Lily held a flower, and gently knelt down to place it on a patch of grass, where a small stone marker was. She still remembered the pillar of ice that once formed on that spot, though time has long faded away any traces of it. She closed her eyes, and the memories of that night came rushing back.
”Victoria Reales…” She mumbled, and then stood up.
”I’ll make your dream come true…I promise.”
She knew what she was about to do was foolish and dangerous, but it was her only choice. Wonderland was coming to Penrose at any moment. Though her wounds have since fully healed thanks to Alex, the mental scars they left behind still lingered. This was no mere monster attack or crazed magical girl. No, this was something bigger; pure war. Lily was not the strongest fighter, as even Metamorphosed she failed to protect Bolorton. And she’s not the smartest either. She didn’t know what to do.

But she had something worth fighting for. And it was exactly what she was going to use.

She took out her smartphone, and pressed confirm on the message, letting out a breath of anxiety. Alex would probably ask her if this was a good idea. To that question, she honestly couldn’t answer. But she had to try, even if it would end in bitter tears.

A new post emerged on Glimmr, visible not only to Lily’s friends and contacts, but also to others observing the Penrose tag.

The magical community of Penrose,

We now face a great crisis, as Wonderland will soon invade it. I have seen what happened to Bolorton, and I will not abide the same happening to my home. I will fight to protect it, but I need your help. I need everyone’s help: Beacon, the Crimson Cradle, Sanctuary, even the Ebon Mint. We all have our differences, but in the end, nobody wants to see this city gone, right? If you’re willing to talk, please come to Penrose Park.

Let’s do our best,
Lily.

Then she waited, having cast a spell to brighten the electric lights surrounding the park to better guide others to her. This was her last chance, and she would take it.

But unbeknownst to Lily, the shadowed alleys in Penrose stirred, as mysterious forces were on the move…

---

It was an ordinary day, as ordinary as anything could be for a magical girl in Penrose. Ordinary by the standards of the distinctly unordinary Crimson Cradle. Yet as events began to unfold elsewhere, they would find themselves pulled into their own drama. One that could determine the fate of many things…

Valerie was the focus of the beginning of their drama. The dependable mission control girl, who guided the various Cradle agents on their missions. It was her who kept track of the bounty board, alerting them to any opportunities that might arise.

It was in the middle of her morning routine that she would receive an email. On the surface it seemed to be simple spam, but her skilled eye quickly realized that there was something lurking beneath the surface. It took some effort for her decryption skills to finally crack what it was, but soon she succeeded. Whoever did this was good, but not the best.

What she found at the end of it would not be what she expected.

Tell Veronica that this makes us even

Included with the short message was an attachment, and inside confirmed what would be so important as to clear that debt. It held plans for the Mint to move some sort of device through the city today, guarded by their toughest operatives. The exact specifics were unclear, but the way they described it made it seem as though the device would allow them to negate shadow magic in addition to an effect that would block access to the benefits provided by the Cradle. It did not take a genius to determine that the target was none other than Veronica herself.

Yet ‘Ladybug’ had provided them a solution, should they choose to follow it. The defenses on the device were complex, for the Mint did not intend to take chances. Complex, but not invincible. If someone could interfere with the bindings of the enchantment, destroy the base of Spirit and Light magic that was used to make the device, they could unravel the whole thing and render it useless. It might be too much for a magical girl, but not for a Patron.

Not for a certain Witch of Death.

"Penrose Park, huh..." Alexander was looking through Glimmer on his phone, when he saw a new post from Lily 'Why does it feel like that's the place where everything began?' he wondered to himself as he fed his animals in their room "What do you think Bob; is what Lily's doing going to crash and burn like the last time someone tried this" Bob simply stared at him "I guess you're right; things have changed. There's no guaranty it'll end the same as last time." he sighed "You know, sometimes I really wonder why I bother with this place. But I suppose I'd never forgive myself if I just ran. And here I thought Penrose would be a quiet place to live when I came here. I had absolutely no idea how high maintenance this place would" Alexander mused as he gave Tim some scratches on his neck, which the little weasel seemed to be leaning into

"I suppose at the end on the day, all I can really do is make sure that succeed or fail, Lily comes out of this alive, and yet..." his mind flashed back to toe sight of Lily missing a limb "I can't help but wonder if she hasn't really fully recovered. Sure, her body is fine...but there are something that healing magic can't fix...that it can't reach." He shook his head "I guess none of that really matters; she's made her move, and she can't unmake it." he got up to his feet and made his way to the door, before leaving however, he turned around and addressed "Thanks guys. You know, you're all pretty great listeners." The animals just stared at him as he left their room. As Alexander transformed in preparation for the meeting, he thought to himself 'You know; Lily really should have set a specific time for this.' Fully transformed, Alexander started to make his way to the meeting site, hoping that if something was going to go wrong, it would wait until he got there.

So, a message had been received. It seemed like Lily wanted to gather everyone in the park and have them take part in the battle against Wonderland. Ronin slapped her cheeks.

‘Alright! Let’s go!’ Ronin grinned and stood up, smiling so brightly as she prepared to depart. They’d spent the last couple days tracking down anyone who knew Sakura and informing them what happened, only going into detail about how exactly if asked of if the other person was particularly close to her, before finally burying her by an actual cherry blossom tree, for that was probably what she would have wanted. Unless someone else more worthy of it took her off their hands.

Miko looked at Ronin beaming like normal, and she couldn’t help but worry.

‘Dear sister… Are you okay?’ Miko asked, moving closer to Ronin.

Ronin, understanding where Miko was coming from, turned and continued beaming at her.

‘I’m okay! Sure, some parts of my mind linger on the event, but I refuse to be sad forever! The people of Penrose need me as I am! The more happy people there are, the better! So come now, sister! Let us save Penrose!’ Ronin told, holding out a hand for her sister.

A bit relieved, Miko took her hand.

‘Yeah… Let’s.’

With that, hand in hand, the two twins made their way for Penrose Park.

__________________


Mariette was sitting quietly, reading. She was sitting inside Taihei’s workshop, where the Artificer was working on something at her request. What she was reading were the copied pages of the Queen of Wonderland's notebook, which Mariette had stolen, copied and then redelivered as quickly as possible through portal, hoping said queen would not realize it was ever gone. Reading these pages...

‘So that's it...’ Mariette muttered. It wasn't much she could really do with the information, even telling others about it felt relatively useless, so she'd rather not so she wouldn't prove to the queen that she read her notebook. Still, it was enlightening about the whole situation of "Alice". Not much she could use it for, but it was enlightening.

She was actually here because she'd tasked Taihei to make something for her. In fact,


‘They’re ready,’ Taihei told, picking up her new invention… a couple pages of paper, to hand over to Mariette. Her own magical protection protected her from the numerous paper-cuts the pages tried to give her.

‘Thank you. Do they work as intended?’ Mariette asked, accepting the papers and looking down at them.

‘They do,’ Taihei said, not noticing how a bolt on her forge was slowly dislodging. ‘If you write a message on these papers, only the person the message is intended for will be able to read it. If that someone then signs the paper, you will feel it. The paper will then burn itself. Perfect for secret messages, I guess,’ Taihei said.

‘Good. Now, it is imperative that you do not tell anyone you made these for me, even our friends and allied here at the base. It is a task from Asengav that holds utmost secrecy,’ Mariette lied.

‘Yeah, sure,’ Taihei replied, not really caring.

‘Alright. I will leave you to your current work, then,’ Mariette said, turning around and walking through a portal to her room.

Behind her a bolt sprung loose from Taihei’s forge, somehow hitting something vulnerable and causing a giant magical explosion and bathing the room in lava. Taihei stood in the middle of it, unharmed, unbothered, and started using her Gravity magic to clean up.

Mariette, meanwhile, arrived to her room where she’d left her phone, something she’d been doing a lot to make sure her information girl couldn’t always track her motions. Still, she arrived to her phone getting messages. She picked it up, saw numerous messages about a supposed gathering… Penrose Park. Just like the first time she saw everyone.

Fine, then. Mariette immediately opened a portal and stepped out into an apartment overlooking the park. She opened numerous portals to her eye behind the eyepatch to scout around. She’d come down when more people arrived, but for now, she simply wanted to find anyone peeking at this scene. All the major powers of Penrose gathered at one location was a prime spot for a lethal attack, after all, if it came to it.

It was another day in Penrose. Though the threat of Wonderland loomed in the distance, that did not stop the more mundane magical girl affairs that one had to deal with. Hunting monsters, studying to keep up with classwork, and such things. These would not wait, for the world still moved on even with the threat of imminent invasion.

Alicia did her best to assist in activities such as these, whether personally or through her responsibilities as a leader. She was still determined to show that the Penrose Branch could cut it without needing the Ascendancy here, even if circumstances seemed to have conspired against her once more. She would like to say that she was surprised, but she wasn't. Not really. In spite of this she continued to do the best she could to help those under her care and to keep the city safe.

Needless to say, the message from Lily was unexpected. Her mind flashed back to a similar meeting held in that same park and how that turned out, since it did feel like a bit of deja vu. Nonetheless, the decision was made already. Even if Lily did not find much of a response, Beacon would be expected to be there. That meant they would have to go.

Moving through the headquarters, Alicia soon arrived in the Ascendancy's section so she could talk to Rachel. "I suppose you've already seen the message on Glimmr from Lily?" she began. "I just figured I should let you know that I intend to attend the meeting on Beacon's behalf."

Rachel was at her desk, sifting through work on a laptop when Alicia came in, and stood up to greet her. "Ah yes, Elora did mention something about it. That girl…Lily, correct?" She gave a small smile. "Earnest, but naive. Nonetheless, her contact network is impressive. It makes sense she would attempt a rally of the locals." When Alicia announced her intent to attend, she nodded. "That is fine. Occasions such as this are best for the local branch to handle. Besides, if the Ascendancy were to appear we'd simply get glares and nothing constructive would be done."

Alicia paused, blinking in surprise. Truth be told, that had been easier than she expected. "Huh. Really?"

Though she would not throw skepticism upon the decision that had been made, her experiences so far made her desire further elaboration. After all, she had expected further resistance to the idea of cooperation at all, regardless of who it was against. "Does this mean that the decision to be neutral in Wonderland's invasion is out the window now?"

Rachel squinted at Alicia's confusion. "Yes, really. What, do you want the statement as a written notice?" She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Wonderland broke their agreement with Beacon, but the situation still has plenty of "red ribbon" behind it, as Lux would say. So Headquarters is willing to provide more assistance now, but can't declare war on Wonderland, even if they should." She grit her teeth. "That's just how it is around here; we're so mired and set in our ways of properly handling things to the point it's often too late and we're simply picking up the pieces." She scoffed. "Pisses me off."

Alicia was silent as she listened to Rachel explain the developing situation as well as her own frustrations. There was something uncharacteristic in it by the standards Alicia had developed when interacting with Rachel, and she couldn’t help but react a little.

”Congratulations,” she said after a moment, doing her best to hold back a smile. ”You’re starting to sound like the rest of us.”

Letting Rachel mull that one over, she turned and began moving towards the door. ”I’ll let you know how things go.”

Rachel did not like Alicia's insinuation, and grit her teeth. "And you're starting to sound too conceited, Paladin Seraph! I'm nothing like the rest of you local branchlings!" She sat back down, waving her away. "Fine, just go already."

