Nessie opted out of Charlotte's guided tour given that it would've been but a hazy blur for her, much like everything else at that point. She even found difficulty in reading the sheet passed to her, containing the oh-so critical information of where she was supposed to be and when. All that was important to her at that moment, though, was where her bedroom was. She didn't even care who she was sharing it with, for all she knew and cared it could've been a gorilla; as soon as she had the building and door number, she was off, trudging along and occasionally terrifying the other students on the campus by shambling up to them like a zombie and asking for directions. Somehow she'd eventually made it to her and Lucette's new room, flumping on the closest bed to the door, unconscious before her head even hit the pillow.

It wasn't like she had any recollection of this at all once she woke up though, those hazy memories too clouded to recall now that she was at least somewhat refreshed. At least she remembered how and why she'd ended up at Marrywell in the first place, that definitely saved some awkwardness. Though, then again, it's not like one could ever forget the events of the day before, let alone the significance behind them.

However, there was barely any time for her to explore the academy's grounds further in lieu of her missing the tour the day before, as she found herself sent straight back to London for her first patrol duty, but she was far from alone in this. Lucette, who Nessie had found out was her new roommate almost immediately after waking, took charge of a group comprised of her, along with Olivia and Wilhelmina. A good opportunity for the redhead to get to know her new classmates, as well as to get the hang of the whole 'Magical Girl' thing obviously.

The four found themselves in a large city park, probably Hyde Park Nessie guessed, given its immense size, and it seemed like they'd come just at the right time. Given it was a weekday it didn't seem to be so busy, but the life that was scattered throughout didn't intrude on the natural serenity around them. In fact it added to the atmosphere if anything, and the clear blue sky that accompanied the bright sun was just the icing on the cake. Truly a lovely day.

Though it did feel odd to walk around so inconspicuously amongst normal people now; it felt to Nessie almost as though they ought not to blend in given their true natures, but that was nothing more than a passing feeling, one she was sure she'd get used to eventually.

Nessie took a moment to pause and think about a question before she took a seat on the grass next to her companions. There were so many but, as is usually the case, when prompted to ask one they all seemed to disperse from her mind like sand falling through your fingers. A few remained though, and one in particular that she'd been dying to ask since the beginning.

"What are those... things? The Pageless. I've never seen or heard of anything like them... and how can they...? And where do they...? Just- fuck, argh... what are they?!"

Nessie couldn't help but smile and laugh, her question inspiring more questions to a point that overwhelmed her, pushing her into hilarity. Her curiosity remained genuine though, and she would be surprised if the other two new students among them didn't also take interest in what Lucette had to say.

When her first day at Marrywell finally drew to a close, Olivia returned to her room, only to find that she was once again the sole occupant. According to the sheet she’d been given, her roommate was apparently named Suzuya Kuzunoha, but she had yet to actually meet her. As she readied herself for bed, Olivia pondered what kind of person Suzuya might be. There were seemingly endless possibilities, but, ultimately, the bespectacled girl just hoped her new roommate would be a friendly and accepting person, much like Helmi, Chinami, and Charlotte had been. Since no one else was around, Olivia decided to transform and chat with Xolys for a bit. However, the incongruous pair had barely been talking for ten minutes, when Suzuya made her appearance. For some reason, she was transformed as well, and Olivia recognized her as the fox girl from the previous night’s battle.

Predictably, Olivia was quick to begin introductions, and, while somewhat brusque, Suzuya still seemed to be a friendly sort (even going so far as to compliment Xolys!). After the Master of Xhar’doth gently informed her that her roommate looked exceptionally tired, Olivia profusely apologized for rambling, and prepared to turn in for the night herself. It was then that the azure-clad beauty realized why Suzuya had elected to sleep in her transformed state- she had all those fluffy tails! Indeed, the fox girl looked incredibly comfy, wrapped up in all that bushy fluff, and it wasn’t long before the wholesome sight had given Olivia an idea. Up until now, she had never been able to sleep while transformed, but now that she was here at Marrywell, she and Xolys could cuddle and snuggle for the entire night!

Changing her sparkling gown into a glittery silk robe with a simple sweep of her hand, Olivia wrapped herself in her blanket and snuggled up close to Xolys, who had assumed a smaller, more compact form, so as to actually fit on the bed. With the eldritch creature’s myriad tentacles curled around her in a loving embrace, Olivia had blissfully drifted off into the best night’s sleep she had ever experienced.

---

The next morning found Olivia fully rested and ready for whatever the new day held in store. Bidding Xolys a reluctant farewell for the time being, Olivia returned to her mundane form and set about her morning hygienic rituals. After that was breakfast, and a delicious one at that! Indeed, Olivia had never imagined a school cafeteria could offer such rich fare, and in such plentiful portions! Then it was time for the day’s first activity- a patrol though the city! Olivia could barely contain her excitement. Not only would she get to tour historic London, but she’d be able to make some new friends at the same time!

There were only two small disappointments. The first was that Xolys wouldn’t be able to accompany her, but Olivia quickly came to accept this admittedly small concession, since even she realized that the Master of Xhar’doth’s presence amongst of a group of mundane schoolgirls would be a rather alarming sight for any passersby to behold. The second disappointment came when team compositions were announced. Although Olivia had been hoping to be assigned to the team led by Chinami (and also including her roommate), she discovered that she would be joining Lucette’s team instead. On the bright side, Helmi would be with her, as would the new Magical Girl, Nessie was it? Buoyed by this knowledge, Olivia had cheerfully set out, eager to get to know her teammates even better and see all that her new home city had to offer.

One of the things it had to offer was a park, and as they strolled along its picturesque pathways, Lucette took the opportunity to give a small speech, illustrating that this was what they, as Magical Girls, were fighting to protect. The silver-haired girl went on to take a seat and ask if there were any questions. Nessie, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the first to speak up, inquiring about the Pageless. As it happened, Olivia also had some questions pertaining to that subject, and she decided this would be an excellent time to voice what she felt was the most important of them.

“I had a question about the Pageless, too!” Olivia spoke up once Lucette had answered Nessie’s inquiry. “Or, rather, about your personal experiences with them,” she clarified. “You’ve been a Magical Girl for quite a long time, right? So, um, what was the cutest, I-I mean, most interesting Pageless you’ve ever encountered?”

By the time Chinami had come back, Bonnie had already passed from fitful rest to actual sleep. The night passed, Bonnie's sleep uninterrupted by Chinami's words. But, hopefully, it could said that at least Chinami's well meaning offer blessed Bonnie with sweet dreams. Perhaps it was a small blessing that Bonnie never realized Chinami had seen her in such a disgraceful state, avoiding the distress that would inevitably bring.

A new day, fully recharged, and ready to oh no she was on a team with Camelot. Not only was she rooming with someone who overshadowed her entirely, she'd be going on missions with someone who overshadowed her entirely. Whose idea was it to put four melee girls on the same team?!? Ok, calm down, just be reasonable, maybe its an opportunity to... uh... something?

Suzuya spoke interrupting Bonnie's chance to internally panic, and a surprised smile made it onto Bonnie face. Yeah, this was nice, normal, magical girl stuff. "Thank you!" Bonnie nodded. "You were Burning Heart, right?" She thought back to her briefing on her teammates. "It was an honor to fight beside you as well."



What was going on? Tenzi hated Camelot? Oh no, did that mean Tenzi hated her even more since she was just a worse version of Camelot? And why was she being mean to Suzuya? Magical girls weren't supposed to be mean! Unless maybe, was Tenzi the tomboy Lancer of the group? Hmmm, but she had twintails, maybe the tsundere? Maybe she actually really liked Camelot. Wait, what was that about Camelot saying Bonnie should lead?

Bonnie was lost enough in worry that she very nearly walked into Camelot from behind as she transformed, cartwheeling her hands as she teetered on tiptoes, before managing to fall backwards.

"Get ready to fight, evil do- wait... um.. Are you not a bad guy..? Sorry I thought with the outfit and everything..." Bonnie looked back and forth between Camelot and Tsubasa after the transformation, assuming that a fight was about to begin, and nearly transformed herself, starting to shine with energy before she slowly realized that for now they were just talking.

Still, perhaps the shock of the confrontation or the moment of calling on Charlemange's power was enough to stir something within Bonnie's soul. Namely, she stopped thinking too much about herself.

