Flamelord

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

In the blink of an eye, the group founds themselves in the garage thanks to Aurelio's powers. Alicia was slightly thrown off, as she had figured they would be teleported to Bolorton, or at least traveled through the Overcity, but this worked too. She assisted Aurelio in packing up the equipment, and soon enough the group hit the road for Bolorton.

They started near the edge of town, and with the use of magic were soon zipping down the road. "I'd like to see any cop try and pull us over," Alicia remarked with a grin. At this rate they would get here in no time.

Glancing over to Aurelio as he wondered about their arrival time, she gave a small shrug in return. All while doing her best not to interfere with the bonding moment going on in the seats behind them as Hyun and Serenity laid out some of their issues. "Hopefully not too long, though I suspect it will be a bit faster than one might think. Hopefully Bolorton would still be standing when they got there.

There was only one thing that was bothering her right now as they made their way towards the combat zone. "Still, all this stuff with Wonderland, it's annoying that we just have to sit here and take it from them." She frowned, turning her head to look out the window. After everything they had dealt with, why was this one so insurmountable?
_{@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord}

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Alicia nodded to both girls as Serenity explained the presence of the new arrival with her. She'd have considered it a bit odd were it not for her previous experiences with Janet. After that, she was a bit harder to surprise when it came to this sort of thing.

It was also not much of a surprise as Serenity offered to come along on the mission. Aurelio was fine with it, but Hyun did raise some objections. Some of those were practical in nature and could possibly be addressed, though she had seemed a bit leery of the ex-Horror so far. Alicia couldn't see a particular reason for that, so she could only hope that it would diminish with time and familiarity. Well, that and Hyun's firmness towards Gabriel too.

She had a feeling it was rules related.

As much as Alicia wanted to see Gabriel in the field, she wasn't going to argue if Gabriel preferred to train the new recruits. That was probably better in the long run anyways, as it would further their mutual goal by instilling a common ideology in those now joining their ranks. Those were considerations unlikely to occur to their companions. "Alright then. I'll leave things here to you Gabriel," she decided with a nod.

Having made the shift in teams necessary, she then turned and waved for the others to follow her. "Everyone else, let's get moving to the teleporters. I think they're starting to get impatient." It was time for them to head to Bolorton, as she led the way.
_{@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord}

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Ishtar's response was only a little comforting for Alicia, who could not shake the suspicion that Wonderland would try something anyway. There had been little opportunity to build up trust for the group after all, and her experiences had left her disabused of the hope that villains would not take such an opportunity to attack isolated Beacon members if they were exposed. Still, she'd just have to handle these issues as they arose. That was half the reason she'd asked for Hyun to take part in the mission.

"We'll get it done," she assured Ishtar. Regardless of her own personal feelings on Wonderland, she would not give the Beckoners a reason to doubt the ability of their branch.

Thoughts of the mission to come were briefly banished from her mind as a familiar figure appeared in front of her. Eyes widened as she was suddenly embraced, but after a moment she returned the warm gesture. "Serenity! I'm glad that you're back." It felt like it had been a while since she had seen the Horror-turned-teammate. "I see headquarters hasn't made you soft yet."

Alicia continued to smile as Aurelio arrived, receiving his share of attention in turn. Yet they did not have very long to dwell as Hyun and Gabriel made their appearance. "It's alright Hyun," she said with a glance over to the girl. "She's a friend." She could appreciate the desire to maintain status and hierarchy, but in this case it was unnecessary. Still, that did raise one pertinent question. "Well, she is. I don't think I've met the other girl before."

The arrival of the trio caused her to turn back to Serenity. "As much as I would like to fill you in on our somewhat epic assault on a Horror's stronghold, but we were actually about to head out on a mission. For once another city is getting trashed." They would have to catch up and reminisce later. For now she looked between Aurelio, Hyun, and Gabriel. it was a solid team for the mission that they were setting out to do. Even if complications presented themselves, they could still handle it with the squad that they had on hand.

"Just in case you guys weren't told, we're going to Bolorton to assist in evacuating civilians from the combat zone. We're not there to pick fights, but if you end up in one then make sure you end it. Any questions?" Alicia would do her best to answer them, but depending on how the situation developed they might have to improvise. Who knew what Wonderland would get up to in their schemes?

_{@Ariamis@Shifter_Master@Crusader Lord}

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Though kept somewhat appraised of what was going on in Bolorton, Alicia's focus had remained divided. There had been an influx of girls to the beleaguered town to help out, but that left the opportunity for more unscrupulous types to take advantage of their absence here. After all that had transpired over these past months, she didn't feel comfortable leaving anything to chance.

Yet when she was approached by Ishtar, it was impossible to ignore. Taking the document, she gave it a quick look over as the Cardinal revealed they had been approved to evacuate civilians from the area as the fighting escalated. Not that they could intervene directly though, which seemed like it would not do much to actually address the situation at all.

"Alright," she said after a moment, folding the paper and slipping it into a pocket once she was done reviewing the details. "And what if they attack us?" Alicia asked. Surely they would be able to defend themselves if it came down to it.

That just left the matter of who to take with. "I'll definitely take Aurelio, if he's willing." That was an easy choice, as his support abilities would be very useful in this sort of mission. The others were a bit harder to select, and she hummed whilst thinking on it before eventually reaching a decision. "I'll take Hyun and Gabriel too." She wasn't going to tiptoe around the situation to avoid offending people. With her own dissatisfaction, she was more than willing to let them speak their mind.

There weren't really other questions, at least at the moment. "Nothing I can think of. I'm sure the Ascendancy will keep me appraised if things develop further," she replied, shaking her head. Turning from the direction she had been heading before, she prepared to round up the members of the team she had decided upon. It seemed that she had a mission to organize after all.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

In the time since the trip to the Overcity and Beacon's HQ, Alicia had thrown herself into her work. She tried to maintain a similar level of involvement with her friends, but she had also put a lot of work into trying to tighten up ship. As if hard work could make up for what had happened, or what she might have failed to do. No one had told her to do so in as many words, but she did it all the same. She was barely even able to take bounties because of it.

Having found a moment or two to spend with Kimble amidst all that madness, when they were approached by Hudie. "I haven't seen it myself, though I got the general idea from everyone else talking about it," she replied. She had just been distracted by other things to get around to it before it became the big thing.

Looking to Kimble, she frowned in thought. "Given the publicity of what happened, I expect Bolorton will get pretty busy. We should see what the scouts turn up before deciding if we need to send more people." That way there would be people back in Penrose to keep an eye on things in case someone got ambitious.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

A Bountiful Harvest

Starring
‘One half of an inseparable pair’ Mia Cooper
‘Exploring his girlfriends interests’ Shane Bron

Though it was a bit unusual for supernatural creatures to be posting bounties, there was nothing against it so long as they had the funds to pay. That was how Shane and Gaia found themselves in this situation as they arrived outside the Garden of Roses. It was a second time for Gaia, who would no doubt be pleased to see the garden flourishing under its new caretakers. They had held to their end of the deal, just as they had promised.

They would be met near the entrance by one of the Fey, fluttering over to them on small butterfly wings. “Greetings to you, Lady Gaia, as well as your consort,” She said with a small bow to Mia. “We are pleased you are willing to assist us once again.”

“It is my most sincere pleasure,” the verdant maiden replied with an elegant curtsy. “And it fills my heart with such great joy to see that your garden is enjoying such abundant growth,” she added, her emerald lips forming a brilliant smile as she took a moment to look over the colorful flowers surrounding them.

Walking through the garden Shane also admired the garden the Fey had cultivated. Addressed briefly he gave a brief wave. "Nice to meet you. You've been hard at work it seems."

Looking between them, the Fey seemed receptive to their approval of the work that had been done here. “We have,” she agreed. “But there is still more we intend to do. Do you have any further questions regarding the task you have taken up?”

“Indeed we have,” Gaia replied in a serene voice. “Namely, exactly what kind of flower do you wish for us to procure, and where, precisely, might we find it?”

Extending an open palm, the fey caused the image of a flower to appear. “You are looking for a blue Gladioli. Its unique color provided by ambient magic. As for the location, my Queen says that you should have all the information you need to locate it in the description she provided. She does not wish to make things too easy for you.” The fey smiled, a mischievous glint in their eye.

“How very beautiful,” Gaia noted as she beheld the reproduction of the flower they sought. “I see,” the botanical beauty replied with a slight smirk of her own when the fairy explained that they already had all the information they would need to find it. “Very well. As it happens, I, too, believe that the hints her majesty has so graciously given shall be more than sufficient. Now then, ” she added, turning to Shane. “Shall we be off?”

A nod from Shane. "I believe so. This flower has me curious." With not much more information than they started with the two headed off.

Given the clues Shane assumed that the location of the mysterious flower was located in the park where Cindy fell. To his knowledge there hadn't been anywhere else where a "royal" was fell. Based on that it seemed like a logical place to start.

The trip to the park was quick enough,traffic wasn’t too bad at this time of day and being able to use magic just made the journey faster if they didn’t feel like traveling in the mundane way. As such, they soon arrived on the scene. The park was moderately populated, not swarming with people but hosting more than a handful at the moment. Hopefully that would not complicate their search for the flower.

Getting a view of the scene, Shane crossed his arms. "Right, so I think I have a good idea of where we need to go. It would probably be easier if we just looked normal and moved past people." A brief pause was followed by an agreement. Both untransforming, the two headed into the park as just a couple of kids. Having been witness to Cindy's death it wasn't that hard for him to crack down the area it should have been in.

“Y’know, it’s kinda surprising to see so many people here,” Mia observed. “I mean, I’m glad the city’s getting back on its feet after everything that’s happened over the past few months,” she added. “But it feels kinda weird seein’ everyone so obliviously happy when a battle against a frickin’ eldritch horror happened here not too long ago. Plus, it’d be nice if we had the place all to ourselves, don’t ya think?” she asked Shane with a playful smirk as she took hold of his hand.

Looking at Mia while she talked about the people at the park, when she mentioned alone time Shane blushed slightly. He smiled afterward though and squeezed her hand. "That would have been nice, but what's the fun of it if no one sees us?" He leaned in and gave her a quick surprise kiss before pulling back. Turning out ahead he looked over the clearing where the bulk of the battle took place. "Our mystery flower should be somewhere around here." One would think a glowing blue flower would stick out.

Nearing the site of the battle, the pair would find their path obstructed in a minor fashion. It had been cordoned off in the time since then to prevent access by the general public. Shovels and digging tools laid about, the park apparently taking this opportunity to do a bit of landscape work while they were filling in craters and fixing other bits of damage.

As they neared the site and began their search, foliage rustled behind them. Beady red eyes fixed on the duo, watching carefully and with ominous intent from the shadows. Like the fey had said, they were not the only ones interested in this prize.

Mia grinned at the sight of Shane’s embarrassment, but her own cheeks reddened a moment later when he gave her a quick kiss. This was her first relationship, after all, and she was still unused to public displays of affection (And the Christmas Party doesn’t count. There was mistletoe!). “Jackass…” the tomboy muttered, although it was plain to see by her smile that she wasn’t the least bit angry.

The pair soon reached the area where the battle had taken place, and although it was cordoned off, the thin strips of tape did little to hinder their passage. “Considering this flower’s magical in nature, it could have some way of concealing itself,” Mia noted as they began their search. “And knowing the Fairies, I wouldn’t expect it to be easy to find,” she added with a wry grin.

Due to her increased alertness, Mia was able to notice that they were being watched. “Hey, Shane,” she whispered as she moved next to her boyfriend. “I think we may have a secret admirer in those bushes back there.”

Shane nodded in agreement. "I thought so." Looking to one side there were still people around. Transforming out in the open would be asking for trouble. Taking out a small whistle he blew it, though it barely made a sound. "Going to have to cancel some people's picnics." He started to walk around, staying out of the cordoned off area. He mostly needed to stall as a storm cloud began to move in from the distance. He might not be able to use his Thunderbird fully today, but bad weather tended to send people away. Shortly the park area would darken and a light drizzle would begin to fall.

Putting his powers to work, Shane soon achieved the result he desired. A light drizzle fell, sending most of the people present scurrying for dry warmth. Getting stuck out in the rain in the middle of winter was hardly a fun time. A brave few souls continued to soldier on undeterred, but most of those weren’t near the duo and hopefully not much of a concern.

One of those undaunted is the mysterious figure watching them, though they had somehow shifted to a different bush that was near where they had been before. Obscured by branches waving in the wind, they did not make any hostile moves as of yet.

“Nice thinking,” Mia commended. “Although now I’m regretting not bringing an umbrella,” she added with a smirk. “So, think it’s safe to transform and say hello to our shy friend?”

"I think so." He would take one more look around to be sure things were clear and began reciting his incantation. "Flash of light and roar of thunder. Beware you forces of darkness as lightning can strike twice." Upon finishing, Shane's form was surrounded by a burst of lightning as he transformed. Not knowing what to expect he opened his spell book just in case.

“Alright,” Mia replied with a nod before beginning her own incantation. “Nature’s beauty! Nature’s grace! Nature’s power! Behold! I am Gaia, Daughter of Mother Earth!” There was a swirling of mystic energy, and when it faded a moment later, the short-haired tomboy had been replaced by a verdant demigoddess, whose emerald tresses cascaded down her back to pool on the ground. Around her bare feet sprouted an array of colorful flowers, in utter contempt of winter’s chill. Conjuring Nature’s Blossom, she held the staff to her side as she turned to face the bush in which their “secret admirer” was hiding. “We know you are in there, so would you please do us the kindness of revealing yourself so that we might become formally acquainted?” the botanical beauty inquired in a serene voice.

There was no immediate response to Gaia’s request, which was good in that the person watching did not seem to have hostile intentions towards them. If they did, surely they would have attacked by now. With the wind, one could make out objects that were not branches or leaves. They seemed to be antlers…ears?

Then in a burst of motion the watcher revealed itself. Its nose twitched as it paused for a moment before springing forwards. It darted past them into the site of their search, diving into one of the many craters there. When its head popped up it held a burst of blue in its teeth, the very flower they had come to seek. Turning, it then hopped away at a rapid speed. They would need to hurry if they wanted to retrieve their bounty.

Even the normally tranquil Gaia was startled by the jackalope’s speed as it darted past her and dove into a small hole, only to reemerge a moment later with the very thing they sought. “The flower!” the verdant maiden exclaimed as she watched the creature race off once more. “Not so fast, little one!” she declared, raising an elegant hand to call forth several thick roots with which to ensnare the fleeing animal. “Shane, get the flower!” she instructed, while creating a few sedative spore-producing blossoms in the jackalope’s path in an effort to pacify it further.

"Whoa!" The critter bolting past, Shane turned. He was glad he'd taken out his book as it saved him some precious time. "Hold on there buddy!" As the spores began to spread, Shane used his Earth magic to soften the ground under the jackalope to slow it down and make it harder to jump.

The jackalope sprang ahead with deft strides, leaping past the roots that emerged to stop it as the ground rumbled. This was eased thanks to Shane’s magic, though it only seemed to hinder the fleeing creature a bit even as the ground grew soft.

That was when the spores hit, amplified by both of their magics working in tandem. The jackalope stumbled, and for a moment it seemed like it might stumble on the soft rain soaked ground. But it recovered, soon sprinting across the open field away from them.

“Blast…” Gaia hissed, an annoyed scowl marring her lovely visage. “He is certainly persistent, I shall give him that,” the verdant maiden conceded as she took careful aim with her staff and fired a sedative spore pod directly at the jackalope. Hopefully such a super-saturated dose would finally do the trick…

Not wanting to let it get too much distance from them, Shane would charge himself up for a burst of speed. ”I’ll stay with him. There’s probably a burrow somewhere. Around here.” Using his earth magic he would try and get a feel for the ground beneath his feet. He was looking for small tunnels or any such thing that seemed like the creatures home while he sprinted after.

Stretching his magic out, Shane would be able to pick up a decent amount of tunnels beneath the park. None were of the size that a jackalope could use though, unless it was able to shrink itself somehow. There was one in the general direction the Jackalope was heading, though it seemed to widen a bit more and was deep enough that he couldn’t get a full look at it from his current position.

Gaia resumed her efforts to snag the creature, but as it had already shown it was quite nimble. Ears twitched and it suddenly veered, taking on a zig zag pattern that avoided the single pod. But it remained still moving in the relatively same direction, so it likely wasn’t just trying to avoid them.

Gaia frowned as she watched the jackalope nimbly avoid her spore pod. Still, despite all that was done to hinder it, the creature continued on the same heading, and that gave the Daughter of Mother Earth an idea…

Let us see you dodge this.

Sweeping her glowing staff across the jackalope’s path, the verdant maiden caused an arc of thorny flowers to form a wall, with which to block the swift creature’s advance. A moment later, each bulb doused it in a torrent of spores, far more potent than any previously employed. Hopefully this would be enough to finally put a stop to its flight…

Detecting that there might be a place the Jackalope might go, Shane kept up with the creature. He would let Mia's shot go to do its job while he prepared to capture the magical creature if it jumped down the tunnel he located it. He could be able to encapsulate it once it's already mostly surrounded by earth. He was curious as to what was down below though. Once the flower was secure he for sure was going to investigate this oddity.

The jackalope was not overly concerned by the sudden sprouting of thorned flowers in its path. Certainly it had proven adept at dodging them before, so even with prickly trimming to said flowers it looked like it would not be much of a deterrent.

Veering to aim for a shorter part of the wall that had been made, the jackalope went for a mighty leap. It soared high, a majestic demonstration of nature's prowess. One that ended in abrupt disaster as Gaia unleashed another burst of potent spores, timed to when he was in midair so he could not dodge. The jackalope sneezed, thrashing in midair before falling to the ground in a lackluster fashion.

Rising to its feet, the jackalope was not very speedy anymore, instead stumbling and off balance. It wavered as it hopped forward, swaying and not very agile anymore. Persistence paid off, and the flower was theirs for the taking.

Seeing an opportunity, Shane would make a dive and surround himself and the jackalope in earth so it couldn't continue running. Careful of the creature and horns he would wrestle away the flower and expel the jackalope from the sphere. He would check over the flower to be sure it was still intact.

With care shown for the horns and powerful feet, Shane succeeded in wrestling the flower away from the jackalope. It was a bit roughed up from the tumble, but it was mostly alright. Nothing a little botany magic couldn’t fix. As for the jackalope itself, once expelled from the sphere it stumbled off into some nearby bushes and passed out. It wouldn’t be an issue for them anymore.

“Splendid work, Shane,” Gaia commended once she’d glided over to her boyfriend, casting a simple restorative spell to return the flower to its original splendor. “Mother’s Mantle, that little creature was certainly tenacious… Although I must wonder why it sought the flower in the first place…” the verdant maiden mused, while tapping a thoughtful finger against her chin. “Still, I suppose that is a mystery for another time. Shall we make our way back to the fairies now, or do you need a moment to catch your breath?” she asked with a playful smirk.

With the flower restored Shane would carefully place it into an inner pocket. He would take a moment to think over what to do next. "There's something down below. I can't be sure of what it is, but there's what seems like a cavern." Looking at the flower briefly he would sigh. "We have what we came for, but I feel like the jackrabbit was heading somewhere for a reason." Now that he wasn't in pursuit of anything the boy would try and use his magic to get a better picture of the underground.

