Penny was more than happy to sit back and watch for a bit after sharing her findings. Most of it went more or less as she would have assumed, up until the Mad Scientist decided to give her own input at least.

That tirade was regarded with only a small tilt of the Queen’s head. There were snippets within it that pointed to another plot that was running in the background, one that had seemingly fallen flat thankfully. Especially with the follow up shortly after with the Cradle’s… Leader? Main operator? Penny wasn’t really sure what to call Maura, but with the Witch’s dropping out of communications. Penny was connecting dots.

Either way the planning had shifted from defense to assault. “Given my own interactions with Nykannis, she can be trusted to follow through with her word so Penrose should be fine, doubly so since as far as I can tell she’s looking for the Nexus as well. Won’t want Wonderland to get to it before she can.” Penny would chip in her own two copper on the matter.

”That settled for the moment we should decided which teams we want for the assault. We are-“ Penny’s head snapped to the side suddenly as she stopped moving. “Fuck.” She would turn back to the group her eyes heavily tinted red. “Just got a status update from one of my girls. Brittney was just abducted by Wonderland.” She would announce. “It’ll take me a bit of time to scrub the local surveillances to figure out how and if there is anyone else taken, but I’d be surprised if it was only her.”

“In the meantime we’re going to need to split into four teams and prepare to leave soon. As we’re probably on a time limit.”

Cradle was down, but not out. Vestiges of its forces remained here and there. Binky attended the meeting, Sam went with Emily to her home. But even its members' continued existence did not mean that they had a patron. But they were oblivious to what happened to Maura. They were still tied to the cradle, and their powers continued to work. There was no reason to assume something was amiss.

Except there was.

Sam could see shapeless red halos moving around in the distance. Normally Sam noticed these around other cradle agents, but now it seemed like they were alerting her to something out of sight. Something in the walls or just under foot.

Emily was in the middle of recounting an earlier event when she noticed Samantha giving her walls strange looks. She hoped something wasn't on them. "Is there something wrong?" she asked a bit hesitantly.

"..."

Sam only moved her eyes from one halo to the next, slowly standing up from the table she and Emily had been eating at, and her hand dropped to her side. There was a noticeable pause before she answered. "...There might be," she bluntly replied, making a quick pass around the apartment with her Third Eye, particularly the walls and floor, where she was getting the feeling.

All the sudden inspecting was only making Emily more nervous. She vainly tried to help, but since Samantha was being mostly quiet and not explaining anything, she wasn't even on the same search. But she did notice where Sam was looking, and absolute dread filled her expression as she came to a conclusion.

Oh, please tell me there's no rodents or vermin! This place isn't that bad...

And it really wasn't, as far as Sam could tell. But the nebulous shapes coalesced just outside the front door. A hazy smoke soon became a familiar woman. Without an invitation, she opened the front door and stepped inside.



”Howdy y’all!” Viridian waved before closing the door behind herself. ”Glad to see yer back on your feet. Gotta say though, I was kinda hopin’ you’d come check on us once you woke up.” She looked to Emily. ”Mind if I speak with yer friend for a moment?”

Emily had made a simple assumption that the person entering her apartment without prior notice was the same now as it had been the last few times, so she was halfway through greeting Hilaria when she turned around and realized she had been wrong, letting out a cute shriek as her face turned pink in embarrassment shortly after she realized this wasn't a normal home invader. "Um," she looked between Sam and Viridian. "I-if you two know each other and she wants to?" she tried her best to answer despite being nonplussed.

"We've known each other for some time now, Emily, and I could go for a pleasant chat," Samantha stepped forward as she reassured Emily, giving Viridian her undivided attention. "Sorry to worry you, and hello, Viridian. I wasn't entirely lucid when I woke up, and I was hoping to clear my head," while her words ended there for Emily, they continued via magicoms. I'll be fine, of course. But... I admit I wasn't eager to learn why Maura isn't responding.

Though she would normally introduce herself, Emily took a moment to calm herself down after the startle while the two talked.

”Doncha worry, pumpkin! I’m just excited to see my friend is all!” The green magical girl tried to reassure Emily. ”Afraid the city life hasn’t rubbed off on me yet. Getin’ unexpected guests was par the course in the south.”

Emily accepted the answer without any distrust, a warm smile directed at Viridian, "Oh, that's okay, honestly! I think it would be nice if Penrose was like that," she motioned for Viridian to come in. "Feel free to take a seat wherever you like. Can I grab you a glass of water? Oh, I also have some soda, too, if you would prefer?"

”A soda would be fine, darlin’!” When Emily left to get her beverage, Viridian reached out towards Sam. ”Maura and her agents were sent to another dimension. They appear to be safe, but it will be some time before they return. Others fled this reality. There are some non-combat personnel that hang around, but you’re the only active agent left in Penrose.” She tapped the cylinder Sam had hidden under her clothes. ”It might be related to that.”

While Emily was trying to be a good host, Samantha was taking in the situation report Viridian had described to her. She blinked twice. Sorry? You said 'only'? Did the dolphin get angry, or have dimensional problems become more commonplace?

”Wish I knew more, darlin’. Mint was transporting an artifact designed to harm Veronica, but it seems it blew up in transit while we were goin’ after it. My shadow magic allowed me to escape the blast, but the others? They ain’t in this world anymore. I can feel ‘em, but they ain’t in kansas anymore.”

She clearly hadn't hid her surprise very well as Emily began to worry about the look on her face. "Sam, is everything alright?"

"...It will be. Just seem to be having a small headache, is all," she looked at Emily. "It occurs to me that I haven't had a drink since I woke up, I could use that glass of water."

"I'll just be one moment," she hurried into the kitchen and began grabbing cups for the three of them.

Samantha reached into her coat, producing the cylinder containing the hunt Veridian was poking at. She read it all the way through for the first time, raising her eyebrow in confusion, then her expression turned to one of disdain. Slay or drive off the Scarlet Stranger...? Veronica? What is this? Mint propaganda? She looked up from the hunt, to Viridian. "Whatever is going on, I'm not so out of it that I can't do my job. If she needs me, I'm there."

”That ain’t mint propaganda, hun. Veronica left Cradle in Maura’s care so that she could avoid the Mint long enough to enact her plan. She didn’t tell me what that was until recently. You know that Su was a familiar turned magical girl? You know that Veronica has a radio tower that lets her broadcast her magic a great distance? She put that intel together and raised herself a magical girl army. Not that she needs one, since anyone who uses a red coin can be brainwashed by her if they come in range of the tower.” Viridian pursed her lips. ”She’s going to cripple Penrose before the wonderland invasion. She needs to be stopped.”

It wasn't hard to see what Samantha was thinking. As Viridian spoke, Sam's expression darkened and her body tensed up. By the time they had mentioned stopping Veronica, Sam was grinding her teeth in unmistakable anger. No. I don’t believe that! She was concerned about that power falling into the wrong hands. That is something the Mint would do, but she wouldn’t. You have to be making some sort of mistake!

”Afraid I ain’t, hun.” Viridian folded her arms. Her smile had disappeared from her face. ”I don’t understand your relationship with her, but if you believe in Veronica so strongly, this might be a good thing.” She placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. ”Now now, no need to make a face. How ‘bout you find someone you trust and meet up with her? See how things are and talk it out. If I’m wrong, you can come back to Penrose with her. If I’m right…” She closed her eyes. ”You’ll do what needs to be done.”

Despite her intense glare, Samantha softly placed her hand atop Viridian's. After she had a few moments to ponder Viridian's suggestion, Samantha began to slowly nod her head as the intensity seemed to partially drain away. She didn't exactly look friendly, but then again, when did she? "...Fine. Fine," She peeled the hand off her shoulder in a deliberately slow manner. That sounds like it would be for the best, and I can't imagine you being so confident in it if you didn't believe it. And if you do, then of course Penrose would, which could be problematic. I hate to leave while we have nobody to substitute so I will return as soon as possible. "But if I'm the only active one left... who would I even take...?" she wondered aloud, just in time to notice Emily return with their drinks.

Emily presented the two girls with their cups wearing a concerned expression. "Um," she looked between the two, noticing the tension in Samantha and the lack of smile on Viridian. "...is something the matter? You guys have been kinda quiet, mostly. Is it something I can help with?"

Sam denied her with a shake of her head. "No. I just need to think..." she dismissed the friendly girl's offer, but only momentarily. Her mind raced through all her possibilities and she found...

Almost none

She was beginning to lament her poor people skills as it left her with few options. Veronica and Veridian were both, obviously, not choices, and Trixie was already with Veronica. Even if she completely disbelieved Viridian, she had to account for the slim possibility it was true, which meant assuming Trixie was probably...

Samantha had never felt a sense of dread quite as strong as the one that passed through her at that moment. "...A-actually," She quickly cleared her throat. "You might be able to. How would you feel about leaving Penrose for a short time?"

Emily blinked twice, surprised by the sudden change. "O-oh, um, I don't mind as long as we can be back before rent is due! What is it that you need help with, though?"

Sam looked at Viridian, the woman's words on her mind. If she had to trust someone, nobody made more sense than Emily. She remembered their talk at their park during their first meeting, and how it had helped her

"I just need to squash a nasty rumor going around about my... boss," Samantha said, turning back to Emily. "While I don't believe it, Viridian does, which means I can't ignore it. I expect us to meet with them, speak for a bit, and then come back home. It shouldn't take too long, you definitely shouldn't be missing out on rent." Sam rubbed the back of her neck as she continued. "That said, in the unlikely case that the rumor is true... things will get extremely dangerous."

Emily seemed determined. "Rumors can be harmful, I know that very well. Of course, I'll help, danger or not! I'm sure your boss is a very lovely person!" She gave Sam a curious look. "So what kind of rumors have been spread?"

"Uh... the rumors involve mind control and a potential invasion of Penrose with said people under mind control."

In response to hearing this, Emily blinked. "T-that's certainly a nasty rumor..." She looked over to Viridian, her eyes pleading for help to make sense of what Sam just said.

Viridian let out a long, tired sigh before forcing a smile. ”If you’re goin’ into this with Sam, I guess you need to hear it all. From the beginning’ then!” She popped her soda open. ”I’m Viridian, twin soul to Veronica. When I was created, Veronica left her faction in Maura’s hands. Her faction was Crimson Cradle in case you’re not in the know. The faction’s mission was to liberate Penrose from tyrannical forces. That was primarily the Mint, but Beacon earned her ire as well. I think we can all agree the Ascendancy was not one of the better things Beacon brought to Penrose.” She shook her head. ”But Veronica hadn’t planned for this exchange of power to last forever. She’d been workin’ on ‘Project Wukong’ for a while. She didn’t tell me a lot of the details. Just that it was sure to shake up the power structure around here. So while all ‘yall been hustlin’ in Penrose, distracting the power structure, Veronica was working on her magnum opus. The red coins, the magicom network, it was all a prototype to make an indomitable magical girl army. Anyone who’s used a red coin can’t resist her army, which is all the important folks in Penrose. Even Penny couldn’t stop the invasion.” She took a sip of her soda, which made her smile again. ”The timin’ of the darn thing isn’t ideal, but are we so far gone that we need Veronica to just hijack everyone’s minds? If she were to get a hold of the nexus, free will as we know it may cease to exist!” She sloshed her soda around. ”But if it’s a rumor, no harm no foul.”

The recap had seen Emily's eyes widen as the severity of the situation had likely escalated far beyond what she was expecting. She had her free hand over her heart, her soda had barely been touched. "Y-you're saying all this about your twinned soul?" she sounded concerned. "I'm sure that's not something you would just do..." She went to look at Sam, but the girl wasn't there.

Sam had slipped into the kitchen at some point while Viridian was speaking to drop off her now-empty cup and had been hurrying back to them when she noticed Emily's lost look. "Hmm? You having second thoughts?" she questioned.

"A-absolutely not!" she denied with a shake of her head.

"That is good to hear," Samantha replied. "We should leave right away. I'll be outside," Sam abruptly said, acknowledging Viridian with a nod before leaving out the door without any further words.

Emily stared at the door for a few seconds, taking a big drink from her soda. "I don't think I've seen her this... motivated before," she admitted while turning to Viridian and offering to take her can. "Sorry things are like this. I'm sure it's hard."

”Darlin’? Livin’ in Penrose is hard. No need to throw me a pity party, I feel a lot worse for you.” She crushed her soda can flat and pitched it into the recycling bin. ”As for Sam, yea. She and Veronica have an interesting relationship. It ain’t love, but it ain’t your regular ol’ respect either. It almost transcends all that.” She placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder. ”I can’t pretend to know what will happen, but I do hope things come to a satisfactory conclusion. I’d prefer it if Veronica doesn’t have to die. Partially because I’d stop living, but…” She trailed off. Viridian looked at the door. Sam was right on the other side. She leaned over to Emily and whispered something into her ear before. Standing back up. ”...It would probably be best if she was unconscious, so that I could properly deal with her. Only if it’s necessary, of course.”

"Um, I guess it's at least clear that Sam cares for Veronica. But you're sure it's not love?" she seemed surprised. But she was even more surprised to hear Viridian speaking about Veronica's death so openly. "It won't happen!" she promised. "...I wouldn't be Emily if I killed a sister, let alone two!"

Listening to Viridian whisper to her, she stared at her front door. She nodded when the girl finished telling her something, and her response was just as furtive as Viridian's. "Well... I don't think Sam wants to, either. I can feel she's scared about something, and I think it must be that." she conveyed, returning to a normal speaking voice afterward. "Well, if things turn out poorly, we'll just have to make her come around."

She walked over to her sink and tossed the cup beside Sam's. "But you'll see as much when we get back. For now, um, I think I should probably get going." She held the door open for Viridian.

Samantha was waiting just outside, pushing off of the wall she had chosen to lean against when she saw the door open.

”Don’t need a house sitter?” Viridian laughed at her own joke as she hurried outside. ”Ah, if only the mood was a li’l lighter.” She folded her hands behind her back and looked at Sam. ”I can sense some of the other agents have returned to Cradle’s HQ. I’ll let ‘em know what’s going on. Otherwise, I think I’ve prolonged my stay enough.” She waved to Emily. ”Keep Samantha safe, ya hear?” And with that, she sunk into the shadows.

"Of course!" Emily waved back as Viridian disappeared, noticing Sam had begun to walk away. She hurriedly followed behind her friend, matching her quickened pace. "Wait up, Sam!"

...

...

...

Some minutes after they had separated from Veridian, Samantha hadn't slowed down one bit. Her eyes were focused forward and she hadn't said a word, leaving Emily to follow behind in awkward silence. Even though her expression was neutral, Emily could feel the increasing worry clouding Sam's heart. It only seemed to be getting worse by the second.

"S-Sam?" Emily called out, finally.

She received no answer as her friend continued on.

Emily tried again. "Sam! Hello?"

Evidently lost in thought, Samantha finally moved her eyes away from the way forward, to Emily. "...yes? Is something the matter? Did you forget something?"

Shaking her head, Emily mustered up the courage to pry. "Oh, um, no! I don't need to get anything. It's just... are you okay?" she placed a hand over her heart. "I can sense when people are feeling sad," she explained. "...So, um, I can tell you're thinking about something that is making you even more sad."

Samantha stopped walking. "Is that so?" she remained silent for a moment. "Oh, I suppose it makes sense you would have that..." Samantha looked at Emily and pondered something. She hesitated to speak again at first, but eventually did. "I don't believe in Veronica's betrayal, I really don't. But... I have never been a glass half full sort of person. I am always considering the worst-case scenario for anything, and this is no different."

Emily nodded in understanding. "Even if... what was said about Veronica is true, I'm sure we can make her see reason! She's not just your boss, right? She's important to you. I'm sure that counts for something."

"Maybe. It would be nice if I could believe that. I am her number one agent, after all," there was genuine pride in that statement. It clearly meant something to her. "But if she's doing this, she's doing this for a reason she's mulled over and considered alternatives to," Samantha sighed, then turned and kept walking, motioning for Emily to follow. "Which would mean she probably isn't going to just stop because we tell her mind controlling Penrose is bad."

Emily frowned behind her. "If you mean as much to her as she means to you, I think your words might have more impact than you might think! Sometimes, people tunnel vision when focusing on something they feel really strongly about. I can't say I know why she might want to do all of that, but maybe she just needs someone she knows to talk some sense into her? Sometimes it's more about who the words come from than what the words are."

Emily could see Sam shake her head. "If that were the case, Veridian would have been enough," Sam dismissed the idea.

"Um... I think it's still worth a try, at least. Wouldn't it be best to do everything you can before assuming she's not gonna listen? If you give up before you've even tried that'll only leave one option..."

"...I suppose," Sam replied, keeping her eyes forward again. "But we're only speaking hypothetically right now. Veronica is probably not doing any of that. When we reach her and meet up, I expect her to be irritated. She'll wonder why I went out of my way to meet up with her instead of just asking over magicoms, and then she'll peer into my mind and chide me for being having such unwarranted thoughts. Maybe that's downplaying how upset she'll be..." she shrugged her shoulders. "But at least Trixie will probably be happy to see me."

Emily couldn't follow the conversation entirely. "Um, so what exactly are magicoms? And Veronica can just peer into your mind?" if Sam had turned around she would have seen the confusion on Emily's face. "And Trixie? Is she a friend of yours?"

Stopping again, Sam turned to Emily. "Oh, I guess you wouldn't know that. To put it shortly, Veronica's powers allow us, the Crimson Cradle, or whomever she decides to share the power with, to speak to each others nonverbally from wherever we are. I could speak to her right now, but I... have decided it's best to wait until we're in person. Anyway, she's also able to read my thoughts due to a contract I signed with her a bit back," Sam broke eye contact momentarily. "...but as far as I'm aware she's only able to read my own. You don't need to worry about your own thoughts. Instead, you should worry about Trixie."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Emily asked.

Sam shook her head and Emily could swear she saw a smile trying to creep onto Sam's face. "That she is... uh, what is the term people on Glimmr use? 'Thirsty'? Well, she's really open about her attraction to people, and she has way too much energy most of the time. She might be a bit overbearing, but if that ends up being the case, one good strike to the solar plexus should work," Sam said nonchalantly suggested. "I don't honestly expect her to flirt in front of her girlfriend though. We haven't seen each other since she left, so I am hoping she'll direct most of her energy towards me."

"Girlf-- OH" Emily suddenly realized it. "I-is she the one you were talking about at the park when we first met?"

Samantha nodded. "Y-yeah," she rubbed the back of her neck and turned a bit pink. "She's a handful to say the least. But... she's also very hardworking when she's motivated, and... really patient, despite her appearances. You two will get along fine, I know it. Just... don't give her your glimmr if you have one. You will live to regret it," as she said this, Samantha once again turned back and continued to walk, her smile fading immediately.

Emily followed behind, mostly silent after the uncharacteristic show of emotion from Samantha. On one hand, she was happy because he saw a side of her friend she didn't get to see much of and it was proof, as far as she was concerned, that there was genunine trust between them. On the other hand, however, was the realization that Samantha might have had everything to lose here. It made too much sense, now, why she was giving off such negative feelings.

Emily became determined more than ever.

That smile... if I'm really her friend, I'll protect it!

Lily giggled at Pentius-04’s words.
”That’s fine, if Kannis wants me to wait even more I’ll do it. Oh, and Kannis was, um, Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad…something something…I forgot. Well, I think Kannis is a cuter name for her anyway~”
She kept listening to the meeting with an absentminded look. She looked surprised by Ronin’s foul language, and gave a her a sad look, as if Ronin broke her image of being a wholesome little samurai girl by cussing like a sailor, though she didn’t voice such sentiments.

Justine nodded as Kayli brought up her ability to counter Wonderland’s enchanting effect.
”That’s good to hear. Maybe we could combine our magic and develop a method to duplicate or spread that effect to all groups. From my experience, I can tell that when different magical girls combine spells, the results are usually much more powerful than the sum of their parts." She giggled a bit awkwardly at that, having remembered how such results were often aimed at her in particular. But eh, that was in the past. And now she wasn’t too proud to combine forces with others.

Suddenly, the peace of the meeting was shattered, and Lily was startled by Binky’s freakout, followed by Penny’s sudden cursing and revelation.
”Huh? Brittany was abducted?” Though she didn’t really understand most of the Cradle-related issues, she did remember the cute little shopkeeper, and was worried.
”Me and Alex haven’t seen her…”
Her mind went back to the park, and the girl that Alexander went to meet. As she realized how unusually late Alex was with returning from there, a dark speck of unease began building up in her.
”Yeah, that’s fine. I-I’ll just quickly go grab Alex outside and catch him up to speed.”
She then left the Interdimensional Home. Justine, however, landed back on the floor with a shaken expression upon hearing the news through her magicoms, and followed after the other Cradle agents.
”Mistress Maura…What happened?" She quietly spoke as she left through the door as well.

As if tagging in, Lily promptly returned back to the meeting, looking pale with her entire body shaking.
”ALEX HAS DISAPPEARED!” She screamed.

---

Alex could hear Brittany sigh in relief as she heard Alex respond back to her. However, she soon turned silent as the footsteps in the distance became louder.

“Well now, I believe in impossible things for half an hour every day, but this is something else.”

Beyond his prison cell, Alex could see a regal if strange girl holding a book. She smiled and opened her book with one hand, quickly checking the contents. “Let’s see what the Lilliputians have reported…Brittany Todd, merchant affiliated with Penrose Sanctuary. I see, I see. Nothing special.” Then she looked over at Alex with an uncanny smile.
“But you are the more interesting one, Alexander Shields.” She quickly glanced at the passage she came from, and then nodded. “Yes…You might be just what I have waited for.” She pulled out a thin scroll case made from white wood. “Let’s play a little game. The Queen of Hearts will arrive at any moment now.” She handed the scroll case to him through the bars. “If you can keep this scroll case concealed from her and her guards, I will give you a chance to escape. But in return, you must deliver it to the Guardian. When you do, tell her that I can read the words of one letter.”

Before Alex could speak or ask questions, a booming voice could be heard:
“Duchess, where are the prisoners!?”
The Duchess turned, and gave one last glance back at Alex. “Good luck, Prince Charming,” she whispered, and stepped aside as the Queen of Hearts herself appeared, escorted by spade soldiers.

“So these are the prisoners captured from Penrose?” She asked the Duchess, and she nodded.
“That’s right. Is he to your standards, your Majesty?” The Duchess asked, and the Queen furrowed her eyebrows, and then gave a deranged smile.
“Hmm…Yes, he is acceptable. He will make for an excellent unbirthday present for my dear Alice.”

---

Al sighed heavily as Chloe asked confirmation on the conditions, and tapped his fingers on the desk. “Chloe, look…If this were any other broad, I would have crumpled and thrown this paper straight to the basket. Any other broker would have called it quits now, but not me! I picked this up and kept the business rolling. You know how? You gotta see the big picture. Whatever this Queen wants is peanuts compared to the cash we’re raking in from-”

At that moment, the vintage phone on his desk rang, and he held a quick hand to silence the two as he picked it up.
“Al here…Yes…Yes…Wukong-WHAT!” His eyes widened, and his expression turned into a snarl.
“Dammit, so she did set it up as a smokescreen after all…I’m coming in there. You better prepare all the intel beforehand, or I’ll start chopping fingers!” He slammed the phone down, and stood up from his desk.
“Change of plans, Chloe,” he said as he conjured a suitcase and frantically dragged stuff from the office with shadowy hands into it. As he did, Warren noticed that he dropped a golden scroll to the floor that he didn’t pick up.
“I gotta go take care of something. Might be gone for a while. You’re running Penrose for now.”
He shut the suitcase, and tipped his hat to the two of them.
“For now, work on a compromise, but make sure that our deal with Covington goes through, and that Covington Tower survives the invasion. Get the gacha hustle running. But most importantly, keep the lights on while I’m gone. Goodbye.”
And with that, he melted into the shadows, and disappeared.

'...The fuck?' Alexander thought. However, he didn't have much time to ponder what was up with that weird girl, since someone else was coming. Thinking quickly, Alexander shoved the scroll case under his underwear 'Ugh, this feels weird' but he was taken out of his thoughts by something that the person he assumed was the Queen of Hearts said "Woah, hold up. What's this about me being a present!?"

Chloe didn’t get a chance to tell Al anything. He started to monolog, got interrupted by a phone call, and then left Penrose in Chloe’s hands. It wasn’t an outcome she had expected, but she was happy with it. Chloe was a servant to no one, and that was doubly so now that her “boss” had left Penrose. A grin crept across her face.

"Perfect…“ Chloe stepped out of Al’s office and into the street. Warren had followed Chloe and he couldn’t help but let his sarcastic personality shine through,

”So, I’m dyin’ to know, what was it that made you use your Coin? I mean, a princess like you it had to be something worth it like eh, not having enough for your daily coffee or something serious am I right?”

With a casual shrug and a devious grin he reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a dull looking Black Coin, an old looking coin like it had been passed down from generation to generation and traded hands with multiple heirs before landing into Warren’s,

”See this here Coin? I’ve had this one coin for years and never had to cash in a favor. Guess that means I can handle situations a little better than you huh?”

Chloe furrowed her brow. She looked straight at the coin that Warren was holding out. Or maybe she was looking past the coin at the man holding it. "I wouldn’t be too sure about that.“ She folded her arms. "It just means you haven’t encountered anything quite as nasty as I have. Any ‘debt collector’ can knock on a wimps door. But there aren’t a lot of soft marks in Penrose.“ The corners of her lips curled into a smile. "But since you’re so curious, I used the coin as soon as I got it.“ Chloe stated this like it was an achievement rather than a sign of weakness. "The best part of being a magical girl is being powerful. Why wouldn’t I use the coin as soon as I could? It’s good to be strong. I thought the magical girls in New York were strong too, but if your broker was done in by some Penrose randoms it’s no wonder you never had to use yours.“

Her jabs did little to deter Warren’s mood or grin, he had seen girls like this before. Headstrong, power hungry, looking to make a splash in the world. They were a dime a dozen.

”Heh, please all marks are soft marks, ya just gotta know how hard and where to hit ‘em at. We do agree on one thing though, it is good to be powerful. Ya just gotta know how to maximize the power you got. Take me for example”, gesturing at himself, ”I know what I’m good at, I pummel faces and fight to win. I got earth powers, so I use everything in my power to win. Sand in the eye, pinnin’ feet to the ground you name it. It all comes down to winnin’ princess and I don’t need the coin to win.”

Chloe smirked. "I’ll be a bit more impressed when I see thosefists in action.“

As he put the coin back into his coat pocket he couldn’t help but clinch his fist at the thought of fighting. He had done a lot of that during his tenure in New York and had helped in building what was known as the Mint through his fists and now the thought of starting over excited him to see what other strong Mahou he could contend with. As he glanced back at Chloe he let out an audible chuckle,
”What could you possibly have to fight here in Penrose that was so much harder than New York?”

"This is by no means an exhaustive list. But thinking back on it Penrose has seen...“ She placed her hands on her hips, threw back her head, and inhaled. "A vampire girl that tried to destroy the very concept of love, an eldritch horror that nearly ended the world but instead became a maid, a monster queen/emperor combo, a group of extra deranged Beacon agents known as the Ascendancy, a trio of necromancers, a rave so ‘lit’ it caused a war between pure and corrupted girls-“ She cut herself off with a giggle. "I may have had something to do with that one. But if you want the strongest person in Penrose right now, that would be Penny. You could probably tell that she’s something of an issue the way Al spoke about her at the meeting. But there are plenty of others that approach her in strength. None of them have a personal army of monster girls to call on however.“ She stretched her arms over her head. "What’s New York like? I’ve stopped by, but I can’t say I stuck around long enough to fight anyone.“

The question had merit, he hadn’t put too much thought about New York since he reassignment but the memories and experiences came flooding back,

”Aw man, I had some good fights back home. There was a rival faction right, some goody two-shoes type like Sanctuary or whateva, and they thought they were gonna come in and ’bring down our corrupt organization’ or whatever. And I kid you not, all these girls had some sort of angel/divine backing cause they all show up with their perfect halos and wings shining up the joint. I punched one so hard her halo flew off and landed on another girl's wing!”

A hearty laugh escaped from him as tears could be seen forming behind his closed eyes.

”Man, but their main boss girl, she was a fun fight. Her thing was shields and spear, right? We struggled forever and she almost had me for a minute cuz for them light spears hurt. I finally got her though when I broke her footing with my magic and disrupted her concentration. Once I bet her, her and all her little goons took up Coins and became a specialist squad for us.”

The smile slowly faded as thoughts of a friend crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed as his casual smirk returned to his face,

”We did a lot of hush work, people didn’t know that we even existed. Hell most people thought we were the mafia IF they saw us, but those fights were personal ya know? It was either them or us just to survive in that area and I loved every minute of it.”

Chloe Nodded along as Warren spoke. It wasn’t until he finished that she raised one of her fingers. "Just for clarity, Sanctuary’s members aren't anything like the goody two-shoes at Beacon. They are thugs and cowards that hide under their queen’s skirt for protection. Secondly…“ She extended a second finger, and her lips curled into a grin. "I see why Al likes you. If your ‘tough girl’ attitude isn’t all bluster you’ll go far in Penrose.“ Chloe turned on her heel and sighed. "It’s just a shame he wastes so much time looking into his own agents. He’s driven a lot of them away with his need to keep them under his thumb. Even his most loyal agents aren’t above having the screws put to them just because he feels like it.“ She looked over her shoulder. "I hope when it comes down to it, you’ll pick me over him when the time comes.“ Chloe giggled before walking further down the street, only to stop. "Neither of us is date material for the other one, but I would like to get to know who else is pulling your strings. You know, your ‘side’ patron? If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.“ Chloe locked eyes with Warren.

There was a sudden shiver down his spine, it was as if something had rushed up and planted themselves just beyond his vision. The maddening whisper had risen to a quiet roar as their eyes locked. As he stood there captured in something between fear and madness, Warren never dropped the facade that covered his face. The sheen of red turned his gray eyes almost pink,

”Aw sweetheart, at least buy me dinner first. I ain't some floozy ya know! But sure why not? Never actually called out to D directly before so it's something new for me. We should probably go somewhere more discreet. D ain't exactly one for subtlety when they're called so it’ll be a scene for sure. You got somewhere quieter?”

”I was getting to that.“With a snap of her fingers, a door phased into existence beside Chloe. It wasn’t too remarkable aside from the eerie golden glow that seeped out of its seams. "Is an interdimensional home secure enough?“ The question was rhetorical. She flung open the door and stepped inside. ”Come on in.“

Chloe’s abode was no more special than any other interdimensional apartment. Aside from the window viewing an alien landscape, it was no different than a luxury apartment Warren might have seen in New York. Chloe said nothing as he entered, and just watched him expectedly.

Warren could feel the eldritch energy flow through the space, it was a chaotic mix of comfort and terror as he could tell that Draddeth felt right at home and was itching to be released,

”Yeh, this will do nicely. Alright let’s do this before D ends up tearing me apart to get out here.”

As he took a moment and closed his eyes he felt his mind begin to slip into a deep space within itself, as if it was being cut off from his physical form while he was still in it. It was not a feeling that he enjoyed, especially for what came next. Almost instantly an overwhelming shadow enveloped Warren's physical form and began to drastically change him; the almost brilliant silver hair slowly became darker and darker until it nearly became one with the surrounding shadows of the room which was matched by the rest of his form. His face, while stronger and more angular, became softer and more rounded as two sharp red horns sprouted from just above his brow line. His hand became smaller in size and almost a bone white as did his face. As a darker, more crimson colored halo formed around his horns the being known as Draddeth opened their eyes as all around the swirling mass of shadows many more bright red eyes with sickly yellow cat-like iris opened up and focused their attention on Chole. After taking a deep breath in their borrowed body Draddeth rushed forward and grabbed both of Chole’s hands as if they were old friends that hadn’t seen each other in years,

”OH, MY GOODNESS!!! HI!! Warren never lets me out, so to let me out and see someone as cool looking as you, EEEEHHHEEHHHH!! This is just the bestest, ooh your patron must be old, I can feel their energy all over you, this is sooo cool! Oh goodness where are my manners, I’m Draddeth, nice to meet you Chole!”

Chloe, for her part, simply blinked while this all played out in front of her. Her eyes drifted between Draddeth’s face and their hands. ”Ah, ah-ha!“ She struggled to maintain her composure. ”I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t for Warren to transform into his patron.“ Chloe had to activate her third eye just to make sure this wasn’t the work of illusion magic. ”I wonder why Warren was keeping a cutie like you all locked up.“ A grin spread across her face as she drew her hands in. She looked over Draddeth’s left shoulder, then her right. ”This is so surreal. Where did he go? Can he still hear us?“

”Oh yeh, he can hear us, and to be clear, I only choose to appear this way cause it's something that Warren hates! TeeHee”

”Oh, it’s like that.“

Suddenly all of Draddeth’s eyes stopped and looked up and to the left, as if they were listening to something far off. As they turned back to Chole a cheerful yet disturbing grin creeped across their face, ”He didn’t know that until now, but I can appear in any way I want. So what’s my bestie Warren got planned for you? If he’s showing me off then there's gotta be something cool you're gonna show us?”

