A few days after their previous fight and meeting, Katarina would receive a message from Alicia. As requested she had inquired into meeting with a higher member of Beacon, and gotten it approved.

The message itself came with a time for them to meet, as well as the location of the Beacon HQ. That latter part might be a bit redundant at this point in time, but it was better than just assuming that she knew.

Alicia would meet her in the lobby, Katarina having been allowed in without too much grumbling by the guards outside. It was still daytime, though it was towards the evening at this point. ”Hey Katarina, glad you could make it.”

She shook her hand before continuing. ”I can’t say whether you ruffled any feathers with that information of yours, but they’ve agreed to meet so it’s a good start. Assuming you haven’t gotten cold feet in the meantime.”

“First thing they teach you in the academy is that cold feet will get you hurt.” Rina replied with a dismissive, nonchalant tone. She wasn't sure what to expect. The archer half expected Beacon to just stone wall and make vague promises. That they even agreed to meet was promising, but she wasn't getting her hopes up. Dealing with large organizations was always a pain. They always had something to hide, and they never wanted anyone poking around their business. “Thanks again for setting this up, but lets get this over with, yeah? I'm not here for a courtesy call.”

Nodding, Alicia gestured for Katarina to follow as she led the guest further into the base. The walk was a swift one, the Paladin nodding to girls walking by in the hallways. The meeting aside, it was a normal day at Beacon. As normal as anything was these days.

As they neared their destination, she looked back at Rina. ”You’re going to be meeting with Cardinal Ishtar. Obviously the standards are a bit different since you aren’t in Beacon, but try and have some respect. Alright?”

Rina kept mostly to herself, not even bothering acknowledging anyone else's presence as Alicia led her through the hallways.

“We'll see.” Rina responded to Alicia curtly. Ishtar? As in that old Sumerian goddess or whatever? It was probably just a name or some title. “As long as I don't get jerked around, I doubt we'll have problems.” She was hoping it'd go well, but she was fully prepared for it to fall apart.

”Fair enough,” Alicia couldn’t ask for much more than that at this point. Especially with what the topic was. Besides, she was curious to learn what Katarina would find out anyways.

They soon reached their destination. It was a smaller portion of the HQ, one more suited for private conversations and quiet meditation. There were no bustling groups of people or loud distractions. Here one could focus, center themselves.

Walking up to one of the nondescript doors, Alicia softly knocked. ”Cardinal,” she called. ”Katarina Nekrasova is here to see you, as we discussed before.”

The Cardinal was praying before a small altar when Alicia looked inside. "Yes, come in," she quietly asked, and then stood up to meet them. Her eyes were still closed, hands clasped. "Thank you for your assistance with the monster threat, Katarina. These troubled times are when our kind is most needed," she stated. "How may I help you?"

Alicia waited for Katarina to enter the room before closing the door behind them. Eavesdroppers were unlikely, but the privacy for this conversation would not be amiss. Standing off to the side, the black haired paladin looked between the other two girls there. ”She came into possession of some information recently that she wished to ask about,” Alicia then looked to Katarina, to pick up where she had left off.

Rina followed Alicia in the room. She gave the cardinal a brief glance. Prayer? She had never been much for religion, but it was fitting at least that Beacon followed some such practices. Otherwise though, she didn’t seem special, but such appearances were often deceiving.

“Doing what is needed doesn't require thanks.” Rina replied dismissively. “If anything, I should be thanking you for both meeting me and letting me occasionally help out with Beacon even though I'm not a member.”
“I had assumed Alicia had informed you of what I wanted to talk about, but lets start at the beginning.” Rina casually folded her arms, her voice betraying no emotion as she gauged the cardinal's reaction to her next question. “Are you familiar with a town in Ethiopia by the name of Dilla?”
The Cardinal did not react unusually to Rina's question. "Dilla? I'm afraid I do not know of this town. Did something happen there?"

Rina returned the Cardinal's answer with a small frown. If she was playing ignorant, she was really good at it. Perhaps she was truthfully, unaware and ignorant of what the rest of Beacon was up to. Assuming this had something to do with Beacon in the first place.

“You could say that.” Rina responded curtly. “In 2007 there was a supposed gas leak that made the city inhospitable. I'll spare you the details, but a travel ban was put in place and is still in place there today. Kinda weird for it to still be there, ain't it?” The former police officer reached into her pocket, pulling out the USB with the file on it. She had already made a copy in case something happened to it back on her own laptop and a few other storage spaces.

Hunt criminals long enough, you pick up a few things about how not to lose information.

“Around the same time, some interesting reports started popping up. Some bright lights, and some videos people passed off as a hoax. Normal conspiracy stuff, really. I wouldn't have thought much of it myself had I just stumbled on it, but...” She flashed the Cardinal a soft smile. “You have a computer I can use, Cardinal?”

The Cardinal blinked upon seeing the USB; she also frowned upon realizing the gravity in Rina's words. "Yes, on that desk over there. Let me see the video, please. Because if what you said is true…" She seemed a bit technologically challenged, but after a moment of fiddling she played the video.

Her eyes opened, gleaming eyes filled with the kind of sorrow that even made Rina she'd a year from the welling emotions. "This is...Could it be?" She quietly spoke. "The Reckoning…"

“The Reckoning, huh.” Even if she felt some emotion for a moment, Rina quickly regained her composure. She closed her eyes a moment, processing the information and making sure not to let show any sign of weakness or her thoughts. The Cardinal seemed genuine. That much was certain from her reaction, but that in and of itself could mean anything.

“So you do know something. Mind sharing, Cardinal?” Whatever this 'Reckoning' was, it seemed like it was bad news. “I know I'm asking for a lot here, but I can't turn a blind eye to something like this.”

Alicia moved along with the others, watching for Ishtar’s reaction as she watched the video. She’d known the previous comment wasn’t a lie, but that only said so much. Now more of the picture became clearer. ”I hadn’t seen or heard of anything like this before. That’s why I arranged this meeting,” Alicia explained again. ”Either it was a set up, or something that should not be so easily handed out. Both options would be bad, especially with the timing of it.”

Ishtar turned to face Rina, her eyes again closed. “The Reckoning is...The Ascendancy’s final weapon. I have only seen it myself a couple of times, but it is a terrible power, destroying all in a wide area."

So her assumptions about what it was had been proven correct. The only question remained, was what to do with this information? With Penrose becoming completely unstable like this...Rina frowned, taking in the information. Why send this to her, then? Why not just blow the whistle completely? Were they avoiding responsibility? Or was this something only she could investigate for some reason? Did they want to turn her against beacon? They didn't know her very well, then.
“That's a pretty devastating weapon you got there.” She commented idly after a moment of consideration. “...I'm assuming you don't know where it's located, or how it's used.” Perhaps...no, that'd be too far fetched. “This town of Dilla became a target due to magical corruption, then?”
"That is the only explanation," Ishtar responded. "The Reckoning is only used as a last resort, when the corruption has spread too far to contain by normal means. I was not there, but I assume the Ascendancy deemed it necessary to purge Dilla using such extreme means. But, how did you get your hands on this file?" She asked with a frown. "This is a matter of utmost secrecy. Nobody but the higher captains in Beacon should know of this."

Alicia stiffened as Ishtar explained what the Ascendancy had at its disposal. It made some sense, to have a weapon this powerful on the off chance that things had escalated beyond the ability of humans to stop. If Soth had manifested in Earth, would it have been used then? Who could tell.

”An anonymous drop off. Which is about as worrying as it sounds,” she explained, glancing over to Katarina just in case she’d uncovered anything related to that in the time since they had last seen each other.

“Hm...” Rina turned away from the other two, taking a slow walk around the room. She could understand why one would need such a weapon – but to actually use it? That was just about effective as one country nuking another without thinking the rest of the world would eventually retaliate. Obviously peace and order needed to be kept, but...there was no way they could be certain that every single person in that town was beyond saving, or did they deem the collateral worth it?
“I don't know for certain who sent it, though I do have a few guesses from a bit of digging.” She turned to face the other two. “But I'm not going to be giving up a source to Beacon. Not until I can be certain of what's actually going on here.” Perhaps this was just a warning for what the Ascendancy was going to be doing to Penrose if they couldn't contain the current events.
Ishtar slowly nodded. “I see. In any case, I must ask you to keep this a secret, Katarina Nekrasova. If word got out about this weapon, it would cause the magical community to resent Beacon even more than before. Then, other organizations like the Ebon Mint would rise in power as people turn to alternative choices to cast their faith in.” She turned away. “You would also be in danger; the Ascendancy would hunt you down as an enemy of the organization if they learned you possessed this knowledge.”

”No pressure, sorry.” Alicia added with a small wince. Not that she could blame Ishtar for asking this. With how rough things had been for them in the past months, knowing that they had the ability to just destroy the city would only add to that fire.

“It's fine, Alicia.” She grunted, glancing towards the Cardinal. “Don't worry Cardinal. I may not agree with the Ascendancy or a lot of what Beacon has done in the past,” Rina replied, stashing the USB back into her pocket. “But I can respect what they've tried to do. I'm not looking to cause more trouble, and I don't think whoever sent this is either. If they were looking too they would have sent it to something like the PI.” Still, this meeting was enlightening but so far it hadn’t revealed much. She had a name and confirmed it was likely Beacon's, but other than that? “I assume that person in the video is likely also part of the Ascendancy?”

"Thank you, Rina; you are a good person," she spoke, looking slightly relieved. "I do not recognize them, if that is your question," Ishtar answered; her expression was marked a solemn color. "But I am almost sure it was one of the officers of the Ascendancy observing the weapon's activation."

There was a small sigh of relief as Katarina confirmed that she’d keep things to herself. Not only that, but they had some idea as to who the person in the video was. ”The question is, why include the other file with this one? Obviously the video of the Reckoning was to establish credibility of some kind. But what does including it with that audio file accomplish?” Alicia hummed in thought, not ready to make any judgments just yet.

Rina frowned.

“Assuming the Cardinal knows about the audio file.” Rina continued. “...I don't think it was to establish credibility. It doesn't make sense, Alicia. If anything, the Audio file would likely be what they used to build credibility or trust. I think the two are connected in some manner.” She held a hand to her chin, pondering a few scenarios.
“Allow me to talk for a few seconds, Cardinal.” She didn't wait for permission as she took a seat on a nearby table, propping her elbows on her knees as she continued, a serious expression formed on her features. “I might be rusty because I haven't done an investigation quite like this since my police days, but my gut is telling me that at least. The audio file itself doesn't tell us much. Someone working with the Mint is planning on using this rave to their advantage...that wouldn't be useful in the slightest to anyone aside from simply confirming what we assumed was going on. The video file itself, also does not tell us much by itself aside from maybe, a leveraging tool on Beacon. They should know sending it to me wouldn't accomplish much since I am affiliated with them, unless they wanted me to defect.” She really didn't have much to go on. One of the possible scenarios was that this was a warning for what beacon was going to be doing to Penrose soon, but again, why send it to her? Sending it to some other organization in that sense, would be far more effective.
“...Which leaves the question, why send both...and why to me. If they simply wanted me to investigate Dilla, all they'd need to do is send the USB. If they wanted me to investigate the Mint more, all they'd have to do is show up and ask.” She made a gesture with one of her hands. ”Sending both to me, tells me that both events are likely connected...and that I'm likely a select few people that could understand what was happening.” She leaned back, folding her arms across her chest as she continued, closing her eyes as she thought.
“Assuming they want to help, they probably sent it to me because there's a good chance Beacon would simply dismiss whatever it is unless it was from someone they tentatively trusted. Of course, there's a decent chance they simply want me to investigate the town of Dilla itself and were simply informing me of what happened to it, trusting that I wouldn't implicate Beacon easily. But again, then why send the tape?” She hummed, tapping a finger on her arm.
“The only connection I can make between the video file and the audio one, is that its meant as an example or a warning. Of either what the Ascendancy was planning on doing to Penrose...or perhaps, what someone else is planning on doing. If someone working with the Mint is collecting a massive amount of magical energy, there is only a handful of things I would believe they'd be using it for. None, would be good for anyone else involved.” Finishing, the former detective fell silent for a few moments before blinking, face coloring red with slight embarrassment.
“Aha, sorry. Got a little carried away there.” She hopped off of where she had been sitting. “Take anything I said with a grain of salt. Too little actual evidence to go on to make any solid conclusions.”
Ishtar seemed like she wasn't listening as she continued praying, until she spoke. "May I also hear this tape?" As requested, the tape was played again. By the end of it, Ishtar began crying tears of glittering gold. "No...I now understand…" She turned and took Rina's hand; the magical girl felt a gentle, soothing feeling from her touch. "The Mint plans to unleash a powerful spell on the night of the rave. With the Beacon drawn there, it must be something dreadful." She then collapsed against Rina's embrace. "The Ascendancy won't see kindly to acts of terror. It might even lead to...The Reckoning…" She whispered the last part. Rina was now so overwhelmed by grief that tears welled in her eyes beyond her control.

Ishtar’s observation was one that both of the other girls had suspected might be the case. Yet the way she said it gave it more weight, made it seem more likely than either of them had been willing to entertain. Alicia’s head fell, mulling over it in her thoughts.

”So we’ve got the Mint plotting what is definitely a trap of some kind. Considering the initial message, Vi is definitely involved somehow. I guess the question is whether Cindy is working with the Mint, or if this is all going down without her knowing. I mean, ‘coincidentally surviving’ the Reckoning of Penrose would make her a pretty big figure in the community, beyond just another ruler,” she said to the other two in the room. If this was a conspiracy, and if it went that far, they were in more danger than anyone had suspected.

Ugh, the Cardinal was most likely an Empath. As soon as she was able, she released the Cardinal from the embrace and wiped her eyes.

“Lets not start making any more wild assumptions, Alicia.” Rina said, zipping up her jacket. “We don't know that for certain.” Still, at this point she wouldn't be surprised if Cindy had something to do with all of this. Whatever the case, it wasn't important right now. “Either way, it doesn't matter right now. I don't think there's much we can do to stop whatever it is from happening. Not enough time and too little information.” In her opinion at least, their best idea was to wait and see what happened. They knew something was coming, but they didn't know what – it was far better to be reactive rather than proactive in this situation with such little time and information.
“Sorry if I'm being a little presumptuous, She said, turning to Ishtar. “I don't know how much sway you have over the Ascendancy, Cardinal, but...I'd steer clear of the party and focus more on making sure Beacon is safe from whatever it is this is. If you all die fighting in a trap, well...even if there are some heavy losses on all sides, Beacon likely won't be able to recover, even if it has the Reckoning. If they use it to wipe Penrose and whatever corruption off the map...they may not be able to cover it up so well this time with a city as large as Penrose.”
Ishtar nearly collapsed to the floor when Rina released her, though she managed to find her footing. “That won’t be a problem. I...I have somewhere else to go on that day.” She slowly moved towards the altar, and knelt down to pray. “Alicia, Rina...There might come a time when you’re faced with darkness so great you fall into an abyss.. But, even then, you mustn’t give in to despair. In you two, I sense a grand destiny, but only you can make it a reality. Please...bring peace to Penrose. May the light of Beacon guide you forward.”

Alicia winced, chastised sufficiently by Katarina’s words. ”Well, I don’t know about more wild assumptions, but I do know that that tabloid, the Penrose Independent, knows something. One of their people warned Penny to have Beacon members she cares about stay away from the event. That might be worth looking into.” She’d do it herself, if it weren’t for that standing commitment they had to Rebecca to find her Twin Soul.

As Ishtar returned to her prayer, Alicia moved to stand by Katarina. ”Thank you for your words Cardinal. I’ll keep them in mind and in heart,” she agreed with a small bow. Yet at the same time, she hoped that whatever this dark time was did not come to pass.

Rina cast a quizzical look towards the Cardinal when she said she had somewhere to be. That was...a bit odd, wasn't it? Or was there some beacon thing she had to do? Well, wasn't any of her business.
“I don't know about any 'grand destiny', or the light of Beacon.” Rina replied, making a move towards the door. “But I've been protecting Penrose before I was a magical girl. I'm not going to stop now. Thank you for the help, Cardinal.” She still wanted to know what exactly happened to warrant the use of the Reckoning in Dilla, but she got the feeling in the coming weeks she was going to be too busy to care. “The PI, eh...for a news service that touts being impartial, they've always seemed shady. If I had the time before the party I'd be doing some looking myself.”

Alicia followed as they moved to the door, closing it behind her once they had exited the room so the Cardinal could continue her quiet reflection. ”I’ll look into it as best I can. Still, it’s something worth keeping in mind even if we don’t learn much,” Alicia noted.

With that said, she began guiding Katarina back to the entrance. ”Well, I wish you good luck. If things keep going as they are, we’re going to need it.”

“Beacon is going to need more luck than I ever will.” Rina replied with a shake of her head as she left. “Stay safe, Alicia.”

It always was a bit of a steep climb being the new guy in town. So many people, places, tidbits of information and not knowing where to go and where to step was bound to cause a few mishaps every now and then. However, if you add the pressure of a hit for your boss, the situation could get… hairy. In such cases, it was best to play nice and ask help from the seniors. The pride would come after the victory, and not before.

Reaver had given some thought about Scarpe;s words and binder. He had seen quite a lot of information, but that second hand report would not do any good on anything that was not wide strokes. He needed to be subtle. And he needed to keep up appearances, moreso with Chloe and her tendences on top.

Fellow Ebon Mint seniors could give him a lead, but it was always at a price. However, they were also people… and prices could change depending on the situation. In this case, he had done some work towards hedging the bets. A nice suit, a decent quality box of chocolates, and an invitation for a dinner at a fancy but not not quite expensive secluded place.

Now, it was up to her to heed his beckoning.

An unassuming woman with medium-length brown hair in a simple black dress soon arrived, and sat down at the table Reaver was sitting at. “Oh, you must be the person I was supposed to meet,” the woman spoke in a panicky tone of voice, as if she was unsure she had arrived in the right place. “I’m not the type to meet people like this over the internet, so forgive me if I act a bit unusual.”

Reaver raised an eyebrow. “Right, sure. Now if you’ll excuse me…” The man said, before quickly typing a message in the phone through the Mint app. The woman noticed him typing, but ignored it afterwards as she read the menu. “Hmm...I’ll take the chicken then. That seems like a fitting dish.”

“You do that, I am going home. I am afraid I am not the one you’re looking for. Safe night.” Reaver added, as he turned his back on her. Probably try someone else. There was still time.
“Oh, I see...” The woman looked disappointed, and with a frown wrote on her phone as Reaver left, looking like she was dumped. However, once Reaver had reached a secluded location outside, he would receive a message:

“>Office building rooftop, north-west”

Reaver shrugged, as he saw the message. New location. Fine. This much he could play, but not risk meeting with the wrong person. Discretion was part of the Mint’s trade, after all. So he began to briskly move towards the office rooftop.

The very moment Reaver’s feet met the concrete building, he felt a blade drawn close to his neck; Viper had caught him unaware. “You’re a real idiot, you know that?” The dark magical girl would state with a disgusted tone. “A restaurant meeting? Do you think we’re in a spy flick or something?” She lifted the blade off, only to kick him with enough force to send him flying against the wall of the stair entrance, followed by her stabbing her heel into his shoulder.
“You really are a rookie. I should kill you here right now for being an incompetent shit-for-brains.”

