BlazingBark
Snowdrops
BrokenPromise
rabidbacon
Tlaloc
Chronic
Lildear18
Lugubrious
Mae
Shin Ghost Note Michelangelo, a famous sculptor, is famously known for describing the art of stone sculpting as the slow release of a form as it emerged out of the marble block. It was his role as an artist to liberate the human form trapped inside the block by gradually chipping away at the stone surface. Removing what wasn't a human, and leaving what was. Something most Ascendancy girls can get behind.
This look into Michelangelo's mind reveals something about how he thought. As an artist, it was not his duty to create. The sculptures that he made were always there. He simply had to reveal them. His creations were always there. By his own description of his art, he could not take credit for creating them, only being the one to free them from their marble prison. Either Michelangelo never created anything during his professional career, or the world's greatest stone sculptor said something untrue about his own craft.
Are patrons different than sculptors? At first, you might not think so. They type words on a screen, put ink to parchment, they add to their canvas, not remove from their block. Not initially, anyway. But writing is just the first step. Afterwards, a patron who wishes to perfect their craft will comb their Positional-Orbital-Stalion-Transcript for weaknesses that can be purged from their work. Typos, unnecessary words, imperfections. But those are just small surface details. More drastic things can be carved away too, such as characters with no weight, weak plot points, and other such improvements can be made. "Kill your darlings" is dreaded, but important advice for anyone with an interest in storycraft, and is often the most ignored.
The short version is, less is more.
But removing things was not always the duty of a patron. Sometimes their champions were more than willing to help.
”I think, I'm all, set, my guy.” P.T. loaded a crate ten times as big as they were into the center of a magic circle. ”We ready, to boogie?”
Binky was looking out the window of Boteg's office. Allegedly, one of the last golden dragons would sit here and monitor Penrose. Well, less monitor and more ensure no harm could come to them. Binky felt a connection to this creature she had never met. One was a dragon, and the other was a frail magical girl, but both were powerless to do anything meaningful. If anything, it was Binky's coins that had a larger impact on Penrose, even if the outcome itself was undesirable and made things worse in the end. ”Yea, just, let me get the rest of my things.” Binky stepped away from the window to head towards her bedroom. A napsack in the corner of the room. Some things never changed.
"...Huh. They're still preparing to head out? Then again, time gets weird in places like this. Welp, let's go say hello!"
Not feeling like just going through the front door, Jennifer teleported inside Boteg's old haunt and into the floor other people were in, Finn in tow. "Wait. Shit. She might not be in actually. Hellooooo??? Oros??" She called out, both looking around for the false witch's contact.
Or Finn was just looking for Riona. He hadn't had time to catch up with the bar owner, after all.
When hunting or being hunted by OP pieces of shit, it is common to assume that they will take the nuclear option. There’s no reason not to. Just as Penny will always use her strength and “connections” to solve every problem, Oros should be expected to use Endless Eclipse to spot any potential hazards. Though a wise person uses all the tools available to them instead of just their strongest ones. While Oros does have a sword that lets her see the past, present, and future, even she is capable of taking action in spaces and times that patrons don’t have access to. This was why Jen was unaware of Oros's presence, presumably. In fact, P.T. and Binky had left Penrose for a time, and this was them going on their second outing. Haha, oh how wild it is to play head games with seemingly all-knowing characters.
Though this wasn’t actually a mind game. Oros was just occupied.
With a flush, Oros stepped out of the restroom and rubbed her nails against her stomach. ”Mmmmmm.” She turned to look at Finnegan ”So are you Finny, or are you someone disguised as Finny for the express purpose of messing with me? Because I have a lot more time to entertain one of those people.”
...Well what did you expect? The woman didn't have her powers running 24/7.
What a pleb, not running her powers all the time, haha!
Finn rose a brow, especially at the nickname. "No need to use my disguise artifact right now, is there?" he spoke up, turning to face Oros. "Anyways, this lady...Jen, was it? Said you'd be willing to help me with fighting Penny?" he asked, pointing a thumb at Jennifer when he mentioned her.
Oros snorted, then cracked a smile. ”She said that?” The pink haired woman pointed at Jen with her thumb. ”First of all, she lied to my face and actively participated in sabotaging my plans. Worse still, she was successful. Out of principle I ain’t doing shit for her and certainly not for free.” Oros folded her arms. ”And secondly, I’m sure you’ve had everyone and their mother tell you that Penny is invincible. What makes anyone think I can offer you anything at all? The rinnegan upgrade and everything else from that wannabe mastermind too weak for you?”
With that, the boy's expression blanked out. "Wait what. What'd you do?" His head turned back to look at Jen. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She chuckled.
"I owed a friend a solid and made sure to see it through. Surprised you're still not over it." Jennifer explained to him, then turned her attention to Oros. "Look bud, I already know I'm a piece of shit. But the fact is, there's nothing stoping the Grand Magnus from nerfing the poor kid the moment he makes a move against her. Not to mention Doc's upgrades are just a temporary thing at the moment." She explained. "As much as an anomaly Designation: Iron Maiden is turning out to be, I can't confront her myself. Not yet. If Finn can't kill her, I at least want him to be able to weaken her enough for me to step in. And if he's about to die, stall her long enough to get him the hell out of there."
The false witch moved away from the wall with a huff. "I dunno what the hell you want me to do to make it up to you, but the least you can to is just balance out some of his new powers, and we'll be on our merry way."
”The least I can do is nothing.” Oros said with a grin. ”Don’t get me wrong, witch. The date went better than expected. She can make me look like a bloated tic, point a cannon at the back of my head, and make our butler a robot, but I really don't care. I mean really, I commissioned a maid and a fem-fatale: Jailbait erotic robot edition. But I’m glad Nyakannis had a good time. That was what I wanted. She can pretend she hates me all she likes, but we went on a romantic outing and she enjoyed herself.” Oros crossed her brow. ”But that doesn’t excuse you of delaying a process I was trying to expedite. The fact of the matter is that there’s nothing you can offer me. You’re worthless, and the only thing that gives you value is ferrying around this shambling mess of a man.” She turned her gaze to Finn. ”Though maybe, maybe I can have some fun with you while you’re here…” Oros tapped the wall, and a shimmering portal appeared. ”Let’s go Finny, in and out, twenty minute adventure. Oros walked in without uttering another word.
Despite her words, Jen was unphased at being called worthless. She simply shrugged and left the other two to their own accord.
Finn himself was unsure if he should follow Oros through the portal. He took a moment to think, then stepped through.
And what resided on the other side of the portal? Was it a strange lab of the likes that no one had ever seen? Perhaps it was world zero, the first of several hundred worlds to fall to calamity? Maybe it lead to a japanese pagoda at the edge of the universe? No, it was stranger than all of those.
Finn’s shoes would click against the floor. White and gray tiles were illuminated by strips of fluorescent lights. Pedestrians pushed carts around, opening freezers and grabbing canned goods off of shelves. There was a palette stacked six cases high with soda, all while some country music droned softly in the background.
Wait, this was just a supermarket!
