Dan was glad to see how many had agreed to lend a hand of assistance to Dina, and bowed his head many times as girls rushed through the portal, one after another. “Thank you! Please be careful!” He waved after them, and sighed once things calmed down again. Now with about two fifths of the total population of girls left and with concern over Dina’s wellbeing on his mind, Dan sat down on one of the sofas with less energy than before. “Well, you girls can go have fun now, but call me if you need anything.” An oversized newspaper appeared, with most of the pages dedicated to comics, and his fins humorously extended to hold it by its sides, hiding his body as he now read it in very uncharacteristic silence.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]
Lily could sense the feelings of barely suppressed rage and anger that welled within Alex. She could tell he was tired, yet he did not refuse her hand when she took him along. At first, she didn’t think of it with the crisis as a priority to her. But as they rode down the tunnel, she had a thought. [color=fff200]“Hey, Alex…”[/color] She spoke up.
[color=fff200]”After we have saved these people...Let’s just chill, ok? Just me and you, and maybe some anim-I mean, something you’d want to watch?”[/color] She corrected herself, followed by a nod at his mention of the chaotic mess from before. Her eyes dipped down, and with wide eyes noticed strange pools of magical liquid. She heard the sounds of fighting at an upper level.
[color=fff200]”I hope so too...But it’s starting to look like one.”[/color] 


She then called out for Dina, hoping the catgirl would hear them. In return, she only heard Mariette’s voice faintly echoing from multiple directions, mentioning portals. While she did sigh from relief knowing she was at the scene, she didn’t like the fact she didn’t hear Dina’s response yet. 

[color=fff200]”Oh, I hope she’s all right...”[/color] She mumbled, and continued driving to the other layers of the underground city, continuing to call out for her. That was when she happened upon what looked like a metal container; it stuck out as having been made from overlapping sheets of what looked like iron. And from the box emerged a small doll-like monster girl. Lily called out at the doll.

[color=fff200]”Hey, what’s going on here? Where’s Dina?”[/color]

[hr]
At the Sanctuary’s second level, a battle raged between a terrible monster and an assortment of both magical and monster girls, as well as a mysterious coven of witches. In the midst of it all, portals appeared, Mariette’s voice guiding Sanctuary’s residents away from the battlezone and into safety. Some were wary of the enchanted passages, but most decided to take the chance and leave, soon followed by even the hardiest of skeptics. As a result, Mariette successfully evacuated nearly all of the endangered locals.

[hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PtFX7c8.png[/img][/center]

Helga gasped as Su forcibly removed the bandages she had placed on her, and shook her head, causing her hair drills to sway. “No Su, we can’t! You still need to recover from your wounds!” But it was too late, as Su gave her argument for helping an ally of Penrose, and she groaned as she followed her through the portal.
“This time I won’t let you hurt yourself like that, Su!”

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

Helga and Su passed through the portal, back in their battle gear, and ready for a new fight. The toothy girl squinted as she heard fighting sounds with her enhanced hearing, and started running.
“I’ll take point, while you give support, Su,” she told her girlfriend, and then began to run, her claws readied behind her as she ran ninja-style...And activated an explosive rune that detonated right under her foot with a flash of light and a loud explosion, causing her to hit her back against the tunnel wall from the impact. Reaver had arrived just after Lily and Alex had passed off, giving him time to set up traps before the rest had arrived there. 

“Urghhh...” She groaned, stabbing her claws into the tunnel wall to lift herself up in dizziness; her enhanced hearing left her weak to an auditory attack at that moment, causing her to turn momentarily deaf and stunned. That was when Su and the Cradle agents, who had just joined them, noticed someone in the darkness of the tunnel; though his face was obscured by an illusory rune, they could tell from the black spiky armor that he might be a Sanctuary resident, or the source of their plight. MDP then arrived, unaware of what had happened, and oblivious of the shadowy person as she took in her new environment.

