As Nykannis’s myriad hyper advanced, ultramagitech data accumulators probed into the very deepest fibers of the Queen of Heart’s metaphysical makeup, a commandeered tank was racing across the battlefield…

“HAHAHAHA!!! THIS IS GREAT!!!” Primus-04 exulted in psychotic glee. “We’re slaughtering these fuckers and that royal bitch hasn’t even—HOLY FUCK, did she just decapitate that guy?!” the pyromanic exclaimed in shock as she watched Finn’s beheading through the tank’s forward viewport.

Oh. That wretch just decapitated her little project.

Jennifer was unphased by it. She knew Finn would be okay as long as he could get to a reinforcment user that can reattach his head and sword. No, he'll be okay. That wasn't what caught her attention. The way the Queen of Hearts talked, the way she seemed to predict and see through the others' attempts to attack her. And her eye...

Was the Queen like her?

Only one way to find out. Gritting her teeth, the false witch aimed the tank's gun at the Queen and prepared to fire soon as Mayra got Finn out of harm's way.

“FIRE THE CANNON AT THAT BITCH!!!” Primus-04 shouted, now sounding far more panicked than elated. “FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!!”

As soon as Mayra rocketed away, the (false) Witch of Time did just that. Unfortunately, no sooner had the enchanted shell left the main cannon’s barrel, then the Queen of Hearts turned to fix it with her baleful gaze. In one smooth motion, she leapt into a somersault, using her reality-defying blade to slice both the shell and the tank that fired it completely in twain. Tumbling out of the wrecked vehicle, Primus-04 was left utterly speechless as the Wonderland Monarch turned away, apparently finding them beneath her interest.

Jennifer had to launch herself out of her seat before the Queen had sliced their vehicle in half. She landed next to 04. "You alright, dear?" She asked, going back to her real voice for the moment.

“Uh, y-yeah…” 04 replied after a moment. “But, uh, I think we should probably get the fuck outta here,” she added in a low whisper. “‘Cause Doc’s plannin’ somethin’ big…”

…

“Can’t say that was unexpected…” Nykannis muttered as she watched the captured tank get bisected.

What was unexpected, however, was the Queen deciding to address her directly…

“To show everyone how amazing I am, obviously,” Nykannis replied with a smirk.

However, it was then that her intrusive investigations into the Queen of Heart’s true nature finally reached their climactic culmination, and the numinous knowledge gleaned was startling enough to give even the Monarch of Mad Science herself pause…

For all of 0.0000000000042 seconds.

So, that’s how you wanna play things, is it, Magistrate? Fine, then let’s have some FUN…

“Wow you’ve sure got some fancy toys,” she told the Wonderland Monarch in a snide tone of utter disinterest, even as thousands of additional enemy reinforcements spilled from a plethora of newly-opened portals and the panicked voice of Tertiarius-01 informed her of how they were about to be overrun. “As it happens, so do I.”

While she was still speaking, Nykannis had also been giving instructions to Phase Two over their secure mental communications link.

Primus, Secundus, fall back to the deployment zone. Tertiarius, Quaternarius, cover their retreat. And Pentius? Commence attack.

The next instant, the Queen of Hearts would feel her connection to her magic be completely severed, her mana being drained away with all the ravenous force of a quantum singularity, and all her various weapons, powers, and perks being rendered utterly useless. Indeed, in mere moments, she would find herself being forcibly reverted to her mundane form (whatever that might be), as Pentius-03’s gifted focused amplified nullification field fully enveloped her. A nanosecond after that, the real attack began…

By this point, Pentius-01 had configured her OMAG-17 into a superheavy turbo-tachyonic hyper-hellbore polyphasic penetrator lance, while Pentius-02, 05, and 06 powered up their neutrino-plasmatic multi-spectrum molecular disintegrator lightning cannon, ultra-aetheric ecto-quantum mega-macro transwarp wave projector, and omni-phasic hyper-toxic biomechanical matter/energy hybrid self-replicating insectoid swarm discharger beam blaster, respectively, to max level in a swirling blur of orbiting energy prong conjurations, power core enlargements, barrel extensions, and a deluge of other nanotechnoenchantic weapon upgrades. Finally, using the data gained by Nykannis’s comprehensive analysis of the Queen of Heart’s complete metaphysical makeup, Pentius-07 had overcharged all the various aspects of her omni-sonic hyper-harmonic electro-magnetic polyphasic frequency flux pulse array to utterly shatter the Wonderland Monarch’s bones, organs, and very soul, all while bombarding her with the enhanced, weaponized sound of Magical Dream Princess’s voice. And now, having locked onto their target for 100% accuracy, and with their ultra-overcharged esoteric armaments threatening to burst with pent-up power, Team Pentius unleashed them upon their helpless foe. In an instant, the fabric of reality was rent asunder as the ruinous beams of starkly inconceivable destructive energies converged on the ruler of Wonderland in all their world-shattering majesty…

Well, Magistrate?! Whadya think?! I know a single Killing Blow can easily be dodged (unless the person firing it is named Sakura, of course), but how about FIVE KILLING BLOWS FIRED SIMULTANEOUSLY?!!! _{(No quotation marks are employed here to denote that none of this is being said out loud.)} “NYAHAHAHAHA!!!” _{(This, however, is.)}

Wow.

”Not bad.”

---

MDP giggled with innocent glee as she caught pillow after pillow, with the occasional sugary treat for variety. “Mmmm~! Magical Dream Princess just wuvs this yummy wummy candy wandy~! (giggle!)” She was having so much fun, but sadly, that was about to come to an abrupt end…

While up until now the pillows she caught had simply thanked her and then been content to be piled up on the ground, her latest catch had a bit more to convey than just gratitude. “What’s thatsie whatsie, Mister Wister Pillow Willow~?!” MDP asked happily as she brought the fluffy pillow up to her ear, while smiling in eager excitement. “You wanna tell Magical Dream Princess something womething super duper important wortant~?!” after listening intently for a few seconds, the whimsical girl’s brilliant smile began to spread even wider. “Ooooohh~!” she squealed in delight. “More people weple are coming to play~?! YAY~!!!” she cheered, tossing her newest pillow pal up in the air while jumping up and down. However, her childish display of joy was brought to a crashing halt an instant later, when an explosion erupted nearby, causing the whimsical girl to wince as she was showered with debris. Looking behind her, she saw to her horror that additional Wonderland troops and vehicles had managed to circumvent her whimsical wall, and were now attacking from every side.

“HEY!!! That’s no fairsie wairsie!” MDP pouted, placing her hands on her hips and stomping a foot on the ground as she glared at the newly arrived Wonderland reinforcements. Then she remembered her now-falling pillow pal and held out her arms to catch it. However, all that landed in her hands were smoldering bits of cloth… “M-Mister Wister Pillow Willow…?” she asked in a quavering voice, her eyes beginning to rapidly fill with tears. “Mister Wister Pillow Willow?!” she cried as her whole body began to shake. “YOU KILLED HIM!!!” she screeched, before sending a shower of rainbow-tailed shooting stars to rain down upon the new arrivals with an enraged sweep of her whimsical wand. “YOU MEANIE WEANIE HEADS KILLED MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESS’S FRIENDY WENDY!!! SHE HATES YOU!!! SHE HATES YOU, HATES YOU, HATES YOU!!!” As her tantrum continued, the petulant Princess of Dreams sent still more mystical missiles to pummel the targets of her ire, with each soldier or vehicle struck by the hail of hearts, stars, and frowny faces being instantly transmuted into goopy play-dough or silly putty. “MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESS IS GONNA MAKEY WAKEY YOU ALL GO BYE BYE, RIGHT NOWIE!!!”

---

“Eeek!” Connie yelped in alarm as enemy fire began wizzing by her. Then she heard MDP’s anguished cry. “M-Magical D-Dream Princess…?” she asked, her voice a confused and frightened whimper as she pressed her trembling hands against her pounding heart.

“Come on, little sister,” Gaia instructed, while placing an arm around her panicking friend’s shoulder. “I believe her highness can take care of this on her own,” she added. “We need to head back to the teleporter.”

And just when I was thinking this was all over with…

---

Back at the teleporter, the Angel of Hope found herself being swiftly forgotten in the midst of the surrounding chaos…

Fuck… It’s like I’m not even a fucking afterthought… Damn it! I’m so fucking sick of Beacon and these other losers hogging the spotlight! And then there’s this asshole… I mean, hello! I just reinforced your stupid fucking barrier! The least you could do is say—

“LILY!”

Snapping her head in Alexander’s direction, she saw the magical boy dash off to where his girlfriend’s bruised body had fallen to the ground, minus half of one leg…

“Oh, good heavens!” the Angel cried, placing her hands over her mouth in horror. “The poor thing! Please, most valiant champion!” she begged Alexander, while pointing the glowing tip of her staff at his swiftly departing form. “Accept this humble servant’s blessing of swiftness and hasten to your soulmate’s side!”

Serves the stupid bitch right for trying to take all those fuckers on solo… And who does this bitch think she is with her lame-ass battle cry, fucking Joan of Arc?

Turning to face the Paladin-Seraph, she said, “Well said, most noble bringer-of-light! Truly, this humble servant stands in the presence of a leader-born!”

Born to run our chances of actually surviving this shitstorm into the fucking ground…

Alicia's focus remained unmoved, turning and firing one arrow of light after another. Quick steps kept her mobile, so she did not provide an easy target for their foes. Glancing to the side, a light smile appeared as she saw the others rallying to defend. Plenty of Penrose girls were willing to fight for a good cause, but the level of coordination that had spontaneously appeared was touching to see. At the very least there didn't seem to be too many hard feelings about the delayed arrival.

And so the evacuation went on while the fighting raged. With everyone working together things progressed much quicker, even as the pressure rose on them from Wonderland forces. Having made her point, Alicia left Violette to figure out what was going on. She had a job to do, and would not let herself be distracted.

...Too much, as Penny's voice appeared in her ear once more. "No worries," she replied with a shake of her head. "I'm not sure how many people are still running around the city rather than being here anyways." For now they were holding and that would have to be enough. Certainly Wonderland didn't seem like they were stopping.

At last the evacuation came to an end. The civilians had been removed from the combat zone, leaving this a successful mission. But there was no time to sleep easy as even more troops came pouring into the city, and the fighting just outside town seemed to intensify with massive blasts of energy. Alicia was glad she wasn't over there, but she didn't feel particularly comfortable here either.

Slowly stepping back, she looked to the others as the new situation became apparent. "Alright, that's it. Everyone back through the teleporter!" Not that she would stop someone if they were crazy enough to stay here, but as far as she was concerned there wasn't really a reason to linger.

Tracing a glyph in the sky, Alicia unleashed a barrage of arrows upon the Wonderland troops to cover anyone who wanted to make a break for the teleporter. She herself slowly backed in that direction, but at the very least she was going to make sure the rest of her team made it out before she departed Bolorton. Being addressed by Angel of Hope, she didn't let herself be distracted from the surge of Wonderland troops for long. "We're not out of this yet," she noted. Hopefully getting out would be as easy as arriving in Bolorton had been.
_{@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord@Ponn@Majoras End@Card Captor}

‘Hahahahaha! It worked!’ Mayra laughed out loud as she flew. Though, for whatever reason Kiyome stayed behind. ‘Haeeey! I went over there specifically to save silly idiots choosing to fight the head honcho! If you go over there now, I went for nothing!’ However, seeing how if she went over there again, Mayra would probably need rescuing again, so she figured someone had to stop the cycle. And as such, she went along with being teleported out of there, or whatever that was. Somewhere along the line Finn thanked her.

‘No problem! We’re back-to-back badasses, right!?’ Mayra laughed, just because that one time they’d had fun together, fighting off a horde of wendigos. ‘Now, let’s see how we can get your head back in place!’ Mayra called excitedly, grabbed Finn’s head, and then tried to forcefully shove it back onto his neck. With the assumption that didn’t work, she’d knock his head down onto his neck a couple more times, proving that force probably wouldn’t work.

‘Hm,’ Mayra looked thoughtful, then grinned a wicked grin and held up a pair of fingers that she promptly superheated so they lit on fire. ‘How ‘bout we try welding!?’

After laughing about it, regardless of Finn’s reaction to it, she then replied to Penny. ‘He’s alright! A bit shocked, but eh, he’ll get over it when he realizes he’s now a Dullahan, technically making him a monster boy now. And being a monster is awesome.’ Mayra nodded, convinced how right she was. ‘Welcome to monster life! Completely without most the benefits!’ she grinned at him.

Then Iron Mouse appeared, and Mayra looked at her with slight confusion, but then grinned.

‘Oh, friend of yours?’ she held up Finn’s head by his hair and dangled it a bit. She looked a bit confused at being forced to sit in someone’s lap, but honestly, sounded like fun. ‘Yeah, sure! I’ll come along! I can come along, right, Finn?’ she asked Finn’s head, grinning happily. His body was still under her other arm.

__________________________________________


‘MDP! Connie! Gaia! Lily and Alex! Angel! We need to get going!’ Ronin called out to those who might still be out there, unless I’m forgetting any.

‘Er, especially you, MDP! It’s unfortunate about your, um, mister Pillow, but we can’t stay here!’ Miko said, a bit frightened by this new side of MDP.

That’ll do.

Back-to-back...

The thought helped him manage a weak smile. "Y-Yeah." Though before Finn could talk further, Mayra had begun attempting to reattach his head. He quickly caught it when the first attempt didn't work.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow-"

Hammering it back down onto his neck didn't work either, if his reaction meant anything.

And then Mayra suggested welding.

Finn quickly shook his head. "HELL NO!" His short-lived fright would change to unamusement when Mayra's reaction implied she was joking. He remained silent as the dragon girl updated Penny on his condition. The implications that he was technically a monster boy now didn't exactly sound great to him like she thought. For years he tried to avoid being corrupted, and now...

It couldn't be that, could it?

