Shatterscape saw Mercurial throw her hat from the corner of her eye, aiming at catching Kaeru in a three-pronged attack that not even the frog girl could escape. Indeed, Shatterscape could handle the large frog by herself while the other two barraged her opponent at a distance, slowly wearing away at her before boxing her in - or at least such was the plan until Willow appeared out of nowhere near her opponent. Both a distraction and an unwelcome change of events, Shatterscape had only a split second to alter her angle of approach, which then resulted in disaster.

For not only did the shield deflect the majority of her blow, Kaeru proved quite resourceful in making use of unexpected opportunities. The light girl took the opportunity to perform a series of acrobatics that would not be out of place in a circus, right before the large frog took the opportunity to deal a shielded blow to Shatterscape. The blunt force all but reverberated through her, causing her to slide back, her heels digging into the pavement below. Unpleasant crackling filled the air, but more importantly, this allowed Kaeru exactly enough space to loosen the sure vice she had intended to close around the light girl.

"What are you doing, Willow?" Shatterscape spoke in an even, but heavy tone as she lunged forward. Her left hand remained by her body while her right reached towards the frog in an obvious attack. And then the damn thing croaked lough enough to crack windows... along with Shatterscape's eardrums. Unfortunately for it, if there was one thing that Shatterscape had learned, if there was one thing that all but carved itself into her body, nay her very existence, then it was pushing through pain.

It hurt. It hurt like hell. Her head felt as though there were thousands upon thousands of soldiers marching inside, all pounding on the inside of her ears. It was as though her brain had been set on fire, then molten right before being poured out from her ear canals. Through these metaphorical, infernal flames, a strangely clear thought observed she could not hear anymore, but it did not matter as her gauntlets tore into the frog. It did not prevent their escape, especially as the world seemed to shrink before Shatterscape for a moment due to the agony she endured, yet it was enough for her.

In fact, it was maybe a little too much. As she staggered, she barely noticed Mogall, screeching and waving at her like it was going insane and it took her several seconds to come to terms with what it meant: Evil Eye was in danger.

She reached out for her network of bodies and found it wanting.

The body she left behind on Evil Eye's motorcycle was no longer close enough for her to chain to, nor was there a convenient one to jump to nearby. As such, still reeling from the blow dealt by Kaeru, she stumbled around for a moment before shooting a downright unpleasant look at Willow, followed by abandoning this body as though it were a puppet. It needed healing and fixing anyways.

So would Evil Eye, if she did not hurry. As such, even though her mind could barely think, she pushed herself to the limit, leaving behind city block after city block in what seemed like a blur to her, but was likely painfully slow when compared to the danger her partner was in. In her state, she could barely follow the guidance of Mogalls in the air, but she pushed on regardless hoping that by the time she got there, most of the pain would be gone. And Evil Eye would still be in one piece.

It was hard for Suki to stay calm. The light cutie had stopped running and was making eye contact with her. Suki's heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest. When she commented on how unsettling Suki looked in flight, the blood witch giggled before tipping her head. "I was scared too! I’m glad I lived!’” Such a considerate girl, far too pure for the likes of Hibusa town.

Suki expected the angel to run away again, but instead she did the unthinkable. The unbelievable. A huge surprise. In fact just hearing her do it caused Suki’s jaw to swing open. Her eyes twinkled like lakes in the summer sun. "Lycoris, or Homura!?’” She couldn’t be entirely sure, but it sounded like Homura had just told Suki her magical girl name and her real name. "Such beautiful names for a beautiful angel!’” To think she trusted Suki with so much information so soon! It was official, Homura was totally into Suki. But to Homura’s credit, she was going to play hard to get. She used the ol’ “Is that your phone? I gotta skedaddle!” trick. But Suki had run through fire, headbutted a tree, and just learned Homura’s name.

There was no way shei could let her go.

She looked at her phone just long enough to assuage Homura’s concerns. But once Homura's back was turned, the chase would resume. Suki already had two trees lined up that she could use to fling herself towards her mark. She wouldn’t aim too high this time. Her crimson tendrils coiled around the trees and-

*Smack*

Suki reeled backwards as a bullfrog landed square on her head. Even if the attack had blinded her, she could feel the amphibian’s wet, slimy body sliding down her face. But the frog clung to its victim, and was very chill with its perch. Suki reached up to pull the frog off of her face and-

*Smack*

A second bullfrog landed on her face. Suki used her other hand to pull it off before assessing her surroundings. But directly overhead, myriad silhouettes descended from the overhead branches and landed all over Suki.

*Smack-Smack-Plick-Smack-Smack-Smack-*

Bullfrogs, tree frogs, Suki was bombarded by so many frogs her only recourse was to topple backwards onto the forest floor. But there were even more frogs there. They were hopping all over the place, and didn’t seem to care if Suki was there or not. While the blood witch was initially confused by their appearance, that slowly changed to joy.. One by one, she caught the frogs, kissed them, and then tossed their unconscious bodies into the forest. But as she kissed more frogs, her brow started to furrow. It wasn’t until she kissed her ten or twentieth frog that she started to get mad.

"Come on! Where is he!?”

Before long, Suki was surrounded by a few dozen unconscious frogs. But Homura was nowhere to be seen. She could track her, but that was assuming that no more frogs would show up. And there absolutely, positively, would be more frogs.They likely covered her tracks with their rampant hopping too. With nothing better to do, Suki opened her phone and read her messages. She didn’t respond to anything. She just sighed before closing her phone. No angel, no frog prince, no romance tonight. She almost didn’t feel like eating. Suki’s bangs covered her eyes as she disappeared in the shadows of the trees.

