“Then, a really nice tourist took our picture, and then we went to the Sherlock Holmes museum!” Olivia told Xolys, as she prepared for the upcoming sleepover, the eldritch beast listening to the blonde beauty’s happy ramblings in polite silence.

“It sounds like the two of you had a very enjoyable day,” Xolys noted.

“We really did!” Olivia agreed, her eyes sparkling with delight. “And I’m so very glad we didn’t have any surprise rainstorms,” she added, picking up her umbrella, which had now become an elegant parasol. “We only had a single umbrella, and it would have been rather awkward for both of us to try and squeeze under… Oh my gosh!” Olivia gasped as a small white rectangle fell out of the umbrella. “Another letter!” she exclaimed excitedly. “And it’s addressed to you, darling!”

“Curious…” Xolys replied as he took the envelop and sliced it open with a scythed appendage. “Ah! It’s from Master Xozooth, my old instructor, and the original Master of Xhar’doth!”

“Your instructor?” Olivia asked, frowning in puzzlement.

“Why yes, my sweet,” Xolys replied. “We all have much to learn in our youths, and I was no exception. In fact, I would not be Master of Xhar’doth today, if it were not for Master Xozooth's exemplary tutelage. Still, he was a rather mischievous and unorthodox teacher,” the gentleman horror reflected. “Not unlike some of Marrywell’s own faculty. We were actually quite good friends, although we haven’t spoken in several millennia,” the eldritch beast added as he unfolded the letter. “I wonder what he has to say…”

After a few moments of silence as he read the letter, Xolys’s imposing form began to slightly quiver, which soon turned into far more pronounced shuddering, as the monstrous horror unleashed a hearty laugh.

“Oh, that devious rascal!” he declared, once his laughter had finally subsided. “I see his sense of humor is still very much intact!”

“What did he say?” Olivia inquired as she leaned over to take a look at the letter, only to find that she couldn’t make an ounce of sense out of the strange symbols inscribed upon the piece of parchment.

“Roughly speaking, he said, ‘You are stupid!’,” Xolys replied, incinerating the letter in a burst of blue eldritch flame.

“T-That’s it?” Olivia asked, not at all comprehending how such an insult could in any way be considered funny. “But that’s so horribly rude!”

“Now, now, my sweet,” Xolys reassured her. “It isn’t nearly as offensive as it seems. Much of the humor and hidden meaning is lost in translation, and very hard to explain to anyone not versed in the intricacies of Non-Euclidean geometry.”

“I see… Well, I suppose I shall have to take your word for it… But wait! How do you suppose the letter got in my umbrella in the first place?”

“You mentioned leaving it behind in the restaurant,” Xolys pointed out. “Perhaps the letter was inserted then?”

“Oh my gosh!” Olivia gasped, placing her delicate hands over her mouth. “Do you think Kate could have done it?!”

“It is a distinct possibility,” Xolys noted. “But I wouldn’t fret, my sweet” he added, placing a consoling appendage on her shoulder. “Xozooth would often employ all sorts of people to carry out his various pranks, most of whom were almost entirely unaware of what he was actually having them do. So even if Miss Kate did convey this message, I doubt her intentions were in any way malicious.”

“I suppose you’re right…” Olivia conceded, her demeanor brightening up once again. “Um, darling…?” she asked as she watched Xolys produce a large white sheet with two black circles colored on it and drape it over his sizable form. “What are you doing?”

“So as not to intimidate any ghosts that may appear, I thought it prudent to wear a disguise,” Xolys explained. “This way, they shall be lulled into a false sense of security, allowing you more time to observe them.”

“Oh, you’re just so clever, darling!” Olivia gushed, while giving her consort a brilliant smile.

“Thank you, my sweet,” Xolys replied, the eldritch beast not having the heart to tell the endearingly naive beauty that the real reason he had chosen to wear a disguise was to keep from unnerving the other girls with his monstrous appearance. “Now, then, let us be on our way.”

“Yes, let’s!” Olivia agreed, wrapping her free arm around one of Xolys’s tentacles, while the other held a comfy pillow.

