Flamelord

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

It seemed Alicia might have been overly hasty in her earlier assessment. Or perhaps being here loosened lips that would otherwise have remained sealed. Because now it turned out that there was a sizable group who were interested in going on the offensive against Wonderland after all. For a moment she felt like she was experiencing deja vu, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly why right now. She did give Mariette a look at the mention of mind control magic though. That stuff might have been resolved, but she had not forgotten the headaches that she had caused.

Any thoughts she had were immediately blasted out of her head by the sudden intrusion of Nykannis. While she wasn't as hard to parse as Magical Dream Princess since she didn't have as many verbal ticks, man was she a narcissist. She also felt like she was the missing a joke, but that feeling was not one she spent long on. For now she merely shuffled Nykannis into the same bin she kept people like Chloe. AKA 'don't trust further than she could throw them in untransformed form'. In theory she'd agreed to keep the city safe, but who knew how many unspoken asterisks were attached to that.

She waited until Nykannis had finished before speaking aloud. "Wow. I think I'll be okay if I never have to interact with her again." she observed. A not unreasonable sentiment based on Ronin's response to the rant as well.

Now it was down to the specifics of their plan. "We'll need to split up for a simultaneous attack," she said once they were back to the matter at hand. "If Wonderland is potentially going to be overwriting our minds then we'll need to be fast. And if we focus all our efforts on one egg at a time then that gives them the opportunity to relocate the eggs we aren't currently focusing on, leaving us back where we started."

Looking around the group who were will here, she paused before going on. "I think it makes sense to take care of the eggs now, then go after these people Penny has collected intel on. We throw the Queen's operations into chaos, opening up the opportunity for us to go at her directly. If she doesn't come at us first." And honestly the Queen reacting and exposing herself would work just as well. They would just need to see how things developed along the way and adapt accordingly.

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes

Planting a flag of tentative interest. The idea seems interesting, I just need to settle on a character

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

With Connie offering a location and Mariette seemingly okay with it, the move was made with all due alacrity. Alicia wasn’t too worried about being spied upon in the immediate moment, but she went along with the crowd and their own worries. Mariette was the most paranoid one here, so if she was okay with the location then Alicia saw no reason to object.

Finding a place to seat, she listened as the conversation resumed. Her gaze was quick to focus on Binky with the proposal she floated, causing the Paladin Seraph to shake her head. “Assume the laser is off the table,” she replied firmly. To be honest she wasn’t sure if it had the accuracy they’d need for the task they were requesting, but even if it did she wasn’t confident she could get approval to use it outside of ‘last resort’ circumstances.

That was when things got really interesting, as Penny revealed she had captured a prisoner during the attack. It sounded like she had had a lot more success than the rest of them, and had a plethora of information to provide for their efforts. “Thank you Penny. This is definitely helpful.”

Then it was back to the ‘fake city’ plan or whatever. Alicia still favored a firm offense, but she knew she was in the minority there. With locations and names they could throw a serious wrench into Wonderland’s operations, so she would need to see what she could do on her own. She didn’t have much to add in terms of the other plan, so she would let the others hash things out and chime in if more was asked of her.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

"No," Alicia replied succinctly, immediately shooting down any idea of a date with Chloe. That was definitely not happening, not after what she'd heard from Penny. And doubly so with Chloe being a Mint Broker. That was just a guarantee of misery for her. So there was little hesitation on her part to nip that in the bud.

Truth be told, she didn't hold out much hope for the deal in a long term sense. This was still the Mint they were dealing with, and 'fair' wasn't really something that could be applied to their dealings. But the terms proposed so far were decent enough, and as long as she was reasonable in turn then she'd be able to say 'I told you so' to everyone else when this inevitably went bad. Maybe that was very petty, but based on every other time this sort of thing had happened it was a reasonable prediction to make.

Of course Penny was harder to placate, though it didn't cause everything to break down immediately. Probably because Chloe teleported out and the conversation shifted to moving their planning to a more secured location. Glancing over to Aurora and Binky, Alicia shook her head. "Getting the HQ blown up once was enough for my taste." She paused for a moment as she thought, before adding to what she had said. "Beacon does have a community center that isn't really used since the city evacuation went down. I'd need to see about buffing the anti-spying magic there on short notice, but it is a possibility. Or somewhere Mariette would be comfortable with would probably work too." Mariette was the most paranoid one here after all, so if she was comfortable then it was probably a good bet that Wonderland would have trouble spying on them.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Doing her best to keep up with the main conversation, Alicia didn't react as Mariette arrived. Her eavesdropping on the meeting was basically a given, regardless of whose side she was on. At least she had some interesting information to provide. "A reality that assimilates newcomers into it? That's unique.". It would make any direct attacks difficult as well, depending on how quickly that asserted itself. Mariette's other piece of information was useful too, though it didn't really seem like the sort of thing that would let them use her as bait. But it was something to keep in mind.

She glanced over as Penny shut down any possibility of a deal, not that she was about to judge her for that. She'd already made her own lack of trust clear after all. Looking over to Lily, she shot the other girl an apologetic wince. "It's hard to give someone a chance when their entire MO is based on manipulation."

Before she could go on, an unexpected person spoke up. Alicia certainly hadn't expected to see Binky again, much less for her to be involved actively in such a way. She glanced around the meeting as Binky vented, her arms folded over her chest as the focus fell upon her for a moment. "Of course I want to save the city. But every time I've made one of these deals with shady people, they always try to take advantage of it for their own ends and do bad things later once their personal backside is out of the fire." There was a lot of stuff said afterwards involving Justine, which Alicia didn't really feel like chiming in on.

Which brought them back to where they started as the negotiations resumed. Admittedly Alicia had no problem with other patrons also signing on to the deal, and it wasn't as if she could stop them even if she wanted to. She could just do without Chloe side eying her every so often. Kayli's suggestion was a good step in the right direction at least. But to be honest, killing wasn't the main thing on her mind right now.

"I don't think you could get your bosses to agree to everything I would want from the Mint," she observed. "But with everything that's been said so far, assuming the Mint actually follows it, it wouldn't be...terrible." That said, her hopes of that being the case weren't particularly high. 'Mint' and 'Trustworthy' weren't words she'd use in the same sentence even on a good day. She just wasn't looking forward to being proven right.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

While things had progressed since Alicia had dipped out to make her wish with Kayli, not all that much had actually changed. Some people were still considering how to evacuate the civilians from Penrose, while others were discussing cutting the problem off at the source. There was plenty Alicia could have said, but reminding them of how the Ascendancy had evacuated cities before didn't seem all that productive at the moment given the attitudes towards that organization.