Then Iron Mouse finally reappeared, thanking Mayra for getting him out of there. God, he felt mortified being reduced to this in front of the new agent. "Mhm." He answered when Mayra asked if they knew each other. He would've nodded but, yknow. Iron Mouse suggested they grab Oliver and retreat, though she worded it funny.

"That...sounds good."

God, he hated feeling so vulnerable. Hopefully Oliver won't be livid when he sees what happened to him.

---

It may have reduced him to half his mana, but they did it! Everyone was evacuated.

"Sorry fellas, but I gotta look for my teammates! Good luck to you all!" The real Oliver would call out, hurrying off to look for Finn and Iron Mouse.

I swear to god if either of you got hurt-

The ghost would overhear Iron Mouse calling out for him. It took him a bit to get what she was refering to. Pandora's Box. Things have escalated out of their control. He ran over to them. "Jesus, I was starting to get worried!" He grinned, looking between Mouse and Mayra.

And then he saw Finn.

Oliver's eyes widened, and he could feel his blood starting to boil. "Who the FUCK-"

"Please don't scream!" Finn quickly spoke up before the sentinel spirit got any bright ideas. "Please. Let's just..._{get out of here}."

The ghost took a few deep breaths, for Finn's sake. Whatever happened out there must've really scared him if he's like this. "Right, we're done here."

"The place is done for Justine, come on! We're leaving!"

"Good work out there, agents. But Finn, that was really wreckless of you! We're lucky you're still alive!" Once all the cradle agents were regrouped, they'd hear Maura talking to them through their coms.

_{"S-Sorry Maura..."}

"You've done wonderfully for your first mission, 'Miss Mouse'. I'll see what we can do with these hearts we got."

...

..

Now what of dear Jennifer?

Maybe if Nykannis' rain of killing blows doesn't stop the Queen, she could have a little chit-chat with Miss Storyslayer herself.

Only if the Magistrates allow it, of course.

---

“Yeah, I’ve got eyes on them. Plus I know Alicia. She is good people.”

”Once Myra and Finn are secured don’t stick around. Queen of hearts is being waylaid by unknown party, that is throwing Beacon under the bus at the same time. Could be more hostiles.”

"Acknowledged."

Not much to say in response to that, really. Enemy was hitting the point they would overwhelm and take this ruined heap of a place people had once lived in, and the defenders were going to bug out. Likewise some idiot was attacking the final end boss enemy commander and drawing attention to themselves. Not that those were the idiots she was here to help, of course, as they'd chosen their lot in things by their own actions.

‘Hahahahaha! It worked!’ Mayra laughed out loud as she flew.

‘Haeeey! I went over there specifically to save silly idiots choosing to fight the head honcho! If you go over there now, I went for nothing!’

Then the sword-swinging monarch glanced in her humble direction for a moment.

Ah. That look as if she'd seen a pest. What did the Queen here think she was, some knight in shining armor? Hah. No, she was just here to get idiots out of the line of fire. What was she, ten years old? What this person thought of her was nothing of consequence to her. Nothing she cared about unless such a person made certain mistakes they would only ever live to regret in the end. Mistakes one couldn't take back no matter how hard they tried...

...she understood that kind of mistake in some capacity, perhaps. But what the Queen had revealed even before her eyes, and frankly said aloud to boot, was more than somewhat interesting information. Curious.

Regardless, Kiyome would without a beat move on to using use a spell to send herself back to where Eliana was instead of attacking the Queen of Hearts. Given others were doing the job of distraction and tossing away their lives it was a true no-brainer for her in this case. She'd come in, done what she'd come to do, and now was getting out of there without pushing things further. Simple. Tactical. Practical. She'd maintain her stance, for what it was worth, and keep her eyes open as well though. Just in case.

Then unless the Queen tried to stop her or such that is the Draconic Swordswoman would reappear near her mistress once more, before putting a hand to the earpiece once more to talk to Penny.

"I sent one idiot-saving idiot dragon and a now-headless-but-not-dead guy were sent back into town. Got out of there as soon as I as an idiot could afford to afterward. Unknown party is likewise getting slammed into the metaphorical floor as we speak, so this whole place is going to collapse any time now."

The monster girl then looked about herself and the scene around them.

"Seems your friend Alicia, my mistress, and the others got the civilians out by now as well.

Feel free to contact me at any time using this earpiece. You seem level-headed enough among the people here.

This is Kiyome, over and out."

And that was that, at least for now.

---

They had managed to get all of the civilians out of there, and yet at the same time it hadn't been without cost or bloodshed either. As others beyond herself augmented Alex's barrier, and she worked with the others to get the civilians out, Lily had taken a beating of sorts. Or rather, her metamorphosis'd self was eventually stopped in its rampaging tracks as she seemed to fizzle out as well. A leg, blown right off at the worst possible time. It made the gypsy magical girl want to rush over and help, but as the tailed boy (Alex) swooped in and pulled the injured girl out of there she couldn't help but feel some kind of relief at that. Relief that the other girl was hopefully going to be ok, that is.

And then one of the new arrivals, whom she'd felt some sense of wanting to talk to for being so bubbly even in these circumstances, seemed to snap at the enemies. Apparently they'd killed, er, destroyed? Whichever it was, the enemy done that to an apparently friendly pillow that magical girl's own magic had created. Or so it seemed.

At the same time, others seemed to begin congregating toward the teleporter the Beacon arrivals had brought with them. Certainly a means of escape for sure, but as Kiyome reappeared next to her Eliana felt a small weight come off of her back. Alive, just still just as hurt as before, but alive and intact. It did not stop her from running over to the side of her ally, however, and attempting to help move her toward the teleporter after she seemed to speak over that odd earpiece again. Not that this was anything to pause and talk about right now, as it were.

She wanted to help the others get out as well, but at the same time couldn't ignore her own ally's condition as well. The draconic woman would not hesitate to toss her life out there again if she felt it would serve things. Indeed, the gypsy magical girl's face was in a distinctly worried but somewhat frustrated pout as her helper didn't resist her at all in being assisted over toward the teleporter.

"We're leaving now...the civilians are out, and I won't see you hurt worse here. Not this time."

"Heh. I'm touched. But that's my line, mistress, and its sounds so very odd coming from your mouth."

Kiyome very briefly cracked a small smile, though her tone seemed slightly sarcastic. Yet the small prod in her usual 'humor' would at least turn Eliana's own pout into something less so at least. Not that this was the first time they'd had such an exchange. The gypsy knew that if her ally was in the shape to talk like that on the fly, she was going to be ok. Bullet-riddled body and broken legs and cheeky comments and all.

"I simply hope we are allowed to pass through safely in this instance, but we've little options. I order you not to push yourself too far, however, even if it is to help us escape safely."

Hopefully the teleport took them not into the middle of a Beacon facility. Hopefully. Otherwise her Patron would likely come up in arms if someone tried to nab them like that on the spot in such a place. That wouldn't be good. No no no. Very much not good for them or anything in the vicinity really. Also the two horror minions carrying those two guns Kiyome had procured would come with them too.

Eliana would at least make sure to politely and kindly ask Aurelio if he could send them not into the middle of a Beacon base once they got to the teleporter. Maybe into a nice city or such, or Penrose if he knew the destination. They had to get to Penrose in general, as far as their standing orders from their Patron were concerned.

@PlatinumSkink@Ariamis@Majoras End@Card Captor@Flamelord@Ponn

---

---

---

The magical maid felt nothing but relief as the last of the civilians was taken away by the teleporter, but the advance of Wonderland forces on their position was far from over. The town was falling, and they could not do anything but try to escape with their own lives now. Worse was the return of the dragon girl with the oversized sword, and the chill presence it permeated the air with. That vile, disgusting filth that both made her stomach turn and sent terror into her very bones, that was what that gypsy and that monster girl served. No doubts about it, but she took very distinct care to avoid them as they seemed to make their way toward the teleporter to attempt to escape as well.

Would Aurelio send them to somewhere else instead of the base? Maybe to the Inquisition Facility she'd been inside...ah.

No she didn't want to start anything, please not right now. She still had to ask about Penny at base, find a chance to talk to Cardinal Ishtar, talk to Alicia and the others, likely go on more missions, etc. She'd barely just gotten back! Trying to start something with THOS, of all beings, would not benefit anything or anyone at Beacon or otherwise right now. That much she felt to be sure.

A shudder did run down her back after she ran past the teleporter and to where Alicia was, however, trying to distance herself from the presence. More so, however, without thinking she wouldn't want to leave her allies behind at the first opportunity either. So it went without saying that she went to where Alicia was and began to launch attacks of her own, waves of duplicates of her weapon being fired out in arcs into the enemy lines. Wherever knives hit the sides of machines or got stuck in the ground, well, such knives would channel her magic to spawn a tentacle to wildly and mightily lash out at and try to tear down enemy equipment they were attached to or thrash enemy troops within striking range.

"I'll back you up too, Alicia!"

Maybe this would help buy time for the others to escape as well, or at least supplement Alicia's efforts in that sense.

@Flamelord@Ariamis@Shifter_Master

Before Alicia had even started ordering the withdraw Aurelio was already in motion. His emotional reading letting him preempt the order. Most of his clones retreated back to the original magician to retop his stores incase he needed to pull a trick or two out of his hat to get them out of the fire that this city was rapid devolving into.

One clone stayed on hand for emergency teleportation needs. Said clone ended up getting used almost immediately. With Eliana and Kiyome’s request. He would have helped them leave regardless, but keeping them away from Beacon HQ seemed to be a good idea with how Serenity seemed to react to them. Teleporting them, and the clone, to one of Penrose’s many parks.

The other clone he still had out was positioned near the beacon they had set up. Primed and ready to teleport it out as well, as no sense in letting Wonderland get a hold of Beacon tele tech.

The boy himself would be positioned mid-way between Alicia and the Teleporter, his focus entirely on defense and support. Ready to pop in a few more hims to teleport everyone nearby out incase things took an even more drastic turn for the worse.

---

Potentially unnoticed in the chaos of the renewed Wonderland assault, Tina and Elene would go back into the shelter. And from within the building a swirling portal would open up underneath them before snapping shut the moment they were free.

---

[-Ronin & Miko]
“Stand by for exfiltration” Penny’s voice would crackle out from both of their gifted comms. “Gateway will be live in five. Anyone nearby will be along for the ride.” She’d inform them. Seemingly aware of their current predicament of allies not being willing to leave. Or more specifically ally as the case was.

Justine was preoccupied with throwing her bloody javelins when she saw Alex run out of the barrier.

”Wait, what are you-” She shouted after him, only to see Lily in the distance. He was quick as a cheetah, carried aloft by the Angel of Hope’s blessings.

”Lily! Hang on!” She dashed up into the air, and pointed her spear down at the enemy forces.

”Mountain of a Thousand Needles!” She screamed, and scarlet spines shot out in a spray, only an inch in diameter but five feet in length. The spines pierced troopers, blocked enemy fire, and embedded into the ground to act as a further hazard. Of course, she had left an open path for Alex and his clone as they rushed back. Alex had successfully located her leg in the midst of the chaos, blackened by the blast. With Lily in tow, barely able to hold onto the clone, the two returned and dove through the teleporter. Justine looked behind her, and sighed in relief, only to be suddenly shot by a couple of bursts of enemy fire; she cursed her inattentiveness. She fell, but at the last moment managed to unfurl her wounded wings, and scrambled into a dive into the teleporter.

As the rest of the defenders scrambled to escape the living hell that slowly but surely encroached upon them, whether it was through the teleporter or other means, a couple of familiar silhouettes could be seen rushing back, knocking over a tank like it was a trash can.
“Kept ya waiting, huh?” Nefer quipped at Iron Mouse with a flirty wink while holding trophies and keepsakes in a burglar bag she held over her back. Akhenaten did not greet with as much as a grunt as he slid before their car, creating grooves in the ground. He then spread his arms wide while facing Wonderland’s forces, acting as a wall to protect the Mahou mobile from a cannon shell that slipped through a hole in the barrier and ineffectively blew up against the golem.
“Show’s over, now book it, Rocky!” She shouted before she jumped into the shotgun seat, followed by her stocky partner who took the wheel and punched the pedal to the medal, blasting right out of there with the rest of the passengers.

The Beacon forces were one of the last groups to depart, determined to ensure the escape of their non-affiliated compatriots out of a sense of duty. Hyun Long punched dragons made of fire out from her fists as she walked backwards into the teleporter, right alongside Serenity as she too covered their retreat, knives bursting with vicious tendrils. But right as she was about to warp out, she shot out one last fire dragon that opened it’s maws on their pickup car, blowing it up in a magnificent explosion, catching an entire squadron in the blast radius.
Can’t have them grabbing that, she figured.

---

The Queen of Hearts’ eyes narrowed at the Queen of the Mad Scientists and her haughty nature, and simply smirked in response. “The only amazing thing about you is how hard you try.”
She readied her sword, and her eye glowed as she channelled the power of the Storyslayer.
But then, an expression of disbelief came upon her face. “You have to be kidding me.”
She jumped the moment the moment Pentius-03 activated her ability, attempting to move out of the gifted nullification zone, only to be trapped and forced to defend herself as Nykannis unleashed a power play among the mightiest of Mahou on her, weapons upon weapons of mass destruction of ridiculous descriptions aimed at her. Her sword spun rapidly around her, cutting down the attacks and turning them into ribbons of black words that melted into white paper.
She cut down the first Killing Blow, and the Second and Third…Even the Fourth one…But the final one managed to land, and her arm was blown off from the elbow.

But as Nykannis laughed in victory, she suddenly braced, feeling pain; the Queen had thrown her spinning Storyslayer, the sword having cleaved through every single defense the near-Goddess of Technology had accrued, and left a long scar on her arm that would sting and not heal. The Queen then dropped to one knee, and after she caught the blade back in her hand, she embedded it to the ground, clutching the stump where her arm was. It was a moment where any other Mahou would have faltered, as the Second Phase closed in for the kill.

But the Queen could only laugh.

