[IC] Accidental Magical Girl CYOA

[Ariamis]

Lily was excited for the meeting, but quickly realized that it wouldn't be as simple as everyone rallying up for a single cause. There was a schism between monster Mahou and the Beacon, whom Lily only heard of once before, back when she was still starting out in her hometown. She learned from another magical girl that a lot of recruited girls pledged allegiance to Beacon, and that they wouldn't tolerate any kind of monsters, even helpful ones. She did get why they would think like that; since the world was full of monsters and dark magic that needed to be dealt with. However, she felt like they were going overboard on their crusade. After all, why waste your time and energy on hunting down good people when you could be going for the real threats just because they happened to have adorable ears on their head or a fluffy coating of fur?

Lily frowned; she couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by the girls representing that faction. The most scary people were those that fully believed what they're doing is right, and how unconditionally they would follow that belief, no matter how many innocents they would hurt. And Lily feared she might one day be one of the victims, if they ever discovered her secret. It would only happen in a time of crisis, and Lily hated it since she felt like a completely different person when it happened, but there was no denying that she was, somewhere deep inside, part monster as well. But as long as she kept that hidden, she wouldn't face any trouble from the Beacon...Or at least, that's what she wanted to believe in.

Brushing those uncomfortable thoughts aside, Lily then took a good look at the others. Her eyes glimmered in awe at seeing the scantily clad dark magical girl. She seemed to exude confidence, from her choice of fashion to the way she spoke from atop a stone pillar. Lily was impressed, her mouth open; she always thought dark magical girls were evil witches wreaking havoc, but she was polite and stood her ground against the Beacon girls.
"She's so cool," Lily mumbled to herself. She noticed how she spent time around other girls as well; a uniform-wearing girl and a girl with a big bust holding a branch. Lily thought that they all seemed cool to hang around with.

One of the magical boys, Castor, seemed to radiate a powerful aura, something Lily felt wasn't natural for a Mahou. The group here was in a different ball game from what Lily was used to. She also sensed a powerful presence near him. "Be careful around him, Lily. I sense the power of a deity coming from him," she heard Ixion speak to her telepathically. Well he's just like Alex then? She asked him, and Ixion neighed. "Every deity is different; some are benevolent, others seek destruction and death. Never let your guard down around their champions, even the human who's accompanying you. He may want to destroy me."

You're just being paranoid, stop that. Lily puffed her cheeks; Ixion really didn't understand anything about humans. He didn't realize that she had nothing to fear from Alex...Or did she? They have only known each other for a short while, and he does hide his face underneath a mask. While she first thought it was because he was like Spiderman and wanted to protect his identity, in truth she couldn't help but feel a bit of a distance to him because of that. Then again, he also tried to hit on him, and only good boys would do something as silly as that.

Castor then spoke of himself, and Lily's prediction turned true; he was a monster boy after all. She was really curious to see what his monster form was like. Once he bared his teeth and turned his eyes more bestial, Lily began wondering about his true form. An image of a fluffy doggy came to her head. Eee, please be a doggy boy~, she thought, and Ixion neighed quietly in confusion. "Humans are certainly strange beings..." Then she put her hand to her mouth when he saw the other magical boy, who dressed flamboyantly, approach him and...Pat him on the head? She covered her mouth and blushed, holding back a giggle. She hasn't had fun like this in a long time.

---

After she had time to think amidst the arguing between the monsters and Beacon, she decided on what she wanted to do. She took her companion's wrist. "Hey Alex, let's try and talk to those girls. Maybe we could join their group!"
Ever since Lily became a magical girl, she wanted to be a cool and cute warrior of justice, and to be a part of a cool group of magical girls. She felt that Chloe and her group was exactly what she wished for, and so wanted to be a part of that fun as well. Ixion once again contacted her mind. "Are you sure about this, Lily? Those champions seem dangerous."
She waved her hand, and grinned.
It's fine, X. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll do a better job protecting everyone when I'm part of a group.

Once Chloe went over to verbally debate with the Beacon girls some more, Lily approached Isana and Penny with a wide smile, waving towards them. "Hey there! Name's Lily Lightning, but my friends call me Lily. This is Alex," she said pointing her thumb back to the masked boy behind her.
"You gals are friends with the skimpy girl, right? Would you mind if we joined our forces? I can provide ranged assistance with my thunder bow, and Alex here is all about protection and healing. I think we would make a good team!"

@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master

[Card Captor]

Alexander Shields

'Well this turned ugly fast. Then again, what did anyone expect when you put Beaconites and Beastlies together in the same group?' Alexander mused, not at all surprised how things had turned out

'Beastlies? I haven't heard that term before.' A voice in his head spoke out.

'Well calling them monsters sounds kinda demeaning, especially after seeing members of Beacon. So I decided that Beastlies
sounded a lot better.' Alexander responded. Seconds later, his brain finally recognized what hearing that voice meant 'oh great...you're back. I thought you were busy with your new TV Sol?'

'Oh I was, but then I discovered something truly fascinating; something you humans call Reality TV' The now identified Sol Invictus explained 'I happened upon it when I found reruns, whatever that means, of a show called Jersey Shore'

Alexander panicked 'you just found out about reality TV...fuck. I know I'm not the best person to speak in defense of humanity; but please don't cleanse the earth of us with sunfire.'

Sol just laughed at his champion ''cleanse the earth' he says. Your a funny boy Alexander Shields'

'That reminds me; why Shields?'

'Why Shields what?'

'I mean why did you decided that my last name was going to be Shields of all things? Isn't it a bit on the nose?'

'Of course it is, that's the point! To boldly declare to the world your power!'

Alexander mentally facepalmed 'right, of course, that makes perfect sense' he thought with all the sarcasm he could muster (which was a lot). 'Look, just because-' but he when Lily grabbed his wrist

"Hey Alex, let's try and talk to those girls. Maybe we could join their group!"

'Bwahahahaha! That lady friend of your's has quite the spirit. I can see why you're so infatuated with her'

It was at this point that Alexander was very glad that his outfit came with a mask 'What!? Shut up you stupid god. Lily...Lily's just a friend.'

'Oh of course she is. But why else would...hang on, what's this? Adventure Time? Now that sounds promising. Sorry to cut our little talk short Alexander, but this TV thing has such a wealth of wonder to find' Sol left Alexander's mind after that, much to his relief.

Once Lily had dragged him over to one of the girls, she started talking "Hey there! Name's Lily Lightning, but my friends call me Lily. This is Alex" He held up his hand in a silent greeting "You gals are friends with the skimpy girl, right? Would you mind if we joined our forces? I can provide ranged assistance with my thunder bow, and Alex here is all about protection and healing. I think we would make a good team!"

"Lily, don't you think you're moving a little fast? We don't even know each other" Turning to the other girl, he said "I'm sorry about my friend here. Lily means well, but she can get a little over enthusiastic, and keeping her grounded (wordplay!) is a full time job. If we're bothering you, we can leave."

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Isana~

@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@Card Captor

"Whahaah~!" Isana laughed in a hearty, lively manner as Penny posed her question. "Alliance? You're right, that' ain't my style. If everyone stops fighting I'm gonna be out of work, heh." She leaned against the stone pillar, folding her arms against her chest. "I'm just here in case things get a little dicey so I can have a fun little brawl. Or you know, watch them kill each other and steal their coins, heh~" That was the truth, really. If people started taking sides in this there was a good chance she could get temporarily hired by one of them, be they Beacon, Monster, or hell...even a Horror. She wouldn't really care as long as she got paid. "But y'know, I'll be fine with just mooching off Chloe and Iesud some more. They're my biggest sources of income anyways. Maybe some day I'll find a permanent patron, but for now...eeeeeh, too much work." She dismissively waved her hand in front of her.

"Anyways, nice to see ya here. Glad to see your adjusting, erm, well enough. I had a similar introduction, when this happened y'know." She said with a small laugh. "Though instead of a avatar of gloom and doom the Puchuu got killed." She didn't get a chance to mention how exactly that happened. Penny might not take too well to it. Plus, before she could, another magical girl walked over to the both of them and introduced herself as Lily Lightning. Woaw. Someone had been watching too much Anime with a name like that.

Not that she could exactly talk about that considering she gave her sword a totally legit name, but eh.

"Heh," Isana just gave Lily and Alex a wolfish grin, a mischievous glint sparking in the girls eyes as she asked her question. Team up? Well, she wasn't exactly the boss here so she couldn't say anything for certain but she was pretty sure Chloe wouldn't mind having a few more henchmen to toss at the beacon or whatever else she normally did. Also it'd be fun to mess with her a little just for the lulz. "Bothering us? No no, not at all!" Isana said with a bright grin, pushing off of the wall. "I mean, my time is always incredibly valuable so you should be pretty thankful I'm talking to ya, but no, not bothering us. Nice to meet ya, girl who watches too much anime and Alex!" Isana looked over briefly to Chloe who was still in the thick of things with Beacon. Whatever was going on seemed to be causing quite the ruckus - someone had even decided to steal Chloe's little throne here. She wasn't going to be too happy about that, buuut that wasn't her problem.

"The names Isana~" She placed a hand on her forehead, making a brief salute, giving Alex and Lily a playful wink. "Annnd if you want help keeping someone grounded I'm your girl! Oh, and this is Penny." Heh, puns and wordplay! She could do that all day. Not that they'd really know what that meant unless she gave a demonstration. "Sorry to disappoint ya though," She continued. "Teaming up with someone isn't exactly my style unless I'm getting paid, but if you wanna ask Chloe about it once this thing is done, she'd probably be, heh, thrilled. I know she plans on accepting this little alliance regardless of what the Beacon do."

[Flamelord]

Alicia Hayden

While it was something of a surprise, Alicia made no effort to stop Janet from stepping forward to try and argue out a compromise. They all had to follow their Vow, easy though it might be to join Natasha in launching into an angry tirade at those who seemed intent on ensuring that Beacon was not part of this arrangement by trampling over them at every opportunity they got. She did her best to keep her cool, and to listen to what had to be said.

Yet even more seemed to join in, drowning out the talk of compromise and she found herself having to speak up once again. While she had not wanted to be the sole voice to represent Beacon, if that was how it was happening then she would not shy from this task.

"I would be more willing to accept any diplomatic solutions if there were not so many claiming that they were an aggrieved party and that there were not those serving horrors, or dark magical girls, or monsters who had used the power they gained from their transformations to hurt people for their own benefit. When we all know that that is a lie," she replied firmly. "And how can we trust those to follow such an alliance or ceasefire? They will betray it at the drop of a hat if they believe it to be in their best interest. How can we expect that of a Horror, when they do not even think in the same way that humans do?"

Her gaze swept the crowd, ignoring those who seemed to have moved on to other things or who were just listening in silence. "All of us in Beacon care about preserving innocent lives. If we did not then we wouldn't be here. But it comes that more difficult when others have seen this as an opportunity to air every possible grievance against us while they have a captive audience."

With that said, she went on. "However, we are not completely opposed to compromise. If those of your kind can provide an ironclad guarantee that no Horrors, Monsters, or Dark Magical Girls will be able to act against civilians or to the general detriment of humanity without interference and adequate reprisal, those of us in Beacon would be that much more able to ensure that those of you who do not, genuinely, intend harm are no longer harassed by girls in the organization." It would be difficult, but so long as they didn't have to interact she figured those in charge would likely sign on to it.

@Shoryu@Rune_Alchemist@t2wave@Rice Porridge@canaryrose

[Shoryu]

Furor Entropis

______________________________________________

Furor remained where he was floating, most hadn't really reacted to him so he supplied only mild attention to the goings on the other girls... It would be rude to butt into their little personal chatters afterall. The discussion between Monsters and beacon was another matter though, he actually cocked his muzzle a bit waved one of his claws for Alicia's attention "Pardon me, but I think what has been said was misunderstood. Personally, I was addressing the assumption that everything Beacon does is 'good, and holy, and spotlessly moral' being inaccurate, as the definition of 'lost their way to their inner darkness' usually does not factor in whether or not said 'monster' actually is, has done, or plans to do evil or not. 'I' certainly didn't defend evil or feral monsters, nor deny their existence, and I would gladly fight 'alongside' a beaconite to destroy the evil ones as well... My sole 'requirement' would be that Beacon not stab 'me' in the back... But none of us have said there there are not monsters serving dangerous horrors, evil girls, or those out to harm others for personal benefit, merely that Beacon has a history of not distinguishing, or even 'considering', that these 'evil' monsters are different from others who 'aren't' evil."

