While Norika had been slightly troubled by her lunch being delayed, she didn’t start getting actively worried until she heard the pair of noticeable thuds. Swallowing, and gripping her cane in a trembling hand, she climbed out of bed and made her slow and shaky way to the door. Cautiously opening it, she couldn’t keep from gasping at the sight that greeted her. Although she certainly never cared much for any of the household’s servants (who had made their dislike of her plainly known), she was still shocked to see the two maids crumpled on the floor, without any sign of a struggle. What had happened? Was she next? Despite dearly wanting to transform on the spot, she managed to refrain from potentially revealing her secret to anyone who might be waiting for just such a response. While the house was quiet except for the sound of her own labored breathing, she still didn’t want to take any chances. Instead, she lowered herself into a crouch and tentatively reached out to the closest maid in order to check for a pulse, while steeling herself for the possibility that there wouldn't be one…
W-With how much talking he does, I’m surprised Finn doesn’t have one of these quote sections yet. -Norika Tsukishima
As she sat on her bed, Norika listened to Finn’s little speech with growing annoyance. Multiple times, she’d wanted to stop him and explain just how wrong he was, to tell him that her parents cared for her simply for appearances sake, like a plant they didn’t want guests to see wilting, and that she had never once envied her brother, the kindest most supportive person she’d ever met, but she was unable to get the words out. When the boy detective finally finished, she was about to tell him those things, as well as assure him that she was far too sickly to hold any kind of steady job, but then he made his final remark, and she just froze. It was just a simple compliment, but it struck her with all the force of a sledgehammer. It might have very well been a total lie, but still, the words were impossible for such a frequently berated girl like her to ignore. Thus, instead of the lengthy rebuttal she’d been mentally preparing, all Norika could say was a soft, “T-Thank you.” Swallowing her bitterness and suspicion she forced herself to add, “A-And thank you for having so much faith in me.”
I only wish I could have the same kind of faith in myself…
Zoppy waited with the most eager of expectation as the young dwarf looked over her various wares, her heart beating so fast, she was in real danger of having it burst and kill her on the spot. Thankfully(?), the suspense ended just before that could happen, with the dwarf declaring that he would buy one of her lucky rocks. “Dankz lotz!” Zoppy told her customer with great glee as she held out her good hand to accept his payment. Unfortunately, said payment took the form of three, decidedly un-shiny coins. Her once jubilant expression quickly dissolved, her big ears drooping against the sides of her small head. “B-But…” she blubbered, looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment. “D-Deez ain’t…” However, before she could finish, the dwarf came down with a bad case of the “being murdered”, and so was unable to take any further inquiries or respond to any objections from the malformed little goblin girl. Returning her attention to the three coins once more, she mumbled, “M-Maybe if Zoppy cleanz dem…?”
Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
Mia
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5
Wood | Barrage
Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button
Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless
Connie and Gaia both smiled when Miko revealed that she did, indeed, know the answer to the guardian’s riddle. Asking her question, to the sad mask, it answered that its counterpart would tell them the right door was the safe one. Lily quickly became confused on how they should interpret this answer, and Connie was equally puzzled, although being shy and socially awkward, she didn’t have a running monologue about it like the genki greenette did. For her part, Gaia understood the logic behind Miko’s question, but just like the pink-garbed maiden, she also quickly realized the new problem said question’s lack of specificity had presented them with.
The frown on Connie’s mask deepened as Ronin began laughing. “I-I, um, I-I d-don’t really see h-how that’s f-funny…”
Alexander then came up with a possible solution to their dilemma, but Gaia was hesitant to feel any measure of relief.
“Although it pains me to say this,” the verdant maiden spoke up tentatively. “I believe we are only allowed a single question, and, unfortunately, that question has already been asked.”
Magical Dream Princess
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9
Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage
Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
As MDP’s whimsical rift in reality yawned open, the Princess of Dreams’s eyes also widened as the Jabberwock conjured a massive bone sword with which to oppose the childish cascade she was poised to unleash. An instant later, however, and the giant monstrosity would have an almost equally sizable, and distinctly draconic-looking, monster to contend with…
“Mayra Wayra~!” MDP cheered in giggly delight as she watched her monstrous friend have (from her innocently warped perspective) an exciting wrestling match with the startled Jabberwock.