Chloe acquired a grin of her own, though it wasn’t quite as unsettling as Draddeth’s. ”Well, I was going to show him the other patron I work with. Though if I’m going to be honest, I don’t think they are nearly as fun as you are.“ She shrugged her shoulders. ”Part of that is due to the fact that they are dead. But a promise is a promise.“ A swirling purple portal opened on one of the apartment walls. ”And Warren?“ With Draddeth holding her hand, she guided her through the portal. ”Girls like this are absolutely my type. So let me know when you can surrender your body for a spell, eh?“

”Oh I can tell we’re gonna be the bestest of friends, we will definitely be spending a lot more time together Chloe!”

The playful teasing ended after they walked through the portal. They were taken to a far more dreary place. It was dark, with only the emerald glow of the sky providing any light. Their feet clicked against a bone bridge that stretched off into the distance. On either side were endless dunes made out of black sand, and countless piles of bones rested among them. Though a careful look would reveal that those piles were actually structures: Pyramids with carefully crafted shapes, adorned with all manner of bone made decorations. It was even possible to see souls freely flying through the air, only to be sucked into one of the pyramids. As they walked along the bridge, they could see that it led to a hole in the side of one such pyramid. ”You must know that nearly everything we have in our world is a god or horror in another. All religions follow this trend, but the same is true with board games.“ The bridge of bone led straight into a giant dome shaped room. Several strange, bony contraptions resided inside. What could only be described as necromancers were extracting souls from their surroundings to be molded into… something else. Before Draddeth and Chloe was an ivory table that some necromancers were piling bones on. Another one was approaching the table with a green clowning mass between their hands: A cluster of souls.

”You must know that nearly everything we have in our world is a god or horror in another. All religions follow this trend, but the same is true with board games. Are you familiar with Games Workshop?“

”I am aware of them, they have a “unique” vision of the future, I’m assuming that they have taken inspiration from your patron?”

Draddeth drifted through the liminal seeming space taking in the sights as casually as a sight seer in a new land. It had been no less than an eon since she had seen another eldritch entity, let alone step foot in their realm and was definitely a moment that they would take with them back. Their eyes peered at the insignificants as they went about their tasks, they often pondered and mused about these lower forms and would think of new ways to make better toys of them.

”I take it your patron happens to be one they pulled their inspiration from? Oh, you simply must show me now…I’m simply dying to see now!”

Chloe grinned, but she rubbed the back of her head. ”Well, I can’t really ‘show’ you them. As I mentioned, they are dead right now. But what’s death to something with dominion over the underworld? They do have a unique version of the future, but mine is inspired by a fantastical past. If you’re familiar with Warhammer Fantasy, you likely know who I’m referring to already. It’s Nagash: Supreme lord of the undead!“

The batch of souls were lowered onto the bones. They swirled like they were getting flushed down a toilet, but were sucked straight into the pile on the table. One by one, the bones glowed and floated into the air. They twisted and elongated, sharpened and stretched. The necromancers outstretched their arms and made gestures in the air. Before long, the pile of bones had been transformed into a siege engine of sorts. A trebuchet made of bone, but it had many legs and was capable of moving all on its own.

”Let’s call this one… Amber.“ Chloe grinned.

”A fine name.” One of the necromancers noted.

Chloe turned to look at Draddeth before pointing at the necromancers. ”Are you familiar with the Ossiarch Bonereapers? They’re all about fusing soul and bone together to make all manner of creations. But they’ve been a bit constrained by their own reality. But magical girls have extremely robust souls, and they make for some of the finest creations. Except…“ Chloe trailed off. Her smile vanished. ”...Nagash is still dead, and probably will be for a very long time. I could introduce you to Katakros, but he’s a bit boring. Lives for conquest and little else. Not to mention he’s usually fighting on the front lines in one of his spare bodies. But um, I hope this was worth the anticipation?“

At the sight of the necromancy being performed and all of the neat and interesting things happening around them Draddeth, an eldritch entity of incalculable age and horror, squealed in girlish delight as their eyes widened and shimmered like the multitude of stars in the night sky. They quickly darted around the creation that sat upon the table at various angles studying the intricacies of the creation, peering into the soul aspect and watching the souls fusing to the bone creation. They went over to one of the necromancers and picked them up as if they were little more than a rag doll speaking in their natural eldritch tongue which sounded like gibberish to the uninitiated before tossing them clear into whatever lay of existence before grabbing Chole’s hand and bouncing like a child that has just received the greatest gift in its lifetime,

OH MY GOODNESS, OH MY GOODNESS, OH MY GOODNESS!! CHOLE, THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!!! YOU AND YOUR PATRON ARE SIMPLY THE COOLEST AND BESTEST EVER!!! I have been doing this for eons but never have I considered fusing a soul to anything to create another object, and you say that you need souls to animate your patron again, ok WE are definitely going to get them back. Plus you said that the Mahou have sturdier souls than most, if we take these Penrose Mahou and feed them into your patron, enough of them should at least pick them back up. Whattaya say bestie!”

Draddeth dramatically stuck their hand out in accordance to make a deal with the other Mahou girl.

Chloe’s eyes were spinning just from watching the horror bound around like an ADD school child off their meds. ”Ah-“ she averted her gaze. ”The bonereapers work on a specific principle. They’re less about razing everything to the ground and are more about cultivating. Like farmers.“ With a chuckle, she looked into Draddeth’s eyes. ”I doubt even Penrose has enough magical girls to sustain Nagash. B-But I do have some fun ideas for us!“

The necromancer, or a mortisan bone shaper to be exact, picked itself up and dusted itself off. ”That was a good throw, but I’d rather have a warning next time.” They folded their arms behind their back. ”Anything to report?”

”Not presently. Penrose is bracing for an attack.“ Chloe nodded. ”Keep creating soldiers. We’ll need them.“ Once the mortisan bowed, Chloe power walked out of the necropolis with her strange friend. It wasn’t until Chloe walked back into a portal taking them back to her home that she exhaled. ”My relationship with the bonereapers is a little complicated. I need to be careful with what I say to them. Nagash isn’t a huge fan of independent thought.“

As they left the pocket dimension Draddeth turned and watched the portal close to soak in one last look of the Old Ones realm. As they turned back to Chole with a bounce and giddy hopping they grabbed her hand and bounced in place,

”Yeh, we typically like our thralls to be more subservient than that, with too much free thought it gives them the idea that they have a choice in their existence, which we both know isn’t true. I can’t wait for all the fun we have planned together. I've waited SOOOOOO long to be able to do anything but smelly Warren never lets me have any fun. I’m gonna have to force my way in more often, your too fun not to be around.”

”Ha!“ Chloe rubbed the back of her neck. ”Well, I think you’re very cute. We need to go on a proper date some time.“ With a sniff, she put her hands on her hips. ”I think Warren has some business to attend to, so I’ll let you go for now.“ Chloe didn’t even wait for a response before ushing Draddeth, who was now Warren, out the door. Once Chloe was alone, she collapsed onto her couch. ”I wonder if it’s too late to get out from under Nagash? What am I even talking about?“

It was an unusual situation she was in. Nagash, the Mint, even Draddeth had different plans for Penrose.

But what did Chloe want?

---

Aurora clapped her hands together. "Four teams? I wouldn’t expect you to know this Penny, but the eggs are-" She lifted a hand to her mouth. "Oh! I shouldn’t be giving away this information so freely. Can everyone tell me their cellphone numbers so that I can text them a secret message? I’m sure Penny will just hack you and extract the information herself, but it’s the principle of the thing." The door to Chloe’s interdimensional home opened beside Aurora and Chloe stepped out. "Oh good heavens! I’m glad you’re back. Do you want me to catch you up?"

”Did anything important happen?“

"Important? Not necessarily, but there was a development where-"

”Excellent! Tell me later.“ As soon as Chloe pulled out the contract again, Aurora rushed to create a metal desk for her to place all of the documentation on. ”The boss gave to go ahead on everything. And yes, Penny, the details regarding sanctuary are not on the main contract, per your request.“ Chloe was pretty sure making the paperwork pointlessly complex was just some ‘dominance game’ the iron queen was playing with her. ”Now let’s hear those additional conditions so that we can see about adding them.“

Pentius-04 had to keep from rolling her eyes at Lily’s ditzy response. Still, as annoying as her air-headed charge was, the greenette’s antics were at least predictable. Ronin’s little “speech”, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. Based upon what 04 had learned from the samurai’s personality profile, the girl’s exceptionally caustic response was quite out of character. While others had expressed some reservations about Doctor Kannis’s trustworthiness, none had even come close to the level of vitriol Ronin had unleashed. Indeed, the bodyguard reflected, her creator must have really struck a nerve, an achievement said creator seemed to be taking considerable pride in, much to 04’s dismay…

“Doctor Kannis wishes for me to inform you that she is exceedingly pleased to have evoked such a passionate response,” 04 told Ronin with all the emotionless stoicism she could muster. “She would also like you to know that, out of all the members of the, quote ‘Penrose Pack’, end quote, she considers you to be one of her favorites.”

04 didn’t correct Penny when the Mechanical Monarch mentioned that Doctor Kannis was probably looking for the Nexus as well, especially since her creator’s own response was nothing more than a fit of maniacal laughter…

Subsequent developments were not of any real concern, at least, until Lily decided to leave the interdimensional home and check on her boyfriend. Stepping back into the park, it didn’t take long to realize that Alex had completely disappeared, prompting Lily to rejoin the meeting and begin freaking out.

“Um, I am sure we shall locate him soon enough,” 04 said in an admittedly lackluster attempt to calm her charge down somewhat. For a moment, she considered consulting with her creator, but the deranged doctor was still laughing her head off…

---

As the meeting dragged on, the Angel was beginning to find herself increasingly bored. After all, there really wasn’t much she could do, aside from gasping in shock at Ronin’s scathing assessment of Nykannis (even if she did agree with it internally) and wishing the impromptu search party success in finding the missing Cradle members.

When the fuck is this stupid meeting going to be over?

A potential answer to that question came a moment later when Lily began screeching that her boyfriend had disappeared, bringing the meeting to an equally screeching halt.

“Good Heavens!” the Angel cried in horror. “How absolutely awful! Could this be the work of whatever heinous fiends are responsible for the disappearance of the companions those other champions so valiantly departed to find?” she inquired.

Or this could just be his way of dumping you, you ditzy bitch…

---

Connie was broken out of her concern for Cradle’s missing members when Ronin began giving her… “thoughts” on Doctor Nykannis. To say the masked maiden was taken aback was a bit of an understatement. In all the (admittedly rather brief) time that she’d know the samurai, Connie had never seen her act in such a hostile manner toward anyone, so her behavior now was quite shocking, to say the least. However, those concerns evaporated a moment later, when some considerably more alarming information was made known.

“O-Oh my gosh!” Connie cried upon hearing Lily’s frantic announcement of Alex’s disappearance. “W-What c-could have h-happened t-to him?!”

“Based upon what little information we have, I believe it is quite reasonable to assume that, since Wonderland’s forces were responsible for the abduction of Her Majesty’s associate, they are also the party behind Alexander’s disappearance, and perhaps even the missing Cradle members' as well,” Gaia noted, while placing a comforting arm around her masked friend’s shoulder.

“T-Then w-we should s-start s-searching r-right away!” Connie insisted clenching her trembling hands into determined fists. “B-Before anything h-happens to them!”

Things were continuing to move along. Alicia nodded to Kayli as she pointed out that her magic could probably counteract the effects of Wonderland's mind warping effect. "It would be useful, but we shouldn't rely on it being the case," she cautioned. For something so uncertain, it was wiser to err on the side of caution rather than optimism.

That was when news of what had happened to Brittany came in, followed on its heels by the further news that Alex had been taken with her. "Well that's a problem," she added. Still, it was an odd choice of target if it was for some larger purpose. Brittany's wares were useful but she was not the sole source of magical goods within Penrose. Perhaps they wanted information from her and Alex, though Alicia found it hard to think that the latter had much of use in terms of what they knew of Wonderland's goals. Meanwhile, some small part of her felt deja vu.

While some focused on that, her attention drifted to Aurora. An eyebrow rose, though she was pleased to hold back a twitch of annoyance. For all that had happened Penny was still her friend, and her trust towards Chloe's associates extended about as far as her general trust of the Ebon Mint. That was to say, not at all. "The point of coming here was so we would have more privacy from Wonderland. If you feel whatever information you have can't be shared freely now, and to only some of us, then I guess it isn't important enough to tell me either."

Her mind working, she turned to the problem at hand. Regardless of whatever it was that was to be shared, they still needed to move forward. "If Mariette can poke around to try and find him then that would be the best option. She has a lot more access than the rest of us do. Ideally we can launch a rescue mission and hit the eggs at the same time, with one serving as a distraction for the other." She looked over the room. "I think we have a general plan in mind. Once we've gathered more intel on Wonderland and figured out who all will be participating in this, we can iron out the remaining specifics. Sound good?"

Predictably, Kate was able to arrange for Justice Rider Blaze and Horizon Rider to face each other in the WFC’s second round, and by the time the match ended in Blaze’s favor, the photographer had accrued a wealth of excellent shots of the two fighters. Not only were they two of the most popular Nomads in recent polls, but Kate knew that there were also plenty of wealthy parties who would pay through the nose for the inside scoop on the pair’s classified equipment and abilities. As one of the most advanced creations ever developed by Minerva Defense Logistics, Blaze’s signature EX-System’s full capabilities were a closely-guarded secret, while Horizon Rider’s very nature as a genetically engineered combat organism was known to only a select few in Horizon Frontiers itself. Yet, thanks to her camera, all of this forbidden knowledge was now Kate’s to do with as she saw fit.

After sending her photos to FNN HQ and her secret data to the relevant parties, Kate headed over to watch angsty cyborg Justin Haggar’s match against Lucas Miller, a spineless nobody who had somehow made it to the third round of the tournament after a string of bizarre misfortunes had befallen his first two opponents. It was an interesting match, to be sure (with Lucas ultimately winning in yet another spectacular upset), but as the photographer would soon discover, it had nothing on what was occurring down in the Power Stone Vault. Indeed, would-be robotic overlord Oh-One had chosen that moment to steal the Stone, and when his plans were opposed by a hastily assembled team of Nomads, the rogue AI had unleashed the full might of his mechanical forces. Although Kate had initially planned to watch the end of the tournament, before heading down to the beach, the Stone’s theft brought the event to a quite literally crashing halt, and trying to survive the assault of an army of killer robots was most definitely not what Kate called “fun in the sun…”

Thus, the photographer had made a swift exit and shifted her focus to her newest assignment. If she were a more sensitive individual, like Connie, she might have been concerned for the safety of the Nomads she’d chatted with, but Kate was confident that they’d be able to look after themselves. As for her latest job, she already had photos of Oros the Swift and Oros the Mad, which just left the Wise, the Shrewd, the Joyful, and any others Nykannis might have discovered. Figuring it would be best to save the Wise for last, Kate decided to start with what she hoped would be the easier of the remaining two currently-known iterations. From what information Nykannis had provided, Oros the Shrewd worked as a teacher at Ayame High School, in her universe’s version of Tokyo. Figuring it would be best to simply wait for her subject to leave the building once class let out, Kate took a seat on one of the benches just outside the school and made herself comfortable.

But as Kate waited, she would come to realize that something was off about her surroundings. It wasn’t anything most people would pick up, just subtle things that drew her senses. Despite sitting in an open area, there was no wind. There were no vehicles driving by, or pedestrians walking about. No pigeons in flight, no vehicles driving around. Japan was a peaceful country in most reality plenums, but it was never this quiet. 

"If it isn’t the photographer from earlier." The druid from earlier seemed to appear behind Kate’s bench. Or maybe he was always there and Kate only noticed him now. "Do you enjoy the scenery? I have a feeling it’s going to be this way for a very long time. But if you wouldn’t mind doing me a favor…." The Druid looked at the school. "I think there’s some people in there that may need your help. I didn’t get a good look, but it looks like they found something in a locker. You were able to help those two Nomads, I don’t see why you couldn’t assist here as well."

“Gah!” Kate yelped at the druid’s sudden appearance. The lack of any notable activity might have been growing a little unnerving, but it was nothing compared to pretty much the last person she’d expect to find at this particular place popping up out of seemingly thin air.

“U-Uh, h-hey,” she greeted with an awkward chuckle. “S-Sorry about that,” she apologized, scratching the back of her head. “Ya kinda took me by surprise there. Oh, uh, I guess I could check it out…” she added with a slight frown when he mentioned people possibly needing her help. “But I don’t know how much good a simple photographer’s gonna do, unless they need a picture taken,” she noted with a grin. “By the way, did you… follow me here?”

The last thing she needed was a stalker, especially one this creepy, and what was up with him asking for her help twice in a row? After all, she didn’t think she really looked like the hero type. In fact, she did everything she could to simply blend into the background, so having this mysterious druid repeatedly approach her was beginning to raise some serious warning flags…

"It’s interesting." The druid began. "After things went…interestingly at the competition, I decided to check up on someone. I am just as surprised to see you here." He didn’t look away from the school. "I would enter the school myself, but I feel my appearance would make that problematic. Not that I mind problems. But with you here there is no need to involve myself." He turned to face Kate. "What brings a photographer to a normal school?"

“Well, I’m a freelance photographer,” Kate explained. “And someone hired me to photograph a few members of the school’s faculty. You said you wanted to check up on someone, so does that mean you know one of them?” she inquired. “Or was it one of the students?”

The druid looked over his shoulder at Kate. With a shrug, he turned his whole body to face her. "To specify, I’m interested in aberrations. I’m something of a photographer myself. Did I mention that before? Regardless, there are many such aberrations in this school, all waiting to have their pictures taken. Though I do not feel like it would be in good faith to continue talking about them without their consent. It’s the same reason I won’t press you for details about your client. It’s not proper to delve into just anyone’s secrets, correct?" 

“Uh, yeah,” Kate agreed. “Client confidentiality is pretty important in my line of work, no doubt about it. Sooo, you’re a photographer, too, huh?” she inquired. It was oddly coincidental, to be sure, but Kate decided to remain cordial towards the strange druid, at least for the time being. “In that case, did ya wanna lead the way to where this trouble’s goin’ on? Odds are, we’re here to photograph the same subjects, and if they’re the ones in danger, we should probably try to get a few snapshots before somethin’ happens to ‘em, right?” she added with a grin.

"That is not advised." The druid fret his brow. "To clarify, I hadn’t realized how bad things were until just recently. I have no intention of entering the school." He began to walk away. "But if you need guidance, I think you’ll find something’s off with the lockers. I overheard someone talking about them."

Figures this guy would leave everything to me…

“The lockers, huh? Well, okay then,” Kate said as she slowly rose to her feet. “Guess I’ll be seein’ ya around.”

With that, Kate made her way into the school. Although a part of her was glad the unnerving druid wouldn’t be joining her, another part couldn’t help but feel it was better to have the strange being where she could keep an eye on him. While he didn’t seem hostile, the photographer wasn’t about to let her guard down, especially when the ambiguous “trouble” she was heading towards was concerning enough on its own. Despite her myriad talents, Kate hated the idea of involving herself in a potential conflict, a fact she was never hesitant to point out. With that in mind, the idea of blindly walking into who-knows-what was a distinctly unappealing proposition. Thankfully, she had just the tool with which to gain additional insights on the situation at hand…

As she approached the school building, Kate took a photo of the edifice, with the idea of potentially learning more about whatever unpleasantness was occurring within it. Then, just before opening the school’s front doors, she flipped her camera around and took a quick snapshot of the area behind her. With any luck, she’d manage to catch the druid unawares and find out a bit more about him in the process, although she was fairly sure he’d already disappeared in his usual mysterious fashion.

And that was the case here as well. The druid was nowhere to be seen when Kate looked back. But her camera did pick up an anomaly. The entire world was frozen inside a time stop spell. Not only that, but there was a pocket dimension that was incubating a monster. Of course, the time stop spell ensured that it would never fully mature. There was a portal to this dimension somewhere in the school, and Kate had an idea she knew where she’d find it. 

Sure enough, she found a portal in the hallway with all the school lockers. Anyone would hesitate seeing such an ominous thing, but Kate couldn’t really back out now. She had a job to do, and her client wouldn’t accept failure. Besides, the monster was frozen in time. There was nothing it could really do. 

When Kate entered, she was treated to a most unusual spectacle. She stood on a sports field, complete with chalked lines, yet festival stalls in every garish color imaginable had been haphazardly set up all over it, some of them even piled up on top of each other with broken canopies. The sides of some bore doors for some reason, hanging off of their hinges, signs with school club names taped to them. Streamers ran between them in a tangle, adorned with what looked like report papers or assignments. Some of the stalls were on fire, yet the flames weren't spreading. They were frozen along with the passage of time. All this between bars that arched up around the field like a cage, silhouetted against a red sky.

But even further ahead was a great battle. It looked a bit like a diorama, with magical girls and monster frozen in place. But not everything was still. Towards the back of the group, a magical girl chef was having a casual conversation with a magical girl rockstar.

“Are… Are you Amber?!” The rockstar’s eyes went wide at the realization.  

"Amber?" The chef held her ladle to her chin. "That name sounds familiar. Like the memory of a childhood friend that never goes away. I think my name started with an ‘O’ of all things. Ophilia? Olivia? Odessa? Olga?" She placed a hand on her hip and snorted. "It matters not. You were the one that said we had a job to do. We can sort out my identity once the dungeon boss has been felled." She started to fill one of her vials with a glowing orange liquid.

“Alright, fine,” the punk rocker retorted as she readied her bladed guitar. “But after we’ve wiped this shit stain and saved that kid, ya seriously gotta get yer head checked out.”

Meanwhile, after taking a moment to survey her surreal surroundings, Kate noticed the only two entities not currently freeze framed (And although her own freeze frame ability couldn’t affect anywhere near this many people, the irony of the situation didn’t escape her). Figuring that one of these had to be Oros the Shrewd, she simply snapped a picture of each young woman and consulted her display. Sure enough, the shorter, pink-haired girl was indeed her subject, (with the other young woman being one Aiko Misugi, aka Nails), and that meant her reason for being here was now complete. If she was a more altruistic individual, Kate might have considered sticking around to help defeat the monster and rescue the captive student, or, if she was an individual possessing even a shred of Nykannis’s curiosity, at least investigate the cause behind the mysterious temporal freeze, but the photographer was neither of those things. If someone was paying her, that would be a different story, but as it was, the creepy druid had merely requested her help, and as far as Kate was concerned, that really didn’t amount to much. However, just as she was turning to leave the monster’s pocket dimension, she heard a voice call out.

“Hey! Just who tha hell are you?!”

Crap…

"Another under equipped fellow in the dungeon?" Amber unclipped her coin purse and threw the entire thing at Kate. "At least get a skull cap! Who knows when the rubble will come toppling over." Despite the stasis spell being in effect, The monster started to move. As if the presence of the coin purse in Kate’s possession was enough to will the creature out of it. "Cronomancer! Are you on hiatus? Bah!" She flung the orange potion towards Kate. "Drink that potion of strength. It’ll help keep you safe anyway.”

“W-What the…?!” Kate stammered as the potion and coin purse were thrown at her. “Uh, thanks, but I’m not really a fighter,” the photographer protested, even as she caught both items. “I just kinda took a wrong turn and wound up here.”

“So yer a student?” the punk rocker asked with a raised eyebrow. “Then why tha hell ain’t ya wearin’ a uniform?”

“Oh, uh, I’m not a student,” Kate corrected, even as she backed away from both the monster and the magical girls. “I’m just a simple photographer. So, uh, I’ll just get out of your way now,” she added with a slightly nervous chuckle, while preparing to make a dash for the exit.

The next one to speak wasn’t any of the magical girls, but the monster at the end of the sport’s yard. It was a giant doll dressed up in a tattered school uniform. The marinette doll’s strings disappeared into the sky, and its eye sockets were filled with fire. Its gaze was locked onto Kate. ”Just a photographer?!” The puppet took a clumsy step forward. It was supported by its strings, so the haphazard movement of its legs didn’t matter. ”I’m not going to pose for you! I’m not going to do what anyone wants! I want my own freedom!” With a crack, the monster lunged forwards. The time spell no longer restrained the creature. 

With a flail of its arm, a burning grandstand fell out of the sky and crumpled into a massive heap in front of the exit portal. An expeditious escape was no longer possible.

"Fighter or not, you’re here now!" Oros the Shrewd drew a pair of frying pans from her massive backpack. They were held together by a short chain. "Seek cover, and don’t drop my money!" Was her warcry before racing after the giant fire-eyed puppet.

Cover? Kate thought as she looked over the various highly unsafe objects scattered around the periphery of the field with a dubious frown. Screw that…

Quickly placing the money pouch and the potion vile in her coat pockets, the photographer produced an ornate whistle. If her surroundings provided no suitable cover, then she would just have to create her own. No sooner had she blown on the whistle, then a pair of enormous demonic lions in spiky obsidian armor appeared before her, shielding the photographer from the monstrous marionette’s flailing charge.

Meanwhile, the punk rocker was assisting her pink-haired ally.

“Hey ass wipe!” she called up to the ambling monster. “Yer gonna love this piece, it’s called ‘Chill tha Fuck Out’!” Shredding her guitar with furious intensity, she sent several waves of sonic force, as well as a few jagged musical notes, crashing into the monster’s head.

The doll’s head rocked around on its shoulders with each blow. A crack formed right over its ear that belched fire out the side. ”LEave me alone!” The doll threw out its arms, and a tornado of burning sports peripherals surrounded it. While they started close to the doll’s body, their orbit expanded at an exponential rate. The gorelions winced as their massive bodies were bombarded by flaming debris. A giant cricket bat, running shoes, homework. But it wasn’t just the gorelions that were in trouble. The magical girls were at risk of getting hit too. But one ran through the flames with her weapon drawn. 

"By the might of GLORY!” Oros the Shrewd was quite nimble without her backpack. She raced up to the doll and smacked it in the ankle. Then it’s shin. She treated the chained pans like a set of nunchucks and it was somehow working.  Though like Nails’ attack, this only caused its body to crack and leak flames.

“Nice work!” the rocker commended, even as she used the bladed edge of her guitar to chop through the various pieces of flaming paraphernalia like a literal axe. “But what tha hell are tha others just standin’ around for?!”

“So, she finally noticed, huh?” Kate muttered. It was a strange conundrum, to be sure, not to mention inconvenient, but the photographer was confident that her two pets would be able to provide the active pair of magical girls with all the help they’d need. Indeed, after being briefly staggered by the twisted doll’s sudden attack, the two APEX-Grade armored gorelions went on the offensive.

“WITNESS TRUE STRENGTH!!!” the first roared as it sent the next wave of blazing projectiles hurtling back towards the monstrous marionette with a mighty swipe of its gargantuan, armored paw. Meanwhile, the second opened its pitch black maw impossibly wide, before sending a Beam of Unmaking surging into the creature’s cracked cranium.

All of the projectile spam was making the situation hairy for Oros. So hairy that if Ari was going to GM this bit, he would undoubtedly have some of the burning debris slam into her. But the pint sized chef was nimble and aware of her surroundings. A grandstand exploded when it collided with the doll, and Oros spun like a dervish. Her pans slapped the debris away as fast as they could come. But the real devastation was happening up by the doll’s head.  It cracked open, and a school boy fell out of the wound. The doll had lost its puppet master along with its ability to move. The strings became loose as the whole mess fell.

The chef lunged for the boy and caught them mid air. She braced for a hard landing, but nothing could have prepared her for the force generated by the doll’s collapse. The ground shook when the monster crashed into it. Oros closed her eyes and braced for what came next, which was a hot explosion of light. It was loud and bright enough that it could be seen through one’s eyelids.

Once the light dimmed, all that was left of the doll was a smoldering pile of ash. The chef looked at the boy in her arms. "Are you alright, Watanabe?”

The boy only groaned in response. He made a peace sign with his hand before crossing his arms over his chest. 

"He’s safe!” Oros turned to look at Nails. "That monster wasn’t so bad. However…” She looked at the single gorelion that stood at her back. "Can we trust that such planner entities won’t stir up more trouble?” Her eyes drifted over to Kate.

“Heck if I know,” Kate replied as she blinked away the spots in her eyes from the monster’s blinding demise. “And were’s Gary?!” she asked, sounding significantly more alarmed as she rapidly looked around. “He was just here a moment ago!”

“Tha hell’s Gary?” Nails asked. “An’ what tha fuck’s this thing?!” she added, finally noticing the armored demonic lion sitting nearby.

“She’s one of my gorelions,” Kate explained with clear annoyance. “And Gary’s the other one.”

“Thought ya said ya were just some photographer?” the punk rocker asked dubiously.

“I am,” Kate shot back. “Doesn’t mean I can’t have pets.”

"Pets are for comfort. Those are a bit more than that.” Oros folded her arms behind her back and approached the photographer. "As for ‘Gary’, he was there one moment, and gone after the flash. Did he leave?” The path back outside had been cleared out, but it was far too small for a gorelion to fit through.  "What are you even doing here? Do you typically take pictures of dungeons such as this one?”

“I was hired to photograph some stuff here,” Kate replied, unable to completely keep the annoyance she felt at Gary’s strange disappearance out of her voice. “And I typically go wherever my clients need me to,” she added in a snide tone. “Sometimes those places can be kinda dangerous, so I decided it’d be a good idea to get some protection,” the photographer explained, gesturing to her sole remaining gorelion. “And yeah, pets can provide protection as well as comfort. I mean, haven’t ya ever heard of guard dogs?”

"So that’s a yes then.” Oros tapped her chin with her ladle, totally ignoring Kate’s attempt to argue hypotheticals. "Unfortunately I’m a little new to this whole thing myself. You helped us, and I’d like to help you in return.” Oros extended her hand. "If you aren’t going to buy a suit of armor, maybe I can help you find your ‘guard dog’ instead. Though I’m not sure how something so large could just vanish like that. It wouldn’t happen to have access to illusion or transmutation magic would it?”

“Nope, he’s mostly just a straight forward fighter,” Kate explained. “Besides, why would he hide now that the battle’s over? Uh, thanks for the help, though,” she added, slightly surprised by the pink-haired girl’s offer. “Gotta say, I really wasn’t expectin’ ya to be particularly concerned with my problems, especially since it looks like you’ve got your own issues to deal with,” the photographer noted, gesturing to Oros’s still freeze-framed companions. As she did so, Kate activated her Third Eye to see if she could discern the source of the mysterious temporal stasis, as well as if Gary had left any sort of trail behind in the wake of his equally mysterious disappearance.

“Yeah, that’s weirdin’ me out, too,” Nails chimed in. “Kohaku looked like she had some kinda time magic, right? Ya think this is all ‘cause she went a little overboard with one of ‘er spells?”

Oros nodded. "Probably.” Kate’s Third Eye confirmed as much, although if the missing gorelion had left a trail, no sign was forthcoming. "She seemed taken back once she realized which student it was. I wouldn’t put it past the chronomancer to put her all into her next attack. I suppose she went a little overboard.”  Oros cleared her throat and wiggled her fingers. "I’ll take my money back if you don’t need it.”

“Sure thing,” Kate replied, handing the coin pouch back to the pinkette. “Welp, I should probably get goin’ now,” the photographer added, even as her sole remaining “pet” returned to her whistle. “I’m pretty sure I know someone who can help me find Gary, and I’ve got a feelin’ I’ll be seein’ ‘em sooner, rather than later… Oh, and, uh, good luck with the whole ‘temporal stasis’ thing.”

After examining the pouch, Oros approached her back pack. "I’m sure she’ll snap out of it. Even if I have to wait months for her mana to run dry first, I’m sure our story doesn’t end here.”

“Yeah,” Nails agreed with a toothy grin, while resting her guitar on her shoulder. “We can’t let our first gig be our… Did you say MONTHS?!!”

Chloe’s abrupt return wasn’t something that did much to raise Penny’s mood. If anything it was much the opposite. Especially with the latest change in circumstances that had just dropped in their laps. So the Queen would take a moment to let out a breath before approaching the desk and picking up her notarized copy and reading it.

““Monica” She would say as she turned towards her retainers, who had stayed quiet as the Queen had things well enough in hand until now.

“My Queen?” Monica would enquire as she stepped forward.

“Take this to the Regent, I want this disseminated across Sanctuary as soon as possible.” She would order handing over the documents proclaiming all those living in Sanctuary now absolved of any outstanding debt to the Mint.

“I understand.” The minotaur girl would say with a bow.

“Ashlyn, you are to accompany her. With the latest development I don’t want anyone moving about alone if we can help it.” Penny would add, turning to her guard captain. “In addition I want you to start gathering a consensus. I want to know if anyone else from Sanctuary has been abducted. Once that is going, get a hold of anyone who is capable of scrying or divination to see if they are willing to assist in locating Brittney more precisely. Go.”

With a nod of understanding the Oni girl would follow as Monica began heading towards the exit. One hand raised to her ear as she spoke in a hushed tone.