@Lonewolf685

Nyxia’s eyes widened as, to her utter astonishment, Earthshaker knelt down and did something that no one other than Kaito had ever done. She hugged her.

W-What…?! Nyxia’s mind raced as she felt the comfortingly warm bulk of her beloved Omega Obliterator being pressed against her trembling body. S-She’s actually giving him back to me…?!

The Neon Tempest had been certain that Earthshaker’s inquiries were merely a prelude to further abuse, yet, instead, the tribal girl was showing her… kindness…? It was almost too much for Nyxia to comprehend, too unbelievable for her mind to process. Indeed, it was such a shock that she almost didn’t hear the Code Keeper’s following words, almost didn’t notice when the girl reverted back to her mundane self. W-Why is she doing this…? Nyxia couldn’t help but wonder. She was such an obnoxious bully before, just like everyone else, but now…

“T-Thank you,” Nyxia whispered, finally finding her voice again, even as she tentatively took the untransformed Earthshaker’s offered hand. “But I am thinking bigger,” The Neon Tempest added in a stronger tone, her other arm wrapped tightly around The Omega Obliterator. “I used to just kill those disgusting things for revenge, for how good it felt to wipe them from existence,” she conceded, her voice filled with contempt. “But then I realized that I can use the power their deaths provide to make my precious baby strong enough to punch a hole trough time itself and save Kaito from the fucking abomination that dared to kill him! That’s why I only care about killing Miseria,” she concluded. “Because making my baby strong enough to bring Kaito back is the only thing that matters.”

Tsubomi would need to be a little patient. While Suki could cover a lot of ground, her speed was entirely dependent on how eager she was to get to her destination. And it became apparent early on that she was not eager to return. When Suki finally turned up, her head was hunched forward. Her bangs covered her eyes, and her lips were pursed. She swayed side to side like the walking dead, and held an unconscious frog in one of her hands. It was natural for Suki to be covered in blood, but she had dirt caked in the folds of her dress and leaves sticking out of her hair.

She dragged her feet in front of Tsubomi . "I don’t feel like eating out." Her voice was weak.

Tsubomi, for her part, came to the conclusion from the way Suki carried herself and the lack of the Light Girl, that she must not have captured her. ”That’s rare, for you. Isn’t that your whole shtick?” A bit of a low-hanging fruit, but it would hopefully perk her partner up. ”Besides, I don’t think we won. Who knows where we’ll be eating.”

”There’s only so many places to eat in Hibusa. It’ll be one of them." She placed her thumb on top of the frog’s head and rubbed it side to side. ”How long were you waiting here? Did you see me enter the forest?"

”Probably. And yeah, I saw you go in the forest, but I tried to go around after that and only came back here a little while ago. What’s with the frog?”

”This guy?" Suki tipped her head back. Her crimson eyes were locked on the amphibian in her hand. ”He and about fifty of his friends jumped me. I can confirm that none of them were princes, but I think we can make this guy talk." She turned the frog over in her hand. ”I think it’s a guy anyway. He might be a girl. I’m not sure how you tell with frogs." She used her pinky to stroke the side of the frog.

”I think if you got hit by that many frogs, the blonde girl is to blame. She seemed to have some sort of frog based magic, which is weird, but maybe we actually can get some info out of it.”

She shrugged. ”I’m not hopeful, but I couldn’t return with Homura, or I guess Lycoris is her magical girl name. I thought this would be better than nothing."

”You learned the new girl’s name!?”

The pitch change in Tsubomi’s voice caused Suki to jump. ”Uh-um, Maybe?.I mean-" She rubbed the back of her head. ”We introduced ourselves. I was surprised she gave me both of her names. At first I thought she might have been into me, but that was before the frogs jumped me. On my way back here I figured she probably gave me a fake name to keep me stunned with surprise. The timing seemed a little too perfect." Her eyes darted between the frog and Tsubomi. ”W-why, ya think she was telling the truth?"

Oh, they had talked to each other. ”At the very least, I think we can figure she gave her magical name. But if she goes to our school, we can easily find out if that’s her real name too. Besides, I don’t… I don’t think that girl would make a good liar.” After a moment’s thought, she pressed on. ”Also, I don’t think the frogs mean she’s not into you. You’ll have to find that out later, most likely.” Chances being what they were, Lycoris probably didn’t like Suki that way, but maybe the thought would help cheer her partner up.

It did seem like that was the case. Suki was looking straight up into the night sky with a finger on her chin, considering Tsubomi’s words. ”You know what, Rainbow? You’re right!" She hugged Tsubomi and spun fast enough for the centrifugal force to lift her legs into the air. Even the poor frog’s limbs shot outward from Suki’s grasp. But her geas did nothing to Tsubomi, who was unable to feel emotions the same way others could. ”That’s why I try to let you do all the thinking for me!" Once Suki set her down, she took a long look into her eyes. ”I guess we should talk with the others then. Maybe we won’t get to eat what we want, but I know we didn’t kill the fewest miseria. And not eating a free meal would just be silly!"

Well, that went well, at least. Tsubomi was about to turn back into her regular form as she was spun around, when she realized that maybe there was still a Light Girl around to see that. She let Suki continue her happy moment and did her best not to ruin it. ”Yeah, I wonder what it’ll be.” With the relatively little time they’d known each other, Tsubomi had found that faking empathy went a long way with her partner, and with people in general, which she had to thank her for showing her someday. But for now, it was enough to stop her from moping so they could get back.

”I’m curious though." Suki kept her hands on her partner’s shoulders. ”You saw me enter the forest, but you decided to wait here after the text. What would you have done if I didn’t come back?"

