"Connie and Mia!”
Lily turned with a wide smile upon seeing her friends; she had kept in contact with them through text messages and Glimmr, but this was the first time she’s seen the two out of costume.
"I’m glad you guys made it too! And you’re so cool too, hah...”
She herself was also out of costume as expected, and adjusted her glasses and nodded as Emily gestured for everyone to move the snacks to the kitchen.
"Oh, Gojira! I love the movies with his son, Gojira Junior! He’s so adorable, eeeehh~!”

She observed as Shane went to talk with Emily, and giggled as Sakura pointed out the weirdness with his old name.
"Yeah, she was, Emily. She was the short girl with the sailor shirt!”
As she saw Faith and especially Hilaria arrive, she noticed how cramped the place was becoming, and turned visibly nervous, even as she greeted Hilde with a wave of her hand.
"Oh wow, are we all gonna fit here? I-I can sit on the floor if we run out of seats,” she offered, starting to develop anxiety as Oros arrived. Was there something she could do?

Then, as she noticed Alex take a seat on the couch, having been one of the first to arrive, she got an outrageous idea; she stood up from her seat next to him and sat on his lap, blushing profusely as she did so.
"Sorry Alex! I know how much you don’t like people being this close, but we gotta make some space. And uh...This is normal for couples to do.”
However, she wasn’t embarrassed for long, as she was shocked to see Tenebra of all people arrive in the apartment. She bit her lip, and took a deep breath, having missed the fact that the spin the bottle had landed on Alex.
"Oh, the movies are missing? I can help you look for them, Saku-chan,” she offered as she quickly jumped off, obviously avoiding Tenebra as much as she could.

Alexander was kind of nervous. Not only was he kind of awkward in social settings, but the last outing he and Lily had taken part in...didn't end well. 'She's just starting to piece herself back together...I don't want to see what happens if something breaks her again.' Despite the odds of something happening being extremely low, Alexander couldn't just logic away his worry. So he took a seat on the couch, and tried to keep his eyes and ears open for any incoming danger 'This would be so much easier with my magic. My senses feel so dull in my normal form.' However, all that came to an end, when Lily sat herself right on his lap

"Sorry Alex! I know how much you don’t like people being this close, but we gotta make some space. And uh...This is normal for couples to do.”

"N-no, it's...fine" he struggled to get out that much. The weight and warmth of her body proving to be extremely distracting. 'This...this is nice.' he found himself relaxing, as he slowly started to become numb to everything else. '...I think I could get used to this.' But he was suddenly dragged back to reality when he felt Lily leave his lap

"-ing? I can help you look for them, Saku-chan,” Lily walked off

Alexander shook his head to clear it of the fuzz that had formed 'What the hell was that!? I mean, it was nice, but what the hell was it!?' His train of thought was derailed when someone shouted

“YOU!?” Some girl pointed at Alex. She wore a dejected look on her face. “…Truth or dare?”

Looking at her, he noticed a bottle between them pointing at him 'This sounds familiar...' With a shrug he answered; "Truth"

“Who was the last woman you thought about that wasn’t Lily?”

Alexander took a minute to think "...Justine. She's this nutjob that kidnapped Lily awhile ago for some weird anti-love ritual or something. Anyway, she's apparently back, and not too long ago, Lily, myself, and another girl were having a conversation about what to do if she went on a revenge spree. On top of that, I'll admit that I've been a little worried lately about her suddenly breaking into our home to attack us"

"Yep, that was me." Shane would confirm to Lily's comment about the brief encounter at the beach. Attention would be drawn away as there was some commotion in the kitchen. Someone ate the movies? That was a new one.

That being the case apparently they were going to be playing this game instead. Sakura looking rather dejected about loosing the movie, Shane would offer some words of encouragement. "If you let us know the edition of the movie I'm sure we can get a hold of another one eventully between the lot of us. I have a good number of contacts scattered around from my years in the magical community." May know a few hording creatures that could be convinced to make a trade.

The truth that Alex gave was almost adorable only because he was clearly oblivious to what Oros was implying. Thing is, Lily was just as likely to miss that Alex was clueless. How even... Bah, not worth the energy it took to understand the dynamic. A few moments passed and it seemed that the boy was not about to continue with his turn. "Normally at the end you're supposed to spin it again and see where it lands. For the sake of keeping things moving though I'll go ahead." Stepping over he would spin the bottle himself.

Being a minority it was pretty likely that it was going to land on a girl. He knew maybe half of them present in some form or fashion. As it slowed it wobbled and shook before coming to a rest on Shoggy. This was someone he didn't know in the slightest. He also had no idea what he was potentially in for. Though a good part of the fun of this game was seeing how people reacted when put on the spot. "Alright then." He would make his way over to the girl and lean in to give her a kiss.

“Oh, uh, o-okay…” Connie said after Faith had explained the reason for her current appearance. Taking the offered bread, she was just about to try a bite, when the door swung open to reveal the strange pink haired girl she and Mia had run into after the battle in the park. Even stranger, Faith waked over to her and addressed her as “Mother”. “Uh, t-that’s Faith’s mom…?” Connie whispered to Mia. “I-I t-thought her n-name was Oros?”

“Just go along with it,” Mia advised, catching the grin Oros directed her way. “From what I’ve gathered, Faith’s, um, parentage is a complicated thing, to say the least…” While this whispered conversation was taking place, Oros had begun setting up some kind of game. Everyone was making a circle around a bottle on the floor. “Oh, great,” Mia groaned. “Not spin the bottle…”

“S-Spin the b-bottle?” Connie asked nervously. “I-Isn’t t-that the game w-where y-you…?”

“Yeah,” Mia confirmed. “We don’t have to play it if you don’t want to. I’m honestly not too big a fan of it myself.”

“N-No,” Connie replied as firmly as she could. “T-This is w-what p-people do at p-parties, s-so we’re g-gonna do it t-too!”

Mia couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s determination. Thankfully, the bottle’s first spin left it pointing at Alex, but before he could answer, some kind of portal appeared above the bottle from which two girls emerged. One of them was Shoggy, thankfully minus her tentacles. Or maybe not, if that “pudding” was anything to go by… The other was the silver-haired girl they had briefly seen at the park, who promptly introduced herself as Tenebra.

“H-Hi Shoggy!” Connie said, waving and giving the eldritch girl a smile. “I-It’s nice to see you again! Oh, a-and it’s n-nice to m-meet you, Tenebra! I-I’m Connie, a-and this is m-my best f-friend, Mia.”

“‘Sup,” Mia added with a nod.

It was then that Connie noticed yet another new arrival, the small samurai girl she had briefly conversed with at the park. She suddenly gasped when she remembered that she’d even exchanged contact info with the girl, but had been so worried about tending to Faith that she had completely forgotten. Connie felt terrible about doing such a horribly rude thing, so she resolved to make up for it now.

“H-Hi, y-you’re Ronin, r-right? W-We, um, m-met at the p-park. I-I’m Connie, and t-this is M-Mia, but, uh, y-you p-probably already k-know that… A-Anyways, it’s r-really n-nice to see you again, a-and I’m r-really sorry I f-forgot I had y-your c-contact info…”

Around this time, an anguished scream was heard coming from the kitchen. It was Sakura. Apparently Shoggy had…eaten the movies…?

“Huh,” Mia noted. “Guess we won’t be having movie night after all…”

Sakura looked at Shane's offer, raising an eyebrow. "Oi, dude, thanks for the offer but this was a collection remnant from my past life i've been collecting for years. And the damn tako-brain ate it." She looked at Lily. "I know you're trying to be helpful, Sparky... but we don't know how, as for Weirdo-chan over there..." She motioned at Tenebra who was offering a suggestion. "Oh what the hell, we should try regardless."

"We?" Tenebra said, looking at Lily and then Sakura. It was clear there was something going on between the two. "Umm..." Something that Sakura picked up. "Yes we... that way we can just sort out when you tried to steal Bud from Lily or whatever made you two riled up. Rat bastard does know how to pick them, won't they?".

"But..." said the silver haired girl.

"Besides, this bottle game is too painful to watch, for now. Let's get to it... and where's Tako-brain?" Sakura said.

Shoggy, indeed, had taken a place in the game circle, nonchalant. She waved her hand as she smiled and Connie. And then it happened. The bottle was upon her. Afterwards she noticed the unmistakable human display to conjugate. She was assumed to be of female gender, and this was a male? Hm, it was always so difficult. Still, she felt giddy insidy as he approached.

"It's been centuries since I conjugated! Does this mean I get a bf? Yaaay!" She said, as she happily accepted Shane's kiss... And then something weird happened. Her body shifted as if she was slurry, getting stuck to Shane's face and partially sinking him deeper into the roughly girl-shaped blob that she was. It probably was a good thing Shane could hold his breath. as now dozens of mouths were kissing him everywhere, while the rest of his being was being held by the blob that Shoggy truly was.

"...nope, nope, I'm not separating them. It's his own damn fault." Said Sakura, as she felt the odd feeling of an overcity shift, with Lily and Tenebra in tow...

---

Buttercup was having a rough day. Her two companions, for different reasons, had decided to make enemies of eachother. This left her lost and anxius, so she needed some sorely needed escapism. And in the Overcity, all sorts of goods were present. She looked at the entire Gojira bootleg special edition displayed at her feet by the means of a rather suspicious looking Fairy.

"A good bargain, don't you think, miss? All the movies here. Don't ask how I got them."
“Uuuh, okay I will buy it...”

It was then when the reality tore apart and three magical girls appeared in front of her.

"YOU! THOSE MOVIES, WE NEED THEM!" Sakura said in a rather brusque tone.

“Why is my luck so baaad...”Buttercup, the unlucky monster girl lamented.

The fairy took a good look at Lily, then gasped. "It's the STOMPER's girfriend! I'm outta here!" She said, as she vanished on speedy, little wings.

Hilde had been a bit distracted by her friends to entirely realize what was going on. Oros had popped up with some new game to play. The game sounded like it could be fun, she wasn't sure she would want to kiss anyone though. "I'll play. It could be fun to..." Connie being willing to participate pretty much assuaged Hilde on the matter. A number of them already being in a circle around the bottle they were almost automatically included. Missing Alex's oblivious answer she only looked back up to what was going one shortly after Shane started moving toward Shoggy.

"Uh, you might not..." Too late. Hilde didn't know what the girl was, but she knew enough to realize she wasn't human. More and more concerned by the second Hilde would lean away from the circle and stiffen. Whispering to her friends and turning away she looked a bit pale. If there was any question about kissing anyone before there wasn't now. "S-should we help him?"

It was a rainy day out, not that it would effect Trixy’s scrolling much.

She was swiping her finger across her phone, reading all of Betty’s old messages. Most of them were one or two sentence responses, usually encouraging words about something Trixy had posted. The ones that weren’t were positive messages aimed at other members of Cradle. Betty got mad and flustered all the time, but when she was online, she made sure that everyone saw the best side of her personality. Trixy consumed these messages like popcorn. This had to be the third time she had read everything. She was appearing offline, so no one else would bother her.

Trixy was able to get over the rave. She fired on Mariette, she couldn’t save Cindy, she couldn’t stop Elvira. Trixy could accept that she had erred in these tasks, either for the right reasons or because the tasks were simply larger than her small organization. But Trixy was in the rave when Betty was captured. She was dancing with some Beacon girls when she was abducted. It felt like there was something she could have done. Even if there wasn’t.

Unlike everything else that happened that night, Betty’s disappearance affected Trixy’s life. Something that was there was now missing and incomplete.

The doorbell rang.

Trixy groaned. ”I’ll be right there!”

As Trixy walked to the door, she wondered who was waiting for her. Perhaps that puppet girl was actually an assassin all along? Maybe the Mint had located her home? Maybe Dusty hadn’t been killed and was returning? Yea, fat chance of that one coming true. She was already transformed, and had her rifle at the ready. Trixy pulled open the door, keeping her rifle out of sight.

”…Maria?”

Standing on the other side of the door was Maria, or ‘Remedy’ as she was more frequently called. She wasn’t wearing wearing much, considering the cold weather. Just a tank and jeans. She had to be freezing.

”I did not expect it to rain.” She was trembling.

”Did you at least expect it to winter? Come in!” Trixy placed her hand on the girls’s back and practically shoved her inside before shutting the door. ”What are you doing out this-” Maria started to remove her top. ”W-what are you doing!?”

”This shirt is wet.” She waved her hand over it. ”You can see through it. Any modesty it might have preserved is no longer present. I do not find it comfortable to wear when it is saturated with cold rain water.” Maria was stoic most of the time, but it was evident she was annoyed with having to explain herself. ”Do you have something else I could wear?”

”Yea.” Trixy extended her hand, and blue tank like the one she was wearing appeared in Trixy’s outstretched hand. ”Also, I couldn’t help but notice you’re wearing a bikini?”

Maria had finished removing her tank and was pulling the one Trixy provided for her over her head. ”Well, I am a water girl. I wear a swimsuit at all times. It’s not quite as comfortable as underwear, but it’s less awkward if a fight breaks out.” She tucked her shirt into her pants. ”The kitchen looks nice. You’ve updated the cook wear since I was last here.”

”Yea! It’s all garage sale finds, but it’s good stuff!”

”Mind if I look at your room?”

”Uh, I mean…”

---

The two girls sat on the edge of Trixy’s bed and looked at the poster covered wall.

”I forgot that I made this place a man cave.” Trixy was twiddling her thumbs. ”It’s not much to look at. Well, if you’re a girl.”

”Swimsuit models are pretty tame by today’s standards.” Her eyes locked onto the poster of a bear mascot. ”I never put two and two together, but your cal sign is based off the Penrose Middle School mascot, correct?”

”Yup!” Trixy giggled. ”I spent a lot of time dressed as Trix the bear. I attended all the basketball games. Penrose Middle School had a good team.”

”Did you play any basketball?”

”Me?” She shook her head. ”I was a bit old to be playing for the team, as well as faculty. I wasn’t especially athletic anyway. Too old to be a player, and too ugly to be a cheerleader. But my spirit was strong enough to shine through a mascot’s suit.”

”You’re one hell of a magical girl anyway.” Maria held up her hand. There was a wooden band wrapped around her finger with a heart shaped knot on it. ”Do you still have yours?”

Trixy raised her hand. She, too had a wooden band. Hers looked more like a lumpy mass. ”I’ve been hiding it in my handbag, but when I’m not on a mission I wear it at all other times.”

Trixy, Maria, and Blair were the three cradle agents left to defend Veronica’s foothold in Penrose. They weren’t enough to stop the Ascendancy or the monster invasions, but they persisted. They were quite the team. Blair had her physical might, Trixy had her strategies, and Maria was there to patch them up when they got hurt. Trixy would often joke about what a great team they were, and went on to give them all nicknames based on their role on the team. Blair was the arm, Trixy was the brain, and Maria was the heart. Together they were the trinity force. She made crude wooden rings for all of them. Trixy didn’t know if Blair ever wore hers, but Maria and Trixy wore theirs as often as possible.

”The trinity force lives on!”

”Heh, yea.” The maid looked between her feet.

”Which is why it surprised me that you wanted to shut us out.” Maria’s eyes became sharp and focused. ”You weren’t very subtle about it. You never log off.”

”I’ve just been appearing offline. I wanted to be by myself initially, and I just forgot to turn myself back online. Did you come here to check up on me?”

”You could say that.”

”You didn’t then?”

”Checking up on you implies that I didn’t know how you were feeling.” Maria folded har hands in her lap. ”I wanted to cheer you up.”

”Oh.”

”But you seem to be doing a lot better than I thought you were.” She smiled. ”How did the date with Samantha go?”

Trixy sighed. ”It went really well until she started spanking me.”

”She’s a Dominatrix then?”

”Wah?”

”Nothing.” She shook her head. ”I also came over here to talk to you about a possible job.”

”Doesn’t Veronica handle that?”

”Normally, but she’s left and has since stated that she doesn’t want me handing anything like this.” She raised her hand. ”It’s just a guard job. You probably won’t see any action. I’d hand it off to Eliza or Silhouette, but it seemed more like a Trixy thing.”

”Sure. What are the details?”

---

Once again,the cradle agents had been gathered in Veronica’s interdimensional mansion. Most of the usual girls were here. Samantha, Eliza, Maura, Tetrad, and Trixy were all present. As were Blair and Remedy, but they hardly interacted with anyone so they might as well not even exist.

Trixy sighed. ”Betty...”

Betty’s seat remained empty, and Veronica’s seat was occupied by a white and red fur ball. 

”We have some new blood though. Well, new to the table anyway.” Tetrad patted Ronin’s head. ”We recovered Binky, right?”

Ronin reached her hand up at being addressed and waved it to whatever onlooking crowd she might have, then took the hand down and focused on listening to what people were saying.

”My operations will be discussed in a bit.” The furry creature cast its gaze on everyone. As cute as it looked, it still had Veronica’s presence. ”Before we begin, does anyone have any concerns or information they wish to share?”

Since she already spoke to Veronica at an earlier point in time, Samantha shook her head. “Not on my end.” Sam did cast what could technically maybe sorta be called a sympathetic look at Trixy, who seemed to still be suffering from the loss of Betty. 

"Not a lot to note on our end. However..." Eliza spoke up, noticing Trixy's expression. "I've attempted to scry on Betty's whereabouts, see how she was doing."

The maid looked up from her slump and nodded at Eliza. ”I hope you find her soon.” She smiled. 

”Nothing significant to report then? good.” the critter hopped up onto the table. ”I believe I have discussed the possibility of Trixy taking over Cradle operations in my stead. I have since decided that such a thing would not be wise.” Veronica looked at Trixy. ”Operators function best when they are not in the field.”

Trixy hung her head. ”I was afraid you’d say that. But it’s understandable.” She shifted in her seat. ”It’s not because of the Mariette thing is it? I’m still sore from that punishment.”

”Hold your questions.” Veronica’s eyes flared red. ”I have assigned a new operator to Cradle, one who will look over things in my stead. You may have some reservations about this individual given that you’ve never met them. However, I wish for you to treat them the same way you would treat me. Her words are my words, her goals are my goals. I am the mother of the cradle, she is the wet nurse who will look after you in my absence.” The critter looked directly at Sil. ”If you have any questions you don’t feel comfortable asking her, you may ask Tetrad. She knows more about the situation than anyone else.”

The creature’s eyes went dark. It sunk into its own shadow which melted into mist. Everyone got the feeling it would be a while before they heard Veronica’s voice again.