Having already annoyed the other girl enough, Alicia did not push further as she left the room. She had a meeting to go to after all.

The past week had not been a pleasant one for Connie. Even though her mission with Emily had been a success, and even resulted in them making a new friend, the very next day, she had watched in horror as two of her other friends died before her eyes, all because of her own weakness and ineptitude. While it was true that she had actually managed to kill the monster responsible for their deaths and then ensured that said monster’s remains were imprisoned within Amanda’s inescapable pocket dimension, that fact did little to mend Connie’s shattered heart. Even the revelation that Lotus had apparently escaped her own seemingly certain death, and would now be taking Faith to a place of safety was but a minor comfort. Her friends had died, because she had failed to protect them.

As if that wasn’t enough, she was told by a similarly, and quite uncharacteristically, despondent Ronin that Sakura had fallen in battle against a behemoth. Even as she had tearfully embraced the smaller girl and offered her condolences, she couldn’t help but feel that they were simply empty, meaningless words. After all, nothing anyone had said had been able to heal her own grief, so how could anything she say possibly help Ronin? She didn’t really know Sakura all that well, but she knew that Ronin and Emily were both quite close to the pink-haired serpent girl, and she only wished she could do something to ease their suffering. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything. What was the point of having magical powers if she couldn’t even use them to save the people she cared about? Even now, on family game night, Connie’s despondency was thoroughly preventing her from enjoying herself, something that wasn’t hard for the others at the table to notice.

“Connie?” Kayli inquired gently. “It’s your turn.”

“A-Are you okay?” Rose asked, her voice tinged with concern as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You’ve barely touched your pizza…”

“I hope it’s not because I took that locomotive earlier,” Iris whispered to Mia with a worried frown.

The insecure and emotionally fragile Connie enjoyed Ticket to Ride because of the railroad game’s simple rules, colorful playing pieces, and lack of any major confrontational elements, yet the game was still one of competition, and Rose’s bespectacled twin sister was well-aware of just how sensitive Connie’s feelings could be…

“I don’t think that’s it,” Mia replied, before turning her attention to her best friend. “What happened in New York’s still bothering you, isn’t it?” the tomboy asked, while gently massaging Connie’s shoulder. They’d turned their dubious reward over to Kayli for study and safe keeping, and Mia only wished she could also get rid of her dear friend’s trauma in so simple a manner. “I told you before, none of that was your fault, little sis…”

“Y-You keep saying that,” Connie said, her voice filled with bitterness. “B-But if we n-never went to New York, i-if I w-wasn’t there to ruin everything, i-if I wasn’t so u-useless, t-then S-Sammy and N-Nuncio would still be alive!”

“That’s bullshit!” Mia shot back. “Connie, if we hadn’t been there, all our friends could have died, and that piece of shit coin broker would still be out there, hurting even more people!” the tomboy continued. “Faith, Lotus, and I are all safe thanks to you! Hell, you killed a coin broker! You’re not useless, you’re a total badass!”

“I-I guess…” Connie conceded glumly, frowning as she continued to stare down at where her cards lay on the table in front of her. “B-But I don’t f-feel like one…”

Before the discussion could continue further, everyone’s phone beeped upon receiving a notification.

“It’s from Lily,” Iris noted.

“She’s calling a meeting…” Kayli murmured.

“W-What now…?” Connie groaned.

“It’s just an attempt to get the city’s magical community to work together against Wonderland,” Mia explained.

“Y-Yeah, nothing to worry about!” Rose added.

But it was, Connie couldn’t help but think. Looming over everything, was the fact that an extradimensional kingdom was planning to invade Penrose. It had already conquered one innocent town, and there, too, she had been unable to make any real difference. The townsfolk may have been saved, but their home was gone, and now Connie’s own home was next…

Would she be of any help at all?

“Y-You can go,” she told the others softly. “I-I’m g-going to s-stay h-here…”

“Connie…” Mia sighed.

“Well, if that’s what you want to do…” Iris began.

“Why?” Kayli inquired.

“B-Because t-there isn’t r-really any p-point, i-is there?” Connie replied with a doubtful frown. “I-I mean, I c-couldn’t do a-anything to s-save that t-town, a-and I d-don’t have a-any good ideas, a-and…”

“That’s not true at all,” Kayli said in a soothing voice as she got up to wipe Connie’s watery eyes. “Your plan to save the Christmas Party was a very good idea, and while you may not have saved Bolorton itself, you still helped to save the people who lived there, so they can return once the Wonderlanders have finally been defeated.”

“B-But, they’re s-so strong…” Connie protested. “A-And I’m s-so…”

“You’re strong, too, little sis,” Mia told her with a reassuring smile. “Way stronger than you realize, especially when you fight for something you care about. Connie, a year ago, I never would have imagined you’d willingly choose to go into a dangerous battle, let alone stand in front of a hostile crowd and give a speech, but you’ve done both those things. Sure, you’ve made some mistakes, but so has everyone else! The fact that you keep going, despite all your doubts and fears, that’s what counts,” she continued. “That’s what I admire the most about you, Connie. That’s why I find you so inspiring.”

“M-Mia…” Connie whimpered as she embraced her friend. “M-Mayra said s-she a-admires me t-too,” she continued with a sniffle. “B-But I d-don’t u-understand w-why…”

“Then don’t try to understand it,” Mia whispered as she stroked her friend’s hair. “Just believe it. Believe that your friends think you’re amazing. Believe that you give us all so much hope, because if you can do the impossible and overcome your fears, then we can take on whatever Wonderland throws at us and kick its ass!”

“Yeah!” Rose cheered.

“Well said,” Iris added with a nod.

“Indeed,” Kayli agreed with a smile as she and the twins joined Mia in giving Connie a big hug.

“T-Thanks, e-everyone,” Connie sniffled, smiling as she tried to fight back her tears. “I-I’m s-so l-lucky to have s-such a w-wonderful f-family.”

The group remained huddled for several seconds more, before Connie broke the silence.

“U-Um, s-shouldn’t we get g-going now?”

“We?” Kayli echoed as she and the others parted to give Connie some space.

“Y-Yes,” Connie confirmed. “I-I may not have m-much c-confidence in m-myself, b-but my f-friends do, a-and if they need my h-help, I-I’m g-going to do my b-best to not l-let them down!”

“That’s my little sister!” Mia declared as she affectionately tousled her friend’s hair. “Come on,” she added with a grin as she helped Connie up. “Let’s get goin’!”

---

The week following the attack on Bolorton had been fairly uneventful for Violet, something the young heiress was very grateful for. After enduring the chaotic emotional roller coaster of that particular evening, the relative mundanity of the past few days had been a welcome reprieve. Finding the time for a romantic evening with her girlfriend certainly helped in that regard, as did the lack of any further interaction with Chloe Irving, whose desired meeting with the heiress had thankfully yet to take place. Although the threat of Wonderland couldn’t be entirely discounted, Violet was confident that, with all of Penrose working together, the Queen of Hearts’ impending assault would most certainly be repelled. And while Fan Fan had assured her that Beacon would find suitable homes for the Bolorton refugees, the idealistic heiress had made it a personal vow to reclaim the town from Wonderland’s grasp one way or another.

As she prepared to embark on another nightly patrol of the city, Violet was reminded that she was not the only one dedicated to the defense of her beloved Penrose, her sticker and glitter-covered magical girl phone beeping as a notification came in.

“Melisa,” she called to her secretary, who was just wrapping up her final tasks for the day. “It seems Lily is calling a meeting of Penrose’s magical community,” the heiress explained as she scrolled through the message. “Would you care to accompany me?”

“I’d love to!” Melisa’s cheery voice replied.

A few moments later, a hidden panel slid back from the far wall of Violet’s study, from which emerged a small, pink-haired fairy.

“Okay! I’m all set!” Melisa chirped.

“Then let’s be off,” Violet declared, smiling warmly at her small friend, before intoning her incantation in an increasingly cute and high-pitched voice.


The next instant, the refined young woman was once again the bubbly and innocent Magical Dream Princess. Not wasting a moment, the transformed heiress promptly conjured a colorful rainicorn pegasus and, soon enough, both she and Melisa were flying towards Penrose Park, a stream of glitter and giggles trailing behind them.

---

“I can’t believe this crap…” Angela grumbled. “All this time, and I still haven’t found anything that might help that stupid collection of losers! No wish-granting djinn girl, no obviously bullshit ‘Keeper of the Keys’, who can cure people’s problems just by standing near them, no Crimson Cradle and their supposed ‘whole new you’ red coins, and when I asked Beacon about getting some purification potions for a worthy cause, those self-righteous fucks said they only give them to ‘trusted mahou’!”

“Perhaps if you did more to gain said trust, they would be more accommodating,” Chiichuu noted in his usual infuriatingly patronizing manner. “Besides, you’ve only been in Penrose for two weeks,” the Puchuu added.

“Feels like more than a year…” Angela muttered.

“Building up a satisfactory level of rapport with the local magical community will take time,” Chiichuu went on. “And speaking of, another opportunity for you to do just that appears to have arrived.”

“What is it this time?”

“A charismatic magical girl known as Lily Lightning has called for a meeting of the Penrose magical community,” Chiichuu replied. “It should serve as an excellent place to form new connections, and perhaps acquire the information you seek.”

“Fine…” Angela huffed. “Let’s see what kind of clusterfuck this devolves into…”

---

While Lily waited for everyone to show up, she would notice a crackling orb of yellowy-green ball lightning appear beside her, only to burst apart a moment later to reveal a green haired young woman in an ultratech bodysuit and holding an oversized shield.

“Salutations,” the young woman greeted her with a small nod. “My designation is Pentius-04, and I am here on behalf of my creator, the most esteemed and renowned Doctor Nikki Yolanda Kannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists, to serve as your bodyguard for the duration of this meeting,” she explained, before holding out her free hand to reveal a small holoprojector built into the palm of her gauntlet. “Doctor Kannis has also prepared a short message for you as well,” she added as miniature, semi-transparent image of the deranged doctor appeared above her open palm.

“Nyahahaha! Greetings, Lily!” Nykannis began. “I noticed your message about the little confab you’re planning, and considering what happened to the last person who tried to organize something like that, well, let’s just say I enjoy watching the pathetic flailings you call being a magical girl far too much to see you get bumped off just yet! Therefore, I’ve sent Pentius-04 to keep you in roughly one piece! She’s the best bodyguard I could create within the rules framework of this reality plenum,” the mad scientist continued. “So unless the Grand Magistrate really wants you dead, you should have absolutely nothing to worry about. Plus, 04 here’s really been wanting to atone for how badly she fucked up back in Bolorton, so, yeah, ‘eye of the tiger’ and all that shit. ANYWAYS, that’s all from me. Hopefully the Penrose Pack will actually decide to be supportive this time and not laugh hysterically while someone chucks a bomb at your fucking face! Nyahahahaha!”

With that, the small image winked out.

The four magi, two puchuu, and one raven sat around the room of the Golden Trove. There was silence for the sake of Summer's concentration on her divination. Everything seemed to be going well when an alert sounded on all four of their phones.

"Looks like Lily's sent out a rallying cry." Makoto said, commenting on the message.

"And we're part of the cavalry?"

Summer stopped what she was doing and sat up to her full, very short sitting height. "That's about the best we can hope for, yes. And, well... Did you know that I've only been in one fight since coming to Penrose?