Utilizing his magic, Shane was able to get a general idea of how the room looked. It was decently sized, like something that would be used for water maintenance. Except it did not connect up to any external tunnels aside from the one the Jackalope was to take. There were several columns lining the room on both sides, and a network of roots extending through the stone downwards from it. It was a fairly simple structure, but unfortunately Shane was not able to get a more detailed look at the interior than that.

"Man, can't really tell what it is. Should we check it out now or deliver the flower first? It looks like where the jackalope was trying to run to though." He would look to Gaia to see what she though.

“Hmmm… A most intriguing mystery, to be sure,” the verdant maiden replied thoughtfully. “Still, now that we have the flower, I think we should probably return to the fairies and save any further investigation for later.”

Nodding a bit, Shane would turn. "Probably right. Let's get back to them then." He would begin walking with Gaia back to the fairies to present to them their requested prize.

The trip back to the garden was as easy as the trip coming from there had been, albeit a bit wetter because of the rain they had created in the course of their hunt. Entering the garden, they would just as quick meet with the fairies who had greeted them upon taking this hunt on. Unlike the last time however, they would be escorted inside to where the throne room had been established.

Seated on her wooden chair, Caliphe wore a smile as the duo approached. She was unchanged from the last time Gaia had seen her, though her people had no doubt settled in well since then. She was relaxed in her seat, comfortable in the safety of her dwelling. “Lady Gaia, it is an honor to see you again. Greetings to you as well, noble sir.”

After a moment she straightened her posture and leaned forward with hands resting on the armrests of the throne. “I hope you come bearing good news of your endeavors.”

“It is my great honor and pleasure to stand in your radiant presence as well, your Majesty,” Gaia replied with a graceful curtsy, returning Caliphe’s smile with one of her own. “And your majesty is correct,” the verdant maiden confirmed. “We were indeed successful in acquiring the flower you sought.”

Shane bowed himself in time with Gaia. He would produce from his jacket the flower to Caliphe. "For you, your majesty." He would hold it out for her or one of her attendants to retrieve.

Smiling, the fey queen took the flower once Shane had offered it. She rotated it in her hand, a little spark traveling up the length of it. It vanished once it reached the top, and she seemed satisfied with what they had brought her. “Thank you, brave sir. Did you encounter any trouble in the course of carrying out your task?”

Shrugging a bit, Shane would respond. "We encountered a jackalope that seemed intent on taking the flower somewhere. Gave us quite a chase, but Gaia's magic did wonders in slowing the creature down enough for us to retrieve it." Seeing the flower disappear it crossed his mind that he probably should have investigated in more detail what the flower was. Though it was unlikely that he would have done much different.

“Indeed, it was quite the tenacious creature,” Gaia agreed. “Although I cannot take all the credit for hindering its attempted escape,” she added, giving her boyfriend an appreciative smile. “My dear Shane provided no small amount of assistance, for which I am truly grateful.”

“I see. Well, I suppose it was not as bad as it could have been,” Caliphe noted as they related their troubles with the jackalope. She did not seem overly bothered, no doubt because they had succeeded in the end. Since they had been warned before setting out on their effort, it did not come as much of a surprise either.

She looked over Shane once more as Gaia complimented her companion. “Well then, I suppose I will need to call on you two if any other tasks come up in the future.” Gaia had proven herself to the Fey twice now. That sort of trustworthiness was important.

“We would be honored, your Majesty,” Gaia replied with a respectful curtsy. “So please do not hesitate to call upon us if ever the need arises.”

Caliphe smiled, graciously waving to the duo. “I shall.” WIth that the audience came to an end. Gia and Shane were free to remain and enjoy the garden, or they could head on their way. The fey would not impede their presence either way.

“So,” Gaia inquired as they made their way out of the garden. “Shall we investigate that underground chamber now, or would you rather relax a bit first? There is a new arcade that I have been very eager to visit, and I hear the pizza it serves is particularly delicious,” she added with a grin.

Those were two very different options. While he liked the idea of having a fun day. However… "I think I would like to see what's down there. It felt like someone or something was guiding the jackalope to that chamber." He would pause. "I should have investigated the flower before handing it over. Might know better why anyone would be after it."

If she was being perfectly honest, Gaia was slightly disappointed they wouldn’t be visiting the arcade first, but she could also understand that Shane probably wouldn’t enjoy the experience as much with such a mystery weighing on his mind. “Very well,” the verdant beauty replied serenely. “I suppose we shall just have to save the arcade as a suitable reward upon the successful completion of our investigation,” she added with a wink.

It wasn't hard for Shane to sense the disappointment. If it were just a hole in the ground he would look in his own time. He would reach out and take Gaia's hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry my dear. I just want to be sure we're not missing something important. If it doesn't look like anything is there then I'll close it off and take a closer look later. Does that sound good?"

Gaia smiled back at her boyfriend. “That sounds wonderful,” she replied, before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

With that the two would make their way back to the park. Using his magic Shane would create a tunnel in a discreet location that they could use to make their way down into the unknown space below. Once they began to come closer to the open space he tried to sense if there was any movement happening inside.

Shane opened a tunnel without issue leading down to the opening he had sensed. The descent down towards the large underground pocket went unhindered. At their destination, Shane couldn’t feel any particular movement, but he could feel something. He’d felt this before. So had Gaia, in circumstances not altogether dissimilar. They eventually reached their destination.

The area was a dome-shaped cavern, pitch black except for any source of light that they brought with them. Across the ground-level of the cave was a field of grass, surrounding numerous great wooden trees with green leaves spread in all directions, the vegetation healthy and green despite the complete absence of sunlight. Vines gently clung to the walls as if to hide the fact this was a cavern, and across the center of the cave was a bed of flowers. Red flowers, yellow flowers, blue flowers, a veritable rainbow of brilliant and colorful flowers, so happily crowding around a tree.

Said tree was curling around a pathway of darkness. The tree split in two to serve as the frame of a separate, excessively black frame of rock, the contents of which was nothing but darkness. Adorned right above this pathway to nothingness was a sharply red jewel, standing out like a sore thumb to the wood and green leaves around it, right above the gateway it was adorning. A tug could be felt, as the darkness tugged at the mana of the visitors, like if it wanted to take them through the gateway to who knows where.

Now Shane felt movement. From one of the other trees, a humanoid shape broke itself loose. It stepped forward to stand between them and the dark gateway, stopping right in the forest of flowers beneath it. The being was built entirely out of wood, yet its shape took that of a woman wearing rudimentary clothes with exposed arms and legs, her hair extending into branches. Last time they had met like this, they’d been met with a hostile burst of mana and a creature prepared to battle.

This time Esther merely stood straight and stared at them, completely emotionlessly yet somehow still conveying her curiousness. “How come we meet like this once again?” … Or something along those lines.

Last time they’d found a veritable jungle. This garden had far fewer trees, it had actual room for grass and a great bed of flowers, meaning it was a lot less overgrown. However, the complete lack of bugs and other life that was not the plants or Esther was the same. As was the presence of an ominous gateway, big enough for a person to pass through.

As Gaia led the way into the underground cavern by the light of a bioluminescent plant, she began to get the sneaking suspicion she knew who this place belonged to. Sure enough, they were soon met by a familiar face.

“Ah, Lady Esther,” Gaia greeted the dryad with a curtsy. “It is a pleasure to see you again. Please pardon our intrusion into your beautiful garden,” she added in a soothing tone. “We recently encountered a mysterious jackalope, and were wondering if this cavern was where it had ran off to. As it is clearly not present, we shall take our leave now.”

Seeing who they'd come across Shane had to think if this was the same area as before. He couldn't quite recall though. Considering the circumstances he had to agree with Gaia. He certainly had no qualms with Esther. The dark presence answered enough questions in his mind, it was a horror after all. "Yes, sorry about that. I'll be sure to patch everything up on our way out." The silence was somewhat awkward. Though generally he could rely on his friendly demeanor to keep things calm.

Esther said no words, as usual, the wooden woman simply standing straight with branches in various directions from her body, staring at the two of them. If they were to attempt to leave, they would find their path unobstructed. There was no sign of any jackalope in here, that was for sure. The darkness remained behind her, leading to who knows where. This was not the same place as last time, yet there were a great many similarities, indeed.

While it was somewhat strange to find a second subterranean garden, nothing especially harmful appeared to be occurring, and if what Mariette had said was true, then this was simply a location for collecting ambient mana. Thus, after giving a final nod, Gaia turned to depart. “As our search seems to have reached its conclusion, shall we proceed to the arcade now?” the nymph-like maiden asked her boyfriend.

Odd indeed, but as promised since the encounter didn't turn into anything larger it looked like they had other engagements. "Yes, that sounds like a lot of fun." He would close things up behind them and they would head out of the park toward the arcade.

Meanwhile, in the cave they’d found, Esther stood motionlessly staring at the place they’d disappeared. Eventually, a person slid out of the dark portal behind her, the one built into the tree. The person was actually a monster-girl with a long furred snake-tail and furred claws.

‘How… did they find us again?’ Freya asked, frowning. Esther gave no answer, merely stood where she did. ‘Gah, now we have to relocate again. If this happens again, we better take some measures to find out why it keeps happening…!’ she muttered, very bothered as she turned around and skipped into the portal again, leaving Esther alone once again.

Esther didn’t mind. It meant she’d get another garden. Because it wasn’t as if they’d destroyed the last one when they left it. Maybe they’d find the next one, too?

Looking forward to seeing if they showed up again or not was…

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Brains versus Brawn

Starring:
‘American Dragon’ Sakura
‘’Reforged’ Ronin

High above Penrose, a glowing techno-pyramid hovered. Unlike the thousands of similar constructs which once choked the skies of unfortunate worlds, this particular vessel was roughly the size of an average office building, rather than an average mountain. Still, the power it contained was vast, and as it maintained its station above the unsuspecting city, it swept the ground below it with a dizzying array of sensors, scanners, and other data accumulators, the various spy rays and finder beams probing every proverbial nook and cranny for the item they sought. Such was their level of sophistication, that mere moments after their sweep began, they had successfully ascertained the precise location of the artifact in question. Now, it would simply have to be retrieved…

By the impression the bounty had left, time was of the essence. An attack could be launched at any time, so there was little opportunity for idle chit chat as they made their way to the destination specified in the instructions they had received upon accepting the bounty.

Their destination was just outside of Penrose, in an old scrap yard filled with the remnants of cars, refrigerators, and other miscellaneous junk that one could use for mechanical parts. It was of moderate size, though at the moment it didn’t seem very busy. They had been told to proceed to a side entrance and ring the buzzer. From there, they were guided to their final destination further within the scrapyard.

Guided to a spot near the center of the yard, they soon found themselves at the base of another large pile. At least, until a hatch opened up and a rope ladder unrolled to the ground in front of them. “Come on in,” came the call from above.

‘… So, sensei, whatever happened to you?’ A beaming Ronin asked Sakura as soon as they could meet each other properly again. ‘Looks kinda amazing! I was a monster-girl in the past, too, so ask me if you have any questions about it!’ Ronin said, grinning all widely, as they headed off with the guidance they’d received. Eventually, they reached their destination… in the scrap yard, of all places, and then there was a hatch in a pile and a rope.

‘Oh, don’t mind if I do!’ Ronin said, skipping up partly not even needing the rope as she just jumped on her own platforms materializing under her feet and dragged herself up with the rope occasionally.

“I…took a Ruby coin too fast and too hard. At least I reach the counter now. But I have a stupid fat tail for legs, and the chest can sometimes get in the way.” Sakura added…before noticing Ronin had scampered off.

“Oi, is this a joke? Fucking shit.” Sakura added, making an effort to crawl up the ladder with just her arms.

Whether by stairs or by awkward rise, they arrived at the top of the ladder. Moving inside, the structure they entered was much different from what one would expect. There were no car interiors, no further junk, and no bad smells. Instead it was split into a couple distinct areas. The left side was a mixture of a workshop and laboratory, with scientific equipment and machining tools for experiments. There was a work station set up with several computers nearby, and then tucked away in a cortner was a kitchen and other living essentials.

Near the middle of the room, by a battered table was a familiar individual. Lysandra turned to face them, her smile faltering somewhat as she got a good look at how Ronin and Sakura had changed since the last time she saw them. “Oh, you’re…different. Sorry, I’d have come up with a better entry method if i knew,” she said with at least some attempt at chagrin.

After a moment, she offered a hand to shake. “It’s good to see you both again.”

"Well, your place looks a bit… um… like shit, Risu Ann Dora." Sakura said. "You called, here we are. It's a long story. At least I am taller."

‘Ooo, science place,’ Ronin observed as she smiled around. Then she smirked at Lysandra. ‘Yea, I gained a couple inches, didn’t I? Hahaha! Though, yeah, that’s no match for what happened with Sensei!’ Ronin laughed and looked happy. Then she leaned forward and beamed at Lysandra. ‘Anyway, how’s it going!? Have you made any groundbreaking discoveries!? Any juicy intel you’ve managed to glean from your investigation or something!?’ she asked, all excited. Now, yes, she was here to guard the place, but she totally figured she had time to ask.

Glancing around, Lysandra shrugged as Sakura leveled her judgment. “It’s just a workshop where I can do experiments without drawing public attention. Most of the time anyways.” She didn’t mind it looking bad, especially since it got the job done.

Her attention was drawn away by Ronin’s enthusiasm, and she grinned in reciprocation. “I’m still working on it, but I’ve definitely learned some stuff,” she replied. Reaching over, she patted a couple sheets of paper that had been left on the table. “It’s giving me all sorts of insights into developing stronger materials, and maybe even applying elemental forces. That one’s still a theory though. I was just getting into it when all of this stuff happened.”

Sakura would just go around the room, her eyes scrolling all sorts of doo dads.Shiny things. "So who do we need to punch?" She would say.

‘Nice! I'd be interested to know how it goes in the future, too! I hope you're successful! Maybe we can get stronger with it or something, heh,’ Ronin said, smiling supportively. Then Sakura asked a relevant question…

‘Yeah, you wrote something about a mad scientist in the request. Is she coming here?’ Probably good to ask.

Lysandra nodded swiftly as they returned to the matter of hand. Stepping over to the computer, she brought up an image of a green haired woman in a lab coat. “This is Doctor Ny..Nykan? Something like that. She showed up yesterday and demanded that I hand over the material you helped me recover, and she threatened to take it by force and burn down my lab if I refused.”

She then turned to face Ronin and sakura. “The time for the ultimatum is just about expired. I figure she’ll show up any minute now."

"Bwahahaha doctor Nyan. Is she a cat or something? Don't worry Risu we will spank her sorry ass." Sakura would say, before eyeing the room a little better. "Hey kiddo, could you use the barrier thingie to reinforce the room?"

‘Doctor… Lycan? Are we at risk of being attacked by werewolves? Her hair does look pretty wolfy…’ Ronin asked, leaning forward to inspect the doctor's hair. Sakura then made a suggestion. Ronin grinned and saluted.

‘No can do, Sensei!’ she announced happily mid-salute. ‘It's too big for my magical power. I’m not a magic-build. But I can reinforce that which is most important! That is, you,’ she put a hand on Sakura and imbued some Reinforcement magic, ‘you,’ she walked forward and put a hand on Lysandra's shoulder to do the same to her, ‘and then the material itself! If it’s attached or encased in anything, I can reinforce that to give us extra time if someone tries to rip it out to steal it!’ Ronin continued, smiling proudly.

Lysandra tensed for a moment as magic washed over her, but she soon relaxed. It already made her feel stronger and more resilient, though hopefully she wouldn’t need it. “I left it in the safe over there. Figured it was the most sensible idea,” she replied as she gestured to the metal box tucked away in a corner.

Leaning against the table, she was reassured by Ronin and Sakura’s presence. No doubt they could face whatever came their way. “I also set up some traps down in the yard. They should help, as long as you don’t get caught in them by accident.”

“Right…you got any kind of water pool or something? I could show something really neat.” Sakura would then add, but she raised her electrical defenses, getting ready for the rumble.

‘Safe, eh. Well, that’ll do!’ Ronin went over and put her hands on the safe, reinforcing it and also reinforcing its connection to the surrounding material, which meant that anyone trying to take the safe would either have to break through her spell or bring a whole corner of the building. With that done, she went back to the rest, ready to wait for action.

Glancing over to Sakura, Lysandra shook her head. “I’ve got a hose, but I don’t have a pool set up-” Her thought was interrupted by a loud ‘beep’ coming from the nearby computer setup, a red light flashing to accompany it. Hurrying over, Lysandra frowned as she looked from it to the images displayed on the screens.

“They’re here,” she warned. Things were about to get hectic.

“Nyahahaha! Time’s up, Lysandra!” a deranged voice announced. “So, have you decided to preserve what’s left of your dignity and hand over Vuvoteya’s Shard, or is my carefully chosen Artifact Acquisition Team going to have to take it by force and then turn your pitiful excuse for a lab into a pile of radioactive ash?!”

If Ronin and Sakura were to head outside (or simply look at a screen linked to one of Lysandra’s surveillance monitors), they would find several robotic war machines, armed with a dizzying array of destructive implements. First, there was a line of five hovering melee drones, the energized claws at the end of each of their many tentacular appendages splayed wide. Behind them were a pair of towering, treaded war machines, each flanked by two small weapons drones, with several more waiting to be deployed from within their bulky torsos. Finally, hovering above and behind this strike force was a large weapon and sensor covered floating battle platform, from which projected a hologram of a decidedly unhinged-looking young woman wearing a pair of glowing goggles and an oversized lab coat.

“Well?!” she demanded, before her mouth curled into a maniacal grin. “I’m waiting!”

“You look like you need to get laid, bitch.” Sakura said, raising an eyebrow. “Risu Ann won’t hand you shit, you dumpster baby garbage. You disappoint me. Fight like a woman! Man! Or Woman dressed as man!” Sakura would taunt, as she charged her electricity.

Sakura then looked at Ronin, before eyeing Lysandra, her mouth becoming a rather unhinged, serpentine smile, as her jaws hung slack.

“O Heavens! Hear my command. In the name of the Dragon King! I consign you!” The dragon girl would then power up, releasing her Powerful Aura. Soon enough the weather around the place switched quickly, as water began to fall, and overcast clouds trembled with lightning around, adding even more of a barrier around Lysandra’s place.

Ronin placed a hand on the safe, focusing a bit. She placed her Big Damn Heroes token on it, on the place, so that she’d be notified AND arrive in time to stop it if the scientist thought herself clever and decided to try to steal the safe from behind their backs. Then, she ran to be at her Sensei’s side.

Honestly, these machines were pretty intimidating to her, she knew she wasn’t the strongest of Magical Girls. That said, her Sensei seemed to have the right elements for some machine carnage, so she got ready to back her up. She smirked right back at Sakura, and then put her hand on her blade, preparing for battle.

Lysandra grinned warmly as Sakura and Ronin rose so readily to her defense. This was especially welcome in the face of the monstrous machines Nykannis had brought to attack her. That was a lot more than she had been expecting, though she supposed she should be honored by the use of overwhelming force against her. It showed that Nykannis took this seriously, and validated her decision to turn to the bounty board. Poking her head out, she made her refusal clear. “No way I’m giving anything to you!”

