Alicia continued to illuminate the small passage as Alex, Ronin, and Miko each made their way through with the aid of their powers. Soon they rounded a corner and passed out of sight, and Alicia waited several moments before stepped away and to the ground. "And now we wait," Alicia said aloud to no one in particular. Hopefully this worked out. She'd feel really silly if they had to turn around and go back outside just because there was no way past a single door.

As for other matters...

As one might expect, Alicia wasn't the sort of person to carry around some unknown item when she had finite pocket space and was on a more important mission. The vial she had received after her trip to The North had been left in Beacon HQ, and was probably in some lab at that very moment. Whether anyone there would notice what was a transpiring was a question that Alicia could not answer in that moment.

To Connie’s great relief, her magic seemed to be effective at ensuring that the menacing mollusks would not soon awaken from their nightmare prison, and thus prove no impediment to a potential scouting mission. “T-Thanks, Lily,” she replied after hearing the greenette’s congratulations, her mask forming a happy smile.

Alicia then suggested that Ronin, Miko, and Alexander should be the ones to explore the passage, prompting a frown to form on the face of Connie’s mask. “P-Please be c-careful!” she bid the trio, her trembling hands clasped together in front of her chest.

When she noticed the small team preparing to embark, Gaia spoke up, tentatively raising a viridescent finger, “Might it not be best if…?”

“We remove the oysters first”, was what the verdant maiden was going to say, but before she could finish, the ever impetuous Ronin had already entered the stone walrus head.

“Well, I suppose that also works,” Gaia conceded with a small sigh. She had thought the three reinforcement specialists might want to conserve their mana, but this course of action did have the benefit of being faster, and time was something of the essence, after all.

---

“Wowie zowie~!” MDP exclaimed upon catching sight of the queen’s castle at long last, her rambling song coming to an abrupt halt, just as the Princess of Dreams herself did, rocking back on her heels and dramatically placing a hand over her eyes so she could better peer off into the distance. “Like, theresie wheresies the castle wastle placey wacey~! And, like, soooo many wany people weple are playing waying a really biggy wiggy gamey wamey all aroundy woundy it~! (giggle!) And insidey widey it, too~!” she added with a big smile as she began excitedly bouncing up and down. “Like, Magical Dream Princess even weven sees Mayra Wayra over theresie wheresie~! Actually wactually, she sees lots and lots of Mayra Wayras~! (giggle!) Like, Magical Dream Princess wants to play, too~!” the whimsical girl cheered, holding her arms out like airplane wings and running towards the (about to be far more) chaotic battle. “Like, come onsie wonsie, everybodywody~!” she called to her procession of friends. “We’re allsie wallsie gonna havey wavey, like, soooo much funsie wunsie together wether~! (giggle!)”

”Sounds like a plan, Princess!“

Mac sprung out of the truck and spread her arms. She made airplane noises as she kept pace with their pink haired leader. Or rather, Pink-haired-VIP-that-needed-to-be-protected-from-her-insanity-at-all-costs.

---

”Hmmm…”

With Viper’s fate ultimately being out of her hands, and a new mystery needed investigating, it seemed like a possible thing that was worth looking into. Normally Chloe would not lower herself to the position of rumor investigator, but with the bridge between Lily and herself thoroughly burned, this was perhaps the best use of her time.

”Let’s look into these rumors.” Chloe vaguely remembered the novel having a chapter that featured some talking flowers. She never read it, it was just something she remembered her dorm mate telling her when she was coasting through college.

”If you believe it would forward nagash’s will…“

As it turned out, a group of blood soaked skeletal abominations weren’t exactly the most subtle scout group, but there were enough of them that they could comb Penrose quickly. Something was bound to show up.

---

Su and Mika continued to rush in, totally oblivious to what they were running into.

The group of horror-girls tensed up when the Queen lifted her blade. It looked like a motion that would start a fight, after all.

_{‘Don’t kill…!’} Mariette quickly whispered as she realized the Queen was attacking, not knowing she had nothing to fear yet.

When the Queen swung her sword, the agents jumped in various directions, Victoria and Tullia one way, Suzette and Ronja another. Tullia conjured an ice-shield to protect their side, while Ronja threw out a reinforced web that would shield them, just in case dodging was not enough. Lea was flying high already while Freya sprung aside, both prepared in case it was a Killing Blow that was being fired…

But they were all mistaken, for the attack was not against their physical bodies, but at an aspect of their existence.

Suzette dropped to the floor, having jumped to avoid the blow. Her eyes widened as she contemplated the new… no, repressed insight she had.



‘… Huh,’ Suzette breathed out. ‘Well, ain’t that something…’ she smirked, because that’s how she handles things, but her voice cracked with fear that hadn't been there before.

Beside her Ronja landed, her web falling uselessly. The blind spider-girl was not as affected as her companion, but nonetheless perturbed.



‘Oo…’ Ronja wavered on numerous spidery legs, her head spinning a bit. ‘That’s some power you have in that sword… You okay, Suzette?’

‘I’m hanging on…’ she said, with a smirk. ‘I wonder if the queen knows how cruel she just were, giving us insight, but still leaving us trapped…’

On the other side, Victoria and Tullia landed. Victoria merely stood straight, frowning, more annoyed than anything else.



‘… Tsk ’ Victoria simply made an annoyed noise. Then… she was startled by the sound of Tullia’s staff falling onto the floor. ‘… Tullia?’ Victoria asked, looking over to see her friend’s utterly horrified expression.



Tullia suddenly stumbled back, her eyes wide, stunned as her perception of reality suddenly changed. ‘Wait, I-’ she blinked, and turned to look from person to person, finally backing up against the wall. ‘No, no, no, no, no…!’ and she could do nothing but break down in tears, crying out as her hands came to clasp against her face.

‘Tullia, hold on, calm down…’ Victoria turned to her, her companion all these years, notably distressed by her friend’s state, a note of concern in her eyes as she lifted her hands, trying to figure out how she could use them to help.

Meanwhile, behind them, the half-snake Freya was coming to a stop, frowning, staring blankly ahead. She, too, had received new insight.



‘…’ Freya stayed immobile. She took a moment to consider the sudden new perspective she’d been given. All she could do was grunt. ‘Fuck.’

There was a moment of silence, as all the troops of Asengav came to a stop… and then the green form of Lea came slamming down into the floor, having fallen from on high, spraying a couple of butterflies in every direction.



‘Lea. Are you… alright?’ Mariette took a step forward, but stopped herself, not sure if she should be worried about Lea or not, seeing how Lea had been nothing but hostile towards Mariette. Yet seeing the proud magical girl collapse like that was… uncomfortable. Lea was taking her time, but she was, in fact, slowly moving her arms as in an effort to push herself up…

Meanwhile.

‘… Huh,’ Xander said as he saw Su and Mika leap past him into the portal. He hadn't expected that, and also didn’t really know if he should do anything.

Back now.

