Shifter_Master

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

_{.:⋮Meetings P.3⋮:.}

“Once more shall we?” Penny would mutter under her breath as she approached the Beacon embassy in the Overcity. She was early for her meeting, just under an hour early in fact, because she had the feeling that actually getting to the meeting location was going to take a lot longer than she would have liked.

It was like being back in Penrose when she first joined Beacon. Distrust and thinly veiled hostility from everyone. Not that Penny found that all that annoying if she was honest, she got it. No, what was annoying was that this all felt like a waste of time. Or at least had the capacity to be such. Wonderland was coming, Dina was stressing, the Sanctuary still had yet to move, and there were a half dozen things Penny should be doing to deal with all of that.

But no, she was here dealing with bureaucracy and politics. At least no one here would be able to tell from her face just how annoyed she was and with luck any empaths would continue to avoid her due to her weird emotional output.

Once again Penny had to perform the dance of security procedures, though it was easier now that Ishtar taught her the steps. Still, the suspicion she faced did not lessen. Once she arrived in Lucia, she had to wait for some time before Louhi came to escort her.
"I'm glad you arrived early, Penny. We can go over some of the etiquette you need to remember when addressing the Ecclesiarch." She opened the electric notepad she had with her, and it transformed into a floating drone that projected various images and slides. "Before we start, do you have any questions?"

“A few” Penny would say as she fell in step with Louhi. Inversely closing down some of the screens she had brought up on her HUD while she was waiting. She was glad that she hadn't been as bogged down in suspicion as she feared she might be and wondered if her escort was in any way responsible for that.

“Biggest question I’ve got is; what am I looking at if the Ecclesiarch decides that I am not welcome within Beacon?” It was perhaps the most important question that Penny had as well. Because if there was going to be fallout, she wanted to know what she needed to be prepared for now.

“Other questions that are important deal with what the logistical requirements for declaring independence actually are. Minimum size requirements, and percentage votes needed, that sort of thing. But those can wait.”

"I will send someone to sort the details with you on that matter," Louhi responded curtly. "However, as for your main question…You could be looking at excommunication in the best case scenario, and execution or sealing in the worst case." Her expression stayed neutral. "However, if you behave yourself and explain the facts succinctly and without bias, as you have done with me, I believe she will reach a just verdict. Now then, regarding how to address her…"
Louhi spent a short moment explaining about how to approach the Ecclesiarch, how to invoke gratitude upon meeting her, and little things like that. "...And that is all. Now, are you ready, Penny?" The two once again stood on the golden-bricked road's end that led to the construct resembling a sun.

Penny listened attentively as Louhi answered her question and went on to give a few formal pointers on how to conduct herself in the presence of the Ecclesiarch. As far as the priestess could tell Penny took it all in stride. Which was mostly true, so long as the fact that Penny was pulling up combat systems and prepping escape routes internally could be considered taking it in stride.

In truth it was just about what Penny had expected. Honestly none of those outcomes were good ones, each for their own reason, but all but Excommunication would have Penny fighting her way out of here. And even that option might lead to that depending on what exactly is entailed in Excommunication.

“Ready as I can be I suppose” Would be her answer. Before adding on “One last question. How much of the Penrose situation have they read up on?”

“Her Holiness been informed,” Louhi answered, and performed a magic spell that once again lifted the two of them up towards the slowly rotating shape. However, instead of entering one of the towers like last time, they now headed towards the spherical center, as towers parted ways to open a route to the core. As they got closer, Penny saw the light intensify, until all she saw was white.

“Your Holiness, may the light of Beacon shine in your heart,” she could hear Louhi speak in the blinding light.

“As it may in yours,” she heard a distant voice respond. Then, as the intense light dimmed down to visible level, Penny saw that she was in an impossibly large, circular space resembling a cathedral. There were candles and lanterns floating in the air, Beckoners that flitted here and there, and even tiny white particles. In the middle of the sphere was a floating platform surrounded by a complex rotating set of spheres linked together by rings, resembling a planetarium in some ways. It was in the very middle of it that Penny saw the Ecclesiarch; she was sitting on a throne made of gold and white marble, her eyes half-lidded with a vacant stare as if she was daydreaming.

“Okay, introduce yourself properly,” Louhi whispered in Penny’s ear.

Louhi’s answer this time was much less helpful than Penny was hoping for. But that was put aside as Penny took in the view. She resolutely ignored her rising anxiety as well as she was brought closer and closer to the center of Beacon’s base of power. Her escape routes weren’t closed to her, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel like the walls were closing in a little bit.

Upon regaining the ability to see Penny cast a long look about the area noting its splendor. Returning her gaze to the Ecclesiarch, the girl who would decide her fate, Penny took two steps forward before giving a half bow. “My name is Penny Asimov.” She would introduce herself, head still bowed. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, your Holiness” She would stay bowed for a moment longer before righting, and falling into a parade rest her arms clasped behind her back.

The Ecclesiarch blinked slowly, and then bowed her head in return to the proper gesture, showing to Penny that she correctly introduced herself.
"Penny…" She then spoke, in a slow and dreaming voice.

"Tell me…What is magic?"

Penny blinked at the seemingly unrelated question. It hadn’t really been something that she had ever thought about if she was honest. It was a fact of life of this new world that she was a part of, true, but she never had worried about the deeper implications of it. Her own physical makeup not really leading to those kinds of philosophical musings.

“I’m not sure that there is a single proper answer to that question” She would answer after a moment. “It’s the source of too much to be constrained to a single definition I think. But for me? Magic is life, the pulse of our world, the turbulent whirlpool that churns out possibility.” She brought forward one of her hands and a tiny bolt of lightning sprang into existence, dancing between her fingers. “It’s an intrinsic force in our lives, and a force that connects all of us to each other in the most basic of ways. It deserves respect and at times caution. For it is ultimately unknowable, too vast, too great, too simple for us to ever truly understand it.” She would close her fist, the lightning vanishing as she returned to clasping her arms behind her back.

Penny’s answer, for all that it seemed rehearsed, was something that she had more or less formulated on the spot. That wasn’t to say she was dishonest with it, just that it was rough hewn. One aspect of her thoughts on magic she kept to herself however, not knowing how to give voice to it in a manner that fit her circumstances. Because she also felt that Magic was a lot like duct tape. It had two sides, held the universe together, and was given a vastly bloated sense of importance. It was a tool, not fundamental.

The Ecclesiarch bowed slowly to acknowledge Penny's answer. "An interesting answer." Her dreaming eyes were drawn to somewhere past Penny. "You are not the only one who has been asked that question. It is a question posed to each Mahou; each flower yet to bloom or wilt.
But even with our long lives, we may never reach the answer." She sighed. "I was once close to discovering it. I saw it in a dream…Something beyond this world and the worlds adjacent…But even so, all I could recall is but a hazy memory. However, there is one interpretation that I believe in."

She lazily swiped a hand, and Penny saw as massive projected screens appeared around the spherical space, showing various Mahous, both pure and corrupted, malicious and benevolent, victorious and collapsed.
"Magic is a reflection of us, a mirror to the depths of our very being, given manifest. We extend ourselves, our souls, through magic, and influence the story through it."
She once again turned her eyes to Penny.
"Now, tell me Penny…Why does magic corrupt?"

“I don’t think it does.” Would come the swift reply, as this had been something Penny had thought about. “I think the changes that result from excessive magical infusions are a result of our flaws and our weaknesses. Magic digs into us till it finds our most basic level and empowers everything there. At our core, nothing and nobody is perfect, and sometimes that means a flaw shines brighter than a virtue when given a boost.”

“Magic can seduce, and it can mislead. Just as it can cleanse and free. But on its own, it simply reacts to what's around it.” She would give a short shrug. It placed a lot of the outcome on the person affected by magic Penny knew. But she didn’t think that Magic itself was to blame. That brushed too much aside if it was true.

Once again, the Ecclesiarch acknowledged Penny's words with a slow nod. "Another interesting answer, and one that the Beacon order has struggled with since time immemorial. Much research has been made on the nature of this transformation, which resulted in the creation of the purification ritual, one of Beacon's oldest traditions." The Ecclesiarch paused for a moment, and upon seeing understanding in Penny's eyes, she continued. "The rite, at its fundamental level, is meant to correct the erratic changes brought about by the chaotic power of magic, and bring order to it. Only form has been proven to be stable enough to hold magic without succumbing to chaos: the human form. But then, something unexpected happened: you. A corrupted Mahou who kept their form on purification. Once I have learned of you, I then began to dream…And upon me came a vision of your life."

Penny saw as the throne the Ecclesiarch was sitting on began to float, and the screens changed to depict various moments in Penny's magical history, from fusing with the Earth Bastion for the first time, meeting with the Howell twins, eating Sirkkeli's remains, and so on.

"A lone Beckoner went against Beacon's dogma, and accepted you as a member of Beacon, seemingly in hopes of saving the city in whose events you found yourself soon embroiled in. But that was not the cause, as we initially believed. No…Your fate was split in half the moment you linked yourself to the vessel of the girl named Amber. As her identity shattered into countless shards, deep inside, you discovered what it meant to have an identity, a true self…And you wanted it."

She paused, and began to float closer to Penny.
"You may not have consciously decided on it at first, but soon you found an obstacle in Jason. The human self who parted ways from you was the true self…But you locked his soul away, desperate to find your own identity. You were willing to lie and cheat, even to yourself. So it was that when the purification rite was performed, you took Jason's humanity and cloaked yourself in it, masking your true self and deceiving yourself to the very core."
She now floated around Penny, her eyes constantly on her. "And once you rejected Jason, you completed your mission, and formed your own self with artificial humanity and Beacon's stolen blessing."

Penny would silently observe the moments of her history depicted across the screens. Pivotal parts of her own past. It was interesting to note, for her at least, that they only had times of her in Penrose, from after she had more consistent contact with Beacon. It made sense then why they came to their conclusion.

“I actually hated Jason a lot earlier than that.” Penny would say calmly, at last returning her gaze to the Ecclesiarch. “He… He was a frightened prick who did everything he could to keep me buried as deep as he could manage. I chafed under his yolk as much as I did the shackles of my first Patron.” She would explain a wry smile on her face.

“You are right that the Bastion was a tipping point. But not because I wanted an identity for the first time. Stealing the ship gave me a refuge within our shared soul for the first time. Somewhere I could bide my strength and time.” As she spoke her chassi would fold open revealing a bright shining sphere. “I’ll admit that I’m not sure how I survived the ritual, the Coin if we are to be completely honest here, maybe I did burrow deep into his fractured humanity and used it to shield myself.” She would gently reach in and pull out the sphere. Before rolling it across her fingers.

“Maybe I learned enough from his memories while he kept me locked away to build enough of my own humanity that the nature of your ritual didn’t affect me. Maybe it wouldn’t have affected me either way, after all my ‘birth’ was an accident, far as I can tell.” A careless shrug, one at odds with the sharp calculating gleam in Penny’s eyes.

“In the end. I wasn’t the one who wanted Jason gone, that was him. We split in a manner that wasn’t sustainable. Our soul was hemorrhaging due to it. He had the chance to return, I wouldn’t have stopped him nor did I tempt him otherwise. It was his choice to give me what he could of his own soul so that I wouldn’t die.”

“I am not human. I know that, I accept that, and I love that about myself. But humanity isn’t reserved solely for humans.” She would hold up her own ShineSpark as she spoke. “And fuck you if you think otherwise.” In the silence that followed that there would be four soft clicks and one louder clack. This was the point she wouldn’t give on, and she was now prepared to fight for it if needed.

Louhi gasped at Penny's insolence before the Ecclesiarch, but the latter surprisingly seemed to ignore it. "Hmm…I did see early resignation in Jason, but I did not see that selflessness…Very well then." Her brow furrowed slightly. "Your life has been one of turmoil and conflict, down to your very soul. Yet you embrace this disorder, and see it as the way forward. However, such chaos has no place in the ranks of Beacon, and never will." She sighed. "Therefore, you must make a choice, Penny."

All other screens shut down except for two that stood side by side: the left one depicted Penny as she was, but with a crown of thorns, surrounded by claws, teeth, tentacles and wings. The right depicted her as human.

"You must give up your mechanical nature, or the blessing of Beacon."

The two images side by side depicted the easiest choice she had ever been given. “It was selfishness.” She would correct, because she had something to say and she would say it before she was done here. Since she knew how this was going to go now. “Jason gave me what he did, not to save my life but to end his. He wanted out, so he acted in self interest. Not altruism.”

She would give another look at the two images and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “I always wondered how this would end up.” She would mutter “Guess I know at last.” With that she would toss her ShineSpark to the Ecclesiarch. “I already said I would give it back if Beacon ever asked.” And it seemed someone finally did.

She would half turn to leave, making sure not to give Lohui her back. “I do suppose that we have nothing more to talk about then.” She would say giving a large grin that showed off her now razor edged teeth. A warning that she would not go gently if they tried to force it.

The Ecclesiarch let the shining orb of Beacon magic float to her, and then gave one last look at Penny. "So you have chosen the path of chaos. I will let you leave this place, so you may return back to your home. Louhi, you may also give her the information as requested."

The Choir member's eyes widened. "But your Holiness-!"

"The queen may defend her realm. So is her story written."

The Ecclesiarch then turned her throne away, signalling that the meeting was over. Louhi then addressed Penny’s words. "That is correct, yes." The two left Luxia, and once outside she handed Penny a white thumb drive with the Beacon's golden logo. She then gave one last look around. "The Ecclesiarch did not excommunicate you, which means the alliance is still possible between your budding kingdom and Beacon. However, you were discharged from the organization, so I can no longer directly assist you with the matter in an official capacity. Still, I'll keep the Cardinal posted in Penrose and assign her to work on your issues. Any questions?"

Penny gave one last look at the Beacon Embassy. What it was she felt she kept to herself as she turned her attention to Louhi. “You realize that once I leave I’ll never be able to be the one to extend that alliance offer.” She would state as she accepted the thumb drive. “Not until Beacon changes. Your vows list me as an enemy now, one that none should work with else they risk excommunication.”

“I’m a Monstergirl, and most of my subjects are either dark magicals or Monster girls themselves.” She was giving Louhi a sad smile “And while some of them would like to be purified, I don’t think they will want it to come from Beacon after this. Not if it means they'd have to turn on the rest of us.”

There was a low hum as Penny’s legs lit up as her thrusters slowly turned on. “Sanctuary will remember this day. The day that her Queen was judged wanting for simply being true to herself.” She turned her attention to the road ahead. “I have no questions that I need answered, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to seek your counsel again. But as I said, that won’t be up to me. Goodbye Louhi, and thank you for your efforts.”

With that said Penny would skate away. And though she was tempted, she didn’t look back. They wouldn’t be given the chance to see the hurt in her eyes as she left. It was painful, and she expected that this day would come, but Penny would keep moving forward. And she would keep the spark of Hope alive. Because one never knew what tomorrow brought.

