[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/b12jyDd.png [/img][/center]

Lotus only raised her eyebrow at Cindy's refusal to open the chest herself. [b]”Hmmmm, I did expect you to open it. At the very least, I didn't expect you to dispatch someone else to open it for you.”[/b] Her brow lowered. [b]”Are your subjects not under your protection?”[/b]

When Beatrice cracked open the lid, the first thing she was greeted by was the smell of bananas. Once the chest was open, someone in the chest stood up. It took Beatrice a moment for the [url=https://i.imgur.com/9wPD6RF.jpg]fairy girl[/url] to register. Her outfit was adorned with jewelry, and she was using a small harp to prop herself up. But the air of majesty she had was clearly her defining feature. The curves of her body and accents of her uniform could only be described as fey. There was something about her smile that drew you in. Even though she had a banana peel hanging off the side of her head, she had a glamour few could match. 

Maybe it was too much to take in at once, but Beatrice was unable to move as the fairy girl reached for her. She cupped her hands around Beatrice's cheeks and brought their faces closer. There was plenty of time to pull away, to object, but Beatrice wasn't sure if she wanted to pass this up. Any thoughts about what she was suppose to be doing got further away from her the longer she looked into the fairy woman's eyes. And then their lips touched. Beatrice was surprised, but her mind was in a state of total euphoria. Nothing but the gentle sensation of the fairy woman's lips pushing against hers was important. Her eyes fluttered closed, perhaps to savor as much of this moment as possible. But the kiss only lasted about half a second. The world returned to Beatrice as soon as the fairy girl pulled away. It took her a moment to gain her bearings and remember what was going on.

[b]”You're not a bad kisser. That one's definitely going in my top twenty, but I can't say where~”[/b] The fairy was holding a half eaten banana. There were quite a few bananas and peels in the chest she was still standing in. [b]”But getting back to it...”[/b] She placed her hand on her chest. [b]”I'm Faith: Daughter of Gaia. And you are Cindy ford!”[/b] 

With a growl, Lotus reached up and pushed on Faith's cheek until she was looking at the [i]real[/i] Cindy ford. [b]”That's the queen, apparently.”[/b]

[b]”Oh, now [i]that[/i] looks like a thunderbird's champion.”[/b] She eyed Cindy up and down. 

[b]”Hrm.”[/b] Lotus folded her arms. [b]”Were you really planning on kissing her?”[/b]

[b]”I was. But now that I've seen her, that might be a little too [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHV09L1_t0g]shocking[/url] for everyone watching~”[/b] 

[b]”Hrrrrrm.”[/b] Lotus dragged her hand over her face. 

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/J6L6WUu.png[/img][/center]

[@FamishedPants][@Vocab]

Shona continued her relentless assault, every swing and thrust performed with perfect poise, her posture unbreaking despite Sil's superior agility. On the other hand, Sil was also able to stand on her own, using her flexible body to full advantage to weave and dodge out of thrusts that could have pierced a lesser woman's heart a dozen times. 
[b]"You keep droning on about darkness, knave. The Beacon's light will consume you yet!"[/b] Sparks flew off Sil's arm as as the two locked blades, and she pushed against Shona's glowing sword, the knight's concealed gaze inches from hers. 
[b]"No blade has ever crossed with me and stood triumphant,"[/b] she spoke lowly amidst pained breaths, slowly pushing her back.
[b]"I won't let such hatred hurt innocent lives. I will vanquish your evil!"[/b]
Suddenly, her blade was swept aside by Sil's dextrous maneuver, and Sil drove her dagger to the unprotected neck between her armor plates, shattering her empowered barriers with swift stabs.

