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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200312/bd228c426d0da7459764cb788d45b1cd.png[/img]
[h1][color=6A5ACD]Serenity Gates[/color][/h1]
[Sub].:⋮Shades of Human⋮:.[/Sub]
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[color=9e0039][i]’Guess I am early…’[/i][/color] Penny would muse to herself as she looked around. Though that fact wasn’t one she was unaware of even before her arrival. The thought was superfluous, and she knew it, but she refused to cede having it.

Regardless it did mean that the roof was empty. Again not a terribly surprising thing all in all, it was one of the corporate buildings in downtown Penrose after all, and at this time of night there wouldn’t really be any reason for anyone normal to be up here. Which was all the better for the meet up.

That’s not to say it was a bad spot by any means. The overlook here across the rest of the city was one of the best in Penrose and was one of Penny’s favorite spots to come when she had a spare moment.

With ease Penny would make her way over to a mostly covered nook, one of the corners of the building was walled off in effect by the maintenance storage hut and one of the AC units. Giving a semi private space to relax. More than once Penny had been tempted to keep something up here more permanently, but the odds of someone finding it and removing it was too high for her to actually follow through on.

Sitting down against the wall of the maintenance hut Penny would cast her gaze off over the city below. Letting the glimmering lights below soothe her as much as they could.

[hr]

Soon enough, after perhaps a bit of time to spend in silence there on the roof, the door to the rooftop would creak open on its aging industrial-grade hinges. Two sets of footsteps would then follow as two people emerged from the dusty stairwell and onto the roof proper-

[color=FFDAB9]“Mistress Serenity, please be careful with those bags! You’ve already struggling as it-”[/color]  

[center][b][i]*THUNK*

*CLANG CLANG*[/i][/b][/center]

[color=6A5ACD]“Oww…they need to fix…that stupid…last step…corporate cheapskates…”[/color]

[color=FFDAB9]“Oh dear! You must be more careful, Mistress! Here-”[/color]

After the Bolorton situation, Serenity had sought to ask after Penny, to which she’d been greeted with a measure of surprise after finding the answer. 

To say that getting the news about her mechanical friend having been booted out of Beacon, and becoming the self-declared “Queen of Pensorse” at that, was definitely something. Well, perhaps it wasn’t too extreme a surprise, but a surprise nonetheless given her own existence as a ‘literal former horror’ and still being a member of the faction at the same time. But even with her desire to talk to Cardinal Ishtar yet still…she had first and foremost tried to get into contact with the robotic monster girl before arranging a meet-up for lunch. 

Penny’s choice of location, of course. 

As Vivianne helped her off of the ground with an anxious expression, trying to dust the dark-haired schoolgirl off, Serenity tried to pick up a couple of bags off of the ground before turning to the side and finally noticing her quarry. Well, more like noticing her standout robot friend with blue-and-white armor plates, seemingly golden robotic eyes, and four weaponized limbs attached to her back. That all wasn’t hard to notice in the general sense, really. 

[color=6A5ACD]“Penny!”[/color] the untransformed magical girl called out, smiling but excitedly trying to wave at Penny with a hand that had a bag of heavy-, [color=6A5ACD]“Come on-.…ok, I kinda’ deserved that one.”[/color]

Serenity would rub the side of her head gently after lowering the hand, and the weighty auto parts branded plastic bag it held that had bopped the side of her head when waving, before moving to approach the monster girl. Behind her would walk a red haired girl in a maid outfit, carrying a couple of bags from a local restaurant in stark contrast. 

Penny for her part was obviously stifling a laugh at Serenity’s misfortune, both with the step and the bag of auto parts. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Serenity it’s been a while”[/b][/u][/color] She would greet with a wave. Her gaze flicked over the unfamiliar redhead for a moment, assessing her but ultimately moving on. [color=9e0039][u][b]“You want a hand with those?”[/b][/u][/color] She’d go on to ask, nodding at the heavier laden bags of supplies that the Beacon member had brought with her.

It would also be notable to Serenity when she got a moment that something was off with Penny. Something about the mechanical girl was sitting just shy of the uncanny valley, and her aura was much closer to the monster part of monster girl. It was ever so slightly disconcerting, enough to make the maid magical girl’s brows furrow in worry for a moment before returning to the present situation as Penny asked if she needed help. 

[color=6A5ACD]“Sure, before I hit myself in the head with them for the third time this evening, and give my maid Vivianne here a heart attack- 

Oww!”[/color]

The attentive maid gave her mistress a light chop on the back of the head for her troubles, though afterward the former horror couldn’t help but have a small chuckle at her own expense regardless. 

Letting out a soft chuckle Penny would extend one of her spider-like limbs over to Serenity to relieve the girl of some of her load. Taking whatever it was Serenity was willing to offload, the bag in question was a tough plastic bag of sorts, which when the robotic girl looked into would see a brand-new car battery sitting inside. A contrast to the contents of the other bag Serenity still carried, which on any sort of closer inspection would seem to be filled with smaller metal parts, a small plastic container of ball bearings, and a couple quarts of premium car oil.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Seems you broke out the black card for me.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say with a grin as took note of what exactly it was the once horror had purchased. 

[color=6A5ACD]“For a friend? Pfft. This is nothing! I owe you and Alicia and the others more than that…much more. This was from someone giving me the winnings of a betting pool a few girls had back at base after I got sent off to HQ some time ago. This is just putting it to good use!

Besides, I was going to get some fast food for myself to compensate for the costs…but Vivianne insisted we get something decent. And truth be told, I’m very thankful for it.”[/color] 

Vivianne would seem to perk up at the mention, though aside from a brief but noticeable frown that crossed her face at the mention of the ‘betting pool’ Serenity would sheepishly smile at Vivianne for a moment upon mentioning the other maid. The duo would sit down around Penny on the rough concrete, next to the little wall of the roof shed, with crossed legs. As Vivianne began to try to get herself and Serenity’s food ready, however, Serenity set the other bag she was still holding next to Penny and let her arms rest on her own folded legs. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I hope you got just as much of a treat for yourself, and for Vivianne.”[/b][/u][/color] She would once again shift her gaze over to the maid. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Pleasure to meet you. As you know I’m Penny, and I can’t help but feel there is a story behind the two of you meeting.”[/b][/u][/color]

The redheaded maid would lightly chuckle at the robot, even as she pulled out and checked the various to-go containers in the bags she had been carrying. From one of the bags she had brought she even withdrew a nice, folded, and small picnic blanket, placing it between herself and Serenity to neatly set their food out on. Vivianne then looked back up at the robotic girl who had addressed her. 

[color=FFDAB9]“Mistress Serenity and I met over the magic of a red coin, as it were, at Beacon HQ. My loyalties, however, lie with Mistress Serenity alone. 

And I must say, I could not have found a more interesting employer than her! Hehe.”[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Praise to Alicia”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would agree absently, she had similar feelings towards the angelic themed Beacon member herself after all. [color=9e0039][u][b]“And honestly I’m just glad I can be counted alongside her. Penrose hasn’t been the kindest in regards to free time.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“And yeah Red coin magic makes as much sense as it ever does.”[/b][/u][/color] She would say giving Serenity a more assessing look. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Had the fortune to give one a whirl myself, but didn’t go very extensive with it. I’m guessing you went for a more full refitting however?”[/b][/u][/color] She would state more than ask. [color=9e0039][u][b]“And was that at their Overcity HQ or their real world HQ?”[/b][/u][/color]

As she asked she would open the packaging of the ball bearing and pop one into her mouth. The small parcel of steel audibly crunching as she ate it with ease. A small hum of content audible underneath the crushing of metal. 