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Are you familiar with... the Worf effect?"

Shion facepalmed. "Look, I know you think this is all some kind of story, but do you really think you're going to get ganked by these Wonderland guys?"

"Look, all I'm saying is, be prepared for the very real possibility of them steamrolling any one of us. Stick together if you can, or with the others who show up to fight them."

"Well, my token is still in the park, where we're supposed to meet up anyway. Funny how she ended up choosing the same rallying point we wanted."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, for some reason, people want this city."

"Too bad we lost all our equipment. Magical Girls fighting each other is a great source of mana and all that. Better than coins, if you can collect it."

"So we're just waiting here until the fighting starts? That's not especially-"

Summer waved her hand back and forth, dismissing Kain's remark before he could finish. "Makoto's mark is literally there for her to Big Damn Hero her way into a situation. We'll tail onto that and show up in the nick of time, before inevitably getting our asses kicked. At least, with our luck," she nodded at Kain, "not counting the silver golden boy over there, that is."

"Don't be such a downer! We'll show up when the fighting starts, hopefully have the element of surprise on our side, kick some ass, and then we can relax a while. Take a well deserved vacation after all the work that went into the Paradox Orb, even if it failed."

"I suppose that makes sense. It just doesn't feel right to go into a fight without a proper declaration of intent."

"Chivalry is dead. Besides, this isn't an anime, bro. Our lives are on the line, we can't be worried about that kind of thing."

"You're right, but that doesn't change the way I feel about it."

Summer walked over to the television in the room and whacked it once, imbuing it with magic. The screen flickered to life to show Penrose Park, giving the group a good view of the area that the meetings would take place in. All that was left to do was wait.

---

Looks like they're having quite the adventure. Let's turn the page and see what they do next.

For how relatively normal the day was turning out, the en mass message from Lily wouldn't be the only thing catching Valerie's attention. The spam mail that popped up on her HUD was only a front for a message. Schematics for a device that the Mint planned on using against their old boss, and a solution granted to them by the sender themself. Were the Mint still unaware of Maura? "Hey fellas! Might wanna take a look at this!" The android called out to her aformentioned boss, and the rest of the agents.

Once everyone gathered to glance over the new information, Val noticed something was off about Finn. Maybe it was cause he looked like he hadn't properly slept for way too long, or the way he seemed to be only half focused on what was going on, just staring blankly at what she showed on her main computer screen. Barely there. She glanced at Amanda to see if she knew what was wrong, but the way the magician shrugged meant Valerie's guess was as good as her's. She then looked at the ghost who had an arm protectively wrapped around the other boy.

Right.

From what Maura (or really, Viridian) knew, "Ladybug" was one of Veronica's old Mint associates, but that was the extent of it. Whether or not their source was trustworthy they'd have to find out theirselves. But at the same time, someone had to go to Lily's meeting, if not to make sure history didn't repeat itself. So Maura paired Valerie and Amanda up to do just that.

...

"Hey, Val?" Amanda spoke up as the two followed the lightning beacon to their location.

"Hm?"

"Do you think she'll actually, y'know, convince anyone to work together?"

Valerie could only shrug. "The whole enemy of my enemy, all factions united against one enemy shtick? Beats me." She admitted. "From what I heard, last time someone tried to pull this crap, she got assassinated by the same chick we're now working with."

"But that was like, months ago, right?" Amanda tilted her head.

The android grimaced. "Maybe? I wasn't here as long as Eliza. Feels like months..." In fact, it felt like they were there for longer. Maybe it was just the town getting to their heads, or Maura's weird "buisness partner", but thinking about it was giving her a headache. She lightly shook her head.

"Whatever the case is, might as well get some information from this.

---

Meanwhile, Maura had planned on dealing with the Mint's debilitating device. With it being expectedly guarded, she would need some back-up while she dealt with the main issue. Finn, despite his off behavior, was willing to go with. He was her right-hand man, after all.

Oliver stopped him before he could step away.

"Finn. No." The ghost firmly told him. He furrowed his brows in response, he opened his mouth to speak-

Nothing.

He already forced himself to talk with Aria last time. Even if he did want to argue back, he couldn't talk. He just couldn't. He glanced away with a frown.

"See?! You still can't even talk!" Oliver pointed out. The tone of his voice was angry, but concerned. He took a second to calm down before continuing. "Look, your run in with the other queen was bad enough, but that Horror shit you got dragged into wasn't right!"

Right. Finn hurried back home as quick as he could after his trip to Glexaroth's realm. He was able to stay composed around Mac and the others, but once he was back with Oliver, he finally broke down and told him everything. It ached the ghost's heart to see him like that, calling himself a murderer, that he never changed. Finn softly frowned at Oliver.

"Let me and Mac go with Maura, you need to rest."

His eyes widened. It didn't feel right. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Not with Wonderland, not with Penny or the Mint. He can't show weakness like this. He can't! Not now! He was quickly shaking his head in response. Oliver had to grab his shoulders to snap him out of it.

"Finney- Finney! We'll be fine! It'd take a lot to take down the three of us! Trust me. We'll be careful."

The other boy was still for a moment, before he sighed in resignation. He nodded to both Oliver and Mac with a weak smile. Finn stepped out of the room.

The ghost looked to Mac. "Sometimes, when he's way too stressed, he just...doesn't talk. Strains him to do so." He explained, huffing afterwards. "Whenever you're ready to head out, we'll follow Maura to where those idiots are lurking about."

Most magical girls had long forgotten what being an actual girl was like. Provided they were one to begin with. But it was something Chloe had never forgotten. You really couldn’t when you were the star of the show all the time. The world was a stage, and she was the lead character. Thus, she needed to look as good as she possibly could. Her magical girl outfit was the only thing she’d bother wearing, but she had her choice of accessories to adorn herself with. Or rather, her scarf would change into whatever it was that she desired. But now it was a hat, if only for a moment before becoming a collar. It would continue to change shape while she applied her makeup.

Her attention was fixed on a body length mirror on her apartment’s wall, but her phone was a short distance away. The Glimmr app was open, with Lily’s message taking up the majority of the phone’s screen. There was also enough room for an ad about banana scented shampoo. But who wanted that?

"Alright, lovelies." Chloe turned around to face Sonia, Viper, and Aurora. "Your brave, beautiful, and fearless leader’s plan is coming together swimmingly! I know we have a few things baking in the oven, but there’s no reason to concern ourselves with that now." She grinned. "Once everything runs its course, we’ll be that much closer to getting what your little heart desires."

"Boobs?" Aurora’s head perked up, but Chloe was quick to pinch her cheek between her fingers.

"I was talking to the other two."

"Awwww…"

"I have some muscle on reserve, so once Sonia drops Aurora and I off, she and Viper can do whatever they wish. Which I’m ready for, by the way." She snapped her fingers.

---

No sooner did Nykannis’s recording stopped playing did Chloe burst onto the scene. Sonia brought Chloe and Aurora to the location. The trap was holding a red carpet, which she rolled out immediately. Chloe strut across the carpet as souls rose up from either side of it.

"Hello Penrose! It is I, Chloe Irving, here to converse with the rest of the magical girl community. I don’t care who you serve, I think we all need to come together to fight our common enemy. And also…"

The ground behind Chloe moved aside as something burrowed out of the earth. It was a bony abomination, one with the head of an alligator and limbs from long extinct animals. Its torso was made up of at least five different ribcages, and was filled to the brim with glowing bones. If that wasn’t enough, the thing’s limbs were clad in plate armor and it’s main arms had runic scythes for hands.

"...Lily’s not the only one with a security detail. So let’s not try anything, eh?"

---

Oliver was talking to Mac, but she was only half listening. She went through her morning routine, worked out, took a shower, if only to get her headspace right. But while a shower could wash away the grime of brisk exercise, it couldn’t clear her head.

Mac had done some horrible things, but was always able to justify her actions. It was a good cause, for the greater good, that was all it took to get her to deal with cutthroats, thieves, and everything else being an undercover cop entailed. But it never involved people she knew. Even if Mac hadn’t known the people at Cradle long, she hadn’t been this close to anyone since she arrived in Penrose ten or so years ago. And even if she wasn’t, Nothing she ever did was as deplorable as what Aria put him through. She knew Finn had a sister at some point, but didn’t know the details about her. It almost felt like Aria went above and beyond to psychologically torture him. And for what? Even if she knew more than Oliver, she didn’t know the full story. But she’d be okay. Unlike Finn, she didn’t deserve a rest.

"Um, yea. I get that.” Mac nodded. "We’ll just give him some space. And, um, I guess I need a persona for this.” With a snap of her fingers, she turned into a rodent monster girl. She looked like iron mouse, but dressed to go crash a mosh pit at a punk concert. Spiked pauldrons, skirt, torn socks. It’s not a phase, mom.

"You may have heard of Iron Mouse, but I’m ’Metal Rat’.” She hadn’t even bothered to change her voice. "I use gravity magic and, um, you know it’s probably not necessary to get too invested in this. Let’s get moving.”

---

The one thing Sakura missed most about his old Yakuza life was the respect he used to get. His fellow yakuza treated him like a brother, his family loved him, and his enemies feared him. Even as he approached his senior years, he still “had it.” But then he became a magical girl and subsequently a laughing stock. He tried to change that sorry state of affairs every chance he got, but to no avail. It was that pursuit of greater respect – that rejection of her current reality – that made things end poorly.

But death was not the end for magical girls.

When you’re just a soul, your ability to perceive the physical realm is not that great. She couldn’t see tangible objects, only the neon glow of other spirits. They moved and swirled in the darkness. She noticed only a few at first, but as she looked around she could see hundreds and thousands of them. They were all different colors and swirling like galaxies. It was as mesmerizing as it was haunting; Each of those lights was a dead magical girl. Was this anything more than a dream?

Before long, Sakura was swept up by a current. Some invisible force was pushing her along, moving her closer to the collection of lights. She was a little unnerved by this, but it wasn’t like she could resist. Moreover, she found herself being comforted by it. Given how badly she had screwed things up, it was probably best that something else decided where she was going.

But Sakura was not alone. While most of the spirits were far away, one floated closer to her. As it got closer, Sakura could see a shape inside the light. It looked like a small person, wearing more clothing than most magical girls do. Come to think of it, she kind of looked like a captain. Maybe even a pirate captain.

“Ahoy, there!” The tiny pirate greeted Sakura. “You seem to be freshly released. You wouldn’t happen to be from Penrose, would you?”

“I am.” Sakura was shocked at how easy it was to speak. She must have had an incorporeal form like this pirate. “Did you want to know what was going on?”

“Nah, I can’t say I care about that now. I mean, we’re dead, right?” The pirate grinned, but it felt less happy and more smug. “Besides, it’s hard to remember much as a spirit. I can’t even remember the last ten people I talked to. I’m sure you noticed how dream-like everything feels?”

“This is real then?”

“Unfortunately.”

“F-” Sakura sighed. “A big Oppai maid angel told me some things, and I think I may end up in a bad underworld.”

“Bad underworld? Oppai?” The pirate raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what either of those things are, but we’re magical girls. Our patrons aren’t going to let us check out that easily. It may take a decade or so, but we’re going to get resurrected the second we acquire enough mana to do so. You probably noticed how hard it is to move. After a while, you’ll collect enough ambient mana to be able to fight the soul stream and collect even more mana. After a while, you’ll have enough mana to rebuild your physical body… I think.”