Once that was done Penny returned her attention to Chole. “For full clarification, this contract is to hold all signers and their respective organizations to the same rules and restrictions multilaterally, correct?”

”You’re talking about the whole ‘stop the killing’ bit I take it?“ Chloe gave Penny a sideways glance. ”I think we can both agree that there will always be rogue actors. But that part of the contract is to ensure that all parties realize that committing violence on other magical girls is not to be tolerated, regardless of who does it and who the target is. The general idea is that the Mint will not issue assassinations, murders, beatings, etc inside Penrose or on its inhabitants. But allowing others to subject us to lethal force necessitates something be put in place to prevent that. The whole idea of us having our own turf is so that nobody comes to kill us off. So no, I would say there are slight differences between the two. Mint is not going to use its Penrose assets for violence. Everyone else is just required to play nice with us. But that makes sense, doesn’t it? The Mint can only govern itself. Whatever you choose to do with other factions is your own business.“ She swirled her hand in the air. ”Everything else, such as ceasing research and offering services to corrupt girls in our employ, only affects us.“

““No actually, but that clarification is useful as well.” Penny would reply as she crossed her arms loosely infront of her. ““All in all this is sounding less a treaty and more akin to a business license. Regardless, one more thing before we move on to the main reason for this. What are the consequences of breaking the agreement and how is it going to be monitored and enforced?”

”The Mint does not pretend to be royalty. Of course it’s a business contract.“ A smirk crept across Chloe’s face. ”If someone attacks Penrose, Penrose comes to its aid. It shouldn’t matter who tries to kill or harm what. If one of Sanctuary’s monster girls goes on a bender and wrecks one of Mint’s businesses, I would expect Beacon and Sanctuary to condone the offending girl. Same if Mint decided to try raiding Sanctuary one last time. The other two would come to your defense. The punishment to be metered out would be dependent on the offense and is a case by case basis. If the governing bodies themselves are involved, then they will be punished as well. There’s no death curse that’s going to instantly kill anyone if someone in Sanctuary goes rogue. And of course, all of this extends to every faction and patron who signs.“

“No but you do profess to be trustworthy, which we both know how that goes.” Penny would reply with an unamused look. “Nevertheless, you answered the first and last part of my question but didn’t at all touch on the most important part. How it is being monitored. Is it simply an honor system? Is there magic to trace? Are we bringing in a Patron to watch over the signees to ensure it is followed? This is important to know. After all, the unscrupulous nature of the Mint proceeds you. Saddling someone with a task that will result in them getting burned by this contract does not sound outside your means.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. ”Right, because over the course of a few weeks, you went from Beacon’s poster girl to an outcast playing royalty in the scrapyard slum. I’m sure there’s an explanation that puts you in a good light, but if it’s all the same to you I’d like to stay focused.“ She furrowed her brow. ”It’s a generic magical contract. What’s more important than the words written on it is the intent of the people signing it. I couldn’t midirect you even if I wanted to. Breaking contracts like this has always been a bit mysterious. Maybe you’ll get cursed, maybe you’ll become weak, maybe you’ll flat out cease to be. It all depends on how egregious the break is. But regardless of how or who breaks it, everyone who signed will know the moment it was. So it’s in nobody’s interest, especially mine, to break contract.“

Penny nodded for a moment as she considered the information. She was tempted to snipe back, but knew that they both would simply perpetuate doing so for the entirety of this discussion if she did. And she had better uses of her processing power.

With one more nod to herself she would match Chloe’s gaze ““Then there are five things I would require from the Mint.”

“First is a tithe. So long as the Mint want’s to operate within Penrose I want the Mint to take on at least forty percent of the costs of repair to the Penrose as a result of magical occurrences. The money does not need to be seen by me or anyone from Sanctuary, but I would like an itemized list for how the money is being spent.”

“Second is support. I want the Mint to found and contribute to an outreach program that operates within Penrose’s borders. This would be both a mundane and magical program, though you can separate it into two different programs if you wish. Furthermore these programs can not be employed solely by mint operatives, nor solely by any of the reigning powers of Penrose. With the exception that if it takes off and becomes its own power.”

“Third, I want the ability to buy the Debt of Mint agents. The hows and why of such can be discussed at another time.”

“Fourth is that I want an exit clause in the contract. A way for any of the signees to leave the contract. Stipulations that enforce them to the rules within for at least two weeks upon divesting themselves of the contract as well as making such a decision known to all other signees at time of them bowing out.”

“Lastly, I want restrictions on Brokers seeking out Maho to give Black coins too. If they come to your organization freely and knowingly that is their own business. But hunting girls down on their luck just to turn a quick deal needs to go within Penrose’s boundaries.“

Chloe raised a finger to her chin. ”Working backwards, number five can be done. Al and I are the only brokers in Penrose and we don’t plan on letting anyone else in. Four is a little weird. I’m not sure why someone would want to back out of a contract that keeps the peace. But sure. The contract thus far does far more to restrict the Mint than protect it. We’ll discuss specifics later, but it’s nothing that’s going to happen on a whim. The third is a non-issue. There have been plenty of romantic stories about lovers buying their lover’s debt, and sometimes it happens in real life too! But can you afford it? Second was going to happen anyway. This might sound crazy, but the Mint likes to protect its investments. It doesn’t do anyone any good to let Penrose fall into disarray. Our new business empire is not only going to need local employees, but local customers as well. But it’s that first point where we’re going to have a little bit of an issue.“ A smile spread across her face. ”Forty percent? Thanks to Lily’s suggestion from earlier we’d be lucky to make enough to cover five percent and still pay our employees. Not to mention that kind of cut is going to really stunt our growth moving forward, and will harm the outreach program you also want us to run. Moreover, I refuse to put myself in a position where I have to pay every time you or one of your underlings goes on a little rampage.“

“Hmm, I suppose it was out of hand for me to assume a multidimensional crime syndicate would be able to assist in the maintenance of a single city’s infrastructure to such a degree without their tried and true method of squeezing it dry to do so.” Penny would reply with a raised brow. It was interesting to hear the reason that Chloe was against that demand however, the Truth meant one of two things so far as Penny was concerned.

”It comes down to profits, not ability.“ Chloe corrected. ”We’re not going to make a deal that costs us money. Maybe if we had some nefarious reason for being in Penrose we could siphon some funds from other sectors. Nut nah, we’re just running a business.“

“But fair enough, I’ll retract that request and the one for a line of communication to your superior. Since it is just you two in the city I’ll likely encounter them sooner or later regardless. Instead how about this. The Mint will indefinitely forestall the research, development, and production of the machines you are constructing based on my blueprints and turn over all assets the project has amassed so far to me.”

Nefer blinked, and slowly turned her head towards the two, now listening intently.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. ”You know about that? Al only told one other soul...“ After staring at Penny for a few seconds, Chloe started to laugh. ”Al and his big mouth! He probably blabbed to some dame he was having a one night stand with.“ She bit her lower lip. ”Research on that was going to stop per Binky’s condition anyway. And sure, we can turn over the few robots we made. But then no more extra requests.“

“Thank you for the confirmation” Penny would say with a nod and a smirk. “Eden left a lot of interesting things behind if you know where to go poking around. Always nice to know that I found something valuable. Besides we both know that Binky’s condition wouldn’t have really hindered that project regardless of what you say.”

Chloe snorted. She looked to the other magical girls and then back at Penny. ”I’m not going to explain how the contract works again.“

“And I’m not requesting just the finished product. I want all the materials, all the data, all the paperwork, all the tools, everything. I want every bit of the nonpersonal assets that went into the project.”

”That might be a problem.“ Chloe narrowed her eyes again. ”This is something that everyone has to sign off on, and while I’m sure you get great satisfaction out of making me squirm, I don’t think everyone is going to like the idea of us equipping you to make armies of yourself, regardless of how inferior to the original they may be. But here’s what I’m willing to do.“ She stood beside Penny holding what would, hopefully, be the final version of the contract. ”If everyone who signs this is okay with these demands you’re making, I’ll get you exactly what you asked for. But if someone doesn’t like the idea of extra versions of you running around, then I’m striking it out of the contract. Maybe you’re unwilling to sign because of that. Understandable. Sanctuary can keep its loan forgiveness, but I won’t be obligated to follow any of these new conditions you added. And before anyone asks, everything pertaining to the Pennybots will be destroyed to conform to the contract, in the event that Penny doesn’t get them that is.“ She rolled her shoulders. ”I think we’ve talked enough, your highness. I consider myself pretty flexible but I don’t think you’ve ever bent me this far over.“ A pen appeared in her hand, which she offered to Penny. ”What do you say? Is it a deal?“

“I actually have one condition.” Nefer suddenly spoke up from her seat on the sofa. “I would like to acquire one of these so-called Pennybots. Oh, but purely for intellectual reasons,” she added as Penny’s eyes moved to her. “I have no interest in utilizing someone else’s work on the field. But the technology seems fascinating based on the performance I have observed.” Now Penny was the one being looked over. “The System-on-Chip architecture, the interwoven blend of carbon fiber and nanoprocessors…Oh, I could spend months with that alone.”

“Then you best hope that the rest of the signer's are alright with me acquiring the project assets,” Penny would say in a flat tone as she examined Nefer. “As if it’s not me receiving the results of my stolen schematics, I’ll only consider signing with the written understanding that the project is indefinitely scrapped. I’d like to add in a clause about cloning, but people seem less interested in replicating organic entities, so it doesn’t seem worth the effort.”

“What says you, Broker?”

”I hate repeating myself, Penny. Yes, I’m fine with my conditions that you outlined in your own words. As for Nefer’s addition, if you’re fine sharing the pennybots with others that wish to study them, who am I to stop either of you?”

“I can give the toy away once I am done playing with it,” Nefer responded with a smirk at Penny. “Or I can forgo the fake one…If I get to take a little look at the real cutie’s machinery instead~”

Penny would give Nefer a smile, one that would be hard pressed to be viewed as not a threat. “Seems we will have to have our own negotiations then, once we hear back from the rest.” She would turn towards Chloe, taking the offered pen as she did. “You have my signature, and if my last request is repealed, you will continue to have it only so long as a condition that the Pennybot project in its entirety is scrapped, is added in its place.” With that said she would add her signature to the document.

“And you have mine as well,” Nefer added as she wrote her name in a way oddly reminiscent of hieroglyphics. “By the way, I look forward to the date you promised me, Chloey~”

For the briefest of moments, Chloe’s eyes were fixed on the first pair of signatures the way one might look at someone who gave them a surprise kiss on New Year’s: In utter bewilderment. ”Ah…” Her gawking persisted until Nefer’s words finally registered. ”Well.” Chloe smiled. ”I’m sure I can pencil you in, provided you aren’t busy oogling Penny or someone else. Not that I mind. We’ll have to arrange a time when we’re both free.”

It wasn’t long before the others signed as well. Even Alicia had little trouble signing Beacon on the contract. Once everyone had signed, Chloe looked over everything.

”Hmmm? We’re missing Cradle.”

"That was what I tried to tell you earlier." Aurora looked away while twiddling his thumbs. "It seems something happened with them. They ran off to see what became of their leader. It sounded serious."

”That so?” Chloe looked shocked for all of .2367 seconds before cracking a smile. ”I’ll have to track them down. Everyone here signed, so we can freely share the details about the wonder eggs and everything else we have on Wonderland.” Chloe snapped her fingers, and a dimensional door phased into reality. She didn’t even wave before stepping through.

"Right! The date of the attack is about three days away. The eggs are all located in one facility but, eh, it would be easy to just show you." Aurora looked between Penny and her phone. She was holding a USB cable in one hand that linked up to her phone. "So, if I plug my phone into you, can I trust you to only download wonderland’s plans? There’s nothing super secret there. Just um, some of my DMs are a little personal and I’d rather you not look at them."

In response Penny would simply hold her hand over Aurora’s phone, a solitary spark would jump between the two of them and then everyone would receive another text from Penny. This time holding the plans that Aurora was offering up. “Done.”

---

While the fight between the others went on, Morrigan searched the area. But it really was just as plain as it looked on TV. Other than the crater and the road leading into it, there were only a few bushes here and there. Truly, it took something special to just scatter magical girls through space and time. But Morrigan could confirm with their own eyes at least. She could see the road was scorched with tire marks on one side, and not the other. Moreover, the crater was too perfect to be made by a true explosion. It had been cut out of reality, as if transported to the overcity. But if that were the case, surely Summer’s magic would have had little difficulty tracking it down.

Had there really been an Overcity Shift here? Or did they go somewhere else? Morrigan decided to speak into the air, hoping that the others could hear her through the television. As she did, she turned an eye back to her partner and Makoto. “Can you hear me? There seems to have been a shift that caused the crater. Perhaps you should search for the cause?”

Shortly after asking, Morrigan received a reply in the form of a written letter popping into existence just in front of her. She swooped up to grab it in her talons and let her movement and the air unfurl it, before flapping her wings to stay in place as she attempted to read it.

‘Yeah, I can find them. We’ll keep switching back to you every sixty seconds, so if you need something, just repeat it for a minute or so and we’ll catch it. -Summer’

Well, that was convenient.

Less convenient was Wisdom, who was locked in combat with Makoto and Kain. Her duplicates had transformed into what looked like piles of organs, or eldritch creatures that could only be compared to such grotesque imagery. Duplicates in this world were quite frail, but these ones could take a beating.

"You’re doing so well!" The student counselor clapped her hands together. "Let’s see how much further you can go!"

Yea, they were fine.

Similarly fine was Mac, apparently, as Summer tuned the television in to her location. She seemed to be on some sort of rock floating between various worlds. She also appeared to be sad, perhaps defeated, and at the very least not in a great headspace.

”Well, that sucks. Our most interpersonal people are fighting, so we’re stuck with just us, if you want to try talking to her.” Summer said to Shion.

”No, not really. But we probably should anyway. Got a way to contact her?”

”Well, I’m no dragon, but…” Summer pulled another parchment like she had sent Morrigan from her hammerspace handbag, and quickly wrote on it. She then took a lighter and burned the paper away completely, sending it to appear at Mac’s location in a puff of smoke.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ it read.

Mac had her knees tucked up against her arms folded in front of her head. The sudden “fwoof” of a note burning into existence caused her to jump. The note did figure eights in the air until Mac grabbed it and took a look at the contents.

”...What?”

She looked around herself, saying nothing but clearly suspicious of her surroundings.

Another note appeared. This time Mac was able to get it more quickly. ‘I’m not a voyeur, but I am watching you. You disappeared when I wasn’t looking and now you look like you’re not doing too hot. So what happened?’

She held the pages in either hand and sighed. ”It’s just… I don’t know what happened.” Her arms dropped to her sides. ”I was fighting some Mint agents, then there was an explosion, and I’ve been like this for a few minutes. And-” She fret her brow. ”You’re not recording this, are you?” Mac stood up. ”Who are you? You’re not Cradle.”

”Cradle? The Mint offshoot?”

”You can fill me in on if they’ve changed any recently, later.” Summer said as she wrote another note.

‘I’m not recording this, should I be? Definitely not “Cradle,” either. Do you want to come home or are you happy there?’

Mac had her hands full, but she managed to stomp the note out of the air and read the text just above her foot. ”I would like to know who I’m dealing with.” She sighed. ”But I wouldn’t mind getting out of here either.”

As soon as she finished saying that, Mac would find a television on her head and her upper body being brought through the T.V. that Summer and Shion were watching, looking almost like Sadako from “The Ring” as she did.

”There, I solved both your problems. You’re out of there and you get to know who we are.”

Shion simply put her hand on her head in exasperation. What if this girl started a fight?

The wolf girl picked herself up and adjusted her hat. ”No shortage of sass I see.” Her eyes moved between the two girls. ”But the antics of Miss North shouldn’t really surprise me. I’m far more surprised that Shion’s hooked up with you. I guess none of us really need an introduction, do we?” Her thumbs slid into her pockets. ”At any rate, I’m thankful that you guys got me out of there, but what the heck is a Beacon faithful and a coin exploiter doing with me?”

Oh, so she is picking a fight. Shion thought, a slight bit of annoyance visible on her face.

”Honestly, I was using you as an example and then you disappeared, so we decided to figure out why that is. Besides, as a ‘Beacon faithful,’ I have a vow of Generosity to uphold. Helping people is a requirement for me.” Summer said as she tuned the T.V. back into the fight. ”Why were you fighting a truck, anyway?”

”We both know you don’t need me to tell you that.” Mac crossed her arms. ”We were told the truck had an artifact on board that could bring harm to Veronica, which would further cripple Cradle. Naturally, it was a trap designed for Maura and us. Mid-fight the thing got super hot and exploded. Magical bullshit ensued. It’s so wild it confounded my every sense.” Mac’s eyes moved to the TV. It was showing a jubilant Wisdom and her horrorling doubles ganging up on Makoto. By some stroke of luck it seemed that none of them were able to pin down Kain. ”Do you have any plans to rescue the others?”

”Oh, hey, they’re doing pretty well.” Summer said before replying to Mac. ”You seem to know a lot about me and my magic when it’s only been… what, a year, my time, since I learned what my magic really is? Besides, I’d rather spend mana on helping someone and talk to them to get answers than using that mana to get answers and leave that person out to dry.”

Mac placed her hand on her face. ”Alright, fair.” With a sigh, she folded her arms again. ”I’m still reeling from what happened. To avoid complications, let’s just say that I used to have some rather potent divining powers. With those powers, I was able to watch what you could do with yours. But I lost the power to do that a few weeks ago during the christmas party. So if there have been any new developments, I didn’t see them.”

”Rescue the others as in the ones on the T.V., or as in your allies? Because we were only watching you, but Summer could probably pull the same thing for your friends.”

”My allies.” Mac lowered her head. ”I don’t know what I’ll do if boss doesn’t come back…”

Summer stared into space for a moment, trying to remember the names of Mac’s allies. ”Oliver and Maura, right? Let’s see what I can do.” She walked over and smacked the television, causing it to shift to showing static. ”That’s weird.” She tried again, and this time the screen broke slightly, a small piece of glass flying off of it.

”Okay, new plan.” Sitting down on the bed, Summer pulled a sketchbook out of her handbag and began drawing Oliver. But as she did, despite drawing him perfectly, the image on the page became distorted and soon became complete black. She flipped to the next page and tried the same thing with Maura, to the same results.

”That can’t be a good sign.”

”... Well, I have bad news. The last time this happened was when I tried to scry on Kain, and he was gone from the reincarnation cycle. So I could either assume that’s the case for them as well, or we can assume something else but equally as bad has happened.” She flipped back to the only past drawing she had of Maura, and found that the page had become soaked with water that wasn’t affecting the other pages. ”And that’s a new one, so it’s probably the second option. Something happened that I can’t really explain, and I’m not sure what it was. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what I can do to even find them, let alone rescue them.”

”Ah…” Mac groaned. ”Well, that really sucks.” She laughed. ”Boy, it really couldn’t get any worse. I put everything on that bet, and I was sure I was powerful enough to make it pay off. But I guess there are always forces bigger than you out there.” She adjusted her hat. ”It’s unfortunate I’m a monster girl. Maybe I could join up with Beacon. Maybe then I could make a difference out there. But I guess it’s not too late to join Mint, huh?”

”Yeah, tell me about it. I’d offer to help you out with Beacon, but last I checked in, the Ascendency was around.”

”Weren’t you part of the Mint offshoot, though? I doubt they’ll take you back with open arms.”

”Plus, despite how strong you are and how useful you could be to any group, or in the coming fight, it’s best not to be involved.”

”I wasn’t being serious.” Mac clarified. ”But let’s forget about that for a moment, what are you guys doing?”

”Well, we were watching this big meeting on what to do about Wonderland, and then Summer decided to use you as an example of someone strong. Then we stopped being able to watch the meeting, so we watched you again and wondered what was going on. So we sent two of our little group out to talk to the person who was where you disappeared from, and now we’re here talking to you.”

”That does about sum it up, yes.”

Mac pursed her lips. ”Well I’m glad you think I’m strong, but as you can see, even I can’t stop things from happening. I certainly can’t dive into pocket worlds and fish people out of them after a magical nuke goes off. But what about the meeting? I’m assuming you’re referring to the one Lily set up. So you’re just trying to find a way to protect penrose? I’m curious what your MO is.”

”I guess. But yes, the one Lily’s dealing with. As for what we’re trying to do, well…”

”We tried to do something, didn’t work. Now we’re hoping to find a way to get something close to it, guess. Penrose is the epicenter of what we were trying to change, so we’re trying to help out however we can, basically.

”I see, sounds mysterious.” With a sigh, Mac pushed herself off the wall. ”But I think you have good intentions. Sorry, I’m not a huge fan of Beacon, but recently I’ve been learning that Penrose Beacon is a lot different from Beacon everywhere else. I also seem to recall you going on a long vacation. Seemed kind of irresponsible at the time, but if you’re willing to do stuff like this…” She waved her hands all around her. ”I’d like to get back to Penrose so that I can check on the rest of Cradle, but after that uh, hmmm. If Boss is gone, I wouldn’t mind pooling our forces together. If you have any ideas, maybe I can help make them a reality.”

”Well, I’m sure you know the way from here, but as a heads-up, we’re currently in the Golden Trove, in case you run into anyone working here. And thank you for the offer, we’ll see if it turns out to be the best idea once you’ve figured things out.”

Mac blinked. ”This is the Trove? Yea, I should have known that. What a day…”

And with that, the meeting was behind Chloe.

She had never expected Mint to come out on top. Al had been too transparent with his greed, too transparent with his cruelty. She pretend to respect Al to his face, but he was no leader. The coin broker was a beast: too aggressive to be charismatic, and too inept to be feared. She would be fortunate if he got himself killed trying to take on Veronica and her army by himself.

But that was about all the thought Chloe was going to put towards her “boss.” With a grin, she drew her contract and looked at it. There wasn’t much here that would be a long term problem for her. Yea, Mint’s foothold in Penrose would be small at first, but they just had to play nice for a while to expand their territory to where it ought to be. For a ditz like Lily, somehow she managed to be the greatest thorn in her side. Even Penny’s multiple conditions weren’t going to hold her back as much as Lily's one had.

Ahh, but there was still the fate of the Pennybots. That wasn’t going to be a problem. Barely an inconvenience. Because Chloe knew Cradle wasn’t going to let Penny keep the Penny Bots and the tech to make them. They were all about “equality” and “keeping the balance.” It fed into why they hated the Mint. The two factions were as opposed as capitalist and communist values. That would mean Chloe wouldn’t get the Penny Bots either, But this was the most ingenious part of Chloe’s plan.

While the contract dealt heavily with what Mint could and couldn’t do, there was no mention of Nagash or the Ossiarch Bone Reapers anywhere in the contract. They didn’t answer to Mint, they didn’t respect Mint’s rank, they didn’t care if they even existed. Ultimately, Chloe was the one that separated Penny’s soul. If someone knew Penny’s inner workings better than the Independent, it was her. And all that knowledge was handed off to Nagash shortly after Chloe got her promotion. Covington industries made good robots, but they really couldn’t compare to the ossified bone creatures Nagash’s mortisans could conjure. Besides, Chloe suspected the Penny bots would always have a flaw that Penny could exploit. They were only machines, and she’d just hack them like she could hack any cell phone. The iron queen would have a harder time hacking into the Penny Golems or as the mortisans called them, mortech juggernauts. It was hard not to smile.

But was this what Chloe wanted?

The biggest surprise this far was that after everything she put Beacon through, Alicia didn’t see the need to add any conditions. Certainly, this was her opportunity to get even with the dark-magical-gone-broker. But she did… nothing? They were never going to be best friends, but Alicia’s choice left Chloe thinking. She didn’t trust Chloe, but then why not try to make life harder for her? She just didn’t get it.

Why was she thinking about this? She needed to find Binky! Where did they even go? With her third eye, she should be able to see which of these paths they disappeared down. Then she could enter their hideout and get a signature! Then-

”Looking for someone?”

Chloe spun around. Sure enough, Mac had crept up behind her. The wolf girl was an enigma to most, but the Mint had been working on a dossier on her. "Ah! You’re with Cradle, right? Did you want to tell me where Binky went?"

”Depends.” Mac folded her arms. ”Are you going to blow them up with a magical artifact?”

"Awah? I don’t follow."

”Right.” Mac looked over her shoulder. ”Summer, did you want to tell Chloe what you saw?”

”Sure looks like the truck set-up was her doing. Granted, I didn’t watch it in real-time, but…”

Chloe blinked. "Ah, I get it now. There seems to be a little misunderstanding."

Mac stepped towards the junior broker. ”What I understand is that you were attending a meeting built around the idea of unifying Penrose, while enacting a plan to sink Cradle as a faction. I also understand Al was grading your performance based on how well it went.” Mac towered over Chloe. Her downcast eyes were filled with fury. ”What am I not getting? Was the artifact not lethal enough? Were you hoping it would have killed us all?”

"Hey now!" Chloe raised her hands defensively. "You heard her! She didn’t see me do it in real time because I wasn’t there! T-that whole thing was Al’s idea anyway! I just gave some pointers to make the operation go smoother! The artifact was just suppose to knock out Maura's powers, but it blew up instead! I didn’t even know he was using it to evaluate my leadership until after the fact. I-" She tensed up when the cold brick wall touched her back. "Veronica and I were friends! I wouldn’t backstab her!"

”And you and Penny were lovers, but that seems to have soured after a scheme too many.”

"Ngh!” Chloe looked past Mac at Summer. "What are you getting out of this anyway?”

”I have a loose definition of ‘generosity,’ for one thing.” Summer said, beginning to count off on her fingers. ”Also, some of my friends don’t really like having Mint agents go after them when they haven’t really done anything wrong,” She counted off her third finger as she continued. ”Or being called names for helping someone out after working for the Mint quite a lot,” A fourth finger. Plus, I kind of like the Cradle, especially since…” Finally, she straightened and counted off her thumb. ”They have Binky. So, you know, only five reasons.”

Chloe stared at Summer. The gears turned in her head, the words she needed to say bubbled to the surface like a fart in a public pool. "I like Binky too!” Mac’s hand closed around Chloe’s neck. Truth be told, these were the two worst magical girls she could have run into. What little she had on Mac wasn't enough to understand her motives, and Summer was like a puzzle where nothing fit together. "L-look!” She held out the contract. "I did some bad things, okay? B-but I really do want to reform Mint! Take a look!” She tossed it over to Summer. "I’m only here because I need Cradle’s signatures. A lot of issues you have with the Mint will get cleared up once that gets signed. No more Mint attacks, Binky gets her research protected. You want Mint to stop calling your friends names? We can add that!”

Summer wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. So she didn’t, at first, deciding to read over the contract as the hamster in her brain took a break from its wheel. It took a few times before she was able to process what the contract said. ”Um… Great. Well… I’m going to go ahead and let Mac here decide how to respond to the contract, but if I take you at your word, how do you even plan to reform the Mint? Even if it’s just the Penrose portion of it, that’s just a drop in the bucket for the organization as a whole. It’s not like you’re going to try to off Al or anything, right?”

Chloe didn’t know what to say. Not because Mac was standing over her, or because Summer was being herself, but because she herself didn’t know what she wanted to get out of all this. Was now the time to tell the truth? "The only thing I know is things can’t continue the way they are.” She scoffed. "Ever since I became a magical girl, the one thing I put ahead of everything else was my own survival. Since then, I’ve lost everyone dear to me, and all I have is this ‘junior coin broker’ title. It’s worth something, maybe, but what’s the point if you hate all the people you’re surrounded with?” She looked down as if Mac's hand wasn't right there. "I went this route because I thought I could secure my future with Penny. But she’s become a totally different person now. So I’m going to make due with what I have.” She grinned. "I guess reforming the Mint is a pipe dream. But I can at least change how they behave around my neck of the woods. All I’ve been doing up until this point is surviving, and life isn’t much fun if you don’t have someone to survive with, you know?”

Summer felt a little bad, now that the girl being held by her neck was being vulnerable. ”That’s… a familiar idea, yeah. I can see it.” She looked towards Mac. ”Maybe don’t actually kill her, but we do need to find out more about what happened, so…”

"H-hey!” Chloe’s eyes popped open. "What do you want to know? I’m right here! You don’t have to sick Frankenstein on me!” She coughed. "A very attractive Frankenstein, but still...”

”Well, do you have any idea where the other members of the Cradle are? That’s the first thing. Also, to be clear, I’m not sicking her on you, that’s all her.”

"Oh really?” A nervous chuckle escaped Chloe’s lips when she smiled. "You have a very firm grip, Mac. I appreciate that you’re letting me speak right now.”

”Only so long as you’re useful.” Mac growled the words.

"...Right, and to address Summer’s question, sort of? I’m following Binky’s trail right now. They were aware of Maura’s presence or something, so I have to assume they went back to wherever your little hideout is.”

Summer gave a slight sigh, both relieved and exasperated. ”Well, then I guess we, er, Mac at least, should go there. It might be smartest to not go, since I’d get… Let’s be generous and say ‘timid,’ and you probably aren’t going to be very welcome there either, so that leaves just her.”

"I think that sounds like a good-hurk!”

Mac snatched the contract out of Summer’s hands and looked it over herself. ”...Not bad.” Her eyes wandered over to Summer. ”I think I might end up letting Chloe have her audience with Binky. But I hope she doesn’t expect us to just sign. Regardless of her intent, she needs to make up for what the Mint did.” Mac tossed Chloe off to the side. ”I’m going to take this contract with me. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t set up an ambush for when I return. I’ll see it coming, and there won’t be any survivors on your side.” Mac walked off while Chloe recovered from a coughing fit. ”I’ll be in touch, Summer.”

"I *Gasp* Survived.” She fell back onto her hands. After a few awkward seconds of struggling to breathe, she stood up. She just stared at Summer, still breathing heavily. "Maybe I should thank you for going easy on me, but this all happened because of you.” Chloe leaned up against the wall. "Well? You can go if you’d like. I couldn’t set an ambush for them if I wanted to. But just so that we’re clear, I found this entire ordeal very humiliating. I do not forgive being humiliated easily. But I’m also trying to change, so nothing’s going to come from this. Okay?”

”Understood. Sorry for the embarrassment.”

Chloe didn't know if she should be annoyed or relieved by Summer's polite departure. She was too exhausted to work up a strong emotional response anyway.

Lily, in her distraught state, slumped down on a chair in the corner, holding her head in her hands as tears began drifting down her cheeks.
”Why…Why wasn’t I there for him? The one moment we’re not together…”
However, as she heard Pentius-04 reassure her, if a bit awkwardly, Lily took a shaky breath, and wiped her tears with her forearm. She lifted her eyes to look up at her friends, like Connie and Mia, and she managed to smile a bit as they voiced their support to finding him. Alicia logically pointed out that Mariette was capable of finding him, and Lily agreed.
”Yeah, just like when I was kidnapped by Justy!”
She then listened as Angel posed a question that caused the gears in the usually ditzy girl’s head to turn.

”Yeah, that must be-”

”No, that’s impossible."
Justine spoke as she entered the apartment again, surprising Lily.

”Justy? Didn’t you go search for your Mistress with the others?”

”I was about to leave, yes, but I noticed you freak out at the park, Lily, and I know you need someone level-headed at a time like this to drag you back to reality."

”But what about-”

”I’ll be back to my search in a moment. But first, you need to calm down, Lily: who would actually benefit from capturing Alex? Not the Mint, based on how Chloe is here to curry our favor. This must be the Wonderland Queen’s doing."

Lily blinked.
”Well, then we can just have Mariette bring us to Wonderland to save-”

”And I’m telling you to calm down, Lily!" Justine shouted while holding Lily by the shoulders. As Lily was stunned into silence, Justine blushed, and let go.

”Sorry for that. Anyway, this is clearly a trap of some kind. Unlike the time when, ahem, I nabbed you, this time the Queen must know that Mariette is capable of Absolute Direction. So she must be using Alex to lure us into an ambush. Also, you’re forgetting something important, Lily: Alex didn’t rush in, he prepared for your rescue beforehand. He managed to help assemble a mighty warship, somehow managed to bestow it with invulnerability, and gathered a powerful group to assault my hidden lair. Now, we need to do as much, if not even more, preparation if we are to have a chance at rescuing him. You understand that, right Lily?"

Lily looked down at the floor, her hands gripping her knees as she gradually calmed down with deep breaths.

”Y-You’re right, Justy. I…I wasn't thinking. Alex usually keeps me grounded, hah…" She gave an awkward laugh. Justine could only shake her head with closed eyes and a knowing smirk.

”That’s fine.” She looked over to Chloe, and noticed how she was offering the contract for people to sign.
”Looks like she and Penny have arrived at a compromise.”
Lily nodded, and took one last look at the contract before she signed her name on it, followed by Justine doing the same. Once Chloe left, Lily noticed how everyone was now looking at her. She stood up, and then glanced at Justine, who nodded reassuringly. She closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again as she addressed the crowd.

