Ariamis

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

-RESERVED-

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The world is filled with magical wonders; spirits, gods, elder beings and more, with goals and objectives as varied as life itself. Often, these beings oppose each other, and to succeed they either unleash monsters to the world, or have chosen Mahou who wield magical weapons and powers to fight their battles for them; magical girls and boys. These are people who, through some turning point in their life, have been given a new life with magical powers, a youthful body, and a grand destiny.

The city of Penrose had become a center for repeated attacks by monsters and villains, and so has attracted Mahou from a wide region. Now, a new force has arrived in the bitter winter: the Beacon Ascendancy, their sole goal the extermination of all sources of corruption and heresy. A new conflict looms over the cold city as monster girls and dark magical girls unite against them, with factions thrown in the crossfire. Can a peaceful end be achieved without bloodshed?



Welcome to Darkest Before the Dawn (or DBD for short), an RP in the same universe as Beyond the Looking Glass. In this RP, normal people are chosen by Patrons to become magical girls and boys. These include cute and cuddly Puchuu, capricious Lesser Forces, proud Gods, the valiant protectors of Beacon, the dark and mysterious agents of Ebon Mint, and terrifying Horrors from beyond. Will you be a defender of justice, an agent of dubious morals, or something completely different like a monster girl?

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Character Creation

Characters are created for this RP using the wider setting of the Accidental Magical Girl CYOA, found in links below. Applicants can also use the Crimson Cradle module when creating a character and rolling for certain tables such as Powers and/or Perks; simply replace the result in the CYOA table with the corresponding one in the CC tables. Any roll that results in creating a new character (such as the Ally Perk or Twin Soul Power) can be rerolled. Note that the coins given for use in the creator can be used at any point of the creation process. All modules may be used for character creation.

Character Creation
Patron Creation
Crimson Cradle Module

(The Dark Magical Girl/Monster Girl link is not fully supported in the RP, but the contents of the link such as Perks and Powers can be utilized with permission)
Dark Magical Girl/Monster Girl Creation Aid

Setting

The RP is based in the fictional city of Penrose, located somewhere in the Northeast US. Due to the increasing number of monsters in Penrose, the magical girl population is rising as well. Penrose has a population of 600,000 and is located on the east coast. The actual structure and mapping of Penrose will be kept nebulous to allow for player choice. For example, you can describe your character to be located at the hospital or train station without needing to specify further.

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Character Sheet

Character creation should be done according to the CYOA. Please note that the amount of additional benefits and drawbacks you can take on the Patron module depend on what type of patron you have.

Magical Girl

Name: If your character uses an alias, include that as well.

Age (Magical Girl): This is the age you rolled in the CYOA.

Age (Before Magical Girl): This is your character's age before they were turned into a magical girl.

Gender: Are they a magical girl or boy? Boys are determined by the character possessing the perk Masculinity; see the CYOA for details.

Gender (Before Magical Girl):

Appearance: This should cover the body type and uniform from the CYOA. Pictures or descriptions work for this.

Specialization: What element are they attuned to? For an Oddball Specialization, include a description and uses for it.

Weapon: This include the weapon type, and what the weapon actually is. If it's something fancy or complicated, include a description or a picture.

Power: If your character has more than one, label them with numbers.

Perks: A lot of perks require some elaboration.

Patron: The name of your Patron. Further details are described in the Patron CS.

Patron Benefits: List all benefits including universal ones.

Patron Drawbacks: List all drawbacks including universal ones.

Fighting Style: How does your character combine their magic, weapon, power, and perks into one coherent whole?

Stats (Untransformed): These start at 3. CYOA options indicate if they apply out of costume as well.
STR:
AGI:
VIT:
MAG:
LCK:

Stats (Transformed): These start at 4.
STR:
AGI:
VIT:
MAG:
LCK:

Personality:

History: This should include why you were recruited, chosen from the options on the CYOA. However, keep it at a maximum of two paragraphs.

Incantation: What does your character call out during their transformation sequence? Bonus points for pizzazz.

Additional Info: Anything you want to tell about your character such as their favorite color, hobbies and anything else that doesn't fit into the rest of the sheet.

Magical Coins: The amount of magical coins your character has earned. This starts at 0, but will increase during the course of the RP as certain goals are met.

Patron

Type: Are they a Puchuu, Lesser Force or something else?

Name:

Personality:

History: It is recommended to keep this section at a maximum length of two paragraphs.

Resources: How many magical girls or monsters does your patron employ, and how does your patron pay them? Do they have any mundane resources or services they can grant?

Additional Info: Anything else you want to mention?

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The Rules

1. A maximum of two active characters and Patrons can be created. Any characters and Patrons created afterwards must replace previously created ones. Exceptions to the rule are the Allies-perk and Twin Soul-power, which work as described in the CYOA. Submit your characters first to OOC or as a PM, and once they have been approved they can be posted to the character tab and you can begin posting in IC.
2. Allies-perk and Twin Soul-power may be rerolled into another perk or power.
3. You must first ask for permission before you can create side characters and events that have a considerable effect on the RP's story. Background characters with little consequence are exempt from the rule. For example, you can have civilians witness a fight, or have a slumber party at a magical girl's house without asking for permission to include the parents. On the other hand, them turning out to be fighters or a villain suddenly causing a city-wide swarm of monsters has to be approved first.
4. The number of combat-ready NPCs are limited to three per player. Exceptions can be made if you ask me for permission.
5. Keep the sexual content PG. Romance is fine as long as it's kept clean.
6. Violence: The world of DBD is definitely darker than the average magical girl show, with death as an intrinsic part of the setting. Still, please keep the gore, body horror, and anything else explicit on the tasteful side.
7. Post Rate: Try to post at least once every one or two weeks on average. At the beginning things might move more rapidly. If you're not going to be able to post for a while, let me know. Try to avoid speed posting too much. But most of all, don't sweat too much about keeping a posting schedule, as this is meant to be fun.
8. Post Standards: Your post should at least be a paragraph or two in length, include your character's thoughts and an action or some dialogue.
9. Collaboration is recommended for dialogue and/or combat between characters when they are expected to run for longer than a couple of posts. For example, Google Docs is a good place to make collaborations. We also have a Discord channel for discussion and sharing cool stuff.
10. Have fun! If you don't, let me know by posting in OOC or sending me a PM, and I'll see what I can do to fix the issue. If you have any ideas you want to share in private, feel free to do so as well.

Magical Coin Rewards

Below are listed actions that can be paid for in GM-run events:
(Beacon only) Purified corruption: 1 Silver (killing corrupted enemies earns 4 Bronze, Excommunicated foes 1 Silver)
Defeated or driven off Soth, Behemoth, Justine: 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze
Defeated or driven off monster king/queen: 1 Gold 4 Silver
Defeated or driven off elite monsters: 1 Gold 2 Silver (example: Gorelions, witches)
Defeated or driven off monsters: 1 Silver (example: bloodicorns, skeletons)
Defeated or driven off mooks/minions: 2 Bronze
Defeated Dark Magical Girl: 2 Silver
Driven off Dark Magical Girl: 1 Silver 2 Bronze
Defeated Monster Girl: 3 Silver 2 Bronze
Driven off Monster Girl: 2 Silver 2 Bronze
Rescued Civilians: 2 Silver 1 Bronze
Defeated Magical Girl: 1 Silver 5 Bronze
Driven off Magical Girl: 1 Silver 2 Bronze
(Beacon only) Acted with mercy and/or righteousness at a critical moment: 3 Silver
(Lesser Force only) Preserved balance of the world: 2 Silver
(God only) Upheld one's Oath at a critical moment: 3 Silver 2 Bronze
(Puchuu only) Shown affection/loyalty to Puchuu: 3 Bronze
(Mint/Cradle only) Completed a mission: 2 Silver 3 Bronze
(Horror only) Sacrificed/Enslaved a magical girl: 4 Silver 4 Bronze
An action you think should be paid for: can be negotiated

Modifiers:
Empty Pockets: only receive monster defeat rewards at half rate

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Whether it was for the first time or as a returning player, thank you for joining me on this magical journey. I would also like to announce that PlatinumSkink and BrokenPromise will be stepping down as Co-GMs. Stay tuned for more news on the next season.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Of course, like Alicia, all Beacon members present were shocked to see what had transpired in Penny and Chloe's show, especially Sylvia. While she first lifted an eyebrow upon seeing the two of them together on stage, she didn't think much more on it, assuming that Chloe simply wanted another performer who didn't harbor any ill will towards her. But as the song went on, the look on her face gradually turned more disgruntled, until the act of intimacy that caused her to grimace in anger. She was about to stand up and protest when Sally pulled her back down. "Wait Boss, the next show's gonna start," the red-and-blue-clad girl whispered to her, causing her to bit the thumb of her nail in barely held resentment. "Penny, what is the meaning of this?" She muttered under her own breath, but had little time to reflect on it before the jig was up on Dan's operation.

The Lesser Force himself was in a bind in more ways than one. After Alex and Eliza threatened him, he made one last attempt to regain control of the situation, only to fail as Mika charmed him with her flute, causing him to squeak in surprise. "Oh no...No, please..." As the crowd gathered around him, he looked up with a pitiful look at them. "I'm going to be alone again..." He spoke quietly, ignoring the pleas of the crowd. The Djinn Twins looked at each other, and then at Penny after her question, as they pondered on whether they should destroy this false world.

But then, Mika embraced Dan, and the magical dolphin's heart melted from her kindness. "M-Mika...Even now, you still...Want to be my friend?" A couple of tears dropped down his cheeks, like sparkling diamonds. The dolphin extended his fins, and reciprocated the gesture, and for a minute simply held her back, slowly coming to terms with the end of his eternal paradise, with Celia helping to mend the hurt with her Joy magic. Lily sighed with a soft smile, and went over to Alex; she wrapped her arms around his arm, watching the events unfold.

Then, Dan finally released his hold, and floated over to Hilaria, extending a fin towards her. "Hilaria...Thank you." He turned towards the rest, a look of resolution on him. "I now understand. True happiness is not found by running from your problems, but by facing them. By keeping you here, I would only cause much more pain in the end. So, very well then; you are now free." He turned towards the other side of the stage, and launched a bolt of blue magic; as it hit the floor of the stage, a stone archway slowly rose up from the floor. And then, a blurry portal formed inside the arch. Golden letters then levitated on the top part of the arch: they spelled the word 'Penrose'.

Dan turned to Summer, and made a weak smile. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want, Summer. Of course, you're also free to leave any time you want." Then he turned to Shion. "The coins I gave to you are your hopes and dreams given magical form, constructed thanks to the magic of this wondrous world. As long as you keep those memories in your hearts...That magic will never disappear." Dan then addressed the crowd, floating upwards to see everyone off. "As your vacation organizer, I shall bid you farewell! Never forget what you're fighting for! And remember to have fun!" And with that, the girls were finally set free.

"Alright! Let's go home Alex! Goodbye Dan! See you all on the other side!" Lily waved to everyone, and took Alex' hand, leading them both out. As Sylvia and Sally were talking to the rest of Beacon and suggesting to leave, Dan approached Mika. "I am done escaping from grief and sorrow. It is time I make a difference in the world of man." She also beckoned Hilaria to come closer, and extended his fins to both of them. "Mika, Hilaria, would you be willing to form a pact with me? I wish to make your world one of peace and joy, and will support you as much as I can." With wishes for co-operation made and possibly received, the Djinn twins made sure everyone was able to safely depart before they also took their leave.

And so, each one found themselves back where they started; whether it was in their beds, or out wandering the streets, they were all back in Penrose.

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But what waited them beyond was not the Penrose they remembered.

The Return

Sylvia, having woken in her bed, immediately realized something was wrong from what she felt: it was cold, far colder than what she remembered it being. And as she stepped into the kitchen, she was met by her mother's tearful hug; she learned she had disappeared for months amidst her sobbing. But she had to leave her for a moment as she quickly ran outside, and gasped at what she saw: it was snowing, carpeting the city into a white, freezing landscape. The sky was gray, with clouds roiling to the horizon. She could see her breath, floating up as vapors. She returned back inside, hoping that her father did record a snippet of old news on his digital TV. She also needed to console her mother, who has searched long for her.

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A couple of bubbles floated up from a tiny wooden pipe, reflecting an alleyway tucked in the far corners of Penrose. The Supah Sleuth was on the case, tracking down a series of what she deduced to be cases of murder from the clues she had found, like blood, and strange scraping marks. It was easy to move in the streets, as only a few brave civilians still remained in the cursed town. Finally, after weeks upon weeks of detective work, she finally managed score a breakthrough in her investigation: it was the body of a young girl, lying in the snow, partly stained red from the wounds she had received. Sammy brought out her handheld looking glass, and used it to examine the corpse. "Blonde hair...clothing brands fashioned for 12-to-15-year-olds..." She quietly mumbled, until she blinked in realization. "It can't be..." She stepped back, unnerved by her discovery. "This girl...Is Valerie Herztein! And she was killed only a couple of minutes ago! So the culprit must be..." She turned around upon hearing movement behind her.

A scream, followed by silence.

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Sylvia had learned from a collection of recorded news segments that a series of natural disasters had occurred in the city, from a lightning storm that set the town hall on fire to an outright earthquake that happened just a couple of weeks ago; of course, she knew that it was most likely caused by monsters and other nefarious entities. But, strangely enough, things calmed down immediately after organizations similar to WHO and Red Cross arrived to provide relief efforts. What Sylvia also found strange that at around the same time, an official evacuation notice was issued, resulting in most of Penrose's population escaping the city to other states.
"It's strange, but I think I've heard of this before. Does that mean-Wait, why do they have...Oh no no no." Sylvia saw something that sent shivers through her skin. She needed clarification.

She called June on the phone. Every second she waited felt like it extended endlessly. After about thirty seconds, the call was picked up. "Sylvia? Is it really you?" She heard the Beacon girl speak, but...Something was off. "June, what happened? Why are they here?" She asked, trying not to let fear sound in her voice. But it was impossible.

"Because they had to, Sylvia. You forced everyone's hand," June again answered; her voice was cold like ice. "There was no choice other than to call them in." "But-" Sylvia attempted to speak, but no words came out. She heard a faint voice on the line, like someone spoke to June. After a second, June stated: "You will answer for what you've done."

Tomorrow

Sylvia dropped her phone to the ground, only able to stare forward. She slowly shifted towards a window, trying to keep herself on her feet; if she were to falter, she might fall down. Slowly, but surely, with an arm pressing against the glass stained with fractal ice, she looked outside, trying to comprehend her new reality by gazing upon snowy Penrose. Her mind rushed back to the phone call, and the realization that came with it.
"I was gone...for months. So that means..." She already knew, after she saw the familiar insignia the workers wore on their clothes, and immediately knew it meant only one thing.

"...So it is true..." She whispered.

"..."

"...The Ascendancy has arrived."

TO BE CONTINUED (IN THE NEXT SEASON)
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Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Keijo Championship

Alicia & Abigail
VS
Amaryllis & Tetrad

Some time after the latest Keijo match was played, a clip of boisterous music rang from the loudspeakers of the arena, not unlike clips played in professional wrestling shows. The same music was also broadcast from various TV screens like the one in Valerie’s cafe and the Beach Boutique, complete with a stylized Keijo logo with Dan’s head adorning it.. “Hey there, boys and girls!” Dan could be seen waving at the camera from the familiar commentator set; Dolly could be seen in the background. “Thanks to all of you, we’ve had many great plays made this season!” At that moment, a clip show of various moments played, including Helga’s launch of Lily, Rina casting bikini armor on Mika along other quick bits.

“Indeed, from the final moments of the Rina-Alicia battle to the dramatic start of Tetrad-Amaryllis versus Lily-Helga, this has certainly been a tournament worth watching.” Dolly nodded, as more highlights emerged upon the big screen.

“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for: the announcement of the finalists! As you know, winners of previous matches have earned the right to advance to the next round,” Dan now wore thick square glasses on his head. “However, to enter the finals, it is not enough to have won; you also needed to have made the match exciting! Yes, this rule was hidden on purpose, to ensure all participants made honest and legitimate Keijo battles.”

“After all, Keijo is not just a sport of physicality and practicality, but of entertainment and beauty! As of this finals round, we can ensure that only the strongest, most beautiful Keijo players will stand in the spotlight today, and when the water settles, we shall have the Queens of the Waves!” With an uncharacteristic flourish, Dolly produced an envelope from her dress and flung it towards Dan.

Dan took the envelope, and magically extracted the note hidden inside. “The finalists are...Amaryllis Evenings and Tetrad versus Alicia Hayden and Abigail!” He threw the note away, causing it to explode into colorful confetti. “Congratulations! Now, please come to the arena ASAP for quick interviews before the championship match!”

Seated on the beach, Alicia had not thought much about the broadcast. Up until the moment when her name was announced, anyway. She was left to give a blank stare to the tv screen. “No way. You’ve got to be kidding.” There was a very strong urge to facepalm, or to bury herself in sand and pretend she didn’t exist.

”Hold your head high, Alicia!” Abigail pumped her fist. ”This is where we dominate and show the world the might of Beacon!”

Somehow she had the feeling that people wouldn’t let her forget this one.

Amaryllis, already having been planning strategy with Tetrad, was equally surprised, not at the fact that they had moved to the next round, but that they were already in the finals. That was certainly...fast. But that was useful too. She took a breath, slapped her cheeks, and nodded once at her partner.

This was good now. They only need one more win to win it all.

”The finals, right where we belong!” Tetrad looked through her cards. ”You pretty much soloed the last one, so this should go pretty easy if I can stay in the fight longer than five seconds. Heh”

---

Later, after the participants of both teams entered the portal titled “Promo”, they found themselves within a glass dome located on the seafloor. They could see as various colorful and exotic fish swam around the dome, lit up by magical lanterns. Dan and Dolly were there with microphones in hand, with Dan greeting the team present; there were also magical floating cameras broadcasting the interviews to the entire island.