At that moment, The Second Phase scattered as storm winds wreathed in hex-spewing ghosts assaulted them, and Wendigos rushed to gore and claw at them like a pack of wolves. Electronic systems jammed, and bombs with hats exploded over various Pentius members, coating them in melting, sticky rubbergum that completely insulated and immobilized. “Congratulations!” Exclaimed the Mad Hatter as he stepped out into the field, equipped with all manner of gadgets and devices while juggling a few bombs with hats on them. He was accompanied by various members of the Queen’s court, like the March Hare, looking pissed off due to the explosion, a monster girl with the upper body of a lady and the lower body of a winged lion, and a hooded green-haired girl with butterfly wings. The Mad Hatter had a deranged smile. “Shall we celebrate your unbirthday? I have plenty of tea~” All the while, the seemingly endless legions of Wonderland surrounded Nykannis and her crew.

The Queen stood up, and smiled, seemingly shrugging off the loss of her arm as one would treat a mere flesh wound. “You truly are as worthy as your title, Scientist Sovereign. I’m impressed. I see it now, you do understand, after all; the cruel game the Powers are playing, with us as the pawns! The accursed Grand Magistrate! But I won’t fall into despair. I won’t surrender! You may bend the rules all you like, but I’m the one to shatter them. For I am the one to pen this story with the ending it deserves. My blade is the quill…And the blood of fools is my ink.” She sighed as she looked at her sword, glancing at the reflection of Jennifer on it. “Are you offering yours for the next page?”

---

When the Mahou teleported out of the cacophony of Bolorton’s battlefield, the found themselves once again in silence, as if a page had suddenly turned from one scene to another. It was a moment when they could finally catch a breath, and take in the horrors of what they had experienced in but a fleeting moment.

The primary group found themselves in a white, padded room, with a cushioned floor; it was seemingly designed for safely arriving into the room even from high velocity. There were gold highlights in the ceiling, like a stylized sun with spiralling rays of gold surrounding it; a familiar symbol to those in the ranks of Beacon. They were greeted by Beacon paramedics, who immediately got to work treating the group’s various wounds, starting with Lily. The green.haired girl was sobbing as she held her severed leg by the knee, seemingly in both physical as well as emotional pain. The paramedics forcefully grabbed the leg away from Alex without apologizing, and immediately worked to graft the lost limb back into place with Reinforcement magic. As for the others who had escaped to the parks in Penrose, the only greeting they received was a cold, ominous wind, and the forlorn rustling of leaves.

Justine had crawled to the back corner and sat against the wall, looking tired as her torn wings were spread out on the floor, looking like an angel who had fallen from heaven. Her head was down, slowly shaking her head when a paramedic arrived to look at her.

”I’m fine, thank you,” she muttered to the paramedic, who went to treat other wounds. She looked down at the floor.
”But still…I still can’t believe it…First Envy, and now even Pride…This can’t be a coincidence.”

Curiously, there weren’t any signs of the civilians at first, until they heard a crying child nearby. Stepping out of the room and into the corridor, the arrivals would see that more Beacon paramedics were working in the adjacent room, where the civilians had been taken into.
Annabelle, who had managed to escape with only a few minor burns on her forearm and shoulder, ran into the other room to check up on the townsfolk.

Soon after, Alicia saw Rachel stomping in, followed by Violette. The latter looked shocked; Alicia couldn’t blame her.
“It was a ruse, Inquisitor! They never intended to-” Violette spoke out, only to be silenced as Rachel lifted a hand.
“Not here, Violette. Paladin Seraph, you and your squad will directly report to Cardinal Ishtar as soon as possible; she needs to know all the details of what had transpired out there.”
She then addressed the non-Beacon Mahou who were present.
“The Beacon will provide first-aid. However, we would like to ask you to stay and provide witness accounts to what happened in Bolorton.” She adjusted her glasses. “If my hunch is correct…We might need to work together.”

”No…" Lily whimpered, and lifted an arm to wipe her tears away.

”It’s not a possibility…We have to. All of us. For Penrose."

Once Lily's leg got reattached, Alexander felt a lot, but not all of the tension leave his body. Once she was in one piece, he got to work patching up whatever other wounds she has, never letting her go. "Just who the hell is this Queenie bitch!?" Alexander spoke up "I mean, I heard from some crazy girl that she attacked Bolorton to use it as a staging point to take over Penrose, but that's about it. So does anyone else know who the hell she is, and more importantly; how are we going to kick her ass for this" He got to his feet while using a few tails to help hold and carry Lily, and moved to the side of the room to get out of the way of any of the workers "Because if that girl was right and not just some crazy nutjob; she's coming for us next. And I don't know about the rest of you; but I don't want to go through a chaotic civilian evacuation again, especially in my own home."

Nykannis cackled maniacally as her creations pummeled the Queen of Hearts with destructive forces beyond comprehension. However, her deranged laughter trailed off a moment later, as she watched the Wonderland Monarch use her reality-breaking blade to slice through each of the first four Killing Blows in turn, before the fifth finally managed to blow her arm off. But not, it appeared, before the Storybook Sovereign flung her wondrous weapon directly at the Monarch of Mad Science herself…

Spinning through the air like a buzzsaw, the Storyslayer seemed to slice through the dimensional fabric itself, warping the space around it as if it were mere paper. Not wasting a second, and without a single thought for her own safety, Pentius-04, the greatest bodyguard and defender that Nykannis’s mastery of The Artifact’s Create Your Own Avatar system could devise, teleported to interpose herself between her Super-Scientific Sovereign and the very manifestation of the Grand Magistrate’s own indomitable will. Anchoring herself with a trio of overlapping gravity wells, and charging her mighty Super-Numinous Sanctum Singularity Shield to maximum, while simultaneously reinforcing it with a plethora of multi-manifold polyphasic omni-dimensional ecto-esoteric energy barriers, the protective paragon of Team Pentius braced for the Storyslayer’s impact.

She never stood a chance.

Slicing through her barriers, and then her body, the terminator of tales homed in on its true target. Yet, even as Pentius-04’s two halves fell to the ground, Nykannis was swiftly raising her own defenses. Multi-layered Infinity Reflector Screens, Nth-Space Negation Shells, Omni-Phasic Hyperion Veils, Polymorphic Protective Portal Clusters, Numinospheric Neo-Neutrino Ultra-Aetheric Transposition Fields, and Chronometric Retroactive Reversion Quantum Singularity Shields, all were deployed and overcharged to their very limits, and then, pushed even further beyond. But it still wasn’t enough… Her many glowing eyes widening in horrific realization as she watched each defensive line shatter in turn, the Mad Scientist Supreme raised a massive clawed appendage in a desperate, last-ditch effort to at least partially deflect the inexorable instrument of her impending doom…

On the spinning, reality-piercing pinwheel came, slicing through the appendage’s multi-layered, interlocking energy sheathes and then the ultramagitech nano-fluidic hyperalloy armor beneath like a lightsaber through tissue paper. But even so, by some transcendent burst of preternatural agility, sublime stroke of luck, or (she hated to admit) Magisterial magnanimity, the Storyslayer managed to merely graze her arm, before spinning away and back into the Queen of Heart’s sole remaining hand. Nykannis hissed in pain as an ink-stained crevice was gouged into the appendage, one, which no amount of restorative nanite infusion or chronometric reversal seemed capable of restoring. This was unprecedented. Long indeed had it been since anyone had been able to inflict such a blow upon her, and the fact that this weapon had told the Queen of the Mad Scientists all she needed to know.

Linked as they were to her personal ultratechnomystic power accumulator pocket dimension, the remaining members of Team Pentius were already preparing to fire another volley of Killing Blows at the ruler of Wonderland, but Nykannis already knew it would be utterly pointless to even attempt to continue this farce. Indeed, she wasn’t surprised in the slightest when even more portals opened and a deluge of phantasmal specters, rabid wendigos, and top hat-wearing bombs descended upon them with the force of an avalanche. Even the other ridiculous members of the Queen’s royal court had appeared on the field. Now, Nykannis was well aware she could counter this, of course. There were more teams of Phase Two on standby, hundreds more (not to mention her own, personal, forces), but what would deploying them here really accomplish? The Queen of Hearts had won this battle. Such had the Grand Magistrate intended, thus had it occurred, which made the Storybook Sovereign’s next words vastly more hilarious than they already were…

“NYAHAHAHAHA!!!” Nykannis cackled in deranged amusement. “You really think you can oppose the guy who gave you your special snowflake powers to BEGIN WITH?!! Nyahahahaha! You’re just a puppet on a fucking STRING!!! You won this round, Queenie,” she added with cruel smirk. “But only because he let you. Just keep that in mind whenever you wanna start round two.”

With that, there was a colossal burst of crackling, yellowy-green actinic lightning, and when it faded, Nykannis, along with every member of all five of the Phase Two teams she’d brought with her, had vanished without a trace.

However, while the various members of Phase Two would arrive at the Demiris Defense Systems R&D complex immediately, the Monarch of Mad Science would be making a short side trip…

It was time to arrange a meeting of the minds…

@Majoras End@PlatinumSkink

A wink from Nefer, an outburst from Oliver, a wild look from Mayra, and a complement from her boss on a job well done.

Mac didn't respond to any of it.

Iron Mouse scrambled to get into the car with the others before they drove out of town. For a job well done, it didn't feel like she had done that much. Yes, they had done a number on wonderlands soldiers, but it seemed like she had plenty more of those. Aside from buying time for beacon, it didn't seem like they had accomplished much of anything. Then again, "not much" could be looked at as significant when you were handicapped and your opponent was cheating. Sometimes there was no shot at certain victory, only margins of defeat.

The seating arrangement was just as confusing as it had ever been. Mouse had urged everyone into the back before getting in herself. She was seated in Oliver's lap and Mayra and Finn were sitting side by side, both holding onto Finn's head with all their might. Everyone seemed to be feeling a bit different. Mayra and Nefer seemed to be in high spirits, but Oliver and Finn were devastated. It was hard not to share in her fellow agent's discomfort. Mac didn't know any of them that well, but she at least knew Oliver was a good guy and didn't deserve to experience what was happening to him. Sure, Finn didn't have his head, but Oliver was easily more upset. Something happened to his friend that he wasn't able to prevent.

And of course, she was technically deceiving all of them. She'd come clean as soon as she returned to Cradle's HQ.

Did Cradle have an HQ?

She looked over her shoulder just in time to see the mad scientist lady get injured, laugh in her rival's face, and depart. Mac felt like that had some sort of significance, but with her third eye deactivated she couldn't really appreciate what had transpired.

"Well.” Iron Mouse finally spoke up. "Not everything went according to plan, but we've got one thing going for us.” Iron Mouse reached over and patted Mayra on the head. "I think we can all agree this girl's a massive upgrade from Justine.”

The world around her continued to move as she waited. Everyone fled, Cradle was alright, Bolorton was Wonderland's. She didn't exactly react to it. Until...

Jennifer's brows rose when the Queen managed to get a hit (albeit a slight one in) against Nykannis. And lo, more of the Queen's ranks flooded in soon after. And her commanders, more than willing to rain hellfire back at the Mad Scientist and her team. She didn't act yet. She allowed the Queen and Nykannis to converse for a bit longer before the latter finally left. Then the former finally acknowledged her pressence.

She smirked. Couldn't turn me down, huh?

"Quite the collective you got, Sweetheart! But this event has been going on for long enough. Can't we settle this over a nice cup of tea?" She fearlessly approached the queen and her guard. No weapons, no tricks in sight. "Though if you still wish to try your luck against me, well, how can I turn down such an offer~?"

"Halt! None may approach Her Highness!" The centaur-shaped girl ordered as she landed between Jennifer and the Queen, unfurling her wings and baring her claws. The soldiers around pointed their weapons. But then, a voice rang out from behind her:
"Stand aside, Gryphon. I want this vessel to carry me for the rest of the day." The Queen had unsummoned her weapon, and waved the monster girl away dismissively. Gryphon grit her teeth, but then slowly stepped to the side, and the rest stood down. "Besides, she has piqued my curiosity..." She met Jennifer's gaze with her own, displaying a royally haughty disposition. "What do you think could be settled here in the first place?"

At this, Jennifer allowed her glided clock eye to be revealed. "Oh, just a little theory I wanna confirm!" Her intense gaze remained even as she tilted her head with an ever prevalent smile. "We bear a similar power, you and I, do you not?"

The Queen looked disappointed. "Ah. I see. A mere pawn, playing at a Power." She slowly shook her head. "Yes, someone like you would assume I also possess a boring ability like glimpsing into the future, I suppose." She sighed. "Did I get that right?"

Close, but not quite!" Jen winked, tapping the side of her head. "Sure, the concept of the Exodus of Time was limited to seeing into future _{willingly or otherwise} at first, but since this reality's more magic based, it gives me more freedom against those dreadful limitations!" The jovial woman explained further. "The Powers-That-Be couldn't stop me from breaking the rules against time travel, could they? Hahah!"

She folded her hands behind her back. "But you can't really blame me for being curious, Queenie! How you spoke to Finnegan and Mac, your talk about being the one to "shatter" the rules of this reality, and how you will see that it reaches its rightful conclusion? Ever the more curiouser~" She tilted her head to the other side. She purposefully left out one other detail, but the color of one's eyes was a relatively minor detail.

The Queen grimaced at the mention of the Powers-That-Be. "That's right. Once I attain the Nexus, I will be able to reach beyond this plenum, and crush the Grand Magistrate. But I am merely wasting my time on the likes of a puppet like you," she afterwards said, and turned away. "The only one who could truly understand me had already left."

"Cute little analogy, but you're still no different in that regards." Jen puffed a cheek out. "Trying to release yourself from your own strings or not, you're still this chapter's bad guy. Your plot armor ain't gonna keep you safe forever! The bad guy must be defeated eventually, as all stories go." She rocked in place on the balls of her heels. "Do you even know where the Nexus is? What's your motivation for doing all this anyways?"

"Is it really all just for Alice?"

Ugh, saying that name outloud left a sour taste in Jen's mouth.