An eyebrow rose as Chloe went on, her claims dubious even without lie detection. She had no doubt that the Mint had some people in Wonderland, but exaggeration seemed to be in full force here. But what else was new. The trust levels were still at 'as far as a normal human could throw her' right now, as far as Alicia was concerned. The fact that the scientist was willing to vouch for her was...something. She supposed.

As it was, the gravity seemed to be moving towards herself and Penny as Chloe moved to negotiate a deal that would allow an open Mint presence in Penrose in exchange for the information that she had. Selling any deal with the Mint was going to be difficult at best, of course, to say nothing of her own personal distaste for the idea. "The Mint is a business in the loosest sense. It gives you what you want in the moment then ensures you give it what it wants from then on, until it has no more use for you. If you're lucky." she noted.

Such things should not be a surprise, yet it seemed that there were some people there being swayed by Chloe's offer. She hoped it was just fear, rather than a genuine belief that the Mint broker was dealing fairly. "We've survived crises before without the Mint swooping in to offer a solution on a silver platter for a 'modest' fee. I think we can do it again."

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Penrose Park was not too different from the last time Alicia had been here. Once more the magical girls of the city gathered to talk about a crisis, though this one was a bit more imminent and obvious than the last one. Would that be enough to ensure that things went better than the last time? Alicia chose to be hopefully, if prepared to have her opinion proven wrong.

It was still an eclectic assortment of people, that much had not changed even if the faces were different. With the contingent of other girls from Beacon who had chosen to attend, Alicia surveyed those who had chosen to visit as she stood there clad in her magical girl outfit. That much had not changed, though her stature had risen much since then.

She nodded in agreement with what Lily said. "We're here to help out against Wonderland as well," she confirmed. She didn't see a need to go through an explanation of what had happened in Bolorton and why things were different now, and would keep it that way unless pushed by someone else.

Alex went on, voicing a desire to have some way to mass evacuate the city in a hurry should Wonderland attack. Alicia couldn't judge the viability of his idea, since she wasn't that much of a technical sort. Someone else would need to figure it out. "Wonderland is a sizable organization. If we can determine where they're producing those toy soldiers and machines, or find where they're gathering their troops for their attacks, we could set back any invasion they might have planned."

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

It was another day in Penrose. Though the threat of Wonderland loomed in the distance, that did not stop the more mundane magical girl affairs that one had to deal with. Hunting monsters, studying to keep up with classwork, and such things. These would not wait, for the world still moved on even with the threat of imminent invasion.

Alicia did her best to assist in activities such as these, whether personally or through her responsibilities as a leader. She was still determined to show that the Penrose Branch could cut it without needing the Ascendancy here, even if circumstances seemed to have conspired against her once more. She would like to say that she was surprised, but she wasn't. Not really. In spite of this she continued to do the best she could to help those under her care and to keep the city safe.

Needless to say, the message from Lily was unexpected. Her mind flashed back to a similar meeting held in that same park and how that turned out, since it did feel like a bit of deja vu. Nonetheless, the decision was made already. Even if Lily did not find much of a response, Beacon would be expected to be there. That meant they would have to go.

Moving through the headquarters, Alicia soon arrived in the Ascendancy's section so she could talk to Rachel. "I suppose you've already seen the message on Glimmr from Lily?" she began. "I just figured I should let you know that I intend to attend the meeting on Beacon's behalf."

Rachel was at her desk, sifting through work on a laptop when Alicia came in, and stood up to greet her. "Ah yes, Elora did mention something about it. That girl…Lily, correct?" She gave a small smile. "Earnest, but naive. Nonetheless, her contact network is impressive. It makes sense she would attempt a rally of the locals." When Alicia announced her intent to attend, she nodded. "That is fine. Occasions such as this are best for the local branch to handle. Besides, if the Ascendancy were to appear we'd simply get glares and nothing constructive would be done."

Alicia paused, blinking in surprise. Truth be told, that had been easier than she expected. "Huh. Really?"

Though she would not throw skepticism upon the decision that had been made, her experiences so far made her desire further elaboration. After all, she had expected further resistance to the idea of cooperation at all, regardless of who it was against. "Does this mean that the decision to be neutral in Wonderland's invasion is out the window now?"

Rachel squinted at Alicia's confusion. "Yes, really. What, do you want the statement as a written notice?" She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. "Wonderland broke their agreement with Beacon, but the situation still has plenty of "red ribbon" behind it, as Lux would say. So Headquarters is willing to provide more assistance now, but can't declare war on Wonderland, even if they should." She grit her teeth. "That's just how it is around here; we're so mired and set in our ways of properly handling things to the point it's often too late and we're simply picking up the pieces." She scoffed. "Pisses me off."

Alicia was silent as she listened to Rachel explain the developing situation as well as her own frustrations. There was something uncharacteristic in it by the standards Alicia had developed when interacting with Rachel, and she couldn’t help but react a little.

”Congratulations,” she said after a moment, doing her best to hold back a smile. ”You’re starting to sound like the rest of us.”

Letting Rachel mull that one over, she turned and began moving towards the door. ”I’ll let you know how things go.”

Rachel did not like Alicia's insinuation, and grit her teeth. "And you're starting to sound too conceited, Paladin Seraph! I'm nothing like the rest of you local branchlings!" She sat back down, waving her away. "Fine, just go already."

Having already annoyed the other girl enough, Alicia did not push further as she left the room. She had a meeting to go to after all.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

_{.:⋮Late night meetings⋮:.}

It seemed almost habitual by this point that Alicia and Penny would meet after a major confrontation. They hadn't even encountered each other directly, but Alicia knew that Penny had been involved. It seemed to have affected her friend pretty heavily, if the business with the earpiece was any indication. That made a meeting all the more necessary.

And so they had arranged to take some time out from their schedules and meet. Normally it might be for food, but in this case Alicia wasn't sure that was something she wanted to delve into right now. They had grown a bit more distant with Penny being more devoted to Sanctuary now, plus her other identity changes, so Alicia didn't want to push things when her friend might no longer be comfortable with it.

Instead, she opted for the other meeting spot. A rooftop in downtown Penrose, one that gave a good view of the winter skyline to accompany them hanging out. Alicia stood patiently, waiting for Penny to arrive as the moon rose higher in the sky, peaking through the scattered clouds. She didn't expect to be kept waiting long, so hopefully Penny was doing alright. She'd know soon enough.