…

…

…

“You know, it’s too bad Helmi probably won’t be joining us tonight…” the azure robe-clad maiden noted in a sullen tone as they walked along, her mouth drooping into a frown. “I haven’t really talked with her in quite some time, and she was the one who told me about the possibly-haunted classrooms in the first place!”

“As much as I hate to say this, I think that it may be for the best that Miss Wilhelmina refrains from joining us tonight,” Xolys replied. “From what little I know of her, I do not believe she is particularly enamored with the idea of possibly encountering ghosts, or any supernatural phenomena in general.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, darling!” Olivia playfully admonished, while giving voice to a melodious giggle. “She summons all those spectral sailors during battle! How could she possibly be afraid of ghosts?”

…

…

…

After careful consideration, Olivia and Bonnie had decided upon the music room as the venue for their slumber party, in large part because the rumors surrounding it were the most long-standing and well-defined. It also didn’t hurt that Olivia was particularly fascinated by the idea of being transported to a fantastic world and exploring it with Xolys and her other friends. However, when the incongruous pair reached the location where the door to the music room should have been, they were instead greeted with a drawbridge, leading to the open gates of a gothic castle…

“Oh my goodness!” Olivia exclaimed in utter astonishment. “Wherever could this enchanting structure have come from?! It certainly wasn’t here yesterday! Unless…!” she gasped as in idea occurred to her. “That’s it! The haunted piano! Instead of bringing us to another world, it brought part of another world here! Oh, this is just so incredibly exciting!” she gushed as she practically dragged Xolys along after her, the fair maiden’s eyes sparkling with jubilant anticipation of what wondrous discoveries lay in store…

Bonnie stopped dead, blinking. A moment passed. Then she turned to Tesni. “I swear, it wasn't a spooky castle yesterday. It was just a music room. I thought it was just a rumor it was haunted but now I'm worried it might actually have some stupid Halloween only Pageless that transformed the classroom?"

Nervously peeking inside, she spied Olivia and a suspiciously large bedsheet ghost... Probably Xolys? But with a spooky castle suddenly here, maybe there were giant bedsheet ghosts.

Still, nothing would seem as scary with Olivia around, she definitely had that gift. Therefore... Bonnie quickly called out, “Olivia, over here! I'm here with our first guest! Is Suzuya with you?"

“Cause, you know, I was thinking maybe we should explore together?" Bonnie smiled a smile only someone very poor at social cues would not read as a insincere. “Wouldn't want to have the latecomers not to have anything left to explore by the time they get here right?"

“Oh, and I brought snacks and a blanket to set them on, just in- is that a pool?!?" Bonnie pulled off her backpack and started to open in before being confounded by just the scale of what was going on.

At this time, Mika was staring into her sword. She had the tip of her thumb inserted in her mouth as images flashed across the blade. She had been away for several months and was still getting caught up on everything. But with all the recent destruction and corruption going on, Mika had a lot of more recent snooping to catch up on. Stuff like that interrogation she wasn't invited to and the party she was suppose to oversee.

"Hmmm..."

Valeria was a massive hussie, wasn't she?

More pressing was that this student-only event was getting turned into something for everyone. That bothered Mika. Not because she had some aversion to the more experienced magical girls, but she thought this was going to be her event to oversee! If the others were going to show up, what was the point?

Fortunately, that was a very easy question to answer.

Mika traced her finger in the air and several clones stepped out of portals behind her seat.

"Alright girls, let’s get dressed for the occasion."

---

What do you wear to a pajama party?

Silvia considered herself a bit of a fashionista. She had all sorts of outfits for nearly every occasion. One of the many things her parents instilled in her was the need to look her best regardless of the occasion. It didn’t matter who she decided to hang out with. A combination from her wardrobe let her fit in anywhere.

But who needs more than a single pair of pajamas?

Or in Silvia’s case, a night gown. It was purple with some frills around the neckline and sleeve, but was otherwise as plain as it sounded. Though she did decide to wear a few other accessories with it. She had a nightcap on and a pillow stashed under one of her arms. Her blanket rested on her shoulders like a giant cape, swaying with each step she took. Silvia looked tired, or maybe it was just her apathetic gaze at work.

