Ponn

Synphony on Highschool

Holy freaking crap!

I FORGOT TO PAY THE WAIFU TAX!!!

Will this do?

Waifu?

Synphony on Highschool

Holy wow!

Could this be the coolest RP ever?!

Probably not, but I made a character sheet thing anyway!

A Character

“H-Hello…?” a nasally voice asked as a bespectacled young woman awkwardly poked her head into the room. “Um, i-is this where I apply for admission?”

“Yes, indeed!” the admissions officer said with a jovial smile. “Please have a seat and we can get started!”

Well, she seems nice and normal enough, the admissions officer reflected. Then again, appearances could be deceiving…

“So, what’s your name?” he asked once she’d sat down.

“Olivia Bell,” the girl replied. “Although my Magical Girl title is Magical Maiden Ethereal Rose,” she added. “And in Pax Septimus, I just went by The Ethereal Rose, since they don’t really have Magical Girls there. Instead, they have these people called ‘Espers,’ whose powers, contrary to their name, are more mystical than psionic in nature, so I guess they are somewhat like Magical Girls in a way, except for some of them being male, of course,” she explained with a giggle that sounded more like a snort. “Oh, gosh!” she exclaimed a moment later. “Am I rambling again? I’m sorry… People say I tend to do that a lot…”

“No, no…” the now wide-eyed admissions officer told her with a calming hand motion. “It’s fine. Um, shall we continue? The next thing I need is your age.”

“I’m sixteen,” Olivia replied.

“Okay, and am I to assume your gender is female?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” she confirmed with a nod.

"And your nationality?"

"American."

“All right, let me just make a quick note of your appearance…” Applicant is a fairly plain, somewhat underdeveloped young woman in a school uniform, standing 4’11” with blue eyes and dark hair, which is worn in two braided ponytails that reach just past her shoulders. Her vision appears to be impaired, as she wears a pair of corrective lenses, although this may simply be a fashion choice. “Um, what race do you identify as?”

“Human,” she replied. “Or maybe Magical Girl…?” she added after a moment, while tilting her head in thought. “Is that considered a separate race here?”

“No, human will do just fine,” the admissions officer reassured her. “Moving on, how do you use your magic?”

“Well, I can’t use any magic right now,” Olivia replied with another giggle/snort. “I have to transform for that,” she explained. “And even then, I can’t really do much more than distract people and make them not want to harm me. It’s my darling Xolys who does most of the fighting.”

“Xolys…?”

“Yes!” Olivia replied with an eager grin. “He’s my soulmate! He’s so handsome and wise and powerful…” she gushed, her visage taking on a dreamy, lovestruck expression. “And his tentacles! They’re just so warm, and comforting, and…”

“I… see…” the admissions officer said slowly, becoming increasingly more unnerved by the seemingly innocuous girl in front of him with each new word she spoke. “So you… summon this Xolys whenever you’re in trouble?”

“Well, I don’t really summon him,” Olivia corrected, adjusting her glasses. “He appears whenever I transform. Do you wanna see?!” she asked eagerly.

“O-Oh, u-um, t-that’s quite all right, Miss Bell!” he replied hastily. “I-I’ll just take your word for it! Now, uh, why did you choose to enroll here?”

“To find a way back home,” Olivia replied. “And I suppose to make some new friends as well!”

“Your way back home?” the officer echoed with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh! Well, you see, it all began when I was attending Marrywell academy. About a month after my first semester there began, our guidance councilor, Miss Fang, told me that I had been selected to go on a super special single-student field trip to another universe! It was so very exciting! I had always wanted to travel to another universe, so of course I said yes! The very next day, I found myself in a city called Pax Septimus. It doesn’t even exist in my universe, and it was a truly fascinating place, filled with all sorts of interesting people and creatures! But after what seemed like hardly any time at all, I was told it was time for me to return to my original universe, or else the "Bovines" would get me. It was all very strange... Unfortunately, there was some sort of problem with the transfer, and instead of arriving back at Marrywell, I found myself here!”

“Well, I'm a bit new here myself, but from what I gather, this place used to be named—”

“Yes, I’ve already been told that by several other people!” Olivia confirmed with a few excited nods. “But despite that knowledge, it’s still difficult for me to believe that this is actually my home… I mean, there are so many inconsistencies!” she added as she leaned forward, her eyes filled with intensity. “Wouldn’t it make more sense if, instead of returning to my original universe, I wound up in one that was similar to it, but not entirely the same?!”

“Well, uh, that’s certainly possible…” the admissions officer conceded. And way above my pay grade… “Now, then, final two questions. First, how would you describe yourself? Personality, interests, that sort of thing.”

“Um, I’d like to think I’m friendly and kind… I mean, I certainly try to be, but, um, not many people seem to like being around me… They say I’m annoying, or that my interests are too strange…” she frowned, before quickly brightening up again. “That’s why I loved being at Marrywell! I made so many wonderful friends during my time there! Friends who liked me for who I am! Up until then, I didn’t think I’d ever make any friends, well, aside from darling Xolys, of course!” she added with yet another giggle/snort.

“I see…” the officer muttered. I’m sure I’ll regret asking this, but it is necessary information for dorm assignments… “What are your interests, if I may ask?”

“I love learning about and investigating all sorts of paranormal and eldritch matters!” Olivia was quick to answer. “My two favorite authors are H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, so I’ve always been fascinated with mysteries, ghosts, indescribable creatures from other worlds, and the possibility of visiting those worlds myself! Oh! And I also really enjoy studying insects, arachnids, and various other arthropods,” she added, her eyes taking on a passionate gleam. “For example, did you know that the trans-phasic Khrylopede Beatle actually lays its eggs inside—”

“Last question,” the admissions officer announced, cutting her off. “Hmmm… You’ve already told me your background, so I don’t think we need to add anything more for your life story,” he noted.

“Oh! But there’s so much more I could tell you!” Olivia objected. “Like how I first met darling Xolys and became a Magical Girl! Or when I attended my first slumber party! Or about all the books I read at my hometown’s library, or that time my family pretended I didn’t exist, or—”

“No, no, I think we already have quite enough,” the officer assured her. “Thank you for your time, Miss Bell,” he added, while rising to his feet and giving her a reluctant handshake. “We should have you settled into a dorm soon enough. Until then, uh, I suppose you can just take an unguided tour around the campus,” he suggested as he ushered her out the door. “You know, get acquainted with it various… peculiarities…”

“Oh gosh! That sounds wonderful!” Olivia replied with a gleeful smile. “I can’t wait to see what's changed! Oh! And maybe I’ll even get to meet alternate versions of some of my friends, or even an alternate version of myself!”

“M-Maybe…” the officer agreed, before closing the door with a weary sigh. A second version of her? That really would be just his luck…

BTW, great idea to make it a story, GM Person! It was super fun to write!

I really hope she gets accepted!

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

Doctor Nykannis Stats

Doctor Nykannis

4 | 4 | 6 | 21²³ | 10
28²³ | 28²³ | 32²³ | 42²³ | 20

Oddball: Mad Science! Oddball: Weird Science! | MAXIMUM OVERLOAD!!! (Nyahahaha!), Advanced Hypermagitech Target Acquisition Array, Rapid Restorative Nanites, Hypertechnoarcane Omnidimensional Defensive Array, Multi-Phasic Magitech Mechadendrites

Dual Weapon | Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Gifted | Size and Scale | Techno Thralls | Interdimensional Lab

Free Agent | Ultratechnomystic Power Accumulator Pocket Dimension | Mad Scientist Supreme | Magical Overload | Super-Scientific Ultramagitech Army | Superscientific Ultramagitech Armada

Alone | Monstrous Form | Centaur Layout | Nonstandard Limbs | Mental Mutation (Builder) | Second Specialization

What are instruments of destruction, if not tools for power plays?
-Doctor Nykannis

As Nykannis’s myriad hyper advanced, ultramagitech data accumulators probed into the very deepest fibers of the Queen of Heart’s metaphysical makeup, a commandeered tank was racing across the battlefield…

“HAHAHAHA!!! THIS IS GREAT!!!” Primus-04 exulted in psychotic glee. “We’re slaughtering these fuckers and that royal bitch hasn’t even—HOLY FUCK, did she just decapitate that guy?!” the pyromanic exclaimed in shock as she watched Finn’s beheading through the tank’s forward viewport.

Oh. That wretch just decapitated her little project.

Jennifer was unphased by it. She knew Finn would be okay as long as he could get to a reinforcment user that can reattach his head and sword. No, he'll be okay. That wasn't what caught her attention. The way the Queen of Hearts talked, the way she seemed to predict and see through the others' attempts to attack her. And her eye...

Was the Queen like her?

Only one way to find out. Gritting her teeth, the false witch aimed the tank's gun at the Queen and prepared to fire soon as Mayra got Finn out of harm's way.

“FIRE THE CANNON AT THAT BITCH!!!” Primus-04 shouted, now sounding far more panicked than elated. “FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!!”

As soon as Mayra rocketed away, the (false) Witch of Time did just that. Unfortunately, no sooner had the enchanted shell left the main cannon’s barrel, then the Queen of Hearts turned to fix it with her baleful gaze. In one smooth motion, she leapt into a somersault, using her reality-defying blade to slice both the shell and the tank that fired it completely in twain. Tumbling out of the wrecked vehicle, Primus-04 was left utterly speechless as the Wonderland Monarch turned away, apparently finding them beneath her interest.

Jennifer had to launch herself out of her seat before the Queen had sliced their vehicle in half. She landed next to 04. "You alright, dear?" She asked, going back to her real voice for the moment.

“Uh, y-yeah…” 04 replied after a moment. “But, uh, I think we should probably get the fuck outta here,” she added in a low whisper. “‘Cause Doc’s plannin’ somethin’ big…”

…

“Can’t say that was unexpected…” Nykannis muttered as she watched the captured tank get bisected.

What was unexpected, however, was the Queen deciding to address her directly…

“To show everyone how amazing I am, obviously,” Nykannis replied with a smirk.

However, it was then that her intrusive investigations into the Queen of Heart’s true nature finally reached their climactic culmination, and the numinous knowledge gleaned was startling enough to give even the Monarch of Mad Science herself pause…

For all of 0.0000000000042 seconds.

So, that’s how you wanna play things, is it, Magistrate? Fine, then let’s have some FUN…

“Wow you’ve sure got some fancy toys,” she told the Wonderland Monarch in a snide tone of utter disinterest, even as thousands of additional enemy reinforcements spilled from a plethora of newly-opened portals and the panicked voice of Tertiarius-01 informed her of how they were about to be overrun. “As it happens, so do I.”

While she was still speaking, Nykannis had also been giving instructions to Phase Two over their secure mental communications link.

Primus, Secundus, fall back to the deployment zone. Tertiarius, Quaternarius, cover their retreat. And Pentius? Commence attack.

The next instant, the Queen of Hearts would feel her connection to her magic be completely severed, her mana being drained away with all the ravenous force of a quantum singularity, and all her various weapons, powers, and perks being rendered utterly useless. Indeed, in mere moments, she would find herself being forcibly reverted to her mundane form (whatever that might be), as Pentius-03’s gifted focused amplified nullification field fully enveloped her. A nanosecond after that, the real attack began…

By this point, Pentius-01 had configured her OMAG-17 into a superheavy turbo-tachyonic hyper-hellbore polyphasic penetrator lance, while Pentius-02, 05, and 06 powered up their neutrino-plasmatic multi-spectrum molecular disintegrator lightning cannon, ultra-aetheric ecto-quantum mega-macro transwarp wave projector, and omni-phasic hyper-toxic biomechanical matter/energy hybrid self-replicating insectoid swarm discharger beam blaster, respectively, to max level in a swirling blur of orbiting energy prong conjurations, power core enlargements, barrel extensions, and a deluge of other nanotechnoenchantic weapon upgrades. Finally, using the data gained by Nykannis’s comprehensive analysis of the Queen of Heart’s complete metaphysical makeup, Pentius-07 had overcharged all the various aspects of her omni-sonic hyper-harmonic electro-magnetic polyphasic frequency flux pulse array to utterly shatter the Wonderland Monarch’s bones, organs, and very soul, all while bombarding her with the enhanced, weaponized sound of Magical Dream Princess’s voice. And now, having locked onto their target for 100% accuracy, and with their ultra-overcharged esoteric armaments threatening to burst with pent-up power, Team Pentius unleashed them upon their helpless foe. In an instant, the fabric of reality was rent asunder as the ruinous beams of starkly inconceivable destructive energies converged on the ruler of Wonderland in all their world-shattering majesty…

Well, Magistrate?! Whadya think?! I know a single Killing Blow can easily be dodged (unless the person firing it is named Sakura, of course), but how about FIVE KILLING BLOWS FIRED SIMULTANEOUSLY?!!! _{(No quotation marks are employed here to denote that none of this is being said out loud.)} “NYAHAHAHAHA!!!” _{(This, however, is.)}

Wow.

