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Dana returned Nicole’s smile as the redhead stepped over to help her carry the wounded soldier. “Gotcha,” she confirmed with a nod after Nicole explained her plan. “And don’t worry about me,” she added. “I’ll be right behind ya!”

Although passing by the Void was certainly dangerous, it was also the best chance they had to get the soldier somewhere his wounds could be tended to, and that was the important thing. Or maybe not, if Astrelle’s opinion was anything to go by… Dana was unable to hide her shock when the other girl so casually suggested they leave the wounded man behind. That was simply unacceptable. There was simply no way that Dana would ever abandon someone in need, and, in her opinion, it was a horrible attitude for any Ars Magi candidate to have. She was about to tell Astrelle as much, when the other girl suddenly dissolved into the shadows.

Fine, if that’s how she’s gonna be…

“Okay, Nicole! Ready when you are!”

Not wasting another moment, the redhead leapt past the Void, while carrying the soldier with her. Dana was right behind her, once again taking her place on the opposite side of the wounded man the moment they had returned to the corridor floor. With that accomplished, they proceeded on their way to the control room. Even with the added burden of the wounded soldier, they still managed to arrive at their destination shortly after Astrelle. It should be noted that before departing, Dana had conjured a second, smaller sphere of light for Penny and Vanna to make use of. It wouldn’t last long without Dana around to maintain it, but it would hopefully provide enough illumination for the two girls to finish off the Void.

Upon arriving at the control room, they were greeted by a rather chaotic scene, with soldiers and crewmembers rushing to and fro. A flash of light drew Dana’s attention to the forward view port, through which she could vaguely make out the forms of two figures dueling in the darkness.

“Woah…” Dana whispered as she observed the combat with a look of awe. “That looks like Miss Victoria, but… who’s she fighting?”

The answer to that question would have to wait, as they were soon approached by some crewmen, who took the wounded soldier off their hands, while demanding to know where Penny and Vanna were.

“T-They stayed behind to keep the Void distracted so we could escape,” Dana explained, somewhat taken aback by the crewman’s intensity. “They should be here shortly.”

I hope…


“Greetings, your Majesty,” Steph said as she entered and bowed before the king. Her eyes hardened as she took note that Tornel was also present, along with a pink-haired girl. Presumably this was the “Sarah” the fairy had mentioned. “My name is Stephanie, and this is Peter,” she informed, gesturing to the young apprentice who was currently cowering behind her.

“H-Hello…” the apprentice said meekly, rather overwhelmed by his current situation. First an oracle, then the leader of the wizards, and now the king himself! This was certainly the most remarkable day of his young life, and it was getting to be a bit much for the poor young man.

“We came here at the request of Master Minoc,” Steph continued. “He told us that we would be met by the wise wizard Tornel, but when we arrived, Tornel locked us in a chamber and called us servants of Draygon! Minoc even told us to present this weapon to him,” she explained, while retrieving the sword from her backpack. “But he carelessly dismissed it without even looking at it! There’s one other thing,” she added in a more reserved tone. “I’m not an apprentice of Minoc. I’m actually what you people would call an oracle. I’m sorry, Sir Gravy,” she told the knight, trying not to laugh as she said his ridiculous name. “I didn’t want to lie to you, but we needed to see the king and explain the situation to him.”

“Gadzooks!” the paladin exclaimed. “Are you to tell me that I have been in the presence of one of the legendary oracles this entire time?! Truly extraordinary! It was my honor to be of service to you, my lady!” he declared, bowing to her in deference. Then, sobering, he added, “And though I bristle at your deception, I can see that it was for a worthy cause. Thus, it shall be my great pleasure to accept your apology!”

“Thank you,” Steph said while treating the paladin to a warm smile. “That really means a lot. Oh, and you don’t need to do the whole ‘my lady’ thing. Just call me Steph.”

“Very well, young Steph,” Sir Gravy acquiesced. “I shall respect your wish for modesty. And what of you young Peter,” the paladin inquired. “Are you also an oracle of legend?”