“You think?”

“You probably noticed they don’t give you a manual when you get here.”

“Fucking hell…” Sakura would sigh if she still had lungs. “How long have you been doing this?”

“I haven’t seen as much as a clock or calendar since I got here. But let’s not worry about that too much. The one nice thing about being here is that you get to meet all kinds of other souls.” The pirate pretended to clear her throat. “I’m Amber, but the magical girl community knows me as Shining Scale.”

“Sakura. But don’t let the name fool you. I was a man before turning into a magical girl.”

“A man, huh?” Amber barrel-rolled to the other side of Sakura. “What did you do for a living? I was a hardware store manager.”

“Yakuza.”

“Really?”

“I was one of the good ones.” Sakura was glad she didn’t have a form capable of blushing. “B-because I met a good woman! Our daughter is the greatest thing I’ve ever produced.”

“Oh, a family man.” She laughed. “I never met my mister right. But I bet that makes the magical life even harder, huh? Abstaining from making other connections like that.”

“Yea…” Sakura couldn’t keep Emily or that kiss he gave her out of his head. “Um, are those other souls ahead?”

“Oh yea! Looks like a few more recently deceased. I wonder if they’re from Penrose too.”

The next two souls looked like a mobster and an old, timely detective. They were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes. Sakura and Amber remained quiet until their forms vanished from view.

“You didn’t say anything to them?” Sakura inquired.

“No point spoiling their moment.” Amber chuckled. “It’s kind of a good thing that they both went together, you know? A decade or so is a long time to be away from the person you love. They’ll do alright regardless of how much the world changes. Can’t say you or I are going to have it as easy.”

“I don’t know. I think everyone I know is better off without me.”

Amber raised her pimp hand. “If we could physically interact with each other, I’d smack you!”

“Oh!” Sakura was a bit taken back by how quickly the pirate lady got angry. She was probably not too fun to work under. Then again, all the yakuza bosses were short tempered too. “I was just feeling sorry for myself.”

“Hey!” A sudden shout came from an absolutely massive soul. Clearly it belonged to a very old, very powerful magical girl. She had an unsettling grin on her face and wore a crown. “Don’t be sad, be mad! Get angry! Realize that someone sent you here, and while they may have bought themselves a decade or so to live, you’re going to go back there and absolutely crush whatever killed you!” The beastly magical girl withdrew into her own thoughts. “Next time, Connie, it’s just going to be you and me, and I won’t let anyone get in the way.. So don’t die before I can get to you, my perfect prey!” With a laugh that shook the underworld, the massive soul took off like a jet, throwing Sakura and Amber threw the soul stream.

“Fucking hell!”

“I’ll say!” Amber managed to stay near Sakura. “But that’s why you need to return as fast as you can. Because there’s always a few nutjobs like that waiting to come back.”

“I see that now!”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong.” Amber looked ahead. “Sometimes I wish death was a bit more permanent.”

Now it was Sakura who was ready to get annoyed. “Didn’t you say you’d smack me for talking like that?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She clarified. “We need to make the best of a bad situation, but it can feel a little pointless sometimes. We fight forever. Us, our enemies, all to be pawns in some sadistic game. With a finite lifespan at least we could see our friends in the appropriate afterlife. I’ll never see some of my friends again. And there’s the possibility that when I come back, the people I know as a magical girl will have moved on. Ten years is a long time, and if they didn’t die, they might have changed. Maybe ten years is all it takes for the world to forget about Shining Scale.”

This was one of those rare moments where Sakura stopped to think about what to say. “If you don’t think you’ll be remembered, or see your friends again, why continue?”

“Partially because we don’t have a choice. But also, well, it’s not my first rodeo.” Amber grinned. “It wasn’t a literal death, but getting turned into a magical girl hit the reset button on my life. Everything I knew about hardware was useless, everyone treated me like a kid again, and I had all of these new responsibilities and powers I knew nothing about. I was only able to keep up for a year or two, but by the time I died I rallied a bunch of magical girls together and initiated a raid. I built new connections and learned about my new life, and when I return I know I can do it all again.”

“Huh…”

“But I think I’ve drawn in enough mana from this area, so I’ll be going now.”

It took Sakura a moment, but she realized that the pirate… the woman… who was she talking to again?

Ever since the Christmas event, hell, even before that when Violet and Sakura used Penny’s Evolution to become Ruby, Ilum had kept a close watch on the magical girl. Bigger wish granting had been at a minimum, and it had kept her out of the public eye for a while now. Usually during these lulls it meant it was time to move on. Then came an unexpected and somewhat ominous summons to Ilum’s lamp. Was this it? Had her time run out, some missed agreement that meant she was to become a full djinn and sealed away for an untold length of time.

Floating in as a plume of smoke, Ruby’s form took shape before a lavish palace. Everything here clearly touched by the djinn’s magic, and setting foot here struck home that she too was a mere possession of the patron. Walking forward, the girl sheepishly took hold of the door knocker at the entrance, the impacts sounding out much louder than the motion would suggest.

The knocker, shaped like a lion's head holding a ring between it's fangs, smiled as the heavy metal reverberated on the door. "Welcome, it said," followed by the door opening to a lavish, wide room filled with treasures and luxuries. Ilum was sitting on a large cushion, smoking on what looked like a bizarre hookah. "Come, my child," Ilum gestured towards the magical girl. "Take a seat."

Taken back by the spectacle of the space, she shifted forward. This was a lot more treasure than she ever imagined. It made the little pocket dimension she had, as comfortable as it was, look like a school locker. Coming to, Ruby walked forward as instructed and took a seat on a smaller pillow before Ilum. ”You called for me?” She’d learned better long ago than to talk back to her patron, particularly when in his presence. Not that she could hide anything from him anyway with the Mind Link.

The Patron gently breathed out a cloud of iridescent smoke. "Yes. I have seen an omenous portent." The smoke took shape, producing images that resembled the places and people described. "A great upheaval is at hand, in the place known as Penrose, resting place of a Nexus." Curiously, the smoke took the shape of a nameless book, with hands reaching out for it. "If this magic is disturbed, it will have devastating consequences. To avert this fate, you must intervene." The Patron glanced over to Ruby. "The balance of magic must be kept in equilibrium, and the Nexus must remain unsullied by greed. Do you understand?"

Never in her time as a magical girl had Ruby been given a mission like this. Actually, most of the time there wasn’t really a mission at all. ”Intervene? I… Yes I understand, but I’m not a fighter like the others. Am I supposed to grant a wish or something to help them?”

"Ruby, your magic is but one of the gifts bestowed upon you to shape fate. Like your namesake, your brilliance is only shadowed by your passionate will to endure." The smoke split into countless tiny rubies, then glittering into nothingness. "A wish in the correct place, correct time…Like ambition itself, it can change the world. But whether it is for good or evil…You must be the judge of your own heart."

Ilum was always difficult for Ruby to read. He could be harsh at times, or he could be encouraging like he was now. Not quite a father figure, but a mentor in his own way. Nodding assuredly she smiled lightly. "Thank you, Ilum. I will do my best." She snapped her fingers and a spark of magic went off. She narrowed her eyes and looked up at Ilum with a playful glare. "You were preparing for this weren't you? That's why you've been having me save up magic." She would wag a finger in the Djinn's direction with a smirk.

The Patron would only smile at the accusation. "As sharp as a jewel. But time is of the essence." With an elaborate motion of hands, a portal was conjured out of the lamp. "Now, you must go, for it is preordained."

Preordained huh? Hard to tell if that was what she wanted or not. As if magic cared about ones feelings. Getting up, Ruby hurried through the portal. She had a job to do.

Penny stood silently as she scanned the memorials. The sudden leaving of the warehouse wasn’t part of her original plans, but no plan remains intact for long in Penrose. Still, she had made sure to bring over everything that had been left behind due to her actions. And that included the memorials, as their weight of memories was worth more than ever now.

She was hardly the only girl here at the moment, but even with the small steady numbers that visited here normally, today was different. Sakura’s memorial was just put up, and while she kept her surprise at the sheer number that came to pay respect to the spunky yakuza, she was glad all over again that she had decided to make this space for them in the first place.

Though it hurt to realize that it would need expanding with the coming conflict.

She had talked with Dina about it more than once in the past few days. Once she had sat though what could only be considered a scolding that is. But now Sanctuary was ready to start making their mark on the face of the coming war.

Speaking of which, Penny pulled up the text she, and if she was right, most of Penrose had received. The monarch had to give it to Lily, the sparky girl was never one to worry about the worst. Though in this instance Penny could hardly blame her. While the last meeting closed under bad circumstances, the introductions that had happened there on the periphery had more than paid dividends so far.

So, who knows what this meeting could bring.

“Monica and Belladonna.” Penny would say, though her voice came out of the P.A. system running though the Bastion. “Meet me in hold three. It’s time to leave.” With a nod to the mourners who turned to regard her at that message Penny walked off.

Upon reaching her destination, she wasn’t entirely surprised to see that Dina, Goblina and Ashlyn had also arrived along side the two she had requested. “I take it you completed it then?” She’d ask with a raised brow.

“Indeed, though it hardly befits your status, it is better than nothing in these circumstances” Dina would reply as she gestured for Goblina to hand over the folded cloth in their hands. Upon which Penny would pick up to unfold a capelet.

It was a simple thing, fine gray silk with the simple heraldry for the Sanctuary on it. A circle with three diamonds in a vertical line running down the center of it.

Penny would run a hand over it before putting it on. This meeting was going to be rife with politics, even if not instantly apparent. It was as good a time as any to make this statement. “ Time to make an entrance then.” She would state. as she started to turn away.

“While we are out, it might be a good time to find another point for an entrance.” She’d add looking at Dina and Goblina, “The two we have right now are good, but a pair more wouldn’t be a miss either. Get the twins on it.” With that Penny would turn towards the wall.

Belladonna would stride up to Penny’s left. And Monica, once she was done hugging her goodbyes with Ashlyn would take up position on Penny’s right. And once the three of them were alone in the room the space just in front of the wall would shimmer before a portal would rip open. On the far side was the Park meeting.

Without any further delay The Queen of Penrose and her delegation would exit their home and join the rest of their contemporaries.

The Queen gave everyone present a simple glance, her reactions to anything kept hidden from obvious tells. But the way that Belladonna gave a sharp look at Chloe before a soft muttered ‘Understood my Queen’ meant that there was still a reaction to be had.

Lily was anxious, her foot outwardly expressing it with impatient taps as she waited for her message to be received. But she wasn’t anxious about nobody showing up: there were still friends and acquaintances she could rely on to do the right thing. She was concerned about how volatile the personalities of the magical girls could be, and how that could lead into bickering if not outright hostility. However, Lily didn’t have to ponder such thoughts for long before the first person arrived. But to Lily’s surprise, it was nobody she recognized. She was alarmed as the shield-carrying girl suddenly teleported in, but quickly gave a hesitant smile as the stranger introduced themselves as an associate of Doctor Nykannis, and more importantly, an ally to her cause. While she wasn’t really familiar with the “Queen of the Mad Scientists” herself, she figured she cared enough about Penrose to give this meeting a chance. And so would Lily too.

