Shion continued to glare at the owls until they were out of sight. Finally, she sighed and sat down. "A bounty, huh?" This was going to be troublesome. She pulled out her phone and composed a quick text to Christine, telling her that there was apparently a bounty on Shion's head and that there was some guy calling himself "Vermin Killer" or some such that had attacked her, adding the details that he used owls and crows but was not actually the crows themselves, but could replace himself with them when attacked. She hoped to get some info on the guy in return but she doubted it. Hitting send, she sighed again.

"Here." Ko said as she handed Shion one of the vials before putting the other two back in her bag and taking Fielder to put in it as well. "In case you get attacked again while I'm not around." She rummaged through her bag again and pulled out a thermos that she handed Shion. "Here."

Shion knew what it was without needing to open it. "Thanks, Ko."

"So what's up with you needing coins anyway?"

Shion leaned in to whisper into Ko's large ear.

"Awwww! That's so sweet of you!"

"I wouldn't say that. Selfish maybe, but not sweet. Anyway, we should get out of here. Keep an eye on the sky, I'll send out more clones once I've recovered mana."

@ERode @Ariamis

If she had been shown up before, then she was being flexed on now. What was mere teamwork had turned out to be full-blown psychic foresight, or perhaps it was simply that they had always thought their little parlor trick would come in hand one day. Nevertheless, Endsinger's disregard for even her own mighty swing had left her feeling increasingly dejected, but no less fervent in her assault. The nature of Leena's parallel attack sparked a moment of creativity in Dawn's mind, and she jumped at the chance to bring some synergy to the team.

Her sword sliced over the guitar strings, drawing out a heavy chord as it was raised high. Dawn pushed off of one foot into the air with her weapon in a wide tow. A fiery circle spun her twice, quickly bringing the greatsword into a powerful swinging crash; she was aiming right for that space between the extended metal of Leena's braces, coming in from behind the lich's skull.

She aimed to send Endsinger's head right back down into it, like pressing meat through a tube.

@Rune_Alchemist@Card Captor@FamishedPants

There was little Su could do in the moment. Her ability to feel emotions had not yet returned to her, but she understood the situation. “The Ascendancy?” In Su’s lulled state, she wasn’t capable of fast reactions or making decisive choices. In hindsight, she probably wouldn’t have used the staff’s full power if she knew she was going to be like this afterwards. Or at the very least she would have made the attack more impressive if she was going to use it in the future. “You must want to capture us because we’re-” That was when Alexander interjected with his accusation that they were pirates. “I don’t think so Alexander. I can’t speak for their interest in the other two girls, but I am a dark magical girl. I’m sure they want to kill us for what they are.”

Mika had just put out the fire on her ears when Su mentioned their possible death. “Wha?” She ran over to Kai and placed her hands together. “But each of them is a good person! Su’s taken care of me ever since I came to Penrose, Sil-how-eat chased off a dragon and a knight that would have hurt me, and Tent-rad hangs around street corners making people happy!”



”Clearly they want me because of my rockin’ body.” She blinked. ”Wait, why do I sound like I swallowed a frog?” Anyone who knew Tetrad knew she was very proud of her body. Particularly her appearance. But there was little to be proud of now. Tetrad eyed her arms, which were skinny and wrinkled like the bark on a tree. Her expression only became more grave when she ran her hands over her face. Tetrad’s fingers fell into every new crease on her cheeks, and a glance at her chest revealed that her pride was sagging like a rapper’s pants. She still possessed some vitality, as she still had great posture and didn’t have any difficulty standing on her own feet. Being magically aged hadn’t left her totally powerless. Just as magical girls were stronger than their non-magical counterparts, magical elders were stronger than non-magical elders. That didn’t mean that this new form didn’t have an adverse effect on her abilities. That didn’t mean that Tetrad felt confident fighting her pursuers. Even if she had the wild version of the red buff going, ”Oh dear…”

More bothersome than this temporary(?) aging spell was the appearance of the Ascendancy. Not that them showing up was an inconvenience, but that they had the nerve to turn weapons on them so swiftly after bringing down the lich. Tetrad knew her luck was trying to tell her something, but she ignored it.

”I’m certainly not interested in fighting. I feel like the last battle aged me about sixty years. But do I really have to change back? I’m not sure I can survive without my magic to fight the curse.” Hopefully answering that would keep the Ascendancy busy long enough to send Sil a message over magicoms. ”I’m taking us and a few of them to the overcity. They may be able to shift as well, so make sure to dispatch any hostiles after the shift.” The violent approach wasn’t Tetrad’s style, but if there was something that scared her more than death, it was having her mind probed in a beacon HQ and being subsequently mind wiped. That, and Veronica would never forgive either of them for letting Su fall into Beacon’s hands.

Without making any sudden movements, Tetrad slowly moved her hands together to perform “Overcity-Shift-Jutsu.” She targeted all the non-ascendancy present, and the triplet that was pointing a halberd at Tetrad*. With any luck, Tetrad would survive her gambit before they attacked her.

*^{In the event Overcity Shift doesn’t work like that, she’ll try to pull in as few ascendancy girls as possible while still teleporting everyone else to the over city.}



The Ascendancy girls would notice Tetrad shift, but it would be too late to do anything about it. Boom, undetectable illusion magic hoooooo!

Though her prior life as a cold-blooded assassin left her with a lot of blood on her hands, Silhouette, as a magical girl, was obviously far stronger than she had ever been before. If she were left alone with nothing but a lust for blood and her abilities, she was sure the humans in Penrose wouldn't put up much of a fight. And why? Because she was a magical girl -- a being who owned power far beyond what a normal person might even suspect was possible. She also had tamer abilities. A part of the passive gift bestowed up all Time-specialized girls was a perfect sense of time. She knew the exact second of the exact day of the exact week of the exact month of the exact year. A normal person would be jealous! It had an extremely obvious perk: being on time, all the time.

So then... why the fuck was she always late?

Penrose had this bad habit of being ground zero for events that could feasibly end life on Earth. Quite often, too. The coliseum, the graveyard, and now this. The only break had been earlier while they were forced into a beach dimension by some weird dolphin thing. But each time something of incredible significance happened, Silhouette found herself arriving on the latter half of it and being denied true involvement. She honestly couldn't tell you how she was able to fervently deny being disappointed all the times this happened to herself.

Her fight with Penny being cut off. The magical steroid rendering her berserk. That magical girl who interrupted her fight with the knight. Having to abandon a fight just to come to this particular area to assist Tetrad. And now, after having done that, her involvement almost seemed pointless. She had minimal interaction with the Lich, and although she nearly landed a decisive blow, she wasn’t satisfied. She wouldn’t be even if she had done so. She wanted nothing but an entertaining, adrenaline-fueled fight if she was going to engage in combat. The tail-end of a fight was not capable of doing this for her. How disappointing.

Silhouette allowed a heavy sigh to escape her lips, expecting combat as a whole to be over now that the lich was ‘redead’. But in the next instant, things began to seem to take an interesting turn. The trio that had assisted in finally killing the lich had now turned glares towards Silhouette and her two allies, and revealed themselves to be of the Ascendancy. "Ah, this could only have a predictable end, couldn't it?" she complained, though her tone betrayed a hint of excitement rather than the listlessness it was probably supposed to come off as. This character lapse was then followed by a dry laugh, once Alex had spoke about them as if they were pirates.

Even with her character faltering, Dalton could not see Silhouette making a lewd joke, despite Alex Setting her up for it. But just know that he wanted to.

"This turn of events would make too much sense if we were guilty of anything other than being ‘impure’ by their standards. I’m not one who should talk, but as far as moral high ground goes, they’re more of an Anakin than an Obi-Wan, if you catch my meaning.” Silhouette explained to Alex, casually taking a verbal jab at them as well. The two seconds before they turned on her and the others didn’t really foster a strong enough relationship for her to really mind this ‘betrayal’ as it were, but she had to admit she desired her introduction to the Ascendancy to happen at a much later date. Of course if they were spoiling for a fight, she’d be happy to oblige.

Samantha couldn't jump at such an opportunity, though. The safety of her fellow agent was a bigger priority, and she had the feeling that Veronica wouldn't take too kindly to her letting the others fend for themselves after she sent Sam here. For now, at least, she'd remain passive. She allowed the others to confront the Ascendancy directly.

Though Samantha knew it was in vain, Mika pleaded with the three girls, assuring them that Sam and the others were of good character. Samantha’s features noticeably softened at this. How ignorant Mika was, but also so very adorable. Would she be upset if Sil explained that she was far from the kind person Mika was making her out to be? That pseudo-sadistic desire to lightly bully the girl was there, but there were more pressing matters at hand. She turned her focus back to the trio.

Following Mika’s protest, Tetrad began to speak. Only something seemed strange. Now glancing towards Tetrad, it became apparent what that was. “At least the spell stopped before you got dementia.” she joked, a bit surprised at herself for doing so. Perhaps ignoring it or just not hearing it, Tetrad continued on, addressing the trio of Ascendancy with feigned cooperation. Receiving the message via magicoms, Samantha gave a one-word affirmation.

She almost hoped they would follow.

Between Amaryllis' call to strike, and Eli's blustering and shouting about the car hood ornament on the Lich's club, Sophia felt a surge of adrenaline kick in. Or perhaps it was...excitement? It had been one thing after another since she'd awoken in those ruins of a graveyard, and been attacked out of the blue, and then kidnapped to some beach dimension. Her body and mind were craving the thrill of putting her all into something, of letting out all of that frustration and pent up energy. With such in mind, however, there was only one thing she could do at this venture.