”E-Everyone…" She put a hand to her chest, as she felt her heart beating.
”I know Wonderland must seem scary. They have lots of magic, lots of weapons, and lots of magical weapons. B-But we can’t let them march into Penrose just like that! We’re taking the fight to their turf! We’re going to destroy those eggs, and we’re going to rescue Alex and Brittany! But to do that, we all need to prepare in what ways we can, okay? Magic, weapons, information...We're going to need everything." She lifted a raised fist into the air.
”Let's do as much as we can in two days! Then…Let’s save Penrose!" She cheered with a jump.
”That is all for this meeting, but let’s stay in touch. If anyone still needs my contact information, please let me know!"

---

Alex successfully hid the scroll case he was given on his person before the Queen arrived. She was amused by his question.
“Why, of course. What else would I give my darling daughter on her very first unbirthday party? And you will make for a perfect one, especially once we correct that horrendous posture of yours.” However, the Queen’s smile faded as she seemed to stare at him for a moment longer than was comfortable.
“Hmm…You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” The Queen mused out loud, and snapped her fingers. “Search the cell and pat him down.”
Alex saw how the Duchess behind her momentarily blinked, before she resumed her poker face as the guards got to work and entered Alex’ cell to thoroughly search it, one of them aiming a shotgun in his direction at all times as the other combed through the cell.
“Lift your arms,” one of the guards ordered him, and he was patted down his sides: however, they failed to notice the contraband tucked in his underwear.
“He’s clean, Your Majesty,” the guards afterwards reported after exiting and closing the cell.
Fortunately, the Queen seemed to let it go this time, her eyes once again lingering uncomfortably long on Alex’s gaze.
“Very well then. Duchess, come with me,” she spoke as she brusquely walked away.
“The time has come to talk of many things! Of shoes and ships and sealing wards! Of potatoes and princesses! Why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings!”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” the Duchess answered as she turned to follow, but not before giving a wink at Alex. Once the strange retinue left, Brittany breathed a sigh of relief in the next cell. “Phew, that was close. I was afraid we were going to lose our heads there.”

"No kidding, that was way too close" Alexander agreed "Fucking Wonderland. What the hell even is an 'unbirthday'!?" he wondered as he fished the scroll case out of his underwear and looked it over "So what now? Just wait? And what did they even take you for? I mean, I could understand if they were trying to milk us for information, but they didn't bring up the war at all!"

With the meeting wrapped up, Rose turned to inform Kayli about Aurora's request. She was just off with the others. "Give me a moment, I can go get Kayli."

"Sounds good! But take your time, I think I know someone else who'd like to meet you" Aurora looked down at his chest and ran a hand over it. "Just you wait guys! In just a little bit, you’re going to be big, bold, and beautiful!"

While Aurora thought about her future, Chloe leaned over Aurora’s shoulder. "What are you doing?“

"Eeek!" Aurora covered his mouth. "Where were you? You were gone for a while!"

"I needed to smooth things over with Cradle, but things are alright now.“ She rubbed her arm. "Why did you want me to come back here?“

"Uh-" He folded her arms behind her back. "Someone offered to get me a red coin! I can have my boobs back!"

"But I like how you look now.“

"W-well, maybe. Uh…"

Chloe sighed. "You know what? If it means that much to you, go for it.“ She smirked. "Just make sure you stay cute.“

"Will do!" Aurora saluted. "Did you want to hear how the rest of the meeting went?"

"Maybe later. This red coin business sounds interesting.“

"Oh good! We shouldn’t have to wait long to hear back… I hope."

Ready to leave once the meeting was wrapped up, Kayli was waiting for Rose to join her. Exchanging a few words, Aurora was pointed out and the woman seemed to consider things for a moment before leaning down to Iris and saying something to her. Giving a brief salute she ran off before teleporting away.

Rose and Kayli returning back to Aurora, the woman would offer a hand to shake. "Hello there Aurora. You can call me Kayli. Rose tells me you wish to change something about yourself?" While she didn't doubt what was told to Rose, Kayli trusted her Light magic to root out if there was some ulterior motive.

"Oh, well, I already told Rose, but here it goes!" He put a hand on his chest. "I use to be a girl? But now I’m a boy, and I kind of miss it, you know? I mean being able to go to the bathroom standing up is great but it’s not really something I’ll miss." After some hesitation, He kneeled in front of Kayli "But what I really miss is having boobs! It’s so weird that I can look down and see my feet. My own preference would be that I don’t even see my toes, but I’ll take whatever I can get! You have to do something!"

Chloe gave Aurora a sideways glance before putting a hand on her hip. "I wouldn't mind a rebrand. Just a symbol that I’ve moved on from who I used to be.“

”Oh, I see.” She would look at Chloe who also appeared to be interested in a Red coin. It was somewhat of a surprise, given that the girl was usually very sure of herself and her appearance. Kayli didn’t detect anything amiss in her words though. The Mint had come to the table willing to concede some things, so it only seemed fair to return the favor in some way. ”If that is what you would both like then I would be happy to help you with that. The coins will be here shortly, but as always, I offer you both the option to have your corruption removed as well.”

Aurora chuckled. "Yea, I told Rose about this too. But I’m not corrupted, so."

"Yes you are.“ Chloe quickly added.

"I am?"

"Of course you are! When you got impaled by that crystal, it most certainly imparted some corrupted magic on you.“ Chloe smirked.

"I guess that explains some things. I never used to laugh at people when they got hurt." With a sigh, he looked back at Kayli. "I think I’ll get that taken care of, if you’re offering."

”I think I’ll pass on being clean.“ Chloe tapped her scarf. ”I don’t think my employers would look at me favorably if I had all the curses they put on me stripped away. I need something to separate me from Beacon, you know?“

Giving a nod, Kayli would chuckle a bit. ”I imagine not. Best not upset the apple-cart any more today than we may already have hm?” She would ask rhetorically. Placing a hand over Aurora’s head, her magic rather easily removed the minor corruption from him. ”That should do it for that.”

"Really?" Once Kayli removed her hand, Aurora felt the top of her head. "I don’t feel any different. But I guess that’s a good thing!"

Blinking in a short distance away, Iris stumbled a bit from dizziness. Since things were quite it wasn’t that much of a risk, but teleporting consecutively at a distance still taxed her. Hobbling over she handed a small bag over to Kayli. ”Here you go.”

Steadying Iris and taking the bag, Kayli sighed a bit. ”You didn’t need to rush.”

The girl would shrug. ”Well… too late.”

Shaking her head a bit the woman would open up the bag and produce two Red coins. Holding them out she would let they take one each. ”I’m not sure how familiar you are with how these work. You can have it change some of your magic and appearance, or be completely remade as a new magical girl and leave the results up to chance. It’s up to you.” She would take a step back to leave them space for when they were ready.

They turned the coins over in their hands. Aurora looked noticeably more excited, shaking with emotion. "Oh man! I can hardly wait!"

”Wouldn’t it be funny if you were still a boy?“

"I-Is that possible?"

Chloe chuckled. ”I don’t think it’s likely, but you never know…“

"Okay." He placed the coin against her head. "I don’t want to change everything, but come on. Make me into a beautiful girl!" He repeated her desires like a mantra as the red coin dissolved. Aurora’s body was consumed in a red light and when it faded, Aurora finally had her boobs.

”Whoa.“ Chloe looked over Aurora’s new form. She looked different, but also very much the same. It was like the teenage femboy had grown into a woman. ”If not for the bright colors I might have assumed Su returned.“ Chloe grinned. ”I think I liked your old form better, but I could get use to your new one.“

Meanwhile, Aurora was doing everything in her power to just stop from hyperventilating. "Wow." She hugged herself and watched her curves react. "I missed you so much! I’ll never complain about back pain or creeps hitting on me ever again! From this day forward it’s just happy days!" She looked up. There were tears in her eyes. "Where’s Rose? She’s getting a hug!" Hopefully she wouldn’t suffocate.

But Chloe was in no rush to use the coin that she had been handed. ”Is this really it?“ She crossed her arms. The red coin was between her fingers. ”You just gave one to Aurora so that she could change her body. I can’t imagine you have an infinite number of these things, and there are probably other girls that need them more. What's your angle here?“

Kayli would smile. ”I get it. You work with the Mint after all, and they’re all about their strings and stipulations. I’m hoping you’ll use this opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Will you? Only time will tell. I can say that I wouldn’t expect anything different if no one gives you the chance.” The woman, as far as the magical community was aware anyway, was always odd in how she operated. She often offered help even when it would obviously be rejected. If she was playing for power, then she didn’t seem particularly good at securing the deal. Paying closer attention as Chloe was now, it was hard to shake the feeling that Kayli was looking through her at something deeper.

”I’ll never understand people like you.“ She huffed. ”But I’m glad you exist anyway.“ Chloe used the red coin and underwent the same flood of light that Aurora did. In no time at all, it was over.

At this point, Aurora felt she had smothered Rose with enough affection for the moment. She ran to Chloe’s side and slid on one knee, generating a mirror for her to admire her reflection in. Like Aurora, Chloe hadn’t opted for a complete change, so she wasn’t totally different. The coin had aged her up, but she looked like an older version of her former self. One with a more mature hairstyle and eerie glowing eyes. Her body was still lean and fit, though the jagged, black accessories she wore made her look a bit more eldritch.

”You look gorgeous!“

Chloe turned around in front of the mirror. ”Awww, I always wanted to be tall!“ She practically squealed the words. ”I don’t think I’ll be very popular with the goody two-shoes, but I’m happy with the results.“ She turned back to Kayli. ”It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?“

Seeing Chloe’s change in appearance, Kayli nodded slightly. ”No, I do not imagine they would be fond of the changes. It was not what she expected, but the Red Coin’s results were somewhat unpredictable.

Chloe then asked a question. Without much hesitation, she answered. ”Yes, I believe so.”

Chloe grinned and folded her arms. ”I’m not going to try and figure you out. I’ve given up on trying to understand why nice people act the way they do. Jason, Alicia, Connie, and you. I don’t know what your deal is, but the other three have no reason to trust me. Yet they do, or did. I could call them stupid but…” She trailed off. ”You need a balance, you know? If we’re constantly fighting each other because we want to be the next mayor of Penrose, it’s going to get ugly. If everyone tries to get along, it’s inevitable someone less kind will come along and ruin things for everyone. Maybe there needs to be a combination of the two to keep the peace, huh?”

”I would say so. I wouldn’t use that as an excuse to lean too heavily in either direction. Ideally, most of the individuals are balanced on their own, and we’re not always dealing with the extremes.” She would cross her arms casually. ”I imagine as a broker there would be some benefit to having both. Too soft and nothing gets done. Too harsh and people are less willing to cooperate.” She would muse.

”Maybe.” Chloe swung her arm, as if brushing Kayli’s comments aside. ”The point is, regardless what type of person you are, you’re always going to have weaknesses. Which is why you need to surround yourself with people who aren’t like you. That’s why we’re going to beat Wonderland. Because Penrose might be a dysfunctional family, but it’s still a family!”

A warm smile would come to Kayli's face. Despite what others might think of Chloe, she certainly was full of pleasant surprises. ”That we are. And I agree. Despite our quarrels we come together when it counts. Wonderland doesn't know what they're getting themselves into.“

Well that was an interesting interaction. Kayli wasn’t entirely sure if she’d made a good impression with Chole, but nothing expressly bad seem to come of it. It did seem they were on the same page though with protecting Penrose. It did no one any good if the city were to fall.

With Alicia heading off to Beacon HQ to debrief on the meeting and Connie and Mia deciding to head home to rest. Kayli, Rose, and Iris pursued after the trail that the magical woman could see. They could have asked a few others to join them, but then others might overhear or otherwise learn what she was doing. Not that Kayli entirely knew what was following. Presumably it led to the Nexus.

As Kayli followed the trail of magic, she could sense that it was a path followed by other magical girls based on the various faint emotions that emanated. As she rounded a street corner, Kayli saw as the trail seemed to split: the left path headed towards the Business District, while the other continued forward, towards the Penrose Central Hospital looming in the distance. As she focused her attention on the flow of magic, she felt how the two paths emanated forgotten memories and elemental energies: the left path felt like water pressing all around, only to explode out in a show of mocking one's prison, while the central path felt like a rising flame that surrounded and choked one's heart with a smoky lament.

Coming to the realization that these trails were more than just magic, but emotion, Kayli was not really sure how to interpret what she was sensing. The path to the left resonated more with her past. It certainly was the first direction she was inclined to go right off the bat. The central didn’t seem as appealing, but it was still curious, and she wondered if it was something she was meant to deal with. Turning it over in her mind for a minute, Kayli eventually opted to follow to the left. Breaking free of things felt more like what she was hoping to do. Whether the sense had any baring on anything was hard to say.

The path ended up at Penrose Bank, the city's heart of commerce. There, she felt as the magic of the path coalesced into two shapes: magical girls in a battle of wits. One had trapped the other in what seemed like their tomb, only for the other to escape certain doom with a smile that laughed at danger. The two's strategic struggle seemed like it was forever etched into the city's memories, like a tale passed to further generations. Kayli then saw as the shapes formed a new path, as if urging Kayli to continue.

With things constantly happening in the city, sometimes it was hard to think how far back these magical struggles had been going on. When did this happen? Who were these two and what were they fighting over? Kayli wished she could see more detail, but even as she was trying to make things out the trail continued. With some reservation, she moved forward with the prompt.

Kayli's next destination was one that also exuded high energy, but not one of conflict. Rather, when Kayli entered the wide street, she saw that there were still large skidmarks and crushed cement, a crumpled mailbox, and the front of one shop pushed into with a rectangular ram. There she felt how magic congregated, different spells weaving together in unity, a shared will guiding the currents past what once was a threshold between the world's themselves.
There, the path split into three. The left path was warm and kind yet slightly bitter, mirthful laughter inaudibly mixed with the gentle sound of a meat patty being turned over on a cozy grill. The right path smelled of darkness and sounded like blood, the senses mixed and wills twisted in a place once worshiped. The central path was through the street, where she could feel the shimmer of an open portal-like aperture: a step into the unknown from which not all returned, but where none with brave hearts regretted entering.

It certainly felt like she was on the right track with her choice. Though it seemed like things were getting more serious. The right path definitely did not appeal to her at all. The one to the left was more appealing. The warmth and joy was more like what she wanted, but was maybe too much into comforts. Despite knowing what she wanted to do, the central path gave the least clarity and assurance. However, it felt like whatever she sought was most likely in that direction. Turning she would look at Rose and Iris. ”It might be best if you wait here. I will be alright.” Leaving her allies behind, Kayli stepped out into the street.

As Kayli purposefully stepped towards the central path, Rose and Iris saw how she then stood still, as if in a trance. However, Kayli would not notice this as she now found herself in a new Penrose.
At first it looked similar, with the same street and buildings, but the sky was a starry nebula with two moons, a sign of the Overcity. There, at the end of the street, she saw a crumbled ruin of stone and what looked like a battle between two silhouettes of magical girls, one white, and one blue. As Kayli came closer, the fight ended with the white girl slaying the blue one, and the blue one falling with an expression of fear and confusion, tears streaking her cheeks. This was not a fight between adversaries, Kayli could feel from the regret that the white one exuded with shaky breaths: she had ended the life of an innocent.

From there, two paths of ice split from the white magical girl: the left one was cracked with jagged icicles, and ended with the white one standing indignantly over the wounded lying body of a bestial, furry monster, sword frozen mid-swing. Kayli could feel the emotions of the vision: the girl's heart had hardened, her resolve strengthened, and her eyes cast sharply forwards as her expression was strong and persevering. She had decided to become a protector of the weak. No matter what adversity may face her, she wouldn't let herself hesitate anymore. She would do the right thing.

The icy path on the right, however, was softer, with a coating of fresh snow over it. There, Kayli saw the white one down on one knee, reaching a hand out to the wounded monster, frozen in a gesture of compassion. There, Kayli also felt emotion: the girl's heart had turned tender, and her eyes were closed in an accepting smile. She had decided to become a protector of the weak. No matter what adversity may face her, she wouldn't let herself hesitate anymore. She would do the right thing.

Unaware of what Rose and Iris were seeing, Kayli looked between the two representations of the magical girl. Difficult choices had been made, and here between the two was a contrast. Less with goal, but more of motivation. The first of resolution, a dedication to adhere to defending others, perhaps no matter the cost. It reminded her of some magical girls she knew. The other was of kindness. It wasn’t quite clear if it was of regret or one of uplifting. Either way, she knew what she did not want to be and stepped to the right.

As Kayli went down the right path, she saw as the left path melted away and the right one changed, the white magical girl's face having turned to Kayli's, with the same smile of acceptance.
Then, the ice on the right also melted away, and Kayli saw the silhouette of herself die, pierced in the heart by a bloody claw from a shadowy figure. While Kayli felt regret and sadness in the dying figure, she also felt hope, and a will to pave the way with one's sacrifice so that others may survive. Kayli then found herself surrounded by more silhouettes: magical girls of various emotions. Some were mourning, some were seething with a desire for revenge, and some simply accepted the loss, grateful for the lost one's courage. The girls all walked away in a single tide. When Kayli next blinked, she was back in regular Penrose, having snapped awake from her trance. The magical path shone as it now continued forward, turning left at the next intersection.

Finding herself back on the street somehow, Kayli took a deep breath. Did this vision mean someone, or herself even, was going to die? It could. That was always part of the risk as a magical girl. Walking headlong into it was another thing. It wasn’t certain to be the case though and she pressed on, leaving Rose and Iris standing by.

For hours upon hours, Kayli continued traveling the path. She found herself stopping at various points in the city of Penrose: the baseball stadium, the police station, Sanctuary, and other places. Each of them presented her with visions of indistinct magical girls accompanied by feelings, spells, and the tales they’ve woven.

After what seemed like endless choices, she eventually found herself at a warehouse. There, she saw the shapes of magical girls tremble in pain and fall, like waves of death itself had manifested. She also felt the emotions of countless magical girls clash: despair, rage, hunger, sense of justice, betrayal…It was a storm of cries from silent voices, and the most daunting place so far on the path.

This place was more recognizable. Not that she had been there herself, but the sense of what had occurred was that of the warehouse that had been struck and killed many magical, dark, and monster girls alike. An event that set in motion many other tragedies to come. Rather than turn away, she would move further in among the visages. Most of them did not deserve this. Even those that did, Kayli was convinced there was another way. She wished she had a way to save them, either then or now. Despite the overwhelming emotion, she wanted to feel and understand them. That was her way. She wondered if this was similar to what an Emotion specialization would feel from those around them.

As Kayli ventured deeper into the darkness of the abandoned rave venue, she found herself in the main hall of the place. The furniture was broken and scattered, the roof had fallen and the stench of blood stained the air. Here, the path manifested into a cloud of darkness. And from the darkness stepped out a person familiar to Kayli: it was Kayli herself, but this one smiled, her eyes glowing white and surrounded by an aura of powerful magic. She walked slowly towards Kayli with hostile intent.

Seeing a doppelganger step out of the cloud, she wondered if she’d missed a path that went elsewhere. This place was extremely dark, and while she had no idea if she would affect what had happened, she stepped forward and activated Hallowed Ground to try and fight back the death and despair. ”Stop. This isn’t how it has to be. We have to fight this.” She would hold a hand out.

The Hallowed Ground that Kayli had cast did not hinder or seemingly even affect the glowing mirror image as she came closer and closer, until she stopped before her. Her voice sounded like her own as she responded, though it carried a booming resonance.
”What is there to fight?” She lifted a hand forward, about to touch Kayli’s hand, when suddenly Kayli felt her limbs immobilized by a telekinetic force as she was lifted up off of the ground. The doppelganger looked up at Kayli, and laughed.
”This is what we want. The ability to rule. Endless magic, with endless possibilities. Holding this power, we will be above good and evil, above magical girls and boys. Even Patrons who interfere must answer to us. We can mold Penrose into anything we want it to be. Others will be but bugs under our feet, to be crushed like the vermin they are. That is why we seek the Nexus, is it not?”

Held in place by this force, Kayli at first tried to fight against it. Of course it was much stronger. Presumably it was a manifestation of herself through the Nexus. After a few moments she relaxed just a bit. "Are you supposed to be me here to test my mettle? I know what it could mean. If Cindy were in charge that would be something she wanted. Janet when she was new perhaps. I hardly know who I am anymore." She would do her best to look around before looking back at her double. "The fact that you exist at all suggests the Nexus isn't just untapped magic like everyone would like it to be. There is a nature to it. No, I don't deserve the power you wield. I want to help prevent more things like this from happening. I seek the power of restraint. So no, I refuse your offer."

The doppelganger's smile faded away as Kayli voiced her rejection. "You have made your choice", she spoke, and Kayli was lowered back to the ground. The doppelganger then turned back towards the cloud, and disappeared inside it. The next moment, the cloud turned into iridescent light, and shot past Kayli, out of the warehouse, forming a pathway of solid light.
The pathway curved and turned as it rose up at an angle, its end point visible from the distance: the top of Covington Tower, the tallest building in Penrose.

Kayli hadn't been sure what her response would result in. When she was released though and the pathway appeared it was clear to her that whatever she had chosen, she had to follow through. Stepping on the solid light the woman ascended higher and higher, approaching the top of the tower.

As Kayli reached the top of the tower, she realized she could see the entire city from that height. The path had ended at the center of the roof, where the iridescent light coalesced to form a tall, otherworldly white door decorated with stained glass windows. When Kayli approached the door, it opened. Blinding light shone out from beyond, enveloping her.

When the light faded away, she saw herself back at Penrose park. Once again, the sky had glimmering stars and multiple moons, just like the vision of the Overcity that Kayli had witnessed. But now, the sky was a resplendent aurora of colors, one shifting to the next in continuous, endless hues, as if northern lights had consumed the world. When Kayli next turned her head, she saw the Pit stop restaurant. And when she closed her eyes for a second and opened them again, she was at the train station. The scenery changed every time perception changed, and it almost felt like Kayli was both everywhere in Penrose, and nowhere at once. She realized she needed to concentrate so she could stay comfortably in a single location.

The magical energy that she had previously followed as a trail was suffused with the very matter of the place itself, surrounding Kayli like a sentient, living reality. Elemental magic, like streaks of fire, currents of electricity, and somehow even the flow of space and time itself, moved across the streets and around buildings like the inhabitants of a bustling city, giving the place a sense of wonder that surpassed even the Overcity. There was no doubt about it: Kayli had found the Nexus.

The Overcity in and of itself was confusing enough. Getting lost in such a place was easy. This though, was like standing on the ocean where the current and the waves took you where they may. Kayli stumbled and fell as she shifted from one place to another. Closing her eyes, it took a couple of minutes to adjust and fight off the disorientation. Stalwart helped, but she was pretty sure that other forces were assisting with her footing. The experience challenged her conception on the nature of the Nexus, which likely played a part in making it so difficult to “locate.”

Once Kayli had gotten used to the arcane mystique of the Nexus, she heard a voice reverberate throughout the entirety of the Nexus, yet spoken no louder than a person's words. It was a voice with no discernible gender or age, but seemed strangely natural, as if it existed beyond the limitations of sounds humans can produce.

"Hello, Kayli. Welcome to the Nexus. We have waited for your arrival."

”You have? For how long?” Since the voice seemed to be everywhere, she wasn’t entirely sure where to look. She couldn’t get too distracted else she might start shifting around again, so she did her best to stay grounded.

"Long enough," the voice answered. "It seems you have some difficulty adjusting. Allow me to anchor us." Then, Kayli saw as the magic energies nearby congregated into a simple wooden podium before her. On the podium was a hardback book, with two letters engraved on the cover: AR. When Kayli looked at the book, the location around her was now at the warehouse, and no longer shifted.
"Allow me to introduce us," the voice continued speaking, now coming from the direction of the book. "We are the Grand Magistrate. I am head Magister, Author AR. Pleased to meet you."

Kayli would step closer to the podium. She recalled one other girl refer to the Grand Magistrate. It wasn’t something she entirely had put much credence in at the time. ”Huh… Uh. A pleasure to meet you too. Is this an, uhm, representation?” She would look down at the book.

"Yes, you can interpret it as such," AR answered.
"Though I would compare it more to a symbolic one than one that truly represents us. Our existence is one that Mahou or Patrons are not supposed to comprehend, you see."

”I see. I imagine my being here is highly unusual then.”

"That is correct, Kayli," AR responded, and sighed. "This Story has been wonderful, but the Reality Plenum can no longer contain it. It is nearing complete oblivion. We were arrogant in our hubris, and now must pay the price for it. That is why you are here, Kayli. You have passed the trials, and proven yourself worthy of becoming the Guardian of the Nexus."

”I am willing to serve in that role. I do have another responsibility, To Connie and Mia. Is there a way that I could be with them and still defend the Nexus?” She imagined that becoming the Guardian of the Nexus would not be a casual task, and her girls could potentially be used against her when/if others found out.

AR answered: "Yes. While the duty of the Guardian requires vigilance, you will be given the ability to split into a separate existence that can live a peaceful life. It is similar to the art of Duplication, but without the normal limitations. However, in times of crisis, you must converge to reach your full potential."

Considering the terms, she would nod. "Understood. Is there anything else I should know about?"

The book opened as AR answered, revealing animated drawings of descriptions given by the Author. "As the Guardian, you will be granted great power: the ability to tap into the memories and emotions of magical girls and recreate the spells they have staked their lives on, protection from those who would try to manipulate you, and heightened aptitude. However, you will also be given the great responsibility of sealing the Nexus. To do this, you must gather Perspective Chapters of Penrose to this place…As well as the Storyslayer."

Sealing the Nexus? That wasn't something she expected necessarily. Wouldn't that eliminate the need of a guardian? Given, that likely would be best for Penrose as a whole. Gathering everyone here was a detail she wished she knew prior to the meeting. She would make due though. "I will do my utmost."

AR was quiet for a couple of seconds before speaking again. “Your lack of hesitation is reassuring. Allow me to show you the Perspective Chapters, and the Authors who have spun their tales.”
The book flipped a page, and it listed names, some of which were very familiar to Kayli:

Name: Serenity Gates. Author: CL.
Name: Eliana. Author: CL.
Name: Kiyome: CL.
Name: Tonya “Mac” Murphy. Author: BP.
Name: Chloe Irving. Author: BP.
Name: Samantha Howard. Author: FP.
Name: Emily Ackerson. Author: FP.
Name: Hilaria. Author: FP.
Name: Kain. Author: DF.
Name: Shion. Author: DF.
Name: Makoto. Author: DF.
Name: Summer. Author: DF.
Name: Alexander Shields. Author: CC.
Name: Mariette Pedersen. Author: PS.
Name: Mayra McCullough. Author: PS.
Name: Denise Walton. Author: PS.
Name: Elizabeth Walton. Author: PS.
Name: Alicia Hayden. Author: FL.
Name: Penny Asimov. Author: SM.
Name: Violet Covington. Author: PN.
Name: Connie Williams. Author: PN.
Name: Mia Cooper. Author: PN.
Name: Lily Hanson. Author: AR.
Name: Warren James. Author: AA.
Name: Shane Bron. Author: TW.
Name: Harmony. Author: TW.
Name: Rose Devon. Author: TW.
Name: Iris Devon. Author: TW.
Name: Janet Howell. Author: TW.

“Many Perspectives have been lost to the abyss,” AR added, sounding melancholy. “Even now, their power to seal the Nexus continues to fade, their tales slowly becoming forgotten in the Story as their Authors have stopped their quills. However, if at least 10 Perspectives can be gathered together with the Storyslayer to perform the ritual of Sealing, there is still hope to save this Reality Plenum.”

Knowing that she needed at least 10 eased her mind. She assumed that the more the better though. ”I will bring them together here…” The implication that they were written stories was interesting. More and more it was beginning to sink in which was an odd place to be.

“Thank you, Kayli,” AR expressed their gratitude, followed by sounding very serious.
“Now, you might be confused or upset about what you have learned just now. Most Mahou wouldn’t have the courage to accept the duty of Guardian. If you choose to decline, all your memories of the Nexus and us will be erased, and you will return to your everyday life. But if you choose to become the Guardian, there is no going back, and we will entrust you with our hopes. Do you have any final questions?”

She would think for a moment. She did have questions, many questions, actually. None of which would change her decision, though. If she gave up then there was no telling when or if anyone else would come to this place in time. ”I’m not sure they would make a difference. So long as you can say that I will know how to use this gift, then I am ready to receive it.”

“We know that you are,” AR responded, and the book began flipping rapidly through the pages, as magical energy now gathered in a bright glow around Kayli. The moment the book slammed shut, the magic enveloped her, infusing her with power unlike anything she had ever imagined: she could see a kaleidoscope of visions, memories and thoughts of the Penrose Mahou, past, present, and even future.

As the magic flowed through and around Kayli she could feel herself slipping. Magic that had previously altered the magical girl began to fade. Corruption, wishes, coins… their influence was pushed back as Kayli underwent a reversion. Her form dissolved, shifted, and coalesced as a duality was created. Once the transformation was over, she had become a Guardian of the Nexus, forever intertwined with its fate. The familiar face of Janet stood where Kayli had been moments ago. Kayli wasn’t gone, but the magic had restored the girl to something more akin to her original self, albeit with a clearly different aesthetic and magic.

“How do you feel?” AR asked, and the book opened to a page that reflected like a mirror, allowing Kayli and Janet to see their appearances.

”I feel amazing! No wonder everyone was chasing after…” Seeing her reflection in the book her eyes widened. ”Wh-wha… I’m me… I mean, Janet again.” Confusion swirled around in her head before the reality of her situation set in. For all intents and purposes, Janet was her Guardian persona while Kayli acted as her civilian counterpart. That wasn’t exactly what was going on, but functionally it made sense. ”Wow. I would say this is weird, but that’s not really saying much with me at this point.”

“It will take some time to get used to,” AR responded. “We will contact you telepathically should the need arise. But for now, we entrust you with the task of sealing the Nexus. We wish you good luck. Goodbye, Kayli.” The book then shut, and bright light surrounded Kayli before she found herself out of the Nexus, and back at the top of Covington Tower.

Perched atop the tower, Janet would look out over the city, Penrose felt more alive than ever. She could practically touch the magic weaving this way and that. Surreal didn’t even come close to explaining things. She felt strong, but that strength was met with an unease. This wasn’t hers, and yet she found herself wielding a might sought after by patron and magical girl alike. Even with all the power imaginable, she couldn’t save Penrose alone. She was a part. An instrument in a greater whole. If she failed in her trust then everything could end. She was no exception.

There was a lot to do, but she first wanted to return to Connie and Mia. Getting down was simple enough as the wind lifted and guided her to the ground. She could sense other magics that could potentially be useful to her, but they were out of reach even to her. Something about their nature made them foreign. Still, she would waste no time and send Alicia a message to meet her at her home as soon as she could.

After the meeting, Connie and Mia opted to return home ahead of everyone else. The events of the day had been stressful to say the least, and the pair were both ready to unwind, with Mia planning to play some video games, while Connie listened to some music and snuggled with her stuffed animals.

When they would finally get back to their room, Connie’s school bag would be sitting open on her bed. Not entirely out of place, maybe their mom put it there or she had just forgotten to move it. While picking it up off the bed, she would catch a glint of something inside. Taking a closer look, there was a dusty glass bottle with a golden top and crimson smoke slowly swirling inside.

“U-Umm… M-Mia…? W-What’s this?” Connie asked with a confused frown.

“No idea,” Mia replied, moving over to take a closer look. “Almost looks like a…” the tomboy’s voice trailed off as an idea occurred to her. “Wait a minute… Is this that djinn girl’s lamp?”

“Y-You mean the o-one from the C-Christmas party?” Connie inquired.

“Yeah, Ruby,” Mia confirmed. “She was at the meeting tonight, too, at least for a little while. Wonder how this got in your backpack, though…”

“Uh, d-do you t-think we s-should open it?” Connie asked hesitantly.

“We should probably wait for Miss Kayli to get back,” Mia advised. “Chances are, it was meant for her anyway.”

Despite not handling the object, the top shifted and twisted loose with a satisfying pop. As predicted, the smoke poured out and formed a human figure, though her lower half remained the red smoke. She was very clearly Ruby, but had matured into a young woman. The golden ring on the bottle clicked open and reached its way out of the bag, resizing and clasping gently around Connie’s wrist. ”Ah ha.” She looked around the room for a second. ”Oh thank goodness. I was worried I might end up buried in a desert or something.”


Her attention turned to the two girls, and specifically to the object now locked around Connie’s wrist. She smiled and seemed relieved. ”Well what are the odds. Congratulations, Master Connie. You have the great privilege of being my first official Master!” Floating down her legs would form and she would bow.

“M-M-Master…?!” Connie yelped in surprise as she struggled to process everything she was seeing and hearing. “B-B-But, w-why m-me?” the terribly confused girl asked as she looked at the bracelet that was now hanging from her wrist. “A-And, u-um, d-does t-this mean I-I get t-three w-wishes?”

Ruby would shrug just a bit. ”I can’t really answer that first question. My magic always pointed me where to go, so I guess this is just how it works now.” The uncertainty didn’t seem to bother her much as she moved on. ”Buuut, that does mean you have three wishes. Your standard fair as far as limitations.”

