Eliza stayed silent as Helga read the letter. Her eyes widened when the other magical girl grew excited realizing she had gotten the address for the party. The witch giggled when the sound girl ran to the back room for a moment and back, thanking her. "No need to thank me. And I'll let Miss Ford know when I head back!" She replied with a smile. Though Eliza's eyes widened in surprise again when Helga offered a vacant room for her to spend the night in, and breakfast for just a bronze coin. Well her appartment she was staying in was being used as a base for her coven, so why not? "Sure, if it's not much trouble!" Eliza nodded, handing one of her bronze coins to Helga.

---

Valerie listen as Penny explained what the deal was with Sirrkeli, looking around for any scrap metal to repair her katana with. Looking back, she went blank-face in seeing the other android...eating the insectoid's remains. Huh. "...I didn't know you like your enemies well done." she tried to joke, but she didn't know what to think of it. "But really, if they're only the first of many, it'd be best if we stick together. Wouldn't want a sister to get killed, ya know?" Valerie suggested. When Penny asked why she was in Penrose, the android shrugged.

"I got called here by my patron, to make sure both sides of this stupid battle of light and dark dont cause a catastrophe of cosmic proportions. Something about keeping a world order in check, or whatever." she explained. If one looked closely, her eyes were lit up with an electic blue as she looked through her HUD. "Me and another girl, Amanda, are trying to get as much info about this Ascendancy as possible, but I got nothing on my end. Hm, looks like the liches were taken care of- Oh." Valerie grimaced, having checked back on the traffic cameras to see the outcome of the Endsinger battle. "...Anyways!" she turned her attention back to Penny.

"You're Beacon, aren't you? Assuming you're not planning to kill me, wanna try and help fix this mess together?"

---

As Hood was about to pounce on her, Amanda used her crystalized dreams to form a shield, but somehow Ronin was ahead of her. Both the small samurai and Valkyrie snapped out of the hypnotic spell, and with the theives gaining the atention of passerby, the latter had no choice but to flee. The mage shrugged, pointing to where Hood and Selene fleed when asked by the guards. She wasn't really afraid of them. "Are you two okay?" she asked Ronin and Valkyrie, giving the box back to them.

"I should probably introduce myself. I'm Amanda, pleasure to make your aquaintance." the mage weakly smiled, like if she was tired. Then again, she always seems tired.

---

Celia tightly held the soul gem in her hand, her plea for the Acendancy girls to help Anaya seemingly unheard. The empath was about to step in when Leena rose her blade over the spirit girl, Luckily just destroying the lich's weapon. She watched as they treated the blacked out girl's wound with Leena's gas mask, and sealed her magic away with an artifact similar to handcuffs. At that point did Anaya regain consciousness, but she was too worn out to do anything. It was pointless without her powers anyways.

Then Violet and Sakura had approached the group, mentioning that someone had asked for help. "I think they heard me." Celia spoke up when FanFan expressed confusion, then looked back to the genie sisters. "Everything's fine now, I guess! Oh, and here." The empath gave Anaya's soul gem to FanFan. "She knew she wouldn't be able to avoid that lightning strike in time."

@FamishedPants@ERode@PlatinumSkink@Crusader Lord

Nuncio raised an eyebrow to Sophia's strange remarks about where he should focus his eyes. Firstly because she sounded like a drunk fairy, but also because Nuncio considered himself a respectable gentleman who was perfectly content with one woman in his life. But like with Hilaria, he would not let this slight against his character foul his mood. But it was hard. You tend to work with a lot of magical girls in Penrose, and most were all too willing to pull the womanizer card on you. If the way Sophia was pawing over Amaryllis was any indication, she might have seen Nuncio as a threat. But none of that mattered. Hearing Amaryllis say her name confirmed his suspicions as to her identity. She was Sammy's friend.

”Ah!” He placed his hands on his hips, entirely ignoring Sophia now. ”Sammy said a lotta good things about you. Gotta thank you for buyin' her a spa trip.” He sighed. ”I just got back myself. Can't say I'd be a lot of help to you and yours, but I've got some connections. We can figure this out.” Nuncio's face turned grim when he spotted the incoming Ascendancy. ”Looks like I've gotta scram.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a house cat, and placed it in Sophia's outstretched hand. ”Take good care of Fabio, I'll return for him when things pipe down. As for food, pizza sounds good by me.” If people were going to dump stereotypes on you, might as well play along right?

”Rossa!” Nuncio jumped onto his beautiful snow tiger and rode it away. ”Gotta apologize in advance for this.” Mid sprint his magic transformed it into a giant turtle. This didn't make Nuncio's mount any faster now, but it would help once he got to the river that ran the entire stretch of the city.

What. WHAT?!

Sophia frowned as she watched the mafioso casually hand her a house cat and jot off. It was...IT WAS RUDE AS ALL HELL! Where did this guy get off treatin' people like that? She she'd been suspicious initially, but hell she hadn't even met him before! Wasn't it right to feel a tad caution? She just wanted to be there for her friend anywho! She...she wanted to know how to be a good friend at that. This world, this life, everything was still so new to her!

The pirate quickly spun around, albeit keeping the house cat carefully cradled in her arms, before shouting back at Nuncio before he rode out of earshot from them.

"SORRY IF AH' CAME OFF RUDE ERE', BUT AH' WAS KINDA' JUST BORN YESTERDAY YA ASS! THIS IS ALL NEW TA' MEH'! AN' DON'T BE LATE FER DINNER, CAUSE YER INVITED!"

Though as the beast rider jotted off, Sophia took in a deep breath and let it out again. She had managed to control her words well enough, not that the frustration and anger hadn't come out some. She wouldn't, couldn't even, totally lose control over the mafioso' offensive behavior or other silly things. It was infuriating to be abruptly dismissed and cast aside, as a cat holder of all things! Not even a shake of the hand, a verbal response, or anything to be polite! Just being dismissive as all hell! She wasn't going to take it out on the poor creature in her arms though. Rather, she without thinking as she adjusted to keep it comfortably crooked in her free arm. Maybe this feline would be better than its master had just been right now.

"Sorry, little one. People ah' hard teh' deal with ahz' it is...but hang in ere', ah'll keep ya safe till' we see yah' master again."

After whispering softly to the cat Sophia then turned about, facing forwards towards the oncoming tide of Ascendancy girls rushing towards them through the snow. She could already hear creaking from her patron in the back of her head, shouting something to the effect of warnings and 'danger' and the ilk. Heh...nothing new to her so far, right? She'd first woken in a busted up warzone of a graveyard next to a terrified maid-looking girl that feared for her life, had someone trying too outright murder her without a word, got kidnapped for a seemingly long time period by a bloody dolphin due to magic hijinks, and had just helped fight down a lich with someone she most closely could call a friend. It had been a hell of a roller-coaster-life so far.

"...Sorry fer' mah' outburst and behavior ere', Amaryllis. Ah've never had ah' friend before, an'...hell ah' just wanna' aht' least try ta' be ah' good one as best ah' can..." Sophia said to Amarayllis with a small, tired sigh, her eyes looking over to her before looking forward once more as she spoke some more, "Well, lass, ahm' stickin' with ya' through whatever ya an' that blade decide tah' do bout' this lot an' such. Heh. Then ah'll take up that offer tah' speak to yer' blade! Sure mah'self ahn' it got ah' nice appetite fer' sure, hahaha!"

An excited and wicked grin came to the pirate girl's face, before a hearty laugh emerged from her mouth. They seemed to have quite the problem coming right towards them after all of this, and she'd just noted she'd follow along with the goo lass' lead on this one. Without thinking, Sophia's hand with her Boarding Axe in it also came off of her shoulder, now hanging down by her side and very much ready for use. Her muscles also seemed to tense up in anticipation, and her stomach rumbled aloud as a feeling of dark and vile hunger ran down the pirate's spine. Yes. Whatever the situation, she'd pull through again and again alongside her crewmates. This world wouldn't see her dead on its doorstep, especially anytime soon!

@PlatinumSkink@BrokenPromise@ERode@FamishedPants

Alicia could understand where Rachel was coming from, and did not hold that against her. Yet she could not agree with how she saw things, or the methods in which they went about things. She still held some reservations, but if they did not give people a chance to prove themselves, then it would merely become its own self fulfilling prophecy.

"But this isn't a virus," she pointed out in turn even if Rachel did not want to hear it. "What we're fighting is intelligent and plans as much as we do. If we try to burn it all for the sake of killing an infection, then everyone else will turn away from us, even the normal girls."

She glanced away, hands balled into fists. "It was hard enough trying to convince people before. The dark forces that we're trying to stomp out, they're only going to get stronger as they earn sympathy, even as we stamp them out." But she didn't expect Rachel to get it, not yet. She had only just been put in charge after all. It seemed that she was just going to have to play damage control to the Ascendancy.

Turning from that, she nodded to Elora as the Ascendancy girl informed them of where Penny had been. "I guess that explains it. She does not waste time," Alicia remarked with a hum. Still, she would have liked if they could talk first before her friend went off picking fights.

When Serenity picked up, she nodded in agreement. "Both of them were with us during our time in the pocket dimension. Most o the work must have been done by their allies or subordinates." It wouldn't have made much sense otherwise, though it was probably only a distinction by degrees. They were still clearly causing trouble for the Ascendancy. "Have you had any luck with scrying?"

Before she could go on, pandemmonium broke out as Serenity angered pretty much every Ascendancy member in the room. As it stood, Alicia had to try very hard not to facepalm. Five minutes. The good feelings from the trial hadn't even lasted five minutes. Seriously!?!

"Serenity, I appreciate the intention, but you can't just do that sort of thing. We have limits.," she said with a sigh. Shaking her head, she thought over what a good punishment could potentially be that would even mean anything to a former Horror. Without being too cruel about it. Everyone was waiting on her with an answer.

After a moment she stiffened, looking to Serenity with a firm gaze. "It's clear that you need time to reflect, to further consider the ideals that Beacon tries to uphold. To trust in the well intentions of something incomprehensible is to court disaster. Still, your actions were driven as much by ignorance as actual intent to do harm. As penance, I want you to go and clean up Anti-Beacon and Anti-Ascendancy graffiti in the city, without the use of magic or your powers. I'm sure Elora knows a good hot spot for you to cover." she glanced over at the girl in question, hoping that this was actually a thing going on. Otherwise she was going to see very silly.

Silhouette seemed to be more invested in watching the shifts in their 'vehicle' than anything else, but she did respond. "Is that so? I tend not to pay much attention to how I address people I don't consider a threat, so I suppose it may come off that way." she fibbed. "Mika also doesn't keep your name a secret."

Sil slowly raised her gaze from the cloud and to Su. "But now that you mention it, I do think you're quite familiar yourself--" as she was speaking, her phone buzzed.

There was only one thing that could be. Veronica wouldn't bother using a cellphone to contact her since their mental method was much faster and a lot safer. She also didn't have many people to give her number out to. It was Trixy. Definitely.

Since she was supposed to keep an eye out on Trixy, Sil was required to pay attention to her posts. This was relatively irritating given how frequently the girl liked to post, but there was no use complaining about it. It was a job she accepted and Veronica didn't care much for whining. And who knows, maybe the post would be something Sil cared for?

As if.