However, as she was about to pierce the final barrier and deliver a deathblow unto Shona, the two recognized the attack coming their way, and simultaneously kicked off of each other, gaining distance from each other just in time to avoid the lightning spear. [b]"You..."[/b] Shona spoke with venomed words as Katelyn approached, and swept her shield arm aside as she cast new barriers around herself.
[b]"You have dishonored us with your intrusion, fiend!"[/b] She turned to glance at Silhouette.
[b]"It pains me, but we must put our duel on hold until this reprobate is slain."[/b] And with that, Shona gathered up her magic, and jumped high into the air, creating platforms shaped like shields under her feet as she raced towards Katelyn.
[b]"Die, monster!"[/b] She launched off a shield hovering sideways, then spun fast in the air, performing a whirlwind slash at her, extending the Reinforced blade to cover a wide radius in her range.

That was when the Bate's aura washed over Shona, further fortifying Shona's power. Wherever she went,a trail of golden light followed.

[i][color=#bd71e8]“What?”[/color][/i] Silhouette could hear Veronica's commands again. [i][color=#bd71e8]“So that [b]thing[/b] is what attacked Eliza.”[/color][/i] She was half speaking in a growl. [i][color=#bd71e8]“The V.I.P. must be kept alive, but that dragon girl takes your priority as a target.”[/color][/i]

[center][img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/4bea0f5298c687f13222714ecfd3dad3/tumblr_pczx4qmC3p1w6599so5_r2_640.png
[/img][/center]

Mika and Lupa seemed to be in dire straits, having become separated from each other, until Mika bravely trampled her way through the swarm of black blobs, scattering them aside and squishing them like balloons full of ink. Lupa also succeeded in throwing off the tentacles lodged into her thanks to transforming her body into an armored beetle and performing a scissor kick on the Horrorlings on her, sending them back into the mausoleum.

On their own, they did not manage to proceed towards the Mausoleum, until Sil sent her shadow to aid them; stabbing the horde in the back before she was noticed, she cut through them like butter, splitting them in half with every slice. The Horrorlings were quick to adapt to the flanking attack, but were hit at a line so thin that the two Beast girls managed to break through the line, now fighting next to the mausoleum doors. In response, the Horrorlings began piling up; forming columns of themselves, the Horrorlings used their mass to block the doors, while sending out flailing tentacles in a frenzy before them, forming a vicious wall of lashing to block them off, while also sending new lines of troops to flank them again. The aura that set over the place only meant that they would have an even harder time with the minions.

[color=tomato]"Oh wow."[/color] Mika giggled nervously. [color=tomato]"Got any ideas Lupa? My tentacles aren't nearly that big."[/color]

[color=afab2c]“As a party animal, I always say if you can't close the doors...”[/color] She pounded one bear claw into the other. [color=afab2c]“Ya gotta bring down the roof!”[/color]

[color=tomato]"Sounds good! Let's get up there!"[/color] she folded her arms. [color=tomato]"I just wish we could do this without ruining that little cottage. Looks kinda cute."[/color]

Lupa gave Mika a bear hug and took to the air.  Typically a rhino beetle's flight is only good for hovering short distances. But a kangaroo can jump as high as six feet straight up in the air. Lupa and Mika combined weighed a lot more than your typical Australian marsupial, but a typical kangaroo wasn't magical. What Lupa was doing could hardly be considered flight. Her beetle wings made her really light at best, which made her attempt at flight more like a high jump. But it ensured that Both Mika and Lupa could land safely on the rooftop.

[color=afab2c]“Now what?”[/color] Lupa released Mika.

She looked over the rooftop. [color=tomato]"Ummm..."[/color] Her eyes darted all over the roof. [color=tomato]"We need to do this in a way that neither of us falls in."[/color] She got into a fighting stance. [color=tomato]"Start duplicating, I'm sure they'll be up any minute."[/color]

Lupa did as Mika commanded, and started creating clones of herself. It likely wouldn't be long before the horrorlings found a way to come after them. But if Lupa could create enough duplicates, that might not be a problem.

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PJ79Jpk.png[/img][/center]

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Ariamis]

Helga's [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdphvuyaV_I ]rebel yell[/url] was enough to disrupt Su's concentration and knock her out of the air. Fortunately she was high enough that she could regain control and stick a rough landing. To stop her head from throbbing, she focused her magic over her ears and created two vacuums to block out any sound. This would prevent such an attack from catching her off guard again. 

