Inedible

Secundi Lux

One after another the machines are dispatched. Aoife’s blade sinks deep into her target, needles of water spearing into the metallic shell along with the deep bite of her Gladius. The mass of metal topples, falls into a heap with a crash and her beside it.

The other’s volley of missiles, aimed for Selma, blossom into a harmless ball of blue-white fire when they’re detonated prematurely by Rivka’s blast. Her next shot blows a chunk out of its shell, a short prelude to its demise at the crushing weight of Crystal’s gravity well. The sound of crumpling steel is an unpleasant shriek that fills the empty street, echoing into the night.

Crystal can hear it from the perch she’s taken, high above the field of battle. Up there on top of the building she’s met by darkness, whipping wind and freezing rain unimpeded by the derelict structures that provide some protection to those below. Her field of vision is dim, a great expanse of darkness broken up only by the pin-point blue lights of the Nox diffusers that line the abandoned district. The barest glimpse of the moon can be seen through the carpet of clouds above, like a pale eye peeking through closed lashes.

When she turns her gaze down toward the street again she can see the lights, a tiny parade moving through the dark. A dozen maybe, red dots moving at a quick pace down the surrounding streets. More drones closing in on the team of Ars Magi down below.

There’s something else, too. The flash of something in front of the moon, a shift in the weight in the air. Her warning comes as red light begins to gather in the air above her, an ominous glow that illuminates the shape of something huge hovering in the air above her. Its outline is sleek, almost insect-like. Four wings, one central body, and a long stinger protruding from its bottom.

--but not a stinger, exactly. The tip of it is where the light gathers, and the point from which it lets loose the blast that carves through a chunk of the rooftop next to her. The beam slices neatly through the space just beside the girl, leaving a clean line of smoldering, red-hot concrete in its wake. A miss—but barely.

The four members of team Kheper can see the flash above them from the street below. Yet they have little time to ponder it before their earpieces crackle to life again:

“More coming down the intersection—prepare to engage.”

They round the corners of buildings, the heavy stop of feet signaling their arrival. More drones pouring in from intersection, from left and right. Cones of spotlights flash across the street, illuminating the four Ars Magi in their path as they march forward.

Secundi Lux

rip

Secundi Lux

Concrete bursts, cracking and shattering as the ground tears itself asunder at Selma’s command. The fissure cuts a jagged line along the rain-soaked street, the earth below letting out a groan of effort as the green-haired giant’s magic pulses through it. A vicious line that ends underneath the vulnerable foot of one of the hulking machines that Chie’s called to the hunt, the explosion of rock, mud, and asphalt throwing it off balance.

Off balance and right into the spear formed to meet it. In the wake of the attack, it rests impaled against the nearest building, the spike of earth entombed partway inside of the drone’s center mass. Heavy legs twitch and buckle, but they seem to be dying throes rather than anything that might be cause for alarm.

The remaining two drones make themselves less easy targets. The fall of one alerts the other, and then move with surprising agility toward the source of their fellows demise. Heavy legs flex in long strides, the machines propelling themselves over debris and toward the advancing Magi.

There’s a shrill hiss from the first as it lets loose the opening volley, four distinct trails of smoke exploding from one of the rectangular shaped pods attached to its central body. From each contrail leads a bone-white missile, a painted cylinder bearing a magic-charged payload to be delivered in full to one Selma Rosemarie.

The second machine, perhaps surprisingly, doesn’t double-down on the threat to the green giant. Instead it chooses to focus on the other sources of magic that burn in the rainy nighty. Staccato machine-gun fire rips through the darkness, tiny flashes illuminating the ruined street. The rubble that Chie’s sequestered herself behind pops and cracks as bullets perforate her shelter and puffs of dust begin to rise from the detritus. The machine lopes closer still as it fires, threatening to soon overtake her.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

The blasts from Dana’s gleaming weapon and the additional rays that flash from her stars cut an impressive swath through the swarm of missiles. Gleaming lines of sunlight slice through the metallic cones, detonations following in their wake. The sound is like popping popcorn, but a dozen times louder; pop, pop, pop, a dozen explosions that light the night sky like fireworks.