Then at Veronica’s side of the room, something shuffled around in the dark. Before it could fully emerge from the shadows, the cradle agents could hear the stranger call out to them.

”Howdy y’all!”

What stepped out of the shadows was a woman with a green ponytail in a black dress. It was adorned with all manner of ribbons and jewels, and the more lustful of the cradle agents would be unable to take their eyes off the flesh of her bosom. ”Pretty nasty weather we’re havin’. I just tell myself it’s summer time somewhere.” She pulled the ribbon that held her pony tail tight before taking a seat in Veronica's chair.

Tetrad blinked. ”So yea!” She pointed at the newly arrived. ”Viridian! The Onyx Operative, our wet nurse!”

Trixy chuckled. ”Hello nurse.”

”If it’s easier for y’all you can call me Velma. Just don’t call me late for dinner.” She turned to look at Ronin. ”Well ain’t you just the cutest thang. Nobody told me our little Ronin was so garsh dang adorable.” She reclined in her seat. ”Got anything for me girls? Any naggin’ questions? Let’s tackle ‘em and then I’ll start this briefing as quick as a hiccup!”

Ronin grinned happily at Viridian's statement to her. She did like being cute.

Though it confused Silhouette at first, she understood this was likely some form of guise. A more affable demeanor to ease people in, to deceive foes, to… Wait, wasn’t Veronica about to hand the Cradle over to Trixy? She nearly shuddered. “I, at least, would prefer to know what you are capable of,” Samantha began, her mood having soured immediately after Veronica’s departure. “It speaks that Veronica would entrust operations to you, particularly because you are certainly not familiar to the rest of the group. But why is this? What do you bring to the table?” her questioning was certainly laced with aggression, though many could guess why. 

”That’s a fair question, darlin’. Or should I call you Sam?” She placed her hands together.

“It’s Silhouette,” she replied curtly. 

”It didn’t really make sense for Trixy to run operations, did it? The doll’s got a load of charisma, even little ol’ me can see that. But she ain’t got the power to back you girls up. She’d need to relay everythin’ to Veronica in order to activate any of her powers.” She spread her arms. ”Meanwhile, I can do everythin’ Veronica can do. She can truly focus on her thang while we hold the fort.”

‘Will you be our friend?’ Ronin asked. ‘Veronica always kept a certain distance, but I haven't given up Veronica! Tell me anytime you just wanna hang out!’ Ronin told the place where the critter once was while grinning widely. ‘... But yeah, you seem friendly, wanna be friends as well as companions?’

”Sure darlin’, I’d love to be your friend!” she pointed at Ronin. ”Oh, and while I’m sure Veronica would love to know you haven’t given up on her, I should tell you that Veronica has adjusted the magicoms so that she can’t be directly contacted. Another measure to ensure she can focus on the lab without distractions.” She looked at Samantha, who seemed even less pleased. ”Only I can contact her directly, and only in emergencies or for a daily report.” Her eyes moved back onto Ronin. ”I’ll let her know you’re thinkin’ about her, sweet pea.”

Ronin first giggled happily at that Viridian would be her friend, then made an  ‘aw’ sound at that Veronica wouldn't let her talk to her, nodding about that Viridian would let her know.

Trixy finished inspecting Viridian before asking her question. ”So you taking over for me is just a matter of convenience?”

”That’s right darlin’. It ain’t any more complex than that.”

Blair kept her arms crossed. ”I share in Silhouette’s skepticism, but if Veronica wishes us to follow her orders, I will.”

”No more questions? Alright then!” Viridian folded her hands together. ”Veronica did manage to pick up Binky, and they’ve been at the new lab site for a few days now. It was luck really. But they’re both safe and sound. All of the girls there are now official members of cradle, so it was an important step to strengthen our numbers. But she still has a lot to do before she can come back home.” A shadow appeared in the center of the table, which took the shape of Mariette. ”Y’all know who the portal witch is, right? Veronica has enlisted our help in protecting her from an upcoming attack. Turns out Justine’s set her sights on Mariette, and Veronica wishes for us to repel the attack at all costs. Seems our chance to get payback on the little bloodsucker is all too close.” Another shadow appeared in front of Samantha, Trixy, Eliza, and Ronin. A “key” rose out of the shadow. Though they looked like everyday items. Samantha’s was a pen, Trixy’s looked like a fork, Eliza’s was a ribbon, And Ronin’s was a tape measure. 

”These keys will let you enter Mariette’s dimension, once she interviews you and activates them at least. She wanted to interview all of you later. We’re unsure if Justine herself will show up, but given Sonia’s ability to teleport, she seems like a likely candidate to extract Mariette. That’s one of the reasons we’ve insisted she enlist Dan and his girls in this operation. Teleportation will be as difficult for her as escaping molasses is for a fly.”

‘Um,’ Ronin raised her voice. ‘Should I really have one of those? As I mentioned, I was forcefully recruited by Justine to join her in the attack on Mariette, despite that I actually wish to save her and her subordinates. I had been planning on playing along and enter with her and then make up a plan, but do we have a different plan of action here?’

”Well sweet pea, we were thinking you could have one just in case.” She giggled. ”But if you don’t feel safe with one, that’s fine, nobody’s forcing you to have one. Veronica didn’t inform me of her personal dealings with y’all.”

”I mean.” Tetrad pointed at herself. ”I could always have it, right?”

”Afraid not, sugar plum.” Viridian looked a little more grave when she spoke to Tetrad. ”We know Justine is gunning for us too, and the knowledge you carry is really secretive.”

With a groan, Tetrad propped up her head with her arm. ”I know the risks, if anyone gets access to my mind, everything gets wiped out.”

”I’d rather not risk it. We don’t even know if that’ll stop Justine. Her form of mind control is based on ‘turning’ people. She might not trigger the kill switch.” Viridian’s smile returned. ”Besides, you’re a cute little ball of entropy. Things are bound to get more wild than a bucking bronco with you around.”

”Then what am I going to do this whole time?”

Viridian pointed at Betty’s seat. ”I discussed it with Veronica, and she agreed. You’d make a great bodyguard.”

”WHAT!?” Tetrad slammed her palms into the table. ”Betty was abducted as a bodyguard! The hell are you smoking!? I want some!”

”That’s more because of how Veronica reacted in the situation. It’s less that I need a bodyguard and more you can monitor things better when not in the thick of it.” Viridian kept her eyes on Tetrad, ignoring any looks she might have been getting from the others. 

The gambler pinched the bridge of her nose. ”What utter bull crap!”

Silhouette recalled the last time she fought Justine and how chaotic it got. She wanted to hope that things would be smoother this time, but that wasn’t possible. No, it would probably get even worse. But there was something she wanted out of this. “So protecting the Portal Witch is our only objective in this operation?” Silhouette asked for confirmation. Anyone else in the room likely knew that she wanted Justine and even Sonia’s blood, especially after the events of the Rave. 

”Protecting Mariette would help us get on her good side. Veronica would rather have her as an ally than the alternative, and it means givin’ Justine what-for, so it’s a win-win y’all!” She pointed into the air.”Veronica would rather Justine be weakened so that she could be interrogated, but she’s dangerous, and killing someone of her ilk would be understandable. Twenty years without Justine is twenty years without Justine.”

"We should also expect Justine to have back-up." Eliza finally spoke up, having quietly observed the others. She was surprised Veronica got her a key; looked more like a ribbon if anything, but she wouldn't question it. The witch pulled out a phone from her pocket, the same one Justine gave Amanda, and set it down on the table. "Not only has she convinced both Mint and Beacon to assist her, she kinda tried to drag one of Maura's into this. Girl's dead set on Mariette being the cause of the influx of monsters..." she explained.

Viridian placed a hand on her chin, addressing Eliza’s information now. ”We were expecting Mint reinforcements, but if she’s got Beacon in her pocket, that could prove to be…. mighty interestin’.” She giggled. ”Mint and Beacon, former enemies of Justine unite with her to take on a timid little witch.” Viridian phased through the shadows and arrived at Eliza’s side. ”How long ago was this? What makes you sure she has Beacon reinforcements?”

Eliza tapped the side of her head. "It was before the rave happened, and after she had come into contact with Amanda and Ronin, from what I can tell." she explained. "Though knowing Beacon, and by extension, the Ascendancy, they might have other plans for Justine. Still, we should take precaution. I can't look that far into the future yet." she sighed.

‘That's a worrying thought...’ Ronin said about the Beacon and Mint thing. Otherwise she didn't have much to add.

”Interestin’.” Viridian returned to Veronica’s seat. ”If that’s true, Alicia knowingly hid information from us. We might need to take her down a peg in the future. But you know what they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We’ll worry about Beacon after we thwart Justine’s plan.” She folded her arms. ”Any other questions darlin’s? I’ll contact Mariette shortly to interview those who are getting keys.”

“If that is all, then I would like to take my leave.”

”Not quite yet, Sil.” Tetrad tapped the table. ”Veronica said we were going to have a vote on what to do with Elvira. She’s interested in joining Cradle, she signed a contract and everything.” She looked at everyone. ”I think I talked to most of you guys about this.”

Viridian tapped her cheek. ”I do seem to recall Veronica saying something like that.” The corners of her lips flicked upwards. ”Even a single vote against Elvira will sink her. That was the deal, right?” She nodded to herself. ”Well alright then. I’ll abstain from voting, but y’all can give your verdict.”

Tetrad inhaled. ”I doubt my answer is going to surprise anyone, but I think she wants to turn her life around. Cradle did a lot for me, and I think she’ll be a welcome addition to the team. That was the impression I got when I interrogated her.”

”I haven’t changed my mind.” Trixy folded her arms and grinned. ”I was one of the first people to fire on her, but if Tetrad thinks she can change her ways, I say give her a chance. The more cute faces, the better.” She leaned towards Samantha. ”Having an idol on the team could be useful, right? In case someone needs a coach?”

“The only ‘idol’ we need is me,” Sil retorted, offended at the very idea. “That being the case, I don’t particularly care what happens to her. But considering my own circumstances, it should not matter what they did before. If she has a use and signs Veronica’s contract, then I see no real reason to object,” Sil expressed her honest opinion. 

Remedy shrugged. ”I don’t see any reason to damn her. The Mint is a crooked organization, they make fools of everyone who works under them.”

"We already agreed to give her a chance." Maura spoke up.

"And besides, she can't get away with pulling something behind our backs with me around. I can always deal with her if that's ever the case." Eliza added.

‘She's the cause of what happened at the rave, right? Or at the very least, she was in on it?’ Ronin asked, and bit together a bit. ‘I don't like that she did that. I probably haven't heard the whole story, but I don't like that she did that. That said, I'm not going to stand in the way of her trying to become better, if that's what she's trying, then go for it,’ she said. Besides, did she even have the kind of authority to make that kind of vote, here?

The last person to vote was Blair. ”Must be a blood moon tonight.” She chuckled. ”I’m going to agree with Silhouette again.”

”So it’s a unanimous vote to keep her around, huh? I thought y’all were harder than that.” There was an awkward silence in the room. The corners of Viridian’s were lowering before they popped up into a smile. ”But it’s what y’all want. I’ll notify Veronica with two shakes of a lamb’s tail. She’ll be put to work outside of Penrose for the time being. Maybe in the future you’ll see her again.” She clapped her hands together. Y’all are free to leave. Dismissed!”

Starring: ‘Twinsanity’ Janet Powell
‘Flirting With Danger’ Trixy



Like many other places in Penrose, the Museum of Natural History had suffered from the disasters and chaos that were going on. The place had been closed down for the duration of the evacuation, in order to safeguard the populace as well as the items inside.

Now the halls laid empty, exhibits ready for those who would never see them. The entire building was silent, as if life had simply paused here and never started back up again.

It was evening in Penrose, and the museum saw movement, life, once more. In the lobby of the building the lights had been turned on, and a young boy sat on one of the benches in the middle of the room. A small ferret-like creature darted to and fro on the front desk, batting at brochures and paperweights as it played in order to pass the time.

The front door was unlocked, and the duo in the lobby were ready for the girls who had answered the bounty request. The ferret paused, nose twitching as it glanced over to the magical boy nearby before squeaking a question.

“They’ll be here,” he assured his Familiar with a confident smile. Anyone willing to take on a task like this had to be reliable. But for now, they waited.

---

Moving in on foot, Janet made her way to the entrance. It had been a while since she’d specifically taken on a bounty. Mostly because she was busy and her life was turmoil. Though that might just be the city It was yet to be determined if Cindy would make an appearance, but the other girl itched for action even more so. This sitting by nonsense and constant posturing was not how she traditionally operated as of late.

The Beacon girl scoped out the area for minds that might otherwise be around. Seemed the only one of note was the boy in the building. Entering through the unlocked doors she took a glance around as she approached the one in the lobby.

”Stop right there!” A potted plant with the barrel of a M107 sticking out of it called to Janet. ”You’re with Beacon!” The plant’s pot seemed to grow legs, legs clad in thigh-high lace-up boots, and walked closer. ”There’s only one reason why you could be here.” The plant continued to move closer, until it stopped. ”No way!?” The plant withered and fell off of the magical girl hiding inside of it. It was a maid with a large anti material rifle, which was no longer pointed at Janet. ”You’re here for the bounty too!?”

The blonde girl would probably have reacted with more surprise if she hadn’t noticed the additional mind as she was walking. The one that had popped out of the plant matched the description of some reports. One of Veronica’s girls. Ironically she seemed to relax just a bit once she could identify who it was pointing a weapon at her. ”We’re not going to just sit around when people ask for help.” She put one hand on her hip casually.

With a sigh, Trixy’s arms sagged. ”This is going to be an awkward mission, but Binky said you were okay.” Her eyes traveled up and down Janet. ”Not a bad look. I don’t know what I was expecting but well, you know, words never do the real thing justice.” Trixy extended her hand. ”I’m Trixy. But you can call me anything but late for dinner.” She grinned.

”Janet Howell.” She smiled back. ”And you’re fine. I don’t have anything against the Cradle. Veronica also helped ferry me back after the assault on Justine’s castle so we’re on decent terms as far as I’m concerned.” She accepted the hand shake and glanced over to the one that presumably was the one putting out the bounty.

Trixy looked extremely pale when Janet mentioned Veronica helping her. ”Heh, right! Guess I was being a little too gung ho there! It’s hard to tell Beacon from the Ascendancy sometimes, but I prefer to live and let live if I can help it.” She stood beside Janet. ”Let’s see what this guy has to say, then we can talk tactics.” Trixy pushed the door open and held it for Janet. ”Hello good sir, it is us, your hirelings!” She let the door shut. ”So what’s the scoop?”

Hearing the door open, the boy looked up to see the duo enter. He smiled, rising from his seat to meet them. The ferret jumped off of the counter onto his shoulder, riding as the magical boy strode towards them. “Hey there, I’m glad you could make it on such short notice,” he said with a warm smile. “I’m Thomas. Follow me and I’ll take you to the relic.”

He turned and gestured for them to follow before heading down one of the halls and further into the museum. As they walked he spoke to them, with the Familiar’s gaze shifting from one girl to the other. “Now this will involve fighting other magical girls in all likelihood. I hope that won’t be a problem for either of you?”

Fighting other magical girls huh? ”Seems to come with the territory eventually.” She would comment as they followed.

Trixy only chuckled. ”We’re in Penrose. We fight more magical girls than monsters these days.” She lowered her gun into her hands. ”I prefer to fight monsters, but my lady’s wishes come before all else. She wants the artifact protected, so I’ll defend it with my life!”

Thomas nodded, certainly understanding of their viewpoint. “Of course. I just wanted to make sure.” It would have been a bit awkward otherwise, wouldn’t it?

They soon reached their destination. It was an open room, with various displays and informational cards to describe what one was seeing. While it was not the largest in the museum, there was still a decent amount of space for people to move about and look at things without getting in each others way.

“So I work for Nieth,” Thomas added. “Normally I’d have done this myself but some other stuff has come up that I also have to do, so I don’t really have the time for guard duty. Plus deities and their games, you know how it is”

Coming to a stop in front of a display cave, he gestured to a copper spear placed within it. “That right there is one of the weapons used to cut up the body of Osiris. It seems that Set wants to steal it, and my patron would prefer that that not happen.”

It was about now that Janet wished she had her sister’s Third Eye so she could see if the relic had any specific magical properties. To the naket eye it didn’t seem to have anything special about it, which would explain why it was sitting in some regular old museum and not some magical facility. There was one little question that popped into her head. ”Why not just hide it? With the museum closed it’s not like the public is going to miss it right now.” She would pose. It wasn’t the only thing she wanted to ask but it was the first.

Thomas shrugged when faced with their questions. “Because the boss said so.” After a moment though he leaned forward, hand raised as if conspiratorially whispering to them. “Personally though I think they want Set’s people to get beaten. Knock him down a few pegs, or something like that.”

”It does seem like the sort of thing you could tuck into a hammerspace if you wanted to.” Trixy examined the spear from all angles, even going as far as sprouting a tree to hold her above the thing. ”Do you know anything about who’s coming to get it?”

Resuming his initial stance, the magical boy shifted towards Trixy and nodded. “Confident enough to put money on the line for it. I know that at least two girls are tasked with the heist, but not much more than that. Sorry.”

Stepping up to the weapon she would look back at Thomas. ”So other than leaving it undamaged we can move this right?” She wanted to be sure it wouldn’t be an issue. She could just ward the thing to try and anchor it in place if needed.

”Hmmmm...” Trixy rubbed her chin with her index finger. ”So how long do we guard it for? Just the night?” Trixy opened her palm, and an acorn appeared in her hand.

Thomas hummed in thought, scratching the ferret’s head as he glanced towards the ceiling. “As long as you don’t take it to the Overcity or lose it, it should be fine. And yes, just for the night,” he assured them “Anything else I can answer for you?”

Janet would look at Trixy. ”I think that’s all for me. You?”

”No more questions. But there’s something you could do for me.” Trixy handed the acorn to Thomas. ”Just hold onto that. When you give it back to me, I’ll know the job is over.” Trixy gave the boy a toothy smile.

Thomas nodded, taking the acorn from Trixy when it was offered. “That sounds good. I look forward to seeing you in the morning, at the end of a successful mission.” And with that, he took his leave. Now they could prepare for the eventual arrival of the thieves they had been hired to stop.