Reaver took a moment to get his bearings. “Well it was an assumption you’d be in that kind of play… but I guess… you’re another ilk of woman.” He raised an eyebrow. “I can see worse ways of dying… but then you’d have to shoulder my debt.” Reaver said, his neck turning to lick the wound- and heel.

“Hah, debt, huh?” She scoffed at Reaver’s remark, and removed her heel, her lips curled into an inquisitive look at the wet spot he left. “And I assumed you’d be another tough guy trying to impress me. But you seem like the fun type.” She whipped her twintails back, and put a hand to her hip. “So, you're just gonna stand there and stare? Or did you actually have a reason to call me? I’m gonna let you know the only reason I bothered to answer was because I was getting bored; my current job is progressing slowly.”

“Harsh… I am wounded. Really.” Reaver said, as the wound began to close with a nasty scar. “Well, not anymore.” He added. “I seek guidance from seniors… that’s about it. And I bring my respects to them. It’s… hard to be polite when things are so volatile, hm?” He said.

“Tell me about it. The geezer pulled lots of agents across the state just because some lantern heads happen to be desu vulting around here. He’s also got beef with a former Coin Broker who used to work Penrose, you know? Decided to make a run for it and everything. And before you ask,” she would say as she flicked her forefinger up Reaver’s nose, “I happen to know a lot, so let’s just keep it to that.” She then smirked. “I can’t teach you how you do your job; that’s something you gotta learn. It’s a swim or sink, or rather, kill or be killed world. I just happen to be the type who’d be inconvenienced by your death. You won’t be so lucky with others like Chloe.”
She gave an aside glance. “...Oops, I slipped,” she spoke, mimicking Reaver’s voice perfectly.

Reaver chuckled.”Ohhh, intrigue. That was a nice touch. Chloe is an amenable harsh mistress, and our interests coincide for the time being. A happy dog… is a loyal dog. Woof Woof.” Reaver added, mimicking the last words he sent to Scarpe the other day. “Chloe is Chloe. If she finds out, it’ll be bad, but it’s not the end of the world. Just gotta keep making myself useful, I guess.” Reaver shrugged. “As long as I don’t have the gall to cross Scarpe. That’s the real one to look out for, even more than -you-, my lady.”

"I don't need to," Viper stated confidently, and turned around; her tail snapped like a whip. "No matter how menacing the geezer may look, he can't lay a finger on me. He knows I'm one of his top agents, and as long as I keep that high score, I'm free from any BS." She looked back. "So you like bowing down to little girls, huh? You sick freak. I'd call the police, but then I'd have to give testimony. No thanks!"

“Hm.. I bow down to your success, my lady.” Reaver curtly said, smiling. “Truthfully I enjoy more than bowing, but that’s just me… simply… me. It’s my favorite pastime.” The boy nodded. “I do wonder… how would you like to kill time?”

She leaned against her tail, using it as a makeshift stool of sorts. “I dunno. Maybe mess with people.” She transformed into Reaver right before his eyes, matching every single detail including his smell. “Maybe I’ll pretend to be one of those Beacon folks and engage in some chaos. That would get them riled up. Then again, might be best not to piss off the raging fanatics. You got any ideas?”

“Well, let’s just say A wants a shot at B, and C wants a shot at D. However, B and D don’t see eye to eye.. So we make B and D fight for them, and claim the reward before A and C. What’s commonly called… a proxy war.” Reaver said. “That or you riding me with a crop.”

Viper giggled, an evil smile on her lips. “We’d first need to get some proper equipment, like a saddle and bridle. So for now, I’d rather hear more about this proxy situation. Let me guess; you got a hit, and you want to use Chloe’s hit to make it easier?”

“I definitely was not asked about a certain hit pertaining to a monster girl group by a certain gentleman.” Reaver said. “And Chloe definitely did not tell me about hers.”

Viper rolled her eyes. "Sure. So you want me to distract some cronies while you make your move?"

“There’s a bunch of details to smooth over… and I still have chocolates...”

Viper went over and nabbed the chocolates. “Very well then. I might even let you have a piece or two.”

And so the two concocted a scheme of their own, enjoying some sweets in the process.

Everything had begun to fall into place. Obstacles had fallen in front of her path, but every obstruction she faced had been cleared one after another. There was only a single issue left - The Mint. Al’s request was achievable, but difficult; Penny’s robot half was Beacon aligned, from what her sources found. The Spark she wielded made extracting the information impossible, and kidnapping her was less than easy. Although it had become the only option available, The Boss hated lying with a sustained and continuous passion. The Penrose Independent had been established specifically to combat lying, to prevent the spread of misinformation as best as physically possible, with what limited resources were available.

But if Penny knew the information was for The Mint, she would never give it up. Eden sighed, stood in the centre of a clearing on the outskirts of Penrose City, phone in one hand, and a Red Coin in the other. Penny had already been informed of the location, and Thalia was on her way, though she would arrive later. A night time chill bit the air of the surroundings, though Eden didn’t feel anything. She just stood, waiting.

”Question. Has the designated time yet to be reached?” a robotic voice would call out from behind Eden as the robotic half of Penny crested the lip of the building. Before stopping to survey the environment.

Eden’s head quickly turned in the direction of the voice, the stoic facade she wore as a precedent cracking for a brief moment of surprise. That wasn’t the plan. If she had been paying attention, she would have seen the arrival of both halves coming, but it didn’t cross her mind; she was becoming careless. Her eyes darted across the individual sections of the robot’s body, as she reaffirmed the information she had already gathered. All she could hope was that the data from her Third Eye could fill in enough of the gaps in the mech’s magical construction for Al to be satisfied.

”I wasn’t expecting you,” she replied in kind, turning to face her as she approached. ”She’s on her way, although, well, I had hoped to ask - the other one - some questions. About you. But, since you’re here, guess I’ll have to make do.”

“Early. Acknowledged” Penny would reply turning her flat gaze onto Eden more fully “What inquires do you have?” She would ask simply as she watched the other girl her stance and face showing no emotion. Magically there was very little going on that could be traced, There was a constant hum of Lightning magic surrounding her, and her form seemed to have countless lingering traces of Metal magic. But nothing that pointed as to how it was she was operating.

“Questions? Why are we asking questions?” a familiar voice would call out as the other half of Penny dropped out of the sky. She would look around much as her other half did but had an obvious look of disappointment on her face “Is it to pass the time while we wait for Thalia?”

”Sure, something like that,” once again Eden tilted her head to look towards the new arrival. With the Mecha-Penny present, the lie she had prepared wouldn’t work. She needed something new. ”I’ve been having a special Artifact made for some time now, from an Overcity Artificer called Riley. Recently they… well, kind of fucked me over on a deal, if I’m being honest, and they upped their price. They want to know about how you came to exist, uh… Beacon Penny? Mecha-Penny? - Mecha-Penny sounds good. What you’re made of, how you’re subsisting on half a soul and the Spark, stuff like that. I was hoping you could help me out, one of you, either, both - I’d be in your debt.”

“Penny” The robotic version of the girl in question would reply firmly “My name is Penny” She would give her head a small shake as she refocused on the actual questions that had been posed.

“Pretty sure that she’s made out of simple steel” The human half would answer looking at her robotic counterpart with an unreadable look “Enchanted, duh, but otherwise it’s a normal metal”

“Correct” Robo-Penny would confirm “Soul separation wasn’t done by either of us, so I can’t speak about anything in relation to that” There was also the fact that they weren’t really subsisting, it wasn’t a natural or even magical Split and both of them could tell that their soul was hampered by it and slowly degrading. That wasn’t something either half was going to go about advertising however.

“I don’t know why she ended up with the Spark though” human Penny would ponder aloud.

“Chloe” The Machine half would answer in a deadpan, even though it wasn’t strictly the truth. “What specifications are you inquiring about?”

”If this was Chloe’s work then that explains a lot,” she commented. After a moment's contemplation, Eden took a step towards the robot half, and another, slowly walking her way towards the entity, tracing her form with her gaze. Compared to Penny’s height, Eden only came up to around her chest, and as she stepped up directly before her, hand slightly outstretched between the two, a pair of inquisitive eyes met the robot’s own. ”I’m no Spirit Mage, but I know a fair amount about souls. If this is just enchanted metal - it’s a skilled anchoring job. So this is what the distortions in your voice were about, you were coming apart. Whatever happened, I suppose The Spark bound itself to the least corrupted fragment of your soul, but if that’s the case… this must be awful for you, huh?”

The acknowledgement of knowing Chloe had both of the Penny’s gazes focusing on Eden in different ways. The Machine narrowed her eyes slightly, as she was reanalyzing her. The human wore a more surprised but happy look.

“My voice was being distorted?” The human would ask as she rocked back on her heels as she tried to recall that tidbit. “Don’t recall that, I do recall it feeling terrible as she was becoming more active though. I don’t at the moment however.”

“I am curious as to why you believe that I should be facing duress for the separation.” Mecha Penny would reply “Is it purely to do with my current housing?”

”Because this was a forced split,” tentatively, Eden made a move to place a hand on Penny’s body, if she would allow it. ”Twin Souls are half and half, but that’s a natural split in a magically enriched environment. There’s no way for you or Chloe to recreate that, so she probably just split the soul into halves, didn’t she? Even if you don’t feel the side effects, you’re wounded. A part of you has been removed, believe me I know how that feels and it’s not pleasant. Just tell me what’s going on - you’ll probably explain it to Thalia anyway, won’t you? - I’ll hear it then regardless, but this is important to me.”

The Penny in question would take a step backwards in relation to Eden’s attempt to place a hand on her. Her features never shifted from dull indifference, but the hum of lightning would gather together, vaguely aimed in Eden’s direction. “I acknowledge the fact that my soul is damaged, it was such long before this split.” She would explain slowly as she kept her gaze on Eden. “The Split itself was rather unpleasant as well, and it is my assumption that Chloe ‘cut’ along the already formed division within us rather than simply carve out halfs blindly. Still your assumption is not in error, but I would not describe it as painful, or aweful. Just cold.”

“She patched mine up after” The human Penny would chime in “Spent most of a night working on it. Would that be why I don’t notice anything?” She would ask a concerned look on her face as she peered at her other half.

“What are you trying to determine exactly?” Mecha would ask “You have more information then we do. Neither of us are versed in souls, yet it seems like you are probing for something specific.”

”Hm, that tracks,” despite the build of electricity, Eden made no move to stop approaching, until Penny moved backwards. If she hadn’t, she likely would have continued, even in spite of any voltage Penny might have delivered. But as the robot girl moved away, she retracted her hand slightly, and looked backwards toward the human form. And past her. ”I wanted to scan the magic in your body. With any luck I could map your soul and the damage in the process, but we’re out of time, it seems.

“This is how it’s gonna work,” she turned her back on Mecha-Penny, and began walking towards the human half. As she did, she reached into her coat, pulling out a number of items - a silver circlet, a chain bracelet, and finally, the Red Coin itself. Once they were stood face to face, Eden held them out for Penny to take. ”The chain is for Thalia, the circlet is for you. I’m gonna head off out of sight so she doesn’t immediately freak out, and you’ll give her the chain - it’s designed so I’ll have an easier time connecting my magic to her mind. Problem is, I’m… not exceptionally great at using this magic yet. The circlet is to keep the shutdown command I’m issuing Thalia from putting you down too. Robot half is fine, as long as she keeps up focus on her Spark, but this has to happen quickly. Tell her the chain is from Cindy to keep her stable, hold her down, do whatever you have to so we won’t have to fight her. Got it?”

The more squishy variant of Penny would quickly nod her understanding, slipping the circlet on to her head as she did. Before taking hold of the bracelet and running her thumb over it, she would take a moment to examine the enchantments within the metal of the two objects but would stay where she was, pocketing the Red coin until it was needed.

The less human version would simply move closer to her other half, her platting shifting to hide the Purification amulet she wore within her, near to her heart. Both of them would turn to face the direction that Eden had looked out towards waiting for the moment that they would catch sight of their foxy friend.

Eden nodded. Neither enchantment was particularly complex, but to a Third Eye user, or magically sensitive individual, there were evident traces of a Psychic Specialisation. She glanced back in the same direction she had looked before, through a wall and a little ways into the city, having picked up the trace of Thalia’s mind encroaching on their location. And then she began walking away, quickly vanishing from either Penny’s sight, leaving the two alone.

Minutes passed. Without Eden there to identify how far away Thalia was, neither would be able to tell, until almost five minutes later, when the fox girl emerged from out of the shadows. She was sealed, evident from the lack of her tails, but still a pair of fluffy ears sprouted from atop her head. Her hands were enwrapped in a set of winter gloves, the tops of which bore the design of paws, and had been pushed back to reveal her fingers, which held fast around the familiar white of the Meditation Stone.

”Penny..?” she asked, somewhat timidly. She was clearly not expecting there to be two individuals, and almost immediately she shrunk back a small amount, drawing her hands and the stone closer to her chest.

“Evening Thalia” “Heya Foxy!” They would both speak their greeting at the same instant before giving the other half a look.

“I’m glad to see that the stone has been helping” Mecha Penny would reply with a slight tilt of her head.

“And it’s good to see you again!” the human half said with a smile, timidly stepping closer to Thalia. “Can I give you a hug?” she would ask calmly, slipping the bracelet up her sleeve with her magic.

“Before you get too confused we are both Penny. There was an incident a few days ago that led to us being split.” The machine half would explain not moving from where she stood but there was a small smile on her face as well. “We both wanted to be here in a show of support for you”

“We are still your friend” The human Penny would add before tossing a minor glare at her other half “Even if we don’t agree on much else”

“Not the time nor place”

”You’re… both Penny?” Thalia asked incredulously. Her retracting seemed to end for a moment, and a vague comfort took over her, but there was still an obvious tenseness remaining, as the sudden rush of anxiety flooded her body. But she took another step forward, meeting the human half partway. ”S-sure, uh, yeah, hugs. Hugs are nice. Wh-what do you mean ‘split’..? That’s n-not something that’ll happen to me, right?”

“No” The human Penny would reply, wrapping Thalia in a warm hug. “Not unless you want it to anyway. Magic coins are tricky like that.”

“Our separation is more akin to those who have a Twinned soul” Robo Penny would explain “We are both Penny, or perhaps a better way to put it is that we are each a half of Penny. Such as the logical side” She would point to herself “And the emotional side” She would point to her other half still hugging Thalia gently.

“How have you been?” The human would ask as she slowly walked both her and Thalia closer to her mechanical half. As she walked them over she would silently slide it across to her far hand so that it wouldn’t be as easily noticed and so that she could quickly slip it around Thalia’s wrist if she needed to or pull it out to show it off, depending on how the next little while went. “Haven't heard much from you since we got back.”

”It’s… not been great,” she sheepishly said. As the human half hugged her, Thalia reciprocated warmly, a soft smile cresting her lips as she allowed herself to be walked towards the robot half. But despite the softness in her expression, if the robot half was paying attention, Thalia’s eyes drifted to the side, staring out of her periphery. She had a Third Eye. She could see the magic being used. ”She broke my new phone, a-and I didn’t have enough money to buy another one. S-so I looked for a job to try and keep her docile, and get enough for a new-new phone. I-I just… didn’t want you to think I wasn’t in control…”

“Hey no need for that” The squishy version would say kindly “That’s what we are here for right?”

“On that” Mecha Penny would continue on giving her less rational half a pointed look “Why not pass along the gift from Cindy? You’re forgetting she has Third Eye, it’s not going to be a surprise.” She would go on to say folding her arms across her chest as she did so.

“Huh?” Human Penny would say before recollection dawn upon her a moment later “Ah dang it” she would pout as she raised her off hand and let the delicate looking bracelet slip out of her sleeve to hang in mid air. “I was having fun being able to use magic” She would add sheepishly at being caught out.

“According to her it will help you stay in control long enough to move on to the next step” Machine Penny would explain, profusely being vague in case the Vixen was listening in. She did the same often enough back when she had been in the same situation after all.

”Cindy agreed to help me?” Thalia asked, eyes drawn from the Metal Magic to the Psychic aura the bracelet held. Almost immediately, from the moment she saw the chain, her gaze darted between it, and the two Penny’s. Something was wrong. Despite being Sealed, she pushed away from the hug with uncharacteristically intense strength, and stumbled backwards a few paces, where her hands clasped tight around the meditation stone. It was easy to tell from Thalia’s quickened breathing that a surge of fear had struck her. She scrunched her eyes closed, pulling the stone close to her chest, and stood still, attempting to regulate her breathing. ”I-I’m not gonna run... I’m not gonna run, I don’t want to run. You can’t make me.”

There was a single moment of uncertainty shared between the two Penny’s as Thalia started to panic. Neither had missed the fact that it was seeing the bracelet that caused this incident, but now was not the time to dwell on that. Human Penny would take a large step back as the Machine Penny moved forward “Thalia I am here” She would say softly as she took a step closer to the distraught girl “Focus on the stone and listen to me” She ordered, her voice still soft, stepping closer once again.

While Robo-Penny was taking all the focus, Human Penny magically killed all sound coming from her and slipped behind Thalia. Once she was hidden from sight she slipped one of the links on the bracelet open, turning it into just a simple chain.

“Breath. Once in deeply. Hold it. Then out” Machine Penny would continue walking Thalia through a breathing exercise. To both try and help calm her down and to keep the attention. “Again, deeply. Hold it. Then out.”

At the start of the next repetition Penny would throw the small chain with exceptional accuracy while also guiding it with her magic towards Thalia’s exposed wrist. The open length of chain would wrap around her arm and reseal itself the instant it came into contact with her arm.

Both Penny’s were ready to rush Thalia if needed as a backup plan, but neither of them wanted to hurt her.

Eyes still held shut, Thalia leant into the robot half as she approached, following the breathing instructions to the best of her abilities. In the brief moment of recognising the Psychic Specialisation on the bracelet, The Vixen reacted in fear, but Thalia had no intention of letting that happen. All she had to do was concentrate, she had been cultivating the skill since returning from the beach. Taking time to meditate had helped immensely, but she was sick of being controlled by something other than herself. Even if it was just the emotion driven half of Penny, one of her first asks had been to hug, and Thalia missed it.

In the temporary state between consciousnesses, focussing on herself, and the stone, and Mecha-Penny’s instructions, she only just felt the chain encircle her wrist. In a half second’s loss of focus, her eyes opened, and her full gaze fell upon the bracelet. And then she unsealed. A charred black, sprawling mass of fur erupted from her back, and her clothes fell away to be replaced with her dress. The Meditation Stone fell from her hands, and Thalia leapt back, immediately attempting to distance herself from the Penny’s.

”So that’s what this was?! You were just trying to trap m-” A clawed hand reached out to tear the bracelet free from her wrist as she shouted, but her words were cut short. A sudden looseness struck her body, as every muscle untensed and her limbs went slack, and her eyes unfocussed, until she began to fall forwards. Without being caught, her body was aimed to hit the ground face first.

The machine was prepared for the reaction that came and was right along with Thalia as she tried to gain distance, her eyes glowing from within due to her Spark. One of her spider legs lashed out and caught the meditation stone from mid air as the rest of the all snapped out as the Machine lunged at her to restrain her.

She didn’t halt that action in retaliation to Thalia suddenly dropping, but Robo Penny did catch her with much gentler than she was originally intending to do.

