It was a late evening. A boy was crouching overlooking the city of Penrose from a rooftop, rolling his shoulders and flexing his arms. He had spiky blonde hair and dark clothes, long pants and a dark jacket hanging from his shoulders, his steely gaze speaking of experience. This was Bowen Collins. He'd come to see what all the fuss about Penrose was about, on suggestion from his Puchuu, Aarton. [hider=Bowen Collins][center][url=https://i.imgur.com/JSKYgGg.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/JSKYgGgl.png[/img][/url][/center][/hider] This city was ridiculous. A half-abandoned city with monsters and Ascendancy running about, multiple horror-themed crises, and who knows what else. It had a reputation for people moving out of it and some magic vortex bringing trouble. Bowen stood up straight, leaning to stretch his back. [color=BEB4A7]‘Well, let's see what happens if I take a walk,’[/color] Bowen said, before leaping and falling down into an alley, crouching perfectly upon impact from the long fall. He stood up again, put his hands in his pockets, and started walking, his eyes suspiciously estimating the chance of each shadow leaping out and attacking him… With a flash of lightning, he suddenly darted aside, as a beam of multicoloured light and a reinforced spider web struck at his location. The young man spun around, his arms and an eyebrow raised, a smile on his lips. Facing him wordlessly was a blonde girl in a purple dress and a drider monster-girl, prepared for battle. Bowen chuckled. [color=BEB4A7]‘Man, Aarton wasn’t kidding about Penrose! What happened, did I wander onto your turf?’[/color] he asked, his smile going away as he inspected his opponents, who weren’t answering. They were strong. The blonde one was positively bursting with power, and the spider had both magical and physical threats to him. But, he wasn’t about to make this easy for them. He brought his left hand to his raised right arm, and started slowly pulling a giant, magical sword of lightning out through it, his opponents taking a step back as the bolts surged over the sides of the alley. [color=BEB4A7]‘Right, but I don’t plan on losing on my first night here. I’m Bowen Collins, veteran magical boy. I trust the two of you won’t disappoi-’[/color] A sudden sharp pain struck the back of his neck, and his right hand flew to slap at the spot. He stumbled and turned his head, blinking in surprise as he saw a single green butterfly drifting away. [color=BEB4A7]‘Tha-that’s ridiculous, butterflies don’t, uh, bite…’[/color] Bowen said, as the poison from the butterfly surged through his body, his vision blurred, his lightning sword dispersed onto the alley walls and he collapsed. The butterfly drifted to a corner, where a hand raised itself to let the butterfly land on it, and the green-haired girl which it belonged to stepped forth to look down at him with an unimpressed expression. [color=c1eb9b]‘See? That’s how you do an ambush,’[/color] Lea stated, very simply. [hr] Bowen blinked awake. Stared at a featureless ceiling. He was lying on a bed. He stretched out his arms and yawned as he slowly sat up, scratching the top of his spiky-haired head as he considered… why was he here again…? [color=BEB4A7]‘Oh, yeah!’[/color] he said, hitting one fist into the other’s palm. [color=BEB4A7]‘I was joining the Ebon Mint!’[/color] he said. Right, he’d heard they had a significant presence in Penrose! Aarton recommended he went to Penrose to fight the monsters and evil there, and he did so, but secretly planned to go to them! That would spice up the boring life he lived now! [color=BEB4A7]‘Well, better get to it!’[/color] he said, opening the window to jump away, not noticing the numerous tiny spiders watching him leave. [hr] It took a couple days of searching, but he finally managed to get into contact with a Mint operative and got himself escorted to a room with a Coin Broker. He sat there confidently, one leg over the other, knowing fully well he came with a sought-after skillset. Then came the question… “Why come to us?” Honestly, Bowen had considered that for a while. Why was he so insistent on meeting the Ebon Mint and becoming part of their organization? He could so clearly remember swearing off them for so long… still, every time he considered it, he arrived at the same definite answer. He leaned forward, his hands together. [color=BEB4A7]‘… Whenever I defeat monsters or save the world, I feel like I’m on top of the world. It’s the Job Satisfaction part of the Puchuu agreement. It’s meant to make us do what we do forever. However, between jobs, do you know what I realized that I am? A junkie. A junkie addicted to the high of beating monsters, to the drug known as Job Satisfaction, which the Puchuu can provide for me in spades. I realized it, and I hated it. Hated it with every fabric of my