The wind howled, envious of the impossible speeds in which Nonsuch propelled herself. Birds would weep in jealousy, and pilots would despise that incomprehensible mobility. Like any other girl, she could leap from rooftop to rooftop, but unlike any other girl, she could simply hurl herself through the air instead, repelled and attracted in sequence by her award-studded war hammer. And while Evil Eye may have slipped beneath Nonsuch’s gaze if she had chosen to remove her transformation and joined the highway as a regular motorist, the madcap driving that the magical girl employed could be spotted without much difficulty.

Few, after all, could drive into opposing traffic without eliciting a litany of honks. Fewer would do so while looking directly behind her to shout something out.

The rushing wind made it near-impossible to hear her though, of course, so as her momentum-fueled flight neared, Nonsuch simply flashed a smile in response and cupped a hand around one ear, the international symbol to indicate that Evil Eye ought to speak louder. And then, another repulsion, arrow-like. Nonsuch crashed into the pavement, a mere twenty meters behind Evil Eye. Exhaust fumes tickled her noise, dried out her skin, and the impact of the landing was something that shook her right into her thigh bones, but the paladin gave no thought to it as she swung her war hammer forwards, a magically-charged repulsion sending it right overhead Evil Eye.

It was mercy, perhaps, that it had not been aimed at the motorcycle itself.

But then, naturally, attraction. Nonsuch yanked forwards by the pull of her own weapon, a sunny sparkle in her golden eyes. Her hand outstretched, shooting forwards to grab Evil Eye.

She was going to make good on her threat.

Or perhaps she was simply going to crush Shatterscape’s doll first, before that magical girl got any second thoughts regarding her priorities.

Willow of the Wisps

“Reeeeeeei. You always find a reason to give up on light magical girls. But you never gave up on me~”

Willow floats upside down, her hair reaching down past Rei’s face as she hovered right in front of the girl. She’d smirk a cat grin and kiss her forehead.

“I feel something, alright. Something humming in the air. A tense note, playing singularly throughout the night and all creation shivers in its wake…mmmhh…”

At Rei’s suggestion for help, Willow pulled herself upright, hovering with one leg twisted over the other. She’d observe the frog squaring off against several dark magical girls, her eyes dilated true to her cat nature and she’d feel a shiver down her spine. A sudden need to do something very specific and very violent to a twisted logic she could only feel and not understand.

“...Okay Rei. I’ve chosen my mark, I’ll be back in a moment~. Oros good luck to you as well..”

The girl was gone in a flash. Like the wisps she styled herself after she’d flow and fly through the air as if it were water to swim through. It’s easy enough to circumvent the giant frog as it’s distracted with it’s fight with a chess themed magical girl that Willow made a note to get to know later.

A snapping string was heard beside Sayuri. A hard bonk from a violin’s backside was donked against the girl’s head. Willow stood behind her, appearing and bonking the girl across the head in a slapstick style. Thankfully it didn’t hurt as much as it looked like it should’ve.

“I promise it’s nothing personal. I just needed to get your attention! I believe you’re in danger, and kind of surrounded. I could help you, you know and make this a fairer fight!”

She’d offer a melody, which quickly became living notes straight from the page to form a small barrier to shield the pair from Shatterscape's gauntlet attack.

“I’ll just need you to join my band!” She’d shout. Madness in her voice, her violin following into erratic melody.

____

@BrokenPromise @TheWendil @FroggRFlowR@LuckyBlackCat@Villamvihar

---

Nonsuch's reaction seemed to amuse Evil Eye, who began laughing hysterically. If any normal magical girls were watching, they would have judged the pair of them certifiably insane, perhaps rightfully so. Who could say for sure what was going through their minds, as an outside observer? Evil Eye's speed was probably close to 200 kilometers per hour and climbing, swerving between cars while having her back turned from the road ahead of her—one arm slung over the handlebar of her motorcycle, the other over her unconscious partner, in what would otherwise be a romantic embrace were it not so absurd. There was utility in turning back to look directly at Nonsuch of course—her hypnotic gaze would make it difficult for her pursuer to match her movements precisely enough to catch her—but why had she endangered herself so readily to begin with? There had to be more at stake than one light girl and a measly dinner. Did she have something to prove?

It would be useless to ask Evil Eye such questions, of course; her personality was as frustratingly evasive as her driving. If asked she would probably just point out that Nonsuch was equally insane for chasing her down the highway like a spurned lover with an axe to grind and a Hollywood slasher face to match. It was moot, anyway. Only their weapons could speak loudly enough for their thoughts to reach through the roar of the motorcycle. Evil Eye jolted in her seat as her rival's hammer slammed into the pavement, eliciting a confused panic from the drivers behind her as they moved to evade an explosive force they couldn't see. Evil Eye laughed even harder as the girl was covered in the exhaust of her bike, a smell which seemed to persist no matter which way Evil Eye swerved. In fact, her laughing was now impossibly audible, coming from multiple directions. Nonsuch could even hear it echoing from behind her, but surely by now she knew that it wasn't a real sound.

If she kept looking at Evil Eye, visual hallucinations would come next: the horrible image of Evil Eye crying tears of blood, giving life to even more of those vile monsters, enough to engulf Nonsuch and suffocate her to death were every one of them real. Then, there would be multiple bikes to chase. It would be a complete nightmare to contend with—but it wouldn't last for too long. Luckily for her, Evil Eye's destination was fast approaching, and the only way to keep moving forward was to ditch the bike and fly up the mountain, or take the tunnel. In what she would later learn was a foolish gambit, she took the tunnel. With no "eyes in the sky" to help her, she was forced to look away from Nonsuch, and pray the hallucinations she would already be suffering would be enough to keep her from following. "Kindly chase some phantom up the side of the mountain, will you? Can't you see I'm busy trying to kidnap someone?" she said irritably.