Samantha grimaced upon reading it, doing her best not to let her distaste become audible. It was tame by Trixy's standards, but it was still very much a Trixy post.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her phone and turned her attention back to Su and tried to pretend like that hadn't happened. It would better that way. "Whatever the case may be, we're on the same boat here, so I wouldn't mind an amicable relationship between us."



As was the case with death, taxes, and Thanos, it was inevitable that Sil's conversation had to be cut short by some form of commotion. She didn't hesitate to equip her weapon, glaring off into the distance where the voices were coming from. What were they doing here? A fight was more likely than not, so this may have been the chance to size up Lily, if there was a silver lining to this situation.



Emily found the situation to be a bit funny. Ghosts were supposed to do the scaring, weren't they? She smiled warmly to the twins, who had taken to the ceiling. "I'm sure it's okay." she assured, only to immediately jump and yelp in surprise when Helga started yelling. She was about to check on the girl when suddenly Helga nearly drifted into the room, letter in hand, speaking about a concert.

"O-oh. Isn't that wonderful...!" she said with a hand on her chest. Her heart rate hadn't returned to normal levels and she was still catching her breath, but it was nice to see someone so excited about a concert.

As Helga left the room to return to the guests, Emily looked back up to the twins. "S-see, all is well." she told them, though it wasn't particularly convincing with her lightly panting.

Soon after, Emily followed Helga to see just who the guests were.



Amaryllis? So she had been getting it wrong! This was...not exactly surprising. She had quite the problem with names, as she had said before. Even her own name wasn't safe from her amnesia-like forgetfulness. But who could blame her? It may be a century or less and then these girls would be gone, just like all the others, and she'd be left alone again. That made it hard to bother committing it to memory.

But as long as she remembered, she may as well. "The scales have fallen from Hilaria's eyes~!" she feigned surprise towards the 'revelation' as if it were some life-altering fact.

Much like Amaryllis, this exact subject didn't keep her attention for long, although the reasoning for this was different from simply being uninterested. "Eh~?!" she gasped. This time, it wasn't feigned. She looked at Sophia with a deadly serious expression. "I would have you speak the truth," she demanded, her vocabulary noticeably altering. Perhaps this was closer to the actual Hilaria? Either way, she continued. "You state that you would offer to Hilaria a meal for naught in compensation? Confirm this understanding, that Hilaria may be assured."

It was not as though she missed the fact the boy's tiger turned into a tortoise as she desired. Nor did she miss the approach of the Ascendancy. She clearly was aware of these things. But the fact was that they simply weren't as important as the answer Sophia would give.

@Phonic@Ariamis@Majoras End



‘And don’t come back!’ Ronin called after them, laughing out loud as the two thieves took off running. Honestly, they seemed like fun! Ronin would have liked to talk to them some more, hear about their antics and adventures, maybe join in on some! They’d surely get along excellently at any time when they weren’t trying to steal from her! … Wait, hadn’t she called out the wrong sentence if she actually DID want them to come back and talk to her in the future? … Eh!

Now, why would snitches get stitches when the snitch was the victim of the attempted theft? What reason did Ronin have to protect the two that just tried to steal from her? Well, absolutely none! Which is why…

‘They went that way and left at the corner! Hurry!’ Ronin called, pointing in the same direction Amanda did to be consistent but also decidedly leading the guards in the opposite direction at the corner where the thieves actually went right. For no other reason than because Ronin felt like it. Feeling proud of herself, she now turned to Amanda, who handed the box back and introduced herself.

‘Thank you very much, Amanda! Good samaritan, you. Many brownie points. Good karma. I’m Ronin, and this is Valkyrie. Now, I’ve got to deliver this box before I get robbed again! It just might be the key to my return to Penrose, after all!’ Ronin told happily, before spinning on the spot intending to continue along the path that had been pointed out to her by the strange shopkeeper!

---

Amaryllis made this little flower appear behind Bunny’s ear, which Mariette stopped to inspect. The colour wasn’t entirely to her taste, she liked the calm feeling of blue more than she did red. But, it was a fantastical gift which could only be made by Amaryllis, meant only for her. Mariette might put it in a glass and keep it displayed in her room to look at every now and then…

‘Thank you. Until next time, then,’ Mariette said, and intended to leave… when both Hilaria and Sophia asked one way or another if she didn’t want to stay, the later talking about a feast for them. Eli paused behind her, the darkness harpy reminding Mariette with her eyes about what they had come for. She considered it for a couple of seconds…

‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline that meal. You don’t want me around when the Ascendancy arrives,’ Mariette told, for the sound of people approaching meant she had to get going as quickly as possible. With that, Mariette exited through her portal, Eli skipping inside and turning around to wave her little black slime-wings at them in farewell.

‘We’ll see you later!’ Eli happily called as she waved to them, and then the portal closed and there was no trace of them left…

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

… Okay, with that done, and currently present in an apartment across town, Mariette picked up her phone and pressed a specific set of buttons before guiding it to her ear.

‘What have I missed?’

Mia was still basking in the blissful afterglow of her dream, when her tranquility was shattered by the sound of anguished sobbing.

Connie! she thought in alarm.

Opening her eyes and propping herself up in bed, Mia flicked on the light to see her friend curled up and shaking, while she clutched her tear-soaked pillow tightly.

“Connie! It’s okay, it’s okay,” Mia said as she put a comforting arm around her trembling friend. “Shhh… shhh… I’m here… I’m here…” she added gently. “You’re safe now. It was just a bad dream.”

“Mia!” Connie cried, throwing herself into her friend’s protective embrace. “I-It was awful! I-It s-said… It s-said…”

“Your Patron?” Mia asked, her expression changing from concern to anger.

“Y-Yes…” Connie confirmed with a small nod. “I-It s-said that I w-wasn’t d-doing enough… T-That I n-needed to do more… I-It y-yelled at me… A-And h-hurt me… I-I was s-so s-scared…”

“That son of a…” Mia seethed with fury. “Haven’t done enough?! What the hell does that mean?! You’ve been giving nightmares to people every night! I oughtta give that thing a piece of my…”

“N-No, Mia,” Connie said softly. “I-It’s my f-fault… I-I’m n-not s-strong enough…”

“What?” Mia asked, taken aback by her friend’s words.

“I-It’s true. I-I’m too timid… I n-need to b-be stronger… L-like you. C-Can you h-help me to do that, Mia? Please?”

“Connie…” Mia’s heart ached at the sight of the sad longing in her friend’s eyes. “Okay, sure,” she said with a tired smile. “We can work a little harder on helping you toughen up and overcome some of your fears. Heck, if you want, I’ll even try and find some really weak monsters for you to get some combat training against. And as for your piece of shit Patron, well, it wants more nightmares? Fine, we’ll give it more. Tomorrow night, we’ll give it a fucking crapload of nightmares! But I refuse to let that piece of filth hurt you, Connie. I mean it. If it pulls that kinda shit with you again, it’s gonna have to answer to me.”

“Thanks, Mia,” Connie said, while laying her head atop her friend’s shoulder. “You’re the greatest.”

“I know,” Mia said with a grin as she gently stroked Connie’s long brown hair. “So, ready to get back to bed?”

“S-sorry, Mia, b-but I… I don’t think I can sleep anymore tonight… N-Not after…”

“Don’t worry,” Mia said with a warm smile. “I think I can help with that.” Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she allowed the energies of her Patron to fill her once more. The room was bathed in an emerald glow, while a serene voice called out, “Nature’s beauty! Nature’s grace! Nature’s power! Behold, I am Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth! Now, my dearest Connie, let’s get you back to sleep.”

A radiant sphere of mystical energy formed in one of Gaia’s elegant hands and swiftly shaped itself into a beautiful flower with sparkling petals. It gave off a soothing fragrance that put even the most expensive and highest quality aromatherapy to shame, and Connie could feel herself becoming more relaxed by the second. Placing the flower upon the nightstand, Gaia calmly motioned for Connie to lie back down on the bed. Once she had done so, Gaia tucked her in, nice and snug.

“There, how does that feel?”

“Mmmm… It feels wonderful, Mia…”

“Good. I’m so glad to hear that. Now, I want you to take some deep breaths for me, okay? In, and out… Iiiin, and ouut… Iiiiiin, and ouuuut…” Gaia instructed, her voice getting softer with each syllable. "That’s it… Just like that… You’re doing great… Now, just breath normally… You should be feeling much more relaxed now.”

“Mmmm…”

“Great. Now, I’m going to massage your hands for a bit, okay?”

“Mmm hmmm…”

“Splendid.”

Gaia smiled down at her friend, as she lovingly set about her work of relaxation. By the time she had finished, Connie was sleeping peacefully once more.

“Sleep well, my dearest Connie,” Gaia whispered as she placed a gentle kiss on her friend’s forehead. Then, dispelling her transformation, she slipped under the covers herself and was soon deep in slumber, all worries fully banished.

At least, for now…

---

Violet Covington sat alone in her dimly lit study. The only light present was the soft glow provided by a collection of holographic displays. She was not in a pleasant mood. Tapping her foot in agitation, she checked for what seemed like the twentieth time to see if she had finally received a response to the email she had sent to the Penrose Independent. Once again, nothing was there. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. After her sources had informed her that Penrose’s premier paranormal investigator, one Supersluth Sammy, was currently MIA, Violet had sent an email to the Independent, inquiring if the news agency would be amenable to conducting an investigation for her. Now, several hours later, there was still no response.

While many people would simply put this down to the lateness of the hour, Violet Covington was not among them, and even if such thoughts had occurred to her, they had done so only briefly. Her great-grandfather, the illustrious Cornelius Covington, had once owned a newspaper, and even in the deepest hours of the night, its staff would be found toiling away, always attentive to any newsworthy developments. The idea that the Penrose Independent, even with its meager size, would operate any differently was simply unthinkable. Yet, here she was.

Perhaps I should retire for the evening… she thought to herself.

Turning in her chair, she froze upon catching sight of what appeared to be a large figure standing on the far side of the room. But… that was impossible… No one should have been able to enter her private study without her knowing about it. The security system was impenetrable to everything short of a full-scale military assault. At least, to everything mundane.

“Who are you?” Violet demanded, rising from her chair. “And how did you get in here?”

The figure took a step out of the shadows, and took out a lighter that glinted like a distant star, alongside his eyes, now seen from under his fedora.

“I came in through the door. Literally.” He lit up his cigar; the smoke could be seen in the darkness, like a bluish serpent that coiled up to the ceiling. “You might be wondering if I’m taking the mick about it, but you’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? There’s more to our world than meets the eye. Usually people are fooled by the Masquerade, and think it’s all some coincidence or contrivance.” He walked forward a couple of steps.

“Now, you’ve had some trouble recently with mysterious incidents with no trace, correct? Well, those ain’t coincidences, or anything you could rationally explain; it’s all caused by magical folks, just like yours truly.” He paused for a moment to let the revelation sink. “But don’t be alarmed. I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, I’ve come to provide my services.” He sat down on one of the chairs placed before her desk, and crossed his leg in a casual manner, leaning back with his hands clasped.

“I’m Al Scarpe, and I represent the Ebon Mint, a company that specializes in taking care of magical problems, and magical people. We also offer some very useful products.” He then took an item from his pocket; it was a magical pendant, made of grey metal, and decorated with a large round coin with the image of a theater mask colored half-white and half-black engraved on it. “Here’s an Artifact, an item we magical folks have enchanted.” He placed it on the desk. “It solidifies the magic of the Masquerade into a shield when worn, granting protection from assassins. You can have it.”

