Ariamis

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Crusader Lord
Just a heads up, some of your color codes in your post don't work.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The moment Elvira saw Eliza and Fine at the bottom of the ladder, she knew she had no time to waste.
"Fat chance!” She yelled, and with a spell created a web of thin but sharp filaments that blocked off the middle of the shaft; even if the two could rip through them with relative speed, it still saved some time for the NEET idol to make her escape. She had prepared for being chased, using her threads like Spiderman to pull and propel herself through the tunnel, leaving filaments behind. However, despite all her foresight and planning, she couldn’t have readied herself for the fear that gripped her.
"They’re not gonna get me...Nobody can catch me!”
She repeated to herself in a mad mantra.
"I’ll never die, I’ll escape...Make a new hideout, make it safe...I’ll live…!”
Her eyes widened as she saw light at the end of the tunnel. It was the outside world. It was full of danger and peril...But also a place of countless new sanctuaries.

That’s right.
She would escape, and she would live.

She was a survivor.

---

The triplet’s expression turned to one of disgust and rage. “Insolence! Your excuses mean nothing before the holy seat of justice!” She gripped her halberd. “Enough talk, move aside or I’ll...Wait, what is that?” At that moment, a strange flow of magical power had run through the rave, like a wave of unhearable sound or rushing light that expanded outwards.

“It’s like...I heard a sound in my-

”AAAHHHH!”

Suddenly, the triplet’s halberd clanged on the floor as it was dropped, her hand having twitched open in a violent fashion once the magic presence spiked; accompanied by a low sound of buzzing white noise, Cerise and Cereza heard the triplet scream their lungs out in excruciating agony, her head shaking in unnatural ways, like a nightmare sequence in Jakob’s Ladder, as the Spark attempted futilely to hold on. However, it soon reached its limit in the face of so many psychic attacks, and the triplet fell down. They now saw what had become of her lifeless corpse: she bled from the corner of her mouth and her nose, and her blank white eyes cried tears of crimson.

Ashlyn and Monica also saw how the Ascendancy girl knocking on the door to their Interdimensional Home began screaming, begging to enter it, before her bloodied hand slowly slid down the door, leaving a gruesome stain. They all heard screams explode around them, and realized that the terrible spell had reached through the entire building; like a deadly curse, it psychically detonated on the Ascendancy like a carpet bombing of the mind.

Yet, strangely enough, the corrupted and normal magical girls they just fought against were left unharmed, confused by the sudden turn of events, but even more than that...Horrified. Until one monster girl realized what had happened, and gave a stoic smile. The future Eliza had foreseen had come to pass. And from that point on, the twins, or anyone else who had been there, could never forget the terrible crimes against magical humanity that was committed on that day, both by the Ascendancy’s systematic slaughter of a crowd of corrupted girls and by the “Psychic Nuke” as it would later be called.

However, thanks to the Ascendancy’s sudden reaping, Penny had successfully led a group of girls through the secret exit, past the Ascendancy girls dying amidst tortured screeches, and into the cold but refreshing air of rainy Penrose.
“Thank you so much!” One of the girls cried out with tears in her eyes, and shook Penny’s hand. “I thought I was going to die there!” At that moment, they heard a terrible sound of crackling thunder that erupted throughout the rave building, as screams of pain and death surged through in a second wave. Then, Penny saw one of the dragon-headed lightning bolts heading towards her group from the tunnel, striking her and infusing her with new energy, similar to when she was struck by Lily’s Thor’s Hammer.

Ashlyn and Monica alongside the girls they stowed away were spared from the wrath of Lei Zi’s Blessed Barrage, but Cereza and Cerise were not as fortunate; having been taken by surprise in the midst of the carnage, both of them were struck by the draconic white lightning that stopped their hearts, killing them instantly.

---

Helga held her claws up, ready to confront FanFan as she refused to let them pass. By this point she had cast her disguise away, her robotic arms lifted up in a boxing stance. “Could be your grandma, I’m still not letting you through!” She was about to say something else when she was struck by the psychic nuke and began to scream loudly; Helga blinked, looking confused, while FanFan morphed her robotic arms into a metallic dome that encased her. Yet, as Su and Helga took the chance to run past her, they could still hear her muffled screams of agony.

---

Leena would never compromise, not even in the face of certain death. So when Christine gave her threats, she simply scoffed. “You and what army?” She glanced back to see more clones rushing them. “Oh, those? Your joke is killing me.” She knew what Alicia planned the moment she stepped behind her; behind her gas mask, she gave a wide grin.

When Alicia blasted her blinding ray of light, Leena lifted her sword, and used it’s reflective metal to redirect some of the light to further blind Christine as she dodged opposite the direction Alicia went to after she shot her arrow and destroyed the gun.

At that moment, the psychic nuke struck, and she was struck by intense pain. But, when experience and rational thinking would fail her, her reflexes, built over countless years of fighting against the foulest, most dangerous of opponents, would not.

“VOID ROOM!”

She yelled out with gnashing teeth, and the space of the corridor turned into negative coloration.
Christine’s clones disintegrated on the spot, as did Alicia’s beam of light and Mika’s streams of water once she burst out of the wall. She then collapsed to her knees, holding her head as she cried blood. She coughed, and ripped her gas mask off; her mouth was stained red. The Nullification Field had also reached FanFan, and her screams of agony turned to coughing and grunts of pain.

“Shit...What happened?” Leena mumbled amidst her groans. She heard the broadcast, and shuddered. “The Penrose...Independent?”

Alicia’s arrows failed to explode into light like she initially planned, but by dodging them Christine was distracted and failed to avoid Mika smashing her against the wall with her armadillo-plated body and stabbing her with the venomous stinger. The scorpion venom, a potent anesthetic, flowed through Christine’s veins and lulled her into a dazed, sleepy state.

At that moment, Su and helga had reached Mika in the corridor. “Mika? What are you doing?” Helga shouted in a panic, and dragged Mika off from Christine who slumped against the wall.
“We need to get away from here!” She heard the broadcast, and realized this was no accident, but an act of true malice. She heard the roar of lightning rushing at them, causing her eyes to widen; though the Barrage was stopped by Leena’s Nullification Field, it was too much for her heart to bear; she could not risk her family’s well being any longer, and turned to Su. “Su, you gotta shift us! NOW!”

---

Vivi battled with Askefye, countering her dark flames with her own purifying foams and waves of water. But, as with many good things, it came to an abrupt end, as Vivi stopped and clutched her head in a horrible scream, having been struck by the psychic nuke. “AHHHH!” The blue girl’s thoughts raced with confusion, regret, and grief as her Spark was about to give in-

When suddenly, the pain stopped, as did the noise. The air was no longer thick with choking smoke and blazing heat...Except for the burning feeling that had now embraced her.

“H-Huh?” The girl, now bleeding from her mouth and eyes, squinted her eyes, and was shocked to see the face of her enemy. “W-Why...Did you save me?” She groaned in lingering pain as she was held against her burning form.

---

Lily finished spinning Emily around and let her go, giggling as she continued making a few more spins in her drunken stupor. She looked at the barrier they passed, and poked it with a sigh of relief.
”Whew, I’m glad. It’s so big though! It covers the entire warehouse! And it looks sturdy. How did we pass it?”
She then blinked as Umukamui approached them, revealing he was the one who saved them.
”Wow! Thanks, Mister Umu!” She sincerely spoke her gratitude to her, followed by a surprised mouth-wide face as Sakura proceeded to have a tantrum and shake the Puchuu.
”Hey, Sakura! That’s no way to treat Mister Umu!”
She forcefully separated Umu from Sakura by pushing her forehead away, and then picked Umukamui up in her loving embrace.
”How could you be so mean to him? He’s just a cute widdle kitty cat~” She petted Umukamui with a sweet smile, followed by a thinking face.
”But wait, you mentioned an alliance, right? She looked down at Umu. ”Who did you ally with?”

Suddenly, the magical presence in the rave spiked, and horrible screams could be heard coming from inside. “Wait, what?” Rachel could be heard shouting as she jumped down from a rooftop from the other side of the road. “What is the meaning of this?” She directed her hateful gaze to Umukamui. “I swear, if you had something to do with this-”

At that moment, the entire crowd heard a girl’s groans, and turned to see Violette dragging herself magically out of the warehouse, causing Lily to scream at the sight: she was crying blood, with blood also running from her nose and corner of her lip. Based on the way her limbs dragged behind her, and how she used a magical pair of hand simulacrums to lift herself up, she had seemingly lost motor function of her body.

“VIOLETTE!” Rachel cried, and rushed past the group to catch Violette as she fell into her arms. She immediately began casting a powerful healing spell upon her. “Who did this to you? Please, speak to me, Violette!”

Violette coughed up blood, and managed to utter out two words:

“P-Pen...rose..Inde...pen...dent...” She then closed her eyes, and fell unconscious, having transformed back into human form.

“Penrose Independent?” Rachel repeated the words, and then froze, having lifted a hand up to her ear.

“Penrose Park? The Cardinal has been assassinated?” She could be heard muttering. “There’s a crisis at the rave: an attack has wiped out our operatives.” Paused to listen to the voice on the other side. “...Send anyone you can there. I will handle the rave.”

The entire time, Lily shook in horror; she had seen plenty of violence as her time as a magical girl, but Violette’s condition in particular caused her to squirm, holding Alex’ arm.

”That’s horrible! Absolutely awful! Please, let us help!”

She went over and touched Rachel’s shoulder. They all heard thunder and screams from the rave, followed by silence. In response, Rachel shook, and adjusted her glasses with a shaky breath.
“...Just stay out of my way,” she codly stated, and set Violette on the ground. She stood up, and summoned her hammer; it glowed with awesome power.

“DEUS VULT!”

She then began to shimmer, having clad herself in intricate multilayered barriers reminiscent of a crusading knight’s armor. She swung the hammer down, and the great barrier broke. “Penrose Park is the grounds for a great battle. If you wish to help, you can follow me, or go there. Goodbye.”

Then, without turning back, she made an explosive launch by kicking off with her feet, and charged like a bullet down the staircase into the rave. Lily bit her lip, and turned to the others.

”Sounds like Penrose Park is currently a big battleground. I think we could save more people there than if we were to stay here!”

---

For the entire time she has stayed there, Hyun Long has struggled. Having been used to a reclusive existence far from the sights and noises that plagued humankind, she tried to distract herself with drink upon drink. But gradually, even the sturdiest of fortresses would fall in the face of erosion. The first seed was planted when Elvira broadcasted her dark song; though the feelings were then suppressed by Eden’s assistance, it was followed by Veronica’s transmission that managed to plant more seeds of discord in her before Eden had intercepted.

