Lily made a cute little yelp as Betty suddenly cut between her and Veronica, having been successfully intimidated. Similarly, she looked spooked as Alex' ears suddenly appeared, not having expected such a reaction from him.
"I-It's okay Alex! I'm sure we can talk this out." She frantically spoke to her in her bout of misunderstanding, only to sigh in relief as Veronica defused the initial hostility completely. She managed to smile a little.
"I always did have a knack for remembering people. For reasons." She held her arm cautiously as she said it, and nodded to both of them.
"Anyway, nice to meet you, Mrs. Veronica and Betty. I hope we get along." She happened to notice the sign close to them, and audibly read the contents.
"I love prizes! This should be a piece of cake, too."She then turned her head upon hearing another girl approach Alex, and gasped in shock upon seeing her; her eyes had the same look of the popular girls she had to endure in her previous life. But she was even worse, with her seductive sleeves and supermodel look with big bumpers.
"A-Alex doesn't need any help getting up!" She defensively spread her arm before him.
"He can do so every morning, all on his own! Well, one time I did help him, but-" Her words were cut off as her brain caught up with her speech, and like a boiling thermometer, her face cartoonishly flushed a bright red.
"N-Never mind that!" Having embarrassed herself into silence, she listened as the femme fatale spoke, clutching Alex' hand for comfort. She seemed a bit relieved as she showcased her summoned weapon; she also felt that she could summon her Ramuh at any time.
"At least we can defend ourselves if we need to. But I really hope we don't have to; fighting in a swimsuit is way too embarrassing," she would state matter-of-factually, unaware of the contradiction in her words.
She then noticed the next two girls come to, and Lily's eyes shone brightly.
"AHHH! SO CUTE AND COOL!" She went over to Chloe and Samantha, and leaned over at them with a coy pose, smiling sweetly.
"Hi there! I'm Lily! Your swimsuit looks super pretty! You're like a flower!" She complimented Chloe first. Then, she turned to Samantha, eyeing her up with admiration.
"And yours is so daring and badass! Not to mention Betty's amazing bikini, Tetrad's slick gloves, and Veronica's elegance!" She pouted, and hooked one finger in her shorts with a disappointed look.
"Everyone's so stylish except me; these shorts aren't cute at all. Whoever put me in this has real lame fashion sense, right?" She would laugh a bit as she looked down at herself, hoping they would laugh with her, and not at her. Then, she leaned her head to the side as she looked at Samantha.
"You're look familiar. Have we met somewhere? Oh, speaking of meeting-!"She went back to Alex and hugged his arm, holding him close as she brought him over to present to the girls.
"This is my new boyfriend Alex~" She would glance back at Tetrad with a confident smirk before resuming her attention on the girls...For about ten seconds, before she noticed something falling down on another island.
"Whoah, a shooting star! Hey, why don't we start exploring? Maybe there's other magical girls just like us stranded somewhere? In that case we gotta help. Especially if it's another dimension. Alex, can you use your clones to carry the sleeping girls? I don't think we need to go far from here."
Helga jumped down from the tree, and peered at the sign she saw earlier, stifling a giggle as Su complimented her looks.
"Thanks, Su. You also look great." Her eyes darted down, and she grinned mischievously.
"Nice strap gap, heh. But looking at you, I was reminded..." She leaned over to take a better look at her.
"You really should let your hair down more; it suits you better. Even Mika looks a lot cuter without the buns."
When asked about the swimsuit, she shrugged. "Beats me. This one is also totally new to me," she said as she lifted the side bow on her bikini bottoms. "But hey, free clothes are free."
She then went over to Lupa, and helped her stand up, and watched as Mika succeeded in waking up some of the other girls, grinning from the entertaining sight. She didn't recognise them, though she did find the braid-haired girl very cute. "Hey there," she went over to greet her, a confident smile on her lips.
