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Noctis
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Apollosarcher
AtomicNut
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Lildear18
Some time later, as the double date crew waited for Sally outside one of the cottages, they were confronted by a pair of Aurelios. “Boss, done with the walk through,” One clone would say before moving to clap the original on the back and vanishing in a puff of smoke on contact.
The original Aurelio would take a moment to disseminate the new influx of information before nodding his head. “Seems they have surfboarding rentals down at the beach, not far from a place to eat. So what do you say to fooling around learning to surf?” He would offer as the next activity for them to partake in.
Alexander simply shrugged before looking over at Lily ‘Well...she’s a crazy enough driver that she might find it fun. Actually, how would magic change surfing? I mean, I could probably make my own surfboard and fasten my feet to it, and Lily could probably use Time magic to get some insane air time...or something.’
“That sounds like a great idea!” Lily enthusiastically answered, and took Alex’ hand.
“I’ve never tried surfing, but I’ve seen it on TV, and it looks super thrilling! You’re also gonna try it with me, right Alex?”
“Uh...sure” Alexander blandly responded, the feeling of Lily’s hand holding his slowing down his mental processing power.
“Did someone say surfing?” The three of them (plus a clone) heard a familiar voice, and turned to see Sally in her proudly patriotic bikini:
“What do you think? Isn’t it awesome?” She giggled, and made a turn as she let Lily gasp in awe.
“Wow! The American flag look really suits you...But...Uh...” She bit her lip, looking like she was hesitating.
“Aren’t you part-Irish? Sorry, I know I shouldn’t assume-”
Sally came over and took Lily’s hands, smiling kindly. “None taken. My grandparents on my mother’s side were Irish, and they moved to America before I was born. So in that sense, your guess turned lucky, tee hee! Anyway, let’s go surfing already!” She took Aurelio’s hand. “I still wanna go for juices at the cafe before the sun sets down!”
The solitary clone of the group let out a soft wolf whistle at Sally’s new look, before he got clapped in the back of his head by the real Aurelio “Be nice” he would say, reprimanding himself.
The clone would just shake his head take one look between his real self and Sally. “Lucky SOB” he would mutter, before stepping away “I’ll just return to scouting” he would say before wandering off.
“As the lady wishes” Aurelio would reply as he was pulled back into the conversation at large. “And as I told them the cafe isn’t too far from the rental hut” he would explain to Sally with a wide smile as he lead the way down to the surfboard rental shop near the beachfront.
Alexander sighed “I still don’t get why girls actually seem to like those things.” He said while looking at Sally’s new swimsuit “I mean, it looks so flimsy that it could just suddenly break with the slightest pull. I mean, I’m not wearing it, and I’m getting a little stressed out just looking at it. But then again, this is the girl who bought a malfunctioning swimsuit...so maybe it’s just her.”
Lily nudged Alex’ side with her elbow, pouting. “Don’t just say that...” She mumbled. Sally on the other hand laughed. “Flimsy? Hey now, no need for calling each other names, you know. Now come on, let’s go-AH!” The moment she pointed with her thumb towards the rental shop, the strings keeping her top in place came loose, and the top began peeling off, like a flower in spring. “Kyaaaah!” Lily screamed, blushing as she held her cheeks.
However, before anything indecent could be seen, a palm leaf carried by a strong breeze suddenly hit Sally, covering up her chest. She giggled in response, the bikini top bundled in her arms. “Whoops. Looks like I didn’t pay enough attention to the knot, so it came loose. I sure got lucky with this leaf though!”
Lily shook her head.
“No, Sally. It’s because of the curse-,” she began explaining, but didn’t manage to continue before Sally had already began walking towards the cottage. “You guys go on ahead, I’ll catch up to you in a moment.”
Lily sighed, and looked at the boys.
“Well, I guess we can go already. Geez, that girl is so carefree,” she muttered as she went.
Alexander sighed “See, that’s exactly what I was talking about. Damn near gave me a heart attack...” He grumbled the last sentence
Aurelio for his part just stood by with a bemused look on his face. Sally’s emotions were still on the up and up, but there were hints that he was picking up that had him starting to think he had misunderstood things.
Later at the rental, Lily was looking through the surfboards stacked on a rack.
“Hey Alex, I think I’d like this one with the lightning bolt...But is that too cliche? Maybe I should just go for a cute sparkly one like this?” She compared the two boards, her head swinging from left to right and back again.
“What kind of surfboards do boys like?” She then noticed that there were surfboards in the magical item section, and bounced over there.
“Do you have Ultimate Surfboards in different designs? I’d like one that’s bright yellow and cute, please.”
Alexander shrugged “No clue. I’ve never even been to a beach before, so if there’s some kind of standard operating procedure for guys at the beach, then I don’t know it” He glanced over at the magical items section “I’m thinking that I’ll just make one with my magic.” He explained as he took in the size and shape of the surfboards “Not only is it cheaper, but it’ll be easier for me to stay on.”
‘Oh, sure! Just let me have one!’ Brittany replied to Lily happily as she skipped away off to the boards, grabbing one of them and taking it back to the counter. She grinned happily as she took something out of her pocket, lifting it up and placing it against the board. The board was suddenly overcome by indescribable fluid, coating over it while shimmering in all the colours of the rainbow, until eventually it shifted back into the stone it had come from. This left the board a bright yellow, with little cute blue depictions of Dan the Dolphin here and there on it. ‘There! A piece of cake for my Colour Stone!’ Brittany said, happily. ‘… Which there’s only one of, and it’s mine!’ Brittany quickly said, stuffing the stone back into her pocket!
“CUUUTE!” Lily was impressed by the colorful transformation, and slammed the Bronze coin on the counter.
”I’ll take it! Thank you very much, miss Brittany!” She now remembered the shopkeep’s name as she had become a returning customer, and hugged her surfboard like a toy. ”I’m going to name him George, and give him lots of hugs!”
Alexander stood there silent for a few seconds as he took in what he just heard “you...gave it a name?” He sighed and shook his head “I’m not sure what to make of that. I might be getting too used to you’re weirdness. Clearly, whatever you have is starting to infect me.”
Lily pouted her cheeks. ”Of course I did. George will keep me afloat in the ocean when I can’t.” She carried the surfboard outside, and hopped on it.
”Whoah! It’s hard to stay on top of George!” She exclaimed as she wobbled...On the flat, unmoving board. “Oh Lily, you’re now being silly.” Sally couldn’t help but laugh at the sight as she took a normal surfboard, colored blue with red streaks. She also set her surfboard down, and took a wide stance. “You need to lower your balancing point, like this. And then you lean back and forth.” Lily followed along, smiling as she got the hang of it.
“Oh, it’s like riding a skateboard! Thank you so much, Sally!” She turned to look back at Alex and Aurelio.
“Did you boys pick your boards yet?”