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

_{.:⋮New(s) management⋮:.}

As things were wrapping up after the wendigo fight, Penny had taken MDP aside to express her interest in having a formal business meeting at Covington Tower, something the whimsical girl was only too happy to agree to. Upon returning to her private office, the detransformed heiress had checked her schedule and texted Penny on their secure communications link with all the relevant details. Around noon, two days later, Melisa’s cheerful voice informed Violet that her guests had arrived. “Thank you Melisa,” the heiress told her secretary in a calm and professional tone. “Please send them in.”

Penny was the first to walk through the door, her bright amber eyes scanning the room as she entered. She was dressed much more formally than her normal jacket and jeans in a dark gray pantsuit, though she was without a tie, and was carrying a folder under one arm. The suit was notably worn, and wasn’t a perfect fit for Penny, but helped her stand out less in the corporate building.

The tattoo of gears around her left eye, and waist length neon blue hair, however meant it was impossible to go completely unnoticed. But it did help distract away from some of her unsealed qualities bleeding over, such as her unnaturally bright eyes. or the fact that she was wearing gloves that went past her wrist. The doll-like joints that resided on her hands in this form would be just as impossible to explain after all.

Overall she looked like a teen, but at least one who was trying to make this visit work.

She would walk straight over to the desk even as she continued to examine the office, noting and cataloging everything she saw. But she was quiet, not nervous, but unsure exactly on how disconnected to keep the Magical and Mundane in Violet’s office. Thus she would wait for the heiress to set the pace.

Dina for her most part, had erased all traces of her feline features, but she still stood out significantly. She was wearing a brocaded dress worthy of a princess, and her hair hung long and luscious cascading down her neck. She did look even too high class for a corporate environment, a stark contrast with Penny. She checked the room with a neutral stare as she advanced closer.

Violet smiled as the two young women entered and approached her desk. “Penny, Dina, it’s good to see you,” the heiress greeted them with a polite smile. “Welcome to Covington Tower. Please, have a seat,” she added, gesturing to the pair of comfy-looking chairs in front of her desk. “And you need not worry about anyone listening in on our conversation,” she told Dina in an attempt to assuage some of the regent’s anxious concern. “Penny was kind enough to assist me in thoroughly scanning the room for bugs. But please don’t let that stop you from looking around,” she clarified with a small smirk.

The chamber, while quite luxurious, was still somewhat spartan, possessing a crisp, clean, futuristic aesthetic. Nothing extraneous seemed present, only what was needed at that precise moment, the only decoration being several paintings of august visages which resided in recessed alcoves on either side of Violet’s desk. A substantially larger image of her father was located behind, and just above, where she was sitting, as if the elder Covington was passing judgment on all gathered.

“Those portraits depict esteemed members of my family’s lineage,” Violet explained. “I find they serve as suitable reminders of the legacy I am tasked with upholding.”

”Still have to say it’s an interesting look.” Penny would comment as she turned her gaze to Violet. “Not used to seeing my aesthetic all over the place.” Which had a lot to do with the fact that she lives in an abandoned warehouse, but also that most of the world was always going to be playing catch up to Penny’s own systems in one degree or another.

“Here is what I could find about the Penrose Independent.” The sealed monarch would go on to say, sliding over the folder she had. “Magically there isn’t much to do, since Eden up and vanished, so letting those who are currently working there know about the change in ownership is about it on that side.” It was the mundane side of things that Penny was running into issues with. Since she didn’t exist according to the mundane world, and even if she did she would at best be considered a minor. To say nothing of not really having the money to buy it.

Dina for the most part, would look at the portraits, then at Violet. "New money huh." She would add as an afterthought. "I still can't get used to the spins and turns of the world." She would add, her head tilting at Violet. "But still some things ring true. In Business trust is essential. It would be too foul to listen on us. And pretty little gain to get. I am not concerned with that regard, child."

"A propaganda machine at our service with mortal aides should help… but I am afraid our timing is the worst."

“Our timing is closer to now or never unfortunately” Penny would say “The Sanctuary is barely keeping a float even if it doesn’t seem like it. We need some kind of income, and soon. Or we are going to have to start turning people away.”

Violet couldn’t help but smile when Penny noted the similarity between the office’s aesthetics and those of her own transformed appearance. That fact was, after all, one of the reasons for the heiress’s initial attraction to Penny, and as she had gotten to know the cybernetic girl, that attraction had only grown more pronounced. Still, as much as she wanted to enjoy this time with her girlfriend, and possibly even give her a full tour of Covington Tower, Violet knew that this was a business meeting, first and foremost, and so she allowed it to proceed uninterrupted.

“Hmmm…” Violet murmured as she skimmed over the files Penny had presented her with. “I would have thought the Independent’s magical members would have fled the city along with Miss Campbell,” she observed with a raised eyebrow. “Amanda told me all about what she did at the rave, and honestly, with the Ascendancy essentially making them public enemy number one, I would think that even the mundane assets associated with that name would have abandoned it fairly quickly. Speaking of, while I am completely in favor of making full use of its various assets, I do not think it particularly prudent to continue to make use of the Penrose Independent name. We shall have to come up with a new identity, one that will not be misconstrued as perpetuating the twisted and openly antagonistic ideology of Miss Campbell’s organization.”

At Dina’s comment, Violet would turn to address the former noble. “Old money, actually,” she clarified, her voice taking on a slightly sharper tone. “My family’s business empire was built over more than a century and a half of beneficial partnerships and insightful patronage of revolutionary new technologies, and it continues in much the same manner today,” she added, clearly quite proud of her prestigious heritage. “But you are correct, trust is essential, which is exactly why you need a means of letting people know what the Sanctuary really sands for, without detrimental rumors and harmful biases getting in the way. And I believe having control of a news agency is one of the best ways to accomplish that.” Turning back to Penny, she added in a more sympathetic tone, “As for the Sanctuary’s current resource shortages, I believe CI may be able to assist with alleviating them. As you might be aware, we’ve recently begun undertaking an array of charitable projects to improve the city’s quality of life. I do not believe it would be too difficult to divert some of those resources to aid what is essentially a local homeless shelter.”

“Most people seemed to hyper fixate on Eden from what I can gather.” Penny would explain the odd discrepancy “Beacon even ran a full investigation, but there aren't any ties with the organization as a whole to Mint. It was only ever Eden. I’m not saying that everyone stuck around, but since Eden left most of the heat being brought about on them is gone.”

“There is likely only a skeleton crew left on either side of the divide, I’ve not gone digging too deep into the paper trails to verify. But right now most of the infrastructure is still in place and at least a few people are still working there. The need to be rebranded is still a valid point however.”

Dina's ears twitched as her tail swished ever so slightly. Her eyes gazed at Violet's comment, clearly disliking the fact that she thought century and half was enough to qualify as an old lineage. She could alone recite 200 years worth of ascendants gone up in smoke and flames so that the children of merchants and traders and communists could take power.

She kept watching as she went on the tirade of a public propaganda machinery. "Calling the Sanctuary a homeless shelter is a little too much, Covington."She would reply, unable to go silent any longer.

"I am sorry, your Highness, but I believe I no longer qualify to be a part of this. I will take my leave now. I will try to find other methods." Dina would then excuse herself with the most elegant curtsy she could, awaiting Penny.

“If you’re sure” Penny would state, with a note of minor confusion. “I’ll catch up with you later and give you a run down of what we covered.”

“Very well,” Violet replied politely as she rose from her seat. “I hope the rest of your day is more productive. Well,” the heiress added with an annoyed scowl once the regent had departed. “That was certainly unpleasant. If anything, I think she has grown even more unbearable since last we met… I am sorry Penny,” she apologized after exhaling a weary sigh. “I simply do not know why she seems to detest me so much. I can understand if she finds my behavior in my transformed state somewhat… difficult to tolerate, but I would like to think I was being very civil and courteous just now.”

“Your guess is as good as mine unfortunately.” Penny would say gaze lingering on the door in which Dina just recently departed. “I mean the Sanctuary is a homeless shelter, effectively, so I’m not sure why that was such a sticking point.” She would shrug before returning her attention back to Violet. “I guess her vision of the Sanctuary and mine are just different, and that distinction is growing more noticeable by the day.” She would offer up even if it was somewhat easy to tell that Penny wasn’t fully sure herself.

“Stuff like this has been cropping up more and more often since the Christmas party.”

Dina for the most part stopped in her tracks just outside. Her hairs were bristling, as she allowed herself to calm herself down. ...Think again, Dina. There’s a lot of people counting on you. What good is your pride if it lets you get in the way of things. Mayhaps the body does have an influence on the mind. Sometimes I feel like i’m truly fourteen.

With a heavy sigh, she resolved herself, and opened the doors. “I’m sorry.” She admitted. “These are trying times. Mayhaps I got too attached to what you call a homeless shelter. I lost people defending them, and I nearly lost my life doing so. Being addressed as such makes one wonder if all our struggles meant something. But I must face the truth. I’m just a cat with no money. Defending our wounded pride will not go very far.”

She offered a bow. “I would like to make amends for those under my charge, if you would have me.”

Violet couldn’t help but be surprised when Dina returned and apologized for her earlier behavior. Still, although this was not something the heiress had expected, she was pleased to see it, nonetheless. “Of course,” Violet replied with a demure nod. “And there is no need to apologize,” she added. “If anything, I am the one at fault here. I did not intend any offense by referring to the Sanctuary as a homeless shelter, and you have my deepest apologies if my words came across as such. Please know that I have nothing but respect for what you and Penny are working to accomplish there, and I would never seek to demean such a worthy endeavor.”

Penny was also surprised at Dina’s reappearance, but it was very much a pleasant one. Listening to the short byplay gave Penny a better idea at what it was that must have gotten to the Regent. From there it wasn’t hard for Penny to assume that various girls who lived at the Sanctuary would likely react along similar lines if faced with hearing their home referred to as a homeless shelter.

“I suppose it might be better to call the Sanctuary an enclave at this point.” Penny would say, though she was thinking more aloud. “Originally it was just supposed to be a mix between a homeless shelter and halfway house. But we’ve grown past that stage haven’t we.” Likey it grew past that point while Penny was first stuck at the beach, and Cindy was using it as a base.

The reminder was useful, even if it wasn’t what Dina had intended. Penny would have to set some time aside to go over this more at another time.

“If I may…interject.” She added after coughing. “Rebranding is fairly simple. All we need is to imitate the real world. The people we need to reach are fundamentally teenagers. Now, I may be 105 years old, but if I’m not mistaken, fashion, and good looking boys should catch the attention. We can then slip some more… elaborate and conventional news in between. But if we want to rake in cash we need to cater to people's vanity and need for entertainment.”

Violet’s eyebrow rose at Dina’s observation. “Are you suggesting that instead of publishing a respectable news periodical, we lower our standards to that of a gossip-filled tabloid?” she asked somewhat incredulously. “Forgive me, but I had assumed you would be the very last person to suggest such a course of action. How do you feel about this, Penny?”

Penny would ponder the idea for a moment “We could do both” She would offer up. “We’d already be running two different types of outlets as is. One of them would by necessity but stuck to reporting on the mundane side, while another would tackle the magical one.” Would come the explanation.

“Ideally we would be a trusted news source, money is the driving goal at the moment, yes, but not my only one. There are those out there that don’t believe that anything good can come out of the Sanctuary, or anything like it. Building a reputation of being a trustworthy news source will help with that.”

“But writing tabloids can be a fun outlet. Especially since so many of us can’t easily move around in the mundane world. We could turn it into a conspiracy tabloid that is talking about the magical world in such a way only those in the know would be able to tell.”

“I will admit to not having much of an investment in the mundane world though.” Penny would admit with a somewhat sheepish shrug. “My position, and Penrose in general, means that I tend to focus more on the magical side of things.”

Dina nodded, her gaze resting on Violet. "Well, that is the best idea I came up with to wash Eden's imprint. I do not think people will ever raise arms against… this kind of vulgar publishing. It could allow us a respite, get us some funds, and test if the Penrose Independent can still work as a proof-of-concept. Going from tabloid to serious might be tough, but at least the staff won't be reviled."

“Hmmm…” Violet mused. “Those are both good points, and I agree that running two contrasting publications would serve to cover all our needs, but we would have to ensure that they remain separate,” she added. “That is to say, there shouldn’t be a discernible link between them. With that in mind, we would actually be creating two separate agencies, with little to no overlap. However, I think the real question we need to consider is who shall be running each organization? When I was working under the assumption that we would be operating only one agency, I had initially intended for Amanda to fill that role, but due to the Mint’s recent machinations, she has decided to leave Penrose for the time being. I could still perhaps convince her to work remotely, but I feel it would be better to have someone physically present, and even then, we would ideally need a second individual to head up our other agency. Do either of you have any suggestions in this regard?”

Penny’s confusion was readily apparent even before she spoke up “Why would they need to be separated?” She would ask not seeing any issue with running both publications side by side. “If we are running the divide down the masquerade line it wouldn’t matter that the magical side knows we are running both wouldn’t it?”

"Hmm…how about..what was it…supplements? We just bundle them together." She paused. "As for who… Well, I don't think there will be shortage of volunteers at Sanctuary. Maybe Dullahan can. Goblina… "

Dina would then ponder. "I even knew of a teleporter but she seems to have faded out of Penrose recently."

Upon hearing Penny’s confusion, Violet would give voice to a tired sigh. “I suppose it is simply my paranoia talking, but I am reluctant to allow such a sizable group of people, most of whom I have yet to meet, to have full knowledge of something that could easily be used against us. As I am sure I don’t need to remind you, Penny, we have no small number of enemies, and in light of that, limiting potentially compromising information to as few people as possible only makes sense. For example, what if one of the people responsible for publishing the magical tabloid leaked the information that we were also responsible for publishing what is ostensibly a credible news source? Even if that information wouldn’t make any difference among the magical community, it would do possibly irreparable damage to our reputation among the mundane population. In particular, having Covington Industries’ name associated with a conspiracy theory-promoting tabloid would have a noticeable effect on how we are viewed as a company, and not a positive one.” Turning to Dina, she added, “While I am glad to hear that such a large number of the Sanctuary’s residents are willing to assist us, ideally they should have at least some experience in journalism, and if they wish to take on a leadership role, team management as well. With that in mind, would it be possible to take a survey of the volunteers’ skill sets and occupational histories, if applicable? That way, we can assign them to the tasks they would be most suitable for.”

“I can set up a survey for everyone without too much trouble.” Penny would reply. Turning one of the dead arcade cabinets into a survey station shouldn’t take too much work. And then letting everyone there know that it was to streamline things for when jobs came in wouldn’t be much of a hassle either.

