Nah fam, not today.
Hey, here’s an idea!
To the North: Conquest of the Scarlet Stranger
Part III
Slay or drive off the Scarlet Stranger and save Penrose from a hostile takeover! We’ve had enough plots involving mind control and giant armies...
Challenge Rating: SSS+
Notes: It’s okay, Bee Pee’s in control!
The chaos was behind them, but the challenge was not.
The Wukong looked even more formidable now that it wasn’t on a screen. From the ground the Scarlet Stranger was so high up she wasn’t even visible. It almost looked like a giant warship version of Cinderella's pumpkin carriage, only there were far more thorns and no visible way inside the thing. That and the chariot rolled on with nothing driving it.
Sammantha tried to keep her mind clear. While she was the best equipped to take on Veronica, she was also the largest liability on the mission. Not just because her thoughts could be read, but because she wasn’t sure if she wanted Veronica to fail. They had an unusual relationship. It wasn’t built on love or duty, but a form of respect. When Sam killed that magical girl so many years ago, the Mint could have retaliated any number of ways. But Veronica had noticed his skill and turned him into a magical girl, a Mint agent. That changed a great number of things, but Sam survived it all. When the Mint started abusing their own members, Veronica made sure to bring her into the new organisation. Maybe it was all done because she was a useful tool, but Veronica had noticed that usefulness. She put in the effort to hone it further and make sure Sam’s edge never dulled. Veronica had been liberal with the proverbial oil and grindstone. And that was why when she finally spoke to her…
Sam? What are you doing here? She did not know how to respond.
Veronica. Sammantha thought back.
I… I don't know. Why do you have such a large army?I’m fighting change. Her voice was just as monotone as it had always been.
Penrose used to be a safe place for us, but it is not anymore. Surely you have noticed? Mint despises us, Beacon despises us, to such a degree that they would side with each other and even Justine to stop us. I want to return things to normal, make them better than normal.Normal? There was a word Sammantha didn’t use often.
Why don’t you come up, Sam? It’s been a long time since we’ve talked, and I’d just as soon explain everything face to face.Sam slowed her steps. Then Emily ran into her back.
"Oof!" She bounced backwards.
"S-sorry, Sam, I didn’t expect you to stop.""It’s fine." Sammantha looked at the Wukong.
"We’ve been invited up.""Invited?" Emily sighed.
"Then maybe we can take care of this without fighting anyone?""I don’t know, but we should try." There wasn’t any point in thinking about it. Veronica had to know why they were here, and if she didn’t, she would. Maybe they were walking right into an ambush, but she doubted it. Bonne had remarked on what a great shot Trixy was, and if they had been discovered, she could have fired on them. Surely Veronica understood how dangerous it was to let Sam get close to her target. No, it made far more sense that she sincerely wanted to explain things. Sam had been a most effective tool, and Veronica never cast away something that could still be used.
The Wukong never stopped moving, but a telescoping ladder appeared on the side of the carriage. It extended and stopped just a few feet off the ground. No one was there to greet them, but this was likely the closest to an invitation they were going to get. Samantha ran up to the ladder and jumped on. Emily wasn’t far behind her. After that, it was a slow climb up a flight of stairs.
"Wow, It’s so big!" Emily looked at the massive artifact and saw her reflection. The surface was covered in hexagon shaped bumps, but was polished to a near mirror finish. Her hand hovered over over the Wukong, but she didn’t dare touch it.
"And she made this herself? The Scarlet Stranger?""I think so." Sam didn’t stop moving and she didn’t turn around.
"But she has a lot of researchers, so they might have helped."Emily looked away from the Wukong and out onto the battlefield. The tide was starting to change now that all of Veronica’s armies were coming together.
"I hope we can stop the fighting before someone gets hurt." Sam looked out with the corner of her eye. She had gotten to know quite a few of the girls out there. She remembered the time Su had tried to teach her how to make pizza, and the resulting effect it had on that golden dragon. Though she imagined Emily had even more friends out there. Somehow, that made getting this resolved quickly matter even more.
"Then we should walk as fast as we can, but don’t trip.""G-got it!" After power walking the rest of the way up, they finally arrived at the landing. It was not a warm welcome, nor was there any sort of fanfare. All eyes were on the guests who had just arrived.
The Wukong's top most platform was massive. There was a railing that went all the way around and the Garnet Gemini insignia covered the entire thing. The scarlet stranger herself was in the middle of the platform, with Trixy and Tetrad at her right, and Blair and Maria were on her left. As soon as Sam and Emily came up the stairs, they all walked towards Sam’s position.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Emily swallowed.
