After Chloe and Veronica were done at the boutique, they headed towards the cottages. Nearby there was a giant outdoor pool area, and beside it a smaller, closed off “adult” swimming area. It was on an elevated platform that was accessed by a flight of stairs. Once they ascended the stairs, the two were greeted by a view of the seaside, and a pool surrounded by lots of reclining chairs. There was almost no room to move around the pool itself, which was actually more shallow than the deep end of the larger pool. The adult pool was more for people who didn’t want to swim, it appeared.
“Perfect.” Veronica said before stepping to the edge of the pool.
“Now, let’s see how this ‘quick change’ works.” Veronica jumped into the water and was consumed by a dark shadow, which sunk into the water. Not long after she submerged, Veronicastepped out of the pool sporting a new swimsuit. It was just a red and white bikini, but it covered less than her last swimsuit did.
“I’d say that works rather well.”“Well,” Chloe whistled as she watched Veronica emerge from the pool.
“You look good in just about everything, don't you?” She mused, taking a seat in one of the reclining chairs. A good view indeed.
“Other girls might get jealous, heh.” This whole meeting had peaked her curiosity. Veronica herself had. She could tell the other magical girl was strong, but how strong exactly was up in the air. Which begged multiple questions to be answered, but hopefully this meeting would be somewhat enlightening.
“I, however, am above such negative thoughts.” Veronica nodded before seating herself in one of the chairs. Her hair was still wet.
“You wanted a drink right? Do you have any preferences?”She offered a small smile to Veronica.
“Lately I've been favoring the black and green teas, but might as well have something appropriately festive since we’re at the beach.”“Then I would suggest a long beach ice tea.” Veronica extended her hand and a shadow stretched out until it arrived beside Chloe. From there, a table emerged while several shadowy hands poured out the cocktail in two shakers.
“Vodka, gin, tequila, triple sec, white rum, and lemon juice come together over a bed of ice.” After the drinks were mixed together and poured into two glasses with ice, the rest of the glasses were filled with a red liquid.
“And then the rest of the glass is filled with cranberry juice, because it would be a long island ice tea if we used cola, and that’s not festive.” One of the hands placed a sliced lime on the glass and inserted a straw before sliding it towards Chloe.
“It’s a stealth cocktail, it doesn’t taste as strong as it really is. Keep that in mind if you’re going to ask for seconds. I think you’ll like it though. It’s tart, but refreshing.” A hand appeared beside Veronica and handed her the other drink.
Well this answered a few things. Chloe took the drink offered to her with a smile, bringing it to her lips as Veronica spoke.
“Ah-” Chloe coughed lightly. She was right, it was definitely a tart, but there was a refreshing coolness to the drink that she certainly didn't dislike.
“The real reason why I wanted to talk to you in private is in regards to what I believe is a more secret part of your life.” She sipped the drink.
“I am a former Ebon coin broker. Emphasis on former broker.” She set her drink down on a table and folded her hands in her lap.
“I know a bit about you. I no longer have access to your file, but I was under the impression that you weren’t very loyal to Mint. Partially given how you treat your current patron, and you just don’t seem to like being bossed around. In the past, that might have been a problem, but now?” She paused.
“It might be possible for us to work together against a common enemy.”A former mint broker, huh? Her loyalty to the Mint was only so long as she got paid. Or at least, it used to. As for her current patron...that depended.
“Right to business, huh? No time for a bit of leisure?” Chloe sighed, pouting a bit before turning more serious.
“A common enemy...” Chloe mused, twirling the drink lightly in her hand.
“I assume you mean the Mint. I was loyal to them so long as I got paid. They gave me some very fun things to do, heh.” Truthfully, while Chloe didn't like being under their thumb, she mostly considered them utterly inconsequential even if she would like to either crush or rule them, watch as everything they built either fell into her hands or just crumbled into nothing. Smiling, Chloe took another drink.
“...but recently, after a brief leave from Penrose I'm a bit, shall we say, impatient and a little fed up with the status quo.” She cast a glance over to Veronica.
