Rachel grit her teeth as she heard the news from the twins.
“I knew it! That devil would be up to her old tricks again!” She adjusted her glasses with a flat palm. She brought a hand up to her communication device. “Paladin Seraph, be warned; we have strong reason to believe Justine von Visceral is the culprit behind the disappearance reports. Secure a confession from her, and proceed with caution.” She then addressed the twins. “Thank you for your diligence, Janet and Jenna. Speaking of, do you have anything to report on Penny?”
Justine smiled as she saw Ronin, pleased to see that the little samurai had followed her instructions. She was half-tempted to have her brought to her lap so she could run her fingers through her ponytail and pet her little tool for revenge. However, the sight of the ‘friends’ she brought along soured her good mood in an instant. She attempted to keep a smile as they introduced themselves, but it slightly wavered.
“Charmed, I’m sure...”
The masked girl was fine enough, if a bit meek and unassuming, and even the green nature lover was tolerable, if tacky. However, the boundless energy and joy that burst from the third one caused the vampire girl’s eye to twitch.
Ugh...To think she would find such a rag-tag rabble of allies...Still, they are perfect underdogs against Mariette. I only need to tolerate them a while longer.
Fortunately the love MDP emanated from her very being seemed to be transient and false in nature, and thus didn’t risk her health, but it still sickened her.
Sonia tensed up, her eyes drawn to a parking lost across from the table. At that moment, space itself paved way for three new arrivals. Justine rolled her eyes as the little creature addressed her.
“...A Puchuu? Very well. Hurry up and take your seats.” The vampire would not give a second thought about whatever scraps Beacon would manage to find.
Though she noted the sassy lost child to have quite the spunky personality. It was perfect cannon fodder.
Everyone then took their seats. Justine visibly sighed in relief as the bubbly pink magical girl took a far seat from her alongside her pals, and resumed her attention back to Alicia.
“A field of snow...I see. It seems Mariette has taken a page from my book~”
She spoke with a giggle.
“Knowing her, she must have placed traps into the snow. I propose that any magical girls capable of evaporating the ice, such as those possessing Fire magic, take the lead.”
Hyun Long stood up from her seat. “I volunteer. Though my mastery of Fire magic has lessened after my purification, I can still conjure potent flames.” She then blinked in realization, and quickly sat down, looking down. “Um, with your permission, Paladin Seraph.”
Justine gave a sweet smile, showing her fangs.
“Excellent. On that note, I would further propose that we split into two groups. One group shall enter at the field of snow, and directly assault the premises, while the second group slips in while they are distracted.” She lifted a hand up to her chest.
“I volunteer to be part of the frontal assault. Mariette will focus all her attention to me once I have made my presence known. She is such a simple-minded fool, after all~”
"I will accompany her as well," Sonia stated.
"Will Beacon join us?"
“I’m fine with that,” Sally spoke up. “I was never good with the sneaking stuff anyway. I prefer to go guns blazing.”
“I agree!” Kimble added.
“I prefer to fight outdoors too, so I can use my magic to its fullest.”
The Ascendancy girls shrugged their shoulders. “We are prepared to fight in any environment, whether it’s urban combat or out in the field. It’s your pick, Paladin Seraph.”
When Alex sat down next to Lily, she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she sighed in response to Alex’ suspicion.
”I don’t know. Ronin did seem all right when I last saw her...”
She hesitantly placed a hand over Alex’ hand. “Mariette is friends with the Djinn girls. Maybe we could try to find them? At least it’s a start, and maybe-”
Lily was startled by Mariette’s text message, and accidentally pushed herself and Alex down the side of the couch before she quickly sat back up with a big blush on her cheeks.
”Sorry, I got spooked! Mariette must have responded”
She brought out her cellphone, and managed a slight smile despite the awkward situation.
”She said we can come and visit her!” She pushed herself up from the couch with a hop.
”It’s morphing time!” She then extended her phone forwards in a cheesy pose.
”Let my spirit gallop across the field of clouds, and strike my foes down with thunderous applause!"
Strands of electricity wrapped around her like ribbons, and as they spun around her in a field, she transformed into a magical girl, ending with her giving a V-sign with her fingers.
”Even if my Patron is different, I’m still going to keep my incantation the same,” she afterwards stated, and brought out the key Mariette gave to her; it was a keychain with the cartoonish design of a white bunny. She waited until Alex was ready and then took his hand. She clutched the key in her other hand, concentrating on using it to open a passage to the other dimension.