Perhaps it was due to his nature as an Empathy mage but Aurelio vastly enjoyed just sitting back and watching Alex and Lily interact. They were such a wellspring of positivity that he was reluctant to do include himself more often.
“Got mine” He would answer the question posed to him as he hoisted up his choice, a white board with a rainbow stripe running diagonally down the length of it. It was a just a standard board, he had never been surfing before and wanted to learn the normal way.
Alexander shrugged “I was just planning on doing this;” he created a surfboard shaped barrier in front of him and grabbed it “I feel more comfortable riding one made of my magic. It feels like I have more control...or something.”
“I guess you don’t trust Brittany’s selection, huh?” Sally would ask as she observed the barrier from under Alex’ feet. “Well, even if it turns out defective, I can trust in my luck to keep me safe. So Lily, ready to-” She turned to look at Lily, but the green-haired girl was already running down the beach, the surfboard lifted above her head in excited glee.
“Last one at the sea is a Slowy Sam!” She would yell with a giggle as she jumped, using the board to slide on the water. Sally laughed too, and looked back at the boys. “And that’s gonna be one of you guys, haha!” She also began running, the surfboard tucked in one of her armpits.
Alexander scoffed, but unbeknownst to him, he had a small smile on his face “Well, at least she’s having fun.” He then began to leaserly jog after them, not at all concerned with this impromptu race.
“And at the end of the day, that's all that matters” Aurelio would agree, immensely pleased with how well his decision had been going, before breaking out in a wide grin and bolting towards the water “But your still a slow poke!”
”Now let’s see...According to the shopkeep, I should be able to propel this...”
Lily would wonder as she stood up on the board, and concentrated her magic. Slowly, bubbles and foam began forming around the board. Sally swam up to her using the board. “Try imagining you’re moving at high speed. Maybe that does the trick?”
Lily nodded, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and hummed a theme tune of some kind. Then, the surfboard dimly glowed, and began moving forward, gradually picking up speed. “Whaaaaaa!” Lily would scream out of sheer thrill. She saw a tall wave forming, and attempted to ride it...Only to immediately wipe out. Sally rode the wave with no trouble, and went over to check up on the other girl, now floating by holding onto the surfboard.
”This is hard...But I’ll try again!”
Alexander cupped his hands around his mouth “Be careful not to drown!” he yelled at Lily, and heard her shout back in confirmation...or because she wiped out again. “Alright now...time to fail miserably at a thing.” He mumbled to himself as he began to paddle his way out to the water on top of his homemade board, making sure to put large flat barriers on his hands to give him some more push. When he got far enough out, he reached a wave and quickly got onto his feet “Whoaaaaaaaaa!” He fumbled around a little bit before quickly fastening his feet to his board with barriers. That helped a lot, but he was still a little wobbly “Okay! Okay. I...think I’ve got this.”
Aurelio was doing passable in the water, able to keep his balance and manage small turns well enough to make it look natural with the small waves that were all over the place, but kept getting caught up in the larger wave and wiping out. “They make this look a lot easier on TV!” he would complain good naturedly as he clambered up onto his board again.
”You can say that again!” Lily could be heard yelling as she made yet another attempt; she failed again, but this time managed to stay up a bit longer than before.
Eventually, she managed to ride a small wave with some wobbling, and screamed in joy.
”YAHOO! This is so much fun!” She saw as Alex used his Reinforcement magic to create a board of his own, and let out a giggle as she saw his expression in the midst of nearly tripping. ”You’re already so much better than me, Alex! That’s not fair!” She laughed, and got up on her own board, continuing to brave the ever-changing waves. Getting to spend time with friends like this was something Lily had always dreamed of. She had been an introvert in her mundane life, looking on as other girls and their boyfriends went out to parties and other wild gatherings. But now she felt like it was all in the past. The warm waters of the sea reminded her of the turbulence of life, and how you shouldn't let yourself be swept away, but instead let it carry you to new heights.
A couple of hours passed by as everyone had fun. Lily had managed to fully master the Ultimate Surfboard’s magical nature, and skillfully launched herself up and around the waves, even performing a simple jumping trick that ended in a wipeout. Sally’s performance wasn’t as flashy, but she gracefully rode the waves as if she had years worth of experience, all thanks to her luck.
She gave a pleased wink at Aurelio upon seeing him ride next to her. “Wow Aurelio, you’re quite skilled with that board. Or are you just lucky-Kyah!” As she was travelling down a tunnel of water formed by a collapsing wave, the ties of her top turned loose. Sally tripped on her board and disappeared into the water, causing Lily to scream out.
”You can say that again!”
The green-haired girl jumped into the water, attempting to carry her up, but soon popped out of the water, looking worried.
”I can’t find her...Wait, she washed up on the beach!”
She swam up to where Sally was lying face down on the sandy shore. She turned her around, and gasped at the sight; her chest was once again miraculously covered, this time by a couple of seashells that were stuck to her skin. Lily had to hold in a laugh as she performed a few CPR pushes, after which Sally immediately revived, shooting out water in a thin, fountain-like stream from her mouth.
“Th-thanks, Lily,” Sally would speak after coughing a bit, and looked down at her chest with a look of befuddlement, poking at one of the seashells. “Well, now I know how Ariel feels, hah. This seashell ‘bra’ is a lot less comfy than you’d think.” She stood up, and stretched her arm. “Geez, once again I didn’t tie my top right. Seems the salt air is making me a bit ditzy, tee hee~” Lily groaned in frustration.
“But it’s the cursed bikini, Sally! You need to change out of it!” Sally stood up, smirking. “Curses, shmurses. I’m just a bit careless, that’s all. Or...Maybe you’d like me to wear something less fabulous?” She suggested, and quickly whispered as the boys approached them. “Don’t worry; Alex likes your look. He doesn’t seem the type to actually care, to be honest.” Lily blushed a bit, looking aside. The bouncier girl waved to the boys, signalling that she was alright as she picked up her top and dusted it of wet sand. “I think I’m gonna hold off on the surfing and soak in a bit of sun. Hopefully that’s alright with you boys~”
Alexander took one look at Sally’s new…’swimsuit’, and groaned “Ughhh. Seashells, really? You have problems woman. Whatever, she’s your problem, not mine” He said that last part while looking at Aurelio before turning to Lily “So what now?”
”I’d like to do a few more waves,” Lily pondered, a finger at her lip.
”How about we switch boards? Your magic-made board looks gnarly, hehe.”
She gave her board to Alex, and then ran off towards the sea, laughing and having fun with the flat Reinforcement barrier.
Alexander looked at the new board in his hands and sighed “This can only end in pain.” So he took the board that he had less control over out to surf some more.
...He didn’t do as good as before.
Lily on the other hand seemed to instantly master the magically constructed board, making jumping tricks like an expert.
While Aurelio had been worried when Sally took an unexpected dive, the lack of Panic coming from her helped him keep his composure. Didn’t stop him from surfing directly to Sally and Lily once the latter had pointed out the former.