And as she gulped, she felt cold steel against her throat, the Queen having drawn her weapon in the blink of an eye. How could she not foresee this? It was as if the action was outside their perceived reality.
"...Mention her name again, and it is off with your head." She kept the weapon completely still, gauging the Witch' reaction.
The latter could tell her words had affected her deeper than her expression let on.

Jennifer wasn't smiling so much either. In fact, something about it seemed to trouble her as well.

"Trust me, I never wish to speak of that name ever again. This will hopefully be a one time thing, if I have any say in it."

As much as a small part of her wished to know more, the rest forbade it.

After a grueling ten seconds, she lowered the sword.
"This is not just for any single person, but for us all," she afterwards spoke. "I took on the role of a villain, for only then will the script develop as I want. Their precious Penrose must be challenged and in mortal peril for the stage to be set...and for the Nexus to fully manifest." She smiled disturbingly. "That is how the letters form on the parchment, how the sentence is punctuated, right on the dot. Powers they may be, but in the end, even the Grand Magistrate bow to the laws of narrative."

The false witch listened closely. "For what good is a plot without a proper narrative, right? A willing villainess, ready to bend the world to her whim so that her desired ending may be achieved..." She noted. With that, her smile returns.

"Mayhaps we are leagues apart in strength, but our goals still align, nonetheless. Perhaps we can arrange something!"

The Queen lifted an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, would that something be?"
"Your Highness, If I may be excused." The Mad Hatter spoke up, having listened to the conversation from the sidelines. "Witches are not to be trusted. She is simply luring you to her peppermint house so she can cook you in the oven, if you pardon the metaphor."
The Queen glanced at the dapper inventor, and looked back at Jennifer.
"He makes a good point. What reason do I have to trust you?"

Jen pretended to be flabbergasted. "In name only, Hattie! You really think they'd suddenly exempt their rule against witches of time and space now? I only go by the title to blend in!"

She turned her attention back to the Queen. "You're not gonna get anywhere with Penrose with their current hierarchy. I know you tried to parlay with Miss Paragon-of-Penrose back there, but she was never gonna hear you out!" She told her. "BUUUT I believe if your theory holds any weight, getting rid of Penny should cause enough chaos to draw the Nexus out of its hidey-hole!"

The Mad Hatter seethed at the insult. "That's Mister Hatwington to you, hexlet!" Jen simply stuck her tongue out at him in response.

However, the Queen put a hand to her chin in contemplation, ignoring the verbal scuffle. "Hmm...That would be the kind of development the Grand Magistrate would not tolerate, considering how favoured she seems to be..." She smiled. "Yes, that might be the key to all this. So, you wish to co-operate in this, yes?"

"Yup!" Jennifer nodded.

"Excellent. Well then, I look forward to hearing about your success," The Queen spoke with a wave of her hand, followed by opening a portal. "Now, I must depart. There's so much to do and so little time."

"Hmmm, yeah, we've been prolonging this a bit too long. See ya!"

...

Though once the Queen of Hearts and her army finally left, Jen stayed behind for just a bit longer.

"...You got all that?"

”I don’t know what to say. I probably shouldn’t say anything… Let’s meet up with Nykannis later!”

"Lame. But fair."

Alicia was one of the last to depart, keeping up a spirited defense to make sure that the others had time to exit through the teleporter or to find some other means of escape. She could not fend off all of their troops singlehandedly, but her task was accomplished all the same. Her gaze swept over the area before she moved for the teleporter, jumping into it just before it was destroyed by a tank. Overall, she would consider the mission to be a respectable success. Bolorton had been lost, but the civilians were safe.

In the blink of an eye she found herself at their destination. It was a soft landing, as that was what the place had been designed for it seemed. Which made sense, given the hurried nature of the evacuation. More magical girls soon arrived to provide medical care for the injured, and it was soon apparent that the civilians had made it through safely as well.

There was little time to rest for her though as Rachel arrived in the room. She seemed to be in her usual bad mood as she approached them and addressed the girls who had arrived here. "Yes Ma'am," she agreed with a nod. Without having much to say to the comment about having to work together, she nodded to her companions and departed to go find the Cardinal as requested.
_{@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord}

Even as Gaia guided her to the teleporter, Connie couldn’t hep but worry about MDP. “A-Are y-you s-sure s-she’ll be o-okay?!” she asked the verdant maiden, her voice a blend of panic and concern.

“I have every confidence in her,” Gaia reassured her emotional friend. “Besides, there are others here who are far better suited to the task of keeping her safe.”

Indeed, one such individual was the Angel of Hope, who gave the pair an encouraging smile as they raced past her and onto the teleportation pad, before turning her attention to the besieged Princess of Dreams. However, in the brief moment she had turned away, the whimsical girl had vanished, along with her nearby pile of pillows.

“W-Wherever could the poor thing have gone…?” she wondered aloud.

Ah, fuck it… One less moron for me to worry about…

By this point, only she and the Paladin Seraph remained. Yet, before an argument could begin about who would be the last to leave, the sound of a tank opening fire decided the issue for them, the two winged magical girls leaping into the teleporter mere seconds before it was completely obliterated.

On the other side, a well-lit padded room was waiting for them.

How appropriate…

“W-W-Where a-are w-we?” Connie asked, her head rapidly looking every-which-way as she tried to make sense of her new surroundings.

“It would appear we have arrived at Beacon’s Penrose HQ,” Gaia observed, while still keeping a firm grip on her frightened friend’s shoulder.

This was confirmed a moment later, when a small army of medical personnel rushed into the room, before swiftly fanning out to attend to whatever injuries the new arrivals had sustained in the battle. These were followed by the seemingly perpetually-annoyed Rachel, with Violette in tow. After exchanging a few words with Alicia, the bespectacled Inquisitor turned her attention to the other new arrivals, “requesting” that they remain for a debriefing.

Although Connie was still fairly shaken up, and wanted nothing more than to just go home, she was pretty sure none of them had much choice in the matter. Thus, the timid girl reluctantly followed along as they were led to a series of small rooms, each containing a table with a chair on either side.

“This way, please,” a blonde girl with a star-covered cape and witch’s hat instructed with a friendly smile. “You can wait in this room here,” she told Connie, gesturing to the room in question.

“A-Alone…?” Connie asked, hugging her trembling body as she hesitantly peered inside the small chamber.

“Yes, it’s much easier to get an accurate picture of events if you relate your experiences individually,” the blonde young woman explained. “But please be assured, you’re perfectly safe,” she added, upon noticing how frightened the masked girl seemed to be. “Nothing bad will happen to you, and you’ll be reunited with your friends in no time!”

“It’ll be okay, Connie,” Gaia added, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You can do this. And remember, I’ll be just on the other side of this wall.”

“O-Okay…” she conceded with a reluctant gulp, before cautiously making her way into the room and sitting down on the indicated chair.

“Just try to relax,” the blonde instructed gently. “The examiner will be here soon.”

With that, the door slid shut, and Connie found herself alone in the small room. At first, her eyes darted to each facet of the meager chamber, as if some horrible, hidden thing was mere moments from leaping out at her. Then she noticed just how tiny the room was, and her breathing began to quicken as her claustrophobia began to assert itself. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to slow her breathing and think of happy, calming things, but her anxiety was just too strong… Just as she was about to suffer a full-blown panic attack, the door finally slid open to reveal a serious-looking young woman in somewhat skimpy armor, whose visage displayed a severity which rivaled that of Rachel’s…





“Good evening, my name is Dawn Astraea,” the young woman introduced herself in a stoic tone as she took a seat on the opposite side of the table. “I will be conducting your debriefing. If you do not have any questions, then let us begin. First and foremost, I am obligated to inform you that this debriefing is being recorded, and that your answers will be reviewed by a light magic specialist for verification. If any falsehoods are detected, or we are given reason to believe that you pose a danger to The Beacon, you will be retained for additional investigation. Is that understood?”

“U-U-Ummm… Y-Y-Yes…”

***

“Understood.”

***

“Of course! This humble servant would never wish to deceive or threaten anyone!”

Not like I have a fucking choice…

***

“What is your name and magical girl title?”

“C-C-Connie W-Williams. A-A-And m-my m-magical g-girl t-title i-is T-The E-Empress o-of N-N-Nightmares, b-but I d-don’t r-really u-use it c-cause it s-sounds s-so s-s-scary…”

***

“My magical girl title is Gaia, the Daughter of Mother Earth. I would prefer to keep my mundane identity confidential, if that is all right with you.”

***

“You may call this humble servant The Angel of Hope, for that is what she wishes to bring to all in need!”

And don’t forget about rainbows and sparkles and sunshine and holy fucking shit I’m about to puke…

***

“What is your magical specialization?”

“N-N-Nightmares…”

***

“Plant life, although I believe the official designation is Wood.”

***

“Reinforcement.”

***

“Are you a dark magical girl or monster girl?”

“N-No… A-At l-least, I-I d-don’t t-think s-so…”

***

“No to both.”

***

“No, I am not, but, even so, I do not feel it is my place to judge, or heaven forbid, discriminate against them!”

They all deserve love and kindness like every other fucking thing…

“Am I to assume your wings are a result of the wings perk, then?”

“Yes, that is most correct.”

What? You’ve seriously never seen a girl with wings before? Didn’t you notice the pair of flappers Miss Joan of Arc has, or are you just fucking blind?

***

“Is your Patron classified as a horror?”

“U-Umm… I-I d-don’t t-think s-so… I-I m-mean, h-he’s r-really s-s-scary, b-but I-I t-think h-he’s j-just a L-Lesser F-Force… A-At l-least, t-that’s w-what M-Mia s-said…”

“Mia?”

“O-Oh! S-She’s m-my b-best f-friend, a-and s-she h-helps m-me a l-lot w-with m-magical g-girl s-stuff…”

***

“No, of course not. Mother Earth is classified as a Deity.”

***

“Heavens no! Master Chiichuu is a most kind and noble Puchuu! It was only because of his great generosity that this humble servant was granted the power to aid the oppressed and despairing!”

Stupid fucking flea-ridden fuzzball…

***

“Have you ever worked alongside a dark magical girl/boy, monster girl/boy, and/or servant of a horror?”

“U-Umm… Y-Yes, d-during t-the b-battle j-just n-now…”

***

“I have, but always in the pursuit of helping those in need, and twice when members of Beacon were doing likewise.”

***

“Yes, it is this humble servant’s great joy and honor to work beside any who seek to aid the helpless, no matter what form they may take!”

And no matter how much I might hate it…

***

“Have you ever opposed the glorious and righteous will of The Beacon Ascendancy?”

“U-Um… I-I d-don’t t-think s-so…”

***

“No, not to my knowledge.”

***

“Regrettably, yes, but only when you made an unprovoked attack upon the innocent.”

And completely against my will…

***

“Why have you yet to renounce your Patron and embrace the radiant light of The Beacon?”

“U-Umm… W-Well… L-Like I s-said b-before, h-h-he’s r-really s-s-scary, a-and h-he w-w-won’t l-let me l-leave, a-and w-w-when I-I a-asked o-o-once, h-h-he g-got r-really a-a-angry…”

***

“I could never leave Mother. I am her beloved daughter, after all, and it is my great honor and pleasure to serve her for as long as there is life within me.”

***

“Oh, this humble servant could never abandon kind Master Chiichuu! He was so very lost and despondent when our paths first crossed, and it would simply bring me to endless tears if I were to see him in such a wretched state once more!”

Yeah, tears of fucking joy…

***

“How did you learn that Bolorton was under attack?”

“M-My f-friend, L-Lily, t-texted e-everyone.”

***
“Lily Lightning, a valued friend and fellow magical girl, alerted us to the situation.”

***

“As he often does, Master Chiichuu told me of the horrific events occurring in that poor town! He is always so attentive to the plight of the helpless, and it brings this humble servant such great joy to aid them on his behalf!”

Annoying little ball of shit…

***

“How did you reach Bolorton in time to assist with its evacuation?”

“O-Oh, w-well, um, o-one o-of m-my f-friends was a-able t-to m-make a p-portal f-for us.”

***

“Via a portal.”

***

“A brave and noble draconic champion generously established a great portal with which to facilitate our swift passage to the besieged town.”

And was annoying as all fucking shit…

***

“What was the approximate strength of the Wonderland forces attacking the town?”

“W-Wonderland f-forces…? Y-You m-mean the p-playing c-card s-soldiers?”

“Correct.”

“U-Umm, I-I don’t r-really r-remember t-too much… T-There were a lot of s-soldiers on the g-ground, a-and s-some o-others i-in t-the a-air, a-and s-some t-tanks… I-I’m s-sorry I c-can’t b-be m-more h-helpful…”

***

“There were several dozen squads of infantry, numbering over a hundred individual soldiers, as well as multiple tank formations, and at least one airborne special forces unit equipped with heavy weapons. There was also a quartet of monsters themed on the Wizard of Oz.”

***

“Oh goodness! There were so very many, and they were doing such horrible things! Oh, that poor town! Whatever did it do to deserve being subjected to such atrocities?!”

I mean, I have some ideas…

***

“Via what method or methods were the Wonderland forces deployed?”

“I-I n-never r-really s-saw… I-I was m-mostly j-just h-helping t-to e-evacuate the t-town, s-since m-my m-magic d-didn’t w-work o-on the s-soldiers…”

***

“From what little I could ascertain, the first wave appeared to have arrived via a portal on the far side of the hills, just beyond the town’s agricultural fields. Later in the battle, several additional portals appeared around and inside the town, deploying significant reinforcements, which completely overwhelmed our defenses.”

***

“This humble servant is afraid she cannot say. She was far too focused on helping the injured and imperiled to concern herself with those awful brutes’ point of origin.”

Maybe if I could actually fight any of them it’d be a different story…

***

“Did you witness any member of Beacon engaging the Wonderland forces in combat?”

“U-Umm… I-I’m n-not r-really s-sure… I-I’m s-sorry…”

***

“Yes, but only after the Wonderlanders had attacked them first.”