Connie swallowed. At face value, this seemed like an amazing stroke of good fortune. Depending on how powerful the wishes were, she could potentially make all sorts of things better. She could wish for Sammy and Nuncio to be brought back to life. She could wish for a nicer, less scary Patron. She could even wish for Wonderland to call off its impending attack. Yet, she also knew that, even if these things could be wished for, how the wishes actually played out might be very different from what she’d intended, so she would have to be very careful with how she chose to proceed…

“G-Gosh… U-Ummm… D-Do t-these wishes h-have any l-limitations?” Connie asked. “L-Like, I-I know I p-probably c-can’t wish for m-more wishes, b-but, um, w-would s-something like k-keeping Wonderland f-from a-attacking P-Penrose, or b-bringing someone b-back to l-life be t-too much?” she added. “A-And e-even if y-you c-could d-do it, w-would a w-wish like that b-backfire into s-something a-awful? O-Oh! A-And, a-also, i-if y-you, um, d-don’t really l-like being a d-djinn, w-would I b-be able to w-wish for y-your f-freedom?”

Given who she was talking to, Ruby expected there to be questions. Waiting for the nightmare girl to finish she considered each one. ”I can’t prevent Wonderland from attacking. That would be forcing their will, but you might be able to wish for something to help against them. Affecting unwilling magical girls and boys doesn’t usually work. Bringing someone back depends more on how long it's been, so probably not if it’s been longer than a day.” Some of these she wasn’t entirely sure on herself. They used to be things she couldn’t do so she wanted to air on the side of caution. ”Unfortunately there isn’t a way to undo what’s happened to me. I had a brush with too much magic and it’s stuck.” She frowned a bit, but it seemed more in jest than sadness. ”Don’t worry about me. I made my bed a long time ago.”

“O-Oh, I s-see…” Connie replied glumly. That really didn’t leave a lot of options… “U-Umm, i-in that c-case, can I t-think about it a bit, or i-is there a t-time limit?” she inquired, while nervously fidgeting with her hands.

The young woman would shake her head. ”There’s no time limit. You are my Master until your three wishes are used or you wish me away. I do look forward to what you have in mind though.” She would tap a finger to her lips and hum before leaning closer and touching the clasp around Connie’s wrist. ”Let me take care of this so it isn’t so awkward.” The chain and bottle would retract and shrink down as the whole thing would become a golden bracelet with a sizable ruby gem inset on it. It was still too small to remove, but wasn’t uncomfortable in any way.

“O-Oh! U-Uh, t-thank you…” Connie told the djinn girl softly. “A-And I-I’m glad there’s n-no rush,” she added, sounding considerably more relieved. “I-In that c-case, I-I g-guess I s-should t-take some t-time to t-think things o-over, m-maybe ask s-some f-friends f-for their a-advice…” she added thoughtfully. “D-Do you h-have any ideas, M-Mia?”

For her part, the tomboy had been listening to the conversation with a mixture of fascination and concern. After all, the last thing she wanted was for this “gift” to somehow leave her beloved best friend feeling even more miserable.

“I don’t know, little sis,” Mia replied with a frown as she scratched the back of her neck. “I mean, I guess wishin’ for all of our friends and everyone else in the city to be kept safe from Wonderland might be a start,” she offered. “Or is somethin’ like that too much to ask for?”

Rubbing her chin, Ruby would consider the prospect. ”I think it might be. Protecting everyone from an entire kingdom is a big ask. Though, someone wished for something similar in the past. They were able to protect the public from magical attacks, but not magical girls. That protection stopped when the one that wished for it left Penrose.” Those events felt like an eternity ago. Actually, that was a thing there had been talking about during the meeting wasn’t it? That took a lot out of her then, but as a full Djinn she wasn’t entirely sure of her limits.

“S-So, um, c-could we m-maybe try that?” Connie asked hesitantly. “I-I really d-don’t want to s-see anyone else g-get h-hurt… O-Or k-killed,” she added softly.

”You'll have to put it into a wish of some kind.” She would instruct.

“O-Okay,” Connie nodded, taking a deep breath. “U-Um, s-so, I-I wish for e-everyone in P-Penrose to be p-protected from b-being h-harmed or k-killed by Wonderland.”

Calling upon her magic, the Djinn felt out the wish. It was a tall order and as she reached out the line of magic broke out into more and more threads until she could no longer keep track of them all. Snapping back into the moment she would shake her head. ”I’m sorry Master. That wish encompass too many for my power to reach. Wonderland is a strange and powerful place.” She seemed disappointed that she wasn’t able to achieve what was asked of her.

“O-Oh… I s-see…” Connie replied with a sullen frown. “T-Thank you for trying, though…” She thought for a moment as she considered what other possible wishes she might ask for. “U-Um… I-I guess I’ll n-need to a-ask my f-friends to s-see if t-there’s a-anything a w-wish might be a-able to h-help them w-with…” she noted. “B-But, b-before that, i-is there a-anything y-you’d like me t-to wish f-for on y-your behalf?” she asked the Djinn with a hopeful smile.

She really shouldn’t be surprised that one of the girls that Kayli adopted was the giving sort. With as many wishes as she’d given out over the years, you would think that it would be easy to come up with one herself. She could, but it made her a lot more happy when it was from someone else. Put on the spot though she was finding it hard to find anything that would work. As a magical girl she was more a proxy and that made it easier to skirt the line. As a Djinn though, she almost couldn’t grant her own wishes. A couple times she opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped and had to rethink it as it just wouldn’t hash out in her head. ”I would like to seeee…” She struggled until she stopped trying to be as charitable. ”you… not be… less confident.” As odd as it sounded, it was the best way she could articulate it. Making Connie the focus was strangely easier than for anyone else. She was her Master currently so that likely was the cause.

“Y-You… W-Want me to b-be more c-confident…?” Connie asked, sounding more than a little puzzled. “I-Is t-that something y-you could h-help me w-with?”

Seeing that Connie picked up on what she was implying, Ruby nodded. ”If that is something you wish.” She would give a nervous smile. ”Sorry if that sounded a little rude, Master. I’m not quite myself.”

“T-That’s o-okay!” Connie was quick to reassure the Djinn girl, holding her trembling hands up in a placating gesture. “I-If you’re not f-feeling all right, i-is there s-something I can h-help you w-with?” she asked, her visage and voice filled with concern.

”It’s the nature of a Djinn. I am here to serve you. Master, not the other way around.” She would say calmly while holding her hands up as if to say she couldn’t help it.

“B-But, i-isn’t answering o-one of m-my questions s-still s-serving me?” Connie asked, tilting her head in slight confusion. “E-Even if t-that question was w-what y-you would w-wish for i-if you could m-make a w-wish of your o-own?”

”In a sense. I can answer questions, but even if I wanted something I probably couldn’t do it because I would know it’s not really your wish.” It was clear that Connie was intent on giving something back before anything else. It was a little more than frustrating to Ruby as she was fighting her instincts. Something came to her after a bit. ”Master, I don't think you understand. I’m not like you or Mia. I can't just do whatever I want.” Ruby would point to the bracelet. ”That is my prison. Granted, an extremely comfortable one, but still a prison. It limits me. So as long as it is bound to you I have to do as you wish, not as you say.” She put her hands together in front of her as she spoke in a slightly firmer tone.

“I-I see…” Connie murmured, her eyes downcast. “A-And I’m s-sorry for m-making things s-so d-difficult…” she added with a sniffle as she tried to fight back tears. “I-It’s just that, w-when I s-see people s-suffering, I w-want to do a-all I c-can to h-help them. A-As for h-helping me to b-become more c-confident, that’s s-something I’d like, too,” she explained with a small smile. “I-It’s just… w-well, I k-kind of w-wanted to b-build that c-confidence on my own… B-But, um, t-there is o-one t-thing you c-could maybe h-help me w-with…” the timid girl noted, while continuing to fidget with her hands. “I-I’d really l-like to s-stop b-being a-afraid of m-m-masks… Y-You s-see, I-I’ve been w-wanting to t-take a p-picture of M-Mia and I in our m-magical girl f-forms to go w-with this one h-here,” she continued, gesturing to a framed photo of the pair making a heart with their hands. “B-But, s-since I w-wear a m-m-mask w-when I t-transform, I-I’d n-never be a-able to l-look at it… S-So, um, i-if you c-could do that, t-then I would r-really appreciate it!” she finished with a hopeful smile.

Stepping over and reaching out, Ruby would pat Connie on the shoulder. ”Hey, it’s alright, Master. This whole thing with the bottle and rules, it’s new to me too. It’s not any of your fault.” She would put a finger under Connie’s chin and tilt her head up so she could look at her directly. ”If you want the mask off, then you’re going to have to start with ‘I wish…’ Okay?”

“O-Oh, um, I-I didn’t w-want to r-remove it,” Connie corrected. “J-Just my f-fear of it. S-So, um, i-if that w-works, then, I-I wish I c-could s-stop being a-afraid of m-m-masks,” she told the Djinn girl with as much determination as she could muster.

Blinking for a second, Ruby wondered if her mistake in intent was Connie’s roundabout way of explaining things, or her reaching for greater, more consequential wishes. The line of thought abruptly stopped when she heard the word “wish.” A simple ask. It was a start she supposed. ”As you wish, Master Connie.” Snapping her fingers, nothing obvious or remarkable would happen. ”Your request has been granted.” Waving her hand over her face she produced a frowning jester’s mask. The fear that Connie would expect never rose as if the mask wasn't even there.

“O-Oh gosh!” Connie gasped in happy surprise, while clasping her hands together. “I-It really worked! W-We can f-finally take that picture, now, Mia!” she added, turning to her friend with an excited smile.

“Sure can, little sis,” the tomboy confirmed with a grin of her own. “In fact, we could do it right now if ya want,” she added.

“Y-Yes, let’s!” Connie agreed with an enthusiastic nod. “U-Um, w-would you m-mind taking the picture?” she asked Ruby, while offering the Djinn girl her phone.

The mask would disappear. ”Sure.” Taking the phone, she would give them time to get ready before taking a few pictures. She would then hand it back for them to review.

“O-Oh wow!” the now transformed Connie gushed as she looked at one of the pictures. “I-It looks g-great!”

“It does indeed, little sister,” Gaia confirmed with a serene smile.

“T-Thank you so much!” Connie added, looking back up at Ruby, before rushing over to give the Djinn girl a big hug.

Ruby returned the hug, though maybe not as enthusiastically. It wasn't like she had a choice to not grant the wish. ”You're welcome, Master Connie.”

“S-So, um, s-since it’ll p-probably be a l-little while b-before I f-figure out w-what my other two w-wishes will be, I, uh, g-guess you c-can go back in y-your bottle n-now,” Connie told her. “B-But, o-only if you w-want to!” she hastened to add. Clearly it was quite difficult for such a kindhearted and timid girl to give others orders.

Ruby would nod. ”That might be for the best. It really isn’t that bad in there, so it’s not like I hate it. If you need me then all you have to do is rub the gem.“ Ruby would turn into a wisp of red smoke and would seep into the ruby on the bracelet.

---

The next morning, Kayli had not come back from wherever she’d gone. The girls would take the bus to school. Morning passed into afternoon and when they returned from school there was still no sign of her and no response from her phone. Eventually, as the sun was beginning to lower its way toward the horizon, a magical girl in all blue would arrive and enter the house. Before either Connie or Mia could check to see who it was, Kayli would appear next to her. The two would look at one another for a second. ”This isn’t the same as with Jenna.”

Shaking her head in agreement, Kayli would speak up. ”Definitely not. Girls, I’m home!” The two would make their way to the living room.

“W-Welcome home!” Connie would call out as she hurried down the stairs with Mia close behind. “W-We were s-starting to get w-worried…”

“Yeah,” Mia added. “And who’s this?” she inquired, turning to look her guardian’s companion over more carefully.

Kayli would give them both a hug. ”Sorry for worrying you. If I'd known it was going to take as long as it did I would have warned you. Directing their attention to the girl. ”This is Janet. You may remember her as a knight with her twin sister Jenna. This is a little more like how she looked when first becoming a magical girl.

Janet would wave lightly to the two girls. ”Hello. Nice to see you again.”

”The reason I was away was to find the Nexus. Well, I found it and it is alive in a sense. It's difficult to describe but after passing it's tests and speaking with one of the Grand Magistrates I accepted the responsibility of becoming the Guardian of the Nexus. That is where Janet comes in. I am technically her untransformed form, so I get to stay here with you, while she is the Guardian half meant to protect Penrose and the Nexus.” She would hold up a finger to clarify. ”There will be times that I will have to rejoin Janet. She is not as strong whenever we are apart. But keep in mind that we share most of the same consciousness, so anything you tell her I will know as well.” That was probably a lot to drop on them, so Kayli explained it calmly to hopefully keep things from being overwhelming.

“G-Gosh…” Connie whispered, her mind still trying to make sense of everything Kayli had told them. “U-Um, o-okay,” she added a moment later, before turning to face Janet. “I-it’s um, v-very nice to m-meet you,” she told the other young woman with a kind smile.

“Same here,” Mia added. “I’m not gonna even try to make sense of all this ‘Nexus’ stuff, but I trust you both to keep it safe. Oh, and if ya ever need any help, Connie and I would be only too happy to lend a hand, right little sis?”

“R-Right!” Connie agreed with an emphatic nod. “S-So p-please don’t h-hesitate to ask!” she added, clasping her trembling hands together.

”I will be needing both of your help. I may be the guardian, but if we want to put an end to this constant fight for power then we have to do it together. We will need the others as well. With enough of us we can seal the Nexus. We will also need the Queen of Hearts to be in the right place, so there is some planning to do. She would explain.

“G-Gosh… T-That s-sounds r-really c-complicated…” Connie noted with a frown. “B-But Mia and I will d-do our b-best!” she added, clenching her fists with determination.

“Damn straight, little sis!” Mia added with a grin, while putting an arm around her friend’s shoulder.

While this development was a little late as the meeting that had just ended the other day, Janet was sure they could get in contact with enough people to accomplish the goal. Kayli and Janet would both notice the object around Connie’s wrist, able to clearly see the magic infused in it.

”Connie, what is that you’re wearing?” While the magic seemed familiar, she wasn’t completely sure it was the same as what she suspected.

“O-Oh! U-Um, t-this is f-from R-Ruby, the D-Djinn girl,” Connie explained, holding up the bracelet and pointing to it with a trembling finger. “S-She s-stopped by a-after w-we got b-back from the m-meeting and t-told me I w-was her n-new m-master.”

”New master?” She would ask out loud. ”Can I speak with her?”

“O-Oh, uh, I-I guess so…” Connie replied, sliding her shaking fingers across the bracelet. “U-Um, R-Ruby? C-Could you p-please come o-out?”

The red smoke would swirl out of the gem and form Ruby. ”Yes, Master Connie?” She would turn her head and spot Kayli and Janet. ”Oh! You made it did you? Congratulations.”

Kayli would put her hands on her hips. ”What’s this about Connie being your master?”

”Well, by granting your wish I had a brush with the Nexus. Unlike you I didn’t have protection from its power. It could have killed me, but instead it did what Ilum always threatened me with and turned me into a Djinn.” She held up her arms to show the shackles. ”Bindings and all. Then I found myself here with Connie and she became my Master. At least until she finishes her three wishes, and then I’m not quite sure what comes next.”

Well, that all checked out. She would look over to Connie. ”Well, it looks like it’s you’re lucky day. Have you made any wishes yet?” She would ask out of curiosity.

“I-I have,” the timid girl confirmed with a nod. “I-I wished that I w-wasn’t afraid of m-masks anymore.”

”Mmm, a good choice.” She would step over and give Connie a hug.

“T-Thanks,” Connie replied with an appreciative smile as she returned the embrace. “N-Now I w-won’t have to w-worry about accidentally l-looking at my reflection w-while I’m t-transformed,” she explained. “P-Plus, Mia and I were f-finally able to have a p-picture taken of us in our m-magical girl forms!” she added happily. “W-Would you like to s-see it?”

”I would love to see it.”

Retrieving her phone, Connie showed Kayli and Janet the picture Ruby had taken of her and Mia.

Kayli and Janet would have a similar reaction as they both leaned closer and smiled practically in unison. It gave credence to the idea that they were linked in some way. ”Thats a lovely photo. I'm so glad that you're able to do these things now.”

Kayli would look over to Ruby. ”Thank you for helping my daughter.”

”Just doing my job for Master Connie.”

“I-I’m h-having some t-trouble deciding w-what my other two w-wishes should be,” Connie confessed. “S-So, um, d-do you k-know of a-anyone who has a p-problem that a w-wish might h-help with?” she asked Kayli and Janet.

Crossing her arms for a moment, Kayli would consider the question. ”Angel of Hope has some friends that needed some kind of help. I don't know all of the details, but I was going to find out soon.”

“W-Well, I’d l-love to h-help them i-if I can,” Connie replied. “S-So, um, c-could I come along w-when you m-meet with her?”

”Of course. Though you will be going with Janet since she is the one able to properly use our magic.” She would point out.

“O-Oh, um, o-okay,” Connie acknowledged. “A-And c-could Mia come, t-too?” she inquired, pretty sure she knew the answer, but wanting to make sure, just in case.

”I don’t see why not.”

“S-So, uh, w-when were you t-thinking of m-meeting with them?” Connie asked.

”I’m still working that out. I didn’t expect to be gone for a whole day. There are important things that I need to take care of first.” Updating Alicia being the first thing on her list.

“O-Oh, I s-see…” Connie replied. “W-Well, um, p-please let us k-know when y-you d-decide,” she added, clasping her shaking hands together. Not only was she eager to help others in need, but she wasn’t sure exactly how long she was allowed to hang onto Ruby’s lamp for without using another wish.

---

It would be a day or so before Janet was free to meet up with the Angel of Hope and her compatriots. After being led by the Angel to the back room of A Taste of Heaven Tea Shop, The Keeper, along with Connie and Gaia would find a motley assortment of magical girls seated around a table. Among the more notable were a blue-skinned young woman with four arms, an incredibly sickly-looking girl in some form of containment field, and a girl wearing a raincoat, who was being drenched by the storm cloud hovering over her head.

“Warmest greetings once again, Miss Angel,” a small fairy announced as she fluttered up to the new arrivals. “Might these be the friends you mentioned?”

“Yes,” the Angel confirmed with a radiant smile. “These are the kind and selfless souls who have agreed to alleviate the tragic burdens of all gathered here,” she added, gesturing to her companions.

And thank fuck for that…

“H-Hello, I-I’m C-Connie,” the masked maiden introduced herself with a small wave. “I-It’s v-very nice to m-meet you. T-This is m-my b-best friend,” she added gesturing to the verdant maiden beside her.

“Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth,” the botanical beauty greeted with a demure curtsy. “A pleasure to make your acquaintances.”

”It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Thank you all so very much for coming,” the fairy told them with a curtsy. “I am Healing Fairy Isis, the humble organizer of this support group. Going clockwise around the table, we have Kali, Selene, Alice, her friend Margret, Akari, and her friend Miyuki. I take it the Angel has told you about our members’ various problems?” she inquired.

”To a degree. I should be able to get a much better idea now that I’m here in the flesh.” Using her Third Eye, Janet would take the opportunity to check on each one of the girls. Mainly, she was looking for the debilitating aspects of their magic.

With Kali’s she could tell right away she could assist without much fuss. Her magic had been tailored just for such a thing; Akari’s situation she could perhaps deal with, Oddball specs were harder to read directly so it would probably be best to ask a few questions; Alice’s gave have her a familiar feeling, being that Janet could see aspects of all other specs shifting in and out. It was almost like a less refined version of her own magic. It could perhaps be tamed; Selene was one that she might have to do some thinking for. That didn’t mean there were no options at their disposal.

Having taken stock of everyone, Janet would smile and hold her arms out. ”My, I see the kinds of trouble you have had to deal with. I’m sorry you’ve all had to go though this. I have good news though. I believe we should be able to help each of you in some way.” She wanted to be sure to utilize the right fix for each, so she would spend a little time and allow each of them to explain their ailments in more detail. With that done Janet would begin by turning to Kali. ”If you consent, I can remove the corrupting magic that has turned you into a monster girl. You will become a normal magical girl without the need feed off life force or deal with the other negative mutations.” She would hold out a hand. ”If that is something you would like then please take my hand.”

“O-Oh, wow…” Kali gasped as she slowly held out her hand. “I-I would love that!” she added, tears of joy filling her eyes.

Taking hold of the hand, a soft glow would build and pass from Janet to Kali. Purifying magic swirled around the two. Firstly, the gnawing hunger that had been gripping the girl faded away. She could think clearly again. Inch by inch, she began to shrink down from her towering height to a more typical size for an overdeveloped magical girl. The additional arms retracted and shrank away while her blue skin changed to a more natural dark tone. Janet steadied the girl as everything had changed. ”You have been purified. You are now free from the corrupting magics.”

“I-I don’t believe it…” Kali whispered in awe as she looked over her changed body. “I-I’m normal again!” she cried with joy as she embraced Janet. “Thank you so much!”

”You're welcome.” She returned the hug.

“H-Holy crap…” Alice whispered.

“OMG! That’s so amazing!” Margret cheered.

“I-I’m (cough!) S-So… happy… for y-you,” Akari told Kali with a tired smile.

“Same here!” Miyuki added, giving the purified girl a thumbs up.

“Oh, how wonderful!” the Angel declared, clasping her hands together as her eyes filled with joyful tears.

“Uh, can I go next?” Selene asked.

”Of course. Yours I see a few options. There are some out there that can absorb your excess magic, we would need to find such an individual and I would be more than happy to assist in that; You could use a Red coin that can alter your magic; Or Connie here could ask a friend of ours to assist you with your magic.” Since this one had a few different options she wanted to present them so that Selene could decide.

“Well, I’d like to get this shitty situation resolved sooner, rather than later, and I’ve never even heard of a Red coin before,” Selene explained. “So, uh, who’s this friend of yours?” she asked Connie.

“O-Oh! U-Um, h-her n-name is R-Ruby,” the timid girl replied, slightly startled at becoming the center of attention. “S-She’s a d-djinn, a-and can g-grant w-wishes.”

“No shit?” Selene asked, her eyes going wide. “That sounds awesome!”

“Yes, most extraordinary indeed!” the Angel concurred.

Holy fuck… That djinn girl bullshit is real, too?!

“O-Okay,” Connie said with a nod. “I-I’ll s-summon her t-then.” Sliding her shaking fingers over her bracelet, the masked maiden called, “R-Ruby? C-Can you c-come out p-please?”

Smoke would pour out from the ring and form into Ruby. She would glance around at the gathering and the space they were in. She wasn't really a fan of being in such a public place, but she didn't really have a say in the matter. ”Master Connie. How may I serve you?” She would bow to Connie.

“U-Um, w-well, t-this is S-Selene,” the masked maiden began, gesturing to the raincoat-wearing young woman. “S-She c-can’t c-control her m-magic, s-so u-um, I-I was w-wondering, w-would you b-be able to h-help with t-that?”

Glancing over to Selene, Ruby’s eyes would drift upward to the cloud. After a moment, she would turn back to Connie. ”Yes Master, I believe something could be done about that.” She would refrain from any suggestions.

“O-Okay,” Connie nodded. “T-Then, I w-wish for S-Selene to b-be able to c-control her m-magic.”

”As you wish.” The young woman would face Selene and reach a hand out. She first would take hold of the cloud and pull it away, bringing it in close and whispering something to it. Her other hand would be placed on Selene's head. Selene herself would feel a shift in her magic. Her aptitude to sense and direct her magic increased as she gained access to Mana Channel. Releasing the cloud, it dissolved and swirled around the water girl. As if possessing a slight control of the weather, the external expression of Selene's magic became linked to her mood. If she was sad or depressed then the raincloud would return, windy if anxious, sunshine when happy, stormy if angry, and so on. It might not be exactly what she wanted, but the girl wasn't doomed to live in perpetual rain.

Retracting her hands, Ruby would bow to Connie. ”Your wish has been granted.”

“D-Do you f-feel any b-better?” Connie asked Selene.

“Y-Yeah…Thanks,” the storm maiden replied to both Connie and Ruby. “My magic’s still insanely strong, but I feel like I’ve got more control over it now, so I guess that’s better than nothing.”

“It looks like you now have access to Mana Channeling,” Miyuki noted, an energy visor appearing over her eyes as she ran a diagnostic scan on Selene. “It’ll let you transfer some of your mana into a secondary vessel so that it isn’t so overwhelming,” the technopath explained. “Normally, that’s another person, but I think I should be able to create a device that can serve as a container. That way, you hopefully won’t have to deal with your magic bothering you while you’re not transformed.”

“Wow… Uh, thanks, Miyuki,” Selene told the gadgeteer, clearly taken aback by all the recent revelations.

“No problem!” Miyuki replied with a cheerful smile. “I love making new gear, especially if it helps my friends! And speaking of friends,” she added, her tone becoming substantially more sober. “Could you help Akari next?”

“P-Please… L-Let Alice g-go… (cough!) n-next…” Akari wheezed.

“But…” Miyuki began, before noticing the pleading look in her sickly friend’s tired eyes. “Okay…” she relented with a resigned sigh. “I guess you’re up next, Alice.”

Looking between the remaining two girls, Janet would reassure them. ”I should be able to help the both of you.” Stepping forward, she would wave a hand over Alice. Being connected to the Nexus, she could feel a similar link between it and the girl. ”Please hold still. This might be a little intense.” Giving Alice a moment, Janet would then place a hand on the girl’s head. Alice’s magic would shift and redirect to the Nexus through Janet herself. The magical surge hit like a truck, but it was obvious that the Guardian was acting as a buffer to protect Alice from being overwhelmed. While her magic didn’t change, the range of the Oddball magic compressed and narrowed. The highs dropped and the lows rose as the girl’s connection with the Nexus’ power stabilized.

As the magic turmoil began to settle, Janet would remove her hand and Alice’s magic would reconnect to its normal flow. Her magic was still random, but it would no longer be entirely useless or uncontrollably powerful. Internally the girl could feel that with the right practice or training she might even be able to influence the manner in which the magic manifested.

Taking a deep breath and getting herself in order again, Janet would clasp her hands together. ”You’re magic has been realigned with the Nexus. Your spells should now be more moderate when you use your magic.”

“T-Thank you,” Alice said after taking a moment to regain her bearings. “I-I’m not sure what the Nexus is, but I’ll take whatever help I can get. M-Maybe now my magic can actually be useful.”

“OMG! I’m so happy for you!” Margret squealed, rushing over to give Alice a hug, followed by Janet. “Thank you sooo much for helping my BFF!” she told the Keeper with a cheerful giggle.

”You are very welcome.” She would return the hug. Once released she would turn to Akari. ”And of course last, but certainly not least, let’s get you out of this chamber so you can be with your friends.” Magic building up around her, the surrounding air became cleansed.

Before anyone could object, she stepped over to the hatch, would crank the latch, and pull the door open. The deathly air that escaped hit Janet’s aura and became instantly clean. Forming a ball of magic in her hands, it drifted up and flew toward Akari. The girl was enveloped in light as the healing and purification magic took away each illness one by one. After about half a minute the glow began to die down and Akari stood with a clean bill of health as she did when first becoming a magical girl.

“A-Akari… You’re cured!” Miyuki cheered as she deactivated the containment field and embraced her friend. “Oh, I can’t thank you enough!” she told Janet. “And you, too, Angel!”

“Simply seeing this selfless champion healed of her afflictions is all the thanks this humble servant has need of,” the Angel replied, clasping her hands over her chest.

Fuck… Wish I had that kinda cheat code level power…

“You have my thanks as well,” Akari added with a demure bow. “I must confess, it does feel wonderful to be able to breathe freely again, and now I shall also be able to cure even more suffering people of their ailments.”

“Um, do you think it would be possible to infuse some of your healing power into a medical device?” Miyuki asked Janet, holding up one such ultratech apparatus. “That way, I’ll be able to heal Akari myself if she starts to absorb too many illnesses again.”

Janet would look down at the device. ”Perhaps, but not at this time. I must be ready for the upcoming conflict in Penrose, so I only have so much to use freely. If Akari seeks out a healer regularly then they should be able to keep her healthy without needing a significant intervention.” Though she would willingly assist again, she didn't want Akari having to rely on just her to stay well.

“Oh, I see,” Miyuki replied. “Well, if regular healing magic will work on her now, then I should be able to ensure she remains in good health,” the technomancer added with a confident grin.

Janet would take a step back and lean over to Angel slightly. She would whisper and respond to the inner monologue. ”It doesn't come without its responsibilities.” She would smile gently.

“Oh, yes indeed,” the Angel replied, sounding only slightly startled. “This humble servant would imagine so. After all, those blessed with great powers must always strive to use them for the good of others and with the utmost of care.”

H-Holy shit… C-Can she hear thoughts, too?!

”Not something I do regularly, but I sensed a conflict in your emotions. I presume Angel of Hope takes the reigns whenever you transform?” It seemed like Janet hadn't been ease dropping much until that point. The mental message had a friendly, understanding tone to it.

Uh, heh, y-yeah… “the Angel’s” mental voice conceded awkwardly. That fucking fuzzball forces me to act all stupid whenever I transform… the mental voice grumbled. It fucking sucks…

Seemed the two were both present and aware at the same time. She would address them both then. ”I see. Is this something you can control? Maybe there could be something of a compromise.”

If I could control it, do you think I’d still be acting like this?! the mental voice shot back. It’s like some kinda fuckin’ compulsion…

Well then. Suppose this wasn't the most unusual circumstance to find a magical girl in. Patrons and magic always seemed to have varying impacts on an individual whether intended or accidental. After a bit of probing it seemed like this was something that Angel's patron put in place. Given the disparity between the two, Janet wouldn't be surprised if a humble champion was the goal and the one ultimately chosen didn't fit the mold. ”You might already suspect this, but from what I can tell fostering some humility and restraint might allow you to bridge that gap and have more control when transformed.”

You mean just fuckin’ accept it?! How the hell is that supposed to help?! Can’t you do something with your cheat code magic? Y’know, something that actually works?

”Accept it? No. I’m not the biggest fan of Patrons forcing things on their charges. But I have dealt with my share of mental conflicts. I’d rather give you the best shot of keeping control since it’s likely that some time after I’m not around that your patron will try and put things back the way they want things and you’ll be right back here again. You don’t have to be a bleeding heart, just tone down the sass when the job calls for it and be yourself any other time.” She did her best to reason with Angela. Perhaps she should put her in contact with people she could properly vent to. She wouldn’t be the only one dropped into a position they didn’t ask to be in.

I already have to act like some self-effacing shit head while I’m transformed, so why the hell would I want to try being that way twenty-four fuckin’ seven?! No thanks! And if you’re so worried about my dumbass patron, then can’t ya just get me a new one? That seems like something that OP as fuck djinn girl could do, even if you can’t.

Janet would glance around in the room of happy faces. Things were up, and she didn’t want to sour the mood by bringing Angela out here and now. ”Very well. Once things are done here then I will free you from your mental bonds. We’ll see if there’s anything else we need to do after that.”

Great, then let’s get this over with…

“Oh my heavens! Seeing you freed from your various afflictions fills this humble servant with such abundant gladness, good champions!” the Angel declared with a dazzling smile, even as tears of joy glistened in her eyes.

“On behalf of the Inconvenient Magical Abilities Support Group, I wish to convey my deepest thanks,” Isis said as she fluttered up to the Angel and gave a respectful curtsy. “Both to you, and to your generous companions. I only wish there was some way I could repay the great kindness you’ve shown us.”

“Simply knowing that this humble servant was able to help in making this miracle possible is a more than sufficient reward,” the Angel replied with a demure curtsy of her own.

If things work out, the Keeper will be handling that part… Oh, and the most heavenly bliss that kind Master Chiichuu shall award me with for accomplishing this noble task should not be discounted either! As much as I hate to admit it…

“Y-Yes,” Connie spoke up. “I-I’m j-just glad R-Ruby and I w-were able to h-help,” she added, her mask forming a happy smile as she clasped her trembling hands together.

“You did a wonderful job today, little sister,” Gaia told her timid friend with a warm smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “I am so very proud of you.”

Giving Connie a hug, Janet would encourage the girl as well. ”Yes, great job Connie. You always have such a big heart.” Though Janet was the one speaking, the words clearly were coming from Kayli.

Janet would turn back to the others and put her hands together. Giving a humble bow she would address them. ”I'm glad that we were able to help you all. I hope to be a resource to your group in the future.”

Saying their final farewells to the support group’s various members, Janet, Connie, Gaia, and the Angel began to make their way back home.

“Many blessings be upon you all, most generous champions,” the Angel bid the others when the time came to part ways. “It would be this humble servant’s great pleasure and honor to be permitted to again assist such noble paragons in the service of those in need at some point in the hopefully not too distant future,” she added with a kind smile.

And more importantly, fix that fur ball’s fuckin’ brainwashing…

”I hope to have the opportunity again as well. Now let's take care of your issue.” She would stop and turn to Angel of Hope. Reaching up she would place two finger against the magical girl’s forehead. The compulsion that had a hold of Angela would begin to fade as her true personality was able to surface.