"What’s with Tetrad? She looks so spaced out."She did, too. But so did Trixy, and even Maria. Though it was especially noticeable on Trixy. She was always smiling, even if it wasn’t out of genuine joy. But now she looked apathetic. Like a waitress who worked one too many weeks at that backwater dive she had been meaning to quit for years. But why speculate? All would become clear shortly.
"It’s been a long time, Sam."Sammantha hadn’t seen Veronica in months, but it felt longer. She remembered being frustrated with her replacement. Maura was a cowardly, ineffectual leader, and Viridian wasn’t the most attentive babysitter. Though she hadn’t expected her new form to, theoretically, look like both of those. The Scarlet Stranger looked like a young girl in a red hood. While shorter than her previous iteration, she brandished a massive pair of scissors but didn’t lack the menace and power her former appearance had. Deep in her eyes was the ambition that made Veronica respectable. Regardless of what form she took, that was always how Sam could be sure it was her.
"So it has." The hooded stranger turned to Emily.
"Hmmm. To think you would be the one to accompany her." "Y-you know about me." Emily placed a hand on her chest.
"Oh I sure hope you don’t believe the rumors. I’m really nothing like what that furball describes me as.""As I can see easily enough, Emily. Your temperament doesn’t quite suit your fearsome reputation." She sat down, and a chair appeared beneath her.
"But we are not here to discuss rumors, we are here to share the truth. The two of you have been dispatched to stop me. An interesting choice for my enemies to use, but one I’m sure they will come to regret." She folded her hands in her lap.
"We do not need to fight. I am sure once you understand the situation, you will come to realize that being by my side is not only where you belong, but is the morally right thing to do.""Okay." If anything, that preamble made Sam more apprehensive about what was coming. But it was good that she felt she could share it in front of Emily. Not everything that Veronica and Sam did were things a cinnamon roll would find agreeable.
"As I told you earlier, Penrose has not been fair to us. They feel threatened by our very existence." A table appeared before Veronica’s guests, chairs behind them, and even a complete tea set. While Emily looked a little surprised by the sudden appearance of it all, Sam just sat down. By this point she was used to her former boss’s eccentricities.
"You can’t do it with violence, though. The Mint, Beacon, these organisations are far too powerful. You need to turn their numbers against them, and that’s where the Wukong comes in." She gestured at the floor.
"Tell me, Sam. What do you know about the Cradle?" She sighed. They had talked about it previously, but never in much depth.
"It’s a prison that can lock things in stasis. I know it’s overflowing with magical power. But our magicom network runs through it too. So it can hold a great deal more than just magical girls and their weapons." "Correct." Veronica nodded. Nobody touched the tea set yet.
"I’m able to transmit thoughts across the magicom network by duplicating them and passing them directly into your minds. It’s no different than handling cradle weapons. But I can’t actually change your thoughts. To do that, my magic would need to be entwined with yours in a much deeper way."Emily poked her fingers together.
"Ah, oh boy. and how did you do that?"Sam already knew though.
"It was the red coins, wasn’t it?""Yes." Veronica smiled.
"The accident with the coins wasn’t entirely intentional, but it did get them distributed through Penrose. Anyone who used a red coin has replaced their magic with magic from the cradle. These people I can control directly if I get close enough to them." She lifted up her arm, and in a flash, it turned into old Penny’s arm. It even had the old version of her energy fist as a weapon.
"And just like everything else in the cradle, their powers end up absorbing some of the cradle’s magic, and become even more formidable than they once were. There’s no way to reverse the process. If they did, they’d get back their old powers with my magic soaked into it. It’s not something you can wash away with a ‘Shine Spark.’" She sighed.
"Those fools. They just took Binky’s research and tried to make the white coin even stronger. I can’t control those who have used the improved white coin, but let’s just say that their sacred Shine Spark is tinged crimson. It can’t protect them from me if they used a red coin."Emily’s mouth hung agape, but Sam still had questions.
"How is the Wukong going to protect us?""By expanding and compounding my powers, because everything is in place now. Penny has used a red coin. Sanctuary will bend the knee to me as soon as I arrive. They worship their queen with religious fervor and won’t question my takeover if she doesn’t. Al has decided to fight me himself, and has been locked inside the cradle until further notice. That leaves Chloe running Penrose, and she too has used a red coin. She refused me in the past, but she will not have a choice this time. Beacon’s leaders have yet to use a red coin, but enough Beacon girls have that I feel I can crush them if I must. Between all of the magical girls I’ve acquired raiding cities, Mint, and Sanctuary, taking Beacon HQ will be more trivial than getting out of bed. But I won’t even have to!" She gestured towards the battlefield.