"Hey, don't be mean to Suzuya and Chinami!" Bonnie walked over to Tenzi, and bapped her lightly on the back of the head (or at least attempting so, given Tenzi's martial skill). "Respect people's personal space!" Bonnie proceeded to bap all three of the attendants while the grown ups talked (hopefully they wouldn't be into that sort of thing). "Are you ok?" Bonnie took her jacket off, and wrapped it around Suzuya.

She felt like a vice was squeezing her head, more and more niggling annoyances popped up. First her trying to be nice was construed as bullying, she just gave a nervous girl a soda! How was that mean?! Then what she presumed was another magical girl popped up being deliberately obtuse and using flowery language began talking as if purposefully trying to frustrate Tesni. Tesni’s eyes started to glow with a golden light as her gaze met the moonlight orbs of Roma, while her hand in a claw like grip swiped at the ‘attendant’ closest to her to keep it at away at arm’s length.

“I have this strange feeling that you think I’m an idiot… and you’re not wrong. Not because I can’t think long and hard about something, but because all it ammounts to is coming up with complicated answers to problems with simple solutions. So, listen here little miss enigmatic, I had to do a lot of goddamn research to even try and understand my grimoire a little bit and even then, I now only know enough to say that I barely know anything. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling, when you're on the edge of a breakthrough, only to realise that you weren't even in the kiddy pool of how deep an ocean the topic you were about to get into was.

"Have you ever read Journey to the West? It is subtext disguised as an adventure, but from my basic understanding something is crystal clear to me. Everyone is ‘enslaved’ to the ‘wheel of fate’ from the day they are born. The very act of cultivating yourself and gaining enlightenment or the simply striving for the ambiguous concept of ‘power’ is an attempt to throw off the shackles of the mundane and follow the Dao towards some form of immortality.” Tesni felt her headache lessen as she explained sighing at the relief and felt her will get stronger, knowing that it didn’t matter what she faced, all she could do was tackle it head on.

“Each step along the Way, the Heavenly Dao will place tribulations along the path in an attempt to punish humanity that dares rebel against it. For having the ‘sheer arrogance’ of even attempting to defy what fate it has in store for us. It doesn’t matter if the tribulation is heaven sent like a bolt of lightning to smite me, or if it is mundane in nature like a group with machinations arrayed against me. I will defy fate. I will break my shackles. If I am imprisoned by fate, I will get strong enough to carry my prison with me as I walk along my path. If I fail along the way I cannot curse anything but my own weakness. If the wheel ‘shatters’ me as you say, then I can’t blame the wheel, only that I was fragile enough for it to break me.” Her eyes darted briefly across the road before coming back to meet Roma’s… then dimmed, not wanting them to sting for no good reason before having the most legitimate grin anyone in the group would have seen on Tesni’s face. Before glancing over at Chinami.

“I also disagree with you, Chinami. Change isn’t something that happens because you want it. Growth isn’t something you can stop. To live is to grow, so as long as we live, we will grow even if only a little, despite fate, or whatever illuminati bullshit you and creepy eye lady are hinting at. At the very least, I know I will. I’ll keep walking my path and live a selfish but fulfilling life. So I guess… I disagree with you both. Simple as that.” Tesni was in such a good mood she even let Bonnie smack the back of her head, she did tilt her head at just the right moment to make it seem like a very unsatisfying hit though, Tesni wasn’t feeling that nice.

“Hmmm, I think verbalising my pent-up thoughts and philosophies might just be the best thing for me. I feel so refreshed. Not that I feel particularly ‘obedient’ or anything, but refreshed. And not like my head is gonna split in two from sheer annoyance anymore. Thanks lady, if nothing else you’re a good one to vent at.” Stretching her arms out, Tesni rotated her shoulders, and an audible popping crack rang out... before Tesni bolted across the road, vaulted over parked taxi and spun kick what looked like a normal young man in a grey hoodie so hard he bounced off the wall he hit before crumpling to the ground, passersby gasping until Tesni rolled him over with her foot then kicked what looked like a gun away from him. Looking over at the group she raised an eyebrow at them, and hoping they understood the silent question of 'Isn't this meant to be a patrol?'

Surrounded and being touched was a very real nightmare for the Japanese woman warned of the horrors of crowded trains and blind crowds not lifting a finger. Velvet-clad fingers brushed through her hair and she quivered like a rabbit, trying to shrink away yet penned in from all sides. She was stifling her own voice, ingrained social standards not letting her embarrass herself by drawing attention when such serious business was going on a few feet away, and she prayed the attendants would have their fill of her hair and move on.

Her Grimoire was oddly accepting of this passivity, though it would become clear it not Suzuya it was feeling this for, but the dashing intervention of Bonnie. Three swift strikes the attendants were sent scurrying back, formed into a line as they bowed their heads in sheepish contrition while the blonde found herself enveloped in the warmth of a- dare she say, friend?- jacket.

"Hai... I mean, yes. I am alright." Suzuya said, pasting on a shaken smile as she leaned into Bonnie, thinking it wasn't all bad getting closer to people.



Roma's face was a picture of passivity as Tesni and Chinami replied to her declaration, the former with a resolve and self awareness she would not have expected the later with a degree of indecision that was entirely true to form. She was going to respond to the Monkey King's holder when she vaulted the entire street, foot first into a hoodlum doing a poor job of concealing an illegal firearm.

"It is not entirely surprising that of all people to defy expectations it would be Sun Wukong's heiress, though I would have thought she would require intoxicating libations to first loosen such wisdom from her tongue. I will have to reconsider my opinion of her closely." The statuesque bunny seemed to deflate, eyes drooping as though disappointed to admit such fault even from behind her raised fan. This feeling only became clearer at the mess her summons made for themselves and she knew she'd have to think of some form of creative punishment least they repeat this with every fluffy Magical Girl they come across.

But at the moment Chinami was the sole person before her and Tsubasa's focus sharpened, twin pools of moonlight not leaving the goth. "You misunderstand conspiracy for the legal definition, where a crime is implicit. I do not know if Merrywell is a nefarious institution or not, and it does not matter if it is. Eugenics as a political movement was done with the best of intentions for the human race yet it would have still wasted the potential of countless revolutionary thinkers based on the most surface of details."

"Tell me, when man throughout the ages sought out immortality. The wish to live forever untouched by time. Do you think they did so with the end goal of an eternity set upon a single task? We are quite literally beyond the ravages of age, able to accumulate such wisdom and experience as no other could, and most are convinced to lock themselves in a school that pays lip service to education while sending us out to die as soldiers in a war with no end."

The fan snapped shut and her hands fell to her side, a grip like iron around the accessory as she spoke with heat in her voice. Vitriol, disgust, and sorrow mixed into an undercurrent of passion she conveyed without her face able to express it. A mask of flesh that may as well have been carved from stone.

"Chinami, you chose to use your powers to help people. Even the Breaker of the Dao tries to do the same. It was a choice you made, to use your life for something more. Yet, what Magical Girl can choose to dedicate their life to the sciences? What Magical Girl can take up the brush and sweep the art world by storm and be a pillar for centuries to come? Who of any of us can choose to settle down and raise a family? Some may speak of the responsibility to use our powers to save those who can not save themselves, but is playing that inescapable role all we can aspire to?"

"I say no. The pageless are the enemy of life, but a life spent entombed inside a school with no graduation is condemning oneself to never begin to live in the first place. We have the potential to be leaders and advisors, doctors and teachers. We can grow past our eternal youth and claim a place in both worlds, if we only cast aside the shackles of immaturity and think to expand our borders."

There was a spark of some fervor in her eye, trying to reach across the space between them, but she felt the moment shatter as her attendant's head's snapped to the rooftop's and she opened her Magical Senses to find that their conversation was soon to be rudely interrupted.

The day ended on a satisfactory note. Olivia seemed to have enjoyed herself regardless of Wilhelmina's little hiccups, but maybe she was just as open-hearted as the dutch girl herself. She definitely was opposite of Wilhelmina in her taste, though. She seemed to actually enjoy ghost stories, not to mention how she spoke of that monster she summoned when in costume. How weird was that?! However... people liked all sorts of things. Sometimes, Wilhelmina could understand them, other times, she could not. This just happened to be a more extreme case of the latter, correct? She only needed to do her best...

Wondering about how she could make friends with Olivia when they were so opposite, she fell asleep on her bed thinking about the day along with the rest of the girls, too exhausted to speak with Tesni.

---

The next day, she got introduced to her new team... or half-new, maybe? She already knew Lucette as they have met nearly a year ago, exactly when she became a magical girl in that library. It seemed like such a long time ago and she had learned plenty of things about the world she did not know before. Some of them quite disheartening. Some of them uplifting. Her life changed ever since then as she moved into London, then got to know more about her powers along with herself. The day, then, seemed to be an extension of that: they were walking a park, looking at people along with the beauty of civilisation.