His smile easily returned as he overheard the whispered advice that Sally gave however, mainly because he knew it to be fact. “You say that like it’s a bad thing” Aurelio would reply to Alex as the other boy turned towards Lily.
Plopping down his board the Magician would ruffle his hair for a moment, his Eternal style kicking in and leaving him dry in an instant, before plopping down next to Sally. “Hope you don’t mind if I join you in taking a break from the waves for a bit?” he would ask grinning as he watched the other two interact.
Sally lazily waved her hand, having put on a pair of sunglasses. “Ever the gentleman, ain’t you Aurelio?” She smiled sweetly, and turned towards him, leaning on her arm. “This has been a wonderful double date. Sorry for ruining it with my airheadedness, haa.”
The sun began to lower down on the horizon, and Lily returned back, her hair a bit frazzled, but smiling widely.
”This was a tubular double date! Totally radical!” She laughed, and went over to Alex, taking her board back.
”So you had trouble with the board too? You looked kind of cute as you fell, heh...” She added, blushing a bit as she took his hand in her own.
Sally stood up, and took a breath of fresh air as she began walking, facing away from the group.
“Alright, let’s go have juices at the cafe, every-”AAAAAHHH!”
Lily made a bloodcurdling scream, and lifted her hands to cover the eyes of both boys. Sally’s luck saved her one last time from embarrassment: her behind had become exposed due to her bikini bottoms having nefariously lowered. Sally froze, and with shaky hands lifted her bottoms back up. Afterwards she turned slowly; she had a shocked expression on her face, as she realized that Lily had been right all along. She couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh.
“...Well, at least nobody got hurt, so that’s lucky, right?” Lily lifted her hands, slowly shook her head in a knowing sigh.
”Even good luck has its limits.”
She then proceeded to get metaphorically wasted on mugs and mugs of juice. It was a good time.
Mariette stood leaning against the edge of a building a bit of a distance from the beach and everyone else, having got up from the pool when Dan had appeared and then consequently stood there and listened to it all. She’d then promptly sent off Eli to inform the others under a cloak of Darkness magic that they should attempt to win as many of those coins as possible. Who knows? It might be an edge they’d need, eventually. However… Mariette herself was not particularly physically capable. She looked over the girls in the distance. Yeah, it served no purpose for her to involve herself, she’d only needlessly be seen by Beacon and then they’d see how well that no-fighting rule was enforced…
She was going to do this. She was definitely going to do this. There were no Patrons here. That included Mariette’s own Patron. So she was definitely going to do this. Right here. Right now! Amaryllis locked onto the young girl from 50 meters away, her long strides carrying her as if she were a homing missile. In an instant, she was upon Mariette, and, with a boldness unbecoming of a delicate flower like Amaryllis, the girl grabbed her by the hands.
Mariette turned her head, her visible eye widening a bit in alarm when Amaryllis came running. First instinct was that she was in danger, but, Amaryllis was an ally last time? Someone might have told her something that changed her mind. But, there was a no-fighting rule that Dan had-!? Mariette's hands were clasped before she had time to decide on an action.
Drawing in a breath, Amaryllis said, perhaps a bit too loudly, “Mariette, we need another member for equal teams! JOIN US.”
‘O-okay,’ Mariette stated silently and abruptly, without proper consequence-analysis, eye still wide.
Amaryllis grinned, before pulling Mariette with her to the court. Still feeling the adrenaline rush of successfully inviting the girl to a game, the Midsummer Rose waved at the others. “Penny, Rina! I found our fourth! Let’s get started!”
Mariette was just wide-eyed and forced to sprint, until they finally arrived and she could stand mildly panting, looking on somewhat stunned at those she’d been led to.
“Eh, that's our fourth?” Rina looked over Mariette with an incredulous look. Something about her felt...off, but more than anything she didn't look like she'd be any good in a sport like Volleyball. Well, whatever. As long as they could start.
Penny, who had been fooling around with keeping the volleyball in the air, did a double take on who the fourth person ended up being “I’m calling dibs on being on Mariette’s team” she would say suddenly, catching the ball as she did.
Cindy walked forward with grace befitting a self-proclaimed queen, a confident smile on her lips. “I suppose I can try out this game of yours. However, I won’t accept anything less than the very best you have.”
“C-Can I join too, nya?” Kimble asked as she slowly creeped closer, her ears twitching from nervousness; her eyes were focused on Mariette especially, only to meep as the girl’s one eye looked back.
“Yeah I’m definitely on Mariette’s team if we’re going all out.” Penny would reply with a chuckle, easily placing her enmity for all people involved off to the side. They had been placed on enforced vacation, might as well make the most of it.
“You’re welcome to join in as well Kimble” She would add directly addressing the catgirl before turning to the group at large “So how are we playing this? Rules wise and team wise”
Amaryllis blinked curiously at Cindy. She didn’t recognize the girl at all, but all things considered, it was quite uncanny how similar the two looked. She shook herself out of the weirdness soon enough though, glad that there were more people in the game. More the merrier, and less burdens on herself. “I guess,” she said, “It’ll be like normal volleyball? Except, uh, don’t use magic to hit the ball, and don’t destroy the ball by hitting it too hard? So basically, yeah…”
Mariette stood silent watching the others for a bit, then walked to the side of the court, and gently placed down the bunny she’d been carrying so that he sat up as an audience for the game. ‘Stay here, okay, Bunny? You’ll be fine. I’ll be back,’ she told the bunny, and then stood up to face the others again. ‘Okay, um. I’m Mariette,’ because not all present had ever seen her. ‘Let’s… have a good game, then.’ She was incredibly out of her element here, but, hey, she could give it a try. She nodded in appreciation to Penny. Having her as an ally would certainly make things easier, given Mariette’s less-than-optimal physical capabilities. She then stayed silent as rules were being discussed.
Cindy raised a knowing eyebrow as Mariette greeted the group, and gave a single nod; she recognized her as the mysterious voice who wished to form an alliance with her. “I’m Cindy. Welcome to playing with us. Now then, I shall play with the weaker team,” she announced. “Then this will be a fair game.”
Kimble on the other hand was less enthused, and averted her eyes to look at Penny; her ears drooped a bit as the two seemed to be on the same team. “Hi, I’m Kimble. C-Can I joinnyah your team?” She asked Amaryllis and Rina.
“I’m just going to toss out that since magic use is on the Table, that Mariette is the strongest person here,” Penny would say absently as she tried to sorting the group in her head in different ways. She didn’t want Kimble to feel left out, or be forced to team up with people who would make her uncomfortable. “Portals are kinda broken like that.”
“We could have it be Cindy, Amaryllis, and Mariette on one team. With Me, Kimble, and Rina on the other.” Penny would offer up after a moment “Me and Cindy would have to be careful about not hitting it too hard. Rina and Amaryllis are roughly equal when it comes to skill and Kimble and Mariette can both pull magic shenanigans within the rules“ She would explain looking to the gathered girls in case they had anything they wanted to add.