Mariette and her goons had some of the work in part, and Amaryllis had done some as well. So now it was her turn!

"TIME TEH' REAP YER ASS NOW, YA BONY FECKER!!!"

Sophia charged forward in flight, dodging about the finger bullets fired at herself and the other girls. Her axe was readied for striking, and she was willing to invest much of the rest of her mana in striking down the foe before her. Specifically she focused and aimed to cleave the hood ornament on Billy's club, whilst not caring if she slashed through even the bony monster's right hand in the process if she could. She would put her all into this, to strike down her opponent with mighty force that could not be matched! She would cleave bone in twain, rend his blasted club into hamster sized chunks, and destroy that blasted hood ornament with all she could do to it!

Then if she could, she'd mount the lifeless skull of this thing on the prow of her ship. Such would be so very pirate-y indeed!

@PlatinumSkink@BrokenPromise@ERode

---

...Had her silent prayers been answered? A brilliant set of golden eyes, a voice like a chorus of angels that brought tears too all that heard it, and a miracle come forth before her eyes. A holy miracle of Beacon, untainted by the Ascendancy's bloodlust. Mercy. Love. Even that seeming angel herself, who watched over these proceedings as the judge, wept tears of her own. Alicia's words had rung true, the judge had deemed her worthy, and yet there remained one last elephant in the room to take care of. Indeed, there was one last issue that had to be taken care of...herself. Though it had been said her Spark was true, that she lacked corruption even, would this do to convince others completely about her? Would it convince them she wasn't some horror or horror-affliate in disguise, trying to destroy them from within? She knew not, but to stand up for herself for once and reinforce the truths of the friend that had spoken up for her...that was the right thing to do.

Summing up all the bravery she could muster, and all of her willpower to boot, Serenity stepped forward next to Alicia and before the enraptured assembly's attention. After she briefly glanced at the white coin floated there before Alicia, its glow soft and gentle, Serenity breathed in and out before reaching into her own pocket. After a brief moment of struggle, due to her hands being cuffed together in front of her, the magical girl then withdrew a small object she held aloft before the crowd.

The object itself was small, however, in the shape of a deep blue gem enclosed tightly in a small golden cage. The gem itself seemed to bear a soft glow within, however, a familiar 'spark' that could not be denied. So too did the small golden cage have something unique to it, an almost light-like appearance to it that was engraved with an ornate golden filigree beyond any mortal make.

"The cardinal's words ring true! Without compassion, we will not survive these darker times! Without a true and pure love to encompass all...our 'justice' becomes false, and so very woefully blind, cutting down all in its path without care or remorse!

Shall we let ourselves be blinded to the point the world fears us, and we become akin to the terrible horrors that slither in the darkness of the universe?

Because...I was once part of one of those horrors, and was something that could not understand love or the light of true justice! I made light of it, jeered at the concept of love, and abused the lives of the innocent...yet in those moments before my death, the light of Beacon came to me!

It spoke to me of compassion, of penance, and of an understanding I once fully lacked!"

In that moment something seemed to...click within Serenity, and a before unseen boldness surged to the surface as she shouted aloud to the assembly. Her voice eked with of a truly ironclad conviction. Her face too seemed to change, becoming the very picture of determined resolution. Perhaps it was the heat and emotion of the moment, perhaps it was her pouring all of her feelings into her plea, but in the end it did not matter to Serenity. She had to do what was right in this moment, or risk standing silent before a world that had before been reviling her.

Never again would she merely stand idly by. Never would she let a friend stand alone before the world. Never again would she back down from what she knew to be right, to be truly right, at her very core. Such was the conviction of her compassion...such was her vow, which she cherished so much.

"It spoke that this spark would glow brightly within my very soul, that my will and fate would be reforged by it, but in return I could never escape those memories I bore nor the knowledge of my former self's many sins and deeds. Such is the nature of my penance...and of my eternal existence as a magical girl, bound forever to Beacon's holy light of my own free will and volition!

If any of you still doubt my dedication to true justice, to a true love and compassion that encompasses all, and to the pure light and true path of Beacon that my friend Alicia has proven to be in line with this day, I will humbly offer you this.

This container is my very soul, made bear and vulnerable to all, which shall shine forth as a witness of my convictions! Let the holy light of true love, of true justice and compassion, of the true path, pour forth upon all to witness! Let it prove that I AM BEACON!!!"

Before the eyes of the onlooking crowd, and the cardinal whose subtle smile and voice pierced the hearts of all in the room, Serenity's Soul Gem suddenly began to glow. A brilliant golden light, just like that of the cardinal's eyes, shot forth from the small and fragile-looking object that would illuminate the room. Yet the light itself was not blinding...indeed, it was instead a truly warm light, gently but distinctly caressing the forms of those in the room with a holy and easily-recognizable radiance. Yet after a few moments, the light once again faded, returning to the far more humble golden glow that Serenity's Soul Gem had originally been emanating.

Yet as the spectacle faded, so too did some amount of Serenity's strength. The girl fell down on her knees, huffing and puffing as the mental, physical, and emotional highs began to fade...though some other tiredness seemed to also be taking hold after that brilliant light. Indeed, for her that light had been so warm, so reminiscent of her rebirth and conversion it had brought on some tears now streaming down her face. Remaining conscious, however, Serenity pulled her hands back down, placing the soul gem close to her chest.

"If you doubt my resolve...then let me bear one of those White Coin...as a sign of my conviction...," the girl spoke, her huffing and puffing very much audible as she spoke, "And if any must pay for my past sins...let it be all upon me...but spare the others who have shown kindness to me....i beg you..."

Having said all she could, once again Alicia returned to waiting. She had done all that she could for their case. Now it was for the girls i in front of them to decide what happened next. If this was the end, hopefully her next life would be able to make up for it, even if it was ended with injustice.

She tensed as Rachel stepped forwards, saying that which was no surprise. She thought they were guilty, and there was nothing that Alicia could say that would change her mind. "Well, it was nice knowing you guys," she whispered back to the others. Then Isthar moved.

And the world froze.

Eyes opened, a voice rang in the air. To be the focus of it, to face the full brunt of the Cardinal directed upon her, it was too much for her to handle. She dropped to her knees, arms hanging limply as tears budded in her eyes. They flowed unbidden, rolling down her cheeks and dripping to the ground.

She was struck not just by how it was said, but also what was said. It was like her soul was being stripped bare and held under a microscope. All her doubts, her worries about herself, the path she was on, even about Beacon in general, exposed for the world to see. Yet when there should have been scorn there was reassurance, comfort, forgiveness.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the White Coin revealed, as shocked by that as anyone else here. "I...I don't..." she murmured, not letting her voice sound over the praise provided by Isthar. There was an obligation in that, she understood as much. But with such confidence how could she possibly reject what was at hand?

So as the Coin drifted across to her, she stumbled back to her feet. Once it had come to a stop she reached out to take it. The instant she held it the cuffs that she bore cracked, falling away on their own. It was as if they could not stand up against the sheer amount of power radiating from the Coin.

"T-Thank you," she replied, her voice trembling. "You honor me with this. I will do whatever I can to serve as an example, and to protect everyone no matter the challenge."

Clenching the White Coin, she let her magic trigger it, and let the power flow into her.

An involuntary breath followed as she was met with the sudden rush of blessed energy. She had heard what it was like from Penny, but it had not really prepared her for this. It was warm like the heat of the sun, and bright enough to be blinding. it felt like a miniature sun had been embedded in her chest. And though she had never used a Coin before, what she needed to do next was almost instinctive. She channeled the energy, directing it, letting it improve her and taking on a new power for herself.

When the light from the Coin had faded away, allowing those present to see her again, they would find Alicia Hayden standing tall, and resolute. Her wings were spread, and her eyes glowed with a light they had not held before. It was not on the same level of Isthar, but it was present nonetheless.

"I can see...so much," she said in awe as she looked around the room. So many more details, so many layers that had previously been hidden, laid bare now. it would take a bit of getting used to.

She quickly got ahold of herself before she was too distracted, bowing to Isthar. "Thank you, again. I will not disappoint you."

Then Serenity stepped up to speak, Alicia falling silent and letting her do so. She watched as the Soul Gem was presented, the light within revealed, and passionate words rang out to all. When it had ended she reached down, supporting Serenity and helping her to her feet. "We're all in this together," she replied with a smile as her eyes faded back to their regular color, and her wings withdrew. "That's what being in Beacon means. None of us should have to stand alone." She didn't know how the court would react to the plea, but she had the feeling that Isthar would surprise them all.

Braces? She wore a gas mask because she had braces? Endsinger wasn’t sure what to think for a moment there. Thankfully, everyone else did the thinking for her.

Viva’s fangs found little resistance as they clamped over the back of the lich-singer’s neck. Immediately, the caustic spit melted pale flesh and bone, an intense umami flavor coating the monstrous girl’s tongue in an explosion of gustatory delight. No blood seeped from the wound, but what could one expect, really, when eating someone that was long past their expiration date? Neither Ascendancy girl opted to respond or even react to Viva’s presence, and perhaps that was for the better: by the time FanFan’s magic had triggered, Endsinger’s head was already hanging to the rest of her body by mere strands of flesh.

Pop!

