If an outsider was to visit the clearing behind the pond in Penrose Park at this moment, they would be very confused. A large group of children, mostly girls, was currently milling about. Many of them were wearing very strange costumes, and some of those costumes could be described as downright improper for a child. To top things off, there was no adult supervision. This would seem very strange indeed to an outsider.
To those in the know, however, this was a very important meeting. To those with the ability to See, these weren't just children, but Magical Girls, Boys, and a few of their enigmatic creators, the Puchuu. There were even monsters in attendance, though they had been asked to remain untransformed.
At midnight, the meeting officially started.
Victoria Reales
Victoria glanced up from her watch. It was finally time to begin. She clapped her hands and spoke, "May my power stop those with hearts of darkness, and purify the lost souls! Rage forth, ice!"
She transformed, and bright blue light surrounded her as she did. Once it stopped, she was in costume. She looked down at herself and smiled, then clapped her hands. A pillar of ice formed beneath her, elevating her a few feet above everyone else.
"Alright everyone, listen up! My name is Victoria. You may have heard of me as Ice Blue, though. I have been active in this city for a few years, now, before a lot of you newbies showed up. And as I am sure we all know, the amount of feral monsters has been steadily increasing. If things keep going the way they have, we are going to be overrun.
"I have discussed things with my Puchuu, and he agrees with me. That is why we called this meeting. I would like to propose an alliance. No more magical girl attacking magical girl, or bothering monsters who have the will to stay good. And if a member of the alliance needs help, we step in and help them. Now, who will stand with me?"
With a flare of magical energy Alicia transformed into her magical girl outfit. She was clad in white and black, with a long skirt dropping towards her legs that did not inhibit her movement. She made no move to produce her weapon though, not where they were at the moment. To produce a weapon at a diplomatic meeting, that would not only be rude but also instigatory in a manner that was unnecessary. The purpose here was not to fight, but to talk.
Penrose Park was fairly nice, illuminated with glowing light in the night. It reflected off the water and heralded the chirping and cricketing of bugs and insects. A nice scene for a meeting, albeit not one that was all too formal. Then again, when had things ever been formal for magical girls?
Alicia stood with the other girls that had come with her, an assembly of individuals from The Beacon who tended to stick together, on the opposite side of the park from those who were fairly obviously either dark magical girls or flat out monsters. The better to avoid associating with them and earning excommunication from the Beacon in the process, though she was not going to stop anyone who snuck off. Instead she stood towards the front of the group, arms crossed over her chest as she listened to Ice Blue once the meeting began.
"Well them," she muttered to herself. So they were here to arrange an alliance between the girls in the city to combat the growing amount of feral monsters? All of them working together for mutual benefit? It seemed fine as far as she was concerned, but she knew that those who ran the Beacon might have a problem with it. Specifically to the extent with which 'all magical girls' or 'all monsters who stay good' meant.
Following the rousing call to action that marked the end, she spoke up from her spot with the other Beacon girls in the crowd. "Combating the growing amount of monsters is worthwhile, sure, but I don't think the Beacon is going to be able to accept allying with those who have lost their way to their inner darkness without some incentive to do so." It hardly needed to be pointed out that Beacon had the resources to go it alone if they wanted to do so, even if Alicia wanted to cooperate. But that had to be a give and take, not just Beacon giving up their own viewpoint to cede to the demands of others without condition.
That said, she glanced back to see how many of the other girls agreed with her from her group. Support on this would be much appreciated, though it probably wouldn't be a problem. She was just hoping they could work something out at all.
"Ugh, why. Why does it have to be at midnight." A girl with long white hair, dressed in what was clearly some sort of military uniform groaned. She was standing a bit towards the back of the group for the most part, though she was a bit towards some of the beacon girls. From her facial expression she was equal parts annoyed and upset. "I had a clan raid! A CLAN RAID. It's like, a once a year thing, too! Toughest boss in the game! I'm gonna miss all the epic loot and jolly co-operation and-" The girl placed her hands on the top of her head, trying and failing to contain her annoyance. "Aaargh! I don't care about these stupid alliances and stuff! Just give me something to fight and I'll do it!"
The fact she practically shouted that was probably not going to earn her any favors with the other girls, though she wasn't one to particularly are. Next to her, a black haired girl was dressed entirely in purple...if one could even call it dressed. Most of her body was quite on display for the world, though she didn't seem to care about this fact. With a small huff, the girl reached over and grabbed the other by the ear, pulling it and earning a small yelp from the other.
"Quiet, you," She snapped, turning the others head towards her own. Isana had been complaining about this the entire time they had been heading over here. For the love of all that was unholy in the world, the girl took an hour to get ready even when she could just magic clothes into existence! Honestly, Chloe had about enough of her shenanigans for the evening. Not to mention her current lack of employment for over a month. "Lord Iesud wanted me to attend, and you haven't had any work in the past what...two months? I lost count after the first one. Either way, this will be a good idea for you to do something other than sit on your lazy butt all day."
"B-but epic loot..." Isana pouted, poking out her lower lip and giving Chloe her best hurt look she could muster.
"Oh quit pouting and actually do that fancy uniform of yours justice, or must I start with the stupid compliments you like so much?"
"I mean, if you want to tell me I look amazing in uniform, I'm not going to object." Chloe simply stared blankly at her companion. She was holding back the urge to simply slap Isana. Sometimes, the girl was completely insufferable. Not that she had much room to talk in that department.
"Sometimes I wonder what that Puchuu saw in you, I really do."
"Uhm, my incredible amounts of awesomeness and badassery?"
"If by that, you mean your ability to sleep 18 hours a day and then proceed to do nothing but laze about..."
"Hey, being fabulous and extremely good looking is tiring. Not that'd you'd know about either of those things, heh." Chloe's eyebrow visibly twitched at that comment. Her mouth curled into a smirk, her grip on Isana's ear tightening a bit. Almost too fast for the eye to follow, a small crystal looking orb that had been floating a foot or so above Chloe moved over Isana's head. In the next instant, a bright beam of Etheric energy fell on Isana from the orb, completely flattening the other girl onto the ground. It wouldn't have hurt the other girl, she was too tough for that but she'd at least feel a little dizzy from the sudden impact.
"Still fabulous." Isana said, holding a hand up from where she laid face first on the ground. Sometimes, that quirk of Isana's to never have her clothing or looks torn irritated Chloe to no end. Still, she was pretty sure she had won this little debacle.
"Learn to actually back up your 'badassery' with skills next time." Chloe said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. Now that her 'friend' had been dealt with she could move onto more important matters. "Now, would you kindly do what I keep you around for instead of lacking all intelligence?" With a simple thumbs up, Isana lowered her hand to the ground. A second later a pillar of earth carried Chloe to about the same level as Victoria. The small orb floating around her shimmered slightly, then fell into her hands.
Now, what to do here? Lord Iesud needed allies. Followers. People that wouldn't mind burning this world and starting a new one. This little truce would certainly make it easy to get to know a few of the other girls and possibly convince them...she wasn't exactly one for acting, so she might as well simply be her usual self. Her usual self was the best self, after all. Couldn't get any better than she was.
"I'd apologize for my friend there, but she's likely to cause another incident before the night is over." Chloe sighed, obviously annoyed just as Alicia finished. "But that is not really a discussion for everyone here...I for one, wouldn't mind a sort of...truce." Chloe said towards Victoria. A truce had many advantages, especially for one such as them. They could accomplish their tasks so much easier than if they had the constant threat of being interrupted by some foolish girl from the beacon. "As long as those self-righteous Beacon fools agree to keep their petty morals to themselves, then I see no problem with a sort of alliance."
Isana pulled herself up off of the ground, brushing a few rocks off of her and leaning against the pillar of earth that Chloe was standing on. Honestly, she had no interest in an alliance. An alliance meant less fighting - which meant less fun and less work for her in the long run, unless she wanted to go running t the Mint for work, or find a patron. Iesud had offered on multiple occasions to take her 'under his wing' as he put it. Maybe Iesud would be alright, but the Mint? No. Way. In hell. They had bad written all over them. As much as she didn't want to give up that coin, she didn't want anything else to do with them.
