[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HGNJD6p.png [/img][/center] Lotus snorted. [b]”Hmmmm, How aggravating.”[/b] She watched Cindy approach Shion. [b]”Lotus, manners!”[/b] Faith looked at the coins and then to Julie. [b]”Ahem!”[/b] She smiled. [b]”So these coins, they were used on us already. We are the demonstration of how they work. It's a long story, but Lotus, myself, and a few other girls were offered a chance to participate in a test with these coins. We were told they could change aspects of ourselves that we didn't like. Not that there’s a lot to hate about being a demi-goddess~!”[/b] Faith placed a hand on her chest. [b]”But there were a few things I was unhappy with. I'm sure you know what that's like, right? Something about the shape of your body or your power. Not all magical girls are created equally. Few of us are here by our own choice.”[/b] She took a deep breath before stepping closer to Julie. [b]”This red coin though, it worked for me. It was and wasn't for several other girls. Lotus...”[/b] Faith leaned in close and whispered. Julie could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up. There was something oddly soothing about Faith's quiet voice. [b]”Being a tiny girl with tentacles coming out of your head tends to give one body image issues. We all tell her she's beautiful, but it just makes her angry.”[/b] She coughed before pulling back. [b]”But regardless of how well the coins work, they just wouldn't let us go! We were kept in special cells, told very little about why we hadn't been released. Something about needing to study long term effects? I don’t know, maybe Lotus remembers more. I convinced our nearby cell mates to escape, and we broke out. We took the coins with us as penance of course. We're still looking for the one who imprisoned us, which is one of the reasons this alliance is so important to us.”[/b] Faith looked at the coins in Julie's hand. [b]”I can’t tell you more about the coins, but I hope hearing how they were discovered and used is satisfactory. I can summon my fellow escapees, but that will take some time. Lotus and I wanted to come see Cindy as fast as possible. I think we did pretty good considering our time constraints.”[/b] Beatrice looked over Faith's shoulder at the coins. [color=f06943]"Oh yea, I see some residual magical signatures from the coins on them. I was wondering what that was. Guess they really did use them."[/color] She folded her arms. [color=f06943]"Can't say I have any desire to change though. I'm not against hording them myself. If Cindy doesn't want them, I might steal one just to say I have it, heh."[/color] Faith chuckled. [b]”You would steal from Gaia's only daughter?”[/b] [color=f06943]"Don’t worry, You wouldn't know about it if I did. We could still be friends."[/color] Beatrice said this while lifting one of those strange bandages Faith had off of her person. Faith had a pretty good grip on her red coins, and those might belong to Cindy if she decided to go along with the alliance. [color=f06943]"Wonder what the shrimp is going to do."[/color] She looked at Shion. [color=f06943]"It’s a duplicate. Interesting."[/color] Beatrice’s smile widened. [hr] [center][img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/4bea0f5298c687f13222714ecfd3dad3/tumblr_pczx4qmC3p1w6599so5_r2_640.png [/img][/center] [@FamishedPants][s][Vocab][/s] When Mika, Lupa and all of her clones kicked off the roof of the mausoleum, they caused a few cracks to run down the roof of the structure. And then, when the clones landed with bombastic impact, the roof collapsed, crushing all of the horrorlings that were yet inside. After Shona's defeat, the horrorlings lost their magical empowerment completely, and were once again reduced to mere magical girl fodder, with the clones cleaning up after the two went to see Sil. After the conversation, Mika and Sil then noticed a silver line that popped out of the black smoke; based on the grooves in the dirt, they could tell a magical girl had created it as a breadcrumb trail for anyone to follow. And based on the sounds of fighting in the distance...It would lead straight to the very heart of the graveyard, where the source of conflict lied. [color=afab2c]“Hey Mika!”[/color] Lupa pointed at the line. [color=afab2c]“Looks like the fight isn’t over yet. Maybe we can get to the heart of the conflict if we follow this line.”[/color] Mika scooped up Silhouette like a bride. [color=tomato]"Yea! That sounds like a good idea."