With the task at hand, Janet would take down the spear and examine the head for a moment. Seemed pretty ordinary to her, as did the wooden staff it was attached to. ”How likely do you think our robbers would notice if we produced a replica?” She would walk over to an outlet and pop a cover off, touching the contacts with her hands briefly. The shock was mildly bothering, but she wanted a clearer lay of the building, the electrical could help her with that just a bit.

”Before we get to that, I’m just going to speak my mind a bit.” Trixy dropped an acorn on the floor. When she went to sit down on it, it shrug up as a stump that made for a nice place to think. ”Thomas said some interesting things. ‘Deity’s and their games’ as well as Nieth more doing this for amusement than a real desire to protect the artifact. I don’t know my Egyptian gods, but it almost sounds like this one might be a trickster.
We have to consider the possibility that in addition to Set, we might have to react to whatever games Nieth sets for us. We can’t trust anyone.” She shrugged. ”Doesn’t really change anything.” Trixy stood back up. ”Now let’s talk defense. Having a decoy spear is a good idea, but it’s likely that Set has prepared their troops to steal this thing. I’d be apprised if one or both of them didn’t have an eye for magic or an artifact for divining its location. We should hide the real thing in a defensible area. Preferably a spot that isn’t obvious, but can also stand up to attackers for a while.” Trixy dropped a seed on the ground, and it sprout into a hedge bush. ”I can make plants grow in all sorts of directions, as you can plainly see. Iif I touch a plant, I can tell what condition it’s in regardless of where I am. I can use this to set ‘alarms’ by barricading areas. I’ll be alerted as soon as something tries to break them down.” She presented her gun. ”I’m expecting them to have a hammerspace or simply plan on escaping into the overcity. Letting them touch it could be game over.” Trixy sighed. ”So what can you do? What are your thoughts about all this?”

Janet would consider the matter. The games of gods and such for the most part were lost on her. They weren't a subject she'd ever really studied before or after becoming a magical girl. Still it was an interesting observation. She would start with her capabilities as that would open up the most chance to coordinate. "Suppose my main forte is my defensive magic. I can create barriers and wards in order to block and off and defend areas. Should be able to slow them down physically and otherwise hamper movement." She pointed to her head. "I should be able to track them fairly decently by their minds, so even if they are moving around a lot it'll be tougher to get the drop on us. They may know the place but I can learn that pretty quickly. Depending on their mental defenses I could potentially affect their minds." Producing her own spear she would look it over. "I've mostly been a close quarters combatant so keeping it nearby me is probably best. Unless we feel we can fool them." She would prop her spear against her shoulder and open her hand. Sparks would dance between her fingers. "I've recently acquired power over Lightning magic though so I've a fair number of ranged options now as well." Was it such a good idea to tell all of this to a Cradle agent. Maybe, maybe not. Thing about capabilities though is they're really only secret until you use them, and then hiding it is moot. And again they weren't really enemies on the whole.

Looking over the item they were hired to guard again. "My thinking is that I could put protective barriers and wards around this and potentially a replica to make it harder for them to directly identify what is contained within. Should keep them from simply being able to snatch and vanish with it as well since they won't actually be in contact with the weapon." Looking around the space she would go over the rough layout of the building the electrical wiring had given her. "They likely do know the building as you said. I'm fairly certain there is a vault on the lower level. Assuming we can get in it is the obvious defensive point. Wards would probably help against metal girls and I can keep the lights on with my magic to prevent darkness girls from slipping in. If we can't get in it would still make for a solid point to be against as we won't be dealing with windows and quick exits. The nearby foundation could be reinforced with my magic instead. Force them to come to us." She went back to the front desk to pick up a pamphlet and pen. It wouldn't show everything but it had a basic map of the building and exhibits and would be a simple way to plan things out.

”I wouldn’t wait in the room with the spear. They could just as easily have a psychic themselves. Though you should probably be nearby.” Trixy scratched her chin some more. ”Well, let’s just play to our strengths. We can both make barriers, but they both have different strengths and weaknesses. Let me seal off all the exits so that we have some alarms to work with. You can see minds, but some girls employ minions that don’t have minds to track.” Trixy placed her hand on the spear, and vines swirled around it’s shape before they grew leaves, covering it’s shape. ”I could make a few of these ‘false totems’ and place them in the safe room, then you could barrier them individually. That would make it harder for them to find if they can’t divine its location. I think you should guard the vault’s entrance, but it might be best if I was walking a patrol or hiding out in a different location. I’d be nearby of course, I’d never leave a team mate alone.” She chuckled.

Nodding in agreement, she would look up briefly. They could potentially run into a water girl as well. Having been one once upon a time she might cover the sprinklers where she sets up. And if there was fire, well them there was water. "Sounds good. I'll cover the halls leading down as well so I can sense them coming that way as well. If they lack earth magic I could see about moving a tile or something and embedding the spear in the floor. Just make it an absolute pain to get to.".

With something of a game plan Janet would let Trixy make some false spears surrounded in vines and leaves that she would protect with the aforementioned warded barriers, doing the same to the actual spear. It may or may not trip them up. If it did work though it would make their job that much easier. While she was alone prepping Cindy would make her way to the surface briefly. There was a particular idea she had that could help them accomplish this goal. Beneath and hidden by the protection of the true spear she would charge it with electricity. Acting as a capacitor, upon breaking the defenses the shock would be released all at once on whoever held it. Having access to the grid it was a trivial matter loading it with a truly nasty amount of power. Relinquishing control Janet would take the lot down she would see about the vault. The exact mechanism wasn't as important as finding the right circuits to activate in order to make the thing unlock. On chance of not getting in she would reinforce the foundation rather than the vault. Either way she would place spears in various nearby rooms inside, behind, and among other items. Erecting barriers she would attempt to wall off as many doors and hallways as possible. She could drop them in a moment's notice as moving may be needed.

Trixy, for her part, worked along side Janet when creating her barriers. She also grew some vines over the ventilation system should something try to get through. Otherwise though, she continued to enact the strategy they thought up.

”We don’t know when they’re coming, but I think this’ll be enough.” They were never going to cover every possible tactic the enemy could attack with. All they could do was their best.

---

The time passed by, silence and each other the only company that was available. The basement below the museum was mostly used for storage and staff needs, which was why the vault was down there. Their preparations went off without a hitch, barriers erected, vents covered, decoys laid down. Mostly concentrated in the basement of the museum, it would be a mixture of physical and magical barriers.

Come 1 AM, and….nothing would be happening. It seemed calm and very boring in the museum right now. If one did not notice the all but silent failing of barriers along the way to the vault, and the psychic presence of not just two, but three minds total. It seemed the information they had been given was slightly incorrect.

The heist was on.

Having been keeping track of Trixy, she would get a psychic message from the Beacon girl. I have three minds. They’re working their way through the barriers toward the vault right now. Janet had positioned herself in a room adjacent to the vault door. Putting a little more focus on the intruders she hoped to get a little more information about them. What they were thinking off the top and perhaps something about their magic if she could manage.

Reaching out with her mind, Janet would get a few details. One girl, Isabelle, had gravity magic and was destroying her barriers with that as well as a sword. Another girl, Alba, had Sound magic, which she was using to mute any indication of their presence via noise. There was less from the third girl, aside from being in a close relationship with Isabelle. They were focused on the task at hand, if grumbling about the opposition and preparing for whatever fight might be at hand.

”Let me see if I can get behind them!” Trixy was walking a patrol like she said she was going to do, but with the threat spotted, it was time to change tactics. She scrambled up to one of the air ducts. The overgrowth briefly parted so that Trixy could get into position and look outward at the incoming magical girls. It was a bit tight with such a large weapon, but she managed to fit thanks to her ability to contort her body into nearly any shape she wanted. That didn’t mean it was comfortable though.

”Come out to the museum, we'll get together, have a few laughs...” She snorted. ”Can’t believe Tetrad couldn’t have come with me for this.”

They were soon drawing near to Trixy’s position, only one barrier left between them and where she had hidden in the vents. She wouldn’t be able to hear what they were saying because of the sound magic, at least on that side of the barrier. But she could see them. One girl hammered at the barrier with a two handed sword, another girl maintained their silence, holding on to a metal sickle. The third hung back, wary for danger without any visible weapons at the moment. At the very least they seemed like they knew what they were doing.

One blow, another, the barrier shuddered under the forceful impacts. If there were any last preparations, now was the time.

Useful information. Janet would pass on her findings to Trixy. The one closest to the barrier is using Gravity magic. The one behind her, Sound. Seems like she's blocking out the noise they're making. Not sure about the other one. The first and the last are in a relationship apparently. Something to keep in mind perhaps. She wasn't entirely sure how relevant that last bit was, but it could be useful to use or be aware of. Passion was a thing that could run both ways.

That barrier won't last long. I may not have sound magic but I bet they aren't expecting to hear anything. When they break through I can provide a distraction. As far as the senses were concerned, they were all just signals to the brain. And that was something she could take advantage of. She would wait for Trixy's mental response, which was basically instantaneous in the mind space.

Trixy licked her hand and swept her hair back. ”I can work with this.” Trixy also relayed their weapons back to Janet. That the two in a relationship had swords, and the one in the middle had a staff.

With a muted ‘crack’ the barrier shattered, letting the trio pass by. As they drew nearer, Trixy would be able to hear better as she came within the effects of the sound magic. “Stupid barriers,” Alba grumbled. “They want to make this as hard for us as possible before we fight.”

“We could always make our own entrance,” Isabelle pointed out as a hand rested on her sword.

The third girl nodded. “We shouldn’t let them lead us into a trap if we can.”

Frowning, Alba hummed in thought as she glanced over at the walls. “That may be a good idea. At the very least we might be able to bypass some of these barriers. I told Set we should have brought Marigold but nooo….”

Isabelle grinned as she stepped over to the left side wall, knocking on it with a closed hand. “Your confidence in us is overwhelming. Me and Iona will crush anything that stands in our way!” She then prepared to do some ‘creative demolition’ to get them further through the underground levels. They ended up with Alba in front, Isabelle in the middle, and the third girl behind.

As they stepped forward Janet would reach out with her mind. The three would “hear” a shuffling behind the wall they were examining. There was then a deep hum as if the charging of some device just before a loud bang and flash of light. None of this was actually real of course. Complex visuals would take a whole lot longer to force on the mind’s eye. But the girl had essentially applied a mental flasbang against them from a false direction. Now’s the time. She would send out to Trixy.

The trio stumbled at once under the effects of Janet’s psychic magic, earning a string of curses from Alba in the process. They might not know immediately that it was psychic magic, but all of them did not have to think hard to guess what would follow an attack like that.

”Hyea!”

Trixy hurled the seeds as soon as she was told. Some but not all sprouted, forming a ball of woody vines laced with seeds.The ball wasn’t too big when it landed behind the last girl, maybe a foot or so wide at most. But as it rolled, more vines emerged, causing the ball to rapidly expand in size. While her trap ball expanded, she hopped out of the vent and aimed her rifle at the center most girl’s leg.

Trixy’s vine ball sprouted behind them, cutting off the exit and reducing the space that they had to work with. Bad when one considered the attack from the two girls appearing in their midst.

The Beacon girl herself would rush out of the opposing room to her decoy and charge at the intruders. Ordinarily her speed was above average at best. However, coupled with boosts from Reinforcement and Lightning she would give herself a burst of speed to close the gap. This being the first engagement there was no telling how they would lash out from being startled. Ahead of herself she maintained a barrier, however her target was the one she had less of a read on. For the moment she would avoid using her spear, instead seeking to deck the girl with a solid punch in the confusion.

Janet would have the initiative thanks to her magic, racing in and decking the one she knew the least of. The girl hit the ground with a groan, needing a moment to recover.

“Rica!” Isabelle cried at the impact, unleashing a blast of Gravity magic to push both Trixy and Janet away. It would also keep her from being struck by the bullet at least, though she was still forced to do some fancy footwork to keep from being entangled in roots expanding from the impact. Her sword rose as she growled. “You’ll pay for hurting my sister!”

Alba bared her teeth as she flourished her scythe, strumming a rif that energized her and her allies (though not a very in tune one). “Come on, give me a good fight would you,” she challenged as she swang her weapon at Janet to drive her away from the fallen Rica.

Bracing herself after being shunted by the gravity magic the Beacon girl would manage to stay on her feet. Sisters huh? Well that helped clarify things just a bit. Thankfully the rushing tactic seemed to work so far. Pretty quickly she was confronted by the sound girl and her weapon. Conceding ground wasn't too much of an issue in this case. The punch was just the opening. "If you say so." Summoning her spear Janet would parry the scythe. The other weapon's blade meant it required a pretty wide movement at this distance but that was fine. Keeping this one busy was enough at the moment.

Rica, who for the most part would be fine given the general resilience of magical girls, would begin to feel a pressure on her mind. Maybe she hit her head too hard when she fell or the strike was harder than expected. Janet sought to take advantage of the girl's dazed state. There was something almost like a still small voice that grew in intensity. It was a calling. No, a command. Sweet and soft but kept repeating. Sleep. Depending on Rica's mental faculties and potential residences sleep might start sounding pretty good right about now.

Trixy was mid-air when the gravity blast shoved her backwards. She hurdled through the air, but managed to roll onto a prone position once she landed on the ground. Distance was good for her weapon, so there were no problems being thrown further away.

”You guys are twins?_{Twins are pretty cute. Hot even. But I’m in a relationship right now. And I’m starting to enjoy the spanking.}”

The ball of vines continued to grow. While Trixy was capable of some crazy instantaneous growth, it could only be applied to seedlings, and one at a time. It was a bit like stove top popcorn, where the ball grew the most when the first half of the kernels popped.

Trixy aimed her anti matter rifle. It would have no difficulty ripping through her vine barrier, and she could track all of her potential targets with the nifty scope she had. She fired another round at Isabelle.

Metal clashed on metal as Alba’s swing was met by Janet’s spear. A curious eyebrow rose, but after a moment her grin widened just a bit more. “Now this is what I’m talking about,” she agreed before stepping forward as she spun her scythe for a sharp downwards slash. She kept on the offensive, doggedly pursuing the rigorous fight that she wanted.

Down below, Rica tensed as she felt the pressure upon her mind. “Get….Get out of my head!’ she yelled before unleashing her magic. Janet would be rooted in place as gravity magic fell upon her, making moving that much more difficult from the force upon her. Rica then shifted, rolling back before rising to her feet.

Isabelle would not be prepared for Trixy’s second shot, clipping her torso with it and sending her stumbling back. “Fuck!” she swore, a hand rising to press against the wound. Not that it stopped the flow of blood, but it helped. “Sis, the artifact,” she called out to the other girl.

Then she pointed her sword at Trixy, pained determination on her face. “Get lost,” she snapped before unleashing her magic as well. The ball of vines would be subjected to gravity magic, collapsing in on itself from the pressure until it had been crushed. That would let them see Trixy at the very least, so she wouldn’t be taken off guard like this again.

Spear and scythe were not dissimilar in their design. Long pole with something sharp on the end. On the battlefield they had their place, but the spear rivaled nearly all melee weapons thanks to their reach and simplicity. Even an idiot could figure out a pointy stick. So while Alba had to commit to wider swings Janet would use brief lunges to strike at her opponent before pulling back again. Left like this the Beacon girl could probably crack away and whittle her into submission.

That advantage quickly vanishes as her allies came in. Gravity magic, fun stuff. Made moving around harder for sure. It didn't count her out though. Taking the first hit right on Janet grit her teeth as the blade caught her left side. Raising her spear she managed to catch the next one and deflect it over her head. Heads up, it's going dark for a second. She would mentally communicate to Trixy.

The next low slash would get caught by a barrier. It didn't survive the hit but it didn't have to. A pulse of electricity went out through the room. To the occupants it did nothing, the lights on the other hand flickered and died for a few seconds. She had used the barrier as a step and bolstered her strength to push off into the air. She wouldn't travel very high or far with the gravity pulling her down. The complete darkness wasn't long, but enough time for the Reinforcement girl to rise up and create a platform under her feet. Pushing with the force of her legs and assisted by the gravitational pull she would come down like a boxcar. Hopefully caught off guard Alba would get sandwiched and driven into the concrete floor complements of her friend. Still sensing the mind as the lights came back on Janet was ready to run her spear through her opponent if she had to.

The darkness didn’t bother Trixy too much. Her scope let her see through mundane darkness. Her next shot wasn’t aimed at Isabelle, but Alba. She had heard about a possible artifact, and Trixy was going to do her best to shoot it away. Or at the very least, delay Alba in exchanging it.

With Janet in the air, Trixy felt confident she could shoot through Alba’s heel. Anything to lower their mobility.

”Yip!” Trixy stood up and ran in two different directions. She was only capable of doing this because one of the selves running was actually Dusty, her clone. Once that got to either side of the room, they would lay prone again to resume shooting.

“Hah, got you!”’ Alba cried triumphantly as she drew blood, though janret letting herself be hit was not so obviously in the moment. At least, until the lights went out. “H-Hey, what gives?!?”

Despite the darkness, Alba was not totally oblivious to what Janet was doing thanks to the sound of her movement. All things considered she probably could have dodged if she had not suddenly been shot in the heel by Trixy. “Fuck!” She went down, foot burning in pain and driven by the force of her falling opponent. A grunt filled the air, scythe clattering out of her grip as the lights came back on. A glare fell upon Janet, who would feel gravity return to normal for her even as Alba screamed a Sound boosted scream at her head and much more vulnerable eardrums.

Unfortunately Trixy had been mistaken in her target, and Rica produced an ankh from her pocket that was quickly tossed to Isabelle. It began to glow, healing magics applied to the bullet wound from Trixy’s weapon. She nodded to Rica, gesturing towards the Trixy in front of her and applying her Gravity magic to make her gun decide it would much rather be on the ceiling than in her hands. Which could be an issue as the grim faced magical girl stalked forward with her sword ready to deliver some sharp payback.

”Clearly...” Trixy rolled up her sleeves. ”You wanna see my moves!”

For her part Rica would turn to position herself near Janet with an eye on the other Trixy, metallic knuckledusters unveiled now on her hands she prepared to react to more gunfire or further magical tricks by the Beacon girl. “So who put you up to this,” she called out. “How much are they paying you to do their dirty work?”

Having been a Sound spec once she expected to get yelled at at some point. Didn't stop her from getting a blast to the face. Before it could be sustained though she formed a barrier over the girl's face with an opening directed at Rica. The scream rebounded in the chamber but ultimately the knuckleduster branding girl would get an earful of screaming. They needed to even the odds. Having already been poised to stab the girl on the ground she would pierce one of her lungs. She'd live for now, but would probably go into shock pretty fast from blood and drop in oxygen capacity. If she stayed up she'd have a whole lot harder time operating. Tough as magical girls were, most still had to breathe. Particularly those that relied on projecting their voice.