As Evil Eye entered the tunnel, she lowered her speed just enough to round a bend, but there was no more traffic to weave through. Suddenly, there was an abrupt blockade. Nonsuch hadn't caught the only drunk driver on the road this night. A flash of genuine panic showed on the girl's face as she did the only thing she could do, slamming the brakes and swerving toward the tiny gap between the leftmost car and the wall. Failing to lose enough speed, she drove right up onto the concrete barricade and began riding along it, holding her handlebar as absolutely still as she could in a delicate balance of trying not to fall off to one side or grind against the wall of the tunnel proper. A look of impotent rage flashed in her eyes as a single errant thought—that she was losing too much speed—tempted her hands to twitch, and her eyes to switch perspectives. A fury unlike any she'd ever mustered before forced her hands to stay steady in a death grip, and her eyes to stay glued to the end of the tunnel that was quickly approaching. As soon as she got out, she could check on Nonsuch and Homura's positions.

She just needed a few more seconds...

@Lonewolf685

In the blink of an eye, before Nyxia could even comprehend what was happening, Earthshaker had grabbed her by the throat in an impressive burst of speed and sent her crashing into the ally on the far side of the building with such intensity that her body created a small crater in the concrete. The next thing she knew, the tribal girl was looming over her, a gloved palm placed over the barrel of The Omega Obliterator, which Nyxia wasted no time in firing. “Fucking bitch…!” she hissed through gritted teeth as her finger squeezed the trigger. However, the stupendous outpouring of destructive force didn’t even cause Earthshaker to flinch, the ruinous energy simply being absorbed into the young woman’s tattooed body. And even as her grip tightened around Nyxia’s throat, the annoying girl continued her pedantic speech. That alone was infuriating enough, but what followed was a million times worse…

Even as Earthshaker continued to drone on, even as a cracking torrent of malign energy continued to surge into her body, the nubile savage yanked The Omega Obliterator out of an astonished Nyxia’s hand. Yet, if this was meant to deter a reprisal, then the “Code Keeper” would be very mistaken. Indeed, The Neon Tempest didn’t even hear Earthshaker’s next words. Her head was spinning, her mind was racing, every fibre of her being rapidly filling with unimaginable rage…

“Y-You…” she snarled as her trembling body rose to its feet. “You… FUCKING BITCH!!!” Nyxia screamed, driving a high-heeled boot between Earthshaker’s legs with all the power she could muster. “GIVE HIM BACK!!!” she roared, her open mouth emitting a blinding beam of destruction, which smashed into the Code Keeper’s face with the force of ten thousand freight trains. “GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!!! HE’S ALL I HAVE LEFT OF HIM!!!” she cried, her rage now mixed with anguished sobs as tears began to stream down her cheeks, even as her glowing fists sent punched energy blast after punched energy blast hurtling into her tormentor’s head in a rapid series of wild blows. “HE’S ALL I FUCKING HAVE LEFT!!!”

There was no such thing as a normal magical girl anyways.

It was insane enough already, juggling a double identity where one half was tasked with killing supernatural monstrosities that no one else could even comprehend. It was doubly insane to do so when one was certifiably a child in the eyes of the law. Anyone who sought to follow a cat with a TV for a head rather than go talk to a psychiatrist about their hallucinations was already long gone.

So there wasn’t much need for Nonsuch to be all that bothered by her quarry’s own illusions. Exhaust seeped deep into her clothing and skin, the maniacal laughter finally audible amidst the roar of traffic as it ignored physics and ambience in order to inject itself directly into her senses. The paladin’s spine shivered at the sensation; rare were magical girls who possessed abilities so non-destructive, when it was in their nature and design to fight alone. It didn’t matter to Nonsuch though, what illusions were tossed in her direction. It didn’t matter what monsters appeared, if they scattered to mist by charging through. It didn’t mean much, the blood pouring out from her foe’s eyes. It wasn’t worth chasing, the motorcycles and doppelgangers that emerged from the shadows of passing vehicles.

After all, so long as illusion persisted, the gaze she held was the ‘real’ one.

And, despite illusion and delusion, the hallucination of another’s madness pulled into reality, it was Nonsuch who noticed first, the gradual decline of traffic. Her gaze, set ever-forward, had caught the blockade a precious few seconds before Evil Eye did. A tunnel, a collective of stopped cars, chugging through the gap, and…

…the opportunity, for Nonsuch to accelerate without worry.

The squealing of burning rubber was not enough to drown out the crack of a new pothole appearing as Nonsuch slammed her Sweet Arm into the ground, anchoring it there as her boots stepped upon the spike at the opposite end of the hammerhead. Magic flowed, the sole of one foot bleeding as the attractive energies between herself and her weapon rose and rose. Building up energy. Building up force.
Her right hand extended, forming a gun. Index pointed at her target. Thumb cocked.

“Bang.”

And she switched from opposites to self-same.

One moment, Evil Eye was balancing upon the barricade.

The next, her motorcycle was behind her, far behind her and she could faintly register her partner’s flesh-puppet pressed hard against her back, could definitively see the concrete pavement rushing towards her, a sander to turn her face into a smooth, bloody plane, bereft of eyes, a nose, lips, and teeth. And then, she could see nothing at all, but a metal gauntlet closing in.

Three bodies tumbled against the highway.

One was lost in transition, lifeless limbs crick-crackling as it was left in the dust.

Two continued on, slamming into another barricade and bouncing over it, before crashing into the grassy ditch beyond.

And Nonsuch, her face stained with the blood from injuries that could only be considered self-inflicted, pushed herself up from her quarry, the iron gauntlet that protected Evil Eye’s face falling apart to reveal fingers like broken twigs.

There was no such thing as a normal magical girl.

And of the unordinary, she was the nonsuch.

“Made me work for it, didn’t you?” Steaming blood fell, drop by drop, yet the smile, the scorching light, did not waver. “This has to be the first time we’ve been properly face-to-face!”

Crick-crack went the broken twigs, closing into a fist.

The night was young and yet despite that very fact, the number of Miseria roaming the streets began to dwindle and rapidly at that. The challenge to eliminate the most Miseria had slowly turned from a test of endurance to a test of one's hunting skills. Despite this task, few chose to focus on actually fighting the amalgam that they call their enemies, instead they chose to stay and fight the light girls. Homura was no exception as she felt eyes upon her, too many eyes.