This distraction allowed MDP’s spell to hammer the Wonderland monstrosity with all its whimsical force (while leaving Mayra completely unscathed). MDP giggled and squealed with delighted amusement as the Jabberwock rapidly diminished in size and menace, until it was reduced to nothing more than a comically helpless dodo-like creature. “Awww~! She looks super duper funny wunny~! (giggle!)” However, the toll of expending so much of her mana quickly caught up with her, and the whimsical girl felt herself getting exceptionally drowsy. “Like, Magical Dream Princess feely weelies super duper sleepy weepy…” she cutely mumbled as her wobbling form plopped onto a helpfully waiting and incredibly soft pink cloud. “She’s gonna takey wakey a nappy wappy nowie~ Nighty… Night….” She murmured, before slipping off to dreamland.
Unfortunately, it was at this point that her mana reserves completely ran out, and the playful Princess of Dreams returned to her not so playful (and completely powerless) mundane self, all her myriad dream magic constructs vanishing in puffs of pink glitter. This was a problem because that included the fluffy cloud friend Violet had been sleeping on, and now the unconscious heiress was sent plummeting to the ground.
When Finn returned to check over her work, Norika couldn’t keep herself from blushing slightly at the boy’s praise of her abilities. Few people had ever given her such glowing compliments, and, aside from Finn, they had either been a friend, or close family member. To have someone who was essentially a stranger say such things was a new and pleasantly surprising experience. Even so, she didn’t allow those warm feelings to linger for long before rapidly raising her guard back up. This was obviously nothing more than a tactic to breach her defenses, and as genuine as it might have seemed, she refused to allow herself to fall for it.
Especially the part about her parents being impressed. That was categorically impossible.
“T-Thank you,” Norika told her tutor. “I-I’m glad I was able to keep from messing up too badly…” she added, the sentiment being the honest truth. Then Finn mentioned her parents wanting her to attend college, and the frail girl couldn’t help but be taken aback. Giving voice to a shocked gasp, she stammered, “C-College?! M-My parents w-would never s-send me to any school! T-They’d be horrified by the embarrassment and shame I’d bring to the family name,” she explained, her voice filled with bitterness. “T-They’re already looking for another relative to t-take my b-brother’s place as heir to the family’s legacy. T-They’d rather pretend I didn’t even exist…”
Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
Mia
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5
Wood | Barrage
Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button
Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless
To the infiltration team’s good fortune, the stairs did not seem to be trapped in any way (aside from the not-so-insignificant exhaustion generated by such a lengthy ascent), and it wasn’t very long before they reached the topmost door. The ever impetuous Lily opened the (also pleasantly un-trapped) door, to reveal a strange ribbon creature with two theater masks for heads. Upon catching sight of the unnerving being, Connie found herself immensely thankful that she no longer had a fear of masks (wish-granting djinns are such wonderful friends to have). Otherwise, she’d be suffering a particularly crippling panic attack right about now. As it was, she merely found the creature to be rather intimidating, as opposed to utterly traumatizing. Said creature promptly introduced itself as this bizarre realm’s version of Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and then went on to present a little puzzle to solve (which seemed to be something of a running theme, as Lily was observant enough to point out).
“I must concur with Alexander’s assessment,” Gaia spoke up after the magical boy had put forth a fairly simple way of telling which of the two faces was the truthful one, while also noting the potential hazards of simply brute forcing their way past. “The guard itself isn’t the problem,” she added. “It’s choosing the right door, since it would seem likely that the wrong choice would not allow for us to correct our mistake, even if we simply looked inside without actually entering. On the subject of what question we might ask, I must admit, I am afraid that I am not particularly familiar with this part of Alice in Wonderland,” the verdant maiden aded with a small frown. “So I am unsure what the ‘canonical’ answer might be.”
“I-I don’t k-know much about t-that story e-either,” Connie added, her mask forming a frown as well. “T-The C-C-Cheshire C-Cat always s-s-scared m-me…” the timid girl explained in a softer voice as she hugged her shuddering body.
“Might anyone else have greater knowledge on this subject?” Gaia inquired while looking at Miko, who seemed to be the most intelligent and studious member of their group.