[color=6A5ACD]“I honestly could not tell when it came to which HQ, I was blindfolded on the way there so I wouldn’t know and then eventually sent back via teleporter. Had an Inquisition facility nearby, a really big underground place filled with the worst of the worst. Things and staff there that’d make Penrose’s magical community look like the most friendly place in the world…”[/color]

Serenity drifted off in the words, her tone almost unpleasant as well near the end, before absentmindedly reaching into an opened container in the center of the opened blanket herself and gnawing into a chicken wing from said container. Indeed that particular container seemed to be filled with wings covered in some kind of golden sticky sauce from the looks of it. It seemed palatable enough for non-robots indeed, but the portion size screamed ‘appetizer’ just from the looks of it. Kind of like the size of that ball bearings container they’d brought for Penny to be honest. 

[color=6A5ACD]“But the Red Coin? I went for a bit of a refit, but not totally. Untransformed appearance got tweaked as a side effect, and my outfit apparently got ‘updated’ from the wrong kind I somehow had in the first place. That and a certain someone-who-should-not-be-named Patron has decided to pursue convincing me to willingly join her ranks and be ‘besties for eversies’ at any cost.

But HQ said something about ‘my unique situation’ maybe having something to do with some of that, and the coin doing the rest, and with what I know about the universe I’m content to agree with that. Vivianne came out of it all as well, the one good outcome from that Red Coin from the compensation they tried to give me after I got kidnapped for two weeks. 

The Sapphire Coin let me get neck-deep in an “Advanced Image Magic” course, done remotely, at the magic college in the Overcity. That’s actually been pretty fun to take, actually, even if one of my professors keeps asking me horror-related questions once in a while. Ugh.”[/color]

Coming back to her senses as the heat of the wings she was starting to dig into without thinking kicked in, the maid magical girl grabbed a nearby bottle of opened water Vivianne had seemingly been waiting to hand her. The redheaded maid seemed to sit there nicely, if not somewhat daintily and formal-like at that, though she almost seemed a bit amused to listen to Serenity’s recounting about the magic coins. Well, aside from the maid frowning at the ‘kidnapped’ part without saying a word. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I’d place the blame ninety on the coin, ten on you personally”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say as she rolled the rest of information around in her head. [color=9e0039][u][b]“And I’m guessing that you got taken to their black site HQ. Which, first of all, fuck them for that, and thankfully they let you go. Second, they are lucky that Penrose is a dumpster fire filled with dumpster fires more often than not, as I’d have started knocking down walls to find you if I had known you had gotten black bagged.”[/b][/u][/color] The mechanical monarch would assure her friend, a dark promise lingering just beneath the annoyed tone she maintained. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Their Overcity HQ isn’t bad, but they go all in on the holy theme.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“First time getting bagged, that’s for sure, but it’s good to know someone would come looking for me at least. 

Two weeks of constantly cleaning the Inquisition’s lockup facility, Soul Gem in a vicegrip in case I ‘got out of line’, with invasive psychic probes into my head for hours on end and a cool floor to lie down on each night in the Inquisition’s facility. 

Actually, speaking of that I don’t have a Soul Gem anymore due to that Red Coin I was given. A breath of fresh air that’s been for sure.”[/color]  

A low but somewhat dark chuckle came out of the magical girl maid’s mouth.
 
[color=9e0039][u][b]“And I wanted to use my Sapphire coin for college, but honestly I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to maintain the class schedule. Anything I’d want to do would be a shop class so not like I'd be able to do it all remotely either.”[/b][/u][/color] She grouses as she eats a few more ball bearings. Perk of being a machine is that she could eat and speak without worrying about overlapping functions, though she did still end up sounding a bit muffled regardless. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Ended up using it to update my ship with auxiliary vehicles instead, but still, envious of you.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Still, due to aforementioned dumpster fire tendencies, you are probably outside the loop on things around here huh?”[/b][/u][/color] She’d ask knowingly. The fast pace of Penrose was both a blessing and a curse at times. But trying to keep up when you weren’t a part of it definitely had to suck.

[color=6A5ACD]“To say the least, yeah. I’ve been out of the loop for a little while taking ‘remediation classes’ to help me better learn to be human at HQ. Turns out I’m the only former horror, but not the first thing or creature to become a human somehow in Beacon history. Even a few familiars who became magical girls are out there, it seems.

But apparently not everyone at HQ had the time to catch up fully on things either, given the constant stream of dumpster fires here to try to keep up with too. Hence my being summoned there to be before a Council of Cardinals to testify and have my memories of my transformation and the previous few weeks before that put on display for them to boot.”[/color]

Despite her own somewhat annoyed tone, the magical girl maid seemed to restrain herself to a certain extent as well. Not laying into it too much. Still, she would chew into a couple more chicken wings before taking another sip of the water bottle she had and continuing on.  

[color=6A5ACD]“Was supposed to be as simple as that, actually, get me to HQ and then put me in front of the council and then judge from there. But it seems someone in the Inquisition didn’t agree on their end. Small Inquisition group intercepted me at HQ, with a few armed guards in tow, and said they’d lead me to my room. Instead they took me to their facility for those two weeks. 

Then, with HQ apparently panicking and still trying to find me, some weird letter shimmers in golden light into existence on the front desk and leads them right to me. A Cardinal eventually took it with them and escorted me out of there personally. Then I got doctored up and put in a comfortable room, and two days later I testified and my memories were examined by the council before I was declared innocent. 

Then came the coins and remediation classes after that, which aside from a couple of red coin effects was all far more pleasant before I got to come back home to Penrose.”[/color]

Serenity let out a small, but notably exasperated, sigh. What more could she say? At least she hadn’t been the strangest-acting individual in her remediation class either. That was certainly saying something. 

[color=6A5ACD]“All that in mind I could certainly use a catch-up on things, aside from seemingly the looming threat of Wonderland I suppose, and I want to ask Cardinal Ishtar a couple of questions about what happened back there at HQ.