”A b-bodyguard?” She slightly blushed out of embarrassment after hearing the announcement, and scratched her cheek, averting her eyes.
”I-I’m not so important that I’d need that…But, um, thank you.”
Though she secretly wanted to be acknowledged and respected by her peers, she never wanted to be seen as superior or more important than anyone else. In that sense, it was bizarre for a stranger to assign her a guardian. Not that she needed one, as she saw Alex arrive soon after the recording ended. She could trust him to keep her safe even if someone dangerous attempted to crash the meeting.
”Alex! You came just in time! Look what I got!” She waved the recording in her hand, looking like she might accidentally drop it, to Pentius-04’s possible dismay.

She then activated the recording and reacted with wide eyes, taken aback by Nykannis’ bold greeting. She was boisterous and rude, yet also strangely endearing to Lily, reminding her of a villain she saw in a TV show once. Regardless of her attitude, her intent seemed positive enough.

Once it ended, Lily turned to Pentius-04, about to say something, when she froze, her eyes wide. A new arrival teleported suddenly in: Chloe, with an entourage of girls Lily definitely considered dangerous. She instinctively hopped out of the way of the red carpet as it rolled towards the central statue, and summoned her magical weapon out of reflex as Chloe bombastically walked down it.
But as soon as she did, Chloe made her intentions clear: she also wanted to attend the meeting in peace, even if she did summon a horrific monster to enforce it. A bead of sweat dripped down Lily’s brow, but she put up a brave face. She would need to stay in control of the meeting no matter how intimidated she might be. But she had to admit, that scarf was pretty drip.
”Chloe, it’s good to see you,” Lily responded with a slightly hesitant smile, and put away her weapon.
”Love the new look, by the way. The scarf suits you.”
She hoped a few kind words helped with the unease between them in the coming conversation.

As if on cue, a portal opened, and out of it stepped a familiar face joined by representatives of Sanctuary.
”Penny! Is that…A new capelet?”
Her eyes sparkled upon seeing the new accessory the Queen of Penrose wore. Now feeling safe as one of the most powerful magical girls of Penrose was present, she let her weapon disappear with a spark of electricity, and curtsied.
”I am grateful that you have joined us, Your Majesty.”
Though she noticed the tension between their group and Chloe’s, she appreciated their self-control. She then noticed as various other Penrose magicals arrived including Gaia, Connie, and more. Even Justine, who had descended down from the sky, having landed on the statue with a gentle flap of her wings, was attending. Her eyes were fixed on a certain someone with a crimson glare.
”So we meet again, Sonia. Still working with the Mint?”
In response, the silent maid produced four knives between her fingers. However, that was all she did, before she cast them off and clasped her hands before her, her posture perfect as she stood beside Chloe.
Justine rolled her eyes.
”I take that as a yes, then.” She turned to Lily.
”You still want to wait for others?”

Lily shook her head.
”No, this is enough.” She looked around at the crowd of magical girls and boys.
”To be honest…The reason I brought you all here is because the situation is desperate. It won’t be long before Wonderland comes in and destroys everything we hold dear. And we can’t let that happen!” She smashed her fist into her palm.
”We may not see eye to eye on everything, but we can all agree that we should save Penrose!”

Justine interjected.
”That’s a given, considering we’re all here in the first place. More importantly, do you have a plan of action?”

Lily averted her eyes as she gave an awkward smile.
”Well, umm…Not yet.” Justine sighed, but Lily then immediately spoke up, trying to hold on to the conversation.
”But I’m sure we can think of something we can do!” Then, a thought came to her.
”Oh! Maybe someone here knows something about Wonderland that we can use to our advantage!” Again, her eyes swept over the crowd.
”At this point, any kind of idea would be welcome. Anyone?”

---

Elsewhere in town, as the meeting in Penrose Park began other plans were also unfolding.
“...And that’s the plan. Any questions?” Louis surveyed the gathered magical girls and boy, gauging their reaction to the information he had just provided. After some time running easy schemes, now they were back in the big leagues.
“It seems pretty straightforward to me,” Alma replied with a grunt and a small nod. She had listened attentively to the plan, and liked what she saw. It was simple, which meant there were less parts that could go wrong.
Off to the side, Varjo had a wide grin as she regarded their handler. “It sounds like fun! I’ve never killed a patron before. I wonder what sorts of trophies that Cradle has inside of it. Do you think the Mint will let us keep some?
The other member of their little group was not entirely content, Anja wearing a frown as a hand rested on her hip. “Do we trust Her though?
Seppa smirked as she glanced over at the other girl, her arms folded over her chest. “With how much the Mint is paying us for this job, we’ll be able to pay off our debts even without whatever we take. That’s worth a lot more than trust.” Did they really have a choice with their own set of circumstances
Resting in the back of the room, Ilmarinen pulled out the coin that was his trademark. Holding it steady, he flicked the shining object into the air. It tumbled in mid flight, flipping head over head as it rose and then fell. A quick swipe grabbed it out of the air, and he placed it upon the back of his hand in a smooth motion.
Pulling the covering hand away revealed the face of the coin, giving its approval for the mission that they were to undertake. “Fate smiles upon this mission,” he announced. Varjo rolled her eyes, but did not argue since she was already on board with the mission.
Louis clapped his hands together. “Alright then, let’s get going. Time is wasting.” That package would not deliver itself.

The Mint’s plan was fairly simple, as had been claimed. They had a truck which had been magically reinforced to prevent any manipulation by Metal spec girls. Inside the truck’s hold was the device that would be used on Veronica, the one that was the Cradle’s target. The vehicle itself was being driven by a civilian who had been Psychically influenced into doing the job. None of the team actually wanted to have to drive the vehicle, especially one so large.
Of the girls themselves, only Anja was visible in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle. It was reasonable to assume that there was at least one other girl in the truck with the device, but the precise location of the rest of their guards, or their number, would be difficult to pin down for the Cradle team as they arrived at their destination.
Thanks to the information provided by Ladybug, the Cradle team knew that the Mint planned to follow the main roads through downtown, then get on the highway and leave Penrose for places further North. Knowing the planned route, they had the opportunity to set an ambush to the location of their choosing. How would Maura choose to approach this situation?

"I think our first priority should be coming up with a method of getting the civilians to safety Alexander spoke up "Unless we have a way to track them to their home base and invade it, or failing that, invade Bolorton, then we're going to have to fight them in Penrose, and we'll need to have a plan for what to do about the civilians. I just remember that during that whole debacle, I was stuck on evac duty along with a bunch of other people, so I only got around to actually fighting Wonderland's forces right before we left" he sighed "And I wasn't the only one. So unless we want to keep a large chunk of our forces tied up in evacuating, and later protecting the civilians, we'll need to come up with something for them ahead of time. Like, does anyone have a spare pocket dimension or two we could just shove them in?"

He then paused as a thought occurred to him "Well...we'd still need to get them all. Maybe we could set up a Rune array that covers the connected a pocket dimension to shove everyone without magic into it when the fighting starts. But I don't have any spatial magic, so it's not something I can really make on my own. Not to mention powering something that huge is going to be an absolute bitch to do. We'd also need something to keep them all from panicking over having been teleported somewhere strange. Maybe add something to the array that knocks them out, our puts them in a trance. That'd be more complicated and would need more magic, but it would also get rid of the need to wipe their memories..." As he went on, he slowly started to transition from 'talking to the crowd' to 'talking to himself' "...and then we run into the issue of hiding the damn thing..."

Penrose Park was not too different from the last time Alicia had been here. Once more the magical girls of the city gathered to talk about a crisis, though this one was a bit more imminent and obvious than the last one. Would that be enough to ensure that things went better than the last time? Alicia chose to be hopefully, if prepared to have her opinion proven wrong.

It was still an eclectic assortment of people, that much had not changed even if the faces were different. With the contingent of other girls from Beacon who had chosen to attend, Alicia surveyed those who had chosen to visit as she stood there clad in her magical girl outfit. That much had not changed, though her stature had risen much since then.

She nodded in agreement with what Lily said. "We're here to help out against Wonderland as well," she confirmed. She didn't see a need to go through an explanation of what had happened in Bolorton and why things were different now, and would keep it that way unless pushed by someone else.

Alex went on, voicing a desire to have some way to mass evacuate the city in a hurry should Wonderland attack. Alicia couldn't judge the viability of his idea, since she wasn't that much of a technical sort. Someone else would need to figure it out. "Wonderland is a sizable organization. If we can determine where they're producing those toy soldiers and machines, or find where they're gathering their troops for their attacks, we could set back any invasion they might have planned."

Although she had been briefed on how… excitable her charge could be, it still came as something of a surprise to Pentius-04 when Lily grabbed her by the wrist and started excitedly waving her arm at a new arrival. “S-Salutations,” she managed to stammer as Alexander joined them. “I have been assigned to ensure Miss Lily’s safety,” she added, hoping this explanation would be enough to dispel any concerns her charge’s romantic partner might have. However, it soon became apparent that there were far greater things to worry about, as Ebon Mint coin broker-in-training Chloe Irving made her grand entrance and conjured her own monstrous bodyguard.

“Be assured, while I shall take no hostile action against anyone present, I shall also allow no harm to befall my charge,” 04 told the dark magical girl, while simultaneously moving to stand in front of Lily and activating her shield’s expansive, multi-layered energy barrier.

---

Shortly after the arrival of Chloe, Penny, and their attendant entourages, a colorful rainicorn pegasus spiraled around in the sky above the park, before bursting into a series of brilliant fireworks and a shower of sparkling glitter and glowing stars.

“Hiiiiiiyeee~!” a sickeningly cheerful voice called out as a pink-clad magical girl dropped from the sky alongside a small fairy. “Like, ta-daaa~!” she declared once the pair had landed and struck complementary poses. “Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess and Super Duper Adorable Fairy Princess Melisa Wisa are heresie weresie nowie~! (giggle!)”

”Hiiiiii!” Melisa yelled out as she fluttered around her friend. Except a few, most of the attendees probably wouldn’t have recognized the tiny fairy girl. Since breaking free of her monstrous form, she had stayed out of most of the conflicts. Fighting wasn’t really her thing if she could avoid it.

Her eyes darting around in eager excitement, MDP briefly took note of Chloe and her skeletal creation, before the whimsical girl’s painfully limited attention refocused on something she found far more appealing… “Wowie zowie~!” she exclaimed as she bounced over to the Sanctuary delegation. “Penny Wenny’s heresie wersie, too~! (giggle!) Like, Magical Dream Princess just wuvs your new capey wapey thingie wingie~! (giggle!)” she told her girlfriend with a happy smile. “And, like, did you see, did you see~?! Melisa Wisa’s not a dolly wolly person werson anymorsie~! (giggle!) Like, she’s a fairy wairy person werson nowie~!” the bubbly Princess of Dreams added as she gestured to her tiny friend.

Following MDP the fairy girl would wave ecstatically. She didn’t really know that many of the others currently present all that well, though she did steal a glance at Ruby as she appeared in a puff of smoke. That girl’s magic was of particular interest, even if Melisa didn’t quite register it as such in her own mind. Anyway, she looked back to Penny. ”Uh huh. Your Beacon friends were able to do it. I don’t know why people don’t like them. They’re really nice.”

“Like, some of them can be kinda winda grumpy wumpy,” MDP noted. “But, like, other wothers, like Fan Fany Wan Wany, are like, super duper nicey wicey~! (giggle!)” she added.

