Avatar of FamishedPants

Status

Recent Statuses

2 yrs ago
Current "Is this a joke? What, you think--You think I can't deal with a CAT?"
3 yrs ago
"You're a slave to history."
1 like
4 yrs ago
"He was infuriated to see Jinguuji-san eating with another man."
2 likes
5 yrs ago
"When you get to the point where you can laugh at your mistakes, you'll find new things to replace what you lost."
1 like
5 yrs ago
"Damn stupid sun, making it morning whenever it wants even though I'm sleepy. Who does it think it is? Doesn't it know it has me to thank for its continued existence? "
4 likes

Bio

You showed up.

One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave.

I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list here as it contains everything important on it.

As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions.

For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers.

I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here.

Also, fuck you, Broken.

Most Recent Posts



"What is really happening?"
Zachary Ackerson


This place can't be their prison-cum-tomb. The gloom had overwhelmed the spark in one Infinite's heart. Within the abyss, one could lose themselves to the depths of despair. But with Jez's flame so close to his heart, could Zach's afford to not reignite?

...

...

...

Zachary's eye throbbed.

The announcement made of a returning member was met with a scoff. "What a load of bullshit. I'll believe it when I can see it with my own two eyes."

Zachary Ackerson was able to maintain some semblance of composure when Davis had appeared before them, though it was probably only because he was in a rough mental state at the time and couldn't even think about the mastermind all that much. The guilt and self-loathing were of a priority then. Now, however, was another time.

He had decided that he may as well push forward. He didn't think for a moment that he would be able to forget or forgive himself for the actions, but that did not mean he had to drag Jezebel and the others down with him. So long as there were others, then he could muster what little strength he had towards freeing them. While one could argue death was a potential way of freeing them, he preferred the freedom that didn't involve that.

And because of that, he figured he should check this out. An Infinite returning to them? How absurd. It was not going to happen -- at least, now how they would want. What was the deal here? Someone impersonating the knight? A corpse being pulled along by some strings? Or worse: a newly-made Carnage Sister with what remained of her. Would Davis and the bear really stoop to such lows?

Absolutely.

Even if Jezebel suggested otherwise, Zach would continue on, being the first one to approach the elevator to see what was really going on. It wouldn't really be Shona, he was certain of this.

And quietly observing some distance away was a certain red-headed cowboy.
H i l a r i a



"Ignorance..."

— Hilaria


To tell the truth, there was a point in Hilaria's life where she'd found it impossible to look forward to tomorrow. It was when she'd lost someone she had once loved because she was powerless to protect them. The pain in her chest was magnitudes greater than any she had felt before and it felt like it would never go away. So... she tried to make it go away in the worst way possible.

She was unsuccessful.

That was the last time she ever did something like that, but also the last time she dared form a proper relationship.

Love was... a detriment and a timebomb. To give someone a piece of your heart and to care for them was to invite despair to your door. Because it's not a matter of 'if', it's a matter of 'when'. You lose what you've spent so much time and love on, and then it will leave you with what feels like an everlasting void in your chest that nothing can fill.

That is why Hilaria chooses to avoid getting too close to others. They'll just hurt her after all. They'll find something they like better, or they'll get upset at something trivial, or they'll die all by themselves, leaving her alone. So why should she bother? Even if it's unintentional, getting close to someone will always end with them causing her pain, and that's simply the irrefutable truth. Only someone ignorant would ignore this.

"Be I nothing more than a hypocrite, then...?"

Hilaria muttered these words as she made her way towards the party. To tell another truth, she couldn't exactly get that memory she regained out of her head. The terrible, horrible, no-good one that involved Beacon and their betrayal. And, of course, Isabella. But it wasn't anger that drove her thoughts. No, it was far worse.

It was joy.

She had managed to recall the feelings she had after that betrayal took place. How long that justified fury lasted, and how many times violent thoughts that had never once before crossed her mind, became prevalent in her day-to-day life. Those had faded, only to briefly reignite when reminded by Isabella, only to yet again depart. But even if she no longer felt an intense hatred, that did not explain the joy.

She was glad that Isabella was still alive? How idiotic. A woman who had forsaken her would only do so again. And it was already established that connections were only made to be broken alongside one's heart. But regardless, she still felt this way, and it wasn't going away. Not even the copious amounts of food she'd ate with a variety of other magical girls had cured this illness. Maybe it'd be what finally killed her?

"Mayhaps the food here would serve as a distraction from these childish, ignorant thoughts..."

Hilaria came to a halt as she noticed a rather peculiar sight: a monster girl, taking after a rabbit, was cautiously begging to be purified. She was justifiably on edge, having presumably been persecuted by the very same faction that had cast Hilaria out, all for merely being something they did not care for. The rabbit looked adorable, but this situation was certainly nothing to take lightly. For that rabbit, this decision could potentially solve her biggest worries, or lead to her death.

So naturally, Hilaria stuck her head into the affair. She might continue brooding if she didn't do something else.

Dorothy would feel a very soft breeze tickle her ear, only to then realize it was coming from another being. Were the bunny to turn around, she would notice the usually-armored girl had drawn close enough to invade her personal space. Not that Dorothy would know this, but Hilaria was dressed a bit differently for the occasion. In either case, the girl did not remain quiet. "Hilaria wonders if they'll listen~ They're so inconsistent~" she shout-whispered, clearly not intending to actually prevent others from picking it up.
S a m T r i x y



"All wings, report in!"
Samantha Howard

"Red 10, standing by!"
Trixy


S h a d e D u s t y



"Red 7, standing by!"
Shade

"Red 3, standing by!"
Dusty


With the cacophony of music and chatter, Samantha wondered to herself if attendance to this bash was even optional. With how loud and obnoxious things were, were people on the other side of Penrose even safe from it? Well, regardless, Samantha was, strangely, attending this party, alongside herself, her date, and her date’s date. That might’ve been some kind of first in general, not just for herself.

Before the group skipped Shade, who was clearly the most eager person to party. The lively crowds, dancing, and the general atmosphere were exactly what she wanted. And with her very own date? The shadow wondered what they were waiting for! But having voiced her want to speed things up and being shot down both times by a target Samantha “No”, she settled for occupying her time by mixing things up: sometimes she’d hop forwards, then back. Sometimes she’d spin and then walk backward, make some teasing comment to Sam, and then dart back when the assassin went to reprimand her in a physical way. And of course, she hummed all the while.

Of course, Samantha was in no hurry, but not because she was averse to going to this party. No, it was because she was still steeling her heart. Being seen in a crowd wearing this? Trixy had chosen it for her, so she imagined it did indeed look good, but it still felt weird to her to wear something like this in public.

She was… a bit nervous.

Ah! Were so close! Shade sang, closing onto Dusty and taking her hand. What should we do first? She looked back towards the warehouse. I hope were not too early, a crowd better suits an idol, after all~

”It does, but an idol still needs to prepare for her debut~!" Dusty added with a chuckle. Aside from her eyepatch being a spade, she looked identical to Trixy.

Samantha sighed. If Shade got too excited, she might be the biggest threat to a peaceful night. “You should start by…” Samantha hadn’t chosen to look anywhere in particular but caught a rather unsettling sight on a nearby building. This, however, was offset by the bigger presence surrounding the warehouse itself, so whatever was causing it was... going to be trouble, at some point.

Goddamn it!

She remained quiet. They knew things would stir, she'd just have to deal with it when the time came. But maybe ignoring the problem would make it go away? There was no way the world would allow that, but if she could at least let Trixy spend a little bit of time enjoying herself... she decided to focus on another subject. “... I dunno, maybe calming yourself?” she continued. “At least you’re a bit more mature about this, even if I know you’re just as eager,” she said to Trixy.

”I have been looking forward to this all week." Trixy rested her head on Sam’s shoulder, grinning ear to ear. ”I thought things were going to be easier with Veronica back in Penrose. And while Cradle is certainly doing better, things have gotten a lot harder." She closed her eyes. ”It’s been exhausting. I know we’re technically executing an operation, but I just feel like unwinding a little." Trixy opened her hand, and there were a pair of ear plugs in her palm. ”The music in these places can be kind of loud. These block out higher decibel sounds, while letting you listen to conversations and such. I’m already wearing a pair." She offered them to Samantha, who put them in her ears.

“I won’t tell you to let loose and pretend like you’re some child at Disneyland, but unless something comes up, I think it’s okay to relax and enjoy yourself,” Samantha adjusted her shoulder slightly, unused to the weight of a person leaning against it. Or any non-violent physical contact, really. “We’re reactive tonight, remember?”

Samantha eyed Shade, who was happily skipping alongside Dusty. “I think you two should avoid us for the night,”

Her shadow suddenly turned to her. Eh? What do you mean? You trying to get all cozy-like with Trixy~? she grinned devilishly.

“No. We’ll have better awareness as a whole if we’re separated into couples,” she explained deadpan. “It’s not like I want you to act like we have a restraining order or anything. Just, if you find yourselves unoccupied, I encourage you to hover elsewhere on the off chance you ‘ll notice something we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Shade puffed out her cheeks. Cant you enjoy yourself for one night, woman? What if we just say well keep an eye out or something instead, I think itll have the same effect. Otherwise, then what? Are we supposed to, like, notice someone spiking a drink or planting a bomb in an innocuous case? Phooey!

Trixy picked up her head and giggled. ”Sam has a point. We’re at our lowest level of awareness interacting with each other. If we’re split up, we can pay more attention to what’s around us. And if it helps Sam relax, why not?" She put her head on Sam’s shoulder again. ”We can do this in Sam’s apartment later if you wanna do something with just the 4 of us. The point of going to a party is to interact with all the people, right?"

Dusty put their hand on Shade’s shoulder. ”If we are going to split up, we should probably play to our strengths. I can’t use magic, and am quite frail when compared to my true counterpart. Though the threat is likely towards Cindy or some person of interest." She chuckled, then gave shade a light squeeze. ”Eliza and Tetrad are already inside. One group should remain out here." Dusty closed her eyes seductively and leaned in towards Shade’s ear. ”Wanna leave these lovebirds so that we can see the concert?"

Shade momentarily looked over to Sam before returning to Dusty. "Yeah, that's okay," she smiled. "Also, I'm a cute idol in the making so I'm not that durable either. Still, if push comes to shove, I got the moves!" Shade pulled Dusty along with her. "Anyway, if we are early, that means we can get the best spots~!"

With a pleased sigh, Trixy rolled her eyes up towards Samantha. ”I could call “Glacier'' here just for an extra pair of eyes." Trixy placed a finger on her lip. ”What do you think, Sam?"

"That works," Samantha nodded, looking into Trixy's eyes. "I just wanted a minimal amount of awareness, anyway. But since that's settled, what did you want to do? The only parties I ever went to were the ones where you sit around a table and discuss business, so..."

”I’m actually a little new to the party scene myself." Trixy stood up a little straighter, and a second double made an appearance.

”Have fun!" Glacier ran off with a wave.

Trixy didn’t look away from Samantha. ”Tetrad told me parties were great places to chat with people and do fun stuff. It’ll be easier to have a conversation with someone out here, so let’s see if we can spot anyone.." She looked towards the entrance of the warehouse and grinned. ”Looks like your new landlord is here, with a harem of girls no less. And is that a playboy bunny?" Trixy made some purring sounds. ”We should probably get a closer look. If we wait by the door, we can be the first to mingle with everyone who drops by." She held Samantha close and walked towards the entrance.

Samantha was watching Su and Mika, with an interest in whatever it was on Mika’s hip. A new weapon? That reminded her that she needed to go shopping as well, as she had a small amount of coin she could be spending. “That sounds like a solid plan,” Samantha nodded at Trixy’s suggestion. She picked up her pace, apparently intending to at least say hi to the group before they dove into the warehouse, and when they approached, she did just that.

“You guys are looking swell,” she looked at Su in particular when saying this, a bit surprised at her choice of attire. Sam looked back. “You’ve broken into my place, but I don’t think you’ve met any of them, have you?”

Trixy blushed and averted her eyes. ”I mean I did meet a few of them on my way out, but we weren’t really introduced or anything."

Su grinned. “She introduced herself as your date, which she repeated while running into the parking lot.” She turned to Helga. “Have you met Samantha yet? She is one of the magical girls who escaped from the overcity with me.” After informing her partner, Su looked back towards Samantha. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming. It makes me feel good to be surrounded by so many familiar faces.” She waved her hands towards her company and looked towards Trixy. “Everyone calls me Su. This is Helga, who manages the hotel with me. Mika, one of our maids, and Rina is one of our guests.”

”Oh, are you guys doing a double date too?" Trixy groomed her hair back. ”Trixy, pleasure to meet you! Short for Beatrix, but that always sounded too classy for me." She walked down the line, shaking every hand she was offered.


E m i l y

And also the qt Sakura who has some 'splain'n to do



"It's past your bedtime!"