[/color] She looked to Sam. [color=tomato]"Thanks for sending your double to come help me, by the way. Guess I still have a bit to learn."[/color] [color=afab2c]“Hey! Quit mopin’ Mika! There’s nothing wrong with getting by [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C58ttB2-Qg] with a little help from your friends[/url].”[/color] The other four clones joined her side. [color=afab2c]“Now let’s keep this party going!”[/color] [color=tomato]"Right!"[/color] Mika was rather pleased with what she discovered today. She had thought that she had to mentally command every action that Lupa had to perform. But it turned out She was capable of obeying simple commands, and seemed to behave like normal. At least what Mika thought of as normal. She didn’t really know the depth of Lupa’s personality in their short time together. But at the very least it didn’t seem like Lupa was behaving against her will. She felt alive, and that was something Mika could continue to use once this fight was all over. [color=tomato]"Just hold onto me, Sil. We’ll have you back in fighting condition in no time!"[/color] That was an extremely optimistic, but so was Mika. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PJ79Jpk.png[/img][/center] [@Rune_Alchemist][@Ariamis] Su managed to recover before landing on the ground again. When she noticed Helga had shifted out of her enraged state, she breathed a sigh or relief. [color=PeachPuff]”Well said, Helga.”[/color] She turned to look at Chloe's giant abomination. [color=PeachPuff]”I'm less sure how I should feel about that.”[/color] But now was not the time for commentary. Su raised her hands above her head, and a mighty gale blew through the battlefield. It wasn't strong enough to hurt anyone, but the flying monoliths would have a hard time hitting their target in such a wind storm. Now that Su wasn't trying to keep herself and Helga afloat, she could start using larger spells. Few of the monoliths could stand up to a pummeling from Helga's claws. Even in their strengthened state, they crumbled away with just a few hits. One of Helga's claws got stuck in a monolith, and she simply swung it into another one, shattering them like glass. Su's wind storm ensured they had limited opportunities to retaliate, and Helga made sure they fell before they could. [b]”W-what is [i]that[/i]!?”[/b] Divina turned just in time to notice the giant monstrosity sprinting towards her. [b]”I knew you were an agent of darkness! And quit making fun of my feelings!”[/b] When the abomination slammed into the white monolith, it was enough to knock Divina off balance. [b]”What the-!”[/b] Before she could finish, the creature howled at her. [b]”Why is everything screaming at me!?”[/b] The white monolith fired a pillar of light at the abomination, and it went all the way through the thing. The creature's howl was cut short, but it could still stand, albeit a bit weaker and less nimble than it was before. But it had succeeded in stunning Divina. [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] Just a few extra well timed screams due to some illusion magic did wonders for one's ability to concentrate. That was to say it totally evaporated. But all this running around was making Mac tired. Not much longer though, she just had one last stop to make before checking in on the Bates themselves. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jNxFdd2.png[/img][/center] [@FamishedPants][@Card Captor][@PlatinumSkink] Between Mayra and Emily's flames, not many spiders were able to land on the ground. The few that did were quickly squished by Mayra's minions. They would still be pelted by burning rocks and overcooked apples, but that was relatively minor. [b]”They have horrors too!?”[/b] Tonya was not too happy with this recent development. She extended her umbrella out the hole in the bottom of the slime balloon and used it to block the incoming flames. She used the power of wind to draw the flames towards herself, keeping the slime monster safe. Without air, the balloon drifted towards the ground again. The lower altitude was making it easier for the pyro girls to simply bypass Tonya's wind all together and shoot for the slime directly. But by that point, Tonya was ready to make her move. She allowed herself to fall out of the slime. Before she landed beside Emily and Alexander, she released all of the fire she had caught back at them in a single blast. It was hot and intense, but it took Tonya some time to land by their position, so they had a moment to prepare for it. The slime balloon had also turned into a slime blanket, and was descending directly onto Emily. Hundreds of tentacles tried to wrap around her every appendage and pull her into a slime cocoon. [b]”Now for YOU!”