There are more missiles though, metal darts that careen through the air toward the figures on the streets and rooftops. Several more peel off as Nicole glides by, marking her as a target and acting accordingly. The redheaded Magi is too swift for such simple machines though, and she’s treated to the sound of several more detonations

She doesn’t shake all of them though—but that’s where Cordelia’s doorway comes in. The mirrored doorway forms in front of Nicole, and as she vanishes through it and further into the sky. The missiles detonate in the air behind her, well away from her comrades on the street below.

At the same time, Penny rockets down into the enormous machine’s center with the force of a comet. The gigantic hammer she wields shatters through the thick coating of ice and brittle metal beneath it, piercing through to the machine’s heart in one clean line. The metallic skeleton, the gears and wires that power it, and everything else around them all cave in under the force of GroB Eisen and its diminutive wielder. She leaves a line of smoking air behind, a trail of lightning that burns her afterimage into the night sky.

The force of the blow is enough to drive the frame further into the crater of the building it collapsed into, concrete and steel groaning in protest.

Penny can feel a sudden heat as something cuts a line through the machine just above her. Blair’s flaming claymore carves a wicked line through half of the thing’s center mass, and Penny for a moment feels like the heat of a furnace as the Scottish girl skids to a halt next to her in the gaping cavity that Penny’s created.

“Fuck,” She complains, “Y’took all the fun, ye’—”

The rest of her complaints are cut off by the deafening detonation from off near the machine’s shoulder, Cordelia’s flung projectile blossoming into a ball of flame as it burns across the metal. The last few lights along the metal chases die soon after, flickering and dimming as the mecha powers down. It’s arm, half-raised, falls limply into the crater of the building.

All is silent for a few moments, a pregnant pause filled only by the sound of howling wind.

Then, the crackle of Aiya’s voice in the team’s ear: “Field’s clear. Orders are to hold until exercise is over. We’ll rendezvous shortly.”

---

Aiya and her officers join the group within the next twenty minutes, meeting the team of Ars Magi at one of the nearby abandoned structures. The first floor of an old office, a reception area that has at least a few small tables and chairs remaining inside. The group is joined by Team 2, the officers and Ars Magi they just rescued. The other group has the same orders: Hold until further notice.

“Penny!” Says Dima, breaking briefly away from the group of officers. “You were awesome. Like—way better than Altea.” It’s unclear if he heard all the swearing. Considering he’s supposed to be handling Blair, he might have gotten used to it. “I’ve got to go set stuff up, but, I’ll talk to you later—soon—hopefully--”

“Hah.” Snorts Blair in passing. “Penny’s got a boyfriend, huh?”

“How cute.” The dry assessment comes from Amanda, the sour looking blonde girl stepping forward toward. Pale blue eyes regard the smaller Ars Magi clinically, and for a moment it seems she might have one of her usual biting comments to share. Until, with reservation, she offers her hand to shake. “Good work, Grenoble.”

“You too, Noel.” Amanda adds, giving a short nod in Dana’s direction. “Good aim.”

“Great aim.” Corrects Noah, giving Dana a thumbs-up from his place near the radio. “We got to team up after all, huh?”

Meanwhile hurricane Priya is blowing through, stretching her hand out to fist-bump Nicole and flash a cheery grin at her fellow Magi. “We gotta team up more often,” She says, moving to throw an arm around Cordelia’s shoulder next.

“Nice moves with the mirrors too.” She praises, “I’m making you an honorary member of team sword girls, Cordelia.” Only small swords for normally allowed for official members, apparently. “Foods on me at the next meeting.”

Over the next hour the cadets from the officer’s academy reassemble their equipment, checking in periodically with command via the radio.

Finally, sometime in the dead of night, the radio crackles to life.

“Operation complete. All teams prepare from transport. Repeat—operation complete, return to base.”

