[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/JyqXhSX.png[/img] [color=#bd71e8]“T _ W E R _ F C _ R _ _ _ E Would you like to try and solve the puzzle?”[/color] [color=888888]— Veronica[/color][/center] [sub][@FamishedPants][@ERode][@Majoras End][@PlatinumSkink][/sub] The music was gone, she was outside. The only thing Veronica could hear was Dolly’s gentle if indifferent voice and the rain dancing on the umbrella.. That music must have been getting to her, because she hadn’t felt that helpless in a long time. Vi would be made to pay for her crimes, and soon. Veronica pulled the string out of the box and examined it, listening to Dolly’s expatiation. [color=#bd71e8]“I suspect I will need you to enlighten me in a moment.”[/color] She turned the string over in her hand. [color=#bd71e8]“If it works as you say it does, I will certainly be requesting another commission.”[/color] Veronica walked away, wondering if this was going to become one of her [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxf2sBssH8]great days[/url] despite everything. She stood out on a road in front of all the warehouses. The rain drops that landed on her disappeared in the shadows on her uniform. She closed her eyes and exhaled. After taking a moment to ground herself, Veronica lifted her arms and swung herself into a spin, twirling on her left foot. The rim of her dress floated off the ground as she danced. After her third rotation, she lowered her right foot and sprung into the air. Forty centimeters, not a single one more. With her eyes still closed, she crossed her arms over her head at the peak of the jump. Thunder cracked through the sky, casting her long shadow over the warehouse cluster. A few raindrops struck her cheeks, but it was nothing that would break her focus. Her feet soon landed back on the ground, at which point her arms swung to her sides. She threw back her head and shouted [color=#bd71e8]“Lilola laclili lolaile!”[/color] Into the heavens before releasing the string and hopping off to the side. The string stood upright, one end pointed at the earth and the other into the heavens. For a moment it glowed an intense white before its transformation began. Though it might not be wise to call it such. The string became a radio tower so fast that one could say it appeared in the strings place. The sudden appearance of the structure cast the rain in all directions. Veronica could only smile at the contraption. This smile was less born from some devious part of herself and more born from her sense of wonder. [color=#bd71e8]“It’s working!”[/color] Veronica placed her fingers against her head. She could contact anyone in Penrose now, Maybe even further away. More importantly she could see all of their minds. Some she even recognized. There was Mariette, and Lily, and Alexander, Su, Helga, Mika, Katelyn, Amaryllis, and a few others. No mind could escape her sight. Though she couldn’t name all of them. Veronica was good, but even she couldn’t name the mind of everyone she ever met. Only the really important ones. [color=#bd71e8]“Tell me a bit about its construction.”[/color] Veronica spoke to Dolly, but looked over the tower. [color=#bd71e8]“How easy is it to damage and repair? Do I have to worry about adverse weather conditions?”[/color] Veronica didn’t look away from the tower. It was time to test this puppy out. [i][color=#bd71e8]“Do not be alarmed, this is just a test.”[/color][/i] Her first order of business was to upgrade her agents “hud.” Sil, Eliza, Tetrad, and Trixy would all notice that they could now see directly where a target was due to a glow they emitted. Since Veronica could see all the minds in Penrose, she could pick out ones that were familiar to her and “psychic paint” them. Vi appeared to be a vibrant pink, while Sonia and Justine were purple and blue respectively. This was something Veronica could always do, but the tower made it possible to sense minds outside her vicinity. For her second trick, she’d use the tower for its intended purpose: Communication. Mariette would hear a voice in her head. [i][color=#bd71e8]“I take it Eli returned safely?”[/color][/i] It took Veronica a moment to remember that she never spoke with Mariette, and it was possible she didn’t know who’s voice this was. [i][color=#bd71e8]“This is Vermilion Veronica. I have much to discuss, but little time to do it. Keep your distance, I’m pursuing Justine as we speak. We’ll stay in touch.”[/color][/i] She did not wait for a reply, she had another target to hit. Deep within the rave was a mind so corrupt it had to be a monster queen. It was too far back to communicate with telepathically, but that was no longer the case. Of course Veronica was above using psychic magic for mind control. That was a trick for returning has-been-magical-girl-villains. In addition to it being beneath her, it was beyond the capabilities of this catalyst. But she could communicate with the monster queen. Send it a series of unpleasant sounds and phrases to get it to react. [center][i][color=#bd71e8]“Are you content to serve them like some dog?”