These first few days of being a teenage girl, much less a magical one, was quite confusing. Actually everything about her new life was confusing. Being outside, the culture different, technology being much better, thrown back into grade school, having parents... A lot changes in thirty plus years. Not that she had been completely ignorant of things going on. She did have access to see the news on occasion. But still, it was a whole different things being free and with a second chance to boot. Apparently her new name was Janet now, Janet Howell. No one would ever guess who what used to be. But that didn't give her license to do whatever she wanted.
No the shot as a second chance came with rules. Rules that she didn't really mind. This was a great opportunity to right wrongs and do something for others rather than herself. Hm, herself, so weird thinking like that. Get enough years under your belt and suddenly switching identities was easier on paper that it was in the mind. Whatever the case she was told by her patron that a meeting was going to take place at midnight. Others like her were going to be there to discuss, something. This whole concept of magican girls existing was kind of hard to wrap her mind around.
As midnight approached Janet slipped out of her house, a feat all too easy for her it would seem. Discussing with the Beacon it would appear to be one of her abilities. During that interaction things were explained to her just a little more and what she was capable of. Though not familiar with the area she looked up Penrose Park and suddenly had an idea of exactly where to go.
The girls, mostly girls anyway, were easy for her to find, and just as easy was locating her other Beacon companions. To some extent the various patron groups seemed to cluster together. A few weren't isolating themselves. The Beacon isolating themselves made sense though. They had rather particular rules about who and how they could interact with other magical girls and creatures. Quite a few of them gathered here fell into the category. Janet was going to speak up about such a matter but Alicia broke in on their behalf. Until there was a solid response there wasn't much need to chime in and further complicate the matter.
Speaking of, a pair of girls on the opposite end were squabbling amongst each other. This attempt at a truce was going to be interesting. Largely ignoring the noisy neighbors Janet turned to her fellow Beacon followers. "However this all ends up It's great to meet you. My name is Janet." She offered a hand to whomever might accept it first.
Castor ground his teeth as the meeting proceeded, in the expected fashion. To be honest, he didn't even know why he was here.
"Honestly, Tenebrae, I don't know why you saw fit to come here," whispered the specter of Lady Anri at his side. Castor almost chuckled at the irony of her statement, following so soon after he'd thought the very same thing.
"It would look worse if I hadn't, My Lady. I don't want to give the Beacon any more reason to hate us than necessary." Not that giving provoking the Beacon was that difficult of a prospect, looking the way he did. Anri scoffed, apparently agreeing.
"Do they not already hate, Tenebrae, because of my mark upon you? Do they not see the shape of a predator and assume you have fallen to this... 'inner darkness,' as they so deem it to be? What utter rubbish. Your shape would have been ordained as holy, were you raised to your station in Elswyr. You would be seen for the Champion you are, instead of the monster they pretend you to be. Even more ordinary followers of mine would, on occasion, begin bearing noble forms like unto my Champions. It was seen as a gift, a sign of my favor. Their disregard of your heritage is... offensive."
Castor was inclined to agree. He'd been nothing but helpful to Penrose since his ascension almost a year ago. He'd never hurt an innocent or a fellow Magical Being, despite many of them seemingly trying to provoke him to do so, as though to validate their own prejudice. Some even had forgone the usual song and dance and outright tried to assault or even kill him, accepting no explanations except that, somehow, he was "evil," and must be "purified."
The Beacon certainly had colorful ways of describing, "trying to off you like a backstreet mugger."
Castor shrugged, trying to ignore the itch he felt in his teeth, nails, and scalp. Being in a "human" shape for too long always chafed terribly, and he was looking forward to getting back to Holt's place and shedding this facade. "Please don't transform," they said. The nerve of them. Even worse when one of the Beacon sycophants decided to step up and try to insinuate that they were the ones needing protection from people like him.
That, of course, really was the breaking point. He stepped forward, Anri's shadowy form rippling in discomfort.
"Have a care, Tenebrae. They may be outnumbered here, but that has not stopped their members before."
"I'll take that into consideration. Don't worry, My Lady- if they're thin-skinned enough to attack me over mere words, then their distaste for me won't mean anything. I'll have all the backup I need after that." He walked ahead further, still keeping his beastly form in check. Let them see he was willing to follow their rules.
"'Incentive?'" he barked mockingly at the Beacon representative. "You want to talk 'incentive?' Let's talk. Let's start with the fact that on an almost-weekly basis, I'm attacked or accosted by your representatives, some of which have even tried to kill me for no good reason except that I have... extra parts. Let's start with the fact that you vilify us for circumstances beyond our control or comprehension, then condescend to us about our, 'inner darkness.' The nerve of you. The arrogance."
He turned to the rest of the assembled Mahou. "If you don't recognize me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Castor Kerberos, also known as Verdant Champion: Tenebrae, Bearer of the Spirit of the Wolf. Since I was chosen by my patron almost a year ago, I have done nothing but try and help and support my fellow Magical Beings in hunting down dangers to the city. Despite this, the Beacon would tar me with the same black brush that they use to paint all of my kind with. I admit that there are some of us who are dangerous- people who chose this path for power or opportunity. But I ask of you, how many of us here aren't dangerous in one way or another? Before I was chosen as a Champion, do you know what happened? I was almost killed in the crossfire of a magical battle, and by ordinary Mahou, no less! Condemning me for crimes that I haven't committed, that some of you yourselves are guilty of, is hypocrisy of the highest order."
He folded his arms, letting his shape drift back to bestial, but only slightly- just enough to give his eyes an unnatural intensity. He spoke, slowly and clearly, seething with quiet anger.
"You want 'incentive,' little girl? Well, so do I. I'll help all of you, because it's my goddess-damned job as a Champion to keep this city safe. But I want guarantees- from the Beacon, and from anyone assembled here that's still harboring ideas of 'putting me in my place,' or 'purifying' me. If I'm helping you, I want guarantees that no one's gonna put a knife in my back for some nebulous 'greater good.' Those are my terms. Take them or leave them. I'll do my job regardless of your approval."
Finally, after a long time of speeding through highways and paved roads, Lily finally saw it: Penrose. The young-looking girl laughed in delight at seeing the city in the horizon, and turned the throttle on her vehicle: it looked like a futuristic motorcycle, but it had a unique design to it; it was horse-shaped, with gray patches of fur growing out at parts, and the front was a stylized head of a horse, adorned with a thunderbolt-shaped hood ornament.
"Yeah, we made it, X! I can't believe we got here so fast!" The girl screamed to try and overcome the howling wind. "You underestimated me, Lily. My swiftness knows no bounds," she heard a voice speak; it sounded like a rumbling storm mixed with a horse's neighs, yet the voice carried to her ears crystal clear. "Ixion, you're the best friend I could have," she then spoke, with a smile at her lips. "The first thing I'll do is-Oh, wait. Is that what I think it is?" She made a sharp turn, and headed towards the unique sight, smiling even wider. This is definitely my kind of town
Being a magical boy, Alexander thought, wasn't all bad.
Oh sure, he was now supposed to fight the endless armies of darkness in defense of the innocent, and he had to put up with his annoying patron, the god Sol Invictus.
But he actually cared about him. No one ever cared about him before
In return for this, he no longer had to work a dead end job just to make ends meet, nor did he have to worry about going hungry ever again, since his body only needed half as much food. On top of all this; he was functionally immortal with endless youth.
Then again his magic wasn't perfect; not only was he stuck with spells that couldn't bash monster heads in, the clones he could make were troublesome. Oh, they worked perfectly; soulless shells with no sense of self that were otherwise perfect copies of him...but that was the problem, they were perfect copies of him. Alexander was used to authority figures being unreliable, so he took a passive aggressive stance with them. The same was true of his clones; they were passive aggressive to him. Now that's not to say they would betray him, but they weren't above messing with him. Like that time one of them started flirting with a girl. He would have slugged that unruly clone if she hadn't beaten him to the punch (wordplay!)...that was how he met his partner; Lily
She also cared, but why?
She had a power-set that he would have loved to have; move fast and unleash lighting on your foes. All he had were shields, buffs, heals, and a stick. How are you supposed to bash monster heads in with a stick!?
"It's not even a heavy stick" Alexander mumbled from the bush he was hiding in. His clone was fighting some sort of lizard monster, while keeping it strengthened and shielded. "And my clones get to have more fun then me." Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound "Huh, must be Lily. That's convenient."