[hr]
The door to the containment cell was opened, and Jenna was escorted to the Hall of Divine Judgement. Unlike before, there was no water cooler next to the door; it seems the Ascendancy deemed it better placed farther down the corridor. Unlike the strange mix of futuristic and fantastic that Beacon had for it’s interior design, the Ascendancy was more practical, and had turned it into an inquisition; a long hall with a single podium flanked by seats on either side, and a court at the end where the Ascendancy’s officers had taken their seats. Much like with Alicia’s trial, Ishtar served as judge in the highest seat, with Rachel sitting next to her. Alicia had now taken the place of the prosecution.
“We now start the trial for Jenna Howell,” Rachel announced. “By law, you are permitted to a defense attorney. If you cannot name one, the court will assign one for you.”

Despite the circumstances Jenna had sat quietly and waited until she was brought before the court. Presented the choice of one to provide her defense Jenna considered it for a moment. Aurelio was the most obvious choice on first pass. He was however important to her case and placing him in that position could be more risky. This was the Ascendancy after all. [color=plum]"I would like to be represented by Shamrock Sally."[/color] She said after some consideration. The two weren't all that close, but Sally should at least know Jenna and her sister's character enough to at least understand some of their thinking.

The crowd murmured softly as Jenna presented her answer, to which Rachel nodded. “Very well. Sally Shamrock, do you accept the position?” Sally stood up from the audience with a surprised look. “Oh, me? Uh, sure! I’ve never been a defense attorney, but I’m sure it’ll work out.” She casually walked over to Jenna’s side, and Ishtar softly hit her mallet to quieten the hall. Then Rachel spoke again. “Jenna Howell, you are accused of colluding with the Crimson Cradle and Mariette Pedersen, and conspiring against the Beacon. How do you plead?”

[color=plum]”Not guilty.”[/color] She said simply and calmly.

Rachel nodded again, and glanced over at Elora, who transcribed every word spoken during the proceedings on her laptop. “The prosecution may now make their case.”

It was strange, being back in this courtroom. Alicia looked around at the gathered crowd, trying to be comfortable in her position. Once she had been down there, standing over the pit that held the downfall of negative judgment. And now she was up here, carrying out that judgment. It was to be expected from her rise in status of course, but for the first time there was still something strange about it. 

She stood by, nodding silently as Rachel began the trial, and Jenna chose her defense. Alicia shot a sympathetic look to Sally as she was selected, certainly not wishing any ill will upon her. She’d done what she could to help after all.

Well, this was it. The big moment. Alicia took a breath to steel herself as she glanced over at Rachel, before her gaze fell upon the defendant. [color=aba000]“I call on Jenna Howell,”[/color] she began. [color=aba000]”Can you tell the court what you did after arriving in Mariette’s pocket dimension at the call for reinforcements?”[/color]

[color=plum]”Of course.”[/color] She would start. [color=plum]”Upon arriving I found the Void World active. As instructed by Elora I went to assist Aurelio as his Final Act seemed to be the most hindered by the nullification. The boy transferred his magic to his cane in order for Justine’s bane to be delivered by physical contact. The cane was then entrusted to me to strike the vampire down. I copied the power of another girl on the battlefield in order to gain access to other specializations. This allowed me to close the distance to Justine. The attack would have been clean, but another monster girl got in the way. Regardless the magic severely injured the target and brought her down to a manageable level.”[/color] There was a brief pause.

[color=plum]”I and several other girls worked to take down Justine. Most of them had been fighting on Mariette’s side as I later learned. As we had encountered defeated foes seeming to come back from the dead, be retrieved by their patrons, or otherwise taken to be used by evil forces I poured a potion over the remains to purify the body and sever Justine’s connection to Father. I then attempted to return to HQ with her when Silhouette arrived. Then and there I was outnumbered by members of the Crimson Cradle. We could have fought them, however with the Void World gone my Third Eye could see that the dimension was not going to hold up long. Rather than risk all of our lives over a corpse that no longer had corrupted energies I made the decision to negotiate. I go with them to see Justine’s fate and they keep her body. The terms could perhaps have been better, but there was no way to be sure how much time was left before the dimension’s inevitable collapse. It seemed sufficient enough to know she was gone in the moment. I made sure two of the Aurelio clones were aware of the whole conversation so they could report it in. I couldn’t be sure the Cradle wouldn’t turn on me and no one would know where I’d gone or who was responsible. I was also aware that hiding my intentions, purposely or not, could very well result in me standing here before you.”[/color] She looked up at those accusing her, but not directly at any one of them with any harshness. Thus far she hadn’t told any lies and she spoke as though she was sure of herself. There was still a little more to the tale to tell though.

