Miko sighed as everything came to a close against the Mad Hatter. ‘Unreasonable people are the worst,’ Miko declared. She glared at the “hostage” with her Third Eye… just to make sure he wasn’t another trap.

Penny got the attention of both the twins after having learned Mariette was captured.

‘Oh. Time to save her again, huh?’ Ronin chuckled, not the first time she had to go on a mad mission to save that particular girl. When Penny and more decided to stay behind to collect advantages for them…

‘You can count on us! Just show up with something really impressive after, alright?’ Ronin called, excited to see what they’d show up with.

‘Oh. But you three are, like, half our combat strength…’ Miko said, somewhat quietly, but Ronin had already called out the parts before. ‘Alright, we’ll make do.’

‘We still have Dreamy!’ Ronin objected to Miko’s previous statement.
‘I suppose we do,’ Miko nodded, agreeing that she had a point there.

Then Mac showed up and introduced herself. Ronin looked up with amazement, while Miko looked up and averted her gaze from the creature.

‘Wow! You managed to tame the chicken? I like it! Well done!’ Ronin called out in amazement.
‘“Taking over for Knight of Tonight”, you say… I didn’t really know who she was, either, but…’ Miko was perplexed by this, so… ‘Who are you?’ Miko asked, the question serious in its tone and seeking a deeper answer.

‘Ey, she just said she’s Mac!’ Ronin chuckled.
‘… I meant beyond that, obviously,’ Miko replied, unamused, still averting her gaze.
‘Are you going to just ask that without telling anything about yourself first?’ Ronin asked, looking towards her sister in amusement.
‘… Uh, it didn’t seem important, I’m practically a nobody. I’ll do that if she asks…’ Miko sighed at her sister’s strange lines.

Regardless. After that, Alicia asked if they were ready.

‘Oh. Is this the “last chance to go back before you’re locked into the final fight cutscene” question?’ Miko asked. Ronin laughed beside her.
‘Except, you know, the battle isn’t going to wait for us even if we’re not ready here. It’s gonna happen, with or without us,’ Ronin said. Ronin and Miko exchanged a glance, nodded, and spoke at the same time.

‘We’re ready!’
‘We’re ready!’

__________________




Mayra laughed as she delivered her beat-down, punching into the staff, burning the threads, knocking away the duplicate puppets. Finally, she spun around, delivering the last burning kick that snapped the staff in two, and Mayra stood there grinning.

‘Yeah. That feels good,’ Mayra said, definitely having just taken out the anger she felt at Mariette not letting her attack the queen. Then… the surrendering opponent started reading her a poem. Mayra, not understanding anything, tilted her head and listened.

‘Er… I do the fire with magic? I welcome fish into my jaws? What fish? Are there fish here?’ Mayra asked, looking confused. ‘Was that a spell you cast on me? What did it do?’ Mayra looked all over her limbs for any signs of change. If she found none, she’d be a bit disappointed. Anyway, the others had a reunion over there, and that was nice and all, and then-

‘Oh, hi. Who are you?’ Mayra asked Chloe. ‘Hehe, yeah. I’m pretty great,’ the dragon-girl chuckled about the whole could have rewarded her. ‘I’d still take the reward!’

Then. Run along now.

‘Huh, yeah. That reminds me. Where are we going? Are we invading the castle?’ Mayra asked, stepping over to the others… … … but there was then nothing that could prevent her from looking at what was happening next.

Mayra would not interfere. If anyone was going to defend Caterpillar or play the merci-killer, it would not be Mayra. For once, the most chaotic thing she could do was to let it happen. An uncharacteristically neutral expression would pervade Mayra’s expression, her eyes focused on the event. She’d let it play, start to finish, without a single motion. She’d have to be shook if someone wanted her to pay attention to anything else.

As the event concluded, assuming it did as intended, Mayra still stood motionlessly… until Chloe asked her questions. Then Mayra smirked.

‘Cool.’

Lily giggled cheerfully as the animals swarmed over Alex.
”Oh, look how they’ve missed you, Alex! They’re so cute!” She then offered a hand to lift Alex back up.
”Can you believe they’ve been looking for you ever since you went missing?
She exchanged warm smiles with Gaia and Connie as they also reacted to the adorable interaction.
”I’m not sure myself, but I think some of his Beast magic must have rubbed off on them after all the time we’ve kept them in the apartment, tee hee~”

Lily felt truly happy since the past several days since she was separated from Alex. Now, nothing could possibly ruin her sunny mood.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a magical girl show, with the episode ending in everyone laughing.

It was about to turn far worse than she thought was possible as Chloe bound Caterpillar down.

”Hey Chloe, what are you doing-"

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

She screamed loudly as she witnessed Chloe perform a bone-chilling ritual: Caterpillar, who was at her wit’s end, sweated profusely as the “metamorphosis” began. She screamed in agony, begging for Chloe to stop. But of course, her pleas came on deaf ears.

”No! Don’t!”

Lily ran over to Chloe, only to be stopped by the raised hand of an ossiarch who stepped between them. She summoned her magical weapon, but it shook in her hand: she only now fully realized the kind of power that Chloe now held. She glanced aside at Mayra, who simply stared. And before anyone realized it, the screams ended inside the shell of bone, and Lily averted her eyes with a disgusted grimace.

”Chloe…She…She could have been mind controlled. We know the Queen has that power. She could have been innocent. And even so, you…”

Her breath shuddered as Chloe proceeded to interrogate her newest addition to her legion of abominations as if she had done nothing wrong.

The Caterpillar, of course, answered. “The Queen loves her daughter Alice very much,” she answered in a stilted, emotionless voice, causing Lily to cover her mouth, starting to feel sick.
“She has built a room for her at the highest point, enchanted against forced trespassing, normal or magical. That is where the person you know as Mariette has most likely been taken. The castle is enchanted to elude attention by any direction other than the main gate, but if one crosses their eyes, they can proceed toward it from any direction. There is a hidden entrance on the west side of the royal castle: to open the way, one must touch three stones forming an archway on the wall in the following order: yellow, blue, orange. The castle has numerous traps, both mechanical and magical. I helped create some, but some are maintained by other members of the court or the Queen themselves. The Queen has the Gryphon guard the throne room, which has the only stairs that lead to Alice’s room. She also has the Cheshire Cat, who has been assigned the castle maid and Alice’s personal servant. I do not know what magic she possesses, but the Queen has mentioned her to possess nine lives.”

Finally, the Caterpillar, or what was now left of her, went quiet.

”Unforgivable…”

Lily gripped her bow with a tight fist, her head cast downwards.

”I should have known you haven’t changed, Chloe. Even if you’ve changed your appearance, you’re still just as evil as ever.”

She cast her eyes up at her, and looked at her with a cold fury, something which was very uncharacteristic for the otherwise cheerful girl.

”I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done. Once we are done with the Queen…I will bring you to justice, and save everyone. No matter what I must do.” She said, looking aside at Caterpillar. Though, she wasn’t looking exactly at her. Rather, she seemed to be looking at something else, as if Caterpillar’s gruesome transformation reminded her of something.

As Lily confronted Chloe, Gaia could feel a nearly imperceptible shiver in the ground nearby, and realized that the tall tree next to the newly planted sapling seemed to possess sapience, as its branches lightly swayed in the air despite the lack of a strong breeze.

“O Blessed Nymph of Spring…” She saw as a face slowly emerged from the bark, and heard the tree speak in an old yet venerable voice.

“I have witnessed the wish you granted today, and wish to aid you in your quest as a show of my gratitude for being freed from the puppet’s curse. Mayhaps I can be of use? My seeds have flown across Wonderland, my roots having nourished on waters far and between. I have heard whispers on the wind, and conversed with animals of all sizes. I know much, and have a connection to the nature of Wonderland. Alas, if only I was blessed with legs, then I could accompany you on your journey.” His branch of a nose drooped down.
“I suppose I am unusual for my yearning to ambulate. Not many magical trees would be, I assume.”

---

-Flashback to after the Queen brought Mariette to the castle-

Mariette didn't know if she believed what she was saying about these omnipotent beings. She didn't really have evidence against it, but it sounded unbelievable. That said…

‘So… the goal is to stab this sword into the Nexus… and by doing so, rewrite the story?’ Mariette asked, to check if she understood it correctly.