The atmosphere atop the roof would suddenly have a heavy feel to it as the air suddenly felt charged. A few short moments after the feeling appeared the space a few feet away from Alicia would suddenly tear open into a portal.

What lay beyond the portal was difficult to see due to the late hour and lack of light but there was a figure that the Seraph could see. She wouldn’t be left wondering for long as soon after the portal stabilized Penny would come walking out of it.

Though almost immediately it was easy for Alicia to tell something was wrong. Penny seemed wrong, everything about her was just off. Normally Penny could pass as relatively human easily, discounting her robotic accessories, but at the moment she was sitting at the bottom of the uncanny valley. The bleeding red of her eyes didn’t help either.

“Fuck” Penny would let out a curse as the portal closed behind her with a snap. Penny closed her eyes and very visibly went through the motions of taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She repeated the process a few times, each time she seemed to pull herself further and further out of the uncanny valley.

When she opened her eyes again they looked like they normally did, but there was still an edge to Penny’s presence. Some subtle thing that made it impossible to forget that Penny wasn’t human. “Sorry about that.”

Looking over as Penny emerged from the portal, Alicia was both impressed at the display of magic while also concerned by her physical appearance. Even if she put a quick stop to it, the fact that it had happened at all was indicative of her friend’s emotional state.

“That bad huh?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. Physically she looked alright, but with how quickly Penny could repair herself that wasn’t indicative of much.

“Worse” Penny would admit readily. Wasting no time in finding a place to sit down. “I’m learning the hard way just how much of a help the Spark was for maintaining a human perspective.” She’d explain. “Redlined back in Bolorton.” She ran a hand through her hair as she spoke. “And I’m still not fully back to zero from it.”

“Remote accessing the Bastion caused me to slip I think,” She’d gesture towards the air where she had walked though. “And I lost track of time trying to zero out in the first place.” Fixation wasn’t something that Penny often suffered from due to her inhuman ability to multi-task. But this current mess wasn’t something she could deal with without devoting a large amount of attention to.

Not that she had a solid explanation for what was going on at the moment.

“It’s why I wasn’t sounding all that well over the com. I had just pulled myself out of an even worse tail spin.”

Once Penny had sat down, Alicia took a seat next to her. Her hands rested on her knees as she listened to the explanation, which was admittedly not the strangest explanation for a thing Penny had ever given her. But she treated it with the seriousness that it deserved all the same.

“Oof. Sounds rough,” she agreed with a small nod. “Also sounds like there was a pretty tough customer on the field if that’s the case. We mostly had to deal with enough tanks to outfit a third world country. You’d have loved it.”

That comment cracked a smile out of Penny. “I was out in the field with them. They looked like Wizard of Oz rejects. Not sure who dealt with the Tin man or the Scarecrow but I took out the Lion and saw Dorothy getting taken care of.”

“Took a chunk out of their forces, mostly APC’s, before the Queen of Hearts showed up in person.” Penny would shake her head at that. “But I redlined before most of that. A lot of my systems were propped up by the Spark, and I more or less slipped into the morph on accident. I felt it coming on, but keeping it at bay was magnitude more difficult than I remember it being.”

“Kept me safe enough out there, but pretty sure I pissed off Iracebeth by chucking a bomb through her portal when she showed up.”

An eyebrow rose as Penny related her experience in Bolorton, with the clashing of the stories in addition to the actual fight itself. “Wizard of Oz? I wonder how many other things like that she has in her back pocket?” That was something she was curious about, even if she didn’t actually want to find out.

Penny’s ending earned an amused snort from Alicia. “That does sound like you,” she agreed. “Too bad we could never pull off that sort of trick against Mariette. It would have made a lot of things easier.”

“Mariette would likely just portal the bomb back at us if we tried.” Penny would agree with a wry smile. “But at least she seems to be against Wonderland as well. Since I saw her dragon girl ally there assisting with fighting off the invasion.”

“Honestly though, this whole thing makes me wish I knew how to shut down the Nexus.” She would go on to say. “Like I’m really well disposed towards active warfare, now more than ever, but I really don’t want to turn the Sanctuary into a fighting force. No one there deserves that, same with the people at HQ.” She’d draw her knees to her chest resting her chin on them as she did. “Punching these problems never really seems to work in the long run. But rarely are we given another option.”

"Probably, but it would have been satisfying if we pulled it off. I mean, Justine almost did." The more serious mention of her former-rival caused her smile to shift into a more serious frown. "I'm not surprised. Her patron won't be able to carry out his plans if Wonderland conquers the city."

Alicia certainly could not object to Penny's next sentiment, though she was a bit surprised with who it was coming from. "I'd like that too," she agreed. "But if there's one thing I learned here, there are just some people you can't talk down. At the end of the day, some people are just too crazy to respond to anything but force.”

“Oh trust me I get that. Hell, on my bad days I’m one of them.” Penny would reply with a soft chuckle “The problem, at least how I see our current situation, is that we are going to get swept up in Wonderland’s tempo. Few of us are prepared for open warfare. Rachel is, I am, you might be, though I sorta hope you haven’t been messed up that badly by the magical world already.”

“It's going to be the tension of after the Beach again, with an active threat bearing down on us all until we break or they break against us. It’s going to be a nightmare.” She would explain as she leaned back casting her gaze upward, to what stars could cut through the light pollution of the city. “Hope dies a lingering death in war, and I’d really rather we had some way of stopping it before it really starts. Killing Iracebeth might work, though I’ve my doubts about that seeing how Bolorton ended.”

She would let out a sigh “Which means the only other option would be removing the reason for why the war is starting. But I hadn’t been able to do much research into that before I got excommunicated.”

“Would simply be nice to have that as a goal rather than just war prep.”

“I suppose,” Alica agreed, resisting the urge to sigh as well. It was hard to argue with what Penny was saying, especially with how much of an unknown Wonderland still was at this point. Needless to say, the army present at Bolorton had been an unpleasant surprise, and a possible precursor to what could happen in Penrose.

After a few moments, she substituted the sigh for a shrug instead. “Well, we can either figure out the reason for the war or look into the Queen herself. Scrying is a wonderful thing. Or we figure out who Wonderland is worried about, and see if we can make a deal with them. I don’t have many good suggestions.”

“Same, any ideas I’ve had border on the heretical at the moment.” Penny would comment herself. “Like slipping into Wonderland with the Bastion and just dropping all the explosive ordnance I can store in it on her castle. Or dealing with the Mint” She would give an exaggerated shudder at that.

“Honestly, finding out more about the Queen might be the best idea. Know your enemy and all that.” She would say on a more serious note. “Finding out who the VIP’s she’d be targeting isn’t a bad idea either. I’d be willing to wager that I’m one of them though. She seems to be the vindictive type.”

