Ariamis

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

The spreading cracks in reality had reached the mansion, and cut through it as easily as if it were made of glass too. One fracture split the entire building vertically, causing the two sides to rumble as they slightly tilted away from each other.

---

Lily, having accelerated to the highest speed she has ever reached by buffing alone, had a couple of seconds of time to think while her hand reached out in a shocking grasp, intent to hurt someone despite being her friend. She had never seen Mariette so surprised before, having always managed to keep a cool exterior.

She must feel betrayed. I can’t blame her, either. But I must do this!

Her hand was just about to touch her, when her eyes opened wide; she made a portal, causing the hand to slam against the rooftop, the electricity crackling as it dissipated against the stony material. Lily did not expect Mariette to be capable of enchanting herself with magical mirrors. She blinked as Hilaria moved to intervene...but she stopped?
That was when she felt the bullet; it struck right against her shoulder, and lodged itself bone-deep, fracturing it. The impact was enough to cause Lily to stagger forward as her body reflexively sparked with electricity in an attempt to eject the projectile. It failed, but it ended up benefitting Lily; she stumbled towards Mariette with her body faster than Mariette could dodge, and she was caught in a one-armed tacklehug. Mariette was shocked by the electrical burst, though it did not possess the paralyzing qualities that her shocking grasp did.

Lily swiftly turned her eyes to Trixy, panic in her visage. Sharp pain struck through her arm; she could still move it, but only barely.
A sniper! I don’t have time to grab Mariette and run! There has to be something I can do! Lily’s thoughts ran on overdrive as she attempted figuring out what to do before Hilaria slammed her shield right against her body at the moment the rooftop tilted and caused her aim to to be slightly off, causing not only a major concussion but also bleeding from her head. Her vision blurred, her consciousness barely holding on as her heart beat a hundred times in a minute. However, Lily managed to hold on to Mariette with tears in her eyes. Nghh!
Then, she spotted two shapes closing in; she barely recognized Ronin, who was running straight towards them, as well as one of Mariette’s allies who had reached the rooftop and was signaling a retreat.

”Please...ngh...work!”
In a last-ditch effort, expending the rest of her mana, Lily threw her arms forward, and shoved Mariette as hard as her weak noodle arms could. She didn’t have much strength, but she had an electrical charge on Mariette; using an opposite charge, Lily launched Mariette with electromagnetic force. While not quite enough to shoot her straight to Ronin, she could create enough distance for Ronin to run up to catch her before she landed. Then, she crumpled on the rooftop while holding her broken arm, now bleeding with streaks of blood running down it in the pattern of a microchip.

Ronin was running, evading Suzette’s spray of bullets, when she saw what Lily was doing. She was launching Mariette towards Ronin before Dina could reach her. Bless her heart, that had to have been hard. Ronin dove forwards, intent to capture the rather limp and internally cursing Mariette that had been flung towards her. She was so close. Ronin reached out her arms to catch Mariette, preparing to start fleeing while simultaneously activating her new ability to warp the portal girl to another dimension-!

A sudden pulse of physical force blasted by Ronin, a string of fire disappearing into the void of magic where something had blown past. There, meters aside, back flaming from the skin-side magic that had been used to propel her, now stood Mayra, holding Mariette in a princess-carry.

Mayra hadn’t responded to MDP’s question, for she’d seen the situation before her and her back just detonated in fire-magic as she launched herself and caught Mariette just before Ronin reached her and carried her aside.

‘Woh, I didn’t expect to actually be saving Mariette…!’ Mayra called out, looking around attentively and holding Mariette tightly as she was still gasping from the lightning that had gone through her.

Ronin, though, didn’t actually stop as Mayra had taken Mariette. Ronin held a serious expression and ran straight past the two. Directly at someone else.

Eli was just now recovering from Lily’s lightning-blow, shaking herself as she materialized her reinforced wing-shield and wing-blade, looking up… and finding that Mayra had saved the day. A sigh of relief would have gone through her, except there was a very threatening albeit tiny samurai Magical Girl running directly for her. Ronin.

Surprised at the tiny aggressor running directly for her, Eli raised her weapons to combat her aggressor, while Ronin kept her eyes focused squarely on Eli and reached for her currently sheathed sword…!

---

Leena gasped as she glanced up and saw Su drop down on her; at that moment, FanFan was distracted by Esther, allowing her to make contact with the Ascendancy operative. Leena braced for impact, expecting to be ground pounded or slammed against the wall. Instead, she was assaulted by softness.
“W-What is this?!” She yelled out, as her magically-induced anger gave way to a mix of feelings, mostly bafflement, freeing her from the Emotion magic she was cursed with. However, she was still pissed off by the busty girl butting in. “Get off of me!” She shook her legs around in an attempt to get rid of the Air girl, but she successfully held on. Then Su spoke, and Leena grumbled in response. She now seemed more receptive to Su’s words compared to Josefin. However, she wasn’t quite persuaded. “No! Stop interrupting my mission, or you’ll be punish-Hrk!”
That was when Su’s curse began to gradually spread through her body, causing her limbs to turn visibly red and numb as her blood vessels were blocked. “You b-bitch!” She groaned out, and convulsed, struggling to hold on to the sword embedded in the wall. Her gasmask Healing Artifact did help to slow down the curse by delivering restorative oxygen to her bloodstream, but as long as Su held on it would eventually cause her limbs to paralyze.

“Die!” Leena summoned her second sword, and swung down at Su, about to cut off the arms holding on to her...When Josefin arrived in the nick of time, blocking the sword strike with her own. The blades sparked as they clashed, and Leena shouted in frustration as her sword dropped from her hand.
“You shitty brat!” She grabbed the loli by her ankle and pulled her off the wall, attempting to swing her down as a weapon at Su and hopefully drop the both of them.

FanFan was about to pursue Dina when she was met with Esther, the wooden monster girl who used her roots to cling to the mansion’s wall as she fought with the Ascendancy girl, allowing her to focus entirely on attacks. The two were evenly matched in strength, with FanFan’s mighty punches easily sustained by Esther’s durability and regenerative properties, while Esther’s blows successfully kept FanFan from advancing as they dented her metal appendages, one punch even hitting her in the chin, causing her to groan. “Ngh! All bark as well as bite, huh? How about this then!” With a magical spell turned one of her metal arms into a rotary saw that began to spin and cut into Esther while she grappled her with the other arm; the monster girl successfully resisted being sliced into pieces, instead causing woodchips to spray, but the constant regeneration was quickly draining her of mana. “Timbeeeer!”

---

Justine lifted her claws off Tenebra, and turned to see as Jenna charged right at her, holding a cane the vampire girl recognized to belong to the dapper magical boy who had addressed her earlier. Even if she had transformed, she could still recognize her former servant, and the fire in her gaze.
”JANET!” She screamed, and bared her canines. Jenna was about to strike, when suddenly Freya dashed into the way of the attack, forcing the two to dodge and avoid their attacks from colliding as they were prepared for surprises, but not from each other. Taking her chance, Justine flashed her red eyes, moving Tenebra like a puppet to block the attack at the very last second, ironically reversing the situation from far in the past when Janet herself served in the place of the shield. Tenebra was struck by the cane, and took the brunt of the magical payload, filling her with love magic that exploded in the pattern of a pink, sparkling heart. Freya was caught in the spell’s effect, but was unharmed; the emotion magic filled the bestial monster girl’s heart with true love, causing her to be momentarily distracted by the feelings of serenity and joy that had overcome her cold and ruthless self. However, Justine could not manage to escape the radius of effect completely.

”AAAAHHHH!” Even if she had managed to avoid most of the spell’s effect, there was enough to severely hurt her as she was knocked away, landing on her feet with a backwards slide. She clutched at her chest, as blood trickled down the corner of her mouth and her legs wobbled.
”That spell...There was enough true love in that *cough* attack to kill me. But unfortunately, you *cough* wasted it.”
But then, she scoffed; Tenebra blinked, and sat up with a dazed look.
”Dammit! Very well then.” Suddenly, Tenebra gasped, and coughed blood; she was pierced right through the heart by Justine impaling the broken girl with a spear.
”Your blood will serve me, if nothing else!”
Justine visibly shook as she drained the blood. She seemed to somewhat recover as her six wings transformed into clawed red arms; a sign of her desperation. At that moment, Freya had recovered from the lovey-dovey spell.
”This is what I should have done to you on that fateful day, Janet!”
She screamed, and dashed in with a stab of her spear.
”Perish!”

Meanwhile, Sonia engaged in a fight with Lea, and deflected a missile-fast kick with the knives she held, performing a backflip and landing in a tripod pose, throwing off the bugs that had stuck to the weapon with a flick of her wrist.
”You vermin! Only Lady Justine may decide when I am to die!”
Sonia leaped backwards to create space in the moment Lea spent to form a circle of bugs, and pulled something out from her pockets. As Lea and her bugs closed in, Sonia scoffed.
”Send my regards to your Horror.”
Lea dove in with a kick...but in the next moment, she realized she had burst into flames. In her agonizing last moments, she witnessed how Sonia had a candle in one hand, lighted up by the lighter she held in her other hand. The Bane had caused her body to combust to deadly effect upon contact with the fire, as a swarm of fiery moths spread into the air, only to fall down as snowy green ash, hauntingly beautiful like the girl herself was, and she quickly disappeared into darkness, snatched away by Asengav's will.
Sonia did not smile, or show any reaction to her victory.
”Even in this forsaken dream...I will protect you, my Lad-”
She froze, placed into stasis, as Sam had reached out to touch her shoulder from behind, having used the cloud of insects to sneak up on her before she had a chance of discovering her and dodging.

---

Aurelio sent his message, but realized after a moment of silence that he was not picking up a signal due to the being in the effect of the Nullification Field. After he had healed Sakura, he dashed out of range of it, only to be met by Elora’s screamin in her ear.
“What in the ever-loving grace of Beacon happened?” Elora could be heard frantically typing.
“The dimension is coming apart! I don’t think it’s going to last more than a couple of minutes at this rate of degradation! You need to get out of there!”
After Aurelio relayed his desire to leave, Elora confirmed it. “I have all the signals locked on, but there is a disturbance that prevents teleportation! You need to get them out of the affected area or you will not be unable to extract! Hurry!”