“So, I see you’ve decided to hire some bodyguards,” the mad scientist noted with a smirk. “That’s fine. I’ve been wanting to test how these guys would fare against some of Penrose’s magical offerings, though I can’t see you two being much of a challenge,” she added with a derisive sneer. “I mean, seriously, Suckura? Is a pathetic little rainstorm really the best you can do? Here, why don’t I show you… WHAT A REAL TEMPEST LOOKS LIKE!!!”

With that, the four small weapons drones rose up into the air, where they were soon joined by a dozen more, which were launched by the twin treaded constructs in rapid succession. Their glowing, spheroid-tipped prongs spinning beneath them, the sixteen drones took up their positions and began to harness, and then amplify, the electrical power of the roiling thunderheads, before unleashing it in a mighty bolt of crackling lightning. The blinding thunderbolt struck the side of the junk pile housing Lysandra’s lab, blowing a gaping hole in the makeshift structure.

“Nyahahaha!” the mad scientist cackled. “Pretty impressive, right?! Well, there’s more where that came from!” she added as several more bolts blasted apart the various nearby junk heaps. “So, what are you waiting for?!” she demanded. “Show me what you’ve got!”

Of course, Sakura wasted no time in abusing her Sanctum perk, as she jumped into the lightning, swimming through it like it was water and energizing her aura for a round two of combat.

"That was yummy. Thanks for the meal." She said while showing a middle finger, her figure cut against the storm. "You can't hurt a *storm* dragon with that, dumbass."

"Risu, hit me with the hose. Ronin plug the gap." she would add.

“Give me a moment,” Lysandra called back, torn between blocking the hole in her wall and getting to where the hose was. It wasn’t hard to find since there was a faucet near the main administration building. She just needed a moment to get the makeshift corrugated metal in place so the robots couldn’t just walk in without any trouble.

‘Okay, Sensei!’ Ronin called and skipped into place where there’s a gap. That is, where there’s a hole in the building, I would assume. Still, Ronin really had to ask, while she prepared her sword.

‘So, how come the violent solution? Can’t scientists get along and share their discoveries? If you delegate the task of researching whatever-that-is to Lysandra here, doesn’t that free you up to research other groundbreaking stuff or something?’ Ronin asked, just because.

“Nyahahaha! Shows how little you know!” the mad scientist replied. “Lysandra’s a fourth-rate scientist at best! Due to her staggering ineptitude, she could easily destroy the artifact while trying to study it, whereas I, Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists, have the incomparable super-scientific genius necessary to glean every last nano particle of information from the shard, while still keeping it completely intact! Nyahahaha! She can have it back when I’m finished!”

With that, the Monarch of Mad Science raised a holographic arm, which sent three of the hovering melee drones darting towards the opening in the wall.

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you!” she added, sending the remaining two squid-like drones racing toward Sakura. “I wasn’t planning on hurting you with that,” the Mad Scientist Supreme informed the draconic girl with a contemptuous sneer. “I was planning on hurting you with THIS!!! Nyahahahaha!”

An instant later, every missile pod and VLS array on both the treaded constructs and the hovering weapons platform unleashed a massive salvo straight at Sakura. Even if she could shoot them all down, they would still provide ample cover for the approaching melee drones, whose energy-sheathed, polyphasic monomolecular claws promised to slice the draconic girl into bloody stew…

Sakura just tilted her head at the massive horde of attacks, before focusing. “Toys! Pfeh!” She said, as a high rise of winds manifested, propelling the draconic figure high up in the sky, the stormy winds throwing all of them off. As for the drones, a different fate approached. While they tried to nick Sakura, they would suffer a flurry of hits from an expert martial artist, redirecting their swipes into each other, and thus making the drones fall victim to their own blades, hopefully.

“Ronin, get ready to destroy the item this bitch wants.” Sakura would sneer.

Ronin wasn’t really educated enough in this matter to know how truthful the mad scientist was, and had no real reason to think the woman wasn’t either exaggerating or outright lying. Now, Sakura seemed more than happy to fight them off by herself. Ronin wasn’t about to let her fight by herself, though, even if she was stuck behind. She manifested barriers like discuses in her hands, and with a smirk spun and sent them flying at various drones and missiles flying at Sakura in order to help deflect some of the attacks for her.

Then Sakura asked her to go get ready to destroy the thing. Ronin assumed this was a bluff.

‘Okay!’ she excitedly called out, turning around and dashing back into the lab.

Having gotten those makeshift repairs in place, Lysandra was making her way out of the base as Sakura made the call to Ronin. Her eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head as she ran over. “Hey hey hey, no destroying the thing that I’m paying you to protect! Who knows if I’ll ever find another one like it!” If they could even destroy it in the first place. With how it had been made, it was a big ‘if’. But she didn’t want to take that chance, bluff or not.

Displaying her mastery of the elements, Sakura summoned a mighty blast of wind, which caused the missiles streaking toward her to smash into one another, and it wasn’t long before the entire barrage had blown itself apart in a series of fratricidal detonations. Her draconic form illuminated by the array of brilliant explosions, Sakura had only a moment’s reprieve before the two melee drones were upon her. However, the foul-mouthed monster girl was prepared for this as well, employing her many decades of martial arts training to deflect the drones’ tentacular appendages into each other, the various ultra-tech weapons mounted upon them slicing through their tri-phasic neutrino shields and nanofluidic hyperalloy armor like a lightsaber through tissue paper. Meanwhile, the trio of drones that descended upon Ronin would meet with a similar fate, being sliced apart by supernaturally sharp energy discs.

And that was about when Sakura instructed Ronin to destroy the artifact…

“The HELL?!” an incredulous Nykannis exclaimed, before Lysandra went on to express her own incredulity at such a course of action. At the sound of the other scientist’s annoyance, the Mad Scientist Supreme couldn’t help but laugh. “Nyahahaha! Holy shit, Lysandra, you sure can pick ‘em! Don’t these idiots know that they’re supposed to protect the shard?! I hope you can see now why my taking it is clearly the best thing for its continued safety,” she added with a smug smirk. “Oh, and thanks for leading me right to where it is, Roninny! I think I’ll have my spectral friend take it from here…”

With that, a shimmering of purplish light coalesced into the fearsome form of a techno-wraith, which loomed over Ronin, its energy talons ready to strike…

Meanwhile, Nykannis had turned her attention to the diminutive samurai’s draconic partner, who was even now being surrounded by the small, floating drones the treaded war machines had deployed earlier. “Come on, Suckura!” Nykannis taunted. “Is that the best you can do? Let’s see that famous Killing Blow of yours I’ve heard so much about!”

Sakura let out a deep breath as she looked at Nykannis."So you want my Killing Blow. Well you might as well have it. But it won't be on these toys. I will use it on the very target you want to seize, if I feel angered enough." Sakura would then say back to Nykannis. "Because you are a fucking coward and a thief. Not only do you hide beneath these toys, you try to poach other people's hard work."

"Ah if only you came in person perhaps I would oblige you." Sakura said, her mannerism mimicking that regal poise of Dina. "Ronin, dear, be prepared to clear the blast zone. We might not get paid, but I am not letting this so-called genius get a speck of worth out of this place."

Ronin hadn’t ran for the item itself. Assuming it to have been a bluff, she’d ran for a different corner of the lab.

She blinked as the technological wraith manifested. Not wasting a moment, she used her wind-magic to suddenly blow herself back to avoid being grasped by it, after which she planted her feet on a barrier in mid-air behind her and a hand on her sheathed sword, after which she jumped and attempted a cool quick-draw slice-through of her opponent!

Of course, then there was Sakura preparing to use her Killing Blow. Wait, she’s NOT bluffing?

Ronin made ready to grab Lysandra instead. She was probably not going to be happy about this.

Being able to phase through both energy and solid matter at will, the techno-wraith was easily able to phase through Ronin’s attack. Whirling around with lightning swiftness, it swiped at the samurai’s back with its energy claws. Thanks to her hyperactive speed, Ronin managed to keep from being completely sliced apart, but even a slight graze from so potent a weapon still resulted in a series of jagged tears in her kimono, as well as a series of painful gashes on her back. The force of the attack also had the added (and possibly helpful) effect of sending her flying towards Lysandra at an even faster speed, although she’d have to think fast if she didn’t want to crash into the panicking scientist with all the force of a wrecking ball…

Outside, while Sakura was supposedly preparing her Killing Blow, the hovering drones were setting their own countermeasure into motion, the glowing spheres at the base of their cylindrical forms spinning with dizzying speed as vast energies began to build…

“Listen you thug, I didn’t go through all that work for you to waste it,” Lysandra yelled at Sakura. She was pretty sure threatening to destroy it was supposed to be a last resort option anyway, not a first resort. Still, she did at least make an effort to meaningfully contribute. Jagged icicles were sent flying towards the drones around Sakura, battering them and helping regain control of the airspace.

She was about to head for the hose when Ronin was just as suddenly launched towards her. “Oh no-” She braced herself for a tumble, for what little good it would do.

Sakura's tongue licked her lips. "Ronin, grab the thing and keep on the run." She said, before driving herself headfirst spinning in a flurry towards the wide open drones. Turns out, she was not preparing for a killing blow, but everyone expected her to go nuts. It was a moment of confusion and hesitation,or perhaps smugness, all what was needed for her to exploit the gap in the drones attack to decimate them with her dragon martial arts. Flyers were agile, but once they stopped exerting pressure, they were easy prey.

"Maybe you lucked out this time. Maybe not." Sakura said with a hint of sarcasm. "Next is the platform. The big one. Something tells me it's important." She added, using her three sorceries to fly directly towards it.

Okay. So, Ronin was not prepared for her sword to go through a machine like it was a ghost. What even is that tech? With a burst of air she sent herself away from the enemy, but still getting a bit cut. That was an issue. ‘Why am I facing enemies I can’t cut twice in a row with you?’ she asked Lysandra mid-flight.

Stopping was no issue. She just manifested a barrier on herself and in front of herself, knocking herself into a barrier rather than into Lysandra. It hurt her shoulder, but her own reinforcement applied to herself softened the blow. She fell down to the floor and spun to face the enemy once again. Yikes, that is a pain. And this was just one of the goons? That spelled a bunch of trouble. Sakura had a command for her.

‘Right, but first, I’m gonna counter,’ Ronin said, and dashed for the techno-wraith herself. Now, she had a couple of theories on what she could do against this thing. For one, she’d previously been able to coat her sword in reinforcement magic, making it capable of hitting spectral opponents. If this thing worked on weaponized ghost-magic, then that’d be equally effective. Second was using its own talons against itself. With a barrier and some supporting air-blasts, she was sure she could reroute a strike. Lastly, she’d just have to send it flying out the building with as strong a wind-blast as she could muster…

First things first. No dashing through this opponent this time, this time she’d be trying to bait out the wraith’s attacks so she could attempt to slice with her own sword to cut the being’s arm off. That’d be a good indication of if her reinforced magic sword could cut the wraith or not. All while using air-magic to boost her agility to dodge. Should that fail, she’d just have to use a barrier to catch the arm of the next attack and then strike it so that it would go back into the creature… just the attack part, because the attack-part had to be part of this world.

A smirking Ronin was determined to show this thing wasn’t out of her league!

Managing to slow her momentum via the expert use of her twin specializations, Ronin whirled around to face the imposing techno-wraith, a cunning plan already forming itself in her mind, along with several contingencies. As it happened, the initial plan would indeed prove successful, her mystically enhanced blade finding definitive purchase in the strange entity’s spectral-mechanical arm, slicing the appendage off in a spray of sparks and ectoplasm. However, the small samurai wouldn’t have long to enjoy her little victory as the mass of tentacular mechadendrites that composed the techno-wraith’s lower body shot out to coil around her legs, seeking to ensnare her in place, while the creature’s remaining arm descended upon her, its energy talons primed to slice her head clean off her shoulders…

Meanwhile, outside, as the spinning of their glowing orbs accelerated to a fever pitch, the small, cylindrical drones found themselves besieged by a hail of ice spikes. The speed and unnatural sharpness of the enchanted projectiles allowed them to easily slice apart many of the relatively fragile drones, the rest succumbing to a flurry of blows from Sakura’s ferocious fists. Indeed, the draconic girl evidently had been merely bluffing, and now that the smaller drones had been dealt with, she moved to take out what seemed to be the lead war machine- the hovering weapons platform from which Nykannis’s holographic form continued to sneer down at her.

“Wow, good guess, Suckura!” Nykannis ‘commended’. “I suppose you’re not quite as stupid as you look! HOWEVER! Before you get to play with my command platform, I’ve got a special treat just for you! Nyahahaha!”

With that, there was a mighty burst of crackling energy as a new opponent was teleported directly in front of Sakura’s path…

“Whatdya think, Suckura?!” Nykannis asked, her eyes gleaming with maniacal glee. “Meet my Technomantic Cybermagimechanical Dragon-Chimera Bioweapon Beast! Nyahahaha!”

Sakura would only have a moment to take in the bizarre sight, before the massive creature attacked with all its impressive power…

“It sounds like you’re compensating,” Lysandra yelled back as Nykannis announced the arrival of her great weapon.

Sakura did say nothing as she saw the beast suddenly appearing in front of her. The sound of a joint snapping would have been heard, but it was drowned by the maniacal glee and flair of the doctor. So, when Sakura’s Bile attack came from her serpent-like, unhinged mouth it completely peppered the creature’s heads point blank with steam and lightning, hopefully blinding and damaging them temporarily.

“Sore..throat. Yuck.” She croaked as she grabbed hold of the creature’s huge body, in a certain martial arts move, as her sorceries flared up again. She remembered a game she used to play about a certain bounty hunter named Sambuco or something like that, hunting Mad droids or something. A certain skill came to mind. The Drill Assault? Or was it Screwattack? Yes, that would work. She began to electrify and power up her spin, intent on crashing the huge chimera against the platform.

Ronin managed to cut one of the arms! The smirk on her lips widened. She CAN fight this thing!

Then it turned out it had a lot of additional appendages.

The tentacles were too many for her to efficiently manage. She ducked and sliced, intending to remove the ones immediately grabbing at her. She then leapt backwards, while creating a small hook of a barrier along the wraith’s arm, intended to catch the slice preemptively mid-slice and make completing the slice impossible. With that, she was hopefully at a distance, and she’d start running around it with the intention of baiting more attacks and seeking an opportunity to strike the body of this metal ghostly beast.

Using her enhanced blade to free herself from the mechadendrites’ grasp, Ronin managed to not only retain her head, but even succeeded in ensnaring the techno-wraith’s remaining arm with one of her barriers. This wouldn’t hold it for long, however, but the nimble samurai was now well acquainted with the creature’s capabilities, and thus, was more than ready for it when it lunged at her again. Moving in a blur of motion, Ronin darted around her much larger opponent, making a series of quick hit and run attacks, which slowly but inexorably began to weaken the technomantic terror. The only question was, would she be able to finish it off in time to aid her draconic ally?

Meanwhile, said ally was facing off against an exceedingly bizarre monstrosity. When asked to provide her thoughts on the creature, Sakura responded by vomiting a torrent of scalding steam and crackling lightning right into the biomechanical beast’s three faces. While not nearly strong enough to cause serious harm, the attack did succeed in stunning the monster for several precious seconds. This was just enough time for Sakura to grab the giant creature and attempt to send it spinning into the command platform hovering behind it. Unfortunately for the draconic maiden, the technomantic Dragon-Chimera was not simply going to allow her to attack it and remain unscathed. Indeed, now that she was so close, its various ultratechnomystic armaments couldn’t possibly miss…

With a gurgling “Thuwurp!”, the creature’s electro-toxi-acidic tongue shot out to wrap tightly around Sakura’s body, while her arms were impaled by a pair of hyperalloy hexa-harmonic harpoons. Once she was firmly secure, a second, needle-tipped tongue would dart out to plunge into her forehead, primed to inject her with the most powerful nano-enhanced technomystic super-viruses ever devised…

“Up to me to save the day again,” Lysandra grumbled as her mind quickly worked. Both of her allies were pressed, attention fully committed to the foes that they were fighting. Her intervention needed to be swift and decisive. Luckily, fast thinking was something she was good at.

Tapping into her magic, a ball of ice was sent flying towards Sakura like an evil snowball, aimed at the second tongue as it struck just as swiftly. She had to smash the thing or divert its course, and her projectile certainly had the mass and force for that. Spinning, she then reoriented towards Ronin and began to chill the air around her and the wraith. Colder and colder the temperature plunged, to slow the monster and freeze it in place as ice began to form. Ronin might get caught too, but Lysandra was confident the girl would think of something.

Sakura was not having a good moment. Pain lacerated her body as the Chimera fought back. Her words turned into a low-key growl as the different systems seemed to hit into her. But she was far from mortally wounded. Sakura herself was half Immortal. Indeed for all its menacing attitude, the chimera and her master were exceedingly lacking in common sense. Even more than Sakura at times. Grabbing something capable of electric attacks was not a good plan. Grabbing a dragon whose powerful aura was based off storms was doubly so.

So in a sense, the thing grappling with Sakura had left itself wide open to an area of effect attack, a mix of steam, lighting and razor winds shredding everything that it touched. In a sense the chimera's own construction was its own undoing, but the lack of balanced, sturdy design on such a creature would mean Sakura's razor winds, electrified arcs and water jets would hit all of the structural weak points in the vicinity.

It was folly to lay your hands on an angry dragon after all.

"You…lack balance…"

So, Lysandra’s freezing plan didn’t entirely vibe with Ronin’s “get into close combat and cut the thing” plan, but she could adapt. Instead of trying to finish off the thing herself, the strategy was now to make sure the creature was unable to escape a chilling fate. With barriers and wind-magic to quickly get into place Ronin had good specs to ensure such a thing, just needing to blast ahead of it to barrier if possible and otherwise just try to cut to keep it in the impending freezing area.

If it’s successfully frozen, Ronin could supply a last quick slice of her blade to finish it once and for all.

While being hit with the equivalent of ten thousand lighting bolts would utterly incinerate a normal creature, being attuned to lightning herself, Sakura emerged from this onslaught completely unscathed. The same could not be said of the electro-toxi-acidic tongue’s various hypertoxins and ultra-acidic nanomachines, but even the gruesome dissolving of her scales and skin was as nothing to one such as she. Indeed, even as her flesh melted off, even as the second, needle-tipped tongue was deflected by Lysandra’s enchanted snowball, the Immortal dragon maiden launched a counter attack, sending forth a multi-pronged barrage of jagged lightning, high-pressure water jets, and hyper-velocity wind blasts.

Of course, like the draconic maiden herself, the Cybermanitc Dragon-Chimera was also mostly immune to the effects of the crackling arcs of lightning, and it was certainly tough enough to withstand some wind and water, at least, under normal circumstances. However, Sakura’s attack was far from normal… With the trained eye of an expert martial artist, the former Yakuza had carefully focused her assault on the amalgamated monstrosity’s various “weak links”, the myriad “joints” where each disparate facet of the bizarre creature were mashed together. By concentrating the full power of her strikes on these key areas, it didn’t take very much force at all to rend the biomechanical abomination completely asunder…

Yet, in its final death throes, the multifaceted monstrosity unleashed one last all-out attack, disgorging a staggering array of starkly inconceivable energies of destruction from polycyclic rotary gigablasters, transphaisc ectoplasma cannons, and duodecadestructo death rays. Sakura may have been Immortal, but how much of a fight would a bubbling lump of goo really be able to put up?

