For the most part Jenna wasn't entirely sure what the plan was with Justine. The two she expected to have her came without the body and a simple reassurance was given that she was taken care of.
"That's nice, but where is she?" She finished healing up Eliza and took a step back.
"Well," Eliza sat back up once Jenna finished healing her. She wasn't really phased when her uniform turned into a
swimsuit again, but atleast she had a jacket this time, so she didn't feel as awkward.
"Assuming they took a detour to the Cradle, they might have kept Justine's body in there?" She was still holding the Astolfo plush.
"Hm..." She doubted she would be a guest there any time soon. Especially with Beacon breating down her neck. She offered a hand to help Eliza up.
The witch waved Jenna's hand off, standing up by herself.
"Thanks for the help, well, back there and now. So, how's Janet? And Cindy??" She asked her.
Ah yes, Cindy had spilled the beans to Trixy hadn't she. Not that keeping a secret was going to last long anyway. They had just announced such for the Sanctuary so people were going to find out pretty shortly anyway.
"They're both okay. It's kind of a weird situation as you might guess." "...Do they know that she has my soul jar yet?" Eliza's eyebrow rose.
"Beacon, I mean."Shaking her head she gave a bit of a smile.
"I'm pretty sure they don't. Janet and Cindy have an agreement, so you and Maura are sort of allies through her in a way. I don't know how reassuring that is but we'll do our best keep you safe. Janet and I are... doing our best to try and keep some peace." The girl rubbed her arm. It was more like pushing a boulder up a hill. Constantly under threat of slipping and getting crushed.
"Anaya's probably in the same boat, in that case." Eliza sighed.
"But atleast there are some sane people in Beacon. Some." Speaking of Beacon, now that her magic wasn't suppressed, the witch focused on scrying what was happening back in Penrose.
Jenna watched quietly for a moment before leaning a bit closer and whispering.
"What do you see?" In truth she didn't entirely expect an answer. Her Third Eye had told her what Eliza was up to at a basic level.
Eliza's brows furrowed.
"Can't really see much happening..." she mused, deciding to focus on something else.
"Maybe I should check on Anay- Oh." her eyes widened slightly, looking to Jenna.
"I don't think Alicia took their losing too well." there was a hint of concern in the witch's tone.
"Alicia?" She bit her lip. Mariette had gotten away and her initial plan to take Justine back to Beacon didn't quite play out the way she'd planned.
"Right, I think I'm going to need a little more than someone's word that Justine is taken care of." She glanced up hoping she could get something more to confirm.
"Eh, maybe Maura can take you to the Cradle?" Eliza suggested.
"Well, suppose it doesn't hurt to try. Thank you, Eliza." The new Cradle patron being just nearby she stepped over and addressed her.
"Pardon me miss Maura. I realize this might be a stretch, but I had hoped to see Justine's fate by coming here. I don't need her, just something I can see to prove to me she's gone." Her brain was coming up short on things she could potentially use. It felt like forever ago she'd been her thrawl. Picking out the finer details also wasn't something easy to do in the heat of battle.
"Hm?" Maura turned to look at Jenna.
"Ah, you need proof that Justine's done for?" She tilted her head. Even then, she wasn't sure if taking Jenna to the Cradle was a good idea. Beacon could find a way to probe such information from the poor girl, and even then, Maura hadn't even seen all of what lies within herself.
"...Maybe I can find something for you." She mused, her shadow turning more opaque as she reached an arm into the Cradle.
In searching for an item of Justine's, Maura found purchase of something feathered that she could pull from.
"Aha!" Maura grabbed the item, and pulled her hand out of the shadow.
"Will this suffice?" She asked Jenna, handing the item to the other girl.
Jenna started for a moment at the feather before gingerly taking it. It was not something she expected.
"This isn't... " She stopped as she rolled the small object between her fingers. Her eyes widened as she recognized her own handywork.
"Wait this- this is..." The girl was shaking a bit with... excitement?