That didn’t change when she noticed the music room had been demolished and replaced by a gothic castle.

She would have been more surprised if the music room had been left alone. Silvia had spoken with Bonnie prior to coming and understood they were going to be ghost hunting. That must have been a ruse to surprise them with what was essentially a carnival attraction. If that was the case, they failed. Silvia had seen a lot of different spells in just her year at the academy, and spectacles like this lost their luster once you realized it was just magic. Probably the work of a legend or myth, if she had to guess.

Wonder if the construction work scared off the ghosts.

There were no ghosts, of course. Even if the original room was still in one piece, she figured most ghosts would vacate the premises rather than stick around until a magical girl exercised them. Did ghosts even exist? Silvia kind of doubted it. Everything paranormal she had ever seen was the work of a magical girl or a pageless. She was more here to honor Bonnie’s request than anything else.

Speaking of which, it seemed like she had already showed up with a few of her friends. That was good actually. If Bonnie was talking with Olivia, that meant she didn’t have to. Though it did make her wonder if anyone else was going to show up. If she was lucky, it might even be someone she’d enjoy talking to.

---

---

[Present Day]

Camelot closed the door of the medical ward with an internal sigh. In the wake of what was probably going to be a new daily routine for the near future, she was transformed, of course. All the better to hone her magical senses in the presence of Moonlight Tsubasa's victims and their Revised Grimoires. While her range was decent, the darkness of Pageless always seemed to muddle things to a degree. And while she had gained valuable experience in the field of parsing the flow of that energy against enemy Pageless over the years, especially the Samurai in the more immediate sense, that was no proper substitute for the finesse that could be gained from getting up close and personal.

So, as she already had a reputation for keeping an eye out for Alters, it wasn't that hard to extend that habit towards the Revised. Sure, it was a little annoying for her purposes that Eins seemed ever present, but in a certain sense, it was also reassuring to know that Marrywell had staff willing to work day and night with such dedication.

Admittedly, she wasn't able to do much but observe the flows of light and darkness, but even that on its own was useful in establishing pattern recognition in how Pageless energy interacted when introduced to Magical Girls and their Grimoires. In the meantime, she would chat with those that seemed lucid or otherwise conscious and try to get a sense for how the darkness was potentially influencing them. The answer seemed to be "impulsively", which tracked with what Tsubasa had claimed. Still, the very fact that many of said victims still had yet to become fully lucid -or even conscious in some cases- again from Tsubasa's actions... It more than once made her wonder if she shouldn't have tried to stop Tsubasa herself, gratitude or no. Even if Tsubasa was on to something... this wasn't the way make change happen. Forcing it... would only create spite and resentment.

So, she'd done what she could, provided what little she had at her disposal to offer: a visitor and additional friendly face and the healing of her Scabbard. Admittedly, she wasn't really sure at this early stage if her Scabbard was even doing jack shit, but she'd elected to leave it with Eins whenever feasible these past few days. That is to say, all but 24/7. Camelot hadn't slept all week. The constant use of her Scabbard made sure of that. And this time, without the fire within stifling the magical artifact's effectiveness, exhaustion (at least physically) was a thing of the past. She'd made certain to make up for lost time with the homeless and patrols when she wasn't with the Revised, and with the hellish existence that had been hers not so long ago, its mere absence was enough to leave her constantly refreshed and ready for more.

Which made it all the odder to be planning to engage in a "sleepover", when there was very little chance that sleep would ever find her. She hadn't actually been told where the little pow-wow was supposed to take place other than a "haunted" classroom Olivia had found, but she'd hoped to catch Bonnie as a guide for simplicity's sake.

Passing by the room she shared with Bonnie, Camelot's blue eyes narrowed at the sign taped to the door, one that hadn't been there before. One armor-clad hand twitched with the urge to rip it off, a low rumble thumming in her chest in annoyance. The last thing she wanted was for this little get-together to become a free for all. That certainly wasn't what it had sounded like when it was pitched to her by the redhead, and she had tentatively accepted the invitation on such merits. But now... Who knew how long this sign had been sitting around.

