[quote=Lifeguard Sam Davis, moments before purification]A pipe unwisely devoured a somewhat exceedingly strange occurance. At long last, the inhuman burden of the nonchalantly dreaded, fungoid Horror was revealed! It took no cryptic nightmare to make such creature knowingly nonchalantly transfigurate the surface of the waters, but the foreign splendor was hideous. When one sees an outer mark upon the transparent blasted sand, it means that the vestigial beast assimilates the chlorinated depths. A speech lectured at long length about the Amorphous living inside the drain. When the tepid library self-flagellates, some torch meditates. Oh, the so-called Necronomicon of it ALL! When a carelessly putrid splendor propagates, a gateway toward the trench draws itself up. When the polygon hesitates, a non-euclidian symbol sweeps the floor. A frantically horrible tape recorder avoided contact with the anomaly. Remembering the underhandedly memorable vista of a shadow from the insignificance, one can only prostrate themselves before the canyon of the dripping bargain that stood before me. At long last, the iridescent abstraction of the typical, nearest symmetry was revealed! The glory from a tentacled egg is blasphemous, the doorstep beneath the burden learned by the hardly false township. [b]Oh, the vaporized abstraction of it ALL![/b] [/quote] [center] [h1]Sakura[/h1] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200312/08791badea4291da4bb29c6148deb5d2.png[/img] [Sub].:⋮Horror Poop⋮:.[/Sub] [/center] Penrose Northern Swimming Center was covered from head to toe in caution tape, and simply from looking at it from a distance, it became clear why. Pulsating [i]meat[/i] bordered the windows and seeped beneath the cracks of the door, held in check only by a previous magical ritual meant to seal the Vestigial Horror’s advance while braver, hardier magical girls were called to deal with the root of the problem. The testimony of the late-night lifeguard had dissuaded many though, and it was only recently that Penrose received an influx of magical girls who were well-rested and ready to fight. Still, from a distance, the two that had converged were, in a word, able to leave. If they entered, however, there was no knowing whether or not they could get out unless their grim task was done. A clocktower, non-existent, rang for thirteen o’clock, and the moon opened its eye, awaiting what lunatic fates laid for the foolhardy investigators. Penny was the first to arrive on the scene, her arrival was nothing more than a minor spark of light. Hovering gently in the night air before drawing into itself it’s soft light pulsing to vastly greater intensity before expanding outward to become a great sphere of light. It would last only an instant before it would flicker out of existence to reveal the mechanized girl in all her glory. She would take a moment to surverey her surroundings before focusing her attention on the twisted and corrupted building that stood before her. Her thoughts unreadable from the passive look on her face, but the sounds of metal covers sliding open from her right arm would cause any observers to notice the gleaming teeth of the chainsaws installed into her hand and arm were fully active. An experimental revving of the exposed weapon and Penny was ready to venture forth into the horrific pool. “So, this is the place, huh. Looks… well, like the underside of my kitchen, to be fair.” Sakura raised an eyebrow upon gazing the broken door of the Penrose Swimming Center. She had been set up with Emily not long before, she had even convinced the girl to let her crash at her place. She had to pay her back somehow. And that’s when the little rat chimed in. She had heard about… a suitable first job for her. She didn’t believe him for a single moment. But what choice did she have? She was a nice girl. And Sakura, change of shape aside, was an old and grown person who had to take responsibility for himself. “Well, I am told that cleaning… these places is where most people start. You should do fine.” Umukamui said, as the damned thing scurried off to somewhere else. “Yuck.” Sakura said, as she started to slip past the entrance. “I think i’ve seen worse in hentai films, but it’s fairly disgusting.” She talked to herself, trying to not think and smell too much of how gross it was. “Spark spark love of my heart.” She said, making sure nobody saw her transforming, and ventured in. That rat had sent him into some really fucked up wetwork with the excuse of training, didn’t he? Well, strangling would come later. There was some burger quality mishap that had to be taken care of. There was another figure that descended into a ball of light, and then decided to rev a chainsaw in her own arm? Were robo-magical girls a