Back inside, Ronin found herself aided by Lysandra, who helpfully dealt with the techno-wraith by freezing it in enchanted ice. Normally, this wouldn’t prove much of an impediment to something that could phase through solid matter, but as Lysandra had infused the ice with her magic, it fully prevented the spectral machine entity from escaping. Now there was nothing stopping Ronin from slicing its head off, much like she had that unholy plant-dragon thing back during the big battle at the park. After that high point, she had helped save a certain fairy girl from a most unpleasant fate. Would she manage to do the same for a certain dragon girl now?

Turns out, even being partially melted wasn't stopping Sakura. The low key growl was intensifying with the more physical punishment the dragon girl was receiving, as a protective cocoon of water was clinging to her damaged form. It was this who dissipated the energy of the weapons in a severe steam explosion. Despite flesh and bones showing in several places, it was only making her more angry.

"Is that it you coward? I'm still on game." She growled, as she decided to do a last push with her draconic might, storm energies finally gathering at an alarming rate. Nykannis wanted a killing blow? Well, she would probably get it.

Ronin breathed a sigh of relief as the thing was finally cut down. Now, she turned towards the outside and Sakura… ‘Oh, yikes.’ Looked like her healing abilities were in need. While confirming that her token of heroism was still in place on the item, she dashed outside, running on her barriers in order to make sure she was able to join the battle and heal someone soon. That said, she was on her guard, as she was pretty aware she wasn’t nearly as durable as her Sensei.

“And good riddance,” Lysandra noted to no one in particular with a confident nod. Maybe it had not been entirely needed, but no one could question that her input had had an effect. She was a capable scientist too, not just some damsel in distress. She nodded to Ronin as the girl raced outside to help Sakura, pleased with her performance. “Good job,” she called. At least one person here was earning their pay.

She then turned to the ongoing fight, keeping her distance for now. DIscretion was the better part of valor with the sheer amount of firepower being thrown around. Her brow furrowed as she turned to her math, doing complex calculations in her head. More shards of ice formed in front of her, spiked ends widening out to better impale. Then she let them loose, hoping to snipe a couple of the beasts weapons and lessen the deluge of energy. There was a good chance they wouldn’t reach their target before being destroyed in mid-flight, but she did her best to negate that possibility.

Even after cocooning herself in a sphere of swirling water, and even after Lysandra destroyed several of the Cybermantic Dragon-Chimera’s myriad armaments with a volley of well-placed ice spikes, Sakura was still nearly reduced to little more than a pile of sludge as she endured the biomechanical monstrosity’s final bombardment. Thankfully, Ronin was racing to her aid, and after a quick healing spell, Sakura was back to looking roughly like her usual self.

However, the pair wouldn’t get much of a reprieve, as the two treaded war machines advanced upon them from either side, their biphase buzzsaws and monomolecular meat cleavers crackling with malignant energy. Simultaneously, their polyphasic particle beam blasters, gigatech gun clusters, and hyperacidic turbo disintegrator cannons unleashed a hail of withering firepower.

“My turn.” Sakura said, as an absolute wall of water and storm completely ate up the salvo they were about to suffer…as now the pair was standing directly in the eye of a hurricane.

“HURRICANE EMILY! Consume them all!” Sakura said, unleashing her killing blow on the machines and the platform, the storm affecting a wide area.

Now, Ronin’s immediate instinct upon being about to be fired upon was to dodge out of the way. No way her Mag 7 barriers could resist that amount of pure firepower. Except, well, Sakura had a different idea. Given a whole lot of more mag, maybe not that surprising. With a hurricane forming around them, Ronin took on defensive duty against anything that might still break through, with her ability to use barriers to gain foothold in mid-air to dodge and place diagonal barriers to just redirect any attacks that might break through towards her and Sakura…

Or maybe Sakura’s got this, then Ronin was just along for the ride.

Lysandra’s eyes widened as Sakura unleashed her Killing Blow, and she quickly used ice magic to freeze her feet in place. She might not be the target, but she did not want to be swept away either. She regretted so much right now.

With a terrifying expulsion of mystic power, a mighty vortex of water and wind took shape around Ronin and Sakura, one which absorbed or deflected every aspect of the war machines’ barrage. Its destructive energies swirling with even greater frenzy, “Hurricane Emily” set to work utterly annihilating the three remaining drones. A flechette storm of junkyard debris, hurled at over three hundred thousand kilometers per second sliced the treaded juggernauts into ribbons, while the hovering command platform was blown apart by ten million hyper-charged lighting bolts. Once the hypercane’s condensed fury had finally subsided, it was clear to see that nothing remained of Nykannis’s artifact acquisition team, save a few mangled parts. It was from one of these that a flickering holographic image of the mad scientist emerged to grin at the pair of bodyguards, seemingly unbothered by the devastation they had wrought upon her creations. In fact, she seemed almost pleased…

“Wow, that was actually pretty impressive!” She commended, while slowly clapping her hands. “I mean, I’ve never seen an area of effect Killing Blow before! Hell, I didn’t know something like that was even possible in this reality plenum! I’m going to have SO much fun implementing that into Phase Two! Nyahahaha!” she added, rubbing her hands together in maniacal glee. “Oh, but don’t go thinking we’re done here!” she clarified as a wicked grin spread across her face. “You still have one more opponent to face, and I’ve saved the best for last…”

With that, the massive techno-pyramid from which the artifact acquisition team had been deployed dropped its stealth and cloaking fields to reveal its full imposing majesty. A moment later, the quadrupedal assembly beneath it detached, sending shockwaves throughout what remained of the junkyard as it landed in front of Ronin and Sakura, its titanic form towering over them, while its myriad weapons systems charged with vast technomystic power…

“I’m bad at giving up, coward.” Sakura would sneer, her magic completely depleted, and facing the monstrosity with resignation. How could she face the people she had made boasts before if she could not deliver? No. She would deliver, even if it was apparent she should have died earlier, and she was barely holding together. “Get ready. Let’s stagger this thing. Ronin, you’ll be dealing the last blow.”

So she crawled into the mud, abandoning all grace, like an eel. She felt so tired, so almost about to pass out, but she drew breath in the murky water and mud alongside the scraps of metal and asphalt, each breath more laborious than the other. She pointed with her sight at Lysandra, and then the water that was pooling under the other thing’s support.

This thing had only four points of support. On a terrain that would become increasingly slippery. And Sakura was working into one of them, softening the terrain, creating a quagmire by digging with her movement, despite getting all dirty inside the mud, as she sought to trap the vehicle in a dragon-created bog. She would keep stubbornly doing this until she would pass out finally.

Ronin spent a moment being absolutely amazed at the havoc Sakura had been able to wreak on the enemy. However, it did occur to her that this was a Killing Blow, and Sakura should be spent after this… and their opponent wasn’t near done. Big thing appearing. ‘Woah. You’re giving Eggman and Wily a run for their money. Are you from some tech-dimension? Where did you find all this?’ Ronin spouted out because that’s what she does when not distracted. Then, Sakura told her she would be making the final blow. Now, Ronin had her doubts that she’d be able to do it… that said, she did manage to decapitate a dragon, something she also thought she was incapable of doing. So she grinned and trusted her mentor who trusted her.

‘I’ll do it, Sensei!’ she called, as she placed a hand on her sword to imbue it with a reinforcement boost of sharpness and power. That’s why she then dashed up into the air, running on her own periodically forming barriers. There was no way that thing wasn’t going to try to defend itself, but for her role to play Ronin needed to be close, so she dashed for it, ready for sudden dodges as she tried to get close enough to slice it! To begin with, maybe slice the legs to help with the toppling part, to then prepare to leap for the center later!

“Nyahahaha! You bet your ass I am!” Nykannis cackled in response to Ronin’s inquiry. “In fact, the universe I come from is more advanced than a Neanderthal like you could possibly imagine! And I didn’t find these things,” she clarified pointedly. “I MADE them! Nyahahaha! You’re dealing with the creations of the Mad Scientist Supreme!”

And speaking of dealing, while Sakura could do little more than slither through the mud on her belly in an ultimately pointless attempt to immobilize the monolithic behemoth, Ronin raced into action, darting across her barrier platforms with impressive speed.

“So, finally playing the part of the pathetic worm you are, huh, Suckura?” Nykannis taunted. “You do realize I wasn’t even planning on having it move around to begin with, right?! Nyahahaha!”

Indeed, in light of its staggering arsenal, the gargantuan engine of destruction had little need of mobility, a fact it soon demonstrated by unleashing an onslaught of turbo-tachyonic zero point hyperbores, polyphasic quantum singularity cannons, omni-oscillating cosmic string projectors, hyperdimensional homing lasers, transwarp chronocyclonic infinite annihilator rays, negaspheric ultra-antimatter disintegrator missiles, and even a barrage of glittering c-beams for good measure.

However, Ronin’s small size and supernatural swiftness made her an exceedingly elusive target. Her movements were like those of a leaf on the wind, the diminutive samurai’s Air Spec allowing her to move at speeds far exceeding what her physical abilities could accomplish alone. Indeed, she soon found herself so close to the technomantic colossus that its most powerful weapons were unable to target her. Of course, that still left the smaller, anti-personnel rotary cannon clusters and sub-munition flechette projectors, not to mention the writhing, energy-clawed mechadendrites, but Ronin was on a mission! Lysandra and her Sensei were counting on her! This was her moment, her time to shine! This was Ronin’s chance to be a hero!

Would she succeed in making the most of it?

Whelp, nothing else to it.

As uncountable beams of hysterical firepower blew in her direction and probably in the direction it predicted she was heading as well, Ronin’s heart was at the edge of her throat as she swung left and right with air-spec redirecting her and kicks to barriers allowing sudden and immediate redirection when necessary. Dodging through this real-life bullet-hell with her hair standing on end, Ronin approached closer, clothes flowing, hair fluttering and sword held out to her right, ready to swing.

When she got closer the anti-personnel weapons flared up, but compared to the bigger guns these were within the amount of firepower that Ronin could block with barriers. So, grabbing a barrier as a shield and projecting herself with air-spec, she sent herself straight into the giant robot!

The sword sunk into the robot, but of course, being moderately tiny it wasn’t possible for Ronin to actually cut it in half with her diminutive size. So she spun on the spot, charged all her power, and BLASTED OFF!

‘CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!’ Ronin cried out as she used air-spec and running-in-midair to run really really fast around the robot with her enchanted sword still stuck inside it, intending to carve it open as a fruit as she did more and more damage dashing around the being with her shield up with her other arm for the smaller guns if they could hit her as she propelled herself as quickly as possible to slide the sword through the metallic creature over and over and over and around and around and around and around until the components of her opponent split apart-!

As Ronin charged towards the towering technomantic war machine so that she could hit it with her sword, any observer would immediately call to mind the story of David and Goliath. There seemed no conceivable way such a small and admittedly under-powered magical girl like her could ever hope to even dent such an imposing colossus, and yet, on Ronin came, utterly undaunted by the hail of bullets, the blinding light show of beams, and the writhing whirlwind of mechadendrites, which all sought to snuff out her fragile existence. Unlocking her hidden potential, Ronin sliced her way through the tangle of metallic tendrils until she had reached the behemoth’s main body, at which point she drove her sword deep into its bowels…

Although a normal blade would be utterly incapable of even scratching the machine’s nanofluidic hyperalloy armor, this was a magic sword, further enhanced with potent mystic power, and wielded with expert skill. Still, Ronin knew that such a minor wound would not fell an opponent of this size, and so she began to run, forming a series of barriers beneath her feet, with yet another shining disc positioned to shield her from further attack. Glowing like a comet heralding inescapable doom, the small samurai raced around the towering engine of destruction with blinding speed, her blade creating a jagged, spiraling gash, from which spilled sickly green fluid and sparks. Upon reaching the summit of this metaphorical Everest, Ronin leapt into the air as the technomantic titan’s guts spilled out amidst the flashes of several small explosions, followed by a monstrous detonation, which cast her diminutive form in sharp relief as she hung suspended against the sky. Landing amidst a shower of flaming debris, Ronin would see that there was now nothing left of the gigantic war machine, save a smoldering crater and a few mangled parts.

“Holy shit! That was some display!” Nykannis commended, clearly impressed. “You’ve got spirit, kid, I’ll give ya that! Y’know,” the mad scientist added as her holographic form surveyed the blasted battlefield. “You two certainly gave my creations one hell of a workout! I’ll be able to make ‘em twenty times more powerful with all this new data you’ve so kindly provided! Oh, and thanks for focusing all your attention on them, so I could have my stealth probe analyze the shard uninterrupted! After all, I don’t need to borrow it now that I ran all the necessary tests on it while you guys were busy fighting! Nyahahaha!”

With that, the flickering hologram faded out of existence, while overhead, the hovering techno-pyramid teleported away with a loud “Zzzrrrop!”, amidst crackling arcs of yellowy-green lightning.

Silence descended for several moments with the disappearance of the mad scientist and her creations. Lysandra’s head was practically on a swivel as she looked between Ronin and Sakura, too dumbfounded to even be mad that they had somehow lost even when they won. Well, she still had the shard, so she’d call it a win regardless.

“Penrose Girls really are something else,” she muttered as she turned to begin surveying the damage to her workshop.

‘OH MY GOD did you see that!? Sensei! Sensei That was awesome! I am awesome! You are awesome! We are awesome!’ an ecstatic Ronin didn’t really entire register that part about disguised drones. Seeing how the token on the item they were protecting hadn’t been disturbed she knew it was safe, she was now just dashing for Sakura to see if she needed more healing, and if so would absolutely provide it.

Sakura was absolutely spent and wrecked, dirt still clinging to her. "Afraid not, Ronin." She would cough up as she slithered towards the duo. "But that jerk is not here so you showed her good. Next time we will feed her own ass to her."

‘We absolutely will! Good work, Sensei!’ Ronin called and helped heal Sakura some more. ‘Lysandra? Are you doing alright? Were we good, or what?’ she asked the one who hired them with a grin.

Lysandra paused as she was addressed, returning her focus to the duo as they began to recover from the fight. “If you want to hunt her down, you’ll have to do that on your own time,” she observed. However, after a moment she gave them a smile and a nod. “Despite my disapproval of some of the tactics used, you both did a good job in the end. I knew I was asking for help from the right people.”

"I am an immortal dragon and she is a samurai…kinda… we honour our deals, Tie Anders." Sakura would try to say, looking regal but still very wobbly. "Now… what about the payment?"

“Work on standing up first, then I’ll pay you,” Lysandra replied. It had been tough, but they had won. Once she had fixed the stuff that was broken, she could return to her research. Hopefully life would be a bit less stressful from now on.

‘Wonderful! Hey, Sensei, to celebrate, when we get back, I'll buy you a drink!’ Ronin called happily, then leaned in to whisper. ‘It's a secret, buuuuut, I can transform my body to look any age out-of-battle, I can get you whatever~’

Sakura tried to adjust herself to her best,as she eyed Ronin. “Oppai…” She trailed off.

‘Eh?’ Ronin had to take a moment. She smiled widely though. ‘I don't know what that is, but I'll do my best to get it to you!’ she said. That's a lie, she knew exactly what it was.

Whether Sakura would receive her gift or not was a story for another time. Right now, it was a time to rest and recover from their difficult battle. At least no one could claim they had not earned their reward.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Penny felt that there was something uncomfortably final about stepping back into Penrose and letting the Overcity passage snap shut behind her. She was only just now returning from getting let go by Beacon’s higher ups and it was starting to truly settle that she had turned away simply because she wasn’t human.

Her mind raced as she contemplated everything that would need to change now, Beacon couldn’t be counted on as a resource for supplies anymore. She needed to open up her own network more now, rather than piggy backing on others, there was just no end to the work she had to do once more.

‘I need to tell Alicia.’ the thought slipped in through the blizzard of other thoughts, and just as quickly stilled all of them. Penny doubted her friend would turn on her because of this, but that didn’t mean it didn’t bring a fresh wave of hurt. That her friendship with Alicia put Alicia at risk from Beacon.

Penny drew up Alicia’s contact ready to send out a text with an explanation, when she hesitated. This wasn’t something to leave to just text. She waited a few more moments just looking at the number wondering if the risk to Alicia was worth the comfort of hearing from her friend.

The desire to hear from her friend, perhaps for the last time won out, and a moment later she placed the call.

Penny let out a tired greeting the moment Alicia picked up. “Hey, I’m back.” her voice crackled on the line, her emotions disrupting the connection despite her normal flawless control.

Alicia answered on the third ring, and although she did not know what had happened, the crackling did indicate to her that something was amiss. “Hey. Alright, what happened?”

"I was given an ultimatum." Penny answered softly. "I was told that I had to give up Beacon's blessings or give up my mechanical nature." She started walking after that, though where she was headed was anyone's guess.

"I don't know if they realized that it would probably kill me to try and remove my machine qualities at this point." She would continue on, another crackle skittering across the line. "Or that the Sanctuary would lose all faith in me."

"Not entirely sure that they cared either."

"They were kind enough to let me leave without incident though." Silver linings, sometimes you had to keep them in mind as they were the only solace you got.

Silence descended for several moments, Alicia simply processing what Penny was telling her. The emotions that rose in her were a clash of aligned ones, sadness and anger and all besides. Eventually it was a self-assigned task that provided focus “Where are you? I’m on my way.”

“I’m…” It took a moment for Penny to look around and find the answer to that, partially due to her disorientation, partially due to the main Overcity passage in Penrose having a habit of moving around. “I’m on twenty third and Cobalt avenue.” She would answer as she jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building. “On the roof of the axe throwing place.” She found a little niche where she couldn’t see the road and sat down to wait.

”Hang tight, I’ll be there ASAP.” Alicia told her with all the force of a command. She then hung up, if only so she could focus on getting there faster. This was not the sort of conversation she wanted to have over the phone, not with someone so close to her.

True to her word, she soon arrived at Penny’s location. Clambering up the fire escape, she gracefully swung onto the roof of the axe throwing establishment. “Penny, you still here?” she asked as she oriented herself.

"Here" Penny would reply. She was sitting next to the rooftop AC unit, her knees drawn up to her chest and she leaned her head back on the AC unit. Physical Penny looked fine, if not for the exhausted slump of her shoulders.

Her eyes were blue however, not gold. There was a bit of solace in the fact they weren't red however.

Making her way over, Alicia sat down with her legs crossed next to Penny. At least she didn’t seem to be angry about how things were going, which was a bit more than the Paladin herself could say in these circumstances. “On behalf of all sane people, sorry.”

Penny gave a snort at that. “We willingly live in Penrose, not sure any of us can still be called that.” Her voice was a bizarre mix of flat and watery. “And It’s not like I didn’t see it coming.” She would continue on “It took the girls at Beacon HQ here months to get used to me and I got the feeling the Ecclesiarch hasn’t changed her mind on something in closer to years.”

“True,” Alicia agreed with a sigh of her own. Her head fell, gaze drifting downwards as it became wrapped in visions that drifted past. “Still, they were willing to let you in there and even give you an audience. I duno, I guess I kinda hoped that things might be turning for the better.”

After a moment she looked over to her friend. “I suppose this whole plan of mine was going a bit too well, yeah?”

