the message onta’ Beacon, see if they’d be willin’ to help at all.”

The second request came with more difficulty to the girl. Without exception, Rebecca knew it would test her mettle. For one of the few times in her life, she was scared of something - and rightly so, with the cleansing fangs of Beacon glaring down upon her in the form of their Seraph. The meeting would be off if Alicia smelt even a hint of a lie. Rebecca’s hand balled into a fist, her knuckles growing pale under her stark white gloves, and her foot drummed nervously against the floor of the break room.

”Second,” she began, ”The Penrose Independent ‘as this suspension program. When you’s fuck up a story too badly, they send you on somethin’ they’s call ‘training’. M’ah sister - Twin Soul, whatever - got put on it a few weeks back… she’s alive, but I canne find her. Ah don’t even think she’s in Penrose anymore. We’s joined up to try and ‘elp some people, but… ah dunno if she’s safe, ah’ve been threatened with the same thing recently. Please, contact your Beckoners or… somethin’, I need to join Beacon. Ah might be able to help some people, an’ find me sister, an’ ah won’t have to worry so hard ‘bout fucking things up.”

Alicia was quiet as she followed along with what Rebecca wanted to say. “Okay,” she said to the first request. This was new to her, but since Beacon’s job was to protect people anyway it didn’t seem like it was far out of their wheelhouse. “I’ll see if we can set something up to help there.” She was sure that Sylvia would be willing to at least give it a shot, even with all the other distractions they had on their plate. But Rebecca probably understood that anyway.

An eyebrow rose as they turned to the second, and much more important request. It was possible, though it wouldn’t be easy. But if Rebecca really wanted to try, and she seemed sincere in her belief, then there didn’t seem to be a reason to disagree.

She caught herself before agreeing though, curiosity sparked as she scratched an itch on her cheek. “That seems awfully grim for a news agency,” she noted aloud, a hand coming to rest upon her hip as she sought to appease her curiosity with what had been relayed. “Is the place a front for the Ebon Mint or something?”

”Not that ah’m aware of,” Rebecca chuckled, somewhat nervously. Though the initial anxiety remained, she appeared to have settled into the conversation a bit more - her foot tapping less and less for every second that passed since Alicia had agreed to the first request. ”Ah canne say ah know what the training’s about… Hell, it might just be training, but… Ah don’t trust em’. Not with mine or me sister’s life.”

Alicia could hardly blame Rebecca for feeling that way. After everything that had happened to her, she would go to great lengths for any of her sisters too. She was more concerned by the Mint being behind this, but it looked like it was just a company with shady business practices. Still bad, but a lot easier to deal with than something as pervasive as the Mint.

“Alright.” She took a few steps closer to Rebecca, firm without being confrontational. But this was serious stuff, not something to be taken lightly. “At this point a dark magical girl joining Beacon is a bit too out there for most of the common members to accept.” Even she wasn’t sure whether she was ready to accept it, without time to get to know a DMG like she had with Penny.

She continued that train of thought fairly quickly. “That leaves us with two options. Either you stay on your own and I’ll try to assist you in finding your sister on the side as best I can. Or you’re going to have to let Beacon go through with purifying the magical corruption, and then we can begin the membership process.” She had a suspicion as to what Rebecca would choose, but she wanted to offer some options anyway.

”Um,” Rebecca started, fidgeting on the spot at the idea of purification. There was no lie she could tell - being a Dark Magical Girl didn’t suit her, nor did the migraines that seemed to accompany it. The prospect was a frightening one, placing her life in the hands of the people she was actively deceiving. Even though it was her second objective, being away from the Independent, and outside The Boss’s orders appealed highly. It felt correct. And more importantly, it satisfied Rebecca’s mission parameters. ”Could you’s… tell me what’ll ‘appen to me durin’ it? Wha’does “purification” even entail?”

Uncertainty was to be expected in a situation like this. The purification process was something that didn’t tend to get much attention, mostly because of the restrictions on it and because of their reputation. But with it the subject now, she was more than willing to discuss it.

“Purification is a fairly simple process,” Alicia explained, remaining in place in a slightly more relaxed stance. “You’ll be placed inside of a magic circle, where a complex ritual is formed that lasts for ten minutes. If you leave the circle, the ritual fails. Usually this happens by consent, or because we’ve managed to incapacitate the magical girl beforehand. Given how difficult that tends to be, that’s why Beacon is more likely to go for a short term permanent solution to the problem.” If Rebecca was willing, then this wouldn’t be an issue in the slightest.

Having explained the method, she addressed the other facet of the question. “Essentially, Purification uses the power of the Spark to attune your magic and remove dark magical energy. Monster girls are returned to normal, mental mutations are healed, That sort of thing. The only side effect, from what I’ve observed, is that any physical changes tend to linger beyond their original form. Which doesn’t seem like it should be a problem for you.”

Rebecca gave an understanding nod. Her eyes drifted over to the weapon, the Odachi that had she had just recently obtained. Under no reasonable circumstance was Rebecca willing to draw it, but ‘reasonable’ as a Magical Girl was few and far between. If it came down to the wire and there were no other options, Rebecca wanted it with her. ”Any idea’s what’ll ‘appen to me new sword? Guess it’ll vanish with the magical energy, huh.”

Following her gaze to the sword, Alicia could only shrug. “I don’t know, for sure. It tends to depend on how connected it was to your magical overload,” she admitted. They would only find out for sure once it had been completed.

”Aight…” Rebecca sighed. Her left hand reached to her own head, and ran through her hair, as she leant back into the seat. ”I canne say ah’m too excited ‘bout going into somethin’ kinda vague like this, but… ah’ll do it. This ain’t what ah wanna be, an’ the headache hurts like a bitch too. Aye, ah’ll do it.”

“It’s magic, we try to figure out what we can,” Alicia explained with a shrug. At least things had gone in the direction that she expected they would, and Rebecca soon agreed with her proposal.

Nodding in approval, she moved on to the actual details of what they needed to do. “Alright, well, I can tell the Beckoners. Would you prefer to do this now? Because I can get them to set a date for the next couple days or so and relay it to you, if that works better.” She wasn’t sure how Rebecca’s current mood would influence how they went about this, so best to leave it up to her.

Alicia was right. Magic at its best was a crapshoot, and relevant information about it was at worst impossible to make sense of. Half the things in the world didn’t make sense, and the other half were inconsequential - Rebecca vaguely remembered The Boss mentioning something similar. Regardless of what Rebecca understood, there was always more complexities she didn’t understand. ”Ah’d, uh… ah’d prefer sooner rather than later. Quicker ah get purified, the better, ah’d say. Whenever you’s can fit me in, ah guess?” Rebecca laughed - an uncertain chuckle, disjointed from her actions, and marred in anxiety. ”Jus’ gimme a call, an’ ah’ll be there. Really, thank you’s for this. Mean’s a lot.”

“Of course, I’ll do that,” Alicia agreed, taking a step off to the side. It seemed they were about done here, at least for now. But they would definitely be seeing each other in the near future (if nothing happened to Rebecca in the short term). “Beacon is always willing to help those in need, if they’re willing to accept it. So I’ll be in touch once I’ve gotten things worked out with the Beckoners..” If there was anything else Rebecca wanted to add, she was free to do so. Otherwise Alicia wasn’t going to stop her from leaving as their meeting came to an end.

”Yeah, please. Guess ah’ll, uh, see you’s around?” Rebecca replied awkwardly, and stood up from her chair. Her fingers brushed gently across the wooden sheath of the weapon, and it vanished from sight, while she continued on to the door. Before Rebecca left, and as something of an afterthought, she turned back. Bravaan would have her head for abandoning him as a Patron in favour of Beacon, but his wrath would be all the more if she neglected her rites. Arms to the side, and rigid in body, Rebecca bowed in Alicia direction, and quickly took off in slight embarrassment.

“See you soon,” Alicia agreed with a wave as Rebecca departed. She waited until the girl had departed and the door had swung closed, giving it a good five count just to make sure she didn’t come back for some reason or other. Only then did she let out a sigh, shaking her head. Well, that had definitely not been what she was expecting from this meeting.

But hers was not the only opinion that mattered, and now it was time to take stock of the meeting. ”So, what do you think,” she asked, leaning against the table as the Beckoner who had been observing appeared. “She wasn’t lying, but that’s not infallible. Are we going to go through with this?”

“We will, for it is the path you have been fated to walk.” The Beckoner, resembling a red panda, scratched the table with its tiny claws. “Archangel, only you can pave the way for mankind’s hope, every good deed a stone to step on. Stay vigilant, and may the light of Beacon guide you.”

The Beckoner then vanished, as they were wont to do. But that day, Alicia could feel a bit more proud than usual.

@Vocab[@Armiamis]

“Hmm, this should go here,” Alicia remarked to herself with a frown, picking up a book from where it lay on her desk to place it in a different spot on the shelf above said desk than where it had started. Taking a step back, she surveyed her room with an approving look as her hands rested on her hips. Her room was clean (relatively speaking) and all ready for tonight. After all, she wanted to put on a good impression for her guest, even if they might not care. She took it as a point of pride, and her parents had suggested that she do so anyway.

With that as motivation, she had spent about an hour or so getting things in order, and making sure that she had some activities prepared for them to do. She wasn’t sure how long they would spend on anything, so it helped to have some ideas in her back pocket for if she needed them.

Glancing at the clock, Alicia took a deep breath as she noted how close it was to five clock. With her room in order she turned and headed downstairs to wait for the arrival of her guest. It shouldn’t be very long at all.

Just a little ways down the street the awaited guest was checking her backpack for the sixth time. Most of what was in it was to be expected, a set of pajamas, an extra set of clothes, and hygiene supplies. The half pound of assorted hard candies, deck of cards and filled water bottles were slightly less expected, but still not outside of the realms of explainable. So long as it wasn’t discovered that the water bottles were filled with Vodka, but dammit if the encounter at the graveyard didn’t call for a drink or two.

Taking one last deep breath Penny zipped up her bag and focused on drawing her magic in as deeply as she could. A few moments later there was a soft flash of light and Penny was in her human guise. Nodding to herself she quickly made her way to Alicia’s front door and knocked on it a few times in a 1-3-2 rhythm.

Around the end of the sequence, Penny would be able to make out some shuffling from inside. Moments later there was the audible click of a lock being disengaged, before the door swung open to an older woman who took but an instance to assess Penny before breaking into a smile. “Hello there. You must be Alicia’s friend.I’m her mother. Alicia has told me so much about you.”

The pleasant and welcoming atmosphere that she radiated did not fade as she swung the door open and gestured for the magical girl to step inside. “Alicia, your friend is here,” she called over her shoulder, where the girl in question could already been seen descending them from the upstairs bedrooms. She would close the door behind them, but remain nearby for the present just in case. Call it a motherly curiosity to see if word lived up to fact when it came to their guest.

Not disturbed by or even really noticing that, Alicia approached Penny confidently, if a bit awkwardly due to not being in her magical girl outfit. “Hey,” she said with a grin of her own. “How are you doing? Have any trouble finding us on your way here?”

“Nice to meet you Ms.Hayden” Penny would greet the mother with a smile as she entered the house taking a quick look around as she did. Silently affirming that the decision to have this over at Alicia’s place was definitely the right choice, as it was much more comfortable then the other options they had open to them.

Before she got much further then that, Alicia made her appearance, causing Penny’s smile to morph into a matching grin “I’m doing good, and nah no issues.” would come the response as she moved closer to her friend to give a quick hug “My Dad was the one to gave me a ride.” she would add as if that explained it, more for the floating parent then anything else.

“Oh, where should I put my bag?” She would ask slipping the item in question from her shoulders to hold up as she did. It would be best to make sure it was safely stashed away in case one of the parents decided to be nosy considering the drink she had hidden. Not that she expected such, but better safe than sorry. Especially as Alicia was the one who would have to face the consequences if it was found.

Alicia returned the hug warmly, aware of the deception but making no issue of it. “We can put that in my room,” she replied when asked about the bag. It was as good a place as any. Stepping back, she motioned to the stairs in order for Penny to follow, before heading that way herself.

Her mom turned to watch her go as the two of them departed, remaining where she was. “Your father should be home soon,” she called after them. “I’ll let you know when dinner is ready, but don’t be surprised if he checks in on you.”

“Got it,” Alicia called back with a glance over her shoulder. It was a bit more attention than she got in her old life, but she didn’t mind. They were only looking out for her well being. Besides, it wasn’t like Penny would do robot mode while she was here, so there was no risk of revealing something with magic.

After a short walk they arrived in her room. The walls were green and studded with a couple posters of popular soft rock music groups. There was a desk off to the side, some small bookshelves, a window out to the yard, a stand and a tv with a game system connected to it, and a bed up against the wall with open space on the floor nearby.

“So this is my room,” she explained with a sweeping gesture. “Put the bag down anywhere you want.” She would wait until Penny did so before speaking up again. “I have board games, video games, we could just chat, or I could give you the tour.” Falling silent, she waited to see what her guest was most in the mood for.

Penny gave an appreciative whistle as she took in the room, as compared to her own it was a grand thing. She plopped her bag up against the wall near the bed, taking the chance to check out the backyard as she did so “This is a nice place” She would comment before mulling over the options tossed out. “What games do you have? It’s been a while since I’ve kept up with the new releases” She would ask meekly scratching her cheek a little as she did. She hadn't realized just how out of touch she had gotten to the normal world.

Humming in thought, Alicia walked over to the tv stand and opened up a door on the bottom, revealing the games inside. “Well, we could play Battlefront 2, a racing game, Minecraft, destroy our friendship in Mario Kart….we could do Rock Band, though I’d need to get the instruments from downstairs.” She listed off a few options, waiting to see if there was one Penny was interested in.

Perhaps due to her rather action filled life that she now lead Penny was finding the idea of playing Minecraft or Rock Band much more appealing then any of the other options on the table. Mario kart wasn’t a bad idea either, yet the usual association of ruining friendships had Penny shying away from it.

“Rock band’s not a bad idea, chilling out in minecraft and just talking doesn’t sound too bad either.” She would toss out as she sat down across from the TV. “Brought a deck of cards as well if your interested” she would admit before tossing a glance towards the door to check that they were for the most part alone “and something to drink if you want some, considering what happened recently figured we deserved one.” She would finish softly so her voice wouldn’t carry too far.

“Minecraft it is then,” Alicia decided with a nod, going for the option that was easier to set up in the short term. Turning back to the tv, she quickly set them up with a splitscreen game, and took a seat on the bed as she passed a controller over to Penny.

Soon enough the game was booted up and they were in an unblemished world, running around and building themselves a nice base to expand from. “I figured it’d be a nice change of pace, since you usually break things rather than build them,” she noted aloud as her character mined out part of a cliff wall.