***

“Indeed I did, and how brave and noble they were! Putting their own lives in mortal peril so that defenseless innocents might be protected! Truly, it was a most sublimely inspiring sight!”

Yeah, it inspired me to nearly vomit…

***

“Did the Wonderlanders communicate with you in any way?”

“N-No…”

***

“They did not. Although some of the Oz-themed monsters made various in-character observations, I do not believe that any of them were attempts at communication.”

***

“Oh, how I only wish they did! Then we might have been able to resolve our differences without resorting to such awful violence!”

Did I really just fucking say that?

***

“Did you communicate with the Wonderlanders in any way?”

“N-No…”

“Have you ever gone to speech therapy?”

“N-N-No…”

“Disgraceful. Such a meek and indecisive voice is utterly unbecoming of a magical girl, and should therefore be remedied at the earliest opportunity.”

“I-I-I’m s-sorry! I-I’m s-sorry! I-I’m s-sorry! I-I’m s-sorry! I-I-I’m j-just r-really n-n-nervous… I-I’ll t-try t-to d-do b-better…”

“See that you do.”

***

“Only to inform them in no uncertain terms that their despoilment of both field and town would not be tolerated.”

***

“No, this humble servant had nothing to say to such unrepentant warmongers!”

At least, nothing I was allowed to say…

***

“If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

“Um, I g-guess…?”

***

“I do not know you well enough to say, although I do wonder why such a question needs to be asked in the first place.”

***

“Yes. This humble servant makes every effort to give her full trust to all she meets, until such time as that trust is betrayed.”

Like a complete fucking moron…

***

“Last question. If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

“Um, y-yes…? I-Is this s-some k-kind of t-trick q-question…?”

***

“I suppose so. After all, you did say it was the last question this time.”

***

“I would very much like to say yes, but I have become so dreadfully unsure… That previous question was a very deceitful trick, and it has made this humble servant quite distraught!”

And now you get to see me ugly cry… Serves you right you pompous bitch…

***

“That concludes the debriefing,” Dawn announced as she rose to her feet. “The Beacon thanks you for your cooperation in this matter. Someone will be with you shortly to escort you off the premisses.”

With that, Dawn exited the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

Mayra thought Finn’s reactions to her teasings were absolutely hilarious. Also Oliver’s reaction to the situation. Honestly, this was all pretty hilarious.

”Hyun Long punched dragons made of fire out from her fists as she walked backwards into the teleporter, right alongside Serenity as she too covered their retreat, knives bursting with vicious tendrils. But right as she was about to warp out, she shot out one last fire dragon that opened it’s maws on their pickup car, blowing it up in a magnificent explosion, catching an entire squadron in the blast radius.”

It is perhaps fortunate that Mayra is somewhere where she couldn’t see that there’s someone here that can apparently punch fire dragons out of her fists. She’d freak out. Anyway, now there’s apparently Nefer and Akhenaten here, too, if they could be described or added to the NPC character list that’d be nice. Anyway, Mayra thought this was hilarious because she was very clearly not part of the group that was supposed to be on this car and now she was, which was just hilarious. And no, she has no intention of letting go of Finn’s head. It’s funny like that.

Then she had her head patted by Iron Mouse, and said she’s an upgrade from Justine. Which sounded to Mayra like she was now part of this group, instead of Justine.

‘Ooooh. Did I just join a cult? Are you guys a cult?’ Mayra asked excitedly. ‘And Justine was a part of it too!? Cool! I’m totally in! What do we do? Are we the secret guardians of the multiverse, or are we trying to summon a horror or something!? Either way, I’m stoked!’ Mayra rambled out.

‘Ooooh! I just thought of something!’ Without missing a beat, Mayra turned to Finn. ‘You can totally trick people into thinking they’ve killed you now! We just, kinda, attach your head where it’s supposed to be, and then, when the enemy strikes at your head, you intentionally disconnect your head! You can have red stuff to make them think it’s blood and all, too! And when they turn around, thinking they’ve killed you… WHAM! You strike them from behind! And they’re all like, “How are you still… alive…!?” as they die, and you can look super cool! How about that!?’ Mayra excitedly sold her latest battle plan for Finn to potentially use in the future. Totally.

__________________________________________


‘Got it!’ Ronin immediately replied to Penny’s message. ‘Alright, let’s make sure everyone gets home safely!’ she called, looking over for her sister’s confirmation.

‘Very well. Let’s go!’ Miko acknowledged, and they were off!

So, first they were going to go and help Lily and Alex, who were off outside the range of the defensive measures that had been put into place. It turned out that, through serious effort, they were managing to make it back, but that also meant that Ronin and Miko had wasted their time preparing to launch out into the heat of battle in order to recover them.

A different option was their friends, Gaia, Connie, and possibly Angel of Hope as well. However, they were intelligent people, and made sure to stay close enough to the exit that they were able to safely make it back.

That left a single individual, Magical Dream Princess, whose last post mentions being surrounded.

‘We’ve got our target!’ Ronin called, looking excitedly at her sister, for some reason super excited about getting to save someone.

‘It is very concerning to learn her childishness leaves room for outbursts like this that could put her in danger… but very well. It seems we have our jobs cut out for us,’ Miko said. ‘However, getting to her might be hazardous. We’re not nearly as powerful as her…’

Ronin took a moment to think, then grinned. ‘Hammer throw.’

‘Huh?’ Miko looked at her with confusion. ‘Wait, dear sister, I don’t know if that’s the best course of-’

Moments later, the two had attached themselves with a barrier, holding the two sisters together, and Ronin grinned so excitedly.

‘Ready?’ Ronin asked.

‘Ready,’ Miko sighed.

And with that, Ronin took off, the two of them using their remaining mana to make Ronin increase in speed as she ran around Miko, who was using reinforcement to root herself in place, while the magic of wind kept propelling Ronin faster and faster…!

‘HERE WE GO! EXPRESS DELIVERED RESCUE!’ Ronin cried out happily.

‘And… THROW!’ Miko called out, releasing and sending Ronin up into the sky. The spell of reinforcement then shifted, so now it was instead Ronin that had her movement rooted while flying at top speed, meaning Miko was suddenly pulled along and the two of them launched up into the air.

‘Aaaaaaah-’ Miko cried flying through the air, not the first time she did something like this…

‘DON’T WORRY, MDP! WE AND PENNY WILL GET YOU RIGHT OUT OF-!’ Ronin shouted out at the location where MDP was…

Keyword, was.

‘… eh?’

Unbeknown to Ronin and Miko, while they were setting up this scheme MDP had already been rescued by a “mysterious dark shadow”, and as such they were currently launching themselves straight out over a horde of enemies for absolutely zero reason at all.

As Ronin and Miko reached the pinnacle of their flight, Ronin reached to Penny’s communicator.

‘Er, Penny. Two to beam up.’

That’s when they then started falling towards the enemy forces… faaaaaaaar too quickly for comfort.

‘WAIT WHERE IS SHE’ Miko cried out in panic
‘TWO TO BEAM UP, PENNY’ Ronin shouted as it turned out, the supposed rescuers were actually the ones who needed rescuing.

@PlatinumSkink

It is not always easy for Bonnie to select mercenaries for the hunts she was commissioned for. The only consideration she ever made was how dedicated the magical girls in question would be to the task. Having just one metric to measure did make picking candidates easy. Sometimes too easy. Then there were the cases when she couldn’t find anyone to take on a task. Bonnie preferred to give her hunts to people who couldn’t possibly refuse them, and only for the right reasons. Bonnie had done her research, but she was not so sure she could pick just one or two people for a task like this.

Bolorton was a good distance away from Penrose, but it was not hard for one of the C.A.P.R.I.C.O.R.N.’s cloud pods to find its mark. Ronin and Miko were shouting at the top of their lungs in the center of a chaotic battlefield. To onlookers, it would appear as though a fog had blown over the sisters, allowing them to vanish. But they had actually been taken inside the C.A.P.R.I.C.O.R.N. via a portal.

"Here. Look it over and get back to me. The contents are time sensitive."

After placing scrolls in each of their hands, Bonnie gave the twins a shove and watched them tumble out of the cloud pod. Their situation had not changed, but they had a hunt to pursue now.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the cloud pod had also flown up to one of Mariette’s portals that she had been using to spy on the battlefield. Bonnie leaned out of the cloud pod and examined it. She said nothing, and held the scroll out in front of the portal.

"For your perusal, portal witch."

Bonnie was aware that shoving the scroll through the portal would just poke Mariette in the eye, provided she didn’t banish it entirely. So instead she dropped the scroll, expecting Mariette to catch it with one of her portals. If she didn’t, that was fine. There were far too many who qualified for this hunt as it were.

---

Sakura had gotten herself good and painted, and even got some of Sanctuary painted too. They likely wouldn’t appreciate her, but it was like the big booba maido said, she needed to be patient and good things would come her way.

And it seemed that something very good came her way.

Some weird fox lady in oddly shaped armor and a HUGE gun had just stopped by and gave her a hunt. Moreover, it looked like the kind of hunt that was both very dangerous and would net her mad respect. She grinned to herself when she pictured all the magical girls fawning over her after she put her might on display.

This was just the quest for Ronin and her. She’d turn her little student into a fully fledged samurai yet!

---

To the North: Vestiges of the Family
Two magical girls went exploring the ruins of Dilla when they discovered the ancient remains of Su Daji. Su Daji has split her essence into a kitsune behemoth and a magical girl, both of which are quite powerful. She has the magical girls cornered in a dilapidated inn and refuses to let anyone get close. Rescue the trapped magical girls and drive off or slay Su Daji.

(It seems that some details and several names have been struck out of the Hunt. Did Bonnie do this herself?)

Challenge Rating: S
Notes: This hunt is easier than other northern hunts if your magical girl team has good coordination. Unfortunately, Sakura will be joining you, so it’s going to be at least SS rank. This hunt can only be undertaken by a party that contains Ronin, Miko, or Mariette.

PS: Sakura is such a detriment to this hunt that she does not count towards the number of hunting magical girls.

‘Acknowledged.’

It was the only warning that Ronin and Miko got. Before the air below them was ripped open in a swirl of cerulean magic.

Sadly for the duo their landing wasn’t one that would be very soft, as while magic can do a lot, there wasn’t anyone on hand that could easily violate the conservation of momentum.

When the two of them recovered from their tumble, one that was shorter than it originally looked like it was going to be, they would recognize where it was they had landed. Though it had been quite a while since either of them had ridden within the hull of the Bastion.

All in all it looked much the same, outside of the addition of a good dozen or so other vehicles that lined the outer edge of the cargo hold.

‘Welcome aboard.’ Penny’s voice would chime out over the ship’s PA system. ‘I’m up in the command deck if you want to come chat, busy flying this thing or I’d come meet you.’

---

Without any real way of telling the passage of time it would be difficult to state how long it had been since Dormouse had woken up. Eventually however there would be cherry jingle that came from the large screen dominating the wall. The text displayed on it would change to ‘Incoming video call’ as the tone played out.

It would ring for another moment before the screen flickered to display what looked like a command room. Dozens of screens displaying information of various kinds lined the walls of the room on the other side of the screen.

There were empty specialist stations, detonated by chairs, and a window that seemed to be opened out into the vast emptiness of space. In the center of the room standing over a large holo table, however, was Penny. But she wasn’t looking at the table, no, she was seemingly peering through the screen to Dormouse herself.

She was looking better, from what the captive could tell, or at least the damage had been repaired and the Queen of Penrose no longer had her bloody red gaze. She did seem exhausted however.

“Hey” She would say in a faint greeting before walking closer. The display was proportioned such that it seemed as if the screen was simply a plane of glass that separated the two of them, and knowing magic it was hard to fully write off that as what was happening.

“I was wondering if you’d be willing to answer a few questions of mine. Now that things have settled.”

Dormouse was lying in the corner when the screen opened up. Her eyes were still a slight reddish tone from the crying as she rubbed them. But when she saw Penny, any remnants of drowsiness had disappeared, replaced by fear. “Aaah!” She stepped back, and leaned her hands against the back wall while facing the screen. “Wh-what? What do you mean by settled? Did…Did something happen?”

“The invasion succeeded is what happened.” Penny would say with a sigh “As was the evacuation.” With a gesture a simple holographic projection of Wonderlands activities in Bolorton would appear off to the side displaying the final moments of the invasion from far above. “The town is Wonderland’s, but the citizens were gotten out before anything happened to them.”

“Death count is low, nearly negligible in all reality, and you were the only captive.” She would explain folding her arms. “The dust has settled from this skirmish. But the war is only starting.”

“And as I mentioned I’ve questions.”

Dormouse briefly looked at projection before she averted her eyes, holding her arm. "I see…"
She was quiet, pondering about something. "If I answer, will you let me go?"

“That depends on the answers,” Penny would say “I would like to let you go. Imprisonment isn’t something I want to inflict on anyone. It’s why I let Robert leave after all. As a matter of fact, my first question I wanted to ask was about him.”

“What happened to him? My understanding is that the Mad Hatter declared him a traitor, and according to what Robert said when we spoke, breaking Iracebeth’s, the Queen of Hearts, law results in a beheading.”

Dormouse looked surprised at first, but then remembered what happened. "So you were watching then…" She stared at a wall to her side, and then looked back at Penny. "Yes. Robert betrayed us, and for that he was beheaded. But, that sentence is not an execution as you might assume; he lives, but only to serve Wonderland as an undying soldier, and nothing more."

“He didn’t betray you.” Penny would say softly. “He likely didn’t know I was watching, or that I had hitched a connection to his camera. In all truth, had the Mad Hatter not sabotaged his efforts from the start, and had he not broken into my home. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to get the Sanctuary to be an ally to Wonderland at least at first.“

“Would it have been kinder to kill him?” She would ask “I let Robert leave as a mercy, despite his crime against me and mine, but there are fates worse than death. Is his unjust punishment one of them?”

Dormouse was shocked at the revelation about Robert. "No way…I should have figured there was more to it." She looked at the floor. "It is a fate I wouldn't wish for anyone, if that is what you're asking."