Either she didn't regard what Rica said or she didn't hear it because her ears were still ringing, but Janet gave no response. The redirected sound wasn't a long lived distraction. Janet would dive and roll for the scythe that had ended up on the floor. She would have thrown it under normal circumstances, but seeing the magic her opponent had it would likely be sent back at her. Instead she held the weapon and angled the blade slightly while the banner would appear and glow on her spear. Trixy and Dusty would feel a boost of magic flow through them.

They're quick learners. Think one of you can deflect a shot off the blade to catch them off guard while they watch the light show? She would ask Trixy and Dusty. She wasn't quite sure if it would work, but thus far outwitting them had been the best tactic. The seed bullets should have enough elasticity not to explode on impact.

Unfortunately, Dusty did not have any magical capabilities to speak of. While she was just as fast and strong as Trixy, she did not possess any magical capabilities or much durability. Even her gun didn’t possess the spectacle of Eros that made Trixy’s shots so precise.

The temptation was there to just charge in. Trixy had done that previously against a pack of weartigers and regretted it. She was capable in close quarters, but there were too many people around to rely on it, especially with her opponents being both intelligent and skilled.

”So you want to know who I work for? What we’re getting paid?”

She immediately broke into a sprint, Dusty too.

”Haven’t you read my blog?”

But they were running at each other.

”I do this for kicks!”

Dusty tossed her M107 to Trixy, who tossed her two acorns.

”For my fans!”

Now there were no problems.

Trixy did not have her scope, but she did have superhuman speed and accuracy on her side. She wasn’t sure which blade she was supposed to rebound off of, but it likely didn’t matter what she rebounded off of in the long run.

Dusty ran for Rica. She didn’t have any magical powers, but Trixy had been able to “program” her acorns to behave a certain way once they hit something with enough force. The first acorn she threw was at the girl’s feet to make the sort of “tree stump trampoline” that Trixy loved to use to get around. The second acorn she placed in her mouth, and kept it pinched between her back teeth. She'd only bite down if it looked like the worst was to come.

“Ack!” A wet sound filled the air as Alba was stabbed, which pretty conclusively ended her sound based attack. Seeing this, Rica’s expression tightened a bit as she ignored the incoming Trixy and sprinted towards Janet. Her magic lightened her for an impressive leap into the air, dodging the acorn mostly by accident. She went for a powerful downwards punch with her knuckledusters before finishing the flip some distance away with the momentum and gravity manipulation.

This provided an opening for Alba to swing in, the stab wound much less inhibiting thanks to her Regeneration power. Which certainly explained her eagerness to fight. With Rica as a distraction for her recovery she charged in from the side for a sharp body check as she sought to grapple her scythe out of Janet’s hands with magically provided flexibility. “Give that back!”

There was a significant issue coming into play thus far in this fight. Janet and Trixy had the element of surprise a number of times. While Janet thought she was taking advantage of these she clearly was not committing enough to fully make use of these openings. Didn't help that they were learning a lot about their opponents on the fly. Thus was the trouble in smaller conflicts. Still she was internally having some trouble. She wasn't against fighting but she really didn't like hurting people.

They had a job to do though. Getting slammed from above and Alba getting up in her face she had to blink several times. The other girl managed to get a grip on her weapon and the two wrestled for control of it. Janet wasn't going to let go though and sent a shock through the handle, enough to lock the muscles in the sound girls hand and arm. Dismissing her own weapon Janet would use her own weight to push and slam Alba down to the floor with herself on top. A barrier would form around the two to keep the others from interfering.

The defending girl lacked the resolve to see what she set in motion through. Her companion on the other hand. Transforming in a flash Cindy would clamp her hand over Alba's mouth, the metal tips on her fingers digging into the sides of her face. A jolt of electricity would wash through the girl's head disrupting her synapses. Moments after the girl's mind would be assaulted by the ancient's will. I care not whence you came. This city is under my protection. You will learn your place and rise to its defense alongside me. Like a hand reaching into her head and squeezing the pressure to give in to the command was sharp and relentless. While Cindy had been shaken in the time since joining Janet, the old girl's persona as a leader remained resolute. Bottled up as she'd been she was eager to make use of her host gifts. Simply one of the reasons for forming an agreement. New as Janet may be, she possessed a number of useful skills she simply failed to utilize effectively.

Meanwhile Janet made her play. Alba’s grin of triumph would fade quickly as she was grabbed and slammed to the ground, the cut wounds healing quickly as well as the damage from the electric shocks. Rica fell upon the barrier from above, gravity enhancing her punches as she sought to come to her comrades aid.

Two minds battled for control. Alba might not have her age, but she had pride. The fact that this kind of psychic domination was not something done by Cindy or Janet before made it more difficult than it could have been and that gave an opportunity. “I only have….one boss,” she snarled. “And it...isn’t you.” With her Regeneration in play, her arm holding the scythe swung out until it hit the side of the barrier. The blade angled upwards as she stabbed Janet with it, as hard as her mentally assaulted body could manage.

The mental attack would cease almost instantly. In its place Alba's body would seize up as electricity coursed through her before the attack could connect. "Such a shame." She would say aloud. A barrier would coil around the girl to hold her further and give Cindy a solid place to grab hold. Hefting the girl up she would swing her like a weapon. The barrier keeping Rica out would disappear and her fist would slam into the paralized Alba.

Bum rushed with a human shield facing away, when Rica would come in contact with the ground a current would run through her as well. She wouldn't be as hindered but it would make moving harder. Driving them toward the wall she would slam the two against the surface. Knowing the gravity girl would likely try and cause them to move with her magic she would anchor herself down with a barrier. Spear summoned and out of reach of Rica's fists she would try and drive the weapon through the two and into the wall.

“Gah!” Another cry tore the air as Alba was electrocuted. Any physical damage was healed by her regeneration of course, but the coiled barrier would prove its own issue. The same could be said for Rica’s blow, though the girl showed little regret. She knew that Alba could take it.
Coming down, Rica winced at the current as it raced through her. She grit her teeth, but did not falter. Cindy would find the weight of her spear suddenly magnified by gravity spec, even as Rica darted to the side and launched a sharp punch at the arm still holding Alba. “The most random powerset,” she grumbled under her breath at the same time. Once Alba was released she would use her flexibility to slip out of the coils, returning her to the fight.

The punch knocking the grip loose on Alba, Cindy would shift and Rica would find her weapon magnetically attached to the other girl's fist. The metal knuckledusters would begin to heat up and burn as it began to turn red hot. Up until this point the girl had been content with trying to hinder her opponents with shocks and the like, that time was over. Already physically in contact it was trivial to use her Lightning magic to its full potency. In three quick bursts massive bolts would course through the girl with the very specific intent on guiding it through Rica's heart.

Rica’s eyes widened as she realized her error, her weapon fixed in place with magnetism. As it heated she hurriedly tried to withdraw her hand or dismiss her weapon, but was unable to do so before Cindy struck. Her back stiffened, eyes wide as the electricity stabbed towards its target. Then she dropped, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Having slipped free of the barrier, Alba took her companion’s fall about as well as one might expect of her. “You’ll pay for that!” A screech filled the air, Sound magic throwing out waves of force that would slam Cindy back into the wall. She grabbed her scythe, and sprinted forward for a savage decapitation strike.

While all that was going on, the space between Trixy and Isabelle continued to shrink.

Trixy fired two shots at Isabelle. The first was aimed at her sword holding hand, and the second one was aimed at the wall. It would turn into a small gnarled root and bounce off the wall, hopefully knocking the ankh free from her hand. Regardless of what happened, Trixy wouldn’t stop running closer.

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Isabelle said as Trixy charged at her. Her confidence wavered as her hand was struck, healing artifact knocked to the ground before it could finish healing the whole wound. There was less luck with the sword though, mostly because Isabelle had been expecting such a move and was prepared for it. “This isn’t your fight. Just let us have the spear before something happens that you’ll regret. There’s no shame in not becoming involved in a squabble between gods.” She stepped back, fully suspecting that there was some trick at play here.

”A bit late to avoid getting involved, isn’t it? Don’t worry, this ain’t personal.”

There wasn’t anything special about Trixy’s charge. She kept periodically shooting her rifle at Isabelle. As she drew closer though, she’d take a hand off her gun and whip a vine out towards the ankh and pull it towards herself with a quick yank. It was flying straight for Trixy’s open mouth, which was wide enough to swallow the artifact in a single gulp.

Meanwhile, Dusty had given up on chasing the magical girl and had turned to assist Trixy. There were no mindful tactics here, just a straight bum rush for Isabelle.

While dealing with incoming gunfire Isabelle noticed Dusty’s approach, as well as the acorn she held on to. “Good. Then i won’t feel bad either,” she retorted before crushing the acorn that Dusty was holding in her cheek.

The sound of the acorn being crushed in Dusty’s mouth caused the clone to sigh. The Warehouse, the rave, and now the museum. Surviving wasn’t something she was very good at.

The acorn spell was designed to activate when the acorn was subjected to an impact, but there was little difference between being hurled at a wall and being crushed by gravity. Wooden roots emerged from Dusty’s mouth, separating her jaw from her skull and splitting her body down the middle. The roots curled around an empty space in front of her, vaguely looking like the ribcage of some long dead creature. The spell was designed as a desperate attempt to lock someone in place should Dusty only manage to grab hold of them. But in a display of true irony, the roots emerging from Dusty’s body were what did her in. Where there was once Dusty, there was now only dust.

“You should get back together.”

The wooden prison was thrown at Trixy, which knocked her off course for a moment. The still growing cage managed to lock around one of her arms. Trixy squeaked in surprise, stumbling as this new weight was attached to her arm. The display was unsightly, Isabelle looked like she was going to have the upper hand.

But Trixy wasn’t out of tricks yet.

Trixy expended her mana any time she accelerated the growth of a plant or forced it to move. This is partially why she seldom had her plants do anything more complex than initiate a quick growth spurt. But she had just eaten a magical artifact, and her mana regeneration was in overdrive. The cage climbed over her back, seeds spilled out of her hands, and she was once again in her plant exo-suit. She extended her hands towards Isabelle and charged, vines flying out of her palms

Backing off, her blade flashed in a war of attrition against the outstretched tendrils. But she could not hold for long, and soon found herself pulled into Trixy’s embrace.

”When I said nothing personal, I meant I don’t have to hurt you.” She sighed. ”My contract isn’t even for a full twenty-four hours.” Trixy pouted. ”Are you going to behave? You’re kind of cute but I’ll nibble your arms if you make me.” Her voice made it sound more like she was pleading than a threat.

“You won’t, but Set will. The memories of the gods are long, and their capacity for grudges is painful.”

Then she went for a headbutt. Their heads cracked together with a jarring impact, before she tilted herself backwards in Trixy’s embrace. At the same time she brute forced with gravity magic, yanking the exoskeleton forwards to dig into and then through Trixy. The fractured wood was cutting into her back. As the seconds ticked by, it was enough to draw blood. This was not a position Trixy could hold forever.

”Then we’ll make sure he knows you tried your best.”

Isabelle Would be able to free herself from the vines, but not Trixy. As soon as she pulled herself free, the maid lunged out of her “suit” as it crumbled behind herself. She fell onto her stomach, but was close enough that she could take hold of Isabelle's leg. There was no time to be indecisive, she bit through Isabelle’s knee.

Isabelle was prepared, biting down at the bite to her leg and ready with gravity magic to hold Trixy in place so there would be no way to dodge her blade. It might hurt her in the process, but that was something she could live with.
Then she realized what was happening over on the other side of the hallway, bringing such violent notions to a sharp halt. “N-No,” she said, her voice trembling as she reached towards the fallen Rica. “P-Please, save my sister. She’s all I have. I’ll do anything!” Where she could be strong for herself, her resolve had now cracked entirely. How could she do otherwise for her Twin?

Isabelle might have been ready to end the fight, but Trixy wasn’t. Or perhaps because of Isabelle’s earlier conviction, she felt this was simply a ruse. She bit through the girl’s leg, and everything below her knee was gone in an instant. Then Trixy scrambled to her feet, holding the girl upright so that she wouldn’t fall over. She ignored Isabelle’s howl of pain

”What did you think I was going to do!?” Trixy sounded a bit perturbed. Isabelle’s blood was smeared over her chin. ”Alright, just sit tight and I’ll save her.”

Trixy shoved Isabelle into the remnants of her exosuit, which coiled around her form and locked her in place. Wounded and without a weapon, Trixy sprinted towards the other group of magical girls.

Mana was not a problem for Trixy right now. Between the healing artifact and leg she consumed, she was brimming with mana. What she lacked were seeds. Between the exosuit and all the barriers she made, there wasn’t a lot left over for an extended fight. Though there was one stash of seeds that hadn’t been utilized yet.

The katamari ball.

Isabelle had crushed the mass flat, but packed inside the broken fragments of the vine ball were many seeds that had yet to sprout. Like a soccer pro, she gave what remained of the ball a mighty punt.

The “ball” didn’t go nearly as far as it should have. A wad of broken vines was not the most aerodynamic shape in the world. But Trixy was strong enough to kick it towards the two fighting magical girls. And then, it exploded with growth. It did not discriminate. Alba and Cindy were equal game for the expanding vines. The only one who was spared was Rica, who seemed to be pushed by the vine mass if anything. Eventually, Trixy could bend over and pick up the magical girl. She examined the girl before looking into the mass of vines she had created.

”Are you jerks done fighting?”
Alba was fully focused on getting her just revenge on Cindy, so much so that like the other fighter she was not prepared for the vines that she was suddenly swept up in. “H-Hey, what gives!” She thrashed, hacking and cutting at her bonds before she caught sight of Isabelle.
“Sorry,” Isabelle muttered, averting her gaze. “I can’t. Not while Rica….”

Slammed against the wall, Cindy was ready to respond to the attack. The plant ball however was unexpected and while she attempted to block the vines she was still caught up in the tangle of them. For a moment she glared at Trixy for interrupting her plan. She was not as good with communicating her intentions as Janet had been. "How this resolves is up to them." Her head would swivel back to Alba. "What say you? The means to resuscitate her yet exist, but she has not long." For her, reviving Rica was a simple matter. The effect she induced was deliberate. Trixy may have sorted it out on her own already.

Alba growled, anger stewing for a few moments before she took a couple deep breaths. “Fine. Yeah, we’re done.” She might not like it, but she knew when the odds were against her. Set, this whole thing had been a mess.

With a snap of Trixy’s fingers, the vines parted around the two fighters. The exosuit also released Isabelle, and the wound in her leg was capped off by a wooden growth. It was by no means proper healing magic, but she would not bleed to death. One of the roots also took the form of a crutch under Isabelle’s arm. She then lowered Rika to the floor.

”Get her up.” Trixy walked towards her gun, which had fallen to the ground at some point during this fiasco.

Brushing her hair back behind her as she stepped forward, Cindy would kneel down by Rica. Stopping for a moment her eyes would look over the girl. She would reach one hand up and rest it on the downed girl’s forehead. Placing one hand against her chest and bringing the other down against her right side she would do her work. It didn’t cause the convulsive effect one might expect, Cindy could be much more precise than that, however after a few seconds her chest would rise as she started breathing again.

Standing she would glance over to Isabelle. ”She is stable, but she will not wake for some time.” Moving back she would look to Alba, who was the only one capable of carrying the unconscious girl. ”You may take her.”

Still grumbling under her breath, Alba restrained herself from further attacks as she was freed from the vines. Instead, like Trixy, she walked over to retrieve the one surviving Healing Artifact that had been forgotten about in all the chaos. With how the trio, well, duo, looked, they were going to need it.

Isabelle hobbled over, still getting used to operating on one and a half legs even with the crutch that Trixy had provided. Her eyes watered as Rica began to breathe once more, relief evident. “Thank you,” she said with a small bow.

Returning to the duo, Alba carefully hauled the unconscious gravity user over her shoulder. Without another word she turned and began walking out the way that they had came. Isabelle would pause rather than follow them. “I would say you should be careful, but honestly I don’t know. He may try to retaliate directly, or influence things in the future. Or he may not care about this at all. The battle between gods is eternal, so how much this actually matters is beyond my ability to judge.” Having given her pseudo-warning, Isabelle would slowly follow the others out of the museum.

As Isabelle was leaving, Cindy would respond. ”I have no qualms with your god. Please inform Set that your sister’s revival was with the understanding that in doing so it would keep her from the clutches of his brother in the underworld.” Seeing as the two siblings were in a rivalry, offering acknowledgement of their history could be of help. She knew enough that slighting Osiris in any way would likely be pleasing to the very one that effectively made him the Lord of the Dead.

As they left, silence descended once more.

---

It would be several hours before Thomas returned, plenty of time for them to recover and deal with the mess that had been made by the brief yet fierce fighting. The sun had not yet risen, though the time for it to do so was drawing near.

“Hello?” Thomas called as he stepped into the area where the spear had originally been stored. “Is anyone here?”

Recognizing the mind, Janet would emerge from further in the building with the spear. It was still in the protective barrier they’d placed on it the day before. ”Thomas, good to see you.” Raising the artifact for him to see she would offer a smile. ”As you can see all is well with the target.” She wasn’t quite going to remove the shielding just yet. Didn’t hurt to be cautious.

Trixy approached Thomas from the side, almost like she had been waiting in ambush for him. She hadn’t conversed much with Janet/Cindy since the last group of magical girls were repelled. ”You’re early.” Was all she said before extending her hand.
Thomas nodded to Janet, pleased to see that the artifact was still there. While she was cautious, his mind and that of his familiar would read as the same as when they had last seen each either. “I’m glad to see it.”

Turning to Trixy, he would address her question as well. “Neith let me cut a couple of the less important rituals short when she became aware of the fighting here. If I promised to do it later, of course.” It took him a moment to realize what she was indicating, before his eyes widened. He turned his head, nodding to his Familiar. The ferret raced down and retrieved the acorn from his pocket, before scurrying along his outstretched arm to place it in Trixy’s hand. “One acorn, as requested.”

Trixy looked over the acorn. ”I doubt my lady approves of your mistress’s games. Less so when she involves her agents in them.” She slid the acorn into her pocket. ”When Veronica beckons, she’d better pull through.” Trixy took a step back and folded her arms.