“Agreed” Penny say nodding as she went about gathering wood to start expanding upon their starting area. “At the same time this” she would gesture at the room “is also a nice change of pace. It’s been a while since I had a normal night off”

Leaning over she would zip open her bag and pull out the bag of candy and nab a few pieces before dropping it on the bed “Help yourself” she would say before crunching on the first piece she had grabbed.

Alicia nodded, leaning back to grab a piece of candy when it was offered. “Sure, but not too much,” she warned as she joined Penny in enjoying the treat. “I don’t want to ruin my appetite before dinner.”

Delicately maneuvering along the cliff face, she did not take her eyes from the screen even as she continued on that topic. “Speaking of which, any preferences for dinner? I know dad is going to want to grill something, but if you’d rather we have pizza or something normal we can work that out too.”

“Brought them less for eating myself” Penny would remark as she crunched pointedly on another one “More as a replacement for my bucket of nails” She was using her collected stores of wood to make a couple story log cabin. Making sure there was space for storage and crafting as well as beds and decoration.

“If your dad wants to grill, I say let him have it” Would be her answer before shaking her head slightly “And I’ve got to ask; Is it as weird as I imagine it being? living with parents and acting as a kid again?”

At the moment Alicia was getting a lot of cobblestone but not much else. She’d at least angled downwards, to increase their chance of finding something besides coal, even if they needed that too. A nod escaped as Penny explained the candy thing, since otherwise Alicia probably would have assumed that she did have something of a sweet tooth. At least she knew better now.

Food decided upon, she addressed the next question. “A bit, though it helps that I was pretty much out of college when I became a magical girl, so it wasn’t too much of a backwards step for me. Still, it has its perks.” Especially when it came to food. And they’d always be there for her, which was nice when she had to deal with all this magical girl related nonsense. “Why, worried you’re out of touch with the younger, hip generations?” she asked with a grin.

“Oh please, I doubt I’m that much older then you” Penny would chuckle with a roll of her eyes “It’s just the whole dual lives things always seemed like it would get weird to deal with, heck normal tends to be weird for me at this point.” She was currently arranging the stuff in the house she had built rather fastidiously. Placing things down, before breaking them and placing them again slightly to the side till they met some unspoken criteria.

“Another question, Is your birthday still the same? Or did it shift when you joined the community?” Penny would ask after a lull. The house was finished in a basic way, but had plenty of room if they wanted to improve upon it later. Penny had shifted goals towards gathering Iron, in an effort to go hunting after Redstone.

Joining Penny in her mining efforts, Alicia was quick to answer that question. “Same day,” she replied. “The memory alterations they set up your family help with that.” She could hear the garage opening downstairs, meaning they would have company soon. But for the moment she wouldn’t worry about it too much.

That aside, it was time to ask her own question. “So what does a nail taste like anyway?” she asked, her curiosity piqued by the candy.

“Depends on the nail” Penny answered with a shrug “The age and what it’s made of can change the flavors but the most common remind me of beef jerky, with extra crunch. Found one that I swear tasted like dark chocolate though.” she shook her head at the memory, she had spent weeks trying to find another nail like that but hadn’t faced any luck.

“Pretty sure my sense of taste changes though” she would add as an afterthought as she kept an ear out for the sounds of someone coming up the stairs “Different things seem more or less appealing depending on which I am.”

“Huh, okay.” That was not the sort of answer that Alicia had expected to get, but it seemed like her curiosity had been worth it to find out. On the other hand there really wasn’t anywhere she knew to go with that conversation, so she kept that topic as a solo point of conversation for now.

A good thing too, as Penny would rapidly hear footsteps approaching after a few minutes. They would pass the room by at first, only to return several minutes later. “Hey guys,” Alicia’s dad remarked as he poked his head into the bedroom with a war smile. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Alicia replied with a look to match as she glanced away from the game to make eye contact with her dad. “This is Penny, she said she’s willing to try your cooking even if it ends up tasting like charcoal again.”

That earned a huff from the man, though he took it pretty well. “Hey now, that only happened once,” he challenged. That said, his attention quickly refocused as he offered a hand to Penny. “Anyway, nice to meet one of Alicia’s friends. Make yourself at home.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. Hayden” Penny would reply as she stood to shake the offered hand not caring too much about the game, It was minecraft after all. “I’ll keep my mess to a minimum”

Shaking hands, Alicia’s dad kept a friendly look. “You’ve got a pretty firm grip there,” he noted aloud, making a show of rubbing his hand once it was free. “But don’t worry. I’m sure there won’t be any trouble.”

With a small wave, he stepped back towards the door. “Well, I’m going to get to that grilling. You girls have fun.” The door would be closed at that point, and they would be able to hear him head back downstairs as he got to the work of grilling dinner for the four of them.

“So, what do you think?” Alicia asked, once they had some privacy to themselves.

“They seem like nice people” Penny would reply slightly bemused at the thought of being somewhere around the same mental age as them, yet having to act like a teen. “Back to twenty questions?” she would ask sitting back down in her spot in front of the bed.

“Sure,” Alicia agreed as they returned to their game and their idle conversation. “So if you were stranded on a deserted island and could only three items, what would they be?” she asked. Besides a boat, of course. That was just cheating. Besides, if you had a boat then you weren’t really stranded now were you?

"I'm going to just assume that community advantages are not included" Penny would say aloud as she mulled over the question. "Otherwise Earthbastion is just cheating. So I'll go with… hmm a tent, a knife and a large piece of flint." She would decide as she went back to mining.

“I’ll go with a classic; What’s your favorite color?” Simple and nearly as old as time, yet potentially useful in a lot of situations. Besides if she was going to relax like a teen, might as well take the chance to act like one.

Hm, very practical answers, Alicia mentally decided. Very like Penny. Though she wasn’t sure if she would even need a tent with her particular powers. Or a knife for that matter. Then again, sometimes precision was called for.

“Orange,” Alicia decided when asked the simple question. “It makes me think of Fa-creeper!” An explosion rocked the screen, bringing the conversation to an end in the face of swift panic.

---

About a half hour later, dinner was served. A plate of simmering burger patties sat in the middle of the table, circled by various toppings, condiments, and buns. There was also a small bowl of fries, like the kind you’d buy at a store to prepare quickly. Alicia and Penny would be seated at a corner, Alicia’s parents at the opposite corner of the table. Food was free for the taking, and Alicia already had a burger with lettuce, tomato and mustard on it

“So Penny, tell us about yourself,” Alicia’s mother began, after sampling a bit of the burger to make sure that it tasted good. “Alicia has told us some things about you, but I’d like to hear it from you personally.”

“Uhh...” Penny stalled in the process of neatly (over)loading up her burger with a bit of everything as she turned to face her friends mother. “Well, I like to build computers, kinda like tinkering around with machines in general really.” She would start, recovering from the unexpected question.

“That being said, not the biggest fan of cars or at least driving them. I like to fixing them up or taking them apart.” She would continue returning some of her attention at preparing her first burger “Prefer walking, or skating, to get places. Plus there is a lot of cool places tucked away off the roads that you would never find otherwise.”

The two parents listened calmly as Penny rattled off the things she was into. “Alicia did say that you were something of a gearhead,” her dad remarked, glancing over at the girl in question. His burger was more traditional to the American style, though whether that said something about his personality was something that one could muse on at length.

“Roger, be nice to her,” her mother commented, shooting him a warning look even if she refrained from elbowing him. “She’s our guest after all.”Alicia would roll her eyes though, not surprised by the lack of tact.

Roger raised his hands in protest. “I am being nice,” he assured her. Having expressed his intent, the conversation resumed its focus. “I mean, it provides a lot of useful skills, especially when it comes to creativity and problem solving. It’s like what I was telling Alicia recently.”

“Is that why you ended up calling a handyman to fix the shower a couple weeks ago?” Alicia asked, gesturing upwards to the second floor while wearing a slightly mischievous look.

Once again her dad was on the defense, but Roger took on a solemn demeanor, closing his eyes as if imparting divine wisdom. “Part of being successful in life is knowing your limits,” he assured those currently gathered. Giving them a moment to take that in, he took a chunk out of his burger, enjoying the savory taste and the brief moment to reorient himself. “So, how did you wind up getting into that? It’s not the sort of hobby kids your age would normally pick up.”

Penny watched the easy going humor pass back and forth between the family and couldn’t help the longing the rose up within her. She missed that level of comfort with others yet at the same time she was glad she didn’t have a false family to live under. Her actual mom and dad were still alive after all, even if she couldn’t see them again.

“I’ve always been a fan of computers” she would reply after enjoying the first bite of her own burger, she also resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the age comment “Not really sure where it first started, they just always did. Messing with machines started when I was seven, I think. I had found an old Commodore 64 in the basement. It was my dad’s, but I didn’t know that at the time, I just wanted to know why it looked so weird for a keyboard and started taking it apart. Later my mom had found me surrounded by all the bits and pieces of it with a paper and some crayons trying to map everything out.”

“Dad found it hilarious, and helped me put it back together. It didn’t work, but that was also why it was tucked away in the basement. After that I started taking allsorts of things apart before putting them back together, or at least trying to.” She would explain rubbing the back of her neck at the final addition “took apart the toaster once but couldn’t get to go back together correctly” she would add with shrug sheepish smile.

“What about you two?” Penny would ask after another bite of her food “What kinda hobbies do you enjoy?”

Penny’s explanation was received with an unsuspecting sincerity, though for her part Alicia suspected that it wasn’t all entirely true. But her parents didn’t know about the magical girl thing, so why would they have a reason to doubt her close friend?

The topic swinging around, her mother was the first to answer. “Oh, nothing too major. Jigsaw puzzles, knitting, some zumba,” she offered with a somewhat dismissive wave. They were fairly sedate, especially when compared with computers, or Alicia’s after school activities as far as they knew.

“Model trains, when I’m not gardening,” Roger answered in turn. “My set up is in the basement. I’d be glad to show it to you after dinner if you want.”

“Ah, I’m a fan of Zumba as well” Penny would exclaim with a smile “Mom made sure that I had something physical to do to off-set my computer habits. Zumba and martial arts are the two I stuck with.” She would add, lying through her teeth “And I’ve never seen a full model train set up sounds interesting enough. Do you have to put the trains together first?”

“Some of them, though usually it’s just the paint and the wheels, if that,” Roger answered, pleased to find that there was someone interested in his hobby. Both of the other members of the family were used to it by now, so genuine interest was a rare experience.

Her mother was intrigued by the other part of what Penny said. “Oh? What kind of martial arts?” she asked, before glancing over at the other magical girl. “Alicia did Karate for a year or two, but eventually she decided that it wasn’t the thing for her.”

Perking up, Alicia nodded, about halfway done with her first burger at this point. “The relaxation and directing energy stuff comes in handy though.”

“Aikido is the one I enjoy the most but I hopped around for a while trying out different styles.” Penny would explain after swallowing another large bite of her burger “I was hoping to find someone that could teach me Jeet Kune Do, but there wasn’t anyone in my last city that could.”

The parents nodded, though to be honest they didn’t really know what either of those things were. But it sounded interesting, and that was good enough for them.

“I see.” After a moment Alicia’s mother took the conversation on a different tack. “Still, it’s nice to meet you. It seemed like Alicia was always so busy with after school activities or helping out at the community center. Just spending time with friends is a nice change of pace.”

That caused the girl in question to roll her eyes. “Mooom,” she protested. “It’s not that bad. I’m usually spending time with friends at those things anyway.”

“She’s got a point though Alicia. Yeah, most of the time your there with friends, but as they say: All work and no play, makes Alicia a dull girl” Penny would tease in a singsong voice.

“Traitor,” Alicia grumbled as she leaned over to give a light karate chop to Penny’s arm. That would teach her for siding with her parents.

And speaking of said parents, her mother was looking quite pleased with her friend’’s input. “See, Penny gets it.” She gestured towards Penny before her gaze fixed upon Alicia in turn. “I mean, at this rate I’m never going to have grandkids.”

“....” Alicia started to sink into her seat. God, kill her now.

Penny chose to show her age and maturity and just stuck out her tongue at Alicia before returning to her food.

Only to start choking on her next bite, due to the massively unexpected comment from Alica’s Mom. “She’s only a teen, isn’t that a bit early to be expecting grandkids!?” She’d near demand incredulously once she got the offending food dealt with.

Smiling, Alicia glanced over at her friend and the support that came with it. Not that it would make much of a difference, but it was appreciated nonetheless.

“Calm down, it’s just a joke,” her mother assured Penny. “I mean I wouldn’t mind it in the future, but I’m not in a rush.” She was perfectly willing to let Alicia chart her own course. Romance was not something that one could hurry along. At least not in her mind.

Huffing, Alicia finished eating and reached across to get another burger for herself. Maybe that would help her recovering heart.

“Right” Penny would say somewhat shakily before blatantly shifting topics “What kind of Movies do you all like?”

---

Dinner had continued well enough after moving past the embarrassment that had happened. Penny had made sure to spend a bit of time to take a look at the model train set Rodger had set up in the basement but didn’t stick around for long. It was too tempting for her to break it all apart.

“Well that was… A thing” Penny would comment once they were back in Alicia’s room, not really sure how else to call it seeing as she had completely the wrong upbringing to even try. “They often like that?” she wondered as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine coming on, and with it all of the other little irritants she had been ignoring so far were going to become unbearable.

She sat down on Alicia’s bed suddenly looking very, very, haggard. She needed to drop her disguise for a bit before it fell apart.

“Yeah,” Alicia confirmed as she joined her friend in resting for a moment on the bed. “Sometimes it’s annoying, but the rest of the time it isn’t too bothersome. You gotta take the good with the bad when it comes to family.”

Glancing over at her friend, she couldn’t help but notice Penny’s state. It had been a long day for her, so it wasn’t too hard to surmise that she might need a bit to reset and work out the kinks of her monstrous nature. “Looks like this is as good a time as any for that special treat you brought,” she observed. Then she paused, waiting to see if Penny would agree with her. It felt odd to be the one to go for the drinking first, but there didn’t seem to be a reason to not indulge, not with what they had both been through the past couple of days.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah..” Penny would say bringing herself back to the present “Kinda funny, actually, Rina was the one who gave me the idea.” She would explain more for the sake of talking then anything. It gave her something to focus on other then her body starting to reject the disguise. “Though I doubt it was intentional. She mentioned wanting a drink after the Stadium incident, and I figured that I could probably order some from Laat. I was right but he only had stuff that was also flammable so it’s strong.” She stood up from her pack holding the two large water bottles she had stashed at the bottom. She started turning towards Alicia before she stopped as she wobbled a bit.

“Damn…” She cursed as the migraine flared up “Mind if I borrow your roof for a bit?” She would ask static lacing her voice softly “It’s the only place I can think of that I could hide out for a bit without being noticed.”