thing? Sakura tilted her head as she watched the other magical girl. “Oi, swiss knife-chan!” He called her attention with a loud expression. “You trying to hack up this mess with a chainsaw? Forget it, it’s gonna get clogged sooner or later.” Penny would turn to face Sakura after being addressed, tilting her head slightly at the oddly appropriate nickname. [color=4F8092][u]“Salutations”[/u][/color] She would reply before holding up her arm [color=4F8092][u]“Odds of it being clogged are low. Vibrational repulsion will keep any organic material from being dragged within my arm. In the case of such an event happening I am equipped with additional weapony”[/u][/color] She would reply as she held up her other arm to reveal her hand morphing into a wickedly sharp set of claws as a blade grew out from her elbow and up the outside of her arm. [color=4F8092][u]“Your concern is appreciated however.”[/u][/color] She would go on to say as she let her arms return to her sides their weaponized states not reverting. [color=4F8092][u]“Inquiry. What is your designation? And am I correct in assuming that you are also here to clean the Horror’s taint from this building?”[/u][/color] Her voice was even, if a bit emotionless, as she spoke and she would slowly approach the smaller girl as she asked her questions. “Tall”, Sakura said. Well, it's not that she was that tall, it’s just that her own body had shrunk due to the Puuchu’s fault. Even after being transformed, the heels didn’t prop her that much up. “So, you have other things and even a self-cleaning feature. Could something about the part where you talk like an answering machine, though.” Sakura said as she folded her arms, closing one of her eyes. “Haaah? Did my handler make things difficult for me again? I think he was supposed to arrange coordination with other magical girls. Well, at least you don’t seem the greedy slimy type of bitch. I can work with that. So yes, I was told to clean this mess.” She sighed. “It doesn’t look that good, probably that bastard is now thinking that a hentai film scenario is going to break my will, or something. Anyway I’m Sak… I mean Magical Girl Sparky Heart. Nice to meet ya.” She added. “We’re going to hack a lot of stuff, you’d probably want a heavy blade like an axe or machete.” She spoke. You didn’t use sophisticated tools to cut meat, as he had learnt in her past life. Just a heavy blade. “Swiss knife-chan.” [color=4F8092][u]“Speech habits are a work in progress”[/u][/color] Penny would reply simply, as she knew she had an odd way of speaking, granted it got easier the better she knew someone, but still work in progress. [color=4F8092][u]“Insufficient information on your handler, but if you are new to the community, odds indicated that they are a prick”[/u][/color] She would offer up with a slight shrug. Penny would give Sakura a look of confusion for a moment at her given name [color=4F8092][u]“You remind me of Aurelio”[/u][/color] She would say after a moment before shaking her head “My name is Penny. I am a part of the local branch of Beacon.” She would introduce herself before moving back to the topic of tools [color=4F8092][u]“Simple blades will be most effective against inert flesh, agreed. Chainsaw is better at lasting damage and against being grappled. Additional utility in taking out walls if needed. Weight is inherent to my frame, current weight is in excess of 100 kilograms.”[/u][/color] Sakura smiled at Penny’s definition of Umukamui. Well she could still swear to an extent. She wasn’t a complete loss “The pigs, uh.” She added when she mentioned the Beacon. Maybe this Aurelio person was a colleague. Or a robosexual sugar daddy. No one knew with the weirdos these days… “You’re heavy, swiss knife-chan”. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the mention of Penny’s weight. “Well, far from me stopping you from getting chainsaw crazy, I’m just saying. I would love to use my fists too, but taking this much of a pulsating mess of meat on with my dainty little hands will be… troublesome.” She added, as she immediately turned to face one of the emergency fire axes. She wrapped one of her fists in cloth, took a stance and… “Hoi!” With a single strike she shattered the glass and retrieved the fire axe from within. “Now we’re talking.” She said, with a small hint of glee. “If you want, we can get a couple of other things to scrape off fleshy murk. This is a pool, there’s bound to be a couple of chems around too.” [color=4F8092][u]“Side effect of being composed mainly out of steel”[/u][/color] Penny would say with a small smirk while Sakura retrieved a more suitable weapon for the task at hand. She would bring up the Beacon topic again later if needed but for the moment was content to let it pass. [color=4F8092][u]“Acquiring acid is not a poor idea, uncertain how much use it will have before the core has been taken care of however.”