[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/waJPaen.png[/img]

[color=violet]"Nothing bad ever comes from backstabbing people!

AKA: I was hoping for a GM update, but I can't be bothered to wait."[/color]

[color=888888]— Chloe Irving[/color][/center]

And with that, the meeting was behind Chloe. 

She had never expected Mint to come out on top. Al had been too transparent with his greed, too transparent with his cruelty. She pretend to respect Al to his face, but he was no leader. The coin broker was a beast: too aggressive to be charismatic, and too inept to be feared. She would be fortunate if he got himself killed trying to take on Veronica and her army by himself. 

But that was about all the thought Chloe was going to put towards her “boss.” With a grin, she drew her contract and looked at it. There wasn’t much here that would be a long term problem for her. Yea, Mint’s foothold in Penrose would be small at first, but they just had to play nice for a while to expand their territory to where it ought to be. For a ditz like Lily, somehow she managed to be the greatest thorn in her side. Even Penny’s multiple conditions weren’t going to hold her back as much as Lily's one had.

Ahh, but there was still the fate of the Pennybots. That wasn’t going to be a problem. Barely an inconvenience. Because Chloe knew Cradle wasn’t going to let Penny keep the Penny Bots and the tech to make them. They were all about “equality” and “keeping the balance.” It fed into why they hated the Mint. The two factions were as opposed as capitalist and communist values. That would mean Chloe wouldn’t get the Penny Bots either, But this was the most ingenious part of Chloe’s plan. 

While the contract dealt heavily with what Mint could and couldn’t do, there was no mention of Nagash or the Ossiarch Bone Reapers anywhere in the contract. They didn’t answer to Mint, they didn’t respect Mint’s rank, they didn’t care if they even existed. Ultimately, Chloe was the one that separated Penny’s soul. If someone knew Penny’s inner workings better than the Independent, it was her. And all that knowledge was handed off to Nagash shortly after Chloe got her promotion. Covington industries made good robots, but they really couldn’t compare to the ossified bone creatures Nagash’s mortisans could conjure. Besides, Chloe suspected the Penny bots would always have a flaw that Penny could exploit. They were only machines, and she’d just hack them like she could hack any cell phone. The iron queen would have a harder time hacking into the [i]Penny Golems[/i] or as the mortisans called them, [i]mortech juggernauts[/i]. It was hard not to smile.

But was this what Chloe wanted?

The biggest surprise this far was that after everything she put Beacon through, Alicia didn’t see the need to add any conditions. Certainly, this was her opportunity to get even with the dark-magical-gone-broker. But she did… nothing? They were never going to be best friends, but Alicia’s choice left Chloe thinking. She didn’t trust Chloe, but then why not try to make life harder for her? She just didn’t get it.

Why was she thinking about this? She needed to find Binky! Where did they even go? With her third eye, she should be able to see which of these paths they disappeared down. Then she could enter their hideout and get a signature! Then-

[color=cfff04]”Looking for someone?”[/color]

Chloe spun around. Sure enough, Mac had crept up behind her. The wolf girl was an enigma to most, but the Mint had been working on a dossier on her. [color=violet]"Ah! You’re with Cradle, right? Did you want to tell me where Binky went?"[/color]

[color=cfff04]”Depends.”[/color] Mac folded her arms.  [color=cfff04]”Are you going to blow them up with a magical artifact?”[/color] 

[color=violet]"Awah? I don’t follow."[/color]

[color=cfff04]”Right.”[/color] Mac looked over her shoulder.  [color=cfff04]”Summer, did you want to tell Chloe what you saw?”[/color] 

[color=8dc73f]”Sure looks like the truck set-up was her doing. Granted, I didn’t watch it in real-time, but…”[/color]

Chloe blinked. [color=violet]"Ah, I get it now. There seems to be a little misunderstanding."[/color]

Mac stepped towards the junior broker. [color=cfff04]”What I understand is that you were attending a meeting built around the idea of unifying Penrose, while enacting a plan to sink Cradle as a faction. I also understand Al was grading your performance based on how well it went.”[/color] Mac towered over Chloe. Her downcast eyes were filled with fury. [color=cfff04]”What am I not getting? Was the artifact not lethal enough? Were you hoping it would have killed us all?”[/color] 

[color=violet]"Hey now!"[/color] Chloe raised her hands defensively. [color=violet]"You heard her! She didn’t see me do it in real time [i]because I wasn’t there![/i] T-that whole thing was Al’s idea anyway! I just gave some pointers to make the operation go smoother! The artifact was just suppose to knock out Maura's powers, but it blew up instead! I didn’t even know he was using it to evaluate my leadership until after the fact. I-"[/color] She tensed up when the cold brick wall touched her back. [color=violet]"Veronica and I were friends! I wouldn’t backstab her!"[/color]

[color=cfff04]”And you and Penny were lovers, but that seems to have soured after a scheme too many.”[/color] 

[color=violet]"Ngh!”[/color] Chloe looked past Mac at Summer. [color=violet]"What are you getting out of this anyway?”[/color] 

[color=8dc73f]”I have a loose definition of ‘generosity,’ for one thing.”[/color] Summer said, beginning to count off on her fingers. [color=8dc73f]”Also, some of my friends don’t really like having Mint agents go after them when they haven’t really done anything wrong,”[/color] She counted off her third finger as she continued. [color=8dc73f]”Or being called names for helping someone out after working for the Mint quite a lot,”[/color] A fourth finger. [color=8dc73f]Plus, I kind of like the Cradle, especially since…”[/color] Finally, she straightened and counted off her thumb. [color=8dc73f]”They have Binky. So, you know, only five reasons.”[/color]