being. And since then, I can’t hunt monsters the same again. We’re just expendable tools for the Puchuu to fight monsters with, using Job Satisfaction to keep us in line. They don’t care about us,’[/color] he said, shaking his head. [color=BEB4A7]‘Yet, what is a boy to do with his immortal life, if not serve his purpose? What’s the alternative? … That’s when I realized, I have eternity to play around. Morals and virtues matter a lot less when such things come to light. And as such, I decided. Today I will be an Ebon Mint operative, in your debt and willing to work, because that’s what I want to do. Not what they want me to do, what I want to do. I trust you’ll make it fun for me, won’t you? I always rather liked the crime-family-aesthetic, hah,’[/color] he finished and chuckled. The mobster in front of him nodded, and reached for some papers to place in front of Bowen. “Sign here.” Bowen wasted no time leaning forward and checked the paper he’d be signing. [hr] Now he was back, wandering the streets of Penrose again, hands in his pockets. It was weird how little seemed to have changed, yet some things had changed. He’d received the means to contact the Ebon Mint, and he’d received a Black Coin… He held out the Black Coin to inspect it. It invited extra powers, a chance to become corrupted, a monster. Yet, honestly, Bowen didn’t feel like using it. As a criminal, wasn’t it smarter for him to blend into a crowd? Not to mention, he didn’t really feel like possibly needing to go through the hassle of getting himself purified at the end of it, and handling Beacon’s an issue. Yeah, honestly, this coin felt like more trouble than it was worth. So he casually flicked it down a manhole grate as he passed, smirking at his rebellious little action. He’d gotten himself into debt for that coin, and now he was just casually throwing it into the sewers for some random goblin to enjoy. It was hilarious. Now, guess he’d better work his way back for that coin, huh? Well, this should be fun… … … … Mariette winced as along with the coin came sewer-water splashing onto the floor of the apartment she was currently occupying, grimacing somewhat from the smell. She quickly closed the portal to prevent more coming through. Completely unperturbed, Lea leaned down and picked up the coin, presenting it to Mariette. [color=c1eb9b]‘… And that’s how you steal a Black Coin,’[/color] Lea told her, holding the coin before her to Mariette, Ronja and Suzette flanking her. Mariette hesitantly reached forward and picked up the wet coin. She couldn’t deny that Lea’s plan to brainwash someone into debt for them to get the coin worked, but the plan had doomed an innocent into thinking they wanted to be part of the Ebon Mint. It was exactly what Mariette had been avoiding doing, yet here’s Lea, with no qualms about these sort of things. What… what was Mariette supposed to do here? It wasn’t as if she could tell Lea just why she wasn’t kidnapping people anymore… [color=c1eb9b]‘Is there any complaints?’[/color] Lea asked, her feelings of superiority over Mariette audible in her voice. [color=077ae6]‘… None. I’ll have Olivia study this coin at once,’[/color] Mariette said, turning around to a portal. Regardless of the means, they now had a White Coin [i]and[/i] a Black Coin. What would be possible to do with both…? [hr] Some time later, Mariette wandered down to where Olivia was working with both the White and the Black coin, as well as developing some prototypes for her own kinds of coins. They weren’t very useful as of yet, but maybe with this they could find something interesting. Dissecting the White Coin hadn’t been very productive, just shown that its power came from some Beacon piece incorporated into the coin, but maybe the Black Coin…? [color=D6AD7F]‘I’m afraid this won’t do us much good…’[/color] Olivia sighed, and Mariette prepared herself for disappointment. [color=D6AD7F]‘The Black Coin doesn’t really contain power. More like, it’s a controlled conduit leading to a power-source, and that power source is what corrupts the girls. I can build the conduit, but the Ebon Mint probably has some failsafes to prevent someone leeching their power-source and I don’t want to mess with that…’[/color] [color=077ae6]‘… We have… a conduit [i]directly[/i] to the Mint’s main power source?’[/color] Mariette asked, an eyebrow raised. [color=D6AD7F]‘Er, yes, but, uh, I don’t think they’d let us play with it?’[/color] Olivia replied. [color=077ae6]‘… Huh.’[/color] Mariette tried to consider what might be possible with that. [color=077ae6]‘You could recreate and modify the conduits? Maybe link them to a new power source?’[/color] Olivia paused for a bit, but then slowly nodded. Mariette swallowed. It was far too easy to imagine what they could do with that. And yet… Mariette’s eyes widened a little. [color=077ae6]‘Oh.’[/color]