God she was freezing. She hated winter. Why did she have to miss fall, the objectively best time of year? Katarina adjusted her jacket, tightening it around herself. She had only been back for a few hours, but she could already tell things had gone horribly in the past few months. She could accept the whole timewarp thing, but everything else? Beacon had really come in full force in their absence, hadn't they?
On one hand, that was a good thing. Less troublemaking monster girls and DMGs.
On the other, though...it left a bad taste in her mouth. How many did they just kill without a second thought? Execute without so much as giving them a chance? Rina wasn't naive. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty in the name of justice. In the name of peace. But there was a fine line between that and tyranny and bullying. Had the Ascendancy crossed it? She didn't have enough information to make that call.
But for now though, she must hunt.
The Ascendancy might have a tight reign on things, but they weren't omnipotent. And while things seemed calm, that was when one should remain the most vigilant. Bow in hand, Rina headed for the rooftops to find potential targets.
@Shifter_Master@MadManMoon
As soon as Chloe had been returned to Penrose proper, she was struck by the biting cold. At first she just considered it adjusting to the non-tropical environment of the beach, but the thought was quickly pushed aside as she observed Penrose. Winter?! They couldn't have been gone for that long, could they? She was out of contact with her city and the dragon, and the Archive for that long?
That's it. She was making boots out of that dolphins hide.
Her sense of control wavering as she landed atop a nearby building, Chloe carefully observed the city. She had woken up in her bed, Aurora, Divina, and Vi nowhere to be seen. Were they alright? They had been given jobs, so hopefully they were smart enough to use their head. She had so much to catch up on, so many things to speed up and readjust! She ground her teeth together, resisting the urge to blast something, but no. She needed to keep a low profile. She picked up her cellphone, quickly dialing Aurora's number.
"Hellloooo! You've reached the number of the number one luckiest magical girl, Aurora McKinzie! Who's this and how'd ya get my-"
"It's amazing that a week will make me forget how much I hated your voice."
"W-wah? So mean-wait!? Chloe?! You're alive! You didn't get got by the Ascendancy?!"
"Please, beacon will have to try much harder to kill me." Chloe huffed. "I need a sit rep. I'll fill you in on the details later, but we need to get to work. Where's Vi and Divina?"
"Vi's holed up in her little warehouse castle. Divina and I have been trying to help stray monster girls and DMGs avoid the Beacon Ascendancy." Aurora replied hurriedly. "Many are currently using that girls Penny's shelter as a base, even if its not entirely completed."
"I see. Meet me at the apartment. I'll be there shortly so you can fill me in." Hanging up, Chloe clenched her teeth more. So this...'Ascendancy' was responsible for turning Penrose into a ghost town. She didn't care too much, though that meant she had less to feed it. Not to mention, them just waltzing in like this. The audacity. Ah, she wanted to burn them. Crush them. Make them beg and lick her boots.
Patience, patience. She dialed Vi's number.
"Yo, hey boss! Aurora's already told me what's up!"
"Good, then you'll know I'm not dead." Chloe replied shortly. "We have things to discuss regarding our plans. Get in contact with Divina and let her know as well. You've been doing your usual security work? And laying the foundations for our little...party?"
"Heh, don't'cha worry boss girl. I'm not an idol for nothin', and let me tells ya, the sheeple on social media are always willing to blindly follow their little idols. So ya, I think we can go ahead with that little plan on Glimmr. I can have everything ready soon, heheh! It'll be my best work yet, bossy boss."
"Good. I'll be in touch." Chloe hung up, deciding to get around to that text from Penny she received.
Aside from freezing my butt off? You're lucky your not here otherwise you might actually see me when I'm pissed off. Other than that, fine. I'm getting into contact with some of my girls to figure things out. Things are bad.
...Penny, I don't want to sound like I'm demanding anything, but we need to talk. ASAP, so...actually, can we meet in your shelter? I might be bringing Divina and Aurora as well.
Love you <3
Chloe lowered herself to the ground, not bothering with her transformation. If the Ascendancy was Beacon's main force like she was assuming, then they'd be gunning for her anyways. A second text was sent to her Archive friends.
I know you were at the beach with me, but I need a status update on our agreement as soon as possible. I'm having to move a few of my own plans forward.
Sighing, Chloe put away her phone before walking into her apartment. She needed to be patient. Patience. Patience was key. She took a seat on her usual sofa, her magical orb erratically moving about, betraying her calm visage as she waited. She needed to get her feeling of control back, or no one would be happy.