“I hoped the same thing” Penny would admit. “I was just too chaotic, too controversial, I guess.” A large part of the reason it hurt so much was because it felt like it was targeted at Penny as a person rather than just because she was a monster girl.

That said, she cared too much to let all hope die out here. “Louhi mentioned that an alliance might still be on the table.” It didn’t count as reaching out just by bringing it up did it? “And they did let me walk out. Even knowing about the Sanctuary.” She thought that was a nice precedent at least. It wasn’t even footing, but it was a step up compared to before.

“One can hope,” Alicia agreed. At the same time, some part of her couldn’t help but wonder whether it was because they didn’t expect Sanctuary to be of concern for much longer, once Wonderland was done with whatever their scheme was. But she did her best to suppress such cynical views. Maybe authority was making her jaded.

In spite of these difficulties, she did not want things to end here. Especially after the offer Penny had made when they were first addressing the Wonderland issue. ”Regardless of what my antique bosses say, I’m still your friend.”

“Never doubted that” Penny would say, her voice hitching in the middle. She’d reach over and place a hand on Alicia’s shoulder giving it a soft squeeze. “Never doubted you” Which was true. That didn’t help the fear that had cropped up that someone in Beacon would try and force Alicia out of Penrose. But Alicia abandoning her? That wasn’t something Penny allowed herself to think about.

Still, the reassurance did help soothe the hurt. Kept it a flowing sorrow rather than letting it stagnate into more anger. She had more than enough of that emotion in her systems without adding this into it.

“I have to say I’m kinda proud of myself.” Penny would speak up after a moment, not really letting herself get dragged down by her emotions even as she did her best to work through them. “It’s a lot harder to process sa… Sa..” She would swallow down the words that she couldn’t quite vocalize. “This” she would gesture at herself. “Without the ability to cry.” It felt like it was just getting bottled up and pressurized, but she couldn’t let that happen, it wouldn’t end well if she did. “But I’m doing it, not a hint of red, nor a drop of Jason here. Just me”

“It’s just me.” She would repeat as she slumped against the AC unit. “Why? Why couldn’t they see that I’m just me?” Penny was shaking slightly and if one didn’t hear her they would never be able to guess that she was breaking down. Because her sorrow hardly touched her face. She shed no tears, her face did not flush. She just shook slightly, and silently.

Though there had been little doubt, Alicia was glad that Penny reciprocated the feeling. It would have been petty to hold this against her, but she also didn’t want her doing something like severing ties simply out of reflex. Cut and run, before any harm came down on either of them. So at least they didn’t have that to worry about.

Still, for how much Penny claimed she was alright, the fact that she was slipping into repetition was telling. Leaning over, she wrapped an arm around Penny from behind to provide the same support that her friend had shown her moments ago. ”Hey, hey, it’s alright. It sounds like you need to vent as much as I do. I mean, we are on top of a building that specializes in hitting stuff with sharp objects, which is preferable to some of the alternatives. I think.”

Penny let out a strained laugh. Wrenching herself out of a downward spiral was hard, but Alicia just being here and so willing to show support helped. Alot.

She also agreed that axe throwing probably was a healthier outlet than most options they had available. “Yeah, no need to hide the mess either, they’ll already know where it came from.” She was worried that it would cause her sorrow to bleed into anger, but hopefully with Alicia there it would simply blunt into frustration?

It would be an interesting challenge as well, keeping her attention on modulating her strength so that she didn’t chuck the axe through a wall or something. So perhaps all those factors together would keep her from drifting too far into the red?

“I guess I’m game if you are” Penny would say after thinking about it a bit more, sounding not normal, but steadied.

Nodding, Alicia smoothed her outfit as she rose to her feet. ”Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll try and keep up, Miss Aimbot,” She gave Penny a wink and a grin to indicate her barb was made in jest as she prepared to head down to ground level. She was curious to see how this would go.

“Not sure how well that carries over if I’m honest.” Penny would mention as she followed after Alicia. She hadn’t ever fought or even used any skills close to that realm of possibility while sealed. “Besides, you’re the one with the hoodoo. No telling what you can get an axe to do.”

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Connie was painting in her room, when she heard a knock on the window. Going over to it, she was greeted with the cheerful visage of Magical Dream Princess. “Hi, Connie Wonnie~! (giggle!)” the bubbly visitor said with an energetic wave. “Like, can Magical Dream Princess pretty pretty please come insidey widey~?”

“O-Oh! O-Of course!” Connie replied, a little startled by her friend’s sudden appearance. “P-Please come in!” she added with a smile as she opened the window.

“Like, thankie wankies~! (giggle!)”

After stepping inside, MDP gave voice to a squeal of delight, her eyes going wide. “Wowie zowie~! You have sooooo many super duper adorable worable stuffed animal wanimal thingy wingies in heresie~! (giggle!) And, like, so many pretty witty picture wictures, too~!” she added, jumping up and down with childish glee. “Like, did Connie Wonnie paint all of them herselfy welfy~?!”

“Y-Yes, I d-did,” Connie confirmed. “W-Well, all e-except that one,” she clarified, pointing to the drawing Oros had given her. “A-And t-thanks so much!” she added with a slight blush and a big smile. “I-I’m r-really glad y-you like them!”

“Like, they remindy windy Magical Dream Princess of the picture wictures Priscilla Willa makey wakies~! (giggle!)” MDP noted as she took a closer look at each painting in turn. “She’s a friendy wendy who works at Daddy Waddy’s company wompany~!” the bubbly girl explained. “She’s, like, super duper brainy wainy and super duper talented walented and super duper nicey wicey, too, and Magical Dream Princess thinky winkies Connie Wonnie would like her lots and lots~!”

“S-She s-sounds really n-nice,” Connie agreed.

“Magical Dream Princess just wishes she could make pretty witty picture wictures like Connie Wonnie and Priscilla Willa, too…” MDP said with a small frown.

“U-Umm, i-if you’d l-like, I c-could teach you s-some of the b-basics,” Connie offered, causing her friend’s demeanor to brighten up considerably.

“Wowie zowie~! Like, could you~?!” MDP asked excitedly. “Could you~?! Could you~?! Could you~?!”

“S-Sure!”

“Yaaaay~!” MDP cheered. “Painting wainting party~! Painting wainting party~! (giggle!) Oh!” she exclaimed as a realization finally worked its way inside her ADHD addled brain. “Like, where’s Mia Wia~?” the whimsical girl asked, tilting her head in puzzlement. “Isn’t she always heresie weresie with Connie Wonnie~?”

“O-Oh, M-Mia’s out on a d-date with her b-boyfriend,” Connie explained. “I-I think t-they went to f-find s-some rare f-flower and then h-have a m-meal together.”

“Golly wolly~! That soundy woundies super duper adorable worable~!” MDP observed with a joyful smile as she plopped herself down on Connie’s bed and began idly kicking her legs. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would wuv to go on more dates with Penny Wenny, but we’re both sooo super duper busy wisy…” she sighed, before brightening up again a moment later. “So, like, does Connie Wonnie have a super duper special wecial wuvy dovey person werson, too~?”

“O-Oh! U-Ummm, n-not r-right n-now,” Connie stammered, her face turning a bright crimson. “I-I m-mean, i-it’s n-not t-that I d-don’t w-want a b-b-boyfriend,” she continued. “I-It’s just t-that I-I’m p-perfectly f-fine w-with w-waiting! B-But, u-umm, w-why d-don’t w-we t-talk about y-you and P-Penny?” she asked, desperate to change the subject. “I-I’ve a-always been c-curious about h-how t-the two of y-you met.”

“Oh, Magical Dream Princess would totally wotally wuv to tell Connie Wonnie about that~! (giggle!)” MDP replied happily. “So, like, Magical Dream Princess first met Penny Wenny when she was helping welping protecty wecty the Sanctuwantuary from those meanie weanie Minty Winty people weple, and, like, as soon as Magical Dream Princess saw Penny Wenny, she got a super duper big crushy wushy on her~” the whimsical girl explained, her face taking on a particularly dreamy expression, while a blush began to color her cheeks. “But, like, she couldn’t tell Penny Wenny how she felt right thensie, ‘cause, like, Penny Wenny had lots and lots of super duper important wortant stuffy wuffy to do, so, like, Magical Dream Princess knew she had to wait until the right timey wimey, and it was a super duper good thingy wingie she did, ‘cause, like, a few days later water, she and Penny Wenny would have their very wery first date togetherwether~! (giggle!) Like, it all started when Magical Dream Princess read about how this meanie weanie ghosty wosty was bothering wothering people weple at this schooly wooly placey wacey, and she agreed to helpy welpy make it go bye bye…”

---

Test of Courage

Starring:
‘Mister Roboto’ Penny Asimov
“Tastes like sprinkles” Magical Dream Princess

Outside of Penrose proper, life continued on mostly as normal. There had been an influx of people evacuating the city that had disturbed things for a bit, but life had soon returned to normal. People worked, played, lived their lives, did normal things. Some day Penrose would return to that norm, though today was not that day.

It was to one of the high schools in a nearby town that Penny and Magical Dream Princess would be summoned. It was night time, when they would be able to work without being disturbed by civilians getting in the way and possibly putting themselves in danger. The school was a modest three story building, made of brick and stone in a ‘u’ shape. It was an older building, that much was clear from the design and layout of the place.

Across the street, a girl stood near a bench and a street lamp. She all but exuded anxiety, glancing between her surroundings and her watch as she waited. This was her first time placing a bounty, and even with her desperate situation she was still nervous about how it would go. Who knew what the girls she had hired would actually be like?

Unfortunately for her, it was a bit too late to simply cancel the whole thing. They’d be here any second now. She could only hope that they would be up to the task they had agreed to.

While the girl glanced around nervously she would perchance happen to notice a small flicker of light from above. At first it was little more than a twinkling star but that light would rapidly descend as a mote of pure white seemingly descended from the heavens to land gently at the meeting site. It would stay there twinkling softly for a moment before rapidly ballooning in size before just as rapidly contracting into a silhouette.

From there the light would slowly fade away revealing Penny in all her casual glory. She was relaxed and unhurried and held herself with a notable amount of confidence. She would examine the surroundings before giving the nervous girl a nod and moving to stand near her. “Hey there, you the one who posted the bounty about the school?”

Before the girl could respond, a sparkling pink cloud appeared overhead, with a cheerful looking girl riding atop it.

Recently, Violet had taken to scanning Glimmer as a way of locating problems that she might assist with as Magical Dream Princess. The bounty listings, in particular, had been an excellent discovery in this regard. Indeed, it was due to one such exceptionally urgent cry for help catching her eye, that the refined heiress-turned-whimsical magical girl now found herself in front of an old school building in the middle of the night.

“Ta daaa~!” MDP announced as she slid down a glowing rainbow and struck a cute pose. “Magical Dream Princess is here to make that big scary wary meanie weanie go bye bye, and, like, give everybodywody sweet dreamy weamies again~! (giggle!) Wowie zowie~!” she exclaimed after realizing that she wasn’t alone. “Like, Penny Wenny’s heresie, too~?! Goodie woodie~! (giggle!)” she squealed with delight. “Like, Penny Wenny and Magical Dream Princess can fight that big meanie weanie together wether~! This is gonna be, like, sooo much fun~! (giggle!)”

“Eep!” A startled yelp escaped as the girl flinched backwards with the descent of the two magical girls. Wide eyes first fell upon Penny, Foreign metal, looming and intimidating even in a lithe grace. She felt inadequate just standing next to the girl. Then the other girl made her entrance. The contrast was about as stark as night and day. She was exuberant, whimsical, almost overwhelming for someone whose nerves were as frayed as the girl already were.

But she managed to hold it together, small steps carrying her forward as she did her best to keep herself from trembling with the myriad of thoughts that swirled through her head. “T-T-That’s right,” she confirmed quickly. “I….I set the bounty.”

A hand rose, pointing to the darkened school that rested across the street. “It’s in t-there.” She just wasn’t sure where. After it had all gone wrong, she had not been able to work up the determination to really go and investigate personally. It was much too scary.

Penny would regard MDP with a smile “Good to see you again Dream Princess” She would say giving the excitable girl a wave. “This hunt is going to be a good one if you're along for the ride as well I can feel it.” Bringing Hope to the downtrodden, getting a chance to play around with an amazingly fun magic, and punching ghosts in the face? Yeah, this whole thing was right up Penny’s alley.

Turning her attention back towards the nervous girl she would soften her smile to a more reassuring one “Don’t worry, me and Dream have got this covered easy.” She would offer a hand to bounty poster “I’m Penny Asimov, pleased to meet you. Will you be staying out here or joining us?”

“Like, it’s totally wotally okie dokie if you don’t want to~!” MDP told the clearly frightened girl with a reassuring smile. “Like, that’s what we’re here for, after allsie~! (giggle!)” The girl reminded MDP a little bit of Connie, which just made the whimsical magical girl want to help her even more. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess totally wotally forgot something womething super duper important wortant~! She, like, totally wotally forgot to ask what your namey wamey was~! Friendy wendies should, like, always know each other’s namey waymies~!” she added, holding up a finger for emphasis, as if she was imparting an extremely important fact. “And we’re, like, totally wotally friendy wendies nowie, so we should, like, totally wotally do that~! (giggle!)”

The girl seemed to get a bit more comfortable with time and exposure, though only some. She was still fairly awed and overwhelmed by both girls that she had hired for this bounty. But if there was anyone who could handle her problem, it seemed to be them.

Carefully the girl reached out to gently shake Penny’s hand, though she pulled back almost on instinct when her hand was released. “I’m Leona,” she replied, before quickly shaking her head. “I’d….prefer to stay here.” She had messed things up plenty already. She didn’t want to make it worse.

Penny was sure to keep her grip light while she shook hands, and didn't take Leona's skittishness personally. "That's perfectly fine Leona." Penny would say with a nod. "Only one last question in that case. Is there some kind of focus or totem keeping the thing here?"

“Like, it’s super duper nice to meet you, Leona Wona~! (giggle!)” MDP told the timid girl with a happy smile. Then Penny asked her question, and the whimsical girl’s smile grew even wider. “Wowie zowie~! You’re, like, sooo knowledgeable woledgable about ghosty whosty stuffy wuffy, huh, Penny Wenny~?! Magical Dream Princess thinks that’s, like, sooo super duper cool~! (giggle!)”

“Ummm….” The girl paused, racking her brain as she sought to answer Penny’s question. Knowing that she didn’t need to go in there personally made it a bit easier, though there were still some scary memories related to the event, “I-I’m not...sure. But I d-dit the tt-thing in the second story art room. It...It would be there p-probably.”

Penny would glance at the school for a moment, her eyes glowing brighter for a second before nodding. “I feel bad for Miss Grotke.” She would murmur before turning back to Leona. “We’ll take care of it, thank you.”

And with that Penny would turn and start walking towards the school. Hesitating only so long as it took to verify that MDP was following along as well. “Not sure I’d agree to that last compliment.” She would say once they were enough distance away from Leona. “I’ve just got access to google twenty four seven and a willingness to ask it questions whenever I need to” She would dead pan. Even though it was true that Penny knew a fair amount about how Spirit magic worked, but out of old fear and new hate.

“Side question, how good is your magic at repairs?”

“Wowie zowie~! Penny Wenny can use google woogle all the timey wimey~?” MDP asked as she skipped along next to Penny, seemingly oblivious to their forbidding surroundings. “That’s gotta be, like, super duper helpful welpful~! (giggle!) Especially wecially right nowie~!” the whimsical girl added, her cute voice filled with excited energy. “Cause, like, Magical Dream Princess’s memory wemory is, like, super duper terrible werrible when she’s Magical Dream Princess, but, like, that won’t be a problem woblem if she’s with Penny Wenny~! (giggle!)”

Penny went on to ask MDP if her magic was capable of repairing things, and the childish girl’s face took on a thoughtful expression. “Weeeell… Magical Dream Princess never really tried to use her magic wagic to fixy wixy anythinigie wingie beforesie, so she, like, doesn’t really know if she can… And, like, all the thingie wingies she ever wever used her magic wagic on kinda winda went back to normal wormal whenever she stopped being Magical Dream Princess…” The formerly bubbly girl was looking rather glum by this point. “Super duper sorries, Penny Wenny…”

“Don’t worry about it Princess” Penny would say waving away the dour reply. “I’m just thinking ahead. Rampaging ghosts tend to throw things, so I’m wondering if there is anything we can do to help fix the damages that might come about.” She would explain, intentionally omitting that she felt that most of the damage would come from Penny being the one thrown around.

“And yeah I’ve got access to all the wonders of the internet” She would admit with a chuckle “Makes normal patrolling much less of a slog when I’ve got youtube up in the background.” Plus any number of other things she could be scrolling though. She tended not to bother with such in fights though. She preferred to give those all of her attention, even if her opponent didn’t need such.

“Ouch, seems like a steep drawback” She would wince a bit at MDP’s admittance about recall issues while transformed. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was due to the Dream Magic, or MDP’s Patron that were the cause of it.

“Would a dream journal help?” Penny would ask “Because you could probably make a book with your magic that holds the memories that are more important for you so you aren’t as lost in dreams while you are transformed.” She would offer up as an idea. She had no idea if it would work, but who knew with Dream magic.

“Maybe waybe~?” MDP replied, her countenance brightening up a bit. “Magical Dream Princess doesn’t really know all that much about how her magic wagic works, she just does what feely weelies right~! (giggle!) And, like, she normally wormally doesn’t really mindy windy how terrible werrible her memory wemory is, ‘cause she’s having, like, sooo much super duper fun~! (giggle!)” MDP explained cheerfully, apparently finding her memory issues more amusing than troublesome, as was often the case for the childishly carefree girl. “But, like, sometimey wimeies she really really needs to remember wember something womething super duper bad, and then she has a big problem woblem! It’s okie dokie, though,” she added with a wink and a happy giggle. “Cause, like, that’s when she does the thinky winky dance, and then everythingie wingie is aaaaall better~! (giggle!)” she explained bouncing up and down with glee. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess is totally wotally gonna make one of those dream diary thingie wingies, ‘cause it soundy woudies like it’ll be super duper fun~! (giggle!)”

Conjuring a glittery jump rope, she began skipping backwards with it, so she could face Penny while they talked.

“Like, can you believe that Magical Dream Princess actually wactually has a photography waphy memory wemory when she’s not Magical Dream Princess~?!” the playful girl asked with a great deal of enthusiasm. “Cause, she, like, totally wotally does~! (giggle!)” she added with a pleased smile, clearly proud of that fact, even as her whimsical magical girl self.

“Lucky” Penny would remark about the ability to just go with the flow of one’s magic. “My specs are all too grounded to be able to really do that” She would add, not to mention her aptitudes meant that active casting required much more focus then one would normally need. Still she noted that it sounded like an inherent quality of Dream magic, which made sense due to the flighty nature of dreams.

She would also let out a chuckle at the backwards skip rope demonstration. Tempted to join in, she refrained as it would leave quite the trail if she wasn’t careful. Instead she would mimic the Dream conjuring to make a yo-yo, a sky blue yoyo with a large smiling star on either side. One which she easily started to yo-yo with as the two of them walked and talked.

“I take it you’re rather smart then” She would go on with the conversation. “Do you pretend to not remember inconsequential things? As I do that, tends to freak people out less.” She would explain, figuring that MDP was smart enough to also pick up on what Penny wasn’t explicitly saying.