”Not bad.”

---

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

Play time~! Play time~! Magical Dream Princess wuvs play time~! (giggle!)
-MDP

MDP giggled with innocent glee as she caught pillow after pillow, with the occasional sugary treat for variety. “Mmmm~! Magical Dream Princess just wuvs this yummy wummy candy wandy~! (giggle!)” She was having so much fun, but sadly, that was about to come to an abrupt end…

While up until now the pillows she caught had simply thanked her and then been content to be piled up on the ground, her latest catch had a bit more to convey than just gratitude. “What’s thatsie whatsie, Mister Wister Pillow Willow~?!” MDP asked happily as she brought the fluffy pillow up to her ear, while smiling in eager excitement. “You wanna tell Magical Dream Princess something womething super duper important wortant~?!” after listening intently for a few seconds, the whimsical girl’s brilliant smile began to spread even wider. “Ooooohh~!” she squealed in delight. “More people weple are coming to play~?! YAY~!!!” she cheered, tossing her newest pillow pal up in the air while jumping up and down. However, her childish display of joy was brought to a crashing halt an instant later, when an explosion erupted nearby, causing the whimsical girl to wince as she was showered with debris. Looking behind her, she saw to her horror that additional Wonderland troops and vehicles had managed to circumvent her whimsical wall, and were now attacking from every side.

“HEY!!! That’s no fairsie wairsie!” MDP pouted, placing her hands on her hips and stomping a foot on the ground as she glared at the newly arrived Wonderland reinforcements. Then she remembered her now-falling pillow pal and held out her arms to catch it. However, all that landed in her hands were smoldering bits of cloth… “M-Mister Wister Pillow Willow…?” she asked in a quavering voice, her eyes beginning to rapidly fill with tears. “Mister Wister Pillow Willow?!” she cried as her whole body began to shake. “YOU KILLED HIM!!!” she screeched, before sending a shower of rainbow-tailed shooting stars to rain down upon the new arrivals with an enraged sweep of her whimsical wand. “YOU MEANIE WEANIE HEADS KILLED MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESS’S FRIENDY WENDY!!! SHE HATES YOU!!! SHE HATES YOU, HATES YOU, HATES YOU!!!” As her tantrum continued, the petulant Princess of Dreams sent still more mystical missiles to pummel the targets of her ire, with each soldier or vehicle struck by the hail of hearts, stars, and frowny faces being instantly transmuted into goopy play-dough or silly putty. “MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESS IS GONNA MAKEY WAKEY YOU ALL GO BYE BYE, RIGHT NOWIE!!!”

---

Connie and Mia Stats

Connie

3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3
5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5

Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles

Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

---

Mia

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5

Wood | Barrage

Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button

Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless

“Eeek!” Connie yelped in alarm as enemy fire began wizzing by her. Then she heard MDP’s anguished cry. “M-Magical D-Dream Princess…?” she asked, her voice a confused and frightened whimper as she pressed her trembling hands against her pounding heart.

“Come on, little sister,” Gaia instructed, while placing an arm around her panicking friend’s shoulder. “I believe her highness can take care of this on her own,” she added. “We need to head back to the teleporter.”

And just when I was thinking this was all over with…

---

Angel of Hope Stats

Angel of Hope

3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3
5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5

Reinforcement | Third Eye

Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Enhanced Sustenance | Wings | Gifted

Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother

Back at the teleporter, the Angel of Hope found herself being swiftly forgotten in the midst of the surrounding chaos…

Fuck… It’s like I’m not even a fucking afterthought… Damn it! I’m so fucking sick of Beacon and these other losers hogging the spotlight! And then there’s this asshole… I mean, hello! I just reinforced your stupid fucking barrier! The least you could do is say—

“LILY!”

Snapping her head in Alexander’s direction, she saw the magical boy dash off to where his girlfriend’s bruised body had fallen to the ground, minus half of one leg…

“Oh, good heavens!” the Angel cried, placing her hands over her mouth in horror. “The poor thing! Please, most valiant champion!” she begged Alexander, while pointing the glowing tip of her staff at his swiftly departing form. “Accept this humble servant’s blessing of swiftness and hasten to your soulmate’s side!”

Serves the stupid bitch right for trying to take all those fuckers on solo… And who does this bitch think she is with her lame-ass battle cry, fucking Joan of Arc?

Turning to face the Paladin-Seraph, she said, “Well said, most noble bringer-of-light! Truly, this humble servant stands in the presence of a leader-born!”

Born to run our chances of actually surviving this shitstorm into the fucking ground…

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

Doctor Nykannis Stats

Doctor Nykannis

4 | 4 | 6 | 21²³ | 10
28²³ | 28²³ | 32²³ | 42²³ | 20

Oddball: Mad Science! Oddball: Weird Science! | MAXIMUM OVERLOAD!!! (Nyahahaha!), Advanced Hypermagitech Target Acquisition Array, Rapid Restorative Nanites, Hypertechnoarcane Omnidimensional Defensive Array, Multi-Phasic Magitech Mechadendrites

Dual Weapon | Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Gifted | Size and Scale | Techno Thralls | Interdimensional Lab

Free Agent | Ultratechnomystic Power Accumulator Pocket Dimension | Mad Scientist Supreme | Magical Overload | Super-Scientific Ultramagitech Army | Superscientific Ultramagitech Armada

Alone | Monstrous Form | Centaur Layout | Nonstandard Limbs | Mental Mutation (Builder) | Second Specialization

Nyahahaha! Check out my epic new Grimoiric Heart-style banner! You losers wish you had banners as awesome as this! Nyahahaha!

-Doctor Nykannis

“Don’t mention it,” Nykannis called after Alexander as the magical boy ran off. “I always enjoy helping confused and frightened lower lifeforms make sense out of their surroundings,” the mad scientist added with an amused smirk. However, that smirk vanished a second later, when Tertiarius-01 reported in.

“Doctor Kannis, we’ve eliminated our assigned targets, but additional Wonderland infantry squads and AFVs have just appeared behind our lines and are moving to engage the defenders at the evac shelter,” the aerial combat team leader explained. “They must have been cloaking their presence somehow, or were possibly deployed via that subspace warren you said they have access to.”

“It’s certainly plausible,” Nykannis agreed with an annoyed scowl. Or is it more than that? the mad scientist pondered, even as she swept a massive, clawed appendage through the air to create an arc of holographic displays, which presented detailed depictions of each part of the battlefield. This is your doing, isn’t it, Magistrate?

“One of the defending magical girls has also activated a monstermorphosis, and is currently engaging them,” Tertiarius-01 continued.

“That would be Lily,” Nykannis noted dryly as she watched the monsterized young woman attack the Wonderlanders with reckless abandon and admittedly impressive power.

“Should we provide assistance?”

“Negative. Fall back to defend our deployment zone,” Nykannis instructed. “The Penrose Pack can protect their pathetic excuse for a teleporter on their own,” she continued. “We have more pressing concerns to deal with…”

As the Monarch of Mad Science’s many eyes viewed the events playing out on the various holodisplays arrayed before her, she saw that although Team Quaternarius’s apocalyptic bombardment had annihilated the vast majority of the Wonderland artillery, as per her instructions, they had kept well clear of the field pieces closest to where Penny and the Queen of Hearts were facing off. Thus, a handful of the heavy cannons remained active, and, even now, they were switching from bombarding the town, to attacking Phase Two directly…

As the ensorcelled shells rained down upon the flaming fields, they passed effortlessly through the various defensive shields Teams Primus and Secundus had erected to explode amongst them in a series of deafening detonations, blowing apart Secundus-03 and 04 in the process…

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Primus-05 sighed in annoyance, before sending her restorative nanites to reconstruct her fallen comrades.

But that wasn’t all…

While Penny’s standoff with the Queen had ended as anticlimactically as Nykannis had expected, with the Mechanical Monarch having chosen to flee with her hostage, Finn had chosen this moment to assassinate the ruler of Wonderland via ambush. Unsurprisingly, his daring attempt failed miserably, but that wasn’t what drew Nykannis’s full attention to the scene. No, it was how the Queen had countered his strike. Using her empowered blade, the Wonderland monarch had sliced clean through the magical boy’s own weapon, and then severed his head from his shoulders.

“No way…” Nykannis whispered, her eyes going wide. According to the rules of this reality plenum, magical weapons are indestructible, yet she completely broke that sword in fucking half… Could she have nullification abilities on the level of Pentius-03, or was it simply due to the raw power of the attack…?

Her eyes glowing with even greater intensity, the Mad Scientist Supreme subjected the Queen of Hearts to a deluge of spy rays, finder beams, and a myriad of other hyper-advanced, ultramagitech sensors and scanners, in a frantic effort to ascertain the information she sought.

Well, at least Time Boy’s edgier analogue is getting that royal meet and greet he was hoping for…

Even as her various data accumulators set to work, Nykannis opened a communications link to all the members of Phase Two.

“Primus, Secundus, continue your advance.” Nykannis ordered. “Quaternarius, finish off the remaining artillery.”

“Affirmative, Doctor Kannis,” the three team leaders acknowledged.

“And Pentius?” the mad scientist added, her many glowing eyes narrowing. “Take aim on the Queen…”

“Roger that,” Pentius-01 confirmed with an eager grin as she readied her enormous ultramagitech weapon.

“One way or another, it’s time to put an end to this shit…”

...

Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, an unlikely meeting was taking place…

“Gah!” Primus-04 yelped when the (false) Witch of Time materialized next to her. “Oh, it’s you,” she added a moment later. “Doc says you’re cool so, uh, ya wanna help me operate this thing? I’ll drive, while you shoot, sound good?”

"I get to man the gun? HELL YEAH!" Jennifer's grin grew with excitement, and she swiftly took her seat behind the tank's gun. There was a wild gleam in her eye. "WELCOME TO AMERICA, MOTHERFUCKERS! HAHAHAHAHA!!"

“Okay, you I like. All right!” the pyromanic exulted as she sent the war machine surging into motion. “IT’S TANKERY TIME, BITCHES!!!”

A moment later, the captured AFV was speeding across the flaming fields, crushing dozens of hapless Club soldiers under its treads with a series of satisfying crunches as it barreled towards where the Queen of Hearts was standing…

Jen all the while was gunning down every enemy soldier that tried to approach and reclaim their lost AFV. The bloodlust was soon made apparent in her wicked grin. The blood they shed, the carnage they created... it was euphoric! She could barely contain her cackling!

---

Connie and Mia Stats

Connie

3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3
5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5

Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles

Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

---

Mia

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5

Wood | Barrage

Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button

Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless

Angel of Hope Stats

Angel of Hope

3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3
5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5

Reinforcement | Third Eye

Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Enhanced Sustenance | Wings | Gifted

Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

Wowie zowie~! There sure are lots of banner wanners heresie weresie, huh~?!

-MDP

“Like, we totally wotally do~! (giggle!)” MDP agreed with a cheerful smile when Ronin said they should spend some time talking once things had calmed down. “Like, Magical Dream Princess wants to hear aaaaall about how you got your adorable worable new outfit woutfits~! (giggle!) Oh~! Like, hello wello againsie wensie, Mister Wister Aurelio Welio~! (giggle!)” she added happily when one of the magician’s clones came over, before her eyes widened in childish wonderment when she noticed just how many copies of the magician were running around. “Wowie zowie~! Like, there are lots and lots of Aurelio Welios heresie weresie~! Like, can you duplicatey watey yourselfy welfy, just like Olivier Woliver~?! Can you~?! Can you~?! Can you~?!”

Even if the magician were to respond, he would find that MDP’s ever-wandering attention had been drawn away from him and over to where Ronin and Miko were using their dual specializations to help move the slumbering villagers to the teleporter.

“Wowie zowie~! You two work super duper well together wether~! (giggle!)” she told the sisters in her typical bubbly manner. Then she noticed some more familiar faces… “Angel Wangel~! Gaia Waia~! (giggle!)” she cheered, rushing over to the pair and wrapping them both up in a big hug.

“Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise!” a slightly stunned Gaia replied after being subjected to her whimsical friend’s unexpected glomp. “It pleases me greatly to see you, Your Highness,” she added with a warm smile as she returned MDP’s embrace.

“Oh, my!” the Angel gasped as she suddenly found herself being hugged. “Well met, whimsical champion!” she added with a giggle. “It brings such abundant joy to this humble servant’s heart to know that you are here to aid in this most noble endeavor!”

Great, when the fuck did this bitch get here?!

“Like, you’re both totally wotally welcome~! (giggle!)” MDP chirped. “And golly wolly~!” she added, looking over the pair’s shoulders. “Magical Dream Princess just wuvs all the pretty witty flower wowers Gaia Waia made~! (giggle!)”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Gaia replied demurely. “Although I cannot take all the credit,” she added, gesturing to a nearby magical girl. “Annabelle, here, is quite the talented wielder of nature magic as well.”