The sudden expansion of metal, beyond tearing apart Leena’s lips, squashing her nose up, and knocking her own teeth in, also had the effect of flat-out tearing Endsinger’s loosely-connected head right off, a point-blank impact that shot her right in the path of Dawn’s greatsword. The massive blade had finally met its mark, and with a soul-rending clang, smashed through the blacksteel circlet the lich wore around her head. Within the Nullification Field, it was impossible to tell whether such an item held any magical significance at all, but the physical effect was apparent. Endsinger’s last defensive item was sliced in half by the pale adjudicator, and her head, the back now sporting a deep gash, slammed back into the metal blocks to bounce off out of the Field.

The moment that head did, the four Feral clones waiting outside the boundary went for the meal. While those three magical girls remained within that anti-magic space, they’d have to be patient, but free food was free food! In seconds, the head was devoured, leaving not even a spectral scrap, and inside the field, the headless, skewered body of the lich slumped, collapsing in a motionless heap. The electrified strings of her guitar disappeared, the pulsating green light that expelled from the rubble heap faded into nothingness, and the ominous, dramatic clouds overhead…remained ominous, because summoned clouds don’t just go away instantly.
Though clones of Feral still thrived within the ghostly masses, filling the area with bloodlust and hunger, what hype persisted in the area was soon drained, a sensation that Celia felt like an ice bucket tossed down her back. The revenants, ghouls, spirits, poltergeists, haunters, all that had made the trip weren’t satisfied with the suddenly-cancelled concert, but, well, what can they do, huh? Slowly, like the ebbing of the tide, the phantasmal audience began to drift off. The performance was over, but it wasn’t as if they were going to be doing anything else fun with their eternity, after all. Spooking humans was only fun up until the sixth decade, after all.

Of course, entertainment was the last thing Viva had to worry about.

Being the neckbiter, after all, she had been the one displaying her own neck conveniently for Dawn’s executing blow, and considering Dawn’s penchant for not holding back?

Yikes, good luck, girl, cause you’re next.


Gross. It was certainly gross, being baked by laser energy as undead flesh swamped all over them, but for the sake of attaining victory, Amaryllis endured it. Within that flesh-burning hell, she breathed, and within the terror of stasis before monstrous strength, she breathed. One second. Two seconds. Three. Four. Five.

The Knight of Rose will no longer stand the existence of such a monster, of a wretched being so obsessed with immortality that it no longer had even a human form.

“Witness, ancients languishing upon ye ruined thrones.”

Her Sword stirred, then stilled, all its focus centered on a singular moment.

“My brilliance shall eclipse all that that have come before me.”

Her Soul roared, then calmed, years of wrath compressed for the sake of one strike.

“Umbral…”

Mariette suffused the world with light once more, Sophia a valiant silhouette as she smashed through bony carapace and knotted flesh.

“…BlooOOORRRAAAGGGHH!”

The rage intoxicates! Surging through her veins, the entirety of the tragically beautiful world spread out before her scarlet eyes! Her heart burst out of her chest, reformed, then burst again, cyclical destruction and regeneration, as they all turned to rust. The ivy buds, the silver chains, the rusted petals, every scrap of magic reduced to a fine red mist as the Sword-Demon roared, senses hypertuned to the entire world, to the blazing torch of magical energy that gave Billy his existence. It didn’t matter now, even if her skin were flayed off her body, even if her eyes and ears were torn at by crows. Great, obsidian horns sprouted from her head, still dripping with blood, and that same blood dyed her own hair wine-red. It was all in the blood, all in the rage, all for this instance of evisceration.

And that beautiful Sword, her Silverlight that reflected the flower of one’s own heart, was gone. In its place was a dull, monstrous cleaver, fused with the Sword-Demon’s arm. It rattled now, the maw of a living being that sought to devour everything. The Behemoth was a snack. The Vestige of Soth was a disappointment. What was Billy though?

Something that could regenerate, something that could feed for much more than its size alone.

Mariette had suffused the world in her burning light, and Amaryllis had become the shadow of its afterglow, tearing through space with animalistic ferocity, straight towards the armored lich. A guttural growl reverberated in her throat, and as she thrust out her cleaver, the weapon burst open like six petals of a blooming flower, before closing down upon Billy.

It swallowed him whole, and the cleaver-maw began to writhe, grind, twist, digesting the monster within. Tenderized by Hilaria, cooked by Mariette, chopped up by Sophia.

Certainly, a wonderful meal.

Emily stopped a short distance from the wolf that had at one point been Lupa, her arm crying out in pain from the earlier bite. Whatever had taken over Lupa was fiercesome indeed. The attack meant for Helga was an attack aiming to kill or seriously maim its target. And that was in the thick of a battle with a lich, no less. The fire girl couldn't imagine what sort of being would revel in such meaningless violence but she knew that she didn't want Lupa to injure or become injured because of it. Other people would understandable retaliate with lethal force if set upon, so she would give it her all to ensure things didn't reach such a conclusion.

"Lupa...!" she finally spoke. "What's gotten into you?" she asked, almost as if she weren't speaking to a large beast with a blood thirst. "Are you hurt? Did that lich do something to you? This isn't okay, you need to stop before someone hurts you!" she pleaded to the wolf. Emily only betrayed concern on her expression despite the pain she was experiencing. This was less because she didn't want to show weakness in front of Feral and more because she wanted the 'conversation', if it could even be considered that, to remain being about Lupa. But boy was Emily jealous of girls with regeneration right about now.



"Movete!"

She had hoped the warning would be enough to allow the other girls time to move out of the way, but that didn't happen. Billy, or whatever he was now, attempted to cover the girls in his fleshy mass. This was problematic, to say the least. He should stop doing that! Hilaria frowned that things had not gone as planned. Now that she thought about it, whenever she tried to help people, this kind of result was common. Strange.

But before much else could happen, Billy and the group around him were blanketed in blasts of light. These brought with them a surge of violent heat. Hilaria was subject to an experience that left parts of her burnt and her armor almost glowing hot. She almost couldn't differentiate between herself and the interior of a hot pocket. It was needless to say, but the experience was anything but pleasant. She entertained the idea that the copious amounts of sunblock she still had on her would have prevented this had it been applied prior. But the reality was such burns were better protected from by not having them in the first place.

This would not keep the girl down. She grit her teeth and lifted up her shield, managing to block the blow from Billy, who had assumed yet another form. The strength behind it was immense, pushing even Hilaria backwards across the street. This lich was tenacious even by undead standards.

As the girl slid she brought her shield down to hasten her recovery. Sparks flew from where her scutum met the road, and she soon came to a full stop. Wasting not a moment, she picked her shield up and began sprinting towards Billy and the others. The other girls seemed keen on pouncing on their foe with all that they had in order to put him down for good. How great for the rest of the girls and Armadillo! Slaying such a monster was an incredible experience. But, of course, they'd need to destroy that phylactery if they wanted to do that.

@ERode@PlatinumSkink@FamishedPants@Crusader Lord

Billy was strong, but he had run out of options. The flesh slug had missed its mark, and he couldn't really take a second direct hit from Mariette. While he was trying to dodge, both Hilaria and Sophia rushed him down. Hilaria's massive shield struck him in the back, forcing his club directly in line with the pirate's ax. With a single cut, the hood ornament fell in two. Between being heated by the laser and struck with a magical weapon. it couldn't stay together. The flesh worm expired on the spot.

"What's this?" Billy dropped his club and caught the fragmented hood ornament in his hand. "My angel! Where-" Billy swung his head up towards the sky. "I say where the hell did the time go?" His magic was fading out of this world, and it was visible. The flesh slug deflated, his bone armor started to fall apart, but his eyes were still locked on the hood ornament. "I don't understand. Back in the day everyone wanted a ride. Everybody wanted to be seen in Billy's Cadillac. What ever happened to those days." Billy stood up. "Did I get enough leather? Was it enough to restore my baby?" He dropped the fragments. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Amaryllis's advance was delayed, since she was hit by Billy's bony fingers. But the dejected lich wasn't going anywhere. The last of his being faded away in the maw of the sword.



"Seems I was late to the party." Nuncio spoke as calmly as he could, but he was watching a bleeding, half naked woman's sword devour a bone monster of some sort. He reached out for the white tiger that stood by his side. "Are ya still fightin? Dame's not gunna go wild and attack us right?"

---

@FamishedPants@Ariamis

So Emily and Lupa were friends.

Feral could feel the moment Endsinger expired. It was a shame, it wanted to be the thing that ended her, but more pressing was that the spirits were starting to leave. Not just the spirits, they were taking their grudges with them. Feral would have limited time to act. It would be tempting to try and jump Emily right now. She was vulnerable, if a bit guarded. Feral was sure that it and its double would be enough to overpower Emily, but where was the pleasure in that? Feral knew that with the fleeting grudges, it would not be able to fight Helga and win. So Feral would retreat for now. With a gasp, Lupa would sink to her knees and return to her original shape. There would be other opportunities.

Not for the Feral clones however.

The one behind Lupa rushed off to join its companions around Endsinger's corpse. They knew enough not to enter the null field, but were ready to attack anything and everything that left it. They were no different than hungry piranhas, and would sacrifice themselves for a drop of blood. The clock was ticking after all.

@Phonic@Ariamis


It seemed like Ronin’s question came forth, and then a couple sentences that Ronin barely understood later and a shop rummaged through after something Ronin found a package thrust into her hands and a handful of directions that she only understood because they came with hand-signs. Well, that should do! Ronin grinned widely.