“No, my dear, Alice,” the queen responded warmly, as if eager to teach her daughter about the mystery.
“You can't stab the Nexus, just as you can’t wound magic itself. But the Grand Magistrate is different, and they are found within. My Storyslayer is capable of killing them, all I need is to reach them in the Nexus. And once I do, their heads will roll before my feet. Then, I can brandish it as a quill, and punctuate my perfect ending with a perfect dot.”

‘So we invade the Nexus, and slay the Grand Magistrate…’ she said, and she had two questions about that. She started with the first one.

‘How would one enter the Nexus? Do you simply need to be in Penrose somewhere, or is there an access point?’ Mariette asked, a question that could become relevant to Mariette herself should she survive this ordeal and should the forces of Penrose be victorious. She kept the other question in the back of her head for now.

“That is a question I have sought the answer to for a long time, my dearest daughter,” the queen answered. “It is quite elusive, you see. But now I know for certain that it does manifest itself into the reality we know in Penrose, in the form of a door, but only when the Story reaches a critical point.” She paused to let Mariette take in her words before she continued.
“You might next ask what would be critical for the Story the Grand Magistrate so loves. My answer: complete chaos. And I know just how to achieve it.”

Mariette swallowed a little, as she asked what had to be the most obvious question to ask. ‘And… how will you achieve it?’

“By introducing something to Penrose that shakes the multiverse to its core. But I believe you already know what that could be,” she added afterwards with a mysterious, if subtly unsettling smile.

Mariette, unfortunately didn’t know, and felt forced to ask. ‘And… what would that be?’ she asked.

The Queen smiled with more glee than was appropriate. “Oh, I think you will like the surprise your mother has saved for you, and on your unbirthday, no less. Soon, the Grand Magistrate will know true fear as we write a new ending to their story: the multiverse as our canvas, and the blood of Asengav’s corpse as ink to our quill.” She then gave a warm smile after revealing her ultimate plan: casually mentioning the murder of a Horror, and Mariette’s own Patron at that. “That’s right: I will introduce a catastrophe so unimaginable for the Grand Magistrate that it will cause the reality plenum itself to quake throughout it's every page: the death of a Horror. But for now, I must plan for how to achieve such a thing, though I have an idea of where to start…Anyway, was there something else you’d like to ask, Alice dearest?”

Mariette stared blankly at the Queen. She wasn’t able to form her words. But, then, the Queen’s question woke her up, reminding her there was another thing she wanted to ask that she had shelved. Mariette shook her head, it was time to return to the other question before she forgot it. ‘What can or will the Grand Magistrate do to attempt to prevent this from happening? Do they know you can do this?’

“Of course they know, for they write the Story. But even they cannot oppose me directly, for they are not protagonists or even background actors, merely screenwriters. My villainous role gives me the right to direct the narrative, and my pen the right to oppose their designs. But writers as they are, they have already sent all kinds of nuisances after me, and will continue to send even more with no proper ending. That is why we must make our own.”

‘Um…’ Mariette felt her next question might be a little stupid. ‘How does a screenwriter send things after you…?’ she asked, not sure if she understood.

The Queen slowly shook her head. “They use the magic of the Story to direct Mahou towards conflict, giving weapons and motivation as if by happenstance. Some might call it twisting the winds of destiny. But the truth is that they write the cycle of hope and despair itself into magic, and as it wells from the Nexus it becomes reality. Feast, followed by famine. Drama, followed by resolution. Was it a mere coincidence that you were freed from Asengav’s will? How the battle between you and Justine ended? It was the Grand Magistrate pulling the strings from the background all this time. And now, they will try to oppose me.”

Mariette blinked in surprise. ‘How did you know about that? The… freed… part?’ She was keeping that very much as quiet as she could, because if Asengav found out, he’d recapture her immediately. ‘Is that… the Eye of Story Reading, as you called it…?’ She said something about that earlier.

The Queen sighed, placing a palm over the heterochromic eye. “It was one of my few visions I had of you, ever since the one where you gifted your friends with such lovely presents at a time of merriment. The Eye only gives sporadic glimpses upon the Pages, and most often on attacks on my person. But that Page was what inspired me to commit to this path. For I wish to share in my daughter’s will for freedom, from the clutches of those who would try to control us, to rob us of choice.” Mariette would realize the irony of those words as she then turned towards the door, preparing to leave Mariette in her lavish prison. Nonetheless, she didn’t seem to realize it, as she nodded to herself.
“Yes, Alice…Soon we will make this Our Story. Nobody else’s.”

‘I… I understand,’ Mariette replied, somewhat taken aback by the information she had gained in this conversation. She understood the queen’s goal. She wasn’t sure if she wanted her to succeed with it. In the circumstances that the Grand Magistrate was real, then so far, they’d kept Penrose alive. No villain had won, as of yet. In addition, who was to say slaying them would result in anything other than a power vacuum that would quickly be filled, probably by the vengeful one that had given her the blade in the first place. That said…

If they were real…

… were they the reason…

… why Mariette’s father had treated her like he had?

The reason…

… she had to flee…

… and then got captured by Asengav?

‘… Mother…’ Mariette opened her mouth for a final question. ‘How will you kill Asengav?’

The Queen had placed her hand on the doorknob when Mariette asked one final question. “A good question, dear Alice, and not one I yet have the answer to. However, speaking with you, my mind is becoming clearer.” Her Eye of Story reading glowed.

“I think I saw a glimpse of what looked like mirrors in Penrose, placed by your loyal court…Yes, that is the answer: summon him, and he will be within reach. Like baiting the Jabberwocky and snicker-snack goes the Vorpal Blade! You are ever so brilliant, my cleverest daughter.”

With that the queen departed, informing Mariette that she would be needed in the immediate future.

Mariette stood silent, watching the Queen walk away, standing silent.

That… that was her plan for Asengav, wasn’t it. Mariette’s plan. Except with a different finish.

It seemed that Mariette had some things to consider…

As she now had spent more time on information gathering, she saw that the Lilliput Princess had successfully managed a retreat of the Green Helms despite the casualties by Chloe’s undead legion. The Mermaid Princess was rapidly moving through the rivers of Wonderland, her forces having split to smaller yet quite sizable detachments across the smaller rivers. Notably, one of these detachments ran through a river that passed by the border of the desert where Mad Hatter’s factory was situated. The dwarves and the forest forces were led by Snow White and the Forest Princess respectively, congregating around the cities near the valley where the royal castle stood.

---

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Mac's introduction, but didn't say anything. However, she sighed as MDP already started going off on her own before Alicia had even managed to ask whether the group was prepared, though she did nod when the twins expressed their eagerness for what must be a dreadful battle. The group promptly separated, with some heading toward the exit. “How could someone like her let herself be captured? I suppose even the Sinner of Sloth was not untouchable,” she scoffed. “Well, I suppose the timing is convenient, considering the royal castle was my next target. I just didn’t expect to head there so soon. I suppose we won’t have time for a coffee break, Paladin Seraph,” she added afterwards as something of a dry joke. Akhenaten, however, uncharacteristically let out a guffaw as he adjusted the device on his back, causing Rachel to blink.
“I-It wasn’t that funny! Stop that, you stupid boulder!” However, Alicia could tell from the way Rachel quickly averted her eyes and the slight blush on her cheeks that she seemed to appreciate the response. On their way, the twins checked the engineer for any suspicious magic: aside from the regular enchantment given by the Queen to all in the Card Army, there was nothing notable. He kept standing there with his arms up, still seemingly having no idea what will happen.

The group headed back outside, where they saw the remnants of Mad Hatter’s robotic forces scattered about, either destroyed or turned off by Penny’s hacking of their control system.
Magical Dream Princess gathered the rest of the chessbots that remained from the battle, alongside Mister Hatty, the manticores, and the Clock Cop. It was quite a force, evident from the pastel-colored girl’s attunement with Wonderland’s magic.
“There’s too many of us to transport at once with the Beacon teleporter,” Rachel noted as she adjusted her glasses and tapped her magicoms. “The larger chessbots and manticores are especially a problem,” she added, having seemingly already accepted that MDP was bringing them along.

She was about to continue speaking, when her eyes focused on something in the distance. “Possible hostiles incoming,” Rachel warned the group. In a moment, the group saw small, green creatures bizarrely resembling cacti with blank black eyes shuffle about beyond a couple of the rising dunes, not quite able to make out how many there were. However, one thing was certain: they were being watched.