Then, Eden activated her receptacle. Even as prepared as she was, she could not fully control the sheer surge of magical power that surged through the artifact; like a nuclear reactor that barely managed to hold it’s toxic payload within itself, so did the receptacle glow a hot white as it directed the magic torrent, gradually breaking down before the entire supply was spent and forcing Eden to carry the rest of the spell through, resulting in her collecting enough corruption to turn into a monster girl.

Countless screams could be heard as the psychic nuke ravaged mind after mind, leaving behind corpses with expressions stuck in despair and dread. Hyun Long’s Powerful Aura spiked in intensity, and grabbed her chair hard enough the break it. She could no longer hold on her own; she would lose control at any moment now.

And that moment was when Eden sent her broadcast message.

“F-Feed….Feed...FEED!” The Monster Queen screamed out, and her dress morphed to form dragon-headed tentacles. Eden, using her Awareness, managed to dodge the initial three tentacles that attempted to bite into her, only to get caught by five tentacles: one on her shoulder, one on her thigh, two on her sides, and one on her neck.
The fangs punched through her skin, about to tear her into bloody pieces, when Lei Zi’s Blessed Barrage reached the backroom. Eden, unable to dodge the lightning due to being caught by Hyun Long, was shocked by the white lightning, and had her heart stopped, killing her instantly. The Monster Queen was also blasted, but she managed to live through the shocking experience, her tentacles flailing around her as they released Eden.

---

It took them longer than they expected, but finally Sally and the rest of Beacon managed to defeat the treemen and break through the barrier, with the busty blonde leading the charge to the cloaked muggers. “Nobody touches my Aury-poo!” She yelled out, and blasted at Freya with her Shamrock Shooters; the shots curved at just the right angle to deflect her claw swipes away from Aurelio. She was about to shoot another burst when she tripped into the hole where Kimble was trapped; she fell on the tip of her feet, causing Kimble to launch up with seesaw physics, lifted up by her tornado.

“Thanks Sallyyyy!” She cried out, and began to spin in the air, faster and faster, and cut herself free from her glue-like bonds. She summoned her sickle with the striking of a pose, and launched herself right at Jelena; with flashing sparks, her metal claws were stopped by the Wind girl’s sickle. “You dirty cowards! Now you’ve pissed me off!” Kimble’s eyes glowed a bright green, and the winds raged around her, as if she was slicing the air itself into ribbons. “SYLPHID SLAYER!”

Using up all her mana, she shot out a forward-spiralling gust of wind that enveloped Jelena and Freya. The wind had a propeller-like cutting wind in the center, working similarly to a blender. The blender wind knocked Jelena and Fray away to Esther while also delivering cutting wounds that, while not deep on their own, were so numerous that they coated every inch of their bodies.

After the spell was cast, Kimble closed her eyes, and fell backwards, dropping out of the sky. But, as luck would have it, Sally ended up at just the right spot to jump and catch the exhausted magical girl. “You did well Kimble.” The rest of the Beacon squad moved to confront the three, only to witness them shifting away. “They escaped!” One of the girls reported. Sally nodded, but then received a message from her magicomms. “Do not pursue. There’s a crisis going on at the rave.” She went to lift Aurelio up. “Can you walk, Aury-poo?” A reinforcement girl came over to heal his wounds. Sally then noticed his missing arm and picked it up. “Oh, this must be yours...”
She spoke, biting her lip, before she blinked and placed her index finger on the magicomm unit on her ear.
“Beacon patrols, do you copy?” She messaged the other squads currently on the move. “There are White Coin muggers on the loose. I repeat, White Coin muggers on the loose! Do not give any White Coins to suspicious people until they have been apprehended!”

---

Sylvia’s gatling gun fire had now caused multiple wounds to Lotus in her second burst, having managed to shoot her through the shoulder and glancing against her side. But, she was caught in muddy water once she landed.

“Dammit!” She exclaimed through grit teeth, attempting to pull herself out. And at that moment, Lotus teleported in...And shot her point blank with her barnacle cannon, blowing a hole right through her. Sylvia spat blood as she heaved, but with a lip bitten so hard she drew blood, she managed to watch the monster girl eye to eye. She had an evil smile on her.

“So this is how it’s gonna be?”

At that moment, Sylvia clicked a button on the belt she wore under her jacket, and a harpoon was shot from a miniature cannon hidden on the side of the belt, piercing Lotus right through the thigh before it opened and locked itself into her flesh.

“Alicia...You’re gonna do better than I did…” She groaned as she began slumping. The harpoon violently tugged Lotus against Sylvia’s body.

“Make me proud...Alright?”

And then, with another click, she activated the bombs she had planted in the underside of her jacket.

The last thing Lotus felt was a great flash of light that enveloped her very being, as both her and Sylvia’s bodies were blown apart by a great explosion that sent rain droplets to return up to the clouds and left a crater in the dirt.

When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the two but the smell of fried calamari.

Celia could not see the people trapped in the foul cloud as she directed streams of water, but with a stroke of luck she succeeded in knocking Deni out of the smoke with a blast of water right in her face, sending her flying a couple of meters away until she fell on her butt. As a result, she suffered less adverse effects, and could go back to fighting at nearly full strength. The smoke itself, having absorbed some of moisture generated by Celia’s Water spell, had it’s radioactive qualities dampened, and instead of a fully paralyzing pain it had become a greatly weakening one, allowing some modicum of action. However, it also worsened Cindy’s condition as water absorbed electrons away from her body, causing her to collapse.

But then, in a romantic scene, Reaver had reached for Cindy, and caught her in his bone-plated arms, embracing her. She looked up with static-filled eyes, and smiled sweetly.

“Oh...My...Dark knight...In spiky armor...I knew you would...Save me...“ She managed to speak. “You are my...hero...”

For all intents and purposes, Reaver seemed the perfect image of a chivalric noble, coming to the rescue of the distressed damsel in their darkest hour.

But then, as the skull knight’s visage returned to human, so did his true allegiance, to Cindy’s great shock.
“Wait, Reaver? Reaver-NOOOO!” She screamed, as she felt the barrier crushing herself against Reaver, turning into a personal protection field for Reaver. Her blue form turned more yellow as she lost grip of it, until-
Suddenly, Tetrad teleported in, and delivered a blue knife attack; cracking the barrier around the impact area. She and Trixy had together successfully dispersed the cloud and recovered the people stuck in them, allowing them to fight at half their usual strength, including Shane who joined in with casting a giant hand-shaped stream of electricity, further straining the barrier.

Tetrad then threw another knife, and the barrier burst, and the hand had reached Cindy, beginning to revitalize her from her near death. But by the time Tetrad was about to throw the third one, the sound of buzzing came apparent, and was followed by the stomping of a Horror that had manifested in their world. An alien avatar of nature’s capriciousness brought to a mind-melting form, it had summoned a melissophobia-inducing swarm of insectoid dryads.

The sight of a Horror suddenly poking its head from the clouds and the buzzing of monster bees was enough to distract both Tetrad and Shane in this critical moment. By the time Trixy had formed a hedge and they turned back, it was already too late; Reaver, in a last, desperate move to kill Cindy, proceeded to open his jaw so wide that it was displaced by its hinges, and bit Cindy’s electric head, consuming the source of her form. Just as Cindy let out her last death throes, Janet had succeeded in breaking into her mind and running through her memories, as if she was downloading a massive file into her own head. She had succeeded in collecting a replica of her mental landscape, discovering her dreams and hopes, fears, and experiences. However, the psychic shock that came from invading a mind suffering a violent death took its toll on her, and she was caught in a daze, unable to distinguish her own mind from that of Cindy’s. She would develop a split personality, with one belonging to her, and the other belonging to the psyche she had collected.

While Janet suffered mental damage in Cindy’s last moments, Reaver suffered the physical; by consuming a being of pure lightning, he had inadvertently created a miniature thunderstorm inside him, ravaging him and causing him to belch out smoke. Were it any other person, they would have turned catatonic from the sheer pain of the experience, but Reaver managed to keep his sense, though his step was now a bit wobbling, and his posture was slouched; like a man drunk from masochism, his motor functions had been impaired.

Celia proceeded to attack Viper who by this point had noticed her; she dropped the spent detonator, and summoned another gun-knife in its place. With swift slashes parried Celia’s fiery arrows, splitting them from tip to tail. However, Viper’s eyes then tightened. Celia heard a bellowing roar, and felt the earth shake behind her. She turned to see Hilaria, now having turned into a terrifying dark knight of unfathomable rage, swing her axe down against her. But in a miraculous save, Jenna touched Hilaria at that moment, hoping to teleport her. In any other circumstance, this would have failed, as the spell required the target’s consent to work without a chance of resistance, and Hilaria, notorious even among magical girls for her resilience, would have easily swept aside such an attempt.

But the direction the teleport tugged the mindless beast in was one that she agreed on by pure instinct. She had but one way, one thing to do.

Rip and tear...until it is done.

Viper gasped as Hilaria teleported right in front of her, and by reflex assumed a parrying stance as she shot at Hilaria at point blank with her machine pistol-like gun-knives. The bullets had enough piercing power to penetrate the thick armor, but were left embedded at skin level, only causing minor wounds.
She screamed as her arm was cut off, having failed to parry the powerful blow. When Hilaria went for a followup shotgun blast, Viper created an illusion of herself being shot as she dodged it Matrix-style, and used the distraction as an opportunity to jump away, cloaking herself in illusions as she began to flee the Penrose Park.

Ishtar’s bleeding was stopped thanks to Jenna’s quick acting, and she had slowly opened her eyes to witness the chaos in Penrose Park. However, she still clutched at her wound, which did not heal; Jenna saw that the wound was stained unnaturally black, the color slowly spreading on her white dress. “He...le...” She groaned, looking at the berserker who had severed Viper’s arm. “Wi...sa...” She groaned again as Jenna attempted to teleport her, and slowly shook her head, having refused it. “Hele...wisa...” She whispered, coughing up black blood.

