Majoraa

Grimoiric Heart

Just say one's a leader without them actually being one lmao

Symphony of Espers

"Dead ends. Dead ends everywhere."
Current Location: Leaving the Aspiria Refuge

⧫

13 | Male | Gemini | Clockwork Soldier
Aeterna | Sword | Physical | Swift and Keen
Clockwork Jacket | Industrial
Chronosphere | Lightning | Overclock
[Paralysis (4), Speedster (4)] Damage (2), Damage X (6), Slow (4), Blink (4), Restrain (4), Minor Heal (4), Heal (16), Quicken (0), AoE (2)

DAMAGE: C | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 702

Unfortunately their trail turned cold. Unless the pounds of corpse meat and bone were what remained of the thralls, Whoever, or whatever the doctor was using them for got away. Of course this was just speculation on Fable's end, tested when Leroux found the corpse of one thrall. Bullet wounds. Someone else shot at him, most likely. If there was any bullets left in the thrall's body, they might be able to trace it back to whoever really shouldn't be stalking the sewers like that.

Then again, that's part-wishful thinking for the Timekeeper.

The trio had to head back eventually, yet something left a bitter taste in the boy's mouth. A grim pattern he's starting to notice. It had to be a coincidence. Justin wouldn't happen to prefer youths as his victims, of thralldom or otherwise, right?

...Right??

...

That bastard is a dead man.

But for now, all they could do is report back on what they saw and found. He'd explain to the best of his ability and even offer some theories. Any info he seemed to be missing will have to be left to his teammates. And not cause I can't be bothered to write a long-ass recap.

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

As much as Finn just wanted to get to Wonderland, he had to take a few precautions first. He took careful note of what Mariette described in her letter, specifically, the gradual spell and deterence from the dimension's Capital. Assimilation? Secrets heavily guarded? Whatever the case was, the young man couldn't take any chances. For a while, him and Oliver worked on a couple of potions that could help counter Wonderland's magic. One for Finn, and one for Mariette if she was willing to go further into the belly of the beast.

With that out of the way, he went out to meet with the Portal Witch.

It wouldn't take long to find her, as she'd been notified beforehand that they'd be meeting. After not too much of a walk, Mariette just broke open a portal in front of him, standing holding her stuffed bunny and wearing her dark dress, long hair hanging behind her. Her bodyguard of choice for today stood ready diagonally behind her, a white-haired girl in a black hoodie with similar bunny-ears as Mariette's doll, but out her sleaves came giant metal hands and she stood on firmly metal legs.

‘So the first thing you desire upon hearing about the unnatural world I found is to go there,’ Mariette said. ‘Do you have a strategy for the spell that I felt affect me?’ she continued, inspecting Finn.

Finn's eye looked between Mariette and Jelena. He didn't plan for more than two people to go on this quick trip. Maybe the two could share a vial? Speaking of, "I have a few theories as to what exactly it was, but I can't determine any specifics without seeing it myself. I do have a means of resistance though!" From the sleeves of his hammerspace handbag, he pulled out the pair of potions he prepared. "Psychic reinforcements and dark magic to weaken the spell's effects. And Oliver's on stand-by in case anything happens." The boy passed one vial to Mariette, then turned to Jelena, tilting his head slightly.

"Are...you coming along? Not to be rude or anything! You'll just have to share the potion if that's the case." He explained.

Mariette took the vial, inspecting it. She held it in the air in front of Jelena, who gazed at it with a smirk for a bit.

‘Yupp! No problem! Don't think it's anything but what he said it is, hah,’ she said. She then turned her attention to Finn. ‘What, never seen Mariette with a bodyguard before? I'm here just in case you, intentionally or inadvertedly, led some enemies to Mariette! So, if she says so...’ she looked over at Mariette.

‘We will not be risking the potency of this countermeasure by dividing it. Me and Finn will be going. Stand by and be ready for eventual action, Jelena,’ Mariette commanded.

‘Yes, ma'am!’ Jelena said, making a salute with her giant metal hand. Mariette nodded, then turned to Finn.

‘Are we ready, then?’

Finn simply nodded in response.

‘Then let us go,’ Mariette said, and immediately Overcity Shifted the people present, because it was much easier to get to their next destination from a place where the dimensional boundries were weaker. A couple portals then opened in a row, bringing them across the otherworldly dimensional landscape to where they'd best enter the dimension they were going for. Jelena came along at least to the entrance. When there, Mariette took a moment to summon more mana, for breaching dimensions took a little bit more power...

‘By the way, do this for me,’ Jelena randomly told Finn. ‘Take this guy with you. I want to know if he starts singing!’ she said, and picked out a metal bird out of her coat, that was apparently alive because it spread its wings and flapped to try to fly over and land on his shoulder.

Oh, a bird!

When he saw that the statue-like avian was alive, the boy was more than willing to let it perch on his shoulder. With an innocent smile, he pet the metal bird on the head. Though it turned into a faintly anxious one when Jelena mentioned singing. Right. They were stepping into a goddamn musical. Finn quietly hoped this remedy worked, cause he was really not up to singing outloud. "Right, got it." He told the metalic girl.

The metal bird didn't particularly react to being petted other than looking around some more, but it seemed satisfied where it was perched. Jelena nodded with happy satisfaction.

‘And... here we go,’ Mariette said, as she opened her eyes again after a moment of holding them closed, and a portal opened. This time... it led back into the world of Wonderland. She let Finn enter first.

He turned to face the portal and took a quick swig of the spell-resistance potion before entering. Finn put the cork back on it, slid the vial back into his hammerspace, and stepped through.

Finn entered the magical world of Wonderland, a green and lush realm straight out of the pages of a fairytale. Mariette noticed a certain difference from last time once she also entered; the potion seemed to work against the spell that permeated the world. However, based on it's steadily dwindling effect, it would only protect the two of them for another thirty minutes.

This time Mariette chose to arrive on ground level, hidden among some of the trees that were humming a little song. They could see three houses in a clearing beyond the shrubbery, as well as their inhabitants: three little pigs dressed in human clothes and walking on two feet, dancing and singing as they were tending to their crops beside a house made of straws, sticks, and bricks.

But then, they saw how a creature resembling a werewolf soon appeared from the other side, quietly stalking towards the unaware pigs.

Damn, the spell must be stronger than he thought. "Strange to call this Wonderland when tales like the Three Little Pigs take residence." Finn softly noted, only giving the scene nearby a bit of his time. If the original source material was anything to go off, the pigs will be fine once they take shelter in one's brick house. They can't waste their minutes spared though, so he went ahead and walked towards the nearest city.

A portal cut that walk short. As in, it became a lot shorter because a portal opened. ‘I only opened it in the woods for it to be a safe place to entrance. If you wish to head elsewhere, I can take you there swiftly,’ Mariette said, standing a bit behind him. ‘Be careful you're not wrapped up in fairy-tales,’ she said, albeit it did appear Finn already had this in mind. The metal bird still sat where it was left, idly turning its head like if looking at the surroundings.

The man looked over his shoulder back to Mariette, and nodded as thanks. "I'll be careful." With a quick glance at his metalic companion, he continued moving.

Finn and Mariette heard the voices of screaming pigs coming from the direction of the strange houses, but they ignored their plight in favour of advancing towards the nearest city through another portal. They ended up at the gates of a town called Hamelin. And true enough, they saw someone in colorful clothes playing music on a pipe and leading a massive swarm of rats away.Once the rats passed, the two entered the town proper. It seemed to be a normal enough place, if one considered a broadway production a depiction of normal life.

Suddenly, the doors to the local Inn burst open, and a strange parade ran out: it was a man of simple looks holding a golden goose under his arm, with a conga line of various townspeople, each one stuck from touching the goose and every person after. The parade stumbled fast like a drunken line, passing by the two. As they did, Mariette's bunny plushie accidentally grazed the last person...And before she realized it, it was yanked from her arms, as if glued on to the parade by magical means. Mariette saw as the parade kept stumbling through the street towards the small castle at the center of town, the bunny plushie dangling at the rear.

... So. A horrorstorm of tentacles burst out of the void from every conceivable angle at the parade to stop it in its tracks, along with a shower of light-magic that incidentally did not target the spot the bunny was located while her tentacles sought to retrieve Mariette's bunny back to her. She did not care how many of these frolicing missfits died in the process and the streets flowed with their blood. She was getting Bunny back.

The sight of the plush bunny sticking to the Golden Goose's crowd like velcro only got Finn's eyebrows to rise. Okay, the asimilation theory might actually be plausible. They'll have to be careful not to tamper with ongoing fairytales henceforth. Though before he can figure out a way to get the plush back,

"Wait- WAIT, STOP!!" Finn hurried to hold Mariette back from possibly making a grave mistake. "We can get the plush back WITHOUT violence, just calm down!!!"

