Regina typically couldn't read minds very clearly when she was so far away from them. But Umeko was practically broadcasting her thoughts for Regina to find. The message made her wrinkle her nose in disgust.
“Seems Umeko wants us to join the melee.”
Elroy stood up and turned towards the battle. The tower shield on his back almost made him look like a giant turtle. Albeit a skinny one. “She called you darling again, didn't she? You only make that face when someone calls you darling.”
“She also said you'd enjoy the chaos.”
“Well clearly she doesn't know me very well.” Elroy said with a chuckle. “I'm enjoying the battle EMMENSELY right now. I don't volunteer for fights I didn't start.”
“I'm going to create a shadow veil so that they can escape.” Regina stood up and folded the handle and tripod in on her sniper staff. It now looked like a staff with a scope on it. “Then we'll take a closer look at all the twins in the area. There's quite a few of them. Maybe they can answer some of our questions.”
“The ghost ones, I wanna know if they're really gay or just putting on a show.” Elroy looked away from the fight and at Regina. “Do you think you could read their minds for me and figure it out?”
Regina groaned. “Siblings hug each other all the time.”
“We never do!”
The succubus's attention was snatched away by Caroline's mental transformation. She could sense a great shift in the vampire's mind. It was lit up with bestial urges. Regina looked down the scope once more and could see Caroline looking directly back at her. “We've been spotted.”
“Really?” Elroy laughed. “I mean, I'm sure everyone knows we're here, but we've never been spotted before.” He looked out over the balcony again. “They can't possibly see us, I mean, we're cloaked in shadows right now.”
“I can't tell you why, but she sees us.” Regina kept looking through the scope. “Maybe it's smell, keen hearing, I don't know, but we've been spotted. Get ready to escape.”
“Escape from wha-” But then Elroy saw Caroline blasting through the air towards them. He watched with some amusement as she approached his sister. But Regina was able to turn incorporeal just long enough for Caroline to pass through her and impale her spear in the side of the building. Spider line cracks covered the wall as soon as she made impact.
“That.” Was all Regina said, phasing back into the physical plane. The succubus folded her staff in half and holstered it across her back. She was less scared than annoyed. There was still way too much of this magical girl business that Regina didn't understand.
Elroy however was not too keen on running away. Metal was his second magical specialization, and he could manipulate its shape with his mind. The incubus immediately took the rebar from the concrete foundation and beckoned it to curl around the vampire. It almost looked like Caroline was in the belly of some undead giant, with its ribs closing around her shape.
“Your welcome Regina. Now touch this rascal and-” Again, Caroline interrupted. This time by splitting apart her restraints with a single swing of her spear. The metal fragments likely would have pierced Elroy's body had he not caught them with his magic. The fragmented rebar floated around his body, gently spinning in place. “You know up close, you're kinda cute.” Before the vampire could land her next attack on Elroy, Regina took hold of his shirt collar and pulled him out of the way. She then dove into a shadow on the floor with him. The twins came out on a balcony below and over from their previous vantage point. “I'm pretty sure she was about to give me her phone number.” Elroy commented.
“If you ran your legs like you ran your mouth, we'd have escaped already.”
“You think we can outrun her?” Elroy reached behind his back and drew his tower shield. He held it in front of himself with his gauntlet covered hands. “You clearly don't know my fan base very well.” The chains running across the shield unwound themselves and spread out like a web. All eyes were on the upper balcony, waiting to see what the vampire would do.
Alicia grinned in satisfaction as her efforts helped Janet with the mist, destroying the cones and sending the original retreating into the building across the street. At the very least it was a step in the right direction, and she was prepared to push the offensive and finish the job. At least, until she suddenly noticed the red mist that had settled everywhere. It sent a chill up her spine, and was not helped by the singing voice that had appeared with it.
Quickly she looked around, trying to pinpoint the source. Someone else had shown up to help their enemies? Well that was just typical. It made things that much riskier, without her being able to see where it was coming from. The one responsible had to be somewhere nearby, she knew that much.
It wasn't made that much better by the new arrival trying to break up the fight, and acting like it was their fault. Again. She did her best to choke back her temper, but couldn't help the audible anger that escaped. "They killed Beaconites," she shot back loud enough for Shannon to hear her. "Has everyone bought so much into lies and falsely deserved sympathy that we are no longer allowed to avenge our own?"
But of course, why should she be surprised. It was so easy to simply play the victim, and most magical girls were too willing to believe that Beacon was simply a bunch of bullies rather than doing something that none of them had the stomach to go through with. Truly, it was Beacon against the rest of the world.
Her head shifted at the sensation of the new magical aura, one that dwarfed all felt previously. But she also noticed some of the Beacon members laving the scene, presumably because they felt that this was getting too dangerous. Much though she wanted to, she couldn't continue this fight on her own. So she would have to withdraw, and wait for the next fight that cam around. "Penny, we're leaving," she called down to their ally before sending Star Seraph away and taking off to join the others.
Coming down next to them, she nodded as she made sure that Janet and Suwako were alright. "I'm not sure we want to stick around for this," she said to them. They might be outgunned here with just their current numbers and strength.
The Kistune grinned as her mechanised friend sprinted her way to the edge of the roof. Finally, she was gonna get to fight. Without that whistle, even monsters weren't enough to sate her hunger. Killing a couple of trouble making Magical Girls was gonna be the highlight of her week, that was for sure.
As soon as they left contact with the hospital roof, she could feel the excitement rush through her just the same as the air swirled around her in the cool night. The battlefield was still as chaotic as ever, and she was going to enjoy adding to the skirmish. As Penny fell, quickly approaching the ground, Thalia shifted herself into a more comfortable piggy back. Then, she lifted herself up onto Penny's shoulders, into a handstand before pushing off into the air.
In the sky, backed by the red mist she had ignored, she pulled her two daggers out from behind her. She flipped them, so that the blades fell and elongated like a police baton, and then merged the handles together into one long dual bladed sword. The next second she landed, quickly standing back to back with Penny. She smiled, pressing into the other's. All she wanted to do was show off to her.
As soon as she landed, however, she found herself shaking as the ground around her rumbled. Confused, she cast her gaze around, catching other Mahou's jumping around and the like. Quickly, her vision was drawn towards the very palpable, bloodthirsty aura across the way. Her eyes narrowed as her Third Eye zeroed in on it, but the energy resonating from whatever girl was their was much too dense to look past. It left Thalia speechless for a second. She hadn't met many Mahou's with a true inclination to malice... But the fact there was one with such intense power and bloodlust awed her for a moment.
Even despite the skirmish that was happening above them all, it looked as though everyone was about ready to call a cease fire, much to Thalia's dismay. She sighed audibly, then glanced over to the Beacon girl who called Penny by name. Smirking, she jumped back up onto Penny's back and sheathed her blades, bent on seeing how much she could agitate the Beacon before they started fighting again.
"I'll be coming too, Bacon Girl, if you don't mind!" she shouted over, tails wagging, as she snuggled into the mechanical monster, "Too bad we didn't get to fight... I'd go find out what that immense power was, but..." she pouted, resting her head, "It scares me. Me, scared, for the first time; crazy, right?"
Then, as quickly as her tone turned sombre, she perked back up again. "Now, come on then! Giddy up, Horsey!"
The mechanical girl couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s antics, and could understand the excitement as she was also looking forward to the fight. Part of her was looking forward to all the destruction such a fight would cause.
Penny hit the ground fully intending to rush the Naga and introduce him to the pavement, several times in fact. It was the fact that Ilia had run that had stopped her. She was slightly annoyed that he did, but considering the how the fight was going for them, she conceded that it was a sound idea.
It was while she took a moment to figure the best way to get up to the pair that started this whole fight that the earth shook, unfortunately nothing was broken, and a new person had shown up and began chastising everyone. Penny looked around and honestly couldn't see anything wrong with the devastation, if you asked her it wasn’t enough. She was getting ready to reply in the same way that Alicia had, when she finally noticed the red mist and the singing.
”Seriously? More people are showing up?” frustration was plainly evident in her voice as she searched for the new comers. She didn’t have any luck with that but did notice The Beacons leaving Just in time to hear Alicia call out that fact.