Cindy whipped her hair-resembling appendage back, causing it to sparkle from electron discharges. “I accept. I am curious to see how well Mariette plays with others,” she would comment, giving a wink at the gothic lolita girl before she took her spot on the field after having passed by Amaryllis. A couple of seconds later, she blinked, and looked back at the shapely woman. “You and I look very similar. As a reward for beating these opponents, I shall ask for your name as payment.”
Kimble smiled as Penny suggested the teams, and went over to give her a hug. “Yay! Thanks, Pennyah! I promise I’ll do my best!”
“No problem” Penny would reply as she returned the hug one-armed before quickly ending it. She was willing to give Kimble plenty of slack when it came to physical contact, but she still wasn’t going to let it last very long.
“Uh...huh?” Amaryllis paused slightly, surprised that everything was getting set up super fast, before quickly turning to her teammates. “Just to confirm, but you all, like, know how volleyball works, yeah? Like, general setups and all?”
“Works for me.” Rina said, confirming the teams. She glanced over to Kimble, resisting a strong urge to pet the catgirl. “I know how it works, but I haven't played in awhile.” She inhaled, doing a light stretch as she glanced over to the cat girl. “Kimble, right? Don't think we've met, but if Penny says your good I'll take her word for it.”
“Yup, she’s another probationary member of Beacon” Penny would supply for Rina “Alicia’s the one who gave her the chance, after we ran into her on a mission.”
“Based on the name of the sport, the goal is to unleash a volley of that ball, correct?” Cindy asked, pointing to the ball Penny was holding. “Which means sending it to the opponent’s side successfully, while preventing the same to our side. Am I wrong?”
Kimble nodded. “Yep yep! We can only use our hands to hit the ball, and the side who failed will start the next round.” The monster girl crawled in a cat-like manner over to Rina, and looked up at her with a wide smile and gleaming eyes. “Hello, Big Sis Rina! Please take care of me!” She then nudged her head against her leg while slightly purring like a cat seeking attention.
‘… May I confirm, I’m allowed to use magic? Do I have a range limit, like up to two meters from my body? My side only?’ Mariette asked and suggested, as her team had apparently gathered. Because, yes, Penny was right, portals are broken in this. How well she played with others, Cindy wanted to know… Mariette was curious, too. To Amaryllis question… ‘The purpose of volleyball is to hit the ball so it impacts the ground on the opposite side of the net. However, I’m not as educated on the details. Is there a limited amount of times you can touch the ball? Rules of who starts?’ Mariette asked Amaryllis, first time the portal girl ever played volleyball, definitely.
“Hm?” Amaryllis blinked, tilting her head to the side. “I think it’s fine to use portals as long as it doesn’t touch the ball, if that makes sense? Oh, I guess only on our side too. Don’t think it’d be fair if you made people fall into space or something if they stepped into the portal, yeah…same goes for all the other magic, mayhaps?” As everything went on towards the rules of the game, however, the ponytailed girl found herself in her element, and was suddenly possessed to push up her non-existent glasses. Earnest as she was, Amaryllis was one of the few girls who used to actually listen to her teacher when they went over the rules of whatever sport they played, even if she had been total trash at them.
“Right, onto the basic rules of volleyball then! Essentially, you have three hits to make it over to the other side of the net. Usually, the plan of action is like...receive, set, and then spike. Which works out pretty well cause both sides have three people. Unlike what most people believe, you’re actually allowed to use any part of your body to touch the ball, as long as you don’t hold the ball. So, uh…” Amaryllis demonstrated with a bicycle kick that transitioned into a backflip. “Kicking it is ok as well. You just don’t see it often because people usually can’t, uh...jump that high...oh, also, there’s rules for blocking too. Basically, you need to be starting in the front half of the court when the serve begins to be allowed to block, and blocking only doesn’t count as one of your three hits if your hands are above the net when you block the ball. So...yeah. Oh, right. You can’t block serves, and your hands can’t go past the net when you’re blocking. And also...huh?”
It was only then that Amaryllis noticed Kimble molesting Rina’s leg with her face. That was certainly...weird.
“Right, uh...we can just decide who goes first with a coin flip or something?”
“....Eh?!” Rina stared down at Kimble as she was rubbing her face against her leg. What was with that adorable cat-like behavior?! Well, she was a catgirl so it was to be expected, she guessed, but still! Rina quickly reached a hand down and gave the catgirl a headpat. “Tch, okay, okay!” She blushed hard enough to make her usual magical girl attire seem dull in comparison. “I'll, uh, look after you. Just stop with whatever that is.” She refrained from saying 'you adorable creature'.
“Right, coin!” Pulling herself away from the cat girl, Rina entered herself back in the conversation. “Uh, we'll be heads you'll be tails then?”
Amaryllis didn’t see any reason why tails would be worse than heads, so she nodded. “Yeah, go ahead. Whoever gets it can choose, like, whether they wanna serve first or receive first?”
“Okay!” Kimble answered cheerfully, and then purred, slightly waving her head back in forth as she basked in the headpat her cat-eared noggin had received. She then looked on as the coin was pulled out. “Yay, we’re tails!” She spoke out, and took her place.
Cindy giggled a bit upon seeing Rina’s reaction, and smiled pleasantly. “Mm...I might get to enjoy myself after all.”
‘May use magic, but not on the ball, only on our side,’ Mariette confirmed. She swallowed a little. That meant that she’d probably have the best mobility on the field… but she’d actually have to hit those balls herself. It’d be difficult to warn her companions that they’d be going through a portal, but if they were about to miss… Mariette reaffirmed her strategies. ‘Okay, I’m ready.’.
Penny just shook her head, while she grinned at the antics that were going on. “I’ll cover the front” she would offer to her teammates as they awaited the results of the coin flip.
“Alriiight.” She pulled a coin from her pockets, placing it on top of her thumb. “Annnnd-” She caught it mid air, slamming the coin back onto her wrist. “...Tails! Alright, you guys decide.”
“Then, uh, we’ll serve,” Amaryllis said, picking up the volleyball and tossing it in the air. Lighter than how it was when she was still normal, but maybe that’s just because she was stronger now. She closed her eyes briefly, listening to the wind, before turning to Mariette. “Hey, wanna give serving a go?”
Mariette blinked a bit as she was asked to serve. It took a moment, before she figured there was no harm to it. ‘Sure. … How does one typically serve?’ Mariette said, walking to the back to serve.
Amaryllis demonstrated quickly, extending one hand out while swinging the other hand back. Emphasizing the heel of the hand, she kept her arm straight as she swung it to meet the forwards-extending hand. “Basically like that,” the buxom youth said, “Overhand serves are more common in competitive play, but underhand is easier to pull off. It’s all good as long as you send it over the net. Questions?”
‘M-hm, Mariette nodded attentively. That did look practical. ‘I’ll learn from watching from here on. Thank you,’ she said, collecting the volleyball and then walking to where she was directed to. ‘So, is everyone ready?’