“H-Holy fuck…” the “Angel” breathed, her eyes going wide. “I can curse!” she added with a giddy laugh. “I can say whatever the hell I wanna say! This is fuckin’ awesome!”

For their part, Connie and Gaia both gave voice to a startled gasp at their companion’s massively altered demeanor.

“Mother’s Mantel…” Gaia murmured.

“U-Ummm… M-M-Miss A-Angel….?” a very confused Connie asked hesitantly. “A-Are y-y-you… o-okay…?”

“I’m more than okay,” the angelic maiden replied with a grin. “I’m fuckin’ fantastic! My moronic patron forced me to act like some stupid ‘goody-two-shoes’ whenever I transformed,” she explained when she saw the look of utter bewilderment that was still being displayed by Connie’s mask. “But now I can be my real self in both forms! Still… You’re right about that stupid fuzzball tryin’ to change things back to how they were,” she added, glancing at Janet for a moment, before turning her attention back to Connie. “But you still have at least one more wish left with that djinn chick, right?!” she asked eagerly. “That means you can wish to get me a new patron!”

“W-W-Well, um, I-I g-guess I-I c-can t-try…” the masked maiden conceded, running her shaking fingers over her bracelet’s glowing jewel.

Ruby would once again appear before the group and turn her attention to Connie. ”You called for me, Master Connie?”

“Y-Yes,” Connie confirmed with a nod. “I-I’d like to g-give M-Miss A-Angel a n-new p-patron, a-and I was w-wondering if t-that was s-something y-you think you m-might be a-able to d-do.” she explained, while nervously fidgeting with her hands.

Ruby would look at Angel for a second. ”Perhaps. If that is also something she wants.”

“You bet your ass it is,” the Angel confirmed with an adamant nod.

”Then you must make your wish, Master.” She would look back to Connie.

“O-Okay, s-so, u-um, I w-wish for M-Miss Angel to h-have a b-better p-patron, o-one who r-respects her a-and allows h-her to b-be herself,” Connie stated. Although she was still deeply confused by the whole situation (and especially the Angel’s new, far less angelic, personality), she was also firmly opposed to anyone controlling the behavior of others without their consent. Thus, she wanted to do everything she could to help the Angel out with her current problem.

”As you wish, Master.” Turning over to Angel she would lean a bit closer. The request was fine on its own, but she knew nothing of Angela and her personality. ”What is it you desire?” She would ask for further detail. She had something in mind, but it might not fit the mold in this case.

“Well, I guess I just want a patron that’ll give me more freedom, and won’t force me to act like some wimpy ‘paragon of justice’ or any other fucked up thing they have in mind,” the Angel replied. “Basically, what I’m saying is, I want to still be able to act like myself while I’m transformed, without any weird restrictions or compulsions.”

After a moment of silence she would nod to herself. There was a parallel that she picked up on about Angel and her personality. Standing back up to her full height, Ruby would put her hands on her hips. ”I accept your terms.” Holding a hand out, the bracelet around Connie’s wrist would unlatch and fly to Ruby, returning to its bottle form. Uncorking the top, she pinched something at the opening and pulled out a document. ”It wasn't long ago that I dealt with such compulsions from my own patron. I did not escape the consequences put upon me, which is why you see me as you do now. However, I believe I can provide what it is you seek.” Reaching out, she would present and allow Angela to read the contract.

The doc stipulated that Ruby would become her new patron for the purposes of maintaining her as a magical girl. As a Patron, there would be requests to complete tasks without any compulsive components to force Angela into doing them. Angel of Hope will be given Closure to avoid retribution from her former patron and be reborn as a new magical girl based on her true self rather than anything Ruby might prefer.

“Wow… This is great,” the Angel said as she read over the contract. Indeed, it looked as though the djinn girl had really covered all the bases. “Thanks,” she added, turning to look up at Ruby once she’d finally finished reading.

Ruby would produce a pen and sign her name down at the bottom of the contract and then pass it back for Angela to sign. With the deal sealed, smoke bellowed out from the bottle and merged with Ruby as she turned to Connie. ”Your wish has been granted.” She would disappear into a cloud of smoke and retreat back into the bottle. A trail of smoke would split off and wrap around Angela, lifting her off the ground and rapidly pulling her in after her new patron. In the blink of an eye the bottle would vanish leaving the trio to go on their way. Reality rewrote itself so that after helping her friends, Angel of Hope had gone off on a new adventure.

“I must say, that was a most unexpected turn of events,” a visibly shocked Gaia remarked.

“Y-Yeah…” a similarly bewildered Connie agreed with a nod. “S-So, um, I g-guess we c-can go h-home now, r-right , M-Miss Janet?”

”Yes, it's been an eventful day. I think getting in a little time to relax would be good.” She would step over and give Connie a warm hug. ”You did a good job today. I'm very proud of you.”

“T-Thanks…” Connie replied in a soft voice as the cheeks of her mask began to turn red. “Y-You and R-Ruby were r-really amazing, t-too,” she added with a smile. “I-It m-makes me r-really happy to k-know that w-we were able to h-help so many p-people today.”

The knowledge didn’t fully wipe away the feelings of pain and worthlessness brought about by her failure to save Sammy and Nuncio, of course, but at least it was a start.

It had been a few days since the big meeting. People had gone their separate ways in preparation. Back at the Golden Trove, Shion would be going through her things and would find a glass bottle with a golden top nestled among the various items.

Shion was wasting time, waiting for her little group to decide on marching orders when she found it. She cautiously picked it up, not knowing what it was, and took a closer look at it. The brilliant red swirling inside it captivated her, and she found herself staring for a moment. She was really tempted to open it, but her natural distrust won out. When it didn’t explode after a few minutes of watching it, she decided to take it to the others and see if they knew what it was. She had just started to leave the room she kept her things in when she tripped, the bottle falling from her hands and onto the floor with a thud.

Bouncing and rolling around on the floor, the top of the bottle would loose and come free. Like a smoke bomb, the red mist within bellowed out. Instead of filling the room though it all came together to form a young woman with bright red hair. Her legs remained the red smoke trailing back to the bottle. Anyone with any kind of knowledge could connect the dots that this was a Djinn. The clasp around the neck of the bottle unlatched and whipped around dragging the glass object with it until it clamped around Shion’s wrist.

Turning to look at the fallen magical girl, the woman would speak. ”Well who do we have here? Master Shion. Good to see a new face.” She would offer a hand to help Shion up.

As Shion took her hand, there was a look of incredulity and surprise, which was rare for her nowadays. ”What… what just happened? Why is there a genie’s bottle in my stuff?” She looked down at her wrist and the glass now attached to it.

Giving a sly smile, Ruby would answer. ”What, not a fan of surprises? I’m here because fate brought me to you.” She would gently lift Shion’s arm that had the bottle attached. ”And as my new Master you have three wishes that I must fulfill for you.” She would bow low to meet the girl’s eye level.

”Not a fan of fate, more like. But three wishes? Alright, I’ll bite. I assume that you can’t grant wishes that go beyond your power… So I guess I need to know what sort of things are within the realm of possibility, though I’m not going to spend a wish to find out.” Shion tilted her head in thought as she spoke.

”Oh of course not. That would be ridiculous. You’re standard fare, no additional wishes, I can’t make people do things they don’t agree to, I cannot take away another’s magic, you can bring people back if it’s been within 24 hours though.” She would start listing things out. ”If I’m not able to do something that does not expend a wish. It must be fulfilled to count.” Ruby would add for reassurance.

”Hm…” After about twenty seconds, Shion finally thought of an idea. ”Well, we’re getting ready for a huge fight, so maybe wishing away Wonderland would be good? But I sort of doubt you can do that. So the next best thing would be something to help. How specific can a wish get?”

Ruby would nod and sigh reluctantly. ”Yes, unfortunately it wouldn't be that easy. As for how specific, it was be as detailed as you want. May not fly if you're trying to effect too many things together at once. Like trying to squeeze two wishes into one.”

”So if I were to wish for an item, I could specify the details of the item, but not wish for a second one, basically?”

”Only one way to find out.”

Shion nodded. ”Then let’s try it. Just don’t judge me on it. My first wish is for a semi-automatic pistol that has the ability to fire infinite non-magical ammunition without needing to be reloaded. How’s that?”

Without change of expression, Ruby would hold out a hand flat with palm facing upward. A case would appear in her hand. Opening the case, Ruby would present what looked like an ordinary handgun. ”As you wish, Master Shion.” Taking the weapon, it seemed unremarkable. Checking the clip or the chamber the weapon looked to be empty. However, whenever Shion would go about testing it would fire the correct rounds with the equivalent stopping power. ”And you shouldn't worry about judgment from me. I have seen some quite unusual requests. If anything, I enjoy seeing the creative things people come up with.”

That was surprising. Shion didn’t think that request would fly, if she were honest. ”Thank you, both for the gun and for not thinking it’s a really weird wish. This should at least come in handy in the future.” She would pause to think again. Had she really ever had any wishes that she wanted granted? Well, yes, but those were either no longer necessary or would be beyond what even a genie could do. Was there anything else that would help keep her and those she cared about alive with the upcoming battle? Since the meeting had stopped Summer’s scrying, she didn’t know if they had found any details that could be useful to the Penrose “army” that she could wish for.

”Well, the simplest thing would be a mana battery of some sort. I guess it’s worth finding out, so my second wish would be for ten mana batteries, each capable of fully recharging the average Magical Girl’s mana.” That would hopefully allow for letting them fight longer and for someone to use their Killing Blow more freely. Sure, it might not be enough for some on the Penrose forces’ team, but it might turn the tide.

”An excellent idea, Master.” Raising her hands up, they would crackle with energy and be surrounded by light. Spreading her arms apart the light would split into ten smaller spheres. They would form into violet crystals and drift down to the floor. ”Your wish has been granted. When used, each will expend all their energy and restore the user's mana.“ Mechanically, each crystal had the capacity to restore up to 15 MAG to one magical girl or boy.

”Wow. Wasn’t sure that one would work, either. Hmm…” A thought occurred. ”Hey, do you have something you would wish for, if you could?”

”To not be in the situation I'm in now. That ship has long since sailed and there isn't really a way out at this stage. Aside from that I don't really have any recommendations. I can't really grant my own wishes.”

Well, that made things easy. ”That’s about what I figured, so I want to try this. My third wish is that you were able to grant three of your own wishes.” She’d pause a moment to let Ruby try to grant it. ”Did it work?”

”Fortunately not.” She would scoff slightly. ”I don’t think that would end well for me in the long run.”

”Well, it was worth trying. Do you think you could get just one? That would be equivalent, wouldn’t it? Or is there a ‘get out of jail free’ sort of wish I could make? I can’t imagine being a djinn, genie, whatever the correct term is, so if I can help with my final wish, I’d like to.”

Ruby would cross her arms and think about it for a while. ”I’m not sure. I am this way because I ‘flew too close to the sun’ in order to give someone the power they needed to help defend Penrose. As far as I am aware I cannot undo or change the fact that I am a Djinn. Prior to this I was essentially Fated to be where I am now. I don't know everything though, so there may be a creative way to help.” She knew that wasn't really helpful, but she really didn't know a way out.

”If I remember right, isn’t a red, or better yet, ruby, coin able to change Fate in exactly the way that would help?”

”Normally, but I am no longer a magical girl that a Red Coin will work on. I am a patron. The rules are different for me.”

”Geez, what kind of thing did you make mad? What’s strong enough to turn someone into a djinn that’s capable of granting wishes?”

”Originally, a Djinn. That just made me a magical girl where I was forced to go around and essentially do his work for him. How I am now though has more to do with a brush with the Nexus. Not something most come out unscathed, if they survive the encounter.”

”So I’m guessing that a white coin won’t resolve your curse or anything like that, either…”

”Exactly. Those things apply to individuals like yourselves.”

”Dang. Alright, mind if I phone a friend? I’ve been told I’m surprisingly stubborn, but I don’t get what’s surprising about it.” Shion reached into her pocket to call someone, when Tay, that damnable Puchuu, came walking from around the corner. When he saw Ruby, he stopped.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” He looked between the Djinn and his so-called ally. “This is ridiculous. Please tell me you haven’t wasted wishes on something moronic.”

Shion pointed her new handgun at him, careful not to put her finger on the trigger. ”If we weren’t inside someone else’s building, you’d be my test subject to find out.” After saying that, she lowered the gun. ”Hey, wait a second. You’re a pain in the ass, and the type to take contracts seriously… You’re definitely not who I wanted to bring in, but maybe you can help. Any ideas on how I can use one wish to get Ruby free from her overbearing position?”

“... You want to pass up a wish from a wish-granting Patron in order to-” One of Tay’s ears smacked him in the face in dismay. “Yeah, sure, okay. Why not waste a once in several lifetimes opportunity both for yourself and for anyone who would be in the same position after you? What have you tried?”

”Apparently, Red and White Coins won’t work on her, and just wishing for her freedom probably won’t work either. She can’t grant her own wishes and she’s in the situation she’s in because of the Nexus. That’s about it.”

“I see. Well, there’s the traditional ones…” He looked over at Ruby. “Please feel free to say if any of these are an obvious ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on viability.”

With that, he cleared his throat (does he even have a throat?) and placed one of his prehensile ears against his head in thought, then began listing off potential wishes. “You could wish that she fulfill whatever potential wish there may be that would result in her freedom. You could wish for knowledge of a way to free her that is within your power and also doesn’t require a further wish to achieve, or for a ritual that would free anyone in a similar position to what she’s in. There’s also the legal loophole approach, where you make a very specifically worded wish that prevents her from being sealed, which would make her a ‘free djinn,’ so to speak, and should give her ample time to figure out her own way to become free. Or, there’s the draining approach, where the wish is for all wishes, starting with the one used to make it happen, that the djinn grants gain their magic from the source that is keeping her sealed, resulting in a paradox that breaks her free, or at the very least a massive drain in the mana needed to be used up. That one might require future wishers, though, so if you’re trying to free her now, in one, you’ll need to be more precise.”

He paused, removing his ear’s “hand” from resting on the side of his head, and looked to Ruby. “Any of those sound plausible for your specific situation?”

Ruby would listen to the list of ideas. Most of them she didn’t imagine would succeed as it would require using her magic on herself. They weren’t entirely all without merit though. ”I haven’t looked into thing much since becoming a Djinn, but I imagine a ritual or obtaining the needed knowledge would be the most likely to yield results. You will have to wish for one to be sure.”

”Then let’s see if it works. I wish I had complete knowledge of a method to free you and others in your position, if there are any, that is within my power to achieve and does not require an additional wish.”

Listening to the wish, Ruby would look a bit surprised. She could feel that the wish was working. Ironically she herself wouldn’t be granted the knowledge. ”Well, you’ll have to let me know how this will work.” Reaching out she would place a hand on Shion’s head. Knowledge not her own would begin to flow into her mind. The steps and resources needed to complete a ritual to remove the Djinn power from Ruby and others like her. However, that power would need another mortal vessel willing to receive it, effectively transferring and transforming the other person into a Djinn.

”Your wish has been granted.”

Shion wasn’t fully certain that her wish would work, and she had been in the process of thinking of wording for another when Ruby touched her. As the information filled her mind, her eyes widened in surprise at the success. The fact that it would need a “sacrifice,” of sorts was expected, but it was still much better than a wasted wish.

“Well, that’s unexpected. I thought a Patron-level djinn would take more than that. But if it was granted, what’s the answer, Shion?”

”There’s a way, but it needs a vessel for the magic to be transferred to.” She focused her attention on Ruby. ”Are you going to have to leave now, or are you relatively ‘free’ for a bit? I think I could pull this off fairly soon, but I don’t know who would be willing to trade places. I can ask around, at least.”

The clasp around Shion's wrist would release and the bottle would roll over to Ruby. ”I don't have to leave immediately, though I can't stay here for more than a few days before I must move on. Likely sooner than that given the circumstances Penrose finds itself in.”

”I’m sure it’ll take longer than that, and it might be best to let others use wishes to prepare too. Any way I could track, or just find you again, once I’ve found a volunteer? She was already mentally going down the list of those she knew who might say “yes” to the idea.

”I have a magical girl under my charge that goes by Angel of Despair. She shouldn't be hard to identify, she usually swears up a storm. You can speak with her to get in contact with me.”

Shion nodded. ”Alright, I’ll get on that, then. Good luck, I’ll try to hurry.”

Nodding in return, Ruby would disappear in a swirl of red smoke.

No sooner had Violet returned to her office after helping her Cradle friends with their search, then she received a message on her Mint-provided phone from Chloe Irving, who wished to arrange a time for their previously discussed upcoming meeting. The heiress had done her best to suppress a disgusted shudder at the sound of that request. Indeed, the search for Amanda’s patron and the other missing Cradle members coming up empty handed had been bad enough, but the idea of actually having to talk at length with someone as utterly detestable as Chloe, made things a thousand times worse. Nonetheless, Violet had politely informed the junior broker of an acceptable time and place, like the consummate professional businesswoman she was. Now, the following evening, the young heiress sat in her office, waiting for the dreaded meeting to commence.

Hopefully this discourse shall not take particularly long, Violet thought to herself with a tired sigh. There are far more pressing matters I could be attending to right now…

Not only did the young heiress find Chloe to be highly repulsive, but every second she wasted on pointless banter with her was precious time she could have been spending patrolling the city, reliving the myriad stresses of the day, and meeting with cherished friends. Friends like Amanda…

I only wish I could have been of more help to her… the heiress reflected sullenly. To all of them… I know they did not ask me to join them on their search, but I could not just simply sit back and do nothing! I have a responsibility to do all I can for them, and perhaps there is yet a way… she mused, her keen mind rapidly considering various possibilities. In fact, she was so lost in thought that she failed to notice that her expected guest had arrived…

Chloe did not introduce herself with any fan fare. She only approached Violet’s desk and placed a small box of takeout on it. The heiress did a double take when she noticed the tall, more clad, more tentacled version of Chloe. "I got a makeover,“ was all she said, and without that sly smile of hers. "Our first legitimate business in Penrose is the ‘Peking Moon’ takeout. We’re installing some offices upstairs for the computer developers, but the takeout place is a source of immediate income. I didn’t know what to order you, so the chef just made something random for us.“ She place a pair of chopsticks beside Violet’s meal before opening up her own food. "I think he called it ‘Mu-Shi-Beef’ or something?“ She poked around in her own box before pulling out a beef strip and some fat noodles. "How’s the robot stuff going?“

“Satisfactory…” Violet replied cautiously, her mind still coming to terms with not only Chloe’s substantial change of appearance, but also the fact she’d brought food for them both. “I must admit, I was not expecting this meeting to take place over a meal, so I regret to say I have already eaten dinner,” the heiress informed her guest in a polite and even tone. “Even so, I am most grateful for the offer.”

"Yea… Yea.“ Chloe stirred her food. "Well, it re-heats really easily. But if it’s not your thing, I can just eat it later.“ She took a seat and stared off into space. "So your father’s business, what is it worth to you?.“

To Violet’s considerable surprise, it seemed that Chloe’s physical change had also been mirrored by a marked change in demeanor. Gone was the obnoxious flirt, and in her place was a calmer, perhaps even sullen, girl. Violet had to admit, she was intensely curious if this change was genuine, or simply an act, and, if the former, what set of circumstances might have brought it about. Even so, that curiosity did nothing to lessen her focus, especially after Chloe asked her next question.

“It is worth more than anyone could ever hope to pay,” Violet replied, her voice icy and firm. “That is to say, it is not for sale. I apologize if that sounded too harsh,” the heiress added after a moment. “But please understand, this company has been in my family for several generations. Indeed, it owes its very existence to my family, and the prudent stewardship of it is a sacred obligation for all Covingtons. Thus, to relinquish that obligation is to do nothing less than spit in the face of a noble lineage going back for well over a century. In light of that, I am sure you can see why I might perhaps over stress my position on the matter.”

"I guess I understand that.“ Chloe continued to look off into the distance. "I’m in control of Penrose Mint now, in case you were wondering why Al wasn’t here. He got himself killed and now it’s all mine. Mine until someone takes it from me or I give it up. But it’s been my home for too long. I can’t just hand control over to someone else. Even if it’s rotten to the core.“ She looked at Violet out of the corner of her eye. "Not unlike your father, or your lineage’s dirty dealings.“

Although the heiress’s visage remained impassive, internally, Violet was rather taken aback by the revelation of Al Scarp’s demise. She could only wonder if it was Chloe herself who bore responsibility for the broker’s death, or if someone else had done the deed. Regardless, she didn’t feel particularly remorseful over Scarp’s passing. Not only had he manipulated her with false information, but he had also poisoned her father, something she refused to tolerate. And speaking of the elder Covington, it seemed Chloe still had at least some bite left, as she then took a jab at his less-than-savory business practices, as well as those of his forebears.

“I will not deny that my family’s history contains a regrettable number of less-than-palatable elements,” Violet conceded, seemingly unbothered by the slight against her esteemed lineage. “And I will also admit to my own willing refusal to fully acknowledge the extent of my father’s corruption,” the heiress added. “Be that as it may, none of them have diminished my love for this company, or my dedication to ensuring its greatness on every level. As such, I have since resolved that I shall no longer entertain my prior attitude of willful ignorance. I will lead this company onto a nobler path, one that will lift it to heights of grandeur my ancestors could not have hoped to imagine.”

"Huh.“ Chloe blinked. "You really want to own it all then? The good and the bad.”

“Yes,” Violet confirmed. “I will not absolve myself of my family’s wrongdoing, yet, I shall do all that I can to atone for it.”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Chloe looked back at her food. "I guess we’re done here.“ She lifted the takeout box to her lips. "Violet Covington: With the power bestowed upon me by the Mint, I declare you absolved of all debts and all services paid in full. You are, as of now, freed from our contract. May wealth and prosperity be yours.“ She used her chopsticks to shove down a mouthful of noodles.

Cleared of all debts? Honestly, that was pretty much the last thing Violet had expected to hear, and so it took a moment for her to provide a response.

“I see,” the heiress stated, her stoic visage betraying none of her inner shock. “In that case, I shall not keep you any longer,” she added, her tone calm and dispassionate. “My thanks again for the generous refreshments,” Violet told her guest, while glancing at the untouched bagged meal sitting on her desk. “I believe I shall have them for lunch tomorrow.”

"Right.“ Chloe was about to see herself out when she turned around. "You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find Magical Dream Princess, would you?“

“No, I cannot say that I do,” Violet replied, her tone not wavering in the slightest despite the not-so-minor internal freakout that question had initiated. “Why do you ask?”

Chloe’s lips slowly curled into a smile. "I just wanted to tell her that she’s very fortunate to have a friend like Amanda.“ She bit her lower lip. "It’s difficult to find people that are that patient. You leave Penrose for a few months, only to come back and find they’ve become different people. But I can tell she holds onto her friends with an iron grip.“ Her eyes half closed. "She was willing to forgive me if I forgave all of MDP’s debts. It was almost romantic. And I just wanted to talk with the girl that was able to bring that out of an icy character like Amanda.“

So was that it? Was that the reason for the substantial change in Chloe’s demeanor? Or was this just a simple mind game, a way of toying with Violet when the broker knew all along that the heiress and MDP were one and the same? Either way, Violet wasn’t going to take any chances.

“I must admit, that is a rather touching story,” the heiress replied. Indeed, she reflected, Amada truly was a wonderful friend, one that she could easily see making such a deal. “Perhaps you and this ‘Magical Dream Princess’ shall cross paths at some point in the future?”

"I guess we’ll see.“ Chloe turned around and walked towards the door. She shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth before tossing the empty carton into a nearby waste basket and vanishing beyond the threshold of the door.

---

Normally, Chloe would jump into her interdimensional home as soon as possible, but there wasn’t much need for it. She still had to meet up with Cradle, but that was going to happen later in the day. Chloe might have seemed all business, but all work and no play made Chloe a very dull girl.

Until they got all the programmers they needed, there wasn’t much need to return to the takeout place. Though it would be prudent to understand what made these “gotcha games” so popular. She leaned against a wall in the business district and started scrolling through her phone. She’d have to download a few of these games to understand what made them so profitable. Her thumb flicked across the screen as she began selecting every game that looked interesting, which was anything with a cute thumbnail.

Meanwhile, in the darkened depths of a nearby alleyway, a grizzled man with rippling muscles had drawn a serrated combat knife and was slowly approaching the distracted young woman, his every movement filled with menace. Was he planning to rob her? Mutilate her? Do far worse to her? Thankfully, the answers to such questions would never be known, as a glittery, pastel pink girl dropped down behind him and slammed a whimsical wand over his head.



“Like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies you need a time out~!” the bubbly girl declared as the man crumpled to the ground amidst a ring of orbiting stars. “Maybe waybe after having waving some super duper nicey wicey dreamy weamies, you’ll be lots nicer wicer and won’t ever wever thinkie winkie about doing such meanie weanie stuffy wuffy againsie wensie~! (giggle!)” she added, before squealing in delight as something colorful next to the unconscious man’s head caught her painfully limited attention.

“Wowie zowie~!” she exclaimed, crouching down to get a better look. “Magical Dream Princess never ever wever expected wected to findy windy a super duper pretty witty flower wower like you in a nasty wasty placey wacey like this~! (giggle!) Hmm~? What’s thatsie watsie~?” she inquired, bringing her ear closer to the weed poking up through a crack in the pavement. “You’re, like, super duper shy, so you actually wactually like being all aloney woney in the darky warky~? Magical Dream Princess understady wandies thatsie watsie, since she has a friendy wendie who’s super duper shy, too~! (giggle!) But, like, thatsie watsie doesn’t meany weany you can’t have a friendy wendy~! (giggle!) So, like, Magical Dream Princess promises womises to visit wist you as often woften as she cansie wansie, okie dokie~?” she asked with a bright smile. “In facty wacty, she’ll even weven put a reminder winder in her dreamy weamy journal wournal thingie wingie so she remember wembers~! (giggle!)” the childish girl added, taking out a small pink book covered in glitter and cute stickers and using the attached pen to write herself a note to visit her new friend.

However, no sooner had MDP finished writing, then her attention was drawn in a new direction. A young woman standing near the edge of the alley seemed to be playing a game on her phone, one producing an array of cute sounds.

“Oooohh~!” the whimsical girl squealed, rushing to look over the young woman’s shoulder at the game she was playing. “That gamey waymey looks super duper adorable worable~! (giggle!)” she declared, her eyes sparkling with delight, even as she innocently invaded the poor girl’s personal space.

SWAT

The back of Chloe’s hand cracked across MDP’s face as she spun around in fright. Her eyes went wide, she inhaled sharply, The phone was pressed against her chest. The faint glow of magic silhouetted her form, but went out without doing anything. With a sigh, Chloe lowered her hand.

MDP yelped in a mixture of shock and pain when Chloe suddenly slapped her. “Owieee…” she whined, stumbling back a few steps as she gently pressed a hand to her cheek.

"...Oh!“ Chloe reached up to scratch the back of her head. "It’s um, it’s you.“ Chloe folded her arms. Her eyes looked just as big as they did when she was initially startled. "I thought you were a thug or something. Neon pink hair and everything. You can’t sneak up on me like that.“ Chloe began tapping her foot quickly. "That didn’t hurt too bad, did it?“

“M-Magical Dream Princess guesses wesses it could have been worse…” she added with a frown, tears glistening in the overly emotional girl’s eyes. “And, like, she’s super duper sorry for sneaking up on you,” she apologized, before perking up slightly as something the other girl had said managed to penetrate her ditzy delirium. “But, um, has Magical Dream Princess, like, met you beforesie worsie~?” she inquired, tilting her head as she stared at the other girl intently.

Chloe fretted her brow. "Let’s just say I’ve seen you around. But I’ll never pass up a chance to introduce myself.“ A grin spread across her face when she extended a hand towards the annoying girl. "I’m Chloe. Entrepreneur and magical girl extraordinaire. Just doing a little research for an upcoming business project of mine. It looks fun but it’s not that interesting.“ She slid her phone into her blouse. "What has you peeking over people’s shoulders?“

“Well, Magical Dream Princess heard your gamey wamey making waking such cutesy wutsey soundy woundies, so she, like, totally wotally wanted to get a closer woser look~! (giggle!)” MDP replied with a cheerful smile. “She kinda winda forgot about the personal wersonal spacey wacey thingie wingie, though…” the whimsical girl added, her smile drooping into a disappointed frown. “Sorry worry againsie wensie… Magical Dream Princess’s memory wemory is, like, super duper terrible werrible when she’s Magical Dream Princess, so she forgetsy wetsies lots and lots of stuffy wuffy…” she explained. “But, like, you said your namey wamey was Chloe Whoey~?” the Princess of Dreams inquired, not letting up on her annoyingly childish rhyming for even a moment. “Like, that namey wamey soundy woundies awfully wawfully familiar wiliar…”

"I’m pleased. Especially if you have the memory of a goldfish.“ Chloe’s face twitched, even after MDP stopped speaking. "But you could always detransform. It might help jog your memory. You’ve seen me in both forms, so I know those memories are trapped in your head somewhere.“

“Like, Magical Dream Princess could never ever wever do thatsie watsie!” the whimsical girl replied, her eyes going wide with shock upon hearing the suggestion. “Especially wecially not in front of a total wotal stranger wanger! It would be, like, super duper bad! But, like, were you at Lily Wily’s meeting weeting~?” she inquired. “Cause, like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies she remember wembers somebodywody with that namey wamey theresie weresie…” she added, her cute face scrunching up in a look of deep concentration, before brighting to even greater heights of exuberance as a new idea popped into her ADHD-addled brain. “Oh~! Magical Dream Princess knows how she can remember wember~! (giggle!)” MDP squealed in barely-contained delight. “She can do the thinky winky dance~! (giggle!)”

"Alternatively, you spare us all the trouble and just, you know, don’t.“ Chloe placed two fingers in the center of her forehead, but it wasn’t stopping her migraine from coming on. "Why does anyone like you? I’m not surprised that bucket of bolts is trying to use you to replace me, but why anyone else? Why is Amanda willing to go so far to keep you safe?“

“Because Amanda Wanda is Magical Dream Princess’s super duper bestie westiest friendy wendy in the whole wide worldsie~! (giggle!)” MDP replied with a happy smile. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess would totally wotally do the same thingie wingie for her~!” she added. “Even though she’s, like, super duper toughy wuffy, and probably wobably wouldn’t need it~! (giggle!) But, like, wait a moment woment! You know Amanda Wanda?!” the whimsical girl asked, her eyes going wide.

"Yes. Princess. I said I was at the meeting. The magical girl one. I was talking to Penny and I briefly spoke with you. And while I didn’t witness it, I was told Amanda and the other Cradle agents left with you. By Amanda herself. At a later date. The reason why my name is so familiar is because it’s the same name I use as a magical girl. Don’t get over-stimulated now!“ She growled. "How could anyone willingly be your friend?“ Chloe averted her eyes. "What’s your secret?“

“H-How could anybodywody be friendy wendies with Magical Dream Princess…?” MDP asked with a confused head tilt. “Magical Dream Princess doesn’t know how to answer wanser thatsie watsie…” the whimsical girl confessed, frowning as she awkwardly pressed her pointer fingers together. “She guesses wesses it’s because they’re all super duper nicey wicey, but, like, if Chloe Whoey really really wants to know thatsie watsie, then, like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies you should asky wasky them~!” she added with a bright smile. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess doesn’t have a secret wecret for making friendy wendies, but, like, she thinkie winkies it always walways helpy welpies to be super duper friendly wendly, and helpy weply with any wany problem woblems her friendy wendies might havey wavey, and give them lots and lots of huggie wuggies~! (giggle!)”

"Friendly… And lots of hugs…“ Chloe held her chin. "Is it really that simple?“ Her eyes drifted around the alley before focusing back on MDP. "So if you wanted to be friends with me, you’d just pretend to be nice to me and give me lots of hugs? There has to be some trick to the timing. You can’t just hug someone whenever you want, right?“

“Weeeell, Magical Dream Princess wuvs to give huggie wuggies all the timey wimey, but some people weple don’t really like thatsie watsie…” MDP explained, sounding quite saddened by that fact as she looked off to the side. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess doesn’t pretendy wendy to be nicey wicey to her friendy wendies!” the whimsical girl corrected, sounding utterly appalled at the very notion. “Magical Dream Princess is totally wotally nicey wicey for realsie wealsies~! (giggle!)” she clarified with a playful wink.

Chloe scoffed. "You can’t just be nice to everyone, can you?“ She lifted a hand to her mouth. "...Can you?“ The gears in Chloe’s head turned as a smile crossed her face. "Phu phu phu phu…“ She placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, alright, it goes a bit deeper than that. You see, princess, My name sounds familiar for another reason. Your girlfriend? Penny? I was her former lover. Anything the two of you do together will just be retreading ground the two of us walked months ago. I have hurt her in the past and may do so again. It’s inevitable. But!“ She spread her arms. Chloe’s dark magic took over her body, and her pale skin and lolita attire was replaced with a form fitting corset and pale flesh wriggling with tentacles. "I would love to be your friend! Amanda and the others have told me so many nice things about you. Won’t you give me a hug?“ Her neon green eyes stared directly into MDP’s soul.