She turned to Thalia just in time to see her jumping on her back, again. ”If we weren’t so bloody outnumbered, I would be more than willing to go find who you are talking about.” She said as she turned and started running to catch up with her allies ”Might recommend we go hunting later as is, I’m starting to need to break something”
A few moments, and a jump or two, later Penny landed near the rest of the beacon coalition. Her stance was a bit rigid due to the frustrating conclusion to the fight but her eyes had lost a fair portion of the red they had accrued. She still wanted to hit something hard, and the urge to rend was noticeable but thankfully still ignorable.
@Flamelord@Shifter_Master Suwako noticed Alicia and Penny coming towards them, but not before Alicia shouted at their opponents how they had killed Beaconites as well, a sentiment she could definitely agree with. So they had decided to retreat as well, she thought. She knew Alicia pretty well (as well as she knew a co-worker at the very least) seeing how she was also a member of the Beacon, but she only knew Penny as an outsider magical girl who ended up being allied to them. She didn't really have a problem with her however. All help were always welcome in her book. And so far Penny had proven herself to be trustworthy.
But then, she saw another magical girl coming along with Penny. And judging by the tail she sported, she was a monster girl.
Hoo boy, this wouldn't be pleasant. Perhaps Penny had forgotten but a Beacon magical girl was forbidden to mingle with a monster girl.
"Yes, I don't believe it would be advantageous for us to continue the fight at this point," she said to Alicia, who came first. But when Penny and her friend came, her neutral expression turned into a frown as she said to her, "Penny, you know that Beacon girls are forbidden to work together with monster girls, right? Why do you bring her here?" She glanced at Thalia. @Vocab
“Well, that answers that question” Penny groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. It had been a few days since Laat had allied her with The Beacon, in that time she had begun wondering how exactly they had been planning on explaining her presence. Seems the short answer was that they hadn’t, or at least they didn’t mention the fact she wasn’t human. She wasn’t sure who she wanted to punch over that choice, as she was sure she was going to have a fair amount of strained first meetings from now on.
”Salutations. As you picked up, I’m Penny” She turned to Suwako, a resigned look on her face ”I am aware of your vow, my patron has me under a variation of it as part of the alliance, I’ve got a bit more wiggle room as far as I can gather anyway. The thing is though; I am also a Monster Girl.” Said monster girl gave a grimaced half shrug with that revelation ”Currently I’m pretty damn sure I’m the only exception to your guys’ vow, granted I don’t know the full version of it, No one has told me it, I’ve just got hear-say and what I can piece together from what Laat’ said when he was talking to an angel, and what that angel said to Laat’ afterwards, which isn’t all that clear to begin with, trust me. However,” Penny was rambling, she knew it, but it helped her think, and she needed a good argument fast. She licked her lips and took a steadying breath, partially out of nervous habit, mainly so she didn’t breaking something.
“However you’re not working with Thaila.” She pointed at the girl on her back “You’re working with me” She added pointing back to herself for emphasis “So as far as I can gather as long as you focus on me and try and ignore her we all should be good” Penny hopped her nervousness wasn’t very obvious as she resisted the urge to swallow “Failing that, let me act as the go between, that way you aren’t crossing the lines you guys have drawn.” She hopped her argument would work. Otherwise she would be in a very difficult situation.
Thalia held on tight as the two made their way to the Bacon congregation, thoroughly enjoying her ride. Even after they landed, though, she didn't stop holding onto her friend, seemingly hellbent on clinging of for as long as she could.
However, it was clear the Bacon girls weren't the happiest at her presence. Their whole cult worship thing and a complete racist disregard for monster girls was, interestingly enough, humorous to Thalia. Like lambs being led to a slaughter, they followed their Patron so thoughtlessly. They didn't even know Penny was the same as her, did they? It was the most obvious thing about her, too...
Though, in order to keep the confronation from boiling over, Penny spoke up to calm the situation. Which was nice and all. But that little childish urge, mixed in with her hunting instincts, just couldn't go without saying at least something on the matter.
"Sorry about this, Penny..." she whispered to the girl, before swinging around the sit on her shoulder, "Hiya! I'm Thalia, pleased to meetcha! I'm also Penny's friend! Oh, and I'm not really a monster girl, this is just my fetish outfit!" she simply blurted out, ignoring how incendiary the words escaping her mouth were.
"Okay, thats a lie, I'm a Monster Girl, but it wasn't my fault! And anyway, you should consider yourself lucky! you get to work with Penny anyways! It just so happens I'm also working with her!" she chirruped, leaning down to give the girl a quick, abrupt, and unexpected kiss on the head.
Just as quickly as her excited, innocent demeanor manifested, though, it vanished in a split second as she looked up from Penny and scanned the Bacon Sheep, resting on Suwako. Her eyes betrayed a certain hungry, mildly cruel, but still calm and collected aura, and her tails lit up in a dim blue flame, clearly brought on by her corrupt hunger for battle. "Unless, of course, thats a problem for you, Druid~?"
"Yeah, me neither, Al." Lily sighed, but then her brows furrowed. "Hmm, I don't think they might want to do that. Penny was with Beacon, and that means they aren't as strict about monster girls as usual. So the chances of me being on their hit list, while real, is quite small." Lily stood up from the couch, her legs still a bit shaky. "Hey, why don't we call it a day for now? I know I don't need sleep, but I'd like to gather up my energy so we can start looking for allies." With that said, she went to the door of her room and opened. She looked back at Alex, with an awkward smile. "Once again, thanks. I...Nobody's ever cared about me like you have."
Caroline stabbed at the shadow just as the twins disappeared through it, and showed signs of anger at the words Elroy said. She turned the weapon into a hammer, and crashed through the roof of the building, coming down in a tri-pod landing to the hotel room that connected to the balcony the twins escaped to. She lifted her lowered head, her fangs glistening from the moonlight as she looked at the two of them. "Caroline...Is...Cute...CUTE?" She growled; it sounded like she hated the word with all of her heart, even though she was happy to hear praise not long ago with the ghostly twins.
Elroy turned to face the vampire, making sure to keep the shield between himself and IT at all times. “Yea.” He said with a smirk. “I think you're just adorable. Hell, maybe it goes beyond cute.” There was something inside Elroy that just made him enjoy setting people off. So of course he was going to continue to “flatter” the woman. “In fact, I'd be willing to take you out of town huh? Some place nice to eat? If there's something that fits your fancy, just name it. We'll make it a date. Anything for my little sugar plumb.” Regina made sure to keep herself positioned behind Elroy the entire time. The succubus placed a hand on his neck and telegraphically sent him commands to stop talking, but it was too late. The words were coming out.
Caroline's eyes widened, her crimson orbs shining as she grimaced. Her hammer-wielding arm shook; it looked like the weight of the weapon was now affecting her. She changed it to a sword with a jagged, cruel edge, and stood up, slowly walking closer. "S-Sugar...plumb?" She spat out the words, breathing heavier than before.
“Sugar plum, butter cup, summer strawberries, you're everything sweet.” Elroy leaned around his shield. “In fact, I'm willing to take it a step further. You could be the sun the hangs in the morning sky. The one thing that makes life possible on this dreary, shadow covered world.” He twirled his finger in the air, as if pointing at everything. “There are over ten billion people in the world right now, and you're more eye catching than any of them.” Regina removed her hand from the back of Elroy's neck. What was he up to?
Caroline stopped. She lowered her head, her sword still pointed at Elroy as her legs started shaking. She bared her teeth, wincing in pain. "No...Lies...Caroline hates you!" She braced with her feet, about to lunge at him; having seen the power behind her earlier attack, Elroy could assume his shield wouldn't entirely protect him.
Elroy grit his teeth with a smile. “Oh yea?” He pulled his shield back in front of himself. “Well I love you!” Regina could feel the energy build in Elroy's body and immediately dove off to the side. Meanwhile, Elroy's shield started to change shape. It swiftly grew in size and buckled in half like a V-plow. A cylindrical shape appeared at the very top of the shield and ran back over Elroy's head. The twin dropped into a sprinting position and pushed the shield forward with all of his might. Suddenly metal wheels manifested themselves around him. Then a smoke stack, a head light, and even freight cars that went back into a shadow portal. He had transformed his shield into a train, and was intent on overpowering the incoming vampire. Chains shot out from the sides of the trains face in an attempt to ensnare Caroline. Two opposing forces were about to collide. The unstoppable chaos engine, and the immortal vampire.
"HURGH!" Caroline dropped to one knee, and the sword she wielded melted into a pool of blood around her. Her slitted pupils widened back into looking normal, and they rolled around violently as she trembled, looking at the blood flowing out of her palm. "L...Love...?" She whimpered, and struggled to stand up even as she saw the Killing Blow coming towards her. She closed her eyes, and braced herself.