— Emily


It had been a long, hard-fought night, thought Sakura as she dodged the third drowsy sedan driver in a row, zipping past to her destination in her mighty… and yet stupidly pink ride. Besides him, the little rodent-like bastard was clinging to her with its grabby paws, yet his expression remained neutral and eerie all the way towards Emily’s home.

As if a child caught doing something naughty, Sakura shut down the motorbike a bit ahead of entering the flat, and parking it nearby, tried to tiptoe as silently as possible into the flat. He did not want to disturb her host’s sleep, after all. Lots of awkward questions. Unfortunately for her, things did not go as planned. Sakura would feel a hand on her shoulder, which then forced her to turn around. She was then embraced.

“Oh, I was so worried about you!” Emily cried. The relief in her voice betrayed the high likelihood she never got a wink of sleep or rest while she awaited the girl’s return. Pushing Sakura to arm’s length and holding her shoulder, she inspected the girl’s face for any traces of serious damage. “What happened to you?”

“I...unclogged some pipes. Yeah. That’s about it. For some cash.” Sakura said, bracing herself for the inevitable.

“She formidably attended her duties in vanquishing the horror at the pool.” Umukamui chided in. Sometimes Sakura wondered if these weird fluffy things had a sadistic streak on a regular basis.

The concern on her face evaporated in an instant and was replaced by an indignant glare. "You were fighting a horror all this time, while I stayed up searching for you?" Her eye even seemed to twitch. The fire girl stood up. "I wasn't told anything. You just didn't show up without a word about being late, so it's only natural I would worry, right?"

Jonald, who was prowling around nearby, pondered adding to the conversation. While Emily had a sour attitude with him, he rarely saw her worked up like, and certainly not with other magical girls. "Were you not entrusted with her care? You have nobody to blame but yourself." the Puchuu told Emily. He was entertained, but in all honesty, he wasn't sure why Emily was yelling at a girl for doing her job.

Emily glared at Jonald momentarily, before turning back to Sakura. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sakura looked at Emily. “I can’t abuse your kindness, Emily. But I’m more of a stray alley cat than a lil’ girl prim and proper. You’d probably want to escort me, or whatever the reason and I’d drag you down or something.” Sakura admitted. “But hey, it worked out alright… I had a swiss knife girl with me… well except that bit about a girl’s face being melted off to the bone. That was… revolting. Fourth most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not a chore to me,” she replied, shaking her head. “I just want to help you until you’re entirely familiar with this abrupt change in your situation because I know it isn’t exactly easy,” her face turned a bit pale when Sakura mentioned the melted face. “And if you’re off dealing with that sort of stuff, then all the more reason to be with you!”
She sighed. “I do get that you aren’t a child, looks notwithstanding. But I’d rather die than leave a sister to fend for herself.”

“And it’s a good attitude to have, Emily. But still, I couldn’t expose a teenager at something that looks straight out of an 18+ hentai. What if you were defiled forever? Even if you want to look after me, you still have shreds of innocence.”

You haven’t bashed someone’s skull for a month’s salary just because he ran off his mouth. Sakura grimaced, swallowing words with a pained expression.

“It’ll be okay, I will inform you next time. Still, I will need help related to other things…” Sakura added. “I need … toiletries. And a shower. Yuck.” The younger girl protested.

“That girl, Jonald, has completely vaporized an horror offshoot with a single killing blow, within less of a month existing. I dare say, her… battle instinct is definitely abnormal.” Umukamui added, this time to the other Puuchu. “I believe we might be able to… shorten the training considerably.”

Jonald nodded. “Then that is excellent,” he nodded. “Off to a running start, it would seem. Much better than a certain girl who wet herself the first time she saw a monster.”

Emily’s face twitched. She even had to take a deep breath in and out. But she did not otherwise respond to that rat. Looking at Sakura, she continued. “Teenager? I’m quite a bit older than that, too,” she told the girl. However true this statement may be, it became hard to trust when she then asked, “What is hentai?” But she then shook her head. “Well, that’s not important. Lets get you inside and tended to, and then I want you to tell me about what happened,” she turned around and started towards her place. “In detail, that is.”

Sakura sighed. Oh well, at least she didn’t hit her on the back of the head. Explaining was cheap.
S a m P e n n y



"Aww hell yiss. Motherfucking coffee."
Samantha Howard

"That other girl sounded like me."
Penny


Days after the Split Penny had found herself bored, or was it distracted? It was hard to tell the difference at times for the once again human. These events had become increasingly common, and more often than not the girl found herself either working on a new task or going off in search of Chloe. The most recent bout had her searching through her phone's contact list for someone to hang out with. And on it, she found a contact listed that she couldn’t recall adding.

She supposed that her other half had snagged it back when she had fought with the person on the contact, after all, keeping track of someone by their phone signature wasn’t a bad idea, she just didn’t know why it hadn’t been pushed along when it happened.

Not that Penny spent much time worrying about that, instead she simply sent off a text to the number.

You still up to showing me where I can get a good cup of coffee?
Penny


There was no doubt in her mind that she did not give this girl her number, so it evoked confusion from Sil when she saw Penny had texted her. It might be prudent to return to throwaway phones like she used in her human life. Breaches like that were a way to get yourself compromised or killed, after all. But with the subject at hand, she did not feel threatened as of right now. Her response came after only a brief delay.

I suppose. There’s a cafe I know of that has good food and even better coffee, I’ll meet up with you since it is tucked away.
Silhouette


Nice! Also glad to see that his number wasn’t just a hoax. Do you have any ideas how I got your number? I’ve got one, but it’s not making the most sense.

Anyway, I’m not far from the theater on 4th and Starstruck. That a good place to meet up?
Penny


“Yes.”

Upon hearing her voice, Penny would find that Samantha was standing behind her, putting away her cell phone. “Merely a coincidence,” she spoke before Penny could get the chance to ask, assuming she would. “As I mentioned, it’s tucked away. There’s a few restaurants that most people don’t know about, too.” she added. “But out of any establishment I’ve been to here in Penrose, this one takes the cake, or rather, coffee.” she motioned Penny to follow.

“Gwehh!” Penny fumbled to not drop her phone at Sam’s sudden appearance “A bit more warning next time would be appreciated!” Penny would berate as she tried to get her heart down from her throat.

Shaking her head she would follow after the taciturn girl. “Were you on the way to get a cup already or was this just a massive stroke of luck?” Penny would ask once they were on the way her anger already spent.

Silhouette either didn’t notice or care about her reaction, answering her question while continuing forward. “I was considering it,” she told Penny. “I normally go a lot earlier since mornings are… difficult for me, but I was caught up in something. So I guess I kinda wandered into the area while I thought.” she shrugged. “Suppose your text made the choice for me, though.” Sil would lead Penny down some roads, turning off at one point from the main road, and then down a series of smaller, side roads. It really wasn’t someplace you’d stumble upon unless you were really curious. It made one wonder why anyone would set up shop there. “So,” she said after a bout of silence. “You don’t seem the same since I last saw you,”

Penny just nodded along with that explanation, her gaze wandering aimlessly upon their surroundings as they walked. “So more or less luck” she would hum to herself. It wasn’t very often that her luck came into play, but that made the events that did deal with it all the more interesting.

“Last time you saw me I was wearing an illusion that made me look like I was in a swimsuit” She would point out with a smirk “But yeah. Got Split from myself a few days ago. It’s been weird. My other half is with Beacon at the moment.” She would explain as they got deeper into the nooks and crannies of the city.

“Split from yourself?” she repeated. She walked a few more steps before replying. “As odd as it sounds, I believe I can relate,” she sighed, opening her mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. It seemed this was a difficult subject, in a way.

“Can I ask what it was that you were up to earlier?”

With her back to Penny, it was impossible for the girl to see the momentary flash of scarlet paint Silhouette’s features. The morning’s events came back to her in a wave of confusion, embarrassment, and… some form of positive emotion she wasn’t entirely sure of. She stopped for a moment and raised a hand to the bite mark on her neck. “Being rudely awoken by an idiot with an even dumber question, and making plans for that party coming up,” Hidden from Penny also would be the smile she unknowingly had when she talked about it.

As they reached the final stretch before the cafe, Silhouette spoke again. “Do you intend to go?” she asked. “Almost seems like everyone’s going… though that might not be a good thing…” she trailed off. Expecting the worst of a situation probably wasn’t the ‘cutest’ thing to come of a person. Did Trixy mind that sort of mindset, she wondered briefly, before spotting the final road to turn into. “Ah, it’s right he---” A sudden crash into her back nearly sent Sil tumbling to the floor. Did she just get hit by a truck? Thankfully she was not in her human guise at the moment as she was too embarrassed to walk around in her new getup, but enjoyed it too much to take it off. Some weird looks by normal people were nothing to her. But wait, trucks couldn’t even fit in here, could they? This was a narrow path!

Sil turned around, spotting some big-breasted buffoon before she could even turn to face Sil. It was clear what had happened. “You’re supposed to keep your eyes ahead when you walk,” she growled. Perhaps that was a bit harsh, but perhaps that girl could’ve ran into her AFTER she had her coffee, when she was in a slightly better mood. “But it’s whatever,” she sighed. It wasn’t worth blowing up on some random girl, especially since she seemed like a clutz. She did have a sorta familiar vibe to her, but it wasn’t important enough to bother with. She continued to walk. “As I was saying, it’s just over here. But sorry, I didn’t let you answer. Go ahead?”

Even if she couldn’t see Silhouette’s face Penny could tell there was more to the story then she was letting on. After all, the momentary pause and the neck rub were hardly normal reactions, especially with someone that understood Penny’s prior emotional state.

Anything she would have said was lost by the momentary collision, and even as they stepped around the other two Penny couldn’t help but feel she had seen them before. Shrugging off that line of thought she refocused on the question that had been given to her.

“Sadly no. I’ve got plans set for that night already” Penny would reply with a shrug “Was moderately curious about it, however, so if there is still time after I’m done with my stuff I’ll try and swing by.” Penny would answer. “My other half might make an appearance, depending on if Beacon learns about the location I suppose.” They might also stay away. After all, Eden had been rather explicit in her warning to keep Beacon members away from the Party.

“I guess you’re going there though? You get invited or is Veronica sending you?” Penny would go on to ask moving to be more in line with her more stoic friend.

Sil thought about the question briefly before answering. “We’re here,” she said, as a neat little corner cafe came into view. Its design was rather simple, yet still eloquent. Though small, it had an outside patio, and a set of speakers played a calming tune that, just like the name of the establishment, was completely stolen from Persona 5. Don’t worry about it.

Inside Cafe Leblanc, few customers sat. Almost assuredly because of it’s removed location, the place never really was ‘poppin’, but a majority of the people that did come were regulars, many of whom Samantha recognized from prior visits. As she led Penny into the place, she nodded to the girl currently on shift and with a kind voice, the girl told them to take a seat wherever they liked and that she’d be with them shortly. So, Samantha took a booth that placed them next to a window, motioning for Penny to sit across. Sam found her hand briefly grazing the window before she noticed that rude cow from earlier entering the terrible-smelling steakhouse for potheads. It explained how ditzy she seemed, at least. Turning to Penny, she suddenly remembered she didn’t answer the girl’s prior question. “Oh, I’m sorry. You asked about my reason for going? Someone asked me to accompany them for the night.” she explained.

“So you’re going on a date?” Penny would ask with a sly smirk. It wasn’t a bad idea now that she thought about it, sadly she would have to figure something else out for her next date with Chloe. Shouldn’t be too difficult to find something though.

“T-that’s correct,” she nodded after some time. Such a… convivial relationship was not among her experiences, and she was not confident in her ability to provide for another. She could do tasks asked of her, like with Veronica, but emotional matters were her weakest point. And telling people more intimate things about yourself was a lot harder, she thought, than simply signing a contract that revealed them. Would she be capable of that with Trixy? Well, she was going to try.

As she thought this, a minute passed and the girl that greeted them came to the booth they sat at. “So what’ll you take today?” she asked with a kind smile, as she waited patiently with a pen and notepad to take their orders.

Samantha hesitated not. “A cup of your dark roast is fine for me,” she ordered. “And whatever she wants.” she added. The waitress then turned to Penny and waited.

Penny was a bit taken aback by the honest reply to her question. She had been trying to tease the other girl after all, not find out that she was correct. “Huh” She wasn’t quite sure how to react to that and was left stunned, thankfully Sil seemed to be in the same situation.

“I’ll take the house blend?” Penny would try to say, not meaning for it to turn into a question as it did at the end but hopefully that would be fine.

The server would just smile as she took Penny’s order before walking away to fill said orders, leaving the two alone once again.

“So… Who is it that you’ve got a date with?” Penny would ask once it was they were alone. “And did they ask you or did you ask them?”

