[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/K2ssvzh.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]

At this point, Lily had slowed down in her movements as her excitement gave way to nervousness, giving Pentius-04 a chance to stand respectfully at the color-matching girl’s side when Lily waited anxiously for what was to come, having noticed that Nefer seemed more frantic around her cloaking device after a crack had formed on it’s surface. She blinked and extended her lips in surprise upon hearing the exuberant Magical Dream Princess mention an associate who was capable of the tactics hinted at by the mysterious paper.
[color=fff200]”You know someone amazing like that, MDP?”[/color] She asked, sounding slightly hopeful. 
[color=fff200]”Please ask. It could really help!”[/color]
She gave an uneasy smile as little by little, others like Connie and Kayli gave new additions to the deal with Mint, none too insurmountable based on the broker’s response. Even Alicia, despite her well-deserved skepticism, seemed to come around after hearing Chloe out.
It seemed like they really would be able to agree on-

Her eyes widened as Penny then spoke up, followed by a sad nod with her eyes closed. She had given her ultimatum, and Lily no longer carried hope that Chloe would be able to agree to that condition. After all, wasn’t Mint all about debt collecting like some ruthless mafia? That was as far as the unaffiliated magical girl knew about them. Having relented to the peer pressure of her friends, she gave Chloe one last apologetic glance before turning towards Mariette.

[color=fff200]”So, Mariette…Do you think you could make us a portal to Sanctuary? It would help a lot with the commute,”[/color] she would try to joke, but her awkward smile betrayed her.

[hr]
Alex went over to where Justine was, and saw that she was talking to the new arrival at the park: a [url=https://i.imgur.com/vqrpegi.jpg]street vendor[/url]. She was dressed modestly in clothes that looked plain and unassuming at a distance, and carried a hand weave basket around her arm, the draped white cloth partially covering what looked like various little trinkets, flasks, matchboxes, and other tiny items that were held within. If it weren’t for the ornately stitched patches with elaborate markings on them and the elegant patterns of the basket’s weaving, the magical girl could have easily passed for a regular poor civilian. However, despite never having met her before, there was something oddly familiar about the vendor to Alex, but he couldn’t quite say how.

“...and if you buy four now, you’ll get one for free. A bargain for any magical, I assure you,” he heard the last of her sales pitch.
[color=bc8dbf]”Sorry, but I’m not interested at the moment,"[/color] Justine responded, sounding uncharacteristically tense as she looked the girl over. The vendor didn’t seem to mind, and gave a polite smile.
“Maybe next time then.” She noticed Alex, and turned to him.
“Greetings, mister. Would you be interested in some Artifacts? The prices are modest yet the quality is remarkable, I assure you.”
Justine leaned over to whisper in Alex’ ear.
[color=bc8dbf]”The timing of her arrival seems too perfect. Do you think she’s a Wonderland spy?"[/color] She asked him.

[hr]
The fight around the truck continued at its full pace. Mac was well placed to handle two opponents and used her knowledge of fighting well. The aerial combat swirled as duplicates and clones flash stepped around various roof tops. And Maura moved in, to take care of the machine that-

[i]*record scratch*[/i]

“And thats all the footage we have.”

“What do you mean ‘that’s all the footage we have’? That’s clearly not the end of the fight.”

Two men sat in a dark room, thick with the smell of cigar smoke. A couple desk lamps cast these dark shadows, allowing them to see others without being seen themselves. A small tv displayed the footage of the ongoing fight, from camera angles that did not make sense given the lack of physical cameras in those locations.

“That’s all we were able to record. There’s actually no sign of any of the combatants on the scene, so if they’re still alive they’ve gotten pretty lost in the myriad of reality plenums. Maybe they’ll pop up again, maybe they won’t.” the man took a drag of his cigar, letting the smoke escape with a sigh. “I don’t think we can consider it a major loss, even if the outcome is a bit disappointing.”

The other man tapped the tip of his cigar against the nearby ashtray, letting bits fall off before returning to it. “And what about the device?”

“No sign of that either. It’s unclear whether it was what caused this unexpected turn of events, or if it was brought along with them. Regardless, we can consider it another lost investment.”

A frown greeted that news. “And an expensive one. Making a machine to separate a patron from their source of power isn’t something you just come up with in an afternoon. Especially when we don’t know for sure if it was a failure or not.” That had been the reason they sent it out after all. If it had separated Viridian from Maura, they could have been sure that it would work against the real deal.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that scientist was involved. She is a wild card.”

Another sigh followed, the thought of a certain Doctor not lingered on for long as they moved on. “I suppose Miss Irving will need to prove herself some other way. It wouldn’t be fair to place this blame at her feet, given the confusing circumstances involves.”

A nod from his companion. “Veronica is something of a wasted investment too. It would have been nice to settle affairs with her little ‘Cradle’ once and for all, but we have bigger business to attend to.”

[b]“Correct.”[/b]

A tall woman’s silhouette could be seen entering the room from a dimly lit doorway, silencing the discussion with a single word. Her heels clacked across the marble floor, each step carrying purpose behind it.

Both men stood up upon seeing her, but the woman waved her hand down, and they sat again.

“Greed,” one of them murmured, seemingly in awe at seeing her.

She produced an old-fashioned cigarette holder, and held it elegantly between her fingers. A tiny flame from a lighter held by an invisible assistant flickered into life, only briefly illuminating what looked like a visage cloaked with a black veil, and lit it. She exhaled a beautiful pattern of interwoven smoke, and spoke again.

[b]“They’re not a serious threat to our operations at this point. I think we can put a pin on this little diversion. Anything else would simply be a waste.”[/b]

She tapped the end of her cigarette on an ash bowl produced by the unseen assistant.

[b]“But I am curious about Al’s new protege. She almost reminds me of Veronica when she started out, with that drive and ambition. Oh, the memories…”[/b]

One of the men nodded once a moment of silence passed, a sign that the woman had stopped speaking.

“Understood. I’ll let Al know.”

And so the curtain closed on one scene, and the story took a step closer towards its conclusion.