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

[color=cfff04]”Whew! How embarrassing! Now I can go back to wearing my bikini top….”[/color]

[color=888888]— Tonya “Mac” Murphy[/color]

[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, Overcity Shift 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: 6 Gold, 111 Silver, 120 Bronze
[/hider][/center]

The vacation was nice, the arrival of the Ascendancy was not.

It was within Mac’s power to end the vacation before the Ascendancy got here, but it was not what her patron wanted. Though with everything going on, it was probably less a question of “if” and more “when” they were going to arrive. Alicia had proven sympathetic to monsters in the past, but she was also willing to drag out a harmless grudge match because someone dared to impersonate one of the least likable beacon girls in existence. That would be former monster queen Regina Bates. Perhaps having such shortcomings was par for the course when you were a “warrior of light.” She should probably just be fortunate that Alicia wasn’t a total zealot.

Beacon’s pettiness aside, she would have her chance to fight the ascendancy relatively soon. She wandered off to where th fighting would soon take place.


[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/zW5wCbt.png[/img]

[b]”Where ya at, Sammy?”[/b]

[color=888888]— Nuncio[/color][/center]

If someone cared to look in front of Brittany’s shop, they would see a young man pushing through the snow. The wind kicked up his trench coat as if it were a cape, exposing his white button down shirt and suspenders. He kept a hand on his coat, and another on his black fedora. Back in 1910, He looked like a well to do business man from the 1910s, if not a mobster. An odd thing for a boy to be wearing in this day and age, but at least the coat was warm.

[i][b]”Sammy, I’m gunna smack some sense into ya when ya turn up.”[/b][/i] 

Nuncio was no detective, but he knew Sammy well. Certainly, he knew that she was not so absent minded enough to leave the city searching for clues. Nor was she the type to get jumped by your average group of monsters. Yet since his return he was unable to find her anywhere. That was where Brittany came in. He pushed open the door and stepped inside, causing a cute little bell to ring on top of the door. Even though he was worried, even though he was nervous, he forced a smile. [b]”If it ain’t my second favorite dame!”[/b] 

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/j9lFybd.png[/img]
[sub]Played by Ari[/sub]

[color=f03aa1]‘I’m gunna get rich off this chump!’[/color]

[color=888888]— Brittany, (probably)[/color][/center]

Brittany was behind the counter, cleaning a pendant with a handkerchief before she waved a greeting. [color=f03aa1]‘Hi there, and welcome to-Second favorite?’[/color] Her eyes sparkled, her mouth wide in amazement. [color=f03aa1]’I’m already your second favorite, Nuncio? I haven’t even shown you all my wares yet.’’[/color] She climbed up on a stool, and put her hands on the counter.

[b]”Heh, not like I’ve been in the area long myself.”[/b] Nuncio took off his hat and held it in front of his chest. The snow on his hair was already melting. [b]”Saw ya message! Ya opening for real now, that’s good!”[/b] 

[color=f03aa1]‘Yep yep, Brittany’s Boutique is all revved up and ready to go!’[/color] She lifted a broom in the air. [color=f03aa1]‘It’s times like these when people need weapons and artifacts most, you know? Gotta strike the anvil while the iron’s hot! So, did you bring more products?’[/color] She asked with barely contained excitement. [color=f03aa1]‘Those plushies have sold much better than I thought they would!’[/color] 

He looked to the plushies at one side of her counter. [b]”I uh…”[/b] He folded his arms. [b]”I ain’t here to peddle anythin’ this time. I need ya help.”[/b] His face became stern while he spoke. [b]”You can divine the location of stuff, can’t ya?”[/b]


She then blinked and smiled in surprise. [color=f03aa1]‘Oh, you want me to help you?’[/color] She leaned against the table with a mysterious smile. [color=f03aa1]‘That is in my repertoire of expertise, yes. But it depends on what you’re looking for...And the price you’re willing to pay, heh~’[/color]  

[b]”It’s Sammy. She ain’t in any of her usual places.”[/b] He placed his hat on the counter and ran his hand through his coat. [b]”As for cost, whatever it takes, ya know I’m good for it. If I can’t pay it all up front, I’ll pay for it with the next few dolls I make. If they sell, that should be good.”[/b]

Brittany’s lips curled in thought. [color=f03aa1]‘Sammy? Oh, you mean that cute little detective? She’s funny. But now she’s gone, huh?’[/color] Brittany put a hand to her chin. [color=f03aa1]‘Okay, bring me another set of plushies, and I’ll work on finding your friend. After all, you’re a valuable business partner to me,’[/color] she then said with a smile.  

