twave

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Second Chances

Turning to Beacon for something like this was risky. Knowing where an enemy of theirs was had the potential to turn the organization against her if she didn’t give him up. But there was not that many other places to turn. Beacon, for all their hard line views and practices, were the only ones that had some method of cleaning up a corrupted individual. How that was done was a mystery as it was never discussed with outsiders, but there was enough talk to say that even then it was a rare event. About the only other lead for the chapter in Penrose is that one of their members had specifically been purified and passed trial for having been manipulated. While not entirely the same situation, Shannon hoped she could make a good enough case to get her friend at least past being a target.

After a while of scouting the rooftops of Penrose, Shannon found a patrol of Beacon girls, and approached them. They knew who she was but they weren’t going to let just anyone walk up to them, especially considering the latest events and how she was considered KIA in the graveyard battle. "Halt, state your name and business!" One of the Beacon girls called out.

"Shannon Bron. I seek audience with Sylvia on a matter. I have information on one of the Bates twins." Outing that she knew something on Elroy was not the most appealing place to start. However, it was likely the best way to fast track to talking to someone that could make things happen.

The girls looked alarmed at the reveal; one of them continued watching her, while the rest huddled together to whisper to each other. It didn’t take long before they had an answer.
“Very well. However, we must ask you to put on this blindfold.” One of the girls tossed a small bundle of white cloth for Shannon to catch; it inscribed with golden runes that slightly shimmered. “It is for security purposes, as our HQ is hidden.” Once Shannon was done putting the cloth on, two girls placed their hands on her shoulders. At that moment, Shannon felt a feeling similar to shifting, as space seemed to warp around her. “We brought an informant,” she heard the leading girl speak, followed by the sound of doors opening before her. She was briskly led inside, and the blindfold was removed. Shannon then saw that she was in the Beacon HQ’s entrance hall, where visitors could wait on benches and sofas set against the walls. “Sorry about that. Can’t be too careful these days,” the girls earnestly explained. “Wait just a moment, and you’ll be taken to Sylvia.”

Following instructions Shannon took a seat. Looking around the building was clearly new, which was no surprise. Though not really having much interest in how things were arranged she smiled and set her hands in her lap. ”Completely understand. Thank you.” Reclining in the chair a bit there was no way to know how long she would be sitting. Almost felt like a doctors appointment to an extent. Now that was something she hadn’t done in quite some time.

Shannon saw that after the incident at the graveyard, Beacon girls have mobilized for civilian rescue and cleanup, as the tornadoes left their marks on the streets. However, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, if exhausted. Shannon was led to a small meeting room; the kind usually seen in office buildings, with a projector fitted for the back wall. “Greetings. My name is Sylvia.” The silver-haired magical girl stood up to shake hands with her. “You fought against Soth, if I am not mistaken. Is there something we can do for you?” She asked, and took a cup of tea from another Beacon girl, before shutting the room.

Shaking the hand Shannon smiled at the warm greeting. There were only a couple of ways to answer the question presented. So as not to waste the Beacon girl's time she cut to the chase. "I did, and I'm hoping you can. I'm looking for a way that I can purify a friend of the corruptive magic he's been dealt. I am aware that you have some internal way of doing that, but more specifically the rumor is that you were able to purify one of your own not that long ago. I am not privy to how that was accomplished but is there any way that process is replicable?" Biting her lip it sounded like a tall order. Especially given who she was trying to help. Desperate times.

Sylvia sat down, and sipped her tea. “Yes, we have a method for purifying corrupted magic. That should be no secret to any member of the magical community.” She placed the cup down, and raised an eyebrow. “But it sounds to me like you are referring to something else, correct?” She sighed. “No matter what we do, rumors and gossip always finds their way out.” She clasped her fingers together. “In that case, there is no point in denying its existence; yes, we have a new, replicable method of purifying any corrupted magical girl with no complications.” She looked serious. “Who is this friend of yours? And why haven’t they given themselves up to Beacon if they do wish to be purified?”

Valid questions, though Shannon's heart jumped slightly at hearing there was something that could help Elroy. Thinking on her feet though she responded "There are a few reasons. The first is he only just woke up a day ago. I don't know if it was passed on to you but the person I'm talking about is one of the Bates, Elroy. He's a friend and I pulled him off the battlefield before anyone else could get to him in case…" She trailed off briefly. "Well, I wasn't entirely sure I could trust his wellbeing to you or anyone else there. I don't mean to offend. From what I can tell you've made some attempts at changing your stance on monster girls but I had to be sure. I also can't trust a rumor for something so important." Having got through that she could breathe again.

Sylvia squinted at the mention of the monster boy’s name. “A friend? I hope you realize that he was the cause for summoning Soth to our world? Alongside his Twin, that is.” She took a bigger sip from her tea. “We have had some policy changes, yes, but nothing can excuse him for what he’s done. He needs to face justice.” She then sighed. “Anyway, please continue.”

A smile returning to Shannon's face the girl addressed the concern.
"Ah, yes. I assumed that may be the case. However Elroy cannot be wholly held responsible. As I'm sure you know as a Twin Soul the twin will often follow the lead of the other unless something terrible was done against them by their counterpart. Something that, in this case, did occur. As a Friendship girl I know for a fact that Regina had been using her Psychic magic to manipulate him into doing what she wanted." Thankfully Janet's trial set a precedent in Beacon for mental manipulation. Double that given the monster girl had managed to brainwash several Beacon girls on top of that. Having a couple other items on her mind she resumed. "There was one other reason I'm here in his stead right now. Being a monster boy and using a Black Coin has done a number on his mental state. He is currently prone to extreme violence and I didn't think it wise to have him around others for his and others safety. He did express to me his desire to be free of that though and I for one believe him."

Sylvia nodded, deep in thought.
“Hmm...Regina was the brains of the operation, and did have the power to control minds...so it is possible she also controlled him.” She tapped the side of her teacup in rhythmic fashion.
“If that is the case...It might be a similar situation to what happened to one of our own members recently.” She listened as Shannon further explained the circumstances behind Elroy, nodding occasionally.
“You seem like a trustworthy girl, Shannon.”
She stood up, and picked something out of her pocket, offering it to her; the girl exclaimed in surprise at what she saw.
“This is a White Coin; if what you’re saying is true, and Elroy truly wishes to be free of Regina’s taint, have him use this.” However, as Shannon reached for it, Sylvia closed her fist tight.
“But a word of warning: if I later find out you lied to me, and took this to further a selfish end...I won’t show mercy again.” And with that, she slowly opened her palm, letting her take it.

Shannon had not expected several things that had just happened. Beacon was apparently way ahead of her in being prepared, and this is new? She had never heard of such a thing. Just as a surprise was that Sylvia was giving it to her here and now. Was it really that easy? When given the warning she didn't flinch. When she did finally have hold of the White Coin the girl cupped the object in her hands and stared at it for a while. Walking out with the solution she sought had never crossed her mind. "T-thank you. How-" Shaking her head she dropped the question. That wasn't important right now. Putting on a determined expression she clutched the coin. "I won't betray your trust! This is amazing. This works and you can bet you'll be the first to know." A gesture like this was no small potatoes. This thing works then there was a lot more to magic crafting than Shannon imagined. Being an Empty Pockets Puchuu girl there was no way she could ever manage something like this.

“I’m glad to hear. There’s been far too many times when we have had to drink from the foul cup of treachery,” Sylvia spoke, and averted her eyes. “Because of that, it has been tough to try to be valorous. But if Elroy’s violence can be abated, it would save many lives. And for that, I’ll put my faith in you, Shannon.” She gestured to the Beacon girl waiting outside in the corridor. “She is free to leave on her own; she is good at heart.” And so, Shannon was allowed to leave the Beacon HQ, which turned invisible as she walked outside of it.

---

Heading back outside Penrose with her prize in hand so to speak, Shannon shifted to the area she had left Elroy. Going back to a place in the other world after a time was a tricky thing. Stuff had a way of meandering around so you generally didn't end up just where you expected. Advantage to Shannon that she could plant objects into the ground to act as landmarks. Heading in the direction the forest was now she tried to locate the monster boy. "Elroy, I'm back!"

Elroy had not moved far from the tree where Shannon had left him. What was far more curious was that he was looking into the eyes of someone Shannon recognized.

It was his sister.

"…That doesn’t change anything. " Apparently they had been talking for a while before Shannon showed up. "You’re still in danger, and Shannon is too. And once she gets back-" Regina turned her head. "We were waiting for you."

Elroy turned his head to look at Shannon. "Scarf girl. She found us."

"He won’t listen to me, so you have to tell him." Regina held something out. "This is a Red Coin. You can use it to change your identity." She pointed towards Elroy. "I want us to use it so that we don’t get hunted down and killed."

Elroy grit his teeth. "Why don’t you just take control of me and get it over with?"

"That’s exactly why I’m not doing that!" Regina’s voice cracked. "Everything I do turns to shit, so we need to make this choice together."

Well this wasn’t what she expected to come up to. Seeing Regina wasn’t exactly something she wanted to do right now, but that didn’t mean it was a terrible thing. What was more concerning was there was yet another coin. Seemed like an odd coincidence that two new coins suddenly popped up about the same time. Hard to say which came first though. Walking up to the two she was glad at least that they were willing to talk the situation out. ”Well this is awkward. Uh, so explain to me what you mean by ‘change your identity.’”

Regina took a breath and composed herself. "A tiny detective girl was involved in an experiment with these coins. She was in a good mood so she gave me one because I looked sad." Regina looked over the coin in her hand. "If I use this coin, I can change everything about myself. It just scrambles everything. I’d have a different type of magic, different look, everything. It’s a brand new identity." Regina closed her hand around it. "But what’s important is why we need to use it."

Elroy pointed at Shannon. "Scarf girl got me something for this corruption you subjected us to."

"That’s not the point." Regina looked at Shannon this time."The archive wants to know how I enslaved those beacon girls. They put a curse on Elroy and now they have a bone spider that can write his thoughts as he has them. They are trying to use him to find me. The only way we can reliably protect this horrible secret is to become someone else. That’s what I’ve decided."