Oh, I see. It didn’t seem like your normal thing anyway so I guess now I know where that came from,” Alicia replied. When asked, she moved over to the window and slid it open, before popping out the screen to give them access to the exterior of the house. Having done so, she retrieved some of the candy and other snacks to bring with her.

With those items in hand, she rejoined Penny at the window. “Just be careful. It’s not exactly an easy exit,” she informed her. That was why Alicia went first, making the jump over and up to the rooftop. That way she could grab Penny if there was any trouble from her current state.

Penny let her friend lead the way, not really surprised that Alicia had left through the window before, she was a Magical Girl after all. When she followed after it was notably slower, more of a wall crawl then a jump, as Penny was in no mood to fall. It wouldn’t hurt much but trying to explain things would be a pain.

When she reached the roof she gently sat down before slowly letting her disguise unravel. She took it slowly on purpose trying to minimize the sound and lights that came with revealing her true form.

When at last she was completely out of her disguise, Penny gave a sigh of relief. Already she could feel the tension in her frame being soothed away. “Whelp, we’ve got a bit before I can power down again.” She would say as the top two of her extra limbs popping out to help hold things.

She unscrewed the cap on one of the bottles and took a swig before grimacing “Still tastes nasy” She took another swig anyway “Mind if I ask a question?”

Joining Penny atop the roof, Alicia sat down next to her as she watched the monster girl transform back into her normal form. She had become used to the mesh of human and machine, and relaxed comfortably as she joined in unscrewing the cap off of the other bottle before taking a sip.

First there was a grimace and then a cough, the magical girl left taking deep breaths as she glanced at the label with her eyes watering. “God, it burns,” she hissed. “I have to get used to drinking this stuff again.”

Alicia decided to recover before having another go at it, her head tilting over to look at Penny as she propped herself up with her arms. ”Sure, go for it.” It wasn’t like they had much else to do at the moment besides chat.

Penny took a moment to just watch the city off in the distance before she spoke up “Why did you decide to join the community?” She would take a glance at Alicia as she asked “And did it turn out as you were expecting it too?”

A sigh escaped in response to Penny’s question, one that was filled with memory as opposed to exasperation. Alicia’s gaze turned to the horizon and the city beyond as well, as she reflected on how it had happened. “Well, this Puchuu showed up, said one of my ancestors was this important magical girl and that I should follow in her footsteps and that they really needed help. At the time I was kind of a wanderer, looking for meaning, for purpose in my life. So I figured this could be it. And being able to protect people from the monsters under the bed, that made for a nice incentive too.”

Having described her reasons, she moved on to her impression of the whole thing. ”As for expectations, not entirely. I figured we’d just fight monsters and darkness, one big sisterhood. I didn’t expect all the dumb politics and mistrust and world ending apocalyptic threats to go with that stuff. It can get….frustrating, at times.” She took another sip of the vodka, doing better at it this time even if it still tasted bad. But at least she didn’t have a coughing fit this time around.

“Sounds like you” Penny would agree with a rueful chuckle before taking another pull from her bottle. She could tell already she would need a lot more for the alcohol to actually have much of an effect on her. She was also of two minds on that fact. “I wish I could say I joined for the same reason, but I don’t really remember my first night in the community and from what I can figure about Laat I doubt I was actually given a choice.” she just shrugged in a ‘what can ya do’ way.

“Not from Penrose to start, came from East Drake City, but politics is everywhere sadly. Makes me wonder what could get done if everyone united for more then just stopping the apocalypses” she took a couple of the hard candies she had brought, but rather then eat them she slowly started to grind away at one of them with her fingers, slowly turning into so much sugary dust.

Alicia could only frown as Penny explained her own entry. Somehow she wasn’t surprised by that, though perhaps it was merely because her friend was a monster girl. She couldn’t think of too many people who would voluntarily want to be stuck like that, having to do all of the things that she did on a daily basis.

Hearing about the politics caused her to take a longer drink, the burn from it reflecting the anger in her own heart. “No kidding, but it’ll probably never happen,” she grumbled. God, she was going to need a lot more of this vodka to distract herself from this nonsense.

Nonetheless, she elaborated. ”It just gets so ridiculous. Like yeah, we do go overboard, I get that. But people fall for that ‘woe is me, I was an innocent girl unjustly attacked by Beacon’ schtick way too much. They’ll tolerate us during the apocalypse, but after that it’s right back to how things were. Like that girl from the hospital. Shannon, I think she said her name was? She just waltzes in to shut down the fight, even after we point out that there’s a legitimate reason for the fight this time. And people think that we’re pretentious.”

Her speech was interrupted by the necessity of another drink before she continued. I was the only way to deal with the rising anger. ”Just...if everyone’s so pissy with us, then why don’t they just point us towards the actually bad girls who go after humans? Why don’t they accept purification? I think I’ve had one Dark Magical Girl voluntarily accept purification, and she became a DMG this morning.”

Another sigh escaped as she slumped, head coming to rest on the roof as she laid there with her simmering anger. “Sorry. It just feels good to get that out.”

“I know how it feels when you need to vent, and hey, you’ll hear no complaints from me” Penny took another drink from her bottle focusing on the burn of it for the moment it lingered. “I mean, I know just how dangerous I can be and I’m only half monster most days. Going full monster just adds to my understanding of why Beacon is needed. That mindset is terrifying, to say nothing of what I could do if left unaccounted for.”

With a flex of her hand the candies in it were reduced to powder instantly. Brushing off the mess on her leg she reached over and grabbed another handful of the replacement nails slowly grinding them down as well. “At the same time I can see where they are coming from. Part of it, I feel, is that not a lot of the girls on the streets know that Beacon can purify them. Lots of rumours and hearsay for sure, but none of the ones I’d met could say they met someone who was purified.” She would explain, pulling from her own experiences before joining up with Beacon. “Hell, Janet is still the only one I know of”

She took a moment to stop and drink before continuing on “It makes it hard to try and seek help. Especially when most DMGs and MonGs are attacked on sight. It ends up seeming like a life or death choice regardless if it’s true or not. As for why they don’t point you at the girl’s that are actually causing trouble? Who knows, maybe they think they can do a better job at redeeming them?” she took another pull from her bottle “Not that they have a good chance at it, but what else can I say?”

Alicia grunted as Penny provided her reasoning, eyes adjusting to the point where she could make out the pinpricks of stars in the night sky. She knew there were legitimate reasons for this fear, but it still ate at her that in spite of all their efforts and everything they did, they couldn’t make any headway.

“I guess,” she conceded with a groan, a hand falling over her face as she swirled the vodka in its bottle. ”We need to hire a PR firm or something. Cause all it takes is a fake sob story and the regular magical girls snap it up like gullible idiots. Meanwhile we get our HQ blown up and no one bats an eye.” It wasn’t the worst idea, though there were some obvious difficulties to that sort of plan. Oh well, she could wish.

“Well with what we just got through, I doubt as many people will be so willing to look down on Beacon. You were the first responders, the main force behind repelling it and the clean up crew for the mess at the Graveyard.” Penny would offer “Gotta think that would bring in some good will” She would take snag another candy, popping it into her mouth this time before crunching away at it before washing it down with a draw from her bottle.

Alicia joined Penny in downing more of her vodka, the buzz starting to kick in a bit past the burning that almost made her eyes water. ”God, that fight,” she said with another groan. She should feel good about it, they had stopped the end of the world after all. But she couldn’t bring herself to be content with how it had happened. ”If I ever get my hands on Regina or whoever it was that let them get away, they’re going to rue the day that they were born.”

Teeth grit as her cheeks flushed with that surging anger. With what they knew about Regina and her activities, and what they had been able to learn about the other who she had controlled at the graveyard, she was up for some payback. Especially since, deep down, she couldn’t help but blame herself. If she’d just been faster, stronger, if she hadn’t let Regina walk away that first time, none of this would have happened.

Her silence hung for several minutes, those thoughts working through her mind as her mood sagged. “Sometimes I wish I was like you. Yeah, there are downsides, but you’re so strong, and fast, and you take whatever gets thrown your way. Meanwhile I have a bow and get frozen in ice blocks.” Her face tore into a scowl as she glanced at the vodka. ”I just can’t help but think of how many people I could save if I had that kind of ability.”

“Regina just up and fled from what I remember” Penny would say vividly recalling her stare down of the shadowed flames that would have killed her. “But I’ll hold her down for you. When we catch her.” She promised with a cruel smile. Penny didn’t have much against Ragina personally, she felt that mind control was abhorrent sure. But she’d never actually talked with the Monster Queen, Elroy on the other hand “At least her brother won't be causing any more issues.” That was a hate born purely from conflict, but one she had been glad to bring to an end, as unsatisfying of an end as it was.

Penny ended up draining most of her bottle in the silence that followed. And was still both annoyed and relieved to find that her regen had countered the effects of the alcohol near instantly. She was contemplating just how much she’d have to drink to get a buzz when Alicia spoke up again.

“You..” Penny started a cruel temptation nearly spilling forth, before she shook her head and starting over. “You’ve also got your Light” Penny would add turning to look at her friend. “That’s not something I can really equal up to. Yeah I’m effective in a fight, but all of those capabilities end when I’m off the battlefield. You? You inspire people, you lead people. I’m barely good enough to keep myself in one piece.”

“I wonder though…” Penny would add softly “If there was someway one could be both purified and a Monster.” It was a thought that Penny had had before, for as much as she didn’t want to admit it aloud, she had grown to like being inhuman.

Lingering on the topic of Regina, Alicia shook her head to clear up events for her friend. ”I tried to use my magic on her while the others went in to hit her, but someone deflected it so I missed. That’s why she was able to get away as easily as she was.” And there was no way it could have been Regina herself. She didn’t have that kind of power before.

She appreciated the effort to try and cheer her up, and she was glad that Elroy was gone. But she couldn’t quite seem to pull herself out of that hole, especially as the effect of the alcohol pushed her further down it. Unlike Penny, she wasn’t quite so immune. She was nigh motionless, listless eyes roaming over the stars above.

”I guess,” she huffed, unable to meet Penny’s gaze. ”Still, I use one big spell and I’m tapped out for hours. You just keep going and going. And I’d feel better if my main accomplishment was more than just being a nice person. Having a sense of decency shouldn’t be treated as something special.”

“That's just great…” Penny grumbled upon learning about Regina having allies, before finishing off the rest of her Vodka before starting to munch away at the bottle, figuring it would be easier than keeping it hidden.

Her personal gripes didn’t hold much weight when faced with Alicia’s mood though. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder “I…” she trailed off, not really sure what to say. She wasn’t really capable of offering up much help when it came to magic. “I can be your training dummy” She offered up, the only idea she could really think of “As you said I can take a lot and just keep going. That way you can get feedback on what works and what doesn’t.”

Penny suggesting being a target dummy was certainly not what Alicia had planned would come from this conversation, and she was left unsure as to how she should respond at first. ”Wait, what?” This did prompt her to shift, glancing over at the monster girl leaning against her.

”No way, no way,” she said in a sharp refusal. ”I’m not going to use a friend as a training dummy. That’s what the actual training dummies are for.” A light nudge accompanied her statement, just to get the point across.

Her mind was focused, yet it did wander a bit as a strand of thought intruded. ”Actually, while we’re on the subject, what happened to your arms, during the fight against Elroy? I didn’t think he could do that.”

Penny raised a hand in surrender, willing to let the idea drop if Alicia wanted to. She’d keep working on other ideas in the meantime. “Training partner then”

“Normally I don’t think he would have been able to” Penny would answer glancing at one of the spider legs that she had out “But these didn’t come standard, they were my first modification actually” Reaching out Penny grabbed on to the limb furthest away from Alicia and waited. Shortly after there was a sound of something being unscrewed at a high rate. With a grimace Penny detached the limb and held it up so Alicia could look at it.

“I can’t conjure metal, and it takes me a long time to enchant it as well. So I traded for some. Got gypped though, as it turns out the metal I got was enchanted by Elroy.” She would explain “That’s what gave him the chance to blindside me with it, otherwise I should have been able to notice him trying to influence my parts.”

“Still” She reattached the Spiderleg “I’m not going to have to worry about that happening again regardless. Stole his trick to seal off metal from external influence.”

”Training partner sounds good,” Alicia agreed with a smile, giving Penny a thumbs up in the process. That was a lot better than just using her as a target and nothing more. At least it made her feel better to think of it that way.

Watching Penny mess with her various augmentations was nothing new for Alicia at this point, so she was fairly calm as Penny explained what had happened while removing her leg in the process. So, that was what had gone down? She didn’t read much more into it than there seemed to be on the face surface. ’Ah. Well as long as it doesn’t happen again then I guess we’re good,” she conceded. ”Besides, he got his just desserts in the end anyway. And his sister will soon too if we can ever find her.” Unfortunately, finding her was the hard part.

As for the source of this barter, she didn’t ask. She was too distracted by her own thoughts, and the effects of the vodka, to really consider it. Whether that was lucky for Penny or not.

“That he did” Penny would agree warmed but the trust Alicia showed by not digging into the trade that Penny made. She was also uncomfortably aware of her Black Coin, knowing that it too had come from that deal brought up a fresh source of guilt over it. “And she can’t stay hidden forever. You’ll find her.”

“Here, let me take care of that” Penny would say plucking the other bottle of vodka out of Alicia’s hands before draining and eating it as well. Unvoiced was the belief that Alicia had likely had enough to drink tonight.

A quick check told Penny that she would be able to reply her disguise and keep it up till everyone went to sleep, but she was enjoying sitting up here with Alicia. And wasn’t wanting to head back in just yet.

”Oh, okay,” Alicia conceded with a small frown. She didn’t think she had had too much, but made no move to stop Penny as she devoured the other bottle of vodka wholesale. Now that was weird to look at, even more than the leg. But she merely shrugged, and went back to laying down on the roof.

Silence descended, fully in the act of enjoying company with her friend as they rested on top of the roof. It was a good night to be out, with only a few clouds in the sky. She was able to watch the stars, twinkling lights in the sky far above. They were pure, untainted. Though the light from the city around her meant that it was hard to discern them in their full glory. And as she watched them a question rose to her mind. Unbidden, but there anyway.

”Hey Penny,” she asked without turning away from the view above. ”If there are actually aliens up there in outer space, do you think they have magical girls too?”

It was early. The sun had only just risen over the horizon and most people were still asleep. Penny was wide awake though. Her lowered need for sleep was normally seen as a blessing, but for today it had given her several hours of silent contemplation of all the various ways that what she was about to do could go horribly, horribly wrong.

That hadn’t swayed her from her choice, running away from a problem never solved it, and tended to hurt the ones you ran from. So here she stood, on the Back porch of Alicia’s house, watching the sunrise waiting for Alicia to wake up.

With a yawn, Alicia awoke from her slumber. Her rest had been well enough, especially when one considered the night that had led into it. There were no nightmares to talk about, and she rose feeling refreshed and ready to face the day.