”And that, Finn, is how you should avoid acting.” Oros was looking over a can of beans before returning it to the shelf. ”There is an unspoken rule that if you’re well liked, good things will happen to you.” She walked towards the lad. ”The power that Nykannis gave you should be more than sufficient for defeating anyone, even Penny. But this world does not conform to logic. Being stronger than someone on paper is not an indication that you will win. People need to want you to win ” She shrugged her shoulders. ”Oh sure, the same tired faces will get propped up as “oldies” and “legacy champions,” and they’ll continue sucking on the silver spoon like little toddlers. But not everyone with power is so old. Sometimes the Grand Magistrate takes a shine to people for other reasons.” She stopped in front of Finn. ”I cannot give you power, or grant you the wisdom to defeat Penny. But I can teach you charisma.” She placed a hand on his back. ”Not the sort of charisma that makes people like you, but the sort of charisma that makes gods like you. What will make patrons covet your company, and long to see you succeed.”
Charisma? Not what he expected, but hey, Nykannis said he'd needed to think smart for this ordeal. Guess this is part of that. "Here I was thinking both you and Dr. Nykannis didn't like me that much." Finn said. "Whatever it takes to put the odds in my favor I suppose. What'd you have in mind?" He tilted his head slightly as he asked.
”No one likes a beggar.” Oros grabbed a shopping cart and started pushing it to the back of the store. ”So! Attaining the interest of patrons, especially powerful ones, is not the same as seducing your love interest. It’s easier to think of yourself as a storybook character. What would you like to see someone else do if they were in your shoes? That sort of stuff. But it’s made more complicated because those people also have their own champions that they are actively trying to prop up. So applying standard storytelling practices to yourself is not the full answer!” The cart had a lazy wheel, but Oros was able to force it over to make a turn down one of the center isles. ”In order to see where you’re lacking, I need to ask you some questions.” She placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder. ”Personal questions.” She leaned into him. ”You need to talk to me like I’m your therapist.” After they gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, Oros released Finn and looked ahead. ”There are five aspects of your ‘character’ that can determine how quickly you will be endeared to these patrons. Not everyone cares about each aspect, but having all five really helps. Well, in normal situations it would.” She picked up a can of corn and held it out to Finn. ”The first is the ‘Character Arc,’ one’s ability to mature and develop over time. But I’m going to be honest, nobody really cares about this one. It’s been over four years and everyone’s still carting around the same baggage, or they left Penrose. We can just skip it.” Oros dropped the can into the shopping cart and shoved it as far back as she could. ”Motivation, on the other hand, is something that matters dearly to many. It is one’s reason for making the choices and taking on the tasks that they do. The ‘why’ rather than the ‘what.’” She let go of her cart and picked up two large jars of pickles. The special seasonal ones that were extra big for family get-togethers. ”Why is removing Penny from power, or even remaining in Penrose, so important to you?”
The boy idly followed Oros, making sure to pay attention to what she was saying. The idea of talking to her like she's his therapist did make him rose a brow, but he didn't question it. When asked about his motivations, he took a moment to think of the right words to explain.
"From what I've learned about Penrose, it's been locked in some weird cycle of conflict between everyone's favorite higher ups. And no matter what people do, nothing changes. The Mint is still at large, and Beacon is Beacon. So why hasn't anyone made a better effort to restore order?" He began to explain, looking over the contents of the isles. "The Ascendancy? I'm not concerned about them. For however long I've been on their shit list, I continue to evade capture. As much as I want to prove I'm more than the Sinner of Wrath they know me as, I don't exactly have a choice to do so sometimes. Hah, not to mention I'm still trying to settle my anger issues with my actual therapist...."
Finn picked up and looked over a bag of chips. "Anyways, for someone who calls herself a "Queen", Asimov hasn't really done anything to deserve that title. At least from what I can tell. She hasn't made an active effort to find the source of the Mint's activity, and I doubt she'd ever go against Beacon unfortunately. Instead she, what, makes one bunker and hides a quarter of the population in it?" He looked back to Oros. "A leader shouldn't just...let their people live in fear, y'know? They shouldn't have to just hide and hope things will turn out better on their own. And what of the mundane side of Penrose? If it's your city, then why not protect that side too? I wanted to focus on restoring that end but...I dunno." For a moment, he appeared a bit lost.
"I don't have a choice in this either. The only way she'd be rid of her crown is if I kill her. I don't want to resort to assassination, but if I have to be the bad guy, might as well. And I know, Maura hasn't helped much either, and now there's Wonderland causing stuff like what happened at Bolorton, but perhaps getting rid of one of the top dogs will finally cause something to change here." Finn then shrugged. "Or all of this will be pointless and we can just leave the town to the dogs, I don't fuckin' know anymore. What I'm trying to say is people are being useless and if I topple one down, the rest hopefully will follow suite like dominos."
”Oh, do we have some work to do here!” Oros continued to pick up jar after jar of pickles and loaded them into the cart. ”It’s fine to hate on people for doing a less than adequate job. Your concerns about Penny’s leadership are valid, but let’s be real, what have you done?” She gestured for Finn to push the cart. ”Maybe Penny gets everything for free, but she’s also one of the only person with her hand out. Ya gotta move that cute little butt of yours if you want to make change, Finny.” Oros whipped a deed out of her vestments. ”Just so happens I’m the proud owner of the Golden Trove. Prior to me leaving it, I was trying to get more human occupants. I’ll charge you exactly what Su charged me for it. ” She shoved the deed into Finn’s chest. ”Merry Christmas, you can wipe your tears with it if you like, it’s laminated. But that does bring us to the third aspect: Activity Level.” Oros plucked up a box of pop tarts and turned to look at her apprentice. ”It’s not quite what it sounds like. People like proactive champions over reactive ones. Again, this is something that Penny has over a lot of other patron champions. She doesn’t wait for shit to happen, she is constantly looking for things to do. I could question the validity of a lot of things she does, but by golly, the grand magistrate isn’t about quality, it’s about quantity!” More poptarts rained into the cart. ”Am I correct in assuming everything you’ve done since you’ve come to Penrose has been a reaction? Do you just follow orders and go with the flow, or do you spot problems and come up with your own solutions? Does life happen at you, or do you happen at life?”
Finn's brows rose as the deed was handed to him. Okay then. Atleast this won't stop Riona from reopening the hotel. Then they moved on to the next topic, and he tossed the bag of chips into the cart.
"I mean, I'm always looking out for new cases!" The boy seemed to perk up once he mentioned it. "The one of Mariette's missing mirror kinda went dead, but the Wonderland court has been something of interest recently. Obviously." He explained. "Maybe I may have followed orders when I first became a full-time magical boy, but with how long I've lived I eventually just do what I want. What I have to. Yknow, odd jobs!"
”Right, you know who else sought out new cases? Sammy. You know what she’s doing? Running away from the Mint. If you’re serious about one-upping Penny, you’re going to have to make sure you take on jobs that help with that aim. Forging alliances with other patron champions, discovering powerful artifacts, not, ‘odd jobs.’” Oros pulled the chips out of the cart and tossed them into the next aisle over. ”There’s no room for garbage in the metaphorical character cart! Now, let’s go to the meat section.”
"My chips..."
