Justine might have been satisfied, but Alexander's paranoia was far greater than his impatience 'Yeah, I'm not convinced, but how to...ah, that might work.' Looking over the Lightning Stone, he spoke up "That one actually looks useful. I'm always forgetting to charge my phone at night. So how does it work? Do you just hold the stone by appliance or what? Wait, would the phone just use power from the stone, or would the stone refill the phone's battery? And is the stone itself rechargeable?" at one bronze coin, it was about as cheap as something could get, so he wasn't burning too big a hole in his wallet.

@DarkwolfX37

While Aria was initially pleased at everyone’s excitement, that went away as soon as they started assuming she was going. ”I wasn’t going to go. I figured if Summer went with the lot of you, we could relay information with our divining powers. But if she’s staying, I can go along.” It would give her more time to examine Makoto’s tail, at least. ”Don’t expect much out of me. I’d rather not show up near a Mint operation site. I'll look out while the rest of you search for clues.” She approached the TV. ”As for how you get there, do what pleases you. I prioritize efficiency, as such… Aria stepped through the TV and into the relic detonation site. ”Eh, even this is too close.” She walked away from the aria and out frame for the TV.

But someone else was still in frame.



The anti-cradle relic site was nothing more than an open road with a crater in the center of it. A very deep, very large crater that might have been made by an explosive. But an explosion would have cast the rubble somewhere. It would have rained dirt and stones all over the place, and the ground would have been deformed by the blast. But the dirt here had vanished. Not unlike that time SOMEONE decided to overcity shift most of a cathedral. Sitting in the center of the cradle was Wisdom, legs folded in a meditative position. She had the tip of her thumb in her mouth as her other held a katana. The blade was just far enough out of its sheath for her to see a reflection.

”Hmmm.”

---

It didn’t matter who created the portal. At the first sign of one showing up, Binky and Aurora would rush inside. Once the others arived, the talks continued.

”Alright, we’ve moved.” Binky dusted themselves off. ”What’s left to talk about? I’ll have to get back in touch with Maura, but I’m sure she’d be up for helping with this.”

"I’m sure it’ll be good news from Mint once Chloe returns. For as much time as she spends away from the place, she gets awfully mad when she returns and it’s somehow in worse shape." Aurora nodded at her own comment. "But taking out those eggs should set back their forces quite a bit. But Wonderland will attack again if we can’t do something about their main force. They may seem insurmountable, but there has to be a reason why they’re waiting to attack Penrose. It’s almost like they need the eggs to get the nexus."

Binky held her chin. ”I wonder if Beacon’s ‘death laser’ could be used to take out key targets.”

---

@Archangel89

After teleporting away, Chloe checked her messages. She didn’t communicate with Mint much for obvious reasons, but she did occasionally receive messages from other parties. The first message was not a number she recognized, but she knew what it was in reference to. She exhaled and promptly deleted the message. That was one problem she could put off till later.

A problem that couldn’t be put off until later was Penny, or “Queen Asimov The Builder” as she so modestly named herself. With none of the others around, Chloe could let her mask slip. She allowed herself to scowl before typing up a reply.

How about instead of wasting more time you tell us what you really

Chloe froze in place. Her annoyance evaporated into a cloud of surprise.

"It’s the only thing that makes sense.“

She didn’t respond, she didn’t delete the message.

…

Oh! She was in Al’s presence, wasn’t she?

Chloe looked at the “girl” that Al had introduced. "Warren James?“ She raised an eyebrow. "Well Al, you did it. You found a girl I’ll have no difficulty keeping my hands off of. I don’t think you have to worry about me taking this one anywhere.“ Warren felt something when the two of them locked eyes. This Chloe girl might have been a junior coin broker, but she was also serving a horror. They couldn’t quite detect a bane, but whatever it was, it was the antithesis of life.

"But yes, I can chat with them a bit later. For now, the deal.“ Chloe placed a rolled up page on Al’s desk before folding her arms. "It’s not exactly good, but you should be happy it happened at all. The fact that we got anyone to agree to it is a miracle.“ With a “hmph,” Chloe looked away. "We can’t do research on Penrose's magical artifacts. They want to give us less territory and gradually expand it so long as we play nice. Kayli wants anyone who’s become corrupted to have the choice to see her and get that fixed. And of course, they want the violence to stop. So no killing, torturing, or anything like that inside Penrose.“ Chloe sighed. "It’s not ideal, but this could work out well for us in the long term. But the interesting part is that Alicia said that Beacon would sign. Who knows what this could mean in the long run?“ She sighed through her teeth. "But the real interesting development happened as soon as I got here. Our budding queen has been rather combative towards the idea of everyone working together. She’s made it apparent she’d rather try to fight wonderland without our help. I understand the sentiment. She has her own spaceship that she can just fly away on whenever she pleases. Sanctuary is Penrose to her. But it becomes a bit more chilling when you take her recent message to me into consideration. Try to see past what she’s asking for, because that’s not why I’m sharing this.“

If you bring me, signed and notarized paperwork stating and confirming the nullification of all Debt for Everyone living withing Sanctuary’s boundaries for the past three weeks, up to and including today.

I’ll be willing to come to the negotiating table in regards to Contract terms for Mint presence in Penrose.

This annulment is not, and will not, be considered as part of the contract at large if you choose to comply. It is simply for you and Al to prove your good will.

I will give you three days to make a decision.

Queen Asimov The Builder.

After Warren and Al had a moment to look at it, Chloe picked up her phone and threw it into an interdimensional door. It faded away seconds later.

"I forgot she had my phone number.“ She was pretty sure Penny hadn’t hacked her phone, but why take a chance? "So yes, she’s giving us three days. Isn’t that a funny time frame?“ Chloe placed her hands on her hips. "How does she know when Wonderland is going to attack? She was practically begging me to give up that information but it seems like she had it the entire time! Is she working for them?!“

Penny would nod her consent to the Interdimensional home. She’d been there once before after all so she knew what to expect of the place. Still, she didn’t waste any time. The moment to way in was closed she would start talking.

“I still have information to give” Penny would state as she pointedly met everyone’s gaze, or at least everyone but Aurora. As Penny did so, the person she was looking at would feel their phone vibrate. “I wasn’t wanting to hand out this information out in the open, partly because I was already thinking like Mariette was before she showed up, mainly because I don’t trust the Mint worth a damn. But back at Bolorton I caught a POW. They were the one in charge of the sleep spell put onto the city and were a part of the inner court of Wonderland.”

Upon checking their phones they would find a bleak report. A rough approximation of Wonderland’s military might, showing that they were out numbered at minimum five to one. In addition to the fact that the conjuration eggs were being mass manufactured.

There was a whole division of R&D at Wonderland producing more advanced weapons as well, with rumors of a superweapon in at least the prototyping stage. All under the auspice of ‘The Mad Hatter’.
But there was some potential for use and good as well. A rough map of Wonderland was included, along with various notes. Such as the factory that the Eggs were being made at, though it was unfortunately one of a potential three places rather than an exact location. And a hidden route into the Castle proper, somewhere on the west side of the building. Plus, a list of the all people in the Queen’s court. Their names, titles and, pictures.

“Furthermore, projections seem to indicate we have at most a week before their next attack, but I can’t narrow down where they are planning on deploying the eggs.” Penny would go onto state, after people had had a chance to look over some of the data she shared, folding her arms as she did. “So, whatever plans we have are either going to need to happen fast, or be put on hold until after the next assault.”

“On that Sanctuary is open for support, but outside of myself and perhaps one or two others, we are unable to provide much combat assistance. As most of the girls living there are non-combatants. Triage and shelter is all we really have to offer other then scouting and a information network.” She would add “Other then simple man power for anything that we might need to build that is.”

“So we need to decide if we want to go forward with the Fake city plan now, or if we just want to evac everyone and build the fake city for when the full invasion hits. If the former we need to set up who is doing what, if the later we need to determine where we are putting everyone.”

With Connie offering a location and Mariette seemingly okay with it, the move was made with all due alacrity. Alicia wasn’t too worried about being spied upon in the immediate moment, but she went along with the crowd and their own worries. Mariette was the most paranoid one here, so if she was okay with the location then Alicia saw no reason to object.