A moment later, the whimsical girl noticed a pair of new arrivals, and with a gleeful squeal she darted over to greet them. “Pastel-chaaaan~!” she cheered as she glomped the bespectacled magician. “Magical Dream Princess is soooo happy wappy to see you againsie wensie~! (giggle!) Like, is this one of your other wother friendy wendies~?!” she inquired as her attention refocused on Valerie. “Wowie zowie~! Like, is she a robotic wotic person werson like Penny Wenny?!” she asked excitedly as she bounced up and down on her tiptoes. “Is she?! Is she?! Is she?!”

However, before an answer could be provided, Lily began her opening greeting, after which, Alex mentioned the possibility of evacuating the city’s civilian populace into a safe pocket dimension, causing MDP’s eyes to sparkle as an idea popped into her ADHD-addled brain. “Oh~! Oh~!” she chirped, rapidly waving her hand as she jumped up and down. “Pastel-chan has one of those pocket wocket dimension wension thingie wingies~! Right, Pastel-chan~?!” she asked, turning to Amanda with a big smile.

---

Descending on radiant wings, the Angel of Hope smiled down upon the gathered magicals. “Warmest greetings, mystical champions of Penrose!” she announced. “It fills this humble servant’s heart with such great joy to see you all put aside whatever previous animosities you might have held towards one another and come together in this auspicious forum of peaceful cooperation!” the heavenly maiden gushed, her eyes glistening. “Truly this is a blessed day indeed!”

Great… Just what I wanted to do tonight, join some sappy as fuck kumbaya circlejerk…

A moment later, however, and the angelic beauty gave voice to a startled gasp upon noticing the skeletal behemoth standing next to Chloe. “My heavens!” she cried, placing her hands over her mouth, while her eyes widened in shock. “What an imposing creature! Truly, it is rare indeed for this humble servant to behold such a terrifying visage!”

Holy shit… That thing looks fucking badass! Though I bet I could create something even cooler with my reinforcement magic if I didn’t have to deal with all these stupid ‘non-violent’ restrictions…

Soon enough, Lily began addressing the gathering, and the Angel listened to the green-haired young woman in respectful silence.

Fuck, I thought her name sounded familiar… She’s that ditzy bitch from last time… And of fucking course miss ‘lovechild of a kawaiiko vtuber and a Lisa Frank catalogue’ has to be here, too… I swear, that voice could fucking kill someone if they had to listen to it long enough. Well, at least she hasn’t noticed me yet, so I guess that’s a plus…

---

Arriving after most of the others was a small procession led by Kayli. She was flanked by Rose and Iris, with Connie and Gaia following close behind.

“Quite the gathering, wouldn’t you say, little sister?” Gaia whispered to Connie with a serene smile.

“Y-Yeah…” Connie agreed, attempting to return the verdant maiden’s smile with one of her own, but still seeming a bit downcast, something Gaia easily picked up on.

Although the Daughter of Mother Earth was pleased to see such a large turn out, she was still concerned for her best friend. Even now, she held Connie’s hand and was gently massaging the top of it with her thumb. “You know, even if we have nothing else to contribute, I am sure that simply being here will make Lily very happy,” she told her masked friend softly, while giving the timid girl’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

Slowing her pace slightly, Kayli would put an arm around Connie to reassure her. ”Everything will be alright, Connie.” There was more that she wanted to say, but that would be best saved for a later time when they weren’t surrounded by others. Unfortunately, this life was not one of peace. Especially in these current times.

A number had spoken up as more arrived, trying to figure out how best to approach defense of the city and its citizens. Evacuating a city was one thing, figuring out a way to do it was another. Ideally everyone would be out of the way to begin with as it would be hard to say when Wonderland would make their move. Looking around at everyone, she would speak up. ”I would not put it past Wonderland to use our want to protect the population as a diversion. Perhaps we could get ahead of that and create a reason to have everyone evacuate in advance. Not my favorite tactic, but it’s worth considering. An environmental health sort of thing. A gas leak or the like that requires moving people out. Between our groups and organizations, there’s little reason we could not pull enough strings to have the media do most of our work in that regard.” Penrose had already been through a lot, so subjecting it to further turmoil wasn’t high on the list of things to do. Previous damage should make it an easier sell though.

One thing potentially addressed, there was still actually beating Wonderland in a potential conflict. Since becoming the Keeper of the Keys, her primary goal has been to find a way to defend the Nexus. As such, she has been busy examining what she could of its nature. ”To the defense of the city and the Nexus then. I don’t know the number of these toy soldiers you brought up. However, I have a small army of constructs that could be brought to bear.” Among the things left behind in the wake of chaos that is Penrose, Cindy had worked out a number of agreements for resources. Some of those Kayli returned, as it did not seem right to keep hold of. One that almost no one knew, aside from Mariette perhaps, was the army of Talos statues that would have been all but lost had Janet not gotten into a mental kerfuffle with the late Queen of Penrose. An odd change of hands, but something Kayli found herself in possession of regardless. 

The woman would cross her arms. ”To be frank, I see open conflict with Wonderland primarily as a stall. If we succeed in our defense, then we will be waiting for the next threat to make a move. I would prefer that access to its power be tempered in some way to make it a less appealing exploit to patrons and despots. It takes someone of great power to even consider tapping into a font like the Nexus. Patrons, and I presume the Queen of Hearts, would be one of the few able to do such a thing.” It wasn’t quite a solution, but it was something she’d been meaning to bring up, and this was probably the one time he could potentially get others on board. Gain some kind of control of the Nexus here in Penrose.

“I must say, I concur with the idea of removing the Nexus from the proverbial equation,” Gaia spoke up in a clear and serene voice. She was slightly surprised by the revelation that her and Connie’s adoptive guardian possessed a secret army, even if only a small one, but the Daughter of Mother Earth knew that such matters could wait until after the current meeting had concluded. “As for the evacuation, I think her highness, Magical Dream Princess, has already provided an excellent possibility for a place in which to safely shelter the city’s mundane populace,” the nymph-like young woman added, turning to give MDP a bright smile. “In addition, I think she and Miss Valentine might also be able to provide a more conducive way to facilitate their transit to said place of refuge. I admit, I am not exactly well-versed in the limits of your abilities,” the verdant maiden continued, addressing the pair of dream spec girls. “But, if the two of you worked in concert, might it not be possible to place the city’s mundane inhabitants in a state of peaceful slumber, much like how your highness did the same with the residents of Bolorton?”

For her part, all of this was going way above poor Connie’s head, and so the masked maiden simply gave Kayli a small smile and quietly listened to what everyone had to say.

"Are we really just going to sit here and-"

"Yes, yes we are. Nobody there knows any of us very well, except Makoto, and that's as an enemy. Alicia might recognize me, but it's not like I did a lot for Beacon. We're out of our depth if we show up, and that's just going to make things more complicated."

"I wonder why nobody's suggesting the Overcity. That seems like a good idea, doesn't it?"

"I think they're already at a 'too many cooks' situation. Which is part of why we should stay here, right?"

"Exactly." Somehow, it seemed that Summer had become the leader of this little group.

"How long is it before the attack happens?" Ko asked, to which Summer simply shrugged.

After a pause, Kain looked towards Makoto and asked, "How much mana do you guys still have after all that?"

"Not much. Why? Looking for another miracle?"

"Well, it's just... What if they pulled a Karakura Town on Penrose?"

Shion gasped and pounded her fist into her other palm. "That would be really useful, actually! But I doubt we have the resources for it."

"Okay, clearly I'm out of the loop. What does that actually mean?"

"It means replacing the town with a fake one, in the same place, right overtop of it. Leaving the town as it is and putting a fake one in the same space so it can't be damaged, and nobody in the real one can be hurt."

...

"Wait, weren't you going to name the Paradox Orb the 'Hogyoku' at one point? How do you not know what happened to Karakura Town?"

"I'm the one who wanted to call it that. She doesn't know anything about it."

"O-oi... You don't have to say it like I'm dumb or something."

"So do we go and tell them that idea, or do we just wait and see what they do?"

Summer put her hand on her chin in thought. "... Alright, I have an idea. Let's see if any of them know the reference, yeah?" she said before grabbing a piece of paper and writing the words "Karakura Town - Important Spirit Zone" in a black permanent marker.

"Alright, I'll bite. What's the point of writing it down? Are you going to have someone deliver it?"

"Huh? Oh, right, you don't know about my magic yet." Summer replied as she folded the paper into the shape of a Boeing-747, adding more and more paper as she did until it was a nigh-perfect replica.

Kain was stunned as he saw her origami vehicle. "How did you do that? That's not-"

"Supposed to be possible, yes, I know." Summer interjected before he could finish. She went to the window and set it on the ledge before bringing out a lighter and lighting the engines, causing it to roar to life and fly out into the air, heading towards Penrose Park. She didn't know if anyone there would understand the message, and she didn't really care, on a personal level. She wasn't one of Penrose's defenders, not really. It wasn't up to her to save the world. She'd already failed at that, so all she could do is put her faith in the ones who were still trying their best.

Expect messages like the rainbow for a while.

The first person to hail Chloe was Lily. Likely because Chloe had arrived too early for most of Penrose’s inhabitants to witness her stunning entrance. Lily seemed spooked (wonder why?) but put away her weapon in the end. But Chloe didn’t care about that.

"Pretty cute, isn’t it?" Chloe grabbed the end of her scarf and rubbed it between her fingers. "It came with my promotion. It’s just a bit big for little ol’ me. Maybe I could wrap myself and someone else up in it. Then they couldn't escape if I wanted to nuzzle! fu fu fu fu!"

As soon as Sonia flourished her daggers, Chloe turned her attention to her subordinate. "I know you hate what she’s become, but try not to make a spectacle of yourself. Then again…" She leaned a bit closer to Sonia before examining her jaw line. "You’re awfully cute when you make that face. Just have a little faith in me." Chloe chose to not mention that she’d get Justine back eventually. In present company, that was better implied than openly stated.

Alexander started talking, and so did Alicia. But she was only half listening. There were too many cuties to talk to. Jumping straight to business would waste so many great opportunities! A girl with a phallic-looking shield had placed herself between Chloe and Lily, boldly stating that they wouldn’t hurt them, but wouldn’t let any harm come to their VIP. "Oh? Why single me out? Am I the most frightening one here?" A ghoulish gauntlet appeared over her hand. She then sensually traced her finger along the edge of Pentius-04’s shield. "You don’t have to worry about me stirring up any trouble. I thankful for the opportunity Lily gave me, and I wouldn’t want to put you through any undue stress." Chloe retracted her finger and put it over her own lips. "It would hurt my chances if I wanted to go on a date with you later! So how about it? Will you spend some time with me if I can keep my murderous urges in check?"

But as much as Chloe would have loved to get an answer, Angel of Hope had commented on her pet, and she immediately hopped closer to the startled girl. "Oh, don’t let him frighten you. " She patted the creature’s leg. "Casper here is just a Gothizzar Harvester. He’s supposed to be frightening, but that’s just as a deterrent. His primary function is to carry the dead off the field and…" She looked at his giant scythe arms. "...And the dead need to be protected, right? So he’s just well armed to um, make sure the bodies aren’t desecrated! Most of its arms are just to get corpses off of the dirty ground and into that comfortable bone cage on its back. If you want a ride, I think you’ll find it a lot less scary."