She wasn't mad at Helga. She was pretty upset when she realized what had happened to Amber. Su was lucky that she in a place where she could safely pull herself together. Helga on the other hand was just hearing about this now, in the middle of a fight that demanded all of her attention. Su would have liked to have calmly explained what had happened to Helga, but there was no time. She certainly didn't trust Boteg to relay anything to her friend. None of that mattered now. Helga was going to get herself hurt if she didn't calm down soon. Last time she got this mad, she almost attacked a friend. That was when Amber managed to put herself between Helga and the other girl and talk Helga down. Was that something Su was capable of doing?

She had to try.

[color=PeachPuff]”Helga!”[/color] First the other threats had to be dealt with. She walked towards Helga while throwing bolts of air at the monoliths she walked past. Her concentrated magic was more than enough to blow apart the weakened pillars. 

Chloe was also able to bring down the weakened monoliths with her laser. There were a lot of them, but the dark magical girl was able to dodge them with ease. One of her lazers cut through a swath of them with a single spell. 

Divina had somehow reappeared when Helga screamed. She looked like she was about to eat one of Helga's claw sandwiches when the Bate's aura permeated the arena.

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

A monolith erupted out of the ground directly below Divina, lifting her out of the way. The dog spirits wimpered when they saw the pure white monolith Divina was standing on. The beacon girl spawned four more wings on her back for a total of six. [b]”Show me the depth of your love, monster!”[/b] Divina spread her wings and fired off her feathers one at a time. The rate of fire gradually went up until she was firing them in a constant stream. They flew through the air like daggers, and were all aimed at Helga.

The monoliths were now even stronger than before. They had all grown wings and floated off the ground, freely moving like sentient beings. In addition to their laser eyes, they attempted to chase down and flatten the magical girls and spirits in their wake.

[color=PeachPuff]”Settle [i]down![/i]”[/color] Su's basic spells were no longer enough to break apart the monoliths in a single strike, and were instead only enough to shove them away. The monolith's were robust enough that slamming into each other just caused them to bounce apart, albeit cracking a bit.

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jNxFdd2.png[/img][/center]

[@FamishedPants][@Card Captor][@PlatinumSkink]

[b]”Well I'll try really hard not to- AHHHHHHHH!”[/b] 

Tonya pointed her umbrella at Alexander, which acted as a shield against his mighty swing. The blow still managed to push the beacon girl entirely inside the slime monster. The top of the umbrella floated on the surface of the creature, which acted as a platform for Alexander when he landed. 

Emily was able to cook the apples out of existence, and [i]most[/i] of the monsters along with them. The ones further to the back had the chance to jump off of their rides before they were consumed by Emily's mighty flames. But between the flames, and Mayra's sudden appearance, it was hard to tell if she got them all. 

By this point, the Bate's aura could be heard in the area. The blob that Alexander was standing on started to expand. It stretched out its tentacles and tied them in a knot some distance over Alexanders head. More and more came up until Alexander was trapped inside a small room. The walls, ceiling, and floor around Alexander started to spawn their own tentacles. One wrapped around his ankle, another around his opposing arm, and more still were coming in from all angles. And that wasn't even the end of Alexander's problems. The umbrella that was separating himself from the giant ooze was channeling the power of Tonya's hammer space, and could soon bombard him with minion infested apples. 

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NeE16on.png[/img][/center]

[@Shifter_Master][@Ariamis][@t2wave]

Jenna would be the first person to look at the mind of a beacon buddy. Oddly, there was no traces of magic on Abigail's mind. No sort of barrier or interference from other entities. The spark appeared to be doing its job too. But a further look would reveal something most insidious. Abigail's mind looked fine from a magical standpoint, but her brain had been reworked. It wasn't a matter of simply cutting off mind controll. Abigail had been programmed to exibit certain behaviors, and a thorough examination would be needed to correct everything. With a bit of time, Jenna could perhaps use reinforcement magic to heal her defiled brain. But first she needed to figure out-

[b]”Get outa my head!”[/b] 

Before she could fully examine Abigail's mind, her spark forced Jenna out. The very same spark that prevented beacon girls from being corrupted was now combating any attempt to help Abigail. 

