@Phonic



‘Ooooh, signs! What do the signs say? And who’d be wandering here? … Well, clearly me. I thank you for your consideration! Haha!’ Deni laughed a little as she skipped forward to check the sign, because, honestly, that was curious to her. She sort of knew where this was, after all, and judging by the state of it she sort of knew what had unfolded, too.

And, turns out Valkyrie truly did know of Penrose. Deni grinned. She was being uncharacteristically lucky today. Clearly, everything had changed since she now had parted ways with Asengav. However, that Deni had some answers to give to this Magical Girl, it turned out. And Deni could not tell the truth. Because if the truth reached Mariette, Deni’s life of freedom would surely end. Hence, she had to lie…

That’s when something else struck Deni. Light-specialization girls can tell truth from lies. And this girl looked a lot like she might be Light-specialized. Detecting a lie in Deni right now would be a serious black mark on any chance of them getting along and going to Penrose together. … But it was fine to tell mostly the truth, right? Deni could tell this girl was no Horror-girl. Then Deni had her ways. What mattered the most, though, was that this girl had introduced herself. Which meant Deni had to introduce herself, too. Deni could not introduce herself as Deni, for then Mariette would find her by her name, but she could also not lie. So, what to tell Valkyrie…

… Wait. Valkyrie. Valkyrie, really?

Clearly, that was not her real name. She was using a moniker based on her appearance. But, Deni swore she’d surely not be triggering any lie-sensors by calling herself “Valkyrie”. Very well, then. Deni grinned.

What did Deni appear like? When she looked into the waters, the reflection had been one of a tiny samurai of sorts. … No, that’s not true. She was a masterless samurai. There was a shorter, and much sweeter term for that!

A ronin! Deni was a tiny ronin!

Deni put all her mental strength to persuade herself of this fact. I am Ronin! I am Tiny Ronin! I will name myself tinyRonin on the internet! My moniker is Tiny Ronin, Ronin for short, and as such, when I introduce myself as Ronin, it will not be a lie! I AM TINY RONIN!

‘Anyways! Well met, Valkyrie! I am Ronin!’ Deni said, oozing with confidence and continuing to grin, hoping to lord she was not triggering any Light-specialization lie-detectors Valkyrie or anyone Deni talked to in the future might have.

‘Penrose is this nexus of all magical forces or something equally dramatic, right? Well!’ Remember, no lies, Deni. ‘I’m looking for someone. I have reason to believe I will find her in Penrose. She’s gotten herself in a load of trouble, and I just can’t just not try to help her. I’m sorry to be vague, but there’s also someone who would immediately end me if they learned of me and my quest, and I’d rather not talk too much before I’ve been able to scout the scenery in the city. Sorry!’ Deni grinned apologetically and held her hands together in a “sorry” gesture. She then got a bit of a serious expression. Why she was here. Still without lying.

‘I’m here right now, because a monster brought me here. I fought a monster, lost, they brought me home, that home happened to be in the Overcity, and I was stuck here for a god awful lot of time, but I just got out! Unfortunately, I lack the means to get home, so I’ve just walked the Overcity,’ for a couple seconds ‘but now I’ve walked into you! And if you’d guide me there, that’d be really swell of you! I really don’t know what I’d do otherwise!’ Deni grinned again, no shortage of that, looking hopefully towards Valkyrie. She wouldn’t just leave a lost little girl in the Overcity, would she!? She can’t possibly be so heartless~!

The girl she’d been talking about was Eli, of course. She had to save her. Both her and Mariette, really. Who knows what sort of trouble they got into without Deni around! … She’s so sad she missed it! Who knows how many shenanigans she’d missed while stuck for an unknown amount of time in the Overcity… … … Wait. Deni’s eyes suddenly widened in stunned realization.

‘Aaaaah! And I had a date! I had a date, and I missed it! O-or, maybe not a date, but at least we were going to meet again! Oooh, darn it, how could I…!?’ Deni said and raised a fist with sincere regret in her eyes…!

---

Protectors of Penrose, huh? Had Mariette ever actually considered herself a protector of this city? … Eh. The idea with this was that it’d be easier to move around if a couple people in town liked her, wasn’t it?

Very well. For today, Mariette would be one of the champions of Penrose.

First Billy charged at her. No hesitation whatsoever, huh. Intimidation strategy failed. Not that she’d figured it’d work on someone flying through on a flying car. A failed attempt to counter-attack later and Mariette as well as Eli were standing on a rooftop, glancing down at the villain and his car.

There were four cars. Billy’s car, police car, fire truck and army wagon. Billy and army took off towards Amaryllis, police charged Mariette, and the firetruck went for a building. And… a huge pirate ship descended from the skies, and for a moment… for a moment Mariette thought of someone else, but that wasn’t it. It also wasn’t a foe, as Sophia fired at Billy and the army wagon. Then Hilaria backed up Amaryllis, and there were three Magical Girls focused on the front lines.

Suppose it was up to her to clean up the backline, then.

Mariette grabbed her mystical weapon, her hand mirror, with one hand and waved it. She manifested a big portal, which led directly into the solid foundation of the building she stood on, widened it considerably wider than a car to block any bullets heading for her… and then sent it careering at the police car coming flying towards her. They’d crash into solid ground at top speed if they kept going. This hopefully bought enough time for the rest of the scene.

‘Clean this up for me, Eli. I’m giving you some backup,’ Mariette told, and black shadows manifested around Eli, a dozen or more powered shadows coming up through the ground, her minions coming to play for this fight. They had the shapes of men, but their cores were filled with the darkness of Asengav, and they surely would be of aid in a battle against mere ghouls.



And with those summoned, Mariette dropped through a portal of her own and the wall-portal she’d sent at the police car vanished. Behind there, Eli gave a confident little smile, backed up by Mariette’s shadows.

‘It would be my pleasure, mistress,’ Eli said. The slime-harpy let her wings retreat to behind her back, becoming proper wings instead of arm-wings. Two new limbs were coming out, making Eli’s overall size a bit smaller because she was sprouting out more of it…

‘Hey, ghoulies!’ she shouted at the ghouls. ‘You didn’t think you’d be the only ones with guns, did you!?’ … Eli shouted as her arms shaped into a slimy assault rifle and, by the power of Eli’s “magical weapon”, it started to fire magical bullets at the incoming enemies. With her, the numerous shadows also struck with clawed hands, their arms stretching as if the length of their arms was a suggestion rather than a rule directly for the police, surely doing damage wherever it hit car or ghoul. The shadows were intelligent enough to dodge if they knew they were aimed for, as well, so while albeit not a match for regular magical girls, they surely would do at least okay against ghouls.

Eli dashed forward, firing at the cop-car trying to take out those that would hit her first, and then leapt so that she may land on the car and start commandeering it, dodging fire while clearing ghouls. Besides, she was made of slime. What did it matter if a couple bullets hit her? Sure, her overall vitality was low, but a bullet going straight through her body without hitting anything within her wouldn’t do any damage to that vitality!

Meanwhile, Mariette appeared before the firetruck crew, falling from one portal to stand on another newly formed portal next to them, glaring at them while squeezing her stuffed bunny.

‘I don’t know what you’re planning on doing…’ she started, before she’d probably have a number of guns directed at her… which were immediately met by an explosion of dark tentacles spewing out of everywhere around Mariette.

‘… but it won’t matter. Return to death, misguided souls,’ she told, as her tentacles took to disarming, restraining and tearing apart ghouls while she stood, glaring darkly as she watched what took place before her. If her Awareness caught a ghoul outside her tentacle range about to fire at her she’d simply open a portal to severely shorten that range and let her many limbs have at it, intending on tearing them apart before they’d have any chance to attack her. Besides, her tentacles could probably block gunfire if she was fired upon. In the unlikely event she’d end up in danger, she could once again drop through her portal to end up on another rooftop.

She had to make sure the other Magical Girls had their backs free.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

"No problem. I get why it happened so there's no issue, really."

Shion chuckled. "Yeah, I can understand that. I'll definitely keep you in mind if any other good opportunities come up." With that she took the gems and placed them all in a large container behind her. As soon as Suzette left, something happened. Shion closed the lid to the container and, a few seconds later, opened it to find it empty save for a small note that simply read "Good job." Shion cringed slightly, still upset that she was no longer trusted with keeping some of the resources she gathered, but understanding of it as well.

Ko spoke up. "Hey, if you want to get some more coins, I just sensed some straight up garbage going down outside. There seems to be about three lich running around, and you could get about a gold each for beating them."

Shion paused. "Sounds good. Lemme just check in with the others first."

//Report in on three lich. Actually, just report in everything.

//Found the boy> Engage?>

//Heard music* Found what appears to be a lich* Sending video feed now*

//Massive moron in flying car^ Appears to be a lich^ Sending video feed^

These reports came in almost simultaneously, and suddenly Shion had a front-row seat to the carnage of Billy's fight and Emily's plight. Looking at Billy's battle with several magical girls, she responded to Ko. "Seems like a 'too many cooks' deal with one of them. Doubt I could do enough to make a difference with how outnumbered that guy is."

//At the Museum of natural history- What appears to be a lich just showed up- Sending feed-

"... Same situation with another lich. Too many magical girls there already, no point in heading out when they'll have dealt with it by the time I could get there."

Ko looked at Shion with slight disappointment, but she understood her charge's point. She might only get in the way if she went there now.

//Boy left the shop> Interacting with 'Lily' from the beach after following other girls from the shop> Following>

Shion made her decision as she watched Mariette summon shadow creatures to help her fight. She would go after the lich with the least opposition, the one playing a guitar with a mosh-pit of spirits around her. Ko hopped on her shoulder and the two took off towards the area.

---

@PlatinumSkink@ERode

So that's their quirk, is it?

Silhouette wasn't going to end this fight in a single move, much to her pl-- er, dismay. Though she fended off the strike by the chain, it did not cease at one attempt, placing Sil in a position where she could feasibly be attacked from in front as well as behind simultaneously. Some would call this a disadvantage, but it was not like Sil had no options here. She had no trouble thinking of a few different ways out, it was just that not all would be ideal. She eventually decided on one route that made use of what she considered her 'win condition' for this particular fight -- namely, spacing.

As was typically the case, Sil found herself in a disadvantage when it came to range. Really, the only time she ever out ranged anyone was when she was against a Fist user, but this simply meant she was accustomed to dealing with this sort of situation. Her M.O was rather straightforwards: Pressure her opponent, give them no space to breath, and land a decisive blow when an opening presents itself. Until this girl gave her reason to think otherwise, she'd assume this would be the best approach.

"...Hmm."

She did not run in a straight line towards her foe, her route having a slight outwards curve to it towards the side that wasn't blocked by chain. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable and her foe wouldn't have any trouble seeing she wouldn't be backing off. She knew she could reach her opponent before the chain behind her caught her, but that didn't mean she could slack off. Short as the time was between the chain's turn and Silhouette reaching nearly zero distance from the girl, she succeeded in placing her empty closed hand into Stasis with trace of her other hand, and then raising said fist across her chest, as though she intended to backhand the girl before her. Finally, as she reached striking range, her gaze dropped down and Sil suddenly vanished.

She immediately reappeared right behind her opponent, almost back-to-back, her fist still raised to her breast. With a sharp twist of her body, she would extend her arm and attempt to land a blow on the side of her opponent's head.