The verdant maiden also took note of Alicia’s withdrawal down the stairs, but there was nothing to be said in objection to her decision. While splitting up their party was hardly ideal, the negative impact her presence might have on their attempt to pry the truth from the guardian wasn’t worth the risk of her remaining with them. And besides, the renowned Paladin Seraph was certainly more than capable of handling whatever danger might possibly befall her while separated from them, right?
Magical Dream Princess
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9
Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage
Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
To MDP’s great delight, Mayra, and Mac, and all her other friends very much wanted to see her super duper special ultimate attack, with Mayra going so far as to kindly assist her in getting closer to the target of said attack. “Weeeeee~! Tee hee heeeee~!” the whimsical girl squealed and giggled gleefully as she (and Mac) were rapidly spun around and around, before subsequently being launched into the air at considerable speed. Twirling her whimsical wand before her with ever increasing rapidity like a makeshift propellor, the bubbly girl began to form a swirling vortex of pure sweet dream magic, while prismatic streamers began to warp the very fabric of reality itself in ever-expanding concentric circles, like ripples in a pond. “Ooooh~! Pretty witty lighty wighties~! (giggle!)” the playful Princess of Dreams exclaimed, utterly enthralled by her own kaleidoscopic display.
Indeed, so absorbed was MDP with creating her adorably dreamy super special ultimate attack, that she didn’t notice Mac(?) surge ahead of her, only to plummet to the ground inside a shell of blades a few seconds later. This was most assuredly for the best, for, had the easily distracted girl noticed this, and the far more alarming pool of blood(!) seeping out of what seemed for all intents and purposes like the wolf cop’s armored coffin, she would have completely failed to cast her super duper awesome spell and placed herself in some super serious trouble! But as it was, she did not see, and thus react to, Mac(?)’s apparent messy demise. Instead, she twirled her wand even faster, the prismatic streamers, sparkles, and myriad whimsical objects pouring forth in an ever increasing torrent of sickeningly sweet adorableness.
“Okie dokie~!” MDP called out with the cutest of winks and the happiest of smiles. “Heresie weresie’s Magical Dream Princess’s super dee duper wooper special wecial ultimate wultimate attacky wacky thingie wingie~! (giggle!)” Taking a deep breath, the whimsical girl shouted at the top of her high-pitched ultra-kawaiiko voice, “SUPER DUPER EXTRA WEXTRA BIGGY WIGGY DELUGEY WELUGEY OF CUTIE WUTINESS~!!!” With that, whatever walls might have separated the whimsical realm of Wonderland and the even more whimsical realm of the Sweet Dream Dimension were comprehensively shattered, allowing an irresistible cascade of delightful dream creatures and whimsical objects to pour forth upon a prismatic tide of dream energy. This mighty barrage was sure to swiftly overwhelm any adversaries in its gleefully giggling path, and the Jabberwock would be no exception.
When does Finn transform into a whiny brat? -Norika Tsukishima
“O-Oh, uh, r-right,” Norika agreed after Finn expressed his desire to assist her with the first few questions. “A-And thank you,” she added. “I-I really appreciate it.” Even if she still suspected her tutor of having ulterior motives, if he was making the effort to pretend to be friendly, Norika figured it wouldn’t hurt to do the same.
Starting the video, Norika noticed two things very quickly. The first was the clear enthusiasm of the “teacher”, an aspect that never seemed to fail to take at least some of the edge off of even the most boring or complex topics. The second was how the visuals made her think of starship navigation from a video game she and her brother had played. Both of these aspects helped her to look at the normally imposingly impenetrable formulas and matrices from, well, a new perspective. And that was essentially what linear transformations were, right? Changes in perspective. Despite looking different, the core aspects (straight lines and point of origin) remained the same, and Norika couldn’t help but see parallels between that fact and her own transformation into her Magical Girl form. Despite all the outward changes, she was still herself at heart. This was, admittedly, something she’d known on an intuitive level all along, but with this new reaffirmation came an incredibly pertinent question- Was this a source of weakness, or perhaps, a source of strength? In any event, there was no time to ponder such things at the current moment. Soon enough, the video ended, and with its conclusion came the commencement of practical application.
