Oh. The time had come. Ronin smirked, despite feeling afraid. She didn't feel the slightest ready for this, but it was now or never.

First things first.

@BrokenPromise

Veronica. The time has come. Justine is summoning me.

She then maneuvered her phone. She had a list of individuals to contact.

To Su…

‘Hey, Su. The summon for Justine's attack on Mariette just arrived. The one where I’ve been forcibly recruited by Justine on her mission to kill Mariette but I’m actually trying to save Mariette from her mind-bending and such. Did you want to help?’

To Lily…

‘Hey, Lily! I’ve got a bit of a situation on my hands. I've been recruited by Justine to attack Mariette's home. But, I'm actually going there to try to save those Justine attacks. Mariette and her companions have been mind-bent, after all, they don't know they're not following Asengav willingly. I've got somewhere I can take them, if I just can get to them first. Going to be very dangerous, but I'm going to try. Would you like to help?’

Ronin got a fast, but really confusing response to. “Will get to the bottom of this”? She was going to be involved? … How? ‘Alright, I’ll see you later, then!’ Ronin responded, still confused.

@Shifter_Master

To Penny…

‘Heey, Penny! I heard a bunch of stuff about you since last time. Like, you’re not two anymore, and you’re a big deal, huh? I bet you’re going to be busy with a bunch of things. Regardless, I’d like to tell you. Justine von Visceral has given her summons. She’s going to attack Mariette Pedersen inside her Interdimensional Home, and I’ve been forcibly recruited to help her. I’m going along with it, because I want to save Mariette and her companions. See, Mariette and co are mind-bent and don’t know they’re following Asengav unwillingly. So, I’m joining Justine’s attack on Mariette to save Mariette. It’s going to be really dangerous. Um, any way I could have some kind of help, or advice, or?’

After that, Ronin considered Sakura, Mia and Connie. They were new friends, who she hadn't really had a proper heart-to-heart with yet, it didn't feel like she was fair involving them. … But eventually she opted to try, she was desperate, after all. In addition, they might get mad if she didn’t even give them the choice.

Then, uh. There was this girl she’d been told about by Amanda. She hadn’t even met her. Well. Perhaps she’d like to hand over the message for her?

@Majoras End

‘Hey, Amanda! Would you like to pass on this message to that magical dream princess, for me? It concerns Justine and the help I wanted us to get, hah,’ Ronin asked, because who even knows. Anyways. Some messages to prepare.

@AtomicNut

‘Hey, sensei! I might have found myself in a spot of trouble.’ To Sakura.

@Ponn

‘Hey Connie! Sorry about this when we’ve just gotten to know one another, but there’s a situation going down now that I’d like you and Mia to know about.’ To Connie.



Finally to this girl she’d never even met…

‘Hey, Magical Dream Princess! I'm Ronin, Magical Samurai Girl! We've never met, but regardless, I'd like to ask to ask if you'd like to help save some people?’

To those who hadn't been around at that time, the message followed like this.

‘Before you were around, there was a vampire that declared war on Penrose. She was trying to create a world without love or something like that, and quite a few girls died. A bunch of girls from Penrose banded together to assail her castle, among which was Beacon, Penny, some independants and another Horror girl called Mariette. Mariette had previously worked with Justine and was betrayed. The group managed to defeat Justine, made her fall back somewhere and peace returned to Penrose.’

‘However, Justine’s back. She’s recruited girls to help her send an attack at Mariette’s Interdimensional Home, as vengeance for her guiding the inhabitants of Penrose to her palace. I’ve been recruited. However, I’m not going with the attack to destroy Mariette. See, I happen to know that Mariette and her crew are mind-bent, they do not follow their Horror patron out of their own free will. I’m coming with Justine because I wish to save Mariette from Justine… and maybe kidnap Mariette and Eli so we can remove their mind-bending.’

‘It’s going to be exceedingly dangerous. For one, I can’t promise Justine won’t just see straight through me. For the second, I’ll be arriving with Justine’s invasion force, Mariette will most certainly use her entire arsenal to destroy the invaders, us among them. But, Justine’s companion is the only way in or out a stranger’s Interdimensional Home, mostly, so it’s my only chance. The chance of disastrous failure, death by hands of either Justine or Mariette, or just me being unable to help at all as one of them simply kills the other is, like, probably pretty high.’

‘So, my question is simply, would you like to help? Do you have any questions?’

Yupp. That’ll do. If any of them wanted to help as well, she’d give them a gathering point close to the underground garage where Justine wanted them to meet.

@twave

Finally, to Janet and Jenna…

‘Justine’s summons to attack Mariette just came. It’s going down today.’ Yupp. That’s all they needed to know. Hilde had specifically said she didn’t want to get involved, so no message to her.

In a fair amount of thought himself, Shane spent a bit watering everything. Perhaps more of a distraction than anything for the moment. Cindy being "alive" in any capacity was a shock, no pun intended. Paired with a Beacon girl no less. He'd watched Cindy die. Wouldn't have been the first time he'd seen someone go, but they usually weren't back so soon. What was the whole ceremony before this then? Was it actually Cindy? There were probably a few things he could ask of the girl to confirm. He wasn't sure when he'd get the chance though.

He glanced at Dina as she approached the space he was working in. The boy had seen the maids that she'd provided around but had yet to meet her. Right away though he could tell that she was not in a good mood, even if outwardly she appeared calm and collected. Counter productive to that was a peculiar allure that seemed to follow her. Of course Shane had no way of knowing it was due to magic it was still something he noticed since the roles were usually reversed. Perhaps against his better judgment he spoke up. "Did you know her? Cindy?" He would keep his eyes on the task at hand.

Dina for the most part, not reply at first, then all of a sudden, she addressed this gardener. Another person she had not met, yet Penny had brought all over. “I used to exchange words, although they were not always positive.” Dina said curtly. “Differences on what constitutes a good balance of diplomacy if I must say.” Dina added, as she looked at Shane. “...they call me Dina Denisova. But people hardly know my work here, I am afraid.”

He would set the watering can down. Turning he would have extended a hand to Dina but his hands weren't the cleanest. "Pleased to meet you Ms. Denisova. And that's unfortunate. Being absent lately myself I haven't really helped with knowing what all you've contributed. I was told of the maids which I'm sure has helped with morale." He would tackle Dina's portion first. Taking a step back to the first comments though he would nod in agreement. "Yes, Cindy was... difficult to work with. My intention in joining sounds similar. Obviously I didn't get very far in that regard either." He massaged one of his temples with a knuckle to avoid getting dirt on his face.

“Probably, but that was but the first step… afterwards, it’s as if I had faded out of everyone’s minds. I blame the chaos…” Dina said. “...and yet, I did wish for this to be free of strings, for that I engaged in Realpolitik.” She shook her head. “Does that look free of strings to you? We are practically being force fed Beacon propaganda, with a most disgusting mockery of what once had been Cindy.”

His eyes would wander as he considered what Dina said. It certainly didn't look good. Still... "I believe in the benefit of the doubt. I would like to speak to this 'Cindy'. I'm not entirely sure why she's working with a Beacon girl, but I'm sure she has her reasons." He would take a rag and wipe down his hands. In thought for a while longer he pulled down his rolled up sleeves. "I don't know her all that well personally, but from what I've seen and heard Janet is basically part of a resistance in Beacon. I'm surprised she's still alive to be honest. She was at the park that night. She refused to fight. Dropped her weapon and tried talking with Cindy instead. We were all caught in the same blast that allowed that other boy to kill Cindy. Not really sure what happened after that as I got pulled away to another part of the city. Penrose has a lot of moving parts and it makes it hard to know who's with who and why. A healthy amount of scepticism makes sense." He would offer his two cents.

"Yet you would never impose such a decision in such a grandiose manner like the current leader did. That Penny is falling for the same mistake Cindy used to get criticism for, if not worse." Dina stood up. "Besides, the dead should stay dead. This is obscene, how much this will give false hopes to all those gathered here. Beacon is not the Sanctuary's future… not when people think being a monster girl is an affliction to be cured. Or a foe to be slain." Her eyes seemed to pierce Shane. "The people here deserve better than feeding off Beacon's scraps of mercy."

The boy visibly flinched for a moment, but would still eventually present a smile. "Well, too late now. Best we can do is temper any enthusiasm and try to move forward. Like you implied earlier, we're not the most organized. Never were really. Cindy just showed up one day and lay claim. Then we all got whisked away and came back to a mess." Sounded like one excuse after another, a fact Shane was well aware of. "You probably already plan to do this, but if you think there's a problem then talk to Penny about it. Things might not start how we want but that tends to happen after a power vacuum. I’ll probably see what's up with this Cindy person. I'd rather see it for myself than trust a video. Maybe figure out what they actually intend to do rather than assume." He would point back in the direction of the theater. Not that he doubted the possibility of it happening, he more wanted to know the details.

"I tried to make things smoother last time too. But I am afraid most people here just see being Queen or leader as a lofty title and make rash decisions. " Dina said. " I've given enough notice for Penny to talk over this. It would look foolish and wasteful to chase those two hope saleswomen in front of everyone and second guess. It would bring more unpleasantness." Dina fussed. "Even if I don't like it one bit."

"Ah, two steps ahead of me. " He would give a bit of a sigh. It was clear that Dina was displeased with how things were being done. He wasn't really the one to talk to about authority. Leading was not particularly his favorite thing to do. "Not that excuses are a solution, but Penny is new to this kind of thing. She needs help to keep this place running. More importantly everyone else needs the help. Penny isn't Cindy, but she hasn't had the best example to follow. If there is a better way then that needs to be impressed onto her so she has the chance to learn before everything falls apart." While not really being a leader per se, he usually was a decent mediator. This whole change of hands happened in, what, a week or two? Things were moving pretty quickly.

"Tragedies wait for no one. As much as we would like to. If i could afford time certain compromises could be avoided." Dina rebuked. "Sink or swim, as the idiom says." She said. " And mind you, being new is excusable. Not taking advice is a whole different matter. What use is for her to be open to comment now, that she has made an announcement?" The catgirl said, as she began to leave. "Please do excuse me. I did not mean to take your precious time with this unpleasantness." Dina said, before bowing so slightly and leaving.

Damn people and their pessimism. Too many head strong individuals. "Nonsense. I was practically asking for it." He would add smirking to himself. He would hold up a hand to slow her down. "Are you sure you don't want me to leave? I was the one prying. You came here after all."

"You are tending to a garden, are you not?" Dina said. "Why would I kick you out? It's not like I am Queen or anything of this place." She continued to walk away.

"I was, but I'm more or less done for now and the plants aren't going anywhere. Up to you. Hope to see you around regardless." He would offer and take some steps away himself. ”Maybe I should see about mixing in some flowers. Probably would be a bit therapeutic when people need it.” He would muse aloud.

"Anything but catnip or valerian. I do not want to see the maids completely smashed." Dina said. "The offer of escort is certainly interesting, but I am not in the mood of a delightful tea break right now, my apologies."

That wasn’t exactly what he intended, but this was more or less a big hallway so he could see how that could be drawn. Still he would stop. The comment at least assuaged one thing in his mind. ”I will be sure to avoid that. Thank you for letting me know. And it was nice meeting you.” He would leave it at that since Dina was intent on heading out. Wrong place wrong time it seemed.


While not directly called upon for the assault that was to happen, the twin Beacon members made their way to base to at least be on call. With as much as was going on they weren't convinced that someone wouldn't try and take advantage of others being out on mission. So for the time being they would stay on point and keep track of those coming and going with their magic. Some of their plans were getting pushed back with this attack going into play right at this moment. The message they made was to put Beacon on blast as much as anyone, but things were not quite in place. They also left releasing it to Penny anyhow and she wanted to let the Sanctuary know before everyone else.

Staying out of the direct conflict was a layered decision. They understandably didn't want to work with Justine given what she'd done to her. Even without that Cindy had an agreement with Mariette. They also needed to be ready if Ronin called on them. Was kind of hard to say what was going to happen. There was also the possibility that Rachel wouldn't want Cindy tagging along anyway.

Connie and Mia would be relaxing in their room, the tomboy playing a video game while her friend watched, when they would both receive a message from Ronin. Apparently, she was in some serious trouble and needed their help. Mia exhaled after reading the details.