He floated back down to her level, and somewhat closer, though well out of a general perceived range of aggression. "I 'will' admit, I hold a considerable bias against Beacon, but that is what one's experiences will 'do', and alas, none from Beacon have tried to affect that bias in a positive way to date, despite my efforts to avoid incurring their aggression... There is no true 'black and white' in life, and even the most horrific of darkness can end up hiding some form of good, while even the holiest of light has the potential to blind people to some form of evil. I observe the world around me and I judge on the individual, not by their association, and as the first Beacon girls that I have ever interacted with who did not attempt to put my insides on my outsides you are already higher on my list of individuals I would be willing to interact with peaceably."

A few strange gestures with one claw while the other held up his milk-shake to take a sip and he continued "Let me put forth this example... Order and Chaos, like light and darkness, are not exclusively synonymous with good and evil. there are those fighting for order who wish to help all and make them safer through quantifying the universe's dangers, and those who fight to maintain greedy control of their servants and brainwashed worshippers usually through fear or corruption. There are those who fight for chaos who wish to spread anarchy and destruction, and then there are those wish to spread 'enjoyable' chaos, like parties, mock battles, and contests, or even just by inspiring out of the box thinking and ideas, or to question what may well be a lie they were taught was truth. I like to think of myself in the latter category, My name is my essence even. Furor, An out-break of public anger or excitement, be that a massive party like Mardi-gras, or a revolution to strike back at oppressors... In a similar manner 'innocent lives' is not solely exclusive to 'non-monsters', we can be a force of good as surely as any of you, but the practice of ignoring a good monster's, or person's, deeds and trying to kill them anyway only forces 'more' of them to turn to evil for the sake of survival."

"In the spirit of what you said as well... how can 'we' trust 'you'? Since we are, afterall, 'monsters who've fallen to the darkness', you supposedly think differently from us, how could we trust that you wouldn't be equally as likely to turn on us at the drop of a hat?... My point is not to just keep stabbing at Beacon, I'm sure you all do a wonderful volume of good despite the occasional evil. My point is that there are 'multiple' sides to this matter, both have as much reason to distrust the other and resist or demand compromise." He shuddered suddenly, reaching a claw up to scratch the side of his muzzle "Mmmph... Goodness, I hope you can appreciate this, it is actually mildly uncomfortable to try to make sense like this, I do normally have the impulse to be confusing and weird."

'Now' he chanced floating closer, legitimately into Arm's reach of 'several' dangerous beacon girls, and settled into a coil on the ground, the grin he'd had up until that moment fading considerable "I can guarantee you that neither 'my' Benefactor nor myself will target civilians and innocents, it is not in his interest nor to his benefit to direct his efforts away from sources of actual 'evil', and 'I' would be so far 'beyond' delighted to be able to freely utilize my powers to 'protect the innocent' rather than worrying about whether or not doing so will bring a sword to my throat... It is difficult to behave in a calm and 'normal' manner, as I'm sure you could guess, and even more so to allow any form of binding on a being of chaos... But!-" He raised a claw then, a bold gesture given 'who' it was being held out to, but if perchance nobody leapt at the convenient assumption of an attack, it would be pretty clearly an offer to shake "If the girls of beacon will refrain from trying to kill me without evidence of having provoked such violence, then I can guarantee that I will be of no threat to you girls and will direct my efforts towards those of evil, 'including' those who would betray this alliance, and would be more than willing to fight 'with' you instead of against you... Perhaps, more importantly from a strategic stand-point, you have an opportunity to learn a great deal about monsters, whatever your opinions may be, 'know thy enemy' will always be a valuable tactical asset... This kind of agreement, an alliance, it 'requires' trust between it's participants, trust that they won't abuse that trust, trust that if one betrays another that the others will step up against the betrayer as well, trust that when the Fecal expulsions hits the rotating cooling blades and evil is on the loose, that those other members, no matter what they are or who they associate with, that they will stand together in defense."

@Shoryu@Rune_Alchemist@t2wave@Rice Porridge@canaryrose@Flamelord

[twave]

Janet Howell

Well things certainly didn't seem to be improving exactly. At least there wasn't an outright war going on. Still it seemed that some of the magical girls were not going to accept the Beacon girls no matter what. From what everyone had said at that point Beacon and the others did not get along well. Supposedly there were some other factions that Beacon could work with without issue but if they were here they were staying silent.

It was pretty easy to see that only a few were willing to cooperate, herself being the lone wolf on the Beacon side. She wondered to herself whether the faction she'd agreed to join was the right one for her. Hard to say seemingly being the newest magical girl in the entire gathering. She was probably making things difficult for her companions, making them look bad while she was playing devils advocate. No this would probably not end well.

Finally some sort of progress was made with at least one Horror. He could probably tell that Janet was conflicted, being an empath and all. However it was at least not hate or disgust. Perhaps this Beacon girl was not so firmly planted in her factions ways. Definitely not the usual emotional taste that was expected. After a monolog of so many words Furor stepped forward and raised his claw, however others would have reacted Janet didn't immediately make a move. Finally, someone was making an attempt to work past, well, the past. Hesitantly, though through no aversion to who or what was offering the gesture, Janet took the claw and shook "hands." "In an effort to make some kind of progress I accept those terms on behalf of my companions. I take responsibility for any repercussions my patron may impose so as not to negatively affect their standing with Beacon." Taking her hand back she shrugged lightly. "I can't say we will be able to work together often if at all. I feel I may already be skirting the rules given to me by publicly agreeing to an alliance of non aggression. I know that sounds bad but it's the best I can offer at this time. It's up to you individually to accept that or not. My hope is that we don't have needless conflict among one another."

@Shoryu@Rune_Alchemist@Rice Porridge@canaryrose@Flamelord@Shoryu

[Landaus Five-One]

-=[Fiona S. Grail]=-

-=[Meanwhile at the Grail Estates about 10 to 20 miles outside of the city]=-

Fiona made her way to her room and when she first walked into it and saw something shiny on the floor. She walked up to it and saw it was her missing hairpin, but it looked differently. It slowly metamorphosed into an eternally young female, who had Ethereal Dragon Wings and smiled kindly towards Fiona. ”Fiona nice to meet you again.” ??? said the girl. The draconian wings were beautifully and they were completely see through wings.

Fiona was startled when the girl said nice to meet you again. She recognized her eyes, which are the exact same as her best friend Mary. ”What are you doing here, Mary? And why do you have draconian wings,” Fiona said curiously. She had remembered her friend was mysterious before but this stepped up her being a mystery.

Mary smiled happily when she was recognized by her best friend. ”Because I am here because I have problems with your boss, Mr. Endless. He’s hiding much from you, he’s quite not a mystery to me since we met along time ago but he probably doesn’t remember,” Mary said. She smiled slightly and a faint white aura appeared around her. She walked up closer to her best friend Fiona. ”I would have saved you from your family. I hope you know that I always wanted to be someone’s knight in shining armor for once. Too bad my dad is dead, he died along time ago,” Mary said.

Fiona was confused by Mary’s knowledge of her master Zargoth. She had a faint smile to her when her friend Mary walked up to her. She heard what her friend said next and was saddened to hear her father is dead. She had a smile on her face when she wanted to kill her parents. ”That help would have been greatly needed since I had annoyances with them calling me Ice Queen. Someone, however, killed my parents...,” Fiona said kindly.

Mary gave a relieved sigh towards her friend and smiled. ”Oh Zargoth erased her memory of killing them. How nice… he’s always been protecting people,” Mary thought to herself. Mary walked up and hugged her best friend Fiona tightly. ”I will be your best friend forever Fiona. I will never leave, your side of the soul we both share. We will come to a road that will show you the truth of what Zargoth is hiding and his goals,” Mary said kindly. She let go of her friend and smiled. She slowly transformed into an Ethereal Dragon and vanished in front of her best friend Fiona.

Fiona was depressed when her friend disappeared as quickly as she appeared. ”She had been protecting me. I will stay loyal to both people I care about more than anything in the world. The one who gave me a new life and my best friend Mary,” Fiona said happily. She walked to her bed and jumped on it and started to cry. She cried herself to sleep, however, this caused her monster form to appear. ”Meeting my friend is nice but I have a feeling someone within Zargoth’s employ want to kill her.” Fiona thought to herself in her sleep.

A few minutes pass, and Fiona wakes up but she just lays there in her bed just conscious.

[Shifter_Master]

.:Penny:.

“Really? You’re starting this with puns?” Penny asked to no one in particular as she face palmed in response to Isana’s reply before giving a short wave to the new comers “Pleased to meet you, as stated I’m Penny and don’t worry about it, the more the merrier as they say” She replied to Alex with a smile before turning to Lily “If you are looking to group up, Chloe is the one to talk with. I do have it on good authority that she is in fact looking to form a group so I doubt it will be much of an issue.”

“Besides” Penny continued giving both Alex and Lily an apprising look “With your power sets that would round out the core of the group, I’m more built for the front line” she finished with a laid back grin as she glanced back at the conversation that was happening with the Beacon. What she saw gave her a fair amount of hope, as she hadn’t been really following the conversation seeing a Beacon girl shaking hands with an obvious monster seemed to be a sign of good things.

“It Will Not last, You Realize That Correct? Any Deal Made With The Beacon Is Doomed To Fail, Lest It Is A Deal To Join Them”

A titanic voice Boomed from above causing Penny and a fair amount of other Mahou gathered to flinch at the abrupt declaration.

‘Why now?’ Penny groaned internally as she looked sky ward knowing full well what she was about to see. Sure enough far above it seemed that the stars had rearranged themselves in to the silhouette of a man large enough that only his upper body and head could be seen, his hands currently folded in front of his featureless face, seeming to be contemplating the gathering below him.

“That One’s Attempts Are Laudable, Yet They Risk The Most Out Of All Those Gathered Here. The Beacon Does Not Tolerate Any Association With Those Of Dangerous Inclination”

The titan continued pointing at the lone Beacon member shaking hands with a monster.

“And you couldn’t have waited to tell me this at another time beacuse why?” Penny asked quietly as she regarded the Figure above with a mix of distain and resignation. She knew who it was very well; it was Laat’AlOfan, He who brushes away the old, her patron deity.

“New Beginnings Are A Rare Gift, My Lady, It Does Not Bring Joy To See One At Risk So Soon After It Had Started. It Is Not Your Task, But I Would Appreciate If You Sought To Protect New Growth Where You Can”

He Replied, his gaze seeking out his Champion as he did so, not that many would be able to tell where he was looking.

“I.. Wasn’t aware of that My Lord” Penny said softly as she looked back over to Janet.

“Know This As Well, I Approve Of Any Alliances You Form With Those That Currently Follow The Beacon, For It Has Stood Long Enough To Warrant My Attention, And Any Crack, No Matter The Size Is Well Won. They Will Not Likely Fall Due to Overwhelming Force; Death By A Thousand Cuts Is More Probable.”

He finished with a curt nod as his gaze swept over the amassed Beacon faction and with a resounding crack his visage broke and the stars realigned themselves in the sky.

"Well, at least nothing broke this time" Penny said to herself as Laat disappeared before turning to Isana

@Ariamis@Card Captor@canaryrose@Rune_Alchemist@Flamelord@t2wave@Western Robot@Shoryu

[Ariamis]

Justine

Background Music

A golden goblet swayed in the dim light. It was filled to the brim with viscous blood that slowly dripped from it's sides. When a droplet would fall from it's teetered side, it would be caught in the lips of the girl holding it. The girl swayed the goblet some more as she sat on her throne; a baroque construct adorned with statues of horned women praying to a being of claws and spikes, tendrils and many eyes. There was not a sight more pure.

Yes, such a display deserves nothing more than the purest of offerings,
Justine pondered as she took another sip, letting the delicious crimson substance fall to her tongue. She savored every tasting, knowing it would honor her father, who was the purest of them all. He would appreciate it.

"Justine...It's...Dark..."

The red-eyed heard the whimper of a young girl in the shadowed corner. However, she she simply smiled in responses. The anguished voices were like music to her.
"Yes...It is. Let it embrace you. Soak in it's splendor. Become pure...my dear sister."

"...Justine...I understand..."

The door to the chamber released light as it opened, and shadowy figures could be seen bowing before her. "My Lady, they have gathered as Helga foretold; all of the magical girls of Penrose, and even some from out of town." Justine smirked.
"Excellent. The Puchuu did just as I wanted the rodent to do. Now then, is she ready?" Another girl bowed deeply. "Yes, my Lady. She will not fail." Justine giggled.
"Wonderful. And Sonia is still searching for the Reflective Witch?"
The third girl bowed, launching back into standing straight.
"Yep, she says she's hiding in a pocket or something, and that we'll soon be ready, tee hee~"

The red-eyed girl simply smiled.
"Very well then. Depart immediately once you are." The first girl spoke up: "But what of the Grail? Surely you won't send any of the low-ranking girls against someone of her power?" Justine laughed. "Oh, She can take care of that."
The other girls gasped. "You don't mean...?" Justine nodded.
"It is fine. After all, if she were to become...agitated, it won't affect our plans at all."
All of the girls before Justine shivered, even the third one who has shown only joy.
"Ohhh...Let's hope it doesn't come to that...She leaves a huge mess when she gets angry..."