“N-No, sir,” Peter stammered. “I-I’m just an ordinary apprentice. I-In fact, I p-probably shouldn’t even be here…”


Moving through the castle halls, Steph and Peter were careful to avoid attracting undue attention. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be many people around, probably due to the siege Tornel had mentioned. This did pose something of a problem, however, as neither Steph nor Peter had any idea of where the king’s chambers were located. They needed directions, and for that, they needed someone to provide them. After ascending a few flights of stairs, they came to a large central chamber, at the far end of which, a figure in fancy armor was giving instructions to a group of several men-at-arms.


Sir Gravy


“Pardon us, sir,” Steph said as she and Peter approached the group. “But would you be so kind as to tell us the way to the king’s chambers? We’re apprentices of Master Minoc of Tinkertown, and we have an urgent message for the king.”

“Do you now?” the knight who had been giving orders responded as he turned to face them. “In that case, it shall be my honor to take you to his majesty myself. I am Sir Gravy, a paladin in the king’s service, and you can rest assured that you shall be safe in my care, even in the midst of this deplorable siege! Sir Snack!” he called, and a knight in substantially less elaborate armor jumped to attention. “Continue overseeing the preparations in my stead.”

With that, the paladin began leading the way to the king’s chambers.

“I must say, I find myself somewhat perplexed as to how you made your way here with the dark forces of Draygon having thoroughly surrounded us,” Sir Gravy noted as they walked.

“We used a secret underground passage,” Steph explained. “It’s only known to a select few. In fact,” she added, “we didn’t even know of it until Master Minoc showed us.”

“Ah yes, wizards and their secrets,” Sir Gravy said with a chuckle.

“I know, right? Anyway, Master Tornel was supposed to meet us when we arrived, but we haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“That’s most likely due to the siege,” the paladin noted. “A wizard of his power is undoubtedly quite busy at a time like this, preparing mighty spells and crafting grand strategies.”

“Oh, of course,” Steph replied, while doing her best not to roll her eyes at the paladin’s high praise of Tornel. “We figured as much ourselves. That’s why we were looking for someone else who could show us the way to the king.”

“Speaking of his majesty, we have now arrived!” Sir Gravy declared as they stopped before an ornate gilded door. “Your Majesty,” he announced. “It is I, Sir Gravy! I have with me two envoys from Tinkertown, apprentices of Master Minoc! They say they carry an urgent message for you!”








With Sonia’s help, Tenebra was able to create a rather crude, but nonetheless effective, portal. Unfortunately, before anyone standing on Ronin’s barrier platform could make their way through it, a gargantuan tentacle emerged from a portal directly below the barrier and shattered it with a single, mighty blow. Connie yelped in alarm as she and the others fell towards the portal below them. Things were looking exceedingly grim, but then she heard a cheerful voice call out.

“Don’t worry, girls~! Magical Dream Princess is here to save the day~! (giggle!)”

Enlarging her cloud to more than quadruple its normal size, MDP raced over to catch her falling friends and carry them over to where Tenebra and Sonia had made their portal. No small number of writhing hands and tentacles sought to bar their path, but MDP was having none of it.

“You icky wicky tentacle wentacles and handsy wandsies are, like, total wotal meanie weainie heads! Magical Dream Princess thinks you need to go bye bye~! Bye bye~!” she called, while sweeping her wand across the writhing mass. This sent out a mighty wave of rainbow energy, which disintegrated every last one of the twisted appendages in a shower of prismatic sparkles.

After racing through the portal, Sonia quickly closed the spatial tear, but not before a few tentacles managed to poke their way through. Having been severed by the portal’s dissolution, the tendrils squirmed on the floor for a moment, before MDP blasted them with a few glittery beams from her wand.

“Magical Dream Princess said it’s time to go bye bye, you nasty wasty thingie wingies!” She pouted as she finished off the last of The Collector’s severed appendages.

They found themselves in a gothic-style corridor, which branched off at a 90-degree turn to one side of them. For now, they all took a moment to catch their collective breath, before planning their next course of action.

“My sincere thanks, Tenebra,” Gaia said with a smile after they had made it safely through the silver-haired girl’s portal. “I, for one, did not wish to remain in that chamber of horrors a moment longer than I had to.”