“Magical Dream Princess is, like, super duper smart, when she’s her normal wormal selfy welfy~! (giggle!)” MDP replied happily. “She’s, like, a total wotal genius wenius~! But, like, why would she pretendy wendy not to remember wember something womething~?” she asked, sounding rather confused. “Like, when Magical Dream Princess is her normal wormal selfy welfy, it’s super duper important wortant that she lets people weple know just how super duper smart she is~! She would never ever pretendy wendy to be a dummy wummy~!” she continued, seemingly finding the idea of hiding her intelligence utterly inconceivable. “Like, the only reason she acts like a dummy wummy when she’s Magical Dream Princess is because she really is a dummy wummy when she’s Magical Dream Princess~! (giggle!) But, like, if Penny Wenny does that, then she must be a super duper smarty warty too~!” the whimsical girl exclaimed, her eyes filling with stars.

Her admiration for her mechanical companion only grew a moment later, when Penny seemed to manifest a yo-yo out of thin air.

“Wowie zowie~! Penny Wenny made that pretty witty yo-yo out of nothing wothing~! Does that mean she has nanowanotechnology wology stuffy wuffy~?!” MDP asked with childish wonderment. Her jump rope was spinning so quickly now, she seemed to be encased in a sparkling prismatic bubble. “Does she~?! Does she~?! Does she~?!”

“I don’t do it to pretend to be dumb” Penny would say “More so to appear more human, most people get a bit sketchy when you can recall everything they have done.”

Penny didn’t bother to stop the laugh that bubbled up at MDP’s joy of the yo-yo creation. “No, this wasn’t made with nano tech” She would say, holding up the Yo-yo for better examination. “This was made the same way you made your skip rope. My magic is unstable, always in flux, so I can mimic magic that I’m close to. I can’t start jumping around myself without wrecking the floor, but I can yo-yo so, Yo-yo” She would explain before returning to yo-yoing said yo-yo.

“And I do have nanites, but no ability to nano forge.” She would answer the enthusiastic question “They are closer to a grey goo start up” Though she might be able to make use of the grey goo to create something afterwards. Something for her to ponder over at another time.

“So, like, Penny Wenny can use dreamy weamy magic, too, as long as she’s with Magical Dream Princess~?!” MDP asked, her joyful excitement only growing with this new revelation. “That’s, like, the most super duper coolest woolest thingie wingie ever wever~! (giggle!) Penny Wenny is, like, sooo totally wotally awesome wawsome~!” the whimsical girl continued to gush, her face taking on an incredibly dreamy expression. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess just wuvs being able wable to spend timey wimey with her like this~”

“Yup!” Penny would agree with a joyous smile as she popped the ‘P’. It was refreshing to spend time with someone who didn’t take everything so seriously, something that Penny knew she had a habit of doing. “It’s fun to be able to play around with all sorts of magic whenever I meet someone new. Especially since I wasn’t really capable of really casting magic, much less mimicking it, until recently” She would add as she pushed open the front door to the school. The lock being easily dealt with due to her Metal spec.

“And I feel you there” Looking around the school Penny would feel an odd mix of nostalgia and wonder. Of what School would have been like for her, and what school was like in her memories. “Being able to go out and help people and not worry about the politics and everything else is good” She would send a beaming smile towards MDP “But grand company makes it wondrous”

“That reminds me, how long have you been a part of the Community?”

“Awww~ Thankie wankies, Penny Wenny~! (giggle!)” MDP replied, her cheeks turning bright red at the robotic girl’s compliment. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess hasn’t wasn’t been a magical wagical girl for very wery longy wongy, just a few weeks, but, like, she’s already made sooo many wany new friendy wendies, and helpy welpied sooo many wany people weple, and had, like, sooo much super duper fun~! (giggle!)” The bubbly girl proceeded to gleefully jump into the air, dispelling her sparkly rope as she did so, the mystical creation dissolving in a shower of glitter. After all, the inside of a school wasn’t the place for jump rope.

Following Penny inside, the whimsical girl struck a cute pose, and, standing on tiptoes with one hand shielding her eyes from the non-existent sunlight, carefully surveyed the school’s interior.

“Has Penny Wenny ever wever gone to schooly wooly beforesie~?” MDP asked as she peered into the darkened halls. “Or was she, like, always a super duper smarty warty mechanical wanical person werson~?”

“I’ve always been a machine” Would be Penny’s answer as she stretched her senses out, feeling the subtle pings of the various bits and bobs of technology that are always strewn about inside buildings. “But I do have memories of school. They weren’t mine to begin with, but I’ve integrated most of them to one degree or another. Helps with emotional understanding and context.” It was why Penny was capable of appearing so human despite not being so.

“I’m kinda curious what it would be like to actually sign up for school though” Not that she felt she had the time to devote to such an endeavor, but it was still a thought. “Penrose makes it kinda hard though. I’ve been a part of the magical community for just over a year, and I can tell you Penrose is stuck on fast forward. Most cities are nowhere near as chaotic as ours is.”

One of her eyes would flicker to an electric blue and a smirk would come across her features. “The Camera’s are mine” She would say switching through the feeds “Doubt it will help against a ghost, but who knows”

“So, Penny Wenny was always a mechanical wanical person werson~? That soundy woundies like a really interesting winteresting story wory~! (giggle!)” MDP observed. “And, like, Magical Dream Princess would just totally wotally wuv to hear it some timey wimey~! But, like, we should probably wobably start searching werching this placey wacey nowie, huh~?” she added, skipping along next to her robotic companion.

“Like, Magical Dream Princess would kinda winda like to know what going to schooly wooly feels like, too~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl told Penny as she ran a short distance ahead of the mechanical monarch with her arms out to her side like airplane wings. “She’s only ever wever had tutor wuter people weple teachy weachy her stuffy wuffy,” she explained, while spinning around in childish delight. “This is, like, her very wery first timey wimey inside a schooly wooly, and she’s just imagining wagining what it might be like if there were other wother people weple in heresie~! (giggle!) But, like, being alone with Penny Wenny is kinda winda nicey wicey, too~” she added, blushing a bit.

Then, Penny took control of the school’s cameras, and MDP was once agin overcome with admiration for her cybernetic companion. “Wowie zowie~! Like, Penny Wenny has controly woly of all the camera wameras~?!” MDP exclaimed excitedly. “Goodie woodie~! (giggle!) Like, that means Penny Wenny can make a recording wording of her and Magical Dream Princess’s very wery first date together wether~! (giggle!)” the bubbly girl cheered as she jumped up and down, hugging herself tightly. “Oh…” she added, sobering a bit as her face turned bright red. “Magical Dream Princess wasn’t supposed to say that out loudy woudy…”

That… That wasn’t what Penny expected. Yes, the two of them had more or less low key been flirting while also getting to know each other. But a Date? That wasn’t something Penny had even started putting together plans about. Slow and steady was her aim at the moment, but there was a difference now then there would have been earlier.

Penny could tell that MDP was being honest, and sincere, and that kinda blew the robot girl away.

The surprise would remain on Penny’s face even as everything else leached away. Her eyes would both turn the same shade of electric blue and her skin tone would fade to the same white as her platting. It would last only a second or two and in those moments where she set aside her humanity she would examine what she wanted and how she felt. Then with a blink and her colors would return and along with it a confident smile.

“Can’t say that exploring and exercising a haunted school would have been my first idea when it came to our first date” She would say casting an appraising look about the building. “But” She would snap her hand with the yo-yo out to the side suddenly before pulling it back just as suddenly. The yo-yo would seemingly snap due to the force exerted on it breaking into a cloud of sparkles. Said cloud of sparkles would then condense in Penny’s hand forming a single Ipheion flower, which was rainbow colored.

“As the Princess wishes I suppose” She would tuck the flower behind MDP’s ear with a soft smile “Shall we?” She would ask before slipping away toward the stairs leading up to the next floor. She wouldn’t go too far, that would be rude, but giving MDP a chance to recover seemed appropriate. After all that was rather more over the top then she was expecting Penny was sure.

Besides, this way Snoopy could still catch the bubbly girl's reaction without her knowing that Penny was watching. Because honestly, the blushing was very cute.

At first, MDP thought Penny might have been offended by what she’d inadvertently blurted out, but it soon became apparent that such was most assuredly not the case. The whimsical girl’s face might as well have been a tomato as she watched her robotic companion create a colorful flower and gently place it behind her ear.

“W-Wowie zowie~” MDP sighed, her eyes closing as her countenance took on a look of dreamy bliss. “Magical Dream Princess feels, like, soooo happy wappy right nowie~” she added, while clasping both hands over her heart.

For the next few moments, she simply stood there, basking in the warm glow that seemed to surround her, before finally realizing that Penny had begun moving towards the stairs.

Gleefully skipping after her, a still-blushing MDP stopped in front of the mechanical monarch and struck a coy pose, looking off to the side with her hands clasped behind her back.

“Like, super duper thankie wankies, Penny Wenny~” the childish magical girl told her sweetly. “Magical Dream Princess just wuvs the pretty witty flower wower you gave her~”

Unlike most haunted buildings, there did not seem to be anything wrong in particular with the school. It had been used for quite a while after all, and both Magical Dream Princess and Penny would not see much amiss. Rows of lockers, classrooms filled with desks and various informational diagrams on the walls, stuff like that. It was essentially what you would expect from your typical school.

However, the deeper they went the more things seemed to shift. It could just be the isolated hallways, and the darkness that was only broken by the light the girl themselves made. But the fact that they could proceed so far without a sign was unusual.

As such, it might come as unexpected when when Penny found some of the cameras she was linked to momentarily flickering and being disrupted by static. They quickly returned to normal, and it was not impossible to excuse them as technical failures from underfunded public schooling. But with what they were dealing with, technical failure was not the only reason that was likely.

Oh, and the shadowy figure she would momentarily glimpse standing in the doorway of the affected classrooms didn’t help with that assumption either.

“I’m glad you enjoy it,” Penny would say with a smile. She had no idea how long the flower would last, she was still feeling out Dream magic, but it was a fun magic. The cheesy thought was that ‘it was a dream come true’ but she kept that to herself. She wasn’t that confident. Yet.

Unfortunately her attention was also somewhat split. The small signs of the haunting were unmistakable, and while Penny did not fear spirits like Jason did, they still put her on edge to some degree due to their connection to less palatable memories. A small hum would start up from Penny as she began reinforcing her chassis with magic. The light from her Core port brightened as it took over maintaining the spell.

“I can’t promise that it will stick around once we are done here, but I can promise to always give you a new one when I get the chance” She would go on to add. She was truly thankful for MDP’s presence here. Penny came here to exorcise more than just the ghost that haunted the building, she had some demons of her own she wanted to conquer as well.

“Like, that’s okie dokie, Penny Wenny~! (giggle!)” MDP replied, blissfully oblivious to the various supernatural events occurring around them. “Magical Dream Princess knows that it’s the thought that counts~” she added, while fluttering her eyes at her robotic companion.

Magical Dream Princess’ presence provided a stark contrast to the atmosphere and setting around her. Certainly no efforts to intimidate seemed to work, even while Penny prepared herself for a fight.

Still advancing, things seemed to subside for the moment. Nothing on the cameras, no signs of life. Yet with each step forward things seemed to get ‘darker’, if that was possible. A chill hung in the air, though every reading Penny could find indicated it was the same as it had been when they entered the building.

As they neared another classroom, the duo would hear the sound of someone writing on the chalkboard. Though the school should be empty, from what they had been told earlier.

“Flatterer” Penny would tease with a smile. She was tempted to default entirely towards her combat routines, to slip off her emotional processing to escape the grip of fear that echoed out from her memories. She didn’t. Because Jason was gone and she wouldn’t let his memories chain her anymore.

“Seems we have company though” She would say with a reluctant sigh “So we will have to get back to such thoughts later” She would check the number of the room where they could hear the writing happening. Checking with the school records to see if it matched the art room. “Because I’ll admit to being curious as to what thoughts you might have on the topic”

“Okie dokie~” MDP replied with a wink. Looking around she added, “Like, is it just Magical Dream Princess’s imagination wation, or did this placey wacey get a lot more creepy weepy~? And, like, what’s that soundy woundy~?” she asked, her love-struck reverie having prevented her from hearing the phantasmal writing until just this moment.

Finally the reality of the situation had started to dawn on Magical Dream Princess, while it had remained a constant for Penny. Utilizing her uplink, Penny would be able to tell that the art room was just ahead at the end of the corridor, even as the scratching of chalk ceased.
They had made it a few steps past that particular classroom when static would start to creep into the sides of Penny’s vision. Her limbs would feel like lead, hindering her forward motion immensely. Meanwhile Magical Dream Princess would feel a sudden and intense cold, that while not debilitating might nonetheless be uncomfortable.

As the static resisted all efforts to modulate or dispel it, Snoopy would suddenly do an about face and begin flying the opposite direction. Penny was still connected to it, but it was no longer listening to her commands. That was definitely the work of their spectre

Holding in a snarl the mechanical member of this exorcist party would gesture towards Snoopy before harshly drawing her hand to herself. The sudden gravitational, magnetic, and telekinetic pull bringing Snoopy forcefully into her hand “It’s been like this for a little bit” Penny would say through grit teeth trying, and failing, to keep her voice light. She would place her familiar into his docking port and lock him in there with a soft apology whispered across their network. She would then sever her connection to the school’s system and pull in her senses a bit.

“That sound was, to my understanding, chalk on a chalkboard..” She would go on to say putting most of her effort into simply continuing to take step after step. She didn’t know if it was some kind of emotional effect that was bypassing the Spark, or some inherent weakness to spirits due to her damaged soul, but Penny wasn’t going to simply stop. Neither was she going to retreat from her emotions, they were hers now and she would accept them even as she ignored what they were trying to have her do.

“Seems kind of old fashioned.” Penny’s eyes would brighten as she brought the Spark’s light closer to the surface. She had no idea if it would do anything to the Specter, but feeling it linger just under her ‘skin’ helped keep her focused. “But then again no idea how old this ghost is”

“Chalky walky~?” MDP asked after Penny explained the source of the strange sound. “That ghostly whosty is kinda silly willy, huh?”

“Golly wolly~!” MDP squealed as the sudden wave of cold hit her. “Like, Magical Dream Princess feels super duper chilly willy all of a sudden wudden~!” she added, hugging herself tightly and rubbing her hands over her shivering body. “But, Magical Dream Princess knows just the friendy wendies to helpy welpy with that~! (giggle!)” In a flash of light and a burst of glitter, two colorful mittens with cute, cartoon faces appeared on MDP’s hands. “Ta daa~!” she declared, before hugging herself again, while playfully swaying back and forth. As she did so, a feeling of warmth spread out from the mittens to fill every inch of her body, thoroughly banishing the spectral chill. “Like, Magical Dream Princess feels all comfy womfy cozy wozy nowie~! (giggle!) Thankie wankies, Mister Mitten Wittens~! Bye bye for nowie~! (giggle!)” After bidding her friends farewell, the whimsical girl turned her attention back to Penny.

“Like, is Penny Wenny okie dokie~?” MDP asked, slightly concerned by her mechanical companion’s somewhat stressed out demeanor.

“Not really” Penny would answer honestly “Not sure the reason but the ghost is making it hard to move forward and the static and atmosphere are making it very tempting to simply turn off emotional processing.” Which Penny wasn’t even sure would help. Even if it would help, it felt too much like letting her adopted demons win. So she would deny that for as long as she could. She would cut them off before she redlined though, that wouldn’t help anyone.

Drawing on the ShineSpark, Penny would find that it did have an effect. The static sharply lessened, movement was easier, and overall the effect seemed to have lightened. As for Magical Dream Princess, well, she had dealt with her own problem with ease. For a moment, there was calm once more.

Then it was shattered. The doors to the next classrooms slammed against the wall with an abrupt force, heralding a deluge of books, chalk erasers, chairs, paperweights, a miscellaneous deluge of school supplies thrown at Penny and Magical Dream Princess. A bit less subtle and a bit less spooky, but perhaps inevitable nonetheless.

The feeling of static receding and the return of her mobility was a great one. Once again she was grateful that she was allowed to carry the portion of Hope that she was blessed with. But before she could get too immersed in that feeling there was a sudden onslaught of school supplies.

In response to this attack Penny would suddenly draw MDP in close, a feeling of static would roll across the peppy girls skin as the machine girl did so. Less than a moment later the reason for that feeling would become apparent as the outpouring of school supplies would slam into an invisible barrier that closely encapsulated both Penny and MDP. “Gotta love electron force fields” Penny would remark as she continued onward, wading through the flood of supplies without a care, save to reach out and grab some of the larger metal paperweights that would crash into the first of her defensive barriers.

“Golly wolly goodness woodness~!” MDP exclaimed as the deluge of school supplies tumbled towards them. The next thing she knew, Penny had pulled her close and deflected the onslaught with some kind of energy shield. “Wowie zowie~! That was, like, sooo totally wotally cool~! (giggle!)” she told the robotic girl, her eyes beaming with admiration. “And, like, thankie wankies for the huggy wuggy, Penny Wenny~” she added as a blush began to color her cheeks. She had never been this close to the mechanical monarch before, and while some might have found the sensation of being pressed against smooth metal disconcerting, as far as MDP was concerned, it felt really nice.

After finally letting go of her partner, MDP would look around the room they had entered.

“Like, is this that art room placey wacey Leona Wona told us about~?” she asked as she searched for anything out of the ordinary and doing her best to focus her limited attention span on the task at hand.

Having fended off the devious school supplies, the duo entered the art room at last. There was plenty of open spaces, some easels propped against the wall ,and stuff like that. The sort of typical thing one would expect from an art classroom.

Unfortunately there was no immediate clue, no giant summoning circle with candles and the like for them to dismantle, as this classroom had been used since then. Still, a keen eye would spot some symbols in the four corners of the room, where it would be hard for a normal person to notice them.

The fact that the attack of the supplies ended when they made it into the art room was something that kept Penny on her toes. As either that meant they were in the wrong room, or the specter was preparing for something a bit bigger than throwing things at them.

“You are very welcome” she would reply as she scanned the room for oddities, a small smirk peeking out from her focused demeanor at the blush. It really was very cute. “I’ll make sure to get you added to my IFF so that you can surprise me with them as well” Currently there were only two other people that wouldn’t trigger a barrier reaction, Alicia and Dina, but adding MDP to that list made sense seeing as where their relationship was headed.

Walking over to the nearest corner Penny would get closer to the symbol she had noticed, careful to keep an eye out for any sudden poltergeist activities. “I’ve found something.” She would call out glancing over her shoulder to track MDP. The lack of Snoopy was felt all too well, but risking him wasn’t worth it. So she would rely on her own sensors for the time being.

“Markings in the corners of the room, no idea what they are for, but they are hidden away somewhat.”

MDP’s eyes went wide when Penny pointed out a new discovery. Bouncing over to join her, the childish girl’s fascination only grew upon catching sight of the strange symbols located there. “Oooooh~! What are these thingie wingies~?!” MDP would inquire, bending over to get a closer look, and giving Penny an unobstructed view of her panties in the process. Today’s pair were covered in colorful images of cute caterpillars and butterflies. “Like, they look all crazy wazey and stuffy wuffy~!” she observed. “And, like, if Magical Dream Princess looks at them for too longy wongy, they kinda winda make her head start to hurt…” she added with a frown, before standing back up and gently massaging her forehead.