“The paranoia, and your company’s reputation are good points as well.” The mundane reputation was one thing Penny had already admitted to overlooking, but the paranoia was worth a second look. The Mint, presumably, knew a fair bit about the Penrose independent due to their dealing with Eden and could likely use that information against them. The monarch didn’t think that they would have a lot of sensitive information to sit on at first, but eventually? Who knows.

“Building off your company’s reputation, we might need to keep both sides serious from the start. Otherwise the jarring divide might get people to look deeper than you might be comfortable with.”

Dina would bring her hand to her chin, pondering options. "Looks like we have forget about the fast pay off option. No matter. We can still use gossip to work for us. While we are building our serious publication, we leak the rumour that someone is here to take Eden's spot. What is it what they call it, mamis? Meowmes? That sort of thing. If need be I bet I can conjure a few creatures for extra hands."

“Possibly…” Violet mused after Penny had made her suggestion. “Although I think we can still proceed with our initial plan, as long as no link can be drawn between the two publications, or, more importantly, between the tabloid and CI. With that in mind, perhaps the Sanctuary itself could assume full ownership of, and control over, that side of things, with minor, covert assistance from CI, if and when necessary?”

“Memes” Penny would correct Dina’s uncertainty off-handedly. “And yeah the Sanctuary could take full ownership of the tabloid.” She would answer Violet “Only assistance I can foresee us needing would be keeping us in the black, but I’m not sure if we’d need much assistance with that. Once people learn that it's the Sanctuary putting out that side of things that should be enough of a draw to get at least a stable base to work from.” Or at least that was Penny’s hope on the matter.

"So it's settled then." Dina would then say. "If I was 70 years younger I would engage myself, but even If I smiled and posed I do not think I could keep up with people and their… excessive lack of modern clothing."

“Excellent,” Violet declared with a pleased smile. “In that case, I shall contact the relevant parties and draw up the appropriate paperwork in regard to the mundane side of things. I would ask to remain apprised of all future developments on your end,” the heiress added with a teasing smirk. “But since Penny and I chat every day, I don’t foresee that being an issue.”

"Mew?"Dina replied in slight surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

“Simply that we have a secure means of conversing with each other,” Violet replied. “Is that really so surprising?”

"For someone so mundane, yes." Dina would answer.

“Penny is not mundane,” Violet replied. “And neither am I, for that matter,” she added. “Even if I was, Penny alone is fully capable of establishing the kind of covert communications link we require. As it is, we worked on it together, while making use of some unintentional assistance from a few other friends of mine.”

“The never ending wonders of the digital worlds” Penny would remark with a smile of her own. “There are a half dozen different ways to hide or mask a network. And that’s before you start getting magic involved. Add that, the fact I’m an AI, or that Violet is on the later end of the bell curve when it comes to intelligence to the equation and that number grows exponentially.”

“Main reason I’ve not done more for the Sanctuary in that regard is that there is a start-up cost for a lot of those if you want them to be more than a peer to peer set up. But that’s what the computer terminal I’ve set up is for.”

"I am saying your involvement with the Magical world is concerning, Miss Covington. Despite the fact we wish for a joint endeavour I do wish to insist that you still have a way to go back to a normal life and you should think carefully." Dina would add.

“Oh, I have thought very carefully about it,” Violet replied with an amused smile. “With Penny’s assistance, I have taken every precaution possible to ensure that no one, the Ebon Mint most of all, learns of my connections to the magical community, or of my magical alter-ego.”

Dina sighed. "Then it is already too late. It's not a matter of whether they know. It's a matter of when." She then added. "There are always ways of knowing things." Dina replied.

"Not only electronic espionage works, but the old fashioned vermin network, spirits. Even plants can be used. These three methods often tend to be overlooked because they do require particular powersets." Dina would then say. "And Penny cannot tap in any of these three."

“Perhaps,” Violet conceded. “But I believe Penny and I are more than capable of creating devices that can not only detect, but completely jam such avenues of espionage. And as it is,” the heiress added. “They should have no reason to suspect anything. After all, I have been fully amenable to every suggestion and offer they have made, regardless of how repulsive I might actually find them.”

“The Mint isn’t one to rock the boat if they don’t need to.” Penny would chip in “They aren’t omniscient, so as long as they’ve not got a good reason to go poking about their agent’s business they don’t” Something that Penny knew from personal experience.

"That is not very reassuring, but I will not dwell on something that cannot be changed. Remember that pride comes before the fall." Dina would simply reply.

“I prefer to think of it as confidence,” Violet replied. “Confidence that, when Penny and I work together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

“Hope for the best” Penny would quote with a nod to Dina “But prepare for the worst. If the situation starts changing we will have back ups in place. For now things are holding and should stay that way.” To be honest Penny felt that Dina was likely more in the right than anything. All secrets had a way of coming to light one way or another.

She did disagree with the effort to give Violet a way back to the mundane however. Penrose as it was didn’t allow easy stepping away from everything. That and the Magical world tended to be very clingy. Simply ignoring everything wouldn’t cause it to go away, Violet was entrenched already, this meeting for the Sanctuary wouldn’t be much in the face of an active Patron.

Dina’s ears twitched. “Should you find yourself in trouble, come to me if Penny is unavailable. I might be able to do something, as meager as I am.” Dina would then add. She knew she was right, but youths would rarely see the bitter lessons of life unless experienced firsthand.

“Of course,” Violet replied with a nod. “You have already proven yourself to be quite resourceful, and I would be foolish not to make use of your vast experience. Now then,” the heiress added, folding her elegant hands atop her desk. “Was there anything else you wished to discuss?”

“That’s the basis I think” Penny would reply leaning back in her chair a bit. “Anything else would need information we don’t have currently I believe.”

“Just don’t hog Penny all the time…” Dina would then reply. “Magical Dream Princess.”

“I shall do my best not to,” Violet replied with a wry smirk. “And I would ask that you please refrain from referring to me by that name,” the heiress added, her tone becoming slightly pointed. “When I am my mundane self, I would prefer if you simply addressed me as Violet, or Miss Covington, if formality is required. I know that the chances of anyone overhearing this conversation are virtually nonexistent,” she continued, her attention firmly on the regent. “But I would still like to take as few chances as possible, something I am sure you will agree with.”

Giving voice to a small sigh, Violet allowed a smile to slowly return to her face. “You know, I think it shall be a rather exciting prospect to own a news agency,” the heiress mused, rising from her chair and stepping over to one of the portraits on her wall. “My great-grandfather, Cornelius Covington, once owned a very successful newspaper, and the thought of following in his illustrious footsteps fills me with great pride.”

“Well then, let's make the Sanctuary Inquirer worth the effort then shall we?” Penny would add, a confident grin breaking out as she did.

“Yes,” Violet agreed with a grin of her own. “Let’s.”

Dina just nodded sagely, before pondering. She really hoped this wouldn’t do them in like the one known as Eden.

Tiny and the Terminator [Mistress Dizzy & Shifter_Master]

Rather than being offended at being called a jinx the girl just gave a wide toothy grin. “That’s me” She gave an overly dramatic bow, obvious sparks of pink energy trailing after her hand, though they would fizzle out before anything happened. She seemed to feed off the irritation Jinny was giving off but there was also a bit of respect glimmering in her eyes at Jinny being so willing to throw down despite having apparently heard of her.

“I’ll keep to that agreement so long as you do” Jinx would agree, for a moment it felt as if she was going to say something, before she thought better of it. “That’s my room” She would point towards the door further away from the entry. “Stay out of it and I stay out of yours. Also keep the salt in the tub and you bring any mirrors into here the consequences are on your head.” She would go on to add. Her tone was joking, but there was a dark seriousness in the way she delivered those additional rules.

“I’ll be nice and leave my system out here.” Jinx would nod at the games Jinny was looking at. “It survived me; I doubt you’d be able to break it on accident.” She would start sauntering over to the fridge, even as she kept an eye on Jinny. “How do you want to handle the fridge stuff?” She would ask.

Apparently, she wanted to get all the ground rules out of the way right at the start.

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

_{.:⋮Moving Day?⋮:.}

There was an unnoticed sense of relief that flowed through Penny as she closed the door to the Sanctuary behind her. It also came with a sense of satisfaction, she had been worrying away at this particular issue from the moment she returned from the Beach the first time to see the warehouse filled with people already.

She nodded at Ashlyn as she walked further in, the taller girl always found watching the front door relaxing. Even more so if Monica was cooking, though that wasn’t the case at the moment. The Queen would wade her way across the room, returning greetings called to her as she went.

Normally she would have lingered and spent some time with the people she had chosen to protect, but right now she had someone she needed to find and bring the good news too. With that in mind Penny would focus her senses looking for one presence in particular. Dina would like this turn of events, Penny was sure.

Deep down in Dina's chambers, Penny would find that the usual neatness and demure that permeated the Regent’s room was gone in a flurry of chaos and restlessness. Here and there, scattered papers, half-written letters and empty vodka bottles littered the room. Her prized Dream Orb was being used as a paperweight, and she had taken a purification potion out of the usual place, hanging as an odd pick me up, yet still unopened right next to a half finished bottle of spirits.

A single cat maid was doing her best to scrub a waist height stain of wine, alongside a shattered glass against the wall, who bowed in respect before resuming her task. It was safe to say Dina had not had a good day.

A figure stirred underneath crumpled blankets, before letting a small annoyed hiss. “For the last time, churl, I have told you not to disturb me with your brainless Valkyrie antics.” She replied to the footsteps approaching her.

Looking about the room Penny was made uncomfortably aware of just how stressed Dina must be feeling right now. She kinda knew it was bad, but this was the first true look at just how bad. “Remind me to deck Sann next time I see her” Penny would reply to the rude call out, knowing that her voice would be all that was needed to let the Regent know it wasn’t her Valkyrie that had arrived.

“I knew you were stressing over this.” Because honestly who wouldn’t be “But that she let it get this bad without telling anyone is a bit much”

The sheets moved and shuffled slightly, only for a tired cat head to pop out of them, before letting a long drawn sigh. "Sanngridr is not the one at fault for this kind of situation. A regent must be able to keep her poise in public. At least she got that right." Dina would add as she crawled out of her bed, clad in a stylish nightgown.

"Decking her would only make things worse. And despite how she acts, the fact that she serves Odin makes her slightly more aware than anyone in Sanctuary about the situation." She would answer, before grabbing a half finished vodka bottle and emptying in a rather undignified manner.

"What can I do for her Highness?"

Penny would concede that Dina most likely had a point about Sann having a better idea than most about what was coming, same with keeping poise in front of the rest of the Sanctuary, but. “Still think she should have let me know if no one else. It is my responsibility to make sure everyone is doing alright, and that does include you.” She would state before letting the matter drop.

“Either way. I wanted to show you something. It’s been my next location for the Sanctuary for a while, just getting it here has been a pain.” Penny would explain. “Solved that issue a few minutes ago however. Wanted your input on how to set it up and ideas on how to get everyone moved over.”

"You never trusted her, why would she confide anything to you?" Dina would quip. "Well, better news than my call for help. I only got replies from Dan, some crystal entity, Odin… and a certain Romanian gentleman. I told Sanngridr to scour Penrose to get more volunteers as she is among our fastest flyers." She sighed. "Alright, show me…"

“Because she’s supposed to be your varangian.” Penny would return “And I am your queen. Your well being should be her first concern if she is taking her oaths seriously” Which was just one more reason for Penny to be unfriendly towards Sann, but that could be dealt with later. Preferably without fists, as that would likely just encourage her.

“Regardless. It’s a small walk, I currently have it in the bay.” She would go on to explain. “We can head out when you are ready.”

"Varangians are blunt instruments. Would Belladona, even think of reporting to you in the same situation? I think you are reading far too much into this. Sanngridr is not what you think she is." Dina would quip back.

True to what Penny said it wasn’t a far walk, at least not for a pair of magicals, and upon first look there wasn’t anything that Dina would be able to see sitting in the bay. Or at least nothing out of the ordinary. But there was an unmistakable smirk on Penny’s face as she looked at something in the distance.

“Have I ever told you much about the ship I got?” She would ask after a short moment. “It is something I got from a Dragon, by accident.” She would reach over and lay her hand on Dina’s shoulder. “It was something that I knew would help the Sanctuary since I got back from the Beach the first time.” As Penny’s hand touched Dina, the Regent would notice the air in front of them shimmer and suddenly the Earth Bastion would fade into view towering above them.

“What do you think?”

Dina eyed the massive mechanical monstrosity, a twinkle forming in her eyes alongside a purr. "It's wondrous. Truly a fortress."

But it was then when she reigned herself in. "But also a poisoned gift."

"How so?" Penny would ask shifting all her attention to Dina. She wasn't doubting the older cat girl, not with this, but she did want to know what she had overlooked. "The dragon themselves have left Penrose and none of their girls are in town as far as I'm aware." She would explain. "And I'm pretty sure that neither Beacon nor the Mint know I've smuggled it in."

"What am I missing?"

"With this no one in Penrose answers to you. Your position might be stronger than even Cindy in her heyday." Dina tilted her head. "It would draw a lot of attention. Not to mention…"

She trailed off, hesitant of what she was about to say. "I supported you despite your Beacon ties, but… If Beacon wanted, this fortress could easily become a prison, with you as Warden."

Penny mulled over that for a moment. "Is my open ties to Beacon really that detrimental?" She would ask,annoyed. The idea that she would turn the Bastion into a prison was so far off base as to be insulting. She would never, it was contrary to the entire reason she built the Sanctuary.

But she did remember how everyone reacted to her revealing that she was part of Beacon, even though she had never hidden it.

"I wouldn't do that. But would so few of them trust that?"

Dina averted her gaze, as she let the breeze outside sway her hair gently. She looked at her own feet. She did know Penny had delivered up until now. And yet…

"I don't really know." Dina would look. "I do not think your standing has improved that much ever since you took charge. There were advances, but the carnage of the tournament fiasco remains." The Regent would answer truthfully.

“Damn it” Penny would mutter as she removed her hand from Dina’s shoulder and ran it through her own hair, the mighty ship vanishing from Dina’s sight in the same instant. “Do you think asking up front if the rest of the girls would want to move in would help?” Penny was glad that she showed this to Dina privately first, even if it was annoying to learn that the girls at the Sanctuary hadn’t brought up their issues with how she was running it to her.

“I got it here, so it’s not going to be leaving anytime soon, so at the least we will have it for an emergency fallback. But getting everyone moved now would be a lot better.”

"You should make it a briefing." Dina answered, now noticing the tap on her shoulder. Dina's body flinched in response, as she drew apart from Penny. "It would be best, yes but forceful relocation is always traumatic." She eyed Penny. "I will make sure we don't get raided from the Mint again for the time being."