Victoria

Background Music

Victoria was uneasy. She was a simple girl, with a simple goal of uniting the magical girls under a single cause. Ever since she heard from her Puchuu that dangerous forces were afoot she decided she had to do something. Even if it was a hopeless cause, she had to try. Isn't that what being a Magical Girl was all about? So she had her Puchuu send a message to anyone who could hear it, asking them to listen to her request. And...she got what she expected; the Beacon girls and monsters talking back to each other. She was about to speak up herself when she saw that Furor and Janet actually shook hands.

"Yes, we did it!" She took her Puchuu in for a hug. "We managed to make a truce! I'm so hap-" She was then interrupted by a loud voice, and she fell from her ice pillar due to being startled. "Oof!" She hit the grass, her head still spinning. She then stood back up, and held her head. "Geez, what have I gotten myself into..." She walked closer to the Beacon girls. "Anyway, I'm glad we managed to form a truce. Let's work together, ok?"

Mariette

@PlatinumSkink

Background Music

Once Mariette finished sending her message to Victoria, she felt a disturbance. Soon, the disturbance spread to around her, until it seemed as if the apartment she was staying in was shaking. Then, the oval mirror began glowing in the colors of the rainbow. In a blinding flash, a group of people appeared before the mirror, seemingly bickering among themselves. The black-haired girl who was speaking had her arms at her sides, balled up into fists.
"Damn it Sonia, how hard could it be to find her? Don't you know how to-Oh." She had a surprised expression, and then turned towards Mariette and the twin monsters.

She was talking to a hooded girl wielding a large, intricate staff. The girl called Sonia then scoffed. "See, Minnie? Even if it was difficult, I told you I could do it." The third girl with them stared at Mariette the entire time, smiling with her shark-like teeth bared. "Hey, who cares about that? Now we found Miss Hideyhole~"
The girl took a step forward, her clawed arms extended in front of her, grinning with disturbing glee. "And she even has minions of her own! Yep, she's perfect!"

There was a bit of a realization going through Mariette as the disturbance spread, and she naturally turned to look in the direction of the mirror as it was being channeled. The mirror was her tool, a gift from Asengav, so that someone else was using it was mildly insulting. That before the problem that they were infiltrating her inter-dimensional home. That in itself was a criminal offense, if common law had applied to magical housings. Deni and Eli were considerably less calm about this, the two mostly black amorphous harpies with white faces spinning about in alarm before they located the intruders that had just come out of the mirror.

Five eyes looked, a neutral eye from Mariette, a curious and surprised pair from Deni and a frowning alarmed pair from Eli, all gazed at the three intruders. They allowed them to finish their little routine, before the more talkative of them raised their own voices.

‘Hey, we got uninvited guests.’ Deni stated, curious in her voice, leaning lazily and relaxed back onto her gelatious wings gazing at the three.

‘That's really too bad, we only had a picnic packed for three, there isn't enough so that we can share.’ Eli said, her voice more irked than the contents of her words might suggest, her harpy body obviously on edge and ready unlike her twin.

‘You really should warn us ahead of time, then we could have had tea for you too!’ Deni grinned at them, not seemingly taking this as seriously as she maybe should be.

‘Now, I guess I have to add you to the list of people who can find us.’ Eli said, reaching for the pen and paper which had a list of people before she started writing. ‘Sonia, Minnie and... what's your name?’ Eli turned her head and asked the third girl while her wing was writing their physical descriptions onto the paper.

‘...’ Mariette, meanwhile, simply kept a steady gaze locked onto the three of them where she was still seated, one arm locked around her stuffed bunny, momentarily letting her minions talk. If she needed to, she'd raise her voice, but currently she was simply awaiting the reason why they had appeared in here.

Minnie squeed. "Oh, they're so adorable! Do they squish squish if I hug them?" The third girl laughed. "Ha haa, I wonder what they taste like~" She got an angry look from the two other girls as a reaction, and she promptly closed her teethy mouth. "Oh damn, we could have gotten sandwiches if we sent a message first! Sonia, why didn't you do that!" Minnie pouted at Sonia, and the hodded girl simply shook her head. "Oh, quit playing around. We are on an important mission from our Lady, we must stay focused." The third girl pointed a claw to herself when Eli spoke to her. "Oh, me? I'm Helga!" She answered with a cheer, clapping her claws together. "But you can call me Helgz." Again, she got an angry look.

Sonia sighed. "Anyway, we have important matters to discuss with you, Reflective Witch. We have recently learned of the powers you possess, and have gained the attention of our Lady. She wants to offer you a chance to co-operate with her." "She has big plans, but they're ruined if all the magical girls start meddling," Minnie added. "So if you can give us a hand with them, then the Lady will reward you." Sonia nodded. "We know of the Horror you serve, and our Lady thinks that our objectives match. I think we can mutually benefit from this alliance." Helga came closer, and extended a single claw at Deni, attempting to poke her, until she also spoke. "You got a neat apartment, by the way! Must be hell to pay the rent though!"

Deni smirked at Minnie's reaction to them, while Eli looked a slight bit uncomfortable, finishing up writing their descriptions after having noted Helga's name.

‘We're kinda fluid, so yeah, we'd shape a bit if you squeeze us~’ Deni kept her smile looking at Minnie. Meanwhile, Eli was busy flinching a bit at Helga's reference to eating them.

‘Eh, I'm pretty sure we're not particularly tasty... Also, we could destroy your stomach from within.’ Eli cautioned, frowning with an unconvinced look that was somewhat on edge, but not necessarily hostile.

‘I'd wager we taste like water and corruption~!’ Deni grinned, before turning to her twin. ‘Hey, Eli, let me taste.’ Deni then promptly attempted to take a bite out of her sister's wing, but Eli retaliated by entirely deforming her fluid wing out of the way and back into her body, giving Deni a disapproving glare.

Deni was a little unprepared to be poked at, but just smirked as her outside fluids were poked. It was sticky magical fluid keeping her together. ‘If we call serving Asengav the "rent", since this apartment is a byproduct of the powers he provides, then yeah, it's pretty fierce~!’ Deni naturally responded.

Meanwhile, it was up to Mariette to actually respond to the offer.

‘...’

Though, actually, Mariette had been distracted, momentarily looking out through the portal. ... Though, even with all that, there was a situation in here that she had to deal with, too. Mariette turned her face to Sonia, gazing at her with the eye not under an eye-patch, still squeezing her stuffed bunny.

‘An alliance would be acceptable. However, it now seems that you know a lot more about us than we know about you. Could you introduce yourselves, as well as the cause you serve?’ Mariette spoke to them calmly, keeping her attention focused, just in case. This was hardly an ideal place for a battle should someone attempt to preemptively attack.

Minnie stared at the twin harpies, her eyes sparkling. "Ohh, can I take them home with me, Sonia? Pretty please?" Sonia slapped the gothic lolita girl. "No. This is no time for fun. This is serious business." "It's always serious business with you around, sheesh," Helga said as she picked a tooth with her claw. Sonia continued speaking. "I am glad to hear that we have an understanding. The only thing you need to learn about us is that we serve a grand purpose, and that you should be thankful to us for letting you partake in it's fruition." Minnie pouted. "Uhh, Sonia, that's a bit harsh, don't you think? We could say, like, that we're remaking the world." "Hmph, you do the talking then," Sonia scoffed, crossing her arms, seemingly offended. "Point is," Helga intervened, "Our Lady will soon put her plans to motion. All you gotta do is be ready to fight when it's time."

"Now then, I believe it is time we were on our way. As to how we will contact you in the future..." Sonia opened her palm, revealing a small black crystal, with a dim light inside. "This magical item will let us send messages between us. It should be easy to keep in your person at all times." "And it can also be used as an earring decoration!" Minnie intervened. "Yeah, if you wanna be a fashion disaster, tee hee!" Helga gigled. "Alright, enough. Now then, goodbye, Reflective Witch." With that, the three girls disappeared as quickly as they arrived.

‘Sorry~ Can't go with you, we already belong to our mistress over there~’ Deni grinned at Minnie's little outburst and gestured towards Mariette. Then, they simply listened to the rest. Eli was taking notes of what they were saying, writing it down on the backside of the paper, keeping her eyes focused. Mariette sat still, gazing at them with her one visible eye. When the small black crystal was shown, Mariette absent-mindedly opened a little portal that swallowed it and it reappeared dripping down into Eli's wing, the harpy a little surprised to have been entrusted with it. Otherwise, Mariette acknowledged what they had said, and then they vanished. There was a bit of silence after they had vanished.

‘Sooooooooo.’ Deni broke the silence. ‘What do we make of this?’

‘Someone wants to use us as their pawns.’ Eli stated, inspecting the crystal with her Third Eye for anything suspicious.

‘Huh. Weren't WE the ones that were gonna use people as pawns?’ Deni asked, a little bewildered.

‘Yes. But, apparently, there's someone else that is running the show.’ Eli said, her eyes now also trailing to the portal, and the scenes that were taking place outside...

‘Huh. Uh. So, are we going to let ourselves be used?’ Deni asked, looking to Eli. Eli in turn looked to Mariette, causing Deni also to look at their mistress. Mariette honestly was quite comfortable with just letting the two of them discuss things, but, okay. It appeared they were looking to her, now.

‘We have no reason to believe their objective has anything to do with ours.’ Mariette started. ‘We have no obligation to follow their directions. But, we do need allies. We should not waste an opportunity to get closer to our goals. We will continue with our mission as normal, and when we're contacted we'll reevaluate our position depending on the situation. We can have demands of our own. We'll continue as normal for now. Eli, I want you to examine the means they used to infiltrate our home with your Third Eye. Deni will continue scouting the city under the cover of Darkness magic. We're going to need all the intelligence we can get. But, for now, we will continue inspecting the meeting, see it to its conclusion.’

Deni smirked as Mariette took control and Eli nodded to her commands, and so it was. They were all a bit more on edge, as their home was no longer safe, but regardless... They had a mission to fulfill.

Fiona

@Landaus Five-One

Background Music

Fiona suddenly heard a loud knock on the front door of her mansion. It sounded like it came with enough force to splinter the wood of the door's frame. It was followed by another, cracking it audibly, until the third knock caused it's seams to break, resulting in it falling down on the floor. When Fiona came to see what the source of the ruckus was, she saw her: the red-haired woman seemed to glow with a faint light as she entered the darkened foyer, stepping over the ruined door. She looked up at Fiona, and her intense eyes conveyed pure arrogance. "You're Fiona Grail, right? You sure got a nice house. Would be a shame if something happened to it, heh heh..."

Fiona looked startled when she heard her name called by the red-haired woman who approarched her. "Who are you? And I am Fiona," Fiona replied back. Her faint purplish blue aura fluctuates in its own way. She had no idea why this woman approached her in the Grail Estates. "Nina can you come here?" Fiona asked.

Nina heard her name called by Fiona and walked towards her and noticed the red-haired woman and the faint glow surrounding her. "Fiona, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Nina asked. Her voice had annoyed tone to it but after the incident with the Infinite Dragon anything is possible. She stopped right by Fiona's legs and purred. "Why are you here?" Nina asked towards the woman.

Fiona looked down at Nina and calmed down a bit. "I don't know. I never met this woman before," Fiona replied to Nina. She looked back up to the woman. She was scared but felt a calming presence around her. Her mark was glowing a faint color of greenish platnium. "Zargoth...," Fiona thought to herself. She cupped her hands in front of her but kept her eyes on the woman.

The woman smirked, and then pointed her finger at Fiona. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. My boss wants to work with you. She has heard of how strong you are, and of the magic you possess. She wants you to work for her. And she said she would reward you, whatever that means." The woman scoffed. "Of course, you could decline." She stepped closer to Nina. "But if you do, it means you're useless to us. And I promise you...you don't want that. So what's it gonna be? Should be an easy answer, huh?"

Fiona heard what the woman said and took it to heart. She smiled gleefully at what she said at the end. "I needed to get out of the house anyway. It gets boring all I do is watch cartoons anyway. Therefore, I will help you out. The answer is yes," Fiona said. She uncupped her hands and looked at the woman with happiness. Her aura stopped fluctuating but it had an odd sense of depth to it. "Can I get your name now? I gave you the correct answer," Fiona said. She was extremely curious in who this woman's name was.