“Welcome! Let’s get right away to the interview! Both teams have made a big splash in Keijo, with incredible tactics and maneuvers.” Behind them, a highlight reel of the two teams’ matches played. “How do you feel? Do you think you have what it takes to become Keijo champions?”

“Yes,” was Amaryllis’s simple response. Somewhere along the way, the anxiety of the interview had turned her into a robot, and she spoke stiffly, remotely. “We will win. Definitely.”

For her part, Alicia was doing her best to keep on a strong face and not make it seem like she found any of this out of the ordinary. ”Very surprised, and a bit anxious. But I do think we can win,” she assured Dan.

“And do you have anything you’d like to say to the other team?”

“Uh…” The Midsummer Rose made a face, her stiff persona giving way to uncertainty. “Sorry, I guess? For winning.”

Abigail threw her arm around Alicia’s neck and pulled her closer. ”She’s acting reserved because she’s trying to be humble. What she wants to say is...” She pointed at the other team. ”You guys are going down so hard, everyone’s going to think you fell from orbit!”

Tetrad chuckled. ”I’m going to reserve my message for our opponents after the match is over. But I think they’re going to be in for a surprise if they expect us to go down easy.”

Shifting slightly to adjust for Abigail’s arm around her, Alicia’s gaze fell on Tetrad with a growing intensity. ”Don’t go taking your win for granted,” she said to the duo. ”We’re going to avenge our honor right here and now.” What better chance would she have than on the field of battle with that Regina impersonator?

“Yes, excellent!” Dan was thrilled at the boasting Abigail made. “This is going to be a spectacular spectacle!” He made a dolphin squeak, and a portal opened behind them. “Now, get ready in five, contestants! Soon you will face your greatest challenge!” He then turned towards one of the cameras. “And now, a word from our sponsors!” The TV feed then began broadcasting an advertisement for Brittany’s Beach Boutique. “Oh, and if any of you want to pull off the ‘discarded robe’ intro, I have some right here.” A bunch of gaudy robes then appeared on a table nearby.

Five minutes later, it was time for the championship match. Unlike normal, the girls appeared initially hidden from the audience in the shadowy corridors leading out from the arena, with a walkway extended to the platform allowing them to make a dramatic entrance as they wished. The platform was far larger than any previously seen in the arena, with a diamond shape and double the size. The audience cheered loudly, with Sylvia and Sally hollering on, and Kimble riding on the latter’s shoulders and waving a big flag: it fluttered elegantly in the air thanks to the catgirl’s Air magic, and spelled out “MISTRESS” in shining gold letters against a blue backdrop. But Alicia and Abigail weren’t the only team being cheered on: Helga and Lily were also there, the former boosting their voices and creating the kind of cacophony one would hear at a Super Bowl.

In the wake of Dan’s declaration, the diamond-shaped land was silent. Neither team had arrived yet, leaving naught but a wasteland desolate of beauty. Stillness pervaded everything, until that tranquil repose was broken by the echoing of heels.

Click. Click. Click.

A cloaked figure strode down the steps of the western wing.

“The glory of the sun, the fragrance of the flora.”

Rose petals fell in her wake, dropping from the azure sky like gentle rain.

“Above the resplendence of the waves, I embrace them all and declare myself.”

A slender hand reached out from the cloak, grasping one end to fling it off with the force of a drawn blade.

“Amaryllis Evenings, the Midsummer Bloom!”

And with one powerful step, the uncloaked figure leapt out from the stands, somersaulting thrice, before landing with such force upon the platform that water erupted upwards like a geyser, a white curtain that covered all.

“May the beauty of your soul falter in the wake of my skill!”

A rainbow burst overhead as the water dispersed into a myriad of fine droplets. Wreathed in the prismatic glow stood a girl of such beauty to draw even the envy of the gods. Her hair glistened like the starry skies, her eyes shone like set of gems that’d put the crowns of conquerors to shame. One hand was placed on her rounded hips, emphasizing her hourglass figure. Another hand rested with ballerina-esque ease to her side, at once casual and intentional. Her chest, embodying the paradox that all delightful bosoms held, were firm yet soft, voluminous yet perky, her twin restraints of bikini bra and cropped vest barely sufficient to hold them in place. Cat ears and paws juxtaposed with the mature allure she exuded, and the belled collar around her neck jingled brightly as she twisted her head dramatically to face her foes.

Amaryllis made for a tough opening, but let no one say that Beacon was not up for the challenge. From the opposite side of the arena came a flash, blinding in intensity for a brief moment before fading away. It came from the upper portion of the stadium itself, the lip that marked the highest pinnacle of the arena on that side.

As it dwindled, one could make out a robed figure, head held high and undaunted by the absurdity of the situation. If this was how it was to be, then there was no harm in playing along. ”A beacon of light for the world. A symbol of hope. We are the ones who lead the way.”

Words said, she jumped. A textbook dive, perfectly in form as her arms spread wide like wings. She fell faster and faster, only for wings of blinding white to flare out wide midway through her fall.

They swept out when she was about to hit the platform, swooping upwards to hang in midair for brief moments before settling to the ground. An angel on Earth, to provide guidance and judgment to all in her presence.

”I announce myself Alicia Hayden, Seraph of Beacon.”

With a flourish the robe was tossed away in a single move, unveiling her swimsuit with an otherworldly shimmer. With her wings still spread wide she held herself with a determined look, and maybe a modest effort to not make comparisons.

Revealed, she extended her hands and crafted a spear of light from her magic. It was thin and long perfect to be twirled and flourished as she took a couple steps forward while spinning it in quick circles. When she slammed the butt of the weapon into the ground a beam of light shot into the sky before the weapon faded away.

”May you face your judgment at the hands of the light!”

A swirl of floating robes entered the arena. All manners of colors flying in circles like wraiths. Once the mass moved into position, it exploded outwards in all directions, revealing Abigail at its center. ”Do I even need an introduction? Gheaheaheahea!”

“Alicia” also approached from the other side of the ring. She was holding onto a fistfull of robes in both hands while spinning her way towards her position. ”Hur dur,burkurnsh lurt dur!” She cast the robes into the air before returning to her true form. ”Kidding! Tetrad here, you might have seen me for a few seconds during the last match.” A robe fell back down on her head, which she promptly batted away. ”Anyway, we gunna start soon?”

The spotlight shone on Dan, who seemed to sparkle. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to end the season with the biggest bang you’ll ever see! These four warrior women have fought their way through one tier of opponents, and yet they’re so close to the top. But one more obstacle remains, the other team! Who will win today? Is it Team Double-A, the brightest of Beacon, or Team Beauty, the brawniest of babes? Well...Let’s find out!” He pulled out a cartoony revolver, and aimed it up in the air. “On your marks...Get set...KEIJOOO!”

Championship Song

He launched up one last time as a couple of flames spurted up from pyrotechnic display. Now, all that remained was them, and their butts.

Victory came to the one that struck first! Immediately dropping into a sprinter’s pose, Amaryllis shot off, leaving a summer gale in her wake. The Land rumbled with each of her steps as she charged immediately for Alicia, the speedy lightweight of the group, ready to take her down in a single butt-swing.

”Tch.” It was like Tetrad was deliberately trying to annoy her with that intro, and to her credit it was working. Her burning desire for revenge would be enough fuel in this match, if nothing else served to do it.

Unfortunately it seemed Amaryllis planned to deny her that, forcing the Seraph to act quickly. Her wings flared as she jumped, carrying her a few feet higher before she threw herself into a spin and from that into a small dive bomb butt first. If they thought she would go out that easily, she intended to prove them quite wrong.

Abigail was heading over to assist Alicia, but was not floating with the speed she had previously demonstrated she was capable of. Understandable, considering she fell into the drink on account of expending all of her mana too soon. Hanging back a bit also meant she wasn’t going to interfere with her partner’s attack, and could follow up and potentially catch someone off guard.

Tetrad on the other hand was following right behind Amaryllis. Her inability to keep up was more due to the limit of her physical prowess rather than a desire to hang back. Her form was transparent and wispy looking, leaving faint green after images where she ran. When Amaryllis turn around to smash Alicia with her hips, Tetrad hopped onto the rosen knight’s shoulders and dove into the air. From there, she attempted a corkscrew elbow drop, only the intent was to hit Alicia with her backside instead of her elbow.

“The championship match has begun explosively!” Dan commentated from the familiar floating red stage with Dolly. “There have been many matches here in this arena, but this one definitely takes the cake! Will we see Amaryllis’ famous ‘Boob Pincer’ technique again?”

As her first swing met empty air, Amaryllis turned upwards right as Alicia dropped down. Sucking in a deep breath, the buxom girl received her opponent’s dive bomb head on, bending her knees to lessen the impact as butt met breast. Yet there was no sound of any heavy impact, no devastating blast of force; Amaryllis’s F-cup breasts, bountiful and elastic as they were, had been sufficient in absorbing the blow and now, her arms were pressed to the sides as well.

Just like she had with Lily, Amaryllis held Alicia aloft, holding the Seraph in place for the hammer that was Tetrad’s arse to smash her down.

In the end numbers worked against her. Chest met behind, and Alicia found herself held in place for brief moments as tetrad came swinging in from above. Outplayed, all she could do was take the hit.

“And there it is! Ooh, that’s gotta hurt!” Dan reacted loudly. “Amaryllis and Tetrad are showing a lot more compatibility this time around with a combination attack like that! I bet they’ve been practising to work together!”

Thrown down by the hit, a grunt of pain escaped as Alicia slammed into the platform. At least the angle meant that there wasn’t much sliding, but it still hurt like hell with the sheer force of it. It took her a few moments to get her breath back and move back on to her feet. “I thought the point was to knock us off the platform, not knock us out entirely,” she grumbled in annoyance, switching to a more evasive stance as she moved to link back up with Abigail. Teamwork was going to be important to their victory here, as the duo had just made very clear.

Normally, Alicia would not have been able to get up so swiftly with Tetrad sitting on top of her. But Abigail’s rapid approach forced Tetrad to reconsider her position. Less she get shoved into the drink by any of Abigail’s attacks. The gambler leaped towards her partner’s right side, Circling around so that she could come up on Amaryllis’s right.

”Seems to be working.” A few cards flew up into Tetrad’s hand. ”Hmmm, still nothing.”

Abigail wasn’t going to let a little fancy footwork get in her way. She fully planned on throwing herself directly at Tetrad, and didn’t care what tried to impede her movement. She ramped up her density as she flew towards Tetrad.

Amaryllis nodded just once, before letting out a long, deep breath. Abigail was the heaviest of them all, capable of hitting the hardest. But where power was lacking, technique bridged the gap. Interposing herself between Tetrad and Abigail, she honed her hearing onto the tempo of the gravity girl’s footwork, before leaping in as well, charging head on. Moments before collision, however, she stepped to the side with matador-esque grace, twirling into a buttswing that’d connect with Abigail’s side. With luck, it’d launch the raging bull off course and into the waters before. If not...well, Tetrad still had a fail-safe if they didn’t knock her out.

Abigail to the rescue it seemed, at least against Tetrad’s pin. Alicia wasn’t sure what she had planned to do after that point, but she was glad that she didn’t need to find out. For now the opposing team were living up to their boasts. Maybe they should have spent some time practicing after all.

With Abigail taking the lead Alicia took to the air, swooping around to move concurrent with Abigail from the side. Her flight was timed so that she’d side swipe whomever Abigail ended up hitting with a shot of her own, a one two punch in Keijo style that would put someone in the water.

Dan did not miss the bombastic move. “And there comes Abigail’s Comet Strike! She reminds me of the famous Keijo star Hikaru Hoshide! Also known as Japan's Heaviest Butt, she is said to be able to smash a 50 ton platform with ease. But I think Abigail might be able to break that record!”

Abigail’s ability to manipulate her density would be put to the test under Amaryllis’s swinging buttocks. Both girls represented the pinnacle of their respective fields. The rose knight’s physical power, honed to a graceful edge, and Abigail’s magical might, as untamed as a wild beast. The attack was too fast for the gravity girl to reasonably avoid, but she could tell it was coming, and that was enough to form a counterattack.

Being able to play with her density was only part of what made Abigail such a formidable opponent. The other part was that she could use gravity to move her body in ways that muscles wouldn’t allow. When she was smacked with Amaryllis’s derriere, she was able to pinch her vest between the fold between her ribcage and breast. Abigail would not get away unscathed, forced to wobble towards the edge of the arena. She was much too heavy to throw with a single attack. Even when faced with such a strong opponent. Still holding onto the vest, Abigail would turn to face Amaryllis and attempt to use her other breast to deliver an uppercut, possibly knocking her out.

Tetrad seemed aware of the peril, but there wasn’t a lot of time to choose her actions. Fortunately, they had discussed tactic before going into the fight, so there was no need to consider her options. Tetrad dove towards Abigail’s legs in an attempt to sweep them out from under her. A dangerous move, as Abigail would probably crush a normal person if she was allowed to fall onto them.

How could breasts even work that way? That was Amaryllis’s one thought as she was suddenly pulled in. Was Abigail a user of Beast or Reinforcement Magic as well, capable of moving her two breasts like normal people would with their two hands? In the corner of her eye, Alicia was making her move as well now, a side swing timed to Abigail’s uppercut.

For a moment, it was as if the gates of defeat were closing down upon her. But lo, behold! The shining silver of victory, sharp as a saber’s edge!

Before Abigail’s unrestrained breast could accelerate to its full speed, Amaryllis thrust her face into it, kicking off with her feet at the same time. The impact met upon her face was like that of massive water balloon, but the collision had not caused a concussion. Launched upwards, she slipped above Alicia’s side swing before extending her legs outwards like two helicopter blades. The buxom fencer twisted her hips, gained extra leverage from the position of her legs, and spun out.

RIPPPP!

With an immovable object pinning it down and an unstoppable force stretching against it, Amaryllis’s vest had no choice but to be ripped to shreds, beige fabrics bursting out like confetti to reveal the bold, mature design beneath: a black bandeau with a heart-shaped window cut in the center. How shameless! How seductive! How s-

Amaryllis didn’t have time to dwell. Upside-down, mid-air and spinning in close combat with Abigail, she swung her liberated breasts right towards the side of her foe’s head in the same motion she escaped with.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” Dan was leaning over the desk as he watched the battle unfold in astonishment. “Amaryllis is moving with such force that her vest was annihilated! But wow, what a sight! She truly is the Midsummer Bloom! The others will have to watch out for her!”

Things were moving very fast, faster than they had in her last fight, and truth be told Alicia was having difficulty keeping up. At least Abigail was on point, grabbing on to Amaryllis while Tetrad went for some kind of slide move.She knew how dangerous that sort of thing could be, but at the same time she had already committed to her effort to strike Amaryllis.

Not that it worked, though it did help destroy the vest in the process to reveal the swimsuit beneath. Seemed someone was going for the mature look.

With a grunt she flipped in place, relying on magical wings to carry her where more physical ones would be straining. Powerful strokes drove her back the direction that she had come, giving Abigail a bit of a forwards push to assist her counter against whatever loss of balance there might have been from Amaryllis breaking free and Tetrad’s move.

Then she dove, a sharp downward strike to hit the card wielding girl like she had been earlier with an aerial slam via her booty. This time the shoe would be on the other foot, she was sure of it.

Few opponents could withstand the heft of Amaryllis’s bosom, but Abigail was one of them. A lesser girl might have crumpled under such a powerful attack, but the rose knight was trading blows with the studliest magical girl in the tournament. Such a blow might have dented the armor of a battleship, or left a crater in soft soil, but Abigail’s magic made her far too strong for that. A shock wave rippled through the air, and a bit of saliva flew out of Abigail’s mouth as her head was forced sideways. Tetrad had managed to swing her tush into the back of Abigail’s knee, causing it to buckle and her form to fall. But even when things looked over for the gravity girl, she persisted as a threat to her opponents, In no small thanks to Alicia helping her remain stationary.

”Gotcha!”

Amaryllis’s helicopter kick allowed her to avoid Alicia and score a solid hit on Abigail, but it was not without its risks. Naturally, her own head was not too far away from Abigail’s chest.With her breasts spread apart, it took little to push them together around Amaryllis’s head. Abigail was short, but she was no less endowed than her opponent. The rose knight’s vision would go dark as she was swallowed by her advisary’s anatomy. Amaryllis could likely feel the pressure welling up on both of her temples. It was as if she was being crushed between two bags of iron sand, only she was on the surface of Jupiter.

“Abigail got Amaryllis in an assassin grapple!” Dan was now standing on his seat, completely taken by the excitement of the moment. ”The Midsummer Bloom’s grappling technique is now used against her to deadly effect! Oh, the humanity!”

”Shit!”

There was little Tetrad could do in the moment. Her slide attack had brought Abigail down to one knee, but not in time to save her team mate from an imminent attack. She was able to roll out of the way of Abigail’s falling knee, but had little time to devote to Alicia’s incoming butt slam. Fortunately, Tetrad wasn’t out of options.

She threw all of her cards into the air. They were not magically charged, nor did they do anything particularly noteworthy. They just scattered in the wind like one might expect any normal deck of cards to if thrown into the air. It was just thirteen cards, but with her transparency it was enough to make a smoke screen effect and escape. Alicia would have to guess which direction she was moving in and adjust her aim accordingly. But in truth, Tetrad wasn’t moving anywhere.

She was teleporting.

Had Amaryllis stopped moving, Alicia might have noticed a green card slipped into the top of her bathing suit. This was where Tetrad chose to teleport to. When she appeared, she was squatting on Amaryllis’s shoulders. She kicked off not moments after her reappearing act. Tetrad had Alicia in her sights, and would intercept her post haste. She closed her arms at her side and flew off like a rocket, intending to slam into Alicia’s head with her breasts.