“My thanks for the generous gift,” Violet replied, seemingly unbothered by her visitor’s strange appearance. “But assassins do not concern me. Someone is attacking my father through his dreams, and even if your trinket can guard against that, I still wish to know this vile attacker’s identity so that they may be dealt with in a most conclusive manner. Am I to assume that you are capable of providing assistance in that regard? If so, what, precisely, would you be asking for in return?”

“The Freddy Krueger comedy act, eh?” Al chuckled, followed by a couple of coughs. “Well today’s your lucky day miss, because we specialize in conclusive dealings.” He took another puff of smoke as Violet spoke, the smoke now trailing behind him as if set to drift by wind.

“Ah yes, straight for the brass tacks. Well then, here’s my offer.” He held his hand out, a contract appeared with a glimmer; it looked like it was made of silky paper, with golden lettering written in beautiful cursive. The contract drifted towards Violet, letting her catch and read it for herself.

“As you can see, the terms are simple. In exchange for providing us with a reasonable monthly fee and access to certain establishments and services, we will give you the means to capture Morpheus, and prevent other magical incidents. This includes a choice of agents from which you can select those best suited for your needs, a stock of Artifacts guaranteed to work with full warranty, and we’ll throw in a communication device for free.”

With the cigar still hanging precariously off the corner of his lip, Al took out a fountain pen from his breast pocket, and made it spin horizontally in the air; it slowly floated to Violet, and like a compass, stopped, pointing away from her and towards him. “Now unfortunately, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m a busy man; I have other people to meet with, payments to collect, you know how it is. So I’d need an answer in... Let’s say...” He pulled his sleeve back, revealing a Rolex-like expensive wristwatch encrusted with tiny diamonds. “...Thirty seconds.” Violet wasn’t sure if Al caused it to happen with his magic, or if she just imagined it, but the wall clock in the room seemed just the slightest bit more audible as it ticked, each second followed by the next.

“You can have my answer right now,” Violet told him in a decisive tone, as she grasped the pen without the slightest hesitation. “Money is no object, and as for the use of Covington Industries’ resources, I am more than willing to consider any reasonable request, although I must insist that your use of them does not become public knowledge. If that is agreeable to you then I shall gladly sign this contract.”

Al's teeth snapped shut in a curved smile. "But of course, miss Covington. We pride ourselves in being...confidential with our customers." He had a glint in his eye. "In fact, as part of our package, you may personally oversee that your preferred level of discretion and professionalism is maintained."

“Very well,” Violet replied with a nod. “Then I believe we have a deal.”

With a swift and elegant flourish, she inscribed her name on the gilded parchment.

The parchment glowed for a moment after it was signed, and multiplied into two; one of them flew back to Al and placed itself in his breast pocket, while the other remained, having returned back to normal.

Al then stood up, and extended his hand, holding it out for a handshake.

“Thank you for choosing the Ebon Mint,” he spoke. Assuming that Violet accepted the gesture, she would realize that after his hand parted, her hand now held a smartphone, having seemingly formed from a bit of smoke that extended from his sleeve. It was a sleek, modern design that one could find at any electronics shop, with a black shell. It also worked like a regular smartphone would. But, it had an application she had never seen before, labeled “Ebon Mint”.

“Your communication device, as promised. It is enchanted to be unbreakable, and to have Wi-fi connectivity anywhere in this dimension or the Overcity. It has a lot of features, so take your time browsing the instructions.” He turned away, tipping his fedora. “The Ebon Mint will look forward to working with you. Ciao.” And with that, he faded into nothingness, leaving only the couple of Artifacts and the signed contract as evidence of his passing.

Alone once more, Violet gazed down upon the smartphone the Mint’s representative had provided. The conversation that had just transpired would have likely left a lesser person stunned, at least briefly, but not Violet. She considered herself fortunate that she had been granted the opportunity to establish a partnership with an organization that appeared to possess the same level of professionalism she expected from her other business associates.

Although she was tempted to explore every aspect of her new “communication device”, she decided that it would be prudent to retire to her bedchamber as she had initially planned. No further nightmares would plague her father, now that she possessed the two-faced pendant. Other matters could safely wait until morning, after she had refreshed her mind with a good night’s sleep.

A small smile curved Violet’s lips as she donned her silk bathrobe and slipped under her covers. Yes, the nightmares had ended for now, but they would soon return, and this time, she would be the one providing them.

@Ariamis@Flamelord@Crusader Lord

“I have ” Aurelio would speak up at Alicia’s trailed off question about Penny. He’d fish out his phone and pull up the short conversation he had with her before sliding the phone over to Alicia so she could read it. “Haven’t had a chance to ask back about that favor due to the trial, but it seems that she went off to deal with the undead that popped up.” Which was a good thing, as that meant Penny still was on the good guy’s side. Right?

Because much like Alicia the pristine magician had pushed a few thing to the back of his mind as he focused on the Trial and its outcomes, and the last time he had seen Penny was definitely one of those things. It had been an emotionally charged viewing, as some many things seemed to be as of late, but the thing that really had him worried was the Love he could feel emanating from it, and the fact that it was only coming from one of them.

Before he could speak up again to try and start brain storming ideas Serenity spoke up, and Aurelio found himself agreeing with her assessment of the situation. Penny, due to providence or happenstance was smack in the middle of this, and if anyone could get the answers that they needed it was her. The chilling thought that came to him was that the inverse was also true. If Penny was to be swayed away from Beacon, their enemies would have everything they needed to strike out at them.

Before that thought could do more than simply worry him, the once horror clicked to her next slide and Aurelio had to stop himself from face palming, as even before the screaming happened he knew what was about to happen. Not that he could blame Serenity he supposed, switching over to a human’s way of thinking after who knows how long as part of an unknowable eldritch thing couldn’t be easy.

“I’ll headout with her” Aurelio offered once the sentencing was given out “To watch her back and act as a sounding board, reflection is good and all but in her defense she’s not had a lot of time to get into a normal mindset, let alone Beacon’s.” Besides hadn’t he just earlier said that he wasn’t going to forget her? No way was he letting her go off solo so soon after that.

“That leaves dealing with Penny up to you Alicia.” He would add “But honestly when it comes to dealing with Penny it was always going to be you I think. I mean she likes us sure” he would say gesturing around before gesturing at the Paladin “But that pales in comparison to how she feels about you” He didn’t like to bring up how other people felt without their permission, especially when they weren’t there, but it was true.

---

After their spot of fun, Viva had set forth on setting up the meeting. Seeing as there weren't many better spots to perform such then in the apartment itself, she simply set up in the living room area. It was how she had come to be sitting at the coffee table working with a mortar and pestle grinding down some of the ingredients, a mix of wood shavings and herbs, needed for the minor ritual.

On the table sat the rest of the supplies needed for the endeavor, a pair of red candles, a box of matches, a medium copper bowl, a gleaming razor, and a strange metal disk. Most of the tools were ordinary, but the disk held an ominous feel to it. It was seemingly made out of a dark bronze and was decorated with three vertical eyes that always seemed to be watching the observer.

Once Viva was done with her grinding, having made a chalky powder out of the ingredients, she would carefully pour them into the copper bowl before placing the disk on top. “Right, we can now start whenever you want Chloe” She would call out as she reached into her Hammerspace and pulled out a small caduceus trinket that she would affix to her choker. Part of the ritual required a fair bit of blood, and she didn’t want to risk what her magic would do to it, thus the reason she pulled out her healing artifact, as she had a feeling that the small dominator would want this started as soon as possible.

“Well get on with it.” Chloe said, pulling on her dress. She had elected to take her sweet time with getting her clothes back on after their tryst. The other dark magical girl wasn't quite sure what to expect. This mother was likely a horror of some sort, or something quite close to it, so when Viva went about setting up a ritual, she let the other girl do it.

“I am eagerly waiting to see what this mother of yours is about.” She sat herself back on the couch, looking at Viva with mild interest.

Viva let her gaze linger on Chloe for just a moment longer, as she enjoyed the view, before turning back to the matter at hand. With a nod to herself she would pick up the matches and light the candles before placing the still lit match into the bowl, standing it up in the powdered mixture.

From there she would splay her hand open on the disk, careful to keep the eyes uncovered, and pick up the razor. “Once for the Mother alway watching her brood” She would intone as she made a deep cut in the back of her hand letting the blood flow forth onto the disk. “Two for the children still hidden in their wombs” once again another cut on the back of her hand just as deep as the first one. The blood flowing from the cuts was drawn to the eyes seeping into them as a deep smoke started to pour out from the bowl. “Third for myself, so that my prayer can be heard.” A final cut and at this point one could see the blood being drawn from Viva’s hand by a mystical force and the bowl was glowing red from the heat of the fire it held contained. “I offer this tribute to you Caretaker of the Scorned, in accordance with our pact. I seek your presence on the whims of another, the Mistress of the Departed and Seeker of the Damned”

“Let my blood act as your tether, so that you may come here to speak. From your home I call you thusly Lady Lamashtu!” It would be prudent to mention that for all academic purposes that the ritual that Viva was performing was a minor one, something that any armature practitioner of the arcane arts would be able to perform, as it was little more than a fancy way to ping outside forces. Thus the only reason that Viva was able to get such a potent response was due to the twin factors of that Mother was waiting for such a call, and the disk that was given acted as lens to focus and direct the ping.

Because of that, once Viva had finished her Calling even more smoke nearly exploded from the bowl even as Viva fought to keep her hand in place even as the disk also started to glow both from the heat and the offered blood. The smoke very quickly began to coalesce into a shape however and in very little time a hooded and cloaked figure would materialize on the other side of the table from Viva.

“Vivian dear. How good to hear from you again” Spoke the figure at the far end of the table. The voice was feminine but also older. It held a velvety quality to it even as it seemed to linger in the air.

“Hey Mum” Viva would reply happily, though somewhat weakly. Her hand was still laying on the glowing disk, still bleeding and possibly burning if the smell was any indication. “Haven't met Penny yet” Viva would go on, not caring about the abused state of her hand “But I found Chloe. She really wanted to meet you” She would gesture at the girl in question with her free hand, before reaching with that same hand to grab her healing artifact to begin repairing the damage that had been done.

“Yet not before you had a chance to fool around I see” Lamashtu would say, humor evident in her voice, before she turned to face the smaller girl, pulling back her hood as she did so to reveal a surprisingly human looking face. Her skin tone was a vibrant red close to that of freshly spilled blood, and her long hair was the color of bleached bone, her ears were slightly elongated and pointed and her eyes were the color of molten bronze. She regarded Chloe with a fond smile the tips of what were likely fangs just barely peeking out “Ah, my sweet Chloe! What a pleasure to finally meet you!” Lamashtu would say with fond adoration as she moved to sit across from the spirit mage.

“Well now,” Chloe replied with a grin. “When Vivia mentioned a 'Mother' I didn't know quite to expect. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised.” The dark magical girl smirked. “For an older looking woman, I wouldn't mind a date.” Chloe giggled. Despite her friendly seeming demeanor, there was a definite edge to her voice. For as human as she looked, until proven otherwise she wasn't going to be able to trust her.

“You and Vivia certainly know how to get on my good side.” She hummed, leaning back in her seat. “And yet here I am, not knowing anything about you and you seeming to know everything about me. I guess I’m flattered, fufu.” Chloe's lips parted in a small grin.