Like a child with ADD, Chloe lost interest in the Angel of hope when she spotted Penny. Unlike the mechanical monarch, the junior coin broker was not shy about approaching. "Changed again, huh?" Chloe tipped her head, but her grin only got bigger. "I’ll admit, you were my least favorite of the two. But I’m not upset to see you doing well for yourself. If you’re queen of Penrose, I can only wonder where better Penny is." The corner of her lips twitched, and her hands balled into fists. "After all the work I put into splitting you apart, I know you wouldn’t do something as heartless as merge with her again. Or kill her off so that you could take her power like some vulture. That would be heartless! Something I’d expect a monster or someone without a soul to do." Chloe raised her palm at Penny and concentrated. After a few seconds, the spirit specialist lowered her hand. "I guess you technically qualify for both of those, but I still believe my darling Penny is out there somewhere." She winked.

Chloe was about to turn and walk away when she noticed MDP, and her expression brightened. "Oh wow! Look at you! So cute and pink, just like cotton candy." She wiggled her fingers. "I could just eat you up! But I probably shouldn’t. I might be going on a date with that green haired cutie with the shield, and even if that falls through, I’ve got some business to conduct with the daughter of Covington industries." Chloe sighed. "She is so boring and rigid. I bet she’d be an aweful magical girl. Unless she completely changed her personality. Oh!" Chloe stifled a laugh. "Wouldn’t it be funny if she was actually you? That would be wild!" With a sigh, she started to turn away from MDP. "I’m rambling again. We should exchange phone numbers later."

Unfortunately, not everyone was gathered here to talk to Chloe. Some importance was put on discussing ways to make the upcoming battle easier. Many topics were covered, from a suggested evacuation, to doing something about the nexus, and even deploying an army of their own. Chloe clapped her hands and walked towards those that were discussing things.

"Wow, look at all we can accomplish when we put our heads together!" Once Chloe was situated in front of everyone, she placed her hands on her hips. "So let's see, our plan is to use what scare time we have left to get everyone evacuated. Then once wonderland arrives with their nigh infinite supply soldiers, generals, and the queen herself, we’re going to deploy our limited number in an attempt to turn the tables in our favor. And we're so confident in our success that we've already started discussing what to do after we win. We're going to take the nexus, some source of power no one knows the location of or even what it looks like, or even what it does, and just, make it less appealing." After freezing in place for exactly three seconds, she clicked her tongue. "I’m all for dabbling in powers I don’t understand, but let’s focus on a strategy that’s actually going to work?"

"You tell ‘em!" Aurora punched the air, only to shrivel into a nervous mess as soon as someone looked at her.

"How was Justine originally defeated? What was the downfall of the Soth? It wasn’t waiting for them to make their move. We attacked them mid-ritual, and that’s what we need to do here." She walked up to Alicia and turned her back to her. "See? a huge body count doesn't make the ideas it produces any better. Wonderland can produce as many soldiers as they like, and none of you thought about attacking them preemptively.“ She turned on her heel and looked at Alicia. "Once again, Beacon is a disappointment.“ After shaking her head, Chloe spun again, casting the back of her hand in front of Alicia’s face. "In fact, I happen to know when they’re going to attack, and with what.“ Once again, her hands came to rest on her hips. "Do we have anyone in attendance that fought the Oz Squad? They came from a conjuration egg. My sources tell me that they have four such conjuration eggs that they plan on deploying On Penrose in three days. Lucky for us, they’re all stored in a single location that I happen to no the whereabouts of.“

"Y-you tell ‘em!" Aurora punched the air with caution, then hid inside the harvester’s bone cage. "It is comfy in here!" Aurora had snuggled down into place. But in looking up at the sky, she saw an unusual plane flying overhead. "What the heck is that?"

Chloe made sure to position herself closer to the Gothizzar Harvester and Sonia. "But you know, there isn’t much in it for Mint if we save Penrose.“ She waved her hand dismissively at Penny. "Our great, illustrious queen has made her hate for us known, and do I even need to mention Beacon? These are just magical girls that want to pay off their debts and rejoin society, but they can’t do that with how ruthlessly your lot hunts us down. It’s not like we have a reprieve of any kind. We can’t get in our star ship and fly away, nor can we just hide behind the ascendancy.“ She sighed. "The Mint may be a massive organization spanning several universes, but it’s a business first, and we deal in secrets and loans. I can’t justify giving away information that will save Penrose unless I have something to show for it. It needs to pay us back in the long run.“ She was grinning ear to ear by this point. "So how about we give the Mint a slice of the Penrose pie, hmmmm? Penny has her kingdom, Beacon has their territory, and the Mint should have their own zone as well. There’s a nice little cluster of business that borders Wakum Harbor, and just a bit south of that are a few schools. I think it’s roughly twenty percent of Penrose? Anyway, that area should belong to the Mint. That means no Beacon patrols, no war charges from Penny, no randoms trying to be the hero. Just a nice cozy hangout where we can be ourselves and don’t have to worry about your lot crushing us into nothing. Once we have that, I’ll tell you where the eggs are. And don’t worry.“ A yellowed sheet of paper appeared in one of Chloe’s hands, and a quill appeared in the other. "We’ll get it all in writing, so let's negotiate.“

---

While Summer and the gang were watching TV, an unfamiliar girl entered the room. She was wearing an oversize shirt covered with satanic symbols, and had painted her nails jet black. Despite her gothic attire, she had soft lavender hair and lacked the number of facial piercings/tattoos required to be eternally stuck working a minimum wage job. But Summer could just glance at Aria and know who it was with her power. She could look deeper into it if she wanted to understand her change, but this was Penrose. Magical girls changed looks at least once a season, so Aria was due for something like this.

She pulled a gourd out of her pocket and with a shake, a lawn chair tumbled out of it. It even finished tumbling in the upright position, allowing Aria to just sit in it. ”Don't mind me.”

Just going to mention this now, in case it becomes relevant later. None of my characters are keeping their Grief Seeds on their person or anywhere close to it. The things are just WAY too suspicious for that, hah.

__________________


The two of them arrive. They don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation. They can wave and smile at various people who look their way. It’s not like they have any power around here.

__________________


Mariette gradually, soundlessly opened a portal, not saying anything. She didn’t walk in through said portal, the portal just opened mid-air in a place where it didn’t get into the way of anyone else, and on the other side sat Mariette. The portal was big enough she could step out of it if she wanted, but she didn’t. She didn’t call out that she’d arrived in any way, so someone looking in a different direction could possibly not have noticed her appearing until they looked in that direction. She just sat there, squeezing her bunny.

The presence of Sonia severely put Mariette on edge. That girl had been her worst fear for a lot of time. The idea that Sonia could just materialize out of nowhere with all of Mariette’s banes and just end everything with a single swipe. It could happen at any moment, at any time, at any place. She’d have been more than happy to see her eliminated… but guess this wasn’t the time.

Okay, eventually she did find something she wanted to say.

‘… If I was Wonderland, I definitely would want to eavesdrop on any meeting like this. I know, because I was eavesdropping last time,’ Mariette mentioned, not really for anyone in particular to pick up, but just to keep everyone aware of what they were saying, and possibly address the potential issue. In case someone had some eavesdrop-proof strategy in mind.

Because the whole thing Chloe was saying was definitely something Wonderland would be interested in hearing about.

Besides that, Mariette was keeping herself constantly ready to portal away and/or portal directly to next to Lily. She did not trust Lily's new bodyguard. At all. As such she kept very wary of her movements, and stayed mentally ready for a quick escape/rescue at all times.

Despite her regal demeanor Penny allowed a smile to slip out at Lily’s words. And she replied to the curtsey with a light bow of her head. “I thank you for the invite.” Penny knew it wasn’t really an exclusive invite by any means, but she was thankful nonetheless.

Penny’s smile only grew when her girlfriend bounced over. She let her attention be drawn to Melisa, someone that Penny had done her best to keep up to date on since she had been part of the Sanctuary for a bit. “I’m glad to hear that Melisa.” She would reply to the fairy girl, “And sadly not everyone is like Alicia and her group, but they are making that less so all the time.”

Sadly, the next person to approach Penny wasn’t so warmly received. As Chloe would be faced with narrowed eyed suspicion by all but Penny. But even if Penny didn’t visibly react, the smell of ozone that would swell around her told its own story.

And while Belladonna would growl none to softly in response to Chloe’s taunting, and Monica would be turning her knuckle’s white with how tightly she was tensing her fists, Penny let an honest and sincere look of confusion settle onto her features.

“You really let yourself go after I killed Iesud didn’t you?” She’d ask with a bemused shake of her head. “That has to be one of the worst attempts at public slander I’ve seen and I’ve met Eden.” She stood proudly and gave Chloe a look of pity. “I’ve never hidden what I am, but your claim that I’m soulless is laughable. More then one person here has seen proof that reveals your lie. Whoever, or whatever, it is that’s pulling your stings now is doing you no favors.” With that said she brushed off Chloe as a pale imitation of who she used to be.

Afterwards Penny stayed silent as she listened to everyone else talk, Sanctuary wasn’t known for having all that much after all. Something that wasn’t exactly true anymore, but there was only so much she’d be willing to tip her hand on with the Mint standing just off to the side. Overall, it also seemed like most of a plan was already fashioned without her input.

She’d approach those in charge of various parts of the plan later, to fill them in on what Sanctuary would be willing to do to assist. They had way’s of helping keep the town asleep, assuming dormouse would be willing, And the Monarch was willing to spare a lot of effort to shut down the Nexus. So, if Kayli knew anything about that Penny would help to her full extent.

There was also the fact she knew where Wonderland was, but that was not relevant for the moment at hand. But something that Kayli might want to know with her constructs.

Unfortunately, it was at this juncture that the Mint had to make themselves a problem. Honestly Penny had expected it to happen earlier. Penny’s eye roll at the audacity of the Mint’s claim was easily visible to anyone that looked her way.

That isn’t to say she wasn’t thankful for when Mariette showed up with a very good point. “She’s got a point.” Penny would say stepping forward, “So even if you do have that information Chloe, you’ve potentially vastly reduced its value. I’d not be willing to negotiate until we know that anything you bring to the table is actually worth it.” Granted Penny wasn’t willing to negotiate with the Mint regardless, the business itself was far to corrupt for her to trust in any capacity.

“Tell us where the eggs are first, as they might be moving them now due to you.”

Speaking of listening in, Ilium had his ear to the ground as it were and filled in his charge on the details. With an uneasy feeling in her stomach, Ruby ported in with a puff of smoke in the middle of the gathering. ”Sorry for the tardiness. Had to talk to the boss first.” The group had only just started talking and there was already tension between some of the groups. By and large, most of the wishes she’d granted were considered “good” or whatever, but by her patron she was practically powered by mischief. Mint, Beacon, the Muffin Man, what have you, didn’t really concern her so long as they weren’t trying to capture her. Friends of hers called Penrose home, and the Queen of Hearts getting what she wanted wasn’t good for anyone. Still, she would chip in her two cents. ”I’m going to leave you ladies to figure out your differences, but I like the idea of going on the offensive. You have the home advantage and can get people and stuff moved around if need be.” Somewhere between Beacon and Mariette there were teleportation options. Maybe she could help them find the toy soldier things, but so far it didn’t feel like the right place to use a wish.