Elroy’s hands balled into fists. "Why don’t you just kill yourself then? Not like I know how you did it."

"Elroy, they are going to know what you do for the rest of your life. At any moment, they can just drop in on whatever you’re doing. If you become an obstacle to them, they’ll have no problem removing you." Regina turned the coin over in her hand. "I could have just used this coin on myself, but that wouldn’t have protected you."

"Did you bring it, Shannon?" Elroy said through clenched teeth. "What do you have?"

”Right!” Reaching into her pocket she presented the White Coin. ”Beacon apparently used something similar to clear Janet of Justene’s corruption and turn her back into a regular magical girl. That’s not an insignificant feat but I don’t know of anyone else that has that capability. It might be able to remove the curse as well.” Admittedly this was well outside her scope of knowledge. The Red Coin sounded like it could work as well.... Maybe.

Tapping her chin she considered what was going on. The bone spider thing really made a mess of things. And here she thought this would be easy. Well, after getting the coin as least. ”So if you became someone else the curse would break? Would the mental mutations still be in effect? Because that is what I’m trying to help Elroy with. Although if you’re both here then I suppose you could use it as well, if you wanted.” When did magic get so complicated? Shannon remembered when all she had to worry about is fighting monsters and keeping factions from killing each other.

Regina shook her head. "The white coin will cleanse us of our corruption, but I’m not sure if it’s going to do anything to the bone spider that was made from Elroy. It will still be alive, writing his memories every moment he’s alive. I’ll admit I don’t know a lot about it but-" Regina took a step towards Shannon. "I’m not saying we should use the white coin instead of the red coin, I’m saying we should use both."

Elroy stepped in front of Shannon. "What she hasn’t told you yet is one of the conditions that will get ‘shuffled away’ is the effect that makes us two different people. There will be no Regina and Elroy, only one of us will be left."

"Technically, it will be neither of us, but also both of us." Regina hugged herself "Whoever we were before we became magical boy and girl. The whole that both of our halves make up."

Elroy placed a hand on Shannon’s shoulder. "It’s insane, isn’t it?"

”It’s the only way to protect your future."

Shannon had a confused expression for a bit before it finally clicked. They had to use it together if they wanted to use it at all. Or at the very least, if Regina used it she would lose her Twinned Soul and in effect Elroy. That would break the curse because he would no longer exist as his own individual. Folding her arms she stared at the ground for a while. There was no easy solution here. ”I get it. Looking up at Elroy she shook her head. How did she get herself into this mess? Friendship she supposed. ”I can’t tell you what to do, but I can say this. Regina is right. If they have your thoughts then you’ll never truly be free. You may be clear of mental mutations but anything you learn could be used against you or those around you. There aren’t that many options after that if you want to keep people safe. They could just use you whenever they want.”

Saying that was hard because Shannon knew it would be pushing him to effectively end his own individual existence. But being used like a pawn forever wasn’t much better unless you isolated yourself from everything. And even then that didn’t quite eliminate the potential of being captured. Thankfully Elroy was out when she brought him here otherwise they could have been located already.

"Shannon!" Elroy put his other hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Regina, I… I hate her. I despise her." Regina lowered her head, but Elroy kept speaking. "But I don’t know if it’s the mutations or me talking anymore." He was growling. "You saved my life, you’re giving me another chance with this coin." Tears were starting to stream down his face. "I can’t make choices for myself anymore. If I was in your position, I’d have left me to die at the graveyard. " His breathing was becoming more horse. "You saved this life, you care about this life, you decide what happens to it." He looked back at Regina. "They could be on their way here already, what do I do?"

When Elroy put both of his hands on her shoulders and started losing grip on what to do Shannon lip quivered. This wasn’t how things were supposed to turn out. ”Use it. Use the Red Coin. It’s your best chance.” She said quietly. She’d lost friends before in her career. Ben in the business too long to not have. But as a Friendship girl it was like losing a small piece of yourself each time. But she’d never had to tell someone else to do something like that. A life as an unwitting informant was not really a life at all. It would only lead to tragedy either by paranoia, Regina’s methods being found out, Elroy being used, or potentially him getting killed. None of those options were good. And there wasn’t much time as she suspected that Elroy was ready to snap and at least one of those things would come to pass.

Elroy hesitated. Looking directly into the forehead of the girl who gave him everything. "Alright." He wiped away his tears. "I trust you, I trust your judgement." He extended his hand and took the white coin before walking over to Regina. "I guess we’re doing it your way."

”This isn’t easy for me either." She extended her hand, with the red coin inside it. ”I think we’re going to be the first twin souls to unify."

"Whatever, let’s just make this end already."

Elroy and Regina’s hands came together, both grasping one of two magical coins. The magic swirled around them in a chaotic fashion. Coin magic was very potent, and the twins were using two at the same time. It wasn’t a surprise that the two of them were consumed by a sparkling cloud. White and red smoke, White and red thunder. The magic of the coins almost enveloped Shannon too, but the smoke soon floated away, leaving a single entity in its wake.

"Grrah!" The woman fell to one knee. "Ahhhh!" She fell onto her hands and knees. "This is…" She placed her hands on her head. "This is so weird."

Having taken some steps back from the cloud when it began to approach her Shannon watched as the magic consumed her friends. When everything cleared and a single form could be made out she huffed. It was an expected result even if she didn't like it. Stepping over once she was sure the effects were over she knelt down next to the girl and put a hand on her back gently. "How… how are you feeling?" Probably a vague question to ask but what does one ask after two people rejoin together? What do you call them on top of that? Probably the next question in a line that would come up in the next few minutes.

"Well." She looked at her arms. "I feel… Complete?" She rubbed her shoulders. " It’s weird. I thought I was going to feel more like Elroy or Regina, Just a segmented person. But it’s not really like that." She placed her hands on her face and then removed them to inspect her palms. "I remember being both of them. It’s like remembering two completely different days." She folded her hands in her lap. "Regina’s desire to find love, Elroy’s desire to be noticed. I don’t even think their past memories were complete. Regina always had to complain about her parents, and Elroy loved them. I was living two different lives, separated from the other half of my soul." She nodded. "Did that make sense? I just feel, complete now."

"I... suppose." How does one respond to that without having been through it? It sounded good at least. Other than Elroy to an extent Shannon wasn't really sure how the Bates felt about her. There had been a lot of baggage cluttering up their feelings. There was one other thing to sort out first. "So, what should I call you now?" Given they had become one and were trying to hide it would be a little weird to call her by their old names.

She tipped her head. "Well, I don’t think we have to make this any harder than it has to be." She shrugged her shoulders. "I was Regina before becoming a magical girl. We decided to call Elroy, well, Elroy because it’s the latin word for king. Because Regina means queen." She placed a hand over her face. "Funny how that worked out." She placed her hands in her lap again. "So I guess you can keep calling me Regina." She lifted her hand up to her mouth. "That’s okay right? I know you didn’t like Regina very much, but that’s always been my name. Um." She turned to face Shannon. "I’m naming myself Regina after the person I’ve always been, not Regina as you knew her." She bit one of her fingers and averted her eyes. "I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to act around you. I feel like you should be mad at me, but I also feel like you should be happy I’m still here. I guess that’s probably how the twins would have felt if they were still separated." Her lips trembled. "How do you feel about me? Do you feel mad, happy, anything? I feel some kind of emotion stirring inside you."

Ah, so an Emotion girl then? Shannon's feelings on the matter was somewhat mixed at the moment. Although with each passing moment her feelings were settling on the positive side. "No no, it's fine really. I didn't really hate Regina or anything. It was the things she would do that was problematic. But you, well I guess I'm partly starting over. You're not exactly either of them per se." Shannon's own magic was having trouble getting a read on the new Regina. Having relied on Power of Friendship to direct her in and out it failing her was somewhat nerve wracking. It was also awkward as neither seemed to know how to deal with the other. Falling back to her ordinary senses she looked over Regina and her mannerisms. It was actually rather adorable how she panicked about how Shannon felt. She'd also turned out to be rather cute in retrospect.

The girl seemed to be relaxing now. Whatever Shannon had said seemed to do the trick. "Alright, well, that’s good." A smile crossed her face. "I guess this will all be easier if we just pretend we’re meeting for the first time then. Leaving the twins out of it makes this a lot simpler." She extended her hand. "I’m Regina, how do you do?"

Smiling softly at the gesture Shannon seemed to have made up her mind. Taking the hand she shook it briefly before pulling the girl closer and giving her a hug. Letting her go she put hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to worry about your pasts. They're still a part of you. They were my friends and if you still want that then I'm yours too. Okay?" She had a warm glow about her as she spoke. Hard to say if this was just her normal friendly demeanor or something else.

Regina gave Shannon a thumbs up. "Sounds good, scarf girl!"

The nickname sticking was good. Laughing a bit she offered her hand. "There is one other thing we need to do. I told Beacon if this worked that I would let them know. And since you've been cleansed I'd like to show them the new you."

"Ahhhh!" She she put her hands on the side of her face. "I’m kind of nervous, but I guess it’s for the best. If they decide I’m okay, I shouldn’t have to hide anymore."

"They did give me the coin for Elroy to use. If they see it worked for both of the Bates I'm sure they would be ecstatic." Shannon reassured the other girl. Holding out her hand again they shifted back to the normal world and made their way back into the city to find Beacon.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

&

Binky
Birth of the White Coin

Following shortly after the granting of the wish of magical knowledge, which wasn’t quite how Janet had intended things to turn out, the knightly twins were invited to a private meeting with the Beckoners of Penrose chapter. The meeting was held at the Conference Hall of Righteous Destiny, conveniently next to the cafeteria. “Jenna and Janet, the Shield Binity,” the lead Beckoner addressed them as it stood on the table, resembling a purple unicorn plushie. “It is wonderful to see you have accomplished your task, and proven your loyalty. ” The other Beckoners nodded, and a tiny elephant Beckoner blew trumpet sounds out of its trunk. “The Red Coins indeed can shape the holy power of the chosen, leading to greater vigilance.” The lion Beckoner agreed with a nod. “We have also come to learn of you now possessing the power of instantaneous purification. We have devised of a way to harness this sacred gift.” One of the Beckoners activated an archaic projector, and pointed at an image displayed on the wall; it was a coin. “A new source of power for the Chosen.”

