[h2][b] Alicia Hayden [@Flamelord], Suwako Makiyoshi [@Hammerman], and Beckoner [@Ariamis][/b][/h2]

Alicia was quick to move somewhere where she had more privacy for this conversation. Not that what she had to say was confidential, but with how things were at the moment it would be better to keep others from having a good look at the internal workings of Beacon. They had to hold their appearance of strength after all.

It was when she had come to a stop in a small circle made by rubble and debris from the fight that she decided she was ready. She clasped her hands and bowed her head, letting her internal light stretch out as a summons for those she wished to speak with. "Beckoners, I request an audience. I have found more information about the current threat, and desire your knowledge and approval for action."

Now all there was to do was wait.

Alicia's assigned Beckoner arrived, with a worried look on their face.
"Chosen one, have you succeeded in your mission?"
The angelic being looked around.
"It seems that devil has caused destruction to the community as well...Now then, what have you discovered?"

Alicia nodded as her Beckoner arrived, wasting no time as she prepared to report all that she had learned so recently. "Yes. Not just the community but one of her minions also abducted one of the magical girls who was aiding us. I can only guess as to what her intentions are." 

That was the most recent occurrence after all, but she carried on lest her Beckoner think that that was all she had learned. "I also met a girl named Mariette on the way here. She said that she had been working with Justine up until this morning, in a mutual relationship. She also said she was the one who kidnapped Janet, and other girls." 

Reaching into her pocket, she produced the list that she had been given by Mariette in their recent encounter and showed it off so the Beckoner could look at it. "This is all the girls she's kidnapped for Justine, with relevant details. Apparently they had a falling out and there was some attempted murder, so now Mariette wants to team up with us to proactively defend herself and defeat Justine. She knows how to get to the Overcity, but she wants a guarantee that she won't be killed and that her patron being a Horror won't be a problem for us. That's why I needed to talk with you."

The Beckoner gasped, their eyes furious. "You met with the kidnapper and didn't apprehend them? How could you let the witch walk away unpunished? It is your duty as the light of Beacon!" Fortunately, the Beckoner was appeased by the list Alicia showed.
"How terrible...Justine must be brought to justice." The Beckoner scowled.
"A coward, trying to escape judgement...Very well then, she may be ignored for the time being, but on the condition that she gives uncodnitional aid in stopping Justine. And once that case is over, she must turn herself in. I trust that you are capable of keeping an eye on her so she won't break her promise." They sighed. "I will let the other Beckoners know. Thank you, chosen one."
And so, the Beckoner disappeared in a ray of light.

"I chose to prioritize," Alicia replied in an increasingly defensive manner as the Beckoner accused her of abandoning her duty. Of course she had not forgotten, and knew that th8is could not be allowed to stand. But she had figured that Justine was the priority, and with Mariette coming to them they needed to take advantage of all the possible resources they could get to handle this crisis. 

Fortunately the evidence she provided was enough to appease what anger ther was, and she relaxed before nodding in agreement. "Alright. The pleasure is mine Beckoner, I shall do my utmost to carry out what you have instructed." She wasn't sure if she could get Mariette to agree to turning heerself in, but there was nothing that said she had to mention that part right away....

Well, she had learned what she wanted. Now she just had to go get that burner phone. The meeting over, Alicia prepared to leave. 

But then, the Beckoner came back, with a terrified look on their face. "Chosen one! Something terrible has happened! You must come to headquarters!  Hurry!" It was incredibly rare for the Patron to be so disturbed; it was serious.

She barely made it a couple steps before the Beckoner reappeared, ewearing a look of horror on its face. and if it was horrified then that was enough to really make her scared. If it felt that bad then what had happened? She did not argue, but merely nodded as she was instructed to return to their headquarters in the city. "Understood," she replied. It was a good thing that she had not transformed back. 

Departing the meeting area at a sprint, she only came to a stop when she drew near Suwako. "There's a crisis and the Beckoners need us to return to headquarters," she called to her fellow Beacon member before resuming her flight. Nothing would stop her, as she regretfully left the scene of the battle behind. 

"A crisis?" Suwako responded. "H-hey, what kind of crisis?"

Before she got her answer however, Alicia already left. It must be quite the crisis if she rushed back like that. Without any delay, Suwako followed.

"Agape, come forth! Carry me to the Beacon Headquarters! Full speed!"

The fastest she could go was when she was riding her familiar. She never liked going full speed with it however as she always felt like she could fall down at any moment, thanks to the winds battering her face and body. But this time, she ordered it to go as fast as it could. Agape obeyed, and as a result, she couldn't ride it the same way as she usually did. She had to lay down and grab at its furs.

In spite of having a head start Alicia soon found herself outpaced by  Suwako riding her familiar, the magical girl blowing past her en route to headquarters and whatever crisis had emerged

Right. Maybe getting a ride was the smarter idea. But it was too late now so she tried to keep up as best she could, bracing herself for whatever was to come.