“S-S-Same h-here,” a trembling Connie agreed, while clinging tightly to Gaia.

“And my thanks to you as well, your Highness,” the verdant magical girl added, while turning to face MDP. “If not for your timely rescue, I fear that very few of us would be standing here. I am truly in your debt.”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess was super duper happy wappy to helpsie welpsie~! (giggle!)” the childish magical girl replied with a big smile. “If her friendsie wendsies are in trouble wouble, she’ll, like, always be there for them~! That’s, like, her super duper pinky winky promise~! (giggle!)”

Before anything more could be said, bolts of energy started flying their way. The source of the attack was soon revealed as a series of gun turrets emplaced in the corridor walls. Ronin was quick to put up barriers to deflect the shots that might have struck Connie, Gaia, or MDP, but she couldn’t block them all, and her barrier couldn’t hold out for long… Thankfully, Alicia skillfully dispatched most of the turrets with several precise shots from her bow, while Ronin managed to slice another apart with her sword. As soon that had been dealt with, another threat made itself known: the sound of an approaching monster patrol. While the others prepared to engage them the moment they rounded the corner ahead, Gaia raised an elegant hand, calling for attention.

“If I may be so bold,” the verdant magical girl began, “Perhaps my dearest Connie would be best suited to seeing off these adversaries?”

“I-I’ve, uh, b-been g-getting b-better w-with my n-nightmare m-magic,” the masked girl explained. “S-So, um, m-maybe I c-can s-scare t-them off, s-so we w-won’t h-have t-to f-fight t-them…”

If everyone is in agreement, Connie will send a medium strength nightmare pulse in the direction of the approaching patrol, causing the monsters to experience their deepest fears/nightmares and hopefully run off.


“So it is a sword…” Steph said softly as she examined the weapon.

She had only held it for a few seconds, before the fairy that had appeared to her just after she’d awoken winked into existence. The tiny creature talked at a rapid pace as it excitedly fluttered around her. Steph tried her best to make sense of what it was saying. Something about finding a girl named Sarah who was currently with the king. She supposed she could do that. After all, she was already planning on paying the king a visit. But who was this girl anyway? And who, or what, was this fairy? Before she could ask, the fairy winked out of existence as swiftly as it had arrived.

She mentioned running out of power… Steph thought to herself. Maybe she’s an AI of some sort?

Peter’s voice dissolved her musings. He was asking if she was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Steph told him. “So there’s nothing to worry yourself about.”

He went on to tell her how Minoc had used the sword to move stone, and suggested that she might be able to do the same.

“Move stone, huh?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well, let’s give it a shot.”

Pointing the sword at the wall next to the door, Steph closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on linking her mind to the weapon and visualizing the wall opening to create a passage for them to walk through, before sealing back up again.

“O-Oh my goodness!” she heard Peter exclaim after a moment. “Y-You’re actually doing it!”

Opening her eyes, Steph saw that the apprentice was right. The sword had caused an opening to form in the wall just as she had envisioned.

“Come on, Peter,” she instructed, while slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here!”

After the two had passed through the opening, it swiftly sealed itself, so that no one would realize they had escaped, unless they checked inside the room itself. Wishing to avoid suspicion, Steph retuned the sword to her backpack.

“Okay, now to find Sarah…”


Steph was utterly stunned as Tornel locked them inside the chamber and made his accusations.

Servants of Draygon?! What the hell?! I thought this guy was supposed to help us, not imprison us!

“W-Wait!” Peter cried franticly. “We don’t serve Draygon! There’s been a terrible mistake!”

“Don’t waste your breath, Peter,” Steph advised. “I doubt he can hear you.”

“B-But he has to let us out!” the apprentice protested. “With the castle under attack, he needs our help! Well, your help,” he added after a moment. “A-And why does he think we work for Draygon, anyway?! Master Minoc always talked of how wise and powerful Master Tornel was. How could he not know who we really are?!”

“You know how I said I wasn’t anything supernatural, just a normal person? Well, I kinda think that applies double to him.”

“S-So, what are we going to do?” Peter asked.

“Escape, obviously,” Steph replied.