Dan clapped his fins together. “A teleport! Folks, we got ourselves a bona-fide teleporter! Can they stand against the art of Crouching Butt, Hidden Bosom?”

Darkness, suffocating and claustrophobic. In the marshmallow hell, Amaryllis struggled to maintain her focus, holding her breath as a free diver would. How would she get out? How would she escape? The pressure built, expounded, and then…

WHAM!

A weight pushed against her back, thrusting both Keijo players forward, and in that moment, Amaryllis found her opportunity. Around her head was her cat ears, an innocuous accessory that granted just an extra bit of space to maneuver. Letting out all her air at once, she pulled forth her magical resources, twin chains of silver shooting out from her ankles and latching upon the other end of the platform. With a contraction of her body, Amaryllis popped herself out of Abigail’s crushing grasp, leaving her cat ears behind as a sacrifice. She spun through the air, grinded onto the platform, and with another sharp breath, launched herself right at the gravity girl again.

There will be no break, no time to recover.

This time, her advance was even faster.

Tetrad’s exploding cards earned a flinch, and Alicia adjusted accordingly to the side to keep herself from accidentally dive bombing into the water. Yet Tetrad was not there, nor she was she anywhere, as the wind kicked up by her wings blew away the smoke cloud.

Turning, she found the dueling pair had become a trio, moments before Tetrad leapt at her.. She wasn’t sure how that had happened, but didn’t spend the time to question it. Instead she cranked up the light from her wings to nigh blinding in intensity. With how they were positioned it would also hit Amaryllis too while leaving Abigail unaffected, since the Seraph was behind her fellow Beacon sister.

Then in a smooth motion she launched herself upwards in a high jump, twisting in midair to present her rear to the incoming boob shot in a deflecting stance with the momentum from her spin. With her wings she had greater flexibility in aerial combat, and she intended to use it to put Tetrad right in the water.

Blinding people was not a new tactic for Alicia, and anyone who paid attention to the game would have some idea she was capable of doing it. Tetrad was not one of those people.

But Tetrad didn’t have to be, since she was still wearing Trigonal. In her minds eye, she could divine where something was in the past, present, and future given she had acquired enough information to do so. It took her several seconds to locate where a ghoul had been travelling in the past, but pinpointing Alicia’s location and what she was doing in the present was child’s play, especially since she had so much data on the beacon girl. Few of her exploits were quiet affairs.

Tetrad twisted in the air like a diver. Her body corkscrewed before she pointed her butt at Alicia’s incoming swing. Tetrad had little control of herself in the air, so this was never going to be a counterattack. But at least she could control which direction she was going to fly in when Alicia made contact. When their asses collided, Tetrad was thrown back towards the arena instead of away from it.

Abigail had been pulled and pushed by several attacks, and could barely stand on her feet. When Amaryllis charged back towards her, she changed up her strategy. Abigail jumped backwards, becoming lighter than the air that surrounded her. Tetrad flew over her shoulder just as she started to gain altitude and join Alicia in the sky. Meanwhile, Tetrad bounced off the ground and rolled to Amaryllis’s feet. She was able to return to her feet unassisted.

There was a brief reprieve. Abigail had burned away quite a bit of her mana, as evident by all the clothes Amaryllis had shed. Alicia and Tetrad both had taken one hard fall this match, and were both likely weaker for it. It wasn’t clear who had the high ground, unless you counted the beacon girl’s flight.

Tetrad straightened out her posture and called her cards back to her hand. ”I’m lasting a lot longer than last time.” Tetrad rolled her neck to get all the cricks out of it. She then glanced at the cards in her hand. ”Man, I’d hate to be you guys right now.” Tetrad shuffled behind Amaryllis. ”Just a bit longer now.”

Abigail snorted. ”Yea? Well, you’re weak!”

”Not as weak as that comeback.”

The gravity girl groaned. ”What do you want to do Alicia? I want to end this game now!”

Amaryllis stopped. One deep breath after another, regaining some of her own stamina as she stood there, her eyes on the two flying magical girls. Honestly, flying in a sport about dunking people into the water? May as well be cheating.

But it didn’t matter. Magic was just a talent like any other, and if they relied on their wings, then she’d simply have to tear them off.

Her breaths deepened, each exhale like the hiss of a steam engine. Slowly, she lowered her stance, her hands swinging behind her back. Eyes the color of dawn locked onto her two foes, before a smile, feral and provocative, emerged. Leaning forward like this, it was obvious who had the largest breasts in the arena, wasn’t it?

“Oh, the teams have regrouped for a strategy meeting! That’s round 1, but stay tuned for more!” Dan sat back down after ringing a magically appeared gong, signaling the end of round 1 and allowing the teams to wash their faces and such. “This might seem quite rare in the impulsive world of Keijo, but don’t be fooled, folks; these girls know you need brains as much as buttocks in this game to win.”

Grimacing, Alicia was not quite sure how Tetrad kept slipping away from her like that. But she took the offered opportunity to regroup, coming to a stop next to Abigail as they hovered in the sky. She folded her arms over her chest, looking down at the duo and ignoring the posturing. As if she’d let herself get lured into that sort of competition.

“Still, at least we’re not the fetishists with fake cat ears,” Alicia joined in with the taunting before letting out a sigh to talk shop with Abigail. ”Yeah, I know what you mean. And it looks like Tetrad is plotting something. I’d rather not give her the opportunity to use it.”

Of course that was easier said than done where their opponents were concerned. After a moment she shrugged. ”Could just gang up on one of them until they go down, use our flying to dive bomb. But Tetrad’s got some kind of teleportation trick. So I’d watch out for that.”

Tetrad leaned out from behind Amaryllis and held her cards out, careful not to let the opposing team or even the spectators see her hand. She closed the fan of cards so that only one was visible before pulling back behind Amaryllis. ”Are you fetishists without fake cat ears then? The two of you couldn’t get enough of Mika.”

Abigail’s face turned even more red. ”…Yea, we’re taking her out next!” Abigail prepared to dive, but then stopped. ”That didn’t work out great last time though. We need to take care of amaryllis, or at the very least, you need to keep her off of my back.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Alicia shot back in turn. More of her fight had been spent with Katarina after all, aside from the part where she nearly died.

Nodding, she could not argue with Abigail’s assessment. “Yeah. But I think I have something in mind to deal with that. A bit experimental, but it’s not like I’d ever use it outside of this situation anyway,” she conceded. For now she prepared to resume the fight, to sweep down on their foes and deliver some well deserved payback.

Dan hit the gong again. “Round 2! Fight!”

Amaryllis nodded once at the hand Tetrad showed her, before drawing into her own reservoir of mana as well, deep breaths cause her voluminous chest to rise and fall. Dan’s gong sounded, Alicia charged forth, and the Midsummer Bloom allowed the entirety of her magic to burst outwards. Silvered chains shot towards every corner of the platform, digging deep into the buoyant material. Lifting one leg high up into the air, Amaryllis struck downwards upon the network of chains.

There was a thunderous impact, a great snapping sound, and then, the diamond-shaped Land was broken to bits, an archipelago of small islands rolling up and down upon the violent waves. Tetrad could deal with Alicia; Amaryllis was fully focused on ensuring that Abigail could no longer increase her weight willynilly.

Dan loudly squeaked in surprise.“Aaaahh! The diamond has been cracked! Not even the platform is safe from the wrath of these girls!”

Amaryllis had been able to convey she was going to do something big to Tetrad. But that message was relayed by her fingers counting down behind her back. It didn’t quite convey the magnitude of what the rose knight was about to do. Tetrad was difficult to spot due to her transparency, but anyone paying attention to her would notice the shocked look in her eyes. That wide eyed expression you only make when shit just got real. She wobbled a bit before dropping to one knee. ”Let’s see what happens.” Tetrad tossed a card at Amaryllis’s back, causing her, and her chains, to turn transparent much like herself. To the unobservant it would look like she had faded away. Tetrad drew a few more cards for the final stretch of the fight.

Abigail just laughed at her opponent’s strategy. ”Oh no! The ground’s broken! Whatever am I going to do! Gheahahahahahhaha!” She stretched out her hands in front of herself. ”Well if you’re that mad at it, I can get rid of it for you!” Abigail swirled her hands in the air, and the islands started to move. They raised into the air and swirled about, not unlike how a galaxy’s planets spin as they revolve around a star. They were limited in their movements, as they were all still tethered to the rose knight’s chains. But she was willing to bet her opponents would reveal themselves shortly. It might have been underhanded, or even against the rules to use her magic this way. But she wasn’t using it directly on Amaryllis or Tetrad, and Dan hadn’t said anything.

It was easy to tell that they were in the main event now. If she had not been flying Alicia would have been in a lot more trouble as Amaryllis smashed the platform like it was made of cardboard. Added in with Abigail’s magic, they were left with a hovering mess of debris. This was about to get tricky. Especially with the chains invisible.

Still, in this case what she did next was fairly easy to decide on. With the opponent invisible, she fell in to protect Abigail’s back while the platforms still hovered in the air. Light shone akin to a flashlight, cycling the visible spectrum to see if one would be effective against that invisibility. It was magic, sure, but who knew, she might get lucky. Then when she did, they could bring the hurt.

As Tetrad’s magic settled over her, Amaryllis leapt into action. Abigail set the stage up well, so well that Amaryllis changed plans partway through. With the platforms floating up into the sky and both of her opponents on the same platform, what else could she do, honestly? It was only a shame that the audience wouldn’t be able to see this.

Seconds ticked by, Alicia’s light magic flickering from one form to another as rust-red petals fell around the arena with greater frequency. Like a storm of scattered blossoms, the petals danced in the air and died in the waters. A moment of reprieve, a moment of silence.

And then, one of the floating platforms promptly shook.

Amaryllis leapt into the air, her back arcing against the midday sun, before she dropped, not onto Alicia and Abigail for a Meteor Hip Drop, not onto Tetrad for a new combo move, but towards the waves below. She fell and fell and fell, until at the very last moment, silver chains shot upwards, latching onto one of the platforms. Her heels grazed the waters as she swung upwards with all the speed of her descent, white froth kicking up in her path. Waterskiing, almost. Without her vest, without her fake cat ears, her ascent was almost completely silent.

Silent, except for the attack she shouted out, her invisibility fading moments before her hips slammed into the underside of Abigail’s platform.

“LUNATIC VACUUM BUTT CANNON!”

There was little to alert Abigail of the incoming attack. Save for the invisible shape skimming across the top of the water and how one of the “planets” wasn’t orbiting right. But she was woefully unprepared for the ground to erupt underneath her. Amaryllis’s backside emerged from the ground, throwing the girls on the platform into the air as the platform exploded.

Now Abigail might have seemed like a brat on the surface, and she was for the most part. But deep under that smug exterior was a little girl who just wanted to be acknowledged for something. She took her losses seriously, and anything that presented difficulty was utterly loathe some. This was a tough fight, and Amaryllis had a tendency to make everything she did look effortless. That, and Abigail was aware of her dwindling mana supply. She knew she wasn’t going to get out of this dry. And it really, really infuriated her. Enough for the emotions to finally show. Her skin was practically glowing red. The platforms stopped moving as she released them from her magical grip. Everything was going into this next attack. She couldn’t take out Tetrad as she couldn’t see her, but maybe she could take out Amaryllis. All of the platforms were above and away from the rose knight, so she was confident she could at least take care of Amaryllis with a wall placed strike.

”G A L A C T I C T Y P H O O N K E I S T E R D R O P !”

Abigail plummeted like a commit, spinning and cloaked in gravity so intense it bent light. Her goal was to smash her butt into Amaryllis’s back and pinch her bathing suit or skin between her butt cheeks. It was the only thing she had left.

Doing her best to locate the invisible duo (and grumbling about said invisibility all the while), Alicia had barely any time to react before their platform was struck from below. She was sent hurtling skywards, doing a flip in midair before she was able to recover. Her flying skills paid off in this regard.

Recovering, she was able to angle her flight just enough to reach one of the midair platforms. Legs braced before she launched herself further upwards, enough to watch as Abigail put everything into taking out the one opponent that they could actually see. Which….oh man the platforms were going to fall too weren’t that?

So she used the time that she had available to reach the edge of the kaleidoscope of debris so she was outside the impact zone. At the same time her body began to shimmer, replicating the graveyard trick by blurring where exactly she was. Which might not impact Tetrad at all,but it at least made her feel better about it. She would not let this go to waste.

Amaryllis had the mobility, of course, to dodge. A silver chain would have been more than enough for her to painlessly roll out of the way of Abigail’s comet-sized ass. But, in this form at least, there were no challenges that Amaryllis would shirk from. The swan song of the gravity girl will be received head on. With what remained of her momentum, the Knight of Rose spun in the air once more, slamming her own derriere into Abigail’s.

It was no contest. Vertical strikes were the realm of any heavyweight Keijo player, and if not for Amaryllis’s own well-trained glutes, she very well may have been looking at a shattered pelvis. It reminded her chiefly that her vitality was never that great to begin with, and the two plummeted, tumbling alongside the falling platforms. Was it an Izuna Drop? No, the buttocks-vice that Abigail grappled Amaryllis with was too tight, too difficult to disengage from. This was the Lover’s Dunk, a double suicide technique used to ensure only in team fights, taking out the stronger foe when your own resources were exhausted. What bravery. What devotion. If they were fighting in a life-and-death duel, Amaryllis may very well have pulled her Devil Trigger, then and there.

But this was Keijo. And she still had one last piece of outerwear to discard.

“You have my respect. And my shorts.”

An instant before they both fell into the frothing waves, Amaryllis twisted out to the side, ripping free of her last bit of clothing. Powerful as the vice grip of Abigail was, the gravity girl had failed to realize that she grappled Amaryllis by belt and denim, not by the flesh underneath.

The Meteor fell, and the Black Rose floated, her arm stretching out. All that bought only half a second, and no platforms were nearby. If nothing was done, then all Amaryllis did was flex a little on Abigail.

But what about Tetrad?

To answer that question you would have to look back in time by several seconds, and keep a close eye on the chain holding the platforms together. If you looked hard enough, you would see Tetrad suspended on one of the said chains. She’d be looking at her hand of cards. If you could see her cards, you’d see she was holding a Red 5 and 7, two Blue 2s, followed by a 3, 6. 7, another 7, and a 9. She also had a Yellow 3, three 7s, and two, Draw 2s. And with her most recent draw, a Green 5.

Tetrad hadn’t been doing very much with her magic this match, largely because of how limited she had been in her options. She chose to play a green 8 under Amaryllis’s coat before the match began, and she hadn’t received much in the way of green cards or 8s as the match carried on. She had been bluffing the entire time, pretending to have a strategy when there wasn’t a single thing to play. The reverse green card she got just seconds after her recovery, and just now she drew a green 5. That was all it took to turn an entire fight full of bluffing into a real threat. Perhaps if Tetrad was a kinder person, she might hold off on executing such a thing. But that wasn’t possible with all the trash talking the beacon girls had done. Coupled with how Alicia could break the rules by flashing magical light into her face, this was probably a long time coming.

Not that Tetrad was a merciful person to begin with.

Tetrad flung a green 5 in Alicia’s direction. Her method of avoiding Tetrad’s eyes was different, but she could be found the exact same way. A highly talked about member of beacon was all too easy to divine the location of. She then tossed two red cards off to the side, a 5 and 7 in that order. This did nothing but reveal her location and fortified her strength for a moment. She used this new found strength to swing under the chain and kick off of it, sending her plummeting to the water below. While she fell, Tetrad let all of the blue cards fall out of her hand and strike her body all over, making sure first and last cards to go were a blue 7. This healed up any sort of bruising that Tetrad had sustained from Alicia’s last attack. Physically throwing her cards wasn’t something she had to do. With just a thought, her cards could fly off to wherever she wanted them to go. Provided Tetrad was drawing from her hand and not one of her many decks. This allowed her to play cards faster than she could ever draw them. It had only been a few seconds and her hand was almost empty.

Her next act was to throw a yellow 7 into the approaching water, and a Draw 2 towards Alicia. It would fly under her rather than into her, but it would need a moment to catch up to the first card she had thrown in Alicia’s direction. And then when the moment was right, Tetrad commenced the final part of her trick: she teleported to her green card.

Tetrad was no mind reader, and she certainly couldn’t predict exactly where Alicia would have been when she decided to teleport to her green card. But tetrad didn’t give Alicia much time to react. She was not very high above her opponent and was still moving at the speed she kicked off of the chain at. Since Tetrad had used the yellow card last, she had some ability to guide her chest towards her target’s head. Tetrad did have a failsafe or two left should this not work, and was rather confident in her success. The question wasn’t if Tetrad was going to win or not, it was how much longer Alicia planned on dragging this out.

Needless to say, Alicia winced as Abigail and Amaryllis went down, She wasn’t sure why the one had decided to do that, it wasn’t like going in first meant anything when they would both be getting wet anyways. And she was certain that this competition was not worth sacrificing ones clothing like that.

That just left her and Tetrad, and a burning determination to win. There might have been some ruffled feathers from the trash talk, but as far as she was concerned the other girl had started it. So she hovered in place, sweeping the arena to try and locate her invisible opponent. Then the strike came. “Hm?” The impact of the card was, at such speeds, not hard to miss with them only wearing swimsuits.

As cards flew upwards, her mind worked. Tetrad was still going down, and she was clearly not simply planning to go quietly. There had to be some kind of plan, and based off of what she had seen before that meant….’Teleportation’!

But where, and how? Her eyes flickered this way and that, trying to discern what she was looking for. But in the process of doing so something caught her attention. It was Kimble and the other Beacon members, waving signs and cheering her on. If the motivation to defeat Tetrad wasn’t already high enough by her previous anger, that determination was all the fuel that she needed.