"That is enough, my Lady."
In that very instant, a strange noise went through the air, and the chains on the train's front grasped around empty air. Elroy crashed right into the hotel room's wall, causing the entire building to shake from the impact and the room to fall into rubble, trapping the incubus-like magical boy momentarily underneath. When he climbed out, he laid eyes upon a knife pointed directly at his forehead; he could feel the very tip of it sting his skin without cutting it. Elroy's eyes rolled up to look at the blade. The sophisticated woman wielding the knife held Caroline's hand alongside another knife, and the blonde girl breathed through her teeth as she focused on standing up, partially leaning onto the taller woman; Elroy realized that Caroline somehow avoided the attack, impossible even for her incredible speed.
"...Sonia?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide in wonder at the woman, surprised by the hand gripping hers. The woman's icy eyes gently observed the younger, fanged girl, and then coldly towards the rest as she sheathed the knife on the holster around her thigh. "You should not associate yourself with low-brow rabble, Lady Caroline. Such company is below your noble status." She threw the other knife she held in Regina's direction, missing her chest by a couple of centimeters; it was a warning shot. Regina's hair fluttered from the air movement, but she didn't flinch. "Let us be off, young master; Lady Justine has been worried for you." "Big...Sister?" Caroline responded, with a look of fear on her face. Then, the two suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing behind but Caroline's puddle of blood.
Regina's fists were balled and quivering with her anger. “Low-brow rabble?” This was not the first time Regina had been mocked in such a manner. Regina was never very fond of the smugness of high society, but how dare that witch throw a knife at her. Regina was just defending herself, and if that vampire had been properly supervised, the Bates twins wouldn't have had to defend themselves.
Erloy on the other hand looked ecstatic. He was sitting on the rubble as if it were a throne. “I can't believe it!” He said while fighting the urge to laugh. Though this was a battle he was losing. “I think this is one of the few times I was able to mock someone into submission!” He cackled. “L-love!? B-buttercup? Oh my god... I wonder how much of that she honestly believed.” He sighed and his laughter died down immediately. The incubus tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling. “Those noble types sure are petty aren't they.”
Regina approached the blood stain on the ground and examined it. She didn't really know what she was looking for. To her, it just looked like normal blood. “I take it you're sitting right now because you've expended all of your mana and a fair bit of your energy.”
“That is correct.”
Regina sighed. “I guess we're going to have to withdraw for now. I would have liked to have met the other twins, but I don't know how friendly they will be. It's a shame you had to resort to tower of carnage. You know that's a very reckless attack.”
“I was lost in the moment.” Elroy was still looking at the ceiling. “In hindsight, that attack would have been a lot more powerful if I wasn't on that balcony. There wasn't enough room to generate more carts. The weight is what makes that attack powerful.”
“You still missed.” Regina eyed the rubble. “All you'd have done is hollowed out the building, and possibly caused it to collapse.”
“You're probably right.” Elroy raised his head and stood up, almost stumbling. “So I guess we're going to see about joining up with Umeko then?”
That set off warning bells in Alexander's head. 'I'm not even doing a whole lot. So if this is the most anyone's ever cared for her...could she have been an orphan too?' Something about that didn't sit right with Alexander 'I mean sure, being an orphan sucks...but the idea of Lilly of all people being one too...it just seems wrong.' He sighed "...she just always seems so happy..." he grunted in exasperation 'of course! She was already living on her own before she moved in, so It's safe to say that she's not in contact with her family. So why would she be so happy all the time, if she was separated from her family? Simple; she lost them before becoming a magical girl.' Alexander left the room to make sure Lilly didn't suddenly eat all of their food 'but still...why does the idea of Lilly being an orphan bother me so much?'
As the battle raged on behind them, Alicia found herself confronted with the 'friend' that Penny had brought to meet then, something that she wish would have been mentioned during the meeting when they had been setting all this up. It was another complication, as if there hadn't been enough of those already. Still, sh didn't look to be immediately hostile, so that was good.
Fortunately Suwako asked the question for her, and Thalia provided some identification fairly quickly. The name didn't ring any bells, so at the very least they weren't sharing company with someone notorious in a manner that would have made things even worse than it was already. She held where she was, a hand resting on her hip as she regarded the monster girl. There was the nagging sensation that they were being goaded, but in comparison to the encounter they had just had this was fairly tame. Still, she should probably interject before Suwako took that shot.
Looking to Penny, she nodded. "The go-between idea sounds good, at least until we can get some confirmation from the Beacon on whether she's to be included in our arrangement." Once they had that worked out, then they'd have a more appropriate response ready the next time. Glancing back towards the hospital, she returned to the others. "For now I think we can go back to our normal lives. Penny, I'll be in touch tomorrow, okay?" It was enough time to talk it out with Beacon, before relaying her the decision. With that said sh waited to see if anyone else had a problem with it.
Hearing Penny's explanation, Suwako glanced to Alicia for confirmation. Seeing how her expression was normal, she must have been telling the truth. Suwako wasn't really that well-informed about this little "truce" among the Beacon and Penny, which apparently was also a monster girl. She only knew her as an ally of Beacon, and nothing more.
Well, on a personal level, she didn't really care whether she's a monster girl or not. But on a professional level, she simply didn't want to get scolded by the higher ups.
The girl she brought, on the other hand, had no such pact with them. Penny suggested to think of it as them working with her, while the new girl, named Thalia, worked with her, so that they wouldn't have the problem of working together with an unaffiliated monster girl.
Sounds dodgy, she thought. If she were a Beacon supervisor, she wouldn't have let it slide for sure.
And the attitude of the new girl certainly didn't help matters.
"...I don't like it," she replied to Thalia. "But we really are in no position to fight amongst ourselves right now."
"Very well," she said to Alicia after hearing her suggestion about going back to their normal lives. "I have no problem with it. I'm getting a little tired myself." Suwako could feel how her mana pool was pretty depleted after all those vines she had summoned. "I just hope the higher ups wouldn't be angry at us for letting a monster girl go, though I'm ready to explain how disadvantageous our current situation is if they ask for the reason."
Suwako then eyed Thalia once more. It seemed this girl was pretty close to Penny, meaning if the Beacon were to order them to attack Thalia, there would be a good chance that Penny would turn against them. At any rate, she just had to keep a close eye on the two.
Caroline's berserk bloodlust was something of a mixed blessing, as far as Julia was concerned.
On the one hand, it got her fairly far away from her other self, and lead them directly towards the mysterious, showy presence that had revealed itself. The psychic considered that quite the boon indeed, considering her intentions towards whoever that was.
On the other hand, of course, it broke their contact with the menacing girl almost as soon as that contact had been made. That came with a number of pros and cons.
She could have waited to receive our contact information. Jillian pouted mentally, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared off in the direction Caroline had gone. Currently, she was being dragged along as a passenger of Julia's gravity-based flight, soaring after the ominous girl a careful pace. Julia shot her other self a look.
You want her to be able to find us when we're without power, Jillian? The notion was absurd. Who in their right mind would want to be so close to such a being without ample power at their disposal?
She seemed to be able to find us whether we wanted her to or not, Julia. Jillian retorted, though her arms closed a bit tighter around herself. I'd like to be able to meet her on our own terms. She seems lonely.
Julia clicked her tongue. The loneliness of the girl meant little to her; there were many lonely young girls out there that had no one to turn to, and if she cried for all of them she would never be able to function. She seems to be lonely for a good reason. Girls like that hurt the ones closest to them, I'm sure of it.
Jillian shrugged as she was pulled closer to Julia in the midst of their flight, unwinding her arms to wrap one around the sterner -yet shorter- girl. Fair enough. Still...
Still.
Julia sighed. I suppose I understand. Jillian blinked as they suddenly diverged from their path, rising further into the air and banking off to the side.
Where are we going, Julia? Julia turned to favor her other self with a warm smile, wrapping her own arm around the other girl to complete the embrace. It was the warmest gesture between them since Caroline had approached them ever so rudely.
I can't sense Caroline anymore, and we already have what we wanted. Staying around much longer is a risk, with the show that girl made and how quickly she disappeared. Hopefully she's still alive, but we? Julia's smile grew warmer. We're going home.
