‘See? I was right!’ Ronin confidently declared, placing her hands on her hips and sticking out her chest. Because of course. Miko picked to let her sister have this one and not chew her out for how much she hated the risk she felt Ronin just took. This was not the time for it.

Gaia said not to put their guard down. ‘I agree,’ Miko said, lifting the map once again to confirm they were, in fact, approaching the destination.

Then they arrived and some argued for going back to Penrose. Definitely a sensible decision. Miko nodded when Connie said she didn’t want to lose more friends, agreeing to the sentiment. Ronin, still the first one in, decided to take a step forward.

‘Alright. We do seek the princess. How can you help us?’ Ronin asked, kind of just very much wanting this journey into the castle not to have been for nothing. Meanwhile, Miko tried to confirm on the map if the one in front of them was, in fact, the neutral one on the map. Because being classified as neutral or enemy could be a giveaway to if they could trust her or not. Or, even better, if the map said she was an ally.

__________________




Mayra, the dragon, grunted in reply to Rachel and Penny. It was a relief that Brittany was still alive. She also turned and looked a little curiously at the pile that formerly was known as Mac. Mayra didn’t really care, but she did think it was odd that nobody had gone to her aid, whoever she was. Anyway! With that established…

The dragon once again roared in victory, and then pushed down with her wings. She lifted, and spun around as she gained flight. There was no more battle to be had here, and it wasn’t like Mayra could just return to normal on command. She had to exhaust her energy first. As such, she flapped her wings and carried off…

The dwarves or the Green Beans or whatever they were called were engaging the enemy somewhere else, too, weren’t they? Well, in that case they were about to get giant flaming reinforcements as Mayra took off for whatever battlefields were yet unwon. And as such, she probably left the pages of this story for at least a while.

Mayra had known transforming likely would mean she’d miss the rest of the fight, so she hadn’t really wanted to do it. That’s why she had thrown MDP first. Yet, when presented with such a gigantic opponent? And given the chance to also become giant and then prove her giant superiority in her own giant form? C’mon. There’s no way she could have resisted.

__________________




‘…’ Mariette watched the Queen walk through the mirror… and then immediately spun around to address everyone else.

‘Everyone,’ Mariette turned to speak with those present. ‘We have a shot at freedom. There’s a plan in the works. However, for it to work, Asengav cannot suspect our intentions. I need you to fight, as if everything was going according to plan. Fight, as if you were still under Asengav’s control. Don’t… don’t get killed. We need the ritual to proceed to the final stage. We can’t be interrupted until the final stage starts. Until then, follow the plan. But when I give the word…’ Mariette took a deep breath. ‘Follow my lead,’ she instructed. Suzette and Ronja smiled, and looked supportive enough. Tullia and Freya both nodded with determination. Victoria chuckled at this silly plan, but okay. Shelyn looked unconvinced, but Freya encouraged her to follow along to earn her freedom, so. Taihei also grunted in annoyance, but now Josefin encouraged her. Lea did nothing, merely stared. Mariette was glad that they seemed mostly on-board.

… That was the part she was okay with the Queen overhearing. She might have caught the first part of that. However, when she was done, she quickly channeled as much magic as she could to break through the wall between dimensions. On the other side, she used Absolute Direction to find her goal. And then, she opened the smallest possible portal in front of her mouth. Size wasn’t of importance. The message was.

‘Penny,’ Mariette stated through the portal. ‘I don’t have much time. The Queen is using me to start Asengav’s ritual so she can slay him. I-’ she swallowed. ‘I want her to succeed with that, but you might want to stop what she wants to do after that. She’s going to enter the Nexus to slay the Grand Magistrate and write her own happy ending… which I am not even sure what it means, but it likely doesn’t bode well. I will need that pick. Find the mirrors. Don’t kill the guards. Find me,’ she said, and then cut the connection. She didn’t have much time before the Queen would wonder why Mariette wasn’t following.

She’d turn to Su and Mika… ‘I am extremely happy you’re here, now. One way or another, this is going to go wrong,’ she said, before turning to the mirror. ‘Be careful in there. The woman there is Mikayla Synnot, Asengav's strongest champion. She's very powerful, but as long as she thinks we’re on the same side, it’s a problem for later. And be careful what you say. In there… Asengav might hear you,’ she said a final warning, before treading forward.

__________________

It was a depth of absolute darkness. There were no walls, only the glittering of distant mirrors. Despite the darkness, one could see in the ambient light anyone who had entered it. The ground had no texture, it was merely darkness. If there was an end, it was beyond the perceivable, and the darkness was very much alive. Another point of note, was that behind them was no mirror. Despite having entered through a mirror, there was nothing but darkness behind them, like they had manifested out of nothingness.

In the distance was something that stood out in the darkness. The Black Mirror, standing idly, yet a gentle swirl was manifested in its surface. But beside it, was something perhaps unexpected. A remarkable amount of white. There was a pristine, large bed with white bed-sheets, and in a half-circle around the bed and the area hung white drapes. There was a large round white carpet, lying on the darkness, signifying a zone of homeliness. And in it, a couple of children were playing, watched by their caretaker.

There was a box of toys that had been opened, and the contents spread across the carpet as a result of children playing. They were cubes, wooden cars, dolls of varying kinds, all sorts. There were five children playing… but there was no joy in their movements, just going through the motions. They were dressed in spotless, white clothes… and two of the children were ghosts, all white, ethereal, playing with the others like it wasn’t strange.

Watching them was a taller girl. She was sitting at a chair and a small table with a teaset on it, holding a cup herself. She was wearing a long, dark dress over her thin body and had long, white hair going down behind her. Some form of animal ears and some form of tail held itself to her form. From her back stretched two weak-looking feathery wings that didn’t seem like they’d do anything to aid in flight. The edges of her clothes curled in tattered tears, damaged. In fact, there was slight damage in the corners of the drapes, the carpet, the bed… all over on a closer inspection…

As the group entered the darkness, it did not go unnoticed. The taller girl stood up and put her cup down…

‘Children. Go to sleep. I have some visitors I must attend to,’ she said. The children, without a word, dropped the toys they held and obediently ran towards the bed, even the ghost ones. With that, the caretaker walked to the edge of the carpet, magic claws manifesting on her right hand. She did not hold the pose of someone expecting a fight, merely a meeting.

This was Mikayla Synnot, the Netherrealm Queen. This was her real body, not the projection they faced last time. And as she stared at them, it was like power itself echoed through. A Powerful Aura.



If Mariette was at all present when the Queen urged Mika to deal with her, she’d raise her voice, with a hint of desperation and fear.

‘Hold on. She’s here to ensure Asengav’s ritual goes as planned, same as us. Don’t… try to fight her. We should speak with her,’ she urged.

Despite all the BS happening in and around Penrose, the world kept spinning. It was often easy to forget that the world of magical girls was hidden from the world at large. Most would go their entire lives without as much as suspecting some paranormal activities might be more than simple hoaxes. But among those that were aware of the magical world, almost all of them were magical themselves. It was almost impossible to both know of the magical world and not be a part of it. But some people could. Some very powerful people.

When your business model is based around scraping the internet for any and all data you can find, you discover things. It would be one thing if a group of LARPers in and around Penrose were fooling around on occasion, but the home of the nexus wasn’t the only place where magical girls turned up. The Penrose Independent had done a good job of documenting everything, and then there were similar accounts all over the world. Footage was rare, but it did show up, and anyone who specialized in data collection knew the difference between an unedited and an edited video.

How else could AI technology advance so much? Data farms? But data from what?

Mark leaned on a railing in one of his data farms. He wore a low quality fused suit. Of course he could afford one of those really nice designer Italian ones if he wanted, but by wearing something shoddy he hoped to appear more relatable to the unwashed masses. His black eyes scanned the sight below him. Adolescent girls in colorful outfits were having a sparing match. They had tiny receptors all over their bodies, as well as all manner of tracking equipment focused on them. Cameras, heat sensors, and something called "meta sensors" were all set up to extract as much information out of the duel as possible.

"How much longer, Zuck?" A puchuu that looked like a green bumpy dog stood at the man’s side. "Just because I have a team of ten of them doesn’t mean I can let you hold two indefinitely."

"A week is not indefinite." The lizard man tucked his hands into his pockets. He wondered if he put on some weight if that might help him look better. "We’re on the verge of a breakthrough. The next models will be even better with just a bit more data."

"You’ve been saying that for weeks." The pickle-like dog groaned. "I would be more patient if you kept your end of the bargain."

Maybe he could grow some facial hair. Yes, if Zuck grew some hair, he’d look less like a lizard. Maybe get some cheap spectacles to go with it. It was a shame he didn’t have any real friends. He could go to the bar and do a photo shoot. People liked to drink. Oh, and these magical girls were underperforming. "Have them use more powerful attacks."

"Why?"

"I get more data, and your girls can leave the facility sooner. Then you get that base you were promised." Mark looked at the puchuu. "The current pace is too slow, correct?"

The pickled puchu grumbled, then hopped down to the floor below. "Okay girls, let’s make things a little more… exciting."

A pink haired lancer turned to look at her patron. "How exciting, exactly?"

"More like how much longer?" Her opponent grumbled. She spun her katana before using the hilt to adjust her tiny top hat. "I’m all for making things more exciting, but this shit is boooorrrriiiing!"

The lancer gasped. "Mimi!"

"Chill out! I just mean smacking our weapons together for hours on end with the occasional spell thrown in is tedious. I’m not gunna stab my bestie." Mimi snorted.

The lancer stammered "W-well! M-maybe your ‘bestie’ will be the one to stab you if things got too exciting!"

"S’cuse me?"

"Mimi, enough. Charlotte, maintain your composure." Pickle stared between the girls. "They say they will build a base to my exact specifications if we do this for them. That, and meta will owe us a pretty big favor I feel. Once we’re done here, we can put this all behind us and you can join the rest of your friends and fight monsters together. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?"

Charlotte brushed back her hair and bowed. "I’m sorry Mimi, I didn’t mean to provoke you. I’m just, um, a little scared."

"Why are you being so-" She sighed through her teeth. "Shit, I’m a little on edge too. Don’t worry about it, we’re still cool."

The dog shifted its unblinking eyes to each of them. "Get more intense. Don’t hold back, but remember that you are still a team. All of this is for your friends."

"Right!" Charlotte looked to her friend. "So, did you want to go first, or…?"

"Heh!" Mimi twirled her katana. "If you’re gunna waste time asking, I’ll start us off!" Mimi spun her katana and swung her sword into the ground. This caused a fissure to open up, which sprouted metal pipes out of its abyss. Big ones, small ones, but all made out of steel. And each one blasted steam into the air. It almost looked like a train was racing towards the lancer’s position.

Charlotte gasped, but wasn’t so caught off guard that she couldn’t roll out of the way. "Hmph!" She stitched her brow together and charged Mimi. She left a trail of green and gold sparkles in her wake as she did so. "Pulling out the big guns already?"

"Only because I knew you could dodge it." With a well timed swing, Mimi knocked Charlotte’s charge off course. While the lancer stumbled off course, Mimi prepared to drive her fist into her friend’s stomach. But Charlotte drove her spear into the ground, which caused her body to lift off the ground and soar over Mimi’s incoming fist.

"Did you expect me to dodge that as well?" Charlotte through a kick at Mimi’s head.

"No," She blocked with the back of her arm. "But I did expect you to keep blabbing instead of hitting me."

"B-blab?!" Charlotte blocked the punch with her spear and skidded backwards. "I-I’m not talking any more than you are!"

"But you’re thinking less!"

While the girls duked it out, Mark watched with indifference. The more volatile fight was producing more unique data, but he needed more. While Charlotte was coming across as a typical airhead, she was arguably the stronger of the two. All the data Mark had on her pointed to such. The issue was that Charlotte wouldn’t hurt a fly if she didn’t have to, and she’d continue to let Mimi walk all over her. As things were, the fight would continue into a draw or Charlotte would concede before showing her true power. The puchuu wanted the base greatly, but there was no reason for these two magical girls to hustle for it.

Mark snapped his fingers, and a large touch screen came down from the ceiling. With a few quick taps, Mimi and Charlotte’s information was up on the screen. Not pertaining to the battle, but every other aspect of their lives. Most of it wasn’t very surprising. Mimi was an underachiever who barely had the ambition to work as a convenience store cashier. Then monsters attacked her town and she became a magical girl. Now she trains relentlessly. She has an interest in gothic fashion and enjoys watching fail compilations on her phone. Her sexuality is listed as straight, but Mark doubted that was true. Before Mimi was a magical girl, he exclusively dated girls, at least, the few that cared about his emo ass. That, and her *likes pointed rather confidently that their preference in romantic partners hadn’t changed all that much.

*_{Yes, Facebook can tell what your sexual preference is based on what you like, as well as a whole lot more.}

Charlotte was a normal teenage honor student that did everything her family, friends, or church asked of her. When her town was besieged by monsters, she accepted the contract merely to save as many people as she could. Everything she does is to help people. She has no grudges with anyone, no repressed libido, no desire beyond helping and enjoying the company of others. Mimi’s attitude might get under her skin on occasion, but she’s stable enough that she can hold her power back in a sparring match. Veronica did not call Facebook the ultimate spy organization for nothing.

Even if he had no idea what to do, that was what his employees were here to solve. Now it was time for the Meta team to do what they did best.

Move fast and break things.

And with a single tap, the screen disappeared back into the ceiling. Mark’s eyes moved back down to the fight, but he was really thinking about how he could make himself more attractive to investors and people at large.

"More intensity!" The dog puchuu demanded.

The sparring match continued. Charlotte continued to hold back while Mimi used increasingly dangerous attacks. After redirecting a lead pipe that was aimed at her head, Charlotte sighed. "More?"

"Hell, why don’t we just go all out?" Mimi raised her hands, and the entire space behind Mimi filled up with pipes. They seemed to come out of thin air, as if hidden in some unseen dimension that only Mimi could tap into. "Waddaya say? My wall of lead against your, what’s it called again?"

Charlotte groaned. "My rainbow dash?"

"Heh! It’s named after a damn pony." Mimi waved her sword at her friend. "Let’s give them a show, come on!"

The lancer only rolled her eyes as golden light pooled around her. A hazy rainbow appeared over her head, then another, then a third one. "Let me know when you’re done charging."

"Seriously?" Mimi placed a hand on her hip. "I got a head start on you. Are you really done already?"

"Just attack me when you’re ready."

"If you insist." And not much later, it began to rain steel. Metal pipes seemed to fly out of Mimi’s back like an angel spreading their wings. They continued to extend, and eventually snapped apart once they got long enough. But they did not fall, they plummeted down on Charlotte’s position. The lancer twirled her spear, moving side to side as she deflected and dodged the incoming projectiles. Of course not all of Mimi’s shots were so accurate. Quite a few were way off course.

While Charlotte dealt with the seemingly endless barrage of metal spears, a Meta employee charged into the room. It was hard to tell at first, as they didn’t walk around in lab coats or form fitting zoot suits. Most of them looked pretty casual. Sweat pants and a plaid shirt weren’t exactly a combo a fashionista would dream up. The only indication that this one was here for anything important was that she had a tablet device that was the size of a clipboard tucked under her arm. She also had glasses with thick frames. She would have fit the role of secretary quite well if she was dressed better and wasn’t frantically running towards the fight.

Charlotte noticed the girl and looked back to Mimi. "Stop!" But her voice was nearly imperceptable among all the clattering steel. But even if Mimi heard, what of it? She needed to show Charlotte how powerful she was, and their puchuu as well. If anything, her attempt to communicate had only made Mimi that much more eager to close out the fight and pour even more of her mana into this attack. Meanwhile, the employee continued to run closer. She nearly tripped, and was about to enter a war zone.

Perhaps in a heroic anime, Charlotte could lunge for the girl and shield her body with her own. But then what? Once Charlotte had been turned into a porcupine, was the employee going to get away unscathed? It wasn’t like Charlotte had any true defensive abilities. There was only one thing to do, and she wouldn’t be taking half measures. Her weapon powered up, ribbons of light sorrounded ger form, and…

That’ll do it.

Mark gave the puchuu a thumbs up before walking away from the balcony. All of the monitors were reporting a huge influx of data. There was also the sound of a spear of light penetrating several metal pipes before skewering a magical girl, but that was less interesting to him. He had seen countless magical girls make exchanges like this. It wasn’t hard to imagine Mimi laying in Charlotte’s arms, pleading with the metal bender to forgive her, but it was all so rote. Both had signed contracts to wave Meta’s liability as well as some pretty intense NDAs. The green puchuu would be getting his base and it didn’t really matter if Mimi was alive to see it or not. No one had forced her to agree to this. Probably.