“I-I, um, I think I understand it a b-bit better, now,” Norika told Finn with a small smile. “T-The visuals really helped a lot.”
In a currently unoccupied classroom, Miss Maribel Whitley (or Whitley-san, since this is a Japanese school) was doing various mundane teacher things (and maybe even some not-so-mundane teacher things), while waiting for her next class (or for something of narrative importance) to arrive. However, regardless of whether she was looking out a window at the colorful autumn foliage, reviewing a lesson plan, writing on the black (or more likely white) board, or even studying an ancient eldritch grimoire or observing something unnamable through a nightmare portal, the Detention Club’s faculty advisor would find her solitude interrupted by the sound of a cheerful voice…
“Hey! Hey!” the voice greeted. “Do ya know where Stacy is?!”
Whether the Magical Woman looked up or turned around, she would find herself face-to-face with a trio of young women. The firsttwo looked normal enough, even if they were wearing casual clothes and not the standard school uniform, but the third…
“The crazy cool locator dealie Doc Zinestine gave me said she was in this town, like, super recently,” the first girl continued, holding up a strange looking device from which sprouted several oddly shaped antennas, glowing spheres atop coiled protrusions, and what looked like a tuning fork that crackled with tiny arcs of lightning. “And since this is the only school around here, I figured this was totally where’d she be! Oh! And my name’s also Stacy!” she added after a moment, giving the teacher a cheerful smile. “Nice to meet ya!”
“I’m Sammy Spectacles!” the second, glasses-wearing, girl announced, carefully adjusting said glasses. Then, leaning in close and placing a hand against the side of her face to confound lip readers, she “whispered”, “That’s my super secret secret identity name, just like that Mark Ment guy has in those comic books! Pretty cool, right?!”
“And I’m Staceella!” the final, teal-skinned girl with the star-tipped antenna growing out the top of her head declared. “We couldn’t find a good disguise for me, so they said I should just tell everyone I’m ‘cosplaying’,” Staceella explained, her suction cup-tipped fingers forming air quotes. “Whatever that means!” she added with a happy-go-lucky giggle.
“So, yeah!” Stacy spoke up again. “Have ya, like, seen her around here lately?!”
H-He has to be planning something, r-right? -Norika Tsukishima
Norika watched with increasing discomfiture as Finn slowly removed the various pieces and parts of his protective suit. A small part of her wondered if he was just an eccentric goofball, nothing more than the dorky kid he appeared to be. But no, she fiercely reminded herself, that was precisely what he wanted her to think, so as to let her guard down and thus be easy prey for whatever devious plan he was trying to enact. He had arrived dressed in this bizarre outfit for a reason, a reason other than simply accommodating her poor health, and as her tutor finished extricating himself, her mind worked frantically to discern what that reason might be. Unfortunately, by the time the suit was fully removed, she was still no closer to an answer, and it was highly unlikely that her tutor was going to suggest pausing for a break this early into their session to give her more time to come up with one.
Indeed, after apologizing for taking so long, Finn went right back to his little “presentation”, employing his odd visual aids to make things clearer. Norika was honestly thankful for this, as she’d found that she always learned complex ideas better when they were presented via visual examples. Both Kaito and Roche had done this, although their kind encouragement also played a large part with how effective their tutelage was. To Finn’s credit, he was also certainly being polite enough, even if Norika strongly suspected it was merely a well-practiced act.
“Um, y-yes,” she concurred. “I-I also find visual aids to be very useful. A-And I wouldn’t mind seeing a video, i-if you think it might help,” the sickly girl added, trying to sound as timid and unassuming as she could.
Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Mystic Artifact | Ally | Interdimensional Home
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
Mia
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 5 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 5
Wood | Barrage
Enhanced Weapon | Dual Weapon | Purification Artifact | Big Red Button
Blessing | Divine Competence | Gifted Item | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Rites| Arrogance | Big Brother | Clueless
With a few more strikes of his hammer, Alexander had made a passage large enough for those still trapped in the wine cellar to fit through. Upon entering the corridor, Connie and Gaia saw that the battle had pretty much concluded. However, although Ronin and Miko had been able to deal with the animated suits of armor with the assistance of Alexander’s clones, the enchanted armors soon revealed that they were fully capable of reassembling themselves…
“Eeep!” Connie yelped, cringing backwards as an armored gauntlet rattled across the floor past her to rejoin its fellows.