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“You aren’t safe, you’re dead as soon as they’re done with you.”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“What if their plans were to suddenly veer of course? Wouldn’t that be interesting?”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“When’s the last time you had some real food instead of this garbage?”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“Sitting still is for weaklings! Get out there and fight!”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“I need you, cause a distraction, anything!”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“You have nothing to show for your efforts, Nothing! You need more than what you’re being given.”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“Ruin everything.”[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“You are being used…”[/color][/i][/center] This rave had been going for a while, and its monstrous sura had persisted throughout. If it wasn’t working for the Mint, it was working for an equally evil organization. It was tempting to send out a message to Justine, but it also seemed redundant. There wasn’t anything she could say that would have been a bigger “fuck you” than suddenly erecting a two-hundred meter tall catalyst and filling it with her magic. She knew Justine’s type. Powerful leaders liked to flaunt their toys, be it their henchmen or their homes or their weapons. Perhaps they had more in common than Veronica would like to admit. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HGNJD6p.png[/img] [b]”I’m [i]pissed.[/i]”[/b] [b]”Faith, plz, REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”[/b] [color=888888]— Lotus & Faith[/color][/center] [sub]@ Cindy/Beacon fiesco[/sub] [b]”Hrm!”[/b] Lotus’s tentacles were one of her magical girl weapons, and were nigh indestructible as a result. Their flexible nature made them a poor choice for deflecting the incoming gunfire. She attempted to distract Sylvia with some clones, but it wasn’t working. Lotus drew her barnacle cannon and held it lengthwise over her head, causing most of the bullets to bounce off of the dense cylinder. [b]”Hmmm, with backup you’re almost a worthy opponent.”[/b] Lotus floated just off the ground, which was now saturated in rain water. It swirled like quicksand, and anyone standing in it would find themselves sinking up to their ankles. Then the wet dirt would bind to their feet in a large clump, making movement difficult. With a wild spin, Lotus’s tentacles pushed back the dolls, causing them to fall onto their backs. Unless they were strong or floating, they would never escape Lotus’s trap. And it was just a matter of time before Sylvia landed on the ground. She’d see Lotus preparing a teleport spell before she did. As soon as Sylvia landed Lotus would appear up against her, no longer trying to hide her spells under tricks. Their faces would be inches apart, with her tentacles hovering in the ideal snatching position. But the most disconcerting thing in this moment was the feel of Lotus’s cannon pressed up against Sylvia’s ribcage. She said just one word before firing. [b]”Almost.”[/b] … Faith was on the verge of tears. She didn’t understand the situation. Why they had to fight, why people were throwing their faces at people, or why someone had just assassinated the cardinal of Beacon. Under such duress, even a [s]chuuni with delusions of being a[/s] demi-goddess needed to cry. To call out to anyone who could help her. [b]”Mother!”[/b] Faith whimpered. [b]”No one is around to help!”[/b] Life is hard, life is stressful. [b]”I need peace and tranquility!”[/b] She didn’t need to prove herself to anyone. Because her mother had arrived. The clouds, gray and dark as they were, had turned black in one spot. This would have gone unnoticed by most of those present, but something was trying to poke its way through. It looked like the head of a dear, only it’s lower jaw was stripped of flesh and covered in bark instead. As the head leaned out of the clouds further, it was joined by a fox with a bark covered snout, a squirrel with an acorn for a head, and various other woodland creatures meshed together with plants. While none of them looked to be in pain, all of them looked to be an abomination of nature. [b]”Mother Gaia!”[/b] Faith reached towards the heavens. [b]”You came!”[/b] It was hard to tell if it was rain or tears streaming out of her eyes, but she was happy. But anyone from Beacon knew that wasn’t Gaia. That was Aighorost. A horror with no discernible home dimension of its own. It was one of the more [b]reasonable[/b] horrors, in that it did not have any desire to enslave humanity. It was perfectly content to establish outposts, twisting local wildlife and nature in macabre ways. Aighorost bellowed with each of its heads, filling the air with a cacophony of animal roars. It sounded pained, scared, and angry. Before long there was another shape in the sky, this one was much taller, and was descending towards the beacon girls. With a wet thud, a gigantic hoof landed off to the side of everyone. Above it was a pillar that didn’t look unlike the leg of a deer. Though it was covered in bark and thorns like massive tree. The bark soon fell away, and the air was filled with the sound of giant hornets. They were as large as people. Hornets with a wood like exoskeletons that bled sap. Their antenna were twigs with flowers growing on the ends of them. [b]”Let us gather everyone and-”[/b] Faith turned to Reaver. [b]”Let go of her this second!”