---

Dana listened intently as Garnier informed them of the drones’ various armaments. “I’ll keep that in mind!” she noted with a giggle when the cadet advised them to avoid getting stepped on. Cordelia proceeded to follow up on Penny’s plan by suggesting that, in the event they came under attack, the “least effective” member of the team should remain behind to keep the drones occupied, while the rest continued on to the objective. Nicole then followed that up by volunteering herself for that role, should the need arise. This caused the usually upbeat Dana to frown slightly. The thought of “sacrificing” one of their own didn’t particularly sit well with her, especially when the “sacrifice” in question was their unofficial leader. She was about to say as much, when the ever-astute Vanna spoke up, offering some much needed words of wisdom. The young noble went on to address Dana personally, advising her to remain focused on the closest threat at all times. “Roger that!” the energetic Ars Magi confirmed with a nod, while giving her refined teammate a confident grin. Holst then stepped up beside Dana and offered her services as a spotter. “Thanks!” the cheerful Norban replied with a big grin. “My elementum can really improve my vision, but two sets of eyes are always better than one!” she added, her brilliant smile seeming to shine all the brighter as lightning split the sky overhead.

While the current weather conditions might have been viewed as unpleasant by most people, Dana Noel wasn’t most people. The buffeting wind and torrential rain only served to amp up her already irrepressible enthusiasm to maximum power. Focusing that power within her small body, Dana’s eyes seemed to glow as her vision was enhanced tenfold. Imbued with the power of her elementum, her awareness expanded to take note of every aspect of the battlefield before them, every piece of rubble, every drop of rain. Thus, she was the first to notice when Nicole employed her own elementum to redirect that rain towards where the drones lay in wait, hopefully befouling the machines’ optics enough to conceal their presence. And if that wasn’t sufficient, Cordelia was quick to provide her own contribution, in the form of a swiftly constructed mirror. Moving with a balance of speed and caution, the small team of officers and Ars Magi made their way down the rubble strewn street. Dana herself stuck close to the officers and joined Holst in keeping a sharp eye out for any unpleasant surprises. It took them nearly half an hour, but eventually, they had made it within sight of their destination, while remaining completely undetected. Unfortunately, that was about to change, as a pair of drones appeared to block their path.

As the imposing machines drew nearer, Garnier suggested that if the pair was taken out fast enough, they might not even have time to signal the others. Not wasting a moment, Nicole was quick to issue orders, which basically boiled down to “have Penny smash the crap out of them”. An instant later, Team 3’s pint-sized powerhouse proceeded to do just that. In short order, the two machines had been reduced to piles of sparking scrap, curtesy of Penny’s rocket hammer, and a few supporting shots from Dana’s own gladius to finish them off. The only question now was, had their little “demolition derby” attracted the attention of the other drones in the area? With that thought at the forefront of her mind, Dana’s piercing gaze swiftly scanned the surrounding area, the energetic Norban on high alert for any sign of approaching danger.

The first blow is decisive.

Penny’s hammer crashes down on to the head of the first drone, the machine unprepared for the girl to come ripping through the empty space in its sensors created by Cordelia’s mirror shield and Nicole’s battering winds. The robot buckles under the weight of the blow, joints shuddering and rectangular head caving inwards as electricity burns through its circuits. The crater-shaped indentation left behind is proof of the force of her blow, as is the sound of tearing metal as she rebounds to her next target.

The second machine falls soon after, the first blow setting it off balance before it’s leg is taken out from under it. It careens into the first drone, the two crashing to the ground in a heap of metal. If there was any chance that they still had some fight in them Dana sees to that soon after, the quick bursts of light fired from her pistol puncturing through their exposed weak-points.

The conflict is over quickly, but the threat of discovery still lingers over the group’s collective head. A second passes, then several more, strained minutes of waiting to see if the other machines in the distance will respond.

They do not.

Once the coast is clear, after a few words of congratulations from the officers, the Ars Magi and their charges are able to make it across the street to the parking garage that’s been named their target. It’s mostly standing, a looming concrete structure filled with dark puddles of rainwater and chunks of rubble.

“Clear the building first.” Aiya instructs. “We’ll get set up near the top.”

It doesn’t take long to so. The space is dark but mostly empty, home only to chunks of concrete and the occasional automotive skeleton illuminated in the cone of the officer’s flashlights.

Once they reach the top floor Aiya gives the order to set up and Holst begins to unpack the equipment that the cadets brought along. It’s a small command station, a portable computer and what appear to be a group of baseball-sized triangular metal objects. Soon the cadet it speaking into a headset, checking in with command and giving a status report.

“We’re holding here for now.” The cadet explains, “Waiting on instructions.”

Minutes ticks by. From their vantage at the top floor the group can see out over the ruined district, their sightlines significantly less obscured than they were on ground level. Rain sheets down in the darkness, and here and there pale glow of Nox diffusers can be seen in the distance. Occasionally lightning lights the ruined skyscrapers and even more rarely bursts of light can be seen on the distant ground; other Ars Magi making their way through the night.

Holst had the presence of mind to pack dinner, several chunky protein bars that she offers to share amongst the Ars Magi while they wait. Garnier remains on the relay, but Aiya is ill-content to let the time pass in silence.

“I think I like your friends.” She remarks to Nicole from her perch on the hood of an old automobile.

“How’d you learn out how to fly around like that?” She asks of Penny, turning to address the smaller girl. “Or does it come naturally? You did some real work on those robots, I’m sure some engineer in Juno will be very upset with you.”

“And you’re a pretty good shot, aren’t you?” She says to Dana. “I hear you were pretty popular at our little ball, too. Everyone wanted to sit at your table. It could make a girl jealous.” She laughs, a high and pleasant sound before she turns her Cheshire cat smile to her next target.

“Speaking of that—you’re dance partner wanted me to send his regards, Miss Whittaker. You must have made an impression. Someday you’ll have to dance with me too.” Another laugh, and she adds, “If our dolcezza is willing to share you again.”

---

Cordelia watched as Penny did as Penny always did under pressure. She skillfully used her hammer like a chisel, picking apart their enemies with a tactical precision only available to an upper echelon of combatant. Just like that, they were met with silence. The pitter of the rain, the winds now calming somewhat. Cordelia felt the rain trace silhouettes around her face, as they all stood in suspended animation, waiting to hear an onslaught approaching.

But, they didn’t. In fact, they didn’t hear much of anything. The best-case scenario.

Lucky us.

The Ars Magi quickly top to the top floor of the building Aiya had pointed out to them. Before long, all that was left to focus on, was watching and waiting. Cordelia found herself distracted from looking for Nox, or machines alike. Rather, her eyes wandered out towards the lives of those past, what they had built, and what little remained of it all. Cordelia could feel the fragility of the world she stood to protect when she looked out at what once had been.

The way the rain brought down sheets of moisture atop it, as if trying to slowly, over the course of decades and centuries, slowly push man’s creation back into the planet. It was something to behold. Some kind of spectacle, even though it looked like nothing was happening. Cordelia chewed on her protein bar, shew as no snob for food and didn’t often eat for pleasure’s sake so she found it passably flavourful.

She looked around, at the others Ars Magi. Those of their respective elementum’s, aether, wind, lightning, and light. She looked at them, trying to find the elementum within, trying to see it. Cordelia faltered, though, when the group began to speak.

It was Aiya, her words to each of the Ars Magi that pulled Cordelia from her stupor. Cordelia’s cheeks flamed as she was complimented and lightly, loosely propositioned for another dance. She glanced away, into a bit of glass, searching for her voice to respond. “That’s very kind of him,” she whispered sweetly into her knees. She pulled them closer, wrapping her arms around them and squeezing tight. “I’d be honoured to afford you whatever kindness I afforded him.”

