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@TheWendil I wasn't planning on having her go out of her way to antagonize the other DMGs, and I'd be open to having her join the club eventually as well.

Also, yeah, that was what I was going with, as far as "instant corruption" was concerned. The experience with that first Miseria was so soul-destroying that she turned dark pretty much immediately.
This looks like an interesting concept...

I might have an idea for a music teacher.
Perhaps

VS





Arriving at their assigned arena, Olivia, placed Xolys on the floor, retrieved her neon blue controller from her backpack and moved a short distance away. With a push of the controller’s prominent “START” button, a vortex of cracking blue energy swirled around Xolys, the small robot swiftly transforming into a towering technomantic terror.

“Shift to combat mode complete,” Xolys noted.

“All right!” Olivia acknowledged with an excited grin. “Now let’s see who we’re gonna be going up against!”

They wouldn’t have to wait long.

Soon enough, a tall, fiery-haired woman with a cowboy hat and wielding a pair of heavy machine guns appeared on the far side of the arena.

“Gosh! I really like your sci-fi cowgirl aesthetic!” Olivia called. “Are you a fan of Roach Rider Rachel?!” she inquired. “That was one of my favorite shows growing up!” the bluenette added. “I just loved how cute all her giant, genetically modified insects were! Oh! And she also had some really cool guns, just like you do!”

“Indeed, those are some very impressive armaments, Miss Cindy,” Xolys agreed. “Your strength must be quite prodigious in order to wield them both single-handed.”

Cindy wasn’t even so much as reacting… just smoking a cigar. By the time Olivia was done speaking the cigar was at its end and she dropped it to the ground and stepped on it.

“I’m going to be honest with you kid,” Cindy started, “You’re in the wrong tournament.”

She pulled out her guns as she said, “Someone is offering big bucks for that power stone. So you know how this is gonna go.”

“Yeah,” Olivia agreed with a grin, her gleaming blue eyes taking on an even greater intensity, even as Xolys’s myriad trans-phasic energy scythes glowed with building power. “We do!”

Holodisplays flashing to life above her controller, Olivia’s fingers hovered over the array of buttons as she waited for the match to...

“BEGIN!”


Cindy immediately barraged Olivia with a hailfire of bullets - but they didn’t seem to be right. They didn’t seem to be bullets and more of mini balls of ki.

From his position in front of Olivia, it wasn’t hard for Xolys to intercept the ki bullets with his massive body, the multiple impacts sending showers of sparks flying off the eldritch machine’s technomantic armor.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be fighting Xolys, not me! Olivia called out, even as she instructed her monstrous partner to lash out at Cindy with one of his technomantic tendrils via a series of quick button taps.

Cindy was obviously a ranged combatant, so if Xolys could reel the machine gunner in close, then she would hopefully be vulnerable to his impressive array of melee weapons.

“You’re on the battlefield…” Cindy said as she pulled out a grenade that was painted with the stars n stripes. “… That means you’re a combatant!”

She threw the grenade and it exploded with a massive burst of red, white and blue.

“B-But…! Uh… T-That’s not…!” Olivia stammered, even as Cindy deftly dodged Xolys’s technomantic tentacle in a superhuman burst of agility, and chucked a grenade at her eldritch adversary. However, the weapon’s multicolored flashes and smoke seemed less intended to inflict harm, but rather disorient and conceal, in preparation for the fiery-haired cowgirl’s next attack.

In an attempt to counteract this, Olivia instructed Xolys to begin rapidly spinning his myriad tendrils around himself, the resulting whirlwind hopefully dispersing the patriotic-themed smoke, and perhaps even catching Cindy herself, if she had gotten too close.

By the time the smoke had dissipated, Cindy had appeared on the other side of the room with a bazooka on her shoulder. She pulled the trigger and launched a rocket (Painted like - you guessed it) at Xolys.

Not wasting a moment, Xolys charged up his head-mounted Unreality Beam, the technomantic terror’s massive eye glowing brighter and brighter, until a swirling cylinder of warped, kaleidoscopic energy shot forth mere seconds before Cindy’s missile made impact. With luck, the powerful beam would not only destroy the projectile, but also be swift enough to strike the fast moving cowgirl who launched it.