Finding a place to seat, she listened as the conversation resumed. Her gaze was quick to focus on Binky with the proposal she floated, causing the Paladin Seraph to shake her head. “Assume the laser is off the table,” she replied firmly. To be honest she wasn’t sure if it had the accuracy they’d need for the task they were requesting, but even if it did she wasn’t confident she could get approval to use it outside of ‘last resort’ circumstances.

That was when things got really interesting, as Penny revealed she had captured a prisoner during the attack. It sounded like she had had a lot more success than the rest of them, and had a plethora of information to provide for their efforts. “Thank you Penny. This is definitely helpful.”

Then it was back to the ‘fake city’ plan or whatever. Alicia still favored a firm offense, but she knew she was in the minority there. With locations and names they could throw a serious wrench into Wonderland’s operations, so she would need to see what she could do on her own. She didn’t have much to add in terms of the other plan, so she would let the others hash things out and chime in if more was asked of her.

To Pentius-04’s amazement, no one seemed to react to MDP’s enthusiastic mention of Doctor Nykannis, causing the bodyguard to breathe a sigh of relief. Discussion instead moved to the possibility of a change in meeting venue, culminating in Connie offering to host everyone in her expanded interdimensional home. Being such an innocuous presence, despite her forbidding specialization, everyone agreed to the masked maiden’s suggestion, and, soon enough, 04 found herself rushing to keep up with Lily as the excitable greenette ran through the home’s newly opened entryway. Although she highly doubted Connie would do anything to harm Lily, or anyone else present for that matter, as the greenette’s bodyguard, 04 wasn’t about to take any chances…

---

“Oh my, what a lovely name!” the Angel told Rose with a brilliant smile after the other girl had introduced herself. Yet, what really got the heavenly beauty’s attention was what the new arrival said next…

That’s the Keeper of the Keys?! Holy shit… This must be my lucky night! I mean, it sure as hell took long enough, but better late than never…

“Oh, no,” the Angel told Rose when asked if her “friends” were also present. “The poor souls I have pledged to help are the members of a support group for inconvenient magical abilities that meets once a week at a tea shop in the Overcity,” she explained. “And their many horrific afflictions are not all the result of corruption,” she added.

And they’re not my friends… Shit, I wouldn’t wanna even be seen in public with those losers…

“For instance,” she continued. “One tragic case involves an unfortunate maiden whose magic is so strong, it causes a raincloud to remain over her head, even in her mundane form! Is that not unspeakably awful?!”

Yeah, right up there with breaking a nail…

The streets of Penrose were nothing like going through the neighborhoods he grew up in. The vibrancy was missed as the people seemed skittish just to be out and about. Although he could hardly blame them with the veil being thinner here if he wasn’t a Mahou then he might just keep a hand on his piece himself. Looking over his shades as he turned the corner and followed the overly complicated instructions and tedious rituals to make his way to his new bosses lair, Warren couldn’t help but ponder about his current ”situation”. As he sat down at Al’s table and made himself comfortable with the drink that was given to him, he looked down at his ”assets” and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. It was one thing to be a chick, but a well-endowed chick who’s fourteen years younger than he used to be was just icing on the cake.

”Yeh, my last boss got consolidated and had to cut a lot of ties. Guess its lucky that he found a place here.”

Taking out a cigarette and lighting it with a slow drag, Warren listened as Al laid out his plans and assignments for him. This Chloe seemed to be a major concern for Al, yes he was giving her the chance to step into a new role but in this line it pays to have someone under your thumb. He was going to have to be creative in how he tailed this broad,

” I’ve heard of all these different factions that you have running around here, I’ll start with gathering intel with some of these disbanded groups. I’ve seen it too many times that these people that were supposed to be done come back with a vengeance. I’ll get you an overall idea of what’s going on.”

As if on cue, Warren turned his head to see the two girls that teleported in with one that stayed being introduced as the Chole that he was supposed to tail. The minute the two Mahou locked eyes Warren felt a presence creep into the back of his thoughts, like a whisper that was just on the edge of being heard and unheard all at once. A warning of meeting a kindred soul burned with the same knowledge of unspeakable horror. As a eerily cheeky grin slipped its way across his face, a sheen of dark crimson gleamed across Warren’s eyes for just a moment before reverting back to their normal cold grey.

”Heh, don’t worry princess, you aint my type neither. You seem to be lack in both the top and the bottom for me. Not enough to hold onto.”

As Chole gave her intel over whatever had transpired prior to his arrival Warren couldn’t help but catch glimpses of her rattling off info to Al. That creeping whisper grew louder and louder as long as he was in her presence and as they spoke amongst themselves the whisper told him that there were others with the same knowledge in the area. He couldn’t pinpoint them but he knew that there were other eldritch-blessed beings near them. Those were avenues that he could pursue to get information on. He had also heard rumors and talk in New York about the Mahou here having other coins that offered other possibilities for power so tracking down those Coins might be a worthwhile thing to investigate as well. As his musing continued, Warren realized that the meeting had come to an end and he left following behind Chole, after all, she was his new boss and he needed to stick close to her.

‘I’m fine with relocating to Connie’s Interdimensional Home. Since the one who I know is capable of breaking into it is invited, anyway,’ Mariette said, referring to Sonia. Though, the whole thing about “the one who opens a gate first” was silly, the only one who could open the way to Connie’s home from here was Connie. So with that in mind, Mariette turned and nodded to Connie. I’ll refrain from writing Mariette’s reaction to the place until she’s described it.

Meanwhile, there was MDP announcing that there was a person named Nykannis that could help them. Hearing that name, Ronin froze up a bit, while Miko continues.

‘How could she help us? Would she help us?’ Miko asked.

‘Wait, hold on. I know who that is.’ Ronin said, eyebrows raised at MDP. ‘She’s a self-proclaimed “queen of mad scientists” who once tried to turn me and Sakura into bloody paste with an army of killer robots because she wanted to run tests on a magic rock our friend had. Definitely not someone I would trust my back to, and I have a hard time imagining her helping us out in any capacity… But, er, how do you know her, MDP?’ Ronin asked, because it definitely didn’t sound like they were describing the same person.

Miko’s eyes widened a bit in realization, because Ronin definitely told Miko about that specific event in the past.

Later, when they arrived there was some more talk and Penny sent them a treasure trove of information. Mariette frowned as she gazed upon it, and then spoke.

‘If you’d like to do a precise strike, I can help. I’ve been in Wonderland before, I know the places on this map and can break the boundaries between worlds. If we’re going to strike at the various egg-locations, I can bring us there as well. Or if we want me to somehow try to negotiate with the Queen, serve as a distraction… I can do that, too. I am her daughter, according to her, after all.’ May as well try to use that to our advantage.

‘I prefer offense to defense. We could strike before they’re ready. But, before we talk about evacuation…’ Now Mariette probably breaks Pentius-04’s heart by turning to MDP. ‘You said this “Nykannis” could help secure the safety of the townspeople if it ends up being an attack. Can you confirm this and go ask this individual of this immediately? Will they require anything in turn?’ she really just wanted to put that part behind her as soon as possible.

‘Anyway. Let’s attack them first, strike their weak points and cripple their forces instead of fighting them on their terms. That’s what I say,’ Mariette said, no-nonsense.

Penrose was a city that never slept and neither did the monsters that prowled in it, meaning that even when the big players were making their moves, a lot of monsters simply didn't care to wait their turn, or maybe even used it as an opportunity. But Emily was vigilant, especially now that most of Penrose had returned.

Besides that, she would find herself occasionally joining Jonald and his pomegranate-hating 'friend', Laughable-Laura, as they continued their investigation into the whereabouts of the monster that took the lives of the people they loved. But she was no detective and felt rather useless most of the time, with the two others doing their own thing more often than not.

Today was just like many others had been since the party, with her finishing a job against a forgettable monster or two and now heading home. Jonald had left by this point, and Hilaria had not mentioned stopping by her apartment today, so there was no need to rush home. So Emily didn't. She decided to walk, but maybe that wasn't for the best.