Okay, so maybe bloody murder was a little excessive. That said...

Regardless of if Finn held onto her or not, a hellstorm of tentacles still descended on the parade, specifically whatever poor sap had ended up holding onto Bunny. There was no reality where she allowed this individual out of her sight, and no reality in which she didn't leave this dimension without Bunny in her grasp. The hellstorm of tentacles just didn't kill anyone, just isolated the one who had Bunny on them. If they got too close to the castle, though, there'd be a rain of light-beams descending into their way before they got too close.

And if that for some reason didn't work she'd murder them all.

When the tentacles reached out to grab the bunny plushie, they successfully grabbed on to it...Only to fail to remove it from the shocked person's back. In fact, the tentacles themselves were also stuck, as if an unbreakable adhesive had been applied. The tentacles held on as the already screaming line of townspeople only intensified their frantic running, only to end up yanked back; Mariette's tentacles could only stretch so far, and they had enough power to hold back the townspeople.
After running in place for a couple of seconds more, the simple man eventually stopped, collapsing down and panting hard. So did the other townsfolk as well, who turned to see what had managed to stop them.
"Oh goodness gracious! I thought I was going to run forever being stuck to the goose!" The woman touching the goose said. "You know what, I was silly to try and get a golden feather from your golden goose, sir. You can keep them."
"As do I. I don't want a golden egg after all," the person touching the woman said. The entire line spoke the same sentiments.
The golden goose honked, and just like that, the curse of adhesion was lifted; everyone was free, including the bunny plushie.
The simple man holding the golden goose approached Finn and Mariette.
"Were you the one who stopped this wild goose chase? Thank you kindly, miss!" The golden goose honked again.

Finn sighed in relief and let go of Mariette. Thank god she ended up helping the townsfolk instead of killing them. Either way...

Did they end up rewriting the story, or something? Curious. For now, he simply took a step back and let the two talk.

‘Um, I,’ Mariette looked confused. Partly on account that she'd been about to kill them all for kidnapping her precious bunny. A quick portal let the released Bunny back into her grasp, and she hugged him tightly. ‘You're... welcome,’ she said, awkwardly, then turned and ran before dropping through a portal.

She'd spend a while a hundred feet above Finn standing on a portal rather than next to him, but with a small portal to near him open so they could still talk.

The simple man blinked as he saw Mariette run through a portal.
"Golly gee jillikers, that's some mighty fine magic. Anyway, have a nice day, miss." He then walked away with the goose, leaving the two alone. For once, nothing strange or magical took place.

"...Right. Let's keep moving."

Finn and Mariette continued on their way, taking note of the locals as they did. Everywhere they went they saw Wonderland's insignia on flags and banners. The townsfolk went about their busy days with the occasional song and dance, giving a very saccharine atmosphere to the place. However, something seemed off about everything, and Mariette happened to notice that she and Finn started to be noticed by the locals with aside glances; something about their behaviour seemed to disturb the people.

‘... What will you want to find out? We can try kidnapping a citizen for information, or try to get close to the castle for inspection, but there is a barrier of sort that is blocking us from focusing on it. Or if you have anything else in mind...’ Mariette tried to be helpful. From way in the air speaking through a portal.

"I'd rather avoid antagonizing the denizens here as long as we can. Let's try and inspect the castle, hopefully the potion can let us get by." Finn suggested, lowering his voice to avoid the further suspicion of disturbed eyes.

The two passed through Mariette's portal, and arrived at the outer wall of the royal castle that dominated the rest of Wonderland with it's majestic presence. Unlike Justine's castle, which was gothic and gloomy, this castle exhuded whimsy and wonder, and included a walled courtyard with a hedge maze. As Mariette had previously noted, the castle was ensorcelled with wards that prevented scrying and other methods of intrusive magic by means of befuddling the observer's senses, drawing them elsewhere. However, thanks to Finn's potion, the effect was reduced, allowing the two to peer at the structure without too much trouble.

The two were in a forested batch next to the main road that led to the impressive front gates that led to the courtyard. They could see a strange vehicle coming from the distance; a white carriage shaped like a pumpkin, led by four white horses and a dapper rider in a white tuxedo. In the window, Mariette could see what looked like a tiara-wearing princess riding the carriage.

‘... If we move on further, we're likely going to encounter them,’ Mariette said to Finn while inspecting the girl in the pumpkin, but then looked over at Finn. ‘But it's nice to know your potions can shield us from the distraction spell.’ She'd use the opportunity to open a portal to way above the castle, see if she could see anything interesting from a bird's eye-view.

When Mariette moved above the castle, she saw that the layout of the structure was surprisingly intricate, with multiple towers and buttresses, battlements and even a small inner garden. She also saw guards patrolling the place: they looked like modern soldiers holding gem-encrusted rifles that wore face-concealing gas masks. Their uniforms and helmets had a playing card theme to them: clubs for the basic soldiers, hearts for what looked like officers and commanders, or those of higher rank, and diamonds for specialist work such as engineers or the lone quartermaster taking an inventory of firearms. Club guards could also be seen beyond the gate as it opened for the carriage, letting the visitor inside before it closed behind her.

"Kinda expected to run into people at this point, ain't it?" He asked, watching the pumpkin carriage pass by. "Probably a formal wear event going on, knowing her story. Might as well look sharp. Finn adjusted the disguise artifact pinned to his outfit, activating it to give himself a more cleaner appearance.

Mariette blinked a bit. Wait, he was actually going to... go to the party? They weren't invited, were they? Well, Mariette was invited to A event, but not this one. Not to mention, the place they were going would potentially contain enemies... but that wasn't nearly as anxiety-inducing as going to a party without being invited.

‘I'll just... stay here, then. Shout if you need me,’ she said.

She saw as Finn approached the gates, which opened up, allowing him to enter. The club guards were speaking to the princess-looking girl, but one of them gave an aside glance and gestured for him to wait as the gate closed behind him.

That was when Mariette noticed one of the soldiers at one of the taller towers lift their hand to shade their eyes, seemingly peering up in her direction; it wasn't clear if the guard had spotted her, or was simply looking around as usual.

Mariette opened a portal in front of her to directly behind her, with other words, just showing the guard what's behind her. Nothing suspicious in the slightest. She could use her own, smaller portals to look around her, after all.

When prompted to wait Finn silenlty complied. Though he was on borrowed time, he and Mariette seem to be doing fine not rousing any potential adversaries, and he didn't want to ruin that. Not yet. If she didn't want to risk going further, he wouldn't force her. At the corner of his eye he watched the gate close behind him, separating the two for now.

...

The grip on his cane slighty tightened.

Mariette noticed how the guard, despite no longer being able to see Mariette herself, seemed to be suspicious of the mirror less frame that floated up in the sky, and called for someone on the walkie talkie.

The club guards finished talking with the princess, who curtsied and proceeded past the front doors of the castle. One of the guards holding a notepad then approached Finn. "Name and title," he demanded.

Guess that didn't fly. No matter. Mariette merely dropped through a portal and hid at some other, more shielded place in the vicinity. She portalled in among the trees next to the road, hiding behind them as she peeked at her surroundings through portals... and then she remembered these trees were probably alive and capable of singing. That just wasn't an issue in other places. Mariette silently prayed the trees weren't about to tell on her.

Finn's brows rose. From what he guessed from this, the denizens had real names besides what they were known in their respective stories. But then, what could he answer with? His real title, or an alias? As far as he was aware the Sinners were most known in the mundane world and the Overcity, but Wonderland? Have they even heard of atleast one of them in passing?

After concidering his option, he quietly sighed. Guess I'd hit a roadblock sooner or later... Finn turned his attention back to the club guards and straightened his posture, taking a proper bow in greetings.

"Finnegan L. Vanhorn, the Sinner of Wrath. I'm here on buisness." He introduced himself with a formal tone, hoping this gamble works in his favor.

A short while after Mariette hid away among the trees, she peeked and saw that a group of flying guards had flown up to where she previously peered at the castle. The soldiers had spade symbols on their helmets and uniforms, differentiating them from the club's that most other guards wore. She could see golden glitter sparkle around them, as if someone had sprinkled pixie dust over them. They also carried heavier weaponry than rifles and carbines: sniper rifles, light machine guns, and even a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.
Mariette could tell that these were the elite troops of Wonderland.
The group signalled silently using hand motions and gestures, and spread out to look for the interloper who had created the mirror portal in the sky.

The club guard looked down at his notepad after Finn gave his answer.
"A Sinner? That's not a Wonderland title." "Of course it isn't, "The other club guard spoke next. "He's a foreigner. What kind of title is Sinner, anyway?" The first guard put his notepad away. "What business, and with whom?"