A few minutes later the helicopters arrive. Magitech-powered lights glow along their sleek exteriors, the low hum of their engines filling the air as they touch down and load both officers and Magi inside. The vehicles take to the sky soon after, cutting their way over the abandoned district and back to the academies staging area.

There, after a short debrief, farewells are said between Magi and officers before the cadets part ways. The Ars Magi find themselves once again at their dorms, though they’re given no time for idle chatter. Lights go out after about thirty minutes and the halls are quiet soon after.

A more thorough debrief will come in the morning. For now, though, it’s time to rest.

Secundi Lux

[ MUSIC: Tension ]

At the point of Chie’s focus long lines of water begin to bend downward, crashing into the street under the force of her magic. It’s not long before the distortion begins to draw attention, just as the officers said it would.

Beams of light begin to illuminate the street, fluorescent cones that sweep across the cracked concrete and broken windows. They herald the arrivals of the drones they are attached to, 12 foot bi-pedal machines whose bodies are made up of heavily armored legs and rectangular ‘heads’ mounted with machine guns, antennae, and spotlights. Blue LEDs flash periodically across their surface, blinking in the darkness.

They appear out of the darkness, one, then another, and a third after. The drones converge on the disturbance on the street, walking warily at its edges. Finding no acceptable targets within their headlights begin to roam once again, over the nearby buildings, searching for the source of the magical disturbance. If not prevented they’ll soon begin to move in Chie’s direction, attempting to locate her and the rest of team Kheper amongst the ruins.

The tiny radio in their ears hisses to life, the officer on the other end instructing:

“Engage at will, team.”

Secundi Lux

The next several weeks pass uneventfully now that the pageantry has finished. There’s plenty of time in the immediate aftermath of the ball for gossip and swapping stories, and there’s more than one Ars Magi that’s got a later engagement with a partner from the ball. Selma herself receives a gift a few days later: A bouquet of flowers from the confident cadet she’d favored with a dance.

Eventually, however, it comes time to return to schoolwork, magical drills, and the normal routines of Academy life. As each Ars Magi becomes increasingly familiar with their powers their exercises ratchet up in intensity, gradually building each girl toward a confident proficiency in their unique abilities. Occasionally Palmyra’s senior Ars Magi offer personalized instruction, testing individual cadets in mock-battle.

Throughout the month there are also rumors swirling around, mostly based on gossip overheard and stories traded at the ball. There’s talk of the new anti-Void machines, and of the upcoming joint exercise between the academies. The latter is confirmed by Nova Lux’s instructors soon enough, the date set for the end of the month.

The time passes quickly for most, until the day draws near.

---

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚊 𝙻𝚞𝚡 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚢
𝙱𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟸𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟺:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Masuzu Chie, Crystal von Caelestis, Rivka Sokolov, Selma Rosmarie, Aoife Strumgaard

---

“This will be your field of operation.”

The screens in the center of the briefing room flicker, cycling through green-tinted images until an aerial view of Palmyra’s abandoned district appears on the central monitor. From above the tall concrete walls cordoning off the district are made visible, towering above the desolate half-structures that fill the empty streets. The Nox diffusers, tall pylons that stretch above the streets, glow a pale blue in the afternoon light. The cadets will recognize at least some portion of the district from their entrance exam, and one of the observation towers is still half-destroyed from the incidents during that exercise.

The officer presenting, instructor Drier, gives her audience a moment to digest the image. The cadets from Nova Lux are arranged in a circle around the central monitor, all seated in neat rows and sorted according to their established teams. In the dim evening light the monitors are clear and glowing, and the five girls have a good vantage from their place near the front row.

“In this exercise you will be clearing and securing several key structures, marked here.” On the monitor buildings begin to light up, their skeletons highlighted in fluorescent yellow. “Accompanying you will be several cadets from the Officer’s Academy, who will act in a supporting role as your operations team.”