“You know me fairly well, it seems, but I know nothing about you...which makes it kind of difficult to consider doing anything with you.”Veronica sloshed the ice in her glass around.
“That is correct, you know little of me. Though that is not because I’m trying to hide anything. If you remained in Penrose for the entirety of the past two months, you’d probably have encountered me sooner.” She set down her glass and folded her hands together.
“If you’d like to get to know me better, that’s fine. I have little to hide and much I can tell you. We’re on vacation after all.” The shadow under the table stretched across the floor and shaped itself into the Cradle’s insignia.
“I call my faction Crimson Cradle. Most of its members are former Mint agents or long standing allies of mine. I know you’ve met Sil. She’s one of my top agents. You may have seen Tetrad. She was in the suburbs before I called her into Penrose. Betty is my personal bodyguard, but I’ve given her the day off. I have a few more agents, but none of them appear to be present. But I sense they are in this dimension with us. Maybe I’ll introduce you some day.” The shadow went back to its original shape under the table.
“It’s reasonable at this point to wonder why I broke off from the Mint. I was simply tired of the secrets. Completing their objectives was becoming harder, and I even got some misinformation that had two of my own agents working against each other. It nearly doomed Penrose and the plan to stop Justine. I started to distrust them, and saw more benefits to working against them to with them, and now?” She spread her arms.
“I’m their greatest obstacle, or at least they act like it. They prioritized stopping me over a world ending horror like Soth. We are hard enemies. Next time you see your broker, tell him I encountered you. Especially if it’s Al, I bet he’d have something interesting to say.” She chuckled darkly.
“I’m kidding, don’t do that. They’ll suspect I’m trying to turn you and might try to eliminate you. But we are not friends, the Mint and I.” “Ah, so that's what had Al irritated.” Chloe chuckled. This was all very useful information. Honestly, it sounded just like the Mint to prioritize a grudge over stopping something like Soth so she wasn't surprised. What was surprising though, was Veronica's honesty. She sounded honest, as easy as that was for some people anyways. She knew only a little of the events that went on during the whole Justine thing, having been away from Penrose, but the series of events seemed to match.
Veronica took a swig of her drink.
“I don’t know if it’s this drink or you, but saying all that was very satisfying. Did I mix in something extra?” She examined the glass before taking it in both hands.
“You know what? I agree Chloe. Let’s just keep it leisure for now. I would like to get more familiar with you anyway.” She took another sip.
“Speaking of Soth, you were present at the graveyard. That wasn’t a development I expected. Furthermore, Sil told me that you save Penny’s life. Rather heroic feat given what you were going up against.” Veronica placed a hand under her chin.
“Do you typically put yourself in danger like that?”“Is it odd for a Dark Magical girl to be heroic?” Chloe giggled.
“We can be, if people simply give us the chance. But no, Beacon goes around spouting purification nonsense and act like we do nothing but bring chaos.” Chloe took a relaxing sip of the beverage. Hm, maybe she did put something in it.
“I will agree, some impulses of mine are less than nice, but that is human nature, isn't it?” Chloe smiled.
“I don't normally stick my head out into every problem, but If I can save a fledgling magical girl from being offed by a monster, then that is simply what a person should do, yes? And I certainly don't mind risking a little injury making sure one of mine doesn't die.” Her hand gripped the glass tighter.
“...and Penny happens to be one of mine.” Was there a certain tinge of uncertainty in her voice?
Veronica had finished her drink and was already mixing two more. This one used less cranberry juice than the last one, which made for a much stronger drink. One of them was placed beside Chloe.
“You might have picked up on the fact that I’m a dark magical girl too. Your behavior was unusual for the profile the Mint gave you rather than your inability to fling shooting stars and rainbows at monsters.” She chuckled. Her cheeks were noticeably redder than normal. Veronica took a sip of her new drink before continuing.
“Mmm, where was I? Yes! Penny.” She slid down in her seat slightly.
“You view her as an ally. I did for a time as well. The Mint was interested in her first, so naturally I got her signed up. I think she was laying beside Thalia at the time. Do you know who that is? Recently found some evidence that identifies her as the Vixen of Penrose.” She chuckled.