“Would it have mattered? Iracebeth already seemed to have it out for him from what I saw. To say nothing of the Mad Hatter.” Penny would state her tone lace with soft sorrow. “I worry that to have spoken out on your end would have simply drawn her ire against you as well.”

“Is it possible to heal from her beheadings?” She would go on to ask. “One of the mahou that assisted with the evacuation was beheaded by her. Though an ally of his was able to get both his head and body away from Iracebeth before anything else could happen.”

"I've never seen anyone recover from it, so I wouldn't know," Dormouse answered. "It is her strongest attack, and difficult to counter. Trust me, I've seen her previous victims try. But…I think she has a limit on using it. Must be taxing on her or something."

Penny nodded her understanding. “It tore through his weapon so I’ve no doubt. But If possible I’ll keep you in the know, we might be able to get Robert put back together.”

“I suppose the next question should be how much about Wonderland’s forces you’d be willing to tell me. And as a follow up, what you did for them. But I’m more worried about you, would you be safe going back to her?”

She turned away from the screen. "I…I don't think I can go back. I trusted her, you know? I really believed in her words of liberating us from the Powers' tyranny. But in the end, she threw me away." She sniffled, and wiped her tears. "She didn't care if I were to die. She never cared for any of us…" She slumped down to sit, her hands on her face. "What am I supposed to do now!? I can't go back! I'll just end up like Robert!" She cried, her sad sobs the only sound in the room.

The Penny on screen would place her hand on the screen as she watched the Dormouse break down. And for a moment it seemed like she would do nothing, but then Penny would seemingly meld out of the floor in the room, the depiction of her flickering away a frame after her entrance. Silently, on feet that never quite left the floor, the Queen of Penrose would glide over to her prisoner and gently pull her into a hug.

“I get it,” She would say softly “I get it. I’ve had someone betray me like that as well. Just let it out.” Softly supporting the other girl as she broke from the painful realization that someone who she had given her heart to simply didn’t care.

For a while, Dormouse wept her heart out, until finally she stopped, soothed by Penny's embrace. "You know, you're kind of…doing the interrogation wrong," she blurted out. "But I guess…this works too." She wiped her cheek. "I'll co-operate. I was just an assistant, so I don't know too much, but there are some things they let me in on. I'll write them out for you, I just…Need a moment."

“Hey no worries, and I’m glad that I’m not the best at them.” Penny would say with a soft smile. “Take your time. I’ve got to get us away from Bolorton as it is, and I’ll get you set up with a door so you can go exploring as well.” She’d say as she let Dormouse go.

“In the meantime, Welcome to the Sanctuary. It’s my home, and the home of those who need one.”

---

Deep into the Bastion Penny opened her eyes, still a bloody red, though faded compared to how they would normally glow. She’d turn her head towards a room far away and give herself a short nod.

She was glad the soft touch worked. Her follow up options weren’t… pleasant to contemplate. She glanced down to the empty space that would one day hold a restraining chair. She’d need to follow through with the idea one of these days, she knew that, but was thankfully that today was once again not that day.

For now, it was time to head home.

With a few more directed thoughts, The Bastion plotted its course back to Penrose, quick and quietly. The fact she owned a warship was something she would keep up her sleeve for the moment. No matter her rain down hell fire on the town below temptations. reduce it to slag

She’d have a chance to do that later, she was sure.

War was coming. It was time to see what was to be done with the people of Sanctuary.

Rachel acknowledged Lily’s plea, but said nothing, simply writing down observations on her personal device. Lily managed a grateful smile as Alex together with the Beacon medics mended her multitude of wounds, and afterwards hugged Alex, burying her face in his chest.

”I can’t believe those people…” She mumbled.
”They would attack an innocent town like that…” She lifted her face up.
”If you weren’t there for me…I would have died. I let my emotions get the best of me…Even after I swore I would never falter..Geez, I’m so dumb…”
When Alex voiced his confusion regarding the incident, Lily could only shake her head.
”Apparently Wonderland was behind this attack, but that’s all I really know.”

Rachel then sighed, showing a hint of annoyance at Alex’ loud questioning, and glanced at the assistant who had arrived to gather another round of debriefings. “Those three are next,” she coldly stated, and pointed not only to Lily and Alex, but also at Justine, who blinked in surprise.
The assistant bowed respectfully and then went over to Lily and Alex.
“This way, please,” the assistant gently gestured. Lily looked to her before nodding at Alex with a bit lip.
”Let’s have our voices heard, Alex. It’s for the best.”

“Good, now then, follow me.” With Rachel in the lead and Violette following her, Alicia, Serenity, and the rest of the Beacon operatives moved to a large conference room, nearly fully occupied by various members of both local Beacon as well as the Ascendancy. Familiar faces such as Shamrock Sally, Tsuki, and Hudie were among the gathered participants of the meeting, with the Cardinal herself taking the spot at the very back; it became obvious that this was not going to be a regular report, but an important conference for Penrose Beacon as a whole.

---

With Alex helping steady Lily up, one of the medics brought a crutch for Lily to use, allowing her to slowly walk by herself as the two headed for the waiting room, followed by Justine just behind them. Once there, one by one they were brought to the meeting room, seeing Connie, Gaia, and the Angel of Hope on the way as they left their rooms. Finally, once they were alone, it didn’t take long for Dawn to come in and ask all three the exact same questions as with the others.





“Good evening, my name is Dawn Astraea,” the young woman introduced herself again as she took her seat opposite of the interviewee. “I will be conducting your debriefing. If you do not have any questions, then let us begin. First and foremost, I am obligated to inform you that this debriefing is being recorded, and that your answers will be reviewed by a light magic specialist for verification. If any falsehoods are detected, or we are given reason to believe that you pose a danger to The Beacon, you will be retained for additional investigation. Is that understood?”

Lily’s eyes widened in shock, and she held her hands up to her chest, as if trying to calm herself.
”Y-Yes, I understand.”

***

”Yes," Justine answered bluntly, her hands on her lap, fingers tapping anxiously.
”Can we make this short? I need to go check up on my sister in Silverburg."

“This debriefing will end faster the more quickly you answer your questions.”

Justine scoffed. Even if she no longer directly opposed Beacon, they still left a bad taste in her mouth.

***

“What is your name and magical girl title?”

“Lily Lightning, a magical girl of justice. Um, do I also have to give my real name? I don’t want to be doxxed.”

“No, that is enough. We already know all we need to know about your civilian life.”

A big sweatdrop appeared on Lily’s forehead.

“Well, that’s…Great?”

***

”Justine von Visceral. Or rather, should I address myself as Sinner of Lust to you?" She asked half-mockingly and half-genuinely.

“That title no longer applies to you,” Dawn immediately retorted.

***

“What is your magical specialization?”

“Lightning, and also Time thanks to a wish my boyfriend made to a pair of djinn twins. B-But I swear I’m just a regular magical girl! Honest!”

“Do not worry; if you were corrupted, we would have already began the purification process.”

Another sweatdrop appeared.

“That’s great…”

***

”Blood."

“That is not a magical specialization.”

”Well what else am I supposed to call it? Hemomancy?"

“I’ll file it under Oddball.”

***

“Are you a dark magical girl or monster girl?”

“Neither. I swear I am normal! Although, sometimes I do lose my temper and that results in some unwise decisions, but that happens to everyone, right?”

Dawn glared back.

Lily sunk down in her seat.

“Well…I guess not everyone…”

***

”I was a monster girl at one point, but I got better," Justine answered.
”I think it was a Beacon girl that administered the purifying potion, I believe?"

“Yes, our records indicate that a purification potion was administered by local Beacon forces.”

”One of the Howell twins, correct? Sounds like they do a better job at purifying than you lot?"

A popped vein could be seen on Dawn’s forehead. “Let’s move on to the next question.”

***

“Is your Patron classified as a horror?”

“No, he’s a Puchuu…Though, these days I feel like we’ve grown more distant. He usually lets me do my own thing…Unlike Ixion…”

***

”No."

“You are currently employed by the Crimson Cradle, correct?”

”Yes, what about it?" Justine averted her eyes.

“Are you aware of that organization’s reputation in the magical community?”

”Yes, but that doesn’t…matter to me. Not at all." Any Light specialist would detect the lie in that sentence.

***

“Have you ever worked alongside a dark magical girl/boy, monster girl/boy, and/or servant of a horror?”

“Well, of course. Even if we are different, we can all still fight together for a good cause. We can’t let prejudice get in the way of what’s really important, like protecting our friends and loved ones.”

***

”That should be obvious given my history."

***

“Have you ever opposed the glorious and righteous will of The Beacon Ascendancy?”

“Well…one time, Rachel wanted to destroy an artifact belonging to one of my friends…” Lily pouted with puffed up cheeks.
“And she also wanted to blow up an entire dimension just because it was a bit different. And that’s just wrong, you know! If you were there, I’m sure you’d agree with me!”

Dawn glared at Lily. She sunk in her seat even lower this time.

“I guess…You wouldn’t, huh…”

***

”Not in my current occupation, but I believe that is inevitable given the stubbornness and refusal to co-operate that your lot typically expresses."

***

“Why have you yet to renounce your Patron and embrace the radiant light of The Beacon?”

“I actually did consider it when I lost my previous Patron…But then I remembered how mean you can be, even to your fellow magical girls! Yes, it’s important to fight for a good cause, but you’re taking it too far.”

***

”Because I am sworn to serve my Mistress. That’s all there is to it. Well, except for the part where you’re all a bunch of stuck up-"

***

“How did you learn that Bolorton was under attack?”

“This is kind of embarrassing to admit…But sometimes I like to watch live streams on Glimmr. One of the streamers I follow lives in Bolorton, and was doing one of her outdoor zatsudans-”

“What is a zatsudan?”

Lily turned red in the face.

“Well, umm, it’s like casual chatting-never mind, that’s not important! The point is, she noticed that some soldiers appeared, and the feed suddenly cut off, so I called all my friends and we rushed there.”

“Who was this streamer?”

“She goes by SunFlowey in Glimmr, but that’s all you’re gonna get! I’m a loyal fan, and would never dox her!”

“So Annabelle McDonald,” Dawn immediately wrote down, causing Lily to gasp.

“Is nothing a secret to you guys?!”

***

”Lily called me about it. Of course, knowing her luck, she must have seen a livestream of the attack happening or something. She can sometimes stumble into stuff like this like it’s magic."

***

“How did you reach Bolorton in time to assist with its evacuation?”

“My friend Mariette created a portal, and I’m so grateful for that. But now I have no idea how to pay her back! Maybe some cake…” Lily wondered with a finger poking at her cheek.

***

”Lily pulled some strings, and we got there with an associate’s portal. At this point she must know every single magical girl in Penrose. That’s honestly impressive."

***

“What was the approximate strength of the Wonderland forces attacking the town?”

“There was a lot of soldiers, like a lot lot! It was like one of those wave survival games where you have to hold out for as long as you can, it was terrible! There were also a bunch of tanks, and artillery, and crazy monsters that went bwoom bwoom, and blamm, and-”

***

”Enough infantry to invade a micronation with, complete with armored transport and assault vehicles and mortar support. There was also aerial infantry with heavy weapons, and what looked like a specialized group of weaponized monsters based on the Wizard of Oz story. To be honest, it’s a bit underwhelming as far as the whole fairytale and storybook theme goes. At least I went all out with the whole gothic horror style."

***

“Via what method or methods were the Wonderland forces deployed?”

“I don’t really know. I guess portals or teleportation? There was suddenly a whole lot more enemies, but I didn’t pay much attention where they came from.”

***

”Portal magic. And based on how the magic circles looked, it might have been artificially produced. But I’m not really an expert or anything on the subject."

***

“Did you witness any member of Beacon engaging the Wonderland forces in combat?”

“Yeah! I saw my good friend Alicia defend the town with other Beacon girls. She’s so cool, isn’t she?”

***

”Yeah, Beacon was there aiding in the evacuation effort. But when it came to Ascendancy…"

***

“Did the Wonderlanders communicate with you in any way?”

“Uhh, not really? I heard some shouting, but none of it was directed at us, I think. I don’t think they were interested in us surrendering.”

***

”No, not at all. They were out for blood, no diplomacy attempted. They did speak English though, so you could try talking to them…If you care, that is."

***

“Did you communicate with the Wonderlanders in any way?”

“I think I tried yelling at them to stop, but by that point they already started their attack…Sometimes you gotta make the other side listen to you, I guess. But if it were up to me, I’d always try to talk things out, no matter who it was!”

***

”No, because there was no point. In war, you can’t hesitate for even a second."

***

“If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

Lily tilted her head, looking puzzled. “Uhh…I guess?”

***

Justine scoffed. ”No. I think you still have more pointless questions to ask just to spite me."

***

“Last question. If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

Lily tilted her head again. “Uhh…I…Guess?”

What is she doing?
***

”No. I’m not going to explain myself again.”

Yep, here comes the stupid questions.

***

“That concludes the debriefing,” Dawn announced as she rose to her feet. “The Beacon thanks you for your cooperation in this matter. Someone will be with you shortly to escort you off the premisses.”

Lily sighed, feeling like her nervousness finally released in one big spark of electricity.

Justine rolled her eyes.

With that, Dawn left, and the interviews were over. Once all three got out of the meeting room, Lily grabbed hold of Alex’ shoulder with her free arm.

”Phew, glad that’s finally over. I gotta say, I did not like her attitude about the whole thing.”

”You tell me. The last two questions especially. Anyway, I gotta head off and see how Caroline is doing. But let’s keep in touch, okay Lily? Bye." She waved goodbye to Lily and Alex as she left. Lily waved back. And as the two of them also walked out of Beacon headquarters, the crutch-holding girl stopped still, and gave one last look at the building.

“You know Alex…I never thought I’d have to do this…But now’s the time to follow in my predecessor’s footsteps.” And with that, Lily summoned her bike, and they were gone.