Lily and Alex felt as the key resonated, and they were teleported to what seemed like complete darkness. Lily held the key up, and from her hand released small crackles of electricity that somewhat illuminated the room, revealing that it was closed in without doors or windows.
”Uhh, we-” Lily was about to state something when she yelped again, surprised by the portal that opened before them.
She looked at Alex, and with a nod, the two passed through, ending up at Mariette’s office.
”Ooh,” Lily found herself exclaiming upon seeing the gothic, almost baroque design of the room, now clearly visible. It was a dark yet elegant style, fitting the dark magical girl who it belonged to.
”Hi, Mariette!” Lily greeted with a wave of her hand.
She noticed that Mariette was conversing with someone; she was someone Lily didn’t recognize, but she came to a quick realization.
”Ooh, you even have your own maid? That’s so cool! I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be pampered like a noble lad-Kiyah!”
It was the third time Lily was startled, this time by a portal opening behind them. She went silent as she stepped aside as she recognized the three girls who next arrived.
Helga had her arms crossed as she stepped into the office with Su and Samantha, a venomous glare directed towards Mariette. She happened to glance at Lily and gave a friendly wave to Trixy, before resuming her attention on the dark magical girl who once helped Justine von Visceral commit her crimes. Still, as much as she disliked Mariette, she decided to trust Su, and let her talk, silently judging her every word.
The denizens of the Sanctuary were not pleased by the initial statement Penny had made in response to the tension that rose among the ranks of the corrupted. “No shit we weren’t aware!” One of the monster girls in the parting crowd yelled. “We didn’t know you’re selling us out!”
Then, when Penny revealed herself to have secretly been a Beacon member, it caused an outrage.
“She IS Beacon! She said it!” An obnoxious dark magical girl yelled. At that point, the crowd’s clamor rose, though thanks to Penny projecting her voice with Sound magic, she managed to drown out the noise and force people to continue to listen to her.
A few calmed down as Penny expressed her apologies for the mistakes she made, though they still were displeased by the awful truth that she had revealed. Her insistence on blaming the Ascendancy caused visible confusion in the populace When her speech continued and mentioned Janet and Jenna, that caused people to look at each other, showing further dismay in their nervous expressions.
Finally, when Penny ended her speech, there were slight groans among the few with heightened hearing who were pained by Penny’s loud voice. Then it was Nuncio’s turn to speak. The people listened to him as his opinions resounded with many more than Penny could have predicted.
“Yeah, why did only Cindy die?” Someone yelled in agreement.
“What even is the Ascendancy?” Another raised her voice. “It’s nothing but a scapegoat! They all want to kill us, always have!”
“No Penny’s right! She can keep us safe!” An opposing voice yelled out to argue.
The Sanctuary rapidly exploded with a chaos of voices, the noises blending together into an alphabet soup. Then, as Penny was distracted by the overload of information, she felt something wet and soft smack against her cheek and explode into a splash of red; it was a rotten tomato. She then glanced into the distance, and saw the plant-like monster girl who threw it.
“You can go back to kissing Beacon’s ass, tinhead!” She screamed with a horrible, unhuman voice.
“She struck the Queen!” “How dare she insult her like that!”
At that moment, the plant girl was immediately set upon by loyalists to Penny’s cause, and screamed bloody murder as a brutish monster girl beat her with spiky gauntlets.
“Kill her!”
More screams ensued as an angry mob formed to lynch the tomato thrower, only to be opposed by another mob in defense of the protester. Penny knew that in mere seconds, the Sanctuary could explode into a horrible conflict.
But suddenly, a great voice boomed throughout the under-realm.
"Her ladyship Dina Denisova, Empress of the Strays, advisor to the Queen, Scion of the Tsar."
Everyone stopped to see as Dina made her grand appearance, and with awe-inspiring grace walked amongst them. Her Power of Friendship beckoned forth clarity and tranquility in the agitated, paranoid people, and they settled down to hear what she had to say, their desire for peace having overcome their lust for blood. With perfect poise, she passed through, like a revered noble visiting humble peasants, she parted the crowds even before her barriers paved the way. She was followed by an entourage of catgirl maids who further emphasized her heightened status. The few monster girls who previously approached her were joined by more and more people in the crowd, swayed by her charisma and intent to resolve this crisis.
By the time Dina had reached the speaking stand with Penny, she had gathered a following that, while still a minority, was large enough to give the catgirl political sway against Penny.
Her speech also received a restless listening, though there was less confusion in the statements she made. After she had given her word, the crowd turned their eyes upon Penny.
It was the most silent the entire chamber had been up to this point, with only the distant sound of a leaky faucet dripping far away. Everyone waited for the Queen’s final answer.