”If you were giving off the feelings of dread people usually do when they’re about to die, I’d have come in to find you. You seemed more bothered than scared.” It wasn’t untrue, at least.

”You can do that?" Suki folded her arms behind her back. The frog was still unconscious. ”I guess we do need to spend some more time working together. Next time we’ll go out at the same time. I just had to uh, tell Boss Baby something once everyone went ahead. Heh!" She started to walk back with Tsubomi. ”Wonder what was with Eyeball’s text. ‘Changed my mind’? What does that even mean?"

”I have no idea what it means. Maybe she meant about eating? Or about going after Lycoris?” She hadn’t felt anything super out of the ordinary from Evil Eye, which might have been a warning sign in and of itself, if she had stuck around.

Suki pouted. ”If she’s thinking about skipping, we’ve gotta force her to come!"

”Right. Let’s go back then.”

”But I wanna know what’s happening now!" Suki sighed. ”Let’s keep gossiping until we get there. So, do you think the new girl and Bedshaker are going to get along? She’s not very good at holding partners."

“Argh, that was anticlimactic,” Yayoi said to her dark magical girl companions after she recovered from Kaeru’s sonic blast. The water magician held her head for a good minute as she tried to shake off the tinnitus. The next time they fought Kaeru, she would be on the lookout for this trick.

That frog girl might be a hopeless idiot at heart, but there was no doubt that she had quite a fearsome power under her control. If only she could come to the fun side of the fence, they would have a much easier time with the detention club’s goals.

“Anyway, I guess this counts as a victory for us, right?” Yayoi said as she approached Himea, and tried to help her partner in anything that was needed.

“By the way, you cost us the decisive blow, you know?” she said to Willow. Just like Shatterscape, Yayoi wasn’t sure what went through the other dark magical girl’s head to try and help one of their enemies in the middle of a battle.

“What should we do now? Go after the other light girls, or hunt some more while everyone else is distracted?” Were her last questions to Himea for the time being.

Willow of the Wisps

"I've nothing but the best intentions for everyone. Music is collaborative, a mixture of light high notes and dark tones."

Willow was disappointed with Kaeru's lack of an interesting response, denying her help and scurrying off to her fellow light girl.

"Oh well. Sorry Shatterscape! My emotions sometimes just get the best of me, you know."
Witnessing the carnage she may've had a part in as the dark magical girls are left in disarray, she whistled a tune and held her hands behind her back as she pretended she had no part in the chaos.

Flying on her bridge of notes, she'd sit upon a stave with a line of bars leading her down onto the floor next to Yaoyai.

"I may've just done that, but you should be thankful. How anticlimactic would it be if I ended this ordeal right then and there. Winning over their trust and earning their loyalty before sliding the dagger in would be my preferred approach. We could make such sweet noise together..."

She'd relax on Yaoyai's shoulders, nuzzling into her with a serene smile.

-

@KoL @Villamvihar

---

Roche had to wonder if Red knew about Nyxia's goal ahead of time as it was a lofty goal even by the standards of both Light and Dark magical girls. Still her composure didn't crack and her hand didn't even tense as it remained clasping the Laser Magical Girl's hand, letting the words wash over her.

"Time travel. Well then, it looks like you'll need some help getting there....but more importantly, you'll need to make some happy memories." Roche turned aside, standing in profile to Nyxia before coaxing her to follow her out to the street with a soft tug.

"When you see him again, you can tell him about how happy you are. The adventures you've had. The friends you made. That way, when you meet again, he won't ever have to worry about your happiness again. Maybe it's just me, but if I could see my father again, I wouldn't want him to see anything but tears of happiness."

The street was bright and empty, the glare of streetlights striking in contrast to the dark of the Miseria strewn alleyway. The track captain palmed her phone, skimming over the messages and letting out a snicker at the antics of the rowdy bunch that went chasing after the new girl. Satisfied the night's activities were winding down, she stuffed it back into her jacket and graced Nyxia with a toothy smirk.

"So let's go enjoy some free food and see if tonight will make a good story for Kaito."

@Lonewolf685

Help…? Nyxia wondered, still not fully comprehending what she was hearing. She wants to… help me…?

The Neon Tempest’s confusion only grew as Earthshaker, or rather, Roche, went on to speak of happiness, adventures, and friends… Friends. In her eighteen years, Norika had never made a single friend, outside of her brother, and as Nyxia, she didn’t see the point in changing that. Indeed, the very concept of having friends was completely alien to her, so when Roche seemed to suggest that the two of them be friends, her initial reaction was to harshly refuse. After all, this girl had gone so far as to steal her baby… Even if Roche hadn’t known the weapon’s significant to her, why would she ever want to be friends with someone who had done such a horrific thing? Why would she ever want to socialize with any of these girls? Roche said that friends were something that Kaito would want her to have, but was that really true? This was probably just a trick to get her to let her guard down in preparation for further torment, yet Roche’s mention of her father gave Nyxia pause.

Was Roche dealing with the loss of someone as dear to her as Kaito had been to Nyxia herself? Did… Did Roche actually understand the pain she felt? Despite her initial feelings of annoyance towards this girl, Nyxia found herself wanting to know more about what she had gone through, as well as to find out if her kindness was indeed genuine. Not only that, but Nyxia suspected that Kaito really would be happy to learn that she had finally made some friends and enjoyed happy experiences with them. Eating out, especially with strangers, was something she had never done before, but she would have been lying if she said she had never thought about what such an experience might be like.