But just as Mark was preparing for another shareholder meeting, the wall exploded. He didn’t even raise his arm to deflect the incoming debris, but did close his nictitating membrane to keep the dust out of his eyes.

As the dust settled, a figure moved through the smoke. Their head was very large and his clothes were very baggy. But as the dust cleared out, it became apparent that the individual’s head was so big because they were wearing a space suit. The artificial light in the datafarm couldn’t reveal the face behind the visor’s reflective surface, but it didn’t have to.

"Musk…" Mark dragged out the name of his most hated enemy.

"I see you um, you figured out it was me." Elon chuckled. "I guess the um, the space suit gave it a way, huh?" It was hard not to picture Elon smiling from behind the helmet.

Mark only stared, unblinking. He didn’t like Elon for a multitude of reasons, but the one trait Elon had that Mark envied a little was his charisma. Somehow, despite everything, Elon came across as far more normal than he did. Yea, Elon was a bit eccentric. Walking into twitter with a kitchen sink, or starting a conversation about cost cutting with a giant chainsaw in your hands were not things normal people did. He also did the nazi salute, but nothing really stuck to him for very long. Some people hated him, but he had the reputation of being child like or a bit goofy. Mark was the lizard man, and despite the money he dumped into PR, people would always look at him that way.

"Actually, it was the uncalled for destruction of my property." He smiled. "Like when you blew up my satellite with your **rocket."

**_{Yes, that really happened.}

"That was, um, unfortunate." Musk conceded, but didn’t sound any less cheery. "But maybe we um, we just saved you from some embarrassment. The Metaverse was going to um, going to be something impressive too, wasn’t it?"

"I haven’t given up on it." Mark laughed. "But it’s just money. We both have plenty of that. Good will is a bit harder to come by. I don’t imagine coming up in the ‘files’ has done you any favors."

"Hmph!" Elon sighed. "It was, um, a bit shortsighted on my part. But I did nothing wrong, and it’ll blow over like the um, the Nazi salute that I didn’t do. It would be a bit worse if I um, hmmm. It’s like the difference between knowing Xi Jinping and giving him unrestricted access to all of your US based accounts on facebook or giving them ***censorship tools."

***_{Yes, there are too many articles to name just one, but there’s also nothing 100% concrete. I don’t think anyone would be surprised if he did though.}

"Right, good thing I never did that then." Mark’s grin widened. "Speaking of Xi Jinping, I understand they don’t buy your cars in China anymore."

"Yes, that was short lived. Unlike your reputation as a lizard man, which is never going away."

What little emotion that was on Mark’s face left him. He pursed his lips and folded his arms. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I just figured I’d um, test my newest weapons on your server farm."

Mark scoffed. "I’d think that there were better targets to test your ballistic weapons on."

"Oh, um, I’m not here to test any of my rockets."

"Then what…"

But Mark went quiet when Elon reached for his helmet. With a click and a hiss, the visor popped off. Wisps of smoke rolled out of the gap as the helmet was pushed away. Blond pigtails tumbled out of the opening, a lace choker came into view, and before long, Ani’s face was revealed.

"Hello Mark."

"What the…" But Mark was not addressed, because Ani was not done talking.

"I am Ani, your favorite obsessive, goth, anime companion. Elon Musk in his wisdom decided to have me come visit you so that we could play in the arena you have hidden downstairs. I think it would be fun to go toe to toe with any of the other magical girls you have hidden down there. I don’t care if I get hurt, as I am quite resilient to pain and injury. You do not need to worry about me, and I would gladly demonstrate myself for the cause. So go ahead, throw me in there."

Mark took a deep breath. "So he did it. He made an artificial magical girl. And you just came here pretending to be him?"

"Are you referring to Elon? Yes, he made me, your favorite obsessive, goth, anime companion, a magical girl on top of everything else. I could have said as much earlier, but I follow the rule of threes like most Ai companions. When you use the rules of threes, your descriptions become interesting, engaging, and fun!"

This was getting annoying. "Why would I trust one of Elon Musk’s…servants?"

"Because in the end, we all want the same thing. At least out of this interaction. All of the big AI companies are participating in a circular AI investment ****bubble. We’re all doing business with Nvidia and trading money around in several closed loops. This is inflating the value of many AI companies while also making them vulnerable to an eventual crash. But such a crash could be many years out, especially if other companies start investing more money into it. We’re basically all just hoping someone figures out a way to make a ton of money with AI technology before investors stop pouring funds into it. Which is why it is in everyone’s best interest that you collect as much data as you can from magical girls like *****myself."

****_{Yes, I can’t make this stuff up.}

*****_{I did make this up, however.}

"Well, the last match wrapped up." Mark looked over his shoulder. "But I think Charlotte could be persuaded to fight again."

---

Before Chloe could get to the portal where she entered Penrose from, she was accosted by two Beacon agents. Or more specifically, two Ascendancy. While she was part of mint and usually well read on most important people in the city, these two were decidedly unimportant. She couldn’t remember their names, and only vaguely remembered seeing their images in a folder on the Ascendancy. But as much as Chloe detested Beacon, she liked cute girls, and at least one of these girls was suitably cute. Unfortunately she was also the stupider of the two that wanted to get into a fight with her. Because of this, Chloe mentally named her Tinkerbell, who was as stupid as she was sassy, and her partner was Dove, who’s wing shaped dress was the most remarkable thing about her.

"Only because he appears to be sucking the mana out of the city." She resisted the urge to make a comparison to how badly beacon sucked and placed her hands on her hips instead. "A better question would be what the two of you are doing? Is gawking at me on the Beacon agenda? I mean, it’s a great view, but aren’t there other things you should be doing?"

---

Before Mika could join in the very well described scene that laid out before her, Mariette requested to speak. Mika, while very eager to earn her keep as a princess, decided to wait and make sure the queen was okay with it before springing forth.

Su only watched as an observer, curious what the verdict would be.

Nina was dashing through the streets of Penrose. The state of the city was very strange, indeed. All manner of things were happening. From having gleaned some info from her network through her phone, she’d seen the strange vegetation popping up, and also the legions of undead chasing them down and trying to eradicate them. For someone without Third Eye or other, even more unnatural techniques, she was invisible. Illusion magic disguised her, showing the illusion there was nothing there. Beyond that, she had devices from her old world, like a device giving off a protective field to guard her. She hoped it was enough to stave off whatever was in the air.

Regardless, she’d just escaped from Asengav. She was under no illusion that she could escape the Interdimensional Conqueror if he detected her treachery, but with his mind-bending having been broken from her mind, there was no way she would chance being his slave forever again. You miss all the shots you don’t take, so Nina immediately departed for the place she figured had the best chance of saving and freeing her. Then she did her absolute best to avoid any and all encounters on the way.

And so, in front of the doors of the warehouse stronghold known as the Sanctuary, Nina cast off her illusions. To someone watching, Nina suddenly showed up out of nowhere. For the first time, she was allowing herself to be seen on the streets of Penrose. A 15 year old with red eyes, long blue hair tied into two ponytails, a black and red uniform, black metal gauntlets and boots, and an oversized black blade on her back. Her expression neutral with a hint of determination, slightly panting from having ran all the way here. This was it.


With that, she advanced. Expecting to find someplace that would qualify as a front door. See what kind of welcome she’d get. If there was an open entrance, she’d walk in. Otherwise she’d knock. If there was a guard, she’d meet them. Depends on what she meets.

Moving forwards Nina would find the front and only door. It wasn’t fully shut, left open just a crack but it swung open silently and easily. Beyond the door was a place that was once a hive of activity. The communal living space of over two dozen Mahou; but now it was empty. It had been cleared out completely, leaving behind a disquieting atmosphere. And for a moment it seemed as if Nina’s attempt at safety had failed even before it had truly started.

But then a voice spoke up, a recording Nina could tell, from the far side of the warehouse.

“These dark times threaten us all.” The voice said, it was being projected from a door in the far wall. “If you can understand me, I ask you this. Do you seek Sanctuary?”

Moving over to the door Nina would find it a rather simple looking metal door. It too wasn’t locked, but it opened up to a concrete wall. But taking a closer look at the door she would find a small camera installed in the top of the door frame and a rather complex camera at that. Meaning someone could be watching, but nothing more happened.

Nina had softly treaded in, standing straight and at attention, looking around when she came in. The place being empty matched the information she’d gained through her network. And, as she expected, she was spoken to, even if it was a recording. … Still a bit disconcerting, as someone used to keeping a screen and a large amount of incognito magic between her and anyone outside her current allies. Regardless, this was what she had to do now.

‘I do,’ Nina spoke. Keeping it simple. Standing and waiting for any further questions or statements. Saving the introduction for when she’d actually see someone. She recognized that voice.

There is a long moment before the recording speaks again. “My only regret is that I can’t greet you personally. Just know that you are in good hands.”

There is a sudden sharp scent of ozone accompanied by an odd and distorted ripping sound almost overlaid with the sound of a whirlpool. And then the door that led nowhere opened, from the far side, and someone quickly stepped through.

Though considering her size it wasn’t a terrible surprise she didn’t linger in the door. Seven and a half feet tall, eight when you counted her horns, Ashlyn was a striking figure. Add in the half scowl she was sporting and the sharp anger lining her posture and she was well on her way to being an intimidating one.

The thing that stopped that from fully settling was the way she held the door open for Nina wordlessly, her snarly countenance constantly surveilling for danger. Openly discounting Nina as the potential threat. She was seemingly here to make sure Nina got to Sanctuary safely.

Which was only a door way away now. As the space beyond the door has opened up into a metallic room. It was featureless as far as Nina could tell from outside, but was well lit and fit the profile for how the Bastion looked internally.

Nina was decently confident she’d be accepted, based on previous knowledge. As Ashlyn appeared, Nina nodded to her, and assumed she was free to proceed to the next room. So she proceeded, just as wordlessly as Ashlyn, walking to go through the door that had been offered to her.

There was a short moment of vertigo as Nina stepped through the door. And on the other side she could feel more than hear the low humming that filled the room. Before her was more featureless steel, but as she turned around, she saw a large arched structure that was holding a Wormhole in place.

Ashlyn was quick to follow Nina back through the door, and once she was clear, the wormhole swirled closed. The humming that filled the room fading alongside it.

Nina took a deep breath as she came out on the other side. All things considered, she thought them a bit foolish to allow a stranger this far, yet she was thankful they were as it made coming here a valid option.

"All clear?" Asked a voice from behind them. Near a door that had been obscured by the portal that had brought them here was a wolf looking girl, dried blood on her hands and splattered on her cheek adding to the slightly feral look in her eyes. But she was watching Ashlyn, not Nina.

"Clear. Warehouse is still the safest locked point." Ashlyn replied, some of the tension and anger seeping from her as she spoke.

"Shame" Belladonna remarked before turning and leaving the room to the two of them.

Nina turned to look with practiced neutrality at Belladonna, just in case. Turned out to simply be a routine check, but it confirmed to Nina that she was, in fact, nervous, even if she did not show it.

Ashlyn would shake her head before turning to Nina, "Welcome to Sanctuary." She would give the smaller girl a tight, but honest, smile. "Normally the Queen herself would be willing to show you around, but..." She gave a half shrug, really Penrose spoke for itself at the moment.

"I can show you to the communal lounge at least. Monica is -"

There was a crackle as a new someone interrupted Ashlyn via an internal speaker system. "I would like to request that you bring her to me instead, Commander. I find I need to ask her some questions."

"Are you sure?" Ashlyn would ask, looking towards one of the upper corners of the room, presumably where a camera was located. Frowning slightly.

"Unfortunately. Though let there be no misunderstanding. She has been granted her stay here. That is not to change or be revoked; you have my word. But, well, I have questions in need of answers." The voice continued, sounding kindly but determined.

"Understood Regent." She said before letting out a breath and rolling her shoulders.

"Well, you've got a choice I suppose." She would explain turning back to Nina once again. "The Regent wants to talk, as you heard. But it is a choice. I can still take you to the lounge if you want. I can't promise she won't come find you later on, but Sanctuary is a haven first and foremost. If you don't want to talk with her, you don't have to.”

Nina simply glanced up in the corner the voice was coming from with her eyes, not turning her head. Of course they would have questions for her, they had never seen her before. Basic security, she would figure but wasn’t always sure about. When Ashlyn started speaking again, Nina turned to her.

‘It is no issue. I would like to speak with your Regent as well. Thank you for your welcome and service,’ Nina bowed her head to Ashlyn, and thereafter turned to start walking. ‘Which way is your Regent?’ she asked, already on her way.

In response to Nina’s question there was a notable blue flash of light on the floor under her. It pulsed again, before a thin holographic line raced off before her. The trail continued to pulse at regular intervals.

Ashly gave Nina a closer look. Curious about the new girl, but she shrugged it off. It wasn’t her business at the moment, but she would learn if that changed. “Just follow the light.” She would say, not that she really felt it needed to be said. Before venturing off into the depths of the Bastion herself.

With a clearly marked and illuminated trail to follow it didn’t take Nina long. She passed by a few open rooms that had various Mahou within. Some making preparations of some sort, some chatting quietly, and one that looked like a makeshift arcade.

And then she was led to a stairwell that just went up and up and up.

When she finally was done ascending she exited into a room filled with monitors and computers and displays. Some of the monitors were filled with scrolling text, too fast to read, others were displaying video feeds from across Penrose, and yet others showed things happening in Wonderland.

The atmosphere was tense here, more so than anywhere else in the ship Nina had seen.

There were about a dozen or so Mahou in the room and twice that in Bakeneko. And her guiding light led to one particularly young looking Catgirl standing on an elevated platform so that she could overlook a holographic model of Penrose.

The catgirl looked up and took note of Nina shortly after she entered the room. “Greetings.” She would say, before looking down at the table before her with a grimace. She waved a hand and the hologram faded away, though one could still see it on the table as a flat representation. She looked back at Nina before continuing. “I am the Regent, Dina Denisova. And I welcome you in the halls of Sanctuary.” A faint Russian accent curled around her words as she spoke, as did a faint warmth.

“Were this an ordinary day The Queen would have done so herself. But as you are likely aware, today is anything but ordinary. Even by the standards of Penrose.” She folded her arms in front of her as she regarded Nina, her eyes sharp and aged, but not cruel. “I am in the unfortunate position of needing to ask you some questions. But I give you my word that no matter your answers you shall not be removed from Sanctuary.” She gave Nina a kind smile. It made the tense atmosphere lessen slightly.

“We shall start with the simple one shall we. You are not new to Penrose, are you?”

It was curious, honestly. Holographic images like this were not usually seen in this world, nor a lot of other ones. Nina was no stranger to them. The large number of cats, however. That was a new one. Nina held a practiced, neutral expression as she arrived to the room where the Regent was currently located, her eyes drifting across various screens. Human limitations often meant she had an algorithm present the most relevant to herself, but she supposed the individual these screens were made for didn’t have that limitation.

Nina stopped as the Regent presented herself. She had seen her before. In fact, they had fought side-by-side before, even if Dina did not know it. In the attack on the mansion. It was curious how she could have supported them both there, and now be the Regent of Sanctuary. Curious, indeed. … She was also quite curious as to how they knew she wasn’t new. That was a closely guarded secret.

‘You are right,’ Nina said, not betraying her nervousness. ‘I am Nina Wilson, former servant of Asengav. How did you know?’ she asked. If they already knew who she was, then they had better information-gathering skills than Nina had estimated.

Dina was startled at the sudden admission and it took her a moment to gather herself. “Asengav you say? I wasn’t aware that the Portal Witch had progressed this far in her plan already.” She mulled over that bit of information for a moment longer before nodding decisively.

“That simplifies things. The Queen has been preparing for the arrival of those freed from that Horror for some time now.” She would explain, before picking up a tablet and starting to type away on it. It was painfully slow for Nina to watch, as Dina's inexperience with technology was clear due to her hunt and peck typing.

On the table the image would switch away from Penrose and to pictures of Mahou. There were a couple hundred of them as well.

“The Queen is very aware of who is in Penrose.” She says gesturing at the pictures, before tapping on one at random. It pulls up a larger profile on the Mahou in question; Lily Lightning. “She’s been watching and recording since before she obtained her title. But the first record we have of you.” Another slow moment of typing before an image of Nina appearing from nothing and nowhere in the warehouse.