"Yaaaah!" Lily drew her bow, and unleashed another volley of dazzling projectiles, the arrows loudly cracking as they pierced the beast's hide. She changed her weapon to the rod, and charged up a thunderbolt, before unleashing it, ending the fight. "Whew, that was quite a dinosaur, huh?" She joked, and turned towards the masked boy. "You always seem to get in trouble, hehe~" She jumped into the air, and Ixion materialized under her, catching her in the driver's seat. "Come on Alex, It's gonna start at midnight, so we gotta hurry!" The two rode off on the metal horse, with Alexander awkwardly holding Lily's shoulders. The magical girl didn't seem to mind that at all, and simply giggled.
When Lily first met the mysterious lad, he was fighting a monster, and didn't seem to do a good of it; sure he managed to resist blows well, but he seemed to only have a staff as his weapon. As a magical girl she didn't mind helping him out at all. To her surprise, the boy actually began flirting with her! Lily was reminded of her old life, and when she was hit on in high school. It was such an embarrassing moment for her that she punched the boy, and caused him to poof. It was later that she learned that Alexander could use cloning magic, but back then she was really surprised. "I can't believe you would say something like that though, geez," Lily suddenly said while they were on their journey. "And just after I saved you!"
Were he not holding on for dear life, Alexander would have face palmed. "I'm never going to live that down, am I? Even though you know full well that my clones love to mess with me." To his surprise, he found that Lily was heading for the meeting in the park. He hadn't planned on going, but if Lily wanted him there, he wasn't going to fight it. For some reason, he had a hard time telling her no. And before he could even voice an objection, they skid a sharp turn around a block, and jumped right into the center of it, with Ixion disappearing just before it hit the fountain at the center.
Lily landed at the back with Alexander next to her, and she had a hand to her hip as she took in the sights. "So many magical girls...A lot of folks picked up on this. Some look real strong too." She nodded her head when she listened to the speech-holding girl, and then grinned when she heard her request for help. "What do you think Alex? Should we help her out?"
Alexander sighed "we really should" he sounded more reluctant then he actually was. "And have I mentioned recently that you're a crazy driver? Because it bears repeating. I'm just glad I can put a force field on myself." he added. "Heheh! Well, better get used to it." She raised a fist before her, smiling smugly. "Cause Lily's wild ride never ends!"
"May bullets rain down upon the evil and vanquish the wicked!"
Those were the words Natasha spoke to transform into her magical girl form just before the meeting, in a secluded alleyway. That night, she had snuck out of the apartment in which Natasha and her parents were living in- an apartment which, she had to admit, was quite convenient. She didn't have to buy unhealthy meals, for starters. Her new parents took care of that for her, as they made homemade meals every morning and night for her. And she didn't have to worry about finances since, in this body, she was still a child. Damn, she had forgotten what it felt like it to be a dependent. No responsibilities- it was great.
Though she had to admit the school part was tedious and boring. She had already learned what they covered in her classes, but she couldn't just tell her teachers that she was actually 25, could she? And she couldn't just slack off since her parents would probably punish her, and that would result in not being able to go and fight.
Those were the thoughts Natasha had as she observed the supposed 'alliance' meeting along with her fellow comrades from Beacon, sneering in distaste at the several dark magical girls, servants of Horrors, and monster girls among them. She was about to speak up when she noticed her comrade, Alicia, doing it instead. And then another one, Janet? That was her name, introducing herself.
Natasha let loose a bright smile. "Natasha! Feel free to call me Nat, or Tasha if you'd like. It's quite the pleasure!" Natasha responded, and ignoring her hand, pulled Janet in for a big hug.
Though, she did release a few moments later, seeing one of the monster Mahou barking back at Alicia. Her smile hardened into a sneer of disgust, and she laughed. "You don't get to talk to a Beacon girl like that, monster. I believe I can speak for ALL Beacon girls when I say that we will never work with the likes of monsters like you." Natasha spat. "If monsters like you are included in this agreement, we will have to withdraw. We will not work with the agents of darkness. Beacon is an organization of light, and it will not to do have these slanderous accusations hurled at us through the mouth of such an ugly creature."
Inside what appeared to be an apartment with windows looking out over a city sat three girls at a table. In the corner stood a large, oval mirror, awaiting another day which it might be used for a portal or in a rite or so. Not today, however.
Two young twins who looked like harpies composed of black jelly and a white-haired girl in elaborate dress. They were having some tea and had sandwiches prepared for them on plates, which they were eating and drinking of. In the wall to their right was a tiny portal, shielded on the other side by the protective Darkness-magic of the twins so to protect it from detection, leading into a bush in Penrose Park. Through it, the three heard every somewhat loud word that was spoken.
‘Alliance, eh?’ Deni remarked with a smirk, stuffing her mouth full with a sandwich. ‘How cute. All the heroes rallying together against a common enemy!’ She laughed a bit, listening to the words coming through.
‘On a grander scale, there is no way any of the girls in this alliance will approve of our future goals. Joining might actually bring unwanted attention to our existence, which could make things difficult.’ Eli, the other twin, remarked, always so tactically minded. ‘However, joining could enable us to gain protection against the varying Beacon girls that have recently appeared in the city, and we could use such an alliance to make other girls unknowingly do work for us.’
‘Using others to get our way? I like it!’ Deni grinned a bit as she downed her tea. ‘But, that could cause quite the backlash when they realize what we’ve been doing~’ Deni cautioned with a playful voice.
‘At the same time, not being part of the alliance could hamper us in the future. We cannot deal with that many enemies, and with all honesty, we could use their help, even if they wouldn’t regularly help us. This alliance could be exactly what we need.’ Eli continued, considering deeply.
‘So, what say you, Champion of Asengav?’ Deni leaned forward, looking at Mariette. Eli did the same. After all, Mariette was the leader.
Mariette held a neutral expression as she placed down the tea onto the tiny plate. This food had been prepared for them by Joe when they said they had to go picnicking. It had been… a little bit of a lie. Still, it was really good. Mariette raised her eyes and looked at the two, black harpies that were holding their food and tea-cups in their slimy wings, somehow.
‘For now, we wait. We do not want to become representatives..’ Mariette said, in a mature but currently disinterested tone. They definitely didn’t want to attract more attention than they had to. So for now, they’d stay inside their interdimensional home, listening in on the conversation. The two monster girls nodded and they continued their midnight meal, their ears picking up the incoming conversation.
And, of course, the battle between monsters and Beacon was on at once, at least diplomatically speaking.
‘Oh, chucks.’ Deni commented. ‘I see the possibility for an alliance rapidly draining.’
‘For an alliance to form, likely either the monsters or Beacon have to pull away. If Beacon pulls away, it makes the alliance have to fight them due to having allied with the monsters.’ Eli commented, looking on. ‘Question is, if the alliance goes to the monsters, do we join?’
‘I think us joining would prove Beacon right~’ Deni said, playfully.
Mariette simply listened to both the chatter of those who spoke, and to that of her companions. She made sure to memorize names. Victoria, Ice Blue. A beacon girl, a loud girl and a girl compromising to a truce. Castor Kerberos, Tenebrae. Beacon girl that slandered Castor. … You’re looking in the wrong direction, Beacon-girl, Mariette thought. Though, of course, she wouldn’t know where to look or to point at the hidden portal, unless she had the Third Eye and considerable intuition. Unlikely.
Mariette kept listening, to see where this went. She had no intention of bringing any attention to herself just yet.
’I wonder what the cops would think?’ Penny wondered idly as she watched more and more “children” wander in to the clearing. She had been here for a few hours, possibly more if the broken branches near her were any indication, waiting for the meeting to start.
Granted not many of the growing congregation of magical girls would have seen her, as “here” constituted the top of one the trees nearby.
Penny was nervous, for quite a few reasons, one of the top reasons as this was the first time she had seen a congregation as large as this one since her change. The tension was a palpable thing, which served little other than to make her ache all over.
“I’m going to have to change after this” she whispers softly, playing with a strand of her hair. The pinkette didn’t like taking her “true” form as Laat’AlOfan had described it, but she could only put off for so long before the irritation would turn in to blinding pain.
Shaking off the pending transformation she began looking more closely at those that had gathered, and was left once again pondering who was in charge of the uniform designs. Other than that she didn’t spot anyone she recognized, which was another of her worries. She only had one friend at the moment, and while Penny knew that they were here, somewhere, she couldn’t find them.