"Ugh" Alexander grunted as he got to his feet with Lily's help "right, I can worry about this weird animal nonsense some other time. Right now we've got other things to deal with" A brief second later, Alexander remembered the deal he made "Shit, that's right" He began frantically checking his clothes for the scroll, and quickly found it hidden in an inside pocket "Ugh, thank fuck. Hey, does anyone-" and that's when the screaming started

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"What the fuck!?" he jumped in shock and horror. The sight of...whatever it was that Chloe was doing having caught him completely by surprise. "...The hell even was that?" His gut instinct was to call it necromancy...but this felt like something more. Before he could really respond to what just happened, the animals started acting up again to get his attention "Okay, okay! Listen, I can't exactly leave right now; there's a huge mess here that needs to be dealt with first. So home will have to wait" This seemed to calm them down 'Wait...did they actually understand that. Like, can they comprehend English or something? Fucking magic man' Tabling that thought for later, Alexander tried to change the subject from...that thing that Chloe just did "Hey um, this might sound kind of weird but; does anyone here know where I can find someone called the Guardian? Something to do with a Nexus or something."

Things seemed to be going well. Alexander had been rescued, the immediate danger had passed, and the magical boy’s animal friends were being especially adorable. Sadly, that brief period of tranquility was shattered by Lily’s horrified scream, one echoed by Connie when she saw what had prompted it. She didn’t know Chloe very well, but what the girl was doing to their captive foe was beyond sadistic...

“Mother’s Mantel…” Gaia gasped, before swiftly moving to position herself in front of her now hyperventilating best friend and wrapping the masked maiden in a tight hug. “It’s okay, Connie. It’s okay,” she reassured the shuddering girl in a soothing tone, before covering her ears in an attempt to block out Caterpillar’s tortured cries. It took some time, but eventually, Connie’s shuddering started to subside and her panicked breathing began to slow. “That’s it, little sister,” Gaia told her with a reassuring smile. “Deep breaths. In and out. Just focus on my voice,” she continued as she gently ran her fingers through her whimpering friend’s hair. “I’m right here. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I-I-It w-was s-so h-h-horrible, M-Mia…” Connie sobbed, her shaky voice filled with anguish as she pressed her face into her friend’s chest.

“I know, little sister,” Gaia replied somberly. “I know…”

By that point, Caterpillar’s shrieks of agony had quieted, replaced by an unnerving monotone, calmly relaying information. This was followed by an enraged Lily vowing to make Chloe pay for committing such a vile act. Yet, their altercation wasn’t nearly as important to Gaia as Connie’s wellbeing, and she firmly intended to remain with her friend until she was certain the timid girl had fully recovered. Thus, it came as something of a surprise when she heard the newly restored tree’s sagely voice call out to her.

Casting her gaze in its direction, while continuing to hold Connie close, the verdant maiden saw that a face had formed on the trunk of the great tree. When it offered to journey with them and assist in their efforts, the nymph-like young woman treated it to a warm smile. “We would be greatly blessed, indeed, if you were to grace us with your accompaniment and generously bestow upon us your wise counsel, my venerable friend,” Gaia told the great tree. Then, taking the now mostly recovered Connie by the hand, she gracefully glided over to the tree and gently placed her other hand upon its drooping branch. “And the gift of mobility is one that I would be only too elated to bestow,” she told the tree, her emerald hand glowing with mystic power as she caressed the branch. Within moments, the great tree’s roots would twist together into a pair of mighty legs, enabling it to travel with the motley group as they continued their journey. “Now then, my venerable friend, would you be so kind as to lead us to the Queen of Heart’s castle?” the botanical beauty inquired.

Then she heard Alexander inquire about a Nexus and its Guardian…

“Yes, I am familiar with the Guardian,” Gaia replied, being careful not to reveal too much. “And I believe I should be able to arrange a meeting with them, once we return to Penrose. Why do you ask, if I may be so bold?”

---

As MDP led her whimsical procession across the desert sands, she was blissfuly oblivious to Mac’s (and not Ashley’s) reappearance atop a now tamed Chicken Ultra Crushing Mega, or to the normally unflappable Rachel’s little tsundere moment with a monster that was partnered with one of The Beacon’s most hated enemies. Instead, she was fully absorbed with playfully twirling her wand like a baton as she skipped along, while singing a silly marching song. “Let’s havey wavey a paradey wadey today~! Let’s havey wavey a paradey wadey, horaaaay~! It’s super duper funsie wunsie and nothing wothing will go wrong~! Not when Mister Wister Sunny Wunny singy wingies along~! (giggle~!)”

Indeed, the smiling sun which warmed the desert sands had begun harmonizing with the Princess of Dreams, helping her ensure that her little army walked with rhythm. That way, if there was a giant sand worm in this desert, they would be sure to attract it, and then make friends with it. Needless to say, with all this going on, MDP didn’t hear Rachel’s warning about the approach of potential hostiles, but it wasn’t long before she caught sight of the strange cactus creatures as they shuffled over the dunes. Also unsurprisingly, the sight filled the childish girl not with alarm, but with joy. “Oooh~! New friendy wendies~! Yaaay~!” MDP cheered, doing a cartwheel and jumping into the air. “Aww~! And, like, they look sooo super duper adorable worable, too~! (giggle!)”

Miko's question earned a small laugh from Alicia as she flashed the other girl a grin. "i think we're already in the end game," she pointed out. "But I guess it does have that vibe." It might not have been what she was intending, but it was hard to ignore now that it had been pointed out.

Likewise, Rachel's commented got a shrug of its own. "I guess the Queen thought better with portals than she did." The memory of how she and Mariette had first met popped into her mind, a separate occasion where the then-scheming magical girl had also been caught on the backfoot.

Rachel's joke earned a pause, and Alicia needed a moment to make sure that she had actually heard it. Perhaps their time together was having a positive impact after all. "For some reason I'm not in much of a mood for tea," she added, while simply enjoying the moment.

Soon they made their way outside where their forces gathered, from magical girls to robots to converted magical creatures. It was an eclectic assortment, but it was what they had. Alicia hummed, musing over the problem before Rachel warned that they were under observation. Summoning her bow, Alicia took aim and fired an arcing shot at the nearest of the observers. She didn't intend to hit, merely to make sure that the watchers knew that their subjects were aware of their observation.

Having done that, she returned to the dilemma at hand "We could teleport in an advance force to secure an area for everyone else to come in after them." It probably wasn't the only plan, but it seemed like one with a reasonable chance of success of the options they had available right now.

‘I didn’t mean that…’ Miko said in reply to Mac. ‘I suppose the questions I wanted answers to was…’ she took a moment. ‘What’s your connection to us or our town? Do you live in Penrose? Why are you helping us fight Wonderland?’

‘Heh, what if she just wants to be a mysterious stranger?’ Ronin asked with a chuckle.

‘Then she’ll just not reply. Tell me it’s none of my business… or something,’ Miko sighed at her sister’s silly suggestion.

‘Maybe she’s Alicia’s aunt!’ Ronin suggested. She immediately got an incredulous look from Miko that made her lift her hands in an “I don’t know” pose. ‘It’s possible in this world! And she did say Alicia knows her!’

‘Please disregard her suggestions…’ Miko begged.

‘If she doesn’t reply to your questions, we’re calling her “auntie”!’

‘We are not.’

In any case. Miko and Ronin both nodded to Alicia about her unintended meaning about the question, and then it was time to head out.

‘We might not advance too quickly. You can teleport ahead if you wish. Anything that gets in our way should be able to be handled my our Dream Princess,’ Miko said.

‘Unless the Queen appears. Then it cannot,’ Ronin pointed out.

‘Oh,’ Miko made a noise. ‘She has a point.’

‘Hey, cacti! Are you friendly? You’re friendly, riiiight?’ Ronin asked, while both she and Miko were prepared to raise Reinforcement barriers around themselves and Magical Dream Princess in case the cacti launched an offensive.

__________________




‘…’ Mayra didn’t really understand what everyone was overreacting for. In a not too different present, that girl died because Mayra punched her in the face too hard. ‘… Right! Are we heading for the castle!? They mentioned a secret passway! Orange, yellow, blue… or something!’ Mayra clenched her fists, fire emerging from her hair and along her spine and from her fists.

‘And also something about crossing our eyes! Sure, I can do that!’ Mayra said and her eyes just automatically stopped looking in the same direction with exceptional ease. ‘This looks weird!’ she then promptly stated as the world lost focus.