So she tapped into her powers, and expanded her vision. Not simply looking for what was invisible, but highlighting, refracting. With focus she could see the motion of the individual cards as they brushed past the particles in the air, where they were now and where they had been before, the paths they now followed, and the way they faced.

It was only moments that she had, but it was all she needed as her wings launched her to the side and out of the imminent path. It lessened what would have been a brutal direct hit to a glancing blow and she skidded on one of the platform fragments.

”Am I supposed to be impressed?” she called, all while her hand reached back to get rid of that card that had hit her before Tetrad teleported on to her back like she had with Amaryllis.

And then Amaryllis closed her fist.

The platforms, once shattered by her kick, retracted at lightning pace, fragments colliding with each other. Centered around the fragment Tetrad landed on, they pulled the two remaining combatants together once more. That was all Amaryllis achieved, before she hit the water and relinquished her command over her chains.

Tetrad had just thrown a yellow card, so she was able to control her decent, even if it wasn’t enough to hit Alicia. She was able to extend a hand and “catch” the ground, causing her body to spin a hundred-and-eighty degrees towards Alicia. It would have been nice to gracefully slide to a stop, but it was a rough landing that had her bouncing to her feet. The smile she had worn the entire battle was gone, she was wobbling backwards, and her eyes shifted to the corners of her sockets when she heard Amaryllis hit the water.

Now Tetrad didn’t have the same kind of emotional backing Alicia had. Alicia was on a quest for vengeance. Tetrad had made fools out of Beacon by pretending to be someone Alicia was unfamiliar with. This, paired with her friends and possible love interest cheering her on gave her a sense of determination and purpose to make her want to win. Tetrad didn’t have any of that. She wasn’t even aware she was a villain in someone else’s story. She did something she thought was funny and no one from beacon told her what she did was all that bad. It wasn’t like Tetrad had someone in the stands cheering for her. Emily might have been, but she didn’t see her. It wasn’t like Veronica was going to show up with a bright smile and cheer her on. Her previous employer had intentionally left for dead, and her squad mates never came to look for her. She was alone out here.

Or she thought she was.

She had not known Amaryllis long, but Tetrad knew she was a proud woman with noble air that clearly marked her as a knight. She fought so hard to win the last match by herself, and her last move in this game sacrificed her dignity and gave Tetrad an opportunity to continue. In Keijo, that was as close to a sacrifice as you could get. No one had ever gambled on Tetrad like that. Not her old squad mates, nor her new ones. Tetrad was no longer a sole competitor participating “for the lulz.” She was Amaryllis’s last hand, with her dignity and victory presented as collateral. Alicia wasn’t Tetrad’s enemy, but she was an obstacle that needed to be cleared. Being relied on so heavily filled her with determination. She smiled.

”Impress you? Nah.” Tetrad broke into a sprint and threw the remainder of her yellow cards at Alicia. None of them hit her, just as intended. She was unsure if she worked out what the color of each card represented, but she made sure to have the backing of the cards facing Alicia just so that she couldn’t see if they were green or not. And also, maybe, to hide the black draw 4 card she had thrown from view.

Tetrad’s erratic magic has a special trick when she exhausts her entire hand. The last card becomes a draw 4 card, and is five times as potent and can be the color of any card she wants. For this situation, the clear choice was to pick the red card for a massive strength buff. The red cards always made her stronger, but the effects were not very impressive when compared to magical girls that boasted true physical prowess. Not so when the buff was five times as strong, effectively putting Tetrad in the same tier as Penny or Amaryllis.

So now cards were flying past Alicia that may or may not be capable points from which Tetrad could teleport to. If Alicia looked in the direction of the cards, she might have missed Tetrad hulk out and her increase in movement speed. What would Alicia do against such a threat?

The platforms suddenly rocketing together was not what Alicia had expected would occur, but fortunately her landing meant that she was already decently braced for such a sudden shock. Now they were back on the water and ready to face off once again. Wills, determination, emotions, all colliding together and building to a crescendo of battle that would define this tournament.

“Good. I intend to pay you back for your mockery of us, she replied as her gaze narrowed. Cards went flying, a great number of them. With her sight active none were aimed at her, but she could not predict that they would not be used for teleportation or some other effect again. Yet now that she was holding none of her stops back, she could deal with that.

So her hands spread as she focused her magic, coalescing the same power that used to make her arrows. These were more like daggers, but they would serve their purpose as she tossed them. Cards would be met in midair, either obliterated by the application of magic or brought to a halt and rendered useless.

A minor distraction, but long enough for Tetrad to use her new card and come charging in. Eyes widening in worry, Alicia darted backwards as she crafted new projectiles in her hands. But these were not to be used for attack. Instead she waited, one pace, two, before hurling them downwards while slamming her foot onto the edge of the platform that Tetrad was on. After all, they might have been pulled back together but they were still shattered; the boundaries where they had been broken apart remained. Explosions from those projectiles would help make up for the force that she lacked as that side was pushed downwards towards the water.

Hopefully some air time would be caused from the necessity of jumping to safety, perfect for Alicia to spin to the side and launch a strike in that direction. Stll, if it didn’t work, she would be in serious trouble. There was no time to doubt, only to act.

Just like Alicia had predicted, Tetrad jumped to clear the platform before it sank. She was no dummy, and was well aware that any time spent off the ground made her much easier for Alicia to deal with. But it wasn’t like she had much choice. Tetrad’s sharp reflexes enabled her eyes to trail Alicia, but even with this Herculean body she had, she would not be able to avoid it.

A decisive blow was going to be landed any moment now. Maybe this attack wouldn’t put out Tetrad, but it would weaken her. And as she got weaker, she would lose her only advantage over Alicia. She did have a fresh deck of cards to call on, but playing one would remove her enchantment and essentially restart her to the beginning of the match. It was also evident that Alicia had discovered a way to deal with her cards, which made relying on them that much less palatable. If Tetrad wanted to win, she had to do something now.

As a gambler, Tetrad found it important to understand the loopholes in the rules of any game. Sports were no different. As an example, Alicia was going to charge in with her chest. If her chest hit anything on Tetrad, it would be considered a legal move. Tetrad would not be allowed to retaliate by punching her in the face. Tetrad would also not be allowed to punch her in the chest, as the rules clearly stated you couldn’t strike anyone with anything but your rude bits. But it could stand to reason that you were at least allowed to touch these areas, otherwise a strike could never be made.

”You didn’t let me finish.” The only thing Tetrad had time to do was lean backwards. Her upper torso was almost parallel to the ground when Alicia made impact, slamming her right in the rib cage. Tetrad was reminded that she wasn’t especially durable when the air was ejected from her lungs. But gritting past the pain, she was able to bend her spine and curl her hips and shoulder towards Alicia. Just enough to trap her breasts between her armpit and hip bone. Then in typical anime fashion, in .0145 seconds Tetrad said: ”It was supposed to disappoint your girlfriends!”

…Before using her free arm to deliver a palm strike to her own breasts. Since they were level with Alicia’s head, the force of her palm strike would be delivered directly to Alicia’s face.

Unaware of the thoughts racing through Tetrad’s head, satisfaction at the sharp hit faded into confusion at the grapple as well as the taunt. ‘Girlfriends?’ A thought interrupted as she struggled against the lock, just before getting smacked in the face by Tetrad’s unorthodox blow. ”Ow!”

But determination and grit caused her to push through the pain, and to make another move of desperation. After all, there was one other facet to the rules that had gone un-exploited for this entire tournament. One she aimed to take advantage of as she braced and pushed forward. Her first few steps were slow, picking up speed before her wings flared out as she threw herself forwards.

It was all with a purpose in mind of course, as she attempted to exert her strength to just outright bowl over Tetrad and bring her down to the platform. There, with this admittedly strange position and the full leeverage of bust, she wasted no time in going for the three count pin.

Being slammed into the ground had momentarily distorted Tetrad’s senses, and further weakened the gambler. She struggled, but could not escape the hold Alicia had over her. The audience held their breaths in anticipation as Dan lifted his fin once, then again, and…

“TIME’S UP!” The dolphin squeaked, and a buzz sound echoed across the arena. “The match is over! Now, please gather together for the announcement of the victors!”
Amaryllis and Abigail, having already climbed out of the water, made simple leaps to join the two girls wrestling on the broken platform.

”Ummmm...” Abigail reached behind herself and pulled Amaryllis’s swimsuit out from behind her back. ”You probably want this back.” She offered with a smirk.

Dan’s red stage landed before the girls, and Dan clapped his fins enthusiastically. “What a heart-pounding fight! Both sides really went all out, to the point even the arena itself was wrecked. Very impressive! But only one team can be crowned the Prize Queens of Keijo! And so, the victor will be declared by a scoring system,” he dramatically spoke, and a podium magically lifted him up, allowing him to look the girls eye-to-eye.

“It was a close call. But, the winning team has shown from the very start of the match that raw power and determination are not enough to win. It also requires the willingness to take risks, ingenuity, guts, and passion for the art of Keijo. So, I will declare that the winners are...AMARYLLIS EVENINGS AND TETRAD OF TEAM BEAUTY!”

The audience was suddenly thrown into a cacophony of cheers. Lily screaming and hopping on top of her seat, and Helga projecting her voice with enough power to crack the glass ceiling. The Beacon side stayed silent except for Sally who made a loud jeer, staring with displeased or nervous expressions. Sylvia then began clapping as a sign of respect, slowly followed by the rest. Dan then summoned two white sashes with the words “PRIZE QUEEN” written in gold on them, not unlike those given to beauty contest winners, and placed them on the winning duo with a single swift motion. “CONGRATULATIONS!” Dolly, carrying a red satin pillow with two gold coin sitting on it, then stepped towards the two and gave them the coins. “Congratulations on becoming Keijo champions.” And so, a single post with a month in the making has concluded…

---

The next day...

The park in the central island was lit by countless colorful lamps as a crowd of magical girls centered around the great stage, taking seats in preparation for tonight’s show. “Welcome, boys and girls!” Dan was wearing a flashy mullet and star-shaped glasses, wielding a tiny microphone in his fin. “For tonight’s talent show, we have a multitude of bright young talents ready to make their debut on the stairs to superstardom! Some yearn to be idols, to be revered and worshipped while others seek to astonish and surprise. But all are welcome to hop on the stage, for it shuns none!” He looked to the side, and saw Lily give a nervous glance. “And now, our very first performer, it’s Lightning Lily performing ‘Boo!’”

At the cue, Lily first clutched her microphone, looking a bit nervous; thanks to the magic of the stage, she had changed her look to that of a modern idol including a pair of goggles on her head. With a little push from Helga, she stumbled forwards with a cute yelp, and smiled as she waved to the audience. “This is a Japanese song, so hopefully there’s no weeb-haters here, haha,” she added, before she stopped at the center, and focused; soon enough, an illusion formed around Lily, setting her on an idyllic Japanese river bank. And then, she began singing.

Lily’s Song

Once the song was over, she breathed out in relief that she managed to pull off the entire song without fumbling, likely thanks to the magic of the stage, and waved again at the audience. “Thanks for listening, everyone!” Dan clapped his fins together.
“Wonderful, wonderful!A cute and energetic song always gets me pumped up! Now, please welcome our next performer, The Great Aurelio!”

Following that announcement Aurelio strode out onto the stage dressed in his normal magical attire. “Greetings ladies and gent” He would call out as he walked towards the center of the stage. “Now I’ve got a nice and easy game I would like to play with all of you but I’m going to need a volunteer”

Sally bounced up first, her hand up in the air. “Ooh, pick me, I’ll volunteer!”

“Great.” He would say as he pulled out three playing cards and a large screen flickered to live above showing his hands to everyone in the audience “This game is a nice and simple game, it only involves three cards. You’ve got This card” He would say flipping over one of the cards to reveal that it ‘This’ written on it before shuffling it to the bottom “This card” he would flip the next card also revealing that it said ‘This’ before shuffling it to the bottom “And you’ve got That card” he would flip the last card to reveal that is said ‘That’ before shuffling it to the bottom. “All you have to do is keep track of That card, ready? Go.”

This’n’that

Sally blinked, amazed by the trick, before she smiled and waved as she went back to her seat. The Beacon girls clapped loudly, and Sylvia found herself whistling in cheer before she blinked and calmed herself down.
“Thank you all, hopefully next time I can put on a full show” Aurelio would say bowing lightly as he wandered off stage to allow the next person on. Dan was once again Clapping his fins in delight “Simply Wondrous. A fine display of mundane magic. But now, please welcome our next performer!”

In the backstage, two girls were listening to a song using headphones that Dan provided to them. “I think this would be great Su,” Helga spoke, pointing to a magically generated hologram that showed the two of them wearing qipaos and dancing. “I know you love that Chinese stuff, and the dresses fit the song too! Please?”

Su did not answer right away. She was watching the simulation and nodding along with the lyrics. She knew Helga was going to pick something silly, which was fine. Su didn’t mind singing along to something like that. But the dance moves…

”Seems dancing has changed a bit since I last did it.” She struggled to keep a smile up. The type of dancing she did back in the day was more akin to martial arts or ballet. This new breed of dancing was more about displaying emotions rather than creating them in the viewer. It looked very amateur to Su, bordering on humiliating. ”Well, I think we should keep this one in mind, but I feel like doing something a bit more challenging.” She placed her hands together and looked into Helga’s eyes. ”There might be some better options we haven’t discovered yet. Maybe something like, um, a classical Chinese dance with Japanese outfits!” Which was not to say that the Japanese didn’t have some embarrassing outfits, but Su was willing to meet Helga half way.

“I hear some whispers in the back,” Dan spoke, this time a bit louder. “They must have something special prepared!”

Helga bit her lip, and took Su’s hand. “This is all the challenge you need Su! It’s showtime!”
And then, sparkles surrounded the two as they transformed into their new dresses. Helga dragged Su out onto the stage before her hair managed to completely change color; it gradually swept up, turning white as fresh snow, like a tide of bright winter over dark autumn. “Thanks for waiting y’all!” Helga greeted them, grinning from ear to ear at the excitement she felt.

”Wai-!”

Dan nodded. “And now, please clap your hands along to Su and Helga’s lovely duet: ‘AiDee!’”

Su and Helga’s Duet

After the song, Helga took Su’s hand, and bowed at a comical angle to the applause from the audience; Lily clapped her hands the loudest, seemingly loving the performance. “You’re welcome, y’all!”

Su cleared her throat. ”That was...” She smiled. ”A lot of fun, actually. We’ll have to get a room set up for karaoke and dancing in the hotel when we get back. I might even make use of it on the occasional weekend.”
“You betcha!” Helga answered, walking out with an amusingly smug look, as if she had won a contest. Dan squeked.

“That was...Marvelous,” he responded. “It’s like flowers were blooming in song form. But now, please welcome our next performer!”

---

A Song To Be Sung

&

_{.:⋮A Song To Be Sung⋮:.}

Penny was admittedly nervous as she wound her way towards the changing room that Chloe had been granted for use in preparing her stage show. It wasn’t because she was nervous being in front of a crowd, as while she had been minorly afraid of that in her past life the knowledge that she could bench and then crush a car works wonders against a simple fear of public acting.

No she was nervous, because she still didn’t know exactly what it was she had signed up for and the fact that she was going to be performing it alongside Chloe, thus ousting her close connection to the petit mage to Beacon. To be fair it was a lot more of the former then it was the latter, yesterday had damaged the mechanical girls faith

“Hey” She’d call out as she finally stepped into the changing room “Got your message”

Immediately upon opening the door, she'd be met with the sight of Chloe right in the middle of undressing her normal non-magical girl attire, having just removed her gothic dress, leaving her in nothing but her undergarments...which were about halfway off.

“Oh, hello Penny.” Chloe grinned, stopping her disrobing process. “I was hoping to get changed before you got here~” There was a tone that said no, she totally meant for things to end up like this.

Penny was transfixed by the sight before her. In a sense it was nothing new, Chloe's magical outfit was hardly something that preserved her modesty, but that fact never really seemed to stick, possibly due to the magical nature of the outfit, it was hard to say for certain.

What was certain was Penny’s inability to tear her gaze away, and the short circuiting of her higher brain functions. As the image of a partially disrobed, grinning Chloe did a number of things to the mechanical girl.

The soft click of the door closing behind her snapped Penny back to reality. Causing her face to rapidly take on a shade rivaling a tomato “Chloe!” she’d cry out in embarrassment as she covered her eyes, more for her own actions then anything, but the trick that Chloe had played was not without blame.

“W-Was that really necessary?” She’d ask idginatly, while part of her wondered at how this hasn't happened before.

“Was what necessary?” Chloe giggled, innocently as she walked over to Penny. Still with a bra half-off her shoulder, she wrapped an arm around Penny's, squishing her arm between her chest as she dragged her into the room. “Could my dearest Penny be accusing me of teasing her or something?”

Penny’s immediate response was to reply with a resounding Yes! Or it would have been such were she not struck by the wonderful sensations from her trapped arm as she was lead across the room. Fighting through those feelings while also trying(and failing) to rein in her blush she would eventually be able to get out a quiet mumbled “Y-Yes. Yes you are” nevertheless she didn’t resist following the smaller girls lead.

“What can I say, you make it so easy for me.” Chloe smiled, releasing Penny from her grip. She grabbed her bra strap, finally strapping it back on and getting at least semi-decent. “Ready for the show then? I got some of the Archive girls to help with the instruments and stuff, so you just got to focus on being adorable and singing.”

Once freed Penny would just grumble to herself about Chloe’s teasing. The blushing, peeking out from behind her hand, and the fact that she hadn’t really made more room between them ruined any hope of her gripes being taken seriously.

