[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tg0TKNE.png[/img] [b]”HI ELI!”[/b] [color=888888]— Vermin Killer[/color][/center] [sub][@PlatinumSkink][/sub] The portal wasn’t the only thing Eli noticed. There was a murder of crows pecking around the warehouse the team had just escaped from. Some of them were showing a feint magical signature. One of the crows turned to look in Eli’s direction. Then another, and another, and another. Their magical signatures were powering up too, as if more mana was being flooded into them. Their movements were inconspicuous, but they were closing in on her position. [hr] [center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3BsCbZX.png[/img] [color=CCBFFF]"Time to pull a fast one!"[/color] [color=888888]— Trixy[/color][/center] [sub][@ERode][@FamishedPants][@twave][@Crusader Lord][@Flamelord][/sub] Trixy was pleased to see so many people make use of her acorns. It was nice to see that strangers could trust her so easily. That wasn’t something she was sure she could do. Though Shane volunteering might have assuaged their concerns. The monster queen was pretty durable, but it looked like it was on it’s last legs. Trixy would have gladly put it out of it’s misery, but it sounded like Amaryllis wanted to try and save it with a white coin. This seemed like a big mistake, but it wasn’t like Trixy was wholly unable to empathize with the gluttonous magical girl. Under different circumstances, she might have been gobbling up everything in sight. And Trixy had to wonder how Hyun would look as a normal magical girl. Would she be a cutie? A hottie? Maybe on that level where she’s a super cutie or mega hottie? Sure Hyun was repulsive, twisted being, but it was impossible to know if this was their own doing or unfortunate circumstances. Either way, trying to usher more cute girls into the world was the right thing to do. Trixy had her plan ready. She was going to fire some vine-creating bullets at Hyun. All she’d need was some magical girls with strong backs and weak minds to pull on the vines to get Hyun down. Then Mariette showed up. [color=CCBFFF]"Wha?!"[/color] Trixy was surprised for two reasons. First was that Mariette had suddenly appeared without warning, and was getting in the way of Amaryllis’s plan to try and save the monster girl. Secondly, that was Mariette! Veronica had wanted a word with her. Trixy’s vines wouldn’t coil around Hyun if Mariette was just going to burn them off, so it was clear what had to happen here. A true win/win for everyone. [color=CCBFFF]"Oh no you don’t!"[/color] Trixy moved her rifle off of Hyun and fired at Mariette. Unless Mariette was faster than Trixy was, the vine would wrap around Mariette’s waist, at which point Trixy would just have to pull her off of her platform. And catch her before she fell. Mariette was a cutie too after all. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/SbnCKDQ.png[/img] [color=75c159]“All those flavors, and you choose to be salty.”[/color] [color=888888]— Tetrad[/color][/center] [sub][@AtomicNut][@DarkwolfX37][/sub] [hr] Banshee killed her opponents and raised them to fight by her side. Tetrad bargained with her foes until they left the area. It was clear who had the better tactic, but a winner hadn’t been decided yet. Her yellow knife missing was a small setback. Undead tended to shrug off paralyse effects. At least she could fly now. she had a lot of ways to avoid the incoming specters. Shift to the left, roll to the right, spin up, sink down. [color=75c159]“Ha! Whoh! Hyea! Ho! Mray! Yeah! Huzza! Hrah!”[/color] But this would not win the fight. Shion did not seem to hear Jimmy’s advice, otherwise she probably wouldn’t be blasting Banshee’s body like that. The spirit summoner had a soul gem on her somewhere. But Tetrad was going to try and solve this without killing her if she could, so maybe it was best Shion didn’t know how to kill the banshee. That wasn’t to say Tetrad didn’t enjoy Shion’s assistance. She was pulling some crazy Buttercup agro, which was something Tetrad could make use of. While Buttercup was doing everything in her power to break through Shion’s defenses, Tetrad threw a yellow knife at the monster girl, aiming to nail one of her legs. [hider=If yellow knife hits] When the knife struck, Buttercup was briefly paralyzed. Tetrad followed up with another knife, this one just being her normal weapon. Banshee was strongly opposed to ending the fight, but Buttercup’s seemingly lower level of aggression would mean Bipartisan [i]should[/i] have no problems draining her fighting spirit. [color=75c159]“Settle down Buttercup, Or do you prefer fat ass?”[/color] Tetrad threw a blue card to heal the monster girl once she had simmered down. Since she could no longer float, Tetrad landed beside Shion. [color=75c159]“Leave the screamer to me, my spells don’t work on the undead.”[/color] Tetrad was now protected by a blue barrier. It would normally divert small projectiles away from her, but she doubted it’s effectiveness against the specters. With nothing left in her hand to call upon, she drew a few more cards and waited for the Banshee’s next move. [/hider] [hider=If yellow knife misses] [color=75c159]“Crapola!”