---

Helga ground her teeth in frustration as her slash was deflected by Alicia, leaving three lines of wounds on her. She landed on a windowsill, and jumped up to Alicia’s side. “You’re not gonna win this one!” She was right; Alicia would not win in a straight melee against the monster girl...But her words were not something Helga expected.
“The...Trove?” Helga hadn’t thought of the possibility of Beacon coming to attack her beloved business and home, and that realization caused her to momentarily stop.
“How do you-”
She did not have the time to finish her question, as Alicia launched herself at her with a swift kick; Helga barely had time to move an arm in the way before she was struck, causing her to be knocked away from the mansion. “Crap!” She hit the floor of the dimension with a loud thud, and held her head as she saw stars, now missing a couple of teeth as she felt her bruised face. “Oof...Reminds me of the time I was hit by that speedy car.”

She then looked into the distance, and saw as Dan the Dolphin successfully formed a giant blue portal, it’s interior swirling like a whirlpool of water. “Everyone! Get to the choppaaa!” He squeaked with a megaphone he summoned in his hand. “Or in this case portaaal!”

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

As the combat began, everyone could see a strange phenomenon from the Nullification Field's epicenter; fractures began to run through the air, as if the world itself was made of a glass-like substance which had begun to crack. They snaked and multiplied, leaving behind lines where one could see glimpses at mirrors reflecting on themselves in infinite layers.

”Lies!” Justine objected with a pointed finger towards Mariette, her sharp nail glistening in the dark realm.
”It was you, without any-AGH!”

Justine couldn’t finish her sentence, as she and Sonia were struck by Void World, causing them to plummet.

”Ngh!”

Justine grunted as she and Sonia hit the ground, the fall somewhat mitigated by the vampire girl having extended her six wings to act as a cushion. ”What is the meaning of this, Sonia?” She asked in an irritated voice, pushing the servant away from her. She in turn stood up, having summoned three knives in the same motion between the fingers of her closed fist.

”Forgive me, my Lady. It seems a Nullification Field was formed which suppresses spells in the area. It was a trap.”

Sonia squinted, staring towards the distance as Justine stood up.
”Curses.”
Justine spat out as she saw four girls closing in; Samantha taking the lead, followed by Eliza and Anaya, and then Viridian and a scarlet stranger.

Justine then heard Reaver speak, and looked at the deranged Mint assassin, grimacing in response as she summoned a wicked-bladed spear.
”You dare threaten me? It seems the dog has some bite after all,” she deftly cut back with her own words. She noticed that the phantom champion had disappeared, confirming Sonia’s claim, and saw as Reaver threw his own spear, followed by throwing a bloody piece of skin afterwards; it splatted against her dress, leaving a red stain that caused her to squint.
”Barbaric,” she commented as Reaver took on a less handsome appearance and bounded off. She hooked two fingers through the empty eyesockets, draining the disembodied face of blood with her vampiric touch while Sonia pulled out her magical weapon; three throwing knives which she held between the fingers of her closed fist.

”My Lady, this is not our fight. We should-”

”I am not running anymore!” Justine proclaimed, and threw Reaver’s face away.
”I’ll have Mariette’s head, even if it's the last thing I’ll do! Cover me!” The vampire girl stretched her six wings, and launched up into the air, flapping her wings to keep altitude as she headed towards the direction of Tenebra’s unconscious body; her eyes flashed red as she reached out for her with her clawed hand, and grabbed her hair, while Sonia was ready to intercept their pursuers, deflecting Anaya’s shots away when she attempted to fire on Justine, and engaging the first magical girl to reach them.
”Face me, riff-raff!” Sonia taunted, and enchanted herself with some kind of spell that seemed to improve her combat ability, allowing her to somewhat predict attacks and defend against them. Red magical energy visibly flowed through the girl’s body as Justine enchanted the gir
”You will serve me now!”

---

“What is all this? Aaah!” Dan flailed around like a muppet as the situation turned more chaotic by the second, unused to seeing such arcane aggression. He was then calmed by Dina’s assertive voice, and nodded. “Very well, Dina! I’ll leave the rest up to you!” The Lesser Force then left the rooftop and began to open a portal at the other side of the dimension, facing towards the mansion’s front.

---

When FanFan had passed through Teneba’s wormhole, she was dumbfounded upon realizing she didn’t hold Magical Dream Princess. Her cheeks went red upon realizing the replacement the cheeky magical girl had left her with.
“Oh, that’s...Not mine.” She mumbled, averting her eyes from the smiling artwork of the hug pillow.
She didn’t have much time to linger on her embarrassment, however, as Leena promptly activated her spell, causing the object to vanish. Alicia gave a request to stick with Leena, and she answered with a salute from a metallic arm. “Roger. Here comes the long arm of the Beacon!” She shouted, and followed after her furious companion.

Leena had hit the side of the mansion by the time her Void World had fully formed, and began to run up the side of the building with great speed, followed by FanFan who climbed up with her metallic arms. She ignored Josefin’s pleading, too distracted by the sounds of battle all around her to pay attention to the twintailed girl calling after her. However the girl’s luck aided a certain catgirl, who had managed to intercept Leena before she had the chance to reach Mariette.

“RAAAAHHH!” the gasmasked girl roared as she was met midway by Dina, who stalwartly defended Mariette with the extraordinary might of an Avatar state. Leena’s blades were held out at her sides, and she swung them in a scissor strike. Dina expertly blocked Leena’s cut with her Cat’s Cradle before she wung it around in a counter, striking back at the Ascendancy girl, causing her to be knocked back to ground level with a terrible wound on her arm that closed up due to the searing burn of the weapon. She was caught by FanFan using her normal arms, and swung like a monkey to the side with her metallic arms to avoid a slash of Dina’s Cradle. “You monster!” Leena shouted, and took in a deep breath of her Healing Artifact mask, causing the wound to slowly seal as she blocked a blow with her swords, leaving a visible mark, before she kicked off FanFan’s metallic palm, going for another strike. “DIE!”

However, even with Leena’s abilities ramped up by her rage and making the Ascendancy agent deadly even by magical girl standards, Dina was the superior combatant, capable of shrugging off glancing blows of Leena’s blades thank to her hardened skin while also moving fast enough to keep up with her erratic movements, the two of them exchanging wild blows so fast a normal human couldn’t follow before Leena dropped down to be caught in Fanfan’s metallic hand. FanFan also joined the fight, helping to keep Leena in the fight by catching her and throwing her back up. Dina managed to overcome Leena’s parries, and delivered a flaying strike strong enough to tear the skin off Leena’s thigh like a piece of cheese, while scorching the exposed area. In response, FanFan delivered a mighty punch from her metallic arm, causing the steel skin on Dina’s cheek to fracture as she was knocked away from the mansion, only for Dina to successfully wrap the wire around the metallic appendage and swing back.
“RHH!” Leena gnashed her teeth as she slowed her descent by stabbing a katana in the mansion, causing sparks to fly as she skid to a stop. She held her free hand to her mask with a shaky grip as she healed; it caused the burning to stop but left the skin flayed. It became apparent Leena’s Healing Artifact was the only thing keeping her alive against Dina’s onslaught, while Dina could feel the pressure of her Avatar state’s multiple enchantments on her mana capacity.

---

“Su!” Helga shouted, and immediately dove to catch her as she fell from the sky. By angling their descent, she managed to direct most of the momentum away from the point of impact, making one last roll before she came to a landing, holding Su in her arms.
“Phew, that was way too close,” Helga spoke with grit teeth, and sighed, letting Su go. She nodded at Su’s statement. “Yep. I can’t shoot my soundblasts. But I still have my heightened hearing.” She spread her claws. “And I can still fight.” She noticed as as Alicia and Ronin were climbing up, and jumped down to intercept them. “Alicia! You’re not touching Mariette!” She yelled and swiped at her with her claws.

---

Lily was slightly relieved when Mariette gave a logical explanation, rebuting Justine’s erratic claims with a surprisingly annoyed tone; Lily had never seen Mariette this upset before. She knew Mariette was speaking the truth; after all, she herself was the one who had caused that to happen in the first place. When the silver-haired girl afterwards expressed her faith in Lily, she nodded, biting her lip.

”I...I tru-”

That was when Void World struck, causing Lily to gasp; she felt how her magic insulated, like a layer of plastic over an electrically charged wire. Then, Alicia shouted out, and Lily yelped. Was it true? Did Mariette really do those terrible things? She looked down, a part of her hoping to see a chance that Alicia was lying, that it somehow wasn’t true.

She regretted that decision immediately.

She saw as a spear was flung right at her. Time seemed to slow down for her, as her brain kicked into overdrive. Yet, she couldn’t move, frozen in shock as she saw, in slow motion, who had leapt out to intercept it...Who was going to be struck by it. She reached her hand out in those last few seconds before time suddenly rushed back to normal speed, and Sakura was speared.

”SAKURA!”

She cried out with her hands on her head, as feelings of terror and despair surfaced again. She did not deserve to die like this, protecting such a stupid girl. Visions of Ixion appeared, reminding her of the sacrifice that they had done. Once again, her sheer ineptitude had resulted in the loss of another friend...Or at least, that is what she initially thought, until she saw both Ronin and Aurelio rushing in to save her. While she didn’t know how well Ronin could tend to such an injury, she personally knew the magician’s capabilities, and trusted that he could save her life.

”Thank you Aurelio!” She shouted down at him, and took a deep breath as she saw Jenna appear among others.
She had to end this, before anybody else would be killed. She looked down at the battlefield, and then at her magical bow Ramuh. Justine was vulnerable now, but without her ranged spells she could only shoot arrows, and now that her allies had engaged, she couldn’t contribute much. What could she do? Her nervous eyes glanced aside, and then down, where Ronin was. There is...one way...
Her breathing turned hard, and her palms turned sweaty. She couldn’t have believed she had to do something this drastic. But she was truly Mariette’s friend.

And a true friend helps someone even when they don’t want to be helped.

In that moment, Lily visibly flashed yellow, as she infused herself with as much speed from her Lightning and Time magic as she could manage. And then, she made her move.
Hilaria was too strong to take on in a direct fight, but fortunately she didn’t have to, as she was fully focused on the destruction of the roof.
That just left Eli. She zipped right in front of the slime girl, passing Hilaria before she had brought her weapons out again, and clapped her electrically enchanted hands, creating a thunderclap right in Eli’s face; while not particularly damaging, it was sure to disorient the amorphous harpy.
At that instant, she reached out towards Mariette, attempting to taze the dark magical girl with an electric shock delivered through her palm; thanks to her time enchantment from Samantha, Mariette had time to react in a single second before she was touched.
I’m sorry, Mariette, but this is for your own good.