Anyway, she wasn’t about to head off on her own, so. While the rest were talking, Mayra went over to where Brittany was (unless she had GTFOd off-screen), and promptly picked her up.

‘Hey, I know you! You’re that shopkeeper!’ She then stuck Brittany under her arm as she walked back to the rest, Brittany hanging uselessly on her side. ‘Mine.’

__________________




Mariette did not have an exceptional amount of time to process everything that the Queen had told her. There was a military plan that still needed to be performed, and Mariette had been absent from her command a bit too long. While she was unable to leave this room, she still had some information to provide.

‘Lily. Alexander. Connie. Gaia,’ Mariette opened a mirror directly back where she once was. It happened to be during the time Mayra was off picking up Brittany. ‘I’m afraid I have been captured, but I am safe, I just can’t leave. My portals can no longer be passed through, only talked through,’ she said. ‘The other team is victorious at the factory, and are now rerouting towards the castle. They are-’ and then she told them their rough location at this moment, in case they wanted it.

‘Be careful. The Queen is about, and she has portals just like I do,’ she warned. She did allow them to speak to her too, if they wanted it, but Mariette frankly had more important things to do, she just wanted them updated.

Mariette tried to keep track of where the Queen was with her mirrors, but she also had her own forces to coordinate. The plan was still the same. The Green Helms engage and then retreat, draw their forces into a trap laid by the forces of water, nature and dwarves. Speaking of, there was someone else with an army here that Mariette wanted to talk to.

‘Chloe,’ Mariette tried to contact the other dark magical girl (she is dark right), preferably after she’s received the update she was seeking. ‘I would like our forces to cooperate.’ … Which sounds like it would need greater topological information than what can be expressed in a post, but would like to at least not accidentally get in each other’s way somehow, at least. If Chloe is up for it, it could be some off-screen exchange of information…

…

Albeit, also. Mariette definitely wanted to track the Queen’s movements, if possible. If at all possible… could the Queen truly slay Asengav? Mariette wasn’t so sure she trusted what the plan would be after doing so… but if she could… how could Mariette possibly move to get there? It was… difficult, seeing how she still didn’t want the Queen to kill anyone, and there was the role she had to play in this campaign, yet…

Mariette kept her eyes open, searching for options as mirrors opened a bit of everywhere as Mariette scanned the world.

Lily’s scowl gave way to a trembling lip of her own as Chloe lashed out at her, and she sniffled, holding back her tears.
”I’ll…I’ll find a way. There must be one…” She mumbled, and was left standing there, her entire body shaking from a flux of emotions as Chloe walked away, blending into the crowd of skeletal monstrosities until she disappeared. She turned towards the others, and gave a sad look of sympathy to Connie as she was comforted by Gaia. And then, she looked at Alex, encouraged by him and Mayra both bringing their focus back to the task at hand.
”You’re right, Alex...Mayra. We can’t stay here any longer,” she spoke quietly, and managed to crack a slight smile as the energetic dragon girl crossed her eyes.

It was then that she realized that Gaia wasn’t just talking to Connie, but to the tree that had appeared with Pinocchio. The old oak’s mouth opened in surprise as he was enchanted by Gaia’s spell, and looked at a raised leg in awe. While already tall compared to the girls even when he was rooted to the soil, now he was even taller.
“My goodness! So these are legs, then?” He took a step forward, and exclaimed in glee.
“And you walk by moving them one after the other, how queer! I feel like a leaf blowing it’s way from one gust to another! O Blessed Nymph, you have my gratitude!”

Lily couldn’t help but stifle a giggle at the tree’s entertainingly antiquated vocabulary, and turned to look at Alex when he brought up the Guardian, petting one of the animals absentmindedly as she did.
”Wasn’t that one glowy girl a Guardian? Kayli, I think…” She didn’t manage to finish that thought, as she was surprised by Mariette’s voice coming out of a mirror that appeared close to them. Lily listened intently, followed by sadly placing a hand on the mirror to confirm what Mariette stated, as if longing to hold her hand. She frowned upon confirmation of her being imprisoned.
”Don’t worry, Mariette. You are my friend, and I promise I will rescue you! Because that’s what friends do!” She flashed her a peace sign, and waved goodbye as the mirror faded away.

She summoned her bike. ”Ok, let’s go, Mayr-” she turned, and only then realized that Mayra had disappeared. Just as she was about to ask after her, she had returned, with Brittany tucked under her arm like an oversized doll: the diminutive girl seemed to have recovered from her earlier stupor, though she had a strange look to her eyes, as if she didn’t quite recognize them, as she sang a little song:
“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam…”

”Brittany?” She leaned forward with her hand on her knee and waved a hand before her eyes: she attentively followed after it, her head moving in rhythm while humming the song.

”This must be the Wonderland enchantment Mariette talked about. Oh yeah, that reminds me!” She removed one of her earrings and offered it to Alex.

”These earrings block the enchantment’s effects. You should put one on. As much as I’d love to see you sing and dance, we can do that after we’ve saved Mariette, kicked the Queen’s butt, and done what magicals do best!”

The tree nodded, his branches heaving as he did so, causing a slight rustle of leaves. “I know the way to the Queen’s castle. It’s this way. Just follow me,” he said, as he started walking down the road towards the west…At a slower pace than the rainbow unicorns or Lily’s motorbike were capable of. Lily smiled, but it was the kind of understanding smile you gave to an awkward grandpa or uncle.
”Y-Yeah…”

Meanwhile, after having left the group, Chloe contacted her network of spies that had been posted around Penrose and Bolorton, and quickly got a response from Viper, who was assigned to the occupied town.

“It’s a river on the table.” Her words were corroborated by another Mint agent, who confirmed that numerous portals with red heart motifs have opened up to various royalist hotspots in Wonderland, with military personnel and equipment flowing to the town at an alarming rate. Chloe would further confirm from her undead forces scattered around Wonderland that military outposts and besieged towns began to empty, signs of resistance quieting down: they were all funneled to their world.

---

Rachel’s teeth could be heard gnashing past her closed lips as she held back a cringe after hearing Mac speak, but surprisingly did not speak, having let the audible torment pass by her with a deep breath.
“I can see that,” she curtly responded instead. “They seem to possess some kind of sentience, so you can try,” she responded to Mac after she suggested engaging them in conversation.
However, Alicia then gave a warning shot to the green cactus creatures: they were seemingly alarmed by the threatening display, and scampered past the dunes, only a single smaller one peeking at a farther distance.

“They don’t seem threatening,” Rachel absentmindedly commented, ignoring Mac’s outburst, and nodded as Alicia suggested to form a vanguard unit that could take point. “Hm, good idea, Alicia,” she mumbled as she looked at MDP cartwheel and bound her way across the sands towards the single cactus, who blinked in surprise. The two’s ideas were further enforced by Ronin and Miko, who suggested that they could handle the trip to the castle on their own.

The little cactus found his fear overcome by fascination towards the pastel-colored princess and the small girl as they gave friendly smiles, as it now approached them:

The creature’s limbs did not move beyond two positions, and it instead shuffled from side to side, like a living piece of two-dimensional art. It spoke in a strange, high-pitched language as it now looked up at MDP, followed by shuffling right up to her legs: despite its spiny body, it only stung a little, like a rose bush. It seemed to enjoy the shade MDP naturally provided. Soon, more cactus creatures popped their heads from behind the far dunes, and began to crowd around MDP while gibbering amongst themselves, slightly pushing and nudging each other in an apparent competition to get to the shade: they numbered about thirty in total. One accidentally jumped up on impact and hit the top of its little head against MDP’s bosom, causing a bounce.
Some of them also surrounded Ronin, and hopped around in apparent joy: they seemed to have mistaken her for being one of them based on their behavior of mimicking her movements.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the strange, yet no longer surprising sight of the two carefree girl’s antics. “Very well then. Alicia, I’ll be taking the teleporter back to HQ. Will you be coming with me, or staying with the group?”

---

Mariette, using Absolute Direction, opened a mirror to the throne room, which she saw a quick glimpse of while passing through the castle earlier. There, she saw the Queen of Hearts sitting at her royal seat, numerous portals opened all around her: they opened to various places around Wonderland, and most alarmingly to the dreary landscape of Bolorton, where soldiers and tanks began to quickly gather.