Then, a teleporting sound could be heard, and three Ascendancy officers appeared: Tsuki, Hudie, and Elora. "What is the meaning of this?" Tsuki yelled, and saw Ishtar bleeding. "How dare you strike down our Cardinal!" Hudie yelled in turn, and charged a magical spell in her hand, while Tsuki created a defensive spell around themselves. Elora's floating box opened up, and robotic arms fitted with various weapons appeared; these included laser guns and melee weapons such as swords and maces. "Stand down, or be executed by Ascendancy's will," she stated coldly.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Lily shook her head, wincing at the slight flailing that Sakura made in response to being grabbed.
”But we have to leave and-wait, is that Emily!? What happened to you?” She was about to ask more questions when Alex announced he would lead them out of the rave. Though the music had ended by this point, the main hall was still loud with the sounds of screaming and fighting, blades clanging and gunshots echoing all around.
”I-Uh-Well-I thought-I might-”
Connie came over, and Lily handed Sakura to her in turn, like an oversized doll one would see as a prize at fairs, before she slung the drunk girl’s arm over her shoulder as Mia regrouped with them.
”L-Let’s follow Alex!” She finally shouted, and with Alex’ barriers splitting the tide of violence, the group rushed toward the nearest exit.

---

Leena slightly relaxed her stance once Mika showed her furry additions were a result of Beast magic, and she nodded. However, she still kept her swords out.
“I see. But why did you approach Alicia with your weapons ou-Hey!” She yelled as Mika suddenly bust through the wall and disappeared. She scoffed, and turned her attention to Christine. Helga had reached the corridor the moment Mika had run out, and she amplified her voice to shout at her: “Mika, we need to leave! The Beacon’s slaughtering everyone!”
While Alicia attacked the real Christine, Leena moved as well, destroying two clones near the Light girl in a single move.

---

The Ascendancy squad who had arrived from the entrance were ready as Veronica approached, and Juliana made a valiant charge, aiming to lance her through the heart. But, in the next moment, she had disappeared into the shadows; the Patron-level magical girl showed her magical skills of evasion as she slipped out of the Gibbet, much like Houdini escaping from a similar cage. As they were distracted, Silhouette also made her escape, evading the Ascendancy using the dark corners and blind spots.

“Leave her,” Violette stated as Juliana grit her teeth at her failure, and pointed towards the main hall. “We have more coming, so get ready-eh?”
The group that rushed towards them was a strange one; encased in a triangle-like barrier, it included Alex, Lily, Sakura, Connie, Mia, and Emily. Sharron adjusted her glasses. “It appears to be the rescue target.”
Violette groaned and gnashed her teeth, but then finally sighed. “Let them pass.”
The girls did as ordered, and dodged to the sides of the entrance hall as the crazy train went.

”Aaaahhh! We’re gonna CRAAASSHH!” Lily screamed as she saw a barrier outside, but Alex kept running.

Rachel spotted the group coming up to the surface, and blinked.
“There she is. What a strange costume for a girl as diminutive as her, but I suppose it worked.”
She made an opening for them, letting the group escape. “Sakura has been rescued,” the Inquisitor informe the squads inside as she closed the hole agan, and then turned to Umukamui, a confident smile on her lips. “We have fulfilled our end of the deal. Now, you will fulfill yours, Puchuu.”

Once they were outside, Lily made a big scream.
”We did iiiit!”
She took Emily’s hands, and began spinning her wildly around.
”Alex saved us! We got out!”

---

Lei Zi’s lightning attack successfully destroyed the loudspeakers in the main hall, causing the music to stop. “Fire! And there’s the source!” Vivi spotted Askefye dancing among the flames, and shot at her with blasts of pressurized water shot from her palms, quenching her fires in the process. The smoke began rising up through the crack the Ascendancy made, slowly clearing the air in the rave.

However, while the normal magical girls were grateful for the effort, the
Corrupted found themselves fighting to the death, as the Ascendancy proceeded with their systematic assault, using coordinated tactics and cold determination to smash through the haphazard formations. But then, as the bodies began hitting the floor, the Angel of Hope used her healing barriers to divide the combatants, restoring the numerous fighters to health. It unfortunately lasted for only a time before her mana had run out, but it was enough to cause the central Ascendancy squad to stop and notice her plight as she fell to the floor, unable to fly any longer. “You stop interfering!” Paula shouted, her metal palm grabbed her torso, binding her arms in the process. She squeezed tight enough to cause her to feel slightly crushed. “These are monsters, they deserve nothing but swift retribution! Your assistance only brings further death!” She was then thrown against the back wall.

Fine succeeded in disabling the filament traps using her hand, and managed to open the metal door with her Skeleton Key. Inside, she found Elvira’s dressing room, complete with vanity stands and mirrors, as well as a small security setup with screens to camera feeds. In the back of the room was a latch that still slightly shook from the impact of dropping back on the floor; Elvira had passed through just a few seconds ago. Upon opening the latch, she saw a glimpse of Elvira looking up at her from the bottom of the shaft lined by a metal ladder, leading down to what looked like an underground tunnel.

The entrance Ascendancy squad had joined the other squad in the main hall and surrounding halls, and soon enough the corrupted girls were outpowered, and surrendered as their minds returned back to non-hostile thanks to the efforts of the redhead twins, who also healed wounds from the numerous injuries. However, they soon found themselves accused of assisting monsters.
“Stop healing them! They are sinners and witches! They deserve naught but death.” One of the triplets stated as she came up to the twins, her halberd pointed towards them. “Stand down. We won’t warn you twice.” By this point, Penny had succeeded in finding the secret exit using the drone; using the backstage, she could sneak by the main hall, but she would have to go through two of the triplets and Delphi, who were currently searching the hall.
Meanwhile, Sharron spotted the Interdimensional Home door, and through the door glass either Ashlyn or Monica would see her return to the others and point at it while discussing something.

---

Rachel kept two fingers to the side of her head, her eyes intently focused on the screen on her device as she shifted her camera feed from one member to another. Her expression didn’t move even as Paula’s metal fist caved in a reptile monster girl’s chest in, or when Kai shot a dark magical girl right between the eyes.

But then, the appearance of a certain entity drew a fleeting glance.

“You must be Umukamui,” she stated, before looking back towards the screen. “The situation is under control, despite a couple of...unknown factors.” She saw as Penny jumped onto the stage in the feed, and disappeared behind the curtain. “It seems that Elvira’s goal was not to unify the corrupted populace as a single resistance movement as we theorized. Based on the reports of increased corruption activity in Penrose, it seems she intended to cause a riot.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “But why? What would she gain from causing chaos at such a scale?” She adjusted her glasses. “It might be a distraction...”

---

Eshter’s reinforced tree managed to absorb most of the impact of her cross-slashing wind, but the wounds she caused were deadly nonetheless, as the wood girl’s arm was cut at the elbow before Regeneration fixed the branch-like arm back to the stump. Kimble lifted up to avoid the ensnaring vines, about to dive bomb towards Esther to slash her when a surprise sticky bomb exploded.
“Nhaaah!”
She ended up restrained by the hardened grey goo, and bowled right through the wall Esther had formed dropping into the hole Esther was rooted in. As her vines quickly began constricting all over her, Kimble grit her teeth.

“NNN...NNN….NNNAAAAH!” Gathering up the last of her magic, she created a hurricane that began raging right at Esther’s spot. Despite her efforts in staying in place, she was eventually uprooted by the power of the rotating wind, and ended up whisked away in multiple fast spins, sure to cause the usually stagnant monster girl to become dizzy and perhaps even motion-sick.

Sally’s fight against the tree monsters turned out, to nobody’s surprise, to be a sequence of lucky events, as the treemen ended up hitting each other and even the barrier with their strong swings, shattering it and allowing the rest of Beacon to arrive at the scene.
However, she arrived just as she saw Aurelio’s arm ripped off.

“AURY-POO!”

---

The sword-wielding girl made a valiant effort against Amaryllis, but one mistake cost her the fight, as Amaryllis plunged her blade through the girl. She gasped, thinking she would draw her last breath, only to be shocked as the wound was sealed, preventing grievous loss of blood.
“W-Why?” She uttered as she clutched at her injury, only to snap to attention as the warehouse crumbled, slowing down the reinforcements.
“This isn’t over!” She shouted after Amaryllis as she and Nuncio carrying Sammy escaped through a portal. But just as the portal closed, the swordswoman heard her opponent one last time:

“I’ll find you, and I will defeat you, Silver Rapier!”

---

Sylvia’s sweeping cone of gatling gun fire failed to cause much damage despite the volume of bullets she was putting out; almost immediately after she started firing, Reaver moved to intercept, and though his barriers broke and body was pierced by ammunition, he only kept running, his torn face having intimidated her to the point of drawing her complete attention. The bullets that did reach Faith and Lotus were likewise mostly blocked by her sheet music strands and illusions, only stray bullets having hit them. She activated her Third Eye upon seeing the Lotus bodies disappear.

“Wait, those are-Gaah!”
It was too late for her to realize Lotus’ trick in the heat of the moment, and she was caught by her tentacles binding her like rope. Her minigun was pulled up to shoot in the sky as she screamed from both the pain of the lifedrain and upon seeing Reaver swing his sword down at her. “Ahh!”

At that moment, she saw fireworks; they were in the form of sparks from Jenna’s spear as it clashed with Reaver’s blade, blocking the attack at the last minute. At the same time, Janet had created a cylindrical barrier which managed to hold the tentacles back for the moment, though it visibly strained from the squeezing. Free from the draining effect, she glanced back to see if Ishtar was okay, she was swiftly lifted up by Anaya’s spirit-fueled dolls; one of the armor-possessing ones had engaged Reaver, and used a lance to stab Reaver in the shoulder. “Anaya! I’m so glad you’re here!” Motivated by seeing her allies fighting to protect her, she waited until the moment before the barrier broke, and jumped out of the top of the cylinder, causing Lotus’ tentacles to wrap around nothing. As she did so, she activated her minigun again with Third Eye at the ready and shot down at Lotus, now distracted by Anaya’s dolls, with high-caliber rain. “I’ll cover you, Jenna!”

“So you did follow me, Anaya...” Ishtar softly spoke as she was brought back up to stand by her animated armor. “...Thank you.” She faced the battlefield once again with her gleaming eyes, now streaming golden tears as she saw the violence that ensued. She gripped her praying hands together tightly. “Chloe never intended to bring Divina here...She led me into Cindy’s ambush…” She saw as Sylvia screamed in pain, and as Jenna clashed with a monstrous Reaver.
”...I let this happen...Please...Stop this...”
She prayed with her head bowed down, and her own dress was stained with her tears.
”...I’ll do anything, just stop...Please...”

Cindy was charging up another thunderbolt in her palm when Shane interrupted her with his discovery. However, in response, Cindy simply slapped Shane away with her free hand; though it didn’t shock Shane too badly on account of his own stunning nature, her superior control over electromagnetic forces was enough to knock him aside. “Doesn’t matter who attempts to take my life, for the foe before me has taken too many! For I am Queen of Penrose, and I will free my people!” She then let out what sounded like a mix between a rumble of thunder and an eagle’s cry in response to the mental broadcast. “Stop that!” She yelled, and squinted her eyes as Janet stepped forth to deliver a speech, accompanied by Anaya and her bodyguard animated armors.