But enough about me! What’s new in the life of Penny, and what’s the latest fuel thrown onto our dearest dumpster fire hub known as Penrose?”[/color]

There was a little emphasized sarcasm in the ‘dearest dumpster fire known as Penrose’ bit specifically, followed with a small but joking grin from the former horror as she tried to pass the torch of conversation back to her robotic friend. She’d rambled on enough about her own crap, or whatever it was, she wanted to hear more from Penny as well. Give her friend a chance to lay some things out, etc. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I’ve met with Ishtar before, same with Rachel, and I get the feeling that the Cardinals and the Inquisitors don’t see eye to eye on most things.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say as she contemplated how to answer about the latest goings on in Penrose.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I guess the best place to start would be asking what the last bit of news you remember was before you got bagged”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“I think it was some while after the rave? Feels like that was forever ago by now,”[/color] Serenity said, a hand coming to her chin as her brows furrowed in thought as she spoke, [color=6A5ACD]“It was a bit of a messy time from what I recall. But I figure that’d be a good starting point.”[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Oh, yeah that would have been a good time to nab anyone”[/b][/u][/color] Penny admits with a frown. [color=9e0039][u][b]“You might have heard of the riots that spawned after that, or nearly spawned. That night was a near catastrophe. Cindy got killed that night as well, which honestly didn’t help.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would start leaning back against the wall as she spoke.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“That’s the main reason I ended up becoming Queen actually, which if you haven't heard. Surprise, I’m the declared and recognized Queen of Penrose.”[/b][/u][/color] A shallow smirk would splay across Penny’s face at that declaration. It was a title of merit, and she knew that, but it chafed at times. She could lead, she knew that well enough, but it wasn’t always a comfortable fit.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Next major event took a while to strike. Justine kicked it off actually, her not being dead meant she came back for revenge, but she was after Mariette. I don’t actually know all the details behind that, wasn’t there for it, but it more or less came down to Beacon and the Mint being used as proxies for a Horror fight. With no one really walking away as a victor.”[/b][/u][/color] She wondered at times how things would have gone had she been there. But the thought of not being at the Sanctuary was worse. [color=9e0039][u][b]“She got trapped and purified somehow, and I think the Cradle has something to do with her getting free, but not one hundred percent on that.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“The proxy thing isn’t surprising. On the other hand, Soth did look into Justine a little before he came to Penrose as a potential ‘candidate’. More of a ‘whim’ on his part, but still. So I do have the idea of what she did before, if nothing else. Etc. 

Though I never got a good chance to talk to Mariette even before I left. Her Horror patron is something that…well, perhaps we’ll get to talk to each other one day about things in general. Maybe. Call it a stupid personal thing I’d want to do on my end, I guess. But that’s not for right now.”[/color]

Those were mostly side thoughts, however, and Serenity would stop herself to allow the robot girl to continue talking afterward. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I was preoccupied by The Sanctuary being attacked by a different Mint squad. Sanctuary is my home turned shelter.”[/b][/u][/color] There was pride in her voice at that, as she truly did take pride in the foundation of the Sanctuary. Building up something like it was satisfying like few things ever had been. [color=9e0039][u][b]“The damage was harsh, but no one got too badly hurt, and no one died.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“After that, there was a bit of a breather. Dan showed up again. And sent out invites to a Christmas party. One without the time warping that the beach had. It went well for the most part. There was white elephant gift exchange held by Ruby, and a few other attractions.”[/b][/u][/color] She let a smile play across her features as she recalled the early parts of the celebrations. It was a moment of peace that she didn’t take for granted. Though her scowl at recalling the latter half wasn’t pleasant. [color=9e0039][u][b]“It started going downhill when Dan revealed he was going to give Mariette a horror artifact in front of Rachel. Tempers were cooled by it going up for grabs in a Keijo tourney, but flared up again when someone stole it out from under Dan’s nose.”[/b][/u][/color] She gave a shake of her head. She knows that her gambit failed, but she is still of the opinion that the extra time for diplomacy wasn’t wasted. Rachel had stepped back from ending Dan’s realm, and Penrose magicals all had evidence that they could come together without outside peril. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Connie, another magical girl, The horror movie ghost looking one you might have seen at Bolorton, held a sort of makeup Christmas party so it still ended on a high note.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Sadly shortly after that was the invasion of Wendigos. All told the count of them was nearly a hundred, different breeds of them as well. It also wasn’t a freak accident, that was the first time anyone had heard of Wonderland as it was discovered that they were the ones behind it.”[/b][/u][/color] Stirrings of hate could be heard as she mentioned that event. A soft bleed of red at the corner of her eyes and a violent tinge to her eating show that, to her at least, the wound was still fresh. [color=9e0039][u][b]“The brains behind the attack nearly dropped a pack on the Sanctuary, and even after they had the gall to send a diplomat to break in and talk to my Regent.”[/b][/u][/color] She snarled softly. Before forcing herself to relax. Taking a moment to let the red fade from her eyes before continuing on with the update.

The magical girl maid grimaced at the words, as well as at Penny’s reaction when she told it all to her. At the same time, however, she didn’t seem any bit surprised either. 

[color=6A5ACD]“That sounds about par for the course when it comes to Wonderland, as far as I can remember or what little bit I know at least. Whatever tactic gets the job done of softening up the place for conquest. I’d take a guess that Bolortron was just the start to some means of trying to take out Penrose proper. Establish a perimeter under their control, no escape and no route for supplies or possible allies to come in. Et cetera.   

Then Dan still being an idiot enough so to bring up a horror artifact, whatever it was, in front of the Inquisition isn’t any bit surprising though. A servant of the Lord of Nightmares hosting a make-up party after Dan ruined his own party is a little more surprising, really, but I guess was pretty welcome after that prior mess? 

Sad I missed the parties though…didn’t have much of a choice really on my end of course.

Much more important than that, though, you’ve been through a lot it seems. Would have been there to help you if I had been around, you could count on that much…not that it matters at all now in hindsight…”[/color] 

Serenity’s words trailed off before she gave off a light huff of frustration to end her speaking this time. Being gone for long enough to miss all of this…it was ‘vexing’, to try to find a more suitably polite word to use in her mind for the occasion. She knew plenty of words in so many other tongues of a ruder nature otherwise. 

When Penny spoke again, however, there was no trace of any prior emotion, sort of like she reset to her default calm friendly tone. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I went with Alicia and Ishtar to Beacon’s Overcity HQ to deliver a report about Wonderland’s attack, because apparently the upper echelon of Beacon has some sort of no-go order against Wonderland. No idea why that is. Alicia might know at this point, not being able to ask myself really, as that meeting led to me getting called in for one of my own. Where I was given an ultimatum. Get a full purification or leave Beacon. I think what my answer was is obvious.”[/b][/u][/color] She would wave one of her spider limbs for unneeded emphasis. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I’ll admit to a bit of surprise that they just let me leave, but wasn’t in a position to ask about that at the time. What with being in the middle of Beacon HQ and being a lone monster girl at that.”[/b][/u][/color] She gave a shrug, it was a question that she pondered now and then, but it wasn’t one that really kept her up at night.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Not long after that, a week and a half, Bolorton happened.”[/b][/u][/color] Which really didn’t need anything else said. Serenity had been there after all. [color=9e0039][u][b]“And that’s all the major events that happened here.”[/b][/u][/color] She’d reach into the bag of goodies that Serenity had brought while she let all the information she just deluged settle. Pulling out one of the quarts of oil Penny was quick to pop the cap off and take a long pull from it.

Sometimes the magical maid almost forgot that Penny was a robot, the sudden shift in mood being somewhat jarring compared to a normal human being. Then again, neither of them were normal human beings, were they? Not by a longshot, and in different ways to boot at that. 

[color=6A5ACD]“Whew. At least that was everything pre-Bolorton then. I swear since I became like I am now, I find a lot of big things not very surprising. It’s usually the little things these days that really…I guess…get to me more than anything else? Genuinely.