However, before MDP could dart off to annoy the hell out of befriend the local Mahou, a familiar voice called out.

“Mia!” Connie cried in relief as she rushed over to hug her best friend. “I-I’m s-so glad you’e s-safe!”

“As am I, little sister,” the verdant maiden replied, returning her emotional friend’s embrace. “Thankfully, it would appear our mission here is drawing to a close,” she added as she took note of the ongoing evacuation of the sleeping townsfolk. “And not a moment too soon…”

Indeed, even as she spoke, Gaia saw an enchanted tank shell shatter the protective barrier surrounding the evac zone. More tanks were preparing to finish what the first had started, while a hoard of infantry was advancing ever-closer…

Thankfully, Alexander was quick to raise a new barrier, one which the Angel of Hope promptly reinforced with her own magic. “Excellent work, valiant champion!” the heavenly beauty told the magical boy with a radiant smile. “Please allow this humble servant to bless your construction with an endurance as strong as your selfless spirit!”

Damn… It fucking sucks that all I can do is reinforce these idiots’ pitiful attempts at making shields… Still… kind Master Chiichuu shall surely reward his humble servant with such blissful contentment in return for granting them her assistance!

Not to be left out, MDP bounced into action as well. “Aww~! Those soldier woldier people weple wanna play~! (giggle!)” the bubbly girl exclaimed with cheerful innocence. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess knows the perfect werfect gamey wamey~! (giggle!)”

Waving her whimsical wand, the Princess of Dreams created a prismatic arc of hearts and stars, which quickly expanded into a curtain covering the width of the street.

“Come on, Connie Wonnie~!” MDP instructed as she gabbed the confused masked girl’s hand and enthusiastically dragged her along. “You, too, Gaia Waia~! This gamey wamey is, like, one of Magical Dream Princess’s super duper favorite wavorites, ‘cause it’s, like, soooo super duper fun~! (giggle!)”

“G-Game…?” a confused Connie stammered as she was dragged along.

“Uh huh~!” MDP confirmed with a happy smile as they came to a stop in front of the colorful curtain. “Like, when the soldier woldier people weple fire thingy wingies through this pretty witty curtain wurtain, we try to catchy watchy them~! (giggle!)” the hyperactive girl explained.

“C-C-Catch them?!” Connie cried in uncomprehending horror.

“Just watch Magical Dream Princess~!” MDP reassured her. “You’ll get the hangy wangy of it in no timey wimey at allsie~! (giggle!)”

A moment later, Connie saw exactly what her whimsical friend meant. As soon as a tank shell or spray of bullets passed through the bubbly girl’s barrier, they were instantly transmuted into big, fluffy pillows, or tiny, colorful candies.

“M-My heavens!” the Angel gasped in stunned amazement. “That precious little darling is changing all the awful projectiles from those horrid weapons into items utterly devoid of harm! N-Not only that,” she added as she caught one of the oversized pillows that had managed to slip past the Princess of Dreams and her two friends. “Just touching these objects fills me with such peace and joy! Oh, what a sweet and kind soul!” the angelic beauty gushed, elegant hands clasped over her chest. “This humble servant thanks you from the bottom of her heart, whimsical champion! Truly, your presence here is the greatest of blessings! Indeed, you are an inspiration to us all!”

Seriously, what the fuck even is this girl…?

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

Doctor Nykannis Stats

Doctor Nykannis

4 | 4 | 6 | 21²³ | 10
28²³ | 28²³ | 32²³ | 42²³ | 20

Oddball: Mad Science! Oddball: Weird Science! | MAXIMUM OVERLOAD!!! (Nyahahaha!), Advanced Hypermagitech Target Acquisition Array, Rapid Restorative Nanites, Hypertechnoarcane Omnidimensional Defensive Array, Multi-Phasic Magitech Mechadendrites

Dual Weapon | Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Gifted | Size and Scale | Techno Thralls | Interdimensional Lab

Free Agent | Ultratechnomystic Power Accumulator Pocket Dimension | Mad Scientist Supreme | Magical Overload | Super-Scientific Ultramagitech Army | Superscientific Ultramagitech Armada

Alone | Monstrous Form | Centaur Layout | Nonstandard Limbs | Mental Mutation (Builder) | Second Specialization

Nyahahahaha! My wall of text is even bigger than yours, Chloe! EAT IT, BITCH!!! NYAHAHAHAHA!!!

-Doctor Nykannis

Nykannis’s maniacal grin swiftly dissolved into an annoyed scowl as she continued to watch the thoroughly lackluster “showdown” between Penny and the Queen of Hearts. “Seriously Penny?” the mad scientist deadpanned. “You honestly think taking a hostage is going to be an effective tactic against someone who regularly decapitates her followers for shits and giggles? I thought you were smarter than that…”

And that wasn’t the only disappointing development.

Although Phase Two had been phenomenally successful with their initial alpha strike, the Wonderlanders were now launching a counterattack. Her enhanced vision easily penetrating the dense plumes of smoke, Nykannis could see a new wave of reinforcements cresting the far hill, in particular, a squadron of tanks supported by several squads of infantry. Although both Team Primus and Team Secundus had advanced midway through the burning fields, they were both proceeding at a cautious pace and wouldn’t be taken unawares by this new development. However, one member of Primus was apparently a little too eager to continue the carnage and had recklessly run ahead of her teammates. This lack of caution would have fatal consequences…

Even as one of the tanks was utterly annihilated by the iridescent beam of a poly-phasic neo-neutrino particle projector cannon, Primus-04 found herself in the crosshairs of another tank’s main gun. Before she even realized the danger, Team Primus’s resident pyromaniac found herself flying through the air, the force of the enchanted shell having blown off her legs. No sooner had her battered body slammed into the ground, then a hail of enchanted bullets from dozens of magitech assault rifles and tank-mounted machine guns drilled into her prone form, before a second explosive cannon shell completely blew her apart.

"Oho! that's gonna leave a mark!" The witch on Nykannis's shoulder commented with eagerness.

Yet, the dismembered girl wouldn’t stay that way for long. Slowly, but inexorably, a swirling cloud of nanites began collecting the girl’s various blood-stained pieces and parts, before setting to work reassembling her. By the time the cloud dissipated, Primus-04 was as good as new, albeit still rather shaken up by her recent experience.

“Be more careful next time, idiot,” Primus-05 admonished as she helped her teammate up. “Doctor Kannis is watching,” she added. “We can’t afford to be sloppy.”

“Whatever!” the pyromanic snapped. “That fucking tank is MINE!!!”

In a flash, she had darted off to leap atop the nearest tank and, like a flaming meteor, smash open its turret hatch, whereupon she promptly began bathing the war machine’s interior with technomantic flame.

Meanwhile, two other tanks, having destroyed one of the towering sunflowers, were now advancing into the town itself in an attempt to outflank the defenders, but they wouldn’t have long to savor this accomplishment. Indeed, they would soon find themselves under attack by the members of Team Tertiarius, who, from their position above the battle field, rained a torrent of bylithyian beta beams, megamorphic macro missiles, and hypersonic polyphasic quantum crystal spikes upon the pair of unfortunate war machines.

“Excellent… Most excellent…” Nykannis noted with approval as her creations handled the Wonderlanders’ counterattack with ease, barring a sole exception. And even she was working on redeeming herself, having captured an enemy tank. Yes, everything seemed to be going quite well. And what was this? One of the other defenders was approaching her with questions. Clearly he knew an authority figure when he saw one.

“Well now, aren’t you precious,” Nykannis said with an amused smirk as she loomed over the magical boy. Her smaller friend waved cheerfully at him. “Are all the bright lights and loud noises starting to overwhelm your primitive little brain? Well, lucky for you, I’m more than happy to explain things, and I’ll even try to use small words so you’ll actually be able to understand what I’m saying. So, basically, Queenie over there (not the Brave Little Toaster, the other one) found out your shithole of a city is the site of a Metaphysical Aetheric Generating Infinitely Coalescing Nexus, which she’d like to use for her own purposes, whatever the hell they are. Unfortunately for her, you and your little pals already live there, so to test your defenses, such as they are, she sent a bunch of wendigos to fuck shit up. Unsurprisingly for a group that includes the Tin Titan herself, you kicked their furry asses, leading Queenie to decide, in a rare moment of lucidity, that maaaybe deploying her invasion force in the center of the fucking city wasn’t such a great idea. Instead, she decided that attacking some random town in the middle of farm animal fucking nowhere and using it as a staging area was a much better plan. And it would have been, if only said town’s sole fucking magical girl wasn’t also a popular streamer, which, let’s be honest, with everyone and their fucking dog streaming shit nowadays is something Queenie really should have considered in whatever passes for her ‘planning sessions’. Anyways, I’m sure even you can figure things out from there, though you really shouldn’t worry about any of this shit, since Phase Two here is handing those moronic Wonderlanders their collective asses as we speak. Oh! But you’re probably wondering what Phase Two even is, right?!” the Monarch of Mad Science added with a gleam in her many glowing eyes. “Well, they’re nothing less than the next generation of magical girl, easily capable of rendering you and your pathetic little pals completely obsolete, and all of them were created by ME, DOCTOR NYKANNIS, QUEEN OF THE MAD SCIENTISTS!!! NYAHAHAHAHA!!!”

"I'm just here to party." Jen casually added, glancing over at Primus-04's direction. "Speakin' off, ally-oop!" She launched herself off of Nykannis' shoulder, and with a quick teleport, landed on the tank 04 had captured. "Sooooo, calling shotgun?" She grinned.

---

Connie and Mia Stats

Connie

3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3
5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5

Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles

Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

---

Mia

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5

Wood | Barrage

Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button

Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless

Angel of Hope Stats

Angel of Hope

3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3
5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5

Reinforcement | Third Eye

Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Enhanced Sustenance | Wings | Gifted

Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother

“My heavens!” the Angel of Hope exclaimed as she and Gaia drew closer to the new arrivals and their apparent leader. “Such horrific implements of violence! Truly, it pains this humble servant’s heart simply to gaze upon them!” she added, placing her hands atop her chest.

Holy shit! They all look so fucking badass! And that huge-ass bitch cabbage tits is talking to looks like she’s packing enough firepower to solo ten behemoths! Damn it! I’d fucking kill to have weapons like those! Instead, I get this lame as fuck staff that can only heal people…

A moment later, Annabelle sounded a retreat after witnessing the tanks destroy one of her gigantic sunflowers, a sight that brought Gaia a twinge of pain.

May you rest in the peace of Mother’s embrace, noble guardian, she bade the flower silently.

“Good idea,” Nykannis agreed with a smirk. “You should leave the rest of these losers to the professionals!”

“Indeed!” the Angel concurred. “There may yet be those in need of healing at the evacuation shelter and we must not delay in aiding them! Farewell, mighty champions!” she called to the new arrivals. “Know that this humble servant prays for your success and safety!”

Smug fucking bitch…

As they headed back to the center of town, Gaia noted that Annabelle was setting up a number of smaller sunflowers to serve in both a point defense and anti-infantry role.

“Excellent thinking!” the verdant maiden commended. “Please allow me to bolster their capabilities,” she added, raising Nature’s Blossom high and infusing the flowers with additional strength and vitality.

“This humble servant shall provide a blessing upon them as well!” the Angel declared, conjuring a radiant aura around each plant.

Well, I guess these two aren’t complete amateurs…

Back in the shelter, Connie had just been freed from MDP’s crushing embrace when she noticed that someone new had joined them. “Eep!” she yelped, their sudden arrival having startled the incredibly nervous girl. “O-Oh, u-um, h-hello…” she greeted the magical boy in a voice barely above a whisper. “S-Sorry a-about t-that… I-I’m C-Connie,” she introduced herself, her mask forming a tentative smile. “I-It’s n-nice to m-meet you, A-Aurelio.”

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

“Like, thankie wankies for the helpy welpy, mister wister Aurelio Welio~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered as she bounced over to Aurelio and gave him a big hug. “Golly wolly~!” she exclaimed after getting a better look at the magical boy. “You’re, like, totally wotally a magician wician person werson~! Like, can you do magic wagic tricky wikies~?! And, and, can you, like, makey wakey those funny wunny baloonie woonie animals, too~?!” she asked, jumping up and down in childish wonderment. “Can you~?! Can you~?! Can you~?!”

However, before the magical boy could respond, something new caught the easily distracted Princess of Dreams’s attention…

“Wowie zowie~! Samurai Wamuri-chan and her sister wister are heresie weresie, too~! (giggle!)” MDP exclaimed happily as she darted over to glomp the two sisters. “Magical Dream Princess is sooo super duper happy wappy to see you againsie~! (giggle!) Ooooohh~! And she just wuvs your matching watching outfit woufits~! (giggle!)”