Alicia nodded in agreement, hardly needing to say why those suggestions were a bad idea. “Yeah, I’m gonna save that for when we’re truly desperate.” She was willing to compromise to some extent, but cutting deals with the Mint was a whole other level.

“Makes sense,” she agreed. “I’ll have to see what we can do as far as scrying goes. Poking around the Overcity might be worthwhile too. A faction as big as Wonderland probably has its fair share of gossip making the rounds.” As they both knew, listening in on people was something that Penny was quite good at.

“Now that is an idea.” Penny would admit with a nod. “Curious if there are any factions out there that want to take a shot at Wonderland but just lack any actionable intel.” She would muse to herself as she contemplated the idea a bit more fully.

“An idea that is a bit more in line with your good ones is seeing if there is some way we can get open cooperation between Beacon, and by that I mean the Ascendency, and the Sanctuary.” She’d propose. “Open lines of communication beyond more than just us would go a long way when the fighting gets into Penrose proper.”

Penny’s suggestion was hardly unusual, and one that Alicia had no objection with either. “I’ll look into it,” she told her friend. “With what Rachel said earlier about needing to work together, she might even be willing to do it. Who’d have thought that a fairy tale could bring together all these factions who hate each other?”

"A fairy tale bringing people together to deal with a bigger threat sounds about right for a storybook. Fitting considering that seems to be Wonderlands shtick." Penny would say with a chuckle and shake of her head.

"I've also got some information on Wonderland as well if it'll help smooth things over with the Inquisitor." She would add. "Ended up overhearing your debrief. And though I was tempted to cut in, I didn't want to burn any bridges for you."

“Go for it,” Alicia replied quickly. She could appreciate Penny’s discretion, and she was hardly going to turn down the help. The more everyone knew, the more likely it was that they would figure out what Wonderland really wanted and how to stop them for good.

Penny would reach into her leg for a moment before pulling out a thumb drive and handing it over. “Everything I gathered is here. The entrance of Oz troops, some insights into their tanks and APC’s compositions, a decent recording of Iracbeth’s fighting style, as well as some data in relation to the mana gems they power everything with and a read on Iracbeth’s sword.” Penny would explain. “Let me know if that works to open the comms. Though fair warning it’s very obvious that I was the one who collected the data.”

Alicia nodded, whistling a little bit at the bevy of data Penny was offering up. She was more surprised that she had managed to get this much than anything else, as it was hardly the most unusual thing they had gotten up to. “Somehow I don’t think they’ll be all that surprised,” Alicia replied as she slipped the thumb drive into her pocket. “You are nothing if not distinctive.”

“That” Penny would agree with a nod and a smile “But also because the recordings are mostly from my POV.” She’d explain. “As I said, I am well dispositioned towards warfare. That is a glimpse into how my mind works in the middle of a fight, I trust you with knowing that, I’m just hoping that it will help.”

Glancing down once more at the thumb drive, Alicia looked between it and Penny. She nodded, still relatively unbothered by what she was hearing. "What, does it have your internal monologues in it?" she asked in jest. Though she could see how it would be embarrassing if it did.

“Not like that” Penny would roll her eyes and give Alicia a light shove. “But not far off either.”

After a moment Alicia let the levity pass. "Still, this is pretty helpful. Otherwise I'd say that the thing making Wonderland different is mostly a matter of scale. Their tanks went down to my arrows as well as any other bad guy." She'd like to say that this was the weirdest thing they had faced off against, though so far it had not yet claimed that valued position. "I can't imagine how things will escalate from here."

“No idea. Which is a worry, because we know what Beacon’s got in reserve, plus there are the options I’ve got that I keep locked away, to say nothing of the Mint and Cradle. If they are even planning on staying and fighting against Wonderland.” Penny’s gaze would drift upwards once more. “Whatever it is that is coming, is going to be big though. That’s what it feels like at least.”

“Well, whatever it is has another thing coming if they think they can mess with us,” Alicia proclaimed. “I mean, we beat up a manifestation of a Horror, and they were pretty powerful too. I’d say we still have decent odds of success.”

Penny would take a moment before shaking her head, a small smile gracing her lips. “I must still be out of it. You're holding my Vow better than I am at the moment.” She’d say looking over at her friend. “You are absolutely right though. We did that at the drop of a hat with no warning. Wonderland isn’t going to know what hit them when they get here. There is me and you, the girls at Beacon and the ones at Sanctuary, plus everyone else that lives here.”

“Penrose chaos is something we are all familiar with, these out of towners aren't going to show us up.”

Penny's amusement prompted Alicia to shrug, not too bothered one way or the other. "Maybe I'm just jaded, who knows?" As Penny noted, they were well used to patented 'Penrose Chaos' after all. Unexpected nonsense and evil plots were kind of in their wheelhouse.

"Still, imagine how boring it would be if Wonderland took over and made us all move somewhere else. I don't know what I would do with all that free time." There were worse fates of course, but it was hard to say that things here were not interesting. "Maybe I need to get a hobby."

Penny would poke Alicia in the side. “Hey now, I did just say you were holding on to hope better than I was. No getting self deprecating after that.”

“And we’d end up taking over any city we got moved to.” The robo girl would muse, “Not intentionally, just with free time we’d be too powerful.” She'd let one of her legs stretch out, as she let herself finally relax. “I’d probably get into model kits as a hobby, I’ve never had the time for them so far, but they look fun to put together and paint.”

“Any ideas for what hobby you’d pick up when we finally get the time?”

Alicia nodded, not doubting Penny’s observations for a second. “Yeah, that sounds like you.” She paused when the question was turned on her, tapping her chin in thought as she considered the options. “Not sure. I might need to work on that. Maybe whittling? That always seemed neat.”

“Really?” Penny would reply with a raised eyebrow. “I figured you more as a guitar kinda gal if you found the time.”

“Nah. Listen to music, yes. But playing music isn’t something that really caught my interest,” Alicia admitted. The conversation went on into the night, shifting to less serious topics as they rested in their temporary rooftop perch. It was just another night in Penrose as the temporary break between responsibility went on.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Freedom of Expression

Starring:
‘The Anti-Batman’ Connie
‘The Good One’ Emily

Having taken the unusual bounty, Emily and Connie found themselves summoned to downtown Penrose in the early morning. According to the one who had placed the bounty, that was the best time to catch the culprit in the act and make them stop their activities. Or at least limit them in a way that would prevent harm to the public.