The laser exploded the missile and caught Cindy off guard, launching her backwards with a roll. She grit her teeth as she slammed her fist on the ground. “You got tricks, eh…?” She muttered as she reached behind her. “…Well so do I!”

She threw a bundle of three grenades that created actual explosions.

Seeing the incoming attack, Xolys began to spin up his techno-tendrils in an attempt to knock the grenades away, but their detonations still sent him reeling backwards and damaged the tips of several of the tentacular appendages. An instant later, he sent one of the undamaged tendrils shooting out in an effort to ensnare the feisty cowgirl once more and drag her into range of his glowing trans-phasic energy-scythes.

“Uh-oh!” Cindy shouted as she grabbed her guns. “I see where this is going.” She unleashed a barrage of bullets at Xolys.

The hail of fire battered Xolys’s armor, leaving a few deep gashes here and there, but his techno tendril was still able to wrap tightly around Cindy and zap her with a powerful electric shock, before rapidly reeling her towards his towering technomantic form.

“Gotcha!” Olivia declared with a fierce grin.

“… Is what I should be sayin!” Cindy shouted through the pain as she chucked a grenade at Olivia.

Giving voice to a startled gasp, Olivia barely had time to reposition one of Xolys’s bulky, scythe-tipped appendages to block the incoming bomb, before it detonated with a loud boom and a bright flash. When her vision cleared, Olivia saw that the badly damaged blocking arm was now hanging limply, its once vibrantly glowing trans-phasic energy scythe having become a dull gray.

Even so, Cindy was still ensnared, and had now come within range of Xolys’s other appendages. Not wasting a moment, Olivia’s fingers rapidly jabbed an intricate series of buttons in a blur of motion. This had the effect of sending her eldritch partner’s remaining trans-phasic energy scythes darting out to repeatedly jab their opponent with a series of powerful blows. Although the attacks were blunted due to the rules of the tournament, they were still more than sufficient to batter a Nomad senseless.

While they were beating Cindy, she reached down and pulled out two grenades that exploded in her face. Injuring her but should give her space.

The force of the twin detonations sent Cindy hurtling backwards and severely damaged several of Xolys’s appendages. However, the crimson-haired cowgirl was still being tightly held by a techno-tendril, and Xolys’s cyclopean, neon blue eye was beginning to glow ever-brighter…

An instant later, a churning beam of unreality lanced out to slam into Cindy with staggering power. Cindy quickly rolled to the side to dodge the beam and quickly pulled out her machine guns and cut loose on the tendril that had her bound. Such concentrated firepower was enough to sever the tendril, the part wrapped around the futuristic cowgirl disintegrating in a shimmer of blue particles. Yet, even before those particles had fully faded, three more tendrils shot out in quick succession to hold her in place, while Xolys’s eye began to glow again, clearly powering up for another blast…

When Cindy pulled out her bazooka and shot a rocket right for the damned thing.

Even as the techno-tendrils coiled around her, Cindy’s rocket shot across the arena, before being annihilated mid-flight by the eldritch energies of Xolys’s unreality beam. A moment later, each of the three tendrils holding the cowgirl in place sent a torrent of electricity shooting into her, which forced her to convulse… 
… Before letting one final attack towards Olivia - just chucking a grenade in her direction.

“Oh crap!”

Her eyes going wide, the bespectacled bluenette’s fingers flew across her control pad in a blur of motion. Even as a techno tendril whipped out to knock her out of the grenade’s path, Xolys fired another unreality beam at the convulsing machine gunner.

“Are you all right, Olivia?!” Xolys asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” Olivia replied shakily as she tried to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her. “T-Thanks, Xolys.”

Cindy was soon knocked out.
”AAAAAAND THE AMERICAN DREAMER IS OUT! THIS MATCH GOES TO OLIVIA AND XOLYS!”


“All right! We did it!” Olivia cheered with an elated giggle, punching a fist in the air as her vibrant blue eyes seemed to sparkle with tiny starbursts. “Great job, Xolys!”