The human half could only watch as everything resolved itself in a few heart beats. She would rock back on to her heels as she looked off in the direction that Eden had vanished in waiting for the enigmatic girl to reappear for a moment before striding closer to Thalia, pulling out the Red Coin as she did.

”That went better than expected,” came a voice from within the human half of Penny’s head. It was easily recognisable as Eden. ”Give me a moment, she’s fighting back a little more than I thought. I’ll have her back in a sec.”

A moment passed. Then a minute. For a moment it almost seemed like she wasn’t waking up at all, but Eden gave no word about any complications or issues. But after two minutes the fox girl let out a groan, reaching up with a gloved hand from wherever she was sat or leant to rub her forehead. Her eyes flitted, as if she had just blinked open into the blazing sun.

”Owww, owowowow… did you hit me with something?” Thalia asked openly, attempting to focus on something, but only vaguely making out the shape of Mecha-Penny.

The Human Penny would be thrown for a loop at hearing Eden in her head and jumped in surprise and nearly pulled the circlet off, before understanding was reached. She would let out a breath and mutter to herself “A little more warning next time would be appreciated.” before moving to sit next to her other half.

The robot half would carefully turn Thalia over so as she sat down so that Thalia was cradled against her softly as they waited. The squishy half would barely make it past the one minute mark before she would once again be up but also currently pacing as well.

The Machine Penny would simply sit still and wait but would quickly reply once Thalia started to come back to her senses “No, but I think that Vixen tried to make an appearance before the bracelet did what it was designed to do.” She would explain as she leaned back a little to give Thalia a bit of space as she tried to focus.

”Bracelet..?” she blinked a number of times more, until the light bled away into colour, and her gaze fell onto her wrist. For a moment, Thalia attempted to hold herself on her own weight, struggling briefly against Penny’s grasp, but almost as quickly as she began, she slumped back into the hold, still visibly reeling from some kind of headache. ”What happened, what do you mean she tried to - a-are you both okay? I-I didn’t… hurt you, r-right?”

“They panicked at the sight of it” Penny would reply making no move to stand, and simply let Thalia continue to rest against her “But before anything could happen It seems to have knocked you out. Not long, a pair of minutes.”

“If it did that to you however it likely did the same, or worse to the Monster.” Her Human half would add as she stopped pacing and came over. “Might be the best time to use the Coin. You feeling up to it?” She would ask as she offered up the Red coin that Eden had given her to hold.

”I-if I use that, it’ll… change me, right?” despite asking, and looking towards the human half and the Coin, the question didn’t appear like one that Thalia needed an answer to. It was affirmation, asking herself if she was ready for it. If she was okay with leaving behind who she was to become something, and someone else. A visible aura of anxiety seemed to wash over her face, a sheen of water glossed over her eyes, and her gloved hands clenched as she stared at the coin with her Third Eye. ”I-I’m gonna miss the tails, eheh… if I do it, then me, I’m never going to see you again, a-am I? It’ll be somebody else… I want her gone, I-I want this to be over, but… I’m gonna miss you…”

“Shh it’s not going to be like that” Penny would sooth the girl gently, surprisingly it was the mechanical one speaking. “It shifts and changes your magic. Not your memories or personality. You are not going anywhere. Vixen is a product of your magic, it changing around will cause her to go away but that is it.” She would explain giving Thaila a light hug “I’ll still be here when you get done with the change I promise.”

The other half of Penny would just be watching her other half with a strange look. But she would agree with her “One of my friends at Beacon used a Red Coin. She looks completely different, with completely different powers and specializations but she is still who she was before the change.” She would smile at the fox girl warmly as explained Jannet’s transformation “So you’ll still be our friend on the other side of this coin, it won’t change that”

”You promise..?” Thalia asked, directed towards both of them. The warmth that both of them shared with her was a far cry from how things were back on the ship. Penny had been reluctant to even get too close, but now both halves were more than willing to deal out embraces. It made her happy, to still have friends in spite of everything, though it didn’t completely dissipate the nervousness that had set it. She reached up and wiped a tear from her eye, and then looked towards the human half. ”A-alright, how… How does this work? I-is there an activating thing? Pass-phrase? D-do I need a safeword?”

“Promise. You just grab hold of it, and focus on what you want it to do” The machine would say to start “The Coin will take care of the rest” Finished the human.

”Hold it, focus, sure, I-I can do that,” with one hand, she gently released herself from the Mecha-Penny’s hug, and with the other, reached over to take the Coin from the human half. In her hand she could feel it, the cold of the metal against her fingertips, but equally the odd power that it contained. With a smile towards the two girls, she took a few steps back, and clutched the Coin tight within her palm. ”Guess this is it… Um… I-I’m sorry, for how much I hurt you. But, th-thank you. For helping me, for, for not giving up on me, I-I… I’ll see you later, Squishy Penny, Optimus Penny,

"I-I love you both," was the last thing either of them would hear, before the space Thalia occupied was engulfed in red lightning. A brilliant, crimson hue radiated out from the centre as Thalia clenched her fists, focussing, holding onto the essence of herself while the Coin shattered and bled into her hand. The space seemed to exude a fervent heat, causing the air around it to ripple, obscuring visibility even further than before. But through the arcs of electricity the silhouette of Thalia could still be seen; the tails that spread and fanned out behind her receded until they were no longer visible, as did the ears atop her head. With every second she seemed to grow thinner, and shorter, losing at least four inches within the span of seconds.

Externally, Thalia could feel nothing. The changes to her height and extra appendages barely registered, but internally, within her anatomy, mind, and soul, she was wracked with pain. More pain than she could describe. Even from within the whirlwind of magic and electricity, it was possible to hear Thalia cry out in agony. A deep seated inferno had lodged within her chest, searing every nerve ending with magic, and feeding back into her soul, rending to its absolute limit. And then it all seemed to stop at once. The pain in her chest transformed into a warm, pulsing calm, spreading to every corner of her body and back, and a strange sense of clarity fell upon her, while in response, the violent surge of energy surrounding her collapsed to a standstill.

Stood where Thalia had been before, was a girl, several inches shorter than her original form. A blue school uniform enshrouded her, covered over with a darker blue jacket, and a red, striped scarf, which caused her shoulder length white-blonde hair to puff out at the sides. She looked around confused, blinking back the light after opening her eyes after what seemed like an eternity. Every breath she took was shaky, and shallow, and she looked like she might fall over or vomit at any second, though she tried her best to remain composed, and upright.



"Is... is it over? Did I do it?" she asked, her voice notably rattled, but calmer, and slightly higher pitched than Thalia's used to be.

In lieu of a normal response a small round drone popped out of Robo-Penny’s shoulder. It would float around the mechanical girl's head for a moment before focusing it’s camera lens on Thalia. A moment, and a few beeps, later it would project a small holographic image above itself of Thalia as she was currently. It wouldn’t take long to learn that it was a real time capture of the girl either.

“I believe that is sufficient enough for an answer” The still sitting Penny would reply with a small smirk.

“Woah..” the squishier Penny would say as she let out a large breath. She had been somewhat worried about how it was going the moment that Thalia started screaming out, but quickly that would be replaced by a wide smile now that her friend was okay. “How do you feel?” She would ask, stepping closer to get a better look at Thalia's new look.

”I… I’m okay. I think? You’re a lot taller than I remember,” she commented, eyeing the drone nervously. As the holograph appeared, she took a step forward towards it, trying to look at herself as best as possible. ”Why did I get fetish wear as my new outfit? Whose idea was?! - ah, ow, ow, that’s really weird, it feels like there’s something, I don’t know, in my chest? Everything feels strange, how am I meant to get used to being short, off balance, and having something in my chest?!”

“Practice” came the pragmatic response from the human Penny as she walked over and poked Thalia in the side “Might also want to try out your magic so that you have an idea what it is now as it might have changed” She would add as she walked around Thalia. Silently she would slap the links on the bracelet as she went and pull it back to her.

“I fail to see how this would constitute fetish wear” the Machine penny would add as she stood up. “Also said embedment could be part of your new physiology” She would offer up as a possibility. After all she had been a fox girl before, what she was now was not yet known.

Either way the drone would hover around Thalia so that she could also get an idea of what she looked like, even as it continued to project in the same location.

”My magic… sure, okay, let’s see how this works,” Thalia echoed, partially attempting to psych herself up for the task. When she first became a Magical Girl under Lothreen, she had known instinctively what kind of magic she had been granted. But this time, she had no idea what to do, except for one thing: summoning her weapon. Thalia concentrated for a moment, focussing on bringing the signature she knew she possessed to her hand, and then released it with a burst of wind enough to blow both Penny’s hair back. With a flex of her palm, and a brief burst of light, a sword formed within her hand, the blade shining faintly with a white and red hue. The length of the metal crackled with electricity, but before she could take it in fully, her free hand clutched at her chest, as a strong, burning pain formed at her core. ”Ow, owowow, that really hurts… why does it hurt so much? I-it’s not meant to, ah, right?”

“I don’t know…” The squishy Penny would reply as she slipped off the circlet now that it was no longer needed.

“Try focusing on the point of pain with your magic, and see if that helps” Offered the machine half as she drew her gaze away from the intricate weapon.

”A-at least I’m not losing control to some animal, huh?” Thalia joked, cracking half a smile at her own poor comedy through gritted teeth. The sound of air being sucked through a small space filled the air and she breathed deep, regulating herself as best as possible amidst the pain in an attempt to halt it. She could feel the warmth - a searing heat deep within her - but as she focussed, even the Penny’s could feel it. The air around her wavered as though on a hot day, in spite of the Penrose cold. ”That helps… I-I think, it’s my magic - causing the pain. It feels like I’m, getting rid of excess heat? This is super weird… U-um, h-how do I look? Dressing like a schoolgirl again, it feels really strange, eheh…”

“I’d say you're looking good” The Penny still subject to hormones would say with a smirk. “I’m not placing what magic would do this though” she would say, more to herself then anything though.

“It’s possible that you have acquired an OddBall set.” the more rational side would offer as she stood up, she had noticed an odd sensation brushing against the Spark. It wasn’t hostile, yet it was still notable as a memetic effect. “Seems that you have a fair amount of work to do to get acquainted with your capabilities.”

”An Oddball?” she echoed. Sword in hand, she turned it over, looking over the blade, and the brilliant shine that surrounded the edge metal. ”Are those the weird abilities that some people have? Must be pretty rare - guess I’m special in some way, right~? Wish I could’ve kept my tails though… I haven’t used pillows in years, there’s no way any of them are as comfy. Um… what, should I do now? You two are my only real friends, s-so, I don’t know what I’m meant to… do, after this.”

“That’s up to you” The machine would say with a small shrug.

“You should come with me back to the sanctuary! I can introduce you to Chloe” The human would say, overriding whatever it was her other half was going to say.

“I would advise against that Idea”

“She’s not that bad!”

“Yes. She is.”

“She took us in!”

”And look how well that’s gone for us!”

“Why don’t you want me to be happy?!”

“Because she doesn’t care about us, especially you!”

And like that the air between the two halves became nearly hostile, They had shown a united front for Thalia while she needed support, but now that reason was gone, and they still held a grudge against each other.

”H-hey, what’s this about?” Thalia asked, incredulously, half stepping forward to put herself between the stares of the two halves, and glancing between each confusedly. A shock of concern crossed over her face as she did, evidently unsure of how to address the situation at hand. ”Who’s Chloe? Is she why you split? C-can you not fight? - I-I can do stuff with both of you, you’re both my friend, but you, you need to explain it to me, okay?”

The Penny’s would step away from each other neither willing to try and go through Thalia. “Chloe is my girlfriend” The human penny would reply as she started pacing, her agitation easy to see even if she did a good job at keeping it out of her voice. “She was the first person that I met that was friendly in the community. She’s not the reason for the Split.”

“She’s a manipulative self serving witch” Fired back the machine half who stayed rooted to her spot, the blaze of red in her eyes told everything that they needed to. “She left us without any word or warning and hardly apologized for it either. But no, she’s not the core for the Split but she is one of the sticking points”

“She also helped us split without hurting us further!”

“Because she wants something from us!”

Rather than responding, the human half would just scoff and return to her pacing.

”You have a girlfriend?” she turned to the human half, a sudden smile having sprouted across her lips. ”Then obviously I wanna meet her~! She, she can’t be that bad, right? I-I’ll meet anybody you want me to as well, Optimus Penny. Eheh, just doing stuff with you both is enough for me.”

The two Penny’s reactions were instant and diametrically opposed. The Human half would giggle and hug Thalia, “Chloe is awesome, you’ll see”

The machine half would let out a snarl, and nearly start pacing herself. “Check. First. At least” She would ground out. She couldn’t exactly tell Thalia not to go with her other half, but she could possibly delay it.

”It’ll be fine, I’m a tough girl~!” she exclaimed, reciprocating the hug warmly. With physical contact, it was easy to tell that Thalia was greatly warmer than before the transformation. Her body seemed to exude heat, substantially more than a normal human body should produce. ”If anything happens, I’ll come find you, okay? But I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t even give her a chance. Plus, I wanna see kind of person you’re into~”

The mechanical half would simply run a hand down her face before sighing “Fine. Just be careful, and be aware that getting a hold of only half of us is difficult. We share the same number at the moment.” Her displeasure at the situation was easy to see but she would back off nevertheless.

Her human half would simply stick out her tongue but not stop smiling. “It might be a few days before you can meet her, she’s going to be busy for the next few days” She would explain “I’ll text you when she’s free and we can meet up.”

"Sure!"

---

"I need a job done. Some patterning. Is that doable, Carpenter?"

"Course. Your place?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be over in an 'our."

It had been a long, hard-fought night, thought Sakura as she dodged the third drowsy sedan driver in a row, zipping past to her destination in her mighty… and yet stupidly pink ride. Besides him, the little rodent-like bastard was clinging to her with its grabby paws, yet his expression remained neutral and eerie all the way towards Emily’s home.

As if a child caught doing something naughty, Sakura shut down the motorbike a bit ahead of entering the flat, and parking it nearby, tried to tiptoe as silently as possible into the flat. He did not want to disturb her host’s sleep, after all. Lots of awkward questions. Unfortunately for her, things did not go as planned. Sakura would feel a hand on her shoulder, which then forced her to turn around. She was then embraced.

“Oh, I was so worried about you!” Emily cried. The relief in her voice betrayed the high likelihood she never got a wink of sleep or rest while she awaited the girl’s return. Pushing Sakura to arm’s length and holding her shoulder, she inspected the girl’s face for any traces of serious damage. “What happened to you?”

“I...unclogged some pipes. Yeah. That’s about it. For some cash.” Sakura said, bracing herself for the inevitable.

“She formidably attended her duties in vanquishing the horror at the pool.” Umukamui chided in. Sometimes Sakura wondered if these weird fluffy things had a sadistic streak on a regular basis.

The concern on her face evaporated in an instant and was replaced by an indignant glare. "You were fighting a horror all this time, while I stayed up searching for you?" Her eye even seemed to twitch. The fire girl stood up. "I wasn't told anything. You just didn't show up without a word about being late, so it's only natural I would worry, right?"

Jonald, who was prowling around nearby, pondered adding to the conversation. While Emily had a sour attitude with him, he rarely saw her worked up like, and certainly not with other magical girls. "Were you not entrusted with her care? You have nobody to blame but yourself." the Puchuu told Emily. He was entertained, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure why Emily was yelling at a girl for doing her job.

Emily glared at Jonald momentarily, before turning back to Sakura. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura looked at Emily. “I can’t abuse your kindness, Emily. But I’m more of a stray alley cat than a lil’ girl prim and proper. You’d probably want to escort me, or whatever the reason and I’d drag you down or something.” Sakura admitted. “But hey, it worked out alright… I had a swiss knife girl with me… well except that bit about a girl’s face being melted off to the bone. That was… revolting. Fourth most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not a chore to me,” she replied, shaking her head. “I just want to help you until you’re entirely familiar with this abrupt change in your situation because I know it isn’t exactly easy,” her face turned a bit pale when Sakura mentioned the melted face. “And if you’re off dealing with that sort of stuff, then all the more reason to be with you!”
She sighed. “I do get that you aren’t a child, looks notwithstanding. But I’d rather die than leave a sister to fend for herself.”

“And it’s a good attitude to have, Emily. But still, I couldn’t expose a teenager at something that looks straight out of an 18+ hentai. What if you were defiled forever? Even if you want to look after me, you still have shreds of innocence.”

You haven’t bashed someone’s skull for a month’s salary just because he ran off his mouth. Sakura grimaced, swallowing words with a pained expression.

“It’ll be okay, I will inform you next time. Still, I will need help related to other things…” Sakura added. “I need … toiletries. And a shower. Yuck.” The younger girl protested.

“That girl, Jonald, has completely vaporized an horror offshoot with a single killing blow, within less of a month existing. I dare say, her… battle instinct is definitely abnormal.” Umukamui added, this time to the other Puuchu. “I believe we might be able to… shorten the training considerably.”

Jonald nodded. “Then that is excellent,” he nodded. “Off to a running start, it would seem. Much better than a certain girl who wet herself the first time she saw a monster.”

Emily’s face twitched. She even had to take a deep breath in and out. But she did not otherwise respond to that rat. Looking at Sakura, she continued. “Teenager? I’m quite a bit older than that, too,” she told the girl. However true this statement may be, it became hard to trust when she then asked, “What is hentai?” But she then shook her head. “Well, that’s not important. Lets get you inside and tended to, and then I want you to tell me about what happened,” she turned around and started towards her place. “In detail, that is.”

Sakura sighed. Oh well, at least she didn’t hit her on the back of the head. Explaining was cheap.

There were goblins in the sewers. Of course, there were always goblins in the sewers, but hey, when there were goblins in the sewers, who did you call?

A couple of magical girls who couldn’t fight in the big leagues, obviously.

Rain came down heavily, turning snow into slush as two magical girls stood before a manhole. Penrose had been struck by a wet spell recently, and the amount of rain that had fallen in the last couple of days turned any travel by foot through the city into an unpleasant slog. Down in the sewers, it was probably even worse; already, the two could hear the loud rushing of water through sewer canals.

But a job was a job, and there were gobs to be got, so they’d obv have to set off.

‘Fufufu…’ Ronin chuckled, where she stood in front of said manhole, her arms crossed as she prepared herself mentally. She grinned. ‘Obviously, when you’re new in town, you got to aim for the lowest of the low, and work your way upwards! And nobody is lower than the sewer-goblins! I bet you think by hiding in the disgusting darkness below the city you’re safe, hm? Well, you thought WRONG!’ Ronin told, as she held something above her head. ‘Behold! The grand weakness of your plan and that which guides the bringer of your doom! The FLASHLIGHT!’ she called dramatically, as she clicked a button and the decently strong but supremely common flashlight lit up.

‘… Alright, let’s go!’ Ronin called excitedly as she just up and leapt down the open manhole, one hand on her sheathed sword and the other holding the flashlight to brighten the way on her way down. She was also ready to create a barrier to block herself from dropping straight down into sewer-water. Believe it or not, but not even Ronin wanted to land in that.

Penny for her part was just amused by the smaller girl's actions and followed her down into the sewers at a much more sedate pace by using the ladder. Her Transformation Blade currently slung over her shoulder in the form of an advanced rifle of some description and her phone was set within her breastplate it’s flashlight feature turned on so that she wouldn’t be blinded by the dark herself.