Jonald had been assuring her that it was only a matter of time before they could take revenge, but Emily's mind wasn't really on vengeance. It was this weight that sat on her chest that grew heavier each day, ever since that Christmas party.

She had lost two friends that day. Tragically, Samantha had seemingly passed away due to her injuries during the intense Keijo match with Penny. And while that was heartbreaking, while it did cause her grief, it sadly didn't compare to the pain she felt when thinking about Sakura, whom she felt responsible for.

Oh, Sakura... I am so sorry...

How many times had she apologized by now? She felt like a broken record by this point. Each time she thought of the girl, guilt ate at her and she couldn't help it. What else could she do, now?

Needless to say, Emily's flame had begun to dim lately. She could not justify bothering her other friends, like Connie, when she was so disgusted with how she treated Sakura. She wasn't sure she deserved friends if she was going to treat them so poorly over a misunderstanding.

She couldn't even apologize. Sakura was gone. And by the time she came back in about a decade, she would probably hate Emily for not even having the decency to be there as her guardian. For failing her. After all, that's what happened last time she waited for someone. It would be no different now. As long as she kept failing her friends when they needed her, it would always be like that.

But by chance, Emily was brought back to more tangible concerns when she noticed something falling from the sky out of the corner of her eye. "Is that a tombstone?" It was a lot bigger than necessary, but yeah that was. As it neared the ground, it disappeared from view behind buildings separating Emily from where it was going to land. Figuring this could be a fight between magical girls, and naturally wanting to break it up, Emily rushed to the scene.

What she was met with was confusion. No tombstone was anywhere to be seen and nobody was there. It was a vacant street on Penrose, as far as looks were concerned. No, something was off...

And as she thought that, she saw a blurred streak of crimson dart down a nearby alleyway. "Hey, wait up!" Emily cried out, boosting her way over as quickly as she could, reaching it a few seconds after losing track of the person.

When she turned down the alley, she became aware of just how dark it was compared to the street, but even still, she could make out the silhouette of a dark figure in the back of it. She hurriedly entered the alleyway, attempting to grab its attention. "S-sorry if I startled you, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay! I saw this gia-" as Emily took a step, a chill ran down her spine as she noticed there was no heat coming from the figure and she realized that whatever that meant, it probably wasn't good.

Confirming her suspicions was the sudden pain in her back as she was grabbed and slammed against the wall, having been ambushed from behind, despite her not seeing anywhere to hide. But how they got behind Emily wasn't as important as what they were going to do. Emily assumed the worst as she felt something press against her neck, and attempted to bring her gauntlets up in defense, only to notice just how familiar the two red orbs she was now looking into were. "S-Sam, is that you?"

The figure who until now had been strongly pressing Emily into the wall of the alley, and an object into her neck, let up a little bit in response, and the intense shine of her eyes seemed to lessen within seconds. "Sam?" she... questioned. "Yes. You're right, that's right. And you're... Emily?" her eyes widen a smidge as she recognizes the girl. And then a second or two later, she realized she still had something pressed to Emily's throat and backed away, giving her a bit of space.

"Oh!..." Emily sniffled, before breaking out into tears. "I thought you were dead!" Wasting no time getting rid of that space Sam gave her, she gave the assassin a strong hug, which Sam reluctantly accepted. "What happened to you?" she asked between joyous sobs. Pulling away due to a discomfort in her side, Emily realized she just impaled herself on whatever Sam was holding... or would have, if it was sharp. "*sniffle* and what is that...?"

"Dead... no, not quite," she answered. "Closer than I'd like over a stupid game though..." she bit her lip in frustration as Emily brought up what was poking her. It wasn't her knife, obviously, but instead, it was the canister that Bonnie had left her. "Oh, this? It's..." Sam seemed to struggle to come up with an explanation. In fact, she seemed a lot less... 'sure' of anything at the moment, she sounded like she wasn't entirely there yet. "...a problem, I think. You don't need to worry about it."

When she could finally calm herself enough to let Samantha out of the hug, Emily took a step back and apologized for the outburst. "Um... sorry, it's just that after the party, and after what happened to Sakura, I'm just so glad to see you're okay!"

"Sakura?" she repeated, but the look on Emily's face seemingly told Sam all she needed to know. "She's...? I see... It seems I've missed more than a few things in my absence."

Emily tried to smile as best she could. "...a lot goes on in Penrose. Sometimes it feels like you can't blink without something big happening here. Were you... sleeping this whole time, then?"

"I think that's the best way to put it," she nodded. "And... I haven't been awake for too long." Sam rubbed her temples, then looked around the streets. Spotting nobody nearby, she sighed. "...Would you mind catching me up on anything important that's happened recently? Nobody is returning my calls right now."

"Um, I don't mind at all! But... well, I haven't been social recently so a lot of stuff I know is just what I've heard," she pushed her two index fingers together sheepishly.

"...I would take even gossip at this point over being left in the dark," Sam admitted, raising an eyebrow at Emily's words. "Guess I'm not an expert at it... but what is rushing into an alleyway after some stranger if not social?"

"O-oh, umm! See, there was this really big tombstone falling from the sky and I didn't get a good look at you, so I was wondering if you needed help!" she explained.

Sam shrugged. "Well, it's gone. That's all that matters. You do-"

"Sam?" Samantha seemed to suddenly pause mid-sentence, causing Emily to worry. "Hello?"

"Oh, my apologies... Just a bit of deja vu. Don't worry about it..." she glanced around the alley one final time before looking at Emily. "Mind if we move this somewhere more... pleasant?" she pinched her nose and looked at a nearby trashcan.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, we definitely can. Um, I was headed home, so do you want to stop by my place? I can make quite the mean lasagna if you're hungry."

*GROWL*
"-I."

It seemed Samantha's stomach was quicker than she was with its response. Emily could swear she saw a shade of pink cross Sam's features for a moment. "...if you're offering. I don't think I realized how terribly famished I am." she said, turn away from Emily and exiting the alleyway.

Emily stifled a happy giggle, wiping away the last remains of the happy tears she had cried earlier. "Anything I can do to help!"

Samantha's head tilted downwards, and though Emily couldn't exactly what she was looking at, she felt like it might've been that canister she was holding. As her curiosity led her to wonder what was inside, she just barely caught the end of something Samantha said quietly.

"...-lp, huh."

It was so difficult to hear Emily wasn't sure if Sam even meant to speak at all. Emily was no mind reader, even if sometimes her power of friendship could look like such. Was there something Samantha wanted to say? Well, whatever the case was, Samantha didn't look like she wanted to wait in this alley any longer once she turned around to see why Emily had quieted down.

"Oh, sorry! Yeah, lets go!"

Aria gave her explanation and disappeared through the television. Makoto looked towards Summer and asked, "Wait, you can do that?"

Summer opened her mouth a moment before closing it again, only to speak a second later. "Probably? I didn't think of doing that, but it should work for you, too.

"Like I said, I'm planning to stretch a bit, so how far away is that place? Is it within running distance?"

"Not really." The others looked at Shion after she spoke. "... What? I know this town better than you all, and it's not close enough to run to unless you want to keep Aria waiting quite a while."

"Quick way it is, I guess." Makoto took hold of Kain's upper arm and dragged him towards the TV. "So how does this work?"

Summer got up and walked over to them. She picked up the television and slammed it screen-first onto Makoto's head, the machine enveloping her until it Summer brought it to the floor. Makoto was gone, now standing in front of Wisdom. Summer repeated the process on Kain, moving quickly enough that he didn't have time to react to what happened to Makoto until he was already standing next to her at the crater.

"-n of a bitch! Warn me next time!" He heard as he looked around at his surroundings.

"I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to her magic..." After a moment's pause, he looked towards Wisdom. "Uh, hello? It's nice to meet you."

Everyone moved to Connie's dimensional home and more details were revealed. It seemed like the odds were not in their favor, especially if those eggs came into play. Under most circumstances Kayli was on the side of peace, but the Queen of Hearts posed a unique threat that could seemingly end everything. She didn't quite know what awaited her from the wish, but if nothing else she expected to gain new knowledge to aid them. "I can assist where I can with an assault to deal with the eggs. I feel like it should be our primary target if we were to go on the offensive as it sounds like our best chance at setting back Wonderland's plans." She wished she could provide more, but it seemed that others were better informed in this situation. "Unless anyone thinks I would be better used elsewhere."