[/u][/color] [color=4F8092][u]“Magic might be a better alternative until then. My external magical capability is limited, but personal modification is possible.”[/u][/color] She would say raising one of her arms again for emphasis [color=4F8092][u]“Which Specialization do you possess?”[/u][/color] Sakura tilted her head. Yes, robot rears were notoriously heavy. “Yeah… it’s not like we can just ask them to reveal themselves, show their weak point, pour some chem and go home, huh.” Sakura scratched her head. “Speciwho?” She thought for a second, straining her hazy memories… until something came to her mind. It was Emily’s face. Then the word Specialization. “Oh i guess I am a loli shaped taser.” She added, conjuring some sparks on her hand. “Bzzt bzzt dirty sleazebag oniichan. Whatever.” She finished with no small amount of snark. “Guess I could wake this thing up?” [color=4F8092][u]“No need to worry about friendly fire then”[/u][/color] Penny would reply as she allowed a few arks of electricity to dance between her fingers as well. [color=4F8092][u]“Lightning doesn’t affect me”[/u][/color] Turning once again towards the flesh filled building she contemplated the offer before nodding. [color=4F8092][u]“You start and I’ll stick nearby. Odds dictate that getting separated isn’t a good idea.”[/u][/color] “Alright.” Sakura said, while she stuck the comically big for her size axe on her belt and rub her hands, creating a spark. She noticed the more thick and pulsating growth, and grinned with glee. “WAKEY WAKEY BURGERFUCK!” She yelled as she sent a strong current through the pulsating flesh. Lightning arced through tumorous flesh, and immediately, the meaty structure quivered. The area that Sakura had contacted with was left charred and blackened, but the neighbouring areas began to crackle and [i]burst[/i] instead, like sausage that broke out of its own skin from the heat. A wave of pungent aromas hit the two magical girls like a wave, greenish-yellow vapors sifting through as puss, blood, and tainted water oozed out from various portions of the afflicted area. Though Penny, fully robotic, was unaffected, the stench was nauseating for Sakura; it was as if invisible horror ninjas were cutting onions over her eyes and nose. Yet, the fleshy lobby that would lead to the showers and the change rooms did not respond in any other fashion. Beyond the horrifying stink caused by electrocuting the outer edges of this infestation, none of the abnormal flesh-clumps seemed to respond towards the appearance of the magical girls. It was patient, after all. It would wait until they were deeper in. Sakura coughed ever so slightly, trying to contain the tears from her irritated eyes from the awful stench that came from electrocuting the flesh. “Did...it ...just...fart on my face?!” Sakura said with incredulity. While trying to regain her senses this kind of reminded her the smell of that cabin in the woods a long time ago. Suffice to say seven dead was a mighty mess. This… well, horror flick knockoff was even worse. And that was irritating her. She hefted her axe, and looking at the corridor, she spat. “Bah, so much for the quick -n- easy way. That thing wants to sit on its ass all day.” She frowned. “Just in case, swiss knife-chan, don’t you have some kind of big bang explosive at hand? I’m done being nice with this thing.” She added and began to trudge around in the stench, axe at hand and gritting her teeth. [color=4F8092][u]“Negative”[/u][/color] Penny would confirm [color=4F8092][u]“I possess no explosive weaponry and my Gauss system is insufficient to cause large enough scale damage to force a response”[/u][/color] She would go on to say as she followed after Sakura. As they entered the building a small drone would disconnect from Penny and begin floating a small distance above her shoulder. It would beep quietly a few times before turning on a flashlight to light their way. The deeper they got, the more invasive the pinkish, veinous flesh became. Soon, the ground that they stepped on was soft, squelching and squirming underfoot, and behind them, there was a distinctive slurping sound, the entrance they took now sealed. Within the change rooms, the air was moist, a mixture of blood and sewage, accompanied, almost disconcertingly, by the floral accents of shampoo. Their path remained unimpeded, until, in the distance, the two magical girls could hear a faint cry coming from their right side. A pillar of flesh stood, perhaps having assimilated with the building’s supporting pillar, and extending just a little bit out of it, was a small hand, adorned with a frilly, white glove. The hand grasped weakly, shakily, and a muffled voice sounded as well. [i][sub]“Help...help me...mom…”[/sub][/i] Penny hardly spared more than a glance at the way they came when the slurping echoed out from behind them. She had assumed that it would close behind them before she got here. Still she kept the saw in her right arm at a soft hum, using the sound it generated as an advanced sonar mapping the place out much further and faster then simply using her eyes. That said the hand sticking out of the pillar still brought her to a stop, as did the whimpering cry coming from it as she would narrow her eyes at it. [color=4F8092][u]“Odds that this is a trap?”