Looking at the projection for a moment Jenna spoke up. ”A coin, hmm. That probably would be safer than the potion we were thinking about.” She said looking at Janet who nodded in agreement.

”We haven't really had the chance to even make a potion yet. Going to have to research how that works. Do you think Binky would be willing to help?” Janet thought aloud. Aside from the Mint and their Black Coin there was only really one other that they knew of that had the potential to produce coins quality enough to transform an existing magical girl or boy. Mulling it over the two could probably figure it out on their own. But why reinvent the wheel when you can start with something you can already get a hold of.

The Beckoners nodded. “The poor lamb can indeed lend us her wisdom. Tabitha will send her the commandment, so join her in your quest for the new power.”

”Of course. We will do our best.” Handed some instructions in more detail the two girls were sent off to join Binky to begin their work.

---

Even though Janet and Jenna had a good idea that the council would be interested in the purification magic they hadn’t imagined that they had plans. The documents given to them were magical in nature and tailored to only allow them to see their contents. This was discovered when they tried to show them to Binki and all she saw were blank pages. Even so the parchment was quite old and detailed, among other things, the methods that Beacon currently knew how to purify a corrupted magical girl. It required a lot of things to be right though and a ritual that was time consuming and risky at best.

Having been imparted knowledge of the mystic arts talking with Binky had become a very different experience. No longer did the coin maker need to over simplify how or what she was doing. Being on par was odd only because it felt somewhat created in a way. Not that it could be changed now.

Having a base with witch to develop a new coin made things much easier. And they were able to get a hold of things they needed from other Beacon locations to hone and craft the new coin. That isn’t to say that things were easy. Infusing enough magic to transform a magical boy or girl took time and patience. Also took being just a little bit crazy because on more than one occasion their prototypes destabilized and everyone had to run behind a protective barrier. Given a few of those incidents they forged a protective casing that they could place over the coin to contain the magic without having to retreat.

"Doesn't this seem a little strange to you two?" Binky stepped away from the shield. "I can understand why old beacon would want a purifying coin, but why are we making one now that Beacon is tolerant of monster girls?"

Janet had moved to clear some of the mess but when Binki brought up her question the blonde stopped briefly. It had crossed her mind a bit. It’s hard to say exactly why Beacon wanted this. It could potentially be several things. However there was one answer that stuck out to her. ”While I’m sure some people might see this as a step backward, I would like to believe that they’ll use it to help those that want it.” Disposing of the mess she glanced over to Jenna.

Picking up where her sister left off Jenna tried to fill in some context. ”So the potion that we told you about was actually used on us, or Janet technically. She had been brainwashed and forcibly turned into a monster girl against her will. Alicia used the potion to return her to normal which sort of started this whole accepting monster girls thing. That what you wanted Jan?”

”Yes, thank you. So from the way I see it these coins will give others that don’t want to be monster girls an option to be free of that. That was my intent with learning how to make the potion and why I’m working on the coin now.” She smiled lightly as she prepped the area for another attempt.

"Well, I've never been a monster, or powerful." Binky sighed. "I guess the mental mutations could be a bit bothersome. I haven't done much research on that." She pointed at the protective glass shield. "Mostly just, eh, well you know. Mana theory, coin theory, corruption theory, anything pertaining to the creation of the red coins." She folded her arms. "Curious about you being a monster girl though. I've only ever encountered one and they gave me the heebie jeebies." She looked to Janet. "I trust you don't miss it? Being powerful I mean. I doubt you could give an honest answer given our work environment."

”I can’t say I was a fan of being a monster girl. Any benefits it may have had were far outweighed by my negative experience. It does give me a unique perspective from the others in Beacon. I know what it’s like to have that mutation and being pushed to do things you might not want to do, either by that mutation or your patron. Justine didn’t really give me a choice. And I can’t say for sure that’s the case for all monster girls but I suspect there are others looking for a way out.” Having stopped to voice her thoughts an idea popped into her head. ”I could probably show you how I looked as a monster girl using my psychic power, if your curious.” She could do much more than that, but having had someone else’s will foisted on her herself she was wary of doing the same to others.

Binky waved her hands in the air. "T-that’s not necessary." she placed a hand behind her head. "We should probably just finish the experiment."

Nodding Janet turned back to their work. Right right. I think we're getting close. You've been a big help.” Jenna stepping away and returning with another potion that they've been infusing into the coins they all got back to work.

---

As tedious as it was they had made great progress in the last few days. Having basically buried themselves in the project the fruits of their labor still took a couple more days to sort out the method for creating a stable coin. Checking and rechecking by each of them they concluded that they had a viable sample. Now the question was, how do they test it? Contacting Tabitha they let her know of their progress.

With that conundrum in mind Jenna put the coin in place on a pedestal where she had been created. Tapping her chin she glanced at Binki. ”So how did you choose who would test the coin?”

"The red coins, you mean?" Binky hunched forward and tapped her fingers together. "I just sort of advertised for it you could say. I looked for people who could benefit the most from it. I was looking for people who wanted to change, not people who wanted to be science experiments. None of my subjects were suppose to feel like science experiments. It was both good from a moral and ethical standpoint. I didn’t want to hurt people, nor did I want them to rebel against me. However..." Binky snorted and looked away. "It didn’t really work out that way." She looked back at Jenna. "But I would test this on someone who is willing to change. Someone who is 100% happy with not being a monster anymore. Or dark magical girl. It should technically reverse any corruption, right?"

”I see. But yes it should. It took a little tweaking but the magic should be able to purify both.” That little bit was something of an oversight of their wish. But since becoming a monster girl was a greater corruption it was fairly logical to step back and cleanse a dark magical girl in theory.

”Mm, if I could test it myself I could. I know it’s not the smartest way to do things but I wouldn't want to put someone through something I wasn't willing to do myself.” Indeed, putting the scientist through a test that could potentially harm them and ruin the whole experiment was a bad idea. Though the mentality could be a manifestation of her new inherent protective nature.

"You’re a monster girl?." Binky took a step closer to Janet. "Didn’t you just say you weren’t a monster girl anymore?" Binky was bouncing all around Janet, looking at her from different angles. "I don’t even see any physical mutations, unless you’ve hidden them." She pulled back Janet’s shirt sleeve.

Taken aback for a moment Janet raised her arms and watched as Binky circled around her. ”How did…? No I'm not anymore. But if I were I would gladly attempt it.” Pointing to Jenna the blonde attempted to explain her reasoning. ”Since we're practically identical magic wise one of us using the coin would mean the other would be the control. We do still have Monstrous Metamorphosis but I'm not sure if that would qualify as the same thing.”

Binky froze in place. "Oh, I seem to have misunderstood." Binky’s eyes shifted side to side. "Just remember, most good discoveries came from mistakes. There are too many examples to name." The cultist-looking girl crossed her arms and stepped away from the two. "I do not believe a metamorphosis is brought on by corruption. So that would not be enough. But that’s a good idea, using twins for the experiment.. Do we know of any monster twins?"

Shrugging a bit Jenna spoke up. ”I don’t think Beacon has encountered that many in Penrose. We’d have to ask. And even then they’d have to want it.” Glancing at the coin briefly she turned her attention back to Janet. ”Since we’re already purified about the only thing one of us using the coin would do is tell us if there are any drawbacks or if it has any effect on normal magical girls. We should probably wait until we have at least a second coin for something like that in case there are already plans for this one. But I think I might know someone that might be interested.”

---

&



&

Initiation

Later, after Penny was told by Sylvia to prepare herself for whatever she had planned, the robot girl and Alicia met with Tabitha back at the Beacon HQ. She was holding a notepad close to her chest, seemingly a bit nervous, and waited until Penny was finished performing maintenance. “Miss Penny, are you busy right now? I have an assignment from Sylvia that I believe you could help with.” She made a map appear on the notepad with her magic, and a circle around a specific room. “Janet and Jenna are currently working on a new project, and they have requested for a magical girl with...Qualities you possess.” She averted her eyes. “I think they may be working on a new type of magical Coin...It might be related to their recently acquired talent of brewing elixirs of purification.”

Penny was doing better, once they had gotten her on to beacon grounds Laat’s influence over her dwindled drastically. Her mind still felt like it was full of static and her emotions were still handicapped, but she wasn’t struggling for coherence anymore.

She was sitting down at a workbench with her right arm in pieces on the table in front of her. The work she was doing was hardly needed, as her regeneration took care of most of her standard maintenance, but she was using the work as a method to keep her mind off of things with a simple goal of changing what her tattoos looked like. She was adding engravings to the chainsaw’s teeth as Tabitha came over.

“We can head over right now” Penny would respond a bit robotically to Tabitha, her arm pulling itself back together as she spoke. She would stand and look to Alicia before heading for the room that had been marked on the map and knocking.

No one came to the door but a magic circle appeared on the floor. Before Penny or Alicia got the chance to react they were both teleported to the lab Beacon had made for the crafting of coins. Among the Binki clones moving around Janet and Jenna were measuring out some magical ingredients to start the next coin.

As soon as they identified that their friends had arrived the Howell sisters stood up and hurried over. ”Penny! We’re glad you came. Come and look at this.” Leading her friend into the testing room she continued. ”Sorry we haven’t been around lately, but we’ve been busy working on this.’ Janet picked up the White Coin and presented it to Penny. ”I told you I would keep an ear to the ground. With the help of Binky we were able to create this coin. It contains the same purifying magic that was used to change me back into a normal magical girl. It also has the power that whoever uses it will be converted into Beacon.”

”We wanted to offer you the chance to test it before anyone else.” They both eagerly waited for Penny’s response.

She stood there blinking and It took a few moments for Penny to work through what Janet and Jenna were saying to her before she could respond. “Thank you” She would reply with as much emotion as she could muster. This made her coming clean to Alicia and Sylvia earlier so much sweeter. She doubted that she would have been able to accept such a gift without drowning in guilt were she still silently betraying them.