“I don’t know about this, Connie,” she said with no small amount of trepidation. “This sounds all kinds of crazy. I mean, vampires, horrors, other dimensions? Even I’d be reluctant to go on a mission like this…”

“I-I know…” Connie replied softly. Then, gathering her strength, she spoke up. “B-But, Ronin’s our friend! I-If s-she’s in t-trouble, t-then we h-have to help her! I k-know I’ve s-still got a l-long way to g-go,” she added, “b-but I’m getting b-better at c-controlling my p-powers, a-and I’d l-like to use t-them for m-more than j-just g-giving p-people n-nightmares…”

Mia didn’t say anything for a moment. There were so many reasons to avoid this mission like the death trap it seemed to be, but her friend’s resolve tugged at her heart with far greater strength than all her fears and concerns put together.

“Okay, little sis,” Mia conceded, offering her friend a smile. “If you really wanna do this, then I’ll be right beside you.”

“Thank you, Mia,” Connie said, while wrapping her friend up in a big hug. “I j-just know everything will be okay if we’re t-together.”

I hope so, little sis, Mia thought to herself while casting a worried glance at the location Ronin had provided. I really hope so…

---

Much had transpired during the several days since Violet had become a magical girl. Her father’s condition had stabilized, and even improved somewhat, the medicine provided by the Ebon Mint holding the hex placed upon him in abeyance. While the identity of the party responsible for said hex was still a mystery, the individual behind the raid on the CI R&D facility was not. According to the Mint’s operatives, the culprit was a draconic monster girl named Mayra, who, in an interesting turn of events, was an associate/underling of none other than Mariette Pedersen. Unfortunately, the reason behind the attack was still something of a mystery, and one Violet could not even begin to fathom. It would be one thing if the attack had been some sort of reprisal for the loss of the Dreamscape Almanac, but the book had been given to her a few days after the raid had taken place. And on the subject of the Almanac, Violet had informed the Mint that she would need to keep the manuscript in her possession for an as yet undetermined amount of time, being sure not to reveal any hint as to the reason she wished to do so. Surprisingly, Al Scarpe seemed unconcerned by this, noting that he doubted that Mariette would ever seek to reclaim it.

As for more mundane matters, Violet had been able to convince her father that Lodovico Demiris had not been responsible for the R&D center raid, and so the retaliatory strike had thankfully been called off. The heiress actually found herself somewhat surprised by just how easy it had been to make her father believe the story she had fabricated about using a prototype stealth recon drone she had been working on to gain the information from Demiris’s computer system. It was a story that would not sustain intense scrutiny, as she lacked the data the drone was supposed to have acquired (or the drone itself, for that matter), but her father had accepted her explanation without question. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Mint’s medicine, which she had been surreptitiously placing in his drink every morning. If so, then it was a fortuitous one. With her father still convalescing, Violet had been forced to assume the mantle of leadership she had been groomed for her entire life. She was undoubtedly prepared and incredibly capable, but the work was still intense and exhausting. Fortunately, she now had a way to relieve that pressure, one that was far more effective than a simple stress ball…

Every night since her life-changing meeting with the Sovereign of Sweet Dreams, Violet had transformed into Magical Dream Princess, the whimsical escapades of her playful alter ego bringing immense enjoyment to the high-strung and heavily repressed heiress. She had even made her first real friend, a kind and gentle girl named Amanda, who, it turned out, also happened to possess dream magic. The two had exchanged phone numbers, and, although the heiress couldn’t fully believe she had done so, had even gone so far as to reveal their true identities to each other. For some reason she could not fully explain, Violet felt she could trust Amanda completely. Perhaps it was a side effect of the drastic personality changes she underwent when she became her magical girl self, or maybe it was simply the fact that she had never had a friend before, but Violet knew that she would do anything for Amanda. Indeed, it was a text from this very friend that currently occupied the heiress’s full attention.

It seemed that one of Amanda’s other friends was in trouble. Serious trouble, by the sound of it. Unfortunately, Amanda was occupied with another important matter and was unable to help, but she had written to ask if Violet could help in her stead. A forwarded copy of her friend’s message followed. It spoke of great danger, of vampires, horrors, and assaults upon extradimensional mansions. It sounded completely insane, although no less insane than what she had already encountered in her short time as a magical girl. And in a most interesting twist, Mariette herself seemed to be at the center of these proceedings... Perhaps this would provide the opportunity to get to the bottom of that little mystery as well... Even putting all that aside, her friend, her best friend, was asking this of her. There was no way Violet could refuse.

Taking a deep breath to focus herself, the heiress stepped into the center of her study and began to recite the words of her incantation.

"Hearts, Candy, Sparkles, and Balloons~! Sunshine, Glitter, Unicorns, and Rainbows~!





Taaa daaa~! Magical Girl Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess is here~! (giggle!)

Okie doki~! (giggle!) Time for Magical Dream Princess to make some new friends, save them from some meanie weanie heads, and make all their dreamy weamies come true~! (giggle!) Weeeeee~!”

Ten minutes after Justine’s message was sent out, a SUV with tinted windows pulled into the parking lot, backing in smoothly. Stepping out from all four doors in an almost uncanny unison were four men dressed sharply in three-piece suits. Each of them carried a bag of some sort, whether it be a sports bag, a fishing bag, or a leather clutch, and any particularly astute observer would see the curious trinkets around their fingers, in their earlobes, or hanging from their necks. They carried a small fortune in magical artifacts, purchases made with ill-gotten money and blood-sealed connections, and they wore it with a pride that only bastards could.

The boss, a stubble chinned brunette with a strong jaw, strolled casually into the rippling space that Sonia had generated, letting out a low whistle as he took in the absolute nothing that was the gathering. “Damn,” he said, with no particular commitment. “Thought the brights would be more eager than us for this shit.”

A pale-skinned thug, his tiger-like eyes gleaming in the subdued lighting of the generated space, grinned. Plopping down on one of the chairs, he reclined, slamming his feet on another set of chairs. “Ain’t no biggie, boss. First come first serve for refreshments, ye? Oi, waitress! Got some meat on you or what?”

“Ignore him,” a dour-faced man cut in. Amongst the quartet of gangsters, he was the one that looked most at home in a business suit, and, ignoring the half-hearted curses from his younger colleague, he turned towards Justine. “The Red Nest has come to fulfill our side of the contract. You are certain that the Cradle will act?”

The final member did not enter the space yet. Staying outside, he stood beside a concrete pillar to light a cigarette. He took a drag, blew out a cloud, and closed his eyes, his other senses alert for the approach of others. The boss had always been more about profit than vengeance when it came to their line of work; he couldn’t count the amount of brethren they had lost over the decades to those dogs of the Patrons. In this particular case though, profit and vengeance intersected.

It would be a good day today. He looked forward to it.

Aurelio was relaxing within Beacon’s HQ, paying a one of the numerous games they had lying about with some of the other members of the organization. It was proving to be a simple and relaxing day, which is of course why that illusion fell part with a single text. “Whelp there goes my win streak” he would mutter to himself as he read over the text from Alicia.

“Sorry ladies, duty calls” he would say as he excused himself from the table.

As he walked he once again mused over the mission they were going on. It seemed rather simple at first glance. Infiltrate a horror girls HQ and taken them out. The fact that this particular girl had helped bomb beacon before was reason enough for most people to see it as just cause. Which, fair enough, he could see that, but the fact that they were being helped out with this endeavor by a Dark magic girl that had also tried to take them out before? That was worrying, and about eighty percent the reason he attached himself to the mission.

After all he was perhaps one of the best suited members to be on hand incase Justine tried to double cross them, assuming that the records of the girls Bane were correct, plus his deeper connection to the teleportation grid mean that they also had a ready-made escape route if needed. Now he just needed to convince himself that this whole thing wasn’t a bad idea and he would be set.

It wasn’t that he thought the attack was a poor idea. There were people to save by doing it, both Beacon and no. neither did he think that that Mariette hadn’t done anything to deserve it, the whole kidnapping and bombing disabused that notion. No, it was more the fact that whole thing kind of went against his Vow. Or at least it felt like it did to him. He knew he didn’t have to keep his Vow up in the face of the darker aspects of the magical community but he liked to do so anyway.

With a shake of his head he pushed those thoughts off to the side, he could go over them again later if he needed to, but for now it was time to meet up with Alicia, and get started and the stage prep. This was going to be a difficult mission even if everyone stayed on the straight and narrow.

In an extravagant throne muddled by countless bodies of slain soldiers and unconscious adventurers, there stood two men.

"...They still yet perpetuate the strife and unbalance that tears Allyia apart for naught but their own amusement. Our world, our towns, our fortunes, and even our existence... they mean nothing to them. That the very subjects of this ruination revere them is the height of irony and I shall not suffer it any longer. We must needs purge this world from their wretched influence."

Tirius, Usurper of the Hallowed Throne, Slayer of Celestials, and formerly, The Light of Allyia, descended the steps of the elevated throne he had sat on moments prior. His was a presence most intimidating by the hostile air around him, the titles he had earned through unimaginable feats, and his signature panoply that inspired dread to all who opposed him. The once obsidian-black armor had been forever stained by the pure-white blood of the gods he had slain, and little needed to be said about Revolution, the god-absorbing sword that had once been thought of to be mere myth.

Despite this commanding presence, a lone man stood before him, positioned to protect his allies, who succumbed to the overwhelming pressure. That a single wave of Tirius' hand could incapacitate the people he'd fought with up to this point was a testament to the absurd strength he called his own. Without a shred of doubt, the young man knew that should he so desire it, Tirius could single-handedly bring the world to his knees. What would the world's armies be to a man challenging the gods themselves?

But that is why the young man could not back down. No matter how much he wanted to. Despite the fear gripping his heart and the lingering admiration, he felt for Tirius, who had once been like a father to him long ago.

It was true that the destruction of the Heart of Light would render the Celestials powerless to shape the course of fate as they saw fit, but it would likewise spell the end for life on the planet, as it kept in balance the flow of aether within all of creation. Yet with this revelation coming from Liliana, a Celestial who had sided with humanity, there could be no understanding. His determination to save humanity was unyielding and he would not give in to what he believed to be yet another one of the Celestials lies, not anymore.

This left only confrontation.

The young hero could not help but to recall his past experiences with Tirius, back when they were like family. Not once did he ever land a single blow on the man when they sparred. No, he was never even close, and Tirius had only become stronger with time.

But so had he. That he was standing here proved as much.

Tirius leveled his sizable sword towards the young hero. "I shall allow no obstacles to bar my path. If that means I must get rid of you, then so be it! But make your last moments worthwhile, oh student of mine!"

The world seemed to blur before turning black.

....

....

....

"Oh, jeez, finally!"

Sitting on her bed and facing a small tv nestled into the corner of her room on her nightstand was Emily, who had had about enough already. This cutscene had been the definition of hype the first couple of times, but now it was just frustrating. The game did not allow her to skip it and she had failed on the boss fight multiple times. She had adored this game so far but given the current year, what sort of poor design was that? Unskippable cutscenes right before a difficult fight? There was still one difficulty tier higher!

This run lasted even less time than last before she found the hero of the story succumbing to his wounds. The fatal blow inflicted by a move that had a misleading visual that made you think you weren't in the hitzone. She hoped maybe they might fix this later, but she wasn't going to count on it. She sighed in frustration as she would now have to watch the scene yet again.

"Horse Pucky!" Emily growled, then covered her lips in embarrassment. The fight was hard and she was beginning to blame her failures on the game rather than herself and she had just said something bad.

Seconds later, a buxom figure appeared at the doorway, brandishing a lollipop which she put into her mouth. "Oh, is something the matter~? Hilaria thinks you sound upset~" the ancient asked, evoking what was perhaps a routine startle from Emily. Her bed might've caught aflame had she been transformed.

Regaining composure, Emily worried that Hilaria might not want to be in her presence anymore what with the strong language she was using. To blurt something terrible like that out while she had company over simply was rude beyond all imagining. Beet red in the face, she waved her hands. "Oh, please forgive me! I accidentally got frustrated and let that out. I know, it's very poor manners."