“Okay, fine…” The Neon Tempest muttered. “But this ‘free food’ better not be some cheap ass dog shit…”

---

As Evil Eye fell, so too did Nonsuch, but not very far and in open defiance of the fundamental laws of physics. The two girls, having sent their respective messages, parted ways. Despite neither being convinced of the other's Truth, they were united in just one feeling: they both hoped that Nonsuch wouldn't regret this decision, to let Evil Eye go. However, Evil Eye would depart with the distinct feeling that she had lost. Instead of leaving Nonsuch with lingering questions to ponder, the blast furnace in magical girl form had left the interrogating eye of the Detention Club with her own. What was the utility of lifting up fallen magical girls? To prove that the dark magical girl was a lesser being, and not a final evolution? Was what Nonsuch sought even possible? Could the process even happen in reverse? What did she mean by "these pages?" Were they the pages of history? The girl's biography? What story did she intend to tell, and how might it change if a magical girl like Evil Eye returned to the light? "Heehee~! How interesting! She's just so interesting!"

She squealed with glee as she swerved to avoid the pavement below, swiftly flying back into the tunnel that may have been her grave if not for the intervention of her self-sworn adversary. Her eyes scanning the ground and occasionally checking behind her to ensure she was not followed, she quickly found what she was looking for: the broken body of her partner, Shatterscape, which was still unconscious, left to bleed in its invisible state, barely hanging on only by the grace of being a magical girl. Swooping behind a concrete barricade, she lifted her invisibility, then lifted Shatterscape's body to carry it to nearby paramedics. "Please! Please help my friend!" she cried, hobbling along in a false display of weakness as she carried her. As soon as they looked in her direction, their faces fell. The girl's friend wasn't going to make it, and they knew it—or so they thought, ignorant as they were. "I'm sorry. We can't do anything for your friend," one woman said with a frown. Kiyo's face became hideous with rage. "Treat her. Now," she demanded as she locked eyes with them—and from that moment forward, they did her bidding. For the crew of a single ambulance, triage became an afterthought as they took Shatterscape inside and treated her alone, sedating two other patients. A quick visit to the driver convinced him to drive the magical girls to an unusual place, and with the matter of their destination settled, the two dark magical girls escaped unnoticed from the mountain, hidden amongst the emergency crew. Kiyo watched as the helpless medical staff worked on the body that shouldn't have been possible to save, acting as though seeing it heal before their very eyes even as they set about cleaning and bandaging it were the most mundane thing in the world. Perhaps there was a glimmer of shock visible in the back of their hollowed eyes, or upon their pale faces, but Evil Eye had the power to ensure that they had no consciously retrievable memory of this night. Kiyo smiled, taking Shatterscape's hand and holding it.

"It truly was a beautiful night, Sister. Though we'll be taking the train home, it seems. ...At least it'll be warm."

---

Schrade sent out her second message. In doing so, she inevitably read Evil Eye’s cryptic text right before hers. The Detention Club leader scanned it in silence with her one eye. She’d say nothing if she were around the others and even now, she reacted with little kind. Schrade didn’t reply to the group chat, only closing her phone and pocketing it away.

Despite their failure to bring in the new girl, they did successfully push back their opposites, those fools who aligned themselves in light. Still, it was moreso by sheer numbers and power and less through coordination. A frown slowly settled on Schrade’s face. For girls who worked in pairs of teams, there was a lack of actual teamwork tonight and that needed to be rectified. Thankfully their Code Keeper had a history of working youth into shape. Perhaps everyone needed a fresh training lesson….her stomach growled.

Schrade didn’t move but she was surprised by the noise and with it sprouted a small smirk to her lips once again. It felt surprisingly mundane, human almost. A little reminder that for all her removal from the people she once tried to protect, she still shared basic necessities of life with them. That thought was funny and Schrade let loose another cold sigh. She leapt from the rooftop.

The rendezvous point was of course the start of their night, deep in Hibusa’s heart. Towering buildings surrounded them and Schrade eventually made herself back to the lamppost she initially settled on like a cat lording over all. She took her time, walking through the city like the hooded specter she as. Schrade didn’t expect everyone to make it back immediately but she did expect those close by to linger around. That included her partners, the former and the current. And one was rubbing into the other.

“I hope you realize half of tonight’s meal is coming from you,” Schrade told Willow, nodding towards Mercurial. “Not that you mind, I would think. Only fair given you didn’t slay a single Miseria in sight. And you.” Schrade turned upwards to where she saw Nyxia and an untransformed Earthshaker. “Seems you’re quite the powerful addition to our happy family. Congratulations, you get to choose where we eat~” she told Unstoppable Doom.

Whether Willow secretly told her who the winner was during her trek back or she simply knew it made logical sense that the girl with the bazooka killed the most was hard to say. Regardless, Schrade transformed back into Rei and sent a quick message to the group chat detailing where they would eat tonight. Whatever establishment Nyxia picked, Rei followed along, quiet and with a level expression. She just hoped it wasn’t anything sporadic. The night was too young after all.

---

"...And that’s why you and Chestnut would be good in a relationship. It would make all the other ships work out too. But if things between Boss Baby and me fizzle, then we need to switch some things around. We can assume Wispy and Boss Baby get together I guess. But what if I wind up with Wispy? Hmmm…”

When Tsubomi and Suki got gossiping about the detention club, it was only a matter of time before Suki started talking about “the ships.” She had a working list of the best pairings in her head, but there were always developments. An unusual glance, laughing at a sub-par joke, almost anything could cause Suki to go flying to the proverbial drawing board to restructure her relationship threads. It was made more complicated by the fact that she had several versions, each dictated by who Suki ended up with. Despite Suki’s reputation, she never had more than two or three “suitors” to base her findings around. In the short time Tsubomi knew her, it seemed like everyone had come up for consideration at some point. There were maybe two detention club members that Suki never paired herself with. One of them was Tsubomi herself. Only Suki knew why, as Tsubomi hadn’t asked.