Cautiously the mechanical girl reached out for the White Coin. Treating it as a priceless wonder, because for her, it truly was. She turned slightly to give Alicia a chance to look at it as well, after all it wasn’t going to be around for much longer.

Having arrived with the others, Alicia had followed along with Penny as they went deeper into the headquarters. They were in areas that she wasn’t entirely familiar with, mostly because her work didn’t tend to take her to spots like this. She had some idea of what was going on, but even she was surprised to find the Howell sisters waiting for them.

Though she had some idea, her expectations turned out to be very off as the Howells produced a White Coin, rather than the red one she had been assuming they would use. That explained the risk at least. “Huh, I didn’t know you guys had become scientists,” she remarked as she examined the coin when it was shown to her. “Fingers crossed, right?”

Penny having taken the coin, Janet stepped back. ”It’s a new development. But we’re all confident it will work.” Gesturing to a line on the floor Jenna stepped behind it. ”We’re still going to follow safety protocol though so if everyone could step back we can make this happen.” Following her own instructions she had the magic enclosure come down over Penny once everyone was clear. After the experience Janet had with how small it was they had made the space inside larger.

Penny’s gaze once again return the the pure White Coin in her hands as the enclosure came down around her. She was idly running her thumb over the, now softly glowing, coin, scarcely able to believe that she was about to be rid of the corruption that had almost become second nature to her. To say nothing of being able to give Laat a giant middle finger.

Suddenly the coin sublimated to motes of light that surged in brightness and size as they overcame the monstrous girl to quickly for her to do anything other than look surprised. It no time at all the entire inside of the enclosure was filled with a brilliant white light, that oddly wasn’t painful to look upon and In the center of the white light they could see Penny’s outline as a twisted mass of oily black shadows.

The twisted mass of black seemed to be in agonizing pain as it thrashed around, but there was no sound coming from within the enclosure. Then suddenly there was the sound of a bell tolling as part of the silhouette vanished. The thrashing would escalate in intensity but just as quickly the bell would toll again. Each time more and more of the black shadow in the center would fade away.

Very quickly there would be only a vague outline of black slowly stumbling around in the case of light. The light would dim then, turning a steely gray, before the bell would ring out one final time causing the light return to its pure white and flare up. Just before it would become blinding the light would vanish.

To reveal Penny.

She was standing right in the center of the enclosure exactly where she had been before the coin activated. It was easy to tell something had happened, as she was human. She also seemed to be missing most of her clothes, save for her jacket and the necklace Chloe had given her, and she was covered in sweat and was quite literally steaming. The steam seemed to be primarily coming from her tattoos, were still there, but they had been changed as they seemed to have a rainbow sheen depending on how they caught the light, and most of the designs had changed as well.

The girl herself hadn’t yet seem to notice the light had left, her eyes were closed and she had a serene look on her face. It was ruined somewhat, when she collapsed to the ground, but she did open her eyes at least. “I…” she croaked out before swallowing “I think it worked”

Unsure as to what she should expect, Alicia was quick to follow the others behind the protective barrier as the coin was activated. Her expression must have matched the others at least, as she watched the impressive procedure with wide eyes. Geez, that looked like it had to hurt. But the fading black was good, right? Right?

Then at last it faded away, to reveal a dramatically changed Penny. “Wow,” Alicia remarked, stepping out from behind the barrier now that it was over. While doing her best not to stare of course. “That was...a thing.” It certainly looked like it had worked.

Tabitha was once again in utter shock after a Coin had been used before her. She held the notepad before her face, her cheeks bright red as she realized the breezy result of Penny’s transformation. “I-I’ll go get some clothes for Penny!” She blurted out, and left the room as if escaping it. Soon enough, she returned with Sylvia, carrying a pile of clothes consisting of a white button-up shirt, a pair of white panties and socks, and a school uniform consisting of a jacket and skirt. There was also a long towel of a bright yellow color in the pile. “Th-These were the only ones we had in stock. A lot of our members attend the local school, and, uhh...” She bowed as she held the clothes out to her, keeping her face down. Sylvia on the other hand seemed to not believe what she was looking at. “Well slap me sideways and call me Joe, it worked!” She turned towards Jenna and Janet, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Janet, Jenna...today you have made history. The Beckoners will surely be happy about this. I think we can even convince the central government, if this proves to be capable of granting the ShineSpark.”

Congratulating one another on the successful test, Janet and Jenna beamed. Turning her attention to Binki for a moment the blonde put a thumbs up. ”We couldn’t have done it without Binki. She made this possible as much as we did.” Giving Binki a pat on the back as she smiled.

Jenna looking over Penny without much regard to the fact that she had essentially nothing on. ”How are you feeling?” She wanted to ask a ton of other questions, but not wanting to overwhelm her friend she left it simple.to start. There would be plenty of time to talk. Something Sylvia said drew her attention. ”ShineSpark?” While the coin production was in large part thanks to Binki, Janet and Jenna provided the purification component. However, the last portion that they had worked in, the part that brought the coin user into the fold, was based off of magic that Beacon had provided for this specific project. While the three had figured out how to work it into the coin it was quite complicated and above their pay grade at the moment.

Penny had huddled up in her jacket trying desperately to hide her scarlett blush at the unexpected result of the coin. Though in hindsight it made sense, the clothes had always been a part of her disguise alongside human skin, but she was no longer using magic to hide who she was.

That or it was a vindictive parting shot from Laat.

Regardless the newly purified girl was immensely grateful to Tabitha for the spare clothes and delayed only long enough to find somewhere private to preserve her modesty before she quickly toweled off and changed in to the school uniform.

“I... feel great” She would answer Jenna when she finally returned. A part of her kept expecting to feel the strain that was normally associated with being human start up any second, but the longer it went without showing up the wider and wider her smile would grow. To say nothing of how her thoughts felt, that compulsive itch, the wrapped and twisted need to tear things apart was gone, her mind felt like it was her own again.

She could also feel her magic flowing smooth and calm within her. It didn't feel very different, which Penny took as a good thing, but there was something settled into her core that hadn't been there before. “Is that the Spark I’ve heard about” she would murmur to herself entranced with getting to know her own body again.

Alicia waited patiently until Penny had gotten dressed, instead focusing on Jenna, Janet, and Binky. It seemed her decision to cut that deal was working out for them, in ways that she couldn’t even have anticipated when it happened at the time. A coin that did something like this? It was amazing.

“I know my word might not mean all that much, but I’ll do my best to ensure your hard work doesn’t go to waste,” she assured the Twins. A discovery like this, she could tell that it was too important to simply ignore. The real question was just how much of an impact she could have, since she certainly didn’t feel all that influential.

That said, she turned and stepped over to Penny, offering her a handshake. “That’s good to hear.” She wore a smile of her own, though it was not as vibrant as hers was. “Welcome to Beacon, for real this time.”

Tabitha seemed to continue blushing, even as Penny came out fully dressed. She smiled with a bright, nervous expression, and then bowed once more. Sylvia nodded, her arms crossed. “Yes, I suppose it is time.” She took something from her pocket: it was the Black Coin that Penny had entrusted her with. “I will show you.” She looked at Penny, and offered the coin to her. “Take it.” The moment she would do so, a flash of light would burst out from Penny, sending the coin to shoot off. It hit the wall of the room with enough force for it to leave a small, coin-sized indent as it dropped down with a clink.
Sylvia smiled. “It works,” she declared confidently. “The ShineSpark will protect us...For good.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Alicia,” Janet spoke. “You and me, our magics kind of puts us in a support sort of role. But I never would have thought of trying to make something like this if you first hadn’t made your wish for that potion. And you chose to give it to me and support me during the trial. I might be helping with this magic stuff but you’ve helped change Beacon and pave the way to make this possible.” Beaming she hugged both Alicia and Penny. ”Now we can make a big difference together.”

The hug was cut short as Tabitha approached to demonstrate something. The twins watching as the coin shot off. Then Jenna spoke up first. ”Wow, so from the looks of it the ShineSpark actively protects from corruptive magic. That’s huge.”

Jenna picked up the Black Coin and quickly returned it to Tabitha. She was none too willing to hold onto the dark object knowing full well what it could do. ”It also means we’re going to be busy. It’s going to take a while to make enough coins for everyone in Beacon to use. Even if more than one person uses one.”

Pausing briefly Janet eventually nodded in agreement. ”And we’ll want to check that it has the same effect on regular magical girls. Though I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t. I suppose the next coin will tell.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Alicia conceded, returning Janet’s hug even if she didn’t have as much energy in it as the other girl did. But any concerns of hers had been laid to rest for the moment, as a result of the encouragement given. It was just two different aspects of the same thing, and one was not more important than the other.

That was drawn short by the demonstration, having quite the visible result as the Black Coin was sent slamming into the wall with considerable force by the effect of this ‘ShineSpark’. She just had to wonder when she would get one of those. “Well it’s about time,” she decided with a nod, hands resting on her hips as she glanced at the impact crater. “First Justine and then Regina, I was worried that we were in trouble with how many of us were getting taken over by darker forces.” It didn’t exactly speak well for Beacon if they were so susceptible to such forces.

Penny would disregard the handshake, instead pulling Alicia in to a tight hug. Penny was free, and there were no words to explain how that felt. In the the brawlers mind in was all due to Alicia simply because she was willing to give her a chance. ”None of this would have happened without you.” She would add on to twins encouragement “You didn’t argue against me being a Monstergirl back when the Beckoners were seeking the help of Laat. You chose to give Kimble a second chance. Your wish and defense of Janet lead to this new Coin that will change the world. You did something that not even a God with millennia worth of trying was able to accomplish. You changed Beacon, simply by being you...”

Penny was more then willing to go on, due to being somewhat overwhelmed with relief and joy at being cleansed, but was internally thankful for Tabitha and Sylvia interrupting before she got too carried away and did something embarrassing. The outcome of the demonstration left her transfixed, she stared at the indent in the wall caused by the Black Coin being violently rejected by the Shine Spark.

There were a few reasons for why Penny had been entranced by it, the first was a fear she hadn't even gotten around to realizing had been banished with that small demonstration. Nothing, and no one would be able to force her back into the hell she had just gotten out of so long as she held that spark close.