[color=plum]”I digress. Having come to an agreement I left with the Cradle members as you know. Unsurprisingly they were wary of me and I found that they’d placed Justine in some location where I could no longer continue to observe her. I left them under somewhat amicable terms that once things settled we could discuss me seeing Justine. Not an ideal situation I am aware and I intend to pursue our late enemy. I returned back here to HQ. I do not return with nothing but empty words though... “[/color] Reaching into her sleeve she revealed and presented a pure white feather. [color=plum]”This was retrieved from Justine. It bares her essence and the markings of a newly purified magical girl. Whatever her fate the terror Justine once posed is at an end.”[/color]

While thus far it seemed as though Jenna was telling the truth, Alicia squinted as she watched Jenna nonetheless. It could have all been reasonable. But at the same time she could not help but feel as if there was more that was being omitted. She had to push on for the sake of the truth.  [color=aba000]”Assuming the Cradle does not simply corrupt her again, of course,”[/color] Alicia observed. Justine was stuck in their custody after all, who knew what they could do to her now that there were no prying eyes to watch them. And despite her previous interactions with Veronica, they had spent a lot of time defending bad guys recently….

But for now it was time to pluck the next thread. [color=aba000]”When I talked with you before, you expressed a reluctance to take part in the operation against Mariette. Can you tell the court your feelings towards Justine von Visceral?”[/color]

“O-Objection!” Sally suddenly stood up from her seat. “The defendant’s feelings are irrelevant to the situation-”

“Objection voided,” Ishtar calmly interrupted the hasty girl with a soft clap of her mallet. “Please answer the question.”

Sally sat down, the bow on her head drooping like sad rabbit ears. “V-Very well then.”

Jenna nodded. [color=plum]"I've no love for the Visceral's or any of Father's followers. They corrupted my sister. Her death was some time coming. If she still lives in a purified state I will abide by my Vow and do my best to support her in the light."[/color] By her tone it wasn't hard to tell that she wasn't as enthused by the chance of a purified Justine. Not that it wasn’t something she and her sister hadn’t thought about from the very moment that they gained the knowledge of how to purify others. A reformed Justine would be more helpful than a dead one.

Alicia was silent as Sally made her objection, before they moved on to Jenna’s response. It matched what Alicia had expected, which was a good thing. It played along into her narrative pretty well. [color=aba000]”Thank you for confirming that. After arriving in Mariette’s pocket dimension, how long did it take to realize that Mariette herself had not yet been defeated? And do you remember us discussing the operation before it happened?”[/color]

[color=plum]”I did not fully know Mariette’s status until the Void World came down. Since I was told of Aurelio’s spell before entering I assumed that was the opening. I could not keep my usual sense of everything that was occurring with our communication and my magical senses being suppressed. So yes, I do recall we had planned to go after Justine once Mariette was dealt with. I don’t believe we ever discussed specifics though.”[/color] Her words were true enough. She probably could have made a greater effort to confirm if Mariette was defeated prior to going after Justine. That very well could have been her blinded by vengeance.

[color=aba000]”We did not discuss specifics because you had indicated you did not wish to be involved,”[/color] Alicia pointed out. Clearly that had been a mistake. 

She turned to the jury then, her arm sweeping out as she gestured down to Jenna. [color=aba000]“So, you admit that Justine ‘had her death coming’. You admit that although the situation on the ground was different from what you had expected, you nonetheless persisted in striking down Justine and allowing the Cradle to take her to a secret location of their choosing, whether she is alive or not. Meanwhile Mariette was able to escape, and after the opposition we faced just to get to that point you deprived us of one of the foremost assets we had against her.”[/color]

That said, there was still one element left to pursue. So she returned to Jenna a last time. [color=aba000]”Before I finish, there is one last thing. You said you ‘intend to pursue our late enemy’. May I ask where Janet is right now?”[/color]

Jenna had something to say about depriving an asset, but she would save that for later. Before directly answering the question though she would address one thing. [color=plum]”For clarification, ‘late enemy’ refers to Justine. As to Janet’s whereabouts I would like to request communicating that information telepathically to the court as it is sensitive.”[/color] Normally things would be fine to speak out loud. She could not be sure anyone not part of the proceedings might not let something out or perhaps it could be listened in by some manner.