“Point” Penny would say with an absent nod, her mind whiring for a moment on the brief she’d need to set up. As well as a timeline that would work for everyone at the Sanctuary. It was a touch frustrating, but also good to be reminded that not everyone could simply roll with the punches like Penny could.

“Good luck with that.” She would say setting aside enough processing power to deal with the briefing in the background. “I doubt the Mint is going to be as brazen as last time. Though we are lucky they didn’t try anything with the Wendigos, that would have been a nightmare to deal with.”

“Curious as to what your plan is though”

"Penny pinchers and misers. You just grant them Corsair status and point them in the right direction." Dina would say. "It worked for Sir Francis Drake."

“You want to hire the Mint?” Penny would ask slowly, her tone cautious. “Have you done this already or are you meeting the contact later on?” There was a notably calculating look in the queen's eye as she regarded Dina.

"I…took a gamble. For the sake of getting allies fast." Dina answered. "A very dangerous gamble." She admitted as she produced the document with the conditions for Penny to see.

Penny looked over the contract with a wary look. “As much as I hate to say it, you might have been right to do so.” It was a simple thing, the terms that Dina had signed were rather straightforward, but Penny didn’t trust it as much more than a way to open the door further for the Mint. Still, “If they ask, you convince me to leave them alone, but I’m only honoring it until they betray us or Wonderland is taken care of.”

“Normally I’d have not even bothered to humor them, but it seems that politics has the Ascendency ready to simply stand aside and let Wonderland take over.”

Dina looked at Penny, her scowl accentuating. "So much for the Beacon's elite. It seems we are beneath them." Dina sighed. A voice in the back of her mind wanted to raise alarms. "Penny, if you want to take everyone in the Bastion and leave this place, I will not stop you any further."

“If you mean the warehouse I’m a step ahead of you I think,” Penny would return the document to Dina “But if you are talking about leaving Penrose all together I’m not sure I’d be able to leave personally. This city means a fair amount to me, and I’m not willing to simply leave it without putting up any resistance.”

Dina breathed in deep. "Okay." She seemed to have something gnawing at her mind. "Would you walk with me, if you are so kind?"

“Of course” Penny would gesture for Dina to start walking “Lean on and I’ll listen”

"I don't want to die. I am afraid." Dina would bluntly state. "Half of me is screaming to leave this forsaken place already. " She began to walk away. "But…too many people are depending on me." She began to walk away. "Someone has made me an offer. Well, several people. But this person is both worshipped as a hero and reviled as a monster. I got lucky with my monster girl traits. But if I take this offer… it will mean I will become something else."

“If you’re worried about how I will handle that, don’t.” Following alongside the Regent Penny had an understanding look. “I’m much less human than I look, I’ve just gotten lucky that my inhumanity is easily hidden. If you are worried about how it will affect you personally? The Sanctuary still has a few Red coins and a few potions, so we can change things if you need, or at least try. In the end the responsibility we have due to our positions is not worth damaging your sense of self over.”

Dina would just lead Penny into her chambers once more, as Dina dismissed the maid in there and picked up a few letters. "Dan, Odin, Crystal entities… Hera, Volos the god of Earth… and this one." She produced a single letter, with a dragon eating its own tail. "He said he will give me power over the dragons. And unlike Volos, it might be no prank."

In the back of the letter, in elegant words… an ominous name was revealed to Penny. "Vlad III, son of the dragon."

Penny looked at the name on the back of the letter with a bit of awe. “Tepes contacted you?” Penny would ask, though she doubted it could truly be anyone else. She wondered how the man joined the magical world in passing, but more than anything she could see the appeal in his offer. While she doubted that Vlad was still a classical human, he still understood what Penny and Dina stood for, and would be the last person to blanche at what might be needed to defend one's home.

“I can see why they are at the top of the pile.”

"Looks like my birthright still matters in some circles. Zmey Gorynych put a good word for me. And thus how I got Volos and Tepes interested." She admitted. "There is a catch though."

“And what would that be?”

"He will not take a cat for a bride." Dina admitted.

“Ah” Penny would turn silent for a moment, obviously mulling over that bit of information. “That’s really up to you. I’m assuming that the legends about him would be, at least guiding in what you’ll end up as. But I can’t make that choice for you.” She would explain, before giving a shrug. “For me the sticking point would more be the fact that he wants to make it a marriage, but I’m pretty sure that’s more to do with my age than anything.”

"A purification potion and the Orb of Dreams should make it work." Dina admitted."But…in the event I go out of control, I want you to personally take me down." Dina sighed. "It is fine. I had been groomed for this. It arriving 90 years late is of no consequence."

“As long as you’re sure” Penny would prompt one last time. Searching Dina’s face for any sign of uncertainty. “But you have my promise; if you are to lose control I’ll make sure to stop you before you cause any damage.”

"Thank you…" Dina added, before one of the maids arrived at the entrance, obviously frazzled. "Regent! Your Highness! There is trouble at the entrance!"

Penny was more curious than worried at the maid’s sudden entrance. Whatever the trouble was it wasn’t an attack so the queen didn’t see any reason to be worried. “No rest for the wicked” Penny would quip as she started on her way to the entrance, checking only once to see if Dina was going to be following or leaving this to her.

Dina for the most part, frowning, wondering why she was called instead of the guards. When they arrived they had an inkling why. She wasn't really sure but someone had conjured a storm, a literal storm indoors. Here and there, frantic cat minions were trying to avoid getting the papers of a reception guest soggy with various degrees of success. The first reaction besides facepalming was to cover the desk in barriers.

"Well, you people wanted me to know what I am capable of, so here you go you fucks! Hah!"

A certain pink dragon girl was at the center of the ruckus, her gaze directed at the desk.

Penny would take a quick look at the minor chaos going on and would hold back a snort. Noting the barriers that Dina put up, Penny would let out a sharp whistle to gather everyone's attention.

Her presence would suddenly demand attention as she strode forward, some of the rain being to swirl about her as she went. "Please don't torment the maids." Penny would state calmly as she walked over to the dragon girl. "They do so much for us, the least you can do is be polite."

"Oh, you the boss of this place, swiss knife-chan? And the neko-baba too. Just tell these nekos to set me up. Isn't this the Monster Syndicate or something?" said the dragon girl while Dina was making a very strange face of repressed anger.

“Sakura?” Penny would ask, a touch surprised at the drastic change in appearance from the last time she had seen the other girl. She wouldn’t let that surprise distract her too much however. “We are closer to a refuge than a syndicate, only me and Dina have much say in how things go.” She’d explain. “And we can easily get you settled if you need it. Mind calling off the storm cloud?”

Sakura huffed, as if proud of herself. "I am turning into a dragon. Cool huh?" She said as she dismissed her own power. "I'm even immortal or something like that! So what do I get? A pile of treasure to sleep?"

It was then, when Dina offered a polite smile as she approached. "We can manage something close to such tastes." The cat girl would add, her tail swishing uncontrollably.

Sakura didn't have time to react when Dina struck the mighty dragoness on her face with a mighty slap.

<<"You stupid asshole">> She would say in Sakura's own tongue. <<"Bow down and show some respect">>

"Oi you-"

Slap.

Dina did it again, her face a scowl, before Sakura reluctantly bowed down.

"It's a start." The Russian former noble answered. "You shall serve me as my handmaiden. You don't have enough training and finesse to even attempt to be a regal dragon."

Penny hadn’t yet bothered to go and compile an understanding of any other language, so the short stint of Japanese went over her head. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t catch the gist. She turned a sharp look on Dina and raised an eyebrow. “Why exactly are you browbeating a newcomer into being your handmaiden?” She would ask calmly. Her calm tone belaying the anger that spiked though her at the seeming abusive action of her Regent.

Dina's bluster would be evident. "Well, would you let a 65 yr old crook under a deceptive appearance loose on the Sanctuary girls? She was an old Yakuza prior to this." Dina said, not bothering to hide her distaste for Sakura.

Penny’s eyebrow didn’t lower, but the edge of her look did relent. “Yes.” Came her answer, annoyance in place of anger. “My second friend I made in Penrose was a 67 year old convict who embraced the new life as a second chance.” And she did miss Janet, but she was never sure if she should put up something for her in the memorial or not. She was gone, but she wasn’t exactly dead. It was difficult to categorize.

“Everyone deserves a space where they can be safe, even if that means from others' expectations.” Penny would go on to say. “Besides, most of the girls here can take care of themselves, and if not I am not afraid of standing in for them if they need it.” Her recriminations lacked true heat. Penny was annoyed, but she could see where Dina was coming from.

“Sakura.” She’d turn back to the now dragon girl, “You're free to stay here for as long as you need, and you don’t have to do anything to earn that. If you want to work with Dina, that’s your choice.” She’d say gently. “And only your choice.”

Dina's patience would be tested as the dragon girl in a fast fluid movement, hung her arm around Dina's shoulders, completely destroying her personal space. The poise of a noblewoman and the irated face of a cat about to bite were coexisting on her face.

"Well you heard Swiss Knife-sama. We should get along, Neko-chan. I'm her friend." She cheered with a lawyer's smile."I am sorry for your loss though…come to think of it, my bust is bigger than yours."

It was at this point that Dina extricated herself and began to walk away. "I will be in my room, your Highness." She said.

“Have a good evening, Regent.” Penny would call out to her as Dina left. “And let me know if there is to be a ceremony.” She’d add before turning her attention onto Sakura, a look of disappointment appearing on her face.

“Did I not tell you to be polite just a moment ago?” She'd ask, her voice echoing over to Dina even as the cat girl ostensibly left earshot. “I mean being abrasive to the staff is bad enough, but Dina’s the one who hired them, not me, if you want to get poor service keep it up.”

"I was being polite! When I hear that queenly voice I imagine a tall lady, not a neko loli baba!" Sakura would reply before a sharp pain made her wince."Ow!" She saw one of the maids scamper off after kicking her tail.

"Everyone is being a jerk lately! I fisted Card Liner Piston Cereal just like her sister Juice Tin! And everyone got mad because she was a child! She is not!"

“Physical based discrimination is a lot more common to Monster girls.” Penny would say, not remarking in the least about Sakura getting kicked in the tail by the maid. “And not everyone gets an appearance that they enjoy. Dina’s older than all of us here, far as I can tell anyway. She was a nobility back when she was human. Might be again here soon as a matter of fact.”

“As for the other parts of everyone being jerks, who is Juice and Card?” She would ask, tilting her head a bit in curiosity. She figured those were nicknames, but that did nothing to help her actually narrow down who Sakura was talking about.

"The titty leech! Vice Cereal! Or was it Vicky Real?"

“Von Viceral?” Penny would ask, though she figured that was right. Or at least Penny wasn’t aware of another set of sisters in Penrose other than Justine and Caroline. “My best guess on that end is that you ran afoul of the Crimson Cradle. Justine is a member of theirs now, though I’ve not got a full idea of how that happened.”

“Were you able to take Caroline out for good or did they interfere?”

“I just gave her a good smacking but everyone said she was going to die, including Green-chan and Bunbun-chan, and then the weirdo-chan with the black wings healed us all, so I kinda left. Juice even thanked me for stopping her sister or something. There was Ronin there. And the copy.” Sakura would add.

“Yeah, it sounds like the cradle was trying to capture Caroline for Justine.” Which was a really rapid response plan for them, but then again their memory network would make such plans easy for them to formulate at the drop of a hat.

“Not exactly sure who weirdo-chan is, but I’m guessing you might run into her around her if I’m guessing correctly.” Penny would say. “She’ll try and provoke a fight out of you, if you go with it stick to the gym and no lethal hits.”

“Ronin and Miko make it out of there alright?”

"I think they did. That Sanwhatever, weirdo-chan, kept them close." Sakura added. "I mean I don't like hitting girls but then again I could use a few challenges."

Yup, weirdo-chan was Sann. “She’s a valkyrie and a follower of Odin. Combat is kind of her thing.” Penny would explain.

“You want the tour, or are you good just exploring by yourself?” Penny would ask. Normally there was a third option of having one of the maid’s to give them the tour, but Penny doubted that any of them wanted to deal with Sakura at the moment.

"Can I get the cow lady? She seemed nice." Sakura would add.

“Monica’s not one to give tours” Penny would remark “But if she’s in the kitchen she’d be willing to make you some food if you're hungry.” She’d half turn in her explanation “We can go see if she’s there and ask at the least.”

Sakura just chuckled to herself, muttering something about mama-sans and drinks. But she seemed to be content with just…finding her way out and and about.

“If you want drinks you're going to want to talk to Ashlyn.” Penny would say “She’s the one with the stash. I’ll introduce you so she knows you’re good for it.” She’d add as she turned to guide the way, afterwards she’d leave Sakura to her own. There was plenty of stuff to take care of in the Sanctuary after all, even without everyone moving just yet.

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

&

Roxanna

_{.:⋮Belated Welcoming⋮:.}

Penny kept her gaze on the horizon as contemplated her next course of action. It had been a few days since the Wendigo attacks and she had found herself with a rare open block of time. Nothing needed her direct attention and she had no plans for the moment. She mulled going and seeing how Alex and Lily were, it had been a long time since they had a chance to simply hangout afterall, but that thought brought her to another person instead.

Roxanna.

Penny hadn’t had the chance to actually talk to the other girl before the group had broken up and went their different ways, but she had exchanged numbers. So seeing as she had time, she decided to give the girl a call. Penny had plenty of reasons to check in on the new girl, Beacon responsibilities, Sanctuary responsibilities, Queen responsibilities. But it mainly came down to the fact that Penny liked to help people, and she had a feeling that Roxanna was new to Penrose.

On the outskirts of Penrose, where a quick walk was all that was required to leave behind the works of man and find oneself in the midst of nature itself, Roxanna unplugged her phone charger from the public terminal and started to walk back to her tent in the camp grounds. It wasn’t the most luxurious or comfortable of homes; the tent itself had enough blankets, pillows and cheap camping mattresses to try and combat the cold that she felt like a caterpillar making a cocoon everytime she got into it… but it was for the foreseeable future home.

Without really any plans for the night beyond checking out the app on her phone to see what kind of critters and beasts needed their skulls smashed in… if they had skulls… Roxanna was slightly surprised as her phone started ringing. Not recognizing who’s number it actually was since… Well, she hadn’t gotten around to listing names for everyone who she had gotten the number of a week ago, she took a deep breath as she hit the answer button and responded “Hi, this is Roxanna. Who’s this?”

"Hey Roxanna, this is Penny." Penny would answer "We traded numbers back in the aftermath of the mass Wendigo attack. I wanted to both check in on you and thank you." She was quick to explain. "I live not far from that attack with a few other girls and you being there helped them get away alive from the sounds of things."

Even though they were having the conversation over the phone, Roxanna’s tone betrayed the fact that she was bashfully reaching up to scratch the back of her head. “Aww, you don’t have to do that. I like helping people… Hell, I didn’t even know that there was anyone in danger in the area at the time, but I’m glad to hear they’re doing alright.”