Next was the instinctive desire that welled up within her when she touched the coin. It was almost identical to the one she used to struggle against everyday, but calmer less frenzied, and entirely focused at the Coin. She would need to transform to be sure, but she had a suspicion that she still wasn’t fully human.

“Alicia get’s the next White Coin” Penny would say solemnly as she tracked the Black coin as it was put away into safe storage, wondering, not for the first time, if there was anyway to destroy the corrupted thing without using it.

”Four to a coin should be a safe number I would suggest along with Alicia that Binki, Jenna, and myself use the next coin. While we all might not have all the pieces to making this coin we need to protect how it was done.” Janet stated definitively. ”Once information about the White Coin comes to light I have no doubt that someone will be after how Beacon made it. And we would be the links to that.” Stopping she looked over to Binki. ”Not that I’m trying to force you into Beacon, but you understand what I’m saying.”

"Yea." Binky whimpered. ”I don’t really have a choice.”

“No, that’s not right,” Alicia said with a shake of her head, once she was free from the tight hug. She ignored what Penny said for the moment, having moved past her own feelings, and not particularly caring if she ended up getting the next White Coin. They had a solution for that, and she was more worried about the others anyway rather than herself. Nothing unfortunate had happened to her yet anyway. Not compared to the others.

Looking over at Binky, she flashed the scientist a warm smile. “Forcing her to join us isn’t going to incentivize her to protect anything, and forcing membership isn’t what we’re about. There has to be another way.”

Binky was twiddling her thumbs. ”I agree, but I was under the impression that-”

Admittedly, she didn’t have much of a solution, but they had to at least try, right? “Janet, Jenna, maybe you guys could put a mental block in her mind to help her resist that kind of interrogation? Or at least something to tell us that she’s in trouble so we can stage a rescue?” Psychic powers weren’t her domain, so those two were more likely to know what was possible than she was.

“Alicia makes a good point,” Tabitha spoke as she took her backpack and quickly dropped the Black Coin in it. “Binky should not be pressured into joining as a member. We would then stoop to the level of the vile Ebon Mint. We are a family.” She took Binky’s hand with both of hers. “No matter what happens, we’ll be there for you, Binky.” She stared intensely at the girl. “I won’t let anyone hurt my precious-I mean, my friend.” Sylvia shook her head. “That might work for now, but I have a feeling it won’t just be the Mint who’s after her. I’ve heard some worrisome reports of a certain girl rising in power...Here.” She placed a token on Binky’s palm. “Hold on to that. We will come rescue you if you ever get in trouble.” She then turned. “Tabitha, begin preparations for the further production of White Coins; I want a full demonstration by Friday.” And with that, she walked off, though Alicia could spot a relieved smile faintly on her lips as she left.

Binky was still looking at her palm. ”Is this what I think it is? Oh dear.” her fingers tightened around it. ”Do we get attacked that often?”

“No, but it never hurts to be prepared.” Penny would say fiddling with her own given token.

”Friday? Well I guess we’ll be busy this week.” She glanced over at her workbench.

Nodding in agreement Janet turned to Binki. ”That should give us the time to protect you as best we can. With a few days I think we could get some pretty strong wards around you so won’t have to worry about anyone getting to you too easily.”

”Guys, I’m scared!” Binky’s knees trembled.

Alicia was pleased to find that her point was supported by other members of the group, and a situation quickly worked out. For her part she would nod in agreement, leaving the specific details to those who were more knowledgeable about such things.

“I’ve already met people looking for her. But at least we’re in one of the safest spots in town,” Alicia confirmed as the topic of potential attack came up. Most people weren’t that dumb, but for a target like this they would be more than willing to make an exception. Hence being prepared.

She turned to Janet and Jenna, offering the two of them a warm smile of approval. “I’m sure you two have got this under control. But if you need anything, feel free to ask.”

Considering the matter Jenna tried to put together what she knew. To be fair it wasn’t all that much. Penrose had become more and more complicated with so many factions popping up since she had shown up. ”Faith and Lotus were pretty adamant about being cautious about letting Binky continue making coins, or at least the Red ones. Our efforts haven’t really focused on that much aside from Janet. Maybe we should try and talk with these girls and try to make peace.”

”Might help if we knew exactly what their grievances are. Circumstances were pretty different for me. But given my understanding more or less how the coins work I can’t really say they’re malicious.” Rubbing her chin she didn’t have enough of the pieces to properly give options. ”But right now in my mind the wards are to keep you safe from sneak attacks and whatnot. Having been kidnapped once myself I’m pretty sure we can come up with something. And then the rest of Beacon can back you up. We’ve learned a lot over the last few months and no one is just going to bully Beacon or its allies anymore.” She smiled with that added determination. It may not be the most encouraging speech ever but she hoped the support would lift Binky’s spirits.

But Binky had sunken to her knees, still clutching the token in her hands. ”T-those two? You talked to them?” Her voice was trembling. ”I don’t think they’re going to settle for anything less than my head. They were part of my original experiment program. They both agreed to join by choice but-” Binky swallowed. ”Lotus was not really that happy about her new transformation. She’s with Sammy, that girl who almost mauled me with her cats.” She fell on her side and started to shiver. ”They’re the reason I don’t try to escape from here.” Binky’s eyes scanned the room. ”I mean some of you are pretty scary, but no one compare to Lotus!”

Raising an eyebrow slightly Jenna wasn’t completely sure how to take that. ”Thanks?” She supposed she couldn’t blame Binky not really wanting to be a part of anything. What with moving from one organization to another. So far it seemed that she was wherever she was to avoid some other threat. It was somewhat disappointing that she didn’t trust them. Maybe not them specifically, but perhaps Beacon. She was there because of what she knew after all.

”What can you tell us about the people you tested on before? What should we expect of them?”

”I was unable to fully gauge their new abilities, so I can’t help you much there.” Binky tucked her knees into her chest. ”But I know about their personalities. Faith is the leader, regardless of how menacing Lotus seems. She will do anything Faith asks of her. There are a few others who follow them, but again, I know very little about them.” Binky sighed. ”Um, actually yes! Aside from Sammy there was a pair of twin souls. What were their names? Well, they were big on music at least. Obsessed with the idea of becoming famous. There might have been another, but I was so busy running away from Sammy I can’t really say. But there are at least five of them, and if you want to talk to them, talk to Faith. She runs the show.” She placed a hand over her face. ”Thanks for setting this all up. I do appreciate it. But you must forgive me, as all of this excitement has me feeling really tired. And I think my clones are sleeping in my bed. So...” Binky started snoring.

The girls had never seen anyone fall asleep nearly instantly. They had been at this pretty hard for the last several days, so it made sense. And given that Janet and Jenna shut up and glanced at Penny and Alicia. Motioning to the other room they stepped out so as not to disturb their exhausted friend. "Well I guess we're done here. Jenna and I still got to get everything else done but you should probably get going. We'll have to wait to hang out once this whole project is wrapped up."

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Wind rolled over the hills in the Overcity. For anyone unfamiliar this otherworldly place was always just a little bit off. At times you could find normal-ish things like trees, only to turn around to see a checkerboard clad terrain. Above the purple leaves of a grove rustled as a girl worked on unraveling a long strip of cloth from an injured boy. Once it was free she stepped back to retrieve a fresh set of gauze. Nearby a small creature rested, it’s tail waving back and forth watching rather disinterested. ”Why do you bother? Do you think this is why I pulled your hide out of there” An artifact hung from a branch resonated with magic warding off any roaming monsters. It was something of a wild place left unchecked.

“Hush.” Returning the girl carefully began redressing the wound.

Shannon had been taking care of Elroy for the past few days. He was alive, but he hadn’t woken up yet. She didn’t have much available to heal him. It wasn’t like she could just contact Beacon or one of her allies and ask them to send a healer over. Elroy was involved in a ploy that almost ended the world. He had helped a horror, and was involved with a few kidnappings. There were few people who wouldn’t try to kill him on sight, let alone help him. But Shannon knew better than most. He was being manipulated by his sister. Now that they were apart, there was a chance Elroy could be saved.

"Ghah!" In a flash, Elroy’s hand coiled around Shannon’s throat. "What’s with that burning sensation?" His thumb pressed against her throat, half choking her. "Are you trying to kill your old friend, Scarf girl?"

Showing a brief expression of surprise, Shannon shook her head. Elroy wasn’t going to immediately cause her harm considering the way her magic leaned. Not struggling in the grip she wasn’t really able to talk all that well. However she didn’t have to because Paree, Shannon’s patron stood up slowly. ”Hardly. Against my recommendations this girl plucked you from the rubble of your own stupidity. It had probably been a long time since Elroy had seen a Puchuu. They tended to be out of arm’s reach even to their own magical girls. As usual though it didn’t mince words with lowly mortals.

Elroy sighed, but kept his smile up. "One of the first things I did coming into this world was killing one of your sorry sorts, rodent. I’ve only become more experienced and powerful since then." He released Shannon before turning his attention onto her. "Seems I missed a few issues of the new manga. Whanna tell me what happened?"

”I haven’t been in contact with anyone for the last few days. Paree saved me from being killed by one of the Beacon girls your sister brainwashed. That put me outside the city so by the time I got back into the fray Soth had been defeated. It was only a matter of time before they would start looking for your body so I shifted us out and brought you here.” She pointed at where his missing arm should have been. ”Most of you anyway. You haven’t healed completely so may I finish?” Not waiting for a response she resumed wrapping him up.

Elroy shoved her away. "Not necessary, scarf girl. " He reached for the stump of his arm and pulled all of the gauze off. "If you think dragging me out of that fight and taking care of me netted you anything, you are mistaken." Two of Penny’s custom made arms were still attached to his back, but they were in rough shape. But he was able to will them to the stump where his left arm use to be. Plates, screws, and pistons shifted around until they had rebuilt his missing arm. The wound had been covered by aegis steel. Elroy flexed his new fingers before picking his nose. "I’d have been fine dying out there. I haven’t got anything left to fight for. Perhaps it’s more true to say I never had anything to fight for. I’m just a ronin searching for his final battle. I may not do it for Regina anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it for you either." He chuckled.