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

Connie and Mia Stats

Connie

3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3
5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5

Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles

Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

---

Mia

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5

Wood | Barrage

Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button

Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless

Angel of Hope Stats

Angel of Hope

3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3
5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5

Reinforcement | Third Eye

Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Enhanced Sustenance | Wings | Gifted

Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother

Gaia smiled in grim satisfaction as she watched the Spade she’d fired upon explode above a squad of Club soldiers, pelting them with flaming shrapnel.

That’s one down, at least…

All in all, the battle actually seemed to be turning in their favor, with every member of the Oz-themed unit having been eliminated, save the towering Tin Man, and it looked like he was on his proverbial “last legs”. Indeed, as Gaia watched, the magical boy who had climbed atop the metallic colossus shifted away with its multiple hearts. Bereft of its apparent power source, the Tin Man wobbled for a moment, before falling with an almighty clang.

Right onto the twin barriers shielding the town, completely shattering them both…

Damn it… Gaia hissed under her breath. Of course that was going to happen…

“Oh my heavens! How absolutely awful!” the Angel of Hope cried in horror, placing her trembling hands over her open mouth.

Seriously?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?! Aaaaargh! Well, at least the artillery’s died down a bit… I guess that’s something… Still… With nothing to shield them, the poor souls of this innocent village are now completely at the mercy of these horrid invaders! And I fear I lack the mana needed to create the Aegis anew! Oh, whatever shall we—

An instant later, the heavenly beauty’s thoughts were cut off by a barrage of missiles, energy beams, actinic lightning, glowing crystalline spikes, and swirling streams of warped reality, which utterly laid waste to the closest Clubs attempting to take advantage of the fallen barriers.

Whirling around, both the Angel and Gaia were greeted with the sight of over two dozen ultra-tech magical girls, all heavily armed with a dizzying array of incredibly bizarre and incredibly powerful-looking weapons.

“Mother’s Mantle…” Gaia whispered, her eyes widening in stunned amazement.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Meanwhile, Oliver had carried Connie to the evac shelter, where the now-awakened townsfolk were starting to have a bit of a freak out…

As was Connie herself…

After the incredibly harrowing and embarrassing experience of being bridal carried through a war zone by a boy she’d only just met minutes before, the timid girl felt like she was on the verge of a full-scale panic attack. And maybe a heart attack as well…

Ohgoshohgoshohgoshohgosh her frantic mind raced as she was presented with yet another distressing sight, the townsfolk’s frantic hysteria only adding to the kind-hearted girl's own. Then she heard Oliver ask her a question. “O-Oh!” she gasped, having been slightly started by the sound of her name. “U-U-Ummm, w-well… N-N-Not r-really…” she replied, her masked visage looking very despondent. “I-I, u-umm o-only h-have n-n-nightmare m-magic,” she explained. “A-A-And, I-I d-don’t r-really t-think t-that w-would h-h-help v-very m-much… I-I’m s-sorry f-for b-being s-so u-useless…” she added in a soft whisper, while hanging her head in despair.

“Awww, like, don’t worry, Connie Wonnie~!” a startlingly cheerful voice called out from behind them.

MDP Stats

Magical Dream Princess

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9

Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage

Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

“Magical Dream Princess is heresie weresie to helpy welpy~! (giggle!)”

“M-Magical D-Dream Princess?! W-When did y-you g-get here?!”

“Just nowie~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl chirped as she skipped into the shelter. “Like, hi, everybodywody~!” she greeted the gathered villagers with a bright smile and an energetic wave. “Magical Dream Princess knows thingie wingies are super duper confusing wusing and scary wary right nowie, but, like, everythingie wingie is gonna be okie dokie, cause, like, this is just a really bad dreamy weamy, and Magical Dream Princess is gonna makey wakey it into a super duper sweety weety dreamy weamy instead~! (giggle!)”

With that, the whimsical girl waved her glittery wand and sent a prismatic wave of dream magic through all the frightened townsfolk, instantly placing them in a contented slumber, while sparkly pink clouds were conjured to catch them before they could fall to the hard floor.

“Ta daaa~!” MDP declared, striking a cute pose. “All better wetter~! (giggle!) Wowie zowie~!” she exclaimed a moment later. “Oliver Woliver’s heresie weresie, too~! (giggle!)” Bouncing over, she quickly wrapped both the ghost boy and Connie up in a group hug. “Magical Dream Princess is super duper sorry worry she took so longy wongy to get heresie weresie, but, like, she was super duper busy wusy making waking some new friendy wendies~! (giggle!)”

“N-New f-friends…?” a still rather shaken up Connie asked.

“Yeperoonie~! (giggle!)” MDP confirmed. “In facty wacty, they’re right outsidey widey~! (giggle!) Cause, like, they wanted to helpy welpy too~!”

---

* * *

Epilogue-
Instruments of Destruction

* * *

After making a suitably grand entrance, the members of Phase Two set to work annihilating the Wonderland forces. Team Tertiarius, being composed of aerial combat specialists, took to the skies, where they began methodically vaporizing the remaining Spades with polyphasic photon blasters, monomolecular hyper-quantum hyperion lances, and variable-vortex digi-destructo cannons. Simultaneously, the long-range heavy bombardment specialists of Team Quaternarius set their sights on eliminating what was left of the Wonderland artillery. Focusing their attention on the field pieces furthest from where Penny was engaging the Queen of Hearts, they began their assault with a world-shattering blast from Quaternarius-01’s superheavy infinite hyper-hellbore siegebreaker cannon. The ruinous cylinder of annihilation it vomited forth effortlessly penetrated the hillside behind which the artillery had erroneously believed they were protected, gouging a molten hole through the mound of earth, before utterly obliterating the hapless war machines beyond.

And as for the advancing Clubs, well…

“Hahahaha! This isn’t even a challenge!” Primus-04 laughed in sadistic glee as she incinerated several Club troopers in a gout of technomantic flame.

“I believe that is the entire point,” the calm voice of Primus-06 replied as she impassively watched her pet cyber-shark go on a feeding frenzy throughout the Clubs’ ranks, sending limbs and gore flying in every direction. “After all, for what other reason were we given life?”

Meanwhile, the one who gave said life was admiring her handiwork…

Doctor Nykannis Stats

Doctor Nykannis

4 | 4 | 6 | 21²³ | 10
28²³ | 28²³ | 32²³ | 42²³ | 20

Oddball: Mad Science! Oddball: Weird Science! | MAXIMUM OVERLOAD!!! (Nyahahaha!), Advanced Hypermagitech Target Acquisition Array, Rapid Restorative Nanites, Hypertechnoarcane Omnidimensional Defensive Array, Multi-Phasic Magitech Mechadendrites

Dual Weapon | Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Gifted | Size and Scale | Techno Thralls | Interdimensional Lab

Free Agent | Ultratechnomystic Power Accumulator Pocket Dimension | Mad Scientist Supreme | Magical Overload | Super-Scientific Ultramagitech Army | Superscientific Ultramagitech Armada

Alone | Monstrous Form | Centaur Layout | Nonstandard Limbs | Mental Mutation (Builder) | Second Specialization

No, I’m NOT a PC. Yes, I AM taking part in this event. And yes, Plat, those really ARE my actual stats. DEAL WITH IT!!! NYAHAHAHAHA!!!

-Doctor Nykannis

“Nyahahaha!!!” Doctor Nykannis cackled maniacally. “Now THIS is what I’m talking about!”

Even as she watched her creations tear the Wonderlanders to shreds, data accumulator-tipped mechadendrites extended to scan various pieces of Wonderland tech, a rifle here, a helmet there, while a quartet of drones detached from the Monarch of Mad Science’s towering Combat Form to run a full spectrum analysis on the Tin Man’s remains. Simultaneously, a fifth drone also detached, only to blink out of existence a moment later, having shifted to the Overcity in order to analyze the Tin Man’s hearts (even if it had to follow them into The Cradle to do so).

It was about then that she noticed the approach of one of the local defenders, a green-skinned young woman who greatly resembled a forest nymph.

For her part, while initially startled by the new arrivals, Gaia had quickly realized that they were on the same side. Not only that, but the largest among them was somewhat familiar…

“I thank you for the most welcome assistance,” the verdant maiden told the technomantic titan looming over her. “If I am not mistaken, you are that scientist my dearest Connie and I met at the Christmas party,” she added. “Doctor Nykannis, correct?”

“That’s right,” the Mad Scientist Supreme replied with a grin. “I normally tend to avoid getting involved with this kinda shit, but these guys needed a proper field test, and I thought the little clusterfuck you’ve got going on here would serve to facilitate that rather nicely. So you and your pals can just sit back and enjoy the sh— WHAT THE?!!” Nykannis exclaimed in shock, her train of thought having been momentarily derailed by the sudden appearance of something on her shoulder. An instant later, she had regained her composure, after realizing exactly who the strange young woman in question was. “Oh, hey Jen,” she greeted her chaos-craving friend. “So, I guess you finally decided to experience the insanity of this reality plenum firsthand, huh?” she inquired with a smirk. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” the Monarch of Mad Science added, gesturing to the various members of Phase Two. “I gotta say, they’re easily some of my finest work, all either Diamond or Challenger Grade. Hell, take the Grand Magistrate out of the equation, and they’d cream Justine, Penny, and Rachel in less than two seconds.”

However, before the disguised (false) Witch of Time could respond, Primus-01’s voice sounded out. “Deployment Zone secure, Doctor Kannis,” she stated. “Should we now move to eliminate the Wonderland Monarch?”

“Negative,” Nykannis replied. “That’s Penny’s fight,” she added, her many eyes glowing with even greater intensity as a toothy grin spread across her face. “And I’m VERY interested in seeing how she fares…”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

---

Upon finally catching up to Nicole, Dana had helped Penny calm the panicking redhead down a bit, before agreeing to follow the fashion-conscious Hastan to a local clothing shop. No sooner had they walked through the door, then her team leader had begun searching for the perfect swimsuit with an intensity that was both comical and more than a little concerning… After all, Dana herself was certainly no fashionista and she had never really understood why so many girls were so obsessed with how they looked. The cheerful Norban felt perfectly comfortable with herself just the way she was and didn’t see the point in pretending to be something she wasn’t just to fit in, or impress a member of the “popular crowd” so much that they’d want to include her in their circle of friends. If people didn’t like her for who she was, then they really weren’t the sort of people she’d want to be friends with in the first place.

Then there was price tag to consider. Although she had grown up in a fairly wealthy household, Dana had never let her prosperity go to her head. Instead, she had used the resources she’d been blessed with to help those who were less fortunate. Knowing that she had spent a small fortune on a designer dress, handbag, or swimsuit when so many people were struggling just to eat was something the kind-hearted girl could never be okay with. Besides, while her clothing choices might have been cheap, they were comfortable and looked nice, at least in her opinion, and that was the important thing, wasn’t it?

Thus, when she boarded the Assurance the following day, Dana was garbed in a simple, bright yellow bikini and jean shorts combo that perfectly mirrored her sunny demeanor. Placing her hands on her hips, the cheerful Norban surveyed the various goings on, a brilliant grin quickly spreading from ear to ear. Although she’d never been to a party quite like this, and especially not one on a luxury yacht, the bundle of excited energy that was Dana Noel knew one thing for certain- this was gonna be fun.

“Wow, Aiya! This is really some boat!” Dana noted when their host welcomed them aboard. “I know ya just wanted to see Nicole again, so thanks for lettin’ us tag along!” she added with a playful wink, while putting her arm around Penny. “I’m sure we’re gonna have a great time!”

The two hours that followed saw the bubbly Norban bounce from group to group as she took a self-guided tour of the opulent ship. She knew some of the other guests, Cara and Priya, of course, and Noah, too, but the majority of the cadets were new to her, and the ever-friendly Dana wasted no time in getting acquainted. Yet, even between making new friends and making sure Penny wasn’t totally freaking out, she’d still managed to find time for a harmless prank. Having retrieved a chocolate bar from the travel bag slung over her shoulder, the mischievous Ars Magi had removed the wrapper and nonchalantly thrown it backwards over the side of the boat and right into the middle of some unsuspecting swimmers. Still, even with all the dancing, games, and overall wild revelry, Dana couldn’t help but feel that something was missing, and once she’d realized what it was, she wasted no time in seeking out Aiya to address the matter.

“Hey, Aiya!” the grinning Norban called with a wave as she made her way over. “Where are ya hidin’ the water guns?!”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

---

Dana listened as Penny explained why her haunted house suggestion probably wasn’t the best idea, her eyes growing wider as the bespectacled girl went on.