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

Lily gasped when she was freed from the arachnid girl’s safety net and into Alex’ hug, and she hugged him back.

”I know, I’m sorry Alex. I had my guard down,” Lily spoke quietly, and breathed deeply.
”I promise I’ll be more careful.” She took refuge in the fluffiness he provided as she listened to the others discuss strategy. Helga nervously clacked her claws against each other as she also listened in, wondering if Mariette had an actual plan beyond trying to hide, and nodded as Su brought up a real point.

When Mariette brought up confronting Justine directly, Lily spoke.
”I want to negotiate with Justine first, if possible.” She took Alex’ hand and nodded to Su.
”I know Justine wouldn’t do something this reckless just for revenge. I want to speak with her, and maybe find out why she’s so mad.”
Helga sighed and moved closer to Su’s side. “Su, you stay close to me, all right? I’ll protect you.” She then kissed her on the cheek. “That’s a promise.”
Lily then dusted off her clothes, and slapped her cheeks.
”I’m ready.”

---

At Beacon HQ, Jenna stepped into mission control, and saw that Elora was busy clacking away on two separate keyboards, typing away at speeds only possible for a magical girl. There were numerous screens that seemed to react to the movements of her head and eyes as they moved back and forth, giving her all kinds of information: from visual feeds from Beacon girls on the fields, to various graphs and spectrometers. Jenna saw from the camera feeds how Kimble, Sally and Hyun were together, some of them clearly wounded, while Alicia’s feed showed her group inside the mansion.

“Low probability of success,” Elora answered without looking at the scientist. She pressed a button, and Jenna saw as Sally and Hyun Long were teleported back to base, immediately attended to by medics. “Aurelio is going to initiate a Final Act. Your orders are to get in there and support him and the Paladin Seraph. Here, take this.” She handed over a Beacon marker to Jenna. “Use this when you’re ready for extraction, and I’ll pull you out of there. Hurry, he’s now approaching Justine!”

---

At the upper floor of the foyer, ‘Mariette’ stopped with an ugly grimace not fitting for her lips as she looked around, suspicious of her surroundings. Turned out her paranoia was, for once, justified: the moment ‘Eli’ barged in, the floor of the library faintly flashed, turning into enchanted mirrors that revealed the true form of those reflected on them. To nobody’s surprise, ‘Eli’’s reflection revealed her to be FanFan, while ‘Mariette’ who stood by the doorway had the head of Leena peeking out from her reflection. However, there was a third reflection that didn’t belong to the infiltrators. FanFan looked up, only to be suckerpunched by Freya, who successfully slashed and tailwhipped the disguised girl out of the room, landing back in the corridor, wounded on her cheek and chest and holding her side from the spot where she was struck by the tail. “Oof!”

She managed to get up as the sonic trap went off, using her normal hands to cover her ears while her metallic ones pushed her up. “Ambush!” Leena attempted to shout through the noise as portals opened around them, releasing magical girls loyal to Mariette as well as various Dina’s monsters and a lone shadow spectating from a distance. Thanks to the disorienting effect of the sonic trap, the ice spells hit their mark. However, the initial ice attacks failed to freeze the girls’ feet thanks to Dina’s protective barrier, breaking away as frost washed over them. Leena took a deep breath, about to activate her magic, when she spotted Tenebra creating a rift; unlike before, this one was violently made, not only straining the unhinged magical girl, but actually causing cracks to spread in the dimension itself, as if the world around them was made of glass.

“In there!” The veteran reacted quickly, and grabbed Connie around her waist as the masked girl was about to slip and fall; she dove with her towards the floor, in the direction of the rift. using the slippery ice to their advantage, they slid on their stomachs like penguins, barely managing to escape the explosions from Taihei’s artifact bombs. However, Leena incurred a shot from Suzette’s rage beam, causing her to bellow not only in pain, but wrath; the reality-shattering portal warped the emotion magic that struck Leena, causing her to be filled with a great anger as she disappeared. Connie on the other hand was hit by one of Lea’s wind lances that successfully curved downwards, cutting a gash through her dark robe and wounding her just as she also left. Lea was fast enough to pursue them, but was stopped by Gaia’s violent vines that thrashed around her, the spiked plants having successfully trapped her.

“Hold on, Princess!”
FanFan did the same as she saved herself from slipping by using one of her metal hands to break through the frozen floor, grabbing MDP with the other. Flinging herself in the air. Ronja managed to catch them in the net she cast, but it was scorched by Mayra’s fire just enough for her to break free before MDP turned it into glitter, causing them to tumble and slide into the rift as well, followed by Alicia, Gaia, Ronin, and the rest of the infiltrators.

---

Justine bit the corner of her lip, frustrated by how slippery Mikayla turned out to be; not only was she agile, able to move freely like the wind, but she also was surrounded by spirits serving as a shell, shielding her from strikes. Still, she spirit girl was equally unable to make a dent on her and her servant, resulting in a heated duel not unlike from a superpowered battle manga. The moment she flung Sakura out, however, Justine landed a glancing hit, scattering a third of her spirits with a magical beam in the process. She now had the edge.

However, she didn’t have the chance to capitalize on the opening, due to a certain gentleman’s abrupt arrival. As he left to confront the undead witches, Aurelio could hear as the marker activated, followed by the familiar sounds of the Beacon teleporting, sending Sally and Hyun Long out, leaving only Kimble, who followed him to the battlegrounds. Justine stopped, her sword whisked to the side as she glared at Aurelio, while Sonia glanced at Mikayla to ensure she wouldn’t attempt anything during the intrusion.

”Aurelio? What is the meaning of this? Help me eradicate this shade already!” She ordered. But Kimble shook her head.

“Not going to happen, Justine,” Kimble responded.
“We are-”

”!”
Suddenly, a beam of light shot through the air, causing Sonia to deflect it with one of her handheld knives, before teleporting out of the way of the ensuing barrage. Justine’s eyes widened.

”Wait, could it be-!”

To the vampire girl’s astonishment, she witnessed Mariette Pedersen, standing on the roof of her mangled mansion, her long, silvery hair fluttering in the wind. All around her were various allies she had gathered, including Lily and Alex, who were to the eyepatched girl’s side.

Justine’s voice howled across the pocket dimension.

”MARIETTE!"

"At last, you have stopped running!"

Her smile turned wide, revealing her vampiric fangs, an upturned palm ringed by clawed fingers.

”You thought you could destroy Penrose once I was gone!”

She lifted her sword at Mariette.
”How foolish! Now you will pay for it with your blood!”

That was when Justine caught an arrow of lightning in her hands, and scoffed; Lily’s eyes were narrowed as she had released her crackling bowstring.
”Mariette hasn’t destroyed anything! What are you talking about, Justine?”

Justine shook her head, dismayed by seeing Lily.
”You’re here too! Listen Lily, Mariette is the one behind Penrose’s destruction! She is merely using you, just like I have! She is lying to you!”

Lily shook, and lowered her bow as she looked at Mariette.
”...So...Ronin is...” She mumbled, as she remembered Ronin’s words. The silence was broken by Trixy’s arrival, having managed to shoot the chain weretiger straight through the heart, killing the beastman.

Justine held her hands forward. A reddish-black magic circle formed around her, spinning rapidly. Sonia teleported the two farther away as Mariette and Su inevitably began their attack, allowing Justine to finish her spell. This was when Dina begun her orchestra, filling the dimension with magical fairy music that roused the spirits and strengthened her magic. As a result, Justine grimaced, performing her incantation with disgust.

”Black hound, who stalks in the dark...Feaster of pain, answer my call! Come to me, my darling pet Reaver!”

She closed her eyes, and focused on the mark she had left on the Mint assassin’s body. Using it, she had tracked him to somewhere under Penrose, battling with a mechanical monster girl. And then, with Sonia’s magic, he was dragged out, teleported away from his duel.

The next moment he knew, he was standing on a frozen field, looking up at Justine and Sonia.
”Reaver! My precious dog!”
She called to her, and pointed a finger towards the mansion, particularly at the cyclops girl ruling over it.
”Be a dear, and fight a glorious battle! Kill, for that is your desire!”
Then, Justine also began her attack ,shooting out red beams of death.

At the same time, Tenebra’s rift opened at Sakura’s location, and the infiltration team stumbled out in a single heap. Leena and Eli no longer wore their disguises, their Artifacts seemingly destroyed in the ambush. However, while FanFan was miffed about it, Leena was absolutely fuming; her eyes were wide, and her lips tightly stretched wide in a snarling look full of absolute hate.
“There she is!” She screamed, pointing a sword at Mariette. She breathed hard and gripped her weapons tightly as the rage seemed to grow greater and greater
“She won’t escape...Never again!”
And then, she leapt up, towards the rooftop, glowing as she charged up a spell. Then, with a voice that echoed throughout the entire dimension, she cast it.

”VOID WORLD!”

Unleashing all her magic, boosted by the sheer amount of anger that flowed out from her like a roaring fire, she created a Nullification Field that expanded out three times as large as her previous spells.

At that moment, time seemed to halt still. All magical constructs and projectiles vanished, like ash into thin air; Justine’s beams, Mariette’s rays of light, Lily’s lightning bolts, Tenebra's rift, and even Sil’s Schatten. Sonia lost her grip on her Space magic, and fell down, accidentally dragging Justine down with her. Even Sil, whose teleport was interrupted, had to make a rolling landing. All external magic, like conjuring elements or barriers, is useless. However, internal magic, like enchanting yourself or those you touch, is still possible.

But of all people who were most affected, it was Mariette. At that moment, she felt as if she was thrown into a world of darkness. Though her eyes still saw around her, she felt blind, her numerous mirrors nowhere to be seen, limiting her vision to only a single point. She tried to summon a mirror, her trusted tool, but it didn’t appear, having betrayed her. Her legs couldn’t hold her still anymore as she felt weak, and she was caught by the ally closest to her. Even the dimension itself seemed to shake as it suffered from the Nullification magic. Mariette knew the reason for this; as long as that Field lasted, even the Black Mirror couldn’t hold this dimension whole.

Five minutes before the end of the world.

The final battle for everyone’s fates, Ragnarok, had begun.

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

Justine saw as the great Feilian began to wane, and smiled smugly, her eyes cast down at Su.
”It doesn’t matter how many the witch lures with the flutter of her eyelash! They are all fools for trusting the destroyer of their home! And that includes you, little bird!”