[/color] She missed [i]again[/i]? No point crying over spilled milk. Once she was over the roof, she threw a blue card. Mid flight it suddenly poofed into a barrier that closed around Tetrad and Buttercup. All Tetrad could do was hope this kept her opponents at bay long enough for her to followed up with a knife attack, this one just being her normal weapon. Banshee was strongly opposed to ending the fight, but Buttercup’s seemingly lower level of aggression would mean Bipartisan [i]should[/i] have no problems draining what remained of her fighting spirit. Provided she managed to hit this time. With nothing left in her hand to call upon, she drew a few more cards and hoped to hell she didn’t trap herself in a barrier with an angry monster girl. [/hider] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LhL4ffS.png[/img] [b]”Where we made, just to suffer?”[/b] [color=888888]— Faith[/color][/center] [sub][@PlatinumSkink][/sub] Raven Bianchi? The first name wasn’t familiar, but Lotus spoke many times about Amber Bianchi. They both worked at a hardware store together. They were both good at their jobs, even Lotus could admit as much. But Amber was also a cutthroat businesswoman who was willing to do anything to move up the ladder. There was a vacant management position, and they both wanted it. They had many of the same qualifications, and had both been working for the same amount of time. Lotus was the harder worker, but she lacked the same “assets” Amber had. Amber got the position easily. But it wasn’t enough to have a position, you had to hold it. Lotus and Amber had grown more bitter towards each other. They would attempt to smear each other, sometimes at the detriment of the customers and other employees. But in the end everyone would side with Amber. She had the charisma to win the management position, and she had to charisma to get Lotus fired. But who was Raven Bianchi? A daughter? A cover name? It didn’t matter anymore. She was helping Lotus’s murderers. She was an enemy. Faith allowed Ronin to guide her towards their destination. But then Ronin let go of her hand and- [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/jdkJ9j1.png[/img][/center] [sub][@AtomicNut][@Shifter_Master][/sub] Much like Reaver had anticipated, the ax-like edge on his barrier cut through the wet vines. Ax swinging at tree, tree swinging at ax, it didn’t matter. It was sadistic yet ingenious. Reaver was using Grosket’s strength against it. The beast whaled. The fingers split and separated, the arm unraveled. Revealing something Reaver should have seen coming. [quote]Ronin, Faith, and Reaver were all in the vicinity of the ent. But the ent was only interested in reaver. It opened its hand wide, revealing the giant beak of some exotic bird hiding behind its vines.[/quote] Flesh and vine were easy enough to chop, but not so the beak of a bird. A finch has a bite strength that is many times stronger than that of a T-rex, and its beak has to be able to withstand all of that pressure. The massive beak hidden in Grosket’s arm plunged into the barrier. The ax-like edge was great at cutting, but it compromised the barrier’s ability to absorb shock and was decimated by the blow. What came next would be a treat for the masochist. The beak slammed into Reaver’s legs, but between the barrier and the wet soil, the blow was not hard enough to break anything. That didn’t stop the beak from opening up and biting onto Reaver’s hips. With a tug, Reaver was pulled from the vines, which had dug their thorns deep into his arms. The flames coating his body made the damp vines on Grosket’s body smolder, but they could not burn away the vine hedge in time. The tug was enough to flay the flesh from Reaver’s arms. Grosket was already crushing Reaver’s hips when he picked him up, and he was ready to clamp his opposing hand over him. But them mommy showed up. Viva unloaded her guns on Grosket’s legs. It didn’t seem to bother the ent much, but it got it’s attention. A vine suddenly rose in front of Viva’s bike, and she was thrown. Grosket was able to determine her trajectory and grow his arm out, snatching her out of the air. While Viva would feel the ent trying to crush her in its grasp, she would be able to easily strike Grosket with a withering spell. The effects went to work immediately. The vines shrank and yellowed, sap and blood dried up, and Viva would soon learn what Reaver already know. Under all the vines and sap was an abomination. You cannot wither what is already rotten. It wasn’t entirely visible, but with the vines shriveling on the beast’s form, it was possible to smell the fetid flesh beneath. This was not alleviated by the fact that the dead vines no longer smoldered, but caught [i]fire[/i]. It was not only Reaver, but Grosket and Viva who were set ablaze. A beak pinching Reaver’s hips, a hand wrapped around Viva’s torso, and flames engulfing them all. Grosket’s face swung open revealing the giant skull once again. But he was not attempting to blast anyone with acid. The abomination’s mighty jaw swung open and it prepared to bite the heads off of his opponents as they burned. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/TOcITZx.png[/img][/center] [sub][@Majoras End][@Ariamis][@PlatinumSkink][/sub] Nightwing uncanny mastery over darkness allowed her to step to Grisbar’s back even in full moonlight. From there, it was a simple matter to drive her weapon into the dragon’s back. It howled as its vitality was drained and drained and drained. But then Nightwing would feel herself falter. She had been through an intense interrogation routine, Fought off magical girls and horrors alike, and was starting to feel the strain as she used the last bit of her mana. Though killing Grisbar this way was futile. Like so many others, she would realize its body was undead as well as alive. Something that shouldn’t exist and yet does. The weakened roots dropped Grisbar’s torso to the ground, where the vibration knocked Nightwing off of her feet. She wasn’t able to hold up her transformation and could just barely stay conscious. In a flash of light she was back in her casual clothes, unable to defend herself from the threat she was standing on. The stone covered zombie turned its flexible neck around to look at the assailant. Grisbar opened its jaws wide, revealing a cavern of jagged rocks. All Nightwing could do was surrender to her fate before the dragon closed in on her. Then a tiny ronin seemed to flash step to her position. Her arm was extended and her katana was pointed outward where the sun would rise. Then with a smooth motion, she sheathed her blade. It made a satisfying click, and Grisbar’s thin neck slid off of its torso and fell to the ground, where it shattered into a hundred pieces. With the horror dead, Gaia was able to take control of the area. Moss covered what remained of the horror’s body, and the barbed vine hedge withered away. The dragon-like strength left Hilaria, as did the dark ring Grisbar had granted her. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NgWhiMr.png[/img] [color=cfff04]”Time to save the day!”[/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] The tiny ronin might have needed a little bit of a hand with this one. While the ronin lacked the strength to cut the head off the dragon, Mac was able to guide her katana through the neck of the beast for a clean kill. It would have been easy for Ronin to notice someone was holding onto her sword, but illusion magic could manipulate almost any sense, and she was none the wiser. Go ahead little ronin, you earned your victory! [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5UALozg.png[/img][/center] [sub][@AtomicNut][@Ponn][@FamishedPants][@Ariamis][/sub] As soon as the beam went off, the magical girls sprung into action. Mia bombarded the area with popcorn rockets, while Sakura flew through the air for a killing blow. The beam continued to inch closer to Hilaria and Shoggy. Hopefully something would happen soon. Sakura could see it as she closed in. The faint silhouette of the hound unleashing the sea of souls. Before she hit the ground, she pointed her palms at the Wolf’s head and let the lightning fly.  It was brief, it was loud, it was over in an instant. Everyone was blinded by a flash before the crack of thunder rang in everyone’s ears. Sakura forced her eyes open just in time to see the aftermath of the Sparky Heart Justice Breaker Lance.  The lightning bolt was powerful enough to disperse the cloaking magic. The sea of souls had stopped, and there was a giant black scorch mark on the ground wreathed in dead grass, There was also several dozen charred vines laying in a heap. Which was odd, considering that Sakura fired her attack at Ampodryl specifically. That was when it hit her. She had cooked a dummy horror.  Ampodryl was using the limited light to hide behind a vine hedge, which it had shaped like itself. Since the sea of souls ripped souls out of people, it would be ineffective against the soulless vines. The horror had been planning on baiting them out, and it worked.  *Crunch* Ampodryl bit down on the device Elora had placed in its mouth. Thyere were a few burn marks from where a stray corn cob missile had burned it, but it was still standing strong. Sakura’s true target stood there, watching her plummet to the ground. Sakura would not meet an unfortunate end as a small-sized splat on the ground, instead being caught in the arms of Emily who had been nearby, watching for this sort of thing. Carrying the untransformed girl much like a princess, Sakura would feel some mana slowly flowing into her as Emily gently set down on the ground.  [color=turquoise]"You're so reckless!"[/color] she chided, glaring in the direction of Ampodryl. [color=turquoise]"Are you okay?"[/color] she asked Sakura. [color=turquoise]"I'll try to get you back on your feet but it's not a fast process."[/color] Ampodryl prepared to lunge after them, but was startled by Elora’s sudden laser fire. She was gaining altitude, and appeared to be out of harms way. However, the sudden crack of a vine whipping itself at the cyberbox caught girl off guard. She fell to the ground, where swarms of animal spirits set upon her. They would not kill her though. Ampodryl was far too sadistic for that. If one of their own was wounded, they would have to come closer to rescue her. Just because Ampodryl was keeping them alive didn’t mean that their stay in its layer was going to be comfortable. Before the veil of shadow closed around Ampodryl once again, its three eyes lit up. Without turning it’s head, it fired a trailing laser from each of its eyes. Connie, Emily, and Shoggy were each tracked by one of the eye lasers. This beam would not be impossible to dodge, but it would be very precise and catch up to them if they stopped moving even for a moment. Mia would hear the sound of harp strings being pulled taught. If she looked out the corner of her eye, she would see Faith aiming her harp at her. She was only able to stay at Mia’s altitude thanks to a magical note. She was a good distance *away, but it wasn’t hard to see her lower lip was quivering. [b]”Why… Are you helping… Lotus’s murderers?”[/b] *[sup]near the border of the dragon zone.[/sup]