Hilaria paused. "...What." she didn't seem to know what Emily was talking about immediately, but then picked up on it. "Oh, yes, poor indeed~ Hilaria might have to reconsider letting you feed her~" she crossed her arms and shook her head in mock disapproval, which Emily took seriously (and apparently as a bad thing) and her expression pleaded for forgiveness.

Naturally, Hilaria would die a thousand times before she willingly removed a source of food over... whatever it was Emily did, so she pretended to reluctantly accept her apology. "Since it's the first time, Hilaria can look past this transgression~"

Thankful for this second chance, she nearly leaped out of her bed to hug Hilaria. "Oh, thank you so very much!" she spoke as they parted.

Maybe someone else might feel a bit shameful for messing with a girl so innocent, but such piddling worries would never impede her unceasing quest for cuisine. Hilaria would, however, have to admit to herself that she was curious as to what would drive a girl like Emily to do something she thought was unacceptable. "Whatever might have caused you to... spew something so... vile~?" she asked.

Emily turned and faced her meager television connected to a console that was a generation behind the standard. Inserted into it was a copy of Chronicles of Allyia and it was currently displaying a "Game Over" screen, evidence of her recent defeat. "I, um, think I got a little too carried away playing my game..." she sheepishly admitted, which prompted Hilaria to walk over and observe the thing.

"Can Hilaria play~?"

"Oh, uh..." Emily clearly didn't expect Hilaria to be interested in the console, but she had no reason to deny her request. "S-sure!" she went over to the edge of her bed and sat down, with Hilaria plopping down right beside her. Emily handed her busty guest the controller and then proceeded to explain the general control scheme. Hilaria listened intently until Emily asked if she wanted to start from a place much earlier and easier, considering it was, as far as she was aware, Hilaria's first time playing. To that, Hilaria shook her head.

"No need~ Hilaria doesn't mind figuring things out here~" she told Emily, beginning the cutscene once again.

...
...
...

"If that means I must get rid of you, then so be it! But make your last moments worthwhile, oh student of mine!"

As Tirius' speech (and the cutscene) ended, Hilaria was given control of the hero. She began moving and jumping erratically, clearly trying to get a feel for how the game worked. While she did press attack buttons at one point, she never actually hit the boss at any point and only managed to avoid attacks with rather blatant tells. Tirius eventually whittled her health down to nothing and the hero fell once more.

"Mmm~" Hilaria didn't seem perturbed by this, though.

But perhaps fearing repeated deaths would frustrate her guest like it did her, Emily once again made her offer to have her start at an earlier point in the game. And again, Hilaria declined.

As yet another instance of the cutscene had finished, Hilaria entered the ring with Tirius for a second time. Her movements were far less clunky and this try was more focused upon attacking. She hit Tirius a few times, mostly on accident as she was learning her moves, but did about ten percent of his health before losing again.

"Ok~" Hilaria said suddenly, starting up the cutscene once more. "He's finished~!"

Emily merely gave a tilted head and a confused expression in response. She wondered if Hilaria was frustrated and just saying that. Considering she barely scratched him last playthrough, it was hard to believe she'd pull it off this time.

Hilaria avoided the attack Tirius opened the fight with each time, and laid on a few hits of her own as he was recovering from the animation. And when he then wound up a big AOE attack, Hilaria jumped just in time to avoid the slice. In a flurry of button presses and stick movements, Hilaria blew past her former record of ten percent and managed to her forty before Tirius managed to land any attacks. Emily nearly went slackjawed as the fight continued, with Hilaria reaching the ninety-five percent mark. Tirius was nearly finished, but that merely meant he was more likely to throw out the attack that caught Emily unawares on more than one occasion.

And then he did just that, as Hilaria was far too close to think about avoiding the attack. Tirius plunged Revolution into the ground and the ground trembled and then erupted as Hilaria was mid-animation for a heavy swing of her own weapon. It was certain doom for her, as it was a two-part move that did massive damage. It would knock the hero down, and then Tirius would do a leaping plunge for added damage. Looking at her remaining health, this move would surely spell her end. It had last time, after all.

Hilaria, of course, was not able to avoid the hit. Emily looked away right as she saw the strike reach her and her health rapidly dropped. It was a terrific run but what was to be done. She heard a death cry and then sighed and turned to the screen as it faded to black another time. She turned back to Hilaria and offered a smile. "Oh, that was such a good attem---" just as she began to say that, a cutscene began playing out with Tirius reeling back and falling to his knees in defeat.

"Is he the final boss~? Hilaria doesn't think he was that hard after she learned the controls, though I guess using that hyper armor move was needlessly risky~" she stated, crushing any notion of self-confidence Emily had as a gamer. She was so flabbergasted it took her some seconds to catch up with what had happened and pick her jaw up.

"I-I think he is the penultimate boss, since there's still some loose ends in the story..." she answered shakily. "Um, Hilaria, do you play games very often?" her impression of the girl certainly led her to believe that was not the case but then what the hamster was this?

Placing the controller down on the bed, she nodded. "Hilaria has played her fair share of video games~ A lot of boys really like them so when she hangs out with them they ask her to try~" she elucidated.

"B-boys!?" Emily almost yelled, then she cleared her throat. Her experiences with them thus-far left a lot to be desired. And it would be disingenuous to say she knew how to interact with them. But she was curious. "U-um, I mean, so do ya hang out with b-boys often?"

"Yup~"

"O-oh, how is it like...?"

Hilaria shrugged and though she wasn't entirely sure how to answer the question, gave it her best shot. "Okay, Hilaria guesses~ She remembers her first time and it was painful, but then it wasn't so bad after~"

"W-w-w-w-w-waah?!" Emily flared red, not expecting such a... bold answer from Hilaria. If there was one thing she did not want to do, it was judge people for being different from her. But to be so open was still a little unnerving and caught her off guard.

Hilaria looked at Emily weird after her outburst. "Is something wrong~?" she asked as though she hadn't just blurted out something like that.

"O-o-o-oh, it's j-just that... well, those things with boys... i-is it normal to just.... um, say that...?" she stuttered out.

Hilaria narrowed her eyes at Emily but then continued. "Hilaria thinks so~?" she answered in a way that sounded more like a question than a statement. "Does it really surprise you that much~?" she eyed the blushing Emily who briefly looked away. "Well, Hilaria will say that there's usually only a few things boys nowadays want to do and it's usually playing video games~"

Emily suddenly snapped back. "D-doing what?"

"Video games~ But she supposes that sports aren't too uncommon either~ Not to the point where it should be surprising, she thinks~"

"O-oh, you meant games! Games! Oh, yes, that's what ya meant!" she nervously chuckled.

Tilting her head, Hilaria questioned Emily. "Hilaria wonders what you thought she meant~?"

"...oh, um, well..." still tinted red, she answered in a low voice what she really thought Hilaria was talking about. "Well, since you were with boys and you said it hurt at first... I thought that, um, maybe that you might sorta possibly be... well, h-h-holding hands or something. Sorrysorrysorry!" she frantically began apologizing.

"...what~"

Unlike what Emily probably thought, Hilaria was far from being offended. The mistake did not bother her. Or, at least it did not bother her in the way her nervous host feared. "...how does pain factor into holding hands, Hilaria wonders~?"

As if describing it was another 'bold' act, Emily reddened further. But since she had offended, at least in her mind, her very own guest even after she was so kind to forgive her for the earlier slight, Emily knew she could only go ahead and resign herself to such a fate. "W-well, 'cus, um, when ya get so nervous and your heart feels l-like it might explode..."

Hilaria began to wonder if Emily was even real at this point or just some fictional character she made up. "...sure~ Totally~" she tried to make sure her brain didn't go entirely on autopilot to cope with the type-2 diabetes she was probably contracting from the sweet cinnamon roll whatever it was Emily was doing. "...well, Hilaria was talking about games~ At first it was really hard and annoying but Hilaria eventually adjusted to them~"

"I see! Y-yeah, s-sorry bout that..."

"It's okay~" Hilaria assured her, standing up. "Hilaria will get out of your hair, for now~ Thanks for the breakfast~" she told Emily as she went to exit the room, stopping at the door. "But jeez, Hilaria thinks that is quite the reaction~ It would have made more sense if you thought we were having sex or something lewd~"

"S-s-e!...."

Things blurred before fading into complete darkness, only this time it wasn't the game that blacked out.

As cool an awesome as Veronica's tower was, it still didn't allow her to see everything. One of the few things that slipped under her radar was Mac. Though Mac had little difficulty flagging down Veronica when she did want to be found. Even lifting her illusion a fraction was enough for Veronica to spot her.

“Let me guess, your patron wants you to participate in our operation?”

”Basically. I can't explain my reasons, but I'm going to protect Mariette and help defeat Justine. So I'm basically a free mercenary.”

“So long as you don't mind me sneaking you in like we did with the beach dimension.”

”Are you going to bite me again?”

“Would my answer to that question change your mind?”

”...Sigh...”

---

After receiving a bite on her ribs, Mac's world faded into darkness before spitting her out in Mariette's personal dimension. There wouldn't be much planning for her. There wasn't even much to think about. How many times had she entered a fight and guided the fight to a conclusion that was already decided? It happened so much she had to wonder if she was doing anything at all. Just a decade of loneliness and success she wasn't sure if she earned.

Well, it didn't matter today.

This was a future she liked the look of.

---

Earlier…

Su woke up early again.

Typically she like to be up around six o’clock so that she could get to work on breakfast, but Su was a light sleeper. The new staff or the noises of some of the more monstrous guests usually had her up earlier than that. With red, bleary eyes, Su could see “3:49” on her clock’s liquid crystal display. Nothing was ringing, and she couldn’t hear anything unusual. If something had woken her up, it wasn’t here anymore.

The one good thing about waking up this early is that Su could see Helga sleep. Moving their rooms together was one of her better plans, and she was reminded of this every night and morning. Seeing Helga’s peaceful face and feeling her warmpth in her bed reminded Su that all was right with the world. As much as Su would have liked to snuggle in bed and get some sleep, a pressure in her bowels informed her that was not wise to do at this time. She slipped out of the covers and walked to the bathroom.

Upon entering the bathroom a fowl odor hit Su’s nose. She had never smelled anything quite like it, but “putrid” seemed like an apt descriptor for the word. Su nearly gagged and collapsed on the sill of the doorway. She put a vacuum bubble in the bathroom to try and trap the smell, but it didn’t quite work. Whatever was making the smell had been there for a long time, and had started to permeate the bed room. She stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. The vacuum bubble was now over the shut door. She could at least contain any smells, and sounds, to the bathroom.

Visibility was low. Aside from the button on Su’s electric toothbrush, there was no light to see by. Su could make out her own silhouette in a mirror across from her. Her hand instinctively reached out for the light switch. She hesitated in flipping it on. Had a monster girl decided to take a nap in here? Had something died in here? Her waking mind wasn’t sure if she wanted to see what it was. But she had come too far to turn back now. She certainly couldn’t go to sleep without seeing what it was. Su flipped the light on.

What greeted Su was not a corpse, nor a monster girl, but a large, pulsating black mass. It looked like a charred log, with black veins coursing through it. Su had seen something similar to this before. This had to be one of Samantha’s cooking experiments. Only she could make something that smelled this bad. But Samantha was never in her bed room, was she? And even if she would, there was no way she would have forgotten to flush the toilet before leaving. A skilled assassin like her would not forget such an important detail.

Then it struck Su.

Her mind became fully awake.

Helga used the bathroom before coming to bed.

Su flushed the toilet and used her wind magic to force the rest of the “air” out of the bathroom’s vent. It was nice to be intimate with Helga, but this was a bit too intimate.

---

“Huh?” Su looked up from her phone. She had just recieved a message from “Ronin,” but she wasn’t sure what she was suppose to do. Su hadn’t met Mariette in months, and she certainly didn’t have a way to access her international home.

But she knew someone who might.

“Hold that thought Helga. We might be fighting Justine soon.” Su sprinted towards Samantha’s room. If Ronin knew about Justine’s ploy, then surely Veronica’s girls would be lying in wait. “Samantha!” Su ran towards her room. “You need to take me with you!”

@FamishedPants

---

Nuncio had anticipated Penny’s first speech as queen to be a little rough around the edges, but whoa boy.