“My thanks,” the technomantic terror replied with a bow. “Although, as always, I could not have done it without your exemplary guidance, Olivia,” he added, causing a blush to color the bluenette’s cheeks.

“O-oh, uh, well, you’re always welcome, Xolys…” Olivia stammered with a dopey smile, before giving her massive partner a big hug. “Okay!” she declared after a moment. “Let’s get ready for the next match!”



Although she had been briefed on how… excitable her charge could be, it still came as something of a surprise to Pentius-04 when Lily grabbed her by the wrist and started excitedly waving her arm at a new arrival. “S-Salutations,” she managed to stammer as Alexander joined them. “I have been assigned to ensure Miss Lily’s safety,” she added, hoping this explanation would be enough to dispel any concerns her charge’s romantic partner might have. However, it soon became apparent that there were far greater things to worry about, as Ebon Mint coin broker-in-training Chloe Irving made her grand entrance and conjured her own monstrous bodyguard.

“Be assured, while I shall take no hostile action against anyone present, I shall also allow no harm to befall my charge,” 04 told the dark magical girl, while simultaneously moving to stand in front of Lily and activating her shield’s expansive, multi-layered energy barrier.









Shortly after the arrival of Chloe, Penny, and their attendant entourages, a colorful rainicorn pegasus spiraled around in the sky above the park, before bursting into a series of brilliant fireworks and a shower of sparkling glitter and glowing stars.

“Hiiiiiiyeee~!” a sickeningly cheerful voice called out as a pink-clad magical girl dropped from the sky alongside a small fairy. “Like, ta-daaa~!” she declared once the pair had landed and struck complementary poses. “Super Cute Pretty Pretty Magical Dream Princess and Super Duper Adorable Fairy Princess Melisa Wisa are heresie weresie nowie~! (giggle!)”

”Hiiiiii!” Melisa yelled out as she fluttered around her friend. Except a few, most of the attendees probably wouldn’t have recognized the tiny fairy girl. Since breaking free of her monstrous form, she had stayed out of most of the conflicts. Fighting wasn’t really her thing if she could avoid it.

Her eyes darting around in eager excitement, MDP briefly took note of Chloe and her skeletal creation, before the whimsical girl’s painfully limited attention refocused on something she found far more appealing… “Wowie zowie~!” she exclaimed as she bounced over to the Sanctuary delegation. “Penny Wenny’s heresie wersie, too~! (giggle!) Like, Magical Dream Princess just wuvs your new capey wapey thingie wingie~! (giggle!)” she told her girlfriend with a happy smile. “And, like, did you see, did you see~?! Melisa Wisa’s not a dolly wolly person werson anymorsie~! (giggle!) Like, she’s a fairy wairy person werson nowie~!” the bubbly Princess of Dreams added as she gestured to her tiny friend.

Following MDP the fairy girl would wave ecstatically. She didn’t really know that many of the others currently present all that well, though she did steal a glance at Ruby as she appeared in a puff of smoke. That girl’s magic was of particular interest, even if Melisa didn’t quite register it as such in her own mind. Anyway, she looked back to Penny. ”Uh huh. Your Beacon friends were able to do it. I don’t know why people don’t like them. They’re really nice.”

“Like, some of them can be kinda winda grumpy wumpy,” MDP noted. “But, like, other wothers, like Fan Fany Wan Wany, are like, super duper nicey wicey~! (giggle!)” she added.

A moment later, the whimsical girl noticed a pair of new arrivals, and with a gleeful squeal she darted over to greet them. “Pastel-chaaaan~!” she cheered as she glomped the bespectacled magician. “Magical Dream Princess is soooo happy wappy to see you againsie wensie~! (giggle!) Like, is this one of your other wother friendy wendies~?!” she inquired as her attention refocused on Valerie. “Wowie zowie~! Like, is she a robotic wotic person werson like Penny Wenny?!” she asked excitedly as she bounced up and down on her tiptoes. “Is she?! Is she?! Is she?!”