“I knew it! That devil would be up to her old tricks again!” She adjusted her glasses with a flat palm. She brought a hand up to her communication device. “Paladin Seraph, be warned; we have strong reason to believe Justine von Visceral is the culprit behind the disappearance reports. Secure a confession from her, and proceed with caution.” She then addressed the twins. “Thank you for your diligence, Janet and Jenna. Speaking of, do you have anything to report on Penny?”
Justine smiled as she saw Ronin, pleased to see that the little samurai had followed her instructions. She was half-tempted to have her brought to her lap so she could run her fingers through her ponytail and pet her little tool for revenge. However, the sight of the ‘friends’ she brought along soured her good mood in an instant. She attempted to keep a smile as they introduced themselves, but it slightly wavered.
“Charmed, I’m sure...”
The masked girl was fine enough, if a bit meek and unassuming, and even the green nature lover was tolerable, if tacky. However, the boundless energy and joy that burst from the third one caused the vampire girl’s eye to twitch.
Ugh...To think she would find such a rag-tag rabble of allies...Still, they are perfect underdogs against Mariette. I only need to tolerate them a while longer.
Fortunately the love MDP emanated from her very being seemed to be transient and false in nature, and thus didn’t risk her health, but it still sickened her.
Sonia tensed up, her eyes drawn to a parking lost across from the table. At that moment, space itself paved way for three new arrivals. Justine rolled her eyes as the little creature addressed her.
“...A Puchuu? Very well. Hurry up and take your seats.” The vampire would not give a second thought about whatever scraps Beacon would manage to find.
Though she noted the sassy lost child to have quite the spunky personality. It was perfect cannon fodder.
Everyone then took their seats. Justine visibly sighed in relief as the bubbly pink magical girl took a far seat from her alongside her pals, and resumed her attention back to Alicia.
“A field of snow...I see. It seems Mariette has taken a page from my book~”
She spoke with a giggle.
“Knowing her, she must have placed traps into the snow. I propose that any magical girls capable of evaporating the ice, such as those possessing Fire magic, take the lead.”
Hyun Long stood up from her seat. “I volunteer. Though my mastery of Fire magic has lessened after my purification, I can still conjure potent flames.” She then blinked in realization, and quickly sat down, looking down. “Um, with your permission, Paladin Seraph.”
Justine gave a sweet smile, showing her fangs.
“Excellent. On that note, I would further propose that we split into two groups. One group shall enter at the field of snow, and directly assault the premises, while the second group slips in while they are distracted.” She lifted a hand up to her chest.
“I volunteer to be part of the frontal assault. Mariette will focus all her attention to me once I have made my presence known. She is such a simple-minded fool, after all~”
"I will accompany her as well," Sonia stated.
"Will Beacon join us?"
“I’m fine with that,” Sally spoke up. “I was never good with the sneaking stuff anyway. I prefer to go guns blazing.”
“I agree!” Kimble added.
“I prefer to fight outdoors too, so I can use my magic to its fullest.”
The Ascendancy girls shrugged their shoulders. “We are prepared to fight in any environment, whether it’s urban combat or out in the field. It’s your pick, Paladin Seraph.”
When Alex sat down next to Lily, she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she sighed in response to Alex’ suspicion.
”I don’t know. Ronin did seem all right when I last saw her...”
She hesitantly placed a hand over Alex’ hand. “Mariette is friends with the Djinn girls. Maybe we could try to find them? At least it’s a start, and maybe-”
Lily was startled by Mariette’s text message, and accidentally pushed herself and Alex down the side of the couch before she quickly sat back up with a big blush on her cheeks.
”Sorry, I got spooked! Mariette must have responded”
She brought out her cellphone, and managed a slight smile despite the awkward situation.
”She said we can come and visit her!” She pushed herself up from the couch with a hop.
”It’s morphing time!” She then extended her phone forwards in a cheesy pose.
”Let my spirit gallop across the field of clouds, and strike my foes down with thunderous applause!"
Strands of electricity wrapped around her like ribbons, and as they spun around her in a field, she transformed into a magical girl, ending with her giving a V-sign with her fingers.
”Even if my Patron is different, I’m still going to keep my incantation the same,” she afterwards stated, and brought out the key Mariette gave to her; it was a keychain with the cartoonish design of a white bunny. She waited until Alex was ready and then took his hand. She clutched the key in her other hand, concentrating on using it to open a passage to the other dimension.
Lily and Alex felt as the key resonated, and they were teleported to what seemed like complete darkness. Lily held the key up, and from her hand released small crackles of electricity that somewhat illuminated the room, revealing that it was closed in without doors or windows.