Everyone rallied under Cindy Ford to escape Beacon’s tyranny. Now Penny was siding with a fake Cindy that was technically a beacon member. Worse still was that Penny didn’t seem to understand what she was and weakly urged everyone else to do the same. Nuncio was no monster girl, but he understood why they were so pissed.

Fortunately, Sammy wasn’t here to stop him from approaching members of the fairer sex. She was off scavenging with a few other girls. Fabio was with her, so it wasn’t like he wouldn’t know the second something happened in her general vicinity.

”Penny! The hell are ya sayin’?” Nuncio ran towards the Queen of Penrose. ”I don’t think ya people are done hearin’ from ya yet.” Nuncio’s eyes were wide open when he spoke. ”I’m not a monster or nothin’, but I’m not sure teaming up with beacon is a good idea. Ya know what the ascendancy is like. Janet might be your friend, but ya gotta understand what this looks like. Cindy’s Beacon now, so is you, and ya gunna team up.” With a sigh, Nuncio spoke in a quieter tone. ”I’m sure everyone wants ta know if ya are the queen of penrose, or the start of a beacon coup.”

Nuncio had little love for the Mint, but the Ascendancy terrified him.

@Shifter_Master

---

Weapons? Check. Outfit? Check. Eh, screw it, magical transformations made all of that stuff moot anyway.

Trixy was all geared up and ready to enter Mariette’s pocket dimension. She stood in her room, giving the posters on her wall one final look before going on her mission.

She’d have her chance to pay Justine back for abducting Betty. Though her mind was less focused on revenge and ensuring that no one else got mind whammied like that. She ran scenarios in her head and decided how to best deal with each one.

Justine had been defeated by some relatively green magical girls last time. But that was an assault on her castle. She had proven to be a capable mastermind, and most of her schemes went without a hitch. But this was the first time she was pitting herself against the cradle directly.

Beacon, Mint, and Justine would be teaming up for the raid. It sounded like excessive force, but Trixy was optimistic about the outcome. Samantha would be there, so would Eliza and Ronin. She need to mend things with Mariette, but that shouldn’t take long.

Maybe if she kissed her hand and made it feel better?

Trixy activated the “key” she had been given and teleported out of Penrose. The mission would start soon.

Hilde’s paranormal search soon yielded results; like cold winds that freeze one’s heart, the spirits of the fallen gladly whispered their secrets in exchange for release from their earthly regrets. While most of it seemed to be nonsensical and useless, little more than rumors, soon, Hilde recognized common patterns in their tales; a girl of red eyes and leathery bat wings had been seen appearing right in the midst of battle, accompanied by a servant. The girl was finely dressed, like a noble of ages past, and grabbed her victims, whisking them away and leaving nothing behind, like a fleeting dream. One spirit even gave a name: “the accursed Visceral…”



"Lady Justine, the agents from RN had arrived," Sonia informed the vampire once the SUV appeared. The monster girl giggled a bit to herself as she looked at Alicia’s response on her phone, and picked up a goblet; Sonia summoned a bottle in her hands, and poured wine into it.

“Greetings, gentlemen,” Justine addressed the Red Nest operatives by standing up from her seat and giving a noble curtsy. She then blinked as one of them demanded for refreshments.
“Oh, you’re absolutely right. Excuse me for not providing some catering for our meeting. Sonia, could you be a dear and set a table for us?”
"As you wish."
Sonia immediately got to work summoning items and objects, while Justine turned her attention back to the feline mobsters.
"I am certain of it. Veronica is a much simpler Patron than she would have you believe; she won’t ignore the bait presented to her."

---

The rest of the study group stopped their chatting the moment Alicia addressed them; they were far too aware that the Penrose branch leader’s change in tone could only mean something ominous. Rachel was the first to know, and she adjusted her glasses with a grim but respectful nod.
“Very well. As you know, the Ascendancy cannot currently fully support the local branch’s operations. However, I can assign a couple of members to you for the mission.”
She took out her personal device, and scrolled through the list.
“Mariette Pedersen specializes in her magical power over all else, relying on her portals for both movement and combat. For that reason, I will assign Leena to you; her powers of Nullification will surely prove useful. I will also assign her sister-in-arms FanFan; together, the two are a formidable duo. That is all.”
Leena and FanFan arrived, and they saluted Alicia.
“Just let me get to her, and I will bring her to justice,” Leena spoke, and the two presented their anti-magic stone cuffs. Rachel continued.
“Elora will monitor the situation and keep in touch, assisting with intelligence if possible. I will keep vigilant watch over Penrose while you are gone. May the light of Beacon guide you through the darkness, Paladin Seraph,” the Inquisitor stated with a salute of her own, and then parted ways.

With the Ascendancy’s numbers crippled as they were, most of the Beacon girls in the local branch had to fill in for patrolling and other operations Alicia had set in order to foster development in Penrose and better relations with its magical denizens.
However, there were members who had agreed to join; Aurelio, Sally, Kimble, and even Hyun Long; the latter three saluted the Paladin Seraph upon her arrival.
“Reporting for duty, ma’m!” Sally saluted with a big grin. “I’ll make that goth gal pay for tricking me like that! I won’t let you down, promise!”
Kimble also saluted, a look of determination in her eyes.
"Kimble reporting for duty, Mis-Alicia." She corrected herself.
"I will follow you to the ends of the earth and beyond!"
Then it was Hyun Long’s turn to address her. She slightly shook.
“Paladin Seraph...Hyun Long, reporting for duty. Allow me to join in this holy mission, and cleanse the corruption with sacred flame.“

---

When all the preparations had been made by Beacon, the strike force teleported into the underground parking garage. The first thing they noticed was the strange assortment of furniture prepared at the center of the hall, illuminated by a single light in the ceiling: there was a satin red rug, over which stood a large round table, lined with simple chairs. Justine sat at the very end of the table on a more fancy wooden chair, beyond the reach of the light. She smirked upon seeing Alicia, and took a sip of her goblet filled with blood. Sonia stood by her; like a waiter at a fancy restaurant, she bowed her head and gestured for the chairs. The group also saw weretigers in fancy suits, one of them eating a plate stacked with fresh meat.
”Welcome. Please take your seats. Lady Justine will soon commence the briefing."
A careful eye could see something shuffling in the void behind Justine; they were silhouettes of magical girls.
Justine waited until Ronin and her retinue arrived before she began the meeting.

"Now, let us talk about what is to come. Sonia here has made some preliminary research of Mariette’s hideout, and has identified two entrances into the dimension."
She set her gaze to Sonia, who nodded in turn.
"I did not enter the dimension, so I was unable to inquire further details. However, what I gathered was the following. One entrance into the dimension lies at the outskirts of the domain, most likely in open space. The other entrance is located closer towards the core, and seems to be inside a building. I have reason to believe this is the main entrance that Mariette and her underlings use, and is more likely to be under heavy surveillance."
Justine cast her ruby-like eyes towards Alicia.

“Was the Beacon able to scry anything based on the information I have previously provided?,” She asked, leaning on the table with her elbows with her fingers interlocked.

---

Lily calmed down from Alex’ reassuring touch, but she kept her eyes aside, looking unsure.
”Yeah, we should talk to her at least,” she said, agreeing with a nod as she took his other hand. She smiled at his words, and turned to look at him again.
”Because if Ronin’s right...”
She didn’t dare to finish that sentence, and instead sent a message to Mariette:

[ Hey Mariette! Are you busy right now? Maybe we could talk? ]

[ Oh, could I come visit your house? I’d like to try if this key works (ᗒᗨᗕ) ]

After she sent the messages, she plopped down on the couch, and leaned her head back to look at Alex with an anxious look.

”Let’s hope we’re not too late.”

---

“Jus-BWHAAH?!” Helga exclaimed, and frantically pursued Su, spilling some of the coffee in her cup. “Ahh shit, here we go again!”

---

The denizens of the Sanctuary turned to attention when Penny first began her speech, eager to hear the word of their Queen; she was the foundation upon which they leaned on in these dire times, and they were shocked by Penny’s speech, and especially the announcement given by a “Cindy” that none of them recognized. Even Goblina cringed when Cindy came to view, but gradually began to nod to the various points this new Cindy presented, as did many others. When Penny’s speech ended, many flocked to the offered potions and coins, happy with having the chance to purify themselves of their cursed existences.

However, just like Dina and Nuncio, many were not enthusiastic by the implications behind the Beacon-positive lines given to them.

“But that’s not Cindy! I saw her die with my own eyes!” A centaur monster girl in the crowd shouted.

“What’s with this Beacon propaganda? Are we supposed to just forgive them for having slaughtered us all this time?” A dark magical girl spoke out.

“We need compensation for all the terrible things we’ve suffered, not mere platitudes!”

“Those potions and coins are from Beacon, right? They probably got some brainwashing or tracking magic hidden in them.”

“The old Cindy would never have accepted this! Not my Cindy! Not my Cindy!” Another began to chant.

“The Queen’s a Beacon sympathizer!” Another one accused her.

“She’s selling us out! This is the beginning of magical segregation and apartheid! Monster lives matter!”
A particularly obnoxious monster girl screamed, and soon enough there was no silencing the outrage.
While the silent majority stayed where they were, the vocal minority of the population split off to elsewhere, clearly upset by what had transpired.

Later, after Dina had her talk with Shane, she found herself approached by a crowd of the disillusioned denizens.
“Hey, you’re one of the court ladies for queen Penny, correct? Could you try talking sense to her?” One of them asked her. “We’ll sign a petition, anything, as long as Beacon doesn’t get to ruin this place too.”

Alexander, having noticed Lily fiddling with her phone, just nodded as he sat down besides Lily "I've seen way too much factional bickering and power plays to take this at face value. For all we know, someone could be tricking Ronin to get at Mariette. Actually, do we even know why Ronin left Mariette?" He asked, suddenly realizing something "I mean...I don't think I ever heard any kind of explanation for that. Could that be in some way connected?" Frustrated, Alexander ruffled his on hair "Gah, I hate this! We know just enough to be worried, but not enough to actully do anything! Do we know anyone else who's familiar with Mariette? Maybe we can get something from them."

If Penny was being honest she was a bit surprised at the reactions of the members of the Sanctuary. She had expected that she would have been able to sit down before they started freaking out. That said she did stop when Nuncio and everyone else started shouting question at her and when she turned to look at the crowd only a hint of confusion showed on her face.

”I get the feeling that most of you weren’t as aware of my stance as I had thought” She would say calmly, her voice somehow cutting through the noise as her very presence became magnetic drawing eyes and ears easily. She turned towards the center of the room and walked towards it, raising the metal floor up slightly as she did so that everyone could get a better look at her. It was different from the last time she made such a platform; this was only a foot or two off the ground at most, a soap box rather than a stage.

“You all have question, fears, and concerns” She would say her voice seemingly amplified by her will alone to echo out through the building. “Let us start with the one that is the most pressing, at least from where I am standing, because if it is not addressed there is nothing I can say to reassure you.” As she spoke it would be easy to see that she was calm and composed “Many of you are worried about the alliance with Beacon, because many of you are afraid of the Ascendency. This is understandable, but I feel I must reiterate that the Ascendency and Beacon are not one and the same.”

“Last time I mentioned this I did not have the time to explain why I say this, but the reason is simple. Still, I will apologize to all of you beforehand. I had thought that the knowledge of who I am, or more accurately what I am had persisted stronger then it had. Because the reason I know that the Ascendency hold itself separate from Beacon is because I’ve read the notes of the meeting, I watched the recordings. For the truth of the matter is I am a member of Beacon and have been for some time.”

“I can’t say that I knew Cindy, but she knew of this fact, most of Penrose did before the incident that stole away months from me and others. For those that did not know, I apologize if you feel I have deceived you. That was never the intent.” She gave everyone a moment to process as she continued to circle her small elevated platform, meeting the eyes of everyone she could as she walk. She never would have expected that her allegiance to Beacon could have been forgotten, it wasn’t like she went out of her way to hide it after all.

“But this still leaves questions unanswered. So I will restate I am no friend to the Ascendency, my creating of this Sanctuary is anathema to everything that the Ascendency stands for after all. And as their goal of eradication is one I will never stand for, I will always act as a shield against them for any of you. Regardless if I am your Queen or not, that will never change.”