She had signed up for this job for a few reasons. One her house was connected to the sewers so it was in her best interest to help keep them clear, and two she had gotten the same message her other half had gotten and wanted to know who this Ronin was. So far it was proving to be a good decision.

Underground, the chill and dampness was even more oppressive than it had been outside. The ceiling dripped constantly, while the canals were definitely overflowing. Each step was accompanied by a loud splash, and as Deni and Penny’s respective flashlights swept the area, the width of their beams were clearly visualized by all the water coming from every direction.

The sewer system that they were in looked to be old, porous and cracked concrete walls reinforcing the tunnels, while strips of reflective tape served as a guide to where the walls and the catwalks were, even in dim light conditions. It wasn’t hard to navigate the straight tunnels, but the discomfort remained. Rushing water formed a constant white noise that dulled their hearing, while the sloshing of water-logged shoes made stealth difficult too. An umbrella may have been nice, but a full-body raincoat would have been better...neither of which the magical girls were privy to.

The goblins within the sewers, however, appeared to have been populous enough that even without any particular way of tracking them, the girls could chance upon them, in just five minutes, in fact! As they neared another intersection, they heard the strange, pitched squealing of those dirty greenskins, communicating in their own rudimentary language. Five distinct voices sounded about in rapid-fire speech, but who knows if there were more? No one spoke Goblin, after all.

‘… Maaan, not what most would imagine about the adventures as a Magical Girl, huh, hah,’ Ronin said with a chuckle, as her drenched feet were forced to walk through the water in order to conserve magic. ‘So, Penny, you who’ve been here longer, do you know how it looks down here? Roughly how many goblins we’ll be dealing with? Anything like that?’ she then asked, looking to the other Magical Girl. Realizing something, she started putting Reinforcement spells on her flashlight. ‘Just to make sure no goblin breaks it, that’d be bad. I could do the same to yours?’ the samurai-girl offered, before she looked forward again. ‘Should I be quiet? Or perhaps it’s to our advantage that the goblins hear us because they’ll come attack us, or will they flee?’

Suffice to say, it wouldn’t be a very quiet trip with Ronin here.

Then they heard the goblins already, and Ronin smirked. ‘I’m thinking kill all but one and have the last guide us to the nest as it flees in panic? … Because there’s no such thing as redeemable goblins, right?’ Ronin asked, before quickly starting to dash ahead at the voices if allowed to.

“It’s hard to say, goblins always seem to sprout up no matter how thoroughly we clean the area out” Penny would reply with her weapon held at the ready. She was doing her best not to think about the slime and muck they were trudging through. She was glad her outfit came with tall boots otherwise this whole affair would be that much more nasty, that said she was still planning on taking a shower or three once she got out of here.

“But I’ll not say no to protecting my light source” She would agree to the protective spells on her phone. She could fix it if it broke but keeping it from doing that would definitely be a good option. Ronin happily leaned over and placed a hand on the phone to Reinforce it before returning her hand to the sword as Penny continued talking.

“Sound doesn’t matter too much from my experience, the gabo’s tend to assume that they have the advantage so long as they outnumber their enemies.” By the time Penny would explain that they would have found themselves at the first pack of goblins.

In lieu of answering Ronin’s inquiry about the qualities of a goblin. Penny simply leveled her towards the pack and let off an opening statement with a harsh crackle of static. As her rifle fired out a streak of brilliant blue as her laser round sought to end one of the goblins before her mini ally could make it to the front lines.

Because, after all, the only good full blooded goblin was the one that never left its hole.

Well, not like these goblins have left their holes yet.

As Ronin and Penny’s flashlights lit up the pack, they could see that the creatures were small, hunched-over little freaks, their skin taut against their bones and their dilated eyes milky in the brightness of the light. A pack of six goblins turned, but as Penny’s laser bolt seared through the fetid air, that number was already reduced by one. They gurgled, half surprised, their rotted fangs bared for just a moment.

But for goblins, even midgets like Ronin were terrifying; no magical girls were as small as a toddler, after all.

As the samurai charged them, they turned and fled, scrambling on all fours to get away.

‘Heeeey, come back! I’m not done with you!’ Ronin called so happily, but also kept her wits about as she ran, guiding her flashlight around and preparing to put up a barrier at any point. But so far, it was just to follow the goblins back to the horde! Besides, with Penny here, they surely couldn’t be in trouble!

Penny took off in a run herself, making sure that she didn’t lose sight of Ronin, she would take another shot or two at the fleeing pack as she ran as well. Losing sight of the monsters wasn’t as bad an outcome after all, Sound magic could be used to find them again if needed, but losing track of an ally is never a good idea regardless of what one was hunting.

Still, she conjured up a short steel club as she ran in case these goblins were leading them into an ambush.

The chase continued, the magical girls’ vigilance so far not pulling up any surprise ambush from the goblins. One minute passed. Five minutes. Ten minutes! And the first goblin flagged, his pace dropping as his emaciated stature could no longer sustain such a tense run. Tripping over his feet, he fell face-first into a dirty puddle with a cry of pain. His companions turned back for just a moment, before the biggest of them roared and they continued to run away, leaving him to his terrible fate.

Ronin skipped and landed right on the goblin’s back, just pressing him down into the water for a bit, and stopping there.

‘Think they’re misleading us? Trying to exhaust our batteries and stamina? Making us lose our way back out? If so, think we can use this guy for something productive?’ Ronin asked her running companion, also while keeping track if the goblin was about to attack her. Too bad Ronja wasn’t here right now…

Penny would have hurled her club at the lead goblin when he slowed to roar at the other goblins. Whether or not it landed a blow she would come to stop next to Ronin as her rifle flowed into itself returning to its original bladed nature. “Don’t know, I figured that they are just running because they are scared at this point” She would say as she watched the rest of the pack flee further into the distance.

“I could use some sound to try and locate where their lair is hidden away at, but that’s about it. Don’t know about that one, nothing I can do to pull any use out of him” She would explain with a shrug as she rolled the handle of her weapon in between her fingers.

Unfortunately, the big goblin wasn’t actually slowing down to roar at his buddies. Fortunately, Penny’s aim was true anyways; as he ran away, her club caved in the back of his skull and killed him instantly, which served to only encourage the goblins to run further away.

Ronin’s own goblin was busy flailing futilely too, practically choking and drowning in the shallow puddle that his nose was broken into. Red plumes blossomed underwater as the two magical girls casually discussed tactics while the goblin they waterboarded continued to squirm and twitch and spasm.

‘Hm, yeah, yeah! Let’s try that! These three individual goblins aren’t going to matter if we find the nest!’ Ronin said, specifically about trying to use sound to locate the nest, and then noted that the goblin she was standing on was getting drowned. That wasn’t a very nice way to go, so she’s going to jump off him for a second.

Penny called back her thrown club upon receiving the go ahead for her Sound idea. Once she got a hold of it a small application of magic would shift it into a large spiked pole, which she then proceeded to ram into the ground, through the one goblin they had ‘captured’.

She would take a moment to center herself before striking the pole with the flat of her blade. The result was a surprisingly potent wave of sound echoing out albeit at a, very, very low frequency.

Low frequency vibrations were much sturdier at long distances, and not very common, it would give Penny a decent snapshot map of things within a hopefully wide area. And since she also had the response frequency of a goblin, due to the fact that she had rammed the pole she was using as a focal point for this bit of magic though one, she should be able to tell what was and what wasn’t a goblin as well.

The goblin let out a wet gurgle as the pole impaled it, finally putting the miserable creature out of its misery. Penny’s attempts to scan further down the sewer, however, was disrupted by the sheer amount of white noise all around them. The rushing off flooded canals, the splashing of water seeping between the cracks. No longer a machine, the human girl wasn’t able to make any sense out of the low frequency wave that she sent out; her mind, reliant as it was on sight, lacked the mental faculties for interpreting the rebound of her sonic waves, while her magic, untrained as it was, could only give her a vague sense of the immediate area, which could already be visually observed. Certainly, there were no invisible goblins anywhere near.

In the distance, they could both hear the erratic splashing of the retreating goblins, but that was all.

“‘Tch that’s annoying” Penny would grumble as she tore out the spiked pole from the ground “To much ambient sound, can’t get a clear image” She would explain, even as she knew that it wasn’t entirely a true statement. “Nothing to it but just hunting them down the old fashion way I suppose” She would continue as she sheathed her blade and leveled off her makeshift spear in the direction of the remaining goblins they were aware of.

“Race ya!” She would call out moments before she went sprinting off at them, no longer caring about stumbling into an ambush. As at this point that would just make this hunt all the easier. Besides she now had two melee weapons, rather than a melee and a ranged weapon, and she was much more confident in her CQC then her marksmanship.

‘Hey, wait!’ Ronin told after, not having been prepared for (nor really having the means for) a sudden race with Penny. Still, she wouldn’t just hand over a victory! She shot a small amount of Reinforcement magic into herself before she took off after Penny, hand on her sword just in case she’d actually reach any living goblins at any point.

The chase continued through the frantic darkness. One goblin sprained their foot and was promptly skewered. Another one collapsed, exhausted, and was cut into half. The third, and the last one, took a wrong turn, ending up at a dead end. Whipping around at the sight of the magical girls, it tried to jump up to reach the ventilation grate, but couldn’t. The creature let out a cry of desperation and despair, before curling up against a corner, beady eyes closed and hands up in a final plea for mercy.

It received none.

Penny simply brought down the none spiked end on top of it’s skull with earth shattering force, crumpling the wretched goblin into a pile of gore. “Well that’s the last of this pack” She would say as she stood from her finishing blow.

“We could go hunting for more of them, but I’m kinda wanting to take a shower” Her conjured weapons would splinter and sublimate away as she turned to regard her small friend “So what says you to us getting out of here?” She would ask taking a look at the ventilation grate. They might be able to use it to get out of here, if not it wouldn’t be too hard to find a Manhole cover with Metal magic.

‘Aw, but I haven’t gotten to do anything!’ Ronin momentarily play-complained, but when she looked down further into the sewage… Yeah, she wasn’t all that confident she could find a way out on her own, and the last thing she wanted was drag Penny on a quest she didn’t want to go on. Was a bit much of an unnecessary risk. ‘Aw, okay,’ Ronin sighed a bit, but the outside world was a much more pleasant environment. Maybe she should try to go for a bounty that wasn’t actively avoiding her next…

“We can definitely come back later, just not a lot of time at the moment”

With no intent on diving deeper into the sewers and satisfied with slaying five, the two magical girls left, climbing out of the darkness and back onto the soaked streets of Penrose.

And in the unlit shadows that they left, slithering out of the torrential waters, something claimed the flesh they had left behind.

---

‘Kimble,’ Lea said her name from behind her once again, next time she could find her alone. ‘Are you ready to go see your mother?’

This time Kimble was wandering in a closed furniture store; she hopped from tables and chairs to beds and chandeliers, sometimes breaking stuff, though it did not seem intentional for her. She turned and smiled upon seeing Lea. “Hi, Frida!” She greeted the insect-attuned monster girl, and then nodded, flapping her fake ears. “I knew it, that’s why you came to see me.” She took in a deep breath. “Okay...I’m ready.”

‘Good. Then let us depart,’ Lea told, and with a start, the surrounding area was split from the world of Penrose. The area separated from Earth and arrived in the Overcity, placed upon the black-white checkered floor. Lea, unconcerned with the phenomenon, turned around. ‘Follow me.’

With Kimble following behind, Lea took off at considerable speed towards the decided coordinates. After the previous meeting with her, Lea had taken the time to find Lamashtu. She was not hard to find, the mother of monsters proudly welcomes any of her “children”, for as a monster girl Lea was apparently her child. A very infuriating woman, who would give and take help but also never consider anyone to owe the other, because they were family and that’s what families do. Utterly inconvenient for Lea, who wanted all the deities and lesser forces to owe her…

Still, it helped with planning this meeting. She’d started with asking if having this meeting was alright, and also asked if Lamashtu was aware of what had happened to Kimble. Having received her answers, they’d then decided to meet at neutral grounds…

There was a forest in the midst of the Overcity. It was a magical forest where both Lea and Lamashtu would hopefully find themselves decently comfortable. At the center of said forest was a clearing with a gazebo, a suitably neutral space where one could sit inside the gazebo and talk, assuming one is the right size for it. Lea had suggested this place as the meeting grounds…

And long before they would arrive they would be able to tell that Lamashtu was waiting for them. Because her presence filled the forest, it was a welcoming feeling, one that curled around them in a whisper of a loving embrace. For it was no mere avatar that Lamashtu had conjured for the meeting; it was The Mother herself, not an all too uncommon occurrence for her when it came to meeting her children out in the Overcity.

Still when they did make it to the clearing Lamashtu was sitting within the Gazebo cooing over a monstrously large spider, one that came up to her knee were she to be standing. She herself was much taller than any mortal would be but her size was still constrained as she stood just shy of eight feet tall. Their arrival was not unnoticed for long and when it was a warm smile spread across her features “Lea my dear how good to see you again. And Kimble, my adorable sweet Kimble, I’ve missed you.” She would call out as they approached “I’m delighted to hear that you wanted to come see me. Come sit it has been too long.”

Lea landed in the clearing ahead of Kimble, and when Lamashtu greeted them, she raised a single hand in return. After that… she simply stepped aside, her eyes looking back to Kimble. She was the real subject for this meeting, after all.

Kimble looked nervous, with shifty eyes and drooping artificial tails, as she slowly approached the gazebo, keeping her hands curled like an agitated cat. Her mouth opened in awe upon seeing her former Patron. “Mama…?” She whispered to herself. She looked back down at the seat, then at Lamashtu, and slowly sat down, keeping her eyes on the Deity.
“Mama Lamashtu...Is it really you?”

“Ooh, kitten, of course it’s me” she would say softly before glancing down at the spider and giving it a small shooing motion causing it to crawl away, though not far. Lamashtu’s body would crack and contort as the ancient deity forced her body to shrink and compact so that she was no longer towering of her most recently lost child. “You made me so proud in your first fight, you used the winds as an extension of your claws and simply tore that meddlesome girl apart.” She would offer up as she looked over Kimble with fondness “I brought you the largest fish I could for dinner that night”

“But my little wind storm, look what they’ve done to you” She would say softly reaching out to touch the artificial ears, sadness evident in her features. “And your tails as well. I’m sorry that you had to go through that awful process” Sorrow laced her voice at the loss of her child's most defining characteristics, but that was alright. Kimble had come back to her on her own. They could get past this, she hadn’t lost her little windstorm just yet.

Kimble kept her head lowered, her eyes shaded by her hair. “So, you do remember me, nya...” She mumbled, and she gripped her knees. “But...If you do, then...Why...”
She grit her teeth, as tears fell down her cheeks. She then looked up, her expression having turned to raging grief.

“Why did you abandon me, nya!? Why didn’t you come and save me? I was trapped for so long, waiting for you, but you never came!” Winds started picking up outside the gazebo, turning into an ominous breeze.

Lea had sat down at her own seat, and was a little startled by the winds. Still, she kept her attention on the conversation, a bit tense.

Lamashtu blinked a few times in apparent confusion at the sudden outburst, unconcerned with the growing winds “Abandon you?” She would ask incredulously “I never abandoned you. Justine and her sister were never a threat to you or anyone else” She would go one to say “They desired too much for their ritual to ever succeed, the panic that would have engulfed them had they not been marched on Beacon would have caused their grip on everyone to fail, then you and your siblings would have outnumbered them and would have simply torn them apart.” She spoke earnestly as if she truly believed what she had said. “There was no need to discipline Justine myself, though perhaps I should have done something. She was after all a bit rough with some of you”

“Not like Beacon” She would spit out the name with a surprising amount of venom, her countenance twisting into a hateful visage “Who has continued to inflict such horrors upon you. They took you tails from you, your adorable ears, your fury” She took a moment to set aside her wrath once becoming a seemingly kind woman “But we can easily fix that now that you’ve gotten away from them and I have you to thank for that Lea” She would say with honest relief.

“Is that Horror still treating you well dear?” She would ask the fey like Monster girl “He still seemed like a pushy old man, so my offer to break you away from him still stands.”

‘… He treats those who are useful to him well. As such, I have no complaints,’ Lea told, revising that perhaps letting Kimble overhear this could have negative consequences. No matter. She was… hopefully too focused on Lamashtu.

"Don't you badmouth Beacon!" Kimble stood up, pointing a finger. "Unlike you and your excuses, Mistress helped me when I was alone, nya! She saved me, gave me a new purpose, taught me how to love again. What Beacon took from me...Was nothing but a curse!"

She paused for a moment, breathing heavily, as Lamashtu addressed Lea.
Kimble's eyes widened, and she turned to look at the monster girl. "You...You work for a Horror? I thought...You...Nh!" She lifted her hairband, holding it up in the air. "This...This is all that you wanted!" She audibly hissed.

"You wanted a cute cat to turn into a hunter of humankind! You never cared about how we felt, just how many you could litter and scatter into the world!" Now the winds have developed into a whirlwind, causing the gazebo at the center of it to slightly creak.
"NO! No more! You're no Mama to me!" She threw the headband with all her strength on the floor, causing the band to snap in half.
"My new family...Is with Mistress, and Beacon!"

Lamashtu didn’t move in reaction to Kimble’s outburst, her eyes didn’t narrow, her smile didn’t waiver, her posture didn’t tense up. Yet it was impossible to miss the shift in her mood. For the calm welcoming feel of her aura very suddenly turned violent and caustic, becoming a miasma of choking anger.

“Is that any way to talk to your Mother?” The Goddess would ask in a menacing hiss. “And listen to yourself, Beacon has done nothing but poison your mind against me and the rest of your family. Scouring away your best features, domesticating you, they don’t care about you” Her voice never raised but it still felt like it drowned out any other sound in the forest as her eyes bored into Kimble.

“But I am a forgiving mother, so I will give you a chance to… Rethink your callous words and cast aside this petty allegiance to Beacon. So that you can come back home” Her pretty words made it seem like it was an offer, a second chance, but the amount of menace laced into her words and the utter hate that glimmered in her eyes told a much different story. This was a demand, an order, and one that would not be tolerated to be disobeyed.

Kimble closed her eyes. “I’m done listening to you, Lamashtu.” When they opened, they glowed with green magic. “Next time we meet, I’ll banishy you from this world!” And then, she launched herself backwards, turning the whirlwind into a raging hurricane that ripped the gazebo off it’s foundations, likely tipping it right over. By the time the dust had settled and the winds had calmed down, Kimble was gone.

‘…’ Lea had, decently calmly, simply levitated herself and created a sphere of her own wind around herself that shielded herself from Kimble’s temper tantrum, placing herself by the side where she wouldn’t have to do anything additionally. She was sitting in mid-air, lightly rocking her crossed right leg, had her arms crossed lightly enough that one of her hands could be raised so that she could inspect her own nails with the most disinterested eyes on this side of the Overcity. That went about as badly as it could have.

When the hurricane had subsided Lamashtu was still exactly where it was she had been before Kimble’s spell tore the gazebo apart. The look on her face was anything but pleasant however, it was a baleful rictus of hate locked glaring off in the direction that Kimble had fled.