Janet's shield would provide Lily with some protection, but the incoming debris were only getting bigger as time went on. It wouldn't be long before such simple forms of protection simply weren't enough. Aurellio didn't have much Joy to spare, but used what was left on Lily. Unfortunately, it wasn't [i]ever[/i] going to make Lily fly. This spell was being channeled on Lily, and any attempt to alter it was soon corrected by the stream of Abigail's magic. He was at least able to make Lily comfortable and prevent her from blacking out. But she wouldn't last if something wasn't done.

Fortunately, Janet was able to successfully dispatch a few cultists harassing Aurellio. Their black bodies exploded, leaving only their fluttering cloaks. Lily's spell had done a lot to throw off the cultists, as well as protect Aurelio's clones. An assault that should have wiped Aurellio out of the fight had been turned into an opportunity in mere seconds. Their front line had broken, and were vulnerable to counterattack. 

Time for some tricks.

Aurellio's clones were quick to take back lost ground. The cultists continued to create barriers and scatter flames, but it wasn't enough. They were being outnumbered by Aurellio's growing army. 

Rage wasn't entirely unimpeded. The last remaining cultists had a barrier up in front of Abigail and the large beast. But the shield was cracking. In fact, a [i]lucky hit[/i] slipped through one of the cracks and nailed the beast. It punched a small hole in the bubble on it's back, and was now spraying some of that strange powder over the shields to an area not too far away from Lily.

Aurellio was starting to feel the toll of summoning a small army. Aside from Abigail, his opponents had no emotions. That, and keeping so many clones topped up with spells was hard work. It was fortunate that Abigail only had a handful of cultists left, but he would definitely have to watch his mana and emotion expenditure for any potential future battles. For the moment there was just Abigail's anger, Lily's anguish, and Jenna and Janet's determination to feed off of. 

Then the Bates aura washed over everyone.

[b]”Aurellio?”[/b]  Abigail's anger subsided in an instant. [b]”Are you trying to get closer to me?”[/b] She extended her arms towards the boy. [b]”Come give li'l sis a hug!”[/b] She folded both of her arms over her chest, and Aurellio, his clone, and Janet were mashed together. It was almost as if a pair of giant arms had taken them in and wouldn't let them go. Abigail was giggling like a child on Christmas. She swung her torso side to side while hopping up and down, and the victims of her hug were forced to do the same. Only the childish actions on Abigail's end cause them to fly into the air, slam into the ground, and roll into a gravestone or three. She didn't show any signs of letting up either, as she seemed extremely reluctant to let go of her 'bro.'  The amount of mana Abigail was expending was insane, yet she didn't show any sign of tiring.

The aura also caused something in the casket to awaken. The lid was thrown off and a giant shape stood up. It looked similar to a cultist, but it was clear this one was far stronger. It stood taller, and its cloak was covered in moving eyes. This had to be a warlock. It extended its left hand and sucked in the raging Aurellio clone. They seemed to shrink into nothing before vanishing inside the warlock's palm. It then opened its right hand and fired bolt of chain lightning, wiping out all but five of Aurellio's clones with a single spell. It took slow, methodical steps out of the casket towards Jenna. A long, slender blade slid out of its right hand sleeve as it started to sprint towards her. 