Oros guided Finn along, keeping an eye on the cart and its contents. ” Which just leaves two facets left. There’s the struggle. You mentioned that you have anger issues, which sort of works. Some would argue that in order for a flaw to be real, it has to hamper the champion a bit. But I don’t think flaws are really in the grand magistrate’s interests. Penny can turn on and off her monsterous urges at will. Furthermore, she can befriend people easily despite the many times she's been used by others. Even Mika's flaws went largely ignored. It’s just not something you need to concern you with. But the last one, ohhh the last one. This one is a doozy, but it’s the most important facit.
Likability.”
By this point, they were at the deli counter.
”There are many ways to decide likability, but let’s take a short list from a well renowned story consultant. Michael Hauge consults on a lot of Will Smith’s movies, and since that guy is a huge ass hole that plays likable characters, mister Hauge must know what he’s talking about. According to him, there are four traits you can give someone to make them instantly likable.” She started pointing at cuts of meat. ”They need to be good at what they do, they need to be funny, they need to be the recipient of an undeserved misfortune, and they need a strong moral code. Would you say you have any of those?”
He took another moment to think. "Now some of that's just subjective. I mean, I think I'm better at what I do than how I used to be. Not sure if people find me funny, and I've done my best to keep my moral code strong. Misfortune wise?" Finn then went silent. He frowned, glancing away. "There are some things I'd rather not dwell upon from the past, yeah. But that was then, and all I can do is just press on and not let it burden me."
”Being good at something isn’t so subjective, but it’s whatever. There are lots of ways to be likable. The possibility is there for you, certainly.” With an exhausted sigh, Oros leaned on the cart. ”The problem is, however, that our story is not a traditional one. When someone watches a movie or reads a book, they want to be able to relate to a character. Especially the protagonist. But for patrons, it’s more like a multiplayer video game. Champions they don’t control do not serve as their point of view into our world. While it is still important that you are strong in the aspects we discussed, you also have to appeal to their ego. And by that, you need to interact with the patron’s champions.” She looked side to side. ”I mean just look at us. I have no real reason to give the Golden Trove to you over anyone else. There are plenty of people who hate Penny. But none of them came to me for assistance.” Oros poked Finn in the chest before walking off. ”Follow me, let’s check out.”
Though as Finn would soon discover, there was quite a line.
”I think the reason why the Grand Magistrate loves Penny so much is because even though she’s just a blatant power gamer with a god complex, it’s the closest thing they have to someone who’s trying to stitch together this shithole. There are a few choice words I have about that, but I’d like to keep this conversation under thirty pages.” Oros grabbed Finn’s shoulders. ”So here’s what I think. If Penny is going to be scrounging up Beacon and as many magical entities as her cold, greedy, metallic hands can clasp, you need to do the same. Round up the mundane people, make alliances with the people she’s ignoring. And you can mingle with mint agents, but for the love of god, make sure they aren’t Grand Magistrate controlled ones. Unless they are controlled by the Lord of Flames, but do be on your toes.” She leaned over Finn’s shoulder. ”Oh here’s an idea! You have anger problems right? So you want to kill Penny, but part of you wants to shy away from your dark past and give Penny a chance to share her monopoly of power. Offer a bipartisanship or an election type deal so that it isn’t always ‘Queen Penny’ at the helm. Don’t kick her ass with violence, make her confess that she’s obsessed with power, otherwise she would relinquish that power knowing how easily it can corrupt herself and others. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Beacon and Mint are the two most fucked factions in this city. I wouldn’t be surprised if Penny is still La’at’s dog, secretly setting herself up to bring about a great and terrible change.” She leaned closer. ”Whaddaya think? Sounds sexy, right?”
"One of Maura's coven sisters already suggested Penny and I work together, yes." Finn mentioned. "Though somehow I doubt she'll want a shared ruling unless I'm one of her girlfriends." He sarcastically quiped, glancing back at Oros. "So that just leaves the election route. Sounds better than having to resort to violence, honestly."
"Well yes, as I’ve said several times already, she’s really just out there to get as swole as possible. She won’t share a crumb of power if she can help it. You will have to fight her, and you will do better if you have people who want to help you. Even if you can somehow defeat Penny, you have the rest of her harem to deal with." The lane was moving slowly, so slowly. It was only a matter of time before she spoke up again. "So little hitler gave you some powers, huh? And a nightmare cannon?"
The boy nodded. "Invincibility, Avatar, and Killing Blow. Dunno if the Nightmare Cannon thing could be concidered a Third Eye adjacent power, but that's mostly to throw a hit at Asimov's mental state." He explained. "I also have access to a strong Mana Font so I can make the best of this."
"Well that sounds impressive. I think we should test them." Several kanji burned through Oros’s sleeve, before the sleeve burst into flames. Her right arm had swollen with muscle, covered in blood vessels the size of pencils. "Let’s try out invincibility first!" She swung her palm at the side of Finn’s head.
Wait, we're fighting now?!
And in a supermarket of all things. How impractical. Finn visibly tensed up as Oros prepared to attack with an unnaturally buffed arm. He held back the instinct to block, instead focusing on activating his invincible state before she struck.
...Sadly that wouldn't stop him from getting knocked down like a bowling pin. But other than that, he remained unscathed.
While a few people turned their head to see what was going on at the back of the line.they noticed that the man hadn’t been roughed up, and seemed oblivious to how powerful the attack really was. To them, this was probably just a street performance. Indoors. In a supermarket.
"Man, that is impressive!" Her arm turned back to normal, and her robe stitched back together over it. "And your mana font is going to help you recoup that lost mana pretty fast! And you have an avatar one too? What’s that like?"
Finn practically bounced back up to his feet. "Right, gimme a bit to focus." He dusted himself off, and took a deep breath to enter the Avatar (Omnispec??) State. Instead of the usual pure red people seen while he's active, his visible eye became a bluish-silver, and his pupil turned into a slit.
"Appearance wise, not exactly as vibrant as the next guy's. But that never matters when in battle, does it?" He held a hand out, and a small orb of light appeared. He then formed another orb, one of water, but then let the water move around his hand like a serpent.
Oh, it actually was. Adding a bit of his usual beast magic, he had created a snake out of water. "It's interesting. I know I can't stay in this state, but it's fun trying out which magic combos work best with what." The orb of light then formed the shape of an owl, and it flew around Oros' head for a moment. The two elemental constructs caught glimpse of eachother, and tried to attack. To which, they simply went back to their previous shapes before anything else happened. "Can also do neat stuff like this, The orb of water thinned out, and he moved it to where the light orb reflected off it, creating a prism effect. "But this is just a brush of what this is capable of!"
"Oh cool!" a few more of the shoppers were taking notice of the magic show happening behind them. It was becoming harder and harder for them to peel their eyes away. "And you have a killing blow power too, you said?"
Finn's brows rose once he realized people were taking notice. Should he keep going? Did they think he was an illusionist? "Yeah! Haven't figured out a name for it yet, but..." He called off the orb of light and froze the water "mirror", letting it fall into his palm. He then flicked it back up into the air like a coin, and let it shatter, turning the pieces into falling snow. "I really don't think I can demonstrate here without severe colateral damange, hahah..." He let out a nervous chuckle.
"I don't follow. Isn't a killing blow like, a powerful, single target attack? So the damage should be minimal." Oros raised her brow. "Riiiiiiight?"