Wary of the way Janet left herself open to attack, Cindy decided to stop and listen. Her body struggled to maintain human shape as her heart was filled with black bitterness and anger, and occasionally her form turned more jagged and split and thunderbolt-shaped thorns of electricity burst from her back and arms.
“ENOUGH WITH THE RIDDLES!” She suddenly shouted right in Janet’s face, causing a screeching sound so vibrant in frequency that it nearly punctured the girl’s earlobes and pained the rest in the immediate vicinity like Anaya and Ronin. “What third party? What bidding?” Janet’s claim to having been a former monster girl managed to calm her a bit, and she did nod at parts.

But then, a certain phrase from Anaya caused her Mental Mutation to trigger, and her form turned frantic and bright. Both her hands held orbs of electric energy.
“Pride? PRIDE? You call our survival mere conceit? You call our struggle to live and exist, to see the next day, as but arrogance? You’re the ones who are arrogant, Beacon, spouting mere platitudes while belittling our sorrow! RAAGH!”

She was about to shoot both girls with a thunderbolt to their respective faces when Ronin interrupted her with news about the rave. She was completely surprised as a result. “Elvira? But why? What is going on there? My people are in danger? Goblina, send word to-Huh?”

But as Cindy looked around, she couldn’t see Goblina, only a small, black object on the ground with some faint runes etched on it. Nobody had paid attention to the small monster girl since the battle started, not even the centaur who brought her there.

That turned out to be a fatal mistake.

”IAAAAAAHHH!”

A bloodcurdling scream surfaced, and everyone’s eyes were drawn to the source; it was Cardinal Ishtar, whose red-stained hands clutched at a vicious, serrated black blade that pierced from her stomach. In the very next moment, it was wrenched out, causing Ishtar to fall to the ground. The moment it met the cold, snowy ground, the people saw the devious smirk of the bloody deed’s dealer; Viper.

“Looks like we have a change of plans on our hands hah.”
The weapon she held was not a mere combat knife, but a gun with the blade affixed as the stock. In her other hand, she held what looked like a remote detonator.
With a click of her thumb, it was activated.
“Killer Queen.”

The bomb artifact on the ground exploded, catching Cindy, Janet, Anaya , Shane, and Ronin in the radius. However, it was not a normal bomb that exploded with a loud boom and bright flash, but rather a smoke bomb that coated the three in purple, eerily glowing smoke.
“Nhgh! My...powers…!” Cindy groaned with static in her voice.
Not only was the poison a radioactive agent, causing the human-shaped magical people to fall to the ground in agony as their muscles contracted, their veins stiffened, and their tissues were ravaged by radiation, the pain so horrendous it completely paralyzed anyone short of an absolute masochist. It was also an ionizing gas, causing Cindy’s body to form ion pairs and massively weaken from the loss of electrons, causing her to wobble in place as white noise-like patterns formed on her body.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Lily was excited upon seeing Vi-chan take to the stage, having been a fan of hers ever since she discovered her Glimmr channel. Sitting by Alex and Thalia, she felt like this would be the highlight of the entire night, seeing such a talented idol welcome her real fans. But it didn’t take long before her feelings of adoration were replaced by a storm of confusion and panic as her true colors were shown, and the rave had turned into a nightmare.

”Wh-What is this? Why is Vi-chan doing this?!” She asked out loud from Thalia, followed by a scream as she was shoved off her seat by a dark magical girl who happened to be tussling with another one and accidentally hit her elbow. Lily however made an expert recovery and performed a side roll, summoning her magical weapon as she stood back up, not affected by the smoke in the slightest. She saw as Alexander restored a girl who assaulted her out of her senses, and helped her back up. Just like always, she was quick on the uptake when the situation was on.

”Got it!” She shouted over the music, and saw as Thalia jumped up. She took the ring, and slipped it on the finger, cartwheeling to avoid a sword slash from a deranged magical girl as she initiated her transformation, knowing Alex would throw a shield around her.

”Let my spirit gallop across the clouds, and strike my foes down with thunderous applause!”

Once Lily was ready, she made a sweeping kick to trip a monster girl about to bite her, and drew her bow. She was relieved, both from feeling Alex’ magic empowering her, and also by knowing the insanity could be reversed. She flinched as another attack came her way from yet another rave attendee, but a mysterious pair of red-headed twins had protected her with barriers.
”Thank you!” She shouted, and three lightning arrows appeared between her fingers. But then, she heard Sakura’s voice.
”I agree, we can't stay here!”

Trusting Alex to cover her, Lily took aim at the stage, and shot a Barrage at Vi-chan at the moment a dark magical girl was about to drop an ice block on her; it was regrettable to attack someone who was only singing and dancing, but she could not risk the siren song playing any longer than it had to, lest even more people succumbed to it’s temptation. Then, after she had taken her shot, she grabbed Sakura, and slung her over to have her ride in a piggyback.
”I-I could try my Getaway spell to get us out of here!”
She suggested jumping with Sakura to avoid a curse thrown at them.
”Never tried it before though!”

---

“Alert! Alert!” Sylvia called out through the audio broadcast network in the Beacon HQ as she ran to the teleporters. “Calling all girls for immediate rescue of Carinal Ishtar!” She arrived in the laboratory, where Janet and Jenna were, and briskly walked up to them. “This is an emergency! The Cardinal is under attack by Cindy Ford at Penrose Park!” She first grabbed Janet’s wrist, and then Jenna’s, lifting them up from their workstations. “You’re coming with me to save her, orders or not!”

---

Elvira had never felt as terrified as she did upon starting her performance, and seeing the absolute pandemonium that ensued. She saw as a girl frothing at the mouth was stabbed, creating a pool of blood that was illuminated by the floor-embedded lights. She saw as smoke and fire engulfed the hall, and how the panic-stricken retreated to the corners, only to get cut down by the mob, like lambs to the slaughter. And then, there were the meddlers. Some chose to wade through the crowd, like Eliza. Others, like Penny and Trixy, chose to take the high road, and attempted to shoot at her. Unfortunately for them, Elvira had planned ahead for such interference; she had invited her most loyal fans to the very front of the stage using a private Glimmr post, and asked them to keep her safe from stage intruders. These girls placed barriers and formed a defensive wall, their swords and guns drawn to intercept any who dared to run up to her. The barriers were broken by Lily’s barrage, shattering them to pieces. However, it wasn’t enough to deter them from sacrificing themselves for Elvira, as one girl jumped up and attempted to deflect Penny’s gauss cannon shot. She failed, and the shot blasted right into her, but as a result Elvira was spared from the attack.

As the song entered the breakdown part, Elvira went into a music-assisted speech of sorts. She saw Trixy aiming at her. In response, Elvira summoned her gauntlets and attempted to deflect the shot, only to end up tangled in roots that burst from the seed.

"Don’t stand for oppression! Penrose is ours! Go out there, give them annihilati-!" She shouted in rhythm even as she struggled against her bonds, only to be silenced by Eliza’s muting curse on her microphone; she sweated, her expression one of pure dread as she saw pursuers closing the distance. But then, by pure stroke of luck, the spreading fire had reached the stage, burning the roots off.
Spurred on by her fortune, she fled; she made an exit stage right, casting some filament threads as trip wires behind her to impede any pursuers as she ran through an opened metal door that promptly shut behind her.

Though it seemed like the song would end after Vi stopped singing, the cold truth was soon realized by all; it started automatically again on the enchanted loudspeakers, complete with her singing; she had made a recorded copy of the song in advance, and made it loop, perpetuating the mental influence even as the Ascendancy had begun culling the crowd with cold efficiency. Those who were previously cured of the magic had once again been affected by it, while those already affected began suffering from more adverse effects; now all monster girls without protection or countermeasures were forced to act on their Mental Mutations, in any manner possible. As per Elvira’s instructions, the maddened crowd split; some stayed to fight the Ascendancy, while others teleported or zipped away with a Getaway spell, most likely continuing to cause chaos in Penrose at large.

---

Helga, like Valerie and Evelyn, also made an active effort to resist her Mental Mutation; she stomping on the floor and holding her head, though it wasn’t enough to keep her disguise on; soon enough, sharp claws emerged from her hands, and a toothy smile replaced her normal one.
“Su! This music, it’s...Driving me crazy! Literally!” She screamed, amplifying her voice so it carried through the cacophony. Then, remembering the battle with Endsinger, Helga performed a sound-muting spell on herself, placing her hands on her ears. She also reached out Valerie and Evelyn, applying the spell on them as well by touching their ears. Instead of complete deafness like last time, however, she was able to mute the specific frequencies of sound related to the song. It resulted in a crippled hearing ability, but it was an improvement over not hearing any sounds. Most importantly, the spell could no longer affect them. “Out, now!” She shouted to them, and headed for the nearest source of swirling wind; she already knew who attempted to clear the smoke from the area.
“Su! Where’s Mika?” She shouted to her, and used her claws to strike back against a dark magical girl with a scythe, kicking her away with a followup. “We gotta get her and run!”

---

FanFan and Leena, upon hearing Rachel’s order, immediately cast off their disguises, revealing themselves as agents of the Ascendancy. They summoned their weapons, ready to take on the hordes of the corrupted that snarled with bloodthirsty fury when Leena spotted Alicia running to a side corridor.
“Go after here, I’ll cover you!” FanFan shouted, and brought her mighty metal arms to bear, uppercutting a troll girl. Leena nodded, and took off
“Stop right there, corrupted scum!” She shouted at Mika upon spotting her creeping towards Alicia, having drawn her blades. “You make another move towards her, and I’ll cut you down!”

---

Justine’s lips curled into a delighted smirk upon hearing Veronica agree with her, seemingly ignoring the hand on her shoulder. Sonia’s eyebrows furrowed, but she found herself swept back by the shifting tides of ravers.
“So you know your place after all~,” she spoke with a bit more energy than before; though she kept her composure despite the song’s influence, a small part of her did come to change, most apparent in her widened smile and attentive gaze. But as Veronica continued…

“...!”

Justine flinched from Veronica’s confession, giving the other vampire the chance to throw Betty right into her embrace.

“Mmmh!”