“Fine then” She would say venom and hate dripping off her words “If that is how you want it to be then that is how it shall be” Slowly she stood power billowing off of her as she did so. A gesture with one of her hands and the corpse of the spider that she had been petting would float back to her. The poor creature had the unfortunate luck to be with in the hurricane when it roared into existence.

With hardly any effort Lamashtu flooded the corpse with magic, causing it to sputter and spasm as she forced it into unlife. It would begin to grow larger stopping once it was standing six feet high at the eyes. After a minute it would stop spasming the gleam of intelligence once again visible within its many eyes and he stood in front of the Mother of Monsters slowly waiting, a fell energy could be seen coursing within it through the still present tears in it’s exoskeleton as it stretched and got acquainted with life.

“Seek out Kimble and her new found ‘Mistress’” The ancient deity would command her new child “Devour the Mistress first.” The now gargantuan, undead, tarantula would let out a screeching roar in acknowledgement as a swarm of even more spiders seemed to bleed into existence from the forest and crawl into the mostly empty husk before it skittered away at unnatural speeds.
Turning away from the newly crafted nightmare Lamshtu refocused on Lea “Would you be willing to find someone for me? It seems that I need to move my plans forwards faster than I was originally planning on and have no way to contact my agent without drawing attention to myself.” She would explain calmly, even though the hate bleeding from her eyes never waivered.

‘I can do that,’ Lea said, as if unconcerned with the display of power that had been shown before her. ‘What message should I deliver?’

“The Metal one is beyond us for the moment, as vengeance must come first.” Lamashtu would say as she pulled out what looked to be an egg, save for the fact that it was blood red “Spread my gifts and lash out at the Light. Once that is said give her this as well, she will understand.” She would go on to say offering up the blood egg for Lea to take. “You are looking for a dark magical girl who’s been working on making it into the family, her name is Vivian, she will likely be found near Cindy’s territory.”

Lea listened, before reaching forward and taking the egg with both hands, accepting the blood red egg with a curious look. Eventually, Lea nodded. ‘Very well. Consider it done,’ she said. Normally, she’d have requested to be owed something in return, but Lea knew that wasn’t how Lamashtu operated. ‘I wish you luck with your vengeance,’ sounded brief and appropriate enough. For the moment, Lea had something else on her mind. She had to find Kimble, and fast. Perhaps it would be possible to prevent the complete collapse of their relationship. … But perhaps not see Kimble WHILE carrying the egg. Did Kimble even have the means to return to Penrose on her own? … Eh.

“Thank you my dear” Lamashtu would say kindly the image of a kindly mother reappearing for a moment before her rage returned “I must be off but it was good to see again, even if the circumstances weren’t as pleasant as I had hoped.”

Turning away a portal of hellfire would spring up in front of the goddess one in which she would walk through without any hesitation. It would vanish shortly after she walked through it, leaving Lea alone within the windswept clearing.

‘It was Kimble’s request to meet you, and I obliged, so I should apologize for the meeting turning out like this. Until next time,’ Lea nodded to Lamashtu’s words, keeping a careful hold on the egg so it didn’t slip through her hands _{which can happen, incorporeal}, waiting for the goddess to vanish before taking off at considerable speed, hoping to catch up with Kimble. She spread out her minions in an attempt to cover as large an area as possible…

However, after a long search it’d turn out that Kimble had vanished out of her range, and with such Lea returned to Penrose. It was time to find Vivian, then.

After the chain of disasters that rocked Penrose months prior, the urban exterior of the city had been the first to be abandoned, leaving naught but concrete husks devoid of people. An earthquake had struck soon after, demolishing much of the infrastructure. Even now, coated in snow and ice, the eastern boundary of Penrose was a desolate wasteland where even monsters did not roam. Rebar poked out like gravemarkers, furniture and affixtures too cumbersome to be brought along with evacuees rusted away in the elements. Few buildings still stood tall, but their pride meant nothing. In time they will collapse too, falling over and breaking apart. Eastern Penrose was no longer repairable. Now, only demolition was feasible.

And for one building, demolition was today.

A meteorite fell from the sky, piercing an apartment building before grinding into the ground. The shockwave hit seconds later, a roar of sound ripping through the building and shaking it to the core. Weeks of exposure and ruination had taken its toll; this final blow was too much, and fractures climbed up and down the cement structure, the entire building falling apart moments later. A plume of frost and dust rose up, juxtaposing the apartment’s downfall. For a long time, the rumbling of stone and snow resounded through the abandoned district.

Then, silence.

It was one of these nights for Reaver, as he walked around the street trying to scrape the last bits of grime from his hand. Patron deities were kind of picky with their offerings, and the Allfather was no exception. He had gotten used to blood and the screams of swines and lambs, only for him to realize Odin was sick of pork already.

But human sacrifices, as widespread as they were, definitely were not compatible with human society. Recently even slaughtering animals was frowned upon. Animal Rights? Pff yeah, more like weakling hipsters. It was then when he noticed the sudden collapse of an adjacent building, and secretly began to chant.

"Please, let it be meteoric iron." He wished. Some of the most gnarly weapon legends came from meteorites. And, thus, he went to check on the rubble, if only to keep his mind distracted from his patron's banter.

Even in the darkness, the meteorite glowed bright as Reaver approached, a soft silver hue emanating from the endpoint of the trench that its crash made. Half-buried by dirt and stone, the fallen star was of a most curious shape. Strange rivulets swirled around an oval form, almost like vines that had entangled something entirely. There was an electrifying hum still, the heat of impact having yet to fade, but before Reaver could properly investigate the meteorite, it split apart.

Like an egg, the meteorite split apart length-wise, a hiss of steam bursting out. In that misty shroud, an amethyst light glowed, the surest sign of magic, while a slender hand brushed away the shroud soon after, to reveal a woman with midnight-blue hair and an elegant saber. Sweat clung to her form, but her outfit, which appeared to be designed to expose about just as much as a bikini would, enabled ventilation in such cool weather; soon, her flushed skin returned to its alabaster tone.

The lady with a blue rose pinned over her breast looked around, as if ascertaining her surroundings. It took a couple seconds after for her to notice Reaver, and when she did, she had but one question, magenta eyes aglow with assured confidence: “Warrior of Darkness, what lands have I descended upon?”

Not meteoric Iron, but I am not complaining. Specially with that skimpy suit of hers clinging to a rather well developed body. Reaver thought to himself, spending quite a few seconds engraving this image into his mind before he took notice of the girl’s speech.

She’s into that kind of play too? Awesome The dark knight smirked, before addressing the girl. “Tis’ not but the dregs of human greed, ravaged by nature’s wrath. The Levant of Penrose, to be more precise.” He said. “Might I enquire why a lady of such poise and elegance was trying to emulate a falling star? It has been said that such activities might… impact in one’s appearance in a most undesirable manner.”

Amaryllis raised a brow, then smiled, stepping out of her meteoric shell. “Merely an inquiry upon my own capabilities as magus and swordswoman. With our city plummeting towards such dire straits in recent times, tis by necessity that I must further hone my talents, lest what I treasure be plunderer by ruffians aligned with falsehearted righteousness or craven malevolence. If I attain further scars from doing so, let it stand only as a testament of my knightly oaths.”

“I see. I wish you luck on that. “ The man known as Reaver pondered what to say. “They call me...Reaver. Warrior of the Allfather. At your service…” Reaver added, not wishing to break the character upon hearing the recklessness of this...minimalist knight broad. It was then when he winced.

“Really…” He raised an eyebrow. That ...spiteful bastard. He wanted some action being done. He rolled his eyes. “Actually… now that our paths have crossed, lady knight, my … patron wishes for me to engage in duel with you. Nothing...personal, but I must oblige. What say you?”

“Amaryllis Evenings, Knight of Rose,” the woman responded, tilting her head down in a curt bow. As rusted petals floated down like snow, she turned, her meteoric shell breaking into dust with a snap of her fingers. Some more adjustments at hand, huh?

Before she could depart, however, the man spoke up again, eliciting a small sigh from her.

“Looks like he leans more towards War than Wisdom, no?” Amaryllis chuckled to herself, and stepped out from the trench, her gold-trimmed boots clicking against the concrete. “If Odin will be satisfied with a small exchange, I’m willing to indulge such battlelust. In exchange...how about you share with me, on which side you stand for this upcoming conflict?”

"He is mad my piety with… offerings has been sparse. Probably… can't really read him half of the time" Reaver said. "As for sides… I guess I will fight for the banner my patron sees more just. There is no Allfather without All".

“Justice, hm?”

Her Sword sang as it swept through the air, humming with anticipation. Amaryllis stepped five paces away from Reaver, before turning to face him once more.

“Very well; draw your blade.”

“Fine… Awaken, my Blade.” He said, as he readied himself. This was going to be one of these days. His Gram replica shone with a dark sheen, as the ominous armor clanked.

A good, unified aesthetic, this Reaver had. Amaryllis drew in a breath.

A single snowflake floated down.

The world faded away.

It touched the tip of her Sword.

And she took one step to cover ten meters. Sliding in low, the Knight of Rose left a gust of wind in her wake, the Silverlight streaking forwards to thrust into Reaver’s solar plexus.

Of course, just as she took a step back, a bunch of barriers and reinforcement magic sprung up, as he assumed a defense stance. She seemed to be the speedy type, so instead of matching her strength head on pacing himself was probably a necessity.

Translucent walls shattered as Amaryllis’s sword ran through them, the piercing strike stopped only once Reaver’s armor and magic overlapped. It left a scratch in the armor, rather than breaking right through.

The swordsman retreated, disengaging. She had thought him to be the angsty angry type, but it looked like he was going to tank up after all. Been a while since she fought someone like that. The last one was...Shona, back at the stadium.

Huh. Never did have a conclusive duel with the Crystal Knight.

The scratch upon Reaver’s breastplate turned silver; with the disturbed crackling of roots seeping out of concrete, ivy-like chains spawned out of the mark Amaryllis left, attempting to bind the Warrior of Darkness and sunder his armor.

“Heh, that’s kinky..” Reaver smirked, before drawing once more his hands, and stabbing the ground, using a purifying effect upon his vicinity. Odin… was also a god of healing. As he did so, his right eye began to glow. “Why don’t you show me more?” He boasted. He knew she was strong, and Odin knew it probably. This was some sort of punishment… but Reaver was no coward.

The chains continued unabated by the purifying light; Amaryllis’s patron was merely a Lesser Force, and metal was merely metal. The chains continued to spawn and grow, lengthen and multiply, as if to mummify Reaver under layers of silver. The phantom pains that her patron communicated with seared her eardrums, but the Knight of Rose brushed it off. It was a duel, after all, not a fight. Unless Reaver was guilty of killing an orphanage or something of the sort, she had no particular need to murder him.

“You’ve given me no need to, warrior,” came Amaryllis’s reply. “Does your patron wish for you to fight, or for you to lose?”

“I figure it’s both.” Reaver added. “But I suppose i’m not out of all tricks, yet.” If the chains were indeed just metal,and not a curse… they could be cut. Reaver’s sword glowed ominously, and like the parent sword his blade had come from, it cleaved metal. Gram had indeed cloven an anvil and even a dragon’s scales. What kind of replica would Odin grant Reaver who could not do as much as cut metal, More so if it was silver, not iron.

Of course this meant Reaver had also cut himself and his armor too. But that was kind of a bonus. Delightful pain that sharpened his senses.”Gram is the name of this child, like the parent. Mere… junk won’t stop it.” He added, as he began to paint runes on the blade with his own blood.

“My chains are not mere ‘junk’,” Amaryllis replied, watching him brute-force his way through the bindings, “But my Sword is just a sword. Let us cross our blades, properly this time.”

With that, she reduced what remained of her chains to dust, resuming a stance that saw her sword arm fully extended, her free hand resting against her lower back. This time, the Knight of Rose waited for his own approach.

“Yeah, and I am the Queen of Penrose.” Reaver said, before adopting a fighting stance. He focused his mana on reinforcing both his blade and his armor, before lunging, the sword stretched for a wide cleave, directly aimed at the head.

“And I was so certain that title belonged to Cindy Ford,” Amaryllis replied, a smile flitting over her lips again. But that was all she could spare, before she stepped in to receive the spiked warrior’s blow. Slanting her own sword, she deflected the oncoming blow as she passed by Reaver. A burst of sound emanated from one of the blood-marked runes in that instant, thunder clapping at close-range.

But momentum was preserved, and the instinct remained. Swaying from the stunning blast, Amaryllis dropped low, passing by Reaver as her legs coiled. From behind, she thrust backward with her own Sword, aiming for the back of the warrior’s knee.

Reaver, surprisingly, did not dodge, and took the knee for lost. There simply wasn’t a better way to pave the difference in nimbleness and skill than resigning to take damage. Even the sound blast had not done much, she was that skilled. In that case, he just needed to drag her to a field he was more comfortable in. He was a warrior and a scrapper, unrefined, unrelentless and savage. So when the sword struck true, he activated both his regeneration and a healing spell, trying to ensnare the blade in a prison of his own flesh, as he brought down the elbow and the rest of his body upon the much more naked Sword Princess.

As Reaver drew his magic up, however, he felt a distinct blockage in the area of the wound, the flow of mana there ceasing. His regeneration, though slowed, still functioned as best as it could when trying to heal around a foreign object, but his healing spell scattered to bits. Amaryllis withdrew her Sword without incident, filling the gap with metal, and as Reaver dropped down with the People’s elbow, she rolled out of the way, retreating ten meters before springing to her feet like a tipsy drunk.

The amethyst crystal on her choker hummed with a soft light, but still, she stepped as if she were striding upon a tightrope.

“Continue?” was her question. “Odin’s not mad enough to desire a deathmatch, is he?”

Reaver stood up, and he said. “No, he’s not. He’s actually mildly amused I could last this long without suffering major injuries.” Reaver added as he looked at his own leg, and without a second thought, chopped the offending part, allowing it to heal and regenerate.” That’s what years of magical power do to a person, huh. I must get to that level.” Reaver finally admitted. Pride was a commodity he could not afford yet.

“Quite the patron you have there,” Amaryllis replied, only grimacing when Reaver dismembered himself. With a flick of her own wrist, slender chains wove itself upon his flesh, forming rudimentary stitches to keep everything together as his regeneration kicked in. “I’ve met my fair share of resilient individuals, but I confess that you’re the first to respond to a ‘curse’ through amputation.”

“Eh, he let me pick whatever I wanted. He’s reasonable, at least compared to others.” Reaver said as the pain and the throbbing the regeneration worked made him wince. “It’s all good. Blood keeps flowing… makes me… feel...alive.” He said, before quickly composing himself. He was craving for more… flesh and blood. That wasn’t good.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m some sort of Draugr.” He said, while examining the result of his healing and regeneration. He did not need the healing to make it functional, but a cadaveric-looking leg would beg more questions than answers. “So I guess you’ve been around quite a bit, care to tell me about the grand foes inside this… city?”

“An undead knight, fuelled by vengeance and voracity?” Amaryllis suggested. Her Sword flickered out, carving a seat into a cement wall. She sat down, crossing her legs and staking her saber into the ground beside her. “It’ll be a lie if I said I were a veteran within the confines of these citadels. Counting time that had been passed within that Lotus-Eater’s resort, I’ve only established myself in the boundaries of Penrose in the last four months; my contacts, as it were, remain limited.”

“Still,” she continued, brushing a rusted petal off her shoulder, “I’ve had the blessing of encountering an assortment of powerful individuals, at least. Hilaria, the Ancient. Mariette, of the Mirrored Plane. Heard of a Silhouette as well, but only in passing. Though diminished, Serenity’s origins render her as dangerous, no matter the circumstance. And Penny, of course, is a Machine God capable of going toe-to-toe with Greater Horrors.” A pause. “I suppose though, that any magical girl of note is a ‘grand’ foe. Much could be said of those magical girls who rise to fame, even in a city saturated by their kind.”

“Mmm.The tides of battle ebb and flow. Friends today could be foes tomorrow and viceversa. Getting a grasp of your surroundings and your own limits is.. Essential.” Reaver trailed off, his gaze resting on those legs of Amaryllis. Would she let them a little lick? He wondered. He was thirsty after the bout. He sheathed his own weapon, and then began his goodbye…

“I wish you to lick your legs...damnit! I mean good tidings.” He tried to correct himself quickly.

Amaryllis blinked, her expression blank.

“Yes. Good tidings to you too.”

“...but since the cat’s out… Can you stab me a couple of times more while I lick your legs? I need a little time off after how the day has gone.” Reaver added. If it works, it works.

Amaryllis stood up. Took her sword. And immediately ran the opposite direction.

She had fought her fair share of tentacles and orcs and other fleshy, slimy entities, but a pervert? That was a first. A first she had no intention on partaking in.

“...Does that count as victory if your opponent runs aways in disgust?” Reaver pondered.

The city of Penrose, though cold and desolate, had a heart beating from the inside. It’s pulse spread to every corner of the city, drawing in a crowd of creatures of the night; those who would stay up and dance until dawn. There was electricity in the air, as the doors finally opened to the Dark Rave.


Music began loudly playing, rumbling up; it blasted from the secret basement of an innocuous warehouse, the stage where magical girls from all walks of life would meet. Inside, the dance floor was lighted up with colorful lights and bars were stocked with drinks. Go-go cages were chained from the ceiling, and inside mosnter girls danced and raved, clattering the iron bars like enraged animals. Strobe-lights flashed in hypnotizing patterns, and corrupted girls swarmed the house, swaying to the beat, and letting the rhythm take over their very being.

Cindy was the first to arrive alongside her trusted lieutenants, having assisted in logistics and materials for building the subterranean club. She was, of course, followed by a large group of corrupted girls. “Goblina, you will be in charge of the security detail,” she spoke as they descended down the stairs and into the neon jungle.
“Post guards in and outside the party. We need to be ready.” Goblina saluted, and left Cindy to talk with the bouncer, a burly monster girl with tusks and shaggy fur.

Then, a girl in a glamorous black dress next arrived, accompanied by her ever-present servant, also dressed for the occasion.
“So this is the famous party? Well, of course the belle of the ball needs to attend such a prestigious occasion.”
“Maybe we can also find more allies for our cause?” Sonia asked, walking beside her.
“That would be nice, but I’d rather just have a bit of fun. I predict that this party will be quite entertaining before long, hm hm~”

---

Helga, Su and Mika arrived before the warehouse. Helga grinned, looking excited. “Oh man, my heart is going a hundred miles an hour!” She spoke, and spoke to Su and Mika. “Are we good to go, right?” She noticed that Mika didn’t seem to be enthused, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go and have some fun, okay? I bet you can find lots of friends here.”

---

Lily had also arrived with Alex; she and Alicia had messaged each other since the meeting, and agreed to meet at the party. She drove her motorcycle right down the street despite the crowd of partygoers in her way; she caused some to run and dodge in fear of colliding with her, but she otherwise reached the destination with no accidents.
”Woohoo! This is it, Alex! A real magical girl party! I can’t wait to get inside!”
She took Alex’ hand, and practically dragged him to the party.
”Or should we wait for Alicia outside?” She stopped mid-thought.
”But maybe she’s already inside...Oof, I don’t know.”
She released Alex and now paced back and forth, looking nervous.
”I’ve only gone to a party a couple of times, so I don’t know what’s the normal thing to do. Oh, I’m getting antsy!”