It was odd, being a soldier. Cordelia was having trouble keeping her mind off of that thought as of late. Her mind couldn’t resist the pull of considering the bigger picture of what exactly was happening in her life, and how radically different it all was now. She looked into the mirror she had made, shattered and fractured, her reflection still stared resolutely back at her. “I remember,” Cordelia began, testing her voice. “A time when nobody would ever consider me an adequate dance partner, let alone requesting another.” Her eyes were locked on Penny’s shoes. Not for a particular reason, but simply to avoid looking anywhere else.

“It feels nice,” Cordelia looked upwards, letting the rain run down her face as she scanned the grey clouds for something. "To speak, and not just be spoken to. To act, rather than be directed. I've never had this much freedom before." Her smiled returned, looking rather chipper, almost as she hugged her chin in tighter towards her kness. “m'not used to it yet,” she muttered.

After quickly striking at the mecha, Penny slides back, bracing herself for a second for a last-gasp attack, or worse, reinforcements. When those failed to materialize, she takes a breath of relief and skates back to the others. She finds herself perhaps a bit disappointed that the adrenaline rush had to end early, but she recognizes the need to keep this mission stealthy and avoid confrontations. Even if it was only a practice run.

She follows the others to the destination, keeping an eye out to see if they're being followed. Fortunately, nothing seems to have seen them, so she joins the team in cover. She walks up to Nichole and pats her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Nichole, you know I was just kidding about earlier, right?" she says with a smile. "We still cool?"

When the protein bars are being handed out, Penny catches hers one-handed and rips off the cover. She moves to throw the wrapper on the ground, but then thinks better of it and shoves it into her pocket. No sense in littering, even in an abandoned wasteland. She begins to dig in when Aiya springs the question on her.

"Hmmmnnff?" she grunts in response. "Ah, yfee-"

She catches herself, pauses to chew and swallow the bit in her mouth, and then resumes.

"Eh, I wouldn't call it flying," she responds. "Nichole can fly. I just know a bit of parkour and rollerblading, so I know how to use movement and momentum a bit, and I'm just crazy enough to carry around a rocket on a stick.

"As for the Juno engineers... sorry, but that's how it goes. The knee joint was sort of a gimme; I reasoned that there's only so much you can do to armor up leg joints before it hampers the mech's movement. The comm unit was a necessary target; I didn't know how fast their reaction times were, so I needed to stop it from calling for help. The head, though, that was a lucky guess. I was afraid they'd put the control unit deeper into the chest cavity, where it would have had better protection. I guess I'm lucky I specialize in melee, and that I hit pretty hard.

"Then again, that's why we're having these training exercises, right? To figure out where the weak points are and how to compensate for them in future fights."

Cordelia's response to Aiya surprises Penny just as she's about to resume eating the protein bar.

"Aw come on, don't be so hard on yourself," Penny offers in weak encouragement. "I mean, at least you can dance pretty good. I've never danced a waltz before, so all Dima and I wound up doing is stepping on each other's toes the whole time."

---

Dana exhaled a sigh of relief when no further threats materialized. However, she remained vigilant as their small group entered the parking garage and searched the abandoned structure for potential hostiles. The energetic Ars Magi only allowed herself to relax once they’d ensured the building was clear and settled into position on the top floor. It was actually pretty cool to watch how quickly the officers’ gear was unpacked and assembled into quite the comprehensive command post. Once that work was done, it was apparently time for a snack break. “Thanks!” Dana told Holst with one of her trademark grins when the cadet offered her a protein bar. “You guys really did pack everything!”

Opening the wrapper, the bright eyed Norban took a bite out of the bar, while leaving the bottom half still contained in the wrapper. Casting her still-enhanced gaze over the darkened landscape beyond their shelter, Dana saw the brief bursts of illumination that denoted the locations of other teams participating in the exercise. As she continued to eat, she couldn’t help but wonder how the others were faring, Noah, in particular. What kind of Ars Magi would he be paired with? The team Priya and Amanda were on? Or perhaps the one to which that towering, green-haired girl she’d seen at the ball belonged? In any event, her musings were soon brought to an abrupt end, when Aiya addressed them, inquiring first of Penny’s speed, and then of Dana’s marksmanship.

“I ghesh sho,” the cheerful Norban replied as she chewed on the last piece of her bar. After gulping it down, she added, “I mean, Guardian Gunslinger Alexis was kinda my hero growin’ up, so when I was told I was gonna get to be an Ars Magi, I wanted to be just like her!”

As if to demonstrate, Dana crumpled her wrapper up into a tight ball, before tossing it into the air. In the blink of an eye, she had drawn her gladius and snapped off an incandescent bolt of golden energy. The shot struck the wrapper dead center, instantly vaporizing it. With an impish smile, Dana twirled her pistol around a finger, before placing it back in its holster. However, her confidence was replaced by slight embarrassment a moment later, when Aiya noted how popular she’d been at the ball, which caused a small blush to color the cheerful Ars Magi’s cheeks.

“Gosh, I sure hope not!” Dana replied with a nervous chuckle, when Aiya mentioned that her popularity might make some people jealous. “I just enjoy makin’ new friends, that’s all,” she added, holding her hands up in a placating manner. “There nothin’ wrong with that, right?” she asked with a hopeful smile, one made all the more charming by her oversized tooth poking out.

---

Nicole was grateful for the moment to catch her breath. As she plopped down, she felt her knees lock together for a moment and thought back to her school days - kids circled around each other, daring each other to lock their legs together into rigid planks and see who passed out last, playing their stupid kid games. Of course, Nicole was no exception.

But she was totally grown-up now, and way beyond testing something that dumb, so she made sure to unlock them after just four seconds. After she'd made sure she had a bit of the old 'staying conscious' magic. Penny approached her just as she spread and stretched her legs, testing her ankles with little twirls. She grinned coquettishly back at Penny as her bespectacled teammate inquired about their relationship status, and leaned in to give an emphatic smooch to the Siscian girl's freckled cheek.

"Nahhh, we're like this," she confided, locking her index and middle fingers in a tight cross. "Thick as thieves always, Penny, you know that. Great firepower out there."

She leaned in and munched on her own energy bar while she listened to Aiya stoke Dana's fire a little. She had to giggle. Aiya was as relentless a flirt as Nicole herself, but it was brilliant watching Dana completely no-sell it and start going off on another tangent about Guardian Gunslinger Alexis and making friends.

"You tell her, Dana!" crowed Nicole in support of her teammate, when she was between mouthfuls of granola. "Youuuu tell her. Nothin' wrong with it at all. You're doing great, babe."

Cordelia was a little less prepared for Aiya's onslaught, and Nicole felt her mouth twitch in empathy for her roommate. She knew that, despite her best efforts, Cordelia was still adjusting to the idea of replacing Astrelle - a phantom that the new arrival to their team had never even seen before, yet still hung over her as surely as the grey and indigo storm clouds above. Nicole was still grappling with some of the implications of her friend's transfer herself, but she was doing her best to treat the one-time butler with every bit of the encouragement and zest she fronted for the rest of the team, too. Maybe they all needed to go out together. Force her to enjoy town the same way Nicole herself had, and Vanna too.

Her smile widened and she swung around on her perch, lifting up her legs and wrapping them around Cordelia's midsection. Nicole's right leg tucked between her midriff and her tightly drawn legs, wedged underneath her head protectively.