She continues on, beginning to point out routes and instructions. Selma, Chie, Crystal, Aoife, and Rivka are designated as Team 5—a military moniker unfortunately not as regal as Crystal’s Team Kheper—and instructed:

“Team 5 will be drawing fire away from teams one and two while they secure their targets. You will be directly engaging the enemy in combat.”

The screens flicker again, the images of ruined buildings and debris-filled streets vanishing to make way for something new: Pictures of machines. Tall, bipedal constructs with boxy looking bodies, rectangular heads, and long flexible legs.

“As Voids would be too difficult—and dangerous—to coordinate, your opposition for this exercise will be automated drones, provided by Juno’s Defense Force. Their magitech armaments have been reduced to less-than lethal capability for this exercise, and you are allowed to use any amount of force within your means against them.”

Discussion and planning continues for another hour, until the cadets are dismissed. The next evening, the mission commences.

---

𝙿𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚢𝚛𝚊 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝙴𝚡𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚉𝚘𝚗𝚎
𝙰𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚝
𝙹𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝟹𝟶𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟼:𝟶𝟶 𝙿𝙼
Masuzu Chie, Crystal von Caelestis, Rivka Sokolov, Selma Rosmarie, Aoife Strumgaard

---

When time Team 5 arrives at their rendezvous point the evening sky is grey, overcast, and very wet. Sheets of rain wash over the empty streets and run-down shattered buildings, forming deep puddles in the pockmarked streets. As the Ars Magi step out of their transport, they find that their partners from the Officer’s Academy are already arrived and waiting outside a small building, three figures shrouded in cobalt cloaks to protect them from the downpour.

Among them is at least one familiar face; Liam Neptune, Crystal’s dance partner from the ball. The other officers aren’t quite as recognizable, a boy and girl, the former wiry and pale, the latter taller and darker skinned. They introduce themselves as cadets Soma and Green respectively, and there’s enough time for brief greetings as the red LEDs on everyone’s clocks slowly count down the remaining minutes until the exercise commences.

“We’re assigned to support you from our outpost here,” Liam explains, “You’ll be engaging in direct combat with the drones, so we’d only get in the way in a straight-up fight. Instead, we’ll be in your ear and keeping you updated on the flow of battle.” He wipes a few errand raindrops from his brow before turning to his comrades, requesting: “Green, can you tell them what they’ll be going up against?”

“The opposition is unmanned drones. Not very smart, but they come with sensor arrays and communication relays. They’re designed to kill Voids, so they’ll probably be good at picking up anything that uses a lot of magic.”

“Right.” Says Liam. “Your job will be to advance up this avenue and, basically, draw fire. We’ll tell you where to move when the other teams need you to.”

The timers beep once, signaling a minute left until the exercise begins. Another beep at thirty seconds. Again at ten. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

“Team five,” Comes the static-laced voice over the group’s radios. “You’re clear to begin.”

Lights begin to flicker to life in the distant streets, specks of red and blue that are soon followed by cones of fluorescent yellow. Spotlights begin to move across the streets and the faces of buildings, and the heavy sound of metal crunching through debris can be faintly heard in the far distance.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

As Penny accelerates across the skyline she can hear the staccato gunfire following in her wake, charged magitech energy tearing into the ruined buildings just a few feet behind her. She can see Blair moving in parallel to her on the other side of the street, jets of fire propelling the girl in a sharp arc across the crumbling skyline. She too threads the needle of gunfire, shouting profanity as she rockets through the air.

Between blasts of electricity and gets of fire the massive robot’s weapon systems, turning pods and cannons to melted slag as the two Ars Magi work in tandem. The turrets and pods that line the surface of the machine are decommissioned one-by-one, its armaments disappearing one by one.

The machine does not stand for this for long, however. The barrel of its enormous rifle swings toward Penny, giving Priya and Nicole a reprieve from its blasts. Penny, unfortunately, is no longer so lucky. Energy swirls around the barrel of the cannon as it begins to charge, unleashing a beam of energy to chase after its tiny assailant.