[/b] The horrorlings Mayra summoned were little more than fodder for the enraged beacon girl. She left her umbrella open and charged straight for Mayra, screaming the entire time. Any attempt to cast a fire spell at her would simply be redirected into the umbrella. If something wasn’t done soon, Mayra risked getting impaled on Tonya’s umbrella. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NeE16on.png[/img][/center] [@Shifter_Master][@Ariamis][@t2wave][@Vocab] All it took was a few items to fall before the rest of Aurellio’s clones were wiped out, save the one with the mana charge. A glacier had smashed into the ground and threw deadly shards in all directions. Such shards posed a moderate threat to a magical girl, but were far too much for the fragile clones. Fortunately, they proved to be too much for a lot of the cultists too. Even the warlock groaned as his cape was pierced by flying ice shards. Janet and Jenna needed to moderate their mana expenditure. It was one thing to heal people, and another thing entirely to keep everyone’s mana topped up. Lily was using some potent spells, and the twins were starting to share in her exhaustion. The others would need to act fast if they wanted to have a shot at healing Abigail. Shannon immediately taunted Abigail before trying to run off. Her stone daggers were fighting their way through the artificial gravity the entire time. [b]”Wha? That’s almost as unforgivable as what they said about me and bro!”[/b] Abigail thrust her hand towards Shannon, and a slew of objects flew towards her. Shannon was cut off by a cement mixing truck. Borrowing hadn’t helped her, as the vehicle sunk deep enough into the ground that it cut her off. The shock wave likely stunned her, even though it was impossible for her to get hit by flying debris. Following close behind was two planes that crashed on either side of her. Shannon had only one direction to move in, and Abigail knew it. Her next projectile was a Toyota Prius that created a deep crater directly behind her. Shannon was being bombarded by powerful shock waves, and didn’t have much time to act. The only path Shannon could possibly take was straight down. But that wasn’t going to protect her from the next attack. A steel pipe was dropped straight over Shannon’s position. Then like a nail under a hammer, The twenty-foot shaft was buried under a falling boulder. Aurelio couldn’t pick up on Shannon’s emotions anymore, nor could Janet and Jenna detect the presence of her mind. Shannon was gone. Her stone daggers clattered to the ground when her mana was no longer there to activate them. But now they had their opening. Lily was under a crazy number of magical enhancements, and was able to do some incredible feats with the window of opportunity she had. Lily could get within range of Abigail and turn her killing blow into a stunning blow, Which put a brief end to the incoming “meteor shower”. This further allowed Aurelio’s clone to interrupt the flow of mana coming out of the mana beast, which was made even longer when Rebecca dove onto the creature and stabbed it. The membrane around all that mana didn’t explode like Rebecca had hoped. But it did puncture the creature’s shell. But it did cause the mana beast to wail, seizing it’s mana restoring laser for a time. With Abigail unable to move, and her mana supply cut off, most of her effects ended. The repulsion field was deactivated, and the other thirty something items she had with her fell out of the air at once. That included Rebecca, who was holding onto the beast, and Lily, who was forced out of her magical girl form from the mana expenditure of her killing blow. While nothing was falling with the same force as “Sunder-Fury,” they would need to brace themselves for a rough landing. The twins were able to remain out of the way of any falling obstacles. Aurelio did not fall however. His body was pulled closer to Abigail, who smiled at him as the two floated towards earth together. [b]”They’re going to kill me.”[/b] Abigail let out a nervous chuckle. [b]”I’ll continue to live, but this person I am now, brainwashed or not, will cease to exist.”[/b] She wrapped an arm around Aurelio’s shoulders, and placed her other hand on the back of his head. Abigail swallowed before continuing. [b]”Before everything ends, at least let me have this, bro.”