”My Lady, she has already left.”
She saw as Su rushed to save Helga, and scoffed, wiping her hat of snow with her hand.
”Pah! My grand monologue is best suited to my sworn nemesis anyway.”
She brought up her spear, readying herself for a counterattack from Mariette...Only to witness the mass retreat of her forces, fleeing like routed soldiers through various portals.

Justine blinked at first, silent, as she comprehended the move.

”...oho...”

Suddenly, she spread her arms to the side, laughing uproariously up into the black sky. ”HOOHOOHOOHOO! So this is Mariette Pedersen’s true nature! A coward who shakes in terror upon witnessing my power! HOOHOOHOO! How amusing! How jubilant! I expected more from you, but it seems it was futile to begin with!”

However, as Justine kept laughing, she did not notice the entity that rose up from the depths of the mansion; like a silky specter, Mikayla Synnot’s ghostly form coalesced and formed, joined by lesser spirits of the recently deceased that spun around her, like electrons orbiting an atom.

”My Lady, we have company,” Sonia informed her with a grim tone, having summoned a candle holder with a lit candle in one hand, her other hand wrapped around the monster girl’s waist; throwing knives extended from between the clenched fingers of her fist.
Justine herself however seemed less agitated, and leaned her head slightly to the side as she observed the spirit, an amused smirk on her lips.
”Hmm...How curious. I sense greater power from you than even Mariette possesses. It seems she has forsaken her pride to summon her Patron’s champion. But it matters not.” She now summoned a sword, it’s pommel shaped like a cross, it’s blade seemingly made of crystallized blood as she licked the edge of it.
”I won’t lose to anyone again...I will have my revenge.”

And so, the battle between two beings of blackest night began. Mikayla opened fire with an assortment of ghostly archers and gunners, but Sonia easily teleported her and Justine out of the way, appearing instantly behind the revenant. Justine countered with a wide slash of her blade, only to be deflected by a phalanx of phantoms. Scythes swung and lances thrusted, but Sakura intervened by ascending up the outer walls of the mansion, delivering a shocking punch that scattered the spirits. Seeing her chance, Justine held a palm forward with glee.

”Lance of Longinus!”

Justine instantly created a red magic portal from which a scarlet beam of searing hot magical energy shot forth. Mikayla avoided the short-range blast, if only barely, as a result it made a direct hit on Viridian’s radio tower; having been thought of as invincible until now, the spell was powerful enough to blow a chunk of it’s side, and causing it to grind as it slightly tilted.

Justine breathed deeply, a psychotic smile on her lips.

”You avoided my spell...That means even the dead have something to fear!” She glanced at Sakura as she had hopped to the rooftop after her attack.
”Now, welcome oblivion as we cast your spirit into the abyss!” Justine then continued to cast ranged spells at Mikayla while avoiding close quarters combat with her using Sonia’s teleportation, inadvertently blowing more holes into the black dimension in the process.

---

Helga held her stomach in pain as she was kicked, and her eyes widened as she saw Su jump after her. The two of them were saved by the fantastic flexibility of a flower, allowing them to rebound from their fall. “Ugh, we can’t beat them when they’re together like that,” the toothy girl grumbled, and looked up to see the vampire girl engage in an epic duel against a ghost-like entity. She also heard Mariette’s command to retreat, and saw Lea lift them up with Wind magic.
“Ugh, I don’t like it...But now’s our best chance while she’s distracted.” With a nod, she followed the sprite through the portal, taking Su with her.

Trixy slid stylishly down to ground level to engage with the remaining member of Red Nest, assisted by another markswoman as the two laid down suppressive fire. The chain weretiger roared as he suddenly jumped from his cover, and launched his chain at Trixy, attempting to bind her. However, she managed to escape by a portal that appeared at the last second, jumping back just as the chain was about to reach her, only to hit the wall of the mansion with its bladed end.

Meanwhile, Sally ended up running and screaming with her hands up around the field as big lances came crashing down. Sally managed to avoid most of them, just like before, but once again a single lance was about to hit the Red Nest member close to her.
“No...No!” She dove courageously, shoving the weretiger out of the way as the lance landed right on the tip of her left foot, crushing her toes.
“OW OW OW OW!” She screamed while rapidly bouncing around on one foot, holding the other foot in her hands. “What are the chances of my toes being crushed? This isn’t just jinxing, you’re scrambling luck all over the place!” She then saw a portal open behind Taihei, and she quickly disappeared. However, Sally didn’t have much time to grumble, as she provided suppressive fire on Dusty, managing to hit a lucky shot on her shoulder, causing her to drop her gun from the shock as she retreated through a portal. Now no longer under fire, Sally hopped over to Aurelio and the others, having managed a small smile despite the pain she was going through. “Looks like they managed to catch a lion by its toe. How lucky of them~”

---

At the front door, Kimble sighed, grateful for what little aid Aurelio could provide to her as he focused on tending to Hyun’s injuries. She then stood up when one of Victoria’s ice clones popped out of the melting snow, clutching her magical sickle in her hands. She
“That’s right! We don’t need an army to deal with the likes of you!” She shouted back. Then, she saw Lea upn in the sky. She bit her lip, having been reminded of the person she loved.
“Even if I was the last one standing, I’m still going to fight! Because Alicia believes in me! She believes in us all!”

Aurelio had contacted Elora, and she had responded swiftly. “Aurelio, what is your status? The sensors picked up all kinds of fluctuation in magic readings.” She was silent as Aurelio reported on their status and request. “Permission granted. Preparing an extraction on your location.” Sally heard Elora call to her. “Place the marker near you, and secure the area.”
She slumped against the wall next to Hyun, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and nodded.
“Roger.” She looked up at Aurelio. “Be careful, okay? She is dangerous, even more dangerous than I could have imagined.”

---

Dina gritted her teeth underneath her neutral facial expression as events unfolded before her at a pace she could not comprehend. They were going to breach soon, and Mariette and her lot were being pushed even more back. Her ears downcast and tail downwards, she grimly realized that this collective was beginning to be fairly desperate, calling the big shots, as things were getting increasingly bloodier and bloodier.

Such was war waged among humans, and magical powers only made it worse and furious. Her eyes rested on Dan. He clearly was like a sprite of a magical fountain, detached and ignorant. She even pondered if she ever knew the true nature of the one he was allying with. A joy eater spreading misery. That could not feel well. She gestured with her hand for Dan to come…

Dan soon appeared, a big drop of sweat on his brow and his bottlenose scrunched up in fear. “Oh, Dina! Is there something on your mind?” He asked, less lively than usual.
“So far you girls have done a good job, if that’s what you’re, uh, wondering about.”

Dina shook her head, as she took the small dolphin as if he were a baby on her arms. “That's not it. You’re hurting, aren’t you? You… never expected humans to be like this, did you?” The catgirl said. “I’ve seen this before, and It’s always a bloody result.” She whispered.

Dan yelped as Dina carried him, but then managed to slightly calm down. “Dina...I have been foolish. While I still think Justine needs to be stopped, this...This is not a good way to go about it. Mariette is just as willing to resort to extreme measures as she is, and I fear she might become worse thanks to me.” He covered his face with his stretchy fins. “But I can’t just leave her, not after my promise to her. That would break her heart.”

“I know. We try to keep our promises, right?” Dina said. “Maybe it’s worth a shot.” Dina said, while still cradling Dan.

“It’s going to be a red dawn upon this battle. Please allow me one last chance to avoid something we all will be regretting. It won’t take long.” Dina said solemn as she raised her voice to Mariette, readying herself before dashing through the library to reach the front of the infiltration team. Without hostile intentions nor weapons. She deployed her Ruler’s aura… without distinction as well.

Still engaged in looking for a spot that fit Ronin’s description, it was not hard to miss the incoming Ruler Aura. But of course, there were only so many options as to what the source could be. Reorienting to face it, her bow aimed up the stairs as she prepared for the foe to emerge. ”Get ready,” she warned. ”Let’s give them a warm reception.”

Dina’s nose twitched. It felt… wrong, somehow. She had to take extra care about what to do next, so she put up her strongest barrier… at the same time she shouted “Parley! Parley!” The words almost choked on her mouth. She was a creature of poise and elegance, not a daredevil who would jump into the enemy’s guns normally. But it had to be done.

FanFan caught up on the stairs to see MDP clear the magma trap, clearly impressed despite her disguise. “Nice job, Princess!” She complimented her, and then reached Alicia and the others. There, Leena had summoned her swords while still resembling Mariette.
She grit her teeth when Dina called out to them, her swords threateningly pointed.
“Parley? Is Mariette going to surrender?” She twirled her blade with finesse, finding herself unusually willing to at least hear her out despite her urge to purge the monster girl.

Prepared to fire, Alicia was not expecting it when the aura stopped, and the person creating it yelled that they just wanted to talk. Which the aura did seem to indicate, but after the rave there was no point in taking chances. ”No way,” she replied to Leena, ”If she was going to surrender she wouldn’t leave it to a lackey.” Not when she had her portals.

It could be a trick, Alicia was aware of that. The place certainly seemed rigged with enough of them. And even then, it would waste time Mariette could use to recover. Still, it might be worth it to hear what they wanted to say, if it could remove some of the cards Mariette had to play. She lowered her bow, but kept an arrow at the ready just in case. ”Talk fast,” she called back.

Well, the trickiest part was done. Dina gulped, as she immediately lowered her defenses, stepping in plain sight. “I’m Dina. Ally to Mariette by intervention of Dan.” She presented Dan too, who probably was still in her arms. “Past this point, it’ll be the last pitch. A veritable bloodbath. We have no desire to go through with it, yet our agreement binds us to help Mariette and keep her safe against Justine. Only Mariette and not that horrible master of hers.”

Dina said, much more crudely than she was used to. “And I know it’s the same for you too. You must be Alicia. Penny has spoken highly of you. Also, Lady Gaia, hello.”

“Empress Denisova,” Gaia acknowledged with a respectful nod. “It is a pleasure to see you again, although I dearly wish it were under more pleasant circumstances.”

“Oh, i-is t-that the c-cat girl you m-met at the g-gardens?” Connie whispered. “S-She looks r-really pretty…”

“Indeed it is, little sister,” Gaia confirmed. “I believe she is a member of Russian nobility, which goes some way towards explaining her refined bearing and commanding aura.”

“Ooohh~! What a pretty kitty witty~!” MDP squealed upon Dina’s appearance. “And that little dolphin thingie wingie she’s holding is, like, sooo totally wotally adorable worable too~! (giggle!)”