She glanced around. The hall was empty.

"Tch'," Camelot clucked her tongue and snatched the sign off the door without further consideration. Crumpling it into a ball, she allowed the bead of fire within her to briefly bubble up her throat into her palm, reducing the yellow parchment to fine cinders in a flash of orange. Flinging her hand with a flick of displaced air, she scattered the ashes into a rapidly dispersing mist, dusting off her hands with a quick series of claps. Whatever. The "problem", such as it was, was now as solved as it could be. The damage had surely been done. Camelot could only internally lament with resignation, that all that was left was to go see how much things had devolved from the original rails.

It wasn't like she needed the once-listed number anyway, she concluded, as she allowed her armor to disperse without ending her transformation as a whole, leaving behind only the more colorful white and blue of her outfit. She didn't want to recall her Scabbard, but it would have felt odd to go around in full plate to such an event as this. Just knowing that Olivia was involved was enough. The blonde beauty all but blasted her presence 24/7 in remaining transformed, to say nothing of her eldritch hubby. Tracking down the appropriate location would be as easy as paying a little better attention to her senses.

So, after briefly entering her room to grab a bag of sleepover utilities, she stretched out her senses, and...

What the fuck was that?!

---

"What the hell..." Camelot muttered, as she stepped through the music room doorway. It was less a question so much as an expression of thinly-veiled annoyance. After all, there certainly wasn't the quiet sleepover room she had expected within. Well, expected before, certainly, but the pit in her gut had grown with every step closer to the apparently monolithic construct of magical engineering. Honestly, she knew that her hopes were dashed long before she opened the door.

Glancing about at those already present, Camelot blinked in surprise at the presence of Tesni, much less Silvia for that matter. She certainly wouldn't have seen either to be the sort to attend this sort of thing, but then again, she hardly knew either well on a personal level. That Olivia and Bonnie were here was no surprise, the former the guide and the latter the first she had deigned to point in the right direction. As usual, Olivia was transformed into Ethereal Rose, and Xolys... Okay, despite the oddity of the situation, a small part of Camelot couldn't help feeling a smidge of amusement at the eldritch groom dressing like a campy ghost... for some reason.

Sighing, she crossed her arms lightly and ambled over to Bonnie and Ethereal Rose. "Alright, what gives?" She managed to keep her abject disappointment from leaking into her tone. Honestly, she'd actually managed to warm herself into the idea that a quiet, unexciting social outing was just the ticket to getting her mind off the latest problem for a while, but now? "I was told this was supposed to be a slumber party with a select few, not an open theme park." And boy did she have questions about who was responsible for this nonsense and why. The "taste" of the magic in the air was irritatingly familiar, and the scale of the construction honestly pointed to precious few that could both do such a thing and have permission to make the effort -and such major modifications to the academy- in the first place.

Striding past the chatting girls and up to the Marrywell adjacent end of the drawbridge, Camelot glanced down at the bubbling, brackish moat below with furrowed brows, keeping an ear on the conversation behind her. It honestly beggared disbelief that something of this magnitude could come into being unnoticed, but perhaps it hadn't been a solo job? And why here and now? One set of fingers tapped a meditative rhythm on her opposite elbow, as Camelot favored the castle across the moat with a quiet scoff. Marrywell... always with the grandiose displays. Was it really so much to ask for mundane simplicity for something like this, what was supposed to be relatively private fun between students?

She hadn’t anticipated being among the first guests to arrive, escorted by the host no less, and Tesni did raise an eyebrow when Bonnie offered her arm but she wasn’t so dense as to not take the host up on their offer.

“Off we go then to the mysterious music room then.” Linking arms with Bonnie they meandered their way towards the room when Bonnie stopped and Tesni not wanting to pull her arm off followed suit as Bonnie offered a confused explanation.

“You know what, Bon Bon? I think I believe you that this castle that’s kiiinda hard to miss wasn’t here yesterday. Shocking as this may sound, we do go to this school, and I think if a castle had been here all this time I’d hope one of us would have heard of it by now… also we have magical abilities derived from works of literature and historical epics so I don’t find it all that surprising that rumours could also take on a life of their own like this.” Pausing for a bit, looking through the threshold to the new castle interior Tesni clicked her tongue in thought.