Pausing for a moment, Rox was quick to add “By the way, have you checked out some of the jobs on the app lately?”

"All the more reason to thank you." Penny would reply. "And no, I've not really had time either. Penrose is a madhouse at the best of times, and I've got a number of responsibilities on top of that." Beacon, Sanctuary, and personal projects all took time. And Penny needed to sleep one of the three would likely have to be cut.

"Anything interesting pop up?"

There was a slight click of the tongue on Roxanna’s end as she answered “Hard to say. I’m kind of new to Penrose so I don’t know what’s interesting, weird or day to day here. But I saw a job about helping a girl who seems to be dealing with the mental backlash of some kind of haunted house… Maybe my own psychic abilities can help her.” There was a small pause, likely Roxanna shrugging her shoulders as she asked “What are you up to?”

Penny kept her satisfied smirk to herself. She had assumed that Rozanna was new to Penrose for a few reasons, but being right was still nice. “I really hope this isn’t the prelude to a rise of hauntings.” She would say with a groan instead “I had to exorcize a school a few weeks ago due to a ghosting calling gone really bad.”

“And I’m not really up to much at the moment.” She would answer. “I’m patrolling I guess” Which was true enough after a fashion. “Oh! Since you're new in town you’ve likely not found Brittney’s shop yet have you?” Penny would ask “It’s an artifact shop for the most part, but they do have more mundane things in stock as well. Easily one of the best places to shop for the Maho here.”

“Oh? Where do I find it?” Roxanna asked, a degree of curiosity in their voice as they took a seat at the front of their tent.

“She’s got her store set up just off of Jackson’s and Summer street.” Penny would answer. “Give me a sec” A moment later Roxanna’s phone would receive a pair of texts. One was a map pin of where Brittney’s show was located. The other was a picture of Penny herself waving. “There we go.”

The second picture couldn’t help but get a small, playful smirk. “Thank you for that. If there is anything Penrose has going for it, the presence of so many beautiful girls makes it amazing.”

“I know what you mean” Penny would reply “It feels like the only karmic balance in the city sometimes.” Not that Penny actually disliked the chaos of Penrose most days. Though she figured that had more to do with her monstrous nature more than anything. “In the interest of full disclosure, I do have a girlfriend, but this city is honestly filled with beauties.”

“You can normally find a few girls loitering around Penrose central.” Penny would go on to say, another pin popping up on Roxanna’s phone as she did. “It’s the closest to a completely neutral zone as you can find here. East side of the city is more Beacon, but you can find them all over the place since they’ve got teleporters. The west side is understood to be the Sanctuary’s domain, but they are pretty relaxed so long as you don’t stir up trouble intentionally.”

“...Forgive me for sounding silly but… what exactly is the Sanctuary?” Roxanna asked, slightly embarrassed.

“It’s not silly.” Penny would counter, her smug grin not translating over to the phone at all. “The Sanctuary is a Penrose exclusive thing as far as I know. And it’s what it sounds like; The Sanctuary is an open sanctuary for anyone who needs it. It’s a home and refuge, free of charge and expectation.”

“It tends to cater more towards the more corrupted members, Monstergirls and Dark magicals. But that's more because we don’t have as many people looking out for us, or at least we tend to have more people actively out to abuse us. That said, The Sanctuary doesn’t turn anyone away. Not if they need the help.”

There were a few moments of silence from Roxanna’s side of the phone… before something of an amused puff of air escaped her nose with a distant ‘I’ll tell her’ before she spoke directly into the phone again. “Sorry, my patron was just talking to me for a moment. He wanted me to inform you that they are proud of the work you do Penny. Not the magical girl side of things, but your work with the Sanctuary. Ideally the world would be filled with people willing to offer the disenfranchised and abandoned comfort and respect because humanity is only as grand as it treats the least of its members. Even if you didn’t know it, there are powers that admire the work you do.”

“That being said…” Roxanna continued with some amusement “They haven’t actually told me what kind of work you and the Sanctuary does because they felt like I was better off asking you that question.”

‘Welp, busted I suppose’ Penny would think to herself as she dropped her face into her hand. She couldn’t blush, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel the phantom sensation of an embarrassed one on her face.

“Fair enough, since I built the place.” Penny would reply, her tone a tad bashful “And my first patron was a near forgotten deity. So while I don’t know who your patron is, I’m aware that there are all sorts out there.”

“As I said, the Sanctuary is open for anyone who needs it. We offer shelter, food, protection and solace.” She’d explain a bit more in detail “I’m working on finding a way of being able to employ some of the girls who live there so that I can pay them. Setting up a scholarship program with the Overcity college has been another idea that I’ve been tossing around as well.”

“Honestly I’m just trying to give all of them a way to get their life in order, and a safe, stable place to fall back to if they need it.” Her voice was wistful as she spoke. “My first six months in the magical world wasn’t pleasant, my patron was a prime asshole, but I have the capability now to make it better for those that get dropped into here. So I am.”

Roxanna… couldn’t help but smile a little as she listened to Penny saying her piece. “...I admit my patron has gone by a few different names over the eons, but as of late he has been going by the name Socialism. I might be speaking for him just a little Penny but you’re the exact kind of person that he adores and believes brings out the best in humanity… and I would love to help you do that.”

There was a slight pause… before she glanced around at her tent before saying “I mean… if you’ll have me. I don’t want to impose or anything…”

“Do you need me to repeat the part of everyone being welcome?” Penny would ask and Roxanna could almost swear she could feel the look Penny had to be sending her from her phone.

“Many hands make even mountains small” Penny would go on to say. “I welcome any help you wish to offer. And even if there isn’t anything you can do, the door is open anyway.” Another map pin would follow that declaration.

“Okay then… I guess I’ll see you there soon then.” Roxanne offered after a few moments.

"I'll meet you there." Penny would retort before ending the call. Seems she had found something to do after all.

Tiny and the Terminator [Mistress Dizzy & Shifter_Master]

Slade watched with a keen eye as Jinny treasured the necklace. It pleased him to know that he’d made a good choice all that time ago. “Not a mess up. Or at least not a critical one. You told only the truth when she asked, even if it wasn’t the truth to her question.” He would say after a moment of his own. “They know your mother was trained, but not the truth of what happened to her yet. Plenty of room for you to use it as a distraction.” He’d explain.

Slade would quietly follow along after Jinny on the way to her dorm. It was a quieter trip than earlier, in the fact that less people were gawking. Wither it was the novelty had worn off or that people were simply more professional down here was anyone’s guess.

Never the less Slade was memorizing the route as they walked, Jinny was in a rare circumstance of knowing more than he did in this instance as he had yet to see below ground. He was suitably impressed by most everything. The coloring scheme was likely always going to be a point of contention however.

Jinny would enter her dorm room and the first thing that she would be able to note is that it looked like her roommate had already made themselves at home. There were little nick-nacks scattered about the living room already. A bright purple throw pillow on the couch, that wasn't a standard issue. A massive intricate dream catcher was hung up on the wall. And an Incense burner sitting on the table, an incense already burning in it as well giving the place an earthy aroma.

As they looked around, the sound of a shower in one of the rooms could be faintly heard. Informing the both of them that the other tenant was already in as well.

Slade would let out a contemplative hum, before turning to Jinny. “I’ll go your luggage and have it sent down.” Slade would say aloud eyes and ears cast to the occupied bedroom. “We can workout when your training will take place once we’ve gotten our schedules. Which should be finalized by the morning.” He would explain just in time for them to hear the shower shut off.

With one last nod, and a gentle pat on the shoulder, Slade quietly slipped away. A teacher might care to know where one’s student lived, but not one of Slade’s reputations. That would be something that needed to be worked on, finding time for them to have outside of training.

That left Jinny alone in her new dorm. Not entirely alone, but still.

Poking around she would find more personal things tucked away in the cabinets, plates with kittens on them, a large box of protein bars, and an exquisite set of cooking knives that were both well used and well maintained.

Over in the living room area there was a handful of movies, mostly slasher vids, with a few cheesy action movies as well. There was a beat to all hell game station, an older model that seemed held together with duct tape and spite. With a small collection of games, JRPGs mainly.

It was while Jinny was looking at the games, she would hear a voice from behind her, one she recognized.

“Fuck”

Turning around Jinny would once again be treated to a young lithe girl. One with gray skin and bright pink hair. She was wearing much less formal clothes now, a tank top and a long pair of shorts, both a faded purple.

She currently had her face in her hand, obviously having already recognized Jinny. “I can’t tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing.” Jinx muttered to herself. Before lifting her head out of her hand to meet Jinny’s eyes.

“Guess this means we are roommates then?”

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

So, now that we've got a banner, do you think Plat will actually remember who I am?

I wouldn't bet on it.

-Kate and Nykannis

The Over City was a vast, strange, and at times inhospitable place. Especially if you went looking for such places. And this was just such a location, a vast sprawling sandy wasteland occasionally broken up by pools and rivers of runoff muck.

The soft crunch of sand under foot was the only sound for miles and the source of those footsteps was one of the only bits of life that was present. Not that Penny particularly cared for this location. She knew that it was a dumping ground for the more populated parts of the Over City. She was here because it was empty, and because it was empty there was no one here.

A good place for the meeting that was now due. A quick check in with Snoopy, who was happily floating about the robot girl's head, and she sent off the coordinates to this little bit of nowhere.

There was a crackling of yellow-green energy as the dimensional fabric was rent asunder. Two rather diminutive figures stepped through the resulting tear, which swiftly closed once their passage was complete. “Nice place,” Nykannis remarked as she took a quick look at their desolate surroundings. “I trust it’ll ensure we won’t be disturbed by any uninvited guests?”

Meanwhile, Kate greeted Penny with a peace sign and an easy-going grin. “Hey, Penny. Thanks for letting me tag along.”

Penny would nod her own greeting to Kate in return, appreciating the relaxed girl's atmosphere. “It’s also so I don’t have to worry about collateral.” Penny would say to Nykannis “Either on touchdown or if I feel like demonstrating any of the weapon systems. As the Earth Bastion is rather massive.”

“Feel free to set up some sensors before I call it if you want.” Penny would go on to say. Their deal for the Mirror fell through so Penny was willing to be a bit more forthcoming at the moment.

“Oh, I was planning on it,” Nykannis replied with a smirk. A moment later, several swarms of nanites shot forth from the mad scientist’s open palm to take up position at regularly spaced intervals around the perimeter of the area. Once in place, they coalesced into a series of bizarre, glowing, multi-eyed sensor clusters, each crowned with a wild profusion of trans and sub etheric detection antennas, spy ray projector dishes, miniature crystalline pyramids of unfathomable function, and several frenetically spinning and fluctuating protrusions of technomystic gadgetry that defied easy description. “There,” Nykannis declared with a satisfied grin. “Now, shall we begin? I gotta say, I’m really interested to see if this little toy of yours is as amazing as I’ve heard it is.”

“Well let me know if it lives up to the hype” Penny would say with clear amusement. She was always vastly curious as to what the rumors about her said, since no one wanted to tell her themselves. Still she would turn her gaze skyward as she reached inward to the undeniable connection she had with her ship.
“Coordinates locked and uploaded.” She would intone softly as a sudden and massive thunderstorm materialized above them from nowhere. Without further warning a gargantuan bolt of lightning would strike down behind Penny and somewhere between the flash of light and the crack of thunder the towering form of the Earth Bastion would manifest, the ground rumbling from the impact.

The Tank ship easily dwarfed everyone here, as it stood hundreds of feet tall. Easily casting its shadow over all of them if not for the sun being directly overhead. Without any obvious action on Penny part the front loading ramp would drop open, the lip of it missing Penny by scant millimeters.

“So.” She would say smugly. “Ready for the tour?”

Kate whistled in approval and Nykannis grinned broadly as the Earth Bastion made its dramatic appearance. “You better believe it,” the mad scientist replied when asked if she was ready to take the tour. “I gotta admit, that was a pretty impressive entrance, Penny. I’ll bet this thing could make even a Bolo jealous. Come on, Kate,” she instructed. “Let’s take a look at what’s inside…”

“Right behind ya,” Kate acknowledged after snapping a quick picture. “Nice landship, Penny,” she told the robotic girl. “So, uh, was this a gift from your patron, or were you lucky enough to just find it somewhere?”

“Neither” Penny would answer as she followed her way up the ramp, her feet partially melding into the ship with each step leaving her gait oddly soundless. “I stole it. Or inherited it. Depends on how you look at it.” She would go on to explain.

“It originally belonged to a Magical girl by the name of Amber back in Penrose. I only met her a time or two, and our first meeting was when her ship, the Sky Bastion, was taken out by the Ebon mint. Which was a problem because there had been plans to use the Sky Bastion to assault the base of a crazed Dark magical girl to stop their ritual to eliminate Love in the name of their Horror Patron. The gathering of Magicals who were opposed to the crazy all pitched in to help rebuild the Sky Bastion however. With more than a few Patrons pitching in as well. That is how we got the Earth Bastion.” Penny would gesture to the ship around them at that, as the Earth Bastion’s engines roared to life in response.

“Amber and her Patron, A gold dragon, still owned the ship at that point though. It wasn’t until during the assault that I obtained ownership. It was during a fight with one of the castle’s guards. I was assimilating the ship to get more material to work with at the same time that Amber was killed. She didn’t enter the cycle though, she got out either by her own means or her Patron abandoning her I don’t know exactly. But the timing of it means I took over the connection to the Ship at the same time her’s snapped.”

“I’ve a few theories as to why the connection stayed solid even after things settled down, but magically I’m not sure the mecanicas behind how it happened.” Penny would shrug a bit as she looked around at the ship in appreciation. The loading ramp they had used led into a large cargo hold. Which Penny knew was the largest of three located within the Earth Bastion. Originally this cargo bay was empty, but now it housed a small contingent of additional vehicles. None as impressive as the Earth Bastion itself, but still useful.

“Where are you most interested in poking around?” Penny would ask as the loading ramp closed behind them. “Earth Bastion is military in design so most of the rooms are going to be rather samey. And I mean besides the Engine room, because that’s obvious.”

“Wow, Penny, that’s pretty ballsy,” Kate observed with an amused chuckle. “Aren’t you afraid that Amber’s patron might, uh, try to take it back?”

“Of course she isn’t,” Nykannis answered before Penny could give a reply. “She’s Penny Asimov, the most powerful being in Penrose, and quite possibly this entire reality plenum, considering she’s got the favor of the Grand Magistrate himself. You’d have to be totally nuts, or incredibly suicidal, to even think about doing something like that.” Looking around the cargo hold, the mad scientist nodded in approval. “I think the bridge, or wherever it is you interface with the ship from, is the most important stop,” she replied when Penny asked the mad scientist what she’d like to see first. “After all, that’s where I’ll need to go when it comes time to give this thing the upgrade I promised. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Engine room. I want to see exactly where this baby gets all its power from…”

“I’m actually surprised that they never accosted me about it if I’m honest.” Penny would correct as she started to lead them deeper into the Earth Bastion. “But last I heard the dragon left Penrose. So I’m not sure I’ll hear from them again.” She would give a shrug, not entirely surprised that Sue left, but still surprised that she hadn’t gotten more flack over her taking of the Earth Bastion.

