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The waters of a stone basin rippled against a draft of wind, obscuring for a moment a dimly lit room, littered in debris and bodies, reflected through the depths of the pool. Up the legs of the structure, and inwards to the centre of the bowl, a hundred faintly illuminated runes cast a thin, but constant, trickle of light, forming out of the holographic waters, to create a glow around the edges of the carved stone - spilling out onto the dusty ground around it. The sand smeared across the masonry, held tight in the various craters of the rough carved surfaces, until the black rock had been transformed into a grey-beige under the faintly green sunset.

[colour=Crimson]"You just don't understand how to give in, do you?"[/colour] began the voice of [url=https://www.wallpaperup.com/uploads/wallpapers/2016/10/12/1025205/a8dfe4016bb6de074a4a28a0bc44685b-700.jpg]a woman, who hung over the edge of the pool[/url], staring into the waters. A mess of red spilled forth from her head, caught perpetually in a silent gust, where it trailed freely in the air with a steady stream of sand, picked up from the dunes encroaching on every side of the relic. A wasteland that held only the girl, and the remnants of ancients long dead. [colour=Crimson]"A king who relies on sacrifices to reach their goal is destined to lose everything. I... thought you knew that well, and yet... Sasha..."[/colour]

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[colour=BlueViolet]"Not half bad,"[/colour] called a girl's voice, just off from the side of the ruined remnants of the warehouse. As she spoke, she stepped out from the shadow of one of the other warehouses, entering into full view of all that remained around the site of the rave. Her voice matched the one in the psychic message that followed the psychic attack, while the black dress she wore, and the armoured claw that swung around behind her like a tail, were easily recognisable to any of those who entered the room where Hyun Long has been found. The charring of her skin, and the chunk of flesh torn from her shoulder appeared to have vanished, as though she had never truly suffered any such injury. The girl on the floor of the rave had looked as dead as the rest of the assorted bodies, but as she was, there was practically no indication that she had even been in the warehouse, save the faint smudges of dirt and ash faded into the pitch fabric. [colour=BlueViolet]"I wasn't sure this many of you'd come out in one piece for a moment there, but I had a feeling you'd win. Admittedly the White Coin wasn't the path I thought you'd take, but I suppose in the end it's as good as killing her - they both save me from having to bring her under control myself, so that's a positive on almost every front."[/colour]

While she spoke, Eden continued walking towards the group. Her hand clasped tight around the handle of a case, somewhat scorched and damaged, but in tact. It swung with each step, in time with the movement of the clawed hand, swishing rhythmically just behind her, but after a certain distance, it became rigid. The claw curled over her head, fingers extended, and almost directed at the various individuals present, as though keeping over watch of the former battlefield. Once she was merely a dozen feet away from those on ground level, she stopped.

[colour=BlueViolet]"Before any of you decide to pick a fight you'll lose, I gotta ask something,"[/colour] Eden started, whilst systematically looking between Silhouette, Alicia, the other Beacon agents, and the newly Purified Hyun Long. [colour=BlueViolet]"Annoyingly, Cindy Ford ran off before I could ask her to stay at the rave, and it looks like she's further away than I can see. You mentioned the Avatars of a Horror at a park. This evening has been, well, a bit of a fucking trainwreck, and I don't really wanna spend too much time looking for her, so have you got any idea if that's where she ended up?"[/colour]

[center][@Ariamis][@ERode][@Flamelord][@FamishedPants][@twave][@BrokenPromise][@Crusader Lord]

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Christine, for all the experiences in her life eclipsing those of most ordinary adults, was still a child. Compared to those of the same age, she was inexperienced in a great many things. Her days were spent working on whatever was required of it, be it editing a new story, or tutoring a new recruit. It was a life she chose readily when given the choice, but it lacked a great deal when compared to the lives that most others led, even within the same fields - both journalism, and the acts of a Magical Girl. Her Puchuu, an owl looking creature that went by the name Ellie, had been the one to save her physically on the day of her transformation, but he rarely came by, having found better and more talented girls to occupy his time with, and yet she did not consider him her saviour. That belonged to Eden.

Girls her age would have visited beaches dozens of times in their lives. They would have developed their understanding of sunbathing, of the appeal to swimsuits, of their love for the heat of the sun, and the chance to relax from their busy lives. Christine had never been, had never learned those things. She had traded a normal life for one at Eden's side, learning and growing in ways that the majority could never dream of, but she did wonder, once in a while, what kind of things she was missing. On her days off, she did what could be considered normal, but without the normal friends with which to enjoy them, she relegated herself to reading, or gaming.

Her eyes opened abruptly, recovering from her drowsiness almost instantly as she recognised the heat that collapsed upon her skin, and the light that bled through the gaps in her eyelids. She sat upright, eyes locked onto the approaching Mika, on edge and prepared to draw from her Hammerspace at the first moment of trouble. But instead of acting, she paused. The girl before her was Mika - Olympia had met with her a number of months prior, to discuss The Vixen. She had been there at the rave, confronting Alicia Hayden in the hallway. Presumably, then, she had been the one to rescue her.

[colour=PaleTurquoise]"I'm... Christine,"[/colour] she answered, glancing around the coliseum she found herself in. After the blinding shot from Alicia, Christine had little memory of the remainder of the fight. Her gun had been knocked from her hand, and she herself had been pinned to a wall. Had Eden succeeded in destroying the Ascendancy ambush, she wondered. [colour=PaleTurquoise]"I dunno what 'ree-see-pee-see' is, but if you're trying to say it's peanut butter, I guess I'll have that one. Thanks. You're, uh, Mika, right? - where exactly are we?"[/colour]

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