Stumbling back from the push she tossed the rest of the gauze she had in her hand back into a sizable box of medical supplies. For a girl that didn't get much from her patron she seemed to be able to get a hold of some handy things. And judging by the mess of discarded materials she had been tending to him for a while. Narrowed eyes told that she didn't much like how he was treating her. But she would excuse him for it. Not like he had any reason to trust her. "If you want to go I can take us back to the regular world. From here we'll end up outside of Penrose."

Putting her hands behind her the earth girl leaned forward a bit to examine the newly fashioned arm. "Color me impressed. Though I can't say I ever saw much of what you could do before." Since Elroy probably wouldn't accept it she didn't extend a hand to help him up. "I almost didn't recognize you when I found you you know. You looked like just another monster boy. But I found you." She pointed to her heart. "That rash boy stuck under his sisters thumb. I saw it when I first met you. But Twinned Souls are hard to separate and Regina was a problem that I couldn't just fix. I'd screw up our friendship or get caught in the same web as those Beacon girls. So I had to let it go and hope I'd get another chance."

Putting her hands out to each side she gestured to the scenery around them, which suddenly changed as she shifted them out of the Overcity. It was now a forest rather than a hill. There were no walls or barriers to keep Elroy from just leaving. "So here we are. I don't need you to fight for me, Elroy. What you do from here is up to you. And don't let my power be the thing that stops you." Kicking up her staff she leaned on it and waited to see what the monster boy would do. "I may miss that charm of yours though. I'm sure some people find it infuriating but it suits you."

"Oh god. For a largely expressionless Puchuu, Paree looked like he might be sick and before he could witness any more he hopped up and vanished into thin air.

Elroy blinked a few times "Hmmm." He scratched his chin. "the rat has a point. That was pretty mushy." He nodded. "But what did they ever know about what we need huh?." Elroy folded his arms. "Scarf girl, what am I going to do? I don’t have anywhere to go back to, and if I hang around you, all the people who want me to stay dead are going to come after you too." he reached his hand behind the back of his head. "Short of moving to a different city, there’s no place you’ll be safe here."

Shrugging slightly at the initial response Shannon let out a sigh of relief. Why something so simple seemingly cleared some internal anxiety was something of a mystery. "What can I say, I have a soft spot for bad boys." Frowning slightly she knew what Elroy was saying was true. "I know. She stated in a defeated tone. Walking away a bit she propped herself against one of the trees. "I haven't worked that out yet. I would like to believe that if we managed to do some good things that maybe, eventually, you could get something of a pardon. Probably not going to work for everyone but when does it ever?"

Holding up a hand she waved her fingers in front of her face. "There is also the matter of mental mutations. I don't know which ones you have but I know they're nearly impossible to suppress. Puchuu girls and boys have one but it tends to be less... bad? We end up enjoying what we do so we keep doing it. Could be seen as somewhat sinister but it hasn't really been a problem yet for me. Was your patron a Puchuu? You made it sound like it was." Shannon was beginning to ramble a bit. Where she was going was anyone's guess.

"It was, I think." He looked at his metal arm for a moment. "But It attacked Regina and turned her into a magical girl. Well, it made us, essentially. Some shit about being too weak to take on three monsters without the extra power. I’m unsure if it’s one of the dumb things she had me do, or one of the few things that made sense. Either way, it didn’t have our best interests at heart." He groaned and folded his hands together in front of his face. "If I could get rid of these mutations, and change my identity. Then I wouldn’t hold you back so much. I could be something like a magical luchador."

Huffing a bit Shannon pulled herself back to the current situation. "I could see if I could find something for that. Before recently I would have said you're screwed on that front but the rumor mill is that there are new magical coins and some method of purification. I hadn't really had the chance to investigate but if it is true then the magical world is about to be shook up. No idea how it works or where to get it if it does exist." Being out of the loop was frustrating, but that was bound to happen. The mental thought of a magical luchador was amusing enough to lighten the mood a bit though.

"Well, wishing for things we can’t get isn’t going to help our current predicament." He stood up, only to prop himself against a tree. "All I know is that right now, I have a burning desire to make you miserable. Not just you, anyone I come in contact with. I want to see that look of horror on your face as I rip your rodent in half, and then chase you through the forest until I can do the same to you." He placed a hand on his head. "Touching that black coin was the stupidest thing I ever did."

As gruesome as that sounded, it wasn’t the worst thing she’d been exposed to. Still it was less than desirable. ”Mm, then I’ll get right on finding where I can get some help then. Is there anything else?”

"You can get something like that?" He sounded confused, but he nodded. "If a miracle cure like that exists I'll try it. But I do have one more question." He pushed himself away from the tree. "What happened to Regina?"

@BrokenPromise

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

An Enlightening Encounter

Shortly after the battle at the Graveyard

Part of what made the Djinn Sisters a little harder to pin down was how they selected those that would have a wish granted. Sometimes they just happened across people, or pointed to someone, etc… But on occasion it is when they happen across someone that they find curious. It wasn’t anything amazing that was done, but what Sakura’s Third Eye spotted about another pair of twins walking the streets of Penrose. They didn’t jump at the chance to talk with them right away, but they would meet again soon.

And that is just what would happen not long after their little talk with Mariette. Were the two not used to having things just work in their favor one could call it a conspiracy. In this case their target was returning from a battle. Police had shown up so everyone present ran for the hills to avoid getting caught. The commotion was the perfect cover as many of the other magical boys and girls would be going their separate ways to recover or hide. Unimpeded for the moment the djinn set out to find a wish.

A run in was easy, and literal even. Janet and Jenna were on their way out after the Graveyard incident. The girls would debrief after a well deserved rest. The whole event had them thinking about what to do about their friends, and their enemies really. Not entirely paying attention Jenna crashed into Violet when the wish granter came running around a corner. ”I just don’t know-” Narrowly avoiding the collision Janet watched as the small girl ran into Jenna. Not having the mass to knock over the larger girl Violet was the one that fell back from the impact. ”Uh hello?”

”Are you alright?” Surprised by the sudden appearance for a moment she recovered and, offering a hand, Jenna got Violet back to her feet. ”You should try and be more careful. You never know what might be around the corner.”

”Right, I’ll try and keep that in mind.” Glancing back Violet watched as her sister came around the corner. ”It’s one of these two right?” She said brushing herself off.

“Yeah that’s them” The other girl would confirm “And she’s right you know. You’re always running into things or falling off things. Still..” Shaking her head she would turn towards Janet and Jenna “Hi, I’m Sakura and that’s my sister Violet.” She say smiling with her introduction.

“You caught our eye the other day, and we were wondering if you might be in need of a wish.”

The interaction so far was odd to say the least. The twins that had just shown up just didn’t even talk like normal people. ”In need of a wish? What?” Thoroughly lost for a moment she was swatted on the shoulder by Jenna.

”A wish. Twins. Janet, these might be the ones Alicia was talking about.” Both stare at Violet and Sakura for a moment.

”Well that explains a few things. You must be the one that she chose to use her wish on. No wonder your magic is all screwed up.” She chose to ignore her sister in this case. Not much reason to dwell on it.

Realizing who they were talking to now Janet perked up, but then was conflicted. A wish was a powerful thing and should be made with care, right? And of course there was always the matter of what to wish for. ”Is this how you do this all the time? Just walk up and ask for a wish?” Even though she was pretty sure they were who they said at this point it just seemed a little too easy.

Always with the questions. Sighing a bit Violet waved off the concern. ”Not all the time. It just depends. You aren’t going to say no are you?” The girl put her hands on her hips and smirked.

”No!” Jenna answered for her twin. Taking a hold of Janet she pulled her closer. ”You can wish for another potion for Divina and Penny.” Thus far it seemed like Jenna ended up with a lot of Janet’s memories, or at the very least recalled them much more easily. Which lent at times toward Janet seeming to be the dumb blonde. On the flip side though the darker haired girl was the more impulsive of the two.

Listening to her sister for a moment she nodded. ”Right. Good idea.” What recollection Janet lacked she made up for it discretion and planning. Things were usually run through her before any major choices were made. It was weird, but at least when transformed they could communicate telepathically. Together they made something akin to what the original Janet was made of. Back to the matter at hand. ”I think I know what I want. I wish we had two more purifying potions like Alicia used on me. It worked out well enough for her and it was something that she knew would be helpful to her friends.

Sakura’s smile would dim a little at the proposed wish, not because she didn’t like it, but “Sorry, we’re not going to be able to grant that one” The pinkette would rub the back of her neck sheepishly “Our magic does have some restrictions, and your wish runs in to one of them. Nothing that we have wished in to being can be wished for again.” She went on to explain, not too upset about having to explain either as It was one of the more commonly discovered limits to their Wish granting.

]”Really? That sucks.” Disappointed she pondered for a moment. ”Wait, how about, I wish…” She stopped abruptly when Janet put a finger up against her lips.

So they couldn’t wish for the same thing. That was interesting. In theory they could stumble across things that others had wished for. Testing the waters wasn’t something they wanted to do though. Still there was likely a way to still get something similar. Perhaps it was best that the wish didn’t work. Something like a potion really only has one use each. They could find a way to be able to get more. ”Not sure if this will work but, I wish-” Making sure that she had her words in order Janet continued. ”that Jenna and I had the ability to fully purify monster girls and boys as I had been.” Seeing as their Reinforcement magic already lent toward this kind of thing it seemed like it could be a logical extension. Of course assuming it was different enough from the other wish and there weren’t any other complications.

Sakura tilted her head to the side as she thought over the wish that Janet had spoke, turning the words this way and that in her mind. After a moment she would nod “Yeah that one will work” she would say with a smile before taking a step forward to share a look with her sister.

“The wishes of the many be granted by two“ They would intone together.

After their transformation Sakura would step towards the other pair of twins her eyes glowing an etheric white “Your wish...” tailing off she would place a hand on both Janet’s and Jenna’s shoulders just a moment before a flood of Power would flow from her fingertips.

At first the power would crystalize into items. A mortar and pestle along with a beakers and bunsen burner. All were covered in arcane sigils and made of what looked to be crystal. These items would fade and settle within the magic of Janet and Jenna.