‘Hey, behind you!’ Suzette suddenly warned, not knowing if the incoming girls were hostile or not. Mariette spun around, and…

‘... Su, Mika?’ Mariette asked, surprised, and then had to get moving immediately. ‘Wait! Don’t fight! None of you fight!’ she asked of them, stumbling forward to try to stand in between the Queen and the incoming two, albeit she wasn’t exactly the fastest. Over there Suzette, Ronja and Freya had enough presence of mind to refocus on what was going on, while Victoria was busy trying to manage the inconsolable Tullia and Lea was still out of commission.

There was also another thing, she realized. If the still brainwashed Nina had just watched them get un-brainwashed, she’d report it to Asengav immediately, so Mariette spun to talk to a wall. A wall she knew a camera and listening device was implanted into.

‘Nina, I need you to-’ She stopped short. ‘... Nina?’ she asked. The single-word question was not to the person whose name it was, just a general sound of confusion. Because, she shouldn’t be able to remember that name.

Nobody should.

… And that’s how she knew Nina, too, had been affected by that cut, somehow.



… Figuring she would address Nina later if she had to, Mariette refocused on Su, Mika and the Queen, trying to avoid a disaster here. She’d told them not to fight, everything else hung on if they let her try to say why.

While the mother and daughter team (this one, not the other one) had made a speedy entry, neither Su nor Mika had intended to fight. The cat girl had her arms wrapped around Su’s shoulders and shot Marriette a smile from behind her mother’s head, while the former familiar scanned the room with her eyes. She tapped Mika’s wrist twice, and the girl dropped onto the floor and stood beside her mother.

“There’s a lot of people here!” Mika took in her surroundings,and her tail flicked from side to side. “Is it someone’s birthday?”

Su was a little better at remaining on point. “We didn’t come here to fight. That doesn’t mean we won’t, of course.” She folded her arms. “Why is it that every time we meet, it feels like you’re in deeper trouble than last time?” Her eyes locked onto Mariette.

Lily smiled back to Connie, and then turned to cheer Alex on as he disappeared into the tunnel.
”Good luck out there! And do try to find a way for us too!”
Afterwards, she waited, her hands behind her back as she lifted her heels intermittently, her usual happy mask starting to crack and give into anxiety.
Then, after a moment, she lifted her hands to her mouth as if about to yell, only to lower them in realization.
”Right, stealth mission. Almost forgot.” Branch Nose, still sitting on Gaia’s shoulder, simply shrugged.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Alex had successfully navigated through the tunnel: though he moved slower due to his bigger size making it more difficult to squeeze through, his barriers proved more effective, letting him also get through with only a single casting before he was out. His clone had touched the doorknob on the magically sealed door, and immediately discovered the consequences of such an action: the lock symbol on the door rune glowed, followed by a blast of magical energy that disintegrated the clone. That was when the suits of armor turned their helmets towards the three, then a second later their torsos, and finally they stepped out of their stands with heavy steps, brandishing their halberds with rigid yet menacing movement.

However, while the twins were immediately alarmed by the animation of the deadly decorations, Alex was preoccupied with the Carpenter’s hammer, and the enchantment to it: he discovered that it had the ability to convert inanimate objects into small cubes by hitting and storing them with the material in some kind of pocket space, and summon those same cubes too by hitting empty space and thinking of building something, as if he was in a game about crafting in a mine. At the same time, he also realized the hammer stuck to his grip, unable to be released.

---

MDP’s group of colorful friends all cheered as she whimsically led the charge, the various chess robots, winged lions, and wacky cacti following her into battle aboard a wildly speeding truck, the chess robots already beginning to throw projectiles, and the cacti shooting tiny needles in rapid-fire barrages. Mac also joined the fray, and the two magical girls found themselves in a battle between denizens of the sea and the royal army.

Up above, Gryphon smiled in a sinister fashion as her opponent claimed she would be fighting unconstrained. “GOOD! SHOW ME A GOOD TIME, WYRM!” And thus, as Mayra split from the scene both literally and figuratively, Gryphon began shooting at an ever greater rate of fire as she kept circle-strafing, trying to keep the group of Mayra clones in view. As she made her shots, some of them ended up hitting the castle walls, causing parts of it to shake and crumble, something even the infiltrators inside would feel as a sign of warfare. Mayra would slither from shadow to shadow, getting closer and closer…When she saw Rachel flanking the oblivious Gryphon, about to deliver a mighty blow with her hammer, and stealing Mayra’s chance at revenge.

---

The queen held a firm hand before Mariette as she took a hesitating step, and her eyes glanced down at her “daughter”. She raised an eyebrow as the intruders, instead of showing hostility, asked about a birthday. To this, the queen smiled, even as right to the side various formerly obedient servants of a Horror had come to a horrifying realization, reeling and coiling in fear and loathing.

“As a matter of fact, it is Alice’s unbirthday today,” the Queen answered in a creepily jovial fashion, and raised the stopping hand up to caress Mariette’s cheek, her own eyes still transfixed on the strangers. “I remember you two from the story…You are Alice’s friends, are you not? Well, as much as I would love to let you spend some playtime, we have much more important things to do, don’t we Alice?” She raised a hand to open a portal to the location of the next mirror, followed by lowering the caressing hand to her shoulder. “Let us be off. Oh, and before I forget,” she turned towards the pained servants of Asengav. “If you wish to be truly free, then follow me. Together, we can bring the truth to this despicable story, with no Powers, and no Grand Magistrate to stop us.”

---

Just as Chloe had suspected, strange magical flowers began to bloom all around Penrose, seemingly congregating on locations where Grief Seeds have been abandoned or buried. The flowers grew up from bare earth or even cracks in the concrete, and had eerie humanoid shapes, faces surrounded by petals, and limbs tipped with leaves. They seemed to chit-chat among themselves, sometimes to an agitated degree, all the while letting out glittering spores that began to fill the air, street by street…

Alexander winced at the sight of his clone getting destroyed "Okay, the door is off limits, good to know." While his gut instinct was to help deal with the guards, he had to focus on getting the others here. Looking at the hammer now stuck to his hand 'Annoying, but unlike the cuffs, this doesn't stop me from using magic, so I can deal with it. Hey...wait a second' Rushing to the side of the door, he hit the wall next to it with the mallet, creating a square shaped hole "Hah! This thing is absolutely worth it" He then stuck his head through it to see the others "The door is a no go, give me a second to make a hole over here." He quickly spawned a few clones to go aid the twins, and then began using the mallet to carve out a hole large enough to walk through

‘Yeah… yeah, that figures,’ Miko commented, as the suits of armour became animated and started moving at them.

‘Looks like it's up to us to keep them busy, sis!’ Ronin called.

‘Yeah… yeah, it is,’ Miko responded, and together they posed with their swords.

Following this, Miko crouched down and did a sweeping kick. This was before the armours were in any kind of range. From her kick came a gust of magic wind at feet-level, intending on toppling the armours.