---

Rose's eyes widened slightly. She didn't realize someone's magic could effect outwardly like that. She would nod anyway though. "I'm not entirely sure if the Keeper can do anything for that, but she is resourceful, so I wouldn't say it's entirely out of the question." She would pull out her phone. "You can message me on Glimmr when and where you meet. I can pass that along and let you know."

“Like, she can makey wakey a fake city witty, just like the people weple who sent that paper waper airplaney waney suggested wested~!” MDP explained in her usual cheerful and idiosyncratic manner when Miko asked additional questions. “And, like, if everybodywody asked super duper nicely wicely, then Magical Dream Princess is, like, super duper certain wertain she’d helpy welpy~! (giggle!)” she added with a playful wink. However, the whimsical girl’s bubbly demeanor quickly shattered upon hearing what Ronin had to say about her own encounter with the Monarch of Mad Science…

Indeed, it was bad enough that Ronin had fought against some of Nykannis’s creations, but infinitely worse was being asked how MDP herself knew the mad scientist. Yes, this was a problem, no doubt about it. Although the whimsical girl hated the thought of lying to her friends, at the same time, she had promised Nykannis that she wouldn’t tell anyone about all the agonizing torments that the demented doctor had inflicted upon her, and keeping her promises was very important to a girl as idealistic as MDP. Not only that, but it took every last ounce of her willpower to fight the compulsion to simply blurt out everything that had transpired between her and the Monarch of Mad Science in a torrent of hyperactive babbling. It was difficult for the childish Princess of Dreams to focus at the best of times, but even so, she did her best to formulate a course of action in which she would be entirely truthful, while also upholding the promise she’d made.

“Weeeeell…” the whimsical girl began in a somewhat bashful manner, while clasping her hands behind her back and swaying from side to side, like a child who’d been caught stealing from the cookie jar. “Magical Dream Princess kinda winda made a little wittle mistakey wakey and sorta worta bother wothred Nykannis Wannis in her Laboratory Wory placey wacey,” she explained with an embarrassed frown. “But, like, thensie wensie Magical Dream Princess apolowologiesy wiseied to her, so, like, she and Nykannis Wannis are, like, totally wotally friendy wendies nowie~! (giggle!)” she concluded with a peace sign salute and another wink. “Like, Magical Dream Princess is super duper sorry worry that Nykannis Wannis tried to do meanie weanie stuffy wuffy to you and Sakura Wakura, but, like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies that everybodywody can changy wangey, so, like, shouldn’t we give her a chancy wancy~?” MDP inquired with a small smile, while cutely tilting her head. “Also walso, Nykannis Wannis can get super duper focused wocused on thngie wingies, so, like, maybe waybe she doesn’t hate you at allsie, but just saw you as a problem woblem to be solvey wolvied~? And, like, if thatsie watsie’s the casey wasey, then, like, you can both totally wotally be friendy wendies~! (giggle!)” she cheered with a jubilant smile, jumping in the air even as small fireworks shot from her open palms to form hearts and smiley faces in the air around her.

Before Ronin or Miko could respond to MDP’s childishly naive ramblings, Connie offered to host the rest of the meeting in her interdimensional home, prompting the Princess of Dreams to grab the twins and pull them along with her through the newly-opened door (for, as Mariette had noted, only Connie herself could create an entrance to her own interdimensional home).

“Yaaay~! Hooray for Connie Wonnie~! You saved the daaay~! (giggle!)” she cheered as she skipped inside, her two companions in tow. “Magical Dream Princess thinky winkies your homey womey is, like, a super duper nicey wicey placey wacey for a super duper secret wecret meeting weeting~! (giggle!)” she added, making herself comfortable on a pillow-covered couch.




“T-Thanks, MDP,” Connie told her bubbly friend with a smile, while a slight blush reddened the alabaster cheeks of her mask. Her blush only increased a moment later, when The Angel of Hope glided past and conveyed her own gratitude.

“This humble servant is most sincerely grateful to be permitted entry into such a charming abode, generous champion,” the heavenly maiden told her timid host with a brilliant smile. “Truly, your kindness is an inspiration to us all!”

“O-Oh, um, t-thank you s-so much!” Connie stammered. The level of attention the masked maiden was receiving was making her increasingly nervous, yet she did her best to keep at least a small amount of composure.

Realizing how far out of her comfort zone the current situation had placed her best friend, Gaia swiftly moved behind Connie and began to give her a relaxing shoulder massage. “You are doing great, little sister,” she whispered gently. “And I am so very proud of you.”

Bolstered by her big sister’s support, Connie felt confident enough to carry out the rest of her duties as the meeting's new host. “W-Welcome e-everyone,” she told her guests once the last of them had hurried through the door. “P-Please make y-yourselves at h-home. O-Oh! A-And if anyone w-would like s-something to eat or d-drink, p-please don’t h-hesitate to ask!”

For those who had visited during the Christmas Party, the cozy living room they found themselves in looked quite similar to how they remembered it. There were couches furnished with pillows and blankets, walls covered in cheerful landscape paintings, a crackling fireplace, and a veritable army of cute stuffed animals covering nearly every surface. The only real difference was the lack of Christmas decorations. Also, if anyone took Connie up on her offer of catering, they would discover that, thanks to the upgrade provided by their host’s Christmas gift, they weren’t limited to simple snacks. Indeed, whatever they requested would immediately be conjured for them, regardless of how exotic or extravagant it might be.

Once everyone had settled in, talk resumed of locating Wonderland’s magical eggs and launching preemptive strikes against both them, and possibly Wonderland itself. Needless to say, this all went way over Connie’s head, but then, her main purpose here was to facilitate a successful meeting, not to contribute brilliant gambits and strategies. Indeed, the others were far better suited to such things, like Penny, who had even managed to capture a prisoner during the Bolorton evacuation. Even as Connie and the others marveled at the information Penny went on to share, Mariette spoke up, revealing the shocking news that the Queen of Hearts thought she was her daughter, something Connie hadn’t heard when it was mentioned earlier. However, it was what the portal witch said next that would have the greatest repercussions…

Much to Pentius-04’s dismay, Mariette had indeed heard MDP’s mention of Doctor Nykannis, and was now pressing the whimsical girl for additional information.

“Like, Magical Dream Princess actually wactually doesn’t know how to contacty wacty her…” the whimsical girl confessed with a slight frown, before brightening up an instant later, upon noticing a certain green-haired girl with a giant shield. “But, like, that person werson over theresie probably wobaly does~! (giggle!)” she added, while enthusiastically pointing to 04.

At this, the bodyguard gulped, her face growing increasingly pale. This was quite possibly the worst case scenario she could be in (outside of an attack on her current charge), and her mind went into overdrive as she tried to come up with the most tactful response. “Well, um, while can indeed contact my creator, I do not believe it is very likely that she will be amenable too…” her voice trailed off as a communication was received over her mental link. “Y-Yes, ma’am? I-I see… Understood.” Refocusing on the meeting’s various members, she continued. “I have just been informed that Doctor Kannis would like to personally address the gathering,” she told them, even as she held out an open palm. An instant later, a pulse of light leapt out to land in the center of the room, at which point it grew into a hologram of a diminutive young woman with long, disheveled hair and wearing a pair of glowing goggles and an oversized lab coat.