"Hey! Look!”

They were walking past an arcade when something caught Suki’s interest. It was a poster for the light gun game “Husk of Zenith.” It featured a cool looking guy with a light gun with a post apocalyptic scene behind him. Generic, but the target demographic would likely be enthralled by the poster. If Suki’s reaction was anything to go by.

"It’s been a few years since I played this.” She tapped the poster. "You wake up from some hibernation pods after going into a slumber for hundreds of years. But something weird happened and everyone died except for player one and two. So you gotta shoot some mutants and obliterate the Zenith that’s corrupted everything.” She placed her hands on her hips. "I used to play co-op with a buddy. He played Brent and I always took Ichika. I don’t think we ever beat it. In fact, I don’t think we got past the first level.” She frowned. "I don’t think we played it much now that I think about it.” She shot Tsubomi a smile. "But it’s one of the few times I can remember someone wanting to spend time with me, so I’ll always cherish it!” She nudged Tsubomi before walking again. "I bet you and I could beat it. We should try some time.”

…

…

…

It didn’t take long for Suki and Tsubomi to return to where the night had started. It surprised the blood witch that most of the club was lingering around where the light girl was spotted. "Did something happen?” It didn’t matter. Someone could fill her in over dinner.

And speaking of dinner, Suki had arrived just in time to hear who won the contest.

"I can’t say I’m surprised. We’ll just have to try harder next time, Rainbow.” She patted her partner on the back before approaching the winners, or more specifically, Nyxia. "Hey! Congratulations… Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow!” She managed after just a single glance at the writing on her palm. Fortunately the blooded claws on her hands had prevented it from getting smudged during all the fighting and fumbling she did earlier. ”It’s just like Boss Baby said, you're a natural Miseria slayer.” She giggled. "You were amazing out there! You were nowhere to be seen and then suddenly brarararararararara-pa-paka-pow-braaaa-paka-pow-pow-pow!” She did her best to impersonate her gun blowing her targets apart. Her eyes drifted up and down the girl’s body. She was silent as she took every part of the neon girl in. "Sorry, I just…Haven’t seen you up close yet.” She returned her eyes to Nyxia’s. "As devastating and relentless as your beams are, it's you yourself that leaves me in awe.” She placed her hands over her chest. "Your skin reminds me of a grape, and your hair is like a deep forest. You’re forbidden fruit: as dangerous as you are alluring.” She swooned once her poem concluded.

"This is your special reward, so pick someplace you’d like to eat. But I’d like to offer my place as a possible choice.” Suki placed her hands on her hips. "I’ve been practicing a few recipes, and I’m pretty sure I could make something that’ll blow your socks off! Also, you don’t have to worry about a bunch of dudebros gawking at us from a table over. It’ll be just us and my fantastic food. A true girl’s night out!” She pointed at the sky as she said this.

_{"It should also be cheaper than eating out.”} She grunted out of the side of her mouth to Willow.

"But!” She looked back ahead at Nyxia. "I’m sure wherever you want to eat, we’ll have a lot of fun!” She turned her head to look at Roche. The wistful look in her eyes immediately vanished. "Hey Bedshaker. Ready to eat already?”

Shatterscape's throat squeezed ever tighter as she rampaged through the city. Caring not about pedestrians, cars, buildings or anything else that came between her and her partner, she turned them aside with her massive gauntlets, ripping through the obstacles as one might rip apart a piece of paper. Screams rung through the night, hushed whispers talking about an evil spirit with baleful, red eyes that wanted naught but to wreck havoc upon the living until daylight eventually banished with; idle talk that most other towns would dismiss. However, in this cursed town of Hibusa, they gained very real substance.

Then Shatterscape came within reach of her body, giving rise to a new urban legend where a young woman hurried through the night to find her lover, only to collapse as she could no longer take the strain. But the dark magical girl discarded that too. She gave no spare glance to the medics who tried to stabilise her body; in fact, the glare she gave them would have shredded their wills had they not been controlled by Kiyo. She all but ripped herself out of her restraints, the IV, the bandages in process of being put on her, opening up her wounds. They bled red pain that pounded through her whole being, serrated knives digging into her flesh. And yet, this body - it could be replaced in twelve days. But Evil Eye could never be.

Hotaru emerged from Shatterscape, embracing her partner.

"You are all right..." Moments before, her gauntlets endangered countless lives. Now, they held between them someone precious and dear, squeezing Kiyo while her body worked on fixing itself. Now that her magic was actually housed directly in it, wounds became lesser by the moment and the medics could cease their work to return tending to the townsfolk. Not that Hotaru cared. For now, she relished the feeling of a warm body in her arms, the presence of her trusted partner, mixed with the ashen feeling of failure on her lips. She had not protected Kiyo well enough.

"You are all right." The gauntlets squeezed tighter. They were probably a little painful for Evil Eye now, but Hotaru had to hug her - she had to remind herself that she was still there. The light girls have not taken away Kiyo from her.

@Emeth

---

"Perish the thought. We're not paying for it, after all." Roche replied to her still acerbic partner, finding the vulgarity lacked the heat of mania it had when the night began. Expecting Nyxia to drop it entirely was simply asking too much, but as Dark Magical Girls they had plenty of time to work on it as a club.

Steadily the Detention Club returned and Roche found herself smiling as Red climbed atop the lamp post, ever the creature of habit. Gossip and rancor preceded Suki and Tsubomi making their way down the sidewalk, their talk of ships as amusing as it was exasperating. The feeling of community washed over Roche and she exhaled, a flutter in her chest as things settled into place.