“Hi there,” Dan waved back to the excitable pastel-colored girl with a happy, if somewhat nervous smile. “I’m Dan the Dolphin, Dina’s Patron.” If MDP were to reach out and touch Dan, he would accept it with a joyful squeak. “I hope we can all get along.”

‘…’ Ronin had a problem. Thing was, without a violent battle she couldn’t get close enough to Mariette to save her, as she desired. Though, yeah, going through with the battle would lead to the probable death of herself and a bunch of those around her. On the flip-side, how many lives would be saved if they stopped Asengav’s operations here? Or if they stopped Justine? Though, even if it was the preferable option, could Dina truly negotiate a blood-less compromise? ‘The ones you wanna convince are Alicia and Justine. Good luck,’ Ronin said, pointing briefly to Alicia and then outside. If the cat-girl pulled this off, Ronin would be seriously impressed. For now, she kept her wits about. Mariette was no doubt surrounding them as they spoke.

Speedwagon, for her part, was conflicted about this turn of events. On the one hand, her Power of Friendship was telling her that Dina was being genuine here with her offer. She had a feeling she knew where it was going from the oddly specific wording Dina used…

...but at the same time, Speedwagon knew that this room was a fantastic place for an ambush. Even if Mariette didn't use her portals to launch a counterattack from anywhere in the large foyer, the balconies above were good places for defenders to strike from, and there were entrances on nearly all sides of the room.

"From what I can tell, this lady's dealing with us squarely," Speedwagon said, frowning. "Or at least, she wants to." She did not point out the obvious problem that she hoped subtext would convey - that while Dina wanted to parlay, there was no reason that Mariette wouldn't attack them while they were distracted. No telling if saying it outright would spring the trap, or worse, give Mariette the idea.

Thankfully, it looked like Joanna got it, because she shifted her stance in a casual motion.

FanFan and Leena, still disguised as Eli and Mariette respectively, lowered their weapons, though they still kept a vigil watch over the room, aware that somebody could use Dina as a chance to catch them unaware. “So you’re proposing that you’ll help us in exchange for letting Mariette live?” Leena asked. “How about purifying her? We can’t let her do as she pleases anymore. If you’ve worked with her, you’d know that.”

Dina’s ears perked up slightly as she eyed the collective. Her sight then went to a certain corner of the room. “Two-tails. Do tell if something’s incoming. Do so and you can play with the bound minotaur.” She said.

The group heard a snicker echo in the foyer, impossible to discern from any single direction, followed by an equally omnipresent voice:

“Very well, then~”

Leena and FanFan’s eyes widened, and they drew their weapons. “You had someone spy on us all this time!” Leena accused her with a pointed sword, but FanFan lowered it down with her hand. “It’s fine. It shows that Dina is serious, considering she revealed her just now. But we can’t dillydally for long. Paladin Seraph,” she turned to Alicia. “It’s your call on whether we trust this catgirl or not.”
“Purifying is traumatic..” Dina said.” Still… the Mariette you know and despise isn’t the real Mariette. It’s but a construct, like how child soldiers are made. When I promised to help Mariette and that no harm came to her… I also meant I’d fight her master if need be.” She then added.

Unlike the others, Alicia was not surprised to learn they were being watched. Mariette had known the second they arrived, she likely still had eyes on them. What was one more? Instead she turned to what Dina had said, and the trustworthiness that Speedwagon asserted.

”It may be traumatic but it is necessary,” she challenged. ”It’s the only way to ensure her Patron no longer has a hold on her. And there must be justice for what she’s been a part of. The girls she’s abducted deserve no less.” admittedly she would not be as satisfied without some final reckoning, but she had always assumed Purification would be impossible anyway. It would be too easy for Mariette to escape before it was finished. Things could not be left to chance.

Dina’s facial expression tensed even more. Probably this was the hardest negotiation she had run in a while. Yet Dina persevered. She had agreed to spread joy. She held others to high standards, so it was natural she would hold herself to high standards.

“An eye by an eye, and the world goes blind.” Dina replied. “I have waved the flag of parley and that is what I shall do. I will try to convince Mariette, as unlikely as it is, that she needs to take such a bitter medicine, in order for bloodshed to stop. However, let me say one last thing.” Dina added.

“Stay your hand now, and I will spare no effort in bringing this proxy war to an end. Even if it means braving horrors or vampire girls who use thralls to dispose of mines. That much I swear.” Dan slowly nodded, looking silently proud of the conviction Dina had.

Speedwagon’s senses, throughout Dina’s responses, hadn’t revealed anything less than complete sincerity behind her words. Which… might almost have been worse than if she had been trying to fool them. For one, the very act of stalling them, even for a moment, gave Mariette an opportunity to marshall a counterattack… and Dina genuinely didn't seem to consider the possibility that she was enabling more bloodshed in trying to avoid it.

Worse, what if it ended right now? Dina was still Mariette's ally, so any ambush she would have to plan with her there would have to avoid hitting her (if she valued her life, at least). They'd lose that advantage once she was gone.

And God preserve them if Mariette, against everything, actually took that deal while inside one of Asengav’s domains, signing her own death warrant. Horrors didn’t tend to turn a blind eye to those who betrayed them, or knew they were about to betray them.

Speedwagon’d seen it herself, once upon a time.

As insane as it might have sounded, she might have little choice but to keep these negotiations going. Because the second Dina went to actually start pitching it to Mariette, one way or another a bloodbath would break out. Either as a result of Mariette refusing, and the battle resuming; accepting, and risking Asengav coming down on them all in all its eldritch fury; having wasted enough time passing so that Justine, coming in as a Big Damn Hero, escalated things anyway. The situation was fucked.

And worse, she couldn’t risk saying any of that outright - Dina herself proved that there were others listening to their conversation.

“So what on earth did Mariette say, to convince someone like you to throw in with her lot?” Speedwagon asked. “After all, it’s not hard to find out the kinds of things she’s been up to. Abducting Magical Girls, turning them to her own side. And credit where it’s due,” Speedwagon said, indicating Alicia. “Beacon’s been falling pretty hard on people who’ve done that in this town, as of late. So. Why?”

“I entreat myself to follow commitments, even if they have been handed me over by my Queen or Patron. And because Mariette is driven by fear. Same as half of this town as of late. The Ascendancy is proof of that. We stick to our spears and hearts and shield ourselves to not lose anything more. But in doing so, we lose more than we gain.” Dina replied, marking a distinction between Beacon and Ascendancy, much like Penny had attempted earlier with varied success, but that told her that the current Beacon was not monolithic. Once he finished speaking, Dina heard her summoned monster’s voice whisper to her ear, inaudible to the others by being masked with illusion magic: “Mariette’s preparing forces around you as we speak. I suggest you get a move on before you’re ambushed~”
Alicia could see with her Third Eye that an invisible fox lady was next to Dina, before she disappeared under the floor.

Completely oblivious to the high-stakes discussion taking place around her, MDP happily skipped over to where Dina was standing and began gently petting the dolphin she was holding, giggling with glee as she did so. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would really super duper wuv that too~! (giggle!)” she replied after Dan had expressed his hopes that they could all be friends.

“I agree with Empress Denisova that a peaceful resolution would certainly be preferable,” Gaia added, after Dina had stated her intentions. “Yet I am unsure that such a resolution will be possible, due to reasons I have no doubt your majesty is well-aware of. Does your majesty perhaps have a plan, in regard to dealing with those obstacles?”

“The ebb and flow is too complicated.” Dina curtly replied. “And it seems we’re running out of time…”

Alicia appreciated the points that the others brought up as they conversed, all the while thinking on their next move. Her gaze narrowed at the sight of the being next to Dina, before it vanished. Were they being played? Maybe. It was time to end this. ”I’m not making any promises,” she decided at last. ”Mariette needs to be stopped and I intend to do that, one way or another.”

With that she looked back to the others. ”Let’s go. We won’t be safe here forever.”

Dina's gaze become downcast as she stared at the floor. "So you say." It was safe to say her voice had the faintest hint of trembling and hesitation at this point. "One way or another is a fancy of saying at all costs." The noble catgirl sighed as a weapon materialized in her hand, but still had not assumed a hostile stance. "The hole in your heart will continue to grow until you cannot even forgive yourself." She added before casting a reinforcement spell on the entire infiltration team. "Consider this my compensation for the time spent in trying for a peaceful resolution. As unfortunate as the outcome will be." She said as she began to leave.

"No hard feelings. Fight well. Stand proud." She added, before grabbing Dan once more. "I did try." The little dolphin himself frowned, saddened by the group’s rejection. MDP’s headpats had helped stave off most of the negativity, but his bottlenose still drooped down his face.

The Infiltration team, after their talk with Dina, continued up the stairs of the central staircase, and ended up on the second floor of the mansion.
‘Dina came from this direction,’ ‘Mariette’ noted.
‘I’m going in first!’
‘Eli’ followed up, and prepared to charge into the library, her mechanical arms summoned to react to any sudden attack or trap.

---

At the former Artillery Line, Alex finally got a chance to prove himself as Justine’s monsters wreaked havoc. After one of the Gorelions failed to skewer him with their harpoon-like weapons, he grabbed it, causing the monster to bellow and yank back, just as Alex wanted it to. Shooting down the corridor like a missile, ready to eviscerate the abomination with a shimmering blade. However, he failed to deliver a direct impact, instead slashing the beast’s tougher shell. Still , he managed to cut through the obsidian armor enough to slow himself down, causing sparks to fly as the sword’s edge dug into the black carapace. The beast shook it’s back, bound in place by Esther’s wood rising from the floor to wrap their feet, but Alex easily used the momentum to jump up into the ceiling, landing on it feet first. Wooden lances also shot from the floor, but they failed to pierce their obsidian armor or even distract them from their prey.

Meanwhile, Eliza engaged the other Gorelion. Though she was wounded due to her unfortunate positioning in the fight, she managed to stall the two monsters long enough for Alex to deliver a blow strong enough to crack the shell off one of them, and rebounding off the beast to leap towards Lily on the other side of the corridor.
There, he saw as Hilaria had a contest of strength with a Gorelion stepping on Lily; the green haired-girl gasped as the monster pressed on her, but Alex’ barrier instead broke, saving her.
”Get off me, you dumbo!” She screamed, and released a discharge of electricity. However, aside from causing the beast to slightly startle, it didn’t seem to affect it too much. Esther’s wood also wrapped around this one’s feet, and successfully held it’s foot from crushing Lily, though it was only a matter of time before it struggled free and flattened her like a pancake.