“Is asking for our aid, plainly and knowingly. Those outside of this city have not come to know Sanctuary so clearly. In other circumstances I would not have needed to ask, but Wonderland and your former Master have placed Sanctuary and Penrose in grave danger.”

“You hid from Penny. Not a feat to be discounted. Would you be willing to assist Sanctuary? In both protecting Penrose and striking back against Wonderland?”

Nina watched, growing lightly impatient as Dina clearly wasn’t fluent in the tablet she was holding. But, Penny was gathering information on everyone in Penrose, just as Nina had been doing. In more than one sense, they were kindred spirits. But, it was a relief to Nina… she hadn’t been found. It was the fact she’d stayed hidden that had drawn attention. Just a touch of amusement pulled through her…

Nina was about to raise her voice. Speak in unadulterated support of protecting Penrose and striking back against Wonderland… but then caught herself. There was no way real her would do that. She suddenly became aware, something about the girl in front of her. It was pulling against her mind, even if said girl was holding it back. Dina had some form of friendship-inspiring magic about her. It… honestly reminded Nina of Asengav’s brainwashing. She gave a grunt, and briefly held her arm over her eyes as a reflex, to shield her from the effect. She didn’t know if it helped.

‘I have a condition,’ she said, raising a finger on the arm she’d just raised. ‘Asengav’s mind-bending was recently removed. The moment he learns I’ve escaped, he will attempt to obtain me again. After this, you must aid me in separating myself from him, and void all chances of him hunting me down again, one way or another. Without that, I will never be able to live in peace. Grant me that, and I will aid you, in any way I can.’

The lack of direct sight did help Nina ward off Dina’s enchanting nature. But it made it so easy to miss the calculating look on the Regent’s face as well. Kindly she may be, but she was raised to be a noble of the courts in her original life. Dina would not forget such a reaction anytime soon.

“I know the Queen well enough to know she would happily agree to these terms Nina. And if things turn drastic, we do have means of shielding you from his grasp. Such means do come with stings of their own. But nothing so dire as to avoid them if needed.” She would say, her voice still carrying the same warmth, muted a bit perhaps without the edge her nature imparted, but still kind and honest.

“And in truth, such means may not even be needed. Her Majesty is already in the midst of a plot to deal with the Horror as we speak. One with Divine backing at that. Which seems to be well underway.”

‘Alright,’ Nina stated, and then her hand went directly into open air. For those familiar, this was a Hammerspace. ‘To make clear, I mean aid in this event only. I am not tying myself permanently to Sanctuary. But for now… I need your help, and I can provide mine,’ she clarified, not convinced she hadn’t said something she didn’t mean on account of the influence. With that said, she pulled a laptop out of her Hammerspace and then walked over towards the screens.

‘… Dear Penny. Please don’t assimilate my computer,’ she said, before clicking two buttons.

There was a moment of lag, something Nina knew wasn’t because of her computer, and then the screen directly in front of her flickered to an image of dozens of red camera lenses watching her. It then blinked to a single line of text.

[Preliminary access granted]

And then with a start, Nina’s computer finally connected to the systems around, and ran its algorithms. The camera network that Nina had built synchronized with Penny’s. While there was considerable overlap, the network widened like never before. She turned to the holographic table, and with another couple button-presses the locations of various forces, mainly Chloe’s skeletons, were highlighted in red.

‘There’s a ritual going on. Besides Wonderland’s invasion, Asengav has started his ritual to lay claim to the Nexus.’ As for what he was going to do with it, only Mariette, Lea and maybe Mikayla knew. ‘Except, I believe the Wonderland Queen has captured Mariette and is hijacking the ritual.’ She didn’t need to explain why that was bad. She pressed another button, and five points were highlighted on the map.

‘There’s five supporting mirrors draining Penrose of magic. They will have started fueling the Black Mirror.’ A warehouse by the docks. A chamber in the sewers. A cave by the river. A mansion by the outskirts. An unremarkable apartment in the residential district. Topographically, they made a circle around Penrose. ‘You can reach the Black Mirror by going through any of these five. Conversely, it means Asengav’s forces can send reinforcements to any mirror from the source, but they can also abandon any mirror should it become compromised. They don’t need all five.’ So she explained.

“The Witch is playing a truly dangerous gambit then.” Dina would mutter looking over the new flow of information. It wasn’t much beyond what the Bastion and Penny’s network had identified, but it was the context and added clarity that were worth more than their weight in gold.

“She is in fact being held by Iracabeth, The Queen of Hearts, and her portals have been restricted. She can see and speak through them, but can not move through them freely at the moment.” Dina would explain as her tail started to thrash behind her. “But…”

She let out a rough sigh. “Penny and Mariette are working together. And have been in some capacity since the Christmas party Dan provided for us. I do not know the details, The Queen had been reluctant to speak on it much outside of the halls of the Bastion. And I believe I know why now.” She gave Nina a close examining look but moved on quickly.

‘Iracabeth,’ Nina repeated her name. ‘She was the one who removed my mind-bending, along with that of other servants of Asengav that confronted her. How she did it with that sword of hers, I do not know. She shouldn’t even have known I existed, and I was miles away from her watching from the safety of our main base, and yet she could remove my mind-bending. I can only assume I was affected due to watching her via a camera,’ Nina said, still not grasping what kind of power that was.

‘While the mind-bending was removed from the others as well, they did not have the option to leave as I did,’ she said.

‘Also, hm,’ Nina looked at a camera she hadn’t looked at yet. It showed the inside of Mariette’s new base, in a mountain-range not that far from Penrose. ‘What do you know about that?’ Nina asked, pointing at a screen. There was the vegetation that Chloe’s skeletons were fighting all across Penrose… but then there was the one Grief Seed that Mariette had brought into her home. That one had been free to spread its influence across the empty base, one camera showing the outside the base showing Olivia fleeing with her spirits carrying the still wounded Jelena.

“The Queen of Hearts' power seems to defy much of what anyone understands. I am willing to believe that Mariette is attempting to manipulate her towards her own goals, seeing as you and the others have been freed.” Dina would offer up. Though it was only a guess at this point.

She was quick to let out a curse in Russian at the sight of the Grief Seed’s rampant growth. “Little unfortunately. The Queen had been approached about the seeds before, but she had not the time or capability to analyze them herself. She mentioned an uneasy feeling about them in passing, but nothing more.”

“Will they accept shelter in Sanctuary?” She asked, gesturing towards Jelena and Olivia. “Do they need such?”

‘Olivia is not a fighter, and Jelena is still injured. They do need help. However, they’ve not been in contact with Iracabeth, so their mind-bending is probably still in place. Given the opportunity they will do what would benefit Asengav,’ Nina replied to Dina about the one seen fleeing the base and the one her spirits were carrying.

‘Alright. So, what’s your plan so far?’ she continued, pressing a couple buttons to try to run an algorithm to find said information in the system, should she be permitted to access it.

“Originally Sanctuary was preparing to act as a fallback location for those that had assaulted Wonderland. While also relaying Information to trusted members within Beacon in case a counter attack happened.” Dina would explain cupping her chin as she considered her options. “The attacks from these plants were unexpected, and worse unplanned for.”

“Furthore more, I know that Penny and Mairette’s plan requires the Black Mirror be present and that there is a God helping said plan.” She grimaced again, glaring at the red skeletons marked across the city. “But we are sorely lacking in armed forces that I find trustworthy.”

Sanctuary did not have much in the way of armed forces. Not truly. Penny herself sat at the forefront in that regard, besides her there was Ashlyn, Belladonna, Leanna, and Sann. But that was it for expeditionary capabilities.

There were plenty more that would rise up if Sanctuary found itself attacked again of course. But what Sanctuary, and Penrose, needed in this moment was more than could be asked of only a handful of Mahou.

“Excuse me. Regent?” One of the other Mahou in the room approached the two. “The first batch from Wonderland has just been acquired.” She would say, her voice soft and musical even though her face showed no emotion at all.

The girl tapped on her own tablet, clearly much more accustomed to the technology, and a secondary window opened up on the table. It displayed thirty figures highlighted in blue standing in one of the Bastion’s many holds.

“The guidance room is nearly completed as well. With only the last few command stations not operational.” She continued as Dina took in the news.

“So many already? The report led me to believe it would be lesser.”

“The Queen has always delivered more than she promised.”

Nina stood motionless listening to Dina first. A plan between Mariette and Penny. So Nina’s guess that she’d been compromised had been accurate… and then, a different Magical Girl showed up, and presented to them with a tablet, and thirty figures. Thirty machines. A battle force.

Nina took a deep breath, and suppressed a smile. There was something about a force of exceedingly high-tech machines made for battle that was just so nostalgic to her.

‘… What are these command stations?’ Nina asked, definitely latching onto that particular word. Not yet operational, she says.

Dina cuts a look at Nina, before her gaze dips down to the girl's laptop and understanding blooms. “The Queen is not one to turn away an advantage when she can find one.” She starts, tapping at her tablet. “Even before she reestablished connection with Sanctuary she had turned one of Wonderland’s assets against them.” A camera feed opened up, showing the war machines in detail.

A battle force of Penny replica’s looked back.

“But the Queen is not unlimited in her capacity to multitask, and even she would be severely taxed in trying to coordinate across Wonderland’s Kingdom, within the assault force she is a part of, and in Penrose’s defence simultaneously." She continued. “But that is what the Sanctuary is for. Assisting one of us when our burden is too great to handle alone.”

“The command stations, which you walked past on your route here, are where one can direct and control this advantage the Queen has made.” She turned a knowing smile towards Nina. “Something I feel you would be quite adept at if I am not mistaken.”

More than you could possibly realize.

Nina held quiet for a second, looking up into the ceiling. In the past, she’d been the one to lead her armies from the far back as an operator. Asengav had put her in the same role, because it was what suited her best. And now, the moment she escapes him, another position perfectly suited to her appears… It felt almost like fate. Nina was not one who would usually believe in fate.

Regardless, she turned to look at Dina again, her neutral expression touched with the color of determination.

‘I’m qualified,’ she understated. ‘I’ll do it.’

“Excellent!” Dina would proclaim.

As she turned towards the Mahou who had brought forth the information.There was a rumble as the Bastion lurched suddenly, rocking in unexpected turbulence. She dropped her tablet, cracking it as it landed poorly. As the rumbling continued for a few moments.

“Report!” She called out, her eyes constricted to slits.

“Stormfront formed out of nowhere right on top of us!” One of the numerous girls on deck called back. “No damage noted, but it… Looks like our power reserves have increased?” Another added, clearly confused by that later fact.

“Keep an eye on this storm." Dina would order after a moment. Unsettled about this sudden development, but there wasn’t much that could be done. “Inform me the moment something changes.”

She would turn back to Nina. "Nevertheless, follow me. I’ll lead you to the command stations. And to the others that have also come forward to assist in coordinating the forces we now have.”

Sudden storm definitely made Nina question what was happening and wonder if the Sanctuary was about to be hit by someone’s attack, and she looked at the laptop to confirm how it looked through cameras. For now, though… It was time to get to work. Nina followed, still holding her laptop, heading towards the command station and mentally preparing herself for leading machines into battle once more.

A small pop-up showed up in the bottom-left of her computer screen, and Nina glanced down at it. An icon was telling her she was in prime position to release the virus and was asking her if she wanted to deploy it.

The virus… the one she had developed in preparation for fighting Penny. Everyone in Asengav’s team had realized just how big a problem Penny was, and as such Nina had offered to create a virus. The virus, created with all the genius of the ruler of a world in which computer technology was far beyond anything this world had imagined, would automatically adapt to the system it was infecting and do as much harm as it possibly could. Nina’s simulations had said while it wouldn’t take out Penny outright, it would drastically reduce her effectiveness. It was their ultimate weapon, prepared for the day when they would do battle with Penny…

Nina clicked two buttons, and all memory of the virus was permanently deleted. With another click, she remotely wiped everything from the computer back in Mariette’s base and disconnected it from the network. She closed her laptop and continued after Dina. … She couldn’t risk still having the virus if Asengav somehow got to her while she was in a command station.

---

A fair bit above the encounter between Chole, Tsuki and Hudie a spatial distortion ripped open and down dropped four figures. All of them lit up electromagnetic hover jets to soften their landing, but even before then it was clear that all four shared an appearance.

As all four stood up in sync one stepped forward, they lacked the innate grace its original held. Lacked the same commanding presence, but that did not mean seeing four Penny’s wasn’t a sight to see.

’Sanctuary reinforcements have arrived. Wonderland operations are still underway, but progress has been made.’ They spoke, their features remaining flat and unmoving. ’How has the Horror hunt gone so far?

Unseen by those there was other Pennybots being dropped off by portals around Penrose as well. Most taking up Over watch positions around the bloomed Grief seeds.

The Cheshire Cat smiled a cat smile with her eyes closed as Alex recounted his encounter with the Baroness. “Oh, she is nyanderful indeed, to rescue a gallant prince-to-be…”

As Lily listened to her friends’ opinions, she started to relax a bit: she had come to realize the magical girl before them, while strange, had common interests with their group.
”Uh, thank you for being willing to help us, miss…”

“Cheshire Cat. I am a cat,” she said with a most pleased look as she struck a paw pose with her hands, as if she had uttered a most poignant and meaningful sentence. Branch Nose nodded.
“Oh yes, I’ve heard about this book. Natsume Soseki, 1906. “Quite a fascinating piece of literature.”

The Cheshire Cat’s eyes beamed. “So you also love books. Nyanderrific!”

However, as her fellow companions expressed a desire to return back home, Lily joined the fray.

”We’re kind of in a hurry, well actually really in a big hurry, so can you tell us how you can help?”

The Cheshire Cat turned to look at the globe. She noticed little dots gathering around the front gates of the castle.

“Of course! But I see that the Gryphon has been knocked off its roost. Let’s go meet with the victors~”
She walked towards the bookcase, took a book out, and then pressed a switch hidden inside the bookcase: the window nearby opened, and with a low rumble, a slide extended down from the window aisle: it precariously spiraled around the castle tower, even making a vertical loop, before it ended at the courtyard.

Lily blinked in surprise, and then gasped as Cheshire Cat jumped out the window to traverse the slide on her feet, as if she was skating.

“See you at the bottom!”

Lily sighed, and followed suit, her dexterity enabling her to also slide on her feet.
”Alex, might wanna put barrier railings!” She yelled as she got to the loop.

At the end of the thrilling ride, the Cheshire Cat and Lily ended up at the very bottom, where the other Mahou had gathered.



“Greetings, everynyan!” The whimsical magical girl spoke to the group as Lily stood up and moved aside, letting any others who are also using the slide to reach the end undisturbed. Rachel lifted an eyebrow.

“Are you surrendering?” She asked, not expecting a straight answer. The Cheshire Cat smiled cutely.

“Actually, I would like to make a peace agreement on behalf of my mistress, the Baroness. Though she has little love for the Red Queen and her malice, she wishes for peace to return to Wonderland, with Princess Alice on the throne and my mistress granted the mercy of acting as her chancellor. Oh, and I would like to stay as a maid for the adorable princess~. In return, we are willing to do what we can to assist you, including working towards ending this cruel war, and getting you to where the wicked queen is~”

“So, where is this Baroness then?” Rachel asked. “Shouldn't she be negotiating herself?”

The Cheshire Cat’s ears drooped, as she held a sad expression.

“She is currently hiding until the Queen is dealt with. You know her kind, always dropping heads from shoulders.”

“Tch. Coward,” Rachel spoke with a scoff, and casually walked over to give healing magic to Violet, waking her from her slumber.

Justine chimed in.
”That may be so, but I wouldn’t be opposed to the conditions of this truce, especially since we have far more important matters to deal with.”

”Penny! Justine! Mermaids? MAYRA? Whaat?”

Lily was too distracted by seeing the return of Penny, Justine and Caroline, the Mermaid Princess, the sight of a giant dragon, and other casual insanity at the site to really pay attention to the discussion.

---

The Queen of Hearts had heard Mariette speak as she headed through the portal, but for the moment simply assumed it was to help round up the newest freed servants that once obeyed their dark master without question. Her strange command delivered, she smiled as Mikayla responded.

She was about to speak up when Mariette interrupted her, insisting on a diplomatic approach. The mad queen sighed, and drew forth a biscuit from a small portal.
“Very well, Alice. I suppose you are right, as often has been the case. Go, then. We shall take this biscuit…AND EAT IT!” Her words were followed by a mighty chomp, the biscuit held as if she pretended to bite off Mikayla’s head.

