Reaver found the grip of a familiar hand on his shoulder; onlookers saw as a wrathful Sonia had appeared right behind him, and whisked him away.
He knew where he'd end up: Al's office. The man himself had his chair turned away.
"Good job with the distraction, peguci. You bought time for the rest to make their escape before they were overwhelmed by reinforcements. You'll get the payment later, with bonus for...adaptability." He puffed his cigar.
"Miss Sonia here explained the situation." His hand could be seen lazily waving fingers at Sonia's direction, who had crossed her arms.
"You were taken against your will, and did not jump on me. However, I advise you to be more careful, and not let others mark you in the future. I won't tolerate another mistake like that. Dismissed."

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NngpAdx.png[/img][/center]

Lily felt power surge within her from Alex’ Reinforcement, her green hair glowing with emerald hues. “Not bad, floofy boy.” Helga didn’t seem too impressed by the showy enchantment, however, but she did give a small nod in affirmation of Alex’ skills before she joined Lily in demolishing the obstacle.
[color=fff200]“Don’t call Alex a floofy boy! You’ll hurt his feelings!”[/color] Lily cried out in defense of her boyfriend, probably embarrassing him further in the process.

After they reached the others and Lily stopped to take a small breather, she sighed as Alex chastised him.
[color=fff200]“I know how to pace, uh, myself,”[/color] she blurted out an excuse, and then closed her eyes as the healing magic rejuvenated her, bringing her bright smile back as she lifted her head up.
[color=fff200]“See? Now I’m all better!”[/color]

That was when Lily heard Melisa apologize to her. But as she was about to respond to her, Dina was revealed, and she gasped. [color=fff200]“Oh no! Alex, can you-”[/color] Penny was already on the scene, administering an injection of sorts with creepy fingernail syringes.
[color=fff200]“-heal...her?”[/color]
Lily’s legs shook a bit, and she placed a hand on Alex’s hand as he moved closer to examine the catgirl and the procedure Penny had performed on her. It seemed the green-haired girl had been frightened, but she still managed an uneasy smile at Melisa.
[color=fff200]“I-It’s fine. You were just trying to protect the people you care about. And we did kind of barge in without notice...Sorry for the confusion,”[/color] she apologized, a hand on the back of her head.

Dina opened her eyes, and Lily sighed in relief, having desummoned her weapon when it became clear that the fight was already over. She listened as Penny conversed with Dina, and her eyes widened when the former brought up Sanctuary’s hidden status and the Cradle.
She felt like she wasn’t supposed to be listening, and turned away with an uneasy back-and-forth swing to her heels.

Finally, Penny expressed her gratitude, and Lily smiled back the best she could.
[color=fff200]“No need to thank us. We didn’t reach this place in time anyway, so we don’t deserve any credit, haha.”[/color] 
“We did see a pink girl handle the slime on our way here,” Helga mentioned.
“You might want to thank her when you get the opportunity.”

Lily nodded at the mention of the Mint, and sighed.
[color=fff200]“Why is it that whenever anything happens in this city, it’s them?”[/color]
She whispered to Alex, and then addressed Penny, finding herself drawn by Penny's metaphorical pull. Helga did not budge, her demeanor kept firm.
[color=fff200]“I’m Lily Lightning. We’ve met a couple of times before, but I don’t hold it against you if you don’t remember me,”[/color] she said, stepping back.
[color=fff200]“Dan asked us to come help you, and dropped us at the entrance to this place.[/color]
“I’m Helga,” the toothy girl answered with a bored tone with her arms crossed before her, a thumb pointed at Lily.. “Also sent by Dan.” Helga then spoke in a whisper to Su, subtly using Sound magic to hide the sound of her voice from the others. “Looks like the cat managed to claw her way up into a high position. We might be able to use this.”

[color=fff200]”Well, now that the Mint’s gone, I suppose me and Alex will be going now,”[/color] she spoke, and summoned her motorbike.
[color=fff200]“Let’s go back to Dan and tell him the good news. Mission success!”[/color] She exclaimed, and lifted her hand up in an attempt to high-five Alex as they rode off.
Meanwhile, Helga approached Dina with a polite curtsy.
“Regent Dina, I am glad to see you be well again. We must be off now, but if you were to be interested in our services at the Golden Trove, our doors will be open to you.”
She then waited to see if Su had anything else to add, and then bid their goodbyes to the Sanctuary court before they also departed. Not long after, Dan had appeared.
“Dina! You’re safe! Oh, what a joyous da-” he was then scratched by the irritated catgirl, knocking him right through a wall and leaving a dolphin-shaped hole behind.

His head popped out from the bottom of the hole, stars circling his head.

“...Personal space...Right.”