Seeing the acorn Janet would place her other hand on the barrier and it would break with a crack of thunder. It apparently had a good amount of charge around it that would have done a number on most other magical girls. ”Then we’re done.” She placed the spear back in its case.

“She will,” Thomas assured Trixy. He was as sincere as he could be, whether she believed it or not. A wince followed at the crackle of thunder, but could appreciate how seriously they had taken this. “Good luck in whatever comes your way next.”

A subtle nod was the only thing Trixy did to acknowledge the boy before turning around to leave.

Janet would give a brief salute and follow Trixy out the door. As they left Thomas turned to the case, kneeling as he resumed carrying out his Goddess' rituals. Silence fell in the museum once more

Oros and Mariette continued to stare in the direction of the subway. But there was no explosion, just the gradual reversal of the BAMF’s energies.

”Back in my day, killing a boss at least netted you a big explosion. There wasn’t even an interesting cut scene after this one.” Oros tried to put both of har hands on her hips, but one of her arms was missing so that was kind of impossible. ”Guess we’ll just have to make our own.” She turned to face Mariette. ”So Mary! Whatcha doing?” She approached the girl. ”You didn’t drop me in the ol’ pit of darkness. What’s up with that?”

Mariette sighed a bit. She really wanted to go in there and collect some more crystal, but if there was a build-up of energy as long as she was in there that may be a bad idea. In any case, there was an Oros approaching her, asking why she’d not been dropped into a hole of darkness… ‘Would you like to be dropped into the hole of darkness?’ Mariette asked, peering over at the girl with a mildly curious expression.

”Well yea! I’d love to finish fighting that thing! Along with anything else you’ve trapped in there!” She boxed the air. It looked a little weird with one hand. ”Of course, I’d rather get inside your hole of darkness.” Mariette wasn’t sure she had ever seen someone’s smile get so wide.

Mariette gave Oros a weird look. She exceedingly did not get it. Was she referring to her mansion as being her “hole of darkness”? ‘Er. Right. No, you don’t want to go there. I put things that’s going to be sacrificed to my patron in there. Unless you wish to be sacrificed, stay out,’ Mariette told her, but the thought had crossed her mind to stay quiet about it and just let Oros unknowingly sacrifice herself. She’d eventually decided against it, though. ‘I collect monsters to keep my patron happy. He takes magical girls, too, but I’m currently trying to avoid being a public menace, so I’m sticking to monsters,’ Mariette says her official explanation to her actions, framing it as a bit of a joke.

”Unfortunate, but I wouldn’t want to tick off ass n’gav by killing off all the sacrifices you collected.” Oros continued to step closer to Mariette. ”Now what do I get for helping you with all this?”

Mariette had to take a moment to look a bit confused. ‘If you mean for the bounty, I assume you will be paid for the successful joint dealing of the monster, same as I…’ she told, but… ‘… Or are you asking because you want to help me out in the future, too?’ Mariette asked, confused.

Oros didn’t stop walking towards Mariette until she was right in front of her. If she extended her hand, she could touch her. ”The bounty is old news now, the grand magistrate will dole out coins for that in the future I’m sure. Or perhaps it’s already happened? Liquid time is such a strange thing.” She raised her hand and placed it on her chest. ”But I was doing more than just collecting a bounty out there. I offered to protect you from all those shitsicles, and you made use of me. You netted yourself a few sacrifices out of the deal. I feel I deserve compensation for this service.” she tapped on her chest with her finger. ”Would you mind doing something for me?”

‘Oh…’ Right, yeah, there’d been such an offer. Mariette hadn’t promised any form of reward for that, but she supposed it merited consideration. Mariette turned towards Oros with a business-ready face and prepared herself a bit, the closeness making her subconsciously prepare her tentacles in her shadow. ‘Okay. What would you like me to do?’

”Well.” Oros leaned closer. She inhaled the air around Mariette one more time before letting her breath flow out of her mouth. ”What I’m about to ask you to do is something I haven’t gotten to enjoy in a long time. It’s something adults do as often as they can, to the point it becomes something of a ritual.” She took a lock of Mariette’s hair and started to play with it, looping it around her finger and allowing it to slide off. ”But it also requires trust from both sides. I’d like to think we have that after our fight together.” She closed her eyes as if remembering some distant memory, only for them to open again moments later. ”I’d like to teach you how to best utilize your tentacles. Would you like to do that with me?”

Mariette winced back a little when Oros leaned in. Something adults do? She looked a bit in alarm at what Oros was doing with a lock of her hair, and then continued to listen to her words, and upon Oros reaching the end-

Said tentacles sprouted out of Mariette’s shadow and made an attempt to grab Oros and lift her away from Mariette, or otherwise just make her back off if they didn’t get a grip of her. Mariette maintained a significantly alarmed and worried expression and summoned back Bunny to clutch him, looking in slight fright at Oros past her defensive tentacles. There were many things Mariette didn’t understand, but there was an unmistakable feeling in her chest.

This girl was dangerous.

But it seemed that Mariette’s tentacles were enough to lift Oros into the air and restrain her. Or if Oros’s maniacal laughter was anything to go by, it was something she was fine with being subjected to. ” That’s a yes then? Good!” Oros was splayed out like an upside-down Y, with her only arm pointing straight up into the air. ”Surprise tentacles are always a good thing. But you’ve watched me fight, so you know that this won’t stop me.” She gestured towards the scabbard at her side. ”I can draw that blade with more than just my arm. If I were a real opponent you’d want to remove that from my person.” Her limbs twitched, the tentacles pulled against her flesh. ”Mary, Your real goal is to make it so that I can’t even think about escape. The body and mind are interlinked. You can’t control a mind, but you can control a body. Limit their options and they’ll conform to your will.” She looked around herself. ”Remove my sword, or at least contain it. Also, try pulling my legs directly outward. Like I’m doing split. You’ll probably dislocate my legs, but it’ll make escape that much more difficult.”

‘Uh…’ Mariette breathed out, a bit confused. She knew how to neutralize a person, that hadn’t been the goal of the tentacles. Still, she felt safer with Oros over there now… With a frown she had one of the tentacles snap around the blade and pulled it away from Oros. Then, okay, guess she wanted that? Fine, then. She had her tentacles grip Oros legs and pull them to make her do a split with significant force. She wasn’t sure why.

”Yea, I can feel the burn.” Oros was looking at her legs, which were being pulled further and further outward. ”You’re stretching my ligaments to their limit, possibly my tendons too. I’m not a doctor so I dunno all that shit.” One of her legs twitched. ”This would be immensely painful, normally, probably”

Oros looked around herself. ”You could also wrap one around my neck if you wanted to. Not all magical girls need to breathe, but it’s still a vulnerable area you can use to get more control over someone. We can also just pretend it’s there, you’re doing fine so far.” A sly smile crossed her face. ”But you need to play with your target's emotions. It’s the only way to be sure you really have them trapped.” Her eyes trailed down the front of her own body. ”A woman’s body is precious. There are certain areas where they don’t like to be touched. I trust you know what those areas are?”

Mariette abstained from pulling a tentacle around Oros’ neck, wincing a little at the thought. She had in mind she’d have to knock someone out anyway in order to prevent them from using their specialization, but that aside. Then… target a woman’s emotions? … Certain places where they don’t like to be touched… A light blush appeared on Mariette’s cheeks, and she took a heavy breath. ‘… I do…’ she said, with some awkwardness in her tone of voice. Then, she held her hand forward to command her tentacles, and…!

And her tentacles chased into Oros’ armpits, waist and bottom of her feet, others still holding her restrained so she couldn’t escape while her tentacles proceeded to wiggle and attempt to mercilessly tickle her to death…!

For someone who was getting tickled within an inch of their life, Oros didn’t look to be too phased by it. Every once and a while she would twitch or wiggle her toes, but she seemed otherwise unphased by the attack. She wasn’t smiling though, so it must have been working. ”Did I stumble into Deviantart, or is this a Touhou fanfiction?” She sighed. ”Well, that works. Time for the final blow!” Her grin returned. ”Now that you’ve entirely broken your target's will, you need to enslave them. And the only way to do that is by giving them a kiss! Gotta be on the lips. Really screws with what’s left of their mind, trust me.”

Mariette looked downright confused that her vicious assault had failed to spur any reaction. She knew she was targeting the girl with the most atrocious of tortures… so why didn’t it have any effect? The portal girl frowned as Oros said some more words she didn’t understand, until it was declared it was time for the final blow. ‘A-a kiss…?’ Mariette winced, looking in alarm at the restrained girl some distance ahead of her. A kiss, really…? W-well, Mariette could imagine that it would be pretty confusing…

There was the faintest stir in front of Oros’ face for a second that could have implied a portal was going to open…

‘… I’ll… take your word for it,’ a somewhat blushing Mariette said, shaking her head over there, deciding she would not take part in that, squeezing Bunny to her chest with one arm.

The corners of Oros’s lips started to drop. ”Are you shitting me?” Her eyebrows settled over her eyelids. ”You’re going to give me blue vulva? Is that it?”

‘Blue v…?’ Mariette frowned and looked confused again. ‘… I’d rather not kiss… Isn’t kissing supposed to be for…’ Mariette said, squeezing Bunny before she mumbled something unintelligible, looking away from Oros awkwardly.

”For what? Spit it out already!” Oros growled. ”What, you got a girlfriend or-” Her eyebrows shot upward. ”You do don’t you? The hell is even going on?” The katana floated in front of Oros and showed her some images. ”Wha?” The flat of the sword hovered in front of Mariette’s face. In its shean, she could see a moment Mariette had thought was lost to time. She was kissing a magical girl in Justine’s fortress. That one girl with the magically healing kisses: Nancy. ”Who is this woman?”

Mariette winced a bit at the growl. No, she didn’t have a girlfriend. Mariette had sort of expected that Oros could return the sword to herself without trouble but…

‘Wha…’ Mariette looked a bit surprised. ‘… How could you possibly… see that…?’ she asked, in honest alarm. Not because it was an embarrassing scene, but because the existence of that kind of scrying was potentially outrageously ruinous.

”Oh right, I didn’t tell you about that!” Oros mood seemed to entirely change when asked about her sword. ”That’s Endless Eclipse, he’s a gift from my patron. He lets me see all kinds of shit.” The sword spun in the air. ”I figured you didn’t want to kiss me because you had a girlfriend, so I just asked ol’ Eclipse here ‘who’s the last girl Mariette kissed?’ and I got this image of you going in for the kill, haha, rawr!” She flexed her fingers like a tiger’s claw. ”I think there are a few limitations in how it works, like if you had kissed in a place I was unfamiliar with, or we never met, it probably would have been a lot more vague. Like, maybe it would have shown you kissing a silhouette or some shit. Fortunately I know a bit about you and I’ve been to Justine’s old crib.” Oros chuckled, then sighed. ”Oh well.” She blinked. ”So um, are you going to tell me, or?”

That was… an outrageously dangerous power. The kind of power that could so easily destroy Mariette’s whole operation, if she got the sense to ask about it. So…

‘… Yes, I was going to tell you about it, as soon as… whatever we were just doing was over,’ Mariette said, having her tentacles place down Oros again, sliding off her and back into Mariette’s shadow. Best make sure she never has reason to ask.

‘Once upon a time, Justine von Visceral had a plan to conduct a ritual to rid this world of love. She killed numerous members of Penrose to do so and made an attempt on my life, after I had unknowingly been used to accomplish the preparations of the plan. I proceeded to assist in her defeat in the Overcity. But perhaps, you already know this?’ Mariette asked, with a slightly tilted head. ‘Now she’s back, and I am expecting her to attack my Interdimensional Home when she has sufficiently prepared to do so. I am somewhat gathering allies to resist the attack…’ she said, then peered at Oros’ blade. ‘Tell me. If you desired to find Justine telling someone about her plan, or to find her telling someone when she’ll strike, would you be able to?’ Mariette asked. Because… really powerful scrying.

Oros shook out all of her limbs and stood up. There was a crystal growth on her shoulder. Much like the crystal BAMF they fought, it seemed that Oros was going to try regrowing her arm. ”I’m familiar with Justine, yes.” Oros walked towards her blade. ”Endless Eclipse works better when you’re hunting for visual clues. If she told someone the time, you’re shit out of luck. But we might be able to see who she talked to, or if she wrote a specific date as part of a letter.” Oros chuckled. ”Assuming this all happened in a place I can divine. The grand magistrate is pretty good at making sure critical information like that never gets found.” She picked up her katana. ”Oh, I should also note that beyond my own familiarity with a person or situation, it’s also helpful if others have witnessed what I’m trying to search for. One of the reasons your kiss was so easy to find was because forty-something girls were watching it. It wasn’t a secret. If Justine gave a resounding speech to a collection of magical girls, we might get something.”

Oros peered into the blade. Justine’s image showed up. The vampire opened her mouth to speak when Oros lowered her sword.

”Hey!” Oros pointed at Mariette. ”Do you think I’m a simp or something? This wasn’t what we were talking about! That girl you locked lips with.” She pointed at her hair. ”I have pink hair too! Do you prefer bob cuts? Is that it?” Oros sprouted a tentacle that grabbed her hair and held it up for her katana.

Mariette nodded to the explanation, inwardly relieved. With those limitations, Oros would be hard-pressed to discover certain sensitive information. And, even if she could find the location and time, she'd be hard-pressed to find out what was actually going on. Still, seemed like Oros wasn't going to let the matter of the kiss go…

‘At the time you viewed, I had depleted my mana in battle. The girl I kissed had the ability to replenish the mana of those she kissed. I decided it was not the time to be picky about who I kiss, and had my mana replenished in case I needed it, as we were behind enemy lines. … That's it,’ Mariette explained, a bit perturbed that she actually had to explain that kiss to someone.

Oros held her sword against her hair a bit longer before releasing a resigned sigh. ”I see.” Her eyes were cast at the ground. ”The only reason why it happened at all was because of extreme circumstances. You were in danger.” Oros lifted her head. She was grinning from ear to ear. ”A bit like now, really.”

Mariette frowned a little bit. ‘… A little bit like now, yes,’ she replied, a reply that worked regardless of which of the two possible meanings Oros could have meant that Mariette could think of.

”Now that’s more like it.” Oros’s crystal stump had turned into a crystal upper arm, and was still growing. Without breaking eye contact with Mariette, she sheathed her sword and held her hand up to her face. A bottle of “Pizzazz Breath” appeared in her hand, which she promptly shot into her mouth before shoving it into her clothes. Then she tiptoed over to Mariette so that they couldn’t have been more than a foot away from each other. She took a moment to examine Mariette’s facial features before relaxing her face. The crazy smile was gone, and the miko appeared to be in a state of tranquility. She closed her eyes and moved her face closer to Mariette’s, cupping her lips for a kiss as she did so. She only came about ninety percent of the way however.

Mariette had a bit-longer-than-a-split-second decision to make. _{unlike her player that took better part of a week}

When Oros closed her eyes, Mariette silently stepped aside. She’d just avoid that for this moment.

‘I’m afraid that’s not a reward I want to give out ahead of time,’ Mariette said, breathing out. ‘Kisses are special things, after all.’

Oros’s eyes shot open and she turned to Mariette. ”Excuse me?” She stood up straight. ”So you gave me your phone number, but your intention this entire time was just-” Her entire body trembled. Mariette found herself taking a step backwards all on her own. ”You can’t just play with my heart!” A low gurgling sound in Oros’s throat grew louder until it became a growl. Then just a moment later, it turned into a roar. ”You’ve tempted me, there’s no going back now!”

Oros lunged For Mariette with both arms extended. Her new arm had just finished healing, and was ready for a test drive.

‘??????’ Mariette looked positively confused as she backed away, her tentacles lashing out to constrict and stop Oros’s assault, with more force the closer she got, all the while Mariette tried to manifest a portal underneath her feet to get several blocks away from this attack for now…!

The tentacles did not stop Oros for long. It was a simple matter for her to draw her sword and cleave through them. The second or so they bought Mariette was enough as she was able to escape through the portal moments before Oros’s outstretched arm could grab her.

When Mariette was safely away from Oros, she opened a few portals around the girl so that she could talk to her from a safe distance. But she noticed something strange. The light around Oros was becoming distorted, and a similar anomaly was happening just a few feet over Mariette’s head.

‘I…’ Mariette started, before she once again tried to drop herself through a portal to an apartment some distance away to avoid the anomaly, her tentacles regrouping to try to deal with the next “attack”. Mariette was still really confused. If she succeeded now, next she'd try to open a path to her Interdimensional Home, just to hide in for a couple minutes.

Gravity didn’t seem to be working right, which made it difficult for Mariette to fall into the portal. But the light disturbance over her head went away. Under her eyepatch, she could see Oros sniffing the air. Something had distracted her.

”Reinforcements? Seriously?” Oros shrugged her shoulders. ”Guess I went in too hard. Whatever.” A black shadow opened up behind Oros.

Mariette’s answer to not falling would be tentacles grabbing onto the other side of the portal and pulling herself through manually, although it’d take a slight moment before realizing. After having gotten partly through and then hearing Oros mention reinforcements, Mariette dared to peek out a bit, significantly alarmed at how it seemed like more than a few could suddenly pursue her past portals all of a sudden.

‘… I didn’t… mean to play with your heart…? I’m sorry?’ Mariette tried to say, but she wasn’t really sure what it was she was apologizing for and as such the words sounded a bit more like confused questions than actual apologies.

Oros pointed at one of the tiny portals that were observing her. ”W-why don’t you just go hide until the next season rolls around, huh?” Oros walked into the shadow as it collapsed on her. There was no trace of her left, and while Mariette was an expert at locating things, she had no idea where she had gone.

‘…’ A very confused Mariette was left standing and squeezing Bunny as Oros vanished… who knows where. Huh. That had been… a moderately disastrous attempt at making an ally. She didn’t understand what had gone wrong…

She’d later go home and tell the others at the mansion about this event, leading to Jelena laughing in her face and a couple others looking on awkwardly as Eli led Mariette aside to explain the alternate possible meaning of sharing phone numbers like that…

---

Meanwhile, on a far off dimension, Oros sat in the ruins of some long abandoned building. Behind her was the carcass of a monster she had recently slain. Something covered in scales and talons, but it was hard to identify. The creature had been decapitated, and there was a gaping hole in it’s chest. Oros was tearing out its ribs one at a time and cleaning the meat off of them.