“I wonder if spreading rumours can make other stuff happen too…” Admiring the architecture of the castle Tesni tapped her foot on the ground as if testing it still somewhat in disbelief that it was even there.

It feels weird that I’m able to accept so much now with ‘whatever, it’s magic’. I could probably use my detect evil vision thing to see if there’s anything nefarious behind all this… but that feels like picking up a book and just reading the last chapter. Pretty rude, especially since if it's not actually magic someone went to a lot of effort for this. Letting Bonnie and Olivia acquaint themselves as the prospective leaders of this sleepover before silently joining in with Bonnie’s amazement at the swimming pool before tearing her gaze away.

“Hiya Liv, hiya Silvy. I feel like the collective we haven’t talked much lately, good to see you both though. No, I don't count talks on the battlefield as having a nice chat, thanks for asking Silvy.” Shooting Silvia an impish wink she briefly turned her attention to Olivia and Bonnie more fully.

“Unlike Bonnie I haven’t brought anything except myself, never quite sure what to bring to these things. I was too busy being a rascally little schemer before this magical business to go to these things.” Cracking her neck with a loud pop Tesni let out a sigh.

“So, who are we waiting on? I only got an invitation, not a guest… list…?” Raising an eyebrow she heard the kingly voice grating her ears before seeing the silhouette in the doorway… and she just couldn’t resist getting a little dig in at Chinami.

“Whaaat? You mean this isn’t a mystical summoning of castle Camelot during a time of great peril? Do you want to go looking for a throne to sit on, Chinami~?” chuckling to herself, Tesni looked over to Bonnie with an apologetic smile.

“I know, I know, I'm sorry Bon bon, I know it’s not a great way to kick off festivities but c’mon! We have a castle and a knight, it’s too perfect~!”

Like Olivia, Suzuya had opted to come in her transformed state, and for once it wasn't for the mental girding she was so reliant upon to keep herself from crushed by the heaps of misery in jolly old England. No, it was the simple fact that nine fluffy, self warming tails were very comfortable to sleep with. Especially once she got her pajamas magically refit with a tail hole and cover flap.

Coming up behind Xolys' shrouded bulk had her arriving somewhat seperate from her roommate due to not wanting to step on the occasional tendril trailing behind the bedsheet, though with someone as dazzling as Olivia it was easy to go undetected in her more contemporary flannel. The irony of the fair lady dressing in eastern sleep wear wasn't lost and roused a soft smile as Suzuya entered to find a castle in place of a music room.

"Eh, I've seen bigger and in far worse condition. Needs more fire and splintered wood." Suzuya slipped in and out of her Grimoire's influence, letting the surprise roll off her back like water upon a mallard as she walked in to see the group was fairly split between introverts and extroverts, with someone Suzuya had hoped not to see again asking pointed questions that Tesni was deflecting lest they sour the fun.

"Chinami, we can't exclude people if they want to join the sleepover. So long as they aren't disruptive, this is school property and open to whatever student wishes to join. It's not like we made a club for late night ghost stories and naps." The foxy Magical Girl dismissively waved her hand side to side, putting the concerns aside when there were others eager to have fun.

She'd heard Bonnie mention her as she was stuck behind Xolys and quirked her head in a manner that had her ears bounce and twitch. "You still wanna explore? I can bring the mood lighting."

And she meant that literally, as she reached into her tail and pulled out an old fashioned torch, the smell of pitch and crackle of flame blooming into existence before her as she held the gnarled wood between them. "And before you ask, no, you can't burn down the school. I'd have thought it was obvious that I can snuff out my flames on command, but some didn't seem to notice that."

Valeria’s grand display wouldn’t go unnoticed. As was expected, several school staff and older Magical Girls took account of the sudden extra building extending out from the ground’s usual castle structure. Only, unlike the main buildings, this architect was darker and wafting with haunted flare. If the moats and spooky interior wasn’t a clue for the décor, then the aesthetic fog wafting from the castle’s open drawbridge like the noxious breath of a monster most foul certainly was. And the students clamored around its entrance dressed in assortment.