“Possibly” She would answer once she had gotten a better hold of herself, mostly by keeping her gaze restricted to either eye contact or the other side of room in regards to Chloe. “Still curious as to what it is we’re going to be singing” Absently she was rubbing her recently freed arm in what seemed to be a nervous gesture “Also curious as to what the costume is going to be” She would add, having not really thought about that until just now. Or at least that was the assumed reason that Chloe was currently wearing as little as she was. The other possible reason wasn’t something Penny was willing to let her self ponder right now.

“Costume? Oh right.” Chloe walked over to a closet, quickly sifting through some of the articles of clothing before pulling two out. One, was a low backed black dress that came just above one's knees, with a low cut in the front. The other was a typical suit. “Suit or dress? I think you'd look good in the dress.”

Penny let out a soft sigh as once again her questioning the song choice had been sidestepped. “I’m not going to learn what it is we are singing untill im out on the stage aren't I?” At this point she was starting to get a little annoyed, but there was only so much longer that Chloe would be able to keep it hidden.

Carefully Penny turned her attention to the outfits that Chloe had picked out. Trying to riddle out what their style meant for the upcoming show. Not having any success at that she moved closer to get a better feel for the articles. She was very tempted to take the suit, knowing that she would feel more comfortable in it. Yet she was rather certain that she’d be the only one in one if she did so and wasn’t sure if she wanted to stand out more or less. Another moment of indecision “I’ll go with your choice” She’d say reaching for the dress, after all Chloe actually knew what was going on. That was the reason, the only reason, nothing else and perhaps if she kept telling herself that she would believe it.

“Heh, alright. Suit for me!” Chloe grinned, handing the dress to Penny. “And don't worry, I'm not gonna let you go in totally unprepared.” She said, pulling on the suit quickly. “But we don't gotta a lot of time for practice so,” She twirled over to Penny, smiling up at the other girl. “How's your dancing? Wanna practice a bit to get warmed up?”

Penny couldn’t help but pout a bit at noticing that her choice had been less what about what she was going to wear and more about who was wearing what. Still she was starting to build a better idea about what was coming, but she was lacking any real guesses. “Umm... A few dry runs of the dance would be appreciated” She would agree as she shimmied into the dress, not bothering to power down or remove her swimsuit to do such. As she doubted that either her tattoos or mechanical form would match well with the dress.

“You’ve got the lead” Penny would say after she gave herself a quick once over in the mirror to make sure she looked alright. Which only involved minor adjustments, one of which was making sure that the necklace that Chloe had given her was visible.

“Okay.” Chloe finished dressing herself up in the suit, stepping closer to Penny. “This is gonna be a bit of a...fast dance.” She grabbed Penny's hands, interlocking her fingers with the other girls and pulling her close. ”Just take it slow and try to focus, hm?~”

“R-right” Penny would reply, no longer trying to puzzle out what it was the song might be. As her thoughts now on trying to keep her blush manageable and memorizing the dance steps. While also not getting too caught up in the feeling of having Chloe so close.

She really hoped that the magic of the stage would help out when they got there.

---

With a bit of practice, the girls were both ready. Chloe had already set the stage, and with a little help from the Archive girls had everything ready to go. It was a simple enough setup. Some spooks that Chloe summoned were playing the instruments, were ready to float up on stage and start their routine. Penny was positioned just off the stage, ready to make her appearance as soon as she was given a cue.

Was she really going through with this?

Part of her was still unsure. Why even was she going so far to win Penny over? In the end, it really wasn't like her. She should have just left her when she joined beacon. Yet here she was, still trying for it. Pride? Probably, part of it. The whole control thing too, was what it mostly was. They stole Penny from her, and she was getting her back.

Ahhh, the thought of anything dealing with Penny just made her hurt. But with this...with this, she should win her over. Ufu, after all, no one could resist such a song. But first...an introduction!

“Helllooooo, girls of Penrose!” Chloe walked out on stage in quite the flamboyant fashion. Her suit was not something she was used to wearing, but she liked to think she rocked it. Playfully, she took a seat on a nearby amp situated at the front of the stage, microphone twirling in hand as she crossed her legs and looked out over the gathered crowd. “I'm sure some of you know me! I know some of you cuties, too! But lemme introduce myself. Chloe Irving, Dark Magical girl extraordinaire, and hero! I really gotta thank you all for seeing little 'ole me. Makes my loving heart shudder with excitement seeing all you adorable little things, ufu!” She stood up on stage, smiling brightly and holding out her hand towards the gathered crowd. “But my pretty self isn't what you're here for is it? You want to see a show? Well, do I got a show for you all! A little performance by yours truly, so let's get started, shall we?” With a snap of her fingers and a wave of her hand, the ghosts began to play their instruments.

Off, hidden in the wings, waiting for her cue Penny watched Chloe with startling intensity. For as she stood waiting her thoughts oddly mirrored Chloe’s as she too wondered why it was she was following through with this. She stood hidden away in a dress, something that she disliked almost on principal, awaiting a time to literally dance to someone else's tune. It was strange for her. For while she often worked alongside others, she always held herself slightly apart from the various groups while also being connected to half a dozen at once.

But this was different, Penny could feel it, once she walked out onto that stage in full view of everyone, a line would be drawn in the sand. In the back of her mind, on the border between what was human and what was not, she understood that what was happening here was a public claiming. That Chloe was going to pronounce to the Penrose community that Penny belonged to her and no one else, the only question was how blatant was the message going to be.

Despite this, despite how this would affect Penny’s relationships with her few friends at Beacon, she found herself looking forward to this more and more. Because at the core of it all Penny was still just tired of being by herself. Tired of not feeling like she fit with any of the groups that were scattered around Penrose and beyond. Tired of not being wholly accepted. All things that Chloe offered plus more, and she only asks for Penny’s obedience. Asks, not demands.

And because of that Penny stood waiting in the wings ready to dance to Chloe’s tune. Ready to fall for her petite friend. Ready to tell the world and damn the consequences. All she needs is her cue.

The music started, an electric guitar and drum melodically playing over the stage. Chloe placed the microphone on a nearby stand, before twirling back to the center of the stage. One of her ghosts soon joined her, and the two began dancing together. A fast paced dance matching the music perfectly, and then abruptly they stopped, holding position as Chloe raised an arm as a piano started playing a few notes.

“You'll soon be hearing the chime, Close to midnight~”
A quick twirl, with Chloe's back leaning on the ghost as the song continued.
“If I could turn back the time, I'd make all right~”
The guitar picked up as the specter released Chloe, the two parting ways as more specters began to dance in an oddly beautiful way together. That was Penny's cue – to step out onto the stage, a handful of specters began crowding around her, seemingly mimicking to ask dancing with her.
“How could it end like this, there's a sting in the way you kiss me~”
Seemingly upon seeing this, Chloe locked eyes with Penny only a moment's hesitation before dancing her way across the stage and to Penny.
“Something within your eyes, Said it could be the last time, Fore it's over~”
Chloe offered a hand to Penny and pulled her onto the dance floor.
“Just wanna be, wanna bewitch you, in the moonlight!~”
Chloe pulled Penny close, as the first chorus started.
“Just wanna be, wanna bewitch you all night~”

Penny would continue the next verse as they started to dance the same fast paced dance that Chloe had been doing earlier.

“It keeps on giving me chills, but I know now”

The dance would continue to match the music as she continued to sing. The specters would move to frame them, all the while continuing their group dance

“I feel the closer we get to the last bow”
Suddenly they would separate, leaving a gap between them. Penny would look around for a moment while Chloe never took her eyes off Penny.

“I don't wanna end like this”

They would rush back to each other, picking up their frantic dance where they left off.

“But a sting in the way you kiss me”

As they danced Chloe would lean in close, seeming to whisper something into Penny’s ear. Then their dance would start to drift across the stage.

“Something within your eyes, said it could be the last time”

The number of specters on the stage would start to swell as they danced around the two girls on stage.

“'Fore it's over!”

Chloe and Penny would be overwhelmed by the specters, and lost for a moment, even as Penny’s voice kept singing out.

“Just wanna be, wanna bewitch you in the moonlight”

When they re-emerged from the mass of dancing spirits they would have undergone a costume change, and were now wearing pristine white versions of their original costumes.

“Just wanna be, I wanna bewitch you all night”

The two dancers closed back in, returning to each other's embrace. Locking hands, Penny and Chloe danced upon the stage, surrounded by the specters.

“Just wanna be, I wanna bewitch you one last time in the ancient rite~”
The music began picking up the pace, as the song neared its end.
“Just wanna be, I wanna bewitch you all night~”
The song reached a lull in the lyrics, with the guitar hitting a solo. Penny and Chloe continued to dance, the smaller girl's hands alternate between holding her hands and resting on her hips as they twirled, allowing Penny to bend backward. She released her grip, letting Penny spin in place, before catching her again.
Penny soon returned the favor, standing behind Chloe and running her hands down her sides in a practiced fashion. Just as the lyrics started up again, the taller girl grabbed Chloe by the hand, letting her slide across the floor until they were facing each other a few feet apart.
“Just wanna be, Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight.”
Slowly Chloe began walking back towards Penny.
“Just wanna be, Wanna bewitch you all night”
A moment later Penny would also begin a slow walk towards Chloe.

“Just wanna be, Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight”

All the lights of the stage had been cut, save for two spotlights centered on the two as they once again closed in on eachother.

“Just wanna be, wanna bewitch you all night”

The mass of specters stayed just on the outside edges of the light dancing their mad dance. As the two met and embraced again. Just as the light on them would start to slowly fade.

All night!

A ghostly ‘Oh woh-woh-woh, wohh!’ would echo out, as the end of the song was reached. The light cutting in tandem with the conclusion.

The lights remained dimmed for only a moment, and when they cut back on, Chloe was embracing Penny, lips locked in a kiss. She hadn't exactly told Penny that would be happening, but it was. With the entire crowd watching in front of them, but by the time Penny could probably protest, Chloe released her and turned to face the crowd.

“And that's all, lovlies!~” She grabbed the mic from a nearby ghost, playfully smiling at the crowd. “Thank you for listening, hope you enjoyed mine and my friends angelic voice! I'll see you lovelies around Penrose later, ta-ta!~”

And the curtains fell on the performance, Chloe and the specters bowing in tandem, before the lights shut off, and the performance ended.

---

The walk back to the changing room would, at first pass, seem like it was the calm before the storm. As Penny had yet to say anything since she had been kissed on stage, and there was a focused determination in her eyes that matched oddly with her apparent jitteriness. Often during the walk she would quickly start and then abort some action. Shaking her head everytime she did so.

Yet, there were also a few things that proved that the actions at the end of the show had been well received. Penny refused to let go of Chloe, was one of them. Be it an arm around the shoulders, a guiding hand on the back, or even holding hands, Penny refused to not be in contact with Chloe. There was also her smile. Penny was constantly fighting to keep it contained but it kept slipping and revealing itself to be a massive grin that matched the wonder hidden in her eyes if one looked for it.

”Chloe” She would say softly once the door to the changing room had closed behind them. She once again she started and then abandoned some course of action. Taking a breath ”Would you..” a few different options ran through Penny’s mind as she contemplated what it was she wanted to say “Can we talk about what just happened?” She would ask after a moment, just as softly.

“Hm? What's there to talk about?” Chloe asked innocently with her usual, playful smile. “You're being awfully touchy though. Were you that nervous?”

“N-not really” Penny would answer a light blush dusting her cheeks at being called out for her need to be in contact with Chloe. Not that it made her stop. “That moment at the end...” It took her a moment to rally herself, her gaze lingering on the smile that played on Chloe’s lips. “Was it always part of the plan?”

“Hmm, maybe.” Chloe giggled. “I thought if I told you, you'd get cold feet and I didn't want to ruin the entire performance.”

Penny could only agree with the other girl’s suspicion. As she was probably right. “Plus it wouldn’t be you if you didn’t have something mischievous planned.” She would add with a soft smile. For a moment she allowed herself to simply get lost in the other girls' eyes, before she shifting into her sealed form and slowly reaching over to take both of Chloe’s hands in her own, gently running her thumbs across the petite girl’s knuckles as she simply admired how it felt.

“You remember how I asked for some time” Penny would say, as she mused a bit over that moment. It felt like it had been so long ago, yet it had hardly been a week since. “I’ll admit I was expecting it to take longer, and that it most likely would have had we not gotten pulled in here.” For this Beach had gone a long way towards showing just how much Chloe ment to the monster girl. “But I've had enough time to figure something out” Penny would say meeting Chloe’s eyes with a true and vulnerable smile. “And I’m sorry for how long it took for me to realize It.” What ever happened next Penny knew she would remember it for the rest of her life.

“I love you Chloe.”

Upon hearing those words, Chloe at first said nothing.

“H-huh?” Her expression slowly shifted from neutral, to one of disbelief. “R-really? You're not pulling a prank, on me?” This was more or less what she expected, if she was to be honest – but she hadn't expected such a direct confession like that. Ah, ah, what was this pain in her chest? Her features slowly shifted to one of pure happiness. “Ah-ah, oh-my~” Chloe's giggles soon filled Penny's ears as she couldn't restrain her utter happiness at the words given to her. “Ah, y-you mean it? Ahahaha, oh-oh dear little Penny~”

Without warning, Chloe had latched onto Penny, in what could only be described as an aggressive hug. She wrapped her arms around the robotic girl, smooshing her own face against hers.

“Ah, Penny, My dear sweet little Penny, you've made me very, very happy.” This was perfect. So very, very perfect and right. She had won. Penny was hers, and she could so very, very much use this loyalty.

Unlike prior times when she had been hugged Penny returned the hug with just as much fervor as Chloe gave it. A part of her had been afraid she would have been too late, it was why she spent so much time thinking through her emotions trying to untangle them. But she wasn’t, and she hadn’t. “You’ve made me very happy too” She would say holding on to Chloe tightly, never wanting to really let go.

After a bit Penny leaned her head back so she could meet Chloe’s eyes again “Could...” she would trail off as a blush formed on her face and she glanced away “Could I... Kiss you again?” she would ask sheepishly. It was something she had to keep stopping herself from just doing the entire way here, as the kiss on stage had been too sudden and far too short.

“Ah?” Now that was a pleasant surprise. Her little Penny asking for that. Tonight was just full of those, wasn't it? Grinning, Chloe wrapped her arms around Penny's shoulders. “Hmmm...I'm in a good mood, so why not~”

Penny wasted no more time and quickly captured Chloe’s lips in a kiss filled with just as much emotion as their embrace. Pulling the smaller girl as close to her as she could. Everything else could come later, as for right now nothing else mattered.

---

Meanwhile, after a small break in the show...

"Oh boy, the show has been amazing so far!" Dan excitedly waddled back on stage like a penguin. "There's so much talent here! But the night's still young! Now, next up will be Kimble performing the 'Nya Nya Dance', whatever that means-"

"But before that, a surprise number!" Lily suddenly appeared from behind the curtains, snatching Dan's microphone from his fin, leaving Dan's beak to hang open. "Uhh...What?" Lily made an obvious wink to the audience, looking at a certain person in particular, before turning towards the side of the stage with a bright smile.

"Please welcome The Mysterious Madams!"

At that moment, two girls walked on stage:

New Romantic Rivals?!?

“Hello everyone! We will perform a magic show!”

“And to make it different from Aurelio's splendid performance, we'll do a very simple one.”

“Yep yep. We'll just make something disappear...”

“...The World.”

---

Flashback

Earlier that day...(lol flashback)

Lily decided to take a stroll on the beach with Alex, holding hands with him as she took in the sunny warm breeze.
“Wow, it’s another sunny day! But I wonder how long this will last? Dan doesn’t seem bothered, but I think some others are getting a bit antsy. Hopefully the talent show tonight helps calm everyone down.”

Alexander shrugged “Eh, what can you do? Some people just can’t get by without some kind of violence in their life. Sure, I’m not a bastion of peace myself, but at least I’m capable of just veging out. I’m not sure if a talent show would be enough to fix that, especially since us having magic would probably make anything anything at a talent show seem too mundane”

“Maybe...” Lily pondered as she traipsed down the seashore.
It was then that she happened to notice something strange in the sand; it seemed to slightly glitter in the sun, and she bent down to dig it up.
“Huh? Dan said the ocean is clean with no trash. Is this some kind of lost treasure?” She picked the small item up, and dusted off the sand, only to gasp as she realized what she was holding: an oil lamp, made of brass and intricately carved with detailed carvings.
“Whoah!” She showed the lamp to Alex.
“Could this be...It can’t be just a normal lamp, right? I’ve seen Aladdin, it must be those two in here! Now let’s see...” She rubbed the lamp, waiting to see what would happen.

Alexander sighed “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

As soon as Lily started to rub the lamp it began to release a stream of purple and pink smoke, slowly at first but that rapidly changed as it started to gush out. The smoke was almost alive as it seemed to dance around both Alex and Lily and as more time passed one could see a shape starting to take more defined form from the smoke.

At last the smoke stop pouring from the lamp and an unnatural breeze banished the smoke leaving in its wake two rather familiar girls as it was a grinning Violet and Sakura. There was a moment where the twins just blinked as they took in their surroundings as if they were confirming something. Even they were not immune to the strangely potent enchantment that seemed to engulf the islands, wearing swimsuits as they did.

“Ha! Take that you demented blow up doll!” Violet would call out in vindictive glee before waving at the couple in front of her. “Hey you two been having fun?” she’d ask with a teasing flirt to her voice.

Lily was first in shock at the resplendent beauty of the girls’ new look, followed by a big smile. “Violet, Sakura! It’s so good to see you!” She greeted them, only to blink and blush at Violet’s suggestive question.
“Well, yeah, this has been a lot of fun, I guess. But, it’s very strange.” She took Alex’ hand for comfort.
“Were you also kidnapped and brought here?” She asked, causing the twins to look at each other in complete confusion.