“…Has been…”

Next the power would bring forth knowledge. The recipe to brew all the infinite variations of the potion that had purified them from their corruption and an unlived lifetime's worth of experience in brewing it.

“...Granted”

Finally understanding would blossom forth just before the flood of power cut off. The limits and requirements for the potions to work, the vulnerable and fickle nature of the brew.

With a contented sigh Sakura would stumble backwards, Violet already there to help support her sister.

Having never seen how this process works Janet and Jenna watched with interest. The magic flowing through them wasn’t as jarring as one might think, at least in contrast to some previous experiences. Moving away from that though a few items spawning into existence was somewhat perplexing. What exactly… Wait were they going to have to brew the potions? That wasn’t exactly what had been hoped for. They didn’t even know where to start. Any concern about not knowing how to do such a thing though was soon alleviate. Having knowledge form from seemingly nothing was a strange sensation.

Using magic was one thing, but making and manipulating magic was a whole other beast. Being largely ignorant of how magic worked when the knowledge began flooding in it was like taking a tome jamming it into their heads. The wealth of information with all its intricacies and prerequisites was too much to handle all at once and the girls simply froze as their minds attempted to process it all. Thankfully Sakura was gracious enough to also provide practice and wisdom to normalize everything they just learned. Entirely unaware of how much time had passed they both came to and took a moment to reorient themselves. In a brief moment they went from total novices to experts in their field.

Putting her hands on her head Jenna’s eyes widened. ”That actually worked? Holy crap! I had no idea there were so many facets to magic. This is so weird.” Going over what she now knew it was clear that they would be able to make these potions. And potentially more, but they would actually require putting in the time and research. Beats starting from zero though.

Before the newly minted scientists could do much Violet started to go. ”Well It was nice granting your wish and all but we best get going. Can’t go around granting wishes without drawing some unwanted attention.” Given that Janet and Jenna were associated with Beacon she wasn’t too worried about letting that little information slip.

Nodding a bit Janet could see how they could be a target. It was not something that had ever crossed her mind, but that kind of power was definitely desirable. ”You could always come with us to Beacon, we could protect you.”

Smirking slightly she turned and skipped backward. ”Sorry, but we can’t risk getting involved with an organization like Beacon. Nothing against them or anything but it’s too dangerous. There is a balance and we’re not about taking sides.” Noticing that the other twins glanced at each other she could tell that there was some apprehension about letting them go. ”Careful, you don’t want to piss off a djinn. We can give you some nice things but we can also make your life a living hell.”

Furrowing her brow she spoke with a serious tone. ”Nothing so drastic. But you have to realize that eventually Beacon and others aren’t going to be able to ignore what you can do.” The statement was rather matter the fact and something that the Djinn Sisters were well aware of from the past and their last chat with Mariette.

A sly grin working its way across her face the djinn girl pointed to the other pair of twins before tapping her head. ”Speak for yourself.” Violet said before darting around the corner with her sister and both vanished.

The two minds blipping off their radar, Jenna rushed forward and looked around the corner to find the Djinn Sisters were gone without a trace. ”Damn, how'd they do that?” She glanced back to Janet.

Shaking her head the blonde pointed to their backpack. ”Doesn't matter. Make a call to HQ and set up a meeting, they're going to want to hear about this.”

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Being in a vacuum, although not overly sudden, was still something of a surprise to Jenna. Not really controlling her breathing the lack of oxygen made her a tad woozy. When they were shifted and the air came back the knight coughed a bit as she drew in a fresh breath. Rubbing her head she nodded, noting Helga's presence but not really reacting one way or another. "Janet didn't send me, I just encountered you first. And I know because up until we split her memory is my memory. You can be sure what I said is exactly how she feels because we are nearly the same person right now." Glancing around she could see that a majority of Beacon's forces were moving away, which was fine.

Despite not actually fighting Jenna looked rather defeated. This was not how she had wanted the talk with Su to go. Janet probably would have handled it better. "For what it may be worth, consider contacting Janet or I if you need help with something." Gesturing to Helga and Mika she added. "That goes for you as well. I may be a part of Beacon but some of us are trying to make some changes. It's slow going but there is some hope." Pointing out Kimble among her comrades. "If the fates allow perhaps we can meet again on better terms." There wasn't really a good way to say goodbye. Su hated her guts and it wouldn't be a stretch to assume the other two weren't very fond of anyone Beacon either. Turning Jenna walked away to rejoin her group. She would have tried to catch up with Janet but the other Beacon members were already well on their way after her own detour into the Overcity.

Seeing that there were two others there that she didn't recognize speaking with Alicia she stood off to the side to try and catch up. Some kind of talk about Binky? Figures. While she had tried the Red Coin herself there wasn't a whole lot of other development from there as far as she knew. And Alicia knew even less most likely since Beacon was trying to keep a lid on that project. To try and give her friend a moment of breathing room she interjected. "Hello, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting. I am Jenna." She offered a handshake to Lotus and Faith each. The contact would also help her more discreetly use her magic to learn a thing or two about them.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord

Shaking her head Jenna conceded. "I don't. That is why I asked. For all I know Amber really is the kind of person to just dive in and attack and you would continue. It was a gamble. There wasn't really time to think and I'm just trying to keep an innocent safe. Taking a deep breath after that she was going to have to tread lightly. Su was powered up and Jenna didn't really have the mana left for another fight.

Locking her fingers together with her palms open up she continued. "What I know of her and you comes from Janet. I know you used to be her familiar, what happened to Amber, and how you became a magical girl. There aren't really words to say how sorry I am about what happened. You've every right to be angry. I wish circumstances were different and I could be returning your friend to rest." Jenna didn't like dredging up these memories. Losing people, though not as close, reminded her of her friends that had died when Justine had Janet blow up Beacon. That helplessness of not being able to prevent what was happening.

As unpleasant as it was reflecting did give her some direction. These things happening were in large part due to those dark magical girls that used their power to manipulate and control others. Jenna wasn't sure if Beacon's dogma was finally getting through or her own experiences were making things clearer. "Horrors and their followers made these things happen. They continue to take from us even after we think it's over. I-" She cut out for a moment as she hesitated, partly because she was getting somewhat emotional but also because what she was about to say could be risky. But being honest with Su seemed the right thing to do.

"I know Janet and I would be willing to help you seek and take vengeance on those that enabled this to happen to Amber. We more than owe you and her that respect. Janet has... changed since you last met. That process created me as her Twinned Soul. So when I say this it is coming from her. I wasn't strong enough then and was used as an instrument to take her away from you. The least I can do is aid you now." Would revealing this be a terrible mistake? Perhaps. But the weight of keeping her regret from Su had been crushing them since the beginning. There was no easy way or opportune time to have this kind of conversation. The best the twins could hope for is that Su would be lenient on them one more time and not try and tear them apart. It was evident in her prone posture and shaky voice that killing Amber left a deep mark even if she didn't do it of her own volition. "I couldn't... couldn't stop myself. I was a little marionette on strings and I just had to watch as I did terrible things. I'm so sorry." Falling apart right there in front of Su hadn't really been part of the plan. Su had more right to be emotional in this situation but Jenna couldn't help herself. If the wind girl wanted to Jenna was more than an easy target right now.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@MadManMoon@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@FamishedPants

Divina's response was a good one, considering the many alternatives. She did sense the mental push that the girl seemed to unwittingly apply. It would take a lot more than that to effect Janet. It was something to note though. "We did know each other. I wouldn't say very well though." Being honest seemed like the best course of action. There was no telling what mental mutations might be affecting her friend. Seeing that her memory was clouded it might take a while to clear up. However she would offer her services. "I might be able to help you with your memories, at least a little. It would probably take some time though."

Her attention was arrested by Penny waking up. Seemed her efforts paid off. While the mechanical girl was weak at the moment the knight had little doubt she would be on her own feet soon enough. Having Reinforcement may not be the most offensive form of magic, but it helped immensely when in came to support. Chloe barked some orders to Divina and the monster girl followed without question. Curious. Asked to assist Janet had to consider her options. She could try and take on Chloe, all parties were likely pretty low on mana. And Beacon's forces were nearby enough that she wouldn't be alone long. But that could also damage her chances of reaching Divina. After some deliberation she sighed. "Sure, let's get Lucy home." Offering a smile she stepped over and supported the chimera to make movement easier. Not everything she was thinking needed to be said. And to some extent she owed the girl for saving Penny. But not that much.

"Jenna."

"Got it."

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@FamishedPants@Ariamis@MadManMoon

Looking through Serenity's recent memories was interesting. Partly because of what happened but mostly because HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN! It was most definitely the doing of the Beckoners though. They had a reason for this and they seemingly put in a safeguard. Backing down she relaxed a bit as she came to terms with her leaders decision. "I see. I may not understand it but if that is what Beacon wants... Welcome aboard?" She couldn't really fault the former horror turned Beacon girl. It was one way to one up her own redemption story though. Her attention was pulled away though as Janet predded her.

Janet had been communicating with her twin what was going on. When she was signaled she knew what to do. Reaching out to the other Beacon members and their allies she announced to them.

"Brothers, sisters. If you come across a moth monster girl try and avoid harming her. It is Divina. She was corrupted by the dark magical girl named Chloe. Janet is going to try and help Divina but we should try and apprehend her attacker before she gets away." Giving a mental push she directed everyone to where Janet was leaving Penny and Chloe.

The cohesion of the magical girls and boys present was breaking down it seemed. Nothing overtly hostile for the most part, aside from Su who looked like she was on a razor's edge. Janet and Jenna hadn't really met up with the dark magical girl since just after the battle against Justine. That had ended with Amber dying, something the twins still felt they were in some part responsible for. But now even Amber's body was gone, turned into another magical pirate girl. She could only imagine what was going on in the wind girl's head. Jenna didn't have to imagine though as she glimpsed Su's mind. Tensing the knight's eyes widened as she saw her intent. "Su wait!" Rushing forward to pull the girl back she only managed to lay a hand on Su's shoulder before she was shifted away along with the pirate girl.