[b]”Wa?”[/b] Nuncio was taken aback by the tiny girl’s cutthroat business practices. [b]”Brittany, We just got back from that vacation place. Ya not gunna tell me ya expectin’ more dolls so soon?”[/b] He leaned across the counter with both hands. [b]”Penrose is a frozen hell, and my angel is no place in sight! This is an emergency!”[/b] When Nuncio’s hand came flying out of his coat, it dropped three gold coins, five silvers, and three bronze on the table. The two Dan plushies also fell onto the table. With a sigh, he picked up one of them. [b]”This one’s for her..”[/b] He tucked it back into his coat. [b]”When I get her back.”[/b]

Brittany pouted, only to blink as she saw the coins. [color=f03aa1]‘Well, this is ample compensation.’[/color] She took the coins, and placed the other Dan plushie on the shelf.
[color=f03aa1]‘Alright, I’m gonna find Sammy. Any clue where she had been last?’[/color]

[b]”Haven’t seen her since I got back”[/b] Nuncio took a deep breath. [b]”She was crashin’ at my place. She should have been there every night. I got no idea what day she vanished. Some folks at the pit stop said they saw her a day or so ago, otherwise I got no leads. ”[/b]

[color=f03aa1]‘The Pit Stop, eh? Well, it’s as good a place to start as anywhere. Don’t worry, I have a knack for lost treasure hunting. And Sammy’s so precious she might as well be treasure too!’[/color]

[b]”Thanks doll.”[/b] Nuncio sighed. He probably over payed for whatever type of sorcery Brittany was going to employ, but at least the extra coin ensured she would make it a priority. He was going to leave, but this was his first time in the store as a customer instead of a supplier. He didn’t have any money left, but it didn’t hurt to look at things.

[hr]

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

[color=75c159]”Back to Business!”[/color]

[color=888888]— Tetrad[/color][/center]

The bar was dimly lit. Only the neon signs lining the walls provided any sort of light. It was enough to illuminate Tetrad, who sitting on an old leather couch. The large buns on her head made her look like Mickey mouse from behind, but only if you didn’t look at the rest of her body. She had a petite shape hugged in a black and white corset. Her legs were clad in black netting, Which ended in black leather boots that came up to her thighs. Her arms were stretched out along the back of the couch. They were wrapped in bandages that covered old injuries. Her finger-less gloves had cuff-links, and neither one matched. There were also all manner of tool belts and harnesses draped across her outfit. If special forces ever decided to train casino girls for combat, they might look something like Tetrad.

She had not actually returned to Penrose. The genie twins had returned Tetrad to her international home, which was this bar she was sitting in. She had gone into Penrose since then, but the gambler returned here to decide her next course of action. Veronica had requested that all agents remain on standby. Tetrad’s boss was getting in contact with the agents that remained in Penrose to figure out what else was going on. was going on. Aside from the presence of Beacon special forces.

In Tetrad’s opinion, the arrival of the Beacon Ascendancy changed little. Veronica already had a lot of enemies, and Beacon had proven themselves to be incompetent on many occasions. If the Ascendancy was as big and bad as everyone said they were, they probably had bigger fish to fry than a few cradle agents. The leader of Crimson Cradle had disappeared for several months. There was the mint, Cindy’s Gang, the outer Penrose alliance, as well as a dozen or so other organizations that were run by horror worshipers and “less than pure” magical girls. It was unlikely they would be hunting them specifically for a while. There was too much going on to worry solely on the appearance of Beacon reinforcements. In fact, she was already tired of thinking about it, she needed something else to do.

The magical girl party on Glimmr sounded good. Parties were right up her ally. But she didn’t know “the place” having been out of Penrose for so long. Furthermore, she wanted to accomplish something. It was clear what she had to do.
Shortly before her unplanned vacation, Tetrad and Emily were on the cusp of discovering a necromancer’s den. She was pretty sure that Emily would be up for continuing that. Tetrad immediately typed up a text message before remembering a new acquaintance she made over the beach vacation, and scrolled down to Amaryllis’s name. Surely she would also be interested in hunting a necromancer. Letting her participate was the least she could do for a fellow Keijo queen. Tetrad punched in an invitation and hit send, only to get a prompt that the message could not be sent because the signal was too weak. That was when Tetrad looked around herself and remembered where she was. 

[color=75c159]”Right, I should probably go to a dimension with internet service.”[/color]

[hr]

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

[color=PeachPuff]“Everything’s gone to hell, but I like my hair.”[/color]

[color=888888]— Su Fang[/color][/center]

Su examined herself in a full body mirror. Typically her long brown hair was tied into pigtails, but she decided to change it up after her vacation. Now her hair cascaded over her shoulders, with her bangs reaching her collarbones. The rest tumbled down her back over her Chinese dress. It was a more mature look that suited her well. Not much could be done about her magical girl uniform, but she wondered how she might look in a change of clothes. She would need some time to think about that. There was a lot of things on her mind aside from her appearance.

The first things Su did when she got back was talk to Boteg. The news that Penny no longer served Laat rocked Boteg’s world. His core reason for coming to Penrose many months ago was to pit his champion against that of Laat. It was with Penny’s death that the cowardly dragon would finally get revenge. A chance to spit in the proverbial eye of the one who committed genocide on his race. But it seemed all was for naught. Laat losing his champion like that was not a pleasant thing, But Boteg did not seem satisfied with the outcome. On the upside, there would be no repercussions. But then what would Boteg do? This was something the gold dragon would need to consider.