That was when the queen swiftly turned her head towards the mirror with excited eyes, jumpscaring Mariette.
“Oh! You must be hungry, my dear Alice. Unfortunately, mother is quite busy now. But I’ll send the Cheshire Cat to bring you dinner.” If Mariette were to close her mirror, the queen would deliver the message with a portal of her own.

Then, Mariette spent more time observing Wonderland. She confirmed that the Lilliput Princess had taken command of the Green Helms, as they were now drawing what looked like a contingent of royalist troops towards the woods, where the Forest Princess prepared an ambush. The Mermaid Princess’s forces continued advancing, with one detachment now moving away from the border of the desert where Mad Hatter’s factory was situated, having passed by that point. The dwarves were besieging a city near the valley where the royal castle stood, their cannons making quick work of the fortifications, and dwarven thunderers with large rifles breached the gates, only to find little resistance.

“Princess Alicee~?” She heard a knock on the door, followed by a cutesy cat-like voice of a perky female servant. “Can I come in? The Queen has ordered me to only enter if given permission by Your Highness, but I really want to serve some dinner to my adorable mistress, meow~!”

Alexander was surprised that someone here actually knew who this Guardian person was. "Oh thank fuck, that makes things so much simpler. Basically I have a delivery and a message for them, neither of which I feel comfortable talk about too much in Wonderland itself. I'm not sure how safe it would be to given all the Wonderland bullshit going on." Shortly after his explanation, Mariette's message came through "oh, hey um, Mariette. I don't mean any offense, but I really don't want to be your unbirthday gift." he scratched the back of his head slightly embarrassed.

He quickly shook off those feeling though "Wait, before anything else; we need to find Brittany. She was taken alongside me, and we escaped together, but we got separated...somehow, I don't fully remember how it happened. She's not much of a fighter, so it's-" he stopped when he saw the dragon girl walking up with said girl under her arm. "Oh, never mind. I don't know if we have the time to drop her off back at Penrose, so we might just have to take her with us" That was when Lily offered him the earring "Oh, thanks Lily. Wonderland head fuckery is really nasty, and I don't want to go through that again." He moved to put it on, before remembering something; his ear weren't pierced '...fuck it' he simply used the earring itself to preform a sort of field piercing, gritting his teeth through the pain. After a few seconds to adjust he clapped his hands together "Alright, I'm good now. Who's up for some regicide?"

“You are most welcome, my venerable friend,” Gaia told the ancient tree, giving voice to a stream of melodious laughter in response to his gleeful excitement.

Despite her earlier anguish, Connie also couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. “I-I’m so g-glad Mia w-was a-able to h-help you,” she told the giant tree. “A-And t-thanks so m-much for h-helping us,” she added, her mask forming a happy smile.

Then Alexander explained why he wanted to meet with The Guardian.

“I see…” Gaia replied, her emerald lips pursed in contemplation. The fact that someone wanted him to deliver a message and some other unknown item was mildly concerning, but the verdant maiden was thankful that Alex appreciated the need to maintain a degree of secrecy around the matter while they were still in Wonderland. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of Lily, who decided to simply blurt out Kayli’s name, prompting an annoyed frown to mar the nymph-like girl’s otherwise lovely visage.

A moment later, Connie gave voice to a startled yelp as Mariette began whispering in her ear. The Portal Witch proceeded to convey a bunch of information the masked maiden and her companions already knew, or at least suspected (like the team at the factory having achieved their objective). When the bunny-eared girl had finished, Connie stammered out a shaky, “O-Okay…”

“Understood,” Gaia confirmed as well. Taking a look around, the the nymph-like young woman saw that Mayra had located the girl who’d been captured along with Alex, and since she appeared to be very much under the influence of Wonderland’s mind altering magic, it seemed prudent to let their draconic friend keep watch over her for the time being. After all, Lily only had one spare magic earring, and, unsurprisingly, chose to give it to Alex.

Connie cringed when the magical boy subsequently gave himself an impromptu piercing.

“U-Ummm… C-Couldn’t you h-have j-just p-pinned it t-to y-your c-clothes…?” the timid girl inquired, while nervously fidgeting with her hair. After all, that’s what she and Gaia had done.

Meanwhile, Chloe had vanished into the midst of her skeletal army, which, upon closer inspection, resembled pieces from a miniature game Gaia was somewhat familiar with brought to life. It was more than a little strange, yet, the equally strange mad scientist they’d met at the Christmas party had mentioned during one of her rambles that every fictional universe was real somewhere in the myriad multiverses, so perhaps it was only to be expected they'd cross paths with something like this sooner or later. In any event, the greater concern was Chloe’s continued loyalty as, if the dark magical girl was to turn against them, the Daughter of Mother Earth did not at all look forward to engaging in such a conflict…

By this point, Connie had remounted her rainbow unicorn and Lily had climbed aboard her re-summoned bike. Gaia herself was just about to mount her own steed, when the voice of the ancient tree caught her attention. Or, more accurately, it brought her attention to the plodding nature of his steps. Obviously, his lack of speed would be a major impairment, but the botanical beauty already had a solution for that. “May I have the honor of riding amidst your branches, my venerable friend?” she inquired of the great tree. Assuming she was permitted, once ensconced amidst the lush foliage, the verdant maiden would place a hand on one of the branches and send a surge of life energy flooding through the old tree, filling him with renewed vitality and greatly boosting his speed. “Mayra,” Gaia called down to dragon girl. “Seeing as how I have been granted an alternative mode of transport, you and your new friend can ride upon my unicorn, if you wish.”

---

Before MDP could get too close to her potential new friends, a mystical arrow arced overhead and landed in the midst of the cactus creatures. While the projectile didn’t hit any of the strange beings, it ended up causing all but one of them to flee in fright.

“Awww! It’s okie dokie, cactus wactus thingy wingies!” a visibly distraught MDP called out to the fleeing creatures. “Like, whoever whever shot that arrow warrow probably wobably just wanted to play fetchy wetchy with you!”

As it happened, Ronin also joined in with her attempts to befriend the cactus creatures, much to MDP’s delight. She was even more overjoyed a moment later, when their efforts bore fruit in the form of the last remaining cactus shuffling over to them. It was much smaller than the others and chattered in its own strange language as it brushed up against MDP’s legs, causing her to giggle even more than usual. “Tee Hee~! That tickle wickles~!” she squealed. “Aww~! You’re, like, super duper adorable worable~!” the whimsical girl told the creature with a big smile. “Yes you aresie~! Yes you aresie~! And, like, your prickly wicklies don’t hurty wurty at allsie wallsie~! (giggle!)”

Soon enough, the other cactus creatures returned and joined their smaller companion in cuddling the giggling Princess of Dreams, with one even jumping up and bouncing off her chest, much to the bubbly girl’s great amusement. “Like, do you wanna play taggy waggy~?!” she asked the strange creatures, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Glancing over to Mac after her arrow hit the ground, Alicia didn't look particularly apologetic as she responded to the pointed question. "We're in a dimension that actively brainwashes you to support the Queen that we're currently fighting. So yes, I am going to assume that they're hostile," she pointed out.

As it turned out, she was wrong in this particular case. Whether they were already like that or it was some effect of Magical Dream Princess' magic she didn't care to think about too much. For now she silently conceded the point and instead turned to planning out their rescue operation.

"You me, Ronin and Miko should be a solid spearhead for Magical Dream Princess' army arriving after us," she agreed. This seemed like the only plan they were going to get, so she was more than willing to put herself in whatever position was needed to make sure that it succeeded.

Miko looked on with interest as Mac started speaking, and Ronin looked a bit surprised at how well she answered. Miko nodded to both keeping it a secret, and then to that she understood that defending Penrose, her home, was a reasonable explanation. Then, the bit about being Alicia’s aunt… Ronin laughed at the talk of scandal and feelings.

‘Haha! Maybe I didn’t think that one through. But it still could’ve been possible!’ Ronin claimed. Then about being THEIR niece.

‘Um, I don’t think we’re old enough to have a niece your age…’ Miko said, suddenly uncertain.

‘Hey, in this world? Anything could’ve been possible!’ Ronin chuckled and Miko just looked dejected. Then, Mac jumped away to ask someone else what she should do.

‘… She’s friendly,’ Miko simply observed to her sister.

‘Yeah, I like her!’ Ronin said with a smile, and then both of them moved to the next scene.

‘Woah, they’re coming after me!’ Ronin skipped away, because despite her demeanour, she WAS in fact wary of the fact these cute things could be hostile, not to mention even if they were friendly she didn’t exactly want cacti running into them, so she engaged in a little chase where she ran around and the cacti came running after her.

