[hider=The Past- Several Weeks Ago]Mia Cooper couldn’t believe what was happening. Upon walking into her room at the Penrose Orphanage she had found an unnervingly creepy woman wearing a dark robe and mask sitting on her bed. That alone would have been shocking enough, but then the woman had gone on to explain that she was none other than Mia’s roommate and best friend Connie Williams. It was all so unreal. The woman looked nothing like Connie, but did [i]sound[/i] a bit like her… [color=SpringGreen]“Why don’t you tell me what happened,”[/color] Mia asked. [color=SpringGreen]“How did you get like this?”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“W-well, some of the other kids locked me in the cellar,”[/color] the woman explained. [color=SpringGreen][i]What?![/i][/color] Mia roared internally. [color=SpringGreen][i]I’m gonna beat the crap outta those jerks…[/i][/color] Even if this woman [i]wasn’t[/i] Connie, Mia refused to tolerate bullying of any sort. [color=DarkOrchid]“A-and when I was looking for a way out,”[/color] the woman continued, [color=DarkOrchid]“I found this really awful m-ma-mas…”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“Mask?”[/color] Mia offered. The woman nodded, before giving voice to a shocked gasp. [color=DarkOrchid]“Oh my gosh… I-it… it… c-clung to my face…”[/color] she said in a whisper as her hands slowly reached up to touch the mask. [color=DarkOrchid]“Oh no… I-I’m still w-wearing it?! Oh jeez, oh jeez, oh jeez…”[/color] She was starting to tremble and hyperventilate, clearly at the beginning of a panic attack. Connie [i]was[/i] deathly afraid of masks, after all, Mia reflected. [color=SpringGreen][i]Holy crap,[/i][/color] Mia thought to herself. [color=SpringGreen][i]She really[/i] is [i]Connie…[/i][/color] What before she had doubted, she now knew with utter certainty, and with that knowledge came a renewed resolve to help her suffering friend. [color=SpringGreen]“Connie, it’s okay, it’s okay,”[/color] she told her soothingly, while putting her arm around her and gently rubbing her back. [color=SpringGreen]“I’m so sorry you had to endure all that by yourself, but I’m here now. We’ll fix this. I promise.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“B-but Miaaa,”[/color] Connie sobbed. [color=DarkOrchid]“H-how can you do anything about [i]this?[/i] T-this isn’t something s-simple like bullies… It… It’s some k-kind of h-horrible magic curse…”[/color] It was at that moment that Mia reluctantly made one of the biggest decisions of her life. [color=SpringGreen]“You’re right Connie,”[/color] Mia told her. [color=SpringGreen]“It [i]is[/i] magic. You’ve become a magical girl.”[/color] She took a deep breath. [color=SpringGreen]“Just like me.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“L-like you?”[/color] Connie asked in bewilderment. [color=SpringGreen]“Yeah,”[/color] Mia confirmed with a sigh of resignation. [color=SpringGreen]“Listen Connie,”[/color] she added as she stood up and walked a short distance away from the bed. [color=SpringGreen]“I’m gonna show you something pretty crazy, so please try not to totally freak out on me, okay?”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“O-okay…”[/color] Connie replied. With a nod, Mia closed her eyes and summoned up her magical power to initiate the transformation. Connie watched in disbelief as a glowing and swirling whirlwind of mystical green energy quickly enveloped Mia. There was a mighty flash, after which Mia was no more. In her place stood an emerald-skinned nymph-like woman of otherworldly beauty. Her green hair flowed down in luxurious waves to pool on the floor, while her outfit consisted of little more than a skimpy bikini made of vines and leaves. [color=SpringGreen]“Nature’s Beauty! Nature’s Grace! Nature’s Power!”[/color] The demigoddess announced. [color=SpringGreen]“Behold! I am Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth!”[/color] Now it was Connie’s turn to be dumbfounded. [color=DarkOrchid]“W-who…Who are you?”[/color] she whispered hesitantly. [color=SpringGreen]“Oh, dearest Connie,”[/color] Gaia said serenely, with a tone filled with warmth and compassion. [color=SpringGreen]“It is I, your cherished friend. What you see before you is simply my magical girl form.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“M-Mia? Y-you look so different… You [i]sound[/i] so different…”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“Yes, well, I am Gaia now. If you wish, you may think of Mia as the seed, while I am the blossom.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“S-so you’re not Mia anymore?”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“It… is complicated. Just know that I am still your friend, and I wish to do all in my power help you.”[/color] Sitting back down beside her, Gaia put a comforting arm around Connie’s shoulder. [color=SpringGreen]“To that end, I believe the first thing we should do is reverse your transformation, and the best way to do [i]that[/i] is to simply [i]relax[/i]. Here, rest your head upon my lap,”[/color] she offered invitingly. [color=SpringGreen]“That’s it, just lay down and make yourself as comfortable as possible. Then, leave everything else to me.”[/color] Gaia’s voice was so blissful and calming that Connie found herself gladly complying with her every request. [color=DarkOrchid]“Th-thank you for doing this, Mia,”[/color] she said sleepily as she felt her friend’s elegant fingers running through her hair. [color=DarkOrchid]“Oh! S-sorry, I-I mean Gaia.”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“There is no need to apologize,”[/color] Gaia told her lovingly. [color=SpringGreen]“You are my dearest friend. You may call me by whatever name you wish, I will cherish the sound of it all the same.”[/color] As Connie drifted into blissful slumber, her imposing transformation finally dissipated, leaving behind the gentle girl Gaia had known since childhood. [color=SpringGreen]“Sleep well, my dearest Connie.”[/color] Gaia said, while she smiled down at her friend. [color=SpringGreen]“Know that I shall always be here to guide and protect you. The nightmare is over now. Everything will be all right. So vows Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth.”