Call it a perspective-changing-related thing, I guess, since becoming like I am now. It’s hard to put into words.”[/color] 

The former horror would pick up her remaining bottle of water once more, starting to drink slowly once more as the robotic girl would continue speaking. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“The minor things of note are my reforging, last time you saw me I was split in halves. That got resolved, as you can no doubt tell. Though it wasn’t quite as harmonious as I was planning on it being.”[/b][/u][/color] She would mention with a frown. [color=9e0039][u][b]“My crowning, but that was already covered. Alicia started dating Kimble. They are cute together, but I don’t think it’s going to last. I started dating Magical Dream Princess. I met her when she showed up to help defend Sanctuary. And lastly I got my ship moved to Penrose.”[/b][/u][/color]

As she listened to Penny talk about the ‘minor things’, Serenity would suddenly stop mid-drink in total shock at the mention of who was dating who. Choking and half-snorting her water as it tried to go down her windpipe, she tried to throw a hand over her mouth to avoid spraying Penny only for the water to be forced out of her nose and slightly into her own lap. As she roughly coughed into her hand afterward, Vivianne quickly and somewhat worriedly skittered around to Serenity’s side with a hand towel in tow to try to help clean her up. 

It would be a few seconds, however, before the former horror was in the state to be able to talk again. Not that the shock had worn off as she stammered and stuttered into the next thing that came out of her mouth.

[color=6A5ACD]“...I w-w-wasn't expecting that, I’m n-not u-used to such topics I mean.

I-I mean I didn’t ever think either of you couldn’t find someone, of course, I mean you’re both g-great people! Who wouldn’t want to date someone like you or Alicia, I mean? You’re both great people in your own ways, so as a friend of you both I wouldn’t be able to imagine why someone else wouldn’t want to be with either of you. That’s what I mean. 

Take A-A-A-Alicia for example! Strong, beautiful, brave, kind, and cool leader-type! She also has the cutest little laugh, works harder than anyone else and stands by her friends no matter what, and is kind …kind…kind to even those who don’t deserve anything good in this world. Also how she always tries to look on the brighter side of things even if it all looks so very bleak at the time…even how her eyes ever so softly seem to catch the moonlight when the sky is clear on a moonlit night, really…”[/color]

Serenity’s words trailed off as her mouth moved but words began to not come out, and it all ultimately gave way to total silence in turn until her mouth stopped moving. It was all going pear-shaped in her mind, and desperately seeking an out she looked to Vivianne silently. Then upon seeing Vivianne quietly offering her a newly opened bottle of, and not nasally-ejected and spilled on herself this time, water, she grabbed it up and began to chug the bottle with all the haste of a thirsty camel in the desert.

Ah. Was it hot out here, or was it just the blood in her face and head trying to cook her brain and end her existence as a mercy? It felt less like the attempt to congratulate her friend on the new relationship and more like a total word salad and spitting some totally random things out there. Too weird? Or was she digging her own grave? 

Please no more graves, she didn’t like graveyards at all after the last time she was involved in one. Heck, no one else there had liked it last time she was in a graveyard either. Except Soth. Well not-her Soth that is. 

[color=6A5ACD]“…also congrats on getting your tank moved here, and literally pulling yourself back together somehow as well. Split existences are not good. Yeah.”[/color]

Penny gave a light chuckle as Serenity tripped over herself. She leaned her head against the wall behind her, her eyes tracing up to the few stars that could cut through the city’s light pollution. 

She agreed with the assessment of Alicia after all. But that wasn’t here or there.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Humans do like the acknowledgement when they find a personal match.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say, though her tone was slightly distant. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Blanket congratulations are acceptable, follow-up inquiries in regard to first meetings, duration of the coupling, or reason for it, are also applicable.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Anxiety over misunderstandings in regards to verbal affirmations understandable, but unnecessary. Close interpersonal relations will perceive the preferred subtext in most circumstances. Expressed anxiety in said circumstances will be often viewed with endearment by close interpersonal relations regardless of potential embarrassment felt.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Over stating opinions regarding the subject’s positive qualities will lead to an assumed deeper personal feeling of them regardless of fact. Can cause long term conflicts depending on the presence of the subject in question or their significant other. Straightforward and concise communication required at that point.”[/b][/u][/color]

Penny would let that hang in the air for a moment before snorting. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Congrats, you would pass as a sheltered human easily.”[/b][/u][/color] Her tone was back to normal. Shaking her head she’d take another draw from her bottle of oil. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Drop the part where you are singing Alicia’s praise entirely, and a generic[/b][/u][/color] [color=6A5ACD]‘Congratulations, I’m happy for you!’[/color] [color=9e0039][u][b]after the opening apology about not expecting the topic and keep the part about how they are a great, and possibly lucky, person and you’ll fit in as normal.”[/b][/u][/color]

Serenity listened on, eventually putting the water bottle down, before eventually nodding silently in agreement with the robotic monster girl’s assessment all the same. She let out a small sigh as she ran a free hand through her hair and took a smaller, far less desperate sip from her water bottle this time. Vivianne, for what it was worth, would return to her original seating once she seemed satisfied with her mistress having calmed down some and been cleaned up enough. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Not a terrible recovery with shifting to the other topics, but it draws more attention to the prior topic after the stumble.”[/b][/u][/color] She’d go on to add [color=9e0039][u][b]“Plus people like to share when they’ve gotten into a relationship, show their joy off. Not everyone will let the topic change without saying something.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Normal? For humans, perhaps, but by dumpster fire Penrose standards I figure the two of us are about as normal as it gets sometimes. Though I’ll work on the recovery next time this topic comes up in personal conversation with someone.”[/color]

The magical maid let out a small, low chuckle at the thought. But the jab at what was ‘normal’ in Penrose felt true enough at the same time, even if now wasn’t the time to really dig into that topic any deeper than a lighthearted joke. Perhaps it would be enough to lighten not just her own mood, but also for-

[color=9e0039][u][b]“That said, split existence is a pain, and my fixing of that was due to a Red coin. Got the original craft to tweak one for me. It worked, but the circumstances were hardly the best.”[/b][/u][/color]

-...oh. Serenity would feel a light frown creep its way onto her face, mostly as the manner of Penny’s analysis and speaking came back to mind after that last bit the other girl had said. Penny has said it already, but her own fumble had taken her mind away from it for a moment. The other girl had indeed been a split existence for a time, of which she herself had a brief personal experience and (dare she say it) an otherwise rather good understanding of in both the technical and magical senses due to what she had once been a part of. 

[color=6A5ACD]“I don’t doubt you on the circumstances being bad…personal experience and knowledge about such things on my end notwithstanding.”[/color]

Her eyes looked over dead into Penny’s own robotic ones before she spoke next, a fair amount of concern at least visible in them as her brows slightly furrowed in thought. Her friend was seeming indeed a bit different in ways in the behavioral sense, more robotic analysis, and so forth. Which as much as it made sense, she could also tell something was not entirely right either. Call it a ‘gut instinct’, or whatever it was. 

[color=6A5ACD]“But given how things seem to be, and after Bolorton and all, I do want to ask you something as a friend…

What are your current circumstances now?”[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]"Pretty sure I'm fraying at the edges"[/b][/u][/color] Penny would admit with frightening ease as she met the other girl's gaze. Because if there was any one that Penny knew who could understand it was Serenity.