“Nyahahahaha! Greetings, idiots!” the demented doctor began. “Now, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even consider helping you Penrose Pack morons with anything, but I think this little shitshow of a meeting has gone on for long enough. Thus, it should please you to know that I’ve decided to protect your precious little shithole from those Wonderland rejects. No need to thank me,” Nykannis continued, holding up a frail hand, before pointing a bony finger at MDP. “Especially you, Princess. I shouldn’t have to tell you how much I fucking hate the sound of your voice, but since you have the memory of a goldfish, I figured I’d give you a helpful reminder. See, I’m not doing this for your sakes,” the Monarch of Mad Science explained, casting her glowing gaze over each of the gathered magicals. “I’m doing this because your little circle jerk is boring me to fucking tears, not to mention the fact that someone I put SO MUCH FUCKING WORK INTO recently decided to fuck off to I couldn’t even fucking care less where, and you losers are as good a bunch as any to vent my frustrations on! Honestly, I don’t know why I even BOTHERED with that pitiful failure…” she sighed, shaking her head. “Nothing was ever going to come from it,” the mad scientist added, frowning in sullen disappointment. “I mean, seriously, HIM defeat YOU?!!” she asked, pointing a bony finger at the Queen of Penrose. “NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Still, it would have been fun to watch…” she added in a soft and wistful tone once her peal of maniacal laughter had finally subsided.

“ANYWAYS, where was I?” Nykannis inquired after a moment of uncomfortable silence had passed. “Ah yes, the whole ‘fake city’ thing. Well, to be specific, what we’ll actually be doing is placing a series of nanoscopic projectors around the periphery of the greater Penrose metropolitan area which will shunt anyone bearing Wonderland’s numinosphereic magimolecular metaphysical reality signature into a tangental reality layer,” she explained as she began pacing around the room, her holographic form simply phasing through any objects or people in her path. “And by ‘we’, I of course mean me,” she clarified, while a holographic representation of Penrose appeared above the room’s center table, only for a second, purple-hued copy to lower itself atop it a moment later. “You can all just stare in awe at what my ultratechnomystical super scientific genius can accomplish, while trying not to feel too bad about your own pathetic worthlessness. So, to continue, unlike the Overcity, where a trillion and twenty-three unknown variables can fuck over any plan you might care to make, a tangental reality layer is your own personal playground, the perfect stage for a cataclysmic battle to decide the fate of the reality plenum! Once the Wonderlanders are safely in the TRL, you won’t need to worry about them causing any harm to the city’s population or infrastructure, since nothing they affect there will translate to the ‘real world’,” the Mad Scientist Supreme noted, making air quotes for the final part. “Well, outside of one notable exception, but I’m sure she’ll have more important things to worry about, since all of you idiots will be able to pop over there to fight her to your hearts’ content. As for what I want in return, well, just hurry the fuck up and finish this damn meeting already! There’s important shit to do! Questions? No? Great!” Nykannis declared with a maniacal grin. “I’d say good luck on your little Easter Egg hunt, but with the Tin Titan here leading you, I doubt you’ll need it.”

With that, both holograms winked out of existence.

After they had opened the way to Connie's Interdimensional Home, Mariette followed into the dimension with her usual elegant step. Her eyes melancholically inspected the various walls and the feeling of being inside an Interdimensional Home again with a feeling that compared to that of her own, and so she continued to gaze around, and...

and...

and...

...

Without warning, Mariette suddenly collapsed forward. The direction she collapsed was right towards the army of stuffed animals, that she impacted towards and promptly sank into. She then started to waddle forward, which probably looked a bit odd in that elegant dress of hers, gripping onto more and more plushies on the way, until she'd created her own mountain of plushies that she buried herself underneath. Portals opened in various places of the room, and gentle Mariette hands reached through them to pick specific plushies she liked, and the mountain of plushies grew so that no sign of Mariette could be seen beneath its soft triangular mountain range.

Eventually, everything came to a standstill, as the mountain of plushies sat there undisturbed... until Mariette's head poked out the top. It only poked out far enough that the tip of her white hair, her headwear and her eyes peeked out, and a gentle round blush of contentness could be seen on her cheeks. The rest of her was still buried beneath the horde of stuffed animals that she'd amassed. She would continue attending this meeting like this, unless Connie objected. These were her plushies, after all.

Mariette was looking very comfortable.


Both Ronin and Miko had to keep themselves from reacting to Mariette, after all, they ostensibly had no relation to this lady. Obviously.

Ronin had some doubts about what MDP was saying, buuuut... ‘Well, far be it from me to not allow people second chances!’ Ronin said with a grin. She had her doubts, but.

Then the mad doctor herself holographizes into the scene, and... well, to say she had changed was an overstatement. That said, if she was genuine in her statement that she was going to help, maybe she'd had some form of a change of heart on the inside, even if she refused to change how she acted on the outside? She was just being a little tsun? Actually, Ronin might just put that into words.

‘So, is the actual reason she wants to help that you managed to touch her heart and she's being a little tsun?’ Ronin asked MDP. She had her doubts, but.

‘Um. You're sure we can rely on her?’ Miko asked, remembering Ronin's story and was a little afraid she might backstab them for some reason or another.

Mariette couldn't be bothered, she was bathing in stuffed animals right now. That is to say, she was in paradise, looking very much content.

Lily was curious about MDP’s mention of Nykannis, and the bad experience that Ronin had having met the mad scientist. Something bugged her about it, until she remembered.
”But weren’t those cyborg girls that suddenly appeared and helped us at Bolorton Nykannis’ friends?” She pointed to Penmtius-04.
”She can’t be a bad person if she wants to help! At least, not like what you think, Ronin. It might have been a misunderstanding.”

The moment Connie opened the entrance to her Interdimensional Home, everyone in the meeting walked inside. However, Lily turned upon seeing Justine return.
”So how did it go? Where’s Alex?” She asked, and Justine responded by shrugging her shoulders with lifted arms and a shaking head.
”Alex wanted to stay and chat with the merchant. She’s harmless."
As she passed by, she nudged Lily’s shoulder, but she stayed still.
”What are you waiting for, Lily? The meeting’s going to continue."
Lily bit her lip, and noticed as Sonia had teleported back in; she followed the others at a brisk pace through the portal.
”B-But…Alex…” She looked on into the distance, slightly extending her hand forward, before she retreated. It was embarrassing, but she had become dependent on her reliable and cool boyfriend always being there with her. It had become second nature for her to turn and laugh whenever she felt happy, or hold his hand whenever she felt nervous or anxious without even thinking. She truly loved him in those silly ways.

But now it was Justine who took her hand.
”It’s fine, you two lovebirds can be separated for a minute," she said in an exasperated tone.
”Besides, maybe he wants to be alone right now…" She added with an understanding smile. Lily blinked back, looking confused.
”Uhh…Well, if you’re sure, Justy. If it’s just for a moment…”
She stopped resisting, and let Justine drag her through the portal to Connie’s place.
It’s not like anything bad will happen the moment we’re separated, right?

---

While Lily remembered having seen the apartment before during the Christmas Party, her eyes widened upon seeing all the cute plushies that filled the floors and walls of Connie’s magical apartment, having forgotten how many there were. It was like a girl’s dream come true. But then, Lily gasped as portals with hands appeared, and grabbed the plushies rapidly, until they ended up in one mountain of stuffed toys, with Mariette poking out the top of it. Lily squeed at the sight, and hugged the person next to her.
”Ahh, it’s so cute! Alex, I want plushies too-!" She realized too late that it was not Alex, but Pentius-04 that she was hugging. She giggled awkwardly, and let go.
”Oh, whoops! It’s just, I thought Alex was there…"
She turned red in the face, and instead turned to Connie, who offered catering for the meeting.
”I-If it's not too much trouble, maybe some pepperoni pizza? A-And some popcorn, hamburgers, and kebab, and ice cream, maybe some soft drinks. But only if you can!"
From out of nowhere, Lily’s desired edibles appeared in her hands, causing her to gasp in surprise.
”Thank you, Connie!" She spoke in the midst of biting on a burger.

“I would like some beer,” Nefer asked with a cheeky smile, and sat with a crossed leg on the nearest sofa as a glass appeared on her hand, with Akhenaten sitting next to her with such force that it nearly caused the other sitters to launch into the ceiling.

Satisfied with the food she received, Lily settled in and listened as Penny disclosed valuable information. When Penny looked into her eyes, Lily noticed that her phone activated, and gasped upon looking at the document that she received on it.
Her finger shook as she used it to scroll through the contents. She didn’t understand most of the technical details behind the information, but she stopped when she got to the personnel files.
Various names and titles were presented, alongside profile pictures:

Name: Marquis Harry Lagomar.
Title: Minister of External Affairs.
Code Name: March Hare.