Abigail was no longer focusing on Lily, and the spell on her ended immediately. Between the barrier and Aurellio's joy magic, Lily didn't sustain any critical injuries. More cultists were coming out of the smoke wall from all sides of the battlefield. The ones on Lily's side of the area lifted their hands and fired bolts of flame at her immediately.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NgWhiMr.png[/img]
[hider=Tonya “Mac” Murphy]
[b]Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer[/b]

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 |  VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03

STR: 10 | AGI: 08 |  VIT: 11 | MAG: 17 | LCK: 05

Earnings this post: Zilch

Total: 3 Gold, 100 Silver, 99 Bronze
[/hider][/center]

Mac did her best to ease the impact of Abigail's attacks, but in the end, Abigail was just outright stronger than her. That mana beast was giving her a sizable advantage. But Mac knew it would all work out for them later. Probably. But Lily had avoided getting crushed, which would have to be enough for now as Mac ran off to help the others. Her special sight let her look through the darkness without much issue. 

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/g23JIv2.png[/img][/center]

[@t2wave][@Vocab]

It was not alone in this space with Shannon. Rebecca had decided to swing a cursed sword at it. The curse did seem to work, but the creature's tar-like body stopped the blade from cutting all the way through. Worse yet, it splashed all the way up her blade over her hands. She yanked as hard as she could, but lacked the strength to pull her blade free. But things really got bad for Rebecca when Shannon pulled all three of them underground, churning everyone together.

Shannon's spell did manage to strip away some of the tar, but this creature wasn't truly one with the void yet. Ripping away the tar expose clusters of bones and tusks that made up the creature's many mouths. However, churning the earth like this did open the creature's mouth enough for Shannon to escape. 

Then the Bate's aura took effect.

It let out a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4tmWn7_TVo ]beastly howl[/url] before it lunged upward, carrying Rebecca and a fair bit of dirt with it. This was not the prey it started with, but it would devour it no less. With time it would devour everything.Tar and dirt from the creature's body started to creep over Rebecca's face and legs. She could feel its teeth pressing against her ribs like rows of cleavers, but it would take some time before it was able to crush her torso. Much like Shannon, Rebecca was not an easy magical girl to tear apart. But the pressure was there, and it was building. 

Shannon could feel the presence of other creatures in the area. This thing had reinforcements, but she could only pick it up with her ability to detect vibrations. Her eyes weren't able to see anything.

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QvNUXM6.png[/img][/center]

[@Flamelord][@DarkwolfX37][@Rune_Alchemist][@Shifter_Master][@ERode]

Elroy was moving pretty fast when Alicia decided to create her sword. The bright light momentarily blinded Elroy, which let her stab at his arm. This caused his chains to loosen up and let Alicia follow up with the rest of her [u]2-hit combo[/u] attack and swing at Elroy's leg. Elroy had  managed to get some of his chains between Alicia and her sword by this point, but she was fast enough that the attack managed to trip Elroy up. [color=c9272c]"My sock slipped off!"[/color] He said before falling onto a knee. Alicia's arrow had no difficulty finding it's mark, and freed Summer from the dragon's mighty grip. 

Rina was able to fire her bow, but Regina's erratic shadow stepping would ensure that the arrow never hit her. So long as no one made an attempt to shut down her ability to shadow step, she would be a very hard target to hit. However, Rina was able to avoid getting hit by her attacks further by ducking below the gravestones. This kept her left and right flanks secure, and limited Regina's safe places to attack from to being directly behind, in front, and above herself. This seemed to be enough to momentarily deter Regina from making further attacks. 

[i][color=f200f2]"So this one doesn't have a spark? Interesting."[/color][/i] 

Regina was able to pick up on the strange readings her newest weapon was giving off. She simply stepped to the side as Summer's bat flew past her. The rouge dragon head had it's maw wide open, and its tongue was flapping in the wind. Regina raised an eyebrow at this strange sight, but remained diligent. With a simple thought, the dragon came back under her direct control. Further attempts to alter her dragon's mind wouldn't work again. Change of plans, they would be switching targets. The dragon head floated after Rina while Regina shadow stepped away.

Summer's magic wasn't strong enough to combat the curses festering inside of her. Fortunately, she had the spark, so she just needed to will them away with a thought. She could feel her body's durability return, and the crippling pain left her as well. The mana expended from the mana burn curse would not be returning. Not that Summer had lost a lot of mana, but it was something she'd have to watch out for. On the upside, she sort of got to reenact a scene from “Princess Mononoke.” 