However, before an answer could be provided, Lily began her opening greeting, after which, Alex mentioned the possibility of evacuating the city’s civilian populace into a safe pocket dimension, causing MDP’s eyes to sparkle as an idea popped into her ADHD-addled brain. “Oh~! Oh~!” she chirped, rapidly waving her hand as she jumped up and down. “Pastel-chan has one of those pocket wocket dimension wension thingie wingies~! Right, Pastel-chan~?!” she asked, turning to Amanda with a big smile.







Descending on radiant wings, the Angel of Hope smiled down upon the gathered magicals. “Warmest greetings, mystical champions of Penrose!” she announced. “It fills this humble servant’s heart with such great joy to see you all put aside whatever previous animosities you might have held towards one another and come together in this auspicious forum of peaceful cooperation!” the heavenly maiden gushed, her eyes glistening. “Truly this is a blessed day indeed!”

Great… Just what I wanted to do tonight, join some sappy as fuck kumbaya circlejerk…

A moment later, however, and the angelic beauty gave voice to a startled gasp upon noticing the skeletal behemoth standing next to Chloe. “My heavens!” she cried, placing her hands over her mouth, while her eyes widened in shock. “What an imposing creature! Truly, it is rare indeed for this humble servant to behold such a terrifying visage!”

Holy shit… That thing looks fucking badass! Though I bet I could create something even cooler with my reinforcement magic if I didn’t have to deal with all these stupid ‘non-violent’ restrictions…

Soon enough, Lily began addressing the gathering, and the Angel listened to the green-haired young woman in respectful silence.

Fuck, I thought her name sounded familiar… She’s that ditzy bitch from last time… And of fucking course miss ‘lovechild of a kawaiiko vtuber and a Lisa Frank catalogue’ has to be here, too… I swear, that voice could fucking kill someone if they had to listen to it long enough. Well, at least she hasn’t noticed me yet, so I guess that’s a plus…










Arriving after most of the others was a small procession led by Kayli. She was flanked by Rose and Iris, with Connie and Gaia following close behind.

“Quite the gathering, wouldn’t you say, little sister?” Gaia whispered to Connie with a serene smile.

“Y-Yeah…” Connie agreed, attempting to return the verdant maiden’s smile with one of her own, but still seeming a bit downcast, something Gaia easily picked up on.

Although the Daughter of Mother Earth was pleased to see such a large turn out, she was still concerned for her best friend. Even now, she held Connie’s hand and was gently massaging the top of it with her thumb. “You know, even if we have nothing else to contribute, I am sure that simply being here will make Lily very happy,” she told her masked friend softly, while giving the timid girl’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

Slowing her pace slightly, Kayli would put an arm around Connie to reassure her. ”Everything will be alright, Connie.” There was more that she wanted to say, but that would be best saved for a later time when they weren’t surrounded by others. Unfortunately, this life was not one of peace. Especially in these current times.

A number had spoken up as more arrived, trying to figure out how best to approach defense of the city and its citizens. Evacuating a city was one thing, figuring out a way to do it was another. Ideally everyone would be out of the way to begin with as it would be hard to say when Wonderland would make their move. Looking around at everyone, she would speak up. ”I would not put it past Wonderland to use our want to protect the population as a diversion. Perhaps we could get ahead of that and create a reason to have everyone evacuate in advance. Not my favorite tactic, but it’s worth considering. An environmental health sort of thing. A gas leak or the like that requires moving people out. Between our groups and organizations, there’s little reason we could not pull enough strings to have the media do most of our work in that regard.” Penrose had already been through a lot, so subjecting it to further turmoil wasn’t high on the list of things to do. Previous damage should make it an easier sell though.

One thing potentially addressed, there was still actually beating Wonderland in a potential conflict. Since becoming the Keeper of the Keys, her primary goal has been to find a way to defend the Nexus. As such, she has been busy examining what she could of its nature. ”To the defense of the city and the Nexus then. I don’t know the number of these toy soldiers you brought up. However, I have a small army of constructs that could be brought to bear.” Among the things left behind in the wake of chaos that is Penrose, Cindy had worked out a number of agreements for resources. Some of those Kayli returned, as it did not seem right to keep hold of. One that almost no one knew, aside from Mariette perhaps, was the army of Talos statues that would have been all but lost had Janet not gotten into a mental kerfuffle with the late Queen of Penrose. An odd change of hands, but something Kayli found herself in possession of regardless. 