“Wow…” a stunned Dana said once her roommate had finished. “That must have really been somethin’, huh? I mean, it totally sucks that people actually got traumatized and all,” she added with a frown, before her smile returned with full force. “But now I almost wanna see it even more, y’know?!”

---

“Swimsuit?” Dana echoed in slight confusion when Nicole inquired if she and Penny had packed swimwear. “Uh, yeah, I’ve got my usual one,” she added. “But I don’t really know how cute it is…” After all, Dana had never really been one for fashion, instead, simply wearing what felt comfortable. However, further discussion on the subject would have to wait, as Nicole proceeded to have something of a minor freak out before bolting out the door, leaving a not-so-small gust of wind in her wake.

“Uh, do ya think we should go after her?” Dana asked her roommate. “She looked kinda upset…”

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

* * *

Chapter Five-
Say Goodbye

* * *

“So, what did ya think?!” Nykannis asked once the final episode of Beautiful Guardian Gunslinger Alexis had concluded. “Pretty awesome, right?!”

“Well, it may not have been as whimsical as my favorite magical girl shows, but it was still quite enjoyable,” Violet replied. “Although, Xylannis seemed to be nothing more than a fictional version of yourself.”

“Damn straight!” Nykannis confirmed with a grin. “That’s what makes her the best character!”

“If you say so…” Violet replied. “In any case, thank you for letting me see it. As an avid follower of magical girl series, I’m honestly surprised I’ve never heard of it before.”

“There’s a very good reason for that,” Nykannis explained. “It doesn’t actually exist in your universe.”

“What?”

“It’s from another universe,” Nykannis reiterated. “One that’s over a hundred and fifty years further along the timeline than your own. So even if yours does get its own version, it probably won’t be made for another few decades, at least. Then again…” she muttered thoughtfully. “There are analogs of certain individuals from that universe in this one, existing over a century before their counterparts’ births, so maybe it’ll be sooner than that…”

“Another universe?” Violet echoed, her eyes widening in amazement. “So there really is a multiverse out there…”

“You bet your sparkly ass there is!” Nykannis confirmed. “In fact, if you like cute things so much, I have just the person to help me prove it!”

Tapping a small holoconsole, Nykannis brought up an image depicting several clusters of shimmering spheres, grouped in such a way as to almost resemble trees.

“I surreptitiously inserted a tracking device into the inner workings of his Syllogismobile, so I’m able to follow his various wanderings with pinpoint accuracy,” Nykannis explained. “He makes for such a wonderful source of amusement,” she added with a smirk. “Almost as entertaining as that clockwork kid in Esper Land. Hmmm… It looks like he’s transitioning to a new reality plenum right now. Let’s see where he ends up… Oh, wow!” the mad scientist exclaimed when one of the spheres began to emit a golden glow. “He’s going there?!” A few more taps on her holoconsole, and the image on the main display shifted to a candle-lit corridor inside what looked to be a gothic castle. A stunningly beautiful young woman in a sparkling blue evening robe was walking down it, followed closely by an oversized… bedsheet ghost? With tentacles…? “Nyahahaha!” Nykannis cackled in maniacal glee.

“What are we even looking at?” Violet inquired.

“Oh, you’ll see, Princess!” Nykannis replied. “This is gonna be great!”

---

Meets

“Hasn’t tonight been simply wonderful, darling?!” the blonde beauty was saying to her sizable companion as she walked along the corridor. “All the various games and activities were immensely enjoyable, and the ambiance is positively enchanting!” she continued to gush, a dazzling smile spreading across her lovely face as she spread her arms wide to encompass their somewhat creepy surroundings. “I only wish we had been able to see a real ghost…” the fair maiden added, her smile drooping into a slight frown of disappointment. “Oh well… Perhaps we’ll have better luck in the art roo… Hm?” she inquired as a steadily growing hum caught her attention. “Whatever could that be?”

The azure-clad maiden’s query was answered a moment later as, with a loud “*VOP!*”, a faint, spinning shape began to slowly materialize a short distance ahead of her.

“I-I don’t believe it, darling!” she cried happily. “An actual ghost!”

As it came into better focus, the blonde beauty saw that the strange, shimmering, semi-transparent object appeared to resemble a gyroscope, and was about the size of an easy chair, or small desk. At its center was what looked to be a control panel of some sort, and a small, cushioned chair. However, it was the figure sitting in that chair that caused the lovely lady to gasp in amazement.

“Oh my goodness! It’s a little dog!” she exclaimed, her enchanting visage taking on a look of delighted wonderment. “A little ghost dog! Oh, and I simply love his outfit! It’s positively adorable! Oh, gosh, darling!” she added as a thought occurred to her. “Do you think he’s a friend of Winston’s?!”

“I do apologize, my dear young lady,” an almost comically refined voice spoke up. “But I am afraid I have yet to make the acquaintance of anyone by that name. Moreover, I have just now arrived in this reality plenum for the first, and quite probably last, time. Thus, I believe the odds of my knowing any of its residents to be exceedingly slim. Furthermore, I am most assuredly not a ghost!”

“Y-You can talk?!” the blonde beauty gasped in astonishment.

“Why of course I can talk, my good lady,” the dog replied. “Why are so many people so astounded by that fact? Oh! But where are my manners? I’ve been babbling away for nearly half a minute, and I’ve yet to introduce myself! A thousand pardons!” Removing his top hat, and giving a small bow, he continued. “Parrthineas E. Doxxon the First , at your service! But you may call me Parr, for short.”

“I-It’s very nice to make your acquaintance, Parr,” the fair maiden replied with an elegant curtsy, before kneeling down to get a better look at both the strange canine and his even stranger contraption. “I’m Olivia Bell, aka Magical Maiden Ethereal Rose, but you can just call me Olivia,” she told him. “And this dashing gentleman behind me is my darling Xolys,” she added, gesturing to the towering bedsheet ghost.

“Thyerg’Xolys, Master of Xhar’doth,” the looming figure intoned in an otherworldly, but still exceedingly polite voice. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well,” he added with a bow.

“Likewise!” Parr replied, holding out his paw for them to shake.

However, when Olivia reached out to take it, she found that her hand completely passed through the offered appendage, causing the fair maiden to give voice to a startled gasp.

“Goodness me!” Parr exclaimed. “It would appear that I am still somewhat out of phase… Haven’t quite ‘settled in’ yet, as it were,” he added with a chuckle.

“Settled in?” Olivia repeated, looking quite perplexed.

“Into this reality plenum,” he clarified. “That is to say, this universe.”

“Y-You’re from a different… universe?”

“Quite correct, Miss Olivia,” Parr confirmed. “You see, I am something of a traveler, although I must admit, not entirely of my own volition.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Well, it all began quite some time ago, in a universe most distant,” Parr explained. “I had taken up a professorship at my old alma mater, Fae Creek Academy, and was hard at work on a recreation of my esteemed father’s greatest invention, the Far Prior Machine, when I had a most fascinating conversation with a visiting scientist. Seeing that I had reached something of an impasse in my efforts, they encouraged me to start work on a new project, one completely unrelated to the accomplishments of my renowned progenitor. Thus, inspired by their tales of the vast omniverse in which all possibilities exist and where even works of fiction can be found as fully manifested realities, I resolved to create a conveyance capable of reaching any world I could dream of, and this is the result of that endeavor,” he announced, gesturing to the strange contraption in which he sat. “The Syllogismobile!”

“Oh wow!” Olivia exclaimed, her eyes seeming to glitter with wonderment. “That sounds absolutely fascinating!”

“Indeed it is, Miss Olivia!” Parr agreed. “Unfortunately, my trans-plenumic engineering skills weren’t quite up to the task, and upon activating my cross world conveyance for the first time, I found myself utterly lost, adrift on the turbulent tides of the vast omnidimensional ocean! Now I travel from plenum to plenum, in the hopes that I might some day return to my home universe.”

“T-That’s so very awful!” Olivia cried, her azure eyes beginning to glisten as tears welled up.

“Now, now,” Parr consoled her. “My current predicament, while indeed troubling, is not without its benefits. After all, I do so love exploring, and I now find myself with ample opportunities for such activities!” he noted with a chuckle. “With that in mind, I would be most grateful if you could enlighten me about my present surroundings.”

“Oh! Um, of course!” Olivia replied. “I would be happy to! This is Marrywell Academy, a school for Magical Girls in London, England,” Olivia explained. “Although we’re currently in a castle next to the school that Miss Valeria created for our slumber party,” she added.

“My word!” Parr exclaimed. “This entire edifice was constructed just for a slumber party?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Olivia confirmed happily. “Miss Valeria is so very talented when it comes to building things, so when she found out that my friend Bonnie and I were planning a sleepover in the possibly-haunted music room, she completely demolished it and constructed this lovely castle in its place, all in one night!”

“How extraordinary!”

“It really is!” Olivia agreed with an enthusiastic nod. “Especially since we didn’t know she was the one responsible at first, so I thought that perhaps the rumors about the music room’s haunted piano sending people to another world were true, and that, instead of sending us there, it brought the castle here! Oh! But even if that wasn’t the case, there must still be some truth to it, because you’re from another world yourself!”

“Ah, but I arrived here via my Syllogismobile, and not the transdimensional tune of an enchanted piano,” Parr corrected. “Although it is quite a fascinating coincidence, I must admit!”

“But what if the piano was what drew you to this universe?” Olivia persisted. “You said yourself that you have no control over your destination.”

“Perhaps,” Parr conceded. “But did you not say that the music room was completely demolished?” he asked. “Would not the piano have been destroyed along with it?”

“Well, since it’s a haunted piano, then maybe its ghost is still around,” Olivia suggested.

“A most intriguing possibility, to be sure,” Parr noted. “Though in any case, I must inquire if your universe possesses any means by which I might be allowed to return to my universe of origin,” he added. “You mentioned that this was a learning institution for Magical Girls, correct? And if they are anything like the students of Fae Creek Academy, then they are no doubt in possession of a vast and varied array of intriguing abilities, so would you happen to know if any of your classmates, or faculty members, for that matter, have the capability to transverse the plenumic barrier?”

“Um, well, the students and teachers here have all sorts of amazing powers, but I’m not sure if any of them can travel to different universes…” Olivia replied with an uncertain frown. “And I don’t really know every student and teacher here, so maybe if there’s someone here with a Grimoire involving travel to another world…” she mused. “Maybe someone with an Alice in Wonderland Grimoire?”

“Grimoire?”

“Oh, they’re the enchanted storybooks that give Magical Girls their powers,” Olivia explained. “Do things work differently in other universes?”

“Indeed they do,” Parr replied. “In fact, magical powers are entirely absent in some universes, and even when they do exist, their methods of operation vary quite drastically. For instance, in one particularly peculiar universe, certain young ladies are able to wield remarkable mystical powers, but only until they receive their license to operate a motorized conveyance, at which point, their abilities completely vanish!”

“Gosh… That does sound rather inconvenient,” Olivia noted. “And speaking of inconvenient, now that I think about it, Alice didn’t really have a great deal of control over her travels, so an Alice in Wonderland Grimoire probably wouldn’t work… Oh! But maybe someone who’s good with machines would be better? Someone who could make something like your Syllogismobile!”

“Someone like this Miss Valeria?” Parr inquired.

“Yes!” Olivia confirmed. “She can be a little intense, but I’m sure once we explain things, she’ll be more than happy to—”

“I do not believe it would be wise to seek out Miss Valeria at the present time,” Xolys advised. “She appeared to be rather… occupied when last we saw her.”

“Oh gosh, darling! You’re right!” Olivia noted. “She did say something about having a secret planning session with Charlotte, so we probably shouldn’t interrupt them. Who knows what exciting new activities they’re setting up for us?! Maybe turning the art room into a haunted art gallery, where the paintings come to life?!”

“Dear me, that sounds like the most delightful fun!” Parr declared. “And fret not, Miss Olivia,” he added. “I can simply run a quick scan to determine if this reality plenum can indeed provide the assistance I require.”

With that, the dapper canine produced a wand-like device, featuring four spinning protrusions with a small glowing sphere at the end of each. Three additional, slightly glowing, prongs sat atop it, and as he slowly moved the device across the surrounding area, a faint wedge of golden energy extended from them. After the beam had made a full 360 degree sweep of the corridor, Parr examined a small readout on the lower portion of the device.

“Hmm… Yes, yes, I see…” he murmured. “Well, that is rather disappointing, but not entirely unexpected,” he noted, returning his attention to Olivia once more.

“So, you didn’t find anything that might help?” the blonde beauty inquired.

“No, I regret to say I did not,” Parr replied. “Yet, I would not say my visit here was entirely bereft of value. After all, I was provided the opportunity to meet a most charming young lady and her imposing consort,” he added with a wink. “Now then, it would appear that the possibility particles by which my conveyance is powered are almost fully replenished, but before I depart, I should like to learn a little more about you and your fellow students. That said, would you be so kind as to answer a few questions?”