“B-But the door is booby trapped!”

“Somehow, I doubt that will be much of a problem for my nanites,” Steph noted with a small grin, before focusing her attention on the package Tornel had so carelessly dismissed. “But first, I’d like to see if my suspicions are right about this thing.”

Picking it up from where Peter had dropped it on the floor, Steph held it in her hands for a moment, feeling its weight.

“Huh. I don’t see what Tornel was complaining about. I mean, it doesn’t feel all that heavy…” she observed, before smiling and shaking her head. “That’s right… I keep forgetting that I’m a lot stronger than I used to be…”

Carefully unfastening the wrapping, she allowed it to fall to the ground, revealing what Minoc had tasked her with delivering…


As she continued to tend to the soldier’s wounds, Dana scowled inwardly after Astrelle made her comments. This wasn’t the time for snide remarks. They needed to work together if they were going to make it through this situation alive, something Vanna seemed to be well aware of. Quickly snapping orders, she instructed Astrelle and Nicole to help Dana bring the soldier to the control room, while she and Penny kept the Void occupied. Unsurprisingly, Dana was in complete agreement with that course of action. After all, the soldier still needed help, far more help than Dana could hope to provide, and the control room seemed like a good place to get it.

“Just try to relax,” she told the wounded man, while giving him her most reassuring smile. “Everything’s gonna be all right, I promise.”

Noticing the man’s attempts to reach for his rifle, Dana leaned over and grabbed the weapon by its shoulder strap.

“Don’t worry, I’ll hang onto this for ya,” she told him, while slinging the weapon over her shoulder. “You just hang onto me, okay?” she added as she helped the man up. Unfortunately, Dana wasn’t exactly the strongest girl, and her slight frame struggled to support the soldier’s weight. “Uh, can I get a little help, guys?” she asked Astrelle and Nicole with a sheepish grin.

Before they could respond, the sound of an inhuman screech drew Dana’s attention back to where Penny was facing off against the Void. She watched in horror as the malign creature hurled the bespectacled girl into the wall with considerable force. Dana’s eyes went wide at the sight.

“Penny!” she cried out in alarm.

Dana desperately wanted to help her friend, but with the soldier still restricting her ability to fight, what could she possibly do?


As the train’s doors slid open, Steph found herself facing a bearded man with fiery red hair.

“Greetings, young Oracle!” He declared with a welcoming smile as Steph and Peter disembarked. “I am Tornel, leader of the Brotherhood of Wizards and advisor to the King of Solace. It is my great honor to welcome you to the Castle of Solace,” he added. “Please, right this way,” the wizard instructed, while gesturing to a flight of stairs. “There is much to discuss.”

“Thank you,” Steph replied with a smile of her own. “But please, just call me Steph.”

“A-And I’m Peter,” her companion added shakily, awed to be in the presence of not just an Oracle, but the leader of the Brotherhood of Wizards as well. “I-I’m an apprentice to Master Minoc.”

“I see…” the wizard said thoughtfully, before the sound of a distant rumbling caught their attention. “I regret to say that you have found us in the midst of a siege at the moment,” Tornel explained. “A vile servant of the Dark Lord Draygon has chosen to do battle with us. I would have swiftly put an end to him with my magic, but I am loath to reveal my true power unless absolutely necessary. Thus, one of the king’s strongest paladins was sent out to slay the fiend, but it would appear he was unsuccessful… To make matters worse, the magical sword the paladin wielded is now in our foe’s possession, and he is using its power to great effect. That sword was the most powerful weapon in the royal armory,” the wizard continued. “Aside from my mightiest spells, I know of nothing that could stand against it, especially when wielded by such an inhumanly skilled hand...”

“Perhaps this might help,” Steph suggested as she retrieved Minoc’s package from her backpack. “Minoc told me to give you this. I think it might be a weapon of some kind.”


Steph allowed Peter to lead her deep beneath the mountain, to where the transit tunnel was located. Along the way, she both despaired at how much of the technological infrastructure of her time had been lost, and marveled at how much had still managed to be preserved. It gave her a sliver of hope that, with enough effort, the world she knew might be restored.