“I think they are supposed to say something like “Get out!”, “Cursed!”, “Do not enter!”, and that one over there says “Enter at your own risk”,” Valkyrie responded to the girl while pointing towards the sign behind them in a rather earnest, matter-of-factly tone. “Apparently it is ''Dangerous`` and ''Could cause harm to newer magical girls” or something to that effect. I was tasked with putting up these signs I made for this section of land. It’s history … it isn’t a particularly happy one from my understanding.”

Even though she desired to prevent others from entering the area, the signs Valkyrie was putting up seemed closer in design to a cheesy haunted house one might go to on Halloween than a legitimate warning. Despite her best efforts, her idea of aesthetic might be a bit dated, and her Guardian’s was probably worse. Though. people with a remedial understanding of the area would likely avoid it, regardless of the effectiveness of her signage.

Regardless, the little Magical Girl before her had introduced herself, though, from her statement, Valkyrie seemed moderately uncomfortable by the conversation.

“Did you come up with that one on your own? Uhh, G-Good work there,” Valkyrie said to the young girl, not wanting to offend her for her rather … simple name choice, turning away and not able to face the tiny girl on her own and feeling the experience of second-hand embarrassment for her. She did, however, attempt her best to hide this expression from the girl, though, given the circumstances, it was likely very easy for “Ronin” to put two-and-two together.

...The irony was seemingly lost on Valkyrie; someone whose pseudonym was equally simplistic in design.

Laughing at Valkyrie from their mental link, Yury seemed to remember finding Valkyrie’s own name to be rather comical when the two first met, Olesya getting embarrassed and upset with him for laughing at her “creative” and “cool” name. It was the name she ended up sticking with for a long time.

Not understanding where he found amusement, and the laughter dying down as quickly as it began, Valkyrie remained patient, waiting for the girl to complete her explanation. Though she didn’t really go too in-depth, Valkyrie was able to discern that she was in some sort of mortal peril and that she needed to meet someone quickly.

“If you want to help her out, then do so. So long as you don’t die; it is difficult to train someone. Though time is not a factor to something like me, I would not want to be lost to the world anymore. Besides, if it is dangerous, it might be fun to fight! Wouldn’t you agree, Basaghan?”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ronin, though I would have preferred us to have met in better circumstances. It appears that you have mingled with the wrong crowd, but regardless of what you had done, I do not believe you should be “ended”. I cannot say I would like to stand beside that decision. On my wings, I swear I would not allow you harm, though I would hope that you would at least have a bit of combat experience under your belt. While my strength is great, I cannot say I can also protect you against any and all harm. Especially with Penrose being the way it is currently. That doesn’t mean I won’t try my best though.”

However, there began the first crack in Valkyrie's rather calm demeanor. A light crack of her voice as a sharp, high-pitched squeal.

“A d-d-date!? Like, one of those things where you enjoy the company of someone you love!? K-Kids this era sure are bold....”

Unbeknownst to most others, and even though she normally maintained monotonous tones with a constant, serious scowl plastered upon her face might suggest, Valkyrie was a hopeless romanticist. From novellas to music, to her favorite, plays, she enjoyed the romantic situations found within such. Despite this, however, her first-hand experience in the field was rather … hopelessly lacking.

“Jealous? Of a little girl!? My cute little maiden? Don’t make me die from laughter! Gahahaha!”

And with that statement from Yury, Valkyrie flicked the pendant he was held in, causing him to spin like a pendulum for a short bit, yelling obscenities through their mental link. It was simply the thing he possessed, after all. He could enter most any object if he had chosen to do so, though the pendant was like a second home to Yury. It allowed him to both watch Valkyrie, and to stay by her side so she could “serve him” as a magical girl. That “high-functioning dumbass” always needed a second set of eyes to make sure she was okay. Even if she seemed cool and collected on the outside, she has maiden flowers where her brain should be.

Realizing her break in her outward stoicism, Valkyrie cleared her throat. A light blush was plastered upon her face, half caused by her embarrassment and the mere idea of a date. Wanting to steer the conversation away from its current course, she began to speak again.

“A-Anyway, grab onto me. Though I know not about yourself, I am confident in my speed; my wings can bring you anywhere you desire.”

Valkyrie extended her hand towards the person, and if they were to grab it, they would travel towards their destination with the girl like a bolt of lighting.

Hah, he was a dinomancer!

It had been a good while since Mac had set foot in a museum. As a child, her parents took her to nearly every single one in Penrose, Seeing the bones of some long extinct animal or what remained of an ancient indian’s clothes was enough to get her creative juices flowing. She didn’t remember reading any of the bronze placards, It was far more fun to imagine what life was like for these people/creatures than to have it all revealed to her. Though at some point her interests must have shifted, for what was a police officer but a pursuer of truth?

It was a little sad, really. Museums brought joy to a lot of young kids, and now she’d have to choose between destroying some of the oldest fossils in the world, or letting this litch continue to live. So long as human lives were in the balance, it was hardly a question.

---

The particular book that Veronica held was linked to Binky’s memories. Since Binky was spirited away with the rest of the girls over the vacation, there wasn’t much catching up to do. But there were a lot of alerts shortly after arriving back in Penrose, which piqued her interest.

Much like Veronica had anticipated, the Ascendancy didn’t care for how new Beacon operated. Binky had been taken out of the lab and locked away in a cell. It would not surprise Veronica if the same happened to other Beacon girls. Getting back in touch with Sylvia would prove to be difficult, regardless of her fate. Veronica would love to improve her standing by sending her agents to help out, But it was a risky move with her forces spread so thin. At present, Tetrad was fighting a necromancer, and Sil was-

“What?”

With everything going on, her top agent was screwing around with some bottom feeder, even after a fellow agent requested assistance. It was not entirely her fault. Sil was the one that was attacked, but that hardly mattered. Silhouette was choosing to drag out a random skirmish that didn’t pertain to any of veronica’s objectives. Sil would receive a transmission shortly.

“Sam? What are you doing?” If Silhouette wasn’t so occupied, she might have been able to respond. But she didn’t have to. Veronica was well aware of the situation. “I have a lot of work for you. Wrap this up quickly so that we can begin running missions in earnest.”

@FamishedPants

---

@ERode@PlatinumSkink@FamishedPants@Crusader Lord

“I say, I say, after your declaration, I was expecting a bit more-” peppered the street with a salvo of cannonballs, with complete disregard for the road. She’d hit the pavement, cave in a convertible, and flatten a post office box, but none of her shots would hit Billy. What he couldn’t steer out of the way of was batted away with his sword. In one instance, he just tipped his head to allow one of the cannonballs to fly over his shoulder. As Billy came closer to Hilaria, Sophia was forced to stop firing on him or risk hitting her.

The army truck did not fair as well. One of Sophia’s shots slammed into the grill, forcing the nose of the vehicle into the ground. The back of the vehicle acted like a catapult and flung the riding ghouls into the air. They were decked out in military garb and held a variety of martial weapons. Rocket launchers, machine guns, one even had an AA-12 automatic shotgun. The incoming cannonballs were knocking them out of the air, but that didn’t stop them from firing at everything they could see.

That was when Hilaria decided to become a traffic bollard. Billy gravely underestimated how durable the magical girl was, and he didn’t have his seat belt on. The impact caused the rear end of the car to buck, catapulting Billy over her. This allowed Amaryllis to close the distance and test her might against the herculean lich. But it became clear that as soon as their weapons came together that Billy had become much stronger after his death. Not only that, but Billy was still being carried by the momentum of the unholy car he was riding in. Amaryllis's hop up didn't give her the same level of kinetic energy. “I say, I say, after your declaration, I was expecting somethin' a bit more-” The two smashed through the hull of Sophia's ship before they both rolled to their feet. “Elegant.” Billy finished before brandishing his weapon. Before the two sword fighters could resume their duel, Billy jumped. The ship could barely contain a creature of his size, and it broke apart as he soared through the ceiling. His outstretched hand reached for Sophia through the dock. “Captain, you're going down with the ship!”

Meanwhile, When the police car slammed into the portal-wall, it blew the front fenders. What was revealed underneath was not your standard car chassis. A fleshy mass with bony spines and eyes looked out from the new holes in its paneling. This wasn’t a police car, it was monster hiding inside of one. With a demonic bellow, the grill opened up to reveal a maw before charging after the harpy. Eli’s shots easily dispatched the ghouls, but she’d need to stay on her toes to avoid the monster car.

Mariette was able to escape to the fire truck. It seemed the floor the ladder was aimed at was filled with bystandards. Normal humans who had no idea what was coming to claim them. Mariette was able to find and crush many of the ghouls, but they greatly outnumbered her and would take time to slay. A group towards the back had taken a fire hose and aimed it at her. It took five of them to hold it steady, but they managed to fire the hose in Mariette’s direction.

---

@FamishedPants@Ariamis@DarkwolfX37

Lupa arrived at the scene as soon as Emily’s fireball struck a ghost. “So they do have corporal forms.” This was important, as her desire to kill at this point was impossible to resist. She dove head first into the specters and started swinging, cleaving them by the dozen.

Even though her bloodlust had nearly taken over her mind, she was aware that the ghosts were responding to the lich’s music. Perhaps as an experiment, or maybe just to make her prey more fun to fight, she used her sound magic to amplify her wild laughter. Anyone nearby would undoubtedly hear her voice drown out whatever the lich was playing. Lupa also chose to not stray too far inside the mob of ghosts. She moved in a wide zig-zag pattern, trying to keep the opening as wide as possible without getting surrounded. Feral didn’t want the hunt to end prematurely. If the Endsinger was providing this dark banquet, Lupa would snuff her out last.



Shion would stop getting reports from some of her clones. Some were even interrupted mid sentence as they reported on the area around Endsinger. Oddly, the clones watching the other two battles and the shop were unharmed and did not report any suspicious activity.

---

Su accepted the friendship stone from Helga and purchased the Dragon Pendant from the greedy warmonger. She wasn’t especially worried about being hit, but the pendant resonated with her. “Dragon Scale?” It shared the name of the creature Su wanted to emulate most as well as that of “shining scale,” Su’s former master. Dragons were often revered for their strength, but it was often their ability to destroy that was celebrated rather than their nigh immortality. Though that was perhaps the part of being a dragon Su wanted to emulate most, which was why she ended up accepting the trinket. She looped the pendant around her neck and observed it in a mirror. It was a piece of jade carved into two serpentine dragons in an eternal chase.

That was not the only item that caught Su’s eye. She spotted a staff over by the weapons. There was nothing remarkable about the stick’s appearance. It was just a bamboo staff with a black stripe that wound from end to end. Normally Su would not have given the weapon a second glance, but this item also resonated with her. When she raised her hand, a gust of wind brought it to her side. As a connoisseur of everything oriental, she could appreciate the craftsmanship of such a weapon. More over, she could feel the weapon reaching into her. The staff wanted to take in all of the emotions she was feeling right now. This did not alarm Su, and instead made her felt like the weapon belonged to her. She sighed when she realized she wasn’t going to leave without it. “I’m taking this too.” She tossed some more money at the warmonger before rushing out the door, sufficiently armed to save Mika.

Acquired Swag
Dragon Scale Pendant
Ether Staff
walkie-talkie stone

Cost
2 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze

---

@EnterTheHero@Rune_Alchemist

Once the boney man fled the scene, Mika attempted to use her healing artifact to help the wounded pedestrians.