Regina had appeared about thirty feet away from Summer, who ran into a painting she had made. Regina might have raised her eyebrow at this, but perhaps at this point she realized that she would be doing that a lot if this kept up. She changed her sniper rifle into a staff and threw an orb of dark energy at the tarp. When it hit the tarp, it would expand into a massive dark dome that sapped the mana out of anything that strayed too close. [i][color=f200f2]"Let's see how you deal with that."[/color][/i] While Regina waited to see what would happen, she unleashed her aura. That would empower Elroy, the beacon buddies, and all of the horrorlings in the graveyard. 

Penny fired at Elroy, and managed to blow his shieldright out of his hand. [color=c9272c]"My shield slipped off too!"[/color] Elroy turned to look at Penny, who was hovering his way at full speed. [color=c9272c]"Slow down tincan, don't run down an ally!"[/color] Penny remained undeterred by Elroy's comments and continued to power forward. Elroy didn't have a lot of options at his disposal. He was down on one knee, his shield had been blasted out of his hand, and the light being thrown off of Alicia's radiant sword didn't give him many places to shadow step to. It looked like Penny was going to score a pretty good hit on Elroy. But then her arms started to twitch, the ones she had made for herself. Her upper most arms took hold of her real arms and gripped them tightly around the wrists, and her lower arms balled into fists and drove themselves into the back of her thighs. This forced her legs up, which cause her to jet straight into the air before falling on her back. Her lower arms stretched across her legs, folding her knees into her chest before coiling their fingers around their arms. Penny was being restrained by the strongest pair of arms she had ever felt: her own. Elroy casually stood up and extended his arm. With a snap, his shield returned to his hand. [color=c9272c]"Has it started to click yet, tin can?"[/color] He chuckled while walking closer to Penny. Elroy wasn't stupid. He kept his shield up in Alicia's direction. [color=c9272c]"I guess you know who enchanted your steel now huh?"[/color] He snorted. [color=c9272c]"I did it all for this! The look on your face right now made it worth it!"[/color] He laughed like a demon. That was when it clicked for Penny. Elroy and Regina had to be working for the mint. Veronica must have been looking for a magical girl or boy to enchant some steel for Penny's request a month or so ago, and Elroy agreed to it. [color=c9272c]"By the way, have you ever played Asura's Wrath? Plot twist!"[/color] Penny's body floated into the air, and then all four of her extra arms tore themselves free from her back. They flew through the air and refitted themselves on Elroy's body. The color of the steel changed from Penny's dark blue to the gold tint of aegis, matching all of Elroy's enchanted weaponry. [color=c9272c]"Now let's have some [i]fun[/i]!"[/color] Elroy unleashed his own Aura, empowering Regina, and further strengthening the buddies and the horrors in the graveyard. Once Regina's aura had reached him, all six of Elroy's hands were engulfed in black flames. He pounced towards Alicia, but would freely punch anything and anyone that got in his way. 

That was when the detective and rose knight arrived on the scene, riding on top of her majestic tiger. 

[center][img]
https://66.media.tumblr.com/17c38dc4eb13fbeb22547a6ffc4c1627/tumblr_pi25c6jISs1w6599so1_640.png[/img][/center]

[b]”They appear to be in a bit of a pickle.”[/b] Sammy looked over her shoulder at the rose knight.  [b]”And I've also deduced that the horror here will be getting more reinforcements shortly. Whatever you choose to do ma'am, make it count! But be wary of the ground...”[/b] she pointed down. [b]”Try to balance yourself on the tombstones, like this!”[/b] She hopped off tony and landed on top of a tombstone. She nearly lost her footing, but managed to prevent herself from falling off. [b]”Piece of Quiche! Just don't invoke the ire of anyone and we'll be fine.”[/b] Big tony was able to cross from tombstone to tombstone, but his massive body meant that each foot needed to be on a seperate tombstone, and even Sammy seemed to be faster than the pace it was currently moving at.