"You girls don't think I'm that jealous now, do you? Think I need to try and keep all the hotness to myself?" she asked the two nobles playfully. "You can dance if you want to, Cordy. All my best friends love to dance. Especially with each other."

---

Cordelia’s wistful glance out to the world, to the night sky, was interrupted by Penny’s careful reassurance. The steadiness of the girl came through in not the way she spoke, but what she chose to say. "Aw come on, don't be so hard on yourself, I mean, at least you can dance pretty good. I've never danced a waltz before, so all Dima and I wound up doing is stepping on each other's toes the whole time."

Cordelia’s rose lips parted in something halfway to a smile, and she tried to answer before Nicole caught her in the friendliest leglock anyone would ever receive. One leg wrapping around her midriff, Cordelia felt herself get wrapped into the embrace. Nicole’s voice came twice, once with the rain, gently coaxing the previous expression plaguing Cordelia’s porcelain features out. Replacing it with something lighter. The second, a gentle hum through her legs into Cordelia’s body, a thrum akin to a chortle in the pit of one’s stomach. "You girls don't think I'm that jealous now, do you? Think I need to try and keep all the hotness to myself? They had pushed their teammate’s back against the wall, with no other choice, a small giggle escaped her lips. ”You can dance if you want to, Cordy. All my best friends love to dance. Especially with each other."

Cordelia’s voice faltered while she spoke in a way that was informative to how unused to speaking while laughing the young Ars Magi was. “I can imagine you and your bevy of men, women, probably even the nox would line up for a dance with you!” she managed between quick breaths. Her face carried forward, its smile and lightness this time. “Thank you,” she wrapped her arms around the leg pressed against her midriff. “I’ll be easier on myself, I promise.”

Cordelia watched as Dana responded to Aiya’s question, innocence incarnated on full display for all to see. It made her grin just that bit wider, and she laughed with the group at the name dropping of one Guardian Gunslinger Alexis. For a moment, Cordelia didn’t feel as though they were on a mission. It felt almost as if they were simply hanging out together. She relished in this. This moment of serenity admist the rain, and the ruins. Cordelia felt for the first time in a while that she was getting used to it. That she wasn't in combat. This conversation wasn't life or death. It was just a bit of fun.

She turned to Aiya, resolutely. “Whenever you want to dance, just let me know.” Her words were confident this time. “If you think you can handle me,” she added, trying to wink but only managing a slightly delayed blink.

“Aren’t you the cutest.” Aiya replies to Dana, the dark-haired girl resting her chin in her hands as she casts a winning smile at the energetic Norban. “Don’t worry, you’re not doing anything wrong. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight.”

The girl’s chestnut gaze turns to Cordelia after, listening to the other girl’s musing with a careful gaze. “Cordy,” She says, appropriating Nicole’s nickname with not even a hint of hesitance, “You’re one of the most powerful, most important women in the world. You should enjoy it while you can.” Her lips split into a wide, almost wolfish grin at the girl’s offer. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Craning backward after, the dark-haired girl stretches her arms overhead and remarks, as if reading Nicole’s train of thought: “We should all dance,” She suggests, musing. “Maybe I’ll arrange a celebration, if we pass our little exercise.”

And it’s the mention of that exercise, perhaps the reminder of it, that seems to break the tranquil spell that’s settled over the group.

“We’ve got a request for assistance. Webber’s group.” Says Garnier, the boy raising his head to motion toward his fellow officers. Both Aiya and Holst abandon their perches, huddling close around the communication equipment. The speak quickly between themselves, breaking after a hurried minute and turning back to their escort.

“One of our teams has run into a problem.” Holst explains shortly. “They’re requesting our assistance. It’s about a mile out, we’ve already got a route for you. Tell you more on route.” She tosses an earpiece to each of the Ars Magi, adding: “Go fast.”



The Ars Magi find themselves at the mercy of the elements once more.

The route that Aiya’s squad has charted for them leads off the roof of the parking garage and on to that of a nearby building, and another after that, racing across the rubble-strewn rooftops of a long-ruined skyline. Ahead buzzes one of those triangular shaped objects that the officers had unpacked; a baseball-sized drone that leads the way. In the darkness it leaves a contrail of burning green light in its wake, a guiding beacon for the girls that follow.

Up high the wind is even more fierce, though the rain has slowed the veil of clouds has begun to part, illuminating the ruined district in the moon’s pale light. It’s still difficult to see the ground down below however, and the footing is uneasy on the shattered concrete the Ars Magi make their was across.

And then they see it.

It looms out of the darkness, easily three stories tall, but impossible to mistake for just another ruined building in a crumbling cityscape. It’s humanoid in shape, bipedal, two arms and two legs, though it eschews a head in exchange for a blocky central body. Its armor-plated body is gunmetal gray, illuminated by the garish red lights dotted over its massive frame. All along its frame are lined the weapons of war: machine-guns, missile pods, a dozen compartments filled with a dozen violent instruments.

Some of those instruments are currently in use. One of its arms, a massive cannon, glows with magitech energy as it discharges into the street bellow it. The approach team of Ars Magi can see a figure tumbling and cartwheeling away from the violent impacts, weaving her way through the blasts. Priya Khatri, adorned in the red and gold of her Parma, hurls a volley of swords with every duck and weave, a hail of blades that bounce off the steel carapace of the hulking machine above her.

While the machine is distracted one Blair McKenzie, flaming claymore in hand, is sawing into one of its legs. The gash she leaves when she strikes in the metal is deep, but the punishment is immediate. A sweep of the leg flings the red-haired girl tumbling away, vanishing through a half-ruined wall into a nearby building.

Just a few hundred feet from that impact another battle is being fought, a trio of officers and a single Ars Magi pinned down by a half-dozen of the smaller drones that the group already encountered. Amanda Wagner, taking cover amidst the rubble, propels arrows of frigid ice toward the machines, the oversized shafts puncturing through metal wherever they strike. The officers, Dima Novikov and Noah Webber among them, provide supporting fire that seems nearly useless against their hulking enemies.

Things do not look like they’re going well.

---

“Well how the fuck is that even possible?!”

The muffled voice was hushed and heated. She could hear the reddening of the lord of the house’s face, the tightening of his collar, the harumphing of his scoffs. It was all he could do to not drag the young maid into his dining room and beat the delusions of grandeur out of her like she was an old, dusty rug. Cordelia Whittaker, lucky to be a maid of this house, let alone an Ars Magi looked to her superior, another maid who’d done the vast majority of her training. It was something of a testing look, to see how she’d react to the reaction they were both diligently listening to, waiting to hold the doors open for someone who, in truth, detested them both. Pierre Nuit was nothing if not vitriolic and cruel. Well, perhaps rich. He was as reliably those qualities so much so that he could act as a litmus test in which to compare others, if the need arose.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” the other maid whispered quietly under her breath. It was the first thing she’d said to Cordelia after finding out. Cordelia’s mind buzzed a bit at the phrase, the nonchalant delivery of it was especially off-putting. “Should you deign to survive what’s going to transpire next you’ll have a legacy and dynasty far surpassing what he’s built here.”

Cordelia chewed on the thought for a moment. She’d never even thought about what a dynasty meant. Or what kind of legacy she’d choose to leave behind. It’d never felt like something she’d be offered, let alone able to forge on her own. She wondered if this was how all Ars Magi felt when they were told. It wasn’t Atlas she related most to, crushed by the glorious burden of her new life. Rather, something more akin to Odysseus, stranded at sea, with no sense of direction nor time. What was she to do about all of this?

“I don’t know if a legacy, or even a dynasty - I don’t think that’s what I want,” she said softly. Her voice hushed well below the awful temperament of their master across the door.