Well I couldn't risk stealing a "title" someone already has now, can I??? As the guards talked, Finn did his best to keep a calm face on. "One that I'm not exactly proud of, but it's what people know me by most." He answered with a nervous grin. Guess Wonderland really didn't know.

Then they asked what kind of buisness he was conducting. "Investigative work, I suppose." The boy glanced up to see a different suit of cards appearing to be hunting down someone. Spades. A symbol he'll have to look out for in case things go awry. He hoped it wasn't Mariette being hunted, but there was no one else around he knew of. Be careful out there! "Not really here to see anyone, but I've been wanting to learn more about Wonderland and thought this could be a good place to check out." Finn explained to the club guards with an innocent smirk.

The club guard looked at the other one, and the gate behind Finn opened. "Entry denied to uninvited visitors by order of the Queen. Leave the premises immediately," the guard threatened Finn.

For some reason Finn wasn't phased. Instead, he titled his head and asked:

"Are...you threatening me?"

The guards now pointed their weapons at Finn, including the ones posted on the wall and on the front towers and ramparts of the castle.
"Leave the premises immediately, or we will open fire."

‘I... don't think you'll win a fight on your own. Even if you beat these, more will come, and they will be stronger. I will not help you,’ Mariette whispered through a portal. Because of course she was watching.

Sure, he had concidered resorting to that. At least going the non lethal route of knocking each one out. He counted sixteen in total, but...

Mariette had a point. There had to be more waves of soldiers outside of his point of view. More that'd keep coming until he was overwhelmed. Finn understood that she wouldn't help him if he went for it, and she didn't have to. The boy held his hands up to show he wasn't a threat, and backed away from the soldiers in front of him. "Sorry for the trouble." Was all he said.

The club guards seemed to relax a bit once Finn backed away, though they continued pointing their weapons. They waited until Finn has stepped out of the gate entrance, and then closed the gate, shutting him out.

‘Thank you,’ Mariette whispered. Assuming he'd come back to her, she could open a sky-high portal to survey the area so that they could pick out where to go next, if Finn so wanted.

Mariette waited until Finn came back, and scanned the region with a portal,making sure to not attract the spade soldiers' attention. She discovered a military base in the vicinity, where an army of Wonderland soldiers have assembled, as well as vehicles and weapons like jeeps, cannons, tanks and even planes.

Admittedly, a part of Finn wanted to question why Mariette was willing to go through with this if she actively avoided the one place he wanted to check out. But whatever. No matter what he chose to do, he'd most likely be hunted down by the bigwigs of Wonderland soon enough, and the last thing he needed was someone relatively uninvolved getting hurt.

If they couldn't learn more about the dimension's leader (leaders??), then they could atleast learn more about their military. Finn was more than willing to check out the nearby base, but he waited till Mariette was okay with it too.

She was okay with it. She could send him closer to inspect the place, while she stayed on a bit of a distance inspecting from overhead with portals.

With Mariette's assistance and careful, slow movements, Finn was able to assess the military base's martial strength. He counted about 240-250 personnel, measuring to a company in size. About 60-65% was composed of club soldiers wielding rifles and carbines with embedded gems. He saw as there was a squad at the shooting range; the shots they fired streaked with red sparkles, and seemed to partially penetrate the modern combat armor of the dummies, meaning they were enchanted to some degree.

10% of the soldiers were diamonds, and worked as field engineers, medics, cooks, and other roles needed in the company. Spades also seemed to number in 10%, and had their own, larger tent that differed from the club's. Not only did they carry heavier weapons, they also seemed bigger, faster and stronger than the rank-and-file. The rest were composed of hearts serving as officers like sergeants or lieutenants. He could even spot a heart captain conversing with a sergeant, and pointing at a map. Finn saw the name of the location: Bolorton.

That was when both he and Mariette felt the magic of the potion fade as time was about to run out, and an unsettling feeling of Wonderland's magic slowly begin to permeate around him for an unknown purpose.

Finn clutched his head as he felt their time in Wonderland was running out. "W-We need to leave. Now." He quickly whispered to Mariette. He'd seen enough to go off of.

Mariette was more than prepared for that. She simply grabbed onto him and Overcity Shifted, sending them directly to the Overcity, no portals required.

Meanwhile...

"Damn. Looks like they're getting scared."

Once more the false Witch of Time returned to her outpost, overseeing Penrose's preparations for war. Well, part of her assumed it could've been avoided. But if that's what both parties wanted, she couldn't exactly stop them. As she walked to and from various gear shapped platforms, windows into the realm followed in front of her. Elizabeth was looking for her brothers, Amanda was preparing to return with the help of Maribel, and-

Oh?

Guess she glossed over a few things. Two of them. One's appearance was more recent, his appearance only brief. And he ended up in somewhere quite interesting. Jennifer curiously, yet unsure, watched as the canine traveler conversed with a young boy. "Pinnochio", as she had nicknamed him.

"Hm, might wanna change that." She thought outloud. Something more fitting for the poor fella. ...Oh. Poor sap. Maybe she could help him if they ran into each other. Unless Nykannis tampered with his vehicle on purpose. She wouldn't put it past her to do that. Wait a minute, is he...?

Well, that's going to be interesting! The Exodus couldn't help but grin slightly. If the boy became invested in the multiverse and then some, then he could possibly be a mentee to her! "...But then we'd risk instigating a cycle of events." Jen's excitement faded into a tired sigh. Well, she'd just have to hope he won't end up like her.

Then came the sound of laser fire.

Jen’s attention was snatched away by some giant armored… thing that appeared to be a mass of laser cannons Trailing behind it was a stampede of caustic bovines, rushing down the cosmic anomaly. Giant bulls that the bull of wall street would be intimidated by. The beat of their hooves across the multiscape was enough to send quakes through nearby realities. Their moo’s of despair sent tremors down the spines of all that heard them. Wherever they ran, whatever they touched, it was turned into a white steam that blew past the bovines. It almost looked like the bulls had just come out of a sauna and were running through the winter air.

Then all of the thing’s lazer barrels converged together and fired a single beam of energy. It blinded all who looked at it, with lingering afterglows that would last the next few minutes. But even if it couldn’t be seen, it could be heard. While not loud, the beam sounded like a waterfall. If waterfalls could play techno music. But once the techno music faded, all was quiet again. Nothing remained of the bovines, not even the caustic residue they were named for.

Not long after, the cluster of guns floated into the observatory and landed on the ground with a soft thud. It shook and twisted, not unlike a cocoon containing an emerging butterfly, but the only thing that popped out was Aria. She folded behind her back and observed the interior of the place.

"A bit on the nose, but that's what I was expecting." The gun-cocoon collapsed on itself and turned into a butterfly, which hovered over Aria's shoulder. "I suppose you have some refreshments set up somewhere?"

Before the witch could answer, a crackling tear was rent in whatever constituted the dimensional fabric of Jennifer’s realm, allowing for the passage of a diminutive figure in an oversized lab coat.

“Nice place ya got here, Jen,” the mad scientist remarked with an approving nod. “Oh, and Aria’s here too, huh? I see you decided to take Rupee out for a spin,” she noted while adjusting her glowing goggles. “She’s performing to expectations, I trust. If not, I could always give her a quick tune up.”

Aria waved her hand. "That won’t be necessary. She’s a fine unit as-is, and I’m something of a tinker anyway."

It took a moment to process what she had seen. Okay. She forgot about the fucking space cows that also hunt down anomalous entities. As long as they didn't poof the important stuff she needed out of existance, they can do whatever the hell they wanted. Though it seemed the ones nearby didn't stand a chance against their prey. Uncovering her eyes once the beam dispatted, Jennifer took a step back to allow the cluster to land.

"This ain't even the full scale of the place!" She told the two once Nykannis showed up, moving over to a lounge-like corner. "As for refreshments, you got any favorite drinks? Snack food??"

"Hmmm." Aria placed her hands on her hips. "A scone and some tea. Earl Grey or green are my preferences for tea, and apple scones are just the best. But I’m always open to trying new things, especially if they’re expensive." She giggled like an imp.

“Well, if you’re offering, I guess I’ll have some ice tea, and some of those giant pretzels with the peanut butter and cheese inside,” Nykannis replied as she settled into a comfy reclining chair. “Oh, and maybe some gravy to dip them in.”

Jennifer opened a nearby fridge to set out the requested refreshments. Even if it was expensive and a concern for cholesterol for one, she had prepared ahead of time. Gotta make a good impression for your guests after all! The witch passed the food and drinks to their respective person, then went back and grabbed a bottle of whiskey for herself. "There's also some leftover birthday dessert, but I dunno if either of you like devil's food cake." She mentioned, taking a seat on the couch.