Rachel seemed to react, but before she could speak, Ishtar nodded. "Very well. Your telepathic message to the prosecutor shall be left confidential." She glanced at a certain Ascendancy girl, who in turn nodded and closed her eyes, before she hit her mallet. "Please proceed."

Seeing Rachel’s reaction, Jenna raised a hand briefly. [color=plum]”I do not intend to exclude you or the Cardinal, Inquisitor. I would not want to call into question the prosecution’s integrity.”[/color] If no objections were given she would proceed and include Ishtar, Rachel, and Alicia.

[color=plum]I would simply say this out loud, but until we have more I would rather keep this knowledge from spreading beyond a few. If Janet is still out of contact then most likely she has captured and cleansed one of Mariette’s allies, the slime girl known as Eli. It was not by design, but by going with the Cradle I was able to place a suggestion that should lead Mariette to Janet to do the same.”[/color]

Tilting her head slightly, Alicia listened as Jenna conveyed the message telepathically into her mind. Her gaze narrowed, her frown deepened, and a deep breath escaped as she took in what was said. She couldn’t even really use this as evidence, due to the confidential nature of it. But it was hard not to guess what her feelings were.

Her head fell as she spoke, voice subdued but still barely audible to those nearby who did not have the benefit of Sound spec. [color=aba000]”After everything, you still don’t trust me.”[/color]

She snapped back to some semblance of attention, and nodded to Rachel. [color=aba000]“The prosecution rests its case.”[/color]

Rachel subtly grimaced, but quickly composed herself once the message was received, while Ishtar only blinked. “Very well then. The defense attorney may now make their case.”

Sally stood up, now looking confident again. “I would like to call forth The Great Aurelio as a witness.” Murmurs spread softly through the courtroom as the magician took his place in the witness stand. Sally then approached him. “So, um, first...” Sally hastily went through her hastily scribbled notes. “You were at the mission Jenna was assigned to, correct? Could you recount to us what you saw there?”

At first glance Aurelio looked as he always did, but it wasn’t hard to see that he was exhausted. His smile was strained and he was slouched as he walked to the witness stand. And when he sat down he visibly winced at being the focus of everyone’s attention. “That’s correct,” he would answer before taking a steadying breath. 

[color=fff79a]“It-”[/color] He ran a hand over his face [color=fff79a]“My apologies”[/color] A cloud of smoke enveloped Aurelio for a moment. And when it vanished it was clear that he had detransformed.

[color=fff79a]“I only recently got all of my clones back so I’m rather exhausted.”[/color] Kyle would explain running a hand through his hair.

[color=fff79a]“My recounting would start before the mission was underway, at the staging ground. Everyone assigned to the mission arrived together, there we were met by Justine and her retinue. Which consisted of at least a dozen or so magical girls most of which I feel were pressed into service unwillingly, as well as another half dozen magicals that she claimed to be associates of hers. Lastly her personal servant Sonia.”[/color]

[color=fff79a]“From there we split into two groups. A frontal assault group and an infiltration group. I was assigned to the assault group, as was Justine and the majority of the other magicals that had been gathered. Our goal was to storm the mansion within Mariette’s dimension, both to draw attention away from the infiltration group and to try and force our way inside.”[/color]

He took a deep breath as he recalled the violent affair that seemed like it had happened both so long ago and only just moments ago. [color=fff79a]“It turned sour fast.”[/color] He shook his head, before going on to explain the frantic mess that was the frontal assault. The land mines, the enemies in the snow, the worm like monsters, Justine’s utter disregard for anyone other than herself. The devastating ambush at the front of the house that nearly wiped them out completely.