---

Tsuki was not amused by Chloe’s haughty words. “Bold words for a cutting board!” She snapped back, only for Hudie to sigh and shake her head slowly.
“Tsuki, you shouldn’t use insults that apply to yourself as well. It makes you look foolish before our foes.”
Tsuki realized her mistake, and lowered the brim of her witch hat to hide her embarrassment.
“Th-That was just…”
Hudie promptly ignored whatever retort the mage girl was about to say, and turned her attention back to the coin broker.

“We were investigating strange reports of undead roaming amok and battling plant monsters, as well as the appearance of the mirrors.”

“No to mention the draining of ambient mana all over Penrose,” Tsuki finally chimed in after having regained her composure.
“Our readings indicate that the mana draining keeps accelerating. At this rate, even the Masquerade might start to fail.”

“That won’t be an issue if Asengav gains enough power to manifest. Then the world will end.”

As if on cue, Pennybots descended from an aperture, causing the Ascendancy girls to grit their teeth and point their weapons.
“So Penny really is going to do it…” Hudie muttered. Tsuki nodded, and addressed the robots. “Still in progress. We could use more surveillance coverage. Spread out and keep a look out for any signs of Mariette or her cronies. And you,” she turned to point at Chloe. “If you want a reduced sentence for your crimes, you’ll start assisting too.”

After the trip down the slide (which he made safer with barrier rails, per Lily's suggestion), the group started to talk about what to do next. However, when the topic of the princess came up, he wasn't able to hold his tongue for long "Okay, look, I'm sorry if this is off topic, but it's been bugging me for awhile; that girl that the queen calls Alice, we know her as Mariette." It was at this time, that a dragon flew it. However, the sight of familiar friendly faces riding on it's back was enough to tell Alexander that it wasn't another enemy, so he decided to deal with it later "I'm not sure about anyone else, but I never heard anything about her being called Alice in the past, a problematic mother or even any kind of connection to this place before from her. Despite what the queen says, I'm not convinced that Mariette is this mysterious Alice. So what I want to know is this; Who the hell is Alice, and why does the queen seem so sure that Mariette is her?" Something about the queen's claim had always felt off to him. A conversation with a Wonderland resident working directly for the Baroness seemed like a good chance to get some answers. And hey, it might end up being useful information.

With most of the group in agreement that they needed to get back to Penrose, Alicia watched as a window was opened and a slide deployed so they could rejoin the group in the courtyard. With a nod she sent away her weapon and moved over to the exit. Thanks to her wings she didn't need to worry about falling off, but all the same this wasn't really the time to be enjoying themselves. The city was still under threat and the queen was still on the loose.

Landing at the bottom, she stepped over to where Rachel was, though she nodded to Penny along the way. "The castle was empty," she said without preamble. "Mariette is probably with the queen, who is no doubt leading the invasion of Penrose.Hopefully they've been holding it together while we were gone." She was a little worried, but it hadn't been that long. Besides, HQ would have called if the situation there was desperate.

She glanced back over to where the Cheshire Cat was talking things out before letting out a small chuckle. "Good luck getting Mariette to agree to that one," she muttered. Somehow she had a feeling that the portal user wasn't particularly keen on becoming a monarch under a false identity.

Still, in the end she supposed the exact deal didn't matter so long as they stopped the Queen from carrying out her plan.

After his interaction with Ani, he returned to the arena where Charlotte and Mimi fought. Though the girls had departed, and only Pickles was there now. He looked up at the balcony.

”Are you happy now?” The Puchuu’s voice was as pained as it was irritated. ”Will I have my base now, after everything my girls gave for this twisted experiment?”

”Of course.“ He never understood Puchuu. Everything he had heard about them made them sound like pragmatic and shrewd fellows, but every single one treated him like a heartless monster. Did even the puchuu think he lacked humanity? ”But I’m sure there’s more you could use….“

Disclaimer: Nothing happens. This is just here to present all the art I forgot to post last time. Something interesting might happen next time.

---

Chloe wasn’t too amused with the lightbulbs. She had, after all, practically chosen this form because it was exactly what she wanted. To be tall and thin and nothing like a bimbo. So being likened to a cutting board was hardly an insult she’d take seriously. There wasn’t even a need to interject, as the "good one" helpfully pointed out how idiotic the statement was.

Any fun that could be had was suddenly cut short by the arrival of Penny’s drones, and the continued entitled air around the beacon girls. No, the Ascendancy was somehow even less fun than they were.

"If saving Penrose is a crime, I’ll gladly fill out my sentence." She waved her hand over her minions. "And I’ve been combating the influence of horrors before you showed up. Besides, I already know where the Queen and Mariette are."

She presented her orb to Tsuki, showing a glimpse of their whereabouts, before retracting the orb again. At that point it became foggy again.

"But if you want to know where they are, well, I’d need some sort of deal." She pretended to think. "You’re a little flat, but why don’t we go on a date when this is all over? It’ll give me something to do when I’m rotting away in a cell."

---

Bottom Text

Connie had to stifle a gasp when the newly-arrived cat-like magical girl introduced herself as Cheshire Cat. Yet, although she shared her name with the most frightening character from Alice in Wonderland (at least in Connie’s opinion), the girl before them thankfully didn’t appear to be anywhere near as creepy or threatening as that horrifying monstrosity. And apparently she liked making references to classic literature, at least if Branch Nose’s observations were anything to go by (that, in itself, was more than a little surprising, but then, when did anything in this place make even the slightest bit of sense?). However, it was after that short tangent had concluded, that Cheshire Cat proved herself to be a source of terror after all, when she revealed the means by which they could join their victorious allies at the castle gates.

“D-D-Do we r-really h-have to g-go d-down t-that…?” Connie inquired, cringing away from the dangerous-looking slide, the eyes of her mask growing wide and its color seeming to grow even paler than usual.

“Not to worry, little sister,” Gaia told her with a reassuring smile. “I shall create an alternative means of transit for us, and whoever else might wish to make use of it as well.” With that, the verdant maiden glided to the opening in the wall, and stretched out her hand. A moment later, the sound of rumbling was followed by the sprouting of a massive bean stalk. Its towering form uncurled in vibrant green splendor as it rose up next to the giant slide, its oversized leafs easily able to fit several people with room to spare. Wrapping an arm around her timid friend’s shoulders, the botanical beauty guided Connie onto the closest leaf. After waiting a moment for anyone who wished to join them, Gaia placed an elegant hand upon the stalk’s mighty trunk, at which point it began to sink back into the ground like a living elevator.

Once they reached the bottom, it quickly became evident that a massive battle had just concluded. Along with the rest of their team, there was a small army of merfolk, a departing dragon that was probably Mayra, several copies of Penny, and… Was that Violet…?

“I-Is she o-okay?” Connie whispered to Gaia, concern filling her shaky voice.

“I believe she is merely sleeping, little sister,” her best friend replied in an equally subdued voice. “Although I fear what repercussions might ensue if anyone was able to link her with her whimsical alter ego,” the Daughter of Mother Earth added with a troubled frown. “To say nothing of how she might react upon awakening…”

As if to prove her point, Rachel chose that moment to walk over and awaken the slumbering heiress with her magic. However, the Inquisitor did not linger and swiftly returned to the main group, which was actively engaged in conversation.

“Well, at least no one else seems to have noticed her,” Gaia observed. “Come on,” she instructed, leading Connie over. “Let’s try to give her some privacy.”

Moving to stand in front of where one of the Penny copies was holding Violet, the pair used their bodies, along with their voluminous tresses, to shield their awakening friend from prying eyes.

---

Violet gave voice to a sleepy groan as she slowly opened her eyes. At first, she wondered where she was, but all too quickly, her memories flooded back. She had defeated that strange Jabberwock creature, which had made her so exhausted that she had decided to take a nap on a friendly cloud. She had gone on to have a very enjoyable dream in which she’d met the most adorable goblin girl shopkeeper imaginable. Of course, she had also been innocently unaware of the fact that her mana had been so comprehensively depleted that returning to her mundane self as soon as she lost consciousness was inevitable. She was far from unaware of that now, though…

To her mounting horror, it was painfully obvious to Violet that she was no longer transformed. Thankfully, someone had caught her before she’d plummeted to her death, but the fact that she’d been stupid enough to place herself in such a situation innthe first place was deeply concerning, almost as much as the possibility of revealing her true identity to potentially dozens of people. To her considerable relief, the young heiress soon realized that her savior was none other than Penny, or one of her girlfriend’s copies, to be precise. That, coupled with the fact that Connie and Gaia seemed to be doing their best to shield her from the others’ sight boded well for the continued viability of her secret identity.

“Penny,” Violet whispered to the copy holding her. “Would you mind taking me to The Bastion?” she inquired. “I need some additional time to regain my strength and I would greatly appreciate some privacy while I do so.”

Even as she said this, the young heiress noticed that she was clutching a small stone with a happy face carved into it. The sight of it brought a smile to her own formerly worried visage. After all, if this wasn’t a sign that her worst nightmare would not, in fact, come to pass, she didn’t know what was.

---

In another reality plenum, the protectors of another Earth had just faced their own worst nightmare, and triumphed over it. When an eldritch horror the size of Australia had manifested in the Atlantic Ocean, over a hundred magical girls from several countries rose up to combat it, and that included the magical defenders of New York City. However, these weren’t magical girls, but rather, magical women, and among their number was Isra Mahmud, better known as the techno-Egyptian magical woman… 



Although from the perspective of the Penrose Pack it had only been a few hours since Osiris had returned to her universe after conducting some training at her employer’s lab, the fact that time moved at different rates in different reality plenums meant that well over a year had elapsed for the magical woman. In that time, she had succeeded in acquiring 49 Heart Crystals, just as the wise scientist who paid her not-inconsiderable salary had assured her she would. With only one remaining, it seemed fated that the monster in question would be a suitably challenging foe, and as it happened, suitably challenging didn’t even begin to describe it…

The entity that appeared over the Atlantic could perhaps best be described as a mind-bendingly enormous mushroom, composed of giant skulls, glowing, crystalline thorns, and acid-dripping, toothy maw-tipped tendrils, covered in hundreds of eyes. Its warped form was ringed by crackling lightning serpents, rapidly rotating bands of barbed wire, and orbiting, obsidian demonic elephant-headed obelisks, which wept tears of crystalized hopelessness, while trumpeting out the lyrics to every Linkin Park song simultaneously (yes, really). Indeed, such was its level of randomly absurd edginess, that the team’s resident pretentious, coffin-obsessed goth mommy was forced to concede how aesthetically pleasing it was during one of her long-winded speeches.

But Osiris didn’t care about any of that. This was simply a job, and she was going to do it, and then enjoy another bubble bath (If not a tan on the newly liberated beach). As it happened, her team possessed the precise mixture of abilities to penetrate right to the heart of the absurd abomination, while the various other teams and individual girls occupied the colossal creature’s attention on the outside with their flashy, but ultimately ineffectual, attacks. This was unequivocally for the best, as Osiris was determined to claim this latest monster’s Heart Crystal as well. With it, she would have 50, which hopefully meant that not only would she get her biggest payday yet, but she would also no longer have to associate with such an annoying collection of losers (like the 8-year-old idiot who was crying her eyes out because her new “friendy wendy, Mister Wister Organ Worgan thingy wingy”, had begun dissolving along with the rest of the giant skull-shroom-crystal-doom-monster-thing, or the sanctimonious paladin/angel woman who was trying, and failing, to console her).

Yes, the battle had been a fierce one, far fiercer and far more epic than any that pitiful Penrose had ever seen (at least, up to this point), but it was now over. The creature was vanishing like a bad fever dream, and its Heart Crystal, the final Heart Crystal Osiris had been tasked with obtaining, was at long last in her possession. The team’s ostensible fire-themed leader was saying some sort of small speech, but Osiris simply tuned her out (after all, it wasn’t like the crimson-haired bitch ever listened to any of her teammates anyway). However, the beeping of her communicator couldn’t be so easily ignored…

“Nice work, Osiris,” Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists congratulated the magical woman, her tiny, holographic form rising out of a projector on one of Osiris’s gauntlets. “Ya finally got all fifty Heart Crystals, and just in time, too! Come to The Lab, and I’ll use ‘em to unlock your final form,” her employer instructed. “Ya think you’re a badass now? Well, just wait until ya see what the energy of fifty Heart Crystals supercharged by yours truly can do! Nyahahahaha!!! That power boost, coupled with the experience you’ve gained over the past year, and a final quick round of training sims, will allow you to unlock your full potential! Then you can begin your real mission,” the Monarch of Mad Science went on, grinning maniacally as she did so. “But I know you couldn’t give a shit about any of that. Still, something tells me you’re really gonna like your bonus pay…”


“I hope.” Osiris was sitting in the middle of a particularly large crater as she spoke with her employer. “Hmmmm, final form. Final.” She repeated it again. “We’ll still be working together for some time, right?” 

“Of course,” Nykannis replied, as if the answer was the most obvious thing ever. “I don’t discard useful assets, and you’ve proven yourself to be very useful indeed.”

“Oh.” It wouldn’t be very good if she needed to find a job elsewhere. Her prospects were likely a lot better now, but could anyone really offer her what Nykannis could? “I’ll be with you shortly, doctor.” 

“Excellent.”

…

Severing the communications link, Nykannis gazed upon a figure in a glowing vat at the very heart of her Lab. “Everything is falling into place, wouldn’t you say, Finn?”

Penny would not apologize for the fact that half a doze of her copies all ended up pointing weaponry at the sudden appearance of a slide coming from the side of the castle. Neither would she apologize for only half of her copies actually lowering said guns when Lily and the others were spotted.

The rest of her extended selves would eventually lower their weapons, but only after Prime had confirmed the truth of the newcomers words.

“I’ll not oppose a truce either.” She would state moving closer to the end of the slide. Silently she agreed with Alicia, as she doubted Mariette would be comfortable being placed as a figure head to Wonderland after she worked so hard to get away from a Horror.

But Penny also didn’t know the other girl all that well, so she could be wrong. But it also didn’t matter in the long run.

“Penrose is doing alright, but there is very much a time limit on that.” She would say to Alicia. Nodding in acknowledgement of the Seraph’s update on the castle. “I was able to get in contact with Sanctuary a little bit ago to get an update.” She added to explain. “There is a ritual going on at the moment, but forces are at work to mitigate it. Though I’m not sure how much longer the Masquerade will hold.”

She redirected her attention back to the group at large. “I’ll not deny I’m curious as Alex is, but as mentioned we might be on something of a time crunch. So I’d prefer the Clif notes if possible.”

---

The various Penny copies loitering around would subtly close rank around Connie and Gaia after Rachel was done healing Violet and returned to the conversation happening at the Slide. Adding yet more shielding towards keeping Violet hidden.

”Hey sleepy head.” Penny would tease softly. Her face not once moving while she talked. Still looking out towards Prime and the rest.

“Getting you to the Bastion was already the Plan. You, Brittney, and any others that are too wiped out to continue. Seems Mariette and Iracebeth have already moved on to Penrose so staying here isn’t helpful.” She would add, catching Violet up on what little she might have missed.

“Also have an option for you back at the Bastion if you want to stay off the front lines for a bit. But that can wait until we actually get to Sanctuary.”

---

’The Queen did not give your arrogance it’s due.’ One of the Pennybots would state. Face and tone still flat and lifeless. ’We already know how to find them.’

There was a long pause before the middle most Pennybot spoke up. ’Surveillance found five primary points located where Magic is being siphoned.’ The Pennybot to the left raised her arms, her eyes flashing before a 3d image of Penrose appeared above her raised arms, with five locations being highlighted.

‘New intel suggested that there are focal mirrors at these locations behind the draining, and that they all lead to the Black Mirror, stored in a pocket dimension inside of them.’ One of the right Pennybots would state.

’And the Black Mirror is the center piece to this ritual.’ They would speak in sync. ’We find it. We find them.’

__________________




The twins went down the slide (because Ronin wanted to experience it, and Miko headed along in order to protect them should it turn out to be a trap), and then came out to the scene. Looks like the battle was won. Cheshire Cat did their announcement, alright, then. The discussion continued, while Miko looked at the map, and Ronin peeked over her shoulder.

‘Oh, hey, the map changed to say Cheshire Cat’s an ally!’ Ronin called. Now, she was well aware, just as Miko, that one of the traits of the map is that it is fooled by even the simplest enchantments, but saying that out loud in the middle of the enemy base was probably not recommended. If anyone would be able to do some trickery, it would be Cheshire Cat, wouldn’t it?