Some older staff only shrugged the appearance of a new castle, either too used to the abnormal activity around Marrywell or assuming it was a renovation plan. After all, additional fortification for the school after a recent attack was expected. Others of course, had to be quelled swiftly by the Crimson Comet, who assured them there was nothing wrong with the students needing a relaxation period after Roma’s incident. Indeed, several other little get togethers hobbled the school grounds though most kept their gatherings secluded to their dorm rooms. None were as extravagant as Valeria’s great castle.

What mattered most was the Grand Minister did nothing to stop either the building of such an elaborate party room or the party itself. Charlotte had a suspicion their leader would wave away justifications as simply more fortification for the school when they were done because that was exactly the excuse the redhead came up with just in case. When all was said and done, a small crowd hovered between the usual school grounds and Valeria’s castle.

“Hey that’s a good point Tesni. You get a gold star!" came Charlotte’s voice behind the group. “Rumors and superstition may as well be real in the magical world we deal in. A castle sprouting in the middle of the night seems about as convenient to me as anything else around here,” she said with a wink towards Olivia. “What do you know, I just so happened to be dressed for the occasion.”

The Crimson Comet sided herself beside Chinami, expression as bright as usual. “Long time no see there. Looks like we had the same idea for costumes huh? Well, since Suzuya’s correct that this is open school grounds, I don’t think anyone would mind me tagging along right? Not like I’m gonna rat you out anyway. Who do you think I am, a teacher?” Charlotte waved her arms in dramatic fashion, painting wide circles in the air as if to emulate one of the staff. When she was finished, she directed the students towards their open castle with another arm sweep, keeping beside Chinami.

“After you of course. Never thought your first appearance back would be at a sleepover. Maybe you really are a Magical Girl after all Chinami~” Inside lay the grand room whose doors led to spiraling mazes and dungeons with too-realistic looking skeletons dangling from the walls. Of course, for those of the simpler crowd, the staircase led to their bedrooms for the night as well. Charlotte herself spied a couch near the fireplace as if silently calling dibs on it.

---

Annoyed Chinami? Check.

Blissfully ignorant Tesni? Double check.

Charlotte here to intrude on what was suppose to just be the students? Triple check. Though to be fair, that was somewhat expected.

It wasn't often Silvia hoped more people arrived at an event, but she wouldn't have minded talking to Celina or Nessie again. But no matter how long she stared down the dark hallway, it didn't seem like anyone else was coming. Had Bonnie not summoned them? Were they running late? It didn't matter. She didn't care.

She looked over the group. She'd have to talk to Bonnie at some point, but at the moment it looked like Bonnie was a little busy. Popular people tended to have a lot of connections. Even if Bonnie and Silvia had only spoken with each other a few times, it made sense that she knew a lot of the people present. Silvia was likely an outlier in that regard. Of course a class of students would be familiar with each other. Why would they run off on their own to better their skills in solitude? Did the magical girls of Marrywell even believe in solitude for anything?

Regardless, it wouldn't do to just hang back while everyone else went exploring. Especially since she had been noticed.

Silvy?

Had she just been given a nickname? Before Silvia could even respond, Tesni went on to continue talking with her friends. The speed in which she jumped from topic to topic was astounding. It almost made Silvia dizzy. She could keep up with it, but not participate. It wasn't until Suzuya produced a torch that Silvia found a moment to join them.

"I don't think any of us want to burn down the school." Well, maybe one of them. Tesni did do a number on the cafeteria. "And if we did, we probably wouldn't be looking for your permission. But it's good to know you can extinguish your flames." Maybe she was trying to say that her flames wouldn't burn anything she didn't want them to burn because she could extinguish them. If so, that was a pretty passive-aggressive way to word it. "If I had flame magic I'd probably use it to cook pizza." A silly thing to say, but it was just to defuse some tention.

Ozma also had a bit to say, but Silvia was only half listening to it as none of it seemed to be aimed at her specifically.

We can get ratted out for this?

...