Shaking her head she did note the obvious groups that had loosely formed, split amongst the varied factions that existed in the Mahou societies. Sadly she didn’t truly fit in with any of them, though that was in part her own fault own fault. As she had tried to run from this life at first, her appointment as Laat’s Chosen put her in an awkward position as she could likely end up fighting both with and against everyone down there at one point or another.
‘But not while Laat is working with Iesud’
Finally Midnight stuck and one of the Girls below conjured a platform of Ice to address the gathered magicals. With a resigned sigh Penny dropped out of her hiding tree, taking one of the smaller branches with her as she did, and headed to be amongst the pack. She made sure to stay a safe distance from the Beacon group as she did, prior encounters having made her weary, although by the same token she did the same with the obvious monsters as she could say the same about them.
“-a member of the alliance needs help, we step in and help them. Now, who will stand with me?"
‘Crap! I thought there was going to be more of a buildup’ she cursed faltering as she did. As she had no idea what had truly been proposed, Penny stopped, standing a noticeable distance outside the group at large. Opting to listen and try and catch what had been said. Thankfully it seemed there were plenty of people that had something to say about the proposal.
Amongst those that were willing to speak, Penny spotted the person she had been hoping to see all night, with a sigh of obvious relief she started heading over to the scantily clad little girl standing on a pillar of rock, Chloe, who happened to be her only friend.
Penny didn’t say anything upon her arrival at the base of the rock pillar as her attention was directed at the rather heated exchange between two of the Mahou. A boy, one of the few, named Castor and one of the people from Beacon, who called herself Natasha. Quietly she broke off about an inch of the branch she was carrying, trying to force herself to relax with a bit of indulgence, as the ache had begun to seep in to her bones.
A vibrant, reverberating noise hummed out as Ari walked along the rural road, a masked sprite leaving behind an ethereal, dark grey trail as it floated alongside him.
"Mmm? What's up, Fors?" Ari asked as he glanced over.
Vrmm--, Fors turned to face the horizon, where the small, but bright lights of a city were glowing in the distance. Vvvrwommm.
"Well, if we hop onto a car on the main road, one of them will probably take us over there~?"
Vvworm Vmm Vrrmvv?! "It'll definitely work, just trust me~"
After a few minutes of bickering like that, Ari and Fors ended up in the bed of a pick-up truck, hitchhiking over to whatever city it was that they were heading to. However, there was something that Ari found interesting. Although he couldn't understand Fors himself, his magical abilities as an empath gave him a better idea of what Fors was thinking. From what Ari had seen, Fors rarely got excited for anything aside from live cooking events. Doubtful that this was the case at the time, Ari went to the other option: some event is about to change several people's fates, and in a big way. But, regardless of what the event actually was, Ari was certain that it would be interesting.
- - - - -
By the time they arrived to the city, it was just about midnight. While Fors went off to find a place to stay--presumably with a television so that he can watch his cooking shows--Ari began investigating. He was certain that there were more monsters than the last place they were at, having fought twice during the ride over. Although that would have definitely altered a number of fates, Ari didn't think that Fors would be motivated by that alone; he was pushing his sole purpose for being onto another person in order to pursue his hobby, after all. While he was thinking about this, a brilliant blue light suddenly lit up the previously-dim park next to him. "Huh?" Ari let out a confused noise once he realized that there was a fairly large congregation of magical girls. "How did I not notice that...?" Passing it off as him being too deep in thought, he pulled in closer to listen to Victoria's speech.
Despite how quickly the address had ended, Ari was almost certain that this was what drew Fors the city. It was less the contents that convinced him, however, and more the fact that she was earnestly trying to achieve this goal. "Even then," he thought to himself as the tension between Castor and Natasha began to grow. "I don't get why people need fight over something like that. It feels kinda... petty, considering the situation?" But that didn't matter right now.
"Hiya~" Ari nonchalantly stepped in with a greeting, seemingly immune to the sheer amount of ire in the air. Directing a sleepy smile towards Natasha, he begins speaking. "I kinda just got here, so I don't really know the whole situation, but... aren't you missing the point?" He scratched his head. "Like, I get that the Beacon doesn't work with certain groups, but the goal of this alliance is to keep humanity and other magical girls safe. So, basically the same as the Beacon's, right~? The only thing you have to do is not fight with the monsters that are helping... If you did, it'd be hurting the Beacon's biggest goal."
"Besides," Ari continued, walking up to Castor. "He's probably had some pretty bad experiences with some of the more zealous Beacon members, so you should try to be a bit more understanding. I bet he's actually a really nice guy~"
Ari put his hand on Castor's head and started petting him with a radiant smile.
-=[Meanwhile at the Grail Estates about 10 to 20 miles outside of the city]=-
She didn’t go to the magical girl meeting in Penrose Park. She stayed within her Grail Estates even though she would be constantly whispered by Zargoth. ”I hope that meeting isn’t too worrying for my patron,” Fiona thought to herself. She had a jittery fear and wished it never came to the past. She was sitting in the front room of her massive lonely home. She was watching cartoons at this time of night.
Zargoth’s voice appeared in her head. ”How is it going my champion?” Zargoth asked kindly. He could feel her thoughts and laughs at that in her head. ”Don’t worry my champion they are going to be dealt with in due time,” Zargoth said. He cut off his communication with his active champion.
Fiona was surprised when he cut off communications so early. She had a smile on her face, however, since she could just watch TV without interruption. Or so she thought since she could feel her mark on her skin start to glow a palish green in color. ”What the hell? Is going on now,” Fiona said out loud. She knew no one would hear her since she is the only one living within the property.
Within the seat of power of Zargoth and he was in his draconian appearance since he was sitting on his hoard of stuff he gathered throughout the ages. He sensed something bad is about to happen. ”Endless Guard, Patricia can you come here immediately,” Zargoth said. He had a worried tone in his voice.
Patricia walked up to him, in her full armored suit and smiled directly at him. ”What is it, Zargoth?” Patricia asked kindly. She had an air as if she wasn’t in the know about the Infinite Dragon’s hate for what she is.
Zargoth looked into directly into her eyes. ”The Infinite Dragons are up to their old tricks. They want to destroy my newest acquired champion,” Zargoth said. He had no intention of allowing this to go unpunished. ”Because I sensed one of them going through the weakness in the material and immaterial realm. By her household,” Zargoth said angrily. He knew his Infinite Dragons were very many wildcards within his dimension but their outright hate for the humans should’ve been distinguished. ”I guess this is my fault after all I shouldn’t have done that,” Zargoth thought to himself.
Patricia was disquieted when she learned the truth about the Infinite Dragons. ”Master, what are you going to do?” Patricia asked curiously. She had no idea about what to do.
Zargoth stood up on his pile of loot in his draconian form. ”She has to defend herself,” Zargoth said uneasily. Zargoth looked down at the Endless Dragons. ”Tell her to fight or flee best up to her now,” Zargoth said cautiously.
The cute dragon whelps that look like Zargoth in his draconian form start focusing their energies and start to give a message to Fiona on the Material plane.
Zargoth flew out of the Endless Crystal Cave quite enraged. He started to charge up a devastating attack towards the Infinite Dragon Cave he sees in the distance. The attack started to form within his draconian mouth and it looked very much like a holy magical attack of some sort. Radiant Devastation,” Zargoth said. The Radiant Devastation fired towards the Infinite Dragon Cave. It had a different name but this is what he had remembered it was from an eon ago.
At the Obsidian Castle of Terror. The Terror Angels were watching this terror incarnate do something unexpected, which caused them to fear him and admire him more. ”Why is he doing this now?” Sara asked confused. She wanted him to do this a long time.
“Ma’am I got a report,” ??? said a terror angel.
Sara looked at the Terror angel somewhat confused. ”What’s the report?” Sara asked.
The Terror Angel in question sighed. “The dumb Infinite Dragons are doing something stupid in the material realm, with the Chaos Angel’s Leader,” ??? said a terror angel.
Sara was appalled at what she heard and understood why Zargoth would attack them now. ”God damn it, our sisters are in trouble then, go to their castle and give them this report as well,” Sara said afraid.
The Terror Angel flew off from the Obsidian Castle of Terror to the Chaos one. However, it would take awhile to reach there.
At the Obsidian Castle of Chaos. They all were utterly terrified at what they saw transpired. They had no idea, their master could use magical attacks like a dragon could until now that is. They all were utterly shaking and fainting because of their strong desire to not be killed.