Hilaria was also initially in trouble, unable to attack effectively as long as the beast was pulling on her shield with an anchored tongue. Two girls suddenly jumped from behind Hilaria, their two slender legs synchronized and infused with opposing elements that delivered a double-whammy of freezing ice and searing flame, one after the other. As a result, the tongue froze and cracked, severing the fleshy appendage. As the girls retreated from the beast’s raging roar, Hilaria delivered a blast from her trusty Vulcan into the impenetrable void of another Gorelion’s orifice, saving a magical girl who was nearly devoured and also causing the beast to howl and bleed. It was on its last legs now, and attempted ramming into Hilaria with it’s heavy bulk, only to clang against the dark magical girl’s sturdy shield slam. At that moment Mariette appeared from a portal, and blasted the Gorelion with a beam of light, proving effective in piercing it’s tough defenses as it howled in pain. Then, as it was distracted, Hilaria delivered a mighty punch, delivering a graviton strike that caused the beast’s obsidian armor to crack and shatter, sending the monster off its feet were it not for Esther’s bindings that glued it to the spot. The beast’s head now hung down as it growled in a daze from her concussive blow, and as it lurched slightly to the side, Lily took the opportunity to slip out; she had charged the floor under her with electromagnetic particles, and created a frictionless surface from which she slid away as if greased.

Another Gorelion was about to shoot her with a tongue, but Mariette fended the attack off with another beam, causing the best to shirk away from the light and allowing Alex to move through to reach the group.
Lily panted hard as she clambered back up using a corridor wall as support.
”You...You saved me, Hils! And Mariette too...” She spoke between heavy breaths and summoned her weapon, only to be interrupted by Mariette’s order.
”Huh? But we gotta stay and fi-Kiyaaa!”
Suddenly, she was webbed by Ronja on the other side, and swiftly pulled off her feet right through the portal. When Alex would arrive through the magical entryway, she would see that Lily ended up stuck to a web that was spread on the far wall, having ended up in an embarrassing pose.
”Uuu...” She whined, still weary from the chaos just moments ago.

---

At the Sanctuary, the crowd listened to Penny’s judgement with various looks ranging from fear to respect to confusion. They each slightly shivered as Penny laced her words with a touch of Gravity, giving them a weight that lingered like an echo. Once Penny gave her verdict, the crowd gasped, surprised by how merciful she has been to the guilty monster girl. Belladonna remained quiet, feeling her wrists in a contemplative manner once the manacles were off them.

“Wow...Penny is a wise queen, to understand her like that...”

“I think she let her off easy I mean, she endangered the Sanctuary...”

“But she did make a point about the circumstances. She got lucky, really.”

“Alright, show’s over. Please resume your duties as before.”
The crowd quickly dispersed once Goblina waved to the crowd and announced the end of the public trial.
“Queen Penny, that was an amazing spee-” she attempted to speak, but was swiftly silenced as Penny spoke in a chilling voice, causing the monster girl's ears to stand up straight
“U-Understood. You can count on me,” she answered with a salute, and watched as the mechanical sovereign stomped or flew off, parting the crowds like a snowmower through a wintery street. The guards stayed behind, patrolling vigilantly as they scoured the area of intruders.
Goblina sighed, and wiped her brow before turning to Belladonna.
“Now then, I shall list out the types of service that you may undertake in order to complete your sentence: cleaning out the sewage system, collecting garbage, gathering provisions...” Belladonna sighed, and stretched her arms above her head.
“Ugh, I figured this was going to suck. Can’t I do something else than scrounging up in the dirt?” She asked, her ears drooping down. Goblina pressed her pen to her chin.
“Well, there is something you could do to improve morale and advertise the Sanctuary. It depends on how….ahem...natural you are willing to get.”
Belladonna blinked. “Huh? Wait, you don’t mean-” then, she delivered a fanged smirk that would be terrifying to see in the moonlight.
“Oh, I get it. You want to snatch some shots and roll a tape of me, huh?” She put a hand behind her head and another on her hip. “Monstergirls Gone Wild?”

Goblina’s jaw opened in shock. “Actually, I mea-”

But before she could stop her, Belladonna gave her a thumbs up. “Very well. If you insist, then that is how I’ll pay for my crimes. It does beat prison at any rate. So, when do we get started?”

Goblina slowly facepalmed, and then smiled a bit, showing a tooth. “I suppose we can add that to the list.”

---

The guards at Beacon HQ were befuddled by Oros’ request, and then raised an eyebrow as Summer actually heeded that request. They looked up towards a window where the strange magical girl’s flying jib was grabbed by Janet. It seemed that an agreement of some kind had been made, so the guards returned back to their posts.

Greetings! Candy Cane Service!

Thank you for the candy cane and message, kind stranger. Have a happy holiday season.

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

Please welcome @Shifter_Master as our newest Co-GM.

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

Before Eliza could answer Lily, both of them alongside the rest of the foyer girls received a message from their communicators, causing Lily to lightly yelp, putting a hand over her ear by reflex. She then turned visibly pale in her face, having recognized her Beacon friend’s name as well as Justine’s maid.
”EEH?”
She was shocked by the idea that Alicia would actually work together with Justine. Then again, she was also in an unsure place, trying to find a way to resolve this situation without betraying any of her friends. Then, a new portal opened, causing Lily to jump in place.
”Ah, Mariette?”
However, instead of leading back to her office like she assumed, it lead to Alex and Hilaria, who were working hard to ensure the integrity of their battlefront. Then Mariette called out again, issuing an order to prepare a combined attack.
”Got it!” She replied with a nod, and ran through the portal, taking her position alongside the other ranged magical girls. She drew out her magical bow Ramuh, it’s electrical bowstring crackling with energy as she pulled it back.
Now that she was with Alex again, feeling his barrier embrace her again, her resolve was tempered. Her eyes glowed as she prepared her Barrage of paralyzing lightning arrows.

”Ready to fire!”

She would fight anyone, even the Beacon, in order to stop further bloodshed.

---

“Nghhh!”
As Justine’s forces drew near the front door of the mansion, Kimble struggled to keep up the protective barrier of wind, her teeth gritted as she held her hands outwards. “Just a bit more, Kimble!” Sally called out to her as she blasted at the few remaining enemies on their way, while Hyun Long blasted the last of the remaining snow blocking their path; she raised an eyebrow; the winds were beginning to gather stronger around them.
“You don’t need to make it stronger; it now starts to be difficult to move.”
Kimble groaned in response to Rage’s warning.
“‘I know! It’s just...Someone’s making a bigger storm!”

Aurelio continued advancing forward invisibly, keeping Elora updated on the situation. That was when Elora suddenly spoke back: “I’m detecting a spike in magical activity, centered on your location! Get out of there!”
A few seconds after, Su finished casting her great conjuration spell, and formed Feilian, a massive hurricane that dwarfed Kimble’s Cyclogenesis, so powerful it could lift the magical girls off their feet and shoot them up into the sky. Justine was unable to resist the howling gust as it caught on her leathery bat wings, and she was flung up the whirlwind.
”NOO! CURSES!”
Aurelio managed to barely escape by leaping to the side, having managed to escape using Elora’s warning.
The thralls were swept up into the air, only one of them managing to escape using Gravity magic. The support Red Nest and gunner Red Nest were caught by the storm, and struck by a chunk of ice that the storm had picked up. The chain-wielding Red Nest avoided the same fate by grappling a dead remorhaz and holding on to it, digging his heels in as he slowly pulled himself into cover. Sally was there, having been fortunate enough to find herself at the best spot in the battlefield. However, as she held onto the still-hot spikes, she grunted from pain. “Oh well, should have brought my mittens with me.”
Hyun Long however did not fare as well, having been lifted up, until she was rescued by the combined magic of Kimble and Rage.

“Cycloexodus!”

Kimble called out, and melded the clone’s Emotion spell into her Cyclogenesis, turning it red and allowing it to expand in it’s influence of gathering the magical energy of everyone’s rage in their radius, funnelling it more efficiently into the vortex. In return, Kimble would feel her mana be restored by the emotion magic channeling into her storm, allowing her to resist the Feilian’s crushing pressure for just a moment longer. Kimble had grabbed Hyun Long’s hand before she was swept away, and in turn the Fire magical girl hugged Kimble.
“Thank you Kim-!”
“You can thank me later! Hold on!”
She then made for one last push forwards, attempting to escape from Su’s terrifying twister as her magic was rapidly running out.

They were about to reach the door, when suddenly, the blizzard ended.
“Huh? It’s no longer snowing,” Sally commented obliviously, and Justine screamed while being whisked around:
”It’s a trap! Get out of there, you fools!”
However, that was when Mariette issued her order to fire. A great bombardment of nearly every element of magical arrows, bullets, shells, bolts, javelins, spears, darts and more exploded forth from the open windows of the Artillery Line, painting the air in the colors of a violent, relentless rainbow. Most of the the thralls were gunned down except for two of them including the Gravity girl, as was the support Red Nest, ruthlessly blasted by arcane might.
Sakura continued charging forward with the crazed remorhaz, gnashing her teeth as the beast’s back pained her butt fiercely, burning her lower uniform and forcing her to replace it with Eternal Style before she indecently exposed herself. The beast started to lift up just before she managed to reach the front door, and was shot by Suzette’s ray of power, killing the monster. However, as she saw Lily blasting the monster as well with countless lightning arrows, she got an idea: she began charging herself with the same positive charge as the arrows that were charging the beast. She then released the charge into the monster and punched it rapidly it with all her might.
“FUCK YOUUUUU! ORARARARARARARARARARAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Combined with Lily’s charge, it caused the beast to reject the positive charge by laws of electromagnetism, and launch forward; it left Feilian’s range, and smashed right through the front doors of Mariette’s mansion, the corpse sliding on the marble floor and activating most of the traps there, blowing it to smithereens but opening a path for the others to get through as she fell into the snow.

The gunner Red Nest was heavily wounded, but managed to survive the initial wave; seemingly packing his magic into one last burst, he blasted away at the window and killing eight of the Lesser Magical girls with cursed bullets before he was crushed by one of Taihei’s superheavy lances; Taihei would notice her luck to be more average than usual, and could feel the presence of someone in the distance who was the cause.