Questions raced within the girl's mind. Why were the other magical girls so hostile? Why had they attempted to capture rather than talk to her? Who was that leader, and why did they feel... off? Her mind wandered to the words that Nonsuch had spoken and her eyes fixed themselves upon the very thing filling her with a sense of unease. Homura looked at EvilEye's Mogall's with a furrow in her brow, she'd never seen something so ugly before, let alone something a magical girl possesses. She had to take them out, if she wanted any chance at escape.

An arrow shot true, aimed directly at the first Mogall that Homura had the chance to spot, another one nocked and primed to fire before she felt another set of magical girl eyes upon her. This time, a stare far lewder than that of the floating Miseria-like spy balloons. "Huh?" She looked down for just a moment as she passed above an alley and her eyes met with Oros', or so she thought. Her tiny legs worked to carry her as fast as she could, the moment she landed she was practically airborne once again with more Mogall's facing the potential of Homura's arrows.

The mountain was in sight, it was far too close to let go of, to get caught now. Against better judgement, her body twisted and she aimed straight at the approaching Oros, another dark girl followed behind her, doing quite a good job of hiding her tiny presence as she tailed Homura. Thankfully it seemed Evileye wouldn't be a problem for much longer as the loud sound of the speeding bike faded further into the distance, practically crawling to a stop. With this in mind, she deliberately shot the arrow too far to the right, she wasn't going to harm anyone. Not yet, not when they still had a small hint of the light within them.

All the arrow does is weakly burn a slab of concrete, fading just as quickly as the night lights bringing the city to life. Her desire to kill or harm another magical girl had only weakened her attack.

"I don't want to fight!" Homura shouts, hoping they were close enough to hear her voice. "Just let me go, I don't want to hurt anyone."

Finally, from rooftop after rooftop Homura had made it to the mountains with a few magical girls close enough to pursue her into the untouched woods. She dodged between trees and shrubbery. She fired shots at the ground, setting the forest debris alight in pink flame, in the hopes that chasing her would become more of a drag than it already is. It was a miracle the girl hadn't run out of stamina the longer the chase had gone on. Homura didn't know what Oros and Aciddrop were capable of, and that concerned her as the two tailed her into the forest, but the relief she felt as the cold wind between the trees was far greater than that worry.

"What's going on in this town..." She quietly questions to herself as she finally had an indefinite moment of respite.

---

In a single, visceral instant, Kiyo's bike was gone from beneath her. She blinked, unable to process how this had happened, watching the pavement get closer in adrenaline-fueled slow motion. Evil Eye remembered two strange thoughts occurring to her in that moment. She found it funny, of all things, that ditching the bike in favor of flying had been an afterthought. To be fair, it had been a cool bike. The other odd thought that invaded her consciousness in place of any sense of self-preservation was the mental image of getting an earful, either from Rei or from Shatterscape about losing one of her precious bodies. Not that it was a guarantee that she was paste by now, but...

Yeah, I should probably start flying before I become just another pretty red stain on the asphalt, she finally thought.

That thought, too, was snatched from her as time suddenly seemed to resume. Snatched out of the air, embraced by unfamiliar hands, she made contact with the pavement, but hardly felt a thing. That was either a very good sign, or a very bad one. Bracing herself for the subsequent impacts, she tumbled along with her captor into the grass. Were they falling down the mountain now? Eventually, mercifully, their harrowing brush with death ended. Evil Eye looked up at her rival, bewildered for only a moment before she burst out laughing yet again. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" she managed to taunt between her gasping and coughing. When she'd finally caught her breath, she simply settled into the small crater of dirt, eyes locked on Nonsuch. "Be honest with me, now—what are you hoping to gain from this? You think I'll get on my knees and beg for my life? Shake your hand, tell you I was wrong all along and ask to be your friend? What?" She grinned madly, but her words carried a tone of genuine curiosity. "If you're going to kill me, answer me this first: why protect a world that rewards only evil? You've seen it, I know you have; I can see it in your eyes. You're not like those others who cling to the light like shit to a toilet bowl. What goes on in that head of yours, huh?" She reached up, as if to grab Nonsuch by the shoulders and pull her in closer—and as soon as she did, all over Hibusa town, her Mogalls began screeching madly, a sound like the mournful wail of a banshee with a touch of nails on a chalkboard, with the Mogall closest to Shatterscape also flailing their appendages wildly. Unless Nonsuch looked away from Kiyo's eyes, all she would hear is a dull ringing in her ears, though.

The detention club had a lot of members, and most of them were known for one outstanding attribute or another. Shaterscape had her speed, Earthshaker was strong, Evil Eye did reconnaissance the best, Mercurial was a strong magus, Kriegspiel was a tactician, Acid Drop could disable, Willow was slippery in mind and body, and the new girl was pretty good at killing things. If Suki had a reputation for anything, it was being relentless. Born from her depravity or determination, she always stayed the course.

If Tsubomi ended up tapping into Suki’s raw emotions, she didn’t eat nearly enough to deter her pursuit. Suki's eagerness to catch her mark grew stronger with every jump. The light girl moved like a ballerina, and Suki moved like an ice skater. A very aggressive ice skater. Her blooded skates allowed for nimble movement, but they cut into whatever she skated across. Each landing was punctuated by a burst of asphalt or dust. This was juxtaposed by her behavior mid jump. If she left the ground, she was performing a trick. A few axles, a flip, blowing kisses, making a heart shape with her hand, it seemed like she had something planned for every jump.

Suki’s state of euphoria didn’t abate. She didn't notice Kiyo’s bike stopping, as it blended in with traffic. She forgot about Tsubomi as soon as she skated past her. Even the warning shot from this girl was little more than a distraction. The flames were bright, but not as bright as the pink comet she was chasing across the night sky. Nothing could make Suki pause. Save for maybe a brief glimpse from her desire.

Her legs wobbled.