Chloe stared at Summer. The gears turned in her head, the words she needed to say bubbled to the surface like a fart in a public pool. [color=violet]"I like Binky too!”[/color] Mac’s hand closed around Chloe’s neck. Truth be told, these were the two worst magical girls she could have run into. What little she had on Mac wasn't enough to understand her motives, and Summer was like a puzzle where nothing fit together. [color=violet]"L-look!”[/color] She held out the contract. [color=violet]"I did some bad things, okay? B-but I really do want to reform Mint! Take a look!”[/color] She tossed it over to Summer. [color=violet]"I’m only here because I need Cradle’s signatures. A lot of issues you have with the Mint will get cleared up once that gets signed. No more Mint attacks, Binky gets her research protected. You want Mint to stop calling your friends names? We can add that!”[/color] 

Summer wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. So she didn’t, at first, deciding to read over the contract as the hamster in her brain took a break from its wheel. It took a few times before she was able to process what the contract said. [color=8dc73f]”Um… Great. Well… I’m going to go ahead and let Mac here decide how to respond to the contract, but if I take you at your word, [i]how[/i] do you even plan to reform the Mint? Even if it’s just the Penrose portion of it, that’s just a drop in the bucket for the organization as a whole. It’s not like you’re going to try to off Al or anything, right?”[/color]

Chloe didn’t know what to say. Not because Mac was standing over her, or because Summer was being herself, but because she herself didn’t know what she wanted to get out of all this. Was now the time to tell the truth? [color=violet]"The only thing I know is things can’t continue the way they are.”[/color] She scoffed. [color=violet]"Ever since I became a magical girl, the one thing I put ahead of everything else was my own survival. Since then, I’ve lost everyone dear to me, and all I have is this ‘junior coin broker’ title. It’s worth something, maybe, but what’s the point if you hate all the people you’re surrounded with?”[/color] She looked down as if Mac's hand wasn't right there. [color=violet]"I went this route because I thought I could secure my future with Penny. But she’s become a totally different person now. So I’m going to make due with what I have.”[/color] She grinned. [color=violet]"I guess reforming the Mint is a pipe dream. But I can at least change how they behave around my neck of the woods. All I’ve been doing up until this point is surviving, and life isn’t much fun if you don’t have someone to survive with, you know?”[/color]

Summer felt a little bad, now that the girl being held by her neck was being vulnerable. [color=8dc73f]”That’s… a familiar idea, yeah. I can see it.”[/color] She looked towards Mac. [color=8dc73f]”Maybe don’t actually kill her, but we do need to find out more about what happened, so…”[/color]

[color=violet]"H-hey!”[/color] Chloe’s eyes popped open. [color=violet]"What do you want to know? I’m right here! You don’t have to sick Frankenstein on me!”[/color] She coughed. [color=violet]"A very attractive Frankenstein, but still...”[/color] 

[color=8dc73f]”Well, do you have any idea where the other members of the Cradle are? That’s the first thing. Also, to be clear, I’m not sicking her on you, that’s all her.”[/color]

[color=violet]"Oh really?”[/color] A nervous chuckle escaped Chloe’s lips when she smiled. [color=violet]"You have a very firm grip, Mac. I appreciate that you’re letting me speak right now.”[/color]

[color=cfff04]”Only so long as you’re useful.”[/color] Mac growled the words.

[color=violet]"...Right, and to address Summer’s question, sort of? I’m following Binky’s trail right now. They were aware of Maura’s presence or something, so I have to assume they went back to wherever your little hideout is.”[/color]

Summer gave a slight sigh, both relieved and exasperated. [color=8dc73f]”Well, then I guess we, er, Mac at least, should go there. It might be smartest to not go, since I’d get… Let’s be generous and say ‘timid,’ and you probably aren’t going to be very welcome there either, so that leaves just her.”[/color]

[color=violet]"I think that sounds like a good-hurk!”[/color]

Mac snatched the contract out of Summer’s hands and looked it over herself. [color=cfff04]”...Not bad.”[/color] Her eyes wandered over to Summer. [color=cfff04]”I think I might end up letting Chloe have her audience with Binky. But I hope she doesn’t expect us to just sign. Regardless of her intent, she needs to make up for what the Mint did.”[/color] Mac tossed Chloe off to the side. [color=cfff04]”I’m going to take this contract with me. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t set up an ambush for when I return. I’ll see it coming, and there won’t be any survivors on your side.”[/color] Mac walked off while Chloe recovered from a coughing fit. [color=cfff04]”I’ll be in touch, Summer.”[/color]

[color=violet]"I [i]*Gasp*[/i] Survived.”[/color] She fell back onto her hands. After a few awkward seconds of struggling to breathe, she stood up. She just stared at Summer, still breathing heavily. [color=violet]"Maybe I should thank you for going easy on me, but this all happened because of you.”[/color] Chloe leaned up against the wall.  [color=violet]"Well? You can go if you’d like. I couldn’t set an ambush for them if I wanted to. But just so that we’re clear, I found this entire ordeal very humiliating. I do not forgive being humiliated easily. But I’m also trying to change, so nothing’s going to come from this. Okay?”[/color]

[color=8dc73f]”Understood. Sorry for the embarrassment.”[/color]

Chloe didn't know if she should be annoyed or relieved by Summer's polite departure. She was too exhausted to work up a strong emotional response anyway.