Of course, Lucette turned the opportunity into a lesson, causing Wilhelmina to smile as their companions asked two very good questions. Or rather, one good question with a slightly more off-beat one from Olivia. The girl really did give off a strange feeling, but that only made Wilhelmina strengthen her resolve before she responded with her own knowledge.

"Lucette is more knowledgeable than me, but from what I learned, Pageless are monsters that want to destroy stories. I'm not sure how they are born or why, but umm... maybe they're envious of us? I mean, there's so many stories out there, with their variations, connotations, meanings, overtones and undertones! So sometimes, it feels like they're jealous of our ability to create and make wonderful stories. Both as books and with our lives." She paused to let her words sink in for a moment and observe her audience's - including Lucette's - reaction.

"I think there's many other theories, too. Lucette, do you know more?" Of course, she turned towards her elder in the end with a bright, friendly smile.

@Sonnambula @Ponn @Villamvihar

Even a magical girl as senior as Lucette found it peculiar that she had two Alters assigned to her right now. Although it would be logical to deduce that as the world's population increased, so did the number of stories, which led to more grimoires and thus more magical girls, including Alters. Still, they were still quite rare in the grand scheme of things so her situation was still a notable fact, but regardless of their status, Lucy would treat them with the same respect as any other Merlin's crusaders.

The snow-haired 'teen' genially listened to her companions' questions, her lips pursed in silence as to not interrupt anyone and the attentive look in her light blue eyes clearly showed that she was all ears, not a single word was wasted on her. The first one to speak was the newest addition to Marywell, the redheaded Scot who wielded the hydrophilic power of Loch Ness. Considering the events merely two nights ago, Nessie’s question was not unexpected, that much was clear, but still a very good one nonetheless. As Sun Tzu once wrote in the Art of War, twas' utmost importance to both know oneself and one's enemies; their ancient conflict with the Pageless couldn't be categorized as anything else but a war, one that seemed to last in perpetuity.

The second student to speak was Olivia Bell, the only magical girl here whose transformed appearance contrasted greatly against her mundane self as the rest of the group possessed virtually similar hair color, iris hue, and complexion between their two halves. The ravenette curiously inquired about Lucette's own experience with their eternal enemy, although her slip of tongue was certainly worth some amount of concern. Surely even though Xolys looked monstrous, she wouldn't equate him with the Pageless, no? Xolys was a sapient being, while the Pageless were ravenous monsters driven only by instinct to devour and destroy. In fact, she felt a twang of pity for the tentacled entity, although perhaps it was rather misplaced and pointing that out to Olivia could offend her.

Finally, the second and last Alter of the group chimed in. Interestingly, she deigned to answer her comrades' questions instead of simply asking a question. A good thing in Lucette's eyes as this showed a couple of things worth noticing: first was that Wilhelmina was eager to learn, and second, she had the potential to be an excellent teacher in the future. Not all veteran magical girls made good teachers, such as Ozma, but those who do would always be honored for their important contribution, one that was no less important than fighting the Pageless; nurturing future generations to make sure humanity would always be protected from any malevolent otherworldly threats.

"A very good question, Nessie, and an equally good answer, Wilhelmina." The white-haired teacher finally spoke, addressing her juniors with their first names and without any titles so they'd feel more at ease with her. It was a valiant attempt by the old woman to connect with her younger peers, although it wasn't perfect as if one asked the students of Marywell, some of them would point out that there was a certain... gap that separated Lucette from them, one of those things difficult to explain with words but could be felt.

"The Pageless... our eternal enemy ever since time immemorial," Lucette began, "Girls, I need you to watch my hand, then see what manifests below..." She simply held out her right hand forward as sunlight caressed it, casting a shadow of similar shape on the grasses underneath, "Whenever there's light, there's shadow; light and dark, inseparable as they are. Now imagine said light is humanity and its collective history - stories - throughout our existence." She paused to let her words sink in, perhaps the girls could get an inkling at what she's hinting at now, regardless, she continued, "The Pageless is a manifestation of our shadow, the darkness to our light, and like moths to flames, they're attracted to us. In their world of darkness, the bright presence of humanity is simply irresistible to them."

A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she curled a forlorn smile, "However, we do not know exactly why they express themselves through violent means. Perhaps malevolence and brutality are all they know; the concept of peaceful coexistence may simply not exist in their alien psyche. They could be envious, hungry, angry, or may simply be curious, we may or may not ever find out, however, one thing is clear, they do not respect our right to live peacefully, thus as sentient beings, it's our right to defend ourselves against violence, no matter their motivation. Unfortunately, not everyone can adequately defend themselves, and that's why every single one of you girls are humanity's heroes, there can be no nobler goal than what we’ve put on our shoulders."

With the more important question addressed, Lucette figured it was time to humor Olivia's curiosity to her personal history, "I've been a magical girl for more than eight decades now, so I suppose that's indeed a long time, but certainly nowhere close to the longest," She rested a hand against her chin, digging through her memories, ”Most interesting Pageless, hmmm..." She had encountered a myriad of them over the decades; monsters and abominations of various shapes and sizes, and while many of them were terrible in their own right, it was difficult to pinpoint which one was most interesting.

It took Luciel a couple minutes of contemplation to finally remember one particular incident, "Well, there was this one encounter I had around ten years ago. During one of my routine night patrols, this... Pageless spawned near me, but curiously, it did not attack, at least, not right away," Lucette blinked once, genuine confusion on her face as she couldn't help but feel bewildered by the memory, even to this day, she hadn't found out why, "Bizarrely, this particular Pageless looked like... me, myself, yet... not exactly. She - It - had my eyes and build, but its hair was longer, much longer, reaching slightly past its lower back. It had a halo of black thorns, wore a quite revealing dress that left little to the imagination, and possessed Sefirot's wings, except colored black and dark blue instead. It was as if I was staring into a twisted reflection of myself, my shadow."

Lucette's blue eyes shifted to the ground for a moment, pondering, ruminating, before returning to look at her three students, "At first, I tried to fight it, but it mimicked everything I did; all of our attacks clashed and nothing was achieved except constant strings of ties. However, my mana wasn't limitless and though I could feel myself tiring, this... doppelganger stayed fresh. At that moment, I realized that I was fighting a battle of attrition that I could not win. I found myself at a loss until I decided to take a leap of faith. If it was going to mimic everything I do, then I simply... released my transformation. The moment I returned to my mundane self, the shadow did the same and it vanished. I never saw it again ever since..."

The short-haired girl chuckled dryly, "In hindsight, perhaps it was an incredibly risky move as there was no guarantee it wouldn't simply take the chance to overwhelm my untransformed self, but I am relieved that things turned out as they did." Thus, she concluded her little story of the "Most Interesting Pageless", she hoped it would entertain the girls, not just Olivia.

"Now then, I think it's time that we move on with our patrol." Lucy stood up, motioning for the trio to follow her again as she began walking away from the city park.

From dawn enamored the charge of Magical Girls remained the same no matter the generation: protecting the stories of the world from the Pageless. It was this duty that remained universal in their endeavors and why such patrols were necessary in the modern world. Tesni, for all her rough edges and blunt approaches, perhaps understood this best. She sprinted across the road to all but completely kick a hooded boy’s face off without a beat in her words. The difference in their strengths wouldn’t have mattered much when the embodiment of Sun Wukong was built like a tank. If she was concerned about the gasps of those around her, she didn’t much show it.

The boy, dazed as he was, revealed the hidden firearm that Tesni promptly showed off to her fellow Magical Girls and the newcomer. However, with the boy on his back, Tesni could see something else off about the would-be perpetrator. His eyes were hazed and glossed over with a familiar sickening sensation of negativity clouded about his body. Even sprawled out as he was there was little mistake the boy was under the influence of the Pageless. Perhaps that was why he was walking around with concealed firearms in London streets to begin with.

The people around him and Tesni backed away, their bodies moving on their own much the same as the Magical Girl’s. While their brains may have told them to rationally call any sort of authority on the scene, something primal awakened their instincts to flee the situation. The negative cloud only grew more and more, denser with Moonlight Tsubasa’s attendants pointing out the obvious right above them. There, high upon the rooftops above them, they came like crawling ants marching along the wall. Their movements were coordinated, slow and methodical as they descended.