He looked from side to side, then heaved a quiet sigh.
"Well, if you say so. Mind backing up if you can?"
"Suuuuure."
When there was enough space between the two, Finn snapped his fingers, then casted his arm out. A large flurry of vantablack ravens; or the silhouettes of ones, shot out from his shadow behind him. The corvids viciously barreled towards Oros. And with a loud caw, a battle cry, they formed together into one. The giant shape closed in, talons primed to strike.
Oros flicked something out of her hand and at the approaching murder of crows. What Oros threw wouldn’t matter nearly as much as its effect. Whatever it was, it caused her to blink directly in the flight path of the killing blow.
"Yes! Come take me sweet embrace of dea-!" …Was all Oros was able to get out before she was pulverized by the grim attack. As far as survivability goes, few girls had more tricks than Oros. She was immune to pain, most forms of harm, could function even if all of her arteries were removed, and could even resurrect so long as she had enough mana to do so. But once the murder of crows hit her, there was nothing to grow back from. Her flesh and bone had been devoured almost instantly by a thousand tiny beaks. The only thing that remained of Oros was her sword, which clattered to the ground before disappearing in a puff of black mist. When the crows dispersed, there was nothing left.
The shoppers clapped their hands, clearly enjoying the vanishing act, if not understanding exactly how it had been done.
Further down the isle, Finn noticed the bag of potato chips that Oros had thrown earlier. It looked like they had landed on top of a few loaves of bread.
Once the wave of corvids finished their feast, they dispersed from their formation, and faded as they flew away. With a huff, Finn went out of his transformed state...
Then his eyes widened once he realized what happened.
It hit? She let it hit?? It killed her??? There wasn't a cadaver or anything that've prove it, but concidering they were in a public area, that might be for the best.
...
Well then. Nothing much to do now than to finish up and head back. And then he saw where the bag of chips landed.
"Hm?" He grabbed the bag again, glancing around before he...didn't put it in the shopping cart. Instead he held it in his free hand.
It was not long before Finn returned through the portal.
”Seems, you finished, the lesson.” P.T. inhaled deeply, allowing the yellow dust from her gun to whiff into her nostrils. ”Do not, worry, about, your teacher.” P.T. exhaled, but it was clear. ”This isn’t, her first, time, heh!”
Binky rubbed the back of her head. ”So what’s the plan now?”
Jennifer looked up from the book she was reading. Looks like she took a seat while she was waiting. "Wait till she pops in good as new? Not sure if the reincarnation process applies to espers. And even then, it can always differ from here's methods." She thought outloud.
”Just sayin'. This, is what, she wanted. Comin back, doesn't even, factor in.”
Finn looked between the trio, then the two newcommers. "And you two are...?" He rose a brow.
”Seriously?” Binky huffed. ”I'm Binky, Maura's head, possibly only researcher. I've been working with Oros up until, well, today. I guess it makes sense she wouldn't say much about me, given how people tend to react.”
P.T. snorted. ”Just the, personal, trainer.”
"Oh yeah, she did mention you once before! I had to get caught up to speed back at Christmas." Finn told Binky. "Just never saw you in person and all. Nice to meet you both!" He smiled.
P.T. totally fogged Finn and turned to Binky. ”Guess this, changes things.”
”Yea, I’ll continue my training without you. You can go set up whatever it was she wanted you to.”
”See ya around.” The pale woman nodded at Binky before departing, Once she was gone, the coin minter turned to look at Finn.
”I’ve gone through something of an awakening recently.” Binky closed her eyes. ”I was getting kind of depressed, but I’ve broadened my horizons a bit. Aria gave me her spell book on artificing, The beacon twins created the white coin with me, Oros hired P.T. to help toughen me up. The red coin wasn’t the magic bullet to fixing every magical girl’s problem. I was kind of down on myself for a while because of that, but it’s like a certain black clad, white haired, katana wielding school girl once told me,” She opened her eyes and smiled. ”I’m fine just the way I am. I just had to dig deep enough to find the person she was talking about. I’m here to make other people better ” She eyed Finn up and down. ”And for you, I think I can do something.” With a wave of her hand, she beckoned the witch and Finn to follow her.
Binky brought those present into her lab, which looked like a combination between a library and a minting press. On one side of the room was a laser cutter, only with the laser diode replaced with a magic wand. There was the coin press, and then a few tables covered in books and notes.
”Oros dragged all this stuff from dead dimensions for me, or so I’m told. It was in rough shape, but with some polish I was able to get it in shape. ” She reached inside the coin press and pulled out a red coin. No, it wasn’t a red coin, it wasn’t quite a ruby coin either. It was a bright red color though, vibrant enough that it left no shadows in Binky’s outstretched hand. ”I call it the Vermilion coin, after Cradle’s founding mother.” She placed it in Finn’s hand. ”It’s my greatest creation, for the moment, heh.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”It’s the only one in existence, at least for now. But the magic that went into it has all been tested, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work.”
"Curious..." The boy uttered, holding up the vermillion coin inbetween his fingers. Seeing as Nykannis' coins didn't have any unsavory side effects he was aware of, one more couldn't hurt, right? He flipped it up into the air, using the coin as soon as it landed back in his palm-
Only Binky caught it just before he could.
”Hold on now! don't you want to know what it does first?” She shook the coin in front of his face. ”This coin is based on the same magic that spawned the shine spark as well as the red coin.” She placed it in Finn's palm. ”If you use it, you will aquire the same resistances the shine spark grants... without being converted to Beacon! It's more or less why anomolies like 'pure monsters' can exist. You can thank Penny for testing out the prototype. B-But let me skip the techno babble and get to the important part.” Binky tapped the coin in Finn's palm. ”It is a red coin. It could alter you in any number of ways, so you may want to hold off on using it right away.”
"Eh, don't blame 'em. He's been just going along with this." Jennifer spoke up with a shrug.
Finn himself was caught off-guard when Binky stopped him, but listened closely to her explanation of the Vermilion coin regardless. "Soooo hold off until I need the extra ace, yeah?" He asked, instead pocketing the coin.
”You should at least be aware of what it does before you use it, I think.” Binky folded her arms, and the corners of her mouth were curved to the floor. ”The ‘velvet spark’ as I’ve named it is a desirable feature on its own, but if you don’t feel that you need it, then waiting would be better. Especially since it will have an irreversible effect on your magical form. It’s not something I would do lightly. I’ll add that like mint coins, they cannot be detected by forms of scrying. So there’s no reason to use it immediately if you want to think it over. But once you use it, the genie will be out of the bottle.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”As for decisions that should be made swiftly, I understand this is now your establishment. What do you plan on doing with it?”
"Well a friend of mine has been looking into starting a business here. She could probably set a bar up, let it serve as a front for a weapons shop for other magicals." Finn thought outloud. "Other than that, probably just make this a normal hotel. For anyone. Even normal people concidering someone's gotta look after them. Just gotta be more discrete when it comes to any magical girls and guys that wanna stay there for a night or two. Might need a rebranding though..."
”That sounds reasonable. And what about me?”
"Far as I know most of your side of the team left town, so it's up to you whether you want to stay or go too. He explained.