“Get up, get up!”

Before Mika gave entirely into her panic, Su descended from the sky. Her new staff floated behind her back. “Are you alright?” Mika only whimpered in response. Su could tell she was distraught over what happened to the bystanders. They had a blank look in their eyes, and they seemed to be unmoving. She took one of their hands into her own and felt their wrist for a pulse. “They’re alive Mika. They’re just in shock because they had a near-death experience. I’m sure our presence isn’t helping.” Su waited for the girl’s eyes to focus on her before pulling Mika to her feet. “Take a moment to gather yourself and meet me at the museum.”

“Wait, there’s a museum?” Mika’s smile returned. “I always wanted to go with you! Are there dinosaurs?”

Su blinked at Mika’s swift rebound, then smiled when she remembered who she was dealing with. “Let’s find out together. Just keep yourself safe.”

They wouldn’t have to go far before being greeted by a quarto of undead lizzards (birds?).

“Man, they’re big… But I’ve got an idea!” Mika grew a bunch of crab legs and scaled one of the buildings. “Cover me! I’m gunna open a portal to the beach dimension on the roof!”

Su didn’t understand what Mika was planning, but at least she was safe. While there were a lot of monsters about, the one that posed the most immediate threat to the magical girls on the roof was the pterodactyl. Fortunately, this was also the one that Su was best equipped to deal with. The hotel manager created a vacuum chamber around the prehistoric creature. Wings only worked because they could help move air around, so Su reasoned that an air free environment should knock the creature out of the sky. Should that not work, collapsing the vacuum on it should at least damage it.



Tetrad didn’t relax her stance, but she grinned at the triplet that addressed her. ”Yea, all according to plan.” It wasn’t, actually. Tetrad had little faith in her weapon when it wasn’t backed by magic, but it seemed like the zombies were weaker than she anticipated. ”I’m Tetrad, by the way.” She spoke while Tossing a tarot card at each of them. They seemed to be strength reliant, so she blessed them with the suit of swords. ”I’m new to the area, but all the same you don’t look like locals.” Tetrad tossed a blue card at the damaged girl to heal away some of the damage she sustained. ”Oh, and ‘scuse me!” Tetrad tossed another blue card, but this one was aimed between two of the girls. Once it cleared them, it transformed into a tiny spinning scythe that cut through everything it touched. Even the thick blubber of an ogre was no match for a blue bipartisan attack*. ”Damn I’m good!” Tetrad raised her hand, and a few more cards flew into her hand. She looked at one of them and her grin grew even wider. ”Damn I’m really good!”

*^{I’ve been wrong before.}

"I-is that... really what she wants to do?" Ellie asked, pacing back and forth the length of a small backroom, just off and behind from The PI owned corner store, a few miles from The Nerine Vista. The heavy fabric sleeves and wide brimmed sage's hat she called an outfit bobbed up and down in the air with each of her repetitive steps - around the table, over the mess of cables threaded from the back of the computer atop it, past the water cooler, left of the coffee and vending machines, and behind Christine's chair to sneak a glimpse through the glass window of the break room, before manoeuvring back to her side to begin again. "Not that I'm questioning, but isn't that super, super duper risky? Vi-chan might not like it, a-and even if she does, isn't it... y'know... r-really bad?"

Every few laps, Ellie would stop to stare at the computer screen. Christine could hear it, despite her silence - the girl was every moment justifying things in her head, the pros and cons of every word and move. Whether morally it was right, whether the ends justified the means. She would stop and wordlessly scan the open windows, reading each condition and each setting Christine changed or added. The UI had remained much the same to when Ellie had bought it, but she could see in it where the various alterations fell into place: a change in colour here, a rewritten piece of code there. The original script hadn't been difficult to re-programme into a functioning message service, especially with Glimmr to serve as a baseline comparison, but handing it off to Mary to retrofit the Surveyor App's security measures was a nerve wracking experience for her. Christine barely even needed to redirect her vision to tell what the druid was thinking, every emotion she could ever experience was laid bare on Ellie's face.

"They struck first, you get that right?" Christine responded. With a click of her mouse, the software shifted from a series of checkboxes and variable flags to a debug menu of code, underlined with a loading bar which ticked slowly upwards to completion. Christine swivelled in her chair, grazing the side of the table as she turned to face Ellie, whose most recent lap halted in progress. "How many did the Gamma Team lose again, five? Five of your friends and colleagues dead or captured by the hands of The Ascendancy, directly or otherwise. That's enough to justify it. This is already a war, it's been a war for months - just nobody's declared it official yet. That's all this is."

"I-I-I don't know, it feels wrong..." she replied, taking an uneasy step towards the vending machine. The plexiglas panel that sat at its front had been removed, leaving her free to reach in, and pull a bottle of water from the third row from the top, two from the left - C2. A sweat covered hand slick from anxiety twisted at the cap to no avail, sliding around it and adding to her frustration, until a moment of friction caught the ridges, and she pulled the cap from the rim. "M-more importantly, why would Vi-chan sign up to this? She's anti-Beacon and all b-but, wouldn't her popularity take a hit? I know she loves her fans, but without her fame what would she do? I-I, i-if we damage her career, won't she get super mad, she'll - I-I don't, I-"

"Shhhh, it's okay, it's okay," followed Christine's voice, cutting off the steadily increasing panic behind Ellie's voice. She had stepped up from the chair, and crossed the distance between the two before Ellie had noticed. There wasn't enough energy left in her not diverted to her anxiety to resist Christine's grip, which led her backwards and into the chair by the desktop. "If the majority of her audience shares her sentiments, this'll only serve to make her more famous. And anyway, we're appealing to whoever Vi works for. We only need them to agree to the idea, and then it's happy days, okay? So stop worrying."

The sound of wind chimes and party poppers radiated into the room, from the speakers either side of the PC. Ellie panicked, for a moment, but with her hand in Christine, she shrugged it off with a mouthful of water, and looked towards the screen. Elvira would only receive a simple message on Glimmr, from an account that had only abruptly been added as her friend. The account had been made that day, within minutes of sending the message - no prior activity, no profile picture, no friends, no data.

Need help planning your party?
om9j7UnY76gT.56gtPAx1By.pc

The link would hold up against any scrutiny - despite its suspicious appearance, it was nothing harmful. If she chose to open it, it would automatically redirect her after a few seconds of loading, to another website. Two messages had been posted in a simplistic messaging service. The website held a white background, with blue trim around the edges of the message and text box. At the top and to the left was a text box to change ones name, and the colour of their text, and beneath it was a box that read No Online Users. The URL, just as simply, read "surveyorboard.net/e6Tym90okIlL/secure". A fair amount of time had been put into creating a secure message system, one which could be accessed by even those outside of The Penrose Independent, who didn't have access to The Surveyor App proper. It made use of many of the same features the inbuilt messenger of the app did, whilst simultaneously providing magically bolstered security of the highest calibre. The Glimmr message would be automatically deleted, and the initial link would become invalid, leading only to "site could not be reached" page, so that only Elvira, Christine, and Ellie had access to the channel.

C: Hey there.
C: Can I take it that you're Vi?

Celia was by herself, trying to do as much as she could to fix things. She was used to being alone, but the Despair that loomed over the city felt overbearing. But the empath wouldn't let it hinder her. So, collecting the some of despair magic, she hunted down as much of the lesser undead and such as she could, while helping some monster and dark magical girls get to safety, giving them Hope.

She didn't care if any bigger threats like the ascendants-or-another decide to try and claim her head as a prize. They would have to try their hardest to kill who is basically already dead herself.

Besides, there was someone she was meeting up with.

---

---

Eliza and Maura ended up meeting with the rest of their team at the former's appartment. The angel was able to catch up on what's been happening, but it pained her to hear that things have taken a turn for the worst. To keep herself calm, she decided to talk with her patron a bit.

“Hey...Maura?”

“Hm?” The mage looked over at Eliza. “Is something the matter?”

“What's with this order- balance stuff we have to concern over?”

Maura thought for a moment. “From what I can tell, it's what keeps worlds, dimensions from collapsing on theirselves. For example, the power balance of light and darkness. If either side of this war wins, or if both die trying. Then I fear the worst may happen to this place.” she shook her head in disgust. “Those damn vermin, they've finally lost their heads amidst their self righteousness.” the mage hissed.

Eliza patted her patron on the back to calm her down. “Okay...but, why does it seem like you're the only lesser force who cares?”

“What does thou mean- Sorry, old speech habit.”

“We don't see any others caring about this war, right? What makes you any different?” Though the question may come off as hostile, the angel appeared genuinely curious, other than worried.

“My dear apprentice, if I wasn't different, I wouldn't have ended up a renegade in the first place.” Maura chuckled then turned her attention back to the meeting.

“Right, Amanda and Valerie, keep me updated if something comes up. Everyone else, stay alert. If you find anything having to do with the Ascendancy, or it's leader, let Amanda know. And for those who are willing to go to Vi's party...” She ruffled Eliza's hair. “Keep the children of the dark safe, in case of a sudden ambush. Dismissed.”

Once everyone dispersed, Eliza threw her cloak's hood back over her head when she stepped back outside. Theresa in her human form caught up to her shivering a bit from the cold. “So? What now?”

The angel held onto her ruby coin tightly. “Well, I am concidered a monster, right?” she weakly smiled at her familiar, and with her in tow, went to join the party.

Blades clanged and her Sword laughed, psychic tremors shaking between Amaryllis's ribs as the Swordswoman was launched skywards by the sheer force of Billy's might. In life, the man had been nothing but a snack, but in death? Lichs and necromancers truly were different; the former was going to taste so much better than the latter! Finally, some good fucking food!

Splinters burst, raining down alongside rusted petals as Amaryllis curled up into a ball. Skimpy as her outfit was, the leather had nevertheless protected her from wooden shards as she rolled up back onto her feet. The shock of the impact still numbed her fingers, but that sensation was dissipating too. Powerful, for sure, but the Knight of Rose had faced off indomintable foes before, and in the absence of equality in physical might, her speed and intuition bridged the gap. As Billy's legs coiled, Amaryllis read the movement and flung out her offhand as well, a chain shooting skywards to latch onto the air itself. Pulling onto the chain while kicking off the broken remains of the ship, Amaryllis outpaced Billy by one step, hugging Sophia against her with one arm as her other lashed out with her Silverlight, slicing at the lich's outstretched fingers. It'd be a shallow wound, if such a light stroke even cut the flesh of that undead hulk to begin with, but that was just a precursor to the next combo.

"Queen of the Waves, can you tame the winter sky as well?"

Still flying through the air, Amaryllis released her hold on Sophia, resigning her not to the merciless grasp of gravity, but instead upon a bud of an ivy, the smallest chain she had ever made. It too had grasped space itself, becoming a foothold in the aerial arena, and as Amaryllis's magic flowed out. For all its embarrassing, shameful moments, Keijo had served her imagination well, and the Knight of Rose had become easily twice as magical as she had been a mere five monthers past. Now, dozens upon dozens of steel ivy buds dotted the skies, each of them a nascent chain. Who needed to fly when you could simply step on the air? Efficiency of magic to fully leverage physical ability. In the wintry wind, Amaryllis landed upon the first ivy bud, her midnight blue hair billowing out around her as her Sword, the usurper of behemoths, keened its edge in anticipation.