Aria glanced between her hands, which now had a tea and scone in it respectively. "Well, I’ll see how I feel after this." Though Aria was eyeing a round table where the top looked like a giant clock cog set inside some clear resin. The table’s single foot was hourglass shaped, and even seemed to have moving sand in it. Though Aria did not spend much time wondering how such a contraption worked. She took a seat at the table and set her “food stuffs” on the table. She turned her plate until the apple scone was at an aesthetically pleasing angle. Shortly afterwards, the others took positions around the table. "Since it’s the three of us here, that must mean we’re going to gossip about Penrose’s latest antics." Aria lifted her cup to sip her tea. "Did anything crazy happen recently, or is it just the regular crazy we’ve been observing for a while?"

“Well, everyone’s favorite vampire girl is thinking of switching Patrons,” Nykannis replied. “Tall Dark and Brooding is seriously thinking of trying to kill off Penny, trying being the key word, and, speaking of the Brave Little Toaster, rumor has it she just got kicked out of Beacon, since apparently they finally realized they have standards.”

"That reminds me, I gotta arrange a meeting with the other witches. If Mister Allfather was able to spy on Lauren and Williams while they were inside the Cradle, then they got another thorn in their side to deal with." Jen explained in detail. "But yeah, Penny had to choose between staying a monster and becoming human so she gave up the spark. Finn on his end might have to deal with Wonderland first before turning against her.

"Justine, Penny, and Beacon are all the rage these days, aren’t they?" If the gossip intrigued Aria, she showed no sign of it. "Not to sound like a bitter old fart, but I miss the days when the local happenings were more than what that unholy trinity were doing. Justine being tempted by the dark side is an event I can set my watch to. Penny use to have to earn her victories, but now she’s unstoppable on nearly every front. The only surprise is that Beacon didn’t excommunicate her. Not that an attempt on Penny’s life would be successful for obvious reasons." She chuckled before taking a small, rabbit-sized bite out of her scone. "Wonderful food Jennifer." She added after swallowing it. "Regardless, it seems like keeping secrets from anyone is a fool’s errand these days. Your best bet is to do what you did on your, mmm, arrangement with Oros, or have secrets that are so convoluted that no one can figure them out.“

“That’s what I keep telling people,” Nykannis agreed as she broke off a doughy piece of her pretzel and dipped it in her gravy bowl. “The only way to screw over anyone with near omniscience is to ensure that everything you plan doesn’t get added to the Grand Magistrate’s Incident Chronicle until AFTER said plan is carried out.” Pausing a moment to have a gulp of ice tea, she continued. “So, what brings you here, Aria? Does Jen want you to try and convince Esper World’s Grand Magistrate to let her pay a visit?”

"Oh, I just asked her if I could visit. If she has intentions like that, I am not aware of them.“ With tea cup in hand, she waved at everything in front of herself. "I just felt like stopping by everyone’s second favorite dimension to see if anything interesting had happened. But, it seems like it’s just business as usual.“ Aria inhaled, savoring the smell of her brew. "With an entire multiverse out there to explore, I don’t think I could ever go back to artificing in the overcity. Too many things to do in too many other worlds.“

"Nah, don't have a reason to head there yet." The witch took a swig of her own beverage. "Unless I get to be a secret boss. But besides that!" She grinned at Aria. "Welcome to the club on that end! Just, be careful not to lead the space cows near here? Can't really file a lawsuit against them."

“I see…” Nykannis grinned. “So you’re doing a bit of traveling, huh?” she inquired. “I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting you to make use of Rupee’s omniversal transit capabilities so soon, but then, I suppose I really shouldn’t be all that surprised. After all, anything’s better than camping out in a sewer with Oros.”

"I fully understand why most people dislike Oros. But she has yet to treat me like anything less than a lady. I can’t recall her hitting on me, and while I took precautionary measures, she hasn’t tried to do anything underhanded while I sleep, shower, or any other time when I’m ‘vulnerable.’ That courtesy has been extended to PT and Binky as well. She has been a fine boss.“ Her grin got a little wider. "But a little Oros goes a fair distance.“ Aria stared into her half empty glass. "Rupee has been pretty useful. I am regretful that she is wasted on my modest aims, but I am sure that will change in time.“ She looked to Jen. "I trust you’re still trying to support Finn’s quest for Penny related domination?“

"Doing my best." Jennifer's smile turned a bit crooked. "Though I worry Penny's death by his hand will have a heavy drawback among other concerns..." She spoke through gritted teeth.

"Implying he’s ensured to succeed.“ Aria gave the witch a sideways glance. "If I may offer some advice, you do not kill a god by attacking it. You kill it by not believing in it. The only reason why anyone has any significance around here is because everyone gives them attention.“ She held her scone up to her mouth. "Everyone ignores the Mint, and have they done anything that makes them as big a threat as Beacon?“

“Mmm…” Nykannis agreed as she took another bite out of her pretzel. “Plus, if he actually manages to kill her, it’ll have drastic repercussions for the future of this reality plenum, and may even go so far as to instigate its complete collapse. Not that I’m too concerned by that outcome, mind you,” she added. “The energy generated by a shitstorm like that’ll be just enough to ensure my omniversal weapon is fully charged. Still, I think there might be a better way of dealing with our Mechanical Monarch,” she noted with a devious smirk. “What if, instead of killing her, you reduced her to the state of a normal, mundane human?”

"The Mint doesn't even have much leg to stand on anymore. Everyone's either wanting to be the good guy in the story or focusing on their own agendas. Hell, I'm starting to question the point of either Cradle OR Mint staying in Penrose." She shook her head in disdain. "Heroes don't exist to me."

Then Nykannis suggested a different approach.

Jennifer's brows rose. "I can make that possible."

“As can I,” Nykannis replied, her smirk widening. “The question is, will either of us be allowed to? This is the Grand Magistrate’s pet we’re talking about, after all. Messing with her pitifully fragile mind is one thing, but going that far is taking things to an entirely different level.”

"If you brought it up, you must have an idea how to accomplish that end.“ Aria had nearly finished her scone, and there wasn't much of her tea left either. "So what did you have in mind? You aren't thinking about convincing them somehow, are you? That would require quite the barter I would think.“

“Sadly, I don’t think there’s any other way of accomplishing such a goal,” Nykannis replied, her smirk dissolving into an annoyed frown. “Which means it’s really little more than a pipe dream…” she conceded with a resigned sigh. “I may hold the Grand Magistrate’s interest, but not anywhere close to the degree his precious Penny does. The way I see it, the only possible avenue to going about this would be to try and convince him that making such a thing occur would drastically increase interest in the narrative he’s trying to create, and I probably don’t need to tell you how small the odds are of that ever happening.”

Jennifer simply listened to the conversation, downing the rest of her alcoholic drink. "Let's just spitball ideas later. At this rate I'm tempted to scrap this debacle, grab the kid, and scram." With that, she went back to watching Penrose without getting out of her seat.

“Which kid?” Nykannis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Finn? Who else? Everyone else will probably just transfer to a different city." She explained. "Or I can kill 'em. Haven't decided yet."

"How edgy. The topic seems to upset our host, so lets change it.“

"Call me edgy all you want but that shit doesn't phases me anymore." Jen looked back at Aria in unamusement.

“Yeah, I suppose you would wanna hang onto him,” Nykannis reflected. “What with his little upgrade and all. I mean, it’d be tragic to let that go to waste.

Aria too looked out the window into Penrose. Though it was hard for her to see much with her naked eyes. Penrose was quite distant, among a sea of other realities. "Instead of talking about Penny, why don’t we go down the list and talk about everyone else?“ Aria dusted off a list before laying it down on the table. "Lily, any strong feelings?“

“Not particularly,” Nykannis replied, while absentmindedly swirling her remaining gravy with a piece of pretzel. “From what little I’ve seen, she’s one of those painfully naive, idealistic types, like MDP, but thankfully far less annoying…”

"Eh, Lily's okay! Not too extravagant, but also not too boring." The Exodus got up to grab another drink. "Her and Alex's dynamic help balance eachother out in like, personality and stuff."

"Despite being one of the strongest girls in Penrose, everyone seems more or less fine with her.“ Aria nodded. "I believe this is because Lily has had to overcome some ‘humiliations’ in her past. While she has access to nearly every time power to have ever existed, she can’t fix every problem. She was captured by Sonia, was almost crushed out of existence by Abigail, and she failed to save Tenebra, costing her patron their life. Some of her failures have had lasting impacts on her, and she is made more human for it.“ Aria ran her finger further down the list. "Um.“ She looked up to her acquaintances with a smile. "I think we should probably skip the bulk of the grand magistrate’s ‘non-patron champions’ as my friend would call them. Unless anyone here has strong feelings about magical girls like Rachiel, Al, or Justine. But I can't say I do.“

“Rachel and the Assendancy are an annoyance, Al and the Mint are a joke, and Justine is just pathetic,” Nykannis replied, not bothering to hide her obvious contempt. “But if we’re going down this list, the next Patron Champion is Emily. Can’t say she’s done anything to get my attention, but her magical abilities are rather potent. It’s a pity she doesn’t utilize them to their full potential.”