"I-I don’t want to fight either!” Suki chuckled. "Nor hurt anyone! But to let you go…”

She was looking ahead already. Oh, to be able to gaze into those eyes for more than a moment. To hear her quiet voice whispering hushed secrets into her ear. Suki wasn’t even able to complete her thoughts at this point. They were static overlaid with a single order she could understand. Pursue, pursue, pursue.

At some point, the town became the forest. The soft, uneven dirt under Suki’s feet demanded that she ran like a normal magical girl. It took more effort, but it wasn’t that much slower. Not like the terrain was more favorable for the light girl. The trees made it harder for her to get a clear shot, and the decreased visibility helped her just as much as it helped her pursuers. Of course, Suki wasn’t considering tactics while she gave chase. Nor was she thinking of anything ahead of what was immediately in front of her.

Like the burning debris.

It was a surprise, and Suki charged right over the flames. The pink fire was more of an annoyance than anything, but that changed the longer she ran over it. Her blood soaked feet were protected from the hazard, but not entirely. Blisters formed on the pads of her feet, which didn't take long to become uncomfortable. She cast her arm towards the trees, and her crimson launched at a low hanging branch. The red tendril pulled her off the forest floor. She did this again with her other arm, and again, and again.

"Weeee! I’m Jill of the jungle!”

But it wouldn’t do to just chase her mark. Magical girls had a lot of stamina, and it was only a matter of time before she found more help. So once she had a clear shot, she grabbed onto two adjacent trees and launched herself towards the light girl angry bird style. This was it. Suki was moving too fast to be avoided. She’d plow right into that girl’s back and-

Oh, she overshot by a few feet.

A red and white spear flew over the angel girl’s head and slammed into a distant tree. Suki’s arms and legs shot out to the side, and she slid down onto her feet. Feet that were covered in blisters. She stood up on her toes before turning around, hiding her hands behind her back.

"Hello!” Suki managed the happiest smile she could muster before taking a single, tiny step forward. "Is it weird if I say you have an elegant jump? You look just like an angel in flight!” She giggled once the words came out of her mouth. "I feel like you’re going to run away from me again. It’s okay, it’s what a lot of cuties do when they see me. But um.” She pulled out her hands and tapped her chest with both hands. "I’m Oros the Joyful! What’s your name?” She started to rest her heels on the ground, only to pop back onto her toes again.

The was also the faint sound of Mogalls screeching in the distance, but Suki paid little mind to it.

“It’s as good as it always is,” was Nonsuch’s own response, her eyes narrowing into slits.

Curiosity was good, even though it was clear to the both of them now just what it meant for anyone to meet the mesmerizing gaze of the dark magical girl, and what it meant for the paladin to do so. There was no reason to look away, no reason not to exchange dialogue in this rare, rare opportunity. She extended her fist instead, that fist of broken fingers.

“Does this look like something I’m going to shake your hand with?”

If one remained in Hibusa Town as a light magical girl, one couldn’t expect defeat to equal friendship. Kinder girls had been taken advantage of and broken because of their naivety. It was a precious thing for Nonsuch to view at a distance. It was a fine thing to pick up the pieces and offer them a space to vent before sending them off on their way, never to turn their gaze back on the playground that the Detention Club had constructed.

“And as for the question you’re spending your life on…”

Evil Eye reached up, hands settling on her shoulders, a cold grasp made clammy by the stress of escape. Nonsuch placed her unbroken hand against the small of her back. Pushing her in closer. Gripping the black-white patterned kimono tightly. Eye contact broken, her lips close enough to her quarry’s left ear that she was on the edge of biting down and tearing off.

“Ḯ̸̦s̵̛̖ ̸̖̈́t̷̞̃h̸̥͊ä̷̱́t̵̩͂ ̶̭͐w̵̬͝h̵̛͙a̴̝͝t̴̹͗ ̸͈̃ï̴̳t̸̲̚ ̸͈̇l̴̠͋ŏ̵̼o̸̺͘k̷͍̚ș̷̓ ̸̪̌l̷͓̕i̶̡̎k̶͚͐e̴͔̎ ̸̬͌ț̸̓o̸̘͂ ̸̞̏y̶̙̓ő̶̧u̸͚̚?̶̙̄”

The war hammer returned, then repelled, shooting skywards. It was repulsed by her, and she was attracted to it, and that paradox of pursuit sent both magical girls up and up and up and up. Beyond the corona of streetlights, they became specks in the night sky, the wind so much more willing to dance in open space around them. And, at a height of three hundred meters, they stopped, Nonsuch pulling Evil Eye up to sit on the hammerhead while she balanced upon the haft herself.

“But that’s that and this is this. I’ve just wanted to chat you up, y’know? Considering how communication between us has been pretty one-way up until now.” Her smile was beaming once more. Her smile had been beaming all this time. She had no contradictions. “If I were to be honest though? I was really betting on Shatterscape coming after you immediately, considering how obvious my intentions were. So color me surprised when they didn’t!”

Her hand reached out, brushing away sticky strands of hair off her temple and smoothing it against her skull. Perhaps, uncharacteristically, there was a glimmer of mischief in her gaze then.

“Crazier still that no one else came to intercept me too. It’s like, woah, am I not being taken seriously, or are you not considered all that important? So I figured, and I’ll need you to collab with me here, but, well…do you wanna prank ‘em, Evil Eye?”

Shatterscape was immortal, Earthshaker was as thick-skulled as a Neanderthal, and the rest of the Club were all more slippery than brawl-y. There was only one way that Nonsuch could really get to them. Or maybe this was her own way of making sure the Club tried just a bit harder to be a club.

“Go fake your death with your Mogalls. If you catch what I'm putting down.”

@Ponn

---

Earthshaker realized the magnitude of her actions shortly after a heel crashed into her unguarded loins, bucking the unprepared Magical Girl off Nyxia. Her power could do nothing to blunt the flash of pain and Roche's eyes narrowed as she staggered back onto her feet, only to scream out as searing light burned more than her retinas. Skin blistered and burned, the barrage weaker than what the Obliterator itself could offer but still a potent hazard to her health.