While she wouldn't show it on her face, Umeko was relieved that the girl had gotten the beacon and their would be allies to leave. The girl Helga who had originally convinced them to come was slain and her allies had left the duo high and dry. What ever shaky alliance they had now been shattered. As the the beacon girls took their leave Umeko didn't waste her breathe on the ignorant and just plain wrong comments from they were spouting as she knew they was no logic in talks with them. An infuriated Ilia on the other hand began to shout out "REMEMBER IT WAS YOUR PEOPLE WHO STARTED THIS. ALL THE BLOOD SHED BETWEEN US IS ON YOUR PIOUS BECKONERS MANIPULATIVE HANDS", before a stern look from Umeko stopped him. All Umeko had to say to them was directed at Penny and Thalia , " before careful now you two, I may also work with a snake but I know this one stab me in the back unlike the ones you work with" as they hurried off.
Before the two of them left in the shadow passage which Regina undoubtedly made, they floated down back down to the ground. Then as the shadowy tendrils began to envelope Umeko she smiled and shot a quick mental message to Shannon before she was covered in darkness. "Hopefully next time we can have a formal introduction, xxx-xxx-xxxxx". As she left her message the shadows twinkled out of existence leaving behind nothing.
After emerging from the shadows the two had founds themselves in the far edges of the of Regina's and Elroy's aura. With the two twined souled demos no where to be found Umeko couldn't be bothered to track the other two down. "Ilia just send a dozen or so clones to track down and keep and eye one on my "friends". for now we can return to you dwelling." . 'Shame the fight was just getting good when it ended. would of been to easy in a fair fight.". Ilia then spat out a bit of blood from his mouth before doing as Umeko said. Once inside Umeko turned into her civilian form before retiring to take a nice long bath, Ilia once again going to devour the never ending supply of junk food the apparent was filled. "Any blood you drag thru the apparent your cleaning up"
The dim light cast by slowly burning torches on the wall painted flickering shadows over the walls of the crypt-like hall. The chamber, resembling a tomb at first glance, what with the numerous caskets placed into indents on the walls, was furnished with baroque items of grandeur, such as great paintings depicting royal ladies in fancy dresses, or shelves filled with musty tomes. At the very back of the chamber, sitting upon the throne, her face hidden in the darkness, was a girl who looked as menacing as she was regal; Justine von Visceral. She held a cup filled with red, thick liquid, and set it aside as her crimson eyes staring from the dark looked down upon Caroline standing before her; Caroline's legs were shaking as she looked down at her feet, not daring to look at her directly.
There were also other girls present; Sonia was at the forefront, kneeling down at the bottom of the steps leading to the throne. Behind her were two other girls, also knelt down; they were in the shadows, with only faint glimpses of a gothic lolita outfit and long, rec hair able to be seen.
"Oh, my sweet Caroline, you know that you are forbidden from venturing outside. Who knows what strangers you may chance to meet upon." She placed her hand on her shoulder, and gripped it tightly, causing Caroline to shiver, her mouth open ajar.
"Caroline knows...Caroline always listens to big sister...But, it's dark...Caroline wanted to play with dolls...And...Caroline met a... boy..."
"And? What did this boy do to you?" The noble girl gripped her throne.
Caroline hesitated, but then, after a deep breath, she whispered: "The boy...They said...they...loved Caroline."
"Those sick, depraved peasants!" She stood up from her throne, and the torch light revealed her visage: she possessed unearthly beauty and grace, but beneath her red eyes was a mind of pure, malevolent ambition. "They will pay for their defilement in their blood." She moved closer to Caroline, her fingernail sweeping over her cheek. Then, she slapped her cheek, causing Caroline to wince. But, that wince was accompanied with a strange, unnerving smile. "But don't worry, Caroline. No matter how angry I am with you...No matter how much I want to punish you..." Her fingers slowly crept around her neck. "...Big sister will never be gentle with you. You will be pure again, Caroline. Soon. I promise you."
Caroline's eyes teared up, and she placed her hands over hers, smiling earnestly even as she was hurting her. "Thank you, big sister." Justine released her grasp, and Caroline dropped to the floor, gasping for breath when the regal girl turned towards Sonia and the other girls. "What happened to Helga? Did she succeed in her given task?"
"She fell in battle against the Beacon, my Lady; they had the assistance of unaffiliated magical girls as well as a boy. Her boisterous and animalistic tactics were her undoing despite her power to hear the thoughts of others." Justine bared her long fangs, her mouth twisted into a snarl. "Who was it who slayed her, the mistress of combat?" "She was put down by a certain thunder-wielding girl....Lily Lightning, if I am not mistaken."
Justine sat back on her throne, her fingers tapping rapidly against the armrests. "It was a mistake to outright attack the Beacon. Death only spurs them on, and no matter how many are slain they keep fighting, singing praise to their fallen as martyrs to the cause..." Then, her eyes widened, and her lips turned into a wicked grin. "Ah-ha! Now I know what to do. We shall destroy them...From the inside. Yes, we shall turn their blind loyalty and faith against them, and rip asunder everything they believe in! Leave them with nothing but hollow hopes and desiccated dreams!"
She lifted her open palm before her.
Over it floated the black crystal, and she looked upon it with insane glee.
She giggled, and it gradually turned into a noblewoman's laughter as she held the back of her other hand before her mouth, until it devolved into maniacal cackling.
"Yes...I SHALL CAST THEM INTO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF DESPAIR!"
After the events at the hospital, Penrose returned to some kind of normalcy. The news reported that the incident was a terrorist-incited chemical attack where they hallucinogens were deployed with the use of bombs on the hospital's roof, explaining the signs of fire and explosions there and explaining the strange sights that civilians saw while escaping from the scene.
Lily breathed in the morning air; she wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, but she knew that she couldn't stay in bed any longer; she was now sure that Mariette's warning was real, and that she had to find magical girls who would join her cause in fighting against the ominous danger. "Alright, where do you think magical girls hang out, Alex? Let's try and look for someone who doesn't want us dead at first sight."
Alexander shrugged "roofs...maybe? I don't know, girls are confusing." He quickly finished his breakfast pizza "I'm pretty sure you'd have a better idea than me. Not only do you understand people a lot better than me, but your also a girl. So you probably know how girls think much more than I do." He chugged a can of soda "by the way, do you know what you're going to say once we find someone? Because I sure as hell don't. And I'm not sure if just telling people that a weird portal girl told us bad things were coming, is going to convince many people. Hell, I'd probably just ignore someone who told me that. I almost sounds like the opening of some kind of scam." Alexander transformed, making sure to mumble his chant as quietly as he could.
Penny was holding her breath, technically she was holding perfectly still since she didn’t need to breathe, but she just viewed it as holding her breath, the reason? Well Penny was hopping her, admittedly flimsy, argument would be enough to stave off a conflict between Thalia and The Beacon members. That hope seemed ludicrous, since the fox girl was blatantly goading them, and they all had just got out of a rather frustrating and unsatisfying fight. Or at least it was frustrating and unsatisfying to the monstrous part of the mechanical Maho.
That both Alicia and Suwako decided to go with it, at least till they could talk to their higher ups, left the cyborg feeling both elated and slightly disappointed. Not that she wanted a fight to break out mind; just her need to break things isn’t limited to physical objects. That part would have found The uneasy peace breaking quite enjoyable
‘I reeeally need to break something’
“Sure, You’ve got my number” Penny replied to Alicia “Hopefully next time we meet isn’t so tense” She added with a nod to all of the beacon girls as she turned to leave.
She was just in time to catch Ilia and Umeko call out before teleporting away. ”I get the feeling I missed something at the start of this whole fight, ‘cause I could have sworn they were the ones who started this” She said to her passenger as Penny scratched her head in slight confusion.
With a shrug Penny started jogging in the direction of her warehouse, making sure to stick to the rooftops as she did “ Anyway I’m heading home so I can find something to destroy, before I snap. You are welcome to come along, with how today has been going we might stumble across something to kill along the way” she said to Thalia. Thinking back over the past little while, the only good luck she would say had had was with the diplomacy attempt just barely.
It was while she was reviewing the recent events that something occurred to her. Something she was too worried to really notice when it happened. “Y-y-you, w-w-wha.. W-w-why did you kiss me?!” Penny stammered, her steps faltering for a moment as she tried to fight down the blazing blush that was on her face.
Daily life continued on for one Alicia Hayden as it normally did. She went to school, did her extracurricular activities, helped out around the house, and made sure to stay on top of everything so her parents wouldn't be overly concerned on those occasions when Beacon business resulted in her staying out late or something like that. It made things easier on her, even if her parents were safe because of Beacon.