"Wasn't she supposed to get killed off or something?" Jen genuinely asked.

"Perhaps Oros should have been here for this discussion.“ Aria had stood up to walk her way over to the fridge. "She does have potent powers, but falls under the radar a lot. Most of her interactions don’t have the same city-shaping ramifications that certain other girls have, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit curious to see what happens when she discovers who killed her sister. I find her situation interesting, even if she doesn’t do much to affect Penrose itself.“ After recovering a pot of cold tea and a plate of cookies, Aria skipped her way back to the table. "Angel of Hope? She’s another new one. Her “almost last stand” at the rave was amusing. But that’s all I’ve really seen her do.“

The witch chuckled. "Not sure if intentionally making her don a less-bitchy personality is allowed in Patron circles, but she's pretty interesting so far!"

“I find her more amusing than anything else,” Nykannis noted. “I mean, someone with that kinda ego being shackled with a powerset that utterly prohibits her from inflicting any form of harm on others is just fucking hilarious! Now, I know I may have a bit of an ego as well, mind you,” the mad scientist added. “But in my case it’s entirely justified! I really AM as amazing as I claim to be! But this girl keeps trying to convince people she’s the literal ‘best magical girl’, and yet her powerset is a complete joke! Hell, she practically needs to be teamed up with people in order to be even remotely effective!”

"I’m no longer surprised she flies under my radar. And I think we’re all done with the puchuu girls for the moment. Next are the lesser forces.“ Aria raised an eyebrow. "Hilaria seems fun. Cannibalism and altruism go hand in hand after all. Aside from that and her blood relation to the cardinal, I can’t say she’s all that remarkable. But that's remarkable enough I suppose. Oh, but I guess ‘her’ Justine has more backbone than the one Maura’s toting around.“

"Between Blue and Purple, not gonna lie, Blue J looks like she's more fun to hang out with! Jen grinned. "And it'd be nice for Hilaria to get to see her girlfriend again. Her on the other hand I have nothing wrong with. An old, weary soul with a soft spot for the little things. Mainly food. And she's a gravity spec user, which is kinda rare now!" She reached over and grabbed a cookie.

“I just think it’s kinda pitiful that someone so young has succumbed to senility so quickly,” Nykannis remarked as she set to work on another pretzel. “I mean, she’s less than a tenth of my age and she can barely even remember her own name!”

"Repressed memories perhaps." Jen theorized. "Wouldn't put it past her to have some trauma for what she's been through."

"Or, you know, dieing and resurecting too many times can have adverse effects on one's health. Though I suppose if you have dark powers, it's best to just embrace them. Unlike the next number on our list.“ Aria tapped Connie's name. "Another new one. She was a bit more interesting when everyone and their sister didn't have dream powers. Regardless, I find her struggles amusing at the very least.“

"Oh hey, Mari's been talking about this kid!"

“Yeah, she’s actually rather interesting,” Nykannis admitted. “Although a little annoying to deal with in person. As a matter of fact, I recently developed a weapon based upon what I was able to learn of her magic at that stupid Christmas Party. Now I just have to try it out, and I think I know the perfect test subject…”

"Speaking of perfect test subjects, we have MDP up next for discussion!“ Even Rupee shuttered as the name was called out, but it didn’t bother Aria as much. "Probably the strongest person with dream related magic in Penrose right now. Though I find her situation kind of odd. She went through all that effort to find out who was harming her father and then upon meeting them she just, kind of stopped caring?“ Aria shrugged. "Call me old fashioned, but I’m not nearly as merciful. Though if her father is in good health now, her reluctance to take action is understandable.“

"Ah yes. The robophile." The witch said. "I wouldn't say she stopped caring, it just slowly turned from Connie giving him nightmares to the Mint poisoning the poor bastard as exploit. In fact, it seems she's been an outwitted pawn in the Mint's games with their current projects." She paused to take a bite of the cookie in her hand.

“Yeah, I meant to create a perfect segue like that,” Nykannis confirmed with a smug smirk. “And Her Royal Ditzyness is definitely a naive moron, even in her supposedly ‘brilliant’ mundane form. Although,” she added after a moment’s reflection. “I can’t say she really forgot about what happened to daddy warbucks, just that she’s now directing her ‘anger’ at the Lord of Nightmares itself, which, from what I understand, is her own patron’s arch nemesis, so I guess that kinda makes sense? Ah, who cares! You won’t have to worry about her for much longer anyway, at least not if I have anything to say about it! Nyahahaha!” After cackling maniacally for several seconds the Monarch of Mad Science eventually sobered and had another sip of tea. “So, um, who’s next?”

"Miku Hatsune.“ After grinning at her own joke for an uncomfortable amount of time, Aria sighed. "Given that Coco and Roxanna had hardly any time in Penrose and their patrons have left, I don’t feel they are important enough to talk about. So let’s move onto the boyfriend himself.“

“You mean Fable 2.0’s rival in the brooding edgelord contest?”

"He ain't that bad. Needs more pets though."

"He’s pretty temperamental, yes. Definitely drops more F bombs than are really nessisary, even if they aren’t the greatest offender. I suppose he really isn’t worth bringing up either, if only because he and Lily are joined at the hip. His best moments happen, coincidentally, when they are separated. I wouldn’t say he can't function without her. And oh look! Another segway!“ Aria tapped the list. "Mia! AKA the Alexander to Connie’s Lily if they just wanted to be friends and Lily was more like Emily without the mean streak! AKA Gaia but not really! AKA Green Lady! AKA Miss-I-Play-Too-Many-Video-Games! I think you get the picture.“

“Yeah, I met her at the Christmas Party, too,” Nykannis said with a slight scowl. “Not quite as annoying as her ‘little sister’, but then, she had her boyfriend to occupy her attention. Meanwhile, Connie was all ‘I wanna make new friends’, which leads me to believe that even if the umbilical between those two hasn’t been completely cut, it’s at least been lengthened quite a bit.”

Jennifer simply shrugged in response.

Aria stifled a chuckle. "That’s it for the god worshipers. So we’re on Beacon now. And this list might be a bit outdated given that Penny’s name is still here.Barring her and the Ascendancy it looks like we have just two names.“ This seemed to please Aria, who’s grin only widened when she looked over the names. "Anaya, who’s name is almost entirely made of vowels, and Alicia. Who manages the same feat.“

"Both aren't exactly extravangant. Though I bet if Beacon wasn't stubborn on the whole anti-monster bit that Penny would be leader of Penrose's branch instead. But nah, we got her boring past fling that can only do so much and yet so little at the same time."

“Uh, I don’t really even know who those two are,” Nykannis admitted. “Have they done anything interesting lately?”

"Exactly. Well, one should be more active at some point. Her old boss is due to pop up again." Jen chuckled.

“Really now?” Nykannis asked with a raised eyebrow.

The false witch nodded. "Not sure when though. Never really showed up on the radar even before Anaya defected to Beacon."

"Alicia was interesting once upon a time, and I say that as someone who despises Beacon a great deal. Though her best days seem to be behind her. She’s been weasiling her way through the ranks for doing seemingly menial tasks. It was at least entertaining when she was one of the few competent people in Penrose Beacon. Since then Beacon’s numbers have grown substantially. Compared to the members of the Ascendancy or higher ranking Beacon officials, she’s fairly unremarkable. I’m not surprised she’s fallen under your radar. But I think that’s about all I really have to say about the lightbulbs. Now we get to the fun ones: the horrors.“ She chuckled when she saw the two following names. "Mariette and her burning lizard friend. I really thought the tiny horror worshiper was going to become something, but it’s been too long. She’s locked away in her corner of Penrose, brooding over who knows what, and I feel like she’s let her perfect opportunity slip by. The careful and slow approach is a good way to get lapped by those in your field. It was fun to watch her struggle in the beginning, but now Asengav has become a joke, and the punchline is long overdue.“

“Yeah, she’s similar to Justine in how she started off somewhat menacing, but now she’s just a pathetic loser,” Nykannis agreed. “Especially after she lost her personal pocket dimension. I mean, she’s still got her own little army, including a coin crafter, but what has she even done with any of them? Then again,” the mad scientist added, her visage taking on a thoughtful expression. “Maybe she hasn’t been allowed to do anything of any real importance, at least, not yet. Word is, the so-called ‘Queen of Hearts’ has taken an interest in her, so perhaps she’ll soon become a bit more relevant. And she did help Kate out with one her recent jobs, so I suppose that’s something. Mayra, on the other hand,” she continued with a grin, “is another story entirely… That girl’s almost as bad of a walking disaster area as Stacy and MDP! I mean, can you believe that she’s the one responsible for sending her royal ditzyness to my lab in the first place?! In fact, if she hadn’t gotten it into her scaly head to wreck daddy warbuck’s little tin cans, I think there’s a fairly decent chance that MDP wouldn’t even exist!”