Boteg tried to tell Su about all that had happened, but she needed to look through the news to get comprehensive answers. Needless to say, there were many unpleasant surprises waiting for Su in Penrose. First was the winter season. Not her favorite type of weather, but worse was the catastrophic events. This was typically the busy season for a hotel, and recent antics inside of Penrose had driven almost everyone away. All that extra business was important to make ends meet, and she knew Boteg wouldn’t keep funding things, especially if Laat’s next champion remained elsewhere. Worse still was the Beacon Ascendancy. Su was a dark magical girl, and Helga was a monster girl. Lupa and the ghost twins were also monster girls that were unlikely to be well received by the Ascendancy. They would need to be dealt with at some point. But that was bound to bring the rest of the beacon girls down on her. She had seen how fiercely loyal Beacon was to its own members. Alicia and Abigail’s behavior over the vacation gave her little reason to think they would remain divided for long. But as frightening as the prospect of fighting them was, She’d sooner die than surrender her family to Beacon. Hopefully that wasn’t a sacrifice she’d needed to make.

But one thing at a time. First Su needed to make sure her family was safe. Mika and Lupa had since departed to play in the snow. Not the best time to do so, but they had told her that they would remain close just in case. For some reason Boteg seemed to be agitated by Mika’s presence, but she chalked that up to him not liking the news about Penny. Helga was still in the hotel, likely doing something in her room. A lot had happened, and she probably needed a moment to process it all. She was sure all the other guests were fine, including the non-magical people that agreed to act as the hotel’s security staff.

Which left the matter of drawing in more guests during such hard times. She would need to invest in advertising in order to keep her guest count up. Specifically targeting magical girls, as there wasn’t likely anyone else that would willingly stay in Penrose. Boteg wouldn’t like it, but these were hard times. Glimmr was becoming an increasingly popular platform for Penrose Magical girls. Su could put an add in there and buy a sponsored spot. She wasn’t the best with computers, but Helga seemed like she’d be good for something like that. Or maybe they could work on it together. Su was sure that with her artistic eye and Helga’s know how they could make something. That was when Su’s phone got a notification from Glimmr about a magic shop that opened up.

[color=PeachPuff]“It’s a good excuse to go for a walk.”[/color] Su stashed her phone and approached Helga’s room. With a knock she said [color=PeachPuff]“Helga. Wamma go for a walk? A magic shop just opened up.”[/color] She waited for a response. It was a chance to see how Helga was reajusting to her normal life, as well as talk about that ad idea.

[@Ariamis]

[hr]

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

[color=#bd71e8]“First Blood.”[/color]

[color=888888]— Vermilion Veronica[/color][/center]

[@EnterTheHero]

Kaito would not be shown mercy. He was new to Penrose. He was unaware of how dangerous this city could be, and experience was not a merciful teacher. You are [i]never[/i] on the top of the food chain here. Monsters, Magus, but mostly other magical girls. Something out there wants to kill you, steal from you, or capture you and do far worse things. While he prepared to hunt monsters, he himself was being hunted.

His pursuer was careful. Unlike Kaito, these streets were not unfamiliar territory to her. She had walked them all before, new their names by heart. The snow quieted her steps, and the storm  made spotting her impossible. Given the circumstances, she might as well have been invisible. It was almost unfair, but unfair was a perfect one word summery for life in Penrose.

She flexed her fingers. This wasn’t even good enough to be considered practice. But that mattered little. She would get what she wanted out of this exchange. Without another thought, she dove into the street below. Her weapons ready. Kaito heard the attack much too late to do anything about it. He’d turn just in time to witness his assailant before they attacked him. 

[hider=WARNING: Extremely graphic content]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ILCOP2b.png[/img]

[color=tomato]“Kidding! It’s just Mika!”[/color]

[color=888888]— Mika Sarraf[/color][/center]

Fortunately, Kaito’s attacker was not out for blood. Mika dropped down in front of him while encapsulated in a large droplet of water.on impact, the water bubble exploded and splashed him and everything else directly around the girl. Mika probably soaked herself more than anything else in her surroundings. If Kaito bothered to observe Mika (who wouldn't?) he would notice she was dressed like an Arabian dancer. Her red uniform was covered in gilded accessories, and she also had a tail and pointy cat ears.

[color=tomato]“Hi hi! I’m Mika!”[/color] She said with a friendly wave. [color=tomato]“I don’t get to play with boys very often, and not ones with cool legs like that!”[/color] In a puff of smoke, Mika’s legs also transformed into that of an avian creature. [color=tomato]“They’re animal-tommy correct! A lot of fantasy artists don’t realize the true shape of a bird’s legs, and just cut them of at the knees!”[/color] She giggled, without any intention of stopping her rambling. [color=tomato]“Also, do you hop or walk? I’m kind of curious because-”[/color] Mika’ pupils dilated and her ears flickered. [color=tomato]“It’s so cold! The water is so cold!”[/color] She extended her arms. [color=tomato]“Quick! Huddle with me for warmth!”[/color] She hobbled towards Kaito with chattering teeth. [/hider]