The Pageless stopped their approach once they fully landed among the Magical Girls. The reports of the creatures becoming more aggressive lately was no doubt a buzzing reminder in the girls’ heads. But the Pageless didn’t move a muscle or an inch even as they stared down the group with unwavering beady eyes. Their position was noticeably much closer in proximity to Moonlight Tsubasa than any of the other girls and they made no move to attack. It was almost as if they were drawn to the newcomer; or they were waiting to be given a direct order from her.

All of this took place miles away from Lucette’s group in the park. It was almost to no surprise Nessie was placed among one of the eldest Magical Girls available to be tutored and taught. Knowledge of the Pageless was imparted on all the girls from Lucette, hopefully answering any questions or lingering doubts they had. Whatever the case, it would be downcast and trodden, literally, by the sunshine above dimming deeply. London weather was always prone to be fickle at best and horrid at its worse. Today was unfortunately no different.

Without warning the once bright imagery of the park became laden in shadow as rainclouds picked up and gathered high above. The noise of disgruntled and annoyed citizens filled the air and most of them packed up to leave behind what otherwise would have been a perfect day. It wasn’t long before the first drops of rain fell and with it the booming clasp of thunder and lighting too. But the air was charged with more than rainfall, the clouds overtaking not just the park but the city beyond. Another flash of lightning streaked the air for the Magical Girl group to see. There, very clearly but only briefly among the light, were two golden eyes looming down on citizen and Magical Girl alike. It disappeared in plain sight with only the lightning to reveal the Pageless’ dark presence among them.

---

Olivia listened with rapt interest as Lucette described the encounter with her sinister doppelgänger. “Gosh, that must have been incredibly unnerving!” the bespectacled brunette exclaimed once the story had concluded. “But that was really smart thinking, Miss Lucette!” she added with an excited smile. “What with deciding to detransform and all. Oh, but I guess that’s not too surprising, considering how experienced you are,” she conceded with a nasally giggle/snort. While the creature the veteran Magical Girl had fought didn’t sound particularly cute, it was certainly interesting to think about. For instance, what if Olivia were to face her own dark reflection? Would her darling Xolys also be duplicated, and if so, what would he look like? It was definitely something for her to think about _{and make sketches of}, but for now, it seemed that Lucette would be leading them onwards. However, they hadn’t even left the park when the peaceful and clear day abruptly changed it guise.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the formerly fair weather had shifted to far stormier conditions. A fierce wind howled, propelling ominous thunderheads, while luminous, serpentine tendrils of jagged lightning darted through the charged atmosphere. And as it soon became glaringly apparent, the increasingly hostile meteorological conditions would be the least of the quartet’s worries, as each flash of lightning illuminated the menacing shape of a towering figure, which loomed out of the roiling clouds…

“Achoo!” Olivia sneezed as the rising wind agitated her allergies. “W-Wow, the weather changes so quickly here!” she marveled, before gasping at the sight of the monolithic Pageless. “T-Then again, maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with the weather at all…”

As sheets of torrential rain fell upon the foursome, a shivering Olivia closed her eyes in concentration, focusing on the power locked deep within herself, the power bestowed upon her by a tale as old as time…

---

In a flash of azure light, the scrawny, bespectacled brunette was transformed into a stunning blonde maiden of surpassing beauty, and beside her towered the nightmarish form of Thyerg’Xolys, eldritch Master of Xhar’doth.

“Please stay behind me, my sweet,” the Lovecraftian beast instructed as he moved forward to place himself between his beloved beauty and the looming Pageless. “You as well, Miss Wilhelmina,” he added, mindful of the fact that the maritime maiden lacked much direct combat ability. “As long as you remain at my dearest Olivia’s side, you shall come to no harm.”

“Thank you darling!” Olivia gushed, while clasping her hands over her heart. “I just know we have nothing to fear, now that you’re here to protect us! Oh!” she added, turning her attention to Wilhelmina. “Are you perhaps going to summon some of your ghost sailors now?!” she inquired eagerly. “I would very much like to take a closer look at them, if it isn’t too much trouble, of course!”

Wilhelmina listened closely to Lucette's explanation, going over it in her head as the older grimoire wielder talked. It sounded quite profound, especially as she held her hand out to show how the Sun's light cast a shadow and how that translated metaphorically into the Pageless, however, was it truly the case? Young she might have been, but Wilhelmina had her own thoughts about the monsters along with what they represented. Going for a symbolic light and darkness dynamic certainly felt valid, save for one question: What of magical girls, then? If humanity's stories were light, then they did not fit into the picture.

Perhaps another explanation could be found. Neither hers, nor the older girl's seemed to fit the picture completely and Wilhelmina had to admit, despite her expertise in various narratives, she only had a schoolgirl's knowledge about most other matters. So maybe the question would prove itself too difficult to answer regardless of all effort expended.

Regardless of the young blonde's many thoughts and feelings, Lucette moved on to explain a rather peculiar Pageless in response to Olivia's question. Normally, Wilhelmina would shrink from such things, but this one did pique her interest as Lucette explained it. It reflected exactly the nature of the experienced veteran's explanation about the Pageless being a reflection. After all, she fought her metaphorical reflection in that place, only to be rescued by her admittedly dangerous move. A very fine example of what she talked about, now that Wilhelmina thought about it.

"It's exactly like your explanation about the Pageless!" She noted with a smile when the older girl finished her story. "It was literally your reflection. Well, dressed in black and all creepy, but it was your reflection." She let out a light laughter as she figured it out. "I wonder why it disappeared once you detransformed though. I mean, it's great that it did, but if it is a reflection, it doesn't make any sense, does it? Maybe... maybe because it makes for a good story? I see this a lot in fantasy stories. You know, when the hero has to face their evil reflection! Or their own doubts disguised as their evil reflection. It's a really nice story element, because it makes you think."

Indeed. And while it was risky, exactly as Olivia pointed out, detransforming solved the problem, so all turned out right in the end. Exactly like in most stories: Then they lived happily ever after.

However, before she could share her insight into this, Wilhelmina felt a chill down her spine... and she was not the only one as the skies darkened. The clouds gathered. Rain fell, thunder blossoming close to the chest of foreboding messengers before it spread itself out as lightning, illuminating the skies. Almost as though it wished to spell out a message, it echoed within the hearts of the girls around her, pulsing with something all too familiar. Something that towered over them with an evil glint in its eyes and made Wilhelmina freeze in her tracks as she caught its glimpse.

Even on the best of days, she did not like the Pageless. But this truly went beyond the pale. Even though she could only see a fraction of it, her blood felt as though it turned into poisoned icicles. Her spine threatened to crack itself into pieces. Her throat wrapped around its own diaphragm to choke her. She felt as though she could not breathe, her ribs along with her lungs rigid. Filled with terror.

Olivia - and Thyerg'Xolis, as much as she hated to admit it - snapped her out of it.

"R-right! T-thank you!" Wilhelmina could not hide her pale face along with her trembling hands even if she tried, but she gathered all of her courage and reached for her power. Holding close to herself the hope along with the message of her story, she made it real as golden light blossomed around her, reaching out with its gentle rays to banish the evil. The skies ligthened ever-so-slightly due to her influence, almost as though hope peeked from behind the rumbling clouds.

"O-oaths, p-please! J-just swear on something or swear to do something and I can bless you!" Trying to ignore the uncertainty in her hands, Wilhelmina brought them to her chest to gather her power, then give it over to her allies. For even if fear ran in her veins, even if the dark skies threatened to overtake the lost and forgotten... Captain Goodhope would stand tall against the waves.

"Good. Let's take a moment, ok?" Bonnie guided Suzuya over to a nearby bench and sat down beside her, speaking softly.

Bonnie stayed with Suzuya as everyone else launched into debate. Her head was swimming with all the perspectives on display, but she wanted to stay solid for Suzuya right now. As the Pageless appeared, Bonnie gave a reassuring shoulder rub, and whispered, "You can sit this one out if you like."

"I don't know about the future, but I know right now my heart wants to fight." Bonnie begins shining as she stares at Roma. A spotlight shines over her as if she were on stage. Then her eyes drift over to her companions, as a flower materializes in her hands, held to her lips. "There are too many beautiful things in this world to worry about whose responsibility it is to defend them." She dramatically tosses the sparkling flower into the sky whose petals fall, like the shower above a wedded couple. By the time gazes fall back down to Bonnie from the eyecatching flower, the transformation into Lilac Shimmer is already complete, and with a spin, the illusions of petals scatter to the wind as a Magical Girl stands ready for battle.