"...Actually, wasn't Mariette supposed to be a bad guy at some point??"

"Even meta girl ver4 is confused.“ Aria giggled. "Mayra is just a ball of entropy. She's not quite to my tastes, but I can understand her appeal to some people. Not something I'm willing to have an extended discussion about however.“ She slapped her hand on the table. "Let's discuss Patron Champion Mint agents that are on the list!“

Right under Aria's finger was said space, and it was empty. No amount of shifting her finger around fixed it either.

"Exhilarating! which brings us to the solo entries. The weeb twins Deni and Eli! I can't speak of their recent exploits, but as former underlings of a fairly passive master, I feel like they get even less action than she does. A shame too, because I find their personalities endearing."

"The whole getting Mariette un-mind bent was kinda pointless if she willingly stayed with Asengav, was it?" Jennifer asked. "Anyways, the twins got their arc, so I get that they don't have much to work with. Too bad one of them conciders a total dolt as a 'sensei'. Hopefully they'll get a proper patron soon."

“Tell me about it,” Nykannis agreed. “How anyone could consider puff the magic drag queen leadership material is beyond me… And you’re right, some enterprising individual should definitely take custody of them and ensure their potential isn’t wasted any more than it already has been. They may be rather weak, but they’re tenacious, I’ll give them that.”

Aria was scribbling something down in her notes. "Ah, yes! I agree with that as well. Definitely filled to the brim with tenacity." With a cough, she turned back to the list. "Which leaves us with the last faction. Now I have a lot to do with this faction, but you won’t be getting any biased comments out of me. I have nothing to do with Maura, and I won’t go light on the agents Veronica left her. Having said that, Silhouette feels like Penrose’s neglected step child. She has potent powers, uses them effectively, and makes the most of the bad hand she gets dealt. And she is always getting bad hands."

"Veronica's most loyal pet." Jen couldn't help mumble. "It was literally written in the damn stars that those two were soulmates, yet Sam decides to go for the bipedal Chain-Chomp? She sarcastically tilted her head side to side. "Then again Veronica apparently took interest in the counterfeit Macaria, so I guess they both got shit taste."

Aria cleared her throat.

"Sorry."

“Oh how the mighty have fallen,” Nykannis noted in overly dramatic fashion, while rolling her eyes in obvious contempt. “Seems like a running theme in this reality plenum, excepting you-know-who, of course. I mean, there was a time when I actually respected Cradle, but with the arrival of its new leader and the departure of most of its more competent agents, it’s now even more of an ‘Island of Misfit Toys’ than The Brave Little Toaster’s homeless shelter, and that’s really saying something…”

"You mean her Polly Pocket of a so called 'Kingdom'??" The witch cackled.

Aria nodded at Nykannis with the same unwavering smile she had worn for the entirety of their discussion. "I am inclined to agree, actually. Veronica was a strong leader, and I’m not sure if anyone could have replaced her. Though Maura’s self pitying and stagnation were not what the clan needed after its finest hour. Though it is interesting to see you count Trixy and Tetrad as ‘competent’ agents." She looked at the list one last time. "I don’t really have an opinion of the other two, given how new they are. But that does appear to be the end of the list. Though it feels like we missed someone…" Aria stroked her chin. "This can’t be everyone, right?"

"Any suggestion on how I should remedy our Maura problem, by the way??" Jen tilted her head as she asked, scooching closer to the edge of the couch.

“Actually, I meant Maria and Blair,” Nykannis retorted.

"The angry nutjob and the medic? Really?" Aria rose an eyebrow.

“As for Maura, aside from having her grow a backbone, I’d say the best thing to do would be to recruit some additional agents, competent ones, and, for the love of sanity, keep better control over Justine! Seriously, that whole situation is a total clusterfuck just waiting to happen…”

"Kinda too late now, ain't it though? And I somehow doubt they'll be able to get new agents in that hellhole. As for the rest, Sann's too weird and desperate, Sakura's too stupid for someone who's supposed to be Yakuza AND over 60, Dina's a paranoid simp, and others like Shane or Kayli aren't that extravagant either. You already know my bias." The false witch unapologetically knocked the rest off the list quick. Then she went back to thinking, a hand resting under her chin.

"One thing Maura has over Veronica is that she's not former Mint. I don't think recruiting people would be that hard, even if she had to stick to Non-Patron Champions. But all I've seen her do so far is cry about the overbearing weight of her new responsibility. Like, you were gifted the Cradle, dry those tears and put it to use. There are plenty of magical girls that want to be a part of something less ridiculous than Mint, Beacon, and the homeless shelter, all she has to do is provide it." Aria squinted her eyes. "Ahh, and those names do seem to be missing from the list. Though I would be inclined to say a bit more about them." She paused. "I think that Sann, Sakura, and Dina are collectively under the influence of a powerful horror. That or an elder god, something like Chaos or some other patron who only exists to spark entropy. Their actions don’t really add up otherwise, as you mentioned. The lot of them are prone to violence, emotional outbursts, and have all changed their forms at least once during their very short stay in Penrose. They do not appear to be working in their own best interests, or by any metric you’d hold a sane person to."

“You can say that again,” Nykannis agreed. “But I’ve already given my thoughts on Suckura, and as far as I’m concerned, Dina and Sann don’t really bear mentioning, ditto for Rose, Iris, and Shane. Kayli has some fairly interesting abilities, but that’s about it, and Ka’ris might make a nice source of amusement, if and when she actually does something.”

"I think that’s fair." Aria folded her arms. By this point the extra goodies she got had been all but consumed. "I think my takeaway from all this is that each magical girl, especially the older ones, have had a moment when they were interesting. How interesting varies from girl to girl, but that moment comes when they are challenged by a formidable opponent or undertake a task they can’t easily finish. Alicia deciding to spare monster girls and boys when Beacon was less approving of such things Mariette’s siege on Justine’s castle, Alexander fighting alongside strangers to find Lily, Silhouette struggling to fulfill Veronica’s orders, The true strength of someone’s character is revealed in the difficulty of the task in proportion to their own strength, rather than the difficulty of the task itself. That’s why everyone cheers for the underdog. And yet…" She turned to the list and shook her head. "I cannot think of a single time that Penny has been properly challenged. Jason? Sure, but not Penny. And the Magistrate rigidly protects her like a group of helicopter parents. She is able to escape the realm of a horror in seconds, even though that’s impossible. She earned Rachiel’s respect through dialog, even though Penny has no features to aid in talking to hostile parties and Rachel has no reason to believe what a dirty monster girl would say. It’s almost like the magistrate is afraid to make her do anything interesting."

“What makes it even worse is that she has a MASSIVE exploitable weakness, but nobody ever thinks of using it! Her mind is a complete fucking mess! She’s insecure, paranoid, and has some serious anger management issues,” Nykannis noted, listing each item off on her fingers. “You wouldn’t have to lay a finger on her to royally fuck her over, which is why I gave Finn that nightmare ray. It has the potential to hurt her WAY more than any Killing Blow ever could.”

"He just needs to find the right opportunity to use it." Jennifer nodded. "...How does it work specifically? Dont want him accidentally setting it off on the wrong target.

“I made sure to link it up to his brain, so he’ll need to actively will it to happen,” Nykannis explained. “And like I said before, it’ll only activate on Penny. Plus, if need be, I could always just assume direct control and fire it myself," she added. "So there’s really nothing to worry about.”

"Noted."

"I would love to be proven wrong, but I feel like Penny’s weakness is about as useful as the Mint. It technically exists, can technically be detrimental to her health, but never hinders her because at the end of the day she's just that awesome. Yes, the mental image of her going insane and destroying her sanctuary/relationships as a direct result of the nightmare cannon would be amusing, but the ramifications would be short lived. Beacon amicably let her go when she decided staying a monster was more important than their cause, or the aforementioned time Rachel was able to level with her. This has been going as far back as when Penny’s mind was truly a mess, and Jason attacked some monster kids Alicia was trying to make peace with. There were no repercussions for her actions, despite that being arguably what sparked the fight with Soth." Aria stood up and dusted off her dress. "That’s the closest the grand magistrate is getting to an ‘open letter’ regarding Penny." Aria giggled. "Fun chat everyone, but I’m nearly done with this reality plenum so I don’t see us meeting up here any time soon. Barring certain changes in the foreseeable future. But if you excuse me, I have to see about reuniting a girl with her friends so that she can reach her full potential."