Her brow twitched as she heard the latest perversion of her title and Roche leveled a glare at the perverse Magical Girl as reality reminded her it had ample annoyances to offer.

"As nice an offer as that is, we wouldn't expect you to cook for all of us, let alone having enough time before sunrise. Hey Nyxia, how about we go to the barbecue place you mentioned to me earlier?"

With her hands stuffed into her wind breaker's pockets she texted her partner an address of a nearby place she recalled be of hearty fair. Of course she had everyone's numbers, being the code keeper required knowing the contact information of her fellow members in case they went missing on a patrol. While Miseria weren't a threat in small numbers, they operated in pairs for a reason.

"Yeah, Suki, I'm ready to go. All the time, actually. Need your bed shaken up after the meal?" She fired back, putting an exaggerated sway in her step as she turned to began the walk to their hopeful dining destination. "Don't go looking to climb a mountain if you aren't prepared to be crushed beneath it."

@Lonewolf685@BrokenPromise

Nyxia watched as Rei and the other club members began to return, with their green-haired leader noting that Nyxia and Earthshaker would be deciding where they would eat. This was a bit of a problem, as The Neon Tempest had never eaten out a single time in her life, the exceedingly poor health of her mundane form precluding such things. Thus it came as something of a pleasant surprise when one of the other girls offered to cook dinner for them. But not before engaging in some pretty extensive flirting.

Nyxia was honestly taken aback by this. No one had ever flirted with her before, or even praised her (with the sole exception of her brother). To have this girl she had only just met shower her with wildly over the top complements, while blatantly ogling her body, left The Neon Tempest unsure of what to think. Was this girl simply being sarcastic? Was she just teasing her, as so many others had done? Or was she actually being entirely genuine? Not only that, but Nyxia had never really given much thought to romantic relationships of any kind, so she was seriously out of her depth in such a situation. Still, that wasn’t to say she wasn’t open to trying something new, especially in her current uninhibited form.

“Thanks,” Nyxia replied with a smirk, while flipping her hair back in dramatic fashion. “I’m glad to see someone appreciates what I have to offer this little club! Nice poem, by the way,” she added. “Did you just think that up on the spot?”

When talk shifted back to possible venues for the evening’s meal, Nyxia couldn’t help but giggle at the overly dramatic way this pink-haired girl talked up the idea of eating at her place, to say nothing of the snarky jab she gave to Earthshaker. Yes, The Neon Tempest reflected, she was really starting to like this girl already. For her part, Roche was clearly less than impressed by the girl and her offer, going so far as to suggest a barbecue place Nyxia herself had supposedly mentioned, evoking a frown from the Neon Tempest.

Obviously, Nyxia had done no such thing, and while the thought of eating barbecue for the first time without her mundane self’s sensitive stomach getting in the way was an appealing one, she wasn’t too big a fan of someone lying about her. “Actually, I don’t recall mentioning that at all,” The Neon Tempest replied pointedly, while giving Roche a withering glare. “But it does sound rather enticing…” she mused. “Then again, so does the idea of putting my new admirer’s claims to the test… Decisions, decisions… Oh! I know!” she exclaimed with a sadistic grin. “Why don’t the two of you fight for it?!” Nyxia suggested, her eyes alight with gleeful anticipation.

---

Acid Drop wore a smile, because nothing else would work in the moment, as she listened to her partner's most recent shipping fantasies. It was always a new set of reasonings. Maybe if she cared about romance, she'd pay more attention, but as it was, she only did the minimum. It was only when Suki mentioned the arcade game that she started really listening again. Maybe they could beat it, it would certainly be something to look into someday, if only to get in what little practice with aiming that the game could give.

But then they arrived at the meeting place, and the instant Suki walked away, the light in Acid Drop's eyes died, leaving her with a rather blank expression. She wasn't emotionless, in any sense of the word, but she had used up enough effort being interested in things for the day. Plus, the shock from nearly being crushed earlier was taking its toll and making her even more tired, and by extension bored, than usual. The "tension" between Suki and Roche might have interested her otherwise. Then the new girl had to go and ask them to fight for where they'd eat. Wasn't it supposed to be her decision? Did fighting for where to eat fall under that clause? Tsubomi allowed herself to turn back to her mundane form and hunch slightly to her normal stature, ready to eat where the three eventually decided on.

At least she didn't have to pretend to be normal in her "normal" form.

The forest grew silent as not just Oros but Homura finally left the safety of their leafy embrace, the new magical girl was shaken and her form dissipated as she roamed the streets of Hibusa town, she held her arms close to comfort herself as the cold night air did nothing to offer a moment of peace. She wasn't rushed, nor did she plan on going anywhere in particular as she allowed the roads to carry her to a destination of their choosing.

Every corner she turned. every step she took, she was terrified that a magical girl would pop out and harm her. She had no quarrel with either group, no place in their violent affairs so why was she attacked? She'd even apologised for blindly shooting her arrow and almost hitting Rei! She thought in the few months she'd lived here that she'd have some sort of understanding of the town and it's magical girl culture, but nothing came to mind.

Each passing vehicle could be the same one that pursued her earlier, each headlight an opportunity to be spotted. She no longer felt that warmth that her fire had always brought her as the still air gripped her instead. She felt naked and alone, with nothing to comfort her besides the far-off neon signs of an old arcade, a relic of a building still harbouring ancient technology and prizes of wonder.

It didn't take long for her to decide to step inside, the automatic door slid out of her way and the warm, bright building offered her a place of solace. She was finally somewhere her weary mind could rest, but her wallet could yet not.