"Another time, there's battle to be done." Lilac returns her gaze to Roma, dismissing her words for now, before gazing to the sky to face the Pageless.

~Alright, that should be what to say if she's like, she's the type whose's gonna play coy before helping... Wait, I hope she didn't, like, summon the bad guys, and I'm about to get hit while I'm dramatically staring skyward.~ Lilac's eyes drop from the Pageless for a moment to nervously glance around everyone, even as she holds her chin high as if she's still looking up.

"Ahhh, it's all gone tocachu hwch." The crude curse sprung from Tesni’s lips. Reaching down she grabbed the ‘mugger’ by the collar and tossed him at the fleeing crowed.

"Don’t forget this asshole you fuckin’ idiots! Fuck, fuck fuck…" she buried her face in her hands, not out of any despair or fear. Simply out of sheer annoyance at the fact the swarm of Pageless were probably all over the city and more than that... she was going to have to actively try to not break any buildings.

“Fuck it, you know what, fuck it. Do what you can and don’t stress about what you can’t…” taking a deep breath she started walking back across the road to where the rest of the girls were and more importantly… where the enigmatic lady stood, the lady the Pageless appeared to be at the very least paying attention to, even when there was plenty of people and magical girls around to attack.

“The divine root conceives, its source revealed; Mind and nature nurtured, the Great Dao is born.” as her foot fell, a golden ring rippled out on the ground, the faint chorus of ancient Chinese instruments announcing her transformation. It floated upward around her, transforming her as it passed, stopping at her forehead and contracted in making a golden circlet before fading away. Now in full Magical Girl regalia, Tesni reached behind her ear for a toothpick, twirled it between her fingers and had it expand into her staff and slung it over her shoulders.

"Okay Magical Babies, focus or you'll get done in by gross little Pageless~! I'll tell you what; if you don't feel like fighting I promise I'll take care of them all for you. Keep in mind the more I have to take care of on my own, the less careful I can be with my attacks. So I hope you don't have a favourite restaurant nearby~!" Tesni’s eyes were glimmering with excitement, this was a challenge. There was no fear in her grin, no change in her stride. Her eyes darted around, absorbing all she could about her surroundings and then she licked her lips. Suddenly there was a golden blur as she swung her staff down over head it expanding in length, as if she were simply chopping wood, right at the crowd of Pageless… and more importantly right where Roma stood. There was a ripping sound as it tore through the air, as if the natural physics of the world was struggling to account for her weapon the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

A line of thought so simple it was absurd led Tesni to this action; ‘If Miss Enigmatic is an ally she will dodge. If she is not, either she will block and save her subordinates or a Pageless would protect her... and if this is enough to take her out, well what good would she be in a fight?’ This basic deduction would only last for as long as this skirmish lasted, but it was important to determine if you were going to get stabbed in the back.

Though Lucette's answer was decidedly more sensical, informed and intriguing than Wilhelmina's, both answers got an appreciative smile from the curious Nessie, as new information pieced together in her mind to finally give her a proper idea of what they were up against, and why they were up against it. The senior magical girl's story of her self-proclaimed 'most interesting encounter' also did not disappoint. The initial shock on Nessie's face, after realising their group leader was perhaps around a century older than her appearance suggested -whatever skin lotion Lucette was using, she needed it-, gradually creased more and more into a look of utter bewilderment across the redhead's countenance as the story was told.

"Holy shit..." Was all Nessie could manage, an exhale of a mutter in the silence after the tense conclusion of Lucette's recollection. After all that, of course, only more questions were uncovered in the process of her previous ones being answered, but those could wait. Maybe she'd even find out some answers herself today.

As though a response to her very thoughts, no sooner than when the group was ready to move on, did the clouds rolls like a jagged blanket to cover the once-blue sky. Now there was no need for Lucette to demonstrate the contrast between light and shadow. The shadow had come. And, for now, there was little light to be seen. Rain harshly showered over the city, darkening all that it touched and soaking any who would brave the storm unprotected. Though that was nothing compared to the intensity of the lightning strikes that pierced through cloud and tore into unseen locations, creating an ominous resonance that echoed through Nessie like a sinister alarm. It's not like she wasn't used to it, after all she was from Scotland for christ's sake, but something about lightning always felt... unnerving to her.

If that hadn't made her stomach drop though then what lurked above, shown only in brief flashes from forks of lightning around it, definitely did. A pair of giant, coin-like golden eyes staring down at them. At everyone in the city. The complete lack of spirit and emotion in them, their unflinching nature, made them about as far from being human as could possibly be. And so little doubt was left in Nessie's mind as to what exactly this creature was. But things were different now. She didn't have to run away or cower, and neither did she feel like it. In fact, if anything, she felt a certain sense of excitement. This wasn't just a chance to get to grips more with her powers, but it was also an opportunity to kick some ass with her comrades. There was something so exhilarating about that to the young Scot.

Closing her eyes, Nessie conjured the image of her grimoire and witch attire in her mind, focussing on it from a meditative angle and keeping completely still. As a light filled her mind's eye, the rain which poured down around her suddenly changed the direction of their streams, converging and spiralling around her, practically engulfing the girl, before bursting away to reveal her transformed state and outfit below. She stepped to her teammates' sides, broomstick materialising in her grip as she turned to each in turn with an enthusiastic grin, defiant of the presence of those looming eyes above them.

"So, where does this one rank in your 'most interesting Pageless' encounters then?"

She joshed Lucette, turning to her with a cheeky sideward glance.

"Alright, let's do this!" Lilac heard Tesni transforming and assumed everything was cool now. All the magical girls were gonna beat up the Pageless and everything was gonna be cool! Definitely no misunderstandings and infighting was gonna happen.

Lilac launched into action, leaping up the walls of the tallest nearby building, jumping up from windowsill to windowsill in a zigzag up the side. As the Pageless crawled their way down the side, Lilac slammed into them with bullheaded force, arms spread wide to catch as many as she could. Rank upon rank of them got piled together into a great mush, weighing down upon Lilac. But she smiled under their weight as her ascent came to a stop, and planted her feet against the building, pushing off and pulling a chunk of their forces off the building and into the open air. For a moment, her momentum kept them skybound, but gravity was calling.

She didn't have any great powers, but like, she could still call her attacks whatever she liked, right? Stories were things of creativity, and that was surely what gave magical girls their strength. To use stale attacks would surely be against the principle of being a magical girl. So, even under the mass of clawing Pageless, Lilac called out, drawing on her inspiration and creativity. "Heavenly!" She rotated in the air somehow, pointing the writhing mass of Pageless she had grabbed below her. "Lilac!" She began falling, twisting and picking up speed as she did, stray Pageless getting thrown from the mass and smashing into buildings. "Drill!" Bonnie slams into the street with all her built up momentum, smashing the Pageless against the unforgiving concrete, while using them to soften her own fall.

Still, the Pageless were nothing if not durable against conventional attacks. If mere simple impacts could defeat them, there would be no need for magical girls. While Lilac had severely damaged, stunned, or disoriented most of the Pageless she had just hit, quite a few of them were still in fighting trim. Lilac quickly found herself wrestling with those who had made it out of her Heavenly Lilac Drill more or less intact by being cushioned by their fellows. "I would like to- ORAH- rescind my line about sitting this one out, help!" She called for aid as she chucked a Pageless over her shoulder into a nearby bin.

Perhaps fortunately, she didn't notice anything Dyansty Queen was doing at the moment.

Weren't we supposed to be on patrol? What the actual fuck is this?

Such was the dominating thought in Camelot's mind, as she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration, listening to Tesni's surprisingly philosophical response. "You're not an idiot, Tesni," Camelot eventually spoke up, opening her eyes. "In fact, you're rather talented, brimming with potential, both realized and otherwise." And that was exactly why she didn't particularly like her. It all seemed like such a waste for someone so aggressive and impulsive to wield such powerful abilities. That said, she could vaguely understand the context behind that attitude. "I think you might be reading a bit too far into a mere story, but then again, it's your Grimoire, not mine. You'd likely know it best. Your approach to life is respectable regardless; yet, you are objectively incorrect in regards to change."

Camelot placed one armored hand on her chin. "While it would seem that change can be forced on someone, ultimately, this is an illusion. At the end of the day, change is perhaps also known as a form of 'natural selection'. Only those that choose to change move forward and prosper; while those that stubbornly cling to obsolete and self-destructive mindsets inevitably perish or languish in stagnation in some manner or another. Thus, change is always a choice. After all, Sun Wukong didn't have to change when he was imprisoned by Buddha. He could have stayed stubborn, stayed true to his pride and perhaps broken free at some point... but most likely withered away. Instead, he chose to grasp the opportunity for self-reflection and became better than he once was, enough so that he was given a chance once more. One could posit that what he had was merely the illusion of choice, but that is not so, just as it is never truly so in real life."