‘Alright, thank you! I’ll make sure to deliver this for you!’ Ronin happily said, turning to Valkyrie for a bit.

‘Looks like we’ve become delivery-girls! I’m not complaining, means Jill should owe us a favour!’ Ronin told and then spun to the mystery shopkeeper again. ‘Thank you! When I’ve got more money, I’ll be sure to come back and buy out your entire stock!’ Exaggerating? Maybe. Still, she was truly thankful.

‘Alright! Slightly left, right, left, over something and then forward a couple of times! Here we go!’ Then it was off with the wooden box, which… holes, protective runes, something alive in here? Eh! Let’s not dwell on it! Off they went!

@Ariamis@Majoras End

“Ha! Now who’s being blasphemous?” Penny would yell as she rushed forward to continue her attack, seemingly uncaring of the corrosive blight that Sirkkeli’s blades carried “The ass is the Unmaker! It is anathema for him to create!” Her anger at Laat was clear to see in her face even as her assault maintained the same efficient brutality as always “And even if what you said was true he’s still a royal bastard! He drafted me into this life style without any warning and then left me stranded with nothing for months! He has never cared about me!”

“System alert. D̷͞҉͏̡è̛͘҉̕s҉̶̛̛҉t́̀͘͢͜r̡ứ̧ć̸t̶̡̨͟į̛ơ̶͜͡͝n͏̡̛ ̴̵̛͞E͏̨ņ͏ģ́̕͠҉i̡͞͏̸͠n̴̢͠͝e͏̧̀ has reached 25%”

Without warning Penny’s spider like limbs would unfurl themselves alongside her hover systems kicking on once again amping her assaults intensity becoming a truly ferocious offensive of eight limbs working in sync with mechanical precision. Her reasoning for continuing the all-out offensive was simple; if each strike poisoned her she would lose in a battle of attrition. Even with her ideas of how to discard the contaminated metal it would still end up with her losing out in the long run. That just left her with one outcome; Crush her opposition before she was overwhelmed.

She could do that, easily, all Penny needed was to grab Sirkkeli or stun her for a moment. Then the power that she had been granted by Laat himself would bring about the conclusion to this battle, and unlike so many of her battles before, Penny would have no qualms about using it if the opportunity arose.

"Look out!"

Dodging out of the way of the incoming lightning spell, Penny fired off a round of her gauss system in tandem to it before once again diving into the fray. As she did the normally red glow of her eyes would start to be replaced with an intense white.

---

@Ariamis@Flamelord@Crusader Lord

Off in the stands, even further out of mind then he had been a few moments ago, Aurelio struggled to maintain his composure. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t crying at the beauty that was being displayed before him or that he was un-touched by the sense of joy and resolution that filled the hall. It was in fact just the opposite.

He had tied himself into the emotions of the hall in a desperate bid to try and assist his friends, and act that had turned out to be unneeded thankfully. But now it was that act that was nearly causing him to come unraveled at the seams, as he fought desperately to not drown in the emotional storm or worse start feeding into this monumental moment and cause a feedback loop that would likely end him.

All was not lost however, for if there was ever a time that Aurelio’s skill with positive emotions came in handy it was for sure this one. With the same care that he wove himself into the room he would start to withdraw from it and as he did he let this life changing event flush all, but the most precious of his stored emotions, away. Cleaning out the Frustration and Hate that he had gathered and kept locked away in case he needed them and allowing the Compassion, Love, and Wonder to settle in their place.

Quietly he brought his Spark to the surface and, once he was sure that he had extracted himself enough from to the room to be sure of himself, moved to stand. “We are Beacon!” He would shout from the stands “We stand united! Together through adversity we are the light that shines forever more to chase away the darkness and all the ills that it houses! And I see no darkness within these walls, least of all those that are being accused, they have risked more than any to try and bring the light of hope to those who need it the most!” He was openly crying as she shouted his words for while he could keep himself from being lost to the storm of emotions that didn’t mean he wasn’t still caught up in them.

“ So I stand with the Seraph! Any judgment you pronounce on you give to me!” Aurelio took a moment to breath and to try and gain some semblance of control over his emotions before he spoke aloud once more, albeit more calmly then before “Because I am Beacon, and I will not let them stand apart any longer” Still openly crying, but with his head held high, he strode down to stand with Alicia and Serenity, the raw conviction on his face nearly daring someone to question him on his actions.

---

@Ariamis@Asuras

A moan of delight was released as the deranged girl reveled in the exquisite taste of her new meal. The fact that she was mere inches from several life threatening attacks being over looked in her ravenous haze. It would be a few more mouthfuls of the wondrous meal before Viva was once again able to think with any degree of clarity, for while her hunger was far from sated, the high quality food was able to fulfill the requirements of the curse she had placed upon herself.

Thankfully this clarity came just in time, as not a moment later she was forced to dive backwards to avoid the final part of Dawn's slash before it succeeded in separating her head as well. Still it was an inelegant dodge that left her sprawled out across the ruined stage. It took all of a second for her too realize that her situation had went from bad to worse. There were three Beacon members effectively surrounding her, and she knew they were Beacon from the aura of Purification that their Sparks gave off, and all of the seemed to be melee combatants from what she could tell.

Normally she might have been able to get away with hiding her status as a dark magical. After all she normally fought at range and could come in afterwards and offer healing assistance, either via her Specialization or her Artifact. Now however? With her face covered in blackened gore from tearing off chunks of the Endsinger’s flesh, with her mouth still a twisted mockery of fangs that drooled acid?

“Shite…” she would mutter as her eyes flicked between the three who had been temporary allies and the corpse. A subtle attempt to summon her bike just reinforced that this was a bad situation as she felt the magic being cancelled out. Slowly, carefully, she stood back up sadly a few steps away from the wondrous meal, before running her free hand across her face both cleaning it of gore while also removing her monstrous alterations.

“Don’t suppose we could all simply just go our separate ways now?” Viva would ask cautiously, ready to bolt the instant one of them turned actively hostile. She highly doubted that anyone of them would agree, Beacon was never tolerant of outsiders corrupted ones least of all, but getting into a fight with three of them wasn’t on Vivian’s to-do list for today.

A glance over her shoulder informed her that simply legging it wouldn’t be very easy either, not if the crazed wolf looking things were as hostile as she expected.
‘And I was told that my luck was going to be good today too’

Lily gasped as the Ascendancy girls turned their weapons on the dark magical girls, confused and upset by the sudden turn of events.
”Yeah, what’s the big deal? Why are you doing this?” She asked, joining in on Alex’ questions. She blurted out a giggle at his hypothesis, only to scrunch her face.
Aah, he’s being cute again, but don’t be distracted! Focus, Lily! She thought to herself, and puffed her cheeks as she attempted catching up with the tense conversation taking place.

The Ascendancy girls kept grim faces as they nodded at Su’s suggestion.
“An acute observation, but only half-right,” Kai spoke, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. “The Ascendancy is sworn to saving those lost to the darkness. We want to cleanse you of the black magic that has taken control of you, and purify you of your corruption. But if you refuse our gift, we have no choice but to put you down.”
They looked disinterested in Mika’s pleads, even as Lily joined her, though the green-haired girl did blush at the example the cat-eared girl gave of Tetrad.
”A-And we just fought together! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

She looked at Silhouette as she made her comment, looking concerned by the attitude the other girl showed, and continued attempting to defuse the conflict.
”I mean, if they were actually bad people, they wouldn’t have helped, you know. They would have just looked on from a rooftop and gloated about how foolish we were for trying to save people, with an ominous pose and everything!”

One of the triplets shook her head. “They most likely fought to satisfy their twisted desires. But in the end, it matters not, ” she stated, looking at Silhouette in particular, and took a stance with her halberd. “They are witches,” Another triplet continued. “Having sold their souls for power. They won’t escape justice. And if you try to defend these sinners, neither will you.” She glared at Lily, causing her to gulp.

Lily then heard an older woman speak and turned her head, not having recognized the voice. However, she immediately knew who it was upon seeing her.
”Tetrad! You’ve become old!” She exclaimed, and ran to her, her hands held out as if prepared to catch her falling.
”You look just like my grandma, except without the fishnet stockings...And everything else, actually.”

The third triplet squinted her eyes at Tetrad’s question, as if she was examining her. “That curse only lasts for an hour,” she answered. “We can wait for it to end.”

“Enough talk!” Kai lifted her rifle up at Su, followed by the triplets also brandishing their polearms. “Surrender by the count of three, or die! One...Two...”

Lily panicked, and summoned her bow.
”It doesn’t have to end like this! Stop!”

At that moment, one of the triplets saw Tetrad make her move; without any hesitation, she threw her halberd at them, aiming right for her hands.

”STOP!” Lily yelled, and made a shot with her bow. An arrow hit the halberd, and the weapon was frozen in midair. A careful eye would see the projectile was colored gray, shaped like the hand of a clock, with a tiny cog spinning around it. Lily looked as surprised at the result as anybody else. Kai scoffed, and pulled the trigger, aiming at Su. However, Su didn’t feel a bullet piercing her, shifting at just the right moment with everybody else; Tetrad managed to shift the courtyard of the museum, excluding the piece of the road where the lich fell and where the Ascendancy was gathered.