“To those that assumed that the potions and coins are from Beacon, you are correct, they are from Janet and Jenna. I trust them, I would ask you all to trust them as well, but that does not mean I will force you too. If you all wish I will gather my stores and destroy them here and now in front of you all. They were only ever accepted as I know fully that not everyone wants the changes that are forced upon them, but if none of you want them then we will not have them.”

“Another of you asked if you were supposed to forgive Beacon. I won’t lie; I would hope that you would be able to do so, or at the very least be able to forgive the Beacon of Penrose. Alicia, the person now currently leading them, was the first person in Penrose to accept me. She has stood up to a Beckoner in defense of a monster girl who attacked her die to the monster girl in question being under control of someone else at the time. She only rose to leadership a few weeks ago, but I know that she too disagrees with the Ascendency’s stance.”

“And it is very likely true that the true Cindy wouldn’t stand for this. She was a proud person from the few interactions I had with her, one who was fiercely independent. But death changes us all, and the freedom to think without our curses interfering does so as well. Their foundations are the same, but I did say that they are as much Cindy as they are not.”

“You asked me what I was saying Nuncio” Penny would turn to the man that had inadvertently open the flood gates, not that she blamed him. “I am saying that I trust Beacon, but that I understand if that none of you do. I’m saying not to paint Beacon with the same brush as the Ascendency. I am saying that I am sorry and that despite all of the above that I will still protect as many of you that will let me.” She turned back to the rest of them “Many of you seem to think that because I hold a belief that I will demand the same of you. That is not the case, will never be the case. I will not be a tyrant.”

“All I wish to do is build a place that those like us can feel safe, and I am not so blind as to not see that I have failed at the moment. So I ask all of you, what can I do? What can I do to regain a measure of the trust lost? As above all I seek the safety of everyone here, and none of you will feel safe if you can’t trust me.”

---

Down in the depths of the Sanctuary, Snoopy would stumble across the small gathering of those that had sought out Dina. The cat girl’s harsh request for a private audience hadn’t gone unheeded by Penny, but the robotic girl had been expecting some backlash from the rest of the Sanctuary, hence why she originally was going to stay in the area after her announcements, but that didn’t mean that Dina was of any lesser importance, just that the conversation with her was going to be different than the one with the rest of the populace here.

Snoopy floated near the small gathering and beeped loudly in an attempt to get all of their attention before projecting a life sized hologram of Penny, who proceeded to nod to everyone in greeting. ‘Would you prefer to have this conversation in private? Or do you want to come upstairs and join in everyone else getting their chance to vent at me?’ The hologram would ask silently, the words popping up next to her as she spoke them as to her right a live feed of what Penny was seeing would be displayed, even as they could hear the echoes of Penny speaking above.

‘I’m fine with either, but one of you will need to produce a phone or a set of speakers if you want to keep it here and don’t want to read’

---

[There is something to be said about being a true A.I., even as limited as Penny was; it made multitasking such a breeze. Granted that could also be the reason her magic refused to acquire Duplication like she had been hoping, but regardless it meant that even in the middle of giving a speech and piloting Snoopy to have a meeting with Dina Penny was still able to respond to the text set her way by Ronin.

‘Hey Ronin. Yeah just the one of me now, though I do recall both sets of adventures with you, which is a bit weird but neither here nor there. I’m not sure I’d say I’m a big deal, but I’ll take it as a compliment and hope that it helps out. Might have made a bit of a snafu just a moment ago, time will tell.

I’d say that you’ve got an interesting choice in who it is your wanting to save, and that there is likely a story behind that, but I’ll bug you about that later. Sadly I’m not going to be able to give any assistance in person, but I’m wishing you luck none the less. I can say that if you are with the rest of the people who are going that Aurelio might be able to help out. He’s a member of Beacon (Because yes I know that Beacon and Justine are working together on this attack) but he’s not one to hold a grudge. Alicia is one to hold a grudge so take care on that end.

Lastly there is going to be another patron sticking his nose into this as well, Dan the dolphin, so if you suddenly end up on a beach that’s why.

Wish I could say more, but I’m not really sure how to break people free of horror mind-bent. My sanctuary is open if you need a place to hide, Mariette knows of the place in case you are successful and I can send you the address later if you are less successful.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.’]

---

_{@AtomicNut, @BrokenPromise,@Ariamis & @PlatinumSkink}

Alicia nodded to each member who had chosen to participate in this action, shaking their hand and giving them a warm smile to accompany it.
"Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to do this, despite the circumstances we find ourselves in." Like the Howell Twins, she would not have blamed them if they had balked at being part of an operation with Justine and the danger that she represented.

With the team ready, they departed via teleporter and arrived at their destination. Glancing around, Alicia took in the furniture that had been laid out, as well as their companions. It was a motley assortment of individuals, the sort that she probably would never have associated with were it not for this particular. Still, if someone wanted to come and bleed so Beacon didn't have to, she was not about to complain. Though the movement in the shadows behind Justine was a bit concerning....

"Alright," Alicia replied before taking a seat at the table. Things were silent, with little effort made to interact with the other group that had already been present. Although she had her suspicions about Justine, for now she went along with it. They would just need to be prepared when the time came for this relationship to end.

One more group would arrive before Justine again, motley in composition but for an entirely different reason. She didn't recognize anyone with them, but they certainly looked determined. She was going to need to ask about this before they left.

Nodding as Justine laid out what she had learned, Alicia would speak in turn. "We were able to detect the same entrances that you did, and I agree that the one closer to the core is likely to be more heavily guarded. The building you detected is a mansion, sitting in a black void where mirrors serve as stars. The area around the mansion is a field of snow that is thick enough to obscure anything that may hide under it. It should be possible to walk on it." Then again, having a second entrance that went to nothing at all would have been odd.

"That's what we were able to learn from scrying," she finished. "Considering the resources at her disposal, I doubt Mariette will just let us walk up and stab her." She glanced around to the other two groups to see if they had anything of value to add. If not, they could get to planning.

_{@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@ERode@Ponn@PlatinumSkink@Crusader Lord@Majoras End}

Hm? A message from Lily? Mariette took the moment to check it out. Lily wanted to come over and talk. That was fine.

@Ariamis

[That is fine. Come on in] Mariette replied. A little too soon after, she got a note that someone had entered using a key. It was not Lily. Mariette would receive her, anyway.

---

@BrokenPromise

When Trixy used the key, whatever shape it had taken, she’d find herself transported to a different dimension, and everything went black at first. … And then it stayed black, because she’d ended up in a room that was entirely completely black. It took around three seconds, then a portal opened in front of her, leading into a closed-in room inside a gothic mansion, Mariette’s office. There were some book-cases with books, a bed and a table with a chair where Mariette now sat, staring at Trixy.

‘What brings you here?’ Mariette asked, albeit she’d already given the command to prepare for an incoming attack, just in case.

If Lily wanted to come on in, she could enter just as Trixy had and Mariette would open another portal into her office for her as well.

Ronin had camped out in an abandoned building near the parking garage Justine was waiting in, anxiously waiting for replies to the call she’d sent out. Of course, she couldn’t fault anyone who didn’t want to come, but she did hope that some people would come out of the sheer goodness of their hearts. Well. At least two would.

After sending a text agreeing to help Ronin with her problem, Connie and Mia had transformed and set out to join their friend. It wasn’t long before they found themselves at the location the samurai girl had specified.

“H-Hi, Ronin!” Connie called out as they entered. “W-We c-came as f-fast as we c-could!”

“Yes,” Gaia agreed, “your predicament sounds quite serious indeed, and we are certainly not the sort to abandon a friend in such a dire situation,” she added with a reassuring smile.

‘Ooooh, Connie, Mia, you’re a sight for sore eyes,’ Ronin called, grinning so widely to them as they came. ‘I messaged quite a few, but not a lot replied…’ She definitely had expected something from Su. What was that girl doing…?

‘In any case, I’m happy you’re here! Alright, now, do you have any immediate questions while we maybe wait for… more… hopefully,’ Ronin told, sighing just a little.

“You were kind enough to provide quite a thorough amount of background in your text, so most of our questions have already been addressed,” Gaia noted. “However, I am curious about one rather important detail. You mentioned that our ultimate objective is freeing a pair of girls from mind-bending. Do you happen to have a plan in place for doing that? Please forgive me if I come across as rude, but I find myself worrying that you are planning all this on the fly, so to speak.”

Ronin breathed in deeply. Alright. Plan. ‘Alright. I’ve done all I can to make our success as likely as possible. Now, to outline it all,’ she said… ‘ … Though, I intended on doing that when everyone was here, hahaha,’ she chuckled a little. ‘Still, I don’t even know if anyone else is coming… so I might as well get started?’

Before anyone could reply, a sparkling pink whirlwind swirled into existence in the center of the room. It quickly dissipated to reveal a whimsical-looking girl with a cheerful smile.



“Tada~! Magical Dream Princess is here~! (giggle!)” she declared, striking a cute pose and giving everyone a playful wink. “Wowie zowie~! Like, look at all the new friendy wendies Magical Dream Princess can makey wakey~! (giggle!) It’s, like, so super duper nice to meet you girls~! (giggle!)”

Ronin stared at the newly arrival in surprise, and then blinked as she got a message in her phone, which immediately needed her attention, allowing the rest to talk first while Ronin read the message.

“H-Hi…” Connie said tentatively, more than a little stunned by the hyperactive girl’s startling entrance. “I-I’m C-Connie, and t-this is my b-best f-friend,” she added, gesturing to the green-skinned girl with flowing emerald hair.

“Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth,” the verdant magical girl finished for her friend. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Y-Yes!” Connie stuttered, trying to be as friendly as she could, but still very nervous. “I-It’s v-very n-nice to m-meet you!”

“Connie~?” MDP repeated, while slightly tilting her head. It was clear to see that the childish magical girl was a bit confused. “Connie Wonnie~? Hmmm… Why does that namey wamey sound so familiar wiliar…? Oh wellsies~! (giggle!) Magical Dream Princess can’t remember wember~! Magical Dream Princess’s memory wemory is, like the worsty worst when she’s Magical Dream Princess~! (giggle!) But, like, when she’s her normal wormal selfie welfie she actually wacually has a photogaraphy waphy memory wemory, so it’s, like, a really big changey whangey for her~! But it’s also, like, really funsie wunsie, too~! (giggle!) Like, she remember wembers all kinds of thingie wingies when they just pop into her brainy wainy, but then they fly away like little birdie wirdies~! (giggle!) Like, she just remember wembered that she heard Gaia Waia’s namey wamey before, too~! (giggle!) She was, like, super duper important for some reasony… Oh~! But, like, Gaia Waia also has such pretty witty greenie weenie skin and such super duper long hair~! (giggle!) She reminds Magical Dream Princess of her friend Katie Watie~! Like, can Magical Dream Princess play around in it~?! Can she, can she, can she~?!” the hyperactive magical girl asked, while jumping up and down with childish glee.

“You may,” Gaia confirmed with an elegant nod, while giving voice to a melodious laugh.

“Oh goodie woodie~!” MDP cheered as she ran under Gaia’s flowing tresses and swiftly wrapped herself up in them. “Wowies~! This is, like, so super duper comfy cozy wozy~! (giggle!)”

“I am glad you like it,” the verdant magical girl replied with a warm smile. “My dearest Connie also greatly enjoys cuddling in my hair.”

“Like, Connie Wonnie and Magical Dream Princess should cuddle wuddle in Gaia Waia’s hair together~! (giggle!)”

“U-Umm, I, uh, g-guess w-we c-could…” Connie noted, while she nervously played with her own hair. “B-But, um, o-only if M-Mia’s o-okay with it…”

“Mia Wia?” Magical Dream Princess asked, clearly more confused than usual. “Like, who’s that?”

Before either of the two friends could respond, something new caught MDP’s attention.

Or, rather, someone.

“Like, OMGeee~!” she squealed, while bouncing over to the small samurai girl she’d just now noticed. “You’re, like, sooo super duper cute~! (giggle!) And soo tiny winy, too~! Magical Dream Princess could, like, pick you up and hold you in her armsies~! (giggle!) And she just, like, totally wotally wuvs your outfit~! It, like, makes you look like some kinda winda magical wagical samurai girl~! (giggle!) Oh, golly wolly~!” MDP exclaimed as a thought managed to poke its way through the ditzy haze that so clouded her mind when she was in this form. “Are you, like, Magical Pastel-chan’s friendy wendy~?! The one who needed helpsie welpsie~?!”