[/b] She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against the magician’s cheek. She kept this up until the twins were close enough to heal Abigail’s Brain. With Abigail’s mana and mental defence dwindled to almost nothing, it would be a simple matter to restore her mind. The warlock and the tar baby seemed to have vanished in the confusion. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QvNUXM6.png[/img][/center] [@Flamelord][@DarkwolfX37][@Rune_Alchemist][@Shifter_Master][@FamishedPants] Elroy's footsteps shook the earth as he charged towards Penny. [b][color=c9272c]"That new form suits you, tin worm."[/color][/b] Elroy raised his two upper arms, and a web of chain appeared between them. [b][color=c9272c]"But worms should be feasting on dirt and corpses, and you're far too high above ground for that."[/color][/b] Elroy had been hit by Penny's “mouth cannon” enough times to know it was surely an attack in the cards for her. So as soon as they came together, he pulled the chains over the hole in her face and locked his hands behind her head. His lower arms took turns throwing punches into the engine's torso. His cursed fists ate away at Penny's armor with every blow. Each hit ensured the next one would be that much stronger. While assimilating her old arm had made Penny impervious to having her metal tampered with, she was still unable to gain any mass from it. Worse, the imps tridents also appeared to be made out of the same metal that Elroy was made up of. But she did manage to absorb a decorative fence that was used to divide several grave sights. Regina was so distracted by what just transpired that she was frozen in place. She didn't even notice Rina approach until she spoke. [color=f200f2]"Gh!"[/color] Regina raised her hands in defense. But it seemed that Katarina was offering her a way out. It took her a moment to process the words. She was trembling in place. [color=f200f2]"Y-yes! That sounds agreeable."[/color] She placed a hand over her face. [color=f200f2]"I'm going to try to regain control of my brother, please try not to kill him."[/color] Regina shadow stepped her way on top of a grave stone and started firing at Elroy with her sniper rifle. None of her bullets were designed to harm, but they were curses and mental edits. Exactly what they were could only be distinguished by Regina or someone with third eye. Rina’s possition was almost overrun by incoming imps.But Alicia's arrows had bought her some time. And she was about to get even more time as a band of beast girls carved their way through their numbers. [center][img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/4bea0f5298c687f13222714ecfd3dad3/tumblr_pczx4qmC3p1w6599so5_r2_640.png [/img][/center] [color=afab2c]"Remember us?"[/color] Lupa was still in her strange rhino-beetle-carapace-with-kangaroo-legs mode. Her four clones were fighting all around them. [color=tomato]“I’m Mika!”[/color] Mika was still carrying Sil in her arms. [color=tomato]“That’s Lupa. We shared some donuts, and I never got your name.”[/color] [color=afab2c]"What’s the game plan? The minions are only going to get stronger."[/color] Lupa was right. Larger imps were showing up, and soon it might not be enough to just stand on top of the gravestones. [center][img] https://66.media.tumblr.com/17c38dc4eb13fbeb22547a6ffc4c1627/tumblr_pi25c6jISs1w6599so1_640.png[/img][/center] Sammy turned up her nose to Summer. [b]”Regardless of how Binky is doing, you're using her to make more of those blasted coins. I wouldn't be surprised if Binky was the head of Beacon all along!”[/b] She closed her eyes. [b]”Anyway, you want to film me busting down your Barrier? Fine by me.”[/b] She “looked” at the barrier for a few seconds. [b]”This is a sturdy barrier, I'm impressed, Beacon. But I have deduced it's weakness!”[/b] Her eyes shot open. [b]”While it cannot be broken or dispersed easily, [u]it can be briefly disrupted by strong attacks[/u]”[/b] Big Tony hopped onto the ground. [b]”Now flee inside your stronghold, Beacon. My reinforcements will be here shortly. I suggest you destroy all evidence of your nefarious deeds before they get here. Consider it a mercy for not impeding me at this step of the investigation.”[/b] Tony Launched himself at the barrier. With a single swing of his claw, the barrier was briefly opened, allowing Summer and Alicia an opportunity to run inside. Then it started to rain.