The dark sky was streaked with purple and red as the sun began its struggle to ascend from below the horizon. Street lamps illuminated their path, and there was little in the way of people to obstruct their path. Not when it was this early and this cold out. Sadly they could not do the same as those people taking shelter, but that was the price to pay as a magical girl.

It was time for the hunt to begin. They’d have a limited window, and if they weren’t able to find the subject of the bounty then they’d need to come back tomorrow. Hopefully that could be avoided. Their first step was to find the person doing this, and it remained to be seen how they would go about that.

“T-Thanks for a-asking me to h-help you w-with this, E-Emily,” Connie told her friend as the pair walked along, the masked girl hugging her cold weather robe close to her trembling body. “I-I always l-like t-to use my p-powers to h-help people i-if I c-can, b-but, um, I-I’m s-still too n-nervous to a-accept one of t-these requests i-if I d-don’t have a f-friend to g-go with me…” she added, the mouth of her mask forming a slight frown.

"Yeah. It's so much more fun and safe to have a friend to tackle these with you. I'm glad you came, Connie," Emily exclaimed, ambling alongside Connie, clad in only her magical girl outfit despite the colder weather. With the contrast between the two, it wasn't long before she noticed Connie seemed a bit chilled. "Are you feeling warm enough? Here, I'll try to help a bit."

Emily concentrated on increasing her own temperature enough that she began to radiate warmth. "Um," she started to look as though she was steaming, but it didn't appear uncomfortable at all. "I hope that's better. Ironically, I'm more comfortable making the area colder than I am making it warmer."

“O-Oh, wow! T-Thanks, Emily!” Connie replied with a smile after her friend had heated the air around them. “T-That f-feels a l-lot better!”

After walking a bit further, and due in no small part to the soothing warmth she was feeling, Connie finally worked up the courage to voice a question she’d been wondering about the past few weeks.

“U-Ummm, E-Emily?” she asked hesitantly, her fingers nervously playing with her hair. “I-I, uh, n-noticed you s-seemed to be k-kinda upset a-about s-something at the C-Christmas Party, a-and, um, I d-didn’t want to pry, b-but, w-well, I w-was s-still concerned a-about you, s-so, um, i-is everything o-okay?”

It wouldn't take Connie more than a second to realize she had brought up something Emily wasn't expecting. "Huh? A-ah... uh, um... yeah!" she tried putting on a more confident front but failed spectacularly. Unable to look directly at Connie, she wore a strained smile. "...It's a bit embarrassing thinking about it since there were definitely more important things to be concerned about during the Christmas party..."

It took about a dozen seconds before Emily was able to attempt to articulate the event. "...See, there was just a minor... misunderstanding that happened... and I kinda overreacted and let it get to me..." she found herself glancing at her dominant hand and frowned momentarily. "But I'm okay! Sakura is-...! Everything is okay! Or... well, when I can talk to Sakura it will be! I'm sure!"

Whether she was trying to convince Connie of this or herself was anyone's guess.

"...Um... well, how about things on your end, Connie? Are you and Mia getting by fine?" as she asked, she retrieved her special locket and tried to see if it may give her any indication on where their target may be.

“O-Oh, uh, t-that’s good,” Connie replied after Emily had (sorta) explained what had happened. “A-And Mia and I are d-doing great!” she added with a smile. “W-We got adopted b-by a v-very nice m-magical woman n-named Kayli, a-and w-we’re l-living w-with her, a-along with o-our f-friends Rose and Iris. Oh! A-And we just s-saw Miss S-Sakura the other d-day! S-She looked a b-bit different, t-though…”

Emily's expression betrayed nothing but joy for her friend's fortune. "Oh, that's wonderful! Being adopted was the best thing that ever happened to me, so I'm so happy for you!" she congratulated. "Does this mean you have a few sisters now?" Emily asked, perhaps a bit more excited than she needed to be. Sakura being brought up did draw her attention, however. "Oh?" she almost seemed hesitant to continue. "H-how so?"

“U-Um, well, s-she looked a b-bit older, a-and she h-had a d-dragon t-tail instead of l-legs,” Connie replied. “B-But it d-didn’t make her l-look l-like a m-monster, or a-anything!” she hastened to clarify. “I-I actually t-thought she l-looked very p-pretty. A-And yes,” the masked girl added with a smile. “R-Rose and Iris are n-now Mia and I’s s-sisters! I-It feels s-so nice being p-part of a f-family,” she continued. “I-I mean, M-Mia has a-always been l-like a b-big sister to me, b-but having f-family d-dinners in m-my own h-home, well, i-it’s like a d-dream come true!”

“Yeah, it’s really something else, isn’t it?”

Turning to their powers to find what they were looking for, Connie was soon rewarded by the brush of a nearby mind. It was an active one, thinking about how colors combined, proper strokes and techniques. No doubt it was the mind of their target going about their next devilish act, or something suitably dramatic.

Meanwhile, Emily was able to determine that their target was nearby thanks to her Absolute Direction artifact. It appeared to be nearby in a courtyard between buildings, connected to the street by an alleyway. With a general direction to work from and a limited range, that would make things easier too.

While she would have loved to do little more than make small talk with Connie for as long as they could, they did have some business to attend to. Ideally, the two of them would simply need to meet the person performing this aggressive graffiti and tell them to put an end to it and then they would realize their folly. Emily only wished she was naive to think this was the most likely outcome and not that the perpetrator was going to get angry and fight or scared and flee. But hey, with a friend nearby, she didn’t feel the least bit nervous! “I’d love to hear more about your new family. But for now, let's see who we’re dealing with.” Emily wasn’t exactly frontline material but unless Connie encouraged otherwise, she would start to lead the duo by a few steps as they approached the supposed location of their target.

“R-Right!” Connie agreed, trying to sound as fiercely determined as she could (which wasn’t very). Following along behind Emily, the timid girl found herself hoping that she and her friend would be able to resolve things peacefully. Still, if the vandal decided to put up a fight, Connie was prepared to do whatever she could to incapacitate them, before anyone got hurt.

Around the corner and down darker pathways they went, following the guidance of the artifact they possessed. There were no mundane obstacles in their way, not that much could have stopped a magical girl anyways. Passing by small piles of trash scattered along the side of their path, they soon arrived at their destination.

The courtyard was not all that interesting. The ground was covered in concrete with small weeds making their way up through the cracks. There were a couple benches and a table whose wood was starting to become very warped. Doors allowed access to the courtyard from the various other apartment buildings surrounding it. Because of this it was not hard to find their target.