“What do you want?” She was asked.

The girl thought for a moment. She'd not had time to consider these things until now, it felt jarring to be asked all of it at once. As if she could one day just become a completely different person. Still, her heart tugged in one direction, and one direction alone. “To help.”

---

Rain speckled moonlight painted the other team’s struggle as a fierce, but doomed endeavor. Cordelia’s still-verdant eyes flitted about the landscape, drinking deep in the details, as if she’d go blind in the next few moments. She felt her heartrate spike when the size of the creature? Robot? It was almost indiscernible with its shape and intent in design. It didn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter, she reminded herself. Metal or flesh, it would be sundered just the same.

The other team was being torn asunder, it was here they would make their stand or they would fail the mission. No. Don’t think of it as a mission. This is life or death. Take the fear, taste it. Drink from the cup of death, it was the only way to live, to grow. She remembered her training. She remembered being taught to throw her life on the line if it was called of her. This time, it was not her master she was protecting. It was her comrades.

Cordelia strode forward into the deluge, feeling the building of energy taking over her body. Each limb moving of its own accord, without any command or input from Cordelia herself, it was all momentum now. The tides of her own ideas thrusting her forward. Solve the most pressing problem, and then solve the next. It was all she could do; all anyone could do in a situation like this one.

“I’m going to give everyone quick access to the battlefield,” she spoke commandingly now. “Above our main target, and as close to both compromised parties as possible. These will be two-way doors I’m making, so if need be, they can be used for evacuation and then disabled.”

Cordelia knelt where she was, placing both hands on the mud-caked ground they were treading upon. She closed her eyes and tried to channel that feeling she’d always felt when calling upon her newfound abilities. The wind and the rain smattered her hair into her argent cheeks. When she opened her eyes, the irises began to shift in hue.

Show me all that which we fear, the truest reflection.

Cordelia’s hair and clothes flew upwards in a brilliant display of power and pressure, the strands of her clothing coming apart at the seems revealing below them not skin nor flesh, but brilliant, glimmering possibility. It shone a bright blue, twinkling light a painted reflection of the night sky as details of her Parma started to sharpen into focus. Cordelia shot to her feet, trailing from her hand was what looked like a spinning thread of molten glass, slowly dangling around her as if it was a ribbon. The rain halted around her for a moment as the sound of cracking glass erupted from her, and the spinning thread took shape into the great sword known as Pridwen.
The massive blade stood nearly as tall as the Ars Magi herself. The length of the blade appeared to be made up of many different pieces of stained glass, perfectly crafted and honed to a dangerously sharp edge. As the details of her Parma honed into detail, the rain began to fall around her once more, the once Verdant unconfident eyes of a butler had now shifted to a yellowish cat’s eye glean that shone confidently in the moonlight. Her once simpler outfit now bursting out white, black, and blue with ribbons and crests too regal to be found on the typically reserved girl.

The biggest change, perhaps, was the now crescent moon grin, wide as could be and hungry. She hefted the magnificent great sword with a single hand reaching it up into the night sky, as if daring lightning to strike, before spinning it and plunging it into the Earth.

A pulse echoed out from it that expanded well past their target as Cordelia began to sense in the area just how much glass she was given. The grin only grew from there. All at once shards of glass all around the ruined battleground they were being thrust into, and in front of her team began to form into doorways made of piecemeal shards made up of just about any kind of glass you could think of. Sea glass, windshields, windows, mirrors, if it could reflect an image it began to rise into the air. One doorway was located by the pinned down team, another towards the redheaded Ars Magi Cordelia had watched get thrown into a wall. The third, however, shimmered magnificently above the humongous three-story mech.

Glass from the cityscape shot back over to Cordelia as well, just enough to create three doorways in front of her team. “First leads to the pinned team, second to the top of this mech, third to the pinned down Ars Magi. If you need a doorway once we’ve entered combat call for me over the radio with your location and I’ll do what I can.” Cordelia had transformed, in more ways than one. “Let’s do what we do best, once we’re done, we’ll see about that dance.”

Penny approached her just as she spread and stretched her legs, testing her ankles with little twirls. She grinned coquettishly back at Penny as her bespectacled teammate inquired about their relationship status, and leaned in to give an emphatic smooch to the Siscian girl's freckled cheek.

"Nahhh, we're like this," she confided, locking her index and middle fingers in a tight cross. "Thick as thieves always, Penny, you know that. Great firepower out there."

"Wha- hey!" Penny says, rubbing the cheek, blushing rather strongly, probably out of embarrassment. But then she breaks into a grin at Nichole's response.

"Hey, you know me," she replies. "Hit hard, hit fast, no mercy. You know what they say; when all you have is a hammer, everything else is a nail."

Her smile widened and she swung around on her perch, lifting up her legs and wrapping them around Cordelia's midsection. Nicole's right leg tucked between her midriff and her tightly drawn legs, wedged underneath her head protectively.

"You girls don't think I'm that jealous now, do you? Think I need to try and keep all the hotness to myself?" she asked the two nobles playfully. "You can dance if you want to, Cordy. All my best friends love to dance. Especially with each other."

Nichole was a shameless flirt, no doubt about it, Penny thought as she could barely contain a chuckle at Cordelia's predicament. Between Nichole and Dana, this team was a real ray of sunshine, even if Nichole can be quite teasing about it.

Cordelia’s voice faltered while she spoke in a way that was informative to how unused to speaking while laughing the young Ars Magi was. “I can imagine you and your bevy of men, women, probably even the nox would line up for a dance with you!” she managed between quick breaths. Her face carried forward, its smile and lightness this time. “Thank you,” she wrapped her arms around the leg pressed against her midriff. “I’ll be easier on myself, I promise.”

Cordelia watched as Dana responded to Aiya’s question, innocence incarnated on full display for all to see. It made her grin just that bit wider, and she laughed with the group at the name dropping of one Guardian Gunslinger Alexis. For a moment, Cordelia didn’t feel as though they were on a mission. It felt almost as if they were simply hanging out together. She relished in this. This moment of serenity admist the rain, and the ruins. Cordelia felt for the first time in a while that she was getting used to it. That she wasn't in combat. This conversation wasn't life or death. It was just a bit of fun.

She turned to Aiya, resolutely. “Whenever you want to dance, just let me know.” Her words were confident this time. “If you think you can handle me,” she added, trying to wink but only managing a slightly delayed blink.

"There ya go, you gotta be more confident in yourself," Penny adds, hefting her hammer onto her shoulder one-handed as though the giant gladius were a prop item. "You gotta take things easy, smile a bit more. You got a nice smile."

“Aren’t you the cutest.” Aiya replies to Dana, the dark-haired girl resting her chin in her hands as she casts a winning smile at the energetic Norban. “Don’t worry, you’re not doing anything wrong. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight.”

The girl’s chestnut gaze turns to Cordelia after, listening to the other girl’s musing with a careful gaze. “Cordy,” She says, appropriating Nicole’s nickname with not even a hint of hesitance, “You’re one of the most powerful, most important women in the world. You should enjoy it while you can.” Her lips split into a wide, almost wolfish grin at the girl’s offer. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Craning backward after, the dark-haired girl stretches her arms overhead and remarks, as if reading Nicole’s train of thought: “We should all dance,” She suggests, musing. “Maybe I’ll arrange a celebration, if we pass our little exercise.”

Penny can't help but grin. Aiya was as big a flirt as Nichole was, it's rather scary. You'd think a Duodecim would be more serious and cordial like Vanna, but it seems they come in all types. She's a strong fit for Nichole, and she can see how the two hit it off.