Back on the ground there’s not much left of the advancing machines after the blast of the Dana-charged grenades envelopes the street, leaving only half-constructed husks of steel and broken concrete behind. Noah finds the time to give Dana a quick high-five as the group reassembles, flashing a bright grin toward their gunslinging savior. There’s a brief conference between the officers before a decision is made:

“We’ll retreat to the roof and do what we can.” Says Dima, making a quick motion toward the portal. The cadets proceed quickly after, vanishing through Cordelia’s doorway and assembling on the relative safety of the half-collapsed roof that the girl stands on.
Amanda lowers her bow as the officers make their retreat, the girl giving a short nod of acknowledgement to Dana.

“Come on.” She says, turning toward the towering figure of the war machine the other Ars Magi are engaging. “Let’s go.” She sets off at a quick jog afterward, drawing her bow back as she takes aim, a frosty arrow materializing on the string.

As she takes aim Nicole is already preparing her strike, wind whipping around her as she calls the font of her elemental power. Air ripples and distorts as she sends her strike toward the already damaged leg of the mecha, the force of her cut sheering through the hard metal shell of the giant weapon. She leaves behind exposed wires and a thin metal frame upon which the machine still balances precariously—until Priya, with a blade made of gleaming fire, flashes by to finish the last of the work with a final slash.

Without one of its supporting feet the machine begins immediately to topple, it’s great bulk tilting to the side. The goliath falls, its bulk crashing into and halfway through one of the ruined buildings nearby, a plume of dust and debris clouding the street from the impact.

As the machine struggles to right itself arrows begin to perforate its elongated ‘head’, bolts of freezing cold fired from Amanda’s bow. Frost begins to spiderweb across the surface of the machine, biting into the metal and forming crystals of ice across its surface.

“Grenoble! McKenzie! Smash it!” Calls the girl in white.

But the machine it isn’t done yet.

Not content to sit and wait for its deathblow one of the remaining pods on its shoulder, half-burnt and scarred from earlier impacts, opens up to reveal a silo of a dozen gleaming missiles. They take flight with a hiss, racing into the sky, contrails of smoke swirling behind. The projectiles arc sharply soon after, turning back downward, heading for the street and surrounding buildings. Several streak toward the officers on the rooftop, others toward the Ars Magi on the street below.

Secundi Lux

Aoife

“The best team there is.” Noel agrees to Aoife’s question, a wide grin cutting her face as the two move across the dance floor.

When Aoife requests that the other girl take the lead she nods gamely, the blonde Ars Magi taking a firmer grip on her partner and beginning to move her along the dancefloor. Their steps become more graceful as she and Aoife work in sync, their dance transforming into something smooth and elegant, yet simple. A far cry from the earlier, clumsier movements.

When the music finally dims Noel gives her partner one final twirl, dipping her low before coming to a stop. She grins again, a broad and toothy smile.

“Alright,” She says, “Now you’ve got it. Round two, coming up!”

Chie

“I see.” Chie’s partner responds to her inexperience. “I’d guess there’d be less of you familiar with this sort of thing. Just, things being what they are.”

He keeps the motions of the dance simple, an uncomplicated sway to allow more focus on conversation and less on the complexity of the dance.

“We have teams, yes.” He replies. “They change fairly often, but it’s supposed to instill comradery and personal skills and all that.” He falls silent a moment, musing before explaining further: “It’s probably not as exciting as your school. We drill mostly, learn tactics and history, strategies for dealing with Voids and how to direct and deploy assets. We’re supposed to be working closer with you all in the future.”

The swaying continues, a bit more idle conversation before the music begins to wind down. The officer offers a polite smile, dipping his head and offering: “It was nice to meet you, Chie. I’ll let you go—but thank you for the dance.”

She’s given a reprieve after at last, freed from obligation for the time being. At least, if she’s quick enough to escape the dance floor before more partners come looking.

Crystal

“It’s fine.” Says Liam to Crystal’s apology.