When Alicia arrived at the HQ, she saw that there was smoke and fire everywhere. Magical girls with water and earth magic worked on putting out the flames, while those with healing magic tended to the wounded. "Ah, Alicia, you're here!" One of the healer girls screamed.
"I can't believe it...Janet..." 

Arrving at the headquarters, Alicia was brought to a sudden halt by what she had found waiting for the both of them. Fire, destruction, pain, and the clear sign that something had attempted to strike directly at the heart of the organization in the city. At least it was not too bad, though she did not have an idea of what happened here just yet beyond the attack.

Hurrying over to the girl who had noted her presence, Alicia was all business now that she was confronted with the crisis in full. "What about Janet? What happened here?" She had a bad feeling about this....

Suwako was already there and she was also asking around on what had happened. It was as if there was a major attack to their headquarters. The girls had been saying something about Janet but she couldn't get anything more out of them as they were all busy with their own tasks.

The healer tried to remain calm as she began explaining.
"Janet arrived here! We were so happy to see her after she disappeared like that. But she was the one who caused this; she brought a bomb here! Fortunately the casualties were limited to the training hall, but the whole place is contaminated. It's going to take a long time to clear the radioactivity according to our air specialists, so the Beckoners have decided to call off all missions. A lot of Beacon girls don't agree though. They're fighting over there."
She pointed to a gathering of girls who loudly talked with some Beckoners. "Maybe you could get them to help."

Alicia's blood near froze as the girl explained what had happened. This, all this was Janet? Emotions rose inside of her, swirling and clashing as she was faced with the stark reality of what had happened here. It was possible that she had been coerced into it, but otherwise it seemed likely that Janet had been lost, fallen and converted to Justine's side somehow. And she had been the perfect agent to strike at Beacon.

it didn't take a genius to see why. As Mariette had noted, they were the best organized force to actually resist whatever her plan was, and there was almost certainly a grudge as well even if she didn't know the details. Undoubtedly this had been aimed at making sure they could not interfere with her plan.

That was what made the decision by the Beckoners all the more astounding. "Thanks, I'll do that," she agreed with a nod before making her way over to join the argument in progress. They couldn't just let this stop them, and hopefully they could get their guides to see that. 

"I hear we're ceasing all operations. Is that true?" she asked when she had drawn close enough, facing the Beckoner with the other girls, her arms folded across her chest as she frowned.

The Beckoner, who resembled a teddy bear with a wings and halo, nodded.
"Beacon's safety has been compromised by this atrocity. Until this chaos has been quelled and our order has been organized anew cane you resume your sacred duty."
"That is ridiculous! The culprit is still at large!" The girl who led the protests was Sylvia Starshine, the most prominent member of Beacon. While the order was mainly run by Beckoners, she could be considered their magical girl leader.
"Justine was behind this attack! If we don't stop her, what will prevent her from doing this again with another traitor? We need to amass a force and strike at her!"
The Beckoners shook their heads, and the bear Beckoner sighed. "No, you must stay and protect your own." Sylvia clenched her fists in suppressed anger. "Fine. But can we at least send one or two girls to investigate? I have a bad feeling that she's done this to stall us on purpose." She turned to the other girls. "I want two volunteers to investigate Justine, and if it's necessary, apprehend her." The other girls averted their eyes, and shivered out of pure terror.
Sylvia facepalmed. "Anyone?"

"I would," Suwako answered, raising her hand. "I believe we should seek for any information that we could gain about Justine I wouldn't say I have high hopes that we could apprehend her by just two people, but we could do some scouting for sure."

Suwako didn't tell them the other reason why she wanted to investigate Justine. She wished to ascertain what happened to Janet. Was she merely an unwilling co-operator? Or was she willingly become a traitor to the Beacon? It would only create more arguments if she said that Janet was innocent or guilty.

Alicia's frowned joined that of Sylvia, her sentiments much in line with that of the girl who might as well be their nominal leader. The Beckoners were the ones who had emphasized how important this was, how could they just step back and do nothing after they had been attacked?

"We know where she is, and we know how to reach her in the Overcity," she pointed out quickly. "If we just stay back and lick our wounds, what does that say to everyone else here in Penrose? They'll think that we're weak, and the ones who've bought into the propaganda about us will just become more aggressive."

Turning towards the others, she nodded sharply. "I'm going with Suwako.for this. We have the means to get there, and we won't let Justine get away with this. If anyone else wants to tag along and make it more likely that we'll succeed, well, I'm not going to stop you." She had the feeling they could use all the help they could get.

Sylvia sighed out of relief. "At least some girls here have guts. I would love to join you, but I gotta stay here and organize the rescue effort. However, take this." She gave Alicia a pendant. "Hold on to that; once I can I'll amass a second wave and follow after you guys using that as a beac...navigation aid." She bit her lip, then smiled as she waved them off. "I'll be counting on you two! Come back safe, you hear!"