MDP took a step back as Chloe transformed, although it was less the dark magical girl’s new appearance, and more her latest words that brought a frown to the Princess of Dreams’s cute countenance. “Like, Penny Wenny already told Magical Dream Princess about thatsie watsie,” MDP replied. “And she also walso said that you weren’t very nicey wicey, but, like, Magical Dream Princess thinkie winkies people weple can changey wangey, so, like, if Chloe Whoey pinky winky promises womises to be nicey wicey from now onsie wonsie, then Magical Dream Princess will, like, totally wotally be your friendy wendy, and give you a big huggy wuggy, too~! (giggle!)” the bubbly girl told the coin broker with a cheerful smile as she held out her little finger.

Chloe’s smile disappeared when she saw MDP’s outstretched pinky. She looked at it with confusion, or was that worry that was making her brow cross? Slowly, she reached her hand out towards the pinky. Black magic swirled around her hand as her taloned gauntlet appeared in place. She pressed her cold pinky against MDP’s before the talon curled around her digit. The coin broker smiled.

"I do.“

“Yaaaay~!” MDP cheered. “Chloe Whoey and Magical Dream Princess can, like, totally wotally be friendy wendies nowie~! (giggle!)” the bubbly girl declared, wrapping the coin broker up in a tight hug the moment their pinkies disconnected. “Friendy wendies~! Friendy wendies~! Yay~! Yay~! Yay~!” she sang, her high-pitched voice somehow seeming even more energetic than usual as she bounced up and down while still holding Chloe tight. “Friendy wendies~! Friendy wendies~! Hip hip horaaaay~!”

Chloe didn’t really react to MDP’s excitement. She just looked down at her with a solemn expression as she hugged her and jumped around. Chloe had done a lot more than just hug people during her time as a magical girl after all. As annoying as MDP’s voice was, it wasn’t like Chloe hadn’t dealt with many more, many other squeaky voiced characters. Though between the Mint, Penny, and everyone else she interacted with, none of them had been as open and forward with what they wanted as MDP was. Did she really just want to make friends? Was that all there was to it?

"Yes, friends. Phu phu phu…“ She shifted her shoulders, but didn’t do anything to escape MDP’s bear hug. "Do you think you could teach me to be more like you?“

Chloe’s question caused MDP to suddenly pause her hyperactive celebration and look at the coin broker in cute confusion.

“Huh~? Chloe Whoey wants to be more like Magical Dream Princess~?” the whimsical girl inquired. “Like, Magical Dream Princess guesses wesses she can helpy welpy with thatsie watsie…” she added, still sounding quite puzzled by the request. “Like, what kinda winda stuffy wuffy does Chloe Whoey want Magical Dream Princess to, like, teachy weachy her, exactly wactly~?”

"How to put it into words…“ Chloe looked directly into MDP’s eyes. "I don’t think I could ever be exactly like you, and honestly, I don’t think I’d want to be you even if I could. But you know, it might be useful to know how to turn on your particular brand of charm.“ She tipped her head side to side. "It might be nice to be… less guarded around some people. Just, the ability to be a little silly and throw pride to the wind. That’s something I have a really hard time with.“

“Like, Magical Dream Princess totally wotally understandy wandies thatsie watsie~!” MDP replied with a happy smile. “Like, before she became a magical wagical girl, Magical Dream Princess kinda winda had a problem woblem with that kinda winda stuffy wuffy, too~! (giggle!) So, like, she thinkie winkies you should, like, totally wotally just try to be yourselfy welfy, and, like, also walso be more nicey wicey in general weneral~!” the whimsical girl suggested.

Chloe wrapped her arms around MDP and looked into the sky. "I wonder, would I even be myself if I was nicer?“

It was once again time for Alicia’s report to Beacon. And yet again, the conference room was full of various members of both the local branch as well as Ascendancy when she stepped into the room. However, unlike last time, the discussion in the room was civil. Fan-Fan had transformed her metallic hand into an impromptu 3d-map of what seemed like a building, with Elora explaining to Hudie and Suki about some new method of surveillance or deterrence. Similar discussions rang in other corners of the table, but one end was unusually quiet: it was where Rachel was listening to the Cardinal’s report.

“-deployed tomorrow, while the Swedish and Finnish chapters have agreed to lend emergency squads to arrive in two days.”
“Do we need an interpreter for them?” Rachel asked, and glanced to look at Alicia. She silently gestured for her to take a seat next to her.
“No. All members can speak English fluently,” Isthar answered, and also noticed as Alicia approached them.
“Very good. Send Emma and Lotta thanks on my behalf.” Rachel turned to Alicia afterwards, her fingers clasped as her hands rested on the table before her.
“Paladin Seraph, I believe you attended the meeting Lightning had arranged for the locals as a representative of Beacon at Penrose Park.”
Ishtar faintly smiled. “Could you please report on what happened there? Did you come to some kind of agreement?”

Stepping into the room, Alicia looked around at the various conversations that were ongoing when she arrived. It seemed that they were working hard to prepare for what was to come. Moving past them, she made her way over to Rachel so they could discuss what had happened at the meeting.

“Of a sorts,” she replied as she came to a stop next to Rachel and Ishtar. “We did learn how Wonderland plans to invade so hopefully we can pre-empt them. We’re going to do some scouting and see how many magical girls we’ll have for the operation before settling on the specifics of the plan.”

A pause, then she moved on to the trickier part of the meeting. “There were also a couple of complications. Firstly, one of the local shop owners, Brittany, was seemingly abducted by Wonderland along with another local magical boy. So we’re going to need to rescue them while stopping the invasion.” Her face then twisted into a frown. “The Ebon Mint also claimed that they could support our efforts, and wanted to negotiate a deal for the ownership of physical territory in Penrose.”

She relayed what had been agreed upon with regards to the Mint negotiations at the meeting. She had a feeling that this would go over ’well’.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows at the mention of Ebon Mint. However, she opened her mouth only to close it afterwards. Isthar nodded, looking concerned. Finally, the Inquisitor spoke.
“It seems the Mint has changed their ways, if they are willing to compromise to the degree you have mentioned.”
“I suppose they feel threatened by Wonderland,” Isthar chimed in.
“So they are picking the lesser of two evils.”
“Not so bad for them with the claimed territory. Still, if even Penny agreed to this…I suppose we will only have to see if Mint’s intelligence will hold true. Or anything else they claim.”
Isthar sighed. “In any case, we should prioritize these eggs. We can’t allow them to be deployed in Penrose.”

“Maybe. The Mint’s whole thing is making deals. When’s the last time you saw them not twist one to their advantage?” While Alicia preferred to think the better of people, after all that had happened there was no reason to give the Mint the benefit of the doubt. The only question was how long it would take.

After a moment she echoed Ishtar’s sigh. “But yes, we’re going to need to decide who we’re sending and if we’re going to have any contingency plans just in case.”

“I have a couple of suggestions,” Rachel spoke up, and laid out various documents and maps on the conference room table.
“First off, a division of defense and offense. I considered the possibility of a surprise assault once we had made our move, and thus secured some insurance in advance. It was difficult, but I have successfully called for emergency reinforcements from other chapters in Beacon. Combined with the local members, this will be about a force with a strength of 50 or so in total. Paladin Seraph, as you know the strategic layout of Penrose the best due to your experience, you will be the one to decide on their deployment.”

Isthar spoke up. “I suggest either splitting them into smaller units at regular intervals That way we can ensure the chain of command is sustained.”

“As for the strike into Wonderland, I suggest bringing in select Ascendancy agents, including…” Rachel grit her teeth, and took a deep breath.
“...Myself. The rest would provide leadership support for the defenders. Are there objections, Pala-ngrh…Alicia?”
Ishtar blinked in surprise. “Oh, you wish to cooperate with this plan in person, Inquisitor?”
“Well, this is a special case, and…It is far too important of an operation for me not to lend my expertise. Not that I don’t trust the capabilities of our local chapter champion here.”

Alicia nodded along as Rachel laid out their preparations so far. “I’ll look into it,” she agreed as she was placed in charge of deployments. It was a large task, but she appreciated the trust. After all, Rachel had been here long enough to get an understanding of the city layout herself. They didn’t explicitly need her knowledge for this sort of thing.

She lifted an eyebrow as Rachel voiced her intention to take to the field of battle in Wonderland personally. “Of course. Hopefully this goes a bit better than my last big plan.” Not that the attack on Mariette's base had ended ‘badly’, per say, but it hadn’t been a conclusion she was satisfied with.

“Good,” Rachel answered succinctly, though Alicia could tell she was hiding her awkwardness. “I’ve considered bringing Fan-Fan, Tsuki and Hudie along for the strike.”
Isthar put a finger to her chin. “Does that sound good to you, Alicia? Or do you think we should send other people in?”

Humming in thought, Alicia considered the dangerous situation they were going into. “I wonder if we should bring Violette, if she’s feeling up for it. Who knows what Wonderland will have waiting for us on their home turf.”

“Yes, we can bring her in as well,” Rachel responded, and gave a little smile. “We can keep her as a direct intelligence relay to Elora, who will be staying back.”
When Isthar stifled a giggle afterwards, the smile was quickly replaced with a frown.

“What is so funny, Cardinal?” She asked with a flash of her glasses, and Isthar rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I was just amused by how you have lightened up since we’ve begun operating in this city.”
Rachel adjusted her glasses. “Well, we won’t have much time for frivolities. We got work to do.”
Isthar nodded. “Yes, we need to prepare for the arrival of the new additions to our ranks.”
“Anyway, that should cover our deployment plans for now. Anything else we need to discuss, Paladin Seraph?”

“I think that’s all for now,” Alicia said with a shake of her head. “We’ll probably need to figure out how we get Wonderland to back off for good at some point, but I suppose that can wait until after we’ve given a brake check to their invasion plan.”

Ishtar nodded with a kind smile. “Very good. I think that wraps up this meeting then, girls.”
“Make sure to prepare yourselves mentally,” Rachel added as she picked up the documents on the table. “And that also means…Taking regular breaks.” The rest of Beacon attending the meeting gave her a surprised look. Rachel scoffed. “Yes, you heard me. You need to be mentally prepared by resting properly. In fact, I’ll demonstrate!” She reared back a fist, aimed at Alicia, and…held a coupon out as she averted her eyes. “...Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me, Alicia? I have this special offer at the Pit Stop, so…” It was clear she wasn’t used to this kind of social interaction.

Like the others, Alicia was not expecting Rachel’s sudden pivot in topic. All of which seemed to be a cover for her to invite her co-worker out for some off-the-clock recreation time. Well, the execution left something to be desired but she wasn’t about to reject such a positive step forward. Though something about the restaurant did nibble at the back of her mind…

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” she agreed with a nod, letting Rachel hold on to the coupon for now. It would be helpful to get to know Rachel a bit better, and to see what she was like when she was off the clock.

“Thank you. So, let’s depart immediately. Tsuki, please file these,” Rachel said, and walked out of the room, handing the documents to Tsuki on her way.
Isthar sighed. “She’s trying too hard…” Alicia could hear her mutter amidst the noise of the meeting room clearing.

Glancing over, Alicia shot Ishtar a sympathetic look. Still, trying too hard was better than no effort at all. They were taking baby steps, that was all. Then she followed after Rachel, not wanting to end up too far behind.

Afterwards, having transformed back into her civilian form, Rachel led Alicia to the Pit Stop, where she took a table by the window, and soon brought two cups of hot coffee: one for her, and one for Alicia.
“Here you go. If you want to add cream or sugar I can fetch some for you.”

Sitting at the window table, Alicia took the coffee with a receptive smile. “Some cream would be nice,” she replied to Rachel’s offer. She would wait until the girl had returned before striking up conversation. “So, is this where you usually hang out when you’re not on the clock?”

Rachel didn’t answer at first when she went to retrieve the pitcher, and afterwards sat down rigidly.
“It’s understandable you’d think that, but the truth is…It’s not.” She poured some cream into her cup, and handed it over to Alicia. “I haven’t made much of a habit simply doing nothing-I mean, engaging in casual conversation. I’ve always put my work before everything else, but I realize I also need to engage more with my co-workers.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“So, Alicia, how are you doing?” She asked, sounding a bit tense.

Adding some cream to her coffee, Alicia stirred it a bit before taking a sip. Not bad, though not the best she’d ever had. Rachel’s comment was the exact opposite of surprising really. She did give off that impression of only focusing on her job.

“I’m doing alright,” she replied. “Obviously things are pretty hectic with all of the Wonderland stuff, but overall I would say things are looking up. I can’t see any more trouble in the short term, unless another out-of-context baddie arrives. How about you?”

Rachel took another sip before answering. “Stressed out, as you can imagine. I figured it would be another clean sweep, just a couple of months and we'd be done. But Penrose has surpassed all my expectations. However, that also had me realize that I’m going to burn out if I keep up the pace I’ve had. Maybe I could think of something to take my mind off of things. Like a hobby. Do you have any hobbies?”

Alicia took a sip of her coffee to hold back a chuckle. Yeah, that sounded about right for Rachel. She wasn’t all that deep a person. “I’d comment on that but I don’t want to jinx us,” she replied. With how their luck was, it was a legitimate concern.

“Well, it’s not really a hobby but I do like helping around the community center. You know, helping other girls with their training and keeping up on their schoolwork. Stuff like that. Otherwise, I like doing pencil art, listening to music, and playing video games. Normal young adult stuff, I guess.”

“Yes, for a given value of normal,” Rachel answered, and sighed as she leaned on her arm. “Still, I didn’t think you’d be interested in pencil art. How long have you been practicing?”

Another sip led before the answer. “A couple years now?” Alicia offered with a hum. “I took an art class back in college, and it was one of the things I enjoyed doing. I didn’t really stick with art when I was in school, but it was a nice thing to keep around in my free time.”

“I see,” Rachel answered, contemplating Alicia’s words. “You know, maybe I could start doing some art as well. Maybe not drawing or painting, but sculpting could be enjoyable.”

Alicia nodded in agreement. “Sure. Try things out, see what you like. And don’t be afraid to do things you aren’t sure you’ll like. You never know what will catch your interest.”

Rachel gave a slight smile at Alicia’s encouraging words. “You’re right, Alicia. I will give it a try.”
For a while after, the two continued conversing on casual topics, until it was time for Rachel to leave.
“Thank you for sharing this coffee with me, Alicia,” she said as she stood up from the table. “I hope we will get to do this sometime again.”

Finishing off the last of her coffee, Alicia rose to her feet as well. “Of course, I’d be happy to,” she assured Rachel. She was never going to object to spending time with a fellow Beacon sister. For now though, it was time for them to go their separate ways. They both had a lot to do.

With Al MIA, Chloe had her work cut out for her. She’d love nothing more than to just relax in her home with a girl or tree, but she had meetings to attend and strings to pull. She always heard that being the boss was a lot of vacation time and getting paid a lot. And while that might have been true, it was also a lot of time wasting. Meeting people for conversations that could happen through her crystal ball, discussing strategies everyone was on board with, it was all so annoying. But that was to be expected when war was on the horizon.

She was walking around an overturned garbage can when she noticed what she thought was an ornate potion bottle sticking out of some trash. "Hmmm?“ It might have been a purification potion, or some other artifact, but Chloe had little use for it. She started to walk away when she had a thought.

It might be fun to see if she could break it.

The slender neck of the potion slid between Chloe’s fingers, and with a mighty heave, she tossed it as far down the alleyway as she could.

While the throw looked good at first, it veered to one side and bounced off a wall, an adjacent dumpster, the floor, and a trashcan like a pinball which sent it careening back toward Chloe. The throw might have been enough to crack the glass though as a trail or red smoke billowed out of it. It looked as though it might smack her in the face when a hand emerged from the plume and caught it short. Chloe’s raised arm to block the object would find a golden bracelet clasped around the wrist.


”I would appreciate it if you were more gentle with my home, Master Chloe.” Though she didn't quite look the same, it wasn't hard for the DMG to connect the dots that the one before her was a more mature Ruby, the one that had helped facilitate some of the city's more light-hearted events.

There was an opportunity here to tell Ruby that she hadn’t disturbed the trash can she found her in, but perhaps it would be best to keep that derogatory humor to a minimum for this encounter. That was what MDP would insist on. "Right, it was a simple misunderstanding. Had I taken a closer look at you, I’d have probably avoided that mistake. woops!“ she picked up the lamp and rubbed her arm on the side of it. "Looks like you’re a full fledged genie now. I won’t ask you how it happened. I suspect that’s the sort of thing people don’t stop asking about. But is there a reason you chose my path in particular to appear on?“

Shaking her head, Ruby would simply reply. ”I do not choose to be anywhere. The wheels of fate decide whom shall be my master so long as there is need.” Crypic, but it seemed that Ruby didn't have much if any say on where she ended up.

"I could have used something like you about a day ago. But my remaining problems are too big for you to solve, or too small to waste a wish on.“ She grunted in annoyance. Though after studying Ruby for a moment, a smile crept across her face. "Now remind me; genies typically grant three wishes. Is that how many I get?“

Nodding again, Ruby would put a hand on her hip and return the smile, even if it was just for formalities. ”That is correct. With your typical fare of limitations. Though some have been known to be creative.”

"That should make this easy. Let’s get them all out of the way.“ Chloe’s grin grew further. "I wish for you to have a second lamp. This lamp will be a magical artifact that will summon you to the side of whoever holds it, but does not require you to grant them any wishes. You will come when you are called at any time unless it would interfere with your duty of granting wishes for others. Perhaps there is a portal or something in one lamp that lets you move between the two? I don’t know, I'll let you figure that out. But the important part is that the lamp cannot be stolen from its owner, but it may be freely given to someone else.“

The smile was mildly disconcerting, but the job did not guarantee that someone wouldn’t try and be sneaky with their wishes. However, the wish itself wasn’t the worst thing in the world. If anything it offered at least some additional level of freedom. More importantly she could feel that it was doable. ”As you wish.” Leaning forward she would take hold of the existing magical bottle. As she drew her hand back the glass and gold began to glow a hot orange as if liquifying and split into two identical objects.

Ruby would hold it up to look it over. ”Interesting.”

Chloe swiped the second lamp out of Ruby’s hand, only for it to teleport back into the genie’s palm. While this seemed to annoy chloe at first, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "Working as intended! I hope I don’t have to expend a wish to ask you to give it to me?“ She held out her hand.

After a slow blink, Ruby’s gaze would drift down to the open hand of the magical girl. Rolling the bottle in her own palm, the Djinn would hold it up. ”A wish? Nonsense. Those were not the terms or transaction.” She would give a cheeky smile but it didn't stick around very long. Putting her hands on her hips she would add. ”However, you are free to make your case. What benefit is there for me to give you the lamp? I could think of worse candidates.” Though she hadn't pulled many punches with the terms of a wish in the past, most of those happened before she became a Djinn and few even less potentially amounted to entrapment. Already bound to servitude it did not behoove her to give up something so valuable to her own autonomy lightly.

Chloe folded her arms and gave Ruby a sideways glance. "I don’t think I specified you should have the second lamp either. I’ll never understand why djinn behave the way they do. It’s not that important though. We can talk about that later. At least I have a few wishes left, right?“ She thought a bit before speaking. "My second wish, let’s see…“ The gears were turning. "I wish for your genie magic to never inconvenience or harm me, be it from your wishes or the magic that grants you your powers. If someone makes a wish, it cannot be granted or should exclude me from its effects if it would be unwanted. If a wish is made for something unrelated to me, it will be enchanted or granted in a way so that it cannot harm me. And…“ She sighed. "This protection should extend to my friends as well.“

”Mhm. And who are your friends so I can be sure they are included?“

"Ummm...“ Chloe rummaged through the trash until she found a little note pad. She shook it until the banana peel fell off of the back of it. "I don’t have many friends right now, but I plan on changing that. So how about you give me something like this that I can write their names in? A notebook or something where I could jot their names down and you would know to protect them from your magic. Like a sort of, uhh…“ She raised an eyebrow. "Friend note?“

Reaching over, Ruby would take the scrap of paper. Raising her hand up she would bring the paper down against her other hand. In a puff of purple sparkles and a solid thump, the single page turned into a small purple hardback notebook, complete with a pen, small clasp, a locket, and a set of keys. Aesthetically, it matched with Chloe’s eldritch theme, but there was no writing on the outside. Handing it back to the magical girl, Chloe would feel the magic imbued within it release and surround her as her wish took effect. ”As requested. You shall be protected from the negative effects of my magic and the wishes thereafter. For your friends, you may write their names in this notebook and they will receive the same benefit. You are the only one who can write in any names. I will clarify that if you enter the name of someone that is not actually your friend then it will fade away and not provide them with protection.”

"So I can’t just write anyone's name in hea-“ Chloe looked at Ruby with a raised eyebrow. "Hold on, wasn’t the entire point of this to inform you of who my friends are? If you can make artifacts that already know this information, was something so convoluted really necessary?“

”I thought giving you the choice was what you meant. I was simply explaining that you can’t just put anybody’s name in it if it doesn’t apply.” The woman seemed a little taken back by Chloe’s question. It didn’t seem like that many more steps for such a trivial amount of effort as writing a name.

"...Makes sense, I guess.“ Chloe said, in a tone that very much made it sound like she didn’t think that made sense. "That’s two wishes down anyway. Now for my third!“ Chloe grinned. "I wish for Penrose’s mundane population to be protected from supernatural threats. The power source for this protection should not vanish just because a magical girl leaves the city. I am aware that any form of protection can be overwhelmed with enough effort, but with your newfound power, I’m sure you can bring it back better than ever!“

”I believe so.” Waving a hand through the air, she would pull on a magical thread. At first there was a rebuff to what she was trying to do, but the force backed away once the intent was understood. A wash of magic would pass over the both of them as Ruby weaved the wish into the very fabric of the Nexus. So long as the Nexus stood, the ordinary citizenry of Penrose would remain safe from magical threats. ”A noble wish, Master Chloe. I wasn’t sure anyone would ever try to bring that back to be honest.”

"There’s no need to call me master anymore. The wishes are gone.” Chloe opened the “friend note” Ruby had given her and she wrote “Violet Covington” on the first page. Under it was “Aurora Mackenzie.” She tapped the page with her pen a few times before adding Ruby’s name, but shut the book before she could see if it faded away or not.

"All that’s left now is to convince you to hand that second lamp to me.” Her mischievous grin returned. "Before I do, why do you think I wished for something like that?”

Giving a slight shrug the woman would look up and give it some thought. There were a lot of reasons one could choose to do such a thing. ”Hard to say. You have something of a reputation, but I don’t really keep up with why or the goings on. Gets in the way of what I do. Could be turning over a new leaf, could be the logical ‘good thing to do’, or maybe just appearances.” She would shake her head. ”Not sure I am the best judge of character given what I am.”

Chloe clicked her tongue. "I wasn’t looking to be psychoanalyzed, but fair enough. You don’t know. It could be any reason. Though it’s none of the reasons you mentioned. As fun as it is to mess around with authority figures, I don’t have the luxury of messing around any more. Nor do I think I could turn over a new leaf or do the right thing. I wished for Penrose’s safety because I care about the Mint’s future prospects. I wish to protect myself and my friends from your magic because who knows what will happen if the queen gets you. And my first wish… ” She shrugged her shoulders. "I can’t pretend to know what your life is like, but spending an eternity in a bottle sounds kind of dull to me. I can’t wish for your freedom, so I wished for a reprieve. Anyone who has that bottle can walk around with you like you’re friends. You can experience everything the world has to offer, with wish granting being your only interruption. But also…” Chloe inhaled.



"I weawwy weawwy weawwy think thawt we couwd be something speciaw. something abouwt the way uwu wook makes me think thiws couwd wowk. we'we juwst two wonewy souws destined tuwu be wonewy fowevew. But if thewe's something i've weawned fwom my time as a magicaw giww, iwt's thawt wove cawn bwidge any divide awnd make the impossibwe possibwe. But if uwu down't twust me, then maybe uwu shouwd howd onto thawt wamp untiw uwu find someone uwu duwu.”

Well it did seem as though she hadn’t landed on the answer. Listening to the explanation regarding the wishes, they seemed reasonable. Really, there wasn’t anything against Chloe. Ruby was cautious before becoming a Djinn, but since her transformation she was even less trusting. Even Mariette and Penny would be a stretch for her. The heel turn to some strange baby talk caught her off guard and took a strange turn.

Shaking her head slowly, Ruby would sit mid air with an amused smile. ”While I appreciate the compliment, you should know that if it is love that you desire then I will not be able to provide such comforts. I am by my nature chaotic and mischievous, not unlike some Puchuu. And unlike a magical girl that is not something that will change with time. I would enjoy the freedom, but I've no capacity for real affection. Does that understanding change anything?” She would pause and await for Chloe's response.

"Thawt iws fine. I incwuded the condition thawt awwowed uwu tuwu be twaded so thawt i couwd hawnd uwu tuwu someone mowe fitting if things didn't wowk out. Sowme peopwe wouwd considew me a chaotic awnd mischievous as weww. But i duwu nowt mean tuwu impwy thawt we have tuwu be wovews. Uwu have youw fweedom now awnd may choose how uwu spend iwt. I'm nowt weawwy wooking fow a owne awnd onwy. Iwt sounds wike uwu won't get jeawous if i find my favowite, which iws a pwus!”

Though she wasn't entirely asuaged on the matter, she wasn't sure she ever would be. They did have things in common. And realistically if someone decided to abuse the bottle, protection from her magic or not, she could make life a living hell. Something less important was bothering her as well. ”Why are you talking like that all the sudden?”

"Talking like what?” Chloe raised an eyebrow.

Narrowing here yes for a moment, Ruby would take the extra lamp and hand it over to Chloe. ”I like you. I think this could be a fun little adventure.“

Chloe accepted the lamp. She turned it over in her hand before passing it to one of her tentacles, which coiled around her waist like a ghetto tool belt. "I’m running behind schedule, but we can have some fun later.”

”I will see you later then.“ She would disappear in a cloud of smoke and her original lamp would vanish.

---

Chloe was starting to understand why secretaries were so important. When you had so much to do, sometimes it was nice to put scheduling and ordering events in someone else’s hands. It freed up her head space to think about the current task. She had enough things to juggle without also needing to worry about who she was supposed to meet up with and where. The downside was that it meant there could be a development without her being aware of it.

"I thought the lunch time slot was supposed to be cleared out.”

"I’m not sure what happened." Aurora apologized over the phone. "I don’t remember a lunch meeting being scheduled. Maybe one of the other agents put it here?"

"You sure you didn’t lean over the keyboard and press a bunch of keys with your new assets?”

Aurora coughed. "T-that only happened once! Either way, it’s too late to cancel. I’ll let Cradle know that you got held up with an emergency."

"Where did they want to meet up?”

"I’ll just e-mail everything to you. Sorry about this."

"Okay, well, take care.”

She’d be a lot more sorry if- No, this is your friend. Deep breaths. More contacts is a good thing. Her phone prompt beeped and she looked to see what she had been sent.

The meeting was set at an old Cafe and cigar shop. A local favorite for hush talks as they had private rooms and didn't ask questions. Al had been known to use it on occasion for things on the fringes of Mint business. The invite didn't look to come from the former Broker though, less formal and the footer had little emoji like some kind of social media post.

Upon arriving, Chloe would be directed to the room. Upon entering she would find a magical girl she'd never seen before. She looked like a hologram sitting across on the other side of the table. Some things were obvious, but her magic and Third Eye picked up on Spirit and Light. There was a third less obvious component, but clearly deeply intwined with her being. The table had some smaller hors d'oeuvres set out that hadn't been touched.


Standing up, the girl's legs phased through the chair she'd seemingly been sitting in. ”Chloe. Good to finally get to meet you. I hope putting the meeting on your calendar wasn't inconvenient for you. Seems you've become quite busy since Al left you in charge.”

"I almost didn’t show up.” Chloe picked up a creampuff and took a bite out of it. "Seems you’ve heard of me though, which I can’t say surprises me. Care to tell me who you are and why we’re here?”

”Of course. My name is Harmony. I've recently taken over management of the IT infrastructure in Penrose Mint and since you are lead here I thought it necessary to meet up and be sure that operations are meeting expectations.“

"I see.” Chloe had taken quite a few college courses, but it was mostly just to get grants and delay the inevitable. That was to say she didn’t retain a lot of what she had learned. She didn’t even fully understand what IT infrastructure was. "It hasn’t been an issue for us. Well…” She thought out loud. "We’ve had to change how we do things in Penrose. Presently we are developing a game and using a take out joint to cater to the programmers. It’s an attempt to cut development costs and have enough income to fund the project via serving the public. Infrastructure hasn’t been much of an issue. The developers all operate on a closed wired network and internet service is not important to them at this time. Nor is it important for the takeout joint as most sales are to walk-in customers.” She closed her eyes and sighed. "That said, I do have some concerns about future operations. We will be distributing the game digitally and will need a server with 24 hour internet access to function properly. This would not be an issue, but our greatest threat is a certain magical girl that starts with a ‘P’ and ends with a ‘Y’ and has a penchant for hacking anything in her ‘kingdom.’ Our contract forbids us from dealing with her using conventional methods, not that Mint has been too successful doing that in the past anyway. So tell me, can we defend our project from a magical super hacker?”

Nodding along with each item, it seemed as though she had a decent grasp of most of the things listed. Giving a brief moment to check in on something, Harmony would give a confident smile. Good to hear that the transition happened transparently on the user end. I have already taken steps to secure the Mint's electronic assets and should prove to be more than a match to prevent unwanted intruders. Speaking of the Queen of Penrose, I am meeting with her as we speak. I believe I can build that bridge so that hopefully we won't have to come to a one-on-one scenario and be on more cooperative terms.” She would rattle off each thing rather casually, moving on as if it wasn't much of a problem.

”The launch of the game shouldn't be too much trouble. I'm not sure how present you are on social media, but I have a fairly large following online that we should be able to leverage for some viral publicity.” She continued checking things off.

Chloe blinked. "Hold on, you’re, talking, with her?” She rubbed her eyes. "Uh, why?”

”A couple reasons.” She would hold up a finger. ”First, she and I are are both digital in nature. I would like to get to know her if I could. That is more a personal thing.“ Raising a second finger. ”Second, I have reason to believe that she presents a danger beyond her hostility toward the Mint. If my prediction is sound and nothing is done with she could succumb to vulnerabilities that could put Penrose and beyond at risk. I am hoping to find a resolution to that.“

"That’s fine, what I don’t understand is where IT infrastructure and diplomacy overlap. Was Al aware you were going to do this? Why wasn’t I notified?”

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Harmony's eyes wandered for a moment. ”No, Al was not aware. Thus far I have done what I believed was necessary. It later occurred to me that I needed to update someone, and that was you. So I'm trying to get to fix things.” She stood there somewhat awkwardly, but at the same time it didn't really seem like she regretted anything.

Chloe growled through her teeth. "Just now, huh?” She folded her arms. "Finish your little meeting. Do know I have no intention of allotting any more resources to satisfy her highness. So long as things don’t get botched further I’ll be willing to overlook this incident. But in the future, you will report to me, and you will ask me if you can act above your station. Mint doesn’t need any more rouge actors.” Chloe stood up. "That said, you seem to have a rare kind of competence. Keep doing a good job, and diplomacy may very well become your station.”

”Oh...” She would give a reassuring smile. ”I do not anticipate allocating further company resources for this encounter. That would definitely need some kind of approval outside my own capabilities. The only reason I considered it was because of the already agreed to terms. Otherwise, well… hard to say. I will make an effort to keep you better appraised in the future. I got carried away with all of… this.” She would wave her hands from top to bottom. Presumably referring to herself or her magic.

Chloe stared at the woman a moment longer. "I do have another meeting coming up later, but since I haven’t had lunch yet, let’s finish our date.” She picked up another pastry. "Must be nice being able to multitask like you can.” She popped the treat into her smiling mouth.

Harmony would take a seat as well. ”It has it’s benefits. Some other things not so much.” She would try and pick up one of the items and pass right through it. ”I’m mostly okay with that though. Feel free to order whatever you like. My treat.”

"Alright, but you’re ordering for two!” Chloe pulled an ornate bottle off of her hip and rubbed it. Shortly afterwards, Ruby appeared in a puff of smoke. "Harmony here can’t interact with the physical world, so you’re going to have to help me eat this food on her behalf.” Chloe stood back up. "I’ll order us some tea, be right back!”

---

After Chloe’s two surprise meetings, she was finally able to attend the one that she had actually planned for.

The meeting with Cradle took place in one of Penrose’s many abandoned warehouses. Only a very thorough look would reveal that it, like so many others, was very much not abandoned. Everything that was required to make the Penny bots could be found here. From the equipment to the plans to the penny bots themselves.

"I won’t lie." Chloe observed the Cradle agents as they worked. "I do underhanded things all the time, but I thought Maura held herself to higher standards than this."