“And waiting” would be Penny’s reply as she cracked her knuckles.
“Ready, nyah!” Kimble shouted out, her tails having sprung up as a sign of alertness.
“Let us begin,” Cindy also responded, having taken a ready stance.
‘Alright. Here I go, then,’ Mariette took a deep breath, created numerous of her tiny portals from her eyepatched eye to the sides and above the battlefie- volleyball court so that she may keep a perfect track of everything going on at all times, boosted by her Awareness, as she directed her arm back and held ball forward, and swung! … She only messed up once, hitting it somewhat sideways but quickly created a portal which took the ball right back to her! … And so, she tried again without even acknowledging the failure.
The second time, she let go of the ball a bit earlier, swung, and got a good hit, the volleyball flying in a simple arc over the net. The game was on.
Penny hopped up and lightly, for her, smacked the ball back across the net. She was sticking to normal human limits for now and was planning to slowly ramp up as the game went on.
Cindy seemed to flow through the air with unnatural grace as she cupped her hands and bounced the ball up. “Go for it, beautiful stranger!” She shouted to Amaryllis.
It was a bit of a shame that Cindy immediately transitioned into setting. Delicate touches like that seemed like something that’d fit Mariette. But Amaryllis responded regardless, running up to the net from the wing before kicking off the ground. Sand burst underneath and she sailed into the air, her back arched as she prepared to snap out a spike, ready to smash through Penny’s block.
In the last moment, however, her swing slowed to a halt, simply grazing the volleyball instead. Contacting a single knuckle, the volleyball fell off gently, bounced off the top of the net, and dropped down onto the opposing team’s side.
“Oh no you don't!” Rina slid under the ball, using her superior agility to position herself close to the ball. She couldn't send it back over, but she could at least stop it from hitting the ground. “Oi, Kimble, your up!” She shouted as she smacked the ball high into the air.
“N-NYAH!?” Kimble’s posture straightened in her crouching pose, like an agitated cat, and she leapt up, having coated herself in magical green winds. “CAT POUNCE!” She screamed with sharp teeth showing in her mouth, and swung her pawed hand; it hit the ball with surprising ferocity, causing Cindy to fail in the block as it hit the sand. In that short moment, her nature as a monster girl had showed itself, before she returned back to her regular adorable self. “This is exciting, nyah!”
Amaryllis landed and picked the ball back up, tossing it over to the other side to serve. “Nice effort, Cindy. Good serve too, Mariette.” Easy, automatic words of encouragement came out as the Spiker of Rose readied herself again, setting herself up in the back row with the portal girl.
Mariette was making motions with her arms, trying to copy the movements she’d just seen others do in order to knock the ball over to the other side. Cupped hands like Cindy just did, or smacking it like Penny or Amaryllis, trying to get used to the movements with a determined frown on her face. Little nod of acknowledgement to Amaryllis, otherwise.
“Nice spike, Kimble,” Penny would praise her as she caught the ball from Amaryllis while moving back to serve. “I’ll serve to start then we rotate?” she offered to her team as she waited for them to get set up.
“Thanks Pennyah!” Kimble responded, bouncing on her spot in the sand.
Penny spun the ball lightly on her off hand a time or two as she focused, a few steps outside the court line. Once she was sure everyone was ready she would toss the ball high into the air towards the net before taking a step forward and jumping after it and striking it towards the back half of the opposing court.
The second rally had begun.
Cindy countered with flexibility beyond human physiology, her movements fast yet graceful. Now she passed the ball to Mariette. “Your turn, Mariette! Show me your power!”
Mariette blinked a bit as the ball flew above her to fall straight down at her. She could see the exact angle it’d take. However, her muscles were not trained enough to know how exactly to move in order to actually receive the ball. So instead… she darted forward creating a portal in front of her that she stuck her joined arms into. Then, behind her, she instead moved a portal with her arms sticking out of it so that it struck the ball, sending it flying high above the net to fall down on the other side.
‘T-tsk,’ Mariette made a noise as she stumbled back a bit, extracting her arms from the portal, which then vanished. Hitting the ball with her arms like that hurt a bit…
As the other team was preparing to serve, Cindy suddenly came up to Mariette, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Good work, Mariette. That was a clever use of your magic. But you seem to rely on it a bit too much.” She smiled a bit. “Learn to also use your empowered body to its full potential,” she would say as she returned back to her spot.
Mariette blinked a little to being touched on the shoulder by lightning-girl here. Partly because she expected to be electrified on the contact, but then she was a bit shocked by the words themselves. Not rely on magic? “Empowered body”? Did this woman not know how fragile Mariette was? … Probably not, but still.
Kimble hissed as she picked the ball, her fangs showing; the catgirl’s aggressiveness has begun manifesting more and more as the volleyball match continued. “Let’s beat them, nyah!” She served a hard ball, launching it high into the air.
Amaryllis squinted. That...was going to go out, wasn’t it? She shuffled back a couple of steps, before volleying it back into play. “Mariette, set,” she said, before immediately heading off to one side of the court, hoping for Cindy to take the other side. A coordinated attack, with one being the feint. Hopefully she’d get the message.
Mariette had to wonder, what did “set” even mean? She’d heard the word during preparation, but. Still, with how Amaryllis was moving… Mariette skipped into the air, and created a portal to bridge the distance which she wasn’t able to jump so that her hands reached the high-flying ball, her hands gently bopping into the ball so it would skip lightly back towards the net on this side so that her allies could catch it on the descent.
Cindy simply nodded at Mariette’s question, and went on to receive Mariette’s set with a spike of her own that was caught by Kimble, who had by now become a hissing monster. The rest of the game played in a similar fashion, with Mariette setting up using her portals, and Amaryllis or Cindy delivering spikes. On the opposite team, Kimble began playing more aggressively; however, Penny and Rina continued co-operating well despite this change. In the end, the lack of experience on Mariette’s and Cindy’s part caused them to barely lose against the other team. “WE WONNYAH!” Kimble celebrated, hugging Rina and pressing her cheek against hers affectionately.
“Bweh?!” Rina recoiled as Kimble pressed their faces together. On one hand, this was nice. Kimble was adorable and having a cat girl give you hugs was probably a way to world peace. On the other hand, this was embarrassing, damn it.
Amaryllis sucked in a breath, her hands on her hips as she recovered from the rather intense round of volleyball. It was a bit of a shame that she couldn’t just power through and make sure Mariette’s first game was a win, but, well...it was also just a game. “Nice work,” she said, raising hands up for high-fives, “We’ll get ‘em next time. Shame ‘bout the name though. Arms feeling alright, Mariette?”
‘… Stinging. They can really shoot…’ Mariette told, breathing out. One primary reason for their loss was most likely Mariette’s ordinary-human level strength, even if she could reach a spike in time with portals nothing told her arms could deliver enough force to repel the ball. Still… ‘… Sure. Next time,’ Mariette agreed, recognizing the gesture for high-five and giving a light slap in reply to it.