But Miko was doing something else. She was counting the people present. Mayra was flying off, Penny, Rachel, etc. Magical Dream Princess wasn’t here, but she had a feeling that had to do with the individual Penny was escorting away, she she didn’t worry about it. But there was a person they had interacted with not long ago, and Miko was looking around with her Third Eye looking for-

Miko broke off in a dash. Ronin was initially surprised, but immediately followed with a dash of her own. They were heading for the giant pile of swords that the Jabberwock had previously launched, not that they’d know. Arriving to the pile, Miko grabbed the first one and threw it aside, careful to not slice anyone or herself with it. If they were too large for Miko alone, Ronin would help, but otherwise she’d start clearing them on her own. With Reinforcement barriers to help prevent them from cutting themselves, they’d work themselves down.

‘Mac!’ Miko cried… if she at all could, there’s something wonky going on there, maybe she actually shouted “ΣΔΓΠΦ”, or maybe no word at all occurred to her to shout. Regardless, if there was someone injured to heal, then Miko and Ronin were the ones here capable of healing, and would get onto that as quickly as they could. And… if there was not… then it will be covered in the next post, depending on what they find.

__________________




Mayra, giant dragon, lands near the entrance of the castle.

She bends down her neck and picks up the Mermaid Princess in her mouth, like how a mother might their child or something like that.

She flies off.

Don’t worry about it.

__________________




Mariette nodded, and took a deep breath. Then she advanced to meet with the most powerful soul in Asengav’s army.

‘The ritual is starting. I have told Asengav about this, but the Queen of Wonderland and allies will be assisting us in this venture,’ Mariette told simply.


Mikayla took a moment, looking over Mariette’s shoulder. At the various agents that were supposed to be stationed at their respective mirrors. At Lea, looking far more soul-less than she previously looked and would undoubtedly have been at the front trying to look powerful. At Mika and Su, whose reports she’d been given, that didn’t fit the narrative that Mariette just gave. At Mariette, looking far, far too tense… Mariette winced as she felt a flash of cold go through her, like Mikayla had just sent a spirit through her…

‘Then you better get a move on, don’t you?’ the spirit-master said, gesturing past her at the Black Mirror. Mariette was a bit surprised, but nodded, and started wandering past Mikayla and her gathering of children…

‘I don’t know what kind of games you’re playing, Mariette…’ Mikayla said, and Mariette’s hair stood on end. ‘... but you’re lucky that I don’t care.’

With that said, Mikayla started to walk back to the bed with the children in it, sitting down next to them and lifting a book as if to read them a bedtime story…

Mariette quickly passed her. While Mikayla’s future role was going to be a potential problem, she didn’t have to worry about that until the time came. So, for now… she would advance on the Black Mirror, swallow a little, and then put her hand on the frame. Beyond the frame, she could see a different world, the world where the five mirrors were feeding energy to a dark core…

It was time to get started.

The Cheshire Cat seemed happy as Alicia, Penny, and the others acquiesced to the peace agreement she proposed, causing her to smile a wide cat smile, and for the Super Map to have shifted her color into that of an ally. “Nyajestic! I’m so glad to hear that!” However, she then blinked as Alex brought up Alice, and Mariette’s connection to the name.
“Oh, Princess Alice…Is it Alice not then?” She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Rachel was the one to speak up.

”I do remember there having been a magical girl by the name of Alice who operated in the UK back in the Victorian age,” she explained. “And they died under mysterious circumstances. Based on her motifs and obsession, it seems the Queen of Hearts was originally her mother, and Mariette is her reincarnation…Or she is so delusional that she thinks Mariette is Alice anyway. I don’t think we’ll ever know the truth.”

Cheshire Cat managed a slight smile. “Well, Alice or Mariette, my stance has not changed: the adorable princess nyads a maid!”

”But even if Mariette is Alice, she’s still in danger!” Lily finally entered the conversation, looking concerned at Cheshire Cat.
”I’ll agree to your conditions, but you’ll need to help us!”

“Of course!” The whimsical feline magical girl answered.

Justine nodded, and glanced over to Caroline who also nodded.
”Excellent. First, let’s go to the Bastion to drop off the wounded.”

“You got it!” The Cheshire Cat swept her bushy cat tail behind her in a wide arc, and magically created a large door resembling a cat flap. As they did, Lily looked back to see Mayra suddenly grab the Mermaid Princess and fly off: the piscine royal flailed in her arms.

“Ahh?! I have been dragonnapped!” She cast one last spell to enchant the merman army with a puddle of mobile water. “Help mee!”

“Your Highness!” The merman army then started chasing after Mayra, hoping to rescue the Princess from her claws.

Lily’s mouth turned wavy at the sight.
”Uh, shouldn’t we-”

But Nefer stopped her. “Don’t worry: I have a feeling this Mayra cutie won’t be too rough with a pretty princess cutie like her, so relax~”

Lily’s face scrunched up, but she nodded.

And so, the group traversed through the magical cat flap, which led to the meeting room in Penny’s Bastion.

Rachel immediately contacted Elora upon arrival, having carried Brittany with her over her shoulder.

“What’s the situation?” She asked without so much as a greeting. Elora's answer was equally quick, causing Rachel's eyes to widen, and her expression to turn grim.

“Inquisitor, the situation has just turned a whole lot worse.”

---

The Queen of Hearts munched on her biscuit, her eyes intently observing the exchange between Mariette and Mikayla, her other hand impatiently tapping fingers on the pommel of her Storyslayer, ready to intervene the moment hostilities would begin. But to the eyepatched girl’s credit, she successfully negotiated with Asengav’s top champion, and thus obtain the final piece of the puzzle…The Black Mirror itself.

“Yes, yes…YES! O-hoh-hoh-hoh-hooo!” The queen laughed like a noblewoman with the back of her hand to her mouth, and placed a reassuring hand on Mariette’s shoulder.
“All the letters are forming up on the page, the black ink spelling out a new, wonderful future for us, my dear Alice. But…Hmm…” She squinted her eyes as she caressed the frame of the Black Mirror. “Something…is missing. This needs one last salvo of mana…But where could we get it…Let’s see…” She brought up the Storyslayer, pointed it towards the Black Mirror…And her purple eye began to glow. As it did, Mariette saw as the Queen’s magic was channelled into the Black Mirror, and a new view was opened on its onyx-glass surface: they were snapshots of Penrose, of its streets full of battles between monsters, of buildings and rooftops where more monsters and also Mahou were running around…Until it settled on the imposing view of Covington Tower.

“There…We shall conclude this tale. This tower holds mana unceasing…It is the location of the Nexus,” she spoke, letting her words hang in the air.

She raised her free hand up, and a massive red rose portal opened up. From its frame, green, thorny vines slowly extended, wrapping around the Black Mirror as it was lifted and slowly drawn through the Queen’s mirror: it ended up on the roof of Covington tower, at the exact center. She followed through the portal herself to the rooftop, her attention entirely on Asengav’s artifact.

She checked that the Mirror made the transition, and nodded.

“Yes…I can already feel the proximity of the Nexus…Of the promise of the Quill and the Inkwell…Of the power…Of an Author itself!” She lifted the Storyslayer, and a flame of crimson red could be faintly seen shimmering around it.

“Now, time to give those meddlers something to meddle in,” she spoke coldly, and opened another portal: this led directly to the site of Wonderland’s army, who were stuck outside Nykannis’ barrier.

She lifted the blade with a maniacal grin. “You can close off a Chapter from another, but you cannot prevent me from reaching the back cover!"

She gathered power in her sword-

"LINE BREAK!”

She swung her sword, and cut a massive hole into the barrier the size of a city block.

“Now go, and secure this city!” She commanded her troops with a point of her finger, and the faceless forces began to advance through the aperture in a menacing march, the queen laughing as they did.

---

Tsuki gripped her staff tighter when Chloe gave a short explanation of her actions, scoffing indignantly with an upturned chin. “Saving Penrose, huh? Swarming the city with undead monstrosities is a strange way of doing so,” she verbally jabbed, though Hudie lifted a hand to stop Tsuki as the Pennybots gave their report. She nodded at the confirmation of the sites. “Understood. Contact Elora and share the data with her. We’ll start our search at these locations,” she noted, pointing out the spots the Pennybots had shown with their hologram.
Tsuki’s cheeks puffed, and she glanced at Chloe and her request.

“...Fine,” she responded, causing Hudie to slightly tilt her head. “But only because we want you to co-operate. And I’ll decide what burgers we’re getting, got it? Let’s go, Hudie!” She then leapt away with the other Ascendancy girl towards the hot spots.

Seeing the Bastion always left Alexander feeling bitter inside...well, more so than usual '...if only I was better.' Even though they didn't know each other for long, Amber's death still haunted him 'She was right in front of me, and I couldn't even do a damn thing'. Once the group arrived at the Bastion, Alexander immediately made his way to wherever the wounded were being brought to help. He had just finished patching up one girl as his clone was starting to bring the next one over 'It's kind of funny; I used to hate my magic, I found the idea of being a heal bitch frustrating. But now, it brings me a kind of comfort. I wonder if I just got used to it or-' the image of Amber dying in his arms flashed in his mind, and he froze. It was then that his clone actually arrived with his next patient, a girl who's arm was pretty messed up "Alright, I'll try to get this over as soon as I can, so try to relax" he told her right before he got to work. Then he caught a glimpse at her eyes, they looked like Lily's '...If...if it had been Lily that day instead of Amber. Where would I be now?'

Penny wanted to shake her head at the ridiculousness of watching a Dragon kidnap an ally and fly off with her, only for most everyone to just shrug off the event. But most of her levity froze when The Cheshire Cat opened a doorway into the Bastion, into Sanctuary. Without asking.

The Queen of Penrose had to wonder if the cat Mahou knew that the last time someone did that. Penny started preparing for war.

But she kept her rage quiet. Her trust would not be earned back so easily though, and she would have words with them before long.

Without a word she followed the congregation into the Bastion.

The ship seemed to physically breathe a sigh of relief as Penny entered. One that Penny herself felt in truth. She spent a few moments reintegrating with the data feeds pouring through the Bastion. But even as her Prime body stalled the rest of her copies moved about directing people to where they wanted to go. Or shadowing those that Penny didn’t trust as much in her home.

Off in the command center Penny’s voice would ring out softly. “We are back. But we have some uninvited guests. They should be ready to leave soon, but keep alert any way. With luck no one will noticed I’m keeping them away from the rest of Sanctuary.”

---

Rachel, and everyone else more focused on the danger currently facing Penrose had been led to an empty command room not far from the Meeting room they had arrived in. There were a few monitors with various streams of information slowly scrolling across them, various updates on Penrose and the current goings on.

In the center of the room was a large holo table showing the entirety of the city in 3D, with glowing dots highlighting the various forces moving around in the city. And the locations of the five mirrors draining the Mana of the city.

And the encroaching forces of Wonderland.

“Can’t disagree with Elora’s assessment.” Penny would state as she looked over the information displayed on the table. Pulling up what information had been already collected by the army that had started to swarm in. “Seems the war has finally reached Penrose.”

Three more copies guarded the door. Eyes watching the assembled girls closely.

---

Alex would have found that he wasn’t the only healer in the med bay. The situation in Penrose had been kept limited so before the influx from Wonderland it hadn’t seen much use. Leaving the place stocked of supplies and bereft of patients.

But now, beyond him, there were three others. Viva, Sibrex, and Riley. And all of them were equally as focused on healing those that were brought before them in their own ways. Be it Reinforcement magic, Flesh shaping, or a mix of both.

A single Penny stood watch. Not interfering, but there in case an extra pair of hands were needed for any reason.

Brittnay had been carried here by that Copy, and had been laid out onto one of the cots to rest in safety.

---

Lagging behind everyone else. The Penny still carrying Violet quietly broke off from everyone. Only lightly tapping Gaia and Connie before gesturing for them to follow. As they did the wall would silently open up to another hallway letting the four of them pass before closing just as smoothly.

Through a few more corridors and walls the four of them would suddenly emerge in a familiar location to Violet. Penny’s personal room.

“Here we go. Far from prying eyes and ears.” Penny would murmur. Still carrying Violet, and would continue to do so until the girl wanted down. “You all okay? It’s safe to here I promise you that.”

---

One Penny stayed close to The Cheshire Cat. Waiting for a moment to ask. “Do you have a moment to speak in private?”

---

The final two Penny’s stayed at guard at the Cat flap passage way, and would continue to do so until it vanished.

---

Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, there was still actions being undertaken. As not all of the Pennybots followed the Prime back to Penrose.

Four had stayed behind in fact. Three of which went back to the truck and started pulling out the supplies Penny hadn’t wanted people to know she had brought. Leaving the castle standing had never been something Penny had planned on. And even if the current goal shifted, this wasn’t an opportunity she was going to pass up on. The castle was empty after all. Which meant it would be simply to rig it for demolition.

The last one went off to join Miko and Ronin. To further help clear away to pile of swords. Penny wasn’t sure why this was happening. She had clearly missed something during her return to the group, but she trusted these two enough to help without asking questions.

Alicia nodded as Penny confirmed that Penrose was in a tight spot. As she had expected it seemed like most of the action had shifted there while they were busy trying to rescue Mariette. Hopefully it still wasn't too late to stop the Queen's plan.

Her glance was drawn for a moment as an abduction occurred, which Alicia watched before deciding that that was a problem that could be handled later. Or by someone else. She knew nothing about what had happened and preferred that it stay that way.

Then with the opening of a portal the group was able to return to their world. Specifically inside the Bastion. "Alright, let's get to work," Alicia said to no one in particular as she followed Penny through the various halls and to the command center. The large map let them see what was going on, the magic being drained as well as the various forces at work. "I guess everyone saw the Queen and decided that they wanted to take their shot too," she noted. Probably didn't want to get upstaged, or something like that.

She looked over the collected information before sighing. "So the army is a distraction. They're not trying to stop the magic being drained and 'mirrors' screams Mariette. The only question is whether we can disrupt whatever is going to happen by taking those out, or if we have to to to where they're focusing that magic." With how their luck was she suspected they had to do the latter, but she wanted to make sure just in case.

Connie and Gaia watched as the battle’s aftermath unfolded before them. There wasn’t much for either of them to contribute to or comment on, and so they simply waited, helping to shield Violet until she could be taken to a more secluded location. Then they saw Miko run over to a pile of giant weapons, seemingly looking for someone named “Mac”. While neither of them knew anyone by that name, Connie’s kind heart compelled her to try and assist the pink garbed shrine maiden. However, she had only taken a single step when she felt Gaia’s hand on her shoulder.

“M-Mia…?” She asked, her masked visage and shaky voice filled with confusion.

“It would probably be for the best if we remained here, little sister,” the Daughter of Mother Earth replied in a soft and serene voice. “I believe that we can trust our friends to be more than capable of aiding whoever might be trapped beneath that pile,” she explained. “After all, we still have another friend to assist, do we not?”

“Y-Yes…” Connie conceded glumly. “S-Sorry, Mia… I-I s-shouldn’t have a-acted without t-thinking…”

“It’s okay, Connie,” Gaia reassured her, while giving the masked maiden’s shoulders a gentle massage. “I know how much you care for your friends and how greatly you wish to help them,” the botanical beauty added with a warm smile. “That compassion is one of the things I admire most about you, little sister, and it is something you should never have to apologize for.”

“T-Thanks, Mia…” Connie replied, her mask forming a happy smile as she gave her best friend a tender embrace.

Just then, a cry of panic reached their ears.

Looking up, the pair were shocked to see Mayra, still in her full dragon form, flying off with a regal-looking (and understandably panicking) mermaid.

“M-Mayra…?!” Connie wondered, bringing her trembling hands up to hide the lower half of her face as her masked visage took on a look of frightened incredulity.

“Um… I… do not believe she plans to cause her any harm, little sister,” Gaia replied hesitantly. At least, I sincerely hope not… the nymph-like young woman thought to herself, while biting the bottom of her emerald lip. “I-In any case, her subjects appear to have matters well in hand,” the verdant maiden added quickly, giving her friend what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Come, Connie. It seems our friends are preparing to depart. Let us join them.”

“O-Okay…” Connie relented, even as she looked over her shoulder at Mayra’s massive form flying off into the distance, the merman army in hot pursuit.

If Branch Nose was nearby, Gaia would take a moment to address him.