Meanwhile, Ronin lifted a hand and materialized numerous discs of Reinforcement magic power, which she then jumped up and threw, one after another, intending on striking a couple armours with each. She tried to aim so that the disks bounced from one armour into another, using Martial Training which gave insight into a large amount of weapons, including throwing discs.

Then…

‘Ronin!’ Ronin called, gripping her sword in the air.

‘Miko!’ Miko replied, sheathing hers.

‘Let’s do this!’

With that, Miko gripped Ronin’s feet, and then spun around, swinging her own sword-wielding sister as a weapon. The armour looked too tough for them to hurt on their own… but there were two of them.

Miko swung Ronin around like a two-handed sword, and she in turn could swing her sword to either chop at halberds or knock straight at the armours to strike them down/knock them away. At the same time, Ronin could evade or block attacks at her, while Miko stayed out of range and obviously didn't swing Ronin into any situations where she'd be in excessive danger, keeping track of enemies and making sure to swing Ronin only so she could see whatever was going to come her way.

This whole strategy had been Ronin’s idea, of course, when they had practiced it off-screen a while ago.

Connie, Gaia, and the others still trapped in the wine cellar wouldn’t have to wait long before the results of the “rescue team’s” mission became apparent (but not before Lily almost alerted whatever guards were around by loudly calling out, the ditzy girl’s realization of this fact just in the nick of time prompting a very relieved sigh from Gaia). First, the sound of clanking footfalls could be heard, a less-than-pleasant indication that their rescuers had met with some form of opposition. Shortly thereafter, however, and the sound of a hammer blow heralded the opening of a small hole in the room’s wall. Apparently, Alexander had found a way of breaching the barrier, and, as the magical boy informed them, it wouldn’t be long before he’d made a hole big enough to permit unhindered passage into the corridor beyond.

“A-Are Ronin and M-Miko o-okay?” Connie inquired with a nervous frown.

“Yes, it sounds as though you found some trouble out there,” Gaia added.

Yet, as Alex continued to hammer away at the wall, the pair of friends’ question was answered by the strange sight they could glimpse through the ever-widening opening the magical boy was making. Ronin and Miko were fighting several animated suits of armor by having the later swing around the sword-wielding former, the bizarre tactic giving Ronin’s blade a greatly extended reach. Even so, not only was it highly unorthodox, it was also highly amusing, and as she watched, Gaia did her best to stifle a small giggle.

The sight also called to mind a certain even more whimsically unorthodox magical girl, and Gaia couldn’t help but wonder just what comical antics she was up to right now…

---

“Yay~! Yay~! Time to play~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered as she bounced into the midst of the chaotic combat, her little army of new friends following after her. “Let’s capture wapture the castle wastle~! Like, don’t get hit, that’d be a hassle~!” she sang as she danced around and twirled her whimsical wand, sending prismatic streamers of sweet dream magic trailing behind her. Soon enough, she’d created a dream barrier that completely surrounded her group of friends, and no small number of the mermaid princess’s forces as well, turning all incoming attacks into harmlessly cute and cuddly (and sometimes even edible) items. Skipping over to where a line of card soldiers was distracted by all the other bizarre attackers besieging their castle, the Princess of Dreams playfully tapped each of them with her wand, sending the entire formation crumpling to the ground, while several stars and moons with cute faces began orbiting their craniums. “Bonk those meanies on the head, and send their brainies off to bed~! (giggle!)”

So Mayra was getting herself into position to strike at Gryphon from an unexpected direction… and then she saw Rachel doing just that.

So, yes, sure, she could be like “Hey, that’s my strategy!”

But do you know what would hurt a lot more than being hit by one unexpected flanking attack?

Being hit by two unexpected flanking attacks from opposite directions at the same time.

So Mayra leaped with all her might while Gryphon was still preoccupied with sniping her duplicates. As she approached, she’d spin in mid-air and intend to slam both of her feet into Gryphon from the opposite side that Rachel was attacking from, and try to time it so that she did so at the exact same time as Rachel’s blow. Should they manage to hit at the same time, it would certainly cause much more damage as Gryphon would be unable to fly somewhere between their two blows.

And in case that failed, like if Gryphon suddenly dodged… then Mayra was going to plant her feet in Rachel’s hammer, and with a quick ‘LAUNCH ME!’ intend that Rachel could redirect Mayra at wherever Gryphon had redirected to, and be sent flying like a burning comet at her new location with both fists ready to slam forward into her and hopefully intercept her in the middle of the dodge.

… And in case all that failed Mayra could attempt to blast herself out of the way of any counter-attacks with fire and then use Darkness magic to slip back down into the shadows. Oh, but maybe the duplicates would have a chance to launch themselves at Gryphon in case that happened. Or they could leap to protect original Mayra, they know they’re less worth. Covering your bases, as such.

__________________




The Queen’s hand stopped Mariette from walking closer to Lea, which she then just accepted because maybe walking close to Lea was a bad idea right now. That aside, she soon had her hands full comprehending that Su was now here. And Mika. But mostly Su.

Mariette stayed mostly silent as the Queen cupped her cheek, and said her parts… ‘Yes, we do…’ she said. Though, after the Queen let go, Mariette turned back to Su anyway.

‘I…’ Mariette started, looking towards Su with an anxious tone. She was guilty as charged, in being in deeper trouble than last time. ‘I’m in the middle of something, yeah. This… this is going to be the end. One way or another, the way I have lived up until now is going to end,’ she said. Be it as Asengav’s servant, the Queen’s puppet, free or even alive at all, was currently up in the air.

‘Are you here to help me? If so… there may be some waiting around before anything happens. We need to go through three more rooms, first. I was going to just…’ Mariette looked over at the Queen opening another portal. ‘Hold on. The next one is Victoria and Tullia’s charge,’ she could tell by the sheer chill spilling out of the portal.

The Queen called out that they could be free if they followed her, and…



‘Well, I’ve got nothing better planned! Why the heck not?’ Suzette said, throwing her sleeves into the air and then looking back at Ronja.

‘… I would advise a modicum of caution, but otherwise, this sounds like something interesting I wouldn’t want to miss,’ Ronja agreed, and the spider-girl followed Suzette as the two headed to follow the Queen.



‘I-I…’ Tullia said, tears pouring down her cheeks and hands held over her face. ‘I want to go back…’

‘There’s not gonna be anything left,’ Victoria said, frowning at her friend. ‘It’s in the past.’

‘I know…!’ Tullia cried out. ‘B-but… some of my friends were magical girls. They… they might still be there…’

‘… I got it,’ Victoria sighed. ‘Alright, I’ll help you find it,’ Victoria said. She, herself, had no past whatsoever to long back to… and that somehow made her want to help her friend that did. Tullia removed her hands and looked up at Victoria, all teary-eyed.

‘Y-you will…?’ she asked, her voice all cracked.

‘Yeah! So come on, get on your feet, or they’re gonna leave without us!’ Victoria called, then grabbed Tullia’s hand to pull the distressed girl back on her feet. She then kicked Tullia’s staff back up, so she could grab it. ‘Now, come on! Where are we going?’