A burst of speed, and she lunged for Billy, a flash of steel that ricocheted and rebounded off footholds she could generate and dissipate in the blink of an eye. It would be folly to aim for a deathblow against one that had already died; she would shave away instead, aiming for glancing blows to shred him to bits.

@Ariamis@BrokenPromise@EnterTheHero

---

Rina barely reacted as her sword found its mark. A little lower than she'd have hoped, and it began deflecting her other ones. But that was fine, it couldn't block everything. Inhaling, Rina knocked another arrow, narrowing her eyes at the abomination summoning the zombies. That thing sure liked talking a lot, huh? Well, whatever. She'd shut him up soon enough. Taking a brief mental note of the others in the area - Tetrad, Mika, and the Ascendancy girls, Rina knocked another arrow, intent on making good on that promise.

"...!" Rina shifted her stance, barely moments to react as the undead sabertooth leaped towards her. Humph, fine then. Running to meet it, Rina leaped into the air just as it had made its way onto the rooftop. Once she was over it, the archer formed a large, two handed sword, her bow adjusting in size to accommodate before firing at near point blank range, intending on severing the creatures head from its body. She'd land on the rooftop, intending to stay mobile - this thing looked fast.


@Shifter_Master

---

"Fuuu..." Chloe sighed, smiling faintly as she was 'comforted' by Penny. Well, this was good. Very good. Didn't seem she'd have to worry about Penny's loyalties at this rate, heh. Hopping up form the seat, Chloe placed a hand on her chin. Hm. "Liches, eh..." The DMG inhaled, well that was natural. She leaves and undesirables pop up because Beacon can't do its damn job. Pathetic, really. "...sounds like a job for a spirit mage." She smirked, walking over to Penny. "But if you think I need to meet this Cindy person, I suppose I could." Truthfully, she didn't have much interested in someone like Cindy...but perhaps, perhaps this could be useful.

If she could get Divina and the others involved...hm, this would be good.

"As long as she doesn't start bossing me around. Don't see why it wouldn't, either. I'll redirect Divina and Aurora to meet up there, too."


@Vocab

---

Planning a rave, was easy.

The other things she was supposed to do, was not. Lead the charge against beacon? Bullllllshit. Ugh, why did she even agree to this? She was pretty sure that moth girl did something with her mind when they first met, but there was little she could do about it now. She was more afraid of someone who seemingly could find her with relative ease than she was of going through with this. At least she could take solace in all her fans.

Leaning back in her seat Vi propped her feet up on her desk, reaching for a bag of chips. Well, good thing she didn't have anything else to do toda-

"The heck kinda idiot is DMing me." Normally she'd just ignore any sort of direct attempts at contact. In fact she had set it to decline and auto-reject most private messages. Kept her whole mysterious internet personality vibe going, but this? Vi stared at the computer screen, narrowing her eyes at it as a her breath caught in her throat. Panic began forming in the pit of her stomach. Had she been compromised?

Narrowing her eyes and sitting up, Vi began checking the profile. This was odd. Really odd. The account was barely a few minutes old, and had somehow forced itself to add it as her friend. Whoever this was had balls of metaphorical steel. The mint? Was it a trap? Maybe from some other faction? She heard rumors of some hoe leading some group of magical girls on the dark web, but it wasn't likely. A brief check showed nothing suspicious.

Vi's cursor hovered over the close button.

She should probably just ignore this, but...

"Okay Vi, spooky mysterious DM, you can handle this." Besides, if it was someone else that could help - or that she could use as a meat shield, then why not. A little testing of the waters should be fine. Inhaling sharply, Vi quickly spun in her chair, opening the same link on another computer on a Virtual Machine, just in case. She did not expect a chatroom of very minimalist design. Talk about poor design choice. Her eyes scanned to the link proper. Surveryboard? She made a mental note of that, and began running her own trace on the origin of this server. It likely wouldn't yield anything substantial, but she wasn't going to take any chances.

V: Wow, this website makes me wanna claw my eyes out
V: Don't think anyone with this lame aesthetic could help me with a party
V: but ya got me curious
V: So Vi-chan will give you lovely little sheepies a chance to entertain her
V: So what'cha want? I got other things to do so talk fast.

"Understood." Dawn left Hudie with that final affirmation, offering a salute in much the same manner as the rest. She turned to leave, and with eyes drawn across those shaded Ascendancy members lined along the walls, a silent farewell to the nameless. She hurried off with a brisk pace, arms swinging with her sprint to catch up to Leena and FanFan.

She met up and slowed to their pace, having barely broken a sweat. Though Rachel had assured her of Leena's loyalty, she couldn't help but give the diminutive girl a sharp once-over from the side. Nevertheless, Dawn opened up and extended a hand first to Leena as they walked.

"Dawn Astraea, as I'm sure you've realized," she introduced, "Leena and FanFan. I hope for us to work well together," she said before extending another hand for FanFan; she hoped the girl would give her the dignity of not returning the grip with her robotic arm. She wasted no time in planning.

"Which U-type are we headed for first? Or are we to split up evenly?"

Leena and FanFan were waiting at the teleporters when Dawn arrived. Leena was sitting crosslegged, balancing a throwing knife on her finger, while FanFan was sitting on her mechanical arms like a seat, sipping tea from a teacup and plate set. “Ah, if it isn’t the greenhorn,” FanFan spoke up, and Leena stood up. “About time; we were about to go on without you.” After Dawn introduced herself and stated her intentions, Leena scoffed, and gave the quickest of handshakes before swatting the hand away. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” FanFan on the other hand was pleased by the courtesy Dawn showed, and curtsied after the handshake. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Then, Dawn’s back was suddenly slapped by her giant arm, and she giggled. “But playtime is over. Now we shall proceed with the work.” The two took their positions in the teleporter, and Leena summoned her weapons; a pair of red and blue katanas that left traces as they were unsheathed. “We’re going for the U-type codenamed “Siren”. While they’re all causing collateral damage, that one is our current top priority. Any questions?”

Dawn doubled over as the hand impacted her. She didn’t complain about the gesture, but her cough and reservation said everything she wanted to about it. A hand absently reached around to pat softly at her back as she spoke, clearing her throat. “I’m assuming the U-type was aptly named, and is the one performing the concert?” she asked. Dawn followed suit, stepping into the teleporter without hesitation. She would have summoned her weapon if not for the ramped space; she would save that for when they reached the outside.

Leena nodded silently, while FanFan leaned forward, using her entire body to “nod” while balancing with her mecharms. “Yep yep! We have some agents dealing with the summoner, and a third squad is also going to strike at the third U-type. Anyway, it’s time! DLF is a GO!”
And so the three of them felt weightless for a few seconds as they were teleported.

The next moment, they were at a rooftop nearby the one where the lich was performing her song. Before Dawn managed to get her bearings, Leena had already started running. “Do what you can, but stay out of my way, rookie!” She shouted behind her. FanFan giggled. “Show your stuff, greenhorn.” And with that, she sent her mecharms to grab the edge of the rooftop while she walked back until they were stretched as far as they could, before launching herself slingshot-style. “Concert’s over!” Leena shouted, and came in with a super fast whirlwind slash, followed by FanFan slamming her mecharms together in a hammer-like maneuver.

Dawn’s form erupted in a fountain of light, and when it subsided, her body was encased in blue and white armor, white mechanical wings stretching out to the side. Her sword slipped through a crack in reality, and was swiftly snatched with a hand. Dawn Astraea, no… “Justice” was here not merely to destroy the wicked, but to prove herself.

She broke into a sprint off the side of the building, and as her heels left the concrete, a jet of flame rocketed outwards, propelling her through the air. Out of range, her sword folded and creased, morphing into a tall staff with a angrily-glowing red jewel at its center. With hands raised high, she charged a spear of flame, firing it squarely for the so-called “Siren”.

@Ariamis @ERode

@Ariamis@Flamelord

Aurelio was outwardly unphased by Rachel’s rough attempts to get the truth from him. He was after all speaking the truth, regardless of how bizarre that it might be. Inwardly he was doing his best to mitigate his own annoyance. The Ascendency always took things so seriously and it was really rather off putting to the laid back magician.

He opened his mouth to continue his defense, but softly closed it when he heard the teleporters going off. After all it meant more information, and hopefully an update on his friends, seeing as only one of them had texted him back. So once again Aurelio quietly followed after Rachel, though he was hoping that it wouldn’t turn into a habit as he could feel the unease in the halls as she walk through them.

He was always impressed with the containment room. It was such an effective mix of all the rooms that he tended to hate mixed with a near ever presence of fear. Making it no surprise that he tended to avoid the places as much has he could, to say nothing about how his Vow tended to place him in uncomfortable situations when mixed with these rooms.

“Please, give me some credit” He would quip as he walked closer to the group “I didn’t walk anywhere. I teleported.” Aurelio would explain with puffed up swagger, which quickly deflated. “I’m glad you’re all okay though” He would say sincerely as he met the eyes of all of them, even going so far to give Sally a light hug.

He felt compelled to try and actively heal Kimble, as leaving her there hurt was such an act of cruelty that it near appalled him, but he knew that the Ascendency wouldn’t care that he was simply following his Vow and would condemn him for the simple act of Kindness. Still he couldn’t just do nothing; thus a soft blue light would start emanating from his cane as gentle waves of Compassion would start pouring off of it. With luck it would sooth Kimble’s injuries and promote quicker healing for them, but at the least it would offer some amount of comfort to her.

“I’ll try to be here for the trial” He would explain “I told them about Dan already, but she’s not buying it” he would explain with a nod towards Rachel “I admit a Lesser force being able to do what Dan did is odd, but I get the feeling that the two girls who showed up at the end might have had something to do with it. Also got a text from Penny as well, she seems to be fine for the moment, but got caught up in a monster attack already.” Which if the Magician was being honest was likely for the best, it wasn’t much of a stretch to assume that Penny would react poorly to the Ascendency, or that they would react poorly to her.

---

@Rune_Alchemist @Ariamis

“I don’t think Cindy is the bossy type” Penny would say as stood up as well ”She does have the best understanding of what needs to be done at the Sanctuary though” Penny would continue, leading the way towards the door so she could open it back to the hidden Monster girl nest for the both of them.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, but I just can’t shake the feeling that I might be a security risk right now” And that was at the top of her to-do list one the Monsters had been taken care of. She suppressed the urge to groan once again there was so much for her to do and it didn’t seem like she a lot of time to get it all done. ”Because of that I’m gonna head out as soon as we get back” she continued, obviously a bit down at the fact she had to leave so soon after she got back.

“I’ll call you when I learn anything” Penny would promise as she opened the door back to her Lair. She would stand in the doorway, making sure it stayed open, just long enough for Chloe to step through as well. Before she would begin heading speed walking towards the hole that lead to the other floors.

“Cindy!” She would call out as she walked “Back with Chloe” She would add gesturing towards the petit mage that was the robotic girls girlfriend. “I can’t stay however. Realized that I might be a security risk, so I’m off to deal with a Monster and make sure that I’m not a danger to the safety of this place.” Penny would summarize as she reached the edge of the hole. Turning towards the electrified girl Penny would accept the Red Coin before apologizing “I’m sorry I can’t stick around longer to help, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise” Without another word She would drop down into what once was a bolt hole. Her hover jets would flare to life before she touched down and without looking back she would race off.