At the Endless Guard’s Obsidian Castle, Heather just smirked on her throne watching the Radiant Devastation go towards the Infinite Dragon’s Cave. ”That will teach them for fucking with the Zargoth’s Chosen,” Heather said.
The Radiant Devastation attack hit the Infinite Dragon’s Cave and it collapsed under the extreme pressure of brightness. The Infinite Dragons who were not in the cave were completely eradicated, but the ones within were spared the calamity of their master’s wrath. Rocks covered the Infinite Dragon’s Cave. Zargoth was pleased with his achievement but stayed looking over his dimension and sighed. ”All denizens underneath me, Zargoth will have to remember this one important rule don’t fuck with my plans or you will end up like the Infinite Dragons. However, I do put the Zargoth’s Chosen above the rest since they are still humans after all. I will not fail in my set goals but you haven’t earned anything to learn what I am after. The Infinite Dragons are grounded from going to the Material Realm until they say sorry to me to my face and my two champions within this dimension,” Zargoth decreed loudly throughout the dimension. Zargoth's voice echoed throughout the dimension since his voice is much more booming than most.
It hit midnight and something strange happened in and around the Grail Estates. Fiona was still watching her cartoon program. All the lights went out because there was a massive break in between the material and immaterial realms happened. She looked around and was somewhat terrified what is going on. The Black Cat, Nina was sleeping by her and didn’t really move because. ”At least she’s sleeping fine,” Fiona thought to herself.
A sudden message appeared within her head and it was a cute dragon whelp voice. ”Ms. Grail, run or you might die,” The Endless Whelp telepathically said. The whelp voice vanished as soon as it did.
Fiona recognized that voice as one of the conduits of her master Zargoth. She heard her trigger word and start freaking out. ”Die? Me, No I will not die,” Fiona said.
This woke up Nina when she said that word. "Fiona what's going on?" Nina the Cat asked. Nina was confused when she saw complete and utter darkness. Nina got off of the couch and catty walked towards the window and saw something terrifying outside, a break within the material and immaterial planes were shattering. "Oh god, I hope it isn't an infinite dragon," Nina thought to herself.
An Infinite Dragon appeared through the break between planes and walked on the property of with it’s front to feet and looked highly pissed off. ”Come out, come out Zargoth’s Chosen Champion,” Infinite Dragon said. It had a bloody hate filled existence for the humans that Zargoth wields as his allies within the Endless Dimension. A massive Time bubble started to form around the Grail Estate. It made it quite impossible for normal humans to pass through without deadly consequences of turning into an infant or a foot in a grave. The infinite dragon could sense Fiona since she had the same mark on her as all of Zargoth’s minions had.
Within the house, Nina was hopelessly outmatched against the dragon. ”Fiona, it is an Infinite Dragon right outside,” Nina said.
Fiona snapped when Nina said what was outside and she had no other choice. Her disguise was cracking under the pressure of her greatest fear. She slowly turned into her monstrous form but without her armor, but with her disguised form clothes on her. She knew she had to remedy this issue quickly, but at least she keeps the Grail Rifle close by. ”I am the Chaotic Seraph Angel! My sniper shots and ice attacks will shatter your souls,” Fiona said.
In the time, she transformed she was fully armored in her magical outfit but it took her 15 seconds. Her aura was even more visible than it was, she flew over to her rifle, which was leaning on the wall by her. She grabbed it and sighed slightly and rolled near a window to look outside and saw the Infinite Dragon. ”Why of all the times? I didn’t want to fight an Infinite Dragon,” Fiona said. Fiona had her left hand on her forehead facepalming at how much the Infinite Dragons need to learn not to fuck with Zargoth’s champions.
The Infinite Dragon noticed Fiona peaking out of the window and smiled. ”How wonderful? You turned into your Chosen form I will enjoy ripping you limb from limb,” Infinite Dragon said. The Dragon was drooling a bit from his mouth.
Fiona’s artifact started to glow in a strange way, it was glowing in multiple colors. It showed her a glimpse of the future. It showed her a possible future of her losing to the Infinite Dragon. It was only a glimpse but that was enough to make her angry. ”Is it truly wise to go against the wishes of our master, Zargoth? He could easily end you if he wanted,” Fiona replied. She hoped this would stop him from doing anything stupid.
The Infinite Dragon heard what she said and laughed. ”You are a naive girl in thinking the power. You’ve gained would be able to boss me around,” The Infinite Dragon said. He doesn’t know that his two brothers in the Endless Dimension were killed by Zargoth. However, he knows if he fails here he will be revived in the Endless Dimension. Therefore, he has nothing to lose. The Infinite Dragon starts to fly up into the air.
Fiona knows this is turning dire quickly and she decided on one last second to spare her home. She walked outside holding her Grail Rifle and aimed it up towards the beast and fires it aiming for a blinding hit.
The attack hits the eye of the Infinite Dragon and now it was blind in one eye since there was blood coming out of it. However, a massive dragon claw came out of the rift and grabbed the Infinite Dragon. This claw slowly pulled it’s query back into the Endless Dimension. The Infinite Dragon was utterly frightened when it recognized what claw grabbed him. It was his master, Zargoth the Endless and the aura surrounding the claw was radiating angry colors. It usually radiates the same aura as his chosen.
The Infinite Dragon started to scream in terror and fear of what is about to happen to him. The rift closed slowly and these two dragons were completely back in the Endless Dimension. The time dome vanished when the Infinite Dragon stopped being in the material realm.
Fiona was startled by the dragon claw, which grabbed the Infinite Dragon. She recognized it as Zargoth the Endless’ left claw. ”Zargoth saved me, I thank you master for protecting me,” Fiona thought to herself gently. She slowed down and was slightly happier in her monster form since it takes much concentration to stay in her disguised human form. She walked back into her house in the Grail Estates and calmed down enough where her psychotic break wouldn't break her attention. "Nina, is the TV back on?" Fiona asked. She remembered she doesn't want any normal human to be afraid what happened here so she turned back into her human form and it took awhile to get fully back as a girl without wings could get. She sat back down on the couch and acted like nothing really happened at her home.
The lights turned back on at the Grail Estates and the TV channel turned itself back on too. Nina, her familiar catty walked back to where she was laying down at and went back to sleep.
Fiona sighed and is grateful she wasn’t dumb enough to be at that meeting. ”Good lord, this would’ve caused a natural disaster in the city,” Fiona thought to herself. Her aura was fainter around her now but she still has to worry about dragons coming from the Endless Dimension to try to attack her. She didn't know that the Infinite Dragons are grounded more or less.
Though she had hoped that the one who had summoned them all here would provide an answer, it seemed that she was mistaken on that being a possibility before things began to escalate, with all the hostility that was being shown towards the Beacon as per usual. It was as much the pity that so many viewed their beliefs as a nuisance, always focused on the stance towards monsters and dark magical girls rather than the sheer commitment and devotion that was involved as being part of the organization. It was something you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere.
She was distracted from immediately answering though by the arrival o a straggler, one that was not familiar to her. A smile rose to her face as she stepped over, shaking the other girls hand with a respectful grip. "Good evening Janet," she replied happily. "It's nice to meet you. Are you new to The Beacon?"
Unfortunately in the distraction she was unable to answer hurled accusations fist, and Natasha did so before she was able to. Honestly though the girl somewhat voiced what she was thinking, though she would never be so bold as to actually say it outright. She had a responsibility, and a duty, to try and resolve this diplomatically rather than deliberately crashing things. Though it was tempting to do so with the sorts of insults being directed their way.
Stepping forward once again, she flashed a sad smile to the one who was attempting to play peacemaker, glad for their efforts to do so in this whole mess. It was better than outright hostility at least. "Unfortunately I believe we have been misunderstood," she said, speaking up once again to make her point. "We do not seek protection from those who have become monsters, nor do we need it. Beacon is more than capable of looking after its own. But without some consideration given to our own beliefs I find it doubtful that those who lead the Beacon will accept this alliance. And there are many girls in Beacon who will refuse to work with his kind, regardless of whether we're actively fighting or not."
Personally she hoped that the others would be willing to listen, if only because it would be distressing to find so many of the regular community seemingly biased against Beacon, as if oblivious to the intent of the organization. But ultimately it was not up to her. She had said her piece, and if Victoria had not considered that then perhaps this alliance was doomed from the start. it only worked if all parties were willing to heed the alliance, and at this point she could not guarantee that every member of Beacon would do so.