“Someone with processing power rivaling even the best supercomputer when it comes to posting about pointless stuff,” she sighed. “She lacks a filter, has a big mouth, and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, so I’m sure you’ll figure it out once you meet her, assuming you haven’t already.” Sil then turned the question on Penny. “What’s your situation? I believe I saw you with Chloe a while back.”

“Sounds… like an odd match” Penny would say after a moment of digesting that description. “Sounds like you got pestered into the date, but then you don’t seem like someone who’s easy to push around so I guess there is something there.” She would before breaking out in a soft smile at the mention of her girlfriend “Yeah, I’ve known Chloe for a few months now. She was the first person I met in Penrose in fact. She’s been a good friend to me. She gave me a key to her apartment a long time ago, but I moved in shortly before the whole beach thing happened.”

“That was a good vacation” She would add on with a large grin as she remembered the end of said vacation.

The waitress arrived with their orders, a grin on her face. “There you go,” she said, placing each one’s mug before them. “If you need anything else, let me know!” and so saying, she retreated back to the counter.

Sam didn’t touch her mug immediately, opting to wait for it to cool down. She seemed to recall something painful when Penny brought up the vacation, her mood taking a slight, but noticeable, drop. “It’s good to see others enjoyed it,” she said, the sentiment clearly not shared between the two of them. “But I do hope that the dolphin minds his own business in the future and lets people come to him. Look at how the city looks right now because of that. Not to mention the plans people might’ve had that were canceled because of it…” she seemed to dwell on that statement a moment. “Anyway,” Samantha finally took her first sip of the mug, and her features began to relax. She then turned her eyes upward to Penny. “...Have you kissed?”

“Oh trust me if I find that dolphin I’m tearing him into shreds” Penny would agree, her smile never lessening but definitely becoming sharper. He had caused a grand mess, after all, even if he had helped her get with Chloe, that wasn’t enough to offset the devastation he had brought to Penrose.

Still, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Sam’s question “I take it you didn’t pay much attention to the stage shows” She would remark dryly before taking a drink from her own mug, humming in appreciation “But yes we have, mind if I ask why?”

Sam shook her head. “I was busy trying to avoid it, at that time, so no,” she answered, recalling Shade’s persistent attempts to get her on stage. They ultimately failed, much to a few people’s chagrin, but that sort of stuff just wasn’t going to happen ever!...right? “Oh, uh,” she hesitated. “...well, I heard that sort of thing is supposed to be like a contract or something and you can’t do it repeatedly? I suppose in truth it’s just curiosity.” feeling a bit embarrassed, she took another drink from the mug.

Penny couldn’t help the baffled look that crossed her face at her friend’s beliefs about kisses. “That… You really didn’t have a normal life before all of this did you?” She would ask shaking her head “A kiss isn’t like that, it… it’s a show of affection. So long as both you and whoever it is you want to kiss agree, you can kiss each other as many times as you feel like, hell when I was a teen I spent hours just making out with my girlfriend at the time.” Penny would shake her head again as she took a drink of her own coffee.

“Is that how it works? I see. Maybe they meant with other people...” Samantha sat and ruminated on the new information she was provided, staring at her mug. A lot of this affection stuff seemed so pointlessly complicated. But she owed it to a certain someone to attempt to learn about it, at least. “Thank you.” she nodded to Penny.

“Depends on the relationship.” Penny would chime in with a shrug. “Some people are open with Poly relationships some aren’t. At the end of the day, it all depends on the people involved in the relationship. No two of them are going to work the same way, even if they have surface similarities.”

Penny would go to take another sip from her coffee before making a face “Geez I’m starting to sound like Aurelio”

“Should’ve looked at the fine writing before I agreed, I’m beginning to think.” Silhouette finished her coffee. She stared into the bottom of her mug without betraying any real emotion, but odds are she was thinking about her new affliction, and how to best deal with it. But then, as she realized she’d been stressing over it all day, she yet again sighed before calling the waitress over. “I think one more cup wouldn’t hurt anyone.” she declared and ordered both her and Penny one more.

And so, the cafe, conversation, and coffee remained the focus of the two’s afternoon for a little while longer.

H i l a r i a V i v a



"Ye~"
Helewi

"Ye?"
Viva


“Geez why is everywhere closed at the moment?” Viva would grumble to herself as she scrolled through her phone leaning against her bike. On her phone’s screen, there was a list of restaurants in Penrose, both mundane and magical. Sadly most of them were either closed down permanently or simply closed up early. Which made finding something to eat very difficult.

“I just want to find a bloody place to eat! Is that so much to ask?” She would half yell as her stomach rumbled again. She was hungry, in more than one sense, but she didn’t want to dig into her stash of food just yet, she was saving some of the things in it for the celebration when she finally became one of Lamashtu’s children. But if her luck didn’t change soon she was going to be forced to dig in early.

“I just want some food” she would sulk as she scratched off another place on the list as closed.

“Oh~! That’s so terrible~!”

The girl would hear a dramatic voice coming from behind her, the source being a rather busty, silver-haired girl. Without warning, she would take Viva’s hand into her own, and stare deep within her eyes. “To be deprived of nourishment is the most horrible of woes~! But Hilaria won’t allow you to be Famished~!” she stated with a determined look. “Would you follow? Hilaria will ease your suffering~!”

“You know where to get food?” Viva would ask, hardly registering that this strange bombshell had come out of freaking nowhere. All that really made it through to the corrupted nurse was the fact that this person knew where to get food and that she was easy on the eyes. But mainly the food.

“Yes! I’ll follow you to where I can get food, lead the way!” She would say excitedly as she stood up from her bike, banishing the thing with a vague hand wave.

There was not a single person who enjoyed food as much as Hilaria, this much was as sure as the sky was blue and the sun was hot. In her many years, not a single person had matched her appetite. Dark Magical Girls who were compelled to eat anything and everything would pale in comparison, and so long as it was indeed 'food', she'd beat anyone who ever tried to take her throne.

So naturally, she was knowledgeable when it came to food and its procurement. Hilaria would begin to lead the girl down the street, across the road, past a pathway leading into a small turn-in where some smaller shops and a cafe resided, and on onwards. After this, it wasn't too far away. "Mmm~" the magical girl looked back. "The best places to find food are never the obvious ones~! Those just make you pay for bells and whistles, while the real deal is mediocre at best, so you’ll convince yourself it’s very fine food because otherwise you just kicked yourself in the bank and won’t forgive yourself. Food critics are nothing but imposters! They pretend to appreciate food, but all they care about is prestige!” she warned as though Viva's very life depended on this message being received. "Mm, but what do you prefer~? There's a couple of places Hilaria knows~"

“Steak or a burger.” Viva would reply when prompted “Or any meat dish really” Regardless of that Viva seemed to be very intently listening to the message that Hilaria had been trying to tell her. She was trying not to drool as well, for as much as she was compelled to eat by her corruption, she was something of a foodie as well.

“You’re in luck~! There is a steakhouse, I believe it’s called, um… ‘High Steaks’, just past the cafe I mentioned~” Hilaria had a skip to her step and started walking backward without losing speed. “Hilaria has been treated recently, so she’ll cover for you~” she explained. “But what has caused you to land in such a dreadful, unforgiving situation, Hilaria wonders~?”

Hilaria apparently knew the way by heart at this point, effortlessly walking backward and making the turns required to reach their destination tucked away, but no matter how familiar one might be with the roads, if you weren’t paying attention, you’d walk right into someone. And, as she turned the final corner that would lead them into the pocket of unappreciated cuisines, she did just that.

“Oh~!” She had nearly bulldozed the person she bumped into. “Hilaria’s very sorry~!”

The person, a moody-looking girl, seemed displeased. “You’re supposed to keep your eyes ahead when you walk,” she growled. “But it’s whatever.” Said girl turned towards the person they were walking with and said, “As I was saying, It’s just over here...” having lost any interest in Hilaria or Viva.

“Mmm~ Hilaria gets a bit too excited when it comes to food~!” she laughed.

“I’m a solo act at the moment” Viva would explain to her current savior’s query “That doesn’t pay very well unfortunately and a girls gotta eat. My appetite tends to be larger than most others as well so I find myself often hungry” Her hunger tended to not be very specific most of the time, just her being hungry, but her darker cravings always tended towards cannibalism.

Thankfully Viva was rather light on her feet and didn’t continue the chain of bumping into people when Hilaria ran into the stranger. Not that Viva would have complained about bumping into Hilaria, but food first.

“Hey I hear you, nothing beats a good meal.” She would pick up the conversation and hardly give the two they ran into a second look, though one of them seemed vaguely familiar. “I’m working on getting a Patron. So I’ll definitely pay you back for this when I can” Viva would promise, after all, one never forgets a debt of food.

“Oh, to see another who understands cuisine chivalry brings a tear to Hilaria’s eye~” The busty girl stopped in front of a restaurant. The building wasn’t anything special and looked as generic as a steakhouse could get, aside from the sign. ‘High Steaks’ it read a wavy font resembling heat distortion on top of a leaf. But this was not just any leaf. It was the kind that gave ‘High Steaks’ a new meaning. “Here we are~! As far as steaks go, there’s only one other place that gives here a run for its money, but it’s on the other side of Penrose, so you’ll have to take Hilaria’s word for it.”

Viva looked up at the sign with an intrigued expression. She wondered if the leaf in question was only used as a spice or for more recreational purposes while eating. Either way, she was interested and quickly pinned the address in her phone. Before she took hold of Hilaria’s hand and dragged her inside “Why are we waiting around? let’s go!” she would say her stomach rumbling loudly in agreeance with that plan.

Inside the steakhouse, the two were blessed by the wonderful scent of freshly-cooked meat, but this was shortly-lived as another smell soon overpowered it. The place had a fair amount of customers despite the fact it was nearly hidden away, and the restaurant was filled with the sound of chatter between people as they dined. A man wearing a black shirt with the place’s logo stood at a small podium at the entrance to the place greeted them with a somewhat droopy (but probably well-meaning) smile that widened as he apparently recognized Hilaria. “Oh hey guy!” he laughed, then looked at Viva. “And other guy. Weh-heh-helcome to High Steaks!” he looked over the small divider behind him and grabbed the attention of a busboy who’d just finished his job at a booth. The younger man, who looked even less stressed than the one standing before the two girls, gave him a thumbs up and nodded, before moving to attend to another area. “Seems like you guys are good to go with a booth if that’s cool with ya.” he told them as he turned back.

“Ye~” Hilaria nodded, drawing out the ‘word’ even longer than normal as if she were under the influence of some strange plant. The man led them to the booth that was just cleaned and then told them to wait for an ‘Ed’, who was presumed to be their waiter. Hilaria sat down and waited for Viva to do the same before speaking, doing so in the same way she had just done. “It’s all good steak here, gal~”

“Smells like it” Viva would agree once they had been seated looking about the place as she did. “Is there a reason you’re talking like you’re already stoned out of your mind?” She would ask as she picked up the Menu to take a look at what her options were.

She wasn’t offended by the fact that this place was a druggy den. If anything, it actually upped the appeal because if there was a motto that Viva lived by it would be ‘Hell I’ll try anything twice’

Hilaria nodded. “Cus’, it’s like, how everyone else speaks in here, gal~” she replied with a grin, taking a glance at her own menu. It was more of an idle action while she waited for someone to come over and take their order, as she was very familiar with what they had. “They also have, like, a totally good dessert menu, too~” she informed, eying a guy starting towards their table. He’d be there shortly. “Order what you want~ Nobody should leave a restaurant when they’re, like, unsatisfied, gal~”

“You keep spoiling me and I’m going to end up following you home to show my appreciation~” Viva would reply with a grin of her own because seriously a woman like Hilaria was looking more and more like a dream come true to someone like Viva. fun, friendly, curvacious and willing to make sure that she had enough food to become satisfied? It wouldn’t be hard to fall in love with such a woman.

Sadly she wasn’t sure if Hilaria was on the menu. As for the food menu, it didn’t take Viva long to make her choice of food. A nice rare porterhouse steak a big as they would allow, if she could get a drink of some sort along with it as well that would be all the better but she wasn’t sure if they would be checking ID’s or not, but with the smell in the air she doubted it.

Taking another sniff of the air, she’d opt towards getting a nive hit of some of that as well, whatever it was they were offering up really, she wasn’t picky about that at the moment.

A man wearing a nametag that clearly said, “Rohnathan” approached their table. “Hey there, guys. Do you, like, want a bit of drinkage first, or nah? If ya look in the back of our Munchie Menu, we got some good deals on herbal medicines, too.” Rohnathan gave what was probably supposed to be a wink, but looked more like a mini-stroke.

“...ye…~?”