It seemed overall that Tesni had... strangely calmed down... to a frankly unnerving degree. The abrupt philosophical zen that overcame her was something that Camelot could only attribute to potential Grimoire interference. Or perhaps she'd always been that way, and Camelot's distance from her had simply kept her from noticing? Whatever the case, Camelot was just happy that Tesni had managed to seemingly shrug off Tsubasa's verbal bait. Now that things were starting to deescalate, she could finally ge-

Bonnie bafflingly decided now was the best time to actually hit Tesni, smacking her right across the back of the head. Chinami sucked in a quiet breath, as Tesni tilted her head preemptively, blunting the strike somewhat. Yet still, the idea of things getting out of hand again? "Bonnie!" Camelot couldn't help snapping out, genuinely shocked at such behavior from her senior. Gritting her teeth, Camelot clenched her jaw and managed to dial her tone back to a level one, before she drawled out, "All Tesni used were words. Can you honestly tell me it is in any way appropriate to escalate to actual physical force in this situation, in front of both a 'guest' and our new junior? Really?"

Especially against someone you can't beat if she decides to respond in kind, Camelot tactfully refrained from adding. Perhaps her reaction might have sounded overblown, but Camelot wasn't about to allow bad habits like these, which were ultimately toxic to a healthy team relationship, to build up momentum. The last thing any of them should be encouraging is resorting to physical violence -no matter how mild- to settle disagreements with people who were supposed to be close comrades.

As Bonnie led Suzuya away and Tesni abruptly darted out of the alley to inflict herself upon an apparent would-be mugger, Camelot shook her head and rolled her jaw, reconstituting her prior line of thought. All of this... debate was ultimately poorly timed and placed, and it had all primarily gotten out of hand at the behest of this "Moonlight Tsubasa". Speaking of which, what the hell was the rabbit-eared Magical Girl's deal? She'd shown up out of nowhere and started chatting them up with this strangely philosophical series of statements... and Anti-Ministry ones at that. While Camelot was inclined to agree with her to a degree, this was simply not the time or place for this. They were supposed to be on patrol, supposed to be providing the newest Magical Girl among them with a positive introduction to the magical world.

Instead, their team cohesion was under concentrated assault... whether deliberately or not. Frankly, Tsubasa seemed far too well-spoken and composed to not realize what kind of disruptive effect she was having here, so Camelot was not exactly feeling all that positively inclined towards her at present. Frankly, between having her unwanted authority threatened and then the mental derail that Tsubasa seemed to be trying to induce in all of them, Camelot was now in a position to posit that this apparent possible "enemy of my enemy"... was not in fact her friend.

"And you," Camelot turned back towards Moonlight Tsubasa, all traces of cordiality absent from her tone and expression, as her steel gauntlets creaked audibly from clenched fists. She took in the statuesque Magical Girl's statements and set her jaw. "First off, the last thing you should be doing is comparing eugenics of all things to the here and now; I refuse to even humor that line of discussion. Secondly, I'll admit agelessness is a daunting concept, and however unwise it may be, I've chosen to simply live in the here and now, helping who I can and not worrying about who I can't. Being obsessed with the future and the long game can be just as destructive as anything else. Thirdly, I already aspire to more than some bland forever life in an academy. Why in the world would anyone want to subject themselves to an eternity of stagnation is beyond me. Such aspirations aren't quite yet practical to the here and now, but I most certainly have them and hold them dear. That said..."

Her azure eyes narrowed. "What exactly were you hoping to accomplish by doing this? Actually, no." She shook her head. "The reality is that I don't care. Objectively, what you have done is disrupt what was supposed to be a brand new Magical Girl's wonderful first day and introduction to the job. All you have done is interrupt my work as her guide and exacerbate the issues with team cohesion that I was in the process of handling," she ground out. "Your timing and approach would have to struggle to be worse, but I can admit to being fool enough to take the bait out of... clearly misguided politeness. As things are, however, I have a job to do, one you are impeding, so... you need to leave, Lady Tsubasa. Now."

Whatever else she may have intended to add was interrupted by a cold chill crawling up her spine, and Camelot stiffened up at the all too familiar sensation in unison with Moonlight Tsubasa. Her head snapped towards the swelling filthy miasma seeping out of the downed would-be mugger beside Tesni, the sight of which sparked the idea that this "mugger" was perhaps guiltless, a victim of Pageless influence. Whatever the case, thankfully, said mugger(?) was the only civilian to remain in the area, the others rapidly clearing out in the face of the subconscious sensation of approaching dread.

Speaking of which.

"Transformations! Quickly," Camelot rattled off to her team, focusing on her mystical senses. The enemy numbered approximately a dozen, give or take; however, between the flares of her comrades' transformations... and a great ominous swelling of fell magics in the distance, the situation was clear. "Another Apex type? So soon?" she grit out in consternation, even as another worrying thought occurred. A mere dozen or so Pageless was basically worth less than nothing in the face of five magical girls; they wouldn't even slow them down... which was odd. Given the increased aggression of the dark creatures of late, Camelot couldn't fathom why so few of them were here. They certainly possessed enough of an animalistic instinct to wait until the odds were ostensibly in their favor before striking.

Camelot didn't know where Pageless came from, but perhaps whatever passed for their daily energy budget (assuming they drew from one) had simply allocated the vast majority of the day's energy into a truly monstrous foe. In which case... the city was in grave danger where her team currently wasn't. They needed to finish up here quickly, and yet, a note of paranoia -or perhaps instinct- niggled at Camelot's mind due to the odd behavior of these Pageless.

It was more this behavior than their low numbers that unnerved her. While one might perhaps be able to assume some vague malice on the part of Tsubasa in possibly drawing them here, Camelot had already encountered mere days ago a Magical Girl, Olivia, who could pacify the dark creatures with her abilities. Such an ability seemed uncommon, but there was no reason to assume Tsubasa couldn't have one as well. This, of course, was assuming the behavior of the Pageless had anything to do with Moonlight Tsubasa to begin with. Instead of hunting the people, they were focused on the Magical Girls, which was already unusual. Even more bizarre was the fact that so many potential victims had been allowed to flee the area instead of having their minds snagged by the Pageless's dark magic. Camelot spoke up in warning, "Wait, don't attack yet! This is unusual, and these Pageless might have some sort of gimmick."

Too late.

Bonnie and Tesni had already transformed, and the former quite literally leapt into action; Camelot was slowly starting to understand why perhaps Lilac Shimmer hadn't been chosen to lead this sub-team, given the shockingly impulsive way she'd been acting. Unfortunately, Camelot wasn't in much of a position to worry about that... when Dynasty Queen extended Ruyi Jingu Bang and swung it down from overhead, the legendary staff ripping the air with its passage right towards the Pageless... and Tsubasa, and Dynasty Queen seemed quite fully and unreservedly committed to the strike. Camelot's blood went cold at the sight. She's couldn't remember the exact weight of the damned thing, but she knew it was in the realm of 17,000 lbs, an amount that received a considerable level of force multiplication from being whipped around at high speeds.

Moonlight Tsubasa had "projections". She also seemed to have an ability that potentially pacified Pageless. Between the two, it was easy to assume that she was a fragile support type like Wilhelmina, one that was not overtly strong or durable. A strike like this... could easily kill her without question. Hell, even Camelot wouldn't be able to take such a hit head on without suffering for it.

Her perceptions of the world slowing as far as she could push them, Camelot's body was already instinctively turning, as she accelerated towards Tsubasa, the pavement fissuring around the divots left by her feet. She didn't draw Excalibur; that would waste precious moments, and she had no real hope of deflecting Tesni's strike to begin with, even with her own strength. As galling as it was to admit, the gulf between their physical strength was more substantial than she'd like, even without accounting for the staff's weight. Besides which, she wanted to save Excalibur's blinding effect for when it was more necessary if at all possible, and these Pageless had yet to present themselves as valid enough threats to warrant her guzzling mana. They'd been relatively passive, and the potential hostages had already fled the area.