‘… Because you shouted after them,’ Miko said, watching Ronin run in a circle with a group of cacti chasing her joyfully mimicking her movements. Anyway, it was probably time to depart.

‘Okay. Assuming these cacti will not be a problem, we’re ready to depart,’ Eli observed.

__________________




‘What, I get to keep her?’ Mayra asked, lifting up Brittany and staring her in the little magical girl’s delusional face, while Mayra held a blank expression. ‘Cool.’

Gaia offered her the unicorn, making Mayra look up at her in a bit of surprise. Then she chuckled. ‘Yeah, sure, thanks! I’ll be the dragon riding the unicorn, or something,’ she said, before leaping up on the unicorn. She placed Brittany in front of her, facing towards Mayra. Mayra looked over the completely spellcast shopkeeper…

‘Hey, Brittany. You got all the weird magic items in your shop and whatnot. Since I’m saving your life now, I get to take a couple when we get back, right? Sing something if “yes”, say random gibberish if “absolutely”,’ Mayra told her.

Regardless of the result of that, then she refocused on the unicorn. She picked up Brittany again, put her behind her, and then focused on the unicorn. She leaned forward, and spoke into its ear.

‘Hey, unicorn. How would you taste if I ate you? Horse meat, or like a bunch of sweets?’ she asked. ‘Do a good job, or I’ll find out,’ she promised with a whisper, smiling, before doing the kick to announce it was time to gallop!

__________________




‘…’ Mariette didn’t really know why, but she felt compelled to also place her hand to meet Lily’s when she placed her hand there. Mariette didn’t really feel that emotional, but it felt like the appropriate gesture when the other party placed their hand on the mirror, for some reason. ‘I’ll trust you to it,’ she eventually replied.

Alexander made his statement about not wanting to be her unbirthday gift… and actually got the slightest of an amused ‘Hn,’ out of Mariette. ‘I understand. No offense taken.’ She felt a bit embarrassed, too. Because her “mother” had just decided they should be together. Mariette shook her head, and then waved them off.

She then looked at the Queen. The Queen noticed her back, causing Mariette to flinch. But… still, she’d seen enough. The Queen was doing the exact thing Mariette was doing, opening portals and managing her troops. Being the leader. That was Mariette’s role in her team, too. Information-gathering and giving orders over vast distances in the blink of an eye… ‘… Can I watch, if I want?’ Mariette asked back, just to leave the door open to just watching the Queen in the future. Sure, the Queen might know about it, but if she didn’t mind being watched, then…

Still, Mariette did close the mirror in order to look over her troops. Mariette confirmed the plan was pretty much going as intended, when it came to army tactics. She just needed to keep an eye out for threats that could head their way. Which would help if she had contact with the other army commander. She contacted Chloe, who…

‘Oh,’ Mariette made a noise of light surprise, but it was completely reasonable. Who could say there wasn’t some way the Queen could listen within her own tower? While Mariette didn’t have a choice but to risk it… ‘No, you’re right. I’m sorry,’ she said, and closed the mirror, feeling deflated. She could still reach out to Chloe in a pinch, but more communication than necessary was a possible liability. Suppose, that was what happens when you’re the enemy’s prisoner…

As the Queen had promised, Cheshire Cat brought her dinner. Mariette did not want company, but the cat might insist on doing her duty. It would be better to let her deliver the dinner then be on her way. With no mirrors opened…

‘You may enter and then leave the food. Then I want you to leave,’ Mariette declared, turning to the door. … And also prepared herself in case there was more to Cheshire’s visit than what was told. She didn’t think the Queen would assassinate her, but maybe one of the other princesses of the realm might have gotten jealous, or any other circumstance. Mariette was prepared in case she was about to be attacked, anyway.

”...Oh?” Lily did not expect Gaia, whom she considered the very embodiment of serenity and grace, to give her a stern look, and she scratched her cheek, blinking in befuddlement.
”Did I say something-” She was about to ask when she gasped at Alex piercing his ear right then and there, her surprise having been shared by Connie.
”Well, Alex can heal, so it’s not that bad,” she quickly dismissed the awkwardness with a quick shake of her outstretched fingers.

”More importantly…uhh…”

She drove her motorcycle next to the elder tree, who was still going at a leisurely jaunt, only to stop as Gaia requested to ride upon him, leaning his leafy branches down and scooping the verdant maiden up, letting her sit at the canopy. “Of course! My, I remember when there was once a squirrel that collected a stockpile of food. There were so many nuts that winter, I thought the squirrel went nuts!”

Lily looked awkward, yet she spoke up:
”Hey, mister…”

“You may call me Branch Nose, if you please,” the elder tree responded jovially. “It is a name that fits me, does it not? What with my branch that protrudes just like a nose would!”

”Okay, Branch Nose, could you, uhh…” Lily was pained at the prospect of having to ask him to go faster. Fortunately, Gaia came to the rescue once more, imbuing the elderly tree with vim and vigor.
“Ohh! I feel the power! Like a thousand springs in bloom!” The tree then sprinted, it’s long legs bounding over the grassy plains, each step launching the gnarled geriatric forward like a skipping rock. At this pace, while still a bit slower than the rainbow unicorns at full speed, was no longer a detriment to their journey, and thus they were capable of making towards the castle in the far horizon, it’s tall towers the only visible structure so far.

Meanwhile, Brittany smiled as Mayra addressed her, and patted the dragon girl on the head as she switched to a new tune:

Yes ma’m, we pride ourselves on service
You're the boss
The queen, the shahbanu!
Say what you wish
It's yours, in Brittany’s
How about a few more Artifaaacts?

Have some of the weaponry
Try all of the armory
I'm in the mood to help you gal
You ain't never had a friend like me!

The unicorn was less happy about the prospects of being turned to salami, and dashed away like a thunderbolt, carrying the dragongirl and her enchanted companion, letting them easily catch up to Branch Nose and the other unicorns.

---

Viper could be seen blushing at Chloe’s flirting, and puffed up her cheeks with crossed arms, like the most stereotypical tsundere depicted in anime ever could.
“Just because you happen to be nicer than “Mister X In A Mask” doesn’t mean you can just say things like that. You're lucky I don't easily report harassment.” However, her sharp eyes turned a bit softer. “Well, I’ll consider it. But don’t think you can make me work more with flirting! Anyway, I’m going to join the cards now. Going radio silent. Over.” She then transformed into a Heart commander, and turned the corner of a nearby truck, climbing into it like a perfect impostor.

---

Rachel nodded as Alicia confirmed the plan, and a confident smile emerged on her features. She turned her eyes to Mac.
“You should stay with, what is her name again…Magical Dream Princess,” she spoke, having needed to recall the name for a short moment. “With your cock-atrice,” she quickly corrected herself with a scoff, “you can scout ahead on your way to the castle.” She watched as the pink magical girl continued playing with the cactus creatures and chased them around, the plant-like beings seemingly ecstatic about her company as they ran swiftly around in circles, likely due to her not shying away from them despite their spiny nature.

But then, the group heard the strange language spoken in the distance, though it was louder, and most alarmingly, deeper. Then, they saw it: a giant cactus with a twirly mustache was running towards them from the horizon at frightening speed, like a runaway train that cut through the desert dunes.
It was followed after by smaller cactus creatures, likely the same ones Alicia had scared off with her warning shot. However, as it came closer, it stopped with a skid, throwing sand into the air.
The cacti that played with MDP ran up to the jumbo cactus, who seemed to be a parent to the smaller ones as they huddled together. They exchanged words in their strange language, and soon enough the jumbo cactus shuffled closer, until it towered over MDP. Then, it spoke more of the cactus language, and watched the smaller cactuses as they made a cartwheel, followed by also making a cartwheel: it’s gargantuan body flipping at the kind of square-cube law-ignoring ease that could make one’s heart skip a beat from sheer astonishment.

Rachel briefly considered summoning her weapon, but she instead realized what the strange performance was meant to show. “Looks like you two won the cactus father over. Maybe you could convince it to pull your group to the castle with a sled or something. Anyway, we will now be leaving.” When the twins agreed to leaving, she raised a hand to her magicoms. “Baby birds are ready to fly,” she spoke the code phrase, and at that moment she, Alicia, Ronin, and Miko were teleported, leaving Mac, her cockatrice, Magical Dream Princess, and the whimsical party of bots and beasts behind, now joined by a giant cactus and its family.