The entire group had arrived at the Overcity. Like before, the ground they stood on was patterned like a checkerboard, and the air was pure and refreshing. However, unlike the last time Alex and Su had seen it, they were not on an open field, but instead in the small clearing of a forest. It was clearly daytime, as sunlight could be seen seeping in past the shade provided by the tall trees, casting everything into moderate shadow.

”...Where am I?” Lily looked flabbergasted as she looked around herself, and then at her bow. Her eyes lighted up in hesitant realization.
”Did somebody shift everyone?”

---

Helga bit the bottom of her lip as Emily pleaded to the beastly Lupa, and decided to wait instead of joining; after all, there was a risk Lupa would feel intimidated by her arrival, ruining Emily’s chances. To her great relief, it seemed to work, as Lupa changed back to her usual self.
“Lupa!” She yelled, and dove to catch her, holding her in her arms. “It’s okay, Lupa...It seems to be over.” She looked over at the stage, having seen how the ghostly audience scattered after Endsinger’s head was removed from her shoulders. However, the lingering presence of the Feral clones distressed Helga as they chased after the head, and she hoisted Lupa over her shoulder, just like Emily before.
“Hey Emily, follow me. I’ll take you to my place.” She turned, only to grit her teeth in a flustered expression. “Not like that! To heal your wounds, I meant.” She hopped up to the roof of a nearby abandoned truck, followed by jumping up to a balcony and then the rooftop of a nearby building, occasionally looking back to make sure Emily would follow. “Hurry, before they come after us!”
If it looked like Emily wouldn’t be able to move fast enough, she would carry her on her other shoulder.

---

Leena released the grip on her swords as Endsinger’s headless body slumped over her, letting it drop down with a dull thud at her side; the sharp blades pointed upwards in the shape of an X out of the lich’s back. Then, the pain hit her; with a groan of agony, she dropped to one knee, holding her hand to her mouth as she coughed out her teeth, clutching them into a fist and looking down at them.
“Rghhh...It worked...Now I wish it didn’t. But it’s...done. The U-type’s...” She slightly lifted her face up to look at Viva, her face shrouded in shadow as her eyes glared at her. “You...”
Unlike FanFan, who was distracted by the wolves attacking her, Leena was aware of
Viva the entire time. Back then, she didn’t care about her participation, putting the mission before any distractions. But now, her focus was wholly on her, especially after she wiped her mouth in an attempt to present herself better.

“Heh...” She groaned a half-laugh, and lifted her face. Viva would see that not only was her nose smashed in and red from blood, her cheeks had nasty red wounds running across them, the corner of her lip dripping red. Though she kept her mouth shut, Viva would see a couple of teeth dropping from her hand, clacking on the ground. Yet, despite the great pain she was going through, the magical girl kept menacingly staring right at her, her lips curled into disturbing Joker-esque grin thanks to “makeup” she received; years of endless battle were reflected in those cold eyes.

“Why so...cereal?”

Then, she flinched as she coughed blood. At that moment, her concentration lapsed, and the Nullification Field dropped.
“Leena!” FanFan screamed, and activated the adamantium spikes in the knuckles of her robot arms as she opened her hands and slapped the wolves before she punched them with the spikes, causing them to disappear. She then ran towards Leena, punching a wolf right in the back of the head as she rushed to protect her from the ravenous pack. Leena’s eyes shot wide, having realized her mistake. Then, she summoned a sword to her free hand as she moved by instinct to block the first wolf, her eyes having snapped to an innocuous item lying on the ground: the guitar.

“DAWN!” She screamed, hoping the rookie wouldn’t be too late.

---

"Ohohohoo!"
Cindy laughed courteously as she witnessed Aurora being aggressively snuggled, before she clapped her hands together. “Now now, easy on the guest, girls~” she spoke in an amused voice. The monster girls snapped back to attention, and gave Aurora room to breathe, brustling Aurora’s hair. “Oh, excuse me! I was so caught up in the moment~” “I got a bit too excited there, hah~” The two apologised, while Cindy resumed her attention back to Eliza.
“Back to the matter at hand, may I request thine aid ona quest?” She asked, and realized she slipped into an older dialect. “Mm, excuse me. What I meant to ask was: could you help us? As you may have seen on Glimmr, Vi-chan is planning on holding a concert.” She then frowned. “However, not everyone has access to Glimmr, or are unsure if it is actually going to be held in the first place.” She gave a sealed letter to Eliza. “I need you to send this letter.”

Before Eliza could ask, Cindy was given a smartphone by a monster girl. She sent a beam of electricity from it to the projector using her magic. By creating a temporary link between the two machines, she made an image manifest on the projector: it was the front of the Golden Trove hotel. “Please go to this location, and give the invitation to the owner. I would do this myself, but my time is taken by managing the shelter. Also, since you were also gone from Penrose for a while, I believe you’ll have a better chance making there undetected compared to my other subjects.” She then clasped her fingers together. “Your queen would be very grateful.”

---

The audience of Beacon girls were dazzled as Alicia transformed in the courtroom, taking on a new, more brilliant path in her life as a magical girl. Even the Ascendancy members showed signs of respect, if not even slight awe, upon seeing the display of the White Coin’s power. Isthar kept smiling, her arms having slowly opened to address the crowd.
”What you see is the truth of the White Coin, only possible thanks to Alicia Hayden’s courage to save her friend. Alicia Hayden, I declare you innocent of your charges.” She smiled, and waited for the reactions of joy from Kimble and the others. “Seraph of Penrose, you have now received my blessing. May it serve you well in the trials to come.”

At that moment, Serenity spoke up, and delivered a shocking speech, delivered straight from the heart. As expected, there were some in the audience who were appalled by the reveal of her former existence, including Rachel. But the rest were moved by the story’s conclusion and the brilliance of her Soul Gem. This included Tsuki of the Ascendancy, who now wept tears for the very first time in the trial, while Hudie kept her head turned away, and Elora kept typing, as if purposefully distracting herself. Isthar herself kept smiling gently.

”Yes, it is friendship that transcends the borders between us. It allows us to reach out to another, gives us strength and purpose, but most of all, is the gift that keeps giving. For ages untold, you have been one with the void, without passion or purpose. An existence that begets nothing. But now, as you have reached this epiphany, you have gained a priceless treasure that can never be lost.”
She first looked upon Serenity, and then turned her eyes to the Ascendancy after Serenity’s request. ”Serenity Gates, your prayer has been heard. I hereby sentence you to embracing the White Coin, and letting it guide you to the true path. And to honor your prayer, you may be granted one as well, Aurelio.” Juliana unlocked the white cuffs from Serenity’s wrists, letting them hit the marble floor of the courtroom with a rumble of stone.
Then, like Alicia, she was also granted a White Coin, as was Aurelio.

“Um...” A hesitant voice next to Serenity made its presence known; it belonged to Sylvia.

“Cardinal Isthar, I...” She lowered herself down to a kneeling position, hands clasped together. “I...It’s been a long time since I’ve begged like this, but...Please, allow me to have a White Coin as well.” Tears went down her cheeks, softly hitting the podium. “I...I know I messed up, lying to everyone, trying to take responsibility in such a selfish way...But, I want another chance, another shot at making things right again.” She lowered her head, and Sally, with trembling lips, nodded rapidly; she attempted to speak, but only indistinct blubbering came about. However, the intent was clear as day.

“N-Nyah, please...”

Kimble pleaded, having raised her hands up like a kitten that wanted to be picked up, her eyes also teary. Up until this point, she had kept quiet, keeping close to Alicia. But as she took the White Coin, Kimble took solace in Sally, looking on in wonder as the White Coin blessed Alicia.

“I...It’s scary, but...I want to be purified,” she slowly stated, every word weighted with conviction. “I want to be...A nyaw me. A stronger me...One that can stand by Mistress’ side.” Sally and Sylvia looked at her with shock, but Kimble smiled back. “It’s okay, nya. This is my choice. For the sake of Mistress, my friends, everyonnyah...I’ll do it.”

Isthar once again nodded. ”Sally Shamrock, Kimble. Both of you have faced great hardship in the past. Betrayed and used by others, you were abandoned in the night that is cruelty. Nonetheless, you never abandoned the hope that one day you may find yourselves on a new road that leads to dawn. Kimble, you especially have had to fight against your corruption, your fangs always at risk of finding blood. But now, your love has given you new light. May you cherish it.” The two were freed from their shackles while Isthar addressed Sylvia.

“Sylvia Starshine...For five years, you have served as the branch leader of the Beacon of Penrose. During those years, you have dedicated yourself to upholding the tenets of our order, and working towards peace. However,” she spoke with neutral tone of voice, her smile now gone.
“You have been unable to let go of the weakness in your heart. And unlike Alicia, you have accepted the natural order of this world, having lacked the will to truly change it for the better. Such qualities do not befit one with the duty of giving example to those under them, one whose destiny is to guide others.”
She pressed her palms together.
”You lied to the courtroom, attempting to claim responsibility for all sins presented. Though it was an act of deceit, breaking the vow of honesty you made here, I can forgive it; it was made with a noble intention of sacrificing yourself for the sake of your friends. Regardless, I can not overlook the grave sin you have committed; that of not trusting in your friends. You did not believe in them, and selfishly attempted to take justice in your own hands. By doing so, you attempted to rob them of choice.” Sylvia’s legs shook, afraid of what comes next.

“It’s all over...Please, make it quick and painless...” Sylvia quietly mumbled, as despair slowly crept on her face.