”My side? I believe we all work under Maura now.” She nodded. ”But fair enough, I will talk with Maura about it later.”
"I meant- Ah, nevermind. Thanks for the coin!" Finn waved it off, and took his leave.
This look into Michelangelo's mind reveals something about how he thought. As an artist, it was not his duty to create. The sculptures that he made were always there. He simply had to reveal them. His creations were always there. By his own description of his art, he could not take credit for creating them, only being the one to free them from their marble prison. Either Michelangelo never created anything during his professional career, or the world's greatest stone sculptor said something untrue about his own craft.
Are patrons different than sculptors? At first, you might not think so. They type words on a screen, put ink to parchment, they add to their canvas, not remove from their block. Not initially, anyway. But writing is just the first step. Afterwards, a patron who wishes to perfect their craft will comb their Positional-Orbital-Stalion-Transcript for weaknesses that can be purged from their work. Typos, unnecessary words, imperfections. But those are just small surface details. More drastic things can be carved away too, such as characters with no weight, weak plot points, and other such improvements can be made. "Kill your darlings" is dreaded, but important advice for anyone with an interest in storycraft, and is often the most ignored.
The short version is, less is more.
But removing things was not always the duty of a patron. Sometimes their champions were more than willing to help.
”I think, I'm all, set, my guy.” P.T. loaded a crate ten times as big as they were into the center of a magic circle. ”We ready, to boogie?”
Binky was looking out the window of Boteg's office. Allegedly, one of the last golden dragons would sit here and monitor Penrose. Well, less monitor and more ensure no harm could come to them. Binky felt a connection to this creature she had never met. One was a dragon, and the other was a frail magical girl, but both were powerless to do anything meaningful. If anything, it was Binky's coins that had a larger impact on Penrose, even if the outcome itself was undesirable and made things worse in the end. ”Yea, just, let me get the rest of my things.” Binky stepped away from the window to head towards her bedroom. A napsack in the corner of the room. Some things never changed.
"...Huh. They're still preparing to head out? Then again, time gets weird in places like this. Welp, let's go say hello!"
Not feeling like just going through the front door, Jennifer teleported inside Boteg's old haunt and into the floor other people were in, Finn in tow. "Wait. Shit. She might not be in actually. Hellooooo??? Oros??" She called out, both looking around for the false witch's contact.
Or Finn was just looking for Riona. He hadn't had time to catch up with the bar owner, after all.
When hunting or being hunted by OP pieces of shit, it is common to assume that they will take the nuclear option. There’s no reason not to. Just as Penny will always use her strength and “connections” to solve every problem, Oros should be expected to use Endless Eclipse to spot any potential hazards. Though a wise person uses all the tools available to them instead of just their strongest ones. While Oros does have a sword that lets her see the past, present, and future, even she is capable of taking action in spaces and times that patrons don’t have access to. This was why Jen was unaware of Oros's presence, presumably. In fact, P.T. and Binky had left Penrose for a time, and this was them going on their second outing. Haha, oh how wild it is to play head games with seemingly all-knowing characters.
Though this wasn’t actually a mind game. Oros was just occupied.
With a flush, Oros stepped out of the restroom and rubbed her nails against her stomach. ”Mmmmmm.” She turned to look at Finnegan ”So are you Finny, or are you someone disguised as Finny for the express purpose of messing with me? Because I have a lot more time to entertain one of those people.”
...Well what did you expect? The woman didn't have her powers running 24/7.
What a pleb, not running her powers all the time, haha!
Finn rose a brow, especially at the nickname. "No need to use my disguise artifact right now, is there?" he spoke up, turning to face Oros. "Anyways, this lady...Jen, was it? Said you'd be willing to help me with fighting Penny?" he asked, pointing a thumb at Jennifer when he mentioned her.
Oros snorted, then cracked a smile. ”She said that?” The pink haired woman pointed at Jen with her thumb. ”First of all, she lied to my face and actively participated in sabotaging my plans. Worse still, she was successful. Out of principle I ain’t doing shit for her and certainly not for free.” Oros folded her arms. ”And secondly, I’m sure you’ve had everyone and their mother tell you that Penny is invincible. What makes anyone think I can offer you anything at all? The rinnegan upgrade and everything else from that wannabe mastermind too weak for you?”
With that, the boy's expression blanked out. "Wait what. What'd you do?" His head turned back to look at Jen. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She chuckled.
"I owed a friend a solid and made sure to see it through. Surprised you're still not over it." Jennifer explained to him, then turned her attention to Oros. "Look bud, I already know I'm a piece of shit. But the fact is, there's nothing stoping the Grand Magnus from nerfing the poor kid the moment he makes a move against her. Not to mention Doc's upgrades are just a temporary thing at the moment." She explained. "As much as an anomaly Designation: Iron Maiden is turning out to be, I can't confront her myself. Not yet. If Finn can't kill her, I at least want him to be able to weaken her enough for me to step in. And if he's about to die, stall her long enough to get him the hell out of there."
The false witch moved away from the wall with a huff. "I dunno what the hell you want me to do to make it up to you, but the least you can to is just balance out some of his new powers, and we'll be on our merry way."
”The least I can do is nothing.” Oros said with a grin. ”Don’t get me wrong, witch. The date went better than expected. She can make me look like a bloated tic, point a cannon at the back of my head, and make our butler a robot, but I really don't care. I mean really, I commissioned a maid and a fem-fatale: Jailbait erotic robot edition. But I’m glad Nyakannis had a good time. That was what I wanted. She can pretend she hates me all she likes, but we went on a romantic outing and she enjoyed herself.” Oros crossed her brow. ”But that doesn’t excuse you of delaying a process I was trying to expedite. The fact of the matter is that there’s nothing you can offer me. You’re worthless, and the only thing that gives you value is ferrying around this shambling mess of a man.” She turned her gaze to Finn. ”Though maybe, maybe I can have some fun with you while you’re here…” Oros tapped the wall, and a shimmering portal appeared. ”Let’s go Finny, in and out, twenty minute adventure. Oros walked in without uttering another word.
Despite her words, Jen was unphased at being called worthless. She simply shrugged and left the other two to their own accord.
Finn himself was unsure if he should follow Oros through the portal. He took a moment to think, then stepped through.
And what resided on the other side of the portal? Was it a strange lab of the likes that no one had ever seen? Perhaps it was world zero, the first of several hundred worlds to fall to calamity? Maybe it lead to a japanese pagoda at the edge of the universe? No, it was stranger than all of those.
Finn’s shoes would click against the floor. White and gray tiles were illuminated by strips of fluorescent lights. Pedestrians pushed carts around, opening freezers and grabbing canned goods off of shelves. There was a palette stacked six cases high with soda, all while some country music droned softly in the background.
Wait, this was just a supermarket!