The four of them returned to the teleporter chamber, where Elora was waiting for them.
“Inquisitor, something urgent has come up!” She spoke, and Rachel nodded. “Don’t tell me..The Queen has begun her invasion?”
“I’m afraid so,” she spoke, followed by summoning her cube, which extended a display screen showing footage from the Bolorton site to the group: they saw the various infantry trucks and tanks as they now began to move in a single convoy down the road to Penrose, leaving the fortified walls of the once peaceful farming village behind.
Rachel sighed. “Seems the Queen has decided to jump start her plans for conquest,” she commented dryly, and turned to Alicia. “Can you trust someone to hold down the fort while we invade her castle? I would like you to accompany me to this fight, Alicia…my friend,” she then admitted with averted eyes, causing Elora to blink in surprise.

---

The Queen smiled warmly at Mariette’s request, and offered a hand to her. “Of course, my darling daughter. Let’s spend some quality time together as mother and daughter, and lay devastation upon the accursed cradle of the Nexus that is Penrose.” After that, Mariette closed the mirror as a new arrival was about to enter the scene.

Cheshire Cat meowed in joy upon being granted permission to enter. “Nyanderful! Now then, if you’ll excuse me!” The door opened, and Mariette saw as the quirky maid entered, holding a silver tray: a mouth-watering steak with melted butter with a side dish of a vibrant red apple with a small handwritten note leaning on it, platinum fork and knife, a crystal drink glass, and a pitcher of finest porcelain were carefully placed on the tray.
“Greetings, Your Meowjesty! I am Cheshire Cat, the castle maid and your personal servant from now on!” She walked towards the table set to the side of the room, and placed the tray on it.
“I will now be leaving, as requested!” She then cheerfully proclaimed, as if every order she received was pure bliss for her. As she turned and began to exit the room, Mariette saw that beyond the doorway, there was a small landing before a spiral staircase descended down a circular chamber. Based on the architecture, she seemed to be at the top of a tower.

The cat-like maid briefly stopped, as if remembering something important. “Oh, before I leave, I must inform you of something important, Princess: please call on me with that bell over there whenever you want my service!” She pointed towards the wall, where a tiny ruby bell could be seen dangling from a fancy wallhook shaped like the side of a stylized heart.
“I’m ready to fulfill every wish you have, such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, changing clothes, playing, pampering, being pampered, being punched, being kicked, being stabbed, being strangled, being cut to pieces, getting immolated, getting blown up, getting shot to the moon, any kind of torture or killing you could ever desire!” She spoke in her usual cheerfulness, as if listing fun games for the princess to engage in. “After all, the Queen has told me how lonely you are, so I wish to alleviate your boredom any way I can! However, regretfully, I only have nine lives to give to my adorable princess. But I’m sure the Queen can grant me more lives should you wish to go on a killing spree! Now then, goodbye!” She then closed the door. However, Mariette could hear her humming to herself from outside the room, as if eagerly waiting for her next order.

“U-Ummm… C-Couldn’t you h-have j-just p-pinned it t-to y-your c-clothes…?”

'...fuck, I'm an idiot. Oh well, I've already punched a hole in my body, might as well commit' He thought to himself as he got on the back of Lily's motorcycle "...wait..." the lingering feeling that he was forgetting something began to creep up on him "Fuck that's right; the freeloaders!" Not having gotten completely used to his pets actually being on a battlefield, he turned to find them not far from him "Hey uh...I don't suppose you guys can turn back to normal or som-Gah!" Before he could even finish asking, the three animals had returned to their normal forms and quickly latched onto Alexander "Dammit, you guys weren't this clingy before. Oh whatever, just hang on tight" he grumbled

"So Lily what exactly did I miss while I was stuck in this hell hole?" he asked her "It sounds like the invasion into Penrose didn't actually get started yet, but I'm not sure. Also, I'm more than a little worried that being in the place so long has fucked with my sense of time, or that there's time dilation bullshit going on, so just to make sure; how long have I been gone?" As he spoke, the worry that he might have disappeared for anywhere close to a year began to leak into his voice

Gaia smiled when the great tree gave his name, the comical nature of which also prompted a small giggle from Connie.

“I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, Branch Nose,” the verdant maiden told him. “You may call me Gaia,” she added. “The young woman in the mask down there is my dearest friend, Connie.”

“I-It’s n-nice to m-meet you,” Connie called up to the ancient tree.

“Riding beside her is our friend Mayra,” Gaia continued. “While our friends Lily and Alexander are the ones riding on the motorcycle.”

Strangely absent from their little procession was Chloe and her skeletal army, but Gaia thought that was probably for the best. There were undoubtedly other matters the dark magical girl’s forces could attend to, and it would ensure they wouldn’t be traumatizing poor Connie with any additional potentially gruesome displays.

And that’s pretty much all that’s going on with Connie and Gaia right now, so let’s check in on some other fan favorite characters that aren’t named Magical Dream Princess.

Angela (aka the magical girl formerly known as the Angel of Hope) is doing various super important tasks for her new patron. She may or may not show up to the Wonderland battle at a suitably dramatic moment, although her big new magical girl name reveal was already spoiled by a certain someone over a year ago, but maybe everyone reading along has forgotten that by now. Let’s hope so.

Kate is regaling Morowa with some stories about her time at Fae Creek Academy, including her first time crossing paths with a certain patchwork pinkette, while having a meal at a treehouse restaurant in The World With No Name’s Wandering Woods. There are also a bunch of other crazy cool things going on in that particular universe at around that same time, but I know none of you gives a shit about that stuff.

Finally, Nykannis is doing Nykannis things, which will be elucidated in the fullness of time, but shall remain a mystery for now.

Look forward to it!

---

MDP was interrupted from her impromptu game of tag with the small cactus creatures by the arrival of a vastly larger cactus being. “Golly wolly~!” the whimsical girl exclaimed, rocking back on her heels and placing a hand to shield her eyes as she looked up at the towering creature. “He’s, like, super duper biggy wiggy~! Like, is this your daddy waddy~?!” she asked the smaller cacti, which were excitedly gathering around the new arrival and gibbering in their strange language. “Wowie zowie~!” the Princess of Dreams cheered a moment later, when the giant cactus did a cartwheel, exhibiting impressive agility for something so large. “That was, like, totally wotally amazing wazing~! (giggle!) Like, do you wanna play gamey wamies with us, too~?!” she inquired with a bright and innocent smile.

Of course, with her painfully limited attention so fully fixated upon the cacti (cactur?), MDP had completely failed to notice that Ronin and Miko had since departed, while yet another potential new friend had arrived. At least, until said new arrival made the mistake of asking her a question…

“Golly wolly goodness woodness!” MDP exclaimed when she whirled around to find a wolf girl siting atop a massive cyborg cockatrice. “Like, thatsie watsie’s a super duper biggy wiggy birdy wirdy! And it kinda winda looks a little wittle familiar wiliar, too…” the ditzy girl added as her ADHD addled brain tried and failed to recall where she’d perhaps seen the creature before. “Oh~!” she cried with delight as a new thought popped into her hyperactive head. “Like, Magical Dream Princess hasn’t ever wever met you beforesie worsie~! (giggle!)” she told the creature’s rider with a big smile. “Like, what’s your namey wamey~?! Magical Dream Princess’s namey wamey is Magical Dream Princess~! And these are her new cactus wactus friendy wendies, and her chessy wessy friendy wendies, and Mister Wister Clocky Wocky Coppy Woppy, and Mister Wister Hatty Watty~! Would you like to be friendy wendies and play some gamey wamies with us~?!” she asked as she began excitedly jumping up and down. “Would you~?! Would you~?! Would you~?!”

With things seemingly worked out here for the moment, Alicia was about to respond to Mac's plea when she was abruptly teleported back to Beacon HQ before she could get the chance. Whoops.

After a moment Alicia mentally shrugged. Eh, it was just Magical Dream Princess. How bad could it be?

Unfortunately not all was well as Elora came over to warn them that the Queen had made a move. "I guess it isn't a big surprise," Alicia mused, her arms folded over her chest. "She knows we just committed to destroying the eggs. Even with them removed, she's probably betting that she can take the place over before we all get back, even if we weren't intending to make a run on her castle. They had taken a gamble and it had paid off, but it seemed there was still a cost in the end.