The first layer of pipes, the ones that Penny had set up to be actual Bolt holes were connected across all of the building in this area, but most of them were too small for anyone to traverse. A few of them were large enough to walk through if one was careful, and the one that Penny was currently racing through connected to the sewer system. It was also one of the few that had a door, of sorts. Reaching out magically the slab of metal at the end of the pipeline would drift open just wide enough for Penny to slip out before it quietly swung closed again. From the outside the entrance would once again go unnoticeable as Penny had painstakingly made sure that the section of wall that covered this escape was indiscernible from any of the other walls.

She would travel down here for a while before popping back up to the surface to help track down a Target. At the moment any of them would be a good way to de-stress.

---

@ERode @FamishedPants@BrokenPromise

Across Penrose Chaos had sprung up. Three separate Monster attacks were currently ongoing not to mention any number of lesser confrontations being forced by low members of Beacon and the so call dark forces they hunted. Thus it wasn’t as much of a surprise as it could have been that one such dark magical girl went unnoticed, even as she was racing through the City’s streets on her Motorcycle, a steel gray Kawasaki Ninja.

If one had an aerial perspective they would be able to tell that this new comer to Penrose wasn’t driving around randomly. They were following a simple search pattern, and thus obviously looking for something, or someone. Unfortunately for the newcomer this search pattern soon placed her driving head long into the writhing mass of Ghosts called to mosh by the Endsinger. “Of course I wouldn’t have any bloody luck today either!” The girl on the bike would curse to herself as she noticed the confrontation she was rapidly closing in on.

A translucent wall would appear in-between the girl and the hoard of dancing ghost and just a moment later it would shatter, due to the girl had drawn her revolver and fired it at the wall, sending destabilizing shards of magic into the teeming mass spirits. This would repeat itself three more times before the girl and her bike would finally reach the edge of the horde just in time for a translucent ramp to appear launching her above the spirits on the ground. Giving her a better line of sight on the lich causing this mess, at which she fired off the last two rounds in her gun, before gravity started to pull her back towards the ground.

@Phonic



‘… I think that might actually attract more passerbyers than it will dissuade. Like me. I totally feel like exploring that now. But that’ll have to wait,’ Deni said about the signs, chuckling a bit. Still, no putting herself in danger until Eli’s safe. Then Valkyrie commented her name. Deni grinned.

‘Right!? I’m really proud of it!’ Deni called happily, putting her hands on her hips and beaming. That is, proud of it because it’d probably slip right past a lie-detector without her needing to use her real name. Probably.

‘Hahahaha. That’s putting it mildly…’ Deni chuckled a bit about “mingled with the wrong crowd”. In her defense, though, she hadn’t known it was an abyssal horror of some kind. Still, her eyes got all attentive when Valkyrie swore to allow her no harm.

‘Woah. You’re making an oath for little old me?’ Deni asked, amazement in her voice, putting her hands together and beaming with the mildest of a blush. ‘That is so awesome of you! Yes, don’t worry! I’ve seen more than my fair share of combat! Though, I’m Reinforcement specialized, so don’t expect too much in terms of ranged combat capability, heh. I’m pretty good with my sword, though~!’

Then Valkyrie reacted like that to the mention of a date, and Deni had to stare at her mildly awkwardly. She continued with scratching her cheek a bit with a smile, blushing a little too.

‘Weeeeeeeeeeeell… I don’t know if I actually love the individual in question. Like, when I think of people to date, I usually think of handsome boys. … But she took me by surprise with her question, and she and looked so desperate and cute I just couldn’t help but give her a shot~!’ Deni said and then grinned. She’s also older than she looks, but she wasn’t about to remove that fun little reaction from Valkyrie with such a boring fact. A hand was extended to her, and Deni grinned.

‘Alright, let’s-’ then Deni just stopped short. Her eyes gazed out over the field. Somehow, she felt it. Eli was in danger. … Not, like, in mortal danger, but danger nonetheless. Deni had heard of girls with this ability. Big Damn Heroes, it was affectionately called, wasn’t it? So she had that ability now, and her token… was with her sister. Why, of course it was. She turned to Valkyrie, her look a bit more serious.

‘A dramatic battle is currently being fought in Penrose,’ Deni said, and then grinned, taking Valkyrie’s hand. ‘Let’s hurry!’

---

So, the front of the car slammed into solid ground, but it didn’t take all that much damage. After all, it was a monster and not an actual car, as it would be revealed! Eli, who’d been intending on running and jumping onto the car, made a sudden stop.

‘Oh,’ Eli made a simple comment as it turned out the enemy above was just a TAD more dangerous than she’d been initially thinking. ‘More power it is…!’

The ghouls in the car dispatched, Eli no longer needed to worry about bullets, but becoming monster-car food was significantly scarier. She was transforming her gun into something more powerful, as she dashed in one direction to lure the car as she shouted to one of the shadows. ‘ARM!’

The shadow obediently threw out an arm to her, and when it hit her with a little slam Eli let it mold into her slimy body, making it a tight leash. She ran to position herself so the car would absolutely be slamming into any extrusions in the building, stairs up or towers or so, but moments later the car was already upon her, and-

‘PULL!’ Eli shouted, and timed a dodging jump of her own. With the combined speed of her own jumping capabilities combined with the pulling power of one of Asengav’s shadows, Eli leapt out of the way. And, if the monster car was as intelligent as it looked, it’d be crashing into what was behind her.

‘... AND ATTACK!’ If she got this far, Eli’d spin around to aim a more powerful one-shot rifle as large as she could make it, and fire a shot as powerful as a 7 across the board stat girl could fire, joining that with a collected volley of Shadow strikes from all the collected minions at the police car, hopefully doing significant damage…!

Meanwhile, Mariette was utterly unimpressed by the very obvious attempt to direct that water hose in her direction. She predicted it ahead of time and had a portal open way ahead of time to turn the blast of water and direct it back at the ghouls, tilting the portal a bit to move the beam and ensure she blasted as many as possible of the remaining ghouls with the assumingly mildly fatal beam given they were using it as a weapon. After that, she also opened portals to spread the reach of her tentacles in order to dispatch the rest, including those firing the hose.

Now, if it was the same case as the police car, then this fire truck was also a monster.

Mariette REALLY didn’t have any high-power attacks in her normal arsenal to actually deal with huge monsters with. Portal specialization gave decently limited offensive options.

As such, deciding the ghouls to be sufficiently decimated that Eli can handle the rest, Mariette dropped through a portal, and arrived…

Way closer to the battle with Billy, falling from one portal to land and stay standing in midair on another portal. … Given the description of killing ghouls taking time, probably too late to react to actions this time around.

‘I’ll support you now,’ Mariette said as she opened her portals, attempting to multitask. Some miniscule ones opened over her head going to her hidden eye looking all around so she’d keep perfect check of the whole battlefield in all directions.

The ghouls with rocket launchers. She opened portals to ensure the only thing they hit was their own car and allied ghouls, and sent one of those rockets back towards the fire truck. She opened another portal beside her that was just a shield herself against bullets from any surviving ghouls. But, above all she tried to keep her wits about looking at Billy and her other allies.

She was in position to open portals to interfere with his next move. If Billy was about to hit a fatal blow, then Mariette was going to be ready to open a portal to block him. If Amaryllis or any of her allies missed, she’d be ready to attempt opening a portal to redirect them so they’d hit again. Due to killing ghouls she’d be late for the current clash, Amaryllis launch was a bit too fast for Mariette to react to anyway due to just arriving to the scene, but the next exchange. Hand-mirror in one hand, squeezing her bunny in the other, she stood. Next exchange, the Reflective Witch would stand ready.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

Well, the situation wasn't exactly enviable. Was it better than trying to murder their way out of an ice rink against a bunch of Overzealous Nazis other magical girls who wanted to murder and beat them probably? Yes. That much she could agree on for the moment being. Yet did these people know about her much at all? Admittedly she wasn't a monster girl, or a DMG...heck she herself was purified and made a human of all things from her past "life". It was all so strange, and she had no idea to the point she was keeping on-guard internally. Most she knew was that the girl who had cuffed her seemed sympathetic, the small girl in a military outfit (Violet) she wanted to throttle somewhere far back in her mind, Aurelio was here seemingly briefly and apparently alongside a nasty little glasses-wearing girl....bah. This whole situation truly was far from optimal, but at least wasn't the worst possible thing right now.

Kimble was a mess, beaten seemingly near death and now in a cage of runes. She could at least read and interpret those, that much was the easy part at least. Surviving all of this, saving Kimble, and people not getting slaughtered in an all-out overzealous holy war within Penrose? She had to work on that one in her head for a bit. Statistics could be a fickle mistress. If nothing else, however, her frustrations were enough to outweigh the anxieties...at least for the moment being. Plus the prompt nature of the oncoming trial was something decent, and not some drawn out torture scene at this point.

Though while Alicia was busy talking to Aurelio, the white-haired Serenity found her eyes drifting over towards the girl who had come in here with Aurelio. For a moment anxiety and frustration seemed to find a temporary middle ground, as her curiosity bubbled up.

"...Is there at least someone with a Light spec for this trial, to help confirm the actual truth of our statements to the court?" Serenity asked the other magical girl, seeming to be genuinely curious with the question.

A light spec ensured one could tell if a lie is being told. A neutral function that one could not deny without being a liar themselves, unless the Ascendancy found a way to warp a Light spec to sense anything that was a "lie" to their credo. She wouldn't be surprised if they had found something like that. More than that, she just wished it would all end peacefully. Sure, she agreed that the city needed to be safe. Vile monsters and beings wandering about to harm and hurt and destroy wasn't good, and it wasn't like a regular magical girl couldn't be more monstrous than some monster girls at times as well. Yet what was it a man of this nation had once said? Wanting to be judged "by the content of his character" rather than anything else?

@Ariamis@Flamelord

---

It had almost been as if one moment she was firing cannons at her enemy with impunity, the next she was being hugged close to Amaryllis with one arm as the Lich had tried to reach up for her. In fact, the closeness itself was...k-kind of nice, actually. Warm and soft, and like scenes from those romanticized pirate movies her patron had told her about. It was kinda of nice in a general sense. Yet soon Sophia found herself upon a tiny bud of chains...er, ivy? At least she had landed on her feet, and this thing at least served as a foothold (much to the pirate's relief). Though as she stood there a question was thrown her way.

"Queen of the Waves, can you tame the winter sky as well?"

A grin came to Sophia's face in response. What was she, a bleedin' landlubber? Her ship also flew the skies!

Sophia's weapons manifested upon her in a heartbeat, chain arm covering her right arm, the boarding axe/shotgun in her left hand, and the ten rings donning her fingers. Likewise, a pair of brown-feathered wings erupted from the back of her outfit, akin to those of some kind of eagle or hawk. Then without a word, the pirate girl took to the air from her lofty pedestal, and with the grace of an avian predator she swooped right back down towards Billy. Nothing could hide the fire in her eyes, and her axe being at the ready to strike as she carefully observed the target before her.

After all, if this thing was already dead...what was to stop them from trying to carve it up like a Thanksgiving turkey? Or scattering its bits all over the place? Haha! It was time to get to work!