Using one Mariette’s vision portals, she could see Sally, who was with the chain Red Nest using the remorhaz’ corpse to absorb most of the projectiles including some of her earth-shaking heavy lances, and were left with minor injuries, aside from an emotion bullet that had struck the agent’s shoulder, causing him to uncharacteristically cry. Sally grit her teeth as she took cover, and took potshots at the window, managing to shoot down a Lesser Magical girl, only to be shot by a lightning arrow right in her chest, shocking her.
“Ahh! Someone’s bringing my luck down to average!” She cried, and then noticed the tiny portal by chance.
There, she saw Taihei’s ugly mug.
“You! You’re the one jinxing me with your horrible bad luck!” She shot at Taihei, causing her Shamrock bullets to hit her right in the cheek; while they failed to penetrate her tough scales, they hurt a lot.

“Damn! Kimble!”
Hyun Long suddenly turned the two so she would take the brunt of the shots as Kimble twisted the wind around them as much as she could, somewhat deflecting glancing shots. However, it was not enough to protect them from the sheer assault, and the Cyclogenesis broke, causing them to drop into the snow right on top of Sakura, bleeding profusely. However, just as Hyun was struck by tullia’s blast of ice, Disgust jumped in front of it, shattering into countless shards of ice as the clone courageously covered for her.
As the barrage continued, Rage was also destroyed, his last moment one of defiance as he used his construct body to protect the girls.
“I’m not...Giving...Up!”
Kimble, still determined to see this through, used a gust of wind to rapidly roll the two of them, forming into a ball of snow that absorbed most of the projectiles aimed at them. By the time it had melted from Mayra’s fireballs, the two had barely managed to reach the side of the mansion beside the front door, smacking against it from the velocity. Kimble blinked with weary eyes, and realized the three found themselves in shelter from the barrage.
“Oof...We...Did it, Hyun, Sakura, we survived...” Kimble then glanced at Hyun, and her eyes widened; she was like a pincushion, with numerous arrows and bolts stuck to the back of her body.
“Ngh…” Hyun groaned, holding her stomach; blood could be seen dripping from between her fingers..
“Hyun! Hold on!” She shouted over the roaring storm in a panic.
However, Hyun was calm.
“Kimble...I trust you...Alicia...everyone...Will see this through...”
She coughed blood. Kimble’s lips trembled, but Hyun shook her head. “Don’t worry, this is...Nothing. If it wasn’t for Aurelio, I...Might have died.”
As if on cue, Aurelio had appeared next to them, having managed to traverse the deadly gauntlet with only a few bullet and arrow wounds thanks to his cloaking and the lack of a snowstorm.
“Of course you made it too, huh?” She coughed again.

Justine screamed as she was swept up by the winds, her face gnarled knowing she would be unable to dodge the coming barrage. But then, she suddenly felt a serene air about her, and realized she was no longer in the storm. In fact, she now felt a familiar hand holding hers, no longer affected by Feilian.
”My Lady! Are you hurt?”
Justine was at first astounded, only to quickly shift to a fanged smile.
”Not as much as they will be~ My dear Sonia, let us strike upon them with with the terror of my wrath.”
Sonia nodded, a smile on her lips.
”Very well.”
Sonia teleported the two of them right up to the open windows of the Artillery Line, having summoned a shield beforehand that magically projected a simple forward-facing barrier. It would only last a second against the sheer firepower of the Artillery Line. But a second would be all Justine would need to take, as she held her palms cupped open, a look of utter malice on her face.

”Cross of Golgata -RE:BLOOD-”

Justine launched a sphere of crimson red into the Artillery Line corridor, and was immediately teleported high up into the sky after releasing it, suffering minor injuries from the few projectiles that had managed to wound her. The moment she was out, the blood in the sphere collapsed, exposing a black crystal that detonated with tremendous force, unleashing red beams of searing magical energy in every direction. The beams pierced the magically strengthened floor and walls of the mansion, and practically crumbled the entire corridor as it was turned into melted swiss cheese; Mariette would recognize this to be the same type that had destroyed her old Interdimensional Apartment. Out of all the magical girls, 13 remained alive including Lily and Mariette’s major girls, mostly thanks to Alex and Hilaria’s efforts to defend them while supported by Ronja and Eli’s protective magic; Hilaria had managed to bear the brunt of the attack as she succeeded in protecting Alex while he had granted her the protection she needed to hold her shield up, their combined iron will and astounding endurance having won out over the vampire girl’s sorcerous might.

However, just as Hilaria had predicted, Justine had one more surprise up her sleeve.
Combining her magic with Sonia’s, the two of them summoned a large, dark portal. Justine then spread her arms up as she intoned:
”Come to me, Father’s blessed, for I call you forth to feast on pure blood. Heed me, Greater Gorelions!”
From the dark portal, four large monsters dropped down with a floor-shaking rumble, landing through the open ceiling into the confined corridors of the former Artillery Line, forcing the people there to dodge out of the way and causing Hilaria and Lily to split from Alex to different sides of the corridor. Alex immediately recognized the monsters from the last time he had fought against Justine as one now stood in his way, blocking the way.

Gorelion

However, he could tell the monsters were different; they were equipped with bulky obsidian-colored armor that clearly slowed them down, but granted them more protection, as evident when a Lesser Magical girl before him struck it with her hammer, only to receive a slight dent before she was stabbed by the abomination’s harpoon tongue and swiftly devoured, dragged into it’s impenetrably dark maw.

”Ahhh!” Lily cried as she fell, and Hilaria saw why; she was stepped on by a Greater Gorelion facing her, who then shot it’s barbed tongue right at Hilaria, lodging it into her shield. The tongue then began to rapidly retract, failing to pull Hilaria off her feet. The other two Greater Gorelions behind the initial two also shot their harpoon tongues, angling them above the ones before them so they would curve and drop down, hitting a barrier on Alex’ side and and a gunner Lesser Magical girl right through her stomach on Hilaria’s side before they retracted, lifting the impaled girl up like a hooked fish.

”Remember my little pets, Mariette? Father gave me new ones just for you!” Justine taunted from high up.
”Now, stop playing games and come out! You can’t hide forever!”

---

“WHOAAAAHH!” Helga exclaimed in surprise as the Feilian formed, looking slightly disoriented as she flew upside down in the enormous tornado. “I didn’t know you could do something so powerful!” She yelled, and afterwards nodded as Su gave her orders. “Got it! Sonar Flare!”
She clapped her palms together, creating a sound-detecting field around her and Su that reached for a good distance. Mere seconds after casting it, Helga gasped upon seeing Justine perform her devastating spell. “It’s Justine!” She called out so Su. “She’s at the windows with Sonia!” She blasted her way towards her with her claws, ready to strike, only to see them suddenly disappear thanks to Sonia and reappear far above them.
”Damn it, you’re not running from me!” She yelled, and used Su’s Feilian to rapidly rise up for an uppercut. However, Justine summoned her trademark spear, and parried the blow.
”Well, if it isn’t Helga. So you have chosen to ally with Mariette? It seems some things never change~”

“That’s because I got to choose this time, Justine!” Helga yelled, and blasted at her with her sonic cannons, only for Sonia to avoid the attack with a teleport.
“Why are you after Mariette? Just for revenge?”
Justine swiped at Helga with the spear, and she parried it with her claws, causing sparks to fly.
”Because she destroyed Penrose, you fool! I won’t let her get away with that! Revenge is simply the cherry on top.”
Helga was stunned. “What? She never-”
That was when Sonia delivered a sudden kick, knocking Helga away.
”Enough of you, simpleton.”

---

At Mariette’s office, Dina’s summoned monsters quickly spread to all floors of the mansion thanks to Esther’s passages, causing disturbing noises of creaking wood to resound in the entire mansion alongside the slight noises of scraping feet, fluttering wings, and stomping hooves. Afterwards, Josefin provided the Beast girl with a new supply of magical power, allowing her to summon forth two new additions to Mariette’s defenses. Josefin also charged Mariette, but it wasn’t enough to fully revitalize the dark magical girl after the deluge of portals she had conjured for her Artillery strike.

“Come forth, Queen of Tundra Plains,” the cat-eared noble intoned, and from a magic circle a kitsune appeared; with the unearthly elegance and beauty of a human woman dressed in a provocative Japanese kimono that showed ample cleavage and thigh, one could miss the two fluffy white fox tails swishing from her back as well as the ears that flicked above her head. The monster lifted the back of her hand up to her mouth in a mocking laugh.

"OHOHOHOHO! So you come to grovel for me to help you? How laughable!"

Dina scrunched up her nose; as much as she loathed having to bring in someone as pompous as irritable as a kitsune was, she could not deny how capable they were in the ways of magic.
They were very high maintenance for a monster, even higher than herself, but they were needed.

“Listen, I need you to-”

“Bow before me!” The kitsune demanded, pointing at a downward angle with her long-nailed finger. “And pay your respects to your mistress!”

Dina sighed. “You’re just a two-tails. You have no right to-”

"OHOHOHOHO” she laughed again. “it's still better than being a mangy flat catgirl!"
Dina’s eye twitched as she held in her anger, causing the kitsune to giggle. “Oh, did that upset you? Ah, I am amused. So, do you have any cute men to offer to me? My services don’t come cheap, you know~”

Dina resolved herself, and spoke again: “If you aid us in repelling the intruders downstairs, I will let you play with the minotaurs. Sold?”

The kitsune’s sharp teeth flashed in her mouth as she grinned. “Sold.”

She waved her hand at Mariette, and sunk down into the floor. “Toodle-doo~” She playfully bid goodbye as she disappeared. Afterwards, Dina summoned a scorpion man; the large monster’s mandibles clacked as it bowed in respect to Dina.
“Your orders are to guard Mariette,” she pointed with her finger to the dark magical girl, “and to prevent anyone from entering the room unless she or I allow it.”

The scorpion man slammed the bottom end of his spear against the floor in acknowledgement, and took up a guarding position at the entrance to the room, spear held at the ready, pincher claws opened and stinger tail reared back to strike.

---

Tenebra smiled, grateful for the kind words Gaia and Connie gave to her. “It was nothing, haah...” She answered, still amazed at the magical power she experienced from Sonia’s assistance. “But it looks like we got company~”
Just as she pointed them out, turrets activated, and began shooting at the team. Ronin swiftly dispatched the one right next to them, while ‘Mariette’ dashed south with two katanas, slicing the turret there into pieces, though not without incurring some light injuries in the process.
‘Just like I thought, we gotta keep moving.’
‘Eli’ charged east, having summoned her metallic arms to block the light shots headed their way and allowing the group to advance north towards the staircase without too much damage, her chrome finish dissipating most of the weak light magic.
Tenebra followed behind until they turned north and saw yet another turret, and then sent her Eyes of The Cosmos to attack it; the magical drones flew around, confusing the turret, before shooting the turret down with magical blasts.