A more reasonable Magical Girl would see they'd overstepped and try to de-escalate, and even the twisted Dark Magical Girls would feel some empathy for the raw grief radiating from Nyxia.

Roche did not get to position as Rei's enforcer by being reasonable.

"Are. You. Finished?" As the blisters burned deeper into her skin Roche needed only to reach back, pulling the shield from her back and interposing it between them. Light danced wildly in every direction, gouging the alley walls and sending streaks into the sky as the surface had no issue absorbing the screams. Then it pulsed, returning the energy in a concentrated blast to propel Nyxia hurtling away and into the scattered remnants of the Miseria that still lingered at the ambush site.

The shamanistic Magical Girl held the laser before her, an unsubtle suggestion that further light shows will be taken right against it's barrel as the shield settled along her arm. "Listen, or the next attack I do will shatter this toy."

Someone utterly unyielding against a deranged soul who couldn't be swayed. Roche would have smiled at how perfect they were for each other if her face wasn't as raw as Nyxia's throat must have felt after screaming all those lasers.

"One more step, curse, or laser and this memento of yours is scrap." Earthshaker said, her hand along the barrel tightening as the lines across her skin flashed with barely restrained power. "So tell me...what does this mean to you? Who is he?"

---

“Any time Acid Drop. That’s what club members do after all,” Schrade said as Nonsuch’s hammer rocketed away in sudden propulsion. No doubt back to its master.

Schrade’s empty smirk might have grown wider with amusement in seeing how the other girl reacted. Maybe she did; it was difficult to say so late at night, shadow hiding most of Schrade’s face under her hood. Acid Drop’s blush wasn’t unknown to the observant leader but she said nothing on the matter. Schrade felt a distant tug surrounding her body, pulled by an invisible force. That was no doubt Acid Drop’s magic at work, siphoning the emotions Schrade happily let swell like a great ocean all for the other Dark Magical Girl. Not that she needed it.

The two were separated when Acid Drop finally allowed herself out her grip, even more so when she was distracted by her phone. It was Oros no doubt, Schrade guessed, and judging by the expression Acid Drop wore and the bow she gave, her deductions were correct. Schrade only nodded as Acid Drop departed. “Happy hunting,” she called out to the other girl, followed with a, “Oh, by the way. If that newbie gets too close to the mountains, just forget about it. That’s Kaeru’s territory and I don’t feel like hearing another sappy monolog from her.”

The mountains belonged to the frog and her despicable little shrine. It was much too costly for resources and patience to try a breach there. The idea of a war of attrition with Kaeru simply for one Magical Girl sounded too boring and out of pocket to Schrade. Oh well, it only made the game more interesting, didn’t it? It was a game she always felt guilty playing.

Schrade blended into her dark coat, almost melding into the dark night with the sky’s dusky backdrop behind her. She idly leaned forward against what was left of the roof’s railway, one eye catching what looked like Earthshaker roughing up her new partner. Somehow that new green girl got the idea she was actually needed in this team. The thought was enough to crack Schrade’s smirk even wider, pitched down only as she noticed the residing negativity in the air.

The Miseria were drawing back, slain one by one in thinned numbers until really the only conflicts left were between light and dark. It was the natural result with so many Magical Girls hounding the town tonight. “I guess I’m buying dinner again,” Schrade mused to herself. Well, her and Willow of course. Perhaps she forgot to mention the important detail the contest was a team effort, kills added between team members. Whoops.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the tell-tale screech of Evil Eye’s Mogall. Rather, all of them, all throughout the Hibusa. They rang like the death tolls of a funeral, slowly drowning the town in invisible noise that only Magical Girls heard. Probably. It also meant Evil Eye was in actual danger. Probably. Schrade sighed and flipped out her phone, already typing a mass message in the Detention Club’s group chat.



Schrade looked over the message before clicking send. Whether some girls had phones or not hardly mattered when her intents usually spread like wildfire through word of mouth. “What a terrible night,” she sighed, standing straight under her cloak and directing her one eye up at the moonlight. “Well, maybe not so so bad.” Her gaze led her over to the mountains and she saw two flecks dart up high into the air overhead. That had to be Evil Eye and her pursuer.

Probably.

---

---

Evil Eye's manic laughter was drowned out by the whooshing of air all around them as they rose higher and higher. Did it seem to her like Nonsuch was acting as a protector of the world? Not really. As was usually the case with Evil Eye, it was a rhetorical question for her to think about later—something to slowly bore into her mind and eat away at her—but as was usually the case with Nonsuch, it was like trying to bore a hole into a lava tube. Everything Evil Eye thought she knew about magical girls, all of her experienced calculations told her that she could make this girl fall; but something beneath the surface, burning and inexplicable, repelled her efforts—and it made her laugh so.

She was just so interesting.

"Hehehe! If we hadn't been stopped just now, would you have chased me all the way to the ocean? Just so you could chat me up?" She crossed her legs and tilted her head curiously, still not looking away from Nonsuch. If her body ached at all from the fresh bruising she'd just received, she didn't show it. Instead, she flashed a sly grin at her alleged enemy's suggestion. It seemed as if she liked the idea. "Hmhm~ Just what am I supposed to gain from tugging on my allies' supposed heartstrings? Some sense of validation—that someone cares about me, that I'm important enough to risk life and limb to come rescue?" She scoffed at the notion.

"Perhaps you don't understand me as well as I thought. My dear Nonsuch—that's how a Light Girl thinks."

If it were possible, her eyes grew even wider with madness. Illusory magical girls that Nonsuch couldn't recognize appeared behind Evil Eye, looking down at her with scorn. "These protectors of the peace rejected me because my powers weren't useful for violence. Isn't it funny? How they'd fallen already, and couldn't see it." An illusory sun rose and quickly swept the girls away as it passed over the two of them. It continued to rise and set at unnaturally fast speeds. "The light is fleeting and quick to leave us when we need it most. The human heart is just a pit of darkness, with carefully woven lies as our only safety net to prevent us from falling in. Things like love, hope, duty—once you see them for the flimsy excuses they are, and sit on the precipice of that gaping maw, you can only accept what you are, or stand up for lies." She giggled suddenly. "Or I suppose you can just sit on that precipice until your heart is as numb as your ass—but then, it'll be too late to stand back up again... Someday, you will make that choice, Nonsuch. To stand up for lies, or fall head-over-heels into the truth—and when you do, I'll welcome you with open arms!"