[color=9e0039][u][b]"When I was split, I was split along human and inhuman lines."[/b][/u][/color] She would begin, her voice steadfast. Not wavering in the slightest. [color=9e0039][u][b]"Neither half fully blended when I was first pulled into the magical world, I'm pretty sure that was the only reason we were able to force the split with such little assistance."[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“The Red Coin I got tweaked was designed to help facilitate a more complete blend for when we did remerge, as it was painfully obvious that if we didn’t both halves would bleed soul and die.”[/b][/u][/color] The normalcy of her tone, as if she was talking about any other conversation topic. Lent an air of creeping horror to what she was saying. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Jason, just wanted out. Too broken by everything to care anymore. Gave me everything he could to sustain me and let the last dredges just fade away. It left me in a rough state for sure, but I thought things were fine. And they were, the fractures on my soul were healing.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“But that doesn’t mean that I am inherently stable. I lost the natural human elements of my soul. Add on the overuse of a Mimicry Power which tore chunks though my code, that even repaired there are things that are just missing now. The Spark was such a massive stabilizing element I couldn’t begin to explain to anyone. Not that I realized it was doing so much for me until Bolorton.”[/b][/u][/color] She let out a forlorn sigh before finishing off the bottle of oil, going so far as to eat the bottle itself. Before digging out another snack from the bag to chew on absently.

When she spoke again her tone was weary. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I Redlined within minutes of active combat there and I’m still not fully recovered from that. My Human sentiment is eroded, and piecing it back together with a damaged memory bank and lacking a source code to observe is… Difficult. To say nothing about the added mental mutation that developed while I was there.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“So as you can probably tell from all that, I’m not doing so well.”[/b][/u][/color]

The magical maid grimaced a bit as she listened on, though her attention seemed absorbed more so into what Penny was saying than in anything else prior. A look of determined focus on her face, or perhaps a slightly inhuman level of focus and patience being put to use where she wished it to be. Whatever the case, when Penny finished Serenity would take a deep breath, chew down a fancy beef short rib or three from one of the other open containers, and then start speaking again after a brief silence as her tone became rather somber and deadly serious.

[color=6A5ACD]“...So that’s it. I could tell something is amiss, but I’ve no Third Eye or anything either. 

Some of that is personally relatable in a more intimate way for me, I’ll confess. When I was severed from the rest of Soth, but before my incarnation. A rather short time frame, but one I can remember to the detail even now. 

The rest? Before I became human, before…all of this really, I as Soth fiddled with souls aplenty as a horror. Did things to them that would make the rave look like piddling nothing, a mere mortal trifling even, in comparison.

I can try to diagnose your situation if you so wish. Bluntly, softly, with emotion, as heartlessly as possible, whatever you choose. 

The only question is…would you want me to?”[/color] 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Yeah I think I would,”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would respond as she let her gaze return to the sky above. She missed the full expanse of stars that could cover the night sky. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Carefully. I trust you, because you know just how precious the Spark is. But that trust won’t amount to much if you trigger my self preservation protocols. Death isn’t a worry, loss of autonomy is.”[/b][/u][/color]

Serenity silently nodded back at Penny, before downing another couple fancy beef ribs, and cleaned off her hands with a Vivianne-provided napkin before standing up. She placed her right hand over her heart before she’d speak again. 

[color=6A5ACD][i]“As I of Sacred Light descend, now evil’s time is at its end.”[/i][/color]

And like that, the “Maid In Heaven” would transform in front of Penny into her-...oh. She had mentioned the use of a red coin before, so perhaps her new appearance wouldn’t be too surprising? Maybe? Truth be told she hadn’t much considered it all in the heat of the moment. Really, her mind was on more important things. 

[color=6A5ACD]“No worries. This will be a simple enough diagnostic that it shouldn't be invasive. Or rather, invasive in the sense of presenting a danger. It will be just some runes arranged around you and a bit of my magic, and then I’ll be able to see the state of your soul across a span of time as well as its current condition.

All I need is for you to sit still.”[/color]

With that, the magical bunny maid would use her magic and a finger to etch runes on the ground around Penny. She would work to carefully place and arrange them, trying to get things just right for what she intended to do. But unless something happened to mess up or interrupt the process, eventually Serenity would be finished with her work and stand back a short distance from the robotic girl before casting a Time spec spell to kick off the diagnostic. 

The runes around Penny would begin to softly glow with a faint light, a light that eventually began to ripple some as it took on a light blue-ish hue. A couple of feet above the robotic girl’s head, a similar blue light would begin to coalesce until it took on the shape and form of Penny’s body in seemingly exact detail. It was, however, see-through in nature and likewise would rotate like a hologram in the air. At the center of this magical hologram of sorts would lie what looked like a spherical glowing orb, which would eventually remove itself from the hologram and split into three parts. Two parts would go to the left (from Serenity’s point of view) of the original hologram, whilst the other one would sit on the left. 

Each part would itself turn into another hologram, those on the left taking on the form of ‘prior’ versions of Penny and the latter turning into…something else? No, something similar to how she was now, but it seemed more warped. Monstrous to a certain extent. Or perhaps it seemed more damaged and degraded as well? It was hard to tell, but it seemed a bit more blurry than the other holograms for a bit until it finally took on a sharper image. It would then occur that various numbers and data in some alien tongue would display themselves using the same magical blue light, arranging themselves neatly next to each hologram-like image. 

It would be at this point that Serenity stepped a bit closer again and examined the images, using her left hand to point at and rotate them seemingly at will as her eyes flashed over the images and mysterious language she seemed to grasp. Whilst her gaze seemed at first most fixated on the final projection, as she looked back down the line she would make a motion with her hand at the hologram immediately to the left of the one above Penny’s head as it split into two distinct “Penny’s” with their own sub-data. Then her gaze would turn to the farthest one to the left, before abruptly taking pause as she looked at it closer…and then her mouth would silently open before closing once more in a small grimace. 

Penny stayed seated as Serenity cast her magics. Near motionless in the way that only machines can get, only her gaze  moving as she too tracked the holograms above her. If it wasn’t for the sudden blood red tinge that had overtaken her eyes one would assume that all was fine. The wrath that pooled in her eyes didn’t come from the prognosis above her though, no it was called forth by the feather light touching upon her soul. A step further and Penny would have tried to kill Serenity. 

She was mostly preoccupied by the potential future that was before her. Her history was something she was already intimately familiar with. And while she could extrapolate her future at the moment, more data would always be appreciated.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Are the readouts maintaining my silhouette out of design principle or because of outward expression based on the readings?”[/b][/u][/color] She’d ask, tone relaxed in spite of the rather bleak outlook of the readings.

Serenity would take pause, but then give a small nod to the robotic girl before responding to her question.

[color=6A5ACD]“Both, essentially, at the same time. Also a bit more at that, but I’ll avoid the extensive explanatory bits I could tell you about this ritual right now. 

Safe to say, mortal hands could not reproduce the process I’ve used on a technical basis. I also had to borrow some carefully selected very alien sigils used by Soth before, mostly to add in certain key places where my knowledge of Runes and such hasn’t progressed enough to cover all of the ritual. Nothing dangerous to us at all here, just…not something one should teach mortals either, since there is a danger there in recklessly using such things without proper care and placement in something like a ritual. 

But that’s all the rambling you’ll get for now on this, unless you want to listen to it later. 

What you see above you is simply a double-mirrored and analysis-forged reflection of your soul’s past states, current state, and…a potential future state that has been calculated. The physical visualization around each state is a reflection of you at the point in time your soul is being observed at, both by design but also by consequence of the unique method of how I analyzed your soul. 