“Oh, of course!” Olivia agreed with a nod. “What would you like to know?”

“Most splendid!” Parr declared, clapping his paws together excitedly. “To begin, you had mentioned that magical powers were bestowed by enchanted storybooks in this universe, and I was curious as to what your tale might be.”

“It’s an altered version of Beauty and the Beast,” Olivia replied. “It’s a story about an imperiled maiden, who gets transported to another world and is saved from some horrible villains by a gorgeous creature. She and the creature become the closest of friends, and she decides to stay with him for the rest of her life.”

“What a fascinating tale! And I assume Master Xolys is the creature in question?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Olivia acknowledged.

“How very interesting…” Parr mused. “In that case,” he added, turning to gaze up at Xolys’s towering form. “Are you the same being from the original tale, or simply a recreation of him, formed via the magic of the tome?”

“I am indeed the same being,” Xolys confirmed. “As a pandimensional entity, I am capable of transcending time and space, allowing me to exist in multiple realities simultaneously, albeit only via the link of an enchanted storybook. Thus, I cannot travel the myriad reality plenums freely, nor can I enable my dearest Olivia to visit Xhar’doth, no matter how much we both might wish it,” he added, tenderly wrapping a tendril around the fair maiden’s elegant hand.

“I see… And this maiden from the tale, she was the Olivia of your prime universe, correct?”

“Yes,” Xolys replied with a nod. “We share a special bond, she and I. Throughout all the realities in which I exist, she is present as well,” he explained, while Olivia smiled up at him. “Thus, our connection shall always remain.”

“My word! How sublimely beautiful!” Parr gushed as a tear glistened in his eye.

“Do you have a special someone Parr?” Olivia asked.

“Thankfully, I do not,” the canine traveler replied after wiping his eye with a handkerchief. “I can only imagine the anguish they would feel at my sudden disappearance, waiting and wondering when, or even if, I would ever return! Still, I was fortunate to have many dear friends, like my old roommates, Miss Sarah and Miss Mela,” he added with a wistful smile. “They both had such intriguing abilities!”

“What could they do?”

“Well, Miss Sarah could shapeshift into any animal, while Miss Mela could turn into an apple!”

“An… apple?” Olivia asked with a confused frown.

“Yes, indeed!” Parr confirmed. “A talking apple, with a face and everything! It was really quite extraordinary!”

“Gosh, that must have been quite something!” Olivia marveled. “I know someone who can turn into a tiger, but I never considered someone turning into a fruit or vegetable before… It doesn’t really seem like it would be particularly helpful…”

“You know, if memory serves, I believe she actually started life as an apple, so it would perhaps be more accurate to say she was able to turn into a human,” Parr noted. “Oh, but since we’re on the subject of abilities, what are some of the magical talents of your classmates?”

“Let’s see… There’s Wilhelmina who can summon ghost sailors and enhance the abilities of her allies, Chinami can become a very powerful knight, Tesni can summon a staff that can grow very large, Nessie can control water, and my roommate, Suzuya, can turn into a fox girl with lots of really soft tails and fire magic! Oh! And then there’s Miss Reinhardt! She can actually improve the capabilities of our Grimoires! It’s just too bad her power only works on enchanted storybooks… Otherwise, she might have been able to help fix your Syllogismobile…”

“Fear not, Miss Olivia,” Parr reassured her. “I have no doubt that I shall one day cross paths with someone who can provide the solution I seek! In fact, the wise scientist who inspired me to construct my Syllogismobile in the first place was an accomplished omniversal traveler herself, so there is even a chance she may be the the one to help me return home at long last!”

“Oh, gosh, I truly hope so!”

“As do I! And now, Miss Olivia, Master Xolys, I must bid you both a fond farewell! With luck, we may yet cross paths again at some point in the future! Tally ho!”

An instant later, there was the sound of a loud “*VOP!*”, and the next thing the blonde beauty and her sizable companion knew, both Parr and his Syllogismobile had vanished without a trace.

“Oh my goodness, darling! That was absolutely amazing!” Olivia gushed. “Oh, I simply cannot wait to tell Suzuya all about it!” she added with a happy giggle, before sobering slightly. “I only hope Parr can find his way home soon… I know he enjoys exploring new places, but I could tell he misses his old friends a great deal.”

“I am sure that in the fullness of time, he shall indeed attain that goal, my sweet,” Xolys told her gently.

“You’re right, darling. And who knows? Maybe his friends are searching for him right now! I’d like to think that’s what our friends would do if we ever got lost in the omniverse, and I’m just so happy we’ve made so many wonderful ones in our short time here at Marrywell!”

“Yes, the decision to come here has truly brought with it a great many blessings, indeed,” Xolys agreed. “It pains me greatly to think of all the years you were forced to spend bereft of friendship, and thus, I am so profoundly happy that you have been granted such admirable companions at long last, my sweetest rose.”

“Thank you, darling,” Olivia said, standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “And just think! If all this could happen at the site of the old music room, imagine how much fun a sleepover in the art room will be!”

---

“NYAHAHAHA!!!” Nykannis cackled as she deactivated the interdimensional viewer. “He’s such an IDIOT!!! That stupid mutt seriously thinks he’s gonna get help from the same person who sabotaged his pathetic little contraption to BEGIN with! Nyahahahaha!”

“And I take it that person was you?” Violet asked pointedly.

“Of COURSE it was!” Nykannis replied between bouts of maniacal laughter.

“Why?”

“Because it’s fucking hilarious! He actually succeeded in building a fully functional Syllogismobile, and he STILL hasn’t figured out what I did to it! It’d be SO painfully easy to fix, too! Yet here he is, blindly going from world to world, hoping that he’ll just happen run into a person who can actually help him. And the REALLY great part is, when he finally DOES, he’ll realize just how much of a colossal moron he really is, and even THAT probably won’t break him, because he’s just THAT FUCKING CLUELESS!!! Nyahahaha! See?! It’s comedic genius!”

“No,” Violet corrected in an icy tone. “It’s sadism.”

“Whatever,” Nykannis replied flippantly. “I wouldn’t expect a goody-two-shoes like you to understand. Anyway, I think we’re done here,” the mad scientist added, while hopping off her command chair.

“Is this the part where you erase my memory?” Violet inquired with a notable lack of concern.

“Normally, yes,” Nykannis confirmed. “But I’ve decided it would probably be best if I held off on that,” she added. “See, I’ve been thinking, Princess, and I’ve come to the conclusion that if I did go through with wiping your mind, somehow, someone would find out about it. That’s just the way things work in this reality plenum, especially where your girlfriend is concerned. And that’d be considerably worse for me than if I just let you leave as-is, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“How very magnanimous of you,” Violet replied in her typical cool tone.

“I’d like to think so,” Nykannis agreed, completely ignoring the heiress’s sarcasm. “Although I’d appreciate it if you never speak a word about anything that happened to you today.”

“There is no need to worry about that,” Violet replied. “I believe we have suitably reconciled, and as such, you have my solemn vow that I shall never reveal any of the actions you felt justified to take against me.” Then, smiling broadly, and giving a playful wink, she added. “Like, it’ll be our super duper special wecial secret wecret~! (giggle!)”

“Yeah, I think it’s time for you to go,” Nykannis muttered, while opening a crackling portal.

“And this will take me back to Penrose?” Violet asked.

“Yep,” Nykannis confirmed. “To the same rooftop you met Phase Two on. Although…” she added, pulling up a small holo display. “I might know of an even better destination…”

---

Connie and Mia Stats

Connie

3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3
5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 5

Oddball: Nightmares | Tentacles

Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home

Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless

---

Mia

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5

Wood | Barrage

Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button

Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless

Angel of Hope Stats

Angel of Hope

3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3
5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5

Reinforcement | Third Eye

Enhanced Outfit | Enhanced Weapon | Enhanced Sustenance | Wings | Gifted

Job Satisfaction | Chatty | Mana Font | Mystic Might

Cagey | Expendable | Big Brother

Even as her botanical barrage laid waste to the club soldiers and their armored vehicles, Gaia’s eyes widened in a mixture of shock and horror as she watched the vine tendrils she’d sent to ensnare the scarecrow be corrupted by the bizarre monster and turned against her.

“W-What?!” the verdant maiden gasped as the twisted vines wrapped around her and then began swiftly draining away her mana. “H-How is this even possible?!”

A feeling of profound exhaustion flooded the nymph-like beauty’s rapidly weakening body, while her once vibrantly green skin dulled to a sickly pale brown and her luxurious emerald tresses withered into dry, brittle, blackened strands. Indeed, it felt as though her very life force was being sucked away, and it wasn’t long before she was struggling just to breathe. However, just when it seemed like she was about to pass out, Gaia heard a voice calling to her. A moment later, comforting arms were holding her in a protective embrace, the mystic power flowing through them filling her with energy and vitality once more. Sighing in welcome relief, the verdant maiden watched as her rescuer’s power disintegrated the corrupted vines in a flash of emerald light, even as a small, mouse-eared girl moved in to eat engage the scarecrow.

“You are most welcome, Annabelle,” Gaia told her fellow Wood Mage with a warm smile when the girl thanked her for taking such good care of her sunflowers. “And thank you for saving me from that hideously corrupted foliage,” she added, gripping her staff and taking up position next to Annabelle. “It would be my great honor to fight these defilers of Mother Earth at your side!”

Looking out over the battlefield, Gaia saw that Mayra had recovered from her earlier soaking, and was now augmenting the botanical bombardment with fire magic.

“Good thinking, Mayra,” the verdant maiden told her draconic friend. “I am most grateful for your assistance as well!”

Charging up Nature’s Blossom with mystic power, Gaia was just about to fire off a blast, when she heard Justine call out. Not only had the flyers penetrated their defenses, but they were also armed with bombs…

“Connie!” Gaia called over her ear piece. “Airborne troops have breached the barrier and are dropping bombs on the town! Get to the evac shelter as fast as you can!” she instructed. “And I thought you said you could handle them, Justine!” she added with an annoyed scowl as she aimed her staff at one of the spade soldiers and fired a condensed blast of emerald energy. Hopefully, it would be strong enough to not only eliminate her aerial adversary, but also push him away from the town to explode over his fellow soldiers…

Meanwhile, the power boost provided by the Angel of Hope allowed the new arrivals to finally finish off the strange, armless girl.

“You are most welcome, valiant champion!” the heavenly beauty told Nefer after the Egyptian-styled girl thanked her for the help, the cheeks of her radiant visage reddening slightly in response to the mysterious maiden’s flirty wink. “It brings this humble servant such great joy to know that her meager assistance was put to such splendid use!”

However, her jubilation was short-lived.

From her vantage point high above the battle, the Angel watched its latest developments unfold with increasing concern. Even though a vast number of enemies had been eliminated, the Wonderlanders’ artillery bombardment continued, causing a breach in the barrier that a squad of flying spade troopers had slipped through to wreak havoc on the town.

Fuck… That blood magic bitch is clearly no match for these guys. I mean, they’ve got rotary cannons and rocket launchers, for shit’s sake! And here I am, forced to be a useless fucking pacifist! Well, at least I can try to save some of these kind and helpful souls from these vile villains’ senseless savagery!

Waving her radiant staff over the besieged town, she sent a swarm of glowing spheres racing towards each of those working to evacuate the populace. The barriers they generated would not be particularly strong, but they would serve as adequate protection from shrapnel or flaming debris.

That should help for the time being. Still, I would have thought Miss ‘One Woman Army’ would have made it to the artillery by now… What the fuck’s taking her so long?

While all this was transpiring, Connie was trying to overcome one of her biggest challenges- socializing with someone she’d never met before. Thankfully, even in light of her clear nervousness, things seemed to be going rather well, with the ghost boy finding her timid and anxious nature endearing. However, before their conversation could get too far, the pair heard Justine’s warning about the flying spade soldiers, which was immediately followed by said soldiers opening fire on everyone below with an assortment of powerful weapons.