A girl stood on the Eastern side of the courtyard about equidistant between the way they had come in and the other exit on the opposite side. She wore a green jacket which bore paint smears both old and new. In defiance of the cold weather she had a skirt on, and wore sneakers too. In one hand she had a painter brush while the other idly shook a can of spray paint. The clicking it made clashed with her humming as she eyed the half finished art in front of her. It had vibrant colors, mixing clean lines with smooth transitions from one part to the next. She hadn't noticed then yet, giving them the element of surprise for however they chose to proceed.

As they approached the girl in what Connie hoped was the most non-threatening manner possible, she greeted her with a small wave, while her mask formed the friendliest smile she could muster, “U-Um, g-good morning,” she called tentatively. “T-That’s a v-very p-pretty picture y-you’re m-making.”

Surprisingly, Connie took the lead when it came to interacting with the girl. Emily decided to wait to see how this individual would react. After confirming with the compass she had, she tucked away the locket and looked at what was apparently their culprit with anticipation for a friendly encounter.

The clicking came to an end as the artist found herself addressed. Arresting the motion of the spray can, she turned to eye both Connie and Emily before breaking into a confident grin. “Thanks. It’s not quite done yet, but I think people will get the message clearly enough.” The technicolor angel being skewered by a horned beast was pretty unsubtle.

Now that they had gotten closer, Connie finally noticed the dark beast that was… impaling the brightly colored angel she had initially seen. Needless to say, she was less than happy about this fact, and after gasping in shock, the timid girl tried to muster a reply to the artist. “Y-Y-You’re v-very w-welcome,” she stammered. “B-B-But, u-ummm, I-I’m s-sorry, b-but, u-uh, I-I d-don’t r-really u-understand…” she confessed, the mouth of her mask drooping into a frown. “W-W-Why i-is t-that b-beautiful a-angel b-being… b-being…” the poor girl felt such shock and horror at the gruesome sight that she was unable to finish, nervously playing with her hair as her whole body began to tremble.

"...completely destroyed?" Emily finished Connie's sentence with gusto. She appeared utterly entranced by the painting unlike her companion and her eyes shone with adoration. "So visceral, leaving nothing to the imagination! It always surprises me to see how detailed and vibrant people can get with a can or few of spray paint." There was no mistaking her tone -- Emily was genuinely amazed by the piece of artwork rather than repulsed. "But..." her expression became tense. "...the 'message' isn't a very kind one, is it? Um, why create such destructive pieces?"

Still grinning, the girl mostly ignored Connie and instead turned to Emily as a more appreciative viewer of her art. Even if there was some disagreement with the message, the compliments had soothed any offense that might result. “I’m protesting,” she explained simply. “Those Ascendancy guys keep ruining the city, and nothing that happens makes them go away. I figure it can’t hurt to make their stay unpleasant.”

“O-Oh, I-I s-see…” Connie said softly. She had to admit, the Ascendancy did seem to cause a lot of problems, and she had been present when they declared their intention to destroy Dan’s dimension, but still, was what this girl was doing really the best way to go about opposing them? “B-But, u-umm, w-why d-does it h-have to b-be s-so… v-violent?” she asked hesitantly.

“Um, yeah…” Emily was likewise generally against violent methods, even towards the Ascendency who had been built as nothing more than a font of misery as far as most people she asked about it were concerned. But she didn’t think their ideals would resonate with this girl considering how far she went to cause them what she more or less admitted to as being ‘minor inconveniences’. “...isn’t there another way you could try to go about this? It’s just that… well, those paintings don’t seem to discriminate. Even people who aren’t related to the Ascendancy are, well, not having a pleasant time.”

“That’s the point!” the girl declared, agitatedly waving her paintbrush towards the drawing. “We’ve got to make people feel uncomfortable, get angry, challenge the status quo! All of the big players in Penrose are just in it for themselves, so we have to do something before it’s too late. That’s what art is all about!”

“U-Um, w-well, I-I’m s-something of a-an a-artist, too,” Connie added with a slight frown as she pressed her fingers together. “A-And I-I’ve always t-thought t-that art s-should b-bring p-people t-together and m-make them h-happy. I-It s-should f-fill them with g-good f-feelings, n-not b-bad ones…”

"Um... I don't draw aside from a doodle every now and then, so I won't comment on what art is about. It would be rude of me to try," Emily placed a hand on her chest and she gave a pleading look to the girl. "But I can't stay quiet when innocent people are in danger. Could we ask you to stop?" she bluntly asked. “There must be a better method, I’m sure!”

The girl huffed, shaking her head. “Art’s what I’m good at, so art is what I’ll do. Now’s not the time for touchy feely kumbaya, it’s time for resistance!” After a few moments she turned back to face the wall. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to finish.”

To say that Connie was troubled would have been an understatement. She didn’t want to fight this girl. Indeed, she empathized with her. And yet, she knew what the rebellious artist was doing was wrong. As Emily had said, there had to be a better way for the girl to accomplish her goals, they just had to find it….

“B-B-But, w-what i-if y-you p-painted t-things t-to m-make p-people s-stop f-fighting a-and w-work t-together?” Connie suggested, the timid girl using all her willpower to find the courage needed to speak up in what was clearly a tense situation. “I-I d-don’t k-know m-much a-about the A-Ascendancy,” she conceded with a frown. “B-But a-aren’t t-they just h-here to s-stop a-all the v-violence? M-Maybe i-if t-they s-saw people g-getting a-along p-peacefully, t-they’d l-leave…”

“Sure, you try that,” the girl replied distractedly. She had already returned to painting, using her brush to shape the paint delivered onto the wall by the canister. She had ceased paying attention for the most part, and it seemed she would not be swayed by words alone anymore.

"So you won't stop?" Emily frowned, and then took a long, drawn-out exhale. She gave Connie a solemn shake of her head, a signal that she had realized this wasn't going to end peacefully. She almost seemed to be in pain judging by her expression.

Lucifer took a step forward and created a blue flame in the palm of her hand. She pointed it at the artist but did not fire.

"I told you that I can't ignore this. That innocent lives are in danger. Knowing this, you would still continue to place them in harm's way. I can understand strong feelings against the Ascendancy. I'm sure they are warranted. But that doesn't mean you can use such reckless, selfish means to enact your revenge," Emily now looked determined. Determined to stop the villain before them, even if... "...even if you are a sister, I can't let you continue!"

The mouth of Connie’s mask drooped into a frown, the gentle girl’s heart sinking, as she, too, realized that the artist wouldn't be swayed by their words. With a nervous gulp, Connie readied her own magic, and although she still hoped that this show of force might yet convince the artist to stand down, she knew she needed to be prepared for anything.