Even Hilaria was concerned about this man, but she only let it show momentarily. She ordered their special filet mignon, enough sides to feed a family, and drinks to go with it. There was also something she grabbed named the “Purple K”, which, if Viva decided to look at the menu, would notice it was on the back of the menu, along with other oddly-named ‘herbal medicines’. Rohnathan gave Hilaria a thumbs up, presumably as a way to communicate he got her order, before turning to Viva and taking hers. Once they were done, he went to retrieve them.

“Mmm~ You said you were alone right now, gal? Hilaria was in the same way until, like, just recently~ If you like good eats, you could join with Hilaria’s patron~”

Viva for her part showed no concern for the waiter, but she did add to her order some of the ‘herbal medicines’. “I’d have to ask who it is that you’ve gotten to pick you up” She would ask with a smile, not that it was likely that she was going to agree with Hilaria, after all, she liked Lamashtu, and truly wanted to join in her ‘family’, but know her options was never a bad idea.

“But you being with them is a plus already~” She would add flirtatiously, after all, she did need to find out if Hilaria was on the menu for later.

Hilaria sat back in the booth. “Dan,” she said. “Dan the dolphin~ He’s, like, a really cool dude who lives in a resort in a beach dimension and has a lot of good stuff to eat~” she raised a finger to her lips. “Hilaria assumes you’ve probably at least heard of him, what with all the commotion he’s responsible for, though~” She figured if anything that might be the dealbreaker, but there wouldn’t be anything she could do about that. If Viva declined, then she declined. “Oh~” Hilaria smiled as she was complimented. Clearly this girl liked having an eating buddy, and Hilaria could never have enough. It was the closest thing to a friend she felt she could have, after all. “Mmm, like, Hilaria eats and sunbathes at Dan’s place, all the time~” she added. “Hilaria’d love to see you there if you join~”

The ancient pondered something for a moment. “Mmm, but why is…?” something caused her to pause. “...Hilaria doesn’t believe we’ve, like, introduced each other, have we~?” she gave a small laugh. “Hilaria’s name is Hilaria, and you are~?”

“No we haven't but we both had something more important on our mind.” Viva would say with a laugh of her own “Vivian, or Viva is my name and it is a pleasure to have met you Hilaria” She would say with a large smile. Before leaning back into her seat.

“Hmm, free food, a warm beach and you being there for it all? Tempting offer” She would muse aloud, and it was, but she didn’t really know this ‘Dan’ She had heard a bit about him from the grumbling from people back at the shelter. Most people seemed annoyed with him, but she hadn't been affected by him so she didn’t really care.

“For the moment I’ll have to decline, not very polite to just drop a Patron who I’m working for without finishing the job after all” Viva would add with a shrug “I wouldn’t mind dropping by to visit this beach with you at some time, however.”

After Viva finished speaking, Edward (Rohnathan) returned to their tables, along with their steaks and ‘herbal medicines’. The scent alone was enough to perk her up, and if they tasted even half as good as they smelled, Hilaria would leave more than satisfied. “Hilaria thinks Dan would love the company.” she said, but that was all she could manage before she turned all her attention to the steak.

Hilaria, tired of addressing things as ‘herbal medicine’ or ‘Purple K’, Hilaria set the weed to the side. Purple Kush would have to wait. The steak was the priority here, so she took her knife and set to cutting a piece off and devouring it. “Mmm~!!!” it was just as great as she remembered. Most people find murder to be a horrible thing, but if people tasted as good, well, Hilaria might actually become the biggest threat to humanity. Thankfully, nobody was reading her mind right now. However, in a rare bout of self-control, she managed to pull away long enough to spy on how Viva was enjoying her food.

Similar to Hilaria, Viva had set aside the drugs in favor of the main reason she was here, the food. A steak as close to mooing as they could get away with selling. For unlike her table companion Viva did find people to taste as good as a well-cooked steak, and her choice was fulfilling her urge quite nicely. She was going to be lost within the bliss of food for a fair bit of time, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing considering the present company.

As the two finished their steak, Hilaria squealed in delight as she normally did upon eating something fantastic. This was the only happiness afforded to her, after all, and she did not forget this one truth. But, that left only one thing left. What followed the steaks was the reason why this place was tucked away and hidden, and why everyone seemed so happy. But truth be told, something so lightweight as this wouldn’t have much of an effect on Hilaria. At least, normally it wouldn’t.

But even if she kept her heart under lock and key, there was a small but notable truth to the world: Most things were better enjoyed when in the company of another.


T r i x y S a m



"Trixy... remember the basics of CQC."
Samantha Howard

"Only if you turn off friendly fire!"
Trixy


And on another day...

Trixy was impressed with the Golden Trove. It was a little run down, but the inside was brimming with style. She could spend all day walking up and down the hallways.

”Sam lives in absolute luxury! I wonder if I can get a room beside hers? Or maybe we can move into a bigger room together!” Trixy’s marble white skin was turning red at the thought.

But she had to focus. Samantha had wanted to see her. Trixy had asked for more information but she wasn’t getting any. It wasn’t long ago that she had stepped into the ring with the Contender, so maybe Samantha had finally seen a youtube video of it. Maybe she prepared a special treat for Trixy. She could use some good food right now. It had been a whole hour since she ate something and one could only have so many apples.

As she approached the door, she opened her phone to look at her wallpaper. The phone company had been able to recover the data from her old phone, so she still had that picture of Samantha in glasses to use as her wallpaper.

She picked up her leg and pushed her foot into the upper corner of the door frame before knocking on the door.

”Honey, I’m home!”

The knob would turn as the door opened, revealing a normal Schatten. It beckoned her to come in with a hand before shutting the door behind her and bowing and then melting back into a normal shadow that snaked along the ground until it reached the bed. Sitting cross-legged at the end of the said bed was obviously Silhouette, who was facing the wall just to the side of where the door was, where there was a dresser with a TV on it. She did not turn her head, only moving her eyes to look at the girl, with an unamused expression. “Come in,” she said. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t take a husband in a 50’s sitcom tone with me.” Samantha patted a spot on the bed next to her and urged her to sit down.

"It’s also a 1999 song by Shania Twain.” Trixy chuckled at her own joke. There was an odd feeling in the air. The atmosphere wasn’t what it had been the day she got her date. What was more disconcerting was that she couldn’t smell any cake. Trixy strode over to the bed and sat down on it, right beside the intense magical girl. "So, Sam.” Trixy wasn’t oblivious to the situation. She now realized Samantha had called her over because something was bothering her. It felt grave, something that jokes alone wouldn’t be able to fix. "Has something been bothering you? You seem a little on edge.” Trixy kicked her legs into the air.

Samantha quietly gave Trixy a look over that lasted a bit longer than necessary, as if looking for something on her. When she was done, she turned and faced the girl sitting next to her. "That would be because I am," she replied. Her gaze slowly shifted from Trixy and onto the screen of the TV, which was currently turned off. There, as if contemplating something, she stared for a long few seconds. Finally, with a sigh, she turned back to Trixy with a stern expression. "We need to talk about something," she said. "It's about you..." there was a short delay. "...and me."

Trixy’s legs stopped swinging. ”Oh, okay.” She looked away from Silhouette. Her energy was completely different from before. It was hard to believe this was the same girl who was on her phone’s wallpaper. Trixy felt like she was being judged, but had no idea what she had done wrong. This was no time to smile. She dragged her hand over her face before looking back at Silhouette. ”Alright, I’m listening.” She patted Silhouette’s thigh. ”You can talk to me, Sam.”

Her eyes lingered on Trixy momentarily before she returned to face the TV. She raised a hand, which held a remote, and pressed the power button. As the television powered on, Trixy would see that at the center of the screen was a man on fire, a face she would undoubtedly recognize as the man she fought recently. "I was there," she spoke. "I witnessed every moment of it. Each time you two clashed... each movement, each thrown punch or kick, each grapple... I allowed none of it to hide." as she spoke, a highlight reel of the fight was playing, showing the parts people enjoyed the most, usually in slowed speed.

She abruptly stood up, and then, without turning her body, looked at Trixy. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

Trixy remained seated. The moment was strangely bittersweet. ”I didn’t want to hide it from you!” She wore a nervous smile. ”The timing was just wrong. I scheduled myself for the fight weeks ago and asked you out only the day before. I almost forgot about it myself until they phoned me up. I didn’t want to bother you.” She tapped her fingers together. ”I uh, I’m glad you saw it though! I was thinking about you when I stepped into the ring with that guy.”

Samantha's expression quickly transformed. Its appearance was that of someone bewildered. "What?" she tilted her head. Then, as if realizing something, she snapped back to normal. "No, I'm not talking about the fight itself." Turning back to the TV, she raised the remote and pressed a button, the images sliding in reverse until it landed on her first attempt at a grapple. The screen showed Trixy taking a hook in response to her first grab attempt, and then the failed sweep. She then paused, the TV showing a frame right before Trixy took a punch from The Contender.

Samantha yet again turned to Trixy. "Pay attention to this!" she ordered. "What was that?" she demanded an answer from the girl but didn't give her time to give one. "Is rushing in blindly all you can do? That rash action could have cost you dearly had he been just a bit quicker." Sam seemed more frustrated than angry, though. "Where'd you learn to fight?"

Trixy had watched a lot of fights. Sparring matches, live magical girl fights, and everything in between. Lots and lots of fights. But she hadn’t done much live sparing herself and had only been a magical girl for a few months now. Most of which she spent without Veronica or anyone who could offer her proper training. But even Trixy realized this sounded like an excuse, and likely wouldn’t appease Silhouette.

”About that.” Trixy chuckled nervously. "Veronica implanted a bunch of techniques in my head with her magic. I haven’t really had a lot of time to practice them.” She shrugged.

Samantha’s eyes narrowed. “She what?” Her tone made a drastic shift as she went from irate to livid. “You’re telling the truth? What you’re saying is the truth?” Sam was worked up harder than she’d been in some time. Maybe ever. “Hold on,” she said, holding up a finger to shush Trixy as she looked off to the side. “Veronica,” she mentally spoke to the vampire over the link. “What’s this I’m hearing about Trixy being implanted with fighting techniques? Is this true?”

”You didn’t know? I forget sometimes that you weren’t part of Cradle from the beginning. But if she told you that, she isn’t lying.” Veronica confirmed. "Most of the early Cradle members were just as much experiments as they were agents. I copied some techniques from one agent and bestowed it onto Trixy. I can’t say the results were favorable, but I do believe they helped her out some. Why, Is there a problem?”

Trixy could hear the telepathic communication. She didn’t know if Silhouette had made a mistake, or if Veronica chose to let her hear, but it was making her uncomfortable. She refrained from joining in knowing that it would likely make things worse.

"Yes, there most certainly is!" Samantha didn't even register Trixy's presence at this exact moment. "They know of the techniques, but they don't seem to have been taught them! It's not enough!" Noticing her breathing had gotten a bit erratic, Sam took a moment to calm herself. After a few deep breaths, she continued. "It's irresponsible to leave them like this. Who did you ‘teach’? I need names.” she asked.

”Trixy was the only one I’ve done this to.” Veronica groaned. ”She had some experience fighting before turning into a magical girl, I simply gave her tools to do more than flail at her opponents. Not unlike when I gave you a black coin. She is a strategist that does very well with a rifle at range. What I gave her was something to protect her if that fails.” Now Veronica sounded like she was getting irritated. “Is this what I have to look forward to when I leave Penrose? Can you not function without me? As I’ve told you previously, she has to answer to you. Her managing Cradle operations does not change that. If you find her performance unsatisfactory, it is up to you to flush out any weakness she may have. Don’t waste my time with this drivel.”

Trixy Had started to crawl across the floor while Silhouette was distracted. The atmosphere was getting tense, and it was starting to upset her stomach.

"What you 'gave' her was knowledge she can't make effective use of, and potentially confidence she shouldn't have," Sil snapped. "And this 'drivel' had the potential to get your substitute killed. It's a 'weakness' you introduced by a misguided attempt to bandage a shortcoming of hers."

Samantha sighed. "Whatever. As long as she's the only one, then it doesn't matter. I'll fix it.”

“You’d do well to.”

Samantha didn't say anything more to Veronica.

Unfortunately for Trixy, a shadow snaked along the floor at an incredible pace and grew into a Schatten that blocked the door. "Where do you think you're going?" Samantha's head made a slow, yet disturbing turn towards the girl, her eyes open wide.

”Uhh.” Trixy turned to look at Silhouette. ”I thought I saw a cockroach, so I was gunna try and eat it.” She stood up and dusted herself off. ”B-But anyway, the crowd loved me out there, and I survived!” She grinned. ”I’m not sure why you’re so upset.” She laughed. It sounded forced. It was forced. ”I mean okay, a sniper going up against a boxer with her fists and her mouth probably isn’t the greatest idea, I knew that, but he’s been getting his butt kicked every year for the past 2 decades! I wouldn’t have gotten in the ring with him unless I knew I could win.” She put a hand on the back of her head. ”Where’s Shade by the way? I think she might have something to say about this.”