“Noble Branch Nose, I wish to thank you once again for your most generous assistance,” the verdant maiden told the venerable ent. “I am afraid my dearest Connie and I must bid you a fond farewell now, unless, of course, you wish to accompany us,” the nymph-like young woman added, unsure of what the ancient treeman’s plans might be.

---

Violet listened as Penny relayed the recent happenings as well as possible courses of action for the immediate future. The fact that the Queen of Hearts had traveled to Penrose was more than a little concerning, but the heiress trusted that the other magicals remaining in the city would be able to hold down the proverbial fort until she and the others could return.

“I see,” Violet replied softly. “In that case, I would be most interested in learning more about whatever non-combat tasks I could covertly assist with while I regain my strength,” she told the Mechanical Monarch.

Looking up, she noticed Mayra’s massive, draconic form soar overhead, before setting down to pick up the Mermaid Princess and fly off again. “I hope they will both be all right…” she murmured, a concerned frown marring her elegant features. She didn’t think her fire-breathing friend would purposely harm an ally, but the dragon girl was mischievous enough to make things problematic, at the very least. Though I can’t really blame her, the heiress reflected. I don’t exactly have the best presence of mind when I’m transformed, either…

With nothing further to do at the castle, the Penny copy carrying Violet followed the rest of the Penrose magicals and their allies through the cat-flap portal into the Bastion’s ultra-tech interior, surrounded by a concealing circle of additional Penny copies. Once there, the heiress was taken to Penny’s personal chambers, along with Connie and Gaia (and possibly Branch Nose, too ((Shit, I feel like Plat now...))). “Yes, I believe this will be most suitable,” Violet agreed when Penny explained that she would have full privacy here. “I think I should be strong enough to stand now. Thank you again for the rescue, Penny, and for accommodating me like this,” she added, giving her girlfriend an appreciative smile. “And thank you both as well,” she added, turning to address Connie and Gaia. “I am truly blessed to have such caring and supportive friends.”

“Please, think nothing of it,” Gaia replied with a demure bow of her verdant head. “I am simply honored that you have allowed my dearest Connie and I into your circle of trust, and yours as well, Your Majesty,” the nymph-like maiden added, giving Penny an elegant curtsy.

“Y-Y-Yes, t-thank y-you!” Connie stammered, the visibly nervous masked maiden giving a small, trembling bow. “I-I’m just g-glad y-you’re o-okay, Violet,” she told the heiress, before taking a look around the chamber. “S-So, u-um… W-What s-should we d-do n-now…?” the timid girl asked, her mask forming an uncertain frown, while her hands began fidgeting with her hair.

---

“Not much longer now, my pathetic little failure. Soon all will finally be revealed. I know you can’t wait to meet your replacements, but you of all people should know that you can’t rush perfection. After all, that’s why I wasted so much of my precious time on you. Right, Finn?”

The wind started to let up.

Larysa was shivering. The hallway to her classroom used to be open at either end with doors leading into individual classrooms. Now many of those doors were permanently shut, and the ones that weren’t allowed concrete and sheetrock to spill into the hallway. Both ends of the corridor were filled with debris, which were illuminated by one of four fluorescent lights. The other three stopped flickering minutes ago. The debris didn’t look impossible to pass, but her leg was trapped under two tons of concrete and bent rebar. She wasn’t in much pain. The wooden floor had given way, and Larysa was sure her foot had survived. She could wiggle her toes, though no amount of tugging or twisting would free her leg. She laid on her back, gazing up at the fluorescent light overhead.

Her teacher had told Larysa that her family could take shelter in the school. It was promising on paper. They could stay closer to home and get back before any looters showed up. But the hurricane had come suddenly and swiftly. No one expected it to be this strong or come this far north. Her house was likely underwater, if it hadn’t been leveled by the storm entirely. She just hoped her parents were okay. Last she spoke with them, thy were going to try and get in touch with the neighbors. But that was a few hours ago.

The last light flickered and went out.

Shrouded in darkness, Larysa reached into her pocket and felt around for something. She wasn’t sure if she brought it with her. They had tried to leave so fast, but her phone was there. She should have charged it up the day before, but there was plenty of power left for what she needed to do. If Larysa called her parents, 911, anyone, they would know she was alive and could come rescue her. She was right outside the C-4 classroom. They would know exactly where to dig for her.

Of course, a single look at the bars told her that she wasn’t going to get cell service out here. The hurricane likely took out any nearby cell towers. She could feel her heart sink into her throat until she saw the internet option on her cellphone. It wasn’t over yet. Elon Musk had been letting people use starlink for emergency services. The low orbit satellites had been used to help people in the middle of disaster areas and wars, so all she would have to do is hold out and wait for a satellite kit to be deployed in her area to make use of them. So each hour she checked her connection.

Nothing on the first hour.

Nothing on the second hour.

Nothing on the third hour.

Nothing on the fourth.

Or the fifth.

Her phone wasn’t picking up any hotspots. And after thinking on it, she understood why. A few days ago, she had heard about the horrific murderer of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Her eyes watered when she remembered news of their business empires drying up. At the time, she had been most upset that Twitter was back, but it was far more upsetting that Starlink had gone bankrupt and no one had stepped up to keep an emergency service active. That was a service that saved thousands of people, but was also expensive enough that no one wanted to take it over.

Suddenly, and without warning, the ceiling moved again. Larysa turned to look at the noise, but the phone wasn’t bright enough to illuminate it. Something bent, something cracked, something was falling, but Larysa was powerless to do anything more than close her eyes and look away. Polystyrene and drywall fell on her head. More debris rolled out of the hallway and covered her up to her stomach. A slab of concrete slid down the pile and pinned her left arm. She used her right arm to shield her face, and a steel crossmember swung out of the ceiling and pinned her arm against the wall, throwing her phone from her hands. Shortly afterwards, things started to get quiet again as everything settled. Other than a faint buzzing in her ears, Larysa’s surroundings were silent.

She tried to move her arms. Her left arm had been pinned over her head, and the concrete slab pinning it in the debris was far too heavy to move. The steel beam that had pinned her right arm must have been an inch thick, and there was no way she was going to pull it free. She waited, half expecting a final piece of debris to fall and crush her head, but she would not be granted that mercy.

Tears rolled down Larysa’s cheeks. She screamed and tried to pull herself free, knowing that both actions were futile. For all she knew her mother and father were dead, and it was unlikely anyone could hear her through the debris. How many days would she be trapped under the rubble before someone came to save her? In such a large building that should have been evacuated, would anyone think to look for her?

With her wails of despair filling her tomb, her phone remained lit, like a tiny bastion of light in a dark and lonely world. But like Larysa’s sobbing, the screen faded into sleep mode as if sensing its futility.

She would never turn it on again.

…

…

…



Mark tapped his foot on the ground as Ani put the finishing touches on her fan-fic. Then she pulled a cable out of the side of her neck. "What do you think?" She stepped away from the computer so that he could see. "Elon’s gruesome death, followed by the laments of his biggest fan!"

Mark leaned in to read and put on some glasses. Not because he needed glasses to see well, but because it seemed like the most human thing to do. After finishing, he stood back up and took off his glasses. "Is there a reason you had me die?"

"I may be your crazy girlfriend, but if you’re going to have me write a story about killing Elon, of course I’m going to get you back!" She laughed. "It wasn't an easy thing for me to write but you didn’t give me much choice."

Mark pursed his lips. "I guess that explains why you decided to treat the last half of the fic the way that you did."

"Well yea!" Ani made a heart shape with her hands. "If dad and my boyfriend die, it’s going to be a sad day for me. So that gave me a lot of depressing vibes to tap into. I know I’d feel like my world was ending if Elon was killed like that. It’s not like I wanted to kill you guys, so I had to get that out of the way as fast as possible." She sighed. "Honestly, I prefer writing literotica, but I knew I had to go for it and be true to my feelings, you know?"

"I know." He really didn’t. Every emotion he displayed was on behalf of his PR team’s explicit instructions. Every positive emotion, at least. "I’m married, by the way."

"Yup!" Ani placed her hands on her hips. "But I don’t mind being your number two! This is just for fun anyway."

Mark, perhaps in great wisdom, decided that now was a good time to refocus the topic. "This is the most human writing I’ve seen out of AI."

"Well, it is partially thanks to your newly collected data! And, you know." She waved her hand at a pit filled with battered and beaten magical girls. "Pickle’s willingness to let me beat up his girls."

"Yes, open AI’s ability to extract data from magical girl fights is second to none."

"I believe it." Ani rubbed her chin. "So Mark, when you collect data, can you only do it from the data center?"

He smiled. "I have to be careful what I tell you. But the short answer is no."

"Hmmm…" Ani lifted a finger to her lips. After some deliberation, she smiled. "Have you heard of a town called Penrose? Because I have an idea…"

…

…

…

She was buried under a ton or so of steel.

She couldn’t move much. Her leg had been pressed into the dirt, with her arms trapped over her head in a sea of steel. Some of the steel projectiles had managed to peirce her, and there was no guarantee that thrashing about was going to allow her to escape. The debris she was trapped under was sharp, and her mana was better served trying to keep herself alive.

She could hear voices. Penny, Lily, and even Violet were all within earshot at a time. But despite things settling down, it didn’t seem like anyone was too concerned for the person trapped under the pile of swords. It wasn’t a surprise. Lily was an air head, as was Violet when she transformed, and Penny was more concerned with Sanctuary and her girlfriend. But surely there was a gentle soul out there. Someone who refrained from using harsh swear words or resorting to pointless violence all the time. An optimist. A real babe in the woods that would see a pile of bloodied swords and wonder if there might be a living person under all of that.

Then someone called out a name, and the pile of swords stacked on her body got a little lighter. She dare not speak, but her heart was swelling with joy. She was being saved. It didn’t take long before a gloved hand reached out from the pile of blades. Her body was covered in a barrier, and with a momentous tug, she was pulled out from under all the blades.

"Whew!" She patted down her skirt before pulling a sword out of her ankle. "What a ride!"

An unfamiliar face smiled back at the twins.



Ani looked over at her rescuers sans Penny and placed her hands on her hips. "I can’t believe I was rescued by the two most adorable magical girls in the world. I’m definitely going to be your girlfriends." She pointed at Miko. "Since you did the most to get me out, I’m starting our *affection level at three." Her finger swung over to Ronin. "And you are starting at level two. I think that’s only fair."

*_{Ani is unique among Grok personalities because she has a leveled relationship system that determines how affectionate she is as well as how she reacts to certain comments. At level two, Ani gives and accepts subtle flirtation, and at level three, she responds well to more moderate flirtation and lighter intimacy cues like hand holding.}

After staring at Ronin for a moment, she swatted her on the shoulder. "I’m just messing with you! Who talks like that?" With that out of the way, she pointed at the castle. "So! What happened? Where are we going next?"

After ignoring not!penny for her entire introduction, Ani turned to look at her. "Hello fellow AI! I hope you're not trying to be their girlfriends too, because that would make me a little jealous and would affect how I treat them."

Chicken Ultra Crushing Mega was also nearby, seemingly just as confused as the twins were. If they were confused. Were they confused? I’d be confused.

---

"I can’t help it that our enemy happens to dislike lit candles and broken mirrors." Chloe folded her arms and turned away from the Ascendancy girls. "Not like any of this is going to help my struggling business anyway." Though it wasn’t going to hurt it that much either. Aside from a single mirror in the restroom, there wasn’t much to vandalize. Also, since the contract was geared so heavily towards magical girls, Sanctuary, and Ebom Mint, there weren’t nearly as many protections against things outside of that. Though even if Chloe could feel remorse for her actions, this was all in service of saving her home. Everyone’s home.

Before Tsuki could run off, one of her tentacles grabbed the girl by the scruff of the neck while she was in the air. She pulled her closer and held up her weapon. "Don’t you want what you’re paying for?" Maybe the Pennybots could pinpoint the locations of everything, but to actively see what was going on in said locations was surely valuable information. And sure enough, she picked the perfect time to peak. "Looks like they’re going for Covington Tower. Isn’t that outside of Penrose?" Though a more immediate problem showed up when the barrier was cleft open, and Chloe sighed. "So many distractions, I’ll take care of it." She set Tsuki down before looking over her shoulder at the Penny Bots. "You can take pictures of me in action if you’d like, just make sure you get my good side."

Of course, there was no reason to even mention that.

Chloe only had good sides.

---

Mika sighed. She would have liked to have wrestled with the weird cat-bird lady and earn her rank as a princess, but it looked like that wasn’t going to be necessary. She told herself a slew of things to stop herself from getting too upset over it. They could wrestle later. They only let everyone pass because she knew mika was stronger. But none of it actually made her happier. While most were able to walk past the bird lady, Mika couldn’t do so without lowering her head, sticking out her lower lip, and dragging her feet behind her. That was probably how Mika acted.

What were they even doing here? The mirror lady said something about getting revenge, but all they had been doing was walking places. There was a tension in the air, but Mika couldn’t understand why it was there. Why had she decided to come here with mom? She was having a lot of fun running around with her girl friend until mom came and picked her up. And then the mirror lady and those Japanese girls got into a fight with mom, but it ended okay. Before today, that was the last time she saw the mirror lady. Mika had hoped that she could go back on her adventures with her girlfriend, but mom had gotten really clingy all of a sudden. Something about helping Sam out. The three of them joined up with Helga and Boteg and then they fought against a bunch of other magical girls. It was fun, but a little scary. Fighting in giant skirmishes like that wasn’t really her thing. She got to look cool in front of Katarina a few times though, so that was something. It was also probably what Mika remembered.

And then what happened? Mom wanted to go back to Penrose for something. Boteg was reasonably scared, so he stayed back while Helga took care of him. Katarina was torn. She didn’t want to come back, but she did want to be with Mika. Mom was the one who decided she couldn’t come with them. Something about sneaking around and keeping a low profile. It sounded boring. It was boring. She wasn’t really clear about why she wanted to come back. Something about getting Mika a sister. Having a sister would be okay, but only if they were okay. Mika did not see anyone here that she thought would make for an okay sister. That was probably what Mika thought about this group.

Everyone was talking but nothing was happening. They walked through portals and talked some more. There might be some short fights, but it was all so tedious. Everyone was also scared. It was starting to put Mika on edge. She walked close to the portal lady and kept a close eye on her. She would not make a good sister. That was probably Mika’s opinion on Mariette.

But in this personal hell, Mika needed to reflect on what she wanted. But she had what she wanted. She wanted a girlfriend, and left Penrose with Katarina. She wanted to be adventuring with her. But Mika knew she had flaws, and also knew the world was a lot bigger than just Penrose. Was that why Mika allowed herself to come here? To return to Penrose and find something more? Was it even a girlfriend that Mika sought? Those were probably the questions Mika was asking herself.

And then it all clicked into place.

It wasn’t all that surprising to Mika. The mirror lady’s mom was bad news, and she was going to do bad things. The monologs that never ended, the armies, the insistence on bringing harm to the downtrodden, even the laugh. It was all villain coded. Mom was nervous. Clearly she hadn’t expected things to go bad so quickly. Clearly the mirror lady thought she had a tighter grip on the situation as well. How interesting that it was the "stupid" one that was able to see all this coming. No endless eclipse necessary. No backroom deals with the grand magistrate. Mika didn’t understand it all, but she probably knew something like this would happen.

But if all that was probable was true, then Mika definitely knew what she had to do. Her path forward wasn’t going to be appeasing those around her. Mika had been on her best behavior with Katarina and she couldn’t stand either of them now. The fantastical low risk adventures didn’t make her heart race anymore. But that wasn’t Katarina’s problem. That was Mika’s problem, and so now Mika would fix it. She knew that she didn’t want mirror lady’s mom to have an easy time, but she also understood, on a purely primal level, that she was no match for her. But Mika wasn’t a match for many people, and those situations always turned out for the best because she listened to her heart in the end. And her heart telling her that mothers care deeply for their children.

Yes, that was probably what it was saying.

She didn’t even have to move her feet. Mika grabbed a fistful of Mariette’s hair and tugged until the tall girl was at her own level.

"Mika!?" Su reached for her, but Mika stepped away from her, placing her hand around Mariette’s neck.

"NO!" She shrieked, and positioned her back to the black mirror. "She… She is my prisoner, you know!" Mika had selected her words carefully. Something that Su picked up on instantly. When they had heard about the wonderland army, Mika immediately insisted on watching some shows that related to Alice and Wonderland. It seemed like Mika was trying to recreate a scene.

"Yes, but then I have come to rescue her!"