“Well that sounds suitably cryptic,” Nykannis remarked with a smirk. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing how it goes.”

Jennifer's brows rose. "Somehow I don't think I should ask you to elaborate. Just be careful out there, will ya?"

"I wouldn't elaborate anyway. If you want a scheme to have even a chance of working, you need to be tight lipped about it. Isn't that right, Nykannis?"

“You’d better believe it.”

With a snap of her fingers, Rupee landed on Aria's back before turning into a pair of giant butterfly wings. They coiled around her before letting out the window again. Once the butterfly pod had some distance from Jen's home, it turned into an even bigger butterfly before sailing to a distant reality plenum.

“Y’know, I can’t help but feel we forgot someone else…” Nykannis remarked once Aria had departed. “Oh, yeah, that’s right! The djinn girl, Ruby! And Melisa exists too, I suppose, but Ruby’s actually quite interesting, if only because of her specialization. I mean, it’s limited in that it’s tied directly to her patron, but what if it wasn’t? What if you could give someone the full wish-granting powers of a djinn, with complete control over them as well?! Just imagine the potential!”

With Aria leaving, Jennifer decided to go ahead and clean up any empty plates and drinks left out. "Too bad the whole wish magic thing is overpowered on it's own time. I'd say maybe Ruby would have more freedom if she was solo, but I'm not always a wise guy."

“If she was solo, she’d definitely have more freedom, but she wouldn’t have any power to make that freedom worth anything,” Nykannis replied as she handed Jennifer her empty pretzel plate and gravy bowl. “Still, getting Tall, Dark, and Brooding a meeting with her might be worth attempting…” she mused. “Oh, and speaking of! I just thought of someone else who’d be a great teacher for him! But I think I’ll let Kate arrange things…” the mad scientist added. “She’s more of a people person than I am.”

"Really? Who'd you have in mind??" The witch asked, putting the dishes in the sink to rewash later.

“Oh, just a certain Frankenstein’s monster girl,” Nykannis answered with a sly grin. “She can help him learn all sorts of valuable lessons, like patience, adaptability, and non-linear thinking, the kind of things that should help him run rings around a blunt instrument like Penny.”

Huh. She wanted Finn to meet Stacy?

"A bit unorthodox, but it might be fun to watch." Jen shrugged. "Wanna check out the rest of the place?" She looked back to the Scientist with a smirk.

“No ‘might’ about it,” Nykannis replied with an amused snort. “And sure thing,” she added as she lifted her small body out of her chair. “I gotta admit, this is one of the more interesting places I’ve visited, so I can’t wait to learn more about it.”

"The whole thing's kinda spacious, but I did what I could to make it more cozy. And that's not including the depths of it! Had it filled with all kinds of stuff from realities I've looked into." Jen explained, walking ahead to the next platform.

“So, your own little collection of omniversal oddities, huh?” Nykannis asked as she activated her goggles’ ocular enhancements to gaze into the depths of the nearest seemingly bottomless abyss. “Great minds really do think alike.”

---

So this was Penrose.

Bionic Bonnie
had heard countless stories about the stubborn brave magical girls of Penrose. How they persevered over just about every horror imaginable, even literal horrors. Of course, she had heard a lot of stories about a lot of similar cities and their resilient girls, only to be disappointed when their elk turned out to be all talk and no action. Not that she blamed them. There were few girls anywhere that could stand up to the horrors of the north. In Penrose's case in particular, they seemed to have enough on their plates without Bonnie showing up to hire their residents as mercenaries. But she was willing to be surprised. That wouldn't be a bad thing.

The CAPRICORN was a massive vessel, but it made hardly a sound as it passed through Penrose. It generated storm clouds to help hide its presence, making it difficult for both mundane and magical entities to spot it. Those with third eye would be able to tell that the storm cloud was magical in nature, but the ship itself had no magical aura to speak of. It didn't hurt that the CAPRICORN was still mostly located in the north. It was probably easier to think of the CAPRICORN as a stationary vessel that could move parts of itself all over the world, and each of those parts had a portal back to its main body. Bonnie was but one of many pilots who scoured the world for mercenaries.

But the pilots of the CAPRICORN were not looking for normal mercenaries. They wanted people who could get attached to the jobs that they were hiring for. They needed more than a love of money, they needed to be invested in the task itself. If they hired someone to kill a monster, you can bet that the monster has a deep connection with the person who's being called to slay it. Maybe It ate their parents, is going to attack one of their distant friends, or is one of their distant friends. Perhaps enlisting someone emotionally vulnerable was harsh, or even detrimental to the end goal. But Bonnie would be lying if she said that wasn't what she loved about her job. How many brave fronts had she seen crumble? How many weaklings rose to the occasion? She lost count.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

After putting a few requests on Penrose Glimr, she was sure she'd get a few hits any moment now.

---

To the North: Run for the Hills(part 1)

It's not often the coin broker of New York comes out of hiding, but she always has time to punish defectors. And not only is Nuncio former Mint, but he's traveling with two people of interest. That's just too irresistible for the "Beast of the north" to ignore. Slay the Beast and her vanguard or drive them out of New York. She will go back into hiding if she captures/kills all of her prey.

Challenge Rating: SS
Notes: The Beast can use her Killing Blow with near impunity, but is vulnerable for a brief time after using it. Be careful.
This hunt can only be undertaken by a party that contains Connie and/or Mia.

World of Light

The sheet seems good. The backstory was tough to wrap my head around, but I assume that's just a product of a more abstract sort of game, so that's just my problem. I just have a couple questions about his abilities. Do the emotions Omori inflicts have any gameplay effect, like debuffs, or are they just emotions? Does 'initially in a battle' mean 'once per battle'?

@Lugubrious

- Yeah, I intent for him to "not succumb" only once per battle, can't remember if it applies to his original game, but I'd rework it that way anyways.

- The emotions have both buffs and debuffs, and can counter one another. I added a link to the chart shown in game to reference off it. (I.E. Anger buffs one's attack but lowers their defense, and is weak against happiness. edit: Read it wrong, it's happiness, not sadness. I blame my tired brain.)

- Yeah, the game in itself can be rather abstract, so that's a reasonable reaction. I do plan on expanding on the background once Omori finds his real self.

Grimoiric Heart

A wild lupin has appeared!

Grimoiric Heart

"Ergh, I hate jetlag..."

Celina grumbled to herself as she walked up to the grand, and honestly intimidating entrance to her new school. She did have a feeling going from one capital to another will cause her to be a bit late, but it wasn't a good feeling. She had no clue how an academy made for magical girls worked and she didn't want to risk anything. There was a lot she had to learn since becoming Lupin, but this was just ridiculous.

Her phone began to ring. The blonde stopped in her tracks to see who it was. "...Hm!" Looks like her mother's trying to check on her. Taking a deep breath, Celina answered the phone. "Hey mum! ...Yeah, just arrived."

"...Just a bit tired, is all." She idly walked around the front door for the moment. "Does it sound like I'm tired? ...Oh. My bad, I guess? How's Helena holding up??"

Celina paused in her step, as if anticipating her mother's answer. Then, she sighed in relief. "Glad to hear that. Let's hope she makes a quick recovery. Had me worried sick for a while, hahah." She couldn't help looking back to that night. Where there any signs she could've noticed, from that Pageless? Or was it that much of a shrewd bastard? If she hadn't been there to stop it...

No, something told her she had to. She was a hunter. No doubt about it.

"Jason there with you? ...Ah, too busy finding a job here? Too bad. Tell 'em I said hi for me!" Celina's mouth quirked up to a faint grin. It dropped a bit when she glanced back at the building. As much as she wanted to chat, she really had to get going. "Look, I should be heading in, alright? Take care of those two while I'm out. Love ya!" And she finally hung up. Taking another deep breath to calm any nerves she hid, Celina faced the front door to Marrywell Academy, and went inside.

...

..

The commotion from the arena caught her curiosity. A little bit hesitant, Celina followed suite, appearing in the stadium instead of the stands where those not participating observed instead. Not wanting to interrupt what the group had going on, she decided to quietly lurk by the entrance and watch, leaning against a wall. It was...honestly kinda interesting as a whole. Her attention was divided between the audience and the main show-class-thing. Too bad it ended rather swiftly. The blonde slightly frowned at that. Celina caught sight of one girl with her back turned away from the stadium, talking to someone else. She didn't intent to eavesdrop, but couldn't help but wonder. Only thing she overheard was basically what the metal-limbed instructor gave the current class as homework.