However, just as they were done dealing with the turrets, they saw a congregation of monsters arrive down the stairs; kobolds, fairies, and a minotaur included among them. However, the team had prepared ahead of time, and the moment Connie saw them, she unleashed a nightmarish spell of fear, pulsing out like a wave of cackling ghosts. The pulse struck the monsters, causing the kobolds and fairies to flee in terror, screaming their little lungs out as they did so. However, the minotaur, while visibly frightened, managed to resist the mental effects of the spell, and charged forward, axe brought up for a downward strike. However, before it struck, ‘Eli’ managed to parry the strike by slamming the palms of her robotic arms against the sides of the axeblade, stopping it.
‘Too slow, nosering!’ FanFan taunted, and performed a spell with her real hands, transforming the metal of the axe into a set of shackles that bound the minotaur’s arms to its body. ‘Go on ahead!’ She yelled to the others.

The Infiltration team moved up the stairs. However, Speedwagon was able to detect a lone trap on their way using her Awareness, likely set up by the monster group before them, and were able to swiftly pass by it without putting themselves in danger. They then found themselves at what clearly looked like the ground floor of the mansion, specifically the foyer; a beautiful marble-floored room, with a wide staircase at the center of the room that narrowed as it leads to the upper portion of the foyer. A magnificent chandelier hangs from the wooden ceiling, decorated with countless tiny mirrors. Various paintings are set to the wooden walls, depicting Asengav’s chosen.
There are doors to the north, west, and by peeking over the stairway, also to the east. The biggest door is to the south, clearly the exit out of the building.



However, before they could get a better look around, the door suddenly broke open, as the corpse of a horrible lizard-like monster slid into the room. The moment it did, various traps both mundane and magical activated, blowing it up and making a complete mess of the room.
‘I guess we’re going to the highest floor unless you have a better idea, Alicia,’ ‘Mariette’ suggested.

---

At the Sanctuary, Belladonna calmed as Penny spoke to her in a soothing voice, claiming she understood due to her former monstrous woes. A tear swept down her cheek as Penny recognized the pains she had went through and spared her from a death penalty.
“Th-Thank you, queen,” she answered hesitantly, unsure what would happen since she claimed she couldn’t be released either. She never saw any prisons here, so she wondered what would happen. Then, Penny brought up a question she didn’t expect, causing her to blink with a slack jaw.

“Huh? Purification?” The crowd started mumbling, seemingly concerned with Penny’s suggestion.
“I-I thought that was just Beacon bullshit, just some brainwashing thing they use to ‘fix’ us. But, if it really stops the hunger...” She sighed, and looked up at her with a tired smile.
“I guess I could try it. I don’t like it, but...Guess it’s not too bad if you think it’s a good idea.”
Goblina smiled, pleased with the way that Penny found a solution. “Are you now ready with your verdict, Your Highness?” She asked.

---

Reaver smiled, and gracefully bowed before the Mint operatives.
“It is my pleasure to meet all you lovely ladies...And him too, I suppose,” he added, glancing at Ilmarinen with a look of indifference.
He listened as Louis briefed them on the mission details, and nodded approvingly when he was assigned as Seppa’s partner, especially once she brought out the weapons. “Ooh, very nice. Thank you very much for these.” He winked, picking up the spear and shield.
“But I wonder...Since you are an artisan at craft, do you also enjoy making toys? If you ever want to test them out, I would love to lend you a supporting hand in sorting out any kinks in them.”

---

Rachel was pleased to see the Howell twins agree with her command, even if reluctantly, and even managed a slight smile of joy as they left her office, something that was rare for the Inquisitor to express. Meanwhile, outside the Beacon HQ, the guards greeted Summer, noting how an unknown magical girl was with them.
“Who have you brought with you, Summer?” One asked, while another approached them.
“What business do you have with Beacon?” The other asked Oros in a neutral voice.

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

So, usually I like to keep the stat sheets of NPCs hidden to create tension and excitement among the players as to whether they can match up to them in combat. However, for this time, I would like to present the stats for the recently introduced Mint Squad. The sheets won't reveal the custom weapons and magic that they use or any custom modifications made to Powers or Perks, but they should give an idea of what Ebon Mint is capable of. Now, without further ado:

Mint 1: Seppa

Origin: Weapon (Choose weapon, +1STR)
Age: 26/13 | Gender: Female/Female | Metal/Psychic (+3STR+2MAG+2LCK)
Overdeveloped (+1VIT), Melee (+1STR,+1VIT), Uniform (+1VIT)
Killing Blow (+1STR)
Enhanced Outfit (+1VIT), Defender (+1VIT), Training (Arcane Blacksmithing), Sorcery: Enchanting (+1MAG), Lure (+1VIT)
Patron:Mint
Black Coin (used), Magical Overload, Non-exclusivity, Mana Font | Debt, Betrayal, Monstrous Form
Patron: Hephaestus (Deity)
Divine Competence, Paragon (+1Physical/+1Physical)| Rites, Arrogance, Hidebound, Loud
Mutations: Thick Skin (+3VIT,+1STR,-2AGI), Hoarder, Second Specialization, Broken Reincarnation

STR: 05 | AGI: 05 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 04

STR: 13 | AGI: 06 | VIT: 17 | MAG: 14 | LCK: 07
Gold+4VIT, Silver+2STR, Silver+2VIT, Silver+2MAG, 4xBronze+4MAG

Appearance:

Mint 2: Alma

Origin: Artifact (replace Perk with Artifact one)
Age: 30/15 | Gender: Female/Female | Beast/Reinforcement (+2STR+2AGI+1VIT+1MAG+1LCK)
Overdeveloped (+1STR), Elaborate (+1MAG), Fist (+2STR)
Regeneration
Healing Artifact, Martial Training (+1STR), Mana Channel, Monstrous Metamorphosis, Bestial (+2MAG)
Patron:Mint
Black Coin (used), Magical Overload, Non-exclusivity, Mana Font | Debt, Betrayal, Monstrous Form
Patron: Vaprak (Lesser Force)
Focused, Subtle, Mana Font, Mystic Might (+1MAG), Physical Prowess (+1STR) | Limited, Alien Mind, Rival Force (Gaia), Formless
Mutations: Thick Skin (+3VIT+1STR-2AGI), Discordian, Second Specialization, Weakness (Wood)
Gold+4MAG, Silver+2STR, Silver+2MAG, Silver+2AGI, 4xBronze+4MAG

STR: 06 | AGI: 05 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 04

STR: 15 | AGI: 07 | VIT: 09 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 06

Appearance:

Mint 3: Varjo

Origin: Emergency (+2 non-artifact Perks,choice to shift Perks to Combat)
Age: 36/18 | Gender: Female/Female | Darkness/Illusion Girl (+2MAG+1VIT+2STR+1VIT+1LCK)
Underdeveloped (+1MAG), Elaborate (+1MAG), Mystic (+1MAG)
Focus Fire
Familiar, Sorcery (+1MAG), Awareness, Gifted (+1MAG), Incognito, Enhanced Weapon (+1MAG), Intuition (+1MAG), Mystic Artifact
Patron:Mint
Black Coin (used), Magical Overload, Non-exclusivity, Mana Font | Debt, Betrayal, Monstrous Form
Patron: Shadowed One (Horror)
Minions, Mystic Might (+1MAG), Gifted Item (Mystic Artifact), Supplier, Transportation | Insomnia, Quick-Tempered, Mind-Bent, Fearsome Reputation
Mutations: Noncorporeal, Dominator, Second Specialization, Broken Reincarnation
Gold+4MAG Silver+2AGI Silver+2AGI Silver+2VIT 4xBronze+4MAG

STR: 04 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 04 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 04

STR: 07 | AGI: 07 | VIT: 08 | MAG: 23 | LCK: 06

Appearance:

Mint 4: Ilmarinen

Origin: Death (+1 Silver Coin)
Age: 26/17 | Gender: Male/Male | Time/Air (+5AGI+2LCK)
Average (+1AGI), Uniform (+1VIT), Ranged (+1AGI)
Prime
Gifted (+1AGI), Sorcery (+1MAG), Incognito, Overlay (+1MAG), Masculinity (+1LCK), Wings (mutation)
Patron:Mint
Black Coin (used), Magical Overload, Non-exclusivity, Mana Font | Debt, Betrayal, Monstrous Form
Patron: Blep (Puchuu)
Well Connected, Mystic Might (+1MAG), Physical Prowess (+1AGI), Supplier | Distracted, Hostile, Clueless
Mutations: Wings (+1AGI), Chaos Engine, Broken Reincarnation, Second Specialization
Gold+4AGI Silver+1AGI+1MAG Silver+2MAG Silver+2MAG Silver+2MAG 4xBronze+4MAG
STR: 04 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 04 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 04

STR: 05 | AGI: 20 | VIT: 06 | MAG: 18 | LCK: 08

Appearance:

Mint 5: Anja

Origin: Emergency (+2 non-artifact Perks, choice to shift Perks to Combat)
Age: 34/16 | Gender: Female/Female | Wood (+1STR+1VIT+2MAG)
Average (+1AGI), Skimpy (+1AGI), Dark Melee(+2STR+2VIT)
Killing Blow (+1STR)
Martial Training (+1STR), Flexibility (+1AGI), Enhanced Weapon (+1STR), Gifted (+1MAG), Awareness, Incognito, Environmental Sealing
Mutations: Warrior
Patron:Mint
Black Coin (used for little power), Non-exclusivity, Mana Font | Debt, Betrayal
Patron: The Flower of Fate (Lesser Force)
Focused, Subtle, Mystic Might (+1MAG), Physical Prowess (+1AGI) | Limited, Alien Mind, Alien Tongue, Big Brother

Gold+4STR Silver+2AGI Silver+2AGI Silver+2STR Silver+2AGI 4xBronze+4VIT
STR: 04 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 04 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 04

STR: 17 | AGI: 15 | VIT: 12 | MAG: 09 | LCK: 05

Appearance:

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

I voted for seeing a few die, as long as it's an opportune moment for tragedy or a heroic sacrifice like with Amber.

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

Eliza cheated by looking to the future lol