Name: Doctor Mathias Hatwington.
Title: Minister of Research and Development.
Code Name: Mad Hatter.

Name: Viscountess Absolem Blue
Title: Minister of Mysteries
Code Name: Caterpillar

Name: Countess Gilda Lionheart
Title: Minister of Defence
Code Name: Gryphon

Name: Duchess Jam Tomorrow
Title: Minister of Internal Affairs
Code Name: White Queen

And finally, Lily’s eyes happened upon the root of the evil looming over them:

Name: Iracebeth of Crims.
Title: Most High, Mighty and Illustrious; Red Queen of Justice; Knightess of the Most Noble Order of the Heart; Knightess of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Storyslayer; Member of the Order of Accomplishment; Knightess Grand Circle of the Royal Wonderlandian Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal Wonderlandian Chain; Grand Mistress and Knightess Grand Circle of the Most Excellent Order of Wonderland; Honourable Head of Council; Lady High Admiral of the Wonderland Navy; Admiral of the Royal Fleet; Field Marshal in the Royal Army; Marshal of the Royal Air Force; Defender of the Faith-Freed; Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of Alice Seekers; Goddess Ever-Queen of Wonderland.
Code Name: Queen of Hearts.

Lily’s eyes began spinning upon reading the full title of the Queen. How could one be so pompous and full of themselves? It even made Justine look humble, and SHE was a big braggart back in the day. Lily continued listening as Mariette and the others proposed a pre-emptive strike against Wonderland in the form of sabotaging their Conjuration Eggs, and she raised a hand in agreement.
”Hear, hear! We’ve gone on journeys to other worlds before, we can do it again!”

Lily continued eating silently as Nykannis made an appearance again: this time she seemed more abrasive than before. Did something happen, Lily wondered. Nonetheless, she was happy to hear that the mad scientist was willing to help with the Penrose protection plan, though she did wonder what her unnamed price was. Well, she figured that since MDP trusts her, she should too.
She giggled when Ronin called her a tsundere, and pat Ronin’s head.

”You need to be patient with tsunderes, you know. They need to accept their feelings before they open up and accept friendship. But don’t you worry, Kannis! I’ll wait for you as long as it takes for us to be friends.” She said to Pentius-04, knowing that she will receive the message.

Justine was the next one to speak.
”Anyway, I’m also voting for a direct assault: it beats waiting around and hoping for the best. But do we have a way to protect ourselves from the mind-bending effects of Wonderland that Mariette mentioned?" She asked while sitting on a bookshelf away from the crowded floor of the apartment. She looked at the eyepatched girl covered in plushies with concern.
”Even if it’s slow-acting, there is a risk we may succumb to the Queen’s influence if we linger too long in that plane. I have experience in mind-controlling magic, so I could develop preventative measures, but that would take time. Also, if there’s multiple supposed locations for the eggs, should we try to split up for each location?"

---

“It’s got some nice range, so you wouldn’t have to be that close to use it,” the street vendor answered Alex. “It refills batteries it charges, and itself takes in sunlight to charge itself. It’s better than mundane-made external batteries, I assure you.”
Once the two of them were alone, she looked around nervously, and then took a step closer to Alex, before she whispered in her ear: “Is it really you, Alex?” She asked, and then managed a nervous smile. “It’s me, Brittany. Sorry for the disguise. Ever since a couple days ago, I’ve had this feeling like I’m being watched. Now, when you’re in this business long enough, you develop a nose for danger. So, I’ve taken to selling my wares in disguise.”
As Alex listened, he watched as snowflakes kept floating down from the sky. Some were quite pretty, and some were less so. But there was one snowflake which seemed odd, and it floated down from…Was it behind Brittany’s basket? And it looked odd for a snowflake…
“Uhh, Alex?” Brittany called out to Alex.
“You’re still going to buy the Lightning Stone, right? Or would you like something else? I got other stones too.” She reached her hand into the basket, and as it swung, another snowflake dropped. Now Alex saw that it didn’t come from behind the basket, but underneath it. As he watched the snowflake drop, he saw that there were legs and arms attached to it…

“Ahh!”
Brittany let out a pained voice just as she lit a match, and Alex’ eyes jumped up to see one of the snowflakes on her neck, stinging her with what looked like a tiny syringe. Now Alex realized what was so strange about the snowflakes: they were actually very tiny people wearing snowflake costumes!
However, that revelation came too late, as Alex now felt a sting in his own neck too: one of the tiny snowflake people had got to him too. Alex felt his whole body turn heavier as exhaustion suddenly overtook him: his mind felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, and his eyelids weighed like lead. Just as Brittany had fallen down, so did Alex, both of them lying face to face on the cold, snowy ground of the park.
“A-Alex…”
Brittany only managed a faint smile as she held onto the match for as long as she could, before it fell out of her fingers, extinguishing itself in the snow. As she did, Alex’ eyes finally closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

---

Alex didn’t know how much time had passed or where he ended up once he woke up.
However, what he did know was the feeling of lethargy, a side-effect of the sedative.
He saw that he was in a prison cell in what looked like a dungeon, gray rectangular stones making up the construction of his surroundings. There was a barred window: looking out from it, Alex saw that he was in a different world. It was daytime in a fairytale-like world of wonder, with a smiling sun, and singing clouds and trees, and merry people down below, dancing and singing as they went on with their lives. It was quite a contrast to the gloomy prison he was currently in. Based on his location, he seemed to be somewhere high like in a tower, or something similar.

The moment Alex attempted to use magic, he noticed something glowing near his hands, and looked down to see manacles made of white stone, with blue runic engravings running around them. They prevented him from transforming, or from using his magic.
“Alex? Are you there?” He heard Brittany’s voice from the prison cell right next to his, and saw her hand wave out past the bars: she also had the magic-nullifying manacle on her wrist.
“Looks like we got ourselves in quite a pickle, huh?” She attempted to joke, but in truth she was shivering from fear.
“Just my luck, huh…”
She then blinked.
“I hear footsteps…Someone’s coming here.”

---

Warren saw how Al gave her a toothy smile in response to both her enthusiasm and Chloe’s agreement to onboard the agent.
“That’s the kind of go-getter attitude we love to see. I can see a bright future for you two here, mark my words.” He threw a smartphone to Warren.
“Burner phone for calls: get in touch if you need help. But it’s enchanted to combust if compromised, so keep that in mind.”

Afterwards, Al was less happy as Chloe gave out a report on the conditions her proposed deal would have. Al occasionally grunted as he listened and typed out something on an old-fashioned typewriter, printing the words to a golden paper. He grimaced when Chloe showed the final conditions laid by Penny. “Of course she would ask that…”
As Al wrote, he shook his head at Chloe’s suggestion.
“Would make a selling headliner, but that ain’t the scoop, kid. You see, the little birds have told me that one of Wonderland’s officers disappeared on the day they muscled in on the farmers outside Penrose. Then came some rumors from Sanctuary, and that’s when the full picture formed: it turned out that Penny was at the scene, and carpet-rolled her. Probably squeezed her of all the talk she’s worth before sending her to sleep with the fishes.”

Finally, he stopped writing, and looked at the contract.
“I can make this work. Truth be told, the deal went better than I expected. We got to pick the location, after all, and I bought some land to set up a new entertainment center. Real nice, with all that gacha nonsense the kids are crazy about these days. All it takes for those dopes is some pretty faces, and they’ll sink coins like nothing. Plus, with that shipment having gotten out as scheduled...We could go with a live streaming idol unit too…push merch… ” He mumbled as he nodded to himself.
“Well done, Chloe.” Al added a signature to the paper before the typewriter shot it out, and floated down to Chloe’s hand.
“This is now ready. Once you get that signed, there’s a glass of brandy waiting for you,” he added with a chuckle.

When the strange girl started getting closer to him, Alexander was immediately on guard...until

"It’s me, Brittany"

'...huh?' Now that he thought about it, he did recognize her voice. 'So much for a wonderland spy. Unless she's a really good one.' That's when the weird snowflakes started to appear 'Weird...'