Then the red haired girl seemed to call out to her. Celina couldn't help but flinch. So someone did manage to notice her. That's kind of embarassing. But she might as well make herself known officially, maybe someone could team up with her. "Alright, alright." She stepped out of her hiding spot spot by the entrance and walked over to the group nearby.

"Guess the jig's up, aye? Name's Celina. I'm...kinda new here..."The bearer of Red Riding Hood's Grimore introduced herself, feeling a bit sheepish at the end. "Though when we're out hunting pageless..." With a quick transformation, the wolf girl in red took her place. "Call me Lupin. If you want to, I mean, not gonna force anyone." She shrugged.

World of Light

Second character slot lets gooooo

This took a while but I wanted to get him right. Let me know if he needs any changes.

Waiting for something to happen?

Name: Omori

Game Origin: Omori

Appearance: (Pictured Above! ...Minus Mewo.)

Personality: A rather gloomy boy, Omori doesn't really emote much. He seems to only be indifferent to many things, though he isn't hesitant in his harsh, sometimes violent actions against his adversaries. It's hard to make him afraid of what could usually strike fear in others, save for his own fears. But for how cliff-faced he normally is, he does care for his loved ones and would go to the ends of the earth for them. He can also be quite expressive on his own terms, mostly when in battle. However in contrast of how far his friends' emotions can go during one, his can be a bit...unhealthy, for a lack of a better term.

Background: As it's sole denizen, Omori lived in Whitespace for as long as he can remember, either peacefully staying in for the day or going out to spend time with his friends and older sister in the broader Headspace. Sure, something does crop up from time to time to bother him, but besides that things were okay. They had to be.

On one day Omori decided to spend time with his friends, him, Aubrey, Kel and Hero met up with Mari and Basil at the playground near their stump. They reminisced their time spent together through Basil's photo album, played hide and seek with everyone else in the playground, and dealt with an angry Boss who wasn't invited to join after last time. When that quick spat was settled, the group went out to Basil's house as per his invitation. Sure, a sprout mole here and there (and Ye Olde one) stopped them in their tracks a few times, but they showed to be no match for their teamwork.

When the entrance to Basil's home was no longer blocked, another one of Aubrey and Kel's fights accidentally cause his photos to scramble out of place. They all went inside and helped him fix the photo album back to how it was beforehand.

And yet...he seemed to have forgotten one.

As Basil went to step away, something else appeared. A stray photo.

Something he wasn't meant to see.

Something he wasn't meant to realize.

Something happened. Basil dissapeared after that, and Omori found himself in the comforting nothingness of Whitespace again. He, Aubrey, Kel, and Hero regrouped, concerned for their missing friend. So they set off to find him.

Their search eventually leads them up the giant ladder to the Otherworld. There they assist one Captain Spaceboyfriend; who's despairful woes leave him bed ridden, in getting his special mixtape back. What they didn't realize until after was that his depressed behavior was the result of a breakup. Kel's obliviousness to this ended up sending Spaceboyfriend into a fury after he played the mixtape anyways, and a fight ensued.

Once it was over, and Captain Spaceboy calmed down, he reveals that unfortuantely he didn't know anything about Basil's dissapearance. Looks like they'll have to search elsewhere. But before they left Overworld, Omori caught sight of something quite strange. A shadowy silhouette in the form of his missing friend, walking through the Cattail Fields. He followed after it, as if he was being guided through his memories, leading up to a seemingly innocuous barn. He went inside.

Through a mirror.

To a music stand, and a family portrait defiled.

Something lashed out at him. But he wouldn't be retreating to whitespace this time. Something very unexpected happened. Omori found himself in an entirely different place, alone. What happened to Whitespace, headspace? Where was his friends, or his sister?

What happened to Sunny?

Specialty: Balanced Melee Fighter
Level: 1
Experience: 0/10
Powers:

• Sad Poem - Inflicts Sadness on a friend or foe.

Strengths:

• Emotions: Emotions play a big part in how combat works in Headspace, and Omori carries that over to this unfamiliar world. Whether that'd be angering his adversaries, making his friends happy, or letting his own sadness get to him, manipulating the emotions of everyone in battle can give both advantages and disadvantages he'll have to keep in mind. Weirdly enough, Omori doesn't feel fear as easily...
  
  - Anger increases one's attack, but also lowers their defense. Counters sadness but is weak against happiness.
  - Happiness increases both luck and speed, but lowers one's hit rate. Counters anger, but is weak against sadness.
  - Sadness increases defense, but lowers one's speed. If able, whatever damage they take can be converted into juice mana (or whatever the equivalent may be). Counters happiness but is weak to anger.
• Small Blade Proficiency: More specifically, he's pretty decent with a knife.
• Persistent: Initially in a battle, Omori is able to survive a fatal blow that would kill him instantly otherwise. However this does leave him heavily wounded, so he'd have to act fast before he's seen an easy target.

Weaknesses:

• Reckless: Just like any other human (black and white or otherwise) Omori can get badly injured if he isn't careful. Especially when his emotions can cloud his better judgement.
• Phobias: He might be hard to scare, but there are things Omori is afraid of. Things that he'll have to overcome on his own, otherwise he'll heavily avoid anything pertaining to them. So far he's managed to overcome his fear of heights. His fear of spiders and drowning however, are a different story.
• Alter Ego: Despite his autonomy, Omori's still a part of someone else, someone he's supposed to protect. If something happened to one of them, what would happen to the other?

Spirits:

• None at the moment.

Guest List:
Something: Was he able to get rid of it finally? Nah, it was never that easy. No matter what Omori did to avoid or get rid of it, something continued to haunt him for days on end. Who's to say it didn't go away with the rest of Headspace?
Mari: Omori's older sister, always around with a picnic set up when him and his friends need to rest. It'd be nice to see she's alright.
Sunny: His original self. Where is he??

Inventory:
Shiny Knife: A shiny new knife.
You can see your reflection in the blade.
Foe Facts! Journal: Omori uses his to record any enemies he's faced so far.

[GAME] Let's Build a Dungeon

Hewwo again.

>A Clockwork Empire

World of Light

Level: 3
Experience: 20/20 Level Up!
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Dragonspine
Word Count: 483 (+1 Exp)
Albedo @Lugubrious, Linkle @Gentlemanvaultboy, Prisoner @XoXKieroBombXoX

Upgrade Unlocked:

Shield of Kindness V2: Their barrier is now somewhat stronger, and Frisk is able to freely move while it's active.

For a moment, it appeared their attempts to reason with the archer fell upon stubborn deaf ears. Maybe in a different case Frisk would've been more confident, but dang it, they gotta get warmed up before night falls and makes things even colder than they can take. Fortunately, it seemed their offer to help got a reaction from him. The youth didn't know what that meant, until the avian archer motioned for the group to follow. Frisk silently sighed in relief. Whatever he needed help with, they were determined to see their end of the deal through.

The path they were taken through appeared more worse for wear than the one the group had first walked through. Even Frisk couldn't easily focus on anything else besides the dead bark that littered the area. And soon they saw why. Corpses. Giant, evicerated corpses. The grim realization almost made the poor kid miss the dolls that littered the road to Treat's old haunt.

Well, almost. Though this was way worse in comparison.

Luckily they soon came upon a campsite hidden amongst the macabre scenery. The only ones besides Teba were a woman in white, and...a kid. A young boy. Frisk's face contorted in worry. Why was he in a place like this? Why were either of them, in fact? They quietly let Albedo do the talking first, nodding when he explained what had happened to them. Before the child could speak the boy, in desperation, asked if the group was going to help him find his dad. Well, there was Frisk's answer. The woman motioned for them to sit by the fire, essentially telling them that worser threats lurk around them. The gust of chilling wind passing by attested to that.

Once they all gathered by the campfire, the woman, Melony, introduced their small group. She explained why her and the boy, Joel ended up where they were. Joel's father dissapeared up the mountain, and Melony and her..._{what the heck is a Pokemon??}...partners were caught in an avalance, one of them apparently turning rogue for some reason. Frisk's brows rose once she mentioned that. "That's probably the same avalance that nearly hit all of us!" If that were the case, then good riddance to that Snow-baddie. Hearing how Teba, despite his cold nature, helped these two, Frisk glanced over to the archer for a moment. Wonder what he'd think of Undyne... They thought.

Corpse trees? Missing people? Ominous gust of wind? It was like this mountain was alive. That, or something much bigger than some mere snowmen possibly made mincemeat out of innocent lives.

Geez, they really shouldn't be thinking like that! They have someone they need to rescue!

"Don't worry." Frisk told Joel, giving him a reassuring smile. "We'll get him back." ...And maybe take out whatever took Joserf in the process. Whatever the case was, they couldn't leave another kid hanging like this.

Grimoiric Heart

Might have to wait a bit to find a good place to hop in, hah...