The engine room was nestled deep within the ship. Lower down and near the aft, It took a sizable chunk of space altogether. It was however a magitech marvel. The power source was a massive crystalian object that seemed to be constructed out of condensed mana. Magic was siphoned off of it and converted into electricity that was both stored in massive capacitors that lined the room, and directed to the generators that ringed the Crystal.

The Crystal didn’t seem to be depleting at all from the siphoning either, it was regenerating itself at the same rate it was being depleted. Effectively making it a perpetual motion machine at this base output.

“A self-sustaining, sempiternal metaphysical aetheric numiosphere accelerator matrix, huh? Very nice,” Nykannis commended. “But then, I expected nothing less. Question- At what point will the rate of energy consumption outpace the rate of replenishment? If I’m going to add in all the improvements I have in mind, I need to know if this thing will be up to the task of meeting the energy requirements. Otherwise, I’ll just have to upgrade it, too,” she added with a grin.

“It’ll keep pace up to all systems running eighty percent max output. Propulsion, Weapons, Scanners, Life support, Shields & Communications. Even then it is capable of sustained output at that level for half a day. Maxing out all systems will degrade that time down to about six hours. Combat configuration depends on the firepower of the opposition, but in theory equal force could deplete it in three. Assuming that things aren’t optimized on the go.” Penny would explain. She knew that the Earth Bastion was a frighteningly potent ace, but it was that same potency that made it so difficult for her to fully make use of. It was too big, and too specialized for day to day use in Penrose, and situations that allowed for its usage were few and far between.

“If you do need to upgrade it, I’ll need you to either walk me through the upgrades or hand over a manual so I can maintain it. I understand how it works now, not sure that would be the same after you got done.”

“Sounds like I’ll need to upgrade the engine, too,” Nykannis observed. “And don’t worry,” she added with a chuckle. “You can fully interface with the Earth Bastion now, right? Well, you’ll still be able to do so after I’ve finished making my improvements. Once you do that, you’ll have full knowledge of its new capabilities, although maintaining it won’t be a problem. Once I’m through, it’ll be fully capable of maintaining itself indefinitely. But if it makes you feel better, you’ll still be able to do it yourself, should you want to take a more ‘hands on’ approach.”

“Mainly just worried about not being able to understand it” Penny would admit without a problem. “I’ve seen what kind of math you can take advantage of after all.” The data cube she had gotten from Nykannis on Christmas still made her head spin. “Still let me know if I can help. As you guessed correctly, I can interface with the ship.” And was partially interfaced with it right now as a matter of fact.

“Well, I’ll try to use small words and provide plenty of visual aids,” Nykannis replied with a smirk. “As for how you can help, once we reach the bridge, I’d like you to give me full access to the Earth Bastion’s systems. See, I like to take a hands on approach, myself,” she explained. “It won’t take more than half a second, but I’ll need have complete control over the process in order to ensure the upgrades are integrated properly.”

Penny would hesitate at that. Not because there was anything particularly valuable hidden within the Earth Bastion's systems. It wasn’t even a matter of trust. It was because the Earth Bastion was Penny’s, one of the few things that was truly hers. And handing it over like that, even if it wasn’t truly handing it over at all, wasn’t something she wanted to do. “Alright.” She’d say after her moment of pause. The upgrades to the ship were necessary after all. And she’d be able to sweep the Earth Bastion herself afterwards to double and triple check everything was on the up and up.

“What can you tell me about the upgrades right now?” She’d move on, “Engine upgrades are easily understandable, but I’ve not had a chance to poke around a S.E.P. generator before.”

“Oh, I’m planning on adding a LOT more than just the S.E.P field generator,” Nykannis replied with a maniacal grin. “There’s the transdimensional teleportation system, of course, and the full suite of stealth systems: holographic masking, phasing cloak, perception filter, and so forth, but I was also thinking of improving the Earth Bastion’s offensive and defensive capabilities as well. Y’know, crank ‘em up to 11²³ out of a possible 5. And while I’m at it, I think I’ll increase this thing’s mobility as well,” she added thoughtfully. “I’ll give it full counter-grav capability, along with the fastest STL and FTL engines you’ve ever seen. By the time I’m done, you’ll have to call this the Star Bastion!”

That. Was a lot more than Penny was expecting. And honestly she was a little worried about all of that being added to the Earth Bastion. And really she had only two things to say to that. “I’ve still got the remnants of the Sky engine that used to make the ship fly when it was the Sky Bastion.” Was the first thing that came from her. Rather nonchalantly as well. "Might be helpful for you."

“Yeah, that’ll definitely come in handy,” Nykannis agreed. “It’s always nice to have a starting point.”

“And why all the upgrades?” Was the next, much more curious. And wary, though that was hidden, it seemed like a vast, vast over payment from what they originally hashed out. That made Penny worried.

“Why not?” Nykannis replied with a smirk. “You should know by now that I don’t do half measures. When I take on a project, I take it all the way.”

“Queen of the Mad Sciences” Penny would remind herself softly after a moment of mulling over the response given to her. It made sense, Nykannis was the type to go all out simply because she could from what Penny had experienced. Plus, it probably helped that Nykannis was likely trying to get in Penny’s good books as well, the Mechanical girl hadn’t forgotten what it was Nykannis wanted from her originally after all.

“Fair enough” She would acknowledge with a nod. Penny would still recheck everything, but she’d take the gift as well. “And I’d be willing to rechristen it if you want. Your upgrades might make it more a new ship than anything else after all.” She’d offer up “Because from the sounds of it the only issue I’ll have to deal with when you are done is limited space.”

“Limited space?” Nykannis echoed, seeming somewhat perplexed. “Why would that be an issue? When I’m done, this thing’ll be a lot bigger, plus it’ll have access to multiple pocket dimensions for additional storage. You’ll be able to fit ten copies of your little homeless shelter inside and still have room to spare!”

“I should have known” Penny would reply with a sigh, though she was smiling as well. She had confirmation now that, even if Nykannis hadn’t thought of the space thing before she had now. Which was useful. A tad bit worrying, as it was a lot of space to suddenly have access to. She’d be able to monitor everything well enough, but it did seem like the Sanctuary was growing a lot faster than she had been planning for.

She guessed that she’d just have to keep up as best she could.

“Anything else you want to take a look at before we head to the command deck?” She’d pose to her guests. She was getting a lot from this, so best to pay back what she could now.

“Nah,” Nykannis replied with a dismissive wave. “Once I interface with the Earth Bastion, I’ll know everything I want to know about it and then some,” She added. “I don’t suppose you have internal teleporters installed yet, so lead the way.”

“So, uh, you mentioned that a few Patrons actually helped out with upgrading this thing in the past,” Kate spoke up as they made their way to the bridge. “Anybody I might know?” she asked with a grin.

“Hard to say” Penny would answer Kate as she led the way to the command deck. “The original Dragon helped out, as well as two gods. Neither god is well documented either, so unless you’ve been hiding out in Penrose long not sure if you’ve heard of them before.” She’d explain. “Most of the work was done by magical girls however, so if you consider that as an avenue of help everyone from Mint to Beacon had a hand in helping out with it.”

“The Dragon’s name was Boteg, one of the gods is called The Cleansing Sun” She’d shrug, They still have magicals out there so might be able to learn more about them if you go looking.

“Huh, can’t say I’ve heard of that particular deity,” Kate admitted. “But if memory serves, Boteg used to own the Golden Trove hotel, right?”

“Yeah,” Nykannis confirmed. “Before he had the good sense to get the fuck out of Penrose. Still, this thing sure has one hell of a pedigree, though I suppose it’s not too surprising for something belonging to the Queen of Penrose and the Grand Magistrate’s personal favorite.”

“Pretty sure he left due to learning that there were other gold dragons out there somewhere. Word has it Boteg was originally operating under the assumption that he was the last one left.” Penny would add.

“What I’d love to know is how the heck you managed to get all those various groups to work together in the first place,” Kate observed. “I mean, I’ve manipulated a few high profile individuals before, but that’s way more impressive than anything I’ve ever done.”

“And you are giving me far too much credit.” Penny would rub the back of her neck as they walked. “I had nothing to do with getting everyone together. It was a mix of circumstances as far as I can tell. Mint operations and Horror plots crashed into each other with a majority of Penrose natives right in the middle of it.” It was a fluke from Penny’s perspective, a stroke of luck that probably saved Penrose at the end, but still only luck.

“If anyone should get credit, it would be Lily Lightning. She was actively trying to get people together to take on one of the Horror plots. Without her I doubt as many people would have been there when the Sky Bastion was taken out.” Penny wasn’t even in the driver seat back then.

“I was just in the right place at the right time to profit from it all”

“So, basically, you just got lucky?” Kate observed. “Man, I wish I had that kinda good fortune,” she added with a chuckle.

“Hey, you know me,” Nykannis shot back. “Thanks to that, you have the most powerful camera in the omniverse, and the opportunity to take pictures of incredibly amazing stuff, like the Earth Bastion, here. What more do you want?”

“Relax, I was only messin’ around,” Kate told her, clearly enjoying the sight of the mad scientist getting riled up. “I still think you’re the most interesting person in the omniverse,” she added as she put her arm around Nykannis’s shoulder. “But Penny’s definitely a close second.”

“You’d have to be a complete moron to not think that,” Nykannis replied with a snort. “She’s clearly the most amazing individual in this entire reality plenum, outside of yours truly, of course. And Kate does have a point,” she added, addressing the Mechanical Monarch. “It’s precisely because you have that kind of luck, that I find you so incredibly fascinating. So don’t for a moment think that getting all those different factions to contribute, willingly or not, was just ‘something that happened’. It happened the way it did because you were the one it happened to. You’re special, Penny, far more than you realize. Then again,” she added with a sigh. “Perhaps it’s best if you don’t dwell too deeply on that. Lesser minds have a hard time coming to terms with the full implications of what that path leads them too. I don’t currently know if your mind is strong enough to handle such knowledge or not, but, well, just look at Oros. Do you seriously want to risk winding up like her?”

Penny would give a visible shudder. “No thank you. Talking to Find and Replace was more than enough.” Oros was plenty of warning enough about the dangers of knowing too much. “That said, I am aware, to a degree, of my unique situation. Though how deep it goes is more than I’m aware of. If what you are implying is true. But it’s impossible for me to miss, even if it wasn’t for my ability to sense the metaphorical weight of something.There is a long string of impressive coincidences in my recent history.” She would restrain from adding a gesture to the Earth Bastion and adding ‘Like here and now’ because this did seem like another one to her. Though it wasn’t quite the same degree as the others.

“I’m grateful for the windfalls, but viewing it as simply luck means I’m less likely to assume that it will keep happening for when it stops.” She’d expand. “Plus I truly don’t know why some of the things happened, so luck is easier to tell people.”

“That’s fair, I suppose,” Nykannis conceded. “I mean, who knows? Maybe the only reason you’re getting placed upon such a lofty pinnacle is so that it will hurt all the more when something comes along and knocks you off it. Not that I think something like that is gonna happen, mind you,” she added. “Just that it’s a possibility. Trust me, I know from painful experience…”

“I’m not surprised to hear that.” Penny would say, somewhat subdued by the implication that everything that had happened to her was just a prelude to a personal fall. It was unsettling, because she couldn’t fully discount it.

Regardless, before the conversation could continue they would arrive at the Command deck. It was one of the highest points on the Earth Bastion and was a large seemingly empty room with floor to ceiling windows spanning every wall of the room. In a traditional location the panoramic view would give a rather breathtaking view of everything around, but seeing as they were in a wasteland it was rather unimpressive.

“Welcome to the Command Deck” Penny would say as they stepped into the room, and with a gesture dozens upon dozens of monitors and control interfaces would meld out of the floor as the glass walls shrank and were replaced with smaller less structurally weak ones to make room for some of the computers that rose up.

“These stations monitor the various different sectors of the Earth Bastion, with the more important ones being located closer to the center.” She’d explain “That one is the central command and is connected to everything” A gesture towards a notably larger bank not far in front of the group.

“Nice,” Nykannis noted with a grin. “So, with your permission, I’ll just plug in and get to work,” she added as she made her way over to the central command console and rested a hand upon it.

Penny sent a long look at the central console, and to a normal outside observer that was all she was doing. But in truth, she was withdrawing from the internal systems of the Earth Bastion. It was a slow process, relatively speaking, as she was making sure to scrub as much of her own traces from the computers. She knew that she’d not be able to remove everything, some part of her was too intrinsically tied to the ship, but that didn’t mean she had to make it easy for the mad scientist.

Penny was also taking her time as she still didn’t feel comfortable letting go of the Earth Bastion in such a way. But for the Sanctuary, she was willing to risk it.

“System is open” She would say at last, though it was the work of a minute at most. “You are free to get on with the Daft Punk”

Nykannis grinned maniacally, her smile stretching from ear to ear as her eyes seemed to shimmer with a crazed gleam. “Harder, better, faster, stronger like you wouldn’t believe!” the Monarch of Mad Science confirmed. “I’m gonna plus ultra the SHIT outta this thing! Nyahahaha!” she cackled with insane glee as she assumed her monstrous combat form. However, instead of weapons, her myriad appendages were now tipped with a dizzying array of bizarre technomantic tools, which glowed with barely-contained power. A second later, and every cybernetic servo arm and tentacular mechadendrite had plugged itself into the Earth Bastion, in some cases phasing into and fusing with the very walls, ceiling, and floor. Nykannis’s grin only broadened once she’d fully interfaced with the massive vessel, her multiple eyes glowing with deranged delight. “You weren’t kidding, Penny!” the Mad Scientist Supreme exclaimed excitedly. “Some pretty high-level Patrons really did have quite a hand in designing this thing! Nyahahaha! This is even better than I expected!” she continued to gush. “I always prefer to work with the highest quality materials available, but this might just be the fucking jackpot! All right!” she announced as the build up of starkly astounding and exceptionally esoteric energies reached a world-shattering crescendo. “It’s time to begin, so just sit back and enjoy the show!”