[/u][/color] She would ask, raising her arms in preparation of an attack. Sakura spent half of the trip frowning, to contain the disgust of the entire situation of an entire room made flesh. It was like painting a room with bodies. With the chunky bits. Her head throbbed like crazy, and then directed the sight at Penny. “The hell you doing, swiss knife-chan. My head hurts.” She said. It was like a nagging barely noticeable thrumming, but it felt as painful as a vuvuzela. “Pretty high. Can’t let the girl stay stuck like that, if it’s a girl we’re talking about.” She looked at Penny and hefted the axe. “One extracts, one lookout, fair?” Penny would simply point at her floating drone who would beep a few more times before projecting a hologram of the sonar map that Penny had been able to map so far with her magic. While that was happening the robotic girl would also walk forward to grasp the dainty hand coming out of the wall. Assuming that nothing happened immediately she would use the blade on her right arm to start carving out the girl out of the pillar. The task was a grisly affair, more blood and pus released into the air as Penny shaved away at the flesh. The pillar squirmed, tremored, squealed, but though errant shreds of flesh splattered against the mechanical magical girl’s countenance, she proceeded on unabated, until finally, they were able to tear out a humanoid lump from whence the hand originated. Had it been assimilating her, or eating her? No clothing remained beyond that lacy glove, no skin either. Veins traced over raw, pinkish flesh, while yellowed fat stuck out at places, accompanying sinew. Gone were the lips, nose, and ears, left only with gaping orifices leaking with fluid, and the crown of their head had been stripped away, until only the skull remained. Their eyes gaped open, milky white and blind, while they continued to expel words through instinct rather than rational intent. The constitution of a magical girl meant that she could survive even this, but if left alone, it wouldn’t be long before she was reclaimed by the Horror that surrounded them all. Another wet, slurping sound. The exit of the changeroom too was closed off by walls of beating flesh. Sakura had been attentive to her surroundings while Penny was extracting the little girl. The door apparently closed after they finished releasing the poor sap. How ...cute. Did it really think it would matter to close the exits? She had no intention of going out or turning tail. Not after seeing this. Even in the mind of a seasoned Yakuza, there were lines that should not be crossed. She jumped at the daintly disfigured form of the girl, and took her alongside Penny. “This is easily the fourth most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.” Sakura admitted, her tone stern and neutral. It was like the calm before the storm. This thing had to go. Probably in the most excruciating way possible. She then remembered something out of the corner of her mind, and manifested an elaborate dress on her hand out of thin air. That rat had duped him with this skill. Eternal Style was not a martial art, it was all about fashion and clothes. Even temporary, manifesting fancy clothes out of thin air would prove useful. She began ripping the dress earnestly, creating some sort of makeshift bandages for the girl. It would hurt beyond belief, but he was using one of the most fashionable silks for her bandages. Even if it was a couple of hours, she couldn’t bear herself to leave the victim alone. “You’ll be okay, kid. You did good in clinging to life this much.” She said, in an uncharacteristical soothing voice. It was when she noticed a couple of droplets of blood on the bandages. Searching for an external source, she soon realized. She was biting her own lip so hard, trying to contain the cauldron of rage. “It will last two hours though. And it seems we’re trapped. But that’s it. No spikes in the ceiling. No monsters. What a pompous ass.” Sakura heckled. “I’m fed up. Let’s wreck this entire thing. I did notice these fleshy disgusting things aren’t very solid compared to you. If I lease you some