Of all the topics brought up, the Nexus one was the most chilling. Not that she really knew a lot about it, but trying to manipulate it in any way was no light matter. Thinking about trying to tap into that kind of power sent alarm bells off in her head. There was only really one person she imagined wouldn’t instantly turn into a corrupted monstrosity. ”I don’t… She bit her lip and looked around at the hodgepodge group. Who did she trust more to keep things together? Really, Ruby wanted to cut her losses and run. That wasn’t what she was tasked to do this time, and what she felt she should do had a finality to it she couldn’t shake. _{”Why’d I have to go and piss off a djinn?”} She grumbled to herself.

Marching over to Kayli she motioned her closer. ”I think I can help you, but not here. We need… She glanced around. A number of people couldn’t help in this scenario. There were still rules after all. ”Someone you trust.” Ruby probably could make an educated guess on who to ask, but better to leave it to Kayli who would probably be a better barometer.

”Oh?” Kayli wondered what exactly Ruby had in mind. Two names were at the top of the list. One of them was a tad busier at the moment, so it didn’t take much deliberation. She would turn and call out. ”Alicia, would you care to join Ruby and I in a brief meeting?”

Alicia’s gaze narrowed as the meeting went on, her fingers digging progressively deeper into the palms of her hands as she listened to the speakers. ”No way. I don’t trust half the people here to mess with the Nexus and not try to use it for something shady at the same time,” she added. The sort of temptations that would arise from even the possibility was too great

She was about to argue more with Chloe when she found herself suddenly addressed from another direction. ”Sure,” she replied, figuring that the others could keep insanity from reigning in the short time that this meeting would need. With that she stepped over to join the duo, to see what it was they wanted to talk about.

For a moment Ruby was worried that Alicia was going to rain on her idea and she turned to look at Kayli. The woman didn't seem concerned, and even pleased at the outburst. "Okay then. S-step into my office." She would wave her hands as if gesturing them to walk through a doorway. The three of them would vanish in a swirl of smoke.

---

Ruby, Alicia, and Kayli would appear in a luxurious room filled with lounging pillows. A pleasing incense in the air. Alicia would recognize it as an Interdimensional Home. Letting out a relieved sigh, Ruby would put her hands on her hips. "Whoo. Not going to lie, that many magical people together in one place makes me nervous." She would clap her hands. "Alright, now we can speak freely. I totally agree with you on just letting anyone mess with the Nexus. Actually, I'm pretty sure that almost any one of us would be instantly corrupted if it didn't outright kill us." She would pause and let that sink in.

Turning to Kayli, Ruby would hold a hand out as if to present her. "I think Kayli is our best shot. She's already immune to corruption, but with the right wish I believe she can help defend the Nexus from Wonderland and all the other crazies out there." It was kind of a long shot. It had been a while since Ruby had interacted with Alicia. Ironically the Beacon girl's first wish for the purification potion way back put Janet on this journey here.

Glancing around the Interdimensional Home, Alicia was somewhat sad that there wasn’t really time to indulge this place. But the meeting was going on, regardless of how much time they spent in this place. So she turned her focus back to Ruby and Kayli.

She nodded in agreement with Ruby’s first observation. ”Not that that would stop some of them.” Some were crazy enough to do it anyway, or might see it as a good thing. That just left the question of how to solve the problem, and in this case it seemed the duo before her were prepared to provide. ”The right sort of wish, huh?” She glanced between the two of them. ”Can your powers affect something on that kind of scale?”

Ruby shrugged a bit. "Ilium, my patron, controls that more than me. I met with him just before coming to the meeting and insinuated that my fate is wrapped up with this somehow. He's been preparing for something big. He'll tell me if I can't." She smiled reassuringly.

”Fair enough,” Alicia conceded in the face of Ruby’s assurance. If they were confident then she had no reason to doubt it. ”Now I just have to figure out what the best wish to address our problem is.” A task easier said than done. She didn’t want to accidentally make things worse for them.

Kayli would speak up. This was rather important as it potentially effected everyone and herself directly as the subject for this wish. It was a daunting task given what little they did know. ”If the goal is to thwart nefarious actors, then perhaps something like ‘equipped to defend the Nexus.’ Or maybe, ‘equipped to prevent abuse of the Nexus.’ The second may be better, as it should also apply to myself as well. I would not want to somehow slip into a delusion in the future and become a tyrant in my own right.” Corruption or no, power had a way of twisting an individual. She gave it a little more thought. ”The second example also leaves it open for proper uses of the Nexus as a natural font of magic. We don’t want it to be too restrictive that we cause more harm than good.”

Alicia nodded, appreciative of Kayli’s advice in this matter. It helped to guide her thoughts, reaching a wish that would best. She gave it a bit more thought before finally speaking once again. ”I wish that Kayli had the power to prevent the Penrose Nexus from being manipulated.”

Waiting somewhat impatiently, the chance to grant a wish always made it hard to wait, Ruby nodded and rubbed her hands together. ”Alright then. Let’s see if this even works.” Stepping up, Ruby would call on her magic. As both Alicia and Kayli had witnessed the djinn girl in action previously, it was unusual when the magic that had begun to swirl around suddenly collapsed to a point and a marble sized object dropped to the floor with a light thump. Alicia’s Third Eye could see, but not quite identify the nature of what had just occurred. Ruby herself looked drained, as if she’d just spent most of her magic. ”Uh, maybe I underestimated how hard this would be.” Kneeling down, she would pick up the marble. It was void black with the tiniest pinprick of light in the center. Holding it closer and looking within, Ruby’s motions slowed as plumes of crimson clouds formed and began to wind around the girl.

Ruby blinked as images flittered in her vision like a reel of film. Each oddly familiar as if she’d seen them before. Spears of light impaling someone against a stone statue, a figure atop the roof of a building being struck by lightning, a warship charging through the streets and passing into a portal, and a girl escaping through what looked like a window just before the room burst into crimson beams and flames. Were these visions or… memories? They didn’t fit with her own experience. A final picture flashed before she came to. It was hazy. It looked like… Kayli in the middle of a great storm striking down Lily. The marble vanishes with the scene.

None of this had the chance to be communicated, as the smoke had whipped itself into a whirlwind that lifted Ruby into the air. ”W-wait, Ilum!” Rings of flame encircled her wrists. T-this wasn’t Ilum’s magic. This was coming from… Looking down, her legs had lost their form and was the source of the smoke. ”No no, stop! This can’t… I can’t, aaaAAH!” Engulfed in the smoke, her magic surged and blew back Alicia and Kayli into a pile of pillows. Objects and furniture were tossed and overturned, but shortly after the tempest died out and the smoke cleared.

The room was warmer, hot even, as any of the lanterns that had previously lit up the space were made pointless by flames that leapt up around the edges of the room. ”Oh my.” A snap of fingers is heard and everything that had been displaced jumped and slid back into place. The two guests would see a young woman, clearly Ruby, looking at the manacles on her wrists with a pout. ”That was too close.” She would let out a heavy sigh. Her head was swimming with thoughts and impulses that she was struggling to suppress. They would be so easy to mess with. And Kayli, what was it that she had seen? The future perhaps. Should she warn them? A sly smile would appear, and she would saunter over to the others and offer each a hand to help them up. "I would love for you to stay and chat, but we don't have a lot of time."

Magic flowed from the hand lifting Kayli. Outwardly there was not much to show for the wish. There was a feeling, something unavoidable had been set in motion. Within it was like a power was drawing Kayli. What else was a sense of peace as the nervousness of the situation faded. She had to follow through, she was meant to defend the Nexus.

Things moved rapidly in ways that Alicia was not prepared for. It was clear that events transpired which the djinn was not prepared for, and though Alicia felt like she should intervene she was not sure what she could even do. As it was she did get knocked off her feet, but at least there was a bunch of pillows to cushion the impact from that.

Helped back to her feet once everything had resolved itself, she nodded to the other two girls. Clearly something had happened, she just hoped that she had made the right decision in the end. ”Agreed.” Hopefully the meeting hadn’t gone too far off the rails while they were busy.

There was a pause, then Alicia added to what she had said. ”Oh, and let’s keep this wish between us for now.” It would be a useful ace in the hole should it come down to it.

Kayli would nod in agreement.

"Of course master." She would bow before righting herself with a slightly perturbed expression. "Sadly I will not be joining you for the rest of the meeting. I can’t really leave anymore. You’ve seen Aladdin right? Doesn’t work that way." She would hold up an arm and tap on one of the manacles. "Good luck out there." With a wave, she would send Alicia and Kayli back to the others.

"This is already a terrible idea. Who really thinks this is going to work??"

"Gently, Val..."

The meeting had already lost the two Craddle members as other attendants took the spotlight with their own plans and brewing conflictions. The arrival of Chloe and Sonia was already enough to make the two tense up, Amanda gently pulling MDP back when the former approached her, but did Maura tell Justine to join them too? Was she even around when Ladybug's intel was shared? Valerie narrowed her eyes at Justine while her back was turned, but quickly focused back on the meeting at hand. Chloe was trying to strike a deal and got met with obvious vitrol, Mariette suggested Wonderland may spy on the whole thing, three of them walked off for whatever reason, Kayli brought up protecting the Nexus,

Valerie groaned. Too many conflictions, and the one person that planned all this doesn't even have a plan of her own. "Right, I'm sure Wonderland would be so kind as to wait until we're done butting heads and glaring daggers to come up with a counter attack." The android sarcastically quipped at Lily. "One of our own apparently did some recon into the dimension itself. From what he told us, the whole thing was nothing but fables and the like. He got the information about their card soldiers and the attack on Bolorton there, but he wasn't able to go any further." She explained, sending Lily a list of the types of soldiers to her phone.

"Apparently the dimension has some sort of debilitating effect on outsiders. He tried to investigate the Queen's castle, but it's heavily guarded. Apparently only the Queen's court can enter, as far as I gathered. That's all I know..."

Meanwhile Amanda took the moment to speak up. "Yeah, I do have a pocket dimension of my own that I've used to evacuate people before, but if we're using it I'll need help guarding everyone." She nods to Alex. The magician glanced back at MDP, nodding towards Valerie. "That's Valerie, our mission control. She's more of an android than a cyborg." She told her with a smile.

---

Oliver couldn't help the slight frown at Mac's regretful demeanor. He knew she felt bad for Finn; that lilac bitch that dragged her into the idea probably knew he'd be against throwing his best friend into a proverbial lion's den and manipulating him into killing innocent people, so it was hard to be mad at her. Everyone else involved would be shot in between the eyes if they crossed paths with him, however. Once Mac donned her disguise, he nodded.

"Right, shall we then?

...

..

A distance away from the truck, the dark corners of the allyways had turned more darker than normal, before lighting up as if nothing ever happened. Maura was stealthy following a reasonable away, trying to see what sorts of tricks it might have in case of an attack. Though without a Third Eye like Lauren had, nothing was really certain. She quietly groaned. Oliver and Mac would soon emerge from the shadow behind her.

"Mac, do you think you can sense anything amiss with that truck?" Maura asked without looking behind her. "If we can beat them to Downtown, we can set up an ambush and disable their transport. Let me handle the device, just focus on stalling their guards." She said, soon preparing to continue following.

"Stay close."

"Got it."