"Uhh, Alex?"

"Right, sorry. I got distracted"

"You’re still going to buy the Lightning Stone, right? Or would you like something else? I got other stones too."

His original plan was to grab something and have it checked for any kind of sigh that it was bugged...or something like that. Now however, he was feeling like a paranoid idiot. 'Well, It does actually sound useful, and it's cheap' but before he could say or do anything, the weird snowflakes attacked

"Ahh!"

First, the one he had seen before got Brittney with...something pointy and small. Right as he was about to act, another one got behind him a stuck him too. 'Fuck!' his body became weak and he crumpled to the ground, unable to move. And he slowly slipped into unconsciousness

---

When he woke up an unknown amount of time later, he still felt a little weak "fuck." he groaned as he got to his feet. A quick look around showed him that was stuck in some medieval prison. He also noticed a bared window. Stumbling over to look out at it he saw; "...It's like someone scooped all the nightmarish fever dreams from my brain and smeared them everywhere" Quickly deciding that he wanted none of this shit, he started to transform. The manacles around his wrists started to glow...and nothing else 'Oh...oh that's not good'

"Alex? Are you there?"

He heard Brittney's voice, and went over to the bars of his cell to try and see if he could spot her. When he did, he saw her hands sticking out of the cell next to him in the same state as his. "Yeah...yeah I'm here" he sighed as he stuck his own hands out to show her

"Looks like we got ourselves in quite a pickle, huh?"

"I always knew I'd get behind bars someday, never thought it be like this though" He snarked

"I hear footsteps…Someone’s coming here."

Almost immediately after that, Alexander thought to himself 'I hope Lily remember to feed the freeloaders'

---

Back in the park, Bob, Tim and Dave were huddled around a spot with Bob's nose to the ground, sniffing furiously. After a little bit, he looked up to the others, and nodded. Tim and Dave both tensed up before collecting themselves, and the three of them ran off, with Bob leading the charge.

@DarkwolfX37

Kain did not get an answer to his hail. But his presence had some effect on Wisdom’s sword. Images of his past flicked across its surface. He could see that monster that ended him, Makoto’s quest across worlds, a montage of the months that led them to where they stood now. Even without context, it was an impressive thing to behold. Someones entire time in and around Penrose summed up in a few seconds. It was humbling.

”You’re quite the adventurer, squirrel girl.” She rose to her feet. ”As are you, sir knight. Most detours through the underworld tend to last a lot longer than yours. My name is Wisdom. Given your punctual arrival, I can make an assumption as to why you’re here. Especially if the purple lady is here. You’re looking for the wolf girl, right?”

There was something off about this magical girl, even if they didn’t know what it was. She spoke normal enough, her outfit was on the plain side, and her jovial disposition didn’t feel forced. Perhaps it was her lack of unusual features that made her seem so unusual. Or maybe it was how uncanny everything else was. They were standing in the middle of what should have been a busy road, but it had been reduced to a giant crater with the three of them standing right beside it.

”Thought so.” Was Wisdom’s response to their answer, or lack of. ”It’s funny, really. Magical girls are among the most powerful creatures in the world, but only so few can ever truly seize their dreams.” She placed a hand on her chest. ”In my home world, I was a counselor at a magical girl school. I wanted to personally challenge the students. That was practically my reason for existing. And then one day, the school stopped existing. They never even got to see me transformed.” She placed her hands on her hips. ”You aren’t my students, but maybe fighting you would be a good consolation prize.”

In a flash of light, Wisdom turned into yet another pink-haired-kimono-wearing-samurai, but this one had bunny ears. Six duplicates(?) appeared at her back. She placed her hand on her sword, stepped forward…

And stopped.

”Oh!” she looked between her opponents. ”You agree to fighting, right?”

---

”That’s a shame about the lasers, but I’m also thankful.” When everyone but Aurora got the info ported to their phones, Binky turned to look at Chloe’s stand-in. ”Did you want to take a look?”

"It’s not really necessary. Our own intel should be more up-to-date anyway. At least the less trusting will have something to verify when Chloe gets back." Aurora grinned like a cat. "And you should know where Mint stands. We want to strike them before they attack again. If there’s something to be learned from the Punic Wars it’s that you need to totally cripple your enemy before they can do the same to you!"

”I’m going to feel pretty let down if Chloe doesn’t come back with the location of those eggs.”

Other things were said at the meeting, but it was more specifics about how each individual girl was going to pitch in. Penny circled the talk back to discussing defense and offense, which everyone had spoken on when it was initially pitched. Nothing was really moving forward. Binky found themselves wishing some really smart person could come around and move things along.

Nykannis wasn’t the smart person she wanted, but she was the smart person she got.

"Wow!" Aurora chuckled. "I guess we can all focus on the egg assault! There really is no need to drag things-" Aurora turned to look at Binky. "Uh, you okay?"

”Finn’s gone?” She placed her fingers on the side of her head. ”Maura? What’s going- Maura? Maura?!” Binky ran towards Connie. ”Let me out of here! Something’s happened!”

---

Chloe raised an eyebrow at the new ‘exchange student.’ She didn’t like being sassed on, but she could respect someone who was quick on their feet. "Sounds like we can enjoy our personal space then.“ But they weren’t really here to exchange banter. She nodded along with Al’s explanation of how she got the intel. In truth, she hadn’t really thought Penny would go undercover for the queen. Then again, it wouldn’t have really surprised her either. This Penny was nothing like the one she used to know. Relationship drama aside, she must have missed the information since it happened the same time she became a junior coin broker. But things weren’t quite finished.

"You’re fine with everything laid out so far then?“ She pointed at her phone. "Penny made it sound like there were going to be more demands. I need to know how much more you’re willing to let her have.“

In the aftermath of Nykannis’s little speech, Pentius-04 found herself feeling more uncomfortable than ever. Getting mistaken for Alex and subsequently hugged by Lily had been bad enough, but now problematic comments were being made about her esteemed creator, comments said creator was certain to have responses for. Responses 04 herself would be forced to convey…

“Miss Lily, Doctor Kannis has instructed me to inform you that you will be waiting for an exceedingly long time,” 04 began after her charge had declared that she would wait as long as it took for Nykannis to be her friend. “In addition, she would prefer that you refer to her by her full title. Furthermore, Miss Ronin,” the bodyguard continued, turning to address the small samurai. “Doctor Kannis would have you know that she is not, in fact, a ‘tsun’, and that you should look up the proper definition of that word before ever employing it again.”

Obviously, Nykannis had used language of a considerably harsher nature, but 04 wished to at least be somewhat tactful…

---

“Oh, goodness! That is so very kind of you!” the Angel gushed when Rose offered to convey the support group’s troubles to the Keeper. “This humble servant shall of course provide you with all the relevant information once this meeting has adjourned, noble champion,” she added with a gracious and demure bow.

I can’t fuckin’ believe it… This might actually work…

Shortly thereafter, the gathering moved into Connie’s interdimensional home, and the Angel marveled at the various sights the new venue had on display. “Good heavens! Such a wonderfully wholesome ambiance!”

What is this girl, five? Fuck, for someone who looks like a horror movie reject, she’s almost as bad as that kawaiiko bitch over there…

After thanking Connie for her generous offer to host the meeting, the Angel drifted into the background to allow said meeting to continue in all its tedious banality. Things did get more interesting with Doctor Nykannis’s arrival and subsequent rant, but this ultimately proved to be merely a brief diversion, and the Angel was left to wonder whether or not the mad scientist could actually back up her audacious claims.

Tangental reality layers? What kinda technobabble bullshit is that?! I’ll bet that scrawny bitch is just some stupid chuuni who’s nothing but empty talk, which these morons are gullible enough to actually believe…

---

“Y-You’re v-very w-welcome!” Connie replied, her mask forming a happy smile as Lily and the others thanked her and began “placing their orders”, as it were. It brought great joy to her kind heart to know that everyone was making themselves right at home. Speaking of, the timid girl’s smile grew even wider at the utterly adorable sight of Mariette’s ever growing plush pile. Thanks to the magic of the home, even the portal witch’s attempt at monopolizing the plushies wouldn’t prevent others from enjoying them as well. Indeed, when MDP and Mariette had each grabbed one side of a colorful rainbow caterpillar and began to pull it towards themselves, the soft creature simply duplicated itself. “I-I’m s-so glad you l-like them, M-Mariette,” Connie told the portal witch. “G-Gosh! Y-You look s-so adorable!”