On a rooftop facing the street where the warehouse was, the Ascendancy had gathered, having set up a cloaking field to mask their magical auras and presence. Rachel was talking to Alicia; the Paladin Seraph saw Lily down at the street, oblivious of her presence.
“Me and my troops will be setting lookouts, but we will only interfere if we see signs of trouble down there, or when Vi makes her official appearance. Until then, you are to infiltrate the party, find out who are the masterminds behind the operation and whether this is actually a trap, and keep us updated. I don’t care if you personally do it or send agents in, but I’m going to trust you with this, Seraph Paladin.” She offered her hand in a handshake, looking deathly serious.

“Inquisitor, may I accompany her on this mission as a bodyguard?” Leena asked, looking worried. “This is enemy territory; in case we need to stage an exit. You never know with these corrupted what they’re scheming.” FanFan also volunteered. “I would like to join as well, for guarding, yes. I do admit the social interactions also intrigue, but only to further our own cause, of course.”

---

Back at the Beacon HQ, Elora was on surveillance detail, using the video feed of cameras the Ascendancy agents had placed on their clothes as well as a couple of new drones Sylvia had whipped up; up in the night sky, they were practically invisible.
She had decided to check through the Glimmr logs of the organization.
“Hm, that’s strange; the Cardinal has some logs from the other day...” However, her eyes widened as she realized the contents of the posts.
“Wait, Cardinal is-CARDINAL!” She turned her floating cube, and quickly zipped down to the entrance hall, where the Cardinal was; she was leaving.

“Cardinal ,where are you going?” Elora asked, looking worried. The praying girl didn’t turn as she answered. “I’m going to save a lost lamb, Elora.”
Elora moved to block her. “But it’s a trap! They’re going to kill you!”
At that moment, Elora’s eyes welled up with tears, and Ishtar gently moved her aside. “Do not worry. I may not look like much...But I am not afraid of those who would hurt my blessed sisters. I will save Divina.” Before Elora could say another word, she had fallen asleep. Ishtar carried her over to the nearest chair, and placed her there. “Rest, sister. You’ve had many long nights.”
Ishtar whispered, and then left into the dark city. She looked down at the gift Hilaria gave to her, just before they parted ways. The innocuous shell in her palm reminded her of what she fought for...And what she would risk her life for.
“Divina...Wait for me.”

'I suppose one good thing about there being little to no civilians here is how open we can be. Not that getting caught ever stopped us before' Alexander groaned about at Lily's driving almost running people over, as he was dragged off by said girl, who then proceeded to go from excited to nervous in record time

Alexander sighed 'I still don't understand how this girl can go from a bubbly goof, to a borderline wreck so fast. Is it some kind of girl thing, or is Lily just weird?' He put his hand on her shoulder to hold her in place "Lily, calm the fuck down." His grip on her tightened, but not to a painful level "This isn't that big a deal. You're so good with people that this should be easy for you. I'm the one who should be worrying. We just go in, you do your thing, and boom! Step 3; Profit. Alright, now take a few deep breaths to get yourself calm, and then we can go in. Does that sound good?"

@Ariamis@Card Captor

"...stupid rat..." The young magical girl grumbled as she stomped towards the party. "He told me this was a costume party." Sakura said as she stomped towards the warehouse from parking her motorbike. Her choice of attire... was kinda unconventional. She had heard things about this rave, but being the kind... of shady party it could mean it was gonna be a great thing or an awful thing. She decided thus to act as an scout for Emily. Even if she was a newcomer to the magical world, she was no stranger about the underworld.

Upon entering the grounds of the party, the hairs of her neck stood out. Stakeout is in place. Her gut feeling told her, honed not only from years of experience, but because her senses seemed more vivid these days. Upon advancing towards the entrance he found a couple of people she recognized. Sparky broad and Barrier bud.

"Oi, couple." Sakura said, with a broad gesture. "You seem a bit out of depth in this? Also, who set up the lookout? They're frigging amateurs... are those your friends?" Sakura blurted out without a care of the world.

---

Thirsty...So damn...thirsty. The magical boy clutched his hastily ordered drink drink in a row and gulped it down. It was going to get busy. He checked his tools of trade. His carefully combed hair. His elegant three-piece. The mark was there, wasn't she? No sign of Chloe or the Ascendancy yet. It was good. Well, it was easy to spot. Other girls didn't glow neon blue nor crackled with electricity. Reaver coughed, as he stood in Cindy's way with a firmly executed curtsy.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a man of wealth... and taste."

This was it.

Mac's orders were strange, but she didn't question them. Her patron had been all about preserving the balance of the factions, which made her current mission quite baffling.

Ensure Justine escapes, Cindy is slain, and the cardinal survives.

Such a strategy was sure to grant a lot of power to the Mint and Beacon, which made the request from her patron so baffling. But a good agent never questions their employer, and so Mac would not question the Moirai.

There was no need to dress up, or even look like she was ready for the party.

But that coin patch DID just drop, sop now would be a good time to buff herself up. Mac doused herself in magic before entering the party. She'd need all the might she could get her hands on.

---

(ty mayjay)

For a semi-immortal necromancer, Maura was bored.

With everyone either preparing themselves for the dark magic party, or keeping an eye out for the Ascendancy, she didn't seem to have much to do. No one seemed to need her assistance, Eliza was busy doing god-knows-what, even the week was strangely calm, for a near desolate city. "Hmmm..." the renegade sat on a bench in the park, thinking over what she could do to pass time. 

Veronica was sitting beside her. She was disguised though, one of her many personas she used to blend into Penrose. Her eyes were locked on the old warehouse. The Cradle agents would all be going in there pretty soon. But not Veronica. She said she might go, but hadn’t fully committed to the idea. 

“Are you going, Maura?” She asked without looking away. “You seem like the type who follows her girls everywhere. Unless you had other arrangements?” 

"To the party? Hm, maybe." Maura replied, looking over to Veronica. "I was going for security reasons, but I guess everyone else has that covered." she crossed her arms, puffing a cheek out.

"How about you? It's fine if you're not up to it."

“It’s not really my thing.” Veronica looked towards Maura. “But I don’t know, Silhouette hasn’t been herself recently. I’m tempted to join the party just so that I can monitor her. But I also feel my presence would make their job harder.” She folded her arms, still not looking at Maura. “I don’t know what I’d wear anyway.”

"Need some help picking an outfit? I don't have anything to do right now so..." Maura offered with a small smile.

“You’d help with something so trivial?” Veronica turned to the necromancer. “I suppose I don’t have that much going on.” The Astolpho plush appeared in her hand, which she proceeded to groom. ”Very well.” She looked back up at Maura. ”How did you want to do this? Did you want to look at my wardrobe or did you have something else in mind?”

"I guess we could look through your wardrobe for something." the renegade nodded, stifling a giggle seeing Veronica holding the Astolpho plush close to her.

The plush vanished in a puff of black smoke. “Do you mock me, necromancer?” 

Maura giggled. "Aw, come on. It's cute."

“Cute!?” Veronica said just a bit louder than was necessary, and promptly looked away. “L-Let’s just go to my mansion.”

---

Veronica’s bedroom was much like the rest of her mansion. Art deco furniture furnishing an old European mansion. Though Maura wouldn’t be able to see most of her room because Veronica had a privacy screen dividing it in half. All that was visible was two chairs and the closet, which spanned the length of the room. There was also a mirror with a gold frame hanging off the privacy screen.

“What do you think I should wear?” Veronica spun in front of the mirror.

"Hmmm...It really depends on your preferred style, or with the theme of the party." Maura said, looking through the closet. "How about a femme fatale look?" she asked.

“Form fitting clothing? I know one person that will impress.” Veronica approached her closet and reached inside. Her arm froze for a moment. “You know Maura, I actually don’t know that much about you.” She continued to push through her clothes. “Why is the Mistress of the Styx in Penrose?”

"I kinda did something that pissed off my old coven." The renegade shrugged. " They sent an assassin after me, and well, I ended up fleeing to Penrose. I've yet to see them make another attempt at my life." She furrowed her brows as she thought.
 
“That sounds like an interesting story.” Veronica walked behind the privacy screen. “But you left out all the details. What did you do that made your coven so mad?”

Maura was silent for a moment. "Simple. I meddled with death." She explained. "We had our oaths. And I, technically being the grim reaper, couldn't halt someone's intended death, revive a soul, or even kill someone myself. Only help the dead move on to the afterlife." The renegade looked over at the mirror. "And I somehow did all three at once." she chuckled, albeit, a bit forced. "Funny, isn't it?"

“It’s amusing. Alright, first look.” Veronica poked out from behind the privacy screen looking like a succubus. She had fake horns, a tail, and her torso was clad in a leather corset and not much else. She had also chosen to accessorize with some punk gimmicks like spiked wrist bands and finger-less gloves. “I’ve been told I always look femme fatale, so I just tried putting a monster girl spin on it. What do you think?”

"Oh my..." Maura looked over Veronica, then smirked. "Not bad. You look hot."

“Really now?” Veronica walked over in front of the Mirror and examined herself. “Hmm, I’m not sure. I think I’d rather stand out than blend in with everyone. Though I’ll set this aside, just in case.” She reached into her closet and pulled out a few more articles of clothing. “I don’t know very much about your coven actually.” After Veronica stocked up on outfits, she walked out of view again. “You were responsible for helping departed souls. What did the rest of your coven do?”

"We all represented a balance, basically." Maura sat down. "Life and Death, Order and Chaos, Hope and Despair..." she listed. "And of course, Light and Darkness."
 
Veronica peaked out from behind her room divider yet again, this time dressed as a vampire. She wore a dark, regal looking jacket, not unlike something a count would wear. “Better or worse than the last one?”

"Better, good for the cold as well." Maura nodded.

“Better huh?” She pulled her head back. “I’m curious why you involved yourself with spirits at all. I had assumed you were human, but is that not the case?”

"I was human, at first." Maura explained. "You can blame my connections to demons for that though."

She emerged yet again, this time wearing a Kimono. She fanned herself as she waited for Maura’s reaction. “How about this one? You didn't seem too enthusiastic about the last one.”

When Veronica emerged from the divider in a kimono, the renegade appeared curious. "Looks lovely, but doesn't really seem like party attire though, does it? Then again, I could be wrong. Apologies for the sudden lack of enthusiasm by the way." she said, wearing an awkward smile at the apology.

“This was just a test. You passed. And no need to apologize. If it doesn’t impress, it doesn’t impress.” She retreated yet again. “I can relate to making pacts with demons. At least, I consider the Mint demons in that regard.” The next time Veronica appeared, she was wearing an idol’s outfit.. It was shaped like a ballroom dress, but the shirt had been cropped short, and her stomach was exposed. “What about this one?”

Maura grinned. "Love it. Either that or the second one will do nicely." 

“Good to hear. I’ve tried on enough clothes I think.” She held her chin. “You’re sure you’re not going? You look about my size. There might be something in here for you.”

"Really?" Maura tilted her head in curiosity. "Like what?"

“Are you going to make me dress you?” Veronica snorted. “Very well, only because you had the patience to go through with all of this.” She dragged Maura behind the privacy screen.

"Y-You could've just handed me the dress! Maura stuttered. But that didn't stop Veronica, who liked to dress up dolls was rather insistent on fitting Maura herself.

“We should wear similar outfits.” When the two of them emerged, Maura was wearing an idol’s outfit. It was a strong contrast to her Gothic dress. White and blue fabrics replaced her black and reds. “If you wore this, I could wear the idol outfit and then we could go to the party.”

"Sounds good! I actually like this outfit, to be honest."

---

@Rune_Alchemist

Su had decided to wear the black kimono after all. It probably wasn’t the best attire for the party, but that was fine. Su and Helga had been working on a killer presentation for the Golden Trove, and that was when Su planned to uncover her secret weapon. She smiled at their cleverness.

Of course Su was nervous too. She was familiar with public speaking, and was sure she could break through to the darker side of Penrose. But she wasn’t oblivious to how problematic the rave could become. She remembered Vi taunting Beacon, and that still had her a bit worried about the fate of the party. Not only that, but the wind was behaving strangely. It wasn’t blowing over the top of a building the way it was suppose to. But Su pushed the detail out of her mind. So long as they stayed on their toes, nothing too bad would happen.

“I can’t wait for your power point presentation.” Su chuckled, knowing the Golden Trove was just an afterthought for Helga. At least when she had an opritunity to see one of her favorite idols. “I wonder where they’re going to fit it in? Though I suppose all we really need to do is convince Cindy and Vi that the Golden Trove is a great place to stay.”

Mika nodded at Helga. “Yea yea, sounds great.” Then a wild grin crossed her face before she leaned into Rina. Mika was wearing her normal magical girl outfit, but her new “pool gloves” were hanging off of her hips. The adamantium steel claws had a chrome appearance, and looked like gnarled finger bones emerging from skulls. Each glove featured one of these chrome skulls, with gemstones for eyes. They would light up to let the user know when they were starting to overheat. “Wanna dance, Rina? If the dance floor is too noisy we can always go around back.”

Tetrad was one of the first people to the party. The dance floor was empty when she arrived, so she had decided to crash on a bar stool instead. Tetrad was far from an alcoholic, but it was hard to get drinks when you looked like you were below the legal limit.

She’d been sipping her drink while waiting for the dance floor to fill up. Her glass rested on a coaster, right beside a half-eaten club sandwich. She was dividing her attention between her food and Eliza.

”So that’s still you, huh Eliza?” She picked up her sandwich. ”Guess I can’t make angel puns anymore. I’ll get over it, heh.” She took a bite out of her sandwich, a big one. ”So *chew* what are ya *munch* gunna do now?”

"Other than keeping everyone here safe? Beats me." Eliza shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. "Maybe try and figure out my new powers. Maura's been thinking of going after the rest of the Red Nest after the last fiasco of a mission, so I guess I can take on Katelyn then? I dunno."

”Got revenge on the mind, huh?” Tetrad shrugged her shoulders. ”We all need hobbies I guess. I’m about due for some down time. Beating up people is great, but I gotta live a little too, ya know?” She finished her sandwich before reaching into her pockets. ”You wouldn’t happen to be into fortune telling would you?”

Eliza's eyes lit up, her nodding in response. "Are you kidding? I love astrology stuff!" she grinned.

”Good kid, real good.” Tetrad wasn’t sure how old Eliza really was, but it only made sense to treat newer members of cradle like younger siblings. She reached under her arm and pulled out a deck of cards. ”Alright now these-”

…Were not actually Tarot cards. Tetrad had drawn a pack of magic the gathering cards.

”Woops!” She laughed. She had used her disguise artifact to give herself a fitting outfit for the rave while remaining in costume, and she must have reached into the wrong pouch. ”Yea these, I won a long time ago. I’ve never played magic the gathering, they were just collateral on a bet. Don’t want you to think I’m a nerd or anything.” She slid the cards away and reached for a different pouch. ”Okay, now these cards will determine your fate.” She placed the deck in front of Eliza. ”To do this properly, you need to ask a question and then shuffle the cards. Once you’re done, I’ll take it from there.”

"No worries. I never played that either." The witch chuckled, then turned her attention to the cards in front of her. She thought for a moment, and spoke up again. "Soooo, how will my love life turn out?" Eliza asked shuffling the cards. As much as she wanted to ask about if things will end well or not, she decided to just figure it out herself with her scrying ability.

”Love life?” Tetrad chuckled. ”That’s always a fun one.” She drew three cards off the top. ”Alright, what I’ve got here is your past, present, and future. So let’s just turn these babies over.” She flipped over the first one.

”Temperance! Reversed no less. This is a card that typically deals with inward reflections. It’s upside down means that you were stuck in the past, or were too introspective. Perhapse you thought about love too much in the past, or your own feelings? But that was then, and this is now.” Tetrad flipped over the second card.

”Page of wands, a card that represents learning and traveling. Someone who’s well on their way to becoming a leader of men. You’ve certainly been on something of a journey, with all of your transforming and joining in new alliances. Now what’s the last card? This is the big one, it’s your future.” Tetrad, ever so slowly, turned over the last card.

”That’s weird, was this deck shuffled right?” She turned over the deck and flipped through the cards. ”Looks like it, this must be your real future Eliza.” The third card on the table was the king of wands. ”The king of wands is a leader of men. This can only mean one of two things.” She held her chin. ”Well, it could mean that your future husband is going to be a powerful, influential individual, or if the card represents you, you might just end up surrounded with a harem of suitors!” She placed her hands on Eliza’s shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. ”You’ve done it Eliza! No matter how you slice it you’re going to have one hell of a romance in your future!”

"Woah." Eliza looked down at the cards, then back up to Tetrad. "I might be a harem protagonist... Pfft-" She joked, failing to supress her laughter.

Tetrad looked out towards the dance floor. It was still a little light at the moment, but that just made it easier to spot the boy talking to Cindy ford. ”And speaking of powerful men.” Tetrad shuffled all of the cards together and put them away. ”Eliza, hold my beer.” She walked away from the bar table.

"Good luck!" Eliza called out to her as she left. Jokes aside, the witch was surprised with her outcome, her possibly of getting together with someone of a higher power leaving her intrigued. Though as she looked around, she couldn't shake off the urge to see ahead what could go down durning the rave. It could've been just anxiety, but still. She searched through her pockets for her mystic artefact; her pocketwatch, and opened it up to see what will happen in the future.

“Welp, looks like it’s time to get goin’,” Mia announced after checking her wristwatch. “You ready for the big party, little sis?”

“Gosh, is that really tonight?!” Connie asked, clearly surprised at how quickly the day had arrived.

“Sure is,” her friend confirmed. “So, have you picked out anything special, or are you just gonna go with your regular magical girl look?”

“Umm… Just my regular look, I guess… I mean, that’s what I always look like when I’m doing… umm… magical girl… stuff…”

“Yeah, same here,” Mia replied. “There’s no way I’d want anyone to know I was actually ‘Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth’.”

“Oh, gosh, in that case I’ll try my best to only call you Gaia at the party.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Mia said with a grin, while she ruffled her friend’s hair. “You can still call me Mia. I mean, there’re probably dozens of girls with that name. Just don’t use my last name, okay?” she added with a wink.

“O-Oh, okay! Sure! I can totally do that! I-I mean, not do that! I mean…!”

“Relax, Connie,” Mia told her soothingly as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Everything’s gonna be fine, I promise.”

With that, Mia gave voice to her incantation and was once more transformed into her verdant magical girl appearance.

“Now then,” Gaia said as she twirled gracefully towards the bedroom window, “shall we be off?”

“Y-Yeah!” Connie confirmed having changed into her magical girl form as well. “Let’s go!”

...

The trip seemed to fly by in a blur. Before Connie knew it, she and Mia had arrived at the location for the rave, a large warehouse in an abandoned section of town. Faith, Lotus and their friends were waiting for them outside. After some brief introductions and exchanges of pleasantries, they all made their way inside, where Connie was more than a little taken aback by the sheer number of people present. And the types of people. There were the expected dark magical and monster girls, of course, but there were also girls who looked relatively normal. Heroic, even.

Before leaving to chat with someone named Cindy, Faith had explained to Connie that the guards she had assigned to her would be mingling with the other party guests in an unobtrusive manner, but would always be alert to any signs of danger. Not that she expected any, she reassured the easily frightened girl. This was, after all, a party, a place of relaxation and fun. Despite their sometimes terrifying appearances, no one here was likely to cause Connie any harm. Accepting the fairy girl’s assurances, Connie and Mia set out to explore the rave’s venue, and hopefully meet some new friends along the way.