The script next to each of these visualizations, though, is the harder data the ritual is providing to me about the state of your soul.”[/color]

The magical bunny girl would begin to slightly pace back and forth about where she stood, brows furrowed as she spoke in a neutral-ish tone that seemed to carry on more as she would continue to speak. Even her face would seem to dumb down her expressions into something more detached. It was all as if she’d become absorbed into the data and such that she was forgetting to try to sound like a normal human being somewhat….at least in the heat of the moment. 

[color=6A5ACD]“Yet even by my standards and what I’ve seen as something else before, however, this data is aberrant and would be nonsensical to most save for what I at least know more intimately about a certain something and a certain realm I’ve looked into as Soth before. That and knowledge of primordial creation methods used by deities to make living things helps by filling in any of the knowledge gaps otherwise.
 
...What I can say for certain is your creation was a slipshod job by some half-assed deity not in their right mind. An asinine method of construction that simply wouldn’t survive without a certain key part, a key part which seems to be missing by its own volition in helping you if that ‘Jason’ you talked about helping you before is of any indication.”[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“You’re drifting”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would state absently. As she reviewed what information that she could parse. The silhouette of her future potential would shift and waiver a few times as she did, the readings wouldn’t change significantly, but the fact that seemed to change at all would be notable.

The magical maid would suddenly go silent, quietly closing her open mouth halfway into trying to say something. She would, however, give a nod to Penny as a small sigh escaped her lips. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Also I’m pretty sure that my creation was an accident”[/b][/u][/color] She would go on to say shifting her gaze back to Serenity. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Making something new is against his divine mandate after all. So something had to have gone wrong for me to come about in the first place, and because we are talking gods here, it was going to cascade eventually.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Only he’d have the actual answer I’d suppose”[/b][/u][/color] She’d grimace at that obviously not liking the idea of needing to talk to [b]him[/b] about it. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I’m guessing the final outcome would be something worse than simple monsterization however.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“...Yes, to be blunt about the matter.”[/color]

A sadness would worm its way into Serenity’s tone of voice as she answered her friend’s question, her arms crossing as she looked down at the ground for a moment. Not the most pleasant news to deliver to someone, but at the same time she didn’t want to hold back telling her either. Even if it hurt. Because Penny, and what condition she was in, deserved to know the truth in her personal opinion…even if doing so was still a bit selfish on her end as well. 
Her eyes would then rise again to meet Penny’s directly. 

[color=6A5ACD]“I’ll give the rest of it bluntly, just to get it out there, as you deserve at least that much Penny.

You as you are would be wholly gone in that last prediction, which is why it’s so…fuzzy. It is the best possible reflection and reading of the moment all of what ‘soul’ you have is gone. Nip. Zip. Nada. ‘Penny’, in every way, disappeared from existence save for your physical form, corruption, and any lingering magical energy. After that would occur there would be one of three variances that what’s left of you becomes. 

In the first case, your husk of a body falls lifeless and the magical energy and corruption is released into the surrounding area. Boom. Just mechanical parts and some environmental corruption as a result. Not the easiest to contain, but also the most predictable and grounded.  

In the second possible variation, it stays as just that and all that lingers is a corruption-warped robotic physical frame powered by magical energy. No more than a monstrous automaton filled with remaining magical energy and a limited run time based on that. Something that would have at best animalistic instincts to survive, eating constantly to sustain its existence and provide itself fuel. Not sure it would even look like you due to the warped effects of its existence. Once that goes out it just does dormant until it gets more magical energy or food to sustain itself somehow, which would have to be by external assistance. 

That…in that particular case, that would be the preferable variation. Most easily contained and starved in order to subdue it, as it can’t reach absurd levels of power. At least if Beacon or others could act in time. 

The final variation would be a much worse version of the second one…well, we’ll just call it the ‘Hollow’ ending. Something that retains a simulacrum of life and living, yet also has been stripped of its soul or lost it. In such a case it still eats things that you can to get magical energy, or at least it can do so, but it will be driven to devour the souls of other living things in an entirely fruitless attempt to ‘become whole’. It would be capable of human speech, mostly to cry out in hunger to that end, but it would not cease its activities until it either is starved to death or is destroyed…which is difficult to do if it manages to eat enough things and souls to start snowballing in its power level as it grows stronger from that.

Worst case this variation eats too much and snowballs too much to be able to stop reasonably in time as things are, and Penrose becomes a free all-you-can-eat buffet unless something drastic is done to…remove any possible food from its path to start starving and containing it. Best case it gets blown to kingdom-come as soon as possible, preferably right after it emerges when it is most vulnerable.”[/color] 

Penny would slowly gain a pensive look as Serenity described the soulless existence she was slowly headed towards.It was a nightmare scenario almost no matter what, with the first option being perhaps the least terrible overall since she would effectively just be turned into a high yield explosive. Yes, her soul would be the fuse and fuel in that case, but the damage she would inflict would be very limited in scope. At least comparatively. 

It was options two and three that had her attention. Both of them were magnitudes worse than she had been expecting, but there was something about them that was niggling at the back of her mind. It was such a human feeling at the moment that Penny couldn’t help but feel gratitude, even as the annoyance of it dug at her.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“How would I eat?”[/b][/u][/color] She would muse aloud to herself softly, still turning the idea over in her head. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I’ve never needed to actually ingest anything to maintain operational capacity, at least not since my original version. And back then I could have likely subsisted off of dest-”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would cut off. Slowly a look of shock and horror would bleed into her features.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“The Beast”[/b][/u][/color] she would say suddenly, before letting out a weak and broken chuckle. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I’m turning into the damned Beast.”[/b][/u][/color] It all made sense now, why it felt familiar, why it sounded familiar. She had seen once before what it is she now was on the road to becoming.

If Penny hadn’t been sitting already she would have collapsed to the floor. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Fucking hell what I wouldn’t give to be able to cry right now.”[/b][/u][/color] She ran a hand through her hair as she let herself feel this latest horrifying shock.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Alright. That’s the bad news.”[/b][/u][/color] She would go through the motions of taking a deep breath. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Do you have any silver linings for me?”[/b][/u][/color]

Serenity would take a distinct pause…and then without much thinking at all gently walk over to the other girl, the ritual around Penny finally dissipating as the magical maid gave her an impromptu hug. An awkward hug for sure, but at least it was a genuine one as well. Even so, she would back off after a few seconds and let out a small sigh before attempting to get herself back ‘on track’ with their topic at hand. 

[color=6A5ACD]“Trust me when I say crying sucks, at least from the perspective of a former non-human being. At the same time I’d share the capability with you if I could, Penny. ”[/color] 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“As someone who is going in the opposite direction, trust me crying is a great way to release emotional pressure. And the lack of it does nothing but make the built up emotions worse.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would grumble even as she accepted the hug. It might not be much but it was the thought that counted at the moment.

[color=6A5ACD]“Well I did do a lot of crying in my room after being created, that was for sure, but always at night and with a pillow to muffle it. It was the pure personal dread and terrier talking at the time though, constantly so due to where I was, but I am doing a bit better than that now at least. I hope."[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Yeah, it sucked in the moment, but also imagine dealing with all that. But being unable to do anything to ease the burden of those thoughts and the emotions that they invoke."[/b][/u][/color] Penny would point out. [color=9e0039][u][b]"Crying doesn't get enough credit if you ask me"[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“...That is certainly true, in hindsight at least.”[/color] 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Don’t be afraid to embrace your humanity now that you have it.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would shake her head, even as she held onto the small smile that she had gotten.