“I believe it would be prudent not to linger here for much longer,” Gaia advised, while placing a protective arm around Connie’s trembling form as the masked maiden clung to her. Lily seemed to agree, as with swiftness befitting her nickname, she darted towards the nearby stairs, with a startled Alex chasing after her. At least with him at her side, she’ll hopefully be stoped before she dashes headlong into another trap, Gaia reflected with a mental sigh of relief. “Alright everyone,” the verdant maiden called as she guided Connie into motion. “Let’s not be left behind! I shall ensure that these foes won’t be any further trouble,” she added, conjuring a handful of seeds amidst a swirling of green life energy and tossing them at the reassembling suits of armor. No sooner had they hit their targets, then they erupted into a tangle of thick vines, which swiftly ensnared the animated suits, firmly rooting them in place.
The Daughter of Mother Earth could only guess what manner of opposition might await them at the top of the stairs, but whatever form it took, she hoped that their team’s combined might would be able to overcome it.
Magical Dream Princess
3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 4 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 9
Oddball: Sweet Dreams | Barrage
Wealth and Resources (not while tf'd) | Enhanced Weapon | Power Artifact | Dual Weapon | Natural Aging | Money | Intuition
Focused | Mental Link | Hidden Death | Mana Font | Mystic Might
Alien Mind | Formless | Rival Force | Clueless
“Bonky wonky~! (giggle!)” MDP called with childish glee as she bonked yet another card soldier on the head. Her painfully limited attention was far too focused on playing her current game to notice much else of what was going on elsewhere amidst the chaotic combat, for better or worse. However, the Gryphon’s mightily roared proclamation and subsequent monstrous metamorphosis managed to acquire even the ditzy Princess of Dreams’s notice.
“Golly wolly~! She got super duper biggy wiggy~!” MDP exclaimed, more fascinated than horrified at the imposing sight looming above them. “But, like, Magical Dream Princess thinky winkies that namey wamey soundy woundies super duper silly willy~! (giggle!) And, like, this songy wongy is really funny wunny, too~!” she added, both the ostensibly sinister song and terrifying title serving only to bring giggly amusement to the hyperactive girl’s whimsically childish brain. In fact, so amused was she, and so harmless did her dream barrier make the intensifying hail of bone blades, that the innocent girl was completely unaware of the mounting danger. It was only when Rachel shouted that this was some form of “ultimate attack”, that MDP finally began to comprehend the seriousness of the situation. “Wowie zowie~! Her ultimate wultimate attacky wacky~?!” the playful princess echoed, a big smile spreading across her adorable face. “Like, Magical Dream Princess has one of those, too~! (giggle!) Like, does everybodywody wanna see~! Do you~?! Do you~?! Do you~?!” she asked, excitedly bouncing up and down as sparkles of delight filled her eyes.
L-Let’s just get this over with… -Norika Tsukishima
Norika simply stared blankly through the entire first half of Finn’s explanation, before giving voice to a soft “O-Okay,” in confirmation that all they’d be doing was learning things together. Of course, she didn’t believe that for a minute, despite the boy detective’s fairly rational reason for his presence and assurance that he had no ulterior motives. The timing, the bizarre outfit he was wearing, the talk of “transformations”, it was all far too convenient, far too pertinent, to be as innocuous as he wanted her to believe it was. This, unsurprisingly, meant that she would once again have to be on high alert throughout his visit. After all, even the slightest slip up could be disastrous, and it wasn’t as if she could just tell him to leave, as much as she might have wanted to.
“I-I, uh, I-I guess I understand…” Norika replied hesitantly once Finn had finished explaining his lattice example. “O-Oh, and, umm… W-While it’s true I have a weak constitution, y-you don’t need to wear that suit for my sake,” she told the detective-turned-tutor, averting her gaze as she did so. “B-Besides… I-I’m pretty sure suits like that are for protecting the person wearing them, not the other way around…”
BrokenPromise
RPM
Majoraa
Shadow Dragon
Dezuel
Ravion the Red
AtomicNut
Ariamis