---

“Justine? I didn’t know she was around these parts.”
Nefer sounded surprised when Iron Mouse mentioned the former monster girl, and looked back, simultaneously turning to avoid a large rock without looking. She then realized what she blurted out, and giggled.
“I mean, wow, those Wonderlanders sure are something else, eh? I reckon Penrose is gonna be a warzone soon. Plenty of loot to be had then~”

She smirked as Mayra wondered about the people around her, and winked at the excited monster girl.
“Well, aren’t you a sssilly little salamander cutie~” Akhenaten grumbled, sounding a tiny bit deeper in his voice than usual as he continued driving the group into the horizon.

Lily seemed to bounce back from having had a limb removed for a short time pretty quickly, even if she was still shaken up about the attack. He wasn't too thrilled about being dragged for an interrogation. Oh sure, they called it a debriefing, but Alexander wasn't too convinced. Fortunately, they didn't make him wait in that room too long

"Good evening, my name is Dawn Astraea,” the young woman introduced herself again as she took her seat opposite of Alexander. “I will be conducting your debriefing. If you do not have any questions, then let us begin. First and foremost, I am obligated to inform you that this debriefing is being recorded, and that your answers will be reviewed by a light magic specialist for verification. If any falsehoods are detected, or we are given reason to believe that you pose a danger to The Beacon, you will be retained for additional investigation. Is that understood?"

"Yeah" he droned, clearly disinterested

“What is your name and magical boy title?”

"Alexander Shields. And uh...I don't actually know what my title is. Is there someone who's supposed to assign that or what?"

Dawn just stared at him in silence for a few seconds "You...don't know your-" she shook her head and quickly moved on. "“What is your magical specialization?”

"Reinforcement and Beast" he quickly answered 'Why do I get the feeling that this is going to take forever?'

“Are you a dark magical boy or monster boy?”

Alexander sighed, having flashback to an interaction with a Ascendency girl "Look, if this is about the tails that I grow out of my body, that's just the Tentacle power getting influenced by my Beast spec"

"It wasn't, but should I take that as a no?"

Alexander nodded, being very careful with his words here "I am not a dark/monster boy"

"“Is your Patron classified as a horror?”"

"Only to me" he grumbled under his breath before answering her directly "No, he isn't"

"Have you ever worked alongside a dark magical girl/boy, monster girl/boy, and/or servant of a horror?"

"Probably a bunch of times" Alexander answered honestly "There's a lot of different kinds of magical people that live here, and when someone or something causes trouble, we all swarm out murder them, like an anthill. I don't really care enough to interview everyone at those events about if they're Dark, Monster or serve a Horror. If you're trying to beat up what ever is causing trouble in my neighborhood, then you're fine with me"

"I see" was her only response "“Have you ever opposed the glorious and righteous will of The Beacon Ascendancy?"

Alexander struggled to keep a straight face "You actually called it-" but stopped himself "Well there was that one time that one of them tried to destroy a Christmas dimension, all because she didn't like the artifact that made it. I...think her name was Rachael...or something like that"

"Inquisitor Rachael" Dawn confirmed

Alexander's eyebrows raised "Wait, 'Inquisitor' is her official title!? I thought-"

Dawn interrupted him with her next question “Why have you yet to renounce your Patron and embrace the radiant light of The Beacon?”

Alexander huffed "Well besides the time your 'Inquisitor' became the villain of a Christmas movie. There was one incident early on in my career; Some local magical girl managed to get all the other local magicals together to...I think she was aiming for some kind of mutual defense pact, or something like that. Anyway, there was a Beacon girl who sounded totally on board with the idea...until who I think was her Patron teleported in and basically humiliated her for that, and made her apologize or face the consequences. That was my first real exposure to Beacon, and it kind of soured me on Beacon itself. Sure, the local branch has mellowed out to the point where we can work with them when shit hits the fan. But if the Ascendancy agents are any indication of what the greater whole of Beacon is like...I wouldn't be able put up with it"

Dawn opened her mouth to say something, but Alexander beat her to the punch "Yes, I am grateful that they stepped up to keep Penrose from getting wiped off the map while all the locals were stuck on the wrong side of a time dilation field. But boy if they didn't burn through that good will fast"

"I...see" she didn't seem too thrilled with his answer, but quickly moved on to her next question “How did you learn that Bolorton was under attack?”

'Finally getting to the relevant questions huh?' "Some local magical girl streamer, which is a thing I just found out was a thing-"

Dawn seemed a bit taken aback by this "You didn't know what streaming was?"

"Fuck no, I'm not that out of touch. I just didn't know that magicals streamed themselves doing magical stuff" he sighed "anyway, Lily watches her, so she found out that way, and she told everyone she could."

“How did you reach Bolorton in time to assist with its evacuation?”

"We know someone who can make portals. Lily got in touch with her."

“What was the approximate strength of the Wonderland forces attacking the town?”

Alexander shrugged "Not sure. We spent a large amount of time just working on evacuating the civilians. Then once we had everyone we could grab secured, they just started swarming us"

“Via what method or methods were the Wonderland forces deployed?”

"Couldn't tell you, I only saw them after they arrived. I'd guess teleportation or portals, since that's kind of the standard.

“Did you witness any member of Beacon engaging the Wonderland forces in combat?”

"There was Alicia, and probably a bunch of other people. I can't always recognize someone as Beacon on sight"

“Did the Wonderlanders communicate with you in any way?”

"Not really, they just sounded like a crazed mob of monsters"

“Did you communicate with the Wonderlanders in any way?”

"Never considered it. Again, they just seemed like a crazed mob of monsters"

“If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

That one caught Alexander by surprise "I...uh...guess?"

“Last question. If I was to tell you that this was the last question, would you believe me?”

This time, Alexander just looked deadpan "Not after the last question."

“That concludes the debriefing,” Dawn announced as she rose to her feet. “The Beacon thanks you for your cooperation in this matter. Someone will be with you shortly to escort you off the premisses.”

"Fucking finally" Alexander let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after that, he, Lily and Justine all left the building. Justine went back to her sister, while Alexander and Lily went home “You know Alex…I never thought I’d have to do this…But now’s the time to follow in my predecessor’s footsteps.”

Alexander wasn't too sure which 'predecessor' she was talking about, but he didn't have any confidence in his ability to talk her out of it "Just...just try not to get in over your head" was the best he could come up with.

Despite multiple calls for her to retreat, MDP continued to blast the Wonderlanders with barrage after barrage of whimsical objects and prismatic beams. She was far too enraged to hear her friends’ concerned voices, and even if she had, it wouldn’t have made any difference. Like a child in the midst of a temper tantrum, all one could really do was wait for them to finally calm down, or somehow resolve whatever situation had upset them in the first place.

“GO AWAY!!! GO AWAY!!! GO AWAAAAY!!!” she screamed as the endless tide of Wonderlanders drew ever-nearer, in spite of her best efforts to force them back.

Although her mystical powers were vast, her enemies were just far too numerous. Yet, even if some small, still-rational portion of her brain knew that it would only be a matter of time before she was completely overwhelmed, MDP stubbornly refused to listen to it.

Like, the bad people weple can’t win… she told herself as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. T-They just can’t…

And yet, they had. The town was as good as demolished, her friends had been forced to flee, and Mister Wister Pillow Willow was… Returning to life before her eyes…? MDP’s flurry of attacks ceased as her full attention was drawn to where her pillowy pal was reforming himself amidst a swirl of lavender energy. In fact, she was so focused on his wondrous resurrection that she didn’t even notice the shadowy void beneath her until it had completely swallowed her, Mister Wister Pillow Willow, and all his fellow pillow pals up. The next instant, MDP found herself in a strange, though admittedly far more peaceful, place. And she wasn’t alone…

“PASTEL CHAAAAAAN~!!!” she cried in unbridled joy, before rushing over to give her best friend and Mister Wister Pillow Willow a big group hug. “You saved him~! You saved him~! (giggle!) Thankie wankies~! Thankie wankies~! Thankie wankies~!”

Amanda tightly wrapped her arms around MDP in relief. She was okay. Thank god she was okay... "I'm so so sorry I wasn't here sooner! I came back as quick as I could and wanted to surprise you and then Valerie told me what was happening and apparently we have a new recruit a-and-!" She quickly spoke. Maura stood a small distance away from them, wanting to give the two a moment to themselves.

“I-It’s okie dokie, Pastel-chan~!” MDP hastily reassured her friend. “You saved Magical Dream Princess and Mister Wister Pillow Willow and, like, Magical Dream Princess missed you sooo muchy wuchy and, like, she’s sooo happy wappy to see you againsie wensie~! (giggle!) Like, if anybodywody should be sorry worry, it’s Magical Dream Princess, ‘cause it was her dummy wummy mistakey wakey that made you have to go bye bye in the first placey wacey…” she added with a frown.

"Nonono, you didn't do anything wrong! We didn't expect the Mint to try and target me and Connie like that, it's okay!" The magician reassured her in return.

“Like, Magical Dream Princess knows thatsie watsie, but still…” the whimsical girl pouted. “She’s the one who started everythingie wingie…” A moment later, however, and her infamously short attention span was drawn to the intriguing features of the space the pair were currently standing in, as well as the other young lady present. “Like, what is this placey wacey, Pastel-chan~?” MDP inquired as she looked around in wonderment. “And, like, who’s that lady wady over theresie~?”

At that, Maura finally spoke up. "My name is Maura, I am the head of the Crimson Cradle, and Amanda's patron." She introduced herself, walking over to the two. "And this is the Cradle, an integral part of our organization."

"We didn't know how else to get you out of there, so Maura opened the cradle up from under you."

“Wowie zowie~!” MDP exclaimed, her eyes widening at Maura’s introduction. “Like, you’re Amanda Wanda’s patron watron person werson~?! But, you look like a normal wormal person werson~! And, like, what’s the Cradle Wadle~?” she asked, tilting her head, before she smiled brightly as an idea came to her. “Oh~! Is that like your super duper secret wecret headquarters placey wacey~?! Is it~?! Is it~?! Is it~?!”

Maura chuckled. "Not quite, but you're on the right mark. My mansion is in here, if you wish to move to somewhere more comfortable." She offered.

“Maura Waura has a mansion wansion~?!” MDP asked excitedly, her eyes seeming to sparkle. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would wuv to go theresie weresie~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl told her happily. “Like, can Pastel-chan and Magical Dream Princess’s pillow willow pally wallies come, too~?!” she asked. “Can they~?! Can they~?! Can they~?!”

"Like I wouldn't let one of my own into our headquarters." The witch smiled, stepping aside to open a door to her interdimentional lair. "Right this way!" She beckoned her guests to enter first.

“Wowie zowie~!” MDP exclaimed as she skipped through the door, her pile of pillow pals floating behind her on a glittery pink cloud. “This placey wacey is super duper fancy wancy~!” she marveled as she took in the mansion’s extravagant interior.

Walking behind MDP and her pillow friends, Amanda glanced back at Maura. "Thank you for helping her, Ma'am."

"I know how much she means to you." Maura nodded. "The others should be returning soon, best you two catch up before then, hm?"

“So, like, what have you been doing lately wately, Pastel-chan~?” MDP asked as she wandered around the mansion’s main hall, her attention briskly moving from one interesting sight to another. “Like, have you had any super duper exciting witing adventure wenturs~?!”

Amanda shrugged. "Not exactly. I did spend some time catching up with Aiden though."

“Awww~!” MDP squealed in delight. “That must have been super duper nicey wicey~! (giggle!) Thingy wingies in Penrose Wenrose have mostly wostly been normal wormal~” the whimsical girl explained. “Well, excepty wepty for when those meanie weanies attacked that poor towny wowny, just nowie…” she added with a petulant frown.

The magician furrowed her brows. "Like we needed MORE nim-broads making things more complicated in this town." She sighed. "Unfortunate they technically won that fight, from what I gathered. Just hope everyone else is okay."

“Like, Magical Dream Princess thinky winkies she saw Connie Wonnie and Gaia Waia escapy wapey through a teleporter worter thingy wingie,” MDP replied. “And, like, all the towny wowny people weple were rescue wescued, too,” she added. “But, like, now they don’t have homey womeies anymorsie…” the whimsical girl noted sullenly, tears beginning to glisten in her eyes.

"Just means there's more residents of Penrose now." Amanda walked up next to MDP, gently rubbing her back to comfort her. "At least until they can find somewhere more permanent to stay at. Maybe somewhere less likely to get hit with a magical terrorist attack."

MDP definitely thought that was a good idea, but where could such a place even be found? After all, Bolorton didn’t appear to be anywhere special, and it had been invaded and burnt to the ground… Thankfully, conversation soon turned to more pleasant topics as the pair wandered around the mansion, MDP eagerly exploring every nook and cranny, while Amanda did her best to keep up. Eventually, however, even the hyperactive Princess of Dreams began to grow tired, and the two friends decided to say their farewells for the time being. “Like, it was super duper nicey wicey to see you againsie wensie, Pastel-chan~!” MDP told the dream magician once the pair had returned to the mansion’s main entrance. “Hopefully wopefully, we can have lots more funsie wunsie together wether super duper soony woony~! (giggle!)” she added with a cheerful smile as she gave her best friend a big farewell hug.

Amanda returned the hug in full. "Be careful out there, Dreamy. And make sure Penny's treating you right!" She grinned.

“Okie dokie~!” MDP replied with a peace sign and a playful wink. “And, like, don’t worry, Pastel-chan~!” she added. “Penny Wenny is, like, the super duper nicey wiciest~! (giggle!) Oh~! And Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies her pillow willow friendy wendies should stay heresie weresie so you won't get lonely wonely when Magical Dream Princess isn't aroundy woundy~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl informed her friend with a gleeful giggle. “Like, bye bye for nowie~!”

With that, the Princess of Dreams skipped out of The Cradle and onto the rooftops of Penrose, as if she had never even left them.