”*Chomp* Can’t believe it.” Oros muttered between bites. ”Stupid girl, *Chew* stealing Mariette’s first kiss. Stupid *Swallow* reinforcements, always showing up at the *Chomp* wrong time. Stupid *Burp* magistrate, cucking me at every turn.” She used her sleeve as a handkerchief and blew into it. She sounded like the horn on a ship before it left shore.

---

---

”That so Alex? I didn’t realise you were into- Oh, Lily left.”

Oros noticed that the game of spin the bottle froze as soon as Shoggy embraced Shane. While it was understandable, it was always a shame when a man was too weak to take all of his girl’s kisses.

”Gotta keep things moving...” Oros hadn’t gotten her kiss yet, after all.

That was when Shoggy bumped the bottle, causing it to spin and land on Ronin!

”We have a winner!” Oros approached Ronin, ”Alright you! Now get in there AND PUCKER UP!” She placed a hand on Ronin’s back and gave her a firm shove towards Shoggy. Perhaps too firm for one as small as Ronin. ”And remember to spin the bottle when you’re done!”

Faith only giggled. ”I’m glad everyone’s having so much fun! I’ll have to talk to Ronin once she’s done with that other girl. I had no idea that was her~!” She turned to Hildie. ”Hildiebell! I um, I ran into some of your folks earlier… B-but that’s not important! You’re well I take it?“

The stage was set. The battle ready.

The sky was alight with reds and purples, the crackling, alien atmosphere one could only find in the Overcity. A plain stretched out, rolling hills, bushes, and flat ground to be found radiating with otherworldly energy. There were no people around, no buildings. It was hard to tell if this place veen corresponded to Earth, or if it was further afield.

At one end of the plain stood Alicia Hayden. She was transformed, a light wind shifting the fabric of her outfit. Her grip around Requiem’s Dawn was tight, a string of light reaching from one end of the bow to the other. A look of determination went along with it, deep breaths as she calmed her nerves for the fight ahead. There was no doubt that it would be a difficult one. But she could not, would not back down. Those who were counting on her deserved nothing less than her best.

”Are you ready to start,” she asked, calling out to her opponent.

A hundred feet away, a distance that was both comfortably far and frighteningly short, stood a figure of uncompromised strength. They stood with natural ease as they rolled their neck once and her claw tipped appendages unfurled from their hiding places and her fists closed ready to strike. The air around them hummed with electricity and unseen force. The question that had been posed to them was unnecessary. They were always ready for combat.

Still It was a place Penny had alway feared she would be one day, on the opposite side of Alicia in a fight. Yet now that it was happening she could only say she was looking forward to it. With a smile she would call back “Ready and waiting”

Alicia supposed that had been a dumb question, since it wasn’t as if Penny would have come out all this way only to get cold feet. She nodded as Penny confirmed it, and her feet shifted as she settled into a fighting stance. There was no point in wasting time.

With practiced motions she drew back her drawstring, forming arrows upon it before firing. Clusters of light magic arrows flew across the distance between them to pelt her friend with projectiles. She did not let up, well aware of her chances in melee combat. So she’d try to wear her foe down before it came to that.

The moment the first arrow lanced past by millimeters, Penny was off. No thrusters, just raw physical propulsion. The ground underneath her cracking with each step throwing up more and dust and debris. It was a slower option, relatively speaking, but an intentional one nevertheless, as she drew the results around her, like a shawl, with her Gravity. Obscuring her from Alicia’s pinpoint shots. Alone that would never be enough to defend from the barrage of gleaming devastation raining down upon her. So she held her arms forward as she raced towards her opponent, a small hexagonal forcefield projecting in front of them to deal with any shots she can’t simply dodge with her cover of dust.

With so much focused towards defense that wasn’t a lot Penny could do to return fire beyond simply throwing the occasion rock at her friend. Which she did, but it was more in hopes of distracting Alicia then it was expecting any damage to come from the infrequent attacks.

As expected, Penny was relentless in her advance. Rocks could be dodged easily enough, but that did not change the reality of the forcefield that blocked her shots whenever they might hit. Alicia’s eyes glowed, Third Eye activating to cut through the cloud of dust to see Penny and the forcefield she was using. Which in turn let her shoot at the edges of it to try and sneak shots past.

At the same time she moved, darting to the side to account for Penny’s movement towards her. She still had no intention of letting her get in close after all. ”I’m a bit surprised,” she called out. ”What happened to the railguns and stuff?”

“That would be a waste” Penny would call out in reply as she curled up to draw more of herself behind her shield. There were a couple score marks across her arms now due to a few arrows that had slipped around it after all. “This distance with you having a Third eye, you’d see it coming with plenty of time to dodge each and every time.” With a hard step Penny would shift her trajectory, the dust cloud she had gathered falling away from her as she released her gravitational hold on it. Instead she used that energy to make herself lighter on push off helping her keep up with Alicia’s perpendicular movement.

“With your mobility this will work better” She would go on to say as a small laser turret would emerge from each of her shoulders and a moment later they would begin returning fire. Still at a slower rate then Alicia, a good second between volleys, but one was aimed at the Seraph herself while one was aimed at the most likely way she would dodge hemming her in somewhat.

That was a fair point, Alicia quietly conceded. Certainly she knew the effectiveness of a laser given what her specialization was. Penny speeding up was unfortunate, and the laser turret moreso. Her Enhanced Outfit protected her from the initial shot, giving her time to adjust and evade the incoming attacks.

Alicia then turned, springing backwards rather than to the side. At the apex of her jump she fired upwards, the bolt of light separating into a cluster of arrows that arced over Penny’s shield from above. ”Lots of stuff happening,” she noted aloud. ”It’s almost time for the big day.” And she could not wait.

“True” Penny would say as she was forced to come to a stop dispersed her Shield as she did. The reason for her stop was so that she could wrench a sizable chunk of the earth out of the ground from below her using all six of her available limbs and hold it aloft above her. It would easily soak up the raining bolts of light “I’m just worried who it’s going to be a big day from at the end. Lots of people have plans in the works after all. Of them Justine who I don’t trust at all.”

Any remaining stone was hurled at Alicia as Penny raced after, her thrusters igniting as she went lending more speed to her advance. In this wide open field Alica had the advantage as there was no cover to make approaching easier. So Penny had only closed the gap by about twenty feet over all, that just meant she had sixty five more to go before Alicia was in range of Penny’s preferred fighting style.

“Does anyone legitimately trust Justine?” Alicia asked with a lofted eyebrow, more at the comment than at the boulder trick. ”I know I don’t. We’re just doing this because it would be impossible to reach Mariette under normal circumstances otherwise. Those portals are nonsense.”

Once more she dodged, wings propelling her forward until she was out of its path. She landed in a roll before resuming her run, at the same time returning to a more straightforward attack with her arrows. Penny was drawing closer but she didn’t want to dig too deeply into her bag of tricks just yet. Otherwise she would get overwhelmed.

“Fair, I’m just worried because we’ve been in this position before between Justine and Mariette and it didn’t end well for us and that was without the Mint being as active as they are now.” Penny would explain as she slalomed between the arrows and fired her way as best she could, gaining more burn marks across her arms and legs but with her resilience the wounds were still only superficial at best.

“The whole situation is ripe for others to exploit it. Especially with someone as slippery as Mariette.” Penny would reach out and grab one of the arrows that went a bit too wide, before flinging it right back at Alicia “I get the enemy of my enemy thing, but I just feel this is taking it a step far. Plus Rachel agreed to this idea as well which has me on edge.”

”She only went along with it because Justine agreed to be purified, and even she doesn’t trust that. And at the end of the day I think the vendetta will ensure at least one of them isn’t going to walk out of this,” Alicia replied with a solemn certainty.

Alicia would pick up her own wounds now, places where her outfit did not cover suffering at the hands of the laser turret. The arrow thrown back at her was less of a problem, as she shot it out of the air with pinpoint accuracy. She would have sighed if she weren’t busy with this physically engaging activity. ”You know how I feel. If we sit back and let them both do their thing then who knows what sort of damage they can do, how many more could die.” She….she would not let that happen.

“I get that, trust me I do” It was a stark difference between who she was just last week to now that Penny understood the need to do something proactive to help protect people. Whereas before she always tended to be reactionary. The cold numbers of the Sanctuary were to blame for that. “I just can’t shake the feeling that Justine is playing us against Mariette in the same way. Using that lure of a soft target to lure us away from her real target, and blasphemous as it might be, I don’t trust Rachel.”

Barreling ever closer Penny’s spidery limbs would switch from tossing the odd rock or deflecting the occasional arrow to making use of their extended reach to deteriorate the gap even faster. “She’s a zealot from what I have seen, yet with only a token promise that she doesn’t even believe, she’s going to go along with Justine. I just get the feeling she’s hoping this will take us out as well.”

“To make matters worse, Dan’s gotten involved from what I hear. Teamed up with Mariette in fact. No idea how that one came about.” With one great surge of strength Penny would launch herself towards Alicia erasing the majority of the gap in one swift movement. At the apex of her jump, and a mere thirty feet away from her target, there would be a high pitched keening, the only warning before a thunderous boom erupted from Penny as she unleashed the first round of Gauss fire.

“This all just sounds like it is shaping up to be one big trap for us. It’s why I’m not planning on going along for the raid” She would go on to say, her voice cutting through the aftermath of her attack as it piped up from the comms that Alicia wore. She was almost sure that her attack would miss, but at this distance the dodge wouldn’t allow for much retaliation as the explosive impact would still need to be contented with as well. “We are going to need people here”

Alicia did not comment on Penny’s suspicions, not willing to comment on whatever Rachel’s motives might be. As she darted back though the following comment caught her by surprise. “Dan? Does he even have any magical girls working for him?” Sure, Summer had stayed in the beach dimension but as far as she was aware the girl had not renounced Beacon.

Having had experience fighting Penny before Alicia would recognize the high pitched noise for what it was, throwing herself away to escape the impact zone. It still took her a few moments to answer anything, and as Penny predicted there would be little retaliation. Coming out of that, her wings spread as she launched herself into the air. The energy of the Overcity let her fly, or at least reach higher than she could otherwise. Looping past Penny, she would continue her barrage from above. ”I’m sorry to hear that, but alright. Fortunately I’ve got a couple tricks this time around that should help give us an edge.”

“Dan’s got at least one,” Penny would reply as she tracked Alica darting through the air. “A cat girl by the name of Dina, I know this because she showed up at the Sanctuary looking for Cindy a few days back and stuck around to help out with the Sanctuary.” The lasers would fold back into Penny’s shoulders as she plunged all of her arms into the ground in front of her more or less ignoring the arrows raining down on her. While they still were not doing much, the sheer amount of attacks that had landed were starting to amount to something. A few moments of Regen running would fix it but that wasn’t the best use of Mana at the moment.

Instead she once again tore a sizable chunk out of the ground, forcing it to compact with an application of gravity, before hurling the entirety of it at Alicia. ”On Marette, she contacted me. Apparently she and Cindy had a deal where Cindy traded unneeded monsters or artifacts in exchange for information and other assistance. Mariette wanted to continue the deal with me” In the shadow of her hurled bolder Penny contract like a spring before launching herself after it. The ambient magic in the area lent itself to Penny in much the same way it had to Alica. Just the robotic girl was using a mix of Gravity and her hover thrusters to achieve her flight, if it could be called that, it lacked the grace of true flight, but it was linear movement in three dimensions.

“So she might bail to the Sanctuary if things start going particularly bad for her on that end.”

Well, Alicia supposed that the information about Dina was worth knowing. She wasn’t sure what sort of difference it made when it came down to it, but it was worth knowing nonetheless. The information about Cindy was more interesting, earning a lofted eyebrow. ”I see. Can’t say I’m surprised. What did you tell her?”

With her wings she was able to avoid the boulder, though this did not stop Penny from taking flight after her. They were certainly making this spar complicated for themselves, weren’t they. Darting back, she no longer fired arrows but instead maintained a thin, continuous laser that would sweep along Penny’s form to further damage her. “Her going to the Sanctuary won’t end well,” she noted, though no doubt her friend already knew that.

“I told her that I’m willing to give her one shot” Penny would reply as she noted that so far the spar was little more than a game of cat and mouse. Which to be fair, was perhaps the best way to fight Penny, but it was starting to get a bit ridiculous. Nevertheless her force field from earlier would make a reappearance to counter the focused laser. “She told me that she intended to release the girls from Justine’s castle and that the only reason she didn’t was because her Patron forced her hand by assuming that they were for its use.” Speaking of hands Penny would raise her left one towards Alicia lining up a shot, before firing off her left arm at her sparring partner, a long length of chain trailing after it.

“I trust that statement, about as much as I trust the Mint, but this way I can keep something like an eye on her for your sake.” Dodging the hand would prove to be much more difficult then one would expect as due to a mix of Gravity and Metal magics Penny was still able to guide it mid flight.

It was not hard to discern that Alicia was skeptical of the claim Penny relayed on Mariette’s behalf. “How convenient that she made no effort to mention this to anyone before that point where she needed to earn your trust,” the Seraph noted. At least Penny was smart enough to not really believe it either.

Shifting, Alicia would find it harder than normal as the chain shifted as well to follow her. Quickly bringing an end to the laser, she instead broke her bow apart into twin swords before swatting at the end of the chain as it approached. Should one get entangled, the other blade would ensure her weapon was not yanked away as their fighting grew more intimate. ”I guess that’s fine. Just be careful; her Patron may take a shine to you too.”

“Yeah, not happening” Penny would growl out. Out of all of the Patron types it was Horror’s that she loathed the most. Her mind would remain hers and no one else's, of that Penny would never concede.

As expected Alicia’s blade would become stuck to the chain, but not because the chain wrapped around it, instead it was because the blade had become magnetized. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened, and due to her Third eye Alicia would also see herself become the focal point for Penny’s gravitational perspective. Which caused Penny to accelerate towards the angelic girl as for all intents and purposes she was ‘down’ and now rather than flying the mechanical monster was falling.

“I figured out why broken mirrors are one of her Bane’s though, as I might have made a point that she can’t run from me if she tries to betray me, by stealing her Portal magic for a moment”

While pleased that Penny was so vehemently opposed, Alicia couldn’t help but think that the other girls Mariette had taken had not had much of a choice in the matter, At least she could be confident that Penny would resist any attempted forceful conversion.

Less pleasing was seeing Penny’s gravity field move as she fell, but she could at least multitask. “Oh, what’s that?” Seeing her blade become magnetized, she was able to save the second one from becoming stuck. She then turned, accepting their bond and flying ‘up’ towards Penny as fast as she could. But when impact neared she would dart to the side for a sword strike, slashing at whatever came in reach. One had to take what openings came when in these kinds of situations.

“They act as an additional focus, and broken ones screw with that. Wouldn't be surprised if it was akin to having ground glass rattle around in her head being near one.” Penny hid her grimace at seeing Alicia come rushing up to meet her head on. The gravitational bond wasn’t a strong thing over all, and a near miss might pull enough G’s to snap it. Plus it made pulling her punches so as to not truly harm her friend a lot harder. Nevertheless she continued her dive, her eyes flashing red for a moment as she chose to Copy Alicia’s Third eye.

At the moment when Alicia darted to the side Penny’s spidery limbs would lash out seeking to grab hold of her, while simultaneously there would be enough high pitched whine followed by a thunderous roar. Rather than firing off her normal cannon round instead she divulged her Gauss as a splintered shotgun blast of elements.

Talk momentarily fell by the wayside as the two girls rushed to meet each other. Alicia turned into the gauss cannon shot with a wing wrapped around as some semblance of a protective shield as she went to force her way through it, blades flashing in sharp strikes to catch and slice through the limbs seeking to grab her. She couldn’t entirely remember what all the materials had been included in those limbs, but she was confident that she could slice through them and get behind Penny for a quick blast of magic into her back.

Before the Red coin brought Penny more in line with herself, before she reforged herself into a more idealized aspect Alicia’s blade would have carved through her steel limbs like butter. Now however it would not be so simple a task. She would be able to fend off the limbs however, as those on the far side of Penny lacked the range of motion to fluidly attack, and those on close up found themself contorting at odd angles to try and gain effective lines of attack limiting their speed. Even with her human arm Penny wouldn’t find much traction in trying to grab Alicia as the other girl slipped into her blindspot.

The price for it wasn’t cheap however as the mix of metal flachet, untamed lightning and chaotic gravity would tear the wing that was used to block to shreds. There was also the issue of once Alica was at Penny’s back the limitations that hindered the four arachnid limbs from working intandem vanished, leading to all of them once again making a focused effort to grab hold of the Light wielder.

A grunt escaped as the gauss cannon impacted, shredding her wing and applying a significant amount of kick to her own flight in the process. Wings could be fixed, but for now she was able to sweep past as planned. Reforming her bow, she launched a sweeping barrage that would target the arms coming to grab her as well as several points on Penny’s back at the same time.

“Makes sense,” she succinctly noted as she let natural gravity pull her downwards and out of range of the grabbing arms. Magic went to reforming her wing, so there would be less ‘crash’ in her landing. “Buying that time shift arrow was the right idea.”

Penny was impressed, and annoyed, Alicia was proving to be able to easily slip in and out of range and currently the mechanical girl had little to show for her efforts other than a lot of burn marks and that was before the cascade of arrows were fired into her back. Time to shift up a gear. “That sounds like it has fun implications. You get the arrow that hunts down the target as well?” She would ask as she turned off her thrusters and removed the gravity effects from her causing her to linger in the air for a moment as her momentum canceled out.

Then she amplified the natural pull of gravity upon herself, cursing it to wrench her towards the ground at speed, blitzing past Alicia, as she righted herself. She hit the ground with a crash but the damage was minimal and growing less as she let her regeneration turn on and start undoing all of the accumulated damage. “Ready for round 2?” she would ask as the light in the center of her chest would start to glow brighter, the lasers would re-emerge from her shoulders and a holographic forcefield would snap into place around her. Assault mode was online.

Penny all but slamming into the ground ahead of her was unexpected, but Alicia adjusted quickly. Her wings flared out to catch her downward motion, instead transferring it to a more horizontal direction to land some distance away from the now serious Penny. ”As a matter of fact, yes. It seemed too important to leave it in the hands of someone who couldn’t use it responsibly,” she confirmed as she returned to a standing position,

She nodded at the question. “It would defeat the point if I quit now when you were finally going tough on me.” Then she fired, constant beams lancing across the space between to strike at Penny’s forcefield at separate points. She needed to determine if simply battering the shield down with damage, or focused fire at a few key points would be enough to get around it. Otherwise this would be over before it even started.