The young man offers a small smile after, and in return to Crystal’s advice he replies, “I do assure you, I have better things to do than learn the waltz. I enrolled in the Academy to be an officer,” He says, “Not to dance with pretty girls.” There’s no condescension in the words, just a mild amusement.

“That said, I would rather not cause a diplomatic incident. So, if you’ll join me...”

The officer takes Crystal’s hand, and the dance commences. He provides competent enough not to step on her feet, taking the girl on a slow jaunt across the dance floor. Once the motions finish and they part again he gives a polite bow in return to her curtsey, replying,

“Thank you, Crystal. Try to stay sane out there.”

He parts after, a brief smile before the boy vanishes into the crowd.

Selma

“My guess is magic takes more work than most of what we do.” Replies Selma’s partner, his hands moving the tall girl easily through the motions of their dance.

“We’ve seen recordings from a few of your exercises,” He replies to her question. “To get an understanding of what you’re capable of. We’re supposed to be supporting you, so we’ve got at least a working knowledge of Ars Magi.”

The steps slow now, a brief lull as the conversation continues. “We’re supposed to be receiving individual dossiers for our next exercise. With most of you having unique powers, we have to understand what you’re capable of to do our jobs.”

“Personally I’d rather hear what Selma has to say about Selma than read about it in a report.” The boy says with a grin.

As the final notes of the waltz die out the cadets grip loosens, separating himself from his partner with another smile. “I hope we’ll meet again soon, Selma. There’s a spot for you over at our table, if you want to take a break.”

Rivka

“I haven’t had much of a chance.” The girl replies to Rivka’s question of keeping in practice. “But I should. I don’t want to forget entirely.” She offers a small smile as they sway, adding, “Hopefully I can get back to it.”

There’s a nod after, a reply of, “I’ll come and see. I enjoy listening, when I have free time. Maybe we can talk again there?”

The dance comes to a close on that hopeful note, the girl bowing her head and allowing Rivka to part after.

The night wears on, the crowd eventually thinning as the dignitaries and military officials make their exit. The cadets too eventually begin to make their exodus, a few final dances before the band winds down and the great hall is emptied for the night.

The Ars Magi return to their dorms afterward, the common room briefly abuzz with giddy chatter and shared stories.

Soon it will be time to retire to bed though, the evening finished and the festivities over.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Cordelia’s portals provide convenient gateways, doors of glass that allow her teammates to spill out onto the battlefield. They glimmer in the moonlight, shimmering beacons that signal Team 3’s arrival on the battlefield.

Similarly, the resounding crash of Penny’s hammer indicates that the tides may be changing. Not soon though, and not easily. Though sparks fly when she makes her impact, the imposing machine barely buckles under the weight of the blow. The crater-like dent left behind in its metal ‘head’ is concrete proof that Penny’s done some damage, but the monstrosity doesn’t seem to slow any for it.

Instead it shifts to the side, making Penny’s footing on its rain-slicked metal surface abruptly more precarious. The force and speed with which the machine moves is surprising, a sudden jerk to the left as its upper body becomes alarming vertical. The bulk of it swings toward the nearest building, a half-standing skyscraper, its upper body into the ruined building with intent the flatten Penny like a pancake against its surface—or at least force her to abandon her perch before that happens.

On the ground the team of pinned-down officers is surprised briefly by the appearance of Cordelia’s doorway. When Dana appears from the doorway, however, they quickly recognize this as a good thing. Especially when the gunslinging Ars Magi begins blinding and blasting the advancing squad of drones bearing down on them.

“Dana!” It takes a minute before the Norban is recognized is her parma, but it happens eventually. Noah leans out from behind the chunk of the building he’s hiding behind, waving energetically to catch her attention.

“Shoot these!”

These being a bandolier of grenades that the large boy lobs toward the lumbering machines. They soar through the air, oval-shaped magitech bombs primed with a dull blue light. They’d make hard targets for your average marksman—but Noah’s counting on Dana to be anything but that.