[/b] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NgWhiMr.png[/img] [color=cfff04]”Leave it to Reaver”[/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 +44 STR: 21 | AGI: 21 | VIT: 21 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 15 Earnings this post: Zilch Remaining: 0 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze Total: 7 Gold, 118 Silver, 130 Bronze [/hider][/center] It seemed that she had hurried for nothing. Reaver had everything under control. He had given up his one chance to slay the cardinal, and he would never get another one. Cindy was toast, the VIP would live, mission accomplished. But would Mac be satisfied with just that? With so much pointless death and all the wrong people surviving, maybe she could tempt fate again. She could replace Lotus with a decoy, make everyone think she was dead, yea. Why not? Was there a point? No. But it would help her sleep at night. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SbnCKDQ.png[/img] [color=75c159]“Hey do I know that gu-SDRHGDHSDRTH!”[/color] [color=888888]— Tetrad[/color][/center] [sub]@ Cindy/Beacon fiesco[/sub] Tetrad placed her fingers on the side of her head as a transmission from Ronin came through. [color=75c159]“Damn, guess we need to go there.”[/color] Tetrad pulled a green card out of the air and her form became transparent. Trixy swallowed while pulling the lever on her rifle. [color=CCBFFF]"I don’t like this, not one bit."[/color] In the next moment, they were swallowed by the cradle and dispensed in Deni’s vicinity. [hr] [color=75c159]“We arrived a little late I guess.”[/color] Horrors poking through the clouds, cardinal stabbed, toxic fumes, This was starting to turn into a real fiesta. [color=75c159]“Well, enough standing around.”[/color] Tetrad cracked her neck. [color=75c159]“It’s about time we made ourselves useful!”[/color] Tetrad whipped a green card out of her hand, which changed to the suit of wands. When she flicked it into the air, it turned into a giant spinning wand that blew the toxic fog away. She wished there was more she could do for these guys, but her reinforcement magic didn’t work like that. The best she could do was heal wounds if she had the appropriate card. Tetrad turned to Reaver. [color=75c159]“Hey! Save that crap for the bedroom!”[/color] She tossed out a second green card, letting her teleport into a close proximity to Reaver’s barrier. Then she took all of her remaining blue cards and threw them at reaver one at a time. What the cards did mid-flight would depend on what was going on. Tetrad’s plan was to turn each of her blue cards into a blue knife before it hit the barrier. They were designed to break apart magical enchantments and pierce defenses, so she hoped they would break through and find their mark. She’d be watching for any sudden movements. If Reaver attempted to use Cindy as a shield, she’d just let her blue card hit and heal her. Tetrad would also no longer be transparent and instead be surrounded in a repulsion barrier that could push away small projectiles. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3BsCbZX.png[/img] [color=CCBFFF]"Who plays Katamari?"[/color] [color=888888]— Trixy[/color][/center] Trixy was not as hardened as Tetrad was. Seeing everyone in pain, crying, or both was unsettling. It made her hungry, but not as hungry as she had been back at the rave. She had eaten close to thirty apples. What a pig. Harder still was separating friend from foe. Trixy knew Beacon would more than likely attack them, but it was a question if they hated the cardinal’s assassin, the other monsters, or cradle agents more. It was fine though, she just had to be careful and keep an eye out for anything strange. [color=CCBFFF]"Hang in there Ronin! We still need you!"[/color] Picking up three or four magical girls at the same time was a bit cumbersome for Trixy, even if she boasted strength beyond most humans. She did have two shoulders and two armpits, but that hampered her mobility quite a bit. Fortunately she had a technique for this, and she called it… [u][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXuLHSUzGEM][color=CCBFFF]"Track Turner!"[/color][/url][/u] Trixy put her hands out in front of her, and a round bush grew out from her hands. The branches steadily grew in size as it rolled forward. She rolled the bush over Janet, Anaya , Shane, and Ronin. The branches coiled around them, affixing them to it as Trixy continued to roll along. [color=CCBFFF]"Don’t get too nauseous if you can help it! I’m just trying to help!"