“Ooo you are a feisty one.” Lamashtu would say with a chuckle at Chloe's offer of a date “Sadly it’s not everything my dear, though I do try and keep up to date on all of my children” She would go on to say as a clawed hand slipped out of the cloak to undo the clasp on it rather then taking it off however the cloak simply sublimated back into smoke, proving that this was only a projection not the actual Patron themselves.

“I am Lamashtu, The Mother of Monsters.” She would introduce herself with a slight nod of the head as the smoke diapated around her revealing that for all of her pretense of humanity she very obviously wasn’t. While obviously female, she would stand taller than any human, and most of her was covered in a pale white chitinous looking material that seemed to pulsate, while the odd strand of muscle or vein would slither out from the cracks in it from time to time before retracting as the bone like material would shift and regrow to cover the cracks, only to form new ones as it went.

She had an extra set of arms, seemingly growing out of the same joint as her more dominant pair, that were slightly misshapen. Either missing digits or with clawed fingers that were incorrectly perportined. Her legs ended with feet that seemed more akin to bird’s rudimentarily fused together to resemble something more human, with a wicked talon on the front and a spike of bone acting as the heel.

Yet it was easy to see that this form was only a fleeting thing, as it would slowly continue to grow and warp in on itself as they spoke, keeping only the vague assurances of Lamashtu being female.

“I am a Goddess by right of conquest, and maintain that status by virtue of my strength, and all who bathe in corruption are my family” She would go on to explain giving a wide smile, one much larger than her dainty face would lead one to expect displaying rows of razor sharp fangs. “That includes you my dear. But I suspect more that you want to talk about our wayward one, Penny, no?”

“Hmm...Penny, yes.” Chloe replied lazily, taking in Lamashtu's form. A goddess, was she then? Her eyes were drawn to every part of her, it seemed. Some monstrous body she had in every sense of the word. Not that she minded at all. “My precious, little, Penny.” Her eyes eventually drifted back towards Lamashtu's, not breaking away from her gaze for even a second. Family, them? How absurd. She cared not for such trivial connections. Even when she wasn't a dark magical girl, she hadn't been very kind to hers.

“My precious little Penny that I love so dearly, fufu, she's always such a popular one it seems.” Chloe leaned back, breathing in as she closed her eyes. “First it La'at, then Beacon, and now...you. I know my Penny very well. So very, very well...I could spend so very long talking about my Penny.” Chloe's expression turned to a small smirk. “But no, right now? I want to talk to you. About you. Why do you want my Penny? You want to take her from me, and well...” She chuckled darkly. “I get...cranky when people try to take what I love. And when they try to hurt them? Well...” A smile split the girls face. “...you might be a 'goddess', but I have to wonder how pretty your soul would be.”

“Radiant enough to leave you blind and breathless” Lamashtu would lean forward as she replied her smile never wavering, if anything it seemed to grow. “But surely you must have known that others would take note of what you saw in Penny? She is precious, that is true, and a rare sort that one doesn’t see very often. Her soul is beautiful. Fractured, mutable, yet hardy and resilient. Stubbornly defined by whoever it is that she has given her heart too.” She gave a happy sigh at that description as if enamored with the romantics of it. “I simply wish to protect her from those that try and abuse her, but she would never stand back and allow others to give her the shelter she wishes to give others. Under my care however, I would be able to give her everything she needs to assist her fellow siblings.”

“As for taking her from you, why would I want to do that?” She would ask tilting her head slightly “I nearly lost her once, due to that thrice cursed creation of Beacon’s, but your love is bringing her back into the fold.'' Despite never raising her voice her tone of voice made it clear that she hated the White Coin with every fiber of her being. “I’m grateful you got to Penny before that dreadful Beacon wretch could dig her claws in any deeper. She took my sweet Kimble away from me, and she nearly did the same to poor Penny.” Lamashtu’s eyes had become baleful slits of burning rage as she got caught up in the most recent loss of one of her children.

Chloe was silent a few moments as Lamashtu finished speaking. Could she trust her? There was the slight chance Penny might end up loving this woman more than she. It was fine if she was part of beacon, she was quickly solving that issue. Penny would eventually choose between them, and she was almost certain Penny would choose her. But this...goddess? She was certain Lamashtu wouldn't hurt Penny, but now she was concerned entirely with something else.

“...I don't know about this Kimble person.” Chloe finally replied with a small sigh. “But you have my condolences.” It was easy enough to give false lip service, even if she wasn't certain how much this Lamashtu would trust her. Was she really so easy to trust someone like her? Hmm, likely not. She was smiling, but there was a definite danger to her voice. A face she had worn enough times herself. “Very well,” She finally conceded after a bit more thinking. “I leave you alone, there's a chance you'll take Penny from me under my nose. So fine, I'll agree to help you meet...but that's all. You'll have to convince Penny yourself.”

Keep your friends close, and enemies closer and all that. If they became a threat, at least like this she could keep an eye on them. Penny was hers.

“If nothing else, we can hate beacon together, fufu.”

“Oh she was a wonderful little ball of wind and fury” Lamashtu would say as she returned from her reverie. “And that is all I would ask of you my darling daughter.” She would say her smile returning to more normal proportions, her anger seemingly forgotten. “Convincing her of my good intentions can’t be too difficult now that she’s starting to get away from Beacon and their toxic presence.”

“Now I should probably head home, and let Vivian finish healing up” She would say as she stood up “Do keep me in mind if you and Penny ever decide on having kids won’t you? I’d be more than willing to give my blessing for one of you to become a mother.” With those parting words said, her form would fall apart into smoke once more.

A gasp of relief could be heard coming from Viva, who had kept quite the entire conversation, once Lamashtu finally dissipated, as she was finally able to remove her hand from the bronze disk. She was in relatively fine condition, her artifact having continually replenished her dwindling keep her blood levels, while also keeping her hand from more serious burns.

“So...what did you think of Mother?” Viva would ask as she worked a mix of her own magic and her healing artifact to mend the self-inflicted injuries on the back of her hand, choosing to leave three soft scars as a memento.

For once in her life, Chloe was flustered entirely by Lamashtu.

“K-kids? Pfft, me, a parent, ahaha, that would never...” Still, the idea had a certain...enticing element to it. Not that she ever actually considered the idea before since it wasn't exactly possible with Penny, but...

“Ehe...heh...ahem...” Chloe barely registered Viva's question, but as soon as she realized she needed to reply she held a hand over her mouth and coughed. “Right, aha, sorry...I was...thinking about something.” Right, Lamashtu...she couldn't trust her. No, not with Penny. Not with anything, but she couldn't let a potential enemy away so easily.

“I wasn't joking when I said I'd take her on a date.” She replied, hopping up from her seat and stretching. “I don't think I could ever call her mother without a little...motivation.” Chloe gave Vivia her usual impish smile. “But maybe my little Penny could have an easier time of it.”

Viva allowed herself a soft smile at Chloe’s reaction to Lamashtu’s parting words. Letting the other girl simply work though the thoughts that surely were running through her head, Viva stored away the majority of the supplies back into her hammerspace but took the bowl off to the attached kitchen to rinse it out.

“I doubt she took it as a joke” Viva would reply as she vanished the bowl back into storage as well. “Mum is always willing to get to know her children if she can, and doesn’t mind taking them as lovers on occasion.” She would say sitting back down at her spot at the table and pulling out her partially drunk blood bag from earlier and took a draw from it, savoring the coppery tang.

“When do you think we’d be able to meet up with Penny?” She would ask after a moment, hoping that she wasn’t sounding too impatient.

“Is that so?~” Chloe replied. Well, that would certainly be an interesting little romp. A thought for later. “Tsk, so eager to meet Penny, and here I thought you had a fun time earlier. You certainly sounded like it, fufu.” Chloe teased.

“Ah, I don't know. My little Penny ran off saying something about bringing danger to the shelter if she stayed, hmph.” She replied with a mildly irritated sounding huff. “I understand, but she should take better care of herself, but I suppose that's one of the reasons I like her, heh. So difficult to...love. She'll probably be back here soon enough. She's carrying a little present from me, so she's not in any danger. I could ask her to drop by with a text.” Chloe lazily motioned to a few video games, a TV, and some other stuff that was shoved off to one corner of the room. “An old roommate left them when she left. Wanna do something other than me while we wait?”

Viva would duck her head sheepishly, seems she was being a touch impatient. “Oh, I very much enjoyed my time earlier” She would say unrepentantly. “It’s more I’ve heard so much about her that I’m kinda curious to meet her.” Turning towards the ignored entertainment center off in the corner Viva would nod. “I’d be fine with a move for a bit.” After all it wouldn’t be the best first impression if they were caught in the middle of some more fun.

“Movie, huh? I got some horror flicks around here somewhere.” She said, quickly sending Penny a text to stop back by when she got a second.

“Hey love, come home when you get a chance, someone wants to meet you.”

“Any preference?”

“Anything with body horror” Viva would say sliding over to the couch.

---

@Ariamis@Majoras End
Penny paused in her research to glance back at Valerie at the odd comment about liking her enemies well done and grimaced as the realization of what it must look like from the outside smacked upside the head, and if anyone was to have the right to judge Penny on what she was doing it was Valerie.

“Yes I’m Beacon, Spark carrying member in fact.” Penny would start, running a hand down her face as she once again turned over her planned course of action in her mind. “Not like the Ascendency however, not met any of them personally, been out of Penrose for a while due to weird mess with a Patron gone a little crazy. But their records speak for themselves.” With a resigned sigh Penny returned to dismantling and eating Sirkkeli.

There wasn’t much Penny could do other than finish what she started, especially with the reminder that Penrose wasn’t fully home territory at the moment. If she knew she could trust the Ascendency more, or if she had heard back from any of her friends at Beacon it might have been different. But for the moment she was operating solo, and she couldn’t in good conscious let the corrupted remains fall into the wrong hands; which left her with only one option for disposal.

“I’m all for trying to help out getting this mess sorted.” Penny would go on to say “I was on route to one of the lich fights when I got side tracked.” Her voice would continue to sound out even if her mouth was otherwise full, being output via her newfound magic “Glad to hear that those got taken care. That does mean that I need to finish up here before moving on though” At this point Penny had moved on from puzzling out how the other girl was put together and was simply consuming as much as she could.

“Thing is I’m not doing this because I’m hungry, or even because I really want to” Which was true, even the prospect of the upgrades wouldn’t have been enough for Penny to fully cannibalize the corpse if she had other options, especially as most of them she wouldn’t be able to make full use of them. “But I can’t say that I want a few hundred pounds of corrupted scrap laying around for someone else to stumble across, especially with how volatile Penrose has become recently, so I’m taking care of it.” She just hoped that the Shine Spark would be able to handle the influx of corruption without too much trouble.

Meanwhile, as she ate, her left eye was glowing much the same as Valerie’s eyes were. Penny was looking into different things however. She was pouring though the Beacon network now that she was less occupied with fighting off weaklings or her replacement. What she found had her cursing internally, as not only could they track her via the spark, they currently had a lock on her signal. This revelation had her speeding up her disposal operation.

Thankfully, from what she could gather, there wasn’t anyone inbound. That didn’t mean that couldn’t change in a heartbeat however, It also mean that she couldn’t risk going back to the warehouse; it would bring the Ascendency down right on top of everyone there.