A small smile would come to Serenity’s face as well, even as she sat on her legs in front of her mechanical friend. 

[color=6A5ACD]“I won’t…never again.”[/color] the magical maid said, though soon a small chuckle would escape her lips as well after a moment of thought, [color=6A5ACD]“...Heh. In truth I wanted this, to be human, but in getting it got a rather sobering perspective shift as well. ‘

But I also do not wish to get too far from the matter at hand, if I’m to be honest with myself.”[/color]

Taking a deep breath, Serenity would try to steel herself as her brows and expression went back into ‘focusing mode’ as it were. 

[color=6A5ACD]“You spoke of something called ‘The Beast’? You will, well, really need to be more specific in that with regards to myself. Though the name of who created you would be a good indication for me at least. There’s a good deal of creatures with that title I’ve learned about or looked into or, well, ‘made’ before becoming human.[/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Yeah, not that surprised.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would huff as she refocused onto the topic at hand. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Quick and dirty description is think of scenario three, with divine backing and leash.”[/b][/u][/color] She would state giving that thought a moment to settle. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I never really thought about where the Beast came from. It was simply just something that he had. It was simply part of the data packet that I had as His Champion.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“But looking back over my history, short as it is in the long term, I’ve never been particularly stable. I’ve always been a bit skewed towards having too much to safely handle, or things that I did have led to instability in my soul that could grow to a cascade failure.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I, or Jason, was acquired as an emergency. Who’s to say his last champion didn’t end up going through the same things I did?”[/b][/u][/color] She’d ask aloud.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Makes for a great ace for a God of Destruction to keep up his sleeve.”[/b][/u][/color]

Serenity would wave a hand in front of  Penny’s eyes for a moment as she seemed to go off and ask things aloud into the thin air. It did bring a look of some slight concern to her face as well.

[color=6A5ACD]“Earth to Penny, come in Penny. Do you read?

Also which God of Destruction? Because depending on which one we are talking about I can help clarify perhaps.”[/color] 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Sorry, just musing aloud.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would wave off the concern. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I’m not a fan of saying his name, He’s gone to great lengths to remove it from history. But he has some epithets that are safe. He is known as The Unmaker or He who brushes away the old. He is a God of Ends just as much as he is one of Destruction.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“That is…strange for a deity to try to hide from history. Not that there’s many who have tried, but I believe I know who you are talking about. ‘His’ Beast. That one. 

It does make sense you would see scenario three as becoming that, then, but I believe there isn’t much worry in that vein of becoming the ‘actual’ it. ‘Hollows’, as I called your body in that scenario, exist in a general sense. His ‘Beast’, however, seems to simply be a divinely ramped-up version from what I can recall. Indeed from what as a part of Soth I last observed he has the real thing kept under wraps and had it at the same time elsewhere when his last champion was walking around as well.

Hollows are a lower tier and parallel monstrous existence to what I described in that sense, but this information also makes scenario three disturbingly more likely now I think. What he has is more along the lines of ‘The Bull of Heaven’ from the Epic of Gilgamesh, to try to make a comparison. 

As symbols and names have power in the realm of magic, and so forth, then the fact he possesses something like ‘that’ creates a stronger leaning and template for your remaining husk to take from in such a case. So you’d perhaps be an abnormal Hollow and in this case rather dangerous, but not on the scale of ‘that thing’ by a longshot either.”[/color] 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Not initially, no, and not for a long time if I have anything to say about it either.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would agree. [color=9e0039][u][b]“But part of his rites and his mandate is getting rid of the old to replace it with something new. And I can’t say with perfect certainty that I’d not enter into an agreement with him to try and get some relief were I to have any vestige of my sanity left when it starts to get to the end of the line.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“To be clear, I’m saying he set me up for this exactly. But he is bastard enough to take advantage of me being in this scenario to replace his old version with me.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would point out. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Was kinda just blind sided but actually having a frighteningly vivid understanding of what the bad end that awaits me is.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Ah…alright then. You’d have better insight on his behaviors than I would in all honesty.”[/color] 

A slightly defeated sigh would escape the Beacon girl’s lips.

Penny would stay quiet for a moment before shaking the thoughts aside. [color=9e0039][u][b]“But that’s just the demons in the box, not everything. Because if it was, I’d like to think you’d be a bit more inconsolable right now. So what has Pandora left me?”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Hmm, I was wondering when you’d notice that. You’re correct enough that if there was no chance of survival I wouldn’t be as I am right now. Well, as calm enough as I’ve been rather.”[/color] 

Serenity would give a nod to her friend.

[color=6A5ACD]“There’s a few avenues, but lucky for you my former occupation and ‘species’ as it were has left me knowledgeable in something like this. Perhaps a silver lining from it in this sense…for once. Not all of what I will tell you will be pleasant though, to say the very least. 

As for your current condition, though, I want to say first of all that there is a way to stabilize you in the short-term at least. I say that with the assumption of having permission from you to cut out any options that include feeding you the souls of the innocent or the like.”[/color]

She did perhaps have a slight smirk at this point, if only because it was natural Penny wasn’t going to go around soul eating and such to try to solve this matter. Not that she’d frankly do such a thing either, even if the recipient agreed to such a gruesome thought. The magical maid  knew she wouldn’t even be friends with the robot if Penny was ‘that’ bad. So nothing to worry in that sense but a small tease about the obvious answer to try to…er..cut tension. Maybe.

Penny’s snort and small smile at the jab, letting Serenity know that the attempt landed.

[color=6A5ACD]“This short term solution will require creating a setup back in Sanctuary on my part, and on your part both keeping to what I am going to prescribe and not letting anyone mess up the ritual site. 

I would need to create an arrangement of runes, maybe grab something for it from some of my classes or a professor I have, and I should be able to make a ritual to stabilize you. Small chance I would need to use some very carefully-selected ‘supplementary’ sigils and such like I did here in analyzing your soul. If it comes to that lattermost bit, though, then we’d need to discuss some careful prohibitions. But that’ll be for later when I’d be making the thing over one or two visits, if we can arrange things to minimize my time spent there so the Ascendancy doesn’t get suspicious of me.   

This runic arrangement will be complex, and will have seven smaller circles included along its exterior so that you can and should optimally have seven volunteers stand or sit in them. You would also have to remain within the center of this ritual for seven hours a day, same for the volunteers.”[/color] 

Penny would nod her understanding so far at the offered information. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Even more glad I got the Bastion more mobile then. As otherwise there might not have been enough space to make this array. I’ll need to finish moving the Sanctuary over to the Bastion before I start scouting for volunteers though.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“On that, will they need to be awake during the ritual or could they simply sleep through it? And will you need to draw the array yourself, or could it be taken care of by anyone you’ll just need to be on hand to activate it?”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Sleeping is fine, but they need to remain inside their positions. Avoid sleepwalkers in that case. Also they cannot volunteer for more than two or three days in a row to assist, otherwise they will start to develop issues…or, er, eventually just die. 

What this ritual will do is siphoning of human data from the targets to stabilize you, as well as skim a small bit of life energy off to help in that. This is nothing that has long-term effects if they do not participate more than three days maximum. And I mean [b]maximum[/b]. Two days tops is preferred for safety reasons, but if you get short on bodies then volunteers can help three days in a row.  