Sil glared at Trixy, but it slowly relaxed into her neutral expression. "I wasn't actually upset until I learned about Veronica's choice to do that to you," she sighed. Samantha suddenly appeared behind Trixy, and then placed one hand on her shoulder. She didn't allow the girl to turn around and instead forced her to twist to one side and then the other as she inspected the girl. When she was done, Sil suddenly reappeared in front of Trixy. "You seem to be fine, considering the fight," she said. "You did do extraordinarily well," Samantha didn't seem to acknowledge the request for Shade, instead looking Trixy in the eye. "Might not sound like it, but I'm impressed.”

Trixy’s heart skipped a beat. ”R-really?” She let out a sigh. Her stomach settled. Maybe it was just because she was so nervous before, but she felt like she was on cloud 9 again. ”Thanks. You seemed a little intense when I first came in here, heh, glad it was nothing.” She approached Samantha and placed her hands on her shoulders. ”So uh, since I’m here, did you wanna do something?” She lifted one of her legs up and rested her heel on Samantha’s shoulder. ”We could work on my Judo a bit, among other things.”

Samantha eyed her leg, offering the smallest of smiles. "Sure," she agreed. "I invited you here because I wanted to work on you, after all."

A duplicate split off of her and stepped behind Samantha. “Dusty”copied Trixy and also placed a heel on Samantha’s shoulder. ”What did you have in mind?” Dusty placed her hands on Samantha’s forearms and leaned forward. ”There’s probably an abandoned gym we can tussle in.”

Trixy also leaned in. ”Or did you want to continue going over the video?”

Silhouette looked at the twins and then nodded. “We can find a place to ‘tussle’ in, I think the best way to get comfortable with this sort of thing is to practice.” she grabbed Dusty’s leg with her index finger and thumb and slowly moved it off of her. “I’m proficient in Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Tae Kwon Do, but I am not very familiar with Judo.” she smiled. “So we can both learn whatever Veronica put in your head.”

Dusty shrugged but gleefully smiled before merging with Trixy. Her eyes rolled into her head, and she stumbled backward, her foot sliding off of Samantha’s shoulder. ”Uguu!” Merging with her duplicates was always a disorientating experience. Not for any reason other than having their experiences and memories transferred over to her was always dizzying. But the disorientation was never long-lasting. With a shake of her head, everything was normal. ”That’s a lot! I’m not sure I’ll have a lot to show you. I’m told the basics of most styles are pretty interchangeable. But I don’t mind being shown a few things.” Trixy slid her arm under hers and pointed towards the door. ”Let’s be off!”






Samantha stood a back entrance to a Karate Dojo that had been vacant since the evacuation. She investigated the room to find nothing out of the norm. There were some mats to train on, gis laying in the corner, as well as some weapons, such as bos, sai, katana, nunchaku, and bokken. The bladed weapons were mounted on the wall, suggesting they did not see actual use.

Where better to train?

Sam had brought a few water bottles and a towel for herself. She was in her magical girl form, but once it seemed as though there was nobody there to interrupt them, she changed forms. At the moment, she was wearing a black gi. She turned to Trixy. "Alright," she began stretching her limbs. "What do you feel most comfortable doing?"

Trixy banished her hammer space wardrobe. She was wearing a Hapkido. While similar to gi, the outfit was much heavier to handle rolling on the floor and resist tearing when students threw each other around. It was a common uniform for students of Judo and Jiu-jitsu. It was mostly white, with the Cradle’s crest embroidered on the back, shoulders, and the left side of her chest.

She took a moment to stretch herself as well. ”Well, I know Judo!” she folded her leg around her back and over her shoulder. Almost all of Trixy’s limbs were double-jointed. She could probably pack herself in a suitcase if she really wanted to. ”Everything else is self taught. So I guess I feel best grappling.” She rolled her neck around. It cracked a few times before she shook out her shoulders. ”Though I’ve got lightning fast strikes too. They just don’t hit with the same power as other girls.” She curled her arms around themselves like a corkscrew. ”Unless you’re talking about a specific technique, in which case I’m going to say any of the basic throws.” Once she was done, she passed a quick glance over Samantha. It was a real shame they didn’t get uniforms for everyone, they would look a lot cuter in a gi.

“Then we’ll work on your striking,” Samantha stated, taking her stance, facing straight at Trixy with raised hands, yet open palms, slightly-bent knees, and a tucked chin. “The absolute most basic thing about any martial art would be learning its stance,” she explained. “It is from a stance that you can unleash each and every attack with full effectiveness, ignoring outside factors. Though I imagine you already know the stances associated with Judo, I’d like you to mimic me.”

There were only so many ethical ways to position the body for a fight. The stance Samantha used looked common, with the feet spread apart just enough to give some stability while giving the fighter access to a multitude of different strikes. The most unique thing about it was the open hands, and that her feet were spread apart a bit further than they would be in Judo. It didn’t take Trixy more than a moment to mimic Samantha. ”All right. So is this Krav Maga, or Tae Kwon Do we’re doing right now?”

“We’ll start with your hands first. This would be Krav Maga’s fighting stance,” she confirmed. “You want to take a wide stance like this because unlike, say, Boxing, you need to be ready to throw and defend against any sort of strike. With this stance, we can more easily string together punches and kicks from each side, while intercepting our opponent’s own attacks,” Samantha threw out three quick jabs into the air with her left hand. “Fast strikes are good for keeping an opponent at distance, for testing their reaction speed, and changing things up,” she said. “But ultimately, they’re best used as a supplement, not your main form of offense,” she threw out a hook with her right hand. “You’ll want something with a bit more ‘oomph’, like a straight or a hook, if you’re looking for damage.” Samantha looked at Trixy. “Throw a few my way. If you can throw those decently enough, we can practice my preferred strike.”

The basics that Samantha was covering weren’t new to Trixy. Even if most of her training pertained to Judo, it was important to know about different types of strikes. When in stance, one side of your body was always closer to the opponent. This was the leading side, which could deliver faster strikes. The side that was further back was slower but gave a combatant’s limbs more room to extend and build up power. This is why leading hand jabs were faster but never as strong as hooks and straights coming from the other side.

”Sure thing!”

Trixy hopped closer to Samantha and threw a jab at her chest. Like her instructor stated, this was just to test her reaction speed. The rest of the combination would come out afterward.

Samantha made minimal movement, her left hand catching the jab as it neared and directing it away from her in a single motion. As the straight came, she took a more proactive approach to deflect it, and then weaved out of the way of Trixy's first hook. As the final hook came, Samantha's arm reached out to meet it, stopping it in its tracks and in that instant, Samantha's free hand snapped out into a straight to her gut, followed by a heavy strike to Trixy's jaw with the palm of her hand, strong enough to force her to stumble back.

Samantha took a step back. "You did well.”

Trixy’s jaw had been dislocated by the blow. Perhaps there was a downside to being so flexible. She grabbed her head with both hands and straightened herself out. ”Just remember, you might end up kissing this face down the road.” She said with a humph. ”Alright, let’s try this again!” She lunged forward again, this time leading with a straight. She wouldn’t be afraid to use her elbows this time. Dirty tactics, but it seemed like her instructor threw out the rule book anyway.

Like earlier, Samantha parried the straight out of the way and weaved through the hook that followed. Only this time, Trixy threw out something Sam wasn’t expecting her to. She was in no position to move out of the way of the vertical elbow her ‘pupil’ had thrown, so she suffered a blow that snapped her head up, and she stumbled a step back.

As her head came back down, she rubbed her chin. “...doesn’t seem like you need instruction on elbows,” she smiled. “But that’s good. Being unpredictable will let you get through anyone’s defense,” she took up a stance again, only this time her hands were closed and her right foot was further back. “Allow me to demonstrate, and I’ll teach you some kicks, as well…”






It had been a few hours since they started, and by now Samantha had gotten a feel for what Trixy was capable of, and what she needed to work on. Since she was not wholly incompetent and could throw standard punches, Sam gave her a few advanced strikes to work on, such as a hammer fist to supplement her moveset in a grapple, a spinning crescent kick to keep opponents on their toes (and totally not because it looked cool or anything), and a spinning back fist. Unfortunately, Samantha’s idea of introducing these techniques involved implementing them into their sparring without prior notice. Trixy suffered because of this, and by now, she was certainly ‘feeling the burn’, and in multiple places too.

Sam took a drink from her water bottle, looking mostly unfazed. “How are you feeling?” Samantha asked as if it weren’t already apparent.

Normally Trixy had no difficulty keeping her cheerful smile up. Even when receiving a beating from an opponent. But that was not the case today. Samantha and her were on the same side. They were going to go on a date in a few days. She had listened to Samantha tell Veronica that she could get hurt without proper training. If that was the case, this was not proper training. Trixy was in too much pain to be angry though. She just felt tired and a little sad.

”I look the way I feel, Samantha.”

She was hunched over, one hand on her probably dislocated shoulder. There were a few bruises on her face, but most of the damage was under her outfit. She felt tender all over. ”By the way, I’m not an instructor, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.” She dragged herself over to a bench. ”But if you cripple half of my body? I can’t train with it.”

“Toughen up,” Sam said. “It’s just that I’m trying to teach you techniques you can use in an actual fight. And I want you to be able to use them with the intent to permanently put down your opponent if need be.” She explained.

Trixy bit her lower lip. ”Permanently, huh?” She thought to herself. But she didn’t have the energy to argue with Samantha right now.

Silhouette looked down. “If a few bruises is what it takes to make sure you can defend yourself from people trying to kill you, then that’s how I feel I should teach. I.. don’t want you to die.”

Trixy’s teeth chattered. ”I heard you over coms. I know what you’re trying to do.” She hauled herself over to a bench and sat on it. Practically dropping her butt onto it. ”What happened with the Contender won’t happen again. Not unless I get a lot better. If he was more than a boxer, I wouldn’t be here right now.” She placed her hands together, they were trembling. ”I’m going to transform, that’s okay right?”

"You heard...?" Samantha looked up to Trixy. Well, she was arguing with Veronica in the same room so it's not like it mattered. She grabbed her drink and placed the bottle of water to her lips and took a nice swig. Now that she thought about it, had she ever fought with Veronica like that? That sort of argument wasn't common, at least.

Having caught Trixy's request, Samantha nodded. "I don't see why not. I think we've done enough today.”

Trixy closed her eyes and uttered her incantation. As she sounded out each part, her body started to glow. One by one, her outfit assembled itself over her form.

”P-E-N-R-O-S-E…

M-I-D-D-L-E…

S-C-H-O-O-L…

Let's roll…"


Her chant was lower energy than what she typically used. Pain had that effect on her. Once her transformation was complete. Trixy took an entire water bottle and chucked it into her mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. ”Ahhh!” A banana appeared in her hand. She peeled the skin about halfway down before chucking the entire thing into her mouth. ”That’s already starting to feel better.” Trixy reclined against the wall. Eating was important to activate her regenerative abilities, but eating tasty food also did a lot to improve her mood. She extended her arms, and a grape fine bridged them together. It wasn’t long before the vine started to bear grapes. She could hardly contain herself and started to eat them as soon as they appeared.

”The rave isn’t too far away now.” Trixy plucked a grape off the vine and offered it to Silhouette. ”Are you excited?.”

Samantha took the grape and plopped it in her mouth. "Anxious," she said. "I fully expect something completely dumb and dangerous to happen there. An attack of some sort, or maybe some pointless conflict," she sighed. "And parties and dates aren't something I'm accustomed to, so I don't know about that..."

Trixy smiled. It was nice to see that even Samantha had a vulnerable side. There was the time she was betrayed by her double, but this felt different. ”We won’t be able to get too comfortable, that’s for sure.” Trixy was about to shove another grape in her mouth, but instead layed her arm across her lap. ”I’m not as crazy about it as I was at first either.” She brushed her hair back. ”I never thought I’d have a date for it. Figured there'll be plenty of people at the party to hook up with. But after I spoke with you, and then Veronica being all doom and gloom about the whole thing.” She chuckled, but grabbed her side afterward. Still seemed like she was a little sore. ”We’ll have to do a real one after the rave. Kinda hard to be an operative and be casual at the same time.”

"I don't mean to dampen your experience or expectations," Samantha finished off her water bottle and then set it down next to her. "Looking forward to and enjoying a party should only be natural. That is the point of one, yes?" she said. "I even envy that eagerness, to an extent. But I can only see and expect the worst to come, probably because of what I used to be," she wasn't looking in any particular place as she said this. Perhaps trying to elevate the atmosphere then shrugged. "But who knows? Maybe things'll go swell there. And if not, I suppose we just try again. I wouldn't exactly be averse to doing something another day."