”Sylvia Starshine, I shall hereby sentence you...To be demoted to the rank Ophanim, stripped of the title of branch leader of Penrose, and to embrace the White Coin on your path of redemption.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened, and she took in a deep breath of relief, having collapsed to sitting on the floor from sheer catharsis. “O-Oh...Th-Thank you for you mercy, Cardinal.” She lowered her head, showing respect to Isthar. “I shall do my best to make up for my faults.”

Isthar nodded. ”Juliana, release her, and give them all the White Coin.”

Juliana did as ordered, and soon enough the rest were also granted their White Coins.
Sylvia, Sally, and Kimble concentrated, and let the power of the Coin wash over them.
Like Alicia, they were swept up in a great, brilliant warmth as the magic enveloped them, like bathed in a river of starlight. Their very essence was bolstered, the ShineSpark coursing through them like magma running underground, spreading life to the earth.

Once it was over, Sylvia and Sally had transformed back to magical girls, their uniforms looking slightly cleaner than before. But the biggest change was with Kimble, as was apparent from but a glance at her; she reached up to touch the top of her head, confirming that her cat ears were gone. She then looked behind her; sure enough, the tails had disappeared as well.

“They’re gone, nyah...Wait, NYAH?!” She put her hands to her mouth, looking surprised, while Sally and Sylvia lightly laughed. “Some things never change, huh?” Sally joked, and hugged Kimble. “Ahh, but I’m gonna miss those adorable ears, and how they tickled me~”
Sylvia scratched her cheek. “Well, I could always make a cat-ear hairband and cat-tailed belt...You know, just to make the transition easier.”
Kimble giggled, looking happy. “That sounds like fun, Sylvia. But more importantly, now I can start all new, with no regrets, nyah!”

Isthar once again smiled, and clasped her hands together. Alicia saw that her bright eyes seemed to glimmer a bit.

“Yes...I am now sure, without any doubt.”
Rachel looked at the Cardinal with a lifted eyebrow. “Um, Cardinal Isthar, what do you mean?”
Isthar’s eyes looked upon Alicia.

“To replace Sylvia Starshine, I hereby grant Alicia Hayden the rank of Seraph Paladin, as well as the title of branch leader of Penrose. Sylvia may assist you in an advisory role, but from now on you will take responsibility for the branch’ operation and well-being.” Everyone, including the Ascendancy, gasped. “Objection!” Rachel lifted her hand, looking upset. “Alicia Hayden is inexperienced! She is not worthy-”
”She has proven her worth,” Isthar spoke back with a neutral, strict tone, and looked at Rachel. ”I honor her prayer of becoming an example to all. I believe in her, as should you, Inquisitor.”
Rachel sighed, and adjusted her glasses. “Very well. I have no further objections. But I would like to remind you that it is by the Grand Ecclesiarch’s degree that the Ascendancy pacifies Penrose, using any means necessary. We will be continuing our operation as planned.”

Isthar sighed, looking saddened.
“I have not forgotten, Inquisitor Rachel. Now, I shall resume my prayers.”
With that, she closed her eyes, and returned back to being as quiet as when the trial started. Rachel nodded, and then addressed the audience.
“The trial has now ended. Spectators, leave the courtroom in an orderly fashion.” The Ascendnacy began leaving their posts, following after the audience who left with murmurs and whispers ranging from awed to tearful. However, before they could leave, Rachel stepped u to the podium. “Alicia, Serenity, Aurelio, come to the Hall of Luminous Valor. We have matters to discuss.”

---

The shopkeeper seemed pleased by Deni’s positive answer, and waved goodbye to her and Valkyire as they left the Bazaar District. Following the outlandish merchant’s directions and turning two times, the two found themselves in the Entertainment District; a more colorful locale than elsewhere, with casinos, bars, cafes, and even arcades, advertised by signs reminiscent of the type seen in Las Vegas. There were plenty of advertisers on the streets; for example, there was a large, fluffy creature with a spherical body and tall ears spinning a sign for a “Smorple Cafe” on a street corner among others. However, it was also a seedier district; a place for the more unscrupulous type who did “business” to make their lair. This was apparent as they saw magical boys in fancy suits giving out fliers before some shop entrances, advertising to passing magical girls with smooth voices and dreamy looks. There was even a side alley marked by red lights, leading to a shadowed part of the district.

It is also here where Amanda happened to wander to after her visit to one of many libraries in the Overcity. However, as she was searching for an exit, she happened to see Ronin and Valkyrie; they turned into a quieter street where game parlors set up shop, the customers absorbed by the newest fad of Magical Reality helmets.
“Oh, hi there!” A young girl’s voice called out to the two.
Amanda, on the other side of the street, saw as a suspicious-looking monster girl approached the girls holding the wooden box, an easy smile on her lips. She was accompanied by a stoic-looking dark magical girl. “Thanks for delivering the package. We’ll take it from here,” she then said, reaching out with her beastly clawed arm while the other girl nodded; Amanda saw her casting a spell of some kind with a hand behind her back. Ronin knew that they haven’t fully followed the shopkeep’s directions yet...

---

Penny continued on the offensive with new limbs, battering Sirkkeli with not only her arms, now completely covered by the metal-eating mold, but also by her additional appendages. Sirkkeli’s armor deflected the blows to her sides and back, while the alien gynoid pressed on, having managed a couple of slices to Penny’s midsection, coating her further with the acidic compound and speeding up her mana consumption: she was now at 60% mana capacity, nearing 50%.
In return, Sirkkeli received more heavy blows as she further failed to match Penny’s punches with her sword, her own armor now showing cracks that revealed grey tubes.
“Rrrgh! You’re blind to Laat’s great plan, Penny! You know nothing!!” She screamed, and cut off one of the spider limbs in a whirling slash, coating the stump’s tip with the mold and preventing it from being reattached without serious consequences. She continued the spinning slashes, aiming to cut the rest.

“Take th-th-th-th-!”
She was hit by the lightning beam that Valerie shot out; her metallic body easily conducted the powerful blast, and caused internal damage of some kind to the foe while also stunning her. She was then subsequently hit by Penny’s fearsome gauss shot, knocking her back against a wall, cracking it; she held her stomach, the armor of it pierced and bleeding blue blood, clearly pained by the combination of attacks. “Urgh! You…”

She saw as Penny rushed in for the finishing blow, as the Beacon girl planned.
”...You really are blind!”
Penny’s vision suddenly darkened; she was hit by a blast of sticky saliva that covered her eyes, revealing that Sirkkeli also had the Bile ability. The liquid was not corrosive like the mold compound on her blades, but instead acted like incredibly elastic glue as it hardened upon exposure to cool air, sticking Penny’s hands to her face as she attempted removing it by instinct. While it could be ripped away by sheer strength, she lacked the necessary agility to avoid entangling herself further into the mess unless she calmed herself down.
“See what I mean? Hahahahaaa!”
Sirkkeli cackled as she lifted herself up, holding one hand to the wall to prevent herself from falling. “You fool...I’ll tear you, piece by piece.”
She then drew a blade, intending to attack Penny while she couldn’t fully defend herself.

Once they shifted away from the battle, Alexander relaxed his strengthening magic and groaned "Fuckkkkkkkkk! It's Beacon all over again. Is...is this what happens when we go on vacation; an Inquisition moves in? Because if so, then going on vacations suddenly became a bad fucking idea." He slumped to the ground, mentally exhausted "It's always something in this mess of a town. So why not a fucking crusade!" He shook off his frustration and got back to his feet "Alright, enough of that. So where are we? This kind of looks like the Overcity, only with a lot more trees."

"Hm?" Eliza hummed in curiosity when Cindy asked her for a request. Seems there was still a few that haven't heard about Elvira's party. Looking at the invitation she was given, the witch was about to ask where to go when the location was shown on screen. Seems she was the only one with the best chance of going without detection. 'Feeling like the Solid Snake of the group right now.' Eliza thought.

"Right, I shall accept thy request, your Highness." Eliza's illusion cloak reappeared on her shoulders, hiding her wings once more. "Come on, Theresa." Her familiar returned to owl form, and followed the witch out.

---

Valerie grinned when her lightning strike managed to hit Sirkkeli, and when Penny took the opportunity to do some ranged damage herself. Charging up another blast, it seemed they were about to win when the other android girl was suddenly blinded, stunned by a different sort of liquid from the insectoid. Seeing as Sirrkeli was distracted, Valerie hurried to think of a way to ambush her. Grabbing her broken katana, the android focused her magic on creating a makeshift blade, made of pure lightning, and rushed up to her adversary, aiming to stab through her.

---

Amanda was no stranger to the Overcity, as expansive as it might seem. But she didn't expect herself to stumble into the Entertainment District. For a more shady side of the city, no one seemed to pay any mind to her at the moment. The mage wondered why. She then noticed a pair of magical girls across the street, one that was definitely NOT supposed to be wandering into a place like- Oh dear. Amanda facepalmed when she saw that one of the two darker magical girls was in the middle casting a spell without the other pair knowing. "Why do I feel like I know where this is going...?" She muttered, opening her spellbook. Several crystals formed behind her as she approached the suspicious girls.

"Hasn't anyone told you two not to take advantage of those smaller than you?" The mage had asked, in a deadpan manner.