“That’s right, I offered to help her if she needed anything, so I located that evidence with her. Even when the Mint turned their backs on me, I still tried to help her.. Can you imagine? Me helping someone who’s still involved with an organization that’s trying to kill them?” Veronica continued to move down her seat until she was looking directly up in the air.
“That sounds incredibly foolish.” Veronica's words did little to assuage Chloe of her own misgivings, but she was pretty sure there was definitely something else in these drinks now and she didn't care at all.
“I'd probably just let them burn.” Chloe downed the last of her first drink, grabbing the second one that had been placed next to her.
“Ahh, little Penny told me all about Thalia when I returned to Penrose. If I ever see that floozy, I'll deal with her personally. Maybe let Lucy eat her, heh. He deserves a treat after being such a good little pet.” “Lucy, I think I know what that is.” Veronica continued to move down her seat until she was looking directly up in the air.
“Anyway, I get the impression that Penny has little use for me now. It’s a little unclear now that the Mint cut me off, but I think she joined Beacon. And Beacon has it out for me, she knew this. There’s also nothing to suggest she’s stopped working for the Mint. Two organizations that want me dead, and she’s still working for them.” Veronica arched her back and sat upright, like a zombie rising from its grave. Her wet hair hung in front of her face.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little betrayed. But if you still see her as one of yours, than maybe she hasn’t set out to double cross everyone. I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. I wasn’t useful to her anymore.” She put her straw in her mouth and slurped.
Chloe sat upright in her own seat, glancing over to Veronica. Sliding her legs over the edge of the chair, she positioned herself so she was facing the other girl.
“Penny is a good girl, you know? Ah, that's why I love her.” Chloe sighed, holding a hand to the side of her face.
“She'd never intentionally betray anyone. Let alone me, heh. I practically showed her how to do the whole magical girling thing. Sometimes I just want too...heh.” She took another drink, her own face suitably red now.
“I wouldn't feel too bad about it, though. My Penny is rather skittish. Doesn't trust easily...I suppose that's why she did join beacon while I was gone.” Taking another drink of the cocktail, she balanced the glass precariously on her chest, quickly pulling out a camera and snapping a selfie.
“Heh, I'll send that one to her later.”“I’ll have to give her another chance then, on your recommendation.” Veronica stood up, wobbling side to side.
“I can’t say love is something I see as being that desirable. Not for me anyway. I prefer relationships with a more flexible dynamics than love offers. Or, maybe I just haven’t found the right person yet.” She stumbled towards Chloe.
“Is that the no hands drinking challenge?” Veronica scoffed before drinking from her glass.
“Doing that from a recliner is cheating. Besides, two powerful dark magical girls like ourselves are above just beating such a challenge.” She extended her hand towards Chloe.
“We can annihilate all opposition, but we need to work together.” She extended her hand. Her face was very red, and there wasn’t much drink left in her glass.
“Take my hand, and we will absolutely destroy this challenge, beyond what anyone has ever been able to do before. Make them rue the day they attempted it.”“Pfft, I'm just sending this to Penny.” Chloe giggled.
“It'll be fun seeing what she thinks of it.” Sitting up, Chloe considered Veronica's offer. Hmm, it may just be the summer heat and the alcohol, hmm, but what the hell.
“You know what, fine. You've put me in a good mood.” She took Veronica's hand.
“We'll crush this challenge, and everyone will fear even attempting to best us!”“Yes!” Veronica pulled Chloe to her feet.
“First, we need a few more drinks.” The room was filled with the sound cocktails being mixed. Drinks being poured, drinks being shaken, it was hard to tell how many hands were moving about the room.
“And now we need to make, a landing pad.” A stool appeared in front of Veronica, and she helped Chloe up onto it. This leveled the shorter magical girl with her taller counterpart.
“Oh yes, this is going to be perfect. Now we just need to, hug. Not too tightly.” Veronica wrapped her arms around Chloe’s hips and eased their bodies together. Their chests touched, but it didn’t create a platform you could stack drinks on.