”I fully plan to try and enjoy myself.” She flicked the grape into her mouth. ”But a little caution isn’t bad. That’s what you’re trying to instill in me, right?” Trixy leaned her head on Samantha’s shoulder. ”Let me just say this. If someone tries to hurt you, I’m gunna hammer fist them and pull them into a suplex before biting their legs off. Barring that, I’ll shoot ‘em.” Another grape appeared in her hand, which she slowly guided towards Samantha’s mouth. "Otherwise I’ll tear up the dance floor with my break dancing.”

"Just enough to keep you from being too lost when things go south. But being close to paranoid is my job," she joked. Samantha eyed the grape Trixy was trying to serve her with a confused look, apparently not understanding her intention. "Uh?"

”Zooooooom!” The grape
moved closer to Samantha’s lips. ”Here comes the airplane!” She covered her mouth with her other hand and breathed into it to create static. ”This is Trixy air, Ground control, please clear the runway.”

Samantha only seemed more confused. "That's not a plane. That's a grape," her expression then twisted to worry. Had something broke in her?

That was exactly what Trixy was thinking when Samantha acted so. She fret her brow. ”That’s right, and you’re supposed to eat it!” She plunged the berry past Samantha’s lips.

While the grape did indeed taste good, Samantha found it strange Trixy thought she needed to be fed. Trixy was the one that was in pain, wasn't she? Chewing the grape and then swallowing, she raised a concern. "Then why did you call it a..." It suddenly dawned on her that this was some kind of display of affection or something of that nature, probably. "...well, anyway... um, thanks...?" she might've returned the action had she a grape to do so with, but that wasn't the case.

Trixy smacked her own face. As she sat upright, it came to her. Sam’s unusually brutal training, her inability to enjoy things like parties and dating, how awkward she was in certain social situations. Why this woman didn’t know how to love! Trixy was mortified by the thought. She found it hard to look at Samantha with anything but a wide-eyed expression. This would not do.

”Sam.” Trixy folded her hands in her lap. "I’m your first, aren’t I?” Samantha looked away and remained silent in response.

Trixy sighed. This was going to be hard. But it would also be a lot of fun. Samantha must have felt this way when she decided to train her. "Your romance game needs a little more pep.” She cracked her knuckles. "But first, tell me this: What do you feel most comfortable doing?”

What did she feel most comfortable with? Was Trixy the one tutoring now? Well, in this matter she could certainly use a teacher. “...Training?” Samantha spoke. “And drinking coffee, I suppose. Oh, and--” she suddenly cut herself off. She was terrible when it came to romance, but even she could see that speaking about her ability to kill someone was not something Trixy wanted to hear about. “...that’s all, I think. Probably not too romantic, I know.”

As easy as it would have been to turn coffee drinking into an innuendo, she wasn’t sure if Samantha would get it or appreciate the humor. That didn’t stop her from smiling about it. She opened her hand, and a single coffee bean rested in the center of her palm. "Let’s start with coffee, then.”

Some coffee would’ve really hit the spot right now, Sam thought. She eyed the coffee bean and then paused. The student had, in a way, become the master. Their roles had definitely been swapped. And though they wouldn’t be training in the same way they had, Samantha worried about something:

Trixy would take it easy on her, right?


"A world like that... doesn't deserve to be."
Zachary Ackerson


The despondent archer found remained silent, even as a torrent of questions and demands assailed him. He shifted uncomfortably each time Jez spoke, but her voice was his bane right now, and even if he desperately wanted to do what he could to put her at ease, he wanted to remove himself from this hopeless situation even more, which in turn was a feedback loop to the sense of self-loathing preventing him from participating in this discussion.

"..."

But he knew what he had to do. It was simple. Just pull the lever, condemning Noel to death. She wanted this, and it would solve any problem they had. Like the other times, people would be sad, but they'd continue onwards.

...and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

"That's the problem, though..." Zachary finally replied to Alice. "...we just keep going. And I don't know how many times I've had to say that, but moving on for the sake of moving on is... meaningless," His eyes moved upwards as he looked at Alice. "...and for what?" he asked. "To satisfy someone's death wish? There's nothing concrete to say this'll be any different. And we can't even say with confidence this isn't just an attempt for her to take the easy way out."

Zach turned to Henry. "Just because it's 'tame' here, doesn't mean it's okay. Or acceptable," There was now a fire to his voice. "He was young, and the person who took his life wasn't even trying to. He died for such a pointless, dumb reason like that. And what's more? His murderer saw only a day in prison, and it wasn't as an inmate," He didn't dare refer to himself as anything but a murderer. Because that's simply all he was. Well, that and... "It was only years after the fact that the murderer confronted the man he used as a patsy. Years. He allowed a man to waste away in prison while he lived out YEARS of his life pretending like he hadn't done a single thing wrong. A goddamned vacation, while this older man slowly decayed. And he was decaying. Various health issues that would've been better cared for if he wasn't stuck there plagued him.

So two people lost their lives, and their murderer wasn't even decent enough to take responsibility. If you're saying that's tame here, then I don't know why anyone here can speak about 'hope'."
his eyes turned back to Alice, and then to Jezebel. "But even then, I suppose it would be pathetic to break a promise..."

Zachary reached over and pulled his lever.
I'll post soon, had some other stuff to take care of
S a m T r i x y



"Prepare for trouble..."
Samantha Howard

"...and make it a Double-Double!®"
Trixy


They always say that two things in life are certain: Death and taxes. But in Silhouette’s life, it was the one thing that was completely uncertain that she had to keep an eye on. Its name was just five letters long, and it was looking for her.

A shadow bounded from rooftop to rooftop. Homing in on the unsuspecting assassin. It had finally found Silhouette, who seemed to be presently unaware of their location. Probably because she was asleep. The shadow seeped down from the rooftops and slid into her room, where it hunched over Silhouette’s prone form. That was when it opened it’s toothy maw and said.

”Sil!” Trixy’s arms were hanging at her sides. ”I just realized that 4 is the most honest number. Look!” She started lifting her fingers. ”1 has 3 letters, 2 has 3 letters, 3 has 5 letters for some reason. 5 has 4 letters, 6 has 3 letters, 7 has 5 letters, 8 has 5 letters, and a 9 has 4 letters. But!” She raised 4 fingers. ”4 has 4 letters!” Trixy placed her hands on her hips. ”I was going to make a post about it, but I knew Blair would just get upset again. I’ve been trying to keep things as business-like as possible.”

Samantha was anything but a morning person before she drank her coffee. Her hair hadn't been tended to, so it was a disheveled mess, and it was clear she wasn't all there by the blank expression she had as her eyes attempted to both adjust and scan the room as if she wasn't entirely sure where she was. However, once she recognized her own room, she turned to Trixie.

"...I am a blade," she began, her figure freezing in place. "A blade knows no fear. A blade knows no doubt." Her lips obviously weren't moving, and her voice seemed to be coming from all around the room at once. "When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. Magical girl transformation." Samantha's image shattered like glass, leaving Silhouette in its place. Without another word, she grabbed one of Trixie's hands, which would then lose feeling after, as well as not being able to move -- it was locked in its position, under the effects of Stasis.

It was only once this was done that Sil spoke to Trixie directly. "I can make a lot of Cradle agents happy if I do the same to your mouth." she threatened. "Why'd you wake me up with that drabble?"

Trixy yelped. ”I-I did it because-” She sighed and raised her other hand defensively. ”Look uh, I have a hard time asking for what I want sometimes, so I like to lead up to it with a cool fact or a joke. Heh, doesn’t seem to have worked this time, since I’m even more nervous.”

“Nervous? You?” Sil scoffed as she waited for Trixie to continue.

Trixie pulled out a hankie and went over her forehead with it. Then she chucked it into her mouth, and the whole thing vanished without as much as a chew. ”I’ve been pretty good to you recently. I-I mean I’ve cut my posting down and focused on making more comprehensive updates. It’s been a few days since Blair’s yelled at me, which is a first.” She chuckled. ”I think I deserve a treat, don’t you?”

Silhouette studied Trixie's features until she was satisfied that the girl was probably not lying, and then removed her hand from Stasis. She did, however, still cast a skeptical look at the ravenous mahou shoujo. "A treat? For not being obnoxious?" she asked. "I suppose Blair not having a meltdown because of you is rare. But I don't really have any 'treats' here. It's... better if I don't cook, after all."

Trixy’s eyes seemed to acquire a seductive allure as she leaned in closer. ”Some would say you are the trea-” Sil locked her hand in stasis, this time going all the way up to her shoulder. What I meant to say was that since you’ll never be my date, you can be my wingman at the upcoming dark magical party.”

"I thought you were asking for a treat?"

”Weird sensations in my arm have caused me to reconsider where the treat is discovered.”

Samantha shook her head. "Wingman? I don't think that's in my repertoire," she said, not yet removing the girl's arm. "You're better off choosing someone else."

Trixy sighed. ”I don’t have any other options. Betty’s too hung up over Binky, Remedy doesn’t swing that way, I don’t think asking Blair is a good idea, Don’t think Veronica is even going, Maura is out of my league and Eliza is so precious that I just think us going together would be a bad idea.” Trixy looked at her arm. ”And you have frozen my arm twice in the span of thirty seconds.”

Listening to the girl list off other failed choices for a date, she spoke. "If you had any tact, I might consider it."

”Tact? Tact?” A root crept out from Trixy’s other palm and wrapped around Sil’s free arm. Now they were both restricting each other's arms. ”I’m so tact that you could mistake me for a bulletin board! I held Crimson Cradle together for months without a patron. Magicoms didn’t work, couldn’t officially recruit new girls, No way to even pay anyone, and no access to the cradle. I had nothing but my wits, shining charisma, and unyielding loyalty to weather the storm.” Her eyes widened. ”And I did it all with Remedy and Blair. Blair, and what few girls I could convince that Veronica would come back and fix this city.” Trixy closed her eyes. ”Now, given, Beacon did kind of take over, and the monsters kind of had their way with the place a bit. I also had to move home base outside of Penrose, but I kept a foot in the door. We never lost Penrose.” When her eyes opened again, there was determination brewing inside them. ”And if that’s not worth a treat, I don’t know what is.” The tip of the root up by Sil’s shoulder sprout a flexible vine. It curled around the back of her ear and bloomed into a red flower.

"It certainly is impressive, particularly coming from you," Sil admitted, shifting uncomfortably with the root on her arm. "But as I said, I don't know why you want me to do this. Be it a date or being a wingman, I'm probably terrible at both. You’re sure you can't find someone better suited?"

The fire in Trixy’s eyes died instantly. ”Uhhh.” She shrugged. ”I mean, being honest? I think you’re the best I can do on short notice.” She chuckled. ”I made a logo for you, right? Figured as a last resort I could use that to get you to go along with it..”

Silhouette sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll do whatever, I guess." She wasn't exactly sure what she was getting into, but she was going to the party anyway, so it would just be a way to pass the time. At least that's how Sam rationalized it.

"Now that I think about it, I don't have any good clothes," she hadn't yet gone to any real formal gathering as a magical girl before. Expensive clothes and appearing as a higher class person was important in her human life, but she never really needed anything besides her outfit in this one.

Samantha’s room was nothing to scoff at, but her wardrobe was. Her preference was always comfort over fashion. But assuming it was best to look better than normal, this posed a dilemma -- what was she going to wear. "Would you happen to have an idea of what I should wear, then?"

”I do actually.” The root on Sil’s arm retracted back into its seed. ”But first you need to let go of my arm.”

With a swing of her arm, Trixy’s Hammerspace wardrobe opened up. Two dark portals with a closet rod between them appeared, at which point clothes started to flood the rod from both sides. When Trixy pushed the clothes to one side, brand new ones would appear on the other side. ”Votes were pretty high for sexy, so I think we gotta get you lookin’ pretty hot too.” She pulled a plaid skirt off of a clothes hanger. ”You still need to be yourself though, so we need something clean looking.” She pulled a white long sleeve shirt down, followed by a black jacket. ”But clean isn’t plain, so let’s accessorize a bit!” Trixy grabbed some suspenders and a ribbon before approaching Sil. ”Just put these on, I’ll wait outside.”




Once Sil walked outside her room, Trixy pushed a pair of black frame glasses onto the bridge of her nose. ”And a little something extra to make you look less intimidating.” Trixy brushed back Sil’s hair before folding her arms. “Ha! I kinda like it! You look pretty sweet.”

Samantha shifted uncomfortably in her new getup. The glasses, in particular, felt a bit strange. But she’d just have to adjust. ”Is that so?” she asked, adjusting her glasses and looking down at her chest. ”I feel exposed.”

”You’re mega cute though!” Trixy took a picture of Sil with her phone before dancing over to her. She held the image up for her to see. ”Glasses drive some people absolutely nuts.” She looked up at Silhouette. ”And before you ask, I have no idea what I’m wearing. It was pretty much a 50/50 split between sexy and school outfit, give or take a few hundred votes.”