”And that, Finn, is how you should avoid acting.” Oros was looking over a can of beans before returning it to the shelf. ”There is an unspoken rule that if you’re well liked, good things will happen to you.” She walked towards the lad. ”The power that Nykannis gave you should be more than sufficient for defeating anyone, even Penny. But this world does not conform to logic. Being stronger than someone on paper is not an indication that you will win. People need to want you to win ” She shrugged her shoulders. ”Oh sure, the same tired faces will get propped up as “oldies” and “legacy champions,” and they’ll continue sucking on the silver spoon like little toddlers. But not everyone with power is so old. Sometimes the Grand Magistrate takes a shine to people for other reasons.” She stopped in front of Finn. ”I cannot give you power, or grant you the wisdom to defeat Penny. But I can teach you charisma.” She placed a hand on his back. ”Not the sort of charisma that makes people like you, but the sort of charisma that makes gods like you. What will make patrons covet your company, and long to see you succeed.”
Charisma? Not what he expected, but hey, Nykannis said he'd needed to think smart for this ordeal. Guess this is part of that. "Here I was thinking both you and Dr. Nykannis didn't like me that much." Finn said. "Whatever it takes to put the odds in my favor I suppose. What'd you have in mind?" He tilted his head slightly as he asked.
”No one likes a beggar.” Oros grabbed a shopping cart and started pushing it to the back of the store. ”So! Attaining the interest of patrons, especially powerful ones, is not the same as seducing your love interest. It’s easier to think of yourself as a storybook character. What would you like to see someone else do if they were in your shoes? That sort of stuff. But it’s made more complicated because those people also have their own champions that they are actively trying to prop up. So applying standard storytelling practices to yourself is not the full answer!” The cart had a lazy wheel, but Oros was able to force it over to make a turn down one of the center isles. ”In order to see where you’re lacking, I need to ask you some questions.” She placed a hand on Finn’s shoulder. ”Personal questions.” She leaned into him. ”You need to talk to me like I’m your therapist.” After they gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, Oros released Finn and looked ahead. ”There are five aspects of your ‘character’ that can determine how quickly you will be endeared to these patrons. Not everyone cares about each aspect, but having all five really helps. Well, in normal situations it would.” She picked up a can of corn and held it out to Finn. ”The first is the ‘Character Arc,’ one’s ability to mature and develop over time. But I’m going to be honest, nobody really cares about this one. It’s been over four years and everyone’s still carting around the same baggage, or they left Penrose. We can just skip it.” Oros dropped the can into the shopping cart and shoved it as far back as she could. ”Motivation, on the other hand, is something that matters dearly to many. It is one’s reason for making the choices and taking on the tasks that they do. The ‘why’ rather than the ‘what.’” She let go of her cart and picked up two large jars of pickles. The special seasonal ones that were extra big for family get-togethers. ”Why is removing Penny from power, or even remaining in Penrose, so important to you?”
The boy idly followed Oros, making sure to pay attention to what she was saying. The idea of talking to her like she's his therapist did make him rose a brow, but he didn't question it. When asked about his motivations, he took a moment to think of the right words to explain.
"From what I've learned about Penrose, it's been locked in some weird cycle of conflict between everyone's favorite higher ups. And no matter what people do, nothing changes. The Mint is still at large, and Beacon is Beacon. So why hasn't anyone made a better effort to restore order?" He began to explain, looking over the contents of the isles. "The Ascendancy? I'm not concerned about them. For however long I've been on their shit list, I continue to evade capture. As much as I want to prove I'm more than the Sinner of Wrath they know me as, I don't exactly have a choice to do so sometimes. Hah, not to mention I'm still trying to settle my anger issues with my actual therapist...."
Finn picked up and looked over a bag of chips. "Anyways, for someone who calls herself a "Queen", Asimov hasn't really done anything to deserve that title. At least from what I can tell. She hasn't made an active effort to find the source of the Mint's activity, and I doubt she'd ever go against Beacon unfortunately. Instead she, what, makes one bunker and hides a quarter of the population in it?" He looked back to Oros. "A leader shouldn't just...let their people live in fear, y'know? They shouldn't have to just hide and hope things will turn out better on their own. And what of the mundane side of Penrose? If it's your city, then why not protect that side too? I wanted to focus on restoring that end but...I dunno." For a moment, he appeared a bit lost.
"I don't have a choice in this either. The only way she'd be rid of her crown is if I kill her. I don't want to resort to assassination, but if I have to be the bad guy, might as well. And I know, Maura hasn't helped much either, and now there's Wonderland causing stuff like what happened at Bolorton, but perhaps getting rid of one of the top dogs will finally cause something to change here." Finn then shrugged. "Or all of this will be pointless and we can just leave the town to the dogs, I don't fuckin' know anymore. What I'm trying to say is people are being useless and if I topple one down, the rest hopefully will follow suite like dominos."
”Oh, do we have some work to do here!” Oros continued to pick up jar after jar of pickles and loaded them into the cart. ”It’s fine to hate on people for doing a less than adequate job. Your concerns about Penny’s leadership are valid, but let’s be real, what have you done?” She gestured for Finn to push the cart. ”Maybe Penny gets everything for free, but she’s also one of the only person with her hand out. Ya gotta move that cute little butt of yours if you want to make change, Finny.” Oros whipped a deed out of her vestments. ”Just so happens I’m the proud owner of the Golden Trove. Prior to me leaving it, I was trying to get more human occupants. I’ll charge you exactly what Su charged me for it. ” She shoved the deed into Finn’s chest. ”Merry Christmas, you can wipe your tears with it if you like, it’s laminated. But that does bring us to the third aspect: Activity Level.” Oros plucked up a box of pop tarts and turned to look at her apprentice. ”It’s not quite what it sounds like. People like proactive champions over reactive ones. Again, this is something that Penny has over a lot of other patron champions. She doesn’t wait for shit to happen, she is constantly looking for things to do. I could question the validity of a lot of things she does, but by golly, the grand magistrate isn’t about quality, it’s about quantity!” More poptarts rained into the cart. ”Am I correct in assuming everything you’ve done since you’ve come to Penrose has been a reaction? Do you just follow orders and go with the flow, or do you spot problems and come up with your own solutions? Does life happen at you, or do you happen at life?”
Finn's brows rose as the deed was handed to him. Okay then. Atleast this won't stop Riona from reopening the hotel. Then they moved on to the next topic, and he tossed the bag of chips into the cart.
"I mean, I'm always looking out for new cases!" The boy seemed to perk up once he mentioned it. "The one of Mariette's missing mirror kinda went dead, but the Wonderland court has been something of interest recently. Obviously." He explained. "Maybe I may have followed orders when I first became a full-time magical boy, but with how long I've lived I eventually just do what I want. What I have to. Yknow, odd jobs!"
”Right, you know who else sought out new cases? Sammy. You know what she’s doing? Running away from the Mint. If you’re serious about one-upping Penny, you’re going to have to make sure you take on jobs that help with that aim. Forging alliances with other patron champions, discovering powerful artifacts, not, ‘odd jobs.’” Oros pulled the chips out of the cart and tossed them into the next aisle over. ”There’s no room for garbage in the metaphorical character cart! Now, let’s go to the meat section.”
"My chips..."
Oros guided Finn along, keeping an eye on the cart and its contents. ” Which just leaves two facets left. There’s the struggle. You mentioned that you have anger issues, which sort of works. Some would argue that in order for a flaw to be real, it has to hamper the champion a bit. But I don’t think flaws are really in the grand magistrate’s interests. Penny can turn on and off her monsterous urges at will. Furthermore, she can befriend people easily despite the many times she's been used by others. Even Mika's flaws went largely ignored. It’s just not something you need to concern you with. But the last one, ohhh the last one. This one is a doozy, but it’s the most important facit.