"As long as it's not a formal dress affair, it's fine with me," Penny comments.

And it’s the mention of that exercise, perhaps the reminder of it, that seems to break the tranquil spell that’s settled over the group.

“We’ve got a request for assistance. Webber’s group.” Says Garnier, the boy raising his head to motion toward his fellow officers. Both Aiya and Holst abandon their perches, huddling close around the communication equipment. The speak quickly between themselves, breaking after a hurried minute and turning back to their escort.

“One of our teams has run into a problem.” Holst explains shortly. “They’re requesting our assistance. It’s about a mile out, we’ve already got a route for you. Tell you more on route.” She tosses an earpiece to each of the Ars Magi, adding: “Go fast.”

"Webber?" Penny asks cautiously as her gaze turns to Dana. "You mean Noah Webber?"

She's clearly thinking of Dana's dance partner at the ball, though part of her wonders if Dima's there too. However, the request for aid and the haste required calls for speed, and Penny catches the earpiece, hurriedly puts it in, then starts rollerblading as fast as she can without straying too far from her teammates.

The Ars Magi find themselves at the mercy of the elements once more.

The route that Aiya’s squad has charted for them leads off the roof of the parking garage and on to that of a nearby building, and another after that, racing across the rubble-strewn rooftops of a long-ruined skyline. Ahead buzzes one of those triangular shaped objects that the officers had unpacked; a baseball-sized drone that leads the way. In the darkness it leaves a contrail of burning green light in its wake, a guiding beacon for the girls that follow.

Up high the wind is even more fierce, though the rain has slowed the veil of clouds has begun to part, illuminating the ruined district in the moon’s pale light. It’s still difficult to see the ground down below however, and the footing is uneasy on the shattered concrete the Ars Magi make their was across.

And then they see it.

It looms out of the darkness, easily three stories tall, but impossible to mistake for just another ruined building in a crumbling cityscape. It’s humanoid in shape, bipedal, two arms and two legs, though it eschews a head in exchange for a blocky central body. Its armor-plated body is gunmetal gray, illuminated by the garish red lights dotted over its massive frame. All along its frame are lined the weapons of war: machine-guns, missile pods, a dozen compartments filled with a dozen violent instruments.

Some of those instruments are currently in use. One of its arms, a massive cannon, glows with magitech energy as it discharges into the street bellow it.

Things do not look like they’re going well.

Penny ignores the driving rain; it's cold and uncomfortable, but they have someone to help. Besides, being an Ars Magi comes with more endurance and ability to weather the elements, so she doesn't complain. Besides, if her mom can do this day in and day out, who is she to complain? She uses her agility and rollerblading experience to skate around obstacles or over them, while trying to stay close to her teammates in case anything happens.

The real kicker is when they see the mecha. This was no small fry, this was a goddamn beast, tall as a building.

"Jesus, that's a big bitch," Penny mutters. "That's going to take quite a bit more to take down..."

She winces as Blair gets tossed like a ragdoll through a wall, but knows the Celtic girl can take more than that. Still, that the thing took Blair's strikes and barely noticed doesn't bode well for this group, her own dislike of Wagner aside.

"Yeah, this is clearly going to take more effort to take out than the previous two," she notes, studying the thing through her visor. She tries to spot any weak points, but realizes the size and bulk of the thing would make it harder to bring down. "And how much firepower does that thing have?! It's attacking in two-three-four different directions and not slowing down!"

“I’m going to give everyone quick access to the battlefield,” she spoke commandingly now. “Above our main target, and as close to both compromised parties as possible. These will be two-way doors I’m making, so if need be, they can be used for evacuation and then disabled.”

Penny turns to her silver-haired teammate, surprised at first, but then grinning at the possibilities.

"So we can sneak up on that thing or move quickly? Not bad," she says with a smirk. "Do your thing, Cordy! Let's start this off with a bang!"

Cordelia’s hair and clothes flew upwards in a brilliant display of power and pressure, the strands of her clothing coming apart at the seems revealing below them not skin nor flesh, but brilliant, glimmering possibility. It shone a bright blue, twinkling light a painted reflection of the night sky as details of her Parma started to sharpen into focus. Cordelia shot to her feet, trailing from her hand was what looked like a spinning thread of molten glass, slowly dangling around her as if it was a ribbon. The rain halted around her for a moment as the sound of cracking glass erupted from her, and the spinning thread took shape into the great sword known as Pridwen.
The massive blade stood nearly as tall as the Ars Magi herself. The length of the blade appeared to be made up of many different pieces of stained glass, perfectly crafted and honed to a dangerously sharp edge. As the details of her Parma honed into detail, the rain began to fall around her once more, the once Verdant unconfident eyes of a butler had now shifted to a yellowish cat’s eye glean that shone confidently in the moonlight. Her once simpler outfit now bursting out white, black, and blue with ribbons and crests too regal to be found on the typically reserved girl.

The biggest change, perhaps, was the now crescent moon grin, wide as could be and hungry. She hefted the magnificent great sword with a single hand reaching it up into the night sky, as if daring lightning to strike, before spinning it and plunging it into the Earth.

A pulse echoed out from it that expanded well past their target as Cordelia began to sense in the area just how much glass she was given. The grin only grew from there. All at once shards of glass all around the ruined battleground they were being thrust into, and in front of her team began to form into doorways made of piecemeal shards made up of just about any kind of glass you could think of. Sea glass, windshields, windows, mirrors, if it could reflect an image it began to rise into the air. One doorway was located by the pinned down team, another towards the redheaded Ars Magi Cordelia had watched get thrown into a wall. The third, however, shimmered magnificently above the humongous three-story mech.

Penny has to squint to withstand the glare of Cordelia's new transformation, surprised at the new trick her teammate pulled out. Part of her can't help but think of her old shows, before she forcibly quashes the notion, reminding herself that several lives were at stake and that they're going up against something that could splatter them across the landscape if they're not careful.

Glass from the cityscape shot back over to Cordelia as well, just enough to create three doorways in front of her team. “First leads to the pinned team, second to the top of this mech, third to the pinned down Ars Magi. If you need a doorway once we’ve entered combat call for me over the radio with your location and I’ll do what I can.” Cordelia had transformed, in more ways than one. “Let’s do what we do best, once we’re done, we’ll see about that dance.”

Penny grips Groß Eisen in both hands as the rocket begins warming up.

"Guess I'll take the second gate, if it's okay with you girls," she says, preparing herself. "Oh, and if Blair starts swearing at you, don't worry, that's just her way of saying 'hello'."

The rocket hammer then blasts, propelling Penny forwards at breakneck speeds as she disappears into the second portal, leaving a trail of crackling lightning behind her. She materializes a moment later above the giant mecha, boosting her speed as she comes down hard on the top of the giant war machine.

"Surprise, bitch!" she calls out cheerfully, slamming her hammer right on top of the thing full-force. "CANDYGRAM!"

---

“That’s good to hear!” Dana replied with a giggle when Aiya assured her she had nothing to worry about. The officer continued to make playful small talk with the rest of the group, ultimately suggesting that, once they’d aced their current exercise, she’d arrange for a little celebration. “Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun!” Dana agreed. “Don’t ya think, Penny?” she added with a mischievous grin.

A moment after the bespectacled girl gave her reply, Garnier’s voice sliced through the relaxed atmosphere like a sickle through a shaft of wheat.

Webber’s group…? Dana wondered as the three officers gathered to discuss the situation, her formerly light-hearted demeanor shifting to one of focused concern.