”Uhh, we-” Lily was about to state something when she yelped again, surprised by the portal that opened before them.
She looked at Alex, and with a nod, the two passed through, ending up at Mariette’s office.
”Ooh,” Lily found herself exclaiming upon seeing the gothic, almost baroque design of the room, now clearly visible. It was a dark yet elegant style, fitting the dark magical girl who it belonged to.
”Hi, Mariette!” Lily greeted with a wave of her hand.
She noticed that Mariette was conversing with someone; she was someone Lily didn’t recognize, but she came to a quick realization.
”Ooh, you even have your own maid? That’s so cool! I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be pampered like a noble lad-Kiyah!”
It was the third time Lily was startled, this time by a portal opening behind them. She went silent as she stepped aside as she recognized the three girls who next arrived.
Helga had her arms crossed as she stepped into the office with Su and Samantha, a venomous glare directed towards Mariette. She happened to glance at Lily and gave a friendly wave to Trixy, before resuming her attention on the dark magical girl who once helped Justine von Visceral commit her crimes. Still, as much as she disliked Mariette, she decided to trust Su, and let her talk, silently judging her every word.
The denizens of the Sanctuary were not pleased by the initial statement Penny had made in response to the tension that rose among the ranks of the corrupted. “No shit we weren’t aware!” One of the monster girls in the parting crowd yelled. “We didn’t know you’re selling us out!”
Then, when Penny revealed herself to have secretly been a Beacon member, it caused an outrage.
“She IS Beacon! She said it!” An obnoxious dark magical girl yelled. At that point, the crowd’s clamor rose, though thanks to Penny projecting her voice with Sound magic, she managed to drown out the noise and force people to continue to listen to her.
A few calmed down as Penny expressed her apologies for the mistakes she made, though they still were displeased by the awful truth that she had revealed. Her insistence on blaming the Ascendancy caused visible confusion in the populace When her speech continued and mentioned Janet and Jenna, that caused people to look at each other, showing further dismay in their nervous expressions.
Finally, when Penny ended her speech, there were slight groans among the few with heightened hearing who were pained by Penny’s loud voice. Then it was Nuncio’s turn to speak. The people listened to him as his opinions resounded with many more than Penny could have predicted.
“Yeah, why did only Cindy die?” Someone yelled in agreement.
“What even is the Ascendancy?” Another raised her voice. “It’s nothing but a scapegoat! They all want to kill us, always have!”
“No Penny’s right! She can keep us safe!” An opposing voice yelled out to argue.
The Sanctuary rapidly exploded with a chaos of voices, the noises blending together into an alphabet soup. Then, as Penny was distracted by the overload of information, she felt something wet and soft smack against her cheek and explode into a splash of red; it was a rotten tomato. She then glanced into the distance, and saw the plant-like monster girl who threw it.
“You can go back to kissing Beacon’s ass, tinhead!” She screamed with a horrible, unhuman voice.
“She struck the Queen!” “How dare she insult her like that!”
At that moment, the plant girl was immediately set upon by loyalists to Penny’s cause, and screamed bloody murder as a brutish monster girl beat her with spiky gauntlets.
“Kill her!”
More screams ensued as an angry mob formed to lynch the tomato thrower, only to be opposed by another mob in defense of the protester. Penny knew that in mere seconds, the Sanctuary could explode into a horrible conflict.
But suddenly, a great voice boomed throughout the under-realm.
"Her ladyship Dina Denisova, Empress of the Strays, advisor to the Queen, Scion of the Tsar."
Everyone stopped to see as Dina made her grand appearance, and with awe-inspiring grace walked amongst them. Her Power of Friendship beckoned forth clarity and tranquility in the agitated, paranoid people, and they settled down to hear what she had to say, their desire for peace having overcome their lust for blood. With perfect poise, she passed through, like a revered noble visiting humble peasants, she parted the crowds even before her barriers paved the way. She was followed by an entourage of catgirl maids who further emphasized her heightened status. The few monster girls who previously approached her were joined by more and more people in the crowd, swayed by her charisma and intent to resolve this crisis.
By the time Dina had reached the speaking stand with Penny, she had gathered a following that, while still a minority, was large enough to give the catgirl political sway against Penny.
Her speech also received a restless listening, though there was less confusion in the statements she made. After she had given her word, the crowd turned their eyes upon Penny.
It was the most silent the entire chamber had been up to this point, with only the distant sound of a leaky faucet dripping far away. Everyone waited for the Queen’s final answer.