"This is fer' bustin' up mah' ship with yer' trash, ya' mangy bilge-rat!"

@ERode@PlatinumSkink@BrokenPromise

---

'Ah.'

Get in close, preparing to attack and moving into the right stance. Then strike from where the opponent wasn't expecting. Ninha had to hand it to her opponent, the girl had quite the sense of timing even for a Time spec girl. She could feel the girl's presence suddenly reappear behind her, that much her senses registered in that moment Sil reappeared nearly back-to-back with her. What a thrill to meet a magical girl with these sorts of talents, yet willing to indulge her in this little introduction! Ah, but back to the matter at hand. She did seem to have at least one thing on her side against this girl, based on what she'd seen so far. Speed. Agility. Dexterity. Whatever one wanted to call it, it seemed to be just enough to potentially let her dodge even with the splendid timing of her opponent's attack. But what fun was that? How hard would her opponent aim to hit to test her own defenses, after all? She wanted to understand that much at least, among other things.

Thus there was only one way this could go.

As Sil's arm extended, body twisted, and stasis-locked hand shot out at the side of Ninha's head, the monster girl didn't seem to budge an inch. As if she couldn't react to the sudden reversal of situation. All she seemed to do, however, was chant a single word in the brief moment of time allotted to her before the attack made contact. That was all she used her at least somewhat superior speed, agility, and dexterity to do. The chanted word was made in a tongue very much foreign to the modern day and age, however, something some might call "alien". Strange as it was, however, the word was still from the human tongue...but one long forgotten by mankind as a whole.

"(Strike)."

Her opponent had revealed a card, and so would she.

Sil's hand crashed into Ninha's head with a solid "thud" after the one word chant was uttered, and the magical girl's strength ensured the blow hit hard enough to smack Ninha's head to the side a little. Yet something would also be apparent. The sheer density of Ninha's head was not like that of a normal living thing with a skull and organs. It was as if it was made of something solid in its entirety, or perhaps had been reinforced with armor. The monster girl's head didn't even give as the blow hit, however, even with Sil's level of strength.

Yet tearing two holes in her very simple white attire as they erupted from her back, a pair of golden-tipped chains appearing like those on Ninha's arms were formed out of the dense, magical, and divine-touched mud composing her body. Though not as tough as her weapon, they were as mighty as her magic could manage...and just as easily controlled as her weapon. Their sharp ends shot out directly towards Sil's own torso (upper and lower), and with the enemy magical girl so close to her the hope of Ninha was to land a blow to test how durable her opponent was. The blow weren't aimed to be lethal, at least~

@FamishedPants

After finishing the last of the hot chocolate, Connie and Mia had both decided to turn in for the night. Snuggly tucked in beneath several layers of blankets, both young women looked forward to what they hoped would be a pleasant and restful sleep. Unfortunately, hopes and realities can often be very different things…

---

Violet Covington was not asleep. Far from it, she was, in fact, hard at work employing her considerable web of contacts to acquire any and all information they could find on incidents of recurring nightmares similar to what her father was experiencing. The heiress strongly suspected that her father’s predicament was not an isolated occurrence, and her suspicions were soon proven correct when the first reports began to trickle in. As it turned out, two other prominent CEOs had also been suffering some particularly traumatic nightmares of late.

Could this be some attempt at blackmail? she wondered.

Her curiosity grew stronger scant minutes later, when the trickle of new information transformed into a flood. Multiple high-ranking members of the city’s criminal underworld had also been experiencing frequent night terrors in recent weeks.

Curious… Most curious…

There clearly seemed to be some sort of pattern, but what it pointed to, Violet couldn’t even begin to fathom. She did know one thing, however. These were not random incidents. Some unknown, antagonistic force was employing supernatural means to attack various people through their dreams. Now, with that confirmed, she just needed to find them. This would prove a bit more challenging, since normal channels, as extensive and well connected as they were, would not suffice in this regard. No, to find a paranormal enemy, she would need to employ a paranormal investigator.

Fortunately, she had multiple options available to her. First and foremost, there was Sammy, the renowned paranormal “supersluth.” And if that didn’t pan out, there was always the Penrose Independent, a small, but popular, local news agency that, she had on good authority, investigated both mundane and magical matters. Either way, she would insure that whoever was behind these vile attacks would be found, and once that happened, she possessed an even greater variety of ways to put an end to them…

---

Kaito had thought it was weird when the catgirl suddenly dropped in front of him. Usually other girls would run after seeing his avian legs, but this girl seemed to like them for some weird reason. Well, she looked like a monster girl, so perhaps it was a feeling of camaraderie among abnormal looking people. Kaito didn’t have long to think on it before she suddenly gave him a very wet, very shivery hug. Kaito’s eyes widened; for a moment he thought she went in for an attack, but there she was, holding him. It ended as fast as it began, but the damp feeling she left stayed.
”You’re… welcome?” He spoke, but it seems she wasn’t listening, having already left.

That… was weird. Kinda nice, though. Most people want to kill me. A hug is a great change of pace. He shivered slightly in the cold as he felt the dampness start to sink in. ...Aside from her being soaking wet. He prepared to take flight again, trying to find the “prey” that the Queen told him about...

Then the wights and ogres showed up. Then the prehistoric skeletons. And then they became prehistoric zombies. Like… really? Zombie dinosaurs? This city was weird enough without dinosaurs, thank you very much, much less zombie ones. And then a bunch of magical girls showed up, clearly intent on dealing with the sudden influx of ghouls.

This is what I get for being complacent, he thought bitterly, summoning a brace of spectral swords hovering around him, eyes already darting about for some suitable shadows to dive into. He had to move fast- he had to go after the source, before it got to summon too many minions and overwhelmed them all.

Then again, he thought, watching the Inquisition girls curbstomp some wights, they seem to be handling it pretty well so far.

Do not get comfortable, Champion. Even an ordinary necromancer would be a fearsome foe. This creature is far beyond that. You must proceed with caution.

Kaito wasn’t overly enthused at the prospect, listening to the thing blather on about being “extinction” or whatever. Even worse if I have to listen to him rant the whole time. His eyes caught a sufficiently deep pair of shadows; one somewhat nearby, just behind the undead vanguard, and one closer to the museum, where the Lich awaited.

Perfect. Now he just had to get the rabble out of the way. He ran forward, ghostly swords weaving and thrashing around him as he aimed to flank the wights and destroy them with his newly summoned weapon.

---

Kimble's sad countenance turned to a genuine, if struggling, smile upon seeing Alicia. "Mistress, I'm glad you're here. Sorry for having to be rescued again..." She mewled, and closed her eyes. "Those other girls...They called Mistress a traitor," she bared her fangs. "They said many hurtful things about you. I couldn't stand it, so...I took revenge. But I wasn't strong enough..." She let her tail fall to the ground; the tip of its fur was burnt off. "I'm sorry, Mistress."

Rachel pointed her finger at Kimble. "That thing gouged an eye out from one of your fellow sisters!" She retorted, and then shifted her pointing to Alicia. "And you will answer for having brought a beast to our holy grounds." She turned away, facing the exit as she listened to Serenity's question, and reached her hand up to her chest as if to clutch something; this gave Aurelio his chance to sneak in some healing magic to Kimble, before the Inquisitor faced the girl.
"...Any lies at the trial shall be known by a user of light magic. Aurelio, follow me. Violet, your squad may take a rest. Inform the next squad to move in on U-Type 3."
Violet saluted, a big grin on her face.
"Understood, Inquisitor."
She activated the teleporter, and the squad disappeared. Kimble, soothed by the magic, pressed her head against the bars of the cage, causing one of her ears to flop out. "Please, mistress...Could you pet me, one last time?"

---

Rachel took the dapper magical boy back to the Confessional. She still seemed imposing and accusatory, but this time she spared him the physical abuse as she crossed her arms. "I am aware of the Vow you have taken, Tanner; you have sworn to uphold Kindness in all matters. Thus, it is possible you are innocent in all this. However," she bluntly stated, "to fully prove yourself as loyal to Beacon and its cause, we need you to perform a mission."

She began circling the interrogation table Aurelio was sitting at; her image accordingly shifted on the wide mirrored window set to the back wall. "A dark magical girl calling herself "Vi-chan" is going to hold a meeting of corrupted beings under the guise of a party. You will use your connections to the underground magical girl population, and find out the location and time of this party. If you do this successfully, you will be pardoned for your sins."

She stopped, and pulled out a bracelet from her pocket; it resembled an electronic health measuring device, with a different set of runes and a small interface of buttons and a LCD screen. "This device will transmit any audio in your vicinity straight to our database, allowing us to listen in. It has been enchanted to be immune to scrying magic such as Third Eye, so as long as you keep it under your sleeve nobody can detect it. Any questions?"

---

It was at that moment that Juliana teleported back in the containment area; she entered the cell, having brought a strawberry cake to the prisoners. "Here. You must be hungry." She set the tray down, and cut the cake into slices.She then gave each one a plate and spoon to eat the cake with. "Thank you," Sylvia quietly spoke, having begun eating quietly she was visibly distraught by what had happened to Kimble.
Sally on the other hand had begun to cry, and sobbed as she also expressed her gratitude. "Cake as my last meal...Well, I suppose my weight doesn't matter at this point, ehe..." She attempted to joke, but it fell flat. After giving Alicia her plate, she then went to Serenity. "My name is Juliana," she then spoke to the maid girl. "I do not recognize you." She held the plate towards her. "May I ask you for your name?"

---

Helga soon arrived at the graveyard, grimacing at the sight of the ghostly concert. "What the hell? This place might as well not be a graveyard with all this not-actually-dead going on around here." As soon as she heard some kind of music playing, her eyes widened, and her sharp teeth were bared. "Sound magic!" Using her Specialization, she created sound-nullifying plugs inside her ears, deafening her. She then ran forwards, spotting Lupa already in the fray. "LUPA!" She screamed, and extended her claws, joining her in the fight. Together, with both of them using a bestial, wild style of combat, they synergized well in a feral dance destroying the specters surrounding them.



Brittany nodded, smiling as Su bought the Ether Staff.
‘An excellent choice, ma'm! The Ether Staff will enhance your magical abilities when used.‘ She watched as everyone left running out the door, and put her hands to her hips.
‘Well that went well, Agatha!‘ She turned to her Patron, and patted him on his head, giggling like a child.
‘Now, let's go look for Sammy, starting at the Pit Stop.‘ She closed the shop, and hopped on her flying broom, exiting in a fashion most witch-like.

---

Lily sped through the mostly empty streets, no longer deterred by traffic like before. In a way, she was glad there weren't as many civilians around, as they would then be safe, but on the other hand she knew this wasn't normal, that people should be free to walk these streets without fear. She had been complacent for too long; now she had to act.

She thought about going higher to look for Alex, but was surprised as she heard his voice in the distance.
"Alex! Get on!" Lily shouted back, and braked in a circle, creating a donut-shaped trail in the snow before Alex had hopped on and she continued on her way.
"You ran off without me!" She scolded him; even though he couldn't see her expression, he could tell she was upset.
"Don't you realize how dangerous that is! You could get hurt and I wouldn't know! You dummy!"
To make her point, she decided to pass through a tight alleyway at full speed in an effort to slightly spook him.
"Don't ever do that again, Alex. Anyway, I saw the news, and there's monsters! Get ready!"