Ronin recoiled a bit as MGP jumped at her, though she was quick to grin at the extremely over-the-top Magical Girl. Yikes, she’d never seen someone lose themselves to the power of magic to this insane level before.

‘Yupp, that’s me! I’m the Tiny Ronin, Magical Ronin, or whatever like that! You’re the friend of Amanda, right? I’m so happy you came! Let me… just…’ She just… had to respond to Penny’s text a bit quickly first, because there was a very distressing part in it.

@Shifter_Master

‘WTF BEACON’S COMING!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?

WHELP, THAT COMPLICATES THINGS!’

And then away with the phone!

‘So, you wanted to help me? You understood the circumstances well enough? Any questions on the circumstances?’ Ronin asked her, because, well, she didn’t exactly seem like the type that maybe got all the details in the first explanation.

“Like, totally wotally~! (giggle!)” MDP replied in her typical overly energetic manner. “Magical Samurai-chan is Magical Pastel-chan’s friend, and Magical Pastel-chan is Magical Dream Princess’s besty westiest friendy wendy in the whole wide worldsie, so, like, Magical Dream Princess just hasto help one of her friendy wendies if she’s in trouble wouble~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess, like, totally wotally understandy wandies what she’s gotta do~! (giggle!) Her brainy wainy might make it hard for her to thinkie winkie real good, and her memory wemory might be, like, really terrible werrible, but she still remember wembers that~! (giggle!)” she declared, sounding very proud of herself. “She’s gonna helpy welpy Magical Samurai-chan save some girls from a bunch of meanie weanie heads~! And, like, one of those girls is someone Magical Dream Princess would like to have a talky walky with~! About some really super duper important stuffy wuffy that Magical Dream Princess, like, can’t remember wember right nowie…” she added, her voice trailing off as her gaze wandered around the room as if searching for the missing knowledge.

‘Alright, uh. I’ll take it from the beginning to be safe,’ Ronin said with a smile, wondering if bringing this girl along was a good idea. Does this girl even have the concept of mortality? Is bringing her to a battlefield a terrible idea? Oh, well!

‘So, the situation is as follows. We’re going to join up with Justine, who wants to have us as allies to break into Mariette’s base of operations. Justine is an overall terrible person of a Horror-patron… wait, what if she’s just mind-bent too… EH, ONE HORROR-GIRL AT A TIME!’ Ronin grinned and threw her hands into the air. ‘Regardless. Mariette will oppose us with likely lethal force. However, when the time comes, we don’t want Justine to get her hands on Mariette, because we want to secure Mariette and Eli, because they’re mind-bent, doesn’t know they’re not following their patron against their will, and needs to be saved, along with everyone else on Mariette’s side.’

‘Now, I’d be afraid that Justine might see through us and just attempt to annihilate us on the spot… but I just heard she’d recruited BEACON as well, similarly to how she recruited me. So we can be decently sure Justine doesn’t kill us, because Beacon would mind, and I don’t think Mariette has the firepower to oppose Beacon so that puts us in a winning position not as likely to die, but on the other hand Beacon is a big organization that definitely wants Mariette dead. So, we need to make sure they don’t get their hands on Mariette first, too, and that’ll be fun. It also sounds like the Lesser Force Dan the Dolphin will be there… but I don’t really know what he’s doing there, so, uh, who knows.’

‘Fortunately, we’re not ENTIRELY alone on this mission. I’ve made a connection with Vermillion Veronica, who in turn has an alliance with Mariette. Mariette has asked Veronica for assistance driving off the assault… what I’m saying is Veronica will have people on the inside, that are allies of ours. Trixy, Silhouette, maybe some of Maura’s people. They can’t exactly help us get in, but they’re our allies. Veronica has the tools to remove a mind-bending from a mind-bent mind, we’d just have to help her.’

‘Besides that, I’ve also procured an Interdimensional Home from some of my friends, which I can enter at will. We can use that to escape. I’ve also procured the contact information of some friends in Beacon, I don’t know if they’ll be there, who are willing to help me remove the mind-bending on Eli and Mariette. So, if I can just get my hands on them, I can take Eli and Mariette to a safe dimension Justine doesn’t know about, and then have Janet and Jenna remove the mind-bending. Now, it wouldn’t hurt if Mariette is knocked unconscious at this time, as she’d not willingly allow the mind-bending to be removed, but everything in due time. Knocked out is better than awake is better than wounded is better than dead.’

‘So, at the start of this battle, it’ll be us, Beacon and whatever other force Justine brought invading Mariette’s dimension. We may have to make use of Justine and Beacon to get in, because we’re not strong enough to overcome Mariette by ourselves. But when we DO get in, we can’t let them kill Mariette, and we have more friends on the inside in Veronica’s agents. At that point, defeat Justine, somehow secure Mariette and Eli, take them to me so I can bring them to that dimension, bring everyone along, hopefully, and then contact one of those that could remove the mind-bending. That’s the plan as far as I’ve made it. Yupp.’ Ronin nodded at the end of her explanation.

Oh, and on that note.

@BrokenPromise
I’ve got more allies with me. They’re Connie and Gaia, nightmare and nature girls, as well as the eccentric Magical Dream Princess. Have our agents avoid killing them slash cooperate with them, if you could.

Ronin sent a message to Veronica through the mind-link. Now to see what the others say.

“That… Is certainly a lot to take in…” Gaia said after a moment, while doing her best to maintain her serene demeanor.

“Y-Yeah…” Connie agreed, her voice filled with uncertainty. “It k-kinda m-makes my h-head hurt…” she added quietly.

Predictably, Magical Dream Princess had a slightly different opinion.

“Wowie zowie~! (giggle!)” the ditzy magical girl exclaimed, while bouncing up and down in delight. “That sounds, like, super duper crazy wazy, but also, like, mega wega funsie wunsie~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess is glad her brainy wainy isn’t the only one going spiny winy~! (giggle!) Oh~! And she just wuvs secret wecret stuffy wuffy, and, like, she totally wotally understandy wandies that she can’t telly welly anybodywody about Samurai-chan’s super duper secret wecret plansie wansie~! So, like, pretty please don’t worry about her, Samurai-chan~! (giggle!) Okie dokie~?”

That demeanour of MDP’s really made Ronin wonder if she was secretly an agent of Justine or something. It just felt so over the top. Let’s assume not.

‘I’m happy to hear it!’ Ronin said with a wide grin. ‘So, yeah, I’ve outlined my plans. Any further questions? Do you still want to come?’ she asked, primarily to Gaia and Connie, because, yeah. It was a lot to take in.

“Y-Yes!” Connie answered, with a bit more force than she’d intended. “Y-You’re our f-friend, a-and it w-would be awful if w-we just a-abandoned y-you to f-face all t-these h-horrible things alone!”

“Well said, little sister,” Gaia noted with an approving smile. “It shall be our honor and privilege to stand with you Ronin, no matter what trials lie ahead.”

‘Aw, you guys…’ Ronin smiled so widely, and then promptly leaped to embrace all three of them if she possibly could. ‘You’re the best of friends! I love you so much!’

Then, she released, and promptly spun around towards the exit.

‘Alright! Shall we go before they go without us?’

“Yes,” Gaia concurred, giving a voice to a small giggle as Ronin embraced her. “Let us be on our way.”

“Y-Yeah, l-let’s do t-this!” Connie added, drawing comfort and resolve from Ronin’s enthusiastic hug and kind words.

Magical Dream Princess squealed in delight as Ronin embraced her. “Yaaaay~! Magical Dream Princess just wuvs cuddle wuddles~! (giggle!) And, like, Samurai-chan just made her sooo super duper happy wappy with what she just said~! Magical Dream Princess’s heart feels all warm and fuzzy wuzzy right nowie~ (giggle!)”

‘Awesome!’ Ronin called, grinning at the positive emotions currently surrounding the four of them. ‘Let’s go!’

---

Something else that Ronin thought of as they were going along.

‘So, uh, let me just add that, there may be a point in telling people that Mariette and her forces are mind-bent. Justine and her forces probably wouldn’t care, being evil beings and all, but Beacon might reconsider using lethal means. Might. They’re generally good-natured, after all, if they don’t decide Mariette’s just too far gone. Just don’t mention this where Justine can hear, it may give away our intentions.’

‘Oh, and, Light-specialized girls are able to tell if you lie to them, and if Alicia is leading the Beacon team, she’s one. Try to avoid lying to the best of your ability, kaaay~?’

“O-Okay…”

“Understood.”

“Okie dokie~! (giggle!)”

---

A short while later Ronin and co came down to the underground parking garage. She gazed upon the Beacon forces and then to Justine and her strange furniture and the weretigers beyond… huh, there were shapes in the void beyond there. How much firepower did Justine have? Who even knows? Still, Ronin just grinned and went along.

‘Heeeeeeeey! I’m Ronin! Pleased to meet you all!’ Ronin called to the members of Beacon. Then there was the pooling of information… Ronin grinned and put her arms behind her head. ‘I’ve got nothing I want to add! We don’t really have the ability to scry across dimensions, after all, heh,’ Ronin said, chuckling a bit as she pretended to not be super-nervous around Beacon and Justine.

@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@ERode@Ponn@Flamelord@Crusader Lord@Majoras End

As the motley quartet entered the underground parking garage, Gaia took note of the furnishings and faces present. There was the Beacon contingent, just as Ronin had told them, contrasted by a group of shady-looking men in suits. Then, there was the grinning young lady seated at the far end of the table… This was obviously Justine, and she seemed to have other allies waiting in a shadowy veil behind her. That certainly wasn’t suspicious… After Ronin had introduced herself, Gaia led the others in doing likewise.

“Greetings to all. I am Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth,” she told the gathering in a serene voice. “It is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“H-Hello, I-I’m C-Connie…” the masked girl stuttered softly, while nervously playing with her hair. “I-It’s v-very n-nice t-to m-meet y-you a-all…”

“Wowie zowies~! (giggle!)” Magical Dream Princess exclaimed upon seeing just how large the gathering was. “There’s, like, sooo many people weple here~! (giggle!) And, like, Magical Dream Princess can make friendy wendies with all of them~! (giggle!) Oh~! But, like, firsty worsty she should, like, totally wotally introduce herself~! (giggle!) Tada~! She’s Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess, but, you can, like, just call her Magical Dream Princess for short, or even just MDP~! (giggle!) That’s, like, a super duper cute nicknamey her friendy wendy Katie Watie came up with, and Magical Dream Princess just wuvs it to pieces~! (giggle!) It’s, like, so super duper nice to meet you girls~! (giggle!) And boys~” she added, while getting an even more dreamy look in her eyes than usual.

After that, Gaia guided Connie and MDP to some chairs on the side of the table farthest from Justine. As the meeting commenced, Gaia calmly observed the proceedings, taking note that the dark-haired girl in the fancy dress seemed to be the leader of the Beacon forces. She also would occasionally spare a glance at Connie to see how her timid friend was holding up.

For her part, Connie sat in nervous silence, listening to the others speak, but not understanding very much. She took some small comfort in the fact that Gaia was giving her hand a gentle squeeze under the table, but that comfort quickly disappeared when a frightening voice sounded in her mind. It was the voice of her Patron.

That girl… the voice whispered, sounding both curious and disdainful. Her magic is… familiar… Be wary of her, Empress, The Lord of Nightmares advised. Be ever on your guard…

As for the girl in question, well… One would ordinarily assume that someone as hyperactive as MDP would be talking a mile a minute, getting to know everyone, and commenting on every little thing that transpired over the course of the meeting, but strangely enough, that didn’t happen. Instead, she simply sat in her seat, glancing around the room with a big smile on her face and a look of childish wonderment in her eyes. She occasionally fidgeted in her seat, but she didn’t say a single word. This was partly because she was doing everything in her power to keep quiet like Gaia had asked her, but the main reason was because she was having a very interesting mental conversation with her Patron…

Oh, goodness me! See that girl next to you, sweetie? The Sovereign of Sweet Dreams inquired, her voice filled with concern. That girl is a servant of the Lord of Nightmares, you know, that super duper meanie weanie who imprisoned me in that book! She’s very dangerous! You’ll have to stop her before she does something horrible!