“We may have lost this match, but we will win the next time,” Cindy proudly proclaimed, a hand on her hip as she leaned her eyes down at Mariette. “You exceeded my expectations, Mariette. I would like you to join me for a round of juice; I would like to talk to you, from one magical girl to another.” She then walked away confidently, as if she had left the sandy court a winner.
“Got to admit, wasn’t expecting Kimble to be a warrior,” Penny would say to herself as she did a bit of light stretching to help cool down. Not that she needed it, she was almost the direct opposite of Mariette as her physical dominance was likely a contributing factor to her team’s victory. Yet it was a long ingrained habit to downplay her own capability.
“Good game girls” Penny would callout as she approached Mariette and Amaryllis to shake hands on the match. She’d be giving Kimble and Rina congratulations on the win, after they got done hugging it out. She’d filled her quote of close contact already.
Mariette looked a bit in surprise at Cindy’s call to drink juice with her and have a conversation. … Hm. It was probably for THAT, now, wasn’t it…? ‘… Hm. Very well, Cindy Ford. I accept,’ she said. Then, well, Penny came over to shake hands. Mariette politely lifted a hand to shake hers in turn, nodding to her. ‘Good game. It was… entertaining. Thank you.’ Mariette said, both to Penny and to Amaryllis.
While Penny and the others congratulated each other on a good game, Rina was still trying to contain this ball of adorable cat energy. “H-hey!” Rina's face quickly turned a shade of red. “I get it, I get it! We won!” She tried to disentangle herself from Kimble, only to lose her footing in the process and end up falling over, pulling Kimble over on top of her.
“...I am okay with this.”
Sylvia had watched the volleyball games from the shade of the cafe, sipping on a coconut drink and reminiscing about her talks with both Shannon and Alicia. “Hmm...If I address the issue using straight facts, they couldn’t possibly deny the claims. Then again, maybe relating the experiences of our chapter would help better relay the issue...”
“Hmm....” Hovering a few feet away from Sylvia, Chloe tapped a few settings on her phone. Upon the screen was the picture of her 'no-hands challenge', just herself. Didn't want Veronica in the picture, after all. If Penny didn't like the other dark magical girl, then it'd be kind of silly to include her in it. That was the entire reason for her to take a solo one before hand, after all.
After applying a cutesy filter, she hand wrote the text 'Feeling cute, may steal your heart later, lol' on it before sending it to Penny.
“Heh, perfect.” Chloe chuckled, putting away her phone. Well, then, who to bother with next? Ah...was that...? She was part of Beacon, wasn't she? Chloe weighed her options, and quickly decided she'd have a bit of fun.
Her orb spun in the air, summoning a small, fast spirit. It swiped the coconut drink Sylvia was drinking and brought it to Chloe.
Sylvia was looking elsewhere as she reached for the drink, only to swipe empty air. She blinked, surprised, only to frown as she saw Chloe floating nearby. “You really should thank Dan when you get the chance,” she coldly spoke, fingers tapping the table on the spot her drink was taken from. “Because otherwise you would be burning at the stake right about now, witch.”
“My, how rude.” Chloe giggled impishly. “And from such a cute girl, too. It doesn't suit you.” She took a long sip of the drink, before scrunching her nose and licking her lips. Yuck. “Eugh, you have about as terrible taste in drinks as you do people.” Chloe huffed. “What did I ever do to you, anyways, huh? Not Like I've bothered Beacon, hm? I even helped out at the graveyard. You should be thanking me, if anything.” She grinned, chuckling as she held a hand over her mouth. “Or is it that you're just jealous that a Dark Magical girl like myself does a better job at fighting 'evil' than you beacon people do?”
Sylvia, tapping hand tightened into a fist. “You slaughtered innocent people in the middle of the street.” She stood up, pointing at Chloe with anger in her eyes. “You have no right to speak of gratitude!” Her other hand glimmered in silvery light, only to end it as she took a deep sigh. “And of course, now that you don’t have to fear for retaliation thanks to the rules set in place, you’re bothering others and trying to draw attention to yourself like an imageboard poster living in their mother’s basement. I really shouldn’t be falling for this kind of low-level bait.” She scoffed mockingly as she turned to leave the cafe. “So if all you’re here to do is be a thot, then fine. See if I care.”
“Ouch. Your words are about as painful as that swimsuit you're wearing. Ever tried actually being cute for once?” She chuckled, landing next to Sylvia with a grin. “If I’m a thot, I’m a pretty popular one.” She followed after Sylvia with a giggle, still holding onto her coconut drink. “Not that you’d know what being popular or having friends meant.” Meaning, people she could boss around that were pretty expendable once they ran their use, but details, details.
Sylvia blinked, taken aback by Chloe’s statement. “I didn’t choose to wear this! And I wouldn’t have if given the chance either!” She retorted, and kept walking at a slightly faster pace. “And...And I’m popular. All of Beacon is my family, and we are also friends, with deep bonds.” She was now at the beach. “A witch like you could ever understand. Now stop pestering me!”
“Heh.” Chloe matched pace with Sylvia, walking behind her. “But you're so cute when you're flustered.” She slurped loudly on the drink. “Mhm, you know the more I drink this the more I like it. Got any more?”
“No!” Sylvia stopped at the edge of the roiling waves, her hands clenched into fists as she began losing her temper. Eventually she would lash out and try to kill the girl, which she wanted to avoid until she knew more about Dan’s power. She took a deep breath, and turned to face the dark magical girl. “Okay, obviously there’s something you want to talk about so Beckoner-damned much that you’re willing to follow me around like this.” She stepped towards Chloe with her fists pressing against her sides, “Still want to boast about being better than us? How you have a better taste in drinks, or that you’re cuter? Huh?” She would not stop approaching Chloe until the other girl took a step back.
“Oh, you're approaching me?” Chloe grinned confidently, holding out her arms. Unfortunately for Sylvia, Chloe had no intention of stepping back. “I'm not boasting, I only tell the truth. Unlike you beacon girls, I understand the true meaning of beauty and purity.”
Sylvia eventually ended up pushing defiantly against Chloe’s body, their chests smushed together. Her eyes were sharpened and lips curled as she looked at the dark magical girl straight in the eye. “Then how about you enlighten us ignorant,” she spitefully spoke. “What is the true meaning of beauty and purity? Is it being a pain in my ass? Because you’re doing a fantastic job at that.”
At that moment, Sally happened to pass by, and her mouth opened in surprise. “What’s happening here? Do you need help, boss?” Sylvia glanced at Sally, and scoffed. “This witch here thinks she knows about purity more than us.”
“Uhh...” Sally scratched the side of her head, looking confused. “Well, I don’t know about that, but she is admittedly cute. Too bad she is a heartless psychopath.”