---

As quickly as she used her hype magic, bloodlust had eclipsed the emotion, sending a harsh chill down Celia's spine. "Gah, w-why me!?" The empath felt like the cold had slapped her in the face, but she had to tolerate it anyways. Looking back over to Anaya, the spirit girl had managed to destroy the Feral clone before it could attack, having rapidly fired her guns at it till they ran out of ammo. "And that's why you always carry silver bullets." She said, standing back up. Anaya looked back over to the stage in dissapointment. Did they really have to end it so soon? She was just starting to have fun!

Though it seems the other Ferals were interested in ripping apart the few magical girls that were inside the null field before (sans Endsinger's corpse), Anaya's attention was set on the one thing the lich left behind. The guitar.

"Jackpot."

The spirit girl sprinted onto the stage, reaching for the guitar. By the chance she had grabbed it before anyone else, Anaya would use her spirit magic to give it new strings, then amp it up with sound magic to knock the Feral clones attacking the beacon girls (and Viva I guess) back, giving them a chance to either run or retaliate. While Celia followed up behind her to provide support for the small group, having gathered a good bit of bloodlust magic, to her own dismay. "The next time I get invited to something like this, I'd rather throw myself into a horror's maw, I swear to god..."

More wonders followed on the heels of those that had already taken place, and Alicia watched along quietly as Aurelio descended from the stands to join them in the middle of the room. "Show off," she teased quietly. Yet in the end it did not matter. Isthar had seen to the core of the matter, and announced her judgment once again.

"See, told you," the Seraph said to Serenity with a pat on the shoulder before stepping back and allowing her to have some personal space. She was curious to see how the girl would use her White Coin now that she had it.

That left Sylvia and Kimble. Nervousness rose, more for her leader than for Kimble. Alicia was touched that even after what had been done to her in the short time they had been separated, Kimble was still willing to go through the process of being purified. To say nothing of her boss, who had only acted as she thought was best. Alicia hadn't meant to sell her down the river by doing this. Fortunately, at least Isthar recognized as much.

So she nodded in approval with a relieved look as the collective group used their White Coins and took on the Shine Spark. "Hehe, well I guess a verbal tic is harder to get rid of than physical changes," she added as Sally lamented the loss of the tails and ears. "Look on the bright side, Sally's Luck is probably even more out of whack than it was before." All things considered, this had worked out pretty well. Better than what they had been looking at when they first entered the courtroom at least.

Then the floor dropped out from under her. Again.

Wide eyes stared back at Isthar as she voiced her next decision. "M-Me?" Alicia pointed back at herself at herself in disbelief. Oh, she wasn't going to get into some cliche about not being ready, especially with Sylvia able to advise, but everything seemed to be happening so fast! She was just getting comfortable with being a Seraph, and now she was being made the leader of the entire branch? Anyone would be uncomfortable in that situation.

"I'll do my best," she added once Isthar had addressed Rachel's objection. It was too soon to tell whether she was up for the challenge, but it would not be due to lack of trying.

With that the trial came to an end. People began to file out, now allowed the time to think and reflect on what had happened. Hopefully her words had reached them. But there was little time for celebration. She could understand why Rachel wanted to talk with her given their new relationship, but she wasn't sure why Serenity and Aurelio were included. They would find out soon enough.

Turning to Sylvia, the new Paladin bowed to her former superior. "I'm...sorry for what happened," she admitted. "I shouldn't have misled you like that. We'll talk once I'm done with Rachel, okay? I'm sure I'm going to need your help a lot, at least for the first couple of days." There was so much that she didn't know how to do, so if she could take advantage of the experience that Sylvia had, she would.

With that said she turned to Serenity and Aurelio. "Let's be on our way. I don't want to leave the annoyed Ascendancy leader waiting longer than necessary." So they headed off to the Hall, and their next task.

Huh, weird.

There shouldn't have been any need for Lily to assist with her arrows. Though maybe this was something the Moirai willed necessary? Had she underestimated how slow Tetrad's shift was going to be? She supposed it didn't matter. The effect was more or less what she desired.

But the Ascendancy would try to follow, of that she was sure.

She'd have to think of something to slow them down with for when they arived.



@Rune_Alchemist@Card Captor@FamishedPants

“Cleanse us?” Su looked at her hand. She wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she was a dark magical girl. Her dread wings were proof enough of this, as was her intimate relation with her rage. Well, she was always a bit angry. Hell, she attacked Mariette before she became a magical girl, and she was just the last of many to unsuccessfully make an attempt on Amber’s life. Even if such a cleansing was more than just a ruse, they likely wouldn’t be as kind to Helga. But the thought did give her pause. Was it possible to rid themselves of their corruption, and did they even want to?

Then the world shifted.

“Whew!” Mika stood up and dusted off her knees. “Looks like they decided to send us to the over city instead. I’m glad they listened to me.”

“You’re familiar with the over city?”

“Yea!” Mika nodded. “Remember? I didn’t clean up my room, so you transported me and all my stuff into the over city and said-”

“Right, right, thank you for reminding me.” Su looked away from Mika with a blush. “So, right.” Su looked around the forest. “We need to move. I doubt they’re going to take kindly to us just shifting away.”



”Whew!” Tetrad patted Lily on the shoulder. ”Thanks for the save. You must have a pretty sexy grandma if I remind you of her.” She squinted her eyes. ”Hmmm, seems none of them came along with us. A pity. But I’d rather this than all of them follow us.” Tetrad walked towards the trees. ”There should be someone who can help us in the over city. I can divine their location, but it will be time consuming to navigate the forest with my powers.”

Su bent her knees. “I’ll just fly up and see if I can spot anything.” With a jump, Su flew through the lining of trees.

”That shouldn’t take long.” Tetrad walked over to Alexander. ”I think what we’re dealing with right now is a power vacuum. If a large power in an area is snuffed out instantly, something else will take its place. So when all the magical girls vanished, it was only natural that the accident-iary would move in to fill the void. Now that we’ve returned, we need to push them out to retake the power we once had.”

Mika climbed into a tree. “Who wants to play tag?”

@Ariamis@BrokenPromise

---

The Lich was soon dealt with. The combined attacks of the girls present was more than enough to end the undead creatures life. The huntress said nothing as the Ascendancy and others began to squabble among themselves. The expected outcome, really - and Rina honestly just wanted to go home already. The threat was over with, and she didn't feel like babysitting the Ascendancy and the others. Wasn't really her job at the moment. There were possibly other things to take care of -

The world suddenly shifted, Tetrad having pulled them into the Overcity.

"...don't suppose you could ask before dragging me along." Rina curtly said with a light frown towards the now aged magical girl. The Huntress' bow disappeared as she looked at their surroundings. A forest? She had very little experience with the Overcity, so she wasn't quite sure what to have been expecting when dragged here. Shouldn't be too different from Penrose, really. Just with natural trees instead of concrete ones.

"Next time, don't. I'd rather not get a bad reputation with the Ascendancy." Rina grunted, looking up at Mika who was doing her best squirrel impression. She wasn't a fan of them, but she certainly didn't want to end up on their hit list, either. "I'm gonna stick to the treetops. I'll keep an eye out for anything." Rina soon had climbed swiftly up a tree opposite of Mika before the other two could potentially stop her. She wasn't intending on playing Tag, but if Mika pressed the issue, she probably wouldn't be able to say no.


@Ariamis

---

"Weh!?" Most people would probably love being smooshed between two heavenly pillows. Aurora, though? Not a chance. "Canfff, mhmmf, breathe you-big-gehpervy-cow-udders!" The least they could do was give some back to him! The least that she could have, she had been a good little magical girl! Thankfully, Cindy was able to soon come to his rescue, asking the other girls to calm down. "Geh, stupid floozies...hmph..." She dusted off her dress, before smiling and waving brightly over to Cindy. "Thanks a bunch, Cindy! I thought I was gonna die! Jeez, I knew Vi was popular but being able to work people up so much..." She trailed off, content to join the cheering crowd again, this time, away from the larger threats.

"Hmm..." Chloe took a moment to think while Aurora was being useless as usual. "...I suppose I could have my girls and myself help." Chloe replied with a nod to Cindy. "Aurora and me, Specifically. Divina would probably work best making sure everyone here stays behaved. She doesn't like fighting if she can help it." She suggested to the other girl.

The Sword-Demon wheezed, her whole body shaking as tendrils of corroded metal seeped out from the feasting blade. The memories, the regrets, the sorrows, the character behind the meal didn’t matter now, only the meat and the might. Vestiges of necromantic energy gave Billy a fermented texture, while the bones offered a satisfying crunch. The rejuvenation of his once-gray flesh was delightful too, as succulent as a newborn’s meat. Wonderful. Having been denied a meal for so long, the Sword could only exalt into its Wielder’s mind the sheer pleasure of a big meal after a months-long fasting.

Amaryllis grabbed onto that pleasure, that twisted positivity, and in the deluge of her rage and fear, her insecurities and her grudges, she pulled herself towards it.

The Sword-Demon quaked once more, silvered ivies bursting from the ground to grapple her limbs, and as she struggled, rusted roses sprouted from her horns, breaking them off. A flash of moonlight, a, unhallowed scream, and finally, Amaryllis was herself again, the cleaver-beast reverting back into an eloquent saber. Every bone in her body throbbed, but with some effort, the Knight of Rose stood up again, her Healing Artifact humming as it removed what wounds it could. She really was out of practice, huh?

“Worry not, Beast Tamer,” Amaryllis began, trying for an eloquent flourish even when she felt like she just deadlifted a schoolbus full of rhinos, “I’ve not been conquered by my inner demons yet. But from where do you hail?”