---

Being behind Su from the shift when her wings burst out it threw Jenna back. There was hardly time to scramble before the torrent of wind descended and picked the knight up. There was a brief moment of deja vu while tumbling through the air before she was thrown free as Su moved toward Sophia. Rolling for a moment she managed to catch a footing and skid to a stop. Damn that wind. It had stopped her in the past too. Although that was a good thing then. Now this funnel of death was barreling its way toward an innocent girl.

"Don't do this Su. It isn't going to bring Amber back!" Jenna wasn't even sure her words could reach Su in the middle of the tornado. Glancing at her pistol she doubted its shots would make it through and diving in would be even worse. She was going to have to rely on her mental magic. This situation was really beginning to feel repeated somehow. Entirely bypassing the wind Jenna struck out at Su's mind. There were a lot of options available, most of which she'd never done before. Partly because Psychic something of a new development, but also because she hated the idea of tampering with other people's minds. Having seen Regina's handy work and looked at the remnants of Janet's own mind control she felt she had a decent grasp of how to influence others. Weaving thoughts together she would try and pacify the wind girl by instilling sympathy for Sophia. Su likely knew this somewhere in the back of her mind but it was buried by rage.

Pushing the narrative.

Sophia's situation isn't her fault. She didn't know what was going on. Hadn't even asked to be created. Killing her wouldn't bring Amber or her body back. She would just be taking away a life that had only just gotten started. Was it worth taking out her vengeance on someone that accidentally came to be? Is that the kind of behavior that Amber would want to see Su taking part in?

Damn this was harder than it looked. Figuring out how to put everything. Seemed pretty easy to screw up. Su was also still extremely emotional. It was hard to say how trying to direct it would turn out, at least at this stage. Man it would be nice to have Aurelio right now to help with that.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@FamishedPants@Ariamis@MadManMoon

Soth it seemed had no soul. His plans thwarted the horror, who clearly was something to behold, simply left seemingly to try another time. What was just shocking was the fact that the part of Soth that had manifested was left to effectively die. Not that Jenna was going to complain per se. Defeating horrors and their followers was something that Beacon often sought. While there was some sympathy for the girls and boys that unwillingly got roped into that kind of thing the horrors were beyond reproach.

For this battle Jenna was content to watch from the wayside. She could make a decisive strike, but it would most certainly drain all of her mana. Opting instead to be a support should another attack come in. Thankfully all that did seem to come was support as Su sent in a torrent of debris to further shred the fragmented horror. Surely this would be over soon. Just as things looks to be over and they could all go their separate ways with a victory under their belt things took an unexpected turn. Raising an arm to shield her eyes from the intense light the remaining horror Amber's body had vanished. It took a moment to recognize something that was going on, as at least part of the magic taking place was of Beacon. As things died down there were two new magical girl's present. One had a pirate getup which said to Jenna that she must have something to do with what just happened with Amber's body. The other was less clear as she seemingly came from nowhere. Twinned Soul maybe? It seemed plausible.

Neither girl appeared to be hostile at least and introduced themselves. Wanting to get a better understanding of the two she began picking through their minds. Sophia was completely new, a clean slate if you will. Clearly not an enemy especially from her words. The other was...huh? A massive wealth of knowledge was in Serenity's head. That detail paled in comparison to the next realization, Serenity was Soth! Or the part that had been left behind. And he...it...she? She was somehow now part of Beacon. Mind well and truly blown Jenna stood there staring like she could see through everyone she eventually managed to speak.

"Excuse me, what just happened!?" Marching up to Serenity she poked the girl to be sure what she was seeing was real. "How the heck..." Examining the girl further she narrowed her eyes and got right in the maid's face. "You better start explaining things or we might have a problem." Lowering her voice she whispered. _"Soth."

---

@MadManMoon@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@FamishedPants

While her strike didn't land true it was sufficient in wounding the great dragon. Though the effort was not hers alone. Together they were poised to crush Regina and be done with this fight. But alas it was not to be apparently. Engulfed in darkness Janet was thrown back before she could attempt another blow. Turned around the knight made for clearer air as the darkness was the dragon's domain. The effort was partly unnecessary though as shortly after Regina had taken off, taking the cloud with her it seemed. While from her vantage point she could see where Regina would have landed she seemed to have disappeared into the earth.

A quick glance around told that most if not all of the fighting was over. This was a win she supposed. Though not everything was bright. They had managed to save Abigail from Regina's brainwashing but her two other sisters she did not see just yet. They could still be around but she wasn't sensing their minds. And then there was Divina who was at least still alive, thank god. Beacon would be moving in to back everyone up if a scuffle started. Turning herself back to Penny and Chloe she approached with a hand up. While fighting Chloe was tempting, she doupted she had the remaining mana to duke it out. She could however try and not lose anyone else. "Allow me to heal my friend, please." Penny needed a bit more than just magic though. She had seen how the mechanical girl assimilated metal to repair herself. Focusing her mana she placed a healing ward on her armor. Reaching around she unclasped and removed her armor, placing it over Penny to give her some magically imbued material to work with the regeneration ward she'd placed earlier.

Sighing she took a step back and looked at Divina. As far as monster girls went she was nothing if not beautiful. More so than Janet would say she herself had looked after Justine got done with her. Making her way over to her sister she wrapped her arms around her in a hug. The moth girl still seemed to be rather confused so Janet had to be sure to prove she was a friend. After a moment she let go and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Everything will be alright, Divina. Stick with me and we can figure things out."

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@MadManMoon@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@Ariamis@FamishedPants

Dodging and weaving to avoid the debris the destruction of the Tower of Carnage created quite a mess. Slammed by one large chunk Janet was briefly pinned. Having been granted more on the strength side though she lifted and was free of the twisted metal fairly quickly. Soth's actions briefly caught her attention but she would leave that to Jenna. Right now the blonde's focus had to be on protecting her friend from the metamorphosed dragon that was Regina. Before she could reach Penny the monstrous dragon unleashed a breath of fire at the hapless Penny. It looked over until a hulking Chimera and dark magical girl swooped in to save the day. Things were hardly over though.

As she had done with everyone else new she'd encountered she skimmed the minds of the newcomers to get a gauge of who they were. There were many motives after all in Penrose. The moth girl's mind was a little tough to sort out. She also had Psychic it seemed and was confused which jumbled things up pretty good. Approaching the three the she helped the moth girl up and steadied her, which for most Beacon girls was not the usual response to encountering an unknown monster girl, or a monster girl in general even with the changes. "Are you alright?" The knight would let that question hang while she turned to Chloe. "Thanks for saving Penny. That was a close one." While she didn't really have the time to properly probe Chloe's mind the fresh memories were easy enough to glean. Judging by the chimera she was a Spirit spec. Not really a whole lot else she could make out about the girl other than she had been fighting Divina just before this. No wait, she had beaten Divina. Then where was...? Her gaze whipping back around to the moth girl she was holding Janet looked concerned. Biting her tongue she communicated to Divina with her mind.

Divina? This is Janet. Do you remember me? Actually, never mind. Just stay behind me.

Dammit there wasn't time for this. Divina probably wouldn't recognize her. Their last encounter was before she had used the Red coin. Looking over again Janet could probably force Chloe's grip off of Penny, but she opted not to. Making more enemies in this moment was not a wise decision. She needed backup which was still a little ways away. Reaching out she put a ward on Penny that would assist her Regeneration. It wouldn't be immediate healing but it would get her back on her feet relatively soon. Sparing mana didn't seem like a wise option so that wouldn't be coming from Janet. Directing her next words to Chloe there was some slight tension in her tone. "Keep her safe." Despite not trusting Chloe the dark magical girl did seem to have decent intentions in saving Penny. Stepping forward Janet let out a breath before charging Regina. With the creature battling the dragon it might give her an opening to strike. Leading with the tip of her lance she targeted the neck. She would need to rely on her strength to do the bulk of the work.

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Shifter_Master@FamishedPants@Ariamis@MadManMoon
Flailing a bit from the quake the crypt caused she watched as the remaining structure began to rise. The movement did manage to break down the barrier. Waving her lance upward a series of barriers spawned for the group to jump there way up. "Let's move everyone, we aren't done yet!" She glanced at Sammy who seemed to be distraught from all the goings on she knelt down beside the small girl and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I know not what Beacon may have done, but after this is over come to me so we may discuss the matter. Stay safe." Breaking away she began to scale up to the now floating island.

Leaping from barrier to barrier Jenna reached out to Alicia. Hold fast, I'm on my way. What does it look like up there?

Lots of tentacles, directly manifesting Horror, I'm fighting with a girl who went to way too many Shakespeare classes, there's another girl who's about as combat effective as a wet paper towel but claims she can mess with the Horror's mojo, Summer's here too. So, it could be better.

What should I target first?

"If you want to help here that would be alright. Be careful though, he could block my arrows so trying to dive bomb the body will be risky"

Well that was only marginally helpful. Probably best to see what is going on with her own eyes. Upon reaching the top she surveyed the chaos. Seeing that Soth was attacking Alicia Jenna dove in and began fighting back the horror's manifestation. "Where did Summer go?"

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@BrokenPromise@Vocab@Shifter_Master@Ariamis

As stated by Abigail they needed to get going. Their allies had begun to come in and push back the darkness. With Lily completely out of mana it would be best to leave her with the advancing Beacon forces. Turning to the lightning girl Janet spoke up. "Thank you for helping us save Abigail." Looking over toward the outer area of the graveyard she could sense others coming in. "Our sisters are breaking through the darkness. Lily, you could join them for protection as well. The rest of us can carry on to support the others." She and Jenna followed after Abigail so as not to leave her alone.

Having some direction the twins pushed through the smoke and into another opening. Once they were able to see again there was a lot going on. Obviously there was the crypt surrounded by the barrier. Looking up though they could see... a massive train pushing a giant worm through the sky? What in the world was going on? Fighting titans like these was not in the cards, not that either of the girls really thought they could after expending a fair amount of mana. The massive creatures crashed into the ground but it looked like one of them had ejected someone. After a moment it looked like it was Penny. She appeared to be holding her own pretty well. "You guys continue to the crypt. I'm going to support Penny."

"Gotcha. Let me know if you need help." Jenna turned toward the barrier and continued on as Janet ran off to join Penny.