‘I need to let Chloe know’ Penny thought she was tempted to just send a text, but she missed Chloe, it was only a couple hours ago that she had confessed to her mischievous friend and she wanted to spend some time with her. ‘Being responsible sucks’

Almost in response to her thoughts a message from Chloe would pop up on her HUD, bringing out a soft smile. “Where were you off too when you stopped to help me out?” Penny would ask. That way she could tell if she had time to pop over to the apartment to see Chloe and whoever it was that wanted to meet with her. “And do you think reinforcements would be helpful?”

Compared to the state of the website, the protection that backed it was more than simply impressive. The Surveyor App alone had for nearly a year been the pride of The Penrose Independent. Initially, the app had been completely cut off from the internet. It had been set up to be operational only when in Penrose City, piggybacking off celltowers and other signals, and fed through a central server hidden somewhere within one of The PI’s numerous controlled locations. Mary’s insistence that it was too insecure, though, and her desire to create the SurveyorBoard, led to the development of a new system

With The Boss’s backing she devised a comprehensive messaging and tracking service for every member, backed by a complex web of failsafes and security measures which rendered the software nearly impervious to external interference. Dozens of tests had been performed on the app since its inception, down to hacking from some of Beacon’s own software when The PI’s presence had been more prominent within it. Elvira’s surface level checks, she would find, yielded only a single scrap of information - whoever programmed it clearly wasn’t an ameteur.

C: My name is Christine, a Reporter for The Penrose Independent.
C: Apologies for the state of the site.
C: The system's still in its alpha, and Mary's design choices aren't as good as her programming skills.
C: To cut to the chase, my Boss is preparing something. She thinks this party is an excuse to pick a fight with Beacon.
C: In which case we’re looking for a meeting with either you, or whoever you work for, to better discuss the details.
C: But, elevator pitch:
C: The PI will be publically announced as sponsors for the party - we'll provide funding and equipment, and handle the security, including pest control.

At the final keystroke, Christine felt a buzz against her pocket. A message from Shion. Ellie looked over in curiosity, her eyes trained on the edge of the phone from her chair, trying to catch the message across the slant of the screen, in case in was bad news, or some change in their mission.

But Christine’s poker face had always been strong. The Boss has taken her on as a half protege, and unlike some of her peers, a great deal of time had been invested in training her for the role. Internally she attempted to evaluate and parse the information she had been given, but face never changed as she typed out her reply. Bounty? A ‘Vermin Killer’?

For the short amount of time Nuncio had, he certainly made a hell of an impact.

Couldn't have been much of a Cat Gangster though, if he could turn his big cat into a turtle. Was the little cat that he handed Sophia actually just a GPS tracker then? A wry smile creased Amaryllis's features, but before she could enjoy anything too much, her Sword was peeling at her fingernails again, alerting her of oncoming...unknowns. More magical girls were running at them from afar, their heels clacking loudly even at this distance. The swordwielder turned in their direction, but didn't brandish her weapon yet. Judging by appearance alone, they didn't look particularly evil, did they?

"Tis not the time to be flourishing arms yet, Captain," Amaryllis said, noticing Sophia's own Boarding Axe.
"It's by action, not presentation, that the hearts of humanity are judged. They may be exceptionally tardy and look war-like in their countenance, but they deserve a chance, do they not? As the Gods grant opportunity for repentance, so shall we follow in Their deeds, and allow discourse to precede any violence."

Well, that and Amaryllis was still in dire need of a goddamn break.

"Yes, Hilaria, the post-victory meal always tastes best when someone else pays for it. I wonder, truly, if those six have come over out of desire for that same generous deal."

.

Shion finally received a response from Christine as she got back to her "hideout." She quickly responded: Only said I have one. Sorry that I don't have more info. With that she decided on her next course of action.

"I need to buy a gun."

Ko looked up in alarm and Shion sighed. Thanks to the time in the beach world, she had plenty of money, but trying to buy a gun with her current body may be difficult. Still, she could probably get the parts if she was careful. With that in mind, she ventured out once again towards the nearest walmart.

@Vocab

@FamishedPants@BrokenPromise

---

Didn't seem like the Overcity was very popular among her current companions. Hm. Rina frowned lightly, considering her options. She didn't particularly like being in the middle of things like this, but she couldn't just leave them alone either. Ah, why did the ascendancy have to come in and start flexing their muscle. Before she could think more though, a soft voice from Mika caught her attention. Rina glanced back to her cat friend. The answer was obvious.

"Hah, friends. With beacon. I work with them occasionally because I don't have a patron." She replied with a light sigh of irritation. "I don't like them as much as I don't like the Mint." She leaned back, a serious expression crossing her features. "And I'm not going to let them do anything to either of you, got that? I may not have made one of those fancy vow's Beacon makes its members take." Rina said reaching back and patting Mika on the head. "But I refuse to let anyone hurt innocent people anywhere, be they beacon, mint, or someone else."

Even if the Ascendancy or someone else marked her as a villain in the process.

"So don't worry, got it?"


@Vocab

---

Oh? The Penrose Independent. Now that was a curious bit of information. More importantly, whoever this Mary was, her programming skills were excellent. Not as good as hers of course though, right? She could easily crack this entire thing and bring it down. She had half a mind to do so anyways just to prove a point, but that'd get a lot of people angry at her and she didn't fancy getting on the PI or her new bosses' bad side.

V:Ahaha, wow that's funny. Like so funny I don't even know how to react.
V:You and everyone in Penrose' dirty little underworld wants to meet me.
V:So what makes your little nobody organization better?

This wasn't a proposal she should accept. What stake did they have in it? Her boss preparing something? Vi bit her thumb, an old habit of nervousness she couldn't get rid of no matter how hard she tried. But then, maybe Chloe would like meeting them? She was always looking to meddle in affairs, and her logic did have some soundness to it. If the PI was preparing something, being allies and being privy to it meant they could more effectively hamper it if they were doing something they didn't like. Picking up her cell, she quickly texted Chloe about being contacted by the PI and waited for a usually swift reply.

V:You got it all wrong though, little piggies.
V:I'm not picking a fight with beacon.
V:I'm simply...arranging a fun little party where we can be ourselves.
V:Now if beacon decides to crash that and we have to defend ourselves? Well...
V:Maybe some that were on the fence might start seeing Beacon for what it really is.

Was that too much info? Mhm, no, probably not. It wasn't the full story anyways. If anything, only one sentence there was truthful in their intentions. Still no reply from Chloe either. Was she busy doing something? Ahhh, making decisions like this on her own on someone else's behalf was not something she liked doing. It was the opposite of fun times. She really didn't want to piss off Chloe inadvertently.

V: But alright, fine. You wanna meet? Place and time of my choosing.
V: Alone. No magic or other things.

@Card Captor

Tetrad blinked. ”What’s that? I didn’t hear you.” she giggled and kicked her legs.



@Rune_Alchemist@FamishedPants

It was true that Mika was about as tight lipped as a relative at Christmas dinner, but that didn’t explain the confidence “Silly” used when calling out her name. There was no reason to think Mika wasn’t calling everyone by pet names, which were not really things most would use on strangers comfortably. But there was no reason to press the issue at this time. “Silly” was correct that there was no reason to suspect she had evil intentions. That, and Su would have an easier time interrogating “Silly” when Rina wasn’t present.

But Su was so focused on “Silly” that she didn’t notice Mika’s troublesome look. She was peering at something below, deep within the forest. “Alright Rina, I trust you.” She took part of the nimbus and thrust it into her hands. “Lily’s being followed. I’ve gotta buy everyone time to escape, and I know just how to do it!” Rina could feel a rope within the plume of mist Mika had handed her. It felt a bit like holding the reigns of a horse, only she was instead controlling a sentient cloud.

Before anyone could react, Mika dove off the side of the nimbus. They weren’t especially high, but it was still a long way down to the forest below. A normal human would be lucky if they hit a bunch of branches and got away with just a few broken bones.

“Wa-” Su was momentarily stunned, but eventually managed to jump off of the Nimbus after Mika. She wouldn’t catch up though. As strong as Su’s magic was, Mika had gravity and a substantial head start on her side. As she fell, she gave her body a turtle shell and pulled all of her limbs inside. Su was by no means a mind reader, but if she had to guess, Mika’s plan was to bounce off of the troll she was falling towards, possibly getting it to attack whoever was pursuing the motorcycle. It was not Su’s wish to see Mika carry out this plan, considering that the Troll could just as easily choose to crush Mika inside her shell. Given how little time she had to respond, all she could do was slow the cat girl’s decent. Hopefully this would make the Troll less hostile after the inevitable impact.



The troll was totally illusionary. but with careful use of her gravity magic, she could probably simulate a firm hit on Mika without killing her, followed by throwing some carnage in the Ascendancy's direction. Win-Win, right?

---

@Ariamis @Majoras End @Shifter_Master

"If ever help was needed, one would think us perfectly capable of handling, given what we've handled already," Dawn replied to Violet, composed but wary of their presence. Things had died down well enough, but the whimsies of magical girls was as chaotic as the scene they'd just ended. Dawn kept her eyes upon the Djinn sisters as Leena and FanFan tended to the crumpled Anaya, though her eyes flickered for a moment after Leena's praise for her job. She felt a bit better at that, though a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction came behind it; she was given a light reprimand as well, in the end.

Her armor dismantled partially, dissolving into light as she returned to a more civilian attire. She moved closer to Celia as she handed Anaya's soulgem to FanFan, intrigued by the incapacitated girl's bravado. She'd resolved to be stricken down by that bolt, and did indeed seem fully onboard with ramifications. She'd have to hand her some credit for that, at least.

"If you wish to return with us to base with your friend here, we will not stop you. Know however that you will be kept under strict supervision, as will your friend, no matter her injuries," Dawn said, briefly glancing aside at FanFan. If she was stepping out of line extending that hand to Celia, she didn't seem to be worried. It seemed the just thing to do, and Celia's tender, unassuming behavior thus far gave her no sense of danger.

"And you two... if you have no business with either of these girls, you'd best be off," she said with a stern look for the Djinn Sisters.

@Ariamis @Majoras End @Asuras

Had it been any ordinary situation FanFan might have had a point, as neither Sakura nor Violet had any real protection from the cold outside the innate magical protection their transformed states provided, which wasn’t all that much. But this wasn’t an ordinary situation as both of them had been grounded for months and their magic was restless thus any discomfort from the freezing cold was easily ignored.

Not that the sisters were going to explain that, ”It’s not too bad” Sakura would say instead, shrugging as she did. “The outfits aren’t as breezy as they look.” She would walk closer to FanFan and Ceila “Are you sure that you don’t need any more help?” She would ask kindly and, though it barely bleed into her voice, Celia could feel a surprising about of anticipation bubbling up in both Sakura and Violet. “Our magic tends to be surprisingly capable if you know the magic words.” Sakura would explain with a shy smile that spoke of a playful secret.

Violet for her part simply sauntered towards Dawn, getting very close to the no depowered girl “Come on now no need to be so hostile” She would say with a sharp smirk as she started to circle the girl “The offer of help isn’t only for her ya know?” Violet would eventually come back around to face Dawn, locking gazes with her once she did. “Besides our kind of help doesn’t come up very often, could very well be a once in a life time opportunity for you.”