Penny clearly felt the same, as she shared an equally concerned glance with her roommate, while asking Garnier for additional clarification.

As it transpired, it was not Garnier, but rather Holst who responded, telling them that Webber’s team was in trouble and that speed was of the essence. Dana nodded as she grabbed the tossed earpiece, before racing out into the storm-lashed night once more…

---

As Team 3 sped across the rain-soaked rooftops, the officers’ small drone acting as a guide, Dana’s thoughts couldn’t help but turn towards Noah. While she had certainly wanted to team up with the burly cadet, this wasn’t exactly how she’d envisioned it happening. Although the drones weren’t programmed to kill, there was still the possibility, however unlikely, that something might cause that programming to be altered… Indeed, Dana reflected, this situation bore a rather worrying resemblance to one of her favorite episodes of Guardian Gunslinger Alexis, in which a legion of prototype combat drones, built to aid the hair trigger heroine, were turned against her by the eldritch technomancy of the evil Doktor Xylannis. Of course, that was just a work of fiction, Xylannis merely the product of someone’s exceptionally creative imagination, but who could truly say that the Voids didn’t possess such abilities as well? Or worse, what if the mysteriously absent Astrelle had been right, and there really was something sinister at work at the very heart of Nova Lux? If that were true, then Noah and his team were in very real danger…

The energetic Norban shook her head, forcing those unpleasant thoughts from her mind. No, this wasn’t the time to be worrying about improbable what-ifs. She needed to focus. Her team was relying on her, Noah was relying on her, and she couldn’t, wouldn’t, let them down.

The wind was fierce, the rain torrential, and the path treacherous, to say the least, yet still the squad of Ars Magi moved with great haste, each of them employing their unique elementum or specialized aspect of their parma to overcome the various obstacles that sought to hinder their progress. And Dana Noel was no exception. From the moment she’d leapt out of the parking garage, the irrepressible Norban had conjured a pathway of glowing stars to serve as stepping stones, a new star appearing the moment her foot left the star below her. With her footing secure, even the buffeting winds could do little to hinder her advance.

As they drew nearer to the imperiled team’s location, the rain began to taper off, while far above, powerful air currents rent the thick clouds asunder, allowing the pale glow of the moon to bathe the ruined landscape in an ethereal light. And it was by this light that they caught their first glimpse of their new foe…

“Holy crap…” Dana gasped, her eyes going wide. “That thing’s enormous!”

Yes, this, this was the real deal, a true giant robot. And despite its menacing aspect, Dana couldn’t help but marvel at how awesome it was. Of course, it would have been much more awesome if it was on their side, and as if to emphasize that point, it unleashed a stream of mighty blasts from its arm-mounted energy cannon. The increased illumination provided by the cannon’s fearsome bombardment revealed that its target was none other than Priya, who thankfully seemed to be avoiding the beams’ fury, albeit just barely… Moments later, a claymore wielding Ars Magi was sent flying through a nearby building by a kick from the titanic machine’s powerful leg. And there, further along the street was Noah. Dima appeared to be with him, along with Amanda and another officer she didn’t recognize. The quartet was being pinned down by six of the “smaller” drones, and seemed on the verge of being overrun.

“You can say that again,” Dana agreed when Penny observed that this thing would be a lot harder to take out than their previous opponents. “But just think how cool it’ll be when we clean its clock!” she added as a fierce smile spread across her face.

It was then that Cordelia spoke up, announcing that she would provide a means for their team to have quick access to every important location on the battlefield below. An instant later, and the former servant had fully transformed, her rain-slicked parma looking particularly resplendent in the moonlight’s soft glow. Gathering her power, along with seemingly every piece of glass in the vicinity, the azure-haired Ars Magi swiftly conjured two trios of portals for the team to make use of.

“Wow, Cordy, that’s incredible!” Dana marveled, her golden eyes glittering with excitement. “Thanks a lot!” she added, giving her newest teammate a big smile.

Penny unsurprisingly elected to make use of the portal directly above the giant war machine, and while Dana would have normally loved to remain on the rooftop to provide the pint-sized powerhouse with supporting fire, her concern for Noah (and certainly not her desire to fight alongside him) weighed far more heavily on the energetic Norban’s thoughts. “That’s fine by me, Penny,” she told her roommate. “You’ve totally got this!” she added, while giving the hammer wielding Ars Magi a confident thumbs up. “I’m gonna go help Noah’s group out!” she called to the rest of the team as she headed through the first portal. “If ya need any long-ranged support, just give me a shout!”

Upon reaching the other side of the enchanted doorway, Dana found herself standing in the midst of the pinned down squad. Not wasting a moment, she sent an array of glowing stars flying from her splayed fingers, which rapidly began firing incandescent beams of golden energy at the various attacking drones’ optical clusters. Simultaneously, she drew Shining Zenith from its holster and, giving the chrome-coated pistol a quick twirl, took careful aim and sent a super-charged beam straight through the chest of the nearest drone, the force of the blow knocking the crippled machine onto its back. “Hey guys!” she announced cheerily. “Need some help?”

Cordelia’s portals provide convenient gateways, doors of glass that allow her teammates to spill out onto the battlefield. They glimmer in the moonlight, shimmering beacons that signal Team 3’s arrival on the battlefield.

Similarly, the resounding crash of Penny’s hammer indicates that the tides may be changing. Not soon though, and not easily. Though sparks fly when she makes her impact, the imposing machine barely buckles under the weight of the blow. The crater-like dent left behind in its metal ‘head’ is concrete proof that Penny’s done some damage, but the monstrosity doesn’t seem to slow any for it.

Instead it shifts to the side, making Penny’s footing on its rain-slicked metal surface abruptly more precarious. The force and speed with which the machine moves is surprising, a sudden jerk to the left as its upper body becomes alarming vertical. The bulk of it swings toward the nearest building, a half-standing skyscraper, its upper body into the ruined building with intent the flatten Penny like a pancake against its surface—or at least force her to abandon her perch before that happens.

On the ground the team of pinned-down officers is surprised briefly by the appearance of Cordelia’s doorway. When Dana appears from the doorway, however, they quickly recognize this as a good thing. Especially when the gunslinging Ars Magi begins blinding and blasting the advancing squad of drones bearing down on them.

“Dana!” It takes a minute before the Norban is recognized is her parma, but it happens eventually. Noah leans out from behind the chunk of the building he’s hiding behind, waving energetically to catch her attention.

“Shoot these!”

These being a bandolier of grenades that the large boy lobs toward the lumbering machines. They soar through the air, oval-shaped magitech bombs primed with a dull blue light. They’d make hard targets for your average marksman—but Noah’s counting on Dana to be anything but that.

In the meantime Amanda continues to dutifully prevent the closer machines from reaching her charges, arrows of ice sending several more drones crashing to the ground. She leaves Dana to the sharpshooting, focusing on close-quarters defense and letting Dana take care of the larger chunk of machines.

"Wait, what?" Penny says in surprise as the mecha seems more annoyed than hurt by that last brutal attack. "Oh come, on, nothing?!"

Before she could wind up for another attack, she felt herself sway and struggle with her footing, the giant mecha trying to either shake her off or crush her against the nearby buildings.

"Oh, motherf*cker!" she swore, barely managing to regain control, skating down the giant machine as quickly as she can without tripping or getting splatted against a building. She barely managed to get off the metal behemoth, though a lucky swerve of the machine sent her flying into a pile of rubble with a resounding grunt of surprise and pain.

Penny growls as she helps herself out of the pile of rubble, spitting out some gravel she had accidentally ingested during her tumble.