“Eeep!” Connie yelped in startled surprise as Oliver scooped her up and began running to the evac shelter even as a nearby building exploded. A moment later, she heard Gaia through her ear piece, telling her to get to safety. “I-I-I k-know!” she told her worried friend in a panicked and shaky voice. “I-I’m o-on m-m-my w-way t-there r-r-right n-n-now!” she added, the attacking soldiers, coupled with the fact that she was currently being held in the arms of someone she had only just met, bringing her nervousness to a fever pitch. Indeed, she had only ever been carried in such a way on precious rare occasions, and never by a boy! Needless to say, the chalk white cheeks of her mask seemed to be turning a brighter shade of crimson with each passing second. And although the shelter did seem to be the safest place in town, Connie could only wonder how long that would remain the case…

---

As it happened, help for that particular problem was on the way, even if their sense of urgency left a little something to be desired. Thankfully for all concerned, they were about to receive a bit of unexpected assistance…

As the Beacon quartet’s enchanted van sped along, those inside would hear an annoyingly high-pitched voice cheerfully call out, “Hyiiiiiiieee~!” A moment later, a colorful rainicorn pegasus pulled up beside the vehicle’s passenger window, with a smiling pink-haired girl riding atop it. “Like, Magical Dream Princess heard that this towny wowny with a really funny namey wamey that Magical Dream Princess totally wotally forgot is in lots and lots of trouble wouble, and, like, you need to get there super duper fasty wasty, so, like, she’s heresie weresie to helpy welpy~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl declared. “But, like, she needs your helpy welpy, too~! So, like, if everybodywody thinky winkies super duper happy wappy thoughts about getting to the towny wowny right nowie, Magical Dream Princess can, like, makey wakey a magical wagical dreamy weamy portal wortal thingie wingie to take you right theresie in a blinky winkie~! (giggle!)”

---

Back at Bolorton, a concealed spade soldier was taking aim on Gaia even as she blasted his squad mate. However, before he could fire, a baleful beam of yellowy-green incandescent annihilation stripped the skin from his bones and then his bones from existence, until all that was left was a wisp of dissipating dust on the wind. Simultaneously, a series of crackling nega-matter vortices tore open inside a half dozen approaching tanks, savagely twisting and warping them into inconceivable geometries as the very fabric of reality itself was brutally rent asunder. In mere seconds the once imposing war machines had become little more than knotted strings of metal, scarcely thicker than a human hair…

“Hey, guys,” an amused voiced called out. “Need a little help?”

Symphony of Espers

Banter and Boardgames

It was honestly rather surprising to Ashley that Veronica seemed so nonchalant about letting her go off into the darkness and play board games, of all things, with one of the most infamous Depraved espers on the planet. Even if she was only doing so to make sure Gale was safe (even more so, now that the bluenette had begun laughing like a complete lunatic), the Knight of Tomorrow would have expected Veronica, head of GEMINI operations in Pax Septimus, to at least be fairly antagonistic towards Oros, and yet, they had interacted as if they were old acquaintances, perhaps even friends! In fact, even with the harp and it’s mysterious owner still laying on the ground, unsecured, Veronica had chosen to depart, trusting the remaining agents to handle the matter, almost as if Oros was a fellow agent herself…

Could that really be the case? Ashley wondered. Is Oros actually a deep undercover agent?

Regardless, with nearly everyone present being dangerously low on mana, and thus in no position to resume hostilities, it seemed a relatively moot point, although that still didn’t make its possible implications any less unnerving. And the same could be said of the lingering darkness…

“Do you happen to know why this darkness hasn’t gone away yet?” Ashley asked Oros. “I thought it would have cleared up once the Diver was defeated.”

”You thought wrong, clearly." Oros stretched her arms out with a groan. ”You know how when a monster stabs you the wound persists even after they’re slain? This must be the same way. The diver’s magic didn’t darken the sky, their magic did something that darkened the sky. It’ll clear up eventually. Probably."

”Of course it will!” Stacy said with a level of certainty children used when talking about santa. ”As bad as things get in Pax Septimus, they always bounce right back! Now, does anyone have a place where we can play board games? I have the games, buuuuuuuut I don’t think most places are going to have power.”

Marrie didn’t respond right away, fidgeting with her clip light a little for a moment, before finally saying, ”Should be able to get a generator from a store if we need. I don’t really know of anywhere with its own power supply.”

“I suppose that would work,” Ashley replied. As it happened, she did know of at least one place that would have a backup generator, but she highly doubted one of the most wanted espers in the world would be welcome inside GEMINI HQ…

”You girls are something else! I thought you’d be against stealing a generator." Oros shrugged her shoulders. ”Though it does look like the end of the world. I doubt anyone will really care if we borrow a generator for a time. Just gotta get some gas or something to power it up. It’ll be an adventure!"

Stacy threw her arms into the air. ”Like the zombie apocalypse!”

”Sort of, yea." Oros gazed into her sword. ”Why don’t we drop by the local Wally World? Any supercenter worth their salt should be a one-stop-shop for everything we need. It’ll even save Stacy a trip home to get her board games."

”I was intending to pay for it, but I guess that most people wouldn’t really care given the circumstances.”

Although Ashley hated to say it, Oros actually had a good idea. Well, except for the whole “steal the generator” bit. “You know, we don’t even have to take it out of the building,” the Knight of Tomorrow spoke up. “We could play our board games in Wally World itself,” she suggested. “Don’t you think that might have a better, um, ambiance, anyway?”

”Yes, I think the inside of a Wally World would have a bit less blood and such. Even though red is kind of a romantic color." Oros placed a hand on Marrie’s shoulder. ”And we can, like, leave some money or some shit if that makes you happy."

…

…

…

Maybe Oros’s plan wasn’t that great after all.

Turns out, all those plagues happening one after the other tend to drive people to places of safety. Not only were people flocking to Wally World, but many of the patrons there refused to leave. Many had taken out electric lanterns and were “camping” in various corners of the store. Others were trying to call loved ones or eating produce right in the isles.

”Well, whatever." Oros groaned. She placed a shopping bag filled with junk food on a picnic table. It was for sale, but the scrambling employees were more concerned with restoring power and managing other customers. ”You guys get everything you wanted?"

”Yup!” Stacy had gone shopping for some board games, which were piled at one end of the table. ”I’m just going to need a moment to set something up. I don’t normally play with so many people.”

Marrie had found a few electrical lamps, similar to what some other people were using, and brought them over. ”Are we still going to play here, then?” she asked.

“I think that’s our best option,” Ashley replied. “We’re in something of an out of the way corner, so as long as we keep to ourselves, I don’t think anyone will bother us.”

At least, I hope not…

It also technically wasn’t stealing if nothing left the store.

”What’s a good ice breaker?" Oros popped open a bag of chips. ”So Marrie, what sort of stuff do you do for fun? You don’t strike me as the sort who lives to be an esper."

”Ah, well..” Marrie looked around, sort of at a loss. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten to explain her passions. ”I’m sort of a computer nerd, and I love art. Especially, like, drawings and paintings. I’m not… the greatest or anything, but I don’t know many artists who are proud of their own work, heh. She nearly continued, but figured that explaining that most of her work was either written fanfiction or sketches of said fanfiction wouldn’t be the best way to start off a conversation like this. ”Honestly, aside from tracking Justin’s stuff, I haven’t had time to really do much of anything other than esper work recently. Plus, even if I didn’t need the income from it, I had to help out Stacy and Pac-a-Fist, since… Yeah. So I’ve had a lot of stuff coming before having fun on the priority list.”

”That’s a shame. I’ll have to look at something you made sometime." Oros grinned.

Ashley shot an annoyed glare at Oros when the pink-haired girl casually revealed what was apparently Gale’s real name, but as she listened to Marrie describe her hobbies and lack of time to pursue them, the Knight of Tomorrow realized that not only did the bluenette not seem to care about the revelation, but secret identities themselves were kind of pointless when dealing with someone with Oros’s supposed abilities. And there was another very pertinent reason to revert to their mundane forms as well, one Ashley had completely forgotten about until just now…

“Um, not to interrupt, but do you think we should revert back to our mundane forms?” Ashley inquired tentatively. “Normally I’d be against revealing our true identities, but I’m pretty sure Oros already knows exactly who we are, and I don’t really think we should be playing games, or sitting in these chairs, while being covered in blood and… other things…”

”Most people who have been outside are covered in blood, but… yeah, makes sense.” Marrie looked around, and finding that nobody was looking their way, reverted from her esper form.

The cultist scoffed. ”No one’s going to ask me to leave if I stay like this. Besides, I’d like to keep the mystique my true form holds alive just a bit longer."

Stacy was sitting beside a pile of wet wipes, which were red with blood and stacked up almost as high as she was. But her skin and hair looked pristine. Well, as pristine as it can look when you’re a zombie

”Wew! That stuff runs right between your toes!” With a flick of her wrist, two mats skid across the picnic table. They were checkered boards, one white and black and the other red and black. Once she pressed them together, Stacy started to place checkers and chess pieces on the board. ”Normally I’d suggest we play Monopoly, but they don’t have my favorite expansion packs in stock, so this will have to do.”

Oros looked at the board games. ”There were no board games for four players? I thought I saw twister there somewhere. Playing two separate games is kinda weird."

”Silly! This is a four-player game! The idea of chess is to capture your enemy’s king by moving them into checkmate. The rook moves in straight lines, bishops move diagonally, horses move in ‘L’ pathways because they’re losers-”

”Right, but what are the checker pieces for?"

”You mean the serfs? They are interesting in that they move diagonally, but only one step at a time. And they can capture many pieces at once by hopping over them like a frog! Oh! But they can only head up the board, but if they reach the other side they can become barrons, which look like two serfs stacked on top of each other.Those can move diagonally in any direction.”

The serfs were set up in a standard lattice formation, with the chess pieces nestled in among them. One side had all black pieces, while the other had white chess pieces and red serfs.

”So we play as teams or some shit?"

”Yup! One team has a player commanding the royal army while another controls their serfs. Turns alternate between white, black royalty, red, black serfs.”

”That’s fair.” Marrie replied to Oros’ comment on not transforming. As she listened to Stacy’s explanation, she was pretty impressed. ”You came up with a way to fuse checkers and chess, huh? That’s pretty smart. But, uh… It seems like it’s just the two games simultaneously?” She took a closer look at the boards.

“Whatever…” Ashley responded to Oros with a tired sigh, before returning to her mundane self. “And if anyone asks why we’re so clean, we could just say we were inside when the blood rain started,” she noted. “Or that we used some of those…” she added with a slightly concerned frown as she glanced at the mountain of bloody wipes Stacy had created.

The zombie girl hadn’t changed back either, but Ashley wasn’t going to ask for an explanation. Gale, or rather, Marrie, looked pretty much the same as her esper form, with only a few cosmetic differences, like hair color, but maybe Stacy was embarrassed by her real appearance, or even physically impaired to such a degree that she wouldn’t be able to play the game she was setting up. And what a game it was…

“Um, did you make those rules up yourself?” Ashley asked once Stacy had finished going over how the game worked. “They’re very clever,” she added with a small smile. “So, uh, how did you want to decide on teams?”

Stacy shook her head. ”I wish I could take credit, but this is how chess is supposed to be played. Though it’s a game that’s been around for a thousand years or so. It’s natural that the game would evolve and become more simplistic. There is something romantic about two brains duking it out, but classical chess was always designed to be played this way. as far as player order goes, I think I’ll let someone else work that out.”

Oros shook her fist. ”Yea! that was a lot of dialog Stacy spat out. Maybe you guys could pick up the slack a bit? Though if you want my opinion, hmmm." She scratched her chin. ”Part of me thinks Marrie and I should be on the same side, but Ash is such an adorable onesan I couldn’t get upset if they were on the same side for this."

”I don’t mind either way. It’d be fun to play with or against someone called ‘insane,’ I think. Maybe we should go with the third option and have you and Orion be a team?” Marrie slightly smiled at the idea. ”Though maybe that would be unfair to you two, since there’s the most friction between you two.”

“I don’t really mind who I’m teamed up with,” Ashley replied after the others had made their suggestions. “But if it’s too difficult to decide, perhaps the teams should be chosen randomly?”

”Regardless of what we do, I’m sure we can get along fine.” Stacy nodded at Ashley. ”How would we go about randomly selecting teams?”

”I guess… Well, we could play multiple games and switch? That way we’d all play alongside everyone? Doesn’t even have to be the same game after this, just something with teams.”

“I guess…” Ashley conceded. “But that still leaves the problem of choosing the initial teams… How about this,” she suggested after a moment’s thought. “We place two black checkers and two red ones in a cup and blindly draw one apiece.”

Stacy gave Ashley a thumbs up. ”Works for me! We just need a cup now. Anyone got one?”

…

Before long, everyone had drawn their checker.

”Yes! Red! just like the color of my voice!" Oros had been the last to draw, but they had decided to reveal their hands once everyone had their checker. ”I hear going first is quite the advantage, in high tier play anyway."

A black chip danced between Stacy’s fingers. ”I’m the most experienced here, so I don’t mind a handicap.”

“I got red,” Ashley announced, unable to keep a tinge of disappointment out of her voice.

Marrie simply held up the final black checker. It was going to be a very interesting match if not only was her opponent “insane,” but also teamed with someone who didn’t like her. Their team chemistry was liable to explode.

Oros only roared with laughter. ”Oh man! I guess it’s going to turn out just like Marrie wanted." She held her chin. ”Since we’re six pages in and nothing’s happened, how about Stacy and I play as the serfs?"