Lea stood up. Her expression was blank and quiet compared to earlier, head lowered as she looked down into the floor, eyes wide. Wordlessly, she followed the Queen.



‘… Hold on,’ Freya called to the Queen. Mariette immediately got an expression of “be careful”. ‘You, who changed our lives with a single slice of your blade. I,’ Freya gestured to herself. ‘am two. I am Freya, the magical girl, and within me is Shelyn, the monster. Could you split us apart? Or, if not, could you make it so her blood-lust no longer overcomes me, so that I must prey on humans to subsist?’ she asked. You miss all the shots you don’t take, she figured.

If anyone did feel like going through the portal…

After a couple minutes of waiting, their patience was rewarded as Alex opened a hole in the wall using a hammer. She eyed his tool with a raised eyebrow, but she wasn't going to question the availability of enchanted tools in their time of need. They probably could have busted the wall down on their own, but at least now they knew there was something on the other side. Though it seemed that trying to avoid notice hadn't quite worked out if the sound of combat nearby was anything to go off of.

With the exit widening, Alicia's grip on Star Seraph tightened in preparation. "Alright," she said to the others in the room with her. "We help Ronin and Miko take down those armors, then we spread out and find a path upwards. We need to find out if the Queen is still in this castle, one way or another." They had lost enough time as it was, and she didn't want to get stuck in any more rooms like this if she could help it. Not while the Queen was still on the loose.

So, everyone had gone out. An alarm had gone, that the ritual was starting, and everyone went out to do their thing. This meant the only one wandering the halls of the second hideout of Mariette’s forces was Olivia Giles. The blonde girl was walking through gloomy corridors with strange paintings hung up, as if trying to mimic the mansion that Mariette once had, despite the fact that this was located underground.

Sighing slightly, she kept on walking. As far as she knew, she’d done her part. There was an item. An item that Mariette was going to need at the end of it all, at the end of the ritual. So Olivia was heading over to get it. It was inside the workshop that she and Taihei shared, where they could build magic items and things for Mariette and the others. So, she came upon the door, opened it, and froze in place.

A plant had broken out in the middle of the room. A large, humanoid rose, broken through the floor and gently swinging. Behind it, the broken Grief Seed which Mariette had been given once upon a time, after which she’d given it to Taihei to let the artificer try to figure out what was special with the item. Around it, swirling around the rose, was a cloud of spores that-

A spirit summoned by Olivia’s spirit specialization quickly grabbed the item she came for, threw it through the door where Olivia grabbed it, and then she quickly slammed the door shut. She waved the item in panic just in case any spores or whatever it was had gotten onto it. She then spun, springing to a run.

‘H-hello!? Miss overseer!? Camera girl!? You who are constantly spying on us!?’ she shouted out as she began running through the corridors. ‘Something’s wrong in the workshop! I feel like something’s broken out…!’ she shouted… and nobody replied. Usually she would have gotten a confirmation of some kind. ‘Miss overseer!?’ Olivia asked again, somewhat more frantically than before, as she kept running. Wh-what was she supposed to do then!?

Hold on. Jelena, hurt from that explosion from the previous visit to Wonderland, was resting in Ronja’s hospital room upstairs. If something was breaking loose inside the base, then Olivia had to get her out.

With that, Olivia started dashing to get up, and also had to assume the overseer got the message and was relaying it as quickly as possible…!

”Let none of them stay up too late, otherwise they'll wake up quite irate!“

Mac sang along with MDP as they met the enemy forces. Mac’s way of putting people to sleep wasn’t quite as elegant as MDP’s, but seemed to be just as effective. Punch anything hard enough and it’lll crumble apart or fall unconscious. Her tamed bird was able to get some much needed revenge on the enemy forces, picking them up in her beak and swinging them till they stopped screaming.

”Let take care of this blight, our present goal is just in sight!“

---

”Hmmm…”

For reasons that were only fully understood by Chloe, she was somewhat aware of what the grief seeds were capable of. Manifesting flower people was well beyond what they had the power to do. Thus, this influence had to be the queen’s doing and not Aigorost’s doing. At least, that would have been Chloe’s thoughts had she known what had become of the seeds. She would not learn that bit of information until she used her crystal ball to learn more about the plants, which she was in the process of doing now.

”Looking into that glass ball again, mistress?“ Despite Chloe’s legions effectively having no true emotions, the soulmason at her side sounded awfully bored. She’d have swat him if she thought it would bring her any pleasure or him any displeasure.

”We lost a good number of our own to puppet strings, I’m not going to underestimate this pollen.”

”Fair enough. It would be a shame to waste Nagash’s gifts on such… creatures.“

---

“Unbirthday? Does that mean you get younger?” Mika tipped her head. “Do you have to give back your gifts and vomit up the cake too? That doesn’t sound very fun.” But the feline girl quickly forgot about that when she noticed something. “You have a mom too!? Is she married, because if not, we could be sisters if our moms-”

“Hold that thought.” Su crossed her brow. It was hard to get much out of Mariette with so many people around. She could pick up on a few things, but she still didn’t fully understand the situation.

She didn’t bat an eye when the monster was revealed. Something about a hunt was mentioned but none of it really mattered. They had to get by.

It seemed like a trivial thing to do. Mariette should have been able to do so easily with her portals. Time would tell what they had in mind.

Miko successfully tripped the first suit of armor on the left as it approached, causing it to clatter and scatter into pieces as it hit the floor, revealing nothing underneath. This was followed by Ronin throwing magical discs that bounced on the right suit of armor coming in second, hitting it right in the chestplate, and the third one on the helmet, causing it to fall off. However, disturbingly, the suit only slowed down a bit by the loss of its head piece. The fourth armor deflected the discs with a swing of its halberd, but by then it was too late: the discs now bounced between it and the second one, causing one to hit the greaves and separate it, causing it to fall, while the helmetless armor lost a gauntlet.

As Alex’ clones intercepted the suits of armor before they could hit the twins with their far-reaching weapons, the twins prepared one last maneuver: with a finishing blow of the twins twirling around like in a dance, the last armors were knocked down.
While the battle was happening, Alex got to work with his newly acquired Artifact, and struck the wall of the corridor. As he did, pieces of the wall shrunk into cube-shaped objects and assimilated into the hammer by some magical osmosis. After a couple more strikes, a hole had been opened up into the wine cellar, to the surprise of the group inside.



Lily screamed in surprise as the wall was brought down.

”Whoah! Not what I expected.” However, her surprise faded quickly as she heard loud clanging and the twins attack, realizing a battle was unfolding.
”But I’ll take it! Let’s go, Gaia and Connie! Oh, and Branch Nose too!”
When she got out and witnessed the twins two-handedly defeat the enemy sentries, she blinked in surprise.
”Oh, nice work!”