Homura perused the aisles of ancient arcade machines, claw machines and coin pushers until her eyes landed on a particular box, one containing a teddy bear, a pink heart stitched between it's arms. Slowly, she approached with curiosity gripping her as paternal instinct kicked in. This cute little thing had nobody to love, nobody to share that love with. She would make sure to change that. Her coin purse opened with a struggle, as if attempting to change the mind of the naïve girl, but her hands continued to work as she finally managed to pull out a 100 yen coin. The machine readily accepted her offering and whirred to life.

"Don't worry little guy," Homura said to the inanimate stuffed toy, "I'll get you out of there." The claw accepted her input and moved mechanically, contrasting to the gentle movements of the girl behind the controls. She worked to position the claw perfectly above the bear, no millimetre off the precise location the claw needed to be and so her index shyly touched the button to lower the claw.

It shook as it descended, all of her preparation wasted in just a single wire that was all too loose. Sweat dripped from her forehead as the claw lowered itself further and further until it met the body of the teddy bear. Each finger wrapped around it's soft, fluffy form and gripped it as tight as the thin rods could. They did their best to hold the bear still, ascending with it in their grip. Homura breathed a sigh of relief, but far too early. One claw slid out from under the stuffed toy, then another. As if an action star, the bear plummeted toward the floor of the crane, entirely in slow motion.

Homura's hand reached for the glass and her face contorted into one of despair. Her knees gave in from under her and as the bear hit the floor of it's unrelenting cage, Homura fell to the ground. Her hand still rested upon the metal carcass of the machine, she promised to save the bear, and yet failed in her task. She sat there in silence, grieving the loss of one that needed her help the most. "I'm so sorry."

"Bit of an overreaction, dontcha think?"

From the gloom of the arcade stepped forth a girl that could only be described as battered. Dark bruises showed up even against her dark skin, as strands of black hair clung limply against a sweat-slicked face. Her eyes, an uncommon blue amongst the citizenry of Japan, were heavily bagged with sleep deprivation, while the steps she took were slow, deliberate. Perhaps to hide a sprain or a limp. Though she looked similar in age to Homura herself, the difference in their chosen attire couldn't be any more different.

Homura dressed for appearances. This blue-eyed strange, cradling unnamed injuries though? She dressed for the outdoors. Zip-off cargo pants and mud-stained sneakers for her bottom; a rainproof jacket zipped all the way up for her top. The smell of dirt and sawdust accompanied the faint undertone of dried blood, and perhaps it was only her youthfulness that made her appear harmless despite such a exterior.

Strange shadows were cast upon her face as the fluorescence of the claw machine illuminated her, and she placed a closed fist against the plastic border separating girl from bear.

"Which one?"

_{@The World@Ponn@Lonewolf685}

"Y-you liked it? I mean! I’m glad you liked it!” Suki was absolutely beaming after Nyxia’s feedback. "I did get a glimpse of you earlier. But I wasn’t really thinking about poems after that. You sort of just became my muse and coaxed those words out of me with your-” She was cut off when Rosche tried to dismiss her offer, but she only laughed. "It doesn’t take that long to cook. I live in a group home and most of the meal prep is done already. I bet in twenty minutes…” But she trailed off when Rosche wanted to go to a BBQ instead, even going as far as walking in that direction. But not before turning Suki’s question into an innuendo. She raised an eyebrow. "I was just commenting on how you aren’t transformed anymore. I figured you were eager to start eating.” Contrary to popular belief, Suki rarely used innuendos intentionally, especially to communicate affection. When she did, she was at least classy about it. There was nothing quite as cringe as someone who couldn’t go two seconds without talking about sex. Suki might have been an ugly loser, but that didn’t mean she had to act like one.

Nyxia mentioned that she hadn’t actually agreed to go anywhere, and proposed that they fought for it. "Fight for it?!” It was an absurd idea, to fight amongst each other. But there were a few factors that needed to be considered. Firstly, Suki was one of the few dark magical girls present that could beat someone without harming them. That should have made the idea of engaging in a fight a bit more palatable to her. Secondly, the Rei angle probably wasn’t going to work. Willow was her partner, she spoke with Mercurial like an equal, and Rosche was her faithful rule keeper. Suki was fooling herself if she thought she could be anything more than a passing consideration for their brooding leader. The last thing to consider was that Nyxia was new blood. You can only have one first impression, and you need to make it count. Nobody wanted to be a simp, but if Suki backed out now, Roche’s brash behavior towards her would be reinforced. She’d think she could continue to get away with talking down to her like she was some pebble at the foot of Earth “the mountain” Shaker. All of those factors would have made it abundantly clear that attacking Rosche was the right thing to do. But truth be told, Suki hadn’t considered any of them. Maybe she subconsciously acknowledged them, but there was something much more glaring that Suki could observe.

Roche wasn’t transformed.

She tossed her frog captive to Tsubomi before charging. The leader of the track team was fast, but not as fast as a blood soaked lust demon. Not that Rosche was all that far just by cooly walking away from everyone. The frog was still ascending into its arch when Suki shoved her hand down Rosche’s undershirt. But not to cop a feel.

*Snap*

A broken string waved in the wind. The obsidian tear glinted between Suki’s fingers before they coiled around it. Unless you almost never transformed like Rei, it was only a matter of time before your dark sisters learned of your emblem. Ideally, your own would never betray you at your most vulnerable. But as Roche understood, everyone needed to be brought under control sometime. Suki’s other arm hooked around the small of Roche’s back. Her tentacles closed in. The frog started to fall.

Roche could have fought back, but would it have accomplished? Even if she could bruise or cut Suki, harm only made her stronger. Suki’s own emblem was sandwiched between their hips, and her hold on Roche ensured it would stay that way. But her desire to fight back was being ebbed away the longer they were together. Determination softened by a geas. A tentacle coiled around Roche's mouth. The other restrained one of her arms. Roche could feel Suki’s breath rolling off her neck as she leaned in.