"Nat and..." She did not get the other's name, but that was alright. "It's nice to meet you. And yes, I am new." Things didn't seem to be improving at this point. There seemed to be two sides forming, with the Beacon girls being largely on their own. Things certainly weren't starting off on good terms. Apparently this tension wasn't new though. While she was informed of the rules she must abide by as a Beacon girl it hadn't crossed her mind that that history was already in play and stigmatized on both sides.
Sighing lightly the blonde tried to work things out in her mind. She was not well versed in this stuff she did understand how this could be problematic. However unlike the other Beacon girls she could sympathize with those on the other side. Ironically her past ran closer to the dark magical path than it did with Beacon. Not that she wanted to go that route, quite the opposite. Despite being a newbie she stepped up and waived her hands down in a motion to quell the tension. "Alright guys and girls, let's calm it down for a moment. We must understand where each other are coming from." Motioning to her companions with one hand she raised the other as if she were holding something and faced her accusers. "We have particular rules that were given to us as followers of Beacon. They are not to demonize others, but to keep us on the right path and protect us. Whether you agree with that or not doesn't change that. Surely your own patrons have goals and desires for you as their followers."
Turning around she looked at Nat and Alicia, placed her hands on her hips. She stood there a moment wondering if what she was going to say next would impact her standing with the Beacon. However she chose the vow of charity for a very particular reason. Most people associated it with giving money and/or time. However it also could mean broader things such as goodwill, love, kindness, and lenient judgement. Could she be faulted for keeping her vow? "I may be putting myself in a poor position, but we shouldn't be so quick to judge. I don't know what your lives were like before or what encounters you may have had with dark magical girls but you can't just write them off. My past, who I was before... I've been in their shoes. And yet here I am having been selected as part of Beacon. I can tell you I never thought I deserved a second chance and neither did society."
Having said that piece she folded her arms and tried to shift focus back to Victoria. "So if you're done squabbling let's at least consider the one that called us here. Maybe we can't see eye to eye or work together. But at the very least we could not get in each other's way as long as we have a similar goal. Our enemies don't have to be each other." There was still the matter of if someone stepped out of line then something would have to be done. A factor that Beacon didn't take lightly. But to mention that now would only cause more trouble and undermine her words.
Well, it seemed things were going along swimmingly, heh. Chloe stood atop the small earth pillar, looking over at the Beacon girls. Of course they'd uselessly be against such things as co-operation with others that believed differently than they. Such close minded fools, really. Chloe watched with mild interest as a monster boy and a few others started talking rather heatedly. Things seemed to be going the way she had imagined, then. What was curious though, was a certain peeping tom watching them from some sort of magical portal.
Ho~
Curious.
Now who could they be? A servant of a horror? A shy little monster? Perhaps just another interested party that didn't want to get too close? Well, whoever they were they had her attention since they were doing their best to hide their little portal. Unfortunately for them, she had a few tricks up her sleeve to make such illusions pointless. She turned her head towards the portal briefly. Chloe's gaze lingered on the portal, making it quite clear to whoever was watching they weren't being as subtle as they thought, but ultimately did nothing. Perhaps they'd meet in the future, for now she had more pressing matters to attend to. Maybe she'd get Isana to look into it.
Now, she had a few words for the other girls that were bickering. She hopped down from the stone pedestal, giving a brief not to Penny but for the most part not saying anything. She'd say hello to her companion later. For now, she walked over to the beacon girls as one of theirs had just finished making a rather reasonable statement. Ho~
"What's this?" Chloe said, walking over to the group. "Reasonableness from one of the Beacon? Ho, and here I thought tonight was going to be boring." She said with a smug grin towards Janet. Her voice was not exactly the most friendliest of ones, and definitely carried a hint of smugness and superiority to it.
"You sound reasonable, so I like you for now," Chloe turned her head towards Alicia and Natasha. "Your companions, not so much. Misunderstood? Please, Beacon, your people actively hunt those that don't want to cause trouble like monster man here, not to mention the fact they harass me when I'm not even doing anything but shopping. It's rather ridiculous, you know." Chloe turned her head towards Janet.
"They may not be trying to 'demonize' us, but they shouldn't be so quick to judge what the 'right path' is, should they? Unless they're tyrants trying to control people for their own goals...but no, the Beacon would never do that, would they? Their too self-righteous." Chloe chuckled, the smug grin never wavering. "You know, I really should admire the beacon - all that control and so called 'do gooding' when all they do is annoy innocent people, masquerading as a force of good. It's quite hilarious, I couldn't come up with a better method for controlling people if I tried." Chloe's orb spun slowly in the air, coming to a rest in the palm of her hand.
"But you know, perhaps there's a way you angelic tyrants and the rest of us little people could get along, hm?" Chloe continued. "The reasonable one of you makes a good point. Perhaps while we don't have to work together, a cease fire could be written, hm? Some sort of agreement to not bother the other." While perhaps the method of delivery could have been much better delivered by anyone else but Chloe, she liked to think it was the best solution here.
Isana for the most part leaned against the stone pillar, hands folded across her chest. She didn't have anything to add, save a yawn. When she saw Penny though, she gave the other girl a bright grin and friendly wave.
"Hey, Penny!" Isana said cheerfully. "Didn't expect to see you here. That patron...Laat, decide to sing kumbaya with everyone else or you just here for my autograph and to tell me I'm pretty? It's alright, no need to be shy about it."
Penny Just nodded back as Chloe ventured off to converse more directly with the Girls from Beacon, her grip tightening on the branch she was holding in worry. She wasn’t very good with the tense atmospheres that came before a fight, always worrying about this and that. That being said, not everything that was happening was worry inducing. The beacon magical that spoke up, Janet, in defense of those that Beacon often fought without any second though was a calming influence as far as Penny was concerned. ‘I would if I could still be your friend?’ Penny wondered absently. ‘I’ll have to ask and find out what those vows are, I guess’
There was also Castor, while not calming, he gave Penny some hope, as he seemed to be in a similar situation as her if she guessed correctly. The fact that her case was not a isolated one gave her hope that there were at least a few more people out there that she could be friends with. Quietly she resolved to try and talk with the boy later, she just hopped that she would be able to find him without any hassle.
"Hey, Penny!" Isana said cheerfully.
“Hey yourself, Isana” Penny replied with a smile as she turned to face the shorter girl next to her, happy to see another friendly face in the midst of all this tension.
"Didn't expect to see you here. That patron...Laat, decide to sing kumbaya with everyone else or you just here for my autograph and to tell me I'm pretty? It's alright, no need to be shy about it."
Penny gave an undignified snort as a reply “The day Laat does that I’ll be selling tickets to the show, trust me” She said as she looked across the gathering of Mahou again, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear as she did “I came more out of curiosity really, my introduction to the magical girl world was a bit of a hectic one. So I’ve not had much chance to meet and greet a lot of people outside you and Chloe since I came to town.” She continued with a shrug “Plus I wanted to be on hand to help in case things hit the fan” She finished turning back to face the mercenary.
“What about you? An alliance doesn’t seem to be up your ally with your profession and all” she asked amicably, she hadn’t had much time to really talk with Isana, and though the situation wasn’t ideal for it did help in calming her nerves.
______________________________________________ 'Well isn't this just a most fascinating gathering of individuals?! ohhh, if only I hadn't been asked to 'behave', heeheeeee.' He sat with a wildly delighted grin in 'her' guise, perched on a random branch in clear view of those gathered... afterall, he wasn't 'spying' he was participating! If from the very fringes of the group of course, waiting to see if anyone would stir things up or spring a trap on those who gathered or out-right break into violence.
Alas, it didn't seem that such would happen at least not so far, although a 'bit' of stir came from the one at the front of the Beacon girls and drew a massive grin from 'her' lips though, and even more so when a fellow monsterly sort responded in kind with all the reason and logic that one could ever hope for... Personally, he avoided the Beacon like the plague, he disliked the notion of murdering the misguided soldier's of a wicked master where possible, proffering to flee when discovered and confuse them unless he were to become cornered of course.
For now he decided that he'd be patient and let everyone else have a turn to speak up. they weren't the only bit of entertainment anyway. He always liked that about these 'girls', they were tough, sometimes short tempered, and not shy about smacking eachother around half the time because they knew the other could take it, and even those who didn't fit that criteria were terribly entertaining! He did have a strange kind of appreciation for the 'chaos' that seemed to just follow them everywhere they went...