Golly wolly! For realsie?! B-But, like, Connie Wonnie is, like, a super duper sweetie weetie pie! Like, Magical Dream Princess can’t believe she would ever do any nasty wasty thingie wingies! Oh! But, like, Magical Dream Princess has an ideasie~! Like, what if that meanie weanie nightmare persony worsony was forcing poor Connie Wonnie to do all those nasty wasty thingie wingies for him? Like, she could be just like those poor girls Magical Dream Princess is helping Samurai-chan rescue!

Gosh, sweetie, you could be right! In that case, you should do everything you can to free her from that meanie and help her have sweet dreams again~! Can you do that for me, sweetie~?

Like, of coursey worsey she can~! Magical Dream Princess just wuvs helping her friendy wendies, and Connie Wonnie might wear a creepy weepy masky wasky, but, she’s, like, a total wotal sweetheart, and Magical Dream Princess just wuvs her soooo much~!

MDP giggled softly as she looked at the trembling girl sitting next to her. She was just so adorable with her eagerness to make new friends, despite her shyness. And now came the knowledge that the girl suffered under such a horrible Patron… MDP just wanted to give her the biggest hug, but she knew this wasn’t the time for such things and so forced herself to hold off.

Don’t you worry, Connie Wonnie, Magical Dream Princess is, like, totally gonna save you from that meanie weanie head and give you sweet dreamy weamies again~! That’s, like, her super duper most special wecial pinky winky promise~!

Samantha was, quite conveniently, leaving her room as Su approached. She gave the girl a weird look. "Hello...?" she was on guard. It made sense to assume that someone in a hurry had something of importance to talk about, and out of the possibilities she knew of, Su could only be here for one reason. "Look, I've never even been in your room how would I have left a present in your toilet." Sam listened to Su's request and knew she had been right.

"I dunno," she replied. "Why would you even want to..." as if realizing something, she interrupted herself by clearing her throat. "I suppose that it would not be a problem to take someone else along..." Sam didn't sound especially confident when she said this but continued. "As long as you know what you're about to get into, then fine. It's just you, anyway."

Su's interjection after Sam made that assumption was followed by a couple of minutes of the two arguing. Sam was fine with Su but even taking one other was iffy. She didn't even personally know Helga, either. But considering the girl's position at the hotel and how Su insisted, Samantha eventually caved in and gave her the okay as well.

Now that the teams had been set, there wasn't much to do but prepare. Activating her key, the three of them would now be in the position to join the festivities once they began.

Since Mac knew roughly where everyone was going to come from and where the big abilities were going to land, she decided to position herself away from the mansion and closer to where Justine would enter from. The only thing that might mess her up would be a wold-sized null field, but that was stupid and she was sure fate wouldn't throw such a thing at her.

---

“Whah!” Su exclaimed after the non-discript teleportation attempt, which hopefully worked. If that worked out, and they were also in front of Mariette, su would turn to adress her. “Um.” She would hesitate. “It's been a while. you're pretty hard to find.”

@FamishedPants

---

”You’re going to be attacked soon, according to our mole.” The eyepatch kid stood at attention. ”Unless you mean how I got here. I used that key that you tuned for me after that interview.” Trixy smiled. ”Y-you didn’t forget right? Hey you’re not still mad about me shooting vines at you, are you? I just couldn’t think of another way to stop you. But that was a good shot right? Don’t you feel safe knowing that the person who made that shot is now pointing their gun at your enemies?”

{IF STATEMENT:SU_SAM_HELGA_TELE_SUCCESS=TRUE} Trixy turned to Samantha as soon as she appeared. "Hey babe!” She waved.

Having just left a convenience store, Emily strolled down the sidewalk at a relaxed pace as she held her new manga up to her face and ate up the story on the pages. She had not gotten especially far in the series but she found the premise to be quite enthralling. It was science vs magic! And the main character was some girl with electrical abilities and over a thousand sisters! There were a lot of cool fights and stuff, but there were also a lot of slow, funny, and cute moments.

But, most importantly, there was...

...lewd.

She had something to prove, and she had to become an adult. Yeah! Otherwise, this morning would be stuck with her forever! What happened to her earlier, you might ask? Well...

...

...

...

"Hey you, you're finally awake~" The first thing Emily heard when she woke up was Hilaria's voice coming from the edge of the bed she was laying on. The ravenous magical girl was simply patting her head almost like a mother trying to soothe a child, prompting Emily to look around. The place was quite familiar as it was still her own room and bed. Emily found her memory fogged up at least a bit, so she cast a look to Hilaria as if to wordlessly asked what the deal was.

Smiling in understanding, she giggled. "Hilaria apologizes~!" she told Emily. "Hilaria is so very old, you see~ Very, very, very, very old~! But you're not~! And there's no good way of telling how old someone else is just by appearances~ So that's why maybe sometimes she forgets to apply a proper filter~! You poor child, Hilaria did not mean to overstimulate you so~"

"O-over stimulate...?" Emily repeated, confused, but then realized something else. "O-oh, I'm most certainly not a child!" she declared, although considering how she had done nothing to stop Hilaria from patting her head this entire time, the claim was difficult to take seriously.

"Is that so~?"

"Y-yes, that's so!"

Hilaria's eyes subtly shifted to the hand she had resting on Emily's head and, after a brief moment of awkward silence, Emily picked up on it too. "O-oh, please if you would kindly move your hand..." she asked of Hilaria in a tone that seemed to suggest she didn't really want to. Hilaria, however, obliged, taking her hand off the girl's head and standing up.

"Such childish innocence... it is to be cherished while you still retain it, Hilaria thinks~"

Emily finally sat up in her bed. "L-like I'm saying, I'm not a child though!" she protested again. Hilaria did not seem to mind, making her way to the door yet again.

"Then why are you in bed right now~?" Hilaria asked.

"That's cus'" she began to say but realized she did not know why. Her memory was a little foggy. She did her best to recall what had led up to this point and, suddenly, she remembered! Earlier she was playing a game and had a difficult time with a boss that Hilaria helped her beat -- to Emily's surprise. And then after that happened... they started talking about boys for some reason... and then Hilaria mentioned how her first time was a pain and... then... there... was...

Hilaria was not gifted with the ability to read minds but she found it remarkably easy to tell exactly which stage of remembering Emily was on by the shade of her cheeks. She was sure Emily had gotten back up to speed when her face looked like a tomato and she did not seem capable of speaking anymore. "Eh, so you remembered, then~?" she let loose a rather mischievous giggle. "Such adorable reactions you make~ But those only prove that Hilaria is correct~!" she explained. "When you can talk about adult things with a straight face, then maybe Hilaria'll believe you~ But, until then~!" Hilaria gave Emily a wave and then simply left to go do her own thing.

...

...

...

Oh, how embarrassing that was! Emily did not desire to be seen as a child but she would certainly admit certain things did give her pause. Of consciousness. B-b-but she was not a child! She just needed to work on some things. So this manga would definitely help! She caught a glimpse of u-u-underwear a-and boys in it, s-so then it had to be something adults read!

As she turned the next page to the manga she read about one of the sisters' attempts to pretend to be the main character to get closer to a boy they all liked. To swap places like that... something didn't sit well in Emily's stomach. Wasn't that cheating? And... wouldn't the boy just think it was the main heroine anyways? How was that supposed to work in their favor? Her inability to think of nefarious schemes caused the sister's rude actions to baffle her for longer than they should have. But then it became clear that making the main character look bad was the point!

Oh, that bugger!

She would continue to read as the situation escalated. What could be described as a date was taking place and the end was beginning to near. The sun was setting, the mood was right, and despite the boy's obliviousness, the main character (false) was about to seal the deal. Her hand slowly reached for something unspeakable. The last few frames of the page showed the hand approach it's target -- the boy's. The endgame was here! Now, all she had to do was turn the page and then she'd certainly become one step closer to being an adult!

The page was turned... and then a loud crash caused both Emily and the manga to fall onto the floor. In an instant, she gathered up all her things and shoved the manga into the grocery bag she had. Then, in the very next, she was to her feet and eyeing the person she had run into. "Oh my, I'm so terribly sorry!" she explained to the person whom she hadn't even gotten a good look at yet. If they had yet to stand up, she would offer her hand in assistance. Otherwise, she would simply ask, "Are you okay? I should have been paying attention, sorry!" She did, however, wonder why there was a buttered piece of toast stuck on her shirt, but removing it could wait until after she made sure this girl was okay.

Oros had been excited when she discovered an intact Penrose. It had been a while since she had been home, and while the place was a little rough around the edges, the sight of it brought a smile to her face.

Then a week passed.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy all the entropy. It was just a lot less interesting than she thought it would be. Oros overheard a samurai talking to some other magical girls about some plot to save Mary. Something about her being mind warped. It wasn’t that interesting. First of all, Mary was the type of bitch that would hold out on you. Secondly, the samurai spent way too much time narrating “We’re going to nab her, and I have friends on the inside!” A point to note was that Mary was the type of person who had eyes and ears everywhere. The type of person that you’d have to look over your shoulder for even if you were conducting a private meeting inside a hotel. She probably heard about the plan dude. Thirdly, the Grand Magistrate had their stink all over this one. The “event” last week was absolutely hilarious, but it was the sort of fun that Oros felt better observing than participating in. But hey, if the samurai could pull that stick out of Mary’s ass, maybe they could meet up later.

Oros had though that things would be more interesting at the the monster sanctuary. Instead, it seemed like a power play was about to take place. Exciting stuff, but only if you’re into political intrigue and a boring individual overall. The position of power was about as useful as a scrap of toilet paper, and there were no bangin’ waifus around. Time to move on.

Was there nothing of interest going on in Penrose? Had it all been reduced to politics and edgy assassination shit? Was there a reason to-

---

*Bop*

Oros bounced off something soft. She wasn't so clumsy as to fall over from such an impact, normally. Usually the target of Mr. toast would brace themselves for impact, but it seemed like this girl was so oblivious she just kept moving in Oros's direction. Before Oros could stand up all the way, she noticed the woman approaching her.

“Em?”

Oros remained frozen in place. She blinked when Emily extended her hand. There wasn't any reason to take it. All she had to do was straighten her knees to stand up all the way. But she took hold of it anyway. Mr toast was hugging this girl's bosom. This had to be the person fate had selected for her. The animistic monster girl leaned in and sniffed Emily's hair. After holding the air in her lungs for a moment, she exhaled. Her hot breath waifed past Emily's face as she pulled back.

“Meh.” She smiled. “You've got no reason to butter your breasts with Mr toast's face!” Oros picked up the piece of toast. A melting square of butter coasted down her breasts before pooling where her coat seem was. “I'm going to need some compensation for this.” Oros reached her other hand into Emily's bag and pulled out the manga she was reading. “Oh? What's this?” Holding the toast in one hand and the manga in the other, she skimmed through the pages. “Oh my! Em, I had no idea you were into... NTR?” She dipped the toast into the delightful little butter dish that was standing next to her. Once she had gotten to the same page that Emily had, she closed the book with a chuckle. “Em.” Oros looked at Emily out of the corner of her eye. “Are you interested in boys?”

---

Nuncio may have been surprised by how Penny left things, but he wasn’t as mad as the monster girls who surrounded him. At the very least, he wasn’t upset enough to leave without letting Penny respond to him and everyone else.

”Excellent speech, my friend.” Nuncio clapped his hands. Even he had to admit that Penny had a fair bit of charisma. Her address to everyone was better than her initial speech. ”Gift of the silver tongue. They say it’s a mark of a good queen… and of a liar.” The mobster stepped out of the crowd and tipped his hat. He was standing between penny and a mob of concerned monster girls. Rosa didn’t stray far from his side, her tail sweeping side to side.