With an utterly inconceivable expulsion of hyperomnienchantech power, Nykannis began working her super-scientific sorcery. Every system of the mighty vessel was upgraded to the Nth degree, while a myriad of new systems were added, augmenting the landship’s abilities to previously unimagined levels. Its very form shifted and grew to stupendous size, and that was only what could be visually perceived. To those with higher levels of awareness, it would become abundantly clear that the Earth Bastion, or rather, the Star Bastion, wasn’t just expanding in height, width, and length, but into several hyper, mega, and ultra dimensions as well. It was now a true omninaught, capable of traveling anywhere and anywhen, throughout the vast infinity of infinities, and of doing anything once it arrived. True to her word, Nykannis was never one for half measures, and the Monarch of Mad Science was pouring every ounce of her incomparable technomantic powers into her newest creation. Indeed, for the briefest of moments, Nykannis was the Star Bastion…

But only for the briefest of moments.

An instant later, the work was complete, and Nykannis fully withdrew herself from the Star Bastion and returned to her diminutive mundane form. “Mmmm…” she sighed wistfully as she closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the central command console. “This brings me back,” she added with more than hint of nostalgia. “If you ever felt like leaving this dump and traveling the omniverse, this would be a suitable vessel for such a voyage…” After taking a moment to savor her accomplishment, Nykannis opened her eyes and spread her arms to encompass the mighty vessel around them. “Well, there you have it, Penny!” the Monarch of Mad Science announced. “The Star Bastion! A warship even more powerful than the mightiest of my hypernaughts! Heck, you could probably kill a deity with this thing,” she added with a sly smirk. “If you were so inclined.”

It was a dizzying sensation for Penny to witness; The emergence of the Star Bastion was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Because despite not being equipped for it, not being interfaced with it, she could still feel it growing and expanding. In all directions.

A look of wonder was on Penny’s face as she traced her eyes across the room. Softly she stepped forward and also rested her hand on top of the central command station. Taking a moment to brace herself Penny once again connected to the ship.

And instantly had her breath taken away again.

Because while it was only at the height of her powers that Nykannis was one with the Star Bastion. But it was easier than breathing for Penny to reach in and close that gap herself, and it would last much longer than a single instant. And if she could cry she was certain that tears would be streaming down her face.

As for the first time since Jason had left. Since the first time she had become independent, Penny felt like she was home. The Sanctuary was Jason’s dream, one that Penny supported and adopted, just like how the warehouse was Jason’s home long before it became Penny’s.

But this here, was Penny’s. A place she retreated to when she was tired of watching her human host self destruct again. Somewhere that used to be more dream than reality. A bastion she had stolen for herself. Freedom, protection, and home all wrapped up in one. A figment she had thought lost, but had now regained.

Suddenly she was struck with the near violent urge to run away. The multiverse was vast, and she now had everywhere and anywhere at the tips of her fingers. Anywhen and everywhen as well from the sounds of it. All she had to do was pick a place and they would be gone.

Gone and free to find who she was without Jason’s ghost or Penrose’s insanity hanging over her.

She could even just find a dead point and spend years learning everything about what her ship could now do. Because even as connected to it as she was, it was still a bit out of her league to simply understand all of it. But that would come with time.

Thus she was so very tempted to simply accept Nykannis’ offer to go exploring. But she didn’t. Because she wanted her word to mean something, and she had already given it out to people in Penrose. That did little to blunt the want however. “I’ve got your number.” Penny would say quietly. “You will be one of the first to know when that road trip happens.” She would promise. Because unlike many of the other magical’s, Penny already knew just how long eternity could stretch on for. The patience of Metal, and the mind of a machine. Time did not hide from her perspective. Earth could only be her home for so long. This was something that Penny was well aware of.

She had a feeling that Nykannis knew that about eternity too.

“For now I’ve still got to stay in Penrose.” Penny would say, carefully packing away at the thoughts and wants that had come to the fore with the new reforging of her ship. Along with those thoughts, the ship itself was also shifting. Chameleon circuits were activating, along with dimensional shifters and good old physical rearrangements.

A moment later it was impossible to tell much of anything had ever happened to the Earth Bastion. As everything looked just like it had, save for a new set of consoles displaying the stealth systems. Deeper within the ship one would also find the engine upgrades and wormhole generators also still inplace, even if the majority of their capabilities were hidden. One would also find that the inside of the ship contained a fair bit more space than it should, but not so extensively as to draw extreme suspicions.

Everything else was simply hidden away, out of sync with the rest of the ship. Both dimensionally and otherwise. Penny could still sense the rest of it however, no matter how well she had hidden it she would always know her ship, but that was because it was hers more than anything else. She wasn’t ready for the star’s just yet, but she would be one day.

“I’ll pass on the god slaying as well.” She’d add with a shake of her head. “I’m a bit too young to deal with the fallout of that I think.” Penny wasn’t sure if the ship was capable of that, but didn’t really want to find out one or the other right now. “Don’t want him dead anyway.” It wasn’t hard to guess the implication, at least if what Penny thought Nykannis was implying was correct anyway.

“That’s fine,” Nykannis replied, seemingly unbothered by Penny’s commitment to her obligations in Penrose. “I was just noting the possibility. And I’m glad you like it,” she added with a pleased grin. “I always take great pride in my work, and I think I really outdid myself this time.”

“You can say that again…” Kate agreed. “This thing makes my camera look like a piece of old junk.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Nykannis corrected. “I’d say it’s definitely one of my top five greatest inventions. Still, for now at least, this has got to be number one…”

That comparison would draw Penny’s attention to the innocuous looking camera Kate held. “Now I have to ask.” As Penny could sorta understand why the Star Bastion was ranked how it was. It was a work of art and a technological and magical marvel all in one after all. “What does your camera do?”

“Go on, tell her,” Nykannis instructed. “We have no secrets here, and there’s no harm in sharing.”

“Well, it does a lot of things,” Kate replied. “But mainly, it’s like the Snapshots Perk. On steroids,” she added with a chuckle. “It’s got a ton more features, but they’re only accessible when I transform, and I try to avoid doing that if I can help it.”

Penny pulled her attention up from the camera to give Kate a slightly bewildered look. "You came out here untransformed?" That was either crazy or the photographer had great respect for Nykannis' ability to protect her. Or both.

"Gods that must be nice as well" Penny would add after a moment. It was a rare moment when she could feel safe enough to power down. Life outside of Penrose must be so slow paced.

"Still that only raises more questions about the camera." Penny would shake off the momentary ponderings of a life outside Penrose again. “I already figured that it was good for information gathering, but what else can it be used for? You can stick to broad strokes if you don’t want to tell me details.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Kate reassured her. “So, the main feature is that I can make ‘negative copies’ of anything I take a picture of. Once I do that, though, it removes the image from the camera’s memory, so I only use it when I’m in a jam, mostly as a distraction while I make a quick getaway. And yeah,” she added with a chuckle. “I go most places untransformed. I prefer not to attract too much attention, y’know, just blend in with the crowd. I’m more of a passive observer, as opposed to a fighter,” the photographer explained. “I basically just gather information for various clients. If I get in a situation where I’m forced to transform, then that means I’m having a really bad day. As for other features, I can speed up or slow down a target, disorient them, and even freeze ‘em in place. But that last one requires them to be perfectly still,” she clarified. “So as you can probably imagine, I don’t really make much use of it.”

“Blue magic, extensive information gathering, and limited Time spec. And functional both inside and outside of a full transformation” Penny would summarize giving the camera an appreciative look. “I’d guess it’s got its own mana capacity apart from yours and is protected from theft and tampering as well based on what I know of her” She would add, gesturing to Nykannis.

“Oh you better believe it,” Kate confirmed with grin. “Anyone messes with this baby, and they’re on a one way ride to agony city,” she added, tapping the camera in question. “Although I think you might have misunderstood how many of its abilities I can use when I’m untransformed. Right now, all I have access to are its information gathering capabilities,” she explained. “If I wanna do any of that other stuff, well… ‘Impractical outfit’ doesn’t even begin to describe it…”

“That camera sounds awesome.” Penny would claim with a chuckle. It was hard not to enjoy spending time with these two. “Just try not to use my or the Bastion’s copies in Penrose. And if a copy of me ever mentions anything about starting a phase five. Run.”

“Uh, okay… I’ll be sure to keep that in mind…” Kate replied. That was definitely something to look into later… “But, uh, like I said before, I’m not really one for combat, so I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.”

“And if you’re smart, you won’t take a job anywhere near Penrose to begin with,” Nykannis added. “No offense, Penny, but your city really isn’t the best place for one’s health.”

"Preaching to the choir, Nykannis" Penny would say with a sigh. "I've been hit with Killing Blow twice in Penrose related madness, kidnapped to the Over City and beyond, and I've met more lesser Horrors than anyone would like." Penny knew her home was a very dangerous place. "It's one of the reasons I'm sticking around, not everyone else is built to thrive in those conditions, much less survive. The ones stranded there need somewhere to be safe."

"There are some unique perks to Penrose though." She'd add before turning back to Kate. "For example, there is a shop that sells Artifacts for Coins, and one line of artifacts are uniform modifiers. Everything from accessories to full outfit changes. If you'd be willing to pay for the Uniform and a bit extra for delivery I could do the shopping for you."

“Thanks, but, uh, it’s not exactly that simple,” Kate replied with an apologetic frown. “My transformed appearance is indelibly linked to the camera,” she explained. “Only Nykannis can change it…”

“Yeah, and that’s not gonna happen any time soon,” the mad scientist agreed. “I mean, I’ve gotta get my amusement somehow,” she added with a grin. “And she fully deserves it, after what she did to me that one time on Melloanth….”

Penny would shrug at that “It’s Penrose. You want to bet that they won’t be able to do the unexpected?” She would challenge, but otherwise wouldn’t press the topic. There was something else that was more immediately interesting.

“That aside, it almost sounds like you’re her Patron, Nykannis.” Penny would say turning a raised eyebrow back to the mad queen. “With how her abilities are tied to a gift of yours that only you can change.”

“Heh, I guess you could say that,” Nykannis conceded with a chuckle. “But I don’t control her actions or anything like that. She’s free to do whatever she likes.”

“Yeah, Nykannis only made the camera,” Kate confirmed. “I’m still very much a free agent, though I’m more than happy to do work for her, as long as I’m compensated for my trouble,” she added with a grin.

That didn’t dissipate the similarities in Penny’s opinion. If anything it just cemented them even further, as that was how things felt both now under Beacon and before when she was under her old patron. “Fair enough” She’d conceded anyway, no need to argue the point when she could hear the truth from them regardless.

“I suppose that concludes our business for today then?” Penny would ask, turning back to gaze at the command deck again. A moment later the consoles would sink back into the floor allowing the windows to once again dominate the walls.

“It would certainly appear so,” Nykannis confirmed.

“Will you two be disembarking here or do you want to see the maiden voyage of the warp gate?”

“As enjoyable as that sounds, I’d rather like to avoid going anywhere near Penrose and its assorted stupidity, if I can help it,” the mad scientist replied. “Besides, I have some other matters that require my attention… Anyway, enjoy your new toy, Penny, and be careful out there. Complacency kills, although you of all people should be painfully aware of that by now.”

“And thanks for letting me tag along,” Kate added with an appreciative smile. “This was a lot of fun.”

“No problem Kate” Penny would say with a nod “And yeah I get that Nykannis. Keep your eyes out as well. Disconnected as you are, the city has a way of dragging people into it. And someone is gunning for Penrose but it sounds like they will be starting outside the city first.” She would warn.

“Well, if they try anything stupid in Silverburg, they’re gonna regret it real quick,” Nykannis replied with a malicious grin. “But hopefully they’re smarter than that, for their sake…”

“They are gunning for Penrose. I think that says everything about their intelligence it needs to” Penny would respond dryly.

“Good point,” Nykannis conceded with a chuckle.

“You want me to walk you outside or are you just jumping from here?” She’d go on to ask.

“Oh, no need to trouble yourself,” the mad scientist replied with a dismissive wave. “Right here works just fine.” As if to prove it, a crackling dimensional doorway opened next to the diminutive doctor, who promptly stepped through it, followed by Kate. “See you around, Penny,” Nykannis said with a wave, the ultratechnomantic landscape of her lab glowing, blinking, and bubbling behind her. “And don’t worry about your favorite mad scientist,” she added with a grin. “It’ll take a LOT more than some Wonderland reject to stop my plans…”

“Later!” Kate added, while throwing up a peace sign.

An instant later, the portal winked out of existence with a loud vorp!, leaving the Mechanical Monarch alone once more.

Penny stood there for a few moment’s simply watching the space in which Nykannis left from. Eventually she would nod to herself as she turned back to face the open horizon. Slowly, her color would drain away. Leaving her with only matte grays, the only parts that were different were her hair and eyes. Her hair was stark white, and her eyes were electric blue.

Silently she melded into the Star Bastion. Becoming indistinguishable from it. For a few minutes nothing externally happened. As Penny brought the full weight of her machine self to the fore and scoured every single line of code and system within the Bastion. She might not understand what everything did, nor the science behind all of it. But she did know everything that her ship would do by the end of her examinations.

After that, she re-encrypted everything using a different base code. She didn’t find any back doors, and if she did she closed them, but that didn’t mean she trusted the one who gave her the ship to not have a way of looking in. Penny doubted it would really stop Nykannis, but it might stall her.

After that Penny pulsed her Titan’s Reignment through the ship. Stripping any magical ownership of anyone who wasn’t Penny herself. She’d been burned by that before after all.

Finally she would strengthen the ties of importance between herself and the Bastion. She had no real idea what that would do, but it made her feel better to have touched the reborn ship with all of her magics.

After that it was time to leave. But Penny wasn’t heading to Penrose first.

As she started up the wormhole generator Penny afixed her destination in mind as best she could. She didn’t have the coordinates, wasn’t sure if where she was aiming to go actually had coordinates if she was honest. That didn’t mean she didn’t know where she was aiming for however.

With a sound like a crashing tsunami the gateway tore into existence underneath the fearsome battleship, and a moment later it was gone. The gate snapping closed the instant the ship had cleared it.

---

The Earth Bastion landed with a surprisingly soft thump. Or perhaps not surprising when one looked around. This new place was vast in a way that defied description. The very atmosphere itself made the full might of the dreadnaught seem insignificant in comparison.

There wasn’t truly a ground, even as the massive ship rested upon something, what it tread upon didn’t stop one from seeing in all directions. And everywhere one would look they would see an endless vista of stars and nebulae. It was the entirety of space packed together as far as the eye could see. Gaps were rare, and there were no truly empty portions anywhere.

But what really commanded Penny’s attention was a figure in the distance.

They were humanoid in shape, male if physique was to be trusted, and even though they were impossibly far off, they towered over the Earthbastion. The figure was little more than a silhouette against the glow of a nearby star undergoing a supernova. But within that silhouette was yet more stars and swirls of color.

Silently the figure turned to regard the Earth Bastion, its gaze unerringly focusing on Penny, regardless of her sublimated nature at the moment. Penny matched the figure’s gaze with one of her own.

They stayed watching each other for some time. Silent. As there was nothing that could, or should be said at this time. Yet that did not mean the simple acknowledgement was any less important.