The restart of the match was akin to the start, with Penny rushing straight towards Alicia, but no longer was it a simple run. Thruster reignited alongside actively pushing off against the ground meant Penny was coming in much faster. All of her limbs were poised defensively and were actively slapping arrows out of the way meant less attacks were landing and what one’s did slip past either were dispersed by the forcefield. Except for the areas under scrutiny of focused fire which attacks would splash against the reinforced defenses of her chassis once they pierced through the field in the moments before the field regenerated in that area.

The resulting difference was that Penny closed the gap in a much shorter time. All the while her lasers would be slinging back return fire, with their accuracy improved due to the copied Third Eye. As soon as the distance was closed the spidery limbs would drop defense and begin striking out at Alicia with concise stabs aimed at major joints, and if she got close enough hooks and jabs would be thrown as well aimed all at the body.

It quickly became apparent that Alicia’s strategy was not going to work, as Penny rocketed forwards. Which was fair. If there was one thing Penny was good at, it was adapting to the circumstances at hand. It seemed focused fire was effective, but that still left the reinforcements of her physical body to deal with.

Grunting beneath the laser blasts, Alicia once more thanked her enhanced uniform for keeping this from being worse than it could have been. Nonetheless she did begin to accumulate burns and scratches, and unlike Penny she could not heal those as easily. As Penny entered melee range, her tactics shifted once more. A sword of pure light blossomed from one hand, while her bow was used as a blade in the other. She swept into motion, spinning and slashing amidst the multitude of mechanical limbs as they sought to beat her down. She might not have flexibility, but hopefully Penny would not be anticipating the unusual combat style either

It was true that Penny wasn’t expecting Alicia to shift into a melee focus, and in most regards it would have caught her off guard, except this time Penny had a moment's notice that it was going to happen due to her Copied Eye. The Light sword proved to be much more effective against the spindly limbs then her bow blade was.

By the time Penny had moved into punching range two of her extra limbs had been severely damaged due to the mix of steel and magic. She folded those two away and kept the top two limbs out still but reined back of having them attack. Instead she started launching a flurry of jabs that only started to pick up speed with each attack.

Deep breaths rushed out as Alicia shifted on her feet and swung her blades. It seemed the move had earned some successes, damaging two of Penny’s arms so they could not be used. But it did not stop the attacks, and she was forced to react faster and faster to the increasing assault.

Under such intensity, it was only a matter of time until she made a mistake. An attempted block was fumbled, and Penny was able to knock the bow out of Alicia’s hands. “Gah, that thing’s heavy like that,” she grumbled to herself. But the Seraph reacted quickly, springing back and casting a sweeping two pointed beam of light that would rake across Penny’s legs. It was to stall her, as Alicia dove to retrieve her bow.

Penny was unwilling to give any ground and gave chase after Alicia the moment she sprung away. In regards to the Light sweep, Penny's remaining spider limbs would go to bat away the offending laser with each tip glowing as they emitted a rough copy of Alicia’s Light sword from their tips.

Assuming that the Light weapon would be able to deflect the Light attack Penny would simply throw a hard straight, directly down onto Alicia.

As expected Penny was right on her, not giving Alicia much time at all to do anything. The seraph was able to grab her bow from where it had fallen, but was not entirely successful in dodging the blow that Penny launched next. “Agh!” Metal hurt, as it turned out, especially with the sort of force Penny had. Alicia was thrown off balance, wincing as she tried to boost backwards with her wings to get the space she needed to recover.

Alicia would boost backwards just as Penny would lunge forward. If she tried to go to the side Penny would also match her, and trying to go up would have Penny leaping up to pull her back to the ground, it quickly became apparent that something more than simple speed would be needed to escape Penny at this point. To make things more dire the real danger of fighting Penny was making itself known; she didn’t stop, ever, and she didn’t need to. Each strike was followed by another, be it a punch, a kick or a stab with her still operational extra limbs and the speed behind her attacks was ramping up the longer she went on.

Alicia would need something to stall Penny as well as breaking away to regain some space, otherwise the relentless assault of her mechanical friend would end this fight in short order.

Darting backwards, Alicia barely kept ahead of Penny and her rain of blows. It was not viable to do this for long, as she quickly recognized. But what could she do? Her usual mirage trick wouldn’t work while Penny was using her Third Eye She didn’t really have any other perks of powers to draw on either.

Well, in that case she might as well get crazy. An extra boost, then a cluster of arrows would lance towards Penny. All to occupy her arms so she could manifest another light sword as a projectile, at this range a nigh point blank shot at Penny’s torso. Katarina would probably be proud, if she were still around.

The off the wall tactic worked surprisingly well. A concerted effort on Penny’s part kept the cluster of arrows from making any effect while continuing her advance to keep Alicia in arms reach. It also worked at distracting her long enough to not realise the point blank Light sword arrow until it had already buried itself into her chest. Which brought her to a stop. “Huh” She looked down at the weapon that was protruding from her torso. It hadn’t punched all the way through her thankfully but that wasn’t to say it wasn’t a good hit. “Didn’t know you could do that one” She would say blinking at the sword for another moment before pulling it out. The wound left behind was spilling out a vibrant white light.

“Pretty sure that would have been a lethal hit to most others.” Penny would say with an approving smile “But Second gear could have taken you on through attrition so handy trick to have up your sleeve. Third gear is next” She would say tossing the light sword aside as her eyes began to glow brighter and noticeable arcs of electricity began to dance across her limbs. Before Alicia’s eyes she would see the rest of the wounds on Penny seal over as the forcefield would shift and condense around just her torso. With a snapping hiss two electric blades would extend from Penny’s knuckles and along her legs. A voice would chime out “Primordial tempest: Online”

“Ready or not” Penny would say before rushing Alicia down once again, but this time her speed had risen exponentially and each strike carried the danger of those laser swords.

Alicia would back off a bit more just to be safe, even when Penny had stopped. Standing in arms reach of the resumed fighting did not seem wise. ”Necessity is the mother of invention. But the idea wasn’t entirely original,” she conceded. It was too bad that she didn’t really have tricks left at this point.

Then the battle resumed, Penny kicking things up even more as she struck. There was no time to talk, barely time to think either. Just reaction, and even that was not enough. It was all she could do to force blows aside, deflect rather than straight blocks, and her wounds were adding up.

There was no doubt that she would fall. But she could aim for the sort of noble sacrifice any Beacon member would aspire for. With a wave of her hand she cast her bow aside, tapping into her blood magic to form plates over her skin. Hardlight, of the sort she wished she could have used back in the Keijo match. It would not sustain her for long but it did not have to. Instead with her wings she reversed course, taking advantage of Penny’s speed and momentum to slam through her flurry of blows. One light sword stabbed forward, and a split second later a second followed in the direction she expected her friend to dodge in. She would go down either way, but at least it would be dramatic.

The Hardlight worked wonderfully in protecting Alica, as did diving into Penny’s space as the Titan rushed her, and as expected the first blade was dodged, Penny was on the lookout for such a tactic. The second slipped in under the first shadow, just as Penny threw a left hook.

But Penny’s punch never landed, because both of them knew the fight was over. She had stopped her punch a scant few millimeters from Alicia’s cheek. The laser blade having been dismissed. She waited a moment, giving Alicia a chance to catch her breath. “Ow” Penny would then say, chuckling as she voiced it.

“Your lightsabers hurt, you know that?”

Everything halted in a single moment, blow hanging just off the point of impact in a way that couldn’t help but draw her gaze to it. Then the tension broke, Alicia breathing deeply as she staggered back and sent away her various weapons and armor. “You know what else hurts? Gauss cannons,” she challenged with a tired grin. ”Besides, I wouldn’t be that hard on you if I didn’t think you could take it.”

“In my defense your wings are a massive pain to deal with.” Penny would say as she too sheathed her weapons and powered down her magics, all save for her Regeneration. “But, no worries I get it.” She would take a step back mainly to get out of her offensive stance. “Got to say, it was a good match. You’re damn hard to get a hold of when you want to be”

”Good fight,” Alicia agreed with a nod, turning to survey the battlefield and the damage they had caused in the course of their fight. ”Well, you’ve got a lot of weapons, It seemed smart to try and keep you from using the biggest ones. Though the wings wouldn’t work all that well if we were back on Earth.” it was a bit of a location specific tactic.

Closing the distance once more, Alicia’s grin did not fade. ”Still, at least I know I have a chance if I can beat you before you get going. That’s probably better than a lot of magical girls in town.” Not that she was bragging.

“Definitely true” Penny would agree, she didn’t know everyone in Penrose, but she did try to keep track of those that were threats to her and Alicia now had a spot on that list. “And even if you can’t fly with them in the City I’m pretty sure that you can find other uses for the wings. Like coating them in that Hard light trick you pulled at the end, or layering in dozens of your lightsabers within the feathers.and using them as weapons in their own right.”

She too stepped closer, in fact she moved close enough to sling an arm over Alicia’s shoulders. “And if you could figure out a way to get thrust with your Light then you can still be flying around.” This was the part of spars that Penny always knew she would enjoy, the discussion afterwards, she just wished she had more people to spar with.

”The sword thing is an idea. I might be able to use light to create an updraft based on heat, but I’m not sure how consistent that would be,” the Seraph mused to herself, tapping her cheek in thought. There were definitely some things she had to think about now that this fight was over.

It did seem rude to focus solely on herself though. ”So, did you learn anything from this, aside from how frustrating I can be?” Penny had been pretty determined in that fight, so she was curious to hear what the answer would be.

“Well I think my ‘flight’” Penny would say using air quotes with her free hand “Is something that I might be able to make use of back in the city. Though I think back there it will be more me able to change my elevation and run around in the air then what I was pulling here.” She would answer

“And it was my first time messing around with my Gravity spec, so I learned a few things about it that I can expand upon. For example if I invert the grav perspective of someone else I should be able to make it so that they fall towards me which would be potent if I can get it right.” It wasn’t hard to see that there were more thoughts circling inside Penny’s head by the delighted look and glow of her eyes. Fighting was still her element after all.

”Useful, but something you would have to be careful with,” Alicia noted. After all, she’d adapted quickly enough to Penny’s gravity tricks, so someone else might be able to take that problem and turn it into an advantage too. ”Plus you’ve got to watch out for magic based weapons, like my light swords.”

“True, hopefully if they can’t fly it will be harder to get around” Penny would concede, she was still a novice when it came to gravity after all but she didn’t intend to stay one for long. “I’ve got a plan for magical based weapons though, Cold Iron. It’s a metal that inherently dampens magic, if I can alter my composition to mimic that property should render Magical weapons no more effective than any other types.”

There was no surprise to Penny already having a plan to deal with this issue that their fight had revealed. Of course it likely would not be entirely that easy, and Alicia pushed that point. ”Sounds interesting. Though it also sounds like it could hinder your own magic too. Especially the Reinforcement and Regeneration.”

After a moment she looked towards the city in the distance. ”Anyway, why don’t we take this elsewhere. This is my first time getting to try food from another dimension, and my curiosity is killing me. We may even see alien magical girls.” A light nudge was delivered to her friends torso to encourage her to go along with the idea.

“I never told you about my encounter with Sirkkeli, did I.” Penny would muse as she started leading the way towards the city in the distance. Easily willing to go along with Alicia into the Overcity, ”I have no real proof, but I’d be willing to bet on her being one.”

That earned Alicia’s curiosity quickly enough. ”No. But I guess you’re going to have to tell me now,” she agreed. There was plenty to look forward to now, as the duo walked along. They had done their hard work, now it was time to enjoy themselves. Before they ended up tossed into the fire once more.

Their mission finishes, Janet hurried after Trixy as the two were exiting the museum. Given recent circumstances their first meeting for this whole thing was a bit tense. They managed to pull through with some amount of coordination even though most of their conflicts were separated. Still, Janet didn’t want things to be done and gone so she tried to catch Trixy before she disappeared.

”Good work in there.” She said with a smile and a raised hand for a high five. There was no guarantee she would get any return on it but she would offer the gesture anyway.

Trixy didn’t look any better than she did when Janet last saw her. She still looked perturbed, still had Isabelle’s blood trailing down the front of her face.

”Yea. We made our client happy.” Trixy raised her hand and pressed it against Janet’s. Some of Isabelle’s blood had gotten on Trixy’s hand, and now it was on Janet’s. She walked past the girl and allowed her hand to fall away.

Slightly confused, Jenet would ignore the blood on her hand. She'd noticed the attitude earlier but didn't really know what it was directed toward. With the fight over it seemed that it may be something else. "Something wrong?" She would ask calmly.

Trixy stopped in her tracks. ”What’s your opinion on the average magical girl?” She didn’t turn around.

Mm, had not expected that. An interesting question to be sure. Crossing her arms and looking down the street she wouldn't contemplate it long. "Not much different than my opinion of regular people. We're mostly a product of our environment. In the case of magical girls we've been given power so our patrons can have us fight off monsters and slap each other around for one reason or another. I would like to believe that were not for the patrons that most would have good intentions. Human nature is generally selfish though." Looking back to Trixy after a moment she would give a slight shrug. "Not saying we can't have the public good in mind, just takes looking past one's self at times."
Seemed she'd considered her stance on this before.

”I wouldn’t say people are selfish, just that they wish to be content.” Trixy turned around to face Janet. ”But you are correct. Patrons complicate things. Regardless of how good or evil someone is, their patron can mold them into whatever he or she desires. It’s made worse by the fact that few of these entities have ever been human, or even understand what being human is all about.” Trixy placed her hands on her hips. ”I can feel good about slaying a monster, but taking down other girls is something I’ll never enjoy.”

"Probably just my previous life talking. I would agree though, I don't like that part either." Holding her arms closer she shivered just a bit. Killing someone was still something she was capable of. She'd done it before all this magic stuff. But it was more a thing to avoid again than anything. Cindy didn't have the same quelms on the matter clearly. Even if she factored a way out she was more than ready to let Rica die. She was clearly bothered with the time to reflect on it.

”But we don’t really have a say in the matter, do we? Our patron tells us to jump, and we jump.” Trixy placed a hand over her face and sighed. ”I’m fortunate that my lady was a human once, and still is one for the most part.” When she moved her hand away, she had only managed to get even more blood on her face. ”I’m not even sure if we did those girls a favor letting them live. I have no idea what kind of god Set is. And even so, not every fight is going to end like that one.” Trixy stared off into the distance before looking at Janet. ”What about you?”

Tilting her head briefly she didn't seem sure herself. "That is nice.” She would admit to Trixy’s observation of Veronica. ”Depends on the patron I'd say. Mine is… well, I'm working on it. Not the simplest thing to do and people keep throwing fuel on the fire." She offered some of her own thoughts and perhaps aspirations. "I'm not really sure I can say much about the three girls. That's tough to call."

Trixy nodded. ”Yea.” She scratched the back of her head. ”In all likelihood the next time we meet it will be as enemies. Beacon and Cradle aren’t on the best of terms.” Trixy turned around to leave. ”You have a lot of determination. I doubt you’ll surrender even if you start losing.”

Rolling her eyes slightly and shaking her head Janet would mutter something under her breath as she ran her clean hand over her face. She would look at Trixy who seemed ready to leave before speaking again. "You're not the enemy. I'm fairly certain of that. If I could get people to stop trying to murder one another maybe…" She trailed off. Easier said than done and a low sigh escaped her lips. "I just want people to get along." She looked up at the morning sky.

”I know.” Trixy turned to look at Janet again. But she didn’t turn her entire body. One shoulder was pointed at Janet, the other in the direction Trixy was headed. ”But it’s not what we want. You’re part of the strongest organization in Penrose. There may be infighting, but Penrose Beacon and the Ascendancy are both part of a whole. Even if you don’t like it, your boss still employs both halves.”

Nodding slowly there didn't seem to be a whole lot else for her to talk about. There was one other thing to discuss but that was more Cindy's business than her own. Her appearance switching over the girl would straighten up. "As it appears your conversation with Ms. Howell has concluded, might you pass on a message to dear Eliza?" If it wasn't obvious before during the fight the change was like flipping a switch to someone else.

Trixy used her arm to shield her eyes from the blue light from her sudden transformation. ”A twin soul and a split personality?” She squinted her eyes. ”What did you have for her?”

Ignoring the verbalized observation she simply responded. "I made promise to protect something of hers. Please inform her that I intend to keep that commitment and it remains secure in my care." She wouldn't say outright what it was. Everything in Penrose had ears, or might as well anyway.

Trixy nodded and lifted her fingers to the side of her head. ”And who is this message from?”

"Cindy Ford." She would say rather matter of fact.

---

Hilde would smile at her friend as she greeted her. "I'm doing a lot better thanks to all of my friends. Starting to come into my own. And I think I've found a place I belong too." For now she would leave out the detail that it was at a graveyard. It was actually a pretty big step for her. Probably would make Oros happy to know as well.

The mention of "her folks" though could only mean a few people. Not as up to speed on what Janet and Jenna were doing she would lean closer to Faith and whisper. "You mean the twins?" She hoped whatever it was wasn't a bad thing.


To say he was not prepared for what Shoggy had in store would be accurate. It was strange for sure, but not the weirdest or most uncomfortable situation he'd ever found himself in. The girl was quite clingy and trying to push her back gently didn't work all that well with the viscous mass of her body. Well, he couldn't really ask her to back off either. For a bit he didn't do anything in hopes she would let him go. When it seemed more that he was going to be trapped there he would have to change tact.

Suppose it was a good thing that he was transformed when he arrived. Surrounded by a field of electricity for a moment the shock would jolt the monster girl off. It probably stung a bit, but he didn't have that many other options. "Sorry about that." He took a second to pull himself together. He would chuckle just a bit though. "I was not expecting that. Definitely one of the most unique kissing experiences I've ever had." He wasn't entirely sure if it was good or bad. He had definitely been on the receiving end of that surprise.

@BrokenPromise@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor@twave


Ronin waved happily to Sakura greeting her, and then she got the attention of Connie. Now, Connie probably looks way different now compared to before, if banners are to be believed, but anyway! Ronin grinned at the stammering girl, and reached to grab the girl’s hand with both hers and shake.

‘It is entirely alright! The important thing is that we’re friends now! We can call one another whenever we want, and talk about whatever we want! If you’re ever in danger, do tell! Where is Faith, by the way? Is she alright?’ Ronin asked, looking suddenly serious, because she apparently didn’t overhear anyone referring to her as who she is.