To those who had that knowledge, one could tell that the symbols were a bit off from how they should look. They had not been drawn properly, which was likely why Leona had suffered such a disastrous failure. As it was, fixing them would likely only keep the spirit contained to this room at this point. Still, it might provide some insight into how to dispel this thing for good.

The sudden and unexpected look at MDP’s more personal choice of apparel caught Penny off guard. Both because of the unexpected nature of it and because of the sudden clashing internal thoughts that arose from such. Freezing those lines of thought, because now was not the time to be dealing with the existential issue of who she was. She refocused on the sigils.

Because while Penny herself didn’t fully have the knowhow to identify the runes, Beacon’s database did and a quick look into such got her the information she was hoping for. There was likely more information on these particular ones in there as well but the robotic girl didn’t want to keep that connection open too long. The HQ was protected, but that was still no reason to invite a haunting into it. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Hmm, they are the tethers for the specter if I’m not wrong”

“And I think I can fix them.” She would say glancing around the room, “But I’ll need something to sketch with. Mind magicing up a paint brush and some paint?”

“Like, Magical Dream Princess would be happy wappy to~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl replied, while excitedly bouncing up and down. With a wave of her wand, she conjured a pair of large, glittery paint brushes and several cans of colorful paints. The cartoony paint cans had cute smiling faces, along with tiny arms and legs, and they greeted the two magical girls with a bow, removing their lids in the process. “Here you go, Penny Wenny~!” MDP told her robotic companion, handing her a bright blue brush, while keeping a pink one for herself. “Magical Dream Princess is gonna helpy welpy, too~! (giggle!) She just wuvs painting wainting with her freindy wendies~! (giggle!)”

Penny’s own contribution to the repainting process was much less magical in appearance. As she would just pull from a slot in her arm a collection of templates. She would hand off one set to MDP “These will make sure we don’t make the same errors that Leona did.” She would explain with a smile, “Be careful with the marked locations, but go wild everywhere else if you want” A bit of magical paint wouldn’t hurt the school. At least Penny didn’t think it would, or at least not Dream paint.

Turning to the paint cans, which had gotten a chuckle out of her, she would point at the can of blue and green paint. “You two are with me” and would then move over to a different corner. Mainly to avoid a repeat of the flashing incident. At the next spot Penny would get to work, she would scrape off the mark already there, place the template over the same spot and then apply a coat of paint, whichever color was closest, then wait to see if anything happened. Before repeating the process with the next location.

“Okie dokie~!” MDP chirped, while winking and giving Penny a playful salute. “Magical Dream Princess knows that it’s super duper important wortant to color wolor in the liney wineies if you want a picture wicture to look pretty witty~!” she added, sounding adorably serious. She then set to work reapplying the mystic mark (after letting Mr. Spongy Wongy wipe away the old one first, of course). After that was finished, she painted a few smiling flowers, bees, butterflies, caterpillars, and snails, before moving on to the next corner and repeating the process. [color=DeepPink]“Like, this is super duper fun, huh, Penny Wenny~?!” the whimsical girl asked as she finished repainting the second mark. “But we should, like, totally wotally do finger winger painting next timey wimey~! (giggle!)”

Symbols were swiftly corrected, restored to how they should be for proper spirit containment. Nothing seemed to happen, but that would likely occur once all the symbols had been fixed. For now, they were still fixing the equivalent of part of a broken fence.

Yet the spirit was not finished so soon. Just as it had lifted the school supplies and furniture, Magical Dream Princess would feel its attention as the ethereal force lifted her into the air. It then flung her towards the window, seeking to eject her from the school and back to the ground below. It wasn’t what one would call much of a permanent solution, but it’d have been pretty dangerous for a normal person.

At first, MDP gave a startled gasp as she began flying across the room, but her surprise soon turned to innocent joy at the experience of soaring through the air unassisted. “Weeee~! (giggle!)” she called out, arms raised over her head as though she were riding a roller coaster, and completely oblivious to the window she was rapidly approaching.

Penny was in motion before MDP’s reaction had finished shifting to joy. Three of her hidden limbs unfurled as she moved to intercept the rambunctious girl. As she jumped to grab hold of MDP, Penny’s unsheathed limbs lashed out, two imbedding into the floor at the center of the room, the last mimicking the actions but planting itself into the ceiling.

Once MDP was secured. Penny would start searching the room once more, looking for where the primary anchor for the ghost might be located.

Magical Dream Princess’ flight was abruptly arrested by Penny, despite the efforts of the spirit. It quickly turned to trying to remove the limbs obstructing it, though it did not much success. In turn Penny was able to quickly identify the remaining symbols in the corners of the room they had not yet reached and then correct them.

A sharp wind kicked up, scattering papers and chilling them. After several moments it settled, and the force attempting to stop Penny ceased. From the database, it seemed that the spirit was contained once more. It was just a matter of having Leona say the proper incantation to dispel the spirit, and this whole thing would be resolved.

“Like, thankie wankies, Penny Wenny~!” MDP told the Mechanical Monarch when she felt herself being enfolded by several metallic spider limbs. “Magical Dream Princess just wuvs huggy wuggies~! (giggle!) Especially wecially if they’re from Penny Wenny~” she added with a slight blush.

Once she had been safely returned to the floor, MDP watched in amazement as Penny set about locating and correcting the few remaining symbols around the room with a swiftness and precision only someone of her mechanical nature could possess. No sooner was this task completed, than a fierce wind blasted through the room. The chilly gusts lifted MDP’s skirt, but the whimsical girl didn’t seem to mind in the least, if anything, finding what was presumably the spirit’s last-ditch attack more amusing than anything else. “T-That tickle wickles~! (giggle!)” she cried in childish delight. All too quickly, however, the wind quieted, leaving the two magical girls alone in the presumably spirit-free school. “Like, did Penny Wenny make the meanie weanie spirit wirit go bye bye~?” MDP asked innocently.

Penny spent an extra second verifying that the sigils were working before she retracted her spider limbs. “No, I’m not really capable of that.” She would explain checking over the damage that she inflicted onto the room with an absent eye. “It’s more we got the genie back in its bottle. We still need Leona to banish it, but other than that we are good.”

“Yaaaay~! (giggle!)” MDP cheered, while jumping up and down with glee. “Like, we should go findy windy Leona Wona and tell her that she doesn’t have anythingie wingie to be scaredy waredy of anymoresie~! (giggle!)”

“Sounds like a plan.” Penny would agree as she started on the way back out to Leona. “I’m surprised that it was that simple to lock the thing down” She’d say on their way out. “But I guess we were just well suited for the task.”

Retracing their steps, the duo found Leona waiting for them barely a step from where she had been before. Her hands were clasped together as she watched the school, yet when her gaze fell upon them she all but sagged with released stress. “D-Did you do it? Is it over?”

“Yeperoonie~! (giggle!)” MDP confirmed with a playful wink and a peace sign salute. “Like, that meanie weanie ghosty wosty won’t be bother wothering anybodywody anymorsie~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl declared, placing her hands on her hips.

“We corrected the seals so the spirit is locked down tight. Neither of us are Spirit specs however, nor the original summoner, so we couldn’t banish it. But It’s not going to be getting out anytime soon so it should be free for you to take care of it from here.” Penny would explain a bit more.

“There was a bit of property damage, as it threw a bit of the school supplies at us, but nothing drastic overall.”

Leona nodded as Penny and Magical Dream Princess relayed the outcome of their foray into the school. “I see…” She was glad that it had been resolved, though the damage and trouble she had caused still made her feel bad.

“Thank you both,” she said after a few moments. “I…I wasn’t strong enough on my own. I just got so angry and I thought I could use my magic to make them feel how I felt, but I just caused more trouble for everyone.”

Penny would rest a hand on Leona’s shoulder “I get it. Lashing out was probably the only thing that felt like it would do anything. We’ve all done something dumb because of these gifts.” She would say warmly. “But you also took responsibility for what you did, and got help when you realized it had gotten away from you.” Penny continued with a smile. “You’re already better than them.”

“Like, Penny Wenny is totally wotally right~!” MDP agreed. “Lenona Wona might have made a mistakey wakey, but, like, her friendy wendies helpy welpied her to fix everythingie wingie aaaaall up~! (giggle!)”

Leona tensed as Penny touched her, though that quickly faded with the comforting words. “Y-You think?,” she muttered, her head downturned before looking back at Penny. “I’ve had to figure it out as I go. I…don’t have many magical friends.”

“I’d say you're learning better than I did.” Penny would chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I kinda flattened a storefront by accident during my first month.” She’d admit with a sheepish smile.

“And” She would go on “Me and, Princess here, would be more than happy to be your friend if you wanted.” It was perhaps a bit presumptuous of her to offer MDP’s friendship without asking first, but MDP was the one to refer to them as friends of Leona first.

“Like, totally wotally~! (giggle!)” MDP agreed. “Heresie~! This is Magical Dream Princess’s super duper special wecial friendy wendy huggy wuggy~!” the whimsical girl declared, before promptly wrapping Leona up in a warm embrace. “Now we’re officially wically friendy wendies forever and ever~! (giggle!)”

Leona was further buoyed by Penny's words, the sort of validation that she had been lacking. Considering how this had turned out it was reasonable that she might not think well of herself, so it was a needed boost in her confidence.

Her eyes widened at the professions of friendship, though they became tinged with panic as she stiffened amidst Magical Dream Princess' hug. Such an open show of affection was foreign to her socially isolated mind. "T-Thank you!" she stammered past heated cheeks. A few moments were needed to compose herself and return to normalcy. “I s-suppose I should finish what I started,” she said once she had done that, looking towards the school. Though there was a modest coda to that. “And maybe we can hang out sometime? If it’s alright?”

When Leona mentioned possibly hanging out together, MDP squealed in delight, a brilliant smile spreading from ear to ear. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would absodutlylutely wuv too~! ‘Cause, like, that’s the kinda winda thingie wingie friendy wendies do after allsie~! (giggle!)”

“Of course” Penny would also agree. “Why don’t you go take care of the banishing then when you get back we can exchange numbers?”

“A-Alright.,” Leona agreed with a surprisingly firm nod. She then turned and headed towards the school, only glancing back over her shoulder once along the way. It seemed the duo had succeeded in their bounty in more than one way this time.

Penny would wave at Leona when the girl glanced back. Before letting her extra limbs extend out from hiding and cradle her, making a chair as she settled in to wait for Leona to return. It was a quiet night tonight, so there wasn’t anything that would force Penny to go back on her word to wait.

MDP would also wave to the still somewhat unnerved girl, before turning to face Penny, her previously bubbly demeanor shifting to one of timid embarrassment. “P-Penny Wenny?” the whimsical girl asked tentatively. “I-If Magical Dream Princess made a really really bad mistakey wakey that she was super duper sorry for, w-would Penny Wenny forgive her? A-And would she still want to be her super duper special wecial girlfriend wirlfriend?”

Penny’s attention when it shifted to MDP was light and openly curious. This demeanor wasn’t something that Penny had seen on MDP before. Tuning in more closely, Penny spent a moment actively scrutinizing the other girl. There was a weight to this moment after all.

Penny would give a sure nod. “Yes I would. To both questions.” That was a bit of a lie, firstly there were three questions, even if one was only implied. And there were mistakes that Penny wouldn’t be able to tolerate. But those mistakes hadn’t happened, the two of them wouldn’t be sitting here talking if they had.

Shifting a little to more easily face MDP Penny would go on to ask. “Do you want to talk about it?” At the same time Penny extended her senses out as far as she could, scouring everything nearby in order to ascertain if they were alone here and now. MDP did choose to wait until Leona had left after all. The least Penny could do was try to ensure that privacy was maintained.

“W-Weeell, ummm, b-back before she became a magical wagical girl, Magical Dream Princess’s daddy waddy was being attacked by somebodywody using magic wagic,” MDP explained, her trepidation clear in her voice as she swayed from side to side, like a child who had been caught stealing from a cookie jar. “She tried her very wery best to find out who was doing such a nasty wasty thingie wingie, but, like, she couldn’t find out anythingie wingie… B-But, like, then s-some evil wevil people weple showed up and said they could helpy welpy, and Magical Dream Princess was soooo worried about her daddy waddy that she signed their contract wontract thingie wingie, b-but, like, s-she didn’t know they were super duper evil wevil!” the whimsical girl insisted as tears began to well up in her eyes. “She pinky winky promise womises she didn’t! Like, she didn’t know anythingie wingie about them! Not until they did all that horrible worrible stuffy wuffy to Penny Wenny’s placey wacey! Magical Dream Princess is sooooo super duper sorry for ever wever working with them! S-So, like, p-please don’t hate her for making such a terrible werrible mistakey wakey!” she pleaded, clasping her hands together and falling to her knees as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please, Penny Wenny… Please don’t hate her… Pretty pretty please…”

As MDP explained it was painfully easy for Penny to visualize. It was how the Mint worked after all, finding those who were desperate or ignorant or simply alone. Offering poisoned helped, with no end of strings attached.

Softly, but not quietly, Penny didn’t want to surprise MDP too badly, the mechanical girl would move closer to MDP. And gently pulled her into a gentle hug. “I could never hate you for being tricked by the Mint” Penny would say softly. “That’s just how the Mint works. They prey on those that don’t know, or have no other options. I won’t, can’t, hold that against you.”

“P-Penny Wenny’s not angry wangry?” MDP asked as she returned the cybernetic girl’s hug. “Like, that makes Magical Dream Princess super duper happy wappy~” she added, her tears now ones of joy. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess still wants to prove that Penny Wenny can trust her, and, like, since Penny Wenny and Magical Dream Princess are super duper special wecial wuvey dovey girlfriend wirlfriends nowie, Magical Dream Princess would like to show Penny Wenny her secret wecret identity wentity, okie dokie~?”

“I’m not angry at you” Penny would say, because she was angry, but as always when it came to the Mint there wasn’t any outlet that would suffice. “And I do trust you, so don’t feel you need to reveal anything to me to earn it.” She would add. The perks of being able to hear truth and lies made trust rather easy to give. Besides, “I know what it is like to reveal a connection to the Mint to someone, there doesn’t need to be anything else tonight.”

“But, like, Magical Dream Princess doesn’t wanna keep any secret wecrets from her super duper special wecial wuvey dovey girlfriend wirlfriend,” MDP insisted. “‘Cause, like, that wouldn’t be very wery nicey wicey, and, like, Magical Dream Princess’s normal wormal selfy welfy is, like, super duper different wifferent than how Magical Dream Princess is nowie, and Magical Dream Princess really really wants Penny Wenny to like that sidey widey of her, too…”

Penny would let out a soft huff, but the smile on her face spoke to her amusement. “Alright then. Can’t exactly argue with that now can I?”

“Okie dokie~” MDP said with a smile. “Magical Dream Princess is gonna changey wangey back to her normal wormal selfy welfy nowie~”

There was a bright flash, and when it faded, Magical Dream Princess had been replaced by a very different girl, one who seemed the whimsical magical girl’s complete antithesis. With her access to various forms of information gathering, Penny would immediately realize the young woman before her was none other than Violet Covington.

“S-So, um, this is who I really am,” the heiress said in a soft voice, her eyes still red from crying and her cheeks a bright crimson. “I-I know I’m nothing like my magical girl self, s-so I understand if you don’t find me as attractive when I’m like this…” she added hesitantly. Despite the poise and confidence she was normally renowned for, it was clear to see that Violet was very nervous, so much so that she couldn’t even bring herself to look at her girlfriend. “B-But my feelings for you haven’t changed in the slightest!” she hastened to add. “I-I think you’re absolutely amazing, Penny, a-and I would very much like to be your girlfriend, i-if you’ll have me…”

At first all that Penny did was lean back a bit to get a better look at Violet. The moment that Penny recognized the heiress an eye brow was raised, but that was it for a moment and then “You’re Violet Covington.” Penny would say with an amused tone, “Of Covington Industries. The leading manufacturers and developers of both robotics and artificial intelligence. Which, correct me if I’m wrong here, Is at least in part due to your own contributions. After all, you are a certified genius and something of a virtuoso when it comes to code.”

“Please tell me why you think I would find you less attractive upon learning that of everyone in Penrose you happen to be one of the few people who would truly be able to actually understand what it means to be me?” Penny would ask with a softly teasing tilt of her head. “Honestly we are approaching celebrity cush becoming real territory here. And that’s only mostly because I’m one of the people who would actually consider you a celebrity.”

Violet’s face turned an even brighter shade of crimson when Penny complimented both her intelligence and her status as something of a celebrity, although she also couldn’t help but smile in relief. “T-Thank you Penny,” she replied softly. “Hearing you say that means more to me then you can imagine. I-I’ve… never been in a relationship before,” the heiress admitted, clearly more than a little embarrassed by that fact. “S-So despite my admittedly vast knowledge of a varied array of subjects, my experience in romantic matters is woefully lacking, and I… I just don’t want to accidentally ruin things between us. I know I can come off as cold and harsh,” she continued. “And I wouldn’t fault people for assuming the only reason I find you so fascinating is your status as a synthetic life form, but you are so much more to me than that! You are so very strong, and yet so very gentle. You could easily rule this city as a tyrant, and yet you choose to protect and care for its people instead. That’s what I admire most about you, Penny,” she added placing a gentle hand on her girlfriend’s cheek. “That’s what made me fall in love with you.”

“I’m probably cheating myself when it comes to relationship experience.” Penny would say unable to maintain eye contact at the moment. “The story of how I came to be my own person is kinda out there. But suffice it to say I’ve got insider information on bad relationships. Though I can’t say I’ve ever had one myself.”

“And who cares why we were initially drawn together?” She’d go on to ask, pulling her eyes back to meet Violets. “So long as we work together to keep ourselves together. I think everything will workout fine.”

She’d give Violet a softer smile, one slightly tinged with regret. “I can’t say I love you, and mean it, yet. After all I only just met both sides of you. But I’d love to spend the time learning so that I can say it.” Penny didn’t want to lie, not about something so fundamental to the relationship. “That said, I don’t think it will be that hard to fall for you in your entirety.”

“Thank you for being honest with me, Penny,” Violet replied, her face continuing to glow a bright crimson. “I fully understand why you’d want to take things slowly. A-And I’d like that very much. To spend more time with you, I mean,” the heiress added. “With that in mind, I suppose I should change back now. After all, I would rather not have Leona see me like this.”

“I’ll make sure you get my contact address” Penny would say as she, reluctantly, took a step back. It was hard to say how another girl's transformation would affect someone, and better safe than sorry for now. “My phone number is closer to a routing number, contact address is closer to my IP address.” She’d add.

Giving a nod of acknowledgement, Violet closed her eyes and began her incantation. “Hearts, Candy, Sparkles, and Balloons~!” she intoned, her calm and mature voice becoming increasingly high-pitched and cutesy with each syllable as her body was consumed by a glittery, pink whirlwind of mystic energy. “Sunshine, Glitter, Unicorns, and Rainbows~! Taaa daaa~! Magical Girl Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess is here~! (giggle!)” With that, the whirlwind dispersed in a bright flash, the refined heiress having once again returned to being the embodiment of bubbly hyperactivity and childish innocence.