However, by the time the group had reconvened, the twins noticed the pieces of armor shaking on the floor, and realized they weren’t done yet: the pieces rolled and hopped around, and began slowly rebuilding themselves. Lily took aim with her bow, drawing on the crackling bowstring and launching a shot at a chest piece, but it did not hamper the animated piece at all. She puffed up her cheeks in frustration.

”They keep respawning!” Lily cried. She nodded to Alicia’s suggestion, and kicked a piece of leg armor off of a boot it hopped on.

”Okay, let’s do that!”

“These other doors,” Branch Nose chimed in. “I suspect they only lead to the dining hall and kitchen, if this truly is a castle. The path I recommend is-”

”We’re going up, I got it!” Lily answered, and ran past the slowly regenerating armors to reach the stairs, having seemingly forgotten to stay and fight in her impulsiveness.

---

The Gryphon saw at the last second as Rachel came in with a downward-aimed blow with her mighty hammer, and attempted grabbing it with a beastly foreclaw, reinforcing herself with Beast magic to the point her muscles visibly bulged and trembled. The resulting impact, though lessened, still caused the bones in the forearm to crack and bend the limb. At the same time, Mayra took her chance, and charged in with a dropkick akin to a falling meteor, wreathed in dark flame. The Gryphon responded by folding a wing and similarly reinforcing it with beast magic, turning it spiny with sharp bones and vicious feathers. However, it proved futile before the strongest of Mariette’s posse, and the dropkick pierced through the wing, incurring only minor lacerations as the limb was punctured, the feathers set aflame.

The Gryphon screamed as it started falling in a wild spin, trying to correct herself with a combination of her remaining wing and Air magic. Rachel stood on a platform holding the bloodied hammer, and for the first time smiled at Mayra.
“You performed adequately…For the servant of a Horror,” she added with an adjustment of her glasses.

Down below, the additional reinforcements from Mac and MDP quickly turned the tide against the royalist defenders. MDP protected her marine allies with transforming spells, the enemy projectiles poofing into party paraphernalia and knocking out any soldiers in range with her staff, thus rendering them harmless. Others were petrified by Mac’s steed or trampled underfoot, occasionally swinging around one with a beak before throwing them into the masses.

Soon the spike-ridden, mauled, and pathetically hopping soldiers began to rout and flee from the castle battlements.
“Huzzah! We are victorious-” Mermaid Princess began to cheer, when a resounding sonic boom suddenly shot out: it was Gryphon, who now launched herself upwards like a fighter jet, glowing with green and yellow in a swirling vortex.

“IT’S NOT OVER YET, FOOLS! YOU ARE TO FACE THE WRATH…OF THE JABBERWOCK!”

When the wounded commander reached the top of the tallest tower, it latched on with its remaining claws…And with a caw, began to grow, and grow…And grow, until its wings blackened the skies themselves, casting the world below into shade. She had transformed so huge that the castle itself seemed but a toy in comparison, and the Mahou mere grains of sand. Its two eyes, like twin suns of fire, glowed from above. Storm winds began picking up, and as they did, a haunting song carried across them:

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”

Then, one of the merman soldiers noticed that something had dropped from the sky as it was stared at by the Jabberwock, slicing it in the arm: it was a sword-shaped bone, with a sharp edge that dug itself deep into the earth, only stopped by the cross-shaped hilt, like an ominous monument.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

Then, a couple more bones dropped, and one of them hit a shark that had the burning gaze cast upon it, slicing its side as easily as a hot butter cut through sashimi.

“He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.”

And then, more bones began dropping, and more, each barrage foreshadowed by the orange light of the Jabberwock’s gaze.

“And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!”

As more vorpal sword bones fell, both the merman forces and the newly made allies were soon dependent on MDP’s protective magic, especially as soon they dropped faster and faster, until a rain of vorpal death ensued. Rachel was aghast as it created a barrier around herself and Mayra, a grimace on her lips.
“The fiend is unleashing its ultimate attack!”

---

The queen smiled in a sinister fashion as her request was followed up on by the majority of the formerly blind servants, and even gave a fleeting glance at Mika as she asked about unbirthdays. “Unbirthdays are wonderful, festive days. There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents. They are days to be celebrated. In fact, it is my unbirthday too, as it is yours.”
The queen had waited for the group to travel, and gently nudged Mariette through the portal when she stopped to glance back at Freya. She then saw the horrific guardian the ice Mahou had prepared to guard the next mirror…And a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame appeared on her rose-colored lips.

“Yes…What a marvellous split.” She opened a second portal underneath Freya, dropping her to the middle of the icy chamber. “Freya, the Union Beast…Once one with Shelyn…Beast within…”

She raised her Storyslayer.

“...Beast without.”

Then, she swung downward, vertically bisecting Freya in two symmetrical halves. Like with her decapitations, there was no blood, but a black, inky surface where the cut was formed. But unlike then, now the black ink bubbled, and soon overtook the forms of Freya’s halves. Then, beams of black light shot out from the black masses one by one, until they exploded in twin blasts of darkness, revealing a new Freya, free from Shelyn, who now had her own form.

“Now then, to show me gratitude, you shall deal with this brutish oaf,” she commanded the two, pointing at the icy monster that gradually started to stir from hibernation with low growls. As she was doing this, visibly distracted, Mariette was left with a quick moment to talk privately with Mika and Su.

---

Chloe learned that the flower people seemed to have been born from the magical curses embedded into the Grief Seeds, now activated as mana began to be drained from Penrose. To make matters worse, the spores seemed to sprout even more of these flowers, taking root in impossible places like on top of roofs or even on telephone lines, not to mention what awful effects must happen to those who breathe the magically contaminated air. Fortunately, it was not all bad news, as Chloe was then contacted by Viper:
“Bad news, I was found out: there were more Hearts with Third Eye than expected. Good news, they lost the trail. What’s the next order, boss?”

After Alexander made the hole and got out of the way of the others, an idle thought came to him as he watched the twins finish off the armor; 'I wonder if I could take the door with me if I carve away all the wall connected to it? I might be able to carry it by touching it with a a couple of barriers coming from some tails' His musings were interrupted by the armors returning to their feet "Fuck" he groaned 'Of course it isn't going to be the simple. Hey...could we use the door to get rid of them?' Alexander knew that when his clone touched the door, it was instantly destroyed, but would it do the same to the armor? 'disconnecting the door and trying to wack them with it sounds too cumbersome. It might be best to just push them into the door instead.' He opened his mouth to share his plan with the others, but that's when Lily ran off ahead on her own "Lily!" Alexander made a mad dash to catch up with her. bull rushing through the regenerating armor, and even pushing one to the wall on the side to get it out of the way.

With a few more strikes of his hammer, Alexander had made a passage large enough for those still trapped in the wine cellar to fit through. Upon entering the corridor, Connie and Gaia saw that the battle had pretty much concluded. However, although Ronin and Miko had been able to deal with the animated suits of armor with the assistance of Alexander’s clones, the enchanted armors soon revealed that they were fully capable of reassembling themselves…

“Eeep!” Connie yelped, cringing backwards as an armored gauntlet rattled across the floor past her to rejoin its fellows.