She gave the mobster-looking fellow another, more searching glance. If there was anyone here that could be working for the Mint, he'd be the one whose looks fit the bill the most, huh?

"And for what purpose do you appear?"

@Ariamis@Majoras End

Penny could help the victorious grin that spread across her face. It was obvious that Sirkkeli didn’t know Penny as well as the Beacon member had feared, and right now that was going to cost the alien monster girl much more than it was going to cost the native one, for there were several mistakes that Sirkkeli had just performed that spelled the end of this encounter.

The first was assuming that just because she had covered Penny’s eyes that Penny could no longer perceive what was happening around her. This was untrue; because while Penny’s magical talents would never be flashy, when it came to perceptions and other inward focused magic Penny shinned. She could sense all the Metal, Sound and Lightning in the alleyway and that gave her more than enough information to not be truly blind.

The next mistake was assuming that Penny wouldn’t be able to defend herself. As Sirkkeli closed in part of Penny’s chassis would snap open up and a blazing flare of white light would erupt from within the Beacon aligned android as she pushed the Light of her Spark to its absolute limit flooding the space in front of her with pure incorruptible light.

The last mistake was assuming that just because Penny’s hands were trapped that they were inaccessible. With a twist of her arm her left hand would disconnect at the wrist with a metallic click, a length of pristine chain trailing along with the freed arm connecting back to the still stuck hand. In the same instant that she disconnected her arm Penny would once again leap up and over her foe, looping the trailing chain around Sirkkeli as she went.

Once she landed Penny would trigger the winch to pull the chain taunt, bracing the side connected to her hand with two of her remaining spider limbs, hopefully binding Sirkkeli in place just in time for Valerie to dive in with her lightning blade. And just to add some insurance Penny would disconnect her right arm as well, but rather than any chain it just ended in a spike, which she aimed at the back of her captives head.

---

@Ariamis@Flamelord@Crusader Lord

The sigh of relief that came from Aurelio was a palpable thing. Literally; one could actually feel the Relief rolling off of him. He took a moment to stand off from everyone else as he let himself come down naturally from the emotional high that he was still dealing with, while he was doing so he inspected the glimmering White Coin in his hand.

He didn’t bother to hold back the small laugh that bubble up from the realization that it was from a prior trial that he had been a part of that the sentence for this trial came through. He already knew what it was that he was going to put this coin to use for as well, which also answered for him what he was going to do with his Ruby coin as well.

A simple sleight of hand brought the extra coin to his palm as well, and a moment later both coins would vanish in muted flashes. Aurelio had no desire to bring much attention to himself at the moment after all, and with a simple nod to himself he moved back to his friends.

“Hey! You try being plugged into that and not showing off” The young mage would say gesturing at what remained of the crowed that had overseen the trial. Before he pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere and dried off his tears. “I promise you it was a lot more intense then you might have expected.” He would grump a bit before breaking out in a wide smile “Worth it though, as it all ended well.”

He would seemingly conjure a few more handkerchiefs, offering them to the other ladies of the group, as well as giving Sally a quick hug, before agreeing with Alicia. “You’ve got a point there. Wonder if they have a mission for us now that you’ve gotten a promotion?” He would wonder aloud as he walked along with them towards the Hall of Luminous Valor.

---

@Ariamis@Asuras

Rather than being intimidated by Leena’s crazed, blood stained appearance, Viva had to fight down something of a blush, because for someone of her warped temperament and preferences, it was both appetizing and somewhat arousing. Thankful, for all parties involved really, chaos descended upon them once again in very short order.

A moment behind FanFan, Viva also sprung into motion however in-between one step and the next the roar of a motorcycle engine split the air as Viva once again mounted her precious bike. Rather continuing in her original direction she instead began a rolling burnout, her revolver began once again barking out its loud retorts. Yet none of her rounds were aimed at any of the Beacon members, each round was launched out towards one of the numerous crazed Feral clones that surged in once the Null field had fallen.

After completing one full rotation Viva released the brakes and blitzed past the Beacon members. On her way past she would reach out to grab onto the Endsingers’s now motionless corpse, storing it into her Hammerspace just before a translucent ramp would materialize to once again send her skyward. Once in the air she would continue to rain down a fire at the wolven foes below her, as a shimmering roadway would appear underneath the tires before twisting out and leveling off to keep Viva and her bikefar above any of the rabble below.

“It’s not nice to threaten a girl with a good time!” She would yell out teasingly, her statement punctuated with a couple more rounds of gun fire Next time I might just take you off on that offer Braces!” Without waiting for a reply there would be another rev of her bike as Viva speed off into Penrose.

They had defeated a lich with incredible power! A fiercesome monster capable of horrible things. Not every magical girl could claim they had done this. This would evoke feelings of triumph and happiness for the others. Positive emotions that would please her patron!

But Hilaria, of course, did not care about the victory herself. She found herself lacking any sort of expression. No relief, no pride, nothing. No significant emotions were evoked, and she wasn't sure she'd remember this past a decade or so. Billy was no different to a goblin in that regard.

"Hey~!"

Hilaria was able to shift gears rather fast, which she ironically displayed by sauntering over to Amaryllis. The smile she now wore betrayed the fact she did not seem put off by the girl's barbaric display. Instead, she used the time to de-summon Mars while slinging Vulcan over her back, giving an animated wave to the girl. "Now don't you seem to be enjoying yourself~ Hilaria thinks that was really good work, Armadillo~"

She then started to scan the area for the other girls, and her eyes rested upon Eli, whom she waved to, and then the same was done with Sophia. A good cooperative effort between them, even if there were... tiny hints of miscommunication or counter-synergy.

And speaking of counter-synergy, where was the other girl? Hilaria looked around, but did not see her. Puzzled, she tilted her head. Had she fled? Wasn't it rude to turn someone into a hot-pocket and then leave like that? It was not as though the pain was already gone or something -- she was still in an incredible amount of pain, contrary to her outward appearance.

Oh well.

With the arrival of a mysterious man, Hilaria couldn't find it in her to care enough about the burns, and simply endured them. "Cat~? Mm, no a tortoise would fit better, don't you think~?"



Her gambit had succeeded, and where once a vicious beast stood, a friend remained. Emily let out a big sigh of relief, and found herself smiling in spite of the pain she suffered. "Oh, I'm so happy..."

She did not want to fight Lupa. She honestly could not fight Lupa. Suffering that wound for Helga was not something she regretted, but this did not change the fact that it reduced her close-range capabilities to nil.

Momentarily, she considered giving chase to the clones, but this fleeting thought was purged from her mind soonafter. They were much faster, and with the Endsinger vanquished, there likely little to distract the other girls from dealing with the Ferals. Selfish as it was, she decided to let them deal with it.

Emily's eyes settled on the unconscious Lupa, and then to Helga. "T-thank you..." she repeated, giving a respectful bow. She'd have hugged the girl were it not for the fact that Lupa being on her shoulder would make it awkward to try to. "Ah, if that's okay with you..." she replied to the offer, but was noticably confused with the girl's other statement.

As she followed behind Helga, she worried about Amaryllis, and Tetrad. Were they okay? How was their fights with the other two lichs going? She hoped that it was much better than hers. After all, she had done nothing to help fight the Lich itself, but she wasn't keen on letting a friend down, either. Thankfully, there were other girls to pick up the slack, and she was grateful for that.

In the end, she decided she would trust in her two friends, that they would persevere. If she could, then it'd be simple for them, she thought.

Turning her attention back onto Helga as she walked in the girl's shadow, she couldn't help but ask something. "What did you mean, 'not like that'?"



Silhouette had her blade readied, and was more than prepared to strike anyone or anything that attempted to interfere with Tetrad's shift, but that proved unnecessary. The Ascendancy had launched an attack to interrupt the spell, but it was nullified by an arrow. Not merely deflected nor knocked off course, but stopped in its entirety.

Her eyes revealed all. The magics at use here were, without a doubt, the same sort that she personally made use of. In other words, it seemed Lily was specialized in Time Magic now.

But before any further interaction could happen, Tetrad completed the shift and along with the others, Samantha found herself in the strange world that was the Overcity. At least this time the trees added some character to the otherwise unsettling landscape, but trekking through an unfamiliar, dark forest wouldn't exactly rid someone of anxiety, either.

Most of the group seemed to be productive in their approach to the situation. A plan had been made to follow Tetrad's guidance, while the other, more vertically-enabled members of the group went on and scouted ahead.

The assassin decided to turn back to Lily since she had the time. She shot the poor girl a look that wasn't exactly a glare but wasn't particularly friendly either. Her crimson eyes violated the girl, as though she were sizing up a potential foe -- because that was precisely what she was doing, and she made no attempt to be subtle about it.

"You..." Samantha had begun to speak but paused. Her eyes lingered for a few moments after until she decided to return back to the task at hand, her focus returning to the forest. Now was not the time for this, "later" she thought.

Since the Ascendancy did not follow them, their main concern would likely be beasts that prowled the forest as they attempted to navigate the forest. She felt a bit excited, if only because she would be occupied, but these would be no Enkidu, no real challenge, not unless they got 'lucky' in that regard, but she wasn't going to count on that. But this time, since she wasn't forced to hold back, to use her fists, this should be better. Especially if things here don't end similarly to last time.

"We shouldn't waste more time than necessary," Sil stated to the group. "Talks of eviction can wait for when we manage to get back to Penrose."