"I'm Helga. What's your name? Are you from Penrose too? If you don't mind, we could hang out, and-"
It was at that moment that she felt a certain vibration in the air; thanks to her Sound Specialisation, she could hear the coming far before the others. Without any hesitation, she grabbed Lupa by her waist and threw the both of them into the sand, using her own body to shield her. "Duck and cover!"
The boogie board hit with explosive impact, causing the entire island to slightly quake, as if a volcano was erupting. But soon enough, a magical girl stepped forward, greeting them. Helga was stunned: both by the display the new arrival had made, as well as the lack of gravity that her body somehow possessed.
"Wow..." She muttered as she climbed back up, sweeping sand off of her. "We could ask you the same thing; we also don't know who brought us here." She approached her, and offered her hand. "Anyway, glad to meet ya, Hilaria. Name's Helga. That chick over there's Lupa, and the bombshell over there's Su," she spoke, winking at the long-haired girl. "And Mika is there, attempting to wake some other girls."
Though Helga was quite small, especially in comparison to the silver-haired girl, she still proudly puffed her chest, a complete opposite to a certain green-haired girl. "I love both! I like to spend my time climbing skyscrapers." She noticed the boogie board Hilaria was carrying, and crouched down to look at it. "Is that your magical girl weapon? Is it a surfing board? HEY!" She jumped up. "Maybe we can use that! Lupa, take those girls with us, and follow me!" Lupa nodded, and lifted the sleeping girls, hoisting them over her shoulders as easily as a a pair of towels. Helga ran over to the ghost twins too, closing the parasol before continuing to run forward.
"You two as well, Julia and Jillian!" The twins groaned as they covered their eyes from the light, and slowly floated up from their beach chairs.
"Meanie...""I was having a really nice dream, you know! Well, whatever. I guess we should take a look."She then noticed her bikini, and looked confused.
"Whoah, wait? Swimsuits? We're on a beach? What is happening here?"She made a twirl in the air while checking herself out, and then floated around Julia.
" Well, we're still like this, so it's not that big of a deal. You look super adorable, Julia~""Thanks. You're cute too, Jillian," Julia would answer with a barely noticeable smile. She then saw something that made her frown.
"But..."She floated before Hilaria; the young-looking girl pouted as she squinted at the big boobs.
"..."She lifted her hands up to her own chest, before she crossed them with a scoff.
"...Cow." Jillian grit her teeth, her eyes having shot open in shock.
"That's rude, Julia!" She bowed before Hilaria.
"I'm really sorry, Hilaria! Julia here gets grumpy whenever her nap gets interrupted. She didn't mean it. She's sorry too, right Julia?" She grabbed her sister by the hand, preventing her from floating away, and she continued scowling.
"...Sorry.""What are you guys waiting for!" Helga shouted from some distance away. "We got a challenge to wreck!"
Kimble's eyes widened as Alicia stood up before her, and her little fang poked out from her lip as her mouth hung open in awe at her looks, blushing profusely.
"Mistress is beautiful! Mnnnhhh!" She purred in utter delight as the taller girl's hand brushed against her locks of hair, slightly pressing against the palm as her tails whisked around in circles.
Once Sylvia was done reading the sign, she nodded.
"You're right, Alicia. If we all work together, we will surely prevail." She then greeted the other Beacon girls who arrived including the twins.
"We are currently in unknown, possibly enemy territory, Janet. For that reason, we must stay cautious. As for the Earth Bastion, that may come in handy. Be prepared to summon it, Penny." She noticed Summer jumping around, and waggled her finger.
"It's not one until I say so, Summer," she would remind the blue-haired girl.
"First we need to go to the central island for reconnaissance; supposedly this 'help desk' can provide us with some, though I suspect it's a trap."
"OHHH, SUMMER!" Sally's eyes sparkled, her pupils having turned into four-leaf clovers, and she picked her up in her enveloping embrace.
"You're so adorable, I can't handle it! IIIH!" Summer would find her respiratory actions momentarily halted as her face ended up trapped in Sally's enormous pair.