Justine was surprised; anybody would be if they found their lips locking with another one’s without as much as a meaningful exchange in looks. The nails on her fingers extended into sharp points as they trembled on her fingers, and Justine’s eyes widened in shock.
Meanwhile, Sonia and Silhouette met. However, Sonia simply shook her head in response.
“It is a bit too wild for my tastes, especially now that the trap has sprung,” she stated, pointing towards a monster girl who charged at her with a lifted axe. Without another word, she summoned a taser in her hands and shot it at the assaulter, shocking her to the point she fell.
“If your plan is to obstruct me from my duties, I’m afraid it is a futile endeavor.” Sil then found herself under attack by another dark magical girl who had decided to summon her pistol and shoot at her at random. The next moment Sil turned back, Sonia had disappeared into thin air.

Suddenly, two sharp fangs punched Betty’s lips, paralyzing her on the spot as dark magic flowed into her veins. Justine closed her eyes, savoring the bloody kiss that ensued. Betty’s expression had changed after Justine removed her lips; she had a blank, hazed look in her eyes, and a trickle of blood bled from her lips, staining her chin.
Justine gigled afterwards, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.
”Mm...It has been quite some time since I have last fed on something so fresh,” she simply stated, and offered her turned hand to Betty.
”Thank you for the gift, Veronica; it was very thoughtful of you to give me a new servant.”
in response, the katana-wielding bodyguard clasped her hand over it; her mind had been taken over by Justine, and no longer answered to any mental communication.
”In the past, my heart might have been wrenched by such false romance. But now, it is only true love that may sweep me off my feet.”
The elegant monster girl turned to see Eli disappear into a well of darkness with a look of disappointment.
”You have only delayed the inevitable, Vermillion. Mariette will answer for her crimes soon enough.”
She scoffed as noises came from the rave entrance; they saw a squad of Ascendancy girls rushing down.

“Anyway, I would love to stay and chat more, but I am afraid this party has turned a bit too frantic for my fancy. Toodles~” Sonia teleported next to her, and took Justine’s hand; in the next blink of an eye, the two of them had disappeared before their very eyes, taking Betty with them.

As the Ascendancy squad came closer, Veronica saw who the members in it were; at the front with her shield raised and lance pointed was Juliana and Sharron the rapier-wielding girl, followed by Delphi and Violette, their weapons glowing with blue and purple hues as they prepared powerful spells. “Surrender now!” Violette screamed out over the music. “Or face judgement by the sword!”

Another Ascendancy squad crashed through the ceiling, as Paula the metal fist-wielding girl made a dramatic fist-down tripod landing right in the middle of the main hall. She was followed by Vivi who slowed her descent by blasting water from the soles of her feet, and the triplet girls, who acrobatically swung down from the rafters, with one staying up there. “Lower your weapons or die!” Vivi shouted in turn, and glanced up; a careful eye could see the glint of Kai’s scope as she aimed down from the crack in the ceiling.

Outside, Rachel listened as the announcements came; they also worked as code phrases for when they would enter the warehouse. She nodded to herself, and closed her eyes as she held her hand out. After a deep breath, she intoned the prepared spell:

“Gibbet.”

A great magic circle appeared, surrounding the warehouse. Up from the sigil, a wall of light began rising from all sides, until they closed up to a point at the very top, surrounding the warehouse in a magical dome and sealing off the surface exits. This was not your average magical barrier, but a mighty cage capable of withstanding attacks that could decimate a city block. Only a large group of magical girls who repeatedly unleash their most powerful of assaults can hope to breach such a defense.

Afterwards, Rachel turned and saluted a saluting Beckoners.
"Inquisitor, there has been a change in mission parameters," it stated, and after some whispering Rachel nodded. "Understood. I will let out agents know." She put a finger to her comms unit. "Attention agents. A girl in a bunnysuit named Sakura and her entourage are to be rescued from the scene. Over."

---

Kimble was taken by surprise by the ambush that burt from the ground, her face painted with shock. “Aaah!” She was hit by the sleep-inducing bomb, but the ShineSpark had protected her, guarding her mind with a flash of light that repelled the vines away with explosive force. However, the attack still distracted Kimble, and she didn’t see the followup spell. Aurelio came to her rescue in the form of a clone that took the hit, dropping the grey slime in its tracks.
“Thanks, Aurelio!” She shouted, and smiled as she felt his empowering magic boosting her.
“Now let’s teach these thieves a lesson!”
A whirlwind of green gales erupted from her feet as she lifted up to avoid the initial wave of grasping vines. “Too slow!” She mocked, and using her sickle, performed a spinning combo; empowered by Aurelio, she shot out cutting winds with every rotation, extending her reach to sever the forest of vines, like a scythe that repas through fields of wheat. Then, seeing the wooden assailant exposed, she launched a cross-shaped projectile of cutting wind, aiming to cross-slash Esther and cut her into pieces. “Oniii Girii!”
It was at that moment when the rest of the Beacon squad had shown up, Sally with them. They were distracted by the sentries that were summoned around the area, however, so they have yet to reach the battle. “Hang on, Aury-poo!” Sally screamed out, letting her Shamrock Shooters sing.

---

Fabio managed to run and avoid the attacks of the two dark magical girls, using the small spaces in the warehouse like between crates and under shelves to his advantage. However, the two girls were crafty, and managed to trap the poor cat in a corner. “There! Shoot it!” One of them called out. The other took aim, and-

*CRUNCH*

At that moment, a giant white tiger had suddenly leapt from a portal, ambushing the gun-wielder and pouncing on her. With another crunch, the limp girl was thrown away. The other girl swung down with her sword in an attempt to decapitate the tiger, only to be met by Amaryllis’ knee of justice; she had struck the flower embedded in the girl’s eye, sending her flying back against a pile of crates that toppled over her.
“Ngh…Ajna!” She cried out, followed by cutting through the crates. “Set the place to blow!”
She then lunged forward with her blade, followed by another strike; Amaryllis found her opponent skilled in both the blade and footplay, elegantly flowing from one swing to another.

“Who’s there!?” Amaryllis heard a familiar voice, coming below from a nearby descending staircase; it was Sammy. “Get me out of this den of mobsters!” Amaryllis and the white tiger heard footsteps: the patrollers would soon reach the interior.

---

Cindy was the first to reach Penrose Park, where Ishtar was; she was kneeling on the ground, praying with her eyes closed. “Ishtar the Vile!” Cindy called out to her with a pointing finger. In response, Ishtar lifted her head up, seeming confused. “Oh...You must be Cindy Ford. May I ask why you’re here?”
Cindy was followed by Reaver and Ronin, who had reached the Park by this point.
“Of course you’d know my name, you treacherous snake!” A snap of electricity ran across the ground around her vicinity, as she walked towards the Cardinal.
“You attempted to assassinate me with a cruel cloak and dagger! How dare you!”
Ishtar’s mouth opened in surprise. “What? You must have misunderstood-”

“Oh, so I misunderstood the attempt on my life? You would claim it was an accident, or mere jest?” Cindy grit her teeth, and for a moment they resembled vertical waves of electricity.
Now Shane had reached the Park followed by Goblina riding the centaur girl.
Ishtar kept her hands clasped, but her eyes had now opened; everyone present who looked at her would feel a great sorrow welling up from within themselves, and tears beginning to form in the corners of their eyes.
“I have done nothing of the sort, Cindy. I only wish to bring peace to this city.”

Cindy, however, was not convinced. “Peace? PEACE?”
By that point, anyone else who followed Cindy into the tunnels had reached the Park.
“My people have suffered as they have been hunted and slaughtered like mere cattle, and you call that peace!
I have seen how the weak and helpless have been scattered aside like mere trash on the side of the pavement! Is that what peace means to you? You’re only satisfied once all of us abnormal folk are swept under the rug, enslaved or six feet under! But no more! We have a right to live!”

She charged up energy in her hand, and Ishtar stood up, looking concerned as she gazed at Cindy.
“For your crimes against the magical kind, I sentence you to die!”
Ishtar held a hand out.
“You’re making a mistake! Cindy, please, stop this!”
Cindy stomped the ground, and caused a thunderclap.
“Beacon’s campaign of oppression and tyranny ends tonight, Ishtar! Off with your head!”
She then launched her projectile, and Ishtar jumped back to avoid it. However, the projectile was aimed to hit the ground right at her feet, and it exploded, sending her back.

At that moment, a squad of Beacon girls had teleported in; Sylvia, who had summoned a gatling gun, accompanied by Janet and Jenna. “Cardinal Ishtar!” She yelled as she saw Ishtar lying on the ground, and turned her gun on Cindy; she grit her teeth in anger.
“Get away from her, you bitch!” She then yelled, and opened a hailstorm of bullets at Cindy and her companions.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

For a while, Vi simply stared at the message she received, trying to calculate the risk of relying on him. Was it safe to use a dolt like him? Or would it be better to ignore him? As her anxiety built up, she took a deep breath, and made her decision.

"To summarize, a lot of people are gonna gun for me when I make my appearance, so protect me until my show’s done, okay? If you’re a good boy, I’ll even let you come to the backstage, so I’m counting on you~"

Vi-Chan

After she sent the message, she programmed the sensors on the backstage door to permit Aurelio in after the show, and took one last look in the mirror. She might have come off as desperate, but when it was for the sake of her survival, it didn’t matter. She had planned for everything, even the PI. She would survive.

"It’s showtime."

---

Cindy made a step towards the back of the side hall when Tetrad spoke up, turning back with a quizzical look. “Intended to fail?” She asked, baffled by the girl’s logic. “How would you interpret that as nothing but an attempt on my life?” Cindy crossed her arms and tapped her foot, causing little sparks to bounce on the floor. Ronin seemed to agree as well based on her response, resulting in her thinking twice about it. “It is true that they tend to use death squads more than single soldiers...but they might change their tactics given a secluded location like this party.”

Her eyebrows furrowed upon hearing the suggestion Tetrad gave.
“A trap? I suppose it is not impossible...” She looked confused, unsure of what to believe. “Indeed,” she answered Lotus while Tetrad performed her divination, a hand holding her chin. “To assume the title of a papal power, they must consider themselves akin to the gods. But such false divinity will fall before the Thunderbird’s wrath.”
Then Reaver spoke, in turn casting doubt on Tetrad’s timing. “Such treachery around me...” She mumbled, her eyes having turned to blank blue as she was deep in thought. As she pondered,
she glanced at Shane, and then at Goblina. The monster girl nodded in turn. “Take a right and go to the end of the hallway,” she explained to Shane. “She was taken to the room on the left. Tell Jane that Cindy had sent you to interrogate the assassin.”

Meanwhile, Cindy smiled at both Ronin and Reaver’s enthusiasm to join her, and felt Faith’s eyes upon her. But still, the circumstances were strange. It was a real risk that it was a trap…

...But then, she heard Ronin’s voice, brimming with valor and courage. She was the very epitome of a warrior, her smile bright as she would charge into the thickest battle. Her example inspired Cindy.