Striking a cute pose, she flashed Penny a playful peace sign salute, before presenting the robotic girl with a glitter and sticker covered pink rectangle. “Like, this is Magical Dream Princess’s super duper special wecial magical wagical girl phoney woney~! (giggle!)” she explained cheerfully. “Like, Penny Wenny can put her contacty wacty stuffy wuffy in heresie weresie~!”

Penny couldn’t help the smile that came to her face, but neither did she want to. It was always interesting to watch someone’s transformation; it could tell you a lot about their magic, or at least where it came from. MDP’s magic obviously lived up to her chosen name.

Taking the phone Penny would simply look at it for a moment before she looked at her new girlfriend and smirked. Penny’s eyes would flair for a moment before she handed the phone back, her contact information added. She also snooped around the phone a little with that little trick, though that was more to see if the phone was a magical construct or a transformed version of Violet’s civilian model.

Upon taking a closer look at the phone, Penny would discover that it was simply a mundane device, albeit one that had been set up in such a way that what little contact information it contained was very easy to locate. This wouldn’t be particularly surprising, considering it belonged to someone as addle-headed and forgetful as MDP, and the mechanical monarch would quickly find out that there was nothing on the device that might link it to her girlfriend’s mundane identity.

Once contact info was exchanged and Penny had returned her phone, MDP giggled in delight, overjoyed at having a way to contact her girlfriend whenever she wanted. “Thanky wanky, Penny Wenny~” she told the cybernetic girl with a smile as she gently took hold of her hand. “Like, Magical Dream Princess had sooo much funsie wunsie with you, and she totally wotally hopey wopeies she can go on another wother date with Penny Wenny real soon~! (giggle!)”

---

“And then we waited for Leona Wona to come back, and then Magical Dream Princess invited her to the Christmas Wistmas Party, but she said she couldn’t come ‘cause she had family wamily stuffy wuffy to do, and then we said ‘bye bye for nowie~!’, and then Penny Wenny and Magical Dream Princess shared their first super duper magical wagical wuvey dovey kissy wissy~” MDP concluded, her face turning a bright crimson as she smiled dreamily. “Magical Dream Princess was soooo happy wappy, and, like, even with her terrible werrible memory wemory, she just knows she’ll remember wember it forever and ever and ever~! (giggle!)”

“W-Wow!” Connie exclaimed, her own cheeks having reddened significantly as well. “T-That sounds s-so romantic!” she added with a smile as she placed her hands over her heart.

“Totally wotally~!” MDP agreed. “It was super duper romantic wantic~! (giggle!) So, like, can Connie Wonnie teachy weachy Magical Dream Princess how to painty wainty nowie~?” the whimsical girl inquired. “Like, she knows that Connie Wonnie usually painty wainties pretty witty landscapes, but, like, Magical Dream Princess was wondering if she could painty wainty a portrait wortrait instead~”

“O-Oh, s-sure!” Connie replied. “I-I don’t d-do them to o-often, b-but I t-think I c-can help you w-with the b-basics. I-I mean, I-I painted a p-portrait of M-Mia once, a-and I think it came out p-pretty good! S-So, um, d-did you h-have a r-reference y-you’d like to w-work from?”

“Yeperoonie~!” MDP confirmed with an enthusiastic nod. “Right heresie~!” she added, proudly holding up her phone, upon which was displayed a picture of Penny. “Like, Magical Dream Princess would really really like to painty wainty a super duper pretty witty picture wicture of Penny Wenny to give her as a present wesent~! (giggle!)” the whimsical girl explained. “And, like, even weven if Magical Dream Princess isn’t wisn’t the best painter wainter, she knows Penny Wenny won’t mindy windy, ‘cause Penny Wenny will know it was made with wuv, and that’s, like, the most important wortant thingy wingie of allsie~! (giggle!)”

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Matters of the Heart

If there was one thing that could be counted on, it was for the Overcity to be filled with the strange, mysterious, and unusual. Insulated from the chaos that tended to engulf Penrose, the Overcity was home to a mishmash of people and beings from all sorts of realms. Life continued on as normal there, and three magical girls did not stick out.

Summoned for this bounty, Dina and Eliza had been met upon arriving in the Overcity by the one who had hired them. Finn, as she had introduced herself, had informed the pair that the location her friend had been deposited was far from where one could conventionally walk in normal space, if it even corresponded to a location on Earth to begin with. So they had to meet her here rather than going directly to it.

Her white cloak rippled and swayed, coming down to her shoulders while a black dress picked up and carried lower. It did not inhibit her movement of course, but it was very flowing. Her pointed ears were also notable, though those did not stand out much in a place like this.

Winding their way through tight alleys and clustered buildings, brushing past other beings going about their day, Finn glanced back at her companions. “Thank you for doing this,” she said to them, happiness clashing with worry as her smile shifted and fought to keep from sinking. “Like I said, fighting isn’t really my thing. And everyone knows you Penrose girls are tough as nails! If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Dina stood tall, her arms crossed as her tail lazily rested in a down position, her eyes peeking into the contractor. "No need to thank us yet. We haven't even started." The catgirl said, eyeing her companion. She had hoped she would be trustworthy.

"I am loath to fight though, but I too, was once abandoned by a patron for an stupid reason." She said.

"You can leave the fighting to me then, just back me up and keep the girl safe." Eliza was trying not to appear nervous. Maura had suggested she'd take another bounty now that she was stronger, but after the last failure with the Red Nest, the witch was scared of screwing up again. She tried to reassure herself, keeping a grip on the meditation stone in her pocket. Now wasn't the time to be stressed.

"Is there anything we should look out for?" she asked Finn.

Humming, Finn furrowed her brow in thought as she considered what to tell Eliza. "Most of it are things that an experienced magical girl should be able to handle. As far as her patron is concerned, a normal human wouldnt be able to survive unaided."

She looked both ways before crossing the next street, a wise decision as a steam powered caterpillar type vehicle moved past moments later. Carrying onwards, she did provide at least some information. "I know there's a plain of magical fire with nasty monsters on it, but my patron wasn't the most informative. I'm sorry I cant give you more."

Dina eyed her companion. She also had doubts about this hunt. She did not show it externally, but internally she decided to chastise herself and get a grip. There was a girl who needed to be extracted, alone and confused. Probably fustrated.

"We'll need some scouts, then. Please allow me." Dina said as she focused, creating a summoning circle, from which a murder of crows sprang forth. With a flick of the wrist, she also reinforced said crows to stand the harsh environment. "Please report if you find a suitable person with the description." Dina indicated. She did not choose this kind of bird by mere choice. They were surprisingly low on mana... and crows did recognize people's faces easily.

The crows swept into eldritch skies, quickly adjusting to the unusual air currents that they needed to navigate. Due to the walk they had already undertaken, they quickly passed beyond the walls of the Overcity into the wilds beyond.

After a barren expanse with the occasional roaming monster, they would arrive at the fire plain that Finn had predicted. Withered trees burned as fiery torches, plumes of fire rose from the ground and arched over the land. Flying was made more difficult by the ash that filled the air from all of these fires. Amidst the heat monsters moved, some of them seemingly lava given humanoid form, others more bestial and wreathed in heat. With those hazards, plus the cliffs and canyons, there was no doubt it was dangerous for anyone involved.

Past that fire plain was an ominous looking mountain, where thunder crackled and rain burned the rocks themselves. It looked like there was a path inside said mountain, but it was difficult for the birds to see if their person was inside, due to the rain that they were not immune to. Nonetheless, they had provided some useful information.

Dina sighed, as she looked at Eliza. "There might be a path inside, but it's surrounded by volcanic hazards. Also monsters. We'd best prepare a protection and move carefully." Dina said to Eliza.

"Sounds fun. Don't think you got some fire resistance spell we could use?" the witch then glanced down to one of her gauntlets. "Maybe my dark magic can snuff the lava out. Though if that works, I might need to add some time magic depending on how long until it gets hot again." she thought outloud, and looked back to Finn with a smile. "No need to apologize, any information can prove valuable."

"I can manage something." Dina said, as she extended her reinforcement aura alongside the trio. "It's not fireproof, but it should be able to help. I can extend barriers on demand too."

Finn breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced between the two conversing girls. "I'm glad to hear it. We're almost at the edge of the Overcity, there should be a gate just ahead. I guess I will be waiting for your triumphant return," she finished with a grin. If there was anyone who could manage such a dangerous trek and back, it appeared to be these two.

Eliza nodded to Finn, then turned to Dina. "Right, let's go then. I'll keep an eye out for any monsters."

Dina nodded, silently as she deployed her Ruler's Aura and began to apply barriers and reinforcements to Eliza, as she walked behind her. A frontline fighter, she was not..

Leaving Finn behind, the duo made their way through the city gate that the crows had flown over. There was a lot of walking and not much else at first, though one could certainly enjoy the exotic environment of the Overcity along the way if they chose.

The first sign they were drawing close was the heat. There was little surprise in a plain of fire being hot, and they would be subjected to that rising temperature before reaching the actual location as it moved into uncomfortable ranges. Not unbearable just yet, but they would see how long that lasted as they arrived at the edge of the field the crows had spotted before. It was time to put their plan into action.

Dina's tongue clicked, seeing upon the conditions of the plain getting hotter and hotter. "I might need to get an extra protection." She said to Eliza ."It might get a little gross though."

"Hm..." Eliza looked between Dina and the plains ahead. "Let's see if this works." she casted a hand out, testing if her dark magic could snuff out the fire.

Dina for her part, began manifesting a gross-looking but definitely effective fire salamander mucus. While it was rather slimy and disgusting, it would help to stave off the higher temperatures for at least a limited amount of time. "Do you want some?" Dina indicated, her ears downcast and chafing and looking pretty unrefined as they did so.

Eliza looked back to Dina, an eyebrow risen at the sight of the mucus. Whatever helps, she guessed. "Eh, screw it. Hit me with some." Once they both had the unorthodox fire resistance on, she'd buff it up with a bit of time magic to make it last longer.

Dina then applied herself to cover Eliza in slime, and that's all the detail we need because this is a hunt, not a tale of other nature.

The application of the fire salamander mucus would be effective, sharply reducing the heat that both of them felt. They could now enter the fire plain safely, though direct contact would probably not be advised if they could avoid it. The fire didn't seem to be magical either, so Eliza's darkness magic would be effective in snuffing it out, if she chose to keep doing that.

Seeing as her theory rung true, Eliza continued taking out the flames, providing the two an easier path to go through.

"I'm gonna need a bath after this, mew." Dina said, her cat side getting the better of her briefly. She surmised most of the things she could summon here would drop dead on the heat. So she tried to turn this on her head. She tried used her Beast specialization to call out any native animals or myth beasts they could help her in their fetch quest.

A lot of walking followed, as tended to be the case with these sorts of things. Thanks to their diffusing of the heat they would be able to enjoy their surroundings, though admittedly there was not much to enjoy. At least not right now.

They would soon reach their next challenge. A river of molten fire cut across the landscape, its turbulent flows hissing and bubbling akin to lava. And it was a bit big for Eliza to just snuff it out with her darkness magic. At least in limited application. Would they try to walk across, or find some other method?

Dina focused, as she tried to create a set of platforms above the river to bridge the gap and walk on top of the molten fire river, hopefully.

While she might not make a bridge across the entire expanse, she would succeed in creating several platforms to jump over the river. With that in place it would be easy enough to get across, though they'd need to dodge the fireballs launched p arcs at irregular intervals. While it might not hurt thanks to the fire salamander, it did run the risk of knocking them in.

With a bit more time magic, Eliza would give her and Dina better timing hoping across the platforms.

The use of time magic gave them greater opportunity to adjust their angle without worrying about being suddenly swatted by an incoming fireball. With careful jumps they soon made it to the other side, no worse for wear. It might be awkward doing it with a normal person, but they could always just carry her across.

For now the trek went on. They were not close enough where the mountain was looming over the horizon, but they would soon be at that point. For now, they just had the roaming monsters to worry about.

From there on Eliza would put her scrying on auto-pilot, her eye behind her mask glowing a vivid gold. In a flash of dark magic, her sword would appear in her hand, prepared to attack any monsters she sees approaching. Or if she could, hide both her and Dina to avoid conflict.

Dina for her most part, reacted to Eliza's increased hostile readiness by pulling out her weapon, and waringly, using her senses to scan the scorching wasteland, a step behind Eliza should they need to fall to a defensive position.

Proceeding with caution, there was a close call as a fire lizard of sorts, its skin hardened but laced with fiery veins, drew near them. But it did not push the point once they directed their attention towards it, allowing them to push forwards.

Soon they had left the fire behind and arrived at the next part of their trek. Acidic rain fell from the sky, scouring the land and leaving it barren. This stretched from where they were to the mountain, and presented the next obstacle they had to deal with, one that would likely be a challenge on the way back as well. Whatever solution they used could not be a one time deal.

"Acid rain. Troublesome." said Dina as she extended a barrier in the shape of a parasol above the duo, to shelter them from the acidic precipitation.

The duo could hear the hiss of acid as it impacted the umbrella-shaped barrier. yet there didn't seem to be much risk at the moment as long as they stayed away from the edges. They moved on at a moderate pace, once more steering clear of the monsters. Those that could survive here would likely be tougher than normal.

Reaching the mountains that they had seen in their initial scouting. With the environmental factors it was likely that the person they were trying to find was not exposed on the surface, and they soon found an entrance to a cavern near a jagged rock formation. Hopefully it was what they were looking for.

Eliza simply walked forward. Her specialization in dark magic helped her see through the darkness inside, though if Dina needed help, she'd be more than willing to create an orb of light to serve as a lantern.

Dina for her part, enchanted her eyes with even more feline augmentations. She dismissed the crows now that they were about for a cave, exchanging them for a flock of bats. Their echolocation would prove a far better alternative.

"In we go, then." She breathed deep, once more. She disliked engaging in close quarters in a cavern, but it was the only option.

Proceeding with all due caution, they moved deeper into twisting tunnels and caverns. It wasn't too hard to keep track of where they were going, with little in the way of branches and alternate paths to be concerned about. And the bats Dina summoned helped a lot with guiding their path forward too.

Dina's bats also saw the threat that was coming around the next bend before it arrived. Leaping out around a corner with a battle cry in her throat, a girl with dark brown hair and tattered clothing leapt out and swung a makeshift rock tied to a stick at Eliza.

The witch casually caught the makeshift weapon in her gauntlet, before summoning a harmless orb of light in her free hand. "Yo." Eliza softly smiled at the girl. "Friend of yours sent us to find you. Hope we didn't keep you waiting." Especially in a place far from the Overcity. What the hell were they doing out there?

Dina would just create a barrier as a result of the attack, before taking a second look at the figure. "You look haggard. What is your name?" She would add, offering a helping hand.

Shock rippled through the girls features, as if she had not realized what she was really faced with until after she swung. The axe clattered from her grip as she stumbled back, colliding against the rock wall with a modest thump. Her eyes were wide as she looked between them. “F-Finn sent you?” she asked. After a few moments she was able to regain her balance, and stood up rather than leaning against the wall.

“I’m Erica. Thanks. I wasn’t sure anyone would come.”

"Don't thank us yet, we still have to keep you safe on the way back." Eliza mentioned.

"But fear not. It's only a matter of distance. We can shift back once we're in range. Anything you can tell us? Do you require medical assistance?"

Looking her self over, Erica quickly shook her head. "I'm alright. Well, my former patron left me powerless in the Overcity to either face a slow or agonizing death because I failed him too many times, but other than that I'm alright. Bastard."

"No kiddin'." Since Erica appeared unharmed, Eliza led the way out of the cave. "Tell you what, once we get back, I can introduce you to my patrons and see if they can take you in. One of them, atleast." She offered to the girl, making sure she stayed close to her and Dina.

"I also know a few people." Dina added."Well now that our target is located... we could say goodbye to being subtle and rush all our way back. What do you say, Eliza?"

"If she's fine with a bit of air travel, then might as well."

Glancing between them, Erica shrugged. "Finn also offered to let me join her patron. I guess Ive got a bit of deciding to do. Though revenge may factor in a bit, just to give you fair warning. As for air travel I'm fine with it, so long as I don't die of acid along the way."

Eliza chuckled, giving Erica a piggyback ride. Even if she lost her wings, the dress that eventually made itself a part of her new form gave her another means of flight. "Whatever the case is, the choice is yours. Now hold on! I'll be careful flying back to the Overcity!"

Dina pondered. "I can provide the barriers and the transport, but I will be virtually defenseless. I'll be counting on you to shoot down threats." She added.

"Alright, lets do it," Erica agreed as she let herself be carried by Eliza. They at last reached the entrance of the cavern, so it was now time to put whatever plan they had for getting back into action.

"Okay, let's hope this dress works." Eliza thought outloud, backing up a few paces before taking off.

And if THAT somehow goes wrong, she could always cast a quick time spell to keep them both from falling to their death. But mainly Erica.

Dina for her part, would blink for a second. Youths and their rush to do everything huh. If it was for a few seconds ... It should be fine. Using her beast magic, she allowed herself to grow wings, after of which she applied reinforcement on herself to avoid the dangers of corrosion and took flight.

With magic enchanting them, the trio soared back along the path they had initially taken. The acid hissed as it scored against fabric and barriers, but it did not stop them from passing through that zone unscathed. They then moved through the fire region they had passed through, where they were fortunate enough to avoid the attention of larger monsters thanks to their swift movements. The only obstacle were errant balls of magma ejected into the air, which they were forced to dodge.

Soon they neared the edge of the Overcity proper, with the familiar figure of Finn waiting by the gate, just like she had said she would. Erica seemed to brighten the closer they got to civilization, heralding a no doubt satisfactory conclusion to their bounty as they began their descent.

This...seems too easy.

Maybe it was Eliza being anxious again, but she half expected to get attacked at this point. As they began to land, her masked eye glew again, checking to see if anything would try and ambush the trio.

Dina did notice Eliza's overall easiness and also did her best to scour for any threats, after having followed the duo.

However concerned they might be, there was no sudden last second development to justify it as they came in for a landing. Sometimes, people did just get that lucky.

Once safely on the ground, Erica was quick to hop off of Eliza's back. She swiftly moved around the girl to embrace the other girl in a warm hug. "Finn, I'm so glad to see you!"

The embrace was returned just as heartily by Finn, who wasn't thrown off too much by the turn of events. "I'm just happy to see that you're safe Erica. Ive got a bath, a meal, and new clothes waiting for you back at my place."

Breaking the hug, Finn and Erica turned to face Dina and Eliza. "Thank you for your help," Finn told them with a small bow. "I knew you were the right people for the job."

Ah, so it was that easy.

With a breath of relief, Eliza looked back up to the two girls with a smile. "It really was no problem at all."

"Be wary of deals in the magical world. Being used and abandoned is common." Dina would venture to say. "It happened to me."

Erica snorted as Dina made her astute observation. "Yeah, I think I figured that one out," she grumbled Now there was nothing left for her to do but to recover and plot her revenge. However that might come about, at least.

Reaching into her pocket, Finn then stepped over to place gold coins into Dina and Eliza's hands. "As promised. Don't spend it all in one place."

She then returned to Erica's side, and the two began slowly walking towards the gate near them. "See you guys around," Erica called with a wave. "I may be in touch, depending on how things turn out!"