“Violet” Came as a stern warning from Sakura, the soft spoken girl giving her sister a look. For a moment the sisters would look at each other a silent conversation flowing back and forth between the two of them. “Fine” Violet would say with a sigh as she retreated a step giving Dawn her personal space back.

“You’ll have to forgive my sister” Sakura would say as she turned back to the two girls she had been talking with. “She’s a bit antsy from us being grounded for so long.“

“That said perhaps you’ve heard of us?” Violet would ask the group at large “Me and Sakura have assisted Beacon with our help once before after all” She would go on to say as she leaned on her back foot and crossed her arms “We are the Djinn sisters, which means you might be able to figure out the kind of help we are offering” She’d reveal that with a wide, almost taunting, grin.

Sakura would simply pout for a moment, she had been looking forward to the normal games that the sisters would play when they meet new people, but she had been the one to get Violet to relax so they didn't scare off this group so perhaps it was for the best to be a bit more direct this time.

Lily took out her smartphone as she lifted off her motorcycle; it was a yellow one, covered in girly decorations and glitter and with a keychain decorated like a stylish heart. She leaned back, ready to take a selfie with Alex and Tetrad.
”Say cheese!”

But just as the photo snapped, Alex had reacted to the noise coming from the forest, making him frown even more than usual. Lily pouted as she checked the picture.

”Hey Alex, you could smile a bit mo-Eh?” She blinked, and realized Alex spoke about pursuers.
”No way! But how? We didn’t leave any-Oh crap-piola!” She looked behind the motorcycle, and saw the tire mark.
”This is bad! We need to leave!”
She then looked up, and yelped; Silhouette was looking back towards the forest, her weapon drawn, and eyes burning with anticipation; Lily figured that though the stoic girl tried to hide it, she looked forward to fighting their pursuers.

But Lily didn’t have time to remark on it, as Mika made a dive off her nimbus cloud back in the forest, and hit what looked like a mound of mossy rocks with her turtle shell body.
”Mika!” She yelled, and took off at high speed on her motorcycle back to the forest, where the forest troll roared in fury after being rudely woken up. After it managed to rise up to sit, it saw the shell laying at its feet. Instead of picking it up, the troll instead growled and kicked it, causing Mika’s shell to be cracked and her to be struck with a heavy blow as she flew back out of the forest. It was then that more voices of the Ascendancy picked up, now shouting orders to each other.

“Hostile T-type spotted!”
“Careful, don’t share eye contact!”
“Why did it wake up?”

The forest troll now stood up, and, being dumb as a boot, thought that the Ascendancy caused the disturbance. “RUIN BEJUTEH SLEPP! SMASH!”
It then charged right at them, distracting the agents.

“Incoming!”
“Engaging!”
“Watch out! It has a venomous bite!”

”Oh wow, Mika managed to pull it off!” Lily shouted as she made a sharp turn, the motorcycle nearly hugging the dirt as she scooped up Mika’s battered body, hoisting her over her shoulder before turning. She now sped back towards the Crystal Curtain, speeding next to the mountainous structure. She looked back, and saw that the nimbus cloud was dragging behind.

”Faster, faster! You gotta -Oh, maybe this works!”
She pulled out her bow, took aim, and shot an arrow at the cloud; it accelerated, zipping through the sky at great speed, forcing Sil and Katarina to brace themselves lest they fall off.
”It worked! I can enchant my arrows with Time magic! Yay!”

---

Not long after, the group had reached the great gates of the Overcity. As before with Valkyrie and Ronin, the guards crossed their weapons, a hand raised.

“Halt! State your business.”

”Oh geez, can’t you see she’s hurt?” She now held Mika in her arms; she looked roughed up, and unable to stand up on her own from the pain.

”She needs special healing, or she might die! Please, you gotta let us through!”

The guards sighed. “Very well, you may pass. But you are responsible for this group’s actions.”
They opened the gates, and let the group witness the wonders of the Overcity proper.
“There is a hospital at the Overcity’s Central district, but depending on your friend’s condition, you may want to seek out emergency care at the Magical Services district, as it is a shorter distance there. We have spoken.”
Lily nodded as she stared out at the bustling metropolis, her jaw open in awe.
”Wowie wow-wow...” She vocally expressed her surprise at the sight, and looked back at the guards.
”This place is incredible!”

---

As the Ascendancy group came closer, the victors saw how individual members stood out;
At the lead was Violet, now looking upset more than smug as she hopped over the snow, her oversized jacket trailing behind her. She was followed by the priestess girl and the girl dressed in blue. These three have previously been seen by Alicia and Serenity back at the ice rink. However, Juliana was not in this group. Instead, an angelic-looking girl with a black sword, an elegantly dressed fencer girl in glasses, and a girl with a large metal fist were following Violet’s lead.

As the girls came within viewing distance, both Nuncio and Mariette had fled, the former drifting down the river, and the latter disappearing in one of her trademark portals.
”Geez, here you were!” Violet greeted the remaining girls with an exasperated tone.
“Thanks to the local branch, we were left with outdated intelligence, so we had to run all over Penrose to find you!”
“Wait, one of them left,” the fencer girl noted, adjusting her red glasses. “They used a variant of Space magic.” The blue girl next to her gasped. “No way, could it be...The Reflective Witch?”
Violet smirked as she spotted the lich’s remains, and signalled for the angelic girl; she in turn summoned a Beckoner resembling a military doll.
”Well, that explains how we’re late; she must have helped you. Still, this is embarrassing,” she muttered with a finger to her forehead, before she got her smile back.
”Anyway, thank you for your assistance, but we have now have another problem.”
She pointed at Hilaria.
”You have been corrupted by dark forces. But fret not, for we can purify you. Now, assume human form and surrender, or we will be forced to put you down.”
She looked at the others.
”And if any of you jump in to defend her, you will be dealt the same fate.”

The priestess girl stared at Hilaria, but then blinked. “Wait, Violet...Isn’t she the one?”
”Huh?” Violet glanced aside with a raised eyebrow. ”What do you mean, Delphi?”
The priestess bit her lip.
“She matches the description we were given. The one the Cardinal gave when we arrived in Penrose.” The rest of the Ascendancy’s eyes opened, and held their weapons firmly, whispering among one another. Violet herself scoffed.

”That’s impossible. The Eternal is said to have wandered the earth for over a thousand years. But no corrupted girl could survive that long.” She looked back at Hilaria, a gaze of contempt in her eyes.
”But if it is true, then by Cardinal Isthar’s orders we request you to come along with us to meet with her; she wants to personally see you for some reason.”

---

In a dark room, only lit by numerous screens that showed various parts of Penrose, a certain girl was munching on a snack as she fiddled with a smartphone. On the desk before her were other smartphones as well. One of them suddenly rang, and she picked it up. She knew who it was before she heard her voice.

“A lot more than you’d think, Mariette.” The girl pressed a couple of keys on the keyboard, and the screens shifted to recordings. “While we were gone, a power vacuum formed. Some magical girls attempted filling it, but soon monsters came in. These liches seemed like the worst ones though; they managed to cause considerable damage before the Ascendancy came in two weeks ago. The dark magical girls and monster girls have in turn banded together, using the sewers as their way to move around unseen. Glimmr has also exploded in activity thanks to a local internet celebrity with plans for a concert. My hunch is that it’s an attempt to stage a war on Beacon, but I’ll need more information to confirm it.” She sighed. “That’s all you’re gonna get for now. Try to find out more from the local girls. And whatever you do, stay hidden from the Ascendancy; you’re on their hit list thanks to Alicia, and won’t stop hunting you down if they see you.”

---

FanFan graciously accepted the Soul Gem Celia gave to her, and made a curtsy, her ladylike mannerisms visibly contrasting the metallic arms extending above her that carried Anaya. “Oh, thank you ever so much~”

While Dawn conversed with Celia and the Djinn twins, Leena had called in a Beckoner called “Sergeant Snuggles,” and requested an extraction. The Beckoner nodded, and the magical girl turned her attention back to the new arrivals. She nodded at Dawn’s suggestion.
“That’s fine; we could ask a few questions over a cup of coffee.”
FanFan pouted. “But you promised me we’d have a tea party!”
Leena rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll grab a cake on our way. But I need my drinks black and bitter.”

It was then that the Djinn twins hinted more about their history with Beacon, causing FanFan to squee. “Really? Oh, we are grateful for the assistance you have provided to the local branch. They seem to be doing really poorly.” Leena on the other hand wasn’t as enthused. “Djinn sisters...” She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, as if thinking deeply. “That sounds familiar, but why? Eh, can’t remember.”
FanFan looked around, looking sad. “You said we could grab a cake, but...All the shops are closed. Waaah!” She cried. “I wish I had a cute cake for my tea party!”

---

Rachel acknowledged Alicia’s retort with an aside glance, bu did not reply back, having made her intent clear for the newly named branch head. However, when she sentenced Serenity to community service, she gave a single, slow nod. “That is...adequate. Personally, I would have had her clean the dining hall with a toothbrush, but that will suffice.” Elora nodded, and the screen opened up to a map with red circles on a few spots; on of them lit up. “These are the areas with confirmed cases of anti-Beacon vandalism. Serenity can handle the K1-B0 area. And yes, if Aurelio joins her, then there will be no problems.” Tsuki now approached Alicia, giving her a salute. “We are counting on you to bring Penny back to the fold, Paladin Seraph. May the light of Beacon guide you.”

---

The Overcity guards acknowledged Amanda’s directions with a brisk nod. “Understood. Hank you for your co-operation, citizen.” “Stop, criminal scum!” They dashed into the alleyway, but Amanda would notice that they turned left, as Ronin had told them. However, before she could correct them, they had already disappeared down the busy streets.

Valkyrie held her head, still a bit dazed from the effects of the hypnotic spell, but made her weapon disappear, greeting Amanda with a quick wave of her hand.
“I’m fine. Thank you for your help, Amanda.“ She offered a handshake to the Illusion specialist.
“My name is Valkyrie. We are seeking a way to Penrose, and were told that a person named Jill is capable of taking us there. The box you saved from the clutches of those thieves is to be delivered to her.“ She noticed that Ronin had already began continuing on her way.
“I would like to repay you for your assistance. Unfortunately, we must be off, for time is of the essence. Goodbye.“ The angelic magical girl then joined up with Ronin, as the went on their way through the Entertainment district without further issue. If Amanda wanted, she could join the two without objections.

Following the directions given by the strange shopkeeper, Ronin and Valkyrie found themselves at the start of a literal highway that floated up without supports, snaking and curving it’s way between buildings like Rainbow Road from Mario Kart. The road was marked with glowing runes, and as they stepped on one, they found themselves moving much faster, accelerating into a speed not unlike a racing car. Thus, they fulfilled the “zoom zoom” part of the directions.

Finally, descending down to street level after an intersection straight ahead, Ronin and Valkyrie had finally reached the Magical Services district; it was also a large and busy collection of streets, though more conventional in it’s appearance compared to the glitzy avenues from before. There was a small clinic that primarily dealt with the removing of curses and hexes, though they also took in regular patients. There was a workshop specializing in the repair and maintenance of magical artifacts, and shops that sold enchantments too irregular to be sold as potions and elixirs. It didn’t take long before they found what they were looking for: a cute little house resembling an atelier, with a bed of blue roses growing on a windowsill, and a modest flower garden growing behind the fence. It’s idyllic appearance contrasted with the more modern and flashier buildings around it, and had a simple wooden sign with a rose decoration. On the sign was written in red cursive: “Jill’s Instant Deliveries.”