Nobody would follow a cowardly queen.

“There’s no time for dallying!” Cindy bombastically announced, holding a finger up. “The enemy expects me to hide myself away, waiting for others to fight my battles for them. But they are wrong, for I shall lead the charge! For I am the queen of Penrose, protector of the people!” Goblina looked pumped up. “Your Highness!” Cindy went up to the back wall where the bar was, and pulled on one of the bottles; it was a disguised lever that caused a section of the wall to shift, revealing a secret passage. She turned to Faith. “You may accompany us on our quest as well; It is an opportune time for me to see how the Outer Alliance protects the people.Now, let us go, to banish the invaders! For Penrose!” She shouted, and like a flash of lightning, dashed into the passage, followed by Goblina riding on the centaur monster girl.

Tetrad gained an impression from her divination: the phone and bracelet were obtained by the girl from someone else, most likely within the day. Shane had entered the interrogation room, the door guarded by Jane. It was here where the Beacon assassin was locked up in one of the go-go-cages sitting on the floor. She had just woken up. “Uhh...Huh?” She mumbled, looking disoriented.

---

Kimble’s sickle bounced off the green shield, and the former catgirl nearly hissed before stopping herself. “Huh? What are you doing?” Kimble asked angrily, before the emotion magic pacified her, causing her to blink. “But she is a monster girl, and-” she attempted excusing herself, only to realize her folly. She floated down, looking apologetic. “I suppose Mistress would have let her go...” She still kept glancing cautiously towards Dorothy as she floated a few inches off the earth, letting Aurelio handle the talking. Maybe she was abandoned too...I got so mad, I didn’t think of that...Mistress will definitely scold me after.

---

Nuncio’s cat, using enhanced agility and stealth, approached warehouse q. It was surrounded by corrupted girls dressed in lback leather jackets and dusters, patrolling the perimeter with eagle eyes. The cat managed to sneak by them, and entered the warehouse. There, it would discover that there were numerous crates stacked, marked with all kinds of logos and writings you’d expect from shipping companies. However, the fact they were all in one place, seemingly sorted at random, hinted at something shady lurking underneath.
“Twerp’s still not talking?” One of the Mint agents asked another as they walked between shelves. “Yeah. We’ve given the standard procedure; a couple of punches and kicks, and shining a light at her,, but with no proper equipment or training it’s useless. A new interrogator’s coming tomorrow; then we might get shifted to new assignments.”
The other one sighed in relief. “Finally. We’ve been stuck here for who knows how long. Pay’s not terrible but I’m not getting any progress on my debt like this.”
“You’re not the only one-” Suddenly, the sound of an alarm began blaring out, as Nuncio’s cat stepped over a magical invisible trip wire.
“It’s a Beast spy! Kill it!”

---

Though she walked forward with charisma and grace, Justine’s bright red eyes stayed affixed on Eli’s quivering form with mad intensity, her smile wide and threatening.
However, just as her sharp claws were about to reach the slime girl, she was intercepted by an imposing figure, causing Justine to scoff.
“Vermillion Veronica. I had a feeling we would meet again,” she stated, examining her with her crimson orbs. She smiled at her quip.
“I am above such simple classifications, Veronica dear,” she answered in a sophisticated fashion, and tipped her tiny hat in a mocking fashion.
“I am much more than a mere vampire. An ex-Mint like you should know such basic facts~”
She glanced towards Eli, and she smirked.
“Oh, I decided to pay a little visit, for old times’ sake. See the sights, catch up with old friends...Like your mistress.” She giggled, and sipped on a fancy martini glass Sonia offered to her.
“So here’s my offer: lead me to where Mariette Pedersen is, and I will spare you from a fate worse than death. Very simple, isn’t it~?”

---

FanFan seemed to be an expert ballerina, tippy toeing across the floor with her arms raised in perfect posture, her single-legged spins and leaps in the air as graceful and light as they were balanced, enjoying the dancing competition she had with Trixy. “I must say, I have never felt such freedom before!” She shouted after she performed a perfect split. “To express myself without being judged by others: it is a dream come true!”

Lily had once again taken a break from dancing, and went over to see how Alex was doing.
”I thought that Connie girl was scary, but she and her friend Mia turned out to be really nice!”
She explained, sipping on a new juice.
”Want me to introduce you to them? They said they’d be at the game hall, so maybe-”

At that moment, the lights slowly dimmed, and the music’s volume lowered down. Lily blinked rapidly, and spastically looked around. Soon, someone screamed:

“Oh my god, it’s Vi-chan!”

All eyes were drawn to the stage, where a single spotlight now shone. A slender leg peeked out, causing the crowd to holler and whistle. The leg retreated, music began slowly building up and about ten seconds later, pyrotechnics brightened the hall and showy floor-crawling smoke began pouring out. Then, the curtains were pulled open, revealing Vi-chan: she wore a flashy idol costume, and flashed a peace sign with one hand as she stepped up to greet the roaring crowd.

"Welcome to my party, everyone! I’m so glad to see so many of my fans here tonight! Now, let’s rock out, and make some noise!’"

Then, she began singing and dancing. It was a mesmerizing performance, the crowd cheering at full volume as she twirled and stepped in perfect rhythm to the music. The music was even more intoxicating than before, rocking everyone listening to their very cores as it was delivered from loudspeakers in every corner of the building. The lyrics called to forget your inhibitions and morality, and to fully express who you are, no matter how ugly or nasty, to fully indulge in your every desire.
The song resonated the most with corrupted girls, causing their Mental Mutations to flare up, like an animal instinct that welled up from inside. Warrior girls found themselves punching the nearest face, and Devourers began chugging down bottles and breaking them.
The cages began swinging back and forth as the girls in them howled in madness, joining the chorus of the song. One of them fell down, crushing a dark magical girl underneath.

Nobody noticed, enraptured by the call of the Dark Rave.

Rachel continued channeling her spell outside as she noticed the clamor coming from her cameras. “Report status! What the hell is happening in there!” She saw a glimpse of Vi-chan on one of the cameras, and she adjusted her glasses.

“Target confirmed. Send in the purge squads. Nobody else goes in or out.”

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Connie and Mia continued to make their way through the crowded rave. The flashing lights and loud music, not to mention the sheer number of people, might have been a bit overwhelming for Connie, but having Mia by her side definitely helped. She also knew that she had to endure such things if she ever wanted to conquer her fears and become stronger. As it happened, she received some unexpected assistance with that in the form of a fiery blast of mystical energy. Instead of burning her and Gaia, it embraced both magical girls with a warm aura of comfort and contentment.

“Oh! Wow… umm… T-Thank you!” Connie called to their unknown benefactor, but her words were unsurprisingly drowned out by the pounding music of the rave.

Suddenly, someone crashed into her from behind. Giving voice to a sharp gasp, Connie whirled around to find that it was a highly animated girl with green hair. In what seemed like little more than two seconds, the girl hastily apologised, introduced herself as Lily, and complemented Connie on her...mask.

"Ah! Uh, t-that's o-okay," Connie replied shakily, while doing her best to ignore Lily's mention of the "M-Word"."I-I'm C-Connie, a-and this is my b-best f-friend, Mia. I-It's, umm, n-nice to m-meet y-you, L-Lily..."

"Likewise," Connie's companion said with an elegant curtsy. "You may call me Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth. Or simply Gaia, for short," she added with a smile. "You must forgive my dearest Connie's nervousness."Gaia added as she gently placed her hands atop her friend's trembling shoulders. "She is very shy and is completely unaccustomed to crowded places such as this."

”Hi to you too, Gaia!”
Lily answered in exuberant fashion, her cheeks red from the earlier mishap. Her mouth rounded into a look of realization.
”Oh, that explains it! I totally understand how you feel, Connie!”
Though she had sat down, her knees still bounced excitedly.
”Before I became a magical girl, I was a complete mess. I felt anxious in social situations, didn't know what to say, gosh, I think I even had trouble voicing my own opinions. It’s a lot better now, but sometimes I do lapse back into that awkwardness. So, uh, if I blurt out something weird, please don’t mind it, tee hee~”
She decided to ask for a fruit blend from the bartender near them.
”Anyway, I found the best cure for shyness was to really mix it up and change your way of thinking. Instead of wondering what someone might think of, just ask them! And if you can’t follow up on a conversation, just ask about it! You’d be surprised how many people like to explain about the things that interest them!” It became quickly apparent to the two that once Lily began speaking, it was hard to stop. Fortunately she realized this herself, and sipped on the blended juice.
”Whoops, I got a bit taken away. How are you two doing? Are you from Penrose, or did you come from somewhere else?”

“W-We’re b-both from Penrose, b-but, I j-just became a m-magical girl a s-short time ago,” Connie told her hesitantly.

“I have been serving Mother Earth for quite a while,” Gaia explained, while gently massaging Connie’s shoulders in an attempt to help her friend relax. “But my tasks often take me far from Penrose, so I am not very familiar with the magical community here.”

Lily nodded, biting the corner of her lip.
”So you were here when Penrose got worse, with no idea why…That must have been hard on you.”
She gently took Connie’s hand, placing her palm on it.
”But basically, there’s now two groups of Beacon here; there’s the local girls, who have started to treat people better, and then there’s the meanies. They call themselves Ascendancy, but the only thing ascendant about them is how massive jerks they are, threatening others and stuff.”
She sighed.
”One of my friends with the local Beacon is trying so hard to reach out to girls just like you, but those bullies keep ruining it. I told her that she should run some public events or something, but it’s hard. Connie, what would you like to see an organization like Beacon do? Maybe some AMA’s? Or some training courses?” She asked, genuinely curious to hear a newbie magical girl’s opinion.

“U-Umm… I d-don’t r-really know…” Connie replied, somewhat unsure of what the other girl was talking about. “I-I’ve never heard of B-Beacon b-before… B-But training w-would probably be nice... S-So far, I’ve only t-trained with Mia, a-and also L-Lotus and Faith, s-so it might be n-nice to get help f-from others, too.”

“We live at a fair remove from Penrose proper,” Gaia explained, “so we were fortunate to not be considerably affected by the recent disasters. While I am not particularly familiar with Beacon, I have heard of them, and their sometimes fanatical behaviour is rather worrisome. While my dearest Connie may look the part, she is not a dark magical girl, and I am concerned that Beacon might jump to the wrong conclusions if they were to encounter her before they could be informed of such.”

Lily nodded enthusiastically, and took another sip.
"Yeah, there you go. Some basic braining's a good start! The Ascendancy’s likely going to shoot first and ask questions later. That's why you gotta learn to protect yourself. How about we spar together some time? I can give you tips on how to fight and stuff."