Then, apparently, by the rules of the game, she was supposed to kiss Shoggy? …………………………………… She didn’t really want to. Ronin went and retrieved a cupcake and handed it over to Shoggy with a grin. ‘Here, have a chocolate cupcake, and give me a Dare~!’

Right, then. Spinning a bottle. And it ended on… … …

roll + table

‘Alex, I’m gonna go kiss your girlfriend,’ she said, making eye-contact, establishing dominance, and then (unless she receives complaints about this course of action) she gets up, turns to Lily, grins a little, then skips over to give her a light little kiss on the lips before turning back and skipping back to her place in the immediate area. Unless Shoggy gives her a dare that makes her unable to do so, anyway.

---

It came to Mariette’s attention that there was something for sale that she wanted. Due to arbitrary rules she was unable to cash in on it herself… a portal opened outside the shop, and a slime-harpy dropped out of it. Eli had been given money with which to purchase something. Eli made her way inside the shop, grabbed the Super Map, and brought it to the counter.

‘One Super Map perk, please,’ Eli requested, depositing 2 gold and 2 silver from within her slime-wing onto the counter. And that’s about it.

Alexander raised a confused eyebrow at...whatever Shoggy was doing to Shane 'I mean...he doesn't seem to be in pain...so I guess it's okay? I wonder what that would feel like?' His mind conjured up the mental image of Lily suddenly sprouting mouths all over her front side and pulling him into some weird hug/kiss thing. This only led to him feeling even more confused. "This game is weird"

‘Alex, I’m gonna go kiss your girlfriend,’

Hearing that sent a shot of prime grade adrenaline straight to his heart, as he shifted his head to look at Ronin. It wouldn't be the first time another girl kissed Lily, but the idea of it happening now pissed him off "One sentence. It took you one sentence to make me want to punch you in the face." His voice and face were disturbingly serene as he just sat there, staring at her "That's...actually impressive. Normally I need to work up to 'punch in face' mad just a little bit, but you got me there with just one sentence." His eyes started to look down "So this is what having a girlfriend does to a guy, huh? I really don't like it...but it still feels worth it somehow. Fuck, Lily...what the hell are you doing to me? Sometimes I swear that girl has to have psychic magic." he said, more to himself then anyone else as he clutched his head with one hand

Connie was so glad that Ronin was so forgiving, and friendly too! She seemed like a bundle of energy and someone who would be a lot of fun to hang out with. Then she asked about Faith, and, after a moment of reluctance, Connie leaned in closer to the small samurai.

“O-Oh, uh, t-that’s her o-over there,” Connie whispered, pointing to the blonde chatting with Hilde. “S-She’s in d-disguise, though,” she added. “S-So you s-should p-probably act l-like you d-don’t know her, a-and l-let her t-tell you w-who she is herself.”

It was then that a strange and quite unsettling sight caught Connie’s attention. Shane had made his way over to Shoggy to give her a kiss, at which point the eldritch girl had begun to suck his face inside her head. Connie gave a sharp gasp as the color completely drained from her own face.

“U-Umm… S-Shoggy…?” she asked, while nervously pressing her fingers together. “Y-You s-should, uh, p-probably l-let him g-go now… I, uh, d-don’t t-think he can b-breath in t-there…”

Before the eldritch girl could respond, Shane managed to extricate himself by giving Shoggy a jolt of electricity. Connie gave a sigh of relief as color began to return to her face. After that, it appeared to be Ronin’s turn, and she, too, was heading over to Shoggy! Thankfully, having seen what had just happened, she wisely decided to give the eldritch girl a cupcake, instead of a kiss. Mia, who was very much enjoying herself, gave chuckle at the sight.

“So, I’m guessing this isn’t exactly what you were expecting when you agreed to host this thing, huh?” she asked Emily, while giving the girl a sly grin.

Lily nodded at Sakura’s suggestion with a bit lip, having realized that the pink-haired girl intended to also take Tenebra with them. She tried to think of an excuse to escape.
"”Uh, if that’s the case, maybe we don’t need-”
However, at that moment, Lily’s mumbles were interrupted by, of all things, Ronin’s kiss.
Her eyes shot wide open, and she froze, her face having turned a bright red.
She put her hands to her face from the sheer embarrassment she felt.
"I-I gotta go now, so skip over me!”
Without saying another word, she quickly spun the bottle, followed by Sakura shifting them away. It wasn’t until they had disappeared that the bottle had stopped; it pointed at Faith.

Lily was still blushing when they arrived at the Overcity, but quickly got her act together as she saw the situation before her. "Stomper?"
She lifted an eyebrow at the trashy fairy’s exclamation, but decided not to pay it further heed; she had bigger fish to fry.
She pointed her finger up to the sky, and performed her transforming incantation:
"Let my spirit gallop across the field of clouds, and strike my foes down with thunderous applause!"

With a yellow flash of light, she had transformed, and then turned towards a certain person, anger in her eyes; she had yet to summon her weapon, but she pointed a finger at Tenebra.
"Tenebra! Why did you call us sisters?" The green-haired girl’s hair sparkled with static electricity.
"You...It’s because of you that...Ixion is gone!"
She clenched both her fists and her teeth as she looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"But even worse than that...You said you were friends, yet your friend killed herself, just like that! You must have treated her horribly to make her that alone and desperate! You're awful!"
She then punched Tenebra on the cheek; while not very powerful by magical girl standards, it carried a painful jolt to it that caused her to stumble.
"Awful..." Tears dripped from Lily’s cheeks.

---

Brittany was behind the counter as usual, though she looked a bit more tense than usual. As was evident by the addition of new security measures like a Talos golem with tazer-fists standing in the corner and reinforced windows among other new changes, she had quickly adapted to the growing unrest within Penrose. She took the coins and nodded with a big smile.

‘Thank you for your purchase! We look forward to seeing you again...Unless you're a looter, in which case we won't, gahaha!‘

The sound of thunderclap was heard as Tenebra received the slap reeling so slightly as she trembled significantly. Not because of fear, but because more complex feelings as she als hissed under her breath “Eppur si muove”... and transformed as a reflex. Lily stepped back in response, still shaking from her violent outburst.

“Wut” said Sakura, relenting on acquiring the movies after witnessing the start of a scuffle of the two magical girls.

“Violence… I don’t like violence… Can’t we just all get along??” said the panicky monster girl with the impressive mounds… of Gojira movies. Sakura just raised an eyebrow at her, but not before checking her out.

It was then, when Sakura was distracted by the other girl’s...attitude, when Tenebra snapped.

“Y...you! How dare you, bitch! Idiot! Poopyhead? Poopyhead!” Tenebra said, without even bothering to attack. “You don’t know. What the fuck do you know! We were cast away! We were broken! And then you came upon your fucking hig...high horse and your justice and nonsense stuff and started saying we were the scum of the earth. I bet you never had to witness you being dumped by your own mother as trash! Or...being born wrong because your mom did drugs! That your patron died? Boo hoo! At least you did have a decent one! I’m just a second rate bargain from a horror that nobody liked!”

"That doesn’t excuse what you did!” Lily shouted back.
”You bullied an innocent little girl!”

Tenebra’s eyes turned to pinpricks. “And until recently, until my brain was fixed by magic, I could not even comprehend half of this. Yes, you got it right, I was brain addled, and those two were friends with me despite that. So apologize. Right now.!” Tenebra’s gravity hummed.

Lily turned her head away, and took a shaky half-breath before she responded:
”You’re just like those other girls...”

Sakura was left a bit agape, and looked at the other girl instead. “er… could you stop. I mean, Gojira movies.”

Lily glanced at Sakura, and then back at Tenebra.

”I...I tried to save her, you know. I used magic I knew I couldn’t control, and risked my life to do it. And because of that, I lost a friend.” She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
”So yeah...I am a poopyhead. But I at least try my best.”
With that, she turned to Buttercup, and took the bundle of movies from her.

“Soul was always rough… she just knew how much prostitute mothers with loving kids hit really home…” Tenebra admitted.”So she wanted to show me how it was like. That one was a cute potato, the poor thing was regrettably terrified. She did look like a cute little sister.”

Lily turned back with the pile of movies, looking less resentful but still agitated.
”Well, at least you didn’t want to hurt them, but it was still wrong of you.”

“So… it was you, huh.” Sakura said, eyeing the girl and Lily. And without further ado, landed a powerful blow in Tenebra’s stomach, making her reel and gag and Lily to gasp. “You know, I used to be the guy who was that girl’s father.” Sakura gritted, before offering a hand to Tenebra. “Water under the bridge. I don’t feel beating you into a pulp. What would it prove?”

”Um, those were my movi... “ Buttercup weakly protested before relenting.”You probably need this more than me though…” The girl admitted.

And then it happened. Both Lily and Tenebra were pinned by the mighty hug of the monstergirl, who had them pressed against her warm chest. ”I don’t know either of you. I scarcely can fathom what you’ve gone through. But you girls did your best. For that, you deserve love. For that you deserve to be happy in this world. Everyone does. So wipe your tears, okay? There’s always a dawn after the darkest night. Buttercup said.

”Hey, what are you-!”
Lily blushed upon being hugged, now clutching the movies in her arms.
Though she first resisted the warm gesture, she gradually calmed down with a pout.
”G-Geez...”

Sakura stood agape, briefly losing her cool upon seeing the action of the complete stranger. That Buttercup girl was something huh.-

Hold on was she signalling that there was space for a group hug too?

“Ugh, FINE! Hey you, wingy-chan.”

“It’s Buttercup…”

“You’re coming with us!”.

”But Saku-chan, we’re already packed in tight there...And...”
She sighed.
”...Fine.”
She released herself from the hug, and looked at Tenebra.
”Hey, Tenebra...I’m sorry for the bad things I said, ok? I just...I was really angry, most of all at myself. Being a magical girl can be super hurtful. But, it also means we can change things for the better with our own hands. So, can you promise me that you’ll do your best from now on?” She asked.
”In return, I’ll promise to give you another chance.”

Tenebra on her part, let herself be comforted, just letting a small pleased giggle as Buttercup filled the much sorely needed motherly gap she had in her life. “Huh? I’m sorry too.” She said sheepishly before prying herself from Buttercup. “I’ll do my best, then.”
Lily smiled, and offered her hand for Tenebra to shake.

Sakura sighed. “Okay, we're done now? Let 's go. Portal-chan, lead the way.” Sakura said, trying to brush off Buttercup’s attempt at headpats.

---

”We’re back!”
The group returned, Lily having untransformed as she brought the DVD cases to the shelf next to the movie player. She picked out the first movie in the pile.
”Now, let’s start with...Huh, didn’t know these started in the 50s. Well, time to check out Godzilla!” After she inserted the disc, she went back to sitting in Alex’ lap; unlike last time, when she was obviously nervous, now she seemed to be more accepting of it.
”I-If you want to change, you can also sit on me, Alex. I don’t mind either way,” she said, and giggled as the rubber-suited man made his first appearance on the black-and-white screen.

Meanwhile Sakura had arrived. “We got movies. This gal ceded them.” She pointed at Buttercup, who was now hugging Sakura. She seemed delighted, could her Horrible luck be at an end? Sakura eventually relented, due to a couple of reasons.

“Uh, spin the bottle huh!” Buttercup said. “I may give a try later, today seems to be my lucky day!”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room a hot and bothered shoggoth girl received an electrifying sensation upon being zapped by Shane. Others would have reeled, but Shoggy knew that being kissed … and being struck as if by a current and being tingly meant one thing. It was LOVE!.

Nevermind Ronin’s cupcake instead of kiss (she still ate it greedily though through a mouth that appeared on her hand), this was better! Clinging once more to Shane she began to talk: “That was amazing! I wuv you! Do you want to raise a family? Is five enough? Do you like eldritch pudding? Kiss me again!” The eldritch girl seemed to cling to Shane’s arm, and her motormouth was evident.

It was strange how having Lily in his lap made him feel so warm "Uh...no. This is fine." he responded to Lily's suggestion to change places. He was...happy(?) with how things were. Despite looking at the TV, and having his eyes open, he couldn't seem to focus on the movie. It was if most of the mental processing power dedicated to dealing with visual information had been re-allocated to tactile information, since it seemed like his sense of touch had somehow been boosted 'Should I?' Alexander slowly moved his arms from his side to Lily's waist, as he wrapped them around her, pulling her into a hug 'This is okay...right?'

Faith was simply overjoyed to be surrounded by all of her friends. Connie, Mia, Hildiebell, Hilaria, and even her mother was here! And they had friends and even they had friends. Being part of something so large was almost enough to put Faith in a euphoric state. She sampled the food, she conversed, and for a moment the dread of Lotus’s death had subsided.

”It’s not important~!” Faith reiterated to Hildie, who inquired about her run-in with the twins. ”What have you been up to?“

”Hey!” Mother pointed at the bottle. ”Quit stalling the game and spin!”

Faith laughed. ”Seems it’s my turn! Tell me how you’ve been when I get back~!“ Faith kneeled down beside the bottle and gave it a spin. And it landed on…

”Alex again!?”

”R-really?“ Faith was not oblivious to Alex’s outburst earlier when Ronin kissed Lily. ”Well, I guess it’s going to be another game of truth or dare for Alex.“
”What are you, straight or something?”

”Hm?“ Faith turned her head, only to find herself pulling her head back when her mother’s face was practically against her skin. ”I-Is something wrong?“

”You heard me! I raised you in a progressive environment!” She pointed at Alex. ”Everybody else is doing it, you might as well too!”

”I-If you’re sure.“

Faith felt a bit uncomfortable as she approached Alex. He seemed kind of gruff, and in a relationship he was serious about. But maybe he just felt left out because mother hadn’t kissed him? She would have preferred the bottle pointed her towards anyone else. But it didn’t have to be a kiss on the lips or anything serious.

”Pardon me, Lily. I’m just going to, um, maybe if I stand over here?“ With Alexander and Lily so close, it was hard to maneuver around them. Then the corners of Faith’s lips curled into a smile.

”Hold on now, Lily spun on me before leaving~!“

She stuck her head between the two love struck teens and pushed their faces into her cheeks. ”Oh yes! I can feel the warmth of their bond passing through me and into each other! Oh ho ho ho~!“

Her mother closed her eyes and groaned. ”Alex looks busy. Did anyone else wanna spin the bottle? Or are we gunna watch some shitty movies?”

Since Faith insisted that it didn't matter Hilde would drop the subject. "Okay then." She would smile as her friend stepped away. She watched a bit as her friend would steal a kiss from Alex and Lily. This game seemed a little weird to her. Though a big part of that was because of what was happening elsewhere. Namely, Shane and Shoggy. The boy having managed to free himself the girl seemed extremely enthusiastic about a relationsip. Doing a double take for a moment Hilde glanced around. Nope, Ronin was standing right there.

Uncomfortable she would start scooting away from the circle. "I think I'll go to watching the movie." She would answer Oros as she left. It was what they had come to do originally anyway.


Shoggy's reaction took the boy aback. For a moment he looked a bit skeptical but with the girl hanging onto him and his magic doing its job he had a reasonable understanding that she wasn't pulling his leg. Well, not yet anyway. He would hold up his other hand flat to tell the girl to stop. "Whoa, slow down a moment." He would at least try and keep her from jumping all over him.

Shane wasn't particularly sure where the girl was coming from. Going form 0 to 100 was unusual unless they were pretending. Shoggy didn't quite seem to be though, he didn't need those glasses at the shop to see that. "It's customary to get to know one another before jumping into a relationship." He would say calmly. Either she was simply unaware of your usual human fare or something else was up. Regardless he would at least give her the chance, she seemed nice enough even if potentially a bit naive. "So, tell me about yourself." Given she'd just run through a bunch of questions he had little doubt that he would get details.

As the host of the event, Emily had felt that she needed to be as inclusive and accommodating to everyone's needs as she could be but the reality of the situation was that she neither had expected bottles to be spun nor was she experienced with this.

Some individuals seemed to dislike it, while some enjoyed it. And with the movies they were originally going to watch being... well, removed from the equation, she wasn't sure what to do. Things were moving so fast that the overstimulated girl couldn't keep track of everything. Were they going to obtain new copies? Were they going to do something else? She wanted to cry.

"Oh my, isn't this just wonderful~?" Emily wasn't sure when it had happened, but somehow Hilaria had gotten behind her and placed a kind hand on her shoulder without her even realizing. "Everyone seems to be having fun, in their own way~" the ancient said as she munched some something Emily assumed she grabbed from the kitchen.

Emily couldn't give a response, but just that casual statement caused her to regain her composure. People did seem to be enjoying themselves, somehow or another. That was the important part, yeah? The realization allowed the magical girl to exhale the stress away.

...only for it to be replaced by more when she noticed Shoggy sucking the life out of someone through their lips. The sight was absurd! The sight was lewd! The sight was shameless! The sight was... hard to tear her eyes away from.

"Eh, ah..."

It was only a game, right? Yeah, that's it. Nothing serious. Nope. Just people smacking lips in the middle of her home all willy nilly. As long as things didn't escalate and her mother in heaven was busy washing dishes or watching dramas right now, then things would be fine. Yes, very.

Mia would be met with a young girl trying her best not to let her emotions show. Her best wasn't exactly good, so Emily made a stiff turn to face the girl with a blush. "O-oh, I suppose not!" she replied. She gave an awkward look around the room again. Her definition of a 'movie night' was clearly outdated. "But as l-long as people are having fun, then it's okay!" she told Mia with the straightest smile she could muster.

With the copious amount of lip-to-lip, Emily was thankful that the movies had arrived. She could certainly see herself enjoying those a fair bit more than she would if she were to sp--

Suddenly, the girl was pulled down to the floor before the bottle. "Spin, spin~!" a familiar voice encouraged. Well, more like demanded in a very unique way. As Oros asked for more victims players, Hilaria had taken it upon herself to nominate the confused Emily.

"W-what, me? O-oh, no, that's probably not..." Hilaria was not daunted by the weak resistance Emily put up, and took the young girl's hand and forced her to spin it. It spun until it slowly landed upon a person in particular.

"Oh, my~ Someone seems attached~ Maybe you should spin again~?"

Emily eyed Shane, who had just finished being assaulted by the tentacle girl. She didn't say anything. Her experience with boys was always a rough one and she wasn't sure what to do. If the options were a kiss or a dare, then which would be better? Kissing was... well, kissing. But if she went for a dare, what if she was asked to do something crazy, like reveal a secret or even hold hands!?