of my lightning…” Sakura said. “Think you could run through walls, Penny?” When Sakura would turn her attention back towards Penny the girls eyes would be a blazing red. It had crept in while she had been saving this girl, as the robotic mahou had actually assumed that there was no one alive in this building other than her and Sakura. To be proven wrong and in such a horrific fashion? Penny had long since past anger and was now lingering just past hate. If she was whole, this entire place would already be a mess of rubble, but logic dictated that this girl wouldn’t be the only one, so there was grim satisfaction in not having access to her full might at the moment. [color=4F8092][u]“I am willing to find out”[/u][/color] She would say her voice would come out smooth and cold as arctic ice. As she spoke her armor would shift for a moment allowing her Purification amulet to surface. It might not do much in such a place by itself but she had an idea that might get a result if she needed it. With a glance at the map she had created she would turn herself towards the most direct line to closer to the center of this place. Once she did her legs would light up as she triggered her hover systems and at the same time her hidden spider like limbs would unfurl. She wasn’t going to be holding anything back against this abomination. [color=4F8092][u]“Ready when you are, once this starts I’m expecting it to turn into a running battle”[/u][/color] Penny would say never turning away from her goal [color=4F8092][u]“Your call if you want to protect her or if you want me to”[/u][/color] Mentally she was preparing a distress signal to send to The Beacon. Not for the assistance with clearing out this nest, but for the medical aid that his girl, and possibly others, would need once they were done here. “Well, call me insane… but I guess extra weight will not hurt in this case…” Sakura grinned, as she made some makeshift straps to affix the wounded girl on her back, before moving with brisk steps and jumping on Penny’s back, making it a three people ride. “Let’s kick this fucker all the way up the Sanzu river.” She said while concentrating her lightning in her embrace, hopefully energizing the robotic magical girl even more. Penny would curl her bottom two inhuman limbs around Sakura and their passenger acting both as a cradle and cage. She was going to be moving quickly and she didn’t want either of them to fall off, plus if any attacks came from behind it would offer some protection until Penny could reorient to get them out of the line of fire. Her drone guide would land on her shoulder with a notable clang. Still projecting the map above itself. Then she would focus on the Lightning being fed into her systems directing it to the systems that would need the boost the most. Her gauss system and her thrusters. Then without warning her gauss system would let out it’s roaring declaration as Penny blitzed forward fully intending to simply bulldoze her way through to the Pool propper. Sakura’s attempt at first aid caused the magical girl to squirm in further displeasure; skinless as she was, any contact at all looked painful. But it was a necessary measure, if only so that she could be secured on Sakura’s back. With a thrum of her engines and her passengers fully secured, Penny flew off, lightning crackling in her wake as she accelerated to the highest velocity she could before contact with the wall. Her drone, though its map constantly fluctuated due to the organic nature of their location, was still able to point the path to the most open area within the pool...which was the pool. The machine-girl crashed into the flesh-covered walls with bombastic ferocity, the crunch of shattering concrete and pavement muffled by the elasticity of the walls. With two passengers on her, her speed had taken a hit, but where velocity failed, brute force reigned. Pushing, pushing, pushing through, Penny rammed through the flesh...only for it to then give way. The wall she ripped through parted in an instant, as the pool, infested and covered with meat and fat, stood before her. In the center, laid a bulbous construction, dark blue veins spiraling upwards to a fleshy sphere the size of a truck. It beat visibly, with the rippling intensity of a human heart, and the water of the pool had turned into a black mud now. But that wasn’t what gave Penny pause. Though near the walls, the vapors were thin, it was clear that there was something strange in the air. A thick smog, yellowish-green in color, pervaded the entirety of the pool area, the air heavy and moist like the breathing of an in-patient. They had made it now, but the question was: were they invaders, or were they [i]guests[/i]? “Good call.” Sakura said. “That fog stings my nose like