“O-Oh, um, sure!” Connie replied, more than a little unnerved by Lily’s thoughts on this “Ascendancy” group, but still happy that the other girl was willing to help her. “H-Here, I’ll g-give you my number,” she added, while her still slightly trembling hands retrieved her phone from the voluminous folds of her robe.

Lily squeed upon seeing connie’s phone.
"Oh gosh, your phone’s so pretty! Let me show you mine!”
She enthusiastically brought out hers; Connie would see that it was accessorized to weight triple it’s normal weight, with stickers and glitter covering the case, and heavy keychains hanging from a corner; they depicted cute anime characters like Sailor Moon among others.
"Ok, now here’s my number...And done! By the way, have you ever thought about accessorizing your phone? I think if you put a red heart sticker right here, it would cutify by a million percent!” She stated, pointing a finger at the phone.
"Or maybe you’d like something like a cute little bat sticker? The shop I frequent still has Halloween stickers on sale, so we could go there together? Would that sound fun?”

“Oh, wow! T-Thank you! ” Connie exclaimed upon hearing Lily complement her phone, before gasping as the other girl pulled out her own. “B-But it’s n-nothing compared to yours! It’s got so much adorable stuff on it! Oh, a heart sticker?” she asked after hearing the other girl’s suggestion. “Y-Yeah! T-That’s a great idea! Thank you!” she gushed, her mask displaying an adorably joyful expression. “A-And I’d love to go shopping with you! I-I’ve never had anyone t-to shop with b-before, s-since Mia’s my o-only friend, and she hates d-doing stuff like that, s-so this will be so much fun! B-But, I’d, um, r-rather not get a-any b-bat stickers, though…T-They k-kinda s-scare me…”

"Oh, that’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Lily scrambled a quick response.
"I also prefer cute stuff over the scary stuff. I just thought...You know...”
She bit her lip, having realized she made an assumption based on her appearance.
"I-I’m sorry. I went a bit too fast with all these plans, heh.“

“T-That’s okay!” Connie hastened to reassure the other girl. “I-I’m just glad s-such a nice person like y-you bumped into me. A-After all, I d-did kinda come here to m-make s-some new friends.” she added, her mask displaying a kind smile.

"That's great, because I want to make friends here too," Lily replied happily.
"So let's be friends!" She noticed that an android-like girl was looking in their direction. She stood up with an energetic hop.
"I'm gonna go back and dance some more. Wanna join me?" She asked.

“Oh, um, t-thanks for the o-offer, but, um, I’m r-really terrible at d-dancing... A-And, uh, M-Mia said she w-wanted to explore s-some of the r-rooms down that h-hallway,” Connie told her. “I-It was v-very nice meeting you,” Connie added. “M-Maybe we’ll r-run into each other l-later on!”

“Okay then! See you later, Connie and Mia!” Lily waved, and went back to the dance floor with abundant life; she bumped her behind with Helga’s as she shook her stuff, followed by breakdancing on the floor and spinning like a Beyblade top.
“WAHHOOO!”

---

“Hm?”
Justine turned with a pout to Shane; she then smiled, her peeking fangs reflecting the strobe lights of the rave.
”Oh, aren’t you a precious little boy. I suppose I made a lasting impression since last time...” She reached out to caress Shane’s face; one of her claws drew blood on his skin.
“Are you among them, then? Does my visage make your heart tremble? Does my countenance shake you to your very core?”
She giggled.
“But don’t worry, I won’t be staying long. I’m just here to take care of some unfinished...business...”
Justine had glanced toward the side, when her crimson eyes sharpened upon a single girl...Or rather, a lump of slime masquerading as one.
“Well now, what have we here...” She began walking slowly toward Eli with a refined style, a wicked smile on her lips.
“If it isn’t Mariette Pedersen’s disgusting little lackey. If you’re here...She must be close.”

---

Cindy gave the restrained giggle of a noble lady as Reaver continued using honeyed words and Ronin amused her with her antics, and took more sips of her battery acid. “My, you’re a charmer~” She spoke, only to lift her electric arcs serving as eyebrows when Reaver requested his drink. “Excuse me, but...Are you sure, young man? This drink is not meant for the average person.”
However, her curiosity took the best of her, and her gaze stayed on Reaver’s expression, carefully watching to see if he dared to go through with his foolishly-seeming act, oblivious to the missed phone call.

“Wait, surely you jest. Please don-Ah!”
She put a hand to her mouth as the acid was downed, shocked in ways more than one.
To her amazement, he had survived, and she clapped..
“Bravo, bravo! You have veritably shown to possess great vitality and endurance. Ronin, be a dear and fetch ser Reaver a handkerchief.”
She downed her glass of acid, and had developed a yellow tinge to her cheeks. “Ah, such a valiant man...” Cindy then began on another glass. “It has been ages since I have met one capable of enduring such hazards...I would like to see how far your regenerative magic stretches…” She reached out to touch his face, causing another small jolt. Her eyes had a subtle static in them, like television screens with interference; it was a look of desire. “In my private room hm hm~”

At that moment, Goblina stepped into the room. She had a small entourage of corrupted girls including a lamia monster girl, a magical girl with their face hidden under a heavy black cloak, a dark magical girl with a mohawk and studded leather gloves, and a centaur monster girl. “Your highness, we got trouble and we need your-Oh!”
She observed the scene, and blushed a bit. “Erm, I hope we didn’t interrupt anything, Queen Cindy.”
Cindy’s eye twitched, and her form rumbled for a brief moment. “This better be an issue of royal ramifications,” she responded with an annoyed tone. Goblina nodded, and stepped back towards the doorway, looking embarrassed that she had walked in. “Well, you see, one of our guards had reported seeing suspicious activity on the east exit, and-”
Suddenly, the hooded person brandished a dagger, and rushed towards Cindy. “Die, monster!”
She screamed, but the dark magical girl with the mohawk punched them in the back of the head, knocking them right out.

“An assassin!” Goblina screamed. “Jane, bring her in for interrogation!” She ordered, and the mohawk girl saluted. She was about to pick her up when Goblina stopped her. “Wait, let’s see who it is first...” She lifted the hood; she looked like a normal magical girl, brown hair in a ponytail. “Wait, could this be... ” She rolled up the sleeve on her cloak; everyone saw the Beacon insignia she was wearing. “Beacon!” Goblina growled, and next patted her down.

She found her phone, and opened it up; there were a bunch of messages made just a couple of hours ago. “All of them had come from a single sender: Cardinal Ishtar,” Goblina explained, showing the message logs to Cindy and the others while she offhandedly signalled for mohawk girl to carry the assassin to the back room; she saluted, and without another word disappeared beyond the corner, carrying the assailant. “She was planted in the party with the intent of killing you, and to return back to her boss at Penrose Park.” Cindy was seething.
“Those villains! But does this mean Isthar is at the park?” Cindy asked. Goblina looked unsure.
“I guess. Should we gather our forces and go there?”

Cindy shook her head. “No. That would only cause a panic, and ruin the morale-boosting event. I will personally go see her with Ronin using a secret passage; while the Beacon is distracted by the party, we can slip out without detection. It’s an opportunity to catch them unawares...” Her hands crackled with electric energy, her smile wide. “I will personally execute her for her treachery. Ser Reaver, I shall grant unto you a quest; join me in bringing Ishtar to justice, and I shall reward ye with the title of knight. Will you accept?”

---

“Got it”, Leena and FanFan both replied. They used their Disguise Artifacts given by Sylvia and transformed into party attire to better blend in. FanFan wore a punky black and red tutu-dress like something Harley Quinn wore in the Arkham series, and had every imaginable type of piercing visible on her body including multiple earrings, a belly piercing, and a nose ring. Her back arms had taken the look of a set of metallic skeleton wings. Leena dressed in an oversized ripped white t-shirt with ink splotches, a cap with “GET REKT” written on it, a pair of khaki booty shorts, and a bandana covering her mouth with a shark mouth insignia, resembling a certain K-pop star. FanFan quickly detached from Alicia to talk with others, while Leena stayed relatively safe, having simply taken a drink and sipping on it while keeping company to Alicia. But then, Trixy happened to speak up, and Leena flipped her brim up. "Oh, thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," she answered with a monotone, almost bored voice. FanFan also came over soon after, her metallic pieces making a jingling sound.
"Oh, this is just something I threw together last minute. You know how it is~" She answered in coquettish fashion, adding a little giggle afterwards. "Oh, I would love to dance. My favorite style is ballet," she spoke, lifting one leg high behind her. "I'm more about the hip-hop style," Leena said. "We're martial artists too. However, I have a feeling about half the people here are too, so I don't think it's that uncommon." FanFan's smile widened as Trixy showed off her flexibility. "Ah yes, you have the poise and form of a ballerina yourself."
She went over to the dance floor with a pirouette, followed by an uplifted jump. "Come, show me your moves!"
She challenged the eyepatch girl. "There can only be one swan princess!" Leena chuckled, taking a sip of her drink, followed by nudging Alicia's shoulder. "Don't mind FanFan; she loves her classical stuff."

---

“Affirmative” Rachel answered over comms to Robot Penny and Alicia, sounding irritated. “There’s an enormous magical signature blanketing the entire building; try to find the source for it. Penny, use the ventilation system with the drone; it should be small enough to pass through.” Rachel then held a hand forward, and a magic circle surrounded her; she began preparing a complex, powerful spell, using a long and complicated recital.

As she did this, she watched over to the distance, having adjusted her glasses. Wait...What is that…?

She saw, far in the distance, two blurs speeding into the distance. It was a high-speed parkour chase, with Dorothy running and leaping with extreme agility, and pursued by Kimble who relied on her Wind magic to propel herself, her bottom half in a miniature whirlwind. Sh used her sickle to launch slicing air projectiles, but Dorothy avoided each and every one, cutting cars and lamp posts in the process. Eventually the two reached the Penrose Gardens, a park separate from the Penrose Park. This park was unique in that the center of it had a sand court for playing various sports games, and was where Aurelio had waited for the two.
“Stop already, you rabbit monster!” Kimble screamed, and launched an air wave that curved like a boomerang, hitting Dorothy in her unlucky rabbit’s foot and causing her to trip on the park.
Kimble then pointed towards Aurelio. “Now, catch her!” She screamed, while she closed in from above with a sickle.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Life can be funny sometimes.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

“Don’t worry, Su, we’ll work it out once we get to speak with Vi-chan”, Helga responded with a smile, and then looked over to Sam and Trixy who greeted them. “Well hello there.” She nodded as Su explained who Samantha was, and she shook Trixy’s hand when she got the chance.
“Fine jacket you got there, hah. Any friend of Su’s is a friend of mine too.” She turned back to Su with a wink.
“I haven’t even entered the building yet, but I’m already feeling like home. Let’s go check the place out! We have some time before Vi-chan arrives.”