---

Rina's sword shot sliced through the tough hide of the undead sabertooth tiger, and mid-pounce its head was separated from its shoulders, causing it to slump down, its head rolling to its side. But then, the headless body rose up, and slowly stalked towards Rina, the tiger head snarling, one eye still on her.

Lily and Alex had reached the back entrance of the museum of natural history, and skidded to a stop. The two of them heard disturbing roars and screeches coming from the front side.
"Let's try and get them by surprise this time,"
Lily spoke in a lower voice, and hopped up to the roof, waiting for Alex to catch up before she moved stealthily forward, her bow held in her hands like a huntress in the forest.

There, floating on the other side and with his back to them was the bulky lich; he was laughing and swinging his golden scepter back and forth, unleashing more necromantic magic by the second. Lily took aim,pulling back on her bowstring made of crackling electricity, and waited for Alex to make his move before she would a Barrage of lightning arrows upon the undead sorcerer.

Mr Bulk once again was pierced by the electric arrows, and flinched from it, though it didn't seem to slow him down. "More vermin, here to squirm before their last breath!" He pointed his staff towards the ground in front of the museum, and summoned another portal; this one was much bigger than the last one, a swirling abyss of black and purple. "Come to me, life forgotten by time!" Bones were drawn from the museum and thrown to the pool, from which even more dinosaur zombies emerged: megalodons, allosaurs, anykolaurs and more.

The triplet nodding, having accepted Tetrad's introduction as she swirled her halberd around, cutting the legs off a wight before landing a bisecting blow in a single motion. "You are correct. We have arrived here a fortnight ago, here to pick up the pieces of our outer siblings." Another triplet hopped in to block a strike aimed at her back, the two seemingly telepathic as they moved on to move in perfect synchronization with their swings and dodges. "We are Xelda, Yselda and Zelda." The third triplet landed from above balancing on her weapon, and joined the two in their deadly performance like she never left. "The Sworn Sisters, here to purge Penrose of magical pollution."

With the triplets blessed by Tetrad's suit of Swords and Kaito coming in with a flanking maneuver, the wights did not endure for long, hacked part in a hurricane of glinting steel. However, Kaito was not left unscathed, and suffered three hits on himself. He then came to realize he was inflicted with a curse, lowering his STR, AGI and VIT by -3 until the curse was lifted.

The spinning scythe cut through the undead ogre mage despite the resistance in their fattened gut, leaving an awful mess before the blade stopped and the ogre dissolved. And then, another ogre mage was shot down by the sniper girl, who had now crouched down at the edge of the rooftop to take her shots. However, this turned out to be a mistake, as the magic missiles shot by the ogres hit her. She rolled back to cover, but was too late; she was hit by the black orbs, an groaned in pain. One of the triplets cried out.

"Kai!"

---

Cindy had moved to a small corner of the hideout at one of the deeper levels when Penny returned; based on the desk and swivel chair carried there, it seemed to work as her temporary office of sorts. She turned around to greet Penny, holding a stack of laminated papers. "Oh, greetings, Penny!" She greeted, and smiled as she saw Chloe. "This must be your squire then. Ah, I jest," she added, and laughed in a conserved manner. "Penny has spoken many good things about you, Chloe. She also told me that you would be willing to join in an alliance. Would you like a cup of tea as we converse?" After learning that Penny would leave, she nodded. "Very well then. You are always welcome, Home Builder." She then gestured for Chloe to sit down at a nearby table. "So, tell me about yourself, Chloe. What do you treasure most?" She asked as she poured some tea.

---

Like Peter Pan leading Wendy to Neverland, so did Valkyrie take Ronin's hand, and the two flew off from the ruins of the castle. Though the magical realm they were in is known as the Overcity, it is actually part of a greater nexus of realms called The Sprawl; it can take many forms, from the most beautiful of vistas to the most horrifying of landscapes. Like a dream, it keeps ever shifting, and even major landmarks may move as they years go on. However, one place has always stood firmly in place, anchored by primordial magic; the Overcity.

Carried by magical winds, the two of them soon saw the Crystal Curtain; a great wall that separated the chaotic Sprawl from the nexus of magic, above the cities of mortals. The Curtain shimmered turquoise when seen from afar, though its colors shifted like the northern lights. The walls rose incredibly high, and patrolling the perimeter were magical girl guards, ever valiant.

Valkyrie knew that trying to cross by air would not only be foolish but outright suicidal, as the guards had the right to strike down any who would cross so. Instead, they found themselves at the gate; studded with jewels the size of car tires and engraved with great runes, the door was made of adamantite, the most durable malleable substance known in the magical world. Two magical girls were guarding the gates, and lifted their palms towards them. "Halt! State your name and business," they shouted out.

"Don't you realize how dangerous that is! You could get hurt and I wouldn't know! You dummy!"

Alexander really wanted to say something to counter that, but for some reason he was having a hard time coming up with the words to say 'Dammit Lily, what the hell are you doing to me? I feel like crap.' So all he ended up doing was sighing, not even reacting, or even noticing when Lily drove into an alleyway that was almost too tight

"Don't ever do that again, Alex. Anyway, I saw the news, and there's monsters! Get ready!"

Alexander sighed again "Yeah, it's always something in this town."

---

They arrived at their destination not long after that, a museum strangely enough 'Really, a museum? Why would anyone bother attacking a museum? Don't tell me the people who work here actually managed to get something magical?' When they got off the bike, Alexander followed Lily up to the roof, and that's when they heard some horrible sound

"Let's try and get them by surprise this time,"

Alexander nodded "Fine with me." So he followed Lily as she crept very sneaky like. Part of Alexander wanted to roll his eyes, but another part was filled with a warm giddiness just looking at her 'Dammit Lily, what the hell are you doing to me?' Not long later they say it; some undead wack job with goons (some of which were fucking undead dinosaurs) flinging around magic spells 'Huh...maybe he was the magic thing the people here found. That'd be pretty ironic; the dead exhibit starting to kill people. Well regardless, he's not looking at us, so that makes this easy.' Alexander created a spiky ball shaped barrier and threw it at the head dead guy in charge. It was a nice throw, but one of his goons took the blow. Fortunately, Lily's follow up attack managed to get though, although it didn't take him out "so much for ending this right away." With stealth no longer an option, Alexander jumped down to the floor as the dead guy was monologing about...something, Alexander wasn't really paying attention.

That's when bones started floating out of the museum and the portals formed "Oh boy." And out of them came more mooks "Just...great. Yes, this is exactly what I need." He said with all the sarcasm he could muster. A sudden burst of inspiration hit him, and he grew a tail out of his left palm. He then made a spiky ball barrier on it's tip "Oh yeah...this will work." A smile grew on his face as he used his magic to boost his physical strength and started wailing on the mooks with his new weapon. Some of the magical girls already her started monologing about something back at him, and then one of them took a pretty nasty hit

"Kai!"

Alexander groaned "And once again, I'm relegated to medic duty." Alexander quickly leaped up to the roof where she was, but a dome shaped barrier around them, and began healing 'Why does it always have to be me?'

Valkyrie wasn’t the sort who judged others based on their preferences. After all, it was not something that truly mattered. It was still rather jarring to hear to her, but it was not like she allowed Ronin to comprehend her current emotions aside from an ever-glowing shade of red appearing upon her face and the continued stuttering of her speech. She longed for love, but she never really had a clear definition of what that meant to her. Perhaps, in a way, Yury was correct. She was rather jealous of this “little girl”.

Valkyrie would never admit it even to herself though.

“W-Well we have no time to lose then!”

Valkyrie carried the girl as quickly as she felt the other could handle. After all, the turbulence would cause issue to someone not used to moving as quickly as Valkyrie was used to.

If anything Valkyrie was just happy to have someone to talk to for the time being. It has been a while since she had much interaction with others. After all, she was rather standoffish in terms of outward expression, often leading others to believe that she was a lot more serious than she leads others to believe. And if what Ronin was saying was true, then at the very least she had someone she should be able to rely on when it comes to combat. While she was sure of her ability, protecting another was a completely different ballpark.

After all, she was not able to protect ____

Approaching the gate, Valkyrie was stopped by the voice of the two guards, ever vigilant.

“Valkyrie; I wish to travel to Penrose in search of someone, whom of which I have reason to suspect is in danger. This girl with me is under my protection as a traveling companion with the same goal,” Valkyrie says, being curt and to the point with the guards(wo)men more so than even her previous tones and mannerisms, and her flushed face was replaced with its normal pale. Of course, while Valkyrie herself might not have ever served in the military, her father was a commander and she and the other kids in the steppe would often play soldiers together.

It was not common for a woman to want to play such aggressive games, but due to her previously tomboyish personality and slender figure, no one questioned her about it. Her father might not have enjoyed having a daughter who would skip her music lessons to play with the town boys, but he never did more than give her a scolding. He was never the same after her mother had died, but she could tell that he cared for her in his heart.

It was not the first time she had used the gate, and would likely not be the last. She understood that these girls were just doing their job, but they were often more of a nuisance than she would care to admit. However, without them, it was likely this place would not have such a level of standard, keeping unwanted “others” away. What tends to be annoying might be overlooked as an important and integral cog in a greater machine, and Valkyrie knew that. Hopefully it would go smoothly; after all, guards might have the same goal but might go about it in completely different ways. However, she felt if she simply told the girls the truth, there would not be too much of an issue with her actions.

Valkyrie simply waited in response, her weapon sheathed as to not appear like a threat. After all, peaceful posturing would do a lot more good in this situation than any aggression might. While Valkyrie was confident in her “quick draw” technique, it would be near suicidal to force the gates open in such a manner.

“I would wish to be granted access.”

It was rare for Valkyrie to arrive at these gates. To begin with, her position tended towards passivity more than action. In her heart, she was a coward. Someone who would prefer to run than to engage in combat, only fighting if backed into a corner. She was not the sort to actively search for monsters to fight, but rather her kills were the result of her actions.

But even if she considered herself a coward

Even if in her heart, she hardly wished to fight.

There was one thing that caused her to press forward, despite these conflicting thoughts swirling around in her head. Beyond her cowardness, there existed a burning feeling in her chest that pressed against all others, like an inferno that consumed her down to the very last being.

Once Valkyrie decided in her heart to act, that deed has already been done!

... Fuck. Two of the phones of Shion's copies suddenly disappeared on her messenger, a bad sign even at the best of times. "*" had even been mid-message when she went dark. The most likely thing was that someone had killed them. She forwarded all the information she and her clones had gathered so far as well as the news of her copies being lost to Christine, feeling that doing so would be part of her job. She arrived at the location of "Endsinger" about the same time as three other girls who appeared out of nowhere. Shion quickly stopped moving several roofs away, behind where the three were starting from. She watched as the third turned into what could only be described as a mechanical angel.

"Any ideas who these scrubs are? Based on appearances I'd have to guess Beacon." Shion asked her Puchuu.

"They don't seem like normal Beacon, but I don't know who else uses teleports to get where they want to be."

Shion sighed as a motorbike-riding magical girl came to the scene as well. She just didn't have any luck, did she? "Well, looks like there's enough man-power here to handle this without me. Waste of my bloody time coming out here."