Glancing over, a frown appeared as she noticed that the bed next to hers was not occupied by Penny. Had she chosen to leave early? Had something happened? She trusted that she could take care of herself if there was some sort of difficulty, but that did not stop her from worrying to some degree.

At the very least it couldn’t hurt to check, she resolved, and with her mind made up she rose from her bed to do a sweep of the house. It was not difficult to locate Penny, standing on the back porch and staring at the rising sun. “Hey,” she said aloud, announcing her presence as she walked up to her friend, “Early morning routine?”

“Something like that” Penny would say as she turned to look at her friend with a half hearted smile “I haven't been able to sleep more than four hours a night since I joined the community. So I tend to be a early riser” She would explain with a shrug. She was mostly sure it didn’t have anything to do with her physiology as she had met some other magicals that also didn’t need as much sleep as normal and by this point it was another thing she had just gotten used too.

There was a pause as Penny fidgeted with something in her pocket “How about you? Waking up with the sun a personal habit or community focused?” she would ask as she turned back to watch the changing sky.

“Community focused,” Alicia assured her. She was still a bit tired, but that would be shaken off soon enough. “Well, that and when I woke up you weren’t in the room, so I figured I’d check and see if you had left.” That sleep thing sounded useful, and there were definitely times she wished she could do the same. But compared to everything else she wanted, that was a relatively minor desire.

Looking back out to the horizon, Alicia was comfortable in her own home. “Mom and Dad will be up soon. We can have breakfast then, unless you’re really hungry,” she offered after a few minutes of silence.

“I can wait for food” Penny would reply before taking a breath. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about regardless” she would say as she moved to sit against the house “It’s community related” she would added once again fiddling with something in her pocket “And it’s not something I’m proud of, but you deserve to know. And I didn’t want it to get sprung on you out of nowhere, ‘cause it almost did. It was stupid, a terrible idea and…” Penny forced a breath out through her teeth. She was rambling. The one nervous habit she always had.

“What I’m trying to say is I messed up, and I know that.” She said with a sigh of defeat, as she pulled whatever it was she had been fiddling with out of her pocket and held it in her hand as tightly as she could “And I’m sorry” she turned her hand over and slowly opened it. In the center of her hand lay a small piece of inky darkness. It was circular, perfectly smooth as well as flat. It was unmistakable to anyone who was part of the magical world.

It was a Black Coin.

Penny’s entire body was rigid with tension and her eyes were fixed on the rising sun as she awaited Alicia’s reaction.

For a moment Alicia didn’t comprehend what she saw. It was evident when she did, her body stiffening as her eyes widened. The almost desperate thought that this was a dream raced across her mind, a sign of her disbelief made manifest.

That couldn’t be,...

There was no way…

Yet it was, and her stiff body snapped into action as she scrambled backwards, staring at Penny with eyes that made no secret of her disbelief, and the hurt. There was no question of how, or of the time. There was only one thing she wanted to know, and that was: why? The fact that Penny had apologized didn’t matter, not with something this important. As a member of Beacon, she was acutely aware of what having that coin meant. And suddenly, things were making a lot more sense.

Just as quickly, the shutters came down in a glare. “Explanation. Now,” she said at last, words practically spat out in anger. “Or I swear to the Spark I will end this alliance right here, without hesitation.”

“He Who Brushes Away The Old, can’t be trusted,” she started softly; Alicia’s reaction hurt, but it was the best she could have hoped for. “And He has already called off the alliance, just didn’t bother telling anyone.”[/color] Penny’s voice was surprisingly even in light of the crime she was admitting too. One could almost trick themselves into thinking Penny was fine were it not for her shaking hands and softly glowing eyes.

“He...Doesn’t care. About anything other than change. Beacon is something he’s been targeting for a long time, but the Mint is just as much as a target for him.” She began, closing her hand to hide the coin from sight, but made no move to return it to her pocket. “He pointed a Broker in my direction, I don’t know when, but I met them the night of the gas station incident. I was worried, for Thalia,” her voice cracked as she said her lost friend’s name, and took a moment before pushing on, “and the potential fallout of her full transformation. Beacon hadn’t yet openly started to move away from their hard stance and I had fallen for her. It was a mistake, made worse by the fact she ran away once she woke up, but that one’s on me for assuming she trusted me.” Tears were silently running down Penny’s face as she spoke, but she kept her voice clear and her legs still. She would not run, no matter how much it hurt.

“I only met the Broker a few times, as she became my handler as well, but it was how I got the metal to build my extra limbs and a couple of other things. Mostly I kept them as far away as I could. Wanted to tell them to go to hell, but hard to do when your Patron says otherwise.” A useless shrug. The reason felt hollow to Penny, but it was the only one she had to offer. “Last time I saw them was just the other morning, I was following a lead, as one of the things I added to my debt was information that could possibly help me find Thalia, or at least find out what happened to her.”

“She, the handler, had a falling out with Mint. Don’t know what about, asked but didn’t get an answer. I had always assumed that few people knew about me in their organization, but Elroy made it sound like she told him, so any number of people could know. I decided that if anyone was going to tell you, it was going to be me, because at least this way you can get some closure rather than wondering.” The entire time she spoke she kept her gaze locked on the horizon. She didn’t want to face the hurt and betrayal that was almost certainly on Alicia’s face, the anger in her voice cut deep enough. “Once we're done here I’m planning on telling Sylvia. You deserved to know first though.”

Alicia was silent, her powers tapped as she listened to what Penny had to say. It was a good thing they were here, now. As a worse setting probably would have seen her already with her weapon drawn. All things considered she was being downright accommodating for someone who had just revealed themselves to be a member of the Mint. A different Beacon member probably would have gone straight to fighting, and skipped any attempted explanation.

As much as she hated to admit it, things did make some sense. How Penny had been acting recently, what had happened in the graveyard. The fact that Laat had already called off the alliance wasn’t even that much of a surprise. It was just another bad thing to happen to Beacon recently. They were just lucky that this had been revealed before they had been stabbed in the back (again).

She was silent, still, focused intently as Penny went about her explanation. She wanted to make sure that there was no lie, that she had not missed something important. She wanted to trust Penny, but after this revelation that she had missed so completely she couldn’t take the chance.

At least she knew the ‘when’ now, and the ‘why’. It didn’t make things easier, but it was useful. But she continued to focus on what was really important here. Sylvia would definitely want to know anyway, regardless of how this ended. “Why now?” she asked at last. “Clearly your patron didn’t approve of this, so why the sudden honesty?” If she just wanted to give an explanation to salve her conscience before they went back to being enemies, then that was fine, but Alicia had the feeling there was more to it than that.

“Because I’m tired, for one” Penny would answer after a few moments “Tired of Him using me for his deals, tired of lying by omission to you and Janet, tired of waiting for everything to blow up in my face.” It was the truth she had come to face at the graveyard, before she had stepped away from her humanity “I also don’t want my mistakes to condemn other monster girls again. The ones like Kimble, who don’t mean harm. They don’t deserve me tearing down their hope, with my idiocy, not when it’s still new.”

Penny stalled, as she debated for a moment, on whether or not to voice her last reason. It didn’t take long as shaking her head she knew she had too, any deception here no matter how small was to much to risk. “I’ve also started crushing on you, rather hard.” Penny finished softly not wanting to elaborate.

She felt sick, and resisted the urge to curl up. It was an ugly truth that most of Penny’s reasons were selfish. She had been forced to find a way to survive on her own ever since she had joined the magical community, but having actually spoken the reasons aloud she couldn’t escape how much she sounded like her parton, and she hated that association so much right now.

Once again Alicia fell silent as Penny explained what had brought about her change of attitude. Once again her powers worked, trying to discern if there was some sort of lie, but finding none beneath the reasons were understandable, especially since she knew that Penny had had problems with Laat from their past conversations.

The last thing said caused her eyes to widen in surprise yet again, and to stiffen. This was not exactly the best way to learn that someone had a crush on you, and now it just had to make things more complicated. A sigh escaped, her head bowing slightly. They would just have to talk about that later, when they had figured out what was even going to happen to Penny. It was too much to handle right now.

“Okay, I see,” she replied at last. She couldn’t let her feelings get in the way of her judgment. She just had to continue on. “What has the Mint had you do for them since you began to work for them?”

“Nothing really, I’ve been more of a scout really, sending off Information I’ve found. I tended to stick to pictures of Beckoners and defunct patrol routes, whatever was the least useful,” Penny answered with a grimace; she was never fully sure that she was feeding bad information or not. Never asked, to keep herself safe. “I’ve still got a backup of everything I’ve sent off and can give it to you later.”

Back In the house there would be the sounds of the parents getting up signaling they were running low on time to speak privately. Penny would finally break her gaze away from the horizon to glance at the house before looking to Alicia. Silently asking how she wanted to handle this.

There was some consolation in the fact that Penny had not given anyway anything particularly important, aside from perhaps the roster list from Beckoners. But they weren’t exactly a secret organization, so even that was not too big of a deal.

“Do that,” she agreed with Penny before glancing back into the house. They were almost out of time. “One last thing: I just need you to tell me that this was not your idea, and you did not want to harm Beacon. Those exact words, no deviation,” she told Penny. The answer was pretty clear already, but she needed to confirm it with her powers, for the sake of completeness.

Once that had been done she sighed, rising to her feet. “I believe you,” she told Penny. “Let’s go back inside, I need to arrange the meeting with Sylvia so we can handle this mess.” And she would do just that, heading inside and back up to her room. Once she was there she would fire off a text message on her phone.

To: Sylvia

We need to talk asap. Where/when can you meet?

That done, she returned to join the rest of the family for breakfast as she waited for a response.

---

Later during the day, Sylvia, Alicia and Penny were at a Chinese restaurant, the former having invited them over after they agreed on meeting up. Sylvia had that day off, with Sally working as her substitute, and she decided they would go eat something spicy.
“These spring rolls are delicious,” she commented with a smile, not seemingly having noticed the tension in the air between the latter two. “Especially after a job well done; we didn’t lose any civilians in that mess.” However, after she took another look at the two, her expression turned somber.
“...I figured this wasn’t a normal date; nobody asks to meet their boss for casual reasons. I can tell when something has happened. Well, what is it?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, having put her spring roll aside.

The Chinese restaurant was nice, and were the purpose of the meeting not so serious Alicia would have liked to have taken more time to enjoy it. As it was, it seemed like only Sylvia was able to enjoy herself when it came to the gravity of this situation. And that probably wouldn’t last.

As they at last turned to business, she took a deep breath before her gaze met that of her boss while her hands rested on the wooden lacquered table. “Right, it is,” she assured Sylvia. “As of this morning I’m dissolving the alliance between Beacon and Laat'AlOfan. Penny, tell her what you told me.” She gave a small nod in the direction of the girl next to her without looking at her. Not just yet anyway.

At the full use of Her Patron’s name Penny couldn’t help but flinch. He would be watching now, and she knew it, but it there was nothing she could do about that. Taking a deep breath she would once again reveal the Black Coin she had, and place it on the table. “He wasn’t content on having me work with just Beacon.” She would begin as she watched Sylvia. “He contacted the Mint and directed them to me. I don’t know when He spoke to them, but I was approached by a Broker a week before the assault on Justine’s castle. I was an Idiot,” She would tap the coin for emphasis “And since then I have been sending small, hopefully useless, packets of information to them about Beacon to work off the debt that I acquired due to His demands.”

“I’ve received little from the Mint, mostly hard to aquire supplies and information. Recently my contact with Mint has had a falling out with them, a few days ago. I don’t know what caused it, or why and I haven’t been contacted by anyone else from the Mint yet.” She would take a drink from her water before continuing as the next few words had the greatest chance of drawing Laat’s ire “I am tired of being used as a pawn in His schemes, and don’t want my stupidity to hurt the chances of other monster girls now that you have started moving away from a hard kill stance.”

The moment she was done speaking she could feel a droning static start to build in her head. He was annoyed at her choice of actions, but nothing more would come of it yet.

“...”

Contrary to what one might have expected, Sylvia didn’t seem to show any shock or surprise in her expression. In fact, it seemed as if she had expected it, or at the very least, went to great effort to conceal it on her part; whether it was intuition, or years of experience in her job, she immediately understood the gravitas of her confession. She glanced in Alicia’s direction, acknowledging her, before her gaze locked on to Penny. And then, she sighed heavily.

“...The God of Change, huh? What were they thinking?” She leaned back on her seat, having crossed her arms, and gave an angry glare at Penny. “Penny, do you understand the situation you are in right now?” She looked down at the Black Coin, and seemed to hold back from gritting her teeth. “Even mere possession of a Black Coin is grounds for elimination.” She averted her eyes. “But, it sounds like your Patron was the deciding factor in your betrayal. Ugh…”

She sighed again. “You know, the last time a traitor came to us asking for forgiveness, it turned into a disaster. The news of it leaked instantly, thanks to those damn spies the Penrose Independent had planted in our organization. This won’t be any different. In fact, it will turn worse; Beacon will lose all faith in the reformation, and we will regress back to the old ways.”

Her arms slumped down to her sides, and her eyes seemed to stare into space.
“...I still remember that day…” She suddenly spoke up.
“When I found you in the Overcity. You were a real pain in the butt to put back together, what with all your pieces lodged in the ice and whatnot. But there...I touched your heart.” She slowly placed one hand on the table.

“And what I felt...It was unlike any monster girl’s, and not because it was metallic; I felt a bright light in there, full of hope.” She lifted the hand to her own chest. “I still believe in that Penny, the one who fought to protect others, who risked her life for it. And for that reason...” She stood up from her seat. “I won’t order you eliminated. Nor will I hold a trial.” She placed both hands on the table. “However, In return, I will ask for one thing, and one thing only…” She took a deep breath.

“Forfeit your Patron...And join Beacon as a full member.”

Penny did not hide her surprise at Sylvia’s words, she had come here expecting much, much worse. Yet she could not help the brittle smile that formed on her face. She placed her hand over the Black Coin so there would be no chance of losing it. “I would have abandoned him and joined Beacon along time ago if I could” She declared sadly.

A moment later she would let out a hiss of pain as the droning static became piercing nails across her mind. “All who serve him directly are bound to him” she would continue through grit teeth “And he guards the secrets of freedom jealousy, willingly sabotages us as well so that we can’t break free of his grasp.” As she continued to speak, things would start to break all around them. Glasses would crack and plates would split. Even the table between them would groan as it started to warp.

Meanwhile Penny could feel the Monster within her trying to stir. Her body started to itch and her skin would feel too tight. Her emotions would start to dull, some on the verge of shutting down. All the while the sharp static pain would start to throb as if someone was hammering the nails in deeper. “If…” Words hurt to form and the desire for freedom was slowly fading “...You can help me…” She was looking at Alicia now, Penny couldn’t remember turning to look at her “...I’m yours.”