"So you think you're hot stuff, you oversize tin can?" she grumbles, dusting herself with an aura of anger. "Guess what, asshole, I'm not done yet!"

---

Above the trinity of Ars Magi, an angel shimmered into being - shooting forth from a pool of splintered glass, a scarlet valkyrie flitted nimbly through the skies, dodging fire and weighing her fateful choices.

As Penny had gone for her most tried and true method of problem solving, and Dana's little body had swelled with determination to save her dance partner's group (uhh-dorable!) Nicole had elected to go draw fire from the beleaguered Priya and Blair. One was playing a game of evasion as best she could while the other tirelessly sawed at the war machine's limb like so much lumber; it was a potent combo in theory, especially against an opponent slow to recognize physical detriment, but as Nicole watched Blair hurtle into a pile of rubble and shake herself off, claymore still gripped in hand, she had to figure that it sucked for robots to lose legs too. The Ars Magi couldn't imagine she would have been too thrilled if anyone started hacking at her lovely legs with a pizza cutter.

With Blair momentarily taken out of the equation, the brunt of the mecha's assault fell upon Priya Khatri, glimmering like a vermillion bird on the ground below her. She was putting up a valiant hybrid attempt at offense and evasion, but neither were serving her much good without Blair to fight in tandem. Nicole put her superior speed and agility to work, crowing in exaggerated delight at the feeling of wind and rain whipping her hair behind her as she strafed closer to the mecha. It served her well for a time, although she could feel her Parma singing slightly at the occasional close call with a magitech blast that felt uncomfortably close to what she imagined plasma would look like.

She would file a complaint with the fashion police about it later.

It was still taxing work, but much as Priya and Blair had non-verbally communicated a gameplan, so too did Nicole and Penny - with the heady brew of brash confidence, never-say-die attitude and hoarse vulgarities that came naturally to Penny and made her beloved amongst her team, her teammate began hammering away at the robot and found at least moderate success. The craters that pocked the militaristic behemoth's surface like pores were proof that if you dumped mints into a magical girl, shook her up and dropped her from the mesosphere then the resulting boom would be enough to leave a hole in just about anything. But like Blair, Penny's fearless fighting style had been punished. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her bespectacled teammate slide from the side of the robot with only as much grace as she could afford, and her landing looked anything but soft.

Visibly, Nicole's flying changed.

What had been a focused, but harmless enough attempt at diverting magitech fire away from street level was suddenly whetted with malicious intent, as Nicole stuck her legs to the side and skidded to change direction as though she were skating on the air itself; though skateless, her long legs worked like serrated blades themselves, rending holes in the very air. Her eyes had changed too, her bright-eyed, guileless stare squinting, sharpening, and sucking what dim light the stormy evening afforded them. The hue around her figure made up for the warmth her gaze lacked; she glowed orange as a star, and with her right arm pointed to the heavens for succor, she resembled a creature of myth - bedecked in white samite like an angel or a faerie, with all the skies of the world as her lake.

"Whoa whoa, hey now," she muttered at the mecha in a tone of warning.

The winds swirled around her outstretched arm, and at their mistress' command they congealed to form a sabre. She saw Penny and Blair standing up as one, dusted off and ready to rejoin the fight, but first it would be up to Nicole to give them an opening - or rather, for Nicole to capitalize on the progress her forebears had made, and for them to stand on her shoulders in turn. That was why they put Ars Magi in teams.

And that was why Ars Magi always killed their monsters.

Mecha sense my power and seek the life essence.

More wind began to swirl around Vedfolnir, turning what was a slender limb and blade into the beginnings of a burgeoning tornado. Her gaze fell upon the robot's gimped left leg.

I do not avoid mecha.

Nicole's body curled up into a crescent as she wound back her right arm in a pitching motion--

But I do deny them my essence.

--and hurled, aiming her frustration and power at the rend in the war machine's limb, to teach it a valuable lesson about tossing around her girls.

---

After a moment of stunned silence in the the wake of her unexpected arrival, Noah was the first of the pinned down squad to greet Dana, before instructing the cheerful Norban to shoot a bandoleer of magitech grenades, which he hurled towards the advancing drones with all of his considerable strength.

“You got it!” Dana replied with a grin and a mischievous wink.

Tracking her target until it was directly over the center of the drones’ formation, the smiling sharpshooter snapped off several energy bolts in quick succession, hitting each of the silver spheres in turn. With the mystical power in her bolts supercharging the grenades’ already considerable destructive potential, their ensuing detonation was several times stronger than what would normally be the case. After shielding her eyes from the dazzlingly bright explosion, Dana took a moment to look over the sparking wreckage of the drones’ mangled forms, before jumping up and punching the air in triumph.

“Woohoo! Nice teamwork, Noah!” she cheered, giving the burly young man and his fellow cadets a victory sign. “So, uh, that portal leads to the roof of a nearby building,” the energetic Ars Magi noted, pointing her thumb at Cordelia’s shimmering mirror. “You guys wanna head to higher ground, or are ya good with stayin’ down here?” she asked. “Personally, I’m fine either way. Oh! And if anyone’s injured, just let me know and I’ll patch ya up!” she added with a friendly smile.

---

Penny quickly skates over to Blair, who had gotten out of the debris she had been thrown into.

"Hey Blair, you gonna sit around and let that oversize tin can do that to ya, or are you gonna make it regret it?" Penny teasingly asks the Scot, only to get a very rude gesture in return. She just grins; Blair's fine, just pissed at being smacked around like a bug. "So let's turn the tables on this thing and show it what Ars Magi can do working together.

"We need to work together, though. We need to move in quickly, but remember Instructor Xiang's words; dodge and weave, use agility and abilities," Penny says. "You go left, I go right, we hit that thing with physical strikes and ranged attacks, try and take the pressure off the rest until we can counterattack. Yeah, I know we're not the best at ranged attacks, we're assault specialists, but we can still throw the odd fireball or lightning strike around. We need to keep moving, and use cover and terrain to avoid that thing's heavy firepower.

"So, you ready to kick that thing's ass?" she asks Blair, lighting up her rocket hammer as she does so. She grins when Blair affirms angrily, glaring at the giant robot in the distance. "That's what I thought. So let's turn this fucker to scrap!"

She charges off on her rollerblades, skating and weaving between debris and ruins and avoiding the mecha's attacks, Blair close behind as the Gaelic Ars Magi uses blasts of fire from her boots to 'jump' long distances and even maneuver mid-air. The Siscian girl then jumps onto a nearby building and wall-skating on it as she zips around like a bug on meth, firing away blasts of lightning as she uses the momentum of her rocket boosts to keep skating. She primarily aims for the weapons systems, seeking to disable or fry them with electricity, though she imagines the antimagic technology would make that a tall order.

"Hey, shithead!" she calls out the mecha, though she doubts it can hear her, much less respond. "Over here!"

She starts maneuvering herself to get as close to the mecha as possible, using her agility to dodge attacks and jumps to switch from the street to the buildings, trying to keep the fight three-dimensional and giving the war machine's trackers and sensors a workout trying to keep up with her.

As Penny accelerates across the skyline she can hear the staccato gunfire following in her wake, charged magitech energy tearing into the ruined buildings just a few feet behind her. She can see Blair moving in parallel to her on the other side of the street, jets of fire propelling the girl in a sharp arc across the crumbling skyline. She too threads the needle of gunfire, shouting profanity as she rockets through the air.

Between blasts of electricity and gets of fire the massive robot’s weapon systems, turning pods and cannons to melted slag as the two Ars Magi work in tandem. The turrets and pods that line the surface of the machine are decommissioned one-by-one, its armaments disappearing one by one.