Considering the situation, Alicia had to acknowledge that their options were still somewhat limited. "We'll have to stall for time and try to get to the Queen before her forces can secure the Nexus," she said, her gaze falling on Rachel. Not that she needed to explain tactics to the Inquisitor, of course. No doubt she had dealt with worse in the past.

Rachel's admission of their friendship took her off guard, but after a moment Alicia's face shifted into a warm smile. It had taken a long time for them to get to this point, but she was glad that all the time and effort had paid off. "We'll do what we have to do to make this work," she answered, agreeing to the need to have some people playing defense here rather than handling it herself.

She then looked back to their other companions. "Ronin, Miko, it's up to you if you'd rather stay here or keep going." If there was something precious here they would prefer to protect, she wasn't going to force them to come with.

‘Yeah, there you have it!’ Ronin chuckled as Mac laid out the facts. Miko looked unconvinced, and started saying…

‘I was more referring to that we’re…’ then her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. ‘Never mind.’ The fact they hadn’t been magical girls for very long, and weren’t that much older than they looked. But it seemed insignificant to argue about at this moment.

‘Wait, huh? Were we heading to-’ Ronin spoke, because she hadn’t entirely understood that they’d volunteered to be teleported back, but that moment was also the one where they were teleported and arrived to the base. Ronin and Miko were looking around, but then Elora displayed that the Queen was attacking. The both of them got serious expressions, as they listened…

And then Alicia asked them that. The two twins exchanged looks, and then looked back up at her.

‘I firmly believe we’ll make more of a difference if you bring us with the attack,’ Miko argued.

‘Not only is it where we want to be, but we’ll be able to heal you all up and keep you healthy and even deflect individual attacks!’ Ronin argued as well. On this point, the twins were of the same mind.

‘We’re not the strongest, so putting us up against a whole army like that isn’t going to make much difference…’ Miko said, looking towards the screen. ‘We’ll do it if you feel we’re needed there, but…’

‘If you’d have us, we’d like to support you at the castle, ma’am!’ Ronin concluded, and the two looked at her with determination. After all, they knew Mariette was holed up in the castle now, and both of them still felt connected to their former master, and wanted to save her.

Ronin and Miko were really bad on large battlefields with many opponents. Not only did they not really resist gunfire, they lacked the firepower or barrier strength to either eliminate the armies of opponents or resist their firepower for long. They were better suited supporting stronger people, or dealing with single stronger targets.

__________________




When Gaia introduced Mayra to Branch Nose, Mayra waved and smirked to him. ‘I won’t light you on fire!’ she promised.

Mayra smirked widely as Brittany emerged in song in response to her inquiry. Not only did she sing, singing meaning “yes”, but she also sang “yes”!

‘I like you! I’m gonna hold you to that!’ Mayra stated, and then held on as she rode on the terrified unicorn along with the rest of the party.

‘Yeeeaaaah! Speeeeed!’ She would not object to overtaking the whole group, if she could.

__________________




‘…’ Mariette stared in pretty much oppressive silence as Cheshire came in, placed the tray over there, introduced herself and made a multitude of offerings, some making Mariette’s eyebrows twitch a bit, before finally leaving… and standing right outside the room. Which was troublesome, in case Mariette wanted to talk to someone. She could have cat hearing, for all she knew. That said, that time was not right now.

Instead, Mariette was embracing her “Mother”’s offer to watch as she would “lay devastation” on Penrose… which sounded concerning. Mariette was unable to actually take the Queen’s hand through the mirror, but she could nod appreciatively and now place the mirror closer to the Queen, properly by her side, so she could watch what she was doing in greater detail. With that, she should be in the best position to judge if whatever she was directing her firepower at needed urgent assistance or not, and if there was anything Mariette could do to help…

Lily was surprised by Alex’ animal companions transforming back to normal, and giggled as they clambered over him.

”Can they transform back too? This is just like in Model Warrior Julianne! It’s so cool!”

She glanced back at him after he posed his question.

”Well, the meeting ended with Penny and Chloe making a truce and us agreeing to work with Mint, for the time being at least. With their help, we decided to split off into two groups. The other group with Alicia in it went after those Wonderland eggs, like the one we saw in Bolorton,” she said. She paused her words as she saw how Mayra passed by their group with a roll of her eyes, Brittany hanging on with a lazy smile on her.

”Uh, I think it’s been a couple of hours since we arrived here, but I’m honestly not sure. It would be bad if time passed faster in our world again,” she added, now sounding a bit concerned as well. She glanced up at Branch Nose.

”Mister Branch Nose, what time is it here?”

However, the venerable old oak could only shake his trunk as he kept stomping through the land, making sure to keep his treetop steady for Gaia. “I do not know. For us trees, there is no such thing as time, for we do not worry about keeping it. The seasons may change, years may be added to our circles, and we may even wither and die someday, yet life is so much more than counting the little hands on a clock, or thinking of the sun’s journey across the sky. We live through every moment, and every moment lives through us.”

Lily sighed; she couldn’t really disagree with him as he clearly had a different outlook on life, but it was a disappointing answer nonetheless.
”Well, thanks for answering anyway.” She glanced back at Alex again.
”So, did you and Brittany manage to escape because of this Guardian you mentioned?” She asked, curious to hear about his side of the story during their trip.

---

After a while, the group finally arrived within the vicinity of the royal castle: a moat alongside a wall surrounded the massive structure, with the drawbridge pulled up, and the occasional Club guard patrolling the walls. Lily pouted. ”So, if Chloe-ified Caterpillar is right, there should be a secret way in, right?” She mumbled, and looked around.
”Something about stones, I think? I was so mad at her, I didn’t really pay much attention.”

---

As Mac and Magical Dream Princess conversed, they could hear the sound of an engine coming from the direction of the factory. The little cactuses scurried behind the jumbo cactuar, who hopped in place, as if trying to scare away the source of the noise, which turned out to be a pickup truck with Wonderland insignia. The truck came to a stop, and a familiar magical girl stepped out: Penny. She waved at the two. They also saw Nefer in the passenger seat, who seemed busy tinkering with some kind of device.

"Sorry for being late: had to take a moment to fix this up in the garage.”
She looked around, her eyes briefly flashing, a sign of her scanning the area. “Based on the residue of teleportation magic, I’m guessing the others have already returned back to Penrose?”

---

“Agreed,” Rachel spoke after Alicia, and gave an understanding nod as the twins made their case on why they should stay with them. “You may not be strong, but you are capable enough to know your own limitations, and where to best apply yourselves. Those skills are what separates great Mahou from common ones,” she added, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. “Beacon counts itself fortunate to count you among their allies, official members or not.” She was about to continue her speech when someone arrived at the chamber from the corridor: it was Kimble, who tackle-hugged Alicia. “Alicia! You’re back! Did everything go well?”
Rachel sighed. “We succeeded in destroying the Conjuration Eggs. However, the Queen still intends to proceed with her invasion, and in fact has already begun directing her legion at Penrose. She has also taken Mariette hostage back at her castle. We intend on going there and stopping her.”

Kimble looked serious, and then looked towards the others, and finally Alicia. “You need someone to defend the city while you’re gone, right? If it’s not too much to ask, could I do it?” She asked, her eyes burning with determination.
“I don’t have too much experience, but I’ve been around the local Beacon girls long enough to know some by name. I could also ask Sally for help.”

---

The Queen seemed jubilant as Mariette placed her mirror closer to hers, and decided to take the opportunity to teach her daughter about military tactics. “My dear Alice, today I will show you how to conquer a city,” she spoke. “First, you need an army suitable for the task. And not just rank-and-file soldiers either: like an intricate machine with different cogs running inside it, an army also requires a variety of roles to function properly. Here are the Clubs: your standard troopers, equipped with gem rifles and gem grenades, with scouts as a vanguard force, and heavy weapon teams to support the main force. And here are the Hearts, whose role is to-” At that moment, Mariette heard Cheshire Cat knock on her room again. “Princess Aliceee, are you eating your dinner? If you need help, I can cut the steak into smaller morsels and feed you~” she spoke with glee.

It seems the Queen heard the exchange, as she glanced in Mariette’s direction. “Oh, don’t forget to eat your food while it’s warm, young lady. You have a lot of growing up to do after all,” she then said: it wasn’t clear whether she was genuinely oblivious about the lack of aging that regular magical girls had, or whether it was her trademark insanity.