Sylvia’s gaze turned more stern as Penny struggled with the destructive influence Laat had on her, and bit the corner of her lip as she saw how as she attempted to resist the urge, her presence alone was enough to dismantle the dishes. She wrapped her hand around the one holding the Black Coin, holding it firmly as she looked her deep in the eye with compassionate eyes. “I know a way. It will be risky, and there is a chance you might die...But you can be freed from your curse.”

Silently listening to the conversation, things were going much better than Alicia had feared that they might. She hadn’t even needed to try and persuade Sylvia, with both of them knowing the challenges that this represented. It was a whole different business from what had happened with Janet, because the Mint was a whole different beast. And too rapid change would destroy everything.

But it seemed they were going forwards with this, and she was pleased to find Penny fully willing to join them. Not that she was particularly surprised by that either, but for some time it had felt like nothing was truly certain any more. Not that Laat approved, if the rising commotion in the diner was any indication of his feelings.

Meeting Penny’s pained eyes, Alicia smiled warmly as she took her friend’s other hand, mind already catching on to what Sylvia had in mind. If she thought that it could work, then who was she to doubt the plan? “Well, it’s not like you have any better options,” she noted aloud, giving her hand a soft squeeze. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

Penny held the warm gaze coming from Alicia. Willing herself to get lost in the other girls' eyes, stoking what little emotion she could to stave the other side of her existence off. She would nod slowly as determination would crystalize within her. She would turn to Sylvia. “I’ll…” the world would nearly dissolve in to static as pain blindsided her.

For a moment her world narrowed down to pain and a nearly overwhelming desire to rampage, her cursed mind being kicked into overdrive by a vindictive God, but the contact with Alicia and Sylvia helped in grounding her. Allowing her to focus on the savage, human, glee she felt at truly pissing off Laat. “Do... It” it was hard to say if it was a continuation or a demand as her voice crackled with static and the rate of of wanton destruction would increase.

It was easy to see her disguise was barely being held together. Her eyes were glowing ominously and most of the color had drained away from her skin and hair. Additionally her gaze would flicker back and forth between a vacant stare and a baleful glare. Penny had otherwise fallen unresponsive, though oddly compliant. She would follow if one of them pulled her along and would generally stay where she was if left alone.

She was placing her life in their hands. Hoping that her trust would be rewarded.

Overcast skies pressed down upon the world below, overbearing clouds hanging with uncommon gravity. Few people were out on the street at this time of day, the largely suburban area devoid of activity. A few cars streamed by, and some retirees worked on their gardens, but that was all. That was nice.

No one noticed then, when a raven-haired girl stepped out from the shadow of a telephone pole, dressed in attire that could only be considered gothic. Her eyes, obsidian chips, turned slowly to survey the area, before she soundlessly strode on. The destination had already been pre-programmed, and with confidence that stemmed from machine-like precision and recall, she strode down the street to a tarp-covered building. ‘Opening Soon’, it said, but none of the ignorant would notice it regardless. A confirmation request was sent to the Owner, and after a response was sent, the girl blinked.

The order was given.

She balled up her right hand and punched the door.

Knock.

The shop was incorporated into one of the upper floors of one of the buildings fairly close to the center of the city. It’s a floor that no stairs go to, the main and only entrance is from the balcony as to prevent the average member of the public from strolling in, but having landed on said balcony the signs were as clear as day as to the nature of this shop. Brittany Todd’s Magical Market, Opening Soon. There’d be a magical signpost here that announced its location to the magical denizens of Penrose when the time came, but for now, one had to know where it was to find it.

Within, a Magical Girl in witch-like attire excitedly ran around about hanging up her magical trinkets onto displays as well as writing and rewriting price tags over and over reconsidering multiple times, a wide smile on her lips, a purple ball of a floating creature with eyes, small limbs and a hanging mouth stalking behind her monotonously… until there was a knock on the door. She stopped short for a bit, looking curiously at the door, and then ran over to open it. The eyes of the Magical Girl practically glowed as she saw someone unknown outside.

‘Oh, hiiiiiiiii! Welcome to Brittany Todd’s Magical Market! I love the eagerness, but me and Agatha aren’t quite ready yet!’ Brittany started, smiling so brightly.

‘����� ���� ��������’ Agatha, the floating ball that was Brittany’s lesser force patron, said.

‘Still! How can I help you?’ Brittany asked, grinning and holding onto the door.

The gothic girl did not blink. She did not nod. She did not smile. She did not breathe. She said, in a voice inflectionless and emotionless, “I derive no small amount of moral pleasure from supporting local businesses, and would like to offer you a variety of wares to augment your current stock of arcane trinkets, if you are so inclined.”

‘Oh!?’ Brittany’s eyes widened and she took a step back for a moment looking up at the girl. Then she spun to Agatha, grabbing the tiny hands of the floating ball with glee. ‘Did you hear that, Agatha? She wants to support us! I’m so happy!’

‘�� ��� ��� �������� �����’ Agatha said.

‘Well, then,’ Brittany grinned, spinning back to the girl, her eyes shining a bit. ‘I’d be overjoyed to have your support! Come in! Oooh, we need to discuss this at length!’ she called, spinning back inside her shop to run to the table where a whole lot of magical items, some of which are explosive, were just lying about. She pushed a number aside to make room for other things on the table, then excitedly seated herself opposite of where she was clearly offering the girl to sit, Brittany excitedly leaning forward on her elbows as she watched her.

The gothic girl followed after Brittany. Momentarily, her irises burned silver, scanning over the disarray of magical artifacts, before blinking back into coal black. Taking the offered seat, she pulled out a small matchbox, sliding it open. It was empty.

“To begin with, let us confirm: what items do you mainly house within this establishment? Do you seek to have the widest selection possible, or do you desire specialization instead?” Questions curled out between those fine lips as if read off a manuscript, the girl’s eyes focused on nothing in particular.

‘Oh, I sell EVERYTHING!’ Brittany exaggerated proudly. ‘The idea is that I’ll sell stuff that’ll help magical girls or others in their fights against monsters and whatnot, but honestly, if it’s magical and I can get my hands on it, I’ll sell it!’ So the girl said, grinning happily, Agatha floating beside her head looking at their visitor.

If the gothic girl was taken aback by Brittany’s proud proclamations, she didn’t show it. Rather, she said, “Understood. We will begin with a sampler set then.”

And from the matchbox, she began to draw out objects one by one, placing each gently onto the table. A silvered arrowhead, thrumming like the plucked strings of a harp. A bottle of living ink, the contents slowly rising up the glass surface, only to seep down again. A mechanical heart, the clockwork gears ticking counterclockwise as it pulsated slowly. Her hand slowly turned so the palm faced upwards.

“Go ahead.”

‘Ooooooh. Okay, Agatha!’ Brittany said with a smile, leaning forward and raising a hand over the items. A bit of power went through her hand and the purple ball floated and looked over the items… and then finally it turned to look at her.

‘�� ��� �������� ������ ����������’ Agatha said.

‘Woah,’ Brittany made an impressed noise over the arrowhead. Then the bottle of ink.

‘�������� ��� ������������� �������’ Agatha continued.

‘… Nice!’ Brittany grinned over the ink-bottle. Finally the mechanical heart.

‘������� �� ������� ���� ���� ������’ Agatha finished.

‘S-seriously…!?’ Brittany’s eyes widened a bit, as she retrieved her hand. She looked at the girl a bit in awe.

‘Who are you…?’ she asked, amazed, not one who could withhold her emotions.

The gothic girl’s eyes became of gleaming silver once more, before fading away. No smile, no reflex in the face of the witch’s awe. “I am Dolly, a representative of the Gourd,” she said, dipping her head down slightly. “If you are satisfied with the quality of my Master’s wares, let us discuss their value.”

‘Ooooooh… I’ve heard of the Gourd… Alright,’ Brittany grinned. ‘Okay. What I think they’re worth. If I sold this…’ Brittany looked over at the bolt. ‘… Probably not a gold coin. However, quite a lot anyway. I’d say… 15 silvers, perhaps?’ She then looked over at the ink-bottle. ‘This one is cool, though has a narrow field of application. Let us say 7 or 8 silvers. This one, though…’ Brittany smirked holding her hand over the clockwork heart.

‘This one is universally desirable. One gold, as well as five silvers and ten bronze, perhaps?’ Brittany estimated and asked. She didn’t actually have experience as a shopkeeper, but she was running with her hunches.

“It doesn’t matter what you will sell it for,” Dolly replied, unmoving and unmoved, “We are here to discuss what you will buy it for. We care not for coinage, but rather...what can you offer that can not be obtained elsewhere?”

‘Oh, right, yeah,’ Brittany blinked as she realized she may have gone the wrong direction. ‘So, um. I’m a bit of an alchemist. With the right preparation, I can make you materials that could be hard to come by, otherwise. Um. I did collect a whole bunch of other potentially use- useful loot from monsters and such during my travels, that I could provide you. Otherwise, I have the support of Cindy, a monster-girl with following in-town, who, er, surely could do favors for me in exchange for my continued support, and could as such help you find what you’re looking for. Totally,’ Brittany said, looking at her guest wide-eyed.

‘So, would you like some reaper cloths? Imp claws? Raum talons? Pixie wings? Enhanced orichalcum? I don’t have much of the latter, but I could make more…’ Brittany tried some more concrete keywords, to see how Dolly would react.

There was a pause, an almost inaudible ‘whirring’ passing through the air. Then, Dolly nodded. “The viscera of rare beasts will be sufficient. For now, however, we would like you to acquire something for us. Days ago, Soth attempted a ritual, and though the Horror’s plans failed, there were pieces of it that remained. Obtain for us the Abyss’s ritual implements, prioritizing pieces from their altar.”

Silver gleamed in her eyes again, an uncommon inflection invading the gothic girl’s voice. “Will you be able to do that, Brittany?”

Brittany blinked a bit extra at the request. Surely, anything valuable at the scene would already have been plundered. However… ‘Agatha!’ Brittany briefly requested the help of her patron, holding both her hands into the air. Agatha, purple limbed ball with a face as he was, floated and placed himself in her grasp, before Brittany lowered her hands and held it in front of her. She focused on the ball that was her patron, and in her grasp, he became spherical and spun. Brittany charged her Psychic specialization, using Agatha as the Mystic Artifact he partly represented, and with that her eyes began to mildly glow with the visions she was being provided.

‘… Yeah!’ Brittany called, a little confident smile appearing on her lips. ‘I’ll get it for you. Be it sealed, hidden or even just lying around, I’ll get it for you. Anything that has been left behind, I’ll find it…!’ So she said, the visions still dancing before her eyes as she looked past them at Dolly.

The smile was unnatural, but it was there, the gothic girl nodding her head once more. From the Matchbox, she drew out five more items, laying them down onto the counter. “We will leave you with these then, and if you succeed, will continue to supply you with wares from the Workshop. May chance smile upon you, Brittany.”

With that, Dolly stood up, slid the Matchbox into the folds of her dress, and collapsed into sand. And within a couple of seconds, even that sand turned to nothingness.

The glow of Brittany’s eyes went away as Dolly drew out more items, the shopkeeper girl’s eyes following the items and then up to the girl again with awe as she spoke. Then, Brittany provided a simple, bright grin. ‘Got it! And on you, Dolly! You’re welcome back, anytime~!’ … And then Brittany was startled as Dolly turned into sand, which then also wasted away.

Brittany was quick on her feet, blinking a bit. Okay, first she examined the items she had been given. A few ‘Oooh’ and ‘Aaah’s later she put them away temporarily and checked so the alarm-system magic items she had was in-place on the store. Good. Then… ‘C’mon, Agatha! It’s been a while, but we’re going treasure hunting!’

‘���� ���� �� ����������� ��� ���������’ Agatha asked.

‘You bet!’ Brittany grinned as she replied, before the two was in a dash out the door to complete the objective they had been given. She was smiling the whole way. This whole store thing was going great! She had multiple suppliers now! Who would have thought!?

Following shortly after the granting of the wish of magical knowledge, which wasn’t quite how Janet had intended things to turn out, the knightly twins were invited to a private meeting with the Beckoners of Penrose chapter. The meeting was held at the Conference Hall of Righteous Destiny, conveniently next to the cafeteria. “Jenna and Janet, the Shield Binity,” the lead Beckoner addressed them as it stood on the table, resembling a purple unicorn plushie. “It is wonderful to see you have accomplished your task, and proven your loyalty. ” The other Beckoners nodded, and a tiny elephant Beckoner blew trumpet sounds out of its trunk. “The Red Coins indeed can shape the holy power of the chosen, leading to greater vigilance.” The lion Beckoner agreed with a nod. “We have also come to learn of you now possessing the power of instantaneous purification. We have devised of a way to harness this sacred gift.” One of the Beckoners activated an archaic projector, and pointed at an image displayed on the wall; it was a coin. “A new source of power for the Chosen.”

Looking at the projection for a moment Jenna spoke up. ”A coin, hmm. That probably would be safer than the potion we were thinking about.” She said looking at Janet who nodded in agreement.

”We haven't really had the chance to even make a potion yet. Going to have to research how that works. Do you think Binky would be willing to help?” Janet thought aloud. Aside from the Mint and their Black Coin there was only really one other that they knew of that had the potential to produce coins quality enough to transform an existing magical girl or boy. Mulling it over the two could probably figure it out on their own. But why reinvent the wheel when you can start with something you can already get a hold of.

The Beckoners nodded. “The poor lamb can indeed lend us her wisdom. Tabitha will send her the commandment, so join her in your quest for the new power.”

”Of course. We will do our best.” Handed some instructions in more detail the two girls were sent off to join Binky to begin their work.

---

Even though Janet and Jenna had a good idea that the council would be interested in the purification magic they hadn’t imagined that they had plans. The documents given to them were magical in nature and tailored to only allow them to see their contents. This was discovered when they tried to show them to Binki and all she saw were blank pages. Even so the parchment was quite old and detailed, among other things, the methods that Beacon currently knew how to purify a corrupted magical girl. It required a lot of things to be right though and a ritual that was time consuming and risky at best.

Having been imparted knowledge of the mystic arts talking with Binky had become a very different experience. No longer did the coin maker need to over simplify how or what she was doing. Being on par was odd only because it felt somewhat created in a way. Not that it could be changed now.

Having a base with witch to develop a new coin made things much easier. And they were able to get a hold of things they needed from other Beacon locations to hone and craft the new coin. That isn’t to say that things were easy. Infusing enough magic to transform a magical boy or girl took time and patience. Also took being just a little bit crazy because on more than one occasion their prototypes destabilized and everyone had to run behind a protective barrier. Given a few of those incidents they forged a protective casing that they could place over the coin to contain the magic without having to retreat.

"Doesn't this seem a little strange to you two?" Binky stepped away from the shield. "I can understand why old beacon would want a purifying coin, but why are we making one now that Beacon is tolerant of monster girls?"