“Yeah~! (giggle!)” MDP agreed, hugging her own little friends tightly as she bounced up and down in her seat. “Like, Mariettey Wettey’s pile wile of friendy wendies is, like, super duper adorable worable~! (giggle!)”

As the meeting continued, and Nykannis made her short appearance, Connie couldn’t help but frown at the mad scientist’s condescending tone. She was happy for the help, of course, but she wished that the diminutive doctor would have been a little nicer.

“Like, Nykannis Wannis just gets grumpy wumpy sometimey wimeies~” MDP explained to Ronin, when the small samurai asked if Nykannis was being tsun. “Like, she may not be the nicest wicest person werson right nowie,” the whimsical girl continued. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess just knows that’ll changey wangey once she gets more friendy wendies~! (giggle!) After allsie, befriending wending grumpy wumpy people weple is, like, totally wotally what magical wagical girls do~! (giggle!)” she declared, as if it was a perfectly obvious conclusion to reach.

“Well said, Your Highness,” Gaia noted with a serene nod. “And Lily is correct. Doctor Nykannis provided considerable aid to our efforts to evacuate Bolorton, as I can personally attest. Although I do not know what her ulterior motivations may be, if any exist to begin with,” the verdant maiden continued. “I believe we can trust her claim of ensuring Penrose’s safety, at the very least.”

However, it was around then that Binky began having something of a minor freak out.

“O-Oh g-gosh!” Connie gasped when Binky insisted to be allowed to leave. “W-What’s g-going on?!” she asked, even as she opened a door for the panicking greenette. “I-Is e-everything a-all right?!”

“Maura’s dropped off the magicom network,” Valerie replied succinctly. “Same with some of our other agents.”

“We need to investigate the cause, but hopefully it shouldn’t be anything too bad,” Amanda reassured her masked friend.

“Golly wolly! Like, Magical Dream Princess wants to helpy welpy, too!” MDP announced as she jumped up and bounced over to Connie and the Cradle agents.

“This is a Cradle matter,” Valerie told her. “We can handle it on our own.”

“Val’s right, Dreamy,” Amanda added with a sympathetic smile. “We’ve got this.”

“B-But, like, there’s nothing wothing for Magical Dream Princess to do at this meeting weeting, and like, she’s gotta wotta helpy welpy if her best friendy wendy in the whole wide worldsie is in trouble wouble, so, like, can she pleeeease helpy welpy, Pastel-chaaaan?” the whimsical girl begged, clasping her hands together, and frowning plaintively. “Pretty pretty pleasey weasey with a cherry werry on toppy woppy?”

“Fine, you can come with,” Amanda relented, shaking her head in mixture of exasperation and amusement. _{“You know I can’t turn down that face.”}

“Yaaay~!” MDP cheered, giving the dream magician a hug. “Thankie wankies, Pastel-Chan~! (giggle!)”

“G-Good luck!” Connie called to the departing quartet, before closing the door after them.

I really hope everything’s going to be all right…

Ronin smiled at being patted by Lily and the others assuring her that Nykannis might actually be a good person or whatever, but then Pentius-04 came and delivered a message directly to her. Oh, really, now.

‘A tsundere, which I affectionately shortened to “tsun”, is a character that initially comes off as harsh and/or unpleasant but ultimately has good intentions and mellows out and becomes sweeter with time and character development,’ Ronin replied, without looking up anything. ‘I was thinking maybe you’re like that, Nykannis, but of course, I must be mistaken. You clearly take great pride in being a miserable twat with a detestable personality with no redeemable qualities and zero room to grow or chance to become a better person. My apologies~’ Ronin said, with a happy smile and with a wink at the end.

‘D-dear sister, perhaps don’t antagonize the one who just agreed to help us _{and is clearly much stronger than us},’ Miko said.

‘She calls our home a shithole, calls us worthless and/or pathetic and talks down to us at every turn,’ Ronin replied. ‘She needs to know she can’t do that without being told she’s a fucking cunt,’ Ronin continued, still smiling happily.

Mariette can’t be bothered atm. Plushie tower.

It seemed Alicia might have been overly hasty in her earlier assessment. Or perhaps being here loosened lips that would otherwise have remained sealed. Because now it turned out that there was a sizable group who were interested in going on the offensive against Wonderland after all. For a moment she felt like she was experiencing deja vu, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why right now. She did give Mariette a look at the mention of mind control magic though. That stuff might have been resolved, but she had not forgotten the headaches that she had caused.

Any thoughts she had were immediately blasted out of her head by the sudden intrusion of Nykannis. While she wasn't as hard to parse as Magical Dream Princess since she didn't have as many verbal ticks, man was she a narcissist. She also felt like she was the missing a joke, but that feeling was not one she spent long on. For now she merely shuffled Nykannis into the same bin she kept people like Chloe. AKA 'don't trust further than she could throw them in untransformed form'. In theory she'd agreed to keep the city safe, but who knew how many unspoken asterisks were attached to that.

She waited until Nykannis had finished before speaking aloud. "Wow. I think I'll be okay if I never have to interact with her again." she observed. A not unreasonable sentiment based on Ronin's response to the rant as well.

Now it was down to the specifics of their plan. "We'll need to split up for a simultaneous attack," she said once they were back to the matter at hand. "If Wonderland is potentially going to be overwriting our minds then we'll need to be fast. And if we focus all our efforts on one egg at a time then that gives them the opportunity to relocate the eggs we aren't currently focusing on, leaving us back where we started."

Looking around the group who were will here, she paused before going on. "I think it makes sense to take care of the eggs now, then go after these people Penny has collected intel on. We throw the Queen's operations into chaos, opening up the opportunity for us to go at her directly. If she doesn't come at us first." And honestly the Queen reacting and exposing herself would work just as well. They would just need to see how things developed along the way and adapt accordingly.

As the images flashed across Wisdom's sword, Kain was awestruck. Seeing the way one died from another perspective would always be an interesting thing, and he was stunned for a while. So it was Makoto who took the lead. She was about to give a rather long response, but she hadn't put it all together before Wisdom continued talking. When she was finally finished and apparently ready to fight, Makoto finally spoke up just as Kain snapped himself out of his stupor.

"Uh... Yeah, I guess we can fight, but... Why are we fighting? If you're just looking for that, there's probably a war about to start that should satisfy you."

Kain stepped forwards to speak as well. "Though if it's just sparring, that would probably help all of us, so I'm down." He looked over at Makoto. "Might as well make sure that we're ready for the bigger stuff that's coming, right?"

"Mmm... Yeah, that makes sense. Alright." Makoto grinned as her weapons spun in place on her arms, getting into position to fight.

As soon as Makoto replied in affirmation, Kain got into a fighting stance and summoned his armor. "Let's have a fun, fair match, yeah?

---

"Summer, could you please send me as well? I could scout out the area while they fight." Morrigan spoke up as those in the room saw Kain and Makoto get into a battle stance.

"... I guess that makes sense, are you sure you want to go, though? There might be enemies in the area that we don't know of."

"I'm certain, thank you."

"Alright, go through the TV, I'll send you in above them."

And so Morrigan, still in her raven form, flew directly into the television and went right through it to arrive thirty feet above the heads of the three magical beings about to fight.

@BrokenPromise

With the subject of Wonderland's mental effects brought up, Kayli would lift her gaze a bit. She had heard that there was an enchantment of some kind there. It did bring up an interesting point. "I believe I should be able to assist with protecting everyone's minds from Wonderland's influence. I can project my magic in an area around me that should counteract the effects." Taking a moment, she would think aloud, "The protection shouldn't be exclusive. Anyone within range should receive the defense regardless. I wonder if it would work on the native inhabitants of Wonderland. If so, perhaps they would be less inclined to fight us." There was no way to know for sure without testing it. She wondered if Penny still had her captive.