In the meantime Amanda continues to dutifully prevent the closer machines from reaching her charges, arrows of ice sending several more drones crashing to the ground. She leaves Dana to the sharpshooting, focusing on close-quarters defense and letting Dana take care of the larger chunk of machines.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

“Aren’t you the cutest.” Aiya replies to Dana, the dark-haired girl resting her chin in her hands as she casts a winning smile at the energetic Norban. “Don’t worry, you’re not doing anything wrong. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight.”

The girl’s chestnut gaze turns to Cordelia after, listening to the other girl’s musing with a careful gaze. “Cordy,” She says, appropriating Nicole’s nickname with not even a hint of hesitance, “You’re one of the most powerful, most important women in the world. You should enjoy it while you can.” Her lips split into a wide, almost wolfish grin at the girl’s offer. “I won’t disappoint you.”

Craning backward after, the dark-haired girl stretches her arms overhead and remarks, as if reading Nicole’s train of thought: “We should all dance,” She suggests, musing. “Maybe I’ll arrange a celebration, if we pass our little exercise.”

And it’s the mention of that exercise, perhaps the reminder of it, that seems to break the tranquil spell that’s settled over the group.

“We’ve got a request for assistance. Webber’s group.” Says Garnier, the boy raising his head to motion toward his fellow officers. Both Aiya and Holst abandon their perches, huddling close around the communication equipment. The speak quickly between themselves, breaking after a hurried minute and turning back to their escort.

“One of our teams has run into a problem.” Holst explains shortly. “They’re requesting our assistance. It’s about a mile out, we’ve already got a route for you. Tell you more on route.” She tosses an earpiece to each of the Ars Magi, adding: “Go fast.”

---

MUSIC: Crawling Hostility

The Ars Magi find themselves at the mercy of the elements once more.

The route that Aiya’s squad has charted for them leads off the roof of the parking garage and on to that of a nearby building, and another after that, racing across the rubble-strewn rooftops of a long-ruined skyline. Ahead buzzes one of those triangular shaped objects that the officers had unpacked; a baseball-sized drone that leads the way. In the darkness it leaves a contrail of burning green light in its wake, a guiding beacon for the girls that follow.

Up high the wind is even more fierce, though the rain has slowed the veil of clouds has begun to part, illuminating the ruined district in the moon’s pale light. It’s still difficult to see the ground down below however, and the footing is uneasy on the shattered concrete the Ars Magi make their was across.

And then they see it.

It looms out of the darkness, easily three stories tall, but impossible to mistake for just another ruined building in a crumbling cityscape. It’s humanoid in shape, bipedal, two arms and two legs, though it eschews a head in exchange for a blocky central body. Its armor-plated body is gunmetal gray, illuminated by the garish red lights dotted over its massive frame. All along its frame are lined the weapons of war: machine-guns, missile pods, a dozen compartments filled with a dozen violent instruments.

Some of those instruments are currently in use. One of its arms, a massive cannon, glows with magitech energy as it discharges into the street bellow it. The approach team of Ars Magi can see a figure tumbling and cartwheeling away from the violent impacts, weaving her way through the blasts. Priya Khatri, adorned in the red and gold of her Parma, hurls a volley of swords with every duck and weave, a hail of blades that bounce off the steel carapace of the hulking machine above her.

While the machine is distracted one Blair McKenzie, flaming claymore in hand, is sawing into one of its legs. The gash she leaves when she strikes in the metal is deep, but the punishment is immediate. A sweep of the leg flings the red-haired girl tumbling away, vanishing through a half-ruined wall into a nearby building.

Just a few hundred feet from that impact another battle is being fought, a trio of officers and a single Ars Magi pinned down by a half-dozen of the smaller drones that the group already encountered. Amanda Wagner, taking cover amidst the rubble, propels arrows of frigid ice toward the machines, the oversized shafts puncturing through metal wherever they strike. The officers, Dima Novikov and Noah Webber among them, provide supporting fire that seems nearly useless against their hulking enemies.

Things do not look like they’re going well.