Nina stepped back slowly and looked up at Fiona and was worried. She was hardly the voice of reason for Fiona. "Fiona, you should have told me you were bored," Nina said, annoyed.

Fiona looked down at Nina and smiled. "I know, but that meeting was quite not something I would have went to. I have enough meetings with my corporation's council members," Fiona said. She was speaking the truth there. Her body language had an air of boredom to it.

The bold woman gave a small laugh. "You made the right choice. Here, take it." She threw a black crystal at Fiona. "We'll use it to contact you, so keep it on you." She turned around and took a few steps, before turning her head back at her, whisking her long hair. "Name's Curie. You better remember it, cause if you ever cross us...I'm coming for you." And then, she walked away, leaving behind the broken door.

Fiona caught the black crystal and heard the woman's name and smiled slightly. "I will remember your name," Fiona said. She had a smile across her face and enjoyed the chance to meet someone else. She sighed at the broken door but remembered the staff will clean it up anyway. "Black Crystals are very pretty," Fiona thought to herself.

Natasha

@canaryrose

Background Music

In the midst of the conversation the Beaconites had with Chloe and Furor among others, Natasha spotted that one of the girls in their group stayed silent the entire time. The pink-haired girl looked like an elementary schooler, and dressed in a frilly pink dress with hearts decorating it. She also wore a little red backpack. One would have easily assumed her to be lively and social based on her appearance. Instead, she stared at the grass the entire time, her arms at her sides. She hasn't looked up once, even when the booming voice of Laat'AlOfan roared in the sky, to which she only shivered in response to.

Natasha swiveled around to face the girl, smiling brightly and perhaps a little bit fakely. "Hey, I'm Natasha! Call me Nat or Tasha, whatever works. What's your name?" she chirped, her seemingly inherent cheer still reflected on her young face.

The girl didn't seem to hear Natasha, until she heard her whisper: "I'm...chosen." She continued looking at the grass, as if her life depended on it.

Nat's smile faltered for a moment, leading to a fairly befuddled face. However, only moments later, her smile returned. "A-are you deaf? Or just shy? I know lots of shy people, I had this one friend before this whole magical girl business and she was the shiest girl like, ever..." Tasha said, making an effort to fill the silence with a soliloquy about one of her high school friends.

"And that's why you never bungee jump at a country fair!" Nat finished, grinning from ear to ear.

The girl slowly raised her head up, but not to look at Natasha as the Beacon girl expected. Instead, she looked at Victoria, who came closer. For a fleeting moment she could see how a smile played on her lips, her eyes devoid of emotion, as she ran up to Victoria. Before anyone could react to what happened, the girl stabbed Victoria in the stomach with a magical knife.

Background Music

"Ungh!" Victoria reeled in pain, her eyes widening at the horrible sight before her; the pink girl's eyes seemed to go wild as she pushed the knife deeper. "HERETIC!" She screamed, and enveloped her weapon with magical light, causing Victoria to shake as a burst of magic pierced her. "PRAISE BEACON!" Victoria then fell, and her life ended before Natasha's very eyes.

Natasha, who looked shocked for a moment, jumped into action, and shot forward, grabbing the girl's wrists and pinning her to the tree.

"Why," she breathed, looking incensed, "Did you do that?"

The girl only gave the smallest resistance when she was pulled, smiling in glee the entire time, her eyes still dull. She giggled, and once again screamed: "PRAISE BEACON!" Then, a strange sound came from her; it was like a clock ticking in her backpack...

Natasha removed her hands for just a moment, raising them up and then calling a sort of metal to her hands, only to wind it around the girl's wrists and ankles and to atach her to the tree.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try to get free. Victoria was innocent- what you did was wrong. Now, I can't kill you- but I certainly would if I could."

"HERETIC!" The girl screamed back at her, and continued giggling. The ticking sound seemed to accelerate and turn louder, and as it did she began laughing mad. "HAHAHAHA! DIE, HERETICS!"

Natasha, still looking incensed, ran to the backpack, zipping it open. She rifled around for a moment, before picking up a bomb. "Shit..." she whispered. "My engineering expertise is finally useful, it seems." Taking a glance at the anonymous crazy, she took a closer look at it, and seeing the nuclear symbol, she screeched.

"FUCK! FUCK, SHIT, FUCK!" Nat screeched. She quickly began to take it apart, using both her hands and powers to disable it. She tore it apart, ignoring curious stares from the others. When done, she dropped it onto the ground and furiously jumped on it. The glowing core resembling a jewel shimmered for a moment as it was thrown out of the contraption, before it's light dimmed down as the girl stomped it.

Background Music

The giggling girl bound to the tree then suddenly turned quiet, lowering her head. She was still smiling. "Hee...Hee...HERETICS!" Then, she was surrounded by a bright light, and her body was suddenly skewered by multiple spears made of magical light. "PR....AI..SE...BEA....C-c...on..." She managed to gurgle out before she slumped, ending with the same fate as Victoria.

Natasha, seemingly not caring, dusted off her hands, her face streaked with grease as the result of hurriedly taking apart a bomb.

"Whelp. That's my good deed for the day, I guess. Hey, Janet, Alicia, I just disabled a bomb and pretty much saved the whole city! Wanna head home with me? This whole alliance thing is probably not going to happen now." Natasha shouted. "Better not let Mrs. Hawthorn and Mr. Hawthorn- or, I mean, Mom and Dad, see this grease. Bleh."

[Card Captor]

Alexander Shields

'This is not good.' Alexander wasn't really expecting this truce to work out, there was far too much bad blood between the Beaconites and the Beastlies after all. But this...this was just nuts. Some Beacon wackjob just murdered the girl who was trying to make peace between everyone. Oh, and she was also a suicide bomber as well, because that makes perfect sense. "This is far less surprising then it should be, and that really bothers me."

On instinct, Alexander made sure that both he and Lily had fully charged force-fields on. Grabbing his partner's wrist he told her "Lily, we need to go now! If things were tense before, then their going to get bloody really soon. I don't what yo-us to get caught up in that." Of course, knowing Lily, escape might not be that simple.

'Dammit, she was right in front of me. If I had only been closer...I could have saved her. The one time this magic could be useful...and I can't do anything!' Alexander was mentally clenching his fists 'how could anyone just do that!? I know that there are horrible people in this world...but seeing it right in front of me is something else. It's funny; I think I'm starting to understand Sol a little better thanks to this.'

[twave]

For a moment things were looking good despite a few objections. At one point a booming voice came that rattled Janet slightly. Apparently it was another's patron and they were quite loud. Though they seemed to agree to some kind of truce which was good. Before much could be celebrated though another Beacon girl made an unexpected move. Seemingly going mad she attacked the girl that called them all here. To top it off she had something akin to a bomb in her backpack. Thankfully one of her fellow Beacon was on top of that and saved them all from being blown to bits. It did however undermine Janet's efforts to that point.

While the other Beacon girls were occupied with the act of terror committed by one of their own, Janet was distracted by the appearance of her own Beacon mascot: each Beaconite was assigned one, but they rarely appeared: unlike the Puchuu, who were round and fluffy in their appearance, the Beckoners, as they called themselves, were more delicate. They often took the shape of small mammals such as cats and dogs, but with wings and halos. Some even mimicked humans, and appeared as angelic figures. Janet's Beckoner had the appearance of a beautiful angel, holding a harp in her hands.

"Janet," the angel spoke in a beautiful, if angry, tone. "Do you realize what you have done? You have associated with abominations, creatures of darkness that prey on the innocent and weak. You have sworn to uphold justice, and to vanquish the forces of despair. Why would you ever let these fiends suffer to live? Have you given in to their corruption? Have you lost faith in the Beacon, who has nurtured you and given you happiness?" The angel looked down upon the girl with a furious look in her eyes.

Having just watched her efforts to make some kind of peace fall apart before her, Janet was taken aback by her Beacon appearing. Being spoken down to wasn't something that she was used to. Maybe it was the insane circumstances or some effect of being turned into a girl but her emotions were a whirlwind. Throwing her hands up against her head and running her fingers through her hair she only just managed to stifle a scream of frustration. It came out more as a small squeek. Taking her Beacon in her hands she turned away from the others to keep it hidden. "No, I just..." Sighing in frustration she hung her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just so new to this. I just thought they should be given a chance like I was. I know the rules but it seemed like the right thing to do. At least we might not have them fighting us at the same time as all the other threats were still around." Glancing over her shoulder it looked like things were breaking down pretty quickly.

The angel's cold demeanor did not warm in the slightest. "Suffer not a monster to live; Burn the witch; Slay the holder of the Black Mint. These are your commandments. No threat is beyond a pious warrior of the Beacon. If you are to strike together as one with your fellow comrades, then you will surely prevail against the darkness looming before you." The angel sighed. "Your sins have been judged, and your verdict is thus: If you are true of heart and virtuous in soul, then you will get to your knees, beg for mercy, and swear to not falter in your path again. Only then will you be redeemed." The angel strummed the harp it held. "Otherwise, you will be deemed excommunicated, and marked as an enemy of our holy cause. The Beacon does not tolerate traitors, but you are still a neophyte, so this transgression can be forgiven. If you are to give proper tribute to the one who has given you peace and prosperity."

Well, wasn't likely that the others would approve, but not like their minds weren't made up by that point either. Janet did owe gratitude to Beacon though for selecting her and giving her a new life. Nodding quietly she knelt down and put her hands on her knees. "Forgive me for failing you and my fellow Beacon. I let my feelings control my actions. I will strive to obey your wishes over my own." Lowering her head she waited to see what the verdict would be. She wasn't very good at this sort of thing and still had some internal doubts about how she might fit in. But just giving up and leaving Beacon seemed disingenuous after everything.

The angel stared silently for a minute, until it nodded, it's disposition turning more accepting. It strung a happy note on the harp. "Very good. The road before you is perilous, and many temptations will be set before you. However, the Beacon will be there to support your mission, and protect your innocence. Remember your purpose from now; if you betray us once more, you will be cast down for the sin of treachery. May the light of the Beacon guide you forward..." It said, and then disappeared in a small glimmer of light.

Having narrowly avoided being excommunicated Janet glanced back at the dissolving gathering. So much for cooperation. She would be lucky if any of them even considered her more than another psychotic zealot waiting to go off. Sighing she stood up and slowly followed Nat. She would catch up but at the moment she was lagging a bit behind.

@Rice Porridge@canaryrose@Flamelord@Shoryu@Shifter_Master@Ariamis

[Flamelord]

Alicia Hayden

For how much they claimed that they were being fair in their judgments, Alicia had to bite her tongue when it came to every statement directed their way, the condescending attitudes that would just make it that much more difficult for a ceasefire, much less an alliance, to actually work. Sure Beacon might not hold itself to their standards, but they were awfully quick to jump to the' oh woe is me' innocent victim act. She wasn't a fool, and she'd seen those who were actually guilty try to make that claim more than once. And people wondered why Beacon didn't care what other magical girls thought.

Even the talk of order and chaos and all that was equally as enervating. Did he think they did not know that, that they merely thought this was some sort of roleplaying game where the hero just had to be good and that was that? They didn't take these vows simply because they felt like it. Perhaps he thought that Chaos should be given a freer hand, but she could firmly say that there were few at Beacon who would agree with such an assessment.

The booming voice was distracting, but she wasn't actually sure whether that was approval of an arrangement with them or not, if only because the source seemed to argue two different points in succession. Well, it probably wasn't her problem. They were talking now, and it seemed like things might work out better than she had hoped to expect.

Then everything went wrong.

Internally she cursed as events happened in quick order, before she could get involved. In moments the girl that had brought them all here was dead, and one of their own Order was dead too with a bomb defused of some kind.

Chaos practically erupted, and Alicia knew that Natasha was right. It was exactly the sort of thing she had been afraid about, yet it had come to pass sooner than she had thought. And now everyone was going to hate them, even those who might have been inclined to be supportive, or at least not actively hostile. Instead of coming to some sort of resolution, this had actively made things worse!

Quickly she manifested her, bow, not nocking it but making it clear that she would use it on anyone who decided that they wanted to try and get some revenge for the dead that had seeming come at their hands. "We're leaving," she called, mostly to the other Beacon girls than for the benefit of anyone else. "Take the bomb and the body with." She wanted to know what had just happened, and the odds were pretty high that Beacon wouldn't want them left behind as a general fact.

With the evidence in tow she slowly backed off from the park, making sure that everyone from Beacon had come with before she allowed herself to relax. Now they just had to hope that things didn't get any worse than they had already.