In the back rooms of the warehouse, segregated from the rest of the party area, the aggressive bass was somewhat subdued. Only the occasional drop would rattled one's organs, and the chatter of dozens of corrupted magical girls gradated into a meaningless veil of noise, nothing distinct enough to make sense of. The preparations for 'receiving' the Ascendancy was already in place; now, all that was needed was the receptacle.

And soon, even that wasn't a problem.

A flickering of the bulbs, a brief moment of darkness, and a girl appeared, her coloration monochrome, her dress gothic. In her hands, she held nothing, and with an unwavering gaze, she regarded Eden. "Your product is created," came Dolly's voice. "The blueprints are, too?"



They certainly weren't being stealthy about it, huh?

Was also rather awkward, that they would host it in the same area as that other warehouse.

Atop a building overlooking the warehouse that the Dark Rave (Dark Magical Rave? Evil Rave?) took place in, the Knight of Rose watched, her Sword needling provocations into the back of her lungs. Tonight, at least, the monsters would be occupied. Her body desired rest, but still, a rejuvenating sleep eluded her every night. There was always a monster to kill, always a plot to foil. The Mint, the Ascendancy, Veronica's cadre, Beacon's misfortunes, and the fifty or more corrupted individuals beholden to no organization at all. The barrier too, still eluded restoration, teasing at the ends of her magical energy like a child reflexively eating whatever was placed before them. She let out a sigh, hugging her knees against her chest. A war. A proper, bloody war, featuring enough individuals that Penrose's landscape could be changed in a single instant.

Was she ready? Her Sword always was, but she, no matter her vows, wasn't.

With a shunt, her backpack popped into her hand, and Amaryllis retrieved a flask of warm soup, as well as the oils, cloths, and whetstones that her Sword enjoyed so very much. She wasn't one for dressing up, but her Silverlight may as well be in tip-top shape before everything went to hell.

Sharpening silver and sipping soup, Wielder and Sword enjoyed the beauty of the winter moon and the tranquility of solitude, as magical girls continued to congregate under the night sky.



Where there was trouble, there was Lei Zi, and in this case, she was looking out for trouble of the 'drunk magical girls' type. Against their better judgment, whoever organized the rave had decided to bring in alcoholic drinks for a crowd that definitely couldn't be checked up. Already, there were corrupted girls getting shit-faced and going absolute bonkers; those cages were particularly distasteful, reminding the priestess of all those trafficking dens she used to bust back in Macau. She sighed, pulling her robes closer around her, even as the temperature in the basement continued to rise. How many of these magical girls were middle aged men, stalking about in search of an indecent time? How many of these magical girls were literal children, too dumb and naive to know exactly how vulnerable they were? The lightning-eyed priestess could see security going around, of course, but it was obvious that they were focused outwards rather than inwards.

Didn't take a genius to figure that the Ascendancy was going to try something out.

She leaned against the back wall, sipping from a Dixie cup. A storm was brewing, and unfortunately for her, Tian Rong always did like pointing her towards the center of such storms.



After cleaning up that Tree Horror infesting the Overcity, Fine wanted a drink. No, fuck that, she didn't just want a drink, she wanted to sample a dozen different cocktails and then end the night in the arms of a red-haired babe after two intense hours of love-making. A rave wasn't the best way to achieve the latter, of course, but considering how the human side of Penrose was still evacuated and the magical side of Penrose was wholly concentrated, this was her best bet, huh?

...

Sucked that the whole city went to shit in the last couple of months. Sucked even more when she visited a couple months ago, only to find out that Cassie got purified and turned into a total prude. No handholding until marriage; that whole package. Brought a frown to her face, really. Fine let out a hiss as she settled into the bar stool, a cigarette in one hand and a flute of champagne in the other. Could've always called up one of her co-workers to hang with, instead of risk getting caught in the Ascendancy's crossfire, but if things got too intimate...yeah, there was no timeline where she would risk a co-worker relationship after that time with Jyu-Ni.

Enough reminiscing. The handsome lady took a sip of her champagne, before her rubellite eyes slid upon a prospect. Wavy, blonde hair and skin as pale as snow, with a mystic artifact in her hands and a friend that just left to go after someone else.

"Hey there," Fine said, sliding over with a lop-sided smile. "Not much of a seer myself, but I can see myself in your future, darling. What's your name?"



Askefye was accustomed to loneliness, especially after the Ascendancy came and started their war on the residents of Penrose. But even firecrackers like her occasionally wanted to let loose in a group and with winter slowly warming up into spring, the red-haired monster girl definitely wasn't going to pass up on a chance to just have fun. Yeah, fuck the Ascendancy! Fuck Beacon! Fuck all the organizations that went around trying to control magical society!

Flames spontaneously burst out of her ethereal form, lukewarm enough to not cause damage, but warm enough to heat up the already riled up crowd. Others were going berserk too, the aggressive music drawing everyone into riot. A drake-girl soared the ceiling, iridescent scales lighting up like a disco ball. A dark magical girl screamed out with a megaphone, popping the eardrums of everyone within five meters of her. Lightning, wind, ice all crackled out. A rave, especially when meant for magical girls, was always just one step away from blowing everything up, after all! Amongst the crowd, the ash-born child laughed, sparks dancing as her ethereal body pulsated with the destructive rhythm.

Didn't matter if the only person interested in her was the Mint; in a dance party, you could feel part of the group without even knowing any of them!

Another plume of flame surged out of Askefye, and a magical girl could only fire off so many shots before they hit someone. As Connie and Mia navigated the increasingly frenetic rave, a brilliant burst of fire blanketed them, comforting heat enveloping the two for an instant before fading into a myriad of sparks.



While those magical girls partied, Liss had trained in the way of the fist, and like that, years had passed by, each defeat getting closer and closer as she became accustomed to the rhythm of a no-holds brawl. Her hair had been cropped first. Then she got accustomed to wearing what was essentially just a bikini. Somewhere along the way, she pawned her staff off to a shady Puchuu for a pair of padded gloves. Gone was her flabby chest; that just got in the way, and she got firm abs in return. Her boyfriend broke up with her, of course; a relationship that constantly got interrupted by her deaths to the Contender was never going to last, but she didn't mind much. After all, Liss was close now, so close to finally eking out a victory against that burning man! This year would have been the year, if she had simply drawn the lottery to go up first!

...but she didn't. Some no name Trixy won instead, and now there was a full year before Liss could see the fruits of her labor again.

She wasn't mad though, not at all. She was happy, even! She was at this party just to party and have fun and do normal magical girl things, even if it meant fraternizing with magical girls that were definitely evil in one way or the other. It was time to go party hard! Time to celebrate!

"Uggggh," Liss groaned, having already downed seven extra-large mugs of beer, "Why didja have to hic die so fast, Contenderrrrr. I wanted my sniff shot this year tooooo. Waaaagghhhhhhhhhh." Red-faced and definitely not crying at all, the definitely not depressed girl slapped her hand against the counter again, cracking the wood as she sobbed out, "Another r-round! Where's my other round?!"

As proven by a certain lightning genie, even being a Genki Girl didn't stop one from wanting to cry after suffering immense disappointment.



Myria wasn't a thief, nor a scavenger.

She was simply an opportunist, and only dumbasses would attend a powder keg like the rave, anyways.

In the slick Bentley she procured through wholly legal means, Myria drove through the quiet streets of Penrose, the whispers of spirits in her ears, telling her of every little hidey hole in this sad little city. Not every magical girl was gifted with a Hammerspace, after all, and when so many eyes were on the schemes and dreams of dark and light magical girls alike, people like her could run amok with little worry. Someone was bound to start a world-ending ritual. Someone else was bound to try to summon another Horror. Compared to those maniacs, all Myria was doing was...picking up what careless people left unattended, with the intent of returning such precious items...for a price, of course.

Happy times, all around. There were lairs for magical girls everywhere, and plentiful organizations too. May as well enjoy the chaos and come out on top, no?

In the backseat of her car, her manservant rapped about how she had money in the bank, and that pimping wasn't easy. Didn't look like that was one of his skills, sadly; he was getting tongue-tied on the faster phrases. But that was cute too. She liked to see handsome men flustered.

The day of the Rave had come at last. With the information that Beacon had obtained they had been able to set up an observation point near the event itself. A cloaking field was in place, allowing them to talk and prepare without worry about being disturbed.

At the moment she was talking with Rachel, nodding as the plan was laid out. "I understand," she confirmed, looking down at the girls who walked past without a clue as to who was watching them. She could see Lily and Alex down there waiting for her, but she needed to wrap this up first. "Katarina should be helping with the investigation on the inside, but some extra eyes couldn't hurt."

She returned the handshake, only to find herself surprised as both Leena and FanFan offered to come with. An eyebrow rose, before she nodded in approval. "If you want to come with, I won't refuse. Just keep on your toes." But she hardly needed to tell them that. Not with all the evidence to indicate that something was afoot here. The sooner they figured out what that was the better.

---

As magical girls moved through the doors of the warehouse and into the rave, they would be joined by an older gentleman. He was not magical himself, but he had been involved in the affairs of the magical girl community long enough to know how these things worked. Where to go, what to do to blend in a bit.

Moving inside, it was not hard for Ren to notice the alcoholic beverages, the magical girls mixing, chatting, dancing, all the stuff that one would expect. It wasn't the most intense party that he'd been to in his time traveling dimensions, but the party had only just begun. There was plenty of time for things to get more fun.

On the downside it looked like Alicia hadn't arrived yet, but that was fine. Even if she didn't, he could still enjoy himself. He snagged a drink, sipping at it while watching the festivities. It would be interesting to see what sort of fun things happened tonight.

In a quiet corner to the side of the rave, off beside the bar, but far enough away from the drunk and rowdy Dark Magical Girls, Katelyn held a glass of water, watching the sprawl of individuals attentively, sealed into human form. The heat made it uncomfortable to stay untransformed, but with an outfit she dredged up from a number of years prior, she felt as best disguised as she could without magic. Wearing the old suit brought back memories; she could remember the time Joyce had brought her to a similar sort of party once, a long time ago. She still hated them. The warmth, the alcohol, the volatility, it was a constant storm teetering on the verge of a disaster. For a girl like Joyce whose personality had been built on idiosyncrasy, it was the perfect place. So many people, so much tension, the heat, the connection, the disconnection, the noise - Joyce had thrived in such environments.

Sharr would've liked parties, Katelyn imagined. In spite of her Beacon obligations, a rave completely filled with unique individuals felt like the ideal spot for someone as outgoing and energetic as her. She would have convinced Katelyn to go against all her best wishes, and they would both agree not to touch any kind of alcohol. There would be some socialising, which Sharr would inevitably mess up through her competitiveness, but through it Katelyn would sit on the sidelines, nervous and intimated by the sheer breadth of people present, until Sharr attempted to coax her out onto the main floor, and they would dance for as long as they could.

She smothered the slight smile that grew on her face with a drink. Fantasising about the past was unhealthy at best, but it was becoming distracting. For such a big party with so many high profile Magical Girls present, Beacon would be attracted unequivocally, but they wouldn't be the only ones. A number of other opportunistic girls or groups could make a move. And none more so than the Mint. If they attempted something, Katelyn would be ready. That was her sole purpose.



For all the time she had spent acquainting herself with her new form and abilities, Thalia had neglected preparation for the party, but she still found it within herself to go. Transitioning from one form to another was an ordeal, and learning how to balance without tails had brought its own set of issues, but the clarity that had begun to preside over her mind was more than worth the trouble. With the threat of The Vixen looming over her every thought and action, she had been afraid at times to even go outside, let alone socialise, in case she once again lost control. All around her people died, that was the rule, but the Red Coin had changed that.

She hadn't confirmed whether the Penny's would be attending, but she reasoned that, even if they weren't, it would help her. Thalia's knowledge on the magical population of Penrose was limited at best, but in her new form, nobody would recognise her as The Vixen. It was a chance to meet new people with a fresh slate, free from the mistakes and missteps of her past. But in her wondering, as she entered the venue, she spotted one of the few individuals she could remember. The looked different than the last time they met, with their mannerisms and tone of voice - most people would recognise them anywhere.

"Lily, Alex!" Thalia called out, as she ran up towards them, only to slow her pace as she noticed another girl addressing them. "Uh, s-sorry, if you're in the middle of something. You're the only two I recognise here, eheh. You probably don't recognise me at all though, do you? - I'm Thalia, Penny's friend. We met a few months back, you were looking for someone who could get to the Overcity. I was the foxgirl - I-I used a Red Coin recently. I guess the friendship hug probably isn't valid anymore, but I thought I'd say hi~"



Between the party, and one of the many backrooms of the venue, a dozen of Christine's duplicates stood guard. A number of others had been dispersed around the various corridors, providing surveillance, and creating the illusion of blanket protection, but the true density was surrounded around her charge - The Boss, Sasha, and the Monster Queen. They remained stood against walls, and near doors, occasionally patrolling, all to play up the semblance of security. With a room full of volatile Dark Magical Girls, the pretence was less than necessary, but Christine kept it up. Those were her orders.



Three figures occupied a certain backroom. The door, the only way in, had been reinforced with magic, until the metal was tough enough to withstand most blows, and the lock was unpick-able by mundane, and several magical, means. Sasha Kasparov stood beside the door, eyes closed and arms crossed, retreated into her own thoughts until she was needed. Christine considered herself to be Eden's right hand girl, but in reality she was simply a student, at best her protege. Sasha was her true right hand. Since the formation of The Independent, Sasha had been there. She had watched the birth of the modern organisation, and was one of the few who absolutely understood its goals, and the trials it had been through to reach them.

Sat atop a sofa, specially pushed against a wall towards the back of the room for the individual in question, was a girl, hands wrapped around a glass that she continuously drank from. Dozens of bottles of various liquids surrounded her area, from alcohol to water to soft drinks, as per her request. Her name was Hyun Long. For a Monster Queen in Cindy's ranks, Eden had been surprised by how easy she was to recruit. All she needed was to be kept away from the rave proper, kept readily stocked with things to drink, and provided with magical assistance. A bracelet had been wrapped around her wrist, one much more intricate than the circlet and chain that she had used to subdue Thalia, although it carried a similar enchantment. Her urges were strong, but the connection the bracelet sustained made keeping her calm and docile an easy task for someone of Eden's calibre, especially for the service that the girl provided. Out from within the backroom, Hyun projected her Powerful Aura, obscuring the warehouse in a storm of magical energy.

To deal with the Ascendancy surveillance outside, it was perfect to disrupt any Third Eye users. Eden could feel them, their minds. A group of them had clustered atop a building nearby. No alarms had been raised, which meant they were concealing themselves, but not well enough. She had already confirmed their allegiance; a light psychic pressure was enough to get the Spark to respond, just barely. The rumble of the bass ran across her skin from the floor, trickling into her blood. Nobody made a move as The Gourd representative appeared. Eden remained still, looking in the direction of the Ascendancy through the floor, though her eyes drifted to look at the newcomer.

"Yeah, they're done," she replied. She reached into the coat, deep into the leftmost pockets, until her arm nearly disappeared up to the shoulder. With a few moments of rustling, she removed a folder, with a number of blue documents peaking out from the inside. Three pieces of paper, each containing an outline of Mecha-Penny's body, and the three specifications that had been requested; physical, magical, and spiritual. Along with the diagrams were blocks of text, containing Eden's own analysis, observations, and information. "Everything requested's in there."

With the cacophony of music and chatter, Samantha wondered to herself if attendance to this bash was even optional. With how loud and obnoxious things were, were people on the other side of Penrose even safe from it? Well, regardless, Samantha was, strangely, attending this party, alongside herself, her date, and her date’s date. That might’ve been some kind of first in general, not just for herself.

Before the group skipped Shade, who was clearly the most eager person to party. The lively crowds, dancing, and the general atmosphere were exactly what she wanted. And with her very own date? The shadow wondered what they were waiting for! But having voiced her want to speed things up and being shot down both times by a target Samantha “No”, she settled for occupying her time by mixing things up: sometimes she’d hop forwards, then back. Sometimes she’d spin and then walk backward, make some teasing comment to Sam, and then dart back when the assassin went to reprimand her in a physical way. And of course, she hummed all the while.

Of course, Samantha was in no hurry, but not because she was averse to going to this party. No, it was because she was still steeling her heart. Being seen in a crowd wearing this? Trixy had chosen it for her, so she imagined it did indeed look good, but it still felt weird to her to wear something like this in public.

She was… a bit nervous.

“Ah! We’re so close!” Shade sang, closing onto Dusty and taking her hand. “What should we do first?” She looked back towards the warehouse. “I hope we’re not too early, a crowd better suits an idol, after all~”

”It does, but an idol still needs to prepare for her debut~!" Dusty added with a chuckle. Aside from her eyepatch being a spade, she looked identical to Trixy.

Samantha sighed. If Shade got too excited, she might be the biggest threat to a peaceful night. “You should start by…” Samantha hadn’t chosen to look anywhere in particular but caught a rather unsettling sight on a nearby building. This, however, was offset by the bigger presence surrounding the warehouse itself, so whatever was causing it was... going to be trouble, at some point.

Goddamn it!

She remained quiet. They knew things would stir, she'd just have to deal with it when the time came. But maybe ignoring the problem would make it go away? There was no way the world would allow that, but if she could at least let Trixy spend a little bit of time enjoying herself... she decided to focus on another subject. “... I dunno, maybe calming yourself?” she continued. “At least you’re a bit more mature about this, even if I know you’re just as eager,” she said to Trixy.

”I have been looking forward to this all week." Trixy rested her head on Sam’s shoulder, grinning ear to ear. ”I thought things were going to be easier with Veronica back in Penrose. And while Cradle is certainly doing better, things have gotten a lot harder." She closed her eyes. ”It’s been exhausting. I know we’re technically executing an operation, but I just feel like unwinding a little." Trixy opened her hand, and there were a pair of ear plugs in her palm. ”The music in these places can be kind of loud. These block out higher decibel sounds, while letting you listen to conversations and such. I’m already wearing a pair." She offered them to Samantha, who put them in her ears.

“I won’t tell you to let loose and pretend like you’re some child at Disneyland, but unless something comes up, I think it’s okay to relax and enjoy yourself,” Samantha adjusted her shoulder slightly, unused to the weight of a person leaning against it. Or any non-violent physical contact, really. “We’re reactive tonight, remember?”

Samantha eyed Shade, who was happily skipping alongside Dusty. “I think you two should avoid us for the night,”

Her shadow suddenly turned to her. “Eh? What do you mean? You trying to get all cozy-like with Trixy~?” she grinned devilishly.

“No. We’ll have better awareness as a whole if we’re separated into couples,” she explained deadpan. “It’s not like I want you to act like we have a restraining order or anything. Just, if you find yourselves unoccupied, I encourage you to hover elsewhere on the off chance you ‘ll notice something we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Shade puffed out her cheeks. “Can’t you enjoy yourself for one night, woman? What if we just say we’ll keep an eye out or something instead, I think it’ll have the same effect. Otherwise, then what? Are we supposed to, like, notice someone spiking a drink or planting a bomb in an innocuous case? Phooey!”