---

What a night… a weary Violet Covington thought to herself after arriving back at her private office and returning to her mundane form. It had been a veritable roller coaster of events, that was for sure, and the tired heiress was very much looking forward to a good night’s sleep. However, before she could enter her bed chambers, the sound of an unexpected voice completely stopped the young woman in her tracks…

"...Mustard was close to winning, but Sparkler caught up just at the finish. Didn't think he had it in him, but what can ya do?" She heard Al's voice in the chamber, and realized he was speaking to someone else: a magical girl with jet-black hair. 

"I’m not surprised." the black haired girl said with a grin. "You’re a horrible judge of character. Look how long it took you to see my potential?"

He turned to Violet. "Oh, excuse me, Miss Covington. Thought we'd drop by. First of all, I'd like to introduce you to Chloe. She's going to be helping me run things."

The bikini-clad magical girl pushed a red scarf around her neck before setting a hand on her hip. "Oh my, aren’t you fair?" Chloe’s eyebrows bobbed up and down on her head. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Covington. You’ll have to pencil a date with me into your schedule later." 

W-What is he doing here?! Violet’s mind raced. D-Did he see me transform?! Does he know…?! The heiress’s head spun. And did he just say Chloe?! Violet had heard about this girl from Penny, enough to know that she was dangerous in the extreme. But she had also supposedly left Penrose. To encounter her here, now… No, calm down, she ordered herself. This is no time for hysterics. No matter what is going on, you are still Violet Covington. So act like it!

Despite her shock, Violet quickly composed herself. “I see,” the heiress replied curtly. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well,” she added, turning her attention to Al’s new ‘assistant’. “And I while I currently have no time for romantic engagements, I can certainly see the benefits of becoming better acquainted with one another, and it should be fairly simple to arrange a business meeting to facilitate such,” she conceded, her calm demeanor betraying none of the tempestuous emotions she felt. “However, I would ask that you attend said meeting dressed in more…. modest attire.”  

"Oh this old thing? It’s just my work uniform. But I don’t mind getting dressed up for you." She winked at Violet. 

Al coughed into hist fist while giving a quick glance at Chloe. "Excuse my associate's…unprofessional mannerisms. She's new, you see.”

"New and fun." Chloe added.

“Now, let's get to brass tacks: I have some good news to share." He pulled out a paper from his jacket and handed it over to Violet with a smile. "Your daddy dearest is finally free from the curse. As for how that happened, my best guess is that the caster who hexed him ended up on the wrong side of the tracks and took up early retirement. I'll still have people checking up if they can find anything, of course. Anyway, might take some time for him to recover, but he's no longer in danger."

Despite her considerable willpower, Violet couldn’t keep her eyes from widening upon hearing this latest revelation. Honestly, it was the last thing she would have expected, and it was more than a little coincidental, in light of recent events. Indeed, only a day earlier, Ruby, the djinn girl, had presented her with a pair of mystic items, which would hopefully cure her father, and now the Mint were here, saying they had done it themselves? It begged the question: why? Yet, Violet knew she couldn’t ask that. After all, she wasn’t supposed to know that the Mint were behind the curse in the first place. Thus, she would continue to play her part and hope that an answer would eventually present itself.

“T-That’s wonderful news,” Violet said after a moment. “I am so glad to know that my father will finally be free of that dreadful affliction.”

"Indeed, and just at the right time, it seems." Al's positive demeanour turned cold. "Now for the bad news. Our intelligence department has confirmed that Penrose will soon be invaded by a magical monarchy called Wonderland." He gave a photograph to Violet. "The Queen of Hearts runs that dictatorship. Comely lass, but not one I would suggest trying to be amicable with. Even for you," he added, once again glancing at Chloe.



Chloe folded her arms and looked away from Al. “I would never befriend a buzzkill  who struts around and pretends to be part of some ‘nobility’” She placed a hand over her mouth. “Well, maybe one, but it’s not her.” 

Al resumed speaking to Violet. "It might be a month, a week, or maybe even only days before she rolls the red carpet. However, we at the Ebon Mint put the safety of our clients at top priority, and so we have developed a new weapon."
He snapped his fingers, and a shadow extended out from his feet, taking the shape of a girl familiar to both Violet and Chloe. Soon the silhouette rose up and took three-dimensional shape: it was Penny, or at least, looked like her, though it differed in having a black-and red color scheme. The android had an unnerving neutral expression as it stood still. Al, however, grinned.

"Powered and Enhanced Near-Needless cYbot, or P.E.N.N.Y for short. Based on a local robot girl's design, these magitek machines are capable of autonomous patrols, security detail, and even combat against magically potent adversaries." He tapped the android's forehead, eliciting only audible beeps and whirrs. "They are linked to a network, allowing them to share and utilize combat data gathered by all units. They are also equipped with both close-combat and ranged armaments, capable of engaging at practically any situation." He offered a winning smile at Violet. "We have developed a prototype set and produced promising results from field tests, including data against multiple Mahou. Though they are a bit expensive, we assure you that they are worth the cost. So, what do you think?"

Before Violet could say anything, Chloe had approached the P.E.N.N.Y. unit and stroked its cheek. “And speaking of!” Her grin widened. “All that power bending to your will.” One of her eyes flared up as she examined it.  “Oh it is powerful too. I can hardly tell the difference between the real thing.” She spun around and leaned against the P.E.N.N.Y. unit, reaching behind her head to stroke its face. “If you aren’t impressed by just looking at it, rest assured that your father could never build something like this. I think anyone could sleep soundly with a few of these around, well, maybe not your enemies.”

Violet was silent for a moment as she studied the Mint’s new war machine, while doing her best to ignore Chloe’s antics. “I think,” she said, fixing Al with a hard stare. “That you are trying to sell me improved versions of the automaton you had my company construct for you several weeks ago. Or did you forget about all the work your people did retooling one of our largest factories so that it would be able to manufacture them? In any case,” she added before the broker could reply. “I thank you for the warning, and I would be only too happy to employ this fascinating design in the defense of Penrose. But I am curious, if what you say is true, how large do you anticipate this invasion being?”

Though Al hid his own reaction, Violet could tell based on subtle hints that he didn't expect her reaction. "Based on what we know, it's not going to be pretty. Wonderland supposedly holds the kind of threat that even Beacon, one of the major players in the magical community, is averse to direct conflict with them. There is a real risk that Penrose could become a giant pile of rubble. Or maybe they'll simply capture the city intact." He then produced a binder with papers inside. "In any case, you can view details for the product and purchase proposal in these documents before giving your final say. Please notice the special discount included, for your company's contribution in the production and materials." He handed the binder to her. "If you change your mind, the Ebon Mint is available to contact any time. Goodbye for now, Miss Covington." He then opened a shadowy black portal, and disappeared through it, leaving the portal behind for Chloe.

She approached the portal, placing a single foot inside before turning to look at Violet. “I’ll call you later. We can discuss a time and what you’d like me to wear then.” She tossed her scarf over her shoulder. “I can assure you, you won’t regret it.” She didn’t look away from Violet as her form disappeared inside the portal’s murky surface, at which point it vanished.

Now that she was finally alone, Violet allowed a shudder of disgust to run down her spine. Keeping up this charade when it was just Al was unpleasant enough, but now having to deal with this “Chloe” as well? The heiress could see why Penny had such a low opinion of her, and she dreaded the idea of having to endure her flirtatious advances during a (hopefully short) business meeting. Still, these developments weren’t entirely bereft of benefits. With Wonderland planning to invade the city, Violet would take all the help she could get defending it, especially when the odds were good that Penny could hack into these new knockoffs as easily as she’d done with the first series. Yes, the heiress reflected, she’d need to discuss these matters with her girlfriend as soon as possible…

Cardinal Ishtar looked troubled, but waited patiently until Alicia, Serenity and Aurelio were seated before she began speaking.

“The incident at Bolorton…I would like to hear a full report of what exactly happened,” she asked, sounding deathly serious.

Stepping into the meeting room, Alicia bowed to the Cardinal as the debriefing began. As the leader of the mission, it was only reasonable that she be the one to speak first.

"Our arrival in Bolorton was accelerated by the assistance of the girl known as Magical Dream Princess. Upon arrival we found the city under attack by mechanized and magical forces. At that point the troops had not yet entered the city proper, as a coalition of other girls from Penrose had arrived to fend them off. We made our way to the evacuation site, but before we could arrive we encountered an illusion of Beacon member Suwako. It attempted to incite us to attack Wonderland. However I was able to determine that it was an illusion and we ignored it.

We then arrived at the evacuation center and set up the teleporter. With the assistance of the magical girls already on the scene we were able to remove the residents from danger. However Wonderland was able to breach the defenses of the city and advanced upon the evacuation site. Their troops attempted to disable the teleporter, and we were forced to fight back. When the evacuation was completed we exited the scene."

That seemed to about summarize it, though if the others had something to add she wouldn't object.

“On the illusion,” Aurelio would chime in, having followed Alicia’s example and having given a small bow when he entered. “I sent a clone to try and get a better idea of what their plan was, but my clone expired before it could return to me. That said, I know that it got close to the outer edge of the engagement. Where I could feel two potent sources of anger that seemed to be fighting each other.”

“In addition, from what clones I had that I got back, I can tell that the mechanized forces didn’t see fit to bother with us or the others helping us evacuate. And were focused solely on attacking Wonderland, whereas Wonderland saw both us and the mechanized force as equal opportunity targets.”

Serenity nodded in assent with what Aurelio had said, before picking up where he’d left off. Her distance from the two agents of a certain Horror was more of a comfort now, but the sinking feeling she’d have to say something about it all was also there. Not that she wanted to hide it, really, but it was also…somewhat uncomfortable as well. Brought back similar feelings to what she’d felt back there in Bolorton. Even so-

“The soldiers were disposable, which from what little I know from, er, ‘before’ about them seems to fit the bill of how they operate. Despite this, they wielded stronger magical weaponry of a sort, examples of which I got a glimpse of in the possession of…a Horror-serving monster girl and her potential ally who were both among the defenders there as well.”

A small shudder ran down the magical maid’s back visibly at that mention of the two, though she at least attempted to hide it.

“However, I believe we didn’t get to see everything Wonderland likely had there at Bolorton either. Though to go in with that much force and using so many soldiers in a small place like Bolorton is…concerning as well, opposing magical girls being there aside.

Like they’re trying to secure a perimeter or something.”

Ishtar pondered on the reports given by the three, and sighed. "Wonderland had already contacted us and claimed they were attacked by Beacon forces first. Of course, we couldn't detect lies in that statement; must have been a third-party speaker who was simply told what to say, or worse, manipulated. Of course, Lux is handling the realpolitik side, but in turn has given us more pressure."

Rachel spoke up.
"According to on-site reports confirmed by our intelligence operative, Wonderland broke the truce agreement and initiated hostilities without provocation. It seems they are no longer concerned with the possibility of retaliation. But why now?"

Elora typed away on her laptop, and produced a hologram of Suwako. "Suwako is confirmed to continue operating on the West Coast. The imposter must have been aware of her absence when they attempted their scheme."

Ishtar spoke again.
"These mechanized forces…They must belong to a separate faction. Elora, run a search based on the data." Elora nodded, and began typing away, her fingers so fast they almost seemed like a blur.
"Aurelio, please assist her with any characteristics or traits that you might remember."

Rachel checked her device.
"According to the reports they use mana gem infusion with their weapons. We might be able to salvage something useful out of that were we to get our hands on a sample or two."

"That is true," Ishtar replied. "It seems that Wonderland utilized some experimental monsters as part of their forces as well."
Tsuki nodded. "Yes, the monsters were identified to emulate the cast of a children's story known as the Wizard of Oz. But how were they deployed? Did they teleport in the same way as the others?"

Alicia nodded along with the observations from the various Ascendancy members. “It sounds like we have a lot of questions and not many answers. We’re going to have some things to look into before Wonderland makes their next move.”

"We would need to ask those that were there before us" Aurelio would say, "Unfortunately it seemed like whoever chose to take the fight out to the forces of Wonderland had their own way out as none of them evacuated with us."

“Actually, someone who was out there might have been evacuated by us…I think.”

A small chill visibly ran down Serenity’s back as she spoke, her words trailing off with a certain sense of distinct unpleasantness about the topic tinting her tone of voice.

"Yes, we have identified the Mahou who were evacuated," Violette agreed.
"We could have someone follow up on more information with them."

"More importantly, we need to follow up on the rest of Penrose," Ishtar retorted. "Clearly Wonderland's objectives are of a malicious intent that will threaten more than just the city. Otherwise they wouldn't have pushed this aggressively to secure a foothold." She sighed in frustration. "I'll try to convince Lux to send more troops here, but what we really need is the support of the local defense, everything we can get a hold of."

Rachel looked grim. "There is always the ultimate solution…"

The rest of the Ascendant tensed up, realising what she meant. Ishtar glared at the Inquisitor. "Absolutely not. Lux has forbidden the use of the Reckoning, as you should know."

Rachel adjusted her glasses. "The Ecclesiarch left in the exception for an Aleph-class crisis. If this is as dire of a situation as you imply…” She adjusted her glasses, causing them to briefly flash from the ceiling light. ”We can't ignore the possibility."

A moment of awkward silence fell in the room, finally broken by Sally. "We just have to make sure it doesn't become a crisis that bad!" She exclaimed boisterously. "Anyway, what's our orders?"

"Co-ordinate defensive efforts with the Penrose Mahou," Ishtar answered. "Continue patrols and hunts as usual, but also conduct scouting missions around the area and in the direction of Bolorton, as well as research into enemy tactics and resources. We'll be keeping you posted. Most importantly, each and every one of us need to seize initiative and act independently to the best of our abilities, without letting protocol get in the way. That is all."

Rachel scoffed, but even she had to agree to the terms the Cardinal had presented. "This city is going to be the death of me, I swear…"

Alicia frowned as she listened to the conversation, especially as it turned to matters of large scale destruction. “I’m not ready to give up just yet,” she agreed, adding her voice to Sally’s. Ishtar then provided them with her directions as they prepared to face the oncoming crisis.

“Yes ma’am,” she agreed with a nod. Even if they lost, she did not intend to let them take her home here without a fight.