[/color] [/hider] [hider=Present Day (Present Time!)]The nightmare was far from over. That much was plain to see. The man writhed in agony, assailed by a relentless tide of unimaginable horrors. What those horrors were could have easily been seen, had the two young women wished it, but both had decided that it was for the best if they simply viewed the external symptoms. As far as Gaia was concerned, that was unnerving enough, and she was sure Connie would be quick to agree with her on that point. The two magical girls sat on the edge of the roof of one of Penrose’s tallest towers, one that directly overlooked the only slightly smaller corporate headquarters of Covington Industries. Their unusually long hair blew wildly in the frigid wind and they clutched the folds of their cold weather robes tight about them. [color=DarkOrchid]“I-is it just me, or has it gotten c-colder every night w-we’ve been out here?”[/color] Connie asked. [color=SpringGreen]“It is not just you,”[/color] Gaia replied. [color=SpringGreen]“And this is [i]not[/i] natural. Mother fears a dark force is at work, perhaps one inadvertently set into motion by that disgusting pig down there,”[/color] she added pointing to the man depicted by the orb Connie held in her trembling hands. The weather had indeed gotten worse, Gaia reflected. And that wasn’t all. Several natural disasters had struck Penrose over the last several weeks, leaving the city partially evacuated and in a state of near shutdown. Thankfully, the Penrose Orphanage was located at the very fringe of the city, and thus had escaped the recent calamites relatively unscathed. Incidentally, and despite its location at the heart of Penrose’s metropolitan core, the same could also be said for the building below them. It was only natural for the global headquarters of a mega corporation like Covington Industries to be built like a fortress, and CI’s HQ took that line of thinking to its most drastic extreme. The place was entirely self-sufficient and, with its advanced armored skin and array of robotic security systems (including, it was rumored, an entire army of battle robots) was supposedly capable of withstanding the assault of any natural disaster or military force. It was the perfect place for a greedy coward like Thane Covington, CEO of Covington Industries, to hole up in for the duration of any emergency, safe and secure in pampered luxury. Of course, a direct assault wasn’t the [i]only[/i] way inside such a formidable stronghold. Despite, or perhaps because of, his company’s status as a technological juggernaut, Covington had neglected to guard against mystical adversaries, and thus his penthouse bedchamber was just as vulnerable to Connie’s magic as any back ally dumpster a simple thug chose to sleep in. This thought brought a smile to Gaia’s emerald lips. Thane Covington was the driving force behind one of the most corrupt and pollutive corporations in the world, and the Daughter of Mother Earth held no sympathy for a man who had hurt her beloved Mother so. Ordinarily, she would be the one to enact Mother’s retribution personally, and in a most direct manner. However, in an effort to give Connie more experience with her powers (as well as to appease her horrific patron) Gaia had hit upon the idea of using a subtle, but no less effective approach. Each night, for the past week, she and Connie would visit this overlook, where the Daughter of Mother Earth would watch with approval, while the Empress of Nightmares flooded Covington’s mind with a parade of horrific visions of the repercussions his actions were having on both the natural world, and his fellow human beings. And this plan was most certainly having an effect… [color=SpringGreen]“Oh my…”[/color] Gaia observed with mock surprise, while placing an elegant hand to cover her mouth. [color=SpringGreen]“It looks as if Mr. Covington has just wet himself.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“Eeww… T-that’s so gross…”[/color] Connie said as she turned away. [color=DarkOrchid]“I-I don’t know about you, Mia, but I really don’t wanna watch any more of this…”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“Very well,”[/color] Gaia conceded. [color=SpringGreen]“We can return to the Orphanage now. After all, I believe we have seen more than enough for tonight.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“Phew…”[/color] Connie said, giving voice to a sigh of relief. [color=DarkOrchid]“Thank goodness. I think I might freeze solid if I spend another hour out here…”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]“Come on,”[/color] Gaia said with a laugh. [color=SpringGreen]“Let’s head home. When we get there, I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”[/color] [color=DarkOrchid]“Mmmm… That sounds reeeally nice…”[/color] As they departed the rooftop, Gaia couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief herself. The city of Penrose had grown far darker and more dangerous in the weeks since Connie had become a magical girl, and while Gaia had done her best to keep her inexperienced friend away from major combat thus far, the odds of them encountering a truly threatening foe steadily increased with each passing day. And it wasn’t just monsters that worried Gaia, oh no. Rumors had run rampant of late that a powerful new force had arrived in Penrose, the so-called ‘Beacon Ascendency’. Since her work often took her to places seldom frequented by other magical girls, Gaia had only a passing knowledge of The Beacon, but what little she did know said that they could be fanatical at the best of times, and from what she had recently heard, the members of this ‘Ascendency’ were even more fanatical than most. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be much of a problem. After all, she was no monster or dark magical girl. But Connie… Over the past few weeks, Gaia had learned that Connie’s patron, while certainly horrific, was NOT a Horror. Thus, Connie was neither a DMG or a monster girl. Gaia [i]knew[/i] this. But would The Beacon be so clear headed and rational as well? The Daughter of Mother Earth highly doubted it. With this at the forefront of her mind, she had done all she could to keep her friend’s magical girl activities ‘under their radar’ so to speak, while doing her best to improve Connie’s combat abilities. She only hoped that, when the time to fight inevitably came, her preparations would be enough.[/hider]