Janet had moved to clear some of the mess but when Binki brought up her question the blonde stopped briefly. It had crossed her mind a bit. It’s hard to say exactly why Beacon wanted this. It could potentially be several things. However there was one answer that stuck out to her. ”While I’m sure some people might see this as a step backward, I would like to believe that they’ll use it to help those that want it.” Disposing of the mess she glanced over to Jenna.

Picking up where her sister left off Jenna tried to fill in some context. ”So the potion that we told you about was actually used on us, or Janet technically. She had been brainwashed and forcibly turned into a monster girl against her will. Alicia used the potion to return her to normal which sort of started this whole accepting monster girls thing. That what you wanted Jan?”

”Yes, thank you. So from the way I see it these coins will give others that don’t want to be monster girls an option to be free of that. That was my intent with learning how to make the potion and why I’m working on the coin now.” She smiled lightly as she prepped the area for another attempt.

"Well, I've never been a monster, or powerful." Binky sighed. "I guess the mental mutations could be a bit bothersome. I haven't done much research on that." She pointed at the protective glass shield. "Mostly just, eh, well you know. Mana theory, coin theory, corruption theory, anything pertaining to the creation of the red coins." She folded her arms. "Curious about you being a monster girl though. I've only ever encountered one and they gave me the heebie jeebies." She looked to Janet. "I trust you don't miss it? Being powerful I mean. I doubt you could give an honest answer given our work environment."

”I can’t say I was a fan of being a monster girl. Any benefits it may have had were far outweighed by my negative experience. It does give me a unique perspective from the others in Beacon. I know what it’s like to have that mutation and being pushed to do things you might not want to do, either by that mutation or your patron. Justine didn’t really give me a choice. And I can’t say for sure that’s the case for all monster girls but I suspect there are others looking for a way out.” Having stopped to voice her thoughts an idea popped into her head. ”I could probably show you how I looked as a monster girl using my psychic power, if your curious.” She could do much more than that, but having had someone else’s will foisted on her herself she was wary of doing the same to others.

Binky waved her hands in the air. "T-that’s not necessary." she placed a hand behind her head. "We should probably just finish the experiment."

Nodding Janet turned back to their work. Right right. I think we're getting close. You've been a big help.” Jenna stepping away and returning with another potion that they've been infusing into the coins they all got back to work.

---

As tedious as it was they had made great progress in the last few days. Having basically buried themselves in the project the fruits of their labor still took a couple more days to sort out the method for creating a stable coin. Checking and rechecking by each of them they concluded that they had a viable sample. Now the question was, how do they test it? Contacting Tabitha they let her know of their progress.

With that conundrum in mind Jenna put the coin in place on a pedestal where she had been created. Tapping her chin she glanced at Binki. ”So how did you choose who would test the coin?”

"The red coins, you mean?" Binky hunched forward and tapped her fingers together. "I just sort of advertised for it you could say. I looked for people who could benefit the most from it. I was looking for people who wanted to change, not people who wanted to be science experiments. None of my subjects were suppose to feel like science experiments. It was both good from a moral and ethical standpoint. I didn’t want to hurt people, nor did I want them to rebel against me. However..." Binky snorted and looked away. "It didn’t really work out that way." She looked back at Jenna. "But I would test this on someone who is willing to change. Someone who is 100% happy with not being a monster anymore. Or dark magical girl. It should technically reverse any corruption, right?"

”I see. But yes it should. It took a little tweaking but the magic should be able to purify both.” That little bit was something of an oversight of their wish. But since becoming a monster girl was a greater corruption it was fairly logical to step back and cleanse a dark magical girl in theory.

”Mm, if I could test it myself I could. I know it’s not the smartest way to do things but I wouldn't want to put someone through something I wasn't willing to do myself.” Indeed, putting the scientist through a test that could potentially harm them and ruin the whole experiment was a bad idea. Though the mentality could be a manifestation of her new inherent protective nature.

"You’re a monster girl?." Binky took a step closer to Janet. "Didn’t you just say you weren’t a monster girl anymore?" Binky was bouncing all around Janet, looking at her from different angles. "I don’t even see any physical mutations, unless you’ve hidden them." She pulled back Janet’s shirt sleeve.

Taken aback for a moment Janet raised her arms and watched as Binky circled around her. ”How did…? No I'm not anymore. But if I were I would gladly attempt it.” Pointing to Jenna the blonde attempted to explain her reasoning. ”Since we're practically identical magic wise one of us using the coin would mean the other would be the control. We do still have Monstrous Metamorphosis but I'm not sure if that would qualify as the same thing.”

Binky froze in place. "Oh, I seem to have misunderstood." Binky’s eyes shifted side to side. "Just remember, most good discoveries came from mistakes. There are too many examples to name." The cultist-looking girl crossed her arms and stepped away from the two. "I do not believe a metamorphosis is brought on by corruption. So that would not be enough. But that’s a good idea, using twins for the experiment.. Do we know of any monster twins?"

Shrugging a bit Jenna spoke up. ”I don’t think Beacon has encountered that many in Penrose. We’d have to ask. And even then they’d have to want it.” Glancing at the coin briefly she turned her attention back to Janet. ”Since we’re already purified about the only thing one of us using the coin would do is tell us if there are any drawbacks or if it has any effect on normal magical girls. We should probably wait until we have at least a second coin for something like that in case there are already plans for this one. But I think I might know someone that might be interested.”

---

Later, after Penny was told by Sylvia to prepare herself for whatever she had planned, the robot girl and Alicia met with Tabitha back at the Beacon HQ. She was holding a notepad close to her chest, seemingly a bit nervous, and waited until Penny was finished performing maintenance. “Miss Penny, are you busy right now? I have an assignment from Sylvia that I believe you could help with.” She made a map appear on the notepad with her magic, and a circle around a specific room. “Janet and Jenna are currently working on a new project, and they have requested for a magical girl with...Qualities you possess.” She averted her eyes. “I think they may be working on a new type of magical Coin...It might be related to their recently acquired talent of brewing elixirs of purification.”

Penny was doing better, once they had gotten her on to beacon grounds Laat’s influence over her dwindled drastically. Her mind still felt like it was full of static and her emotions were still handicapped, but she wasn’t struggling for coherence anymore.

She was sitting down at a workbench with her right arm in pieces on the table in front of her. The work she was doing was hardly needed, as her regeneration took care of most of her standard maintenance, but she was using the work as a method to keep her mind off of things with a simple goal of changing what her tattoos looked like. She was adding engravings to the chainsaw’s teeth as Tabitha came over.

“We can head over right now” Penny would respond a bit robotically to Tabitha, her arm pulling itself back together as she spoke. She would stand and look to Alicia before heading for the room that had been marked on the map and knocking.

No one came to the door but a magic circle appeared on the floor. Before Penny or Alicia got the chance to react they were both teleported to the lab Beacon had made for the crafting of coins. Among the Binki clones moving around Janet and Jenna were measuring out some magical ingredients to start the next coin.

As soon as they identified that their friends had arrived the Howell sisters stood up and hurried over. ”Penny! We’re glad you came. Come and look at this.” Leading her friend into the testing room she continued. ”Sorry we haven’t been around lately, but we’ve been busy working on this.’ Janet picked up the White Coin and presented it to Penny. ”I told you I would keep an ear to the ground. With the help of Binky we were able to create this coin. It contains the same purifying magic that was used to change me back into a normal magical girl. It also has the power that whoever uses it will be converted into Beacon.”

”We wanted to offer you the chance to test it before anyone else.” They both eagerly waited for Penny’s response.

She stood there blinking and It took a few moments for Penny to work through what Janet and Jenna were saying to her before she could respond. “Thank you” She would reply with as much emotion as she could muster. This made her coming clean to Alicia and Sylvia earlier so much sweeter. She doubted that she would have been able to accept such a gift without drowning in guilt were she still silently betraying them.

Cautiously the mechanical girl reached out for the White Coin. Treating it as a priceless wonder, because for her, it truly was. She turned slightly to give Alicia a chance to look at it as well, after all it wasn’t going to be around for much longer.

Having arrived with the others, Alicia had followed along with Penny as they went deeper into the headquarters. They were in areas that she wasn’t entirely familiar with, mostly because her work didn’t tend to take her to spots like this. She had some idea of what was going on, but even she was surprised to find the Howell sisters waiting for them.

Though she had some idea, her expectations turned out to be very off as the Howells produced a White Coin, rather than the red one she had been assuming they would use. That explained the risk at least. “Huh, I didn’t know you guys had become scientists,” she remarked as she examined the coin when it was shown to her. “Fingers crossed, right?”

Penny having taken the coin, Janet stepped back. ”It’s a new development. But we’re all confident it will work.” Gesturing to a line on the floor Jenna stepped behind it. ”We’re still going to follow safety protocol though so if everyone could step back we can make this happen.” Following her own instructions she had the magic enclosure come down over Penny once everyone was clear. After the experience Janet had with how small it was they had made the space inside larger.

Penny’s gaze once again return the the pure White Coin in her hands as the enclosure came down around her. She was idly running her thumb over the, now softly glowing, coin, scarcely able to believe that she was about to be rid of the corruption that had almost become second nature to her. To say nothing of being able to give Laat a giant middle finger.

Suddenly the coin sublimated to motes of light that surged in brightness and size as they overcame the monstrous girl to quickly for her to do anything other than look surprised. It no time at all the entire inside of the enclosure was filled with a brilliant white light, that oddly wasn’t painful to look upon and In the center of the white light they could see Penny’s outline as a twisted mass of oily black shadows.

The twisted mass of black seemed to be in agonizing pain as it thrashed around, but there was no sound coming from within the enclosure. Then suddenly there was the sound of a bell tolling as part of the silhouette vanished. The thrashing would escalate in intensity but just as quickly the bell would toll again. Each time more and more of the black shadow in the center would fade away.

Very quickly there would be only a vague outline of black slowly stumbling around in the case of light. The light would dim then, turning a steely gray, before the bell would ring out one final time causing the light return to its pure white and flare up. Just before it would become blinding the light would vanish.

To reveal Penny.

She was standing right in the center of the enclosure exactly where she had been before the coin activated. It was easy to tell something had happened, as she was human. She also seemed to be missing most of her clothes, save for her jacket and the necklace Chloe had given her, and she was covered in sweat and was quite literally steaming. The steam seemed to be primarily coming from her tattoos, were still there, but they had been changed as they seemed to have a rainbow sheen depending on how they caught the light, and most of the designs had changed as well.

The girl herself hadn’t yet seem to notice the light had left, her eyes were closed and she had a serene look on her face. It was ruined somewhat, when she collapsed to the ground, but she did open her eyes at least. “I…” she croaked out before swallowing “I think it worked”

Unsure as to what she should expect, Alicia was quick to follow the others behind the protective barrier as the coin was activated. Her expression must have matched the others at least, as she watched the impressive procedure with wide eyes. Geez, that looked like it had to hurt. But the fading black was good, right? Right?

Then at last it faded away, to reveal a dramatically changed Penny. “Wow,” Alicia remarked, stepping out from behind the barrier now that it was over. While doing her best not to stare of course. “That was...a thing.” It certainly looked like it had worked.

Tabitha was once again in utter shock after a Coin had been used before her. She held the notepad before her face, her cheeks bright red as she realized the breezy result of Penny’s transformation. “I-I’ll go get some clothes for Penny!” She blurted out, and left the room as if escaping it. Soon enough, she returned with Sylvia, carrying a pile of clothes consisting of a white button-up shirt, a pair of white panties and socks, and a school uniform consisting of a jacket and skirt. There was also a long towel of a bright yellow color in the pile. “Th-These were the only ones we had in stock. A lot of our members attend the local school, and, uhh...” She bowed as she held the clothes out to her, keeping her face down. Sylvia on the other hand seemed to not believe what she was looking at. “Well slap me sideways and call me Joe, it worked!” She turned towards Jenna and Janet, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Janet, Jenna...today you have made history. The Beckoners will surely be happy about this. I think we can even convince the central government, if this proves to be capable of granting the ShineSpark.”

Congratulating one another on the successful test, Janet and Jenna beamed. Turning her attention to Binki for a moment the blonde put a thumbs up. ”We couldn’t have done it without Binki. She made this possible as much as we did.” Giving Binki a pat on the back as she smiled.

Jenna looking over Penny without much regard to the fact that she had essentially nothing on. ”How are you feeling?” She wanted to ask a ton of other questions, but not wanting to overwhelm her friend she left it simple.to start. There would be plenty of time to talk. Something Sylvia said drew her attention. ”ShineSpark?” While the coin production was in large part thanks to Binki, Janet and Jenna provided the purification component. However, the last portion that they had worked in, the part that brought the coin user into the fold, was based off of magic that Beacon had provided for this specific project. While the three had figured out how to work it into the coin it was quite complicated and above their pay grade at the moment.

Penny had huddled up in her jacket trying desperately to hide her scarlett blush at the unexpected result of the coin. Though in hindsight it made sense, the clothes had always been a part of her disguise alongside human skin, but she was no longer using magic to hide who she was.

That or it was a vindictive parting shot from Laat.

Regardless the newly purified girl was immensely grateful to Tabitha for the spare clothes and delayed only long enough to find somewhere private to preserve her modesty before she quickly toweled off and changed in to the school uniform.

“I... feel great” She would answer Jenna when she finally returned. A part of her kept expecting to feel the strain that was normally associated with being human start up any second, but the longer it went without showing up the wider and wider her smile would grow. To say nothing of how her thoughts felt, that compulsive itch, the wrapped and twisted need to tear things apart was gone, her mind felt like it was her own again.

She could also feel her magic flowing smooth and calm within her. It didn't feel very different, which Penny took as a good thing, but there was something settled into her core that hadn't been there before. “Is that the Spark I’ve heard about” she would murmur to herself entranced with getting to know her own body again.

Alicia waited patiently until Penny had gotten dressed, instead focusing on Jenna, Janet, and Binky. It seemed her decision to cut that deal was working out for them, in ways that she couldn’t even have anticipated when it happened at the time. A coin that did something like this? It was amazing.

“I know my word might not mean all that much, but I’ll do my best to ensure your hard work doesn’t go to waste,” she assured the Twins. A discovery like this, she could tell that it was too important to simply ignore. The real question was just how much of an impact she could have, since she certainly didn’t feel all that influential.

That said, she turned and stepped over to Penny, offering her a handshake. “That’s good to hear.” She wore a smile of her own, though it was not as vibrant as hers was. “Welcome to Beacon, for real this time.”