The group entered the rave, and passed by Eliza, who had decided to channel her Artifact, and gain a glimpse of the future. What she saw shocked her to the core: it was a vision of death and destruction, countless magical girls wearing Beacon insignias dead in and around the club, their eyes blank whites and blood trickling from their noses and mouths. And in the background, their face hidden by shadow, was the stoic smile of a magical girl.

---

Lily stopped, having realized she was making a scene with her back-and-forth movements. She turned to Alex, and took his hand.
”Y-Yeah, you’re right. This is just like...Hanging out with friends. Nothing weird with that. Ok, deep breaths...”
She took a deep breath, only to stop as she noticed Sakura address her. She made a heavy exhale, her eyes sparkling as they gazed upon her.
”Sakura! Oh my god, you’re so adorable!” She ran right up to her and touched her rabbit ears.
”You look like a little bunny, eee! If you were a real bunny, I bet Tom would like to be your friend~”

She blinked at her question, and gave a goofy smile.
”Not anymore now that you’re here, Sakura. Huh? Who?”
She took her hand, and looked around, followed by a look of surprise upon seeing another girl walk up to them. She opened her mouth, about to ask something, when Thalia revealed herself to them.
”Thalia! Oh wow, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other, you look so different now!” Upon hearing Thalia claim she wasn’t eligible for a friendship hug, Lily pouted.
”That is a lie, and you know it!” She hugged Thalia, released her, only to hug her again.
”Now you got double the hugs, tee hee~! We have so much stuff to talk about. Hmm...” She took a look at the clock on her phone.
”I suppose Alicia will catch up to us. Everyone, let’s go PARTAYYY!”
She took Sakura’s hand, having misinterpreted her words, and led her into the party.

Lily looked spooked as she saw the cages, until she realized they were for dancing purposes. She ooh’d and aah’d at the exotic and dangerous patrons of the rave; it was like nothing she had experienced during her brief visit to high school parties held at backyards and the like. But, as with all things Lily, she was quickly swept into the moment.

Club Music 2

”WHOO! YEAH! I LOVE THIS MUSIC!”
Lily screamed, bouncing and hopping to the music in an overly energetic fashion. Her initial nervousness seemed to melt as she surrounded herself in the uninhibited atmosphere of the rave. At one point she happened to bump into Connie, causing her to stop in shock.
”Whoops, sorry! I didn’t notice you there-Ah!”
She was startled as the masked girl turned, and Lily made a comical reactionary pose.
”Ooh...That mask is scary. But also really cool!” She winked.
”My name’s Lily Lightning! What’s your name?”
She was intrigued by the masked girl, and decided she wanted to chat a bit, taking a break from the dancing.

Elsewhere in the rave, Justine mingled with the locals, chatting and giggling as she shared stories and jokes. “And then she said; fangs for that! Ohohohoo~”
She seemed to be having a good enough time despite standing out a bit in her overtly elegant attire.

---

Cindy had walked into one of the side halls of the party venue when she happened to meet a curious young man. Her lips curled into an amused smirk.
“Taste, you say?” She scoffed playfully. “You are speaking to Cindy Ford, the queen of Penrose. You must be quite foolish to address me so lightly...Or brave.” She glanced at Ronin, giggling at her guarding enthusiasm, before she lifted a finger up Reaver’s chin. This gave him a small jolt of electricity, causing him to jump a bit, as if having touched a static doorknob. She giggled, her eyes warm on her as her electric form seemed to crackle pleasantly.
“Well, you seem quite intriguing, and we are thirsty. We suppose we could let you humor us over a couple of drinks.”

She took a seat at the center of the bar, causing other girls around her to make room with reverent mannerism. The bartender lifted a car battery to the mixing table, and poured the battery acid into glass for her to drink. “Order anything you want, it will be our treat. Now, tell us your name, and why we caught your eye. Perhaps you’ve never seen a being of pure electricity before? Ronin, would you like something to drink?”

---

The Cardinal didn’t seem to notice Anaya as she reached the designated meeting point; an empty park in Penrose. The Cardinal, having reached the center of the park, still kept her eyes closed and hands clasped, having begun praying in silence.

At the Beacon meeting, both Leena and FanFan saluted at Alicia, and afterwards Rachel adjusted her glasses. “Affirmative, Penny,” she answered, holding a hand to her ear. “Continue circling the drone around the perimeter. Alicia, keep in contact with the communicator earring Sylvia handed to you.” She also saluted, and Alicia, accompanied by the two Ascendancy agents, descended into the Penrose underworld.

Far from the party, Kimble was accompanying the Beacon squad led by Aurelio and now approached by Dorothy. She no longer had her cat accessories, having abandoned her past completely. The feelings of grief and betrayal still marked her expression, causing her to be quiet for most of their patrol. She was even wary of the monster girl despite seeming innocent. Is she Lamashtu’s spy? She might have been sent to kill me and Mistress. I can’t let her out of my sight, she thought to herself. She nodded in hesitant agreement with Aurelio; that was their job anyway, and if somebody asked for a White Coin, why not give one?

That is, until, Dorothy was completely and utterly spooked by a mysterious dark magical girl who had snuck up on her. The moment she began running off, Kimble took to the air, using her Air magic to eliminate the air resistance as she sped out after her.
“Don’t you run!” She angrily shouted; it turned into a high speed chase, the both of them moving far faster than either the Beacon squad or Hilaria would have been able to, quickly zooming out of sight.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Triple/Pure, half and half

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The city of Penrose, though cold and desolate, had a heart beating from the inside. It’s pulse spread to every corner of the city, drawing in a crowd of creatures of the night; those who would stay up and dance until dawn. There was electricity in the air, as the doors finally opened to the Dark Rave.

Club Music

Music began loudly playing, rumbling up; it blasted from the secret basement of an innocuous warehouse, the stage where magical girls from all walks of life would meet. Inside, the dance floor was lighted up with colorful lights and bars were stocked with drinks. Go-go cages were chained from the ceiling, and inside mosnter girls danced and raved, clattering the iron bars like enraged animals. Strobe-lights flashed in hypnotizing patterns, and corrupted girls swarmed the house, swaying to the beat, and letting the rhythm take over their very being.

Cindy was the first to arrive alongside her trusted lieutenants, having assisted in logistics and materials for building the subterranean club. She was, of course, followed by a large group of corrupted girls. “Goblina, you will be in charge of the security detail,” she spoke as they descended down the stairs and into the neon jungle.
“Post guards in and outside the party. We need to be ready.” Goblina saluted, and left Cindy to talk with the bouncer, a burly monster girl with tusks and shaggy fur.

Then, a girl in a glamorous black dress next arrived, accompanied by her ever-present servant, also dressed for the occasion.
“So this is the famous party? Well, of course the belle of the ball needs to attend such a prestigious occasion.”
“Maybe we can also find more allies for our cause?” Sonia asked, walking beside her.
“That would be nice, but I’d rather just have a bit of fun. I predict that this party will be quite entertaining before long, hm hm~”

---

Helga, Su and Mika arrived before the warehouse. Helga grinned, looking excited. “Oh man, my heart is going a hundred miles an hour!” She spoke, and spoke to Su and Mika. “Are we good to go, right?” She noticed that Mika didn’t seem to be enthused, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go and have some fun, okay? I bet you can find lots of friends here.”

---

Lily had also arrived with Alex; she and Alicia had messaged each other since the meeting, and agreed to meet at the party. She drove her motorcycle right down the street despite the crowd of partygoers in her way; she caused some to run and dodge in fear of colliding with her, but she otherwise reached the destination with no accidents.
”Woohoo! This is it, Alex! A real magical girl party! I can’t wait to get inside!”
She took Alex’ hand, and practically dragged him to the party.
”Or should we wait for Alicia outside?” She stopped mid-thought.
”But maybe she’s already inside...Oof, I don’t know.”
She released Alex and now paced back and forth, looking nervous.
”I’ve only gone to a party a couple of times, so I don’t know what’s the normal thing to do. Oh, I’m getting antsy!”

On a rooftop facing the street where the warehouse was, the Ascendancy had gathered, having set up a cloaking field to mask their magical auras and presence. Rachel was talking to Alicia; the Paladin Seraph saw Lily down at the street, oblivious of her presence.
“Me and my troops will be setting lookouts, but we will only interfere if we see signs of trouble down there, or when Vi makes her official appearance. Until then, you are to infiltrate the party, find out who are the masterminds behind the operation and whether this is actually a trap, and keep us updated. I don’t care if you personally do it or send agents in, but I’m going to trust you with this, Seraph Paladin.” She offered her hand in a handshake, looking deathly serious.

“Inquisitor, may I accompany her on this mission as a bodyguard?” Leena asked, looking worried. “This is enemy territory; in case we need to stage an exit. You never know with these corrupted what they’re scheming.” FanFan also volunteered. “I would like to join as well, for guarding, yes. I do admit the social interactions also intrigue, but only to further our own cause, of course.”

---

Back at the Beacon HQ, Elora was on surveillance detail, using the video feed of cameras the Ascendancy agents had placed on their clothes as well as a couple of new drones Sylvia had whipped up; up in the night sky, they were practically invisible.
She had decided to check through the Glimmr logs of the organization.
“Hm, that’s strange; the Cardinal has some logs from the other day...” However, her eyes widened as she realized the contents of the posts.
“Wait, Cardinal is-CARDINAL!” She turned her floating cube, and quickly zipped down to the entrance hall, where the Cardinal was; she was leaving.

“Cardinal ,where are you going?” Elora asked, looking worried. The praying girl didn’t turn as she answered. “I’m going to save a lost lamb, Elora.”
Elora moved to block her. “But it’s a trap! They’re going to kill you!”
At that moment, Elora’s eyes welled up with tears, and Ishtar gently moved her aside. “Do not worry. I may not look like much...But I am not afraid of those who would hurt my blessed sisters. I will save Divina.” Before Elora could say another word, she had fallen asleep. Ishtar carried her over to the nearest chair, and placed her there. “Rest, sister. You’ve had many long nights.”
Ishtar whispered, and then left into the dark city. She looked down at the gift Hilaria gave to her, just before they parted ways. The innocuous shell in her palm reminded her of what she fought for...And what she would risk her life for.
“Divina...Wait for me.”