crazy from here. Betcha it’s something, poisonous, corrosive or worse.” Sakura said, while taking a look at the other girl. “Maybe you can withstand it, but I probably wouldn’t like breathing in that stuff.” The petite girl looked at the pulsating pillar, and then the other magical girl besides her. Well, what was left of her, anyway. [i]An all out attack could work, but I distrust this fucker who has been sitting on its ass all this time[/i] Sakura thought, as she strained her mind. “There should be a way to vent this room and leave this fucker’s ass exposed. Once we do… we rain hell on it.” Sakura commented still gazing around to see where she could poke holes to vent the entire room. [color=4F8092][u]“We need to act quickly”[/u][/color] Penny would say softly as she too scanned the room for an easy way to vent the room [color=4F8092][u]“Something is triggering my Spark”[/u][/color] She had two, possibly three, ideas as to what it was that was doing that. Yet at the end of the day killing the core of this nightmare would solve the issue regardless. [color=4F8092][u]“Bringing down the roof might be our best option”[/u][/color] She would offer keeping a vigilant eye out for any possible attacks. She had another few seconds before her Gauss system would be ready for another shot, which she was planning on using as her opening volly. While she spoke she brought up a hand to her purification amulet, and clasped it gently before letting like call to like. When she let go of it a soft white glow encompassed the white gold star, the diamond in the center glowing with it’s own inner flame. Penny wasn’t sure if it would help, but it was better than nothing. “Wrecking the place, huh? I feel bad for the lil’ girls losing their favorite splashing place, but in the other hand… I’d love to see how that rat deals with… collateral damage.” Sakura added, her face growing to a wide grin as she focused her lightning and started the bombardment on the upper side of the pool, with a twofold purpose. Create ventilation, and squash that phallic thing with the debris. A crack of lightning, a surge of power, and… [i]Ignition.[/i] As Sakura’s magic shot through the tainted air, her lightning, bright and burning, the pool caught flame, an explosion of light and heat surging out towards the magical girls. Penny’s mechanical fortitude prevented them from being tossed back by the blast, but that wasn’t the problem. The entirety of the pool was aflame now, the pulsating heart of the creation pounding ever faster. Every inch of aberrant flesh was burning with white fire, and the temperature within the large room was rising rapidly as a result. Worst was that the Horror’s flesh had an almost reciprocal relationship with the fire that consumed it: it regenerated fast enough that there was no lasting damage to it from the flames, and what visceral pus and gas that popped out from its veins from the superficial damage served only to stoke the flames further. The same could not be said for Sakura, Penny, and their nameless charge. Caught inside, they were going to be cooked alive if nothing was done. [color=4F8092][i]‘Shit’[/i][/color] That was the only extraneous thought that passed through Penny’s mind as the situation turned for the worse. The rest of her processing power was put towards finding out another avenue of Dealing with this thing. And in all honesty bringing the roof down still seemed like the best plan, as that would vent the noxious fumes as well as deal with the rapidly growing heat from the room effectively being on fire. [color=00aeef]“System recalibrated”[/color] A moment later Penny loud out a thunderous roar easily louder than any other gauss round to date. The reason would become very apparent as well, her round was fired with no lightning. Just a two foot steel spike and a visible wave of sound aimed directly at the heart beating within the center of the room. She would then step back to the wall and place her chainsaw blade into the flesh before triggering it at the same time her thrusters ramped up to maximum. The result being that she was dragged upwards toward the ceiling. When she got there she would prace against the wall with her normal legs and against the ceiling with her spiderlegs, her plan? To start tearing down the roof and either open a vent hole for the fumes or to get out herself and continue this from the outside. During this she wouldn’t stop unleashing her modified gauss round at the heart every time it came online. Sakura for her part stood wide eyed for the briefest of moments, before muttering something under her breath. "Shit." She said solemnly as she clung to Penny in her rampage. Eyeing the situation, she saw the thing on fire and she gritted her teeth. They needed to finish it