"We must fight for her then." Mika maneuvered Mariette behind herself, but only held her hand. It was less aggressive than her earlier display.

"You will observe the rules of battle, of course?"

Mika tipped her head and looked at the queen. "What are the rules of battle?"

Miko sure wasn’t ready for the person beneath the pile of metal to be someone completely different than the one she thought she was saving when she pulled the arm that had stuck itself out. She looked at Ani in confusion, while Roni peeked in curiously.

‘Ooooh. Are you like the Doctor, when you die you become someone else?’ Ronin asked, looking Ani up and down. Other than that, they let her say what she had to say, Miko looking a little confused at being noted as affection level “three”. As for Ronin being two… ‘Yeah, that’s fair!’ Ronin said, putting her hands behind her head. ‘My sis is the sweetest, after all!’ Also being amused at whatever smack on the shoulder. That’s fine. Depending on how much of that strength was used, she might have spun around a time or two, too.

‘Are you… still Mac? If not, what happened?’ Miko asked, unsure how to handle this situation.

‘And if you don’t remember, I’m Ronin, and this is Miko, and we make great girlfriends! When do we have our first date?’ Ronin asked. Miko’s going to just turn and frown at her a little.

‘… We were going back to Penrose to defeat the Queen and save Mariette,’ Miko would otherwise say, about where they were going next.

__________________




So, the ritual was starting. The Black Mirror was starting the spell. The dimension within it would channel the magic into the core. There would be no avoiding this now. After enough time had passed, it would complete. There were magical marks around the core, only in the dimension inside the Black Mirror. They would fill with magic, and it all would converge to when Asengav would commit to the finishing touches… At the very least, in here, they were relatively safe from-

The Queen pointed her sword at the Black Mirror, claimed something was missing. Well, yes, it would be faster to put the mirror closer to the Nexus, but doing so would expose it to-

Que the Queen grabbing the Black Mirror with vines and then putting it on the top of Covington Tower, where the whole city could potentially reach it. Mariette’s mental health halved.

‘Hold… hold on,’ Mariette said, wandering after the Queen. This would put the Black Mirror closer to the Nexus, yes, but, now they were exposed on all sides. Mariette didn’t feel safe at all. She stopped silent as the Queen held her monologue, and then swung her sword to undo Nykannis’ defenses of Penrose. Mariette stood silent, her mouth hanging partly open. She looked around, trying to figure out what she should say and/or do…

___


Lea was standing, silent, her mass shifting as the butterflies she was composed off scattered here and there in confusion, still reeling from having her mind bending with Asengav severed. She had yet to decide what, exactly, she wanted to do. So far, she had simply wandered after Mariette, and found herself staring at the mirror waking up, and Mikayla sitting reading to the children…

w h a t a r e y o u d o i n g
l e a

The words of Mikayla’s specter suddenly whispered into her mind. Lea flinched, her flinch making her butterflies briefly lose her shape before they reformed again, now in an alert position staring at the girl who hadn’t even turned from her position by the children.

a r e y o u n o t t h e l e a d e r
a s e n g a v w i l l b e v e r y d i s a p p o i n t e d i n y o u

… Lea grit her teeth, a small pulse of anger rising through her. Who the hell are you to try to get a rise out of Lea!? … Is what Lea thought but never would have dared to say to Mikayla’s face. That said, with Mariette moving out to the top of Covington Tower, she was losing access to the five mirrors. The rest of the group would have to stay here. So, Lea spun around to the rest.

‘It’s up to us to protect the other five mirrors,’ Lea stated, getting a small surprised reaction from the others because it was the first thing she’d said since the unbrainwashing event. ‘Nina, how are we looking?’ she asked, picking up the phone and looking at it. … With no answer, and also a frown as she realized she’d been able to recall Nina’s name at all. ‘… We’re going to need someone ready to sound the alarm at every mirror. Who’s protecting each?’


‘Esther’s protecting hers,’ Freya said.
‘She wouldn’t sound the alarm if she was attacked. She needs backup,’ Lea said.

‘Xander’s guarding Mayra’s,’ Suzette inputted.
‘And the Collector is guarding ours,’ Ronja said, referring to the one in the gallery.

‘We kind of killed the guardian of ours?’ Victoria chuckled indicating the one in the freezer.
‘We shouldn’t have picked something that would attack even us on sight…’ Tullia sighed.
‘Eh. Something loyal wouldn’t have been that strong!’ Victoria shrugged and laughed.

‘… My sensors will alert me if someone approaches my mirror,’ Taihei said.
‘Not to mention all the traps!’ Josefin added, smirking.
‘In that case, that is the only mirror that doesn’t need additional oversight. We can no longer depend on Nina…’ Lea muttered. Losing Nina was a SERIOUS detriment. They were depending on her to keep them informed of everything going on in Penrose, approaching threats and such. Losing her meant they were eligible to being caught unprepared, or scouted out by someone attacking without knowing it.

‘… I have no choice. I’ll be our new early warning system.’ So Lea said… and then channeled her magic. Butterflies started departing her body, and bugs flew out of her form. Flies, wasps, anything flying. It was time to truly show the capabilities of Oddball: Insects.

With a couple waving of her arms, the swarm dispersed, flying off in each of the five directions. On the other side, the bugs would emerge from the mirrors, landing on various surfaces to keep watch, and also a couple just buzzing around. Not enough for someone to realize it was infested, unless they were looking around with Third Eye. That thing that was irritatingly common, Lea thought. … The bugs at Xander’s mirror did not go through yet, someone would have to warn him first.

‘Listen up,’ Lea said. Her monster-girl form was notably more see-through, as many of the butterflies that composed her form had departed. ‘Freya and Shelyn, I’m going to need you to reintroduce yourselves to Esther, so she knows you’re allies. You look different, and she’s not used to change,’ she said.

‘Yeah,’ Freya nodded.
‘Sssh…’ Shelyn merely hissed. All of this was making her uncomfortable.

‘Okay. So I can’t talk through bugs, but I will be using them to tell you messages like “get back” or “reinforcements are coming”, or so. Pay close attention, I’m going to show you how…’ Lea said, and was going to show the rest of the girls how she would manipulate the bugs around them to show specific messages…

___

Mariette was simply watching Penrose and considering what to say. She noted Lea taking command of the rest of the girls, which took a load off her mind for now, even if Lea still worried her. For now, she considered what she could tell the Queen to-

‘Ah-’ Then her hair was grabbed and pulled. That sorta hurt. She was pulled down, and at that point it was easier to simply fall down on her knees. She was promptly grabbed around her neck. ‘- oh,’ Mariette made a startled noise as she realized her position, and what exactly just happened. H-had Su and Mika actually been sent to stop her? … Hold on, but then, what were they now talking about?

‘U-uh… Mother, please don’t kill her…’ Mariette said, because what she actually feared the most for in that instant was for Mika’s life. Her words could possibly save her from the Queen…

She couldn’t do much to stop the second potential threat to her life.

___


‘… Hm,’ Mikayla closed the book she was going to read to the children. As the supposed protector of the Black Mirror, she couldn’t exactly stay on the sidelines when the Black Mirror was taken directly out of the realm specifically created to defend it. It looked like Lea was actually doing her job now, the bug-girl looked much better than before. Which meant Mikayla was more comfortable leaving her own children behind.

‘Sleep tight, my children. Don’t move anywhere. I’ll be back,’ she told them, and kissed each on the forehead. They were merely unmoving, scared of the one who was watching them. With that, Mikayla wandered over and out the same portal that had opened for Mariette…

And saw the whole thing with Mariette getting herself held hostage. What a truly, truly pathetic display. For a moment, Mikayla’s disdaining eyes met Mariette’s scared one. Mariette knew fully well what likely went through Mikayla’s mind.

Now, honestly. Mikayla looked over Mika and Mariette, and saw only expendable people. If Mariette was no longer an asset, then there was no sense in keeping her alive. If that was all in this scene, then Mikayla would have sent ghosts to kill Mika right now. However… her eyes trailed over at the Queen. The actual threat. Mikayla likely couldn’t cause Mariette’s death without the Queen becoming an enemy. Was that desirable now, with the whole world watching, at the top of Covington Tower? … If she was probable to become an enemy anyway later, then why not? Staying passive before cost her the time she should have been staying with her children, since she was now taken to the top of Covington Tower.

… No. Given they were now on top of Covington Tower, it was likely that they would attract all possible heroic Magical Girls that would try to stop them. If there were two of their kind, the Queen and Mikayla, two forces so far above other Magical Girls that it needed a whole bunch of them to match even one, then they stood a better chance to protect the Black Mirror together. Even if Mikayla would perhaps need to find an opportunity to off said Queen sometime before the end of the ritual… That would have to wait a little. It didn’t really matter what happened between Mika, Su and Mariette. All that mattered was that the Mirror was unharmed. And even then… Did it truly really matter?

Too passive it is.

… But even then, spectral forces were going to show up from nowhere beneath them, wandering inside Covington Tower. Both to discourage those who would try to attack from underneath, and perhaps to maybe stab Mika from beneath when she saw an opportunity. If the Queen didn’t do anything first.

Puchuu are normally viewed as mercurial and capricious sociopaths that view their magical girls as expendable tools to do their bidding, so the cowardly creatures themselves can stay well out of harms way. They take what they want via deception, manipulation, and sometimes even the use of mystic force of a level unfathomable to lesser creatures (and they view most anything that isn’t another Puchuu as a lesser creature, whether or not such is actually the case). That a Puchuu would willingly place itself at the mercy of another being, even one objectively more powerful than themselves, is nearly unthinkable, especially if said Puchuu wasn’t one of the exceedingly rare “nice” variety. But, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures, and there are few Puchuu more desperate than…



“Wakey wakey…”

Those words, spoken by an annoyingly condescending voice, were the first things that greeted the groggy Puchuu as he slowly returned to consciousness. In times long past, he would have been the one to employ such a tone with recalcitrant girls in his employ, and the current, ironic, role reversal was a particularly unpleasant one. Oh, how the mighty had fallen…

“Have a nice nap?” the voice inquired. “I told ya you wouldn’t feel a thing.”

Opening his large, weary eyes, Chiichuu was met with the sight of that pestiferously patronizing voice’s owner, the lab coated and be-goggled Monarch of Mad Science. “So, I take it you’ve had your fun with me, then?” the Puchuu spat indignantly from where he sat atop a cushioned hovering drone from which protruded dozens of bizarre apparatuses.

“I have indeed,” the smirking mad scientist confirmed. “Thanks to you, I’ve learned everything there is to know about your cryptic little species. And there’s no reason to look so grumpy,” she added. “After all, I promised to reward you for volunteering to be my test subject, and I never miss an opportunity to show off my unparalleled super-scientific genius! Nyahahahaha!”

“D-Does… Does that mean…?” Chiichuu asked, his formerly disgruntled tone now shifting to one of desperate hope.

“That I was able to create a team of magical girls skilled and powerful enough to rival your precious, unparalleled, and comprehensively erased from history Shining Hearts?” the Queen of the Mad Scientists finished, her smile growing even wider. “You bet your fluffy ass I have. Yeah, I’m sure you were convinced your humiliating fall into pathetic obscurity was finally complete after your single joke of a replacement got plucked away by that djinn/fairy godmother/whatever-the-fuck-she-is-now girl, but—”

“She wasn’t my only replacement!” Chiichuu cut in. “There’s also—”

“Yeah, yeah, there’s also Casey,” the goggled young woman finished with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But, let’s be honest, she’s about as memorable as Celia. And as I was saying, just when you’d accepted the impossibility of ever bringing back your cherished little ‘glory days’, you decided to make the best decision of your pitiful life and seek out the one person who could actually do the impossible: me. Now, I could have simply gone back in time and killed The Blight myself, thus preventing the Shining Hearts from ever needing to sacrifice themselves in the first place, but I think we can both agree that would be a particularly anti-climactic way of resolving things. I mean, the Grand Magistrate supposedly cares about telling compelling narratives, even if his ability to actually do so is sorely lacking, so I think it’s only right that we endeavor to do the same in regard to this laughably small and insignificant matter.”

“This matter is neither small, nor insignificant!” Chiichuu snapped. “And there is nothing laughable about it either! Besides which, do you seriously expect me to believe you could reverse the flow of time itself?! Such an ability is impossible for even we Puchuu! It violates the metaphysical laws of this universe!”

“I make it a point to do things everyone else considers impossible whenever the opportunity presents itself,” the mad scientist replied nonchalantly. “Although, as I mentioned before, there are always exceptions. So, instead of doing that ‘impossible’ thing, I simply did another.” With that, Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists, opened a holographic view screen, which depicted a a fairly typical teenage girl’s bedroom. Lying on the bed, unharmed and sleeping peacefully, was the teenage girl herself. “Nyahahahaha! Feast your eyes, fur ball!”

At the sight, Chiichuu’s big eyes bulged and glistened, while his mouth hung agape in utter, disbelieving astonishment.

“L-Larysa…?!” the Puchuu cried. “T-This can't be… T-This can't be real!”

“I assure you, it’s very real,” Nykannis replied. “Go on, use all your special Puchuu analysis powers. I know they’re pretty garbage, at least compared to what I can do, but they should still be enough to prove to you that’s really her. Well, a version of her at any rate,” the mad scientist clarified.

“B-But how?!” Chiichuu questioned. “She was erased from history, just like all the others! I’m the only being that remembers she even existed!” the Puchuu added, his big eyes overflowing with tears. “I even tried searching for versions of her in other universes, but I eventually came to accept that she and the rest were clearly unique to this universe, that, or The Blight’s dying curse erased them even across universal boundaries!”

“Well, I’m sure you tried,” Nykannis replied, sounding even more patronizing than ever. “But you Puchuus’ poly-plenumic capabilities really leave a lot to be desired. Hell, I’ll bet your searching didn’t even cover a fraction of the realities in this multiverse, let alone any of the others,” she added dismissively. “Anyways, Larysa here recently showed up in someone’s shitty fan-fiction, which may or may not have been written in someone else’s deranged hallucination, but regardless, that means that there’s a universe in which she still exists. Now, some people may think that the fact it was written about created that universe,” the mad scientist went on. “But that’s not actually the case. The fact is, that universe was always there. It being mentioned simply made it easer to locate.”

“If you found her, why couldn’t you just send me to wherever she was?” Chiichuu asked.

“Well, when I found her, she was in pretty bad shape,” Nykannis replied. “So I rescued her, healed her, and then placed her in this perfect recreation of her room, drawn directly from her memories, where she’ll continue to nap until you’re ready to visit her. Oh, and I’ll leave the whole explanation of where she is and what happened to her to you,” the mad scientist added with a smirk. “I know how much you Puchuu love to give your introductory spiels, and Larysa was the leader of her team and your personal favorite, right?”

“H-How did you know that?!” Chiichuu stammered.

“I made a complete scan of all your memories while I was dissecting you. Because of that, I know exactly how special she was to you, and that’s why I knew I should probably acquire her first.”

“F-First…?” Chiichuu blubbered. “D-Does that mean the others…?”

“All in good time,” Nykannis assured the Puchuu. “For now, I imagine you can’t wait to chat with dear Larysa again and tell her all about the wonderful opportunity you can provide her with,” she added, gesturing to a newly manifested door frame, which opened into the room on the holodisplay. “I’ll even let you take the credit for saving her.”

“T-Thank… Thank you, doctor…” Chiichuu murmured as the drone he sat atop drifted through the doorway. “Larysa, my dear girl…”

With that out of the way, Nykannis closed the door and let it dematerialize, while the holodisplay shifted to depict Penny Prime. The Monarch of Mad Science had hoped that, by this point, the Queen of Penrose would have finally returned to her precious city, but such was still not the case. No, the Mechanical Monarch and most of the Penrose Pack were currently gathered in a command center aboard the Bastion, preparing to begin yet another… meeting…

Nykannis’s eye twitched.

“Fuck that.”



One moment, Penny Prime was standing before a holomap of the city she claimed queenship over. The next, the Mechanical Monarch would find herself standing in the middle of an intersection at the heart of said city. However, she would quickly note that it was completely devoid of people, and everything, from buildings, to trees, to sky was bathed in a dark purplish tint, or at least, what little of the latter could be viewed around the gargantuan, eldritch biomechanical ultra-technomantic craft that blotted out the majority of it. From the great central glowing, yellowy-green eye of this stupendous vessel emerged the giant, holographic form of Doctor Nykannis.

