Summer was awoken from near sleep by the blaring of the siren. She'd spent the night playing poker with whoever would play and never really got to sleep. She ran to the specified room and took a seat. She nearly dozed off as teams were formed. She nearly dozed off as teams were formed. She blinked tiredly when suddenly Alicia, her apparent new boss, flashed a thumbs-up at her. She didn't like the feeling in the back of her mind that the camera of life was zooming in at each tick of self-reflection she had.

[i]We're going to die.[/i] 

Nobody gave a thumbs-up unless on a mission unless it was suicide. Then again, maybe she just imagined it. Alicia was asking something about civilian presence, so she seemed to have her head much more in the game at the moment than Summer did. She shook her head a few times to try to shake off the tiredness when she thought nobody was looking, though some other girls noticed and shot her disapproving glances. A few smiles were mixed in from some of the other poker players and they helped keep Summer's mood up.


[hr]
Shion awoke on a nearby rooftop from the store where that strange shadow creature had attacked her. She and a clone had laid down in the center of the roof with four other clones staying awake at the corners to keep watch and act as decoys. Every few hours she'd awoken and switched places with one or two, cycling through positions with all of them to throw off any onlookers. But something was different this time. This time she had been awoken by the sound of marching and metal on the street below. Two of her clones were already recording the scene, one having left her post to get closer, hiding out of sight of the skeletal army. Now it seemed that there was about to be a fight between magical girls, if the shouting of one of them was any indication. 

She sighed. If Ko was around, she'd probably want her to help deal with the skeletons, but... she [i]did[/i] just wake up.

[hr]
[hider=Don't call me vermin!]
A [url=http://cdn.staticneo.com/w/bleach/thumb/8/84/Uryu_Ishida.jpg/300px-Uryu_Ishida.jpg]young man[/url] was walking through a park on the edge of his home city in the dead of night. He knew not of the trials and tribulations of our world, for he was kept busy with those of his own. It was this park at which Makoto arrived, walking nonchalantly in her normal guise through the paths. The two met eyes for only a moment before the man stopped where he stood. A small pendant, the shape of a [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/7a/98/547a983bef280a725dd09aacf7855101.jpg]Celtic cross[/url] swung at his wrist.

"Welcome to my town, monster." He spoke to the squirrel girl. 

[color=f26522]"Thanks for the welcome~"[/color] Came her reply. She thought nothing of being called 'monster,' to her it was practically a term of endearment. It was kind of him to greet her, regardless of how he did so, after all. [color=f26522]"Name's Makoto and I'm here to visit a friend. Who are you, exactly?"[/color]

"Me? I'm simply the friendly neighborhood..." he raised his right arm as he spoke, his pendant bursting with power when he leveled it at his prey, forming a brilliant bow of white light. "Nuclear warhead." the boy finished, drawing the bow and firing a massive blast of magic at Makoto. The beam raced towards her at immense speed, but her heightened reflexes allowed her to parry the blast in time with [i]Impact[/i], as she simultaneously froze time around her.

Makoto looked at where the blast made contact with her weapon and noticed that she barely managed to block the tip of the beam, the rest of which had yet to hit thanks to her magic. She quickly ran past the boy and jumped into the trees before allowing time to return to its natural pace. The beam continued to make contact with itself where it had hit her weapon and burst out into a dome of light, striking several meters in the direction it was fired. 

[color=f26522]"Well shit, what's your problem?"[/color]

The boy turned towards her voice. "My problem, as it were, is that a monster is attempting to invade my town. A rather tenacious vermin at that." He drew his bow once again and held it at the ready, set to fire when next he noticed his quarry.

Suddenly, without warning, Makoto appeared in front of the boy. His mind raced, [i]was this the end[/i]? He had no recourse for an enemy that managed to get within striking range of his body; he had never before allowed such a thing during battle. His eyes widened in shock as he realized fully that this may be the moment he would die.

[color=f26522]"Hey. I have feelings. And you've hurt those feelings."[/color] Makoto said, poking the boy on his chest. [color=f26522]"Say you're sorry."[/color]

The boy choked somewhat. "Ehem... I'm... uh... I'm sorry?"

[color=f26522]"Now the healing can begin. Later~"[/color] With that, Makoto froze time once again and ran deeper into the city.

The boy, named Maxwell, dissipated his bow and pulled out a cellphone, calling a number set to speed-dial. "Hello, Ellie? It's me. A monster just managed to get by me."

[b]"What? The great hunter has been bested? What kind of monster was it, I'll send a team out right away."[/b]

"She's a young but... [i]developed,[/i] for lack of a better word, girl with the tail of a squirrel. She's wearing a black trench-coat and hat." 

[b]"... I'm sorry, what? When you said 'monster,' I thought you meant a [i]monster.[/i] Not some monstergirl." [/b]

"This is no laughing matter. She survived my Lux Purificent." Maxwell's use of his Killing Blow was no laughing matter in his mind.

[b]"Did you miss?" The girl on the other end asked hopefully.[/b]

"Ridiculous. I do not miss my targets, not to mention that the magical reaction was one of contact."

[b]"Hmm... Maybe she's just pure of heart or something."[/b]

"You know as well as I that monsters are not 'pure of heart.' That's what makes them monsters. It is our duty to purify inhumanities for the sake of-"

[b]"Yeah, yeah. 'For the sake of all we know and love, for it is in the nature of monsters to destroy, whether they recognize it at the moment or not. Ultimately the death of a monster is self defense for the sake of humanity, by preventing the harm that would otherwise come to human beings at the hands of monsters."' I know the motto. I didn't make Seeker by not paying attention. I just think you're overreacting."[/b]

"I don't overreact." the boy said as he adjusted his glasses. "The simple fact is that the evidence points to her being capable of Time magic, and she mentioned that she was here to 'visit a friend.' We of Beacon should not take this lightly."

[b]"Alright, alright. Come back to base and I'll send some girls out to look."[/b]
[/hider]