The woman would cross her arms. ”To be frank, I see open conflict with Wonderland primarily as a stall. If we succeed in our defense, then we will be waiting for the next threat to make a move. I would prefer that access to its power be tempered in some way to make it a less appealing exploit to patrons and despots. It takes someone of great power to even consider tapping into a font like the Nexus. Patrons, and I presume the Queen of Hearts, would be one of the few able to do such a thing.” It wasn’t quite a solution, but it was something she’d been meaning to bring up, and this was probably the one time he could potentially get others on board. Gain some kind of control of the Nexus here in Penrose.

“I must say, I concur with the idea of removing the Nexus from the proverbial equation,” Gaia spoke up in a clear and serene voice. She was slightly surprised by the revelation that her and Connie’s adoptive guardian possessed a secret army, even if only a small one, but the Daughter of Mother Earth knew that such matters could wait until after the current meeting had concluded. “As for the evacuation, I think her highness, Magical Dream Princess, has already provided an excellent possibility for a place in which to safely shelter the city’s mundane populace,” the nymph-like young woman added, turning to give MDP a bright smile. “In addition, I think she and Miss Valentine might also be able to provide a more conducive way to facilitate their transit to said place of refuge. I admit, I am not exactly well-versed in the limits of your abilities,” the verdant maiden continued, addressing the pair of dream spec girls. “But, if the two of you worked in concert, might it not be possible to place the city’s mundane inhabitants in a state of peaceful slumber, much like how your highness did the same with the residents of Bolorton?”

For her part, all of this was going way above poor Connie’s head, and so the masked maiden simply gave Kayli a small smile and quietly listened to what everyone had to say.




Olivia was just about to mention how much the other young woman’s hair reminded her of the acid spray used by the giant worms Oros had fought, as well as the hair on the smaller worm on the announcer’s head, when said announcer slid back onto the stage and began belting out instructions. It seemed the time had come for the first round of matches to begin…

“Oh gosh! The matches are starting already?!” Olivia gasped, having completely lost track of the time.

“It would appear so,” Xolys noted. “We should probably head to the stands now,” he added, before turning his single glowing eye back towards the other two ladies at the table. “Good luck to you both,” the small robot bid them.

“Y-Yes! Good luck!” Olivia hastened to add.

Expressing a similar sentiment, Oros vanished into the crowd with a speed befitting her title, leaving her red-faced opponent sitting at the table.

"Um, it was nice meeting you!" Olivia told the green-haired young woman as she stuffed Xolys into her backpack and then set off for the stands. “Okay!” the bespectacled bluenette declared, her voice filled with determination. “Let’s go show ‘em what you can do, Xolys!”



Dana giggled as Aiya playfully ruffled her hair. “Sweet!” she cheered a moment later, when the heiress agreed to begin a search for aquatic armaments, the energetic Norban following close behind. “Great idea, Penny!” Dana told her friend with a big grin when the Siscian suggested recruiting any Water Elementum users for their “team” in the impending water war. Indeed, the sunny sharpshooter could barely contain her excitement, and her golden eyes seemed to gleam even brighter when Aiya presented her with a massive water gun that was almost as big as she was. “Oh, wow! Thanks!” she told the heiress. “Y’know, this thing kinda looks like the prototype polyphasic plasma particle projector Professor Pinnacle let Alexis use in episode twenty-three!” Unfortunately, it was also the only water gun on the ship, and so, Dana was forced to abandon her plans for an all-out water war and switch to a series of water-based pranks instead.

Darting from one line-of-sight-obstructing piece of cover to another, the sunny sharpshooter snapped off a series of quick blasts, before ducking out of sight. However, it didn’t take long for the others to deduce the source of these attacks, and no sooner had Dana accepted a challenge to hit the surprisingly agile Priya, then the grinning gunslinger found herself being lifted into the air and thrown overboard. “Woah!” she yelped, before splashing into the water below. When she reached the surface a moment later, she saw who had been responsible for her unplanned soaking, and her auric eyes lit up. “Nice one, Noah!” she called up to the big cadet with a giggle. “I never knew you could be so sneaky!”