Tabitha seemed to continue blushing, even as Penny came out fully dressed. She smiled with a bright, nervous expression, and then bowed once more. Sylvia nodded, her arms crossed. “Yes, I suppose it is time.” She took something from her pocket: it was the Black Coin that Penny had entrusted her with. “I will show you.” She looked at Penny, and offered the coin to her. “Take it.” The moment she would do so, a flash of light would burst out from Penny, sending the coin to shoot off. It hit the wall of the room with enough force for it to leave a small, coin-sized indent as it dropped down with a clink.
Sylvia smiled. “It works,” she declared confidently. “The ShineSpark will protect us...For good.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Alicia,” Janet spoke. “You and me, our magics kind of puts us in a support sort of role. But I never would have thought of trying to make something like this if you first hadn’t made your wish for that potion. And you chose to give it to me and support me during the trial. I might be helping with this magic stuff but you’ve helped change Beacon and pave the way to make this possible.” Beaming she hugged both Alicia and Penny. ”Now we can make a big difference together.”

The hug was cut short as Tabitha approached to demonstrate something. The twins watching as the coin shot off. Then Jenna spoke up first. ”Wow, so from the looks of it the ShineSpark actively protects from corruptive magic. That’s huge.”

Jenna picked up the Black Coin and quickly returned it to Tabitha. She was none too willing to hold onto the dark object knowing full well what it could do. ”It also means we’re going to be busy. It’s going to take a while to make enough coins for everyone in Beacon to use. Even if more than one person uses one.”

Pausing briefly Janet eventually nodded in agreement. ”And we’ll want to check that it has the same effect on regular magical girls. Though I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t. I suppose the next coin will tell.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Alicia conceded, returning Janet’s hug even if she didn’t have as much energy in it as the other girl did. But any concerns of hers had been laid to rest for the moment, as a result of the encouragement given. It was just two different aspects of the same thing, and one was not more important than the other.

That was drawn short by the demonstration, having quite the visible result as the Black Coin was sent slamming into the wall with considerable force by the effect of this ‘ShineSpark’. She just had to wonder when she would get one of those. “Well it’s about time,” she decided with a nod, hands resting on her hips as she glanced at the impact crater. “First Justine and then Regina, I was worried that we were in trouble with how many of us were getting taken over by darker forces.” It didn’t exactly speak well for Beacon if they were so susceptible to such forces.

Penny would disregard the handshake, instead pulling Alicia in to a tight hug. Penny was free, and there were no words to explain how that felt. In the the brawlers mind in was all due to Alicia simply because she was willing to give her a chance. ”None of this would have happened without you.” She would add on to twins encouragement “You didn’t argue against me being a Monstergirl back when the Beckoners were seeking the help of Laat. You chose to give Kimble a second chance. Your wish and defense of Janet lead to this new Coin that will change the world. You did something that not even a God with millennia worth of trying was able to accomplish. You changed Beacon, simply by being you...”

Penny was more then willing to go on, due to being somewhat overwhelmed with relief and joy at being cleansed, but was internally thankful for Tabitha and Sylvia interrupting before she got too carried away and did something embarrassing. The outcome of the demonstration left her transfixed, she stared at the indent in the wall caused by the Black Coin being violently rejected by the Shine Spark.

There were a few reasons for why Penny had been entranced by it, the first was a fear she hadn't even gotten around to realizing had been banished with that small demonstration. Nothing, and no one would be able to force her back into the hell she had just gotten out of so long as she held that spark close.

Next was the instinctive desire that welled up within her when she touched the coin. It was almost identical to the one she used to struggle against everyday, but calmer less frenzied, and entirely focused at the Coin. She would need to transform to be sure, but she had a suspicion that she still wasn’t fully human.

“Alicia get’s the next White Coin” Penny would say solemnly as she tracked the Black coin as it was put away into safe storage, wondering, not for the first time, if there was anyway to destroy the corrupted thing without using it.

”Four to a coin should be a safe number I would suggest along with Alicia that Binki, Jenna, and myself use the next coin. While we all might not have all the pieces to making this coin we need to protect how it was done.” Janet stated definitively. ”Once information about the White Coin comes to light I have no doubt that someone will be after how Beacon made it. And we would be the links to that.” Stopping she looked over to Binki. ”Not that I’m trying to force you into Beacon, but you understand what I’m saying.”

"Yea." Binky whimpered. ”I don’t really have a choice.”

“No, that’s not right,” Alicia said with a shake of her head, once she was free from the tight hug. She ignored what Penny said for the moment, having moved past her own feelings, and not particularly caring if she ended up getting the next White Coin. They had a solution for that, and she was more worried about the others anyway rather than herself. Nothing unfortunate had happened to her yet anyway. Not compared to the others.

Looking over at Binky, she flashed the scientist a warm smile. “Forcing her to join us isn’t going to incentivize her to protect anything, and forcing membership isn’t what we’re about. There has to be another way.”

Binky was twiddling her thumbs. ”I agree, but I was under the impression that-”

Admittedly, she didn’t have much of a solution, but they had to at least try, right? “Janet, Jenna, maybe you guys could put a mental block in her mind to help her resist that kind of interrogation? Or at least something to tell us that she’s in trouble so we can stage a rescue?” Psychic powers weren’t her domain, so those two were more likely to know what was possible than she was.

“Alicia makes a good point,” Tabitha spoke as she took her backpack and quickly dropped the Black Coin in it. “Binky should not be pressured into joining as a member. We would then stoop to the level of the vile Ebon Mint. We are a family.” She took Binky’s hand with both of hers. “No matter what happens, we’ll be there for you, Binky.” She stared intensely at the girl. “I won’t let anyone hurt my precious-I mean, my friend.” Sylvia shook her head. “That might work for now, but I have a feeling it won’t just be the Mint who’s after her. I’ve heard some worrisome reports of a certain girl rising in power...Here.” She placed a token on Binky’s palm. “Hold on to that. We will come rescue you if you ever get in trouble.” She then turned. “Tabitha, begin preparations for the further production of White Coins; I want a full demonstration by Friday.” And with that, she walked off, though Alicia could spot a relieved smile faintly on her lips as she left.

Binky was still looking at her palm. ”Is this what I think it is? Oh dear.” her fingers tightened around it. ”Do we get attacked that often?”

“No, but it never hurts to be prepared.” Penny would say fiddling with her own given token.

”Friday? Well I guess we’ll be busy this week.” She glanced over at her workbench.

Nodding in agreement Janet turned to Binki. ”That should give us the time to protect you as best we can. With a few days I think we could get some pretty strong wards around you so won’t have to worry about anyone getting to you too easily.”

”Guys, I’m scared!” Binky’s knees trembled.

Alicia was pleased to find that her point was supported by other members of the group, and a situation quickly worked out. For her part she would nod in agreement, leaving the specific details to those who were more knowledgeable about such things.

“I’ve already met people looking for her. But at least we’re in one of the safest spots in town,” Alicia confirmed as the topic of potential attack came up. Most people weren’t that dumb, but for a target like this they would be more than willing to make an exception. Hence being prepared.

She turned to Janet and Jenna, offering the two of them a warm smile of approval. “I’m sure you two have got this under control. But if you need anything, feel free to ask.”

Considering the matter Jenna tried to put together what she knew. To be fair it wasn’t all that much. Penrose had become more and more complicated with so many factions popping up since she had shown up. ”Faith and Lotus were pretty adamant about being cautious about letting Binky continue making coins, or at least the Red ones. Our efforts haven’t really focused on that much aside from Janet. Maybe we should try and talk with these girls and try to make peace.”

”Might help if we knew exactly what their grievances are. Circumstances were pretty different for me. But given my understanding more or less how the coins work I can’t really say they’re malicious.” Rubbing her chin she didn’t have enough of the pieces to properly give options. ”But right now in my mind the wards are to keep you safe from sneak attacks and whatnot. Having been kidnapped once myself I’m pretty sure we can come up with something. And then the rest of Beacon can back you up. We’ve learned a lot over the last few months and no one is just going to bully Beacon or its allies anymore.” She smiled with that added determination. It may not be the most encouraging speech ever but she hoped the support would lift Binky’s spirits.

But Binky had sunken to her knees, still clutching the token in her hands. ”T-those two? You talked to them?” Her voice was trembling. ”I don’t think they’re going to settle for anything less than my head. They were part of my original experiment program. They both agreed to join by choice but-” Binky swallowed. ”Lotus was not really that happy about her new transformation. She’s with Sammy, that girl who almost mauled me with her cats.” She fell on her side and started to shiver. ”They’re the reason I don’t try to escape from here.” Binky’s eyes scanned the room. ”I mean some of you are pretty scary, but no one compare to Lotus!”

Raising an eyebrow slightly Jenna wasn’t completely sure how to take that. ”Thanks?” She supposed she couldn’t blame Binky not really wanting to be a part of anything. What with moving from one organization to another. So far it seemed that she was wherever she was to avoid some other threat. It was somewhat disappointing that she didn’t trust them. Maybe not them specifically, but perhaps Beacon. She was there because of what she knew after all.

”What can you tell us about the people you tested on before? What should we expect of them?”

”I was unable to fully gauge their new abilities, so I can’t help you much there.” Binky tucked her knees into her chest. ”But I know about their personalities. Faith is the leader, regardless of how menacing Lotus seems. She will do anything Faith asks of her. There are a few others who follow them, but again, I know very little about them.” Binky sighed. ”Um, actually yes! Aside from Sammy there was a pair of twin souls. What were their names? Well, they were big on music at least. Obsessed with the idea of becoming famous. There might have been another, but I was so busy running away from Sammy I can’t really say. But there are at least five of them, and if you want to talk to them, talk to Faith. She runs the show.” She placed a hand over her face. ”Thanks for setting this all up. I do appreciate it. But you must forgive me, as all of this excitement has me feeling really tired. And I think my clones are sleeping in my bed. So...” Binky started snoring.

The girls had never seen anyone fall asleep nearly instantly. They had been at this pretty hard for the last several days, so it made sense. And given that Janet and Jenna shut up and glanced at Penny and Alicia. Motioning to the other room they stepped out so as not to disturb their exhausted friend. "Well I guess we're done here. Jenna and I still got to get everything else done but you should probably get going. We'll have to wait to hang out once this whole project is wrapped up."

---

Makoto walked towards the nearest populated area in the Overcity from where she entered, carrying a large metal container behind her. She was dressed in her black coat and hat, a small metal cube in a sealed pocket. She was looking for an artificer who could finish Ezekial's work.

To that end, Makoto needed to enter the Overcity. The real overcity that this entire parallel world was named after. Most of the overcity was void of any life, and was a great place to drag monsters for a beat down without causing any damage to the normal world. But that changed when you got to the actual overcity. There were enormous building that towered into the sky, and the streets were bathed in a golden light. Even during the day, the sky was always in a state of perceptual twilight. Nothing in the city was brand new, and nothing made sense. You had brick buildings from the medieval ages standing next to buildings that belonged in art deco America. The effects of magic on this place were not hidden. Street lamps were replaced by floating lights, and the signage for some businesses were magical constructs, interacting with all who passed by.

On her way through the city, Makoto passed by a stone sculpture. It depicted a landscape featuring a collapsing castle and a large tank. Standing atop the crumbling castle was a vampire, who was clearly not pleased to be losing altitude. Standing on top of the tank were several smaller girls, boldly holding their weapons up to the vampire. There was a plaque at the foot that read. “Justine falls: A tribute to those who illuminate the darkness.” Makoto was reminded that there was a Beacon HQ here and swiftly changed directions.

Makoto’s surroundings got distinctly older as she wandered down the mages district. This was where a lot of shop owners sold their services and magical trinkets to those who came by. It had been this way for centuries, with the older owners passing down their crafts to the next one. Magic was largely steeped in tradition, and it only made sense that the oldest district would contain the largest concentration of mages. Makoto walked by many stores, looking for that one that mentioned “artificer.” While there were many general enchanters, the specific art of artificing seemed to be in short supply. But Makoto’s search wouldn’t go unrewarded. She eventually came across a sign that read “Winged Monarch Artificing,” which seemed to be exactly what Makoto was looking for. But before she could reach for the door, it burst open. A girl in a kimono was charging after a glowing butterfly. It flew in front of Makoto’s face, and the girl didn’t cease her chase. She tripped on the doormat and flew through the air towards the squirrel girl. ”Gaaaaaaaah!”

”Whoa!” Makoto quickly ducked to the side and caught the girl with her free arm, her head turning to watch the butterfly as it passed by innocently. ”You okay there, Miss…?”

The woman continued to flail in Makoto’s arms until the butterfly vanished in the golden haze of the city. With an exhausted sigh, she lowered her arms. ”Aria.” she said with a whine. ”Thank you for catching me, but I wish you had captured that butterfly instead.” She ran a hand over her face.

”Oh! Was it important to you? I’m so sorry!” She tensed for a moment in preparation to chase after the butterfly, but waited for a response. After all, a hero(ine) always had to help those in need.

”Just a project of mine. No need to apologize.” Aria stood up. ”I was getting irritated with it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have had a chance to escape. It’s probably best if it flew off.” She brushed some hair out of her face. ”I’m sorry, I haven’t seen you around here before. Let’s do a proper introduction.” She grabbed a corner of her dress and bowed. ”I’m Aria Rizzo, but most know me as the butterfly princess or the only artificer in the magic district.”

Makoto sighed in relief. ”Name’s Makoto. I don’t suppose you’re open for business right now, are you?” She attempted to curtsey with her oversized black trenchcoat.

”Oh yes, I’m open.” She folded her hands together. ”What would you like me to do?”

”Well…” Makoto scratched the back of her head. ”I’m kinda hoping that you can mass produce the magnum opus of a friend of mine.” She pulled out a small object, a violet jewel with a silver snake wrapped around it like a spiral, roughly four inches from top to bottom and two and a half inches at its widest. ”It’s a mana collector that’s capable of some amazing things. I’ve got the mundane materials, but I don’t know anyone other than the original creator who could make more, and they’re… indisposed at the moment.”

Aria approached the device and put her hands over it. ”Hmmm, interesting.” She looked at it from another angle. ”It’s pretty complex, not something you’d typically ‘mass produce.’ I can’t understand it at a glance, which is unusual. But the question isn’t if I can duplicate it or not, it’s how much you want to spend, how many you want to make, and how close to the original you want to be.” She looked under the artifact. ”And what do you mean by ‘capable of some amazing things?’ It does things aside from draw in Mana?”

"I’m willing to spend quite a lot, depending on how many you can make. I’m hoping for about fifty, as close to this as you can get, assuming it’s not too expensive for me to handle.” She paused. ”This thing doesn’t just draw in the underlying mana like a normal absorber, but it’s not as complex as a magical coin that can do, well, I’m sure you know what they can do already. It draws in semi-completed magical residue, specifically. Which means that with enough of it, you can replicate small feats of the residue’s specialization. Get enough fire magic absorbed and you can light a small fire, for example. That’s why I’ve had trouble getting it reproduced, because it really was a ‘magnum opus’ creation.”