“I guess it’s no bikini,” she sighed, wishing time would heal the wound left by the beach kidnapping. But the embarrassment and humiliation she felt then would likely stick around long after. “Has anyone else given their opi---” before Samantha could finish her sentence, she was cut off by a wolf whistle. Startled due to the belief that she and Trixie were the only thots ones in the room, she turned to see…

I think sexy is the way to go, cutie~! a familiar Shade had somehow manifested itself without the consent of its owner. Oh, and isnt Silly just looking adorable! This is strangely more appetizing than the bikini. Shade’s appearance was almost extremely similar to the new fresh Samantha’s, but her jacket was closed and her skirt was a simple black, making this the easiest way to distinguish the two -- aside from their personalities, that is.

Trixy stood up a bit straighter. ”I didn’t see her in a bikini. But if you say so it must be true!” She was salivating a bit. ”You never told me you had a twin. What gives?”

“W-what are you even doing here?” Samantha asked, suddenly nervous. “D-don’t make me end you.”

Shade was not intimidated by Samantha in the least, it seemed. She instead gave a devilish grin, and began inching closer to Sam. Oho~? You dont know~? Teehee~ she practically sang, moving another step forward. Samantha took a step back, and Shade shot a glance towards Trixie before her grin became even bigger. Are you sure~? by this point, Samantha was pushed against the wall… by herself, technically. Then Ill tell you~

The shadow immediately disengaged Samantha and turned towards Trixy, whom she walked up to. She likes the outfit. Shade told her. Like, REALLY likes it. So much!

“I-I find it refreshing, nothing more!” Sam denied. “It’s just a nice change of pace, that’s all.”

”She does?!” Trixy squealed. ”Does this mean she could be more than a wingman? Maybe Veronica’s top agent, and her top manager-” Trixy squealed. Somehow her eyes and uvula acquired a heart shape, which probably wasn’t possible for non-magical girls.

Trixy hovered in cloud nine for a moment before looking at Shade. ”But what are you doing here? Why hasn’t Silhouette told me about her feisty twin?”

Samantha was stuck on a loop of opening her mouth to deny something, then stopping because she couldn’t find any real words to say. Naturally, Shade didn’t allow this opportunity to pass by. Oh, she tries not to think about me too much. But Im always there. Watching. Waiting. she seemed pretty interested in watching Sam try to come up with a retort, even barely stifling a laugh. But she turned again to Trixy. This is the first time weve actually met, isnt it? You didnt go to the beach, after all. she shamelessly checked Trixy out. Shame you weren't at the beach. But looking at you, I think sexy is the way to go! You could really pull it off!

”I could!”

“C-can it, Shade!” Samantha finally regained a semblance of composure. “And you,” she stared at the star-eyed Trixy. “I don’t need you making up tabloid titles.” she exhaled slowly.

Well, arent you fussy? Shade grabbed Trixy by the shoulders and moved her so that she’d be standing extremely close to Samantha. Obviously, Samantha attempted to back off, but as if she’d disappeared and reappeared in an instant, Shade was then behind her, blocking off her retreat. There~! she said. Look into those beautiful little red orbs of Sams and ask her to date you. I'm sure you'll love the answer.

“W-what are you doing!?”

Trixy took a single step towards Sil and took one of her hands in her own. ”Sil? No, Sam?” Her grin spread across her face, and her voice became more high pitched as she spoke. ”If I dressed sexy for you, would you go on a date with me?” The “me” was so high pitched it was practically a squeak.

Samantha looked away. "D-don't mess with me!" she unsteadily yelped. "I said I would, but why would you want to? I don't appreciate being teased."

Trixy squealed again. Her pale skin was turning a shade of red. ”Why would I want to? I had no idea you were so precious!” She jumped up and down. ”This has changed my entire strategy. If you’re this precious Sam, I’ve gotta look like I can protect you.” Trixy opened her hammerspace wardrobe again.

Trixy stepped behind her wardrobe to act as a sort of privacy screen. Once she was dressed, she pushed aside the clothes to reveal her new look. Trixy was wearing a modified military bomber jacket, with a designer belt and a short skirt. ”Whaddaya think Shade? Can I rock the bad girl look?” She stepped through her wardrobe so that she was in front of Samantha. ”You like military apparel right? Or does this cover too much? But hey, look at these legs.” She slowly raised one of her legs until it was perfectly vertical.

By this point in time, Samantha's face was as red as her color code (which is literally red btw). Aside from repeating one or two words Trixy said, like 'precious', she didn't exactly say anything. Yet again, Shade spoke instead. "Woah! That's great!" she stared at Trixy with eyes shaped like stars. "I wonder how many looks you can pull off, cutie. But with you like that, and little miss 'assassin' here looking like the girl next door, I think it'd look just adorable!" she looked at Sam. "Don't you~?"

"I-I don't know. I've already said I'm bad with this kind of thing." She still didn't look at either of them. "A-and I'm not precious!"

"Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Shade laughed, before eying Trixy, but still spoke to Samantha. "How are you going to play tsun when you have this flexible cutie wanting to be your date? She looks like she could--oh, well, I'm an idol so I shouldn't be saying certain things, but the point is, Trixy here's quite the catch too."

"..."

The maido hugged herself and laughed. ”This is great! Thank you, Shade!” She reached out and placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. ”The best part is that since this is technically our second date, kissing will no longer be off-limits. So that’ll be cool if things go well.” Trixy turned to look at Shade. ”Now I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, but if you need a date, I can set you up.” With that, a second Trixy seemed to split off from the original and approached Shade.

”Hey pumpkin.” The second Trixy ran a hand through Shade’s hair.

”Get a load of this!” Trixy laughed again. ”Two sets of twins going to the party together!” She leaned her head on Samantha’s shoulder. ”Thanks for coming through for me Sam.”

"Y-yeah, no problem..."

Shade locked fingers with Trixy V.2 and grinned. "A nice buy one, get one free sale on cuties with a limit of two! How jealous do you think everyone at the party will be? A little bit? A lottle bit?" she spun the Trixy clone around, and then dipped her toward the ground as if they were ballroom dancing. When she let the second Trixy back up, she eyed the girl with a pensive stare. "Hmm, but for maximum effect, we need to stand out on our own a little! But what can we do? Hrm... Oh, yeah! Hey, can you speak in a different voice, maybe?" she asked the clone. "No point in changing how you look because you're just adorable, but at least for the party, something to really set you apart would be wonderful, I'm sure!"

The clone winked. ”Good thinking Shade! It would be easier if I just altered my voice a bit. But I need to be careful because I don’t want to sound like someone else.” She cleared her throat. ”I call this one Dusty Brooklyn. It’s got a bit of brown noise in it.” She cleared her throat again. ”And I call this one Muddy Brooklyn. As it has even more brown noise.” She swatted her cheeks. ”This one I call Soft Glacier. You can probably pick up on the high-frequency blue noise in it.” She snorted. ”And this is my biker voice. But it’s deep so that means it has more violet noise. Probably.”

"Excellent!" she clapped. "We just need to choose one, now. And I think we can start by removing Muddy Brooklyn, because it kinda has a 'potholey' feel about it, and your biker voice sounds a bit too much like Veronica!" she laughed. "So that leaves Dusty Brooklyn and Soft Glacier..." She squinted her eyes as if thinking extremely hard on the choice, but finally relaxed, bringing a finger to the air. "Ha! Dusty fits your aesthetic a bit more, even if the glacier sounds cuter. Lets go with that, unless you have a preference for the other?"

Trixy’s double grinned. ”I don’t mind being dusty! If you find this voice pleasing I would love to use it.” Then her jaw hung open. ”Why don’t we just call me Dusty then? It would get confusing if we both shared the same names. Even with different voices, it would be hard for us to know who you are talking to.”

”We might have need of the other voice anyway.” Trixy wrapped an arm around Samantha’s waist. ”I can reliably maintain a few clones. Could be good for spying, and other stuff. You know I can fuse with my duplicates and inherit their memories?” The maido’s eyes rolled up into her head, and her cheeks glowed a hearty red. But with a shake of her head, she looked back at Samantha. ”I mean, that’s only if you don’t think this is going to work out.” Trixy scratched the back of her head and her smile faded a bit. ”If you’re serious about going on a date with me, I won’t have any clones other than Dusty wandering around. Unless circumstances dictate I must, or you’re into that sort of thing.”

Samantha stared into Trixy's eyes. "I said I would do it, didn't I? If I wasn't being serious then I wouldn't bother, especially when I could be drinking a nice cup of coffee right now," she said, flicking Trixy's forehead. "And I don't know what you mean by 'into that sort of thing', but," she flicked Trixy again. "I assume it was lewd."

Shade shook her head. "Or maybe you're just having lewd thoughts~"

Trixy allowed Samantha’s finger to bounce off of her head. ”I’m just making sure you don’t want to share me is all.” Her smile widened. ”I’m pretty sure you just said you liked me more than coffee That’s not something to take lightly.” Trixy nuzzled against Samantha’s neck, before biting into it.

Shade’s eyes lit up. Ooh~! Not wasting a moment, are you? she purred.

Samantha let out a small yelp. “W-what are you doing?”

”Mph?” Trixy pulled back. ”Huh? Uh, no! I mean, heh.” She ran her finger along the side of Samantha’s neck. ”I just placed a mark on you that lets me know when you’re in trouble. Gotta look after my cute girlfriend right?” There were faint markings that looked like a circle of dotted triangles. It wasn’t particularly noticeable unless you were looking for it. ”I should probably be off, but I’m going to be counting the seconds until our date starts.”

”Looks like it’s time to go back to work.” Dusty gave Shade a hug. ”I’ll see you soon!”

The two maids waved to their respective dates before walking down the hall.

"Bye~!" Shade waved at them as they left.

Samantha had a hand resting on the love bite as she wordlessly watched them leave. She wasn't sure how she felt. As per the standard with Trixy, things were weird. And this happened all so suddenly, too. Dating? A girlfriend? What was all that supposed to mean? To do? What did it entail? What would she need to change? She was a bit anxious, honestly.

But, she agreed to it in the end, so she couldn't back out now. Especially not now that she had this mark. It meant a lot, she imagined. "Ah," she sighed.

"...what is it?" Shade asked, turning to face her.

"It's just..." Sam smiled. "I could really use a good cup of coffee right now."

E m i l y

And also the qt Sakura



"Meanwhile, at a completely ambiguous time so as not to conflict with other collabs..."

— Emily


The noise of the busier streets echoed in the alley, as the hubbub of the populace served as drums of a cacophonic symphony. It had always been like this. There was light, so there was darkness. A cosmic battle for hegemony that would dance and spin forever until time itself died. Such a thing was clear cut to Umukamui, who preferred these kind of places to meet. After all, these were the place where his ilk reigned, and their assigned warriors lived and shed blood for the purposes known.

“I can’t say i don’t like this kind of place for a meeting, but do you think a normal broad will purposefully come to a shady alley with the kind of invitation you did, fur ball?” The voice came from a young girl, who was dressed in a striking, bold style. Her infantile appeal was a stark contrast to her cocky, thuggish demeanour as she folded her arms.

“They will come, Jonald and I are acquainted.” The creature said to the newest of said girls. And to the newest of his problems as well. Weapons needed to be polished before they were of use. Misshapen and bent blades, doubly so. And to be fair, this newest… agent of his was probably one of the shoddiest jobs he had done as Puchuu.

As the sound of a soda can falling from the top of a trashcan undoubtedly grabbed their attention, Jonald made his appearance. Up until he was close enough to reach out and touch, his movement was fast enough to make him appear as a blur. He circled around the girl, before finally sitting before her.

Like most Puchuu, Jonald would be considered 'cute' by most. His coat of fur was as clean as could be, he had a nice, lithe look about him. His magenta orbs moved from the girl over to her patron. "I've seen worse, I suppose," he commented.

“Let me do the talking.” Umukamui twitched upon seeing Jonald entering. Always for the close up and personal entrance, that one. “Long time no see. I must apologize. I had a last minute setback. The self propelled vehicles of humankind are surprisingly lethal to magical girl candidates.” The small, fluff like creature announced, as the girl visibly flinched upon being inspected by the other Puchuu.

“Two of them. Oh God, they’re multiplying.” The petite, bell-like voice of the girl was tainted with heavy snark upon finding this fact.

“It begs me to question your whereabouts, Jonald, if something like... this… is considered acceptable. She was built with make-do materials on the spot. Even so, it will have to do, so I cannot have herself being incapacitated due to lack of basic handling.”

“Oi I am not…” Sakura blurted out at Umikamui, before he continued his tirade. “A blunt scrap can still cut if it’s … sharpened properly. I suppose you could spare a bit of your time teaching… this...new girl… the ropes. And you, Magical Girl Sparky Heart, do not be an embarrassment to your name and stay put for the time being.”