The machine does not stand for this for long, however. The barrel of its enormous rifle swings toward Penny, giving Priya and Nicole a reprieve from its blasts. Penny, unfortunately, is no longer so lucky. Energy swirls around the barrel of the cannon as it begins to charge, unleashing a beam of energy to chase after its tiny assailant.

Back on the ground there’s not much left of the advancing machines after the blast of the Dana-charged grenades envelopes the street, leaving only half-constructed husks of steel and broken concrete behind. Noah finds the time to give Dana a quick high-five as the group reassembles, flashing a bright grin toward their gunslinging savior. There’s a brief conference between the officers before a decision is made:

“We’ll retreat to the roof and do what we can.” Says Dima, making a quick motion toward the portal. The cadets proceed quickly after, vanishing through Cordelia’s doorway and assembling on the relative safety of the half-collapsed roof that the girl stands on.
Amanda lowers her bow as the officers make their retreat, the girl giving a short nod of acknowledgement to Dana.

“Come on.” She says, turning toward the towering figure of the war machine the other Ars Magi are engaging. “Let’s go.” She sets off at a quick jog afterward, drawing her bow back as she takes aim, a frosty arrow materializing on the string.

As she takes aim Nicole is already preparing her strike, wind whipping around her as she calls the font of her elemental power. Air ripples and distorts as she sends her strike toward the already damaged leg of the mecha, the force of her cut sheering through the hard metal shell of the giant weapon. She leaves behind exposed wires and a thin metal frame upon which the machine still balances precariously—until Priya, with a blade made of gleaming fire, flashes by to finish the last of the work with a final slash.

Without one of its supporting feet the machine begins immediately to topple, it’s great bulk tilting to the side. The goliath falls, its bulk crashing into and halfway through one of the ruined buildings nearby, a plume of dust and debris clouding the street from the impact.

As the machine struggles to right itself arrows begin to perforate its elongated ‘head’, bolts of freezing cold fired from Amanda’s bow. Frost begins to spiderweb across the surface of the machine, biting into the metal and forming crystals of ice across its surface.

“Grenoble! McKenzie! Smash it!” Calls the girl in white.

But the machine it isn’t done yet.

Not content to sit and wait for its deathblow one of the remaining pods on its shoulder, half-burnt and scarred from earlier impacts, opens up to reveal a silo of a dozen gleaming missiles. They take flight with a hiss, racing into the sky, contrails of smoke swirling behind. The projectiles arc sharply soon after, turning back downward, heading for the street and surrounding buildings. Several streak toward the officers on the rooftop, others toward the Ars Magi on the street below.

---

After exchanging an energetic high five with Dana, Noah joined the other officers in taking a moment to confer on their next course of action, ultimately deciding to make use of Cordelia’s portal to take up position on the nearby rooftop. Meanwhile, it appeared Amanda was preparing to join the fight against the giant mech and wanted Dana to tag along. “Roger that!” the sunny sharpshooter acknowledged with an eager grin. As the two Ars Magi ran down the rain-soaked street, they saw Nicole send a blast of wind slicing through the metallic titan’s already damaged leg. Coupled with a slash from Priya’s flaming sword, this caused the towering war machine to topple forward with a mighty crash. “Nice work Nicole!” Dana called out. “You, too, Priya!” However, their robotic foe quickly proved that it was still very much a threat by launching a salvo of missiles, which shot high into the sky, before arcing down to fall upon the officers and Ars Magi below. “Don’t worry guys!” Dana reassured her allies. “I got this!”

Summoning an array of glowing stars, the golden gunslinger took aim with Shining Zenith, before unleashing a lance of auric energy at the lead missile, her stars combining their smaller beams on two additional missiles. Once these initial targets were dealt with, they repeated the process on three more. In a matter of seconds, half of the incoming missiles had been taken out, but the rest were now getting dangerously close…

“Uh, guys?” Dana asked nervously. “I think I might need a little help…”

---

"Then it's help you'll get, beautiful," sang the wind.

Dana, as always, had done splendid work in thinning out the onslaught of missiles; it seemed to Nicole's eye as though half, maybe less, of the munitions the robot had unleashed in its death throes now remained intact and buzzing. That was more than enough to turn the average city block - and the average cute girl defending it - into cinders and craters. But this testing dump was no average city block - and Nicole and Dana were definitely not the average cuties.

With a wave at the direction of her team's sniper and her trainee cohorts, Nicole buzzed by parallel to the ground team, slowing her roll slightly, so that the intent tracking on the missiles would be tempted towards a similarly aerial target. The shift in their trajectories was barely perceptible, but it was there; enough for Nicole to grin in resigned triumph and began flying to evade again, kicking a little more speed out of her long, outstretched legs.

Penny proceeds to rush as fast as she can, barely outpacing the giant mecha's tracking systems, though she still has enough breathing room to fire off a blast of lightning at the mecha, taking out its weaponry on one side while Blair handled the other. Between them, Penny would say they're doing a good job taking out the giant mech's offensive capabilities.

Of course, the machine then makes the smart move to switch its attentions on the nuisances taking out its weaponry - which unfortunately for Penny, happens to be Penny herself.

"Well, of course it fucking would," Penny grumbles, now pouring on the speed trying to avoid getting vaporized by the sheer firepower thrown her way. "Motherfucking thing has a goddamn vendetta against me!"

She starts veering left, right, up and down, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and it's barely keeping the beam off her ass. If she isn't focusing on survival right now, she bets she could admire the sheer devastation the thing was inflicting on the ruined cityscape.

"I'd admire its determination," she grunts as she avoids yet another explosion, coasting off the shockwave to gain a bit more speed, "if it wasn't trying to turn me into a grease stain against the concrete!"

Another near-hit causes a massive blast that throws her off one rooftop and onto another, where she manages to regain her balance and tumbles almost skillfully back onto her feet, scraped and scuffed all over, but still in fighting shape. She spits as she wipes the dirt and grit off her face.

Fortunately, she finds reprieve as the machine is toppled through the combined efforts of Nichole and Priya, causing the massive thing to crash against several buildings, knocking a couple over and causing a plume of dust and debris to shoot up into the sky. She'd celebrate, but the thing is down, not out, even as Amanda and the other girls are trying to take it apart.

“Grenoble! McKenzie! Smash it!” Calls the girl in white.

"On it!" Penny replies on the comm as she races back towards the fallen metal titan. She dodges incoming fire and weaves between the vengeance blasts aimed at her, and then grabs a chunk of flying concrete, vaults over a missile, uses the concrete as a shield from the blast, and uses the shockwave to send her flying upwards. Jumping from one piece of flying debris to another, she ascends skywards, barely avoiding an airburst that nearly sends her hurtling on an uncontrolled trajectory. She quickly regains control, using her rocket blasts to stabilize her spinning. As she regains her focus, she finds herself hundreds of feet into the air, right above the toppled mecha. Now's her chance.

At her command, GroB Eisen fires up its rocket as lightning crackles around it, charging up its power even as it pulls Penny downwards in a reckless dive. As she goes further and further down, coming to earth as a runaway meteorite, she grips her giant hammer tightly as she charges it with power. Soon, she's enveloped in a terrifying display of lightning. She gives a mighty roaring warcry as she comes down as hard as she can at the mecha.

"KAISERSCHLAG!" she cries out. "STURM! UND! DRANG!"

She comes down on the giant warmachine, bringing with her the full wrath of the thunderstorm. Lightning strikes as her hammer hits metal, bright arcs of pure electrical power striking the target in a terrifying technicolor display.