She extended her arms out toward Nonsuch, as if to offer the girl with broken bones a hug. Her smile almost seemed genuine; was that an illusion too? —but Evil Eye's "moment" was spoiled by the notification from her phone. Her face soured, she pulled the offending dopamine dealing device from inside the folds of her gi. Reading the text, she giggled. "You see, it's just as you say. Like I'm not even in danger, ahuhu~! ...but it doesn't matter to me if they 'care' or not, you know?" She smiled, holding the phone loosely in her hands and waving it contemplatively as she considered her reply. It didn't really matter to her whether she was "part of the Club" or if she was just an orbiter who got made fun of behind her back. Rei gave her food, a place to belong, and Miseria to hunt, which was more than she expected from others. Her reasons for doing all of that for Kiyo didn't matter. Only her actions in the moment mattered. Someday, she'd find an excuse to stop doing those things. Her reasons for turning her back on her wouldn't matter either. Somewhere, there was another "Rei" willing to take her. Their excuses for doing so wouldn't matter, either. "Kindness" was illusion—just another carefully woven lie—and in the end, things like illusions and lies—excuses and misdirection—they weren't really worth thinking about, were they?

“Yup! And the added benefit of that would be to see how good Shatterscape is at swimming with those big-ass claws of hers!”

There was no doubt about it, and it wasn’t as if it was difficult to reach the ocean either. Sequestered from the rest of Japan by its natural features, Hibusa had ready access to both the mountains and the ocean. From here, Nonsuch figured that she could even throw Evil Eye into the waves if she used enough force. But…well, that was a bit too much force for a first encounter. And as for the more important part?

“This isn’t another one of those questions-that-aren’t-questions, is it?” Nonsuch teased, mirroring her companion’s head-tilt and leg-cross. “I think it’d be funny, having everyone dote on you and act all apologetic, while you know what the truth is. And for me? I get to see a Shatterscape that isn’t trying to be all poetic and serious. Maybe.”

Hopefully.

But the conversation continued, the illusions of less-edgy magical girls drawing a raised brow from the paladin. Cyclic sunrises and sunsets drew a little ‘ooo’ of appreciation out of Nonsuch too, but, if she were to be honest? A light magical girl that wasn’t working alone wasn’t a genuine article. There only needed to be one. Miseria weren’t such overbearing threats that you needed more than a single light magical girl to deal with them, after all. Perhaps, though, it was destiny then, that foretold Evil Eye would always become fallen?

“A hug would be a wonderful thing.”

She stood up.

“But from where I stand, Evil Eye, I’m more curious. Everyone falls too easily, you see?” The sheer numbers that flocked to Hibusa was indicative enough of that. With so many of them, how do any even eat their share? They don’t. The cracks were present since the numbers exceeded more than the fingers of one hand. “And because they all fall, I’d rather like to see…”

One hand was broken, but the other wasn’t. It was that one that Nonsuch extended, as if reaching for the voyeur’s throat.

“…what would happen if I raised them up.”

Metal gauntlets closed upon the corner of the offending phone instead, plucking it gently from Evil Eye’s hand. Pinching it like that, she swung it from side to side, a softer, more contemplative expression on her face.

“Would they rise? Or would they hang?”

Somewhat clumsily, Nonsuch typed a reply into the group chat (metal gauntlets didn’t work well and her other hand wasn’t in any shape for tip-tapping). A simple, vague sentence. One that promised either weal or woe, but one that lacked the context to fall in any particular direction for those who've read it.

I changed my mind.

And the phone was returned to Evil Eye, the paladin’s teeth flashing once more.

“Wouldn’t want to hold up your dinner party, Evil Eye. So, how do you wanna end this?”

---

She wanted to raise them up.

The girl's mad eyes and grin widened, impossibly. "Khhk khhk khhk khhhk! She let out a horrible sound, caught somewhere between a snicker and a wheeze. "I knew it! You don't want to kill magical girls at all! You want to turn them, and if I had to guess—just to see what would happen?" She smiled expectantly, as if she understood Nonsuch's mindset completely. "Well, that's only half of my reasons for trying to turn you girls~ My original wish was to see the world, you know? Instead of seeing planet earth, though, I was shown the depravity of human beings—and should I not show other magical girls the Truth? Isn't that the 'right' thing to do? Even us so-called 'dark girls' want to do the 'right' thing sometimes, you know~?" she said pleasantly.

Taking her phone back from Nonsuch, she crossed her arms and threw herself off the war hammer, dangling from the pole with her legs. "—but you wound me, my dear rival! I daresay I didn't fall so easily as you think, you know? I was hanging above that dark abyss for some time, looking for even a glimmer of precious light..." as she said this, a metaphorical ocean of false Mogalls formed a shaft around them, squirming as they flew up high, creating the illusion that both they and the war hammer were falling, the only source of light being Kiyo's glowing red eyes. "I don't think I'll be raised up so easily, either!" she shouted impossibly over the roar of movement around them. Then, she closed her eyes, momentarily bathing the two of them in utter blackness.

Then, the illusions began to fade away. "Hehe! I'd rather have dinner at a restaurant than in a hospital bed, so I'll let you go. For now," she teased. "Until I get to welcome you into the fold with that fateful hug, I'll leave you a question that's really a question: why bother to raise up what's already proven itself—as you see it—unable to stand?" She had that genuine look of curiosity again, mixed with a sly smirk. "Oh, but, one more thing I can guarantee: I'll see you around!" With a pleasant smile, she let herself fall, unaware that Nonsuch had even sent a text at all.

—and, as things stood, a magical girl with dubious survival instincts who had "changed her mind" plummeted towards the earth.