The sudden turn by Emily caused the artist to pause. Her head fell slightly, though the fire in her eyes did not diminish. After a moment she shook her head and turned to face both magical girls. “I thought you understood. But I guess you’re no different from the rest of them. Fine then. Try your best, but you won’t stop me!”

As she said that her hand shot out and came to rest upon the painting she had just made. Magic flowed from her to the painting, activating the dormant power therein. It responded, spikes of magical energy erupting from the brick surface to lance out at the duo from the side. Having done this she then stepped back, keeping her tools at the ready as she faced the fight that had now arrived.

Emily quickly took a vertical approach towards avoiding the impending attack the artist had thrown their way, boosting her way only a little over a dozen feet into the air. "Connie! Let's fight from different angles, that way she can't deal with both of us so easily!"

...Unless the artist terraformed the area.

That wasn't impossible with a magical girl, but hopefully the girl's hatred outweighed her experience in a fight, or so Emily wished as she flew her way to one side of the girl. Emily did not engage in a melee, but she wasn't very far out either. She conjured a blue fireball on the smaller side which she lobbed at their foe.

Sadly, the girl didn’t stand down, but rather got ready to fight, sending spikes of mystic energy shooting out of her painting. Instinctively, Connie’s tentacles manifested to shield her from the attack, while Emily used her magic to dodge the spikes completely.

“R-Right!” Connie acknowledged after her fiery friend suggested that they split the painter’s focus, moving to place herself opposite her pyromantic partner. While Emily conjured a small fireball to throw at their opponent, Connie prepared a small, focused nightmare pulse, which she’d fire just as the painter attempted to dodge her ally’s attack. With any luck, the girl would escape the flames, only to plummet headfirst into a realm of her deepest fears made manifest…

The girl’s brow furrowed as the fight began, not surprised that they had dodged her initial attack. So they had some experience at combat, but that would not be enough to stop her. She waved her paintbrush in the air, forming a fireball of her own that she launched at Emily a moment after the blue one was launched at her.

Dodging to the side, she was already lifting her spray can. A hiss filled the air as she pushed down on the trigger, emitting a green cloud into the air. In addition to obscuring vision, it would have a negative effect on Connie if she breathed it in. It threw off things enough that the girl was able to backpedal and use her magic to fend off the nightmare pulse. At least this time around. For now she simply sought to keep them from closing in, so she’d have the space to manage the two opponents.

Emily had to avoid the retaliatory fireball before she could continue their attack, which she had done by sharply increasing the thrust in her ‘boosters’ and pointing them to the side. She suddenly jolted to one direction just in time and then corrected herself before returning her focus to the hostile girl, who was now enshrouded in a green cloud, which Emily kept herself out of.

Blinking, Emily’s pupils appeared to light up as she began to focus on the heat everything was giving off. Both Connie and the hostile Esper’s heat signatures were clearly visible to Emily and she used the confidence from the vision to accurately fire another one straight at the girl, similar in size and power as the last.

Meanwhile, Connie was forced to stumble back as she shielded her masked face with the sleeve of her kimono in order to block the enchanted spray paint. This unsurprisingly caused her nightmare pulse to miss the painter, although once she’d gotten some literal breathing room, the timid girl prepared to conjure a second beam of nightmare magic, ideally timed so that it would cross the path the agile artist took to doge Emily’s second fireball. She also readied her tentacles to wrap around their adversary, and so prevent any further attempts at evasion.

Emily had no difficulty reading the heat coming off of the girl, as the cloud was more emotional than elemental. At least for now. That allowed both girls to continue their offensive as they sought to press the artist from two sides.

Just as clearly, the girl intended to remain on the offensive. SHe shook her spray can again before pressing the trigger. Unlike the cloud of mist, this time it unleashed a crackling burst of blue lightning. It struck at the incoming fireball and then wrapped around it to lick at Emly directly. Her brush also twirled, creating a barrier of Hope to try and block the second nightmare pulse, but Connie could feel that it was relatively weak. All the same the girl kept slowly backing up, edging nearer to the closest exit from the courtyard as the back and forth continued.

“Woah!”

The sudden lightning strike from the paint can was a bit too fast to evade, so Emily brought up Purgatory, her gauntlets, to defend as best as she could.

Wait, I’m airborne, how does electricity affect me? There’s nothing grounding me, is there? This is what I get for skipping school to watch War of the Worlds… Well, it’s magic so I’m just gonna assume it hurts!

“Emily!” Connie gasped as she watched the artist fire a stream of crackling lightning at her friend. However, there was little the masked girl could do to help, other than continue to press her attack and hope it was enough to draw the painter’s attention away from Emily. Although her second nightmare pulse was blocked by a mystic shield, the protective barrier shattered upon the pulse’s impact, meaning it was rather weak. Sending her dark tendrils shooting towards the retreating artist in an effort to bind her in place, Connie charged up a third, and significantly stronger, nightmare pulse. Once it was ready, she would fire the horrific beam at the painter, and, with luck, finally bring their battle to a close…

The girl did her best to dodge the tendrils as they swept in, spraying corrosive mist like a poisonous flamethrower to dissolve them. Yet she was not a fighter, and it distracted her enough that she had barely any time to react to the nightmare pulse as it came racing in.

A shield came up as before, only to be shattered like so much paper without slowing the powerful blow. The girl’s eyes widened in shock, just as she was struck head on. Illusions quickly took effect as the magic fed on her fears and phobias to craft and cast her into a nightmare. What this was quickly became apparent as she sank to her knees, spray can and paintbrush left to clatter to the ground. “M…My hands,” she whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she seemed to stare at them like they weren’t there. “Now w-what good am I?”

Deeper she sank into the nightmare in her own mind, curling into a ball on the ground as her crying intensified. The fight had ended, though it was debatable as to whether the duo had solved the problem they had been sent to fix.

Emily touched down near Connie and the girl, the areas on her arm where her gauntlets did not protect would be blackened, and there was a whiff of something burning. Yet despite this and the apparent discomfort, Emily observed the pitiful wreck of a girl their target had become.

"O-oh!" she stifled her surprise and turned to Connie before offering a huge grin. "Nice job, Connie!" she congratulated through the increasing volume of the sobs. Her words lost a bit of its intensity as they went on. "That's a lot safer than having to hurt her until she can't fight back. For everyone involved."

While Connie was certainly glad that her nightmare pulse had found its target, her kind heart still ached at the sight of the sobbing artist. She always hated to see the effects of her nightmares, and even though this girl had fought against them, she didn’t feel the painter deserved the anguish they were now clearly suffering.