quickly. She took aim from behind the robotic girl. "Penny, brace for impact." She added before starting to channel her Killing Blow. "Sparkly heart Justice Breaker Lance" she said, her aim at the center of the thing and the pool underneath. "Go to hell!" She added as she mentally prepared herself for the simultaneous detonation of all the flammable liquid of the pool at once, while hopefully piercing the target as well. Penny ripped and tore through mounds of regenerating flesh, her metallic frame soon coated with gore that sizzled like grilled meat, seeping into her joints. Each breath Sakura took burnt her lungs, the caustic odors and the stinging smoke leaving marks on her skin. All the while, the flesh rebelled still, squirming against the assault as everything continued to burn. It was a mess, a bloody, gross, violent, ugly mess. Gauss rounds smashed into the euclidean sphere, over and over again, to no effect. Against adversity, the bulbous roots of the Sphere generated massive braids of fat and blood, bursting out of the tepid pool to deflect the electromagnetically propelled shots. Flesh too, obstructed Penny from breaking through the roof so easily. Her chainsaw roared constantly, teeth shredding into the bloody mess, but the going was, just as it had been to break through the wall, slow, and her attacks were ineffectual. Sakura’s though, was not. A killing blow. A bolt out of the blue. A lance of thunder and lightning, composed of the entirety of a magical girl’s energy. Coalescing between her hands, pink lightning shot out in an incandescent stream, blasting into the wall of flesh that protected the Sphere. What defenses it erected carbonized almost immediately, while the corrupted water beneath vaporized rather than ignited, the sheer heat of the Justice Breaker Lancer overwhelming. Sakura immediately felt her back pressed against Penny’s, the recoil of her magic giving the Magical Machine enough propulsion to dig deeper into the flesh barrier than ever before! What she didn’t notice, however, was that the girl once secured on her back had slipped off, fat, grease, and the recoil from Sakura’s Killing Blow knocking her loose. But Penny did. Before their charge could plummet beyond their reach, one of Penny’s arms snatched out, the parallel minds of the magitech girl capable of focusing on all aspects of the chaos that surrounded them. With everyone secured, the machine redoubled her efforts, and right as Sakura’s lightning smashed into the Sphere, Penny’s chainsaw tore into steel and concrete, opening a hole into the night. Even coated with blood, even soaked in gore, the magical girls could taste the sweetness of the night air...and so could the flames within. A draft of air, powerful and continuous, swept into the burning pool, reoxygenating the oven they were in, and for the second time, the hellish pool burnt red. And rather than being on the side, the three girls were right above the surging fire. “Oi, swiss knife-chan!” Sakura said, panting heavily after the strain of having no magical power remaining. “Got a hookshoot, by any chance?” Time was a precious commodity at the moment, because of that Penny didn’t bother to reply to Sakura; she simply lifted her bladed arm towards the side and launched it off letting the long chain that trailed off after it answer the question on it’s own. At the same time as she was securing a way off the build before it blew up she was preparing to say her goodbye to the creature below. [color=00aeef]“System recalibrated”[/color] The moment he left arm caught hold of something sturdy was the same moment she fired off one last Gauss round, but this was once again different from any of her prior rounds as all it consisted of was a single large bolt of electricity, and with timing only possible due to being a machine the next instant a flare of light erupted from Penny as she pushed her Spark to its limits and focused the flare through her purification amulet, mixing the purified light with her lightning. Not bothering to see if it had any real effect Penny allowed the winch mechanism to drag her and her passengers away from the rooftop redoubling her grip on them both to make sure they were secured for when this place blew its top. Penny’s final shot streaked through the air, but whatever effect it had was obstructed by the plumes of flame that jetted out at them. The magical machine’s winch had guided them out from the hole Penny created, but it certainly hadn’t been what propelled them. A roar, an air-sucking flash, and they were cannonballed out of the exploding swimming pool, embers and smoke clinging to them all. For a moment, as their ascent apexed, Penny and Sakura saw the infernal ruins that the building had become, concrete collapsing and flesh