They fell, and yet they did not.

Even as illusions spoke otherwise, Nonsuch’s own body was inviolable. Her hair did not rise with a sudden drop. Her stomach did not churn at the sudden sensation. There were things true and false, and what was true had been carved into her flesh a long time ago, more certain than blood-inked parchments that became the foundation of human faiths. And in response to Evil Eye’s mania, all she did was place her index finger against her lips, the universal sign of silence.

It wouldn’t do good for Nonsuch, if Evil Eye let such a pacifistic impression of the paladin slip to the rest of the club. Both for her own reputation, as well as for the safety of the dark magical girls. It was always up in the air. She could always change her mind.

Darkness returned in time, seeping past the delusions embedded in crimson, specks of starlight peeking out and the silence of open air just as deafening as the roar of freefall. Evil Eye was allowed to say her piece, but both sides knew that neither would be truly convinced. In the end, the question was posed, a true question amongst the nonsense rhetoric.

And with a gaze like sunlight, like a deity looking down from above, Nonsuch answered, nomenclature shifting as if possessed by another.

“Because when night turns white, Evil Eye, it would be useful for me that you and yours are capable of leaving a blot of ink on these pages.”

The dark fell, letting gravity take the reins.

The light stepped off too, and yet remained suspended even as her head was closer to the Earth than her feet. Attraction and repulsion remained, even as Heaven and Earth were reversed. That was the secret, after all, to raising what was destined by the world to fall.

All you had to do was change the laws that governed that world.

All it took was the wish of a single girl.

@Lonewolf685

To say that Nyxia was furious would have been a massive understatement. Yet, as she continued to rage against Earthshaker, The Neon Tempest started to feel her strength and power drain away with ever-increasing rapidity. A rising panic began to fill Nyxia, especially when the Code Keeper brought forth her shield to completely negate The Neon Tempest’s increasingly weaker attacks. What started out as a blinding laser light show was soon little more than the dim pulses of a flickering flashlight with a dying battery. An instant later, however, and the previous pyrotechnics returned with redoubled intensity as a stored up blast of energy surged forth from Earthshaker’s shield to send Nyxia flying down the ally to splatter the few pitiful remaining Miseria against the far wall.

Nyxia groaned in a mixture of frustration, exhaustion, and pain as her battered body crumpled to the ground in a panting heap. Her heavy, weakened limbs hung limply at her side, her aching lungs burned, and her vision blurred as she struggled to stay conscious. Dimly, she could hear the accursed voice of her tormentor warning her that another attack would result in the destruction of her precious baby. As it was, Nyxia didn’t know if she even had enough strength left to stand, let alone continue the fight, no matter how much she might have wanted to. Gritting her teeth as she watched Earthshaker place her filthy, glowing hand over her beloved death ray’s barrel, The Neon Tempest bitterly conceded defeat. The other girl might have been bluffing, but she could never take that chance, not when it meant potentially losing her most precious possession in the entire world.

Stealing herself as best she could to endure the inevitable flood humiliation and verbal abuse that she was certain would start bombarding her at any second, Nyxia was taken aback when, instead of mocking her, Earthshaker simply asked two questions. “K-Kaito,” The Neon Tempest found herself saying, her pained voice far softer and meeker than it had previously been. “H-He’s my brother,” she added, even as tears streamed down her cheeks. “H-He’s the only person to ever treat me with kindness. I love him more than anything else in the world. AND THOSE FU…” she suddenly stopped herself with a sharp gasp upon remembering what might happen if she used strong language. She took a deep breath. This would certainly be difficult… “Those filthy Miseria killed him,” she snarled, her anguished visage contorting into a scowl of pure hatred. “That weapon you’re holding is my baby. Kaito gave him to me, told me he’d protect me. And he has. He made me strong, helped me slaughter the disgusting abomination that killed my brother. He means everything to me, so please,” she begged, clenching one hand over her chest, while the other was raised plaintively towards where the impassive Earthshaker stood. “P-Please give him back to me…”

Himea deflected Bakegama's spear with her own scepter while stepping aside. So, the wanna-be victorian noble knew the basics of hand to hand battle - which, by all accounts, shouldn't have been surprising considering both of them were summoners and that Kaeru would probably soon show off her own hand to hand capacity. Or she should have liked to, but she instead had to duck out of the way of an incoming projectile aiming for her that looked like...a hat?

She saw what probably was Himea's partner land close by, which would most likely complicate things.
"You girls like to talk, but can you even back it up?"

Things then happened in quick succession.

When Shatterscape landed behind Bakegama, her metal gauntlets were struck aside by a shield of unknown origin to Kaeru - she couldn't worry about it for now, though. Having spotted the gauntlet wielding magical girl chasing, and seeing this new opening from an unexpected ally, Kaeru waited at just the right moment to channel her magic and jump up to launch herself over the shield and begin her attack. At the same time Bakegama, not easily fooled it seemed, thrusted his two-forked spear downward, trying to catch Himea's scepter into the ground all while using it's Gong shield to slam into Shatterscape and push her backward. It's tongue emerged and rose into the skies where it reached it's master and, in a whip-like fashion, sent Kaeru flying. The frog maiden crashed feet first into the would be attacking Bishop, probably sending it crashing and slide across the floor, Kaeru herself riding it for a few meters before she was about to make another move, but...

Bonk

"What the...?"

The world narrowed down to just the girl standing now before Sayuri. She held a violin, which was probably just used to hit her with.

"...Who are you?"

“I promise it’s nothing personal. I just needed to get your attention! I believe you’re in danger, and kind of surrounded. I could help you, you know and make this a fairer fight!”

Sayuri looked at Willow for a solid second, head to feet and back again. Did she see her hanging out with Rei...? Possibly. One thing was for certain; staying here any longer was bad news. With Nonsuch nowhere in sight and the new girl Sayuri needed to reach soon, she was hopelessly outnumbered. This violinist help, while dubious at best, at least gave Kaeru a good opportunity at making a clean exit and sparing her near certain harm.