At the sound of Emily’s words of approval, the masked girl’s attention was brought back to her friend. “T-Thanks, Emily,” Connie replied softly, her mask forming a fragile smile. However, despite her pyromantic partner’s jubilant demeanor, her expression soon returned to a somber frown once more, while her trembling hands remained clasped over her chest. “I-I g-guess…” she conceded after Emily noted that this was better than the alternative. “B-But I-I just w-wish we d-didn’t n-need to f-fight her a-at all…” Indeed, each of the painter’s pained sobs seemed to send an equal spike of agony through Connie herself.

The fire-based girl kneeled down next to the catatonic spray painter and even brushed her hair with a hand, almost like a mother would when comforting a child. "I'm sure she has suffered a lot before becoming obsessed with the Ascendancy like this. It's not like I can't understand or sympathize. Most of Penrose has a bone to pick with them, after all. Maybe she'll be more receptive to changing her ways now. I really hope so."

“M-Me, too,” Connie agreed, kneeling down next to Emily, her masked visage filled with concern for their former opponent. She would allow the artist’s nightmare to continue for a short while longer, but if it didn’t end on its own after that, then she would bring the nightmare to a conclusion herself. “W-Why can’t p-people just s-solve t-their p-problems b-by t-talking t-things out?” the timid girl asked her friend. “W-Why d-does everyone h-have to f-fight all the t-time? A-And w-why does the A-Ascendancy have t-to be s-so cruel? I-I t-thought B-Beacon was s-supposed to h-help p-people…”

Slowly the sobbing began to dwindle as the nightmare faded. Even though reality returned for the girl, she did little to shift from the position she had ended up in. There was no attempt to fight, nor was there an effort to flee. It seemed the drive she had so recently displayed had been drained out of her by Connie’s attack.

“L-Leave me alone,” she muttered, her voice cracking as she avoided meeting their gaze. “You w-won. I’ll stop p-painting. W-what more do you w-want from me?”

Emily didn’t seem to mind and remained where she was as she answered. “Nothing at all, if you’re being honest about not painting anymore. But maybe we can do something for you? I’m not sure what yet, but your strong feelings about the Ascendancy won’t go away just because we won the fight and told you to stop. If you’re willing to accept the help, that is.”

“Y-Yes! W-We’d l-love to h-help!” Connie quickly agreed with several rapid nods.

Looking between the two of them, the painter’s eyes trembled as they offered their help. It was difficult for the girl to trust that they were being truthful. But she didn’t have much of a choice anymore. “I don’t know what to do now,” she muttered. “I just wanted to convince people to take a stand, since I couldn’t make a difference alone.”

She looked between the two of them seeking an answer to her question. “I-If you know something I don’t, I guess I’m willing to listen.”

As she had just mentioned, Emily didn't have any immediate idea of how they could help, but she was genuine in her desire to make sure her sister was happy in the end.

She looked to Connie and then back to the painter. "Is it possible that you could still paint, just without the 'flair'?" she asked. "I don't think it needs to be magical to have the effect you want, it just needs to speak the right words to people," her face loses a bit of tension and she becomes a bit sheepish. "U-um... well, I don't really have artistic talent myself so I'm not sure how much help I can be... but I'll do what I can!"

“Y-Yeah, I-I think t-that’s a g-great idea!” Connie added, her mask forming an enthusiastic smile. “I-Instead of c-causing division, y-you could m-make paintings that b-bring p-people together! A-And i-instead of v-vandalizing p-private property, y-you could p-post them on G-Glimmer!” she suggested, clasping her hands together. “L-Like I m-mentioned earlier, I-I’m p-pretty sure the A-Ascendancy’s only h-here to m-make the city more p-peaceful, s-so if y-you encourage e-everyone to w-work together p-peacefully, t-then they should l-leave, r-right? O-Oh!” she added as another idea occurred to her. “A-And if you need a place to s-stay, the n-nice lady who adopted me and m-my b-best friend has a r-really big h-house w-with lots of room! T-Then we c-could p-paint together!”

Glancing down at her hands once more, the girl bit her lip in deep thought. “I’ll…I’ll try. But sometimes it just slips in when I don’t mean to. When I get in the groove, you know? I don’t know how well I’ll do in avoiding it. Still, I’ll do my best. Both that and the Glimmr thing. I just figured this was more noticeable.”

As much as she might or might not truly believe what Connie and Emily were saying about peaceful cooperation, she did not provide any further arguments against it. “I have a place to stay already, but thanks,” she told Connie. “We can still hang out there though.” She had the feeling that neither girl would be particularly opposed to the idea.

“I-I’d r-really like that!” Connie replied, her mask forming a happy smile. “A-And if y-you have s-someone with you w-while you w-work, t-they can l-let you k-know if y-you s-start making something d-disruptive,” she added, really hoping such a solution would work out.

Emily couldn't help but smile at how positive things were looking now. If things worked out, they'd have a new (and pretty talented) sister. The mulling over the situation with Sakura was something she wasn't doing more than an hour ago, but it already felt like it'd been a year since that point.

She nodded when Connie pointed out they could keep an eye on the painter's excitement while she was drawing. "Exactly! You can count on us! I'm sure your message will reach and inspire a lot more people this way..." her sentence hangs somewhat awkwardly for a second as she realizes that no names come to mind. "Oh! I don't think we ever caught your name...or introduced ourselves..." she turned a bit red. "A-anyway, I'm Emily and I'm not super good at drawing or anything but I doodle here and there," she looked to Connie. "And this is my friend and much better artist, Connie!"

The cheeks of Connie’s mask turned a bright shade of crimson at the sound of her friend’s compliment. “T-Thanks, Emily…” she whispered, more than a little embarrassed, but also happy she had such a kind and caring friend.

Looking between the two girls, the artist seemed to reclaim some glimmer of the enthusiasm she had previously espoused as the hostilities between them faded into memory. It wasn’t as if Connie and Emily were the true focus of her ire. “I’m Adeleide. Thanks for helping me see sense. An empath swept up in her own emotions, who would have guessed?”

The group would linger for a bit longer, discussing details and arranging another meeting in the near future to help spark this newfound friendship into bloom. The danger was at an end, and both Connie and Emily could be sure that Adeleide would not intentionally put the public in danger again. As they prepared to depart, Adeleide looked to the painting and let out a sigh. “I hope they leave some of it up.” Misguided though she might have been, she was nonetheless sincere in her hopes for the future.