Not at the moment however. Instead she was taking some time out after school to handle Organization business. Not that kind that would involve fighting monsters or magical girls though, which made for a nice change of pace. Looking around the room, Alicia couldn't help but smile at seeing the various girls gathered here in one of the Community Centers that Beacon operated. It was a place where the girls could get together and interact, train, study, and do anything else that they might need, in each others company in the process.
It made sense after all. Beacon was an organization founded on a common purpose, a sisterhood that relied on each other and supported each other. Places like these existed to give magical girls the help that they needed, and to give them the time to get to know each other. They couldn't exactly do that on the job. It also helped coordinate teams as well as patrol routes, meaning Beacon could operate more efficiently as a whole.
A stroke of the pencil put an end to hr remaining homework for the day, meaning that now she could actually mingle with her fellow magical girls. Her homework was put away and then she rose from her seat, nodding to the other girls in the room before moving to other parts of the center.
"Hey Zoe," she said with a wave to the black haired girl running past her in the hallway, forcing her to dodge to the side.
Zoe turned around to wave back, slowing only for a few moments. "Hey Alicia, gotta go talk to you later." With that she was gone, leaving Alicia to continue onwards. It could have been worse.
A chuckle escaped as she shook her head, moving into one of the other common rooms. "Oh, Caren. How're you doing?" Entering she found another familiar magical girl nearby, with dark brown hair and purple highlights. They'd hung out before, though not recently. Sh thought they got along pretty well too.
Her presence certainly caused a bright smile to come to Caren's face as she turned from what she had been doing to step closer. "Hey Alicia, you're just in time." Now that was interesting, though it wasn't particularly worrying. If she didn't need her, then there were plenty of other girls here who could help out.
"Oh, what is it?" She was at least eager to find out what Caren needed her for. Hopefully she could be of help,even if it didn't end up being all that fun.
Caren came to a stop, giving Alicia a small bow before she explained what she wanted. "I was actually hoping I could get your help. I'm trying to refine my technique, but it feels like I'm missing something in the range aspect. You think you could lend me a hand?" Alicia was a good archer, and it wasn't a secret. This would not be the first time that she had helped people out with their shooting.
"Sure," Alicia confirmed happily. "Let's go to the training range." Caren nodded, and together the two of them headed up to the roof, where targets were set up for people to practice on. There were also bows nearby, provided by the Beacon at a low cost so girls could work on it without using their magic.
Walking over, she passed Caren a bow and an arrow before stepping back. "Alright, show me how you usually o it," she said with her arms folded across her chest. Just another day in the life of a magical girl.
Suwako waited until she was back in the safety of her house before transforming out of her magical girl state. She had easy access to her room thanks to it being located on the second floor and having a balcony. Perhaps the Beacon agents who had given her this family designed it to be so, just so she could do her job easily without sneaking around like some other magical girls.
Her civilian clothing was a stark contrast to her miko-like outfit from before. It was just one big oversized white t-shirt with sleeves that were longer than her hands. It reached halfway down her thighs. And she didn't wear any pants or skirts down below.
It was the clothing she wore while she was in the orphanage.
Indeed, she was forced to dress up in oversized secondhand clothes given by the various donors from all around the city. The orphanage didn't have a lot of money after all, so every kid there had to wear such clothes.
Of course, now that she was the daughter of a rich couple, she didn't have to wear this kind of clothes anymore. But she simply couldn't get used to dressing up fancily like a proper wealthy little girl. Her parents had given her all sorts of fancy pajamas and nightgowns to wear, but she was more comfortable sleeping in this old T-shirt of hers more than anything else.
She threw herself into her bed immediately, hugging the fluffy and soft pillow placed there.
"What do you think, Agape?"
An owl suddenly manifested beside her atop the bed. It was Agape, her loyal familiar. It looked just like any ordinary owl except that it had a pair of deer-like horns on his head, mimicking her when she was in her transformed state.
"What do you think? I think you should sleep, young lady. Do you have any idea what time this is?" he responded with his usual know-it-all old man tone.
Suwako couldn't help but to snicker a little hearing that. His attitude always amused her.
"Oh, please don't fool around, Agape. I can feel myself getting sleepy here, and I want to hear your thoughts before I fall asleep."
"Very well then, my dear child," he responded. "Then, I shall share with you my wisdom. Ahem, so, I believe there is a third party watching you and your Beacon friends fighting against the anti-Beacon magical girls."
"Do you think they have something to do with the conflict we're having?"
"Hmm, it's certainly a possibility. I don't see the reason why they would do such a thing though."
"Perhaps they wish to weaken us all before coming in to finish us all in one fell swoop?"
"Divide and conquer... you've learned well, my child. Indeed, we should be more careful in the future. I am glad you decided to retreat back there instead of continuing the fight."
The two then stayed silent for a while, with Suwako slowly drifting away to dreamland. But before she fell asleep entirely, Agape nuzzled himself to her, giving her the warmth his fur provided.
"I believe this should make your sleep more comfortable," he said to her.
"...Thank you, Agape," she replied.
Thus, the two fell asleep with the owl slumbering inside her arms. Suwako had a nice dream about a fluffy bird paradise that night.
The next morning, Suwako was awakened by the housemaid opening the curtains in her room, allowing sunlight to come in and disturb her sleep. Agape was nowhere to be seen. No doubt he had returned to wherever he was most of the time. And she was grateful for that since it would be quite bothersome explaining why she had a living owl in her bed all of a sudden.
"Miss, if you don't hurry, then you're going to be late for school~" the housemaid said with a bright, smiling face. Sometimes, Suwako thought she was too cheerful to the point of being annoying to a reserved person like her.
Without waiting for her to fully wake up, the housemaid grabbed her t-shirt and pulled it off her body in one fell stroke. And then, she picked her up and placed her inside a portable bathtub placed on the balcony of her room. The balcony was surrounded by her house's garden grounds so she wouldn't have to worry about someone peeking on her for taking a bath there. The water was indeed warm but it was still enough to shock her out of her grogginess.
The housemaid then began to scrub her body while singing the theme song of her favorite soap opera that she watched faithfully every single day.
Really, this girl is too carefree... she thought. At least her scrubbing is good... even if her singing is not.
Indeed, she made sure that her scrubbing was gentle, as she didn't want to harm such a delicate and cute little girl like her. She also made sure to wash Suwako's long hair properly, giving it shampoo and conditioner properly. She still remembered how when young miss (her nickname for Suwako) came here the first time, her hair was like a wild bush with spikes everywhere. Only after she cleaned it up properly, it looked like a proper ojousama hairstyle.
After they finished their bath, the housemaid began dressing up Suwako for her school. It was a private elementary school for rich kids, with specialized curriculum that was more advanced than your usual public school. It also had a unique school uniform that Suwako had to wear.
After the housemaid finished dressing Suwako up to her satisfaction ("Ah, ojousama! You're looking so cute as usual!"), she took her downstairs to have breakfast with her parents. Suwako's father was a serious-looking mustachied black haired businessman. If she were actually his daughter, she would have definitely taken her serious attitude from him. Suwako's mother on the other hand was a blonde-haired fashionista. She had the hobby of wearing terribly fancy and gaudy (at least according to Suwako) dresses no matter what the occasion was. And it was no different today, as she was wearing a poofy-looking white dress with a pearl necklace on her pretty neck.
And when she saw Suwako going down the stairs, she immediately rose up and ran towards her.
"Ooh, Suwako-chan, my dear daughter! You're as adorable as usual!" Without Suwako's consent, she grabbed her little daughter and lifted her up in the air before showering her with kisses. Suwako blushed in annoyance at this excessive but expected show of affection. Her mother was just like that, not hiding her emotions at all.
"Come on, dear, put her down. She needs to have her breakfast after all," the father said with a smile on his face.
"A-ah, that's right, dear!" The mother did as he said, releasing the grumpy-looking-yet-still-blushing Suwako back to the ground. "Come now, my dear! Let's eat! Today we have some bacons and omelettes!"
Suwako merely sighed as she walked over to her chair, lifting her body carefully up to it since her legs weren't long enough to reach the floor while she was seated on it.
At breakfast, Suwako mostly stayed silent as she ate her food, with her mother and father doing the talking to each other. Their conversation however slowly turned into about Suwako, mainly about how she was doing at school. But then, suddenly, her mother asked her a question she was not prepared at all to answer.