”So it’s like a power artifact, only it draws in mana from the surrounding area rather than taking it from the user and converting it. The result is that it can then duplicate the effects of other specializations provided enough is collected.” She gently took the artifact from Makoto’s hand. ”Let me make a prototype of the mass production version and see how you like it. Then I’ll have an idea of what the cost will be.”

”Deal.” Makoto grinned.

Aria bowed before heading back into her shop. ”If you don’t have anywhere to go, it shouldn’t take long to make the prototype.”

The winged monarch looked like a giant old tree on the outside, and the interior kept up with the aesthetic. Rather than being built, the interior had been carved out of the tree. One could only guess if it was done by a giant wood eating insect or if mages had taken to carving away the wood themselves. There was a bit of ambient light in the shop supplied by luminescent plants, but the brightest thing there were the butterflies that flew overhead. They were perfectly white, but glowed hues of red and blue. The rest of the shop had your standard array of bookshelves, and there was a magic circle traced out on the floor.

”I’ve pretty much perfected rapid prototyping. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

With a wave of her hand, a transparent barrier appeared in front of her. Part of the barrier darkened up as swarms of butterflies converged in front of her. Individually they weren’t too bright, but when they were all bunched together like that it was hard to look at. Aria’s arms were always moving, but there was grace and purpose behind her actions. Even if Makoto knew nothing about making artifacts, it was evident that she had put in a lot of time doing this. More butterflies joined in, sometimes carrying odd items into the glow with them. A few nails, a piece of copper wire, gemstones, several carried in a breadboard. Then all at once, the butterflies scattered to the ceiling. Where they had been was now a bread board with a few nails driven into it. The copper wire had been wrapped around the nails, and held the gemstones over every post. When Aria snapped her fingers, the device produced a small barrier around itself.

The prototype appears to be a success.” She banished the barrier around herself. ”The good news is that I can mass produce these for you. The bad news is that the final version will be a lot more labor intensive to make. That means that supplying your own parts won’t offset the cost very much. I normally like to use my own materials, but if you believe that your parts are of equal or superior quality, I can work with them.” She stroked her chin before looking up to Makoto. ”I could make you fifty artifacts for say, eighteen gold coins, rounding in your favor. Or two artifacts for three silver.”

”Hmm… Let’s go with four for now, and I’ll come back when I can afford more? I could also just sell you the materials if you don’t think they’d be useful, plus I’ve got more than enough random gemstones and good quality metal in this thing, compared to how much would be needed.” Makoto pointed with her thumb towards the large container outside.

Aria folded her arms.. ”As an artificer, I can enchant my own gemstones. I’m not interested in whatever you’re peddling.” She eyed Makoto up and down. ”But if you’re looking for a slightly better deal, we might be able to arrange something.”

”Right, but getting the high quality gems themselves might… I’ll shut up now. What do you have in mind?”

Aria continued to stare at Makoto, almost in a trance. ”Your tail.” She lifted her hands and twiddled her fingers in the air. ”Five minutes with your tail, six silver, and I’ll make it five artifacts.”

Makoto held back a laugh. ”Absolutely. Take as long as you want~”

Aria was not capable of teleportation, but that is the only word that could be used to describe how she approached Makoto’s tail. She was leaning her head into it ”MMmmmmm.” Aria gently stroked it with her hand. ”It’s so warm, I could almost fall asleep.”

---

After the “tail” session and collecting all other forms of payment, Aria got to work on making the artifacts. It took considerably more time to make the real artifacts compared to the prototypes. Two hours yielded the five that Makoto asked for. But they all worked and looked just like the one Makoto brought in. ”Well, it’s not quite fifty, but there’s five artifacts for you.” With them all placed on a table together, Makoto almost couldn’t tell which one was the original. ”If you have any future projects, don’t hesitate to stop by again.” Aria’s eyes wandered over Makoto again before she blinked herself out of her trance. ”With Beacon HQ so close to here, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see a monster girl walk into my store. Be safe out there, Makoto.”

"Will do, and thank you so much!” With the artifacts in hand, she left and wandered to the nearest exit of the Overcity.

Two identical looking girls sat in the furthest booth from the door in The Pitstop, patiently waiting for someone. The two slowly snacked on a large order of fries as they did. Shion watched the clock on her phone; it was nearly time. Honestly she was nervous, though the clone to her side seemed disinterested in the whole ordeal, making things a little easier on both of them.

At the entrance, a girl no older than fifteen stepped into the establishment. From the wind outside, she brushed aside a loose strand of near hazel brown hair, tucking the piece behind her ear. Although hard to see beneath her maroon jacket, partially zipped across her torso, the girl reached to her chest, and straightened up an oddly formal, black tie, and fixed the vest either side of it. In her right hand she held a bag, no larger than a small medical bag, which emenated a metallic click as she fixed the small bow atop her head.

The girl then cast a glance about The Pitstop - a perceptible gaze backed it, though all it saw were people, unnecessary to her attention, until they fixated upon the person specified in the email. ’Shion, I've got a Puchuu pointing me in the right direction. Tomorrow at 2 P.M. at "The Pitstop" would work best for us; you'll know it's me because there will be two.’ Indeed there were - two girls, sat side by side at a booth, some hundred fifty feet in front and to the right of her. Whoever they were, most likely they shared the girls own penchant for duplication.

She made a beeline, dodging past one too many waitresses in her passage. A short moment later, the girl slid into the booth, opposite her two Informants. ”You must be Shion. I’m Christine, pleasure.” she recounted simply. Before neither girl had a chance to respond, Christine had already opened the bag. In the next few seconds, a multitude of items came out - two voice recorders, a notepad and pen, a flip phone, and touch screen tablet. Both record buttons were pressed in an instant, and Christine began to speak.

”Reporter Christine West, of The Penrose Independent. Interview held at one minute past two in the afternoon, at The Pitstop, Penrose City. Interviewee is Shion Yuki,” Christine spoke aloud, took a quick note, and glanced up towards the two girls. ”Sorry for the formality, standard procedure for unspecified information discussions. Mind if I start by asking why you reached out to us?”

”Hello, Christine.” the Shion on the left said. ”How was your trip here?” She took a bite from another fry, not bothering to wait for a reply. ”I’ll cut to the chase. ‘We’, by which I mean myself, are really after two things, both of which we think we could find from a mutually beneficial arrangement with your… company? Group? Your… organisation. That’s the word.” She went silent as she continued eating, wordlessly offering access to the food to Christine.

The other Shion continued for her. ”All we want from you all is simple. Money, specifically magical coins, which we assume you pay your reporters with… And access to your large number of people at sites of interest.” She pulled out a small metal object, a purple gem with a snake made of silver wrapped around it, setting it on the table next to the fries.

”The Penrose Independent is a news organisation. We offer Magical Girls and Boys jobs and protection in exchange for their help in writing news articles.” Christine commented. She made a note of Shion’s demeanour, and the way her clone spoke interchangeably, then looked back up to the girls, with cold eyes that danced with curiosity. ”Magical and mundane currency is, of course, the main source of payment for the members in its employ. If you want a job, then alright, we can go from there - I’ll send my Boss your application, and she’ll sign you on wherever your skills can be best applied.”

Christine glanced between the two. Behind her eyes, her gaze betrayed inquisition, and their crystalline blue shade gave way to cinders and the smoke of knowledge, with flames that lapped at the falsehoods of information. ”But I’d like to ask what you’d intend to do with access to the entirety of the organisation. It’s no lie that we’ve got a fair few members, so whatever you plan to do with that gem of yours, mind telling me if it’s worth the expense we’ll be put at for using it?”

The leftmost Shion grinned as the other began speaking. ”This gem is a relatively high-grade mana condenser. It collects nearby magical energy and stores it for later use. It’s like a reusable coin, in a sense, but nowhere near as powerful. Our plan is to use your large number of bodies to collect quite a bit.”

The other Shion continued for her, “Look, for some reason, people want this city. Beacon even has a headquarters here. There are plenty of magi willing to fight here. Do you know what the most efficient, renewable way to collect magical energy is? Take a guess.”

”If I have to guess? Then,” Christine began, eyeing the thing with a mix of caution and intrigue, ”I’d say by putting these things in areas of high residual energy. Since our members are usually found in places where magical combat has recently occurred, they can do their jobs and gather Mana for you simultaneously. Am I getting that right?”

”That’s right. In our experience, limited though it may be, the best way to get mana is to be near battles. Not only do you get plenty of residual, excess mana from the combatants, but you get multiple kinds of it. Sometimes very rare kinds that could only be gotten from very specific sources otherwise. If your agents wore these on the job, imagine how much energy you could collect. We’re willing to give you fifteen percent of the total mana collected, more if you really manage to get a ton.” The two Shions paused. ”The only issue is that we’re still waiting for our supplier. We should have them by the time your boss decides if they want to hire us, and this offer is obviously there regardless of whether or not we end up working with you for your own goals.”

"Let's get this straight," Christine said. A hint of impatience lit in her voice, as she leant in, and gestured to the fries. "May I?"
Both Shions pushed the fries closer to her. ”Have at them.” The one on the right said.

”Thanks,” she replied, took a handful, and began to eat as she talked. ”See, thing is, you’re not only asking us to use the things for your benefit, but also to pay you for their use, and a tiny percentage of the net energy. Do you call that a fair deal? I don’t. Besides, I’m not exactly convinced on this. Few questions to start off with: how many do you expect to get hold of, can they be reused - if so how do you expect to store the energy so the gems can be reused - and what exactly can you do with the magical energy gathered besides replenishing your own mana? It’d be nice to know all the details of what we’re buying here.”

”Of course. We’re expecting to get about fifty to start, more if you can manage more people than that. They are reusable, but we don’t have access to where the energy gets stored on our behalf, only our supplier knows where it gets stored, but that’s our personal arrangement. It can theoretically be stored in bigger gems, which we might be able to get one for you, capable of storing quite a lot of gems’ worth. And…”

The other Shion continued in a hushed voice. ”The reason we use these gems is because it stores the type of mana. Fire magic? Store some energy from a fire user and you can shoot a fireball with it. Need something metal moulded? Store some metal alignment mana and do it yourself. You need about five times the mana you would need if you were just specialised in that type of magic, but only half of the mana you use to do it needs to be the type you’re shooting for. So if you have a gem’s worth of fire mana and a random assortment in another gem, you could light fires fairly easily. The best part though has to be how much mana these things store. You could fit about one and a half ‘normal’ magical girls’ worth of energy in each of these.”

”And remember, we’re not saying you’ll get fifteen gems out of one-hundred, we’re saying you’ll get fifteen percent of the collected mana itself, so the more types you collect the better off you’ll be, and that way, neither party can manipulate things to only give the other certain types.” The first Shion concluded.

While the two Shion’s spoke, Christine wiped her hands on a napkin. She leant across the table, as non-obstructively as possible, and took a hold of the gem. A beautiful piece of craftsmanship, Christine though, as she traced her thumb down the rough, scaled snake embellishment, and along the smooth, crystalline sphere. The information ran through her mind as it was given - one of the many reasons Christine was perhaps The Boss’s closest Reporter. And as a Reporter, she did not merely act as a vocal piece for The Independent, but for The Boss herself.

”While I think about this, mind if I ask you a few more questions?” Christine began. She glanced across to the two girls, measuring their responses and language closely. ”I’ve heard that you had a meeting with Cindy Ford and her entourage yesterday. Am I to assume you offered this same deal to her, and she turned you down?”
No, not quite. We tried to offer an alliance with her in exchange for a rather absurd payment of magical coins. She likely didn’t have access to as much as we wanted, but even if she did she refused, resulting in a simple non-aggression pact. We’ll stay out of her way as long as she stays out of ours.

”You’re asking for Magical Coins from us too, though. Any reason why you think this deal works any way in our favour if we agree to the terms as you’ve set ‘em?” Christine placed the gem back down onto the table, directly in front of her. ”You’d get payment if you work for The Independent, as an actual member. Otherwise, that’s gonna be a no.”

”We’re only asking for coins if we do work for you. The coins would be payment for our services as a journalist or whatever else you need; the collectors in exchange for part of what they collect is separate altogether.” The Shion on the left waved off Christine’s comment. Suddenly, both Shions’ phones dinged, signifying a message was received. The one on the left pulled out her phone and checked it, her eyes widening.

”So…” She began, clearly upset. ”As it turns out, we’re going to have to do a ‘test run’ whether we want to or not. I suppose it’s smarter anyway, to not just trust you with so many of these… But we just got a text from our supplier and unfortunately for us all, we’re only getting five more condensers, at least to start. We can send her more money as we get some, so if we work for you you’d basically be paying the bill.”

With a cautious eye, Christine stared across at the duplicates. Little hid behind the gaze - a pure and calculated expression, analysing them both, individually, as one, and in turn. The smoke had vanished behind her pupils, and crystallised into ice. ”Are we meant to trust this, pretty dubious, operation? I mean you can’t even keep up the promises you’ve made, and I’ve known you for about ten minutes,” Christine began. Her fingers rapped across the diner table, betraying a paradoxical, neutral impatience. ”My Boss doesn’t mind as much, but I like assurances. Absolutes. Truths. As a note, this operation wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with these ‘Red Coin’ rumours that have been floating around, would they?”

”That’s hardly fair. We’ve been nothing but truthful with you. If we wanted to be ‘dubious’ we wouldn’t have just told you what we learned.” The leftmost girl huffed.

”Red Coins? The only time we saw any of those, it was when we talked to Cindy Ford. Someone made an offering of them to her. Apparently, they’re used to change things about a girl, rather than just adding power to them. We didn’t hear a whole lot of details.”

”Let me make you a deal,” Christine said. For some ten seconds, silence filled the conversation as she took a long series of notes. ”You want to collect magical energy, cool. Tail end of this Soth clusterfuck, we’re gonna have to be spending a long while going through the graveyard, looking for bodies and whatnot, so how about we say - thirty percent of the total collected energy over fifteen, and a weeks trial period where we keep all the energy, as down payment and a test of safety for these things? I’m also kinda curious why you’re interested in getting so much energy in the first place. I’m guessing you want to work for us too, right?”

The Shion on the right bit her lip as the other responded. ”Flat thirty and a week’s trial period sounds fair. And yes, we’d like to work for you, though for the record, all the coins we make doing so is going to go towards getting more of these collectors, so if you’d rather us work for free for a period of time and you simply invest in getting more it’d save us all some time.”

”I think we can agree to that. Does that sound okay, Boss?” Christine asked aloud. There was a moment of pause, an uncomfortable silence that accompanied the wait, but off to the side of the table, from the tablet, came a voice. It lacked expression, nearly androgynous, though still recognisable as female. She was serious, not quite monotone, but the emotion within the words were barely recognisable as something truly emotive.

”It does, thank you Christine.”

Both Shions let out a sigh of relief. ”Thank you.” One said. ”We’ll do our best.” The other said as she took out her phone and sent a text to her original self. -Success-