When the two entered the shop, a cute ring of a bell attached to the door could be softly heard. Ronin then saw that the simple yet elegant aesthetic was further emphasized in the interior decor; flowery designs were the norm, with sprinkles of cute imagery, but not to an exhaustive or obsessive degree. One might even claim the design was old-fashioned and boring by magical girl standards, but it served its purpose without being distracting. The entrance room was split into a small waiting area with simple yet pleasant wooden chairs, followed by a reception room of sorts, with a wooden front desk currently unattended.

”Just a minute~” The two heard the voice of a girl from the back.

And then, after a short moment, the door to the back opened, and a girl stepped behind the counter.

”Please excuse me for making you wait. How may I help you?” She asked politely.

---

Valerie found an abandoned bicycle that was hit by one of the attacks during the battle, mangling it useless; Valerie could use the metal as material for repairing her sword. Penny on the other hand had begun her “feast”, resulting in Sirkkeli’s broken body disappearing until not a single part remained. Her ShineSpark burned in her chest, warning her a couple of times more that she was consuming corrupted material, before it ended, the magic now recognizing that she was corrupting herself on purpose. The vile magic seeped into her veins like an entire bottle of bubbling coke as it corrupted her, causing a tingling feeling Penny recognized from her time as the Destruction Deity’s chosen one, fulfilling her destiny of remaking with her fists. However, instead of developing an obsession or urge, it instead changed something in her very core, causing her to manifest a Black Soul Mutation.

But there were also positives to consuming an entire body of corrupted metal; Penny’s gut feeling was right: it would take some time for her Metal magic to adjust, but soon, she can turn her armor plates more reactive, turning into small spikes, shells, and even interlocked scales in response to attacks (+1 VIT). She could also form blades below the shoulder, with in-built injection mechanisms that connect to tiny vials she can access via small hatches in her elbows. These vials are slowly filled with a special mold from semi-organic glands located in her shoulders; the mold, while not as durable or deadly as with Sirkkeli, is still capable of rusting and slowly corroding metallic material, spreading over a short period of time. And in her gullet, another gland formed, allowing her to spit a glue-like formula that can immobilize weak targets. These abilities require considerable mana due to their unnatural origins, but provide new tools for the monster girl.

---

Helga graciously accepted the coin Eliza gave her, and happily wrote down her information to the guest register.” She then quickly gave a choice of rooms for Eliza to pick from; the witchy monster girl would notice that there were a lot of vacant rooms. Then, once the room was chosen, Helga gave the room key to Eliza. “Thank you very much. We will be having beans and bacon for breakfast.” She bowed. “We hope you have a pleasant stay here.”
Helga then waited to see if Eliza had any more questions as Emily joined them. The ghosts, having regained their composure, floated down to the lobby, also greeting Eliza.
“Hello there,” Jillian first spoke, followed by a shy wave of a hand from Julia, staying close to Jillian.
“Things have turned pretty bad here in Penrose, huh?” The former continued. “Apparently the three days we spent at the beach turned into months here. Isn’t that crazy or what?”

Meanwhile, Helga spoke to Emily. “Will you be staying the night here as well?” She asked, now looking concerned. ”I've waited long enough. Let’s see if this works.“ She took out her friendship Stone, and used it to contact Su. “Su, are you there?” She asked, hoping she answered.

---

…
…
...



Even with most of Penrose put out of commission, there were still places where life seemed to thrive, or at least had the appearance of such. One of these false bastions of life was the Pit Stop, which had long been a hideout for various Mint agents and their leaders. Though on the surface, it just looked like a business struggling to light up a corner of this dark city.

Vermin Killer wandered in, fully transformed. He didn’t walk far before one of the waitresses approached him and wordlessly gave him a look. “What the frick are you doing here looking like that?” was practically written across her face.

“This place has got to be the worst kept secret in Penrose.” His words didn’t give her much reassurance. With a snort, he continued. “I care not for your attitude, I’d like to see the manager.” The waitress gave a small nod in response before storming off. Vermin Killer adjusted his hat before taking a seat at a nearby table. While he waited, he picked up a salt shaker and examined it. Fairly standard, just a glass vial with a metal cap and an “S” on the front.

When Vermin Killer lifted his eyes up from the salt shaker, a figure was sitting across from him, an expensive cigar precariously hanging off the corner of his lip; even with his skills of perception, he couldn’t tell when he had exactly appeared on that spot. The Coin Broker of Ebon Mint looked irritated, and cast his gaze up at him with a look of scorn.
“Ay, V,” Al Scarpe grunted, and lifted the cigar between his index and middle finger. He took a lighter with a ruby embedded in it from his pocket, and one click later smoke poured out from the rolled bundle. “Took your sweet time. Playing around, huh?”

Vermin Slayer placed the salt shaker down ”I encountered Shion not long ago and decided to test her abilities.” He pulled back his collar to reveal several scrapes on his neck.

He took in a lungful of the foul, tarry substance, and blew out a black ring of smoke. “I was right.” He leaned back on his seat, and made a beckoning gesture to one of the waitresses, who went to retrieve a drink from the kitchen. “You better have a good reason for calling me. I got enough shit to deal with the medieval morons making a ruckus.”

”That’s precisely why I’ve decided to show myself.” He let go of his collar and folded his hands together. ”A large quantity of Penrose’s magical girl population was swept away to an alternate dimension, myself included. I wrote up a report to save you the trouble of debriefing me.” Vermin Killer pulled an unmarked manila envelope out of his coat and placed it in front of Al. ”The short version is that some djinn girls granted a wish for a vacation, and it was hijacked by a lesser force.”

Al put the cigar back in his mouth, and picked up the envelope. “Really now? I do remember having received word that some wish magic was spread around. I thought they were con artists selling snakeskin tonics for impressionable girls.” With a single, smooth shake of his hand, the paper dropped from the envelope, and held aloft by black smoke that pushed it up. He took the paper in his hand and skimmed through it as he took a sip of his drink

”It must have been powerful magic, as Cindy Ford and Veronica were present there as well.” He adjusted his hat while Al looked through Vermin Killer’s notes… But Al froze when Vermin Killer mentioned a certain name.

He laughed as he checked the pics of her out. “Hah...So that’s where you were hiding, on some tropical paradise. And now you’re back.” For the briefest moment, as he looked upon the pics of Veronica, seeing her smile, his eyes seemed to turn softer.

”I’ve only been here a few hours, so you’ll have to pardon any typos. Hopefully the pictures make up for it.”

Al’s gaze turned sharp as he remembered the situation. “They did,” he responded coldly, taking his lighter and burning the paper right in front of Vermin Killer’s face, letting the cinders fall on the table. He gnashed his teeth. “And I thought I got rid of her. Phah. But if what you’re saying is true, those wishmakers might be just the solution the Mint would want. Don’t you agree, V?”

Vermin Killer gave a single nod. ”Eliminated or put in our custody. I was able to get a glimpse of them and they are protected by a powerful array of magics. Breaching them will be difficult, but better we get them before anyone else does.” V sat upright and folded his arms. ”I could pursue them, but I’ll need help. A plan at the very least. Something you or those higher up the chain can orchestrate in a more secure location.”

Al puffed out a smoke. “Perhaps. But if there’s a resurgence of magic in Penrose, that’s going to stir the pot. And we’re going to kick it over.”

”What would you like me to do?” He leaned forward, crushing the embers under his elbow. ”You had some problems with medieval morons?”

He made a sweep of his arm, and a newspaper appeared on the table. The news article on it morphed into a black and white map of Penrose, complete with colored pins sticking out of it. ”First off, this Cindy broad. She’s back, which means she’s going to make her move, and rally most of the runners in the city.” It was a term used exclusively by Mint, and referred to people indebted to Mint who have refused to pay. “All we gotta do is make sure the nun squad and Cindy get right at each other’s throats. When the dust settles, we’ll have two birds killed with one stone. But, that’s not all.”
He paused as he placed his finger on the red pin. “Veronica can’t ignore the bait. When she sends her Crimson Crap to meddle, we’ll catch e’m hook, line and sinker.” He then pressed on it with enough strength to bend it.

V looked over the map. ”Cindy and Beacon fighting each other is practically a given. Their fall is practically ensured, as well as anyone who joins them. Ensuring they keep fighting shouldn’t be hard.” He fret his brow. ”Your trap lacks bait.” He waved his hand over the table. ”Veronica is a former coin broker. She’s likely looking at this entire situation the same way you are. Beacon is just as much our enemy as they are hers, and Cindy was one of the few people I never saw her try to get in contact with. The key difference is that unlike her, we have vastly more resources.” Crows started to climb out from his sleeves, and they didn’t stop coming. ”I’m aware you don’t care for her Al, but Mint is still the third biggest organization in Penrose. Let Beacon and Cindy sow discord, let the Cradle and the hundred or so other entities bide their time in the shadows. We’ll use the unrest to sign some contracts, get our numbers up, spread like a murder of crows…” Before long, the entire map was covered in crows. ”…And devour the carrion wherever it hides.” He chuckled. ”Well, that’s what I’d do anyway. But if you think we can remove Veronica from play early, I will assist however you deem fit.” V placed a hand on his shoulder and bowed forward. The crows were quick to race into his coat while he was bent over like this.

Al tapped his cigar, causing black soot to fall down and scattering the crows off the map. “Nah, too early to call a whack in.” He paused for a moment, twirling his cigar.
“We’ll need jobbers. Send Chloe a crow, and Eliza too if you see her on your way.” He smiled menacingly, and produced a letter from the floating smoke, letting it glide to Vermin Killer. “If my gut is right, they’re both planning to jump to the C-team after botching their jobs. But I’ll give them one more chance to redeem themselves...After all, sometimes people need to be reminded of the chips they’ve thrown in after the cards are dealt.” He handed V a couple of mysterious items, hidden in shadow as it passed in a handshake. “And if need be...give them the Ace of Diamonds.”

”Such a thing can be arranged.” V stood up from the table.

Al nodded. “Bene. I also managed to hook a new contract with one of the local awakened ones. That broad was real perceptive; managed to spot me the moment I appeared. I think she’ll be very useful to us...”

”If you have no additional requests, I will return to my previous assignments. Do contact me should something come up.” He was about to back away from the table when he stopped. ”Right.” He turned back towards Al. ”The plucky detective. Where are her current whereabouts? She was useful for spying on the Penrose Outer Alliance.”

Al put a hand to his chin, a realization having hit him. “Oh yeah, the nosy sleuth? Was caught snooping around some hot coals, see? The girls brought her in before she burned herself.” He rubbed his cigar down on the map, putting it out and causing the map to burn up into a quickly-fading puff of smoke. “So now she’s holed up in one of our hideouts, but it’s a real crack in the caboose. Somebody was supposed to interrogate her, but every agent kept throwing it to the next one. Seemed nobody wanted to deal with the loud twerp. Phah! No sense of accountability.”

In the Ebon Mint, one was supposed to complete the job assigned to them. However, because of the indirect and subtle ways of communication the organization uses, certain jobs are passed on, from operative to operative. Usually coin brokers catch these skippers early into the process, but because of the Ascendancy, this particular job has been passed forward long enough for it’s original receiver to have made the run.