The Beacon girl had to stop herself before she exploded or jumped after the patron. Clearing her throat she held up the feather.
"I used a purification potion on Justine just after she was defeated. That was one of the main reason I wanted to see her. If this is her's then I have good reason to believe that it's worked and she no longer serves Father." Jenna seemed rather sure of herself. The feather might do for her needs but it only inforced her desire to see for herself.
Maura's eyebrows rose in curiosity.
"Really?" With her shadow still opaque, she looked into the Cradle herself to see.
"Well, looks like our dear demon became an angel in the end. A shame she might be stuck there for a long time." The necromancer commented, then sighed.
"Look, I know you wish for better proof than this. But concidering our circumstances, it's too much of a risk for Beacon to find out what's in there." she frowned, the shadow fading back to normal.
"Mayhaps we can arrange something, once things die down again?Holding her breath the girl let it hiss out a bit. It was an expected response, but not ideal.
Still it wasn't an outright no. Hanging onto the feather she nodded.
"
That's reasonable. I believe I have enough to at least convey that she won't be creating any problems for us in the near future. I had hoped purifying her would mean she could be free, but I think we can both agree it's better to be sure it's safe for that first." The conversation was inturrupted when invitations for a Christmas party popped up in front of each of them and were handed out to then pass to others. Adding that to her now small collection of things to carry she seemed a bit bewlidered.
"Uh..." The announcement of the Sanctuary under attack had Jenna let out a sigh. She wanted to go there so bad but that would be such a terrible idea. Beacon would be all over that place in no time if she did.
"Seems like everyone else might be busy anyhow. I should get back to help heal and help the others anyway. Thank you for indulging me, Maura. I'll leave it to you. I'm sure you'll be in touch." Stepping away she activated her recall and returned to HQ.
Maura had already heard of the Sanctuary being attacked before Dan told the others, North and Evelyn being among the few who answered the call for help. Ready to shadow-step, she looked to Jenna.
"Good luck." She nodded to her with a smile, before leaving herself.
Eliza, meanwhile, internally freaked out over the news. And by internally, it was actually externally.
"How the hell did I miss that?!?" She shrieked, running through the portal with
Valerie following behind unamused.
A call sung out for help, yet barely anyone answered.
Surely such a threat would call for more magical girls.
...
Right?
"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god!!" Theresa paced back and forth across the edge of a building, as screams rung out from the Sanctuary. The familiar had already seen North and Evelyn rush in to help, but what was she supposed to do? She was just a bird!
"Where are they?! They should be back by now! Oh, I hope nothing bad happened to-" Theresa snapped out of her fearful thoughts at the sound (sounds?) of someone approaching. She quickly turned to her human form, and spun around.
Her eyes widened once she realized who it was.
"It can't be..." ...
Among the chaos in the Sanctuary, three women walked calmly towards the location of the monster, in contrast to the fear most denizens shared.
"...Ew." The woman leading the trio stopped herself before she stepped on a remnant of toxic waste. With a slight grimace, she turned to look at her companions.
"Lauren, think you can clear out the sludge~?" Maribel Whitley asked the emerald-haired girl behind her with a smile.
With an unamused look,
Lauren Corvus used her water and reinforcement magic to wash the toxic magic away, clearing a path for them as well.
"Are you sure this monster isn't your doing, Maribel?" the Witch of Order asked back.
Maribel pouted.
"Goodness no! I haven't been to this area until now!" she twirled her parasol.
"Though if someone new has inherited nightmare magic, I'd love to meet them~" the Witch of Nightmares chuckled, opening a rift to her pocket dimension as a shortcut.
"The monster is just below us~ Once we drop in, Lauren should help evacuate any magical girls trapped down there, I'll deal with containing our little friend, and Rowena?" "?" Rowena Beck looked back to Maribel.
"If whatever provoked the monster is still down here, can you be a dear and take care of them~?" She asked sweetly. The Witch of Life looked around at their surroundings, then nodded.
"Excellent~! Let's get started right away!" 
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