Though for Charlotte, the couch remained in her focus. Maybe she was planning on taking a nap there. Maybe she and Valeria would do some cuddling before the night was over. Who really knew what went through the mind of Ozma?

Though one thing was certain.

She was not the first person to spot the couch by the fireplace.

A woman's head rose over the back of the couch. Slowly, her forehead came into view. Then her eyes, then her nose.

"Oh, hey everyone."

She stepped over the back of the couch, revealing her less than modest costume. She might have been trying to go for some sort of animal hybrid mummy, but there really weren't enough wraps to fully sell the look, let alone be considered a modest costume choice. That was either bothersome or appealing depending on who was looking. There was enough jewelry to pass the "mummy" off as a pharaoh at least. Golden bangles and rings covered the woman head to toe. It wasn't immediately obvious who she was, but her voice was distinctly Mika's. A keen observer may have even noticed her scabbard wedged between the couch cushions on a second look.

"I almost came as a maid, but I don't know. I didn't feel like being a servant today."

And she wasn't alone. An all-white bulldog walked around the couch and sat at Mika's feet. He was unusually well dressed for the occasion.

"...But I still got roped into dog-sitting. If you're going to explore the dungeon, maybe you'd like to take Winston here for a walk? He'd enjoy it." Winston just looked at the girls with a closed mouth, as if he was anticipating an answer. "Assuming you girls want your privacy that is. I can certainly come with you if you don't mind my company. Or maybe you want my company? I mean, Ozma's strong, but you know..." She wiggled her fingers in the air. "There are things locked in that dungeon that no magical girl should have to see! Things scarier than any pageless that were too powerful to defeat. They've been banished to the darkest corner of the academy to ensure they don't taint the light!" Winston turned away from everyone and buried his face in the back of the couch.

Olivia hadn’t gotten far when a voice called out from behind her. Whirling around, she was greeted with the sight of…

“Bonnie!” the blonde beauty exclaimed with a happy smile. “And you’re Tesni, correct?” she asked, refocusing her energetic attention on Bonnie’s companion. “It’s very nice to see you again! Liv? Is that a nickname? Oh, gosh! I’ve never been given a nickname before!” Olivia gushed as if it were the greatest thing to ever happen to her. “Well, at least not a friendly one… Hmm? Oh, Suzuya?” she repeated when her roommate was inquired about. “Um, she said she had a few things to work on but, oh! There you are, Suzuya!” the azure-clad maiden noted with a surprised giggle as her roommate appeared from behind Xolys’s bedsheet-covered form.

Bonnie then suggested exploring the castle as a group, causing Olivia’s already jubilant demeanor to brighten even further. “Oh, yes! I think that would be much more enjoyable!” the Ethereal Rose agreed, completely oblivious to the fact that Bonnie seemed far less enthusiastic about the whole “mysterious castle” thing. “And those torches will provide the most enchanting ambiance!” she added, turning to her roommate. “Thank you so very much, Suzuya! And this is my first sleepover, too!” she told Tesni. “I just brought a pillow, since Darling’s cozy tendrils are better than any blanket, especially when warmed by his eldritch flames!”

It was around then that a startled-sounding Bonnie said something about a pool. Looking in the redhead’s direction, Olivia saw that, sure enough, the was a large pool at the center of the castle’s courtyard, shimmering as it reflected the moonlight. But what was it for? After all, it was a bit too chilly to go swimming. Still such questions would have to be answered at a later time, as another new arrival chose that moment to announce her presence, and she didn’t sound particularly happy…

“Chinami!” Olivia greeted the knightly maiden with her usual cheer, although her running hug was stopped in its tracks when she saw the young woman’s annoyed scowl. “Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry! I called you Chinami instead of Camelot!” Olivia hastily apologized, the fair maiden erroneously believing that to be the cause of her friend’s less-than-pleased demeanor. “I completely forgot you prefer to go by your Magical Girl name whenever you’re transformed… Oh! But isn’t this castle simply amazing?!” she added, her eyes glittering with excitement the moment Camelot mentioned their unexpected surroundings. “I don’t know for certain, but I think the haunted piano brought it here,” she explained. “You see, according to the rumor, the piano can transport people to another world, but maybe it can also bring parts of other worlds to this one!” she continued to eagerly ramble on. “I mean, how else could such a lovely and enchanting castle like this just appear out of nowhere?!”