“Here we are, Miss Stephanie!” Peter announced excitedly. “Master Minoc’s greatest achievement, the Sub-Surface Railway! It’s only one segment of a vast network, which it is believed once spanned the entire world, but it is hoped that one day we can reactivate the other segments as well!”

“That’s great to hear,” Steph told him with a smile. Despite being so primitive, at least when compared to what Steph was familiar with, it was actually rather amazing what these people had been able to accomplish. From what she had seen so far, the planet’s geography had been drastically altered. The fact that they had managed to get even a single segment of the transit network up and running was nothing short of miraculous. “In fact, I’d be more than happy to help you with that project. At least, after all this is taken care of,” she added, while patting her backpack. She had a fair idea of what it contained, but she wasn’t about to open Minoc’s package until they had safely arrived at the Castle of Solace. “Oh, and, uh, just call me Steph. I’ve never really been too big on formality.”

“Oh! My apologies!” the apprentice stammered. “It’s just that, well, you’re something of a living legend to us. I mean, to be part of the generation honored to see you awaken, to accompany you on this journey… I-It’s more than I could have ever imagined!”

“Hey, relax,” Steph told him, becoming more than a little unnerved by all the hero-worship being directed towards her. “I'm just a regular person, same as you. I’m certainly not some mystic ‘Oracle’ or whatever.”

“B-But, your powers…!” Peter protested.

“I can only do that stuff because of technology,” she explained. “Just like the technology you used to get this train up and running. It’s not magic,” she added as they boarded the train. “Just science.”

“Well, it’s still amazing,” Peter said as he sat down across from her. “After all, it’s not like anyone around here can do stuff like that.”

A low hum filled the car, and neon lights glowed, as the train’s various systems came online. For a moment, Steph felt like she was back in her own time, the events of the past few hours little more than a dream. Unsurprisingly, Peter quickly brought her back to reality.

“Looks like we’re on our way,” he observed as the lights outside the window began to pass by at an increasingly faster pace, before disappearing completely. “It’s incredible how this train doesn’t even need a crew. A machine-mind takes care of everything!”

“It’s called a computer,” Steph pointed out. “And that’s nothing compared to a full AI.”

“AI?” Peter asked.

“Artificial intelligence,” Steph clarified. “A machine that can think and reason just like a human.”

Peter gasped. “Such a thing existed in your time?!”

“Yeah, a lot of them did.”

“Incredible…”




The journey was a remarkably swift one, thanks in no small part to the train’s inertialess propulsion system. Steph was very grateful for this, for a number of reasons. Bringing an end to Peter’s incessant barrage of questions foremost among them. The young apprentice was just about to ask for more information about pre-cataclysmic space travel, when a tone sounded, followed by an artificial voice informing them that they had reached their destination.

“Ah!” Peter gasped, having been broken out of his awe-inspired fixation on Steph. “It look’s like we’ve arrived! Welcome to the Castle of Solace!”


Continuing to provide illumination, Dana cautiously led her fellow candidates into the darkened corridor. They had barely left the cabin, when they were approached by a pair of soldiers. One of the soldiers began to inform them that there had been an emergency (no kidding…), before he was suddenly yanked back into the darkness by some unseen force. Not wasting a moment, his companion whirled around and opened fire on the unknown attacker, the glowing discharge of his magitech rifle revealing the identity of their enemy.

“Holy crap…!” Dana gasped as she beheld the void’s terrifying appearance, as well as the following horrific sight of it impaling the second solider and pinning him to the wall.

With a roar of outrage, Penny charged the creature, a crackling orb of lighting clenched in her fist. The strike staggered the monster enough for it to release its hold on the soldier, giving Dana the opportunity she needed.

“Hang in there, pal!” Dana called to the wounded soldier as she rushed over to kneel down beside him. “I’ll get ya all patched up, so don’t worry!” she added, flashing him reassuring smile.

Even with the increased quantity of Nox providing additional power, Dana wasn’t sure exactly how much healing she could perform, but she knew that keeping a positive outlook was crucial in situations like these. As she set about her work, she only hoped that her new friends could finish what Penny started and take care of their monstrous foe for good.
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