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

Branch Nose had already taken a couple of heavy, plodding steps away from the castle wall when Gaia had stopped him with a gentle touch, causing his leaves to slightly sway in mild surprise.
“Oh? What troubles you, Blessed Nymph of Spring?” He asked, and received a most peculiar answer. “And you are capable of harnessing such mystic prowess? You children are wise beyond your years!”

Lily stopped, and turned to watch as Gaia performed the ritual, which lasted a minute due to the complexity of the spell: she drew forth the abundant mana of the otherworldly plane imbued in its natural life, and from the grassy ground grew forth a sapling bearing a single short branch: having seen his face before in a stream during their journey, the venerable tree recognized the visage as his own. Currently, it was like any other sprout, eyes closed as if asleep.

Branch Nose nodded as Gaia then explained how the spell worked. He smiled, fully trusting in the verdant maiden. “Very well. I shall now move back to my spot. When next I close my eyes, they shall be opened anew, in a new perspective.” Rachel glanced at Branch Nose as he now departed with more confident steps towards the woodlet, and raised an eyebrow as Miko revealed an interesting detail. Alicia’s followup question was met with a stern nod. “That is a possibility. But even if that were the case, she did not leave alone, which has me concerned.” She leaned over to look at the Super Map herself as well, and jabbed her finger on the map: for a moment, Miko wasn’t sure if she would puncture through the paper artifact. “This neutral party who left the room…It is not someone we know, hence why it is not marked as an ally or enemy. Let’s start our investigation by finding and interrogating them.”

While Rachel was making plans for their infiltration/assault on the royal castle, Gaia and Connie discovered that the former’s spell had taken root: the small sapling had opened it’s eyes, and spoke in a slightly high-pitched voice: “Oh, this feels…Strange. As if I am inhabiting a body outside my own,” Branch Nose explained as it pulled its two little feet out of the soil, uprooting himself and shaking off the dirt. “But now I can continue my journey with you! I cannot thank you enough, O Daughter of Persephone!”

As the group began to enter the secret passage or the front gates, Alicia’s final concern was answered by Rachel, who tapped the communicator device in her ear.
“I will stay with Branch Nose’s body, and rendezvous with Magical Dream Princess,” she briskly answered. Before Alicia had a chance to protest or otherwise question her, she raised a hand up to her.
“Alicia, you have the potential to be a great and inspiring leader. Not only for Beacon, but the magical community as a whole. I have seen a glimpse of it back at the factory, when you rejected the Mad Hatter’s distractions and took charge. But you still hesitate, just a little. I believe you need a chance to prove yourself, free from the influence of compatriots such as I. Now go forth, and enact justice upon these foul villains who would threaten our world.” As she said that, the group could hear faraway voices coming from the castle, a telltale sign of another wave of soldiers coming to investigate the ruckus outside.

Lily tapped her foot, starting to get impatient, and walked back to take Alex’ hand.
[color=fff200]”Ok, let’s start with that, Rachel. Now let’s go already!”[/color]
Lily’s group headed inside the wall opening. They continued down the darkness of the secret passage, until they found a circular doorway that led out of a large wine cask and into the wine cellar filled with wine casks. The floor was made of red and white rectangles. There were also pillars with spiraling red and white lines resembling candy canes. Up in the wall near the tall ceiling in a corner was a stone face of a walrus with an open maw of pure darkness, the sides of the maw lined with its long tusks, the opening being wide enough for a person to enter. There was a sturdy metal door at the far end of the wine cellar with a magical rune glowing red on it in the shape of a stylized heart-like keyhole. However, most alarmingly, there was a small wooden table at the center of the wine cellar, with two items on it: an empty wine glass, and a wine bottle filled with black, mysteriously shining liquid labeled “DRINK ME”.
Lily crossed her arms while still holding on to her staff.
[color=fff200]”Geez, that’s the most obvious trap I’ve ever seen! Is the Queen even trying?”[/color]

[hr] 
The Pennybot gave out a sigh of relief as the incident was resolved, or at least as much of one as a robotic replica could, and walked towards the truck’s driver’s seat. 
[color=9e0039]“Agreed. We should get moving. Everyone climb aboard, please.”[/color]
Nefer sighed with a shrug, and placed a hand on her own shoulder, twisting her arm around as she also walked back to take the passenger seat on the truck. 
“Welp, that was fun. But I suppose we should get the whole ‘save Penrose’ job done with. This little tussle gave me an idea for a new invention I can’t wait to tinker on~”
Akhenaten grunted, and climbed up to the open back of the truck, followed by various creatures both living and not. All in all, there was barely enough space for MDP and Mac if they squeezed together in the corner.

[hr]
The Mermaid Princess shared in Mayra's enthusiasm, perhaps even to a fault, and laughed along with the chaotic dragon as they approached the royal castle in the distance. More troops began to emerge from the windows and battlements like Lily and Alicia’s groups had previously heard, led by the Gryphon herself. The mighty monstergirl let out an eagle’s cry that carried up to the heavens themselves, and took flight from the tallest tower, wielding a giant bow that shot arrows as large as ballista bolts: each shot was infused with both galewinds and earth-shattering power, and even pierced the sturdy shields and armor of the merfolk.

“WHO DARES DEFY THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, ALMIGHTY RULER OF WONDERLAND!” Her voice boomed out like a hurricane.

“EVERYONE WITH A JUST HEART!” Rachel bellowed back, and deflected one of the arrows with a barrier as the aquatic army rushed forth. And thus, an epic siege on the castle began.

[hr]
Out of the void, a tentacle of black refractions emerged: like an inquisitive snake, or the finger of a being beyond mortal cognition, it slowly wrapped around Mariette’s hand, passing her palm, traveled up her arm, slithered over her eyepatch, and was about to touch her forehead: Mariette knew this was Asengav’s method to check on the mindbending condition of his chosen Mahou, and reapplying it in case of a sudden case of free will. However, just as it was about to make contact, Mariette spoke of her plan, and the tentacle stopped. For a moment, Mariette had to wait, as the tentacle shifted and refracted, shards of realities emerging in and out of its chiselled, glassy texture. Finally, it slithered back, looping briefly around her stuffed Bunny, before it retreated back to the infinite void.

Mariette then felt tentacles wrap around her feet, and she was suddenly pulled down into the “floor” of the blackness: but instead of submerging in something akin to liquid, it was like passing through a cloud that turned from solid to transparent, the misty aperture leading out from the mirror and back to the real world, causing Mariette to fall were it not for her own tentacles quickly pulling her upright before it could happen. The mirror then began to form black and purple swirling mists on its surface, like spiralling tendrils: the first step of the ritual had been completed. Mariette now knew that Asengav had approved of the plan, and it was up to her to complete the ritual by entering the other mirrors before the final one, where Asengav would reach forth using the Black Mirror.

However, shortly after Mariette was finished, she heard the Queen speak in an agitated voice:
“It seems you are done. Good.” She took a full gulp of her teacup, and smashed it on the ground. “The Mint found us, dear Alice.” She then stood up from the bird. “We must hurry to the next mirror. Also,” she mumbled as she opened two portals: one of them led to the next mirror’s location, and the other led to Gryphon, who was in mid-combat. “There is a Mint spy in the ranks! Royal Flush them out!” “Understood!” The commander answered, and the portal closed.