"So, I heard you've been getting along quite well with a certain boy at school. Why don't you tell us all about him? I think his name was... Luke, isn't it?"
Hearing that, Suwako choked at her drink. How in the world did she know about that?
"Luke is some boy I've been tutoring. Nothing more, nothing less," she replied.
"But I heard him calling you Onee-chan all the time while following you around like a cute little duck."
"I certainly did not tell him to do that. He just does it on his own. I've told him to stop but he wouldn't listen."
Suwako was frankly, quite embarrassed with Luke. She wasn't ready to be called Onee-chan by a bright-looking younger boy who followed her around like a lost puppy. The boy was actually somewhat a prodigy, being in the same grade as her while being eight-years old. And his rank academically was second only to her. But being second was enough for him to ask her to become his mentor. At first, she refused since it was a bothersome thing to do, but eventually, with him asking over and over again, she relented. And this was the result of that, with him calling her Onee-chan like she was his big sister.
"Well, nonetheless, I am glad to hear that you're having friends in school, Suwako," her father interjected.
After breakfast, Suwako departed for school using her family's car, complete with a driver. It wasn't that impressive though, as the other students attended mostly the same way. It wouldn't attract attention unlike if she were to attend a public school.
At school, nothing unusual happened, other than Luke following her around like usual. She was glad that most magical girl related stuff seemed to happen at night time so she wouldn't have to find excuses to him when she had to go fight.
After school, she had an appointment related to Beacon, as she had promised to help some of the younger Beacon magical girls in their studies. She rode her car there, the driver being told that she had a study session together with a couple of girls outside school.
Just her luck however, right when she was about to enter the center, a familiar voice called out to her.
"Suwako-neechan! Suwako-neechan!"
The brown-haired, green-eyed boy panted with exhaustion after running from quite the distance towards her. He was still wearing his school uniform, quite similar to her except he was wearing light blue shorts instead of a skirt.
Oh boy... what do I do now... I can't possibly take him with me... magical girl secrecy and all that...
Suwako looked around, trying to think her way out of this predicament.
Drove off 3 beacon girls and 4 monster girls: 11S 14B Upheld Oath (Stood against Beacon): 3S 2B
Total: 0 Gold, 14 Silver, 16 Bronze
Tonya smiled to herself. Ilia & Umeko had survived, Beacon, Penny, Thaliah, Sonia, and Caroline had all fled, which meant that the VIP’s thread of fate would last long enough for their termination during the raid on Justine’s castle. The fighting would get a lot harder from here on out, but for now, she could congratulate herself on a job well done and get some rest.
It was a modest sized studio apartment. Penrose was not exactly known for its great housing arrangements, but this low rent alternative would do until the Golden Trove opened up. An oriental themed hotel sounded pretty tacky, but at least it would put her in the thick of the action.
But that was the future. This was now
Being able to look into the future sure was addictive. She remembered what it was like when she first joined the police force. A day didn’t go by where Tonya hesitated to ask when the future was going to arrive. She wanted to be a detective so badly, but had to suffer through the years of being a grunt. And then, and then…
The world ended.
Tonya plopped herself down on a well-used couch. She reached for a mini fridge within arms reach and pulled out a soda. With a pop, some froth ran over her fingers, and then into her mouth.
Nah, the spool the fates had handed her was great and everything, but it was important to remember that even the fates weren't absolute. If they were, they wouldn’t be hiring people like her to rush around and fix everything. In fact, the old world was proof of that. How unfortunate that anyone has to be born in time to be able to deal with something like the collapse of reality. But that was the life that Tonya was living.
After drinking her entire soda in one go, Tonya threw back her head and gasped. She was really alone right now. Everyone she knew from her old life was either dead, or had their memories of what happened altered. It wasn’t like Tonya had many friends since she became a magical girl either. Her encounters were brief, and life took her in other directions. Her patron wasn’t exactly a conversationalist, and-
Oh, her phone rang?
”Mac Speaking.”
“I know.”
Tonya lifted her head. ”Wasn’t expecting you, Aria.” Aria was an acquaintance of Tonya's. What few times she needed to go to the overcity for something, Aria had it. And with Fate's ability to make connections happen at will, they pretty much spoke any time she needed something.
“Rarely do I get reception in Penrose. I take it your quest has been going smoothly?”
”It’s hard to lose at poker when you can see everyone’s hand months in advance.”
“Too true.”
”Got anything for me, or is this just going to be more pillow talk?”
“Why not both?” Tonya could feel Aria smiling through the receiver. “You’re going against Beacon. I’ve been there. You want to get hooked up with someone lower on the radar, right?”
”Can’t say I’m a huge fan of working with Puchuu. ”
“What about magical girls?”
Was she implying that magical girls could become patrons? ”I’m listening.”
“You want to join Mint, then.”
”I can’t trust the Mint as far as I can kick them.” That was pretty far, admittedly. Probably not the best analogy.
“But you might like Veronica. I'm not going to pretend she's better than any other coin broker. If anything, she'll go out of her way to make sure you have a debt to clear. But unlike other brokers, she won't let you die if you seem useful. And I can tell you right now that you seem very useful.”
Tonya was well aware of what was going to happen down the road with her, of course. She would defect from the mint and make her own splinter organization. Maybe she could get a coin from the mint, kind of a way of pseudo signing up with them, and remain strictly with her cause once the split happens. The wolf grinned. ”Alright, how do I make contact?”
Boteg's logic confounded Amber. She had no idea why someone who was frightened of magical girls would put their home next to a school. Isn't it common knowledge that magical girls need to keep up the appearance of being, well, girls? Amber was fortunate in that she had enough money coming in that she didn't need to mooch off anyone. But most were forced to live with someone who could provide for them. And those people were often in the dark about the magical girl's true nature. Thus the need to go to school. Why was Boteg so... Boteg?
Amber was in her civilian guise, visiting the school's playground. Her twin braids bounced off her shoulders with every step she took. Sue was perched on her shoulder, remaining quiet. They had no strong ability to sense magical entities, but Boteg was VERY sure that there was something in the playground. He had never been wrong in the past, and he likely wasn't wrong now. But this early, the playground was empty.
“Hello?” Amber wasn't expecting a response. No magical girl would show herself THAT easily. Maybe while she was here Amber would see if the slide was as much fun as she remembered.
Hiding, if it could be called that, just out of sight was Violet and Sakura. They had happened across the activity by the school quite by accident. Accident may not be accurate, their luck and Fate had a way of moving them around into and out of the most improbable circumstances. Sakura could tell that the girl in the playground was a magical one, though she didn't have Third Eye. So likely someone else was feeding her information about their presence. "I think she's a good candidate. She's the only magical girl here so we must have been drawn here to meet her." The Twin Soul looked over at Violet for confirmation.
"Makes sense, at least this one came looking for us. It's always annoying when our luck drags us all over town." The other twin replied with a shrug. She had yet to truly see Amber, due to the fact they were on the other side of one of the playground walls, but that didn't really mean much with how the twins were linked. With a small smirk Violet dropped all pretense of staying hidden "Hello!" She announced as she practically fell from behind the wall, grabbing it as she went so she wouldn't face plant. Her sister followed, though made an effort not to have the same tumble. Image and all that, Sakura didn't like looking a fool if she could help it. "Hi there. The girl waved ever so slightly.
Amber froze in front of the slide. “Eh?” the pirate backed away from the slide and folded her arms behind her back. “Well, what a coincidence!” Amber rocked forward and backward on her heels. “You guys don't happen to attend this school, do you? Because I attend this school too." Her smile broadened. "And it would be cool to be friends with a magical girl." After standing there for a moment, Amber realized she was forgetting something. "I'm Amber, by the way! I hope we can be friends." Of course, Amber wasn't really hoping they could be friends. If this was the disturbance Boteg was worried about, the pirate just wanted them gone. But as with Martha, there was no need to tip her hand so soon.
Sakura takes a seat on the swing and glances at the school. "Uhm, no. We kind of wander around a lot actually." Rolling her feet she lightly swung back and fourth. "I'm Sakura and this is my sister Violet. Nice to meet you." She did a lot better with a single person. Especially now that they were introduced. Smiling lightly she decided to ask a question herself. "So were you out here waiting for us?"