“Okay, maybe just a bit tighter.” Veronica was still holding onto her glass when she hugged Chloe against herself. As their breasts pressed together, it made for a base you could more easily stack drinks on.
“That’s less room then I thought we were going to have, but it doesn’t matter.” She locked eyes with Chloe.
“These drinks are going to be cold, so be ready for it. And breath carefully.” One at a time, the shadowy hands started to stack glasses of long beach ice tea between them. The first level had nine glasses, with the level above it containing four, and the final level had a single glass with two straws in it.
“Now just… easily go for your phone. Or maybe I’ll get it.” A dark hand reached for Chloe’s phone before hesitating.
“Unless, can we make this better?”“We're already messing with perfection.” Chloe exhaled carefully, holding onto Veronica.
“But hm, there needs to be something more. Something sure to dazzle the competition from trying to beat us.” But what? They were already playing a dangerous game, and at any second the drinks could topple over.
“...a throne of cocktails. We must show everyone who the queens are, Veronica!”“A throne?” Veronica blinked before steeling herself.
“A throne!” The shadowy hands continued to mix drink after drink. It was hard to tell if even the right things were going into the glasses, or even if the quantities were right, but that hardly mattered. A throne was a bit trickier than a simple pyramid. There were a lot of vertical surfaces that didn’t lend themselves to being created by staggering glasses. Veronica needed to cheat to get the throne to look right. The hands hid a small amount of clay on the bottom of every glass to prevent them from slipping. On a cellphone, you’d never be able to see it. Especially if you used the right angle.
“It’s done!” Veronica grinned, but her expression soon turned grave..
“Now, how do we sit in it?”“Like this!~” Chloe grinned, before pulling Veronica into the glass throne a bit roughly. It should hold, right? Veronica flinched, but had little time to do much else before Chloe positioned herself so she was sitting in Veronica's lap, still pressing their bodies together so their chests touched, with Chloe holding onto one of Veronica's shoulders. A spirit wandered over, balancing a cocktail on their chests where they touched with two straws.
“Do the honors, Veronica?”The former coin broker hesitated before answering.
“Of course!” One of the dark hands took Chloe’s phone before retreating at an appropriate distance to capture the entire throne. A second hand showed up with Veronica’s phone.
“Get into position!” As soon as they started to drink, some of the clay gave way. Veronica, Chloe, and a hundred or so cocktails were dumped. into the swimming pool. Chloe gave a rather girly, startled yelp as she hit the cold water of the pool. The pool had red clouds of cranberry juice floating in it, and the alcohol content was considerably higher to boot. The two girls managed to float to the surface, if not by virtue of their anatomy, then because they were laying on top of glass cups. They swam to the edge of the pool and pulled themselves up, mindful of any broken glass that might have been present.
“Good thing I never dried off.” she rang out her hair before looking at Chloe.
“I think.” She took a deep breath.
“I might have gotten a picture in time.” The hands returned with their phones and handed them over.
Well that was certainly the expected outcome. At least she was somewhat sober now, heh. The dark magical girl sat on the edge of the pool, taking the phone from Veronica and flipping through the pictures.
“Pfft, haahahah.” Yep, that was a keeper. The picture had been taken in just enough time to get them drinking from the glass, whilst in the background you could totally see some of the glasses from the throne falling and breaking under them.
“Well, that was fun.” Chloe stretched, slipping her phone back into wherever things magically disappeared too when wearing a swimsuit. Before Veronica could say anything, Chloe delivered a quick kiss to the other girls cheek. The only reaction Veronica made to the kiss was freezing in place. It didn’t seem like falling into the water had sobered Veronica much, as her face was still red.
“Take that as me agreeing to your earlier offer, heh. We can work out the details later when we're both feeling a bit less drunk.” Standing up, Chloe began making a swift exit. She really wanted to see Penny before the alcohol wore completely off.
“Bye, darling, see you later, and if you ever want love, I think there's room enough in my heart for you~.”Veronica nodded, She caressed the side of her face.
“I'll catch up with you later then.” She turned towards the pool and used the shadows to collect the glass cups that had fallen into the pool.
“Sam was right, coffee is the superior drink.”
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