Trixy picked up her head and giggled. ”Sam has a point. We’re at our lowest level of awareness interacting with each other. If we’re split up, we can pay more attention to what’s around us. And if it helps Sam relax, why not?" She put her head on Sam’s shoulder again. ”We can do this in Sam’s apartment later if you wanna do something with just the 4 of us. The point of going to a party is to interact with all the people, right?"

Dusty put their hand on Shade’s shoulder. ”If we are going to split up, we should probably play to our strengths. I can’t use magic, and am quite frail when compared to my true counterpart. Though the threat is likely towards Cindy or some person of interest." She chuckled, then gave shade a light squeeze. ”Eliza and Tetrad are already inside. One group should remain out here." Dusty closed her eyes seductively and leaned in towards Shade’s ear. ”Wanna leave these lovebirds so that we can see the concert?"

Shade momentarily looked over to Sam before returning to Dusty. "Yeah, that's okay," she smiled. "Also, I'm a cute idol in the making so I'm not that durable either. Still, if push comes to shove, I got the moves!" Shade pulled Dusty along with her. "Anyway, if we are early, that means we can get the best spots~!"

With a pleased sigh, Trixy rolled her eyes up towards Samantha. ”I could call “Glacier'' here just for an extra pair of eyes." Trixy placed a finger on her lip. ”What do you think, Sam?"

"That works," Samantha nodded, looking into Trixy's eyes. "I just wanted a minimal amount of awareness, anyway. But since that's settled, what did you want to do? The only parties I ever went to were the ones where you sit around a table and discuss business, so..."

”I’m actually a little new to the party scene myself." Trixy stood up a little straighter, and a second double made an appearance.

”Have fun!" Glacier ran off with a wave.

Trixy didn’t look away from Samantha. ”Tetrad told me parties were great places to chat with people and do fun stuff. It’ll be easier to have a conversation with someone out here, so let’s see if we can spot anyone.." She looked towards the entrance of the warehouse and grinned. ”Looks like your new landlord is here, with a harem of girls no less. And is that a playboy bunny?" Trixy made some purring sounds. ”We should probably get a closer look. If we wait by the door, we can be the first to mingle with everyone who drops by." She held Samantha close and walked towards the entrance.

Samantha was watching Su and Mika, with an interest in whatever it was on Mika’s hip. A new weapon? That reminded her that she needed to go shopping as well, as she had a small amount of coin she could be spending. “That sounds like a solid plan,” Samantha nodded at Trixy’s suggestion. She picked up her pace, apparently intending to at least say hi to the group before they dove into the warehouse, and when they approached, she did just that.

“You guys are looking swell,” she looked at Su in particular when saying this, a bit surprised at her choice of attire. Sam looked back. “You’ve broken into my place, but I don’t think you’ve met any of them, have you?”

Trixy blushed and averted her eyes. ”I mean I did meet a few of them on my way out, but we weren’t really introduced or anything."

Su grinned. “She introduced herself as your date, which she repeated while running into the parking lot.” She turned to Helga. “Have you met Samantha yet? She is one of the magical girls who escaped from the overcity with me.” After informing her partner, Su looked back towards Samantha. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming. It makes me feel good to be surrounded by so many familiar faces.” She waved her hands towards her company and looked towards Trixy. “Everyone calls me Su. This is Helga, who manages the hotel with me. Mika, one of our maids, and Rina is one of our guests.”

”Oh, are you guys doing a double date too?" Trixy groomed her hair back. ”Trixy, pleasure to meet you! Short for Beatrix, but that always sounded too classy for me." She walked down the line, shaking every hand she was offered.

Not far behind Amaryllis was Nuncio. He was squatting beside his tiger, grooming her with a come. Regardless if you used a whetstone or a brush, it payed to keep your weapons in top shape.

”’Least we got backup, eh?” He chuckled.

Like Amaryllis, he found it interesting that the rave and the warehouse they were going to investigate were so close together. He didn’t think it was awkward though. Awkward implied a certain amount of surprise. The girl in the bunny suit might have felt awkward going to a rave dressed like that. But if that was just her magical girl outfit and she showed up to a rave dressed as herself, then it couldn’t be awkward. Her friends might feel awkward, but she might not.

Penrose is a vortex of shit. A hurricane that draws things into its center and eviscerates them. The eye of the storm was always moving, and it was currently hovering over their location. Nuncio wouldn’t be surprised if beacon was on a nearby building scoping out the place. Might as well throw a few rival factions into the mix. Might as well add a horror. Hell, maybe two horrors. It was never simple in Penrose.

Sammy was the only reason he hadn’t skipped town yet. He really hoped she was alright. Mint weren’t the generous sort. Keeping a scatterbrained detective like Sammy alive only mattered if they thought she knew something. They were likely interested in making red coins, but the real question was if they felt Sammy could lead them to Binky. Hopefully that question would be answered soon. Sammy kept him up at night. Being the Mint’s plaything wasn’t something he wished on his worst enemy.

Rossa groaned before laying her head in the snow. She could only take so much pampering. Nuncio was willing to bet swords weren’t this picky.

‘Wooooooooooo!’ Ronin sounded out in delight inside the party. This, THIS was the kind of thing she never had gotten old enough to visit! At her oldest, Denise Walton had only ever become 15 years old, so she’d never been able to attend a proper bachelor’s party, if one could call it that. This, THIS was everything she could have dreamed it to be! Such a glorious event! Lots of dancing and drinking, and…

And Ronin couldn’t take part of it all! There was a decent probability some agent of Mariette’s was present here, but that aside, Ronin had a mission to accomplish! She had to keep Cindy Ford safe, that was her mission! Fortunately, Cindy Ford wasn’t exactly hard to find. It was the lady made of blue electricity with a whole little legion of followers over there. And… what was this!? She was confronted by a random dude!? Had her assassin already arrived!?

Ronin excitedly skipped and stepped to stand attentively as audience just a bit to the side between Reaver and Cindy, a wide smile on her lips as she paid them full attention. Don’t mind her, Ronin’s just gonna pay absolute attention over here!

@Ariamis@AtomicNut

---

‘… Here,’ Taihei said, as she handed over the earring to Mariette. ‘The final protective artifact, more potent than the prototypes that I’ve distributed among our other forces. It should protect your soul and mind from intrusions of the mystic kind,’ the chief engineer of Mariette’s forces explained, as the portal girl took the item. She inspected it for a couple of moments, before bringing it up to her ear. As expected of something made by Taihei, it painlessly attached itself and Mariette could feel its effects immediately. She felt far safer.



‘Well done, Taihei. You may now rest,’ Mariette told, and Taihei nodded before turning around the exit the room. Truly, the items she designed were priceless… but today Taihei couldn’t be allowed to visit the city proper, lest her bad luck would cause a calamity to their plans. With that, she could turn her attention to the party, and those watching it, her own eye in the sky through a portal watching from a distance… right among Sylvia’s drones, perhaps. Perhaps higher. Perhaps lower. Who knows. Regardless, she saw Lily arriving, and Su, and Amaryllis on a building nearby, and Nuncio… very well.

With a final glance at the computer screens prepared for her, Mariette confirmed the other activities tonight were proceeding as planned. She opened a portal to a separate room, where she’d recover Fabio, because unfortunately the cat was a potential risk and she couldn’t have him with her during important meetings, but reunited she picked him up, and with that she was finally prepared as she opened her own portal.

@BrokenPromise@ERode

Mariette arrived before Amaryllis and Nuncio, stepping out of a portal that opened in mid-air, wearing her usual dress, eyepatch and with Fabio on her arm, temporarily replacing bunny. Bunny was enjoying some quality time with his new partner in Mariette’s room, so there was no reason to worry. In any case.

‘Quite a night this is shaping up to be,’ Mariette abscently commented, looking over at the warehouse. ‘I wonder, if I open a portal from within there directly to a Mint fight, what would happen?’ Mariette mused, since the backup she prepared would be attending the party… but in any case.

‘… I interrogated Nightwing, as intended. In a perhaps anticlimactic twist of fate, you’ve already defeated the one who killed Valerie and snatched Sammy from the alley. It was her,’ Mariette told Amaryllis, and then looked to Nuncio. ‘Nightwing didn’t know why she did it, however. It was but a job, handed to her by the prominent coin-broker of Penrose, Al Scarpe. Their meetings never took place in the same place, avoiding that Nightwing as an active agent learned anything vital. They are very thorough,’ Mariette commented, before throwing a glance at the party again, then back at Amaryllis.

‘Nightwing handed Sammy over to a fellow Mint agent, a partner named Ajna, and said partner was to deliver Sammy to a warehouse. Nightwing didn’t know which warehouse, but this information matches my own findings from my first briefing which say that Sammy was taken to Warehouse 9. I don’t know how much more we could learn unless we examine it directly,’ Mariette said, patting Fabio a bit on her arm, then offering the cat back to Nuncio, because… taking care of a cat on top of everything else is a hassle, even if they’re cute.

‘So. What are your thoughts?’ Mariette asked.

---

‘Alright, here I am…’ Eli said, breathing out heavily as the slime-harpy had entered the rave. Honestly, this was all a bit too much for the somewhat introverted slimy bird. Her appearance had been slightly edited, she’d extended her hips so she looked like she was wearing a decently fancy slime-dress, talons underneath moving carefully. Still, as shy about this as she was, she had a mission.

See everything.

Embedded within her slimy not-transparent head was a communicator using which Eli could immediately tell those standing by what was going on. Even if her Third Eyes were rendered useless from a massive amount of magic, which was very annoying, Eli went around and investigated, seeing all the security in place and perhaps also glancing over the horizon for potential threats sometimes. Mariette would want to know EVERYTHING that happened in here, and while that wasn’t achievable Eli would certainly do her best to be Mariette’s representative in here. Mariette herself would never come, too likely to become dangerous, so Eli had to stick her neck out.

She could but pray that things wouldn’t become dangerous. Oooh, Deni would have been so much better suited for this…

Little did Eli know that Deni passed her by only a couple meters as the little samurai girl darted to see Cindy.

---

And technically, there was one more agent of Asengav here, with a completely different objective.


Lea floated by many of the inhabitants of the rave. She had no intention of interacting with any of them. She deftly dodged any that were about to touch her, for she didn’t actually have the mass to push them out of the way. In her hand she had something to deliver, and their reports had told the location of their target was within this building. And so, the elfin monster-girl with a couple butterflies flying around her floated up to a specific target, and-

@Shifter_Master

‘Vivian,’ she stopped as soon as she arrived by said dark magical girl, Lea’s blank eyes staring at the girl as if unimpressed. This is just Lea’s basic expression, don’t worry. ‘I’ve come with a message from Lamashtu.’

Lea would then wait for Vivian’s acknowledgement.

---

There was a generic Beacon patrol, keeping the streets cleared of monsters. Maybe it did have named characters in it, who knows. But it was not Ascendancy, and it was about to be yelled to by a strange young creature.

‘Um, excuse me, Beacon?’ a shy soul hiding behind a corner of a building called to them, sounding exceedingly unsure about what she was just saying. Looking in that direction, it would become immediately apparent that a monster girl was looking at them. … A monster girl in the shape of a furry rabbit, looking very scared.



‘Don’t attack, and don’t come any closer! If you do, I WILL run! I just want to talk! … On a distance!’ the girl declared to them, fear clear in her tone. ‘I… I’m Dorothy. I heard you were giving away coins that turn monsters back to normal? I… I’d be interested in having one of those?’

‘But I won’t follow you to your HQ! I’m worried you’ll just kill me after you’ve locked me inside, like you’ve already tried to murder me multiple times in the streets!’ she declared, anger in her voice. ‘That said… I don’t want to be a monster girl anymore! Feel free to bring your Light-specialized, they’ll know I mean it when I say I want to change! This form of mine has given me nothing but trouble! Please! Please help me rid myself of this blasted curse…!’

So the shape of Dorothy cried for help, her bunny-like shape crying behind the corner, as she awaited the reply from the Beacon members. Under the assumption she hasn’t come under fire yet, she continues.

‘Er, I know you grunts probably can’t decide that yourselves, but… P-please discuss it with your bosses or something! I’ll wait for you in the park! Th-that works, right!?’ Dorothy asked, looking over at them with wide eyes, ready to bolt, but also with the slightest bit of hope in her voice as she looked towards them.

Now what would they do?

To tell the truth, there was a point in Hilaria's life where she'd found it impossible to look forward to tomorrow. It was when she'd lost someone she had once loved because she was powerless to protect them. The pain in her chest was magnitudes greater than any she had felt before and it felt like it would never go away. So... she tried to make it go away in the worst way possible.

She was unsuccessful.

That was the last time she ever did something like that, but also the last time she dared form a proper relationship.

Love was... a detriment and a timebomb. To give someone a piece of your heart and to care for them was to invite despair to your door. Because it's not a matter of 'if', it's a matter of 'when'. You lose what you've spent so much time and love on, and then it will leave you with what feels like an everlasting void in your chest that nothing can fill.

That is why Hilaria chooses to avoid getting too close to others. They'll just hurt her after all. They'll find something they like better, or they'll get upset at something trivial, or they'll die all by themselves, leaving her alone. So why should she bother? Even if it's unintentional, getting close to someone will always end with them causing her pain, and that's simply the irrefutable truth. Only someone ignorant would ignore this.

"Be I nothing more than a hypocrite, then...?"

Hilaria muttered these words as she made her way towards the party. To tell another truth, she couldn't exactly get that memory she regained out of her head. The terrible, horrible, no-good one that involved Beacon and their betrayal. And, of course, Isabella. But it wasn't anger that drove her thoughts. No, it was far worse.

It was joy.

She had managed to recall the feelings she had after that betrayal took place. How long that justified fury lasted, and how many times violent thoughts that had never once before crossed her mind, became prevalent in her day-to-day life. Those had faded, only to briefly reignite when reminded by Isabella, only to yet again depart. But even if she no longer felt an intense hatred, that did not explain the joy.

She was glad that Isabella was still alive? How idiotic. A woman who had forsaken her would only do so again. And it was already established that connections were only made to be broken alongside one's heart. But regardless, she still felt this way, and it wasn't going away. Not even the copious amounts of food she'd ate with a variety of other magical girls had cured this illness. Maybe it'd be what finally killed her?

"Mayhaps the food here would serve as a distraction from these childish, ignorant thoughts..."

Hilaria came to a halt as she noticed a rather peculiar sight: a monster girl, taking after a rabbit, was cautiously begging to be purified. She was justifiably on edge, having presumably been persecuted by the very same faction that had cast Hilaria out, all for merely being something they did not care for. The rabbit looked adorable, but this situation was certainly nothing to take lightly. For that rabbit, this decision could potentially solve her biggest worries, or lead to her death.

So naturally, Hilaria stuck her head into the affair. She might continue brooding if she didn't do something else.

Dorothy would feel a very soft breeze tickle her ear, only to then realize it was coming from another being. Were the bunny to turn around, she would notice the usually-armored girl had drawn close enough to invade her personal space. Not that Dorothy would know this, but Hilaria was dressed a bit differently for the occasion. In either case, the girl did not remain quiet. "Hilaria wonders if they'll listen~ They're so inconsistent~" she shout-whispered, clearly not intending to actually prevent others from picking it up.

‘It’s a nice night out’ Penny couldn’t help but muse as she waited. She was currently sitting on a roof top not far from the rave’s location, far enough away that she wouldn’t be seen but close enough that she could be inside in only a few moments all the while hidden by her Cloaking artifact. Again not too far away from where she sat was the Ascendency attachment that was here for the rave. She was patched into their comms but so far hadn’t really interacted with any of the other girls there, which wouldn’t have been too odd really, except that Penny seemed to be withdrawing from everyone as of late.

‘I’m running out of time faster than I expected’

Up in the air darting between the other drones was Penny’s Guide. ‘I need to name it’ and currently her eyes were seeing through her Guide as well as through the eyes of the other drones and the cams worn by the Ascendency.

‘Lily and Alex are here as well’ She would think adding them to her internal catalogue of everyone who had shown up. She recognized most of the faces; she had seen many of them back at the Sanctuary, but most of them she didn’t have a name for.

“I’ll keep an eye where I can as well” Penny’s voice would crackle out from nearby comms unit “I can send you my drone as well if you want, that way we can have an eye inside as well” She would offer shortly after.

---

Viva had been one of the first to make it too the party, after all why would she avoid such a wonderful chance to indulge in some wonton excess? So far she had enjoyed the drinks, the girls, the music, and the cages. Really there wasn’t anything here that she hadn’t enjoyed so far.

Unlike many of the others that had arrived here, Viva did so in full outfit, save for the hat, which she had chucked into her hammer space. After all some of the other girls might be a bit feistier then her normal human body would be able to handle, not that there was anything wrong with that, but she was the type to bite back so long as they enjoyed it.

Lea would have found Vivian lounging at the bar, waiting for the bar keep to get her another drink. “Mother sent you?” the deranged nurse would ask with a raised eyebrow giving the fey like monster girl a once over obviously not believing the other girl. That changed the moment she laid eyes on the blood egg.

The dark girls eyes went wide at it, even as she snatched it away, not caring if it seemed rude or not and it would pulse with unholy light the moment Viva held it. “Oooh, this just made my night much, much better” she would save with a vicious smile.

“You have my thanks princess~” She’d call out she skipped away from the bar off to find a more, comfortable, nook to partake in Mothers gift.

---

Off, far, far from the Rave that had drawn most of Penrose’s attention, so far in fact to be in another dimension Penny sat staring at her own reflection in the TV. She herself wasn’t fully aware of the fact she had been staring at her own reflection, her thoughts were a strange mix of tactical focus on what was coming up and a scattered hurricane of disjointed thoughts and memories.

‘I’m fine’

She was already transformed, her blade safely tucked into its sheath at her side, her fingers laced together in front of her as she waited for Chloe or Divina. She couldn’t quite remember who it was that was going to be taking her to meet and kill Iesude, not that that was anything new. Her mind seemed to be slipping away from her a lot the past day, or was it two? But that was fine, she had Chloe after all.

‘I’m fine’

Still she couldn’t help a feeling of dread that welled up within her, she was after all about to go and hunt a dragon, so she was rather certain that it was simply nerves, and those were fine, and she was fine. Just nervous and that was fine.

‘I am fine...Right?’

---

Even with the large operation that the Ascendency was currently putting into motion, the rest of Beacon couldn’t simply sit back at wait for it to happen. No they still had a mission to uphold after all.

And for some they were glad for it. “I’m telling you I’ve seen it done elsewhere, does wonders for the overall mood of a city I promise” Aurelio would say defending his idea to one of his patrol partners.

Normally Beacon was content to let their members go off solo on patrol routes, or even pair up if they wanted to. But tonight with the Rave going on they didn’t want any of their members being caught unaware thus they had been sent out in four man squads.

Before the person he was debating the merits of setting up free service clinics for the magical community could reply, the small part was confronted by a rather peculiar sight. A bunny girl, even though that was not the first thing that Aurelio noticed about her, what he noticed was the potent mix of Fear Desperation and Hope.

“Done” He would call out before anyone else in the squad could even hope to say anything to the contrary. “My name is Aurelio, I’m high enough up in Beacon that I don’t need to converse with the boss. If you want to be freed from your purification I’ll see it done” He would clarify his aura filled with Calm and Ernest.