"Look at it all, Sam! I could never do this before. Between the tower I got from the Gourd and the Wukong we built, my sphere of influence is as large as the state of New York! I could never control so many magical girls in the past…" With a sigh, she settled into her seat.
"And I’m well aware of the ‘other’ queen, too. Mint aren’t the only ones with extensive spy networks. Story slayer or no, it won’t matter once I’m in Penrose. The nexus will be mine and this power I have now will pale in comparison to what I’ll be able to do. Why stop at just magical girls who used the red coin? Maybe I could spread my influence to the rest of America. Why not the world? My power will only grow as the days pass…" Emily looked to Sam, who was deep in thought.
"You don’t think this is a good idea, do you?""I don’t know." Sam wasn’t looking at anyone.
"I just don’t know.""Why isn’t it a good idea, Emily?" Veronica’s smile vanished.
"Should we allow the pointless murders to continue? My girls are fighting now, but once everyone is among ‘my girls’ there will be no more fighting." "No fighting is good…" Emily turned to look at Tetrad.
"W-why do they look so spaced out?""Oh, that." Veronica extended a hand towards Trixy.
"Trixy and Tetrad have both used a red coin, Marie too. They were prototype projects for the sort of thing we’re doing now. Tetrad’s powers were granted from a red coin, and Trixy used to be a familiar. Remember when Su used a black coin, Sam? I gave ‘Teddy’ a red coin to see if they’d transform into a magical girl. And do you know it worked? I have a hundred or so magical girls that were just random familiars in the overcity. Now they’re fighting machines loyal to my cause. And Marie-""Enough."Veronica raised an eyebrow.
"Is something the matter, Sam?""This mind control." Sam pointed at Trixy.
"Why are you using it on your most loyal agents?""Oh, Sam." Veronica sighed.
"They loved you both too much. Trixy kept telling me that she knew she couldn’t shoot you, and Tetrad was threatening to scramble her own mind if we did anything to hurt Emily. Even Marie lost her composure. I took control of them in the event I needed to do something drastic. I’m sure you won’t take it personally, but I couldn’t risk you coming up here and attacking me. Our mission is too important to allow emotion to get in our way." Emily was, of course, mortified by this revelation.
"Y-you took away their free will?"Veronica scoffed.
"Not permanently, of course. They’ll get it back once I know I can trust you."Sam crossed her brow.
"And when will you be able to trust us?""When we get to Penrose.""And what if she disagrees with you acquiring the Nexus?" Sam stood up. Without looking, she took Emily’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
"What if she starts saying things on the forum that you don’t like? What if she starts acting fishy?""You know the answer to that. But I know what all of my agents are thinking at all times, so I would never control her for merely ‘acting fishy.’ She would have to actually resist me." "Like she’s doing now? Hesitating to shoot her friends?" Sam moved Emily behind herself and drew her knife. She snuck a glance at Trixy. That weird girl that wanted to form a relationship with the cold assassin. The one that would eat her food regardless of how bad it was or make fun of her enemies by ‘cosplaying’ as them. Who knew how many moments like that Sam missed since they were separated by Veronica’s mission.
"I served you in the beginning because I owed the Mint a debt. I don’t work for them anymore, I work for you. But you promised all of us freedom. The only difference between what you’re doing and what the Mint is doing is the Mint hasn’t figured out how to take our free will yet. There has to be a better way than this. This can’t be your ultimate goal."Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I see." She lowered her arm.
"You’ve finally dulled." She looked at Sam a moment longer before swatting the table. It flipped mid air, and Emily flinched. But Samantha held onto her and brought up her knife to block it. While the table struck her, it was frozen in stasis sideways before it could carry them off the side of the Wukong.
Sam was thrown through the air, and Emily was along for the ride. Though careful use of her fire magic, she was able to stabilize mid flight and lowered Sam onto her feet.
"Are you okay!?""I’m fine, thanks.""What finally did it, Sam?" Veronica called from behind the table. The disgust in her voice was more apparent than it had ever been.
"Was it how soft Maura was on everyone? Was Viridian lax in her duties? Did you simply grow to love Trixy too much? Perhaps the fault is mine for thinking you’d remain loyal once you were out of my sight." She audibly growled.
"Ultimately, you are going to be the one who pays the price. I thought you could understand the cost of a utopia, but you’re no less idealistic than our enemies."Sam prepared herself.
"There’s nothing normal about what you want to do!" "It is normal for us. The first son killed his brother out of pride. Is that the normal you wish to return to?"Blair jumped over the top of the table. Tetrad and Maria came out from the right, while Trixy laid prone on the left side. If Sam wanted to defeat Veronica, she’d have to defeat these four first.
…
…
…
But my chest still feels tight, so maybe another time.
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