Sprinting low to the ground, as Ruyi Jingu Bang inched ever so ominously and inexorably closer to its would-be victim, Camelot grit her teeth and lunged, looking to wrap her arms around the waist of Moonlight Tsubasa and bear them both safely from the strike zone. She had no need to hold back much with her speed in this case, as she was thankfully dealing with moving a fellow Magical Girl, someone innately far less fragile than a normal human. As such, her speed was enough that, to most, she was little more than a flickering blur, her boots skidding with a par of twin screeches of metal against pavement to bleed momentum after her sudden movement.

This time, in the face of such an egregiously irresponsible and possibly malicious action, she couldn't hold back, as she bellowed, "DYNASTY QUEEN, what the hell?!"

@Sonnambula @Ponn @Villamvihar

"Hmmm..." Blue irises shifted up as she felt the telltale signs of droplets falling on her hair and skin, and so began the most common type of weather in Greater London, although her magical senses informed that there was something... off with this particular rain, like it was heralding the arrival of the anathema of all things good and bright. "Pageless..." Lucette murmured even before she caught visual confirmation of the looming pair of eyes partially veiled by the foggy clouds above; in doing so, she practically confirmed Olivia's musing, Wilhelmina's worry, and Nessie's zeal.

In a pseudo-hiveminded tandem with the group, Lucette grasped the winged golden pendant resting on her sternum, muttering a barely-audible prayer in Hebrew, then tilted her head up slightly, eyes closed, and her hair and clothes fluttered as a gust of supernatural wind lifted her feet a few inches off the grassy ground; swirls of bright auric light enveloped the old magical girl as her mundane apparel disintegrated into golden particles, leaving her bare for a brief moment before the very same light coalesced to shape her pure white-gold seraphic ensemble. The moment she opened her eyes, the dark circles where her pupils should be were now glowing white.

She extended a gloved right arm forward, "Metatron." before summoning eight pieces of golden-teal obelisks, they floated in a surrounding formation around her before forming up into a pair of wings, each composed of four pieces.

Her transformation completed, Lumiere turned at her students, pleased that all three of them were all ready for battle. "Not as 'interesting' as my doppelganger, so far anyway, let's see what it has in store for us, hmm?" She chuckled once at the Lady of the Lake before turning at Captain Goodhope "I hereby swear to protect the stories of humanity to my last breath." She enunciated her oath as the good captain's blessing flowed into her body, then last but not least, she addressed Ethereal Rose and Eldritch Master of Xhar'doth's plan, "If Goodhope is willing, she can ride on Xolys' back or on Lady of the Lake's broom... for we will not stay on the ground to engage this Pageless."

Whether there were curious stares directed her way or not, Lumiere would explain regardless, "The Apex Pageless resided in the clouds, not here, and we will certainly not risk any civilian lives waiting for it to descend... if it would ever descend. Therefore, blessed heroines, as the group with the most flight-capable magical girls out of the two, it behooves us to utilize our ability where our comrades lacked." With that said, she would wait until Wilhelmina came to a decision on her method of transport, though her expression and body language urged her to not dally for every second was precious.

After a decision was reached, Lumiere would nod with a finality to it before soaring up on obelisk wings of gold, making sure to keep her pace with the slowest member to not leave anyone behind. Their destination? The twin golden eyes of the storm.

From the clouds it came, and in the clouds too shall it be purified.

Suzuya was of the impression her Grimoire was a bloody-minded warrior who would relish any opportunity to throw the girl into conflict with the Pageless. An opinion that was sorely tested when both were contented to settle on the bench as Lilac stormed off, her back straightened with purpose and an effortless grace to her performance that solidifed that shaken blonde's smile on her face.

Seeing her introduction from behind did wonders for hiding the shifting of Lilac's eyes and any uncertainty that wasn't lost to Tsubasa at the very least.

'Is there really a difference between letting others fight and letting them fight for you?' She considered to herself, finding her Grimoire was warm at the thought. Could she let herself stand aside if only the context permitted? The thought of being a reckless maverick just to appease an old story had been worrisome for her, but this seemed a happy middleground.

Till her new friend found herself hugging a pile of pageless and calling out for help. The new magical girl sighed, amusement mirrored between human and book before she rose to her feet with a palm held flat over her heart. The words coming to her lips were alien, not fitting her belief or temper, yet her aversion was less sharp this time.

"I cry out for neither justice, righteousness, nor my fellow man. I follow my heart, to whomever it leads, ever onwards to a brilliant sunrise!" Suzuya snapped, brusque and firm with unwavering conviction. She took a step forward and fire flashed, a wave pulsing outwards from her flush palm and scouring her garments in cleansing flame, only for the ash to settle into the form of her garments and the pyrotechnical display to terminate in an outwards flare the solidified into nine waving tails.

The attendants. Tsubasa. Dynast Queen. None of them registered, ignored entirely as she answered the call to help with a mighty leap torwards the storefront, then rebounding off it at the expanse of fractured masonry to sail with over the Pageless pile. "Get clear!"

Was she smiling? Strange, Burning Heart didn't remember doing that very often, but in the moment she hung over her target she felt a rush, only to realize she wanted to call out an attack as well. They were Magical Girls after all. Her tails snapped forward and from each emerged a club as thick as her waist and girbed with bands of studded iron, weapons meant to brutalize with raw force to crush even the sturdiest armor. With a flex of her tails- And wasn't THAT a weird sensation?- nine of them flew from her backside like rods cast down by an angry god.

"There is no escaping from the," As any who'd seen her at the construction sight could expect, the caught fire immediately and came down with force enough to shatter each club, propelling their bands as burning shrapnel that sought the darkness with uneering intensity. "Crack of Dawn!"



Truly unfortunate circumstances conspired against all parties on the day Moonlight Tsubasa chose to introduce herself to the newest girls whisked from home and heart to Merrywell. She'd ruminated on this long and hard, ultimately deciding on a direct conversation to be superior then skulking in the shadows for months leaving vague clues to draw them out to her. Sure, she adored the pageantry that would have required but by then the girl from her own homeland would have been firmly cemented as a Merrywell drone and Camelot's potential might have been snuffed out.

She glanced at the gathered pageless with an unwavering expression, the creatures still as lowly as ever with hardly a trait to call praiseworthy. They built nothing, aspired to nothing, and possessed a power they used solely for destruction. Animals, plain and simple, which made holding a personal hatred for them pointless to Tsubasa. One does not hate the rat chewing through your home when it merely wants to reproduce, eat, and shit like any other beast. True enmity is a personal experience to be nurtured by insight and understanding.

That amounted to Roma no more reacting to the presence of the Devourer of Stories then she would if a fly if had landed on her collar. She made no move to provoke them, but that seemed all the incentive one Magical Girl needed to strike her down. It seemed there were even odds between Camelot and Dynasty Queen, the former having soured quickly to her advances seeing Burning Heart's poor reaction to the Cicin's admiration of a natural Japanese blonde.

The threat to her life was not one she could ignore, whether the Monkey King appreciated the severity of her power or not, and Tsubasa considered using her powers to render the attack moot at the expense of souring relations with the group even further. Just as an explosion went off to her side, an eruption of heat and force that sent her hair flying wildly, another less-literal blast went off and she found herself taken from behind by Camelot.

Tsubasa's face was entirely stoic, almost deadpan in it's seriousness, as she found herself cradled in the arms of a girl shorter then her and who was growing hostile only seconds prior. Her rabbit ears twitched but she didn't make a move to extricate herself just yet. "You can stop right there."

Those words were for neither her rescuer nor her attacker. It was all that stopped the trio radiating visible malice for the Magical Girl they'd appeared behind in a flicker of speed, elemental energies crackled between outstretched fingers and legs mid kick, held back by words alone when the once playful summons bared their teeth with a desire to pull Tesni apart.

"There is no need for animosity to linger. She had made a mistake, and one that shall not be repeated."

Between Lilac Shimmer and Burning Heart’s actions, the Pageless had little time to prepare an attack against the Magical Girls. Quite a few of them were ragdolled around by Lilac Shimmer’s devasting moves that left dents and cracks wherever they fell from the sheer force of her tosses and blows. Truly, the area would need a heavy cleansing of magic to put everything back in functional order by the time all was said and done. The Pageless reacted as they did, clawing and swiping defensively if only because they were suddenly attacked. Those that survived Lilac Shimmer were soon crushed and burned under the miraculous tails sprouted from Burning Heart.