[color=fff79a]“At that point I was unbalanced and close to a breakdown due to all the negative emotions in the air. I called in a request to move forward one of the plans in place, as otherwise I wasn’t going to be able to stick around long enough to be of any use when it was time for it. But when I tried to put it into motion again everything went sideways. Again.”[/color]

He would go on to explain Leena’s Void World, and the mess of a confrontation that was both the Infiltration team and the assault team meeting up as Mariette and the rest of the Defenders of the house appeared to try and take down Justine. And Reaver’s appearance.

[color=fff79a]“Within the Nullification I wasn’t able to do much, I’m focused around supporting others with my magic. So with not a lot of options I charged my cane with as much Love as I could and passed it off to Jenna, before rushing to save one of our allies who had taken a spear to the chest.”[/color]

He would conclude with the Null field dropping and the mad scramble to get everyone out before the dimension fell apart with them still in it. Mentioning Dan’s portal being guarded by a Hydra, as well as the cradle members taking Justine’s body away and Jenna following after. Only touching upon the potion and projected conversation lightly since this was just a recap at the moment.

The court nodded intermittently in silence as Aurelio exposited of their journey to Mariette’s hideout. Sally scribbled what she could with little success. “Thank you, Aurelio, you may now leave.” She turned to the judge and jury. “As you have heard, my client’s testimony is corrobobated by a trustworthy witness. Corroborated, I mean,” she quickly added. “The defense, uh, rests their case.”

For a moment, frantic whispering filled the sanctified hall, as Beacon girls both old and new tried to make sense of the chaos that had been unveiled from the mission. Finally, Ishtar softly hit her mallet. “This is a complicated case, but the answer is clear. Jenna Howell, for the crimes of colluding with the Crimson Cradle and Mariette Pedersen, and conspiring against the Beacon, I declare you...Not guilty. Your intentions of serving Beacon’s cause is without question, and you have provided evidence of purifying Justine.” But before Jenna could celebrate, Ishtar interrupted her. “However, your methods are unorthodox, and your hastiness and lack of self-control are a cause for concern. I do not know how the local Beacon chapter has handled the training of their recruits, but it seems there may be some improvement to be made. Thus, I sentence you and Janet Howell to 40 hours of discipline training, with at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours spent every day starting tomorrow. The training program will utilize the Beacon Recruit Basic Training options. This training is to be modified as per the level of proficiency perceived by Alicia Hayden, who will oversee the first day of training to ensure it has been started properly. You may perform this training outside of the local Beacon HQ, but only under supervision from a Beacon officer of higher rank. This training may not be interrupted or denied by anyone, no matter their rank. Any duties you may have are to be delayed until this training is complete, after which you will report to your supervising officer who will assess the results.” Rachel bit her lip at the last sentence, displeased with the verdict, but she only looked away.
“Court is dismissed,” she announced with one final hit of her mallet.

Taking a deep breath, Alicia bowed her head as the verdict was given. It was not the result she wanted, but she would accept it nonetheless. [color=aba000]”Alright. As you decree, Cardinal.”[/color] It seemed everything was in Janet’s hands now. 

Nodding respectfully, Jenna looked over to Alicia for a bit before eventually making her way over. [color=plum]"Maybe this is for the best. Could help us get back on track. Uhm..."[/color] She paused for a bit before speaking again. [color=plum]"I can tell you're angry with me. I don't want our friendship to be stressed because of our antics. I would like the chance to work things out if we could."[/color] Her expression was remorseful, even though she wasn't entirely sure what she'd done for such a response. She looked down at the floor as she wrung her hands a bit. 

Alicia shifted as Jenna approached, and she regarded the girl with a cautious gaze. As much as there was the desire to make up, there were other parts of herself too charged to simply forgive and forget that quickly. Not with how personal it had become.  [color=aba000]”We’ll see. And let's hope your scheme works out the way you want it to.”[/color] With that she turned and began making her way out of the courtroom. There were other things she needed to do now that the trial was over, and she would not permit herself to dawdle for too long.

Everyone began filtering out of the court room. Not really having any other reason to stay, Jenna exited as well and went to assist with any other injured that may be left.