[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/zhp2XL5.png[/img] [color=firebrick][b]"Not one word, Roche. If Suki knew 'lesbian bikers' had [i]almost[/i] been part of a plan, I'd never hear the end of it."[/b][/color][/center] [color=firebrick][b]"Why an old warehouse? We're not Yakuza."[/b][/color] Nyxia had brought up an important problem, though. Kiyo tried her best to act like Nyxia's situation was normal, so she must have glossed over that detail in her half-asleep haze. Haruna had her own concerns. She meant well—she always did—but Kiyo knew it was unlikely she'd be listened to. Shuuko might be the only one who even listened to [i]Kiyo's[/i] quack ideas about magical girls, and only Hotaru maybe kind of believed in them. Fortunately, Tsubomi dug her out of the hole with her own idea that was actually kind of brilliant. [color=firebrick][b]"Well, if anyone can think of a way to convince the Boss to go on her own road trip, that could be ideal..."[/b][/color] The rest was left unsaid. It wasn't very likely they could convince Rei to do anything with her being none the wiser. In fact, Kiyo rather thought her own idea was quite unlikely to work unnoticed. Tsubomi mentioned Rei "accidentally" taking their power-ups, but she wasn't so certain of Rei's intentions in keeping them under her watch. [color=firebrick][b]"The entire premise behind the one year deadline was that we need to get stronger, otherwise defeating us would not even be a challenge for her. That's what she said, isn't it? If that's actually true, then her plans shouldn't include misleading us about how to get stronger. If it's false, then she was never a threat, and she's just having fun watching us run around in a panic instead of calling her bluff."[/b][/color] Kiyo tried not to let her frustration show, though Ember was likely going to notice anyway. It was her own fault for not being around when Ashbringer threw down the gauntlet. Roche and Suki showing favor to her ideas put some wind back in her sails. [color=firebrick][b]"I can rent a company van. They'll comfortably seat seven... or eight."[/b][/color] She glanced at the Omega Obliterator. [color=firebrick][b]"More importantly, if dark magical girls are black holes, then Hibusa is Rei's event horizon. Whatever 'gravity' we have doesn't really matter here. Her pull is just stronger than ours. Case in point..."[/b][/color] She paused. She didn't really like to talk about the time she was gone—when she wasn't sure if she wanted to come back. [color=firebrick][b]"Suki. Last battle, you asked 'since when' could I create those stronger minions? I've been able to do it since I fought a giga miseria with another group of girls outside Hibusa town. I fought one, and that's when I came back to share my findings—though, you'd already fought the one on the beach."[/b][/color] She tilted her head to address the others. [color=firebrick][b]"Unless someone else has gained a new ability they'd like to share, I'm guessing the boost from that last giga miseria Black Gate awakened didn't hit quite as hard as the one from the beach. Am I wrong?"[/b][/color]