The revamped confidence in the foreign Magical Girl caused a good deal of the Pageless to melt where they stood as armor slagged and slogged against their shadowy frames. They dispersed into dark wisps when it became too much, the tell-tale sign of their defeat. Those that remained fled manically with no direction or guidance given. However, they all eventually flocked towards the moving Moonlight Tsubasa who, to their alien surprise, was being attacked by her fellow Magical Girls. This registered contradiction was lost on the Pageless. In their diminishing number they chose to clumsily hide themselves like knights to their queen behind the kimono-clad Magical Girl and her familiars.

By now the sky was a bleak gray on all sides of London. Such weather was to be expected for the course of the city and the rain eventually reached Camelot and her team’s location. The Pageless ran around in danceless circles as the downpour began, yet kept their proximity close once more to Moonlight Tsubasa. Miles away was the answer to the sudden shift in weather that was more than just London’s fickle nature. The great daunting force that was the Pageless stared back down at Lumière’s team with its unyielding eyes that was the only source of light in the dark clouds.

Even now its gaze didn’t flicker or move and the massive body of darkness that was the Pageless remained still and stoic. This hesitation allowed the Magical Girls to clamor together their own plan and take to the skies to divert the fight away from the land below. By now all civilians were indoors, their days ruined by the sudden outcrop of bad luck weather as far as they were concerned. For those that still lingered, they too felt an unconscious surge to move indoors as if compelled by an unseen force much like the safely deposited citizens in the construction site. But that was neither here nor there when the threat still loomed beyond.

As Lumière and her team approached the stormy Pageless the golden eyes flickered briefly. It was the only warning given to the girls. Something suddenly slammed into Captain Goodhope with enough force to smack her off Thyerg’Xolys and send her plummeting in the air. The very same force moved with an unseen speed that collided into the Lady of the Lake as well. Only the howling whistle of the wind was indicative of movement in the air even as the Pageless’ eyes stared hauntingly. The closer they approached, the more the eyes flickered almost as if….

---

“Oaths?” Olivia echoed. “Hmm… Let’s see… Let’s see… Oh, I know!” she exclaimed happily. “I, Magical Maiden Ethereal Rose do solemnly vow to keep my dear friend Wilhelmina safe during the upcoming conflict!” the azure-clad beauty declared with a confident smile as she placed a reassuring hand on the maritime maiden’s shoulder.

“And I, Thyerg’Xolys, Master of Xhar’doth, do solemnly vow to ensure the abominable foe before us is thoroughly vanquished!”

“Are those acceptable?” Olivia asked with a hopeful expression.

A moment later, Lucette, or rather Lumiere, declared that they would be engaging the towering Pageless in the air, noting that Wilhelmina could either ride upon Xolys or Nessie’s broomstick. Of course, neither of these options seemed like they would be particularly pleasant for the maritime maiden. The broomstick looked rather small for two people, while Xolys had already proven to be rather terrifying to poor Wilhelmina. Still, Olivia’s eldritch companion would perhaps be the safer choice, and so Captain Goodhope had reluctantly agreed to allow the Master of Xhar’doth to serve as her transport.

Although it would certainly be safer for the maritime maiden to be carried in Xolys’s arms like Olivia, the otherworldly beast did not wish to give the clearly horrified girl any additional psychological trauma, and so he allowed her to ride atop his massive shoulders instead, even going so far as to use his spines and chitinous carapace to form a staircase of sorts in order to facilitate her passage. Once he had ensured she was secure, Xolys coiled his many tentacles beneath himself and sprung up into the turbulent sky. Where normally, his twisted wings only permitted mere gliding, thanks to the additional power flowing through him from Goodhope’s blessing, the Master of Xhar’doth found that his mighty pinions were now strong enough to permit full flight, and it wasn’t long before he was soaring through the air alongside Lumiere and Nessie.

As they approached the colossal Pageless, the glowing, unblinking orbs that counted for its eyes briefly flickered. An instant later, and a mighty wind blast struck Goodhope, knocking the maritime maiden off of Xolys, and sending her hurtling to the ground below.

“Helmi!” Olivia cried in alarm.

Immediately, a dark tendril shot forth to wrap securely around the plummeting maiden, before reeling her back in to where Olivia herself rested in the relative safety of Xolys’s bosom.

“Do not worry, my love,” the Master of Xhar’doth reassured the azure-clad beauty. “As promised, I shall allow no harm to come to either of you. Still, this is very peculiar…” Xolys noted, his calm voice sounding somewhat perplexed. “This is the first time a Pageless has shown hostility to one in such close proximity to you, my sweet Rose,” the eldritch being added. “I fear this foe may prove to be a truly exceptional challenge indeed…”

“Goodness, darling, you’re right!” Olivia gasped. “But don’t worry, Helmi,” she hasted to add, while wrapping her arms around her friend in a protective embrace. “My darling Xolys and I will make extra sure that fascinatingly large and powerful Pageless doesn’t do that again!”

“Indeed,” Xolys agreed, before turing his attention to Wilhelmina. “And although I know you find being in my presence somewhat unnerving, Captain, please allow me to fully shield you from that vile fiend’s predations.”

Not waiting for a reply, the eldritch beast raised an additional pair of hands up to cover the two maidens, while numerous smaller tendrils wrapped around their bodies, ensuring they were firmly secure.

“See, Helmi?” Olivia asked with a smile. “Dearest Xolys will keep us safe and snuggly! Oh, but, um, if you happen to have a flying ship, then this might be a good time to summon it…” she added as she glanced up at the gargantuan Pageless, which seemed to be growing even larger as they approached.

And once again, its eyes were beginning to flicker…

“Please brace yourselves,” Xolys instructed his passengers as he prepared to take evasive action. “Things may get a bit rough…”

"An oath? I swear to... do whatever it takes to be the best the best Magical Girl I can, I guess! And whatever it was that guy in Braveheart said."

Nessie's oath was the one that came last, and despite her joke at the end she immediately felt the difference, a familiar warm feeling filling the girl as the Captain's power flowed through once more. It certainly gave her the confidence to spur onwards, despite the weather. After all, she'd seen and gone through harsher storms in her homeland. The only difference now was the towering beast, or beasts, that threatened the very livelihoods of all those in the area. Plus maybe the funny outfits.

Even before Goodhope's decision was made, Nessie was already settling herself down on the end of her broomstick, gripping it tightly while inwardly giggling about the number of euphemisms that inevitably came to her mind relating to it. It seemed a strange circumstance to be having those sorts of thoughts floating around, but the mind works in funny ways. Or Nessie's certainly did, at least. There was no hinderance though, no wasting time or hesitating, and along with her colleagues and friends the young Scot soon found herself in the air after a forceful kick off the ground.

Wilhelmina's decision to tag along with Olivia and Xolys was probably the better of the two, something that became apparent to Nessie as her own lack of experience was shown quite clearly in her riding of her broomstick. It wasn't horrible... it wasn't great either. Just unpolished. Maybe slightly worse than that. But it was competent enough so that she could just about keep up, with Lumière's radiant wings acting as a good beacon for her to aim towards. Her focus on her flying, however, meant that the redhead was completely unprepared for what would come next.

She caught it out of the corner of her eye: the invisible impact hitting Wilhelmina with such force that she was thrown right back down towards the soggy earth. Nessie, though, barely saw any of this, let alone the events that followed, as she too was hit by a gust, no, a burst of wind-like energy that caught her off guard enough for her to be knocked completely off of her broom. And with her hands and the broomstick itself being so slippery from the rain, there was no holding on for dear life this time. Instead, the girl found herself plummeting right back down towards the ground, from a height that would surely prove fatal to her, her allies shrinking in her vision as those yellow as continued to loom large over all of them. And then, stillness.

But not the stillness of death, absolutely not. Nessie could tell that immediately by the rain still tumbling over her face and the rest of her body. No, this was the stillness of being halted gently. Of being caught. And so she had. Whether intentional or not, the rain had bent itself to Nessie's desire, her very thoughts and her will. Droplets had fused together, disobeying the laws of science that governed them to form a dense bed of water that held the Magical Girl like a child in a cot, for enough time so that her broomstick could find its way to her, before dispersing and showering down onto the muddy earth below.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Nessie cried out through the vicious storm, waving to and reassuring her companions while she hastily flew back up to meet them.

"Fuckin' hell that better not happen again..." Came a grumbled mutter to herself, her relief turning to anger directed at the thing that assaulted her in the first place, her own glaring eyes staring piercingly at the equally unyielding eyes of the Pageless that stared back, flickering mysteriously in a way the girl couldn't figure out. It unnerved her.

"What's going on...?"

Nessie turned to Lumière, realising that she was still a little out of her depth here. What a first patrol this was turning out to be...