“F$*%& off, or I will punt you into a car.” The girl seemed to have quite the potty mouth, it seemed, coupled with middle finger and raspberry.
Jonald narrowed his eyes. "Considering the vast amounts of... 'incidents' around here, Penrose hasn't had the luxury of picking and choosing its girls. As long as she doesn't fall apart, and listens, then that should suffice," he clarified, turning to the new girl. "Vulgar. And I'd wager listening isn't your strong suit? I'm sure you'll get along fine with my girl, Emily."

“You wanna tussle, f*ckface?” was the answer of Sakura. “I ain’t listening to small mop aliens who take my manly bits just because of an accident!” The girl stood firm, striking a pose before attempting to drive a fist in Jonald’s face, only for her to trip her legs and slam herself facefirst against a trash bin.

“...It’s only a few hours fresh” said Umukamui, as he watched the repurposed girl have her first bout of pantyshot ever. Probably one of many, if she did not wisen up. “A small consolation is that she is no stranger to violence. Nor blood.”

As Sakura fell, Jonald darted up one wall and onto a fire escape, now looking down upon the two. "Yeah, I see that." he sneered. "Human parents are the type to discourage such behavior, but I suppose that fell upon deaf ears." he turned back to Umakamui. "Mine should be here short-"

Before he could finish, the group would then hear the pattering of an approaching person, who turned out to be scantily dressed. She appeared on guard, quite obviously not happy with being here. "You showed up." Jonald called out without even bothering to turn back to her.

The girl ignored Jonald entirely and didn't bother to spare a glance towards the other Puchuu, either. Instead, she focused entirely on Sakura. "You're new? I'm Emily, and I'd love to help you figure things out if you'll have me."

Sakura eyed the other girl, starting with the things, then going all the way up, and letting a small wolf whistle. “Bit young, but me likes what me sees.” Sakura said, as she nursed the wound. “I was going to put this bastard under the wringer, but I guess the company and the ropes won’t be so bad after all. I’m Sakura, nice to meetcha. So um, how does this work?Did you just kill a magical girl and lost your dangly bits too?”

If Umukamui had long enough limbs he would be facepalming. “Not all girls come from your background, Sakura.”

Emily smiled, clearly missing the intent behind Sakura's words. "Thank you, I look forward to working with you as well!" It appeared that as far as Emily was concerned, it was only the two of them here. Jonald, seemingly used to this, remained quiet.

There was a small pause once Sakura posed her question. She wasn't told how this girl came to be, only that there was a new one. Her circumstances were... unfortunate. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she said. "I was asked to become a magical girl, and wanted it." it was only then that she finally acknowledged that Sakura had a patron. Glancing at Umukamui with a lot less warmth, she asked, "Has she got a place to stay?"

Umukamui stood still, his beady expressionless eyes peeking at the girl, before tilting his head “Her belongings and mean of transport have been taken as collateral and sold to appropriate investors for the breach of contract this person has caused.”

“...you sold...my flat?” Sakura said clenching her teeth.

“Indeed, however, I have procured means of transportation. Just concentrate for a few seconds.” The critter indicated, and Sakura, in an amazing display of concentration and restraint, finally relented. A most excellent motorbike appeared in front of them seemingly out of thin air.

“A motorbike. Why is it pink?” She added.

“It’s a suitable method of transportation for one such as you.”

“But why pink?” Sakura insisted.

“Sakura is the name of the cherry blossom, isn’t it… it kinda suit…” The critter was interrupted halfway when the enraged young girl grabbed him all of a sudden and with all the strength she could muster, punted the offending hairball into an oncoming truck.

“I’ve had enough! You took my dangly bits, You took my life, You took my flat, and now you try to make jokes with motorbikes and my name?! Go to hell!” She yelled, her voice shrill and agitated.

After a few tense seconds, she eyed the other girl Emily. The whole realty was sinking in. “Let’s go to your place, then. Hopefully it won’t be a dump.” She added.

Emily witnessed the violence towards Sakura's patron with indifference, then eyed Jonald, as if to say, "Maybe I'll do the same to you." He turned his nose up in response, then scurried to the top of the building. "I expect you to get her situated as fast a possible, Emily. And maybe teach her to be less of a brute." he cast a glance towards Umakamui's direction. "I'll be around if you require anything, it's the least I can do." so saying, the Puchuu left, disappearing somewhere on the rooftop.

The fire-based girl nodded to Sakura. "Oh, um, sure..." the girl seemed unsure about the idea. "Here, I'll lead the way."

....

....

It wasn't too far from where they met up that Emily led them. It was an apartment building, but it was on the cheaper side. The exterior had seen better days, but it wasn't entirely run down either. "In here," she motioned for Sakura to follow, and then led the girl to the second floor of the building, where her room resided.

Emily opened the door with her key and then motioned Sakura to come inside. It wasn't too spacious, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a small living room and an even smaller kitchen. A small couch rested along the wall of the living room, with a table at the other end that kept the TV off the ground. Emily wasn't a very wealthy person, and it did show -- everything was bought on a budget. A few posters of some various characters from different anime were the only real decorations. Notably, the house was extremely clean.

"I hope it's not too much of a dump for you," she smiled. "It's all I can really afford right now."

Sakura had calmed herself down after the short travel. Apparently being under a roof and no longer being completely destitute was a good thing for her. She let her slouch set in, and dropped herself on the couch. “It’s nice. Kinda reminds me of mah old place. But it smells way better.” The young girl said. “Got any beer?” She nonchalantly asked.

It was then when a presence appeared next to her on the couch. Fluffy, with beady eyes. “Magical girls don’t drink usually.” said Umukamui, which prompted Sakura to flail in surprise. “That was not… as humans said, nice. But we have our ways to fix these situations.” The critter added.

“I look forward to your development.” The small thing scurried away, as soon as he had entered.

“Hopefully he didn’t raid the cola supply.” Sakura said, in her best effort to get used to this kind of stuff. “So, girl time, huh. What now? You gonna teach me how to use zap zap magical tramp powers to kill motherf*ckers? Tell me there’s no dancing involved.”

“Um, no,” she denied to both ‘magical tramp powers’ and ‘dancing’, but then recalled something. “Well, actually, you do need to chant to summon your outfit, and unless you’re one of the more blessed magical girls it… takes a little while.” she sighed. “Oh, and it’s really flashy. Here, I’ll show you.”

Emily returned to her human form temporarily, and then took a step back while closing her eyes. With a deep inhale, she began her chant. “I am the Star of Morning,” at this, she thrust her hand out, and flames began coiling around her arm. “The Child of Dawn,” slowly, the flames snaked up her arm, further and further until they reached her shoulder, at which point it engulfed the rest of her body in a brilliant turquoise inferno, briefly rotating her and lifting into the air a couple of feet. “The Star thrown to Earth shall obtain victory!” as she finished her chant, the flames died out rather quickly, and there stood the magical girl Lucifer. Or Emily, she hadn’t been using that nickname for a while now.

“...I-it takes some getting used to,” she confessed, a bit embarrased by her chant. “And I’ll do my best to help you learn your limits and control your specialization.”

“Right.” Sakura said. She had to do that stupid dance the rat had taught her every single time, did she? A great start, this one was. At least the transformation of her tutor was lovely. Now if she had a few more years… “I guess it’s uuh. worth a shot.”

She stood up, her arms proud, and concentrated, gritting her teeth. “Sparksparkloveofmyheart.” She said in a monotone tone, her eyes becoming limp and dead. It was then when a surge was felt, and enveloped her body, electricity beginning to flicker in the flat as the younger girl began to float, her clothes shifting and changing under a pure blue electric light, adjusting her uniform.

It was then when Magical Girl Sparky Heart was manifest for the first time since her creation.

“Well it wasn’t that…” She said, while shrugging, and unintentionally discharging a mass of electricity that exploded three lightbulbs. “...bad?”

"Oh,"

Emily stared at the destroyed light bulbs for a second. In hindsight, maybe bringing the inexperienced magical girl to her room and encouraging her to transform wasn't the optimal strategy here. Well, at least she had a few spare ones. "You know, starting as a magical girl, I remember control being the most difficult aspect of it all," she explained. "I sorta burned down a small tool shack one of my first times, so it's all okay."

Emily retreated into the small kitchen, reaching into the space between the wall and the fridge, and pulled out a dustpan and a broom. Once done, she returned and began sweeping up the glass off the floor with the speed of an experienced maid. She spoke as she worked. "We should probably find a less... damage-prone area to work on your abilities in." she laughed. "The school would be an okay place if we don't want to go too far, otherwise we could try somewhere else." she finished cleaning and then dumped the glass in the garbage can. "I know that you've just changed, but just how fresh are you, if you don't mind my asking? Did you at least have enough time for your Puchuu to tell you anything about what's going on in Penrose?"

“I dunno, i had one mother of a weird drunk dream where an angry furball berated at me after a traffic accident, and today I woke up as this. So i guess… 48 hours…” Sakura said, after cancelling her transformation. “...tops.” She paused. “Well, I do know about some stuff about this city, but not the part where children can wield fire and thunder and listen to weird fluffy things.”

“Oh, how about the junkyard? Nobody ever minds about stuff happening at junkyards. You can easily hide a body there if things go really awry.” Sakura added. “And you can tell me whose balls I am supposed to bust now.”

"Penrose has been a hot spot for various troubles over the last few months, so things have been quite hectic." Emily explained. She'd only arrived here amid things, so it wasn't like she was an expert either, but she knew enough. "There's essentially a crusade against Dark Magical Girls and the such. Oh, you wouldn't know about those, would you?"

She pressed her index finger to her lips. "Mm, I suppose you would say they're not as magically stable as other magical girls? But name aside, they're not exclusively bad or anything." She looked at Sakura. "I think fighting other girls should only be done as a last resort. But the world is home to harmful monsters which magical girls are made to fight. I think those should be your main target since they're a danger to anyone and everyone."

“Alright, alright I get the gist of it.” Sakura said, fidgeting with her hair. “So we have magical crackheads, freaks and law enforcement?” Sakura’s eyes seemed to shine with unabashed glee. “Awesome. Brutal even. And here I was going to think I was going to get bored. So, we stomp on everyone and get our turf to boss level, yes?”

"S-something like that..." Emily tried to smile and forget about the more vicious nature of her new compatriot. "Usually, your Puchuu will direct you to something of interest, such as a monster terrorizing people. They're also supposed to give you the information you need to succeed if it's available, as well as ensure you're not getting in over your head." she elaborated. "They're supposed to, anyway. Not that it looks like I'll need to tell you this, but their actions aren't always in your best interest." She seemed like she was speaking from experience. "And I'm not sure if there's a 'boss', but most people take notice of people who repeatedly achieve great things."

Sakura eyed her comrade, before throwing a fist in her general direction as a salute. “It’s okay. I’m baptised in fire, even if my body is that of a little girl right now. Corporate furballs got nothin’ on me. If there’s no boss, We will become boss!” Sakura grinned widely, tilting her head.

“That’s a nice smile you have, sis. Don’t let that smile disappear. Life is too dark and too short to worry about the small things. If there’s a bunch of corporate slaves telling little girls to fend off monsters and shady organizations, that’s not our fault. It’d be our fault if we did nothing about creeps and idiots. Fortune favours the bold, after all.”

The younger girl puffed her little chest, before trying to make a triumphal exit and then stopping on her heels. “Uh… I don’t suppose I could crash by here for a while until i find a new place, do you? I will do whatever work’s needed.” She added. “I prefer bounties, though. Not much of a number crunching m…gal.”

Emily nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! It would be cruel to abandon someone, especially a sister in need. As you see, it's not exactly a five-star hotel or anything, but you're welcome as long as you'd like." she looked up and to the side as she tried to come up with something. "Um, I normally volunteer at a soup kitchen that needs any help it can get, but its been locked tight since the evacuation, even though there are still people who need it..." she sighed, but then regained her smile. "Well, I don't expect nor want rent from you, so as long as you don't burn the place down, I don't mind. If anything, I'll take you along any simpler monster contracts or the sort I come across." as if remembering something, she raised a finger. "Oh, exactly how familiar are you with Penrose?"

“Had a few jobs in my youth, nice stripper clubs, and there’s this bunch of a**holes who turn people into little girls and rob them of everything, so a few things. None of that matters to this. But I know this Sushi joint that looks shady but it has awesome food.” Sakura added before an ominous growl could be heard.

“I don’t think I have eaten anything since…this.” She sentenced.

As if bound together by a bond surpassing human comprehension, a low growl also came from Emily's stomach. "O-oh, I suppose it'd be good to eat, then. We can go to the place you mentioned, and it'll be my treat." she offered.

“Pity I can’t treat you to booze.” Sakura said. She was in no position to refuse, as much as she wanted to.

“Alright, let’s head out, then!”

And with this, the newly-formed duo departed Emily's place to begin a quest for good, but potentially lethal, sushi.
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