@t2wave@Card Captor@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Shoryu

[Shifter_Master]

.:Penny:.

“Hey, I’m going to go see how the conversation at large is going, catch you guys later” Penny said to the little group, nodding towards Alex and Lily in particular, before heading off towards the Beacon group in a light jog, dropping her branch as she did. She was pleasantly surprised at the near lack of surprise that many gave to Laat’AlOfan’s appearance, but chalked it up to the majority of the Mahou here being much more experienced in dealing with the bizarre then she currently was.

Her good feelings vanished very quickly as a fanatic made them self very known to gather at large. Putting on some speed Penny arrived too late to really do much, other than stand there in shock as the body of the person that called them here bled while one of their members of Beacon worked quickly to disarm an explosive of some type.

Luckily for Penny none of the Beacon members seemed to notice that she wasn’t one of them, and because of that she was in a unique position to see some of the internal working of how Beacon worked, as what looked like an Angel was chastising Janet. It was interesting as much as it was revolting to the reluctant Monster girl, as the commandments seemed rather unyielding. Alas Penny didn’t really know enough to tell if Beacon was wrong or right. ‘I am in the right place to find out, plus Laat did just give his blessing to try and befriend them.’ She mused

As she decided to at least try and befriend the now dejected looking little girl Penny heard who seemed to be the spokesperson of Beacon call for a withdrawal, and considering the atmosphere from the rest of the Mahou, it seemed like a good idea. Deciding that it was a better idea to move with the crowd rather than against it she walked up to the slower moving Janet.

“Considering how saltly Cupid was I’m guessing the Giant in the sky was right about you taking a massive risk?” She asked rather bluntly, as she came up alongside Janet. A friendly smile on her face as she did.

@Card Captor@Ariamis@Flamelord@t2wave@canaryrose

[twave]

Janet

Someone approached her while she was heading to join her fellow Beaconites. She looked older than quite a few of the girls here, but as she'd learned first hand appearance spoke nothing of actual age. Not being familiar with who was with what group she assumed that this pink haired girl wasn't with the monster group since most of them wanted nothing to do with Beacon. "Yeah, I may have pushed my luck on that one." She set her pace with the newcomer and let the air hiss out of her lungs. "Regardless of what I may think those were the terms I agreed to when I became a magical girl. It may sound harsh but I owe the Beacon a lot for taking me in."

Not particularly wanting to dwell on the subject she moved on. "The name's Janet by the way. It's nice to meet you..." She waited for Penny to finish the sentence. This still being her first run in with any other magical girls Janet figured she would keep introductions simple.

@Shifter_Master@Flamelord@canaryrose

[Shifter_Master]

.:Penny:. & Janet

“Penny Asimov” Said girl replied as she offered a hand to shake “I’m one of the new guy-“ Penny cut herself off rather abruptly, a slight grimace visible as she did. With a shake of her head she started again, quietly at first, more to herself then to Janet “Girl. One of the new girls in town, pleased to meet you Janet” She finished with a touch of forced cheer as she pushed passed her verbal stumble. Internally Penny was hopping that her mixup would be ignored, or at least not commented on.

“Seems like the requirements that The Beacon set are rather steep, I guess that there are some good benefits at least?” Penny asked, with genuine curiosity. A lot of what she had heard about Beacon was second or even third hand, and when you get that far removed it hard to tell what fact is and what fiction is. “And does everyone get a personal shoulder cupid? Or is that just for the newbies?” She continued while looking around at the other Beacon girls in contemplation.

Well at least someone from this disaster of a meeting was nice. It was refreshing after being bad mouthed and talked down to. Putting on a smile she waved a hand to dispel any embarrassment. She leaned closer and whispered so any others wouldn't hear."Don't worry, I understand the mixup. I was a guy too." So apparently it wasn't that unusual to have ones gender swapped by patrons.

Relaxing a bit more Janet nodded to the rest of Penny's queries. "I'm pretty sure we all get a Beacon to watch over us. They don't really show themselves that much I don't think. I'm still pretty new as you could tell." She motioned back to the shrinking meeting. "The benefits are pretty good though. The Beacon help with our new life and protect us from corrupting effects that some might use against us. The rules really do make sense when you consider they want to keep us from falling to the dark side. It is kind of restrictive but I'm sure they have their reasons."

There was visible relief to Janet's admission of their own gender reassignment, Penny had always been uncomfortable when it came up as she had no idea how to talk about it, the fact that someone else had understood was a welcomed thing. "Thank you" she whispered back before moving on to the main topic.

"Well this is a touch like the blind leading the blind then" She stated with out any heat and a playful smile to take the sting out of her words "I'm still trying to acclimatize to this whole thing" Penny vaguely gestured to the Mahou around them as she spoke "I have only been part of the.. Community I guess is the best way to put it for the past few months, my Patron didn't even show up for the first two or three. So the fact that they help you out sounds fantastic" She glared at the sky at the last part in a pointless hope to convey her annoyance to her Patron, not that she thought he would care all that much, but some times it is good to let him know that he is a pain.

Shaking away her thoughts of violence towards Laat she returned to the conversation at hand "Not having to worry about corruption sounds good, though I'll admit I'm very clueless as to what those effects could be, but all that in exchange for, what, three or four rules sounds like a rather fair deal if you ask me." she replied as she adopted a thinking pose "Kind of makes me think of the Jedi if I am being honest, a few hard rules with a harsh punishment, if excommunication is a bad as it sounds, in return for power, peace, and prosperity. That sound about right?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. To her it sounded like a very good deal, the only issue was how to deal with Laat'AlOfan and his gifts.

Ah, finally a pop-culture reference that she recognized! So much of the others had gone over her head having been out of touch with most of society. "Yes, exactly! That's a great example! Why did I think of that?" Glancing over to the other Beacon girls they had started to get a little further away. It wasn't too far though so she could probably lag behind a little longer. "Thanks for coming over by the way. I was kind of worried that everything I said fell on deaf ears."

"Don't mention it" Penny said with a shrug "I should be the one thanking you, if you ask me. We both might be new to this, but you seemed to have a much better grasp on all of it so far." she continued following Janet's gaze as she did "I take it you should probably catch up with them huh?" she asked softly after watching the rest of Beacon interact. Her tone was wistful, as she would like nothing more then to have friends again, alas Penny knew for fact that she would have to tread carefully around those from Beacon. She was on their hit list as it were.

As Penny turned back to Janet an idea struck her "It's was nice talking to you but I think this is where we head separate ways." she said as she rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a pen and a gum wrapper "This is my number, feel free to call or text, I've got nothing but free time at the moment so I should be able to respond quickly" she explained as she jotted down a phone number and on the wrapper passed it over to Janet. Truthfully she didn't have a Phone, but she could intercept cell signals when she wasn't in disguise, and she could work towards getting an actual phone now that she had a use for one. 'Thank you Isana for the practice' she mused silently.

With a smile the blonde girl took the wrapper. Janet had a cell phone, though to be honest she hadn't had the time to learn how to use it since her new parents gave it to her. The electronic device confounded her. Eventually she would get the hang of it though. "Thanks. I'll be sure to give you a call some time." Swinging her backpack around she made sure to put the wrapper inside it so it wouldn't get lost. Glancing up the other Beaconites were a fair distance away and she started running after them, turning back briefly to wave goodbye. "See you later Penny!"

“Catch you later Janet!” With a final smile and a wave good bye Penny turned and started her trek back to the center of the park, in search of those she had been chatting with earlier and if nothing else to find some place where she could drop her disguise it, as it was beginning to become quite painful keep it in place.

[Flamelord]

Alicia Hayden @Flamelord & Janet Howell @t2wave & Natasha Harthorn @canaryrose

After talking with Penny, Janet caught up with the other two Beacon girls.She probably had made a fool of herself to them in her attempt to form a truce. What exactly to say at this point was lost to her. Both were more experienced than she. Deciding to let them initiate conversation she kept quiet.

"Oh, there you are Janet!" Natasha turned around, a bright smile on her face. "I was worried you got lost in the pack of monster girls over there. Wouldn't want you getting excommunicated or anything, y'know? But, I suppose we did lose you there for a bit, with the whole 'defending them' thing." Natasha chirped. But her face turned serious. "Don't do that again. The Beckoners don't exactly like it, as you've most likely figured out."

For her part Alicia was a bit busy making sure that everyone was firmly escorted away from the meeting without causing any more problems, or ending up on the recieving end of those problems. Things had gone crazy and now she was dealing with being annoyed at the world in general on top of everything else, though she did her best to keep it from showing. They all needed something they could hold on to at this point.

Noting the new girl and Natasha conversing nearby, she shifted to join the two of them. "Her principles were good, but it's a bit much to expect someone new to the organization to really understand how things work here." With that said she flashed Janet a smile, offering her a hand. "Alicia Hayden. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oops! I almost forgot to transform!" Natasha said, and then subsequently transformed. Now in a pair of pajamas and flip-flops, she looked a bit out of place in the dank alleyway. "So, see you at school tomorrow or do you two want to go to a diner or something? I'm sort of hungry."

With Nat and Alicia being in a better mood than expected Janet's expression brightened a bit. Being the first real interaction with anyone else in Beacon she hadn't quite known what to expect. Nat pointed out her mistake in a way that she could tell was more of a warning than anything. Nodding a bit she laughed nerviously, even though it wasn't funny. "Yeah, I kind of overstepped there. I probably should have known better." Shaking the hand offered she returned the smile. "I don't think that back there it could have blown up in my face any more than it did. Now I'm just glad to be anywhere else. Although food does sound good right about now. I was too nervous to eat anything before the meeting."

Nat chuckled. "Looks like we're all hungry, huh? IHOP, Denny's, or Waffle House? Pancakes sound really good right now, for me at least. Like, chocolate chip pancakes. With extra extra whipped cream. Just- PANCAKES!" she shouted aloud, her hands going up in the air in an expression that could only be described as jazz hands.

"I could go for food," Alicia reassured Natasha before making her choice of destination. "Waffle House. From what I've experienced it's the perfect place for when you're having food ridiculously early in the morning." It was very early in the morning now, technically, so she figured it fit.

With that said she returned to Janet, gving her a consoling look. "I don't think any of us could have predicted what happened back there, though I suppose we can all consider ourselves fortunate that our comrade here is handy with defusing explosives. We'll just have to hope that this doesn't instigate a concerted opposition to Beacon, otherwise things could get difficult." Needless to say she was not amused by that in the slightest, beyond the implication that the one responsible was willing to blow up other Beacon members in the process. But right now they didn't have much to investigate, so she was willing to put that off until they had more information.

"All of those options sound great. I haven't eaten at any of them in decades." Maybe she was exaggerating, but she said it rather matter of fact. Janet had no idea if talking about their former lives was a thing that magical girls did but in this case it just came out. Speaking of, she realized she was still transformed even after seeing Nat change back to normal. Reverting to normal herself she grumbled to herself. "That's going to take some getting used to."

Natasha raised her brows, a teasing look on her face. "Decades? How old are you? Waffle House is like the shit, though. PANCAKES. I'm like a fucking addict, man." she said, and then laughed. "This new body is so weird, though. I'm not used to being all- how do I say it- rounded out. I used to look like a walking stick. I'm not even kidding."

In truth, it was strange to Natasha. She had never had much in the terms of a 'body', given that she was extremely tall and lanky for a woman. Her new body was a severe contrast to her old, and it was a bit uncomfortable.

After a few moments Alicia joined them in transforming back into her normal form, which seemed relatively similar to her magical girl form. She had been lucky there, presumably a result of the bloodline that had brought her into contact with Beacon in the first place. She knew that not everyone was quite so fortunate. "I guess that's that then. Let's go," she offered, not sure what direction to take exactly but figuring that they wouldn't get anywhere just standing around in an alleyway.

Following out onto the street she glanced down both ways not really having a clue where they were. "You have no idea. And unless you have a map I won't be any use finding those places." She turned back to her companions. Since the subject was brought up she decided to ask. "So with our past lives, is it normal to talk about them or not. Because from the sounds of it your transformation wasn't nearly as drastic."

"Totally! I mean, I tend to talk about mine a bunch, but some other people aren't comfortable with it. And by drastic, I'm guessing that you were a guy?" Natasha said, rummaging around in her purse for something. "Ahah!" she exclaimed, pulling out her phone. "The power of Google Maps, initiate!" She quickly looked up the nearest Waffle House location.

"Got any objections to public transport?"