At last, it seemed that fewer new faces were going to step up and he could pretty easily pick up on the rising aggressive emotions building on either side, so finally she spoke up, calling out over the group of them from her tree limb with the voice of a posh and cultured disguise "Not to Demonize? Consideration for 'your' beliefs? Unfortunately Darlings, That is exactly what many followers of Beacon 'do'. They do not learn about their targets, or give them a chance, they see a 'creature that does not look human' and follow your belief that these creatures must be terrible servants of darkness." She waved a hand for a moment as if brushing away some imagined reply "Neverminding that 'darkness' in itself is not synonymous with 'evil', that amounts to blind bigotry, and unfortunately your beliefs tend to have little consideration for the beliefs of others unless they coincide 'with' yours."
With a broad smile she thought through her transformation phrase 'Rise up Chaos, Crush boredom and fill the world with Excitement, Spread the Chaotic Furor!' and seemed to 'pour' out of the disintegrating disguise, this strange dapperly dressed impossible creature floating closer to the center of the gathering, while giving the beacon girls a 'decent' berth, if one surely too close for their own tastes, and continued in a voice that possessed an androgynous yet echoing tone "Now, that's just what I've 'seen' and 'experienced' the few times your girls have managed to ambush me... It's safe to say that my experience, as your teachings in beacon, have given me a bias against the source of that experience, as your teachings do against those the teaching's defame."
He clicked his claws together excitedly as he floated easily along off the ground, writhing or swirling a bit here, the snarky gleam in his eyes and the broad far too excited toothy grin spread across his muzzle quite possibly taunting them. "All of that said, 'my' consideration for 'your' beliefs has been a constant, and that is quite simple. Don't attack me, and I won't attack you or insert myself into the goings on of your crusade against all things 'not human looking'. I have no problem with your beliefs actually, I may think they could be worded a bit better. The 'problem' many have with beacon girls is the 'actions' they carry out in the name of those beliefs, the ignorance, the derision, the slaughter, the hatred, all born of beliefs that lump innocent victims and devoted heroes in with the sick and twisted beasts that seek to devour and destroy... To 'non-beacon' it looks totally different, It looks like a bunch of zealots making 'the light' unsafe for the 'different' so they have no 'choice' but to live in the darkness... Alas, those who live in darkness see a 'different' kind of light, one often invisible to those blinding themselves by staring at the sun."
He clicked his little claws together then before simple floating away to a probably much more safe distance from the beacon girls "I can appreciate your friend there, Janet, yes?" He cast a smile her way specifically and clasped his claws together "I 'would' shake your hand, but I'm afraid your master's would think my mere touch had tainted you and corrupted your mind." He glanced to the other beacon girl, Natasha and added "Also, Darling, 'true' Ugliness exists on the 'inside'... think about that for abit." Once more back to the girl at the front of beacon "Nobody will force you to work 'with' those you despise, whatever your reasons, only ask that you refrain from trying to murder them so long as they are operating in a way that benefits your master's goals, i.e., fighting feral monsters or twisted evils... If I have interpreted the young miss who invited us here properly, this is an alliance, not a pact to abandon our pasts for some new faction, and it extends primarily to the extent of protecting this not so little town that is so plagued by the wild monsters of late... Personally, I will not fault you for your beliefs, and 'I' have no qualms with working with forgiving the Beacon girls who've tried to murder me on sight with no evidence of 'any' wrong doing, nor 'darkness' or evil aside from assumptions about inhuman appearances, and work with them so long as they are willing to not dig a sword into my back... Though I will 'not' promise not to be a Snarky little bugger, speak my mind freely, and let no amount of intimidation of threats suppress me pointing out when someone is doing something that aids evil."
He drifted further back then, towards the position the two other girls stood on their pedestals... or, 'had', since one hopped down recently, and floated himself up in a position opposite the beacon girls and at a similar, before coiling upon himself and using his own tail as a sort of 'seat' to perched himself on while looking to Victoria "I am Furor Entropis, a self proclaimed servant of 'the great balance', though simply 'Foo' will be fine. I do apologize if I misinterpreted and the 'disguise request' was meant to persist past the midnight deadline, I'm rather more shameless in revealing 'what' I am to those I don't count among my enemies and I imagine i should help them be comfortable with that detail for the sake of cooperation." He made a playful flourish suddenly with one of his claws, whipping his hat off and plucking from within it a little vanilla milk-shake with a straw in it that he took a quick sip from " That said, I would cast my hat into the ring." Literally, he tossed his hat forward between the pillars, though anyone who watched it fall and looked back at him would find it seemed to have never left his head "with this Alliance, anything that gives me less girls to worry about attacking me on sight is a wonderful benefit for both they and myself, and I will be honored to supply my talents in keeping your lovely city here nice and safe... and 'that' said, I would not fault you if you wish to have the capabilities and resources behind the Beacon behind you instead. My desires are sated quite well 'regardless' of 'who' is preventing innocents between slaughtered on the whole, I would be willing to step back if necessary."
...
All things considered, this was actually 'incredibly' tame for him. One might wonder how long he'd last being so well behaved without spreading 'some' kind of chaos, but it was relatively clear that he was more than happy to float there sipping his milk-shake and demonstrating his capacity for politeness and cooperation in the face of the concept of working 'with' an organization who's members had already tried to kill him possibly a dozen times already... There was a bit of a smug grin on his muzzle though, perhaps born of self proclaimed vindication at displaying himself more willing to forgive past conflicts for the sake of the countless innocents at threat around the city.
"Oh come on, it will be great! They're trying to get all the magical girls together to defeat the evil monsters! It's like a fantasy alliance come true!" Erika shouted in excitement as she attempted to persuade the diminutive Suzie who glared up at her from underneath what appeared to be a Volkswagon Beetle. Suzie was lying down on a skateboard, poking her head up at the excited blonde with grease over her jumpsuit and face. She looked positively annoyed.
"Yes, just where I want to be, among a bunch of over-zealous or just outright crazy fanatics." Suzie said sarcastically and rolled her eyes up at Erika. "Why don't you just leave without me and go by yourself if you're such a fan girl? I swear you are exactly the definition of a magical girl fan girl gone crazy after been given power." While it was said in jest, Suzie really felt that her assessment was actually not very far off at all, which was a bit disconcerting.
As if to escape Erika, Suzie quickly ducked back under the car to continue the maintenance. This was sort of a side project of her's, ever since she had been gifted with a body with pretty much limitless stamina she had felt the urge to work on something in her free time, midnight was usually a good time to get a lot done, at least on nights she didn't have to trash some random monster.
"Ahh, but then you'll miss out on quite possibly one of the most important meetings in magical girl history!"
"I don't think the world gives a crap about 'magical girl' history unless the world is about to end. I don't want to get more dragged into these messes than I already have to be."
"But I'm sure Metallion would want you to go and check it out. Isn't that right Metallion?" Erika asked the air. Metallion did not really make all that many regular appearances, in fact he preferred to stay out of sight and project his voice through random machinery. The problem was he had horrible control over his voice so it was always dreadfully loud.
"I SEE NO REASON OR ADVANTAGE IN ATTENDING." Suzie winced and covered her ears as Metallion spoke through the car's speaker system on the highest setting possible.
"Of course you wouldn't cause you don't know a blessed thing about other magicals!" Suzie groaned and pushed herself out from under the car to try and recover her hearing. "Ugh, if you say there is no point then there probably is reason to be there."
Suzie slowly turned to Erika, not wanting to see what she knew was going to happen. Erika literally beamed right at her since it seemed like Suzie was changing her mind about going.
"Meh, lets see if my magical washer has anything to say about this meeting." She turned away from Erika and brought out of her pocket a simple, metal washer. The small ring did not seem to be special, but there was power flowing through it that sometimes allowed Suzie to glimpse things.
Holding it up to her right eye she peered through it while thinking about the meeting. Of course there was little chance of actually seeing anything of note, however this was one of those exceptions. She saw many magical girls in various groupings, something was going to happen but before she could glean anything concrete the vision blurred out of existence. "Well that was sooo helpful." She grumbled as she put the washer away.