”’Name’s Nuncio. I’m a member of the Penrose outa Alliance. We’ve been helpin’ Cindy for a good while. Believed in her cause and everythin’. Can’t say I’m too pleased with Penny sweepin’ in and edgin’ out my boss, but I was willin’ to see how things played out if she was an okay leader.” He parted his hands and looked around. ”Quite the operation I must say. She’s got a bit of everythin’. But I ain’t hear to talk about that.” Nuncio looked over his shoulder at Penny. ”Ya say the local beacon branch ain’t like the ascendancy? Let me tell ya all a story…”

A cell phone appeared in Nuncio’s hand. ”Had a talk with Faith earlier. We got to catch up. She was at Mayor Park when Cindy got killed. The cardinal had a bunch of girls come to her aid. Includin’ Sylvia Starshine. She opened fire on a slew of monster girls who weren’t even fightin’, includin’ Faith and Lotus. Lotus fought valiantly, but Sylvia blew herself and Lotus up like the fanatic she was.” Nuncio shrugged. ”Woulda just been a normal day for Ascendancy, but this dame worked for Penrose Beacon. She was your mechanic, right Penny?”

Nuncio turned his entire body to face Penny.

”Faith almost got killed. She was carried off by a Beacon science experiment. They’ve been creatin’ homunculus and fusing souls into ‘em. They captured Binky to produce red coins, so I can’t say I’m too surprised. Anyway, some friends saved her, and she’s been hiding out before waiting for a chance to return here. I should mention the girl on the screen that turned into Cindy was stalkin’ Faith too. She has a twin, and I’m sure the twin wanted to do the same kind of thing to her that they used on Cindy.”

He turned back towards the crowd.

”Think about it, if they have Cindy, the Outer Alliance, and Penny is acting as queen, Beacon has us all right where they want us!”

”They say the Mint attacked the Cardinal and Cindy at the same time, but why is it that only Cindy died?”

”If Penrose Beacon and the Ascendancy are so different, why do they work together? Why haven’t they tried to declare their independence?”

Nuncio turned to face Penny. ”Now, I dunno if we can trust Penny or not. She’s done a lot for you guys, but this love for Beacon ain’t makin’ me feel too good.” He pointed his phone at Penny’s face. ”I’ll tell you what I think, and all a ya can do what ya want. I think Penny probably deserves a chance. But she’s gotta pick between us or them.” He zoomed in on her face. ”I know Faith’ll take care of us, Beacon has made her suffer more than anyone I know. But if Penny can break her ties with Beacon? That would make me feel a lot better.”

@Shifter_Master

Her hard work looked to be paying off. Though what exactly to do with the info was a bit harder to decide. Justine was not her friend in the slightest. Theoretically Hilde had the vampire girl to thank for her current existence, but she was the one that had Janet kill Amber. Bah, too many factors. Bottom line was the girl was evil and underhanded. She needed to let her friends know. No telling what exactly she was planning. While she hadn't put her name on the list to be contacted about this raid she knew it would be coming eventually. Fumbling for her phone a bit she send a quick message to Ronin.

Be careful around Justine. I think she's the one kidnapping MGs in the city.

@PlatinumSkink

Debating whether to send a message to the twins she decided to actually go to Beacon's HQ to deliver the info. They were the ones that were supposedly going to be close to her soon. With her flight and teleportation it didn't take long to arrive. Beacon, while they were on good terms, were on higher alert than usual so they wouldn't let her in. She wasn't a member after all. Stupid. Shooting a quick message to Janet for her to read her mind she passed on the details that way. For the moment she would hang around but would probably be off again before getting dragged further into things going on.

---

For the most part the twins were going back and forth about what exactly to do still. When this was all over they might see about perusing some other alternatives with Cindy. Appeasing both sides was more complicated once all the outside factors started coming into play. The inner conflict got sidetracked for a moment when they got a message from Hilde.

Getting new info on Justine, potentially anyway, the twins glanced at each other for a moment before seeking out the next person in charge. Alicia being out this fell to Rachel. Considering who it was about though that almost didn't matter. No one trusted Justine to begin with and this only added to the pile. It took a bit before they could get in to talk. "We've just received a report that Justine may be the one snatching people off the street." It wasn't the most far fetched thing. She herself had been kidnapped by the same.

"Court Lady, huh. Hmph. Well, you could say so." Dina nodded briskly, still a bit sour of the early conversation and the fact that her labour had not gone wholly noticed. Still, she could not deny these girls this plea. Noblesse Obligue had been ingrained in her since birth, and while she was at times a vain starlet, this was a matter of alleviating suffering. After becoming a magical girl, the hearts of people had always been laid bare before her.

Anxiety and fear, wounds still open in one's soul put under strain by the decision of the new queen. She noticed the hologram, as her ears twitched and folded back in discontent, her tail hugging her leg.

"As much as I would love to..." Dina said, as she eyed the other girls. She did want to offer her advice in private, but tensions were running high. Voices of dissent were already being heard. She had to make a hard choice about this matter. Rebuking a monarch was a tricky prospect, and even someone like Dina had grown acquainted to talk things with Penny in private and smooth things out. But no amount of smoothing would do to set the hearts in disarray her latest decision had caused.

She had to dazzle them. Dina thought. She had to overshadow the queen in sheer presence and charisma, or at least try to do so.

"...that is no longer an option." Dina said, somberly as she eyed the girls. "Assuage your fears. I shall speak in your behalf in front of the queen. Right here. Right now." The catgirl said to the gathered group. "Do follow me if you would be so kind."

I'm sorry Penny, but I can't let you go like a bull in a China shop in this matter. Lots of girls don't know what to do with their lives.

She thought as she began to walk towards the gathering, in confidant steps as she whistled for her maids to gather at her side, her back open for the other girls to follow. Her fingers went into her mouth as she emitted a sharp whistle, followed by the brisk beat of wings from a most curious creature. A raven... however, different from the black plummage these birds were known of, this creature was fully white, on top of being one outstanding specimen of his kind with lustrous sheen.

"Raven, Announce me." Dina commanded to the creature, as he briskly nodded and flew ahead of Dina, her entourage now escorted by the catmaids. She drew closer, and the closer she drew, the more smooth and regal her movements became. Years of etiquette training still stuck with her, after the ravages of decades of time had clouded and chipped the memories on her mind. She had been regal in her youth, an attendant to royalty now gone. She could do this.

She could bring forth splendour greater than Penny, whom had never met an actual court nor queen. Her barriers flared up, gently pushing the doors of the room open, as the bird flew into the room.

"Her ladyship Dina Denisova, Empress of the Strays, advisor to the Queen, Scion of the Tsar" said the raven in a mouthful as the catgirl began walking into the room. Her barriers gently wobbled at her feet, as if some sort of improvised carpet that had been rolled, while she graciously performed a walk between catlike and regal. Flaring her Power of Friendship at her maximum, she deployed her soothing aura into the room as well, while the maids made a corridor for her.

That would probably get more than one's attention, despite the ruckus and confusion. Draping the folds of her skirt, she performed a curtsy once more, like the ones she usually did in her youth.

"Your Highness, pardon me for my prompt entrance." Dina said, before continuing with her speech. "But your highness must understand... the overwhelming nature of this situation indeed." She began. "No matter how much effort you put or how noble one cause's is... an open wound will still bleed if you are to strain it."

"And the wounds that Beacon... or their associates have inflicted upon all of us are still...fresh." Dina said, raising herself. "We all are tired of conflict, and peace is but what we would yearn for. Your efforts towards peace shall never be questioned in that regard, your highness." Dina added, as she turned and eyed the girls.

"Look at us, your highness. Use your eyes or heart, it matters not. We all are a lot from different backgrounds and sorts, united only by one wish. Under one banner of strength." Dina said. "To heal the scars that abandonment has beset upon us." Dina said. "Abandoment that generates mistrust. Ostracism. And one of the said chief collectives is Beacon."

"Fear cuts deep. Bereavement cuts even deeper. Look at us your Highness. Forgiving and forgetting are two different things. Even if all our hearts were all loving, and we wanted, for the sake of peace, let bygones be bygones... we cannot simply forget. The fear of being hunted. The sadness of losing the one pillar of strength we once had." She paused.

"Which now seems to have revived as Beacon." Dina said. "It raises questions and fears."

Her eyes turned back to Cindy, and then to Nuncio. "Do not think for a second we do not appreciate the burden you are taking upon by rising upon this blood-soaked throne to give some misguided souls a chance to live proud once more. However, it is equally true that sometimes even good intentions can hurt if they are performed from ignorance. As unfortunate as might be, the Beacon name and reputation are reviled in this abode, nearly as much as the Mint, and it is too soon to ask for a change of heart in that regard." Dina added.

"Asking to break ties might be a tad harsh... Yet your highness must understand that a ruler who doesn't keep the welfare of their subjects in their heart... is a tyrant. And right now your heart seems to be singing praises for Beacon, or at least part of it, while ours sings curses and cries of fear towards it." Dina eyed Penny.

"So, is your highness heart that of Beacon or that of a monster girl? There can be no middle ground, as the kind sir before me has addressed."

---

It had been an uneventful time for Sakura. She had been always been a bit of a roamer, and despite Emily being adorable, she had no right to mooch off from such a nice girl. Keeping her in the dark about certain details was an struggle. Particularly if your boss was an actual alien psychopath, your teammates had a few screws loose, including Sparky-chan and the crazy broad who though the shifty rat was her mother.

A message drew to her attention as she finished her paltry meal, a hotdog. Well at least this magical mumbo jumbo let her get nice if barf-level pink-like clothes on a whim, and she still had a penchant to be ignored.

Ronin, hun? What is that loli up to? Sakura began to struggle with the modern phone. Apps still were a bit difficult for her. She missed the times of normal cellphones, or even public phones. These smart things were only good for being showy. Plus they weren't good bludgeoning weapons like the public phones of old... But she was digressing.

"Mmm, I would not answer that call." A voice said at her back. Sonofa- How did that rat keep slipping past her keen senses, time and time again? The smug, fluffy form of Umukamui stood in front of her.

"That acquaintance of yours has also contacted Lily, and is trying to raise people to her cause. It is ... a delicate matter." The rat said, as he drew closer.

"Powerplays are the new fad... you know. Pulling strings and the such. What a waste, specifically for this reason."

"Stop speaking in riddles you damn rat or I will punt you in the nearest garbage chute. Or truck."

"Two unpleasant people, one Mariette Pendersen and one Justine Von Visceral, who serve horrors have decided to suddenly wage their own proxy war. And they've brought their allies. One of them is Beacon."

"The popos??? I thought..."

The small creature swished his tail. "Yes, Beacon is cavorting with a vampire now. And we're with Beacon. Your... Ronin and Lily have foolishly pledged to fight the vampire."

"Well, good for em. If a damn titty leech is dead, it's good, despite the popos?"

"What if i told you... the other girl serves a horror who turns little girls into brainwashed soldiers?"

Sakura visiblely frowned.

"Yes. Violent trashing and destructive behaviour aside... that is your one advantadge. I did not need to mental edit you, nor I need to watch my language when regarding these subjects. You're conditioned to murder. Surely you understand what I am going to ask.

"I'm not killing the loli or Lily."

"Why would you? They are not the root of the problem. It's the other two. I want you to ensure... a certain accident befalls to both Mariette Pendersen and Justine Von Visceral. I am bound to help the vampire by proxy in her mission to take down Mariette Pendersen... but I have never sworn to protect her life." The creature tilted his head. "Surely even a blockhead like you would understand."

"Hrm."

"I will take that as yes. We shall rendezvous with Beacon, and you shall provide assistance...for now. But I want both of them dead. Do so, and we might... discuss further perks. I shall bring Umbra too. Her ability will be useful."

Sakura eyed the creature as it left briskly, clenching her fist and then hitting the nearest wall with it. "Fuck. Yakuza got nothing on this fuckfest of a magical girl world." The girl said... while ignoring Ronin's message. "Well... what's a couple of dead corpses on my karma anymore." She admittedly sadly.

---

Shortly after Beacon arrived, the very space in the room where the Beacon and Justine gathering was taking part wobbled noticeably. A gravity-infused magic then tore the space in two, as three figures crossed the warping gate. One, a pink-haired young girl with a sullen expression, followed by a rather...unfocused Silver haired girl cradling a small fluffy white puuchu on her arms. It was this last creature the one who addressed the group first.

"Greetings. I have come to bring assistance in the form of auxiliary girls as per my agreement with Beacon. These are Sakura... and Tenebra. For those who have not been acquainted with me, I am known as Umukamui.

"We could've gone in the motorbike." Sakura grumbled,as her eyes scanned the room. Well, at least some of the girls were cute.