[/color] A healthy magical girl would be able to break out of the bush rather easily, But she suspected it would be a moment before any of them recovered their strength. As Trixy rolled the bush and its cargo around, she tossed a hand full of seeds that would sprout into a hedge line. The goal was to obscure Tetrad, Cindy, and herself from the commotion happening on beacon’s side of the park. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pTuL75z.png[/img] [color=CCBAAA]"Ashes to ashes…"[/color] [color=888888]— Dusty[/color][/center] [sub][@ERode][@Flamelord][/sub] All Dusty wanted to do was survive the night. This was going to be the end of their adventure. The magical girl had locked herself in the room beyond, allowing the two weaker people to escape into another dimension. Once they departed, she’d be able to use all of her might to escape. They’d rejoin outside just as the ascendancy nuked the place, exchange contact information, and become great friends. The older guy and the magical girl would hit it off. A beautiful love story would be born from a grievous tragedy, making it all worth it. What a beautiful lie. Moments ago Liss made it sound like the nuke could go off any second. There was no way they were all getting out of here unless they entered that other dimension soon. Dusty’s body quivered. She really didn’t want to die. These memories of Shade were precious. If she died here, it would be detrimental to both of them. Even if it wasn’t, Dusty had no way of knowing if she’d even come back from this. Up until a few hours ago, she had been “Trixy” her entire life. It was possible every “Dusty” was an entirely separate person. She didn’t know if she had a soul, or even if she would continue to exist if she got out of here. But she was fortunate this magical girl was willing to sacrifice her life for Dusty’s memories. The world lacked selfless people like her, and they were the ones who protected what good remained in the world. She stood by the man, waiting for him to pull out the key and “open” the door. But as soon as she sensed his hand move, Dusty stopped him. [color=CCBAAA]"Wait!"[/color] Dusty chuckled. [color=CCBAAA]"I-I’m just a duplicate! A duplicate of a magical girl! Haha!"[/color] She pulled her legs out of her thigh-high boots and handed them to him. The smoke was pretty dense, but it was still possible to feel the walls. Dusty walked along the wall as she spoke. [color=CCBAAA]"Regardless of what happens to me, my original is already safe! So you don’t have to worry."[/color] As soon as Dusty found a door, she opened it. [color=CCBAAA]"So use the key on this door instead."[/color] Her door rested on the knob for a moment. She tried to lock the door while it was open and shut it, but it was clear that wouldn’t work. Everything was brand new, and the door would break before it slipped closed. Seemed the only way to do this was the hard way. [color=CCBAAA]"They aren’t going to know any of this took place. So if you’d please, get on Glimr and drop Trixn’Traps a message. I’m sure she’d enjoy that."[/color] And without another word, she stepped into the room and locked it behind herself. Dusty bit her lower lip. Her heart was beating out of her chest. The magical girl in the adjacent room was heroic. She would insist that they both escape regardless of Dusty’s protests. So it wasn’t enough to just lock herself in a room. She had to go away. It was time to eat her last meal. With what little magic she possessed, she summoned a duplicate of Trixy’s rifle. Dusty set the butt of the gun on the ground and held the barrel upright. Since she had removed her shoes in the hallway, it was easy to place her toe over the trigger. She clamped her mouth around the barrel. Even the real Trixy would succumb to a wound like this. All Dusty wanted to do was survive the night. That was her thoughts going into it. But survival had a price she was unwilling to pay: The life of a magical girl. She hated how much this was going to disappoint Shade, but that was a small price to pay for a noble soul. It didn’t matter if she was only going to be dead for twenty-five years, or a few months. When the strong come to devour the weak, it’s always heroes who are sacrificed. Trixy had been weak in the past. She had allowed a noble woman to die due to her inability to protect herself. From that day folward, Trixy had vowed to never let that happen again so long as she could help it. Those Vows were now Dusty’s. She wanted to survive the night, but she wanted that magical girl to survive even more. It was a shame she would never hear her name, but that was a small tragedy. Having experienced what the girl was meant far more than hearing her name ever would. Her fingers tightened around the barrel. A sharp inhale, wet eyes. She could taste the steel in her mouth, imagine the pain caused by a bullet ripping through her skull. The uncertainty of death that lingered afterwards. It all scared her, and she wanted none of it. Dusty allowed herself one more breath of ragged, dry air. She closed her eyes and painted the guy and the magical girl in her mind. Then there was a bang. Where there was once Dusty, there was now only dust.