“Wow, rude!” Chloe scoffed, pressing her body harder against Sylvia's. “I'm not heartless. I care deeply for my girls...” She chuckled, flashing Sally a smile. “At least you're not calling me a witch. Words hurt, you know. You're a cute girl, though, so maybe you won't be as insufferable as this one since you haven't threatened to kill me just for existing.” She still hadn't removed her chest from Sylvia's. In fact she was pressing against it harder.
“...by the way I'm totally enjoying this, so thanks for the Fanservice~” She flashed a rather suggestive grin at Sylvia.
Sylvia could not believe the sheer audacity that Chloe had; not only did she stand her ground when she tried to intimidate her to the point the two were literally bust-to-bust, she even seemed to enjoy it. And, as much as she hated to even think of the possibility, the sensation was not one she loathed. As a result, she was the one who backed off because of it, having crossed her arms. “...Don’t mention it,” she responded with a tinge of frustration, and sighed. “This is not going anywhere. Any suggestions, Sally?” The bouncy magical girl went right up to Chloe, her knockers blocking most of the dark magical girl’s view as she leaned down to look at her. “Maybe I should also try the boob-wrestle? It could be good practise for Keijo.”
Sylvia facepalmed. But then, she blinked, having reached an epiphany.
“...You know, there is a good side to this. If we’re keeping an eye on her, she can’t cause any real trouble around the islands.” She took Chloe by one hand. “Come on Chloe, let’s spend some quality time…” She grinned in a most evil fashion.
“...With me preaching about the good values of Beacon.” Sally took her other hand. “When Sylvia starts one of her lecturing sessions, she tends to go on for hours and hours, heh. So you can kiss goodbye to any other plans you might have.”
“Oh my, two girls holding my hands. You beacon girls are awfully lewd.” Chloe chuckled. Well, this seemed like a wholly unfun time, but if they were wanting her to run off at the thought of being 'lectured' she wasn't about to give up so easily. “You'll also be losing any other plans you have, you know...plus, besides, I wouldn't say I'm not wholly uninterested in beacon, heh.”
“That’s fine,” Sylvia responded, and led her to a couple of beach chairs. “I’ve been lazing off enough for today. Now it’s time I get to work.” She sat down on the beach chair while Sally wrapped her arms around Chloe’s waist and also sat down on a lounging chair, keeping the dark magical girl on her lap like a child being scolded. “Now, it all began in 495 BC, when Saint Alessia received a vision beckoning her to spread the good of light and purity across the world...” What followed was indeed a history lesson that would bore even the most attentive of listeners. And it went on...and on...and on...
Chloe, much to their surprise, was at least appearing attentive, if not overly completely interested in the complete history of Beacon. She'd even ask a few questions...but eventually she would get bored. She wasn't here for a history lesson, after all, even if it was mildly interesting. It didn't matter in the end anyways.
“Hmm...so this Saint Alessia seems like saint.” Chloe held a hand to her chin. “I'd love to have met her, heh. Ask her what she thinks of beacon murdering innocent magical girls in this day and age~”
Sally hugged Chloe a bit tighter, pushing her breasts up. “Question time is later, Chloe~”
Sylvia on the other hand nodded. “Our mission to spread light and protect humanity is the very same as that of Saint Alessia’s, only we have the knowledge to know how to do so best. And it is purifying corrupted ones such as yourself. Now, where was I?” She put a finger to her chin. “Ah, yes, next came Saint Rosabeth of 367 BC, who...”
Rolling her eyes, Chloe tossed the coconut drink at Sylvia.
“Oi, you, if you don't let people ask questions to clarify you're a terrible teacher, you know. Besides, I take offense to being called 'corrupted'. If anything, I'm far more human and pure than you holier than thou types ever will be.”
Sylvia caught the drink with uncanny finesse, not spilling a drop of it as the contents sloshed in the cup. She had a cocky smile to her as she took a sip. Sally looked miffed at the continuing insults from Chloe, but Sylvia did not seem fazed; in fact, she seemed to revel in Chloe’s boredom and growing frustration. “I will answer any questions you have after I have finished my lecture, Chloe. Now, Saint Rosabeth had arrived in the city of Memphis, where...”
Chloe simply gave Sylvia a fairly unimpressed look. Well fine, if they wanted to play tough then.
“...You know, I made a new friend recently.” Chloe began slowly. “A rather lovely, honest monster girl. I’d love to introduce you, but she’s terrified of you beacon types. Shame, really. She’s such a good girl, but you beaconers would probably kill her.” She idly looked at one of her nails. “I think her name was Divina?”
“And so Rosabeth started a new moveme-” Sylvia was prattling on when she suddenly stopped, her mouth frozen mid-sentence. Her eyes widened, and she slowly turned her head to look at Chloe. “What...Did you...Say?” She glanced up at Sally, and with cold eyes, gave her a nod. Sally immediately understood; before Chloe realized what was happening, her head was violently pushed down, barely avoiding her head being slammed into the chair as it now drooped mid-air, the rest of her body pinned down and unable to move by Sally’s massive frame.
“What was that about Divina? What did you do to her?” She asked, barely holding her composure. “You turned her into a monster, didn’t you? You damn bitch!” She slapped Chloe’s cheek, leaving a red mark.
“Ow...” Well, that was expected. “I kind of deserve that, but really! Be nicer to a girl.” She looked at her assailants with her usual smug grin. “Now that I have your attention though...how about you let me go and we can discuss this like civil adults instead of someone being a cranky child?”
Chloe was slapped again, this time with enough power cause her to bleed from the corner of her lip. “You shut it!” Sylvia was absolutely fuming. “You stole Divina from us, you homewrecking skank! I’ve now had it with you...” She took a step back, and held her hands before her. Sally did not seem to expect that move. “Sylvia?”
Her magical girl weapon was summoned to her: it was a gatling gun that shone brilliantly against the warm sun thanks to its chrome plating, every part of it custom-made with state-of-the art parts. “I’m not letting you abuse another victim any more...” She turned a valve, and the weapon’s nozzle turned into a flamethrower. “Wait, Sylvia!” Sally shouted, but Sylvia aimed down at Chloe, a furious grimace on her face.
“BURN IN HELL, WITCH!”
“Of all the – you don't listen to anyone, do you?” Chloe seemed utterly unimpressed by Sylvia's show. She gave the other magical girl a deadpan look as she summoned her Gatling gun. Well, Dan was probably going to do something. If not....well. Chloe's Orb shimmered a bright blue color. Lucy could use a few playmates anyways.