roasting, as the entire building was demolished. And in the next, they crashed into cold water, bubbles of oxygen burbling all around them. A penthouse pool. They had been launched so high up that they ended up on the roof of an apartment building. “Y’know… swiss-knife chan… normally i’d be thrilled when a good brawl ends up with a couple of chicks in a penthouse pool… but like this… Well, I'm glad it’s over and done with. That was fucked up.” She added as she allowed herself to float in the water, a calm moment of respite after a hard fought battle. “We should get help for our friend tho.” Sakura said, her magic depleted and forcefully being stripped of her magical uniform. “Oi, Kamui… san” Just as if some magical words had conjured a spirit, the Puuchu appeared besides the pool “Yes?” His eyes were trying to discern something, no doubt why the change in why he was addressed. “Can you fix her?” Sakura insisted, her eyes darting to the wounded girl. “It’s possible, yes.” “But not free, s’what you say.” Sakura added, scoffing. “Yes.” “Do it… please.” The once-gangster asked, no, pleaded to do so. “Your speech has been altered. Is it perhaps due to a concussion?” The Puuchu answered. “Maybe. But y’know, maybe this world of magical girls and sparkles ain’t so bad. Stupid fashion aside, it feels good to punch bastards, do justice… and save the girl.” She added, throwing a fist to the air, and then trying to grasp the sky. “Don’t you think so, Swiss-knife chan? Being good, feels actually good, eh?” [color=4F8092][u]“Indeed it does Sakura”[/u][/color] Penny would reply as she smiled at a job well done. “I’ll contact Beacon to have them send over a group of girls to purify the place now that the core is gone.” She would add sending off the message she had prepared when they first found the girl trapped within the defiled pool. [color=4F8092][u]“We’ve got medics as well,”[/u][/color] Penny would add as she crawled out of the pool, [color=4F8092][u]“So you don’t need to pay for another good deed if you don’t want to.”[/u][/color] It was an offer made out of companionship, as she felt that her original evaluation of the Puchuu was rather spot on so far. “Won’t it put a lot of work on the Beacon to handle both cleanups?” Sakura said. “‘Sides, I don’t mind helping a lil’ girl.” Sakura added, although the last part drawled off, as if it was an uncomfortable truth. [color=4F8092][u]“It shouldn’t”[/u][/color] Penny would reply [color=4F8092][u]“I was sent in to tear the place down if needed after all, the hard part has been accomplished. I lack the capability to properly purge the corruption from the area however. Besides Beacon is founded on helping people, regardless of how the Ascendency goes about performing its duties. It would be antithetical to deny her help after what she went through.”[/u][/color] Her explanation held a quiet conviction that was notable purely for the emotion that it injected into how she spoke. [color=4F8092][u]“You have helped her, and countless others with your actions tonight. I would be remiss in my own sense to not extend just as much assistance to you as you have done to me.”[/u][/color] “Fine, you take the girl. Remember that these bandages are temporary and will disappear in a hour or so.” Sakura eyed the robotic girl, as she hauled herself out of the swimming pool, and with one last application of Eternal Style, dried herself prim and proper. “Oi, rat bastard, start the bike.” She said to Umukamui, as the pink bike materialized in front of them, and both climbed up. “Good thing this stuff is magical. Let’s do some joyriding.” She said, trying to ignore the garish pink color as she started it up. “See ya, Swiss-knife-chan. Get in touch, kay?” Sakura added. [color=4F8092][u]“Understood”[/u][/color] Penny would reply with a small nod, gently lifting the girl up as she did so. [color=4F8092][u]“And easily done”[/u][/color] She would reply with a rare smug smirk, as Sakura’s phone would receive a text from the robot in question. [color=4F8092][u]“Don’t hesitate to call if you need assistance, or simply wish to meet up.”[/u][/color] She would add, as several more flashes of light, much like the one that happened when Penny first teleported in could be seen in the parking lot of the now destroyed pool. With one last wave, with her spider-like limb, Penny would step backwards off the roof, using the remaining boost she had received from Sakura to float gently to the ground with her thrusters before turning towards the support crew that Beacon had sent in, she had wounded that needed to be taken care of after all. “Hm. It was too soon to poach someone, shifty rat.” Sakura added. “There’ll be more chances, I’m sure.” She nodded before driving off the building in a spectacular fashion.