A spectator might mistaken the display for a vampire feeding on its prey, but it didn’t feel like it. Suki’s geas affected everyone differently, but Rosche would feel the curse accelerate through contact with her neck. Her emotions would feel like they were changing. Rage became excitement. Humiliation became protected. Betrayed became loved. As Roche’s desire to resist weakened, Suki’s positioning changed. She wrapped both of her arms around Roche’s waist. Her tentacle slipped off of Roche’s mouth and coiled around her neck. Another took hold of her zipper and pulled until her windbreaker opened all the way. But Rosche wasn’t being restrained, she was being cuddled. She wasn’t being exposed, she was being shown off.

The frog came to rest in Tsubomi’s hands.

”You’re not a mountain anymore!” Suki lifted her head. ”Mountains are hard on the inside. My passion has turned all that stone into magma, and now it’s coming out of your every orifice!” She sighed. ”I did that for you, by the way. You and Eyeball seem to really like word play like that. Must be a chuuni thing. It’s too bad you’re not a volcano normally. I like this version of you.” Something that Tsubomi could verify. The only other person Suki never shipped herself with was Rosche. ”I apologize for jumping you like this, but I really wanna cook for everyone. Let’s just call it payback for all the stuff you used to do to me when I was new to the club, it can be water under the bridge now...Maybe.” Her tentacle released Roche’s neck to start tracing out her collar bones. ”Do you still want the guys at that barbecue place to fill you with their meat, or are you woman enough to try the Suki special?” She blinked. ”The barbecue thing was a play on words, I do have a meal I’ve been working on.”

---

While Shatterscape desperately tore through the town in search of Evil Eye, Kiyo switched through the perspectives of her Mogalls the way a bored teenager scrolls through social media. Six of her comrades were exactly where she'd left them—hadn't they all received the order to give chase to the new light girl? She groaned in mild distaste at their lack of drive, and continued searching. Oros was many things, but perhaps "persistent" described her best; she and her partner were traveling together, returning home empty-handed, but what could be expected given how quickly Rei called them off? The other girls were scattered about like the disgusting rays of sunshine they were; only Nonsuch was nowhere to be found, having disappeared just like herself. "How slippery!" She snickered as she kept searching, to no avail. Then, her eyes widened madly as one of her Mogalls settled upon an unsettling image: Shuuko's motionless body. She froze.

Suddenly, a pair of giant metal hands filled the ambulance, knocking Shuuko's erstwhile caretakers to the ground as medical equipment scattered noisily around them. Evil Eye was just about to dismiss the transmission from her servant to turn her attention to this new unidentified threat when she felt the cold embrace of steel against her back, and the warmth of fresh blood against her chest. Her look of mild shock dissolved into a familiar, gentle smile. Her eternally demented gaze may have even softened a bit. "You're the only one who came," she observed, matter-of-factly as she caressed Shuuko's cheek with a damp towel. Where others may have scolded or belittled the girl, blaming her for their collective failures, or shushed her with sweet nothings to quell the storm of emotions stirring in her heart, Evil Eye did neither—she spoke a plain Truth that carried more weight than any hurtful or comforting lie ever could.

"I'm here, Sister," she whispered soothingly, simply letting Hotaru's emotions settle where they may.

---

Roche had thought to give Nyxia an out and not look like someone who had just admitted to her she had no social life, but the bombast of the Laser Queen was not dampened in the slightest and turned it around on her. The track star would have sighed at finding herself made to look the villain and wondered why she took on this role from Rei if it only alienated her from people she should be more sociable with. She paused in her steps, about to turn and reply when the smell of blood washed over her and she staggered under the force of Oros the Joyfull's attack.

A tendril, wet and rubbery, smothered the scream of primal terror at the violation of hands running across toned skin, skirting under her shirt and skipping over her sports bra. Then came a rush of cold that shook her bone deep as her emblem was taken. Just like that Oros had gone too far, but while a transformed Magical Girl would still have some power left, she'd have no means of transforming at all and it showed as she couldn't budge the other Dark Girl.

Already she could feel her control slipping, the anger and disgust bleeding away like mud under the spout of a warm shower. The insidious allure was impossible to resist because it was simply so much easier to go with that current, pulled into bliss as Oros held her close.

But Roche was the Rule Keeper, not some Light Girl blindsided by someone they'd never have known or expected to be attacked from. And with the constant stream of lurid topics and desires that Suki spilled to them, it hadn't taken long Roche to conceive a means of working with her influence.

The tanned beauty with her jacket open tittered, a soft, airy exhalation as she nuzzled the tendril now running across her color bone and leaned into the chest of the Magical Girl who was making the mountain crumble.

Said mountain then clamped both hands over Suki's rear, the smack ringing down the street as her nails dug covetously, every muscle clenching to claim more of that succulent rump and pull her into a searing kiss. The magma that Suki had so readily stirred was erupting as Roche plunged into the compulsion, caring nothing for the audience as her tongue twined with her paramours and drank greedily of that copper tasting well.

Suki had wished for an exhibitionist and she had gotten one of a more aggressive variety than she had expected, with Roche sliding her knee forward to split Oros' own and draw her along the bare thigh. The kiss would end with a bridge of saliva still connecting them and a sharp bite to Suki's lip as Roche's eyes burned with passion.

"There's not enough of you here to share with the others when I'm done with you, Suki-Chan~" She purred the word, nails clenching in a white knuckled grasp of the maiden's rear, "But let's still go so I can see how comfy your futon is~"