Alicia wasn't too worried about finding their way, if only for the reason that Natasha had just presented one way to do so. Technology was a wonderful thing. It left her free to address Janet's concerns, as someone who had been part of Beacon for a while now. "Like she said, it just depends on your personal preference. Girls in Beacon come from all walks of life, but we prefer to focus on what you can become moving forwards."

To the question proposed she nodded her approval before going on. "As for myself, I was a student before being approached by a Puchuu from Beacon. Apparently I had a magical warrior back in my bloodline, and they wanted to recruit me. So here I am."

Those seemed like adequate answeres and consistant with what she'd heard from her Beacon. "Alright, that's what I thought. And what you said about moving forward was one of the main draws for me. I'd rather not be known for my past life." Pondering a bit she debated how much to divulge. It certainly made for an interesting story. Though to answer Nat's question she spoke up. "I was a guy. Though while we're on our way I want to see how long it takes for you to guess my age." She smirked and waited for their response.

"Ummm. 40. 45. 50?" Natasha guessed. "Hell, this probably isn't it but I'll give it a shot- 60? There's no way you're that old."

Swaying she bit her lower lip slightly. "Eh, you're getting warmer."

"You said decades, so... 70? Please don't say you're that old." Natasha pleaded half-jokingly.

Shaking her head before stopping and reaching back to pull her hair over her shoulder. If not for her new mother she would have no idea what to do with all this hair. It's constant brushing against her back drove her crazy. "No not... for another couple years."

"67? 68?" Nat guessed yet again.

"Yep, 68. Now you can understand why I fell so out of place in my own body. It's the most confusing thing." By now they'd wandered to a bus stop, as per most occasions you kind of forget your walking whilst talking. Now they just needed to wait for the next rotation.

Natasha laughed. "Oh my god Janet, you're older than my grandpa! As for me, I was a tall, lanky woman. All angles. I tripped over everything. I also had very vibrant natural red hair. Sort of weird."

Alicia didn't mind staying silent for most of the exchange, and the guessing game. Once it had ended though she couldn't help but add in an appreciative look of her own. "I'm jealous," she said aloud. "Few of us should be so lucky to get over fourty years of our life to live again."

"I am grateful for that." She laughed. "Definitely not under the circumstances I ever imagined though. To be honest I had almost no idea I was going to be transformed like this when I signed on."

"Neither did I," Natasha remarks, with an almost sad smile gracing her face. "Oh, look, bus!" she said, pointing at the headlights coming toward the bus-stop. She tugged at her earrings, making sure that they were still there, as she wouldn't want to lose them anytime soon. Her pocketwatch- as soon as she found it- went into her small purse so she couldn't lose it.

Alicia glanced over to confirm that the bus had arrived, and she took a step forward afterwards so they could all get on in a quick and orderly fashion. If there were empty seats she would go for those, allowing the three of them to sit down next to each other. "I'm not sure anyone does," she said with a smile. "Anyways, if you have any questions about Beacon or being a magical girl, feel free to ask either of us."

"Right, I'll have to think about which to ask first." Stepping onto the bus once the doors were open finding some empty seats was not that hard. It was rather late after all so not many were communting. It was probably odd seeing such young girls out at this hour, but by this point the driver had been in the business long enough to not even bother asking or commenting.

Once seated Janet rubbed her chin before finally landing on a few questions. "How long have you two been with Beacon? Have you had to deal with monsters and dark magical girls often?[

Alicia let out a small sigh as she took her seat, glad to not be standing up anymore. It had been a long day, even without the attempted murder included in that. After a few seconds though she was ready to answer whatever Janet wanted to know. It was her job as a member of Beacon after all. "I've been part of Beacon for a couple years now. As for what we deal with, unfortunately I've dealt with both Dark Magical Girls and Monsters more often than I would have liked. But they're as resilient as we are in sticking around."

Natasha nodded along when Alicia was speaking, jumping in when she was done. "I've been with Beacon for... hm, almost 2 years now. I've jumped around a lot since I've started, but the monster girls have always been pretty consistent. When I do encounter them, I get it over with quickly. No mess, no pain for either of us." Natasha said the last part quietly, as to not let anyone nearby overhear their conversation.

So they both were quite a bit more experienced than she was. Suppose that wasn't surprising to Janet. Though clearly there was a side to DMGs and Monster Girls that she had yet to see. "I see. Guess I have a lot to learn about the new world I've been brought into. I just hope my inexperience doesn't ruin my chances before I even get started." She sighs and drops her head against the seat behind her. Nearly getting excommunicated before even getting a chance to make a difference was not what she'd expected to come about.

"We all had it rough starting out. It happens," Alicia reassured her. Sure, most people in Beacon didn't start out at a meeting with most magical girls in the city, but most didn't get to choose the way they entered this life. "Just don't forget that you aren't in this alone. There's an entire organization of Magical Girls and Puchuu here to help you become the best person that you can be."

"Yup! Just stick with us and you'll be right as rain!" Natasha said, a grin breaking out across her face. "Get it? Right as rain?"

"Uh, no not really." Maybe not the desired answer but an honest one. The Puchuu being brought up actually raised a new question. "So what other groups of magical girls can we align with? Because it sounds like there really is only one." So far their options seemed really limited. Her own knowledge of the varios factions was very little.

Alicia groaned aloud, treating that pun with all the respect that it deserved. At least, she figured it was a pun. Natasha wouldn't have phrased it that way if it wasn't. But at least she had Janet's question to distract herself from a potential future with more of the same. "There are a few. Beacon does not permit working with Monsters, Horrors, Dark Magical Girls, or the Ebon Mint. Any group besides that is acceptable, though generally speaking those groups who get along with those are less likely to work with Beacon. Here in town I believe there are a couple other Deities and Lesser Forces who might, if they deign it in their interests to do so. Unfortunately trying to persuade someone like a Deity can be...tricky."

"Hey! It was a good pun. Don't groan," Tasha stuck her tongue out at Alicia, then continued on, breezy as ever. "Deities can be a bit trickier, considering as a lot of them are fanatics. But we do our best if they're not a DGM or a monster, y'know?"

Leaning on one hand Janet tried to recall some of the events of that night. It was rather hectic so some details were a little hard to pin down. "There was one that seemed to appreciate my gesture and agree to an alliance. The big booming voice one with no face. Pretty sure he was a deity." If that didn't scream deity then she didn't know what did. Most of the patrons seemed to stay out of sight.

Alicia nodded in agreement. It wasn't exactly hard to miss the big voice yelling over the meeting, which did speak to some level of ego. Either it was a Lesser Force trying to compensate or it was probably a Deity, both of which were acceptable. "Assuming they still want to ally after that mess we left behind, I expect Beacon will get back to them about that in a couple days or so. Beacon is always willing to cooperate with those who seek our assistance."

Natasha nodded along, pretending to pay attention while her mind wandered away from the conversation. She pulled at her thick hair absent-mindedly, taking it out of its loose bun and letting it poof up on her head.

"I see. I guess I'll have to talk to my Beacon about that and see if it's alright to work something out." Seemed like the safer bet, rather than to assume. Janet had had enough of that for the time being. The bus pulling around to the nearest stop to the Waffle House it was time for them to exit.

[PlatinumSkink]

Mariette

---

After the meeting broke apart, Mariette sent her minions to scout. Using their Darkness magic, Deni and Eli could slip around unseen under the cover of stealth magic and glide from building to building in pursuit of targets with their slimy harpy-wings. After having confirmed there was no danger, Mariette held onto the black crystal that had been given to her while the minions scouted. They had been told to locate a suitable Magical individual for the purposes that suited Mariette.

Lily and Alexander just so happened to suit this purpose.

@Card Captor@Ariamis

The two of them would find themselves stalked by Deni and Eli through the night. They were capable Darkness scouts, they wouldn’t reveal themselves by some clumsy mistake unless someone with the Third Eye suddenly came hunting for them. They’d follow the two of them, and should Lily and Alexander split up then Deni followed Lily and Eli followed Alexander. They’d scout them until they figured they had learned enough, which could be as far as whenever they went to sleep, potentially. They’d eventually report back to Mariette.

Assuming that Deni/Eli wouldn’t have lost track of them or been otherwise compromised…

Mariette would then, at some point during the following day (or days if no opportunities arose) simply decide to walk in on one or both of them at some ample moment when they weren’t in the company of anyone else. It’d suddenly just be a portal that opened, and she’d walk through, transformed in her dress, eyepatch over her right eye and clutching a big stuffed bunny, with one slime harpy in tow. Eli was there with her Third Eye to ensure they were not being eavesdropped on as the portal closed. For with that, there should be no magical influences on this location. Mariette would be silent while Eli looked around to make sure of this, giving those they were visiting enough time to have the first word.

Deni, meanwhile, was holding onto the crystal while playing with kids in the park. Except for having been put on crystal-duty, she had been given the day off.

[Ariamis]

Justine

Background Music

Justine giggled as she held her cup of blood in her hand, having listened to the reports she got from her loyal servants.
"So the Chaotic Seraph Angel and the Reflective Witch have both agreed? Simply sublime." She was content to hear that her plan to turn the most powerful Magical Girls of Penrose into her pawns has worked out.
"And Stephanie was also a success?" "Yes, my Lady," a shadowed Magical Girl spoke while kneeling before her. "It took me a couple of weeks, but she finally failed to resist the mind control, and the alliance has failed, as per your will." Justine smirked deviously.
"Excellent. Anything else?" She asked innocently.
The Magical Girls kneeling before her shook; none dared to speak of what also transpired, until Helga announced: "Oh, and Curie put a nuke in her pack! Tee hee~"

Justine simply stared for a moment, and then giggled, sipping her goblet of blood with glee. Her expression, however, was not an amused one, but rather, an agitated one. And soon, it turned into a blazing inferno of rage when she threw the goblet at Curie, who knelt before her, covering her in crimson liquid.
"YOU DID WHAT!" She shrieked. "YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL!" She rose up from her throne, her expression of nightmarish design, and stomped on Curie's face, causing her to grunt in pain.
"Do you have any idea what would have happened if that bomb was set off?" She then twisted the boot on her face, causing her to whimper in agony.
"It would have ruined my plans!"

Curie braced her teeth, and spoke through them: "B-But Boss...You told me that the Magical Girls were a problem! I thought you wanted to get rid of them! Besides, it was a really small bomb, it would have only wiped out the park!" Justine kicked Curie off, letting her fall backwards from the throne.
"You idiot! Even if it would have only destroyed the park, that would have been far too many casualties! You know what I need, Curie! I have no use for irradiated remains! Do you understand!"

"Curie...Is a...Naughty girl..."

A voice could be heard from the shadowy corner.

"Can...Caroline...Play...With Curie? Can Caroline have...Sweet...Red?"

"Not yet, my dear sister," Justine responded firmly. She walked over to Curie, her red eyes glowing with malice.
"First, you must understand that the use of your powers in that way is expressly forbidden, and only used as a last resort. Understood?" Curie trembled in shame, and the rest of them shook violently out of pure, distilled terror. "Lady Justine is...super scary!" "To think Curie made her so mad!"

Justine then returned to sit on her throne. "Caroline, take her away. Make her understand how we are not to be trifled with." Curie's eyes widened. "Please, no...NO!" But before she could utter another word, she was suddenly dragged off by a red flash, the two disappearing from the throne room, leaving only Justine's giggles to echo in the chamber.

Lily/Alex

Alexander Shields

Background Music

Lily was a bit apprehensive at first at Isana's rude behavior, but when she said they could be allies, she was overcome with joy. But then, she was startled by the booming voice that resounded from the heavens, and looked up to see a literal god talk from above; she has had her share of unusual sights ever since she became a Magical Girl, but this was the first time she ever saw a deity. It was more than she expected, and the usually energetic girl held her hands close to her chest, unsure of what to think when it disappeared.
"Scary..." She mused to herself. I'm glad you're not scary like that, X.
The Lesser Force neighed silently.

Brushing aside the strange apparition, Lily turned around to see if Chloe was still conversing with the Beacon girls. She kept thinking of how they would now be a team, ready to deliver justice and become true friends in the process. Now, nothing could go wrong. Until that hope was shattered.

Background Music

The sight that next beheld her was something she could never forget; Victoria was stabbed, and the park seemed to fall into a panic when a bomb was discovered in the attacker's possessions.
"H-Huh? Victoria!" She blurted out, and attempted to also run to the scene, only to be held back by Alex, telling her they had to go.
"But-But I-!" She stuttered, trying to get her words through, still struggling to get free. She saw how both Chloe and Isana quickly fled with looks of surprise and fear, respectively. Then, she gave up.
"So it's hopeless, huh? That Magical Girls could...*sniff*...work together..."
Filled with grief over Victoria's death but not willing to lose another friend, Lily summoned Ixion and escaped the park with Alex, tears flying off her cheeks as she did.