He crushed the cigar in his hand. “Viper was the latest one to get it. Send a crow, and tell her she is going to do it, and nobody else: I’m not going to read a report on it from anyone but her. Capische?” Vermin Killer left with a nod, and Al emptied his drink with a single swig. “Things are about to get a whole lot more interesting around these parts soon,” he mused to himself, leaning an arm back on his seat. In that quiet moment, Al turned still.

“...”

“...”

“...Hah. How amusing.”

Then, without saying another word, he disappeared into the shadows.

A couple of seconds later, a cry of fear could be heard, as a certain girl with a pale face remained, shaking even as she pressed against the outer wall of the diner, her legs barely able to keep her steady.

‘No way...Sammy!?‘

Alexander was preparing to fight...until he saw the turtle fall out of the sky and bonk a troll "...huh?" The troll attacked the shell until it caught sight of their pursuers and started to attack them. As this was happening, Lily scooped up the turtle (now a badly battered looking girl), and took off on her motorcycle. "Wait! Lily you idiot, let me heal her first!" But he was too late, since she was out of earshot by that time. "Ugh...that dork. Welp, really glad I picked up that magical GPS now." As he focused his Beast and Reinforcement magic into boosting his speed as much as possible, he turned on his new location power to keep track of Lily.

---

“Halt! State your business.”

Alexander was panicking inside; he knew he wasn't good with people and wasn't sure if he could actually talk his way inside "Look, my girlfriend's in there with some injured girl. I need to catch up with her"

One of the guards narrowed their eyes "Then why were you left behind?"

Alexander shrugged "Probably for the same reason she forgot I have healing magic; she panicked. Think back; did she look at all composed when you saw her?"

"And how are you so sure she's even here?" The other guard asked

"Tracking magic." Was his reply

Both guards looked at each other for a few seconds before answering "Very well, but be warned; you will be watched"

Alexander rolled his eyes as he rushed in to catch up with Lily and the poor girl she dragged away.

Mariette and the cat-gangster had fled the scene, leaving three left to deal with the approaching Ascendancy, whom Hilaria initially could not care less about. In the face of good food, anything could wait! If there was one thing that did not decay over the millennia, it was her appreciation for food. She could kill for it, even.

It was a shame that the Ascendency did not realize this. Because in their ignorance, they opted to interrupt the trio with matters that did not pertain to food, or 'trifles' as one might call them. They could not be neglected any longer.

Hilaria slowly turned to the members of said organization, who were now throwing around their weight. How bold, but more so unwelcome. "Eh~?" as she returned to her ditzy way of speaking, she raised a finger to her lips, a cute smile on her face. "You want to purify Hilaria~? Mmm, but Hilaria doesn't want to, she'd rather eat~!" she declined for this simple reason.

Yet instead of leaving it as an offer, the Ascendancy made it a threat. Hilaria did not like this one bit. There was food to be had and now they wanted to posture? Who did they think they were? Nothing but a group of well-intentioned thugs doing ill-willed things in the name of self-righteousness? How many times had she seen that in her life? So uninspired.

Vulcan rested in her hands but she wasn't wielding it in a way to suggest she was going to attack -- yet. Her smile remained, even as the girls before her continued chattering amongst themselves. They seemed to know of her, judging by the fact they brought up 'The Eternal', which had been used on occasion as a title of sorts for her. If anything, she'd prefer Aeternum, but it wasn't like she got to choose what people called her. They then requested she followed them for another reason.

"Mmm, Hilaria thinks..." as she replied, her eyes slowly rolled onto Violet. It was only a split second, but she would notice a completely unamused expression from the ancient magical girl. Displeased, even. This, however, was replaced with her typical smile as if it had never happened. "...that she doesn't want to listen to people who are mean to her~ Hilaria doesn't like bullies~!" she declined.

Hilaria took a moment and glanced back at the other two girls with her. The Ascendancy was clearly the kind of faction that wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Though she would not be intimidated by them, and she wasn't particularly averse to engaging in a more hands-on approach to discipline, she was under a new patron that required positive emotions. Fights between magical girls rarely had these, and it was not as though Hilaria wanted to drag the other two into this. She was mostly sure they would be the type to try to help in this situation. Complying with them, at least for the time being, was what she should probably do.

"But~!" she raised her pointer finger as if she came up with a brilliant idea. "Hilaria enjoys good food~! Maybe if there was the promise of a good meal, then she'd reconsider~" she gave a sly look to Violet. It was her hope they'd at least put the effort into entertaining this request. If they didn't... well, nobody could say she did not try to solve things peacefully.



As she entered the room, she gave a small wave and a 'hi' to the others. Emily saw that they had chosen to stay the night here, and looked to Helga, whom asked her if she was going to do the same thing. She took a moment to consider her options.

It had apparently been months since they'd been forced into that beach dimension, in contrast to the few days they felt. That was a lot of time to pass, and it wasn't like she was some sort of NEET -- she had obligations and duties to perform. Or, well, usually she would. Most humans evacuated so it wasn't like she could go back to work. But she imagined the soup kitchen was feeling the pain when people were there, as they were understaffed as it was. She hoped they had found someone willing to volunteer in her absence, that was her biggest worry. It was unlikely they had been set upon by monsters, as she still had her artifact there to ward them off. But there wasn't much she could do now, so there wasn't any reason to decline Helga.

"Um..." she spoke. "I-if that's alright with you, then I will." she agreed, both because she didn't have any reason not to and because she also wanted to see if Helga's friend was okay. Emily went to retrieve her coins. "How much will it be?" she asked just before Helga started contacting Su.



Judging by her skeptical expression, Silhouette figured that Su was not buying it. Rather unfortunate, but the mistake was her own. It wasn't ideal, but so long as Su did not take offense to her and become hostile in any way, which did not seem likely, then it was probably acceptable.

Their focus should instead be on the danger and not each other, anyways. Things always got sticky here in the Overc--

A sound came from her phone, only this time she wasn't entirely sure what it meant. It was an alert of some sort, but that was all Silhouette could deduce. They weren't yet engaged in a fight and this was only going to take a few seconds at most, so she quickly checked what was going on.

And she regretted it, again.

A poll to decide what she'd wear to that concert? Did Trixy really think Samantha was going to give her good fashion advice? That sort of thing was... she wasn't good at it. She wore whatever suited the weather, after all.

As Sil went to write a short and concise answer, the Glimmr post apparently triggered a hostile reaction from a fellow Cradle agent. This was understandable. And Trixy was certainly not helping her cool down. Once the conversation turned to actual threats, Silhouette figured she needed to address it. Her post went as thus:

Trixy, please focus on subjects pertaining to the CC's interest when you make posts here. You know it causes frustration from other agents when you make silly posts.

Blair, try to jog your memory for a second. Who do you work for? These sorts of threats and the vulgar language you are using are not acceptable and do the CC's image harm about as much as Trixy's frivolous behavior. I sincerely doubt Veronica would be pleased to see this.

Finally, as I am not well-versed in the subject matter, take my suggestion with a grain of salt, but

Considering this is an event that could be considered a special occasion, you should rule out using your magical girl outfit as that does not give any such impression. And because this is not a school activity, I see no reason why you would wear the uniform, either. Since I have no suggestions in this regard, you may also remove 'other' from the list. This would leave but 'Cosplay' and 'Sexy', either of which can be chosen. I also could not guide you to any sort of character to cosplay, so I am no help there. If I were to lean towards any direction, it would be in the 'sexy' side as I believe it fits well with your blatantly coquettish mannerisms.

Trixy would certainly have the hand on Silhouette if she was just using her muscle memory for the keys on her phone. But as a Time user, certain benefits were afforded to her. With her capabilities buffed, she was able to both think of a response and type it in incredible speed. Very few seconds, to be precise. But this was enough for things to turn sour. Noticing people were moving about, she stashed her phone once again and looked up to notice that Mika had disappeared and Su had jumped off the cloud.

"...what?"

She shook her head. It wasn't good to question things. That was tiring. Instead, she peered over the edge of the cloud to see what was happening.

Sour indeed.

"..."

Presumably, their intentions had been to delay the Ascendancy behind them by disturbing that creature. If that was the case, then it had worked, but Mika had suffered serious damage. Silhouette was only partial to seeing her worked up as a result of teasing. To see her physically hurt was... a bit unsettling. But at least Lily had grabbed her and was zooming towards the Overcity.

But then she looked back. Lily didn't even need to fire the arrow for Sil to see what the intent behind it was. "Hold on!" she warned the others mere moments before the arrow struck and the cloud dramatically picked up its pace. Sil turned back. It was definitely important to get someone injured attention they need as fast as possible, but they were leaving Su behind, were they not? She should be able to fly, but it'd be best to give her a bit of a boost as well, as long as Lily was doing it.

In comparison to Lily with her bow, Silhouette's range was lacking. Her influence was strongest the closer she was to it, and without some form of a projectile to imbue, she couldn't affect things too far away. Su herself was out of reach, but it wasn't like she couldn't offer any support.

Silhouette would make temporal rings in the wake of the cloud that would give a momentary boost to the speed of whatever passed through them. It wouldn't last long, so she made more than one as they went along. They appeared as distortions in the sky, easy enough to catch with one's eye. "Pass through those and keep up!" she shouted to Su.

Why did things have to be a pain all the time?

Eliza was surprised to see that most of the rooms were vacant at the time. Then again, with everything that was happening, she should've seen it coming. After a bit of thought, she finally chose a room. "Beans and bacon, huh?" The witch looked over to Theresa. "Wanna split it?" She asked, getting a shrug from the familiar as a response. Eliza waved to Emily when the fire girl joined them, but had her attention turned to the twin specters greeting her. "I didn't know this place had it's own Casper...s?" The familiar said to no one in particular, listening to the witch and the ghosts talk. "Yeah, it's been rough. I had to explain to Maura what had happened. We could only guess it had to do with vastly different timezones per dimension, like with different states here. But worse." Eliza explained her theory. "But she did say something among the lines of if she ever ran into 'that rubbernosed twit', she throw him into the river styx."

After a moment of silence, she continued. "Soooo...yeah."

---

As they talked, Valerie noticed a nearby motorcycle she could use. Though upon further inspection, it was damanged beyond repair. So instead, with a bit of brute force, the android tore off a piece of metal long enough to forge a new blade. She held the scrap metal against the handle at where it was broken off, then used her magic to fix it where it appeared to have never been damaged. "There we go." She then waited for Penny to finish disposing Sirrkeli's remains, nodding in understanding when she explained why.

"Same as you. Though mostly waiting to hear back from Boss and the others, so I guess I'm free. Valerie said, when Penny asked her where she was going. "And if we needed reinforcements, I can always let the other girls under her know."

---

Amanda facepalmed when Ronin actually managed to steer the guards the wrong way. Eh, sucks to be them. The mage nodded when the other two girls thanked her. "It was no problem, glad I could help- Oh?" she was about to head off when Valkyrie explained why they were on a delivery job. "Penrose, you say? I just happened to be heading back there myself. Mind if I join you?" she asked, following them.

---

"Oh, why don't we have both?" Celia suggested to Leena and FanFan. "Though I'll admit, mocha sounds good right about now. But anyways, don't worry, I won't try anything stupid. Don't have a patron to influence me into doing so, not like her." She looked over to Anaya, then back to the other girls, turning back into her untransformed self. The empath giggled when Fanfan wished for a cake, in front of the genie twins no less. "Well, there's the wish you wanted!" she told the Djinn Sisters.