Tabitha slowly woke up, rubbing her face from the nosebleed she had, and blinked as she saw Sally's overtly friendly gesture...followed by fainting again. Kimble stood up, staying close to Alicia, her ears having twitched from seeing what looked like a comet crashing down on an island.
"Nyah, something fell over there." She pointed with a curious expression.
"Maybe it's other girls."Sylvia facepalmed, distracted by the shenanigans around her, and sighed. "Alright, enough. You can play with Summer later." she dragged Sally off of the blue-faced girl, and both of them turned to see Aurelio and his clones arrive. Sally nodded approvingly as she leaned to the side to look at the cooler, a wide smule on her lips. "Well now, aren't you such a gentleman~"
Sylvia also smiled, looking genuinely happy at his arrival.
"Great job procuring supplies, Aurelio. Penny, take Tabitha and Serenity with us." She took a step, pointing forward.
"We will show this perverted being that Beacon doesn't falter in the face of circumstances even as unusual as this, and will beat any challenge before it with the strength of our bonds."
"Whoo, island adventure!" Sally pumped her fist into the air with a hop, before she went over and grabbed Aurelio and one of his clones, an arm wrapped around each of their shoulders.
"Now this is what I call a date!"
It didn't take long before Lily's group had reached the shore facing the central island. It was just barely beyond the reach of any jump, roiling waves between them and their goal.
"Hmm...Without getting wet...If I had Ixion with me, I might be able to launch off a ramp and cross it, but he's gone fishin'."Then, her breath hitched as inspiration hit her. She shook Alex' shoulders while jumping up and down, barely containing her excitement.
"Alex Alex ALEX! You can do that trick again! When we returned back to Penrose! You remember, right? Show these girls how cool you are!"
Helga paced back and forth on the beach as she looked at the central island, trying her hardest to think as she looked at the group. "How many can you launch with your boogie board, Hilaria? If you use the same amount of force as last time, I think that's one way to get over there. But it's risky, too.." She stuck her tongue out in thought.
"Su can fly with Air magic, Mika can fly with wings, twins can fly because they're weird undead things...I could Metamorphose and also fly, but I would need to get really angry first..." She went over to the ghost twins. "Punch me." Jillian lifted an eyebrow in utter befuddlement.
"Uhh, maybe we shouldn't-" Suddenly, a fist struck right through Helga's face.
"AAAGHHH!" Jillian screamed. It turned out to be Julia, who slowly retreated her hand with a sigh.
"Useless.""Geez Julia, don't spook me like that!" Jillian would retort...Only to freeze, puff her cheeks, and burst out laughing.
"Hah-hah...Spook."Helga was not amused.
"Ok, that only tickled me, so dumb idea. Gonna boogie with the board." She gave a thumbs-up to Hilaria.
"Time for a take-off, sistah!"
The Beacon group had also arrived before the sea leading to the central island, and Sylvia put her hands to her hips, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Hmm...Alicia, do you think you can fly using the updraft here?" She pointed upwards, where ocean winds picked up the scent of salt. "Kimble has Air magic, correct? Can you lift us all over?" Kimble bit her bottom lip, her ears drooping down.
"I cannyah try, but...It's a lot of people. I can take one, maybe two if they're not too heavy..." She glanced in Penny's direction, and went to take cover behind Alicia's leg.
"I see. Well, with my Metal magic, I could build us a boat. But without any natural resources to utilize, it would drain me considerably: it would be risky if we need to engage hostiles at our destination."
She turned to Penny. "You have the Earth Bastion, right? Can you summon it?"
Sally sighed, and leaned her head back, causing both Aurelios she had her arms wrapped around to lurch as the top-heavy girl's weight fell on them.
"Maan, this is tough. Hey Summer, you use that funny magic, right?" She released the poor boy and his clone, opened the cooler carried by other clones, and uncorked a soda can, taking a sip with one hand on her hip.
"Can you help us here? Or...How about we make an Aurelio-bridge? Just joking~" She would add with a swipe of her hand and a giggle.