---

Background Music

The two quickly rode to the edge of town, and it was there that Lily stopped. She had stopped sobbing by then, but her face was still slightly red from the crying.
"This is where I picked you up, right? Well then...I guess this is goodbye..." She said, and looked away, not willing to look Alex in the eye, or an equivalent of one.
"Ugh, why did this have to happen..." She slouched over her bike handle.
"No matter what I do, I'll always be alone..."

Alexander cursed to himself 'if I just leave her like this...I'll never forgive myself. Dammit, how do you make a girl stop crying?' Being woefully out of his element, Alexander did the only thing he could think of; he hugged her
"look, it's...it's not that bad. I mean sure; Beacon is full of self-righteous assholes, and the people who don't look fully human anymore may have made some questionable life choices." It was at this point that Alexander realized that what he was saying wasn't really comforting.

"Dammit, I really suck at cheering people up. I mean just look at me; I'm a jaded grouch. You're the cheerful one, it's practically a fundamental law of nature. Grass grows, birds fly, and Lily is insufferably peppy. So when you get like this...it feels like something something in the world is broken. So just cheer up...please. You're not as alone as you think."

The implications of his last sentence suddenly hit him
'why did I say that!? I bet it's Sol's fault, he's starting to get into my head...stupid Sol.'

Lily shivered from the sudden hug, but didn't resist; usually she would have slapped the boy for something like this, but now, just once, she wanted to not be alone.
"H-Hey, stop that..." She said in a low voice. "I know for a fact you're not one of those magic clones, so..."
She listened to his words in silence, and she couldn't help but give a weak chuckle.
"Heh...I...guess you're right. Being like this just isn't me, huh?" Then, he said something that could be interpreted as romantic, and she blushed.
"W-What!" She turned Ixion back into his ethereal form, causing Alex to fall, and stood over him with her fists at her sides.
"Hey, don't try that funny stuff with me!" But then, she couldn't help but smile; by doing this kind of stuff, he helped Lily forget her grief, and she couldn't hate that. She then offered a hand to him, and lifted him up. "But...thanks for cheering me up. I appreciate it."

Background Music

Alexander sighed in relief as he took her hand and got up "Good. I have no idea what I would have done if that didn't work. I'm really not good at this heart to heart stuff. See what happens when you get depressed like that; it messes with the natural order of this and it makes me...all mushy like that. That's something that I don't think either of us want." Taking a little time to brush himself off, he changed topics.
"So now what? If it was just me, I'd head back home and binge watch some really awful movies while eating an entire carton of ice cream. But...well...it's not just me. So I'm kind of at a loss here."

Lily pouted, feeling a bit awkward at the way she reacted.
"Hey, let's just forget this happened, okay?" Then, she tried to return back to bring her old self, but her smile was still a bit forced.
"Well, I'm the kind of girl who doesn't need to sleep OR eat. Well...Maybe a little, but it's like one hour every couple of days, and like a single leaf of bread in a week. I usually just travel from place, so I don't really have a home to return to. Isn't that cool? I'm like the Lone Wanderer or something?"

Alexander chuckled.
"Only you could find being homeless cool. Yeah, I don't need a lot of food or sleep either, but I spent my entire first life being a dirt poor orphan, so if I want to splurge on comfort food and a home, then I'm going to. Cable too, I had no idea how awesome having cable was before." Alexander shook his head as he remembered when he first discovered the wonders of cable TV. He then suddenly had an idea...more of an urge, that he felt compelled to act on.
"So...look. If, if you ever need a place to stay...I...I wouldn't mind if you crashed at my place. I mean, it's safer then the streets, and I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least make the offer."

"Yeah, cable's great...I remember how I watched a lot of Sailor Moon growing up..." She reminisced, before she coughed.
"I mean, all the cool and modern cartoons nowadays like Adv-Adventurers, yeah, hehe!" Lily laughed a bit, but it came out a bit stilted; Victoria's corpse in the grass was still fresh on her mind, and she dwelt on it for a moment until Alex brought something up. Lily was flabbergasted.
"W-What? You really mean it?" She came closer to him, her face once again inches away from his.
"Hmm, well, isn't that very gentlemanly of you...Or are you up to your old tricks again?" She turned around.
"Okay, I'll crash at your place." She leaned her neck and gave an evil smirk.
"But if I catch you doing anything...I'll kick your ass." She giggled.
"Alright, let's go!"

---

Background Music

At Alexander's place, Lily barged to the kitchen the first moment she could, and began stuffing her face with all kinds of food. "Mm, this is so...delicious! It's been so long since I got some ice cream! Yum!"

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Seeing Lily rush to raid his fridge, all Alexander could do was raise an eyebrow "Still, I have no one to blame but myself." Kicking off his shoes, Alexander made his way to the TV and sat down on the couch. Remote in hand, he turned it on and started looking for something to watch.
"Now, let's see......Aha! Crappy B-movies, jackpot!" Pausing the movie so he could grab something to snack on from the kitchen, he walked in on Lily stuffing her face
"Well someone's hungry."

"Hey, I...*nom*...Only eat stuff like bread and fruits. I can have a moment to enjoy myself, right? Besides, as a Magical Girl, I don't have to worry about my figure at all!" She said proudly while swiping her hand down her side.
"I can eat all I want, and still stay fit as a fiddle!" After she piled a ridiculously high sandwich, she hopped on the couch, hogging it all for herself.
"Ehh, this movie's kind of crap," she commented while she kept eating.
"The guy's acting like a piece of lumber. Ehh, I'll just go to bed." She hopped off, and went to Alex's bedroom.
"I'm taking this, so you can sleep on the couch, right? Thanks!" She exclaimed with a cheer, and then shut the door on him. "Goodnight!" He heard her greet from the other side.

Alexander meanwhile was baffled "Huh. Someone just raided my fridge, and stole my room, yet I don't want to throttle them. Is...is something wrong with me? Bah, It's nothing some cheesy movies won't fix. Now back to mocking people for being horrible at their jobs." And with that, Alexander resumed watching his movies, with a tub of ice cream at his side.

---

The next morning, Lily groaned as she crawled out of the bedroom; her hair was messy, her clothes were wrinkled, and as she saw Alex still sleeping she realized her glasses were sitting crooked on her nose...Wait, glasses? "Aaahh!" She screamed, causing Alex to wake up. The both of them saw how they looked untransformed, and Lily ran off to the bathroom, blushing like a tomato at the embarrassment.
Oh crap crap crap! He saw me without my cool and cute costume! Ughh, this is horrible! I look like such a loser!

"Geez, what is wrong with that girl?" Alexander shook the remaining sleep out of his head 'although, I didn't expect her to wear glasses. I would have thought that our magic would have fixed that...or is it just when transformed...or does transforming just hide things like glasses. Screw it, it's too early for this.' Getting up, he walked over the the bathroom door, "You okay in there Lily? Did something happen?"

Lily soon opened the bathroom door, and walked out with grace, back in her transformed state.
"Why of course not, Alexander. Lily Lightning is always okay! Haha!" Then she smiled.
"So, that's how you look like without your mask, huh? The glasses are...Well, a necessary item in order to correct eyesight, yes indeed. Anyway, let's start patrolling for monsters; now that the park incident caused most of the Magical Girls to flee, it's up to us to keep the city safe, right? Alright, let's gooo!" And with that, Lily left with gusto, back to her good old self again.

Alexander reached up to his face to feel his glasses.
"Huh...Forgot I had these. Wonder why Sol makes me wear them. It's not like I ever needed glasses, and these aren't even real." he poked their plastic lenses. After he transformed, he went outside to meet up with Lily.
Still, it was surprising to find out that Lily is transformation shy. Or, does her transformation make her naked? I mean, I've heard rumors about transformations like that, but I never thought they were real. Or...maybe she's transformation shy. Man I don't know, girls are weird.

The Beckoners

Background Music

In a higher plane of existence, in a realm filled with brilliant, blinding light, resided the Beckoners; the spiritual guides of the Beacon, who watch over and nurture the magical girls who have been chosen to act out the their holy will. But, tensions were turmoiling between some of these Beckoners, as they converged in a great temple of ancient Greek architecture, made of gold and marble and reaching an unmeasurable distance into the heavens.

"So Janet has not fallen from grace?" a Beckoner resembling a small lion cub asked. "She is untainted by the darkness?"
"Of that there is no doubt," the angelic Beckoner who scolded Janet then spoke. "However, I worry for her resolve; I believed that by granting her the chance to redeem herself after such a life, she would be the most pious of chosen. However, it seems her mind is clouded and unsure. She may falter if not properly supported by other chosen." "Well, she has now successfully integrated into a group, yes? Guided by her peers, she will surely find her light."

"Rather than her, we have to speak of the chosen who ruined the alliance!"
"To think that one of our own would commit such sin," the lion Beckoner spoke. "And let one of the chosen to destroy an entire community. What is the human's name? Raphael, you were present with your chosen, yes? Did you see her?"

The bestial Beckoner nodded. "Yes, I did. It was Stephanie, chosen by Samael." The Beckoners turned towards the cat-like Beckoner, who was calmly sitting. "Why did you let this sacrilege pass, Samael! You were trusted with keeping her on the path of righteousness and purity, yet you let her fall to such depravity!" Samael only stared back, stoic like death itself. "It was not by Stephanie's will that she has sinned...The Spark has failed us."

"So you mean to say...?" Samael nodded. "Yes Michael, it has happened again...Let us pray that our chosen, pure of heart and innocent of soul, can end this menace, before the land is wreathed in blasphemy..." Michael turned silent. "So, it has come to this then...To protect this human community, we must find any who are willing to aid in our mission. And it seems there was one entity that shares in our love for humanity. Have the chosen summon this god, and let us judge them."

Justine/Mariette/Fiona

Background Music

A couple of days later, Justine decided it was time to see if her plans would be advanced by a couple of interesting individuals, and extended her open palm. One of the Magical Girls then placed a black crystal on her hand; it was larger than the ones given to Mariette and Fiona, and split upwards into four sharp points.Justine swept her hand, and Magical Girls bowed and left the chamber as well.

Justine laughed a bit as she used a bit of her magical power to awaken the power of the crystal. Soon, Mariette and Fiona both felt their own crystals faintly vibrate and shimmer with a black light. When they lifted them up, they saw a magical hologram emit from the top of the crystal; it was a single red eye, glowing with palpable power.

"Greetings, Reflective Witch, and Chaotic Seraph Angel. I am Justine von Visceral, a Magical Girl with a dream to fulfill. If you are listening to this, then it means you have agreed to a mutually beneficial alliance. You see, there is something I require....Blood."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"Yes, that's right...the blood of Magical Girls. It is of no matter how you acquire it, only that you do so in vast amounts. In return, whatever is your heart's desire, I shall grant it; wealth, fame, family, friends...I can give all of these things." The red eye seemed to swirl with fire.

"So, what say you?"

---

At the time of the call, at midnight... Mariette had been trying to sleep. Both her minions were out scouting the city under the cover of the night and Darkness magic, while Mariette lay in the spare bed in Joe's apartment clutching her big stuffed bunny, desperately trying to get some shut-eye despite the flowing powers of Asengav within her keeping her awake against her will, hearing the whispers of nothingness... While Eli normally held the crystal, it was decided that having it while scouting was a terrible idea so Mariette slept with it lying beside her pillow. Pyjamas had no pockets, after all.

... Then she felt the vibration and her hand went to grab the black crystal, her eyes part-open as she sat up still clutching her bunny with her other arm, looking with a troubled expression as the message came through. Untransformed right now, she had blonde hair and put on her glasses that had been lying on a table beside her, staring forward at the red eye which had formed over the crystal. She then listened, considering what was being said. Justine von Visceral...

Blood of Magical Girls, huh. How distasteful. Not that it really mattered, her own goals weren't exactly sparkling clean, either. But, relevantly enough, this meant their goals didn't necessarily clash. She needed blood for something? Fine. Just as long as Mariette also got what she needed. Which, incidentally, wasn't any of the things Justine had mentioned herself being able to provide.

‘I can accept these terms. In exchange...’ Mariette considered. It wasn't that simple a matter. She could but ask for what she needed, but then, could she trust Justine to deliver? She didn't want to let Justine in on her ultimate goal. A way around it was to ask for power, Asengav had only given her so much to achieve her goals, but would she want the power Justine could provide? ... Not necessarily. She didn't want to place herself in a situation where Justine could easily pull her plug...