“I believe it would be prudent not to linger here for much longer,” Gaia advised, while placing a protective arm around Connie’s trembling form as the masked maiden clung to her. Lily seemed to agree, as with swiftness befitting her nickname, she darted towards the nearby stairs, with a startled Alex chasing after her. At least with him at her side, she’ll hopefully be stoped before she dashes headlong into another trap, Gaia reflected with a mental sigh of relief. “Alright everyone,” the verdant maiden called as she guided Connie into motion. “Let’s not be left behind! I shall ensure that these foes won’t be any further trouble,” she added, conjuring a handful of seeds amidst a swirling of green life energy and tossing them at the reassembling suits of armor. No sooner had they hit their targets, then they erupted into a tangle of thick vines, which swiftly ensnared the animated suits, firmly rooting them in place.

The Daughter of Mother Earth could only guess what manner of opposition might await them at the top of the stairs, but whatever form it took, she hoped that their team’s combined might would be able to overcome it.

---

“Bonky wonky~! (giggle!)” MDP called with childish glee as she bonked yet another card soldier on the head. Her painfully limited attention was far too focused on playing her current game to notice much else of what was going on elsewhere amidst the chaotic combat, for better or worse. However, the Gryphon’s mightily roared proclamation and subsequent monstrous metamorphosis managed to acquire even the ditzy Princess of Dreams’s notice.

“Golly wolly~! She got super duper biggy wiggy~!” MDP exclaimed, more fascinated than horrified at the imposing sight looming above them. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess thinky winkies that namey wamey soundy woundies super duper silly willy~! (giggle!) And, like, this songy wongy is really funny wunny, too~!” she added, both the ostensibly sinister song and terrifying title serving only to bring giggly amusement to the hyperactive girl’s whimsically childish brain. In fact, so amused was she, and so harmless did her dream barrier make the intensifying hail of bone blades, that the innocent girl was completely unaware of the mounting danger. It was only when Rachel shouted that this was some form of “ultimate attack”, that MDP finally began to comprehend the seriousness of the situation. “Wowie zowie~! Her ultimate wultimate attacky wacky~?!” the playful princess echoed, a big smile spreading across her adorable face. “Like, Magical Dream Princess has one of those, too~! (giggle!) Like, does everybodywody wanna see~! Do you~?! Do you~?! Do you~?!” she asked, excitedly bouncing up and down as sparkles of delight filled her eyes.

After a bit more work on Alex's part, a pathway was cleared from the basement room into the hallway. Alicia moved outside with the others, where they were presented with the results of the fight. Ronin and Miko had handled things, just as she had expected that they would. Sadly the armor seemed to be the sort of enchanted items that would pull themselves back together, and with the advice of their local guide it sounded like the way forward was up.

She turned to Alex, about to offer to see if she could use her light magic to dispel whatever was keeping the hammer stuck to his hand...aaaaand he was already running off after Lily. Typical.

"Good thinking," she said to Gaia with a nod as the armor was bound in vines to hinder the armor from putting itself back together. With her bow at the ready she moved up the stairs after the others, prepared for whatever would come at them next. It felt good to be on the move again at least.

So, the twins were doing pretty well knocking the pieces of armor to the ground, but actually making them stay down looked like it would take a spirit-specialization or someone with a lot more firepower. … That, or they could just run past them, like Lily was doing. And, of course, wherever Lily goes, Alexander follows.

Or, perhaps entangling them with vines worked. Like what Gaia did. ‘Nice!’ Ronin called at the display (assuming it worked as intended), and with that she leapt out of Miko’s grip and landed back on her feet, Miko looking a little bit embarrassed at the display. It had worked, though.

‘Let’s not be left behind,’ Miko called, and the twins ran up with the rest, Ronin nodding and throwing a couple more discs and sword-slices if needed at any armors trying to follow them. That aside, they’d be heading with the rest to get back up, with Miko trying to pull out the Super Map again to see if anything had changed while Ronin covered her.

__________________




The dragon grinned deliciously at her feet tore through Gryphon’s wing, and then landed on the same platform as Rachel while their enemy spun off. Rachel saw fit to give a backhanded compliment.

‘For a hippie butcher wannabe priest judge, you’re not bad yourself!’ Mayra replied to Rachel with more of a happy grin.

Then, as the enemy started running and then Gryphon launched up in a green and yellow vortex… ‘Whoa. Light show. … As she did that, Mayra took the opportunity to jump, falling back down to join the others.

So, that was a scary giant monster, accompanied by scary song. It seemed to bend understanding of the universe itself. Which was honestly fine. They, too, had a power that seemed to bend understanding of the universe itself.

Mayra landed with a smirk next to Magical Dream Princess, bending her knees and then making a tiny leap in her direction.

‘YES! YES WE WANT TO SEE YOUR ULTIMATE WACKY TACKY!’ she called, grinning as she leapt up to MDP grinning. ‘In fact, let me help you get closer, so mister Wocky can see it better!’

Without further ado, Mayra grabbed at MDP’s arm, and then spun, intending to swing the pastel Magical Girl with her. Then, she allowed a bit of Wonderland’s magic to influence her, because she wanted to sing a little.

‘Big Jobberdock thinks he will us scare,
Thinks he’s the baddest between earth and sky,
He’s stupid and wrong, I so declare,
YOU BETTER BEWARE THE CUTIEPIE!’

-and with that, she blasted with firepower off the ground, spun with fire-empowered strength for a second, and then just threw MDP with all her might at the vorpal rain and the monster beyond it.

__________________



Freya gazed, taking a sharp breath as the queen raised her blade. As far as she knew, this might be her end. She could be gazing at the blade that was about to kill her. Yet, she would let it. For what it could potentially otherwise bring…

and the Queen sliced down, through a portal, and cut Freya in two. The two halves flew separately, beams of black light shining where they’d been cut… then an explosion enveloped them, and…

It took not even a fraction of a second before one side swung a gigantic weapon, and the other side rose up high with claws ready. They spun around, the direction they needed to turn towards one another. One, still a lamia, gleamed with yellow eyes like a predator about to strike down its prey. The other, human, glared back in defiance as a huge blade sought to end the predator in the midst of its assault. They looked like they were about to cut one another down where they stood…

Then they froze, both of them, glaring at one another from close, one with their claws about to cleave the little human apart and the human with a giant sword about to slice the lamia in half…

There they stood, unmoving.



… The two were the beast and the warrior, from a world where the two had been at war. In the end, the beasts had been victorious, but the only thing they had won was the pleasure of starving to death because they had killed everything else. Freya glared at Shelyn, with the memories of all this creature had caused her. Shelyn looked down at Freya, the one she’d wanted to rip apart for so long, and yet…

‘… Shelyn,’ Freya spoke. ‘We are free. We don’t have to fight.’

‘But I sho ve-y much wan to,’ Shelyn replied, neither retracting their weapons.