“Not so fast, girls!” Dan had appeared, looking more menacing than before:
“You broke the rules, and I’m not going to allow that. You need to be punished.” He aimed a muscular finger towards her, and shot her with a blue beam, causing her to drop her weapon and fall back into the sand. The two then saw what happened to her: her skin was covered in purple spots. “That curse is because of your contagious anger: it will go worse every time you hurt others until you apologize to Chloe.” Next, he shot a beam at Sally and Chloe, and they both felt the impact of powerful magic on them; Sally’s hair grew super long, to the point it was dragging down in the sand. “That’s for not thinking for yourself and getting involved in this. You also need to apologize to Chloe, and until then will grow every time you do something without thinking..” And finally, Chloe’s nose extended, making her resemble Pinocchio. “And that’s for saying hurtful things to others. You need to apologize to Sylvia before your nose turns shorter, otherwise it will grow longer with every mean word coming out of your mouth.” When he was done applying the curses, he crossed his arms, looking disappointed. “You girls need to learn to not harass each other. Otherwise there’s even worse curses coming.”
“....What the hell you creepo dolphin?” Chloe narrowed her eyes at Dan, and her nose magically extended a couple of inches due to the curse. “I didn't say anything mean. If those two can't handle some mild teasing, they're really out of touch.” She grunted, folding her arms. “They're the ones who decided not to listen to anything I say or take me seriously, automatically assuming I'm some evil witch hell bent on world domination – which I'm not by the way. I’ll admit that I’m not the nicest person, but you ask any girl I’ve helped they’ll tell you I do look after them.” She lightly touched her elongated nose. Ugh, this was annoying. “If they want to apologize first, by all means then, I'll apologize for the teasing. If they don't, then I think I've proved my point.”
Dan shook his head, not looking convinced. “That was not a genuine apology. I can tell.” Chloe’s nose turned crooked, and grew a wart. “Lying will get you nowhere. How about you, Sally?”
“That's because I hadn't even apologized yet though?!” Chloe shouted, feeling her nose grow again.
Sally was sitting in the sand, holding her mass of hair with a sad look. “...Yeah, I shouldn’t have gotten involved. This is supposed to be a fun vacation, right? So...Sylvia, maybe we should leave it be, at least until we get back to Penrose. So, I...I’m sorry, Chloe.” Dan nodded, and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, glowing light enveloped Sally’s hair: the next moment, her hair was short again. “Good. Sylvia?”
Sylvia stood back up, looking horrified over her new state. “Wh-What is this? A sickness? I don’t feel sick at least.” She glanced at Sally, and grit her teeth as the other girl was turned back to normal. “I’m sorry, okay? Now turn me back!”
Dan shook his head again, and Sylvia’s body was now also covered in sickly green triangles in addition to the purple spots. “Not good enough; you need to apologize straight from your heart, or this won’t mean anything.” Sylvia clenched her fists, and averted her eyes. “This is really freaking annoying...” She grumbled. Dan turned to Chloe. “You two may share a different worldview, but that doesn’t mean anything on these islands. So for now, you need to put aside your differences, and make up.”
After about a minute, Sylvia finally made a heavy sigh. She grumbled something incomprehensible as she slowly stepped before Chloe, and held her hand out. “...I’m sorry for hitting you, and calling you a skank, and almost immolating you. I should have been more patient with you.”
“Maybe if these two didn't jump to con-” Chloe stopped herself mid sentence. No, that wouldn't get her anywhere. Watching Sylvia apologize, she seemed genuine at least. Chloe let out a breath, smiling a bit as she waved a hand dismissively. “Right, right, I shouldn't have teased you quite so much. Sorry for calling you unpopular or saying you have terrible taste in people.” She took Sylvia's hand. “And look, I'm always up for talking and not fighting. Fighting is not something I like doing, you know.”
Sylvia hesitantly shook the hand, clearly still upset over what Chloe had spoke, but willing to ignore it. “Alright. A temporary truce.” Dan sighed again. “I didn’t want to intervene like this, but it couldn’t be helped: you two are like water and oil. But, you did apologize, so I’ll let you off easy this time.” He snapped his fingers, and the two returned to normal: Sylvia’s skin was once again pure white, and Chloe’s nose returned to its adorable look. Dan then stepped between the two, and flexed his abs before he turned back to the smaller form in a puff of steam. “But next time you won’t get off with a mere apology. So no more bullying, whether it is physical,” he pointed a fin at Sylvia, and then Chloe. “Or verbal. Goodbye!” He then teleported away, leaving the three girls alone.
Sally came over, and took Sylvia’s hand. “So, uh...I guess we should head back now.” Sylvia nodded; she held her arm as she looked out at the ocean. Time passed, as the wind flew past. “What is it that you really want, Chloe?” Sylvia then asked, still gazing into the horizon.
“You went to a lot of effort to make Divina your ally, corruption and all. Are you like Justine and want to accomplish some sort of ritual?”
Chloe gave the two a smirk.
“...You think I can casually tell two people of Beacon what I want?” She chuckled, her magic orb floating over to her. “I'm many things, girls. I can be violent. I love watching other people fail miserably and I certainly love it when I make them squirm. Watching someones life die by my own hands is absolutely, ah, ahem, thrilling, to put mildly.” She flashed toothy grin and a playful wink to Sylvia. “And I certainly don't trust nor like people very much.” She admitted with a dismissive shrug. “Most are pathetic beings that need to be led around like cattle to accomplish anything of note, but you get more flies with honey and all that so I try to control myself with little acts of impertinence here and there and treat people as fairly as I can.” Chloe frowned, glancing towards the horizon. “But I'm not stupid...as much as I would prefer us magical girls getting along, you Beacon types wouldn't like what I'm doing. Sylvia proved that much just now. Just know that In the end, I'll be saving saving the poor girls you have ignored, murdered, and abused for far too long...because I love every single one of them, heheh.” She finished with a light giggle.
“As for Divina...I saw a girl being affected by some mind control magic, so I helped her. Unfortunately I was...testing something, so the chaotic magic went slightly out of control and turned her into a monster girl. I admittedly didn't have completely altruistic intentions behind it since I need some...manpower, so to speak, but that's as much as I feel comfortable saying.” Really, she was probably saying too much as it was. But that was fine. She's given them plenty of chances. Even if they don't take it, it would just prove her point even more. If they did take the bait, it was still a win for her. “...I suppose if you agree to further non-hostilities, Divina may feel more comfortable potentially meeting the two of you once we get off this island.”
Sally bit her lip, looking upset, but Sylvia’s face didn’t budge; both of them could tell Chloe was now speaking the truth. “That’s...” Sally attempted speaking, but couldn’t find the words. Sylvia only shook her head. “There is no need for that. Like I said, this is a temporary truce.” She turned away. “Once we’re back in Penrose, we’re coming to rescue Divina. And you will pay for your crimes, one way or another.” She made one final glance back at her.
”Enjoy your vacation while it still lasts.” And with that, she finally began walking away, with Sally following her.
“So stubborn.” Chloe watched as they left. Well, that was fine. She had already gave Divina the option of returning to beacon if she wanted. The moth girl was adamant about her position now...so they would be sorely disappointed, even if they succeeded.
Tossing the orb into the air, Chloe launched herself after it. More ammo to use against beacon was always a good thing, heh.
They'll regret it sooner, rather than later.