"Sounds cute and all - but I'm not much of a musician myself you see? My friend, however..."

Just then, the Yokai frog took what seemed like a deep breath and unleashed an attack in the form of an impossibly loud croaking sound that was meant to disrupt the girls nearest to him. It was so loud and abrupt, it would push them back and force them to cover their ears for a second, allowing Kaeru to mount back onto her summon, Bakegama taking a leap backward and out of harm's way at first...

"Thank you all for the exercise. Someone has entered my domain and I need to see to my guests so I'll leave you to your club's activities now. See ya around!"

...then it launched itself into the skies so she'd leave the same way she arrived, leaving not only Himea's scepter stuck into the ground beneath the spear, but also a cheeky memento in the form of a Frog atop her head, lazily croaking. How did it even got there?!

Enough distractions. Rei was right about one thing; the mountains were hers. Evil eye wasn't the only ones with spies at her disposition, and at least one pair of small, bulging eyes were stuck onto Homura, hidden nearby.

---

As her partner passed her, Acid Drop thought only a single thing. We're going to have to eat her cooking, aren't we? That was almost enough to push her to drain her entire stock of energy by itself. But they were reaching the forest, and the Light Girl was already setting it on fire. Tsubomi stopped to let her partner handle the chase and started to go around the forest to cut off their target. That is, until she got a text from Rei.



Oh. That was anticlimatic. Though anticlimactic might only be the case for her, considering her partner's personality. Still, the thought that the new girl would be at the same school as the Club made her wonder how things would be playing out in the future. Maybe if she had gone all out... would she have caught up in time, or would she have been caught her before the text? Regardless, she was more than ready for the next time she met one of the Light Girls. She began to head back, but decided to wait for her partner at the entrance of the forest, first.

@Ponn

---

Were this exercise purely for the sake of seeing Nyxia shattered as a person, there would have been nothing short of naked, intoxicated revelry on Earthshaker's face. And if Nyxia was still of the Light, then there indeed have been such indulgence.

But the girl breaking down before her was her kin in darkness, and more than that, she was Earthshaker's partner.

Coming down to a knee before her, a tanned hand reached out and cupped the nape of her neck. With a steady pull Nyxia would find face set against the Rule Keeper's shoulder, her bare skin warm to the touch as the shade of her cloak hid Nyxia's anguished face from the world around them. Yet warmer still was the barrel of the Obliterator now pressed between them. It hung there by the pressure of their embrace alone as both arms enveloped the Laser Magical Girl fully.

"Never again will anyone take him from you." She whispered the words with a tremor of the emotion beneath her stolid exterior. The barest quiver of black rage thrumming through every muscle and shaking her bones. "But I ask you to think bigger. What good is killing mindless monsters who know neither joy nor despair? Is the flicker of catharsis all you want...or will you take this power, and do what you couldn't before and Kaito no longer can?"

"This world cares nothing for us. Every life lost is a meaningless statistic. So we must come together, and bend this wretched place into something worth living in." Her arms loosened and Roche tilted her head back, letting the hood fall away as the dwindling moonlight danced across bone-white locks. "Live. Live as only we can, for the happiness that those whose loss broke us no longer can. So you can look down from the mountain you could never even allow yourself to dream of climbing and see his smile in the clouds below you."

Earthshaker was standing then, the warmth of her arms a fading memory as she extended a hand towards the Neon Tempest. The lighting shifted as the cloak melted away and a familiar face in track garb stared down at her with a slight, ephemeral smile.

"Let me show you that world."

"So why are you chasing me?" Homura shouts at the one chasing after her. She looked back for just a moment to see the euphoric state of Oros' face. The look of pure thoughtlessness like a predator on the hunt, tunnel visioning as they give chase to their delicious looking prey. Homura almost admired the dedication of this magical girl to continue chasing her through the forest, let alone through her flames.

For a moment, Homura thought she was free, safe from whatever hazards had awaited her should Oros catch up to her. Alas, it didn't take long for that brief moment of respite to change as she eyed a crimson tendril pass over her head. "What even are you? Spiderman?" Homura asked with a look of confusion so palpable you could mistake her for a child learning how to fill in their tax forms.

"Jill's so outdated!" Homura responds with her pop-culture knowledge filling the tears that almost dared to attempt to escape her eyes. She just wanted to be left alone, why were the other magical girls so hostile to each-other. To her? Two tendrils attached themselves to trees upon either side of the light magical girl, only to launch Oros far enough ahead that Homura had the chance to stop and ready her bow in-case a fight were to break out.

As the debris settled and Homura's eyes adjusted, she spotted an Oros face-down on the ground, presumably hurt from the blistering speeds she'd hurtled herself at in an attempt to wrangle the poor innocent girl and bring her to her big bad evil boss.

She eyed her opponent up and down, She breathed heavily as adrenaline replaced her blood and time seemed to slow. It seemed to Homura that Oros had no intention to fight and so she lowered her weapon, responding in kind to any of Oros' interactions. "Hello?" Homura didn't quite match the cheeriness Oros exhibited so plainly, "Thank you? You looked quite scary hurtling towards that tree." She responded, taking a step back as Oros took one forward.

"I don't really want to get captured, or hurt! I just wanted to help people." It was true she had intended to run more, but it wouldn't hurt to share some sort of courtesy as two people that were *supposed* to work together to fight the Miseria. "You can call me Lycoris, or Homura." She took yet another step back, each of Oros' movements making her flinch and fear what was to come next. The last thing she wanted was a bloody tentacle lashing towards her face.

Homura could hear the sound of a notification ding on Oros' phone, "You should get that! I would answer more questions, but I really should be going. I hope that the next time we meet is under better circumstance." Homura bowed, offering a wave just a moment before hopping back into the trees, returning to where she set the forest debris on fire. "Sorry about that..." She said to nobody in particular, but perhaps a little amphibian would overhear her apology as the flames subsided, with no debris having actually burned, no fire spread. She simply stood there in silence, dumbfounded by the night's experience. At least she was away from the town, the dark magical girl's domain whilst completely unaware that she was in another's.