Likability.”
By this point, they were at the deli counter.
”There are many ways to decide likability, but let’s take a short list from a well renowned story consultant. Michael Hauge consults on a lot of Will Smith’s movies, and since that guy is a huge ass hole that plays likable characters, mister Hauge must know what he’s talking about. According to him, there are four traits you can give someone to make them instantly likable.” She started pointing at cuts of meat. ”They need to be good at what they do, they need to be funny, they need to be the recipient of an undeserved misfortune, and they need a strong moral code. Would you say you have any of those?”
He took another moment to think. "Now some of that's just subjective. I mean, I think I'm better at what I do than how I used to be. Not sure if people find me funny, and I've done my best to keep my moral code strong. Misfortune wise?" Finn then went silent. He frowned, glancing away. "There are some things I'd rather not dwell upon from the past, yeah. But that was then, and all I can do is just press on and not let it burden me."
”Being good at something isn’t so subjective, but it’s whatever. There are lots of ways to be likable. The possibility is there for you, certainly.” With an exhausted sigh, Oros leaned on the cart. ”The problem is, however, that our story is not a traditional one. When someone watches a movie or reads a book, they want to be able to relate to a character. Especially the protagonist. But for patrons, it’s more like a multiplayer video game. Champions they don’t control do not serve as their point of view into our world. While it is still important that you are strong in the aspects we discussed, you also have to appeal to their ego. And by that, you need to interact with the patron’s champions.” She looked side to side. ”I mean just look at us. I have no real reason to give the Golden Trove to you over anyone else. There are plenty of people who hate Penny. But none of them came to me for assistance.” Oros poked Finn in the chest before walking off. ”Follow me, let’s check out.”
Though as Finn would soon discover, there was quite a line.
”I think the reason why the Grand Magistrate loves Penny so much is because even though she’s just a blatant power gamer with a god complex, it’s the closest thing they have to someone who’s trying to stitch together this shithole. There are a few choice words I have about that, but I’d like to keep this conversation under thirty pages.” Oros grabbed Finn’s shoulders. ”So here’s what I think. If Penny is going to be scrounging up Beacon and as many magical entities as her cold, greedy, metallic hands can clasp, you need to do the same. Round up the mundane people, make alliances with the people she’s ignoring. And you can mingle with mint agents, but for the love of god, make sure they aren’t Grand Magistrate controlled ones. Unless they are controlled by the Lord of Flames, but do be on your toes.” She leaned over Finn’s shoulder. ”Oh here’s an idea! You have anger problems right? So you want to kill Penny, but part of you wants to shy away from your dark past and give Penny a chance to share her monopoly of power. Offer a bipartisanship or an election type deal so that it isn’t always ‘Queen Penny’ at the helm. Don’t kick her ass with violence, make her confess that she’s obsessed with power, otherwise she would relinquish that power knowing how easily it can corrupt herself and others. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Beacon and Mint are the two most fucked factions in this city. I wouldn’t be surprised if Penny is still La’at’s dog, secretly setting herself up to bring about a great and terrible change.” She leaned closer. ”Whaddaya think? Sounds sexy, right?”
"One of Maura's coven sisters already suggested Penny and I work together, yes." Finn mentioned. "Though somehow I doubt she'll want a shared ruling unless I'm one of her girlfriends." He sarcastically quiped, glancing back at Oros. "So that just leaves the election route. Sounds better than having to resort to violence, honestly."
"Well yes, as I’ve said several times already, she’s really just out there to get as swole as possible. She won’t share a crumb of power if she can help it. You will have to fight her, and you will do better if you have people who want to help you. Even if you can somehow defeat Penny, you have the rest of her harem to deal with." The lane was moving slowly, so slowly. It was only a matter of time before she spoke up again. "So little hitler gave you some powers, huh? And a nightmare cannon?"
The boy nodded. "Invincibility, Avatar, and Killing Blow. Dunno if the Nightmare Cannon thing could be concidered a Third Eye adjacent power, but that's mostly to throw a hit at Asimov's mental state." He explained. "I also have access to a strong Mana Font so I can make the best of this."
"Well that sounds impressive. I think we should test them." Several kanji burned through Oros’s sleeve, before the sleeve burst into flames. Her right arm had swollen with muscle, covered in blood vessels the size of pencils. "Let’s try out invincibility first!" She swung her palm at the side of Finn’s head.
Wait, we're fighting now?!
And in a supermarket of all things. How impractical. Finn visibly tensed up as Oros prepared to attack with an unnaturally buffed arm. He held back the instinct to block, instead focusing on activating his invincible state before she struck.
...Sadly that wouldn't stop him from getting knocked down like a bowling pin. But other than that, he remained unscathed.
While a few people turned their head to see what was going on at the back of the line.they noticed that the man hadn’t been roughed up, and seemed oblivious to how powerful the attack really was. To them, this was probably just a street performance. Indoors. In a supermarket.
"Man, that is impressive!" Her arm turned back to normal, and her robe stitched back together over it. "And your mana font is going to help you recoup that lost mana pretty fast! And you have an avatar one too? What’s that like?"
Finn practically bounced back up to his feet. "Right, gimme a bit to focus." He dusted himself off, and took a deep breath to enter the Avatar (Omnispec??) State. Instead of the usual pure red people seen while he's active, his visible eye became a bluish-silver, and his pupil turned into a slit.
"Appearance wise, not exactly as vibrant as the next guy's. But that never matters when in battle, does it?" He held a hand out, and a small orb of light appeared. He then formed another orb, one of water, but then let the water move around his hand like a serpent.
Oh, it actually was. Adding a bit of his usual beast magic, he had created a snake out of water. "It's interesting. I know I can't stay in this state, but it's fun trying out which magic combos work best with what." The orb of light then formed the shape of an owl, and it flew around Oros' head for a moment. The two elemental constructs caught glimpse of eachother, and tried to attack. To which, they simply went back to their previous shapes before anything else happened. "Can also do neat stuff like this, The orb of water thinned out, and he moved it to where the light orb reflected off it, creating a prism effect. "But this is just a brush of what this is capable of!"
"Oh cool!" a few more of the shoppers were taking notice of the magic show happening behind them. It was becoming harder and harder for them to peel their eyes away. "And you have a killing blow power too, you said?"
Finn's brows rose once he realized people were taking notice. Should he keep going? Did they think he was an illusionist? "Yeah! Haven't figured out a name for it yet, but..." He called off the orb of light and froze the water "mirror", letting it fall into his palm. He then flicked it back up into the air like a coin, and let it shatter, turning the pieces into falling snow. "I really don't think I can demonstrate here without severe colateral damange, hahah..." He let out a nervous chuckle.
"I don't follow. Isn't a killing blow like, a powerful, single target attack? So the damage should be minimal." Oros raised her brow. "Riiiiiiight?"
He looked from side to side, then heaved a quiet sigh.
"Well, if you say so. Mind backing up if you can?"
"Suuuuure."