"Come on let's go!" Erika wined much to Suzie annoyance, unfortunately Erika was very persistent when she was trying to rope her into doing something with her and it was hard to get away. The red-head sighed as she put her tools away while grumbling and before she knew what was going on, she was already on her way with Erika by subway. After getting out at the nearest station the two made their way to the park where the meeting was taking place. As they were getting closer Suzie started mumbling under her breathe. "Blast it, I should have never come here, what a waste of time, I'm sure it'll just implode in on itself if I know my magical girls."
Erika was practically skipping, no, she was actually skipping her way toward the park without even a care in the world. Suzie sighed and quickly canvased the area as they entered the park. It took only a few looks to notice how tense many of the magical girls were, especially those from Beacon and those with monster or dark powers. If proceedings were not properly moderated things could quickly get out of hand and Suzie had no intention of getting into such a squabble.
Meanwhile Erika looked on in rapture at all the different magical girls in the area and Suzie was afraid she might squeal in delight at any moment. "This. Is. So. Cool!" Erika gazed about wide-eyed, taking in all the different magical girls trying to figure out who she should talk to first. Suzie kept back, trying not to engage as much as possible to avoid troublesome encounters.
‘Oho! Someone’s looking at us!’ Deni smirked and looked through the portal on the wall to the other side.
‘... Onto the list she goes.’ Eli said, bringing up a pen and paper to inspect who it was that was looking and then write down her rough description. The one on a pillar of dirt. The pen simply floated inside Eli's wing as she wrote with it, and she was pretty proficient with using it like that.
‘Good job. Continue keeping a look-out.’ Eli said, putting down the pen and paper again. It was always a really good idea to keep track of those who could see through Deni and Eli’s magic.
Mariette listened to the arguments taking place outside. They were making her feel uncomfortable. She reached down on her right side and grabbed her big stuffed bunny, lifting him up to her lap and hugged him. For a while now, she could never become frightened. Asengav was too scary by comparison. But, discomfort was another matter altogether. Reminded her of the arguments of her parents…
Her eyes turned to the portal, gazing at the scene. Was there a consensus being reached? … Maybe. But, there was one thing that was bothering her. This whole discussion was taking place in between the monsters and Beacon. But they should just be vocal minorities. Also, fighting side-by-side with more Magical Girls did give a considerable advantage against their foes, she just had to ensure to choose the right moment to backstab. Mariette kept her eyes focused on a specific location and channeled her magic.
‘Oh. The mistress stirs.’ Deni commented, a bit wide-eyed, Eli’s attention also drawn. This was not a matter which Mariette had to ask them about anything, they were merely her minions. She drew power from the large mirror in the corner, as it stood there anyway. She channeled this into her hand-mirror, which she grabbed with her right hand while holding her stuffed bunny with her left arm, and she focused her power.
She had to focus for quite some time, because she wanted the ultimate precision for this. Her magic crept along a dimension separate to their own to open another portal. She knew where she wanted it. Mariette opened one of her mini-portals right inside Victoria’s ear, on the side which was away from Chloe. Wouldn’t necessarily disguise the use of magic, but it would make it harder to potentially interfere. The portal was simply to convey words. Had there actually been hostile intent, she’d had to pour much more magic into it, which Victoria would have noticed. As it was, however, it was for a friendly intention.
‘I accept your alliance.’ Mariette spoke silently into her hand-mirror, where in the center was the tiny portal that was on her end, her statement intent only to be heard by Victoria. Deni made a sharp intake of breath at the statement and smirked, Eli looking on intently. ‘Do not waste your time with monsters and Beacon. Their argument is of no concern to us. Appeal to the common Magical Girl. Get them to agree first, to pressure the other factions about that this alliance is real. Then, we can split Beacon and the monsters up, make an alliance with them separately. Beacon need never know.’ So she stated. If Victoria moved in any way that’d bring the portal out of her ear Mariette would immediately remove it, the same if anyone called attention to it.
-=[Meanwhile at the Grail Estates about 10 to 20 miles outside of the city]=-
Fiona turned off the TV since that whole disaster is still stuck in her head about her house being attacked by the Infinite Dragon. She got up from her seat and decided to do something else than lazily waiting around for news from her master. ”I hope those girls are still having that meeting in the Park,” Fiona thought to herself. She slapped herself for thinking that.
Zargoth’s voice enters her mind and he was still quite angry. ”I am gratefully sorry for the interruption to your day. The Infinite Dragon that I grabbed from the Material Realm will definitely remember this day. All the Atrocities he has committed he’s going to relive them in the person’s shoes he killed,” Zargoth said. He calmed down slightly and felt her anguish and slightly laughed in her head. ”It is still going on but don’t worry about anything discussed there. I won’t interrupt the meeting though. Even though the Organization of Beacon is there,” Zargoth said.
Fiona smiled slightly to what Zargoth said about not worried what happens there. ”Thank you master for calming my nerves down,” Fiona said. She walked through her estate and was slightly happy Nina and she is here alone. Her mind wanders a bit and remembers certain things about her boring past. She smiled since she remembered her 12th birthday. ”Zargoth, what do you want me to do in the meantime?” Fiona asked.
Zargoth’s voice sighed at her question. ”You are a part of this century, I am from the ancient past so you should know more about this reality than what I learned from your knowledge,” Zargoth said. He had an underlying hatred for the enemies gathering at the park, but he did not want to cloud his judgment like all the other times he got wind of his enemies. ”You have it easier than my other two champions, who were born in the 13th and 12th centuries, the modern era has things I never thought possible,” Zargoth said.
Fiona heard that and was shocked by this. ”Oh okay, I think I remembered I have a meeting to attend from my board of directors,” Fiona said. She walked towards the high tech room, her parents set up to talk to the board of directors of the Grail Corporation. She sat down on the chair, behind her father’s desk. The TVs flicker on and show the eight board directors sitting there patiently.
One of the board directors were happy to see Fiona well enough. The one that was the first to talk is the only female on the board of directors, her name is Stella H. Vincent. “I hope you’ve been getting enough sleep Ms. Grail,” Stella said happily. The names of the board of directors were on their desk.
The next board of director to talk is named Derrick N. Zackery. “You are always spoiling our CEOs, Stella. But this meeting is about the new line of clothes our corporation is manufacturing for all the ages to wear,” Derrick said.
Fiona smiled at Stella and Derrick. ”The new line of clothes are quite boring and need to be much more flare than the last generation of clothes. Fuzzier for the sleeping clothes and sleeker for the dressy clothes,” Fiona said. She had hoped this would be good.
Derrick clapped his hands together and was impressed. “Yeah not many of our competition does these things to wildy change their designs. We will get on it,” Derrick said. Where Derrick’s TV was it went to static.
Stella smiled towards Fiona. “What about our secondary market?” Stella asked.
Fiona looked at Stella with a serious look on her face. ”You can come up with ideas about that Stella since you were the one who suggested that to my parents. Whatever it is, is your oyster to find the pearl of legends,” Fiona said kindly. Fiona had no idea what their secondary market was since she wasn’t in on these meetings when Stella suggested it. ”Whatever you lot are doing you can keep doing it, since our stocks is up. We just need to keep on going in the direction we are going,” Fiona said happily.
The rest of the directors signed off and went to do what their CEO asked of them. They were about to release the new fashion from the Grail Corporation, via a large media blitz and large savings on their products if you get them at the stores that hold the Grail Corporation’s Clothing line.
She got up from her seat. ”I should really research what our secondary market is. My father’s notes probably have it,” Fiona thought to herself. She walked out of the room and gently shut the door to the high tech room. She walked towards her father’s study and saw it was in pristine condition. She walked up to her father’s desk and saw the notes on Stella’s suggestion. ”Stupid me, it was shoes and accessories for the outfits,” Fiona thought to herself. She facepalmed at that.
Zargoth's voice laughed at her in her head. "Seems like you got much to learn, little one," Zargoth said. He cut off communications with his champion in the material realm since he was tired. The Radiant Devastation attack is very draining to him as a whole but before that. "Good night, Champion of Chaos I will talk with you tomorrow. I should really be a little bit more sparingly with my Radiant Devastation Attack within the Endless Dimension," Zargoth said.
Fiona heard that and had her heart skip a beat. "Oh my... he used a Light attack in a Dimension he created, what is he? I know he's a dragon but what does this mean," Fiona thought to herself. She walked herself to her room and turned on the lights and sat down at her desk to write in her journal. She couldn't really sleep so she wrote in it for as long as she wanted to really.