‘Right. But don’t you know? There’s an entire world out there. Penny’s out there, too. And don’t you know?’ Freya smirked. ‘Didn’t you hear the nice lady? There’s something she wants us to hunt.’

‘Huu-unt…’ Shelyn’s eyes narrowed, glaring at Freya.

‘Yeah. So how about it? Shall we see who can take it down first?’ Freya asked, retaining her smirk, even as sweat was breaking out.

‘Youuuu…’ Shelyn replied, not so foolish as to not recognize someone trying to play to her likes, as few as they were. That said… Shelyn smiled, too. ‘I will win,’ she postured.

‘Prove it!’ Freya challenged.

… And then, claws and sword struck against each other once, before the were-lamia and the human turned and charged as one at the great monster beyond the portal, who was already raising its limbs to enter battle…!



Ronja and Suzette will be cheering for their freed comrade, Victoria will be egging them both on, Tullia will wonder why on earth Mariette isn’t doing the simple solution, while Lea still stood silently.

Meanwhile.




‘… Right, um,’ Mariette turned quickly to Su and Mika. The queen seemed distracted, so she was going to try to talk quickly, while also sorta trying to pay attention to the life-altering event that was happening to Freya behind her because she cared about Freya.

‘We’re going to try to kill Asengav,’ she said, looking towards Su with a slightly shaky voice. ‘To do this, we’re starting his ritual. The one he sent us all to Penrose to perform in the first place. It was because I knew I had this opportunity that I didn’t leave his command back then,’ she said. ‘It’s… it’s going to get worse before it gets better. We’re starting all the mirrors so they start draining the Nexus, and Penrose, of magic. When they’re all activated it will, um, be felt by people in Penrose, but because they’re all occupied with the Queen’s invasion, they won’t… interfere. That’s why we haven’t started the ritual until now. We wouldn’t win. Penrose would crush us.’

‘The finishing touch will be made by Asengav himself, in a cave deep under Penrose. That’s where… the Queen claims she can kill him, and I have my own plan. But also-’ her throat got caught in her mouth, as she whispered really silently.

_{‘Each moment she spends helping me here, is a moment she’s not cutting down our friends in battle,’} she whispered.

‘The Queen, whom I will refer to as “Mother” because she has-’ Mariette considered how to say this. ‘Because she says she’s my mother,’ Yes. ‘… She has momentarily taken away my ability to portal so I don’t leave. So I can be happy with her.’ She could gesture to the queen-themed necklace (“the pieces of it looking like magnificently hued and multilayered crystals”) she was wearing, too tight to lift off her neck. ‘She says she needs to kill Asengav to make a door in the Nexus so she can reach the Grand Magistrate and kill them. And I figured… we have a common goal, there. The first part, anyway. I don’t know what the second one means, entirely. She says they’re the source of all magic, and with the Storyslayer, she can write a happy ending for herself…?’

And that… will do as a summary.

As fun as it was to keep pummeling the faceless mob, all good things must come to an end. And for ΣΔΓΠΦ, that would happen when MDP brought their attention to the griffon. Or more specifically, whatever the hell it was babbling about.

"I agree." ΣΔΓΠΦ added with a grin. "The song is almost as silly as the name is, but neither one can be taken seriously." With MDP’s magic protecting her, there was no reason to defend herself. She continued her conversation with the whimsical girl, ignoring everything outside of MDP’s barrier. "You have an ultimate attack to?! I would, I would, I would love to see it!" ΣΔΓΠΦ lifted up MDP and placed her on her shoulders before charging towards their greatest opponent yet. It almost looked like a big sister was letting her younger sister ride piggyback. "Prepare your attack, princess! I’ll take care of everything else!"

But ΣΔΓΠΦ wouldn’t take care of everything else, because Mayra had attempted to throw MDP at the enemy like a projectile. And of course Mayra succeeded, but ΣΔΓΠΦ wasn’t about to let go. A giant sweat bead appeared on the side of her mount’s head as both MDP and ΣΔΓΠΦ soared towards their opponent.

"Just think of a happy thought!" the wolf girl sang out.

---

With the flowers being what they were, it seemed that the best course of action was to simply exterminate them. Something that Chloe’s armies should have been more than capable of doing.

"No point letting the queen get a foot hold in here."

That was all the confirmation her subordinates needed. "They will be destroyed post-haste!"

And so the ossiarch got to work. While the men made out of bone may have looked heavy and slow, they were not. The bony constructs had little difficulty combing the streets for the flower creatures. Even the heights of the buildings were hardly a challenge. If a building was too difficult to climb, the gothizard harvesters were plenty tall enough to allow the mortek guards access to the roofs. The morghast didn’t even need that, as they could simply fly up and vanquish whatever was in their path. Necropolis stalkers broke ahead of the army, brandishing their four blades for opponents that seemed to be entirely not worth the effort. Certainly the last thing they needed to deal with was mana sapping hallucinogenic spores.

While her bone creatures set out, Chloe received a call from Viper. "Yes, that was why I called you. I’m glad you got out alright." She looked over her troops. "There isn’t much we can do at the moment. Return to wonderland. There are some Ossiarch guarding an interdimensional portal. Speak with the soul mason present and the next part of our plan can begin."

After the connection with Viper was terminated, a Mortisan Boneshaper rubbed his knuckles on his chest. "Is there a reason you didn’t have her come straight here?"

"Aren’t mortisans supposed to be smart?" Chloe walked back towards the portal out of Penrose. "Viper dealt a mortal blow* to Cindy Ford under the careful watch of multiple magical girls with third eye. Her disguises are impervious to such forms of discovery."

*^{Maybe not mortal, but weakened Cindy enough that Reaver was able to finish her off.}

"Forgive me, mistress, but I am not so intimate with Viper’s abilities, nor how magic fully works in this world." He bowed his head slightly. "But if you suspect her to not be the genuine Viper, would it not be possible to discern with your crystal ball?"

"Normally, but I suspect they brainwashed Viper. And if she’s immune to third eye, she’s immune to the rest of my divination magic as well. I wouldn’t be able to tell if she’s been tampered with all that easily."

"Is mind control magic all that common?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Chloe laughed.

---

Su had little difficulty tuning out the random noise to listen to Mariette. She did not interrupt her, instead opting to keep her arms crossed as she went on. But the more she went on, the tighter her arms became, and the more her brow twitched. Once she was done, Mika was the first to speak. There was far less friction between her brain and her mouth.

"My mom isn’t my original mom either…" Mika sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "But she doesn’t take my powers away, and she looks out for me. And she’s really pretty." And then, after a quick eye flick between the two surrogate mothers she added. "I bet my mom could beat your mom."

That was plenty of time for Su to form her own choice words.