”I’m fine with that.” Stacy sat down on one side of the board. ”The other chess pieces have quite a bit of strategic depth, but as you’ll soon see, the serfs are no pushovers.”

”Exactly why I picked them." Oros looked to Ashley. ”You can feel free to start interrogating me so that your boss doesn’t get upset that you spent your evening playing games instead of filing reports."

”So, do we just… play chess? While you guys play checkers? And then something happens to make them interact?” Marrie asked.

”Yup!” Stacy nodded. ”You probably noticed the serfs can only ever threaten half of the board due to only ever being on one color. But that changes once you get some barrons. I’ll elaborate once we get one.”

”I guess we’ll find out as we play.” Marrie moved over to the chessboard.

Six pages? Ashley wondered. What does that even mean?

Then again, Oros was completely insane, or at least, was pretending to be. Either way, nothing she said could be trusted, which made her offer of allowing Ashley to “interrogate” her seem like nothing more than a fool's errand. Still, there really wasn’t much else to talk about, and if Oros actually was some sort of undercover agent, then perhaps this was her way of passing on vital information. Indeed, when viewed through that lens, even her most unhinged ramblings took on a new, and far more significant meaning…

“Okay, well, for starters, what were you doing while we were fighting the Diver?” Ashley inquired. “You looked pretty beaten up back on the rooftop, so I imagine whatever you were up against was fairly formidable.”

”I had it all under control, thank you very much!" Oros sneered. ”I trust Gemini at least knows what Marrie has been telling everyone already? Then you should be aware that the Hand exists. They were the ones responsible for this attack." Marrie and Ashley had moved their first pawn. The larger board and number of pieces was going to make this game of chess considerably slower. ”I was doing battle with their secretary, Glex. I’m sure she was despatched to prevent me from participating in the fight, as she left as soon as the Diver fell."

“The Hand?” Ashley repeated with a confused frown. “I’ve heard the name before, but that’s all I really know. Are they a monster, a depraved esper, or something else?”

Whoever, or whatever they were, if Oros was telling the truth and the Hand really had orchestrated the Diver’s arrival, then they were a threat several orders of magnitude greater than Justin, or anything else in the city, for that matter. Thus, gaining whatever information she could was a top priority.

”They’re a group. Organization? Cult? Secret Society? Something like that. The hand consists of just six members, but each of them is a big shot in Pax Septimus. Not even I know who all of them are, but that kinky vampire was one of them for sure." Oros made a potato chip dance along her knuckles. ”Couldn’t even tell you what ‘finger’ they were supposed to represent. But I’m sure the others were out and about tonight. Someone must have spotted them." She looked back over to Marrie. ”Okay so like, what do you like doing in your spare time? You seem like you enjoy spending time on computers."

”Well, I did call myself a computer nerd.” Marrie replied. ”Usually, if I have free time and I’m not drawing or writing on my desktop, I’m learning new programming languages.” She put her arm on the table and rested her head on her hand. ”Or talking to my mom in a chatroom, I guess. But usually I keep the programming to work-related stuff, nowadays.”

Stacy wrapped an arm around Marrie. ”Well that’s good that you keep in touch with your mother at least! I haven’t seen mine for a while. Mothers are the sort of people that you take for granted, you know?”

Oros moved one of her pieces with a snort. ”Not like anything lasts forever. But what do you plan on doing with all of those computer languages?"

”Mm. It’s been a while for me, too.” She was about to ask about Stacy’s mother when Oros added in. ”Oh, well… I really want to make an AI. Like, a real one. That’s my dream goal, but I doubt I’ll ever get there.”

“An AI?” Ashley spoke up, Marrie’s revelation breaking her out of her internal musings on the Hand. “That’s quite an ambitious goal,” she told Marrie with a smile. “I’m really impressed. But, um, back to the Hand,” she added, glancing at Oros, while moving a rook. “Before today, I would have said the idea of a secret society covertly controlling every antagonistic faction in the city was nothing more than an unfounded conspiracy theory, but with the recent concerted assault against GEMINI forces, it seems much more believable. With that in mind, which of the members do you know, and was Penny once among their number?”

”Repeating what I already know is such a pain in the ass." Oros took a deep breath. ”I already mentioned Glex and you’ve been acquainted with Justin. The remaining ones are a behemoth, probably Tony if not someone higher up, whoever’s doing the capacitor-in-head thing, and some guy who reads books on the beach. Maybe." She rolled her eyes. ”And of course you’d bring Penny into this. It’s possible she was part of the hand, but I doubt she was an important member. My bet is that the hand found it beneficial to give her the spotlight. She gets to be public enemy number one and the hand avoids exposure. Now where was I?" Once again, Oros’s eyes returned to Marrie ”So this AI, what would you wanna do with it? Like, would you make a robotic cat maid or would you go full Somnium Files and give yourself a cute virtual assistant that can be mapped over the real world with augmented reality?"

Marrie listened to Oros’ explanation. She didn’t really follow what she was saying, but she figured she’d find out what she meant eventually. ”I don’t want to like… subjugate it. I just want to do it to prove it can be done. That there can be life that isn’t carbon-based or magical. I… I guess I just want to do it for the sake of doing it, and to make sure that the first person to manage it doesn’t screw it up by not giving it empathy or something. The singularity is scary.” There was a hint of excitement in Marrie’s voice now.

”It’s not really subjugation if it enjoys doing it, right?" Oros propped up her head with her hand. Her fingers smeared the blood on her face. ” You say you don’t want to subjugate it but then you also want it to have empathy. Sounds to me like you want at least a small hand in guiding how this thing behaves."

Stacy jumped one of Oros’s serfs. ”I don’t think anyone wants to make a rogue AI.”

”That’s sort of my point, nobody wants to give their creation unrestricted freedom." Oros smiled. ”I mean look at roleplayers, especially the play-by-post kind. I’m not going to say what they do is anything like making an AI, but they are making artificial people with artificial personalities. Doesn’t feel too removed from making artificial intelligence."

”But they have near perfect control over their creations.” Stacy raised an eyebrow. ”I don’t think roleplayers and AI engineers are all that similar.”

”They’re plenty similar. So are parents now that I think about it." Now that it was Oros’s turn, she looked over the board with a grin. ”They all want to live vicariously through their creations." She picked up her checker and jumped a pawn. ”Children are conditioned to behave a certain way." Then a serf. ”As are programs..." And another one of Stacy’s serfs. ”As are characters." Oros lifted her hand off of her piece. ”That’s why Mary Sues are so prevalent. People can’t help but make perfect versions of themselves. I’d be willing to wager the main reason Marrie wants this AI of hers to have empathy is because it’s something she has. You wouldn’t hurt a fly unless you absolutely had to."

”I guess that’s a fair assumption. I want it to have empathy partly because it’s part of the only way I know to live, which is as a human with it, and because if it doesn’t have it, it might get all Terminator-y.” Marrie replied. ”Good move, by the way.”

Ashley listened to Oros and Marrie’s little chat, while moving her chess pieces as appropriate. Marrie’s enthusiasm was genuinely inspiring, but what Oros had said about the Hand still weighed heavily upon the young agent’s thoughts. She was aware of Tony, of course, and had read a few reports on the bizarre cyborgs appearing around the city, but Glex was another matter altogether. Ashley had seen the name before, but precious little concrete information was known about her. Yet, that meager knowledge still painted a highly disturbing picture…

Then there was the mention of a behemoth among their ranks. As far as Ashley knew, all behemoths were little more than mindless beasts, driven purely by instinct. The possibility that one was not only intelligent, but also a major player in the power structure of the city’s underworld was worrying in the extreme…

Still, there wasn’t much to be done about that now.

“I think it’s good you’re putting so much thought into this,” Ashley told Marrie. “I’d be happy to help out if you ever need any assistance,” she added. “And if you ever decide to join up with GEMINI, you’d have access to a wealth of additional resources.”

”Oh my! you’re rotten!” Stacy laughed. ”The only way the government would fund something like that would be if they could make robot soldiers, or robot espers. I don’t think going for that would end very well.”

Oros nodded. ”Yea, we don’t need Penny 3.0 to show up. And if she does, I’d just as soon she not be affiliated with one of the two big factions in Penro- Uh, Pax Septimus."

Marrie was silent for a moment. It probably wouldn’t be the best idea to say her opinions on the government. ”Aside from a supercomputer, I don’t know what they could really do to help. I wouldn’t be okay with other programmers working with me, so I don’t think it’d be worth it. But I appreciate the offer!” Marrie said as she made a move in the game.

Ashley frowned as her offer was shredded to pieces and then some.

“Okay, I understand,” she replied once everyone had voiced their opinions. “You’d like for this to be a personal project that you can accomplish on your own,” she added, turning to Marrie as she lined up a bishop for an attack on one of the girl’s pieces. “But I don’t really see how employing robots to eliminate monsters would be a bad thing,” she continued. “I mean, as long as they were properly controlled and used responsibly, they would be able to save a lot of lives.”

”I mean, that’s subjugation of non-organic lifeforms, isn’t it? Unless their AIs are so primitive that they can barely manage to fight things… Which sort of defeats the point of using robots. If they’re smart enough to fight monsters, you’re losing robot lives in place of human lives, and that’s probably bad PR in the opinion of AIs like the kind I want to make.” Marrie replied. ”I for one welcome our new robot overlords. Heh.”

”Why do I get the feeling Wall-E is your favorite movie? And also, what the hell are you doing, Stacy?" Oros pointed at the board. ”You haven’t moved your back line yet!"

”That’s part of my strategy!” Stacy continued to wear a pleasant smile.. ”You seem smart, so you can probably understand what it is.”

”Yea, with the back line filled, I can’t get any barrons. That’s just the sort of thing I’d expect Maverick Alternative to do."

”Um…”

”It’s fine." Oros placed her arm around Ashley’s shoulder. ”Ashley is a cool agent. She’s not going to blow you up if you seem like a good egg. If she has a hate boner hard enough, she’ll even work with espers on Gemini’s kill list."

Ashley frowned at Marrie’s response. That wasn’t exactly what she’d meant, but before she had a chance to say anything, Oros returned to being her typical unpleasant self, causing Ashley’s frown to turn into an annoyed scowl.

“W-What are you even talking about?” she asked the pink-haired lunatic, while pulling away from her as much as possible. “I’ve never done anything like that!”

Oros grinned. ”Didn’t the two of you beg me to save Klava?"

“A-And you’re a Maverick?” she added, turning to Stacy. “I-I thought you were a Freelancer… But I guess it’s fine,” she said with a tired sigh. “After everything that’s happened today, I don’t see why we can’t remain civil towards one another for the time being. And I wasn’t suggesting using sentient machines as expendable cannon fodder,” she told Marrie. “I was actually thinking of the possibility of having a single sentient AI controlling multiple robotic units remotely. That way, no robot ‘lives’ would be lost, and it would also ensure that no organic lives would be needlessly endangered either.”

”So, like… ants? I mean… I guess we can’t know what it’d feel like for it, so I can’t throw out the idea… I guess that’s something to ask when possible.”

”Man, this get together was a great idea. A shame it's just us here." Oros pushed her thumb against the hilt of her sword and gazed at the blade. ”Eh?" She raised an eyebrow. ”Finn? What are you-" Her eyes went wide as she cut herself off mid sentence. ”Why…did…he…" She stood there frozen in shock.

”What happened?” Stacy didn’t sound all that concerned. ”This Finn fellow, is he in trouble?”

”...Heh." Oros’s grin swiftly returned. ”Guess it doesn’t matter how many worlds we jump. You’re always gunna get your ass murked." She stepped away from the table and nodded to everyone present. ”I hate to leave a date early, but I’ve gotta save a friend and avenge another. Maybe we can do this again some other time?" Oros didn’t wait for a response, and started to casually walk towards the exit.

“W-What’s going on?” Ashley asked as Oros got up. “Is Finn okay?”

The last she’d seen of him, the boy was chasing after Betty, which meant that all kinds of unpleasant consequences could have very easily ensued…

”For the moment." Oros flashed a grin. ”That’s gunna change once I get to him though."

“What are you planning to do?” Ashley asked warily, while rising to her feet and fixing Oros with a stern glare.

”Not sure yet. But I’m in a rush, so just look over the obituaries tomorrow if you’re curious." She didn’t stick around long after that. She was sprinting straight for the exit. Even without the assistance of any melodies, she was much faster than your average esper.

“What?!” Ashley gasped, her eyes going wide.

The next thing she knew, Oros was sprinting for the door…

“I-I’m sorry, but I need to go after her!” the bespectacled brunette told Marrie and Stacy, before shifting to her esper form and running after Oros as fast as her legs would allow.

The Knight of Tomorrow had no idea how she would go about stopping someone as powerful as Oros, if she could even catch her in the first place, but for Finn’s sake, she had to at least try…