"Huh? What are you talking about Lily?" Sakura asked.
"Isn’t this what you wanted?"

Lily was now the one to look even more befuddled.
“Wait, what? I don’t understand.”

“Your vacation, duh!” Violet spoke back, looking a bit irritated.
“That was your wish, remember? You wished for ‘us all’ to have a fun and tropical vacation.”

Alexander slumped in visible relief after hearing that ‘So this whole thing was because of the wish junkies. Thank fuck, that’s a load off my back.’

Sakura put a hand on her sister’s shoulder, and looked at Lily with a pout.
“It was a lot of work for us, you know! We had to create an entire dimensional pocket just for you Penrose girls. You looked really happy as you left, too. Did you seriously forget all that?”

Lily frowned, and held her arm, as she averted her eyes.
“I...I don’t remember any of that. I’m sorry. So you granted a wish then?”

“Yeah, we did. We kind of hoped we’d get a vacation too since the wish managed to affect us, to be honest,” Violet admitted with an uneasy smile on her face.
“But of course Cafar busted us, and we got trapped in that stupid cramped lamp.”

“Not that cramped, mind you,” Sakura interrupted. “Cafar made it like a little apartment with curtains and stuff. We even got a dancer there to entertain us.”

Violet shivered. “Don’t remind me of that half-body freak.” She put a hand to her chin. ”Anyway, I think I know who made you forget...It was that damn dolphin.”

Alexander’s free hand tightened into a fist “Fucking dolphin” he mumbled

Lily gasped. ”DAN? No way!”

“Yes way!” Sakura responded, and crossed her arms with curled lips. “That Lesser Spirit taunted us about being the new manager, and tossed the lamp into the sea! What a jerk!”

“So are you asking us to kick his ass? Because I’m not convinced that he doesn’t want to eat me, so I’m not opposed to the idea.” Alexander spoke up “Or wait...would it be better to just us a wish for that?”

Violet lifted a hand. “I don’t think Dan will let you free that easily. He’s likely drawing on the fun and joy you guys have had to attain magical power, and that’s why he managed to get as powerful as he did. If that’s the case, we gotta surprise him.”

“Do you have any public place here where people could gather? I got a plan, but it requires as many present as possible.” Sakura spoke with a confident smile.

Lily nodded.
”I know of a place. I’ll gather everyone up! See you again in the evening! Come on Alex, let’s go!” She waved to the twins, and began running, beckoning Alex to chase after her with a giggle..

Alexander rolled his eyes at Lily before turning to the twins “I really hope you know what you’re doing.” And then he ran to catch up to Lily.

Sakura looked on with a knowing smirk.
“Geez, Lily’s such a ditz. But, it looks like she’s managed to open up a bit since last time. That’s adorable,” she mused. Violet shrugged, and sat down on a beach chair.
“I guess. Well, might as well catch some rays before this is over.”
“Agreed.”

---

Back in present time...

Dan was shocked, and made a strange sound between a squeak and a bubble pop. "H-How...Impossible! You should still be-" Before he managed to speak more, he wrapped his bottlenose in his fins.

Violet pointed at him.
“You're nothing but a fraud, Dan!”
“You were planning to keep these girls and boys trapped in this wish realm forever!”

Dan shook his head. "No, that's not it! I just-"

“And you even threw us in the ocean and began bossing the girls around!”
Sakura made a mocking duckface. “Pervert fish!”

“I'm a mammal!” Dan retorted, only to realize his mistake; a big sweat drop appeared on his head. "I mean, I was just keeping the place running while you were gone! Nothing bad with that, right? And besides..." Dan now looked towards the audience with a pleading look.
"Do you really want to leave? In the outside world, there's only pain and despair. You girls have to fight and suffer in an endless, pointless struggle, but here, there's no pain, and no sadness. Here, we can keep on having fun and relax. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"No..." Lily spoke from the side, her hands balled into fists.
"That's just escapism! Even if it sometimes hurts, life is worth living and experiencing. In fact, because we face hardship and challenges, that's why having fun has meaning!" She looked down at herself; she was still wearing the idol costume.
"Everyone here has experienced hardship, sure. Some have even lost their friends, or felt miserable. There were times we wanted to leave it behind. But even so, we continued protecting those we care about. It's because we're the ones who can fight. But staying here would throw all that away! It was fun, but it's time we end this vacation!" She turned to the audience and lifted her fist in the air.
"Who's with me?"

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Majoras End
Those characters can join the squirt gun war and stage show events; they can be retconned as having been at the islands as well and hung out.

Souls of Steel: A Giant Mecha RP

Zim charged north with the Active Cloak, having disappeared from his squad's radar as he pushed towards the eastern Cruxi Turtle; he was successful in avoiding the attention of the nearby Cruxi CWM who were preoccupied with Redeemer.
The Cruxi Turtle, even if equipped with sophisticated surveillance systems, also did not immediately notice Black Star as it was casing after Krieg with it's plasma gatlings. However once it did, it was too late to respond to the Wave Surger blast directly aimed at it. The nearby Cruxi mechs were alerted, and began shooting, their shots wide as they aimed for the decoy signals on reaction, only incurring 3% damage to the armor wings. The prolonged beam proved successful against the Cruxi Turtle's defensive systems, as the repair tentacles kept popping out only to be destroyed before they could fix any of the damage caused by the powerful weapon. As a result, the Turtle was heavily damaged, its armor melted and sparks flying out of the bio-mechanical innards of it. It responded by turning it's plasma gatlings and opening fire on Black Star: it also missed most of its shots due to the decoys. However, the sheer volume of green, firey death was enough to incure 15% damage to the armor, causing pieces of armor on the chests and arms to fall off.

Yeager also joined in blasting the Cruxi turtles, and after an evasive maneuver to the north opened fire on the central Cruxi Turtle; he was less successful in causing lasting damage despite the high output of armor-piercing rounds that peppered its shell: the tentacles managed to plug up the holes that appeared with frightening speed, their slender forms difficult to hit. However, there was a positive to the attack: instead of using its plasma gatlings to shoot at Yeager, the Turtle prepared for a new antimatter cannon shot, the Turtle's insides whirring and clicking as it calculated its priority targets, its big shell shaking.

Katya was quick to react to the worsening situations with Ojo and Neo Angel, and proceeded to initiate a high-speed repair maneuver. Caretaker's Eden drones launched out of the Framewerk's back, and in a coordinated operation restored functionality to Ojo's ankle servos even as Caretaker continued on its way to the next patient to treat, with no time to waste. Elizabeth also did her part in the rescue effort, having successfully calculated a safe trajectory and power to her next shot shot; when the drones were finished, they tucked themselves into spherical shape in Ojo's hands, and were launched using the Stargazer. In a single activation, the drones were hurled across the battlefield like thrown baseballs, reaching the crater where Neo Angel lied; one drone had a leg break off from the impact, but otherwise the drones successfully landed with rolling motions, immediately getting to work in carrying the torn arm and leg closer to Neo Angel's body for first-aid repairs.

Krista had Hou-Yi dig its four heels into the metallic dust of the crater as it was prepared for trench warfare, and launched a Plasma Cannon shot into E4's CWMs. Soon enough, small pieces of Cruxi technology rained over the Framewerk as she succeeded in destroying three CWMs in a single shot, two from E4 and one from F4 nearby; the Cruxi had made a wall to protect the Turtle behind them from Paladin.

Redeemer was in a bind, as the more agile CWM successfully held on with the embedded blade despite the pilot's attempts to throw it off with wild flailing. Redeemer's HUD blared with signals of damage; not only did the Cruxi take potshots with its Plasma Cannon, their combined weight also worked against Valéria, her leg servos gradually breaking down causing 50% damage to the legs and 40% damage to the back armor. However, she had a plan to escape. The Frame shot at the Cruxi before it with the Laser Repeater, easily shredding the machine with searing hot energy blasts. This also caused the Cruxi riding Redeemer to lean back in caution. At that moment, the massive weight of a juggernaut fell on top of it, causing a crunching noise as the high-gravity environment fully delivered on G-forces; the Cruxi was now flat as a pancake. Redeemer now has to spend all its movement to get back up in the straining circumstances.

Tayna dashed back to Neo Angel, Anastasia determined to protect the hapless pilot despite the complications her systems were going through. As she hit the edge of the crater, Tayna dug in its heels and phase shifted the environmental matter around it to form a protective barrier, ready as the Turtle Cruxi began charging. However, it seemed Tayna's sudden move caused a change; the cannon moved towards the south, where Paladin was advancing forward and shooting at the CWMS surrounding Krieg, blasting them to bits. The antimatter cannon roared, and despite Ojo's best efforts to deflect the blast, it caused a glancing hit on the mighty Framewerk; his Legion shield was shattered to bits, and the armor on gthe Framewerk's right side shattered, with a blackened exoskeleton exposed underneath. "Ariin, come in! What's your status?" Elise tried to contact her, but to no avail; the blast caused Ariin to recoil, causing him to hit his head and get knocked out. She opened up the squad channel. "Ariin's life signs are still positive, but Paladin has taken major damage, and his Synch rate has dropped to zero. We need those Turtles down right now!"

Krieg leapt back as Paladin's salvo hit the distracted Cruxi, scattering them to bits. "Roger. Moving south," Dietrich responded to Elise's order, and dashed south. However, on his way, he realized he had a chance to flank the enemy. "Scratch that, making a move on G6." Like a ninja, he launched himself towards the group of CWM soldiers; before they realized it, one of the mechs had the Helles Messer piercing out of their chest, followed by a quick slash that bisected the machine. Krieg then went for a downward swing, briefly caught by the opponent's meleec parry before he cut the entire arm at the shoulder. In response, the third Cruxi began shooting at Krieg, managing to hit the Frame's side. "Ngh! Damn," Dietrich cursed. "Could use some help over here."

A loud shot rang in the air, and one of the Cruxi assaulting Krieg fell down, it's head having blown up thanks to Sköll having made a shot. "You got orders, follow them!" Irina spoke with tranquil fury, and proceeded to dash north.
The remaining Cruxi near Caulder turned to open fire on him. However, Caulder didn't seem to care even as plasma shots landed on his Framewerk, dashing forward with shoulders cannons singing that took out CWM. The damaged third one was then kicked with enough power to punch a hole right through it, causing it to fall down as two pieces. Then, in a terrifying move, the Framewerk began to glow na intense red as he slashed his sword; it created a red shockwave that decimated an entire Cruxi unit, leaving them as a broken mess. "Is that all you got?" He taunted, laughing like crazy as he continued on his way with astonishing agility.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Watching Keijo was an...interesting experience. Very different from being in the ring itself, as Alicia had found. It was hard to tell if there was any real strategy to it, though Dan seemed to insist that there was. But she had stuck around to watch a few matches, and get the full experience before their time on the island came to an end.

That was why she was still around when Lily had her match. She was only an outside observer, but it seemed like things had gotten a little out of hand during the course of the match, and while she didn’t really know any of the combatants that well, the way Lily left was very different from how she had entered.

Rising from her seat, the Seraph moved to exit the stands and link up near where the contestants exited. Partially out of concern, and partially out of curiosity. After everything that had happened in Penrose, as well as their previous meeting, she wanted to get to know Lily a bit better. This was a decent opportunity for that.

Nearing the exit, she began looking around for Lily. Hopefully she had managed to get here before she could leave, or dash off with those speed powers of hers. Well, if not then she would just try to catch up to her later. It didn’t seem like they were going anywhere soon, after all.

Alicia saw Lily leaning against one of the statues at the entrance, looking sad. She had someone she needed to meet with, but right now she couldn’t find the heart in her to see them. She dreaded the outcome. So she had stopped, trying to sort her feelings out.
“Ugh, everyone saw that...” She whined, and hit the statue.
“What will they think? Probably that I’m a loser. I guess I am....”

Spotting Lily, it did not take an empath to figure out the thoughts inside of her head. Seemed that fight had been pretty rough for her after all. And definitely more in the mental than the physical sense.

She might not be an Aurelio, but Alicia decided to take the plunge anyway. It wasn’t like she could make the situation much worse than it was already. Waiting until she was closer, Alicia waved as she called out to the other girl. ”Hey Lily. Do you have a moment or two?”

Lily was startled, and turned towards Alicia; there were still remnants of her crying in the arena on her face.
“Alicia? Y-Yeah, I guess...I’d like to talk.” She looked around.
“Maybe we could go to the beach and collect shells?” She then bit her lip. “Or wait, maybe not. I guess you wouldn’t like that.”

There was an inward sigh of relief as Lily agreed to chat rather than fleeing the conversation, as that had been a doubt clouding her mind. ”It’d be more likely than you think,” she assured Lily, mind flashing back to when she had been doing just that before her own match. ”But actually I was thinking we could relax a bit, cool off and lose some of the steam from our matches. Maybe ice cream? I hear there’s even a restaurant on a cliff that rotates to give you a continually changing view somewhere around here.” She wasn’t sure on that part, it was just what she had heard. But it couldn’t hurt to look either, right?

“It is?” Lil happened to passingly ask, and smiled a bit; Alicia really did come at just the right time. “A restaurant? You mean that place, right?” She pointed up, and sure enough, there was a strange structure floating over the cliff face; it resembled a UFO, with a circular design and high windows.
“Let’s go check it out.” She began walking, looking a bit happier than before. “By the way, I only saw the end of your match, but it was super cool. You’re really talented,” she complimented her while they were on their way up towards the restaurant.

Glancing up, Alicia resisted the urge to facepalm as she caught sight of the UFO styled restaurant above their heads. ”Yeah, actually,” she confirmed. How fortuitous for it to be there at the moment they needed it. More of the islands magic, one would assume.

So they began walking, the Seraph keeping pace with Lily as they took the winding path up to the cliff. The praise earned a warm smile, though she did not let it simply pass by. ”Ah, I see you missed the part where I nearly got crushed by a shapeshifter then,” she observed, before shrugging. ”But thank you. Just an unintentional benefit of the training we do.”

Lily put a hand to her mouth in surprise.
“Oh wow, sounds intense. Shapeshifters are really broken in Keijo now that I think about it: they could make spikes on their butt and stuff. I guess Dan would rule that as attacking, but armor butts would still be bad...” She gradually began opening up to Alicia as they went on, her talkative nature coming apparent.

They reached the cliff just under the restaurant, but realized there were no stairs or even a ladder up to the floating building.
“Does Dan expect us to fly up there?” Lily mused, and yelped as a strange sound could be heard from the UFO-shape; a round, futuristic hatch opened up on the bottom, and an orange beam of light shot down over Lily; she began to float upwards, with her flailing around.
“Ahh! I was right! I’m being abducted!”

“That’s right!” A strange, modulated voice came from above, and Alicia was also beamed upwards. “I am Nad the Neptunian, and I will abduct you on a journey of tastes!” By the time they reached the restaurant, the two realized who the speaker was; it was Dan, except he was wearing a spacesuit and a goofy rubber mask resembling an alien. “Now, what experimental dish shall I test out with my new guinea pigs?” He asked, and guided them to a table by one of the tall windows. “Perhaps ‘Martian Brains’, or ‘Venusian Guts with Eyes’, hahaa!” Of course, the dishes he referred to were a bowl of strawberry icecream with cream on top, and spaghetti served with meatballs. The restaurant slowly turned in an axis, giving out a scenic view of the entire island.

It was good to see Lily opening up, now that she had something to distract her from what had happened during her own Keijo match. There were worse things to talk about. “Also tails,” she added with a nod as they just about reached their destination.

With no immediately apparent way up, the Seraph was prepared to act in a manner that was utmost in its practicality. “I could probably fly us up there,” she noted whilst looking at the UFO.Not that it was necessary, for in the end they were pulled up like they were being abducted by a beam of orange light. The culprit was soon revealed as well, and with it came the urge to facepalm again as she realized that it was just Dan spelling his name backwards.

Arriving in the slightly futuristic looking restaurant itself, Alicia let herself be guided to one of the tables by a window, giving them a gorgeous view of the island. At least that part was worth the trip. ”Ice cream would be good, if you have some kind of menu for that,” she confirmed. Best not to let the continued weirdness of their host distract from the reason for their visit.

“Coming right up!” Nad replied, and floated upstairs. Lily was flabbergasted.
“Whoah...He abandoned the bit fast.” But now that they could enjoy some peace and quiet, Lily looked outside the window, her eyes wide at the sight.
“I can see the entire island from here!” She exclaimed, and smiled at Alicia. “Thanks for bringing me here. I already feel so much better now after the fiasco at the arena, ha.” She averted her eyes.
“Anyway, what’s up? I heard you Beacon girls were making some kind of new coin. Is that true?”

With Nad quickly departing to carry out her request, Alicia shifted to look out the window as well. “That’s one of the nice things about being able to fly now. I can see a view like this back home whenever I want.”

Though Lily might have averted her gaze, the Seraph did no such thing as she relaxed in her seat. “Not much. I just wanted to get to know you a bit better, without Mister Grumpy around to spoil things.” Perhaps it was unfair to Alexander, but he really did himself no favors from what she had seen. “And yes, we are. It removes corruption, makes us much more resistant to mental control, and it’s a lot more practical than the old process.” It had been in the news, but with how the media was these days she couldn’t blame Lily for wanting to have it confirmed in person.

Lily pouted as Alicia badmouthed her boyfriend, gripping her knees with her hands.
“That’s mean, Alicia. Alex has gone through a lot, that’s why he’s grumpy. I’m sure if you got to know him better-I mean, uhh, forget it.” She sighed, and turned to see Nad arrive with the bowls of ice cream.
“Oh, thanks Dan!” Lily immediately scooped up a chunk, and devoured it, nodding at the Beacon girl’s words.
“Thht’ths ahmznhg!” She spoke with her mouth full, only to swallow and return back to speaking normally.
“All that with just one coin? You must have a lot of smart people in Beacon to come up with miracle inventions like that.”