Optimally you’d have normal humans or non-monster allies providing this to get more data, which is less of a strain than this will be on monster girls, but I am trying to accommodate the most reasonable scenario here in the blunt sense of it all. You will need seven hours a day within it, and optimally seven different volunteers for the seven circles who have to also remain for those seven hours. You can have less than seven volunteers, but it will make it less effective in the process-...

-...ah. 

Ok, right now is not the time for all the details since I will need to discuss it with you again later once the setup is done. Then we can get things jotted down. I can explain more generally about the ritual if you’d like, as the specifics aren’t all exactly there for a reason right now.”[/color]  

[color=9e0039][u][b]“That sounds… More intensive than I would have figured.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say after a moment of mulling it over. [color=9e0039][u][b]“At least in regards to a short term solution. Is my case that bad, or is soul manipulation more finicky then I was assuming it would be on a small scale?”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“And I’ll remember anything you tell me. Data banks are a boon in that regard.”[/b][/u][/color] She’d remark [color=9e0039][u][b]“Guess the next question is what this ritual will do exactly.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Intensive? Yes, admittedly, but it is for a reason. This does involve the soul, after all, and stabilizing one at that. It is not a small matter to toy with. If I attempted to do this sort of thing the simplest or minimalist possible way it’d be too unstable or dangerous, maybe even accelerating your rate of…deterioration let’s say. 

Mind you this ritual will not be repairing the existing damage to your soul at all, but will keep it from worsening naturally at least. That means if you do anything to further the damage, it will be increasingly  harder to keep you stable using this ritual as well. This ritual will also ‘skim off the top’ a little life energy from the volunteers to keep you stable, but this will do nothing but make them supernaturally tired in some capacity.”[/color]

The magical maid folded her arms as her tone and expression alike dove into the realm of ‘very serious’ indeed. When it came to this matter it was a risk of simply helping someone under safe and ethical guidelines, where everyone got out of the other end alive and well, or taking something too far by mistake and accidentally doing human sacrifice. A big deal indeed in her mind. 

Penny would take a moment to think over that bit of information. Coming to the conclusion that her foray into Soul manipulation via the Red Coin and her own dividing was significantly luckier than she had originally expected it to be. She was aware that she had been playing long odds, but not as long as they apparently had been.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Good to know,”[/b][/u][/color] She would say at length. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Problem I’m seeing now is my own personal maintenance. Bolorton showed me, in no uncertain terms, that it is very easy for me to slide into a redline state. Which is very clearly not healthy for me at the moment.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Self stabilization is something that I can handle, for the most part, at the moment. Is there anything that can be done to reverse any of the current code corruption?”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=6A5ACD]“Even if you can handle the stabilization for the most part, the ritual will still be of use in keeping you more assuredly intact for what’s to come…because reversing that source code corruption and fixing things properly will be a process in and of itself. One that isn’t frankly easy to do at all, and isn’t going to be something simple either by a longshot. To say the very least!”[/color]

Penny was silent for a moment as she thought about everything that had been talked about in the past little while. Normally she’d not have needed to take as many moments as she had to think things over, but high concept magical theory was never her strong suit, and even if it had been this was a precarious situation for her to be in. So a few extra moments of processing would hardly be a bad idea.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Damn.”[/b][/u][/color] She would say once she was done thinking. [color=9e0039][u][b]“This war with Wonderland really came at a bad time didn’t it?”[/b][/u][/color] She’d mutter rhetorically. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Until your major ritual is set up I’ve got the unenviable choice of staying out of the active fights to defend Penrose, or hoping I can keep myself together long enough for both rituals to be enacted.”[/b][/u][/color]

Serenity nodded back at the robotic girl, somberly so, before continuing. 

[color=6A5ACD]“The more damage, the more it will take to repair it overall in time and materials for it all. If you maintain yourself at this current stage of deterioration, both with the smaller ritual and anything else you can do, then I can gear the ritual with just what we need. We can get it arranged, figure out where we can get the materials and staging from, and so forth within some reason at this point in time. 

If you damage your current state to a distinct enough degree, though, then it will only increase what is needed for the major ritual in terms of prep time. We could maybe plan for a certain degree of potential degradation in case of emergency…but that will only go so far as well. Only so much wiggle room is there before the damage has more notable impacts on things in this regard. 

Not to mention I need to find some proper clothes for the ritual to boot, though I know Vivianne can help in that regard…”[/color] 

The mundane maid would silently wave at the duo with a small smile, before moving to grab a chicken wing for herself in the meantime. 

[color=9e0039][u][b]“This is going to be a mess timing wise isn’t it?”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would mutter quietly as she ran a hand through her hair. Existential dread wasn’t something that Penny ever really faced before, and even now with the fate of her soul on the line there was some part of her that simply couldn’t be afraid of the potential outcomes. She was a machine at her core after all.


But something about all of this was itching at the back of her mind. A splinter slowly being driven in that was sure to drive her mad. Here and now wasn’t, perhaps, the time to really dig into that. But it was something she was sure to keep aware of, and set a personal alarm to check back on the feelings later on.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Well, Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That’s the idea for now I think.”[/b][/u][/color] She would say with a shrug, setting the idea aside for now. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Let me know when you’ve got time and I can take you over to the Bastion so we can configure a space for the rituals. That and I’ll be able to show off my ship, it has gotten some upgrades since you last saw it.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Anything else I need to know for now?”[/b][/u][/color]

The magical time maid would let out a small sigh as she de-transformed back into her mundane self, running a hand through her hair as she sat back down next to the food. 

To say it was all weighty to talk about was to say the least about it that she could. She’d found herself simply pulled into it all by virtue of her own big mouth, but….at the same time, could she ignore a friend in need? Penny wouldn’t last if something wasn’t done, and instinctively she didn’t even have to think twice about if she’d volunteer to do the same for Alicia or the others in a heartbeat. At the same time, though, it was a lot of risk and frankly ‘crap’ that had to go into it all on all sides. Not to mention the dangers of discovery or such…ugh. Already it was giving her a mild headache as the thoughts and sigils and so forth raced and danced about her mind. 

[color=silver]For now? No, thank goodness, but we’ll need to talk later and get things arranged to at least keep you stable moving forward. Then…then comes the big part.

For now, though, we can just enjoy some food at least.”[/color]

Well, she hoped they would still enjoy it at least. Didn’t want it all to go cold or anything, er, not that the monster girl perhaps had to worry about that. Unless she didn’t like cold motor oil? Hmm. Maybe that warranted a question in its own right. 

Serenity would then simply reach over, grabbing an exposed beef rib from another container as Vivianne quietly and daintily opened another one of the containers they had brought to the lunch. The redheaded maid seemed to quietly then go back to eating one of the last chicken wings in another container as her mistress got back to eating something herself. 

Penny would give a decisive nod at that before gently packing away the thoughts and considerations that she had in regards to the ritual and everything in connection to it. Reaching into her own bag of goodies she pulled out a muffler and set about chewing on it. [color=9e0039][u][b]“So,”[/b][/u][/color] She’d say, her voice coming through as she ate. [color=9e0039][u][b]“What’s your story Vivianne?”[/b][/u][/color]