‘... I'd like a force to call my own, in any shape you can provide. Monsters, other girls, any such... which I can then use to achieve my own goals.’ ... Yes. Using minions to achieve her goals, them not knowing what the greater purpose might be, she could then easily discard them if they turned traitorous. This worked. Mariette nodded to herself. ‘Provide me that, and I will provide you blood.’ Mariette told.

---

Fiona was walking around her home with the black crystal in her hand. She always had trouble sleeping but she was happy to hold something different for a change it excited. She walked in front of a mirror in the bathroom and looked at the black crystal. She smiled and wondered what kind of necklace could fit this piece of jewelry.

She heard a familiar voice within her head. It was Zargoth and he was quite curious where she got the black crystal in her hand from. "Ah, that is a communication device. Who gave it to you?" Zargoth asked curiously.

The black crystal in Fiona's hand started vibrating even before she could answer Zargoth. A voice came through and the person was named Justine von Visceral. She smiled at the name of the person who sent Curie to her. She listened intently with what she had to say but this peaked Zargoth's interest more than Fiona's because of what Justine wanted Blood. The aura surrounding Fiona changed slightly into a blackened purplish aura that only happens once Zargoth uses his conduit spell on a champion. She was being used as a conduit for Zargoth's immense will and fortitude.

Zargoth spoke through Fiona to the person on the other side of the crystal. "Ah, you must be the one who sent my Champion the communication device the little black crystal. Blood is all you require and you will get what you want. In return, I will allow my champion to speak for herself in what she desires the most. Justine, it is nice talking to you. Your name feels familiar somehow."

Fiona's entire body returns to the normal glowing color of her aura. The conduit spell, which Zargoth had used on her was quite powerful in allowing him to speak through her. She was confused in what Zargoth meant at the last part of his point. She had a smile nonetheless and is unharmed from the conduit spell in question.
"Fame and Friends is all I truly seek Ms. Visercal. As you heard what Zargoth had said through me. I am grateful for this chance to gather what you require," Fiona said. Fiona looked at the black crystal intently.

The voice of Zargoth entered Fiona's head. "I'll use that Conduit Spell sparingly, my champion," Zargoth said kindly. His voice was proud in what he had accomplished during his sleep and he had accessed the most potent of his spells and all of them aren't dangerous to his champions.

Fiona smiled and she remembered something. She was looking at the Black Crystal intently. "Ms. Visceral would it be alright if I put this crystal into a necklace?" Fiona asked, curiously.

---

The flaming eye bounced slightly in place from Justine's sinister laugh, slightly echoing in the rooms of the two Magical Girls.
"Excellent. So one desires tools of war, and the other tools of peace? How amusing. Oh, and it is very nice to meet you, Zargoth~" Justine paused. The two could hear her sip something.
"Very well then. For you, Reflective Witch, I shall grant soldiers; willing to fight and die for you, hm hm~" The eye blinked.
"And for you, Chaotic Seraph Angel, I shall grant companionship; loyal and amicable, who will speak praises of your name. And of course, you may wear the crystal however you wish. I will have my servants pick up the first delivery within a fortnight. It is a pleasure working with you. Now then, goodbye~"
And with that, the eye closed, and the crystals turned off.

"Soon..." Justine whispered.

"Soon, you will be pure, Caroline..."

---

‘...’

Mariette didn't say a word as she got her response. It appeared she had delved into something dangerous. This had always been dangerous, but it now became even more so. She had to consider the possibility of being betrayed at any point. However... for this fortnight, she would do her part as Justine's pawn, for it could turn out to pay off in the end. For now... Mariette put the crystal back beside her pillow, put her glasses beside her on the table and crashed her head down on the pillow while clutching her bunny to desperately try to get some shut-eye. She'd need to start acting as soon as Deni and Eli reported back. She feared she might not get any sleep before that happened.

... Getting blood from Magical Girls within the city would be too dangerous, it'd attract attention. Fortunately, Mariette was a master of portals. There was more than one place to collect Magical Girls from in the world, and Mariette was a very capable huntress, with both Absolute Direction as well as Darkness magic and the Third Eye at her disposal via her minions to set up ambushes. Yes... This would work. She'd make her base of operations in Penrose, but she'd portal to other cities to hunt for Magical Girls on her pastime, never to the same place twice, always hunting for those she knew she'd easily take. Deni and Eli would scout, and then she'd open portals to kidnap the girls before anyone was the wiser, and then they'd easily subdue the girls for Justine to leech their blood...

Mariette gave a little smile where she lay, squeezing her stuffed bunny while trying to sleep. Did she dare think hunting Magical Girls would make for a fun pastime?

---

Fiona looked at the black crystal for a bit and noticed it was an earring and she smiled at that. She heard what Justine had said and smiled. She put the black crystal on her ear because she has no real pockets in her monster form. Her patron's voice appeared in her head. "Champion, it looks beautiful on your ear. What are you going to do?" Zargoth asked.

Fiona looked at the mirror and smiled for a second. "Zargoth... I will figure it out since I do have time to do this," Fiona said. She walked out of the bathroom.

Zargoth's voice was still there. "I guess it is time to send out the Void Dragons then," Zargoth said. His tone of voice was excited because the Void Dragons follow his will to the letter. "The Void Dragons are better than those pain in the ass Infinite Dragons," Zargoth said, his tone of voice clearly annoyed when he brought them up.

Fiona walked towards her room and was afraid. "What have you done to the Infinite Dragon that I made lose an eye?" Fiona asked curiously. The words of the Infinite Dragon triggered her self-preservation instincts, and caused her to feel the fear of death again.

Zargoth's voice lingered in her mind. "Oh you will enjoy what I have done with him; the loss of his eye will be a constant reminder to never trifle with a champion," Zargoth said. His tone of voice was delighted. "I think it would be better for you to think on strategies of how to catch magical girls in Penrose. I will worry about the outside world," Zargoth said. He then cut himself off, and disappeared back to his own realm.

Fiona heard her patron and smiled. "Wonderful... I must say," Fiona said. She walked into her room and sat down at her desk. She laid her head down on it and tried to think of what her patron had asked her to do. For her plans to hatch, she would have to bide her time, but soon she would set out on the hunt.

Lily

Background Music

During one of their patrols, Lily decided to stop at a rooftop, and take a short break from the constant movement they have made. They haven't had that many monster sightings, and the few that they found were quite miniscule and weak, so she was feeling a bit let down.
"Bweh, Why's it small fry all the time? I fought some big ones when I first entered the city, so where have they all gone?" She was leaning against the railing, and looked down at a small park, filled with cheerful children having fun. One of the kids even had an older sister with short black hair with them; the fact that she would spend time playing with her family like that was something she found heartwarming. Though the longer she looked at her, the stranger it seemed; she wasn't exactly dressed for the weather, and she kept wandering around the park as if she wasn't accompanying anyone.
"Huh...Is she actually an only child?"

Background Music

She didn't have much time to dwell on that mystery when she heard a strange sound, and turned around. She gasped when she saw a portal open before her, two figures appearing from it's depths. She stared curiously at the strange pair of girls, wondering what they were going to do. One of them was short, with adorable over-sized sleeves that hid her hands and made them look like wings; at least, that's what Lily thought. She seemed really cute, until she noticed that her dress was embarrassingly translucent and dripped a black liquid, which caused her to reel back a bit.
Is that girl...Covered in tar? Then her attention was taken by the taller girl, who was very pretty, and obviously a Dark Magical Girl; her attire and moody atmosphere couldn't be mistaken. But, unlike Chloe, she seemed to be quite reserved.

At first Lily was tense, with her hands balled up into fists, expecting a spell to be launched at her. But the mysterious girl didn't do anything of the sort, and simply stared at her, clutching a doll. Was she shy? Well, Lily wasn't going to let that get in the way.
"Hi there!" She greeted her with a smile, waving her hand. "Since you didn't attack, it means you want to talk, right?" She took a step towards the two. Lily then pointed at the short girl. "Uhh, not sure if you noticed, but, you got some...stuff...on you, hehe."
She blushed a bit, hoping she didn't embarrass the girl too much.
"So anyway, name's Lily Lightning. Nice to meet you! What's your names?"

[Card Captor]

Alexander Shields

As frustrating as his skill-set was, Alexander had to admit that every once in awhile, it ended up being useful. Case in point; making bridges out of barriers 'Can't let Sol know I thought that even for a second, I'll never hear the end of it.' Roof hopping wasn't something Alexander had ever bothered with, partially because he considered it too much effort, but he wasn't going to risk Lily going unsupervised, especially after her little episode a few nights ago. Thinking back on the meeting that went wrong, and that girl who just killed someone in cold blood while chanting 'praise Beacon' made his blood boil (wordplay!). He filled Sol in about what had happened (somewhere far enough away from the city to make sure no one could hear him. It wasn't the first time Alexander wished he could freely talk to the god mentally. Only Sol could start those telepathic conversations, and they weren't always stable for some reason) and the god was outraged. He told Alexander in no uncertain terms to be prepared for war with Beacon...although whether or not it would actually come to that was still up in the air.

"Bweh, Why's it small fry all the time? I fought some big ones when I first entered the city, so where have they all gone?" Lily's voice broke him out of his musings.

'She has a point; why has the monster population dropped so rapidly, and so soon after that night too? It might just be a coincidence...but let's be real here; it's probably a sign of something really bad.'

Suddenly, Lily spoke up again "huh...Is she actually an only child?"

"Is who a-" That's when the portal opened up, and two strange girls walked out of it. Alexander being Alexander, automatically assumed the worst, and began preparing for their attack. First, he made sure his personal forcefield was at full strength. Next, he applied one to Lily. Fortunately for him, his forcefields weren't noticeable if they weren't being hit. Finally, he began making dome shields around him. They had to be at low power to keep them invisible, but with five layers of them, he was sure that they would at least hold up against a single powerful attack. There, he was as ready as he was ever going to be.

"-ning. What's your names?"

Now it was time to see if it would be enough.

[PlatinumSkink]

Mariette

---

@Card Captor@Ariamis

First impression… cautious. Eli whispered a bit to her about how no other magic could be detected (I assume), other than the boy surrounding himself and his ally with barriers as Eli could tell through use of the Third Eye. Mariette held onto her bunny and held a neutral expression as Lily took a step forth to greet them. Mariette stayed silent, listening a bit to Eli’s whispering. Eli was dutifully looking to Mariette when she was asked if she had noticed the stuff on her. Eli looked at Lily with a couple of momentarily startled eyes, then gave a tiny giggle as she lifted a slimy wing over her mouth to be polite while she laughed.

‘Why, yes. I have noticed. Tihi.’ That it was intrinsically part of her body was a separate matter. The way Lily had said that as if it was something foreign had amused the harpy. Then Lily went ahead and introduced herself, and asked for their names. Names were… not important. Mariette wouldn’t mind if they completely skipped names. Her gaze went down to the park, where she could easily distinguish Deni playing with the kids… Hm, a bit closer than intended.

‘These are the “sweethearts”?’ Mariette asked Eli while looking at the park, startling the harpy. Then, Eli smirked, and replied.

‘Yes… These are the “sweethearts”.’ Eli confirmed, nodding to her mistress. “Sweethearts” was what Deni had called them while reporting on her findings after having stalked them for a night. She’d been quite happy talking about them. Mariette turned and looked at them again. She couldn’t see it, but then again, she hadn’t seen what Deni had seen. Now, then. She completely ignored Lily’s introduction and question as she started speaking.

‘Very well. I’ve come to warn you. Someone threatens the peace within Penrose. They manufactured the collapse of the alliance and control things from behind the scenes. They have big plans. I suggest you discretely attempt preparations and gathering allies, for soon enough, you may find yourself needing them. But be wary. If they catch wind of this, they’ll crush you just as they did the previous alliance. That is unfortunately all I can tell you, for I myself number among your enemies. I am Mariette Pedersen, the Reflective Witch, and this has been a friendly warning that I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell everyone I’ve given. Otherwise, do what you will with it. Don’t die, Deni’s a big fan of you two and I’d hate to see her sad. Good luck.’ So Mariette said, giving the slightest of a smile at the end of her speech, before turning around to form a portal in mid-air leading somewhere else in the city and was quite intending on just walking through.

‘So, um, Deni’s my sister. I’m Eli. So, uh. Bye!’ Eli felt the need to clarify that slightly awkwardly before then spinning around to follow Mariette.

Sooooooooo, Mariette only intended to say this and then leave, then closing the portal behind her after Eli and her had crossed.. But, well, if Lily and Alexander put considerable effort into stopping her from leaving or interrupting her speech, then Mariette would have to adapt to that. Otherwise the two of them would just walk through the portal and emerge in some other part of the city…