The arrival of ice cream was enough to swing the conversation on to a different topic, which Alicia was grateful for. A hum escaped as she joined in sampling what they had been given, a light sigh escaping as it cooled her down from her recent exercise.

She did her best to maintain their chat even as she ate. ”We got a couple lucky breaks, but yeah. It’s pretty impressive. Though after the stuff that happened with Justine and the Bates, simply holding peace wasn’t going to work anymore. So something like this would have happened sooner or later.”

“Really? That’s interesting.” Lily took another spoonful, savoring the frosty treat.
“But I wonder; what would have happened if there were White Coins before Justine began causing trouble in Penrose?” She curled her lips.
“I wouldn't have met you, gotten to know Alex...Or anyone really. Wouldn’t that have been super weird?”

”I suppose,” Alicia admitted in between small bites of ice cream. ”Though I’m not really sure how the two of you met so I can’t say one way or another. But considering all the trouble she caused and the people she hurt in her plot, I’m not sure that would have necessarily been entirely a bad thing.”

Holding back a sigh, she instead settled for a shrug. ”Then again, I missed the entirety of that confrontation so I guess I’m not the best to say one way or another either.”

Lily nodded, and looked down towards the resort.
“Yeah...It was a confusing time for me too, since I woke up to the entire room we were in shifting back to our world. Alex was there, and Sue, Samantha...Oh, Eliza too.” She reminisced about the encounter.
“And of course, Justine had Janet under control.” She paused for a bit, and took a small bite of her ice cream.
“As for Justine herself, she was...Complicated. She talked a bunch about making the world pure while I was captured, but at the time...I could tell she was hesitating. She tried to, but she couldn’t fully commit to rejecting her love for her sister.” She sighed.
“She was crazy, I don’t deny that. But in the end, she was just another victim of a Horror.”

”You hate to see it happen,” Alicia agreed, nodding as Lily reached the end of her deduction. Just another result of the twisted machinations of some Horror? It was too commonplace to not be a very reasonable answer to what had inspired everything that had taken place at her hands.

Another bite of her ice cream followed, the magical girl using the opportunity to muse and think about what had happened back then. ”But you should have seen it. Practically the moment after the Penrose fight ends, Alexander starts whipping together a coalition to go and rescue you. I think it’s not unreasonable to say that if you hadn’t been here that whole Justine business would have turned out a lot differently.”

“Alex did?” Lily sounded surprised. She put a hand to her mouth.
“I knew he was part of the rescue team, but he actually got everyone together to save me? That’s...” She looked out towards the clouds in the sky.
“He’s grumpy, but underneath, he’s a sweetheart.” She took Alicia’s hand. “Thank you for helping. I bet it was difficult to get through all of Justine’s forces.”

Making no effort to stop Lily from taking her hand, the Seraph could only shrug. “We’re Beacon. That’s kind of what we do,” she noted aloud. Fighting villains, saving the world, that sort of thing. Despite what their detractors may say.

At least she was able to hold back the sigh that would have followed. “Truth be told we were planning on going after her anyway, but it would have been a lot more difficult if it had just been us. People weren’t exactly lining up to lend a hand after she blew up our branch in Penrose. So a lot more people were probably saved this way.”

“I’m glad nonetheless,” Lily replied, a bit taken aback by hearing about a bomb attack.
“Ever since I’ve moved in to Penrose, it’s been nutty; like a Sailor Moon manga.” She then bit on her spoon, once again letting her nerdiness slip.
“Anyway, I’m really glad we could talk like this, Alicia. If you ever want to hang out, just give me a call, and I-oh right.” She looked in her pocket, and sighed.
“I usually keep spare notes where I’ve written my number, but it looks like those didn’t transfer over.” She finished eating her ice cream, and dropped a coin to Nad as payment.

Alicia nodded at Lily’s comparison. Yeah, she could kind of see it. ”I am too. At the very least, someone who managed to bring the city together even for a little bit is probably worth knowing.”

That just left the issue of getting in contact again, with Lily explaining her dilemma. The Seraph nodded, rubbing her chin in thought. ”Well, either we find someone who can take a note for us, or we just choose somewhere to meet once we’re back in Penrose so we can exchange numbers. If the city is still standing when we get back, anyway.”

“Well, I usually patrol the fire station’s rooftop at 7 on Thursdays. You can find me there then.” Lily smiled, taking one more look out of the restaurant.
“Yeah, I hope so too.” She replied before the two left the restaurant; the two returned back to the surface, after Nad conveniently switched the tractor beam to slow-descent mode. As they reached the resort, Lily hugged Alicia.
“This was a lot of fun, Alicia. Until next time!” She then waved, and walked away, glad to have found a new friend on the island.

Rising to her feet, Alicia nodded as Lily provided a possible option. ”That sounds good to me.” The descent back to the surface was slow, and would have been a tad more unsettling than it was were she not used to flying. At the very least they landed gracefully, just in time for her to be hugged.

”Yeah, it was,” she agreed, returning the embrace and waving goodbye as Lily departed. She then turned and walked off as well. There were still plenty to see and do on the island, so why sit and dawdle here by her lonesome?

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

“...Alright, everything seems to be in order.” Dan was reading through the application Amaryllis had written in the arena’s lobby, a pair of goofy spectacles precariously fitted over his bottlenose. “You are now signed in to the Keijo tournament. Now, for the first round, I will matchmake you with a randomized oppo-”

Suddenly, the front doors were slammed open, and a certain girl, one whom Amaryllis recognized, stormed in.

"Wait just a second!" Lily pointed right towards the taller girl, her other hand on her hip. She looked down her figure, and took a step back, as if intimidated by the sight. Nonetheless, she took a deep breath, and continued.
"Amaryllis Evenings! I’m not letting you show off any more! You may be sexy and strong, but that doesn’t give you the right to boast about it!" She walked right up to her, looking up at her with a scowl, her hands fisted and pushing against her sides, her chest puffed up...And biting the corner of her lip.
"As my sworn rival, I must defeat you, and prove myself to all that I’m better than you!" Dan was shocked, his flippers having dropped the application.
"That’s why...I challenge you to a Keijo match!"

Dan shook his head. “I’m sorry, but Amaryllis has signed in to a team match. She is partnered with Tetrad.”

Lily’s cheeks puffed, and she turned away. "Aww, dangit! And I thought I finally had a chance settling this!"

“Giving up that soon? And I thought the girl who killed me would be more determined than that.”

Lily gasped upon hearing the voice, and watched as a pair of girls entered the lobby; Su, and Helga, who were holding hands. “But that gave me an idea!” She nudged Su’s shoulder. “Hey Su, I think I’ll join up with Lily for the tourney. After all, we can’t team up anyway, and I think she would make a decent fighting partner considering her track record of doing me in, hah.”

Su nodded. ”I figured you’d want to join this at some point..” She let go of Helga’s hand. ”Well, I’ll be watching from the grandstands then.” She gave a bow to everyone present before departing.

Lily was a bit taken aback by the nonchalant way the sharp-toothed girl went about the team up. "Helga? Wait, are you sure about this? I mean, you don’t carry a grudge or anything, since...I..."

Helga slapped Lily hard on her back, causing her to yelp. “Forgettaboutit!” She retorted with a fake Brooklyn accent. “They were different times, when I was going down a bad path. But thanks to that intervention, I got to turn a new leaf, and now I couldn’t be happier.” She took her hand, and gave it a frisky handshake, causing Lily to stumble a bit. “I’d be glad to be your fightin’ buddy!” Lily on the other hand still looked unsure.

"Well..."

“Uh…” Amaryllis was at a loss for words during that entire display, less afraid and more confused about what had just occurred before her. Where had all this animosity come from? She turned her head slightly, tilting it. Hadn’t Lily and herself gotten along during the whole ghost attack incident? What brought this on? Heck, all things considered…

“Aren’t you like, uh...already better than me? You got more friends and all…” There was nothing particularly bitter about the statement. To Amaryllis, it simply made sense that Lily had a better life than herself. Heck, the lightning girl probably didn’t even have a Patron that communicated via stabbings.

Lily’s earlier confidence seemed to gradually melt away, and she held her arm, looking aside.
"Well, I guess I do have some friends, more than usual...But..."
Helga observed from the side, her lips curled in a non-impressed duck face as she realized Lily would be swayed by the buxom beauty’s social pressuring. So, she decided to do something about it. “Really, Lily? Are you going to let her walk all over you?” Lily froze, and glanced back at Helga, who now smirked devilishly. “If you back down now, can you live with that fact? What would the angry bo-I mean, Alex think?”

Lily breathed heavily, as her thoughts went to Alex. With a trembling body she lifted a fist up.
"You’re right, Helga! I can’t stop now! Prepare for trouble!" She pulled out a paper, quickly scribbled her information on it, and threw it at Dan so hard the dolphin flew around in circles while hanging on to the paper. “And make it double~” Helga added afterwards, having made her application into a paper plane that she casually threw, before walking right up to Amaryllis. “Now where’s your partner? Tetrad, was it? She was also pretty stacked, huh? I bet Dan’s gonna have a field day about this when announcing the match, hah.”

”I’m, like, right here dude.” Tetrad was leaning up against a pillar, smacking her lips as she ate from a can of beans. She was drawing circles in the air with her spoon as she finished chewing. ”Anyway, I do see why Lily is kinda upset with you.” She pointed at Amaryllis with her spoon. ”I mean you look good, but so do ninety-nine percent of magical girls. But unlike most of them, you willingly choose to be solitary and standoffish.” Tetrad took another mouthful of beans before going on. ”Like *chew* even when I *chew* invited you to come to this contest with me, *munch* You avoided me for the rest of the day.” She swallowed. ”I don’t really care, but Lily has crippling body image issues and low self esteem. I bet she’s one of those people who has a huge hole in her heart that love will never fill, so she instead fills it with collectible anime figurines. Ignoring someone like that can be downright cold!” Tetrad walked away from the pillar and stood next to Amaryllis. She dropped her spoon in the bean can and reached an arm around her, like they were posing for a photo. ”Well, don’t worry about it. After the tournament, I’m going to host a beach party. You can make up with Lily then. Also, I’m hoping some of the guys show up. I’m pretty sure Alexander will be there.” Tetrad giggled.

Standoffish? Solitary, Amaryllis could understand, because she was wholly self-aware of her own wallflower tendencies, but to be standoffish, didn’t that mean she had to standoff? And all things considered...what did she even do with Lily? It was still bizarre, even now, and she more or less had no idea what even inspired the lightning girl’s jealousy and anger. Maybe it was just a case of mistaken identity. Not like a buxom, raven-haired girl was all THAT uncommon in Penrose. Whatever. She’ll just...not think about it. This was why she didn’t do social stuff, huh?

What was she even supposed to apologize for, honestly? Amaryllis narrowed her eyes. She hardly knew Lily.

Hm.

It was making her a little more mad than she thought.

Hrmm...yeah.

“I’m not going to worry about it,” Amaryllis replied, sucking in a deep breath. “I don’t have anything to apologize for. Let’s just...go, Tetrad. God, Horrors are one thing, but who knew other girls could be just as alien.”

”That’s the spirit!” Tetrad gave Amaryllis a light squeeze before departing for the arena.

Lily was upset with the insult Tetrad gave her. "It’s not a collection! My mom just happened to buy me a Sailor Moon action figure!" She shouted after her, and sighed as the other girl had already left. Helga patted her on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Li’l Li. She’s the real nerd for trying so hard to act cool. I mean, did you see those tacky shades? How ridiculous!”
After Amaryllis also left with scathing words, Lily stuck her tongue out at her.
"I knew it, those two are after Alex," she mumbled to herself as she walked towards the portal. Then she stopped.
"They’re just like those bullies in high school..." She began talking, causing Helga to blink in surprise. “Huh?”
"The ones who wrote a fake invitation to one of their parties. I thought it was from this boy I had a crush on, but when I went there..." She shivered.
"It’s fine. I just gotta beat them. That’s all that matters. Let’s go Helga."
Helga shrugged. “Oookay then, Li’l Li, but I think you’re projecting too much.”
And with that, the two also traversed through the portal.

---

In familiar fashion, the contestants appeared on two separate platforms that floated slight, one for each team. Between the platforms was a walkway thin enough to only fit one person to cross over it, spanning about 10 meters in its length. Lily looked around her, and looked shy; she realized their match was spectated by familiar faces, including Kimble, Alex and Su. Lily put up a brave face, and waved to her boyfriend with a smile, while Helga blew a flying kiss to Su.
“I’ll get right over there after I’ve won to smooch ya!” She yelled.

Dan, now wearing an Elvis outfit for some reason, made his familiar bombastic entry.
“Ladies and gentleman,it’s time for twice the knockouts, and twice the Keijo; it’s a quadruple-bypass-beatdown! And now, introducing our brave contestants who have entered the ring of glory.” She pointed towards Lily and Helga. “In the southwest, there is the Slim team; a duo of dainty-looking dames who can nonetheless dish out some serious dirt!” A spotlight appeared on them.
“First, we have a bright young girl who will leave you the most shocked and awed in The World! With an amazing two Specializations, this speedster can outpace even Kimble in pure agility, and leave her opponents to Bite The Dust! It’s the one, the only, LIIGHTNIIING LILYYY!”
Lily made a single hop and made a pose with her V-sign fingers, causing Helga right next to her to stumble and grimace.

“Next up, we have the former elite of Justine von Visceral, brutal in strength, loud in temper, and vicious in her attacks! She claws out scratches that leave you in stitches! She is the DJ of Dread, the Bass Cannon, HEEEL-GAAA!”
Helga extended her claws out, and made a beckoning gesture with both of them at the audience, causing Kimble in particular to scream loudly in hype.

“Opposing them is the Bounce team, two beautiful badasses who can bring in the pain!” Now the spotlight shone on the other two. “Starting off, we have a real gambler scrambling the deck! She knows how to play the game, and plays it like a Killer Queen! It’s the Girl of Gambits, the Ace of Spades, TEET-RAAAD!” Crimson Cradle cheered for her, while a certain girl in the audience booed at her, causing Dan to roll his eyes and continue.
“And working as her partner in crime, we have the Flowering Swordswoman who mystifies minds with her enthralling looks, and cuts the rest into fine, flowing ribbons. She is a true mistress of the blade, her true might impossible to ignore! It’s the Midsummer Flower, AAA-MARYLLIS!”

Dan waited for the noise to settle down, and lifted his tiny mic. “Now, I am not one to tell you which side is superior. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. But today, these four girls will clash, to see who is the best! Now, on your marks,” he called first. “Get set...COME ON AND SLAM!” He launched up, as was now tradition, and the match began.

“Jump on my palms, Lily!” Helga called out for Lily before she ran off, and the green-haired girl blinked.
"But why?"

“Just trust me on this! Hurry, they’re already coming!”

A breath. That was all Amaryllis needed to recalibrate herself. Was this a game? Was this a fight? No matter what it was, it certainly wasn’t a social situation. Clear objectives, no feelings to consider. “Tetrad, I’m launching you forward. Pick up speed and run them down while they’re busy.”

Ten meters was an impossible distance for a human being, but for a magical girl, it was nothing.

”I think-” Dropping her hips low, the Midsummer Flower rotated once, before slamming her butt into the Ace of Spades, a boom that sounded suspiciously like a broken sound barrier roaring out at the impact, before the twintailed girl was sent flying towards Helga.

While Amaryllis was one of the stronger girls in the arena, Tetrad was not gifted with that kind of power. Keijo was a sport that favored the physically strong and those who had a defensive kit for their magic. Tetrad had neither of those things. While this was not a problem when it came to fighting monsters or other magical girls, it didn’t make her very good for Keijo. Maybe she had a trick or three up her sleeve, but it wasn’t becoming a human projectile on short notice. On the up side, she didn’t have to worry about running because her feet weren’t going to touch the floor.

Just as Tetrad was launched, and flew over the thin platform, Lily had jumped on Helga’s opened palms.
"Ready for launch!"
Helga smiled widely, her sharp teeth gleaming menacingly. “Here we go! Hi-Flying Raver!” She pointed her palms forwards, and just as Lily kicked off, she was blasted by a localized burst of high-frequency sound, launching her at high speed towards Tetrad.

"This is for trying to steal Alex! Ha-YAH!" She swerved over Tetrad mid-flight, and in that fraction of a second, accelerated her reflexes to perform a twirl of her body, hitting her butt down in a rotating fashion on Tetrad before continuing on her way.

Helga was too far away to contribute, but instead clapped her hands together and extended her claws out, snarling. “I may not be able to use these...But they get me in the mood for some proper ass-kicking!”

Lily dropped down in a roll on the opposite platform, and took a high-knee fighting pose.
"You’re my real opponent! Now, don’t hold back!" Her green hair crackled with lightning as she let energy course through her limbs, enhancing her speed and agility. She then charged forwards with gymnastic jumps, intending on landing a rolling butt slam right on top of Amaryllis’ head.

Dan was right after all; Lily was a speed buffer, the lightning coursing through her veins a sign of just how monstrously fast she was. But midair combat put that all to waste, and at the final sequence of the lightning girl’s acrobatics, Amaryllis jumped up, absorbing the blow. The air around them rippled at the impact, Lily’s bony butt blocked by Amaryllis’s buxom boobs, the impact wholly nullified.

But how? With nothing to brace her feet against, how could she withstand such a lightning fast blow?

It was her chains. Silvered ivies stretched down from her feet to the land below, anchoring her like a ship in a storm. With that momentum stopped, the two of them fell, Amaryllis landing first, Lily landing...never. Constrained with her feet off the ground, Lily felt two firm objects pressed on either side of her buttocks, pinning her like a vice and raising her beyond what her feet could reach. No fanciful movements, no extraneous flips. Only brute force grappling, taking advantage of Amaryllis’s natural strength.