"Maura isn’t here anymore, in case you forgot." Binky took note of everything she saw. Behind her, Mac was taking pictures of documentation. Page after page was recorded on a digital camera.

"I’m not judging you. It’s just that the lot of you are afraid of Penny. I’m surprised you’d sign a deal under the table that would let you make more of her."

Binky took a deep breath. "Normally, I wouldn’t dream of sharing this with you, but in the interest of cooperation..." She turned to look at Chloe. "We were shown a vision of the future. Part of that vision had Penny cloning herself and taking over the world. After hearing about the penny-bots, I’m almost one-hundred percent sure that was what I saw and not Penny." Binky shrugged her shoulders. "That said, I think one Penny is quite enough, which is why I’d never give her the means to make more of herself."

"Then wouldn’t destroying all the research be the best course of action?"

"Unlearning things is not very easy. Once something has been discovered, everyone will realize it is possible. It may take years or decades, but the technology will resurface. It would be better to keep a record of it and acknowledge how dangerous it is than try to bury it again. Not only that, but we already have one Penny walking around. Should something happen, these schematics will help us deal with her properly should the need arise."

"I was just curious if we were going to see cradle agents walking around with their own personal penny bots."

"I would prefer to have ‘Valorie-bots’ myself." Binky tapped her collar bone. "But Penny isn’t the most dangerous one to Penrose. She’ll become a threat under the right circumstances, but there’s another that is stronger and even more emotionally unstable."

Chloe thought for a moment. "Lily?"

"She was in the vision too. We need to make sure that she doesn’t do anything too drastic with her powers."

Mac approached Binky. ”Amanda and Valorie reported in. They scanned everything on the upper floors.”

"I guess we’ll be taking our leave then."

Chloe ran over to Binky. "Um." she sighed. "I’m going to do everything in my power to find them. It might take a while, but if they’re alive, I can bring them back."

”I’ll believe it when I see it.” Mac didn’t bother looking over her shoulder.

"I hope you do." Binky walked after Mac. "Samantha hasn’t come back, and I fear the worst. It would be nice to hear some good news for a change."

Everyone piled into an elevator and left the lair. Once everyone was outside, Chloe lifted up her magic ball and looked into it. ”We’re clear.”

With a crack, the warehouse caved in on itself. It was as if some supergravity anomaly had opened up beneath the building and crushed everything into nothing. All that was left was a pile of dirt and rubble. Maybe when Chloe’s business empire spread out this way, she could build another restaurant on top of it. But the contract had been maintained. The Penny project had been scrapped in its entirely, with the only surviving documentation being for an entirely different project that Chloe had no control over. There would be no Penny clones this day.

Chloe opened up her notebook again and wrote down Binky’s name. She started to write MAc’s name but hesitated. Would Mac ever want to be her friend? Would any of the Cradle agents forgive her?

Would they really be friends if I only cared about them conditionally?

She finished writing Mac’s name, and noticed it didn’t disappear. A grin crossed her face as she continued to jot down more names.

Just after leaving Ayame High and its little chronological crisis behind, Kate had received word of a newly discovered Oros iteration, one hailing from a fairly typical “dark fantasy” world, a land known as Albion (No, not that Albion, or that other Albion, either. This Albion). While one might initially assume a trip to such a cold, bleak, windswept and primitive land would be saved for her final stop, there were a few pieces of information that had quickly convinced Kate to head there without delay. For one thing, her subject, while human, seemed to have a fetish for elves, especially the ones who lived in the primeval Lylmesari Forest. For another, Albion was a sickly, twisted land, one that, perhaps unsurprisingly, given its name, drew a fair bit of inspiration from the myths of Earth’s own British Isles, the origin point for nearly all of the conceptual elements associated with druids…

Kate didn’t doubt she’d run into her mysterious stalker no matter where among the myriad reality plenums she traveled, but there was a good chance that this world was the unnerving druid’s native universe. If that was the case, then it might be able to provide her with some much needed information about his abilities and true motivations (in the event she couldn’t get a snapshot of him herself, of course). Thus it was that the plucky photographer now found herself in a world cursed by a vengeful god, seeking quite possibly the most antisocial Oros on her list…

Though one thing that Kate wouldn’t need her camera to tell her was that Lylmesari Forest was a very misleading name. Lylmesari Jungle would have been far more accurate. The foliage was so thick it blotted out the sun. Only a few hazy rays made it past the overhead leaves. Gold and green silhouettes of plants expanded out as far as the eye could see. Occasionally there would be a vista. A clearing that revealed the marble remains of a once prosperous civilization, only to be taken back by the earth.

"The photographer, again." The druid’s appearance wasn’t nearly as sudden as last time. When she looked to the foliage, she could see a pair of black and yellow eyes looking back at her, right behind a gnarled nose. This was the druid. "I had an idea this would be your next stop."

“Oh? What makes you say that?” Kate inquired, even as she innocuously pressed a button on the camera she was holding. She had expected to encounter the druid sooner or later, so his appearance now was hardly surprising.

"Because our previous two encounters were home to an Oros. And it makes sense that your next few visits will be to similar locations. It also seems like tragedy follows you wherever you go. Robot takeovers, time magic gone wrong, I only needed to locate the most likely place for a tragedy, limited to where an Oros resides. I’m starting to think you’re not quite as nice as I initially suspected."

When Kate looked at her camera’s readout, it displayed information on the plants that surrounded the druid’s face. Her camera usually didn’t have difficulty determining what subject she was trying to photograph, with the rare exception being if her target was heavily obscured.

"So I have taken measures to protect myself."

“What, so you seriously think I’m the one responsible for all that crap?” Kate asked with a look of utter incredulity. “That’s some pretty insane troll logic you’ve got goin’ on,” she added with a mocking chuckle that was completely devoid of mirth. “I mean, for one thing, that whole ‘time stasis’ junk happened before I even got there, and you’ve coincidentally shown up every place I’ve traveled to, so maybe you’re the one responsible? Speaking of, a pet of mine mysteriously vanished after a bright flash of light back at Ayame High. I don’t suppose you’d happen to know anything about that, would you?” the photographer asked pointedly, while fixing the druid with an intense glare.

"I do believe I mentioned that my appearance is a bad omen. What I’m suggesting is that you, like me, may have the ability to warp the fortune of those around you. Only to a level far beyond mine. It’s something I’ve observed frequenters of Penrose to possess. Maybe you’ve just been unaware of it? Don’t good scoops just seem to happen around you? But as an aside, you are mistaken about my arrival time at the school. I approached you after I found you on the bench." The druid’s face sunk into the leaves. "In regards to your ‘pet,’ did it look something like this?" A small picture was pushed between the leaves for Kate to see. It looked like a card for some trading card game.



​​Kate’s eyes went wide when she saw the card.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, clenching her fists. “And that’s his name, too,” she added, her voice tinged with barely contained fury. “What the hell did you do to him?”

"If you had told me your pet’s name was Gary, I would have told you I had seen them." The eyes and nose resurfaced from the leaves. "I enjoy taking pictures of beasts, and that Gorelion wasn’t a chance I could pass up. My camera is unique in that its pictures turn into playing cards. Gary must have been extraordinary among Gorelion kind to come out as a named card." The Druid hummed. "He was wrestling with a Caustic Bovine Lord when I saw him. I do not think you have anything to worry about. If you miss him this much, he is sure to return to you. But I will keep an eye out." A finger pushed the card out of the leaves before quickly retreating. "In the meantime, why don’t you go look for the Oros that resides around here? There’s another Druid just up ahead. She’s headed towards your mark, so in helping her, you can help yourself."

“Caustic Bovine Lord, huh?” Kate asked with a raised eyebrow as she took the card and stuffed it into a jacket pocket. According to what little info Nykannis had provided her with, these “Caustic Bovines” were interdimensional guardians who acted almost like multiversal antibodies, expunging any non-native elements from the reality plenums they held watch over. Yet, in all her travels, Kate had never encountered any such thing, and even now, she couldn’t help but notice that continued to be the case. “Y’know, I was standin’ right behind Gary just before he disappeared, and I gotta say, it looked waaay more like some kinda teleportation than a monster attack,” the photographer added. “But if ya think he’s gonna be fine, then I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it,” she conceded with a shrug. The druid may have been telling the truth or he may have been lying out of his ass, but either way, Kate knew that this was neither the time nor the place to settle matters. That moment would come soon enough, of that she was certain, but for now, she had a job to do, and once again, her enigmatic stalker had “helpful guidance” to offer. “Thanks for the tip, by the way,” she told the druid as she began walking in the direction he’d indicated. “Guess I’ll be seein’ ya around.”

The druid’s only response was to slink deeper into the foliage. Hopefully, the other druid wouldn’t be so bashful.

The path before Kate continued. Sometimes there was a wild vine that needed moving, or bugs would fall from overhead, but her trip through the supposedly super dangerous forrest was uneventful thus far. But the path was becoming more overgrown, more claustrophobic. The branches almost seemed like they were trying to grab the photographer and pull her into the darkness. Then she heard a sound up ahead.

She stopped in her tracks.

Six red eyes were looking back at her. Before long, a large bore-like creature stepped out of the shadows. Its face had no less than twenty tusks, all twisted like a spiral nail. It was too big to fully reveal itself, but the rest of its body was covered in similar tusks. Strange as it was, Kate had taken pictures of far weirder animals. This wouldn’t shake her. It lowered its head to charge, prompting the photographer to ready her whistle in response, but something resembling a coconut fell between the two of them. The boar squealed before retreating from the scene. The next thing to fall out of the trees was Kate’s mark.

"Vicious thing, isn’t it?" She placed her hands on her hips. "They don’t like that fuzzy fruit very much. I imagine it reminds them of Yorn Criers. The young call for their parents when startled, and they are never far away." She eyed up Kate with a grin, which slowly soured. "Hey! You’re not an elf! What gives?"

“Uh, am I supposed to be?” Kate asked with a puzzled frown as she returned the whistle to her jacket pocket. Considering that she matched Nykannis’s description perfectly, this young lady was obviously this world’s Oros, but the photographer figured a little chat wouldn’t hurt. Especially when such a chat might prove helpful in regard to other matters of personal import. “Say, you seem to know a lot about the critters around here,” she noted with a grin. “You wouldn’t happen to have heard of Caustic Bovines by any chance, would ya?”

Annoyance immediately gave way to confusion. Her eyebrows rose high on her forehead. "Well that’s a mouthful." She placed a finger on her chin. "A bovine is a type of cow, and caustic, hmmm." She furrowed her brow in thought. "That’s when something burns, right? Or is sarcastic? Been a while since I’ve looked over a dictionary. Either way, I haven’t seen any burning cows. The bovines I do see usually don’t talk back either." She grinned. "Interesting clothes. I’ve never seen anything like them, yet you don’t have an accent that I can detect."

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Kate replied with a shrug. “As for the other stuff, let’s just say I’m not exactly from around here,” she added with a smirk. “But back to the elf thing, why were ya so annoyed I wasn’t one?”

"Because they have beautiful pointed ears? Because they have an interesting culture? Because their lineage makes them guardians of the betrayed god? Because each one can call upon their ancestry and fuse their family’s skills into themselves? They just seem like very interesting people, and I’d like to meet one." She swatted Kate’s shoulder. "If I was you, I’d be upset I wasn’t an elf! But I haven’t totally ruled it out yet. That might just be some elven glamor you’ve cast on yourself." Her smile made it hard to tell how serious she was being. "If you want to see one, I was told they have a hidden city around here. But I haven’t had much luck finding it."

Dang… This girl’s elf fetish is somethin’ else…

“Sorry to disappoint, but this is what I really look like,” Kate replied once the redhead had finished gushing. “I do have another form I can take, but that one doesn’t have pointed ears either,” she added with a chuckle. “As for this hidden city, even if ya do find it, what makes ya think the elves won’t just kill ya to keep it secret?”

The woman scoffed. "Pu-lease! If her craziness can have a casual conversation with elves, I’m sure they’d be fine talking with someone who actually respects elves and the forest." Her grin returned, and she extended her hand. "I haven’t spoken with someone for this long in a while. I’m Luana Roycroft: Druid, tracker, and elf admirer!"

Her craziness…? Kate wondered, before deciding it really wasn’t that important. And if it was, she’d probably learn all about it when she snapped “Luana’s” picture.

“Kate Carson,” she introduced herself with a smile as she took the offered hand. “Just an ordinary Freelance Photographer, although… ya probably don’t know what that is, huh?” she added with a chuckle.

”That is correct! Although…" Luana squinted her eyes. ”Photo sounds a little bit like the old world word for ‘light,’ and ‘graphy’ is a suffix that relates to writing or recording something. So if I had to guess, I would say you either keep records of the sun or use light to record history. Am I close?"

​​“More the second one than the first,” Kate replied. “Basically, I use this device here to record an image of whatever I point it at,” she explained, holding up her camera. “Let me show ya how it works,” the photographer added, snapping a quick picture of Luana. “See?” she asked, showing the young woman the display screen on the back of the device. “Where I come from, this kinda stuff is really simple, but I guess around here it seems like magic, huh?”

”Or alchemy." Luana leaned in closer. ”It’s awfully small, but the speed and detail it captures is quite stunning."

“You can enlarge it easy enough,” Kate replied, using her fingers to open up a larger, holographic display. “Ya can even print it out onto a piece of paper, so ya can frame it an’ stuff.”

”Sounds interesting!" after looking at the screen a tad longer, she slapped Kate’s shoulder and hopped away. ”I bet a picture of an elf would be quite the thing to hang over a fireplace. No! I could have my own picture of me, standing arm and arm with our dagger eared siblings! I suspect you must have come this way to get a picture of something truly spectacular, and that might just be it."

Actually, I’m pretty sure I already have it, but guess it might be fun to see what all the fuss is about with these elves…

“Yeah,” Kate agreed with a nod. “From how you describe ‘em, I’m kinda curious to see one of these elves myself. So, uh, got any clues where that city of theirs might be?” the photographer inquired. “‘Cause if not, I may have a few ways to help with that,” she added with a grin.

”The only clue I have is this spear." She pointed at it. ”I don’t tell just anyone this, but its name is Endless Eclipse, and it was given to me by an elf! And a long time ago the god of the stars would talk to me in dreams through my spear. But it’s been pretty quiet ever since." She held the blade’s massive head in front of Kate. ”You can divine things with it too, but it has difficulty revealing secrets that nobody knows. The elves do a good job of staying hidden."

“Endless Eclipse, huh?” Kate asked. “That’s a pretty badass name. Shame it can’t help with the whole ‘elf thing’, but like I said, I think I might be able to lend ya a hand,” she added, taking out a locket and inserting it into her camera.

Even if my maps can’t find this city on their own, they shouldn’t have any problem after soakin’ up all the info from my snapshot of that spear…

“Okay,” the photographer announced after a moment as she retrieved her locket and activated its holomap. “With any luck, this should give us a rough idea of where to start lookin’.”

Luana would not be privy to the information that her camera gathered, but the spear had been crafted by the fomorians, which was what many of the elves turned into after the betrayed god was slain. As such, they did not know the location of the last elf city. But that did not mean that the spear was without its uses. The fomorians made it specifically to help track anything, and while Luana had difficulty accessing its strongest powers, the holo map could react to Luana’s desires in its place. The map lit up with several dots, but there was a tight cluster of humanoids much deeper in the forest.

”Now that looks like magic." She patted Kate’s shoulder. ”Let’s go, but let’s be quiet. No point in attracting the prickle boars again!"

---

The forrest was not a bright one, but this deep in even less light made it through the canopy. It was so dim that one might think it was the moon that was illuminating the forest. But the light was too warm, too gold in hue to be from the moon.

Their travels would eventually lead them to a rock wall. It seemed to reach up towards the sky, taller than any tree. It was too smooth to climb, and felt cold to the touch.

”The trees are pretty dense this way, but why is there a clearing up to this rock? Luana lifted her spear. ”Alright, my turn!" She thrust her spear into the cliffside. Rather than chip away stone, it sunk into the surface and revealed a stone arch. It had been a powerful illusion to protect the deepest part of the forest. ”We can’t be far now!" Luana walked ahead. ”What do you think the elves are going to be like? Do you think they’re going to attack us, or congratulate us for finding them?"

​​“Well, it doesn’t look like they’re particularly keen on visitors,” Kate noted with a wry smirk as she cautiously followed after Luana. “At least if that enormous illusory wall back there is anything to go by. So, uh, maybe keep your guard up,” the photographer advised, her own hand keeping a tight grasp on her whistle.

”We aren’t just any visitors though, we’re worthy visitors!"

Yeaaah… You keep tellin’ yourself that…

Before long, the duo came across the elven village. Even behind an illusionary wall, the homes of the elves were carefully concealed. Living trees had been trained to wrap around the houses before shooting up to the canopy. The street lamps were filled with bioluminescent insects, and the access covers on the ground suggested they had a working sewer system. But the real star of the show were the elves which, really, didn’t look that different than anything else Kate had seen.

Huh, Kate mentally remarked as she gazed about the village. Somehow I was expecting somethin’ a little more… I don’t know… elaborate…?

”We did it!" Her pitch seemed to change as she ran up to what seemed to be a woman going about her business. ”You’re an elf!" Luana looked over her shoulder. ”And you’re an elf too!" She hugged them together. ”Oh wow, so what’s life like? Being yourselves I mean? What’s it feel like to tap into your family’s heritage? I bet it must be cool to have so many past experiences to call upon when the going gets tough!"

”It’s, um…”

“Uh, maaaybe we should be a little more respectful of the whole ‘personal space’ thing,” Kate suggested, holding up two curled fingers to provide air quotes at the appropriate point.

Shit… She’s almost as bad as Olivia… Or MDP… the photographer noted with a shudder.

But there was something off about the atmosphere. Anyone would be weirded out if a random outsider just started gushing about them, but some of the elves seemed like they were on high alert. A few even drew weapons, but not to deal with Luana or Kate. They were looking past them where they had come from.

Something was rustling among the trees. Many somethings. Silhouettes of vaguely human beings closed in on the elven city. But the first one to reveal itself was a mage. Kate had seen enough priests across various reality plenums. She knew this one was tied to religion somehow, but couldn’t pinpoint if he was a regular priest or something more akin to a cultist.

“Such beauty, such grace.” The man’s eyes scanned his surroundings. “I thought I would never get the chance to see it with my own eyes, but here it is, and here you are.”

Luana slowly took her hands off of the elves she was hugging. ”That voice…” she pointed her spear at the man. ”You’re the elf that gave me this spear?”

He smirked. “I did give you that spear, but I’m no elf. Well, not anymore.” He placed a hand on his chest. “I’m Talus of the Stars, and what you’re holding in your hand is my master’s greatest creation. I wasn’t sure if you would guide us to the elves, but I’m glad I held on to my faith.”

Luana assumed a combat stance. ”You’re a fomorian!” She grinned. ”I’ve been waiting to fight one of you!”

“Unfortunate that you will end up fighting for me instead.” Talus snapped his fingers, and Luana fell to one knee. She clutched her chest with one hand as her skin turned a dark purple. “The spear wasn’t the only thing I gave you though. It would be unwise to leave such a powerful artifact in the hands of someone who could resist me. Plans that were made years ago are just now being set into motion...”

Luana growled as her body went through a metamorphosis. She got bigger, she changed shape. Even her spear changed along with her. The blade broke down into ooze, which was absorbed into her arm. Her clothes were unable to contain her expanding form, but when they ripped away from her body she was no longer human. She had transformed into some massive genderless creature with purple skin. No part of this new being looked like Luana the Druid.

Talus raised his hands above his head. “There you are, Oros the Savage!” He pointed at the city. “Raze it to the ground!”

Oros the Savage charged deep into the city as more fomorians joined it. What had started as a peaceful evening was going to turn into a battle.

“Well, fuck,” Kate noted in a dull deadpan as she snapped a picture of the twisted monstrosity Luana had become. An instant later, and she was darting inside the nearest structure that wasn’t in the path of “Oros the Savage’s” rampage.

The photographer’s heart raced along with her mind as she struggled to decide what to do. The sane and sensible course of action was obviously to leave as quickly as possible. She had what she’d come for, after all, and like she’d said many times, she was no hero.

And yet…

“Oh, fuck it!”

Taking a deep breath, she blew on her whistle, summoning a gargantuan armored gorelion, which loomed over the structure in which she had taken shelter.

“Take out those fomorians!” the photographer instructed, pointing at the hoard of invaders. “Starting with that Talus guy!”

Of course, that still left “Oros”, but Kate had something in mind for that problem, as much as she hated to admit it.

“Welp,” she sighed as she watched the monster’s rampage amidst the foliage-covered spires of the elven city. “If this isn’t picture perfect,” she added, clouds of golden smoke swirling around her before dispersing to reveal a drastically changed young woman. “I don’t know what is.” Remaining in the shadows of her shelter’s entryway, the ballgown-bedecked, golden, rapunzel-esque tressed photographer aimed her ornate camera at a spot just ahead of Oros the Savage and pressed the bejeweled trigger stud.

An instant later, the photographic negative of a towering ice titan flashed into being. Not wasting a moment, it raised its massive club and swung it at Oros with the intent to bat her (it?) clear out of the city.

“Damn… Really didn’t wanna use that guy so soon…” Kate grumbled. “And Twinkles better not mysteriously vanish, either…”

It would be difficult to gauge how powerful Oros the Savage was, but it was clear that any fear or reason Luana may have had was no longer with Oros the Savage.. The ice titan had no difficulty batting Oros, but it sunk its claws into the ice club and refused to let go. Thus, the ice titan chucked its weapon into the sky. The bat spun like a propeller as it vanished over the canopy, taking Oros with it. Some would call the affair anticlimactic, but Oros was fighting something well outside their weight class.

Huh. Well, that worked better than I expected…

Meanwhile, The fomorians were more interested in simply rushing past Twinkles so that they could take the city. Of course, Talus didn’t have that option as the gorelion’s primary target. Then again, someone who led their army from the front lines was sure to be tough.

He ran his hand down the front of his robe while avoiding Twinkle’s tongue. The tongue smashed the ground with enough force to not only kick up the mossy earth, but blow Talus’s half-parted robe open. His body was wrapped in bandages below the neck, and there was a cavity in his stomach. He reached inside and pulled out a petrified organ. It was starting to break into sand with his touch alone. Before Twinkle could attack again, the cultist lobbed the fleshy mass at the gorelion. On impact, it blew apart into a cloud of sand.

“Revere your new god, beast!”

Twinkle’s legs buckled. When Talus took a step closer to it, the gorelion slinked back and lowered its neck to the ground. Gorelions weren’t known for their intelligence, but they were aggressive creatures and showing any kind of fear was unheard of. But the display didn’t seem to impress Talus, who simply walked past it on his way towards Kate.

“What a beautiful outfit.” Talus took a knee in front of Kate. “Why don’t you come with me? You don’t need to share the same fate as these elves. I can see a place by Aigorost’s side for you.” He extended a hand towards her. “If you have any questions, I’d be willing to answer all of them once we get back to my campsite.”

Kate’s eyes widened as Talus seemed to charm her sole remaining gorelion, and then proceeded to address her, personally.

So much for going unnoticed…

“Y’know what? Fine. We can have a little Q&A session,” Kate replied. “Just as soon as ya call off your attack. Oh, and fyi? I happen to fucking hate this dress,” she added.

Talus smirked. “What an unusual response.” He stood back up. “Regardless, I have no intention of calling off this attack. We have spent far too much time plotting for this day, and I long to replace what the fey have taken from us.” He lifted his hand, and the steel halo floating behind his back turned molten. It broke apart into three molten spheres that glowed brighter than anything else in the forest. “But I know conviction when I see it. I will not attempt to change your mind. If you will not flee, we will have to fight.”

“Yeah, I’m not really much of a fighter,” Kate replied with a shrug. “But that big guy stompin’ all your little followers might wanna throw hands,” she suggested, pointing behind the mage. A moment later, the ice titan reached out and closed its gargantuan hand around Talus.

“What followers-”

Talus disappeared inside the ice giant’s fist. But when it lifted its hand, a thick fog rolled out of the bottom of its fist. Talus was still standing on the ground with his superheated spheres floating at his side. He grit his teeth and waved his hand towards the giant. The spheres of molten metal split over and over again. Before long, they looked like a swarm of golden insects. The giant reached for Talus again, but the custer of molten beads flew into its palm. The giant’s arm was sliced apart from the inside out. Steam shot out of every newly formed crack as the arm crumbled. The swarm didn’t stop until it reached his head, at which point the molten steel exited the giant’s neck, severing its head from its body.The titan’s head spun through the air before shattering against the ground, only moments before the ice giant’s body fell sideways into a housing complex.

Talus returned his gaze to Kate.

“What big guy?”

A knight covered head to toe in frozen armor thrust his frigid spear at Talus. "This one."

The attack was deflected by Talus’s staff. “I’m not impressed.” Before Talus’s molten steel could burn through the knight’s armor, an array of black swords flew out of the air and pinned the blobs to the ground.

“Neither am I.” Said a pint sized mage. “I haven’t seen such shoddy magic since, well, ever.”

Talus grinned. “Then wait until you see- Ack!” He stumbled forwards as a sword cut into his back. A tiny squire happened to be holding that sword. “My conviction armors me body, boy. You need to hit harder if you’re going to end me.”

“Where’s Luana!?” The boy demanded. “She might be kind of annoying, but she's still a nice person at heart.”

Talus only grinned, until the ice knight stabbed him in the shoulder. “Where the hell did you people come from?” He clutched his shoulder before retreating deeper into the elven city with the newly arrived. Trailing just behind them were a few other knights that looked to be just as strong as the others. The battle couldn’t last long now that the heroes were here.

Kate just stood in stunned silence as first her ice titan was annihilated by Talus’s molten spheres, and then what could only be called a group of heroes showed up and forced the villainous mage to retreat.

“Huh. Well, I guess I’ll let them handle things from here,” the photographer reflected as she detransformed and prepared to collect Twinkles.

But Kate wasn’t alone yet. Just as she reached her prone “pet”, she heard an all-too-familiar voice emanate from a nearby patch of foliage, a few branches parting to reveal a pair of yellow eyes. "Another catastrophe. One that couldn’t have happened without your interference.”

“Fuck you, pal!” she snapped at the druid. “Luana woulda found this place one way or another, so don’t go blamin’ this on me! Besides, I’ve been plenty of places that didn’t go straight to shit as soon as I showed up!” she added, giving the druid an indignant glare, while spreading her arms out and splaying her fingers wide. “Like that time I chatted with that one version of Olivia and her pal outside that pizza place! I know for a fact that, after I left, Olivia and her friends had a fun slumber party, so you can take your ‘herald of doom’ crap and shove it up yer ass!”

"Maybe. Maybe you’ve grown stronger. Maybe it only happens when you encounter an Oros. While I do not know of this ‘Olivia’ you speak of, it might be interesting to visit and see if everything's still fine with her.”

“Maybe I will,” Kate retorted. “And maybe Oroses are the problem, and not me? Ever think of that?”

"There’s no doubt the underlings of a horror would cause some trouble. But they really aren’t that dangerous on their own. You might be what pushes them over the edge. Or is it that camera you have?” The druid hummed to itself. "As an experiment, why don’t you drop by the arcade near the Nova Lux Academy. The Oros there is an avid gamer. It’s not like you weren’t thinking of continuing your hunt there anyway.”

“Fine,” Kate muttered. “And I’ll try not to be creeped out that you just so happen to know all of my travel plans, too,” she snarked. “But before I do that, I’ve got one more thing to take care of first,” the photographer added as she hopped atop Twinkles. “See ya in Palmyra, pal!” she called over her shoulder as she raced off into the forest.

For the life of her, Kate couldn’t figure out exactly why she was trying to “save” Luana. After all, she had only just met the young woman, and she almost never got involved with local problems. Was the druid’s insane claim that she was somehow responsible for Luana’s current state guilting her into it? No, she refused to even consider such an idiotic notion. Talus would have found and transformed the elf lover whether Kate had been there or not. But, then, what was compelling her to track down the corrupted redhead? Still, one thing was for certain. Whatever the reason was, it didn’t matter now, and so, forcefully casting such unimportant thoughts from her mind, Kate sped deeper into the foliage.

The forest was thick, but when you were Twinkles’s size, the trees just sort of parted when you pushed into them hard enough. But Kate wasn’t too far out before she heard something wrestling over head. When she looked up, one of the trees had snapped in half and was about to fall on her. Or at least it might have if the gorelion hadn’t blocked the incoming timber with its tongue. With the obstacle clear, Kate could see a shadow moving along the canopy back towards the elf village. With a grunt, it jumped back into the elf city, and with a grunt, Kate knew Luana had returned for round two. The beast charged into the city, where it would reunite with its old friends. Maybe.

Deftly avoiding the falling branches and tree trunks, Twinkles carried Kate back into the not-so-hidden city. Although she was encased in spiky armor, it did nothing to impede the gorelion’s impressive speed, and soon, Twinkles had brought Kate within shouting distance of Luana.

“Hey, Luana!” the photographer called. “It’s me, Kate! I don’t know if ya can hear me in there, but is this really what you wanna be doing?! I know we only just met,” she continued, relying on Twinkles’s preternatural agility to dodge any potential attacks Luana might be sending their way. “But during that short time, all ya ever talked about was how much ya loved the elves and wanted to see their city! If that was true, then why the heck are ya tryin’ to destroy it right now?! I know that jackass did some crazy shit to ya, but if ya love these elves as much as ya say ya do, then you’ll fight his stupid brainwashing and KICK ITS FUCKIN’ ASS!!!”

But once Kate stopped shouting, she could see that the creature had engaged the heroes in a fight. Even in the short time Kate was gone, they had managed to wound it. But they stayed their weapons when Kate finished shouting.

“L-Luana?!” The boy’s lower lip quivered. “I-Is that really her?” He lowered his sword. “What happened to you?”

"Careful!" The ice knight raised his spear. "This might be Luana, but it doesn’t seem to have any desire to stop fighting. We need to keep our guard up."

“Indeed.” The tiny mage agreed. “Just because someone says that’s Luana, that doesn’t mean it’s true, or that we can save them.” She tipped her head up. “But if there’s even the smallest chance it is, and if we can save her, we cannot allow it to slip through our fingers.”

But as the scene changed in front of Kate, the remaining druid shuffled behind her. "How much longer do you plan on dragging this out? She is a Feind now. The power of friendship isn’t going to save her. Why don’t you leave this to the heroes and go on your way? You didn’t care this much when the nomads were overrun by Oh-One.”

“Oh for… I thought you’d have left already!” Kate snarled. “And that was completely different!” she added. “Nomads can handle themselves in a fight, but Luana here got turned into a fuckin’ monster right after her lifelong dream came true! She spent her whole life tryin’ to find this place, and now that slimy fucker’s forcin’ her to destroy it! I might normally like to stay outta things,” the photographer continued. “But that kinda shit really pisses me off! Maybe the power of friendship won’t save her,” she conceded. “But if anything can, I’m the one who can find it!”

With that, Kate pulled up Oros the Savage’s profile on her camera’s display and searched through the weaknesses and vulnerabilities tab for a way to reverse the transformation, or at the very least, restore Luana’s mind.

Meanwhile, the fight continued. Every time Kate read a line of text, something happened. Luana threw a punch. One of her friends soared. The mage cast a spell.

"I see.” The druid nodded. "I suppose I misjudged you, Photographer.”

Kate was unable to get much data on a cure for Luana. Talus was the only person that might have known the cure, and it was unlikely he was still alive. However, it seemed that the source of Luana’s corruption was the fragments of Endless Eclipse that were embedded in her flesh. If those could be removed…

“Hey!” Kate called to the assembled heroes. “Her spear is what caused her to change into that thing! It broke apart and the pieces shot into her skin, so if any of ya can remove ‘em, that should change her back!”

I hope…

“And pray tell, how are we supposed to find those?” The mage attempted to box Luana inside a cage of dark swords, but she batted them aside.

"Hold on, Fio. Look at this beast's nails. Don’t they look like fragments of Luana’s spear? " The ice knight said while pointing.

The mage nodded. “Very well. I‘ll distract her and the rest of you try to break them off.”

The knights spread out around Luana as she continued to lash out at her surroundings. Fio stood in front of her once ally, arranging her black swords for an attack. But when Luana attacked, The swords flew in front of Fio and acted as a barrier. “Now!” Was all Fio could get out before the fist slammed into her weapon.

The other four fighters lept into action, each targeting a hand or foot. In a single strike, Luana’s fingers and toes had all been sliced through. Almost instantly, Luana’s form started to deflate like a balloon.

“Is it working? Are you alright Luana?”

She was out of it, and not wearing nearly as much as she was before her body quintupled in size. But she was surrounded by people that only wanted the best for her. Luana would get better.

“Thank goodness,” Kate whispered after exhaling in relief. Not wanting to answer any awkward questions, the photographer had Twinkles sprint back into the dense foliage before any of Luana’s friends returned their attention to her. There were plenty more Oroses to photograph, after all, and she’d already remained in this reality plenum a fair bit longer than she’d intended. “All right, next stop, Nova Lux!”