Faster, faster, faster! Lupa and Helga danced through the boundary of the mob of ghosts, their claws tearing through the gossamer spirits so easily that it was as if there was nothing there at all. Ghostly essence scattered into the winter air, yet still, none of spirits sought to strike back. The song of the Endsinger truly was wonderful; even through Lupa’s amplified screaming, even through Helga’s sound-nullifying seals, her song rang clear in their minds, urging their slaughter further. Who cared for death, when they had already died? Who feared oblivion, when the reaper’s tune was so charming? To be free of their grudges, to be struck down again, none of those ghosts drawn to the rambunctious hammering of the lich sought to fight back against the two magical girls. And as they died, they left their grudges and their sorrows, their regrets and their hatred behind.

Left behind to seep into the soul of their slaughterers.

Scarlet memories crawled into the frenzied girls’ mind, flashes of faces they didn’t remember. Lovers that had betrayed “them”. Bullies that had tormented “them”. Guardians that had abandoned “them”. Bloodlust heightened, and yet, where was the blood? That warm, red ichor that granted absolution for all the weakness that “they” displayed in the past? All they had swung for were shadows of humans, dispersed like figures in the fog, so where could they find something more real, something more alive? Something that could resist?

Lupa slew another dozen uncaring spirits before she arrived to an answer.

There was someone right beside her that fit the bill.

@Ariamis@Asuras

Three bright stars shot towards the epicenter of the concert, their respective weapons raised. And yet, of the three, none managed to reach their destination. One hundred arms rose from the mass of aerial spirits to block, and though the magical trio’s combined might was enough to smash through twenty of the spectral appendages, the eighty that remained hurled them back. Coalescing into existence, a sickly green guardian, ten meters tall with a flower bud for a head, stood on empty air, its eighty remaining arms folded. Unclothed and androgynous, the guardian was certainly a cut above the rest of the spirits. It was employed, after all, to keep annoying people from randomly jumping onto the stage while Endsinger performed. Flexing its beautifully sculpted muscles and folding all eight of its arms over its majestically heroic pecs, the Budhead Bouncer shook his head at the three.

“Now now, ladies,” the Bouncer said, its voice booming through their minds, “I understand that you’ve got to protect the city and all that, but I have to ask you to wait till after the concert is over at its normal time before you can make such declarations, understood? Now, unless you’re willing to pay the fee, I believe that I’ll have to remove you from this venue for your disruptive behaviour.”

Ten of its arms extended outwards, pointing back the way you came.

“Though I’m a pacifist at heart, so if you could just leave peacefully, that’d be wonderful too.”

@Shifter_Master

Viva flew high, her final two shots lined up perfectly for the Endsinger’s wailing skull. Narrowing her eyes, she squeezed the trigger right as the mass of humanoid spirits in the front row slammed something down into the rubble.

“Uuuuuuurya!”

Brilliant amber lights burst out from their hands, a flash so potent that the motorcycling gungirl flinched, her two shots going wide. They shattered the concrete like fireworks, and Endsinger took this chance to go into a guitar solo, her eldritch strings enrapturing the crowds as those amber lights grew brighter all around. Viva landed among them, and this close to the mania, she could see exactly what those ghostly fans wielded: glowsticks.

Most spirits had been called to this place by the Endsinger’s signal, but her fans, her hardcore, diehard fans that had supported her ever since she was a mere Wailing Woman, trying to make it big in the underworld, had arrived the moment she stepped upon her ruinous stage. Now, surrounded by these impassioned devotees, Viva was subjected to the full extent of their fervor.

“CYBER, CYBER, FIRE, FIRE, SHYAAAAAAA JYA!”

It was cringy and awful and sorta gross, especially when their physical exertion somehow made them sweat ghostly juices, but as the three hundred or so spartan dancers swung their glowsticks in unison, shuffling their spread-apart feet like a bunch of demented crabs, a strange thought entered Viva’s head.

Huh, it looked kinda fun.

The song was catchy too.

Wasn’t like they were doing anything bad either.

The glowsticks continued to swing through the air, etching hypnotic patterns into Viva’s brain, as her index finger began to tap to the beat.

@FamishedPants

Endsinger winked at Emily (Or did she? Pretty unlikely that she'd spot or care about someone that far away...) and stomped the mountain of rubble she was styling on, causing jets of otherworldly flame to burst up before going full acapella with her wailing screeches.

@ERode@PlatinumSkink@FamishedPants@Crusader Lord

“The heck?”

It wasn’t by much, but Amaryllis managed to out pace Billy and rescue the pirate girl before he managed to get his hands on her. She even managed to sneak in a swing at his fingers. Billy was wise of her previous tricks, and wouldn’t fall to them a second time. He shed the cut skin before his flesh bubbled and shifted until it was like the wound never happened. Amaryllis asked Sophia a question, and the two began their counterattack shortly.

Then Mariette arrived.

It was a simple case of arriving in the wrong place at the wrong time. Under the ship, Billy was able to trap his sword between his thumb and take hold of a a solid cross member. It was a motion nobody would see, but everyone would see the effect of. All of Billy’s upward momentum was now carrying him towards Mariette’s new position. She was able to get up an array of portals for spying, and was able to repel the ghoul’s assault, but there was no stopping Billy. Being aware of something and having the ability to dodge it were two entirely different things. The giant had nearly been decapitated by one of Mariette’s portals, and was fully aware of what she could do. When she deployed a portal to bar his path, he smashed it with his mangled club before catching Mariette’s torso inside his armpit. His arm was clamped down on her like a vice. She could feel her ribs cracking under the pressure. Escape would be paramount if the witch wanted to live to see tommorow. “I say I’ll break you up like peanut brittle! Haha!”

He landed on the ground and turned to face his attackers. Amaryllis was limited in how she could proceed to attack Billy, now that he had a hostage. She rebounded around him, each hit causing a small incision, and each incision was shed away and turned into ash before more flesh could take its place. But surely she would need to do more than this to save Mariette in time. Billy spun like a typhoon, guiding his club towards the rose knight with each rotation, but this also served to further disorientate Mariette, who was finding it harder to look through her portals. He did not seem to notice Sophia’s approach yet.

Hilaria was standing nearby as the Cadillac repeatedly backed up and drove into her, over and over. Each time it caused some of the metal to pop off and reveal more of what hid underneath. The army truck also showed signs of being a monstrous disguise when it charged straight for Hilaria. The grill opened wide enough to swallow her whole.

Eli’s gambit seemed to work, as the “police car” fell out of the sky and slammed into the ground. All of the metal fell off of it, leaving a gelatinous mass of flesh and bone in its place. It shifted and bubbled in place, not quite dead but not ready to move either.

The sound of windows shattering brought Eli’s attention to the firetruck. The cabin was filled with flesh, not unlike what hid inside the police car. It aimed the extension ladder at Eli, and along with it, the ladder mounted fire hose. The hose was a smaller “caliber” than the main hose, but it boasted the same amount of pressure. Something Eli would notice as soon as it fired. Wherever she tried to fly, the firetruck would attempt to track her.

---

@FamishedPants@Ariamis

Had Lupa not been trying to sate her patron’s appetite, she might have charged straight for the center of it all and ended the fight. But this seemed to be the best course of action at the time. Even as the negative emotions built up, she kept at it. She would carry their regrets and anger, because even if she couldn’t resist Feral’s influence, she could master her own. Only the slaughter was starting to make her feel worse. Each kill felt less and less satisfying until it did nothing. That was when she turned to face Helga.

“What?” She placed her hands on the side of her head. “No! She’s family! Give me someone who deserves it! We can wait.”



A thunderous roar, a tower of black smoke, and when it dissipated it was Feral rather than Lupa that remained. Its form was barely humanoid, being easier to compare to a dire wolf than a human.

The Endsinger’s song had no effect on it. At least not a negative one. Feral was above the rabble that surrounded it. Suffering and anger was all music to Feral’s ears. It lived for both of these sensations, to be inflicted and subjected to such things was why it existed. Such was the point of its endless hunt. Lupa was not its first host, and likely wouldn’t be the last. With a roar, the beast released a sonic boom that cleared out nearly a quarter of the spirits. It relished every negative emotion that entered its mind, and was left wanting more. But such weak prey would not sate it for long. It could slay Endsinger, but if this was all she was capable of, there was hardly a reason to suspect she would be worthy sport. No, the only worthy prey here was Helga. With the rabble cleared out, they could begin in earnest.

Feral charged towards Helga on all fours. It didn’t have a mind for strategy. Only a desire to sate its claws and fangs with blood.



@DarkwolfX37

On her way back, Shion would noticed some owls stationed on top of some buildings. The owls themselves looked normal enough, but they were perched near where Shion’s clones had been set up. And they were making eye contact with her, with unblinking eyes.

One of them dove for her position, as if she was nothing but a field mouse ready to be carried off.

---

@Rune_Alchemist

In a magical girl fight, ten seconds was a long time. But Mika was determined to open up the portal to the vacation dimension. She would make the opening as big as she could, and open it behind herself, facing the museum. She had never tried doing this before, but she would try to open it up to the Kaijo arena, right over the island platform. Though really, any place should work so long as it was outside.

Nothing Mr Bulk was doing seemed to be immediately threatening, but he couldn’t be allowed to keep summoning the undead. Su attempted to create a twister over the massive portal to prevent more bones from entering it. She then attempted to fire the bones out of twister at the newly created undead beasts. But it was only a matter of time before the lich adjusted his strategy. With the arrival of Lily, Su turned to her and Rita.

“Look for a phylactery.”

One of the pros of being an assistant to magical girls is that you start to learn the weaknesses of common enemies. Lich were powerful opponents, but they anchored their magic into the world with a totem item of some type more often than not. If this lich was the same way, then they needed to attack the item that his soul was housed in rather than hitting his body directly. That was not a job Su’s magic was well suited for.



This fight wasn't too hectic. The real issue was the ascendancy chicks, not the litch. But the time to assist with them was not here yet. So instead she used her illusion magic to obscure Mika from the litch's view.



@Card Captor@EnterTheHero

Tetrad didn’t mind playing the hero. It felt good to do something that others would be proud of on occasion. But Alexander was 3 fast 5 her and managed to get to the wounded girl first.

”Huh?”

What bothered tetrad was that she had just drawn “the world,” a card that always ensures something good is going to happen. But nothing good happened. Instead, some random girl got hit by a rouge magical shot. This was strange, as it was the only remarkable thing to happen after she drew that particular card. Surely having an ally near-mortally wounded was not “good” for her. But luck worked in mysterious ways. You might feel unlucky if you woke up late and didn’t get to eat breakfast. You might feel luckier if your roommate was arrested for poisoning everyone who shared his apartment. So how could such an event benefit to her?

”Are these girls Ascendancy?”

Far be it for Tetrad to try to rationalize her own luck. But that was a possibility. If these girls were going to turn on her for any reason, it would be good that the sniper wasn’t there to take shots at the back of her head. She turned her attention to the crow boy. ”Oh! A boy!” Was this what her card had brought her? ”I mean, you look like you could use some more energy, try this!” Her strength card flew off and impacted Kaito. It was unlikely the card would reverse the curse, but it would momentarily enhance all of his abilities, possibly negating the curse’s effect. ”Anyway, Kail is in good hands, trust me. We need to focus on the fight and bring down the lich.” Tetrad sprinted forward while drawing up more cards. ”Wha- the world AGAIN?” Were more boys going to arrive? Only time would tell.