“Hey!” Priya called as she vaulted over the ship’s railing. “Let’s have a chicken fight!”

“Yeah!” Dana agreed with an enthusiastic grin as she raised two fists in the air. “Come on, Noah! Let’s show ‘em what we can do!”

Giving a nod, Noah and another cadet promptly jumped into the water, and lifted Dana and Priya onto their shoulders. There followed a series of hard-fought and incredibly entertaining (at least, if the wildly cheering crowd was anything to go by) battles, with Dana gaining the slightest of leads over the spirited Priya, thanks to a few small, but well-timed Light Elementum distractions. It was only once the informal competition was over that Dana realized she had forgotten all about Penny. The thought of having abandoned her socially awkward roommate to what the bespectacled girl could very well view as a living nightmare caused Dana’s jubilant spirits to rapidly dampen. Immediately setting out to search for her, the concerned Norban soon found her roommate amongst the crowd gathered around the dance pad upon which Nicole looked to be giving the performance of a lifetime. Weaving her way through the cheering mass of cadets and fellow Ars Magi, Dana had just reached Penny’s side when Nicole gave her a boisterous shout out. “Whoo! Show ‘em what ya got, Nicole!” the sunny sharpshooter called back with a wink, while giving the red-head two finger pistols of her own.

As Dana continued to watch, Nicole did just that, defeating every other guest who foolishly dared to challenge her dominance of the dance pad, and when the heady Hastan asked one of the audience members to pick the next song, the grinning gunslinger’s smile grew even wider. “I’ve got just the thing!” she told her team leader as she grabbed a music player from her bag and plugged it into the sound system. “This one’s a personal favorite!

Eventually, Aiya herself took to the floor in a bid to challenge Nicole’s seemingly unassailable supremacy. As it happened, the two ladies turned out to be evenly matched, providing a stunning performance against the backdrop of the setting sun that delighted Dana and the rest of the various onlookers. Once the inconclusive contest finally drew to a close, the energetic Norban pulled Noah aside to watch the last fading embers of the brilliant sunset. It was just as the magentas and neon pinks had begun to fade into deep, dark lavenders and purples that Aiya requested their presence below deck. After sharing a puzzled look, the incongruous pair made their way down into the bowels of the yacht, until they reached a small cabin, within which they found Penny, Nicole, and a handful of officer cadets waiting for them.

“Well this sure is cozy,” Dana noted with a grin as she made herself comfortable next to Noah on one of the cushioned couches. “So, is this like one of those ‘after parties’?” she inquired of their host. “Cause, y’know, with how awesome everythin’ else has been, I was kinda hopin’ ya might have arranged a fireworks show for us, too!”

As it soon became apparent, Aiya had a fireworks show of a different sort in mind, and it didn’t take long for the heiress to begin retrieving expensive-looking bottles from an ornate wooden cabinet. Now, Dana had never tried alcohol before, but the irrepressible Norban was always up for something new, and this party was a special occasion, after all, so when Aiya offered her a glass, she cheerfully accepted. “You can count on us!” Dana reassured their host with a playful salute, when she and Penny were instructed to keep Nicole safe. “Your girlfriend’s got the best team in Nova Lux watchin’ her back!” she added with a confident smile. “Right, Penny?!” she asked her by-this-point-probably-quite-overwhelmed roommate. Aiya then called for a toast, before inquiring if anyone was up for a little game…

“Spin the bottle?” Dana echoed with a slight frown, while the hints of a blush began to color her cheeks. She’d heard of the game, of course, but never played it, and to be perfectly honest, she was a little unsure if she really wanted to. There was definitely at least one person in their group that she wouldn’t mind sharing a kiss with, but there were also quite a few others with whom it would be very awkward, to say the least. Then again, if they could just get away with kissing on the cheek, maybe it would’t be so bad after all… “Uh, what rules were ya thinkin’ of usin’?”
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