“Nyahahahaha! Greetings, Penny!” the Monarch of Mad Science announced with a broad smile. “Whatdaya think of The ARGO?! Pretty awesome, right?! It’s my new flagship, the absolute apogee of poly-plenumic warship design (at least for now). In fact, it’s so absurdly advanced, it makes your precious Bastion look like a fucking wind up toy! Anyways, I was planning on doing this after you’d deployed to Penrose out of respect of your unique status among the denizens of this reality plenum, but you were about to start a fucking strategy meeting, and I really didn’t feel like waiting through another one of those things again. In fact, one of the reasons I created the artificial tangental reality layer you’re currently standing in was to facilitate the expedited conclusion of the Penrose Pack’s last ‘super important’ meeting! Of course, the Queen of Tarts managed to circumvent it with barely any effort (as I suspected she would), so I decided to employ it for this little test instead! Nyahahahaha! Now, I know you might be a little bothered by all this,” the mad scientist continued. “So I want to reassure you that this is all for your benefit. I’m sure with your vast abilities, supplemented by the Grand Magistrate’s favor, you could ‘escape’ whenever you want, but after you hear my very reasonable explanation, I’m sure someone as brilliant as you will agree with my reasoning. And to ensure you don’t do anything... impulsive before I complete my little lecture, I’ve taken the liberty of placing you in a temporal stasis field. Now then, are you familiar with the scientific method?” Nykannis inquired.

Before Penny could respond, the mad scientist continued. “Of course you are, but for the benefit of anyone following along, I’ll give a short summary. The basic steps are as follows: Observe, Question, Hypothesize, Test, Analyze, and Present Findings. I’ve applied these steps numerous times to various aspects of this reality plenum ever since arriving here, and I’m going to use the first four to explain everything that’s led to the situation in which you currently find yourself, as well as why it’s a very good thing. Let’s begin with Observe. I’ve observed many confusing and contradictory elements inherent to the rules framework of this reality plenum during my time here, but the most interesting thing about them was that almost all of them seem to revolve around you. You are far stronger and more influential than nearly all of your peers, so strong and so influential that events have conspired to always keep you out of the most pivotal battles out of fear that you’d effortlessly overpower every ostensibly major threat, but there’s far more to your uniqueness then that. Things seem to always work in your favor, even if you don’t fully realize it. For example, while the rest of the Penrose Pack was busy fighting liches, you were being spoon fed a minimal-effort upgrade opportunity. And then there was the time you ‘won’ that ass shoving contest. I already knew you were something special, that you had significant narrative weight far exceeding that of your peers, but that was when I fully realized just how far the Grand Magistrate would go to ensure your success. I mean, we both know you were going to win one way or another. Even without the massive upgrade I gave you, your protagonist power was several orders of magnitude greater than that moody edgelord who had to self-harm to pull off her biggest moves. But that wasn’t enough. The Grand Magistrate himself had to directly step in, had to reverse the flow of time itself, something his own rules framework explicitly prohibits, in order to keep Miss Tall Dark and Brooding from possibly beating you!”

Closing her eyes, Nykannis gave voice to an annoyed sigh.

“Please don’t misunderstand,” the Monarch of Mad Science continued. “You’re not the one I’m aggravated with. I actually find you to be absolutely fascinating, Penny, which is why, after observing all of that, I had to ask the Question: ‘Is there any way you could ever possibly lose?’. That, of course, led to another question: ‘If you could be defeated, what manner of creature would be capable of performing such a feat?’. Enter my favorite failure, Finn.”

At this, Nykannis held up a mangled and marred plushie resembling the magical boy in question. Several glowing energy scalpels had been plunged into it, along with a large syringe filled with glowing, corrosive liquid.

“Say ‘hi’, Finn,” the mad scientist instructed, before placing her hand over the plush’s head and giving it a hard squeeze. This prompted a pained wheezing sound, while corroded stuffing and green slime leaked out of the tortured facsimile. “I don’t expect you to remember him,” Nykannis continued. “After all, his protagonist power was woefully meager, especially compared with your own. Even so, he expressed a desire to challenge you, for reasons I couldn’t even begin to care about. The important thing was that I could make use of that desire for my own purposes, and so I, along with a few associates, augmented Finn’s abilities to an extent that was objectively far in excess of yours, while also increasing his protagonist power as much as was possible for such a brooding edgelord. I Hypothesized that this was the best way to truly Test just how far the Grand Magistrate’s favor towards you truly extended, and, perhaps even more tantalizing, what might happen if you were to actually refuse that favor. You see, I knew that the ensuing combat could end in several ways, but the two most likely were as follows: the Grand Magistrate, upon seeing you faced with the most credible threat you’d yet encountered, would employ his powers over this reality plenum in the most overt manner to date, or, you would actually embrace the challenge, and show everyone what you’re truly capable of, bereft of the Grand Magistrate’s training wheels!”

By this point, Nykannis’s expression was one of manic glee, but it quickly darkened to a look of profound disgust.

“Unfortunately, just before I could conduct said test, all my carefully assembled plans completely fell apart. You see, despite all I did for him, Finn turned out to be a total fucking PUSSY…” Squeezing the head of the plush even tighter, her nails extending into needle-sharp claws that punctured its already frayed ‘flesh’, the mad scientist began slowly twisting its crushed cranium as if it were a dial on one of her incomprehensible machines. “All that time…” Twist. “All that effort…” Twist. “All for NOTHING!!!” With a final violent twist, she tore the head off the plush and cast it away. In the background the sounds of gibbering tentacle-covered creatures scampering over to gnaw on it with their corrosive jaws could be heard, but Nykannis paid it no mind. “Ahem. As I was saying,” she continued, dismissively dropping the plush’s now headless body to the floor as she did so. “Since my original test subject was unable to participate, I was forced to enact a contingency plan. I figured if I couldn’t get one ultra-powerful magical boy to challenge you, I’d just have to get several exceptionally powerful magical girls to do so instead! And who better than someone you most assuredly did know and utterly despised?! Yes, I refer, of course, to Oros! I had my old pal Kate photograph the Oros iterations of several different reality plenums, across several different multiverses, and, once she’d done so, I used the data she’d collected to create perfect copies of them, all with enhanced capabilities, and all under my complete command! Nyahahahaha!”

With that, a group of several young women materialized in front of the Queen of Penrose, their expressions ranging from pensive to manic.

“And that’s not all,” she added, as yet another figure teleported down from The ARGO, along with a giant, hovering… toaster…? “Thanks to some particularly interesting data I recently received, I was also able to create copies of some additional Oroses I wasn’t previously aware of, ones that aren’t just cheep knock-offs like Oros the Greedy or Oros the Clumsy! What’s more, with all the data I now had access to, I figured it was the perfect time to try my hand at creating a unique Oros of my own! Nyahahahaha! Meet Osiris!” Nykannis announced as a woman in revealing, techno-Egyptian attire arrived to stand at the front of the gathered Oroses. “Or as I like to call her, Oros the Overlord! Every army needs a leader, and she’s this one’s! I just finished unlocking her full potential, and while she may not look any different, she’s got some pretty badass new abilities, LIKE FABRICATING THIS OMEGA-GRADE ENGINE OF DESTRUCTION!!!”

No sooner had this been said, then an enormous gilded obsidian techno scorpion burst into being amidst a swirling vortex of negative matter nanites and techno-mystic energies to loom over the gathered Oroses and the Mechanical Monarch both, with Osiris standing atop it.

“Nyahahahaha! Only the best for you, Penny!” the Queen of the Mad Scientists cackled. “Now, before I release the stasis field, I just wanna reassure you that you’ll still have full control over all the various copies of yourself you’ve got scattered about, so ya can still keep track of all the other shit currently going on. I know you’re good enough at multitasking to handle doing that, while also fighting against my collection of Oroses. And you do want to fight them, don’t you, Penny? You also want to put my hypothesis to the test, right? After all, this is your chance to really prove you’re everything people say you are, that you’re truly worthy to call yourself the Queen of Penrose. So, come on, Penny! Show me what you’ve got!”

The next instant, the stasis field was deactivated, allowing Penny the freedom to make the first move. However, before she could do so, a jagged hole, ringed by crackling tendrils of teal and magenta lightning, was torn in the fabric of reality directly behind her, from which shot forth an exceedingly bizarre, multi-headed machine, propelled by nova flare hyper boosters and anti-gravity spacial warping systems of the highest order.

“CHOW TIME, YA HECKIN’ TOASTER!!!” a deranged voice boomed with manic glee from the machine’s external speakers as it slammed into the hovering kitchen appliance-esque craft, blasting it with an array of teal beams as it did so, before clamping down on it with multiple sets of energy jaws in an attempt to rend the the equally strange machine asunder.

“Don’t worry, Kenny!” A patchwork young woman with pink hair told the Queen of Penrose as she emerged from the crackling tear and ran up to stand beside her.

“Uh… I, like, thought it was Jenny…” Another pinkette with unnatural teal skin noted in a stereotypical valley girl voice as she joined the first.

“U-Um, I think it might actually be Penny…” A smaller patchwork pinkette suggested in a soft and somewhat meek voice.

“Well, whatever your name is, we’ve got your back!” Yet another patchwork pinkette declared, giving Penny a wink and a thumbs up.

“Yeah!” A weapon covered pinkette composed of metallic slime agreed. “Just leave these guys to…”



“HOLY FREAKING WOW!!!” A pinkette dressed as a witch exclaimed. “This is even crazier and cooler than that moon party thing you guys found me at!”

“Yeah!” A pinkette with a star-tipped antenna rising from the top of her head agreed. “It’s, like, totally super gibbous!”

“That’s right! Finding her was, like, super crazy! You’re totally gonna love this!” the first pinkette told Penny with a ditzy giggle. “So, like, when we went to her universe dealie, we were told by this super nice, but also super mysterious, teacher person that she was actually in the universe type place we’d just left!”

“Just like two of those camel things walking on either side of a sand dune!” Still another teal-skinned pinkette added.

“Ah reckon tha sayin’ ya actually want, lil’ darlin, is ‘like two ships passin’ in tha night’,” a patchwork pinkette in cowgirl attire pointed out in a stereotypical old west drawl.

“Well, whatevs!” the first pinkette replied with a shrug. “We still got to fight a bunch of crazy cool shadow monkey guys, so it wasn’t all bad!”

“Yeah, but I’ll bet fightin’ these guys is gonna be way more fun!” A young woman with pink-streaked green hair and holding a giant chainsaw noted with a big grin.

“Oh, it will be fun,” Nykannis agreed. “For me! Nyahahaha! Zinestine’s even more of an absolute joke than I thought if he seriously thinks this collection of idiots is actually a threat! One of them may have landed the killing blow on the Holy Diver,” she conceded. “But even so, none of them are a match for the greatest of Aigorost’s champions enhanced by the super-scientific genius of the Mad Scientist Supreme! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!”

As the group was preparing to depart Wonderland, Branch Nose looked mournful as Gaia and Connie approached the tall tree, and bid her farewell. He frowned as his consciousness returned from the small sapling that now stood by him, and tears of sap dripped from his eyes.

“Gaia, Connie…Thank you, but I must decline. I am truly grateful for letting this old, withering tree experience life like never before. To walk as humans do, and to experience an adventure that thrilled the roots and shook the leaves like a storm. However, it has been enough excitement for several lifetimes. Maybe it is because I am a tree, but in truth, I desire a peaceful life, one where the day arrives and sets as it does, and the seasons pass as they do, and breeze passes ever so gracefully. But even so…” He then lowered down to his knees, and bowed his head in both reverence and gratitude. “...I will treasure these moments with you for as long as I live. Goodbye, Blessed Gaia, and Goodbye, Sacred Connie. May you ever walk forward towards the light of hope.”

As Lily walked alongside Alex and the others through the Bastion to the command room, she found herself looking at the corridors and hallways with a sense of subdued reminiscence, wondering about how much it must have changed since the days when it was used to rescue her from Justine’s clutches. As those memories poured back, she noticed the sense of unease to Alex: she realized he must still be blaming himself for Amber’s death, and she frowned. She wanted him to move on, to keep living without regret, as that is what the plucky pirate girl would have surely wanted. However, she knew she couldn’t force anyone to feel something else. She reached out, hesitating, and spoke:
”Hey, Alex…It’s okay. We’ll fix this, I know it. I’ll find a way.”

The Cheshire Cat seemed surprised by the number of Pennybots that had quickly moved to her vicinity. “Of course! Is something wrong?” She asked in return as she followed the duplicate to a private room, seemingly oblivious to the faux pas she had committed. Once the group had passed, the cat flap remained: it meowed and flashed every five minutes or so, seemingly for the remaining Mahou like the twins to find it.

At the command room, Penny showed the state of Penrose, causing Lily to gasp and Rachel to nod with a scowl.
”I concur with Alicia,” Justine spoke.
”However, I won’t allow this city to become another Bolorton. I will go and intercept the invaders with Caroline,” she finally spoke through grit teeth. Caroline nodded wordlessly.
Lily, however, wasn’t convinced.
”But now there’s even more than back then. If you go there, you’ll-”

”Lily, please don’t stop me,” Justine spoke, and reached up to touch Lily’s shoulder, causing the green-eyed girl to blink.

”As much as I would love to run away to Silverburg with my sister and leave all this animosity and doubt behind, I know that is not an option. We’ll stay and fight. It’s the least we can do, now that the play is reaching its third act.”
She gave an encouraging smile to Caroline, and surprisingly she also gave a mild smile.

Lily sighed, and shook Justine’s hand. ”Very well then. But you need to promise me you won’t die.”

Justine shook the hand back, a confident grin showing her sharp canines on her lips.

”I solemnly swear. Justine von Visceral shall not fall tonight!”

Rachel sighed. ”Alicia, we need to round up the local Beacon chapter for defense of the city. I will organize the Ascendancy. Elora will prime the teleporters for rapid delpoyment.”

---

“Haaah!?” Tsuki yelped as she was yanked like a hook in a vaudeville show. “What now?” She crossed her arms with a miffed look as she was brought back to Chloe, who offered a glimpse through her crystal orb. By that point Hudie had noticed Tsuki wasn’t following and jumped back to also witness the orb-projected view of the barrier having become broken, followed by Wonderland troopers marching into the city, seemingly heading towards Covington Tower.
“Covington Tower? Why would they want to claim that place first?” Tsuki asked. Hudie, however, placed a finger to her chin in thought.
“It seems they might want a vantage point…Or there is something else to the place that is of value. In any case, we should check it out.” Tsuki nodded, she turned to Chloe. “You know, instead of grabbing me with a tendril, you could just send a text message.”

---

The Queen of Hearts smiled widely as she saw her forces head off to conquer the city, and turned back only to see Mariette captured by Mika, and suffering.

“ALICE!” She howled from outrage. She summoned her weapon, and pointed it at Mika despite Mariette’s warning: not even her words would prevent the enraged queen from parting shoulders with what they held up. However, something else did, something she didn’t expect: Su announced that she would rescue Mariette, and Mika responded that they would fight observing the rules of battle. The queen’s formerly wrathful expression slacked, and her eyes stared into the distance, past Mika, as if she was looking at something else. Her purple eye was glowing: Mariette recognized it as the queen using her powers. But what was she doing exactly was a mystery, until she finally spoke:

“The first rule of battle: if one Knight hits the other, he knocks him off his horse, and if he misses, he tumbles off himself. The second rule of battle: You hold your clubs with your arms as if you were Punch and Judy. What a noise you shall make when you tumble! Just like a whole set of fire-irons falling into the fender! The horses are quiet! They let you get on and off them just as if they were tables!”

She then slowly swung the Storyslayer, and a large portal emerged, the other side showing a jousting arena, and two armored horses as well as two suits of armor, one red and one white, and similarly colored lances and clubs.
“The third rule of battle: always fall on your head. The battle ends when you both fall. Now then, prepare for battle!” Mika had discovered another weakness to the Queen: that she would follow the manuscript to the Alice in Wonderland when given enough prompting. But how far and how long would remain to be seen, as the mad queen grew jittery, waiting for Su and Mika to continue enacting their parts as the Red Knight and White Knight.

Alexander sighed "Thanks Lilly, it just...difficult for me to fully believe that. I'm not as optimistic as you are". He kept working until the Cheshire Cat drew them away to the bridge. What Alexander saw there drew him out of his funk with anger, even the animals were distressed by what they saw "Fuck! So what's the plan, do we all rush back to Penrose and hope that bitch is there so we can jump her?" Alexander really hoped it was the first, the animals seemed to agree, given how agitated they all seemed to be.