And, holding Lily, Amaryllis began to walk towards the edge of the platform, fully intent on just dunking the girl into the waters below.

“Coming in live, it’s Dan the Dolphin and Dolly!”
Dan spoke, floating over the match in what looked like a round red stage. It was set with two chairs, a wide desk, and two microphones. “The match has just started and Lily’s already in trouble, eh Dolly?”
Dolly, meanwhile, observed the battle commencing before her with a calm air, her posture perfect as she watched the proceedings. “Trouble follows those who advance recklessly, after all,” was her judgment. “Despite its classification as a combat sport, Keijo, with its intense limitations on viable contact areas, is one of the most intellectually tasking sports. It comes to no surprise to me that Lily found herself in such trouble this early. The Double Arm Boob Lock was a technique designed specifically to counter such thoughtless butt thrusts.”

For some reason, the gothic girl pushed two fingers up the bridge of her nose, almost as if she were adjusting a pair of glasses that were not there. “It’ll certainly take some extra effort to get out of a sticky situation, but luckily for Lily and Helga, it seems as if there’s no cohesiveness at all between Amaryllis and Tetrad.”

“Still, both teams quickly overcame the limitations of the arena via some high-impact assistance! Say, I wonder if Helga’s palm cannons are also able to broadcast music? I’m always up for some technobeat rave, myself!”

Getting smacked around by people’s behinds was not something Tetrad found very pleasant. That was something evident to anyone who noticed the color of Tetrad’s face change colors. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t eaten moments before entering the ring, but that was not the case. She was thrown into the walkway, only to bounce back into the air behind Lily. She still had enough forward momentum to continue flying towards Helga. She held her fingers over her lips, and her eyes rolled back into her head. ”Nnnnggggghhhh!” She soared directly over Hega’s head and landed in the water. She was out of the match.

Helga smiled, ready for a real fight. “Alright, this is going to be awesome! I got so many cool moves invented for this dumb sport, and I’m totally going to-NO, WAIT!” She was nonplussed as Tetrad took a splash. “Ah crap, just my luck...” She sighed, her shoulders sagging and her smile having turned into a disappointed frown.

Lily was also not having a good time, but for the opposite reasons. She could not believe her own attack had proven futile before Amaryllis’ ironclad defenses, their power difference clear as day. Not only that, but she was trapped by her incredibly strong boobs. Normally, she would be able to discharge a burst of electricity and stun her grappler, but the rules forbade her from direct magical attacks.
"Oh no! This is bad! I gotta get out! Think, Lily...Aha!"
Then, Lily began moving her hips, gradually turning faster and faster.

“Oh wow, look at that, Dolly! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” The dolphin created a magical screen that zoomed in on Lily and Amaryllis. “It looks like Lily is attempting to create enough friction with super-speed rubbing to set fire to Amaryllis’ clothes!”

“Hm, an interesting choice, but far too late,” Dolly responded, silver eyes flashing bright for a moment. “The magical girl Burning Caldera Magica Eliaz utilized this technique as well in the Semi Finals of the North American Keijo Round of Queens to great effect, but she had both the advantage of a specially made swimsuit as well as being able to employ the rotational force of her entire body. In this particular case, rather than use the Hundred Demon Wildtwist, Lily would stand a better of freeing herself by…” Dolly continued, with Dan nodding and adding in some trivia of his own.

Lily could only manage a small sizzle of steam before the edge of the water was near.
Lily grimaced, knowing she was making a hopeless struggle...But just as Amaryllis was about to throw Lily out, Helga performed a palm cannon-propelled hip swing at her shoulder, dislocating it and causing her to release Lily right at the very edge of the pool. The green-haired girl gasped, but then expended a large charge of magic to flash step away from the edge. However, this left Helga in an awkward position, right next to the powerhouse.
"Helga!"
Helga smiled, and straightened her back, ready to defend herself in vain from the coming knockout. “Fight, Lily. I believe in ya!”

It came as a whipping blow. Stinging like a bee with the sharpest point of her bosom, Amaryllis crouched low and struck Helga in the liver, sending the redhead into a watery grave before immediately whipping back towards Lily. “Alright Tetrad,” she called, “2v1, let’s fin-”

Wait, where was Tetrad?

…

Oh no. Oh god, why? Amaryllis’s expression twisted just as she realized what she had done. Of course she shouldn’t have done that! Why did she just randomly expect that Tetrad was also massively physically fit? First, she dodged the girl for an entire day, and now when they do play together, she kicks it off by instantly smacking her into the waters as if her plan had been to backstab her all along? Ugh, stupid, stupid, stupid! While Amaryllis mentally berated herself, her facial features growing darker and darker by the second, Lily was granted at least some time to catch her breath.

A precious few seconds, if nothing else.

Lily breathed heavily as she was one knee down, consciously trying to settle the state of panic she was in moments ago now that she was given time to recollect her thoughts. Electricity crackled out of her fingertips as she stretched them to the side.
Helga knew she couldn’t escape on time...I gotta finish this, for her sake too!
She then saw Amaryllis’ eyes focus on her, and she squinted back, now back to standing. She knew that if she tried to go in for another attack, she could counter her again.
"That’s right, you’re pretty, talented, intelligent...But I’m not going to let you gloat over beating me!" She shouted in an attempt to taunt her, ready to perform evasive actions; she needed to figure out her fighting style, and any weaknesses in it.

Oh boy, here we go again. Lily’s provocations pulled Amaryllis out of her thoughts, once again making the (swords)woman wonder who she was even talking about. It wasn’t talent if all she had to flaunt was given to her when she became a magical girl. It wasn’t intelligent, that she straight up just dunked her own ally into the water. And like Tetrad said, her prettiness was only average, maybe even below average in the grand circle of magical girls.

Amaryllis clicked her tongue. “You...don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Whatever. Her mind was made. She’ll win this game, then every other game, and apologize to Tetrad for her blunder by placing first in this whole tournament! Lifting her foot up high into the air, Amaryllis slammed it down onto the edge of the platform with meteoric force. The land was never all that light, after all, and the nature of the buoyancy made it so…

"NO! What is this!?"

“This? Ah yes, the Vajrasavana of the West Indies employed this tactical maneuver back during the Amazoness Butt Slam Jam in the opening stages of the Round of Flats to…

...The whole thing rose up onto its side, peaking high into the air.

Lily’s body swayed as she focused on keeping her footing, followed by her accelerating her speed and running up the vertical wall of the platform, skidding so much that water sprayed from her heels.

Immediately, she leapt upwards, landing gracefully up onto the upraised side of the platform. Would Lily match her? Or would the girl tumble down into the waters below, her balance insufficient to meet such a challenge?

"YAAAH!"

Lily managed to reach the top of the platform, now on the other side, and gritted her teeth in anger.
"I’m talking about the way you act! You’re just waiting to humiliate me and other lesser magical girls! You’re nothing but a big bully! You and your gang of bitches!" It seemed that Lily was beginning to lose control of rational thought, as deep resentment and grief began welling out of her, taking the form of equine characteristics to her body.
"You mock and laugh all over me, and blame me for everything!" A jagged horn extended from her forehead, as electricity began intensifying around her body, extending into a mane-like shape on her back.
"AND YOU RUINED EVERYTHING WITH CHAD! EVERYTHING!" Like a boom of thunder, Lily screamed, and disappeared in a flash. The next second, she dashed behind Amaryllis and delivered a low sweep of her butt aimed at her ankles, followed by flash-stepping again and hip-swinging from above her, intentionally avoiding her chest as she turned to face her. The attacks were now coming at the same speed as Kimble’s Butt Gatling, except she was fast enough to perform the slams in a sphere around Amaryllis.

Amaryllis kept moving as well, her steps gaining a dance-like rhythm as she absorbed the endless onslaught of Lily’s strikes while keeping the platform balanced on its side. It wobbled back and forth, waves pushing out after each step, each furious blow, and soon, the waters beneath frothed white like a stormy sea. But the Midsummer Rose held on. Was it tenacity, spawning from the steel within her body? Was it responsibility, anchoring her to the platform? Was it ambition, driving her to defeat a metamorphosed girl without shifting herself?

No. It was anger. Hot and furious, stoked by unjust accusations and boiling at the irrationality of all this. It was personal for Lily. But for Amaryllis, it was insulting.

“Well this took an extreme turn!” Dan interjected, having decided to take some distance from the battle and focus on the magical screen. “It seems that Amaryllis’ words have seemed to trigger some kind of trauma within Lily that caused her to metamorphose! What are your thoughts, Dolly?”

“Monstrous metamorphosis indeed,” Dolly replied, her black locks bouncing back and forth as she nodded. “She seems to be in control of her attacks still though, certainly impressive when lesser magical girls will be driven to rampant madness and unrestrained brutality upon such a shift. It reminds me almost of the Advance that Tokita utilized in the Finals of the Keijo Asura Annihilation Tournament, where, by only utilizing a percentage of the transformation, they were able to boost their physical abilities while still retaining enough rationality to utilize their techniques.”

Dan nodded. “A great observation, Dolly! And worry not, ladies and gentlemen: I am prepared to intervene in case Lily completely loses control. Just stay tuned for more!”

Gradually, Amaryllis began to meet the horned girl head on, their weapons of choice clashing more and more often. The speed of movement changed, but the speed of thought didn’t, simple patterns employed to maintain the hurricane of pain delivered unto the one in the center. Could she finish this? No, she was going to drag it out.

“Who are you even talking to?!” Amaryllis roared out, midnight blue eyes blazing as she locked breasts with Lily, finally clashing with her face to face. “Look me in the eyes! I haven’t even seen you in school! The only times we met was to save lives! Where the hell have I done you wrong?”

The lock tightened, their faces millimeters apart.

“Are you even having fun?”

Lily’s blows were easily deterred despite her increased aggressiveness, and she managed to avoid counter attacks that would knock her flying, seemingly moving on instinct more than tactical acumen. Upon seeing a chest job coming at her, she was left with no choice but to stand and take it with her own; there were sparks flying out of the mane as she kept pushing her body to its very limits. She made an electronic whinny as she heard Amaryllis demand answers, her eyes seemingly blank as they gazed upon a different scene; one from her past.
"Heather...HEATHERHNGHHH!"

At that moment, Lily began glowing, and Amaryllis alone saw that their surroundings began to flicker, and electricity began arcing in a cage around the two. She saw that certain images began to form between the arcs, mere glimpses at a time; they showed Lily in her previous life. She barely resembled her current self, with brown hair, pimples on her face, and heavy bags over her eyes. The images showed her life in high school, her struggles with the popular girls, the ways they had mistreated her, and the times she spent eating alone in the cafeteria.
Most shockingly, Amaryllis noticed that the leading bully, Heather, had an uncanny resemblance to Amaryllis; while younger than her, she had the same style of hair, the same piercing look in her eyes, and even carried herself in a similarly standoffish manner. However, her personality was cruel, snapping shots of a tripped Lily on her smartphone, and laughing with her gang.
The next scene was about to show Lily entering a party at a rich person’s backyard; she was looking at a boy with his back to her, talking with Heather. However, as the boy was about to turn, the images then stopped; the electric tendrils disappeared as Lily seemingly lost her strength, and fell on her butt, her head hanging low. The horn on her head turned into pure electrical energy that flowed down her cheeks as blue, jagged streaks.
"No...That wasn’t fun, Heather...You ruined my life..." Amaryllis could hear her sob; she no longer had the will to fight. Amaryllis now had the chance to grasp victory from the grief-stricken girl.

Amaryllis did not move.

The platform swayed, rocked, yet remained impeccably balanced.

Who was she, to deny the tears of a girl? Who was she, to look down upon the trauma of another? Who was she, to not reach a hand out to those lost and broken? There was a long, deep sigh, as Amaryllis released the vestiges of her frustrations towards Lily. It was weak of her, wasn’t it, to so easily swap her enmity for empathy, to show mercy and forgiveness merely because the lightning girl was crying. But if that was weakness, so what? They were magical warriors, not soldiers puppeteered by an unfeeling nation, not insurgents following an unknown deity.

The Knight of Rose knelt down, searching for Lily’s eyes. Her countenance was still severe, her gaze as piercing as always, but where Heather’s shone with a cruel glimmer, hers was filled with just light, the radiance of jewel-steel.

“The love of the moon, the grace of the petals. Underneath the glory of the heavens, I gather them all and present myself. Amaryllis Evenings, Knight of the Rose. The flower of your heart has been reflected in my Silverlight, and found just as beautiful as any other.”

Rusted petals fell from the sky, drifting softly into the tranquil waters below.

“Take heart, Lily Hanson, Child Beloved by the Storm, for what you have now shines with a radiance that Heather can not hope to stifle. True comrades stand behind you, and a kind God watches over you. Shed the chains of your past. No bottle exists that can capture lightning, except for one of your mind’s making.”

Lily’s tears were stifled as she heard a voice that differed from those that haunted her memories. She looked up, expecting to see a countenance of malice; instead, it was one of a magical girl who had seen into her heart through her chronomancy, and offered solace. Like a stormy grey cloud that shifted back to pure white, her countenance returned, free from metamorphosis. With a wobbly step, she stood up slowly, her breath uneven and hitched from the outburst of emotion.
"Amaryllis...Thank you."
She sighed, and looked up towards the floating announcer podium. She bit her lip, and then lifted a hand.
"I..forfeit the match."

Dan gasped in sheer surprise. “What? Well then, the match is over. The winners are Amaryllis Evenings and Tetrad of the Beauty team! Congratulations! You are qualified to enter the next round!”

Lily hopped off the vertical platform, having landed on hard ground, and waited for Amaryllis. As the audience began to scatter, Lily held her hands together, and meekly spoke:
"I’m sorry for acting...Well, like a mega bitch. The resemblance was so bad, and with how we were forced to live together like this, it made me lose it. And without Ixion guiding me, I took it all out on you. But I hope...You won’t hate me for quitting."

“Fight me for real next time,” Amaryllis replied, landing in front of Lily. “A knight without her sword is just a woman, and an archer without her bow is much the same. Let’s have some fun, neh?”

Lily noticed how Dan seemed to wave at them to return back to the entrance hall.
"Looks like the others are waiting. We’d better head back."

“Ah, yeah...I’ll need to bolt too, huh…” Amaryllis trailed off, her eyes searching for Tetrad as well. In the background, one of the commentators were noting how she had ‘technically’ 1v3’d a 2v2 match, and the buxom girl basically wanted to die all over again. With a step like the wind, she shot off in search of her partner, ready to kowtow if she must for her massive ineptitude as a partner.

At the far edge of the Pool, Tetrad crawled out of the water. Her hair had come loose and fell over her face, which she promptly pushed out of the way. With a groan, she rolled her head and got a crick out of her neck, and spit a few beans out of her mouth. ”cool, we won.” Tetrad didn’t turn around, and marched away. ”Gonna take a break.” was all she said before departing the arena.

---

Helga was waiting for the others back at the entrance hall, a towel draped around her shoulders; she offered a spare to Lily. “Geez, Li’l you dropped the ball there,” she spoke with a patronizing tone, holding her shoulder. “I told ya not to project too much, and keep focused.” Lily nodded, frowning. But then, Helga lifted her chin up. “But hey, looks like you settled your grudge for now. Also, those moves you made up there? Legit cool. Keep working on them, and I think you could even reach nationals.”
Lily smiled faintly, glad that Helga didn’t carry further resentment.
"Thanks, Helga. You were a good teammate." She then bit her lip, and waved to Amaryllis before beginning to walk away.
"Anyway, good luck on your next match. I need to see someone." She then left in the same vein as Tetrad, a pit in her stomach as she realized she had some explaining to do.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Some time earlier that morning...

In the morning, at exactly 7.00 AM, a breakfast table appeared in the central square: set close to the cottages, it was filled with freshly baked bread, fried bacon and eggs, and jugs of orange juice. Lily was there first, chomping down on the goods without a second thought, and was joined a couple of minutes later by some of Beacon's members, including Sylvia and Kimble. While Kimble seemed to be in a good mood, Sylvia sulked, poking at the egg with her fork and sighing. To nobody's surprise, Dan was also at the table; he was eating a prepared mackerel. However, he stopped eating half-way through the fish. "Hmm...This isn't right. This is supposed to be a fun vacation, yet already we had some trouble on the first day," he pondered to himself. Lily blinked, and looked around at the others present. "Huh? Did he mean that 'accident' with Sally?" Sylvia shook her head. "No...I just happened to meet with a certain dark magical girl...It didn't go that well."

Dan nodded. "It sure didn't. You girls need to vent some steam so you get to do some proper relaxing. But what could help?" The dolphin thought hard, until he lifted a fin. "That's it! Wait just a second, I have an announcement to make!" He summoned a megaphone to hold with his cartoonishy dextrous fin, and jumped on top of the statue to broadcast his message to the entire island. "Good morning, everybody! Let's kick things off with a Keijo tournament! Whether it's as a solo player, or a team of two or more, I bid thee to test your might, and enter unmortal kombat! And, to motivate, the grand prize will be a Gold Coin! That's right; you can not only earn one Gold coin from participating, you also get another if you come on top to be the champion!" Kimble gasped, and bit her lip. "A Coin...I think I could buy something with that...Bye everyone, nyah!" She left the table, and headed for the cafe. Lily waved her off, and also stood up.
"So it has come to this...Very well. I will prove myself to all...Especially to her!" And with that she also left, seemingly intent on antagonizing someone. A sweat-drop appeared on Dan's head. "Uhh...Don't get too excited though, girls...It's all in good fun." Sylvia shrugged. "I hope."