That was... an oddly specific question. Amber didn't think she had said anything to imply she was waiting for them. Or did they maybe know what she was up to? Amber didn't know, so she wasn't abandoning the cute act. “Oh! No, not really. I just came here to play on the slide.” Amber was pretty good at lying, part of good customer relations was telling people what they wanted to hear. Sadly, it wasn't always true. “Anyway, you guys feel like doing anything?” At this moment, Amber used the power of friendship to gaze into their souls. Surely there was something she could do to gain their trust. But her power wasn't picking up anything. Nothing she could do in the moment could win their trust. "What?" Amber groaned to herself. This had never happened before. Not when she so desperately needed it to work.
Violet released her hold on the wall and turned her fall in to a controlled tumble. She had a partially bored expression on her face as she regarded the disguised pirate. "Conversations are always fun." she said after a moment before she jumped up on to the playground wall she had used to catcher her earlier fall. "Twenty questions is as well." she added with a mischevios gleam in her eyes "Do you want to play?"
Amber shoved her hands into her pocket. “That sounds...” She snorted. Amber really didn't have a lot of options. She didn't want to have a drawn out battle with two magical girls, but it seemed unlikely she would be able to surprise them at this rate. They had spotted her first, and were not the trusting type. There was only one thing Amber could do in this situation that might net her a victory without needing to transform. And that was telling them what she wanted. “Alright, so I'm not going to sugar coat this for you.” Amber lifted her hand over her opposing shoulder. “You need...” She cut through the air with her hand. “...To go! You can't come around here anymore, my employer doesn't like it. He can't sleep with other magical entities like you around.” Amber liked booty, but fair fights weren't her style. “It's strange, and it's stupid, but it's what I've been tasked with. I don't hate you, I'm sure you're fine people, but...” She whipped out her arm and pointed down the road. “You can't be here!”
Violet let out a sigh "Way to ruin the fun." she said resigned as she walked along the wall's edge towards Sakura, she made sure to keep her pace slow, as didn't want Amber to think she was becoming hostile. "Should have known it wouldn't have been easy, our luck rarely makes it easy," She grumbled to her self as she leaped to stand on the swings Sakura was on. "Don't suppose that was a Wish?" She tossed out, hoping that the other girl would say yes, while doubting she would at the same time. It was a strange situatation to be in she mused normally people are chasing after them, rather then chasing them away.
Amber's eyes moved onto Violet. “Being easy? Wish? I don't follow.”
Nodding Sakura bagan to swing properly, though not very high. "Well... Pausing occasionally as she was on her backswing. "If we're going to be blunt then...you must know that we are the Djinn Sisters... Maybe you or your friend have heard of us.... All the hubbub here in Penrose has caught our attention... because it's a prime spot to grant all kinds of delicious wishes." Using her feet to stop herself she smiled softly and looked directly at Amber. "And we happened across you. We're not really about fighting if we don't have to. Our master isn't about that. It just gets in the way of wish granting you know." Sakura glanced at her sister briefly and it seemed that she should continue.
Taking her hand of the ropes of the swing she put them on her knees. "It's fate that guides us, we never really know where we'll end up next. We're here now so you must have some kind of wish." Normally the twins were much more cryptic with their fellow magical girls about what they did or why. However Amber was being particularly agreeable and it didn't seem they would ever get a wish by leading her on. "I like your familiar by the way. Can I uh... can I pet her?" Her tone was a genuine question, as if she wasn't sure if it was okay to ask but did anyway.
Sue cocked her head to the side. “You want to pet me?” The diving petrel spread its wings and attempted to land on Sakura's out stretched arm. “You may, but be sure to rub my beak a little too!”
Amber folded her arms. “So you just want someone to make a wish huh?” Amber didn't doubt their intentions, they just seemed strange. The former manager had met quite a few magical girls, and very few of them truly acted the part of girls. Yet here were Violet and Sakura, offering to grant wishes and pet strange animals. “Well, I don't know what's so special about me. But I'll give you a wish to grant if that's what you're here for. But why does your master want you to grant wishes anyway?”
The two shrugged lightly. "Punishment?""Warped sense of humor?" Their tone conveyed that they weren't entirely sure themselves. "Made the mistake up disrespecting a Djinn. I don't recommend it." It was clear that talking wasn't Sakura's strength, for as she continued she got more quiet. Sue landing on her arm, Sakura reached up and carefully pet the bird. And as per the request she rubbed Sue's beak as well. Sue was clearly enjoying it, pushing her entire head into the girl's palm.
“Alright...” Amber didn't fully understand the twins situation, but it seemed like getting them to leave was as simple as making a wish. But what wish? Amber stroked her chin. “Wishing for things does take the sport out of plundering them, but we'll give this a try.” Amber gave the twins a sideways glance, almost too embarrassed to look at them directly. “Would it be possible to wish for a handsome guy to just show up? Like we could become steady dating partners? And maybe he's really rich, understands my problems, and is all around a swell guy? Could you swing something like that?”
"You don't watch a lot of disney do you?" Violet asked as she hopped down from the top of the swings " There are a few rules when it comes to wishes. We can't kill people, we can't force love, and we can't bring people back from the dead. There are a few more issues but those tend to be needlessly specific." She explained as she walked over to Amber, a mischievous glint in her eye yet again. "So while we could summon a handsome, swell rich guy for you" She continued as she began circling the girl "You would have to convince him to fall in love with a pre-teen." She finished explaining with a grin. Violet enjoyed this part of the wish granting, everyone had different wants and needs and they always tried talking the out with the sisters. Sometimes she would help other times she would remain quiet and let them wish for a self destructive wish, depended on her mood really.
Amber grinned. “Well of course I've watched Aladdin. That's one of my favorite animations. Though it's not always wise to apply what you learn through TV to real life ya know?” She winked at violet. Of course Amber was disappointed with how limited the wishes actually were. Amber came into contact with men that fit her description every day. The thought of the Djinn sisters walking off the playground and grabbing someone off the street for her was a bit dissapointing. “Well, I can't think of anything to wish for that I can't get myself, so I guess I'll just wish you away.”
“Wait Amber, please!” Sue was batting her stubby wings.
Amber turned to face her familiar. “Oh? Do you have a wish?” The bird bobbed it's head up and down. The bird bobbing its head up and down caused Sakura it giggle a bit. “I think you're trying to nod, but it doesn't really work for birds.”
“Yes!” Sue dropped her head as low as it would go. “Please Amber, if you're just going to wish them away, let me make a wish!”
Amber was a bit confused. Sue had only ever really had a desire to do what Amber wanted. But if there was something her heart really yearned for... “Let's hear it.”
“Thank you.” Sue's head shifted between the two sisters as she asked her question. “Would it be possible for you to deliver something? Even if I don't know the recipient’s name or location? I do know what they look like.”
Though the wish wasn't coming from a magical girl she figured it was still as good as any. Giving the question some thought Sakura answered. "Might depend on where they are. If they're magically shielded or something then it may not work. But other than that if the description is good enough we might be able to find them." That seemed a reasonable description of the limitations. Knowing where someone was would be preferred, as mistakes could be made with a description.
“O-oh okay!” Sue settled down a bit. “Alright, um...”
Amber raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong Sue?”
“Um.” Sue sighed. “So the description. Let's see. She's a magical girl. I've only seen her transformed. She has really long white hair and a blue eye. Her right eye is covered by an eye patch, erm, if she still has one. She also wears a black dress, and has an adorable stuffed bunny. Umm...” Amber's eyes widened in horror as the details came together. What was sue thinking? “But her magic is really how you'll know it's her. It's very unique. Portal magic. I haven't seen anything like it.”
Amber cleared her throat. “Also she has a pair of very rude gelatinous harpies. And if you do find her, she will likely try to ambush and kill you on sight. So be ready for that.”
Sue turned to look at her master. “Amber!”
“We also mustn’t forget that she has tentacle magic. She's VERY good with it too.”
“Uh-well.” Sue flapped her wings. A nervous tick of hers. “Amber fired some grape shot at her tentacles, and I think that upset her. I don't think her intentions were going to be all that unwholesome.”
“Do you remember what she told us?!” Amber was practically shouting. “She was going to 'reward' us for surviving her ambush! Sur-vi-ving!”
“It was scary, and a little intense.” Sue's body was vibrating now. “B-but I think you guys will be okay. We last saw her in Highbrook, but with magic like that, she could be almost anywhere now.”