When there was enough space between the two, Finn snapped his fingers, then casted his arm out. A large flurry of vantablack ravens; or the silhouettes of ones, shot out from his shadow behind him. The corvids viciously barreled towards Oros. And with a loud caw, a battle cry, they formed together into one. The giant shape closed in, talons primed to strike.
Oros flicked something out of her hand and at the approaching murder of crows. What Oros threw wouldn’t matter nearly as much as its effect. Whatever it was, it caused her to blink directly in the flight path of the killing blow.
"Yes! Come take me sweet embrace of dea-!" …Was all Oros was able to get out before she was pulverized by the grim attack. As far as survivability goes, few girls had more tricks than Oros. She was immune to pain, most forms of harm, could function even if all of her arteries were removed, and could even resurrect so long as she had enough mana to do so. But once the murder of crows hit her, there was nothing to grow back from. Her flesh and bone had been devoured almost instantly by a thousand tiny beaks. The only thing that remained of Oros was her sword, which clattered to the ground before disappearing in a puff of black mist. When the crows dispersed, there was nothing left.
The shoppers clapped their hands, clearly enjoying the vanishing act, if not understanding exactly how it had been done.
Further down the isle, Finn noticed the bag of potato chips that Oros had thrown earlier. It looked like they had landed on top of a few loaves of bread.
Once the wave of corvids finished their feast, they dispersed from their formation, and faded as they flew away. With a huff, Finn went out of his transformed state...
Then his eyes widened once he realized what happened.
It hit? She let it hit?? It killed her??? There wasn't a cadaver or anything that've prove it, but concidering they were in a public area, that might be for the best.
...
Well then. Nothing much to do now than to finish up and head back. And then he saw where the bag of chips landed.
"Hm?" He grabbed the bag again, glancing around before he...didn't put it in the shopping cart. Instead he held it in his free hand.
It was not long before Finn returned through the portal.
”Seems, you finished, the lesson.” P.T. inhaled deeply, allowing the yellow dust from her gun to whiff into her nostrils. ”Do not, worry, about, your teacher.” P.T. exhaled, but it was clear. ”This isn’t, her first, time, heh!”
Binky rubbed the back of her head. ”So what’s the plan now?”
Jennifer looked up from the book she was reading. Looks like she took a seat while she was waiting. "Wait till she pops in good as new? Not sure if the reincarnation process applies to espers. And even then, it can always differ from here's methods." She thought outloud.
”Just sayin'. This, is what, she wanted. Comin back, doesn't even, factor in.”
Finn looked between the trio, then the two newcommers. "And you two are...?" He rose a brow.
”Seriously?” Binky huffed. ”I'm Binky, Maura's head, possibly only researcher. I've been working with Oros up until, well, today. I guess it makes sense she wouldn't say much about me, given how people tend to react.”
P.T. snorted. ”Just the, personal, trainer.”
"Oh yeah, she did mention you once before! I had to get caught up to speed back at Christmas." Finn told Binky. "Just never saw you in person and all. Nice to meet you both!" He smiled.
P.T. totally fogged Finn and turned to Binky. ”Guess this, changes things.”
”Yea, I’ll continue my training without you. You can go set up whatever it was she wanted you to.”
”See ya around.” The pale woman nodded at Binky before departing, Once she was gone, the coin minter turned to look at Finn.
”I’ve gone through something of an awakening recently.” Binky closed her eyes. ”I was getting kind of depressed, but I’ve broadened my horizons a bit. Aria gave me her spell book on artificing, The beacon twins created the white coin with me, Oros hired P.T. to help toughen me up. The red coin wasn’t the magic bullet to fixing every magical girl’s problem. I was kind of down on myself for a while because of that, but it’s like a certain black clad, white haired, katana wielding school girl once told me,” She opened her eyes and smiled. ”I’m fine just the way I am. I just had to dig deep enough to find the person she was talking about. I’m here to make other people better ” She eyed Finn up and down. ”And for you, I think I can do something.” With a wave of her hand, she beckoned the witch and Finn to follow her.
Binky brought those present into her lab, which looked like a combination between a library and a minting press. On one side of the room was a laser cutter, only with the laser diode replaced with a magic wand. There was the coin press, and then a few tables covered in books and notes.
”Oros dragged all this stuff from dead dimensions for me, or so I’m told. It was in rough shape, but with some polish I was able to get it in shape. ” She reached inside the coin press and pulled out a red coin. No, it wasn’t a red coin, it wasn’t quite a ruby coin either. It was a bright red color though, vibrant enough that it left no shadows in Binky’s outstretched hand. ”I call it the Vermilion coin, after Cradle’s founding mother.” She placed it in Finn’s hand. ”It’s my greatest creation, for the moment, heh.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”It’s the only one in existence, at least for now. But the magic that went into it has all been tested, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work.”
"Curious..." The boy uttered, holding up the vermillion coin inbetween his fingers. Seeing as Nykannis' coins didn't have any unsavory side effects he was aware of, one more couldn't hurt, right? He flipped it up into the air, using the coin as soon as it landed back in his palm-
Only Binky caught it just before he could.
”Hold on now! don't you want to know what it does first?” She shook the coin in front of his face. ”This coin is based on the same magic that spawned the shine spark as well as the red coin.” She placed it in Finn's palm. ”If you use it, you will aquire the same resistances the shine spark grants... without being converted to Beacon! It's more or less why anomolies like 'pure monsters' can exist. You can thank Penny for testing out the prototype. B-But let me skip the techno babble and get to the important part.” Binky tapped the coin in Finn's palm. ”It is a red coin. It could alter you in any number of ways, so you may want to hold off on using it right away.”
"Eh, don't blame 'em. He's been just going along with this." Jennifer spoke up with a shrug.
Finn himself was caught off-guard when Binky stopped him, but listened closely to her explanation of the Vermilion coin regardless. "Soooo hold off until I need the extra ace, yeah?" He asked, instead pocketing the coin.
”You should at least be aware of what it does before you use it, I think.” Binky folded her arms, and the corners of her mouth were curved to the floor. ”The ‘velvet spark’ as I’ve named it is a desirable feature on its own, but if you don’t feel that you need it, then waiting would be better. Especially since it will have an irreversible effect on your magical form. It’s not something I would do lightly. I’ll add that like mint coins, they cannot be detected by forms of scrying. So there’s no reason to use it immediately if you want to think it over. But once you use it, the genie will be out of the bottle.” She rubbed the back of her head. ”As for decisions that should be made swiftly, I understand this is now your establishment. What do you plan on doing with it?”
"Well a friend of mine has been looking into starting a business here. She could probably set a bar up, let it serve as a front for a weapons shop for other magicals." Finn thought outloud. "Other than that, probably just make this a normal hotel. For anyone. Even normal people concidering someone's gotta look after them. Just gotta be more discrete when it comes to any magical girls and guys that wanna stay there for a night or two. Might need a rebranding though..."
”That sounds reasonable. And what about me?”
"Far as I know most of your side of the team left town, so it's up to you whether you want to stay or go too. He explained.
”My side? I believe we all work under Maura now.” She nodded. ”But fair enough, I will talk with Maura about it later.”
"I meant- Ah, nevermind. Thanks for the coin!" Finn waved it off, and took his leave.