Olivia’s excited babblings were brought to a halt with Charlotte’s arrival, the “totally not a teacher” making a few playful comments, before heading over to where a large couch sat before a crackling fireplace. However, someone else was already there, their Egyptian-themed form rising up to reveal Marrywell’s student councilor, Mika Fang. And reveal turned out to be exactly the right word, as the young woman’s mummy costume was almost scandalously skimpy, providing yet another piece of evidence to support Xolys’s opinion that Marrywell’s faculty were a rather unorthodox bunch. And that was without even getting into the costumed canine accompanying her…

“Oh my goodness!” Olivia cried at the sight of the dapper-looking dog. “He’s so cute! And I just love his little monocle!” she added, hurrying over to get a closer look.

“Like I was just telling Tesni, it was just a music room! Its just different now! IdunnoMagic!" Bonnie threw her hands up in some mixture of defensiveness and panic. The social pressure of thinking she had already failed all the people she was trying to make friends with and ... Wait, who had just asked that? Bonnie blinked for a moment as Tesni began talking and she realized Camelot was back!

“You're back! I didn't know you were back, Camelot!" Bonnie moves in, spreading her arms wide, pausing, then trying to subtly transition to offering a handshake. Bonnie tried to remember that they hadn't left off on great terms. But dang it she was a hug person!

“Yup, exploring's still on the menu, with a team this allstar, we should be unstoppable- er, yeah, I guess more people have shown up than I invited." Bonnie answered Tesni, a bit surprised.

“Oh, hey Suzuya! Didn't see ya behind the ghost. I think you're right, I don't mind some extras and let's explore. I did put a notice on my door incase anyone got lost, so, it'd make sense my roommate'd see it, eh?" Bonnie offers a smile to Suzuya and a wink to Camelot.

Bonnie seemed to lose some tension after more students showed themselves, and especially the teachers. If this was some legitimate threat, there were teachers. But it probably wasn't, cause the teachers didn't seem worried. It seemed in Bonnie's mind at least, no matter how much Charlotte protested, Bonnie considered her part of the 'staff'. And Mika couldn't get surprised by any spooky ghosts, right?

Now feeling calmer, despite the fact that she was no longer peering around warily, Bonnie's situational awareness actually improved, from not being quite so frightened. She noticed Silvia had slipped in previously as she spoke up and decided the appropriate response was a wave and nod of recognition. She wasn't quite sure Silvia enjoyed being talked to, so maybe this would be better?

“I didn't know you had a dog, Mika! That's neat." Bonnie seems to miss the point a bit, and gets caught up in Olivia's excitement and hurries over too.

"Welcome, welcome one and all to these old halls. A majestic castle once long ago, now cursed and haunted...filled with the ravenous undead!"

A disembodied but familiar voice echoed out through the halls, reaching the ear of every magical girl involved in the castle. There's a flash of movement as something descended from the ceiling, clad in a long black cape with a red lining underneath. It's Valeria, dressed up as a vampire and sporting fake white fangs that hang out of the edges of her mouth.

She's upon Charlotte at once, her breath laced with beer as she nipped and bit on Charlotte's neck in a traditional vampire's embrace. She'd hiss in her ear and giggle before lurching back upward and waving an arm to the crowd.

"My first victim of the night! Muahaha! All this blad will go to my powers...and I shall become an unstop-oh nein forget this stupid accent blegh." Valeria pulled the fangs out from her mouth, rubbing her lips.

"Hey hey. There's food in the dining hall, I recruited the Academy staff to make a meal of just about any type of food or drink since I wasn't sure what people wanted."

Valeria would fall back into a seat next to Charlotte, kicking her boot clad feet up and hanging them up over the side of her seat.

"The teachers can hang out here, just to make sure you guys aren't sneaking booze in. Because that would be terrible. Especially since you haven't shared it with me."

Valeria chuckled, downing a glass bottle of Heniken in only a few steady gulps.