Glancing back and forth as the two talked, Sakura was a little confused as to what exactly the wish was. "Sooo... What is the wish? You want us to find where she is or...?" So far the request sounded a little hazardous. And the two weren't about throwing themselves into danger.
"Well, I'm assuming you'll need to find her to deliver the package. But no, I don't need to know her location." Sue wiggled her tail.
Gaze slowly drifting to her sister they seemed to have an inner discussion. There still han't been a wish yet. Her eyes snapped back to Sue. "Uh, put the request in wish form and we'll tell you if it's possible or not." They really couldn't apply their wish magic any other way.
Sue was still shaking. “Um...” She closed her eyes. “I wish for you to deliver a package to the portal creating magical girl I described to you earlier!” Sue's eyes popped open. “Like that?”
That would suffice as far as the wish part was concerned, well with one exception. An important detail was left out. "What's the package?" Sakura asked with a smile.
“Oh, right! Um.” The familiar looked around. “One second.” She spread her wings and took off. Amber didn't take the opportunity to talk with the twins much. But she was always in thought, occasionally glancing up at them. They didn't seem like bad people. And this was punishment for disrespecting a genie? In that sense, the Djinn sisters and Amber weren't too different. Being burdened with a new life they didn't want. The pirate would spend the next ten minutes thinking in silence before Sue returned. It was a simple envelope with nothing but the words “Portal Queen” written on it. It wasn't much larger than a standard envelope, and it was in Sue's beak. “Sorry that took so long.” So squeaked before landing on the fence. “But I didn't know I'd find people who could deliver it.”
Amber sighed. “That had better not have any personally identifiable information in it.”
“O-Oh!” Sue flew over to Sakura. “Don't worry Amber, it's noting like that. She won't be able to find us with this.”
“Good.” She folded her arms. “Because I sleep just fine knowing that she can't find me.” Amber wanted to ask what it was, but at this point she was just happy to give the djinn a wish to grant. And if it made Sue happy, that was even better. She had done a lot for Amber.
As Sakura touched the letter both of the Sisters felt a tingle down their spine, they had encountered it before. It was, as far as they could tell, an omen. It wasn't necessarily good or bad, nor were they sure if was their magic or their luck that caused the feeling, but it would often make it's self apparent shortly before a wish. 'Seems like this one will be important' Violent thought as she moved next to her twin.
A moment of concentration later and Violet had an idea of where to go to find this "Portal Queen", which would help with the granting, if they chose to go through with it. An up side of not being true djinn, they had the option of denying a wish. They didn't often, but the ability to say no was a welcome one. 'I've got no objection to this one, and if it does turn dangerous we can always just poof it to the recipient' The girl thought at Sakura, 'Any on your end?'
"I have no objection. to the wish. I wonder where it will take us." She returned in thought. She looked back at Sue but let her sister continue.
With a nod Violet turned to Sue her eyes sparking with white light "Your wish shall be Granted" The Mini-Djinn intoned seriously as a spark of white light jumpped from both the Sisters to the letter. It stayed glowing for a moment before fading back to normal.
"It may take some time to get the "Package" to its recipient" Violet began explaining as she took a step towards Sue "So take this token and when it breaks, you shall know you wish has been fufilled" she drew a small circle around the Familiar's leg. In the wake of her finger's passing a small, silk ribbon appeared, tied to the birds leg.
“T-thank you so much!” Sue's head started to bob up and down again. She nearly forgot to let go of the letter before doing this. Amber remained silent, just passively watching the twins do their thing.
As Violet stepped away from Sue her eyes returned to thier natural red. "Well, that takes care of that. You still have two left after this" She says off handedly as she turns towards the open road, pocketing the letter as she does. "And you've still got all of your wishes Amber, in case you think of something." They would likely be in Penrose awhile, so there was always a chance they would run into each other again. "You ready, Sakura?" She askes looking at her twin.
Hopping up from the swing Sakura smiled. "I am. Let's hope this girl isn't too hard to find." She waved to Sue and Amber, letter the former fly back to Amber "Glad we could take this wish. It's not every day we have such a nice encounter with other magical girls."
“Well...” Amber scratched the back of her neck. “Wish or no wish, if you need shelter from anything... I have an empty sky ship.” The girl folded her arms. “I'd appreciate a call in advance, but it's well out of my boss's range of influence. So there's no problem if you need to stop by for anything.”
A number of days ago, PRIOR to the Djinn Sisters’ entrance to Penrose, in an adjacent town…
Eli was scouting, as she was doing occasionally. First she had been properly fed by Mariette so that her Devourer trait was held in check, and then she went out. She flew across different towns, gliding from building to building disguised by her Darkness magic, using her Third Eye to identify Magical Girls and seeking them out. She’d then spy on them for long enough to identify their specialization, write it down in her notes, and then be on her way again. It was then Deni’s job to investigate closer. However, this one time…
The dark liquid harpy landed on a building and looked down at two transformed sisters. She knew at a glance they were Twinned Souls, just like herself and Deni. However, apart from that she needed to identify their specialization. So she stalked them, keeping at adequate distance while hidden by darkness. Of course, Sakura had the Third Eye herself and could identify that they were being followed, but nonetheless… in the event she wasn’t somehow deterred from her stalking and was able to see them using their Wish magic, and the Third Eye told what it was.
‘W-wish!?’ Eli’s eyes widened and she flinched at this knowledge, stumbling back from the edge of the building. Such magic… it existed? Eli was overcome by thoughts of how amazing that was and what it could be used for. In what possible ways could that be used to further Asengav’s ambition? O-or… HER ambition? Wait, what was her ambition? Her desire had always just been Mariette’s best, but with this, Eli’s mind wandered. What would she wish for herself? Maybe… just maybe… She could use this to get free of-
‘AAAH!!?’ A searing pain went through her head, and Eli collapsed on the roof, her wings reached up to her head as her liquid body hit and partly splattered across portions of the rooftop before sliding to reconvene at the slime-girl. She stared into the sky with horror, and could swear she saw Asengav itself glaring down at her, despite that she was pretty sure Asengav had no eyes and wouldn’t bother with someone as tiny as herself. It was a hallucination from the pain, but… It hurt, it hurt so much, Asengav’s magic punishing the girl for even thinking of her own freedom.
The pain eventually went away, Eli clutching the rooftop while breathing heavily and flailing from residue pain. Th-that was… unbearable. What had she been doing? Oh, yeah, Eli reminded herself, she had been thinking of the two sisters, and their Wish magic, and how she could use it to-
‘A-AAH…!!’ Just reminding herself of why she had felt the pain sent another surge of pain through her head, and Eli rolled, sprawling on the rooftop with her amorphous fluids splattering around her because she lost control of it with the pain. … She inadvertently hurt herself several more times, as soon as the pain vanished she reminded herself of why it had happened, and another episode of the searing pain in her head returned.
Finally, after having repeated the same loop of pain and reminder multiple times, Eli taught herself not to think. She was left gasping with her head feeling like it had burst open, clutching the rooftop and lying face-down, the slime of her body that she had thrown around her in the pain moving to reconverge with her because it was still part of her body. Okay. Do not think of their powers, do NOT think of their powers… Eli told herself.
She slowly stood up, hiding herself with darkness magic again. Her gaze lifted, she just got a signal from Deni that she should reconvene at their base of operations, probably to go snag a girl. Of course, then she also had to tell them about her findings…
‘Ngh…’ She knew exactly how Mariette would react. Those two’s existence… was unacceptable. Using mere wishes, someone could undo their entire plan from a distance. It was unpredictable and dangerous. Even if Mariette made use of their services before doing it, Mariette was probably going to hunt them down. And then, the chance of Eli using them would be gone forever…
She felt it threaten. Not telling Mariette would go against the cause. It was a threat to the whole plan. If she was still going to consider hiding this, she would be subjected to-
‘NO.’ Eli declared, and a part of her fluid brain rearranged itself, bending with Darkness magic. She issued herself a mental block, a curse that she could only use on herself. She breathed out calmly, staring ahead. ‘This is not against the cause. Those two are indifferent to our actions, and will have no impact on our mission. Telling my mistress about them is a waste of time. I am not going to waste my mistress’ time, because doing that would be against the cause.’ So she said, using her own bent mind to convince herself. As no surge of pain came, she nodded, satisfied.
Eli threw a last glance down at where the sisters had previously been, before the slimy harpy turned, intending to leap off the edge and spread her wings to glide back to Mariette under the cover of Darkness magic… … …