"I’m just going to assume there’s a good reason you never told me about this, and circumstance had you wait for someone to enslave you to enact it." Though she couldn’t think of a good reason in the moment. Had Marriette expressed an interest in slaying a horror, Su would have signed up immediately to help. Her eyes flicked up to the queen, then back to Mariette. "You know you’re just replacing one tyrant with another, right? You’re free of Asengav, but now your mother is controlling you all in the name of revenge. She can’t have good intentions with all that magic." She sighed. "But she is freeing everyone else. Perhaps when a fight against Asengav commences, there will be an opportunity."

Su was still a bit apprehensive about trying to kill something as unfathomable as a horror, and magical girls couldn’t truly die. But dramatic confirmations had historically been the places where hearts could be changed and the unobtainable could be obtained. The only thing Su knew for sure was that the queen’s plan couldn’t succeed.

As the group rushed past the pieces of regenerating armor, Gaia took a moment to cast a spell of entangling vines, binding the various pieces in place and preventing them from reforming. With safe passage earned, the group advanced up the stairs. Miko’s Super Map continued being indiscernible jumbled due to the magical anti-scrying wards placed over the castle, though it did consistently show the staircase symbol on the map as they traversed up it.

The group passed by a couple of floors until they finally reached the top of the stairs to the final landing, where a lone wooden door waited. Lily, knowing how dangerous the place was now, cautiously shot a single lightning arrow at the door, only to sigh in relief at the revelation that it was not trapped like the rune-enchanted door at the bottom floor.

”Ok, I’m gonna try opening it,” she informed the others, and carefully pushed on the door: it opened, revealing a lavish antechamber. There were fancy chairs and sofas alongside the side walls, and paintings depicting Wonderlandians including the unforgettable Queen of Hearts herself alongside her court. There were even a couple of stone busts of the monarch, a cold glare engraved on them.

However, what most grabbed everyone’s attention was the strange being made of red ribbons guarding two wooden doors at the back: it’s two white masks, each depicting the theatrical expressions of comedy and tragedy, were facing each other and conversing, before they both turned to look at the group. The coiled red ribbons of the being then stretched as it stood up from a slouch, towering over the Mahou as it revealed its formidable size.

“Greetings, guests!” The happy mask on the right first spoke.

“Great, intruders…” The sad-looking mask on the left then spoke.

“I am Tweedledee, and my depressed friend over there is Tweedledum!” Said Tweedledee on the right.

“No, I am Tweedledee, and you’re Tweedledum,” said Tweedledee on the left in turn.

“I always speak honestly, while he always lies!” said the happy Tweedledee.

“That’s a lie. I only speak in truths, while he always speaks in falsehoods,” said the sad Tweedledee.

“The left door is safe and sound, the right door leads to certain death!” Said the happy Tweedledee.

“You got them mixed up,” said the sad Tweedledee. “The right passage is the one that leads to the Queen’s chambers, the left passage is the one that definitely kills you.”

Then the two pointed at a plate on the wall between the two doors. Lily read the contents aloud:

“You may ask a single question from the guard before proceeding, and not another. Magic won’t be allowed. Signed, the Queen of Hearts.”

Lily puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

“Magic won’t be allowed,” she repeated the message in a mocking impersonation of the queen, and blew a raspberry.

“That’s rich coming from her. And what's stopping us?” She looked back towards the others.

“Didn’t the Mad Hatter also try this puzzle stuff before? Maybe we could just blast our way through with that hammer, right?” She asked, pointing at Alex’ newfound weapon.

The strange being didn’t seem to react to Lily’s words, and simply stood there, the two masks eerily shifting as it waited. Alicia, having listened to the two, had felt her Light magic respond to the happy mask's words. However, at that moment Alicia saw a sinister grin from the happy mask before it resumed its jubilant facade, with none of the others wiser: Alicia couldn't be sure, but she got a feeling that Tweedledee and Tweedledum knew about her Light magic. Did it lie knowing it would be discovered? Or was it somehow capable of fooling Light magic users with false lies?

Lily suddenly came up to Alicia.

“Alicia? Is something wrong?”

---

The Jabberwock gasped as Mayra sang back, the power of song seemingly affecting the sky-blackening beast more than might have been logical, giving the spunky dragon girl the opportunity to launch Magical Dream Princess high up into the sky. Like a shooting star that whimsically bobbed and weaved, the pastel-colored magical girl avoided and deflected the onslaught of vorpal blades as she flew, leaving a trail of rainbow-colored sparkles behind her, eliciting a cry of frustration from the giantess, followed by more singing:

“One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
HE WENT GALUMPHING BACK!”

The Jabberwock’s fiery gaze turned brighter. The rain of blades intensified, and so did the drain on MDP’s mana as she protected herself from the enchanted projectiles, already enhanced as it was by Wonderland’s ambient magic. As blades turned to balloons and streamers and plushies, the strain of magic crept higher and higher. She could get close, but she would only have enough time to cast one spell before her mana ran out: she would need to make it show-stoppingly wondrous.

---

The queen was pleased by the positive reception her newest cleaving had brought upon the Mahou. She then summoned a chair and teacup from a portal, and sat down with a steamy serving of Earl Grey as she observed the newly separated two selves battle the guardian of the mirror.
Of course, the beast, prepared to battle Mahou, was a dangerously strong monster. The queen believed it made for a worthy opponent for Freya and Shelyn to prove themselves, and thus an entertaining match for the Queen to enjoy.

After a while, the beast had been taken down, with both Freya and Shelyn now sweating from the exertion that came with victory, their breaths ragged. The Queen agave a graceful clap of her hands to the two, an approving smile on her lips. She approached Freya, and elegantly summoned her Storyslayer. She slowly lifted it up, and then brought it slowly to rest over her left shoulder, and then her right. She then performed the same gesture to Shelyn.

“Very good. Freya and Shelyn, as a reward for your chivalry and courage, by my royal decree you are from henceforth to be named as the Freya, Princess of Spades, and Shelyn, Princess of Clubs, respectively.” She then let her Storyslayer disappear with a flourish, and brought the back of her hand up close to her mouth. “Once we are done with Our mission, you shall be given land, wealth, servants, and glory as befits nobles, to rule as my Vassal Princesses.” She glanced at the other Mahou. "The same boons shall be given to others who prove themselves worthy."

She then turned to Mariette, having missed the conversations she had secretly kept with Mika and Su, walked over and lifted her chin with a gentle finger. “Now then Alice, the next mirror is ready for you~” she spoke softly to her.

---

“Understood,” Viper responded, and closed communications. Chloe and the Ossiarchs went to town on the flower monsters, scything them down like a reaper at a field of wheat. The magical spores that permeated from them did not affect the undead-like abominations, forcing them to defend themselves weakly with spiky roots and sharp leaves. However, the forces only incurred a single casualty over the countless encounters across the city. Of course, the mundane populace began to panic as skeletal nightmares walked the streets and battled botanical beasts. As the weeding went on, Chloe would notice that there was a slight shift in the colors of Penrose: the more brighter colors like red and yellow would start to dim. Also, she would notice that there were subtle glints of light in the air, as if microscopic mirrors were floating around...