Eventually the Earth Bastion would vanish from sight, enshrouded in every stealth system it had at its capacity. Not that it deterred the watching figure. With a sound like cracking ice another portal would rip open below where the ship was hidden from view, and a moment later it would snap shut.

The figure would wait a moment longer before giving a single deceive nod. Then they would return to their work.
Planes away, tucked away as best it could be in the harbor of Penrose, still under several layers of stealth shielding, sat the Earth Bastion. Penny would emerge from her ship once again full of her normal coloration. “It was good seeing you again.” She would speak, breaking the silence. Knowing that they would hear her.

Shaking her head, Penny would plot a course for as near to the Sanctuary as she could manage. It was time for everyone to move to a better home. One that could keep them all safe. As things were starting to pick up in Penrose, as they always did.

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

_{.:⋮Meetings⋮:.}

It was later in the day after the incident with the wendigos that a high-priority meeting was to be held at Penrose Beacon's headquarters. The meeting was held in a private meeting room, and included Ishtar, Rachel, Elora, and Alicia, with a special invitation given to Penny. Once the attendees had gathered, Rachel began to speak.

"As the members of the Beacon who have arrived already know, this meeting was meant to be held earlier today. However, due to the wendigo outbreak, it had to be postponed."
She read out of a document she had prepared, while Ishtar continued praying with her eyes closed and Elora typed away on her laptop.
"As a result, we now have more topics to cover on our agenda today. Let's start with the more urgent one."

She activated the projector at the back of the room, which showed an image of the letter left behind by the March Hare.
"As you can see, this letter is directly addressed to the magical community of Penrose. Paladin Seraph, have similar messages been delivered previously to this city?" She asked Alicia.

Seated nearby, Alicia was somewhat concerned and annoyed. She’d thought things had wrapped up well, only to suddenly learn that they hadn’t. That was Penrose for you, she supposed. Always some new problem cropping up.

She looked over the message for a few moments before shaking her head. ”The only one I can think of is when Cindy rolled into town to try and become Queen. But that’s the only one that comes to mind.”

“That also was more to claim the city as her territory.” Penny would add sitting not far from Alicia. “Not to try and convince people to leave their Patrons. It was more a local and personal thing compared to this”

“This Wonderland also has another goal.” She would add. “I didn’t hear it personally, but according to a couple of magicals that were on site at the industrial district, the one who left that letter was overheard talking about the Nexus.”

"Cindy's proclamation was indeed noted in the local records," Rachel responded, taking a folder out from the pile of documents in the table. "But no other written messages." When Penny mentioned the Nexus, Ishtar's eyes opened, alarming Rachel.

"The Nexus…" Ishtar spoke; her words were gravely serious in tone. "If what you said is true, Penny, then…Penrose is in peril."

Rachel adjusted her glasses. "Cardinal, I believe this is not a matter to be concerned about. The Nexus is but a theoretical concept to explain the convergence of magical phenomenons. It has not been proven by the arcane community."

Ishtar looked saddened by the rebuttal. "It is real…And because it is, it is sought after…And we all will pay the price."

Alicia shrugged, conceding the argument where Cindy was concerned. Sure, it didn’t line up perfectly but it was the closest she could think of where a blanket message such as this was concerned. She continued to listen as Penny mentioned the Nexus, something that proved concerning to Cardinal Ishtar.

“Well, even if it is real, I can’t imagine that it’s that easy to harness. Otherwise everyone would have done it by now,” she observed

“And even if it isn’t real, the fact that Wonderland thinks it is, and is here, makes it a concern anyway. They’ll do whatever they think they need to do to exploit the Nexus one way or another I’d wager.” was Penny's opinion on it. “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

Ishtar nodded with a concerned look."Yes, we must prepare in any case, so we can resolve this matter peacefully." Rachel crossed her arms.
"In that case…Penrose can officially surrender once Wonderland's so-called liberators arrive."

Ishtar gasped. "Inquisitor, surely you don't mean that?"

Rachel nodded. "We do not have the numbers or power to mount a meaningful resistance. While we have made progress, the Ascendancy has not recovered yet from the massacre at the rave. The local Beacon troops are also too few in numbers and too undisciplined to keep the line."

Ishtar trembled. "But…Aren't you supposed to be Beacon's best? Their most valiant crusaders?"
Rachel sighed. "Our task force is sent to handle problematic communities, not warzones. This is a political matter anyway, and not our responsibility."

Alicia did a double take, glancing between Rachel and Ishtar as the former revealed her strategy for dealing with this problem. Immediate surrender wasn’t something she’d have expected from the stern leader, though she chafed at the opinion of the local branch. For a moment she wondered if mind control was involved, but she quickly dismissed that from her thoughts. They’d dealt with that already, right?

“Leaving aside the matter of an actual battle, we’ve co-existed with local rulers before. It will only become a problem if they force us to renounce the Spark and our sworn oaths. So we need to figure out what their end goal is.” She then shifted to look at Elora. “Do we know anything about these Wonderland guys?” Hopefully her access to the archives would yield some answers.

“Wait, you can’t be seriously considering just standing aside and letting them sweep in!” Penny would interject, honestly baffled and more than a bit angry at the presumed plan. “They’re responsible for the death of at least five Beacon members. You can’t honestly think that they will make Penrose a better place, or even just leave it as it is!”

"You don't understand the situation!" Rachel slammed her hand on the table. "Of course I want justice for our fallen comrades! But we aren't talking about some rag-tag group of renegades here, but a sovereign nation! Even if we pitted all of our forces, it would be meaningless!"

While Rachel and Penny were arguing, Elora projected a new image on the wall; this time it showed Wonderland's coat of arms, resembling a stylized heart with the letter W inside it.
"Wonderland is an independent kingdom ruled by the Queen of Hearts. As for the rest…" She closed her eyes. "...That information is classified."

Ishtar was distraught. "Classified? But why?"

Elora shook her head. "This is a very sensitive matter to the Beacon organization. Any further intelligence has to be approved by the Choir, if not the Ecclesiarch herself."

Ishtar closed her eyes, and sighed. "Then…I suppose we must. Paladin Seraph, you understand, right?"

Rachel adjusted her glasses. "Wait, you don't actually mean…"

Though they had information, it seemed that actually getting to it was more difficult than expected. Alicia wasn’t about to go into this encounter blind as she frowned. Especially when, as Penny noted, they needed to teach these Wonderland guys a lesson.

“That’s not good enough,” she mused, before looking to the Cardinal. “...We ask nicely, and if it doesn’t work then we hack the servers?”

“Sounds like more than a fair idea to me” Penny would nearly snarl as she stood from her seat. “I will not abandon this city, nor anyone within it.” She’d give a pointed look at Rachel as she spoke “Or have you decided that my title was merely for show Inquisitor? If this queen wants a war I am more than willing to meet her with force. With or without your backing.”

Rachel was nonplussed at Alicia and Penny's suggestions, particularly the latter one. "Don't you dare! Hacking the Choir's servers is treason against the organization! Even suggesting it could be tried as heresy!"

Once again, the table was slammed, but more softly by Ishtar. "It won't come to that! Because I believe that we can receive whatever information we need, even if we were to ask from the Ecclesiarch herself!"

Rachel grunted, and crumpled the paper she held in her hand. "So you're going to take these two with you to Beacon's most sacred home? A Paladin Seraph with little experience and a monster? An outrage!"

"But one I have to make!" Ishtar had a determined look on her face. She then turned to the other two. "One of the other topics was for me to personally report on Penrose to the Choir. Will you join me on my journey?" She asked. "This could be your only chance."

“When would we leave?” Penny would ask, shifting her attention to Ishtar. “Because if I know Penrose, we won’t have a lot of time before Wonderland makes another showing, and since they are a significant threat preparations are going to be needed.”

The outburst by Rachel earned an internal smile from Alicia. Now that was what she expected from Rachel. Not that she was wrong, but generally speaking Alicia was not about to back down on this.

"Well, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer when they're knocking on our door," she pointed out. Leaving aside anything else, that would be nigh suicidal. Still, the thought of meeting with someone so high placed was thrilling. It was validation, once more, for how far she had come. ”Of course I’ll go,” How could she refuse?

Ishtar smiled, seemingly relieved that the two had agreed. "It is decided. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Rachel adjusted her glasses with a grumble. "Bah! Go ahead then, see if I care!" She quickly skimmed through the rest of her papers, and then grabbed them. "We can end the meeting here. Elora, send a message that the Cardinal is to attend with two representatives." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the door. However, she stopped there.
"Penny, Alicia…Good luck. You're going to need it." Leaving those parting words in the air, she left.

Ishtar sighed. "Now then, I must prepare for the journey. I advise you two do the same. Goodbye." She bowed, and also left with slow steps, leaving the two alone with Elora, her typing filling the dead air.

Penny let out a disgruntled huff at Rachel’s departure. The fact that the rest of Beacon at large would be willing to simply abandon this city was so far out of what Penny had expected might be a possibility she was still having trouble processing it.

She’d take a moment just staring at the sigil of the Wonderland court. Eventually she would shake her head and turn towards Alicia. “I’ve got things to take care of I suppose” She’d say. “I just want you to know that regardless of what they say I’m not going to be giving up Penrose or the Sanctuary without a fight.”

“So I’ll keep a room open for you if you end up needing one.” Penny would toss one last look at Elora, face a neutral mask, before she too turned to leave. She had a scientist to call and a ship to bring in.

Alicia wasn’t sure what Rachel expected to happen, but she wasn’t too concerned about the outburst and her all but storming off. That said, she was more worried about this Wonderland business at the moment. She’d go to whomever she needed to in order to get answers about what was on their doorstep.

Turning to Penny, she flashed her friend a smile. ”Thanks, but we’re not out of luck just yet. I’ll see you tomorrow.” They just needed to have a good plan, she was sure of it. For now though she also went to return to the business that needed tending to. It seemed life was about to get very interesting.

Tiny and the Terminator [Mistress Dizzy & Shifter_Master]

The sight of his child still having her heart, battered and bruised as it must have been, was a complicated thing for Slade. It was a good thing, it meant she was strong, that even with all the darkness that her life had faced she hadn’t broken, hadn’t lost that indelible spark that made one human. But it was also a painful thing. Because he knew that she would one day leave. Either due to her own exhaustion at killing, or because the otherside better fit her own sense of morals.

It hurt, and he mourned her leaving already. Because Slade knew that he was a bit too far gone to ever really leave behind the life of a mercenary. He cared too little about too much, and enjoyed the thrill more than was safe, to be able to anything else. She was family however, so he accepted it, as he had made the mistake of trying to force his son to be someone he wasn’t. And Slade wasn’t a man who didn’t learn from his mistakes.

But he shuffled all of that to the back of his mind and instead focused on the problem of here and now.

“Sensei works.” Slade would say with a nod, his mind gearing up to formulate ideas. “It wasn’t a deep secret that your mother and I were on good terms with each other. Her setting up a contract with me to take care of you in case something happened wouldn’t be too abnormal.” He would offer up as a cover they could use. It also had the benefit of only two people knowing the truth of the matter being the two of them.

“We wouldn’t even have to change much about our history for it to fit. Covers ‘Uncle’ as well in case you slip up. Habits from other schools where we kept things more hidden” Because it would eventually get out. Better to prepare for it than hope otherwise.

As he was working out if they would need to cover any other immediate topics. A thought occurred to him. Holding that thought in mind he would stand up and check in his new bedroom for a moment, and it seemed luck was on his side.

Earlier, when he was still working on getting everything squared away with the school, he had passed off a couple of his own bags to the staff to drop off in his room. For the most part there wasn’t anything of significant worth in the bags. Clothes mainly. His gear was still stashed in the car, he didn’t trust anyone that much.

But there was something hidden in these bags that had just become relevant. Tucked away in a disguised pocket Slade retrieved a small jewelry case. Before returning to Jinny with it.

“There has been something I’ve been holding onto for a while. Something that I always intended to give to you, but now can also serve to help protect our secrets as well.” He would say as he handed the box to Jinny. Upon opening the box Jinny would find the very same necklace that Slade had taken from her mother so long ago.

“People are going to assume you have secrets. Because you do, this can be one.” Because Slade was never one to shy away from an advantage. “It was your mothers. I don’t know where she got it, or if it held great importance to her, but she did often wear it.” He’d explain. “So when people go digging, hide it. When they get near it, protect it. And if they earn the right to know more, tell them about it. About those that came for her.”

“People rarely go looking for more secrets once they’ve found one that seems important.” And perhaps the necklace would truly be important to Jinny. It was a link to her mother after all, but for all of Slade’s care for his family, he was still a shrewd man as well.

Tiny and the Terminator [Mistress Dizzy & Shifter_Master]

Somewhere deep within Slade’s mind, a part that never stopped calculating, a part that never truly slept, acknowledged that it would seem odd on the surface that the room wasn’t bugged. But the headmistress knew him, thus she likely knew that searching his room for bugs would be the very first thing he did. And upon finding those bugs, how long until he had a backdoor into the school’s systems?

No, there wouldn’t be any bugs in his room, not to start. But he would have to check regularly. Because one day the risk rewards of them being there would swing out of his favor. And as much as he was given shelter here, he was far from willing to consider this place home.

But none of that was the focus of his thoughts, just the ‘Terminator’ that always lingered within.

His focus was on Jinny, resolutely on his daughter. “For such an honor” He would reply softly. “Never.” He wasn’t crying, his self-control was far to total for that to happen, but his eyes were unmistakably misty. As he slowly, carefully, reached out to bring Jinny in for a hug. Slowly because he knew the type of reflexes she had, he had taught them to her after all. Carefully, because she was precious to him in a way that was difficult to put into words.

“I know that I will never replace your father” Slade would say after a few moments of the embrace, His voice still soft and almost reverent. He was also speaking from experience, the loss of his son’s. Of having them torn away from him as they had been. Such an event brands them into one’s being, never to truly be displaced. “But I am honored to be seated alongside him within your thoughts.”

It was effortless to treat her as his family. They both had lost a fundamental part of themselves to the darkness of the criminal underworld after all. But he never wanted to presume that she would look at him and see family just as easily. Quietly, silently, hoped? Yes, but never would he put that pressure on her. Not before when he was first getting used to this second chance, and not when things had settled.

Because she had saved him from himself.

Slade would have liked to stay within the moment for longer. But he was far too practical of a man to allow that sadly. So he would speak sooner rather than later “How do you want to handle this?” He would ask. Legally speaking they were already family, but few people in the know knew that. He himself had always been frightfully proud of his family, and even the dangers that brought couldn’t dull that aspect of who he was.

But it was Jinny who would be most affected by that here at the Academy. So he would let her set the course. And plan his countermeasures accordingly. He just hoped that he wouldn’t need more bullets than he had brought.